All characters and events that you recognise from the Harry Potter books belong to jk Rowling. Any others belong to me.

So when I finish halfway through a scene: I try and keep my chapters the same or a similar length, and as you will see, the scene that I ended on is fairly long. I'm never 100% sure where I'm going with chapters when I begin writing them, I just sort of play it by ear. That's why they cut off. I'm not trying to make some sort of a clever cliffhanger, I just genuinely try and end it at a suitable point. If you would rather me just not even begin the scene so I don't end part way through it, then that's what I'll do. But it will mean the chapters are shorter. Also please keep in mind that I'm still learning. I've never done anything like this before.

And I realise that a lot of the chapters have been focused on Harry recently, but remember that he is a very important part of the story. I will be flicking between Harry and James and Lily a lot more in the coming chapters, but not much is going on right now so it seems a bit pointless.

"They didn't?!"

"WHAT?!"

The students jumped, having been oblivious to the fact that their conversation was not private.

They all took a sip of their drinks, and Harry absentmindedly ran his finger over his scar - an action which was not unnoticed by James, who made a mental note to ask his son about it later.

"No it was good! Really gave us a feel for the real world. We learnt some worthwhile lessons last year." Ron attempted to reassure them, but failed, and Hermione internally rolled her eyes at him.

"That doesn't change the fact that it's barbaric!" Molly cried indignantly.

"No it was fine!" Ron began panicking slightly, and before anyone could help him out, he ploughed on through. "He only used the imperious curse on us (obviously as we're all still alive)" he laughed nervously whole no one else seemed remotely amused. Hermione was shooting him warning signals.

"But... uh... oh it was fine because it taught us how to fight it. Albeit Harry was the only one who could throw it off by the end and he did fracture his knee when he intitially fought it but.." Ron's voice trailed off at the end.

It was taking all of Hermione's strength not to whack him around the head. It was just that she knew Molly had the propensity to overreact and that she would be quite justified to flip out, even if she couldn't do anything about the past.

"That's outrageous." Lily stated plainly.

Harry, who wasn't quite as tactless as Ron but still up there, attempted to help the situation. "No really it was fine. It was actually really useful because for me it meant that I could throw it off completely in the graveyard."

The silence that followed was deafening.

It even managed to deter Ron from continuing.

Harry mentally kicked himself. The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. He knew that there would be questions to follow, questions that he most certainly didn't want to answer. Harry had been tortured in that graveyard. It was one of his worst memories ever, which is why he had only spoken of it properly once, in the presence of Sirius and Dumbledore immediately after the incident.

Harry had an innate bravery hardwired into his system, but not for this.

No one is ever truly invincible. Everyone has weaknesses and moments where their courage will falter. Harry was fortunate enough to be brave in the situations themselves, but, when they were over, his courage dissipated.

This is exactly what happened after the graveyard.

He almost shut down. He refused to speak of it. To give Ron or Hermione any indication of what had happened. All they knew was that Cedric was killed by wormtail, Voldemort was reborn, and of Priori Incantatem.

He didn't want to speak of it.

He didn't want to relive it.

And that was the first time any of them (apart from Sirius, who was still as white as a sheet nonetheless) had been given any idea of what had actually happened.

And they were scared of the thought of what Harry had faced.

After a minute that stretched into an eternity, James was the first to speak.

"You were imperioused?" He whispered, fighting back the tears.

Harry looked down at his hands.

All of his suppressed memories and emotions threatened to boil over. The sad part was that the imperious was a drop in the ocean compared to the rest.

He sighed, knowing that they would find out one way or another.

"Voldemort tried to make me bow." He said simply.

Lily's hands trembled in her lap. Her son. Her son had been subjected to events that no grown adult should have to face.

She couldn't even look at James. She knew that the second she did, neither would be able to hold back the tears, and then Harry would feel too guilty to ever share anything more.

"Harry... you need to talk to someone about what happened. You haven't told any of us" (Sirius shifted awkwardly in his seat) "I'm not saying that you should sit down and tell a crowd, but no one can truly help you if they don't know how to get you through it. And to do that, we need to know what happened." Hermione's voice was firm, but Harry didn't back down.

