Harry Potter and the Finding of Power

by MidnightPhoenixx

Harry Potter's 6th year is unlike anyone ever thought. Harry deals with relationships and his destiny as he unlocks the power within himself.

10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Over the next several weeks, Harry fell into a pattern that, while being completely unlike Hogwarts, never the less felt very similar. The major difference of it all being that while at Hogwarts, Harry couldn't help but feel like everything was somewhat forced on him. He had to go to all his classes, he was assigned homework to do by a certain time, and he was constantly being evaluated and compared to his fellow classmates. Needless to say that nearly everything learned was completely useless, having only very specific applications in home and office type work. How the hell was Harry supposed to defeat Voldemort while he's learning charms to repair leaks in a ceiling? Now he was teaching himself what he needed to know at his own pace and moved on to new material when he felt he was ready, not when a professor told him he was.

Harry woke up every morning before anyone else in the apartment and went for a morning run much in the same way he had over the summer. Unlike the summer, Harry didn't push himself into exhaustion everyday but rather worked up to a suitable distance and worked on varying the pace. Harry found a circular route through London that was about 9 kilometers in distance with a few gentle uphills and downhills that he ran every morning. Depending on how Harry was feeling and how hard he tried to push himself the run would take anywhere from forty-five minutes to thirty-five minutes.

Ten minutes may not seem like a great deal to someone who doesn't understand the difference in pace and the rather extreme difference in effort from the different times. The girls Harry lived with were just such people. Harry tried explaining many times to them that he could run the 9 kilometers in forty minutes very easily, whereas thirty minutes would generally exhaust him to the point of fainting. The girls simply just didn't understand how ten minutes on the same distance could possibly be that different. Harry gave up trying to explain after the fourth time.

After his morning run, the girls would still all generally be asleep, occasionally one of them would wake up early, but it was rather rare. It was at this time that Harry would set about making breakfast for all the girls. Several times Harry had tried to offer paying a portion of the rent, but girls adamantly refused to accept his money. So Harry made breakfast for the entire apartment every morning as his way of paying them back for their generosity. If any of the girls had any doubts in their minds as to Harry's ability to cook, by the second week it was completely erased as Harry's cooking was always met with enthusiasm from the ladies.

The other reason for Harry cooking breakfast was it gave him something to do as the girls awoke one by one and began their routines in the bathrooms. The apartment had four rooms but only two bathrooms. With four girls it was inevitable that problems arose when one of the girls needed to use the bathroom for something or other and was quite simply out of luck. The last thing Harry needed was to get between a girl that had just woken up and her bathroom. For some reason that Harry had yet to figure out, girls were just absolutely crazy about how they looked in the morning. Even Natalie wouldn't let herself be seen until she had showered up and gotten her bit of makeup on.

One of the things Harry was eternally grateful for was that none of the girls were like Parvati Patil or Lavender Brown. Both of those girls wore so much make up and looked at themselves in the mirror so often that Harry doubted he would even recognize them without any makeup on. All the girls he lived with were generally content with a minimal and basic bit of makeup for everyday life. When they went out on the weekends, then Harry could understand why they took at least an hour to make sure that everything was perfect.

Of course, the one possible exception to that would have to be Heather. Heather was the last roommate of the apartment and had immediately taken to Harry. In fact, if Harry wasn't so modest he would have sworn she was always trying to flirt with him. Of course, what Harry was too inexperienced with women to see, the other girls sure didn't miss it. And several times when Heather had practically been putting her hands down Harry's pants, Natalie had literally sat on Harry and snogged him right in front of Heather just to make it completely clear that Harry was off limits. Jess and Cara seemed completely happy for Natalie and were never anything but very friendly to Harry. Heather seemed to see Harry as some kind of a challenge. And Harry got the idea that Heather wasn't the type of person who lost often.

After breakfast was eaten the girls would either go to class or the library, or even hang around a while either watching TV or studying in their rooms. Harry cleaned up everything from breakfast and then headed out himself. Since he was already a mess from his run earlier and in his running attire, Harry went to the gym at this time to do his daily weight training. Harry always made sure to eat a light breakfast because the intensity he liked to have in the weight room would suffer if he had just eaten a full breakfast. The weight training varied day to day as Harry cycled through different muscle groups. Monday would be spent devoted to chest and triceps, Tuesday was devoted to lower body, the next day to back and biceps, Thursday was shoulders, and then another leg day. Harry didn't go to gym over the weekends instead opting for faster runs and then calisthenics, i.e. pushups, pullups, etc.

Every work out took him about forty-five minutes to do, and after the weight training he would then attend the martial arts class he enrolled himself in the third day he started this routine. Harry's progress in the class had been swift, but Harry held himself back so that his sensei would not become too suspicious. Harry recalled the first day he ran into Sensei.

Flashback

Harry had just finished the third day of weight lifting and was looking for something to do to pass the time between now and lunch. It was about 10:00 and he had two hours to kill. Harry had been trying to find something that would take up the time without wasting it. So far the only things he'd seen had been some aerobic classes that were filled with girls who, while all being very easy on the eyes, were not nearly up to Harry's level of fitness. Harry had seen notices for a boxing club that he had seriously considered. Learning how to throw a punch and take a few hits would certainly serve Harry well.

The only drawback was that the flyer recommended that only people between 150 and 200 lbs. try out, anyone smaller was just likely to get hurt. Harry felt slightly insulted that just because he weighed 140 meant that he couldn't hold his own. After all Dudley had been some kind of boxing champion and he had beaten the hell out of him and his friends that day in the park. Hell, if Harry wasn't even afraid of Voldemort and his death eaters, what did he have to fear from a bunch of slow punching morons?

With that thought in mind Harry went to the gym where it said they would be signing up new members. Harry was a bit surprised to find the place completely empty. Didn't the flyer say that they would be here all day? Harry checked the flyer and indeed it said that on Tuesday and Thursday, they would be here all day. Today was Wednesday. Harry shook his head and looked around the gym. The main feature was a boxing ring off to one side, but there were also all kinds of punching bags everywhere.

Deciding that he had little better to do, Harry decided to get some practice in before tomorrow. He went over to the nearest heavy punching bag and readied himself. Harry gave a few light punches to size up how much the bag would move and how much abrasion there was against his knuckles. The bag didn't move all that much because it was surprisingly heavy, but the material of the bag was soft like it had been beaten into softness over years of just being pounded on.

Harry started to practice in earnest hitting the bag with more force until hit was hitting it with everything he had. To his credit the bag would sway a bit after his punches, but Harry felt awkward and several times almost tripped over himself. His punches were often off target sliding off the sides of the bag, and several times he hit the bag and then the bag would just swing back into him and knock him around. Finally Harry began to grow frustrated. He knew that he could fight better than this he just couldn't remember how he had done it. He could feel it deep inside of him but for some reason the instinct just wouldn't come out against the bag.

Maybe that's the problem, Harry thought, perhaps I just can't get into this because I'm fighting a punching bag. Harry thought on the issue for a moment before he decided to try picturing the bag in his mind as someone and then try hitting it. Harry didn't really want to think about Voldemort because he had the feeling that if he got too into it, he would lost control of himself and end up burning the place down. After going through a few people Harry decided that he would picture Snape, as beating the hell out of that grease ball had been a fantasy of Harry's for years now.

So once again Harry readied himself against the bag and began to throw a few punches. Harry concentrated on seeing Snape in front of him, not the punching bag. His fists were hitting that stupid sneer he always had. Snape was taunting him telling him that his father hit just as pathetically as he did. Without even realizing it, Harry pivoted on his foot and lashed out with his leg landing a vicious kick to Snape's midsection. Harry could feel himself reacting instinctually as Snape kept lunging at him. Harry's motions were so fluid that it could have seemed like a dance as moved to dodge the punching bag and deliver fast and shockingly powerful blows from his fists and his feet. Harry had completely lost himself in his fantasy, he wasn't even seeing the punching bag anymore, only a Snape that he was beating the hell out of but kept coming back.

Unknown to Harry, a man heard the sounds of punching bag getting a good pounding and decided to have a look in on who was doing so. What the man saw nearly dropped his jaw. A young man, probably around 18 or 19, was executing the most flawless punches and kicks to a punching bag that he had ever seen. The boy was covered in sweat but barely seemed tired as his entire focus was on the punching bag. Every movement was dedicated to dodging the motions of the bag or delivering an attack, often times both. The use of kicks as well as punches was perfectly timed. The man couldn't believe the balance of the young man not to have fallen on his ass a dozen times already.

