Disclaimer – I own nothing. I am not rich, and writing this will not change that.
Warning – This chapter is going to contain angst. There will be character deaths and minor Cedric/Harry moments. Don't panic though; I do know where I am going with this, and the Tom/Harry goodness will begin to form next chapter. But for now, please beware the angst.
X
27th May, 1993
Harry's eyes widened as he took in the tall form of Tom Riddle. He looked exactly as Harry had imagined him, with his handsome features and thick dark hair.
"Tom? Is that really you?" Harry whispered, heart beating heavily in his chest.
"Almost" the other boy hissed back gently. Harry looked at him questionably, and Tom raised his hand and placed it against Harry's cheek. The fingers did not go through the skin like a ghost, but Harry could not feel them either; a rather odd sensation.
It was then that Harry remembered where they were.
"Why are we down here? I don't even remember getting here" Harry muttered, looking fearfully around the room. It was dark and dreary, almost like a stone dungeon.
"You wouldn't have been able to get here yourself, so I guided you here" Tom answered, looking at Harry thoughtfully, as if measuring his reaction.
"But I don't remember-" Harry started, suddenly realising what Tom had just said. "You brought me here and I don't have any memories of it, and I've lost my memories other times this year…" He trailed off, trying to grasp the situation, which was difficult as he could literally feel energy draining from him with every second.
"You said you would do anything for me Harry" Tom said casually, standing by as Harry collapsed to his knees. "I apologise for lying to you; I feared you would back out, but I simply had to make you do all those things so we could be together."
"Nobody died" Harry uttered, wrapping his arms around his shaking form. "Nobody died, and I still got to bring you to life." He froze as a dark thought struck him. "Why am I so weak Tom? Do I have to die for you?"
Tom crouched down in front of him, wiping a tear from Harry's eye with a finger which was starting to feel more human.
"You said anything, Harry" the older boy reminded him, and Harry nodded sombrely, falling forward onto the floor. He turned his head to face Tom.
"I will die for you" he whispered, too weak to raise his voice anymore. Tom looked at him with a strange expression, his eyes flickering with something Harry couldn't understand. "You're my best friend; but please wait with me" he sobbed.
As his eyes fell shut, he felt Tom gently take hold of his hand.
27th May, 1993
Harry groaned as he blearily opened his eyes, the sound of footsteps echoing outside the Chamber gaining his focus.
He sat up, feeling much stronger than he had in over a year. He shivered; the Chamber was empty, the diary lying on the ground beside him with a large hole ripped through the middle of it.
'Something's gone wrong' Harry thought horrified, trying to find any sign of Tom. 'I failed him; he's supposed to be here now, not me'. He sobbed, drawing his knees to his chest. Tom had been the only important thing to him for the last year. He had been prepared to die for him; Tom had more to live for, but now he had let down his only friend.
"He's in here!" he heard someone yell. "Harry! Harry!"
He looked up, seeing the red-haired form of Ron Weasley rushing to him, followed closely by Neville Longbottom and Albus Dumbledore. He wished that they hadn't found him; if Tom had died down here then he thought it would have been a suitable way to follow.
Dumbledore crouched by Harry, looking him over carefully. Harry ignored him as the old man frowned, looking at him with sympathetic eyes.
The Headmaster's eyes were then drawn to the destroyed diary. He waved his wand over it and smiled, a twinkle coming back to his eyes.
"It has been destroyed" he stated to the group. "He won't be able to hurt you anymore Harry. I'm sorry that I was not able to see what was happening to you before. I hope you can forgive me."
Harry nodded; glad Dumbledore hadn't stolen the diary beforehand.
"How'd you destroy it?" Ron asked suddenly. Harry had thought one of them had done it earlier somehow.
"I don't remember" he said quietly, tears falling heavier from his eyes.
"What is important is that it is destroyed and it shan't be hurting anyone else again" Albus affirmed, helping Harry to his feet and holding out his arm. Within seconds a phoenix appeared. Someone grabbed hold of his hand, and then the phoenix was pulling them away and out of the Chamber, and back into Hogwarts.
They landed in a girl's bathroom, where Moaning Myrtle was sat watching the scene with mild interest. She giggled and waved at them as they walked past, but Harry couldn't smile back. He allowed himself to be taken to McGonagall's office, flinching as he was roughly embraced by his mother.
"Harry! Thank goodness!" she screamed, crying as heavily as Harry was. His dad hugged him tightly once his mum had finished; he wasn't crying, but the stress was evident on his face. He found he couldn't reassure his parents that he was okay, or even listen to what they were saying. He felt so numb, like a part of him had been ripped out. He couldn't bear the thought of never talking to Tom again, and he hated that he had no idea what had happened.
