Heritage

Chapter 2

Harry awoke to the sound of a pounding on his door. A sound he had grown to hate. “Boy, get up now! There are chores to be done!” Aunt Petunia screeched at the door.

Harry blinked a few times as his mind slowly worked its way to full consciousness. He hadn’t moved from the position he had curled into on the bed last night. Yawning as he got out of bed and slowly stretched his muscles. He seemed to feel better. He felt an odd warm sensation, but no nausea, no more churning. He took a few deep breaths and stretched his legs.

‘That definitely feels better.’ He felt stronger, much stronger than last night.

“Must’ve just overdone it yesterday” Relieved, he reached over to the desk for his glasses and put them on. Harry squinted.

“What the bloody hell?” Everything had gone fuzzy. He took the glasses off. His vision went clear. Puzzled, he put them back on only to have his sight blur the world around him once more. Taking them off again, he shook his head. His vision remained clear. He blinked his eyes, trying to adjust to his new vision. Everything was incredibly bright and focused.

“Oookay” Harry set the glasses back down on the desk. A normal person would have been greatly alarmed by this point. Harry Potter however, was not normal. After five years of magical training at Hogwarts and facing off with the Dark Lord himself four times, it took quite a lot to shock Harry. Or so he thought.

He threw aside his nightclothes and made his way over the dresser. Pulling out a T-shirt and trousers, he draped them over the chair. Harry bent over to pull them up his legs and gasped. His legs, so underdeveloped just yesterday, were now smoothly toned. Running his hands down his legs, he examined the new muscles. His eyes ran over his calves and onto his hands and arms. They had grown too.

Harry ran over to the mirror to examine himself and his heart nearly stopped as he took in his reflection. He was almost thirty cm taller than he was last night. Baffled, he touched his reflection in the mirror. He had to be at least 180 cm! (6ft)
Harry’s eyes slowly worked their way up his reflection, tracing over his claves, his thighs, his chest, and his arms. Everything was different. His muscles were bigger, much bigger. His eyes widened as he brought his hand up to touch his chest. His muscles had grown at least 9 cm (3in) since yesterday.

Bringing his fingers up to his chest, he pushed against them. Whether Harry was testing their strength or simply confirming that they were actually there, he wasn’t sure. The hard biceps and defined pectorals smoothing the lines of his now toned torso was not a sight Harry was used to seeing. Not on himself anyway. He tested his arms and legs, feeling the strange new energy pulsing through his body.

His eyes worked their way back up his body and came to rest on the pendent. The sunlight from the window glinted off the silver necklace as if it were winking at him. Slowly, he brought his hand up to touch it. His fingers were almost touching it….

“Potter! Get down here this minute!” Harry’s hand pulled away and his head jerked towards the door.

“Oh god” The Dursleys. Harry looked back at his reflection in the mirror. “They’re going to freak.”

He sighed heavily. “No sense in putting it off.”

Pulling on his shoes and tugging the shirt over his head, which Harry noticed fit a lot more snug today than before, he ran downstairs. And waited for the bomb to drop.

Petunia Dursley was fixing breakfast for her precious Duddikins. So consumed in her task was she that she didn’t even notice her nephew till he spoke.

“Should I fix the bacon then?”

Petunia turned snap at him and received a shock that very nearly killed her.

“Umm…Good Morning” Harry grinned weakly at his aunt.

The frying pan fell from her shaky hands and clattered to the floor. Petunia blinked several times as if this Harry was some kind of delusion that would vanish if she blinked enough.

Harry winced. This wasn’t good, but at least she wasn’t screaming. He stuck his hands in the back pockets of his trousers and rocked back and forth on the soles of his feet, waiting for his aunt to speak.

‘Her eyes look like dinner plates,’ he thought and bit his lip to keep from laughing. He took his right hand out of his pocket and ped ted to the plate of bread and cheese on the counter. “Is that for me?”

His aunt nodded wordlessly. He picked up the plate and headed to the table, only to find his uncle and cousin staring at him. Gingerly, Harry sat down and ate his breakfast.

‘This could be fun,’ he grinned and put his plate in the sink. Pocketing his list of chores, he headed to the backyard.

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Lord Elrond sat in an ornate chair carved with vines and flowers on his balcony overlooking the valley. The valley in Valinor was a great deal like Rivendell and over the centuries he had come to love it just as much. Beautiful trees covered in leaves of emerald and jade stretched up to the skies. Sunlight glinted off the early morning dew as though every plant and rock in the valley were covered in tiny crystalline tears.

