Chapter 1:
It was a bleak night, and a storm was raging all over the south of England.
Rain and lightning were constantly pounding the Earth, un-relenting and un-
stoppable. As the storm raged over the town of Little Whinging, there was
only one person awake, sitting by the window of the smallest bedroom at
number 4, Privet drive. He was staring outside, but did not see. Privit
Drive was a place where anything out of the ordinary was severely frowned
upon so you may be wondering why one of it inhabitants was up at the
ungodly hour. The answer to that question is that he was not a normal
person.
The young man in question went by the name of Harry Potter. Harry Potter was by no-means normal; to the people of Little Whinging he was a hardened criminal who attended 'St Brutus's Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys', as they were told by Harry's family, but the truth is stranger than this fiction: Harry was a Wizard who attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Harry had only returned here for the summer, as his fifth year at Hogwards had ended very recently. With his parents killed by the most feared wizard in modern history when he was only one year old, Harry had had an exceptionally poor start of his life, and thing did not improve much over the next years. When the dark lord had turned and poined his wand at Harry to kill him too, the spell had backfired. Ripped from his body, Voldemort had fled away, made powerless by a mere baby. During this process, Harry had aquired a pequliar looking scar on his forhead. No other person known had a scar shaped like the lightning-bolt that was now stuck on Harry forever. Because of his survival, Harry became known as 'The Boy Who Lived' to all members of the wizarding community, and he was stared at for something he did not even remember.
~*~
During his five years at Hogwarts, Harry had faced Voldemort another four times, and survived through them, but he had not come away unscathed. Only last year Harry was present at the resurrection of Voldemort and had to watch as 'Wormtail', one of Voldemort's servants, killed a fellow student, named Cedric Diggory. This was something no-one deserved, but something even worse had happened to our hero only weeks ago: Harry's godfather Sirius Black was killed. This had happened when Harry received a vision from Voldemort, making Harry believe that he had Sirius in the department of mysteries. Harry, being the person that he is, rushed off to help but walked right into the trap. Harry and his friends were cornered by deathe eaters, when the Order of the Phoenix showed up to help and protect them. However, in this fight Sirius was killed by his cousin Bellatrix Lestrange.
If you were to look at Harry now, you would see a boy no older than 15. He was 5ft 6", or maybe 5ft 7", and had a lean build. His hair was black, but when the moon reflected off his hair it took the shade of midnight blue. His face had high prominent cheekbones and a jaw that looked like it was chiselled, and he had a slight amount of stubble along his jaw line and above his upper lip, showing that he was coming into the age where he had to shave. Harry had startling Emerald green eyes, which were hidden behind a pair of wire framed glasses. His eyes usually were happy and relaxed, but now they seemed dull and lifeless.
It is said that the eyes are the window of the soul, but if you were to look this child in the eye, you would believe that his soul had been ripped from him.
Harry was looking out of his window, watching as the lightning flashed down and attack the Earth. Harry loved Lightning, as it never frightened him like it did others, but instead it comforted him. With each clap of thunder he remembered what happened last year at his school, the death of his godfather Sirius Black. Harry kept remembering the battle at the department of mysteries, where his godfather fell through the veil to his death. A solitary tear fell from the beautiful green eyes, as the child wished his godfather was with him, but he knew it would not happen. Slowly he made his way back to bed, even though the thing that frightened him most in the world was what a bed was for: SLEEP.
Each and every-time Harry fell asleep he would have terrible nightmares. Whether it was watching his friends die, or having Cedric and Sirius blaming him for their deaths, they were always there.
We start our story at 11.45, on the 23rd of July. Which was just one week before Harry's birthday.
Harry's nightmares from the past weeks, made him try to stay awake all night, but so far he had never succeded. Today, he was so exhausted from his chores earlier, that he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
~*~
Harry woke up in the morning, feeling refreshed, from not having to suffer from nightmares during his sleep. As he got up, Harry looked at the clock on his bedside cabinet, which read 6.30
'Perfect' Harry thought 'A whole hour till the Dursleys wake up.' He turned to look around his room. Hedwig's cage in the corner of the room was empty, as its occupant was out hunting, and his truck with all his school things stood at the foot of his bed. Letters from his friends Ron, Hermione and (surprisingly) Ginny were on top of it. Not that he was complaining though, Ginny was very easy to speak to and he was happy to call her a friend, but he had just never thought of her differently than as his best friend's little sister.
