Chapter One:
All Roads Lead to This Place
By
Durvish
Harry watched the sun slowly set, and darkness begin to creep across his yard. Well, it was really the Dursley's yard, but Harry claimed it as his own after all he did all the work to maintain it during the summer months. Today was no different from any other day, if you didn't count that it had been two weeks since the death of his godfather; Sirius Black. That first week of summer holidays was the longest Harry could remember. For some reason that Harry could not understand his uncle could not let go of the fact that his godfather was dead because of something that Harry himself had done. Worse yet his uncle had become physically abusive.
All Harry wanted was for someone to love him. It was not so much to ask and Sirius filled that want. No not want, calling it a want did it a disservice it was a very primal need to be loved by parental figures. Now he was gone and Harry was alone again. He so wished he could have what Ron took for granted a family who loved him. 'Sirius was a major link to my parents' Harry said to himself 'And I just got him killed because i didn't listen when i should have... and damn near got all my friends killed in the process' As harry thought of this, he could feel his eyes begin to prickle and his body shuddered as the first sob escaped his troubled body.
"I am so sorry Sirius, I failed them, and I failed you because I was to head strong so sure I was right. I did not mean for anyone to be hurt nor for you to die." Harry mumbled to himself. His resolve crumbled; he lay his head on his knees as sobs wracked his body. Tears flowed without any signs of stopping as Harry wailed in soul-crushing pain. Then came the bang of his door being opened and his uncle saying " Damn you, you freak, If you will not shut up. I will shut you up, and I do not care about your freak friends either.
--
Vernon Dursley liked things just so. His life was ordered such that everything that was good was attributed to his hard work and sharp business acumen while everything that bad was obviously someone else's fault, thank you very much. Things were not just so, 'Not since the day the freak came back from that freakish school' Vernon said to himself when the freak woke him up wailing about his dead godfather.
"I have had enough of that freak and his ways. I will shut him up, and if he is not careful it will be because i cut out his tongue." With that Vernon crossed the Hallway to Harry's room and unlocked the four locks that were on the door and stalked in. With a low growl, he spat out " Damn you, you little freak! If you will not shut up then I will shut you up, and i do not care what your friends either!"
Harry looked up at his uncle, whose face was rapidly changing color to reflect his level of rage and genuinely thought 'This is it, he will kill me' and he shivered. A little in fear. His eyes widening as the realization hit him.
Vernon Stalked across the room to where Harry was on the floor leaned down and punched him in the face so hard that Harry's head hit the floor and bounced. Not that Vernon cared, he kept hitting harry his rage growing rather than lessening with each hit. He hadn't noticed that Harry had long since stopped moving, and that his breathing was almost imperceptible. He also did not notice the blue energy that arced out from Harry's unconscious body, and spread throughout number 4 and its environs. Only to be sucked back in to the injured boys body along with the energy powering the wards to the home casing them to fall. Harry Potter had stopped breathing!
He did however hear the gasp of his wife "Vernon, Stop!"
Vernon turned toward his wife not noticing that his nephew began to breath again not that breathing mattered much in comparison to the look of anguish etched into the boys face. It was at that moment it hit Vernon exactly what he had done. Unfortunately, he did not have time to fully accept the results of his action, as a wave of magic energy slammed him through a wall and into the oblivion of unconsciousness
--
Petunia Dursley nee Evans did not love her nephew it would be a stretch to say she could even be civil to him. Nevertheless, here she was stuck with him for another summer all because her sister who she did love very much had gone off to that freakish place. With that thought in mind Petunia Dursley drifted off to sleep and dreams.
The grass was verdant green the oak tree was in bloom the flowers were fresh and laden with dew as the sun was just peaking over the eastern horizon. However, it was the house that made her pause it was her parents house, She hadn't been to the house since that day.
"Hello Petunia, its good to see you" she heard from behind her a voice from the past.
"No it cannot be you!" Petunia managed to stammer out "Lily you are dead"
"Yes Pet, I am dead which is why you can only see me here." Lily said as if it was the most natural thing
Then continued "We have something to discuss and our time is short, so I am going to talk, and you are going to listen, and gods I hope I can make you see reason! Do you understand me?"
"Yes Lily I understand" Petunia muttered.
"Well, the man who killed our parents as well as James and myself has returned, only now he seeks Harry's life."
Petunia paled at the parents of the man who killed her parents, and she ground out "Why?"
Lily gave her sister a penetrating look before continuing "A month before Harry was born there was a seer who gave a prophecy about a child who could vanquish the Dark Lord and that he would mark the child as his equal that child is Harry"
To say that Petunia was shocked would be an understatement. "He is just a boy, how can anyone consider making him face such an abomination?" Then she caught herself normally he was the freak boy. 'When did that change?' she wondered to herself
Lily smiled tenderly "I was hoping i could reach you, it is unfortunate that he has to face Voldemort however he has never been just a boy. Between Voldemort's, Dumbledore's and your own treatment of him have left their mark on him."
