Harry Potter and the Dragon of Magic
Chapter 5- Godric's Hollow
(A/N: ok, this is chapter 5. I haven't been writing for a bit, that's why this took so long to come out. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this. I want to thank Snowlily for the Idea even though I don't think it will show in this chapter! R/R! ~Phalanx)
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Harry stared out the window of his small room into the darkness of the night. He could see the quarter moon hanging low in the sky, but most of the stars were faded due to the many lights. Harry sighed, his brow creased as he frowned with worry. He looked over at Hedwig who was sleeping in her cage, he head tucked beneath her wing.
"Hedwig." Harry said in a loud whisper.
Hedwig's head swiveled as she looked at Harry with disdain for waking her up. She hooted as it to say 'What do you want now?'
Harry smiled lightly, "Sorry, didn't mean to wake you up, I just thought you might want to go hunt. I don't have much to give you. I'm on pretty strict rations myself." Hedwig stared at him for a minute, then hooted appreciatively and stared pointedly at the closed cage door.
Harry stood up and silently walked across the room. He opened the door to the cage, then held out his arm for Hedwig to perch on, which she did, stretching her wings gratefully. Harry winced as she dug in her talons to keep her balance when he walked back across to the window. Hedwig hooted and nipped his ear lightly as if to say 'Sorry!' then launched out the window, gliding gracefully along the ground, then pulling up into the dark night air.
Harry watched her until she disappeared, then sighed and continued to scan the sky for an owl other than Hedwig. Harry had sent Ron an owl about a week ago, the day after his first karate lesson, and he had yet to get one back. Hedwig had come back later than usual, with now answer, and looked very worn out, as though she had flown a lot longer than just to Ottery St. Catchpole and back. Harry sighed, he admitted he was worried about Ron. Then again, if something had happened to his best friend, someone would have told him. right? What if they had just forgotten about him?
Harry shook his head, banishing the thought and looked back into the sky. He half stood up, eyes wide with hope. There, just above the house across the street, Harry could see an owl skimming the roof. He watched it's progress, and let out a sigh of disappointment. It wasn't headed for #4, instead it swooped through the window of a plain house just down the street. With a frown, Harry realized that was the house of Mrs. Figg, Harry's old babysitter.
What was Mrs. Figg doing getting an owl? Did she have some relatives who were connected with the wizarding world? Harry's thoughts were broken off as movement caught his eye. Another owl was swooping its way toward him. Harry grinned, sure this one was for him.
He stepped aside to let the large Great Horned Owl fly through his window and onto his bed, where it stared expectantly at him.
"Who are you?" Harry asked the owl, wouldn't Ron have used Pig? Harry shrugged and compliantly took the letter from the owl. The owl, with a regal air, ruffled its feathers and took off out the window. Harry smiled and opened the letter.
Dear Harry,
How are you doing? I'm doing fine, great actually. I hope you weren't too worried when I didn't reply right away. I was pretty busy and I didn't think it was fair to keep Hedwig here any longer than I had to. Anyway, if you're wondering where I am, I am in Ireland. I know it's not that far, but it's awesome here. There are a lot of castles, some which could rival Hogwarts! I sent a couple of pictures, but I'm not sure if that owl is trustworthy. It's glaring at me right now. Anyway, I don't think you should send Hedwig until I get back, she looked a bit winded when she got here. I should back about a week before school starts so about the 25th. Do you think you will be able to get to Diagon Alley on the 27th? Hermione owled me and asked if I could go and I told her I would ask you. It's all right with my folk and if you can't get a ride, I'm sure mum will arrange something to come get you. Well, if you want, you can send an owl to the Burrow and we'll get it when we get back.
I'm glad you found something to do there since you couldn't come with us. That class sounds fun and I wish I could meet Danny and Simon, they sound like fun. And are you sure Alyssa is Dean's sister? There have to be a lot of Thomas's out there. Anyway, I gotta end this, that owl is starting to freak me out. I'll see you on Sep. 1st at the latest.
1 Ron
Harry grinned and glanced at the calendar. It was the 9th already. Surprisingly, Harry was no longer counting down the days till September first. Sure his chores were horrible, and he couldn't wait to get back to Hogwarts, but with Karate lessons every morning, the summers were definitely more tolerable at least.
It sounds like the Weasleys are having fun. Harry smiled and grabbed the envelope off the bed. Sure enough, there was a small bunch of wizard pictures still in it. He flipped through them, most showing the Weasleys grinning and waving at the camera with a large castle behind them. One, however, caught his attention more than the others. Like the others, it showed the Weasleys, but behind them was not a castle, but a large mansion. It struck Harry's interest, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it before. He shook his head and slipped the pictures back into the envelope, thoughts whirling in his mind. He grinned as he slipped under the covers and flicked off the light. Now that he knew what was up with Ron, he could sleep easy. Or so he thought.
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Harry's feet slammed into the ground. When he had recovered from the shock, he looked around. He was at the same place as the last dream. The ivy-covered mansion, the same mansion that he had met Voldemort in. This time, he was going to find out exactly where he was. He could see a wide gravel road leading into the forest. Assuming this lead toward the street, Harry walked that way. About 5 minutes later, he came out onto an even larger gravel road.