He finally turned his attention back to reality when he felt someone shaking his shoulders.
"Are you alright sweetheart?" his mother asked gently, but fortunately Dumbledore answered for him.
"I believe Harry is suffering from great shock. Lily and James, if you could escort him down to Madame Pomfrey?"
After a number of tests, the nurse declared that he was perfectly healthy considering everything, and said his magic seemed to be different somehow but it had most likely been caused by trauma and that would be the reason for his memory loss. She insisted on keeping him in overnight to monitor him, and that was why he now found himself sat wide awake and alone on a hospital bed at midnight. He had refused to speak to anyone so his parents had reluctantly left him, promising to return in the morning with Sirius and Remus.
He jumped as something tapped on the window; it was a large raven, and in it's beak was a letter. Harry had never seen anything other than an owl carrying post before, so intrigued, he got out of bed and opened the window. He gasped when he saw the raven had blood red eyes, but it dropped the note and flew off before he could get a better look.
He gingerly picked the parchment up, heart hammering as he read the familiar writing.
Harry –
I apologise for leaving you with no explanation. All I can say now is wait for me. When the time is right, I will come back for you.
TMR
9th September, 1993
Harry had thought his third year would have been slightly easier. He thought the promise of Tom coming back to him would keep him sane, but he found that not being able to talk to the boy was incredibly painful. The note Tom had sent him had disintegrated as soon as he had read it, but he was sure he hadn't imagined it.
He had spent his summer thinking about the Chamber of Secrets, and though he couldn't be sure, he believed that Tom may have been testing his loyalty all along and had never planned to kill him. He further deduced that Dumbledore hated the older boy, and that was why he had to leave in such a hurry. Harry didn't know how true his theories were as he had no way of knowing, but they gave him comfort. He didn't know when Tom would return for him, but he would wait forever if he had to.
From his first proper day of Hogwarts, Harry had started to use his free time to sit in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, staring at the sink which led to the Chamber of Secrets. No matter how much he willed it, it wouldn't open, but it made him feel closer to Tom. No girls would use the bathroom now, so he was always left alone.
At first Myrtle had complained about his presence, before she decided to try and make conversation with him. After she got the hint that Harry wasn't going to talk to her, she seemed to talk to the room generally about the hurtful effects of bullies, almost like she understood Harry's pain. If he was truthful to himself, he didn't mind the ghost, but he had no interest in her either.
The other supposed upsides to third year were the facts that his Godfather's partner, Remus Lupin, was now the professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts, and he and Sirius would both be staying in the castle, while his sister Heather had just started her first year of Hogwarts, sorted into Gryffindor as well. Heather, it seemed, was everything that Harry was not. She had accumulated in just a few days a large gang of friends from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. He knew Snape would favour her in Potions class, and she always seem to be full of happy energy.
He hadn't known what to expect in Remus' lessons, but the first one had definitely dashed his hopes that it could be positive. They had been made to face a Boggart, a creature which would shift into one's worst fear. Harry knew that his worst fear would be Tom never returning to him, and not knowing how the Boggart would show that or how he could fight the Boggart over it, he refused to take part, which was now why he was sat in front of both Remus and Sirius, both of whom looked rather concerned.
"Would you like anything Harry? Tea? Chocolate?" Remus offered, but Harry shook his head. Remus pushed some chocolate towards him nonetheless; Harry swore Remus thought chocolate was the cure for everything.
"Why didn't you want to take part in class today Harry?" Remus asked gently. Harry refused to answer and looked down at his hands.
"Remus, leave it" Sirius stated warningly, but Remus argued back.
"We need to hear it from Harry" the werewolf said as though Harry wasn't even in the room with them.
"Why don't you tell me what you think my problem is then and I'll tell you yes or no?" Harry suggested. Remus sighed while Sirius scoffed. Harry didn't like to admit it, as it was rather mean, but he liked Sirius a lot more than Remus. He still liked the werewolf a lot, and he was as good as family, but he was too much like his mother with his worrying attitude. Sirius was more laid back like his father, only James was encouraged by Lily to punish Harry when he deserved it. Sirius never did or said anything negative towards him. Indeed, he always seemed to look out for Harry, even going as far as punching Snape once when he had said something particularly cruel in front of him.
"Well, your mum and I were talking just last night, and we're both worried about the effect the incident last year has had on you. You were so quiet over the summer, and there's something you didn't want the class to see regarding the Boggart, so I'm wondering if it has anything to do with that."
