DISCLAIMER

I do not own any of the trademarks, characters, settings or situations that are part of the Harry Potter universe. All copyrights for these are held by J. K. Rowling. All other material contained herein is my own. This material may be copied or reproduced in alternative formats, however I ask you out of courtesy to seek my permission before doing so. Thank you.

This chapter is being re-posted with some alterations, hopefully for the better. I thought the reason I haven't updateed in such a long time was because I was so busy, which is still true, but I found out yesterday that I've been fighting writers' block. After finding some tips, I decided to go back over the chapters already posted, before starting on the next bit. Hopefully I'll have worked out where I want to go with the story by then. Enjoy.

Harry Potter and the Heir of the Light

Chapter 3 - Realizations

His hair was matted, his eyelids heavy and his mouth dry and parched as though he had not had a drink in days. The one coherent thought that went through his mind was "What on Earth…?".

Harry woke up what seemed like hours later, but was in reality only a few minutes. His mind seemed oddly clear, but yet he could not fully remember what had happened and how he ended up lying on the floor by his window. Propping himself up against the wall and looking around, he immediately noticed one startling thing – his vision was fuzzy. This in itself was not of any great concern to him, as he usually had difficulty seeing without his glasses, until he found that he was in fact already wearing them, and the correct ones at that. He took them off, and suddenly his vision cleared. Surprised, he put them on again and the fuzziness returned.

He sat there, dazed, as the realisation that his eyesight had somehow improved to the point where he no longer needed his glasses dawned upon him. Looking down at himself, he saw that his clothes were sticking to his skin and that Dudley's once baggy trousers were now hanging limply just above his ankles.

"Hold on!", he thought. "This isn't right. Since when have Dudley's clothes ever fit me?" He looked at his arms and saw that the large-sized t-shirt he was wearing was also uncomfortably tight. He flexed his arms and legs, and was even more surprised to feel no pain. In the past he had often woken up on the floor after passing out following one of the beatings given to him by Uncle Vernon for one of the many infractions of the rules he had not performed. It had often taken him several days to recover fully and for the bruises to disappear. But here he was, grimy and sweaty but seemingly untouched. He also felt alive, more alive than he had ever felt before. He felt as though he could do anything if he put his mind to it. He had never been the strongest person in his year, due to a combination of his stunted growth as a result of his mistreatment at the hands of the Dursleys and a childhood of constantly being denied the simple joys of youth. But now he truly felt as though his body was his to control, his to command as he saw fit. And with this realisation he made a dicision. A decision that was long overdue. A decision about his life and his future that was his and his alone to make. A decision that he could cherish and take pride in. A decision that would change his life from now on.

'He would live. Truly live. Not smothered by a blanket of fear. Not covered by an icing of half-truths and make-believes. Not trapped in a cocoon of routine and moulding to the will of others. His life would be his, and his to own and control.'

With these thoughts in his head and the determination which was one of his Gryffindor traits, he got up, took a towel and a change of clothes from his trunk and headed towards the bathroom for a hot shower. He intended to start his new life from this moment on, and wanted to do it with a fresh, clean start.

Stepping into the shower, he turned it on and let the hot water cascade over his body, washing away the sweat and grime of the day. His mind thought back over his last five years at Hogwarts, cataloguing his experiences and encounters. He found that it was much easier to pick out particular thoughts and store them. It was ironic, that the very thing that Snape had tried to teach him forcefully over the last year in his, as far as he was concerned anyway, doomed-from-the-start Occlumency lessons came so easily to him now. 'If only I could have done that at Hogwarts', he thought, 'Sirius would still be alive'. The thought of his Godfather brought tears to his eyes once more, but this time he felt no shame, just relief. He wanted to get on with his life, and to do that he would have to let go of all the pain and grief he had pent up inside of him. He remembered how many times he had blown up in Ron and Hermione's faces during the year, and wowed not to do that again. So he sank down into the bath tub and let the tears flow freely. Tears for Sirius, tears for his Parents, tears for all the people that had been killed at the hands of Voldermort. He sat there for what seemed like an eternity and when he was finished, felt not the emptiness and helplessness that he had so many times before, but a sense of relief that he had unburdened himself of the sorrow. He knew that this was not the end, but also knew that there would be time for grief later, when he had done what had to be done, fulfilled his destiny and avenged his parents.

He stepped out of the bath and changed his clothes, then went into his bedroom. Looking at the clock he found that he had been out for just half an hour. He thought he would check on how the Dursleys were doing and therefore walked onto the landing and leaned over the banister. He heard the sound of voices and the television in the living room and relaxed. 'Seems as though they got over the attack fairly quickly then', he thought. 'But I'd better write to the order just in case'.

He walked back into his room and over to the desk and looked at the letter he had planned to write before. He picked up his quill, thought for a moment and wrote:

"To whoever may read this,

I arrived home safely with the Dursleys and am safe. By the way, thank you for threatening them at the station. They have hardly said a word to me since we left and that is fine.

I was about to write to you earlier to tell you when there was an attack by Death Eaters. Bellatrix Lestrange used the Cruciatus Curse on my Aunt Petunia but Uncle Vernon and Dudley were fine."

He wondered whether or not to tell them about the mysterious magic he had done, both in the car on the way back to Privet Drive and later on during the attack but decided not to. They would only send more people over and ask even more questions, and he didn't want that right now.

"I don't know what happened but all the Death Eaters suddenly left the front hall. I was just at the top of the stairs at that point and didn't see what happened. Perhaps whoever was watching me got the rest of you in time. Anyway I promised Professor Dumbledore that I would tell him if anything major happened and so I have.

Harry."

He read over the note again and smiled. It got the message across but at the same time he thought they would see through it to its true meaning. He put it aside and thinking he would also write a quick note to Ron and Hermione got out two more pieces of parchment and began to write.

"Dear Ron,

I hope you are fine. I reached Privet Drive OK but haven't been doing much. Was sending a couple of letters so just thought I'd write to you too.

Keep safe.

Harry."

"Dear Hermione,

How are you? I hope you are fine. I reached Privet Drive OK but haven't been doing anything much. Enjoy your holiday – I bet you've started reading already for next year. Was just sending a couple of letters and thought I'd write to you too.

Keep safe.

Harry."

As though anticipating that she would be needed, Hedwig flew over and perched on the edge of the desk. "Hey girl.", said Harry. "Could you take these notes to the Order, Ron and Hermione? Keep safe and try not to be seen." Hedwig hooted a little indignantly, as though she would do anything but, but took the notes in her beak and soared out of the window into the clear night sky.

Well that's another chapter done. Thanks to those who reviewed:

Ms dumplings, Treck, Kyra Kitsune Ryu, Inappropriate Goat, ShadowMoony

Last Revised: 11 January 2006