Chapter 7- Broken

He was running. Desperate, the Dementors hot on his heels.

Yet he felt satisfied, at peace. If the life of Sirius Orion Black ended today, he would not complain the least bit.

Just half an hour ago, he was in the Gryffindor dorms, his prey unaware of his presence. He had stealthily grabbed the rodent in his muzzle, ready to escape. Pettigrew had attempted to transform back but he sunk his teeth in, not allowing it. The damned rat couldn't stay quiet however, and it's squeaks managed to wake up it's 'owner'.

The redhead ran in front of the exit and blocked it. He whipped out his wand pointed it at him. He felt a shiver run down his spine.

"Damned dog! You hurt my Scabbers! Take this, Reducto!"

How a mere third year boy managed to cast a spell that powerful Sirius would never know, but as it flew towards him, he dodged to the left. The floor behind him exploded and a heavy piece of stone hit his right foreleg. He whined as he fell, almost letting go of Peter. Instead he clamped down harder and felt the taste of blood on his tongue.

He feared for his life. Luck was on his side however, as when he finally managed to pull himself up, he saw the boy slumped on the floor. The blood on his forehead meant he got hit by the rabble as well. Seeing his chance, Sirius quickly dropped Pettigrew on the floor, transformed back and took the boy's wand. He pointed it at the panicked rat.

"Forma Reverti!"

The spell forced the transformation slowly. He could tell that the traitor was fighting back, but he put more power behind the spell. The paws became hands, the missing pinkie was there again, then came the face. The face of the man who took away his friend. His crush. The traitor who took away a decade of his life.

"Hello Peter." He said to the cowering and whimpering man.

"Sirius, please. You know I had to do it. The Dark Lord would have..."

"Silencio!"

He looked hard. Any traces of the friend he had once known was gone, replaced with that of a traitor he wished he had never known. Even the man's profile had become ratlike, caused by staying in his animagus form for so long. 'I am not the same forgiving man I was either.' He thought as he pointed his wand again.

"Crucio!"

Peter writhed in agony, the wounds he had gained in his rat form bleeding out even more as he convulsed on the floor.

"Would your lord have done this? Were you afraid of the tourture and pain he would cause? Peter, Peter, Peter. Have you ever wondered that if you betary me I could do worse? After all, I am a Black, right? You see, I..."

He could not finish his rage filled speech as his sensetive ears picked up the sound of footsteps heading his way. He looked around helplessly, not willing to let Pettigrew go yet. The glint from a glass vial caught his eyes, and a plan started to form in his mind.

He calmed himself down somewhat and pointed the wand at him again.

"Legilimens!"

He invaded the rat's now defenseless mind, and searched for the memories of his betrayal. The meetings with the Dark Lord, the event in Godric's Hollow, how he had framed him. Sirius forced these out of his mind and pointed at the memory vial in the corner. It glowed a dull white as it contained the rat's memories. He then pointed the wand at the traitor fo the final time.

"Goodbye Peter. Avada Kedavara!"

The sick green colored curse struck the wide-eyed man's chest as Sirius pointed his wand at the redhead. A quick memory charm cleared the brat's memory of anything that could connect him to his animagus form. The footsteps got louder. He summoned the vial fast and placed it on the dead body, then snapped the wand. He transformed into his canine form just in tiem as a form of man and hid himself away in a dark corner.

The man who had walked in found a student unconscious near a big crater, beside the dead body of a 'war hero' who was known to be dead since the last decade. He nver took notice of the black grim that limped away in silence. Sirius's work was done.

[...]

"Just looking at a girl like that will not win you any points, you know?" A melodic voice shook him out of his thoughts.

"Huh?" Was all he could manage to get out when he saw a pair of beautiful luminecsent red eyes look at his green ones. He looked at her. Heart shaped face, thin pink lips. Her hair was white blonde with dark roots and long, easily cascading past her hips. Merlin, she was beautiful.

