Hi my beloved readers. This is a Harry Potter fic that my sister wrote that she had me correct and improve. She didn't have any account here in and is lazy to make one (sigh) so she asked me to post it here on my account for you to enjoy.

Unlike me, she has plenty of free time since she's still in high school so expect her to get the updates as fast as I can edit/improve them.

Please review so we'll know how you liked it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or other published works that this fic might have some similarities with. Give credit to where credit is due.

Harry Potter: Shadow Sorcerer

Chapter 01: Discovery of Magic

Life has never been normal for one Harry James Potter, the unknown boy living at number 4 Pivet Drive, Little Whining, Surrey.

For starters, the Dursleys didn't consider him to be part of the family, treating him as a burden for taking advantage of their hard-earned money and kindness. With this in mind, the Dursleys made sure that he 'pay' for the kindness they unwilling bestowed upon him so he was put to work doing chores when he was old enough to do so – cooking, cleaning, washing the dishes, laundry…all chores were under Harry's domain and the Dursleys considered it beneath them to help out.

Of course, one would expect Harry to be rebellious to being treated as a slave; but Harry was not a normal boy so it didn't apply to him.

Harry was also intelligent, very intelligent, which fortunately for the lad, eluded the Dursleys attention. The boy learned to read at the age of two thanks to the many books that Dudley found useless or boring. After the story books, the boy upgraded his reading to the many books around the house that the Dursleys seldom touch, learning everything he could, absorbing the information within like a sponge.

When the boys started school at the age of 5, Harry found heaven in the school library, spending his snack breaks, lunch breaks, or even a few minutes after school hours to peruse many of the books within. His mind continued to crave for information, any information that was considered either useless or mundane. While his peers were starting on story the alphabet and story books, Harry James Potter was already reading books on Science, Mathematics, English Literature, and the likes.

With the increase in Harry's intelligence, comprehension dawned on him about his life.

Even at an early age, he noticed that he could easily recall anything he read. He eventually discovered that he had a photographic memory and used it to his advantage by inadvertently discovering speed reading and rereading them later in his mind.

Using this newly discovered skill, Harry James Potter used his vaunted memory to analyze his life, a mature thinking even for a 6 almost 7 year old boy.

He discovered at an early age that the Dursleys weren't family though he was related to his aunt by blood, and by extension, Dudley. His Uncle Vernon, fortunately, was not a blood relation.

Harry didn't consider the Dursleys as family because he wasn't treated like one so why should he treat them as such. Besides, a normal family wouldn't even consider a cupboard under the stairs a bedroom, a family wouldn't put you in a compromising position just for kicks, a family would never turn you into a slave to cater to their whims.

No, Harry didn't consider them family. In Harry's mind, they were acquaintances and nothing else.

Since he wasn't family, he didn't bother to rebel against the house's rule - never question the Dursleys, always be polite, disappear when you're not needed, and most importantly, do all of the chores without question.

Harry considered it his 'obligation' to serve the Dursleys despite the fact that they barely fed him or provided him clothes that fit. After all, despite their treatment of him, they gave him a roof to sleep under since Harry knew how kids with no home are treated out in the streets or at orphanages.

Logically, running away was a solution to his problem. However, seeing that Harry was gifted with intelligence and common sense, he didn't have any place to go if he did succumb to the temptation. And technically, the Dursleys were a lot better than surviving out in the streets - finding shelter if the weather got worse or diving into dumpsters to look for something to eat. No, Harry wasn't stupid to do that.

There were also other reasons why Harry didn't belong in the same category as normal. Being an intelligent boy, Harry noticed that weird things kept happening around him when he was upset or in pain.

For starters, his hair always returned to its normal unruliness despite how his aunt, Petunia Dursley, tried to cut it. He was even shaved bald once but the hair just grew back to normal overnight. That was the last time he was given a haircut.

Bruises that usually take weeks to heal disappeared after a night's sleep. No matter how many bruises he got from Vernon and Dudley, they would always disappear in the morning much to the Dursleys confusion and consternation.

Another weird thing that happened to Harry was when one of the clothes 'gifted' to him by his aunt started to shrink the more she tried to put it on. It kept shrinking and shrinking until to the point that it could only fit a small doll. When his Aunt Petunia realized what happened, she shrieked and whacked him on top of the head as if it was his fault and sent to his cupboard bedroom without any food for the day.

