"Works for me", Harry shrugged. Harry passed his days at Privet Drive by waking early and spending as much as the day as possible studying, and practicing the wand movements of the spells he was learning, confident that he would be able to perform them adequately when he obtained a new wand.
He had asked for the help of Dobby and Winky to complete the needed chores knowing that what he was doing was more important. The elves had eagerly agreed to help the teen and Winky would bring him several meals a day, something that pleased him as his appetite had certainly grown recently.
Apart from not hearing from anyone in any form, there was one thing that was bothering Harry and that was that he seemed to have a lot of pent up energy, more than he had ever had before. He had put it down to his increase of food but began questioning whether or not it had something to do with what Dumbledore was looking in to. In an attempt to release the energy he started exercising in the mornings immediately noticing the benefits, as he was able to focus on his work without fidgeting as he had been. He would do push ups and such and even began jogging on the odd day, always being tailed by whoever was watching him at the time.
He had been home from Hogwarts for almost two weeks and was sat at his desk reading the final page of the night as his alarm clock beeped, notifying him that it was now midnight.
He finished the page he was reading and stretched, readying himself for the four hours sleep he would now get a night, not by choice mind, but it seemed that he was well rested even after what he considered to be a short sleep.
He had just returned the book he had finished to the trunk when he heard two near inaudible pops sound within the room and he quickly drew his wand instinctively, but he was not quick enough.
He managed to get a glimpse of two figures in dark robes as he turned before a jet of red light hit him and he knew no more.
(BREAK)
Albus Dumbledore sat at a table in the Great Hall surrounded by the members of the Order of the Phoenix, preparing himself to address them in regards to Harry.
He had spent the past couple of weeks pondering the boy and his discovery that somehow, by some miracle, the Horcrux within him was gone.
Initially Dumbledore had been ecstatic by the news but soon found himself in quite the quandary. He had firstly believed that with Harry managing to rid himself of the Horcrux, the prophecy had been fulfilled, a thought that did not last very long at all. The prophecy clearly stated that one must die by the hand of the other and neither of the two were dead yet.
This also partially explained why Harry's wand would no longer work for him; it was simply no longer a match. Clearly the influence of Tom had been much more prominent within Harry than Dumbledore had ever anticipated, to the point that it affected the primary choice of wand core for the boy, the pair sharing an exact core of course.
Dumbledore also believed that Harry had also matured above the capabilities of the wand he had, something he would ask the members of the Order that had recent contact with the boy. He himself had noticed that Harry was much calmer than he would usually be, even when being told that he would be staying with his relatives, he did not shout or get angry in his usual fashion but he had accepted it calmly.
Regardless of anything speculative, one thing was clear to the Headmaster and it pained him to admit it; Harry would indeed need to be trained and ready to fight Tom, something that Dumbledore had never wanted to face but no longer had a choice. He could either help Harry and guide him away from a path he was heading down, or he could continue to try and control him, giving the boy no reason to trust anyone and sacrificing his innocence to be victorious, something that the old man suspected that Harry would achieve by any means necessary.
Seeing that the entire Order, minus Tonks' who was on guard duty, was present, he cleared his throat to begin.
"I have called you all here tonight to discuss young Mr. Potter", he informed the assembled people.
"What is there to discuss?", Snape asked irritably. "You said yourself the boy has demanded to be left alone to sulk for the summer, I say we leave him to it", he finished with a drawl.
"It is no longer that simple Severus", Dumbledore responded gravely. "Have any of you noticed anything different about Harry?", he inquired. "Anything at all".
"He was barely seen for the last two weeks of term, Mr. Longbottom and Miss Granger were rather concerned about him, he seems to have isolated himself from everyone", Minerva pointed out worriedly.
"Ron also mentioned that when he and Harry had an argument in the hospital wing that he didn't get angry like he usually would", Molly interjected.
"Yes, my observations also", Dumbledore mused aloud. "Anything else?", he added.
"Just before the students left for the summer I came across Potter and Mr. Malfoy having an exchange, though it was not explosive and loud as they would usually be", Snape answered thoughtfully. "Whatever happened left Draco with quite a burn on his cheek and rather shaken up", he explained with a frown.
"Aye and the lad wasn't happy with us having words with his relatives, I know I am right about the boy Albus", Moody spoke darkly.
"I fear that you are almost right Alastor, but we can still prevent it", Dumbledore sighed.
"You really think that Harry is turning dark?", Remus asked worriedly.
"I believe that Harry is willing to do whatever is necessary to kill Tom", Dumbledore answered. "It is undeniable that he has changed, all of the evidence points that way", he surmised.
"The boy is just sulking, he will be back to his arrogant self by the end of the summer, mark my words", Snape retorted. "I wish that was the case Severus, but there is no doubt that Harry has changed permanently, I wish that it wasn't true but it is", Dumbledore said sadly.
"What do you mean? Are you sure it's not just the grief?", Arthur asked worriedly.
Dumbledore sighed.
"The changes are undeniable after the last conversation I had with him when Alastor brought his concerns to my attention", the headmaster began. "Harry has outgrown his wand, something that would not happen unless the changes were permanent", he explained.