A Bond of Power

Prologue: A Stranger in Black

Vernon checked his watch in annoyance. Even if he hated that boy, it wouldn't do to be late. He snorted, only 15 minutes until time, might as well get ready.

"Petunia," he called, "I'm going to go pick the dratted boy up!"

Petunia humphed but that was pretty much all she said when they were talking about Harry-that is unless it was complaining. When they complained they would rattle off a list of his faults: he did the M-word, he wasn't normal, he was associated with the M-word, his owl was an annoyance and brought dead things into the house, and he knew people associated with the M-word, his god father was an escaped convict, his hair was too long, he was disrespectful, his parents were M-word people -the list went on and on.

However, right now was not the time to contemplate all the faults of their unwillingly taken in nephew. Vernon sighed in annoyance and grabbed his coat, heading for the door. He opened it only to find a strange person standing on his doorstep. The person was robed in black with a mask on. Vernon snorted, people these days didn't even know how to dress properly, and if this was one of those weirdoes that that boy was associated with, would he give him a lecture when he got back.

Before Vernon could shout at the stranger to leave because he had the wrong address, he thought he heard the man mutter something like, "....drat Dumbledore and his stupid magical protections....why can't we just kill him and get it over with..." or something like that at least.

Vernon puffed up and got all indignant thinking that no stupid M-word using freak was going to contaminate his house.

"Now, listen you," he began, getting slightly red in the face, "I won't tolerate this-this intrusion!" He was about to go on when stranger suddenly pulled out a wand and stunned him.

The stranger leaned in close to Vernon's surprised and frozen face-not a pretty sight- and whispered, "Be glad that we need you, I would have killed you had it been otherwise."

The stranger did his own brand of annoying sighs as he dragged the dead weight of Vernon back into the house. Once inside he stunned Petunia and Dudley as well. After lining them up he cast a small spell of enhanced cruelty and hatred on them ....as well as removing their memories of an encounter with a certain stranger in black.

A few moments later, Vernon got up slowly and blinked in confusion. How did he end up on the floor? And bunched up together with Dudley and Petunia? Oh well, it was time to pick up that dratted boy or he'd be late. At the thought of Harry, a sudden hatred flared....God what an annoying little piece of shit he was....they should have thrown him out when they first saw him on their doorstep.

Chapter One: Broken

Harry didn't get it, ever since he got back from Hogwarts, Vernon and co. had been acting very oddly toward him. It was as if they hated the sight of him or something, not that that wasn't unusual. Considering that he had only gotten back for less the half an hour; that was saying a lot, usually, he only ignored Harry. Now he went red in the face and the left side of his mustache would twitch, and his hands would clench like he wanted to strangle him.

He sighed, this was going to be one long summer, and he couldn't stay with the Weasleys or anyone else until the middle of summer or sometime around then. He was not looking forward to the time before that at all.

"YOU! GET OVER HERE!" barked Vernon.

Harry sighed and trudged over to where Vernon was residing in the living room.

Vernon looked irritated as hell to have Harry so close. It was quite obvious when he ordered Harry to stand into the farthest corner of the room.

"Boy. From now on, you will not be seen or heard. Frankly, I don't care what you do, but stay out of my sight and don't make noise. That way, I can peacefully pretend you aren't there."

"Uh..." was all Harry could say. This was definitely strange behavior. True, Vernon hated him, but he usually tried to make him do all the dirty, hard work like cleaning the toilets, trimming the hedge, basic weeding, cleaning the street in front of the house, and washing the dishes.

"And I expect all the chores to be done by you. Petunia and I think that it's a waste of our time to do chores when we have you. Earn your keep for once. If either of these orders are broken, the consequences will be dire."

Well, that was more normal...but it still didn't make sense. It seemed that Sirius no longer scared them. So he was to do all the chores and stay out of sight and sound...how the hell was that possible?!

