A/N: Another idea... so here it is. Prologue starts at the end of Fourth Year. The story itself takes place in Fifth Year. Canon Fourth Year, but AU Fifth Year.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER. That is JK Rowling's. Otherwise, I'd be a filthy rich teen cruising in a Rolls-Royce right now :P


"Kill the spare!"

Harry screamed as he dreamed of the graveyard again. The green light of death that hit Cedric constantly replayed in his mind. The helpless look on Cedric's face as he recognized this was it. This breath Cedric was inhaling was the last one he would take. This was the moment Cedric would last think of Cho. This was the last moment Cedric could be himself before he was going to die. In short, it was the look of the damned. And Harry was haunted by fact he could have prevented it. Damn his chivalrous self; if he had taken the cup, then Cedric would never have died. Harry wouldn't be haunted in the night and that weight that Harry had to carry around. It was… indescribable. The life of a person that weighed on your shoulders; it was something that Harry found beyond burdensome. He was haunted in the day by the screams and the dirty looks. He was haunted in the night by the helpless look forever plastered on Cedric's face. And the look Cho gave Harry made him even guiltier. Her forehead and facial expression clearly said, "You murdered Cedric you bastard!"

That brought Harry to the talk he had with Dumbledore. The nerve of the old man! Do nothing?! Do nothing my ass! Dumbledore was right in one point; Fudge will NEVER accept the return of Voldemort. And right now, the Daily Prophet was chanting out bloody murder. Bloody murder committed by Harry Potter against Cedric Diggory. Bloody murder that Dumbledore dare support Harry's "insane" explanation of how Cedric died. Remembering the articles made Harry angry. If only those reporters were in his shoes goddamn it! Life is NOT easy!

Harry calmed himself and remembered what Dumbledore had talked about. The basic idea was that the cause was hopeless; unless Voldemort decided to go into Diagon Alley and blow it to smithereens, no one was going to believe Voldemort was back. More like no one wanted to accept the fact Voldemort was back. Despite some support, Harry knew that the Ministry led by Fudge was going to keep a blind eye. Actually, they were going to tighten control over Hogwarts and keep an eye on Harry and Dumbledore for the matter. Instead of devoting precious resources to undermine Voldemort's support base and Death Eaters, they were going to devote energy into practically incarcerating Harry and Dumbledore. And what was her name again? Umbritch? Whatever. The mad pink toad lady more like it. Fudge was actually going to stick the toad into DADA!

That was what broke Harry's barrier. He could tolerate Dumbledore. But he WILL NOT tolerate the Ministry especially the way Fudge was handling things. No, Harry had to go. He had to go and prepare for the imminent war himself. He had to go.


A month later…

Harry picked up a news clipping on the ground. It was from the Daily Prophet.

GOOD RIDDANCE! HARRY POTTER, THE BOY-WHO-MURDERED HAS DISAPPEARED! MINISTRY HAS ISSUED ARREST WARRANT FOR MR. POTTER.

Harry shook his head; let's see how things go.


Half a year later…

A blonde haired Harry Potter strolled into Diagon Alley looking for NEWT spell books. A random clipping from the Daily Prophet lying on the ground caught Harry's attention.

ATTACKS ON MUGGLES ON THE RISE; EVIDENCE OF POSSIBLE INNOCENCE FOR MR. POTTER.

Ha! Like anybody really cared for Harry Potter as Harry Potter. Harry crumbled the paper and threw it into a trash can. He continued on his way to gather the books he needed to train himself.


A year later…

Harry concentrated on the dummy in front of him that was constantly spewing spells at Harry. Harry had long foregone the art of shielding; his shield was his flexibility. Harry dodged, swerved, and moved away from the spells that headed his way. In the brief lapses of spell casting, Harry would let fly a spell before continuing. After a good half an hour, the dummy exploded into shreds as Harry landed a Reducto on the dummy.

Harry closed his eyes and imagined that he was in a forest. Opening his eyes, he received what was desired. Pointing at a random point in the forest, he uttered, "Bombarda Maxima."

BOOM!

Chunks of wood, plant material, and dirt flew everywhere as a sizable crater was created in the forest. Harry grinned; this was going to be useful one day. For now, he thought of a comfortable bed in the Room of Requirements. He had to give Dobby a houseful of socks this Christmas; this Room of Requirements is practically a gift from the heavens.

