A/N: Look I did it. I posted in a timely fashion and before the end of the week. Consider this an early Christmas or other such holiday present. Thanks to everyone who reviewed! You were a real inspiration. I've had the ending of this chapter in mind now for a long time now, and I'm warning you now that I think that it's the worst cliffhanger that I've had yet. Sorry.
I must put in a disclaimer saying that there is a scene later that takes direct quotes from the third book. I do not own these statements, but I needed to use them to stay true to the work.
Harry Potter: Prophecy of the Phoenix - Chapter 6
Harry found himself experiencing deja vu as he found himself back in the room with Snape and Voldemort, scar throbbing.
"Ah, Severus. It's good to see you again. You will be glad to know that after tonight you will either be welcomed into my inner circle or you will be dead."
"What must I do, My Lord?"
Voldemort produced a goblet. "I assume that you are familiar with the Infidelis Mortis Potion."
"Yes, My Lord, and I know that it is a difficult potion to make."
"Don't fret Severus. Though my follower is not as adept in the art of potion-making as you are, he is quite capable. Now then for the final ingredients."
Both wizards added a drop of blood to the goblet.
Snape raised the goblet to his lips and drained the contents.
Harry silently prayed that Snape had gotten enough forewarning to prepare the antidote.
Nothing happened.
Harry let out the breath that he had been holding as Voldemort spoke, "I must say that I am pleasantly surprised. Welcome back, Severus."
"You are most gracious, My Lord."
Harry awoke, hearing the soft snoring of the other occupants of his dorm. Although he had not had an actual nightmare, the pain from his scar coming from Voldemort's mere presence in his dream had been enough to wake him.
Knowing that sleep was no longer a possibility, Harry started to grab his Potions text when a better idea hit him. Instead he grabbed his invisibility cloak and the Marauder's Map and crept out of Gryffindor Tower towards the library.
The prophecy that Moody had mentioned in the Order meeting had to be written down somewhere, most likely in the Forbidden section, and Harry was determined to find it. Maybe he could get some much needed answers.
He felt somewhat guilty as he entered the library. This was Hermione's strong point. She relished doing research and would be more than eager to help him, but this time he could not include her. This he needed to do for himself.
His resolve teetered as he stood in front of a very large bookcase that held exclusively books relating to prophecies. Suddenly his task at hand seemed overwhelming. He was not even sure exactly what he was looking for. How was he supposed to find what he was looking for in this?
Harry sighed before removing the first book, settling himself for a long night in front of the bookshelf.
It was just before sunrise that Harry decided he had better return to the Gryffindor dormitories before anyone awoke and missed him, resigned to the fact that he had found nothing but determined to return and continue his search at a later time.
Harry had just settled onto the couch in the common room and cracked his Potions text when he heard a jocular tone announce, "Look, George. I think Harry's gone mad."
"Stark-raving nutters." Came the agreement.
"Lay off, you two. What are you doing up so early anyway?"
"We have a Quidditch meeting."
"We do?" Harry questioned inanely as the rest of the team entered the common room.
"Ron was supposed to tell you." Fred spoke.
Well, that explained it. Harry had not seen Ron since right before dinner, and both Ron and Hermione had been too worried about him to deliver a mundane message such as that regarding the Quidditch meeting.
Harry had spent the majority of the evening with the pair of Marauders, denying that anything was wrong and knowing that neither was buying his denials. The look of hurt on Sirius's face was almost enough to break him, but there was an irrational voice of fear and betrayal inside of him that would not allow him to speak.
He had gone straight from the dinner to detention with Snape, which had been anything but pleasant. It appeared that Snape was less than thrilled at the fact that he was once again indebted to the young Potter, and Harry had spent his detention scrubbing the floor.
After that, Harry had collapsed into bed, so Ron really did not have a chance to deliver the message.
Instead of the long explanation, Harry just shrugged and stated, "He must have forgotten. So, why are we meeting?"
George exchanged a look with his twin. "Well, first off, we need to elect a new captain."
Harry began to nod in agreement before he noticed that all eyes had turned on him.