Is anything paved around here? Harry though, even as he thought this he knew he liked the ruggedness of it all. He glanced at the large stone arch at the mouth of the first gravel road. In large script, it read: Godric's Hollow. (A/N: honestly, what were you expecting?)
Harry searched his mind for anything on a Godric's Hollow, but came up with nothing. He remembered the last time he was here, in his last nightmare. There had been the scorched paper that Voldemort had crumpled, but was there anything else? Anything that Voldemort hadn't found that would give him a clue as to what had happened there?
Harry started back up the path to the mansion. As he walked, a new thought struck him. What had Voldemort been doing there anyway? Was this his new hideout? Or was he looking for something on a suspicious new Death Eater perhaps? Maybe it had something to do with him. Harry frowned, if it might have something to do with him, it was just more of a reason to search it.
At the tail end of this thought, he came out into the open area of Godric's Hollow. With determination on his face, he strode purposefully towards the door of the mansion. He had expected to feel pain in his scar, but it stayed dormant. Good, Harry thought, No Voldie this time. Harry grinned and stepped up onto the porch of the mansion. He raised his hand to knock, then stopped and berated himself as he opened the door.
Do you think Voldemort knocked last time? Anyway, this is a dream; you can just walk right in. And Harry did just that. He tentatively stepped through the door and glanced about the front entrance. There was a coat tree in one corner, as well as a closet with mats on the floor for shoes. Though, for some reason, Harry decided to keep his shoes on.
He smiled and walked through the glass doors and into a large room. His smile vanished. Everything was scorched at least, there were ashes all over the place and a think layer of dust on everything. Harry walked across the room, broken glass crunching beneath his feet. He walked over to where a burnt picture hung on the wall, he could barely make out two human beings in the picture, though he could not tell who they were. The only thing he could see was a patch of red. Harry shook his head and looked down at an end table, there was a glass vase on it, though there was nothing in it, and below that was some sort of paper, again, scorched. He picked it up lightly. The black parts immediately falling off in flakes. He squinted at what was rest of it. It was in obviously a woman's handwriting. He couldn't tell what it said however. Frustrated, he set it back down on the end table and glanced around the room.
He walked across the room to a pair of open doors and walked into a fancy kitchen. A chandelier hung from the ceiling, while spiderwebs hung from that. He frowned, and knew there was nothing to be found in that room. So he walked straight across and into the next room. It was a hallway with many doors of both sides. Bedrooms perhaps? Harry thought as he walked down it, he opened the first door that he came to, on the left side and walked into a giant dining room. The fire had not reached this one. He looked around the room and there was only one thing that caught his eye. A picture frame on a coffee table straight across the room. He walked toward it, barely daring to believe what he saw. As he reached it, the muggle picture straight in front of him. A lone tear fell from his eye. He picked up the picture, looking at the pair of people in the picture, both smiling. There, right inside that picture, were his parents, James and Lily Potter.
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Harry sat straight up in bed. His parents. Godric's Hollow must have been where he had lived that first year of his life. He fumbled for his glasses, then when they were safely resting on his face, he flicked on the light. He grabbed the envelope Ron had sent him where it lay on the table next to his bed. He took out the pictures, flipping through them until he found the one of the mansion. He dropped all the others onto his bed, staring at the one he was still holding. It was the same mansion. The mansion that was in his dreams. Godric's Hollow, in Ireland? He would have to ask Ron what he had found out about it. What the wizard tour guide had said about it. Had they told them it was where his parents had lived?
No, Harry thought, Ron would have mentioned something. Plus I suppose that's not the sort of thing they would tell people. Or was it? How am I to know? It's not like I've been on a wizard tour lately, or any tour for that matter. Harry shook his head. There was nothing he could do tonight, he would have to wait until he got back to school. Or maybe he could owl Sirius about it, certainly he would have to know where they had lived. But Wormtail was the Secret Keeper.
Harry sighed in confusion. He was right the first time. He would have to wait, there was nothing he could do at. He glanced at the clock. 3:30 in the morning.
"Well, at least it wasn't a nightmare this time." Harry said, then put all the pictures back into the envelope, as well as his glasses. He slowly fell back to sleep.
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The next morning, Harry awoke at 6:00, as was his routine. He stretched and yawned, then reached over and put on his glasses. The world came into focus. Harry smiled and got dressed. Hedwig had come back sometime between the dream, and morning. His smile faltered as he thought of the dream. Was it possible? That he now knew where his parents had lived? Harry shook his head, he would worry about that after breakfast and karate class. Harry went downstairs quietly, so as not to wake Vernon and Petunia. He had just noticed sometime in the last week that he had stopped calling his relatives Aunt and Uncle. There were just Petunia and Vernon now. Harry couldn't remember when exactly he had stopped, but it didn't seem to matter.
Harry went to the fridge, got out an orange, and went out onto the porch to eat his breakfast in the morning quiet before the Dursleys woke. He sat on the top step and began peeling his orange.
He looked out at the front yard of his summer residence. The grass was getting long, mowing it would most likely be one of his chores after karate later today. Harry sighed, Great, another date with a lawn mower in the middle of a hot summer day. Harry shook his head and gathered up the orange peelings before going back inside. He immediately began cooking the bacon. After so many years cooking for the Dursleys, Harry actually began to enjoy the art of cooking. Plus, he was getting good at it.
