Awakened Power

Harry Potter

Walking through almost total darkness, Harry stumbled a bit, almost falling roughly to the ground, yet he kept on moving, knowing Ginny needed his help; he just hoped he wasn't too late.

Passing through, he reached a large hall, like a long corridor with snake statues with open mouths on each side; leading him to a large opening, his eyes saw a statue of a face in the wall. It was the face of Salazar Slytherin; the boy felt his legs aching, and his eyes noticed the figure lying unmoving on the ground.

"Ginny," Harry shouted abruptly, forgetting about his legs, he ran as fast as he could, he soon reached the end, Ginny was lying unmoving on the floor, her face as pale as a ghost, he almost didn't recognize her, but he recognized the red hair.

"Ginny, wake up," he said desperately, shaking her slightly, yet she didn't even move a muscle.

"Is too late,"

Harry whirled around, and in front of him stood a person leaning against a pillar. He looked up at who he thought must be Tom Riddle, he looked young for someone who should be older than fifty years, but his figure looked transparent but slowly looking more solid.

"What do you mean is too late? S-she's not," "She's not Dead, not yet at least," Tom interrupted with a creepy smirk slowly showing on his face, Harry felt a shiver of fear from him, yet he didn't back away.

"Help me carry her; the basilisk might come at any moment," Harry urged, trying to carry her himself; remembering his wand, he quickly checked his pocket, only it wasn't there.

Looking back at Tom, he had his wand around his fingers, twirling it around like a toy.

"Why did you get my wand?" Harry questioned, afraid of the answer, his eyes looking at the wand then back at Tom's smile growing, ear to ear.

"How are you here? You must be fifty years old?" Harry questioned, his voice sounding accusing, as he stood between him and Ginny's unmoving body.

"I'm a memory, Harry, from the diary," he said, pointing the finger at the diary near the giant's toes, the diary wide open; the boy briefly glanced at the black diary he found in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom before he turned his attention back at Tom.

A voice in his head told him that Tom wasn't who he had thought he was; a feeling of dread grew on his little body, and sharp pain on his forehead almost made him scream, holding his tongue.

"Where's Basilisk?"

"He won't be coming until someone calls him," Tom simply answered as if it was the most normal thing. Harry felt a sudden shiver in his body, gulping.

"Who commands him?" He questioned; the silence and his creepy smile were enough for an answer.

"It was you; you called the Basilisk; you harmed Hermione," Harry shouted in the end, his fear turning to anger and rage, his friend's face fresh in his mind, pale and dead looking.

"Who are you?"

At this question, Tom left a chuckle before pointing at the wall near him. "I'm known by many names Potter, but you might best know me as-" he stopped, pointing Harry's wand to the wall, whispering something, his name 'Tom Marvolo Riddle' appeared slowly on the wall, the words slowly turned around, exchanging places with one another-

I AM Lord Voldemort

Harry felt his throat go dry; it all made sense now; he was the man who killed his parents, and it was because of him that he never knew them. But why was Ginny in the middle of all this? What was her role in all this?

"Why is Ginny here? Why do you need her," Harry asked, feeling powerless without his wand; he couldn't protect himself without it, let alone someone else.

Tom explained how the sweet Ginny had started writing in the diary, pouring her heart into it, slowly telling him everything about her, the more she said, the more control he had, to the point when she would write 'Dear Tom,' he told Harry that she eventually got suspicious. The only way she thought of getting rid of it was to throw it away instead of giving it to someone like Dumbledore, who would perhaps actually do something.

"But the best part was you, Harry,"

"Me?"

"She told me about you, about your fascinating story, the Boy Who Lived, how much she adored you; it was pretty boring, but I wanted to see if you were anything extraordinary; perhaps I had underestimated you that night, perhaps there was something special that I couldn't see, but the more she wrote, the more I understood you are Nothing, you are nothing special," Voldemort spoke with clenching teeth at the end.

