Harry grabbed his keys to his car as he stepped out of the door of Number 4 Privet Drive. He put his gym bag in the backseat before he got in and pulled out of the driveway.
It had been three weeks since the funeral of one of the greatest wizards to ever walk the earth. Ever since Harry returned to Privet Drive for the summer, he had been hard at work on the Horcruxes. He would wake up early in the morning and go for his run. After that, he cooled off and then left for the gym. After he was done there he would go home, eat his breakfast and go upstairs to his room to continue his work. He stayed out of the Dursley's way for the most part; he only came out of his room to help fix dinner and do his chores besides to eat and take care of the necessities.
Over the three week time period, Harry had become a force to reckon with. He had grown another inch or so, making him 6'2''. The muscles in his chest, torso, arms and legs had become defined and distinct. His physical stature made him an imposing and commanding person. He had taken a leaf out of his former mentors' book and learned to walk with an air of confidence and grace at the same time managing a gentle tone. He had extended his knowledge on everything he could in the two weeks of summer. Another leaf he had taken, this time from Hermione, was reading. When he wasn't working on the Horcruxes, he read his previous and current text books aside from any other book he could get his hands on.
Harry pulled into the car park of the gym. He got out of the car, grabbed his bag from the backseat, locked his car, and walked into the gym. After he had gotten changed in the locker room, he went out to the weight room and began his routine for Thursdays. He would do four sets of seated barbell presses, three sets of single arm lateral raises, four sets of barbell shrugs and various weighted crunches and hanging leg raises.
Harry picked up his weight and stood in front of the mirror, making sure his posture was correct. As he rotated his shoulders upward, the muscles in his bicep flexed and he could feel the familiar burning sensation in his biceps, triceps, and deltoids.
I wonder what Hermione is doing. I should write to her when I get home Harry thought to himself as he busied himself with his second set of shrugs. Voldemort put his soul in things he thought were worthy enough, like the ring and the diary. Dumbledore said that he probably tried to get a hold of artifacts that once belonged to the Four Founders, since he is related to one of them. I need to search for things on Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, since the cup is thought to be Hufflepuffs'.
Once he was done with his workout, Harry went back to the locker room and grabbed his stuff before leaving. Once he was back at Privet Drive, he went up to his room and grabbed clean clothes before heading to the shower.
Once he had gotten dried off and dressed, Harry went downstairs to the kitchen and fixed his breakfast, along with the Dursley's.
Petunia came into the kitchen first and after glancing at Harry, sat at the kitchen table. Harry set her tea and breakfast in front of her before bringing the rest of the food for Dudley and Vernon to the table. A few minutes later, Vernon came into the kitchen in his suit with his briefcase in hand. He set it on the floor beside him before taking a seat at the table. Harry handed him his newspaper. Vernon looked at Harry for a second before unfolding the paper. Dudley came in and sat at the table. Harry slid the cereal and the milk jug towards him and stepped back to his own breakfast at the counter. He finished his eggs and bacon before cleaning up his dishes. He placed them in the dishwasher before cleaning up any dirty dishes on the table.
After Vernon had left for work and Dudley had returned upstairs, Harry cleaned the kitchen up entirely.
"I'll be in my room if you need me to do anything," Harry said to his aunt as he left the kitchen. He went upstairs to his room and pulled out parchment and a quill.
Hermione,
How are you? How is your summer going? I trust your parents are well. I hope so.
I have a favor to ask you. I need some decent clothes that fit me and I was going to head into London to get them. I was wondering if you could help me, considering I'm a clueless male when it comes to those things. I would appreciate it if you would. If you can, please bring your parents with you. I have things I would like to discuss with all of you and I'd like to do it in person. I'll leave the time and place up to you since I'm sure you have things to do. It doesn't matter to me where you pick; I'm open anytime as I'm sure you know.
I hope to see you soon.
Love, Harry
"Here Hedwig," Harry said softly as he folded up his letter. He stroked her feathers for a brief second. "Take this to Hermione." Hedwig nipped his finger affectionately and flew out of his open bedroom window. Harry sighed and sat down on his bed, taking out his sixth year Defense book. A knock at his door sounded.
"Yes," he said. He heard his door open, and for a moment he continued reading his book. But at the sound of silence, he looked up. His aunt was standing at his doorway. She looked as if she wanted to say something to him. For a moment, he thought he saw some sort of emotion pass on her face. But at her comment, that thought flew from his mind.
"There is garden work to do," she sneered. Harry set aside his book and without a word to her, he left his room.
After taking out the mower from the shed, Harry started it and began mowing the grass. After he finished, he trimmed the hedges, pulled the weeds, and watered the flowers.
Once he finished, he wiped the sweat from his brow and went back into the house. He entered the kitchen and got a glass of ice water. He drained it in a few quick gulps and filled the glass again. Once he was done, he went back upstairs to his room and resumed his reading.
At six that night Harry went downstairs to help his aunt with dinner. Vernon wasn't home, and he wouldn't be for another hour or so.
"What can I do?" Harry asked as he entered the kitchen. Petunia looked up at him and then to the ground chuck that was sitting next to her.
"Form the meatloaf," she replied quietly. Harry washed his hands before he began mixing the ingredients with the ground up meat.
