As the train pulled away from the station, Harry watched Hogsmeade disappear behind them. He knew he might be seeing the all wizarding town, or the Thestrals pulling the school carriages back up the path to the castle, for the last time. But strangely enough he was pretty much calm that he might be killed by the darkest wizard of their time by the end of the summer. If his death was what the ultimate price was for defeating Voldemort, then he was willing to pay it.

Harry turned away from the window. His two best friends sat across from him hunched over and whispering. Hermione could have apparated, seeing how she was the only one of them legally able to do so, but she chose to ride the Hogwarts Express with them instead. The way the two were looking at each other was the main reason she chose to ride the train. If only either one could find that famous Gryffindor courage and make the first move. Harry felt his stomach twist. Not from the idea of his mates hooking up, although the thought of seeing Ron and Hermione snogging was sickening enough, but from the fact that he missed Ginny.

Normally she would have ridden in the same compartment as them but since they broke up, both of them decided that for appearance sake she should share with someone else. There had been something in her eyes when she agreed to break it off that Harry didn't really like. The youngest Weasley seemed to have received traits from the rest of the family. Just as stubborn as her mother, cunning like the twins, and independent as Bill.

"Care for a game mate?" Ron asked pulling Harry away from his thoughts. His friend already had the board set up, the pieces impatiently tapping their feet. Hermione had pulled a book out of her bag and was reading, one finger twisting a lock of her hair.

"Sure."

They played three games, Ron winning them all of course. Harry thought about making a lame excuse that he was distracted by all of the old DA members coming by to say bye for the summer, but decided not to bother. If there was one thing Ron would always be the best at, it was chess.

In what seemed like a few minutes the trip was over. Ron had just yelled check-mate again when the train started slowing. Harry stood up, getting his things ready. He didn't notice anything wrong until Hermione spoke.

"Are you alright Ron?"

Harry glanced at his best mate. Ron's face was pale the only color was from his hair and even that was lighter than usual. Harry's first thought was that someone had hexed Ron. Even though he knew the ferret was hiding somewhere groveling before Voldemort, Harry expected to see Malfoy standing outside their compartment with his two goons. Crabbe and Goyle were on the train but Harry knew that without Malfoy there to tell them what to do, they wouldn't cause any trouble. So he wasn't really surprised to see the corridor was empty, or that it was Hermione who correctly guessed what was bothering Ron.

"You haven't told you parents that we're leaving with Harry, have you?"

Ron gulped and shook his head which seemed to be the wrong thing to do. Hermione glared him.

"Honestly Ron! Why do you always wait until the last minute? Don't you think it would have been better to send an owl instead of having her yell at you on the platform? Right in front of the whole school?"

"I didn't think about that."

Hermione huffed. She grabbed her things and stormed out of the compartment, leaving the boys alone. After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, Ron turned to Harry.

"Sorry Ron. You're on your own with her" said Harry trying hard to hide his grin. "But I will talk to your parents with you if it'll help."

Ron visibly relaxed. "Thanks mate. If you're there mum won't go completely ballistic. Maybe she won't even get angry."

Harry nodded, not wanting to shatter his friend's tiny ray of hope. If there was one thing Mrs. Weasley was famous for, other than her delicious treacle tart of course, it was her temper. He didn't think it really mattered if he was there or not. Mrs. Weasley was definitely going to be furious.

They shrunk their trunks and walked down the corridor to the train door. The platform outside was crowded. Harry couldn't remember ever seeing it so packed. Looking around he easily spotted four Aurors scanning the area. He didn't know their names but recognized them from guarding him and the Weasleys on more than one occasion.

But why were there so many people waiting for the train? Then it hit him. Dumbledore. Hearing that the greatest wizard of the century was dead, must have scared the parents. Instead of coming alone, whole families waited for the students. That also explained the extra security.

No sooner had they stepped off the platform than he heard someone shout.

"Harry!"

He turned around and saw one of the last people he expected to see fighting her way through the crowd. Finally she managed to break through but she stumbled and Harry caught her.

"Cho? What are you doing here?" Harry asked before he could stop himself. He tried to ignore the pain in her eyes that his words caused, but he couldn't. "Er. I mean, did you need something?"

She smiled standing up and brushing out her clothes. "Oh, I just wanted to say bye. You know this was my last year, right?"

"Uh, yeah. It was wasn't it?"

Cho laughed. "Look, I can tell I'm making you uncomfortable. I really needed to tell you how sorry I was about what happened between us. It's not hard to see that you and Ginny are destined to be together."

