Disclaimer: Don't Own Harry Potter

Scenario: Canon until Ron decides to leave. Then, take it as though Harry said " Hold on a minute. Let's try to talk this out" t, but in the end, everyone's pissed. I purposely hold out on that dialogue for later, so keep in mind that something DID happen before the start of this story that is immediately relevant and completely in this story.

A/N: This is an edited chapter. Mostly, this is because I think that some people got the scenario wrong, and they were wondering what in the world is going on here.

Prologue: You Got Lucky

" Leave then. Go. And don't look back. Either of you,", Harry shouted as both of his 'friends' declared that they were leaving him. Hermione looked apologetic, but Harry wouldn't hear any of it, " Me or him. Make the choice. NOW!"

Ron looked angry, but Harry ignored him. Hermione protested, " Harry, that isn't fair. You can't force me…."

He cut her off, " Damn right I can! This is MY quest! This is my journey. MY LIFE! Not yours. I didn't force you to come, and I damn sure won't force you to stay. In fact, I told you not to come. But you wouldn't listen."

Wands whipped out, and quickly, Ron fell to the floor stunned. Harry was too fast for him, and his shield charm prevented Hermione from retaliating. " Go. Now. But remember, you got lucky."

Hermione shrieked, " What do you mean I got lucky?"

" You got lucky, when I found you, girl. Otherwise, you wouldn't have any friends at all,", Harry said with a laugh at the look on her face, " I hope he works out for you. Especially once you remember what you've lost today. Now go. And don't you ever dare come crawling back either. If you do, I will kill you." Harry hissed out, pure vehemence and venom leaking out into every word. He watched the tears falling down her face, but he didn't care. He was beyond tears at this point. If anything, they only made him angrier. His expression had changed from just anger, as it had when Ron had announced his intentions, to pure hatred. This time, there was no turning back. He didn't care anymore.

He watched, wand pointed straight at her chest, a reductor curse on his lips, as she dragged Ron from the tent. Harry sneered, " Don't let the Dark Lord catch you on the way out!"

He vaguely heard, " Fuck You,", in the distance. He turned back and heard a ringing noise coming from the trunk where Hermione kept her stuff. He cracked it open, pulled out the copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a strange looking pen, and a book that said, Rune Reader. The buzzing continued, so he rummaged around until he found a small locket not that much unlike the one that he was now wearing. He opened it, and Albus Dumbledore was winking at him.

Harry pulled out his wand to blast it, but the locket spoke, " Don't Harry, I am aware of my crimes and are atoning for them as is. I can only help you now."

" Speak now, or hold your pieces old man." Harry hissed at Dumbledore. The Dumbledore flinched a little, " What happened?"

" Those fools just walked out on me."

" You mean, Ron and Hermione?"

" Yes."

" Their misfortune."

Harry fell backward a little at that remark. He had expected the old fool to tell him to go find them and bring them back, but instead he muttered, " They'll get theirs when the time comes, Harry, but that time is not now. I sent Ms. Granger a little unofficial inheritance that was actually meant for you, but I see that she never gave it to you. The book is called Rune Reader. It contains instructions on how to become a Rune Reader, one of the most powerful, yet unusually common, branches of magic in the world."

" I'm guessing it is also needlessly complex?" Harry sighed as he opened the book. Dumbledore replied, " Actually, it isn't. There is more in this Forest than you may think. I knew you would head for the Forest of Dean, because I remembered Ms Granger saying something about going there on a vacation. That forest is actually a very sacred place."

Harry listened, " There are five Places of Power scattered throughout the Forest of Dean. These places were placed by the ancient Druids as a way to preserve their powers of Rune Sight. The Druids knew that there was far more that you could do with runes than with a wand or a staff. So they hid the power to create your own runes away, and the power to read them as they were meant to be read. Open the book Harry."

Harry opened the book, and the first passage read, "Read the lines that no one reads. They are written everywhere. In the forest of the Ancient Magics, one can find the language of the Runes. Only there, is the key to becoming a Reader of the Runes."

Harry sighed angrily, because he couldn't read anymore of the book, it was all in ancient runes. He angrily whispered, " I wish Ron hadn't talked me out of taking Ancient Runes back in third year. Remind me to make him pay."

