Disclaimer: I do not own all or any part of the Harry Potter series. That
belongs to J.K. Rowling. Any resemblance of characters in my story to real
people or places is purely coincidental.
Chapter 1 - Summer
Harry Potter - a green-eyed, raven-haired boy - looked out into the dark sky devoid of any owls and let out a sigh of exasperation. It had only been two days since his return to number 3 Privet Drive, and he was already bored out of his mind. He could only think of those terrible things that had happened just this year.
'Sirius.' Those memories were still to painful. It felt like he had just met him yesterday and already he was gone. forever. Even those terrible memories of Cedric still haunted him. People told him it wasn't his fault, and he knew it wasn't; but Cedric and Sirius were both supposed to still be alive. There was only one person to be blamed for all of this: Tom Marvolo Riddle; also known as He-who-must-not-be-named to all those cowards who didn't dare say his name.
Revenge and anger. Those were the two things going through Harry's mind. Anger at himself for not learning Occlumency like Dumbledore had asked (though Snape didn't make it any easier for him) and at Voldemort for taking away his only remaining semblance of true family. 'That's not true,' he thought, 'I've still got Remus.' He wanted revenge, and he would get it if it was the last thing he ever did.
He ran his hands through his hair and sighed again. 'I seem to be doing that a lot lately,' he thought. He got up and walked over to the cracked mirror on the wall. A tall, pale, skinny kid looked back at him. No, not a kid; a man. He was nearly 5'10" (he had grown over the last year) and was as thin as a stick. 'I definitely need to put on some muscle and weight,' he thought. 'I'm going to become strong. stronger than Voldemort, stronger than Dumbledore, stronger than both of them combined. The prophecy said either be a murderer or be murdered. I think I'd choose the first any day.'
With that thought, he crawled back into bed hoping to get at least a few hours of rest before being woken by horrid, heart-wrenching nightmares.
After around five hours of sleep - the most he had for over a month - he got up and went down to cook breakfast for the Dursleys. They hadn't pestered him at all this summer - probably out of fear of Mad-Eye Moody - but he figured that he had better stay on their good side anyway. After grabbing a piece of bacon and a glass of orange juice for himself, he wore a pair of shorts and old, torn running sneakers and went out to run. He figured he would get into at least decent physical fitness before anything else. He couldn't do with collapsing during a Death Eater fight. After running for nearly an hour, he found a local gym that was about seven kilometers from his home. With some of the money that he had exchanged into pounds from his Gringotts account, he signed up for a membership and got started on working out right away. He didn't really know what to do, so a trainer came and helped him out.
Harry told the trainer that he didn't really care for muscle mass, he just wanted to be able to run faster, be stronger, and last longer than he could already. The trainer seemed to understand and helped him out right away. After a good two hours, Harry lightly jogged back home and ran up and took a shower before the Dursleys could ask where he went. He dressed and locked himself in his room.
Now, he started studying his magic. He put in orders from Flourish & Blotts for new books on nearly every fighting book available: books on strategy, dueling, curses, hexes, dark arts, charms, advanced healing, apparition, elemental powers, and anything he thought would be interesting. He even ordered a simple book on Animagi, though he knew that one would be difficult. Still, it would take a few days for all of his books to come in so he decided to do a little bit of self-study on magic.
After skimming over his previous five years of books, he decided to become a researcher of sorts. 'Magic had to be discovered. It couldn't have always been there, and for that matter, wands had to be made by wizards; they didn't just pop out of the ground. So, obviously, people did magic before the inventions of wands; but how? Like accidental magic? Yes, but more controlled.' With those theories, he decided to re-discover magic.
