Title: The Flames of Change

Summary: After the mess at the Department of Mysteries, Harry Potter was just trying to come to terms with his Godfather's death. It all started with an 'innocent' wish… Honestly, he hadn't meant to set the ceiling on fire, it just sort of happened. Join Harry for his 6th year… It's gonna be a doozy.

Warnings for this Chapter: Child abuse and probably some language.

Disclaimer: I forgot last time, oops. Harry Potter is not, and will never be, mine. I own naught but some pocket lint and a feeble little laptop.

A/N: Sorry about the delay. I had a lot of homework last weekend so I couldn't write. Sorry! So, off of that subject… Did anyone see the new Harry Potter movie? What'd you think? XD It was the best movie I've seen for a while. A bit choppy at first, but still good. :)

Thanks to Tasha Teh Fox (I got faved? Thanks! Hope you like the chapter!), Hot-Salsa (Hahaha, I'm glad you liked the cliffy. Hope this chapter meets your expectations.), and the posessed one (Well, you get some of that stuff in this chapter here, hope you like it. To tell you the truth, I've got only a vague outline as to where this is going, but there are some new powers too. Enjoy the chapter!) for their lovely reviews.

Now! Onwards!

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Last Time:

Harry sighed in relief. Vernon wasn't above threatening Hedwig when he was angry, and, Merlin, was he going to be angry.

Loud footsteps sounded down the hall. Harry turned from the window, swallowing hard.

-----/-----

The door slammed open and the light flicked on. Uncle Vernon stepped in, looking livid. He stopped for a moment, paling, at the sight of Harry's room. Vernon's gaze traveled from the mangled blanket to the scorched ceiling and finally to Harry Potter himself. Faster then Harry would have believed possible, Vernon's face changed from pallid white to an odd sort of puce color. The man began to shake violently, and Harry had a nasty little feeling that Uncle Vernon wasn't shaking with cold but with something more along the line with rage.

Were he not standing with his back nearly touching the windowsill, Harry would have backed away. Hell, he would have jumped out the window if he wasn't on the second floor and in danger of breaking both his legs on impact with the ground. As it was, Harry could only gaze at his uncle with a nervous look and edge to the side. Falling out an open window from the second floor to lay in agony on the front lawn until someone remembered he existed was not an attractive option.

At Harry's movement, something in Uncle Vernon seemed to snap. With a heated roar, the man rushed forward and seized Harry's collar, slamming him into the wall. "What did you do, freak!"

Harry grappled with the hands desperately. "I didn't mean to! I-It was an accident!"

At Harry's words, Vernon seemed even more infuriated. He shook Harry, rattling his head against the wall painfully. "So, boy, accidentally set the ceiling on fire, have we?" Uncle Vernon ground out, sounding more enraged than Harry could ever remember him sounding.

Well, even Harry had to admit; accidentally setting the ceiling on fire did seem a bit far fetched.

After one last painful jerk, Vernon released Harry, and stepped back, closing his eyes and breathing deeply as though trying to calm himself, undoubtedly worried about what the freaks would say if they found their savior beaten to a bloody pulp. It didn't appear to be working, as his face had only darkened in its color.

Surprised and wary at his release, Harry eyed Vernon, and tried to skirt around him. He needed to hide until his uncle had really calmed down. There! He'd done it!He was almost to the door now… Almost there…

A cracking sound made him pause.

With a crash, something fell to the floor. Harry's back stiffened at the sound, and he turned to see what had caused the noise. He could have groaned with frustration. A fair sized piece of the ceiling had fallen, charred and blackened, to the floor.

Harry's uncle didn't take kindly to this. Harry, staring at the piece of ceiling with a kind of horrified fascination, missed his uncle's approach. Amazing, as Vernon didn't exactly take light steps.

Harry did, however, notice when a hand came flying out of nowhere, slapping him hard across the face and knocking him to the ground. He looked up, stunned at this new development, and put a hand to his cheek.

Uncle Vernon had given up the 'calming' techniques. He stood over Harry, breathing harshly. "LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE! TRY TO BURN DOWN THIS HOUSE, WILL YOU! USING YOUR FREAKISHNESS TO TRY TO HARM THIS FAMILY!" If the circumstances had been different, Harry might have protested that he had never tried to hurt anyone. Well, except for Malfoy… and Bellatrix… and, of course, there was that time with Sirius in third year… Okay, maybe the whole "never tried to hurt anyone" thing wasn't really true. But the point was that Harry was the one on the floor nursing a rapidly reddening cheek, not any of the Dursley's.

Vernon's foot lashing out to connect with his stomach caught him off guard. Harry curled, gasping and holding his hands to his stomach in an attempt to ease the pain. The foot again struck him, this time in the leg, and Harry cried out at the pain, unrolling from his ball. The kicks began coming at a more rapid pace, hitting his head and chest.

Harry tried to shield his head with his arms, and was generally succeeding, though he had undoubtedly gained numerous bruises. One particularly forceful kick came at his arm and Harry heard a terrible snap. Instantly, Harry felt dizzy. He felt like he was falling… an odd feeling to have when one is lying on the floor. Vertigo, his mind absently supplied, this was called vertigo. He vaguely wondered where he had picked that word up. Probably from Hermione.

The beating continued. He cradled his broken arm to himself, inadvertently leaving himself defenseless. Kicks rained in. Harry couldn't move.

His head was swimming. He could barely even feel the pain anymore. The room was sweltering hot… or was that him? He felt some part of himself floating away…

Unconsciousness took him.

-/-

Though he had noticed the boy was no longer conscious, Vernon hadn't let up on the beating.

