Malexandria: Really? I didn't like the way I had the Dursley's punished. .
. it's kinda hard not to seriously hurt them when you have magic as an
option and I didn't want them to get killed but thanks for your compliment!
Purple Water: VERY IMPORTANT!!!!!! The greenhouse is important to later development of the story. . .or at least I plan it to be; maybe not that particular greenhouse but a greenhouse. Just hang on for several more chapters and you should understand. Listening to his friends. . .well. . .don't kill me but that's not gonna help him much longer. . . Any way, yep, it's freezing out here, goodness, but luckily I have gloves now so my fingers should be fine. FEA= Future Educators of America. I actually plan on being a writer, but until I get a steady flow of publishing, teaching's gonna get me by! Thanks for the advice. . .I'm gonna go and try and see if I can do it by myself. . .I'll e-mail if it doesn't work that well, though.
Them girl: Thanks! I appreciate it! As for how things turn out. . .we'll have to see.
Lady Foxfire: Who's watching Harry? Well, it all ties into the greenhouse Purple Water was asking about. And like I told him (Or her) you gots ta wait for a few chapters, k? Just hang tight and you'll see. As for trying to end it all. . .you'll see.
Laterose: S'ank you! I've been getting lots o' compliments on the Dursley/court chapter! And if you're looking for more Dursleys, It's coming. . .but not till the last chapter. . .at least not physically. . .you'll understand later!
Broxs: Thanks for your willingness! I'll be sure to give you an e-mail if this chapter doesn't go over to well. Is it really 42* over there already? What part of VA are you in? Are you even in VA? You know, we were supposed to get snow here too but it didn't! Oh well, lots o' time left! Once again, thanks for your help!
Nexus: Thanks! But I think I got it down. What do you think? Read the chapter and write a review! I'll go ahead and read your story, though. One good deed for another! It might take me some time to find it though. . .EVENTUALLY!. . .you know what. . .could you just send it to me? Thanks!
Wanted: Love
Ch13: Malfoy's Mistake and a Power Unleashed
Harry rolled over in bed right into the streak of sunlight that had peeked through the gap in his curtains. He moaned and pulled the blankets over his head. Getting up was the last thing he wanted, it would only mean that he would have to face the events of yesterday. When they had gotten back from his aunt and uncle's trial he had immediately tried to separate himself from his friends, he had wanted time to himself, to think, but they seemed not to notice all of his subtle hints. So he had to endure sitting up with them, listening to the idle conversation they were having. It was painfully obvious that they were doing their best not to bring up the topic of that afternoon. And as grateful as he was for at least not having to talk about his miserable excuse for a life, he knew he was only postponing the inevitable. He knew that eventually they would have to talk about it. The five or so short minutes in the greenhouse, Harry knew, wasn't a long enough discussion for his friends.
All of a sudden, Harry felt something pounce on him. He gave a small jerk and pulled the blankets off his head. He put on his glasses and blinked a couple times; as the room came into focus he saw Crookshanks standing on bottom of the bed, purring and rubbing his head against Harry's foot. Harry sat up and ran a hand through his hair. What was Hermione's cat doing in the boys' dormitory? He sighed and threw the blankets off himself before swinging his legs over the side of the bed. He sat there for a long time, head in his hands, eyes closed, just thinking. Wondering how many people knew. He was willing to bet the whole school knew. How could they not? Dumbledore had warned him that the media had broken in and discovered the truth. Harry sighed and started to head to the bathroom. It was then that he noticed that no one else was in the tower. He glanced at his watch and noticed that it was one thirty.
'Great,' he thought, 'I'm already getting the special treatment.'
When he had finished taking a shower and had gotten dressed, Harry made his way through the corridors of Hogwarts. He encountered no one, with the exception Peeves who had promptly fled from him. Harry supposed he was still a bit shaken about whatever Harry had managed to do to him. His stomach gave a loud grumble that seemed to be amplified by the emptiness of the hallway. He briefly considered going to the kitchen to get something but decided against it. He wasn't sure he would be able to handle the looks the house elves, particularly Dobby, would give him. Instead, he went up to the Owlery to visit Hedwig. Much to his dismay, however, she too seemed to have understood what had happened and stared at him with large, sorrowful eyes.
Harry left the Owlery in an even more depressed state then he had been before. As he wandered aimlessly down the halls, hands in his robe's pockets and staring intently on the ground, Harry began to wonder what his life would be like now. The end product wasn't anything to be happy about. He shot daggers at the invisible face of Fudge. Harry knew it wasn't really all Fudge's fault, in reality he had no one else to blame other than himself. It was his fault he couldn't defend himself from the Dursleys; it was his fault that he couldn't fend off Fudge and the Aurors that fated day that his Pensieve was unleashed. Harry heard the clatter of classes being released and picked up his pace so he wouldn't have to face any of his classmates, or anyone else for that matter. But as he turned the corner. . .
"Hey, Potter." came the leering voice of Malfoy.
Harry tried to ignore him, knowing that no good could possibly come from any converse with Malfoy, let alone any Slytherin. Anything he had to say would undoubtedly have to with yesterday. But Malfoy didn't seem to want to let him go so easily.
"Hey! I'm talking to you, Potter!" he said snidely as he grabbed Harry by the shoulder and turned him around.
Harry looked at him dully. As usual, he was flocked by the company of Crabbe and Goyle. Traffic in the hall was now beginning to pick up and it was all Harry could do to not concentrate on the stares and whispers he was getting.