Katie smiled at him as his eyes widened, "Congratulations, Harry. We voted earlier, and it was unanimous."
"But I don't want it." Harry stammered. The last thing that he needed right now was to have something else that made him stand out. "Besides, you all have more experience than I do. It doesn't make sense for me to be captain."
"Yes, it does." Alicia assured him. "Gryffindor's going to have an almost-entirely new team next year. They're going to need an experienced captain."
Seeing that Harry was about to continue arguing Fred added, "Besides, none of us is dumb enough to want to do it, and since you're the most junior member of the team, it means that you're stuck."
Harry looked around the group, and when he saw that arguing was going to do no good, he agreed reluctantly as a mischievous kernel of himself made a mental note to contact Oliver Wood as soon as possible and ask for his advice. When the Gryffindor team voted him captain, they had no idea what they were in for.
Angelina spoke next, "For our second order of business, we need a new keeper."
That last conversation was predominant in Harry's skull as he stepped onto the Quidditch Pitch and took in a lung full of the crisp October air.
Unable to help himself, he mounted his broom and took off, turning some difficult maneuvers in the air.
"Okay, captain, your seeker position is safe. Do you want to come down and help us choose a keeper?" One of the Weasley twins called up.
Harry landed with a touch of color in his cheeks and a glint in his eyes. Doing his best Oliver Wood impression, Harry began his speech, "Good morning. First, I would like to congratulate all of you for trying out for the best Quidditch team at Hogwarts. With a lot of hard work and new strategies, we're almost certain to win the cup this year."
Harry did his best to hide his smirk as he caught his teammates exchanging horror-filled looks.
"Here's the drill. Each of you will have the opportunity to block fifteen shots. Keep in mind that although the number of shots you block is important, it is not the sole deciding factor. Good luck."
As they all mounted their brooms, Harry whispered to the twins, "Wood sends his regards."
The looks on their faces were priceless as they considered exactly what they had unleashed.
Eight tryouts later, the returning members of the Gryffindor team met on the edge of the Quidditch Pitch, and Harry knew that he was about ready to make one of the toughest decisions of his life.
Trying to stall the voicing of his own opinion, he asked the others, "So, what do you think?"
Katie eyed the twins, trying to gauge their reactions, "I think that Dean Thomas is a natural."
The girls were quick to agree, and though the twins were reluctant to admit it, they eventually agreed that Dean was the best candidate.
Not looking forward to what he was going to have to do, Harry spoke, "Then we're all in agreement. Let's go tell them the news."
As they approached the eight candidates and their friends that had come along for support, Harry found that he could not meet Ron's eyes, knowing how disappointed he was going to be.
Although Ron had been good, it had been obvious that keeper was not the right position for him, but Harry was certain that his friend would find a place on the team next year, maybe even as a beater to keep the Weasley tradition alive after the twins left.
Bracing himself, he began to speak, "Thank you all for coming. You all did very well, but we can only have one keeper. Dean Thomas, welcome to the team."
Most of the gathered Gryffindors broke into congratulatory statements, but Harry saw Ron's face fall. He turned and started to walk quickly towards the castle with Hermione at his heels.
Harry slipped away from the team to catch up to his best friends.
"Ron, wait!" Harry called out as he finally caught up with them halfway to the castle.
Ron turned, his eyes flashing, and the jealousy that had been threatening to rear its ugly head since the opening feast at the realization of Harry's position as prefect finally broke through the surface.
"Why do you have to be so bloody perfect? Prefect, captain of the Quidditch team, amazingly wealthy." Ron broke for a split second before continuing in an explosion,
"Why can't you let me have anything?"
With that, Ron rushed to the castle.
"I'll go talk to him." Hermione offered.
"No, I'll go talk to him. There are some things that need to be said that have been needed to be said for a long time now.
Hermione turned and looked at her friend in shock. She had expected him to be hurt and upset, but, instead, anger darkened his features as he stormed after Ron.
Harry finally found Ron in their dorm room, which was thankfully empty.
"Go away!"
Harry stepped forward. "No. This childishness needs to stop now."