His attention turned to the mirror, and he let out a startled gasp at what he saw; looking at his reflection was a 15 year old Harry Potter, but it was not the same boy he had seen last night. He was a 5ft 9", well built young man. It wasn't the fact that he had grown muscle and gained a inch in height that surprised him most though, it was the fact that he wasn't wearing his glasses.
Harry turned around to look at his bedside cabinet, where the glasses he had wore for the past 10 years were. Yet he could see perfectly clear. He sat down thinking about this latest development. He thought about writing to his friends but dismissed the idea straight away, when he came up with the idea his magic might had corrected his vision.
'Of course, I'm half way through puberty. Sure Magic is going to change my body.' He looked at the clock which now read 7.15. Harry decided to get started on breakfast, as he wanted to be in time to avoid complaints from the Dursleys.
Harry went down quickly and quietly and started making breakfast. He made eggs, bacon, sausages, baked beans and toast, (Dudley was no longer on his diet because of his boxing career) so that everyone could eat a decent meal, instead of just some carrot sticks. The only reason Harry could eat this well, was the fact that the Dursleys were petrified of the 'funny eyed freak', or 'Mad Eye' Moody.
Harry had just finished putting the plates out, when the Dursleys came into the kitchen. "Good to see you do something useful for a change" Uncle Vernon said.
"Yes Uncle Vernon" Harry replied, and walked out of the kitchen and up to his room to write a letter to the order, telling them that he was allright, and that he hoped to see them all soon. He waited for Hedwig to return from her hunting, and when she came in Harry said "Hiya girl, do you think you could take this to the order for me, please?" Hedwig nodded. "Thanks girl. You can spend the day there if your tired." she hooted as a thanks and nipped his finger as he stroked her snowy plumage as he took her to the window, were she flew off.
No sooner than Hedwig was gone, Harry was called by his Aunt. "Boy come here now!" She yelled from the bottom of the stairs. Harry sighed and walked down the stairs.
"Yes Aunt Petunia" Harry said, curious what it was this time. "You are to do these chores today." She handed Harry a piece of paper, which he looked at. "Well what are you waiting for, get to work you lazy brat." His Aunt Screeched. "Yes Aunt Petunia." He replied once again and set off to do his chores. It was one of the very few things he ever said to his relatives, as he prefered to avoid them as often as possible, and he had learned over the years that is was one of the few things he could say where there was nothing to complain about.
~*~
The days slowely went by, and Harry continued with his chores. He woke up everyday, to see a new appearance in the mirror. He wasn't complaining about this, because he was now extremely handsome, and girls would be falling over them selves once he got to Hogwarts. He had now grown to 6ft 2", and his black hair now had a blue tint to it. He also had a very nice muscle structure, so he definitely had no complaints about the new him.
Harry also mastered Occlumency some how, and had very strong walls up, so Voldemort would have a hard time breaking through them. Harry didn't know how they were put up, but he didn't care, because anything to keep Voldemort out of his head seemed a good thing at the moment.
Harry's dreams also had stopped, which helped Harry a lot, since he thought that since the dreams stopped when he mastered Occlumency, they must have been sent by Voldemort. This also meant that Sirius and Cedric weren't blaming him for their deaths, but instead it had been Voldemort trying to break Harry.
This discovery had helped Harry out of his depretion and changed him mentally. Instead of 'Wearing his emotions on his sleve' as Snape put, it he now wore a mask of cold indifference, not letting anyone know his true emotions.
~*~
It was two days before Harry's Birthday, when he was awoken by an Owl taping on his window. Harry got up and opened the window for it, and the creature immediatly flew into his room and perched on Hedwig's cage. Harry walked over to it, and took the letter from the owl's leg, so he could read the letter:
Dear Mr Potter
Enclosed with this letter are your O.W.L (Ordinary Wizarding Level) results, and we hope that you are pleased with them. The Owl waiting in your room is awaiting your reply for which subjects you wish to take for your last two years at Hogwarts.
Yours sincerely, Griselda Marchbanks Chairwitch, Wizarding Examination Board Ministry of Magic
Harry was slightly nervous after reading the letter. How could he have forgotten about his OWL's? He pulled out the last two pieces of parchment quickly, to see that the first was his reply slip, and the second contained his results:
O.W.L. Results for: Harry James Potter
School: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
House: Gryffindor Date: June, 1996 Transfiguration - E - 1 OWL
Charms - E - 1 OWL
Potions - O - 2 OWLs
Defense Against the Dark Arts - O - 2 OWLs
Herbology - A - 1 OWL
Care of Magical Creatures - O - 2 OWLs
Astronomy - A - 1 OWL
Divination - D - 0 OWL
History of Magic - D - 0 OWL TOTAL = 10 OWLs
O = 2 OWLs E = 1 OWLs A = 1 OWLs P = 0 OWLs D = 0 OWLs
Harry was excited about this. It meant he could become an Auror now, with these results. His excitement was dimed only, once he heard his Aunt's shrill shreck. Harry slowly got up from his seat and went downstairs to start his chores, but still feeling very happy.
