A/N:

This was a project born of boredom and in case anyone needs reminding; I own absolutely nothing. All publishing rights etc belong to J.K Rowling and affiliated companies. So yeah, I make no money from this and neither does my esteemed beta. This is simply a labour of love.

Chapter 1:

With a sense of trepidation and resignation a young man with messy black hair and emerald green eyes heaved himself out of his seat. Unlike the rest of his peers the summer holidays were not something he ever looked forward to. They however were normal, he most definitely was not. In fact his hatred of the summer holidays was not one of the most unique things about him. For one thing he was a wizard and not any old wizard but as he had recently been informed, he was the prophesised defeater of the darkest wizard of the last 300 years, Voldemort. That fact alone would be enough to send anyone around the twist. This was but the tip of the iceberg when it came to this young man. He had killed a basilisk, outflown a dragon, swam with mermen, fought for his life against said dark wizard no less than 4 times and he had done all this by the tender age of 15. He was of course, Harry Potter.

He unlatched the door and slid it open and began the slow walk out to the platform. He felt the 'dead man walking' music should be playing. It would be appropriate. As he walked he realised for once he was making this trip alone. Ron and Hermione were with the head boy and girl and the rest of the prefects having their end of year debrief, I suppose you could call it. Hermione had insisted she not miss it, even though she was not yet fully recovered. Neville and Luna had their own compartment. A small smile crossed his face, he was happy for the pair of them. Ginny was off with her newest friend Dean Thomas. Harry was less pleased with this turn of events but it wasn't his place to interfere. His thought began drifting to the Ministry incident and...No he wasn't ready to face that yet. Arriving at the luggage compartment, he spotted one of his truest friends.

"Hey girl," he murmured softly stroking her feathers between the cage bars

Hedwig turned her head and regarded him briefly before nibbling his fingers in an affectionate sort of way.

"We're headed back to the hell hole today. You know you don't have to come with me, I could let you out and you could go stay with Ron, Hermione or even the owlery at Hogwarts," he told her.

She turned back to him and looked offended that he would even suggest it. She bit his fingers in a decidedly less affectionate fashion.

"Well that answers that question," he muttered to himself.

Grabbing his trunk and Hedwig's cage he headed out the door. Before he cleared the threshold, however, he was knocked clean off his feet by what looked to be a red headed blur. He managed to ensure Hedwig wasn't injured during the fall at the cost of his head hitting the ground with a sickening crack. His vision was swimming.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. Here let me help you," the redhead blur stammered.

She literally was a blur now as his glasses had been knocked off with the impact. He felt around for his glasses and finding them put them back on. Susan Bones came into focus and was offering him a hand. After taking the proffered hand and being hauled to his feet, he regarded the girl in front of him. She was a few inches shorter than him, and while she could not be called fat, she definitely had curves. This was further outline by her well-developed chest. Harry felt a blush creeping across his face and meeting Susan's storm cloud grey eyes he saw she had the beginnings of a blush as well.

She continued to apologise until he held up a hand cutting off her attempts.

"Susan it is perfectly alright, I have had far worse, trust me." He stated

"I'm still sorry Harry, Hannah is at the prefect meeting and I nodded off and Aunty will lose her mind if I am late," she replied

"Well let's not keep her waiting then,"

Gathering his luggage and Hedwig as well Susan's and giving her a small smile, he disembarked the train and followed Susan to where a rather sever women was waiting.

"Susan, where have you been?" she asked sharply

"Sorry Aunty, I fell asleep on the train and then ran into Harry," Susan replied

Harry grinned at the turn of phrase.

"Mr Potter," Amelia Bones turned to regard him

"Quite the adventure you and your friends have had this year. Teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts to your peers, illegally I might add. To storming the ministry after which you fight members of You – Know – Who's inner circle, for reasons that aren't known to the Ministry at this time. Care to shed some light on the issue?"

