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Chapter 2 The Awakening. Part I

To say that Harry was angry would be an understatement. He had been here for a little over three weeks since the funeral and he had not received any information whatsoever. He had been foolish and he knew it when he had believed that McGonagall or someone else from the order would send him information about Voldemort, but he really had thought that his friends might at least send him something. And at the very least if they had nothing to say in terms of information, could in the very least write a quick, "Hi how ya doin?"

And at the very least, if not his friends, what about his girlfriend? He would have thought that she would have at least tried to keep him informed, but from the point that Harry was currently at he didn't believe so.

This of course led to the state that Harry was in now, pacing up and down inside his bedroom and gritting his teeth in an effort to not go out, find the order member who was on duty and strangle them to get answers.

Harry was pleased with his success so far of not doing just that, although he did realize that without the help of his new found friend he probably would have done just that if not more.

Ermelinda's attitude and seemingly unlimited patience had been what had been keeping Harry in check the last few weeks. Without her much valued opinion he probably would be in a much worse state and wouldn't have learned anything the whole time that he had been here so far.

Harry had to agree with Voldemort when it came to "fear". It was an excellent way in order to get what you wanted from someone, and best of all it was cheap if it wasn't free. Using the emotions that the order guards had brought to the surface of his relatives, namely this "fear" he had gotten permission from his uncle to use Dudley's weights and other equipment that he used for his boxing practice.

In order to stay on his good side, Petunia had also thought it would be a good idea if he were to learn properly how to fight and had practically forced Dudley to show Harry how to fight. Harry hadn't said anything to voice his opinion but had indeed been quite pleased with this turn of events. As well as getting into better shape than he had been his whole life he was also eating the most that he ever had at the Dursley's.

Learning how to throw a punch as well as running to increase his stamina had only helped to increase how he would perform when it finally came to the main showdown that he and Voldemort would undoubtedly be performing soon.

This was another one of the causes that had him currently so angry. He had learned more from his muggle cousin than he had from the entire order combined. Harry was pretty sure that the portrait of Dumbledore that he had seen in the old man's office would have told the new leader of the order, whoever that was, about the prophecy. And if this was indeed the case Harry couldn't believe that they wouldn't actually send someone if not multiple people to help him train in order for the final confrontation.

Harry stopped pacing and stared at the perch that Hedwig was currently on. She was the only friend that had never betrayed his trust. She was the only friend that he had never let down and vice versa. She had gone through thick and thin with him and had always been there to offer her support to him no matter how small that was at the time.

He absently opened the window for her on his way to the bed, and sat down and stared at his "gift". She was currently coiled in the center of his bed her head facing him. And although she never moved her head, she constantly followed him with her eyes in order to make sure nothing would happen to him.

Ermelinda was quickly becoming his favorite person in the world to talk to, or should he say "hiss" to. She did not mock him or make fun of him in any way as he was spilling his heart to her, and didn't interrupt him, except to maybe get a fact cleared up here or there. He had no problem telling his life to her, she offered insights into what she thought he had missed in the situation.

He quickly came to the conclusion that he could share anything with her and she would keep his confidence and never betray him. She never judged anything that he said only accepted it and if the need came up, explaining what he should have done in the situation.

After asking Ermelinda to shift over to the side of the bed Harry quietly lay down and started to ponder. And as he let his mind wander it found the same subject that it always seemed to find; what seemed to be the source of all of his problems in life, Lord Voldemort. Not only was he the cause of most of the suffering that he was going through right now, he was also the cause of most the trouble in Harry's life.

And although this was true Harry really couldn't find any reason that he should hate Voldemort at all; I mean sure the man had killed his parents, but as far as Harry was concerned, isn't that what happens in war? Aren't people supposed to die in war? Isn't that the point? He couldn't fault Voldemort for killing off two undeniable threats as well as at least trying to get the prophecy out of the way.

Harry would find a way to avenge everyone that had fallen to that monster, but not because he held a personal vendetta against the man, but because that was what the right thing to do was. He wasn't just killing the other side; he was killing the muggles as well, people who had no chance of fighting back against a wizard of his power.

