In Pursuit of the Unknown Power

In a perfectly normal neighborhood in Surry, in a perfectly normal house. On a street full of similarly normal houses sat Number Four Privet Drive. In this perfectly normal house, lived the Dursleys. Vernon, Petunia and their son Dudley considered themselves to be the paramount of absolute normalcy.

However they had a dirty little secret that must never get out. Because in the smallest bedroom in their perfectly normal home lived Mrs. Dursley's nephew; Harry Potter. To the average observer, the green-eyed teen might seem perfectly normal. Except for his clothes, which were 10 sizes too big, or his trainers, which had been mended so many times, that they were now more tape than leather.

But Harry Potter was a Wizard. And this simply did not fit into the Dursley's idea of normal. At this moment in time, Harry could really give a damn what the Dursley's thought. Harry Potter was one extremely angry Wizard.

His godfather Sirius, had died barely two weeks before due in part to his actions. For two weeks Harry had been brooding, if there were a magical thermometer, which could read the angst rather than the temperature. The atmosphere in the small bedroom could be described as approaching two hundred degrees Celsius. To make the short of it, Harry was pissed.

He looked to the table where three letters lay neatly folded into origami boulder shapes which to the untrained eye, would appear to be balled up in a fit of rage. The first had been from Ginny. She prattled on about Dean Thomas, she assured him too many times that she was well over her crush on him, and she mentioned at least three times that it was not his fault. He tried to tell them to stay at Hogwarts and they tagged along anyway. Then towards the end of the letter she once again mentioned that Dean had asked her out and hinted rather heavily that she was entertaining an offer from him before the school year began.

The rest of the letter he could handle. This note had come a week ago, and though he did not admit it at the time, it did make him feel better to be told that her getting hurt and nearly killed was not his fault. But her thinly disguised attempt to get him to ask her out was really not something he had been willing to think about at the time. He would have had to be blind not to notice that Ginny Weasley was becoming a rather shapely and attractive young woman. However with Umbitch torturing him, teaching the DA, and being avoided at every turn by his revered Headmaster. He had simply not had time to think about girls.

Then Cho Chang happened, that had to have been his worst idea ever. It was like trying to make out with a bloody hosepipe. All because she was attempting to connect to her dead boyfriend through him. Not to mention that he had been the one to see Cedric die, and still felt guilt about it. No all in all, girls should have, and continued to be the farthest thing from his mind.

Along with Ginny's letter came a letter from Ron. This one was actually refreshing, that is, at first it had been refreshing. Ron went on like nothing at all had happened; a point that he was certain would have made a certain bushy-haired witch rather irate. He talked about the Canons chances for the cup; he said he was lobbying to get Harry to the burrow or headquarters as soon as possible. And then he started talking about Hermione.

That was the turning point in the letter, all downhill from there. Harry really did not want to think about Ron and Hermione being together. Ron had made his mind up to ask her out as soon as she arrived to stay the summer. Harry had already sorted and discarded his feelings about Hermione. He decided the moment that she had been hit with that flame-cutting curse in the Department of Mysteries that he at the very least fancied her. But again, he pushed aside the thoughts of girls for the time being. He had a much more important mission. One the Supreme Mugwump had decided to keep from him for the last five years.

The final letter had arrived earlier that day via Hedwig. Most owls could be relied upon to take mail wherever you needed it to go. Harry had not figured out how she seemed to know when he had mail waiting for him. But somehow she always seemed to show up after a night of hunting with mail, sometimes from multiple senders.

This one was from Hermione, and her hastily written post-script said much the same thing. What an intelligent owl to know when her master was going to be getting mail.

Harry smiled, it was brief but it was there. His one companion over the summer for the last five years was his Snowy Owl. He turned toward her perch where she had just awoke and stared at him as though she sensed he was thinking about her.

"Hey girl." He said as he ran his fingers through her soft feathers, and scratched the back of her neck. He received an affectionate nip to the finger for his troubles.