Harry was losing himself more and more as he fought the illusionary Snape. Until finally, Harry saw Snape coming directly at him and instead of moving out of the way as he had been doing he stood his ground, braced himself, and delivered a perfectly timed punch that would surely have broken every bone in Snape's chest. Much to Harry's immense satisfaction he saw Snape stop dead and then the illusion faded. Harry brought himself back to reality and looked at the punching bag. Where he had landed the final blow was a visible stretch in the bag, and a small scorch mark. Harry must have lost himself more to fantasy than he had intended. He looked at his hands and saw that his knuckles were starting to bleed a bit. Nothing much but the blisters would hurt like hell if tried to punch anything else. I guess I'll have to start wrapping my hands, Harry thought.

"That was quite the impressive display," Harry whirled around to face whoever had just spoken. "I've been involved in martial arts almost my entire life, and I don't think I've ever seen someone so talented. How long have you studied? How many styles have you studied?"

Harry could barely think clearly enough to ask, "Who are you?"

The man stopped and blinked before laughing and saying, "Of course, how rude of me! I teach the martial arts classes here on campus as well as several other places in the city. Are you a student here?"

Busted!, Harry thought to himself.

"Not really, I was going to try out for the boxing club, but I came on the wrong day, so I just thought I'd get a bit of practice in. I mean, I paid the membership to the gym, I didn't think that there was anyplace off limits to me."

"No, no, you're perfectly in your right to be here. Most of the gym patrons use the newer punching bags closer to the gym, and this room is just for the boxing club. Speaking of which, if you're not a student with the university, I'm pretty sure you won't be allowed onto the boxing team. That and you look a bit small for it."

Harry hung his head in defeat and said, "Yeah, you're probably right. I guess I'll just be on my way then."

Harry turned to leave when the man said, "Hang on," Harry turned around wondering what else he did wrong. "You may not be allowed on the boxing team, but I'd be happy to have you in my martial arts class. I'm sure someone with your experience could help even help me. I am getting on in my years and sometimes have trouble keeping up with everything."

More confused than embarrassed now, Harry stopped and asked, "What are you talking about? I don't study martial arts, I was just messing around."

The man now looked more confused than Harry did and struggled to ask, "You mean, that is . . . you say . . . I mean you're telling me that you haven't . . . you've not, ever studied martial arts before?" the man was barely able to get out.

Before Harry could even begin to respond the man said, "Listen, you've got all the makings of a championship fighter, with some proper instruction you could really make a name for yourself in the martial arts community."

Harry had little interest in becoming a martial arts star and responded, "I really don't want to become some kind of a tournament fighter or whatever you're talking about. I'm just looking to get into shape."

The man seemed to visibly deflate, "Well, I guess that's your decision." Harry was just about to walk away when the man apparently trying one last time said, "Just come to a few classes then. Try it out for a couple of weeks, you don't have to enter any tournaments if you don't want, and you could always add a bit of technique to your fighting style. What do you say?"

Harry thought it over for a few moments. It really was everything he was looking for, so he grinned and said, "Just tell me where to go."

The man clapped his hands together and said, "Fantastic! Now might I get your name?"

"I'm Harry, and you are?" Harry asked.

"Because I'm your new martial arts instructor you may call me, Sensei."

End Flashback

Harry never acquired the outfit that everyone else in the martial arts class had, something called a gi. Instead he just opted for a simple outfit of loose fitting workout pants and rather form fitting sleeveless t-shirt. It didn't really bother Harry at all that he stuck out in the class. He had no real desire to get to know anyone else in the class and no one ever really bugged him about it. That is apart from the few girls in the class that asked him out to coffee or something to that nature which Harry always refused.

The few times Harry had tried sparring in the class he had to be extremely careful. It took all of Harry's focus to simply take down his opponent without severely injuring the unfortunate person or accidentally using magic. It was like there was always some greater instinct within Harry that always saw weaknesses in an opponent's defense and spurred him on in attacking it. It was like Harry could always see where he could land a blow, he just had to make sure that the attack wasn't one that involved leg breaking, trachea crushing, or a quick blasting curse. There had been a few close calls, but as long as no one got hurt Harry never saw a reason to stop.

Since joining the class, he knew he had become a much better fighter. Simple things like correcting his stance and breathing properly had immensely improved his "fighting sense", as he liked to call it. The discipline that Sensei drove into the class everyday had also helped Harry, now he could easily summon up his fighting sense at will. Controlling it was the next step, but Harry was improving quickly.

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When the martial arts class ended, Harry headed back to the apartment for his daily shower and a quick lunch. The showers had quickly become an interesting part of the day, as often Harry would find himself jumped in the shower by a rather mischievous Natalie. Today would not be one of Harry's lucky days, however. Natalie had told Harry that she would be meeting with a study group for her political science class. Harry had absolutely no problem with that, but also hoped that Heather hadn't gotten wind of that and would also be out of the apartment.

Jess and Cara both had classes or studied in the library at this time so Harry had no need to worry about them walking in on him in the shower. At the same time Harry knew that they would never try anything with him simply because of their friendship with Natalie. Heather on the other hand had actually already walked in on Harry in the past. Fortunately, Natalie had been with him already in the shower that day so whatever Heather might have done, be it spontaneous or planned, was quickly shut down.

Harry resolved to try and take a shower as quickly as possible to minimize the chance of a bad situation. Harry made sure to be listening for the sound of someone coming in the apartment, but with the spray of the water the task was almost impossible, even with his newly found excellent hearing. Harry finished his shower in record time and quickly toweled off. Wrapping the towel around his waist he scooped up his pile of gym clothes and headed out of the bathroom towards Natalie's room.

No sooner had he walked out of the bathroom than a voice behind him startled him saying, "You know Natalie really is a lucky girl. But I wonder, how lucky are you, Harry?"

"What do you mean, Heather?" Harry said, knowing who it was before he had even turned around. Part of Harry couldn't believe the audacity of this girl, he had checked and made sure that she wasn't around before showering. She must have crept into the apartment to avoid being heard and waited for him to come out of the bathroom. She planned this, Harry thought.

"What I'm saying is that you're an amazing man, Harry. And you deserve an equally amazing woman. A woman who knows all about the things that guys like." As Heather spoke she closed the distance between the two of them, her gaze wandering across his entire body. Not for the first time did Harry want to kick himself for not bringing a change of clothes into the bathroom so he could change in there. With Heather practically on top of him Harry became very aware of the fact that he was in nothing but a towel with his hair still dripping from the shower.

"What kind of tatoos are those, Harry? I was talking with Jess and Cara about them and we've never seen anything like that before. Where did you get this done?" Heather asked Harry while lightly tracing the scars along his chest.

"They're not tatoos, they're scars. And I didn't exactly receive them willingly," Harry said

Heather withdrew her hand and looked at Harry with a genuinely concerned expression on her face before she leaned in very close and said, "Either way they make you even sexier."

"Listen, Heather, I have no idea what it is about me that you like so much. I mean we barely even know each other," Harry was talking very quickly to try and get Heather to see reason, but it seemed that she was only half listening to him as most of her focus was on Harry's chest or lower. Harry took a breath and said, "Heather, I think you're a really nice girl and if circumstances were different then who knows? But, I'm with Natalie, do you understand? She makes me very happy."

"Oh, but Harry, how can you really be so sure of that? Did you know that you're the first boy she's ever brought back to this apartment? Did you know that you're only the third guy she's ever even shagged?"

"And what, you've shagged loads of guys? I don't think that's something to be bragging about," Harry responded.

Heather actually paused and looked at Harry in the eyes before grinning and continuing saying, "I'm just saying that there are some things that can only be learned through experience, and my expertise is far greater than Natalie's."

"Heather-" Harry began, but didn't finish as Heather closed the gap between them and captured Harry's lips in a hard kiss. Harry was surprised at first and didn't respond, but as soon as he recovered he pushed Heather away saying, "What the fuck, Heather! Jesus, I don't how to say it any more clearly, but I'm not interested in you! And I would appreciate it if we could be in the same room together without you eyeing me like a piece of meat!"

