Harry Potter and the Time of Change
By: Bethy Ann
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter unfortunately.
Summary: Harry discovers that he must train in order to kill Voldemort. During the summer set after the 5th book. New people, new discoveries, and love is shared all around. Ginny/Harry, Hermione/Ron, and a little bit of Remus/Tonks.
AN: This would've been up on Thursday but I got into a horrible car accident and I got released from the hospital yesterday. But here it is! I saw that this got lot's of hits but no reviews. But some people did alert this so that motivated me to post this up.
Chapter 2:
Harry awoke earlier then he usually did. He got some decent running clothes from his trunk and put it on. He quickly and quietly got out of the house at five am. The sun was on the horizon and barely hitting the neighbor's house. Harry breathed in the fresh air and started stretching his muscles. Once Harry was done stretching, he started running. He wasn't totally sure where he was running to but he stayed at a steady pace.
Ten minutes into the run, Harry was getting tired. He decided to run back to the house at a slower pace. But he still got the sense that someone was following him. He couldn't see or hear anyone but he could feel someone's eyes on him. It was unnerving but he suspected it was someone Dumbledore hired to watch over him. He didn't like it but he knew Dumbledore did want him to be safe from Voldemort and his minions.
Once he got back to the house, he went into the backyard. There was a sturdy branch hanging low that Harry wanted to try out for some pull ups. He jumped and caught the branch. He started with his palms facing away from him and tried to do ten but could only do six. At least it's better then doing four, Harry thought optimistically. He then lowered himself and jumped again so his palms were facing him. He got up to five and dropped to the ground. His arms were burning so he decided to do some sit ups.
He didn't want to do a lot so he did forty. Since his arms weren't so tired he did a couple of push ups. Once he was done he went into the house. He was drenched in sweat and he wanted to take a quick shower.
He went into his room and got another pair of clothes. He turned on the water and got in. He let the water rinse the sweat off and took some soap and slathered it all over his body. He took a little bit of shampoo and massaged it on his scalp. He rinsed everything off and turned off the water. He dried quickly and put his clothes on. He quickly went into his room and waited for it to be seven. While he waited he decided to finish reading his fifth year potions book. It was the last book to read and he wanted to finish it before his chores.
When he flipped the last page he heard the grandfather clock chime at twelve o'clock. Harry frowned and decided to see if anyone was even in the house. Usually Aunt Petunia calls me to do the chores of the day, Harry thought. He walked downstairs and didn't see anything. They usually told him if they were going out so Harry was really confused. When he walked to the counter he finally saw the piece of paper. Potter, we have gone out for the day to shop. Don't break anything; we'll be home before dinner. There is food in the fridge but refrain yourself from eating the already made sandwiches'.
Nice, Harry thought and made himself a sandwich. He ate it and wondered what he was going to do. He usually did chores and he already finished reading his books. He couldn't practice anything he read since he couldn't use magic. For once he was at a lost to do something during the summer.
So he went outside and saw a huge truck outside of number eight. He walked over to the truck and saw that a new family was moving in. He didn't want to pry so he walked away.
"Hey!" someone called from behind Harry.
Harry didn't know if it was directed towards him or not so he kept walking. The person shouted again and Harry turned around and saw a boy about his age walking up to him.
"Hi! Merlin, it took awhile to get your attention," the boy said with a strange accent.
Harry blushed from embarrassment and said, "Sorry, I didn't know you were talking to me."
"I'm Jon Clinton by the way," Jon said with a smile.
"I'm Harry, Harry Potter," Harry said, thinking that the boy would not know his name.
"No way! You mean the Harry Potter? That's why my Dad had to move here. He's going to be the new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts," Jon whispered excitedly.
"You're magical? Where did you come from? Wait, your Dad moved here because of me?" Harry asked, surprised.
"Oops, I wasn't supposed to say anything. Sorry, I would tell you but…Anyway I'm from America," Jon said, flipping his brown bangs out of his eyes.
It was quiet for awhile when Jon spoke up again, "Do you want to come inside my home? It is messy but you look bored, no offense."
"Sure, I guess," Harry said.
Harry followed Jon to his house and saw movers going back and forth with furniture. Even though boxes were everywhere and a few things out and about, Harry loved it. He saw a picture hanging out of a box and he saw five people. The Dad was tall and had wavy brown hair. His baby blue eyes twinkled mischievously in the picture. Beside him was a beautiful woman with strawberry blonde hair. Her green eyes shone brightly and you could tell that she laughed after the picture was taken. Her hand was on a teenage girl who looked quite annoyed. But the teenage girl was also pinching the boy next to her. The boy was playing with the girls brown curls. The boy just looked like he was twelve years old. The teenage boy was rolling his eyes at his sister and brothers antics. Harry wished he could have more memories of his parents.
