A/N: I am so, so, so sorry that it took over 3 months to update. But life has a way of screwing with my free time. School has been over for over a week now but work is getting kind of hectic with Memorial Day approaching. Hopefully it will not take another 3 months for the next chapter, and I will make sure of it. Thanks for all those who have reviewed during my short hiatus of sorts and I hope that you will all enjoy this chapter. Please don't forget to review.

Ch. 6: A Not So Sweet 15th

Harry walked into the Dumbledore's office after being woken up by Madam Pomfrey had gotten them up after their short nap, he and Ginny had taken after they had finished eating. She did not look happy at the fact that Ginny was out of her bed and in Harry's, but see did not say anything and just smiled softly as she told Harry that the Headmaster was waiting for him in his office.

As he walked through the empty halls of the castle, he began to think of the upcoming meeting with the Headmaster. He was not very happy at the man right now, and from his clenched fists, he knew it would be difficult to control his anger once again. He had already placed an extra barrier alongside the gates of his mind's castle to make sure that none of the meeting went to Ginny, who was still currently sleeping in the infirmary.

He walked up to the gargoyle that stood guard in front of the entrance to Dumbledore's office and gave the password. The gargoyle sprang to life and jumped to the side and the escalator type staircase wrapped itself up towards the door. He took his time walking up each step and once he reached the last stair, he rapped the door quickly and waited for the usual call of the Headmaster. Receiving the normal "Enter.", he opened the door and walked into the room. As he crossed over the threshold of the door, and closed it behind him, he noticed that the room had not changed from the last time he had been in it over a month ago when he had learned about the prophecy and his reaction had caused him to destroy multiple objects that sat on one of the desks that were around the room.

As he made his way to the armchair that sat in front of Dumbledore, he began to ponder why exactly the Headmaster had decided to hide his heritage from him. He kind of understood why Dumbledore had placed blocks on his magic, though he was far from forgiving the man. Harry thought that had he had all that power for his life, then very drastic things could have happened to either to him or to those around him, especially when he lost his temper.

Although this was going through his mind, he noticed the headmaster attempting to catch his eye. Harry knew at once what the professor was hoping to find in his eyes; the access to his mind. Little did the headmaster know, was that his mental shields were more than likely the best in Great Britain, if not the world. As calmly as he could, he turned his head away from where Fawkes sat on his perch, watching the upcoming exchange with rapt interest. The phoenix gave a trill in greeting and Harry responded with a nod and a slight wave, not wanting to be the first to break the silence.

He finally looked Dumbledore in the eye and suddenly felt the soft brushing of the professor's 'Legilimens' curse attempt to penetrate his shields. He smirked in triumph whenever he felt the professor pull from his mind without even attempting to try to tear down the huge stone slabs that blocked the road to his thoughts and memories. Harry suddenly came up with an idea that made the smirk that he had on the inside grow into a mischievous and almost malicious smile. He caught Dumbledore's eye and in his head, said 'Legilimens'. The reaction was perfect as he had caught the old professor off guard, but Harry pulled out before Dumbledore could even attempt to place his shields back up at full force.

This time, Harry allowed the smirk to show on his face that some turned to slight snickering at the look of utter surprise on the old professor's face. Harry simply could not resist as he leaned forward in his chair, and spoke to the headmaster.

"You know professor, you should close your mouth, I doubt that you would like it if any flies flew in there," Harry said, with his smirk turning into a grin as Dumbledore shook himself from his shock and focused back on Harry.

"Well done Harry, it seems that you have been keeping yourself busy since this summer," Dumbledore said with a slight chuckle escaping from his lips.

"In a way," Harry said, a mischievous glint in his emerald eyes. "Mustn't give away all my secrets now, should I?"

Dumbledore frowned when he heard that. He knew that the young man in front of him had somehow over come the block that he had created on his and Ginevra Weasley's soul-bond and he could not understand how they had become so close, so quickly. The thought of losing control of the once stable youth was somewhat frightening to the elder wizard, as he had felt how powerful Harry would become when he placed the blocks on the boy in his second year.

Harry continued to stare down the Headmaster, a smirk still shown on his face as he watched the warring emotions in the professor's eyes. They seemed to flash in anger one moment, then retreat into sadness, only to surge back in anger. Harry placed his shields to full just in case Dumbledore were to pull a 'Snape' like attempt at entering his mind. Voldemort had tried to enter his mind over the summer, and he had failed miserably, and that was with the Dark Lord attacking with fervor and anger, not gentleness. Harry knew that he could withstand almost any Legilimens that there was in, at least, Great Britain.

