Growing up too fast

During the train ride back from Hogwarts, Harry had almost pushed the terrible events and painful memories of the end of the Triwizard Tournament out of his mind. Setting in the car playing Exploding Snaps with Ron, Fred, and George made things just seem like any normal start of summer trip. Then, seeing how Mr. & Mrs. Weasley greeted their children and the extremely long hug Mrs. Weasley gave to Harry had brought him back to reality. Even Hermione had done something very unusual and kissed him on the cheek before leaving. Things were never going to be the same again. Voldemort was back and Cedric was dead. Harry had barely been able escape with Cedric's body and return to Voldemort. If it wasn't for the ghostly images of Cedric and his parents who were the last people Voldemort killed coming out of his wand and helping him, Harry wouldn't have been able to reach the portkey and return to Hogwarts. Most of the students had stayed away from Harry after this and seemed to think that he was responsible for Cedric's death. Harry really didn't care much what most of the students thought, but when he saw how devastated Cho Chang was; it really bothered him a lot.

The Dursleys hadn't said one word to Harry on the ride back to 4 Privet Drive and this was just fine with him. He was worried about exploding and doing something terrible to them that could get him expelled from Hogwarts.

Harry spent most of the next week alone in his room, only coming out to get something to eat or to do the chores Aunt Petunia was making him do. They treated him like he had some disease and was only good for doing chores their 'little Dudley' wouldn't do, which was about any type of work. Being alone in his room with Hedwig was perfect with Harry; he really didn't want to talk to anyone. Hedwig didn't judge him or blame him for anything that had happened. She was always very happy just setting on Harry's knee and being stroked.

It seems that all of Harry's friends were worried about him since at least one owl a day had dropped off letters asking him how he was. Harry really didn't feel like getting into any discussions so he simply replied with "I'm fine, don't worry" to each letter. In reality though, Harry was getting angrier with himself each day. How could he have just run away after what Voldemort had done? Why didn't he do everything he could to stop him right then? How many more of his friends would be hurt now that Voldemort had his body back and was still trying to kill him? The Weasley's were the nicest people Harry had ever met and had welcomed him into their family without question, and now they were at the top of the list of people Voldemort would try to hurt to get at Harry.

Harry had considered packing his trunk and flying off somewhere that no one knew about but realized that it was too late for this. Voldemort wouldn't leave his friends alone now; he would just assume they knew where Harry was and still come after them. There was no way to undo placing them in harm just for being friends with Harry. Each night this week Harry had cried himself to sleep, blaming himself for bringing so much worry and pain to his friends.

The only other emotion besides worry and guilt that Harry was feeling was anger. Harry could not remember being full of so much anger and hate before. Draco Malfoy's comments on the train back kept going through his head. "Trying to pretend it isn't happening aren't you? Muggles and Mudbloods will be first... Well second... Since Diggory was first..." That was all he got out before the compartment was full of hexes and curses being directed at him. Draco loved that this was happening now. How could anyone be that evil? Cedric had died only a month earlier.

One evening, Harry was in his room feeling the anger and rage build in him when he wanted his 'Quidditch through the Ages' book but realized it was in his closet. This just annoyed him for some reason. Suddenly Harry felt the tips of his fingers get very warm and the next thing he knew, the closet burst open and the book flew straight at him.

Harry managed to duck to keep from being hit by the book that crashed into his desk instead. Harry looked down at his fingers and they looked and felt fine now. He couldn't understand how this happened; his wand was under the floorboard. He picked up his book and it looked normal. After a few minutes of confusion he went ahead and skimmed though the book trying to take his mind off of things.

Quidditch, Harry thought. If Voldemort hadn't come back he would have wanted to be a professional Quidditch player. Harry was a natural at Quidditch and once he found out his father was also a very good Chaser on the Hogwarts team; he just assumed it was a talent he got from his father. The only time Harry felt like a normal school boy was when he was flying around looking for the snitch. It made him feel so free and focused on a task. However, since Voldemort killed his parents and his godfather was framed for murders he didn't commit, Harry was stuck living with the Dursleys and couldn't use his broom at all during the summers.

