Disclaimer's Note: (I don't really see the point in these, as we all know that the main characters in these fan-fics don't belong to us, but... sigh) I do not own Harry Potter, or any other anime/manga/novel element that is used in this thing. Otherwise, all of the Otakus would be bowing down before me because I would have only let the movies be made as anime. Also, The story itself are my own original concoctions, however, and, I sincearly hope that somewhere, in an alternate universe, the real Harry Potter won't kill me for what I'm going to do to him and, instead, would agree to go out with me to the next Yule Ball. Faints when Harry comes from out of nowhere and asks author out on a date

Please forgive me if the first few chapters are boring, too traditional to the typical Harry Potter novel, or too far from the teaser (I didn't know how else to start this ;) so I hope that it does get better (eventually). P.S. This Fan-fic has been brought to you as an anime in ISF Inuyasha Slandered Form for your viewing pleasure the MGM logo appears; Inuyasha is where the lion is supposed to be and says "feh"Oh, before I forget, when you see this symbol (;) it means that the said part of the scene is a sweat-drop moment. This symbol(;!) means a major sweat-drop moment, the severity of such depending upon how many if these ! are present after the semi-colon. This symbol (''') means a Gloom moment You faithful otakus out there know what I'm talking about, and this () means that the said characters are having an anime fall. The words or statements with an asterisk () will be explained at the end of each chapter Enjoy!

Harry was unusually happy on that unnaturally stormy day. It was unusual in the fact that there was a thunderstorm of that magnitude appeared in that region out of season. Part of Harry's bliss was because of the surreal peace that the active weather brought. Another partial reason was because it was the first time in his conscious (or unconscious) memory that his aunt, uncle, and cousin treated him like a member of the family, instead of the freak of nature he was normally considered to be.

Most of his happiness, however, was due to the fact that it was his birthday, that in itself being highly unusual for Harry Potter. Harry normally hated his birthdays; especially when he was stuck at number four, Privit Drive. He was delighted about this one in particular, though, because it was the day he turned seventeen, the legal age of adulthood in the wizarding world. After that day, he could finally leave the house that gave him nothing but hell for almost sixteen years, and not have to worry about returning to it every summer ever again (not that he wanted to, though). He had stayed up until midnight the previous night packing all of his possessions; clothes, bosom, photo album, everything; and making transportation arrangements with friends from the Order of the Phoenix, the secret organisation that opposed the evil Dark Lord Voldemort and his followers.

Harry could also sense that he wasn't the only one in the house that was secretly celebrating his coming of age. This was the first birthday in a long time that Harry's birthday was aknowladged by the Dursleys, and the first one ever that was ceblirated properly. It was evident that they were also showing there delight in Harry's departure from there household. Both Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia always feared the prospect of the neighbours finding out that they were related to wizards, and Dudley straight-out feared Harry's magickal abilities, ever sense he received a pig's tail growing out of his buttocks from a fully-grown wizard.

It was Aunt Petunia, however, who especially feared Harry's presence at her door, for fear of herself and her entire family ending up like her deceased sister and brother-in-law, who were slaughtered by Voldemort in their efforts to protect their son, Harry. As she felt the terror she felt of her nephew and his mother's assassin ebb away, Petunia remembered the nightmares she had (during the first two years of Harry's residence at her home) of horrible things happening to her family, that could only be descried as, well, horrifying. Those nightmares returned when she found out through Harry two years ago that Voldemort had returned to power, and that her own son almost had his soul taken by creatures who would pledge alligence to him. Yet, as she started preparing Harry's birthday (and farewell) dinner, she felt a cleansing flow of relief that in a matter of hours, those nightmares would fade away as most dreams should, and that they would never come true.

However, it wouldn't be until that evening, that her worst nightmares would finally be brought into light.

