Hey, I am CultoftheSystem. This is my first fanfic ever to be posted so try and be nice to me please. Alright, here it goes. This fanfic Strength of Mind, is full of what some call OOC and OC's. Therefore, if you are obsessed with canon and Harry being a nice guy, you should walk away now. I made this fic so what goes in it is my call, to an extent. I am very willing to accept constructive criticism on both my writing style, and any grammatical errors I may have made. If you want to comment on my style either positively or negatively, please do so, but do so constructively. That translates to, I am not going to acknowledge, much less listen to, any morons going "Your story are teh suck! I can rite bett3r th4n j00!" If you would like to tell me that my story is indeed "teh suck" then please do so in a constructive way, I am here to both write and learn, and as such, am very willing to accept any criticism or praise that will help me make my fics more enjoyable for you, the reader.

So just to reiterate all of that. OOC! OC! If you don't like those then read but don't comment on my lack of canon. Other than that, feel free to help me out on my writing, it will only make the story better.

General Overview

Harry is not the Boy who Lived. His younger brother is. His brother doesn't come into the story much until 3rd year and even then, its minimal amounts. Harry is in Ravenclaw, and is brainy. Arthur, Harry's brother is a classic Gryffindor, pretty much a canon Harry. The story has Harry 2ish years older than canon because I want to have him work in the real world and do stuff before the fall of voldy. So harry is going to a lot like me I guess, colder and more cynical. Enjoys making fun of people and keeping them far away until they actually know him, at which point he becomes cuddly and nicer when poking fun -.-

If you want to know more then read.

First chapter is short. Next chapters will be longer.

Harry awoke with a start as his alarm went off. Jumping out of bed he hastily threw on a clean set of clothes and he ran downstairs. Today he was eleven; today he would receive his letter from Hogwarts accepting him as a student. As he walked into the kitchen he saw his parents cooing over a spoilt looking 8 year old child with a scar on his forehead, his younger brother Arthur. Sighing, Harry took a seat and greeted his parents.

"Morning Mum, morning Dad"

"Hey Harry, Happy Birthday " James said as he ruffled his elder son's hair.

'Yes dear happy birthday" his mom added distractedly, "Would you like some breakfast? We were just making some for Arthur."

"Yeah that'd be nice"

After placing some eggs and ham on a plate Lily gave it to Harry and wandered off into the living room.

Sitting and eating his breakfast while staring out of the window Harry wondered when his letter from Hogwarts was going to arrive, he had been waiting on it since he had found out that he would probably be attending that school when he turned eleven. "Harry, come to the living room for a sec"

Sighing, Harry got up wondering what his mother could want while meandering his way to the living room. When he arrived he saw a huge stack of stuff, books, robes, quills, a caldron, some parchment, and a trunk. It was a stack of school supplies. To top it all off, next to the mountain of stuff he would need for his stay at Hogwarts were two owls; one was snow white while the other was a brown tawny owl with a letter clamped in its claws. Grabbing the letter Harry examined it noticing that it bore the Hogwarts crest, a lion, a snake, a raven, and a badger, all gathered around an ornate letter 'H'.

Opening the letter Harry pulled out the letter from Hogwarts. James was grinning as he encouraged Harry to read it aloud.

'Dear Mr. Potter,

We regret to inform you that due to your lack of magical ability, you will be unable to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry….'

Placing the letter off to the side Harry sat down heavily, staring in disbelief at the floor.

"What. The. Hell." Harry his voice increasing in volume with each syllable, "What do you mean, 'lack of magical ability'? Are you serious?!"

Still grinning like a demented duck, James pushed the letter on his son again "Go on, finish reading it.'

"You have to be kidding…..You actually think I am going to continue reading that slop?!" Finally Harry crumpled underneath the depressed yet slightly comical face of his father, "Fine whatever,

'That compounded with the obvious fact that you lack your fathers good looks and charm, we are going to deny you right to appeal your reje…..'" Harry stopped, noticing what he had just read, "You are a dead man James."

Harry's father was so busy rolling on the floor laughing that he could barely breathe; much less answer his irate son. Slowly gaining control of himself James stood up, brushed himself off, and, after pulling his wand out from his pocket, and tapped the paper.

"With book smarts like yours I am surprised you never catch any of my concealment charms Harry."

"I swear to Christ James. When I get back from school you won't ever have a moments rest, Marauder or not, I will prank you to hell."

James couldn't help but shudder at his son's evil grin.

After the excitement that occurred on his birthday harry began going through his birthday presents. The books he tossed aside having already read other copies of them, and then he cleared off his desk placing his copies of "Standard Book of Spells: Grade 5, The Hidden Power: A Guide to Concealing, Stone to Wand: Battle Transfiguration Volume II (Intermediate) and, Darkest Hour, Brightest Light: A Defensive Manual against the Dark Arts" He put his caldron on top of it, closely examining every inch of it.

'Pewter….a tad of silver…..meaning its Standard #2 Caldron'

Harry liked examining things, it helped him gain insight on various objects, and improved his ability to detect hidden things especially things hidden magically. Out of all the people Harry knew, only his father and Remus Lupin were able to trick his senses, and even then, they had to stretch their Marauder abilities to their limits. After he finished examining his caldron Harry turned to his owl, she was a beautiful snowy owl, with feathers of the purest white, golden eyes and an amber beak. "What should I name you," Harry voiced his thoughts to the bird, hoping that the owl itself would offer answers to his question, "I've got it, Hedwig!" The owl hooted in a strangely approving manner as she ruffled her feathers and closed her eyes to sleep. Agreeing with his owl's plans, Harry walked over to his sink, brushed his teeth then shut off the lights as he plopped into bed, sinking into his sheets and slumber.

Harry was wandering around in the dark, it seemed that the world was completely shrouded in black, he could hear echoic voices bouncing off the invisible walls of his dark prison turning the gentle whispers into an unintelligible din. Harry then had the inspiration to sit down and try to discern what the voices were muttering. Lowering himself to the ground Harry cleared his head, allowing his mind to become calm and blank. At first it was difficult, and Harry would have to beat back random thoughts bouncing around in his head, then as soon as he completely cleared his head the mutterings were silent, the echoes ceased, and everything became as though nothing had happened; the sun started shining, the blackness receded to the far corners and into various shadows throughout his, now natural-looking, dreamscape. 'What the hell?' Harry thought trying to make sense of what was happening in his own mind. Then he woke up.

'That dream was bloody weird' Harry thought as he rose from bed, walking over to the sink to take care of his daily ablutions. After he finished washing Harry made his way downstairs to his parents only to find no one in the house. On the table he found a note in his mother's handwriting

'Hey Harry,

On the mantelpiece above the fireplace you will find some floo powder and 100 galleons. You can go to Diagon Alley in order to spend the money, but make sure you pick up a wand. This is your father's apology for what he did to your letter yesterday, so enjoy it!

Love,

Mom'

"Well that's pretty cool," Harry was so excited that he voiced his thoughts to no one. Running up the stairs he grabbed his brush combed his straightened hair out of his eyes, placed his designer glasses on the bridge of his nose, and wandered over to his closet to grab some clothes. Opening the door he looked inside trying to separate the neatly organized garments, Harry knew just what he was looking for, he wanted his ankle length zip up leather coat(Think Organization XIII minus hood) a pair of black pants and some dragon hide boots , that along with a plain black t-shirt would complete his dressings for the day. When Harry was properly dressed he walked over to the fireplace, dropped the bag full of coins into his pocket, took a pinch of the green powder dropped into the flames and shouted "Diagon Alley!" and spun off into the green flames.



R&R please - It can only make my story better.