Disclaimer: I don't own this. You know that very well.

What else do you want from me?

Chapter 1

The sound of a ringing mobile phone jerked a young man awake from his slumber. He rolled over in bed, picked up the phone and answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Dr Potter? There's something wrong with one of the patients and we need you down here immediately!"

"Give me a minute, I'll be right there!"

He jumped up from his bed, washed up, and changed into his shirt, tie and pants. He grabbed his briefcase and within fifteen minutes, he was in his car, on the way to the hospital.

The young man in question was no other than Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, and hero to the wizarding world. But to the muggles, he was simply a doctor and a very good one indeed. Nine years ago, he had defeated Lord Voldemort in a battle at Hogwarts. Many were killed. Even more were injured.

Flashback

Harry stood in the middle of the Hogwarts grounds. He was surrounded with the dead. He recognized many of them. Colin, Parvati, Justin, Ernie, Susan – all of them were dead. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around. "Come on inside, Harry," said Dumbledore. Harry shrugged and allowed himself to be led into the Great Hall, where those still alive had gathered.

"Join me, Harry Potter, or die. Choose." Lord Voldemort hissed, his red eyes burning madly. "I will never join you, Tom," Harry said defiantly. He was afraid, very afraid, but still, his voice was steady. "Then so be it. Farewell, my dear nemesis." Voldemort smirked. He raised his wand and shouted, "Avada Kedavra!"

Harry took a deep breath and raised his hand. The sight of Cedric lying on the ground, the sight of Sirius falling through the veil, the sight of his friends dying flickered in his mind. He poured every single inch of his concentration, his will, and his power into the thought of killing Voldemort and ending it all. A jet of light shot out from his palm and absorbed his enemy's killing curse to form a white glowing ball, tinged with red. This fiery globe rushed towards Voldemort and hit him squarely on the chest.

Tom Riddle was flung to the ground by the impact and he lay there, dead.

Harry was overcome with a strange emotion. Now that he had killed Voldemort, everything was over. That was his sole purpose of existence, after all. He was nothing more than a pawn in Dumbledore's chess set, nothing more than a tool to the wizarding world. Of course, he would be worshipped and idolized and thought of as a hero, but in the end, he would simply be set aside and forgotten, like a pair of rusty garden shears. He shrugged. Perhaps that was life, he thought.

*

"Well, Harry, now that the NEWTS are over, I suppose you would want to carve out a career as an Auror and go for Auror training?" Professor Dumbledore said, his cerulean eyes twinkling.

"As a matter of fact, Professor, I have decided to leave the wizarding world." the young man replied calmly.

"Why, Harry? Now that you have defeated Voldemort, I am sure that you would be able to live in peace here. Why leave?" Dumbledore said, surprised.

"Exactly. I have defeated Voldemort. I have fulfilled the prophecy and I would be of no more use to the wizarding world. What's the point of staying? I'd be better off with the Muggles. I don't have to live with the Dursleys anymore. I want some time alone, sir, away from everyone else." Harry said.

Dumbledore sighed. "It is not only about defeating Voldemort, Harry. What about your friends? The Weasleys? Hagrid? Ms Granger? There are so many people who care for you. Would you be willing to leave them behind?"

"They can come to visit me if they want to. It's not as if I am cutting off all contact with them."

"Well, Harry, if you feel that you would be happier in the Muggle world, then I suppose I cannot stop you. Do you consider your choice, though. Do not make a rash decision."

"Of course, Professor,"

Harry resisted the overwhelming impulse to snort. Since when had Dumbledore cared about his happiness? Before Voldemort died, that manipulative old ass had been bent on making Harry defeat him. Now that Tom Riddle was gone, he probably didn't give a hoot about whether or not Harry died.

*

Harry glanced at Ron and Hermione and coughed slightly. The two were seated on a sofa, locked in a tight embrace. They broke apart immediately and blushed furiously. Ever since sixth year, they had been going out together. Harry's relationship with them had dwindled somehow when they began dating. Not because he was jealous of their happiness, but because he felt like a third wheel. Besides, without the two of them, he was free to do whatever he liked without them prying and poking into his business. He was free to develop his wandless magic on his own without Hermione asking questions. He was free to develop his magical powers without Ron slowing him down.