Of course, considering how the Dursleys acted towards the unnaturalness that was Harry James Potter, they just ignored it or punished him if it does.

It was during his 8th year that Harry finally gave a name to the weirdness that kept happening to him.

Magic.

Harry Potter was running for his life.

He was being chased by Dudley and his gang for their daily 'Harry Hunting' game.

Harry learned early that being caught by Dudley and his gang of muscle-brained idiots was never a good experience. That first time it happened, he was clobbered silly resulting to a body covered in bruises and a broken lip. Even if they healed overnight, it had hurt a lot and don't want to experience it again.

Of course, his aunt and uncle praised their son for being so athletic, the little tyke.

After the third beating, he started running, thus the game 'Harry Hunting' was invented.

Harry's first foray into magic was lackluster if based under normal standards, but for him, it was a god-send.

He was running from his cousin's gang during lunch hour when he discovered his first unintentional use of magic. Since he was far ahead from his pursuers, thanks to his small body, Harry decided to hide in one of the dumpsters that littered the school grounds. Seeing an open dumpster that would be perfect to hide in, he jumped inside while praying with all his heart that Dudley and his gang wouldn't find him in his impromptu hiding place.

Due to the intense emotion that he was currently subjected to (the fear of being caught and getting clobbered like a boxer's punching bag), plus the adrenalin pumping in his veins, his magic was triggered allowing the boy to enter the shadow inside the dumpster and came out of the shadow under the water tank on the rooftop of his school.

His first reaction was of panic since he clearly remembered jumping into the dumpster and there was no explanation for being on the rooftop. It just wasn't logical.

"How in the world did I get here?" exclaimed a panicked Harry as he surveyed the scene he was in. It was clearly the rooftop since he remembered the place when he hid there one time when he was chased by Dudley and his gang. He knew where he was but the question was HOW he got there.

"Okay Harry, let's be logical about this. The dumpster is down on the ground floor while I'm currently on the roof, which is three floors up. There's no way you could just disappear and reappear from there to here." Harry thought out loud, trying to remember how it happened.

"Let me see. Dudley and his gang were chasing me, I didn't want to get caught so I jumped into a dumpster hoping they wouldn't find me then something happened that made me end up here." then he remembered one detail that he clearly forgot. "I came out of the shadow! It's like I entered the shadow inside the dumpster and exited the shadow under me…weird."

He looked down and saw the shadow he was standing on. He stamped his foot on it and discovered it was solid.

"Duh, I'm standing on it so it has to be solid." Harry berated himself while rolling his eyes. "I wonder…" he crouched down and poked at the shadow as if expecting it to react. His finger didn't even phase through the shadow or the floor it was currently on. "Okay, that didn't work. There must be something else I'm missing."

He sat down and closed his eyes. He visualized the incident exactly how it happened. He remembered how scared he was that Dudley and his gang was chasing him…again. An extra incentive to his fear was due to Dudley being very angry since the school cafeteria was out of chocolate cake and Dudley LOVE chocolate cake. Of course, Harry was his outlet and was extra vindictive with this session of Harry Hunting. Continuing on, with Dudley's extra anger being directed at him, Harry was quite afraid of being caught knowing that he'll end up with broken bones this time. He remembered his decision of jumping into a dumpster and hoping, praying, that he wouldn't be found. It was when it happened.

His eyes popped open and grinned. He was afraid of being caught and it pushed him to do another form of 'weirdness'.

It was like…magic, like those in the fantasy books he read in the library.

"That's it! exclaimed Harry in excitement. "It has to be magic. My hair, the shrinking shirt, bruises and wounds healing overnight, and now this…this...teleportation thing. There's no possible explanation. It has to be magic."

Of course, for an 8 year old, you don't question WHY it happened only that IT did.

"Now all I need to do is to somehow get this magic thing under control. If I remember right, I was quite afraid of being found before this happened. So maybe it had something to do with emotions. Fear…hmmm."

Harry stood up from where he was standing and looked down at the shadow again. He poked it with a finger but nothing happened. This time around, he imagined the fear of getting beat up again and willing himself to go somewhere safe.

This time it worked.

It rippled a bit before his finger slowly sunk into the shadow. Shocked at what he was seeing, Harry immediately withdrew his finger and inspected it. It was still attached to the rest of his hand, safe and sound.