"With respect, ma'am. No, I don't. My motives are my own. Also, it's Voldemort, not "You-Know-Who."

He watched Amelia shudder and heard Susan let a small squeak.

He heaved a sigh.

"It's just a name. A made up name in fact although I'm sure you already know that. In fact it is a mix up of; Marvolo Riddle. Scramble the letters up and you get; "I am lord Voldemort". Have a good day ma'am, Susan have a good summer and send me an owl at some point,"

He turned on his heel and began to walk away he easily spotted the Weasleys as the platform was mostly deserted.

"Mr Potter,"

He looked back over his shoulder.

"Thank you,"

With a curt nod he continued on his way.

He greeted the Weasleys and accepted the bone breaking hug from Mrs Weasley. He led them through the barrier separating the platform from muggle London. He listened to Mad Eye as he informed him of the warning his family had received. He thought it was a dubious proposal at best. After wishing everyone a pleasant summer, he turned to face his uncle, who was very nearly purple in the face. This is a good start he thought to himself.

"Get in the car you freak," his uncle snarled

Oh yes, this was going to be a brilliant summer. He might have to be a little inventive.

As soon as the door was closed his Uncle began screaming at the top of his lungs. It was the usual tirade. How dare Harry make him wait, that he had better things to do with his time than pick up a freak like him, how dare he have his freaky friends threaten him like that.

"You have always welcomed me back though," Harry responded at one point

"You have never been welcome in our house, freak. It has never been your home" his Uncle roared back.

"You're not welcome, you are tolerated and as far as I'm concerned you're not family," his aunt interjected with a sniff.

This continued for the next ten minutes until Harry had had enough.

"Look Uncle, the bottom line here is if those freaky friends don't hear from me or hear that you are mistreating me, they will come for a visit and I think you remember what has happened all the other times wizards have stopped over for tea."

His uncle stopped mid rant.

"You'll tell them we are treating you right boy or I will beat it into you that we treat you fine," he threatened.

Harry just laughed. It wasn't a normal sounding laugh, it actually sounded somewhat demented.

"Uncle, do you honestly think that my letters are the only way they'll know if I'm being treated right? I'd be very surprised if there wasn't someone watching the house every hour of every day."

His uncle fell silent at that, contemplating that the freaks were watching him.

"Another thing uncle, you seem to have forgotten that when I turn 17 I myself will be able to legally perform magic,"

He left the threat hanging in the air. Harry grinned when he saw his uncle turn from a dark purple to a pasty white. Satisfied that his family would leave him alone for the remainder of the trip, his thoughts became far more retrospective.

By the time he arrived at Privet Drive he had come to several important conclusions. For one thing, Voldemort and his allies had taken far too much from him. They had murdered his family attack his friends and tried to kill him more times than he cared to number and he responded with stunning spells and disarming charms. He let out a snort. If he had been more decisive then Sirius might still be alive. While he believed in mercy and justice, he vowed from that moment on that while in battle he would fight fire with fire.

Harry also decided that it was time to deal with all the rage, pain, guilt and self-doubt that was slowly killing him as sure as Voldemort was trying to. He decided to take all those emotions and lay them at the feet of the one man who truly deserved the blame, one Tom Marvolo Riddle.

He would also no longer allow his life to be dictated by anyone else other than himself. Dumbledore may have thought he was doing the right thing by him; but he had no right to control nearly every aspect of Harry's life. While the old man had done nothing intentionally malicious, he had been put in danger more than once thanks to Dumbledore's idea of the "Greater Good". That would stop.

As they pulled into Privet Drive, Harry had the distinct feeling that he was being watched. He no longer chalked this up to mere paranoia. Complacency and assumptions lead to deaths in war and that was indeed what he found himself in the middle of. He drew his wand from his pocket, making a mental note to pick up a wand holster the next time he was in Diagon Alley.

"Uncle, take everyone inside please,"

"What the devil are you talking about boy?"