The day had been a pleasant one for Harry Potter's birthday, as everyone in the house greeted him with faked smiles of welcome. Aunt Petunia offered second helpings of breakfast to him, and Dudley actually gave him a birthday gift. it was a leather knife sheathe with a belt loop that he received for Christmas years before, while Harry was still attending Hogwarts School of Whichcraft and Wizardry. the blade that originally belonged to it had long been abused and discarded from misuse and rust. the original sheathe, which had been cast aside and lost in his room tie moment he received it. As he no longer had the twelve-and-a-half-inch blade, he gave it's useless casing to Harry, thinking that he would probably turn it into something he would need (actually, he wasn't sure about how good Harry was at magick, and secretly hoped that he would mess up and turn it into a crocodile). Harry, however, was impressed at how thoughtful Dudley was in giving him such an efficient tool for carrying his wand in public without arousing any muggle suspicion (he had an idea about what Dudley was thinking, but kept it for that reason, and thanked him over-enthusiasticly, just to freak him out).

Later that day, Uncle Vernon took Harry out to London to get proper muggle clothing (as he had been forced to ware Dudley's hand-me- downs for most of his life), and was allowed to spend a hundred pounds on a new wardrobe. Harry had never gone shopping for anything more then wizard's robes and magickal supplies, but had enough common sense as to what to get for his money. After shopping, Uncle Vernon started talking in a way that was unnatural for him; in the way an uncle would speak if he was conversing to a favourite nephew. Then, he started asking about how he was enjoying his birthday, what he had received as gifts from his friends, and what he had planned for later in the evening. Harry, of course, said he was having a good time, and gave his uncle non-answers for the remaining duration of the drive.

"That's okay, Harry m'boy," said Uncle Vernon heartily. "I understand that your a man now, and that you won't want help from your family, but if you want or need a ride to anywhere, just let me know. I could even help you find a new place to stay, if you want. I do happen to know a real estate agent personally, and might finangle a discount."

"No thanks," said Harry, starring out the passenger window, "I've got it taken care of."

Although Harry fully believed that his uncle's intentions were to probably send Harry to somewhere as far from his home as was physically possible, he couldn't help but notice that Harry noticed that his uncle was acting strangely. Well, stranger then usual when he was acting nice to Harry. He saw Uncle Vernon leave the section that they were shopping in to use the privy, but mearly dismissed his elongated absence (it was fifteen minutes actually, ut it usually took five to seven minutes to go and return, as he usually shopped there for Dudley's "work" clothes) as severe constipation. Harry began to wonder what was going on with his uncle, but thought it better to not ask in case that was Vernon's way of showing his delight in Harry's approaching departure. Still, Harry couldn't ignore the strange aura that he could feel radiate off his uncle, as if he was't really himself.

It was still raining when they got back, and the rest of the day passed with Harry actually being permitted t do whatever he liked. The first thing he did was open the birthday present from his best friend, Ron.

"What the-," said Harry, and he gasped at what came out of the small envelope.

It was a small mirror, roughly the size of a driver's license, and Harry imediatly recognised it. He was given one in his fifth year of school by his godfather, Sirius Black. He was murdered by his cousin, who was one of Voldemort's more faithful followers. Harry remembered the day he had finally opened the package that Sirius had slipped into his pocket after Christmas, about a week after he died, and remembered smashing it after attempting to contact him from beyond the grave, without success. Yet here it was, the very same mirror, with Sirius's message on the back on how to use it. Before he tried to contact his godfather, however, he remembered the note that came with it. Quickly, he placed the mirror down on his bed to prevent further damage in case it shattered again, and tried to read Ron's note.

-Harry,

If your wondering why we havn't imediatly come over to your aunt and uncle's house, it's because we wanted to finish fixing this pain in the a# first. I know what happened with this when I saw the pieces scattered at the bottom of your trunk the last time you came over. Took me over a bloody year and a half to repair the d$# thing! Oh well, hope you like it anyway. Both Hermione and I got one and reconfigured the spell so as to include all three of us, as Sirius had the other one (sorry to bring it up, mate). Anyway, I'm hoping you still know how to use it, so you can try to contact us at any time. We can't bring Sirius back, but I hope you'll imagine him smiling from above when you use it! I should warn you, it decided to be a total b$#!& and acted a little faulty when we were testing it with our mirrors, so it might take a while to get a hold of us.

Happy birthday Harry!