Harry smiled. He had been worried that she wanted to go out with him again. He knew he should really tell her that it was over between him and Ginny. After all it was the story he wanted to get out, but he didn't want to make the moment ever more awkward than it already was. "Ginny means a lot to me. And I guess that, well, you and I both weren't ready to go out with each other."

"No hard feelings?" said Cho holding her hand out. Harry shook it.

"Of course not." Harry started walking towards the Weasleys who stood on the far end of the platform. He motioned for Cho to follow him. "So have you decided what you're going to do now that you graduated?"

"Well actually I was kind of thinking about becoming a healer," Cho said shyly. She ducked her head, watching her feet.

"That sounds good."

Cho looked up. "Really? I know it means an extra two years of working under a fully qualified mediwizard before I can start my apprenticeship, but I think I'll like it. Professor Flitwick said that since I had good marks in Herbology, Potions, and Charms that it would be a good profession."

Harry just nodded. He really didn't see the Cho he knew being able to work under the extreme duress healers experienced. She was a little emotional and would probably start crying the second she saw someone stagger in covered in blood. But maybe the two year of studying under someone like Madam Pomfrey would harden her.

They were almost to the Weasleys when Cho stopped him by putting an arm on his shoulder. "Thanks Harry."

Confused Harry asked, "For what?"

"For being you. I may not have shown it much but I really do like you. I'm glad we can be friends," said Cho smiling sadly. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Bye, Harry."

Harry watched her merge with the crowd, wondering when she had matured so much. Then he turned around. Mr. Weasley stood with one arm around his wife while Mrs. Weasley would reach out and touch Ron every few seconds. But there was one person missing. She wasn't–

"Just what were you doing with Cho Chang, Mr. Potter?"

Startled, Harry jumped. Ginny stood behind him with her hands on her hips staring daggers at him. "Uh…I well…she–" Harry stammered. Then her lip twitched. A second after that she was laughing.

"Relax Harry, I was just kidding."

Harry felt his face reddening. He said the first thing that popped into his mind. "Hem. Hem. It is not wise to deal with wickedness Miss Weasley."

Ginny's eyes widened. Then she grinned. "That has got to be the worst Umbridge impersonation I've ever seen. The giant squid could do better than that."

Chuckling, Harry started to reach for her hand. He was just about to grab it when he realized what he was doing. He jerked his hand back but not before he saw the sad smile cross Ginny's face.

"Harry, I–" Ginny started, but Harry had already turned around and was walking away.

"Come on Ginny," he called over his shoulder trying to sound normal. That had been a close call. He couldn't stay around her for too long. Already he could feel his resolve crumbling. "Although you may want to wait for the fireworks to die down first."

"What does that mean?" Ginny said catching up to him. Suddenly her eyes narrowed and she looked around. "Are Fred and George planning something?"

"Not that I know of," Harry said wincing as someone knocked into his shoulder. It burned for a few seconds but not long enough for him to pay attention to it. "What I'm worried about has to do with Ron. We have something to tell your mum and I don't think she is going to like it."

It took a few minutes and a lot of shoving but they finally made it to the small section of the platform that wasn't as crowded. As soon as she saw them Mrs. Weasley pulled Harry and Ginny both into a surprisingly strong hug. Mr. Weasley patted Harry on the shoulder and nodded.

"All right there Harry?"

"I'm fine," Harry said. Then he remembered one of the last times he had talked with them. It had been in the hospital wing after the invasion of death eaters. "Is Bill doing okay?"

"He's doing pretty good, although the scratches on his face are still swollen and bleeding a little. Poppy said it would be awhile before they healed," said Mr. Weasley. When he saw that his daughter was finally free from his wife, he turned to her.

Ron slid up next to him and whispered, "Do we have to do this here? Can't we wait until we get to the Burrow?" Ron whispered hopefully.

"It can, but I'm leaving here and going straight to the Dursleys. The sooner I get there the sooner I can leave," Harry said. He noticed how nervous Ron was. "Look Ron, like I said earlier, you don't have to go with me. It's my responsibility and–"

"No, no Harry. I'm going," said Ron quickly. "I'm just not looking forward to mum's reaction when I tell her. You remember when she and Sirius were shouting at each other over what to tell us about the Order that one time?"

Harry nodded, relieved that the mention of his godfather didn't hurt as bad now as it used to. Of course he would never forget the sight of him falling through the veil. Somewhere along the way to killing Voldemort, Harry was going to make sure Bellatrix paid for that and every other vile act she committed.

