Clash of the Titans
*****
"Now, Harry, it is time to learn who the better fighter is," Master Myers was grinning. Harry watched him with no expression apparent on his face.
Harry felt nothing at all, no cockiness, no anxiety, nothing. He was completely focused on the task ahead, and that was the battle between him and his teacher. If he won he would get his black belt, if he didn't, then he would have to wait and try again.
They both bowed to each other, and took their stances. They stared into each other's eyes, trying to find a weakness. Master Myers was not surprised to see the emptiness in Harry's eyes.
Harry suddenly came forward, and threw his leg out in a round kick, which Master Myers easily blocked. Harry then tossed a punch, but Master Myers disappeared and reappeared behind Harry. Wait a second, how? Harry sensed Master Myers behind him and jumped to the side. Master Myers then tried to sidekick Harry, but it was blocked. Harry took this chance to grab onto Master Myers' leg, and threw him with superhuman strength. Master Myers flipped in midair, and landed on his feet, immediately jumping into action by back-fisting Harry in the face. Harry did not move when he was hit.
The room grew darker as time passed. Blow after blow was taken and blocked. Harry jumped up into the air, locked his legs around Master Myers' neck, and flipped him onto his back.
Harry's eyes started to glow, his pupils red and the rest of his eyes black. The air began to crackle as raw magical energy flashed about him. His hair was moving as if in a breeze, and his aura became visible to the naked eye.
Master Myers was doing the same thing, except his eyes were glowing an eerie shade of yellow.
When Harry moved it was as if the entire world slowed down except for him. He instantly appeared before Master Myers, and punched straight at his chest. Right before the blow was to be landed, however, a hand flew out of nowhere super fast and grabbed wrist.
"Come on, Harry! You can do better than that!" Master Myers taunted Harry as he began to crush Harry's wrist. Harry did not wince at all, but felt anger and hatred begin to rise up into him. He grabbed Master Myers' arm with his free hand, hooked his left ankle with Master Myers' right, and tripped him onto his back. But before he could do anything else, Master Myers' foot shot out and hit Harry in the side of the knee, knocking him onto the floor.
They both kip-upped at the same time, but Harry staggering slightly as he landed on his weak knee. They both resumed their attacks, becoming more aggressive as time went on. Soon their limbs were moving so fast that they could barely be seen by the human eye.
Soon Harry found a weakness in Master Myers. Right before he kicked, he let his guard down, and Harry immediately threw forward his fist, stopping it right in front of Master Myers' face.
"I win," He said calmly, not even out of breath.
*****
Soon it was Friday, the day Hermione was going to pick him up. He felt that he should feel something, something that he could not remember. Oh yes, happiness, that's it. He could not remember any time that he had been happy. It seemed as if those memories had been torn from his very mind. Whatever was happening to him, it was really taking its tool on him. No longer did he sleep, it seemed as if it was an impossible feat for him. No matter how much he ate, he was always hungry, hungry enough to feel like he was dying of starvation. The same thing was happening for his thirst. He could drink all wanted and not feel refreshed, quenched.
*****
"He is too powerful, I have already seen a glimpse of what he can do. He fought me, won, and was not even out of breath!" John Myers was once again informing Dumbledore of Harry's abilities.
"I know, so far everything is going exactly as foreseen," replied Dumbledore.
*****
Harry was walking along the road that led to the only park that had escaped Dudley's gang's wrath. He sat down in one of the swings, and tried to organize his thoughts. There were so many of them, most of them about Sirius. Harry did not cry though, he hadn't cried in a long time. He felt as if he didn't know how to cry anymore. For so long had he held in his fears, bottling them up and learning to block them. He was never rewarded with anything when he cried at the Dursleys when he was little. He was never comforted, never loved, never counted as an actual person. Filth was treated better in the Dursley's house.
A scream brought him out of his thoughts. He spun in the direction the scream had originated from, and tried to look closer in the alley. His vision seemed to increase and he could clearly see the large shapes of his cousin's gang. He could also see a little shape on the ground, having just been thrown there. Sighing, Harry got up and went to see whom his cousin was beating up.
As Harry neared the alley, he could hear the voices of his cousin and his friend and the voice of the victim.
"Oh, please don't hurt me again! Please!" The little kid started sobbing. Harry discovered that it was a girl.
He saw the massive shape of his cousin pick the girl up and pin her against the wall with his hands. Harry decided it was time to take action.
"Dudley, what are you doing now?" asked Harry in a bored voice.
"None of your business Potter!" Shouted Malcolm, one of the bigger guys in the gang.
"Is it really necessary that you need to beat up little girls, or are they the only people you can beat up nowadays? Surely you haven't stooped that low," Harry stated with a grin. Dudley's faced turned pink with embarrassment.
"Come on, ickle Duddleykins," Harry almost laughed at the face Dudley made.
"Did he just say `ickle Duddleykins'?" asked one of the boys in the gang.