But in the very depths of his heart Harry new that even if he did manage to beat Voldemort, he would not be able to kill the man. A man who's childhood was as bad as his, growing up with muggles who hate you and beat you every chance that they can get. Muggles who think that you are worse than the gum on the bottom of their shoe and not worth the money it takes to clothe you and feed you.

No, Harry new, that when it came down to it he would not purposefully be able to take the man's life, after all, was it not Dumbledore's fault that Tom had turned out the way that he had? Everyone knew that Dumbledore while not the Headmaster at the current time was the one who ruled the school even if Dippet was "supposedly" the head of it. Dumbledore could have put a stop the Tom's suffering and offered to let him stay at the school or with some other family that would take care of him, but no, he constantly sent him back to the orphanage just like he sent Harry back to the Dursley's every summer.

Harry new now that Voldemort could access his mind at any point that he wanted to, but what Harry couldn't understand was why Voldemort was trying to help him. As well, as being able to communicate with Harry he was able to surf through any of Harry's memories that he wanted and Harry was now positive that he new all of the prophecy.

Harry it seemed had also been able to go into Tom's mind and browse at anything that he wished to as well. And while Harry found that most of the spells that he learned were very dark and very disgusting. That did not stop Harry from going through and learning everything that he could from Tom's memories. And while he had no practice at the moment because of still being under age, the moment he became sixteen he was sure he was going to have a blast with a the new knowledge that he was gaining.

Much to Harry's shock however, not only did Voldemort possess a huge amount of knowledge concerning the Dark Arts but he was also a genius in practically everything else. And even though Harry had made a decent start in learning all that he could, much to Voldemort's amusement, he still had tons to learn. But that only stood to reason seeing as the man he was gaining the knowledge from was still learning new things, and he was fifty years older at the least.

But what shocked Harry the most, was that if Harry was having a hard time understanding something, Voldemort would just out of the blue help Harry to understand the concept. He even offered bits of advice and incites on what worked best with whatever it was that he was learning.

They had many conversations over the three weeks that Harry had been home, and although Voldemort had never asked for the answer for the offer he had made, it was still always there in the back of his mind. And Harry couldn't help but believe that at least part of what Voldemort had said was coming true, he was being left alone, and it wasn't him doing the pushing away. While this didn't seem significant really and Harry felt that there was probably a reason as to why he hadn't heard from anyone, there was still that lingering doubt in the back of his mind that told him, "The worse has yet to come, this is only the beginning!"

After glancing at the clock on his side table and noticing that it was only 7:30 he decided that he might as well see what old Tommy boy was up too. 'At the very least' he thought to himself 'I can amuse myself by watching him torture his useless followers for failing in who knows what."
In fact, that was another reason that Harry was so angry at the order, he had learned more about what was happening in the war by just being inside Voldemort's head than he had ever learned from everyone else including Dumbledore.

But what scared Harry the most about this information that he gathered, even though the Death Eater's screwed up at least half of the missions that Voldemort sent them on, for every one that they failed in they succeeded in another. And this left Harry desperate for information to see what was happening to his world.

And Finally after nearly an hour of just laying there in ever growing weariness he was finally able to find peace as he fell asleep. Ermelinda and Hedwig watching to make sure that nothing would happen to the boy they cared most about in the world.

------

Harry awoke completely at ease and well rested, he couldn't explain it but that was how he was. It was odd because he had spent that entire night working with Voldemort and learning how to cast a complex dark spell that allowed the caster to inject a slow acting acid into a persons bloodstream using there wand as the needle like a shot to inject it into the person.

Voldemort was still aiding him and even though he was not at all a patient teacher, Harry was beginning to appreciate his intellect and verbal insulting skills. Harry would never have though it but Lord Voldemort could be quite inventive with his insults and didn't seem to mind showing them off to the "Piss headed, lack witted, hippo fucking two year old" that he apparently thought Harry was.

Harry got up and quickly made his way to the bathroom down the hall from his bedroom. Once finished with his daily business he quickly decided to take a shower and quickly jumped into the falling water.