"What do you want, Malfoy." he asked, already knowing the answer.
"We were just wondering if you saw the paper lately. You take a lovely picture, by the way." said Malfoy throwing the Daily Prophet at him.
Harry didn't need to look at it. He knew what it was. But never the less, he unfolded the paper and looked at the front page in big bold letters at the top of the page read:
Harry Potter: Abused and Broken
Under the headline was a picture of Harry having his head smashed against the wall by his uncle and, although the black and white picture didn't show it, red, sticky blood spilling everywhere. Harry crumpled the paper and threw it back at Malfoy before continuing to walk away.
"It's a shame, really. Even your aunt and uncle know that you're not worth beans." Malfoy called after him.
Harry stopped in his tracks, as did everyone else in the hall. He balled his hands into fists which shook silently at his sides in anger. Everyone in the hall stood in utter silence, awaiting Harry's reaction. Slowly, ever so slowly, Harry turned to face Malfoy who was smirking at him. But he said nothing. He couldn't deny what Malfoy had said. Not when it was so close to the truth, if not hitting it right on the head.
"What's the matter, Potter? Cat got your tongue?" Malfoy asked.
"What's going on? Hello? Excuse me, coming through!" Ron's voice broke the silence and within a few seconds, he Hermione, and Lavender broke through the crowd.
The three looked back and forth between Harry and Malfoy. And while Hermione went to stand next to Harry and Lavender didn't move, Ron stalked forward.
"What kind of bullshit have you been dishing out this time, Malfoy?" he asked threateningly.
"None of your business, Weasley. Why don't you go back to the slime hole you crawled out of?" sneered Malfoy, then turning his attention back to Harry, "Too bad everyone had to find out your little secret, Potter. Everyone's very disappointed in you. Can't even protect your self against a Muggle? What an embarrassment. Bet your damn parents rolled over in their grave over that one."
Harry, who had been in a distracted sort of trance, snapped his attention back to Malfoy, "What'd you say!?"
"You heard me. Pity you didn't just die that night with them. Maybe then you wouldn't have disgraced them so much." said Malfoy.
Harry felt his blood begin to boil and clutched his fists so tightly that he felt his nails start to puncture his skin. He clenched his teeth together tightly and narrowed his eyes to mere slits. Ron, on the other hand, had launched himself at Malfoy but had been removed by Crabbe and Goyle and was currently getting the lights beaten out of him. Lavender was rushing over to try and help him but she, too, was captured and was getting pounded. Harry wanted to go over and help the two but he felt his feet glued to the spot.
"What's the matter, Potter? Aren't you even going to try to help your friends or are you too scared of them to?" asked Malfoy.
Harry felt a strange sort of energy flood through his veins. He squeezed his eyes shut and heard Hermione, along with everyone else in the hall gasp.
"Oh, Harry." Hermione whispered.
Harry opened his eyes and a bright green light greeted him. He felt his body begin to shake with barely suppressed energy. Crabbe and Goyle had stopped beating on Lavender and Ron who, despite their cuts and bruises, were staring at Harry with curiosity, open mouthed.
"Take it back." Harry whispered, almost inaudibly.
Malfoy was frozen on the spot and said nothing. Harry felt all the energy start to leave his limbs and center at his chest. Then, before anyone knew what had happened, a blinding golden light shot out from Harry's chest. The light sped towards Malfoy, pushing him back until he hit the wall, where it held him for a minute before dropping him to the floor, knocked out.
Everyone turned, gaping, at Harry who promptly fell to his knees, breathing heavily. Sweat beads were flowing down his face and he started to fall completely to the ground but Hermione caught him just in time. She turned him over and felt for his pulse as Ron, Lavender, and everyone else quickly gathered around him.
"He's breathing. Someone go get Madame Pomfrey." Hermione ordered.
_~_~_~_~
"Is he alright?"
"Yes, he's just sleeping. He should wake up any minute now."
Harry tried hard to concentrate on the voices but found it very difficult, indeed. He felt as though something had sucked every last shred of energy he had from his body.
"We should have known this would happen. It states that the powers will to surface when he gets angry."
"Yes, I agree. We should have told the students not to mention anything to Harry about his home life, though I must say I didn't think it was necessary to say so."
"You're talking about a Malfoy, god dammit! Of course you're going to have to tell them to leave Harry alone."
Harry struggled to open his eyes. When he finally managed he saw Dumbledore, Pomfrey, McGonagall, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Sirius, Remus, and Tali standing at the end of his bed. Harry tried to remember what had happened but didn't try for too long because it hurt his head too much.
"At least we know he's the one." said McGonagall.
"Was there ever any doubt? He fits the description perfectly. A Potter and a Muggle-born. It had to be him." said Remus sullenly, "It's just his luck that he would be destined to such a fate. I had always hoped that it wouldn't be him. I suppose I should have known better, though."
Harry wondered what they were talking about. A Muggle-born. . .could that be Hermione? Harry tried to sit up but his body didn't seem to have enough energy gained back yet. But still trying to get their attention he was able to emit a low moan.
"He's waking up." said Tali as everyone gathered closer to the top of the bed.
Sirius helped Harry sit up and placed a cup to his lips, "Go on, Harry. Drink this, it'll help."
