Unofficial Portkey Archive

Disclaimer: Harry Potter, and any related material are not mine, and belong to JKR

This story is beta edited by PhoenixFlames, to whom I owe a thousand thanks.

CHAPTER ONE

The Secret Choice

The train was boarding. The engine's whistle blew loudly over the quiet platform, warning that the scarlet train was leaving the station in five minutes.

It was a sunny afternoon, with a few white bulbous clouds littering the sky here and there. People on the platform, comprised mostly of youths, were slowly entering the train, pulling their trunks and various cages onto the cars. However one young man was not boarding the train, instead choosing to observe the activity on the platform while leaning against the wall of the station house.

He watched as two concerned looking girls, named Susan Bones and Lavender Brown, entered the train on the right while talking. Farther down, a round-faced boy named Neville seemed to be searching for something. These people were students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the boy leaning against the station wall was Harry Potter.

Harry was a relatively tall sixteen year old compared to the other students. He had grown over the past few years, and was looking more like a man than a boy. His jet black hair, which seemed to have no sense of direction, swayed slightly in the wind as he stood. Harry looked like a normal boy of his age, with the exception of his intensely green eyes, and his most noticeable feature: a lightning bolt scar on his forehead. He sighed as the wind gave a light breeze, swaying his black school robes which over the past year, had become a few inches too short around the ankles.

He knew many of the students entering the train, known as the Hogwarts Express, were worried about school. Not worried in the sense of homework, but as to whether school would still be opening in the fall.

Hogwarts just passed through one of its darkest times in history. The headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, had been murdered by a fellow Professor, Severus Snape. Now that Dumbledore was dead, the wizarding world was being plunged farther into fear of the darkest wizard in a century, Lord Voldemort.

Harry inclined his head skyward, watching the clouds float overhead as he breathed in the fresh outside air, trying hard to savor the moment. He knew very well this could be the last time he would see these students, or Hogwarts again. He decided that he would not return for his seventh and final year, even if the school opened. He would devote all his time to finding, what he and Dumbledore has sought to find that fateful night the late headmaster died: the Horcruxes of Lord Voldemort.

These Horcruxes contained parts of the dark wizard's soul, and needed to be destroyed in order to defeat him. Harry knew of only one person who could stop Voldemort-himself. It was told in a prophecy which Harry heard only a year ago from Dumbledore, along with many other things.

The choice to not return to Hogwarts was hard to make, but Harry had to defeat Voldemort as quickly as possible. The sooner he could destroy him, the sooner the world would be made safe, and normal again.

Only his best friends knew of his plan, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger. They promised to go with him on his quest and help him. He accepted, however he knew that in the end, it was only himself who could complete his task. He promised himself to keep both of them as far away from danger as possible. At the moment, they were fulfilling their prefect duties, and helping students onto the train.

Harry came back to himself, glanced back down the platform. Susan and Lavender were now on the train, and Neville found what he was searching for, his pet toad Trevor. It had been found by the overly large groundskeeper, Hagrid.

As he handed Trevor over to a thankful Neville, Harry noticed Hagrid was crying. Hagrid never stopped crying after Dumbledore's death, at least from what Harry could tell. Hagrid cared for Dumbledore very deeply, and his death hit Hagrid very hard. Neville tried to encourage Hagrid to cheer up, and Harry smiled when Hagrid, though still spilling tears, gave a warm smile, concealed slightly by his beard.

Once Neville was on the train, Hagrid continued down the side of the platform, making sure students were on and ready to go. As he approached, he glanced up, noticed Harry, and started to walk over, taking out his tablecloth size handkerchief, and wiping his eyes.

`Yeh alrigh' Harry?' he croaked, as he came closer, wearing his black moleskin coat, which he had worn at Dumbledore's funeral. Hagrid, up close, looked very downtrodden, and had what looked like permanent tear marks on his cheeks. His beard looked mangy and untidy, worst than usual. His dustbin sized hands were still holding onto his handkerchief--which Harry could see was due to be changed for a new one.

`I'm alright Hagrid. How are you getting along?' asked Harry. He didn't really know what to say to Hagrid. He did not know about Harry not returning to the school. Telling him now would be even worst.