Lily paused before saying "Petunia our time is drawing to a close here your husband is killing my son as we speak. It is not his time! You must stop him, if not for me then do it because mum and dad raised you right."with a start Petunia awoke with a feeling of dread as she jumped out of bed and ran to the door of Harry's room.
"Vernon! Stop!" She cried as she reached the door the sight that met her made her want to vomit, there was blood splattered across the bed and Harry was not breathing. A pulse of energy burst from the boy flowing outward knocking Vernon through the wall back into his bedroom. The pulse raced out to the very edges of the ward lines before reversing. The reversal, however caused the wards on the house to collapse, adding power to the surge racing back toward the center, toward Harry.
Harry's body arched in convulsions as the pulse hit his body. He drew a soundless breath with look of agony etched into his face as light began pouring out of his scar. Finally finding his voice "HELP" He screamed before losing consciousness as Darkness took him.
--
Outside Number 4 Privet Drive
Below his window Nymphadora Tonks listened as the young man she had at first grown to respect and then later to love as one would a younger brother listened to his sobs. She was torn between her loyalty to the old man and the need to reach out to this boy who knew nothing but pain. Tonks mused to herself 'What on earth is Dumbledore playing at? Not letting him have any contact with the outside world. He at the very least needs his friends and Remus'
On the other side of the house Alastor Moody or mad eye as people had taken to calling him after the first war. He looked up his magic eye seeing into the interior of number 4, and saw the boy on the floor curled into a ball on the floor weeping uncontrollably. He turned and walked to the front of the house to where Tonks stood gazing up at the boys open window.
"Tonks if you don't start paying attention you wont be able to do Potter any good if you get taken out by death eaters" growled Moody.
Tonks hissed in reply "He shouldn't have been sent back to those people, and mind you, i use that term very loosely in this instance. They are not even trying to figure out what is wrong or help him." She paused to reign in her temper. "Moody, he has not been out of his bedroom is four days! I have it on good authority, he has not even eaten nor slept in that time. At this rate he will crack if he hasn't yet."
"Aye" Moody muttered. "what do you intend to do about it? You know the old man is not going to be happy."
Tonks looked thoughtfully for a moment "Well in the words of a once great wizard, we should do what is right rather than what is easy!"
"What do you plan on doing Tonks?" the grizzled auror asked
Tonks looked at Moody and spat "At the end of this shift I am going to go get Remus and Harry's friends, and we are going to remove him from this hell hole."
Moody looked up at the moon and wanted to gently remind her that Remus would be in no shape after dealing with a transformation without Wolfsbane
Then they heard the sound of a door being thrown open and the voice of Vernon Dursley carried down as he ranted at Harry. Moody looked up in time to see Dursley hit Harry hard enough to knock him out. He swore "Damn you Dursley, why couldn't you just listen?" as he stumped up to the door. Tonks hot on his heels.
As they reached the door they both felt the pulse of energy pass over them that went out to the ward line and Tonks spoke "That's not good."
Moody scanned the house as he said the unlocking charm "Potter is not breathing or moving, Tonks you have to call Dumbledore."
As Tonks pulled out her mirror "Albus Dumbledore" as a wave of energy pulsed past her back into the house as the wards around the house failed. The energy coursed back into Harry's body causing his back to arch and a soundless scream as if every nerve had been set on fire. Light emitted from his scar as his scream became one full of sound. "HELP".and then he lost consciousness.
Little did they know that elsewhere someone dreamed of only of him,
--
Delacour Mansion
Paris, France.
Gabrielle Delacour was having a good evening she was day dreaming of Harry James Potter whom she fell in love with the day he rescued her during the second task of the Tri-Wizard tournament. Gabrielle was not your ordinary girl not by any stretch of the imagination, being quarter veela had seen to that. She was also head over heels in love with the Harry Potter, though she was far to young even by her own standards to be even a blip, on his relationship radar. She just hoped that one day they could meet and see where life took them.
'Being nine years old really stinks' Gabrielle thought to herself as she leaned back and let sleep claim her to chance to dream of the boy who captured her heart. In the dream she and Harry were on a picnic just enjoying each others' company Harry was brushing out her hair when she felt a jolt of pain hit her in the sternum. She turned toward Harry and found him unconscious his body convulsing. Then the pain hit her again only this time it was more intense. She could have sworn she heard Harry say help, and her dream descended into darkness and pain.
Her body felt like it was on fire as wave after wave of pain threatened to consume her, she cried out as she watched Harry writhing in pain. His pain was hers it grew so great that the dream faded and pain wracked her body her bones felt like they were stretched as if on the wrack. As suddenly as the pain cam it was gone and in its place was emptiness so vast that the whole of existence could not contain it, she feared in that moment Harry was dead.