"Now could you you please tell me why have you been leering at me for like, a week?" The sweetness in her voice was intoxicating, and Harry felt his mouth dry out. If it was possible, she appeared even more beautiful. He felt the walls in his mind break down.

"No."

His quiet answer startled himself into action, and as he noticed, so was she. He swiftly let out the tip of the Elder out of his right sleeve and stealthily aimed it at her. Ellie took notice of this and put her hand over his arm.

"Stop."

Harry looked at her, eyes blazing in fury. If they had something to do with this, then there would be hell to pay. Seeing his state, Victoria hastened to explain.

"Um, Ace look. You've been staring at her since day one. Like all the time. Not everyone notices but we did. Especially her. We thought you had a crush on her or something. So why not pull parnk on you and get you to admit it and embarrass you a little but at the same time? So we thought maybe..."

"She tried to control me!" Harry seethed at her.

"No she didn't." Victoria retorted.

"Actually, I kind of did." The calm french accented voice stopped them both.

Harry looked back at the girl. Sensing he had somewhat calmed down and was waiting for an explanation, she continued.

"It was my Veela charm."

"Veela?" Harry questioned.

All three looked at him like he was an idiot. "Say Ace, have you read our book on magical beings, like at all?"

"Of coruse I did." Harry lied.

"Sure. Mind if I ask you a question? What are Sirens?" Ellie asked.

"Um, you know, some muggle noise making thing?" Harry was really getting confused now, his rage totally forgotten.

His friends looked at him, open mouthed. Till Victoria managed to choke out. "You didn't even read the first page yet!"

"Well, I did look at the cover. Even that takes a lot of effort, I'll have you know. But what does that have to do with this?" He asked.

This time Victoria just facepalmed while Ellie complained. "Harry, we have a quiz tomorrow! And you're saying that you didn't even open it yet?"

"It's useless." Harry defended himself. "Come on, girls. Can any of you please explain why our Magical Beings from Mysterious Lands is suddenly so relevant?"

"It is relevant because if you had read the first chapter at least, then you would have had a clue about what a Veela is." The girl answered, annoyed. "Since you obviously have ignored it, let me enlighten you. A Veela is a magical entity who is assciated with fire, desire, love, lust and sometimes power. A Veela has many unique characteristics. Such as being ethereally beautiful, having thrice the physical strength of an average human being, natural mastery over fire-based magic and so on. A Veela also has the abilty to throw out a sort of allure that focuses on a person's desire and make them weaker willed. A sort of compulsion, if you will. Being a Veela, I can direct this allure on someone and coerce them to do what I want."

"And you tried you break my mind with it." Harry was starting to get angry again.

"Whoa, hold your horses Ace. She did nothing of that sort. She was getting annoyed at the way keep looking at her. And we told her to do it. All we wanted was to get you to admit you like her, nothing else." Victoria tried to calm him.

Harry glared at them. "Then let's clear it up, shall we. I can sense others magical signatures and core strengths. Both her magical signature and core are unique, nothing I've ever seen before. So I simply looked at her so that I could examine it." He then turned to the girl. "I'm sorry for staring at you like that. Though I had no bad intentions, it was still very rude of me to stare. Forgive me."

The girl looked at him with squinted eyes, as if examining him. Finally she held out a hand.

"Name's Caoimhe Archange. Fifth year, nice to meet you."

"Aj-" His friends glared at him. "Harry." He shook her hand.

"Well, Harry. I have to go. I will see you guys later." She shook her head, probably at the stupidity of it all and walked away.

Just as she rounded the corner, Harry turned on his friends and hissed. "Explain!"

Both girls put their hands up in a conciliatory manner. "Harry calm down and listen to us, please." Victoria requested.

Harry crossed his arms and nodded his head to her to go on.

"Harry, we didn't know about your sensing magical signature thing. So when you looked at her, we thought that you might like her. She noticed as well. We kinda know her, so we went to her and planned that she would use her allure on you and force you to admit, you know. Thought it would be fun and maybe she'd become good friends in the process, giving you better shot when you actually try. Instead, well..."