"You are a very smart girl aren't you girl?" He continued to praise her. Hedwig preened for him, and puffed up her feathers.

"Yes and a very pretty girl as well." He laughed. Hedwig flew to his shoulder and bumped her head against his letting out a questioning squawk.

"I know I am in a bad mood girl, but I can't bloody help it. OW!" She nipped his ear a little too hard, if he didn't know better he would say she had just chastised him for his language. Much like Hermione did.

"Yes dear," he laughed, "Language, I get it. How is it you always know when someone is sending me mail?" He asked, not expecting an answer. To his surprise she bumped his head again before flapping back down to her perch. She then tilted her head to the side and studied him.

"Oh, so you're telepathic now are you? And precognitive?" He chided her. She puffed up again in pride and let out a chirp.

Harry decided he really needed to read up on owls at some point. Certainly there was some sort of magic involved for an owl to find the recipient of a letter. But Hedwig really was above and beyond the average mail owl.

"Well however it is you do it thank you girl, you know you don't have to stay here. If you want you can find Ron or Ginny and stay with them. I'm sure it would be better than sitting around here watching me brood."

Again she chirped and gave him a stare; he almost felt her saying she would rather stay with him. He shook his head softly, "I must be going stir crazy, it's not abnormal to talk to your familiar, but something tells me them talking back is not a good thing, even in the wizarding world.

He reached up to massage his now throbbing earlobe, which brought his thoughts back around to Hermione. Her letter was the last of the three on the table.

Dear Harry,

None of it is your fault. Professor Dumbledore should have taught you Occlumency himself. On our trip to the French Riviera we stumbled across a magical area known as Vertic Alley. They had a bookstore with the most wonderful selection; apparently many of the books, which are banned in England, are still sold in other European countries. Inside I found a book on teaching yourself Occlumency. After a quick read through I tried to recall all that you explained about your lesson with Professor Snape and realized that intentionally or not he might have actually left your mind more open to attack than before!

According to the book, which I am including for you. Occlumency must be approached gradually and you would not even think of having a Legilimens attack until you had at least established a set of mental shield using the meditation and mental exercises in the first five chapters! And even then it is supposedly a very… intimate experience shared by the teacher and the apprentice requiring the utmost trust on both parts. I honestly do not know what the Headmaster was thinking having Professor Snape teach you. Honestly!

Yes Harry, I tried to tell you it might be a trap. But you took my advice and you exhausted all of your available sources of information. If you had been right and we had not gone, then Sirius would still be suffering or would have been killed by You-..Voldemort. Leaders make decisions Harry, and that is why we followed you. You are a natural leader, and a Great Wizard Harry. Remember what I said first year, I still believe it.

It is my sincere hope that Professor Dumbledore was simply too trusting of Professor Snape. However I think we should be on our guard when it comes to dealing with him. After some examination I have come to a few disturbing results that might not mean anything taken separately. However together I fear what he might be up to.

I also included another book I picked up from the fiction section about Wandless Magic. It looked interesting enough, and is written like a textbook not a fiction novel. However the forward does mention the rarity of such a gift, as well as the power and focus required. I was unable to get any results but I have the exercises memorized. So I pass it on to you hoping you will have some better luck.

My recovery has gone well, I still have to take that potion three times a day, but I should be done with the series by the time school begins. I do have a scar that runs from my right collarbone to my left hip, but it is very faint now and the healer hopes it will go away permanently. It has been a bit embarrassing going to the beach, but it has also helped me with my self confidence, as well as helping me deal with some of the emotional trauma from having such a scar. I never realized how a little bit of discolored tissue could change the way you view yourself. I get nauseated when I think of all the times people automatically look to your forehead when they learn your identity.

I told my parents that we were visiting the Ministry when an attack occurred. I know it was not a very brave thing for a Gryffindor to do, but I am worried that if they knew the extent of what happened, and what is going on in the Wizarding World, they might pull me out of Hogwarts.