"You! A mere boy with nothing special was able to defeat me. The greatest wizard who ever lived," He exclaimed, stepping forward towards the boy; his eyes roved over the lightning scar on Harry's forehead.

"You're not the best Wizard who ever lived," Harry suddenly found the courage to stand up to him. "Sorry to disappoint you, but Albus Dumbledore is the best. Everyone told me even when you were at the peak of your power; you still couldn't do anything against him. He was the one person you feared," Harry said with a triumphant smile at the end; Voldemort's smile disappeared, turning into an ugly smirk.

"Dumbledore is far away from the School; you're alone here. No one will come to help you," He spoke, his smirk returning on his face. The job was almost done, he would be reborn, and Harry would die as he should have a long time ago.

"You're wrong; he is here," Harry countered, hoping to buy time, but time for what.

Tom was about to speak when they heard singing. He froze, whirling around to look at the empty chamber.

The singing got louder with each passing second; Harry felt a Fire growing inside his chest, feeling warmth suddenly until the nearest pillar burst into flames. A majestic bird appeared, carrying a ragged thing, flying straight to Harry, dropping the thing on the floor; he stood on the boy's shoulder, staring at Tom.

Harry felt even warmer; he felt as if he could run a marathon and not get tired, his eyes glancing at the wand if only he could get his hands on it.

"Is this what Professor Dumbledore send you? A bird and the Sorting Hat?" Tom sneered, pointing at the ground. Indeed was the sorting hat.

Tom started laughing, his laugh reaching the chamber's ceiling; it felt like the whole chamber was laughing with him. Harry didn't know what to do; he couldn't understand what exactly he could do with a Phoenix and the Sorting Hat.

"Tell me, Harry Potter, how do you feel knowing that not even Dumbledore cares about you?" He asked with a sneer; he was met with silence; the boy didn't know how to answer; Tom's face turned back to normal.

"Now, I want to know how someone like you survived that night, someone with no special power, with nothing, defeated the greatest Wizard,"

Harry stood silent, not knowing what to say. "Tell me now,"

"My mother protected me," Harry spoke with a low voice; his eyes looked down before looking up at Voldemort with a burning fire in his eyes. "She protected me from you, she loved me, her power defended me from you, someone who was muggle-born," Harry said, raising to his feet, his anger and fury getting the better of him.

He glared at Tom, who suddenly backed away, feeling cold, sharp pain in his chest; just as Harry wanted to focus all his anger on him, the sudden sharp pain on his forehead caused him to fall down; his entire body felt it was ripping apart, his head almost exploding, heart beating on his throat like a hammer.

Why is this happening? He thought in agony; something similar had happened when he faced Voldemort last year and once in the Dursley house two years ago when his aunt had been drunk and started rambling about his mother, calling her names, that had made Harry want to hurt her, yet, the sudden pain on his forehead had caused him to almost scream in pain. Still, Harry closed his mouth; he didn't want to show weakness and fear in front of the man who killed his parents.

"I don't know what is happening to you, but that doesn't matter; soon, you will understand the true power of Lord Voldemort," Tom spoke before he turned to face the empty chamber.

He started hissing; Harry understood he was calling the basilisk. His forehead was less painful now, as he barely stood on his feet again, breathing heavily.

Tom was hissing, but he could understand every word. "Wake up, my pet. The Heir of Slytherin commands you to serve me,"

Harry whirled around to look at the statue, Fawkes swaying on his shoulder.

Slytherin's gigantic stone face was moving. Horrorstruck, Harry saw his mouth opening, wider and wider, to make a huge black hole.

And something was stirring inside the statue's mouth. Something was slithering up from its depths.

Harry backed away until he hit the dark Chamber wall, and as he shut his eyes tight, he felt Fawkes' wing sweep his cheek as he took flight. Harry wanted to shout, "Don't leave me!" but what chance did a phoenix have against the king of serpents?