Remus was basically right with what he said, though he wasn't going to tell them about his friendship with Tom and how it had been the only thing that kept him going the last year.
"Harry…if you need to talk to anyone-" Remus continued, but Harry shook his head violently. He'd never be able to open up to anyone ever again.
"I'm fine" he insisted, standing up to signal that he was leaving. "Remember as well that you're my professor now, so you can't go telling Mum and Dad anything I say." The last thing he needed was Lily running to Hogwarts to force Harry into therapy.
Remus nodded, and Sirius stood as well, wrapping Harry in a hug. He smiled appreciatively at his godfather and left the men alone to think.
6th November, 1993
Harry leaned his head against the only glass window of the bathroom, revelling in the noise of the heavy rain and thunder outside. He had loved thunderstorms ever since being a child, an interest he inherited from Lily. They had spent many afternoons together drinking tea, or in Harry's case milk, in their conservatory, listening to the rain batter the glass roof and walls.
There was a Quidditch match on; Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff. James and Sirius had been quite enthusiastic about teaching Harry how to fly when he was a child. He had quite enjoyed it at the time, but he preferred talking to Tom rather than trying out for the team last year, and he didn't fancy trying to join this year either. Having to talk to all new people and be watched by the whole school was a horrifying thought for him.
He looked up with a start when the door opened and Luna Lovegood walked in. She came over to him, and Harry expected her to tell him to leave but instead she just sat down next to him without saying a word.
"Do you want me to go?" Harry asked, unsure of what she wanted.
"Oh no. I came here to see you" she replied, and Harry looked at her to expand. "I've noticed you come in here quite a lot, and I thought you could maybe do with some company."
Harry decided he would be brutally honest with her. "Luna, I appreciate that, but I promised someone very important I wouldn't be friends with you." He did like Luna, but it seemed like he was already giving up on Tom if he took back that promise.
"We don't have to be friends" Luna answered dreamily, looking at him with a slightly excited look. "We can just sit together here. I know it can get terribly lonely waiting for something on your own."
11th April, 1994
It hadn't been the same as talking to Tom, but Luna's company had really benefited Harry. He still refused to call her his friend, but he missed it when she wasn't next to him. She would talk to him about many fantastic creatures that he had never heard of before, and Harry would vaguely talk to her about Tom and how much he missed him. Luna would reach out sometimes and hold his hand for comfort.
Despite not calling her his friend, that hadn't stopped him storming up to his sister in the middle of the Great Hall at lunch.
People picked on Luna a lot from what he had seen; generally behind her back, but Heather had insulted her right to her face. The blonde had dismissed it without a second thought, but Harry didn't like what Hogwarts had done to his sister.
"Why do you think you can be so rude to Luna?" he hissed at her, ignoring the giggles of her friend.
"She's weird" Heather answered as if that made it okay.
"Leave her alone from now on" he warned, making the girls laugh harder.
Heather pulled him away from the crowd and moved so she could whisper in his ear.
"I'm sorry Harry, but the girls think she's loony so I do too. You're my brother, so I won't let them say anything to you, but they talk about you behind your back all the time, and if you keep sticking up for Luna they won't bother being quiet anymore."
"Learn to grow up Heather and make proper friends" Harry hissed back, not bothering to lower his voice.
That was the day that people started to bully him.
17th June, 1994
People had never really picked on him before; sure, they had never really spoken to him either, but having insults thrown his way by people he had never spoken to before was new to him. It had started with Heather's gang, but then other people started to pick up on it, and the students who were predisposed for bullying had joined in. They would call him weird and disturbed. They called him a loser and a friendless freak, while the older students had started to call him queer, though where they had got that from he didn't know; he hadn't even considered that himself at his age.
Remus had resigned after his werewolf secret came out, so he and Sirius had left the castle and Harry felt no other teachers would really stick up for him.
He had never been so grateful for Luna, or more desperate for Tom.
"Do you know what might cheer you up Harry?" Myrtle asked him while he sat trembling with Luna's hand closed over his. The ghost had been very sympathetic with Harry lately; she had been bullied heavily herself. "Check the tap."
Harry didn't have to ask her which tap she meant, and he curiously went to the sink, reaching into the faucet where a small piece of parchment had been placed.
He opened it to see a scrawl he hadn't seen for over a year now.
Stay patient Harry. I haven't forgotten you.
1st November, 1994
Nothing overly eventful had happened to Neville Longbottom in his third year, so it seemed with the announcement of the Triwizard Tournament this year, the Boy Who Lived had to find a way past the age limit to take part.