`I'm . . . . I'm OK. `Bin kinda hard lately wit Dumbledore's death an' all. Me an' Grawpy are gettin' along though. Why aren' yeh on the train yet Harry?' He looked down the platform, and Harry now noticed there were few students left. Harry picked up his trunk, and his cage, which housed his snowy owl Hedwig, and moved towards the nearest car, Hagrid following closely.

Harry could hear quiet sniffles coming from Hagrid, and felt a pang in his chest knowing this might be his last time talking to him. Everyone, especially Harry, still felt sorrow for the loss of Dumbledore, his funeral only being that morning. Harry felt even worst now with this parting, and as he entered the train, with Hagrid helping him with his trunk, he felt he needed to say something.

`I hope you have an alright summer Hagrid. I'll try to owl you sometime soon,' Harry said reassuringly. Hagrid smiled, and stepped back from the train. The whistle had just blown again and Harry to could hear the doors being closed. Hagrid closed the door Harry just entered through, and Harry moved to the window to say goodbye to Hagrid.

`I'll be alrigh'. You try and keep outta trouble, alrigh'?' He took a look back up and down the platform and smiled at Harry again, a small tear streaking down his face. He gave another large sniffle and wiped his nose with his handkerchief. Harry felt his eyes water slightly at Hagrid looking so downtrodden.

`I'll be fine, don't worry about me,' said Harry as the train gave a sudden jolt, and began to move. `Tell Grawp I say hi! Bye Hagrid!' he half yelled, as the train started to pick up speed. He leaned out of the window, and waved at Hagrid. Hagrid waved back, and with one turn of the tracks, Hagrid and Hogsmede Station were gone.

Harry leaned back in, cheerlessly picked up his trunk and cage, and started looking for a compartment. As he began looking down the carriage, he started to regret not getting on the train earlier. Since he was one of the last to board all the compartments were full with chattering students. He did not want to share a compartment, (as this was not the time for people questioning him or ogling him like they would an interesting museum piece.

He moved down the carriage. People looked at him from the inside of the compartments, not trying to hide their pointing fingers and loud whispers. Harry was used to this however he found it hard to focus on other things. As he entered the third car, he finally found what no doubt had to be, the last empty compartment on the train. He quickly entered it and put his trunk and Hedwig down. He locked the compartment door as he wanted to make sure no one would come in. He took out his wand, and put as many locking spells he knew on the door. He also lowered the blind on the window of the door, and sat down.

This is what he wanted at the moment; to be isolated in his compartment and his own world. He looked across to his belongings and his owl. Hedwig looked at him thoughtfully--or what Harry figured was thoughtful look for an owl--and curled up on her perch, looking of a good nap. His trunk lay next to her cage, on the chair opposite from Harry.

He looked out the window, and saw the train was passing between mountains and large thickets of forest. Sunlight came in patches between the trees, and danced on Harry's face. He closed his eyes, and inhaled the familiar scent of old wood and upholstery that was the Hogwarts Express, hoping to calm down and clear his mind of the depressing thoughts of the past few days. When he opened his eyes again, he was relieved to feel more focused, and trying to be more productive he began to think of his next move.

He knew he would have to return to Number Four Privet Drive, and stay there until his birthday. He did not want too, however he had no choice. After July 31st however, he needed to plan on were to go. He would be turning seventeen, which would be his coming of age in the wizarding world. After this day, he would loose his protection from his home and would be vulnerable to attacks from Voldemort.

Harry realized that if he wanted to plan what to do after his birthday, he would need to figure where to live. He knew Godric's Hollow was somewhere he wanted to go, however going there now would not be wise. He did want to visit there, so he could finally see his parents house, however he needed somewhere he could stay and hide. Godric's Hollow would not be suitable for either. He needed somewhere more hospitable.

Grimmauld Place came to mind. He figured since he owned it anyways, he inherited it from his godfather, it would be a good place to live. He knew it was unsafe, because Snape knew how to find it however he figured there would be a way to make it safe again.

He then thought of going to The Burrow, where Ron's family lived. The only place he felt more at home than The Burrow, was Hogwarts. He quickly discarded this idea because of his promise not to endanger people. He knew going to The Burrow would be a danger to the Weasleys and he could not do that to them. It would seem he had decided and he would be going to Grimmauld Place after July 31st. The question now was how to make the house safe.

As he started to think someone knocked on the door. Harry didn't feel like visitors and hoped that no answer would signal to the person not to disturb him. He waited, looking at the door expecting a voice, but it never came.