And that is one of my biggest fears. Harry you are truly the best friend I have ever had and I plan to be with you next time you have to face that snake-faced monstrosity. We should be returning to England within the week and hopefully they will allow me to come to headquarters soon after that. I hope you will already be there by the time I arrive, but if not I will lobby to get you out of that accursed house and into a place with people who love you.

I am one of those Harry, please take the time to read the books I sent and we can work on those skills together when we meet up later this summer. Well now I just need to find a way to send this to you

Love,

Hermione

p.s. Oh! Hedwig has just arrived looking for all the world like she knew I was sending you a package. She really is a beautiful and special bird isn't she?

More Love,

From me

Out of the three, Hermione's had made him the most upset. The difference was that he was upset with Ron and Ginny for being insensitive. Though he had done his bit of it in the past. This letter had helped him point the blame where it all really lay. Dumbledore and Voldemort.

Harry had read through the first few chapters of "Occlumency for the Occluded" which was disturbingly written like one of those "For Dummies" books he has seen at the Muggle book store. However Hermione had written a note inside the cover addressing that very issue, and assured him it was highly recommended and not a reflection of how she saw him.

After the first 5 pages he had learned more about Occlumency that he learned from Snape all school year. After being mind raped repeatedly it was no wonder he was so suggestible when Voldemort sent that false vision. He had also flipped through the other book, "No Silly Wand Waving". Though the title had put him off right away thinking of Snape. A quick flip through piqued his interest. Some of the exercises seemed to line up with the ones in the Occlumency book, and the general idea was that belief in yourself was the greatest barrier to Wandless magic.

Maybe Wandless Magic was the Power He Knows Not? That thought brought him back to his bad mood. The Chief Warlock had withheld vital information from him for at least five years. If Harry had known the prophecy, and known that it was what the Order was protecting. He would have told the Old Man to let Snakelips have it. As far as Harry was concerned those few words changed nothing. And they were not worth Mr. Weasley being attacked by a bloody great snake. Nor were they worth dyi.. A sudden pain washed through him.

Sirius's death was still too fresh; on the one hand Harry had barely known him. It made him feel worse that part of his grief was that he regretted not getting to live with Sirius. He was being selfish, but then he supposed that most grief was selfish. You were not really sad that a person was no longer with you, you were sorry you no longer had that person. Still, every time he thought about Sirius, the scene would replay in his head of his surprised face as he fell through the veil.

That was another thing the esteemed Headmaster has to answer for. He kept Sirius locked up at headquarters. It was only better than Azkaban because there were no Dementors, but there was Snape. "I wonder which he would have preferred."

All in all, Harry had reached some startling conclusions of his own. It boiled down to a few statements. Either Dumbledore is a manipulative bastard with an agenda. Or Dumbledore is a bumbling, senile, inept old man who should not be in charge of the war effort. It was possible he was somewhere in between. But Harry could no longer see him as the paragon of the light and the leader of the forces of good.

Looking back at the table he felt especially bad for crumpling Hermione's letter. He was not mad at her at all, despite what she had said, he still felt guilty; especially for her injury. Even though he was the one that was possessed by Voldemort that night, he felt that she had come the closest to death. Aside from..

He walked back to the desk, if you could call it that. It was a card table that was missing a leg, being propped up by a baseball bat that was split down the middle. Harry doubted the bat had been used to play a game, unless that game was "Harry Hunting".

Carefully he smoothed the letter but it was barely legible due to all the wrinkles in the parchment. Thinking back to the Wandless Magic book, he decided to try something completely radical and not tried in large quantities ever before. He closed his eyes and concentrated, he believed that he could make the parchment smooth again. He imagined all the wrinkles straightening themselves as he ran his other hand over the surface. He took a deep breath, and then opened his eyes.

And in his hand was the same wrinkled piece of parchment. Though Harry could swear he was better able to read what was written on it.

