27 is the age I died at.

Some would argue that's not nearly enough time for someone to live. I would argue against that, I've seen way too much.

See, the only thing that's worse than dying young, is having a hard ass life and then dying anyway. And my life has been anything but sunshine and daisies. I'm sure you know all about my life, believe me, witches love to gossip and my ex-wife was one of the biggest alive. You might think I misspelt bitch as well, but I didn't, even if that's what they also are. I am what some muggles (that's non magic folk for you muggles out there) would call a Wizard. Pointy hat, robes that reach the floor, magical wonders and wands galore.

You're probably wondering why I'm caged like an animal then? Why I haven't just apparated (teleported) outta here, or busted out all cool and fancy like? But the problem lies with the chains holding my ankles and wrists together, we call them magical inhibitors (I know, creative name right) and you can safely assume my magic has gone bye-bye. But you would be wrong, somehow I still have access to magic, just not enough to apparate.

Now you're also probably asking yourself, the hell did I do to wind up in this situation? Which is a valid question, and one I will answer, I mean it's not like I'm going anywhere anytime soon, except maybe my perpetual death. But there is a precedent to these types of affairs and I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm forgetting my manners and Hermione would have thrown a right old fit if she could see me now, but I'll be seeing her soon enough. If I'm lucky, never am though.

My name is Harry James Potter and this is how I died again.

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See unlike normal children, I didn't have parents, I had the Dursleys. I mean, I did have a mum and dad obviously, I didn't just pop out of la la land, my point was that they weren't around when I was growing up. 'Died in a car crash' was what I was told and had believed until I was 10. But then again I also believed my name was Freak for the first years of my life so not a good track record on the things I was told and believed. The Dursley's, consisting of my mum's sister, my aunt you could say (a more fitting name would be Rat) and her husband (he'll be Whale) and technically their baby bully, I mean son (Whale Jr. seems appropriate), had respectfully taken me in. But that wasn't their choice; they were coerced into doing it. And like all people that are forced to do something, they hated it, more specifically they hated me.

Abuse is a dirty word and the action even dirtier so, people avoid and shy away from the topic like a plague; you're labelled as damaged goods, seen and spoken to differently. But it still happens, even if everyone remains ignorant but people still manage to get through it, somehow due to my magic, I did too. It wasn't that bad in the beginning, who am I kidding, it was pretty bad. I was beat whenever I was too loud, starved whenever I burnt the dinner, locked outside if I didn't finish cleaning the garden. But it only got worse. Once I turned 6, weird things started to happen.

At school during yet another round of harry hunting where Whale Jr. and his thugs (I mean friends) would chase me through the playground with the purpose of beating me up when all of a sudden I was on the roof. Another time I foolishly thought getting good grades would make Whale and Rat like me, boy was I wrong about that, and since I hadn't been trying before that my teacher thought I had cheated, I admit I was a little angry at the time, but before I know it he's leaving the room clutching his head as his hair starts to fall out at a rapid pace.

Of course all of this 'freakishness' made its way back to Whale and Rat who now knew I was indeed a 'Freak' started to up the ante with their punishments. I was grounded to my room for a week after the hair incident, and I know what you're thinking, sounds lovely right, no Whale and Rat for a week. Not as simple as that, see when I say room, I meant the cupboard under the stairs and when I say week, I mean no food and no light and a lock placed onto my door – on the outside, for seven days.

Surviving all this, I turned 10 by some miracle and I received an odd letter along with a friend (although not at the time) who and I quote told me "You're a wizard harry" and that I'd be attending my parents alma mater 'Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry'. Every little 10 year olds' dream come true.

He explained how my parents didn't die in a car crash but were brutally murdered by a crazed shithead who had gotten into his head that he was better than everyone else, how I was famous for killing this man when other powerful wizards and witches before me died. How I was heralded as the saviour of Wizarding Britain for this accomplishment that I couldn't remember, stole my parents away and forced me to grow up as I had. I was the 'boy-who-lived', an absolutely horrible moniker that I continue to abhor. He then continued on about this school (that was a bloody castle) I would be attending for seven years while I learned how to harness and control the magic inside me.

And then finally he took me to get my first treasures, my wand, my trunk and my first friend, a snowy owl named Hedwig, all of which contributed to my first few happiest memories.

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For some reason or another even though it's possible for wizards to teleport long distances via apparition, the floo or portkey. To this day I'm still baffled as to why were forced to catch a 6 hour train to Hogwarts, and while I'm confused, don't mistake that for protest. Even if the journey was long and tedious most of the time, I will never regret the first time I caught it. Now back then, I wasn't a master of hindsight, I like to think I've got a lid on it now but I wasn't prepared for the people I'd meet. Ron Weasley and Draco Malfoy, two contrasting sides of the same damn coin. Ron Weasley from a family purely stood in the light, a natural Gryffindor born and raised and Draco Malfoy the quintessential Slytherin from a family so dark even shadows hide from them. While fundamentally different, they shared such similar qualities that a blind man would mistake them for brothers. But enough of that, these two themselves are insignificant, in fact I only mention Ron because he was the reason I met her. He later turned out to be a flake, having my back one day and the next betraying whatever trust I had in him. But she didn't, she stuck with me until the end.

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No matter what I say about my years at Hogwarts, I cannot deny the fact that they defined who I am today. But again, you're probably assuming it was just a school with some magic sprinkled on top and a few potions here and there. I can tell you now though, you'd be wrong.

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First year started how you'd think it would, a boy arriving in an unknown world, learning of untapped knowledge, but that quickly evaporated when he realized no one, not even some professors would look past his moniker as the boy-who-lived, not even past the malnourished husk he called his body. The amount of stares and whispers were insane, and there was no sign of slowing down. He hated it, the whispering when he walked into a room, the silence when he did anything, anything!

Then came Halloween, the day the bastard Voldemort died, congratulations coming at him from every direction, at all times of the day, all these reminders that he was an orphan whose parents were long gone from this world. But that night his entire life changed when a professor came running into the great hall slamming the doors against the ancient walls. "Troll in the dungeons, thought you ought to know" he said before fainting.

That memory still makes me laugh, but I can't help but be fond of what happened next. Panic set in as most people started screaming, until the Headmaster organized everybody back to their dorms via heads of houses and prefects. Of course I listened and was heading back the Gryffindor common room with all my other peers, until out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ron stray from the path towards the dungeon.

I was too far away from the professors to signal anyone that he did this, so I did the only other logical thing. I followed him. I told you, I wasn't exactly the smartest cookie, but that soon changed. Following behind, I saw him enter the girls' bathroom, it was very surprising to say the least but as I came up on the door, I heard voices inside.

"Why are you still crying, we don't have time for this" which sounded just like Ron, in fact I could picture him saying it very clearly, but who was he talking to?

"I'm sorry I can't help it" I could make out through the sobbing, which means Ron wasn't alone. Pushing the door open I saw them clearly, she had her hands covering her face as she continued to ball into them. Ron standing in front of her, hands out trying to calm her down.

"We can talk about this later, there's a troll on the loose, we need to go" Ron said, impatience making itself known on his expression and grasping her arm.

"I said I'm sorry, why does everyone I try to help bully me" she asked decidedly at him, trying and failing to mask the hurt in her voice. "All I did was help you in charms".

At this point I was getting sick of it, Ron was the reason she was crying, he also wasn't helping the situation at all, and lord knows where the troll currently was. So it was time to make myself known.

"What are you two doing?" I asked as they turned to me "the troll could be anywhere, we have to get back to dorms" hoping she would believe me if I corroborated that the troll existed. But they just stared at me, refusing to speak, which at the time annoyed me as we were in a time delicate situation and them being frozen didn't help matters. Quite quickly I managed to piece together they weren't looking at me but behind me. "Shit".

Turning around, there was a mighty roar as an 8ft behemoth one can only describe as putrid and disgusting lifted its club dumbly in a swing towards me. With reflexes that could only come from years of avoiding being hit and hunted, I ducked out of the way of the club, but could not say the same for Ron who had gotten caught by the end of it and was sent flying into the mirrors behind us shattering them into basically a million pieces.

At this point I was shocked Hermione wasn't screaming, me too to be honest, but then it occurred to me she was still frozen. As the troll geared up for another swing, I paced towards Hermione knocking her out of the clubs range as well as onto the floor with me, hoping she would knock out of it. And boy did she ever.

The tears left almost immediately as she realized we were both in a life or death crisis. I don't know how or why she did what she did next but I can safely say, I have never questioned it after and it has kept me alive on more than one occasion. "A troll can only swing in a horizontal manner, they make their clubs too heavy" I heard from her direction while positioning myself in front of her.

Ron was currently down for the count near the sink wand split in two, while the stalls were all but smashed to splinters. The door was being blocked by this monstrosity. As another swing was coming my way, I figured I could at least distract it with a moving target. I nudged Hermione into a corner while I legged it into the other corner hoping the troll was dumb enough to follow. It was.

"A troll's skin is impervious to magical attacks much like a dragons, they can only be hurt physically" came from the other corner much to my own surprise, she shouted again when she saw that I hadn't understood her meaning "use his club against him" which I have to admit, was very effective indeed. I only knew a handful of spells at this point but all I needed was a simple levitation charm to cause the club in the troll's hand to slip away and float above it.

The troll looked around for its club, absolutely clueless as to where it could be. Removing the charm resulted in this heavy club smashing onto the troll's head quite forcefully knocking it out and making it fall backwards. To say I was surprised it was this easy to best a troll was an understatement; I also wasn't ready for the crushing hug/bullet I would receive once the creature was unconscious. Not having the strongest knees at this point, they gave way and brought both of us down on top of each other.

That was how I met Hermione, my best friend. After that incident, the professors arrived gob smacked that I could have taken down a fully grown Mountain Troll by myself, which irked me because the thought that Hermione could have helped me in any way never crossed their minds. The next morning the entire castle had learned what I had done and as such the attention and whispers increased. But what had changed was how I spent my time, before it was a matter of where I spent it alone, but now Hermione and I went everywhere together, we were inseparable.

Towards the end of the first year, we had managed to piece together that the Philosopher's Stone was being held inside the castle and that someone was after it. I don't know what came over me, but whatever it was, wouldn't allow them to steal the stone. I had to convince Hermione we should steal it before whoever else wanted it got to it and after several traps and challenges that I couldn't have possibly done alone we made it to the room where the stone was being held.