Something huge hit the stone floor of the Chamber. Harry felt it shudder—he knew what was happening; he could sense it, could almost see the giant serpent uncoiling itself from Slytherin's mouth. Then he heard Riddle's hissing voice:

"Kill Him,"

Harry ran away blindly; he could hear his giant body moving across the dusty floor, like a hunter hunting for its prey and not knowing what else to do. Harry started speaking in parseltongue as he ran around.

"Great Basilisk, listen to my words, go back to sleep,"

"It's pointless, boy; he only listens to me," Tom shouted from where he was; the basilisk stopped for a moment, Harry continued speaking, hoping it would work, and it seemed to work.

"Go Back to sleep, Great Basilisk," Harry spoke, feeling that he wasn't chasing him anymore.

The basilisk started backing away from Harry; the boy allowed himself to smile as he kept talking-

"Kill Him. I command you,"

Harry jumped away immediately, barely dodging his attack; now, he kept running away until he faced a dead corner, his hands the only thing telling him what was around him.

Harry felt the basilisk creeping closer; he knew he was done for. Is this the end?

Suddenly the basilisk screeched in pain; Harry opened his eyes to see the giant snake trying to attack the Phoenix, his teeth almost biting the bird only for his sharp beak to pierce his other eye.

"Kill The Boy. You can still smell him. Leave the Phoenix," Voldemort hissed; the basilisk turned his attention back at Harry, who ran away.

He used the pillars to hide himself, but the snake found him soon, striking the pillar; the thing fell apart as the boy ran away, and something suddenly hit his head, almost knocking him unconscious; Harry looked down to see the sorting hat, his hand feeling something long and hard underneath it, a gleaming sword suddenly appeared on it, the pommel covered in red rubies.

Quickly grabbing the sword, Harry turned to face the basilisk who launched himself at the boy; Harry moved his hand up, the blade piercing the top of his mouth, coming out the other side.

Harry felt the whole weight of Basilisk on him; his body didn't even register the teeth that had pierced his arm; he didn't feel the pain he felt, nothing.

Seeing that his arms couldn't hold the whole weight of a giant snake, he let go of the sword, jumping back as the mouth shut tightly, the blade still sticking out from the top of the head, covered in red blood.

Breathing in relief, only now he felt his arm was wounded. Harry looked at his arm, bleeding heavily from the wound on his elbow. The boy fell to his knees, his body feeling weaker with each passing second, his breathing going at a slower pace.

"Such a shame, but it doesn't matter; the basilisk's poison is the strongest in the world. You will soon be dead, and Lord Voldemort shall rise again," Tom spoke, looking down at Harry with contempt.

The boy ignored him; he knew he was right; his time was running out; his green eyes found the diary lying on the floor, the teeth of the basilisk still on his arm, his left hand gripped around the tooth; he winced as he pulled it out, blood pouring out, he clenched his teeth stopping himself from screaming.

"What are you trying to do? You're dead," Tom taunted him with a smirk; the boy ignored him as he started walking towards the diary. Harry suddenly felt a sharp pain on his forehead; this time, he screamed in pain as loudly as he could, his whole head on fire.

"AAAAHHHHHHHHHH," he screamed and screamed; his vision was all dizzy, and he could barely make out the figures; the only thing stopping him from surrendering to the darkness was his will to destroy that damn diary. But just as soon as it appeared, the pain disappeared completely. Instead, Harry suddenly felt his whole body getting stronger, something flowing inside his body, from his head to his arms, chest, and legs; the pain disappeared, and his breathing turned back to normal.

"Impossible," Tom suddenly cried behind him; Harry didn't acknowledge him; instead, his attention turned to the diary, wanting to get there as soon as possible. Just as he was about to run towards it, the diary flew into his hand as he had somehow called it; the boy was utterly baffled but didn't question it, raising his hand and holding the tooth.

"NO, STOPP," Voldemort screamed as Harry plunged the tooth into the diary, the page bleeding blood like a flesh wound; Voldemort screamed in pain as his figure slowly disappeared.

Closing the whole book, he gave another stab, the tooth going all the way through; Voldemort disappeared, screaming in agony.

