A/N: Hello all! Please be gentle. This is my first fanfic and I'm actually pretty happy with it so far. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. This is a multi-chapter fic and so might be quite long. My updates might take a while sometimes but I won't abandon this fic.

Little Red Strings

Chapter 1

Revelations

Harry had known that tonight was not going to be a good night. His summer had already sucked so far with only a few things to brighten it up and now things were just getting worse. First there had been a bright white light flooding his room, then the intense pain accompanied with a high pitched whining, and now he had wings sticking out from his back, a tail thrashing about, and ears sitting atop his head.

He sighed.

Nothing could ever be normal for him could it?

I guess I should backtrack a little bit shouldn't I? Let's see… Oh! Right! Let's start at about six weeks earlier. After Sirius' death at the hands of Bellatrix, things had just gone from bad to worse to even more worse. He went from having a father figure that was offering him a home and a loving family, to having a dangerous prophecy that spells his doom looming over his head as well as his so called 'friends' abandoning him. Funny how so much can happen within the span of a few days.

After the fight at the Ministry of Magic and Sirius' death at the hands of his own flesh and blood, Dumbledore had decided it would be a rather brilliant idea to reveal the contents of that little misty ball, that Harry had broken only a few hours earlier, to a teen that had just lost one of the most important things in his life. It's quite understandable that after hearing what the prophecy entailed Harry exploded. Not in the literal sense. More in the metaphorical sense. Well, it was slightly literal. His magic had certainly exploded in a fierce display of anger and pain, but, again, it was quite understandable…

To us anyway.

Dumbledore seemed to be quite upset that some of his little trinkets had been destroyed in the blast of magic. Boo hoo, poor Dumbles. Maybe if he hadn't of provoked Harry, his little trinkets would still be ok and not in pieces in a bin somewhere.

After Harry's explosion Dumbledore had sent him off like a scolded puppy that had shit on the carpet. And so Harry returned to Gryffindor Tower, seething. I mean, I would be to. After not talking to him or making any sort of contact with him for the entire school year and then just dumping this onto his shoulder? Not cool Dumbles. I'm just surprised it took our Harry as long as he did to explode.

As soon as he stepped through the entrance to the tower he was bombarded by his classmates demanding answers from him, as if they had the right to. Seeing as Harry was not in the mood to deal with his fellow students demands, he just simply ignored them and walked up to his dorm. Ignoring the loud protest and calls of his name and not noticing as the twins and Neville blocked the students when they tried to follow him and gain their answers.

The twins and Neville exchanged glances, knowing that they would have to stick by Harry as they didn't know how many people would still stand by Harry when word got out that Voldemort was back and that the boy-who-lived hadn't stopped him. Each of them vowed to get into contact with Harry as soon as they could over the holidays. He would need as much support as they could give him in the coming times.

Tomorrow was the last day of the year, so Harry spent the next few hours organising his trunk and trying to ignore the growing grief that wanted to consume him, and trying to cool off his temper. He didn't notice as everyone eventually walked into the dorm and got ready for bed. They had attempted to ask him questions multiple times but Neville had scared them off with a glare that could match a nesting dragons.

Although he had not known Sirius for very long, he had made a remarkable impact on the young wizards life and losing him was like tearing a hole straight through his heart. Sirius had filled a hole that Harry had not known was empty until he had meet Sirius, and now it was empty again, but this time it was larger and held more memories to torment him while he slept.

After folding his socks for the tenth time Harry decided to go and visit Ron and Hermione in the Hospital Wing, regardless that it was after curfew. He just wouldn't get caught is all. His invisibility cloak was always useful in these kinds of situations.

After making sure that no one was in the common room he made his way to the portrait hole and stepped through it, swinging his invisibility cloak around his shoulders in the process. He quietly made his way to the Hospital Wing, dodging around the odd caretaker or teacher every so often. Eventually he made it to the doors of the Hospital wing, but just as he placed his hand on the handle to open them the sound of voices stopped him in his tracks. It would be kind of suspicious if the doors just randomly opened after all. Best just wait here until the voices stopped.

"He's done it again Mione! He put us in danger when he didn't need to! He's dangerous! And the bloody git never gives us the fame or the money we deserve! What's the point of being best mates with a bloke that's not going to share his wealth and fame with us?" Oh look, another hole through his already tattered heart. Who would've thought Ron, his best friend, could be so heartless. He hadn't meant to put them in dangerous situations, he hadn't asked them to come either. It was purely their own decision. He had pretty much ordered them to stay in at Hogwarts and not come with him. He had warned them, multiple times that it was going to be dangerous. I guess they didn't listen.