Harry grinned, he loved having the kitchen to himself. It was a chance to experiment with several different things. Of course, he wouldn't tell the Dursleys that he was experimenting. If he did, he would never know whether it worked or not. Harry chuckled to himself, glancing at the large pile of all ready made bacon, surprised Dudley hadn't come down to the smell of food yet.
However, he wasn't kept waiting too long, about 3 seconds after that trail of thought ended, a large thudding on the stairs announced Dudley's arrival. Harry smiled to himself. Right on time, as always. He turned with the bacon and set it on the table just in time to keep Dudley from knocking it over in his haste for food. Harry watched Dudley with disgust for a minute, then turned and began making his version of French toast (he had taught himself after all) for Vernon and Petunia, who Harry could hear were just waking up.
Probably shook awake by what Dudley calls walking. Harry snorted.
About ten minutes later, Harry was being yelled at for keeping Petunia and Dudley waiting. Harry sighed and walked downstairs after changing into a pair of sweat pants and a sleeveless shirt that almost fit him. Petunia and Dudley had already gotten into the car, and when Harry jogged out the door, she revved the engine as though threatening to leave without him. Harry sighed and hurriedly got into the car. They drove to the martial arts building in silence, which was only broken once by a very loud fart emitted from Dudley, forcing Harry to stick his head out the window for half the drive. Even Petunia was looking a bit pale.
That and due to the fact that he had had no chance to run a comb through his hair made him look very disheveled when he finally walked through the door to the whitewashed building. Harry smiled as he entered. It had become like a second home to him (Hogwarts being the first of course).
When he finally walked into the room where the karate lessons took place, Dudley trudging slowly a long ways behind him, 5 different voices called out to him. He grin at his friends and ran across the room towards them. Simon did a double take when Harry finally reached them.
"Woah! Get into a little fight with the hairdryer this morning?" He exclaimed, only half-joking.
Harry grinned, "Nah, Tubby over there," He jerked his thumb at Dudley, who was now entering the room, "let one on the way here, I had to breath somehow."
The group fought back laughter at the thought, but Paul, who had just entered, interrupted their mirth. His voice resounding in the room.
"Well, I do believe everyone is here, so on to business. We will be having a non-practical lesson today. So far you know several punches, kicks, medleys of the two, and of course, blocks, but you have yet to learn when and where to use this knowledge, this ability. Now I don't want you all to go out and start beating up the first person you see just because you can. Now, can anyone tell me when a good time to use karate is?"
There was a slight pause, then Simon raised his hand.
"Yes, Simon?"
"When you can't back out of a fight."
"Can you give us an example?"
Simon paused thoughtfully, then replied "Basically when you are cornered. Say you are walking down a street and a gang chases you into an alley and there's no way out beside through the gang. I'd say that's just about as perfect a time as any to use it."
"Very good Simon, but all of you should note one specific thing he said in there. Only when there is no way out. Only use this ability when you are trapped or cornered. Does anyone else have one?"
There was a longer pause than last time. Then Harry raised his hand.
"Ah, another Falcon. Go ahead Mr. Potter."
Thoughtfully, Harry answered. "Well, wouldn't it be ok if both participants agreed to have sort of a duel?"
Paul smiled, "Yes, that is another one, if both sides agree to face off, or duel, and it is not going against any rules, and yes that includes school rules, it would be all right I suppose. Now that one is used usually for adults. I don't want anyone manipulating people with less talent than you. Can anyone think of another?"
There was no answer, to which Paul nodded. "Don't worry, I wasn't sure if I would get another one. There are two more that I can think of. One, only use karate when it is for a good purpose or to save someone else. And two, In this class I suppose it would be all right to use karate." Paul grinned and clapped his hands together. "Well, now that that part is over, I would like for you all to practice what we have learned so far in your respective groups."
With that, the falcons drifted off to a corner. Harry overheard Dudley as the passed by the Hawks.
"I know what I'm going to use my talent for," Dudley was saying, "I'm going to use it on my cousin. He won't have a chance."
Harry snorted and kept going. If it ever comes to that, maybe I'll finally be able to fight back. Harry smiled and turned to Simon.
"C'mon, let duel, right now!" He said, still grinning.
Simon began bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet, "Bring it on."
The rest of the lesson went fairly fast. Paul came back and showed them a new kick, with which Greg Myers, an Eagle, got one of his teeth knocked out before he could block it. All too soon, Harry was walking out the door right behind Dudley to Petunia's car.
When they got home, Harry was immediately put to work. As he suspected, one of his chores was to mow the lawn, right after he was to weed the garden and trim the hedges. When he had finished the first two, he came back inside to get a drink of water, sweat practically pouring from his brow. He was then sent out to mow the front lawn. After he had finished, he paused, the mower still running, by the outer hedge to wipe his brow.
"You missed a spot." He heard someone yell over the sound of the mower. Harry turned, surprised. There stood Ryan Shultz, standing beside his bike, watching him with a grin. Harry stared for a minute, until Ryan pointed behind him, "You might wanna grab that."