We found out that the defence professor had been possessed by a remnant shade of Voldemort and was after the Elixir of Life. After a quick little end boss bit, where the villain explains his dastardly plan, we took the stone for ourselves and found out that the defence professor had a no touch policy because when I grabbed any part of him, it crumbled into dust and just as he crumbled into dust freeing the shade, I lost conscious. Unsure of what happened next, I awoke in the medical wing, with Hermione sleeping in a chair next to me. The headmaster soon arrived to query about what went down and how it was now the end of the year.

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So much happened in my first year of learning to become a Wizard, I bet you think everything would have calmed down; well you would have lost that bet.

Second year was almost as draining as first year, I don't know how everybody found out about the Philosopher's Stone minus the Voldemort shade but they did. I was beyond famous at this point, but I soon learned that fame was a fickle thing, it was almost as fickle as the people spreading the information but luckily I had Hermione from the start, so I could learn to ignore it, ignore it that is until the ruddy Chamber of Secrets opened.

The bastard Voldemort had somehow riddled his way into possessing a little firstie, and then went straight on to giving me an all-round terrible year. Our useless DADA professor this year was Lockhart, a complete buffoon whose only ability laid in his obliviation skills, so when he started a duel club, everyone thought it was a good idea, up until the point where the other school idiot Draco threw a snake at me. Not knowing it wasn't commonly practiced (like at all) I spoke to it, telling it not to attack me, innocent right?

Sadly that's not how everyone else took it, with the chamber already open and muggleborn students randomly falling prey to surprise petrification. The students used the few brain cells they possessed to come to the conclusion that if I was parselmouth and the great Salazar Slytherin was too, then I must be the person who opened the chamber and petrified the students.

Public opinion of me that day flipped so damn hard, I became public enemy number one, my only relief through it all was that Hermione believed in me. Following this change, my torment in school changed too, whispers became slurs and stares became avoidance. Without Hermione I think it's safe to say, I would not have lasted the year.

But that changed one day, when I was on the way to meet her at the library. The professors were gathered around a stretcher, which was on its way the medical wing, obviously I got worried and was already jumping to conclusions I hope were damn wrong.

Hermione had become a victim of the chamber, and now I was all alone again. Public opinion had changed again, another reversal once people started finding out that it was my best friend that was petrified next. Apparently in their eyes I wasn't evil enough to petrify my only friend, not that I needed the rest of them. Sometime through the year and another Gryffindor approached me.

Neville Longbottom at this age was anything but brave, but what he lacked with bravery he made up for with understanding. He became a voice I appreciated after he supported me once I came to grips with Hermione's incident. But Hermione's knowledge didn't stop there, in her spare time she was looking up what could cause the mass petrification happening inside the school and had the clue all along inside her frozen hand. Together, Neville and I rediscovered that there was a basilisk on the loose.

Not long after that, and a lovely chat with a few spiders, we were told a student had been take into the chamber, Ron's sister Ginny, and that we would all be returning home. In a matter of fashion even Hermione would've been proud of, we discerned that the location of the entrance to the chamber of secrets was in the second floor girls' bathroom, real classy Salazar.

Now heading to the chamber we did something we still regret to this day, we got help, but not just any help, the defence professor's help. You see while all three of us were down here, we discovered Lockhart's true self as he turned his wand upon us, wanting to claim the discovery and fame for himself.

Or at least he would have, if Neville didn't tackle him mid spell bouncing the spell back to the caster. My understanding of Neville that night was blown miles apart, thinking he was just a timid Gryffindor, but he had bravery in spades. That little fiasco brought the wall down and separated us. So I was alone for the upcoming fight.

The chamber seemed innocent enough, if you're name is based on or you like snakes, then this was the place for you. It had massive decorated walls with tunnels leading out to the sides and on the opposite side, a giant carved face (still don't know whose tbh) that was surrounded by a moat of water and a bridge connecting the mouth and the chamber floor. It was pretty empty in here all stories considered, apart from Ginny lying on the floor giving this place some colour apart from the puke green tiles.

At this point, I probably should have just picked up Ginny and left, but then he appeared. Tom Riddle he called himself, the one controlling Ginny's actions. He showed me how he became the self-stylised Lord Voldemort and the plan he had enacted to become immortal. He told me how he had created a filthy thing called a Horcrux in the Diary and how they worked to keep him from dying permanently.

It became apparent he only did this because the thought I would be dying soon. I'm not gonna lie, I thought that too, but this form of Voldemort needed more time before he materialised fully. So he did the other thing that could potentially see me die, and called for his pet basilisk. What happened next involves sheer dumb luck if I say so myself, it involved a hat, a sword, a Phoenix and a diary.

Fawkes, headmaster Dumbledore's pet Phoenix flew in with the Sorting Hat clutched in its talons. Dropping the hat into my hand while the basilisk was getting closer to me by the second, I don't even know how I pulled the damn sword out of the hat, not just any sword as well, the Sword of Gryffindor *cue mystic and harmonious sounds*.

Now not to mince anything, but I looked absolutely pathetic, my scrawny malnourished body, holding a sword I could barely lift facing down a sixty-foot basilisk, don't even get me started on how I actually killed the thing, but I did. An epic battle of might proportions! No? Fine, so I stabbed it, apparently landing a critical hit because it died after the one hit, and it stabbed me, with its venom (the deadly kind) infused tooth right into my arm. Now by all accounts I should be dead, Riddle should be gloating, Ginny would follow not long after me, but no, Phoenix's have this super handy ability to cure any wound with its bloody tears. Convenient wouldn't you say.

So after all that, I'm not dead, Riddle is angry because I know of his secret, and Ginny is still dying over there in the corner. I've read enough fiction in my life to know to that getting rid of a spirit possessing someone, you have to destroy the object its tethered to, luckily that's also exactly what a Horcrux seems like, so I grabbed the sharpest item I could find, which happened to be the tooth that used to wedge in my arm and limped over to Ginny, who was holding something I had only just noticed.

A Black Diary. I can't remember all too well how many times I stabbed the ruddy thing, but I just kept going, over and over. It was at this point, Riddle was fuming letting quite a lot more information slip *sigh* if only Hermione was here. But I did manage to catch, that in his foolish pride his ego should have allowed him to make more than just one Horcrux. After the fact he started to dematerialise for good, returning all the life-force he stole from Ginny.

Pocketing the diary, and somehow managing to carry the first year back towards Neville and Lockhart, the chamber shut behind me, never to be opened again. Neville had been busy while I was preoccupied as most of the rubble had been cleared and we could exit, right into a swarm of professors who had heard the roaring of the dying basilisk.

Of course I was sent to my favourite place in the entire school for another check-up. I'm sure Madame Pomfrey was considering placing a plaque with the name Potter on my bed, but thankfully she didn't. The headmaster had stopped by in the night and taken the diary, Ginny was now gone, back to her family I assumed, all the petrified children had been sent to St Mungo's for treatment and I was on my way home done with another productive year.

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Reflecting back on it, Third year wasn't so bad. I mean sure there was a homicidal serial killer after me (again) and there was a werewolf teaching defence but ironically that wasn't the worst or most dangerous part. See this serial killer, named Sirius Black, wasn't actually the murderer people claimed him to be, he was my Godfather. Shocking I know, it had me stumped for quite a while when I realised I had family that weren't the Dursleys. The sun couldn't shine brighter that day.

And the werewolf was actually sort of an honorary uncle name Remus Lupin (original I know), who was good friends with my real parents just like Sirius was, not to mention he was actually competent as a DADA professor. During the year he had taught me plenty, even going as far as to teach me the patronus after an incident I had with a Dementor during quidditch.

Speaking of competency, Hermione had chosen to pick every class this year and somehow was attending them all. Neville had really come into his own during the summer and became the go to guy for Herbology. Meanwhile I picked OWLs that would put me in good standing for my future, Hermione wouldn't let me do any less.

The dangerous part this year was the things the ministry sent to Hogwarts after Sirius had broken out of the Azkaban – a wizards' Guantanamo Bay, only much darker, more clouds and rain, and these happiness-sucking demons guarding you. They sent Dementors to Hogwarts in a small chance of catching Sirius Black, around a school full of children. Have I ever told you how stupid the ministry could be, really fucking stupid.

See the summer before, the Weasley's had taken part in the Wizards equivalent of the National Lotto and won. Except all they won was a trip to Egypt, I know, brilliant right, so of course they had to have a picture in the Daily Prophet. It was in this picture Sirius caught sight of Ron's pet rat Scabbers, needless to say, it wasn't a rat.

At the time we didn't know why Sirius was after Scabbers until the end of the year where we caught the rat. His real name was Peter Pettigrew and he was the one responsible for betraying my parents. Turns out, my dad, Sirius and Peter became Animagi, Wizards who could turn into animals, in order to keep Remus company during a full moon.

The whole year was a clusterfuck if anything, so many things that night could have gone better.

We cornered Sirius and Peter in the Shrieking Shack, where Sirius held the rat at wandpoint and was explaining exactly what the real situation was, only to be interrupted by Snape who had been tracking us in order to catch Sirius. Only he wasn't alone, and he brought along Remus with him. Bet you can't guess what kind of moon was in the sky that night.

Now we had a standoff of me, Hermione and Neville standing in a corner observing, Snape's wand pointed at Sirius, Remus' wand pointed at Snape, and Sirius jabbing his wand into Peter's chin. Everyone was frozen, but Hermione spotted the worst thing that could happen at this one crucial moment. She pointed.

A full moon, high in the night sky. Once Remus saw that, chaos descended.

So many things happened at once, Peter transformed into a rat and escaped, Snape was blasted back through a window by a werewolf backhand and Sirius transformed into a black Grim and distracted the werewolf into chasing him.

Not concerned with my safety at the moment I ran after them, with Neville and Hermione following behind. We had come to a clearing near a lake in the Forbidden Forest, werewolf Remus was standing over Sirius' limp body so we all cast stunners at him. Foolish it may be, it worked and Remus chased after us.

We agreed to split up, Neville and Hermione heading towards the castle with Remus in tow and me heading back to Sirius. By the time I got there I could feel the temperature dropping rapidly. I knew Dementors were incoming. Hundreds of them descended from the sky, and I tried my best to fight them off, pushing them back with my patronus, but to no avail.

Just as the last sliver of my consciousness slipped away from me, I saw a glowing white stag in the distance charging right for us. As I collapsed I felt the stag approach me warding of the coldness the Dementors wrought.

I woke up in the hospital wing in a stupor, a million questions on my mind, the foremost being where Sirius was. The doors opened and the Headmaster and Minister Fudge walked in, discussing removing the Dementors effective immediately.

When they realised I was awake, Fudge thanked me profusely for capturing the dark wizard Sirius Black, and how he was going to be put through the Dementor's Kiss soon. I had to move, the Dementor's kiss meant death.

