Ragnarok's Prelude
Chapter One: The Owl Messages
Summer once again reigned in Number Four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey. Inside a window, Harry Potter, sixteen years old, lay awake. Of course, he had almost always been awake since the day he came back from Hogwarts, for when he got the chance to sleep, he would be visited every night by the nightmares of Cedric's death two years ago. Worse than that, there was another nightmare that entered his dreams: Sirius's death. Every night, the alternating scenes of Cedric dying by Wormtail's hand, and seeing Sirius fall through the veil, never to come back, always disturbed his sleep. And the prophecy kept playing in his mind everytime he closed his eyes:
The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches, Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies, And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the
Dark Lord knows not, And either must die at the hand of the other for
neither can live while the other survives, The one with the power to
vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies.
He woke up, and seeing the plate of food pushed through the flap under his door (the Dursleys, alarmed at Mad-Eye Moody's threats, were keen not to disturb him), began to eat what little had been given to him. Luckily, his friends had already sent him food on his birthday. Also, he received some unusual gifts. Hermione sent him an interesting book titled Wandless Wonders, which was about using magic without a wand, with a letter that said:
Hi Harry!
Hope you like the book! It might come in handy for our D.A. sessions. Oh, and we have some new surprises from the Order. Can't tell you too much, Voldemort might intercept it, and you know what might happen.
So anyway, are you having a better summer there at the Dursleys? Anyway, hope to see you again. Be careful. Remember, as what the fake Moody said, "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"
Hermione
Ron's gift was a pair of magical non-slip Quidditch gloves. The Weasley twins, on the other hand, gave him a bag of their latest Weasley's Wizard Wheezes joke items, as well as new shirts and (to Harry's surprise), a dragonskin jacket. Wow, Harry thought, business must be booming. Their mother, Molly Weasley, sent him plenty of food to last a week. Also, he received a Hogwarts letter detailing him about the new books for the next school year. The usual, Harry thought. He also received a small gift from Dumbledore, with a letter:
Dear Harry,
I know you have been banned from Quidditch last year, no thanks to Ms. Umbridge, and I am now lifting that ban, though I have sent you something to.how shall I say it.sharpen your abilities that have been dulled by months of no Quidditch. Anyway, don't worry about your stay at the Dursleys. Moody, by now, has sent you a letter on when you'll be going back to the Grimmauld Place. I hope you are doing fine, and I would like to apologize deeply for Sirius's death.
Albus Dumbledore
Harry opened the package. As soon as the last wrapper fell away, he was almost knocked back by a flash of golden wings, which he caught with his Seeker reflexes: A golden Snitch! Harry was more than happy; he was ecstatic, having his own Snitch, when he was reminded forcibly of his dad.and Sirius, which dampened his spirits a bit. Then he looked into the package that Hagrid sent to him. To his surprise, Hagrid had sent a photo of him and Grawp, who still retained arrow scars from the last time he encountered the centaurs. They were playing catch, and Harry was amused to see that Hagrid kept stumbling away whenever Grawp threw the ball at him. There was a note written at the back:
Hi Harry:
Glad to see that you're safe there! Grawp, and me? We're playing catch. He's getting along fine here. Even the centaurs (this is a surprise) have gotten over their grudge against me, though they still say that Firenze is banished. Anyway, they're helping me tame Grawp. Did you know, he could speak some English now? He calls me "Hagger" now, how sweet! Anyway, be careful now out there. You-Know-Who's back, and who knows what horror he'll have saved just for you.
Hagrid
He even received a pair of modern-looking glasses from Cho, saying in the letter that they were bewitched so that, with a tap of his wand, he would be able to detect, any malicious intent of people seen from the glasses. Harry replied with a thank you note and attached it to the owl that Cho had used. Aside from those, he also received his OWLs. The message said:
Mr. Potter:
Here are your results of your Ordinary Wizarding Level tests: History of Magic: A Transfiguration: O Charms: E Potions: O Defense Against the Dark Arts: O Astronomy: A Divination: P Care of Magical Creatures: A Herbology: E
In your next school year, you may take any of the following NEWT subjects: Transfiguration Charms Potions History of Magic Defense Against the Dark Arts Care of Magical Creatures Herbology
We wish you good luck in the following school term. You are expected to perform better in you NEWT classes, as these subjects will help decide your future as an Auror.
Professor Dumbledore Headmaster, Hogwarts School for Wizardry
How he passed Potions, Harry wondered, he would never know. He had wanted to be an Auror when he grew up. I;m so lucky! Harry thought as he read parts of Wandless Wonders.
But there was something different about his birthday. Another owl, colored pitch black with blue eyes, was hooting softly, holding out a letter on its leg. Harry worried that Voldemort might have sent it, but then again, why would Voldemort greet him a Happy Birthday? He opened the letter and saw, in unfamiliar writing:
Hello Harry!
I hope that your folks are treating you better. Anyway, better keep this short, in case someone intercepts this. Prepare your things because by tomorrow evening at 7:00 pm, a friend of yours will pick you up. The password is "phoenix eye" in case you're in doubt..
Hope to see you soon.
"Mad-Eye" Moody p.s: This message will burst into flame once you release it.
Harry tossed the letter into the air, where it promptly self-inflamed and turned into ashes the second it reached the floor. They're coming, he thought excitedly. So, as the Dursleys settled into sleep, Harry immediately packed up his things.
Reviews are nice. Flames are not nice. Remember, if you have any criticisms, do so in a tactful tone.