The liquid tasted worse than Dudley's low-fat diet bars which he had had the misfortune to taste once and it was some work not to spit it back up. However, as soon as it was all downed he felt his strength come back to him. Someone slipped his glasses back onto his face and everything came back into focus. Noticing that he was in one of the hospital wing beds he looked around the room. Lying on a few beds down was Malfoy, still unconscious.
Harry looked back to the people around him, "What happened? Why am I here? What happened to Malfoy?"
"You whipped the stuffing out of him, kid." laughed Tali, gently punching his shoulder.
"But. . .how?" Harry asked.
"Harry, there's something you need to understand-" started Dumbledore but at that moment Hermione, Ron, and Lavender rushed in.
"Oh, Harry! You're awake!" Hermione shrieked, throwing her arms around his neck.
Harry hugged her with one arm, still using the other to keep himself propped up, "I'm fine, Hermione. But what happened?"
"It was awesome! You beat the crap out of Malfoy!" exclaimed Ron, pounding his fist into his hand for effect.
For the first time Harry noticed the appearance of his friends. Ron had a black eye and swollen lip; Lavender had a cut on her cheek, which was barely noticeable under the make up she wore.
"Yeah, how'd you do it, Harry?" asked Lavender.
Harry shrugged, "Don't know. Hell, I don't even know what it was that I did!"
"Harry, there is something that I need to tell you." said Dumbledore.
Harry looked at him, "That's right. What were you going to tell me, Professor?"
Dumbledore nodded at the adults in the room who quickly ushered Ron, Hermione, and Lavender out of the room. Once they were along, Dumbledore took a seat in the chair next to Harry's bed.
"There is a prophecy that has been passed down for many generations. It states that when a Potter and a Muggle-born marry and produce a son that son will be given special powers. Powers strong enough even to rival those of Merlin's." said Dumbledore.
Harry sighed, "And that son is me, right?"
Dumbledore nodded, "Yes. Your mother and father knew of the prophecy and even then were willing to risk their lives for you. For there is more to it than just special powers. It goes on to state that this child, you, Harry, is destined to be the downfall of the dark lord of our time. As you can guess, that is Voldemort. It was no coincidence that Voldemort went after you sixteen years ago. Very few people actually knew of the prophecy and Voldemort used that to his advantage. If people knew then you would have been unreachable."
"So it is my fault that my parents were killed." said Harry darkly.
"Certainly not!" laughed Dumbledore, "Goodness, Harry. You didn't actually believe that it was your fault Voldemort killed Lily and James, did you? Had they not even have a child he would have gone after them anyway. Too big of a risk for him to just sit and wait for them to produce the Chosen One."
Harry stared at his blanket covered feet for a minute, ". . .But. . .why did Remus sound so upset me being the 'Chosen One?'"
Dumbledore suddenly looked uncomfortable, an emotion Harry had never seen in his headmaster before.
"Professor?" Harry asked.
"Perhaps that information is better kept for future conversation." said Dumbledore standing up.
"But---" started Harry. With all the things that had happened to him over his lifetime he doubted it could be that bad.
"Next time, Harry. Next time. I will tell you, but when the time is right." said Dumbledore, "However, we cannot exactly leave you to your powers without knowing how to control them. I will be helping you practice. Let us say. . .tomorrow night. Is that fine with you?"
Harry nodded and Dumbledore continued, "Alright then, I will meet you in front of my office at seven o'clock sharp tomorrow evening."
That said, he stood up and start to leave, but as he reached the door he stopped and turned around, "In the meantime, I must ask you to try to keep your temper. Unless I'm much mistaken, another explosion of anger might end in another visit to the hospital wing for you and some other student. And also must ask you not to tell anyone, even your friends, about your powers. At least not until we figure everything out."
With that Dumbledore left and Harry resettled irritably back into his pillows. He could feel his anger level rising and had to take several deep breaths to calm himself down again. He was tired of people keeping things from him, particularly when the directly had something to do with him. Harry sighed, if there was one thing he was going to have to work at it was keeping calm. He had to admit, he really had no bad feelings about putting Malfoy in the hospital wing. After all, it was his own fault for insult his parents. But it was very possible that he might accidentally hurt someone who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Settling down into his bed he pulled his blanket tightly up around his neck. The second he left the safety of the hospital wing he was bound to be bombarded with more stares and whispers. Now, not only did people know about the Dursleys, but there was bound to be a million new rumors floating around about what he had done to Malfoy. Before he could calm it, he felt his temperature rising. Then, before he knew it, the water in the glass on his nightstand had turned acid green and then burst. Harry just barely managed to avoid being splattered by the liquid but the nightstand was now filled with holes and strongly resembled Swiss cheese.
As he shot up in bed, Madame Pomfrey rushed in. She looked at the nightstand and then at Harry who smiled meekly.
"Sorry?" he said unsurely.
Madame Pomfrey sighed and started to clean up the mess. Harry ran a hand through his hair. Yes, keeping his cool was definitely going to be a difficult task to maintain.
_~_~_~_~
The next day, both Harry and Malfoy were released from hospital wing; Harry in the morning and Malfoy in the late afternoon. For Malfoy, aside from his slightly bruised ego, things went back to normal. But for Harry normal wasn't even within sight. While his friends and most of the Gryffindors stood by him and did their best not to discuss him in his presence; the rest of the school, particularly the Slytherins, avoided him and continued to point, stare, and whisper.
