Chapter 4
When everyone was done oogling over their presents, Harry suggested that they all go and sit by the fire down stair so that they could carry on their conversation more comfortably. Harry led the way followed by Draco, Hermione, Pansy, Ron, and Blaise.
In front of the fire Harry sat at one end of the large "L" shaped couch sprawled out on one of the seats. "So Draco, what happened to you this summer? I have a funny feeling no one knows and that Ron is definitely wanting a lengthy explanation." Harry smiled at Draco, a small hint of concern peeping through in his sparkling emerald eyes.
Draco sighed for he knew it was time to divulge his deep dark secret, "Alright, but this can not leave the room. If any of you tell anyone, I'll feed you to my pit bull. Last summer my father was arrested and thrown in Azkaban. You all probably know this because it has been in the Daily Prophet. What you don't know is that my father used to beat me. He would take me up to the north tower of our castle and beat me almost to death. Then he would heal me and send me to my room. He tortured me and raped my mom repeatedly. When I found out, I snapped. I told Dumbledore 'cause I didn't think anyone else would believe me. Dumbledore had something on my dad for a while and he used it to land him in Azkaban. Then Dumbledore told me about this and I decided to change sides along with my mom."
Draco wouldn't meet anyone's eyes. The silence was very uncomfortable until Hermione got up, sat next to Draco and put an arm around him. "It's okay Draco. He can't hurt you anymore."
Draco shot up, "You don't understand. He didn't just beat me. He said things to me, he destroyed me. He told me I was worthless and degraded me and," Draco got emotional about it until Harry stood and draped his arm over the slightly smaller boy. "Don't worry Draco, you don't have to continue. We understand and if you don't want to, you don't have to tell us anything else."
Draco then decided to go to bed, followed by everyone else. Harry, however, decided to stay up a while longer. Staring into the fire, he thought about what Draco said; what it would feel like to have your dad beat you that way. Sure, his Uncle Vernon and Dudley beat him. Harry shrugged, at least it wasn't his father.
He must have been sitting there for a while because the next thing he knew Hermione was standing behind him with a hand on his shoulder. He glanced at the clock above the fire and it read 4:30. "Harry, are you okay? I was just going to make some tea and then finish organizing my extra gift. The presents were all lovely by the way." Hermione paused to sit down next to Harry on the large couch. "How about you twitch your nose, conjure us up some tea, and we can talk about what's on your mind." She winked at his when he recognized the reference to Bewitched.
"Thanks Hermione. Well, down to some major nose twitching. What would you like: tea or coffee." He knew Hermione enjoyed both drinks and was never able to have coffee during the school year. When he asked, her eyes lighted up and he said, "How about some Cinnamon Hazelnut with pastries. I'm up for the day so I might as well eat breakfast."
"That sounds wonderful." They were both insomniacs so most of their mornings in the previous couple of years were like this. Drinking tea or coffee and having breakfast. The fire crackled merrily as the told each other what had happened to them over the summer. "My parents and I went to the United States and went sight seeing. We saw the statue of liberty, the rocky mountains, and Washington D.C. We saw some other stuff but nothing that exciting. So, how about you, I would really like to know about the last few weeks at least."
Harry sighed as Hermione rested her head on his shoulder. He knew their position on the couch was only in the thoughts of companionable friendship. They had tried the whole dating thing a while back and it just didn't work. It was all too weird for them. So they were just friends. "Dumbledore asked me to come back to Hogwarts early due to the fact that I was performing wandless magic at the Dursley's. I had a really big power spurt and I was leaking magic even worse than last year. He also said that I was becoming easily trackable because of the leakage."
"When I got here they took away my wand. They said the only magic I was aloud to do was wandless. I didn't really mind cause I enjoy it immensely and you will too when we start our training today. Anyway, they started throwing minor curses at me to see if I was able to deflect them. I think it has something to do with my being able to do wandless magic and this huge power spurt. Anyway, we found out that once they let go of the curse, I could control the curse and direct it back at them or to another place. It was kind of like just throwing power out at it I'm not really sure how it works but Dumbledore seems to think that I might be telekinetic."
Harry watched Hermione's face the whole time for a reaction but got none. He always wished he could see into her mind, to see what made Hermione tick. Hermione sighed and said, "You are truly amazing Harry Potter, you know that? You deal with all this stuff and never complain. This power thing has got to be freaky though. How is the leakage problem going. I haven't noticed anything since I got here but that could be do to the fact that I might have grown used to it."