"Is there a reason why you called me up here, sir," Harry said, trying to keep the anger and sarcasm out of his voice. "Or did you just bring me up here in an attempt to isolate me in order to enter my mind?"

And then it happened, immediately after finishing his question, Harry felt the battering ram strike. He must be having a bad day or something, Harry thought to himself as he repelled the Headmaster's attacks. Harry handled the attack with little difficulty, which only seemed to make Dumbledore strike with all that he had. Seeing the opportunity for revenge, he slipped into the professor's mind, whose shields were nearly completely down, due to the furiousness of his mind assault, leaving him defenseless. Harry entered the mind of Dumbledore, and quickly searched through the man's memories, finally coming to the one that he was interested in.

Harry watched in rapt attention as he saw the Headmaster standing over his and Ginny's bodies. The Headmaster stood for some time until he withdrew his wand and seemed to create a ward around himself and the two beds, thus making sure that he was undisturbed during the blocking ritual. Some ten minutes later, the Headmaster's wand movements stopped and he slumped into the chair that was sitting behind him. After a few seconds of catching his breath, Dumbledore stood, removed the chair he had conjured, as well as the ward he had created and walked out of the hospital wing, a small smirk coming to his lips as the doors closed behind him.

Harry pulled roughly out of the professor's mind, causing the old man to stumble into his chair, as he had been standing since the initial assault began. Harry's eyes lit with rage and comprehension at the same time. Ginny and he had been sure it was Dumbledore who had caused the block, but they did not want to prove it. Harry now had the evidence they needed to find the source of the block. His body shook with rage as he attempted to restrain himself from attacking Dumbledore. There was a few minutes of silence as Harry fought for control of his rage, as he felt his magic leak out from his body and fill the room. Objects were shaking, the windows were cracked and in the hospital wing, Ginny woke up with a start, sitting up almost immediately.

"Why?" Harry asked in a hoarse whisper. "How could you do that to me, to us?"

He received no answer in reply, he stood suddenly, grabbed the chair that he had been sitting on and proceeded to launch it into a bookshelf that sat on the other side of the room. Fawkes trilled a soothing song, attempting to calm down the teenager, but it was to no avail, as Harry's face turned into a scowl that Snape would be impressed with. He looked down at the Headmaster's weakened state, and felt a touch of sadness and guilt for the man.

At the same moment, he felt Ginny enter his mind as he finally started to calm down. Her presence, either in person, or in his mind, was enough for Harry to calm his nerves and help him control his emotions.

Harry? Is everything alright, where are you? Ginny asked through their mind-link.

Well, it would be fine, if I hadn't just found out that the man that I thought of as a mentor, was the one who placed the blocks on us. Harry thought back, hearing Ginny's mental gasp of horror, then the rage that filled her body. Calm down Gin, I'll take care of it, I already ripped the memory from his mind after he tried to use Legilimency on me.

He felt Ginny leave the hospital wing and start her way up to the Headmaster's office while Harry continued to talk to the Headmaster, who seemed to finally shake himself from his shock of what Harry had been able to pull out of his mind. Dumbledore was not going to allow Harry to continue any further with what he had been able to unlock. He stood to his feet, his wand pointed at the young man. A spell shot out of his wand towards Harry, who seemed to have not noticed the quick movement of the Headmaster. At the last second as the spell was inches away from Harry, a golden shield surrounded the boy and the spell bounced off it harmlessly.

Harry turned to face the man, and a smirk settled on his face after seeing the, once again, shocked face of the Headmaster. "Did you seriously think it would be that easy, sir?" Harry mocked the Headmaster by keeping the smirk on his face, a glint of mischief and amusement in his eyes. He felt Ginny getting closer to the office and turned to leave when a spell buzzed past his shoulder and hit the door. A number of locks seemed to click, effectively locking Harry and Dumbledore in the office.

"I am afraid that I cannot allow you to leave just yet, Mr. Potter," the Headmaster said as he walked around his desk, making sure to keep Harry in his sights. He stopped as he came within ten feet from the teenager. He finally realized that Harry had yet to draw his wand and that he had been able to cast the shield charm without the use of a wand. This surely proved that the boy had been able to break the blocks that he had placed on his magic.

