Harry Potter and the Power He Knows Not
Summary:
Harry is back at Privet Drive once more and is plagued with nightmares of the Department of Mysteries. In addition, the prophecy is on his mind, and so is Ginny Weasley. She helps him to deal with Sirius's death during the summer, and his other troubles throughout the school year. With her help, Harry understands "The Power He Knows Not" and learns how to use his 'power'. Meanwhile another prophecy is made, Werewolves, Vampires, Giants, Centaurs, Goblins and other magical beings choose sides, Voldemort's forces infiltrate the ministry completely, and the war truly begins.

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Prologue: Tired of Being Sorry

It was just another hot afternoon in Little Whinging, Surrey, located in the Southeast of England. Youngsters had recently returned for the summer holidays. Children could be seen in the playgrounds, while teenagers were wandering the streets or parks, and families were out enjoying various outdoor activities.

While the normal inhabitants were busy planning out a fun summer, one teenage boy sat alone in his room in broad daylight, sulking. That boy was Harry Potter. Harry was no ordinary teenager. He was a nearly sixteen year old wizard, fresh from his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He had messy black hair and emerald green eyes, which were hidden behind heavy glasses. His most distinguishing feature was a lighting shaped scar on the right side of his forehead. His expression showed maturity well beyond his age. His thin frame was covered with clothes four sizes too big for him, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

He had seen horrors in his life which most people, even those more than twice his age, couldn't imagine. The most recent and painful incident had been the death of his beloved godfather, Sirius Black, at the hands of Voldemort's most loyal servant, Bellatrix Lestrange. Harry blamed himself for the entire ordeal. He had led five of his friends into the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic after seeing Sirius being tortured in a vision, which turned out to be a trap. A terrible battle took place between Voldemort's Death Eaters and the members of the Order of the Phoenix, who had come to the rescue of the teenagers. In the midst of the battle, Bellatrix and Sirius fought. When a curse hit Sirius, he fell through the Veil of Death in the Death Chamber as Harry watched helplessly from across the room.

It had been weeks since that night at the Ministry, but Harry still was not able to come to terms with all that had happened. Guilt consumed him. He was to blame for luring his friends into danger and taking them on a wild goose chase that resulted in Sirius's death. He also felt guilty for the injuries his friends sustained from fighting experienced Death Eaters. In addition, he also felt he was responsible for the deaths of his parents and fellow Tri-Wizard champion, Cedric Diggory. To top it all off, Professor Dumbledore had revealed to him the prophecy made shortly before his birth, which stated that only he was the one with the power to defeat Voldemort. According to the headmaster, this power was love. Harry could not believe that he was destined to kill one of the most evil wizards of all times, let alone with love. How can someone be killed with love? Play a love song and dance with them until they pass out of emotion? He thought exasperatedly.

He was unable see the logic in Professor Dumbledore's reasoning regarding his so called power. It was this prophecy which had made his parents go into hiding all when he was a baby. When he found out that he would be the one to kill Voldemort, he felt like he was the reason his parents were dead. He was also fed up with the continuous agony that was his life—he had suffered so much, and for what? He was tired of the depression, the nightmares and the constant pain.

His friends were trying their best to cheer him up, knowing his habit of near constant brooding. He had received letters from his best friends, Ron and Hermione, but he could not muster the energy to reply. The only times he did reply, his letters consisted of no more than three or four lines. Other than Ron and Hermione, he had received letters from Fred and George Weasley, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom, all urging him to talk, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Surprisingly, it seemed the only person he could open up to was Ron's sister, Ginny Weasley.

It was strange to him, but somehow it seemed easy and natural to talk to Ginny. She wasn't as close to him as Ron and Hermione were, maybe that's why it was easier to open up to her, he didn't know. They weren't particularly close until the previous year, when she had come out of her shell and befriended him. She used to be very shy and quiet around him, but she was different now. She seemed more open and friendlier, like she was more like herself now she had abandoned her shyness. During the mess that was his OWL year, only Ginny had been able to get through him during his mood swings and brooding sessions. He was starting to see her in a new light—she was no longer just Ron's little sister to him anymore.

In her letters she had tried to cheer him up with her little jokes, informed of what was happening at the Burrow and what she knew of the Order, gently told him he could talk to her whenever and about whatever he wanted, but she never pushed. They were practically exchanging novels daily via owls. Her letters brought him a strange kind of happiness that almost made him feel lighter. Her letters were the brightest spots of his day, and when he received his daily mail, he saved her letter for the last.

Despite all this, Harry still blamed himself for Sirius's death. Nights were the worst time for him. He was unable get the image of Sirius falling through the veil out of his head. His nightmares were usually a cocktail of his most horrific memories, mainly his parents' death, the Chamber of Secrets, Voldemort's resurrection, and most recently, Sirius falling through the Veil. Every time he woke up from a nightmare, he could not help screaming out his pain. The only benefit of this, twisted though it was, was getting on the nerves of his the Dursleys. They hated him and his magic with a passion.

The Dursleys were his only living relatives. Petunia Dursley was his mother's sister; she hated her sister and her nephew, as well as the entire magical community, with a hatred that bordered on insanity. Harry was forced to live with the Dursleys because his mother's selfless sacrifice created a very powerful blood protection, which would only be in effect as long as Harry lived with his aunt and called Privet Drive his home, or until he came of age. Though he knew the reason he had to return every year, he still was not happy to be there.

Therefore Harry just sat on his bed, reading the letters from his friends over and over again, especially Ginny's. It helped keep his mind off of Sirius and the prophecy. He was reading a previous letter from Ginny, one where she had mentioned how Ron was still bothering her about the comment she made about dating Dean Thomas, one of Harry and Ron's roommates. She had told him in the letter that she had said that just to get Ron off her back, but that her brother was still trying to interfere in her love life.

Strangely, reading that Ginny was not going out with Dean brought Harry a strange kind of relief and happiness, a feeling he couldn't understand. Maybe it was because he thought Dean was not the right guy for Ginny. Ginny was a fun, loving, caring, full of life and beautiful young woman. She deserved someone far better than Dean Thomas. In his opinion Dean was a tosser. He didn't deserve her.

But why does that matter to me so much? He asked himself.

True, she was the only one he felt comfortable talking to about his feelings. She was the only one who understood what he went through because of his encounters with Voldemort. And she was the only one he felt like talking to at the moment. She kept popping into his thoughts with alarming regularity these days. He just could not understand the feeling. It was different from what he felt for Hermione. Hermione was like sister, always nagging him about his homework, fussing over him and offering him advice. But the feelings for Ginny felt different; just the thought of her made him happy. Strange, Harry thought.

After dinner, Harry decided to get on with his homework, but his mind was not into it. He was still intrigued by the mystery that was Ginny Weasley. She was the only person who was always able to get through to him. She was the one who had brought him out of his brooding during Christmas last year. She was the only one he listened to without blowing up.

As the night wore on, he decided to try his best not to dwell on the tragedies of the past and look towards the future. He decided to follow Ginny's advice and stop wallowing in self pity. He would try to not blame himself for Sirius's death and begin to take care of himself. She had told him that he had done all he could, but he still felt guilty; he couldn't help it. He sighed and pushed away all the depressing thoughts from his mind. He would think about Ginny and the feelings he had for her first thing in the morning, after he got some sleep.