When those two left, another two arrived in the forms of Neville and Hermione. I questioned what happened on their sides as they seemed safe, after I could get Hermione to stop worrying about me. Apparently someone in the forest had helped them evade the werewolf just long enough for them to get back to the castle to inform the Professors for help.

Then they asked me about mine, and I told them everything, more importantly how Sirius was about to die. Hermione looked conflicted, while Neville and I were working out a game plan to rescue Sirius from his fate. Eventually she came clean with us and told us how she had been attending every class this year.

A Time Turner, she had been given one by Professor McGonagall because it was apparent that Miss Granger would use it productively. This little sand carrying necklace had the power to send people back in time dependent on how many turns you gave the timer. She explained how we would also exist in this new timeline up until they would use the Time Turner themselves.

Without delay, she put the chain around each of our necks and flipped the timer. The castle sped away in blurs as time went backwards, seeing Madame Pomfrey tend to the wounded she had in her care, and when I was brought in.

We went back as far as we could to the exact time Hermione had pointed at the full moon causing recent events to occur. The three of us made a mad dash to our past selves splitting up again, me going after Sirius and them after the werewolf.

I saw myself being swarmed and drained by the hundreds of Dementors swaying in the sky, slowly losing conscious to their repetitive attacks. I could see my patronus fading gradually so I channelled all the happiness I had. At having friends who could understand me, having family again in Sirius and not wanting to lose either.

A white stag shot out of the end of my wand, nestling against my hand, I sent him forward to protect my past self and Sirius. Dementors scattered in ear-piercing screams, as they all left I ran to their prone bodies, floating both of them back to the castle where I would leave other Harry near Hagrid's hut.

Casting rennervate at Sirius to wake him up, I looked around to spot Buckbeak still chained up awaiting execution. Having no time to explain, I broke the chain and commanded Sirius to escape on the Hippogriff.

Just as Buckbeak and Sirius were flying away, Hermione and Neville ran past me towards the castle, shadowed by another set of Hermione and Neville who had a werewolf in tow. The three of us sent as many stunners as we could muster at the creature, hoping Remus would understand. He plopped to the ground hard, if the slight indent in the dirt was any indication.

We hid in the trees as we waited for the Professors to come find Harry and Remus, and take them to the hospital wing. Soon after we sprinted back to the same room, only to arrive just as the past Hermione span the timer on her Time Turner. We watched as they vanished into the past, the whole experience was very surreal.

On the train back to St Pancras, we discussed this year and the previous two, asking how the Professors could let this happen, Hermione was able to deduce that in first year, the protections on the stone were only first year level meaning any experience wizards could have breezed through to obtain the stone.

Which she believed to be a test, we all came to the conclusion that it was a test for me, but what we didn't know was why. Remus was now gone as defence professor, the Board of Governors finding out about the werewolf made them extremely angry that their children were in peril.

Third year ended with our trust - that the professors cared for our safety above everything else - shattering into a million tiny pieces. The only people who would watch our backs were the ones sitting in this train compartment.

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Ah, Fourth year, the year the Triwizard reared its ugly head at a school where nothing ever goes wrong – note sarcasm.

In lieu of the international event taking place, exams this year were technically cancelled, classes were still held, but we would receive provisional grades as our official OWL results. If a professor thought you were outstanding in a subject i.e. Neville & Herbology, then that would be the grade you received come June.

I still learnt a few things here and there but that was due to Hermione, you couldn't possibly be around her and not learn, moreover due to 'nothing ever going wrong at Hogwarts'- more sarcasm there. The new defence professor was an ex-Auror named Mad-Eye Moody, scars crisscrossed his entire face and he had a replacement magical left eye, probably the origin of his name.

The Triwizard Tournament boasted a grand reputation and a heap of Galleons for the winner. It was held between 3 schools, each sending a champion for their respective schools chosen by way of the Goblet of Fire. A goblet, students would put their name in before the eve of Halloween that was restricted to sixth or seventh years via an age line.

The three schools chosen for this were of course Hogwarts, the 'premier' magical institute apparently, alongside Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, the French and Scandinavian equivalents. The last two years of each school's students arrived at Hogwarts two weeks before Halloween to prepare.

True to its word, the age line kept those not of age to compete away from the cup, many if not all younger Gryffindor's tried and failed to put their name in the cup. But not us, Hermione, Neville and I stayed as far away as was possible while all the commotion went on. I wanted a peaceful year and this tournament wasn't going to ruin that for me.

Halloween came and went but not without the usual hiccups that godforsaken day brings. The three champions were chosen, each name spewed forth from the goblet, for Durmstrang - we had Viktor Krum the best Seeker in the world, for Beauxbatons – the ever charming and beautiful Fleur Delacour and for Hogwarts – the unanimously loved Cedric Diggory.

They left their seats to find out about the first task in a side room to the Great Hall and just as the Headmaster was about to join them, the goblet relit itself. Dread burrowed its way into my stomach as I gave a horrified look to my friends.

Clutching the parchment in his hands, Dumbledore spoke two words solemnly, the two word I didn't want to hear. 'Harry Potter'

Every eye turned to me, while my head found itself in my hands. Neville told me to get up, Hermione reminded me that it was an obligating contract even if I didn't put my name in.

As I walked towards the antechamber, people seemed to realise what had happened, the boos were venomous. I sighed, like my life couldn't get worse.

Should have known that the answer to that.

Finding out that everybody thought I was lying when I said I didn't put my name in the goblet wasn't so bad, I was used to the wishy washy opinion of the public, but that the professors thought I was lying too took the cake.

I was bloody vexed, whoever had done this, wanted me in this tournament. Over the year Hermione had taken to teaching me every type of defence and attack spell she could find. Burns, curses, poison, it didn't matter, she found them all. Then Neville would cast them at me and I would either dodge or counter-curse.

We had many discussions in the library late at nights about why anybody would put my name in, but drew blank to any theories apart from the usual death-by-tournament. We would just have to face this with supreme caution, I had the two people I trusted the most watching over me.

Hagrid showed me a hint for the first task, which included fire breathing, fierce looking dragons that scared my lanky form underneath the invisibility cloak. My sweat had sweat back then, and not just from the heat.

Planning didn't really go anywhere; dragons were magically resistant which I why wizards usually avoided them, which meant I'd have to use the surroundings to my advantage if I wanted to make it through. In the end I used the sky to my advantage, outriding a dragon on a broom; call me crazy but I can still feel the thrill in my heart when I think about it.

I don't even know if my brain was thinking or if it was all instinct, Hermione told me she couldn't bear to watch, Neville just looked impressed but to be fair everybody did. I came last though, so totally no biased judges on the panel, I think only Dumbledore gave me a fair score and that's saying something.

The second task involved the lake and a hostage. In the first task, we had to receive an egg from the dragon; mine never made it back to the nest. Opening the egg resulted in a sonic screeching that deafened us all and got us kicked out of the library. The ever so resourceful girl knew exactly what kind of language that was, I don't even know why I doubted her meanwhile Neville couldn't believe it was even a language.

Needless to say, the day before the task, I found what was taken from me. Neville had found me earlier saying he couldn't find Hermione anywhere. The plan for the lake was devised by Neville this time, he obtained some gillyweed for me. Allowing me to turn grow gills for as long as the amount of the plant I had.

To summarise that ordeal, I rescued Hermione, not without a little trouble though, originally I was going to rescue them all. Sue me. But the Grindylows wouldn't let me, so I took Hermione and skedaddled. Fleur was last out, but without her hostage, seeing it I couldn't do nothing. Before I had even realised what I was doing, I was swallowing more gillyweed and diving back in and swimming to where they were being held.

The Grindylows put up a fight I tell you, but when I started blowing up their homes they backed away, free to take Gabrielle to safety. Fleur thanked be profusely after that, her sister too, I'm pretty sure I went from public enemy to hero again.

Who ever thought of these tasks was an absolute asshole, first a dragon and then an hour swim in mid-December. What could be next?

I'll tell you what, a bloody ball. Christmas came and with it the Yule Ball arrived, of course I couldn't dance, but that didn't stop Hermione from teaching both of us. I didn't even ask her to the ball, she just decided what I was going to wear.

I found out later that she had turned down Viktor Krum, when he asked her at the library. Neville went with a curious third year named Luna, although a bit ditzy, I still to this day think she was one of the sharpest minds of our generation. Never underestimate Luna Lovegood I told Neville, it wouldn't be a nice place to be.

Four months later and the third task was held, idiots didn't know it took hedges that long to grow. The entire quidditch pitch was in tatters, a gigantic hedge maze took its place. The Triwizard Cup would be placed somewhere in the maze surrounded by dangerous beasties that Hagrid was responsible for. Oh great, we're definitely dead then I remember saying out loud.

We entered the maze in order of the Tournament standings; first person to get the cup would win the whole thing. Dumbledore's wand pointed to the sky and he let off the loudest spell I'd ever heard. Krum was off like lightning, no messing about for him, you could see the trepidation in Cedric's face as he inched his way forward. I never saw Fleur enter as I was next not too long after Cedric.

The maze twisted and turned, there were acromantulas and skrewts round every corner, it was like the maze was alive, constantly shifting. Wandering through this maze I heard a terrifying scream, like a bolt, I made my way towards the source. I found Fleur prone wand by her side and Krum above her wand facing her. I sent a stunner at him just as I heard his first word, 'avada' he was planning to kill her.

Her face was writhing in pain but managed to spit out that Krum had been imperioused. She went under after that, so I sent up two red sparks from my wand to signal them quitting. I was sure they'd be fine with keeping their lives.

Moving on ahead, I came upon a sphinx blocking a path. Approaching it warily, it asked me a riddle that wasn't nearly hard enough for a muggleborn raised wizard, but I didn't tell it that. Eventually I came across the cup, except I wasn't alone; Cedric arrived from the other end just as I did.

We agreed to both grab the cup at the same time, so that there would be no split in Hogwarts. But that turned out to be a horrible mistake; all I did was lead Cedric to his death.

The cup was a portkey, it was meant to take us out of the maze and put us on the winning stage. Only it took us somewhere else, a graveyard. A flash of green was hurled towards Cedric while a blinding red was soaring my way knocking me out.

Waking up I was tied to a tombstone while Cedric's corpse lay at my feet, I didn't know how to handle what I was seeing, I think I was suffering from a mild panic attack, until a man in a black robe came forward.

Lifting his hood showed Peter Pettigrew in the flesh. Using some dusty bones, his own arm and my blood he brought Voldemort's soul back to a living container. He gave the bastard that killed my parents another body.