He started with meditating. Accidental magic always happened when he had strong emotions. He didn't really care about the ministry's ban on underage wizardry anymore since he decided he was too important for the light side to lose. He focused on one emotion. anger. and called his invisibility cloak to him. At first, it did nothing; but then, it started twitching. With his brow furrowed, he concentrated even more at the anger he felt towards the unfairness of his life and all at once, the cloak flew at him with such force that it knocked the wind out of him along with a feeling like butterflies were somewhere near his chest. 'That's strange,' he thought. He started meditating again and focused on the area of his chest where he got that weird feeling. He sat like that for hours at a time. He finally found what it was. That ticklish-feeling was the core of his magical power. He had found it! 'So, a wand is simply a channel for your core power!'
Over the next few days, he continued to go the gym and study his core. It was much bigger than he thought. 'So, I do have potential. Dumbledore wasn't completely lying when he hinted that I was powerful. Hopefully I'm powerful enough.'
After getting his books from the book store, he continued his routine everyday for nearly four weeks without break. He was getting extremely powerful and he was sure that he could give even Dumbledore a run for his money without his wand. The only things circulating on his mind were: gain power, get stronger, Ginny Weasley, study more, run faster, Ginny Weasley, obtain knowledge, Ginny Weasley, etc. 'How did Ginny get in there? Oh, well, she is quite the stunner. Too bad she's going out with Dean.'
He was sending letter to the Order every three days so that they didn't come and harm the Dursleys. He also started writing Ginny, mostly because he was thinking of her so much. He started with simple letters until they warmed up to each other and started sharing things with each other such as the nightmares that he had and the nightmares that Ginny still had about the Chamber of Secrets.
His birthday was fast approaching and he felt he still had much to do. He had only started looking into Animagi and he still hadn't even started studying Elemental powers, which he couldn't wait to try. He had grown to almost 6'0" and had a orange-brownish tan that went well with his green eyes which seemed to sparkle with more knowledge and power than they ever used to. His messy black hair had become slightly longer going down to his neck and framing his well defined-face. He no longer had the skinny- lost boy look; instead, he looked like a thin yet muscular man who any hot- blooded woman would have a hard time not falling head-over-heels for (though his clothes could definitely have used some improvement).
On the night of his birthday, he quit his exercises early and went to bed at only 10:30. Of course, he ended up waking at 11:59 to taps on his window coming from a few owls that were floating outside of his window. He walked over and opened the window to let the birds into his room. He opened Pig's letter first so that he could send him off without much causing too much of a racket; though the fluff-ball was already zooming around his room in happiness. Harry opened the letter and read:
Hiya Harry!
Happy Birthday! Your gift is attached to Errol. How have you been? Don't let the muggles get you down, eh? And what happened to Sirius wasn't your fault, so don't feel so bad about it. Guess, what? Hermione is coming to the Burrow next week! Isn't that great? Oh, and I got 16 O.W.L.s! That's better than Percy did! And why have you and Ginny been writing to each other so much lately? There better not be anything going one, or else. Anyway, mum and dad say we'll pick you up around three days before going to school so that we can go to Diagon Alley, so just hold tight, k? -Ron
Attached to Errol was a box filled with a cake and sweets from Mrs. Weasley, a new Chudley Cannons poster from Ron, and a box that had the fancy label: "WWW". Inside the box were all the latest Weasley's Wizard Wheezes along with a note.
Hello partner,
That's right, partner! Because of your healthy donation to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, you have been given 25% ownership of the company. Use these latest Wheezes wisely! -Gred & Forge Co-owners of WWW
'These will definitely be useful on Dudley,' Harry thought. The next present he opened was from Hermoine. Other than a note saying "Happy Birthday" and the normal chatter, there wasn't much. She also gave him a wizarding watch that had different planets aligned in circular patterns to tell the time. Hagrid had also sent him some rock cakes (which Harry didn't touch) and a beautifully carved bow and quiver with arrows. Harry really liked these and swore to start practicing from tomorrow. Next, and surprisingly, he opened a present from Dumbledore. It was a sword. It looked exactly like Godric Gryffindor's sword from the Chamber of Secrets except for the fact that it had the name "Harry Potter" inscribed along the side. Harry swung it around a few times and saw that the weight and grip fit him perfectly. Finally, he opened a present from Ginny. She had gotten him a very expensive-looking pendant. It was of a Phoenix with its wings spread surrounded by two fighting Griffins. The Phoenix had a green emerald for an eye and all-in-all, the pendant looked really special. 'Wow, Ginny,' was all Harry could think until another, important-looking owl poked him in the finger. He opened the official looking letter that it held and read:
To: Mr. Harry Potter From: The Ministry of Magic Education Department
I am pleased to report that your OWL scores have arrived. Any misunderstandings can be taken care of at the head office in the Ministry of Magic.
