THE GHOST

J K Rowling owns all the rights to the books and the amazing characters she created. I write only to satisfy my imagination and use my creativity and make no money from my writings.

Chapter 1 – He Couldn't Take It Anymore

A boy, a boy who could almost be considered a man but never would be by most, was in pain as he hurried through the corridors of the ancient castle heading towards the seldom used exit he knew about. He clutched his right hand with his left, trying to keep blood from dripping off his hand onto the floor as his exhausted, poisoned body could not afford to lose more blood. However, he knew he would as tomorrow he would either be spending three excruciating hours losing more blood via writing "simple lines" with an illegal blood quill in detention with the "Toad Woman from Hell" or worst, much worst.

You see the boy who was nearly a man was Harry James Potter and Harry James Potter had been conceived, born, lived and raised to suffer, to endure and in the end…well only Albus Dumbledore really knew when it would end as like Harry's conception, birth, upbringing and what passed for his miserable life, Albus Dumbledore would choose when it was allowed to end. It would end when the Greatest Wizard since Merlin and self-proclaimed Leader of the Light, Legendary Hero and whichever of the many accolades given to him he was using that week, decided it would end. It would not occur a moment before because again, it was the WILL OF ALBUS DUMBLEDORE, who always won in the end…even if it took longer than originally expected.

It was four weeks into Harry Potter's fifth year. He had led a Dickensian childhood – all thanks to Dumbledore and his wants, needs and schemes – had had a very minute bit of hope when he found out he was a wizard only for it to be dashed when he re-entered "his true world" and found not friends, respect, hope and the learning he was hoping for, but the same. It was basically the same he had lived with at the Dursleys only it wasn't just the small portion of Surrey where he lived it was a much larger group of people, it was an entire world.

And he had disappointed 99.9% of this entire world as he was not what they had expected, what they had been led to believe he was. No he was nothing like what was expected and most saddest of all, what he really should have been, because he had been denied the knowledge of EVERYTHING HE SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BY RIGHTS not only due to his heritage standing in this world but all of the very basics that even Muggleborns knew about before they came to Hogwarts.

No. Dumbledore had seen to it that he KNEW NOTHING AND NEVER WOULD. The more it could have helped him to fit in, the more it existence was denied to him. And everybody was "in on it" as it was the will and orders of Albus Dumbledore. Even Harry's enemies went along with the isolation, the lack of knowledge, the campaign against one innocent, helpless, orphaned boy whose only fault, the only "sin he had committed" was to be born and shamelessly used for one wicked old man's personal agenda.

And the most tragic and real sin of all was that there was nothing Harry James Potter could do about it. There was no one to help him, not even though who professed to "love him" and "care for him" or "admired him" for at least being the Boy-Who-Lived and Savior-of-them-All. Well "rightfully" that last title still belonged and always would belong to Albus Dumbledore, but some foolish people still used it when speaking about Harry Potter, albeit very few and those people didn't count or matter in the grand scheme of things.

The second most tragic thing was that Harry knew about it. He always had despite all that had been done to prevent it. The Dursleys made sure that Harry knew he was worthless, stupid, ugly, pathetic, talentless and undeserving of even the most basic of human needs. No he was subhuman, a FREAK, who by rights had no earthly reason to be born, let alone allowed to live since he was such an abomination. They gave him disgusting, cruel, totally untrue reasons while they "allowed him to live" and be given the very minimum of human needs – but only if he well and truly earned them. And he had, sort of, because he was still alive thanks to their generosity.

The one most important thing those sadistic excuses for human beings had drummed into the mind and soul of Harry Potter was this: He was unlovable, never was, never would be and NO ONE CARED ABOUT HIM OR EVER WOULD. He had no one, never would if only because he was such repugnant creature he deserved the horrible treatment he received. If fact, had it been in their power, the Dursleys would have killed him in an instant given the chance but as slowly and painfully as possible if only to save the world from the "THING" that was Harry Potter.