-Ron

P.S. As Hermione doesn't like the language used, I'm sorry for swearing.

Harry laughed at the postscript as he removed his glasses and wiped the tears out of his eyes. The fact that his friends would to do this was beyond his wildest dreams, and it did feel as if a small piece of his godfather was returned to him. Immediately, he decided to try it out.

"Ron," he whispered distinctly to the mirror.

Nothing happened.

"Ron Weasley," Harry said, a bit louder but still clearly. The mirror fogged up in the center, but nothing else happened. He couldn't tell if the mirror was trying to work, and that that was the reason why it fogged, or if it was his own breath that caused it. Harry tried it repeatedly for about half an hour, producing nothing more then fog, before he finally lost his patience.

"RONALD WEASLEY!" Harry finally bellowed, causing Aunt Petunia to run upstairs and tell him off for yelling. When she finally left, Harry flopped on his bed, mirror still in hand, and disappointment spreading through him like poison.

"You called?" said a familiar voice.

Harry jumped up and dropped the mirror as if it were on fire. He caught it before it hit the floor and fumbled with it a bit before seeing the long, smiling, red-headed, freckled face of Ron Weasley.

"Hay, I spent forever trying to fix this thing, so don't go and try to break it after only having it for a few hours," said Ron with mock irritation, imitating his mother perfectly. "And you don't need to yell, we aren't deaf!"

"Sorry," said Harry, trying not to laugh (and not doing a very good job at stifling it). "What happened to your head, and what do you mean by 'we'?"

"Oh," said Ron, his smile a broad one of embarrassment, rubbing his neck with his right hand and a large lump on his left temple (;). "What I mean by 'we' was-"

But before Ron could finish his sentence, something with long brown hair came into view and knocked the wind out of him.

"Konichiwa, Harry-kun!" yelled Harry's other best friend, Hermione Granger, with a Cheshire-cat grin that rivalled Ron's in size.

"Uh, hi Hermione," said Harry unsurely (;). "Um, forgive me, but could you repeat that in English?"

"Yeah, Hermione," said Ron, his voice displaying true irritation, "Not everyone can learn a language after staying in a country for half a summer."

"Sorry," said Hermione with a short, eastern-style bow, "My dad went to see one of his old friends from collage, who married a Japanese lady in Kamakura, Japan. He asked me if I wanted to go to learn about Eastern wizardry (ever sense we went to see the Quidditch World Cup three years ago, he's been asking me about Japanese magick), so I went. Apparently, my Dad's friend, Mr. McCague, has something in common with both us, Harry."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, now interested.

"Mr. McCague, who is a muggle, has a witch for a daughter!" exclaimed Hermione excitedly. "She's spent most of her education twenty nautical miles away from Tokyo, under the ocean! What's really neat about her is that her name is Celtic, and Mr. McCague insisted on her learning how to speak both English and Japanese. She even taught me a bit! Because of her fluency in both, (apparently, Japanese schools for magick are as strict about learning languages as Japanese muggle schools), she's been chosen by her school to complete her studies at Hogwarts! I can't wait to see her at our school! If were lucky, she might end up in Gryffindor with us!"

"Their re-opening the school anyway?" Harry asked quietly, hiding his resentment tward the goveners.

"Yes!" said Hermione enthusiasticly. "Arn't you excited about coming back?"

Harry's face fell when he heard the last sentence, and both Hermione and Ron looked sadly at Harry as he turned his face away.

"I'm so sorry, Harry," said Hermione sincearly. She had completely forgotten Harry's words, about how he wasn't going to return to Hogwarts even if it did open again. Ever sense there former headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, was assassinated in the previous month, right in front of Harry, Harry felt a sense of loss that made Hogwarts no longer feel like home. What hurt Harry the most was the fact that his friends said that they would stick by him no matter what. That they would be there with him whrere ever he was heading. Harry, in his foolishness, translated their words as "we'll leave Hogwarts too."

"We know that this is inexcusable," said Hermione, "but we were hoping that you would change your mind, and return to school with us, seeing as your goal is-"

"I already said it, Hermione," said Harry stiffly. "I'm not going back to Hogwarts. If you wish to continue your education, then do so. I guess that's more important."