Harry chuckled, kissed the top of her head, and said, "No Hermione, I don't think it's you getting used to this power leakage, it's me learning to control it. I can tell now when it is leaking. It feels like,... like" Harry really couldn't find the words to explain the feeling of his power, so he decided to let Hermione feel it. Harry closed his eyes and brought his image of the Hoover Dam to mind. An impenetrable wall of sheer will and feet of concrete held back the river of power. Harry pictured crack in the dam and let his power flow minutely from that. He heard a gasp and he opened his eyes.
Hermione was now turned toward him, looking directly into his eyes, "Harry, that's incredible! I've never felt that much, raw, power before. There is absolutely no other term but raw, never-ending, power!"
As Hermione gaped at Harry, four people protruded from their rooms looking very sleep tousled and grumpy. They had all felt Harry's little display of power and were all woken by it. They stared at each other in turn and went to the common room. The sight that met them was that of Harry's eyes closed, faced by a Hermione devoid of emotion. The power began to diminish and so did the buzz that had suddenly shot through their bones.
When the power was finally gone Draco stammered, "What the hell was that?! It felt like I was being zapped full of electricity."
Harry blushed for he hadn't noticed the other four people's entrance into the room. His concentration had been on closing that leak in his Hoover Dam of power. "Uh-sorry, did I wake all of you? I really didn't mean to. Hermione was asking me about my power problem and I couldn't really explain it in terms most people would understand."
Five identically gaping holes with eyes stared at Harry unbelievingly. Pansy was quite shaken when she said, "That was you?! How in the world did you release so much power at one time. That was utterly amazing." Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.
Harry blushed crimson and said, "Thanks, umm would you guys like some breakfast?" Harry was very shy about his powers. He hadn't really planned to show anyone even this much. He knew he hadn't lost control and that he hadn't shown them any where near his full power.
The six of them sat down to an early breakfast for none of them felt they could go back to bed. Midway through breakfast, Dumbledore approached the portrait. Harry mentally let him in. A few seconds later, he appeared. "Hello and good morning all. I have come to give you six lists of things you will need for the upcoming year. Some of the things may not make sense but I'm sure you will see as the year progresses as to why these things will be needed." While Dumbledore was talking, a thick, parchment, envelope appeared in front of each of them. "Also Harry, you mustn't use wandless magic for this. The reason is because each of these has to come from somewhere and I don't want you being tired for later today. You will be meeting your professors later today after you return from Diagon Alley. Some of them will ask you to begin training so please return soon. Here is a portkey to take you to and from Diagon Alley. It will not activate until each of you are touching it so please don't worry. You may go as soon as you are ready and return when finished. I will see you all later."
No one had time to even ask questions. They were each still processing what Dumbledore had said while slowly opening their envelopes.
Harry put the portkey into his pocket as the group went to Gringotts. They each had to get some money for the new supplies but when they got there they were immediately swooped upon by the head goblin, "You six, this way. I have something for each of you." They followed the head goblin into an ivory set of doors in the back of the bank. Carved in each door was a sphinx with emerald green eyes and gold highlighted tails. Very simple, but very elegant. As the proceded through the doors, they passed mounds of rubies that were every color imaginable, sapphires, emeralds, diamonds, and many other precious stones the size of human heads. Toward the back there was a large set of golden scales and a desk.
The goblin proceded behind the desk and offered his hand. Harry started to take the offered hand but the goblin just swatted his offer of friendship away, "I want you to hand me the letters is all." Each in turn handed the goblin his or her letter. He weighed the letters then handed them back, making a notation. He led them through a small glass door studded with gold and silver pellets. In this room were mounds of galleons, sickles, and knuts. The goblin walked over to the only open wall after instructing the six to stay where the were and grabbed six black velvet bags from a hook and rejoined the group. "You will each get the exact amount that these things will cost. So no dillidalying, Dumbledore's orders. I am also not aloud to release any of your own money to you at the present moment. Dumbledore really needs you back at the school. If you have some with you there is nothing I can do about it I guess. Now get out of here and don't tell any one where you've been.
The suddenly blinding light made each of the six cringe and shade their eyes. When they reached the book store, they went in to find it absolutely empty. They looked behind them and there was no one in the street either. A slender women about 30 years old sashayed her way to the group, eyeing each in turn. Hermione spoke up, "Where is everyone? There is no one here."
"Dumbledore called in a favor at the ministry and had the gate closed off for one hour. You are they only six shoppers aloud in Diagon Alley. So what can I do ya for?"
They handed her a book list and asked for six copies of each. She rang them up and the group paid for the books from the black velvet bags and left the store. At each of the other shops they went to, transactions were made and the left. The owners seemed to be under a spell almost, but the six let it be, took out the portkey, and left for Hogwarts.
A/N: Sorry this chapter is so short. I was having problems with this part, a little bit of writer's block can do that to you. I know its not that great of a chapter but keep reading, I promise it will get better and the next chapter will be nice and long for ya'll.