Ron pulled Harry back out of his thoughts of revenge. "Well that was nothing compared to how loud she can get. The time Fred and George turned my teddy bear into a giant spider…well all I can say is that I couldn't hear anything for the rest of the day, she yelled at them so loud."

"I guess we better get it over with then," Harry said giving Ron a push towards his parents. However before he could even open his mouth, Mrs. Weasley started talking.

"Harry, dear, as soon as you're sure that the protection is in place you come straight to the Burrow. I can't stand the thought of you spending the entire summer with those people. Of course, once you come of age the protection is over but staying there until your birthday is still a tad to long. Now I–"

"Molly honey, I think Harry and Ron have something to say," Mr. Weasley interrupted his wife. He must have seen the look on his son's face and realized that the two boys needed to get something off their chest.

"Well…I'm going…you see, Harry and I are…" Ron sputtered. Harry knew his friend was drowning and was about to throw him a line and help out when someone beat him to it. As if she apparated, Hermione appeared next to him and took Ron's arm into hers.

Ron looked gratefully at her, straightened up and turned back to his parents. "Mum, Dad. I'm not going home. Harry, Hermione, and I have something to do this summer."

Ginny stared into Harry's eyes. The pain behind her gaze made him look away. Mr. Weasley was frowning and slightly shaking his head. Mrs. Weasley however was completely expressionless. Ron, deciding if he was going to wet his toes he might as well take the plunge, continued.

"Also, even if Hogwarts opens next term, we probably won't be going back. At least not until we're done."

The three teens stood together waiting for the outburst. After a few minutes with no noise but the crowd around them, Mrs. Weasley did the one thing that made Harry seriously consider leaving Ron behind. She started crying. Looking at them for a second, she turned to her husband.

"Arthur, they can't…don't let them leave me," Mrs. Weasley wailed. Mr. Weasley wrapped his arms around her, patting her back.

"Molly, dear, I think it's something they have to do. Even if we tried to stop them, we can't. Hermione and Ron are already of age and Harry has less than a couple of months to go."

Harry turned away, not wanting to the see the woman who was the closest to a mother he had ever had. Surprisingly, only a few of the people passing by glanced over, the rest hurrying on. Watching the strained parents dragging their children through the barrier, Harry vowed right then and there that he would rid the world of Voldemort. Even if it meant his own life to do so.

"But where will you be going? Is it safe there?" Mrs. Weasley asked. Harry turned back around. When he saw her face, he did something he had never done before in his life. Ignoring the shocked look from the rest of the Weasleys and Hermione, Harry stepped forward and pulled Mrs. Weasley into a hug.

"Mrs. Weasley, you and your family have done more for me in the last six years than anyone else. You never cared that I was the boy-who-lived. Never cared about the danger that came from being associated with Harry Potter. You and Mr. Weasley are the closest people to parents that I have and you'll never know how grateful I am for that," said Harry, embarrassed.

He tried to pull away from Mrs. Weasley but she wouldn't let him. She clutched at him howling. Panicking Harry turned to Mr. Weasley for help but saw that he even had a few tears on his face. Thinking that he shouldn't have said that, Harry stammered, "I'm sorry."

"Sorry? For what dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked finally pulling away. She was smiling but he noticed it didn't reach her eyes. "I'm the one who should be apologizing. Hearing what you said made me a little emotional."

Harry looked up. "So, you're not mad?"

Both of the Weasley parents looked shocked but it was Mrs. Weasley who answered. "Mad? Harry, dear, if I was mad about anything it would be that you had to ask that question. Arthur and I have considered you a son for awhile now. Whenever anyone asks us how many children we have, we started answering with eight. Seven redheads and one with black hair."

His face flaming red, Harry managed to mutter thanks before being pulled into another hug, by both Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. When he let go and stepped back beside his friends he noticed that Hermione had tears streaking down her face and that Ron was smiling. Feeling better, Harry found Ginny's gaze. Her eyes were also wet and she looked like she was struggling. For what, he never found out because Mrs. Weasley still wasn't entirely convinced about them leaving on their own.

"Well?" she asked her hands on her hips. "I still want a few answers before I let my son run off to, Merlin knows where, with his two best friends. One who happens to be a girl."

"Really mum? You're going to let me go?" Ron asked hopefully. "You're not going to scream at all?"

Mrs. Weasley put her arms on Ron's shoulders, her face serious. "Ron, like you father said, you're already of age. Sometimes it's hard for me to realize that because I still see you as my youngest boy.

"When your father and I heard about you going after the Sorcerer's Stone with Hermione and Harry, it never sunk in what you lot accomplished that night. But when you brought back Ginny that night during your second year, bruised and covered with filth, was when we realized that you would stick by Harry's side when the time came."