He grinned.

"That was so cool!" he shouted in excitement.

He was able to control his excitement and proceeded to try again determined to achieve a modicum of control. He placed his finger on the shadow again but frowned when he felt nothing but the coldness of the floor. He brought up the emotions he felt during the chase and was surprised when his finger sunk into the shadow again. Grinning, he pushed his whole hand into the shadow and pulled it out.

Feeling a bit daring, he looked around for a more appropriate setting to try another experiment. He saw a patch of shadow just beside the door that led to the lower floors of the building. Thankfully, the position of the large tank made it possible to have a human-size shadow on the wall.

Harry walked over to the shadow and took a deep breath. He concentrated and pushed his hand into the shadow, melting right into it. Satisfied that it worked, he pulled his hand out, took a deep breath and closed his eyes before plunging his head into it. Thankfully, he was still in control so he didn't bang his head on the wall.

He opened one of his eyes and saw that he was somewhere behind the school. He looked around and saw that his head was currently sticking out of a shadow on the tree trunk. He grinned and proceeded to walk out. He felt his body tingle and encountered a resistance as if he waded through water. The sensation ended when he completely exited the shadow. Fortunately, the place was deserted so his experiments was kept secret.

"I wonder if I can control where I end up." Harry wondered out loud. Deciding to test his theory, he imagined 'shadowing' into the library, specifically in an alcove where he usually hid and read books to get away from Dudley and his gang. Visualizing where he wanted to go, he walked to the shadow on the tree. He hit the tree with a loud 'thunk'.

"Owwww. Bloody hell. That didn't work." said Harry as he rubbed his aching nose while glaring at the innocent shadow on the tree. Deciding to try again, this time a bit cautiously, he placed a hand on the shadow and pushed while envisioning his favorite spot in the library. It took quite a while until he was frustrated enough that he willed himself to pass through the shadow. Fortunately, it worked but it took him completely by surprise.

With a yelp, he fell into the shadow at being caught off guard and exited where he wanted to be. However, the force of his entry equaled his exit. He lost his balance and fell to the floor with a loud thud. Thankfully, his hidey-hole was far away from the librarian's cubicle so his sudden appearance went unnoticed.

"That hurts. Mental note, walk slowly into the shadow. Don't PUSH yourself into it like a bloody git. Uugh." groaned Harry as he pushed himself off the floor and dusted his oversize clothing. He looked around and grinned. He was where he wanted to be.

Since there was still half-an-hour before lunch break ends, Harry practiced his newly discovered ability until such a time that he could 'shadow walk' from the library to the playground, to the rooftop, and vice versa. When the lunch bell rang, Harry left the library, through the door this time, with a grin oblivious to a confused librarian who swore that she didn't see the kid enter her territory during lunch time.

After discovering his magic, Harry spent a lot of his free time or during chores trying to coax his magic to do what he wanted. It was fruitless at first and took quite a while to get the desired results. He mastered his shadow walking after the first month of discovery but other feats of magic were sporadic at best. He didn't quite, however, but was more determined to master it by any way possible.

This was one of the reasons why he started reading a book on meditation.

While practicing his shadow walking ability, he noticed that he needed to focus on his destination, as well as trying to bring out the right emotion to trigger the ability. The discovery of his magic forced read and reread all the fantasy books in the library and all of them said the same thing.

Focus of mind and will. You think on what you want the magic to do and will the magic to do it.

Of course, this was easier said than done.

Thankfully, he was able to find a book on meditation after encountering the term in one of the fantasy books he read. It took two months of constant nightly meditation before going to bed that he was able to somewhat discover the source of his magic

During one of his meditation exercises, he accidentally delved deeper into his mind and was surprised when he found himself in front of a ball of light, twice the size of a basketball. He was confused at first but eventually realized that this was the source of his magic.

When he touched the ball for the first time, a warm feeling rushed through his body, he felt stronger, weightlessness, an powerful that made him feel that he could do anything he wanted. While keeping his hands firmly on the ball and reveling on the feeling, he studied his 'magic ball' closely. It was white with flecks of red, blue, green, and gold. He also noticed wisps of black smoke floating inside the ball, pulsing and stretching as if it wanted to be free from the confines of the ball.

Another thing he noticed was a thread of sickly green thread coming from the ball towards the unknown. He didn't bother with this for now since he was too excited his discovery of the source of his magic.

