Harry's venture into the unknown...beware spoilers

Right people this is my first attempt at fanfic so if its rubbish I can accept the criticism lol. Anyway, here we go.

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Chapter One

One night, a boy lay dozing fitfully in bed. His name was Harry Potter, and he was 16 years old. Around his room, there was the evidence that a birthday was near, envelopes of all sizes and colours were placed on every surface, and there was a pile of wrapped up presents in the corner. Suddenly he woke up. It was Ten minutes past midnight, and it had just become Harry's seventeenth birthday. He rolled out of hisbed, clutching his stomach, as he could feel a searing pain. He felt as though something had been torn from his body, and he could not work out what it was. Soon the pain subsided. He sat on the floor at the foot of his bed, still clutching his stomach. He could not work out what had happened.

Then something happened to make him jump. There was a faint 'pop' and suddenly two people appeared in his bedroom. Harry crawled to his bedside table and switched on his lamp, then he fumbled for his glasses. As he put on his glasses the two figures swam into focus. Squinting in the sudden light, Harry looked at his two best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Ron was holding Hermione,s arm, and hermione looked very faint.

"What are you two doing here?" he asked, a worried look on his face, "You were told to stay where you were by McGonnogal."

Ron led Hermione towards the bed, where she sat down, before squatting down on the floor next to Harry.

"I remembered you don't get the Wizarding Wireless Network, do you?" he asked. Harry shook his head. "Cos its just been on the news that the Death Eaters have managed to enter the ministry for Magic. They-they've kidnapped Fudge"

Harry looked gobsmacked. "But why? Fudge isn't the minister for magic anymore...they have no reason to kidnap him."

Hermione looked at Harry for the first time since she had arrived. "Fudge knows too much, he was the minister for magic for years. If anyone knows what the ministry are planning, its Fudge. He's still in all the meetings where all the decisions are made, and as he's not the minister anymore, its less conspicuous to kidnap him than kidnap the Minister."

Ron opened his mouth to speak, but then there was a knock at the door. Harry's Aunt Petunia poked her head around the door. All three people in the room looked at her, terrified. But Aunt Petunia merely looked at them and whispered to Harry "Are these your friends from school? The ones Professor Dumbledore mentioned?" Harry Nodded, too shocked to speak.

Aunt Petunia walked over to first Hermione, and then Ron, shaking hands with each in turn. "I am Petunia Dursley, Harry's aunt. I received a letter from your headmaster in March, asking me to tell you some things, as he did not think he would be able to." She looked at Harry, who bowed his head, his eyes blurring. Ron and hermione also took the same stance, and Aunt Petunia looked at them all in bewilderment.

"But what's wrong?" she asked.

Harry was the first to speak. "Professor Dumbledore is dead, Aunt Petunia. He was killed, just like my parents."

"By...by Voldemort?" She asked. She looked scared, and for the second time in his life, Harry realised that his Aunt Petunia was his mother's sister. Harry shook his head.

"No, by one of the teachers in school, one that my mum and dad were in school with, Professor Snape"

"Not Severus Snape?" Aunt Petunia asked, turning white. Harry nodded again, before he realised what his Aunt had said.

"You know who Snape is?" he asked

"Um, yes. I think you should come and sit downstairs with me Harry. Your friends can come too, but be quiet, your Uncle is sleeping." And with that she led the three people out of Harry's bedroom, showing them downstairs.

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Hope its ok...post any feedback in my feedback post here (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=76752) please

I'm glad to see that a few people have been reading my fic, but no feedback :( remember its here (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=76752)

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Chapter Two

Harry followed Aunt Petunia out of the bedroom, waving Ron and Hermione to come with him. They went downstairs into the living room, and Aunt Petunia bade them sit down. She looked down and sighed before looking at them. She opened her mouth to speak a few times, but could not seem to find the words. Finally she spoke.

"Severus Snape was a very good man to me once," she began. Harry looked at her in astonishment. He couldn't believe that that man, that evil man that had killed their headmaster, was known by Aunt Petunia, never mind good to her. Aunt Petunia carried on.