After ten minutes of scrubbing and cleaning he felt clean and toweled himself off. He exited the bathroom and made his way to his bedroom quickly glancing into Dudley's bedroom to see the time. Glancing at his alarm clock Harry saw it was just after 6:30 and quickly made it the rest of the way to his room, closing the door behind him.

Getting dressed in new clothes had been one of the finest moments in Harry's life, and because of the order Petunia had finally seen to it that he received some normal fitting clothing this year. Harry was quite proud of his new look, not only did the clothes look stylish in there all dark colors, they showed off his developing form quite nicely.

His entire wardrobe was completely dark colors going from black to dark blue to dark red or Green. Harry didn't know why but he just couldn't stand the site of very bright colors let alone wearing them.

So quickly jumping into a pair of jogging shorts and a clean t-shirt he quickly headed down the stairs and out the door on his way for the daily run which he took. His knew foot ware echoing quite loudly on the sidewalk as he ran past.

After an hour of running around the blocks near his home he finally decided to get some breakfast. Stopping inside a little Dinner on the way back he quickly sat down and waited for someone to come and take his order.

A minute or two later and his order made to the man had come to collect it Harry was able to sit back and just observe the world around him, thinking about what was unfortunately going to change tons of peoples lives, in fact many probably in this room.

He understood what it must be like for Tom to have grown up in a home with little food, rags for clothing and care takers who hated your very existence. Harry had grown up in a home where it was tradition to beat the living shit out of him both morning and night. Harry might have had better quality clothing but at least Tom had clothing that would fit his form even if they were holly and ripped.

'I probably would have preferred those to looking like I'm warring a whales skin.' He said gloomily to himself.

Yes Harry could understand what it must have been like growing up for him and he really couldn't blame Tom for the actions he had taken. Some were for survival and others were for revenge, which Harry had to accept or what would he be, a "Hypocrite"?

'Sorry Tom, I'm allowed to kill you for you murdering my parents and friends but you aint allowed to kill the people who turned you into the monster that you have become, and yes you are a butt ugly monster.' Harry couldn't help but snort to himself at his own thoughts.

Quickly finishing his meal and then paying with the money he was earning by helping to do chores around the house, he left and headed back to his home. He wondered if the Order really was watching him anymore, I mean couldn't they at least eat with him once a week when ever he was at the dinner and let him know what was going on? The only time he ever knew someone was on guard, was when he could hear the racket some poor woman was making when she tripped over her own feet, and then even she wouldn't talk to him.

Sighing and heading back home, he casually looked to the newly purchased watch on his hand and noticed that his next "training" session with Dudley would be in about ten minutes.

The rest of the morning passed quickly to him and after finishing his chores at about four he made his way back up to his room. He was actually starting to like his cousin and having him around in their daily training was an advantage, Dudley even said that Harry had some good skills and if he kept working could maybe even give Dudley a workout.
After another quick shower to work off the days sweat and the dirt from the garden that he had been weeding off, he felt good. Needing something to do he pulled his photo album out from one of his desk drawers and sat down on the bed to look at his parents. He didn't understand but every time he went through it he felt as if he was loved, as if just by looking at pictures of his parents, Mooney, and Sirius would bring him a sense of love that he never had.

He was shocked for a moment when he felt something wrapping itself around his body until he realized it was Ermelinda and relaxed so she could fit more comfortably. Absently rubbing her right between the eyes where he knew she liked it the most, he was quickly lost in the pictures of his album.

He didn't know how long he just sat there looking at the pictures until he was startled out of his state by a soft knock on the door. Glancing at the clock and noticing that it was now 7:35, he realized he had been sitting there for three hours.

Quickly standing after Ermelinda had slithered off of him, he quietly made his way over to the door and opened it. Socked at seeing Dudley in his door way he moved to the side and allowed his cousin to enter. He had no idea what Dudley could want from him, the only time they ever really said anything to each other was during their lifting sessions.

Sitting down on his bed and pointing to the chair by his desk, he quietly waited while Dudley seated himself. Dudley, looking shocked that Harry did not only just have an owl inside his room but also a snake which was currently resting with it's head in his cousins lap sat down on the offered chair.