Thanks to this discovery, he was able to visit his 'magic ball' every night after that. It took hours at first but he diligently practiced until he could go there in a minutes. He found out that touching the ball while conscious was hard, like focusing on two things at the same time. This didn't deter him, however, and kept on practicing until he was able to get the sensation on his hands as he visualized in his 'mind's eye' that he was touching the ball of light inside him.

Considering that he was in his dark cupboard at that time, he willed a ball of light to appear on his hand while he was still connection to his 'magic ball'. He almost cheered out loud when a small ball of light appeared on the tip of his index finger but disappeared when he lost his focus.

If anyone saw Harry at that time, they could have seen his emerald eyes alight with determination.

With a goal mind, Harry kept a nightly practice in bringing out a ball of light every night until such time that he could do so at will. He didn't bother to try anything else since he wanted to perfect this part of his self-imposed training and determined to master it before moving on to something else.

After 6 months of meditation and practicing his 'make light' exercise, Harry noticed that he was able to control his emotions at will, bringing out certain memories to trigger a specific emotion. This made it possible for him to keep a bored facade as if he wasn't feeling anything at all. Finding this odd, he shadow walked to the library one night and looked for a more detailed book on meditation to determine what happened.

Of course, these trips didn't yield any result at all and Harry concluded that there weren't that many books on the subject in his school. A trip to the Public Library might be in order but it would be next to impossible to 'ask' the Dursleys to take him there unless he wanted to get a beating of a lifetime. He decided to drop this for now and kept with his current project.

Thanks to his constant practice, he was now able to create the ball of light anytime he wished. He made variations of the exercise by making it float above his palm and around his body. Harry found it quite fun letting the ball float around him like a toy. He was a kid after all and it was fun doing it.

Eventually, he found a detailed book on meditation in a section reserved for teachers. He found a sign stating that all the books in this section were used to supplement their teaching habits. Harry assumed that the book was used as a means for teachers to cope with unruly kids. Considering that they are teaching kids between 4 to 10 years old, they need all the help they could get even if it was from a book.

After reading the advance meditation text, Harry discovered that meditation can help a person sort their minds. A side-effect to this is the total control of subconscious and conscious thoughts allowing the person to remember and recall information faster, or the skill to review past events through their memories similar to watching a movie. This complete mental control made it possible for him to control his emotions, which results in better control of his magic.

Giddy with the discovery, he kept the book with him and read it from cover to cover while meditating with gusto. He discovered that he had an actual place in his mind, not just the magic ball and darkness, but an honest to goodness representation of his mind. Deciding to redecorate a bit, he visualized a place where he felt most comfortable in – a library. He decided to turn his memories into books and organized them accordingly. He noticed that his 'magic ball' was getting bigger and brighter the more he kept organizing his memories. Harry assumed that his control over his mind allowed his magic ball to continue to expand and improve. To Harry's young mind, he determined that he was getting stronger as he became better with his meditation.

He was confused, however, when he discovered that the sickly green thread was connected to a memory that he usually attributed to his nightmare – a sickly green light, a scream from a woman, and a man laughing like a maniac before being consumed by darkness.

Deciding that he didn't want the memory out in the open, he created a vault that he saw in one of Dudley's cartoons and locked the book inside it. The book was quite heavy to move and kept resisting his attempts, but he eventually succeeded in locking up the damn thing.

He noticed that his mind felt better and his magic brighter after he locked the book away. He saw that the thread was slowly fading until it was no longer connected to his core. He didn't know why at that time but the disappearance of the thread made him happy.

Harry opened his eyes and noticed that his magic was a lot easier to control after he locked the 'nightmare book' inside his mind vault. He could now touch and call on his magic easily and made it do what he wanted it to. He discovered this after willing his trustee light ball to existence and was shocked that it appeared immediately without having to really focus on it.

With a grin, he shadow walked to the kitchen since it was still the middle of the night and the snores coming from the second floor was an indication that the Dursleys were fast asleep. He also noticed that his shadow walking was a lot smoother as well, no longer feeling as if he was wading through water just to get to his destination. This time around, it felt like walking through a warm breeze. His conjured light was happily floating around him as if reflecting his mood. He was surprised that it was still around. Usually, the light disappears during shadow walks, considering his focus was limited to one magical task at a time.