"Where do you go every morning?" Petunia asked. Harry put the meat mixture into the mixer and turned it on low.
"I run five miles every morning before I go to the gym," Harry replied.
"Why have you started now?" Petunia asked.
"I figured getting into better shape would help me with what I have to do. Dumbledore was murdered and he left it up to me to continue his work aside from what I have to deal with from Voldemort," Harry said.
"Dumbledore's dead," Petunia said as she whipped around and looked at Harry. Harry turned his head slightly to the left so he could see her and then looked down at her.
"Yeah, he is. I saw him die in front of me," Harry said. "I don't know why you care so much, you hate the wizarding world." Petunia sighed and turned back around.
"I don't necessarily hate the wizarding world," she said. Harry sniffed, doubting what she said.
"I don't. I just…didn't like the fact that it took my sister away from me. We used to be close, but that was before she got her letter to Hogwarts. I was thirteen when she was eleven. I remember that morning perfectly. It was odd to see an owl land on your kitchen table and drop off a letter to your little sister," Petunia said.
"When we were little, we used to dream of kingdoms and magic all around us. When she got her letter, I was jealous. She came back each summer with new things that she learned and told me about. She was a part of a world that could perform magic, something special. I envied her. Our parents were so proud of her. We had a witch in the family. Then she began dating your father when she was seventeen. It was hard to believe that she fell in love with the same man that played tricks on her when they were younger. By that time, I was in University and I had met Vernon. A week after I had brought Vernon home to meet our parents, she brought James home. It was easy to tell that my parents didn't really like Vernon. But when they saw James, it was practically love at first sight. He was so polite to our parents and sweet to Lily. Something else that she bettered me at. After they graduated from school, they married two years later. A year later, they had you. It was around the same time I had Dudley. Then, one night Dumbledore came with you and said that Lily and James were dead. That they had been murdered," Petunia said.
"Is that why you've never really liked me?" Harry asked.
"It's not that I don't like you. I think you're a very polite young man and you work hard. I just didn't want to get attached to you. What if you met the same fate as Lily? You're all I have left of her," Petunia said.
"Oh…well, all right I guess," Harry said. He finished with the meatloaf. "The meatloaf is done."
"Set it in the oven and turn it to 400 degrees," Petunia said. Harry did so and after he was done, he set the table for dinner. Once he was finished, he went up to his room. Hedwig was on his desk with a reply letter from Hermione.
Harry,
I'm fine. My summer is going good. My grandparents from my mum's side are visiting this week. The house is sort of full, but it's all right. I haven't seen them in a while so their company is nice. My parents are doing well. They say hello and that they hope you're all right.
You are all right, aren't you? If you're not, you know that you can talk to me. I'm here for you any time.
I can meet you tomorrow in London. My parents can drive me over. How about we meet at Browns at noon? My parents won't be able to stay with us because my grandparents are over, but they said that you're more than welcome to come by our house after we're done if you need to talk to them.
I'll see you tomorrow.
Lots of love, Hermione
Harry wrote his reply back to her and sat down on his bed, relaxing for a moment. He picked up his half-read book and continued reading it before dinner.
"I'm going to be gone tomorrow from noon until around dinner," Harry told his aunt at the dinner table.
"Where do you think you'll be going boy?" Vernon asked, his face a slight shade of purple.
"I'm meeting a friend in London. She's helping me go shopping for clothes that fit," Harry said. The shade of purple present on Vernon's face got a little darker.
"What do you mean `clothes that fit'?" Vernon asked. "You're clothes are perfectly fine." Harry looked down to his torn jeans and large t-shirt.
"No, they're actually not. They're hand-me-downs from Dudley and I'm no where as near as big as him. In case you hadn't noticed, I look like a bum off the street and I don't enjoy it too much," Harry replied.
"Boy, you will respect the things we give you. We took you under our roof and we've taken care of you for the past sixteen years. Don't you disrespect me or this household," Vernon all but yelled.
"Well, if you're not going to respect me, I'm sure as hell not going to respect you. In case you hadn't noticed, I do most of the work around here. I fix your breakfast, I help clean the house, I do all the garden work, I wash the cars, and I help fix your dinner. I've done that since I was old enough to reach the stove. I stay in this house for a month and a half in the summer, and when I'm here I do everything you tell me to do. If what I get in repay is tatty hand-me-downs that are ten sizes too big, then I'll disrespect you and your household because it's obvious that you don't respect me. I'm sick of it. I've got enough to worry about besides doing all your work," Harry said calmly. "Maybe you should let Dudley do some of those chores. It seems all the diets he's gone on haven't worked because he's still the size of a baby whale. The exercise would do him good." Harry stood from the dinner table.
"Good dinner Aunt Petunia," Harry said. He took his plate and set it in the sink before leaving the kitchen and retreating to his bedroom.
A little past eleven was when Harry stopped with his work on the Horcruxes and got ready for bed. He turned off his bedroom light and climbed into his bed before relaxing and wishing himself to sleep.
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Chapter 1 finished. Let me know how it was. For all the Americans out there reading this, a garden in the UK is what would be the yard in the US. A car park in the UK is a parking lot in the US. I'm trying to stick to British ways, but since I'm American, I don't know everything about the UK. Thanks, LemonDropAnyone. 6 pages.
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