Harry turned to walk away but he was so pissed off that he turned back around towards Heather and said, "I can't believe that you call yourself Natalie's friend and then try and steal her boyfriend. What kind of person are you? Just leave me the fuck alone, alright." And with that he went into Natalie's room and slammed the door behind him.

Later Harry would think that perhaps he overreacted, but he just couldn't stand it when someone simply thought that they could just dominate and control him. That's what he really liked about Natalie, she never just assumed that Harry would become her official boyfriend and do whatever she asked of him. Natalie was just one of those girls who would say what she was doing and if Harry wanted to come and do it with her than it was just fine, or if he didn't that was also fine. Harry couldn't help but think that he was truly starting to develop feelings for her. He couldn't help but think about how it wouldn't be so bad at all when everything with Voldemort was finished, he could just come back here and be with Natalie.

But that's a long time off, and if I ever want to have a shot at it, I need to get rid of Voldemort first. And that's not going to be any kind of walk in the park, Harry thought.

After he showered, Harry would generally grab one or two of his spellbooks and head over to the library to practice his magic. By some miracle of fortune, Harry had discovered an old and unused 'archives' section of the university library that he could lock himself in and practice magic without anyone ever noticing. Of course there was always the possibility of someone intruding or overhearing him while he was practicing, and as such the first things he learned to master were simple locking, silencing and privacy charms. Any third year at Hogwarts could easily dispel these charms, but the muggles had no chance of ever breaching them. As such he never had anything to worry about when practicing magic except simply mastering the magic.

Harry had no way of knowing if his progress was good or not, but he couldn't help but think that he was learning at a fantastic pace. He had already read through every book he possessed and now was simply working on mastering the spells therein. The best book out of all five of them was the old tome Origyns of Magick. The book was somewhat archaic in the language it was written in, but the knowledge it contained was simply astounding. It was this book which helped Harry understand his wandless magic more clearly.

Harry already knew that every spell cast was a wizard's internal magic manipulating the natural magic of the world. But after studying Origyns he learned that all he needed to know was the way in which the natural magic was affected, and he could cast the spells without any incantation or movement at all. The only thing he needed to do was direct the magic from his hands. The other thing that Harry learned was that if he built the magic up in his hands and then released it, the effects of the spell would be greatly increased. Harry had no way of telling, but he was fairly confident that if built up enough power into a simple reducto curse, the normally mild blasting curse would become a devastatingly powerful explosion. A simpler way of testing the theory was to try something simple like a levitating charm, which could normally max out at about a hundred pounds before more powerful levitation spells had to be used. Harry had managed to charge up the simple spell to lift thousands of pounds. And that was something that Harry could practice on, levitating the multitude of bookshelves in the library.

Harry's control over his fire calling also improved everyday. Harry knew that if was ever to use it in a fight he would need to have absolute control or it could do more damage to him than anyone else. Harry's practice had been paying off as he could now light candles without melting wax, or light a piece of paper on fire without actually burning it. Harry could also conjure a flame hot enough to melt through the walls of steel that he would conjure. However, the fire was something that Harry still felt wary about because it was so tied into his emotions. After the encounter with Heather, Harry nearly burned down the library before he managed to regain control, fortunately the fire didn't break through the protective charms that he put up before hand so no one even noticed how close to death they had actually just come.

The only thing Harry truly felt he was lacking was an actual opponent to practice his combat magic on. But Harry found other things that he could practice on muggles without them ever noticing. Harry had resolved to become a master occlumens and legilimens before he returned to wizard world. Harry discovered that, for some unknown reason that one night at the club when he had ripped the knowledge to dance from all those guys had been a complete and total fluke. Harry suspected that because he was drunk that his magic instinct had overridden his normal thought process and had been able to do magic that he since had been completely unable to duplicate.

At this point, Harry could tell whether or not someone was lying to him, and recently had been able to discern bits of the truth through a lie. An example of this had been when Harry had asked Jess why she was getting all dressed up on a Thursday night not long ago; and she had replied that she wasn't getting dressed up for anything and she was just going out with some friends. Harry knew that she was lying and saw a vague image of a guy asking her out supposedly earlier in the day or the week or something. Harry suspected that when he became a better legilimens he would be able to recreate his earlier feat of being able to siphon knowledge directly from someone.

The occlumency progressed much better than the legilimency. Harry ended each practice session meditating and clearing his mind or all his thoughts. At first the task had been daunting, but it had been something that Harry had gotten better with. The unusual thing, was that Harry hadn't felt the slightest prod from Voldemort since waking up in St. Mungo's. Harry had no idea what it was that had given him such protection against Voldemort, but whatever it had been was working fantastically. Harry was sleeping every night having normal dreams of girls and being naked in public and, of course, naked girls in public.

When Harry looked in the mirror he no longer saw a person on the brink of madness from sleep deprivation and depression, he saw a healthy, normal looking young adult looking back at him. Still somewhat on the small side still, but Harry figured that he would never get up past the 5'8" that he was at right now, something Harry had no problem with at all.

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Harry's encounter with Heather hadn't had much of an impact of his life at the girls' apartment with the obvious exception of Heather finally backing off Harry. Harry suspected that Heather was just reluctant to admit that any guy would turn her down let alone completely insult her. Several times Harry had thought about taking her aside and apologizing for his outburst, but Harry never bothered with it figuring that as long as Heather didn't seem to have any problem with him then he wouldn't bother with it.

As it was a Friday night, Harry knew that he and the girls would be going out to their usual clubs to drink and dance. Harry generally always looked forward to these nights, ever since learning how to dance he no longer felt awkward on the dance floor. And confidence, he realized soon thereafter, was what it was all about. The only thing Harry really refrained from these nights was getting shit-faced drunk like he had the night he met Natalie. Which was really not an issue at all because although all the girls liked to drink, none of them were really into getting completely wasted, either. Harry learned that the reason for this had to do with bad experiences that they had all had when really drunk. In fact, the only time when something really positive had come out of a drunken encounter was Natalie's relationship with Harry. But of course there were plenty of other hilarious "drunk" stories to be told.

Harry generally wore the same things on these nights dressing in black pants with a green or blue shirt. Harry discovered he was one of those guys who could get away with dressing pretty simply and still end up looking great, or at least that's what Natalie always said. The girls on the other hand could be counted on to go through at least three different outfits, swap at least one article of clothing with another girl, and then spend a ton of time fixing their hair to be just perfect and put on the perfect amount of makeup. Every time Harry tried to tell them they looked fine, great, or perfect, they would always find some miniscule flaw and spend at least five minutes trying to fix it. Of course in the end Harry couldn't complain as he got to escort four simply stunningly beautiful girls to the club and was the immediate envy of every guy he came across, as well as the curiosity of every girl.

Once they finally made it to the club, Harry grabbed Natalie and took her right over to the dance floor, not even bothering with the usual first drink beforehand. Natalie didn't seem to mind though as she smiled in that way that Harry couldn't help but smile back. Harry immediately started dancing with her in a rather fast fashion that showed off both their skills in club dancing.

"Harry what's gotten into you tonight?" Natalie asked nearly breathless after about fifteen minutes of non-stop dancing.

"I don't know, I just feel so alive," Harry said pulling her in for a brief kiss. "But I get the feeling that you're kind of thirsty, so how about a break then?"

"I thought I was going to have drag you away from that dance floor," Natalie said over exaggerating her relief but still giggling. They made their way over to the bar where Harry ordered them a pair of whiskey sours and then went over to the table where Jess and Cara were sitting. "Hey, where's Heather?" Natalie asked as soon as they sat down.

"Over there," Jess said gesturing towards the dance floor. Harry didn't bother even looking until he heard Natalie gasp next to him. He turned around to find Heather dancing very suggestively with a bloke that looked like . . . well there was no other way to describe him other than 'fucking huge'. The guy must have stood at least 6'6" and weighed something like 240 lbs.

"That guy is fucking huge," Harry said breaking the brief silence that had followed.

"I know, usually she doesn't go for guys like that, but right after you two went off the dance floor, she ordered a bunch of shots and just went right off with the first guy that gave her a look," Cara said.

"Well, if that's what she's into tonight, I'm not going to say anything about it," Jess said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to talk to that cute guy over there that's been staring at me for the past five minutes."