Grinning some more, he pushed the ball of light outwards and willing it to brighten. He looked around and decided to have a midnight snack since he was quite hungry after sorting through his memories, not to mention the mental romp he had with the 'nightmare book' which took a lot of energy just to drag it into the vault.

Deciding to test his control over his magic, he willed the refrigerator door to open and floated a loaf of bread, cheese, ham, and some lettuce to the table.

Grinning at the ease of how his magic reacted to his intent, he mentally controlled each of the ingredients until he was able to make a scrumptious looking sandwich. He plopped down on a chair and floated the sandwich towards him, plucking it out of the air after it was in range, bit into it and moaned.

Delicious!

He finished the sandwich and floated a bottle of milk from the fridge and a glass from the cabinet over to him. Concentrating a bit, he tipped the milk bottle and poured a decent amount of milk into the glass without spilling any on the floor. Happy, he returned the milk and the rest of the ingredients to the fridge and drank the cold milk with gusto. He happily washed the glass and cleaned the table to erase all evidence of his crime spree before shadow walking back to his cupboard and slept the whole night away with a smile on his face, and for the first time, free from the nightmares that plagued him before almost every night.

Harry James Potter was currently in one of his nightly excursions to the library looking for fantasy books that he could use to further expand his use of magic.

After mastering his shadow walk and light ball. He moved on to other abilities that he instinctively knew he could do. First, he started with floating objects since he was able to do it with his light ball. It was easy since he already practiced it enough but he wanted to make sure that he could call on it at will if there's need.

After mastering Telekinesis - he got the name of his ability from the telly - he experimented with his magic to try to come up with other abilities that he could apply in the real world. Since he lacked the materials since the modern world consider such things as myths, he resorted to reading fantasy books and mimicked the abilities displayed by characters within.

Sure, the absurdity of using fantasy books as a base for his abilities crossed his mind but he countered it by thinking that magic shouldn't exist in the first place but it did…so there.

After a month of reading and experimenting, he discovered that magical feats are deeply rooted with his knowledge. If he wanted something to be done, he needed to know HOW it is done in order to replicate the effect. He got this piece of knowledge from reading the Belgariad and Malloreon books that became two of his many favorites.

In it, the 'sorcerers' termed their brand of magic the Will and the Word. Thanks to Belgarath's explanation on how their unique brand of magic worked, Harry was able to replicate the effects after some practice. However, the only drawback is the lack of knowledge in how things SHOULD work which stopped him from going any further.

This forced Harry to check out different books in the library, namely Science books since he needed to know how the natural world works. He experimented with some stuff until his repertoire of 'spells' increased.

After some practice, Harry could now make things disappear though he just made the object of his focus 'relocate' to another location making it disappear right before his eyes. He had fun with this ability especially when he was ordered by his aunt to clean the house from top to bottom. He just banished the dust and grime to another place – or in this case, the playground across the street that he was quite familiar with though he didn't know at that time that he dumped the entirety of the Dursley home's dust on top of a bullying Dudley - and spent the rest of the time honing his mind to prepare ahead while 'pretending' to clean.

Another skill that he was quite proud of was his own version of Telepathy after reading through the exploits of Polgara the Sorceress. If Belgarath and the rest of his brothers were the brawns, then Polgara and Poledra were the brains. In most cases, the two sorceresses delved into the magic of the mind compared to their male counterparts which were the muscles in the story.

Thanks to his newly-improved focus and control, he could literally reach out with his mind and hear what other people were thinking. Of course, he practiced this with the Dursleys along with the kids and teachers at school until he perfected the technique that he could do it to the point of no longer focusing too much in 'connecting' with his target's minds. He did notice that he was restricted to one person at a time. He was thankful for that since hearing one thought was already took too much concentration and hearing the ENTIRE school might prove too much for him to handle.

A side-effect to this was the ability to plant 'suggestions' on the target's mind. This happened by accident.

He was busy reading Dudley's mind as he ran until he got exasperated enough that he mentally yelled at Dudley to stop. Amazingly, the huge tub-of-lard really did stop, which gave the budding sorcerer ample time to shadow walk to the rooftop and ponder on his latest discovery.

He immediately put this into practice but this took quite a while to perfect. Harry discovered that this ability acted like a voice inside a person's head, like their conscience so to speak, telling them something as if it was their mind directly speaking to them -hence the term 'talking to yourself'.