Gradually more and more black apparitions appeared death eaters all being drawn to their master's side. Voldemort pointed his wand at me in front of his followers and made me experience the most pain I'd ever felt in the form of a crucio while everyone else looked on.

In his infinitesimal wisdom, Voldemort thought the proper way to finish me off was to duel me. Letting me loose and giving me my wand back he bowed before me before firing the green beam that could only be the killing curse.

Not one to shy away from a challenge, especially against this sick fuck, I fired back with an expelliarmus. The strangest thing occurred next, our spells hit each other and dome of light was made, it pushed back all the death eaters in the graveyard.

We were both pushing our all into the spell; we both could see the midpoint of the spells fluctuating closer to me or him with each push. Then the spirits appeared from his wand, causing the most fear I'd ever seen on Voldemort's face to appear. I didn't know who most of these people were, but two floated closer to me, that I would recognise anywhere. They looked just like they did in their photographs.

My mum and dad floated besides me, I could hear them telling me how proud they were, and I could hear them tell me that they were sorry that I suffered so much. They told me to let go, to grab the cup, to be safe. Tears were rushing down my face as they spoke.

NOW they said in unison and I stopped casting, only to see my spell be continued by all the spirits there. Grabbing Cedric's body and the Cup, I felt a familiar pull to my navel and found myself on a stage near the quidditch pitch.

They were staring again; slack jawed at my gruesome appearance and disbelief at Cedric's. His father came running to him, begging him to wake up, casting every kind of rennervate he could think of but to no avail.

I was pulled aside by the minister and Dumbledore and asked to tell them what happened, we were surrounded by everybody at this point so I said the few words that could summarise recent events. I told them, clear as day, 'Voldemort was back'.

Obviously they didn't believe me, Fudge told me to stop telling lies, Cedric's father was telling me how I murdered his boy and Dumbledore was not saying anything. His silence gave Fudge even more power to deny my claims and place the blame on me and the Tournament instead.

While everybody was in a state of panic, the defence professor led me away from the crowd to his classroom. I could hear Hermione and Neville shouting after me, but I needed some silence from the crowd. He sat me down and began to question me about the dark lord; I was relieved he believed me until he said something weird; he called the prick the 'dark lord' instead of Tom or Voldemort.

I began to question if it was really him, thinking back to how my name got into the goblet. When he turned his back on me, I jumped behind a desk while firing a stunner at him. Another fire fight occurred with most of the classroom being broken to pieces until the doors slammed open and my friends came in.

Moody was so focused with me that he completely missed them as they fired continuous stunners into his side. Turns out Moody was a polyjuiced Barty Crouch Jr. one of Voldemort's followers who had faked his death.

We took him to the professors and found the real Moody locked up in his own trunk.

The year was done and it felt like I had just come back from war, Cedric was dead because of me; Voldemort was back because of me. Why did my life have to be like this, one foul year after another.

It took most of the train home for either Neville or Hermione to break through my A-class funk I had found myself in. We were all considering moving to France, but then realised our consciences wouldn't let us do such a thing.

We couldn't abandon our home, our families to Voldemort, so we would have to train, to get better. No one else could die to this monster. If only I knew.

.

Fifth year or the year shit hit the proverbial fan. After bad ol' Voldy got his body back, he thought it was good to assault my mind again and again throughout the year. I didn't know it was him, I thought I was losing it, everyone else thought so too, but for different reasons.

Let's just say, the summer before fifth years wasn't good at all, Dumbledore thought it would be best if I didn't have contact with my friends until a couple months later to let me deal with whatever stress the graveyard caused me. The fool, I was broken, and he stopped me from getting help.

The newspapers had taken to calling me a filthy attention seeking kid, who made up lies to cover up Cedric's death. The ministry was proudly against admitting that Voldemort might be back, that Wizarding Britain should not believe the word of a crazed boy. And not very surprisingly, everyone believed them.

Once I was taken to Grimmauld Place I met the Order, a rag tag group of witches and wizards who didn't believe the garbage the ministry was spewing. Aurors, office workers, even some witches who worked at the ministry. There was variety here and they all answered to one man, Dumbledore.

The process of trying to get me out of my depression begun, and I owe it all to Sirius, Neville and Hermione. The Black family library held many dark tomes that I began to study religiously since I was going to need all the advantages I would. I was caught doing this by my friends, but instead of telling anyone, they asked to join me in learning and practicing them. I don't think I had ever been so happy in my life at that point.

Obviously that summer didn't last nearly long enough, and back to Hogwarts it was. Only this year the defence teacher was neither Voldemort possessed or competent. The ministry had blocked every route of hiring a competent defence professor so that they could instil one of their own in the school in a vain attempt at controlling what was being said.

Delores Umbridge. An abomination of a human that liked the colour pink a bit too much. She was nothing more than a glorified torturer to the students she couldn't use, which included her real target, me. During her classes, which she couldn't teach, while denying my claims on the revival of the Dark Lord and then gave me detentions that rivalled the ones Snape would render.

The year was already off to a bad start and only got worse with time; I always wondered why I never left. But I knew deep down, I had a saving people thing as Hermione would describe it, I couldn't let others suffer, not when I could do something about it.

Detentions with Umbridge included her telling me I'm a liar, how I should put my faith in the administration and writing lines to correct my 'bad' behaviour. I should mention those lines were written with a Blood Quill which would use the writer's blood as ink, suffice to say, I still have the scars from them.

When I wasn't being tortured by her, I had horrible nightmares of people dying. People that I knew closely, they were in Dumbledore's Order. I told Hermione and Neville as soon as they started, to which they thought it was just lack of sleep or stress from my memories. It was getting to the end of the year and the nightmares persisted, my friends grew worried and told me to inform my head of house.

I told Professor McGonagall immediately and she took me to the Headmaster to verify my claims. He assured me that the people I was seeing were safe and that I shouldn't be worrying in adult affairs that he personally handled. And just like that, I was sent back to my dorm, with no help yet again, hoping that would be the last of these dreams.

Dumbledore was wrong, he had to be, the nightmares came back with a vengeance, but of only one member, my Godfather Sirius. It was the same dream, involving a snake, a laugh and his inevitable death. There was a room, with thousands of glass white orbs on row of shelves. Voldemort was there, inflicting pain upon Sirius without reprieve. At the end of it all, he was holding one, while smiling at me, telling me how if I didn't come soon, Sirius would be dead.

After that doozy, I was fed up, I had to have answers, so I made a plan to leave and find the room with the orbs. Hermione and Neville were by my side every step of the way, as we found a route to leave the castle and what these orbs were. It was a prophecy according to the books Hermione found, only true prophecies were held by the ministry, so that must've been what Voldemort was after.

The three of us snuck out and made it to the ministry atrium. From there we descended floors via the elevator, following it exactly like my nightmare dictated it would. If only I had known it was a god damn trap.

Three death eaters ambushed us after we had found and pocketed the prophecy which strangely had my initials engraved onto it as well as two others, one of which was obviously Voldemort.

Lucious, Bellatrix and Macnair cornered us off while attempting to call more Death Eaters to their position. Thank god for Neville though as he sent a blazingly bright lumos towards them. We sprinted out of there into a room with a strange archway in the centre only to be met with the backup they called. We were essentially sandwiched between the three behind us and the four new ones in front of us; the situation was looking grim when the Order popped in all around us.

It was a free for all, everybody was shooting and everybody was dodging. Eventually pairs were formed as an Order member faced off against a Death Eater. But it wasn't enough; Sirius in his dumbest move yet taunted his cousin Bellatrix and received a blast to the chest in return, enough force to send him into the archway.

When he didn't appear on the other side, I couldn't stop the anguish that built up in my heart, nor could I stop myself from throwing whatever curses I knew at her. In my angered rage I didn't realise that Neville or Hermione were watching my back and were quickly coming to help, so when I ducked out of the way of two killing curses heading at me, time seemed to slow to a halt as they were absorbed by my now dead best friends.

The weight of that one mistake has crushed me more times than I can bear to remember.

I couldn't move, I could scarcely believe it was real. But they weren't moving.

In my state of shock, Bellatrix took the orb from me and rushed towards god knows where.

With tears streaming down my face I ran after her, not daring to look back, if the orb was so important then I couldn't let Voldemort get his hands on it. I chased her through several rooms, firing curses all the way; she dodged every single one of them and made it to the atrium where she had stopped.

If I was angry before, then I was downright furious now. It was a cold fury looking back on it, it was a silent anger, my hands were clenched, and my teeth grit, but no expression could be seen upon my face. All I could feel was hate. This bitch had to suffer was all I could remember thinking.

She was just standing there, waiting, for what I don't know, but all I could see was red.

I'm not quite sure how many times I crucio'd her; I lost count not too long after her screams became silence. I heard a slow clap and turned to see that white prick standing there, clapping proudly like I had won some sort of prize. Voldemort was here.

My wand was by my side instantly as I cast whatever dark curse first came to my head right at him. The smug prick manage to riposte with a curse of his own and yet again our spells became locked in this never ending battle, a dome of light branching out from the midpoint where they met.

This futility at causing this wanker harm was starting to piss me off as many apparition pops sounded around us. Dumbledore came first, then the rest of his order, followed by the entire ministry and then some. It looked like everyone was here, but not the three I wanted.

A resurgence of anger fuelled my spell's power and the midpoint started to back up to Voldemort. Dumbledore the old fool inched closer to the dome enough to touch it, which I'm sure he very much regrets wherever he is. A stray arc of combined curses leaped out from our interlocked power fight and struck the dome where it felt an interruption, which caused Dumbledore to ricochet backwards onto the Wizards wand on the atrium's fountain.

The old man died before he could take another breath.

Dumbledore might be many things, but he didn't deserve to die. He was a good man at heart even if he lost sight of the real fight.

There had been too many lives lost, this had to end, so I channelled whatever remaining energy I had left and sent it right at the dark tosser.

I saw Voldemort smiling gleefully at Dumbledore's impaled corpse, there were several people trying to get him down. Voldemort must've been happy, because I felt the power of his spell increase too. The intertwined beams were pulsating now, which I'm sure everybody in the room could feel as I saw them all back up.

My wand was getting hotter by the second, and apparitions were forming inside the dome, just like the graveyard. Mum was there, dad too, Cedric, everyone Voldemort had ever killed. "One final push" they all said in unison, like I wasn't trying my hardest. The heat was becoming unbearable now, so with a blood curdling scream I put every last drop of my power into the spell.