"SHUT UP!" Dudley bellowed, releasing his grip on the girl. The girl took off down the alley at once.
"I'd rather not, there are still quite a few nicknames I'm sure your friends want to know," said Harry.
Dudley made to hit Harry, but before the punch could hit, Harry grabbed it with his hand. The gang instantly reacted, all rushing in to attack Harry. Harry merely rolled his eyes, and in the blink of an eye, they were all on the ground except Dudley, whose arm Harry still had in his grasp. When Dudley looked at Harry Harry's face was very serious looking.
"Never. Try that. Again." Harry then released Dudley, turned on his heel, and began walking towards the road.
BANG!
Harry stopped in his tracks. He reached behind him, and when he pulled his fingers back, they were covered in blood. Harry turned back to face Dudley, and saw the handgun in his cousin's hand.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Harry felt the bullets pierce his skin, but he felt no pain. It didn't hurt. Harry looked Dudley in the eyes, and to Dudley's horror, smiled. Harry did not know that Dudley did not see green eyes, but red ones. Harry flicked his hand, and Dudley was down on the ground, limp.
*****
As Harry entered the home of Number 4, Privet Drive, the first thing he noticed was that no one was home. The adrenaline from his fight with Dudley was starting to wear off, and the bullet wounds were really starting to hurt.
"Oh shit!" Harry cursed as he entered his room, trying as hard as he could to stay on his feet from the pain. Something was happening though, he could feel his skin moving. He carefully took his shirt off, and found that there was a thin layer of new skin covering the wounds. It did nothing to lesson the pain; it just stopped the bleeding.
*****
The Grangers just turned onto the street where Harry lived when he walked in the door. They did not see each other. The Mercedes-Benz pulled up to the driveway of Number 4. They all exited after they parked, and made their way up to the house. The front door was slightly open, and after they knocked a few times, they decided to have a look inside.
"Harry?" They called as they stepped through the doorway.
A few minutes later, they heard the THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! of something heavy being dragged down the stairs. As soon as Harry reached the bottom and made it to the front door, his task was abandoned as he was pulled into a rib-crushing hug only Hermione can deliver.
"Hermione, please, breath…must…breath," Harry choked out.
"C'mon, Hermione, I think you're killing him," said John Granger, causing Hermione to jump back, blushing.
"It's good to see you too, Hermione," Harry said, grinning.
"Harry, are you okay?" Jane Granger asked. She took in his appearance, and he didn't look to well. There were a few bruises on his face, and he was unconsciously holding his hand against his midsection.
"I'm fine," Harry lied, and Jane Granger gave him a doubting look. Harry didn't want them to worry about him.
"Well," said John Granger, trying to change the subject because of the awkward tension in the room, "let's get going. Got all your stuff Harry?"
"Yeah," Harry answered, and he and Mr. Granger picked up his trunk and headed out the door to the car. The two females followed.
*****
The trip was silent except for a few attempts from Hermione to start conversation. Harry just stared out the window of the car, watching the world flash by as they headed down the road.
Unbeknownst to Harry, the three Grangers were all looking at him with concern. The observed him for quite some time, noting the faraway expression on his face, and his empty, glazed over eyes that never blinked. He looked deep in thought.
And Harry was deep in thought. Sirius' voice was ringing in his ears. Why did you kill me Harry? Why? I sacrificed everything for you!
Hermione was worried, and the fact that Harry was lost completely in his thoughts was not helping matters. She needed to help him through this.
*****
"We're here!" Jane Granger announced as they pulled into the driveway of a large, brick house. As soon as they were in the garage and out of the car, Hermione took Harry's hand and took him inside. She then took him on the grand tour of the house, showing him his room as well.
When the tour was finished, Harry parted ways with Hermione and entered his room, finding his stuff already in there, carried in by Mr. Granger.
As soon as his door was closed, he collapsed onto the floor. He had gone through the whole trip keeping his face smiling, but now that he was alone he could finally show his pain. The room began spinning as the pain made him nauseous, and he crawled into the bathroom that was connected to his room. He let up whatever was in his stomach into the toilet, and passed out on the floor.
*****
At the same time downstairs, Hermione was talking to her parents. They were all very worried about Harry, not knowing what kind of ordeal he had gone through.
"He's hiding something from me," said Hermione as she took a sip of her tea. "And I want to know what happened to him. I know that he is still suffering from Sirius' death, but he shouldn't be bruised and cut from that."
She gasped at a thought that came into her head, "You don't think he's hurting himself, do you?"
Her mother looked at her with serious expression, "I don't know…"
*****
A/N: Ok, I have made major changes in this chapter and the rest of the story. It will all be for the better though, as it will help Harry realize his feelings for Hermione. I'm sorry if some of the writing (or all!) is terrible because for the last couple of months I have been suffering from extreme writer's block, and stuff just isn't coming as easily as usual.
Oh yea, remember to review!
Thanks,
The Dark Sorceror
-->