Harry Potter sat in his room at his hotel doing nothing. The war was over. He had finally defeated Voldemort. He should have been celebrating like the rest of the wizarding world, but he wasn't. He was more depressed than ever. Many of his friends had died during the war. Many others had died as well. Everyone called him the Saviour of the Wizarding World, but he didn't see that. When he looked in the mirror, all he saw was someone that failed.

He disappeared shortly after the battle at Hogwarts. He became overwhelmed with everyone congratulating him and treating him like a hero. He left in the middle of the night, leaving a note for Professor McGonagall letting her know that he had to get away from everything. He did not say goodbye to anyone. He arrived at Gringotts in the middle of the night and was surprised that they were not ready to murder him for the damage he had assisted in causing when he, Ron, and Hermione broke in and then broke out on their dragon.

The head goblin of Gringotts assisted him in accessing his family vaults and informed him of his title of Lord Potter. Harry informed him that he did not want to take up the title at the moment. Once all of the paperwork had been completed, Harry exchanged galleon's for muggle currency and left the wizarding world.

He had been in his hotel room for a couple of weeks. He had not shaven the entire time. He sat in the darkness of the room and continued to have flashbacks of the war and the deaths that he had seen over his life. He was a broken shell of the man everyone expected him to be.

One evening, Harry heard a knock at his door. He tried to ignore it, but whoever was there was not going away. He got up from his bed and looked out the peephole of the door and was surprised to see someone that he barely knew from school.

He had his wand at his side ready for anything. The young woman had been in Slytherin and he had become very paranoid in his exile. He opened the door only a crack.

"What do you want," he asked harshly?

"I just came to see how you are doing," said the woman.

"Why? You never spoke to me while we were at school. Why so concerned about my wellbeing now?"

"I know we have no past together other than we went to the same school and were in the same year. I honestly have no idea why I was asked to come, but I am doing this as a favor to Professor McGonagall."

"How did she know where i was?"

"I have no idea. Potter, can you just let me in so we can talk?"

"Why should I trust you?"

"I Daphne Elizabeth Greengrass do hereby swear on my magic that I mean no harm to Harry Potter nor do I wish him any harm"

A small flash came from the tip of her wand.

"Can I come in now?"

Harry opened the door and walked back to the chair that he spent most of his time in. Daphne followed him in and was horrified at how he was living. There were food cartons everywhere. He looked like he had not showered since the battle. He looked as bad as Sirius Black had in the pictures the prophet had put out.

"What did Professor McGonagall want you to see me for?"

"She is worried about you. A lot of people are. You just disappeared. You didn't say anything. People were looking for you. You are the symbol of hope everyone looked at."

"They shouldn't look at me as hope. All I bring is pain and death. I am cursed."

"Wow. This war really did a number on you."
"You wouldn't understand. No one could begin to understand."

"I think I might now know why the professor sent me. I might understand better than most."

"And how is that? Were your parent's murdered by Voldemort? Did anyone you considered family die? Were you raised in an abusive home where all you were considered was a freak?"

"My mother was murdered in front of me and my sister at the beginning of the year. She was murdered by my father who was under the imperious curse. He then turned on me and my sister. I had to kill my own father to protect us. You think you are the only one who has lost people? Many people lost loved ones. Some people lost entire families. I don't see them hiding away."

"They didn't have the fate of the wizarding world dropped on their shoulders! They don't have everyone praising you all the damn time! I have been in hell since I was only an infant! I was beaten, tortured, starved, fighting for my life my entire life! In all that time, not once has anyone asked what they could do to help me. It was always about helping everyone else!"

Daphne just stood in shock. She knew next to nothing about the famous Harry Potter. What she did know was what she read in the Daily Prophet and what her classmates told her. She moved to the bed and sat down across from Harry.

"Did you tell anyone about your living situation?"

"All the time. It never did any good."

She could see the hurt and depression in his eyes. This was not the confident and proud boy that she had seen when he played Quidditch. This was a very broken young man.

"I know we don't know each other, and I know you have no reason to trust me or believe me, but McGonagall must have asked me for a reason. Maybe it is because I have suffered more loss than most others you know. I really don't know. One thing I do know is this is not the boy that I had a slight crush on while at school."

Harry looked at her with confusion.

"The reason I agreed to come was because you saved my life as well as my sister's and best friends."

"I didn't save anyone" began Harry before Daphne cut him off.

"You did. You took out three Death Eaters that had us cornered. It was you. You many not see yourself as a hero right now, but if you were to listen to what some people tell you, you will find out that you were more of a hero than you think. You were responsible for saving a lot of lives."

