AN:

This will not be a "Harry gets new powers and is a suddenly a BAMF and is super awesome and powerful" story. While Harry will be a BAMF in the beginning, middle and end of this story, trade offs will be made to keep things interesting and, in my opinion, more enjoyable.

The Prologue start in The Chamber of Secrets after Harry has been bitten by the Basilisk, continue onto his second year summer, third year, third year summer, and up to the train ride into fourth year.

I am not, have not, and never will be the author or owner of anything Harry Potter, except of course my own set of the books.

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Prologue

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Harry's veins screamed at him as he crawled his way to that accursed diary, that evil, dark, cursed book holding some...some...some...thing in it, whatever it was. Harry refused to believe that it was a memory of Voldemort living in that book. He wasn't an idiot, he just covered it up well. The Hat had good reason to put him in Slytherin after all. He knew that memories couldn't hold wands. Memories couldn't drain souls or life force or anything other than show experiences that a person went through. He knew it was dark, killing Ron's sister, and had just gotten him essentially killed. Basilisk venom wasn't know for being survivable.

So he crawled, fang in hand, exhausted, and focused purely on making sure that book died. He didn't hear Tom's taunts as he made his way to Ginny and the book, he didn't hear those same taunts tun to panic as he raised the fang and brought it down. Again and again and again. Then Tom disappeared, and shit got darker, louder and more painful. Whatever the book was, it didn't like being stabbed. Something black and screeching, made of sludge and mist exploded out. Right into Harry's face.

Now, this whole time, the Basilisk venom was pumping through Harry's veins. He felt it spread from his arm to his chest and stomach, then his legs and other arm and up his neck and face as the dark thing exploded out. By the time it was done Harry felt the venom in his eyes and he rolled over in agony, wishing he could have died somewhere other than a cave.

Then he felt it reach his scar. Once more the black screeching thing burst forth, this time bigger, and lasting longer. He didn't really have time to think about it, as his world was quickly fading to black. The last thing he saw was Fawkes, flaming to his arm and...crying?

LINEBREAK

As Harry woke, the first thing he noticed was pain. Pain everywhere. Pain in his eyes and scar especially. He groaned, slowly opening his eyes and looking around. He noticed was in the hospital wing again. Then, the curtains cutting him of from the rest of the room were pulled apart to reveal Albus Dumbledore.

He stepped through and realizing that Harry was awake, smiled softly. "Harry my boy," the weary sounding headmaster started."How are you feeling? Do you need anything my boy? Water, perhaps?" he asked. Harry nodded and rasped out "Hurts." The headmaster immediately conjured a glass of water and called for Madam Pomfrey. He helped Harry drink as the school healer came in and cast a few diagnostic spells. His throat not feeling as raw, Harry asked "Ron? Ginny?"

The headmaster gave a soft chuckle. "Yes, young Ronald and Ginevra are quite alright. Mr Weasley was unharmed, and the young miss is awake and making her speedy recovery with the comfort of her family as of a few days ago."

"Few days?"

"Yes my boy, I'm afraid that you have been asleep for a good while, as your body recovers." Harry nodded in response.

"Do you feel up to explaining what happened? I'm afraid we weren't able to get much from Ms. Weasley, and when I arrived after Fawkes came to get me everything was over." Madam Pomfrey shot him a dirty look that conveyed exactly what she thought of that idea.

"Yes," said Harry, feeling much better as the potions he had taken began to take effect. "It started when Ron and I went to get Professor Lockhart…" and he explained everything. Lockhart's cowardice, the backfired memory charm, cave in, and finding Ginny. His chat with Thing-Riddle, how he didn't think it was actually a memory, and the Basilisk. Fawkes and the Hat, the sword and killing the King of Snakes. Then finally, the black thing from his scar and the book and how Lucius Malfoy planted it in Ginny's things, and Fawkes, then waking up where he was now.

When he was done, the old headmaster sat back, looking every bit as old as he was. "Oh...oh my." he said."Well, Harry my boy, let me tell you that you are absolutely right about that book being more than a memory." the ancient man started. "The events of this past year, and what you've just explained to me have proven how Voldemort is still alive, in his spirit form. This, your injuries from this most recent adventure, and certain… revelations... about your relatives have given me pause about sending you back to them for the summer." Harry's eyes widened and filled with pure hope, all else temporarily forgotten. Something not missed by Madam Pomfrey nor the headmaster. "I will be using my right as your magical guardian to have you stay here, in the castle for most of the summer. You will have to return for the first two weeks or so, but it shouldn't take too long. Either Professor McGonagall or I shall pick you up from them as soon as possible." Harry smiled brightly, glad to finally be free of his awful relatives."And, in more good news, while Mr. Malfoy and the Minister were here to remove me from Hogwarts-"

"They were going to remove you from Hogwarts!" Harry shouted, suddenly infuriated. He felt a prickling in his eyes and in his veins as his magic, extremely unstable, swirled around him tussling his hair and shattering glass and vases near him. Madam Pomfrey, hearing Harry shout, and feeling his magic in the air, raced back over to where he and the headmaster were talking. Once she got a good look at him she gasped, and put a hand over her mouth in shock. The headmaster was equally surprised, and had taken a step back in his , noticing their reactions snapped at them "What!?"

