Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or stuff. I am just writing for the fun of it.
A/N: Thanks to Terry for correcting all the grammatical errors and other stuff.
Someone asked if Harry is wizard with Saiyan powers but as I had mentioned in the summary, Harry has no magic in him whatsoever. For further info, read the story. It will be clear in two or three chapters.
Chapter 2 : Remembrance
The past
Harry Potter lay down comfortably on his couch after his daily workout. He often wondered about his life. This was one of those times. In all the nineteen years of his life, he was always truly alone. He remembered every stage of his life except for when he was with his parents. He never knew his parents. He hardly remembered them. He could remember both their voices because he had constant nightmares through the years about the day they died. He remembered his father telling his mother to take him and go. And then there was his mother pleading for something followed by cackling cruel laughter. It ended with a flash of green light. He desperately tried to remember how his parents were. He wanted to know something about them – how they looked, their voice, their smell… anything really.
Then he remembered his life at the Dursleys. This part of his life he remembered clearly. His aunt was Petunia Dursley. She was a skinny woman who looked like a miniature horse. His uncle was Vernon Dursley. He was easily the biggest man he had seen. He had 4 chins and a very round stomach. He looked like a pig with make up and hair. He had a cousin named Dudley Dursley. He was a miniature Uncle Vernon. He ate copious amounts of food even for his age. He looked more like a baby whale than a human. It was funny really that he associated all the Dursleys with animals. Over the years he thought of giving them a reminder of who he was but he had yet to do so. They never cared for him. He was always starved and he was never considered for anything but work. He did most of the work around the house. Number 4 Privet Drive was the address for four hellish years before he ran away. He was always hungry and tired there. He cooked, cleaned and looked after the house all by himself by the time he left there. Daily he was given chores to do that he had to complete to get any amount of food. The food he got was leftovers from the previous day usually. His clothes were always too big for him because they were Dudley's hand me downs.
Harry was always blamed for anything going wrong in the Dursley household. Even if Dudley did something, he would blame it on Harry. It delighted Dudley to see Harry in trouble so he often broke things purposefully and blamed Harry for it. His place in the house was the cupboard under the stairs. His punishments were usually an extended stay in the cupboard without any food. They never did beat him intentionally but there was an occasional slap or a hard thump on the head from his uncle or aunt. He did not know his name till he was five years old. It was at the time of registration for the primary school that he learnt his name was Harry James Potter, son of James and Lily Potter. To the Dursleys, he was 'freak', 'boy' or some such nonsense. He was not allowed to ask any questions. After he learnt his name, he asked his aunt about his parents. That was a very big mistake. His aunt had gotten a nasty puce color and slapped him hard. He had to stay in the cupboard for five days without food for that. He was short, underfed, abused and overworked there.
So shortly after joining primary school, he left. He ran away. One good thing he learnt at the Dursleys was to stay out of sight and move silently. He developed a knack to fade into the background so that others wouldn't notice him. These traits helped him escape many punishments. He was pretty intelligent. He learned things quickly. He knew how to read and write at the age of four since he had to sort their mail. In the primary school, for the short time he was there, he proved that to his teachers who adored him. He had no friends since Dudley bullied anyone who wanted to be friends with him. He just couldn't stay at the Dursleys any longer. So three months into his first year at primary school, he escaped. He nicked his uncle's wallet the previous night and hid it under his large clothes when he left for school. He knew nothing of the world except that his name was Harry Potter and his parents were Lily and James Potter.
From then on he lived in the streets for a few years. This next stage of his life brought many changes. A local street group took him in after they saw how fast he could run. He was a very small kid but he could outrun their fastest runner. He was silent when he moved too. They gave him a place to sleep – a mattress in a rundown house where the gang stayed. There were too many people with too many names for his small brain to remember. But he did remember the leader of the group who taught him many useful things. He was called Killer by everybody. Killer told him the way the street life existed for them. To live you either stole or dealt. Stealing was the job of younger members of the gang like him. The older people did deals. He taught him the basics of how to steal. He would often look like an innocent child who had gotten lost and ask for help from passerbys. When they would agree to help him, he would snatch their purse if it was a woman or the wallet if it was a man and run away. He was too quick to be caught by the people who chased after him. Another method was he would move silently in busy places and look out for sloppy people. If he saw an opportunity, he would steal their money or packages and slip into the busy crowd.
He quickly became the most accomplished stealer in the gang. As he got older, he got faster and stronger. His need for food also increased. So he kept a part of what he stole for himself and ate a lot at many places around the town. He knew it would be suspicious if he ate to his fill at one place since it was almost as much as three full meals. His body grew to be more fit and he started looking better. He proved his worth in a fight when another gang tried to take away his daily stash one day when he was 8 years old. He never did know his strength. So he kicked and punched them as hard as he could. They couldn't hit him since he was too quick for them. He was on a rush so he didn't realize what he was doing until the fight was over. What he saw would have scared any eight year old boy but he was different from the others. All the boys who attacked him were unconscious and a few of them were bleeding. It looked like all of them had broken bones. This seemed to have awoken some need him to fight. He craved that rush he felt when he fought. So Killer taught him to fight. He learned very quickly and nobody in the gang could defeat him after 3 months even if they ganged together against him. The type of fighting learnt on the streets was rowdy but powerful. Killer taught him how to punch, kick and block. He even showed a few combinations that worked well. It was just 'make up on the fly' kind of fighting.