He bumped into a box and the contents spilled to the floor. Picture frames and scrapbooks tumbled onto the floor. He saw a picture of four adults and two new born babies. He looked closer and saw his parents and Neville's parents. Jon was beside him at this point.
"Were your parent's friends with mine when they were younger?" Harry asked.
"Yea, my Dad was two years younger then your Dad. I don't really know the story. My Dad never told me anything about the past," Jon said.
Harry became quiet and thought about what happened so far. He looked around and saw a clock hanging on the wall. It was four o'clock, wait four o'clock? Time flew, Harry thought.
"Um…it was nice meeting you Jon but I should get back to my house," Harry said.
"Oh, okay then. It was nice to meet you too," Jon said awkwardly.
Harry went outside and let out a breathe he didn't know he was holding. He saw the Dursleys car in the driveway and he hurried inside. He tried being quiet but his Uncle still heard him.
"Where have you been boy? You were supposed to be inside this bloody house!" Uncle Vernon spat angrily.
"I was outside helping the new neighbors' move in. They needed help," Harry said, hoping that Uncle Vernon bought his lie.
Uncle Vernon went to the window and saw the moving van and the family going back and forth with stuff in their hands. Uncle Vernon seemed to struggle with his words.
"I hope you didn't do any freaky business over there boy!" Uncle Vernon bellowed and stormed into kitchen.
Harry rolled his eyes and went upstairs to his room. He picked up his new book on martial arts and started reading.
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Ron was passing a building where kids were inside doing all these wicked moves. They were leaping, sweeping, and ducking. Ron was fascinated that he watched them all practice. He didn't know that he stood there for twenty minutes not moving when a tall boy with dirty blonde hair came out and went towards Ron.
"You know you've been standing there for at least twenty minutes?" the guy said.
Ron reddened and said, "I've never seen anyone move like that. It was bloody brilliant!"
The guy laughed and said, "I'm Brandon. I've seen you here a couple times. Are you interested in joining?"
"Um…I would join but my parents don't have the money," Ron said.
"If you want…I could teach you?" Brandon asked, trying to get the red heads name.
"Oh! Sorry, I'm Ron Weasley. I'd like that," Ron said and shook Brandon's outstretched hand.
"Cool, um...where would you want to learn?" Brandon asked uncertainly.
"Why not in there?" Ron asked.
"Classes are always on in there. Oh! There's this place behind my house that's pretty private. We can go there if you want," Brandon said.
"Wicked, let's go," Ron said excitingly.
Brandon laughed and they started walking in silence. Ron was a bit uncomfortable at first but then he calmed down when he started his breathing technique he learned from one of Bill's old books about mediating.
"So why do you want to learn?" Brandon asked.
"I go to a boarding school in Ireland and there's this group of bullies who always picks on me and my friends. It's always about me being from a poor family and... that I can't defend myself. I want to hurt them but not kill them," Ron said.
"I understand. I was just wondering. With just one move you can get them unconscious. It's all about your elbow. Your elbow is the hardest part of your body. I've always thought that was brilliant," Brandon said, grinning stupidly.
They got to the clearing and for one hour Brandon showed Ron the basics of martial arts. Ron was sweating and panting heavily at the end. He thanked Brandon and started walking home. Brandon didn't live that far away from him and he was surprised he never saw him. He was excited about learning the martial arts so he could show Harry and Hermione. They would be so surprised and excited to learn it from him. Ron barely taught anything and it meant a lot to him to be able to do something before Harry. He wasn't jealous, he knew that Harry didn't want to be famous and escaping Voldemort isn't his favorite thing to do.
He walked into the kitchen and didn't see his Mum cooking dinner. He frowned a bit but hurried to the bathroom so he could wash off the sweat. Ginny got in his way and put her hands on her hips.
"Where have you been? Mum is worried sick that Death Eaters have captured you or something. Why are you all sweaty?" Ginny asked suspiciously.
"I've been outside in the woods. You know where the clearing is? That's where I was so move so I can shower," Ron said worriedly.
Ginny looked at Ron and her eyes widened.
"You haven't been working out have you? Maybe also, oh I don't know, using magic? You are! But why? You know Mum will kill you if you do magic outside of school," Ginny said.
Ron's eyes widened at every word that Ginny said that he quickly said, "Don't tell Mum! Listen, I've been training okay? I can feel that this year is going to be different so I want to be ready. I want to help Harry do whatever he has to bloody do with Voldemort! We are going to win this time!"
Ginny stood there and said, "I won't tell Mum but I want in."
Ron agreed and he told her everything that he's been doing. He told her about Brandon and the martial arts. When he was done Ginny just hugged him and ran off all teary eyes. Ron looked bewildered and just went into the bathroom. It was nice that someone knew what he was doing. He couldn't really keep this a secret for long.
TBC