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As previously stated, Harry Potter is no normal boy. How, as a matter of fact, would a wizard be considered normal? But this was the least of Harry's worries at the moment, for his Godfather (the wanted criminal Sirius Black) recently died. Not at the hands of Law Enforcement as one would suspect, but at the hands of his own cousin - a follower of Voldemort.


Harry, as all teenagers do, was currently reflecting on his purpose in this world. But this is where the similarities began to crumble. Harry Potter had a clear purpose - or at least as clear as prophecy can be. - Kill the Dark Lord, or die. He knew he couldn't at the moment but this was another thing he was thinking on:


How to train? Should he wait until Hogwarts and use the Restricted Section or should he go to Diagon Alley and hope that there was something in Flourish and Blotts that could help? He knew in his heart that the second was a bad idea, because of the fact that if any self-respecting dark wizard saw him, they'd kill him on sight.


There was another problem: Harry was bored. He'd no homework and a threat from the Order had made the Dursleys too terrified to even speak to him, let alone ask him to do chores.


He also noticed that for one of the first times he was allowed to keep his school trunk (containing many wizarding items) in his cramped room. He even had his school books...


It was as if a light had flicked on within his head; surely learning the basics would make it much easier to learn the harder stuff!


Harry stood, as if with new life, and gathered a defence book in order to ease himself into his new plan.




Three weeks later and Harry was bored once again. He had exhausted his supply of books and lay on his bed, reflecting on his newfound knowledge, marvelling at how much he had missed during his five years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was no wonder how Hermione had seemed so knowledgeable with the sheer amount of magic that had not been covered by the professors. It was obvious that they hadn't had time to teach the full book, so they'd just left the students to their own devices. It seemed very brutal, but it made it easy to see who was motivated and who wasn't.


His sixteenth birthday was the next day. He knew that on that day he would receive his OWL result. He idly wondered if it would be possible to retake some exams, due to his new knowledge. Well it was all relative until he got the results, so he decided to reconvene this thought tomorrow.




Following a burgeoning tradition for the young wizard, he awoke at midnight to the sound of tapping on his window. He rose slowly from the small bed brushing the sleep from his eyes. Realisation dawning on him: Harry Potter was sixteen! He stepped cautiously over the moonlit floor, walking towards the window. He saw three owls at the window. Two he recognised as belonging to the Weasleys, the smallest (Pigwidgeon) belonged to his friend Ron, the other was the family owl, Errol. That left only one more. 'It must be from Hogwarts' thought Harry. 'I can finally find out how I did on the OWLs!' This was the first owl he unloaded, releasing the bird out of the window to return to the castle from whence it came.


The letter was swiftly ripped open and Harry discarded the booklist, choosing instead to focus upon the regal purple slip of parchment.


OWL results for Harry James Potter.

Mr. Potter,

I hope that this letter meets you well and I congratulate you on your fine results.

Madam Marchbanks (Head of Wizarding Examinations)


Defence Against The Dark Arts - O
Charms - E
Transfiguration - E
Potions - A
Astronomy - A
Herbology - E
Care of Magical Creatures - E
History of Magic - P
Divination - D


Any pupils will be able to retake an examination if they are able to provide sufficient proof that they can achieve higher than their current result. An owl must be sent to the Department of Magical Examinations before the 5th August because the retakes will be held throughout the 3rd week in August, and we wish to give candidates an appropriate amount of time for preparation.

Yours sincerely,
Madam Marchbanks (Head of Wizarding Examinations)


Harry was ecstatic with his results. An O in Defence! He was slightly disappointed with his potions grade, but that could always be retaken, he did have five days left to decide if he wanted to put up with further abuse from Snape.


He was brought out of his musings by a loud hoot from his owl, Hedwig. "Hedwig, shush! You don't want to wake the Dursley's, do you, Girl?" He saw the source of her ire. Piqwidgeon was trying to force his small head through the bars of the larger owl's cage to pilfer some of her water. "Pig, here! Now!"