During these months when he learnt to fight, he found one of his powers. To learn fight better, Harry started to read comics that the gang had. He had this crazy idea that he could be better than others if nobody knew what he knew about fighting. So being a kid, he looked through comics. Like every child he dreamed of doing some of the things that were said in the comics. When he saw his first Superman comic, he was spellbound. He wanted to fly after all which child doesn't. As young as he was, nobody told him what was possible and what was not possible for people to do. So he tried to fly and to his astonishment, he succeeded. He was so happy that day. He whooped in the air and did whatever he wanted. He flew for hours seeing London from high up in the air. He felt so free that he didn't go out for his usual stealing spree. He loved the feel of air rushing at you whipping your clothes and your hair. After he calmed down somewhat, he went back to the gang. He didn't know why but he didn't want anyone in the gang to know about his ability. He remembered that he had slept two days straight after that. He was too tired from all the energy he spent on flying. He waved off the questions from the gang by saying that he felt ill. After all if you are ill, nobody bothers you on the streets.
He continued to practice in secret. He tried to find out what else he could do. So he tested himself. Like in the Superman comic, he tried to jump over the buildings but whenever he tried that, he would start to fly. He tried to do heat vision, X Ray vision but he couldn't do it. Then he tried punching a hole through things to see how string he was. He could punch a hole through wood and bricks with no problems. He got excited that he was somewhat like Superman. He only had a problem with some hard stones. He would make a dent in them but he couldn't punch through them. Then he tried to lift heavy objects. He started small with chairs and tables. He could lift them. The weight was not the problem but it was too big for him to balance properly. Then he got this crazy idea to lift the roof of the house that they stayed at. He had seen it in one of the Superman comics and wanted to try it. He flew up near the roof and tried to lift it. He failed spectacularly.
He wasn't deterred though. He assumed that he would get better with practice. Next was his speed. He had read that Superman could change his clothes while running and that he ran so fast that nobody could even see him. Late at night, he went to an empty stretch of road and ran as fast as he could. The houses passed by him swiftly and the street lamps seemed like a disconnected line. He found that he was very fast but not so fast that others could couldn't see him. He was ecstatic to discover so many things that he could do. He had never felt this happy before. He felt that his parents would be proud of him if he mastered his abilities. So he diligently practiced daily to improve. He tried some other things from comics but couldn't find anything else from the comics that were there in the gang's house.
Harry was very happy the way his life was. He was caught up in refining his abilities and stealing for the gang which became very easy because of his abilities. The gang had accepted him and they didn't call him names. He had a few friends and he had a better place to stay than at the Dursleys. He could eat as much as he wanted and nobody forced him to do anything that he didn't want to. He didn't have a goal in his life till then. This changed when he was nine years old. When he was flying one night above a posh district, his keen eyes caught two people sneaking into a house. He followed them in hopes of grabbing something after these burglars left.
Boy was he surprised when instead of stealing from the house, the two people that he followed killed the people of the house. These two people did the job so quietly and methodically that he was very impressed. He couldn't make out what the two people looked like. They wore black overalls that covered up all of their features. Their faces were obscured by some sort of a mask. They used what weapons they carried perfectly and when they left, they had left no traces of them ever being in the house. Being nine years old, he had no concept of right or wrong. He lived on the streets where he saw blood regularly. He knew that mobbing sometimes got nasty but these people were in a class of their own. He went back and asked Killer about those people. He came to know that those people were assassins. Killer advised him to keep away from them and told him that even if he wanted to find them, he could never do it. He explained that assassins were people trained to disappear and to do a job without knowing how or who did it. Thus began a new chapter in Harry Potter's life.
Harry was fascinated with the assassins. Killer had told him that he couldn't find them but he was determined to be an assassin. He felt that being something else was boring. Besides, he loved to fight and being an assassin, he would learn to fight. So he decided to learn martial arts. He had heard about people who taught martial arts. So he searched for a place where he could learn martial arts. Once he found a place, he went in to meet the owner to ask him about learning martial arts. His clothes were ragged and he looked dirty since he rarely had a bath. He had no formal education or any proof of his identity. So the owner threw him out telling him that filth like him weren't welcomed there. Harry vowed to learn all that he could and defeat him only with marital arts.
So he searched for another place to learn. He found a place called Zinn Dojo. Before he went in, he snuck into a nearby empty house and had a clean bath. He had brought the new clothes that he had stolen from the department store a few days back and wore them after the bath. While he was there, he searched and stole the money that was hidden in the house. He went to the owner who called himself sensei Zinn and asked to be taught. The man was a hard man who looked calm and collected but very dangerous as well. Zinn asked him about himself. Harry lied that he was from an orphanage that was not funded very well. He told that he wanted to do something in his life so that his dead parents could be proud. That was not exactly a lie but he didn't tell that he needed to learn to fight to be an assassin. He lied that he has seen some posters about some competition of martial arts and wanted to fight and win that. He also supplied that he always won the brawls that took place at the orphanage.
Zinn had surveyed him critically before agreeing to teach him. Zinn was a person who had devoted his life to martial arts. He wanted to pass on all that he knew to a person who was as devoted to the art as he was. All his current students were from well to do backgrounds who came to learn so that they could be fit. He certainly didn't discourage that fact but he knew they would never make a career out of it. Harry Potter didn't have a life and he had no formal education. His life could be molded to that of a true practitioner of the art. So he agreed to take him on as an apprentice and laid out the rules. Harry had to stay with him and do as he ordered at all times. He would be given clothes, food, place to stay and the true knowledge of the martial arts.
Harry was more than happy to agree to the terms. He could always sneak out at night to practice his abilities and to eat. He knew he had to break himself off from the gang and so he went to Killer and told him that he had found a long lost relative that he wanted to move in with. Killer had grown to like Harry like a little brother and wanted the best for him. He had taught Harry the skills of survival and he was glad that someone could give him a proper home and a good life away from the streets.
