Exodus

Summary: Harry is a depressed orphan. Draco is an abused teen. Hermione feels all alone. Ron is the family celebrity and a puppet. Ginny feels different and misunderstood. They're all human too…(Hints of spoilers from OoTP)

Disclaimer: HP is not mine, credit for HP goes to J.K.Rowling. As for the song 'Exodus', it's Evanescence's song. And just for the record, below this in the s, those lyrics are mine!!! =)

Shut the door, close your eyes

Cry and scream

Life's hopeless

I can't understand and you can't explain

So what's the point?

--When I (Think About Life's Point)

PROLOGUE

Exodus

My black backpack stuffed with broken dreams
Twenty bucks should get me through the week

The scenery rushed by in a blur. Harry could feel the tears filling his eyes but he blinked them away, afraid that if he let them out, he'd be showing weakness. He wasn't about to let everyone see him cry.

His heart was heavy, but he ignored the throbbing pain in his throat. He wouldn't allow himself to cry. Not again. He closed his eyes and watched as green fields and trees danced by the window. The half eaten Chocolate frog he held in his right hand was melting a bit.

But nobody understood his pain.

Never said a word of discontentment

Thought it a thousand times but now…

Draco's Prefect badge glinted in the dying sunlight. He was so glad to be getting away. Two months of torture. Again he hoped that this year's events would help him away from his problems. After all, whoever said that you shouldn't run from your problems certainly didn't have his parents.

He sat stoically in the Prefect's compartment. Other Prefects were chatting, while some others were switching patrol duty. His gaze fell on Hermione Granger, who was once again, reading. She sat next Ron Weasley, the next victim of Draco's piercing stare. He stared out the window with a look of contempt. The Prefect badge Ron had on was dull, not at all polished like Hermione's or Draco's own.

As Draco watched, he noticed that the Weasley didn't seem as happy about his job as he should have been. It should have been an honour for a Weasley to be a Prefect, but Ronald Weasley didn't look too thrilled.

That was okay. Draco wasn't too thrilled about it either.

I'm leaving home

Hermione's eyes skimmed the pages of her book. She wasn't absorbing the information in it like she usually was. Ron's distraught presence beside her was making her uncomfortable. The fact that Malfoy hadn't attacked them at all yet had her feeling jumpy with every movement he made.

She wondered how Harry was doing; probably sitting all alone in a corner of the compartment he was in with Ginny, Luna and Neville. Presently Neville would be searching for something he had forgotten to pack, and Ginny would be giggling at Luna, who would again have her Quibbler upside down and would be reading morosely, more or less aware of Ginny's staring.

Hermione let herself slip back into the memories of their past year. It wasn't hard to remember at all. She could see everything vividly, up to the point where she'd been knocked unconscious. She wished she hadn't been lying on the ground unconscious when Harry had witnessed Sirius' fall. She wished she could have been there to comfort Harry when he'd been sent back to the school.

She wished that she could have had SOMEBODY to talk to about it. It had been no help though. Summer was like summer always was. They'd gone on some fancy trip to Monaco for a week, and then her parents returned to their jobs. And she was left to 'play with her friends'. But what friends?

Here in the shadows

I'm safe, I'm free

I've got nowhere else to go

But I cannot stay where I don't belong

Ron could feel someone looking at him. He didn't bother to look up though, he could care less. The Prefect's badge he'd gotten last year hadn't been polished in months. He could care less though. It was what they expected from a Weasley. He would just do what they expected from him. He was after all, perfect Potter's best friend. He had to be well behaved and act like they wanted.

Finally, he looked up to see Malfoy scrutinizing his badge. Irked, he glared back. In truth, he didn't want to fight with Malfoy over a simple thing as looking at a badge. But as Harry's best friend, he was expected to fight with Harry's greatest rival. That meant he HAD to glare back.

Two months pass by and it's getting cold

I know I'm not lost I'm just alone

Ginny knew something was wrong with Harry, but she didn't bother to ask. After all, there was something wrong with her, and nobody asked her what was wrong. She looked at him, but he, noticing her stares, recoiled and grimly glared out the window.

The red-headed girl sighed. She was stuck in a compartment full of wackies. Luna Lovegood, more well known as "Loony Lovegood", sat across from her. She was examining a Daily Prophet with obvious distaste.