Dumbledore had announced the competition at the start of the year, and soon after a number of students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang had arrived. All the visiting students were, of course, seventeen, however despite Dumbledore's wards to keep underage students from entering, Neville had been able to put his name forward and somehow get it to come out as a separately from the other Hogwarts Champion. Neville had insisted that he had never entered his name, but Harry didn't believe him, and for once he wasn't the only one who thought badly of the boy. The majority of Hogwarts students didn't seem to be falling for Neville's lies, and even Ron Weasley himself had started to refuse to speak to Neville.
Cedric Diggory was the one who most believed to be the true Hogwarts Champion, and this was the boy Harry was now stood before trying to speak to. He wasn't keen on speaking to people when they were in a group, but Neville was within earshot of the Hufflepuff gang and he wanted the light haired boy to hear what Harry thought of him, but the number of sixth and seventh years was rather intimidating. Just as he made his mind up to leave, Cedric locked eyes with him and smiled.
"Can I help you?" he asked gently, drawing everyone's eyes to the nervous Gryffindor.
Harry kept his eyes on the floor as he shook his head. "No…I mean, yeah, I…" he trailed off, trying to ignore the sniggering he could hear. Cedric hushed the group and allowed Harry to continue. "I just, er, wanted to say Cedric, that even as a um, Gryffindor, that I'll be-I'll be supporting you."
Harry immediately turned and started to walk away, feeling slight satisfaction from seeing the hurt look on Neville's face, but someone touching his arm startled him and made him forget all about Neville.
Cedric was stood looking slightly apologetic but with a friendly expression on his face.
"Thank you for your support…I'm afraid I don't know your name though" the older boy said.
"Harry" he answered softly, wanting nothing more than to leave the room.
"Well Harry, Professor Sprout is throwing a celebration party in the Hufflepuff common room tonight if you would like to come?" Cedric offered. Harry shuddered at the thought; the mere idea of being around so many people seemed to horrify him, especially considering he had been picked on by a number of students wearing the yellow trimmed robes.
"I'm not really a party person" Harry answered awkwardly. "Have fun and good luck with the contest."
With that said, Harry intended to forget about Cedric Diggory, but it appeared the Cedric was not so keen as to forget about him.
23rd November, 1994
Harry sighed when Cedric finally caught up with him. The Hufflepuff had been chasing him all day and so far Harry had managed to successfully avoid him. He had finally been cornered though, and he forced himself to smile at the Champion.
"Harry…you're friends with that Luna Lovegood girl aren't you?" Cedric asked and Harry eyed him wearily.
"We aren't friends" he decided to affirm.
"Oh, is she your girlfriend?" the older boy asked, something almost like jealously flashing quickly through his eyes.
"No, it's complicated. We just like talking to each other" Harry mumbled. "Why do you want to know?"
"Well, I'm sure you know that the First Task is tomorrow, and I wondered if Luna might be able to help me; I hear she's good with creature information" Cedric looked around before lowering his voice so much so that Harry had to lean in to hear. "We have to fight dragons."
Harry raised his eyebrows; fighting dragons seemed a pretty risky task to set for teenagers.
"It isn't debated that dragons exist" Harry responded, "so Luna won't have much interest or knowledge on them. There are plenty of books in the library."
"Perhaps you could join me in searching?" Cedric asked rather hopefully but Harry shook his head.
"That would be cheating. You're meant to be the honourable Champion, remember?" He squeezed Cedric's hand gently as Luna often did to him for support. "You'll be fine; good luck."
23rd February, 1995
Harry had never thought he would have said it, but he was starting to feel grateful to Cedric. The Hufflepuff had managed to track him down in Myrtle's bathroom. When asked why he was sitting there, Harry told him it was to avoid the bullies in the school, and since then Cedric would punish any students he found making rude comments about Harry or Luna, and his prefect status, as well as being an admired Champion, meant people would leave Harry alone as long as Cedric was around.
The Hufflepuff had also started to sit with him and Luna in the bathroom, claiming he appreciated it's quiet and calm atmosphere. Cedric would talk to them about the Tournament and his worries over it.
Right now Cedric was studying for the Second Task in the library. He was pretty confident with his plan, but he wanted to double check, so when the door opened Harry and Luna hadn't expected one of the Weasley Twins to come walking in.
"Harry, McGonagall wants to see you. What you doing in here?" the redhead said grinning. Harry just shrugged and followed the Weasley to the Transfiguration teacher's office, where McGonagall was sat with Dumbledore, Ron, Hermione and a little girl who looked much like Fleur Delacour.
