A/N: I must appoligize for the lack of paragraph indentations and that the "chart" doesn't look like a chart. I am tired of battling with the QuickEdit system and this is the best i can do. Sorry.

Harry Potter sat on his bed, watching his owl, Hedwig, eat. Harry was thinking about how much pleasanter his summer was going to be with someone to talk to when another owl, a tawny brown, flew at his window. Harry jumped up to open it, he hadn't received any mail yet this summer! Ripping away the envelope excitedly, Harry read the following:

Dear Mr. H. J. Potter,

The Ministry of Magic's Education Committee is pleased to present you with your O.W.L. results, as shown below:

Charms: Exceeds Expectations/Outstanding

Transfiguration: Outstanding

Herbology: Outstanding

Defense Against the Dark Arts: Outstanding

Care for Magical Creatures: Outstanding

Divination: Dreadful

Astronomy: Acceptable

History of Magic: Poor

Potions: Outstanding

The Ministry of Magic's Education Committee congratulates you on receiving O.W.L.S in Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Care for Magical Creatures, Astronomy, and Potions.

Respectively yours,

Griselda Marchbanks

Harry gaped at the letter in his hands, not believing what he saw. He had expected to do poorly in Divination and History of Magic and not amazingly well in Astronomy as it had been interrupted by Umbridge, but he did not expect his Potions grade to be so high! He had managed a solid Outstanding in Potions, his least favorite class!

Harry fell back onto his bed smiling to himself. I can't wait to see the smirk wiped clean off Snape's face when he finds out I got an Outstanding in his subject!

Harry was still grinning at the ceiling when a second owl flew into his room and landed on his chest, pacing around impatiently. Harry sat up in surprise, causing the owl on top of him to nip at him in protest, and quickly undid the letter attached to the second bird. It read:

Dear Harry James Potter,

I must congratulate you firstly on receiving your O.W.L.S. You did very well and most, with a few exceptions where you did not perform up to standards, of your professors and I are very pleased. I would also like to thank you for helping instruct the students part of your Defense Against the Dark Arts club in important defenses their present teacher somehow forgot to supply them with. I can truthfully tell you that all the fifth year students in your club received E's or higher on their O.W.L.S. I thank you for all your help, as the students couldn't have scored so well without your generous help.

Secondly, I have sent along in this letter your list of supplies required for the classes your Head of House and yourself chose to have in accordance to your career choice.

Lastly, I hope you are coping well with the knowledge I pushed onto you in our last confrontation. I know it must be hard to deal with, now that you know it, but you must not forget it. Voldemort gets stronger day by day. I hope you think about it often, but not in despair. I have confidence in you, Harry, and believe you won't let us down in the end.

Best of Wishes,

Professor Albus Dumbeldore

Harry fell back down on his bed once more, remembering his haunted thoughts of the past morning. He also remembered the list he had written into the dirt in the park. He should write it down on something less likely to be rubbed away or seen by prying eyes.

Getting up, Harry brought out parchment, ink, and a quill from under the loose floorboard in his room. He quickly copied down the list he had created in the park, pausing at times to remember parts of it.

Voldemort:

Death Eaters

Parselmouth

Giant Snake

Connections/Spies

Powerful

Oclumency/Legilimens

Avada Kedavara

Scary

Feelings/Touch Hurts Scar

Harry:

Friends

Quiditch

Love

The list, unfortunately, didn't look any less intimidating on paper than it had in the dirt. As Harry read "Parselmouth" he remembered, Of course! I'm a Parselmouth as well. Harry smiled as he added something more to his list.

Thinking about Voldemort, Harry realized that as long as he was so far behind Voldemort in power and assets, he would never be able to last even a few minutes against Voldemort in a real duel where Voldemort took him seriously. Besides, Harry couldn't count on his luck to save him in every encounter with Voldemort.

Harry read "Avada Kedavra", Nope, nothing I can do against that, he thought and looked at other assets. Well, I think Dumbeldore might have mentioned instructing me in Oclumency himself next year. So hopefully I'll be good at that by the end of the school year. Hmmmm... "Scary"? I don't think I want to scare or intimidate people like Voldemort does, not that I appear very intimidating anyway. Harry looked in the mirror to reassure himself that he wasn't very intimidating, especially when he looked as tired and disheveled as he did before bed.

"Giant Snake", "Death Eaters", "Connections/Spies", and "Powerful" looked to Harry to be where he most lacked. He didn't have a snake, let alone a giant man-eating one. He didn't have a league of minions, ready to be sent out to promote his cause. He didn't have connections and spies, but the Order of the Phoenix did. Yes, thought Harry, the Order will cover that part for me hopefully. Though Dumbledore had high expectations for Harry, Harry didn't view himself as being nearly as powerful as Voldemort. And it's not like there's a way to grow stronger overnight anyways...

Well Harry figured a giant snake of his own probably wouldn't hurt and a league of minions or Order of his own didn't sound all that bad, especially considering he wasn't allowed to join the Order. He could probably write to Hagrid about a snake, remembering Hagrid's tendencies to "lovable" yet dangerous magical creatures.

Harry took out another parchment of paper and an envelope for later and began to write.

Dear Hagrid,

I hope you and Grawp are having a pleasant summer holiday.

Harry paused, not quite sure as to how to put his request onto paper.

I've been keeping myself busy with over-the-summer school work and began to wonder why we never have incorporated any type of snake in our Care for Magical Creatures lessons. I'm a bit curious about them and could you perhaps write back to me on them?

See you at school,

Harry

It looked rather lame on paper, but Harry sealed it in the envelope and tied it to Hedwig's leg anyways. Hedwig was eager to show off her own usefulness to Dumbledore's owl, who looked to Harry like one of the school Owlery's, and took a graceful leap off her cage before soaring out Harry's window.

Harry reluctantly turned back to his list. "Death Eaters" stuck out menacingly at him. Well his Death Eaters can't be that powerful, Harry tried to reassure himself, I mean, a group of Hogwarts students managed to fight them off long enough for help to arrive in the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magi last school year. And then, an idea hit Harry. The students with Harry had also wanted to help against Voldemort and defended themselves unexpectedly well. Also, Harry wanted to help in the Order, but he couldn't as he was too young, and weren't there others who were in the same predicament? Harry's mind was buzzing with thoughts: reform the DA, go out of Hogwarts to thwart Voldemorts plans...Yes! It sounded wonderful.

Harry sat on his bed smiling to himself until he remembered. People can betray like Cho's friend and Peter Pettigrew. People's families can be tortured because one family member went against him. People can die when they goagainst Voldemort.

Harry put his list, ink and quill away under the loose floorboard and climbed into bed.

He didn't want anymore people to die because of him.