Harry gathered what meager belongings he had and went to Zinn. Zinn stayed right above the dojo. Harry was given a room for himself and was instructed to call Zinn sensei as long as he stayed with him. Harry settled in quickly. At first, he didn't learn to fight at all. He was taught how to read and write properly in English, Chinese and Japanese. Then he was instructed in social behavior – how to greet, how to serve, etc. Then he was taught the values that constituted the true martial artist. He was told that a person should always have honor. Nobody should ever do any dishonorable acts and if he did so, he should always make it up. At first Harry dismissed all the ramblings. He wanted to learn to fight and not do small jobs around the house and run errands for sensei. But he had learnd to be patient with his stay at the Dursleys. So he did as he was told and slowly saw the life that sensei wanted him to see. He accepted the values and the attitude that was required.
After two months of formal instruction, the real education started. He was ordered to do regular exercises to develop muscles and strengthen his bones. Harry didn't tell sensei about his abilities so all the things he was ordered to do were very easy. He practiced with heavier and harder stuff in secret. Harry was taught how to fall properly so that his body got fewer injuries. He was made to do the basic kicks and punches repeatedly so that he could have the right technique to achieve maximum results with the least amount of effort. Only when he had perfected those was he allowed to learn more kicks and punches. Sensei called them katas. Harry did his best to learn as fast as he could. During all this time, one thing he found difficult was meditation. For some inane reason or another, he found it very difficult to concentrate. Even after six months with sensei, he made little progress with meditation. By this time, he had acquired brown belt in karate.
Finally after eight months of trying, Harry learnt meditation. By doing so, he became aware of another one of his powers. He could sense people and their powers or energies. By far, his sensei had the highest amount of energy. He observed that students had varying energies according to the level at which they were. The higher their level, the more their energy. There were very few exceptions who were either too weak for a level or too powerful for a level. Harry's own power was greater than his sensei. He found that the more he worked out and exercised, the more his power grew. He continuously trained himself in his abilities. He wanted to be the best and he worked very hard for it.
Zinn was strict during lesions but kind afterwards. He was exceptionally pleased about his choice of apprentice. Harry seemed dedicated to learn and progressed very fast. Harry was very intelligent and caught on to the techniques much faster than any other person he had seen. At times he wondered how was it that Harry learned so quickly but dismissed any suspicions thinking that he was an orphan who wanted to prove himself. Harry was respectful and did as he was told. Whatever the task he was given, he did it without any complaints. He was sure that Harry would be the best martial artist he had ever trained or seen, even better than the masters in Japan and China.
By the time Harry was 12 years old, he had learnt all that he could from sensei Zinn. He had changed from the rowdy street kid to the calm and collected martial artist. He had learnt Karate, Judo, Jeet Kune Do, Aikido and handling weapons. He was proficient in all kinds of weapons that his sensei knew – staffs, daggers, knives, spears, nunchuks, swords, slings, bow and arrow, shruikens and poles. During weapons training, he discovered that his skin was very tough. No weapon could pierce his skin and sensei's hits didn't cause him pain or leave bruises. He could easily punch through anything by now and his strength was unheard of. He was faster than he had ever been and his senses were sharpened. He had learnt all he could about the human anatomy. He knew all the weak and sensitive points of the body and how to utilize them. He knew how to paralyze parts of the body or the whole body by pressing the proper pressure points.
Sensei Zinn told him of the masters that lived in Japan and China who could teach him more techniques and styles if he wanted to learn. Zinn gave him some money and wished him well. As soon as he was free from sensei, he did one thing he had wanted to do in the past three years… he got a haircut. Zinn had forbade him to get his hair cut saying that a martial artist should have a properly styled long hair in a braid. He hated it. He loved his hair being untamable and wild. He had it cut short so that it looked messy like before.
Harry then took some time out to enjoy being free from the strict rules of Zinn. It was not like he despised Zinn; on the contrary, he respected him but the rules were too stifling for his tastes. He ate junk food and caused a ruckus at a shopping mall. He bought new clothes and picked up fights with bullies for no reason at all. He knew it was against the code of a martial artist but hey, he was a 12 year old. He wanted to have fun too. Then he watched movies. It was one of these movies that helped him utilize all the power lying within him with a bit more flexibility. It was Star Wars. He watched all the three episodes that were released the first time.
Seeing the abilities the Jedi had, he decided to try if he could also do them. He developed these abilities over the next two years during which he traveled to China to learn all that he could from the other masters that Zinn had told him about. He was thankful that Zinn had ingrained the proper decorum and speech in Chinese. He had no problem in finding the masters who agreed to tech him. Over two years, he learnt new styles of fighting and very advanced techniques of his previously mastered styles. He learnt to handle more weapons as well. The many masters he learnt under were impressed by his dedication and application. He easily defeated all their other students.
The most important art he learnt was the Shaolin arts. He found a master who lived on a remote hill far away from the mainland. Of course it was easy for him since he could fly. The master was an eccentric man who taught him to be resourceful and other nifty little things. The Shaolin arts were deadly and were aimed at decapitating or killing the opponent in the fastest and easiest way possible. Harry learnt to live off the mountains since the place was so isolated. His enormous requirement of food further forced him to hunt in secret, consume and dispose of the remains. This master taught him how to make a weapon from anything at hand. Harry learnt how to use his surroundings to his advantage and exploit his enemies' weakness. He learnt how to use even a twig or his clothes as a weapon. Harry enjoyed learning under this master. He loved to stay and fly in the mountains. The air was very fresh and the water was pure.