"Hello Harry" the headmaster greeted happily, indicating for Harry to take a seat. He complied, watching Albus carefully. "Now that you're all here I will explain what is going to happen. The Second Task involves our Champions going through the lake to find something that has been stolen from them which they will dearly miss."
"We're those something's, aren't we Professor Dumbledore?" Hermione enquired, sharp as ever.
Dumbledore nodded, smiling, but Harry started to panic slightly in his head. He couldn't be the thing that Cedric would miss most, he just couldn't. He felt as if he would be stabbing Tom through the heart if he allowed this to happen.
"We shall be placing Sleeping Charms upon you and you will be in absolutely no danger. You will awake as soon as you are rescued from the Lake, and of course, should your Champion fail, someone else shall retrieve you."
By now Harry was shaking his head determinedly. "No" he muttered, wrapping his arms around himself. "I won't do it. No."
"You'll be perfectly safe Potter" McGonagall tried, but that wound Harry up even more.
"No! I can't…please" he begged, berating himself for being so weak. Hermione placed a hand on his arm in an attempt to ease his discomfort but he shrugged the girl off him.
"Alright; there is no oath forcing you to agree to this, so if any of the rest of you feel any discomfort, please let us know" Dumbledore said, eyeing the room. Nobody else said a word and the headmaster smiled gently at Harry. "You are free to go Harry; please could you send Miss Chang up here?"
Harry nodded and left, telling some Ravenclaw girl he saw on the way to get Cho. He then ran to the now empty bathroom and cried himself to sleep.
24th February, 1995
Harry hadn't gone to watch the Second Task. He sat in Myrtle's bathroom until he heard people returning to the castle and then he went outside, knowing Cedric would likely be looking for him. It wasn't the fact that Cedric was another guy that put him off; he had been raised not to think any differently of it thanks to Sirius and Remus, while if he forced himself to really think about it he didn't think he could control what gender he could fall in love with, but trying not to be friends with Luna was hard enough, and if Cedric wanted more than friendship with him then he could get really wrapped up in the Hufflepuff and then Tom might never return for him.
The older boy managed to track him down eventually, much to Harry's displeasure.
"You weren't at the Task" Cedric stated, looking at Harry for an explanation. He looked rather hurt, but Harry tried to ignore that.
"Why was I meant to be your most missed person?" Harry said instead, cutting right to the point.
"I wondered when I saw Cho…" Cedric mused. "Why did you say no?"
"Just because!" Harry exclaimed, resting his forehead in his hands.
"Is it because I'm a boy?" Cedric asked gently, dropping down and pulling Harry's arms away to look at him. "Or is there someone else? Luna?"
"No and no, not Luna" Harry answered, looking away. "I thought you liked Cho anyway."
"I love her as a sister but nothing more" Cedric told him. "Can I just…?" Cedric trailed off, looking at Harry deeply. He quickly pressed his lips over Harry's, just for a second, but in that moment vivid memories of Tom came rushing into Harry's mind, almost like it had been Tom over him and not Cedric.
Cedric was rambling on about not knowing what had gotten into him and how sorry he was, but Harry needed that feeling again; he needed to see Tom vivid in his mind, so he leant forward and crushed their mouths together, shutting his eyes and imagining the pale skin and handsome features of Tom more brightly than he had for a long time. He imagined it was Tom next to him, not Cedric, and he pretended with all his might that he was really back with his friend. Only when they pulled apart and Harry opened his eyes that he felt the disappointment crushing him.
Cedric beamed happily at him and they started to head back to the castle together.
Both of them missed the eyes watching them from the forest which had started glowing dangerously red.
24th June, 1995
Harry was ashamed to say that since the end of February he had been using Cedric in order to see Tom. He had never previously thought of Tom in that sense, but he supposed it wasn't a surprise that his longing had turned out that way. Luna told him it was perfectly normal, and anyone who thought differently must have been affected by a large swarm of Wrackspurts.
They had never got any further than kissing, and Harry still didn't like to do that too often because he was wracked with awful guilt for both Tom and Cedric every time he opened his eyes, but he was addicted to seeing Tom's flawless skin and dark eyes. He wondered if he was perhaps going crazy, because he swore a couple of times he had seen those eyes watching him from afar, only with a red gleam in them.