"I'm the reason that so many people died."

"No your not. You can't blame yourself for things that you had no control over," said Daphne, realizing how bad Harry really was. "You are not responsible for what a psychotic terrorist did. You did everything you could to end the war."

"I should have done it sooner. I should have figured out what I had to do sooner. I was being selfish..."

"Stop! Just stop right there! Again, I may not know much about you, but the one thing I can say is that you are probably the least selfish person on the planet. Others may have thought that you were always seeking to exploit your fame, but I realized that you weren't. You always just seemed to be thrust into the spotlight by shit luck."

Harry just looked down to the ground, his hands holding his forehead.

"Look. I don't have any answers as how to get you out of this horrible place you are inside your head. I am still trying to deal with everything I've gone through. I do know that this is not going to help you at all. Sitting in a dark room all day alone is only going to make things worse."

"I don't know what to do," said Harry. Daphne could tell that he was beginning to cry.

"Since the day that I lost both my parents, I have been seeing a mind healer. It has helped me a lot. They may be able to help you."

"I can't go anywhere public. I can't handle people."

"Do you have anywhere else to stay besides here?"

"Nowhere that I want to be at."

Daphne stood up and walked to the window. She looked out as she thought.

"You can come stay with me. I have a large house with plenty of room. You will have all the privacy you need. It is only me and my sister there. We could have the mind healer come to the house."

"Why are you doing this," asked Harry, still with his head in his hands.

"Because I know what happens when you let the darkness inside you take over. I know where depression can lead you."

She walked over to Harry and lifted up the sleve of her shirt. There were cut marks all over her arm.

"The first two weeks after my mother was killed and I killed my father, I was a complete disaster. All I did was replay the scene in my head over and over. I couldn't make it stop. I thought the only way to make it go away was to end my life."

Harry looked up at her and saw the sadness in her eyes. He saw the pain.

"I cannot sit by and let someone else go down that rabbit hole. Come with me. Please."

Tears started forming in her eyes. Harry could tell that she was sincere in her offer. He choked back more tears.

"Ok," was all he said.

"Thank you. I promise to give you all the space you need. Would you be ok with me telling Professor McGonagall?"

Harry just shook his head yes.

"Let's get you packed."

"I don't have anything that needs to be packed. I didn't come here with anything."

"Then the first thing we do once we get to my house is get you showered. One thing I have learned is that a hot shower or bath and a little pampering can help you feel a million times better. I can send my house elf to get you some clothes if you would like."

"Kreacher!"

Daphne was confused for a moment until a house elf appeared in the room in front of them.

"Master called for Kreacher?"
"Yes. I am going to be staying with Lady Greengrass for a while. I need clothes and toiletries."

"Kreacher will bring what Master needs. Where should Kreacher get Master clothes from?"

Harry then realized that he had no idea where to get regular clothes from. All his clothes had been hand me downs and he really did not want to walk around in robes all the time.

"There is a shop in Diagon Alley that sells regular clothes," said Daphne. "Do you know your measurements?"

"Kreacher knows," the old house elf stated.

"Kreacher, would you be so kind as to go to Madam Wilcott's shop and get Harry some clothes. She also has shampoos and other basic neccesities as well."

"Of course. Kreacher will go right away."

With a pop, Kreacher was gone.

"Come on Harry, let's get you out of here," said Daphne, holding her hand out. He took her hand and was instantly apparated to Daphne's home.

"Welcome to the new Greengrass Manor," she said with a smile. "I couldn't think of staying in the old house, so I moved Tori and myself here."

The house was large, but nowhere near as large as Malfoy Manor. The one thing Harry immediately noticed was that it was close to the beach. He could smell the ocean. He could hear the waves crashing. He took in a deep breath and let it out. he couldn't explain it, but he felt much more at peace already.

Daphne led him inside where they were greeted by her younger sister, who looked extremely confused.

"What's going on," asked the young blonde?

"Harry, meet my sister, Astoria. Tori, Harry is going to be staying with us for a while. I will explain everything after I get him settled in."

Tori watched as Daphne led the Saviour of the World to where he would be sleeping. She noticed that he looked like he had been sleeping in Hippogriff dung for weeks. He smelled like it too. She knew that Daphne had been asked to do a favor for Professor McGonagall, but she never expected to have Harry Freaking Potter in her house.

Daphne led Harry to a large bedroom. It was decorated with soft colors and had a view of the beach and ocean from the window.

"I will get you some fresh towels and once your house elf returns, we can get you settled in. I do have a bathrobe you could use if you would like to get your shower now. You know, until you have some clothes to change into."