These thoughts caused the anger he was keeping inside to come up again. Almost instantly the tips of Harry's fingers begin to get warm, but quickly returned to feeling normal again when he lost focus on his anger. Harry wondered if he should write to Dumbledore or Sirius about this. Then he thought, "No, I don't need to worry anyone else about something peculiar about me. They have their own issues to deal with right now and I'm going to start handling things myself."

Looking over at the clock, it was 2:00am and Harry decided it was time to try and sleep. He didn't really like sleeping because more nights than not he would be awakened by a nightmare. Sometimes the nightmares made his scar burn and he was now sure this was because Voldemort was doing something evil or feeling even more hatred toward Harry. Most times though, the nightmares were of his friends being tortured and then asking him how he could let this happen to them. Harry knew they didn't feel this way, but it didn't help seeing that in his mind.

Harry had been asleep for a while when he was awakened by a feeling of being watched and immediately saw a pair of big eyes and pointy ears starting at him. "AAARH... Get off me."

"Dobby is sorry sir. Dobby never meant to hurt Harry Potter sir."

Dobby started to grab one of Harry's schoolbooks to beat him on the head but Harry stopped him in time and said. "It's ok Dobby, you just scared me. Just poke me, remember?"

"Dobby will remember next time sir, Dobby is very sorry. How is Harry Potter sir? Dobby has been concerned." Dobby's expression changed from worry that Harry was mad about being scared to genuine concern for Harry.

"I'm fine Dobby, don't worry about me," Harry said trying to sound as convincing as he could. "How are things at Hogwarts?"

"Ah sir, Professor Dumbledore is adding extra security around the castle. Many witches and wizards are coming to see him sir. Some creatures we don't trust. Dobby is not liking this at all. Dobby remembers how it was the last time You-Know-Who was around." Dobby got an almost angry look on his face. He used to be the house-elf for Lucius Malfoy who is one of the main Death Eaters and also Draco's father. Harry had tricked Lucius into freeing Dobby during his second year at Hogwarts.

"But Dobby, you're working at Hogwarts now; you don't have to be around the Malfoys anymore. Professor Dumbledore won't let anything happen to you at Hogwarts."

"Ah sir, Dobby is not worried for himself, Professor Dumbledore is a great wizard and we house-elves are liking very much working for him. I is remembering how it was in the bad wizard family during those times. House elves were treated very bad sir and then when you defeated You-Know-Who, we were treated much better. I is worried that things will be even worse this time for my friends."

Harry could see the pain and worry in Dobby's eyes. It was the same thing Harry was feeling for his friends. "I know how you feel Dobby. I am worried about my friends too" said Harry with understanding. "You know I'm going to do everything I can to make sure Voldemort doesn't harm anyone, don't you?"

"Ah, Harry Potter is too noble, too brave. Harry Potter should be more concerned with his own safety than with others. Without Harry Potter, nothing would stop You-Know-Who from being worse than before. What is Harry Potter doing to be ready?" Dobby was now being very serious; Harry had never seen Dobby like this before.

"What do you mean Dobby? What should I be doing?" asked Harry.

"Ah sir, Harry Potter must learn. There is much to learn before he is in danger again." Dobby was staring directly into Harry's eyes as he said this. "Harry Potter must learn all he can. Harry Potter must not wait for learning to come to him."

Harry was stunned by the Dobby's seriousness. "Dobby, I don't understand what you mean. What can I do before getting back to Hogwarts?"

"Harry Potter has done nothing but worry and grieve since leaving school!" Dobby said very sternly. "Sir must be prepared. You-Know-Who knows what Harry Potter will learn in school and will be ready. Harry Potter must learn what is not taught in school. Harry Potter must know things You-Know-Who does not know he knows." Dobby pulled himself up and looked straight into Harry's face. "Dobby will help Harry Potter learn. Harry Potter must start learning." And with a 'pop' Dobby was gone.

This left Harry feeling very confused. Harry noticed a note on his desk that wasn't there before. It looked very old and quite ragged. The note simply said. 'Magic itself is not dark. The soul of the Wizard controls the Evil of the Magic. You must focus.' There was a small drawing that looked like a witch being burned. Her eyes didn't show any fear or pain even though she was almost entirely engulfed in flames. Her fingers were glowing and it looked like the other people were being blown away from her.

Harry didn't understand any of this, so he put the note into the floorboard and tried to sleep some more. He didn't dream at all the rest of the night.