"I know Ron. It's getting to the point where I'm afraid that I won't survive the school year! Our OWLS are coming up soon and I've had barely any time to prepare for them! I think we need to distance ourselves from Potter. He's going to jeopardize our futures if we don't. A good job in the Ministry or becoming an Auror just isn't worth this Ron. We need to tell Dumbledore that we've had enough. We can't keep pretending that we're friends with Potter if it's going to continually put out lives in jeopardy." a sound of agreement from Ron followed Hermione's rant, causing Harry's already tattered heart to fall to pieces. Many, many pieces. Maybe he should collect them all and put them into a box, just in case he felt the need to piece his heart back together again.

Who knew words could hurt so much?

Harry seemed to shut down after that. He didn't really pay any attention to where he was going or why. He was stuck on autopilot, the words of his "friends" echoing in his head. He only stopped walking when he felt the cold wind caressing his face after it had pushed the hood of his cloak down. It seemed that he had made his way to the Astronomy Tower unconsciously, ironic really, considering his love of flying. Harry sighed and walked towards the edge of the tower and sat on the parapets. For such a dangerous place to sit it made him feel so peaceful, so safe. A horrible sounding laugh tore itself from his throat. Maybe they were right. He was dangerous.

Now we all know our Harry isn't dangerous. He's just a magnet that attracts trouble. He can't help that, but the words of his friends had let loose a part of Harry that he had locked away years ago. Harry's demons thought that then was a good time to torment the broken boy, just like they had when he was young and alone.

Harry looked out at the dark scenery barely lit by a fading moon. There were many thoughts running through his head, but only one of them he lingered on. We all know that the Astronomy Tower is the tallest tower in the castle, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch of the imagination to believe that many a child threw themselves from the parapets to end their suffering and quiet their tormented minds. Our Harry was having those exact thoughts.

He leant forward slightly, just the thought of ending it all sounding like a good one at that moment in time.

"Not like anyone would care…" he had mumbled quietly. "Falling is just like flying…" he whispered. "Just with a more permanent destination. And oh how I love flying…" It was just our luck that a rather strong breeze decided to buffet him off the parapets back to safety, startling him out of those thoughts. He shivered at just how close he had been to falling to his death.

"Idiot. That won't solve anything." He muttered. He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. Things just didn't seem to be getting any better for the boy-who-lived.

He quickly made his way back down to Gryffindor tower, but stopped. What was the point in sleeping in a place where he had always been an outcast? He walked into the tower, grabbed his trunk and walked out again. He would sleep in the room of requirement tonight.

Little Red Strings

The next day as Harry sat by himself on the train he had plenty of time to think. He thought about many things, including everything he and his ex-best friends had gone through, reviewing every conversation and situation he had experienced with them. He realised that Ron had never acted like a good friend. Abandoning him whenever Harry got that little bit more famous, or got something that Ron had wanted. Harry realised that Ron was exceedingly jealous of him, even though he had never asked to be famous. Hermione had always seemed distant, but he had always assumed that was because she wasn't used to having friends and so was a bit awkward in that kind of relationship dynamic.

"They were never my friends…" he sighed quietly, saddened that he had spent years building a one-sided relationship with people that never even cared about him. The carriage door opened, causing him to look up at the person standing in the doorway. Unsurprisingly it was Malfoy. The train ride wouldn't be the same without his usual visit after all.

"All alone I see Potter. Did you abandon the weasel and the mudblood? Or have your mudblood and weasel abandoned you?" he sneered. Harry just smiled tiredly, causing Malfoy's eyes to widen in surprise. Potter never smiled at him, and if he did it was a sarcastic one. This one just seemed tired and… defeated.

"Yes actually. It seems they can't be bothered to be friends with someone who put's their lives in constant danger and doesn't compensate them for it. Turns out you were right Malfoy. I was hanging out with the wrong crowd. You can gloat all you want, just not right now. I've just lost my Godfather and I'm attempting to grieve without embarrassing myself too much." Surprisingly Malfoy made no derogatory comment. Instead, he said this,

"Alright Potter. See you next year, but don't be all mopey and sad alright? My rival needs to be tough after all. I can't have a wimp for an arch nemesis." A quick nod of his head and Malfoy was gone, leaving a stunned Harry in his wake. Who knew Malfoy could be so understanding?