" Those runes are so ancient that I doubt even Merlin could read them if he didn't go through the ritual. What's more, is that I can't tell you what they say either, it would destroy my portrait, and I need Severus to 'arrange' for you to stay with him."

Harry raged, " That slimy bastard? You would have me stay with a known Death Eater?"

" Calm down Harry. Snape has, and always will be, on our side. And I cannot lie. He is performing a task for me as we speak that involves a certain wand and the death of a boy named Draco."

" That wouldn't happen to be the Elder Wand would it?"

Dumbledore smiled, " I knew I should have let the Hat sort you into Slytherin. He was quite insistent you know, even after you begged it to send you to Gryffindor. Anyway, in that book, is a map that shows the location of the first Place of Power. After you find it, and gain the power of Runic Creation from it, it will reveal the second place, which will give you the power of Runic Defense, and so on."

Harry pulled out the pen, " So, what does this pen do?"

" That is a Calligraphy pen. A blood calligraphy pen at that. You will have to use it to write runes. Blood Runes are the most powerful of all runes. Once you have gained the Runic Writing power, I will tell you more on how to use it, but for now, it is useless, save as a Blood Quill. Well, I hear Severus coming back, so I need to say Ta-Ta!"

Harry closed the locket, feeling like he had just learned more from Dumbledore in about five minutes than he had for six damn years, if you don't count that junk about Riddle's past. He gazed at the map, and was surprised to notice that the first Place of Power was a five minute walk from his current location. He strapped his jacket on, and walked out into the cool, autumn air.

He watched the path that seemed to unfold out in front of him carefully. Wouldn't be nice for something to leap out at him would it? After five minutes, he saw what looked like an arch. It said something in runes, that he couldn't read. Great. Probably a warning, and I can't read it because I don't have Rune Reading.

But nothing attacked him as he passed under the arch way. Instead, he noticed that the place of power looked kind of like the Department of Mysteries Death Room. The majority of the clearing was taken up by a giant arch way, but this curtain was like an all-seeing eye. A passage was engraved on stone beneath it. Speak the Words. Gain the Power.

Harry racked his brains, but the only thing that kept popping up were the opening lines of the book. " Read the Lines that no one reads. They are written everywhere."

At the calling, the archway glimmered, and pulled him towards it. He felt an urging to close his eyes. The light burned into his closed eyes, burning through it, feeling like it was trying to blind him. He felt power tingling in his arms as the light grew brighter and brighter, and a voice whispered, " You have been found worthy, mortal. Do not fail us."

Suddenly, the light was gone, and he felt more powerful. A small rune floated next to his head, he had no idea what it meant, but it looked like an infinity symbol, an laying down eight. He pulled out the map, and to his frustration, saw that the next Place of Power was way out there, almost two days walking away from his current location. And as much as he would have liked to have Apparated there, he was suspicious of the potential defenses of the Places. So he returned to his campsite.

After running the usual detection and concealment charms, Harry entered the tent, and cracked Dumbledore's locket open. Funny how Dumbledore always seemed to know when to show up, because he had just reappeared. He smiled at the circling rune, " Well done, I'm guessing you are camped not far from the actual Place?"

Harry voiced his concerns, " Dumbledore, no I wasn't. I have learned, that there is no such thing as a coincidence. Is it possible that Hermione was going to try this? Because it was by her suggestion that we camped here, and she wanted us to move towards the area of the Second Place of Power."

" I would have no idea, Harry. But I assure you, I had nothing to do with the scheming of your so-called friends, in either life or death. Contrary to popular belief, I had absolutely no schemes to take your money, to have you marry Ginny Weasley, or for you to be a sacrifice. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to discover the method I now choose in enough time to implement before my death. But I am sorry my boy, I had thought that the only way to kill the Dark Lord would be to have you die first."

Harry blazed in anger for a brief moment, but asked, " So what is this new method?"

" A runic ritual that will require you to become a Rune Reader. This ritual will handle the horcruxes, so you don't need any of them besides the one that you have right now to act as a catalyst. By the way, don't try to apparate to any of the sites. It will cause the quest to fail, and know that none of your powers are permanent until you complete the whole quest. Enough of that, though, it appears that you have quite the trip tomorrow, so get some sleep."

A/N: As stated above, not a super power Harry. He does get training for this, and it isn't a unique only to him power either.

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