Harry's train of thought was interrupted when Vernon shouted at him to start the out of sight and sound by disappearing now. Harry jumped at that and ran out of the room and up the stairs to Dudley's second bedroom. At least he was allowed to stay there he thought.

~~~

It had already been two weeks....just two weeks. He couldn't handle it anymore. The strain was getting to him. He had truly loathed coming to Privet Drive, but if this was going to happen every summer - he'd rather run screaming around Hogwarts in the nude and the dive into the lake in the middle of winter. Anything to this...this isolation that he was receiving which was punctuated by brutal beatings when spotted or even heard. This coupled with sleepless nights reliving Cedric's death and all his guilt about it was not helping his mental and physical self.

Vernon had come down to the kitchen for a glass of water about half an hour ago, around 12:30. He had caught sight of Harry sneaking food from the fridge since that was the only time he could get food-when the Dursleys were gone, or late night. He was kicked and slapped in the face several times for being seen. What was worse than the hitting was the pure sadistic pleasure that Vernon seemed to be getting from beating him. Ugh, just the thought of that was sickening.

Harry winced slightly as he felt the bruise on arm where he was kicked, the pain from his arm reminded him of the pain on his legs as well. Vernon had never beaten him before, so why now? That was another thing that was starting to mentally tire him: why was Vernon being so nasty all of a sudden? Dudley as well, Harry sometimes thought that Dudley went looking for him on purpose so that Vernon would beat him. Petunia was a bit better; she simply ignored him except for the occasional kick or slap.

Well, he would be getting out of here sooner or later. He didn't have to stay here the whole summer, just for a while....*tap tap*. Harry looked up to see an owl at his window. Walking up he opened the window to let it in.

The owl was a rather handsome tawny eagle owl. Hedwig made a suggestive hoot when she caught sight of it. It flew in and stuck out its leg to have the message taken off.

The moment Harry untied the letter; it flew out again to Hedwig's disappointment. Harry laughed softly at that, and then turned his attention back to the letter. He slowly opened the envelope; it was obviously from Hogwarts since it had the seal. He wondered if it was the official school letter with the list of supplies, if it was, it was early - really early. As Harry scanned the contents of the letter, he felt as if the contents of his stomach were dropping out to land with a plop on the floor at his feet. His last hope to get out of this hell hole was snuffed out.

It was a personal note from Dumbledore:

Dear Harry,

You remember that I told you to stay with the Dursleys at first right? Well, it seems that you'll have to stay there for the whole summer. Most of your protections are keyed to them because you are related to them by blood and that makes protection charms easier to set and stronger. However, something has come up and to set the protections properly, you need to stay close to them. Sorry Harry, I know you were looking forward to staying with the Weasleys. Don't worry, you'll be safe, they are you kindred after all.

Professor Dumbledore

Harry almost laughed at the last sentence. Oh, if Dumbledore knew just how wrong he was! But, there went his last hope of getting out here....he could have cried from the despair he felt.

_____

Draco was just asking Crabbe during the Leaving Feast to fill him in on events that had happened when he felt Potter's glare on him-if looks could kill he probably would have burst into fire and died screaming. Luckily, the glare lasted less than a minute.

What as wrong with Potter anyhow? He just wanted to enjoy what little free will time that he had. As had happened with Barty, the Imperious curse was starting to become easier to defy; especially since the instructions came through the mail, enchanted to activate once he touched the parchment.

The next day he received a letter from his father instructing him on what to do in the train. Draco's fell blank as the curse hit him again and was replaced by a smirk. When his conscience came back to him, he was lying in the Hogwarts train corridor with hexes and curses all over him.

Draco winced slightly and got up with a sigh. After removing the various spells he then collected his baggage and went out. Apparently, Goyle and Crabbe had recovered faster than him and had already left. Sighing, he went through the barrier-the last student to do so- and nearly ran into his father. Draco blinked at him still slightly dazed.

Lucius snorted. "I guess the Master was right," he said, "the curse wears off after a while." He glared at the boy who was his only son and heir and looked at him as if he was lower than the dirt that he stood on.

"Oh well," he said with a sneer, "there are other ways to make you follow orders."

~~~

It had been two weeks since summer vacation started- not that he knew, time meant nothing where he was. Since then he had been locked into a pitch black tiny dungeon room that he never knew existed. The dungeon was easily ten paces long and four paces wide. He knew; he paced it often enough.

With his wand he had some light and with it he could read all these fascinating books about spells, hexes, curses, and potions books which seemed to be stored in the room for no reason at all. It was odd for the books to be in this room, though it was also odd that he was allowed to keep his wand.

The books helped his boredom, but it didn't help his utter isolation. In fact, Draco thought with a shiver, he was most likely starting to get claustrophobic.

Draco leaned against the cold dungeon that he was in and mentally went over the advantages of no longer being under the Imperious curse 24/7 in a vain attempt to ignore how the dark seemed to be pressing all around him.

Good Things:

He was now in control.

He knew what was going on....not that that was the best thing to be at the moment.

He didn't have to act like a stupid spoiled git in front of everybody

He....um...

Okay then, Bad Things:

He now felt pain

He still talked to himself...when he was under the curse he would talk to himself because - well because he was the only person he could talk to in that condition.

He didn't know how other people would take to who he really was and not the person that his father created through the curse.

What a stupid thing to be doing at the moment thought Draco. I should be trying to find some way to escape. But even as he thought it, he knew that it was impossible. He was sure the dungeon was warded. His father would walk in every now in then - he didn't really know when since all sense of time was lost in this lightless room - and his father would whisper softly to Draco, "If you follow my instructions when you go back to Hogwarts I'll let you out."

And every time Draco heard that he would say no. Anything was better than living the lie that he had been for the past four years of his life. When Lucius heard that he would go livid with rage and beat his son. Draco's head still throbbed from the last one. In fact, his whole body throbbed with the pain, and it was difficult to breath.

Draco pulled a random book off the shelf next to him and started to read. It was better than wondering when his father would come in next, and it brought his mind off his pain and his growing claustrophobia. He shivered violently; the walls constantly seemed to be getting smaller. Pacing - when the pain allowed him to - was starting get obsessive for him. He did it to assure himself that the room still remained ten paces long and four paces wide.

