Chapter 1

Only one couple was still battling, apparently unaware of the new arrival. Harry saw Sirius duck Bellatrix's jet of red light: He was laughing at her. "Come on, you can do better than that!" he yelled, his voice echoing around the cavernous room.

The second jet of light hit him squarely on the chest.

The laughter had not quite died away from his face, but his eyes widened in shock. Harry released Neville, though he was unaware of doing so. He was jumping down the steps again, pulling out his wand, as Dumbledore turned to the dais too.

It seemed to take Sirius an age to fall. His body curved in a graceful arc as he sank backward through the ragged veil hanging from the arch…

And Harry saw the look of mingled fear and surprise on his godfather's wasted, once-handsome face as he fell through the ancient doorway and disappeared behind the veil, which fluttered for a moment as though in a high wind and then fell back into place.

Harry heard Bellatrix Lestrange's triumphant scream, but knew it meant nothing—Sirius had only just fallen through the archway, he would reappear from the other side any second…

But Sirius did not reappear.

"SIRIUS!" Harry yelled, "SIRIUS!"

He had reached the floor, his breath coming in searing gasps. Sirius must be just behind the curtain, he, Harry would pull him back out again…

But as he reached the ground and sprinted toward the dais, Lupin grabbed Harry around the chest, holding him back.

"There's nothing you can do, Harry—"

"Get him, save him, he's only just gone through!"

"It's too late, Harry—"

"We can still reach him—"

Harry struggled hard and viciously, but Lupin would not let go…

"There's nothing you can do, Harry…nothing…He's gone."

Harry mumbled and thrashed in his sleep, "Sirius. Sirius, no Sirius! He's not dead. No, Sirius. He can't be. Sirius! No." Harry woke with a start in a cold sweat. The sweat, Harry realized soon after, was mixed with tears. Harry sighed. He missed his godfather so much. He didn't know how he was going to get through the summer. He found himself lying awake night after night thinking about his godfather's death. It had been his fault. All his fault. If Harry hadn't been so blind as to see that it was just a dream.

Harry let out a deep sigh of sadness. He checked the alarm clock on his nightstand. 3:46 am. With this, Harry realized it had already been his birthday for three hours and forty-five minutes. He was 16. Oh yeah, great start for a birthday, Harry thought to himself. Harry lied awake for five minutes when he noticed 6 objects out in the sky flying towards him. His first instinct was to close the window until he was able to make out that the 4 objects were actually three owls, and a fourth, declining slowly. It looked like it was falling, like the package tied around his ankle was much too large for him to carry. When he got closer, Harry could tell that that was, in fact, true. The owls landed on Harry's desk. Harry reached for the one who had been struggling, who happened to be Pigwidgeon. It was no wonder why Pig had been having trouble. He was a very small owl, and he had two different packages tied to him. Harry detached the packages from Pig. He hooted happily, and flew off to join Hedwig at her cage for a sip of water. Hedwig met him cheerfully. Harry decided to relieve the rest of the owls, and took off their packages too. The owls all flew off except for Pigwidgeon. Harry reached for Ron's letter first.

Dear Harry,

Happy Birthday! I hope you're well. I've been having a regular summer. Hermione wrote me and told me that she's off in Bulgaria, visiting Viktor Krum for the week! What is does she see in that git? Anyway, did you hear Ginny broke up with Dean? Thank God. I didn't know how much longer I'd be able to keep my temper under control. She said she just didn't like him enough. She's not sad or anything, so that's cool. Well, I hope you're birthday is good. See you when you arrive at—er—the…uh…place where we met last year during the summer.

Don't let the muggles keep you down,

Ron

Harry reached for Ron's gift. He opened the package to reveal a book called The Chuddley Cannons: Unleashed. Harry laughed silently to himself, and reached for Hermione's letter, next.

Dear Harry,

I hope you're having a terrific birthday. It must be nice being sixteen now. I'm here in Bulgaria for the week, visiting Viktor. We're just friends now, but Ron obviously refuses to believe this. Sometimes that boy is so stubborn. How has your summer been? I'm sure it will get better. Have you received your Hogwarts supply list yet? I am so excited about all of the new subjects I will be taking (though not as many as my third year!) What fun! We'll be seeing you soon.