Grading Scale:
Outstanding: 3 OWLs; Exceeds Expectations: 2 OWLs; Acceptable: 1 OWL; Anything lower means you did not pass that subject.
Scores:
Astronomy - Theory: Outstanding; Practical: Exceeds
Expectations (disturbance during exam taken into account)
Charms - Theory: Outstanding; Practical: Outstanding
Defense Against the Dark Arts - Theory: Outstanding*; Practical: Outstanding*
Divination - Theory: Acceptable; Practical: Troll.
History of Magic - Acceptable
Potions - Theory: Outstanding; Practical: Outstanding*
Transfiguration - Theory: Outstanding*; Practical: Outstanding*
Total OWLs:
34
Having a * next to the grade means that you have the highest score in the history of Hogwarts.
Congratualtions, The Ministry of Magic
'34 OWLs? I never in my dreams hoped to get that high!' With that thought he ripped open the last envelope that had the Hogwarts crest on it. It was a letter from Dumbledore asking him to take the position of Prefect as he rightfully deserved it last year. The letter also asked him to become the new Quidditch Captain since all of the old players were gone. This really angered him. He wrote replies to all of his friends and finally wrote a reply telling Dumbledore that he still had his dignity and if he deserved the Prefect position last year then he should have gotten it last year, not this year; however, Harry did accept the Quidditch Captain position.
Finally done with that and with a last 'Happy Birthday, Harry!' he went to sleep, not expecting what was to happen next.
Chapter 1 - Summer
Harry Potter - a green-eyed, raven-haired boy - looked out into the dark sky devoid of any owls and let out a sigh of exasperation. It had only been two days since his return to number 3 Privet Drive, and he was already bored out of his mind. He could only think of those terrible things that had happened just this year.
'Sirius.' Those memories were still to painful. It felt like he had just met him yesterday and already he was gone. forever. Even those terrible memories of Cedric still haunted him. People told him it wasn't his fault, and he knew it wasn't; but Cedric and Sirius were both supposed to still be alive. There was only one person to be blamed for all of this: Tom Marvolo Riddle; also known as He-who-must-not-be-named to all those cowards who didn't dare say his name.
Revenge and anger. Those were the two things going through Harry's mind. Anger at himself for not learning Occlumency like Dumbledore had asked (though Snape didn't make it any easier for him) and at Voldemort for taking away his only remaining semblance of true family. 'That's not true,' he thought, 'I've still got Remus.' He wanted revenge, and he would get it if it was the last thing he ever did.
He ran his hands through his hair and sighed again. 'I seem to be doing that a lot lately,' he thought. He got up and walked over to the cracked mirror on the wall. A tall, pale, skinny kid looked back at him. No, not a kid; a man. He was nearly 5'10" (he had grown over the last year) and was as thin as a stick. 'I definitely need to put on some muscle and weight,' he thought. 'I'm going to become strong. stronger than Voldemort, stronger than Dumbledore, stronger than both of them combined. The prophecy said either be a murderer or be murdered. I think I'd choose the first any day.'
With that thought, he crawled back into bed hoping to get at least a few hours of rest before being woken by horrid, heart-wrenching nightmares.