Harry didn't seem to really notice this too much, however. He was spent most of his time that day in library, searching for any clues as to what the rest of the prophecy might be, but as he didn't even know what it was called it made things exceedingly difficult. This didn't go unnoticed by his friends, though. When questioned about the time spent in the library, he simply told them to look for anything that had to do with the final downfall of Voldemort. Or course, this made little sense to them and Harry had to only remind himself of what Dumbledore said to keep himself from revealing more to them. So it was with slight annoyance that he put up with their little help.
The only other clue they had gotten was from Dumbledore who had asked them to try to keep Harry calm. They did their best and it seemed to be working. Harry eventually got through half the books in the library and gave up. He didn't see the point in continuing the search. The library had a book on *everything* so it suddenly had clicked to him that Dumbledore probably took the book out of the library so he wouldn't find it.
So it was rather sulkily that Harry made an excuse to his friends and trudged down the halls to Dumbledore's office. As promised, he was waiting out front of the gargoyle.
"Good evening, Harry. Follow me." said Dumbledore, leading Harry through a long set of passages that not even the Marauders had managed to discover.
"I hear you were keeping busy in the library today." said Dumbledore idly, "Why stop only half way through?"
Harry shrugged, "I didn't see the point in continuing. Didn't you take the book out?"
Dumbledore nodded, "I did. And I thought I asked you not to go looking for the rest of the prophecy."
"No, sir, all you said was that you would tell me at a later time. You never said I couldn't go looking for it myself." said Harry, smirking.
Dumbledore smiled, "You are indeed your father's son, Harry."
Harry felt his lips curve into a smile as he heard this. It was true that he did often hear of his resemblance to his father, but instead of it bothering him, Harry actually found a sort of comfort in it. Knowing that looking in the mirror he could almost see his father was sometimes the only thing that could get him through. Harry missed his parents terribly and perhaps it was that aching that had let loose his powers on Malfoy. As he became lost in his thoughts, he absentmindedly followed Dumbledore through the hallways.
When they finally came to a stop, Harry was snapped out of his thoughts by what beheld him. The room they were standing at the entrance of had to be at least double the height of the end chamber in the Chamber of Secrets, which was saying something. But unlike the chamber where Harry had met Tom Riddle, the floor to his chamber had an intricate design of marble inlaid into itself. (AN: I'm not sure, but I think Riddle's chamber had a dirt floor.) Giant sculptures of various kinds of stone surrounded the room as Harry allowed himself to be steered into the center of the room by Dumbledore who, once there, took a few steps back to allow Harry time to finish surveying the room.
Once his eyes were focused back on Dumbledore he spoke, "What is this place, Professor?"
"This, Harry, is a training ground that was once used by the four founders of Hogwarts themselves. Students with incredible promise are brought here to practice their fighting skills before graduating and often becoming Aurors. " explained Dumbledore.
"So. . .I'm going to train here? To defeat Voldemort?" asked Harry.
Dumbledore nodded solemnly and Harry gave a short laugh. The simple history and design of the chamber made him feel empowered and allowed him to forget about practically everything else.
"There's no way Voldemort will stand a chance against me! He's going down!" Harry exclaimed.
Giving a small smile, Dumbledore nodded, "There's no doubt in my mind that you will."
"So, where do we get started?" Harry asked, taking out his wand.
Dumbledore held up his hand, "No wand, Harry."
Harry looked at him as though he was insane, "How am I supposed to fight if I don't have a wand?"
"Unless I'm mistaken, you managed to take out Mr. Malfoy without a wand." said Dumbledore.
"Yeah, so? I don't even know how I did that." said Harry, putting away his wand.
"Just concentrate, I'm sure you can do it." said Dumbledore.
Harry sighed and closed his eyes. For several minutes he did nothing, just stood there utterly still. Dumbledore was quite patient and stood with his wand at his side, ready to block an attack at any sign of movement.
Another couple of minutes passed by and Harry sighed angrily before looking up at Dumbledore, "Professor, nothing's happening."
"Nonsense. You'll get it eventually. Go on, try again." said Dumbledore.
Settling back into his stance, Harry once again tried to cause even the simplest something to occur. But once again, nothing happened. Dumbledore kept Harry there for several more hours before finally announcing that he had tried enough for that night and sent him off to bed.
When Harry climbed through the porthole that night not a single person was still awake. Not even Ron, Hermione, or Lavender was sitting in the chairs waiting to find out where he had been. Harry yawned and stretched as Crookshanks slid through the porthole before it closed. Once he was in bed he tried very hard to fall asleep but found it very difficult. Not only was his mind still buzzing around what the rest of the prophecy was, but now he couldn't seem to figure out why his powers weren't working anymore.
Perhaps everything that had happened with Malfoy had just been a random accident, a complete and total accident. Maybe there wasn't anything all that special about him after all. Resettling back into his bed for the thousandth time, Harry wondered why he had even bothered to allow himself to think that there might have been something special about him in the first place. Neville gave a loud snort and Harry pulled his blankets around his neck. Maybe he wasn't special at all. . .
Author's Note: Ha ha! Whatcha think? I got some tips from Purple Water and I tried to apply them? I think they really helped a lot! I don't think I'll be needing an editor after all but a SUPER huge thanks to all those who offered their assistance! Makes me pleased to know there are such kind peeps out there! Anyway, wondering if Harry's getting depressed again? I'll leave that to you to decide! As for any fears that this story is going to be switching focus from abuse to anything else, trust me. I know what I'm doing. It's ALL gonna tie together pretty soon! And sorry if it's a little short! But don't forget to REVIEW!!!!