Ginny's face paled when Mrs. Weasley mentioned the nightmare that had been the Chamber of Secrets. Harry wanted so badly do reach out and hold her but knew that he didn't dare. Once she was in his arms, the quest for the horcruxes would be over before it even began because he knew he wouldn't be able to leave her behind then. And he knew for certain that he didn't want her with them when they finally went after them. It was definitely too dangerous. Wishing that the monster in his chest would quit hurting so much Harry turned back to listen to Mrs. Weasley.

"…and now seeing you stand here, I can see how much you matured this past couple of years. That, combined with the fact that you three managed to fight twelve death eaters at the ministry and then hold you own against another group at Hogwarts, a week ago, is enough to prove that you can protect yourselves."

Finished, Mrs. Weasley stepped back. Once again, Mr. Weasley wrapped his arm around her while Ginny stood by them somehow looking miserable and beautiful at the same time. Then, for the third time, Mrs. Weasley repeated that she wanted to know where they were going.

Harry, after glancing at Ron and Hermione who nodded, answered. "We're going to stay with the Dursleys. Dumbledore wanted me to go back one last time. As soon as the blood protection has taken effect, probably two weeks or so, we were thinking about coming to the Burrow and waiting for the wedding. If that's alright?"

"Of course, dear, we'll be glad to have you," Mrs. Weasley said smiling, seemingly pleased with that answer but with a strange glint in her eye. Harry, who had become well accustomed to seeing that same glint in Ginny's eyes, knew what it meant. Mrs. Weasley was thinking that she would get a better answer sometime before the wedding. Harry decided to wait and deal with that when the time came.

"When I get to work tomorrow, I'll file the forms indicating that an adult wizard and witch are staying with you. That way you shouldn't get in trouble for underage magic," Mr. Weasley said. Harry was glad that his friend's dad had remembered. Another run in with the Minister of Magic was the last thing he wanted. He quickly thanked Mr. Weasley.

They stood on the side of the platform for another few minutes talking, while the crowd thinned out. Mr. Weasley pointed out that since it was already so late that they should get a couple of rooms at the Leaky Cauldron so they wouldn't bother the Dursleys by showing up in the middle of the night. Harry agreed, although he knew that his aunt and uncle would be furious upon seeing them no matter what time of day it was.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione said their goodbyes to everyone and watched as the Weasleys disappeared through the gateway. They stood in silence for a minute. Ron was the first to speak.

"Well that went better than I expected." Harry and Hermione both agreed. Then Ron turned to Harry. "Thanks, mate. I never would have thought of doing that."

"No problem, but what did I do?"

Ron looked as if Harry had gone crazy. "Well, for starters, how about getting Mum to see that I'm not a kid anymore. To think, all those times that she's gone mental on me I could have stopped it by telling her how I felt about her. But seriously Harry, that was bloody brilliant how you distracted her."

"Ronald Weasley!" Hermione screamed, aghast. "Do you honestly think that Harry opened up to your parents like that so your mum wouldn't get mad?"

All of the blood drained out of Ron's face when he realized that he had said the wrong thing. He almost flinched when he saw how angry Hermione was. Then to Harry's astonishment, instead of trying to apologize to Hermione, Ron opened his mouth even wider and stuck his other foot in.

"What? It worked, didn't it?"

Trying not to laugh, Harry walked to the barrier and walked through. Outside King's Cross Station, he thought about calling The Knight Bus, but immediately dismissed that idea. He didn't feel up to the fast, dizzying ride. Luckily, between him and Hermione, they had enough muggle money for a cab.

All the way to the Leaky Cauldron, Ron and Hermione bickered with each other in the back seat. At one point Harry caught the driver's eyes in the rear-view mirror and received a sympathetic nod. Finally they arrived at the wizard tavern and were relieved when Tom told them that he had a couple of rooms available. The only problem was when the barman flat out refused to charge Harry the full amount for the two rooms. After a few minutes of haggling, Harry finally got Tom to settle on him paying at least half price for each room.

After receiving the keys, Harry started climbing the stairs. All the way to the rooms, Ron and Hermione argued. He ignored them, only pausing long enough to give Hermione her key and say good night. He opened his and Ron's room, then tossed the key over his shoulder to Ron who was still disagreeing with the smartest witch of their age. Harry headed straight for the bed.

The last thing that went through his head before he fell asleep was the list of horcruxes he had to find and destroy.

...the locket…the cup…something of Gryffindor's or Ravenclaw's…the snake…Voldemort himself.