Harry left out a huge sigh of relief, his knees suddenly feeling weak, but he forced himself to stand on his feet; the tooth fell from his hand, and the wizard breathed in and out, trying to catch his breath.

Only now that they were safe, Harry's eyes went to Ginny; remembering she wasn't moving, he ran to her, shaking her as he called out her name.

Almost immediately, Ginny gasped; before she started coughing, Harry moved away to give her space; she kept coughing, her eyes looking around the chamber until she found Harry looking at her with relief and a little smile.

"Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry it was All me. The attacks, the basilisk, it was all me," she cried on his chest, her cries muffled by his clothes; Harry pats her on the back, hoping it would make her feel better.

"Don't worry, Ginny. They will soon be well again. It's not your fault; it was all Voldemort," Harry told her softly; he noticed her body flinched slightly at the mention of the dark lord. Harry suddenly remembered the poison, reminding him his time was running out.

"You should leave Ginny, I don't ha-" Harry stopped mid-sentence when his eyes went to where should have been the wound caused by the Basilisk; it wasn't there anymore; his skin was as normal looking as before, if not better than before.

What? He thought, unsure what to think. Shouldn't I be dead? He asked himself, his eyes going to the Phoenix, who looked just as confused as him.

"What?" Ginny questioned when she noticed that he wasn't talking anymore; she saw him looking confused, touching his arm.

"Harry, you alright?" Ginny asked, concerned; this seemed to make Harry escape his thoughts, his green eyes looking back at her brown ones.

"...I'm fine. Let's get out of here," Harry said, unsure, not knowing if he was talking to her or himself, helping her to stand up.

"I'm going to be expelled. I was looking forward to coming to Hogwarts, to meet everyone, to become a great Witch, and now, I'm..." she wept as they awkwardly walked towards the end of the chamber; Fawkes was waiting for them at the entrance, hovering over the chamber.

"Don't worry, Ginny. Professor Dumbledore won't blame you," he reassured her; reaching the end, Harry heard the stone doors close behind them with a soft hiss.

Now outside, Fawkes landed on Harry's shoulder as they kept walking forward, where he knew Ron was.

"Ron," Harry called him; not a second later, he came running; when his eyes landed on his sister, he sighed in relief before hugging her close to him. Ginny returned the hug, feeling much better after the trauma of this year.

"What happened inside?" Ron questioned after he checked if Ginny was hurt; he noticed the bird, wondering where it came from. Harry quickly explained what happened inside; after hearing everything, all Ron could say was.

"We are never going to have a normal year, are we?"

"...Probably not," Harry replied with a shrug and a little chuckle. The young wizard was about to ask where their favorite professor was when everything turned dizzy; the ground was spinning before it came toward him.

Landing roughly against the stone ground, he could barely hear his friends calling out his name, his eyes heavy, unable to stay awake. Perhaps I'm just too tired; that was his last thought before he fell asleep.

Later

James took a deep breath of the crisp autumn air, lingering in the window as he drank in the fresh breeze. A warm, small hand grazed his backside as Lily slid her arms around his stomach and placed her chin gently on his shoulder. He returned the embrace as he stepped back from the window, looking down at his son, who was waving his tiny arms on the couch.

A broad, heart-felt smile creased his cheeks as he and Lily sat on either side of Harry, who looked up at them with a gurgling laugh. James pulled his wand out of his back pocket and, with a practiced flick of his wrist, sent a stream of multi-colored bubbles from the tip of his wand, leaving the infant awestruck.

Harry reached clumsily for a glittering red bubble that burst into a flurry of sparkles at his touch, and he let out a shriek of delight. Lily scooped her son into his arms as James sent another stream of bubbles drifting lazily through the living room. Harry watched them with fascination, reaching out to prod the ones that floated in his direction.

The family sat silently for a long time as James and Lily watched their son. The ominous foreboding that had ensnared their senses for the months they had been in hiding was pushed to the back of their minds that night as they absorbed the present moment.