"Oh well girl, it wasn't like I was going to learn Wandless in one day after all." He smiled at his joke. While Hedwig looked at him as though he were going slightly mad. Then she blinked and chirped at him. He could swear she was laughing at him. "Maybe I am going a bit nutters eh girl?" He said with a grin.

Just then a flash of fire appeared in the middle of the room, startling Hedwig, before a beautiful swan sized bird landed on the desk near Harry. Hedwig eyed the new arrival with some disdain and gave what Harry could only describe as the owl version of a "sniff" before turning her back to him.

"Hello Fawkes, don't mind her. I think she's miffed that you're delivering this letter to me instead of her. There was a squawk from the corner and she ruffled her feathers but did not turn around.

Fawkes studied him for a moment before turning toward Hedwig. He let out a single note of Phoenix song and waited.

Hedwig turned around and locked eyes with the larger bird for a moment. The mood in the air seemed to say both were discussing who could help him more. Apparently they came to a truce because Hedwig flew over to the Desk to see what was in the letter. Settling down next to Fawkes, who moved slightly to accommodate her.

Harry accepted the letter from Fawkes and froze for a moment. "Um, thank you Fawkes. I know such a beautiful bird as yourself does not need to stoop to mere mail delivery, I hate to ask Hedwig as she is just as phenomenal." He said quickly before Hedwig could bite his fingers. She studied him for a moment before chirping in agreement. "Would you like um.. an owl treat or..some water? I'm sure Hedwig would not mind sharing." He finished feeling rather foolish for not knowing what a Phoenix ate or drank, or even IF they ate or drank.

Fawkes seemed to ponder for a moment before locking eyes with Hedwig, who seemed to shrug. And he flew to her perch in the corner and dipped his head to the water bowl.

Turning from the way-too-intelligent avians he opened the letter without glancing at the outside. There was only one person Fawkes would deliver mail for.

Harry,

I believe that three weeks is the bare minimum needed to recharge the wards around your home. If you would consent, then I, or a member of the Order shall come to get you in 6 days time.

If this suits you please send word back via Fawkes and have your belongings ready at 9:00am next Sunday the 21st.

Respectfully,

Albus Dumbledore

On the one hand he was ready to get out of his own personal hell house. On the other hand he was not sure he was ready just yet to see the old man; grabbing a spare bit of parchment and a self-inking quill he penned a quick reply.

Headmaster,

I am agreeable, please send an order member and I will be ready at the appointed time.

Harry Potter

He looked over to Fawkes who nodded and flew to his side. "Here you go boy, would you be willing to take this back to the Professor for me?" The phoenix looked a bit surprised to be asked rather than ordered, and he chirped a short note that seemed to say "Of course, thank you for asking." Either that or Harry really was going nutters.

Since he was bonkers anyway he decided to try out his new Bird Whisperer skills. "Before you go boy, can you tell me something?" Again the bird seemed surprised, though because he was asked for advice or because the crazy boy was talking to him Harry didn't want to think about. He nodded.

Taking that as a cue to continue he asked, "Dumbledore has done many things to make my life hell. Is he a crazy old man making too many mistakes or is he some sort of master of deception, pulling all the strings while making you think he is barmy but loveable?"

Fawkes studied him for a moment, then a single tear formed and fell to the desk. He chirped out a short sad song before lifting off and disappearing in a ball of flame.

Harry took a moment to let his Bird Whisperer instincts kick in. If he had to guess, Fawkes had something along the lines of: "He was once a great man."

He repeated it out loud then looked to Hedwig for confirmation. She chirped at him sadly before putting her head under her wing for a nap. He was not sure if that actually answered his question or not.

Sudden inspiration struck him as he inhaled. He hadn't bathed in 2 weeks! "Hedwig you could have said something." He admonished the sleeping bird before he stopped himself.

"Bird Whispering Nutter, that's me." He said before heading to the bathroom for a much needed shower.