"Have fun," Harry called to her as she left, Jess just gave him a wink and went right over to the guy, who looked like his dreams had just come true. Within a few moments they were dancing and obviously enjoying themselves immensely.

"What do you think has gotten into Heather?" Natalie asked Harry.

"I haven't a clue," Harry responded, although in his mind he was wondering if this had anything to do with their encounter earlier that day. Shrugging and deciding that whatever happened wasn't his problem, he finished his drink and turned to Natalie. "So care for another dance?"

Natalie smiled at him and said, "Actually I'm feeling a bit worn out. I guess this week was tougher than I thought, but don't let that stop you. If you want to dance, by all means have at it. I'll probably be another few minutes."

Harry flashed her a smile before leaning in close and whispering, "It must be all the sex that's tiring you out." Harry pulled back laughing as Natalie took a few swipes at him laughing as well. Harry stood up and turned to Cara who had yet to find someone to dance with and said, "Cara, would you care to dance for a bit?"

Cara smiled and said, "Sure, why not?"

Harry and Cara danced with each other through a couple of songs. Harry noticed right away that Cara didn't dance as close to him as Natalie usually did but that was alright with him. As far as Harry was concerned he was just friends with Cara and she seemed to understand that concept perfectly.

Just as the song was finishing Harry noticed Natalie making her way towards him. Harry said to Cara, "I think Natalie is coming to reclaim her territory, have you noticed any guys checking you out at all?"

"I think I saw a few but only one that was decently cute. You know it's not easy trying to find cute guys when you're already dancing with one of the best looking guys in the bar," Cara said to Harry.

"Well I am really, really good looking," Harry said in his Ben Stiller, Zoolander voice (he had watched the DVD earlier in the week with the girls, and since then had been quoting it at every opportunity), making Cara laugh.

"See you later, Harry," Cara said before turning to the guy she had indicated earlier and walking off in his direction.

Harry turned to see where Natalie was, only to bump right into her as he did so. Acting quickly and pulling her close he said, "Well it's nice to see you too," he said before giving her a quick kiss. As he did that he could've sworn he heard disappointed sighs come from some of the girls he knew to be checking him out.

The response he got back from Natalie was not what he had been expecting. One look at her expression and he knew something wasn't right. "What is it?" he asked her.

"It's Heather, I think you should come see this," she said hurriedly.

Harry quickly followed Natalie off the dance floor and looked in the direction she indicated. What he saw was almost enough to make his jaw drop. Heather was taking what looked like her third shot in a row while sitting on the lap of the guy she had been dancing with earlier. The guy looked like he had been drinking a bit but didn't look anything beyond buzzed. Heather on the other hand was completely smashed out her mind.

What truly shocked Harry was that this guy was groping her right there for everyone to see. His hands were wandering all over her body, and clearly Heather was either too drunk to notice or care. Either way, Harry felt like the entire situation was just wrong.

"Do you want me to get her and take her home?" Harry asked Natalie.

"No. At least not yet anyway. Nothing has been done that she would seriously regret in the morning. Although this isn't really her finest hour, we really don't need to intervene just yet," Natalie said.

Despite that Harry couldn't help but think that Natalie was trying to convince herself just as much as she was to convince him. Harry grew to like the situation less and less, especially when the guy pulled her roughly closer to him and began making out with her.

By this time Harry had absolutely no interest in dancing anymore, and soon thereafter Jess and Cara returned to him and Natalie and began watching the couple with darkening expressions. "That's it, I'm getting her," Harry said after the guy started to put his hand up her shirt.

"No, Harry," Natalie said as he and the other girls held him back.

"Let me go, fucking hell, if that was you, don't you think you'd want someone to help you out?" Harry said very hotly his temper quickly rising. What he said seemed to have a deep impact on the girls as they knew all too well the things they regretted when they were too drunk to stop themselves.

They didn't say anything, but they did finally release him. Harry turned to go grab Heather but she wasn't there anymore. She and that huge guy must have gone somewhere. Quickly looking to exit he saw a flash of that guy practically carrying her out still groping her.

"Quick, they just left," he said to the girls, "We have to go get her now." He didn't even bother waiting for the girls to get to their feet before he was running towards the doors. As soon as he was outside he saw the guy and Heather slowly making their way down the street.

"HEY!" he shouted after them breaking into a run. Fortunately for Harry that Heather was so drunk that she could barely hold herself upright and meant that the guy hadn't had the chance to get very far.

"You there! Stop!" he shouted when he had finally caught up to them.

"The fuck do you want?" the huge guy said angrily turning around.

"I believe you have a friend of mine, I'd like her returned, if you don't mind," Harry said calmly but with an underlying sense of anger and hostility.

"Oh, is that so? Piss off you little wanker, she said she wanted to go with me," he said in voice that was little more than a growl. By this time the rest of the girls had shown up and were intently watching the scene unfolding in front of them.

"She's so drunk right now, I'd have a hard time believing she could even form coherent sentences," Harry replied.

"Listen, asshole, I'm going home with this bitch whether or not you like it, so I suggest that you bugger off before I do something you'll regret."

Harry, having quite lost his patience, in a very dark voice that actually scared the girls somewhat said, "If you don't let her go right now, I swear that I'll break that arm you're holding her with."

The guy actually seemed more surprised than anything that a guy of 5'9" was actually challenging him. As soon as he recovered from his surprise he laughed and said, "Alright, if you want a good ass kicking, then you shall have one!"

With that he let go of Heather who immediately dropped to the ground having nothing to support herself with. The other girls immediately went to her side to try and help her but all the focus was now on Harry and a guy that looked like he could break concrete with his forehead.

Fortunately for Harry, while this guy looked immensely strong, was slow and lumbering, an advantage that Harry knew was all he needed. He swung a huge fist at Harry, which was easily dodged, while Harry followed up with a quick punch to the guy's midsection followed by a very strong kick to his knee. Crying out in pain, the man stumbled back. But Harry wasn't finished yet, he mustered all his strength and punched the man as hard as he could square in the head. But before the poor bastard could even begin to fall back, Harry spun around and kicked him directly in the temple instantly rendering him unconscious.

Not wanting to linger in the area to face any annoying question from the authorities, he quickly scooped up Heather, who seemed unually light, and said to the girls, "Come on, let's get the hell out of here!"

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Harry and the girls made it back to the apartment without complication and Harry put Heather in her bed so she could sleep off the alcohol. Harry flopped down on the couch where the other girls were and said, "Some night, huh?"

Harry looked around wondering why no one said anything only to find that the three girls were looking at him with extremely odd expressions on their face. "What?" Harry asked, "Do I have something on my nose?"

The girls didn't even crack a smile, instead Jess asked, "Where did you lean to fight like that, Harry?"

Harry hesitated for a moment before replying, "Well, I'm in a martial arts class so that'd be where, I guess. I mean it's not like it was a difficult fight or anything, the guy was drunk."

Harry hoped that his explanation would prevent further questioning, but unfortunately it didn't. "Harry that guy was twice your size, and he wasn't any more drunk than you were," Cara said. "You moved so fast you looked like were just a blur. I've never seen anything like that."

" 'Just a blur', you say? It sounds to me like you might have had a bit too much to drink," Harry said hoping against hope that this conversation wouldn't go where he feared it was.

"Harry that guy should have killed you, and you took him down without even breaking a sweat," Jess said.

"Hey, I got lucky alright, what do you want me say?" Harry said feeling his anger begin to rise up before he quickly calmed himself.

"Harry," Natalie said quietly, "You know I never really asked you much about your past. You've never really wanted to talk about it before now, and I never really asked. But I'm asking now, who are you?"

The soft tone of Natalie's voice was nearly Harry's undoing. Harry wanted to tell her everything about magic and Voldemort and why he could fight so easily, but he knew deep down that he just couldn't tell her.

"My life", he started, "is really not a very happy story. I'm an orphan, my parents were murdered when I was only a year old." As he said this all three girls gasped and held their hands over their mouths. "My entire life I've been kicked around and abused by people who want something from me. I had to learn to fight just to survive. Not long ago one of the closest person's in my life was murdered. After he died, everything changed. I no longer found happiness in anything. I knew I had to get away from that life. To make a long story short, that's how I walked into a club one night with the intention of drinking until I couldn't feel feelings anymore. Natalie, I think you would know something of that night," Harry said smiling at her.