Lily kissed the top of her son's head tenderly as she stood up, holding him cradled in her arms. James also stood up, stretching his arms and tossing his wand carelessly on the couch, where it rolled into a fold in the cushions.

"I'm taking Harry to bed," Lily announced as she and James headed through the kitchen. She stopped at the foot of the stairs as James lingered in the hallway.

"I'll see you upstairs, Lils," he replied, leaning forward to kiss her full on the mouth. They held the kiss for a moment before a faint click was heard from the living room. They broke away from each other, frozen.

"Wait here," James murmured; he braced his shoulders as he pushed the door open, leaving Lily on the stairs, clutching on to her son, who looked around wildly, not making a sound. Lily heard nothing but silence from the living room, making the hairs on the back of her neck prickle in alarm before a fierce bellow jolted her senses.

"Lily!" James cried; the tone of his voice terrified her more than anything as she took a feeble step towards the living room. "Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off—"

Lily, frozen with fear, felt a sudden determination overwhelm her as she ran up the stairs, making her way for the nursery. She closed and locked the door behind her, clutching Harry tightly with surprisingly steady hands. Lily felt tears begin to swell in her eyes as she realized what awaited her. She took a deep breath and looked down at her son, who peered up at her with wide, fearful green eyes – her eyes.

"Baby," she whispered; her throat felt constricted as she sent him gently to the crib. A sickening thud from below rang in her ears as a sob escaped her lips, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. She forced a smile as she heard a cold, high-pitched laugh echoing up the stairs, staring steadily at her son.

"Mommy loves you, Harry. Dada loves you so much," She choked, placing her hand to her lips as she heard another click from the nursery door. A shaft of light illuminated the nursery as the door was pushed open, and Lily, now standing herself up on shaking knees, turned to face her fate.

Voldemort stood in the doorway, his pearly white head inclined curiously at the scene. He took a slow step into the nursery as Lily raised her arms protectively over the crib. His thin lips rose into a mocking smile as he hissed in contempt at her feeble protection.

"Not Harry," Lily pleaded her voice breaking, "not Harry. Please, not Harry."

"Stand aside, you silly girl." Voldemort jeered, "Stand aside, now."

"Not Harry," she repeated, more boldly this time. "Take me instead, just please, not Harry..."

Voldemort took another step towards the young woman, studying her fierce expression as he stood over her, her defiant eyes turning to him.

"Please, not Harry... Have mercy," she begged, "have mercy."

Voldemort raised his hand with sudden swiftness as he brought it down wordlessly, a blinding flash of green light enveloped the room, and as young Harry's eyes were squeezed shut in the brightness, a dull thud confirmed the worst – Lily Potter had been killed.

A shrill, cold laugh echoed menacingly throughout the house as the Dark Lord stood over the crib, aiming his wand dead center for the infant's face. Harry, whose tears were falling, began wailing as he looked up at Voldemort, whose grin only widened in delight.

Harry was silent as he felt a third person in the room; strange words echoed through the room, and the words flew around the room like a wind in an open field.

Voldemort felt an overwhelming rush of power course through his body as he raised his wand above his head; bringing it down, he screamed, "Avada Kedavra!"

There was another flash of green light that illuminated the room, a roaring in Voldemort's ears and a prickling feeling throughout his body. Something was wrong, he thought suddenly, something was very wrong...

Harry called out, "Mommy," his voice was lower than a whisper, tears rolling down his cheeks as if he could understand something terrible had happened.

"Mommy," he cried out, this time louder. Slowly the house disappeared from his eyes; everything went dark.

"Harry Potter, go back; only by going back will you know the truth,"

"What Truth?" The grown Harry questioned; he was outside of his parent's house. Still destroyed.

"The Truth, who you are? The past will answer every question you have; to learn your future, you must first learn your past," a voice spoke.

Harry saw his home, a picture of his parents lying on the floor. The face cracked, and Harry kneeled down, about to touch the photo...

Gasping, he opened his eyes; the smell of doctors and hospitals assaulted his nose; recognizing it, the smell reminded him of the many times he had been...