Harry went back to his thoughts. He knew Grimmauld Place was protected by a Fidelius Charm, but he had no idea how it was done. He figured he could ask a professor, or Hermione, and they would know. Another knock at the door came, this time accompanied by a voice Harry did not want to hear.

`Hello! Harry! It's me, Colin Creevey! I wanted to talk to you. You know, find out what you're doing during the summer. I thought maybe if I'm around where you live sometime, I could come visit you!' Colin yelled at the door. He must have thought the door was like those used for bank vaults.

Harry didn't want to hear this, or have conversation with Colin. His idolization of Harry would be the worst thing at the moment. He got up, took his wand out of his robes rather forcefully and thought `Silencio'.

Colin was suddenly put on mute, and Harry put his wand back, throwing himself back on the seat in a huff. He needed to think and plan things out. He knew he had time at Privet Drive to plan, but he didn't feel like talking to people at the moment. Especially Harry thought, people who don't know about the prophecy.

As Harry put his head against the back of the chair, he let out a long sigh, realizing how tired he was. The day before, he spent all his time with Ron and Hermione. He thought of it as his last day of true freedom, and took advantage of it. During the night however, he hadn't gotten any sleep. He had stayed awake with thoughts of the coming months and of the funeral that morning running through his head.

He felt he could take advantage of this time and solitude, and try to sleep. He leaned his head against the corner of the compartment, and closed his eyes.

Harry had only fallen into the nice and dreamy beginnings of sleep when he was disturbed by a tapping next to his head. He grudgingly opened his eyes, and opened the blinds to find a tawny owl flying outside, tapping its beak against the window as it tried desperately to keep up with the train.

Harry opened the window and the owl swooped into the compartment. It landed in the free seat next to Harry, and dropped a letter. Harry saw Hedwig give the owl a quick glance with her amber eyes before returning to her slumber. Once Harry picked up the letter, the owl fluttered out, and Harry closed the window after it. He opened the letter and began to read it. He could tell it was written quickly, and was on an irregular piece of parchment, however Harry recognized the slanted, stern writing.

Mr. Potter,

Professor McGonagall

Harry read it over twice to make sure he was reading it correctly. He knew of only two other times a staff member had been on the train; in his third year with Professor Lupin, and last year with Professor Slughorn. He wondered why Professor McGonagall was on the train, especially since after Dumbledore's death, she was Headmistress.

Harry was caught in a dilemma. Should he open the door or not? Professor McGonagall did not know about the Prophecy or that he was not planning to return to Hogwarts.

Harry however noticed that she was probably the first person to knock, and could have easily opened the door herself, and that she sent the owl in hopes he would let her in. Also, he figured she would be a good person to ask about the charm on Grimmauld Place, since she was in The Order. He put the letter down, got up, took the charms off, slid the latch, and opened the door.

Professor McGonagall was standing outside the door, arms crossed, looking down the hallway. She was wearing dark emerald green traveling robes, with her usual witch's hat. She looked rather tired and drained, but Harry figured this was due to the incidences of the past few days and weeks. She quickly glanced at Harry and entered his compartment.

Once inside, she quickly closed the door, and performed numerous spells on the door, including the Silencing Spell Harry already used before. She cleared some space next to Hedwig's cage, sat down and stroked Hedwig for a moment. Harry sat down cautiously, wondering if he should say something. He watched her stroke Hedwig, and once she finished, she took off her hat.

`Thank you for allowing me in Potter, however I must remind you that students are not supposed to do magic on the train' she said firmly. She had her usual stern look on her face and Harry started to worry he was in trouble for something. However she relaxed after a few moments, placed her hat down next to her, and looked up at him.

`I am here to find out what you plan to do after your birthday. As Albus,' she stopped for a moment before continuing in a quieter and calmer voice. `As Albus no doubt told you, you are protected at Privet Drive until you come of age. Afterwards, the wards no longer function and it would be best to leave your home.' She waited to for a reaction from Harry, however he already knew this and was relieved he was not in trouble for using magic on the train.

She surveyed him and continued. `Have you given thought as to were you will go after July 31st until you come back to Hogwarts on September 1st?' She had now put her hands on her lap and was looking at Harry intently.

