Introduction

Please read before continuing to the story.

This is now my third and hopefully final attempt at this story, the first three chapter have been up before and are still very much the same as before with a few improvements here and there.

Warnings for the story:

1. Ron Bashing - I hate the character and he will not be portrayed in good light in any of my stories, if you like the character I would advise that you give my stories a miss.

2. Weasley Bashing - Not to the same extent as Ron and they will be redeemed (to an extent) before the trilogy is over.

3. H/Hr Romance – It's going to happen and I will not be making it a threesome or a harem, so far this is the only pairing set in stone.

4. Manipulative Dumbledore – He will be bashed but he won't be evil, I like a Dumbledore that can only see his outcome as being right.

5. Severus and Draco Bashing - I don't like either character and I believe they both got off lightly in canon, I also don't buy into either actually being good guys.

– Mainly Hermione as I'll have her actually questioning Dumbledore's decisions, there will be a reason for this but not for a long time.

Also one last thing, please try to forgive my bad spelling, I know I could get a beta but I'd rather do my work myself.

Also I plan to update on Sundays, It will probably not be every Sunday but if I do have anything to upload it will be that day only.

ooO~Ooo

Chapter I

Plans at Privet Drive

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but I wish I did, sadly I don't except in my dreams.

The Seventeen year old Harry Potter laid upon his his bed at number four Privet Drive, unsurprisingly after everything that had happened recently his mind was going a mile a minute.

Two weeks ago had been the funeral of one Albus Dumbledore and it was fair to say Harry still hadn't gotten over the aged man's death, sorry and despair had already come and gone and all that remained was sadness and anger.

Harry's anger was directed at the task Dumbledore had left him, He had been given the job of hunting down Horcruxes or more specifically Tom Riddle's Horcruxes, Harry mentally checked his list, knowing he had already destroyed one back in his second year was a positive and that Dumbledore had destroyed one was uplifting but after having only found a fake on the mission he and Dumbledore had been on it did put a damper on his spirits.

If the really Locket was destroyed then that was definitely a plus for the good guys and Harry really wanted to shake the hand of whoever struck a blow to Voldemort, no the problem was he now had to track down whoever R.A.B was and find out if he had been successful, on top of all that there were still four other Horcruxes out there and he only had leads on two of those.

Harry sat up and continued to think,

"Hufflepuff's cup, no idea where that could be, a trip to Hogwarts might be on the cards after all,

Nagini is definitely a most certainty, Going to have to leave her to last sadly,

Dumbledore mentioned Hogwarts founders artefacts, other that Gryffindor's sword I can't think of any...perhaps I should have read Hogwarts a History...better not say that out loud Hermione will never let me live it down,

Two possibilities, one I know where it will be the other I have no idea, and the other two I have no idea what they could be...How does Dumbledore expect me to do this?" Harry groaned in annoyance.

Harry hated to admit it but he didn't have much of a plan at the moment, he planned to leave for Grimmuald place right after the Bill and Fleur's wedding but after that he was ashamed to admit that he had no idea what to do from then on,

Harry looked over at the empty bird cage, absently wondering where Hedwig might be at this moment, perhaps she was on her way back fro the Weasley's or something, he had only had one letter so far over the entire summer and that had been from the Weasleys, wishing him well and reminding him about the wedding,

Harry was actually looking forward to the wedding as he had never been to one before and had only seen them on TV before,

However going to the Burrow meant he would have to see his now ex-girlfriend sooner or later, Ginny was another problem that constantly niggled at his mind,

He remembered her final words to him at the funeral, "I knew you wouldn't be happy unless you were off fighting him", This one sentence bugged the hell out of him,

"Does that girl really not know me at all, anyone who knows me knows I hate being the centre of all this...Ginny SHOULD know me better than this...Maybe she never got over the boy-who-lived rubbish...No it can't be that I mean she stopped being all shy and everything around me...True but other than snogging we never talked or anything...I don't know, maybe but we have plenty in common...like...Quidditch and...err...we're both Gryffindors...Struggling I see...who asked you...oh crap I'm arguing with myself"

Harry sighed again in annoyance, He hated to think it but his relationship with Ginny had been little more than kissing, He honestly did care about the girl but he couldn't open up to her like he had been able to with Hermione or Sirius, he just couldn't bring himself to tell her stuff and Ginny never asked so he had let it lie,

He wondered briefly what he would do when he crossed paths with her again,

He yawned loudly, as tired as he was he doubted he'd get much sleep, amazingly enough he was unconscious within minutes of his head hitting the pillow.