Purple Water: VERY IMPORTANT!!!!!! The greenhouse is important to later development of the story. . .or at least I plan it to be; maybe not that particular greenhouse but a greenhouse. Just hang on for several more chapters and you should understand. Listening to his friends. . .well. . .don't kill me but that's not gonna help him much longer. . . Any way, yep, it's freezing out here, goodness, but luckily I have gloves now so my fingers should be fine. FEA= Future Educators of America. I actually plan on being a writer, but until I get a steady flow of publishing, teaching's gonna get me by! Thanks for the advice. . .I'm gonna go and try and see if I can do it by myself. . .I'll e-mail if it doesn't work that well, though.
Them girl: Thanks! I appreciate it! As for how things turn out. . .we'll have to see.
Lady Foxfire: Who's watching Harry? Well, it all ties into the greenhouse Purple Water was asking about. And like I told him (Or her) you gots ta wait for a few chapters, k? Just hang tight and you'll see. As for trying to end it all. . .you'll see.
Laterose: S'ank you! I've been getting lots o' compliments on the Dursley/court chapter! And if you're looking for more Dursleys, It's coming. . .but not till the last chapter. . .at least not physically. . .you'll understand later!
Broxs: Thanks for your willingness! I'll be sure to give you an e-mail if this chapter doesn't go over to well. Is it really 42* over there already? What part of VA are you in? Are you even in VA? You know, we were supposed to get snow here too but it didn't! Oh well, lots o' time left! Once again, thanks for your help!
Nexus: Thanks! But I think I got it down. What do you think? Read the chapter and write a review! I'll go ahead and read your story, though. One good deed for another! It might take me some time to find it though. . .EVENTUALLY!. . .you know what. . .could you just send it to me? Thanks!
Wanted: Love
Ch13: Malfoy's Mistake and a Power Unleashed
Harry rolled over in bed right into the streak of sunlight that had peeked through the gap in his curtains. He moaned and pulled the blankets over his head. Getting up was the last thing he wanted, it would only mean that he would have to face the events of yesterday. When they had gotten back from his aunt and uncle's trial he had immediately tried to separate himself from his friends, he had wanted time to himself, to think, but they seemed not to notice all of his subtle hints. So he had to endure sitting up with them, listening to the idle conversation they were having. It was painfully obvious that they were doing their best not to bring up the topic of that afternoon. And as grateful as he was for at least not having to talk about his miserable excuse for a life, he knew he was only postponing the inevitable. He knew that eventually they would have to talk about it. The five or so short minutes in the greenhouse, Harry knew, wasn't a long enough discussion for his friends.
All of a sudden, Harry felt something pounce on him. He gave a small jerk and pulled the blankets off his head. He put on his glasses and blinked a couple times; as the room came into focus he saw Crookshanks standing on bottom of the bed, purring and rubbing his head against Harry's foot. Harry sat up and ran a hand through his hair. What was Hermione's cat doing in the boys' dormitory? He sighed and threw the blankets off himself before swinging his legs over the side of the bed. He sat there for a long time, head in his hands, eyes closed, just thinking. Wondering how many people knew. He was willing to bet the whole school knew. How could they not? Dumbledore had warned him that the media had broken in and discovered the truth. Harry sighed and started to head to the bathroom. It was then that he noticed that no one else was in the tower. He glanced at his watch and noticed that it was one thirty.
'Great,' he thought, 'I'm already getting the special treatment.'
When he had finished taking a shower and had gotten dressed, Harry made his way through the corridors of Hogwarts. He encountered no one, with the exception Peeves who had promptly fled from him. Harry supposed he was still a bit shaken about whatever Harry had managed to do to him. His stomach gave a loud grumble that seemed to be amplified by the emptiness of the hallway. He briefly considered going to the kitchen to get something but decided against it. He wasn't sure he would be able to handle the looks the house elves, particularly Dobby, would give him. Instead, he went up to the Owlery to visit Hedwig. Much to his dismay, however, she too seemed to have understood what had happened and stared at him with large, sorrowful eyes.
Harry left the Owlery in an even more depressed state then he had been before. As he wandered aimlessly down the halls, hands in his robe's pockets and staring intently on the ground, Harry began to wonder what his life would be like now. The end product wasn't anything to be happy about. He shot daggers at the invisible face of Fudge. Harry knew it wasn't really all Fudge's fault, in reality he had no one else to blame other than himself. It was his fault he couldn't defend himself from the Dursleys; it was his fault that he couldn't fend off Fudge and the Aurors that fated day that his Pensieve was unleashed. Harry heard the clatter of classes being released and picked up his pace so he wouldn't have to face any of his classmates, or anyone else for that matter. But as he turned the corner. . .
"Hey, Potter." came the leering voice of Malfoy.
Harry tried to ignore him, knowing that no good could possibly come from any converse with Malfoy, let alone any Slytherin. Anything he had to say would undoubtedly have to with yesterday. But Malfoy didn't seem to want to let him go so easily.
"Hey! I'm talking to you, Potter!" he said snidely as he grabbed Harry by the shoulder and turned him around.
Harry looked at him dully. As usual, he was flocked by the company of Crabbe and Goyle. Traffic in the hall was now beginning to pick up and it was all Harry could do to not concentrate on the stares and whispers he was getting.
