Disclaimer:
I don't own any of J.K. Rowling's characters, locations, or ideas.
A/N: Another independent 5th year
fic of much higher quality than Relic of Power. A true novel-length
mystery with strong romantic subplots. Totally independent of R of
P.
Harry Potter and the Relic of
Power
Chapter 1: Correspondence
Harry, lost in thought, left King's
Cross Station with the Dursleys. He would indeed follow Hagrid's
advice and be prepared for the future. He would fight Voldemort for
his parents, for his friends, for Cedric, and for himself.
He loaded his luggage into the trunk
without being told, then he sat down in the back seat behind Aunt Petunia.
The others entered the car with grim expressions and no words. Uncle
Vernon drove the old car out of the parking lot.
Images of recent memories flooded
Harry's mind. Cedric's lifeless body. Voldemort's laugh.
Wormtail's new hand. Sirius and Snape's truce. The twinkle
he thought he saw in Dumbledore's eye when he said that Voldemort could
touch him. Dumbledore telling Sirius to round up "the old crowd:"
Fletcher, Lupin . . and Arabella Figg! Suddenly, the name rang a
bell. A lady named Mrs. Figg acted as his caretaker when the Dursleys'
didn't want to deal with him. He betted they would want to keep him
there and never see him again. Was her name Arabella? The crazy
cat lady was a witch?
"Harry?" someone said. Harry
was shaken from his train of thought and tore his eyes away from the window
to the direction from which the sound had come. He saw Dudley to
his left with a curious expression on his face. Aunt Petunia had
also turned around to look at Dudley.
"Huh?" Harry managed.
"How was it?" Dudley inquired.
Harry was stunned at the sudden
interest. He began to respond, but then he saw Aunt Petunia's scowl.
"Er, it was OK," he said glumly. If Dudley was trying to bait him,
then he wasn't going to give in.
"That's it? OK?" Dudley echoed.
Harry jerked his head in his aunt's
direction, and it looked like Dudley understood. "All right," he
said and he turned his head towards the window.
He didn't know why he sympathized
with Dudley. Perhaps he felt that they should want to know about
his life. But then, was he really ever concerned with theirs'?
Well, if they weren't so spiteful, then maybe he would care. When
Aunt Petunia finally turned her head away, Harry awkwardly patted Duddley
on the shoulder with his left hand. Dudley just shook his head and
kept staring out the window. Fine, thought Harry, and he returned
to his thoughts as he too stared out at the houses as the car cruised down
the busy street.
The Dursleys' arrived late that
night. Harry took his luggage to his room without being asked, and
then he sat on his bed and tried to sort out his thoughts. Hagrid
and Madame Maxime would try to enlist the help of the giants in the fight
against Voldemort. Snape would do something for Dumbledore as well.
And Dumbledore would use his power as Headmaster to fight Voldemort regardless
of Mr. Fudge's denial of the problem. Harry felt powerless but somewhat
safe.
He heard a knock on the door; it
must have been Dudley. "Come in?"
Dudley walked in. He had lost
some weight over the year, but not very much. "Now can you answer
my question," he said in a low voice.
Harry tried to remember. "Oh
yeah, the year. Er, well, a friend of mine died. Not a great friend,
but a great person. My best friends are still OK."
"The tall, skinny red-headed kid
and the brown-haired girl who kissed you on the cheek."
Harry laughed. "Yeah," he
said. "That's Ron and Hermione."
"Okay," Dudley said. He paused.
"How'd your friend die?"
"He was killed," Harry said solemnly.
He saw Dudley's shocked expression and sighed. "I live in a dangerous
world, Dudley," he continued.
"My parents lied to you about your
parents," Dudley said finally.
"Yeah, well," Harry said, "maybe
they think they're protecting me. Or protecting themselves." He was
looking at the situation from both sides now just because of Dudley's reaching
out to him.
"Maybe," Dudley allowed. He
paused. "Your two friends like each other."
"I know," said Harry. He grinned.
"They're very weird about it, though; neither one admits it."
Just then, a rap at the window disrupted
the conversation. Harry turned his head to the window instinctively
and saw an unfamiliar brown owl with a small letter. He moved to
the window quickly and let the owl in. The owl promptly dropped the
letter in his outstretched hand. He used his other hand to open Hedwig's
cage and let the visiting owl in. A laugh distracted him as he was
about to look at the envelope.
He turned around and saw Dudley
laughing and pointing. "What is it?" Harry asked defensively.
"I was just remembering when all
those letters for you came pouring into that house," said Dudley when he
had regained his composure. "Dad was throwing a fit!"
