This is my second attempt at any form of fan fiction ever, in fact the first may still be up on this account, if it is I may end up leaving it up, however I may take it down. Just so I can have a clean slate. This is no super powerful Harry, merely an average Harry trying his best to make it through life. He's going to be highly independent, and more Slytherin than Gryffindor. This story is set during HBP, and most likely is going to have some Ginny bashing as Harry is going to be paired with a very Slytherin Daphne Greengrass. As of right now I have no set plan for the story, I have a rough outline in my head, but choices in the writing will affect how we get to that outcome, or even may change that outcome some. I hope you enjoy, and I'd love constructive criticism and story direction suggestions.
Harry sat on a swing set not far from his aunt's home. He longed for a time where the world will stop being the suffocating shade of grey that had weighed Harry down since Sirius died. Professor Dumbledore kept promising life would eventually get better, but Harry saw no way out of this trench. Ron and Hermione tried to help, but life felt empty. Harry was tired of being the noble Gryffindor that always saved the day. Didn't the world care about what he wanted? He was only about to turn 16 and he was exhausted. Years of struggle had finally drained Harry of his will to continue. His saving grace was school started again soon, and he wouldn't have to put up with the Dursleys. During all of Harry's internal musings, rain began to pour from the sky. Harry struggled to bring himself to care, and in the end it wasn't that he was worried about being soaked, he was worried about dealing with his Uncle Vernon, and he wasn't willing to sit through a lecture and spend his last few days with the Dursleys locked in his room. As Harry walked back, his mind began drifting towards the school year ahead of him. With the return of Voldemort, the students in the DA would probably want Harry back to tutor everyone, but Harry didn't want to. He wanted to be himself and help himself, the others weren't his problem. Harry was fighting himself the rest of the night, while he dried off, changed, made dinner, and cleaned the kitchen. Even as he laid down for bed, he knew this year was going to be incredibly complicated.
Diagon Alley seemed deserted for it to be this close to a school year, the fear of the new war had kept a lot of people home, and floo catalogs had really boomed this summer. Remus had agreed to accompany Harry to Diagon Alley, hoping to be a positive role model for this hurting young man. "How was your summer Harry?" Remus asked hoping to engage in small talk to push through the awkward air surrounding their time together. Harry merely shrugged, he'd barely said a word to anyone since the incident in the Ministry of Magic.
"It's been alright, I guess. Can I ask you a question?" Harry asked hopefully
"Always"
"Is it normal to feel numb after this? How did you feel during the last war?" The questions floored Remus, he knew he should have expected questions like this, but he was really hoping it'd be something simpler. Maybe like 'What did my dad do during the last war' or something similar about Sirius.
"Harry, the last war brought the worst out of a lot of wizards. Before the war, Sirius wouldn't harm a fly, but at the end of the first war he'd killed his fair share of Death Eaters. For a long time, he was never the same. It wasn't until you showed up that he felt like he had a purpose again. You may just need to search for you purpose." Harry thought long and hard on what Remus said, and he descended back into his no talking slump the rest of the trip to Diagon Alley. Remus was disappointed, he had hoped for a stronger connection here, but the fact Harry opened up so much was promising he thought. Their finally stop of the day was Gringotts, Harry needed money for the school year. Harry remembered his first trip to Gringotts, the shock and awe of the bank, and now he felt nothing. Not even the nostalgia was enough to shift any of Harry's emotions. "Ahh, young Potter. How may I help you?" Griphook inquired.
"I was hoping I could withdraw some funds for the school year" Harry stated nonchalantly. He really wanted to get out of Diagon Alley, he hated being out in public, forced into the stares from random adults.
"Of course, the standard yearly school amount, correct?" Griphook asked as he began counting the galleons out.
"Actually, can I get a little more? More like 1000 galleons," Harry stated quickly before Remus could interrupt. It was his money, and he was going to withdraw as much as he wanted. Griphook quickly counted the galleons out, and handed them over. Harry gave a quick nod and began headed to the door. He was ready to go to bed, the more he slept the less he had to deal with the constant numbness that plagued him. Soon, he'd be back at Hogwarts, and maybe he'd find his purpose there.
This, like the first chapter in my first fan fiction, is a shorter than average chapter. I've seen what a 1000 words gets, and now I know I need to aim towards 2500 words. Again I apologize for this short chapter, a new one will go up tomorrow or the day after that is longer.
I hope you enjoy, I may in fact be continuing my first fan fiction story. As I was working on this I paused to update that story with a small update chapter/paragraph.