When everyone was done oogling over their presents, Harry suggested that they all go and sit by the fire down stair so that they could carry on their conversation more comfortably. Harry led the way followed by Draco, Hermione, Pansy, Ron, and Blaise.
In front of the fire Harry sat at one end of the large "L" shaped couch sprawled out on one of the seats. "So Draco, what happened to you this summer? I have a funny feeling no one knows and that Ron is definitely wanting a lengthy explanation." Harry smiled at Draco, a small hint of concern peeping through in his sparkling emerald eyes.
Draco sighed for he knew it was time to divulge his deep dark secret, "Alright, but this can not leave the room. If any of you tell anyone, I'll feed you to my pit bull. Last summer my father was arrested and thrown in Azkaban. You all probably know this because it has been in the Daily Prophet. What you don't know is that my father used to beat me. He would take me up to the north tower of our castle and beat me almost to death. Then he would heal me and send me to my room. He tortured me and raped my mom repeatedly. When I found out, I snapped. I told Dumbledore 'cause I didn't think anyone else would believe me. Dumbledore had something on my dad for a while and he used it to land him in Azkaban. Then Dumbledore told me about this and I decided to change sides along with my mom."
Draco wouldn't meet anyone's eyes. The silence was very uncomfortable until Hermione got up, sat next to Draco and put an arm around him. "It's okay Draco. He can't hurt you anymore."
Draco shot up, "You don't understand. He didn't just beat me. He said things to me, he destroyed me. He told me I was worthless and degraded me and," Draco got emotional about it until Harry stood and draped his arm over the slightly smaller boy. "Don't worry Draco, you don't have to continue. We understand and if you don't want to, you don't have to tell us anything else."
Draco then decided to go to bed, followed by everyone else. Harry, however, decided to stay up a while longer. Staring into the fire, he thought about what Draco said; what it would feel like to have your dad beat you that way. Sure, his Uncle Vernon and Dudley beat him. Harry shrugged, at least it wasn't his father.
He must have been sitting there for a while because the next thing he knew Hermione was standing behind him with a hand on his shoulder. He glanced at the clock above the fire and it read 4:30. "Harry, are you okay? I was just going to make some tea and then finish organizing my extra gift. The presents were all lovely by the way." Hermione paused to sit down next to Harry on the large couch. "How about you twitch your nose, conjure us up some tea, and we can talk about what's on your mind." She winked at his when he recognized the reference to Bewitched.
"Thanks Hermione. Well, down to some major nose twitching. What would you like: tea or coffee." He knew Hermione enjoyed both drinks and was never able to have coffee during the school year. When he asked, her eyes lighted up and he said, "How about some Cinnamon Hazelnut with pastries. I'm up for the day so I might as well eat breakfast."
"That sounds wonderful." They were both insomniacs so most of their mornings in the previous couple of years were like this. Drinking tea or coffee and having breakfast. The fire crackled merrily as the told each other what had happened to them over the summer. "My parents and I went to the United States and went sight seeing. We saw the statue of liberty, the rocky mountains, and Washington D.C. We saw some other stuff but nothing that exciting. So, how about you, I would really like to know about the last few weeks at least."
Harry sighed as Hermione rested her head on his shoulder. He knew their position on the couch was only in the thoughts of companionable friendship. They had tried the whole dating thing a while back and it just didn't work. It was all too weird for them. So they were just friends. "Dumbledore asked me to come back to Hogwarts early due to the fact that I was performing wandless magic at the Dursley's. I had a really big power spurt and I was leaking magic even worse than last year. He also said that I was becoming easily trackable because of the leakage."
"When I got here they took away my wand. They said the only magic I was aloud to do was wandless. I didn't really mind cause I enjoy it immensely and you will too when we start our training today. Anyway, they started throwing minor curses at me to see if I was able to deflect them. I think it has something to do with my being able to do wandless magic and this huge power spurt. Anyway, we found out that once they let go of the curse, I could control the curse and direct it back at them or to another place. It was kind of like just throwing power out at it I'm not really sure how it works but Dumbledore seems to think that I might be telekinetic."
Harry watched Hermione's face the whole time for a reaction but got none. He always wished he could see into her mind, to see what made Hermione tick. Hermione sighed and said, "You are truly amazing Harry Potter, you know that? You deal with all this stuff and never complain. This power thing has got to be freaky though. How is the leakage problem going. I haven't noticed anything since I got here but that could be do to the fact that I might have grown used to it."