Harry turned, perplexed, and saw his lawn mower flying across the yard towards the garden. Harry cursed and ran after it. He caught up to hit halfway through the garden, totally ruining the cherry-tomato plants. He winced, "Maybe they won't notice." He turned off the mower and walked back across to Ryan. Who muttered an apology when Harry had reached him.
Harry shook his head, "Don't worry about it, They won't realize it for a couple of days."
Ryan looked skeptical, "They won't notice a new path straight through the middle of their garden?"
Harry smirked, "The Dursleys have a tendency not to notice anything out of the ordinary."
Ryan shrugged, then grinned, "I didn't know you lived so close. I live just around the corner." He pointed to the far corner of Privet Drive. "Maybe you could come over sometime."
Harry shook his head, "I doubt the Dursley's would let me."
Just then, from behind him, he heard Dudley's whiney voice. "Daddy, Harry's taking a break!"
Harry turned around just as the door slammed open and Vernon glared out at him.
"Boy! Get back to work!" He then looked at Ryan, who was doing his best to look like an innocent passerby.
Vernon growled at him, "Get off my property!"
Ryan's eyes widened, and he looked at Harry, who nodded.
"You'd better get outta here." Harry said.
Ryan nodded and quickly sped away down the street. Vernon walked across the lawn, eyes blazing at Harry. When he reached him, Vernon backhanded the boy, causing Harry to fall to the ground and stare up at Vernon in surprise. No matter how bad the Dursleys had treated him, they had never hit him before.
"If I ever see you taking a break from your work, just to talk to someone, I will give you more than a bruise and a sore bottom." Vernon growled then stalked back towards the house, slamming the door behind him. Harry raised a shaking hand to the bruise forming on his right cheek. He shook his head and got up, dusting the grass clippings off his pants.
He went and got the lawn mower, putting it back into the garden shed. He then went into the house, careful to avoid Vernon who was in the living room watching TV, and went into his room. He snatched up a mirror and looked at the bruise, it was starting to sting now and it had turned a nasty purple color.
Harry sighed and placed the mirror back. He sat on his bed. What had made Vernon think to hit him? He had never done it before and he had done plenty worse than that before. Harry shook his head, he could hear Vernon and Petunia arguing in the kitchen.
"You hit him?" Petunia said incredulously, "What if his godfather comes! You know we can't take on one of them."
"There is no Godfather!" Vernon growled back, "If there was, don't you think he would have done something. Anyway, even if there was, do you think he would come here? We could easily give him to the police."
There was a pause, "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely," Vernon replied.
"Well then, I give you my full support, the little bastard taking a break off of his duty just to talk to someone! How dare he. I say we give him double work tomorrow."
Harry sank back against his bed, Great, not they're both against me. This could be the worst summer by far if this goes any farther.
Harry sighed, he would worry about it later. He spent the rest of the night reading Animagi: All you need to know! It was a very interesting book by far.
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If Harry had known what would happen just because of that one break, he would have done anything to go back in time and stop himself from doing it.
It seemed as though that one time Vernon had hit Harry had giving him the proof he had needed that he could do anything and get away with it. With in the next week or so, Vernon had escalated from smacking Harry, to full out punching. He had even once whipped him with a belt when Dudley had said Harry was threatening him. Harry had been taking more days off from karate, the last thing he needed was his friends seeing him like that.
Now you may wonder why Harry had not told someone. Say Sirius for example. Well, Harry is a very selfless person. He doesn't really care what happens to him, He is just worried about Sirius. He knows that if the Dursleys see one bit of Sirius Black here, they will automatically call the hotline. So Harry had replied to Sirius's last letter saying the Dursleys were no worse than usual and that he shouldn't worry so much.
So now you know.
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(A/N: Hope you liked that, not sure what that was at the end, it was just some stuff you needed to know. Thanks to all who reviewed. Sorry it took so long, it actually didn't take as long as some of my other chapters. but oh well, I'll stop blabbing and do some thank you's:
Someone2: Thank you as always, but no, you can not be dissapointed again. Well, at least not for this one, I know for a fact that you have not read a single bit of this chapter so HA. *deep breath* Ok, I'm cool. Anyways, hope you like it!
Ajake: I'm glad you liked it, I'll try to make it interesting when the new char comes in. Rest assured that the entire story is not about her, it is totally focused on Harry, she just happens to be another char.
Magicgirl4eva: Thanks for reviewing, I'm glad you liked it and I hope I answered your question well enough!
Snowlily: You know, I think you are actually the first person to call me a fantastic author. As much as I disagree with you, I'm glad you like my writing. I hope this chapter came out as fast as you liked. Also, that idea you gave me will more than likely not come into play until at least next chapter, maybe later. But thanks anyway!
Raven of Death: I'm happy you liked it, I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the last one!
Bon: Thanks for reviewing, glad you liked the little part about Dean's twin.