If Voldemort's grin turn frown was any indication, I would say it was sufficient. There were several stray arcs of light bouncing everywhere now, and then everything went white. White as far as the eyes could see. I was there and so was Voldemort. He looked scared, more scared than I'd ever seen him.

The next few moments are so vivid; I've never forgotten what happened next.

"POTTER!" venomous eyes turned to me. "Where is this, what have you done" He brought his arm up to curse me, then realised he had no wand. "What trickery are you playing?" He demanded from me.

I could feel it, or, I should say I couldn't feel it. My magic was gone. Which means his was too.

"Answer me" He said as he reached to grab me, only for him to recoil from my touch. Voldemort was thrown to the floor with the amount of recoil he felt.

"If anything, we're dead since we can't use magic" I spoke to him from on high. He looked pathetic from where I stood, realisation dawning upon his snake like features.

"No, NO, I can't, it must be a lie" He denied adamantly. "I have precautions in place" he spoke to himself in self-assurance.

"Ah but it is true" said a voice that was not my own.

We both turned to see what said that, both looking around for a sign of any sort.

"Welcome to death" the voice said cheerily. "Although there seems to be a problem here".

"YES because I can't die, I…"

"Enough of your whining" the strange voice from nowhere spoke, and snake face became silent.

"If you refer to your Diary Horcrux, I can assure you it was destroyed". The voice said confidently. "You are dead Tom. You. Are. Mine."

His pale face, paled even further at the news if that was entirely possible. Meanwhile I was standing on in silence watching as this murdering psycho got what he bloody deserved. Wherever the voice was coming from, I felt it direct itself to me.

"You on the other hand are my problem...you got something special the night Tom murdered your parents…here let me get it for you".

It was like a hand punctured the skin of my chest, fumbling around looking for something.

"Ah here we go…One mistakenly created Horcrux" My eyes went wide at that, I'm sure Tom's matched my own. "Do you see why you are dead now Tom, even with your second Horcrux, I now have all the pieces to your soul…You. Are. Mine."

Hardly believing I had such a thing inside me after what I saw it do to the diary, I looked at Tom who was kneeling, probably begging the mysterious voice to have mercy.

"Time to burn Riddle" *snap* some fingers snapped and Voldemort stared to fade downwards. Disappearing down into an appearing abyss, inch by inch, meanwhile the voice refocused on me.

"While he's still here, I want him to listen" The voice chuckled to me. "Only one soul dies when somebody is killed… and seeing as though I have taken the Horcrux…the living soul of Harry Potter remains"

Having your mind blown constantly like this really stuns you, I had no words.

"So get out of here, it's not your time, and thank you for bringing this one…I'll be spending lots of time with him". Though I couldn't see it, I was sure he pointed at Tom.

I sensed a presence push me back out of the light, all of it a blurry mess as I moved backwards ending with a crash and the light no more.

.

..

…

"HARRY…HARRY…WAKE UP HARRY" came a melodious voice that could only belong to my mother.

My eyelids split apart groggily, my entire body felt numb, drained even, but I think I could get up. As I struggled to my feet, which was no easy task, I could pick up on faint whispers in every direction. Right there, by my feet was the lifeless husk of a body of Tom Riddle. I looked around the room to many shocked faces, like what happened here was practically impossible.

That was when the cheers started. I know who started them, dammit Nymphadora; I bet she got the rest of the Order to join as well. I didn't know what to do, the deaths of tonight weighed heavily on my soul. People started approaching, so I used a sonorous to tell everyone clearly, Voldemort was dead.

Not long after that, I returned to Hogwarts, I just didn't care anymore, that evil prick was gone, but was it worth the price I used to ask myself. I don't think anything is worth that price.

Minister Fudge was soon vetoed out of position for being a useless sack of shit, replaced by Rufus Scrimgeour, everyone who had ever claimed imperious back in the day had been administered Veritaserum to double check. It was a system shock that over three quarters of the people checked bore the Dark Mark.

The year finished, but I had kept to myself, right now I just wanted to vanish, and I couldn't deal with people as I had to grieve. So without anyone to tell me what's what, I floo'd to Grimmauld Place headed to my room and cried. People, even the Order had no idea how to console me, not that I wanted or needed it, so they just left me alone.

The masses were wondering where I was, what I was doing, they wanted to thank me, pin medals on me, make me a hero. But I was no hero and I didn't really want their 'thanks'.

.

.

.

The next few years weren't anything special, no dark lords, no big ass snakes, no magical stones. I didn't consider myself to be special in anyway, so my actions were just ordinary, even if the public didn't think so.

It turns out Dumbledore had left me a ring in his will, saying I would know what to do with it in time. But I didn't want anything to do with it, his wand also never left me alone, appearing the day after the ministry in my wand holster. I threw it away many times only for it to reappear a few seconds later. Having enough of it and being in a dark place at the time, my magic reciprocated casting fiendfyre in my room, destroying everything. But I managed to save the photo album Hagrid gave me along with some photos of my friends.

The room was a crisp charcoal but that only lasted a few whiles when everybody turned up to help me re-furnish. This was followed by Professor McGonagall who was the new Headmaster, coming to visit me, in hopes that I would return to Hogwarts to finish my NEWTs, it took a lot of convincing but once she mentioned it would be what Hermione would want me to do, I caved.

Continuing onto sixth and seventh year, graduating with five NEWT's, O's in Defence, Transfiguration, Charms, Runes and Potions, that last one with a little help from the half-blood prince, may God bless his soul. With that finally behind me I was caught unaware that I'd have to do an apprenticeship somewhere before I could get a job in the Wizarding world. Why this was never explained to me before now, I have no idea; it was a difficult decision for me, but one I finally reached in the end.

When we graduated Ginny confessed her feelings to me, told me how she felt about me, said she cared about Harry Potter, not the boy who lived. I was sceptical at first but agreed to date her and not long after that we got married. It was quick I'm sure, but it just felt right. I had that feeling that was telling me she was everything I'd ever want, and my instincts had never steered me wrong. It was a small ceremony even if she wanted the world to be invited; I just wasn't up for it, I only wanted those who actually knew me to be there. Thus she became Mrs. Potter.

I chose to do my apprenticeship under Poppy Pomfrey, learning to become a Mediwizard, heaven knows that these skills would've useful in the situations I often found myself in. The next 5 years had me running around Hogwarts students, curing jinxes, healing broken bones due to Quidditch and Poppy teaching me everything she knew, how Dumbledore had managed to snag this genius of a Mediwitch was beyond comprehension and now thanks to my Occlumency I was just as masterful as her. She knew counter-cures to curses I didn't even begin to understand.

But those good times don't last forever, now I was 22 and jobless since my apprenticeship was over, I had Grimmauld Place but it wasn't a home I liked, too many sad memories carved into its' walls, the only point in staying there was if Sirius was there. He wasn't.

I didn't actually want to become a healer, I just thought the skills you learned were worth it, so that was out for me, and I had let my Quidditch skills rust in the years not at Hogwarts, so I followed in the path of my dad and godfather and became an Auror.

My last few years was filled to brim with work from my boss, the utterly terrifying Lady Bones, what I didn't know was that she was grooming me to become the next Department Head of the DMLE. Something about vanquishing Voldemort a second time in the Ministry Atrium was proof enough that I was capable, not that I wasn't capable per se, the year between the end of fourth and fifth year saw me delving into some dark tomes and rituals learning all I could to bring the 'immortal wanker' down.

Every now and then, the "Vanquisher of Voldemort" my new title, was called onto extra bounty missions, where we would be after escaped death eaters or a particularly dark wizard that threatened genocide. The more of these I completed, the more my co-workers believe I was turning dark, due to my repertoire of offensive spells, that they were the most effective didn't stop them from judging me.

Eventually Lady Bones was forced to let me go, or risk revolt by the rest of her staff. I didn't want to accept it at first but she made me see reason, told me the rumours circulating about me, how even my partner was being two faced about it.

During this, I'm pretty sure the public found out about my 'dark change', there were no more mentions of the heroic deeds of Harry Potter. Paper after paper, was slander from the Ministry about how I had let Voldemort live for 15 more years when I could have ended him. And thus, just like at school, I went from hero to zero instantly. Safe to say there was no love for me from the current administration, even if most of them were ones I went to Hogwarts with.

Notice how I haven't really mentioned Ginny or my home life, and there's a perfectly valid explanation for it. See, Ginny loved to go out; she loved the high life being Mrs. Potter brought her; she loved the balls and the gowns, the fake smiles and the fake laughs, all of that nonsense. I on the other hand, hated that part of my life, I would never go to them, I became a recluse of sorts, don't get me wrong, I still went out, had fun, but not where I had to pretend to be someone else. She didn't get that, and our relationship became rocky, strained. We still lived together, but that's all it was, cohabitation, nothing more nothing less, no children and sadly no love.

That changed one day when I came home after being let go, see it was unexpected and I hadn't informed anyone, let alone a wife that barely spoke to me. I had silently apparated home and could hear Ginny and her mother in the kitchen. Oh how I regret not killing them both there and then.

*flashback start*

"Mum is the amortentia nearly ready?" came Ginny's now sickly sweet voice.

"Nearly dear, are you sure you need this?" was the response of Molly Weasley, the closest thing to a mum I had.

"I think the other potions are wearing off now, so I believe so, and it's not like a double dose will cause too much damage in the long run." My wife said. I wanted to be sick. "Plus if Harry loves me more, then there's less time he's spending going dark"

I burst passed the door not believing what I was hearing, much to their surprise.

"Harry, what are you doing home so early?" she had the bloody cheek to ask. "Why don't you go into the living room and I'll be there shortly dear"

I slammed my hands down, unconsciously causing some magic to flood the room and shattering a few dishes.

"WHAT is in THAT CAULDRON?!" I all but screamed

"Nothing dear, mums just using it to make some soup, right mum?" Ginny asked her mother.

"Oh of course, Ginny just wanted me to show her how to make it for you" Molly said effortlessly. "Would you like a taste Harry dear?"

"I'd love a taste" Pulling out my wand I sent a dual charm at them both. "Stupefy"

They hit the floor like a sack of potatoes as I went over to the 'cookbook' only to find myself looking at the instructions for Magic's most potent Love Potion. A shadow fell over my eyes as I sent a supercharged Reducto to the cauldron. The cauldron disintegrated into hundreds of shards that all went straight at the two on the floor.

I healed them enough to stay alive but nothing more, they had shards sticking out of their legs and arms, enough to cause pain while still lodged in. Silencio I ordered for them to be quiet, as I still had trouble believing what was actually happening right now.