Vernon's mind was focused solely on all the times the brat had wronged him and his family. Those moments played behind his eyes like a movie reel, over and over; showing all the reasons the boy deserved this. Vernon was almost enjoying himself. He'd been waiting to do this for a long time.

Not even the threats of those freaks could deter him. Threaten Vernon Dursley, will they? He'd show them he didn't take kindly to threats.

So immersed in the 'punishment' was he, that he didn't even notice the temperature change. The room was blistering hot now. Vernon paused, wheezing, to wipe the sweat from his brow.

-/-

Down the hall, a sleepy Petunia peeked out the door. Hearing the noises from her nephew's room, she crept out into the hallway. She paused at Dudley's door and opened it. The large boy lay on the bed, snoring softly. Petunia was relieved that her sweet boy hadn't been awakened by the fuss happening in Harry's room. Dudley was a growing boy, after all; he needed his rest. She closed the door quietly.

She continued to Harry's door. It stood ajar, and she noticed how hot the hallway was getting. She flicked on the hallway light, and gasped. Petunia could see the heat waves coming from the boy's room. She called to Vernon nervously.

Her husband answered snappishly, "What is it?" After a few moments, Vernon stepped through the doorway. "Well?" He closed the door behind himself.

Vernon was very red and soaked in sweat. Petunia wasted no time. "The boy is doing something, Vernon!"

He looked confused. The boy was unconscious; he shouldn't be able to move! "Impossible." Petunia mouthed the hated word. Magic. So that was it.

Vernon turned angrily to the door, intending to dish out some more pain to the little bastard. He put his hand to the doorknob before yelling and pulling his hand away. He stepped back and examined the knob. It was red hot! The boy was doing magic.

Fearfully, Vernon pulled Petunia away and back to their bedroom. He'd deal with the boy later.

-/-

Hedwig shifted anxiously on the perch intended for delivery owls. Dumbledore received many owls, and occasionally they were instructed to wait for a response. Thus the perch.

Fawkes, noticing the owl's agitation, let out a reassuring trill. Hedwig hooted gratefully and tried to relax.

When she had flown in earlier, distressed, Dumbledore had been baffled. He had wasted precious time trying to calm her, instead of immediately sending someone off to check on her human as she had intended for him to do. After several minutes of chaos, he had finally seemed to get the message.

He had done the fire thing that wizards do, calling for a Remus Lupin. Soon after, a man with grey streaked hair had emerged from the fireplace, and Hedwig was relieved to see it was the man her human had seemed so fond of. The one with eyes like a wolf.

"Good evening, Headmaster. You wanted to speak with me?" The man stood awkwardly in front of the fireplace, clasping his hands together as though nervous.

Dumbledore conjured two armchairs, sitting in the nearest one and motioning for the man- Remus is his name, Hedwig remembered - to take the other. "Yes, thank you for coming. Please, call me Albus, you're no longer a student here." Dumbledore chastised gently. "Would you care for a lemon drop?" The headmaster offered a tin of the candies, his eyes twinkling. Hedwig resisted the urge to hoot irritably. Would they get on with it?

Remus reddened. "No thank you… Albus." Dumbledore shrugged and popped one into his mouth. Remus fidgeted a bit before asking, "So what did you call me here for?" Finally, someone with enough sense to get straight to the point! Hedwig thought approvingly.

"I need your opinion on something." Dumbledore motioned to the snowy owl. Hedwig took the invitation and flew over to Remus, landing on his shoulder.

"Hedwig?" Remus looked confused. "But Harry wrote us yesterday…" He brought his hand up and scratched her head lightly. Hedwig lowered her head, enjoying the attention.

Dumbledore folded his hands together. "Yes. Hedwig showed up about ten minutes ago. She had no letter and appeared to be greatly distressed."

Remus interrupted. "You think something is wrong with Harry?" Hedwig hooted affirmatively. This man was quick! Unlike some other wizards she could name.

"I am not certain."

"Surely this necessitates some attention!" Remus was agitated and had stopped with the petting. Hedwig could have sighed at the loss.

Dumbledore was infuriatingly calm. "Of course. I shall send someone over in the morning."

"The morning?" Remus asked, horrified. "What if something really is wrong with him?"

"I don't believe Harry's relatives would appreciate someone barging in at this time of the morning for a false alarm."

Hedwig was offended. Her, send a false alarm?

Evidently Remus agreed with her. "Hedwig has never done something like this before. She wouldn't fly all the way here over nothing. Please, sir, let me go over and check on Harry!"

Dumbledore held up a hand, stilling further protests. "Remus, I understand you're concerned for the boy. Not to worry. I will send someone over tomorrow. I'll inform you of what happens. For now, I think you should head home…" This man was hopeless! Hedwig decided it was time to leave. She could do no more here.

"You know I hate that house, Albus…" Remus was saying. Hedwig launched from his shoulder, startling him. "Hedwig!" She flew to the high window used by owls, hooting a farewell to Fawkes.

She needed to check on her human. The bad feeling that had sent her out to get help now was now urging her to return.

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So… How'd you like it? A bit longer than last time, but don't expect it to always be so. Next chapter might take a bit longer to get out, because all of my teachers have coordinated their essay assignments to be due a the same time. ;) Hopefully the next chapter'll be out in two or three weeks.

/blinks/ Wow, there were a lot of Point of View changes in this chapter. Did they work out alright?

Please tell me what you think! Flames will be used to warm my feet.

I hope that everyone in the US had a happy thanksgiving and that those of you elsewhere had a lovely day!

Thanks!

. Lovel