"Maybe I did make a mistake not befriending you all those years ago…" Harry sighed softly, unaware that Draco had heard what he had said. Neither of the two noticed the wispy cords of red that tied themselves around each of the boy's pinkies, growing brighter before disappearing when Draco left the compartment. The strings knew the boys were not yet ready for what they entailed, and so disappeared until they were needed again.

Little Red Strings

Draco thought that he had left Potter alone long enough for this train ride. Time to torment him a little. After telling his friends that he was going to find Potter and his friends, he slowly made his way through all of the crowds of students blocking the train's hallways until he found the compartment that Potter was in. He put on his usual superior sneer before opening the door dramatically.

He always did have a thing for dramatics.

"All alone I see Potter. Did you abandon the weasel and the mudblood? Or have your mudblood and weasel abandoned you?" he sneered. What he was not expecting was to see the utterly tired and defeated look on Potter's face. When had that happened?

"Yes actually. It seems they can't be bothered to be friends with someone who put's their lives in constant danger and doesn't compensate them for it. Turns out you were right Malfoy. I was hanging out with the wrong crowd. You can gloat all you want, just not right now. I've just lost my Godfather and I'm attempting to grieve without embarrassing myself too much." They… they had actually abandoned him? Why would they do that? Draco had thought that the Golden Trio had an unbreakable bond that nothing, not even he, could sever. Well, apparently he was wrong. He quickly came to a decision. If the weasel and mublood were no longer his friends, then he could finally get close to Potter without the weasel threatening to curse him.

"Alright Potter. See you next year, but don't be all mopey and sad alright? My rival needs to be tough after all. I can't have a wimp for an arch nemesis." He said before he gave a small nod and departed from the compartment.

"Maybe I did make a mistake not befriending you all those years ago…" A small smile appeared on Draco's face, scaring some of the first years. Draco Malfoy never smiled. Things seemed to be looking up for the Malfoy Heir. He didn't notice the small cords of red dim and disappear when he walked away from the compartment.

Little Red Strings

The train station was a nightmare. First, Ron and Hermione as well as the majority of the Weasley's totally ignored him, not unexpected but it still hurt like hell, and then the Order of the fucking flaming turkey decided it would be a good idea to tell his abusive uncle that he didn't have to worry about being attacked by Harry's killer Godfather as he had died tragically as a hero, and then proceeded to threaten his uncle. His, abusive, uncle. Gods they were idiots.

Harry could see that this was not going to be a good summer…

He was proven right the moment he walked through the front door of number four Privet Drive. All of his possessions were immediately taken off of him and placed into the cupboard under the stairs. Well, looks like his potions homework was not going to be getting done anytime soon. After his oh so kind relatives stripped him of his possessions they sent him up to his cell, oh, wait, I meant his room. That's obviously what I meant.

After the locks were locked and some more added to his door he was given the set of rules for his time spent there. No noise. No magic. No ifs, ands, or buts. If he made so much as a peep, he would be beaten within an inch of his life. The only saving grace was that they allowed him to keep Hedwig in his room, with the window opened just enough for her to get through, not that she would be doing much for him now that he had no friends. At least she could go out and hunt whenever she wanted to.

Harry spent the first couple days of the break sitting or cleaning his room, not that there was much to clean. The majority of the time he just sat, staring out of the window and sighing.

"Maybe I could write to someone… Who though? Not like anyone would answer." He spent the next few hours contemplating who to write to. A recurring thought kept trying to gain his attention but he always pushed it down, although that just seemed to make it more insistent. Eventually he gave up on pushing it away and just listened to it.

"I could write to Malfoy." He said, voicing the thought out loud, sighing and shaking his head when he did so. He couldn't. Malfoy was probably hosting the Dark Lord. It wouldn't be safe. He kept telling himself, even when he got up and grabbed some parchment to write on and a quill and ink pot. No matter how much he tried to persuade himself not to, he knew he was going to anyway.

After all, when had our Harry turned away from a little bit of danger?

Malfoy,

I don't know why I'm even bloody bothering with this. Not like you'll answer. It's worth a shot though I guess. I have no one else to write to, which is slightly embarrassing to admit, and so I thought, hey, why not just write to my arch nemesis. What harm could it do? Also, if you rat me out to Moldyshorts I will prank you very thoroughly. Anyway. What are you doing these holidays? Torturing small children? Becoming a Junior Death Eater? Torturing some poor innocent muggles? Something along those lines?

