A/N - Hey all. This is my new story for all of you to enjoy. I know other people have tried writing stories where Harry becomes someone else. However, I'm hoping mine puts a different spin on things. Feel free to review. I'll try and answer any comments, concerns, or questions you may have. I'm also always open to suggestions. I'll try and update every week for you. It just depends on how busy I get with other stuff. This chapter is pretty short, however, they should get longer. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Warning - I will make sure to put warnings up for every chapter. Over all, this story is going to have slash (male on male) and fem-slash (female on female) so if you don't like that idea, don't read my story. It will also have lots of swearing and some underage drinking. The usual teenager things with a magical twist. Not sure yet how much violence or sex there will be but like I said, I'll give you a heads up. This chapter however, just has suicidal thoughts and mention of deaths.

Disclaimer - Harry Potter doesn't belong to me. Nor does anything having to do with the books. They belong to JK and I wouldn't have it any other way. The plot is mine as is the couple of OC's that are there.


Changing Faces

Chapter 1 = Spirits Guiding and Guarding

"What are you doing up there Pup?"

To Harry's credit, he didn't jump at the voice that came from behind him. Though that could have been because he didn't believe it was actually there.

Not bothering to answer a voice that wasn't real, Harry remained silent and continued to stare at the water that was rushing underneath him.

"Come now little Prongsly. You really shouldn't be standing up there."

The voice came again, this time sounding a bit more urgent.

The almost sixteen year old boy flinched at the sound, willing the voice of his dead Godfather to leave him alone.

"Can't I just kill myself in peace?" He asked out loud, hoping the sound of his own voice would drive the other one away.

"Like hell you're going to kill yourself!" The voice exclaimed, before a very solid hand grabbed his arm and pulled him down off the wall of the bridge.

Blinking in surprise, Harry spun around and froze.

There, standing in front of him, was his Godfather, Sirius Black.

Harry's hopes quickly vanished, however, when he noticed that the figure in front of him was transparent. Still solid, sure, but transparent none the less.

"How... how are you here?" he breathed, staring at the older man in shock.

Sirius grinned his dog grin before bowing. "Magic of course."

Harry shook his head and turned away from the figure. It was just his mind playing tricks on him. Padfoot was dead, Harry saw him die. And there was no chance of him coming back as a ghost. Nearly Headless Nick had told him so.

It was his dreams all over again.

The dreams of Sirius being alive, telling him it had all been a big mistake, and then vanishing in front of his eyes.

"Look, it's not like you have anything better to do right now, so why don't you just hear me out?"

The figure had a point. He'd waited this long to kill himself, he could wait a bit longer. If nothing else, his mind was making him imagine something that would make it easier for him to jump in the end.

Running his hand through his messy dark hair, Harry sighed and turned back around.

"Good, now. How about we go somewhere... a bit less suicidal?" the Sirius-look-alike asked, before turning and walking down the bridge.

Not having much of a choice, Harry shrugged and followed him.

A couple minutes later, found the pair sitting on a set of swings in a park. Harry had immediately started swinging, wondering if he could swing so high that if he jumped off, the landing would kill him.

But deep down, he knew that wouldn't work. His magic didn't want him to die, so it would make sure he didn't. Especially in such a... muggle way.

As he slowed down, he turned his head to look at the man beside him.

He wanted to believe it was really his Godfather. Wanted to believe that Sirius had somehow found a way back to him. After all, he'd seen things far more unlikely in his life.

"Are you really here?"

Sirius was silent for a moment, before he sighed and looked at his Godson. "I think... that even if I wasn't really here, I would still say I was, just because that's what you want to hear."

Harry looked down at the ground for a moment, before shaking his head. "I'm so confused. You died. How could you be here? Are you a ghost? Or something else?"

"I'm more like... a guiding spirit Pup."

"A guardian angel?" the younger male asked, looking back up.

"Muggles call us that. However, not exactly. It's... hard to explain."

The two of them were silent for a few moments. One trying to process what was going on, the other trying to find the best way to explain things to him.

"Every being in the world, whether animal or human, are assigned a guardian spirit when they're born. Humans never know they're there, unless something happens that make their guardian step in. Some animals, with their keen senses, can sense them. Your dad and me could when we were Padfoot and Prongs. We could always feel someone there with us, always knew that someone was watching over us."