"We fucked up big time." Ellie helpfully summed up for her.

"Ell!" Victoria complained. "Language!"

"Whatever." Ellie rolled her eyes. "Harry it was all in good fun. We are sorry that we fuc-I mean messed up, but we didn't mean it. So we are sorry." She winked and made a very funny attempt to strike a seductive pose. "Or do you wanna spank us as punishment?"

"Girls and their logic." Harry rolled his eyes. "Apology accepted. Just don't ever pull one on me again. It tends to have bad consequences."

"Okay." Both girls agreed happily. Then the bell rang. "Hey, we gotta run. Potions, remember?"

"Let's go." Harry started walking.

"Hey Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"You like her don't you?"

"Ellie?"

"Yes?"

"Do shut up."

[…]

"Good day and welcome to the first class of Spellcraft. I am Joanna Wills, and I will be your teacher for this course. Since this is your first time with this subject, this course will focus mainly on the basics. Such as the theory behind the creation and understanding of a spell." Her words brought forth groans from everyone, even Victoria who looked like she had just eaten something sour.

"I know you are used to practical applications of a subject but unfortunately this subject requires a solid base on the theory first. If you are not an expert on how a spell works or it can be crafted I fear you may produce no results at all, or in worse cases, disasters. So, you will just have to bear with me. Please pay attention."

Once the class had quieted down, she began. "Right. So as we all know by now, to cast magic, one of course has to be a wizard and has to have a wand in his possession. But that is not all. He also must know a spell that will allow him to achieve his objective. So can someone tell me what are the basic things to know about casting a spell?"

"The caster must know the spell's objective, the incantation and the wand movement." Ellie answered.

"Correct. As time passes the wand movement can be replaced with experience. However, the other two parts of casting will always be mandatory. But you will learn more about this from your other teachers. We are here today to teach you how to create a new spell." She paused.

"The process of crafting a spell is very tedious and taxing to the mind. It requires deeper understanding of what you want from a spell, the knowledge of all spells, their functions and so on. It is mostly theory but I assure you it is like playing chess. It will give your mind a thorough beating before you reach the solution. Seen that way, it can be fun. So, how to create a spell? Simply put, first you must figure out exactly what you want from your spell and how do you want it to work. There are many spells for levitation, but each achieve their objective differently. Then you must research and find the most suited incantation for the spell, one that you feel is most appropriate. This requires knowledge of magical languages, which you will learn in this subject much later. You may have many choices here, and you must try them all. To do so, you have to meditate and gain a deeper understanding of your core, then use the incantations to see if the spell provokes your desired reaction from your core. If any works, then you have your spell. Or at least a skeleton of one to build on. If not, then back to the start. Once you have successfully created a new spell, you may use proper methods to bind the magic of that spell to a unique wand movement. That way, you allow others to cast the spell as well, without the knowledge and understanding you have. For yourself the movement is not necessary, since you already have tasted the wave of magic it comes from. Any questions? Yes?" She pointed at Harry, who had raised his hand.

"No offense, but I find this method to to be totally useless."

His comment drew many whispers and loud disagreements, but Harry paid them no mind.

"Would you care to explain why?" The teacher asked, her eyebrow raised.

"Well, firstly what is a spell? It is not a mandatory part of magic. Neither is a wand. The one and only thing a wizard needs to cast a spell is his core. The wand is but a focus to draw out the magic. A spell is nothing more than a way to tell your core what to do. Think about it. As babies you have all performed accidental magic, right? So do you think you uttered a spell back then? Nope. Did you have a wand? Probably not. Was the magic you performed something that can be replicated with spells? Perhaps, but like our teacher has said, there are many spells for levitation, but each reach the goal in different ways. What you may have done back then might have accomplished a simple thing, but how you did so could be unique. So what really matters? The surge you feel from your core each and every time you cast a spell. If you focus and reach out to your core then you can produce the same effects as a spell, without a wand or the incantation. So my opinion in creating a spell is, one must first know his demand or objective, then reach in to his core and try to produce the result he wants. Then you may find any incantation you like. Same with the wand movements. Because if the incantation or wand movement was so important then one could say Reducto and with the proper wand movement produce the perfect effect from the very first time. Forget yelling words at the top of your lungs people, and focus on your core."