Shaking his head, Harry swallowed a breath; he quickly remembered his dream, he didn't know who was talking, but he figured he needed to return to his parent's home. Whatever was there would help him discover the truth the voice was talking about.

The door suddenly swung open; Harry saw Professor Dumbledore walking calmly toward him.

"Is good to see you back with us, my boy," he greeted him with a friendly smile that Harry returned; the old wizard grabbed a chair and sat next to Harry's bed.

"How is everyone?" Harry questioned quickly before Dumbledore could even say anything; the old wizard knew the young Potter valued his friends greatly.

"Everyone is alright, my boy, young Granger will be alright by tomorrow, and Ginny is not in any problem," he explained; Harry left out a sigh of relief hearing that, his head now resting against the pillow.

"But I would like to know, what happened there?" He questioned, his voice a bit serious this time.

Harry quickly explained everything from beginning to end, listening to his words; once he was done, Dumbledore moved his hand towards his hair.

"Can I?"

Harry simply allowed him, moving away a strand of hair away; Dumbledore couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, his eyes beaming a bit. "Fascinating!"

"Professor?"

Moving his hand away, the professor turned to look at Harry's eyes.

"Nothing, my boy, it seemed your mark has disappeared, nothing else," the professor explained with a little shrug.

Harry quickly checked using a mirror and could see the thunder-like mark wasn't there anymore, instead was a minor mark, almost like a small vertical cut on his forehead.

Harry questioned how the sword appeared on the hat; the professor explained that only a true Gryffindor could use that sword.

"Professor, how did I survive? The poison should have killed me. Right?" Harry asked him something that had been bugging him since the beginning.

"I'm not sure, my boy, but whatever it was, it helped you. That's all it matters," Professor explained with a grandfatherly smile.

Inside he was deep in thoughts, not knowing himself what could have caused it. He decided to pay closer attention to Harry; as long as he didn't have a second Dark Lord on his hands, there was nothing to worry about, and with the newest development, he could rest a bit easier, knowing the boy was free now.

But one thing made him wonder, what Harry described was something House Potter was known for, sadly only two members throughout the entire history had that type of magical ability, Dumbledore wondered if Harry had it as well, but if he did, that would either bring the best wizard this world had ever known or the most powerful dark lord?

Let's just hope I won't come to regret this; Dumbledore thought as he left the room, needing some alone time to think.

Tomorrow

Harry was eating in the great hall; well, Ron was; Harry was simply looking at his food with disinterest, poking it with a fork.

Suddenly he felt a nudge on his shoulder from Ron, still looking at the food, not facing his friend.

"Mate, you aren't helping anyone by not eating; that won't make Hermione come here sooner," Ron explained before handing him a piece of well-cooked steak, knowing how much Harry loved it.

Harry eyed the food, considering Ron's words, before shaking his head. "No, I want to eat when Hermione gets here," he told him; Ron gave him a look as if asking if he was sure, and the young wizard nodded his head with resolve.

Ron nodded in understanding before pushing away his own plate of food, Harry was about to tell him to eat, but he quickly shook his head. "No, if you're not eating, then neither will I until Hermione returns," Ron interrupted him before he could say anything.

Harry was about to counter his words when the door opened; inside came one and only Hermione.

With a broad smile, Harry almost jumped from the chair he was sitting on, running towards her; the girl threw herself at him, hugging him close as if afraid that he would disappear.

"I missed you," he whispered in her ear, enjoying the hug for a few seconds before pulling away; she did the unexpected thing of kissing his cheek, making both of them blush.

"I missed you too," she claimed with a smile, soon noticing Ron walking up to them with a smile.

"Is good to have you back, Hermione," they shake hands, with Hermione saying that he missed them both. The rest of the day was spent talking about the upcoming year and praying that nothing extraordinary would happen following year.

But Harry knew, at least for him might not be normal. He planned once he returned to the Dursley, he would leave one night to find his old home, his true home.