Disclaimer: I am just a poor college kid living off what my parents give me. Needless to say, I don't own Harry or any of his friends (although I wish I did) and if you don't realize that either you're incredibly stupid or…let's just leave it at incredibly stupid, OK? If you try and sue me, all you'll get is the crap littering my dorm room floor. It's all that's mine, but it's mine damn it! So…yeah, not mine don't sue.
A/N: I've got another story out there "Light in the Darkness," which is pretty interesting if I say so myself *shameless plug.* But, it is an OC…this ain't! Hurrah! All cannon characters (though they might not act that way… J). You can review if you want. If you flame me, I really won't care because I'm a pyromaniac, just ask my bitchy roommate. *grins evilly* So now, on with the show!
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Standing Alone
Prologue
The Disappearance of a Hero
Harry stood in the middle of Privet Drive, staring at Number Four through the rain that pelted the staid London suburbs in buckets. He didn't bother with an umbrella or one of his cloaks, just stood and let the water pour down his face, mixing with the salty moisture that leaked out of his eyes. The light shone through one of the windows and he could see Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley settling down for a late night show on the telly like nothing was wrong in the world, like they hadn't just tossed him out on his rump in the middle of one of the most horrendous storms of the summer.
Freak…
At midnight exactly they had all stormed into little bedroom and proceeded to drag him out the door and down the hall. He had struggled vainly to remove himself from Vernon's meaty fist and had lost his footing only to be thrown unceremoniously down the staircase. Petunia held the front door open as he was chased onto the porch followed shortly by his trunk and empty owl cage, as Hedwig had fallen victim to Dudley's vile humor earlier in the summer.
Waste of space…
He had heard Petunia's shrill voice screeching after him to 'never show his ungrateful hide at Four Privet Drive again.' And that they 'had put up with him for long enough.' He could safely say his sixteenth birthday was his worst to date.
Good-for-nothing…
He was sixteen and had nowhere to go.
Murderer…
The Burrow? The Grangers? The Leaky Cauldron? Hogwarts? Professor Lupin? Sirius? One by one the possibilities ticked through his mind and one by one he eliminated them. The frequency of Ron and Hermione's letters reminded him eerily of the summer before his second year. They had started to date near the end of last year and Harry had been left on his own for a large portion of his time, much to his chagrin and the twisted delight of Severus Snape. He supposed it was partially his fault. If he hadn't retreated into himself after the events of the Tri-Wizard Tournament… He cut of the train of thought. They didn't understand. They couldn't understand that he had changed so drastically. He'd become pensive and somber and it scared them. So they pulled away.
Idiot…
The Leaky Cauldron would be too obvious after the Aunt Marge debacle three summers ago.
Stupid little wretch…
Hogwarts was out of the question as they would undoubtedly send him back to his family and he would be in the same position as now.
Ungrateful…
He didn't feel that he knew Professor Lupin well enough to show up on his doorstep in the middle of the night.
After all we've done for you…
Sirius had been on a mission for Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix since February and Harry hadn't had much contact with him as the Headmaster had forbade him to owl Sirius lest he put him in danger.
Abnormal…
The thought of Albus Dumbledore made Harry clench his fists. The man had to have known what he'd gone through at the Dursleys, i.e. Harry's personal hell. Sure, Harry had never told anyone of the cupboard, the starvation, the beatings, the chores, the vicious comments, but no one had ever asked. He sighed. He was a pawn and he knew it. But, he'd hoped that Dumbledore had at least a little affection for him. Maybe he did. Harry didn't know. All he could see was that no one had ever come to check up on him once while he lived in the mundane house with the most evil people imaginable besides Tom Riddle.
Some hero…
Harry turned, grabbed his trunk, and walked into the storm not knowing where he was going, just wanting to disappear.