Deciding to get strait to the point Harry asked "So what brings you here to my humble room this evening Dudley?"

Dudley pulling his eyes away from the snake that Harry was casually stroking shook his head once then said, "I am going to a little party tonight, and I was wondering if you would like to go with me".

Harry just stared; he couldn't believe that his cousin "Dudley Dursley" had just asked him, "Harry Potter" if he wanted to go to a party with him. Shaking himself out of his stupor he asked "And what is this party for?"

Dudley smirked and then replied, "Well you see, the gang and I have been having one of these parties every week or so, and we all get together, invite some buddies and chicks and have a good time doing whatever. And because you're my cousin and even though you are a wiz...zz...zard I've decided your not that bad and have come to invite you and see if you would want to go."

Dudley must have taken Harry's silent reaction as a acceptance so quickly standing he said "Lets go then!" Harry still too shocked to do anything just stood up and followed his cousin back down the stairs and to the front door. Snapping out of his state in time to hear Dudley shouting "Be back later mom" before closing the door and setting off down the walk, Harry quickly trailing behind him.

They were about to turn and continue down the main road, when in a shimmering of silver Snape appeared, "What the hell are you doing out of your house Potter, planning on getting even more people killed by your ever growing stupidity?

Before he could even think of a response, his body acted for him and struck Snape with his right fist as hard as he could into the greasy mans cheek. Sending him flying into one of the light poles on the other side of the street where he fell into unconsciousness.

Harry now understood what one of the books he had read meant when it had said that ones emotions could have a dramatic effect on magic, and helped out a person by providing what help it could in the situation without using their wand.

Feeling a pat on the shoulder from his cousin and hearing a "Good Job" before he continued on his way quickly shook Harry out of his stupor. His cousin obviously didn't care that Harry had just knocked a full grown man out, not to mention flung him across the street, and Harry saw no reason to make him.

So walking at a quick pace he made it back to his cousins side, "So where are we going my dear Dudley?"

"Well first we are going to hit the store so that we can pick up the goods for the night. We've been rotating who gets to bring the goods round every week and this week it is my turn. And with you along to help it won't nearly be as troubling to bring the materials back as it usually is." He said glancing sideways at Harry. But seeing as Harry just nodded as a reply they just made the rest of the trip to the store in silence.

Heading back out of the store, carrying two six packs in each hand, both Harry and Dudley started walking back down the street to one of Dudley's mates houses. It had appeared to Harry that it didn't matter how old you were to the store keeper as long as you had the money to pay. He had come up with this theory when he noticed the man allowing a ten year old boy to walk out of the store carrying a beer in each hand.

Walking to the outskirts of town they finally came to what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse. And just outside the door Dudley stopped and turning to face Harry said. "Alright, most of the boys in here remember you from our good old years and are probably going to think I have brought you here as our new punching bag for the week. So I want you to stay silent and let me do the talking to clear up the mess that your presence is undoubtedly going to cause. Do you understand?"

Harry nodded the affirmative and followed Dudley inside as he opened the door. He was shocked when he discovered that instead of a dusty old run down dump where the kids would be just sitting around doing nothing he saw a lot more.
Disco balls where in the air with lights and lasers flashing into them sending their light everywhere. Music was blasting loud enough that Harry was not sure how he had missed it outside. A enormous T.V. was hanging in the center of one of the walls with couches and chairs lined up all around it in a half circle with couples snuggling up to each other to watch a movie.

And over in one of the corners stood a make shift bar made out of old tables and stools. Kids would just walk up, hand him the money and he would hand them the beer, no questions asked. Everywhere people were dancing like there was no tomorrow. The place didn't smell like smoke and other drugs that Harry would have been positive that the "club house" woulda had, instead if smelled clean with just the smell of beer that had been opened just today to ruin it.

Seeing his cousin just make way through the crowed, using his size to clear a path for himself, Harry quickly followed and they made their way up to the "bar tender" who was a man looking about 65 - 70 years old.