Again I want to thank you all for reviewing, and all those who didn't review, just know that I don't care if it is a flame, just as long as it is constructive. Don't go on saying 'I hate it'. If you don't like it, tell me why. Please enjoy this chapter! Oh, I may not be able to get the next chapter out as soon as I like. I just got back to school today, so I may not have as much time to write as I did with this and the last chapters. ~Phalanx)
Chapter 5- Godric's Hollow
(A/N: ok, this is chapter 5. I haven't been writing for a bit, that's why this took so long to come out. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this. I want to thank Snowlily for the Idea even though I don't think it will show in this chapter! R/R! ~Phalanx)
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Harry stared out the window of his small room into the darkness of the night. He could see the quarter moon hanging low in the sky, but most of the stars were faded due to the many lights. Harry sighed, his brow creased as he frowned with worry. He looked over at Hedwig who was sleeping in her cage, he head tucked beneath her wing.
"Hedwig." Harry said in a loud whisper.
Hedwig's head swiveled as she looked at Harry with disdain for waking her up. She hooted as it to say 'What do you want now?'
Harry smiled lightly, "Sorry, didn't mean to wake you up, I just thought you might want to go hunt. I don't have much to give you. I'm on pretty strict rations myself." Hedwig stared at him for a minute, then hooted appreciatively and stared pointedly at the closed cage door.
Harry stood up and silently walked across the room. He opened the door to the cage, then held out his arm for Hedwig to perch on, which she did, stretching her wings gratefully. Harry winced as she dug in her talons to keep her balance when he walked back across to the window. Hedwig hooted and nipped his ear lightly as if to say 'Sorry!' then launched out the window, gliding gracefully along the ground, then pulling up into the dark night air.
Harry watched her until she disappeared, then sighed and continued to scan the sky for an owl other than Hedwig. Harry had sent Ron an owl about a week ago, the day after his first karate lesson, and he had yet to get one back. Hedwig had come back later than usual, with now answer, and looked very worn out, as though she had flown a lot longer than just to Ottery St. Catchpole and back. Harry sighed, he admitted he was worried about Ron. Then again, if something had happened to his best friend, someone would have told him. right? What if they had just forgotten about him?
Harry shook his head, banishing the thought and looked back into the sky. He half stood up, eyes wide with hope. There, just above the house across the street, Harry could see an owl skimming the roof. He watched it's progress, and let out a sigh of disappointment. It wasn't headed for #4, instead it swooped through the window of a plain house just down the street. With a frown, Harry realized that was the house of Mrs. Figg, Harry's old babysitter.
What was Mrs. Figg doing getting an owl? Did she have some relatives who were connected with the wizarding world? Harry's thoughts were broken off as movement caught his eye. Another owl was swooping its way toward him. Harry grinned, sure this one was for him.
He stepped aside to let the large Great Horned Owl fly through his window and onto his bed, where it stared expectantly at him.
"Who are you?" Harry asked the owl, wouldn't Ron have used Pig? Harry shrugged and compliantly took the letter from the owl. The owl, with a regal air, ruffled its feathers and took off out the window. Harry smiled and opened the letter.
Dear Harry,
How are you doing? I'm doing fine, great actually. I hope you weren't too worried when I didn't reply right away. I was pretty busy and I didn't think it was fair to keep Hedwig here any longer than I had to. Anyway, if you're wondering where I am, I am in Ireland. I know it's not that far, but it's awesome here. There are a lot of castles, some which could rival Hogwarts! I sent a couple of pictures, but I'm not sure if that owl is trustworthy. It's glaring at me right now. Anyway, I don't think you should send Hedwig until I get back, she looked a bit winded when she got here. I should back about a week before school starts so about the 25th. Do you think you will be able to get to Diagon Alley on the 27th? Hermione owled me and asked if I could go and I told her I would ask you. It's all right with my folk and if you can't get a ride, I'm sure mum will arrange something to come get you. Well, if you want, you can send an owl to the Burrow and we'll get it when we get back.
I'm glad you found something to do there since you couldn't come with us. That class sounds fun and I wish I could meet Danny and Simon, they sound like fun. And are you sure Alyssa is Dean's sister? There have to be a lot of Thomas's out there. Anyway, I gotta end this, that owl is starting to freak me out. I'll see you on Sep. 1st at the latest.
1 Ron
Harry grinned and glanced at the calendar. It was the 9th already. Surprisingly, Harry was no longer counting down the days till September first. Sure his chores were horrible, and he couldn't wait to get back to Hogwarts, but with Karate lessons every morning, the summers were definitely more tolerable at least.
It sounds like the Weasleys are having fun. Harry smiled and grabbed the envelope off the bed. Sure enough, there was a small bunch of wizard pictures still in it. He flipped through them, most showing the Weasleys grinning and waving at the camera with a large castle behind them. One, however, caught his attention more than the others. Like the others, it showed the Weasleys, but behind them was not a castle, but a large mansion. It struck Harry's interest, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it before. He shook his head and slipped the pictures back into the envelope, thoughts whirling in his mind. He grinned as he slipped under the covers and flicked off the light. Now that he knew what was up with Ron, he could sleep easy. Or so he thought.
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Harry's feet slammed into the ground. When he had recovered from the shock, he looked around. He was at the same place as the last dream. The ivy-covered mansion, the same mansion that he had met Voldemort in. This time, he was going to find out exactly where he was. He could see a wide gravel road leading into the forest. Assuming this lead toward the street, Harry walked that way. About 5 minutes later, he came out onto an even larger gravel road.