Then there was Neville "I forgot" Longbottom. He had to have the worst memory. He would forget about something even if it were right there to smack him in the face. He was so absent-minded. Ginny watched with amusement as he searched for his wand, even though he was clutching it tightly.

And last, there was Harry "The Boy Who Lived" Potter. He was such a depressed fool. He made mountains out of molehills, he put on the act of being so strong but Ginny knew that he wasn't all he made himself out to be.

She sighed. She wasn't all that others made her out to be either.

But I won't cry, I won't give up, I can't go back now

Waking up is knowing who you really are

The Ravenclaw Prefects had made their rounds, and were returning to the compartment. They nodded towards Ron and Hermione, to let them know it was their turn.

Ron stood up, and looked at Hermione. "Let's go," he said softly. There was something wrong with her too, he decided as the pair of them walked out the door into the empty corridor of the train. This year, the Prefects had chosen a middle compartment as their venue.

Hermione was itching to say something, anything, but she didn't. Ron wouldn't care about her problems. He was about as self-absorbed as Malfoy. After all, she reasoned, he was Harry's best friend. What better position was there in the whole world?

"You take that way, and I'll take this one." She pointed down the hall in one direction for Ron to go, then took course on her own.

The Weasley merely obeyed. He would be expected to. He found himself staring into his sister's compartment.

"Hullo Ron," greeted Neville. "Do you know where my wand is??"

Ron gave him a strange look. "Neville, you're holding it."

Neville's gaze traveled down to his hand. A light flush spread over his cheeks as he realized that he was indeed holding it tightly. "Well, that settles it then."

Ginny gave a testy smile to her brother. "Shouldn't you be done here then, Ronald?"

They were still on bad terms, Ron mused, after he had stumbled across her diary during the summer. He, of course, being the boy he was, had showed it to Harry. Harry, being the heroic "don't do bad things" boy, had personally marched Ron to Ginny and made him give it back. Ginny wouldn't believe that Ron hadn't read it. They'd been arguing every moment they could get.

Ron glowered at the mention of his full name. "We'll be there soon. Get into your robes."

And he slid their door close with a bang, startling Luna.

Hermione knocked on the door of the compartment next to the Prefects one. It slid open to reveal a couple of first years, who were nervously chatting about the Sorting. She plastered a smile on her face.

"We'll be arriving soon. Please get into your school robes." She announced, as though she was a tape recorder.

One of them spoke up timidly. "Do you know how we get sorted?"

Hermione forced the fake smile to grow bigger. "That's for me to know, and you to find out. It's not as horrible as everyone makes it out to be."

Seeing that she answered one question without biting their heads off, the others began a chorus of questions.

"How do you put on a robe?"

"How can you tell we'll be there soon?"

"What time is it?"

"Is there a lot of food there?"

"Which house is the best one?"

Hermione's head swam as she desperately began to answer each question. She really didn't have to, but she found it would calm her nerves to do what she did best.

Oh, show me the shadow where true meaning lies

So much more dismay in empty eyes

The train came to a halt at the station, and the students began to grab their things and pull them off the train slowly. Loud chatter began to fill the crisp night air.

Painfully, Harry looked at the Thestrals, then climbed into the carriage. Luna clambered in too, and Ginny as well. It was like the Thestrals were clearer, Harry mused sadly, as though he could see them better now that he'd seen another death…………

::end prologue::

::chapter one : breaking the habit::

Draco Malfoy's views on life…and Myrtle in the bathroom…

EXODUS EVANESCENCE

My black backpack stuffed with broken dreams
Twenty bucks should get me through the week
Never said a word of discontentment
Thought it a thousand times but now
I'm leaving home

Here in the shadows
I'm safe, I'm free
I've nowhere else to go
but I cannot stay where I don't belong

Two months pass by and it's getting cold
I know I'm not lost I'm just alone
But I won't cry, I won't give up, I can't go back now
Waking up is knowing who you really are

Here in the shadows
I'm safe, I'm free
I've nowhere else to go
but I cannot stay where I don't belong

In the shadows
I'm safe, I'm free
I've nowhere else to go
but I cannot stay here

Oh, show me the shadow where true meaning lies
So much more dismay in empty eyes.

Author's End notes:

Wow that was preeeeeeeeetty long. NOT! I had severe writer's block and couldn't finish it well. Sorry!!! BUT if you could, clicky that button there and review it! PLEASE!!! =D 5 reviews for chapter one!!!