"Ah Dudley my boy," said the man in a soft and kind voice that Harry could barely hear over the blasting music, "It would seem you have been kind enough to bring me some supplies as to keep this place running." Glancing at the packs in their hands.

Dudley placed the packs onto the counter and motioned for Harry to do the same. When the packs where placed on the counter the man took them and placed them in an icebox that he had under the counter. Standing up and looking at them he asked, "And who might your guest be then mister Dursley?"

The man watched as Dudley turned to face his companion as if to ask permission. Seeing the other boy nod his head as if to say it was alright his eyes quickly lit up and he saw the bangs of the man move slightly enough for him to make out the beginning of a world famous scar.

Using strength that Harry had no idea the man was capable of he watched as the man quickly placed his hands on the counter and vaulted over it to land in front of him and getting on his hands and knees bowed to him. "I am sorry my lord I did not recognize though, please do not punish me!"

Having no idea as to what to do, Harry quickly said, "There will be no punishment, now if you would be so kind as to stand up and explain to me who you are."

The man quickly stood up but then looked at Harry with shock in his eyes. "My lord does not know who I am?" he asked his voice quavering a little.

"Obviously you fool otherwise I would not have asked you to tell me who you are!" Harry said in a dangerously smooth voice. Harry didn't know why, but ever since he had turned 16 a week ago, his temper and toleration for fools had gone down to almost zero.

Quickly realizing that he had made a mistake the man started off by saying, "My lord, my name is Xan Mortimer, and I am the potions master for the honorable and most ancient house of Potter."

Shocked at this revelation, "Really, the how is it up until now that I have never even heard of you? How is it that up until now that I have never even seen you once? I would think that a man who works for me would obviously try and see me some time and if to check in on what he has been doing lately. One would think that he would report as to what has been going on in his discoveries in the art of potions? One would think that he would show some respect TO THE MAN THAT OBVIOUSLY OWNS HIM!"

Thankfully the music was so loud that no one but the three of them could hear Harry shout so no one noticed the scene that was happening over at the bar.

"Explain yourself!" Harry said venom dripping from his voice.

Glancing at Harry and then at one of the seats at the bar as if asking permission he was relieved when he saw the man nod at him. Quickly seating his aged bones into the chair he began to explain.

"Back when your parents and grandparents where still alive I was the potions master for the house of Potter." Seeing Harry nod his head at this he continued. "Back then it was dark times, your parents and grandparents where both part of the Order of the Pheonix, and they spent as much time at home as they did at the order or off on some mission." Again seeing his young lord nod the man continued, "Well as you can only guess I was busy as ever, trying to not only supply my masters with the potions that they needed to stay healthy and healed from the injuries that they were suffering from raids and stuff I was also ordered by your grandfather to produce potions for the Order as well."

"It was a hard life, but I enjoy making potions and as they are my life, enjoyed these tasks that had been given too me. When the war finally ended, and as you would know personally how it ended, I had lost everything, my family had died during the war and now the family that I had served my entire life for was dead except for their small child that I had no idea where was."

Seeing the fire in the young mans eyes die down it gave the man new hope and he continued on. "I knew that you were still alive, everyone knew that, but just like everyone else I had no idea as to your locations or whereabouts. So after discovering that I could not locate you I decided to go back to my studies of potions and that is how I had spent the next ten years of my life."

"When I saw in the papers about how you where now attending Hogwarts at the begging of your first year, I immediately began sending out letters to you on what I was doing and what I had discovered in my years of isolation. When I had sent you word that I had discovered a new potion I always received a letter from you asking for the instructions to that potion and the ingredients that it took. So you can understand my lord, my shock that you do not even know me. "Did you not receive any of the letters or potion recipes that I have sent you over the years?"

Fighting back the fury that he was feeling, Harry shook his head and responded, "No, I did not receive any of the notices that you have sent me over the years, but I believe I know who did and why they kept them from me. For this I will make sure the person responsible will pay dearly."

"And as for you, he said looking the man directly in the eyes; it is time that you were put back into your place of honor. I will restore you back to your original status as potions master for the house of Potter and you will now work for me.