Not so sincerely,

Potter

It took him a few tries and a lot of scribbling things out before he was happy with what he had written. Harry sighed, he seemed to be doing that a lot lately, as he rolled the parchment up and attached it to Hedwig's leg, quietly waking her up as he did so.

"Now, this is going to Malfoy," Hedwig gave him a look that made him think she thought he was insane. "Oh shut up. I need someone to talk to otherwise I'll go mad. Can you please deliver it? You don't have to wait for an answer." Hedwig chirped an affirmative and nipped his ear playfully, making Harry grin. Hedwig had been his only constant companion since he had entered the wizarding world those few years ago. At least she hadn't abandoned him.

"Thanks girl." With a flap of her powerful wings Hedwig was gone, making Harry sigh sadly and sit down on his bed. Now all he had to was wait for Hedwig to return and, hopefully, a reply. He groaned and collapsed back onto the bed. What was he going to do now?

Little Red Strings

Draco wasn't really sure if he believed Potter when he said his mudblood and weasel had abandoned him, so when Potter got off of the train Draco watched him, and frowned when he saw that nearly all of the Weasley's, excluding the twins, totally ignored Harry. Hadn't the Weasley Matriarch claimed that Harry was like a son to her not too long ago?

"I guess you weren't lying Potter…" Draco sighed as he grabbed his trunk, said goodbye to his friends and walked towards his parents with a pensive look on his face, which his parents noticed. They shared a glance, promising silently to each other to question him about it later.

"Hello son. I hope the train ride was quiet." A distracted nod was all Lucius got in reply, causing him to narrow his eyes. What had distracted his son so thoroughly? Lucius grabbed his sons arm, ignoring his sons jump of surprise, and apparated away from Kings Cross and into the entrance hall of the Malfoy Manor .

The Malfoy's watched as their son walked up the stairs towards his room with a glazed look in his eyes and muttering to himself.

It was a few hours later when the Malfoy's decided to confront their son about his odd behaviour. They walked up to his room and knocked on the door.

"Draco, we need to talk." They said as they walked through the door. They watched as their son sat up and turned to look at them.

"About what?" He asked, slightly confused. Had he done something? Was it about his grades?

"You seemed… distracted today when you got off of the train. Sweetheart, did something happen?" Narcissa asked. She didn't show it, but she was very concerned about her child. Draco hesitated. Should he tell his parents? Looking at them he saw that they wouldn't leave him alone until he told them. With a resigned sigh he started to speak.

"I had an… interesting conversation with Potter today. It seems that Granger and Weasley have abandoned him." Stunned silence followed that statement. The Golden Trio had split?

"He just looked so tired and defeated on the train. After I had left the compartment I heard him say maybe he made a mistake in not befriending me in first year." Narcissa smiled internally. Her boy always did have a bit of a crush on Harry Potter, but with Draco's creature inheritance and Fate choosing his mate for him he had never really pursued Harry. Maybe they could at least be friends now that Harry wasn't surrounded by riff raff.

"You should write to him Draco, get to know him. I'm sure he will need a kind ear in these troubling times." Narcissa said, surprising the two male Malfoy's

"No. I don't think he'd appreciate that. Plus he probably thinks we're hosting that phony Dark Lord that keeps trying to kill him."

"We'll just have to cross that bridge when we get to it Draco. But if you don't want to write to him, fine. Just promise me you'll respond if he writes to you." A nod from Draco made Narcissa smile. She gave her son a kiss on the forehead and pulled her gaping husband from the room.

Draco smiled at his mother's antics and laid down on his bed and quietly slipped off to sleep.

It was a few days later when he was having lunch with his parents when an owl came swooping into the dining room. A glance at the owl revealed that it was Potter's very noticeable snowy owl.

"How the hell did that ruddy bird get in here? The wards should block any owl from making it into the house!" exclaimed his father as the owl, Hedwig he believed her name to be, landed in front of Draco, sticking her leg out and barking at him to take it. Harry did always have a thing for the impossible, I guess that also apples to his owl, Draco thought. With shaking hands Draco removed the bit of parchment from the owl's leg and read it, grinning when he had finished reading it.

"May I be excused?" a nod from his mother had him dashing to his room and grabbing his ink pot, quill and parchment. Now, what was he going to write?

Little Red Strings

A/N: I hoped you liked the first instalment of Little Red Strings. Drop me a review to tell me what you thought of it!

Kai out.