Rather than saying anything, the still shocked headmaster conjured a tall mirror at the end of Harry's bed. As Harry looked, he saw not the image he had expected. It was still him, that he could tell, but he looked different now. He had balls of flame for eyes, killing curse green, with toxic yellow intermixed, and black veins spider-webbing their way across his skin. Shocked by his own appearance, his anger faded. The flames died out, and black left his veins, showing scars over his veins and the yellow eyes of a basilisk where his should have been. He looked to the headmaster for answers, and asked"Sir, what happened to me?" when he received no answer he asked again "Sir?" Thinking his appearance was still startling, he checked the mirror once more. His eyes no longer yellow and snakelike, but instead, killing curse green and glowing faintly. Realizing what might have happened, he turned to Madam Pomfrey and asked, in a panicked voice "Do you still have any of the potion for curing petrification? I think Professor Dumbledore might need some."

Madam Pomfrey, snapping out of her daze, cast a diagnostic spell on the headmaster. "How in the world…?" she trailed off "Yes, you assumed correctly Mr Potter. I'll be back in a moment." and ran of to get the potion.

After Dumbledore was unpetrified, he chucked, told Harry not to worry, and that he would help him through these new changes this summer along with MAdam Pomfrey, and continued on with what had happened, explaining that Hagrid would be back in time to see him off on the train and that he wasn't going anywhere. And all three of them were shocked to find that harry no longer needed his glasses.

As Harry moved to hop off the hospital bed he asked, "Is there any way for me to hide my scars from my relatives while I'm there? They won't take to well to me showing up looking so different."

With a sad look in his eyes, Professor Dumbledore taught Harry the sell and then cast it over him.

"Run along now my boy, the feast is later today, and I'm sure you will want to have your things packed and ready to go for the train rif]de back.".He sighed as Harry nodded and ran off to tell his friend he was alright, and enjoy the little time left in this Hogwarts year together. He hadn't wanted to burden the young boy with the prophecy or the Horcruxes yet, seeing as he didn't know where the pieces were and had wanted Harry to have a childhood away from such things, but here they were, a possessed professor last year, a possessed student along with others petrified, and a Basilisk this year. He had to help Harry survive the prophecy, and that meant training. They would begin in the summer as soon as they could.

LINEBREAK

Summer was torture for Harry.

At first it was bearable, exchanging letters with his friends and the headmaster, who insisted on being called Albus when it was the two of them, along with is relatives leaving him alone, assured by the fact he would be gone sooner than usual, and not be coming back make it fine. But then Sirius Black had escaped, tying up Albus at the Ministry, and so, training would start with school. He had sent Harry books on occlumency so that he could get a head start, so it wasn't completely awful. That is until Marge came. Unable to stand her insults to his mother, her barley reigned in his magic from shattering the delicate illusion that Dumbledore had cast, but not enough to prevent Marge from being blown up like a balloon. Harry spent most of his time in Diagon Alley going over books from the headmaster and practicing the illusion on himself, after finding out he could do magic in the Alley. He wanted to seem as normal as possible. He felt oddly comforted by the fact he had a prophecy about him and Voldemort, it gave him focus. He didn't tell Ron or Hermione about his veins, or eyes, he wanted to figure everything out with Albus first.

Third year. Dementors. Sirius Black.

If it were not for the lessons, getting his magic back under control, and research with Albus and the long talks about his parents with Professor Lupin that came after Patronus practice, Harry would have been much more miserable. Over the winter break, Harry and Albus went back into the Chamber and gathered up one of the Basilisk fangs, and lots of venom. They had the goblins sell the rest, putting all the money into Harry's family vault, with a 5% fee of course, which he was able to access with his emancipation. They took the Basilisk fang to Ollivander's and had a second wand made for Harry with his blood as the core since it held both phoenix tears and basilisk venom. At the end of the year after the escapade with Peter Pettigrew, Snape, Professor Lupin, Sirius Black and the time turner, Harry was stressed and exhausted. Albus surprised him by bringing Professor Lupin, who said to call him Moony or Remus since he wasn't teaching anymore, and Sirius into their training at the castle over the summer.

Harry spent the summer working with the three people who he came to see as uncle, father, and grandfather figures. He improved in his worst subjects, while finally able to bring his magic back under control, it would lash out if he used too much or tried a more complicated spell, and became an animagus.

His form was a 20ft basilisk that Sirius immediately nicknamed Scales.

Harry enjoyed going to the world cup with his friends, that is until the death eaters showed up, and staying with the Weasleys at the end of the summer was fun too.

As he boarded the train with his friends he hoped that this year would be normal, or at least not as deadly for him.