The small bird trotted over, allowing the boy to take the attached gifts. "I can't believe I almost forgot about Ron and Hermione!" he chuckled. Earlier, he'd noticed two parcels on the owl, leading him to deduce that Hermione was most likely staying with Ron. He opened Ron's letter first and was greeted by the messy scrawl of his best friend.


Hi Harry!

Can't say much, you know why. We're at the same place as last year and some old friends might be along to pick you up next week.

Enjoy the present,

Ron


Harry wasn't surprised with the length of the letter. He hadn't had many letters this summer, and the ones he had received were very similar in size and content.


He shook his head to clear himself and soon moved over to the shoddily wrapped gift. He tore off the wrappings in an instant, and saw that, for once, Ron had sent a book. He looked at the title and saw the reason why: it was a Quidditch book, '101 scarily strange seeker moves and how to use them to win the cup'. He sat the book down with a half-smile and grabbed Hermione's letter.

Hi Harry,

How are you? Are the Dursleys treating you well? If not, tell our 'friends' and they can sort it out like at the train station.

Have you got your owls yet? I expect to get mine next week. When you get them write me, I really want to see how you did.

See you soon,

Hermione

Another short letter, but there was still more to it than Ron's. He tossed away the letter and opened the gift. It was book shaped (as was normal for Hermione) and Harry eagerly tore of the wrappings for a better look. It was, as he had thought, a book, but Hermione had surpassed herself with this. It was a book with no title or author and Harry found himself wondering what it was. The only thing he'd seen that was remotely like was it the Restricted Section at Hogwarts, but Hermione wouldn't send a Dark book. Harry laughed at the very thought. He was still slightly wary of touching it, but his trust for Hermione overwhelmed the fear and he opened the book. Inside there was a small note, he unfolded it and began to read...


Harry,

I know you must be surprised by this, but hear me out before burning it. How can you fight if you don't know what you're fighting? I don't expect you to learn the Dark Arts (it would horrify me if you did) but you need to know how to counter them.

It struck me just how unprepared we were in the DOM so I went looking around for some stronger defences in the library where I'm staying (same place as last year) and I found this, had a short read and decided that you'd be able to do better with it than me. All I ask is that you can teach us (the DA) what you've learned when we get back to school.

Good luck,

Hermione

Harry was flabbergasted. He had no idea that Hermione would send a Dark Arts book! He thought for a minute and found that she was right. How would he fight Voldemort without knowing what he was up against? It was doubly important now that he knew of the prophecy.

He decided to draft his replies to Ron and Hermione before reading the Hogwarts letter.

Ron,

When next week? I need to know so I can pack my trunk. Thanks for the book, when I first saw it I was a bit shocked. Why would you send me a book? But then I saw it's about Quidditch. Maybe I can use some of the plays next year (if I'm allowed back on the team).

How did you do on the OWLs? I did quite well.

Defence Against The Dark Arts - O
Charms - E
Transfiguration - E
Potions - A
Astronomy - A
Herbology - E
Care of Magical Creatures - E
History of Magic - P
Divination - D

Divination's no surprise; Trelawney and Firenze were both useless!

See you soon (hopefully),

Harry


Hermione,

I'm doing quite well, considering. I've been reading my school books to keep busy and you never know, maybe there is something useful in there after all. And yes, the Dursleys are OK. They're ignoring me in fear of the 'freaks' from the train station. I got my OWLs today. I did well enough, here are the scores:

Defence Against The Dark Arts - O
Charms - E
Transfiguration - E
Potions - A
Astronomy - A
Herbology - E
Care of Magical Creatures - E
History of Magic - P
Divination - D

I'm not surprised about Divination, History or Astronomy, but I wish I'd done better in Potions. I might retake it, but that would mean having Snape for another two years. He'd probably hate me even more just for that.

Thanks for the book. I read your letter carefully and I do realise that it could come in useful to know what I'm fighting, but it just seems so wrong to use Dark Arts.

Your friend,

Harry

With a smile on his face that was threatening to burst his cheeks, he settled down to bed for the night, sleeping peacefully until 12 o'clock the next day.