With my mind made up, I lifted Ginny by her petite throat, magic augmenting my strength, I could see her losing oxygen, and I enjoyed it. Not trusting her to tell the truth and not having any Veritaserum on hand I did the next best thing in my righteous anger. I looked Ginny straight in her eyes and while gritting my teeth, loudly whispered. Imperio

Out of my peripheral, I could see Molly's eyes widening, witnessing what was becoming of her only daughter. Ginny's eyes clouded over, like she could see but not truly see.

"Enough of this charade" I spoke as I wordlessly and wandlessly lifted the silence on Ginny. In my – as it seemed – infinite anger, I only had one question.

"Did you ever love me?"

Hermione was gone, my other half I slowly realised, she was the one I loved truly. And my bank of advice and wisdom Neville was gone. I needed to know if I was truly alone.

Ginny against the pain said the words I needed least.

"I love the Boy Who Lived"

Imagine a computer showing the blue screen. That is how I felt right now.

"Arhhhh" I actually threw the bint, straight at the wall whether she was unconscious before or after she hit the wall, to be honest, I don't really care. It was enough, I needed solace.

I looked at a half angry, half terrified but fully stunned Molly Weasley and apparated away.

*flashback end*

.

My face was streaked in tears as I looked down at the graves before me. Dried tear tracks could tell anyone at a glance I'd been crying for a while. Hermione during her fifth year winter break, visited her parents with the intention of Obliviating herself from their memories. That way they could be convinced to leave England and not get caught up in any trouble.

That is why Hermione's grave stood there, right next to my parents and Sirius's graves.

"I failed you"

"All of you"

"But you the most Hermione"

I don't know who was listening, but I hope they could hear, I hope my words meant something to anyone who bothered to care about me. A grown ass 27 year old whose life was currently in ruins.

"I should have stayed back, I shouldn't have gone after her, then you might still be with me"

"I should have saved you" *sob* "I should have protected you"

I got angry all of a sudden; anger at all the bullshit in my life but most of the anger for myself.

"WHY, WHY ME" I screamed to a sky that was suddenly clouding, as soon as the black clouds came together, life seemed to screw with me even more by releasing all the rain they had accumulated.

Rain and tears meshed together down my face.

"What did I do?" I asked dejectedly. "Why me" Multiple pops could be heard all around me but I couldn't care less. I dropped to my knees as I hugged Hermione's tombstone.

"Why did you all die and leave me behind" said a defeated voice. Why must I always remain alone I left unsaid.

To those who had just arrived at this scene, they would be very confused.

.

A house elf had apparated a stunned and silenced Molly Weasley and a profusely bleeding and broken Ginny Potter to a crowded St. Mungos. One look at them had mediwizards and witches alike trying to heal the crisscross of the shards of cauldrons embedded in them but failing horribly as Harry's magic overpowered them all.

Aurors were called for and arrived promptly with Madam Bones leading at the forefront. Even if Harry Potter no longer worked for them, any criminal that would cause such blatant harm to his family would be attacked with the full force of the law.

Molly was able to talk after a few hours, while Ginny was rushed to Intensive Care, questioning didn't even need to begin as shouting could be heard when Molly awoke. Madam Bones and her senior Aurors could only listen on in shock as they heard who was responsible and in which manner he did it in.

"That dark lord attacked us both; he said the only way to become truly evil was to start anew, by getting rid of his wife." Silence followed suit after such an announcement spread throughout St. Mungos and beyond. "He used a dark curse on us to cause the scars and used the Imperious on my daughter. THAT MONSTER NEEDS TO BE PUT DOWN"

The medical staff couldn't believe that a healer like Potter could even begin to do such a thing, but the fact that none of them could heal the wounds led credit to the fact it was a dark curse they were unfamiliar with. This is exactly what they told the Aurors stationed outside, alongside the fact that Ginny was showing obvious signs of being Imperioused.

Safe to say, the Aurors were out for blood for their ex-colleague, while Madam Bones could hardly believe what Harry was being accused of.

Which leads us to the multiple apparitions towards the last known location of Harry Potter; having used the same elf that brought Molly and Ginny to St. Mungos to bring him some flowers.

So from going to the belief that the accused Harry Potter who attacked his wife and mother-in-law in cold blood, to actually seeing him at the grave of a war hero balling his eyes out in the pouring rain. The Aurors were thoroughly confused.

.

"Why did you all die and leave me behind"

Each Auror looked each other, to confirm their next phase of plan; this was not a man to be trifled with.

"Potter, you are under arrest for assault against two pure blooded witches as well as use of an Unforgivable." Said the voice of a young Auror who had no idea the capabilities of the Wizard in question.

I turned to look at them, some of them used to be my friends, some of them too young to understand. I stood slowly, my Occlumency reminding me what the short one said. Each of their wands was trained upon me, ready to fire without a single hesitation.

I smirked, Moody would be proud of their paranoia. But I don't think smirking was the best thing I could have done in such a situation, for one young Auror caught a sight of it and let loose a single stupefy that actually missed me. But the Aurors were nothing if not unified and four more stupefy's came flying at me and hit me directly in the chest.

As my head hit the ground and my eyes closed, I thought I could see that frizzy brown hair and a smile that could light the darkest of depths.

.

..

…

It was all blurry, I remember waking up at one point, someone was holding my arm up, but then another stupefy hit me and I was out like a light again.

.

..

…

"They've got to stop doing that… Urgh" Everything was fuzzy, blinking my eyes to get them working again, I looked up to see two Aurors stationed in front of my cell.

"Oi, what the hell am I doing here" I exclaimed as I looked around, recognizing my surroundings. I knew this place very well. I sent many dark wizards here who had no regard for human life. This meant one thing. "WHY am I sitting in death row?" I shouted at my guard. Not that it made anything better but I saw them flinch. Now why the hell am I here.

.

.

A door slammed open to give way to a very irate woman.

"Minister, where the hell is Potter, he should be in a holding cell until the Wizengamot can be convened for his trial?" said the ever stoic voice of Madam Bones.

"ahh Amelia, you don't have to worry about that" Minister Scrimgeour said with a laugh.

"What is that supposed to mean Rufus?"

"What it means Amelia, is that in a couple minutes, Lord Potter will be just a distant memory and Magical Britain can put the past behind us."

If she was angry before, that just evaporated giving way to the worry filling her at the Minister's words.

"What have you done RUFUS?" She all but screamed at the current Minister, door open for the rest of his office to hear.

"Lord Potter signed this earlier" He said as he chucked a scroll of parchment at Amelia. "As you can see Lord Potter has unequivocally stated that he requires no trial, admits his guilt and has been sentenced to death by the Veil."

Madam Bones was reading it, but she could hardly believe Harry would do such a thing. The man was THE fighter.

"He wouldn't sign this, this is not his fingerprint, it has to be faked" She was grasping at straws by this point. How could the Minister allow this to happen.

"I was there when the boy pressed his finger to that parchment Amelia, I know you don't want to believe it, but that boy, no that monster has caused enough damage to our society." The Minister claimed while resting his hands on his desk.

"If you leave now, you may be able to catch him before he gets sent through, if they aren't taking him there already."

Before the Minister could finish, Madam Bones rushed out of the office towards the lift, knocking several people and desk out of the way as she ran, she had to save him.

.

And so you see, that's how I found myself here. Locked up like a wild beast, ready for the slaughter. Funny, but in all of my life, this isn't how I thought I'd meet my end. It was always at the hands of some dick fooling around with power he couldn't possibly handle or a dark lord I didn't have a prophecy against.

"It's time Lord Potter" Said one of the Guards. This room was sort of like an antechamber to the Veil's room. I could see the doors from where I sat, or stood now that these two are forcing me on my feet. I looked up at them, as they dragged me towards my fate it seems.

"Do you two know how much I've given" I asked sarcastically. I became a pretty big pessimist in my young age; I guess coming so close to death gives one that perspective.

They had no answer, so they stayed silent.

"That bastard stole my parents, he stole my first love, he stole my best friends."

Still nothing, but they at least seemed to know where I was heading with this. I can tell you they didn't.

"Then the woman who I thought loved me, who kept me company in my loneliness, turns out to have bewitched me, betrayed me on a scale I can't even begin to describe."

Silence flourished as they opened the doors to the Veil room.

"I bet you two don't know, but this is where I lost Sirius Black." They flinched even though his name was cleared after his death.

"He was my Godfather, I was going to live with him, I was going to be free, and then he died that night."

We were just a few meters away at this point. Strangely I wasn't hesitant anymore. I felt tired.

"I have given everything for magic, for you all, my love, my family, my friends, and now I'm giving you my life."

They seemed unsure now at my words. They probably thought no crazy dark wizard would talk like me. Like a man who has been defeated by life.

"I don't blame you for this, magical Britain will fall, but not because of a dark wizard, nor because of me."

They inched close waiting for what I was going to say next. They need training, I could feel there hold on my shackles loosen too.

"It will fall because its people are sheep, who don't stand up for anything. You all follow instead of trying to lead."

Now they seemed mad, but they were questioning themselves. We were right in front of the Veil now. My time was near its end so I gave them my last message.

"Tell Madam Bones that it was my honour to serve under her. Under a true leader and that I'm sorry; I truly have nothing left to live for."

Using my strength enhanced by whatever of my magic I had left, I shoulder barged both of them to the floor and before they could react I jumped into the Veil. If I was going to die, after all the shit life has put me through then dammit, it was going to be on my own terms.

BANG

Another door at the end of the chamber slammed open and Amelia rushed in, just in time to see me jump straight in, with nothing holding me back and nothing to return to.

.

.

.

It is a surreal thing to experience death, or to come so close to it that you can greet it as an old friend. But that is exactly how I find myself feeling as I float in this nothingness. Or is it a void? Pitch blackness so dark it was darker than black, well at least I think since I can't see anything or am I seeing nothing? And why is this feeling familiar?

*chuckle "That's becasiie last time you were here it was a blinding white" *another chuckle* "you are a curious thing are you not?"

"I prefer vigilant, gotta size up all the escape routes"

*longer chuckle "You're supposed to be dead, how do you know that you will be leaving or that there is an 'escape'?"

"I don't, but I can hope can't I?"

"Even in the wake of death, you still hope, you truly are a unique case my master"

"err what"

A clap noise reverberated around the blank space. All of a sudden light flooded into the void, filling up it up like water fills any container it's placed in. It would have blinded a normal person, but then again they'd be normal alive person.

"boo"

A black skeletal figure hidden under a dark midnight black cloak that was in tatters as it reached the bottom but had no feet and seemed to just float as a midriff, almost Dementor like. Almost. Had his hands out to the side of his hood and was hovering right in front of me.