As Harry finished, he noticed the class had gone silent. Professor Wills stared at him for another moment and started a gentle clapping. The whole class joined in a moment later.

[…]

"Was I wrong?" She asked herself.

Hermione Granger was sitting upright on her bed with her wand dimly lit. She had an advanced potions book in her hands, already halfway read through. She could focus no more, as her mind was trailing away to the thoughts of her ex-best friend.

Harry Potter.

If she was to be honest with herself, then Harry Potter was an enigma to her. Sure she had read all about his life history, even the outrageous story of his defeating a dragon to celebrate his eighth birthday. But it was all a lie, wasn't it? Instead of a buffed up and powerful prince like she expected, the Harry Potter she found was a frail child, who looked every bit like he had a bad life.

But that never made him weak. Harry never showed weakness. He was weak magically it seemed, but that never stopped him. He went on become the youngest seeker ever, and he was damned good at it. He always seemed like he was not so intelligent, but his mind was surprisingly sharp and practical, unlike hers. What he could not solve with magic, he solved with his cunning and bravery. And she knew he read books like they were air to breathe, just never in public. And he was selfless. He risked his life to save hers and Ginny's.

All in all, Harry was the best person to count on in times of trouble. He was a great boy and friend too. He could cheer her up like no other. She even had begun to suspect she might have crushed a bit on him.

"So why did I think he was behind the Basilisk?" She asked herself.

One fault of Harry's, if she could even call it a fault, was that he brooded. A lot. There was enough reason for it, but it separated him from others. She could barely remember any details he had told her about his life, where she had opened up about everything. So whenever he felt bad, he'd just disappear. She just gave up trying to find him at those times. This time it was different.

Harry could speak Parseltongue. That was her first clue. His increase in disappearance, lack of sleep, being more secretive had started to make her feel a bit uneasy. Then came the "Heir of Slytherin". She tried to weather it, but it was becoming a bit too much. So she started avoiding contact with him. But he was still her friend. She kept faith.

Until she became petrified.

It hit her like a tidal wave. It was the fear. She was too scared to think clearly. And it was encouraged by the way the rest of the school acted. Maybe she had judged Harry wrong and he was really evil, she had thought.

She felt tears cloud her vision. Ginny's voice rang on her ears. "Harry is no Mr. Perfect, but he is a friend who can be relied on. No matter what, he would always come forward and go beyond his limits to save a friend. I believe in him, absolutely. And I will believe in him forever."

"Sorry won't cover this, will it Harry?" She choked out through her cries.

A muffled boom came from the boys' dorm.

[…]

"Way to go Ace. You just had to go and take away our last chance at glory." Ellie joked.

"Hey, I just said what I used to make a new spell, nothing more." Harry replied, a little thoughtful.

"You created a new spell?" Both girls asked in unison, completely halting.

"Sure." Harry said, still immersed in his thoughts, he walked away to class. The girls gaped at his casual reply, and then shook their heads. It was like him to do something awesome and not brag.

"Hey Ellie?"

"Yeah?"

"Why do you keep calling me Harry? I know I slipped up in front of you guys, but I don't others to know who I am. Not even my first name."

"Harry. Let me make this clear to you." Ellie stopped and looked at his eyes. "You're a lousy liar."

"Huh?" Harry asked, confused.

"Ajax, really? That's a minor Greek god's name. And not one I'd use to name a child. Plus, you do not even respond to that name. Only when we call you Harry or Ace do you respond. We've tried, trust me. So don't you think that you're laying it on a bit too thick?" She asked.