Harry grinned. Dudley had
been given a pig's tail that day as well, so Harry was surprised that Dudley
found this so funny.
"You wizards have a crazy way of
doing things," Dudley continued. "Have you even heard of email?"
"No," Harry said simply. He
looked at the envelope. In neat handwriting that he had not seen before,
it read:
To Harry Potter
From Cho Chang
Harry was stunned. "Of all
the people who could owl me," he said out loud to himself.
"Who's it from?" Dudley asked as
Harry carefully opened the letter.
"The girl I have a crush on," said
Harry distantly as he took the letter out and began to read:
Dear Harry,
How are you?
I hope that things have been going well. Cedric's parents told my parents
what really happened and what you offered to do for them, and I thank you
for your concern. You must mourn Cedric just as the Diggorys and I do.
I have not been taking it well, and you might feel the same way. We should
grieve together instead of alone, don't you think?
Sincerely,
Cho
"So what does it say?" asked Dudley
anxiously.
Harry, lost in thought, absently
handed the note to Dudley. He remembered Cho's tears at the closing
banquet and his stomach lurched. He felt bad for Cedric, but how
badly must Cho feel? They seemed to get along pretty well.
They were at least good friends. Harry felt somewhat jealous suddenly,
but he soon chided himself for those thoughts. If she was suffering,
then he should help her through it, whether she was his crush or not.
She had picked him to talk to, even if she had loads of closer friends.
That meant something.
"So who's Cedric?" Dudley asked,
and Harry lost his train of thought.
"The guy who died," said Harry with
some irritation.
"Your crush's boyfriend died?"
"I don't think he was her boyfriend,"
said Harry with slight doubt. "Maybe he would have been her boyfriend
eventually. Or maybe not."
"What did you offer to do?" said
Dudley after glancing at the note again.
"Oh, just give them some money,"
Harry replied distantly as he took out some parchment, a quill, and a bottle
of ink. He tried to write a reply, but at first he couldn't quite
think of the words to write. He finally finished it and looked it
over:
Dear Cho,
I arrived
a few hours ago. I am really sorry for you. Cedric was a really
nice kid. If Cedric's parents told you about what happened, then
you know that it was my idea to claim the cup at the same time. So,
in a way, it's my fault. If you ever want to talk about it, then
feel free to owl me and I will reply as soon as I can. Have a good
summer.
Sincerely,
Harry
Dudley was looking over his shoulder.
"This is too complicated. I won't ask," he said. He motioned
to leave.
Harry watched him go. "Dudley, how
was your school year?"
"It was OK," said Dudley with a
grin. Harry laughed as Dudley shut the door and left.
Sleepiness took hold of Harry and
he kicked off his shoes and socks and went to sleep in his day clothes.
Cho responded the next day via the
same owl:
Dear Harry,
Thank you
for letting me bear this with you, especially when you hardly know me.
Cedric cared for me and listened to me as all great friends do. I
really do miss him. We had been friends since our first year at Hogwarts
together. His parents struggle these days with the loss of their
beloved, only child.
Harry, you
did nothing wrong. You did so much for him and those who loved him.
Please don't blame yourself.
Sincerely,
Cho
Harry replied as honestly as he
could, even if it hurt him somewhat to do so:
Dear Cho,
I don't blame
myself so much, really. I know that I tried. He really loved
you; I could see it in his eyes at the ball. Please don't be so sad.
I don't think he would have wanted that.
Sincerely,
Harry
"You're avoiding the issue," said
Dudley after reading it over Harry's shoulder.
"What are you talking about?" asked
Harry defensively.
"She probably knows you have a crush
on her. Trust me, girls know when someone's staring at them.
There was this senior girl last year and . . " He paused. "It's not
important." Harry suppressed a laugh. "The point is that you
can't keep that up forever. Just be out with it; maybe it'll cheer
her up."
"Yeah right," said Harry.
"Every guy in the school would like to date her. Why would she care
about a scrawny, messy-haired kid like me? And even if she could
like me, do you really think I'd take advantage of her situation like that?"
"Oh yeah, let's wait for the situation
to change," said Dudley with some sarcasm. "Let's wait until after
Cedric comes back to life before we make a move. You are such
a wimp, Harry. No offense."
"None taken," said Harry with some
sarcasm. They had somehow gotten along well by acting like they still
hated each other.
He tied the note to the leg of Cho's
owl, and the owl took off into the night. Soon enough, Harry's fifth
year would begin.
A/N: This is a similar beginning
to my other 5th year story. Enjoy!
