Categories > Books > Harry Potter > There is Only Power

Those Lazy Crazy Days of Summer

by loralee1 0 reviews

AU post OotP, possible HBP elements but not HBP compliant. Independant Harry summer after 5th year. No Pairing

Category: Harry Potter - Rating: PG - Genres: Action/Adventure - Characters: Dudley, Harry - Warnings: [?] - Published: 2006-03-23 - Updated: 2006-03-23 - 1772 words

5Exciting
There Is Only Power
By Loralee

Disclaimer: I don't own the Potterverse

Chapter 3

Those Lazy Crazy Days of Summer

Harry's mornings were spent gardening or on odd jobs for Aunt Petunia. Harry didn't mind, it got him out into the sunshine and he actually enjoyed working in the garden when he could stop and get a drink of water when he wanted or take a short break when he needed to.

Uncle Vernon ignored Harry as much as possible and Harry ignored him in return it worked well.

The afternoon's Harry spent reading his books and practicing those things that he could without the use of a wand. The Occlumency helped against the dreams and Voldemort didn't seem interested in trying to break in so far. Harry realized that he was a natural Legimens. That was how he was able to turn the spell around on Snape and how he was able to spy on Voldemort at times.

The book on the wards talked about rune bases, blood protections and sex magic rituals for various kinds of wards but nothing about the kind of protections Dumbledore had talked about. Harry had come to the conclusion that he could make the Dursley's safer once he could do spell work after his birthday. He copied out the runes he would need to write in his blood on the foundations and memorized to spell, he practiced the wand movement with a pencil.

As long as he did as well as he thought he had he could claim wand rights and ensure added protections on Dudley and his parents. Though the thought flitted through his brain that if Dud hadn't turned nice he probably wouldn't have considered it.

He'd read A Guide to Unlocking Your Inner Beast and had begun the first stages of the animagus transformation. The theory behind Occlumency helped with the mind set need to find the animal and transform.

He found a lot of surprising material in two of the books he'd copied, Soul Bonds; Blood Bonds and Heart Bonds and an untitled journal of Dumbledore's research into the Dark Mark and Harry's own connection to Voldemort.

The journal gave the spell that Dumbledore believed had been used to create the Dark Mark but gave the conclusion that the mark couldn't be removed because Voldemort had use the incantation in Parseltongue. It also discussed some of the spells Voldemort had incorporated into the Mark placed on his followers. The research had to be from Snape's mark and Harry came to the conclusion that this was the reason Dumbledore trusted Snape, because he'd allowed the Headmaster to experiment on him. From the descriptions in the journal those experiments had to have been invasive and painful. There were also descriptions and incantations that Dumbledore had layered on top of the dark mark to insure Snape's loyalty to him while hiding the tampering from Voldemort. Harry had begun to wonder if Snape had any free will left. It was no wonder he was an unpleasant greasy git.

When Harry had found out he could do potions, he'd owl ordered a NEWT potions set and several potions books. He didn't believe that he would be able to take the NEWT class but he was determined to take the NEWT test. He could use the potions practice and keep the potions he made. He focused on healing potions and began research into and eyesight correction potion. He looked for the instructions for wolfsbane didn't find them in the books that he'd ordered.

Dudley and Harry had several long conversations during this time period. They spoke about life in general and what they wanted to do. Harry was no longer sure that he wanted to be an Auror. He felt he could use the training to fight Voldemort but if by some miracle he could defeat him before that he might want to do something else, maybe Quidditch or he could become a beach bum and do nothing.

Dudley wasn't sure he wanted to continue at Smeltings. He talked about leaving school and beginning to train for boxing in the Olympics in four years time. Harry shook his head that wouldn't happen Vernon would see to that. Harry began to realize that was mostly Dudley's insecurity about his marks talking. Dudley was deeply afraid he'd failed his GCSE's.

Dudley offered to teach Harry how to box but Harry didn't think that it was for him. Fitness training sure but he didn't think punching Voldemort in the nose was the power the prophecy meant. Though he did have a couple of nice daydreams about it.

Harry had noticed 'Dung Fletcher in the back garden a couple of times. It wasn't that Harry could see him it was that he could smell alcohol and tobacco. Strong enough that Dudley noticed once also. Harry knew that there must be other Order members around but none of them spoke or let him know that they were there. Harry found it very disturbing and annoying that people were watching him so closely but wouldn't give him the courtesy of letting him know that they were there.