"I see you are trying to figure out how I was able to break through the blocks that you unlawfully put on my magic," Harry said, using a slight trick he had learned from Godric's knowledge. "Let's just say that an ancestor helped me out, one that you probably did not know about."

"What?!" Dumbledore nearly screamed, Harry had finally broken through to the man and now he could tell that a fight was bound to break out at any second. "None of your ancestors are alive, who helped you?"

Harry just laughed, he found the old Headmaster throwing a temper tantrum to be very amusing. It was apparent that the old man was not happy when he was not in the loop on things about him, or anything around him. He thought about telling the man that he was the owner of the castle that he stood in, but thought better of it. Of course, Godric had let him know, that because he was the only heir known of, besides that of Tom Riddle being Slytherin's heir, that he had control of the school.

He turned to leave once again, but stopped at the door, where he raised his hand and slid it down the door, the locks clicked once more to prove they had unlocked and he opened the door. Before walking through the threshold, he turned to the Headmaster. "I believe we will continue this talk when we have both calmed down a little bit," Harry said, looking at the Headmaster critically. "Shall we meet again in a couple weeks, before school begins?"

Dumbledore's anger seemed to cool as Harry spoke calmly. He seemed to think for a short while before replying. "Yes, I agree. I believe that we should take a couple of weeks to think over all of this, and we can meet in a couple of weeks to discuss our plans for the following school year."

"That is fine with me Headmaster, I shall see you in a fortnight," Harry said, walking through the door, and shutting it behind him.

Harry woke up early, a week after his meeting with Dumbledore, and headed downstairs to exercise and help Mrs. Weasley out with breakfast. It was Ginny's birthday today, and he had spent some time over the week since the two of them had awakened trying to find something that she would love. Of course, this was easier said then done, considering with the link that the two of them had it was very difficult to keep something secret from the other.

He made his way outside and began his running regiment that he had started a few weeks into the summer holidays. As he ran around, he thought upon the past week, since returning to the Burrow. It had been slow at first, with the Weasley's still trying to figure out what had happened to the new couple. Harry and Ginny had told them that they were unsure of what had happened during their dance together.

It had been later that night, after the elder Weasleys had gone to bed that Ginny's brothers approached Harry. Of course, Ginny had warned him that this would be coming and she had said that she would not help him unless things started to get nasty. This seemed to make the twins, and the two older brothers to back away and accept the fact that they were dating. Though they did seem to be happy for the new couple.

It was Ron that seemed to have a problem with Harry and Ginny's new relationship. Neither Harry, nor Ginny, could understand Ron's seeming jealously of their relationship. Harry figured that it was because that he still believed that Hermione was with Krum, because of what happened during the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Though, Hermione seemed to stay with Ron a lot, so he immediately released that possible scenario.

Harry was puzzled by his best mate's seeming hatred of their relationship. Of course, they had yet to tell anyone about what had really occurred on the night of his 16th birthday. He was sure that all of the Weasley's would freak out and probably try to tear them apart, though the thought of that actually happening, seemed highly unlikely. He was sure that Dumbledore had put two and two together and figured out that Ginny and he were now bonded. Though he did not know of the abilities that both teenagers now had because of this.

The rest of the week was uneventful, with no sign of Voldemort or his Death Eaters prowling in Great Britain. The Weasley's, Harry, and Hermione fell into a relaxed nature at the Burrow as the summer holidays slowly started to come to an end.

Harry's musings were cut short as he stepped through the kitchen door, where he found a wide awake Mrs. Weasley who was standing at the stove, and from the looks of things, had just started to cook breakfast. He closed the door, making sure that she heard him enter, and sure enough, she turned around and smiled at him.

"Good morning, Harry," Mrs. Weasley said, as she came over and gave the young man one of her patented rib-cracking hugs. "Did you have a good workout today?"

"Yes, I sure did," Harry said, returning the hug. "Nothing like a relaxing run across the grounds to awaken one's self during a beautiful day such as this."

Mrs. Weasley smiled at him as she gathered some eggs, bacon, sausage and toast onto a plate and sat it in front of Harry. He looked up from his seat at the table and flashed her a smile in thanks while pouring himself a glass of juice before digging into the food ravenously. After finishing his plate, he drank the rest of his juice, placed the used dishes in the sink and walked over to the stove and began to fix breakfast for his girlfriend, or would 'wife' be more appropriate, Harry thought to himself as he cooked the same breakfast as Mrs. Weasley had for him. He added a muffin to the plate, and picked up the flowers that he found in the garden. He placed the plate, and the vase of flowers onto a tray and walked up to Ginny's room as he felt, through their bond, that Ginny was waking up.