Natalie, Jess, and Cara, all had looks of horror on their faces and Natalie's face had several tear streaks on it as well. Harry got up from where he was sitting and sat next to Natalie wrapping his arms around her to comfort her. Kissing the top of her head softly he whispered, "It's alright, Natalie. My life isn't the happiest of stories, but right now, with you, I'm happy. Being with you has been the very best moments of my life."

Natalie looked up into his eyes as he gazed into her tearful eyes. Nothing was spoken in that moment, but volumes were said. Harry gave her one of his lopsided smiles and said, "Come on then, let's be off to bed. Been a long night for everyone, I think," Harry said relieved to have finally put an end to this very stressful night.

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The next day, Harry noticed everyone seemed reluctant to make eye contact with anyone else, Must be everyone just trying to forget about the disaster that was last night, Harry thought. Somehow, much to Harry's horror, the girls decided that the best way to forget about last night was to go to the mall and do several hours of shopping. Harry could not think of anything he would rather not do, but most unfortunately he had absolutely nothing else to do today, except practice his magic a bit, which could certainly wait until later.

Having little choice, Harry agreed but only the condition that everyone carried their own bags and no one tried to dress him up. They all readily agreed and Harry had the very sneaking suspicion that he would end up carrying every bag and be dressed up at least half a dozen times.

Since none of the girls owned a car, they traveled by way of bus to their second favorite mall. A place Harry had yet to go to with any of them. As they got off the bus and walked into the mall, Harry couldn't help but think that the entire place looked extremely familiar. Harry was not a person who generally suffered from déjà vu, but this mall just looked so familiar, Harry couldn't help but think that he had been here before.

Harry was only paying a little attention to what the girls were saying as they walked on in front of them. Then Harry heard Jess say, "I can't believe that lot is still empty! I mean it's been that closed department store for as long as I can remember."

Harry looked to where she was indicating and like a bolt of lightning suddenly realized why this place looked so familiar. He was in the mall that housed the entrance to St. Mungo's! The store that Jess had pointed out was the entrance to the wizard hospital. Harry was so distressed about Mr. Weasley when he had been in here last that he hadn't really taken time to look around, that's why the place looked familiar, but he didn't know why.

Oh shit! Harry thought to himself, There's sure to tons of people here who would instantly recognize him! Well, Harry thought to himself, maybe they won't recognize me instantly I have changed since they last saw me, but if any get a good look . . . Harry didn't want to think of all the crap that would ensue if he were spotted here.

Unfortunately it appeared that luck was not with him today as the girls decided to go into the shoe store directly across from the St. Mungo's entrance. Harry for his own part just tried to keep himself well obscured within the store, he had already seen three groups of oddly dressed people head into St.Mungo's and one come out, the place was a very high traffic zone for witches and wizards.

After about twenty minutes in the store, the girls had all found at least one pair of new shoes that they all "just had to buy". Harry was practically jumping from one foot to the other he was so eager to get away from St. Mungo's. When the girls had finally finished paying for their purchases Harry breathed a sigh of relief as they began to walk out of the store.

In a scene horribly reminiscent of Diagon Alley, an immense explosion ripped through the St. Mungo's entrance sending shards of glass everywhere and lifting several people off their feet. Harry's hearing was suddenly assaulted with the sounds of screams and the scent of fire and death filled his nose. Looking over at the demolished store lot Harry saw wizards and witches streaming out running away from something. The objects of their terror were quickly made known as masked Death Eaters poured from the store front sending curses at the fleeing wizards and at helpless muggles who had no idea what was happening.

"Oh my God! What's going on?" Cara asked in a voice filled with terror.

As Harry watched, a Death Eater began torturing a muggle. Aurors began apparrating in trying valiantly to fight off the Death Eaters. Harry only counted fourteen aurors as oppossed to twenty one death eaters. But what the aurors lacked in numbers they made up for in skill and teamwork. Still, Harry could see that it was a losing battle.

As an auror fell screaming under the cruciatus curse, Harry suddenly knew what he had to do. "Wait here," he told the girls, "No matter what happens and what you see, do not move from this spot!" With that Harry stood up and took a moment to close his eyes and clear his mind of everything but the task at hand.

Harry's eyes snapped open and he immediately jumped into the fray. Using his fire calling the death eater torturing the fallen auror suddenly burst into flames to be reduced to ash in only a few moments. For a moments both sides stopped fighting as they realized who the new comer was. Unfortunately for them, Harry didn't wait for them to begin fighting again before he flew into action.

Moving so fast that the entire world around Harry seemed to slow down. Harry used his fire calling and his wandless magic to dispatch the death eaters. Harry couldn't control the fire enough to take out any more than two Death Eaters at a time, but that was all he needed. He wandlessly casted powerful curses at the surprised death eaters, pulling no punches and sparing no measure of ferocity. A powerful bone-breaking curse shattered the sternum of one death eater, he would probably be dead in a few minutes. A quick freezing charm froze the air inside another death eater's lungs, he would also die shortly.

Harry could feel more than he could see the curses that were being thrown at him. A curse was dodged before it even came close to Harry. Several times Harry simply snatched a curse from the air and threw it back the death eater that had sent it, often resulting in a rather disgusting effect.

To the aurors who were watching more than fighting at this point, it looked like Harry was dancing through the air. His movements to dodge and return curses were so graceful is seemed like he was weightless at times.

Harry, on the other hand, was barely aware of anything, he had completely given himself over to his fighting sense. Several times curses came so close that they would hit his clothing and rip some of it away, but never did any actually hit him. Finally Harry stunned the last death eater, who should count himself as lucky as he was likely the only death eater still breathing at the end of the battle.

Harry stood still for a moment gasping for air. It was like he had just ran for 20 miles as fast as he was able. Harry wobbled for a moment before regaining his balance, and looking around at the damage. The entrance to St. Mungo's had been completely destroyed, the entire lot either in flames or covered in debris. Looking around he saw the bodies of the death eaters all around him, as well as several unfortunate witches and wizards that hadn't been able to get away from the death eaters in time. He also saw the bodies of several muggles killed in the initial explosion or from randomly fired curses.

Seeing the bodies of aurors alongside death eaters and innocent muggles, Harry came to an epiphany. Harry realized that even though people here had died for either freedom, or a belief, or simple because they were unlucky; Harry asked himself why they had to die? Why is the area littered with bodies of people who moments ago were living, breathing people? What could ever possibly drive anyone to this kind of reckless hate that so many had to die for it? It was then that Harry felt truly sorry, not for failing the people that he had been trying to protect, but because he knew that many more would die before the end. And he was sorry that the cause of it all was a belief that some people are better than everyone else.

Harry shook himself out of his reverie and realized that the remaining aurors had finally approached him, although most of them still had their jaws dropped. "Harry Potter?" one of the aurors managed to get out. Harry knew his scar was clearly visible and the only reason they were asking if it was really him was the fact that he was supposed to be dead.

"That's right, now if you don't mind, I need to go. I think you can handle the situation from here," and with that he turned himself invisible while at the same time creating a cracking sound so it looked like he had just disapparated. Some of the books Harry had gave detailed instructions on how to apparate but Harry never bothered with it as his phoenix form was almost just as good at getting from place to place and sometimes even better as anti-apparition wards meant nothing to the phoenix. But in order to keep his animagus form a secret, he knew that a bit of misdirection on his part would be all that was needed to keep everyone thinking what he wanted them to.

Harry silently ran over to where the girls were and reappeared. He saw them huddled up on the ground no doubt still too afraid even to move. But when he got closer his blood ran cold. Natalie was in the center of the huddle with blood pouring from her side. Harry knew instantly that she had been hit with a particularly nasty severing charm.

Recovering from his momentary shock, he moved in, scooped up Natalie and said to the girls in a voice that left no room for argument, "Follow me, we have to get out of here right now!"

A quick glance in the direction of the aurors told him they were occupied with calling for backup and helping their injured comrades. Harry ran for the exit, not the slightest bit strained by carrying Natalie, with the other girls in tow. Harry truly began to feel scared as he felt Natalie's warm blood soak his shirt and run down his hands. Knowing that the time for caution and secrecy was long gone, Harry simply ran to the nearest car and used his magic to open the doors and start the car. He told the girls to get in and placed Natalie across Jess and Cara in the back seat, giving them hasty instructions to try and hold the wound closed and put on pressure to try and stop the bleeding.