Harry did not want to tell her that he was not returning to Hogwarts. He felt he should instead focus on the summer and not the fall. `I thought about Grimmauld Place,' he said, looking up at Professor McGonagall hoping for reassurances that his plan made sense. Harry was relived to see her smile slightly and continued. `I just don't know if it's safe anymore because of Snape-' he spat out his former professor's name.

`We thought the same. The house is currently unsafe, however we can recast the Fidelius Charm again which should make it as unplottable and invisible as before. The charm needs to be performed as soon as possible. Professor Flitwick has agreed to meet you today to perform the charm. Luckily, he joined the Order before Dumbledore passed away and was the last to learn its address. Now Harry,' Harry noticed the use of his first name, `you have to make a very important decision. You need to choose a secret keeper.'

Of all the things Harry had thought of that day, choosing a secret keeper was not one of them. Professor McGonagall must have seen the confusion in Harry's face, and continued on.

`The secret keeper must be someone you trust, and would be willing to sacrifice themselves instead of revealing the secret.' She was looking at Harry now more sympathetically, seeing how making a choice of such importance was weighing on him at the moment.

Harry did not know who could be his secret keeper. He knew Sirius picked Dumbledore who was, in Harry's mind, the perfect person to be a secret keeper. He did not know really what a secret keeper exactly was, or who they should be. He did not know what traits to look for in a person to pick, so he asked.

`The person must be smart and clever' replied Professor McGonagall calmly. `Picking someone foolish could have great consequences. They must know how the charm is performed and its powers. Someone who can learn about the charm, how to make it more powerful and find out its properties. Lastly, the person must be someone who knows you and why you have this secret. They must understand how much this secret means to you and you must trust them. Having the person you trust the most as your secret keeper will make the charm stronger.' She looked down at Hedwig and started to stroke her again, clearly giving Harry time to think.

Harry was now staring at the floor. He heard everything Professor McGonagall said, however he was still very confused. He mentally went through people he knew and which made the best candidates for his secret keeper.

Professor McGonagall was very smart and Harry trusted her, however she did not know Harry that well, at least outside Hogwarts. He thought of Hagrid, but he was not good with secrets. Harry found that out in his first year at Hogwarts when Hagrid's secret was about the three headed dog he had named Fluffy.

Ron knew Harry better than anyone else. Harry trusted him very much, but learning the Fidelius Charm would not be easy for Ron. Since he was not the most gifted wizard in their year then he'd have problems with it. Everyone knew Hermione was the best of their year. Then Harry thought . . . how about Hermione.

She knew Harry just about as well as Ron did. She was very smart, and clever. She was also sometimes overly rational. Harry remembered the many times when he went against her views and her rationale ended up being correct. He knew she would understand why he was keeping this secret and Harry definitely trusted her. She would also be able to learn the charm. Harry could see her saying, `oh I can't wait. I've read about it but it will be so interesting actually performing it!' This caused Harry to smile, which was registered with interest by Professor McGonagall.

`Have you thought of a secret keeper Potter?' she asked curiously. When Harry looked up, he found she had again stopped stroking Hedwig, who was also looking at Harry and was now sitting back with her hands on her lap.

Harry nodded, however he suddenly remembered what he had promised to himself about endangering Hermione and Ron. If he asked Hermione to become his secret keeper then she would be at greater danger. Harry could think of no one else to be his secret keeper but he wanted Hermione to be protected. `Is there any way of protecting the secret keeper so they aren't in any danger?' he asked.

Professor McGonagall shifted in her seat and looked again at Harry. `There are ways such as going into hiding, or changing their appearance. But you must know Potter, the secret keeper's identity would only be known to you, and those whom you choose to tell. They would be at no more risk than anyone else. The only thing you can protect them with is trusting that they will not tell the wrong person,' she said.

Harry knew Hermione was smart enough not to tell the wrong sort of people about Grimmauld Place. He would just tell her that if she was unsure of whether a person was trustworthy to simply not tell them.

`So, have you chosen a secret keeper then Potter?' McGonagall asked again. Harry nodded confidently and she pulled an envelope out of her inside pocket of her cloak.

`Inside this letter you will find your directions so you will know when and how to get to Grimmauld Place to meet Professor Flitwick. It will only be you, him, and your secret keeper. You must tell no one where you are going, who your secret keeper is or what you are doing. You must ask your secret keeper before you get to Grimmauld Place. If they say yes, then you must tell them were to be and at what time. If they say no, then you must find someone else before the train arrives in London, which should be in about three hours. Do you understand?'

