Warnings: There will eventually be slash, pairings to be revealed at a later date. Also, the first few chapters were written a very long time ago, when the only HP books published were 1-5. As such this does not agree with, but may in later chapters include elements from, books 6 and 7.
Disclaimer: I do not own the various settings, characters, and plot points that originate from the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling.
PROLOGUE
There was one thing, Harry decided, that he truly hated about the wizarding world and there it was on the front page of the Prophet: Boy-Who-Lived Missing. There was nothing really wrong with the headline unless of course, one happened to be Harry Potter and also happened to want to remain missing. He sighed again while tossing the newspaper in the trash; the one thing he couldn't stand about the wizarding world was their habit of always worrying about other people's business.
The article, which went on for two pages, basically stated how Mrs. Figg, his neighbour who also happened to be a squib, had noticed his absence from the garden. Apparently that had been enough for an investigation by Dumbledore's Order, and the news had then been leaked to the press. For the hundredth time Harry cursed his impatience. You would think that a thousand years would have increased his patience level, but if anything it had only decreased it. He had always known that eventually he would be free of the confine that was Four Privet Drive, but after his fifth year, he had found himself unwilling and unable to curb his impatience and frustration.
It had been a simple escape to manage, but he was still proud of the way he had pulled it off without a hitch. He had years ago studied the wards on his "home" and realized that they were keyed into his magical signature. With this knowledge it had then been simple to leave behind a sock containing part of his magical signature. He knew this was high level magic which could break his cover, but had counted on the Order leaving him alone as they had the year before.
"Apparently," he thought with a slight grimace, "my show in Dumbledore's office backfired." He had meant it to manipulate the headmaster into backing off a little; apparently it had accomplished the opposite effect. In retrospect, Harry supposed he should have expected both responses; it was hard, after all, attempting to out-manipulate a master manipulator.
Hardly anyone, of course, would agree with Harry's assessment of the headmaster, but Harry had experienced quite a bit in his long life and knew a manipulator when he saw one. He himself was a master manipulator, with his biggest manipulation being the tricking of the entire wizarding world. To his knowledge, no one had even guessed that the Boy-Who-Lived was much older than he seemed and he had hoped to keep it that way. He had understood exactly what the prophecy had meant by having his own unique power, but had played clueless easily enough. His manipulation had been perfect.
The article, however, had put a dent in his disguise. With such a high-profile this time around he couldn't simply disappear completely, but if he showed up at Hogwarts on September 1 he was sure Dumbledore wouldn't be content with a simple run-away from home story.
"Or would he . . ." Harry wondered, a slow grin forming on his face as he hurried down the street. He had things to do.