"No!" She screamed and her magic lashed out eclipsed her room in a bright light with an accompanying explosion, that rocked the manor the likes of which had never been seen as the wards failed, and she was gone.
Fleur was sitting in her room reading a book on gobbledygook in preparation for her upcoming interview with Gringots when she heard Gabrielle's pain filled scream. 'Oh no her she must be having a nightmare and transformed into a veela's avian form' Fleur thought to herself as she bolted out the door to her room, and down the hallway to her sisters room. She could see the light emanating from under the door, and she could hear the screams. They were not the screams she remembered herself making the first time she had transformed involuntarily, and that worried her.
"Gabrielle?" Fleur Called out opening the door carefully so as not to get hit by a fireball. She glanced around the door "Merciful Circe!" Her sister had aged 6 years in the span of a few minutes as she moved toward her little sisters bed the light intensified pulsing. With a life not of this earth with a flash that made Fleur look away Gabrielle was gone.
--
Headmasters office
Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry
Albus Dumbledore sat at his desk, his eyes which normally twinkled with mirth now shown only the sorrow of one who has seen many tragedies. Books were strewn across the desk open to many different pages as if the reader were looking for an answer to the most important question in the world.
'What have I done?' mused the aged sorcerer.
Suddenly, the office was bombarded by the noise of the various alarms went off. Normally, this would not be a problem as only the accidental magic alarm would be triggered, only this time Albus was very concerned as the two alarms he hoped would never go off did. The physical abuse and the life sign ward went off.
Then He felt his pocket Warm suddenly, and he heard young Nymphadora say "Albus Come to privet drive Harry may be dead".
Fawkes appeared screeching in anger giving the old man a look of disappointment that clearly said ' you should have listened to Minerva all those years ago'
"Yes Fawkes i know I was wrong" Dumbledore said " Lets just hope Harry doesn't die due to my foolishness"
'Voldemort' Fawkes trilled sounding angry.
"No Simply because i have come to love the boy." Dumbledore paused 'He represents what i used to be my dear friend. He is kind, loving, and honorable. I find myself wondering where i went wrong' "Fawkes would you be so kind as to find Minerva and give her this note?"
Pulling out an old sock "Portus" making it into a port key and then activating it, he disappeared from his office.
--
Elsewhere at Hogwarts
Minerva Mcgonaggal was sitting in her chambers preparing to go to sleep. Her bones were weary with fatigue due to the assault she had endured at the hands of ministry aurors just scant weeks ago. She had just climbed into bed and was comfortably reading a book when in a flash of fire Dumbledore's phoenix companion Fawkes appeared above her bed trilling excitedly as he dropped a note in her lap
'Minerva, you were right, and I was horribly wrong by the time you get this; I will be at the Dursley's home. I pray Harry still lives when I get there.'
"Oh that dear boy!" she exclaimed as she stood up and transfigured her bed clothes into something more appropriate. "Fawkes can you take me to Harry"
Fawkes trilled and the dread that Minerva felt left her as she and Fawkes flashed away.
--
Elsewhere in the UK
One could never say if Lord Voldemort was ever really happy. Amused, possibly; Angry, definitely; Happy, his death eaters could only assume that the smile that graced his features this night meant he was happy.
"Severus, Lucius come forth" the dark lord summoned two of his inner circle.
"Yes my lord" both men said as they stood before the man they both served and feared.
"Tell me Severus, what should I do with those who have failed me" Voldemort hissed,
"Punishment should be meted out to fit the level of failure my lord" Snape said quietly 'I am going to be in a lot pain in a minute"
"Yes Severus, you are quite correct." he paused for a moment "Crucio!"
Severus Snape had braced himself for the pain he knew would shortly overcome him.
Instead he heard another voice screaming in agony Lucius Malfoy
"Lucius my slippery friend, it was such a simple task after the boy took the prophecy from the shelf you were to take it by any means necessary". He said as he lifted the curse " you were such a shining star Lucius why on earth did you try to take it physically when you could have summoned it from his hand. No matter though i must see to your punishment now. I know just the thing. Avada Kadavra."
Green light shot from the tip of his wand slamming into the elder Malfoy. Severus his demeanor hidden behind the walls of his occluded mind. 'That could have been me'
"Severus, you are to be commended if it was not for your efforts I would never be able to play on Potters insecurities." Voldemort paused and had just opened his mouth to speak when he felt a crushing blow that came from his connection to Potter "Severus...the Boy..." were all he managed to get out before he to lost consciousness.
Severus Snape looked at the dark lord a moment before levitating his body back to his room laying him carefully on his bed. Then he too aparated to Privet drive something is definitely wrong