Harry Potter and the Gift of Memories [Harry Potter Fan Fiction]

Chapter XIV: A Charming Breakfast

I burst through the doors to Master Wei's dojo. No one was there but the little teacher, whom I immediately hurried up to.

“I'm just like them, master! I'm just like them! I'm horrible and cruel! I've become a monster! I'm a monster! I never imagined I could be like this! All I wanted to do was protect myself but now I've become the very thing I hate and I'm not sure what I should do and I need your help and—”

I was babbling, I knew, but I couldn't stop. The words poured out, and the more I spoke the more words that continued spewing forth like a waterfall.

Master Wei held up a hand. I stopped talking.

“Calm down, young one,” he said, “I cannot understand a word you're saying. Relax. Take several deep breaths, that's it, breath in, now breath out.”

I did as told, breathing in deeply and then breathing out. I still felt like panicking, but Master Wei helped me calm down.

“Now,” Master Wei said, “tell me what happened.”

I nodded, and did exactly as he asked.

I told him about everything.

My hatred.

My fears.

My darkness.

XoX

His lungs burned with each breath he took. His legs felt like they were made of led. His muscles were on fire, and every movement he made felt like someone was trying to tear his body apart. It was the ultimate form of torture.

And Harry loved every minute of it.

It was the day after the Sorting Ceremony. The sun was still hiding behind the horizon, not yet risen high enough to cast anything more than a pale yellow light into the sky. And like most mornings, Harry Potter found himself exercising before anyone else woke up.

The morning air was crisp and cool as Harry pushed his body much harder than he usually did. Each ragged gasp that left his throat produced a light mist in the cold air of Scotland, though he knew most of it was due to his magic reacting to his overheating body. The cool morning air of Scotland combined with the elevated height made his work out this morning much more difficult than some of his other ones.

Even as his lungs heaved another ragged gasp, a smile made its way to his face. There was something to be said about pushing ones body beyond its physical limitations, of trying to break your previous boundaries. Harry always felt his best when his work outs consisted of this kind of regime.

By the time Harry finished his body was caked in sweat and his shoulders heaved as he gulped in as much oxygen as his lungs would allow.

The cool air of the morning hit his naked torso, and his pectoral muscles twitched from the contrast it presented between the cold morning air and his overheating body.

Walking over to the tree whose limb he had used for his pull ups, Harry grabbed both the towel and water bottle he'd set aside. The towel went around his neck after he used it to wipe the sweat off his body, and the water bottle was guzzled down seconds later. He took one moment to look over at the sun as it continued its slow, steady rise over the mountains, before making his way back to Hogwarts.

Traveling along the path he had memorized from last night, Harry made his way to the Gryffindor Tower. He was forced to stop several times as the stairs moved on him, and sometimes he got sick of waiting and simply worked out a new path to follow. Eventually, he made his to the portrait of the Fat Lady, a very fat woman in a pink silk dress. The Fat Lady was asleep, the deep breaths she took and the her shut eyes told him this.