One more thing he discovered while living in the mountains was that he could speak to snakes. He was thrilled to find someone else to speak to other than the eccentric master. The snakes were more intelligent than he thought them to be and they told him of the animals and plants in the forest. The snaked showed the poisonous as well as the healing herbs to him. They told him of the many different animals that lived in the forests of the mountain and their weaknesses. Moving in the forest also taught him how to be absolutely silent. His prey would flee at the slightest sound or movement. So he had to perfect his abilities at stealth. To develop his fighting abilities further, he intentionally provoked and fought with the jungle animals. From cubs to grown beasts, he attacked and evaded. He practiced to slip away leaving no traces behind for the animals to find him. To improve his reaction time, Harry practiced flying in the forest. He had to evade very quickly to miss the branches and the trees of the forest.
During these two years, he had mastered what he could of the abilities he had seen in star wars. He tried to copy what he could from the movie using his energy. He had gained control over lightening. He could form lightening with his energy and charge to varying levels. It could as powerful as instantly frying a person to crisp or just enough to give a sting. He could kill a person instantly or render him unconscious. It was remarkably like the force lightening used by Darth Sideous in the final episode. But his was more refined in its usage. He had even copied the droids from the movie. He could form a sort of an energy field around him or wherever he wanted that stopped everything. He had tested it against physical things, heat, electricity and his own form of lightening. The energy shield held up as long as he provided energy. He could form it to encase him completely and when he flew or moved, it moved with him. So now he always had an energy shield around him when he flew because it made breathing while flying a lot easier. The shield didn't allow external air through as he traveled at high speeds. Hence he had a greater supply of oxygen.
The two things he wanted to develop but couldn't were telekinesis and laser blasts. He tried to push out his energy to form laser blasts like the droids and the blaster rifles in the movie but he failed. His energy refused to cooperate and he couldn't use it in that way. It felt very wrong. His telekinetic attempts were even more pathetic. He couldn't even get a feather to move despite all his attempts. But he was delighted to find at least two more abilities to add to his arsenal.
Harry still had a lot to learn from other masters but he wanted to start off now. He decided he could learn more later, so he returned to England to start off. He knew nobody would take him seriously if he showed up as his true self. And he needed to develop contacts if he wanted jobs. To develop contacts, he needed to visit the shadier parts of town. And to do that, he couldn't go as a fourteen year old. He dyed his hair brown and put padding under his clothes to make him look older. He was tall for his age so the height wasn't that much of a problem. He wore a low cap to hide his facial features. It also covered up the ridiculous scar on his forehead. It was too distinguishing and he didn't want to be recognized. He decided to undergo plastic surgery to remove that scar as soon as he could.
Next Harry needed a name that would be intimidating as well as unique. That was one thing he gleaned from Batman comics that he had read at the gang's house. If people fear you, your job is that much easier. He would play with people's fears like Batman did to accomplish his jobs. He chose the name Rayden. It meant the god of thunder and lightening in Chinese mythology. And since he could control lightening and had a lightening bolt shaped scar on his forehead, he thought it was an apt name.
His disguise complete, he visited pubs where bikers and shady people went. He picked fights with them and defeated them. For the first few days, people were wary of him, thinking that he might be a cop or the Queen's services. But after a few weeks of regular visits, people opened up to him. He learnt names of important people in the London underground. He did keep up an intimidating air about him so that people still feared him. He was trusted to an extent but people primarily feared him. People didn't exactly know what he did for a living but he was known to be a good fighter. This was fine with him. He had still not forgotten the skills he had developed on the streets. He always stole from the people who visited the pubs hoping to find some important information.
His first break came when he was informed of a high profile assassination job that all assassins were afraid to take. The target was a person of the House of Lords who was holed up very tightly in his mansion. He made discreet inquiries about the job and finally accepted it. It was a pretty easy job for him considering his abilities. He nicked a dagger from one of the fighters in the pub and left for the job. He flew to the mansion and observed the guards. Once he was sure that the target was inside the mansion, he flew in to the mansion through an open window. He was covered in black and he moved silently never once stepping on the floor. There weren't many guards inside the mansion. He easily avoided the patrols and finally reached the office where the target was. He sensed the energies of guards and tried to keep away from patrols. He flew all the way as he didn't want his footprints recorded. There were no guards outside the door. He put his ear against the door and listened for the people inside the office. It seemed like the target was the only person in the office. So he knocked on the door lightly after making sure that there were no guards nearby. As soon as the target opened the door, Harry covered his mouth and dragged him inside the office. He closed the door of the office and faced the target. He verified that this man was the target from the photograph that he had been given. The man was terrified. It was written all over his face. Harry quickly plunged the dagger into the target's heart and put him back in the chair after he stopped convulsing. His job done, he flew outside and away from the mansion. He dropped the dagger in the middle of the ocean to dispose of all evidence. He went back the next day to collect his money. His work was all over the next days newspaper. The series of mysterious deaths that were happening for the past few years were pushed to the back pages due to his hit.
From then onwards, Harry as Rayden had no trouble finding jobs. He never involved himself with the power plays in the underground. He kept away from the area conflicts and only did his jobs. He worked out frequently and further practiced his abilities and martial arts. He never asked anything about the employer or why he wanted the job done. He collected the details about his target and finished his job. Once, an employer tried to swindle him by not paying. He quickly showed that to be not acceptable by brutally killing the employer and depositing his body at the doorstep of his boss. The boss was extremely surprised that the assassin found out about him. Harry showed that he could find out about anybody if he wanted but out of principle kept out of it.