*****NotSoUnforgivableCurse*****
Chapter One: The Owl Messages
Summer once again reigned in Number Four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey. Inside a window, Harry Potter, sixteen years old, lay awake. Of course, he had almost always been awake since the day he came back from Hogwarts, for when he got the chance to sleep, he would be visited every night by the nightmares of Cedric's death two years ago. Worse than that, there was another nightmare that entered his dreams: Sirius's death. Every night, the alternating scenes of Cedric dying by Wormtail's hand, and seeing Sirius fall through the veil, never to come back, always disturbed his sleep. And the prophecy kept playing in his mind everytime he closed his eyes:
The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches, Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies, And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the
Dark Lord knows not, And either must die at the hand of the other for
neither can live while the other survives, The one with the power to
vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies.
He woke up, and seeing the plate of food pushed through the flap under his door (the Dursleys, alarmed at Mad-Eye Moody's threats, were keen not to disturb him), began to eat what little had been given to him. Luckily, his friends had already sent him food on his birthday. Also, he received some unusual gifts. Hermione sent him an interesting book titled Wandless Wonders, which was about using magic without a wand, with a letter that said:
Hi Harry!
Hope you like the book! It might come in handy for our D.A. sessions. Oh, and we have some new surprises from the Order. Can't tell you too much, Voldemort might intercept it, and you know what might happen.
So anyway, are you having a better summer there at the Dursleys? Anyway, hope to see you again. Be careful. Remember, as what the fake Moody said, "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"
Hermione
Ron's gift was a pair of magical non-slip Quidditch gloves. The Weasley twins, on the other hand, gave him a bag of their latest Weasley's Wizard Wheezes joke items, as well as new shirts and (to Harry's surprise), a dragonskin jacket. Wow, Harry thought, business must be booming. Their mother, Molly Weasley, sent him plenty of food to last a week. Also, he received a Hogwarts letter detailing him about the new books for the next school year. The usual, Harry thought. He also received a small gift from Dumbledore, with a letter:
Dear Harry,
I know you have been banned from Quidditch last year, no thanks to Ms. Umbridge, and I am now lifting that ban, though I have sent you something to.how shall I say it.sharpen your abilities that have been dulled by months of no Quidditch. Anyway, don't worry about your stay at the Dursleys. Moody, by now, has sent you a letter on when you'll be going back to the Grimmauld Place. I hope you are doing fine, and I would like to apologize deeply for Sirius's death.
Albus Dumbledore
Harry opened the package. As soon as the last wrapper fell away, he was almost knocked back by a flash of golden wings, which he caught with his Seeker reflexes: A golden Snitch! Harry was more than happy; he was ecstatic, having his own Snitch, when he was reminded forcibly of his dad.and Sirius, which dampened his spirits a bit. Then he looked into the package that Hagrid sent to him. To his surprise, Hagrid had sent a photo of him and Grawp, who still retained arrow scars from the last time he encountered the centaurs. They were playing catch, and Harry was amused to see that Hagrid kept stumbling away whenever Grawp threw the ball at him. There was a note written at the back:
Hi Harry:
Glad to see that you're safe there! Grawp, and me? We're playing catch. He's getting along fine here. Even the centaurs (this is a surprise) have gotten over their grudge against me, though they still say that Firenze is banished. Anyway, they're helping me tame Grawp. Did you know, he could speak some English now? He calls me "Hagger" now, how sweet! Anyway, be careful now out there. You-Know-Who's back, and who knows what horror he'll have saved just for you.
Hagrid
He even received a pair of modern-looking glasses from Cho, saying in the letter that they were bewitched so that, with a tap of his wand, he would be able to detect, any malicious intent of people seen from the glasses. Harry replied with a thank you note and attached it to the owl that Cho had used. Aside from those, he also received his OWLs. The message said:
Mr. Potter:
Here are your results of your Ordinary Wizarding Level tests: History of Magic: A Transfiguration: O Charms: E Potions: O Defense Against the Dark Arts: O Astronomy: A Divination: P Care of Magical Creatures: A Herbology: E
In your next school year, you may take any of the following NEWT subjects: Transfiguration Charms Potions History of Magic Defense Against the Dark Arts Care of Magical Creatures Herbology
We wish you good luck in the following school term. You are expected to perform better in you NEWT classes, as these subjects will help decide your future as an Auror.
Professor Dumbledore Headmaster, Hogwarts School for Wizardry
How he passed Potions, Harry wondered, he would never know. He had wanted to be an Auror when he grew up. I;m so lucky! Harry thought as he read parts of Wandless Wonders.
But there was something different about his birthday. Another owl, colored pitch black with blue eyes, was hooting softly, holding out a letter on its leg. Harry worried that Voldemort might have sent it, but then again, why would Voldemort greet him a Happy Birthday? He opened the letter and saw, in unfamiliar writing:
Hello Harry!
I hope that your folks are treating you better. Anyway, better keep this short, in case someone intercepts this. Prepare your things because by tomorrow evening at 7:00 pm, a friend of yours will pick you up. The password is "phoenix eye" in case you're in doubt..
Hope to see you soon.
"Mad-Eye" Moody p.s: This message will burst into flame once you release it.
Harry tossed the letter into the air, where it promptly self-inflamed and turned into ashes the second it reached the floor. They're coming, he thought excitedly. So, as the Dursleys settled into sleep, Harry immediately packed up his things.
Reviews are nice. Flames are not nice. Remember, if you have any criticisms, do so in a tactful tone.
*****NotSoUnforgivableCurse*****