"Ron, Hermione, can I have a word with you all?" he asked.

"Sure. What's up, mate?" Ron asked, still blushing.

"Remember you were asking me what I would be doing after Hogwarts, and I told you I didn't know yet?"

Hermione nodded.

"Well, I'll be leaving for the muggle world?"

"Why??"

Two voices shouted simultaneously.

I doubt if they even care, they're so wrapped up with each other.

"I feel that I'll be happier there."

"What are you going to do in the muggle world? You don't belong there, Harry! You can't go! You belong to us!" Ron shouted in outrage.

"I belong to nobody but myself. I'll probably go study in a muggle university, and get a job or something."

Who said I belong to them?

"You can't go to a muggle university, Harry! You've never even studied muggle subjects before! You're not smart enough!" Hermione protested.

"For Pete's sake, Hermione, I don't have to be a know-it-all like you to get into university!"

Who said I don't have the brains?

Hermione looked away, hurt.

"Sorry, 'Mione, didn't mean that." Harry said lazily. "But anyway, it's my choice. Goodnight!" he got up, and sauntered towards the dormitory.

"What the hell is his bloody problem?" Ron shouted shrilly, his face going as red as his hair.

End Flashback

The very next day after his graduation from Hogwarts, Harry walked to Gringotts and removed all his money from his vault. He converted them to muggle currency. Then he walked out of the Leaky Cauldron and left the wizarding world for good.

With his money, he rented a small unit in an apartment at London and entered a local college. Within a year, he learnt all that he could and took the entrance exam to London's top university. After being accepted, he studied medicine and at the age of twenty six, he became a full-fledged doctor at a hospital. Once in a while, Ron and Hermione, who married two years after Hogwarts, would drop by to pay him a visit, but other than that, he was alone. Harry liked his lifestyle, though. Being a doctor could be very stressful and demanding, and he led a very busy life, but he was happy. He developed a close relationship with his colleagues, patients, and even with his neighbour, the old crone who lived next door.

Harry hadn't changed much ever since he left the wizarding world, except for the fact that had traded his spectacles for contact lenses, and that his hair was now rather spiky. All in all, he was a rather fetching young man.

*

Harry walked into a cafeteria, bought his lunch and sat down on one of the tables to eat.

"May I sit here?" someone asked.

He looked up and saw his superior, Dr Kenneth Williams. "Sure," he said.

"You look tired, boy. Feeling well?" Dr Williams asked.

"Yeah. It's been a grueling morning, that's all." Dr Williams was a kindly man who had been Harry's mentor throughout the time when he was still new to the hospital, and until this day, Harry still turned to him for advice once in a while.

The two men chatted as they ate their lunch. "By the way, Vanessa asked if you'd like to come over for dinner tonight," Dr Williams said. "Sure, I think I'll be free then. Thanks."

Vanessa was Dr Williams' wife, a plump woman who was obsessed with feeding Harry up. The childless couple often invited him over for meals. In some way, Mrs Williams reminded him of Mrs Weasley.

"I've got to get back to my patients. See you tonight!" Harry said and picked up his tray. Dr Williams smiled and nodded. He had come to regard Harry as both a protégé and a son.

*

"And how are you feeling today Mrs Bartley?" Harry said cheerfully. He absolutely enjoyed working with people. That was the main reason he became a doctor. "Better than yesterday, Doc," the old woman said. "Good, good. Now lie still." Harry gave him thorough check-up and nodded with satisfaction.

"When will she be discharged, Dr Potter?" Mrs Bartley's daughter asked anxiously. "Don't worry, ma'am, she will be up and about within three days."

"Maggie?" Harry turned to his nurse. "Her fever has subsided, but monitor her temperature and give her pills for one more day, just to make sure that it doesn't come back," The nurse nodded. "Goodbye, ma'am, I'll check on your mother again later," and with that, Harry left for his next patient.

At the end of the day, Harry packed up his clinic and went to Dr Williams' house for dinner. He had a good time with the couple and went home in high spirits. When he arrived, he saw Dumbledore waiting at his doorstep together with two heavily cloaked and hooded people.