Ooo~ooO

Harry groaned as he awoke as the light hit his eyes, he stumbled out of bed to hear a screech from the window, putting on his glasses he saw Hedwig sitting there patiently on the window waiting for his to let her in,

"Sorry Hedwig, I forgot to open the window last night" he apologised, the white owl nipped him slightly in annoyance after dropping the letter, Harry proceeded to rip the letter open, instantly recognising Ron's scratchy writing,

Dear Harry

How are things?

At the moment the wedding is up and running, You can hardly recognise the fields outside of the Burrow, Mum's driving us all insane with her constant bouts of of organizing, seriously she's trying to take over this wedding,

Anyway the place is crowded at the moment and it's only going to get worse on Saturday,

Anyway Lupin is coming to pick you up Friday I think so I guess I'll see you then.

By the way have you heard from Hermione, she isn't responding to my letters, at least not properly, has she contacted you yet?

Ron

Harry frowned in confusion, He hadn't actually received post from Hermione yet, which was strange considering she usually was the first one to contact him*,

Harry was suddenly getting anxious and decided to contact her in hopes she would respond,

Dear Hermione

I just wanted to know if your alright, I haven't heard from you yet and Ron said you haven't contacted him yet either,

Please let me know,

Hope you summer is going well and can't wait to see you.

Harry

Harry started a reply to Ron as well,

Dear Ron

Things are fine around here, The Dursley's have decided to ignore me which is how I like them best, I think knowing they never have to see me again helps them as well.

I'm looking forward to coming to the Burrow, I'm kind of interested in seeing the wedding as I've never been to one before, plus I want to see if it's different to a Muggle wedding.

Actually no I haven't heard from Hermione since I've got back, still I've sent a letter to her to see if she'll respond, I'm sure she's fine.

Anyway I'll see you soon.

Harry

Harry allowed Hedwig to get a couple of hours rest before sending her off with both letters, Thinking back to his two friends Harry couldn't help but think how much they had grown apart over the last year, Ron had been tied up with Lavender for a good portion of it and even after all that ended Harry could feel the distance between them hadn't really been resolved too much,

Of course the biggest change in character last year had been Hermione, Harry was well aware that she had a crush on Ron and though it he saw a part of Hermione he'd never seen before and a part he really didn't like too much, Harry wondered if her jealousy with Ron had fuelled her anger at Harry over the book, Whilst Harry was willing to admit that in the end it had caused him to almost kill Malfoy none of the potion tips had had any negative side effects,

Harry sighed, whilst he had been wrong about the book Hermione had been dead wrong about Malfoy, she had apologised for not believing him but Harry wasn't sure if he could trust her on the upcoming quest or not, oh he trusted Hermione with his life but could he trust that she would listen to him when needed to,

Pulling himself up off the bed, Harry decided that he would have a talk with Hermione when he had the chance, He was really going to need her help on this one but the air needed to be cleared first.

Ooo~ooO

The next day arouse much the same as the day before, around dinnertime however he received a reply from Hermione, Harry let out a breath he hadn't realised he had been holding,

Dear Harry

Please don't worry I'm perfectly alright, I've simply been busy researching and coming up with ideas for our task.

Also I hadn't realised it had been two weeks already so I apologise for not contacting you any sooner,

As to Ronald's letters I have responded but the prat had the gal to question my desire to spend a little time with my parents or "the muggles" as he calls them, so forgive me if I'm not in the mood to talk to him,

I'm heading to the Burrow on Thursday so I'll see you soon,

Hope your well.