Lots of love,

Hermione

Harry smiled and reached for the package. It was, of course, a book entitled, Wandless Magic and How to Use It. Whoa, cool! Harry thought. He moved on to the next letter, which was from Hagrid.

Dear Harry,

Happy Birthday. I hope it's real good. Can't wait ter see ya.

Hagrid

Harry moved onto his gift. It was some rock hard treacle fudge. Maybe it will soften up if I leave it by the heater. Harry thought to himself. Harry reached for a letter with handwriting Harry recognized as Neville's. He opened up the envelope and read the letter quietly to himself.

Dear Harry,

Happy birthday! I hope it's great. I'm sure you're going through a lot right now, and I am sorry for that. But don't worry, I know what you're going through. Hermione told me that you viewed Sirius as a father/brother type figure. Things will get better. Once again, happy birthday.

Neville

Harry smiled at Neville's words of help. Neville had never sent Harry a gift before, but Harry was grateful to be in contact with Neville. Neville didn't have many friends, so he was glad to be in correspondence with Neville. Harry opened the package, which revealed a remembrall. A grin spread across Harry's face. Harry remembered Neville's remembrall from his first year. It had gotten him on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He was definitely grateful to Neville for that. Harry reached for the final letter and package. It was from Ginny.

Dear Harry,

I hope that you're birthday is good, well at least as good as it can be. I know you're going through a tough time right now, but you know things will get better. As you've already confided in me that things are improving. Snuffles will be missed by all of us here, even if Ron and Hermione keep avoiding the subject of that night in the Department of Mysteries. But, Harry, you have to remember that things are going to get better. This will become easier to deal with, eventually. But for now, all you can do is not blame yourself. It wasn't your fault, even if you believe it was. But remember, you didn't make Snuffles come that night. You didn't make him come to your aid. It was Snuffles's decision. But don't let that make you think that he made the wrong decision. What Sirius did was noble and kind. And you know that Sirius died how he would have wanted to die. In battle. And remember, Harry, Sirius hasn't left you. He's still with you. He will always be with you, no matter what. Whenever you need him he'll be there in your memory and in your heart. He'll be with all of us forever. And as usual, Harry, don't worry. I won't tell the others about the prophecy. You can do it when you're ready. Hope you get through your birthday and have a pleasant time. I'll see you soon.

Love,

Ginny

Harry smiled as a few tears streaked down his face. Harry was grateful for Ginny's letters throughout the summer. Harry was able to confide in her, unlike Ron or Hermione. They just wouldn't understand what was going through Harry's mind and what he felt like. But Ginny had gone through much more than the rest of his friends. He had a lot in common with Ginny. The others just hadn't experienced what they had, so Harry found it much easier to talk to Ginny rater than Ron and Hermione. So that was why Harry chose to tell Ginny about the prophecy. Harry reached for the package. It was a box full of Chocolate Frogs, along with some Filibuster Fireworks. There were also a few Skiving Snackboxes in there too. Harry was tired. He wasn't getting much sleep lately. He really wished he could have gotten his hands on some Dreamless Sleeping Draught. Harry glanced at the digital clock on his nightstand. It was 3:54 AM. He wanted to go back to sleep. He lay in bed trying to sleep for and hour, but images of Sirius's death came flooding bake into his memory. "Come on! You can do better than that!" His last words. Harry sat up, trying to shake the image from his mind. He decided to do a little bit of reading since he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep. He took out The Chuddley Cannons: Unleashed, and got out a flashlight. Harry opened the book. A loud WHOOSH came from the book as it opened. "Oh no," Harry mumbled to himself. Harry quickly threw all of his gifts and letters under the loose floorboard. Harry jumped into bed, after tossing his glasses onto his nightstand. He lied still, pretending to be asleep just in the nick of time. Uncle Vernon came storming into his room seconds later. "BOY! IF YOU MAKE ONE MORE SOUND THEN NO FOOD FOR A WEEK!" He stormed out. Harry let out a deep breath. Stupid muggles. Harry hated muggles, non-magical people. Well, no he didn't hate muggles, just the muggles he lived with. The Dursley's hated everything about Harry, because they hated everything there was about magic. Harry now understood why he had to stay with his terrible aunt and uncle during the summer holidays, but that didn't make it any better. He had to stay with the dreaded Dursley's because the darkest, most evil wizard of all time, Lord Voldemort, was out to kill him. This was because of a prophecy that had been made before Harry was born, stating this: "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not…and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…"

Harry replayed the words in his head over and over during the course of the summer. They seemed to haunt him. Those words meant something. Something huge. That he, sixteen year old Harry Potter, was the only one who could vanquish Voldemort. Those words meant that it all had to end with one of them killing the other. It had to end in murder either way. The night Harry discovered that prophecy must have been the worst day of his life. A tear rolled down Harry's cheek.