After around five hours of sleep - the most he had for over a month - he got up and went down to cook breakfast for the Dursleys. They hadn't pestered him at all this summer - probably out of fear of Mad-Eye Moody - but he figured that he had better stay on their good side anyway. After grabbing a piece of bacon and a glass of orange juice for himself, he wore a pair of shorts and old, torn running sneakers and went out to run. He figured he would get into at least decent physical fitness before anything else. He couldn't do with collapsing during a Death Eater fight. After running for nearly an hour, he found a local gym that was about seven kilometers from his home. With some of the money that he had exchanged into pounds from his Gringotts account, he signed up for a membership and got started on working out right away. He didn't really know what to do, so a trainer came and helped him out.
Harry told the trainer that he didn't really care for muscle mass, he just wanted to be able to run faster, be stronger, and last longer than he could already. The trainer seemed to understand and helped him out right away. After a good two hours, Harry lightly jogged back home and ran up and took a shower before the Dursleys could ask where he went. He dressed and locked himself in his room.
Now, he started studying his magic. He put in orders from Flourish & Blotts for new books on nearly every fighting book available: books on strategy, dueling, curses, hexes, dark arts, charms, advanced healing, apparition, elemental powers, and anything he thought would be interesting. He even ordered a simple book on Animagi, though he knew that one would be difficult. Still, it would take a few days for all of his books to come in so he decided to do a little bit of self-study on magic.
After skimming over his previous five years of books, he decided to become a researcher of sorts. 'Magic had to be discovered. It couldn't have always been there, and for that matter, wands had to be made by wizards; they didn't just pop out of the ground. So, obviously, people did magic before the inventions of wands; but how? Like accidental magic? Yes, but more controlled.' With those theories, he decided to re-discover magic.
He started with meditating. Accidental magic always happened when he had strong emotions. He didn't really care about the ministry's ban on underage wizardry anymore since he decided he was too important for the light side to lose. He focused on one emotion. anger. and called his invisibility cloak to him. At first, it did nothing; but then, it started twitching. With his brow furrowed, he concentrated even more at the anger he felt towards the unfairness of his life and all at once, the cloak flew at him with such force that it knocked the wind out of him along with a feeling like butterflies were somewhere near his chest. 'That's strange,' he thought. He started meditating again and focused on the area of his chest where he got that weird feeling. He sat like that for hours at a time. He finally found what it was. That ticklish-feeling was the core of his magical power. He had found it! 'So, a wand is simply a channel for your core power!'
Over the next few days, he continued to go the gym and study his core. It was much bigger than he thought. 'So, I do have potential. Dumbledore wasn't completely lying when he hinted that I was powerful. Hopefully I'm powerful enough.'
After getting his books from the book store, he continued his routine everyday for nearly four weeks without break. He was getting extremely powerful and he was sure that he could give even Dumbledore a run for his money without his wand. The only things circulating on his mind were: gain power, get stronger, Ginny Weasley, study more, run faster, Ginny Weasley, obtain knowledge, Ginny Weasley, etc. 'How did Ginny get in there? Oh, well, she is quite the stunner. Too bad she's going out with Dean.'
He was sending letter to the Order every three days so that they didn't come and harm the Dursleys. He also started writing Ginny, mostly because he was thinking of her so much. He started with simple letters until they warmed up to each other and started sharing things with each other such as the nightmares that he had and the nightmares that Ginny still had about the Chamber of Secrets.
His birthday was fast approaching and he felt he still had much to do. He had only started looking into Animagi and he still hadn't even started studying Elemental powers, which he couldn't wait to try. He had grown to almost 6'0" and had a orange-brownish tan that went well with his green eyes which seemed to sparkle with more knowledge and power than they ever used to. His messy black hair had become slightly longer going down to his neck and framing his well defined-face. He no longer had the skinny- lost boy look; instead, he looked like a thin yet muscular man who any hot- blooded woman would have a hard time not falling head-over-heels for (though his clothes could definitely have used some improvement).