Love

Hermione

Harry smiled slightly in relief, he could only shake his head at Ron's attitude to Hermione's parents, H e dreaded when those two started dating, Not just because it would be awkward but Ron was going to step in it quite a lot unless he could change and Hermione was way to serious about things for Ron,

Harry sighed, Truth be told he himself had wondered what would have happened if he had asked out his bushy haired best friend, he remembered the Yule Ball and how beautiful she had been that night, he had felt a lot of jealousy about Victor Krum that night but at the end he knew he only had himself to blame,

He always knew Hermione was a girl but he hadn't really considered her anything but a best friend until that moment, not that he didn't think she was attractive before that night, he simply hadn't considered the possibility, sadly it seemed Ron also fancied Hermione as well and not wanting to risk his friendship with him again he had pushed his little crush down,

It also seemed that Hermione felt something for Ron as well so it was just as well he had pushed his feelings down in the end, still Harry did wonder the what if of it all,

Shaking himself from the thoughts he decided it was probably time to start packing, whilst he did have a couple of days left at the Durselys he didn't want to forget anything less he have to come back to this hell hole.

Ooo~ooO

Several days later Harry was fully packed and read to head to the Burrow, he was just waiting on Remus to come and pick him up, sadly he knew he was going to have to have a word with the Durselys before he left, as much as he didn't like them, he couldn't condemn them to death which was sorely possible after his birthday which was only a couple of days away,

At the moment he was waiting on Remus, it would probably be better if he was there to help explain the situation,

Finally around noon a knock came from the front door, the Durselys were sat in the living room watching TV so Harry went to answer, looking through the peep hole he recognised the face of his former professor and friend Remus Lupin,

He opened the door a crack not revealing the wand his his right hand,

"Hello Remus" he said politely, the older man smiled warmly,

"Hello Harry, are you well?" he asked, Harry nodded,

"Yes I'm fine, What spell did you spend hours teaching me during third year?" Harry asked,

"The Pratronus of course, what's the password for the map?" he asked in reply,

"I Solemnly swear that I'm up to no good" Harry replied relaxing and opening the door properly,

"Good to see your being precocious Harry" Remus said as he walked in,

"Well you can't be too careful I suppose, still how have you been Remus?" Harry asked,

"I'm not too bad Harry all things considered, how are you?"

"I'm okay I guess just pondering stuff I suppose" Harry replied, Remus nodded,

"Well are you packed and ready to leave?" Remus asked looking around for any luggage,

"Yeah I'm packed and everything Remus but what should I do about the Dursley's?" Harry asked, Remus nodded understanding what Harry meant,

"Yes the Order discussed this the other day, we decided to have a chat with them later on today, hopefully we can get them to leave but if not we'll have the place warded" He explained,

"I can't see Uncle Vernon leaving this place, especially if it's the idea of a wizard or witch, in fact he'll probably put Aunt Petunia and Dudley in jeopardy just to spite us" Harry retorted,

Remus took a moment to ponder this,

"Do you really think it'll be that bad?" Harry nodded, He sighed resigning himself to the belief,

"Maybe I should go and have a word with them, I seriously doubt I can reason with Uncle Vernon but Aunt Petunia and Dudley might listen to me with a bit of luck, it might help if your there to back me up" Harry explained, Remus nodded,

"Then lead the way Harry", Harry lead Remus into the living room and unsurprisingly all three Dursley's shot up in surprise, again not surprisingly Vernon was the first to yell,

"Boy WHAT THE HELL do you think your doing bringing in another...one of your kind without warning us?" He yelled, Harry rolled his eyes long passed his Uncle's anger,

"Sorry but I don't have time for this, As you might remember this is Remus Lupin, a friend of my parents and a former Professor at my school, Look I'll be quick and blunt, I'm leaving in a few minutes...for good, I won't be coming back here ever again however this does have a negative effect" Harry explained, Vernon first looked enraged that the freak had the gal to brush off his question but his mood lightened considerably when he mentioned he wouldn't have to see the freak ever again,

"I fail to see the bad in this boy" his Uncle replied venomously,

"It means that on my birthday the protection that Dumbledore placed on this place will disappear and you'll be vulnerable to attacks" Harry explained,

"What do you mean attacks boy, you mean more of those Demember things?" His uncle asked getting red from anger at his family being in danger,

"No not Dementors, no this will be by Death Eaters" His aunt suddenly looked up in her face scrunched up in confusion,

"I recognise that name, weren't they what's his name's followers or something?" she asked, Harry was surprised at how calm and accepting of all this she was,