…"really, that's the best you have"

The Dementor lookalike had the decency to seen abashed. "Well no, but…"

"Honestly once you face a hundred Dementors, the look kinda becomes cute, a scary demonic devilish kind of cute"

"cute… preposterous, I AM DEATH, the one thing all beings fear, Gods too I'll have you know."

"well is this the best you have? Wait a sec, Death, Master?"

"yes yes, the grim reaper, the keeper of souls, the pale rider whatever you want to call me but I am NOT cute!"

The skeletal arms then folded themselves to his chest, as he looked to the side, it appeared clear as day, that if he had a face, it would be pouting.

"alright, alright, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to call you cute, I got it mixed up with menacing"

Glowing red eyes looked at me, hood raised high enough just so I could make out eyes but no eye sockets which I would admit was truly terrifying.

"Ha I did it" as a skeletal hand fist pumped in victory and the hood went back down.

*siiiigh "is there a reason I'm here or are you here to take me to the afterlife?"

"pfft, afterlife good one, nah mate, you aren't going there anytime soon" my mouth opened, aghast "not while I still exist anyway"

"WAIT, WHAT, what do you mean, I was meant to see Hermione and Neville again"

"I'm afraid that's possible but only when you are alive or dead you see"

"No shit Sherlock and I'm dead now" I shouted while gesturing to myself, forgetting what kind of primordial I was talking to. "Wait, what are you insinuating" My head was reeling from the possibilities.

"Perhaps I should just explain from the start?" He asked, to which I gave a nod. He clapped again and we appeared sitting at a bench in the London suburbs. "Tea?" He asked while pouring some into two cups.

"There's no point in asking but what do you think happened to my Hallows? You're going to say you destroyed them after the ministry incident. But you should know you can't kill death. So when you snapped the wand, and smashed the stone and burnt the cloak, to prevent anyone from claiming power over death like dear old Voldy, they weren't destroyed as such, they merely returned to their owner's body." A voice from nowhere explained as a skeletal finger touched my chest. "They returned to you"

"But that's not possible, I'm not their owner" I interrupted

"That may be true so to speak, but they've taken a real shine to you, I didn't just create three powerful, death defying items and just give them to humans. No. They have a purpose. A purpose Beedle the Bard forgot to mention" He replied while laughing condescendingly.

"And that was…?" I asked just a little annoyed at this entities non-answers. He had enough of that from Dumbledore.

"To find someone worthy" I could sense him smiling. "They chose you Harry, they found you, after all those that came before you, Albus having the wand and the cloak, Gellert having the Stone and the Wand. But none of them ever held all three, because the Hallows would not let them. Albus and Gellert and those before them were not worthy."

"But how could I be worthy of the Hallows, I'm just a…" but just before I could finish.

"Harry you are much more than you realise, didn't you realise how much more powerful you had become after destroying the physical Hallows without even using them. I haven't gotten to this yet, but I don't just pick anyone to be my Master. But you after obtaining such power, still strived for peace, didn't even once glance at misusing their power for evil. Albeit it sounds now like you didn't realise you had their powers in the first place. Nevertheless your magic was still empowered by the wand and that was enough to cause Gellert to start a Wizarding war for the other two. You are much more special than you realise."

"Wait… that's why you said I could have seen Neville and Hermione while I was alive, because the stone is a part of me, as well as the other two."

"Exactly, but I might have misled you a bit, you're neither dead nor alive."

"Oh… EHHHH, WHAT! Whaaaaaaat?"

"You my friend are in Purgatory" Skeletal hands making sparkles appear from them. "The world between life and death, my realm to sort those that come from one to the other.

"You see, while I was roaming the earth and stumbled upon the Peverell brothers, I had in fact created another artefact to supplement my Hallows. You see I wanted the one who united the Hallows, the person who was worthy to be able to visit from time to time. To come and go from Purgatory as they like."

"You… you created the 'Veil'" I said as awe filled me.

"Veils, Harry, plural, there's more than just one, they just exist on different Earths, a different Earth for every decision man makes, creating an infinite amount of Earths, a multiverse some may call it"

"woah" I stared entirely stupefied.

"I have only put veils on the earths where mankind has come to fruition; I saw no point in putting one on a barren Earth as there would be no souls to collect.

"Now back to the topic at hand, when they shoved you through the veil obviously you didn't die, and as such that tea you're sipping on doesn't actually exist, since only a dead man can drink dead tea. You following?"

"waaaaah" I'm pretty sure my brain is fried.

*chuckle* "Right, now, since we've established all this, you going on to the afterlife boils down to a choice. You are my newest and first master, my earthly representative. You may come and go from any Veil you choose." He snapped his fingers and Veils shot out from under his cloak, completely surrounding us in the setting sky "In doing so you become Eternal, my new embodiment, bringing those that cause too much death on their Earth to their end, keeping the balance of that Earth intact.

….

….

The character who referred to himself as Death looked gravely serious right now "The choice I refer to of course being" He gestured to me. "Do you want to do this? He asked holding his hand up to stop me from responding, but not working.

Hesitation flooded me instantly and I answered immediately "I am unsure; I want to see my friends and family again. I've been alone my whole life, I can't bear anymore loneliness." My face became downcast.

I honestly didn't know Death could sigh so low. "I must confess Harry, since you are the first to successfully pull my Hallows together, it seems reasonable I would ask whether or not you want this, it seems sensible does it not? But there has been a slight miscalculation on my part." He said while examining a scroll that appeared from his robe sleeve.

"What do you mean?" I asked, sceptically. "You made a mistake?"

"I did not foresee that a boy who had yet to live a full life would be the bearer of my Hallows. And as such, I did not think of an escape clause." He said, very shamefully whilst rubbing the back of his head with his robed hand.

I must've looked pissed, because he moved backwards. "Are you trying to tell me, that I have no choice?"

"Well yes and no" If anyone could look more serious right now, they'd be called Sirius Black. "While you have no current choice now, once you complete a successful roam on one Earth you may return here to choose whether to remain as my emissary or to move on to where your parents and friends reside."

I thought about it for a couple minutes, were I to do this for a couple years it wouldn't be so bad, just a quick look and I can make a decision. I spoke up. "That's not that bad"

*nervous chuckle* "Somehow I don't think you've got it, so I shall explain each Veil is linked and has a timing function applied by the big G upstairs, to stop people from messing about, if a stray living soul came in and spotted another veil he could escape and cause mass panic in a world that was not his own. But big G sorta went above and beyond with the time allotment since I was the only one he thought would use such a feature."

"There is a cool down period of approximately 200 years on the Veil. So if a living being were to enter it, all Veils will be closed for the allotted time. So there is no coming back for quite a small while."

"SMALL WHILE, that's like ten times the years I've lived!" I was absolutely flabbergasted.

*nervous laugh* "Oh forgive me, I forget how young you truly are my master. You have seen a lot, it is evident in your eyes." He spoke solemnly.

I huffed. "There is no way out of this right? You're telling me everything?"

"As my master, my first master, I refuse to hide the truth from you. I am being honest."

"That's something at least" We both sighed at that. " I guess you should continue with my duty then"

"Hmm yes, let's continue then. Now then you might wonder why a founding entity such as me might want a master. But that is just the title I'm afraid. While we share similar powers for now, I am still a lot more powerful than you, but there exists my problem and why I require you. I am too powerful"

"…too powerful, how is that a problem?" I ask baffled

"My sheer omnipresence can wipe out planets Harry, with a thought I could cause genocide, as such, all the known Gods of each multiverse banded together and set restrictions upon my movement which is why I only exist in this limbo world between life and death. But that was a long time ago, and these Gods now bicker amongst each other for more power than they deserve. The big G upstairs only focuses on creating new life, so he doesn't really care that I'm stuck, as long as the balance is maintained."

"But you being the 'Master of Death' do not fall under this restriction, which brings me to my request."

I brace myself for an unreasonable request, he probably wants me to bounty hunt wayward souls, or kill a few Gods. "What is it?"

"I want you to live"

"ehh"…"EHHHHHHH"….. "What do you mean live?" I asked sceptically

A deep rumbling started shaking the very foundation of this realm I found myself in.

"I am Death."

"My personification already exists on every earth, reaping and collecting wayward souls, sending them through their own Veils for me to sort. But only that, that one job for the remainder of my immortal life stuck here seeing them on."

"Sorry but fuck that! The gods think I can be controlled, that I can be trapped, but I grew bored, I decided to create for a change. Thus I created the one thing that can harness and use my powers to an extent."

Fearing the answer to this unspoken question, I say "Me"

The feeling he is smiling as he downs the rest of his cup returns. "You"

"Harry, you living your immortal life is the ultimate fuck you to the Gods. You are 100% human, thus they cannot interfere with you or your life, but you contain your magic as well as my power through the Hallows within you, the power of a primordial at your fingertips, it will drive them crazy when they realise they no longer have control over me."

"I… err…" I was speechless. A being long thought to be just a hoax, asking me to live for them.

"So Harry, what do you think?"

"What if I don't want to be your master, what if I want to be 'just Harry', it seems I have no other options" I smiled, downing the rest of my non existing tea,

For the first time, I think Death genuinely smiled at me "Even if you were not my master, you would still not be 'just Harry', I'm sorry master, I truly am. You have lived a hard life till now, it is clear I am only making it harder for you. But that is part of what makes you so strong Harry, you're tenacious ability to get up even when the odds are stacked against you. I am proud to call you my master."

"Where exactly am I to go?"

"Wherever you want, I can recommend an Earth for you, but it is ultimately up to you to choose how you spend your new life. Find love, have children, build a home or equally bring death, misfortune and misery. Your life is your own, no foolish old men trying to use you, no prophecies over your head. All I want you to do is live your life; how you do it is up to you." He asked as a skeletal hand moved to just in front of me waiting for me to shake. "Sound like a deal?"

"It does, but I want a promise from you before I accept… Make sure nothing happens to my parents, my family or my friends" I threaten, a little steel entering my voice, accidently causing the area around the bench to shake violently.

The skeletal figure seemingly smirks. "You are a quick learner, I accept your deal, if it makes you feel any better, they all wanted you to accept my offer anyway, your parents said that they still didn't have any grandchildren and that they hope you sort that out. You can always ask her about it, but I should warn you, the power of the stone is now restricted to a full moon, so don't ask for a soul before or after, or they'll be deleted permanently. Also never fear Harry, as your servant and more importantly your friend I promise your family will never be harmed while I still draw breath."