"You already know what happened."

"No, we know the bigger things. We know about Cedric" -Harry twitched involuntarily - "we kind of know about what happened when your wands connected, and now you have told us in literally as few words as possible that he attempted to imperious you. Harry I know you think you have to get through this alone, but you don't. You don't."

And with that, Harry stood up and walked out of the room.

He paced and paced and paced.

He needed to calm down.

A white hot flash of anger had struck him in the kitchen.

And it scared him.

The thoughts that ran through his head...

Were petrifying.

How could he even think about..?

He shook himself.

"You are not a bad person." He said aloud forcefully.

But he didn't truly believe his words.

He hadn't felt anger like that in... well ever.

Not even at the Dursley's.

He worked on subduing the lion in his chest, taking deep, restorative breaths. He realised that running away may not have been the best way to handle the situation, but his anger had overridden the argument.

He didn't want to lose control.

He didn't want to hurt anyone.

His scar prickled incessantly.

Is this what Dumbledore was talking about? He thought, is this the connection?

Harry had tried to push any idea of a connection between him and Voldemort out of his mind. The thought was too alarming to address. But he couldn't ignore it anymore.

He felt like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. How can I be the one? How am I meant to defeat him? Love doesn't help me fight. What if I unknowingly let something slip or see something that's secret and Voldemort finds out? What if I can't control my emotions or put up my shields? What if I end up hurting someone?

And with those ever consuming thoughts, he slumped into bed, numb.

Lily and James paced in the drawing room. Remus and Sirius were both in armchairs, watching them apprehensively.

"Are you two okay?" James turned and raised an eyebrow. "Of course you're not. That's was a lot of information to digest."

"Why won't he talk about it?" Lily asked, still pacing.

"Lily.. I don't think that this is a personal thing. I mean he hasn't even told Ron and Hermione! You just need to give him time." Remus said soothingly.

Lily slumped down on a chair and pinched the bridge of her nose. James stood behind her, biting his lip in thought.

"What happened to him? What did they do to him?" Lily whispered.

"Who?" Sirius asked

"The Dursley's. Dumbledore. Voldemort. Everyone. But what happened in that graveyard that is so hard for him to talk about? I understand Cedric... but why not the rest?"

"I think it's partly because he associates it all with Cedric. You've got to remember that he saw a friend die, and he couldn't do anything. He probably feels guilty for not taking the cup on his own as it is. But the second he thinks about any part of it, he thinks about Cedric." Remus looked at the young couple. He clearly hadnt done much to assuage their anxiety.

"What was all that about? Him running out?" James put his hand on Lily's shoulder protectively, and she gave him a small smile.

Sirius sighed. "I'm not sure. Pressure maybe? Just not wanting to talk about it?"

"I think he was angry." Lily stared at the floor. "His knuckles turned white and his jaw was clenched. For a moment I thought..." she trailed off, not really needing to say in order for everyone to know.

They spent a moment in silence, processing everything.

"I can't believe he hasn't told anyone." Remus admitted.

Sirius shifted in his seat subconsciously, an action not unnoticed by James.

"Padfoot? What is it you know?" His voice was calm but it was not a request for information, he needed Sirius to tell them.

"Do you know what happened in the graveyard?" Lily asked, struggling to keep her voice steady.

"I was there when he told Dumbledore everything." Sirius finally admitted.

The other three looked at him incredulously. Remus quickly and surreptitiously cast a muffling charm on the door, slightly worried as to what would happen, but none of them paid any notice to him.

"So let me get this straight." -Remus winced- "you have known all this time, and you haven't told us?"

"It's not my information to divulge. I'm not betraying Harry's trust like that. Not again."

"But we're his parents doesn't that count for anything?"

Sirius shook his head. "If Harry wanted to talk to you both about it all, then I would be more than happy to fill in any gaps. But as it happens, he doesn't want to talk about it with anyone. It's not fair for me to do that. He will tell you when he is ready."

Lily buried her face in her hands and James started pacing again.