The other residents of the house had already made their way downstairs as Harry was beginning to walk up the stairs. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley shared a knowing smile as Harry exited the kitchen. While the boys looked at each other in confusion, wondering why Harry had carried, what they thought was his breakfast, up the stairs and out of the kitchen.

Harry carefully opened the door to Ginny's room and entered, softly closing the door behind him. He sat the tray of food carefully on the desk that sat near her window and quietly made his way to her side, where she lay still, asleep. He climbed into bed with her and softly placed a kiss on her lips, causing a sigh to come from her lips, as well as a smile to appear. Harry chuckled softly, and kissed her a little harder. He felt her respond and begin to kiss him back, but he knew that she was still asleep. He pulled away after a while and continued to look at her as she slept. As if feeling his eyes on her, Harry felt her start to awaken.

Good morning love, and happy birthday. Harry said through their mind-link. Ginny smiled back at him as she finally opened her eyes and looked into his emerald green eyes.

Good morning to you too. What time is it? She asked him, keeping with staying quiet and talking with mind-speak.

It's around 9:30, I told your mum that you deserved a little of a lie-in today because it was your birthday. Harry said, while getting up from the bed. This caused Ginny to moan and pout at him, but that soon went away when she saw what he had done for her.

Breakfast in bed? Really? She asked him, and he smiled one of his crooked smiles that always made her heart seem to melt. How sweet of you, love.

He sat the tray across her lap, as she sat up in order to eat. He then sat down next to her and simply watched her eat. He chuckled lightly when he saw, and felt through their link, the blush on her face as he sent her thoughts of his love for her and how much he cared for her. It warmed her heart to feel these feelings come from him, it was sometimes hard to believe that he could ever be in love with her. The Boy-Who-Lived falling for someone as plain as her, who would have thought it. She looked over at Harry who must have picked up on these thoughts, causing her to blush in shame and duck her head.

Harry leaned over to her and placed two fingers under her chin, slowly moving her head so that she was looking him in the eye. I love you. Never let anyone tell you anything different. With this bond that we have, I cannot hide anything from you and vice versa. And I can easily tell you that I will always love you, no matter what. He spoke fiercely, but passionately, to her through their bond. I love you, Ginevra Potter.

What was left of on the breakfast tray was nearly toppled over as Ginny jumped on Harry and hugged him tightly, tears running freely down her cheeks. I'm so sorry, Harry. I love you, too. And I always will.

"I know you will, Gin." Harry whispered into her ear as he kept hold of her as she cried out in relief that he was not mad at her and for the fact that he truly loved her. After a few minutes, Ginny got control of herself and leaned out of the hug, before leaning back in and lightly kissing Harry on the lips before getting out of bed.

"I'll go take the tray downstairs while you get ready," Harry said as he picked up the tray and leaned in and returned the small kiss before heading towards the door.

"Thanks again, love, for breakfast, and for being here for me." Ginny said, with a small blush, which caused Harry to snicker. He replied by blowing her a kiss and walking out the door and back down the stairs to see if any help was needed for the party that the Weasley's were hosting for Ginny's 15th birthday.

After breakfast was finished by all those in the house, and once the birthday girl had finally gotten out of bed. The lot of them, besides Mrs. Weasley, who was preparing for a lovely feast in honor of her only daughter's birthday. When the Weasley children, Hermione, and Harry walked out of the kitchen to play a game of Quidditch, Harry swore he heard Mrs. Weasley muttering something about her little girl growing up. He could not help but smile as they left the house, and walked towards the broom shed where they took out their brooms and set towards the paddock.

The teams were much as they were at Harry's party, but there were no adults there yet so they had to maneuver the teams around a little bit. Ginny and Bill were captains, in which Ginny was allowed to pick first. The teams were: Ginny, Harry, Ron, George vs. Bill, Charlie, Fred, and surprisingly Arthur, who admitted to have played for a couple years as Chaser at Hogwarts.

Harry and Charlie were once again the Seekers, Ron and Bill played Keeper, and Ginny, George, Fred, and Arthur were Chasers. The game started quickly with Ginny and George scoring twice a piece, to take a quick 40-0 lead. Bill seemed to be a little bit rusty since a couple of weeks ago, as Ginny and George continued to score on nearly every shot that they took. The score eventually got to be 70-10, and finally Bill's team called for a time-out.

