AN: So it has been a while since I've updated but I want you guys and girls to know that I've been working very hard on the comming chapters, I have already written ahead for about fifteen thousand words so about three chapters. I want to know something though; Do you guys want it all in one big chapter or do you want it in parts (the chuunin exam)?

Let me know! but for now enjoy reading this long awaited game-changing-chapter.

Chapter 20; Once upon a time ; prelude to the chuunin exams

Harry was sitting at the dining table waiting for Sasuke to wake up. The sun had been the only company he had so far, the sun and of course his cup of warm milk.

This afternoon he and his team would head out to Kumo which meant that he would not see Sasuke for at least a month. And Harry was sure that Sasuke would need that month without him present to think some things over.

Harry had noticed that Sasuke had not been the same after the massacre, the lighthearted boy he had known Sasuke to be had changed into a boy that was brooding all the time. It was as if a seed of hatred or self-loathing had been planted in the boy.

Sasuke thought he could hide the fact his smiles never reached his eyes or that if he thought Harry wasn't looking the smile turned into sneer. But Harry had seen it as clear as a stupefy at night. And it was something that needed to change, for Sasuke's sake but also for his own.

"Good morning Sasuke." Harry said before looking up to see Sasuke coming down the stairs.

"Morning."

"I made breakfast for you, and a cup of warm milk with honey." He said hoping to see a sign of thankfulness, a sign of the boy Sasuke used to be, but even though Sasuke thanked him and even flashed him a small smile Harry did not feel the warmth he had hoped to recieve. The child sitting in front of Harry was as cold as stone and it scared Harry.

It scared Harry because he had seen, though it was a long time ago, someone that had embraced the same cold interior. And while that child had not been pulled into the light he would try his hardest to make sure that Sasuke did not turn out like his old nemesis.

"Sasuke, we need to talk." Harry said seriously.

Sasuke noticed the change that had just come over Harry, the childlike and playful aura around Harry, that always felt to be embracing him and almost suffocated him in kindness had turned in to something different in a heartbeat. But Sasuke could see through the façade of kindness around Harry.

Sasuke could see through the deceitful lies and half-truths of his younger brother.

Harry, in their training fights, had been going easy on him; even though he was sure he could step it up. But Harry had been keeping him weak with his promises of power and grandeur, as if practicing kata's would help him in a fight!

If he ever was to obtain his goal, the death of his two brothers, he would need more than mere ninja-academy tai-jutsu. He would need to get those same eyes, the sharingan, the Mangekyou.

"Sure." He answered his little brother. The little brother that was acting as if he was an adult most of the time, the rest of the world didn't see it but Harry was perhaps the most adult like person he knew, with weird quirks like always lighting a candle on Thursday evenings and sayings as 'bloody hell' or 'in Merlins name' though the last one he didn't say quite as often.

Harry was hailed as a genius, a once in a lifetime ninja genius. And Sasuke had to admit that his little brother perhaps had more talent in his pinky than most ninja in their whole body. And thought it pained him greatly Sasuke also had to admit that if it was not for his inner true self that he too would have believed the lies and half-truths, that he would have been manipulated by the younger Uchiha.

But his true-self protected him, made sure that he knew how to tell lies from truths.

"I want to tell a tale, and it will be up to you to decide what you think about it." Harry said to his brother as he stood up and closed the window so no one would hear him, he even went as far as to try one of the silencing seals to seal off the sound outside of the house, but all he managed to do was to seal of the kitchen area, a small success.

Sasuke nodded in response and started eating.

"In a land not that far from here where there lived wizards and dragons, people could do actual magic. There three brothers were walking on a road. The first and oldest brother was a prideful man that boasted about his achievements and physical prowess. Behind the first brother walked a second brother, the second brother walked hunching forward, his guilt and pain of the past weighing down on him. The third and youngest brother was a modest young man and gladly closed of the small line.

When the three brothers reached a cliff that looked down on a deep canyon with a wild river. You have to know that the three brothers were all very capable wizards and while most people died trying to jump to the other side the three brothers did not risk that and with their magic created an bridge that would let them and all travelers from then on reach the other side safely.

It didn't take long before the bridge was made and the three brothers reached the other side. As soon as all three had crossed the wind started to howl and before them appeared a creature cloaked in black. The three brothers instantly knew who it was that was standing there, it was Death.

Death, enraged with the three brothers for keeping many men and women from falling to their death, told the three brothers that for defeating him with their magic he would bestow upon them three gifts of their choice.

The first brother in his euphoria saw a chance to become the story of legends and demanded of Death to make him a wand more powerful than all other wands, an unbeatable wand a wand stronger than Death himself. Death turned around and from an elder tree he created the most powerful wand known to wizards.

The second brother, who up till then had wallowed in his guilt and sorrow asked for a way to bring back his lost loved ones. Death kneeled down and picked up the first stone he saw and gave it to the second brother, telling him that he only needed to ask for the person for that person to appear in front of him.

The third brother, who was quite happy with his life asked for a way to hide from death so that he could live his life the way he wanted to. Death, though he didn't like it, gave his own cloak of invisibility to the youngest brother and bid the three brothers farewell.

Sasuke had stopped eating and had been listening very intently; Harry's voice had almost been hypnotizing.

Harry paused for a moment and seemed to think something over. "Sasuke, imagine that you were one of these three brothers. Which of these gifts would you ask for?" Harry looked inquisitive but genuine so Sasuke answered truthfully.

"The wand of course." Sasuke said simply.

"Why?"

Sasuke thought for a second before answering "Well what good is a cloak which hides you from Death if you are too weak to do anything with your life? Why would you want a stone to see the dead if you can see them once you die? The smartest choice is the wand, the power it would give him would surely be the fastest way to reach his goal, in the end only power matters."