"Harry, it's not like that!" Hermione protested.

"Come on, Harry," said Ron. "You-Know-Who compleated his seven years and did weird things to himself because of his knowladge! Do you think you could really stand up against him with what you know now?"

"It's a lot better then waiting around and being trapped in a place whare I can't even try to find Voldemort's Horcruxes!" Harry retorted.

"What do you think we've been trying to do sense we got off the Hogwarts Express?" Ron demanded.

"Let's see; Ron, you've been fixing the mirror Sirius gave me (don't get me wrong, mate, I do appriciate it), and you, Hermione, have gone halfway around the world to meet someone who's going to be at Hogwarts next year. As for me, I've been loosing sleep making plans as to how I'm going to find and retrieve the Horcruxes." Harry's last remark was perfectly true, although he didn't even know how Dumbledore found the first two, and the other one was practicly handed over to one of his friends. "Is it too much to ask for, for you to keep your word?"

Silience fell between the three friends, as their efforts to defeating the dark wizard were put in front of them. The hurt look Ron and Hermione had on their faces caused a deep feeling of regret and self-hatred to swell in Harry's chest and the pit of his stomach. He realised now that he was asking too much of them, and that made him no better then Voldemort, who demanded undying faithfulness from his Death Eaters.

'How stupid can you get?' Harry thought. Although he didn't like the thought of Ron and Hermione discontinuing their schooling at first, the positive afterthought was the prospect of not having to face Voldemort alone, like he had done in most of their encounters. There were only two times that he could remember where he was't facing him by himself; the first was when he was an infant, and his mother died trying to protect him (of course, he could only remember bits and pieces of it, the details were later provided by his parents' friends, and even Voldemort himself as he taunted the boy in one fight). the second one was when he was fifteen, and Dumbledore had interfered for one last round with Voldemort, on the night that Sirius died. Then he thought of what would happen to them if they did make that sacrifice. 'How could I be so selfish? How could I even think that they would give up their education and entire futures for me? Besides, what's the likelihood that I'll even come out of this alive? Even if they did go with me, they'd probably be killed before I could do anything, or wind up captured, tortured, or worse.'

"We really are sorry," said Hermione, her eyes becoming shinnier.

"It's okay," Harry said solemly. "I also said you didn't have to come with me. It might actually be better this way; Voldemort can't use what he can't get, and it's probably safer at Hogwarts." He fell silent again.

"Harry?" said Ron quietly. "you alright, mate?"

"I'll be fine," said Harry, putting on a fake Tohma-Seguchi-style smile, "I'm glad that you got to meet someone new Hermione. You'll have to tell her about me though, you know how everyone dramatizes up on what I'm like, especially with all this 'Chosen One' stuff flying around."

"Oh, Harry," said Hermione, tears streaming down her face. Harry always hated it when she cried.

"Hay, Ron," said Harry, trying to lighten the mood, "you still haven't told me what happened to your head."

"Well,"said Ron, putting his hand behind his head and smiling again (;), "Remember when I said that Hermione didn't like the language I used in the letter? Well, this was what I got as punishment." Harry couldn't help but laugh at his best friend.

"Hay, it wasn't all that funny at the time," said Ron, but he began to laugh as well. Even Hermione joined in the laughing after she said that she didn't think that she had hit him that hard.

When the laughter subsided a bit, it was Hermione who spoke first. "Is it true that Lupin is going to go with you to your parents' graves?"

"Yeah," said Harry looking away from them again, trying to hide his look of disgruntlement. He had always wanted to pay a visit and his respects to his mother and father, but Aunt Petunia never went to her own sister's funeral, let alone to her grave site. Remus Lupin, Harry's, Ron's, and Hermione's old Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher and old friend of the Potters, told Harry how to get there. Because Voldemort still desired to see Harry's blood spilt, Lupin agreed to be his escort in case anything happened (much to Harry's displeasure). Lupin was to meet Harry at the Burrow after Bill and Fleur's wedding, and they would both Apperate to where his parents were buried.