Harry got into the drivers seat gave a quick glance to the passenger side to Heather, who just sat there in complete shock, before putting the car in gear and peeling out of the mall parking lot as quickly as he could. Although Harry had absolutely no experience with driving, the same instinct that controlled his fighting sense kicked in and he just did everything that had to be done without ever really knowing what it was. Running many lights and causing a few accidents in the round-a-bouts, Harry made it back to the apartment in just nine minutes. Harry leapt from the car and wheeled around to the back seat, tearing the door right off the car to get to Natalie as fast as he could.

Harry picked her up as if she were the most fragile piece of glass ever made, and then whipped around and ran inside the building, the doors flying open for him at his unbidden command. Harry took one look at the elevator and then at Natalie, before he ran for the stairs. Harry was a blur as he ran up the stairs, to a bystander it looked as though his feet weren't even touching the stairs. Harry was up the three stories in moments and in the apartment just after that. Laying Natalie down on the floor as gently as he possibly could, he ran to his trunk and practically emptied the entire thing looking for the blood replenishing potion he knew he had stashed in there last year. Finding it under a pile of robes, he grabbed it and ran back to Natalie's side. Kneeling beside her he gathered his focus just in time for the girls to run in and see what Harry was doing.

Not caring one bit about what he was doing in front of the girls, Harry concentrated on Natalie just as he had done for himself in the Malfoy's prison. Soon he began to see Natalie, not as she looked to the world, but how she appeared magically. Her body was a multitude of glowing threads infinite in complexity and number but yet very ordered and flowing. But at her side the threads were all twisted and broken, no doubt caused by her injury. Harry concentrated with all his might to make the threads reconnect and flow once more. Ever so slowly the threads began to untwist and move around. The broken threads reconnected and slowly began to reform. Soon they began to glow brighter and once again flowed in harmony with the rest of her body.

To the girls what there were seeing was incomprehensible. They saw Harry close his eyes and place his hands over Natalie's wound, and then his hands began to glow golden as did the wound on Natalie. To their amazement, the wound stopped bleeding and began to close, healing so perfectly it didn't even leave a scar. Soon the golden glow spread from the wound to envelop her entire body. The glow grew in intensity until it suddenly flashed so bright that the girls had to turn away to shield their eyes. When they looked again, Natalie was slowly waking up and Harry looked so exhausted that he had to struggle to keep himself upright.

Harry was tired beyond all reasonable thought. The healing had been the most exhausting use of magic that he had ever done. But seeing Natalie's eyes flutter open made his heart soar and brought a smile to his face. Remembering the last thing to be done he grabbed the blood replenishing potion by his side and whispered to Natalie, "Drink this." If she was at all curious about what it was she didn't say anything and drank the entire vial.

Harry allowed his smile to grow even larger now knowing that Natalie would be alright. Harry gave into his exhaustion and allowed himself to pass out right there next to Natalie.

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Harry didn't know how long he was out but he awoke on the couch to the gazes of the four girls. But he had never been looked at like this before from them. Their looks were of uncertainty, awe, and fear. Looks that Harry knew all too well and was saddened to know that his past had finally caught up with him. As the world came into better focus so did the memories of what had happened. He knew he could stay here, no longer. Now that the girls knew what he was they would be in danger as long as he was here.

Harry sat up and looked at each of the girls in turn before casting his gaze downward. After a few moments of silence Harry finally said, "I suppose you want to some answers."

Heather seemed to burst after this and practically screamed, "What the hell is going on? Who were those people at the mall? How did you do all that . . . stuff? What happened to Natalie? WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?"

Harry took a breath, This is it, the moment he had been dreading for the past month. His secret was out and now it was time to face the music. Keeping his voice as calm as he could he said, "This may be difficult for you to believe, I'm not really sure how best to explain. I guess the best place to start is magic." Harry paused for a moment before continuing, "Magic is real. I know it sounds completely crazy but there is such a thing as real magic, and people who can use magic are called wizards. I'm a wizard."

The room was silent for just a moment before Heather simply said, "What?"

Harry explained, "Many of the things that you read as children about fairy tale fantasies are surprisingly true. We brew all kinds of potions, fly on broomsticks, wave wands, say incantations. Unicorns, dragons, giants, mermaids, these are all very real in our world. Witches and wizards have their own society completely separated from the non magic world."

The girls stared at him before Cara said, " Oh my god. You're crazy, there's no way that magic exists and no chance of all those creatures being real. I mean we would know if there were unicorns and all that around. Someone, somewhere would have seen one and gotten a picture. You're just out of your mind."

"So you think I'm insane?" Harry asked.

The girls didn't say anything but even without legilimency he knew that they all thought he had lost it.

"If I performed some magic right now would you believe me?" Harry asked.

"Harry you don't need to do anything, just sit there and we'll get someone to come help you," Jess said in a voice no doubt meant to placate him.

Harry simply smiled and said, "I'm telling the truth, watch," and with that he flicked his wrist at the half-filled cup of water on the coffee table. The cup lifted off the table and began floating upward until stopping about two feet off the table. The girls looked all completely amazed except for Heather.

"Oh come on, Harry, you think we've never seen a magic show before? There's some kind of mirror or strings or something going on here." As Heather said that, the rest of the girls nodded their heads agreeing with Heather.

"You've seen magic shows before, Heather, but you've not seen real magic." And with that Harry flipped the cup upside down and allowed the water to spill out of the cup. Using every ounce of control that he had been practicing, he magically caught the water before it could hit the ground and forced it to flow upward in a circular motion. When Harry was finished the water was flowing in a vertical ring suspended in mid-air. "Tell me, Heather. What string or mirror could cause water to flow upward? Go ahead feel it, this is all real."

Heather timidly reached out with her hand and touched the ring of water. Pulling her hand back she turned to Harry and said, "How are you doing this?"

Harry simply smiled and said, "Magic." The other three girls all reached out and felt the ring of water have similar reactions to Heather.

Harry decided to prove his point beyond all doubt and allowed the cup to fall to the floor where it shattered. Harry smiled and said, "Not to worry," and with a flick of his hand the cup reformed and jumped back up onto the table. Harry then directed the water to fall gracefully back into the cup. Deciding to show off just a bit Harry called on his magic and stood up for full effect. Harry willed his magic to flow from his hands creating a golden light that encompassed his hands entirely. Harry then allowed his magic to seep from the rest of his skin. Soon his entire body was glowing a brilliant gold just as it had been when he was healing Natalie. Harry had recently learned how to do this: very powerful wizards could learn to release their raw magic from their skin to show their aura. It was a very advanced form of magic that few ever learned and those that did could only ever create a dim glow, hardly anything compared to the brilliant aura that Harry was now showing.

Harry only held the aura for a few moments before allowing it to fade away. The girls simply stared at him completely at a loss for words. Harry sat back down where he had been earlier and waited for everything to sink in.

Finally Natalie asked in a quiet voice, "Why did those other . . . wizards, the ones in masks, why did attack us? Do wizards hate us or something?"

Harry met Natalie's gaze and immediately had to fight to keep his anger in check. She was terrified beyond anything she had ever known before. Almost dying earlier had really shaken her, but Harry suspected it wasn't the death so much as the confusion and absolute terror that they all had to deal with. Harry's heart nearly broke as he saw a tear begin to fall down her cheek.

Getting up and crossing the room Harry sat next to Natalie and wrapped his arms around her. Natalie hesitated only for a moment before throwing her arms around him and burying her face in his chest, sobbing uncontrollably. Harry sat there holding her waiting for her to calm down. After a few minutes she finally loosened her grip on him and pulled away to wipe away the tears on her face.

Harry had never felt so terrible about anything he had ever done before. At least his friends at Hogwarts knew what they were getting into, and had the means to defend themselves. These girls were completely innocent and helpless; him being with them was like opening a fence allowing wolves in among sheep.

"I just want you all to know that I never meant for any of this to happen," Harry started. "I should never have stayed here as long as I did, my being here has put you all in great danger and today you all paid for that. I just want you all to know how sorry I am for all of this."

Harry took a deep shuddering breath before continuing, "My life is not a very happy tale. You all know that I've always avoided answering questions about my past. I had very good reasons for this. One of them being that all magical people are bound to secrecy, meaning that we can never reveal ourselves and our world to any non-magic people. By saying what I already have I have broken dozens of international laws and statutes, but the truth is that I just couldn't care any less. After everything you've all done for me, you all deserve the truth and that is what I'm going to give you.