Bill's team quickly focused on a strategy, after the time-out that included Charlie playing as both Seeker and Chaser, hoping that the 3-on-2 advantage would lead to a quick come back. And sure enough, within 20 minutes after the time-out, Bill's team was only 10 points behind, 80-70. Another five minutes later and Bill's team had taken their first lead, 90-80.

The action was intense, but friendly, as the Weasley family battled it out for bragging rights. Another 30 minutes later showed the score being, 150-150. Both Charlie and Harry were taking turns in being Chasers, which caused being able to find the Snitch a lot more difficult then in a normal game. Just as Ginny scored another goal, giving her team a one goal lead, 160-150, she saw Harry and Charlie racing around the paddock, in an apparent race for the Snitch.

What none of them knew, except for Harry, was that he was Feinting, hoping to be able to shake Charlie off his tail and be able to find the Snitch before he could recover. Harry pulled out of his dive close to the ground, and was glad to see that Charlie was forced to abandon his broom as he landed softly on the ground, having stopped a little to quickly for his Cleansweep. As he pulled back into the air after his dive, Harry saw a glint of gold shining near Bill's head. He pushed his Firebolt to full speed as he charged his way down the field at an impressive rate of speed. Charlie was far behind him as he made his way towards the golden ball. Sensing the Seeker, the ball began its evasive maneuvers in order to avoid being caught, but it did not matter, as it had started to move, Harry was right on top of it and easily caught the Snitch in his hands.

The next moment, as Harry's hand grasped the ball, a loud scream filled the air around the paddock, as Ginny fell from her broom. She had been intent on watching Harry chase after the Snitch and had been hit in the head by a hard pass from George, thinking that she was paying attention to the other Chasers, and not Harry. The sudden impact, and the pain that came with it, threw her into a shocked state, as she slipped from her seated position on the broom, and began to fall off. She attempted to grab hold of the broom but it slipped from her hand and she began to free-fall to the ground.

Harry, hearing the scream, as well as the sudden scream from within his mind and the sudden feeling of pain and panic caused Harry to quickly release the Snitch and turned on a dime, streaking past a shocked Weasley brother and attempting to catch her before she crashed to the ground from over 500 feet in the air. He pushed the Firebolt to its maximum speed and dived towards the ground hard, in an attempt to increase his speed in order to catch his falling soul-mate.

'Come on, faster,' yelled Harry in his mind, as he got closer to Ginny's location. He noticed that Ginny, by now, had stopped flailing her arms around, knowing that Harry was going to attempt to catch her, and was allowing the laws of gravity pull her down to the hard earth below her. He noticed how low she was getting and urged the broom even faster. He clenched his knees together as they met and Harry quickly wrapped his arms around her waist. To the Weasley brothers, the amount of time between Harry's catch and Harry catching Ginny was only around 10 seconds.

Unfortunately, the speed in which both Harry and Ginny were going caused Harry's broom to tilt downward, forcing both of them off the broom and to continue down the final 15 feet to the ground. Though somehow, before hitting the ground, Harry was able to toss a wandless Cushioning Charm on the ground below them, and they hit the ground, with Harry hitting the ground, and Ginny falling on top of him.

Ginny groaned, as she placed a hand on the back of her head, where the Quaffle had hit her, and looked over to see Harry beginning to sit up. She noticed that the ground was soft, not hard as she thought it would have been. She looked questioningly at Harry who in turn smirked smugly and said through their mind-link, Cushioning Charm, love, are you alright?

Doing quite well, besides the fact that it feels like my brain is trying to escape its confinement from within my skull.

Harry chuckled softly and leaned over, kissing the spot that she had been rubbing lightly. He finally got to his feet and extended a hand to help her, a small smile on his face as he heard her brothers finally land on the ground, and the sound of the back door being opened sounded in the distance. It seemed that more than her brothers had seen the events that had just taken place. She smiled back at him as she took his hand and after she had gotten to her feet, she stepped on her tiptoes and placed a kiss on his cheek and sent feelings of thanks and reassurance as she felt he was still somewhat worried about her. They made their way back towards the Burrow when Mrs. Weasley seemed to have been shot out of a cannon and barreled into the two of them nearly crushing many of their ribs and causing them to be short of breath for a few seconds before she let them go and pulled Ginny into the house. Harry followed after the two Weasley women and was followed by Ginny's brothers who kept thanking him, he would respond by smiling at them and shaking his head, dismissing the thanks.