"What do you want, Malfoy." he asked, already knowing the answer.
"We were just wondering if you saw the paper lately. You take a lovely picture, by the way." said Malfoy throwing the Daily Prophet at him.
Harry didn't need to look at it. He knew what it was. But never the less, he unfolded the paper and looked at the front page in big bold letters at the top of the page read:
Harry Potter: Abused and Broken
Under the headline was a picture of Harry having his head smashed against the wall by his uncle and, although the black and white picture didn't show it, red, sticky blood spilling everywhere. Harry crumpled the paper and threw it back at Malfoy before continuing to walk away.
"It's a shame, really. Even your aunt and uncle know that you're not worth beans." Malfoy called after him.
Harry stopped in his tracks, as did everyone else in the hall. He balled his hands into fists which shook silently at his sides in anger. Everyone in the hall stood in utter silence, awaiting Harry's reaction. Slowly, ever so slowly, Harry turned to face Malfoy who was smirking at him. But he said nothing. He couldn't deny what Malfoy had said. Not when it was so close to the truth, if not hitting it right on the head.
"What's the matter, Potter? Cat got your tongue?" Malfoy asked.
"What's going on? Hello? Excuse me, coming through!" Ron's voice broke the silence and within a few seconds, he Hermione, and Lavender broke through the crowd.
The three looked back and forth between Harry and Malfoy. And while Hermione went to stand next to Harry and Lavender didn't move, Ron stalked forward.
"What kind of bullshit have you been dishing out this time, Malfoy?" he asked threateningly.
"None of your business, Weasley. Why don't you go back to the slime hole you crawled out of?" sneered Malfoy, then turning his attention back to Harry, "Too bad everyone had to find out your little secret, Potter. Everyone's very disappointed in you. Can't even protect your self against a Muggle? What an embarrassment. Bet your damn parents rolled over in their grave over that one."
Harry, who had been in a distracted sort of trance, snapped his attention back to Malfoy, "What'd you say!?"
"You heard me. Pity you didn't just die that night with them. Maybe then you wouldn't have disgraced them so much." said Malfoy.
Harry felt his blood begin to boil and clutched his fists so tightly that he felt his nails start to puncture his skin. He clenched his teeth together tightly and narrowed his eyes to mere slits. Ron, on the other hand, had launched himself at Malfoy but had been removed by Crabbe and Goyle and was currently getting the lights beaten out of him. Lavender was rushing over to try and help him but she, too, was captured and was getting pounded. Harry wanted to go over and help the two but he felt his feet glued to the spot.
"What's the matter, Potter? Aren't you even going to try to help your friends or are you too scared of them to?" asked Malfoy.
Harry felt a strange sort of energy flood through his veins. He squeezed his eyes shut and heard Hermione, along with everyone else in the hall gasp.
"Oh, Harry." Hermione whispered.
Harry opened his eyes and a bright green light greeted him. He felt his body begin to shake with barely suppressed energy. Crabbe and Goyle had stopped beating on Lavender and Ron who, despite their cuts and bruises, were staring at Harry with curiosity, open mouthed.
"Take it back." Harry whispered, almost inaudibly.
Malfoy was frozen on the spot and said nothing. Harry felt all the energy start to leave his limbs and center at his chest. Then, before anyone knew what had happened, a blinding golden light shot out from Harry's chest. The light sped towards Malfoy, pushing him back until he hit the wall, where it held him for a minute before dropping him to the floor, knocked out.
Everyone turned, gaping, at Harry who promptly fell to his knees, breathing heavily. Sweat beads were flowing down his face and he started to fall completely to the ground but Hermione caught him just in time. She turned him over and felt for his pulse as Ron, Lavender, and everyone else quickly gathered around him.
"He's breathing. Someone go get Madame Pomfrey." Hermione ordered.
_~_~_~_~
"Is he alright?"
"Yes, he's just sleeping. He should wake up any minute now."
Harry tried hard to concentrate on the voices but found it very difficult, indeed. He felt as though something had sucked every last shred of energy he had from his body.
"We should have known this would happen. It states that the powers will to surface when he gets angry."
"Yes, I agree. We should have told the students not to mention anything to Harry about his home life, though I must say I didn't think it was necessary to say so."
"You're talking about a Malfoy, god dammit! Of course you're going to have to tell them to leave Harry alone."
Harry struggled to open his eyes. When he finally managed he saw Dumbledore, Pomfrey, McGonagall, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Sirius, Remus, and Tali standing at the end of his bed. Harry tried to remember what had happened but didn't try for too long because it hurt his head too much.
"At least we know he's the one." said McGonagall.
"Was there ever any doubt? He fits the description perfectly. A Potter and a Muggle-born. It had to be him." said Remus sullenly, "It's just his luck that he would be destined to such a fate. I had always hoped that it wouldn't be him. I suppose I should have known better, though."
Harry wondered what they were talking about. A Muggle-born. . .could that be Hermione? Harry tried to sit up but his body didn't seem to have enough energy gained back yet. But still trying to get their attention he was able to emit a low moan.
"He's waking up." said Tali as everyone gathered closer to the top of the bed.
Sirius helped Harry sit up and placed a cup to his lips, "Go on, Harry. Drink this, it'll help."
The liquid tasted worse than Dudley's low-fat diet bars which he had had the misfortune to taste once and it was some work not to spit it back up. However, as soon as it was all downed he felt his strength come back to him. Someone slipped his glasses back onto his face and everything came back into focus. Noticing that he was in one of the hospital wing beds he looked around the room. Lying on a few beds down was Malfoy, still unconscious.