Only one thing had prevented the boy from truly believing it and then only barely. Only one thing had prevented the child from ending his existence and pleasing his relatives and finally doing something good for the world. Both were due to two completely different things. The first was the voice in Harry's head which had saved him, comforted him, guided him and gave him the only hope he had ever had growing up with the Dursleys. Call it a conscious, a guardian angel, or demon as the Dursleys would tell him, but without the voice he would have come to Hogwarts a sniveling shell of a person and if he had "disappointed" people before, they probably would have killed him if he had arrived as that shell.

But the voice had…faded…since he entered Hogwarts and been sorted into Gryffindor. He searched for it but it was gone as if it had fled the moment he "received the colors" at his sorting. He kept searching for it especially when things in his life were at the lowest of levels, but it did not answer. He still tried as he knew if only by instinct alone that the voice was the only thing that had ever cared. It had not returned and showed no signs of doing so.

When he came to Hogwarts, he thought the voice must have been his magical core. "Officially" he wasn't supposed to know about magical cores, especially his, but he did. He thought his Magic must have been talking to him all of these years and worked like his accidental magic – which was the only thing that had kept him alive – did, namely it was only used when he was upset and in danger. When he came to Hogwarts and it had disappeared it must be due to him now knowing about Magic, having a wand and was now under the guidance and protection of the Greatest Wizard since Merlin, Albus Dumbledore.

That theory didn't lasted very long as he realized that although vastly different in some ways, Hogwarts, its environment and people were no different than the Dursleys and people of Surrey, except for being much more dangerous. After the "troll incident" when Hermione Granger had been "allowed to become his friend" much to the utter fury of his "best mate" Ron Weasley, he knew without a doubt that he was being controlled, his life was planned down to the smallest detail and he would not be allowed to deviate from that plan for whatever reason. He was alone and totally helpless.

Each year he was "tested" by Dumbledore and each year he barely survived. He was then sent back to the hell of Surrey where the Dursleys tried to fit in 9½ months of abuse into the ten weeks of his summer holidays. They succeeded all too well even when he was "rescued" or Dumbledore allowed him to leave his familiar hell a few weeks early. It was never questioned nor would he have been told if he asked, why a mere Headmaster who was no relation of Harry be allowed to control and dictate his life, it was just accepted as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Just when he thought the "tests" couldn't get any worse, they did with last year being such a year that a saint or a legendary hero of the likes of King Arthur, El Cid, William Wallace or others of fame, nobility and bravery would have crumbled, yet a 14 year BOY had had to endure it. It should have ended when he had been tricked into helping Voldemort resurrect himself from the dead, but it hadn't and not only had the evil wizard come back from the dead using Harry's own blood but Cedric Diggory had been murdered because he had been in the wrong place at the wrong time and been killed without a second thought.

By extraordinary luck or perhaps an unexplainable evil design Harry had escaped, brought back Cedric's body and the news of Voldemort's resurrection. Instead of ending or at least having a small respite of going back to the horrors of Surrey, a true hell on earth was unleased on Harry Potter which had been ten times worse than all of the slander and lies he had been subjected to for the past months. He almost didn't survive the summer, returning to school and now, because of the information one of his real friends gave him, there was a definite possibility he was going to truly wish he was dead. HE WAS LOSING HIS MAGIC.

His Magic had been the only thing which had saved his life at the Dursleys. The famous "blood wards" which Dumbledore had placed around Privet Drive to "protect Harry from those who wished him harm" did nothing of the sort. They were based on his and his Mother's blood all right, but it didn't protect him. It merely hid him from anyone Magical who was looking for him, be they Death Eaters, a news reporter, rabid fan and most important of all (at least in Dumbledore's opinion) anyone who would try to help him, try to rescue him, or try to save him from his fate and life of pain and abuse.