Harry chuckled, kissed the top of her head, and said, "No Hermione, I don't think it's you getting used to this power leakage, it's me learning to control it. I can tell now when it is leaking. It feels like,... like" Harry really couldn't find the words to explain the feeling of his power, so he decided to let Hermione feel it. Harry closed his eyes and brought his image of the Hoover Dam to mind. An impenetrable wall of sheer will and feet of concrete held back the river of power. Harry pictured crack in the dam and let his power flow minutely from that. He heard a gasp and he opened his eyes.
Hermione was now turned toward him, looking directly into his eyes, "Harry, that's incredible! I've never felt that much, raw, power before. There is absolutely no other term but raw, never-ending, power!"
As Hermione gaped at Harry, four people protruded from their rooms looking very sleep tousled and grumpy. They had all felt Harry's little display of power and were all woken by it. They stared at each other in turn and went to the common room. The sight that met them was that of Harry's eyes closed, faced by a Hermione devoid of emotion. The power began to diminish and so did the buzz that had suddenly shot through their bones.
When the power was finally gone Draco stammered, "What the hell was that?! It felt like I was being zapped full of electricity."
Harry blushed for he hadn't noticed the other four people's entrance into the room. His concentration had been on closing that leak in his Hoover Dam of power. "Uh-sorry, did I wake all of you? I really didn't mean to. Hermione was asking me about my power problem and I couldn't really explain it in terms most people would understand."
Five identically gaping holes with eyes stared at Harry unbelievingly. Pansy was quite shaken when she said, "That was you?! How in the world did you release so much power at one time. That was utterly amazing." Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.
Harry blushed crimson and said, "Thanks, umm would you guys like some breakfast?" Harry was very shy about his powers. He hadn't really planned to show anyone even this much. He knew he hadn't lost control and that he hadn't shown them any where near his full power.
The six of them sat down to an early breakfast for none of them felt they could go back to bed. Midway through breakfast, Dumbledore approached the portrait. Harry mentally let him in. A few seconds later, he appeared. "Hello and good morning all. I have come to give you six lists of things you will need for the upcoming year. Some of the things may not make sense but I'm sure you will see as the year progresses as to why these things will be needed." While Dumbledore was talking, a thick, parchment, envelope appeared in front of each of them. "Also Harry, you mustn't use wandless magic for this. The reason is because each of these has to come from somewhere and I don't want you being tired for later today. You will be meeting your professors later today after you return from Diagon Alley. Some of them will ask you to begin training so please return soon. Here is a portkey to take you to and from Diagon Alley. It will not activate until each of you are touching it so please don't worry. You may go as soon as you are ready and return when finished. I will see you all later."
No one had time to even ask questions. They were each still processing what Dumbledore had said while slowly opening their envelopes.
Harry put the portkey into his pocket as the group went to Gringotts. They each had to get some money for the new supplies but when they got there they were immediately swooped upon by the head goblin, "You six, this way. I have something for each of you." They followed the head goblin into an ivory set of doors in the back of the bank. Carved in each door was a sphinx with emerald green eyes and gold highlighted tails. Very simple, but very elegant. As the proceded through the doors, they passed mounds of rubies that were every color imaginable, sapphires, emeralds, diamonds, and many other precious stones the size of human heads. Toward the back there was a large set of golden scales and a desk.
The goblin proceded behind the desk and offered his hand. Harry started to take the offered hand but the goblin just swatted his offer of friendship away, "I want you to hand me the letters is all." Each in turn handed the goblin his or her letter. He weighed the letters then handed them back, making a notation. He led them through a small glass door studded with gold and silver pellets. In this room were mounds of galleons, sickles, and knuts. The goblin walked over to the only open wall after instructing the six to stay where the were and grabbed six black velvet bags from a hook and rejoined the group. "You will each get the exact amount that these things will cost. So no dillidalying, Dumbledore's orders. I am also not aloud to release any of your own money to you at the present moment. Dumbledore really needs you back at the school. If you have some with you there is nothing I can do about it I guess. Now get out of here and don't tell any one where you've been.
The suddenly blinding light made each of the six cringe and shade their eyes. When they reached the book store, they went in to find it absolutely empty. They looked behind them and there was no one in the street either. A slender women about 30 years old sashayed her way to the group, eyeing each in turn. Hermione spoke up, "Where is everyone? There is no one here."
"Dumbledore called in a favor at the ministry and had the gate closed off for one hour. You are they only six shoppers aloud in Diagon Alley. So what can I do ya for?"
They handed her a book list and asked for six copies of each. She rang them up and the group paid for the books from the black velvet bags and left the store. At each of the other shops they went to, transactions were made and the left. The owners seemed to be under a spell almost, but the six let it be, took out the portkey, and left for Hogwarts.
A/N: Sorry this chapter is so short. I was having problems with this part, a little bit of writer's block can do that to you. I know its not that great of a chapter but keep reading, I promise it will get better and the next chapter will be nice and long for ya'll.