"Who do you think you are to pass judgment on me? Oh wait, that's right. You're Harry Potter. You have everything. You're infallible."
Cedric's face floated for a brief moment in Harry's mind's eye, but he pushed the image away to deal with it at a later time.
"Are you really that dense. Do you not remember the Mirror of Erised our first year?"
Ron frowned, confusion momentarily overtaking his ire, "What?"
"Don't you understand, Ron? Did you never realize? I'm the one that's envious of you. I'd give anything to have a real family like you have. I'd give anything to have a family that loved me, that didn't call me a freak, that didn't treat me as a burden and a servant, that didn't blame me for everything that went wrong in their miserable lives, and especially a family that didn't get drunk and beat me senseless as a form of physical release."
Harry's voice grew frighteningly quiet. "Do you have any idea how lucky you are?"
Without waiting for a response, Harry turned and left the room, barely noticing that Hermione had been standing behind him and was now wearing a look of abject horror on her face.
She shot a withering look in Ron's direction before hurrying after Harry.
Ron could do nothing but stand there with his jaw dropped slightly, wondering how he could have been so wrong and thinking that he had been a real idiot. He could not think of a way that he could fix the mess that he had just gotten himself into.
Hermione found Harry in the Astronomy Tower, staring out at nothing in particular.
"Harry?"
"I'd really like to be left alone right now."
The pain in his voice cut right through her, and she knew that the last thing that he needed was to be left alone.
"That's really a shame since I have no intention of leaving you alone."
She moved to sit next to him, as he brought his gaze back inside of the tower.
Softly and not quite meeting her gaze, Harry mumbled, "That wasn't the way I was planning to tell you about what happened this summer."
"Were you ever planning on telling us?"
Harry smiled guiltily. "Not really. I was hoping that if I didn't say anything that it would just go away."
Hermione's eyes suddenly grew wide and her words became urgent. "Please tell me that you've told somebody. You can't go back there."
"Don't worry. Dumbledore has known since the first night that we got back. I don't know where I'm going next summer, but it will not be with the Dursleys."
"Harry, why didn't you owl somebody?"
Harry finally looked at her, seeing concern and surprisingly seeing guilt on her features.
She obviously thought that she had done something to fail him.
Harry averted his gaze, finding it harder to answer the question now with Hermione asking than when his headmaster had asked the same question, and he could only manage the words, "I don't know."
Hermione placed a hand on his shoulder, "Harry, you did nothing to deserve what they did to you."
Sometimes, Hermione could be too smart for her own good.
His eyes turned glassy as he fought to keep his emotions at bay. He would not cry.
"Harry, look at me. Cedric's death was tragic, but it was not your fault."
"I should have done something, but I just knelt there cowering in pain."
Hermione offered him a soft smile, hoping to break through his defenses. "I hate to break it to you, Harry, but you're only human."
"Will you do me a favor and let the rest of the Wizarding World know that?"
Instead of responding, Hermione pulled him into an embrace. She felt her friend's body hitch and knew that he had finally lost the war against his tears. The tears were silent, but Hermione had expected nothing less. Maybe now that he had let out some of those bottled emotions, he could begin to heal.
Hermione held him until Harry himself pulled away, swiping at his cheeks, but it was not before Hermione realized with peaked curiosity that there was something strange about his tears.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
"Harry Potter, don't you ever be sorry. Allowing yourself to feel and to mourn is not a crime. Do you need me to remind you again that you're human?"
"No." He forced himself to look her in the eyes. "Thank you, Hermione."
"Anytime. I mean that, Harry. You can talk to me about anything at anytime."
The moment of openness he had just felt with Hermione ended in that instant, and a wall of guilt slammed into him. There was still so much that she did not know and that he could not tell her.
Sometimes he wished that they could all return to the innocence of their first year when pressures of the world did not weigh so heavily upon them. It had all seen so simple back then.
"Do you want to go back?" Hermione questioned.
Going back to the dormitories meant facing Ron, and Harry really did not know how he felt at the moment.
"In a little bit. Let's stay up here for just a while longer."