His uncle's eyes fell on Harry's wand, he looked like he was about to start yelling but something Harry's eyes must have convinced his Uncle of the seriousness of the situation. With a sharp nod he led his family inside. Harry hid his wand up his left sleeve and stepped out of the car. He made a show of lugging his trunk out of the car, presenting his back as a target, all the while listening intently.

He heard the slow inhale and exhale of someone breathing behind him, a twig snapped as someone approached and Harry sprang into action. Driving his elbow out as he spun, he felt it connect with an invisible figure. Still turning he drew his wand and had it out and poised to start duelling, the tip of his wand glowing a dark crimson colour.

"Bloody hell Harry, what I ever do to you?" Tonks asked

"Sneaking up on me while invisible is a good place to start. Now what do you always trip over in Grimauld place?" Harry asked his wand still glowing crimson.

"That damned troll leg umbrella stand. You've been spending too much time around Mad Eye,"

"Yes well, 'Constant vigilance!" and all that Tonks." Harry said with a smile.

As they were trading barbs, Harry looked Tonks up and down. While she had her customary bubble gum pink hair, she was also obviously very fit on account of the Auror training. Harry had noticed he was taking more and more notice of women these days and Tonks was definitely all women.

"Like what you see Potter?" Tonks asked with a coy smile

Harry was mortified that he had been caught staring but was determined not to show it. He decided in this instance honesty was the better option

"I don't know Tonks, this form is definitely appealing but as I have never seen the real you without any changes, I honestly can't say whether I find you attractive or not,"

Tonks stared at Harry for a drawn out moment as if revaluating her opinions of him.

"Maybe one day, Harry. Until then Dumbledore wanted me to give you these. A bit of light reading for the summer,"

She handed over a number of books that all looked like the kind of things that Hermione would kill to read for half an hour. Looking at the top one in the pile which was entitled Advanced Magical Theory Harry decided that they would come in handy.

"Thanks for the books, Tonks. I really appreciate it."

"Anytime Harry, Dumbledore took them out of his personal library. Just so you know someone will be watching the house the whole time and in light of those muggles being the way they are we have place several monitoring charms inside the house, so if they try anything the guard will know. We decided to overlook the legal issues of doing so, Dumbledore says your safety and happiness is more important."

Harry just grunted in response. He wasn't quite ready to forgive the benevolent headmaster just yet.

"I'll see you later Tonks,"

"Ok Harry, I'll be out here if you need me," she replied throwing her cloak back on.

Harry opened his trunk and threw the books inside. Gathering all his belongings along with Hedwig, he went to his bedroom, managing to avoid his family along the way.

Harry took out a bobby pin that he hid under his mattress and picked the lock on Hedwig's cage. The twins had taught him how to do it after his rescue back in his second year. With a hoot of thanks Hedwig settled in for a nap before beginning her night's hunt. Stroking her feathers Harry stared out the window watching the sun slowly set and knew that out there somewhere Voldemort and his followers were waiting for him. With a sigh Harry pulled himself from his depressing thoughts and after stowing his belongings under the loose floorboard, minus his cloak and Dumbledore's copy of Advanced Magical Theory. He lay out on his bed and began to read.

Sometime later Harry was startled out of his reading by Hedwig flying back into the room. He took the paper from her and fed her a few owl treats in thanks. With a pleased look she flew into her cage and began nibbling on a field mouse she had caught.

Ignoring the paper for now Harry began to consider what he had read. When he started reading he was afraid that the book would be frightfully dull but it was both interesting and informative. According to the book all magic generated an aura of sorts around witches and wizards, the stronger the aura the stronger the witch or wizard. Some pulsed while others radiated out in solid waves. Harry's mind flashed to Dumbledore's office, when he had felt the power surging off the elderly headmaster in waves. With practise a witch or wizard could learn to sense these auras and once the talent had been mastered the witch or wizard would be able to distinguish an individual by just their aura due to every aura being unique. The more practised they were the further out they would be able to sense.