Harry looked back to the people around him, "What happened? Why am I here? What happened to Malfoy?"
"You whipped the stuffing out of him, kid." laughed Tali, gently punching his shoulder.
"But. . .how?" Harry asked.
"Harry, there's something you need to understand-" started Dumbledore but at that moment Hermione, Ron, and Lavender rushed in.
"Oh, Harry! You're awake!" Hermione shrieked, throwing her arms around his neck.
Harry hugged her with one arm, still using the other to keep himself propped up, "I'm fine, Hermione. But what happened?"
"It was awesome! You beat the crap out of Malfoy!" exclaimed Ron, pounding his fist into his hand for effect.
For the first time Harry noticed the appearance of his friends. Ron had a black eye and swollen lip; Lavender had a cut on her cheek, which was barely noticeable under the make up she wore.
"Yeah, how'd you do it, Harry?" asked Lavender.
Harry shrugged, "Don't know. Hell, I don't even know what it was that I did!"
"Harry, there is something that I need to tell you." said Dumbledore.
Harry looked at him, "That's right. What were you going to tell me, Professor?"
Dumbledore nodded at the adults in the room who quickly ushered Ron, Hermione, and Lavender out of the room. Once they were along, Dumbledore took a seat in the chair next to Harry's bed.
"There is a prophecy that has been passed down for many generations. It states that when a Potter and a Muggle-born marry and produce a son that son will be given special powers. Powers strong enough even to rival those of Merlin's." said Dumbledore.
Harry sighed, "And that son is me, right?"
Dumbledore nodded, "Yes. Your mother and father knew of the prophecy and even then were willing to risk their lives for you. For there is more to it than just special powers. It goes on to state that this child, you, Harry, is destined to be the downfall of the dark lord of our time. As you can guess, that is Voldemort. It was no coincidence that Voldemort went after you sixteen years ago. Very few people actually knew of the prophecy and Voldemort used that to his advantage. If people knew then you would have been unreachable."
"So it is my fault that my parents were killed." said Harry darkly.
"Certainly not!" laughed Dumbledore, "Goodness, Harry. You didn't actually believe that it was your fault Voldemort killed Lily and James, did you? Had they not even have a child he would have gone after them anyway. Too big of a risk for him to just sit and wait for them to produce the Chosen One."
Harry stared at his blanket covered feet for a minute, ". . .But. . .why did Remus sound so upset me being the 'Chosen One?'"
Dumbledore suddenly looked uncomfortable, an emotion Harry had never seen in his headmaster before.
"Professor?" Harry asked.
"Perhaps that information is better kept for future conversation." said Dumbledore standing up.
"But---" started Harry. With all the things that had happened to him over his lifetime he doubted it could be that bad.
"Next time, Harry. Next time. I will tell you, but when the time is right." said Dumbledore, "However, we cannot exactly leave you to your powers without knowing how to control them. I will be helping you practice. Let us say. . .tomorrow night. Is that fine with you?"
Harry nodded and Dumbledore continued, "Alright then, I will meet you in front of my office at seven o'clock sharp tomorrow evening."
That said, he stood up and start to leave, but as he reached the door he stopped and turned around, "In the meantime, I must ask you to try to keep your temper. Unless I'm much mistaken, another explosion of anger might end in another visit to the hospital wing for you and some other student. And also must ask you not to tell anyone, even your friends, about your powers. At least not until we figure everything out."
With that Dumbledore left and Harry resettled irritably back into his pillows. He could feel his anger level rising and had to take several deep breaths to calm himself down again. He was tired of people keeping things from him, particularly when the directly had something to do with him. Harry sighed, if there was one thing he was going to have to work at it was keeping calm. He had to admit, he really had no bad feelings about putting Malfoy in the hospital wing. After all, it was his own fault for insult his parents. But it was very possible that he might accidentally hurt someone who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Settling down into his bed he pulled his blanket tightly up around his neck. The second he left the safety of the hospital wing he was bound to be bombarded with more stares and whispers. Now, not only did people know about the Dursleys, but there was bound to be a million new rumors floating around about what he had done to Malfoy. Before he could calm it, he felt his temperature rising. Then, before he knew it, the water in the glass on his nightstand had turned acid green and then burst. Harry just barely managed to avoid being splattered by the liquid but the nightstand was now filled with holes and strongly resembled Swiss cheese.
As he shot up in bed, Madame Pomfrey rushed in. She looked at the nightstand and then at Harry who smiled meekly.
"Sorry?" he said unsurely.
Madame Pomfrey sighed and started to clean up the mess. Harry ran a hand through his hair. Yes, keeping his cool was definitely going to be a difficult task to maintain.
_~_~_~_~
The next day, both Harry and Malfoy were released from hospital wing; Harry in the morning and Malfoy in the late afternoon. For Malfoy, aside from his slightly bruised ego, things went back to normal. But for Harry normal wasn't even within sight. While his friends and most of the Gryffindors stood by him and did their best not to discuss him in his presence; the rest of the school, particularly the Slytherins, avoided him and continued to point, stare, and whisper.