"Thank you," said Harry. His tone was very soft. She could tell that he was still processing everything.

"I'll go get the robe for you," she said with a smile. She left the room and rushed into her bedroom. She had a bathrobe that her uncle had left at the house during the time he was helping take care of her and Tori. She walked back to the room and handed Harry the robe.

"There is already some soap, shampoo, and conditioner in the bathroom. If you need anything else, just let me know."

Harry looked into the bathroom. Daphne looked as well.

"Shit. Towels. Freida!'

A young house elf appeared instantly.

"Mistress called?"

"Yes. Freida, this is Harry. He is going to be staying with us. Can you bring him a couple of fresh towels? Also, his house elf will be coming by with some things for Harry. When he arrives, please show him to this room."

Freida bowed and left as quickly as she appeared. Moment's later, she was back with towels in her hands.

"Does Mistress require anything else of Freida?"

"No. Thank you."

Daphne took the towels and placed them on the towel rack next to the bathtub.

"I'll let you have your space now. Again, of you need anything, just let me know. My bedroom is right next door and Freida is only a call away."

She left the room and joined Tori in the sitting room. Tori didn't even wait for Daphne to sit before she began asking questions.

"Why is Harry Potter here? What happened to him? Why didn't you warn me?"

"Tori, shut up," said Daphne. "It is hard to answer questions when you don't stop asking them. Before I answer any questions, there are some rules that we need to discuss first. The first rule is that you are not to bother Harry. He needs space. He is in a very bad state of mind at the moment. Worse than I was after everything that happened. He does not need to have you stalking him everywhere he goes. You can say hello and ask if he needs anything if you see him walking around, but do not seek him out. If he is in his room, just let him be. Second rule is that you can not tell anyone he is here, and I mean no one. None of your friends, none of our family."

"Why are you doing this?"

"He saved our lives. Professor McGonagall asked me to go and I could not understand why. Then I saw him. Tori, he is in real bad shape. He blames himself for everything that happened. Everyone in all of the wizarding world sees him as a hero. All he sees is a failure."

"That is mental. How does he think defeating the dark lord and ending the war is failing?"

"Tori, he has lost a lot. His parents, his godfather, someone that was like an uncle to him. Not to mention any of his friends that died. He thinks he could have done more and sooner."

"How do we help him?"

"For now, just give him space. He has agreed to see a mind healer here. Once that gets started, then I will talk to him about getting out of the house and socializing with people. I know his friends are worried about him."

"Why didn't McGonagall send one of them?"

"Because they have not lost anyone like he has. We have. We know the hell it can do to your mind. Please just promise me you will not harrass him."

"Is he really in as bad of shape as you were?"

"Yeah. I've never seen anyone like that before. It really scared me. I now understand how you felt seeing me like that."

The two sisters talked while Harry sat in his bath, soaking. It was the first time in what seemed like forever that he felt relaxed. His mind was still a mess, but at that moment in time, he was relaxed. After a good thirty minutes of soaking, he got out of the tub and dried off. He wrapped the towel around his waist and looked in the mirror. He was a mess. He had a beard that was starting to grow out of control. He had very large dark circles around his eyes. He had multiple new scars all over his body. He grabbed the robe and quickly covered up. He found a chair and placed it next to the window. He sat down and just stared outside. He had too many emotions going through his head. He sat for what seemed like hours just watching the waves crash onto the beach.

An hour after he started his staring contest with a window, Daphne knocked on the door.

"Harry, are you decent?"

"You can come in," he said, snapping out of his daze.

Daphne walked in with Kreach and Freida behind her. They had many bags in their arms.

"Kreacher was not sure how much clothes Master needed."

"It looks like you bought everything in the store," said Harry, a hint of a smile coming across his face. Daphne took notice of it.

"Kreacher is sorry Master."

"Don't be. I had no clothes before this. Now I have plenty. Thank you."

Kreacher smiled at what Harry had said.

"Does Master need anything else from Kreacher?"

"Not at the moment. I'll call you if I need anything."

Kreacher bowed and disapparated.

"He is a very loyal elf," said Daphne as she began unpacking all of the bags.

"He was a right pain in the ass at first. He hated me."

"You must have proved yourself to him some how. How are you feeling? Was the bath helpful?"

"It was, thank you. I felt relaxed. I wish I could just sit in it all day."

"I have those days. I was thinking I could give you a tour of the house once we get you situated, if you would like."

"That would be great," said Harry as he started helping her put away his new clothes.

"Either Kreacher has excellent fashion sense, or he had great help."