Harry lied awake for the rest of the night thinking about Sirius and the prophecy that had been hidden from him for so long. Harry thought about Ron and Hermione and how much he missed them. And then Harry thought about Ginny. She had sent him twelve letters over the summer, twelve long letters. Ginny was the only one Harry wrote back to with actual replies. With Ron and Hermione, he'd just write something like, "I'm fine, can't wait to see you," every once and a while on a piece of parchment and send it off to Grimmauld Place. But with Ginny, he'd actually talk. It was nice.

Once 8:00 rolled around, Harry headed down stairs to eat some breakfast. He grabbed a decent sized muffin, put it on a plate, and was back in his room by 8:07. When he arrived he noticed two new owls sitting on his desk. One, with golden feathers, Harry recognized as Lupin's, but Harry decided to read the other letter first, after seeing it had the Hogwarts crest sealed on the back of the envelope.

Dear Mr. Potter,

Please note that the new school year will begin on September first. The Hogwarts Express will leave from King's Cross station, platform nine and three-quarters, at eleven o'clock. A list of books for next year is enclosed, as are your O.W.L Scores.

Yours sincerely,

Professor McGonagal

Deputy Headmistress

Harry let out a quiet gasp. He had totally forgotten about O.W.L. scores (Although he was sure Hermione hadn't). He looked at the piece of paper with the grades.

Defense Against the Dark Arts………………………Outstanding Herbology…………………………………………………………Exceeds Expectations

Charms……………………………………………………………………………………Outstanding

Transfiguration……………………………………………………………Outstanding

Care of Magical Creatures…………………………………Outstanding

Potions………………………………………………………………Exceeds Expectations

Divination…………………………………………………………………………Dreadful

Astronomy……………………………………………………………………………Acceptable

History of Magic…………………………………………………………Dreadful

"Oh no" Harry mumbled. He hadn't gotten the grade he had needed in potions to get into Snape's N.E.W.T. class. Harry had gotten one grade below it. Harry cursed under his breath. How am I supposed to become an auror now? He thought to himself. He let out a deep sigh. Harry was beginning to put the papers away, when he noticed another message in the envelope. Harry looked at in a befuddled manner. He picked up the parchment and read it silently to himself.

Dear Mr. Potter,

Due to the fact that an unnamed Slytherin prefect had been abusing his privileges, we have been forced to choose a new prefect to take his/her place. Sadly, none of the of-age Slythin's qualified for the position. Therefore, I saw it fit to choose to have a third prefect from another house. With this, I must offer you my congratulations, for you have now been made a new Gryffindor prefect. Your badge is enclosed. And please remember, when you first board the Hogwarts Express on September first, all prefects must report to the prefect carriage for instructions. See you September first. Have a good summer!

Sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore

Headmaster of Hogwarts

Harry smiled brightly. He took his shiny prefect badge out of a teensy plastic bag in the envelope. "Awesome," Harry said quietly. Harry reached for the other letter. All the letter said was this:

Be ready to leave at 11:00 AM.

"Finally! I don't know if I can stand it here much longer." He neatly folded the rest of his letters and put them all in his trunk.

Harry spent the rest of the day lying around in the petunia patch outside the Dursley's house. He noticed that Mrs. Figg was watching him intently the entire time, most likely on Dumbledore's orders. He read and finished off the rest of his homework. That night during dinner, Harry heard a few news reports about mysterious deaths and disappearances among the muggles of England.

Harry didn't sleep well that night. His dreams were filled with high-pitched laughter, but surprisingly Harry didn't awake until 10:00 AM. When Harry checked the time, he cursed under his breath. He only had an hour to be ready for whoever was going to pick him up. He rushed through the next hour getting all his stuff together. He just barely had enough time to inhale a cereal bar when there was a knock on the door. Uncle Vernon froze. "BOY! GET THE DOOR!" Harry quickly answered the persistent knocking. It was Moody, Lupin, and Tonks.

