A/N Well, I probably shouldn't be starting another story; but decided that maybe I'd give it a shot. I'm sorry if I don't finish it, but I needed some new outlet. After the first few chapters, it won't be very dark. I promise.

Review, please.

Prologue: Ashes to the Wind/Waiting

The darkness concealed any hopes and dreams that Harry might have had. It taunted him and left him cold and alone. Sometimes it was metaphorical, but as most times, it was truly physical.

Harry Potter was only a boy; he was young, and scared, readily abused and scarcely fed. Hidden like a secret that continuously came to haunt and torment his only living relatives. He knew that he deserved it all, but little did it make his pain lessen. A freak was what he was, a bully, and a liar, too. He dreaded telling those that he was supposed to love, that he could do what – he thought – none other living person could ever achieve.

Magic.

Magic was for freaks; and yet he could control said magic to his very will, and to his every desire. A freak he was. He deserved the beatings, the scraps, the ratty clothes and hardly a patched roof to live under. He could remember – though just barely – a day when he was filled with love and cherished as any normal boy should be. But, even if he could have once been normal, he was no longer. He was consumed by a devil, a demon that left him without a show to his will.

'We'll just have to beat it out of you, boy!'

The threats left him feeling empty; no longer were they really threats, but promises to him. They did try and beat it out of him. Little did they succeed, though. It just made it worse, each time they tried, success was so little. Harder and harder, longer and stronger did they attempt to stop him.

Controlled by monsters would he be no longer.

He grit his teeth and stood his ground like the good little boy that he was. He showed no weakness, even if his heart begged for their love; he did what they asked, succumbed to their every command. But he wouldn't be helpless. He would never give his heart to the few monsters around him. He would stay good, and bright, and maintain a thought to wellbeing.

You abused me and try to stop me, but you've failed just the same – like every other time you've attempted to stand against me.

A quiet little heartbeat and a suffering breath. He lay on the floor with his head in his hands and no noticeable control to his shuddering limbs.

Protect me; save me; hold me close. Can somebody hear me? Anyone?

His lessons' never learned and nothing more ever achieved. He crawled to his hole and hid his pain away. Until the day that someone would come –

Until the day his savior, his Dark Protector, came and saved him from his three close and very personal demons.

I will be free one day, and you will be nothing but ashes to the wind, my family. Nothing but ashes.