Living In The Shadows: A New Life And Old Memories
Remus gripped Harry's shoulder in a comforting grip before silently leading him down a path as it twisted down the side of the valley. Tall trees of all kinds, both magical and mundane, stood silent witness to the solemn procession. Each step into the forest made Harry feel lighter, as if a great weight was lifted from his soul. Memories of his past flashed through his mind before slipping away like sand through his fingers, leaving a clean base from which to build a new life, a new identity.
Flash
Lily felt guilt at her actions. She knew what she was doing. She understood what the consequences would be. She knew she should do it differently. But knowing what you should do and actually doing it were to different things. However she couldn't help herself. Her own child frightened her. How was a mother to care for her child when she was terrified of him?
He was constantly in a state of fear and depression, bordering on madness. No mother had ever had to deal with an infant whose mental state rested on a razor blade. Who were they to judge her actions? They never dealt with a child who awoke at odd hours in the night in a blind panic. They never felt the terror of being helpless before their own child as his magic lashed out in a desperate attempt to alleviate him from imagined demons of his mind.
In desperation they had searched out specialists who dealt with children's psychology. When they had been unable to find a source of their child's madness, they had broadened their search and called specialists, healers, and anyone they thought could help, from curse breakers to exorcists. None had helped and all made it worse. In a last attempt they had visited the Potter ancestral vault, were many relics of power were kept.
In spite of common knowledge, the Potter Family had not always been the heroes of the Light. It was in a book from one of these stray Potters that they found a Dark book on binding. It was from this book that Harry's eye patch and room were created. The patch utilized ancient runs to suffocate the power that they were designated to. His room was more of a cell as it had powerful wards of suppression, ones so strong that not even his voice was heard outside them.
She knew what the consequences may be; for she knew to hide a problem would only make it worse in the long run. She knew they had made a poor choice, but it was the only one she could see. That was the last night she cried for her son. It was the last night she could bring herself to care for her son.
UnFlash
As memories fell away from his conscious mind, he turned to Remus as he finally took notice of his surroundings.
'Remus, where are we? This is not your usual house.'
'Ah, well you see, this is actually the ancestral home of the Lupin's. Where we usually go is just a small cottage that I prefer to use, as it is much easier to ward smaller things as is more suited for a bachelor living alone. However, in light of current events, I thought it pertinent to move to a larger house.' Remus replied in his even voice.
'That's not quit what I ment. I had in mind the forest.'
'Yes, this is a rather unique place. You see, in the history of my family we have widely remained Natural.'
'That means what exactly?'
'It means that we have vastly believed in the ways of Nature and Balance and Choice. In Nature there is Life and Death. By sparing the doe the wolf dies. All things work as such. There cannot be Free Will without choice. If the Dark won, all would be Death and Free Will gone. If the Light were to suffocate the Dark, all would be Life and once again Free Will has gone. You cannot take the good without the bad. All Life needs Balance. For what is the Balance of Life, but Death?'
Flash
Seven year old Harry and Will were walking through the gardens of the Potter mansion. Nearing a piece of Griffin statuary, they heard a frightened squeak. Looking towards the base of the statue they spotted a small mouse being cornered by a garden snake.
'Harry! We have to save the mouse before the snake eats it.' Whined a concerned Will.
'Why?'
'Cause it will die if we don't.'
'But what about the snake, what if it's hungry?'
'But Daddy said that snakes are evil.' Will whined once again.
'Maybe not all snakes are bad though.'
'No! Daddy said all snakes are evil!'
And before Harry could react, Will had picked up a rock and threw it at the snakes head. The garden snake died almost instantly.
As a tear slipped down his face Harry darted forward and ran off with the snake's body. Some way down the path he walked off a ways and made a small hole in the soft dirt. As he placed a rock over the spot, he silently vowed to never take an unnecessary life.
'Those of the Light often create the Dark in their fear of the unknown. My family has strived to create that concept in our forest. A place that is Nature's rule.'
The trek continued in quite as they drank in the fierce beauty of the timeless forest. They slowly neared a structure, for it could not be called anything else. It appeared as though Nature itself had come together to make this structure of sorts. You could not distinguish between where the structure ended and nature began. No, not a structure, a home, his home. With a burst of magic the two walked into Harry's home. For the first time he truly felt home.
In their wake a black piece of cloth lay on the ground, glowing runes fading.
A/N: I'm back. I happen to have a very good excuse by the way. No wait reason, yes a reason. Any ways I didn't want to be the cliché Potters are the Dursleys. Also I had my wisdom teeth pulled, then, when I was starting to feel better I had a bad reaction to the amoxicillin I was taking and missed even more school. All of this being right before Mid-Terms. I hope to update next weekend. See you then.