The next morning Harry felt surprisingly better. He decided that Dobby's comments about not setting around and worrying were smart. After a breakfast of bread and some jam, Aunt Petunia told Harry he was to completely weed the back garden before he would be allowed to have any lunch. As long as it kept Harry away from Dudley it wouldn't be too bad.

Harry was weeding the largest area of the garden with the large rake and as soon as Aunt Petunia noticed this she came out yelling. "You can't use that rake on my garden, you'll destroy my plants. Use the small hand rake boy. Don't you have any consideration for how hard I've worked to get this garden in order?"

Harry thought about replying with "Your idea of hard work is yelling at me to do things for you," but surprisingly kept this to himself. He didn't want anything unexpected to happen and get into any more trouble with the Ministry of Magic. The Minister of Magic had been very nice to Harry, but he was sure that was over after the way Harry spoke to him at school. The Minister didn't believe Harry that Voldemort had come back and Harry lashed out at him while in the Hospital wing. Harry was quite sure his special treatment from the Ministry was over.

Still Harry was fuming inside about the way Aunt Petunia treated him and then adding on the memories of the Minister basically calling Harry a liar. Harry felt his fingers burning and the next thing he knew, the hand rake was zooming toward him. Luckily Harry caught the rake and Aunt Petunia was walking into the house with her back turned so she didn't notice what had happened.

Harry went back to weeding, but was thinking about what had just happened. He remembered the book coming out of the closet, his fingers getting warm the next day and now this happening. Did this have something to do with the strange note he found on his desk? Was this some Dark Magic that he was doing? Did he have to be very angry to cause this to happen? All he knew was that he felt confused.

The rest of the weeding out of the way Harry grabbed a bread and cheese sandwich before going back up to his room. When he got to his room, he noticed there was a note on his desk. He quickly picked it up and saw it was the same as the note from last night. He opened the floorboard and the note was not there anymore. "How did the note get back on my desk? " mumbled Harry to himself. Looking closer at the note, the words "You must focus" seemed to be clearer than the rest of the not. He just assumed he hadn't noticed this last night and put the not back under the floorboard.

About this time two owls came through the open window. Harry could tell that one of them was Ron's owl Pig. It didn't look like Pig would ever get any bigger or stop being so excitable. Harry quickly untied the note from Pig and read the note.

Harry.

How are things going with the Muggles? I know you're going to say everything's fine, and I'm sure you can handle anything they put you through, but if you need anything, just let me know. I'm sure I can convince Fred and George to come and break you out again.

Truthfully Harry everyone is very worried about you. I tell them you're quite capable of dealing with this, but well, you know how they are. Mom thinks of you as part of the family now so you should get used to this kind of concern.

I've been practicing my Quidditch so far this summer. I hope to make the house team now that we have an opening.

I bug mom about asking Dumbledore when you can come for the rest of the summer. She's a bit ticked off at me for asking so much, but I won't stop.

Ron

Harry quickly took out a quill and some parchment to write a quick reply.

Ron

The Muggles are basically giving me extra chores and then ignoring me, which is about the most I can hope for. I shouldn't need rescuing this year.

Tell you mom I appreciate her thoughts but I'd rather her just worry about all of you. If your family hadn't been so nice to me you may not be in so much danger. I'll be careful and watch myself but just make sure nothing happens to any of you.

Harry

Harry quickly tied the note to Pig's leg and she flew away. The other owl hooted in an annoyed kind of way. It was a very well trained owl, it didn't make a sound while He was replying to Ron, but he could tell it didn't want to hang around here. He untied the note and the owl quickly flew back out the window.

This note was from Hermione.

Harry

I'm spending the summer here at home with my family. They didn't think it would be a good idea for me to go see Viktor with everything that is happening.

I wasn't really looking forward to seeing him very much. It would have been very interesting to see where he lives and to be able to pick up some books from that area of the world.

How have you been feeling? Any more nightmares? Remember, if you do have any you should write to Professor Dumbledore and Sirius right away. They would want to know.

This sounds just like Hermione, Harry thought. Immediately tell your godfather and the headmaster of Hogwarts just because you have a dream.

Have you written to Ginny since you've been back? You really should you know.