"Hello, Headmaster," Harry said, surprised. Dumbledore rarely visited. He opened the door and showed them into his flat. He eyed the two cloaked people with suspicion.

"Good evening, Harry, I trust you've been well?" Dumbledore said. Harry nodded and said dryly, "I suppose this isn't merely a courtesy visit, Professor?" Dumbledore chuckled. The boy knew him too well.

"Well, Harry, it is time I let you know about something I have always kept secret from you," The emerald-eyed young man sighed. What the bloody hell has he kept from me this time? Some ancient secret? "Very well, Professor. Do begin." he said resignedly.

"Harry, meet Lily and James Potter." The two shrouded people pulled down their hoods to reveal a flaming haired woman and a man with messy, jet black hair.

Harry kept his face emotionless. "Would you care to explain, Headmaster?"

"Very well Harry. However, I ask you to allow me to finish my story without interrupting." Harry nodded and Dumbledore said, "As you have known, during the time of your birth, Voldemort had risen steadily and was becoming more and more powerful. Your parents, who were powerful aurors and members of the Order of the Phoenix, happened to be on the top of his lists of targets. Tom Riddle tried to turn them to the Dark side, but naturally, they refused, and he threatened to kill them. I told Lily and James to flee to some place safer and leave you behind so that you can fulfill the prophecy. And now that Voldemort is dead and gone, I think it's the perfect time for you all to get to know each other. Well, Harry, what do you think?" Dumbledore said brightly, sounding extremely proud of himself.

Harry inhaled and exhaled deeply, trying, without much success, to stay calm. He rested his forehead on his palm and said in a quiet, dangerous voice, "So all this time when you told me that Voldemort killed my parents and that it was my mother's love which saved me, you were lying?"

"I am sorry, Harry, I could not afford to let Voldemort know about your parents. I am sorry I lied." Dumbledore said sadly.

Lily surveyed her son as Dumbledore spoke. He had inherited his father's height and her vivid green eyes. His spiky, jet-black hair enhanced his well-chiseled face. He was an attractive man, indeed. She wondered if he was attached. After all, he was already twenty-six. This, was her son, her baby boy, her little pride who had defeated the dark lord.

"I can't believe that my parents," he spat vehemently, "are nothing more than cowards. I always thought that you two were heroes who died fighting the dark lord and protecting me, but I guess I was mistaken." He pointed at the two of them and hissed, "You left me to grow up with the Dursleys, in pain and hunger. Did you know that I slept in a cupboard for the first ten years of my life? I don't think so. You left Sirius to suffer in Azkaban for a crime he did not commit. Did you know that you denied him of his freedom for years? I don't think so. You left Remus to struggle with his lycanthropy by himself. You left all of us alone, so that you could build a happy little home in goodness-knows-where, away from all of us. I'm disgusted!"

Lily paled. Every single word her son had said was true. But how was she to know that he would be left to grow up with the Dursleys? She had always thought that Harry was living a contented life, together with Sirius and Remus.

James listened to his son's cutting words, his own temper rising. "Enough!" he shouted. "Did you know how much we sacrificed ourselves to leave you behind?"

"You sacrificed yourselves to sacrifice me to the dark lord. How ironical." Harry said sardonically. Then he turned to Dumbledore.

"Professor, you have kept too many secrets from me and lied to me too many times. I have no wish to see you all anymore. The door is there, kindly use it." Harry said coldly.

"Goodbye for now, then, Harry," Dumbledore said.

"Please, leave quickly." he said, holding the door. James noticed that his son gripped the doorknob so tightly that his knuckles showed. A cold, emotionless mask had fallen over Harry's face.

We'll come back  soon. James thought.

Harry shut the door behind him, walked into his room and lay on his bed.

Honestly, do they expect me to fall into their arms, give them a bear hug and say "Welcome home, Daddy and Mommy dear!"?

Author's Note: Well, that's the first chapter to this fanfic. I hope you all like it. If you do, then I'll post the next chapter. Please review. No flames, though. Cheers.