"To answer your question, Natalie, most wizards simply don't care about non-magic people. We have our own lives, our own government, our own schools, our own sports even. Most magical folk are content to live their lives away from non-magic people and would never do anything to disrupt that. There are also wizards who simply love non-magic folk, one of my best friend's dad is like that. He collects batteries, plugs, and other appliances, taking them apart and trying to understand everything that you do without magic," Harry said with a smile thinking of Arthur Weasely and his utter obsession over all things muggle.

"Another thing that you have to realize is that magic people are born everyday into non-magic families. Another of my good friends is the only witch in her entire family, came as a bit of shock to her and her parents," Harry laughed trying to inject a bit of levity into the situation.

The girls all gave him rather weak smiles and Heather asked, "So, in theory, wizards can just pop up out of any family."

"Well most wizards tend to be born into families that have at least one magic parent or grandparent, but yes a good chunk of the wizard population is drawn from muggle borns."

"What's muggle," Jess asked.

Harry cursed himself for letting that slip, for some reason he had the idea that the girls wouldn't like to be referred to as "muggles". "Muggle is what magic folk call non-magic people. If I talked to my wizard friends about the time I spent here I would have to say something like 'I lived with four very beautiful muggle girls'. It's not meant to be anything derogatory it's just simply what we call you."

Harry waited for them to get upset but surprisingly none of them really did although he could tell that Heather and Cara didn't much like the idea of being a 'muggle'. Harry continued, "Now, what I need you all to understand is that wizard society is very much like muggle society in that there are many different factions and beliefs held by groups of wizards. I've already told you that most wizards are content to live their lives in peace, going to work everyday, raising a family, falling in love; most wizards want essentially what most everyone else wants. But in every society there exists groups of people who have radical ideas and cling to them as beliefs. Within the wizard community, there are very old families, I'm talking about generations and generations of wizards, dating back to well before the non-magical community was anywhere near as sophisticated as the magical. Many of these families believe that their long lineage of magical bloodlines makes them better than other magic users, they believe their blood to be far purer, if you will. These people advocate all kinds of crazy notions like not allowing muggle-borns to be taught magic, and making sure that magic folk never marry into non-magic families.

"Most wizards are intelligent enough to know that if we forbade magical people from marrying non-magical people, we simply would not be able to sustain our population, we would die out. There are even very old pure-blood families that recognize that it's completely absurd to try and "purify" the magical community. Unfortunately, many of these pure-blooded families are very wealthy and deeply rooted in the politics and inner-workings of the ministry of magic. So our government is always being bogged down by absolute bastards, who are so bigoted and pompous, that issues that should be recognized as utter rubbish are instead allowed to linger and fester in the political arena for years and years. I mean the issue of "pure-blood" dates back hundreds of years, and yet we still debate it."

Harry paused to let everything he said sink in before he grimly continued, "And then there are those who are tired of debating and have taken the matter into their own hands. You see power levels vary greatly among wizards, some of us are exceptionally powerful. And occasionally, a wizard decides that his power gives him the right to do as he pleases because he knows that no one can stop him. They believe in the whole "might makes right" thing. Several years ago a very, very, powerful wizard came forth and began a brutal and bloody campaign to rid the wizard world of all those "unworthy". In other words he declared war on the muggle borns and the half-bloods. And what's worse is that he has many followers drawn from ranks of the pure-blooded families that share his beliefs.

"But it's far worse than a bunch of wizards killing each other. If that were the case then I would just leave and not bother you with something that doesn't concern you. No, these dark wizards have also decided that muggles are unworthy of life and have already made many attacks on innocent muggles. You ever hear of unexplained deaths on the news? How about unsolved disappearances and mysterious "terrorist attacks"? You read everyday about the secret war that has been declared on you. If you're wondering why no one has ever mentioned people in dark robes making lights and explosions from pieces of wood . . . well let's just say that the entire wizard community has decided that their secrecy is top priority. And so after an attack, they show up and erase memories and create other more satisfactory explanations for what happened.

"That's what you saw today in the mall. That's just an average example of an attack on muggles. If you're wondering, everyone else who was there likely had memory charms placed on them, and were then told that everything that happened was the work of terrorists. You four girls are likely the only witnesses to that battle who actually remember what truly happened. And now you understand it.

"The dark wizard I told you about is called Voldemort. His power is so great, and the things he does are so terrible that most wizards and witches can't even bear to speak his name. His followers are called death eaters. They always wear black cloaks and white masks, you saw them at the mall. You saw how not only they killed wizards and witches, who were running away, but also helpless muggles who don't even know to run . . . until it's too late."

Harry's voice broke and he struggled to regain control of his emotions. A very long and awkward silence followed. Finally Natalie spoke up and said, "I don't understand, doesn't your magical ministry have some kind of army to fight this . . . Voldemort?"

Harry answered, "The ministry does employ wizards who are supposed to keep the peace. They are called aurors, and many of them are quite powerful, but they're really more like police, they're not really soldiers. And as powerful as they are, they pale in comparison to Voldemort. I have no doubt that the so-called Dark Lord could easily kill any auror that came after him. That's why he's so dangerous, his power means that conventional means of peace keeping are useless, he attacks with impunity. He picks a target and then he attacks, anyone who has ever stood against him has died."

"So then what you're telling us is that we're doomed?" Heather asked sounding as though she was both trying very hard not to believe it and trying to not be afraid.

"No, you're not doomed. There is one man, Albus Dumbledore, a very old and very powerful wizard who holds power than can rival Voldemort's. He has formed a group called the Order of the Phoenix, and their goal is to stop Voldemort. So you have Dumbledore counteracting Voldemort, and their respective followers constantly battling each other. So hope is not dead. But time is acting against the forces of light. Dumbledore is very old, and I mean like I think he's well over a hundered years old, every year he grows slightly weaker, while Voldemort only becomes stronger."

Harry stopped talking for a moment before he decided to tell them the rest, "That's where I come in. I am no ordinary wizard. Before I was born a prophecy was made, basically it said that someone with the power to defeat the dark lord would soon be born and then it described how that person would be recognized. All the signs pointed to the prophecy meaning me, and then about two years later, when I was little more than a year old the prophecy was proven correct." Harry paused gathering himself before saying, "Voldemort attacked my family the night of Halloween. My parents, were very good wizards, both of them were very smart and quite powerful, but against Voldemort they never had a chance. Voldemort killed my father first as he tried to defend my mother. Voldemort then killed my mother as she begged for him to spare me. He killed her too. Then he pointed his wand at me and cast the same curse that killed my parents.

"Something went wrong with the spell and it back fired on him vanquishing him, while leaving me with this," he said pointing at his scar. "And so it was that a boy, not even able to hold a wand defeated the greatest dark lord of the past century. An instant celebrity, famous for something he can't even remember. The great 'boy-who-lived'. The savior of the wizarding world. But the story doesn't end there, oh no. Instead I'm shipped off to live with muggle relatives who, not only don't love me, they despise me and all things magical. The next ten years of my life are spent being abused physically and emotionally by the very people who are supposed to protect me. But at the age of eleven, I received a letter telling me all about the world to which I truly belong. I was able to go to a magic school where I would learn all I needed about magic.

"It was there that for the first time in my life, I felt like I truly belonged. I made friends that meant more to me than anything else in the world. But as the years went by I finally realized that every year I was there I was constantly putting my friends in danger. Not a single year passed that didn't, in some way, put their lives at risk. Good people, just like yourselves, who didn't deserve the burdens I placed on them. At the end of my fourth year at my school, I was kidnapped and used in a dark ritual that brought Voldemort back to his former state of power. Now the Dark Lord has risen once more and the prophecy must be fulfilled: either he dies at my hand, or I die at his.

"That is my life. That is what I was running from. I never asked to be famous, I never asked to be the only hope for the world. I'm so tired of being targeted, of watching my friends suffer simply because they're my friends and my enemies knowing they can hurt me through them. My parents, my godfather, a fellow student; they all died because of me. How many more? How many people that I care about must die because of me?"