Harry really had no qualms about killing people for money. He acquired an independent house in London a bit away from the centre of the city. He underwent plastic surgery to get his scar removed after a few months. He participated in martial arts competitions and won easily. He didn't let anyone know his true capability regarding speed and strength. He fought at a normal pace and even sent a copy of his certificates to sensei Zinn so that the man could feel a sense of accomplishment. But Harry was far more interested in participating in the pit fights that were held by the London mob bosses. He felt exhilarated whenever he fought. It was as though he was born to fight. He felt alive when he fought.
All this changed when he accepted the job to kidnap Ginerva Weasley.
June 1999
Harry Potter, otherwise known as the assassin Rayden was working out as usual. What would have been considered strenuous to others, he did it without a hitch in his breath. His weight training gave him problems since he couldn't find a heavy enough weight set to give him a workout. So he mostly did repetitive workouts.
In the past three years, he had changed. Since he had decided to no longer be an assassin for hire, he set upon finding what he could about himself. He trained himself as best as he could and tested his limits as much as he could. The one thing he found out about himself was that he wanted to fight… he needed to fight. It seemed as though he was built to fight. As he continued training, his power levels grew as did his other abilities. He was an anomaly who couldn't explain himself.
His energy levels continued rising and didn't seem to have a limit. He continued sensing for powerful brings near him whenever he went out. Sometimes, he found some people who had the same energy pattern like Ginny. His power level seemed hundred times greater than those people. One important thing he observed was that his type of energy was different from all others he had seen. He was unique and there was no one in the world like him. He had taken time to fly around regularly since he found out that he enjoyed it a lot. He had sensed many different energy patterns. Some animals and birds had a distinct energy pattern unlike any of their species. There some places where he could sense a great power but he could not pin point where it was. As he developed his sensing ability, he sensed two very powerful individuals but couldn't find them at all. (100 Points to whoever guesses who the two people are…) Since he couldn't get an accurate reading of their power, he couldn't determine if they were more powerful than him. There seemed to be many places all over the world which seemed hidden to his senses.
His speed had also increased but not by much. His ability to fly had improved; he could fly faster and for longer periods of time. He could almost fly indefinitely now without tiring out. To test himself, he had tried to fly around the world… and he had succeeded spectacularly. He didn't know how many mach speeds he had achieved as it had only taken him a couple of hours to go around the planet. To test himself further, he had tried to fly into space but he couldn't hold his breath for that long. He went only a few kilometers into space before coming back into Earth's atmosphere. He decided to test that too by taking an oxygen mask the next time. His shield couldn't hold much air when he went into space.
Physically, he had not been more fit in his life. He had only grown two more inches in the last three years. He never did put any fat on his body. It was still lithe and muscled like an athlete. He was not a huge ripping muscled man, whatever muscles he had developed were well toned and defined. (Imagine Goku from DBZ – same untamable hair and a perfectly fit body. Only difference is eyes and facial structure.) He knew he looked good. He had had several propositions for marriage, one night stands, casual sex etc from women of all ages but he had declined every one of them. He had stayed true to Ginny. He would never break his promise to her as long as he lived.
To try and discover new ways of utilizing his growing power, he sought ideas from movies and video games. He watched all kinds of movies and read many comic books. He even bought a video game set and several games. He could not find any other new ways to use his energy. The only thing that he gained was better ideas for his previous abilities. He got some information about air pressure that could help him utilize his dream of flying in space. All in all, he found that he was a hands on guy. Any fights he fought, he could engage opponents in close combat. He had no long range attacks except for his lightening which could easily be spotted and avoided. With his incredible speed, he really had no need of any long range attacks. His only problem was with large scale destruction. He had no means to cause considerable damage to an area in one strike. He had to use some explosives for the job if he wanted to do that.
Harry also went to Japan for a few months to further his martial arts skills. The masters in Japan were the strictest he had encountered. Maybe it was because he was not used to being ordered around by anybody. Finally at the age of 19, he deemed that he had learnt all that he could about martial arts from China and Japan. There were more countries from which he could learn new fighting styles like India and America. He put it off for later as he had little interest for taking orders right now. The reason why he went to Japan in the first place was that all the training sated his need to fight.
Harry knew he was a fighter. As he couldn't take any shady jobs again, he still fought in the pit fights. He used many different names with different disguises for these fights. Money was not an issue for him. He obtained information about the smuggling rings in Spain and Cambodia. He destroyed the drugs and stole the money. The usual currency was American dollars. He donated all of it to various charities in England and other countries. He especially gave money to the orphanages all over London. In return, he obtained a promise that no child would be mistreated from the people who ran the orphanages. Of course with the money, he threatened bodily harm to the caretakers if he knew about any mistreatments. He checked up on the orphanages at random times, under disguise.
He tried very hard in the last three years to atone for everything he had done. He knew he couldn't bring back the people he had killed. So he made sure the families of the people he had killed lived comfortably. He knew money and comforts were a pitiful substitute for family but he couldn't do anything more. He single handedly destroyed all the people who traded in drugs in the whole of London. He couldn't do much about other smuggling like tobacco and weapons. Drug lords were an easy target since they had to unload at the docks and he could follow the shipment and take them all out. He didn't want the youth to be spoilt by drugs.