Harry nodded and she gave him the envelope. `Once the charm is complete, Professor Flitwick will know nothing about it. It's a result of the spell, and only you and your secret keeper will know were the house is.' She picked up her hat again, placed it firmly atop her head and stood up.

`The advance guard will come and get you at Number Four Privet Drive at 11:45pm on July 30th to take you to Grimmauld Place. Of course, your secret keeper will have to be there to tell the Order members where it is later but we will work that out once the charm has been recast. If there are any problems or worries owl me right away. If you are in imminent danger you are allowed to use magic.' She unlocked the spells and latch, gave a last smile to Harry and was halfway through the door when Harry asked a question.

`Professor, did you knock on the door earlier?' he asked humbly. He wanted to know, just apologize for not answering, however she turned around and smiled.

`No, that was not me, Potter. I asked Miss Granger to find you. When she knocked on this compartment and received no answer she assumed it was you inside. She told me and I went ahead and sent the owl.' She smiled again, turned and closed the door.

Harry went ahead and replaced the spells he had originally cast, including the Silencing Spell. He felt bad that he had not answered the first knock now since he was now going to ask Hermione to be his secret keeper. He knew that he would have to ask Hermione before the train arrived at Kings Cross but that was 3 hours away. He was still very tired and decided he would take a quick nap before searching the train for her.

He leaned back, put his head against the back of the chair and the side of the compartment, and drifted into much wanted sleep.

Like so many dreams these past days, he found himself on the tallest tower at Hogwarts, just like the night Dumbledore died. It was night, and as he looked around he noticed he was alone this time. He looked over the sides and found no movement, not even a wind. The 3/4 moon was high in the sky and lit up the grounds allowing Harry to see the Forbidden Forest, the Whomping Willow, and the Lake. He wondered where everyone was when he heard a noise from the stairwell behind him. He went to the door and looked down, but saw no one. The stairwell was lit with a dim, eerie blue light. When he turned, he found he had left the tallest tower and was now in a dark room.

He was in the kitchen of The Burrow. He usually found this room to be a pleasant sight, however this time it was distressing.

No lights were on and it looked deserted. It was night here too and the moonlight was pouring through the open windows lighting a disturbing scene. The table was set and it seemed the family had been in the middle of a meal. Food sat half eaten on their plates, which, when Harry touched, was still warm. The chairs were strung haphazardly around the table. Two chairs were lying sideways on the floor and one broken in pieces.

Harry yelled for the Weasleys, but no one answered. He feared the worst and ran up the crooked stairwell. He looked in the rooms, yelling the names of the Weasleys as he went. When he had reached Ron's room, which was on the top floor, he realized that no one was in the house. He went to the window in the room, and looked out at the garden.

In the moonlight the garden was clearly visible. Harry saw the various plants and noticed a strange object that he had never seen before among the plants. In the middle of the garden there was a wooden log pointed towards the house. This was an odd object in the Weasleys garden and Harry felt it meant something.

Harry turned away from the window and started back down the stairs. He sensed he needed to find out why this log was there and figured it would be able to tell him something about where the Weasleys were. He left through the back door, and when he arrived 10 feet from the log he suddenly stopped and gasped. The object in the garden was not a wooden log but a huge, black snake.

It was Nagini, Voldemort's pet snake. She hissed at Harry and looked at him with an eerie green glow emanating from her eyes, which both frightened and puzzled Harry. He had seen the snake in his dreams before, but the eyes were always piercing black, and never green.

The sight of the snake twisted Harry's stomach more than when he had been inside the house. The last time he had seen this snake she was trying to kill Mr. Weasley. The fact that she was lying in the garden of The Burrow now was causing Harry to panic with the idea that Ron's whole family could be dead.

He looked back at the snake and noticed she had not advanced but merely stared at him, its tongue slithering in and out of its mouth. Harry tried to talk in Parseltongue to the snake, but she continued its green gaze. Harry felt a need to go back to the house and try looking for the Weasleys again. When he turned to go back into the house he looked up and fell backwards in shock.

Harry realized why the snake's eyes appeared to be green. They were not coloured green, but were reflecting green.

The Dark Mark was floating over The Burrow.

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