Harry collapsed onto his bed, extremely thankful for its mere existence. Halloween always drew out mixed feelings in him. The Halloween celebrations in the castle were always festive and fantastic, but Halloween also represented the anniversary of his parents' death.
He glanced over at the bed coverings that had been drawn around Ron's bed. It had been two weeks since their fight, and though things had not returned back to normal, they were a lot better. Both of them had issues that they needed to address, and Harry was sure that it would not be long until the trio was whole again.
Harry pulled his own coverings closed, and as per his nightly ritual, he pleaded silently for one peaceful night of sleep, knowing that he would probably be back in the library searching fruitlessly in a couple of hours.
Even though his conscious mind had been working on the fact that Cedric's death was not his fault, his subconscious was being slow to follow that example.
Feeling extremely tired, his eyes closed, and Harry allowed himself to be lulled off to sleep.
Tonight Harry found himself in Godric's Hollow, bitterly thinking to himself, "Happy Anniversary."
The house trembled beneath his feet.
"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off."
Harry watched as his mother raced frantically up the stairs as the door began to crack and then exploded open in a shower of splinters.
"Please! I don't want to see this!" Harry shouted in desperation as his father attempted to battle the dark wizard and fell victim to the killing curse.
Voldemort's high-pitched cackled rang out in the house as he swooped up the stairs.
The scene shifted and Harry found himself in his own nursery where his mother was standing in front of his crib in order to shield his younger self.
"Not Harry! Not Harry! Please-I'll do anything."
"Stand aside. Stand aside, girl!"
Harry could see that his mother was delirious and desperate as she backed closer to him.
Her green eyes so much like Harry's were gleaming wildly.
"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!"
Voldemort was almost grinding his teeth in frustration.
"Stand aside, you silly girl... stand aside now..."
Voldemort was advancing on the two of them, and Harry wanted nothing more than to shut his eyes to what was about to happen, but he found himself unable to do anything but stand and watch from the other end of the room.
"Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead-"
Voldemort was now upon her, and Harry could see in her eyes that she knew all hope had been lost. He would not spare either of them.
In once last plea, her last words, she begged, "Not Harry! Please... have mercy... have mercy..."
Voldemort laughed at her ignorance and leveled his wand.
She screamed as she was hit with the killing curse, and then she fell to the floor lifeless.
"No." Harry protested past the lump in his throat as a mist wrapped around him.
The mist began to clear, and Harry recognized where he was instantly. After all, he had spent most of his young life at Number 4 Privet Drive.
His scar was throbbing with a new-found ferocity, and a fiery chill of panic seized through him.
The Dursleys were huddled in a corner of the living room while Voldemort sneered maliciously at them.
Vernon's normally flushed face was ghostly pale, and as he stammered, Harry could not believe that this was the same man who had earned his fear last summer.
"L-leave my house you f-freak. Your k-kind is not w-welcome here."
Voldemort's eyes narrowed and what poor excuse he had for nostrils flared in disgust.
He aimed his wand at Vernon and spoke, "Avada Kedavra," as if disposing of a piece of trash.
"NO!"
Harry threw himself in front of the curse, conjuring his strongest shield though he knew that it was useless against the Unforgivables.
The curse tore through him as if it was some sort of invisible claw.
The pain was indescribable, so much more than pain but without a proper word to accurately describe the sensation, making the Cruciatus seem like a simple scraped knee.
It was as if he was being seared and simultaneously frozen from the inside out, and the cry of absolute agony died on paralyzed vocal cords.
There was a weight growing on Harry's chest, but he could not move to push it off.
It was his aunt's shriek that broke through the roar of pain and allowed his thoughts to focus on something other than the fact that he was being consumed in his personal fiery inferno.
The living room began to reappear in his vision before he realized that it had disappeared, and his lungs took in a desperate breath as Harry realized that the weight had come from their malfunction.
Voldemort's gaze turned to Dudley, whose chins were quivering shamelessly as he whimpered like a lost puppy. He aimed the wand at the boy, but Petunia moved in front of her son.