"Guys, why don't you go to bed. Get a good nights sleep and come back ready for tomorrow. You've only got a couple of weeks with Harry until he goes back to Hogwarts. Enjoy it with him."

Lily and James looked at each other and nodded.

"I really am sorry." Sirius proclaimed.

"We know." Lily said, taking James' hand and giving them a weak smile.

When they had left, and the faint opening of a door could be heard, Remus and Sirius sighed.

"Was it bad Padfoot?" Remus whispered.

Sirius didn't answer, but that was all the confirmation that Remus needed.

After a minute of silence, Sirius finally spoke.

"Harry'll get through this, Moony."

Remus nodded.

"He always does."

Harry twitched in his sleep, scar prickling.

He felt the pain of the cruciatus curse. He saw Cedrics cold body. He heard Voldemort's laugh.

That blood-curdling cackle which haunts him, night and day.

Then he was walking down the corridor again.

Almost there.

Then he was back in the graveyard, screaming and writhing on the floor, blood trickling from his wounds.

Harry shot up in bed, the laughter still ringing in his ears.

Sunlight was just beginning to stream through the curtains, so he got up, showered and dressed in a T-Shirt and jeans.

Lily and James were in the kitchen after a restless night's sleep. They had barely said two words to each other, but they didn't need to.

They sat, fully clothed on opposite sides of the table. James was lightly drumming his fingers on the table, and Lily was clutching her mug.

Lily sighed. "We need to do something to take our minds off it. All of our minds."

James nodded, still not looking up.

"Why don't we put the enchantments up today? That way we can move into the manor before Harry goes back to school."

James looked up and gave her a faint smile. "I think that's a good idea. For everyone. We've all got a bit of cabin fever and at least there will be lots of outdoor space at the manor."

Lily nodded, a smile dancing on her lips as Harry walked in.

He stopped abruptly at the door, eyeing them warily.

"Heya Harry. We were talking about putting the enchantments up at the manor today."

He smiled and sat down next to Lily.

"Listen.. about last night." He began

James raised a hand. "You don't have to explain or justify anything. We're more than happy just to move on past it for now."

Harry sighed, relieved.

"Anyone want breakfast?"

That morning, Lily and James finished writing the list of all the enchantments.

"There's just one more we need to think about"

James furrowed his brows.

"The fidelius charm. I think one of us should do it."

He nodded. "I was thinking the same thing. You're the best with charms so it makes more sense for you to cast it on me rather than the other way round."

"You sure?"

He nodded firmly.

"Okay. Let's round some of the adults up to come cast the spells with us."

Lily, James, Remus, Sirius, Tonks and Molly (who all happened to have been at Grimmauld place at the time) stepped into Potter Manor.

Eleahia and Nortin came running up immediately, and agreed to use some of their elf magic as protection as well.

Thirty minutes later, the six adults were scattered around the farthest parts of the property, with the two elves directly in the center.

Lily set up red sparks, and they began.

A large dome formed over the property, thickened by other protective layers.

They made the manor unplottable and cast muggle repelling charms.

The elves cast a spell which meant that they would instantly hear if someone was attempting to penetrate the forces.

They set up anti apparition curses, save for all order members; they blocked off the floo network so that no one could enter without a connection being formed by Lily and James; they casted a large muffling charm which meant that they could hear clearly what was being said from the outside, but nothing would be heard from inside the property.

Finally, they all reconvened, and Lily cast the fidelius charm.

Now, they would be safe.

Lily and James walked inside, arm in arm, while Tonks was excitedly chattering away beside them.

They looked into each others bright eyes, and knew, that they would be safer this time.

That they wouldn't go down without a fight.

That they wouldn't make the same mistakes as last time.

Lily leant into James, as they walked through the front door, finally happy again.

They only hoped that Harry would be too.

Little did they know, someone had been watching.

Now, they were on the clock.

They would only be fully safe, for as long as that person could keep their mouth shut.

And who knows how long that will last?

Thank you for reading. And lol ik another cliffhanger but I cannot stress this enough: I realllly don't care. Still finding my feet with all this.

As always, leave any thoughts or comments in the reviews. :)