How ever much he did for others, Harry could never undo what he had done to Ginny. He could never forgive himself. He couldn't bring up the courage to visit her again. He knew the way to Ottery St. Catchpole but he never ventured anywhere near that area. He thought about her everyday. He simply couldn't forget anything about her – her impish smile, her soft musical voice, her fiery hair, her smell, her freckles or her heavenly body. He yearned for her so badly that he wanted to kill himself so that somehow he could go back in time and undo what he had done. Ginny invaded his thoughts every waking moment. He was sure of what he had said to her. He loved her more than anything in the world. He wanted to give the world to her. He wished to capture all the happiness and joy and present it to her but he couldn't. Not after what he done to her. He was disgusted with himself for defiling that angel.
He hoped she was happy and had found a proper boy to spend the life with. Even if it tore his heart apart, he promised himself that he would never go after Ginny again. He would let her live her life as she wished. Ginny had opened his soul and inserted herself there. Harry just couldn't imagine what he'd ever do if he had not met her. The memory of that night stayed with him. He could still remember her in fine detail. He had survived this far holding on to those memories. The only happiness he got these days was from those memories. He would never ever tarnish that memory by being with another woman again.
June 1999, Hogwarts
It was the end of another year at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. Ginervra Molly Weasley was one of the students of the batch that had finished their seven years of education at Hogwarts. It was graduation day. It was a day of celebration that brought a bit of joy in the times of war.
Ginny was a very strong girl and all her friends knew it. She was so strong that she held on to the ecstasy that she had experienced three years ago with Ray on her birthday. She still remembered the events that unfolded after she was returned to her home. She snorted a bit when she thought about how childish she had seemed then.
Flashback: August 12, The Burrow
Ginny was shaken awake from a very peaceful slumber by her hysterical mother. Ginny became aware of the chaos around her after she regained complete consciousness. Every member of her family was present. Apart from her hysterical mother, she noticed that her father, all her brothers, Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Madam Pomfrey, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were present. She noted that they were all in Bill's room.
She looked around and wondered why her mother was behaving this way. All her brothers were grim and her father was almost as emotional as her mother and that was saying something. Even all the others present were somber faced. Sirius and Remus were the jolliest people she had met and they often helped her and the twins in pranks. Even they were serious.
Why were they all like this? Then she remembered. She was kidnapped and taken to Malfoy. She was about to be raped by him when Ray had stepped in. Then she and Ray had had wonderful sex. It was the best birthday present that she had ever gotten. She noticed that she was still wearing Ray's t-shirt. She got a goofy grin on her face remembering Ray. She knew she loved him and he said so too. Yes! Ray had told her that he loved her before the idiot had put her to sleep. She was angry at him for not coming with her and leaving her to deal with her family. She sighed; it was time for story telling.
After Molly Weasley calmed down a bit, she noticed her daughter's state of undress and promptly covered her up in the bed sheet. She refused to let Ginny away from her embrace. She was her little girl.
Albus Dumbledore drew up chairs for everybody and everybody present sat down to hear of the events. Molly had settled on the bed with Ginny. Dumbledore asked Ginny softly "Miss Weasley, could you tell us what happened yesterday?" Ginny noted that his eyes were not twinkling like they usually did.
Ginny was not at all perturbed with the question. She knew that the news would greatly upset everyone present and they would try to fuss over her but she had to say what had happened. She recounted the events. "I went out for a stroll yesterday evening. When I was a bit far off from the house, somebody grabbed me from behind and I felt very sleepy. I woke up in a large room with muggle lights. There were three wizards there with many muggles."
She was interrupted by Bill who asked "Who were those three wizards? I will kill them." All her brothers seemed murderous. They were after all red heads and were very well known for their short tempers. Even Sirius and Remus looked ready to go and kill them.
"It was Malfoy junior, Crabbe and Goyle." As soon as she finished, there was a beeline for the door. There was a loud bang and the door closed and sealed. They all turned to see Albus Dumbledore with his wand out. He told them all in a calm forceful tone "You will all sit down and hear what Miss Weasley has to say." There were loud protests from most of them there. Once they calmed down a bit, Dumbledore turned to Ginny again "Please continue Miss. Weasley"
"Malfoy said that this was his task to prove himself to you-know-who. He had hired a muggle assassin who kidnapped me from here. Malfoy then tried to rape me but the assassin stopped him." She struggled a bit here since it was still hard to imagine what Malfoy would have done to her. "The assassin then took me to a room and we had sex." She completed quietly in a voice barely above a whisper. It was quite easy to imagine the faces of her family. She was not meeting anybody's eyes and was looking down.
She heard many roars of outrage. She was especially surprised by a very loud growl that emanated from Remus showing everybody that he was indeed a werewolf. She was touched that they all cared for her but she could not give Ray away for them to capture. She vowed to keep Ray's name a secret.
They were silenced by Madam Pomfrey this time. She moved near her and spoke softly which was very different from the usual stern voice. "Miss. Weasley I need to perform some spells to check if you are impregnated." Ginny looked up slowly into her eyes. She nodded. Ginny had not thought about this. She didn't want to lose Ray's child if she was pregnant but she was too young for this. She waited with baited breath along with everybody else until Madam Pomfrey completed her spells. Madam Pomfrey gave the result "She is not pregnant." Ginny let out a loud sigh of relief. Madam Pomfrey continued "Miss Weasley, are you hurt anywhere? Do you feel any pain?" Ginny shook her head.Apart from the slight cramps there was no pain whatsoever. Madam Pomfrey signaled to Dumbledore that she was done.
Before Ginny could continue, McGonagall asked her stonily"What do you mean 'we had sex' Miss Weasley? Am I to understand that you were not raped?" Her family seemed appalled that she dared ask this question but they too waited for Ginny's reply.
Ginny got nervous but when she remembered Ray, she felt like smiling again. "Yes we had sex. I was not raped. We wanted to have sex and we did. He was so gentle. He saved me from being raped by Malfoy. He did not force me at all. It was so wonderful. The place was a bit dirty but he took me to heaven. He even said that he loved me. From the first time I saw him properly, I loved him too."