Once he got a margin of control over this ability, Harry immediately made good use of this ability by subtly telling his aunt and uncle that making him stay in the cupboard might cause problems in the future, like what if Social Services were to discover this and end up in jail with a huge fine. The result wasn't immediate but Harry noticed the way his aunt and uncle kept looking at the cupboard that was his bedroom with worried faces. It took a week of constant 'suggestion' until he was forcefully removed from his cupboard by his Uncle Vernon and instructed to clean the attic since it was now his 'room'.

Harry sported a smug look as he carried his meager belongings to his new home.

Harry happily observed his new home with growing excitement.

Despite the dusts and heaps of boxes and trunks littering the place, he chose the attic because of the privacy the place offered. The Dursleys rarely comes to the attic unless they wanted their old things to be kept away from their new stuff.

Of course, the chore in moving the junk to the attic was Harry's so he could safely say that this was the perfect place for him so he could secretly practice his magic without his 'loving' relatives discovering his secret. He was toying with the idea of erasing memories but decided against it since removing already existent memories was more complicated than planting suggestions. He didn't even know where to start and the books he read didn't say anything as to how it was done so he was working with nothing regarding this potential ability.

Dumping his meager belongings, consisting of a small pillow, a patched quilt which served as his blanket, some crayons and a small notebook, and some of Dudley's discarded action figures; he focused on the task at hand before releasing his magic.

The dusts and cobwebs that covered the place disappeared immediately while boxes and trunks floated and arranged themselves in one corner of the room to be sorted later. After the initial clean-up was done, he concentrated a bit and 'transported' his small bed from the cupboard to the corner beside the only window in the attic. He knew that the view at night would be something to enjoy when boredom sets in.

Nodding to himself, he dumped his belongings on the bed while he moved to the boxes and trunks. He needed to see if there were things inside he could use to decorate the place. After all, the place was HIS home now so he needs to liven it up a bit.

Harry found a lot of the Dursley junk to be in relatively good condition. He found a bedside table that he levitated by his bed that would be the perfect place for holding his book before going to sleep or be in reaching distance when the book bug bit him, a Persian rug; some old dishes, Dudley's old toys, and a dozen of Dudley's school books.

Harry rolled his eyes when he saw the latter. Only Dudley would place the books that are STILL in use at school into storage without worries.

After sorting the junk in boxes and seeing that none of them were anymore use to him, well, not at the present anyway, he moved to checking out the trunks.

Obviously, most of the stuff inside the trunks were old clothes that belonged to his aunt and uncle. None of Dudley's clothes were there since he was using them. He also found some documents pertaining to Vernon's work at Grunnings, old newspaper clipping of important events, as well as some letters to the family from Marge.

Harry shuddered at being reminded of Vernon's sister. How he hated her and her blasted dog, Ripper. She'll come to a rude awakening when she comes to visit next time and sick her dog on him. He almost grinned at the thought. He never really tried using his mind abilities on animals but Ripper was the perfect specimen, err, animal to experiment on.

After closing and floating the explored trunks to the corner, he saw that the last trunk was beautiful. It was made from dark brown wood and gilded in silver. Seeing the dust, he immediately made it disappear that brought out its natural sheen. He studied the trunk for a few minutes, running his hands on the wood and admiring the various designs inlaid on the metal that served as its fastening. He froze when he saw the name on the side of the trunk.

Lily Evans Potter

This was his mother's trunk. He froze at the revelation that his mother's trunk was in the attic the whole time and none of the Dursleys told him about it. Anger bubbled out but he immediately clamped it down using his skill in meditation. Lashing out at the Dursleys wouldn't do much good. If worst comes to worst, they'll take the trunk away never to be seen again. He needed to avoid that at all cost.

He levitated the trunk and let it float beside him as he moved to his bed. He placed the trunk on the floor and reverently unlocked the clasp that kept it closed. With a resounding click, he lifted the cover and was quite amazed at what he saw.

Inside were things belonging to his mother, something the he would treasure his whole life. He was confused, however, when he saw parchments and quills, as well as full ink bottles. It was as if his mom lived in the Dark Ages. He was about to remove the items when he saw two sealed letters on top of the books. There on the front of the letters was his name, Harry James Potter, in a cursive script that easily told him that this was from his mother addressed to him.