"My parents. your grandparents Harry, and I once went to see Lily in school. I was terrified, because as you know Harry, I loathe magic. But there is a reason for this. When I was thirteen, not long after my sister went to Hogwarts, I had a run-in with an evil wizard...I believe you know his name...?"

Harry looked at her. "Voldemort..." he whispered. Aunt Petunia nodded.

"I managed to get away from him, he was going to torture me for being what he called a 'muggle'...I've heard you say it too...it means I'm not magical?" Harry nodded. "But managed to get away. And as I was saying, I went to see Lily in school with my parents, in her fifth year, and there were a lot of people shouting at us. But not Severus. He stopped them, along with Lily and James. I believe it was the only time James and Severus worked together..." Harry smiled. He knew how much his father and Snape hated each other. He had completely forgotten that Ron and Hermione were in the room. He glanced at them, remembering that they were there, and they were looking as shocked as he felt.

"Anyway, because of that I began to think that not all witches and wizards were as bad as I thought they were. But then I found out that Severus, who had been so nice to me that day, was really a very nasty man...I found out that he was in league with the person who had scared me so much that day. That was when I lost all faith in magic. I felt that all magical people were double crossers, who preached one thing, yet practiced another. I couldn't cope with that, so I broke all contact with my sister, and before she died I had only two more letters from her...one to say that she was marrying James, the other to say that you had been born, and she told me your name. When she died I was distraught, but I could never show it, not with your Uncle Vernon around. So I had to pretend that you were an inconvenience to have here, and that I thought that Lily and James deserved all they got. But inside I was grieving...My sister had been killed by the man, if you could call him that, that had once tried to kill me. And there was another thing too. I couldn't show my feelings to your Uncle Vernon, because he has also had a brush with that evil wizard...although he doesn't know it yet. And he probably nevver will. In the letter that Albus Dumbledore sent me, he told me a number of things that I had to tell you...none of them very pleasant. Oh...its now your birthday. He said that you would feel immense pain as you turned seventeen...did you?" Harry nodded again.

For the first time since Aunt Petunia had arrived, Hermione spoke. "I think that was your mother's protection being ripped from you, Harry" She looked at him anxiously.

Aunt Petunia smiled. "You are a very clever girl, Hermione was it?" Hermione flushed and nodded. "Yes, that is exactly what Dumbledore said. Lily's protection would leave you when you turned seventeen, and it would be painful. He also said that there was a horcrux closer than you think. And I think I know what it is...or who it is."

"Who...you mean it could be a person?" Harry asked. The thought had never crossed his mind that Voldemort could have put a part of his soul into a person...then he remembered Professor Quirrel, from his first year at Hogwarts, who was possessed by Lord Voldemort. But that was possesion, not hiding a part of his soul.

"I know its a person." Aunt Petunia replied. "Dumbledore has it all written down here. The Horcrux is..." she gave a huge and sudden sob, "your Uncle Vernon"

Aunt Petunia dropped the letter on the floor and cried into her arms. Harry, Ron and Hermione all looked at each other, speechless

Told you I would try and post again today, and I am...it's only gonna be short tho...I'm enjoying writing this SO much lol. Anyway...

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Chapter Three

Hermione was the first to do anything. She spotted a box of tissues on the coffee table and took one. She walked over to Petunia and tapped her on the arm.

"Here, Mrs Dursley, a tissue for you. It'll save your nightie getting wet." Petunia took the tissue gratefully, wiped her eyes and blew her nose.

"Thank you, my dear." she said, rather shortly. "You shouldn't have to see me like this, especially not you, Harry." Harry stared. For as long as he could remember, he had never seen his Aunt cry. He was quite scared. If things were so bad that they were allowing his Aunt Petunia to cry in front of him, then he had a lot more responsibility than he first thought.

"Aunt Petunia...um...do you know what a horcrux is?" Harry asked, not knowing what to expect the answer to be.