Molly scolded her daughter "Ginny dear, you cannot be serious. He was a muggle assassin. He cannot love you. You are too young to know love dear. He must have forced you."
Charlie sputtered "You… had sex with him willingly? Are you insane?"
Ginny bristled "I do know what love is and I love him. And yes I did have sex with him and it was the best birthday gift I have ever had."
Dumbledore interrupted before they all got into a heated argument. "Miss Weasley, if you could continue to tell us what happened."
Ginny turned away from Charlie resolutely and continued "When he was talking to me, there was a knock on the door by another muggle. He said that he wanted to have a go at me. The assassin told me that he would protect me and he got dressed. He was so fast that I could not follow him. I was speechless. He gave me his t-shirt to wear and ordered me to stay in the room. Then he rushed at the door and it broke under his onslaught. When I broke out of my stupor and went outside, there were already dead bodies. Crabbe and Goyle were lying in a heap with their necks broken. He killed the remaining muggles brutally in seconds. He shot some kind of lightening from his hands that killed them instantly. He moved so fast and he literally drove his hand through a person's brain. It was one of the most disgusting things I had seen. I asked him to come with me then. But he refused and said that he had to atone for all the crimes he had committed. He put some smelly cloth against my nose and I felt sleepy again. Then I found myself here being woken up by you all."
The others were thinking on the sheer impossibility of it all. The speed and strength that she had described were impossible to achieve except for using dark rituals. But she said that the assassin was a muggle. Sirius asked the question that was on all their minds "Can you tell us anything about him? What happened to Malfoy?"
Ginny thought on what to say about Ray before replying. "I don't know what happened to Malfoy. He had disappeared. I don't know much about the assassin. He didn't tell me anything. He moved faster than a Vampire and he was very strong. As I said earlier, he formed lightening from his hands. That's all."
"Could you give us a description of him Miss Weasley?" Dumbledore asked.
"He was about six feet tall. He was very well built. He had all those muscles on him. He had beautiful green eyes and brown hair. His hair was cut short. He seemed to be a year older than me but right from the start everybody seemed to fear him. The muggles there were positively terrified of him. Sorry but that is all I can remember about him." Ginny replied cautiously, still thinking about his muscles. She refused to say his name. She gave little information about him in hopes that they would find him. She was in two minds. If they found him, she could try to convince them to spare him but she was not sure they would let her see him. So she told them what she could without telling them his name.
Everybody present was at a loss of what to say or do now. Ginny seemed adamant that she loved him. What could one say when the person who kidnapped her in the first place said that he loved her and had sex with her. Ginny too was a willing partner in the sex. She was very happy about it too. Should they console her that she was kidnapped and lost her virginity this soon when she needed no consoling. Mr. Weasley knew that she would eventually grow up and he had suspected that she would lose her virginity in the coming year at school but to be kidnapped and then forced to have sex… it was not what he had wanted. They still had trouble acknowledging that a 16 year old could be an assassin and he had successfully kidnapped Ginny from right under their noses. The wards were supposed to be infallible and a mere muggle bypassed them. Then there was his speed and strength that Ginny had mentioned. What kind of human could possess such phenomenal strength and speed?
In the end, Sirius, Remus, Dumbledore and Pomfrey left after instructing her to rest. Her family members were clearly tongue tied about this. Ginny didn't seemed to be shaken up by the incident. She was still the same vibrant Ginny they knew. So they left her to Molly's fussing still very angry that they couldn't do anything. They all vowed to never let anything like this happen to ever Ginny again.
End Flashback.
Ginny grimaced when she thought of all the fussing her mother did. Ginny was not left alone for weeks afterwards. Even at school, she was always followed or accompanied by someone. Being the minister's daughter had warranted a bodyguard for her. She had not wanted it at all. They had hushed up the event like it never happened. The public would have been in an uproar. If the minister could not keep his daughter safe, how could he ensure the safety of magical Britain. Dumbledore and his group secretly continued the investigation into the incident. They had not found a single lead about the incident even after all so many years. She really didn't know if the Order of Phoenix was continuing the investigation but she was sure that all her brothers were still doing it on their own. Thankfully many of the supporters of you-know-who didn't let their children come back to school and Malfoy was one of them. She was not sure what would happen to him if he had come back to school. She could imagine the wrath of her brothers on Malfoy if they had met him. Many others too withdrew from school thinking that they would no longer be safe. Of course she knew this was stupid since no one was safe with the war going on. It was actually more safer at Hogwarts because of the guards and the wards. Then there was also Dumbledore here at the castle. But she knew people did strange and irrational things when they were afraid.
She then remembered those failed dates that she went on. Her mother had insisted that Ginny did not love Ray. All of Ginny's arguments were countered by her. She had asked her how she could know if she never went out with other boys. After months of refusing, Ginny had gone on a slew of three dates to prove her mother wrong. She had gone on one date each with Dean Thomas of Gryffindor, Terry Boot of Ravenclaw and Shaun Donovan of Ravenclaw. Just after the first kiss with them, she had realized that she did not care even a bit about them.
She felt more joy remembering Ray's kiss than actually kissing any of the other guys. She forcefully put a stop to it after those three. She did not want to try kissing all the guys at school simply to prove her mother wrong. She knew she loved Ray and decided to track him down when she could. She still reveled in those beautiful memories. She had experienced something other worldly with Ray and the joy of those memories gave her strength to carry on. She thought about Ray at every instance she got. She dreamed about him almost every night. She simply could not get her mind off him.