Is anything paved around here? Harry though, even as he thought this he knew he liked the ruggedness of it all. He glanced at the large stone arch at the mouth of the first gravel road. In large script, it read: Godric's Hollow. (A/N: honestly, what were you expecting?)
Harry searched his mind for anything on a Godric's Hollow, but came up with nothing. He remembered the last time he was here, in his last nightmare. There had been the scorched paper that Voldemort had crumpled, but was there anything else? Anything that Voldemort hadn't found that would give him a clue as to what had happened there?
Harry started back up the path to the mansion. As he walked, a new thought struck him. What had Voldemort been doing there anyway? Was this his new hideout? Or was he looking for something on a suspicious new Death Eater perhaps? Maybe it had something to do with him. Harry frowned, if it might have something to do with him, it was just more of a reason to search it.
At the tail end of this thought, he came out into the open area of Godric's Hollow. With determination on his face, he strode purposefully towards the door of the mansion. He had expected to feel pain in his scar, but it stayed dormant. Good, Harry thought, No Voldie this time. Harry grinned and stepped up onto the porch of the mansion. He raised his hand to knock, then stopped and berated himself as he opened the door.
Do you think Voldemort knocked last time? Anyway, this is a dream; you can just walk right in. And Harry did just that. He tentatively stepped through the door and glanced about the front entrance. There was a coat tree in one corner, as well as a closet with mats on the floor for shoes. Though, for some reason, Harry decided to keep his shoes on.
He smiled and walked through the glass doors and into a large room. His smile vanished. Everything was scorched at least, there were ashes all over the place and a think layer of dust on everything. Harry walked across the room, broken glass crunching beneath his feet. He walked over to where a burnt picture hung on the wall, he could barely make out two human beings in the picture, though he could not tell who they were. The only thing he could see was a patch of red. Harry shook his head and looked down at an end table, there was a glass vase on it, though there was nothing in it, and below that was some sort of paper, again, scorched. He picked it up lightly. The black parts immediately falling off in flakes. He squinted at what was rest of it. It was in obviously a woman's handwriting. He couldn't tell what it said however. Frustrated, he set it back down on the end table and glanced around the room.
He walked across the room to a pair of open doors and walked into a fancy kitchen. A chandelier hung from the ceiling, while spiderwebs hung from that. He frowned, and knew there was nothing to be found in that room. So he walked straight across and into the next room. It was a hallway with many doors of both sides. Bedrooms perhaps? Harry thought as he walked down it, he opened the first door that he came to, on the left side and walked into a giant dining room. The fire had not reached this one. He looked around the room and there was only one thing that caught his eye. A picture frame on a coffee table straight across the room. He walked toward it, barely daring to believe what he saw. As he reached it, the muggle picture straight in front of him. A lone tear fell from his eye. He picked up the picture, looking at the pair of people in the picture, both smiling. There, right inside that picture, were his parents, James and Lily Potter.
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Harry sat straight up in bed. His parents. Godric's Hollow must have been where he had lived that first year of his life. He fumbled for his glasses, then when they were safely resting on his face, he flicked on the light. He grabbed the envelope Ron had sent him where it lay on the table next to his bed. He took out the pictures, flipping through them until he found the one of the mansion. He dropped all the others onto his bed, staring at the one he was still holding. It was the same mansion. The mansion that was in his dreams. Godric's Hollow, in Ireland? He would have to ask Ron what he had found out about it. What the wizard tour guide had said about it. Had they told them it was where his parents had lived?
No, Harry thought, Ron would have mentioned something. Plus I suppose that's not the sort of thing they would tell people. Or was it? How am I to know? It's not like I've been on a wizard tour lately, or any tour for that matter. Harry shook his head. There was nothing he could do tonight, he would have to wait until he got back to school. Or maybe he could owl Sirius about it, certainly he would have to know where they had lived. But Wormtail was the Secret Keeper.
Harry sighed in confusion. He was right the first time. He would have to wait, there was nothing he could do at. He glanced at the clock. 3:30 in the morning.
"Well, at least it wasn't a nightmare this time." Harry said, then put all the pictures back into the envelope, as well as his glasses. He slowly fell back to sleep.
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The next morning, Harry awoke at 6:00, as was his routine. He stretched and yawned, then reached over and put on his glasses. The world came into focus. Harry smiled and got dressed. Hedwig had come back sometime between the dream, and morning. His smile faltered as he thought of the dream. Was it possible? That he now knew where his parents had lived? Harry shook his head, he would worry about that after breakfast and karate class. Harry went downstairs quietly, so as not to wake Vernon and Petunia. He had just noticed sometime in the last week that he had stopped calling his relatives Aunt and Uncle. There were just Petunia and Vernon now. Harry couldn't remember when exactly he had stopped, but it didn't seem to matter.
Harry went to the fridge, got out an orange, and went out onto the porch to eat his breakfast in the morning quiet before the Dursleys woke. He sat on the top step and began peeling his orange.
He looked out at the front yard of his summer residence. The grass was getting long, mowing it would most likely be one of his chores after karate later today. Harry sighed, Great, another date with a lawn mower in the middle of a hot summer day. Harry shook his head and gathered up the orange peelings before going back inside. He immediately began cooking the bacon. After so many years cooking for the Dursleys, Harry actually began to enjoy the art of cooking. Plus, he was getting good at it.