Red eyes flashed dangerously as Voldemort growled, "You're a fool just like you sister. Crucio!"
Petunia fell screaming with Harry's scar screaming in chorus.
He hated feeling helpless. Why was he always so helpless? He was supposed to be the Boy-Who-Lived. Shouldn't that fame come with some merit?
"Mummy!" Dudley whined through his whimpers.
Voldemort, sneering at the boy's cowardice, released Petunia from the curse and then casting a spell so that she was sitting up.
"I want you to see this."
His wand gravitated back to Dudley, and his lips spoke the killing curse, leaving behind only the corpulent shell of Harry's spoiled cousin.
Petunia moaned tears streaking down her face, still winded from the Cruciatus. Her screams began again as Voldemort reinstated the Cruciatus.
Harry, not recovered from trying to block the curse and now feeling intense burning in his scar, dragged himself over to his aunt's convulsing body, hoping that maybe there was something that he could do.
He reached out his arms to try and steady her, but his hands went right through her as if one of them was an apparition.
An eternity or two seemed to slip by before the spell was removed.
Petunia's head lolled around on her long neck so that she was looking right at Harry and spoke in a voice so soft and cracked that Harry could barely hear it and Voldemort could not.
"You monster. How can you just sit there and let him do this to us? We're your family."
It did not seem to matter to her that the same so-called family had treated him with nothing more than contempt towards him since the day he had been left on their doorstep.
"I'm sorry." Harry spoke desperately.
It was too late. His aunt had fallen victim to the killing curse.
Harry found himself unable to do anything but sit in shock as Voldemort's laughter rang in his ears.
Nausea burned his stomach and buzzed between his ears. There was no denying that they had lost their lives because of him, and the method of their death only seemed to reinforce the bigotry in which they had engaged throughout the course of their lives. If Harry had not been abnormal, they would still be alive.
The ground suddenly became unstable, and as the house fell around him, Harry fell into a consuming blackness that was deeper than sleep.
Number 4 Privet drive was decimated to its foundation except for a lonely cupboard that stood defiantly in the moonlight.
Do you guys hate me yet? Once again I will put up the offer for the update mailing list. Those two of you that are already on it need not request to be put on it again. Just leave the request and your e-mail address.
Please, please, please review. It makes me very happy, and happy authors write faster and better.
Now, special thanks to:
angelhitomi: Thanks. I hope that you like this one too.
Arizosa: Growling at the author is not nice, but grinning is good. I'm glad that you enjoyed the prediction. It came to me at one in the morning and got me out of my writer's block.
Jarveyand Raiyden Buu: Thank you, I'm flattered. I hope that you enjoyed the chapter.
JaimeyKay: Sounding like Lana is definitely not a good thing. That usually means insensitive, feel sorry for me, whining. It looks like I beat you with the next chapter before you could get back to the reviews. Feel free to put your comments to both in the next review. :)
Von: I'm glad that you enjoyed the spying. There will definitely be repeat performances. In fact, consider Harry in phoenix form part of the order. However, remember that no one can know that Harry is a phoenix, so as amazingly funny as him swooping down and revealing himself would be, I just can't do it. Sorry, but keep an eye out for your happiness idea. It will be there somewhere.
Ariel: I'm sorry that you lost the story. I am amazed that you went through so much trouble to find it. It's a great complement. Thank you.
Lee: You are neither a freak nor a loser. The reviews help me a lot, so keep them coming. I'm glad that I got you hooked.
shdurri: I'm glad it's interesting. Sometimes I'm very afraid that I'm boring you all to tears.
Harry+Ginny4ever: Well, you will be glad to know that I lean more H/G than H/H. Now here comes the "but." They're just kids. I have something planned for the ending, but nothing will really happen until the sequel. As for a muscular Harry, his strengths will come from other areas for a while, though his health will improve throughout the school year.
becki: Okay, Snape is still alive. You gave me no parameters on the Dursleys, so I claim safety. By the way, has anyone told you that your obsession is a bit scary? Thanks for the encouragement though.
kateydidnt: Look, I updated again. I hope that this chapter merits the story staying on your favorites.