A year after that fateful ministry attack, her father and Albus Dumbledore had told the press and the people that a new prophecy was made about the downfall of Voldemort. They had told them that the savior was found and was training in secret. The exact wording and the identity of the savior were not given out. The diminishing hopes were rekindled. Personally Ginny thought that this was all a ploy to get the wizards and witches to fight again. She promised herself to not be afraid of him anymore and had learnt to say his name. She wanted to be as prepared as she could. Soon after the announcement, her father was attacked at work and he was still in a coma recovering form the injuries. The new minister, Rufus Scrimgeour had put up new laws and made new provisions. He was not completely with Dumbledore but he did cooperate with him. They were forced to do it due to the state of the world.
Ginny still kept Ray's t-shirt with her. She wore it at every chance she got. It gave her a measure of comfort and confidence. She wore it every night to bed and when there was a tear, she repaired it with magic and continued using it. She was wearing it under her robes today to her graduation party. She wished that Ray would have been her date to the party. Dates were compulsory so she had roped in her friend Colin Creevy. She had got many offers from other guys but she didn't want to go with anybody. At least Colin was a faithful friend and she was sure that there could be no romantic feelings because he was already going steady. His girlfriend of two years, Annabelle Adams was also a good friend of hers. Anna had reluctantly agreed to go single for the graduation party since it was not mandatory for her to be at the party. Anna had only caved into Ginny's requests when she encountered three different guys arguing loudly in front of her for rights to take her to the ball. Ginny was happy that she had friends like Colin and Anna who she could count on for support.
A while later after the graduation ceremony, she reflected on her future. She wanted to be a fighter in the war but she had the ability of a breather. A breather was very rare and the last one found was centuries ago. She had kept this ability of hers a secret since she did not want to be targeted by Voldemort any more than usual. She practiced in secret to develop her ability. Her ability was to stave off injuries and death till a person received medical attention. She also had the ability to heal others naturally without the help of spells and such. This was a rare talent which was truly useful as a healer but to her, a healer's job was very boring. Since she was free from romantic attachments, she had worked very hard on her studies. She had achieved perfect results in her O.W.Ls and N.E.W.Ts. She had joined the dueling and healing clubs. She excelled in both of them and was at the top of the class. She learnt more than just school work in dueling. She had researched more advanced spells and curses from the restricted section after she had become Head Girl in her final year. She was a force to reckon with in dueling. She practiced with the defense teachers – Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. They were very fond of her and they couldn't refuse her. After all it would help her prepare for the outside world.
Ginny was very serious about her goals. She had already applied and obtained entry to St. Mungos for healer training. She had decided to go into healer training before applying for field medic training. It would take her five years to be completely trained. Two years at St. Mungos, a year of internship under a certified healer and two years of special field medic training. She wanted to do her internship under Madam Pomfrey and had already requested her permission. Madam Pomfrey was more than happy to have her as an apprentice. Since the incident with Ray, Madam Pomfrey had been more friendly towards her. They had met many times in the infirmary due to her quidditch injuries and they were on friendly terms. Before she could go for training at St. Mungos, she had a few months free. She wanted to use these months to look for her Ray. She was determined to find him at all costs. She had even tried scrying techniques. All the methods were useless. Then she had searched for information on what kind of a human Ray was. She could find no information on that either. Ray was one of a kind.
She was prepared as best as she could. She had learned to duel properly from Sirius and Remus. According to them, she was a very powerful witch and she could take on a death eater any day and win. But she did not get complacent. She had saved up money for her search. She even did some exercises Sirius and Remus had recommended for her. She was very fit physically. She was fawned upon by all the boys around her. Boys begged her to let them take her out on dates but she turned down every one of them. She had grown tall to a height of 5'10". She was very beautiful but she had cut her hair short. It was only just as long to touch her shoulders. Her mother was against it even now. Bill had taken her to get the cut. This short hair cut proved very beneficial during dueling. She had also acquired some useful stuff from her twin brothers who had opened a joke shop at Diagon Alley. They worked on some practical products on the side which they only sold to some privilege customers.
Her family had not taken well to her chosen profession or her attitude. With her father in Coma, the family relations were a bit more strained. Her family was separated too. Bill worked for Gringotts and had moved in with Fleur after they had married. Charlie was still working with dragons in Romania. Percy worked as the under secretary for the minister of magic. The twins were into a very successful joke shop business and Ron had been accepted into auror training. The threat of Voldemort was very real and the war was still going on fiercely. Voldemort was still concentrating on foreign countries apart from the attacks on muggles.
So many things were going on all around the world but her world revolved around Ray. She reminisced about him every waking moment. She could not get him out of her mind. It was as though Fate had decreed that they were meant to be together. She really didn't believe in all the drivel about fate and prophecies but she wanted to believe that she and Ray would be together. Being a hormonal teenager, it was difficult to stave off her urges of obtaining pleasure with other boys. But she had resolutely decided that Ray was the only one who was ever going to have her. She dreamt about him almost every night. Her mind simply refused to forget his feel or his body or his gentle gestures. She had felt so safe and comfortable in his arms. Every moment of that wonderful night were permanently etched in her memory. She hoped that Ray would contact her sometime. She knew that he knew the way to her home but there was no indication that he had ever attempted to come to her. But that was debatable since nobody could determine how he was able to pass through the wards then. She refused to entertain the thought that Ray would have forgotten about her. The emotion she had read in his eyes when he had said that he had loved her was sincere. She only wished that they could at least get together before one of them died.
A/N: Next chapter – Harry learns about magic from ……………….