Harry grinned, he loved having the kitchen to himself. It was a chance to experiment with several different things. Of course, he wouldn't tell the Dursleys that he was experimenting. If he did, he would never know whether it worked or not. Harry chuckled to himself, glancing at the large pile of all ready made bacon, surprised Dudley hadn't come down to the smell of food yet.
However, he wasn't kept waiting too long, about 3 seconds after that trail of thought ended, a large thudding on the stairs announced Dudley's arrival. Harry smiled to himself. Right on time, as always. He turned with the bacon and set it on the table just in time to keep Dudley from knocking it over in his haste for food. Harry watched Dudley with disgust for a minute, then turned and began making his version of French toast (he had taught himself after all) for Vernon and Petunia, who Harry could hear were just waking up.
Probably shook awake by what Dudley calls walking. Harry snorted.
About ten minutes later, Harry was being yelled at for keeping Petunia and Dudley waiting. Harry sighed and walked downstairs after changing into a pair of sweat pants and a sleeveless shirt that almost fit him. Petunia and Dudley had already gotten into the car, and when Harry jogged out the door, she revved the engine as though threatening to leave without him. Harry sighed and hurriedly got into the car. They drove to the martial arts building in silence, which was only broken once by a very loud fart emitted from Dudley, forcing Harry to stick his head out the window for half the drive. Even Petunia was looking a bit pale.
That and due to the fact that he had had no chance to run a comb through his hair made him look very disheveled when he finally walked through the door to the whitewashed building. Harry smiled as he entered. It had become like a second home to him (Hogwarts being the first of course).
When he finally walked into the room where the karate lessons took place, Dudley trudging slowly a long ways behind him, 5 different voices called out to him. He grin at his friends and ran across the room towards them. Simon did a double take when Harry finally reached them.
"Woah! Get into a little fight with the hairdryer this morning?" He exclaimed, only half-joking.
Harry grinned, "Nah, Tubby over there," He jerked his thumb at Dudley, who was now entering the room, "let one on the way here, I had to breath somehow."
The group fought back laughter at the thought, but Paul, who had just entered, interrupted their mirth. His voice resounding in the room.
"Well, I do believe everyone is here, so on to business. We will be having a non-practical lesson today. So far you know several punches, kicks, medleys of the two, and of course, blocks, but you have yet to learn when and where to use this knowledge, this ability. Now I don't want you all to go out and start beating up the first person you see just because you can. Now, can anyone tell me when a good time to use karate is?"
There was a slight pause, then Simon raised his hand.
"Yes, Simon?"
"When you can't back out of a fight."
"Can you give us an example?"
Simon paused thoughtfully, then replied "Basically when you are cornered. Say you are walking down a street and a gang chases you into an alley and there's no way out beside through the gang. I'd say that's just about as perfect a time as any to use it."
"Very good Simon, but all of you should note one specific thing he said in there. Only when there is no way out. Only use this ability when you are trapped or cornered. Does anyone else have one?"
There was a longer pause than last time. Then Harry raised his hand.
"Ah, another Falcon. Go ahead Mr. Potter."
Thoughtfully, Harry answered. "Well, wouldn't it be ok if both participants agreed to have sort of a duel?"
Paul smiled, "Yes, that is another one, if both sides agree to face off, or duel, and it is not going against any rules, and yes that includes school rules, it would be all right I suppose. Now that one is used usually for adults. I don't want anyone manipulating people with less talent than you. Can anyone think of another?"
There was no answer, to which Paul nodded. "Don't worry, I wasn't sure if I would get another one. There are two more that I can think of. One, only use karate when it is for a good purpose or to save someone else. And two, In this class I suppose it would be all right to use karate." Paul grinned and clapped his hands together. "Well, now that that part is over, I would like for you all to practice what we have learned so far in your respective groups."
With that, the falcons drifted off to a corner. Harry overheard Dudley as the passed by the Hawks.
"I know what I'm going to use my talent for," Dudley was saying, "I'm going to use it on my cousin. He won't have a chance."
Harry snorted and kept going. If it ever comes to that, maybe I'll finally be able to fight back. Harry smiled and turned to Simon.
"C'mon, let duel, right now!" He said, still grinning.
Simon began bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet, "Bring it on."
The rest of the lesson went fairly fast. Paul came back and showed them a new kick, with which Greg Myers, an Eagle, got one of his teeth knocked out before he could block it. All too soon, Harry was walking out the door right behind Dudley to Petunia's car.
When they got home, Harry was immediately put to work. As he suspected, one of his chores was to mow the lawn, right after he was to weed the garden and trim the hedges. When he had finished the first two, he came back inside to get a drink of water, sweat practically pouring from his brow. He was then sent out to mow the front lawn. After he had finished, he paused, the mower still running, by the outer hedge to wipe his brow.
"You missed a spot." He heard someone yell over the sound of the mower. Harry turned, surprised. There stood Ryan Shultz, standing beside his bike, watching him with a grin. Harry stared for a minute, until Ryan pointed behind him, "You might wanna grab that."