To make his life more difficult, one of Cedric's friends had called Harry a dirty poof in front of the Hufflepuff Champion, making Cedric tell most of the school that he and Harry were boyfriends. Harry despised that thought; he and Luna weren't friends, they just enjoyed talking, and likewise, he and Cedric weren't boyfriends, Harry just enjoyed talking to him and using him physically to see his missing friend. He couldn't say that of course, and now Harry was stuck with people acting friendly to him when he was around Cedric, which he hated because he didn't enjoy talking to people, but as soon as Cedric was out of sight, he was abused more heavily than before, mostly from jealous girls and older boys who were friends with Cedric and accused Harry of getting Luna to 'twist' the Champion using some weird magic. Of course Cedric never got any abuse thrown his way.
Despite never having really spoken to him in a proper conversation, the majority of the Gryffindors in his year were sticking up for him, especially Hermione, and though he disliked their hypocrisy, he did appreciate the gesture.
It was with Hermione, Luna and Ron that he was stood waiting to go into the stands to watch the Third Task. He didn't think the other two liked Luna much, but he wasn't going anywhere without her.
"Wish me luck" a voice came from behind them, and Cedric appeared with nervous excitement on his face. He kissed Harry gently on the lips before he got called over to where he needed to go.
It was only once they were in the stands that Harry realised he had kissed Cedric without thinking of Tom.
24th June, 1995
Harry was glad he hadn't watched any of the other tasks. This one had certainly been boring; they couldn't really see what was going on. All they knew was that the Durmstrang and Beauxbaton Champions had come out of the maze, and so the winner would either be Cedric or Neville.
It was then that two figures appeared by the front of the maze. Immediately people started to cheer and celebratory music began to play, but all Harry could focus on were the cold, lifeless eyes of Cedric Diggory which seemed to be staring at him.
He heard the words 'Voldemort's back' and 'Cedric's dead', and that was when chaos erupted in the crowds. Harry just clung onto Luna like his life depended on it, not bothering to fight the heavy flow of tears falling from his eyes. Neville had killed Cedric; maybe he hadn't lifted his wand and said the words, but he had taken Cedric to Voldemort.
Harry looked away from the scene, out towards the Forbidden Forest, and though his tears all he could see were mocking red eyes.
20th September, 1995
Harry would never have said that he loved Cedric, but that still didn't stop him feeling sad over his death. He hated that Neville could have such little regard for others. He had heard Neville's tale of events, and he blamed him even more now. If he hadn't made Cedric grab the cup with him, Cedric would still be alive.
He didn't know what to think about Voldemort being back. He certainly believed it; his parent's obsessive actions over the summer let Harry know for definite they were at risk, although the Dark Lord hadn't come out in the open yet, so a lot of people didn't believe Neville or Dumbledore, and they were getting quite a lot of abuse for it, including a number of newspaper articles calling them liars.
It meant people were focused on Neville though, and Harry hadn't had nearly as much bullying so far than before. He didn't know if the students felt sorry for him with what happened to Cedric, but he much preferred being ignored.
His mum had refused to leave him alone all summer, both from fretting over what had happened after Heather gave her all the gossipy details, and seemingly convinced that if she let her children out of sight for one moment then they would be attacked by Voldemort, so he appreciated the quiet he was getting at school.
Luna had become rather talkative with Neville, Ron and Hermione, having been formally introduced to them all by Ginny, Ron's sister. Harry told Luna that he didn't mind, because he wasn't her friend so he couldn't stop her doing anything. Luna just smiled when he said that.
Even though he insisted to himself that Luna wasn't his friend, he still cared about her deeply and didn't want Neville to hurt her. He didn't trust the Boy Who Lived, and he wasn't going to let him take someone else away from him.
28th December, 1995
Harry tapped on his Godfather's door, hoping for an answer. It was rather late, but his mind was running wild and he needed someone to talk to. Remus was out on a task for Dumbledore, though they refused to tell Harry what it involved.
Sirius answered the door looking rather dishevelled, like Harry had just woke him up, but he smiled brightly when he saw Harry and invited the boy into his room.
"Are you alright Harry?" the man asked, looking at him with concern.
"I've just got a few things on my mind" Harry muttered, trying to give Sirius a reassuring smile, which failed horribly. "When you and Remus got together how did people react?"
Sirius studied him curiously for a moment before he laughed softly.
"Not everyone accepted us of course, and well, they still don't, but we've never let it bother us. We have each other, which is the most important thing. Why'd you ask?"
"People make comments to me at school" Harry admitted, unsure why he wanted to get this off his chest. He hadn't asked for advice from anyone since Tom, but he really couldn't hold it in anymore. "It was bad last year, and then it stopped at the start of this year because I think people felt bad about Cedric, but it's gone back to how it was, and it's just hard to deal with sometimes."