Harry awoke to the sunlight that filtered through the windows in the room. Blindly grabbing a pair of glasses on a table, his world came into focus. The quaint room he has been inhabiting for the last year has been alright. This was his bedroom, his private loo, training room, and dining room. Harry couldn't thank the creators of the Room of Requirements enough; this was perfect. Well, except that Harry needed potion supplies, the one shortfall of the room. Harry disillusioned himself and crept out of Hogwarts. When he reached the edge of the wards that surrounded Hogwarts, he apparated to Diagon Alley.

Harry was about to disillusion himself when a scream pierced the somewhat quiet Alley. Then another, and then the cackling of a madwomen. One word crossed his mind (insert swear word here :P)

Harry pulled his wand out and slowly approached the direction where he had heard the screams. They had died out some time ago, but Harry remembered the direction of the screams. Treading on the street quickly, he rounded a corner to see a pink-haired woman fighting three masked and hooded men. Her hair was slightly disheveled and dirty, but she otherwise looked fine. Harry saw that even with the three men pitted against her, the woman fought on valiantly. Harry was entranced; he had never seen anyone take a stand in the face of such odds. There! Harry saw a stunner hit one of the hooded men and he toppled over. The other others just kept going at the woman. The woman was not tiring at all so far ten minutes into the duel. Harry was still mesmerized by the scene until the woman tripped on a rock on the street. Immediately, a cutting curse slashed her leg and a stunner hit her. The men were about to take the woman when Harry jumped in.

He pointed his wand at the closest one, "Stupefy!"

The oaf never had the time to think before he fell like a log next to his other stunned compatriot. The last hooded man looked around in bewilderment as he was trying to pinpoint the aggressor. Harry swiftly landed a stunner at the man, who toppled to the ground. Harry then walked over to the woman. From a-far, he knew that this woman was not an ordinary one. Who had pink hair in the first place? Harry first removed the disillusioning charm from himself. Then, he examined her back. Seeing nothing wrong with her back, Harry gently flipped her over and found nothing else. The only injury she sustained was a bleeding cut on her leg. Harry conjured some bandages and wrapped them tightly around the bleeding wound; he would let the healers at St. Mungo's heal it. Seeing that the woman was fit to move on her own, he muttered, "Rennervate."

Her eyelids shot open and a pair of brilliant pink orbs met Harry. Her eyes widened and she was about to let fly a spell at Harry when Harry raised his hands up, "Woah there! Just woke you up and now you're trying to kill me!"

The woman looked at Harry inquisitively and then narrowed her eyes, "Who are you?"

Harry was about to reply when a red stunner hit the woman. Harry groaned and turned around, letting a Reducto flying from his wand.

Squelch!

Blood sprayed the street and a man screamed. Harry saw at least a dozen hooded people walking towards him. One of their number was clutching his stump on his shoulder that had previously had an arm attached to it. So that's where the scream came from…

Harry made a snap decision and took the pink-haired woman with him and dove behind a concession cart that was conveniently close by. A couple spells thudded against the cart and some pieces of the cart flew around. The sounds of glass breaking and wood smashing was heard as the hooded people started to barge into the shops. Screams filled the air as shoppers and owners found themselves under attack by these assailants. Harry peered over the cart to find the hooded people were not attacking him at this point and saw some of the hooded people heading into some sort of thrift store. The front glass windows were all gone and merchandise was strewn all over the sidewalk. The front door had a sizable hole in it so that entering the shop no longer required the use of the door. Harry disillusioned the pink-haired woman and swiftly ran towards the shop, hoping he could stop anything bad happening.

Harry stumbled into the shop and found that the hooded people had a man held at wandpoint.

One of the hooded people growled in a masculine voice, "Where is your money?"

Another one pushed the scared man against the wall, making the man start to whimper in pain.

Harry had enough. Seeing the shop was a lost cause anyways and the man was a good couple feet away from the hooded people, Harry shouted, "Bombarda Maxima!"

The three men blasted away from each other and thudded against the walls. Sliding down the walls of the shop, their heads lolled to one side and they did not move again. Harry quickly casted stunners at all three of them and walked up to the trembling man.

Harry held a hand out and the man gratefully accepted it and Harry helped the man up, "Are you ok sir?"

The man nodded, still slightly shaky, "Y-Yes, I'm fine. Thank you! I would not know what I would do if you had not come! Anna! Coast is clear!"