*~* It was the night before Harry's birthday, when Hedwig finally returned with a letter from Dumbledore. Harry read the letter, but the further down he got the more angry he became. By the end of the letter he was downright furious, Though it didn't show, since he used his ability to place a impassive mask on every time he was feeling any emotion. After reading the letter Harry thought he was going to explode. This is what the letter read:
Dear Harry,
I regret to inform you that you may not go to the Burrow this year. The reason behind this, is that Voldemort has been attacking constantly, and you need to be kept safe. I apologise once again, but you must not leave your Aunt's property. This is so that you are protected by the wards placed around their home. You shall be picked up on the 31st of August, so you may get your school books and robes then. From there you will be escorted to Headquaters. Yours Faithfully,
Albus Dumbledore
p.s. Remember to keep up with your Occlumency
p.p.s. No more letters will be able to enter and leave the house this is for added
Security. Once Hedwig leaves she may not return. I have asked Mister Weasley
and Miss Granger to look after her till the start of term.
Harry could understand the start, he didn't even want to go to the Burrow in case he put anyone else in danger, but not being allowed to send any letters he was something beyond his understanding. The letters were what Harry really was annoyed about. It wasn't as if they were telling each other secret information. They only wrote about trivial stuff, like what they were doing and things like that. Dumbledore really was not Harry's favourite person right now. Harry told Hedwig to return to Grimmauld place were she would be looked after and sent the owl that was waiting his reply for which NEWT's to take (DADA, Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Herbology and COMC), but did so with extreme annoyance towards his headmaster. As the owls flew away, Harry looked at the clock again. It now read 1.30, which meant he now was sixteen.
"Great birthday present Dumbledore" Harry thought, and fell asleep almost immediately, not knowing that in his dreams there was someone waiting for him... A/N: I know that I have re-posted this chapter a few times already but I want to make sure that the story is good all the way through and not just halfway through or the end. Thanks to my Beta VioletS who is helping to improve the rest of the story. Misser Pot-head
The young man in question went by the name of Harry Potter. Harry Potter was by no-means normal; to the people of Little Whinging he was a hardened criminal who attended 'St Brutus's Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys', as they were told by Harry's family, but the truth is stranger than this fiction: Harry was a Wizard who attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Harry had only returned here for the summer, as his fifth year at Hogwards had ended very recently. With his parents killed by the most feared wizard in modern history when he was only one year old, Harry had had an exceptionally poor start of his life, and thing did not improve much over the next years. When the dark lord had turned and poined his wand at Harry to kill him too, the spell had backfired. Ripped from his body, Voldemort had fled away, made powerless by a mere baby. During this process, Harry had aquired a pequliar looking scar on his forhead. No other person known had a scar shaped like the lightning-bolt that was now stuck on Harry forever. Because of his survival, Harry became known as 'The Boy Who Lived' to all members of the wizarding community, and he was stared at for something he did not even remember.
~*~
During his five years at Hogwarts, Harry had faced Voldemort another four times, and survived through them, but he had not come away unscathed. Only last year Harry was present at the resurrection of Voldemort and had to watch as 'Wormtail', one of Voldemort's servants, killed a fellow student, named Cedric Diggory. This was something no-one deserved, but something even worse had happened to our hero only weeks ago: Harry's godfather Sirius Black was killed. This had happened when Harry received a vision from Voldemort, making Harry believe that he had Sirius in the department of mysteries. Harry, being the person that he is, rushed off to help but walked right into the trap. Harry and his friends were cornered by deathe eaters, when the Order of the Phoenix showed up to help and protect them. However, in this fight Sirius was killed by his cousin Bellatrix Lestrange.
If you were to look at Harry now, you would see a boy no older than 15. He was 5ft 6", or maybe 5ft 7", and had a lean build. His hair was black, but when the moon reflected off his hair it took the shade of midnight blue. His face had high prominent cheekbones and a jaw that looked like it was chiselled, and he had a slight amount of stubble along his jaw line and above his upper lip, showing that he was coming into the age where he had to shave. Harry had startling Emerald green eyes, which were hidden behind a pair of wire framed glasses. His eyes usually were happy and relaxed, but now they seemed dull and lifeless.