On the night of his birthday, he quit his exercises early and went to bed at only 10:30. Of course, he ended up waking at 11:59 to taps on his window coming from a few owls that were floating outside of his window. He walked over and opened the window to let the birds into his room. He opened Pig's letter first so that he could send him off without much causing too much of a racket; though the fluff-ball was already zooming around his room in happiness. Harry opened the letter and read:
Hiya Harry!
Happy Birthday! Your gift is attached to Errol. How have you been? Don't let the muggles get you down, eh? And what happened to Sirius wasn't your fault, so don't feel so bad about it. Guess, what? Hermione is coming to the Burrow next week! Isn't that great? Oh, and I got 16 O.W.L.s! That's better than Percy did! And why have you and Ginny been writing to each other so much lately? There better not be anything going one, or else. Anyway, mum and dad say we'll pick you up around three days before going to school so that we can go to Diagon Alley, so just hold tight, k? -Ron
Attached to Errol was a box filled with a cake and sweets from Mrs. Weasley, a new Chudley Cannons poster from Ron, and a box that had the fancy label: "WWW". Inside the box were all the latest Weasley's Wizard Wheezes along with a note.
Hello partner,
That's right, partner! Because of your healthy donation to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, you have been given 25% ownership of the company. Use these latest Wheezes wisely! -Gred & Forge Co-owners of WWW
'These will definitely be useful on Dudley,' Harry thought. The next present he opened was from Hermoine. Other than a note saying "Happy Birthday" and the normal chatter, there wasn't much. She also gave him a wizarding watch that had different planets aligned in circular patterns to tell the time. Hagrid had also sent him some rock cakes (which Harry didn't touch) and a beautifully carved bow and quiver with arrows. Harry really liked these and swore to start practicing from tomorrow. Next, and surprisingly, he opened a present from Dumbledore. It was a sword. It looked exactly like Godric Gryffindor's sword from the Chamber of Secrets except for the fact that it had the name "Harry Potter" inscribed along the side. Harry swung it around a few times and saw that the weight and grip fit him perfectly. Finally, he opened a present from Ginny. She had gotten him a very expensive-looking pendant. It was of a Phoenix with its wings spread surrounded by two fighting Griffins. The Phoenix had a green emerald for an eye and all-in-all, the pendant looked really special. 'Wow, Ginny,' was all Harry could think until another, important-looking owl poked him in the finger. He opened the official looking letter that it held and read:
To: Mr. Harry Potter From: The Ministry of Magic Education Department
I am pleased to report that your OWL scores have arrived. Any misunderstandings can be taken care of at the head office in the Ministry of Magic.
Grading Scale:
Outstanding: 3 OWLs; Exceeds Expectations: 2 OWLs; Acceptable: 1 OWL; Anything lower means you did not pass that subject.
Scores:
Astronomy - Theory: Outstanding; Practical: Exceeds
Expectations (disturbance during exam taken into account)
Charms - Theory: Outstanding; Practical: Outstanding
Defense Against the Dark Arts - Theory: Outstanding*; Practical: Outstanding*
Divination - Theory: Acceptable; Practical: Troll.
History of Magic - Acceptable
Potions - Theory: Outstanding; Practical: Outstanding*
Transfiguration - Theory: Outstanding*; Practical: Outstanding*
Total OWLs:
34
Having a * next to the grade means that you have the highest score in the history of Hogwarts.
Congratualtions, The Ministry of Magic
'34 OWLs? I never in my dreams hoped to get that high!' With that thought he ripped open the last envelope that had the Hogwarts crest on it. It was a letter from Dumbledore asking him to take the position of Prefect as he rightfully deserved it last year. The letter also asked him to become the new Quidditch Captain since all of the old players were gone. This really angered him. He wrote replies to all of his friends and finally wrote a reply telling Dumbledore that he still had his dignity and if he deserved the Prefect position last year then he should have gotten it last year, not this year; however, Harry did accept the Quidditch Captain position.
Finally done with that and with a last 'Happy Birthday, Harry!' he went to sleep, not expecting what was to happen next.