Between the magic used to power these very special wards as well as having to use his Magic from the age of 15 months old to constantly save his life, Harry's magical core never got to develop to its full potential. Like all growing children, Harry needed food, rest, love or at least decent and humane treatment to grow. The Dursleys had their orders to see that he didn't get anything he needed as just a child let alone a wizard. No, Harry's Magic was stifled and just as his physical growth, he would never meet his full potential.

The only way it could be saved was if he left the confines and slavery of Privet Drive and NEVER RETURNED and if he had certain blocks removed off of his Magic and several illegal potions were flushed out of his system. If a strict regime of nutrient potions, corrective medical treatments such as the breaking and/or vanishing and completely replacing and/or re-growing of most of his bones, given special potions for his eyes and proper corrective glasses or better yet contact lenses and several other things (like the magical vaccinations he never received on orders of Dumbledore), then and only then would the drain on his Magic and his potential cease. If this wasn't done by Harry's 17th birthday, he could never recover any of it and his Magic would continue draining until, it was opined, before he reached the age of 40, he would be a near Squib. It had to be done soon if he was to have any chance at all.

Except it would never happen and Harry knew it would never happen because Dumbledore had arranged for it and wanted it to continue for the "Greater Good" as he called it and no one would dare go against the Great Albus Dumbledore especially when it concerned Harry Potter.

Ever since he had "officially" found out he was a wizard, each year he felt his Magic changing but not in a good way. Since he now had access to all the food he wanted and didn't have the crushing chores to complete, theoretically he should have improved and even for the 2 ½ months he had to return to the Dursleys he should have been improving, but he wasn't. There was no one he could ask let alone who would give a real answer, not even the school Medi-witch, Madam Pomfrey. He knew because he had finally tried and was told in a roundabout way, that she couldn't help him.

And she couldn't because she was under the strictest of orders from Dumbledore himself. It wasn't just Harry Potter she couldn't treat properly but ALL Hogwarts students and staff members. She couldn't send in the mandatory monthly report to St. Mungo's required by the Ministry of Magic until Dumbledore had reviewed it and decided what she could and could not report. It went against her Healer's Oath BUT he had the poor woman under so many spells, special oaths and yes…blackmail… that she, like all of the other Hogwarts teachers were helpless against Albus Dumbledore.

Harry Potter was an extra special case and her orders were the most severe. When the boy arrived at Hogwarts anyone with eyes could see he was an abused child but she couldn't treat him unless he was brought into the Infirmary with a definite injury and then only if he were brought in by a teacher or a Prefect and with the permission of his Head of House or Dumbledore himself. She had been spelled to only treat him for the injury and was not allowed to check for or treat anything else.

It was only in his second year when he had been given permission to sit at the bedside of his "friend" Hermione Granger and keep watch while she was petrified that Harry finally got to ask Madam Pomfrey about certain…problems…he was having and/or had. She honestly told him as much as her oath to Dumbledore permitted and since she said it with tears pouring down her face well…at least the poor child finally knew the reason she had always ignored him.

Also he had been fortunate that the first year outcast of Ravenclaw, Luna Lovegood, had been in the Infirmary being treated by Poppy Pomfrey for one of the many "pranks" done to her by her housemates. Harry hadn't noticed but Luna was not only there but had heard everything and Poppy knew she had. It was Poppy who had "lent Luna a book to read" while she recovered knowing full well that the girl would not only read it to help herself but also Harry Potter. That was how two helpless, controlled outcasts became secret friends. Luna managed to contact him away from the portraits, ghosts and other magical objects which reported directed to Dumbledore as Headmaster of Hogwarts. It hadn't been easy but they had managed it and it had remained a secret for the last few years.

