Chapter 1: The Awakening
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PROLOGUE
Broken and defeated on the fields of blood and sand, there once lived a man who wielded the power to change the realm forever more. Now re-incarnated from the ashes, the lone figure emerges from the depths of the nether, stronger, even more determined, eyes ablaze with a fervour no mere mortal could dare challenge.
The powers that be have cast judgement on the one who was heralded as the Strongest.
Little did the Gods know that this being bowed to no Heavenly host, neither cowered before the Devils of Hell.
After his restless slumber, the Legendary Dark Lord rises again.
**Chapter 1: The Awakening.**
The drive home from platform nine and three quarters was engulfed in a tense silence. Uncle Vernon was in caught between wanting to throttle the boy, and fearing the consequences.
"Petunia, how dare that, that, freak insult me and threaten my family?"
"Now, now," she tried to soothe him. "Let’s not get upset, the doctor said your pressure-"
"Blast the doctor - he's totally incompetent! First he says Dudders is overweight, and now he's harping about my blood pressure! I'm fine!" he grumbled, sweat beading down his face. "Isn't that so Dudders? That so-called doctor doesn't know what he's doing."
"Er- yeah...dad," Dudley said.
As the car drove on and Harry felt the uncomfortable silence eating at him, his mind once again drifted to the past recent events. Was it only a few days ago he had seen him die? It felt as if a part of him had disappeared along with Sirius through the veil. He sighed and leant back in the seat; his head lolling against the window and cushion.
"Potter, who the hell was that, that er- person?" Vernon blurted out.
Harry saw his uncle's eyes looking at him in the rear-view mirror, the indignant expression evident on his face. He ignored him, and slowly turned his gaze back on the window. Dudley watched him out of the corner of his eye when he refused to answer. Petunia shot a look at Harry, opened her mouth to say something, and then changed her mind. Vernon did not notice his wife’s hesitation, and looked again in the mirror.
"Boy! Did you not hear me? I said 'who was that man?" he repeated in a threatening tone.
Harry sighed and slowly turned his gaze onto the mirror, making eye contact with his uncle.
"That was Professor Moody."
He didn’t think that his uncle would understand what Aurors were - neither Death Eaters - so he left that as it was. Once again, that disjointed white line on the highway captured his attention. It was odd, how after all the things he had gone through, going to the place he called home seemed more terrible than everything else.
Vernon was astonished that someone so menacing could ever be a teacher, and immediately dismissed the idea. He wasn't a Professor. Couldn't be.
“Teacher? Don’t you go telling lies boy! He surely was one of y-your criminal friends!”
Harry didn’t even contradict him. Just having a conversation with his uncle was an exercise in futility. When he thought about it, he hardly knew Alastor ‘Mad-Eye’ Moody. The Moody he knew was actually not Moody at all, it was an impersonator: Bartemus Crouch Jr. Once again he felt like kicking himself because of his gullibility and recklessness. If every wizard he encountered could fool him so thoroughly, how was he supposed to defeat the master of the Deceptive arts? Harry couldn’t believe he had gotten so close to Voldemort yet still managed to escape death. Barty Crouch turned out to be a very determined, intelligent, and aggressive, lunatic. Luckily his master plan had failed, his composure lost and Harry was glad that the ranting of a madman gave Dumbledore the chance to come to the rescue. One thing he did inadvertently learn from Crouch (yet still needed to implement more efficiently) was Moody’s credo: Constant Vigilance. After fighting with the Dark Lord, you would think he would have more common sense than to fall immediately into the hands of another Dark Wizard.