Sirius said nothing, and instead wrapped Harry into a tight hug. "You ignore those people Harry. It doesn't matter whether you love a man or a woman; you're still an amazing person."
Harry snuggled into Sirius; he didn't quite believe what his godfather had said, but it still felt comforting to hear him say it.
"I don't mean to sound like my lovely family" Sirius said with a bitter tone to his voice, "but I've found pure-bloods are more accepting. Muggles can be very prejudiced and this can be carried through into the mixed families. There are exceptions obviously, and it's better now than it was when I was your age. One day soon we'll be accepted with no problems."
Harry hummed, just as a clap of thunder echoed outside. He fell asleep that night happy.
18th June, 1996
"No Luna! Don't go with them" Harry begged the blonde girl, who was insisting that she would accompany Neville, Ron, Hermione and Ginny to the Ministry of Magic where Neville had claimed to have a vision of something bad happening.
"Don't worry about me Harry; I'm in good hands" Luna tried to reassure Harry, but he shook his head. Neville's hands were definitely not good ones to be in.
"I'm coming too then. I can't leave you alone with them" he declared, ignoring the dirty looks the others gave him at his comment. Still, they didn't say no, so they climbed aboard the Thestrals, an odd experience for Harry considering he couldn't see it, and they were flown to London and the Ministry of Magic.
Harry didn't really care what Neville wanted to do; he just didn't want Luna to get hurt, so he kept an eye on her while following Neville to where he wanted to be.
They eventually ended up in a room with shiny black marble flooring and walls, with high shelves filled with crystal balls throughout the room. Whatever Neville was looking for he hadn't found, but he had discovered something else.
Harry watched with mild interest as Neville cautiously grabbed one of the crystals with his name on it. The swirling cloud inside seemed to have them all transfixed, but footsteps to the side of them made them turn their heads.
Walking slowly towards them was a tall figure, cloaked in a black robe with a silver mask covering their face. Harry recognised it as a Death Eater. The teenagers raised their wands, ready to fight whoever was coming towards them should they try anything. The mask was removed from the face with a flick of a wand, and then Lucius Malfoy was smirking at them.
The atmosphere was as tense as it was calm; the fact Lucius hadn't tried to attack them was a relief, but there was a high risk he could change his mind at any moment. Harry felt a chill run through him however when a female laugh came from another direction in the room.
A woman Harry recognised as Bellatrix Lestrange was now strolling up to them; Sirius had told Harry plenty about her. He instinctively moved to stand in front of Luna.
A swishing noise surrounded them, and then there were Death Eaters circling them, preventing them from escape. The crystal Neville was holding was clearly important to them, and Harry reckoned knowing Neville the Death Eaters would have it within minutes.
The group of students seemed to know what to do, as they all sent a Stupefy spell to the ones surrounding them. The Death Eaters vanished so they took that as their cue to run.
Harry grabbed hold of Luna's hand so he wouldn't lose her, and they took at a sprint, trying to block any spells the Death Eaters were throwing their way. Something hit one of the shelves, and then crystals were falling all amongst them, so they ran desperately trying to avoid being hit by glass and falling debris.
Harry threw another Stupefy spell at someone who had their wand pointed to Luna. Then they were running through a door and falling, stopping right before they hit the ground. A sigh of relief ran through them all as they dropped gently the rest of the way.
Harry couldn't believe they had ended up in one of Neville's situations. He just really hoped it wasn't for nothing and he could at least keep that crystal safe.
They had landed in a large room. The only thing in it was an archway with a veil covering it. Harry could hear soft, murmuring voices coming from within.
Before anyone could examine it, a noise alerted them to the Death Eater's presence. They seemed to be appearing in clouds of black smoke, and then they were all over the teenagers, blinding their vision.
Harry felt his hand ripped from Luna's, and then he was at the side of the room, a masked Death Eater holding onto him. He glanced around at the others; all but Neville had been caught, with arms around their necks and wands pointed at their faces by unmasked men, besides Ginny who had been caught by Bellatrix. Harry wondered why his captor was still masked, or why he had grabbed Harry by the waist.
Malfoy was demanding Neville to give him the crystal, but Harry was more focused on the man holding him who was almost trying to dig through his skin; he was holding on so tight. He closed his eyes, waiting for something to happen, when all of a sudden he wasn't been held anymore. He snapped his eyes open to see white smoke filling the room; the effect used by the society Dumbledore had set up to fight Voldemort and the Death Eaters; the Order of the Phoenix. His parents were members but he couldn't see them there. The only ones he recognised properly were Sirius and Remus.