He flipped to a random page in the book and muttered, "Lumos." His wand brightened beautifully and he began to read.

The section was about Apparating. And directly below the description was a helpful guide as to how to Apparate. A sudden hope in him flared. This would be veeery helpful...to escape that is. Hopefully the wards around his room did not contain anti-Apparating charms. And even if it did, what harm could it be? Even if he was splinched and died, it would be better than his hellish existence right now.

____

It was 12:36pm, the Dursleys were all asleep.

Harry was shivering uncontrollably. It was now officially the last month of summer vacation and Harry was literally broken. He was now really unseen and unheard. The smallest noise that he made himself freaked him out and seeing himself in the mirror made him want to run away. He was now doing all the chores mechanically and he had also developed muscles from them - they gave him a fit look but he still looked and was underfed.

Harry had grown really- well -beautiful was the only way to say it. He was thin, but it didn't hide his high, graceful cheekbones, in fact, it accented it. His hair had also grown longer since no one cut it anymore. The hair, instead of growing in unmanageable clumps, now grew in semi - long locks that curled gently at the ends and they brushed the tops of his eyes. The black seemed to accent the green of his eyes. His thin face and slender structure along with a growth spurt - which made reach about 5 ft., 11" - gave him an elfish look.

Elves were considered beautiful by any body that had enough mind to acknowledge beauty. The few people who had caught a glimpse of these elusive, mystical creatures had been utterly bewitched. They had been known to wander around the area where they had seen the elf, hoping to catch a second glimpse. And Harry had developed that otherworldly and completely elfish beauty over summer.

Harry noticed none of this since he couldn't stand looking at himself. Looking at himself meant that he was seen, even if it was just himself, and being seen would mean that he would be beaten. He whimpered at the thought.

Harry breathed deeply and tried to stop the shivering. Out of habit he reached up to push up his glasses. He no longer needed glasses. Hagrid had given him contacts for his birthday saying that it looked like a really practical gift and he thought that Harry would appreciate them. He said that he had found them on the way back from his secret mission which he said had been a success. Harry didn't know it, but without the glasses, his eyes could be seen clearly and they gave him a more adult look.

Thinking about Hagrid made him think about Sirius. Sirius had sent Harry a book about Animagus and how to become one. He had nearly cried when he saw his father's writing on the sides of many of the pages including writing that could only be Sirius's. After reading through the book and notes, he had become determined to become one like his father. Reading the book was the only comfort that Harry had had during the summer.

He didn't have any homework that would get in the way of studying because he had finished all the homework after the first week. Homework had been one of the only links he had to the magical world. Sometimes Harry thought it never existed, that it had been one long, wondrous dream, but then he'd remember Cedric and he would feel that it was all too real. Anyways, the only thing that was keeping him from becoming an Animagus was because he wasn't allowed to use magic.

But thinking about becoming an Animagus made him think about Sirius, and that made his gut clench with guilt. Sirius sent letters on a regular basis asking how Harry was, in fact Ron, Hermione, and Hagrid did as well, but Sirius was the most frequent writer. Not wanting the others to worry, especially Sirius, Harry wrote back with all these cheerfully fake letters. Just writing them made him feel sick...they were nothing like what was really happening.

_____

Lord Voldemort observed from somewhere far off through an ornate mirror laid out at his feet, and laughed happily. Oh, everything was going so well. Harry Potter would now be an eliminated threat.

Voldemort contemplated the threat that Harry had been once more, just to review how wise his decision was. The Arvada Kedavra curse which he had inflicted on Potter hadn't worked because there was simply too much power for the cures to absorb.

Potter had enough power to do wand-less magic, and all the types of mind magic and that was a considerable threat indeed, especially since Voldemort himself could barely do the basics of wand-less magic. It was a good thing, thought Voldemort that the power that he had was still dormant and would now remain dormant forever.

Voldemort laughed gleefully, oh, if only Potter could see how much he had changed due to his treating! He no longer trusted anyone enough to confide in. He was losing confidence in himself, and he just couldn't seem to stand when people looked at him! Oh, he was a shivering wreck! And there was this one other lovely fact: Harry had become dumb. Yes, he couldn't speak anymore! It was a result of Potter's mental fear of being heard, or something like that at least.

Potter's dormant magic could and most likely would stay dormant for the rest of his life, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

However, and now Voldemort frowned, Malfoy's son had the same potential as Potter, but the efforts to get him to obey were failing. It was probably Malfoy's fault for using the Imperious cures on him for so long. But then again, it was necessary for Potter to hate Malfoy's son. It was common for very powerful wizards (a not so common thing) whose powers were dormant to bond with another of similar calibers. If Potter hated the boy, then the mutual bonding would never occur.

Argh! He was surrounded by fools! If the boy didn't say yes in a week, he would have to go and personally get him to submit since it was obvious that he couldn't kill him. As with Potter, Malfoy's son's power was still dormant.