With a shaky hand, he took the letter and broke the wax sealbefore starting to read.

My Beloved Harry,

If you read this letter then what I fear the most had come to pass – your father and I are now dead and you're under the care of your godfather, Sirius Black.

By now, he would have explained everything you need to know about your heritage. If you're not with Sirius then you should be with Minerva McGonagall with her doing the same. There are others stated in our Will that will take care of you if both of them are unable to. But if you're not with them then you will surely be with my sister, Petunia. If you're under her care then you should read on my son and learn the truth of our family and our world.

That's right Harry. You're part of a heritage that started since civilization began. There is a world out there that is different from the norm.

This is the world of Magic.

That's right my beloved Harry, magic exists and our family is magical. There is a world out there separate and hidden from those without magic.

I'm a witch, a female with magic, while you're father is a wizard. And you're one too Harry, our little wizard, considering how much magic you've been doing since you came out.

Your father and I prepared this trunk for the worst case scenario that we are no longer in this world, to make sure that you're well-prepared when you enter our world. Inside are tools that you will surely need in order to acquaint yourself with the Wizarding World and not act foolish and ignorant upon your entry. It is a different world, my son, and hopefully these tools will help you learn and adapt to the change.

Before your father and I go into the items inside the trunk, you need to know what happened and why we died. Minerva or Sirius would have told you everything that happened before and after we died but if you're not with them then I'll do my best to explain it to you since I'm sure that your aunt lied to you regarding our deaths and I expected her to do so since she hated magic her whole life when she found out that I was a witch and she wasn't.

Jealousy reared its ugly head and since then, Petunia and I parted ways with little to no communication from each other.

Our death wasn't caused by an accident. We were murdered by the Dark Lord Voldemort, an evil wizard who terrorized the magical community during our time. Of course, we helped fight him and his minions, the Death Eaters, to free us from his actions.

There was a prophecy given by a seer that will be the cause of our deaths. This is the reason why he targeted us and one other family in hopes that his inevitable defeat is thwarted. The prophecy goes:

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies ..."

Your father and I never believe in prophecies since it is one of the most inexact studies of magic and the future is what you make of it. However, Voldemort was able to get his hands on the prophecy and believed in it. There was nothing we could do since it was his decision that made the prophecy valid and allowed Destiny to take control of our lives, mainly yours.

The appearance of this trunk in your Aunt's home means that Voldemort attacked our family which led to our death and that you, Harry, is the instrument of this prophecy. We are not sure what came to pass but we're sure that Voldemort is defeated; Destiny will make sure of that. However, we're not sure if he is truly dead but it is quite possible that he is still alive.

Don't be afraid, my son, for you are not alone in this. Your father and I are always watching you even if we're no longer a part of this world. This is where the trunk will be useful to you.

You're father and I attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and you will be attending it too when you reach eleven. A letter will be sent to you via owl informing you of your attendance to this school. It is a wonderful experience my son and I hope you will learn all you can while having fun at the same time.

Inside this trunk are the items that your father and I gathered to make sure that you're well-prepared when you enter Hogwarts.

Inside is my Diary, as well as your father's. These two chronicle our life starting from Hogwarts and beyond. The last entry there should be me telling the diary that I am planning to write you a letter while James is preparing the trunk.

Aside from the diaries, we also included books that will aid you in your quest to learn about magic. Books from our first two years of Hogwarts should be enough to tide you over until you enter the Wizarding World when you reach the right age. You can always buy more when you go shop for your school supplies. Since you're my son, I know deep in my heart that you will be following in my footsteps, as well as your fathers.

These books are the basics when it comes to magic so read them well my son and learn from it.

Included are parchments and inks so you can practice before entering school. Trust me, you need it. I had problems using quills during my first entry into the magical world and I don't want my son to suffer the same fate as me. Homework will be easier if you mastered writing with a quill. You might be thinking now why don't we use the standard pens and papers like normal people. Let's just say that the Wizarding World is living in the Dark Ages thanks to their love of tradition.

Your father also included some books from the Potter Library that you will need to prepare yourself further. I'm not sure why he included those books but I'm sure that he explained everything in the letter he placed inside the trunk. Read it as well since it might contain things that I might have missed.

Also, the trunk is enchanted to hold more despite its size. There should be a lot of books underneath the parchment and ink. I added around a dozen of them but I'm sure James will be adding more so prepare for a lot of reading.