A woman and a small sleeping boy that was cradled in her arms appeared from a hidden door.

The man again shook Harry's hand, "I cannot express how much I owe you sir. Thank you very much."

Screams could be heard outside in the meantime. Harry briskly nodded, "Keep yourself and your family hidden for now. It's very dangerous out there."

The man ushered his wife and child back to the hiding place and smiled at Harry, "Thank you sir, may Merlin bless you! Hey! What is your name?"

Harry quickly fired back, "Harry."

Before the man could further question, Harry quickly strode out of the shop and saw that the shop across the street was torn apart. Harry walked inside to find a pool of blood and a man sprawling across the countertop, apparently having been tortured to death. Harry grimaced at the smell and the death that clung the air and quickly exited. He then ran towards the sources of the screams.

A mad cackle again filled the Alley and Harry saw a poorly dressed woman with unkempt oily hair pointed her wand at a girl on the ground, who was screaming as she was being crucioed. Harry quickly pointed at the woman and shouted, "Stupefy!"

The woman instantly stopped torturing the child and turned her attention to Harry. The woman sneered, "A hero eh? Let's see how long you last. CRUCIO!"

Harry nimbly dodged the curse and said, "Bombarda Maxima!"

A crater was created on the street and the woman was flung into a shop. The girl was untouched by the explosion and was quietly whimpering on the ground. Harry would come back for the girl later; he needed to rid of this sick pediophile. Who tortures children for fun in the first place?

Harry found the woman, who pointed a wand at Harry's temple, "Crucio!"

Harry felt himself kneeling forwards and feeling himself being stabbed by hundreds of hot-knives on his skin. In the midst of the pain, Harry concentrated on shouting, "Reducto!"

The pain immediately stopped as the woman lost balance and toppled onto a shelf. That was enough for Harry to point at the general location of the woman and said "Stupefy!"

The woman immediately went limp and Harry was relieved. Damn woman's crucio was torturous. Harry then looked around for anybody in the shop, but found no one besides himself and this crazy woman. Harry exited the shop and kneeled to the young girl, who was slightly whimpering. Harry hugged the girl and softly patted her, "Shush… its ok now."

The girl whimpered into Harry's arm and then looked up at him, "Is the crazy lady gone?"

Harry nodded, "Yes, she won't hurt you again."

The girl smiled at Harry, "Thanks, you are my hero."

Harry slightly blushed at that, "Err… thanks. Do you think you could stand up?"

The girl tried to stand up, but her wobbly legs failed to support her weight. Harry lifted the six or seven year old in his arms. Dropping her gently on a bench nearby, he said, "Now stay here, I need to make sure that there are no more crazy people, alright?"

The girl looked wildly around; her eyes betraying the fear in her. Harry tried to console her, "Don't worry; I won't let them hurt you. Just stay here."

The girl managed to reply, "But what about you?"

Harry smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry about me; crazy ladies are no match for me. And what's your name?"

The girl said, "Alma."

Harry nodded, "I'll be back Alma."

Harry walked down the cobblestone street, looking into every shop he passed by. He shook his head sadly; the hooded men had done their work well. Harry then heard the loud cracks of people apparating into the Alley. Raising a wand at the closest person, Harry almost let fly a spell when he recognized the robes worn by Aurors. Harry kept his wand firm though; they could be imposters.

One of them stepped forward, which happened to be a burly dark-skinned Auror with a gold earring in his left ear. He said, "I am Auror Captain Shacklebolt. Would you kindly hand over your wand? We have been called in about a disturbance here and we are not sure if you are the instigator of this mess or a bystander."

Harry pointed at the girl behind him, "With all due respect Auror Shacklebolt, I am NOT the instigator. There is this little girl that was tortured by the Cruciatus curse only a few minutes ago and I had to help her."

The Auror told one of his men, "Jackson! Bring that girl to St. Mungo's! Everyone else, damage assessment and comb the area for any of the attackers. If you find Harry Potter, arrest him."

The Aurors scrambled to do their assigned tasks and the burly Auror turned to Harry, "Now do not let me ask you again sir. Please hand over your wand or you may be implicated."

Alma screamed and kicked at the poor Auror who was attempting to escort the girl. Harry hollered, "Alma! It's ok! He is just going to bring you to a doctor."