It is said that the eyes are the window of the soul, but if you were to look this child in the eye, you would believe that his soul had been ripped from him.
Harry was looking out of his window, watching as the lightning flashed down and attack the Earth. Harry loved Lightning, as it never frightened him like it did others, but instead it comforted him. With each clap of thunder he remembered what happened last year at his school, the death of his godfather Sirius Black. Harry kept remembering the battle at the department of mysteries, where his godfather fell through the veil to his death. A solitary tear fell from the beautiful green eyes, as the child wished his godfather was with him, but he knew it would not happen. Slowly he made his way back to bed, even though the thing that frightened him most in the world was what a bed was for: SLEEP.
Each and every-time Harry fell asleep he would have terrible nightmares. Whether it was watching his friends die, or having Cedric and Sirius blaming him for their deaths, they were always there.
We start our story at 11.45, on the 23rd of July. Which was just one week before Harry's birthday.
Harry's nightmares from the past weeks, made him try to stay awake all night, but so far he had never succeded. Today, he was so exhausted from his chores earlier, that he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
~*~
Harry woke up in the morning, feeling refreshed, from not having to suffer from nightmares during his sleep. As he got up, Harry looked at the clock on his bedside cabinet, which read 6.30
'Perfect' Harry thought 'A whole hour till the Dursleys wake up.' He turned to look around his room. Hedwig's cage in the corner of the room was empty, as its occupant was out hunting, and his truck with all his school things stood at the foot of his bed. Letters from his friends Ron, Hermione and (surprisingly) Ginny were on top of it. Not that he was complaining though, Ginny was very easy to speak to and he was happy to call her a friend, but he had just never thought of her differently than as his best friend's little sister.
His attention turned to the mirror, and he let out a startled gasp at what he saw; looking at his reflection was a 15 year old Harry Potter, but it was not the same boy he had seen last night. He was a 5ft 9", well built young man. It wasn't the fact that he had grown muscle and gained a inch in height that surprised him most though, it was the fact that he wasn't wearing his glasses.
Harry turned around to look at his bedside cabinet, where the glasses he had wore for the past 10 years were. Yet he could see perfectly clear. He sat down thinking about this latest development. He thought about writing to his friends but dismissed the idea straight away, when he came up with the idea his magic might had corrected his vision.
'Of course, I'm half way through puberty. Sure Magic is going to change my body.' He looked at the clock which now read 7.15. Harry decided to get started on breakfast, as he wanted to be in time to avoid complaints from the Dursleys.
Harry went down quickly and quietly and started making breakfast. He made eggs, bacon, sausages, baked beans and toast, (Dudley was no longer on his diet because of his boxing career) so that everyone could eat a decent meal, instead of just some carrot sticks. The only reason Harry could eat this well, was the fact that the Dursleys were petrified of the 'funny eyed freak', or 'Mad Eye' Moody.
Harry had just finished putting the plates out, when the Dursleys came into the kitchen. "Good to see you do something useful for a change" Uncle Vernon said.
"Yes Uncle Vernon" Harry replied, and walked out of the kitchen and up to his room to write a letter to the order, telling them that he was allright, and that he hoped to see them all soon. He waited for Hedwig to return from her hunting, and when she came in Harry said "Hiya girl, do you think you could take this to the order for me, please?" Hedwig nodded. "Thanks girl. You can spend the day there if your tired." she hooted as a thanks and nipped his finger as he stroked her snowy plumage as he took her to the window, were she flew off.
No sooner than Hedwig was gone, Harry was called by his Aunt. "Boy come here now!" She yelled from the bottom of the stairs. Harry sighed and walked down the stairs.
"Yes Aunt Petunia" Harry said, curious what it was this time. "You are to do these chores today." She handed Harry a piece of paper, which he looked at. "Well what are you waiting for, get to work you lazy brat." His Aunt Screeched. "Yes Aunt Petunia." He replied once again and set off to do his chores. It was one of the very few things he ever said to his relatives, as he prefered to avoid them as often as possible, and he had learned over the years that is was one of the few things he could say where there was nothing to complain about.