Luna was a very talented and extremely powerful witch but due to her parents' politics, she was made to suffer as the official outcast of Ravenclaw for her year. It was a Ravenclaw tradition (starting after Dumbledore became Headmaster) that one student from each year would be made an outcast. Usually that person was a Muggleborn with no political power whatsoever, or a Pureblood or Half-blood but one who wasn't a follower of Dumbledore. The boy or girl would be made to suffer and only if they went to the Headmaster for help would their life be made easier, would they be protected from the "pranks" and abuse received at the hands of their housemates or other students, most notably Gryffindors. Of course this protection wouldn't be received unless the student had something Dumbledore wanted, like his/her parent(s) becoming his follower, voting his way in the Wizengamot or whatever it was he could get from them. If not…well let the betting start on how long it took the student's parents to crack or the student to… suffer until he/she…well you get the picture.

Luna's mother was dead and the girl wouldn't let her father do what Dumbledore would be demanding him to do so Luna decided to do the best she could and try to survive. She would also help Harry when she could. She had used Poppy's book as well as many others to teach herself the magic needed to find out what had been done to Harry Potter by Dumbledore…and others. Unfortunately, although they both now knew what had been done, there was still nothing to be done about it as Dumbledore had ways of finding out if certain blocks were removed, certain charms, curses and hexes were removed and who or what were attempting to contact and/or help him.

She had been able to find out that he was losing his Magic due to his life at Privet Drive and Dumbledore's current manipulations and she was trying to find ways of getting around the magic of Albus Dumbledore.

However, since Harry's detentions had begun, they both noticed that he was deteriorating at a much faster rate. Luna knew about the blood quill and after her Father had done the research (as the proper books couldn't be found in the Hogwarts Library), the conclusion was reached that the blood quill was causing Harry not only pain but it was greatly speeding up the loss of his Magic.

The magic of the blood quill was very, very special and unique. When used for the purpose it was meant to, it was basically harmless as it took a miniscule bit of magic from the blood of the person using it. However, as it was currently being used on Harry and the other Muggleborns serving detention with Umbridge, it was hurting their Magic and endangering their very lives as after a certain amount of use (or rather abuse), it started to slowly but surely poison their blood and thus their Magic.

Somehow Luna had managed to obtain a bit of Harry's blood and send it off to a reliable healer friend of her Father's. The healer nearly had a stroke when he did his tests and frantically begged his friend Xeno Lovegood to tell him who the victim was as it was imperative he be given immediate treatment or he would probably be a Squib by the winter holidays. Then he would be dead a few days later as a Squib had no defense against such a thing and would die in agony. Xeno had told his friend that he was under oath not to reveal the name of the person as well as there was nothing that he or the healer could do about it. "We just needed to know and see if our horrible theory was…correct."

The healer pleaded with Xeno but the wizard remained firm, although it was obvious that his heart was breaking. Finally the healer looked his friend in the eye and asked "It's Harry Potter, isn't it? Someone is making the boy use a blood quill and it's killing him." Xeno remained sad and silent so the healer knew he was correct.

"It's the Ministry doing this. Probably that bitch Umbridge. I bet Dumbledore knows all about it and for some reason he is allowing it to happen – isn't he?"

Again the silence spoke volumes. The healer knew that there was nothing either of them could do under the circumstances so he said the only thing he could "The boy has to get away, escape somehow, and he has to do it – like last year. If he escapes and you can get him to me, I can try and help him. As long as none of us are caught and I have a good month or so, I might be able to save him, save his Magic. But unless it either stops IMMEDIATELY or he escapes soon, he will pass the point of no return and he will be dead by Christmas or very shortly thereafter if he is still using the blood quill."

So now the only hope was if Harry Potter managed to stop the detentions because he knew there was no escape from Dumbledore.

NOTE: I have several more chapters ready and will post them later today or tomorrow. I just wanted to get this story started. It will be longer than my usual stories and will have many twists and turns.

I have received criticism from some people (it is always a "Guest" so it could be more than one person) that I start a story and don't finish it and start others. So do other people. The thing is I have been writing stories for years and have just finally started be able to post them. Due to my infamous computer, I am trying to post as many of the longer stories before a new disaster or two starts. Compared to other writers, I don't get that many reviews so the only way I know if people are interested is to post a story and get a reaction. Thank you for your understanding.