"Really?" Harry asked, his eyes widening in surprise.

Sirius nodded, looking up at the sky. "For the most part, these guardians don't do anything. They just watch over you. Most people never even guess that they're there. But sometimes... they have to step in. Some are more active then others. They're the voice in the back of your head that tells you to stop just before you cross the street, only to see a vehicle speed past a moment later. They're the hand that grabs you, just before you lose your balance and fall down a flight stairs."

"The Muggles have stories... I heard them while I was growing up. About guardian angels that lead you out of dark woods at night when you're lost. Or a voice whispering to you when you're trapped and you're losing hope. Are they true?"

"Sometimes. The job of a guardian spirit is to keep you alive until you're suppose to die. To steer you back on track when you start walking down the wrong path."

"What do you mean... when you're suppose to die?"

The older man looked at the ground for a moment before responding. "Every one has to die. It's the way of life. Everyone knows that, even if some still try to fight it. What a lot of people don't understand, is that how you die... when you die, is set the moment you're born, sometimes even before."

Harry frowned. "What about choices though? You know me Padfoot. I never believed in destiny... especially now."

A knowing look appeared on Sirius' face for a moment, before it disappeared. "It's not the same thing as prophecies Pup, or even Destiny. Both of those can be changed, as long as the right choices are made. Each person has more then one destiny. More then one path they can take. That path changes every time you make a choice. The only True Seers out there are the ones that can see those multiple paths."

"True Seers? Multiple paths? I've never heard of that before."

Sirius smiled and shook his head. "I'll tell you about them later. We were talking about spirits first. We don't have time to be side tracked."

It took all of Harry's will power not to ask how much time they did have. Instead, he kept his mouth shut and just looked at his Godfather.

"Let me put it to you this way. There are multiple ways to get to one place. Say Hogwarts for example. Each different way to get there, is a different path. With every turn you make, two more different paths appear right?"

When Harry nodded, he continued. "Each turn, is a choice. So each choice you make, puts you on a different path. However, at the end of the journey, no matter how many turns you take, or how many detours you find yourself following, you always end up at the same place."

"Yeah... but I thought you said people had multiple destinies?"

"Sometimes, people go completely off path and can't be persuaded back on track. Like Pettigrew and Voldemort. When that happens, your destiny changes. However, your death never does. At least not the day you're suppose to die. How you die could change easily but not the when. However, like I mentioned before. Some people fight it. Some times, you can't stop it and accidents happen."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked softly.

"Some people do die before their time. They make a stupid choice that leads to their death. Their spirits try to make them change their mind. They try to steer them back on track. But for some reason... they can't get through. Whether it's because the person is ignoring the signs, or because they don't see the signs.

"Same as when you steer off track. Like Voldemort. I'm sure his guardian spirit tried to keep him on a good path, but either he didn't care, or he couldn't see the signs. No matter how hard his spirit tried, he turned dark."

"What... what about my parents? And you? Were you guys... meant to die when you did?"

Sirius shook his head sadly. "The three of us... were meant to live a long life. However, a choice Voldemort made, also changed their path. There was nothing anyone could do to save Prongs. His guardian didn't even have a chance. As for your mom... she made her choice to let him kill her. If she had stepped aside, you would have died for sure. Lily couldn't let that happen. She wouldn't have let that happen. So she choose to sacrifice herself. Well before her time. So you could live."

"So either way, one of us had to die?"

"Yes and your mom choose herself. A sacrifice like that... even if her guardian had wanted to stop her, she wouldn't have been able to. The magic Lily used... was concrete. The moment she decided to shield you, she took a step down a completely different path. Her choice, changed your destiny. Changed your path."

Harry was silent for almost five minutes as he stared up at the sky. It had never been put that way before. So clean cut and final. One of them had to die and his mother choose herself. It was that simple. There was no shades of grey. No light or dark. It just was.

"What about you?"

"Ah... you know me Pup. If I choose to do something, nothing can stop me. I wasn't suppose to die that night. I don't know when I was suppose to but it wasn't then. It wasn't there. My guardian tried to stop me. I could feel him trying to stop me from going. I knew, before I even left the house, that if I did leave, he wouldn't be able to protect me anymore. But I went anyway."

Harry turned and glared at him. "Why? Why didn't you listen? Why did you have to go the Ministry?"

"Why did you?"