Harry immediately saw this as being extremely useful, as it could be used as an early warning system and wouldn't be fooled by things such as invisibility cloaks, disillusionment charms and Polyjuice potions.

Settling into a mediative state as suggested by the book, Harry began to search for his aura. The book said it was more akin to a sixth sense or feeling than anything solid like being able to see it. After a fruitless amount of time searching during which the young wizard became most frustrated, Harry sensed a spark of energy coming off him. It was bright and clear and seemed to him at least to be pure. He followed this spark to its source and after some experimentation; he felt his aura surrounding him. It radiated, sparkled and snapped all around him. With a huge grin Harry opened his eyes and looked at the time, 2:45am. He'd been at it for the last seven hours and hadn't even realised.

With a weary sigh he decided he'd skim the paper and call it a night. It wasn't like he had anything to do tomorrow as his family would no longer be forcing him to work like a house elf. Harry was struck by a sudden stroke of inspiration.

"Umm…Dobby?" he called out tentatively.

With a sharp crack Dobby appeared in his room and launched himself at Harry's legs.

"Harry Potter, sir, calls Dobby. What can Dobby do for the great and noble Harry Potter sirs?"

"Dobby, shhh. I don't want to wake up my family. I asked you here because I have a proposition for you."

"What does Harry Potter Sirs want of Dobby?"

"Dobby I know you are happy at Hogwarts and I completely understand if you don't want to but I was wondering if you would like to come and work for me?"

Dobby flopped down on the floor and began sobbing uncontrollably.

"It's been Dobby's dream to work for the great and noble Harry Potter sir ever since he freed me from nasty former master. Dobby would be honoured to work for Harry Potter.

"Excellent, ummm what do I have to do to make it official?" Harry asked

Dobby coached Harry through what had to be said.

"I Harry James Potter of House Potter, take into my ownership Dobby son of Tobby, to serve and uphold the House of Potter from this day forward."

"I Dobby son of Tobby recognise Harry James Potter as his master and solemnly swear to serve and uphold the House of Potter until my dying day,"

A bright flash of pure white light later and both occupants of the room where grinning from ear to ear.

"Now Dobby, I don't want a slave or servant, I want a friend. How much do you want in return for your service?" Harry asked

"Dobby will accept nothing for serving Harry Potter sir,"

No matter how Harry pleaded Dobby refused to budge from his position.

"Fine Dobby in that case you will receive benefits for working for me and please just call me Harry."

"Very well Harry Potter sir," Dobby replied

Dobby suddenly looked horrified and began beating his head into the wall. Harry restrained Dobby.

"Dobby you are ordered never to harm yourself. If you think you have done something to warrant punishment, come talk to me about it and we will work something out. OK?"

"Yes Harry, thanking you,"

"Now Dobby, are you able to work here without the Ministry picking up on your magic?" Harry asked

"Oh yes Harry, they won't be a problem,"

"Very well Dobby, my family normally has me do all the cooking cleaning and gardening for them. Would you be able to do that without them knowing?"

"Yes Harry, no problems at all,"

"Brilliant, I will cook dinner so my family can see me still doing something and I will just tell them I got up early and did all the work before they got up."

"Very well, can Dobby begin cleaning?" asked the elf with a hopeful expression on his face.

"Sure Dobby just make sure you eat and sleep properly as well,"

With a bow and a whispering crack Dobby disappeared from the room.

Harry looked over to his clock again. 3:30am. With a groan Harry decided bed was in order and collapsed onto his bed and was asleep before he even hit the mattress.

A/N:

Okay so that is chapter one, now several things to keep in mind. This is my first real stab at writing anything ever, that being said I appreciate any and all constructive criticism. Flamers need not apply, if you don't like what I am writing then by all means, don't feel obligated to read it. Big thanks to my Beta as well, who is pure awesome.

Beta Note. If anyone can find something I have missed, please don't hesitate to point it out. LFuCkToY