Harry knew that Hermione would have known if he had written since Ginny and Hermione had gotten to be very good friends in the past couple years. He knew Ginny had a crush on him and he didn't want to do anything to put her in any more danger than she was. It was better for him to miss his friends than for him to cause any more harm to them.

Well take care and write soon. Write something more than "I'm fine, don't worry" this time though.

Love

Hermione

Harry smiled as he thought about Hermione and Ron. They've been through so much in the past 4 years. He couldn't imagine having better friends than them. He wondered how much things would change if Ron and Hermione finally admitted their feelings for each other. Right now, He thought that would be a good thing for them. If they weren't around so much, maybe they wouldn't be so much of a target.

Harry decided to take a quick shower since he had been working in the garden all morning. Upon returning to his room, he noticed the note back on his desk. He set down on his bed and tried to study the drawing on the note closer. He was sure the words "You must focus" and the witch's glowing fingers were much clearer now. He was beginning to think this was related to the strange way his fingers had been feeling when he had gotten very angry. The first time this happened he had been angry already and then became further irritated by not having the book he wanted when suddenly the book came flying out of the closet.

He decided to try out his theory by attempting to summon one of his books from off the floor. He looked at the book and kept thinking the book flying to him, but nothing happened. He then decided to try and become angry about something again. Thinking back to Draco Malfoy's comments on the Hogwarts train actually made getting angry very easy. However simply being angry didn't seem to do the trick. If he was holding a wand, he could have used the summoning spell and called the book to him. Harry wondered if that is what was missing. Maybe that is what was missing. Maybe when he was very angry he actually thought about the spell it would take to get his book. Focusing hard on feeling like he really needed to get his book, Harry started thinking Accio Book, Accio Book. Suddenly the tips of his fingers felt very warm and then his book flew off of the floor and into his hands.

Within a few hours Harry was able to quickly perform the Accio spell without using his wand on all sorts of items in his room. He only had to focus clearly on the item and then think the Accio spell in his head. The only other thing he had picked up so quickly was flying on a broom.

It was about 2:00am when Harry finally decided to go to sleep. He felt very pleased with himself for figuring this out on his own. His pleasure didn't last too long. As soon as he fell asleep the image of Voldemort surrounded by the Death Eaters came to him. This was the image Harry saw after Voldemort had gotten his body back and summoned the Death Eaters back to him. Harry vividly remembered the look on Lucius Malfoy's face, like he had just been given the best present of his life. The strange thing about this dream is that no one was tortured and Harry didn't wake up afraid, he woke up angry. Harry decided right then and there that he was never going to run away again. The next time he met Voldemort, he promised himself that he would not run away.

Everything seemed so clear to Harry in the morning. He was going to learn as much as he could and stop living in fear of Voldemort and the Death Eaters. As Hagrid has said, "What will come will come. We just need to be ready."

Harry had planned on spending the day practicing his new talent but just then Aunt Petunia was beating on his door. "Wake up and get down here boy there is work you need to do."

Harry dressed and went downstairs to see Aunt Petunia talking to Mrs. Figg who used to watch Harry when he was younger and lived on the next block. "Mrs. Figg needs some help with her yard work and Dudley is too busy to help. You're to spend your days helping her until she doesn't need anything else done. This doesn't mean you get out of your chores here mind you." Mrs. Figg was nice enough, but Harry didn't enjoy spending time at her house due to the number of cats she kept there. But if he was going to be working in the yard, this shouldn't be a problem. He would still be able to practice when he got back home.

"I've got quite a bit of yard work to do Harry. I thought Dudley would be better suited to help since there are some large stones that need moved but Petunia here assured me you would be able to move them. We'll let's get going, there's a lot to get done," said Mrs. Figg in a pleasant voice.

It swelled up inside of him again. If it weren't for Voldemort, he would be living with his parents and probably practicing Quidditch with his father today instead. If he had let Remus Lupin and Sirius kill Wormtail during his 3^rd year, Sirius' name would be cleared and he would be living with him right now. He tried to push this out of his mind; there was nothing he could do about it now.

It was a nice day, so the walk over to Mrs. Figg's house was quite nice. She didn't complain about Harry or tell him how worthless he was so that was an improvement over the Dursley's already.