"Hiya Harry!" Tonks said enthusiastically.

"Hey guys!" Harry exclaimed. They stepped inside. Uncle Vernon gave Moody a menacing look. Moody made a small sudden movement, like a big flinch, towards Uncle Vernon, and drew himself back. Uncle Vernon jumped backwards immediately. Harry laughed quietly to himself. Lupin, seeing this, leaned in towards Harry's ear and whispered, "I see you still have your sense of humor."

"Yeah, well…" Harry said waving aside any talk of Sirius, "it comes and goes."

"Naturally," replied Lupin.

"So, Harry, you ready?" Moody growled.

"Yeah."

Harry grabbed all of his things he could carry, whilst Tonks got the rest. She grinned at him.

"What's up Harry?" Tonks asked, trying to make small talk.

"Er—I dunno. The usual I suppose," Harry replied.

"Well we should probably get going," Moody barked.

They headed towards the door when Uncle Vernon, having gained a slight amount of courage, spoke up.

"So why are three of you here to pick up Harry?"

Moody smirked and then replied, "We're his guard."

A look of confusion came across the plump muggles face.

"Why does Harry need a guard?" Uncle Vernon questioned the four wizards.

Lupin looked questioningly at Harry and asked, "You haven't told them?"

A slight grin came across Harry's face.

"Yeah, well I really didn't think they'd care much. I mean, they might actually be excited. Uncle Vernon would probably be ecstatic if I were to die or something." Harry replied casually.

"Die! You—you might die!" Aunt Petunia said in a gasp. All the color quickly drained from her face.

"So you didn't even mention Voldemort?" Tonks asked, gaping at Harry.

"Well I mentioned that he was back in action casually last summer, but nothing else. I mean, it's not like I actually talk to the people. This is the longest conversation I've had with them all summer."

Moody broke down in fits of laughter.

"One of us should probably tell them," Lupin said. "Well, as you know, Voldemort is back. Now he is in the open and out to kill Harry again. So, he has to travel with a guard, considering Voldemort could strike at any time."

Dudley's face became as white as chalk over the course of this five-way conversation, remembering the previous summer.

"Is that why those…those…DOYMENTOID THINGS WERE HERE LAST SUMMER!" Vernon screamed.

"Well that was what we thought, but it turned out it was just the Ministry of Magic trying to silence Harry," Lupin spoke sensibly.

"Well, we best be on our way," Moody growled. "Come on boy."

They exited the house. Harry happily shut the door behind him.

"So—er—how are we traveling?" Harry asked.

Suddenly Lupin's face turned pale. He looked as though he were going to puke.

"Limousine of course! It's awesome! The ride is great!" Tonks said cheerfully. Harry noticed a small Hot Wheels sized limousine sitting by the curb. Moody took out a small rectangular clicker, and pressed a button. The car magically enlarged.

"Whoa," Harry stated blandly.

They got inside the limo. There were seven seatbelts per seat. Harry had a feeling this was going to be a lot like a ride on the Knightbus. Harry put on five of his seatbelts. Lupin put on all seven. And Harry noticed that Tonks, in the back unlike Lupin and Harry, was only wearing one. Moody was driving, and wearing two seatbelts.

"Harry, this ride is so fun. It's awesome!" Tonks said eagerly.

Although, Harry wasn't reassured, considering Lupin looked as though he was bracing himself for a huge roller coaster ride. Moody started the engine, and took off. It went from about 0-97 in one second. Harry felt like he wanted to hurl. The limo rocked and turned, and even flew through the air. It was nauseating. It was exactly like the type of roller coaster that you never ever want to go on again. Although, Tonks seemed to feel differently. She was relaxing in the backseat, throwing her head back and arms up, yelling, "Faster Moody! Faster!"

The ride wasn't fun. When they finally arrived in front of where the Order's headquarters supposedly stood, he puked in the street. But when he looked up to see the rest of his guard standing around smiling down at him. He stood up when he was finished, sighed, and smiled back at them all. Just as Ginny had promised, things were definitely getting better.

Lupin spoke to Harry while looking at where the house should stand, "Harry? Would you like to do the honors?"