Chapter 1
Harry wandered the halls of Hogwarts lost in thought. He wasn't watching where he was going; his mind was too occupied with thoughts of Sirius.
Sirius, the man who would have given everything for Harry; the man who did give everything. Sirius had been his one chance of escape from the Dursleys, his one chance to get away from the hellhole that was his life. Harry remembered during his third year when Sirius had first offered to let Harry live with him. At the time Harry had been overjoyed, he might actually get away from his Uncles unpredictable wrath. He had for the first time been able to hope for a better future. The aftermath was devastating when Sirius was almost kissed and had to go on the run. And Harry had gone back to the Dursleys knowing what to expect.
The beatings seemed to get worse as he got older. His uncle was very abusive and he seemed to relish in Harry's pain. Forth year had been both a relief and a horror. Hogwarts had always been a haven for him, but that year it had been just like his home life. Even his friends had sensed Harry's mood that year, but they didn't understand; no one did.
Going to Grimmauld Place that summer had been nerve wracking. Harry had hardly had time to hide his scars before the Order had taken him. The entire time at Grimmauld Place Harry had been on edge, but luckily no one had noticed; they only saw The-boy-who-lived, the spoiled little brat who felt himself above doing chores. But then again that was one good thing about this lightning shaped scar, everyone was always looking at it and failed to notice the scars elsewhere. Even his friends constantly looked at it. Harry knew it was unconsciously and that they did care about him, but he would not could not burden them with this.
Fifth year had been a relief surprisingly. Umbridge had actually been a relief, and he sometimes felt that he deserved the 'lines' that he had done for detention.
Harry had wandered so far through the castle that when he rammed into a wall and looked around he was completely lost. Paying attention now, Harry walked slowly through the hall, looking for a familiar landmark so he could guide himself. He cursed himself silently for not paying attention, he had learned many painful lessons about not paying attention and yet he still had allowed himself to be an easy target.
Turning a corner, Harry found himself staring at a tall ornate mirror. His gaze was drawn by the strange symbols that framed the glass and found to his surprise that he could understand them. I show not a reflection of who others see, but who you are inside. Now that you see yourself clearly, let others see you as well. Uneasiness had built up in Harry as he read this and as he read the last word he found himself unable to keep from looking at the reflection before him. The image in the mirror surprised Harry.
He saw himself, only it wasn't. The boy's hair was black, but it was not alone. The midnight black hair was now mixed through with dark red strands that brought a whole new look to it. The reflection's hair was also longer and almost touched his shoulders. The glasses that Harry was known for were not a part of the reflection. Instead, clear green eyes looked back at him. But even the green had changed; instead of the bright chips of jewels that they had been, the boy had dark haunting green eyes that seemed to pierce the soul. Harry finally looked beyond the face and gasped in shock. The body of the boy was littered in scars. Harry recognised all of them; it was what he looked like without his glamours on. And as Harry stared at the unrecognisable boy before him a bright light surrounded him and in a flash Harry had changed. It wasn't that Harry saw what had changed, the image in the mirror was the same, but Harry had felt the change. He felt…right. For the first time in his life he felt right. Harry didn't need to look in a real mirror to know that he looked just like the image in the glass before him.
"Harry. Harry!" he heard Hermione and Ron calling him. Harry wordlessly and wandlessly called upon the glamour's that had become second nature to him. He followed the voices and when he caught sight of his best friends, he exclaimed in apparent relief, "There you guys are. I thought I was going to miss the train unless you guys found me." Hermione smiled at him as Ron grabbed his arm and started to pull him along, "We are still going to be late if we don't hurry."
The three got on the train and found a compartment with Neville, Luna and Ginny. The six laughed and talked all the way to London, Harry was savouring the last few hours of happiness before the summer. He knew that Hermione and Ron were worried about the fact that Harry wasn't mourning Sirius, but Harry knew that there would be time for mourning later.
The train pulled up to the station. Neville, Luna and Ginny left and Harry sat trying to enjoy his last few minutes of freedom. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up into the concerned faces of Ron and Hermione. "Are you alright Harry?" Ron asked as Hermione sat beside Harry. Their concern touched Harry but he knew he could never tell them the truth. "I'm fine," he said smiling faintly, "I'm just going to miss the two of you." Hermione reached over and wrapped her arms around Harry, "We'll miss you too. Keep in touch will you, Mate. Let us know how the muggles are treating you, ok?" Harry nodded and then stood up.
The three exited the train and saw their families waiting for them. With another hug the trio separated and Harry followed his uncle, dread welling up inside of him.
AN. Ok guys so this is my first ever fic so please tell me what you think. I can take and I do appreciate critisism, as long as it is constructive critism. I am planning on continuing this story but I kinda want to see some responses. But then again, I don't write just to please others so I will probably still update even if I don't get reviews. I will try to be conistant with updates, but I go to college in two weeks so I might get a bit side tracked. Anyways, thanks for reading 3