As they made it back inside, Harry stayed outside for a few minutes, thanking whatever deity was out there that had made it possible for him to get to know Ginny and the rest of the Weasleys. They were his true family now, along with Remus and a few other Order members. He would never consider the Dursleys as family nor would he see Number 4 Privet Drive as his home. No, his true home was Hogwarts and the Burrow. The two places he truly belonged, with people who cared for him and loved him. As his thoughts were mulling these thoughts over, he heard the back door open once more and saw Charlie stick his head out of the door and said that Ginny was asking for him. He walked inside and went to see what his wife needed.

The rest of the day had been full of setting up for the birthday party that was happening that night. Everyone started to arrive around 5pm and the party finally started an hour later. Ginny had already opened her many gifts from family members, Order member, and her friends. Though the only present that was missing, or seemed to be missing, was Harry's. Who when asked about it gave her a mysterious smile and said that she would be getting it after the party was over.

Currently, everyone was eating dinner and was just about ready to serve the giant cake that Mrs. Weasley had fixed for her only daughter's fifteenth birthday. Ron, Hermione, Luna, Neville, Ginny, and Harry all sat together at one table. With a mix of other Weasleys, Order members, and professors scattered about the other multiple tables that were set up in the back yard of the Burrow. Eventually, after everyone was finished eating, Ginny's parents brought out the cake, which was designed in the form of a Quaffle, due to their daughter's Quidditch position. Everyone began singing "Happy Birthday!" While the twins set off a set of their new fireworks that formed a message into the night sky, "Happy Birthday, Gin-Gin!" Of course, the twins paid dearly for that with a double Bat-Bogey hex that no one had seen coming. Though it had been one from both Harry and Ginny, in which Ginny gave Harry a beaming smile for helping her out and kissed his cheek in thanks, while everyone was laughing at the twins' torture.

Harry stood up, removing his arms from around Ginny's waist, who groaned in protest and pouting slightly, though she brighten when he placed a kiss on the top of her head, and told her that he was going to talk with some of the others for a little bit, promising to return soon. He walked around the different tables that surrounded the one that he had just left. He saw that his professors, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Flitwick, and Snape were all located at one table conversing lightly about what sounded like the upcoming school year. Though, when he walked by, he saw Dumbledore looked up at him and nodded to him. He and the headmaster had been on strained terms ever since they had their meeting after his and Ginny's soul-bonding. He hoped that they could come to terms when they met next week.

He continued to scour the tables and came upon a table full of Order members, Tonks, Remus, Moody, Kingsley, and Mr. Weasley, were all discussing things about the war, and how the Ministry was doing a poor job of keeping hold of Death Eaters and how it seemed that Fudge was allowing some of Voldemort's most loyal followers into some of the higher positions within the Ministry itself. Harry also saw tables that contained some of Ginny's friends, and some of her classmates as well. The congregation was almost double of the amount that the Order had allowed for Harry's birthday.

Harry made his way through the rest of the party tables, stopping every so often to talk to someone he knew. After a while, he made his way to the front yard of the Burrow, where he found that much of the noise from the birthday party was drowned out by the lob-sided structure at his back. He sat on the stoop by the front door, pondering over the last few weeks of his life. First the death of his Godfather, because of his stupidity. Then, his trip to Gringotts, where he found out about his parents and Godfather's wills and learned that he was stinking rich. But that was not all that he learned while he was there. He found out about his magical core being bonded and that he had a soul-bond to Ginny. Finally, was the unlocking of his core and of the soul-bond between him and Ginny.

As he sat there on the steps of one of the places that he truly called home, on a warm August night, he could not help but smile. He had a family that loved him, a girlfriend who loved him, not because of his fame, or his money, but because of who he was, not the Boy-Who-Lived, but just Harry. But as these thoughts entered his mind, he felt a chilling cold breach the warm night. He looked up into the sky, wondering just what would dare breach such a beautiful night, and hoping that it was not the idea that he had in his mind. Sure enough, his hopes were not answered, because floating in the sky, in the direction of the Burrow, were a group of Dementors, numbering close to 100.

He found himself oddly relaxed as he stood to his feet, though a rough growl escaped his lips in anger at Voldemort for having this night interrupted. He removed his wand from his forearm holster and waited for the inevitable. He raised his wand to his throat and muttered "Sonorus", and he turned around to face the backyard.