"Plus, the best lie told is one that has a bit of truth in it. Just say you're Harry and the godson of our Headmistress. Trust me, no one will go snooping around after that." Victoria joined in.

"Alright." Harry conceded. "You have a point."

"Besides," Ellie gave him a mischievous smirk. "You don't think we don't know who you are? Well, we've seen that scar of yours. You hide it well, but it just slips away sometimes." Harry gaped at her. "Don't worry, we won't tell. Let's go, we are getting late." She walked away, Victoria giggling behind her.

[…]

Albus Dumbledore rubbed his temple in frustration. His weapon against Voldemort missing, his funding gone, his support diminishing. And now Sirius Black had to turn up.

Just half an hour ago, a few portraits alerted him that there had been an incident at the Gryffindor boys' dorm. Then Professor Lupin rushed in, pale as a ghost. He had managed to get the man to calm down, but the story he was told unnerved him a bit as well. Apparently Sirius Black had just walked in there, grabbed Ronald Weasley's pet rat, who happened to be Pettigrew in his animagus form, and murdered him in cold blood. The Professor also had a memory vial with him, something he found over the man's dead body.

The memory held damning proof that Pettigrew was the one who turned traitor. After seeing this new evidence, he knew for certain that his suspicions were correct. Sirius Black was innocent.

But he could not allow this to go on. Sirius Black couldn't be allowed freedom. He would lose the last bit of bargaining chip that he held over Harry. So he immediately locked away the memories of the distraught Professor and him on his way. He had already discreetly ordered house elves to clean mess up and place Pettigrew's dead body in the Chamber of Secrets. He would preserve the dead body as a backup.

"But I can't let an innocent man be on the run either." He thought. But what could be done to help? He thought and thought, his brows furrowed. Then an idea hit upon him.

"I will send him to America. There the wizarding community is not so harsh, and cares little about what a man's identity is. I can wipe out all traces and memories of how he reached there. He'll be safe there, so long as he does not try to come here."

And he could easily say that the Ronald boy had tried to practice a spell and it backfired. It looked Black had already removed any memory of being there, and he did a clean job. He'd keep it that way.

"Nothing can be allowed to go wrong." He told himself.

Unfortunately, just as he got up to store the memory vial in his hand, he dropped it. The vial smashed to bits, the silvery contents of it oozing away. And it all faded away.

"Oops."

[…]

Harry felt wary. His last class of the day was Combat Magic. But this time, the other course tutor Professor Fredrick was going to take it. Since this was his first class for both fourth and fifth year, he decided it would be best if he took both together. Alex had given him a warning to keep his head down though. Because according to her, he liked to pick out the best ones in class and give them a thorough beat-down to show them where they were in the food chain. And he had already made a name for himself.

As he entered the class, he felt that all too familiar wave of magic wash over him. Her again. Harry looked at the side where the fifth years stood. She did not have her 'allure' on, but in his eyes he still looked beautiful. Her eyes fell upon him. He gave her a nod then looked away.

"Alright class!" Boomed the jolly voice of the Professor as he entered. "Today is the demonstration class, and I'm supposed give you guys an overview of what we are to do in this course. Of course, I'm pretty sure that our Headmistress has already done a marvelous job of that. She is better at it than I am anyways. But, since this demonstration, we will not jump into lessons. Instead, I think it would be splendid idea to pair some of you guys up and see you duel each other. That way you get to show me what you have learned so far. So why don't you and…..you over there, start the first one?" He pointed at two students, who shrugged and then walked up to the dueling arena.

For the next forty-five minutes, Harry watched as the Professor paired up two students and let them have a go in the dueling area. He would criticize them and appraise them afterward, and summon up a new group. Harry let out a breath. Only fifteen minutes left. Maybe he would make it after all.