"Not really, its not very well explained here in the letter." She picked the letter up off the floor. Harry took a glimpse of the familiar handwriting and felt a pang of grievance. The amount of times he had received letters with that handwriting...and now he never would again. Petunia carried on speaking. "All it says is that there is a piece of that evil wizard in your uncle and it could someday do him a lot of harm."

Harry, Ron and Hermione all looked awkward. If Petunia was upset by what she had read, then she would be completely distraught when she found out what the true reality was. Harry felt it was time to tell her the truth.

"Aunt Petunia, the-the fact that, um, Uncle Vernon is a horcrux, um, it, um means that , um, that there is a piece of Voldemort's soul placed inside him. I don't know how it could have happened, but the only way I can see of getting it out of him is by, um, uh, killing him." Harry looked terrifed at Aunt Petunia, who burst into tears.

"But, but Mrs Dursley, we'll try and find a way to get it out of him without having to resort to extreme measures," said Hermione, "There must be a way...there must." She went and sat back down on the sofa, looking faint.

Ron decided it was also his turn to put in his say. "Mrs Dursley, I'm sure Mr Dursley will be fine, unless you-know-who decides to come after him...which I'm sure he won't..." he added, as Petunia gave a wail. "But I thought I had better warn you just in case..."

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Sorry I have writer's block now lol...no idea where this is going now...

Hey...sorry, been quite a bad time, but here I go again lol!

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Chapter 5

Harry was in shock. He was unsure what to think of this news. All he could think was that this was his worst birthday ever...and he'd had a few of those. Uncle Vernon...a horcrux...it was just too strange for words. He glanced at the others in the room. Ron kept giving glances at Aunt Petunia, his mouth half open. Aunt Petunia herself was on the verge of tears again, she had switched the television on, staring unseeingly at a late night documentary on speeding drivers. Hermione, however, was sitting in the kitchen, she had produced parchment and quill, and was scribbling as fast as her hand would move, occasionally staring into space, or counting on her fingers, before resuming her never ceasing scribbling. Harry stood up and walked over to her. He looked over her shoulder and saw what he recognised from his muggle primary school as a probability diagram.

"What are you doing, Hermione?" he asked. Hermione gave a start.

"Oh! Harry, you gave me such a fright!" Hermione gave a weak laugh. "I'm trying to work out where the other horcruxes are. I've worked out that at least two of them are destroyed-"

"The diary and the ring?" Harry cut in.

"Exactly. And now we know where another one is. We know that one resides here, but we don't know what to do about it, because its your, um, uncle...but anyway...Idon't know if you know anything you haven't told me...?" Hermione looked questioningly at Harry, who nodded, with a hint of pride at having a friend like her.

"I do know about other potentials, but I'd rather we all talked about it together. Come into the living room." Harry led her back into the room, where Ron looked up, and Aunt Petunia carried on staring at the TV screen.

"Aunt Petunia," Harry started, kneeling in front of her and blocking her view of the television set, "we aren't going to do anything about Uncle Vernon just yet, I need to find out how I can solve this without...harming him."he finished lamely. Aunt Petunia began to sob again, quietly this time. Harry frowned. This was so difficult for him, even though he had never really got on well with the Dursleys. Hermione came to his aid.

"Mrs Dursley? Harry, Ron and I are going to do everything we possibly can to help you husband. We just need some help to find out how we can do this. We need to go back to school, to talk to some of our teachers so that we know what we are doing. We may all be of age now, but we still have another year of school and this last year may be the most important of our lives. I promise, we will find a way to see you throughout the year. we'll need to, just to keep your moral up." Hermione patted Aunt Petunia on the arm, then looked away. Ron was still looking uncomfortable in the background. He looked as though he wanted to say something, but for once he didn't just blurt it out. Harry turned to him.

"You alright ROn?" he asked, a slight frown on his face.

"yeah, its justthat I thought I saw someone at the window, a shadow, you know" he shrugged. Harry, however, rushed out to the door. He opened it. In the garden, standing there as though she had been put there completely by accident, was Mrs Figg, string bag and all.

"Oh, hello Harry" she said