The purest waters flowed over the falls and into a deep indigo pool surrounded by high silvery dark stones. A small opening in the stones allowed another smaller waterfall to flow back into the river. Misty white spray rose up from the falls and caught the incoming sunlight, breaking it into a thousand colors, many to light or vibrant for human eyes.

Despite this splendor, Lord Elrond was troubled. The feeling that awoke him in the night had not gone away. It was growing. With every moment, it was getting stronger.

“It can not be Arwen,’ he thought. Though his heart longed for it to be her, Arwen had passed eons ago, after the death of Aragorn. The pain of her loss was had been like a knife to his heart, a wound that even thousands of years had not healed. And yet, the pull on his blood was the pull of his own kin. Blood to blood. It felt so much like his Arwen that his heart wept with joy…. and sorrow. Still, his mind could not fathom how it was possible. He had been thinking on it since it had awoken him and was no closer to an answer.

“Lord Elrond?” An elven maid stood next to the balcony door. A delicate hand rested on the branch-like cngs ngs of the wood. Elrond did not even turn, his sharp eyes fixed on the shimmering waterfalls.

“Breakfast is ready.”

Elrond did not respond.

“Sir?”

“Begin the meal without me.” Elrond stood swiftly and strode from the room. His light elven feet did not make a sound on the ornate floor.

“But Sir…” she protested, but Elrond was already gone.

He moved swiftly through the halls. He had to see the Lady Galadriel.

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Harry climbed up the stairs. His aunt and uncle had barely spoken to him all day, not that he minded. They had simply given him orders and quickly backed away. Avoiding him entirely, they only reacted when Harry had done the unthinkable at dinner. After he had finished the meager dinner they always provided him with, he reached across the table and took two chicken breasts from the platter and a huge helping of mash. When his Uncle Vernon started to stand and protest, Harry merely raised his head and glared at his uncle. And to his surprise, Uncle Vernon sat back down and the Dursleys said nothing more.

He smirked, remembering their behavior towards him. He opened his door only to be smacked in the head with a ball of fluff. Harry’s silent entrance had gone unnoticed by Pig, until he collided with thatthat is. Being the feathery ball of energy that he was however, Pig recovered quickly and began circling the room again, twittering all the way. Even with five years of seeker reflexes, Harry often had to chase Pig around the room for a minute or two. Not today. His eyes focused on Pig, whose movements seemed to slow down as he stared at him. His hand darted out and easily caught Pig in the air.

Harry untied the letter from Pig’s leg, carried him over to Hedwig’s cage and gave him some water. He took out the letter and quickly scanned it.

Dear Harry,

How’ve you been, mate? Those muggle relatives of yours being their usual friendly selves? Mum figures we best not come and get you after what happened last time with the toffees. She thought a portkey would be the best. It’s set for 8am tomorrow morning. Don’t lose it.

Percy is still estranged from the family. Bloody wanker still won’t apologize.

Fred and George have got a shop in Diagon Alley and are talking about opening one up in Hogsmede as well. Mum went nutters when she found out that they had ‘left’ school, but their business is doing so well that she’s lost most of her argument.

P.S. We’re having a special guest for your party. Guess who.

Ron

Harry grinned. The year before last year Fred and George had turned Dudley’s tongue purple and over a foot long by means of their ton-tongue toffee. Chuckling, he wondered if they would ever grow up. He hoped not.

He reached into the envelope and pulled out half a muggle cinema ticket. Werewolf of London. Harry couldn’t help but to burst out laughing when he saw the name of the film and wondered if they picked it on purpose as a hint.

Remus

He hoped Remus was all right. Working for the order was dangerous work.

Harry turned to his open window. He looked out into the darkness. To him, it was as clear as day. The wind rustled the leaves on the trees and Harry swore they were whispering. He went to the window and leaned out, taking a deep breath of night air. The Dursleys had him working outside all day. Not that he had ever minded outdoor work, in fact, he preferred it. It got him out of the house. But today, being outside had felt…right. It was as if the trees were beckoning him. Unconsciously, Harry reached up to finger his pendent. When he was outside, he had felt at peace. He felt … at home

Harry shook his head. Whispering trees, even in the wizarding world that was considered loony. He quickly changed into his nightclothes and crawled into bed. The sooner he fell asleep, the sooner it would be morning. He set the alarm for seven and lay back down. After a few minutes, he was asleep, the pendent glowing softly in the darkened room.

(A/N Werewolf of London is a real movie. I didn’t make that up.)