Harry and the others huddled together at the back of the room, allowing the adults to fight it out. Neville had become involved and was currently fighting Bellatrix. The masked Death Eater seemed to be knocking out his opponents with ease and thus was being left alone by the Order members.
Neville had given up on Bellatrix and was now attacking Lucius. Harry noticed the crystal was smashed at their feet.
He had lost Remus in the chaos, but he watched as Sirius fought Bellatrix. He seemed to be doing well, but as the pair got closer to the veil, he felt fear run through him. He got up, desperate to help his godfather, but Ron tried to hold him back. He span around to tell the redhead to get off him, but when he looked back, the fight seemed to have turned around.
He could only watch horrified as a red beam struck Sirius' chest, and he stumbled back, falling into the veil.
Harry, not caring anymore, ran desperately towards it, hoping to see Sirius simply land on the other side, but it never happened. He almost jumped through the veil himself; anything to save Sirius, but the masked Death Eater threw a curse his way, creating a barrier in front of the archway.
He screamed in frustration, hot tears splashing onto his cheeks. He tried desperately to claw through the shield, fighting whoever it was pulling him back.
He collapsed onto the floor after he was back at the side, grabbing hold of Luna and sobbing heavily into her shoulder. The blonde wrapped her arms around and whispered soothing things to him. It didn't stop the pain though, and it didn't fill the hole that had just been ripped in him.
But through all the chaos and the pain, Harry clearly heard the words he had been waiting to hear for so long.
"Harry, it is almost time."
4th August, 1996
Life hadn't been the same after Sirius had died.
Remus had stayed for a while to attend the memorial service, but then he had vanished almost without a trace, just a note saying he was sorry.
Heather had moved in with Snape, saying she was unable to cope with their home life. Severus had offered Lily a room too, and reluctantly Harry as well, but Harry refused to go, and thus Lily wouldn't either. She trusted Snape with Heather, but it seemed she didn't trust James with Harry.
His father had started drinking heavily to cope with the pain and guilt he was feeling. He was by no means a violent drunk, and he didn't do too much damage, but Lily hated it nonetheless, and so most of the time his parents spent together now involved arguing. Some nights were worse than others, and tonight happened to be a bad night.
He wasn't surprised that his sister had left; listening to his parents screaming at each other was difficult; no matter how strained their relationship was he still loved them.
He decided that he couldn't stay in the house anymore. It was dark and rainy, but he needed air. He had been forbidden from leaving without his parents, especially now that Voldemort's return had been confirmed and he was openly attacking people, but the wards only stopped people from entering, not from leaving, and they wouldn't notice if he was gone anyway.
He did indeed leave with no problems. The air and rain felt good on his skin, and it helped clear his head. He pulled his hood up and shoved his wand up his sleeve before setting off on a walk. He decided to stick to the countryside around his house where the wider wards were still in effect.
The Potter home was in a small village, and their house was right on the end. The village and the neighbour's houses were to the front and one side, while on the other side there was a forest, meeting a field at the back.
He loved the forest; the trees gave him a sense of security, almost like they were protecting him from the outside world.
He wandered through the trees, trying to keep his mind free of thought. He had dwelt far too much on Sirius and Tom lately. Tom's promise at the Department of Mysteries had given him slight joy, and he was just waiting for the man to reappear.
He froze when he heard a twig snap, but he shook it off, thinking it must have been a wild animal of some sort. When he heard it again, almost like somebody was running, did he really start to panic. He was sure he hadn't left the ward limits, and if they had been broken he would have known about it.
He pulled his wand out, spinning around to look in every direction. When he saw nobody or heard another sound, he made his move back to the house, too spooked to stay out.
He got back in with ease, glad to hear his parents talking quietly with each other now. He headed upstairs to his room, shutting the door behind him softly and collapsing onto his bed. He rolled onto his side, hugging tightly onto a toy dog Sirius had given him when he was a little boy. He was happy when he found he had kept it after all these years.
He stilled when an arm wrapped around his middle, resting a cold hand on his stomach, while another clamped down over his mouth. He felt hot breath by his ear as the intruder leant in to speak.
"I've come for you Harry."
X
There is the end of the longest chapter I have ever written. I hope you liked it.
I'm sorry for the character deaths, but they needed to happen, no matter how sad they are. I promise explanations are coming next chapter. Next chapter also brings a normal timeline, so no more jumping around with dates. Yay.