Alma immediately stopped screaming and kicking and the Auror gently scooped the girl into his arms. Harry then focused his attention back to the burly Auror in front of him.

Harry shook his head, "Sorry Auror, I can't do that."

Harry apparated away, leaving the lead Auror cursing, "Damn! We did not erect the anti-apparation wards!"

Harry meanwhile only apparated a short distance away. He went to the cart that he had used for cover and pointed at the ground and removed the disillusion charm casted on the pink-haired woman. He then murmured, "Rennervate."

Again, the woman's eyes opened and they narrowed when they saw Harry again. Her wand again pointed at Harry, "You again?"

Harry backed away, "Look, I don't know who you are and you don't know who I am, but we were just attacked by what looks like Death Eaters. Ministry Aurors have arrived, so everything is ok for now. Could you please put the wand down? I had just revived you twice!"

The woman shook her head, "No can do. Now scram; I'm a Ministry Auror for your information."

Geez… is this woman on her period? Harry had just saved her arse and she's as cranky as a stuck up git! Harry narrowed his own pair of eyes at her, "Will do nameless Auror. My name is Harry by the way."

Harry apparated away, slightly peeved. Who was this Auror? She wasn't someone that he had seen before. And why were there possible Death Eaters in Diagon Alley?


A week after…

Harry sighed as he sat on the bed. How he had missed the company of his friends. How he had missed the times when Ron was a total idiot (drooling at Fleur in Fourth-year), when Ron was excitedly talking about Quidditch… how Hermione had babbled on about some arcane branch of a subject and explaining every single thing that she read from the book. But the comfort was that this was the way. This temporary solitude was a step closer to rid of Voldemort; the bane of everyone's lives. Harry knew he was going to miss out some of his teenage years, but he was willing to trade that for a normal life afterwards.

Harry was still pondering when Hedwig arrived. Attached to her leg was a Daily Prophet article. He scanned the headline.

DIAGON ALLEY ATTACKED BY MYSTERIOUS MEN, 24 KILLED AND 128 WOUNDED. HARRY POTTER IMPLICATED IN PLANNING ATTACK ACCORDING TO MINISTER FUDGE.

Harry was incensed. How dare that son of a twitch blame him for Death Eater activity! And "mysterious men?" How friggin' uncreative of the Ministry. And what about that mad woman that Harry had incapacitated? That was not a "man." Harry saw that it was plain and simple; Death Eaters of Voldemort. But the Ministry is still not budging…

Harry's attention was caught on an article that was next to the main article. A picture of him in disguise was shown on top of the heading.

MYSTERIOUS SAVIOR IN MIDST OF TRAGEDY?

Harry groaned. So now they were going to appreciate Harry Potter eh? Nope, because it wasn't "Harry Potter." Well, that's good; at least Harry saw his glamours were flawless and that no one identified him.


Meanwhile, a dozen or so miles away…

Tonks was not having the best week in her life. One, her boss had given her a find and capture assignment. That's just… plain wrong. Second, she was still seething after one of the newbie Aurors tried to hit on her. Let's just say that for the next couple days, a certain appendix will be non-functional. Third, she was attacked in Diagon Alley. Well, Diagon Alley was attacked, but she was one of the first to be attacked. Now that brought her attention to the mysterious blonde-haired savior. He had somehow looked… familiar. His eyes… emerald eyes. The messy hair; the pair of glasses. But it can't be him! There was no scar, unless… DING! DING! DING! We have a winner! Glamour charms! But why would Harry Potter do this? Tonks could imagine how bad it was for the Daily Prophet to slander him. But he had come back for reasons unknown and had saved her. Not once, but twice. Despite her pissy attitude at him, he still did that. And he had saved a couple others according to the Daily Prophet.

But that wasn't the point; the point is that she was one step closer into finding Harry Potter. She felt her consciousness was going to be damned, but she was not going to lose her Auror position if she did not do the next part; capture Harry Potter for incarceration in Azkaban for killing Cedric Diggory That was what she was assigned to do. Tonks shook the thoughts off and concentrated on tracking down Harry Potter; she did not have a choice. But the incident at Diagon Alley had shaken Tonks' previous beliefs; was Harry Potter really an insane cold-blooded killer as the Prophet said?


A/N: I'll start updating this in a couple weeks. Any support and reviews are always appreciated.

Thanks for reading!