"I would say he had help," said Harry, again letting a partial smile escape.

The two finished putting everything away quickly and Daphne left the room to let Harry geet changed. He came out of the room in a simple pair of jeans and a polo shirt. His hair was a mess and his beard was scraggly, but Daphne still found him to be rather attractive. She shook the thoughts from her head. She did not need to be thinking about Harry like that. She was helping him heal, not trying to date him.

She showed him around the house, talking about why she loved the house so much.

"The biggest reason I chose this house was because of the beach. I feel more relaxed when I am here."

"The sound of the waves and the birds," said Harry. "It can be peaceful."

"You seem more at peace already," Daphne said, smiling.

"It's peaceful here. Thank you. Thank you for helping me."

"It's the least I could do."

"How do you move forward when your brain is constantly reminding you of the past?"

"I'm not going to lie. It's hard. I still struggle with it. All I know is you don't have to do it alone. I thought that at first. I was miserable. I was refusing help from my family and friends. I felt like they were just pitying me."

"I wish I knew what the first step is."

"You took it already," said Daphne. "You accepted help. Speaking of that, what made you decide to come with me?"

"I saw your pain when you told me what happened to you. I saw the tears when you asked me to come with you. With all the guilt I am already carrying around, I could not let myself cause someone else pain again."

"You have a hero complex, don't you," said Daphne with a grin.

"I have heard that a few times. Actually, I heard it all the time."

"Just from talking to you today, I can guess that you are the rare kind of person that would put their own safety at risk to help others. You think less about yourself and more about everyone else."

"That is what I have been told."

"That's not a bad thing unless you forget to take care of yourself too."

Daphne led Harry to the deck outside of the house, facing the beach.

"Harry, I know I may ask a lot of questions, but if I ask you something that makes you feel uncomfortable, please tell me."

"Just don't ask anything about the war right now. I can't handle that," said Harry.

"Ok. I want to ask about something you said at the hotel. You said you had been in hell since you were an infant."

"That's a rough subject too, but one I think I have finally moved on from. My aunt and uncle hated magic. Actually, the despised it. I was dropped off on their front porch in the middle of the night. Until i turned eleven, I lived in a cupboard under their stairs. They would starve me and beat me at points. I didn't know my name wasn't Freak until I started school. I had to act stupid because if I got better grades than my cousin, I got beat for it. Even after I started at Hogwarts, they still abused me. No matter what I told people, nothing ever changed."

"That is horrible. Why didn't Dumbledore get you out of that nightmare?"

"He's the one who put me in it. I asked every year to be allowed to go somewhere else, but he insisted that I return to them. I respected the man, but sometimes it really seemed like I was not that important. As I got older, I began to feel like I was just a pawn in a fucked up game of Wizard's Chess."

"That is horrible. You also said that no one asked if you needed help. You said that they only wanted help from you. Is that true?"

Harry sat back in the chair and went into deep thought. Daphne could tell that he was thinking hard about what to say.

"It is and it isn't. People would help me with things when it came to school work and my screwed up luck. Hermione and Ron were almost always there for me for that stuff. Ron and his brothers even helped me escape from the hell house the summer after first year. I guess it was only after fourth year that I really felt that way. It was then that I started to have all of the pressure pushed on me. I think Ron and Hermione tried, but they were restricted by the adults in our lives."

"How are you feeling right now," asked Daphne, leaning forward in her chair?

"A little better," said Harry. "I guess talking about things can help."

"I can, but it has to be under the right conditions. I'm not an expert, but I don't think you would have opened up this much if we were back at the hotel, or at Hogwarts."

"The beach really does calm me," said Harry.

"I'm glad you agreed to come."

"I am too. Thank you again. Have you told Professor McGonagall yet?"

"I sent her an owl when you were in the bath. I suspect she will want to come check on you. I did put in the letter my rules for when she comes."

"What rules are those?"

"She is not to smother you. I know she has a grandmotherly affection for you. She is also not to scold you and lecture you."

"I like those rules. I especially like the rule where she is not allowed to scold me. Have you ever been on the receiving end of one of her lectures?"

"She can be terrifying," said Daphne laughing.

That caused Harry to laugh. This made Daphne feel good about her choice.

"It is getting close to dinner time. We should probably go in," said Daphne.

The two walked into the house, both in much better moods than they were at the beginning of the day

I know some people will try to argue that Harry's mood changed too quickly. That is not true. As the story goes on, you will find that Harry is going to have some setbacks. He is going to have struggles. I know from personal experience that a change of venue and atmosphere can help improve a persons mood. That doesn't mean everything is better.