"Anyone who can produce a Patronus Charm get to the front yard immediately, all others should get inside the Burrow now!" Harry's voice echoed throughout the Burrow's property. He murmured "Quietus".

He heard the yells come from the group in the back and heard numerous loud cracks as it seemed that some of the crowd had left, whether it was to get others or to flee back home he didn't know. Harry watched as the dementors seemed to block out the falling sun, making it seem even darker than it truly was. And he was aware of the slight scream that was starting to fill his mind, even with his Occlumency shields up, which was not a good sign. Most of the party guests finally started to make their way to the front yard, many gasping or muttering a curse as they saw the billowing midnight black cloaks of the dementors in the distance. Ginny, Ron, and Hermione took a place slightly behind Harry, though Ginny was closest to him. The professors lined up behind the four teens with the rest of the Weasley family and numerous Order members behind them.

Harry raised his wand in his right hand, everyone else following him as a total of 20 or more wands pointed towards the oncoming dark creatures. Harry closed his eyes as the screaming of his mother got louder, he focused his mind on Ginny, what he loved about her and all the great memories that they had had together. When he thought he was ready, he opened his eyes. He raised his left hand, and slowly counted down from five. Everyone caught on to what was happening and began to quickly prepare themselves. The dementors were only a few hundred yards away and were coming fast. Harry's count hit zero, and there was a deafening cry of 'Expecto Patronum' that came from those defending the Burrow.

Fifteen Patroni came flying out of the dark, with the stag Patronus from Harry leading the pact with Ginny's doe Patronus charm. The rest of the animals were unclear to see as the brightness of them all seemed to blind them all. The two deer charged the dementors, the stag hitting the first few with its antlers and the doe rammed them as well. The other protectors seemed to corral all of the dementors into the path of the stag and doe as it seemed that these two were the strongest of the protectors.

Suddenly, a horrifying screech filled the air as one of the stag's antlers speared through the dementor, causing a hole to be placed through where its heart would be if it were truly human. Harry seeing this, reached into some of the knowledge that Godric had found out about Dementors and the research that he and the other founders had about destroying them. They said that bright light would scare them away, that the brightness of the protector emitted happy emotions, ones that the Dementors could not feed on, causing them to flee.

With this thought in mind, he released the charm and steadied himself for the amount of power he was about to put into this spell. He told everyone to release their charms as well, which everyone gave him a funny look at first before everyone did so. Harry raised his wand as the Dementors were able to regroup and charge once more. But before they could get to close, Harry raised his wand and shouted 'Expecto Incendio Patronum!' His wand glowed a deep red before the glow turned into a blazing fire that shot from his wand. Very slowly it took its form of a stag, but instead of the silvery blue color that Patronus's usually have. This one was a dark red, and was surrounded by fire that wrapped around its entire being. It crashed into the remaining Dementors and the screeches that filled the air sent shivers down the spines of the party guests who were fighting, as well as the ones that had stayed in the Burrow. It only took a couple of minutes for the screams of the Dementors to die off, but the stench of burning cloaks and whatever was truly inside those cloaks filled the air, as well as the ash from the burnt cloaks.

The stag made its way back towards the group and bowed his head towards Harry, who instinctively returned the bow before releasing the charm. After the spell was broken, Harry stumbled and fell to one knee as the two Patroni he had cast had taken quite a bit out of him, and the fact that he or Ginny had regained all of their magic due to the forming of the soul-bonding and releasing all of the blocks on their magic had already limited the amount of reserves they had left, and with barely any magical reserves left, it would take at least two weeks for the witch or wizard to be back up to normal levels if they were using simple magic and not many advanced spells.

Harry shakily got to his feet before nearly passing out, only to be caught by those behind him, who gently took the teen into the house where the Headmaster fire-called Madam Pomfrey and asked if she were available to check on Harry to see if there was any way of helping whatever seemed to be wrong with him. And with the threat gone, most of the party group went back to their homes to be with their families and to warn them of the coming threat that was closer than many believed to be on its way.

A/N: Alright, well, the story should be making its way to the Hogwarts Express in Chapter 7 and will have the opening feast probably occuring in Chapter 8. Just have to figure out if I am going to deal with the Horcrux story line or not. Which will mean if Slughorn is in this fic, or trying to come up with a new DADA teacher. I might post a poll asking if readers would enjoy the Horcrux story line, or if it should be something off-canon. Again, don't forget to review. And thanks for reading.