Chapter One
Secrets Unraveled
Harry slowly raised his head and stared morosely at the familiar visage
of number four, Privet Drive. What had already been a horrible day was
rapidly getting worse. Not only did he have to appear unannounced on
the Dursleys' doorstep (something he knew they'd have no problem
expressing their displeasure over), but he'd also have to tell them
that two other freaks would be joining him this afternoon. The corner
of Harry's mouth twitched humorlessly as he envisioned how they'd take
the news.
He'd left Ron and Hermione at King's Cross station a little over an
hour ago. They were each going to make quick stops at their respective
homes before Apparating to Privet Drive. Harry smiled fondly,
remembering their show of solidarity. He hadn't been expecting it; he'd
thought he'd be going on alone. Although he was desperately worried
about them and the remainder of their quest, he had to admit that the
thought of some support while facing his relatives was quite nice
indeed.
Harry had thought it would be better - or at least less embarrassing -
if he arrived at Privet Drive first and prepared his relatives for
their arrival. He'd wanted to get away from the Hogwarts Express and
the other students as quickly as possible...before he ran into Ginny.
Ginny.
Harry quickly shook his head - he couldn't afford to think about Ginny.
He still didn't think his resolve was strong enough to hold.
Since he wasn't yet of age, he'd quickly slipped away without speaking
to any of the crowd at King's Cross and taken the train to Privet
Drive. The long, hot journey had left him irritable. It didn't bode
well for the coming reunion. He'd considered just Apparating back from
Hogsmeade to avoid the Hogwarts Express altogether. So what if the
Ministry chucked him out of Hogwarts now? He wasn't going back, anyway.
Hermione, always the voice of reason, reminded him that there was no
need to give the Ministry an excuse to break his wand, and Harry had to
admit that she had a point.
Rufus Scrimgeour wanted Harry under his control, and Harry wouldn't put
it past the man to make life difficult in an effort to force Harry to
comply. Harry had no patience for the man or his politicking. Still,
recklessly using underage magic for the sake of mere convenience was a
risk not worth taking.
He hated when Hermione was right.
So, he'd sat in a compartment with Ron and Hermione and tried to ignore
the hole in his heart that Ginny's absence created. He hadn't seen her
the entire journey home and wondered which compartment she'd sat on the
train. Neither Ron nor Hermione had asked him where she was, but he'd
caught Hermione staring at him speculatively on several occasions.

Harry had been steadfast in avoiding her gaze. He'd stared out the
window miserably, his thoughts focused on happier days...
Ginny.
Stuffing his hands in the pockets of his jeans and squaring his
shoulders, Harry trudged across the street towards the immaculately
pruned garden of number four, Privet Drive. He'd promised Dumbledore
that he'd return one more time before his birthday, and he intended to
keep that pledge. Harry's chest tightened as he thought of his
headmaster, but he blinked the moisture from his eyes and continued
forward. This was what Dumbledore had wanted, and this was what he was
going to do.
Still, knowing what he had to do didn't make doing it any easier. He
wasn't in the mood to deal with the Dursleys' nonsense. He had no
patience for their petty bigotry...he had bigger challenges to face. The
days when Vernon Dursley's purple face could make him cower were long
past. He wondered what he could expect when they opened the door to
find him standing there after his eventful departure last summer.
All in all, he supposed it could be worse. He'd rather face the
Dursleys' ire than Molly Weasley's fury when Ron informed her of his
plans to ditch the Burrow this summer and head straight into the war
that she'd been so adamantly attempting to shield him from.
Oh, no, Harry mused, he got off far easier in only having to face the
Dursleys.
He wondered if Ron would have dropped his little bombshell while still
at King's Cross, or if he would have waited until arriving at the
Burrow. Harry could picture Ron in the kitchen trying to reason with
his mum, and Ginny would be there...
Ginny.
Harry's heart constricted at the mere thought of her, and he pressed
his eyelids together as if to squeeze her from his thoughts. Everything