"That's good," said Hermione.

"Although you should be warned," said Ron, "Mad Eye insisted on coming with you because 'one can never be too careful when dealing with dark wizards.'"

"Great," said Harry sarcasticly, "Just what I need, another nanny to make sure that little Harry doesn't get killed by nasty Lord Voldemort, even though he's supposed to be all grown up now."

"You know it isn't like that at all, Harry," said Hermione, "We all know that you've came of age now."

"And we know that your the only person who has any chance at snuffing off You-Know Who," Ron chimed in. "It's just that the Order of the Phoenix doesn't want to take any chances of the prospect of you being killed before you need to be."

"Gee, thanks, Ron," said Harry, "I just love the amount of faith you have in my ability to survive."

"Your so inconsiderate, Ronald," said Hermione, making a gesture with her whole body, and Ron's face contorting with pain, indicating that she had probably crushed his foot with her own.

"What the heck was that for!" Ron yelled.

"Knock it off, guys," Harry warned. "I could still get in trouble with the Dursleys if they hear voices that shouldn't be here"

"Sorry, Harry,"said Hermione ('''), "We don't want to get you into unnesisary trouble on your birthday."

"Yeah, sorry mate," said Ron (;), now changing the topic. "So, how's your seventeenth birthday, Harry? Better then mine, I hope!"

Harry couldn't help but laugh at this remark. Of course, it wasn't at all funny at the time, as Ron was given a love potion by mistake, and nearly killed by a poison that was meant for Dumbledore.

"Sorry, mate, but no one's tried to kill me yet," he laughed, "and I havn't received anything that might have a love potion in it sense last Christmas."

"So I take it that your aunt and uncle are being nicer then usual?" Hermione inquired.

"Yeah," said Harry, now putting his hand behind his neck. "They're actually putting up decorations, handing out presents, and they're actually making me a cake! Even Dudley gave me something." He removed the wand-holder from his belt, and held it up to the mirror so that his friends could see it. "Of course, I had to put a Spell-Shield on it in case my wand goes off by accident."

"Wow, Harry," said Hermione, "This is probably very weird for you, isn't it? I mean, with your aunt and uncle being so nice after almost sixteen years of mistreatment." Then, as Harry placed it back on his belt, he remembered the way Uncle Vernon was acting.

"My aunt isn't acting so nice as my uncle. He took me shopping for new muggle clothes (as practically all of mine used to belong to Dudley at one point or another), and on the way back, he started asking me things, like what I got from friends for my birthday, and what I had planned later, and even offered to help me find a house."

"That's nice of him," said Hermione.

"Yeah," Harry continued, "but that's not the part that I found weird about him. It was like there was a dark energy radiating off of him, but I couldn't put my finger on why."

There was a pause from Hermione and Ron's end of the mirror. Finally, it was Ron spoke. "Well, maybe it's just his happiness in the fact that a freak with a death threat is finally leaving his loving home."

Harry laughed at his comment, as all three of them knew that the Dursley household was anything but loving or friendly; at least towards anything or anyone that wasn't "normal," financially as well-off as they were, or else didn't have what they wanted.

Hermione, however, wasn't as assured. "Are you sure it wasn't him just pretending to be nice?"

"That's what I'm trying to say," said Harry, now starting to pace in his room. "I've never seen him this nice before, not even when he's trying to kiss up to someone for a pay raise or a major business deal. You think I should worry?"

"You should at least keep your guard up," said Hermione. "We don't know weather or not Dumbledore's protection spell has worn off by now, or if it will be tomorrow when Voldemort can find you."

"Come off it, Hermione," said Ron. "Your making it sound as if Harry's uncle is being possessed or cursed! If you ask me, it sounds more like he's just showing how happy he is that Harry's leaving."

"What if he is cursed, then?" snapped Hermione at Ron. "Are you saying that Harry should't take precautions in case that is what's going on?"

"I'm not saying that at all!" Ron protested. " Of course he should be on his guard if he's suspecting something, but I'm just saying that it's probably nothing to worry about."

"Oh, Ron," Hermione shouted, "How in the name of Nigimitama can you be so inconsiderate!"