Harry turned, perplexed, and saw his lawn mower flying across the yard towards the garden. Harry cursed and ran after it. He caught up to hit halfway through the garden, totally ruining the cherry-tomato plants. He winced, "Maybe they won't notice." He turned off the mower and walked back across to Ryan. Who muttered an apology when Harry had reached him.
Harry shook his head, "Don't worry about it, They won't realize it for a couple of days."
Ryan looked skeptical, "They won't notice a new path straight through the middle of their garden?"
Harry smirked, "The Dursleys have a tendency not to notice anything out of the ordinary."
Ryan shrugged, then grinned, "I didn't know you lived so close. I live just around the corner." He pointed to the far corner of Privet Drive. "Maybe you could come over sometime."
Harry shook his head, "I doubt the Dursley's would let me."
Just then, from behind him, he heard Dudley's whiney voice. "Daddy, Harry's taking a break!"
Harry turned around just as the door slammed open and Vernon glared out at him.
"Boy! Get back to work!" He then looked at Ryan, who was doing his best to look like an innocent passerby.
Vernon growled at him, "Get off my property!"
Ryan's eyes widened, and he looked at Harry, who nodded.
"You'd better get outta here." Harry said.
Ryan nodded and quickly sped away down the street. Vernon walked across the lawn, eyes blazing at Harry. When he reached him, Vernon backhanded the boy, causing Harry to fall to the ground and stare up at Vernon in surprise. No matter how bad the Dursleys had treated him, they had never hit him before.
"If I ever see you taking a break from your work, just to talk to someone, I will give you more than a bruise and a sore bottom." Vernon growled then stalked back towards the house, slamming the door behind him. Harry raised a shaking hand to the bruise forming on his right cheek. He shook his head and got up, dusting the grass clippings off his pants.
He went and got the lawn mower, putting it back into the garden shed. He then went into the house, careful to avoid Vernon who was in the living room watching TV, and went into his room. He snatched up a mirror and looked at the bruise, it was starting to sting now and it had turned a nasty purple color.
Harry sighed and placed the mirror back. He sat on his bed. What had made Vernon think to hit him? He had never done it before and he had done plenty worse than that before. Harry shook his head, he could hear Vernon and Petunia arguing in the kitchen.
"You hit him?" Petunia said incredulously, "What if his godfather comes! You know we can't take on one of them."
"There is no Godfather!" Vernon growled back, "If there was, don't you think he would have done something. Anyway, even if there was, do you think he would come here? We could easily give him to the police."
There was a pause, "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely," Vernon replied.
"Well then, I give you my full support, the little bastard taking a break off of his duty just to talk to someone! How dare he. I say we give him double work tomorrow."
Harry sank back against his bed, Great, not they're both against me. This could be the worst summer by far if this goes any farther.
Harry sighed, he would worry about it later. He spent the rest of the night reading Animagi: All you need to know! It was a very interesting book by far.
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If Harry had known what would happen just because of that one break, he would have done anything to go back in time and stop himself from doing it.
It seemed as though that one time Vernon had hit Harry had giving him the proof he had needed that he could do anything and get away with it. With in the next week or so, Vernon had escalated from smacking Harry, to full out punching. He had even once whipped him with a belt when Dudley had said Harry was threatening him. Harry had been taking more days off from karate, the last thing he needed was his friends seeing him like that.
Now you may wonder why Harry had not told someone. Say Sirius for example. Well, Harry is a very selfless person. He doesn't really care what happens to him, He is just worried about Sirius. He knows that if the Dursleys see one bit of Sirius Black here, they will automatically call the hotline. So Harry had replied to Sirius's last letter saying the Dursleys were no worse than usual and that he shouldn't worry so much.
So now you know.
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(A/N: Hope you liked that, not sure what that was at the end, it was just some stuff you needed to know. Thanks to all who reviewed. Sorry it took so long, it actually didn't take as long as some of my other chapters. but oh well, I'll stop blabbing and do some thank you's:
Someone2: Thank you as always, but no, you can not be dissapointed again. Well, at least not for this one, I know for a fact that you have not read a single bit of this chapter so HA. *deep breath* Ok, I'm cool. Anyways, hope you like it!
Ajake: I'm glad you liked it, I'll try to make it interesting when the new char comes in. Rest assured that the entire story is not about her, it is totally focused on Harry, she just happens to be another char.
Magicgirl4eva: Thanks for reviewing, I'm glad you liked it and I hope I answered your question well enough!
Snowlily: You know, I think you are actually the first person to call me a fantastic author. As much as I disagree with you, I'm glad you like my writing. I hope this chapter came out as fast as you liked. Also, that idea you gave me will more than likely not come into play until at least next chapter, maybe later. But thanks anyway!
Raven of Death: I'm happy you liked it, I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the last one!
Bon: Thanks for reviewing, glad you liked the little part about Dean's twin.
Again I want to thank you all for reviewing, and all those who didn't review, just know that I don't care if it is a flame, just as long as it is constructive. Don't go on saying 'I hate it'. If you don't like it, tell me why. Please enjoy this chapter! Oh, I may not be able to get the next chapter out as soon as I like. I just got back to school today, so I may not have as much time to write as I did with this and the last chapters. ~Phalanx)