Finally, my wand should be in the trunk. After we heard of the prophecy and planning for this trunk, James and I decided to enchant our wands to make sure that it is placed inside upon our deaths. Wands will be explained in the book "A Muggleborn's Guide To Withcraft and Wizardry" so make sure that you read it first before starting with the rest. It is a great preparatory reading material for those who are new to the Wizarding World and Magic.

This had been a long letter to write but it is not long enough for me since I know that this will be the last.

Just keep in mind, Harry that we love you with all our hearts and will always be there to watch over you.

I apologize for dumping this on you my beloved son but it is a necessity if you are to survive in the world of magic.

Yours in love forever,

Lily Evans Potter

PS: I enchanted this trunk myself. Make sure that you activate its security feature. Place 3 drops of your blood on the lock to attune it to you. This will make sure that ONLY you can open this trunk and no one else. Others can touch it or carry it but they can NEVER open it. I made sure of that so that your secrets will remain just that…secrets.

Harry cried after reading the letter. He was loved. Even if his parents were no longer in this world, he was loved and he loved them for it. He reread his mother's letter one more time, this time with a smile, before picking up another letter, which he was sure was from his dad.

Dear Prongslet,

I'm not really that fond of writing long letters but I'll do my best since I know that this will be my last.

Before I start with the trunk, let me first tell you that I love you. When you came out of your mother's womb, I loved you the moment I laid my eyes on you. Even if I'm no longer in this world, just remember that your dad is always watching and cheering for you. My son, my beloved Harry.

Your mother and I prepared this trunk in case that we are killed by the followers of Voldemort or by the Dark Lord himself. We don't know why at first but he always targeted our family. If you are reading this then what we expected have come to pass and the prophecy is now in motion.

After careful planning with your mom, we decided to prepare you with enough knowledge to make sure that you're not caught unawares upon entering our world.

This letter will contain two important instructions you need to follow as soon as you can.

First, you need to make your way to Gringotts upon entering Diagon Alley. Instructions to reach the alley are in the book packed by your mother. It is a guide for muggleborns (first generation magical children born to muggles – non-magical folks). Make sure that you read it before you go to Diagon.

When in Gringotts, you need to look for Griphook. He is our family's account manager. I left him instructions on what to do upon your arrival. Just show him this letter, he will know what to do.

Second, there are two books here that you need to study from cover to cover. First is the book "Occlumency: A Guide to Protecting The Unprotected Mind" and "Pureblood Custom and Etiquette". I'm sure that you have a lot of questions regarding these books and I stress that you read the two of them first. I'll try to give you an idea why it is necessary to learn them by heart.

The first book is all about protecting one's mind. In the Wizarding World, there are people well-versed in the magical art called Legilimency. It is the art of reading one's mind. Voldemort is a master of this art so it is necessary to learn this as soon as possible to protect yourself from mind attacks.

The second book is necessary due to your status in the Wizarding World. The Potter name is one of the oldest families dating back to the time of Merlin and has played a major role in the Wizarding World's conception. We are considered royalty, similar to other houses that are mentioned inside the book. It is necessary that you are familiar with your status as the Heir to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter to avoid people using you towards their own gains. The book should prepare you in terms of Wizarding Politics, Protocols, and Etiquette to avoid some blunder that is quite common with uneducated heirs.

Before I end this letter, I impart to you the words that generations of Potters consider as their creed.

"Trust no one but yourself. Let no words from other sway your beliefs.

Amass knowledge and prepare for Truth comes to an aware mind.

Face the world with a courageous and honorable heart. It shall not lead you astray

Potters forwards to life and beyond."

I love you my son and I pray and hope that your mother and I will not be seeing you up here for a very long time.

Lord James Charlus Potter

Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter

Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Gryffindor

PS: The rest of the books, aside from the two I mentioned in this letter, are for general reading. Most of them are a bit complicated without the backing of theories taught at Hogwarts; but others are quite useful as you grow as a wizard. Just read them at your leisure since I'm sure that some of them will catch your fancy *wink wink*.

Tears were again shed as Harry read his father's letter. Seeing his parents preparing him even if they are no longer with him brought a steely determination to his resolve. He WILL make his parents proud and Voldemort will rue the day he crossed the Potters.

Edited by Corruptmonk

May 22, 2012