"Yes they are and his name is Voldemort for the record, Look Remus here and a few others can place some wards around the house that might work but I would seriously recommend moving house" Harry replied,

"And just how are we suppose to pay for all that Boy, even if what your saying is true we can't afford to just sell up and move away" His uncle spat at him,

Harry rubbed his head in frustration, luckily Remus came to his aid,

"Actually we might have a plan for that but I would agree with Harry, moving would be best for your family Mr Dursley" Remus interjected,

"And what is this plan?" Vernon demanded,

"I would rather wait till later today, with your permission I'd like to bring a couple of...colleagues of mine around to explain it to you in full", Remus replied calmly, Harry raised an eyebrow at this but decided to ask Remus later,

"And why do we have to move anyway, even if these wards of yours fall, these...people don't know where we live" Remus actually blushed a bit at this,

"Actually it turns out we had a traitor in a group, I believe you know Severus Snape"

"SNAPE!" Petunia shrieked, Vernon looked confused unable to recognise the name looked at his wife,

"You know this man?" he asked, Petunia nodded,

"Yes that...thing was the one who explained all that freaky stuff to Lily and I, He was also a friend of hers I think" Petunia said,

Harry shudder at this, he hated the idea of that man having anything to do with his parents, Remus again interrupted,

"Well anyway you can understand our worry that with Snape working with the enemy he has a lot of information as well as this address, so if it's alright with the two of you, may I come back later and explain our plan in full?" Vernon still looked pissed off and unsure but Petunia could see the seriousness in all this and put her prejudice aside for now,

"Very well, what time will you be back?" she asked,

"Oh I shouldn't be long, I'll most likely be back within an hour" he replied, Petunia nodded before turning to walk away into the kitchen, she looked back at Harry one last time, Harry wasn't certain but he would swear she said goodbye,

"Well I guess that's it, Thank you for everything and I wish you the best" Harry said politely to them, Remus looked bewildered at the lack of a goodbye, Dudley wasn't even paying attention any more and was back to watching TV, Vernon didn't reply and grumbled unintelligently,

Harry lead Remus to his trunk and watched the man shrink it before handing it to Harry, the two walked out of the front door,

"So...how are we getting to the Burrow Remus?" Harry asked,

"Apparition pup" he answered, Harry looked bemused,

"Then why are we walking away?" Remus looked slightly embarrassed,

"Well you see what with my lyncathropy I can't apparate so Tonks is going to take us both" Remus explained, Harry nodded and suddenly had a brainwave,

"Is that why you travelled on the express back in my third year?" Harry questioned,

"Partly, Dumbledore was aware that Dementors might attack the train and he wanted someone who could at least cast a partial Pratronus protecting the train" Remus explained, harry nodded in understanding,

The two continued to chat idly as Remus lead him towards the park, both males suddenly stopped mouths opened as they watched the Pink haired Witch swinging like crazy on the swing set, she saw the two men standing watching her and started laughing before stopping the swing,

"So is this what you do when I'm not watching" Remus said jokingly,

"Well I was bored and it was begging to be played on, I believe I've said that to you before haven't I wolfie" Tonks replied playfully causing him to go fully red in the cheeks, harry smiled at his friends face, Tonks turned to him,

"Hey Harry, how's tricks?" she asked,

"I'm well Tonks, how are you?"

"Bored kiddo, anyway great catching up" she joked causing Harry to laugh at her childish attitude,

"Anyway since your too young and Wolfie here is inadequate"

"HEY!" Remus said in mock hurt,

"Anyway I'm taking you to the Burrow first, I know you know how but until you have you license you'll be linking arms with me...now I know I'm attractive and all but please try not to think of me too much whilst were apparating" she said, Harry blushed a little himself,

"I''ll try not too" she nodded a cheeky smile on her face,

"Would you stop flirting with him, your boyfriend is stood right here you know" Remus said in mock indignation,

"Fine, fine ruin my fun, I'll be back in a few minutes wolfie, why not try the swings while I'm gone" she said jokingly,

"I'll just wait here thank you",

Tonks grabbed Harry's hand before turning serious,

"Are you ready Harry?" she asked, Harry nodded before he was suddenly wisped away to the Burrow leaving Remus behind who suddenly had an urge to actually try the swing set.