"WELL, WHY IN HELL'S NAME DO YOU HAVE TO SHOW OFF THE FACT THAT YOUR SMARTER THEN-"

"HARRY POTTER!" came Aunt Petunia's voice from downstairs. "What it that infernal racket up there?"

"Sorry, Aunt Petunia," Harry called back. "I'll keep it down now."

"Turn it off now and come down here, your dinner's getting cold," Aunt Petunia called back.

"Coming," said Harry. Thanks a lot, guys."

We're really sorry, Harry,"said Hermione sadly.

"Is there anything we can do?"asked Ron.

"That's okay, I'll be fine," said Harry, although what he really wanted to say was that he wanted them to stop fighting with each other all the time. He always felt that their constant bickering would one day get him into trouble someday, particularly life-threatening trouble in a situation where they had to be quiet and get along. Of course, he would never say that to their faces; he valued their friendship too much.

"We're very sorry, Harry," said Hermione.

"It's all right," said Harry. "Thanks for the mirror, you don't know how much this means to me."

"Are you crying?" said Hermione, her mood perking up.

"No!" Harry protested, trying to wipe his eyes without his friends noticing.

"Are you becoming a girl on us with the water works?" teased Ron.

"OF COURSE NOT!" both Harry and Hermione yelled, catching Ron off-guard at they're reaction ().

"I've got to go, now," said Harry, feeling that he was probably straining Aunt Petunia's patience too much. "See you later!"

"Take care, Harry," Hermione called back.

"Happy birthday, Harry," said Ron. "we'll be seeing ya."

"I will, Hermione. Thanks Ron, I'll be seeing you both soon. tell everyone I said Hi!"

"We will," said Hermione. "Bye, Harry."

"See ya, mate," said Ron, and with that, their faces became obscured with fog again, and all Harry could see when it cleared was his own reflection. He gave the window a quick glance, noticing that night had descended upon Privit Drive. The rain that had been there all day had, if anything, began to beat even heavier drops on Harry's window pane, and lightning seemed to want to add it's booming sound to the symphony.

Harry turned his attention away from the beautiful storm that was taking place outside, and placed the mirror carefully in a small compartment in his trunk. Then, went downstairs into the Dining room.

Again, I apologise if these first two or three chapters sound too much like the origional novels. If Book seven actually starts out like these chapters, or similar to them, I sware I'll die of shock. Please review, and let me know what you think! Arigato!

Bosom (bow-som, for those of you who thought I was talking about breasts!)the wiccan term for 'broomstick,' in refference to magic. I'm not too sure if I spelled this correctly, so one of you readers will have to let me know.

Magick, Magickal: the Wiccan spelling of the word "magic" It was Pagan and Wiccan beliefs that 'invented' what Christians define as "magic," which is why I decided to use such a term. If you don't like the use of either 'bosom' or 'magick' in this fan-fic ecouse it's either offencive, incorrect, or just too confusing, I'll use the more common terms insted for the rest of this.

Toma-Seguchi-style: for those of you who arn't familiar with the Shonen-ai anime Gravitation, Toma Seguchi is the blond president of a recording studio, who's the boss of the main charecter, Shuichi, and is 'in love' with Yuki, Shuichi's lover. This is in refference to the way Harry gives Ron and Hermione Seguchi's famous smile that hides his true feelings and intentions. In this case, the smile is used to hide Harry's dissapointment and sadness.

Nigimitama: yet another refference to a well-known anime. In the Anime hit Inuyasha, the Shikon-no-Tama (also called the Jewel of Four Souls) is made of the four "souls" from the Shinto philosophy of Naobi. the souls in the Jewel are that of Aramitama (courage), Nigimitama (Friendship), Kushimitama (wisdom), and Sakimitama (love). Hermione has spent her summer in Japan with her father, and has picked up a lot of the Japanese language and magical volcabulary. My own sources of magical information are limited, which is why I used the Shikon-no-Tama for this. Also, Hermione is really angry for Ron's lack of concideration, and says, litarally, "How in the name of the spirit of friendship can you be so inconciderate?"