In the back of Mrs. Figg's house the gardens were in quite bad shape and there were about 6 very large stones that she wanted move to the other side of her yard. Harry didn't see how he could possibly move them by himself. At least there was some normal weed pulling and trimming to do first before he had to worry about the stones.

After a few hours of work, Mrs. Figg came out with something for him to drink and asked if he would like to sit a few minutes. "Where are all your cats, Mrs. Figg?" Harry asked.

"Oh I gave them to my niece; they became quite a bother for me actually," replied Mrs. Figg. "How has your school been going Harry? Are they treating you ok there?"

Harry was startled at this question but then just assumed that Aunt Petunia had told her he was going to St. Brutus School for the Criminally Inclined. "School is actually very nice mam," Harry replied.

"I used to know some of the Professors there, I wonder if any of them are still around," Mrs. Figg was saying.

Harry was getting more worried that he would slip and say something so he quickly said "Mrs. Figg, is it ok if we stop for today? I'd like to do some of my summer homework this afternoon".

"Of course Harry, I don't want to keep you all day. Would you be able to come back over tomorrow and continue with the yard work?"

"That would be fine; it's actually nice being able to get out of the house for a change. I'll see you tomorrow Mrs. Figg. Bye."

Harry slowly walked back to Privet Drive. He wasn't anxious to get back there, but he hadn't planned on Mrs. Figg asking about his school. The time had gone by quickly and he was looking forward to going back the next day. If something came up about his school, he would try to change the subject.

"Well boy, were you able to move those stones for Mrs. Figg?" Aunt Petunia said with a smirk as he walked in the back door.

"No, I didn't get to those today, but I really don't think they will be any problem," Harry said confidently even though he had no idea how he was going to move them.

The strange note was back on Harry's desk but he noticed all the words were back to barely visible when just last night "You must focus" was much clearer than the rest. He wasn't complaining, if it weren't for this note he wouldn't have discovered this new talent. One thing was strange though. The drawing of the witch showed things flying away from her, so this must not be limited to the summoning charm. Harry thought of what Hermione would say "Well of course it's not limited to the summoning charm Harry you had to think of that spell for anything to happen."

Harry decided to try out another spell. He focused a book currently on the floor, and then pictured it being on his desk and then thought Placio, Placio. Quite quickly the book rose up and landed on his desk. After a few more hours of practice he was able to move any item he tried around his room. He could lie in bed and summon any book off of his desk and the return it without getting up at all.

These first weeks of summer vacation had actually been quite enjoyable. One thing was causing Harry some guilt. He had been getting nearly daily owls from his friends but hadn't been responding regularly. Some of this had been intentional; it annoyed him that everyone didn't think he could take care of himself and thought he needed to be checked on daily. He also thought that if he kept to himself more that Voldemort wouldn't see the others as so much of a target.

Taking out a quill, Harry wrote:

Hermione

Sorry I didn't write back sooner, I've been doing a lot of reading and thinking. Actually, you'd be proud of me. I've been thinking quite a bit about schoolwork and what we'll be doing next year.

Have you heard anything about Hagrid? I guess he's still off doing that thing for Dumbledore. I sure hope it goes ok.

Please be careful

Harry

Ron

Sorry I didn't write back sooner, sometimes with the Dursleys, I just want to set in my room and talk to Hedwig

I'm doing some yard work for Mrs. Figg who used to watch me when I was younger. It gets me away from the Dursleys for most of the day.

Has your dad heard anything about Voldemort or the Death Eaters? Just thinking about how they acted after the 3^rd task makes me really mad. And then Malfoy's comments on the train make me want to hex him. I'm not going to put up with him as much this year.

Tell everyone hello and be careful

Harry

Ginny

How has your summer been so far? I hope you're enjoying it.

Are you excited about your 4^th year? I just want to get back to Hogwarts. It feels more like home than here at the Dursleys.

Miss you

Harry

Harry tied each letter onto Hedwig's leg, stroked her and asked her to deliver them. Hedwig hadn't had much work lately so she was happy to have something to do.

Work at Mrs. Figg's house had been going well. He still hadn't gotten to the stones but the rest of the garden was coming along well. Most days he was left alone outside until Mrs. Figg came out with something to drink. Today however when Harry arrived at Mrs. Figg's today she was coming out of the house.