Harry had tears streaming down his face as his emotions began to spiral out of his control. He stood up and violently ripped his shirt open, revealing the scars underneath, "You've all seen the scars that I'm covered with. I received them all when I was being tortured for standing against Voldemort. I WAS FUCKIN TORTURED!" Harry screamed.

Harry collapsed back into his chair and covered his face with his hands and he lost control and broke down, sobbing for a life that had been far too unfair to him.

Jess, Cara, and Heather all remained in their seats completely shocked at what had just happened. Not only had they never seen Harry even come close to raising his voice, but they had never imagined that his life had been so painful. Natalie didn't even hesitate as she pulled Harry into a tight embrace. Holding onto Harry she could barely believe that this kind, gentle person, had lived so terrible a life, and now after only ever seeing his strength, she was holding him as cried, something she thought him incapable of.

Harry only cried for about a minute before he managed to bring himself back under control. "Do you have any questions about me, or what I just said?" Harry asked as he separated himself from Natalie, trying to keep his voice steady, but failing miserably.

Jess spoke up asking, "What if the whole prophecy is wrong? What if you're not meant to kill this Dark Lord, what if someone else is?"

Harry answered, "A true prophecy always comes to pass. I don't know if it's because I know of the prophecy now that I'll kill him, or if I would without ever even knowing it. But somehow the prophecy will be fulfilled, either he dies or I do. That much is certain."

Cara asked the next question, "I don't understand, why would you only be a danger to us now, wouldn't they be looking for you the entire time you've been here?"

"Almost the entire wizarding community has believed that I died back during the summer. You see I was in a very large, public battle dueling Voldemort. He had me beaten, he could have killed me, but he doesn't know the prophecy, he still thinks that only Dumbledore could ever oppose him. So he decided to take me prisoner. That's when I received all of these," Harry said, pointing to his still bared chest. Feeling somewhat self-conscious now, he buttoned the shirt back up. "To the rest of the world, it looked like he had killed me and taken my body. After I escaped that . . . place, I was in the hospital for about a month, but only Dumbledore knew about me, he made sure that no one else knew that I was actually alive. Apparently he didn't want to tell the world I was still alive only to have me die days later in the hospital. I guess I was in pretty rough shape. When I woke up, he told me all of this. Now that aurors saw me at the mall, they know I'm alive. My secret is out, and my friends are in danger once again. I have to get back to them now to keep them safe," Harry said making a silent vow as he said this that he would not allow another person he cared about fall into harm ever again.

"Why did you come here then? Why not go back to your world?" Natalie asked.

"I came here to get away from my world. I was so sick of people around me dying and being in danger. Everyone thought I was dead and I felt that the best thing I could do for them, was to get away and teach myself so that I could kill that son of a bitch someday. I guess the real reason I didn't go back then, was . . . I was scared. I was so scared of what might happen to the people I care about. So I ran. That's when I found you," Harry said looking into Natalie's eyes.

"So are we in danger now? Are people . . . death eaters . . . are they going to come after us now?" Heather asked, fear coursing through her entire body.

"No, right now you're safe. No one saw you leaving the mall with me. But now that both sides know that I'm alive, they'll spare no effort in finding me. If a death eater ever spotted me with any of you, or saw that I lived in this apartment . . ." Harry left the grisly consequences unsaid as he knew they fully understood the situation. "That's why I must leave now and rejoin my world. To keep you safely anonymous, and to fulfill my destiny."

Jess and Cara both had tears falling from their eyes at this point, but Heather just looked at Harry like she was seeing him for the first time. "Then get the hell out of here," Heather said, "If you leaving means that we're safe than I say good riddance. I only wish you had left sooner before you nearly got Natalie killed!"

Harry didn't let his face show just how much those words truly hurt him. He simply stood and without a word left the room to go and get his trunk. The contents of his trunk were still all over Natalie's bedroom floor. He noticed almost absently that absolutely nothing had been touched. Apparently none of the girls had gone through any of his things when he had been unconscious.

After Harry had finished packing all of his belongings he hefted his trunk onto a shoulder and walked out of the room. He only looked over to the girls once before he opened the door and walked out. Harry was just about to shrink his trunk and put it in his pocket, when he heard someone behind him. Turning around he saw Natalie standing there, tears falling down her face.

"Were you just going to leave like that, Harry?" she asked.

"I knew I would have to leave eventually. I just wish it hadn't been today. Not like this," Harry said evenly keeping his churning emotions down.

"What did I mean to you, Harry? Was I just a distraction? A bit of fun before you left? A way to find a place to sleep?" she asked as more tears fell.

"At first, you were just a really nice person that was offering me a place to stay for a few days. But I swear, Natalie, the reason I stayed as long as I did was you. I didn't think that I would feel for you what I do. I love you, Natalie. I mean that with everything I am. You only knew me for who I am, not what I was. You didn't know that I was famous, but you still cared about me. I never meant to stay and put you through this. I stayed for you, for the way you make me feel." As Harry finished he had a tear working it's way down his cheek.

"I love you, Harry," Natalie said. And without another word, the trunk was dropped to the ground and the two were kissing with the passion of lovers who knew their time had come. Harry held Natalie's slight form against his, doing everything he could to permanently etch this moment in his mind forever. At this time, right now, Harry knew that this moment could not be any more perfect. The kiss that seemed to last forever, but when it finished, both felt as though it had passed far too quickly. Harry immediately feels the weight of the world return to his shoulders and sees the sadness in his love's eyes.

Making a decision very quickly, Harry opens his trunk and searches for something for a few moments before pulling a photograph out. Handing to the picture to Natalie he watches as her eyes widen in amazement, "This is a wizard's photo, Natalie. The people move in the picture because the picture captures not only the image, but the feeling of the moment. You gave me this photo of us a few weeks ago, I cast a spell so that it would become a magical picture."

Natalie looked at Harry and made to say something, but no words were needed. The picture was taken weeks ago, it was Harry and Natalie after they had just gotten back from a club one evening and were cuddling on the couch too tired to do much else. It was easy for anyone to see how much love there was between Harry and Natalie just in the way they held each other.

"Natalie, you must remember to keep this photo hidden at all times. If a wizard saw a moving picture of us in your apartment, they would know immediately that I was there. Keep this out of sight," Harry whispered to her.

"I will, Harry. I'll keep this safe. And I'll always love you," Natalie said whispering back afraid to break the moment.

Harry knew what he had to do next, but actually doing it was tearing him apart inside. "Natalie, you must promise me something," Harry whispered.

"Anything," she whispered back.

"Don't wait for me. Live your life. Pretend as though I was never a part of your life. Please, just forget me," Harry whispered as his heart broke with every word spoken.

Natalie looked at him with tear streaked eyes and said so softly that he could scarcely hear it, "I could never forget you, Harry. And some part of me will always be waiting for you. If you want me to move on I will, but I could never forget you."

"Goodbye, Natalie," Harry whispered.

Harry turned around and picked up his trunk, knowing that no one was around, he shrunk it with barely a thought and placed it in his pocket. Harry began to walk away but after no more than three steps he stopped and looked behind him. Natalie was still standing there holding the picture. He made eye contact with her one last time before he turned away and walked through the door to the stairs.

Harry only felt a deafening numbness as he walked down the flights of stairs and out of the building. Harry stopped yet again and turned to look at the window of the girl's apartment. But the shades were all drawn and all Harry could see were the lights of the rooms at the frames of the windows. Turning away Harry walked into the windowless alley that he had used all those weeks ago.

Harry looked around to make sure that the area was clear before taking a deep breath, and transforming into the midnight phoenix and flying away into the sky just as the sun was setting. Harry cried out in his phoenix form, a reflection of the pain he felt inside, the feeling of love lost. The cry was amazingly loud and pierced even the thickest of walls. Many people would later talk about how they heard something that was so beautiful and sad that it nearly brought tears to their eyes, but they had no idea what it was. Everyone except for four girls who now knew the truth about a boy named Harry Potter.

Author's Notes: This was one of the most difficult chapters to write, and one of the most exhausting emotionally. I really hope you liked it. Please, let me know what you think. There's a lot of stuff going on for me right now, and if I get the sense that not many people are in to my story, I'm going to put it on the back-burner for a while. I have every intention of completing the story, especially before the next book comes out. But if not many people seem to care, then I might just let it go. Anyway, I'll update again in a week to ten days.

Cheers - Midnight