Harry sighed before he continued with a sad smile. "So you would choose power, the easiest way to get what you want out of life?"

Sasuke looked thoughtful for a second but answered without a doubt present in his voice. "Yes."

"Then let me tell you how this tale ends." Harry said taking a sip from his slowly cooling milk.

"The first brother, now master of the most powerful wand in existence went to the nearest pub and boasted about his victory over death, showed astounding feats of magic as other looked at him in envy. That night when the eldest brother went to sleep he was killed, the wand was taken from him and death, gleefully, took the first brother from that world.

The second brother who had lost his wife not too long ago used the stone that same night to summon her to him. However what appeared in front of him was a mere ghost of the woman he had loved. Unable to love his wife in life the brother killed himself deciding to love her in death. That was how death took the second brother with him.

The third and youngest brother who had become owner of the cloak of invisibility did not boast of his relic and used it only when needed. After having lived a long and love filled life the youngest brother took off his cloak, gave it to his son and greeted Death as an old friend."

As Harry finished the story he looked at Sasuke once more. "Three brothers, Sasuke. I'll ask you again now knowing how their life ended; What if you were one of the three, if for some reason Death could bestow you anything you ever wanted. What would you chose?"

"I would still choose the wand… I just would not be stupid enough to show it off to anyone." Sasuke said undignified before he started eating again,

The sad smile Harry had worn earlier was still present on his face. Standing up, Harry walked over to Sasuke and looked up to him. Green eyes seemed to penetrate Sasuke's soul. "I'm not blind Sasuke." Sasuke looked with a riddled face at Harry.

"I know that."

"I remember seeing in you the brightest and most kindhearted brother I could wish for. But now…" At this Harry placed his hand on Sasuke's chest while looking him in the eye. "It is like you are being consumed from the inside out. As if…"

"Shut up!" Sasuke suddenly yelled as he pushed Harry away and something inside of Sasuke snapped. "Don't act like this! As if you know everything!" Anger was radiating from Sasuke's face.

"Sasuke, don't shut me out. I have lost them too, and it hurts." Harry said as he laid his hand over his own heart, and thought not only of Mikoto and Fugaku but also of all his friends and family he had lost so long ago.

"But you knew he was going to kill them! You… you! It's all your fault." Sasuke leaped forward with a raised fist while Harry just looked wide-eyed at the bigger boy's assault on him.

Yuugi was standing next to Koh and their sensei, Hatake Kakashi, who for once had actually been the first on to arrive. They had planned to meet up with each other just in front of the gate at 10 o clock in the morning. But it was half past ten right now and the Uchiha wonder was still nowhere to be seen.

"Why is that brat not here yet!" Yuugi asked angrily.

Kakashi sighed and looked at his hot-tempered student. "Perhaps he is having a hard time saying goodbye to his brother." He offered. "Besides, there is still time, there is no rush…"

"Still, it is uncharacteristic behavior coming from him; he has not been late for a single meeting since we've become genin." Koh commented dully.

"If he is not here within the hour we'll drag him out of his bed or something... For now, let's enjoy the nice weather." Kakashi said as he took out an orange book and started to read it.

Sasuke was on top of Harry now, the smaller boy looked impassively at him, and he had showed he was stronger. He was on top. He was in control!

"What now Sasuke?" Harry asked. "You're on top. You now get to make the decision; what will you do with your power?"

Inside his mind Sasuke was still raging; Harry's words infuriated him, the words he said sounded as if they were some kind of clue as if he was solving a riddle and Harry was trying to give him clues. It infuriated him so much that he actually just wanted to punch the smaller kid in his face and keep punching it until it became a bloody stomp. 'We could kill him now, he betrayed us… he betrayed our family by not saying anything.' His true-self started. 'We are in control now.'

Harry once again stared at Sasuke's eyes and Sasuke felt as if he was looking right through him, and for a moment it felt like Harry was trying to comfort him in ways Sasuke did not understand.

"Power corrupts, Sasuke. And absolute power corrupts completely. I know now you know that I knew that Itachi was going to kill some people of the clan." Sasuke's face softened at hearing that. 'He knew I knew?'

"Then why did you not tell me the truth?" Sasuke asked in righteous anger and hurt. "Why for more than a year did you act like you were just as much of a victim as I was? As if our bond meant anything?" moist was becoming apparent in Sasuke's eyes.

"There are times in our lives when we have to decide between what is right and what is easy. I chose what was easy thinking it was right. It was foolish of me, I've known that for a while now. But in my defense I can say that I'm not perfect, I don't hold all the answers, I can make mistakes." Harry looked really pained for a moment. "I am only human."

Sasuke tightened his grip on Harry's collar. While Harry just laid there, not struggling. He was just lying there and Sasuke wanted to be angry at him so badly, but to see his little brother lying there in defeat somehow destroyed all of his resolve in killing him he had not even heard his true-self objecting as he let go of Harry.

"Sasuke, I am sorry for never telling you the whole story. But I will make it up to you. I will explain as much as I can but you need to promise me that you will not tell another soul about this. Not your friends, not your teachers, no one." Harry said seriously.

"Tell me what you know and I will stay silent, but tell me the truth."

Harry looked at his bigger brother, the darkness that had been residing in Sasuke had been sealed away for now, but he had broken a promise to achieve it, but for family and friends he was willing to break more than just a promise to an old man. He was willing to move mountains if it meant that his loved ones would not have to walk through the darkness alone or at all.

"It all started…"

AN: Short; but I had to edit a lot of filler stuff that had Harry using legilimency on Sasuke, It was unneeded and just dragged it out, So I made the decision for you guys read it between the lines; let me know what you though about this chapter in a review!