Harry faithfully sent a message to the Order every three days but was annoyed that he received no news back. Dumbledore's promise of telling him what he needed to know seemed to have been a lie and Harry's anger at Dumbledore was growing.

Hermione had confirmed Harry 'theory' on wand rights and had sent off letters to all the DA members who had either gotten their OWL's last year or were waiting for them this year. Harry snickered over Neville's last letter. His Gran had gotten him a waiver so he could practice with his new wand. He had described in graphic detail the control problems he was having with his new wand. All of Neville's spells were over powered and he'd blown out one wall of his green house while trying to contain some plant Harry never heard of.

The week of Dudley's birthday his GCSE marks came. That had resulted in a huge blow up with Vernon. Dudley marks weren't bad, he'd passed everything and Vernon had gone through the catalog for A levels to make selections for Dudley and had more or less told Dudley what he was going to take. Dudley had balked and told his father his didn't want to continue school. Vernon had gone ballistic, he'd turned purple and screamed that no son of his would be on the dole, that Dudley damn well was going back to Smelting and then on to University.

Harry had watched them scream at each other from the stairs, Petunia standing in the hall below wringing her hand. When Vernon struck Dudley, Harry had retreated to his room and locked himself in and Petunia had intervened.

Eventually after several days of bristly silence Vernon and Dudley had compromised. Dudley would return to Smeltings but would not be studying business management and accounting but instead would study communications and informational systems, specifically computers.

Harry had wondered if he and his father would have fought like Dud and Vernon. He wrote to Remus Lupin to ask exactly what James Potter had done for a living and what Remus thought James would want Harry to do.

Harry's OWL results arrived the day before his birthday. He was surprised and shocked to find he'd done even better than he thought he might. Harry had achieved and O plus in Defense Against the Dark Arts, O's in Charms, Care of Magical Creatures and Potions, E's in Transfiguration, Herbology and Astronomy, he'd passed History of Magic with an A which he couldn't quite believe and failed Divination which didn't surprise him in the least.

Harry had filled out and sent off his request for wand rights that afternoon hoping that it could be processed the next day and that soon he would be able to practice magic.

Late in the afternoon had come a letter from Dumbledore informing him that he would not be allowed to leave Privet Drive that summer. That he should not leave the property at all and that as of August 1 he would no longer be able to send or receive mail, as owls would attract too much notice. Harry was seething by the end of the letter, as there was no mention of wand rights or an alternative way to communicate with the Order or his friends. If Dumbledore thought he could cut Harry off from everyone completely he had another think coming.

Harry stayed up to see if he might have birthday owls that night. Shortly after midnight Hedwig arrived with something from Hermione. Apparently she had gone to Hermione's after delivering the letter to Mafalda Hopkirk. Then Pig and Errol came, followed by the Neville's Gran's owl. As Harry managed to relieve them of their burdens three more owls flew in, followed shortly by another half dozen or so.

Harry couldn't believe he'd received so many presents, candy from Ron and of course a book from Hermione called An Offensive Defense: When Fighting Back is Not Enough. Moody had sent an Aurors Handbook with a note not to tell anyone he had it and to practice 'Constant Vigilance'. He'd received little odds and ends from assorted members of the DA and a letter from Remus saying he hoped to be able to come and see Harry in a few days.

Harry had made a list as he opened things and then placed them away in his trunk out of sight of Aunt Petunia who had peeked in suspiciously several times during the summer. She'd frowned at the sight of his potions work but had not said anything and Harry thought it best to keep the 'freaky' things out of sight as much as possible, as well as keeping his room neat.

It was very early when he turned out the light to go to sleep. As he cleared his mind in preparation for sleep he checked the wards about the house. Harry had learned to sense the wards from the ward book he'd copied. It was rather easy to do and he'd developed the habit of checking them each evening. He could actually only sense two, the outer alarm at the property edge and the inner repelling ward on the outer walls and doors. He had never been able to sense the blood ward that Dumbledore told him about though he had tried, his book didn't cover it so I didn't know what to look for.

He was just about to drop off when the alarm ward was breeched startling Harry to full alert.
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