*loud laugh* "But you don't have a mouth or lungs, thank you" I say grasping his hand in acceptance and giving it a shake. It's cold to the touch but strangely I can feel the warmth behind his words. He doesn't mean me any harm, I feel like I can trust him.

"You'll have several new powers along with the Hallows and magic Harry, but that's for you to discover. I want you to remember, live your life to the fullest, for you never know what may happen next. As my only living avatar, as my master, the Gods will be blind to your actions or movement unless they spot you or you let them" He says as I start to glow. Bit of me flashing out of proportion. My vision dims but just before it blacks out I hear in the distant.

"This is going to hurt a bit. Goodbye Harry, may we meet again someday." and my consciousness faded into oblivion.

.

"But not too soon, I hope you enjoy life Harry". A hearty laugh came from the shadowy figure seemingly disappearing particle by particle. "Looks like you were right after all eh Lils"

Just behind the skeletal being, a woman was being held by a man, as tears streaked down their faces soaking their tops, she was nodding back towards him, as she mouthed "thank you". They both then flashed out of place, returning from whence they came as suburb London came crumbling down.

.

.

.

If anybody told you entering another world via some sort of mystic teleportation caused by a being older than time was painless, then they're bloody lying. It felt like all of my nerve endings were lit up like a Christmas tree, it's like I was on fire while suffocating all the while punches socked me in the gut. Needless to say, it was no walk in the park but I'll manage. But just as the pain reached its peak, it dispersed quickly leaving me with a new experience. My head had never felt so clear before, never so fresh, and we had magical concoctions for that very purpose, but I had also never experienced a feeling quite like I just did and I've been through the Cruciatus curse.

At least my thoughts were my own even if my body refused to listen to me, I'd know that clinical sarcasm anywhere so I had to be sane still. I don't know how long it was until my body finally responded but my eyelids fluttered open and drank in their surroundings.

It was dark, very dark but that was more due to the tall trees than my own residual blindness, thankfully I could spot the moon just past the blanket of green leaves, so there was a little illumination. I was nowhere discernable, at least to me nothing seemed familiar at all, but I would hazard a guess that it had nothing to do with location but with the fact that I was surrounded by trees and greenery as far as my eyes could see. At least I don't need glasses again. Alright, so I was in a forest of some kind, I could work with that, I became a pro at traversing the forbidden forest, and Acromantula's are only native because Hagrid refused to move Aragog.

More importantly, could I still use my magic with no wand

Rising to my surprisingly refreshed feet, I appeared to be clothed with the same material from Death's Cloak, it felt like the finest silk but it was probably much sturdier than that. Suffice to say I was decked in black, a black t-shirt that stopped halfway up my forearm with the Hallows insignia planted exactly where one would find a Ralph Lauren logo and black chinos that were loose enough for me to really get a move on if I needed to. Looking down to my feet, black boots covered my feet, but damn, no socks. Now that I had regained most of my faculties, I could tell it was pretty cold, the vapours of my breath condensed into miniature clouds, my clothes seemed to block the cold out, but my arms were exposed enough to still feel chilly. A quick warming charm and I was on my way.

Walking around brusquely, somehow I could sense several signs of life roaming about, your typical squirrel, a few rabbits and even a cat but nothing too big to make me worry although I couldn't afford to be careless now, especially when my life had just begun so to speak, Mad-Eye would be proud. Seeing what I could really do with such ability, I focused, hard, willing the tendrils that could find these animals to look further and further. Eventually they came to a stop, if I had to guess, the range was pretty damn far.

Squirrels, birds, swans, ducks, more squirrels and then what I was searching for, humans. These types of animals inside a dense thicket of green meant I must be in a park. Every so often I would come upon signs near dirt paths telling me which way Manhattan or Harlem was, along with directions to a Boathouse, a Lake and a Fountain. Nothing stood out apart from me being in or close to New York. That was when the tendrils I sent out picked up something strange, two or three anomalous beings towards the Lake. My interest was definitely piqued, I decided to head towards the lake, hoping to find the cause.

After a few minutes there was a rustle in a glade just between me and the lake, but nothing would prepare me for what I saw just beyond the huge hedge. Standing there near a flat boulder was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen; never before had I wanted to know someone's name more than in that one moment. Her hair was a dark auburn, held in a braided ponytail which glimmered against the surrounding darkness; her skin was pale like the snow that started falling, it must be winter I assumed, but she wasn't wearing what one would call winter clothes. To be honest it looked like she was wearing thick bed sheets, but they were held together by golden chains, her shoes were no better, leather looking open boots that wrapped their way to her knees in a criss-cross like design, how on earth was she not cold I asked myself.

She paused whatever she was doing here, I must have been louder than I thought when venturing closer as she looked up obviously sensing another presence nearby, and unconsciously I activated the cloak's power. Or was it my power, since the Hallows are now within me? Nevertheless she was startled and quickly faced my direction, looking directly into my eyes while not actually seeing them or me for that matter. At this point I could tell she was crying, I could hear her weeping but it felt so wrong. I wanted nothing more than to make whatever could cause that pay for committing such a crime against nature. Casting a silencing and muffling charm on myself, I stepped closer, although now feeling guilty that I witnessing these events, that they were for her eyes and her eyes only.

But I had always been nosy, I thought to myself, maybe I should change, they say curiosity killed the cat, and I've had enough death for a lifetime. As she looked around, I could quite clearly see that even when crying I was wrong about her. Beautiful didn't even compare to what she was, no words could describe how she looked. I couldn't even tell you what her features were, only one word came to my mind but only because I was struggling to do it; breath-taking.

Having moved closer, I could see a man as well behind her urging her to hurry with whatever she was doing. He had white streaked hair that was tied back, his eyes looked stormy, enough to reflect the sky above us. Actually that was exactly what they looked like. He too wore what she did only his cut off at a shoulder and went around his waist.

Creeping to the distance I was, I could see she was now holding something in her arms, a small bundle wrapped in an abundance of cloth. As I focused my newfound deathly powers, I could sense the new-born life in held in her arms. Which sprung up a million questions, why was she crying? Why were they here? Who was she? Were they 'together'? That last one unimportant in the general scheme of things, but they were quickly answered.

I heard the sniffles before I heard the words "I can't let her go… She's mine, my flesh, my blood. My daughter" said the woman

"You must, she cannot exist, she must die, either by your hands or by mine." The man countered with little to no emotion. It was like he didn't even care.

The lady's crying only grew at these words. "It is not her fault that monster violated me, she has no blame in this, please let me keep her… please father, she needs her mother"

"You must remain a maiden, those were the rules we swore on the Styx, she cannot exist or she will be our undoing." He said with a straight face, his hands glowing with electricity ready to strike.

Well that's a new one I thought to myself, wordless magic that powerful was pretty cool, even if the guy using it was a joke of a man.

"We can hide her in camp, she can join the Hermes cabin, nobody has to know" she all but begged. She dropped to her knees, holding her precious bundle in one hand and grabbing her father's clothes with the other. "I can't kill her father… to do so would be to kill a part of me. She is my first..."

"Then I shall do it for you, there is nowhere we could possibly hide her. On Earth every monster would revel in the chance to kill the daughter of the huntress. Olympus is equally inconceivable for obvious reasons." He replied, snatching the small package from her clutch.

It was sad to watch, basically a crime when the woman tried to take the baby back only to be knocked back by the man. Oh how I wanted to knock this guy for ten, but I had to be subtle and not reveal myself yet, Moody-101.

"What are you trying to prove, you are still weak from childbirth, now witness, with this sacrifice to the fates, they may overlook this blunder and the prophecy may falter." He said while walking away from her.

Holding his hands up to the sky, thunder boomed overhead, lightning came crashing down around us, scaring the daylights out of me. Lightning and snow is a weird combination after all.

"No father, please, you can't…" She was still begging, as if her life depended on it, her chiton was darkened by the mud she was kneeling in.

That was enough for me, only just arriving here, I wasn't about to let an innocent life be taken if I had the power to do something about it. Readying my hand and mind as all the information processed itself; I waited for an opportune moment to strike.

"As repentance for a Styx bound broken, I offer tribute to appease the fates." He bellowed to the lightning as it came crashing down towards the baby in his hands.

"Noooo" Said the woman as she shot up against the pain, and towards Mr lightshow. The pain was showing on her face and blood trickled down her leg as she steadied herself on him.

"It had to be done, and so it has been" He said as he brought his hands down, the only thing remaining in them being the ashes of what they once held.

She choked up, it looked like she would be sick. Grief flooded her eyes, emotions ran like a dam bursting and she wailed. Animals across the world howled in pain as they felt the hurt go through this lady.

"My poor baby… I couldn't protect you" She was practically hanging off her father as she cried. "I'm so sorry, so so sorry."

"Shh daughter, it was for the betterment of Olympus, you should be proud" the man said, while standing her properly on her feet. "Let us be gone now, I shall take us to your brother." He announced while wrapping his arms around her distraught frame and they disappeared in a flash of light.

.

..

…

I couldn't believe it, I was too late, how the HELL could this happen.

.

"I didn't even get to find out her name" I said out loud, cancelling the invisibility. I sighed loudly.

.

"Well bloody fantastic" kicking myself mentally for allowing this to happen.

.

"At least you're fine" I said to the baby currently held in my hands.

I brought her closer to my chest for warmth and as she opened her eyes, I saw a glimpse of the same eyes that left her here - minus the heartbreak. She must have been made to sleep because as soon as the other two left she became a very vocal baby. My god she had a set of lungs on her.

She started crying very loudly, at which point I figured she realised I wasn't her mother, so I started to coo at her, hoping she would calm down, rocking her side to side gently. Not exactly a lot of practice behind me but somehow it worked and she stopped, but that was replaced by a big stare as she continued to drink in my facial features. I must've used magic unconsciously to calm her down. Then she started giggling while trying to reach up for my face and acting all cute and I think my heart melted a little bit. Dammit Harry, you're meant to be an Emissary of Death for goodness sake.

Maybe it's just death's powers acting up again but words I definitely wasn't thinking about came flooding into me as I held her in my arms. But one word stood out above all others when I gazed upon her cute little face. She was a little moon.

Maybe I wasn't alone anymore.

.

.

Obviously I did what any sensible and reasonable adult would do in a situation like this.

At 27 years of age, I, Harry James Potter, became a dad.

/Hope you guys enjoy the first chapter, I wanted all of the Harry Potter side over and done with so I could move on to the Percy Jackson side. Sorry if it's a bit rushed for some of you, but hopefully it'll get good soon. Let me know what you think! - rishi547 /