Professor Fredrick clapped loudly to garner everyone's attention. "Students, it's been very….awesome to witness you duel. There were mistakes, but obviously you are at a very high level for your age. I am proud of you all. But before we go, shouldn't we close this class with a bang?" Everybody yelled yes in excitement.

"So then, I have decided that I will fight with one of you're most promising ones to show you what I really intend to teach here. So, how about….." He tapped his chin, looking at the students. After a few seconds, his eyes lit up as he looked at Harry.

"You, over there. Harry was your name, right?"

'Damn.' Harry thought as he walked over top him. Professor Fredrick slapped him on the shoulder and said. "Well, I have to say I have heard your name quite a few times by now. I heard you even held your own against the Headmistress." Harry said nothing, waiting for the main event.

"Anyways, let's move on to the main event. Harry and I will have a fight to finish this class. Now, let's get on with it, shall we?" He went on to the duel arena, with Harry behind him cursing his luck.

Harry faced the man and studied him closely. He looked as if he had something planned in mind. The smug look on his face was a big warning sign. He sighed inward, wanting nothing more than to get it over with.

He got his confirmation as soon as he bowed. Just as he dipped his head.

"Praefringo Ossa!"

The bone breaker curse caught his left arm and shattered it to pieces. Harry gritted his teeth, but made no sound.

"This is the first thing you remember in a fight. There are no rules, no formalities. I could have thrown an= killing curse for all you know..argh!" He yelled as Harry's own silent bone breaking curse hit his left arm.

"Arm for an arm" Said Harry as he threw a reducto aimed at his opponent's feet. He dodged at the last second.

What followed was a fight that no one would ever forget. If Professor Fredrick attacked, Harry dodged or shielded. Harry would strike back immediately, and the Professor would shield or duck. The barrage of spells often canceled out each other as they met head on. The curses were silent and in Harry's case, there was no wand movement.

Bone Breakers, Burners, Ice Spikes, Electric Shocks, Bombarding Curse, Harry was throwing it all. Yet he was careful not to use his full potential. His opponent on the other hand was profusely sweating. He seemed to be very tired. He was holding a very impressive Aegis Fortis shield that stopped Harry's previous barrage. However, as he shielded himself against the man's, he heard a word he would hate forever.

"Crucio."

The curse hit him square on the chest, burning his nerve endings with pain. He fell to the floor on his knees in agony like a dead weight. He could barely retain his senses. He heard the man walk towards him.

"Get up."

Harry grit his teeth and gave no answer.

"Get up. Or did your mom raise you to be a chicken?" He taunted.

Every nerve on Harry's body felt like they were set on fire all over again. But this time, it was in rage.

Not thinking straight anymore, Harry apparated. He arrived in front of the man, delivering a solid roundhouse to his stomach. He apparated again, and this time behind. He punched the man's back with all the strength he had, his injury forgotten. He heard the sweet sickening crunch of bones from his back as he apparated once more in front of him. Lightning started to swirl around his skin as it sparked and cackled. Harry lashed out with all his might, this time he aimed for the wand hand.

The man screamed and writhed in agony, but Harry kept on. His rage for insulting his mother never let him to stop. Then he heard a lightning going off in a close distance.

The world went black.

A.N. Alright, I want to mention three things here.

1. My updates are going to be super slow. Sorry, but It always feels like I'm playing hide and seek with my life and every five minute break I take I either spend on thinking or writing. And I also have a bad habit of erasing the entire thing and starting all over again. So, sorry again but I really can't help it.

2. Some things in this story were mentioned but never explained. That is because I have not yet written any situations to use and explain a bit. However the little 'gaps' are gonna start filling up from this chapter. And in the case that you did not get why Dumbledore mentions Harry was raised by his aunt alone(in chapter 4 maybe) that is because of Harry's curse in chapter 2. Unless Harry shares this story, no one will remember.

3. As I have said before any comments, suggestions are welcome. Be it negative or positive, help me out by letting me know your thoughts about this story.

Enjoy!