Harry frowned. "You were in danger!"

"You thought I was in danger. I knew you were. That's the difference. I couldn't sit back and let you run headlong into a battle! I had to try and protect you. You mean more to me then my life ever did. If I died, and you lived, it was worth it."

"No one life is more important then another."

Sirius smiled. "What about Voldemort? Is his life important?"

Harry bit his bottom lip for a moment before shaking his head. "Of course his life is important. Maybe not to me, or to you. But to someone, it is. Like Nagini. He gives her food, warmth, protection, maybe even love. If he died, who would watch after her?"

"There's not that many people alive today who understands that concept Harry. Dumbledore doesn't even understand that. Which is what makes you so special. The fact that you can see things like that, after everything you've been through."

The younger boys eyes darkened at the mention of the Headmaster. "It's because of what I've been through that I can see it."

Neither said anything for a few minutes after that. Instead, they just stared up at the cloudless sky.

Finally, Harry broke the silence. "I don't understand though. You aren't a guardian spirit. I'm guessing I already have one, and even if you were mine, I shouldn't be able to see you right now. Besides, you called yourself a guiding spirit. Not a guarding one."

"Oh, you already have one alright. He's also had a pretty hard time keeping you alive these last few years. But he wanted me to tell you that he's enjoyed every minute of it and that he's never had a charge as challenging as you... in a good way. He also says that he hopes you'll continue to trust him in the future and that you better not kill yourself. Mainly because he highly doubts he'll ever get anyone as interesting as you are."

Green eyes blinked in surprise at that a few times before he shook his head and murmured, "I'll keep that in mind Guardian."

The Animagus smiled at that before he continued. "You're right though. I'm not a guardian. I'm a guiding spirit. Which are very different."

"How so?"

"Well, the main difference is, while a guardian spirit is there at all times, a guiding spirit is there only when they're really needed. Sometimes, a guardian has a lot of trouble getting through to their charge. Usually in a time of great sadness, or great anger. When their charge is about to change their paths, their destiny, in ways that it shouldn't be changed. In a way that will end up changing their day of death. Changing the whole balance of the universe.

Sometimes this decision could be as simple as a small choice made in the span of seconds, or it could be as major as someone deciding to kill themselves or someone else."

After sending his Godson a look, Sirius continued. "The guardian will try to change their minds, try to steer them back on course. But sometimes that isn't enough. Sometimes, the charge needs something more. So the Spirit Council sends a guiding spirit to help."

"Spirit Council?" Harry asked in surprise.

Sirius silently cursed himself and looked at Harry guiltily. "Forget I said that please. Mortals aren't suppose to know about them."

Harry laughed and waved for him to continue.

Sighing, he did so. "Guiding spirits can make them selves known to the charge, mainly because it's easier to guide them that way. Our job is simple. To try and get you back on track again."

"So what you're telling me... is that the people up there sent you down here to try and talk me out of killing myself."

"Everyone has been watching you very carefully over the years. Knowing, as each bad thing happens, that you're pushed closer and closer to the edge. Your guardian has admitted on many occasions that you would either kill yourself, or turn dark. Of course, your mother always insisted that neither would ever happen."

"Mom?" Harry asked softly, his eyes widening.

"Yes. When your guardian requested someone to be sent down to help, both your parents requested to be the ones to go. However, the Council thought that someone who was... closer to you, who had been with you longer, would be a better choice. So they decided to send me, especially since my death was one of the factors pushing you."

Harry shook his head. "It's not fair. Even the afterlife is trying to control my life."

"We're not trying to control you Harry. We're trying to open more doors for you. My job is to show you all your options, even ones you haven't considered yet."

"Haven't you heard? I have no options! I either have to become a murderer, which will be nigh impossible with the little training I have had, or I give Voldemort the pleasure of killing me. Neither option seems very nice to me. Especially since I have no reason to keep living. Killing myself is the best option. At least then I can choose how and when I'll die."

"Listen Pup, I know why you think this is the only way. I know why you want to give up. But you have another option."

Harry jumped off the swing and turned to look at his Godfather. "Oh, and what option is that?"

Sirius didn't answer for a moment. When he did, he looked straight into Harry's eyes.

"You could kill the Boy-Who-Lived and start over. Have a life free of responsibilities, a life free of betrayal. A life that you're in charge of."