Harry didn't seem to really notice this too much, however. He was spent most of his time that day in library, searching for any clues as to what the rest of the prophecy might be, but as he didn't even know what it was called it made things exceedingly difficult. This didn't go unnoticed by his friends, though. When questioned about the time spent in the library, he simply told them to look for anything that had to do with the final downfall of Voldemort. Or course, this made little sense to them and Harry had to only remind himself of what Dumbledore said to keep himself from revealing more to them. So it was with slight annoyance that he put up with their little help.
The only other clue they had gotten was from Dumbledore who had asked them to try to keep Harry calm. They did their best and it seemed to be working. Harry eventually got through half the books in the library and gave up. He didn't see the point in continuing the search. The library had a book on *everything* so it suddenly had clicked to him that Dumbledore probably took the book out of the library so he wouldn't find it.
So it was rather sulkily that Harry made an excuse to his friends and trudged down the halls to Dumbledore's office. As promised, he was waiting out front of the gargoyle.
"Good evening, Harry. Follow me." said Dumbledore, leading Harry through a long set of passages that not even the Marauders had managed to discover.
"I hear you were keeping busy in the library today." said Dumbledore idly, "Why stop only half way through?"
Harry shrugged, "I didn't see the point in continuing. Didn't you take the book out?"
Dumbledore nodded, "I did. And I thought I asked you not to go looking for the rest of the prophecy."
"No, sir, all you said was that you would tell me at a later time. You never said I couldn't go looking for it myself." said Harry, smirking.
Dumbledore smiled, "You are indeed your father's son, Harry."
Harry felt his lips curve into a smile as he heard this. It was true that he did often hear of his resemblance to his father, but instead of it bothering him, Harry actually found a sort of comfort in it. Knowing that looking in the mirror he could almost see his father was sometimes the only thing that could get him through. Harry missed his parents terribly and perhaps it was that aching that had let loose his powers on Malfoy. As he became lost in his thoughts, he absentmindedly followed Dumbledore through the hallways.
When they finally came to a stop, Harry was snapped out of his thoughts by what beheld him. The room they were standing at the entrance of had to be at least double the height of the end chamber in the Chamber of Secrets, which was saying something. But unlike the chamber where Harry had met Tom Riddle, the floor to his chamber had an intricate design of marble inlaid into itself. (AN: I'm not sure, but I think Riddle's chamber had a dirt floor.) Giant sculptures of various kinds of stone surrounded the room as Harry allowed himself to be steered into the center of the room by Dumbledore who, once there, took a few steps back to allow Harry time to finish surveying the room.
Once his eyes were focused back on Dumbledore he spoke, "What is this place, Professor?"
"This, Harry, is a training ground that was once used by the four founders of Hogwarts themselves. Students with incredible promise are brought here to practice their fighting skills before graduating and often becoming Aurors. " explained Dumbledore.
"So. . .I'm going to train here? To defeat Voldemort?" asked Harry.
Dumbledore nodded solemnly and Harry gave a short laugh. The simple history and design of the chamber made him feel empowered and allowed him to forget about practically everything else.
"There's no way Voldemort will stand a chance against me! He's going down!" Harry exclaimed.
Giving a small smile, Dumbledore nodded, "There's no doubt in my mind that you will."
"So, where do we get started?" Harry asked, taking out his wand.
Dumbledore held up his hand, "No wand, Harry."
Harry looked at him as though he was insane, "How am I supposed to fight if I don't have a wand?"
"Unless I'm mistaken, you managed to take out Mr. Malfoy without a wand." said Dumbledore.
"Yeah, so? I don't even know how I did that." said Harry, putting away his wand.
"Just concentrate, I'm sure you can do it." said Dumbledore.
Harry sighed and closed his eyes. For several minutes he did nothing, just stood there utterly still. Dumbledore was quite patient and stood with his wand at his side, ready to block an attack at any sign of movement.
Another couple of minutes passed by and Harry sighed angrily before looking up at Dumbledore, "Professor, nothing's happening."
"Nonsense. You'll get it eventually. Go on, try again." said Dumbledore.
Settling back into his stance, Harry once again tried to cause even the simplest something to occur. But once again, nothing happened. Dumbledore kept Harry there for several more hours before finally announcing that he had tried enough for that night and sent him off to bed.
When Harry climbed through the porthole that night not a single person was still awake. Not even Ron, Hermione, or Lavender was sitting in the chairs waiting to find out where he had been. Harry yawned and stretched as Crookshanks slid through the porthole before it closed. Once he was in bed he tried very hard to fall asleep but found it very difficult. Not only was his mind still buzzing around what the rest of the prophecy was, but now he couldn't seem to figure out why his powers weren't working anymore.
Perhaps everything that had happened with Malfoy had just been a random accident, a complete and total accident. Maybe there wasn't anything all that special about him after all. Resettling back into his bed for the thousandth time, Harry wondered why he had even bothered to allow himself to think that there might have been something special about him in the first place. Neville gave a loud snort and Harry pulled his blankets around his neck. Maybe he wasn't special at all. . .
Author's Note: Ha ha! Whatcha think? I got some tips from Purple Water and I tried to apply them? I think they really helped a lot! I don't think I'll be needing an editor after all but a SUPER huge thanks to all those who offered their assistance! Makes me pleased to know there are such kind peeps out there! Anyway, wondering if Harry's getting depressed again? I'll leave that to you to decide! As for any fears that this story is going to be switching focus from abuse to anything else, trust me. I know what I'm doing. It's ALL gonna tie together pretty soon! And sorry if it's a little short! But don't forget to REVIEW!!!!