~*~
The days slowely went by, and Harry continued with his chores. He woke up everyday, to see a new appearance in the mirror. He wasn't complaining about this, because he was now extremely handsome, and girls would be falling over them selves once he got to Hogwarts. He had now grown to 6ft 2", and his black hair now had a blue tint to it. He also had a very nice muscle structure, so he definitely had no complaints about the new him.
Harry also mastered Occlumency some how, and had very strong walls up, so Voldemort would have a hard time breaking through them. Harry didn't know how they were put up, but he didn't care, because anything to keep Voldemort out of his head seemed a good thing at the moment.
Harry's dreams also had stopped, which helped Harry a lot, since he thought that since the dreams stopped when he mastered Occlumency, they must have been sent by Voldemort. This also meant that Sirius and Cedric weren't blaming him for their deaths, but instead it had been Voldemort trying to break Harry.
This discovery had helped Harry out of his depretion and changed him mentally. Instead of 'Wearing his emotions on his sleve' as Snape put, it he now wore a mask of cold indifference, not letting anyone know his true emotions.
~*~
It was two days before Harry's Birthday, when he was awoken by an Owl taping on his window. Harry got up and opened the window for it, and the creature immediatly flew into his room and perched on Hedwig's cage. Harry walked over to it, and took the letter from the owl's leg, so he could read the letter:
Dear Mr Potter
Enclosed with this letter are your O.W.L (Ordinary Wizarding Level) results, and we hope that you are pleased with them. The Owl waiting in your room is awaiting your reply for which subjects you wish to take for your last two years at Hogwarts.
Yours sincerely, Griselda Marchbanks Chairwitch, Wizarding Examination Board Ministry of Magic
Harry was slightly nervous after reading the letter. How could he have forgotten about his OWL's? He pulled out the last two pieces of parchment quickly, to see that the first was his reply slip, and the second contained his results:
O.W.L. Results for: Harry James Potter
School: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
House: Gryffindor Date: June, 1996 Transfiguration - E - 1 OWL
Charms - E - 1 OWL
Potions - O - 2 OWLs
Defense Against the Dark Arts - O - 2 OWLs
Herbology - A - 1 OWL
Care of Magical Creatures - O - 2 OWLs
Astronomy - A - 1 OWL
Divination - D - 0 OWL
History of Magic - D - 0 OWL TOTAL = 10 OWLs
O = 2 OWLs E = 1 OWLs A = 1 OWLs P = 0 OWLs D = 0 OWLs
Harry was excited about this. It meant he could become an Auror now, with these results. His excitement was dimed only, once he heard his Aunt's shrill shreck. Harry slowly got up from his seat and went downstairs to start his chores, but still feeling very happy.
*~* It was the night before Harry's birthday, when Hedwig finally returned with a letter from Dumbledore. Harry read the letter, but the further down he got the more angry he became. By the end of the letter he was downright furious, Though it didn't show, since he used his ability to place a impassive mask on every time he was feeling any emotion. After reading the letter Harry thought he was going to explode. This is what the letter read:
Dear Harry,
I regret to inform you that you may not go to the Burrow this year. The reason behind this, is that Voldemort has been attacking constantly, and you need to be kept safe. I apologise once again, but you must not leave your Aunt's property. This is so that you are protected by the wards placed around their home. You shall be picked up on the 31st of August, so you may get your school books and robes then. From there you will be escorted to Headquaters. Yours Faithfully,
Albus Dumbledore
p.s. Remember to keep up with your Occlumency
p.p.s. No more letters will be able to enter and leave the house this is for added
Security. Once Hedwig leaves she may not return. I have asked Mister Weasley
and Miss Granger to look after her till the start of term.
Harry could understand the start, he didn't even want to go to the Burrow in case he put anyone else in danger, but not being allowed to send any letters he was something beyond his understanding. The letters were what Harry really was annoyed about. It wasn't as if they were telling each other secret information. They only wrote about trivial stuff, like what they were doing and things like that. Dumbledore really was not Harry's favourite person right now. Harry told Hedwig to return to Grimmauld place were she would be looked after and sent the owl that was waiting his reply for which NEWT's to take (DADA, Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Herbology and COMC), but did so with extreme annoyance towards his headmaster. As the owls flew away, Harry looked at the clock again. It now read 1.30, which meant he now was sixteen.
"Great birthday present Dumbledore" Harry thought, and fell asleep almost immediately, not knowing that in his dreams there was someone waiting for him... A/N: I know that I have re-posted this chapter a few times already but I want to make sure that the story is good all the way through and not just halfway through or the end. Thanks to my Beta VioletS who is helping to improve the rest of the story. Misser Pot-head