Harry felt betrayed by the people he had once called friends. Ever since his name came out of the goblet, Hermione and Ron had turned their backs on him. Like they blamed him for putting his name in the cup!

The only ones who would actually stand with him was Neville and the Terror Twins. Everyone else turned their back to him.

So in retaliation he took long walks alone. He didn't need them! Because of how alone he felt, he often found hidden spots where he could just sit and think. It amazed him how few chances he had to do that with Ron and Hermione hanging around him all the time.

It was like they were always with him, never giving him a moment to himself.

That thought jarred him. He thought back to his previous three years and realized that since he became a Gryffindor, he had never been alone. Ever.

He did not like the way that thought lead.

Dumbledore tried not to growl. He should have known better than to trust children to follow orders! The backbone of the Golden Trio had effectively ruined his planning. They were supposed to believe in Harry until he was old enough to die taking out Voldemort!

They would have lead his pawn down the dark path of sacrifice. Then he would reappear thanks to his own horcrux in his desk. He would lead the magical community to a new era of Light! Provided Harry didn't survive and take him out.

Things were not heading the way he planned at all.

It was the dream again. The one with the girl in black. The sound of the bells haunted his mind when he woke up. His only thought when he woke was at least it's not another Voldemort nightmare.

He shook his head. Today was a Hogsmeade visit, and he fully intended to loose himself.

He was out of the doors before any of the other students, hiding under his cloak. He spent the day alone, ignoring everyone else. He never realized how much he preferred to be alone.

So he walked up the long mountain path to check out a cave he had noticed last year. He had never bothered to go up here because Hermione would have convinced him not to go up. And Ron would have been too chicken to even consider it.

Harry took off the cloak and looked into the cave. It was cool, but not uncomfortably so. And it was fairly interesting.

He went in deeper. There was little chance anyone would come in and help him if he broke anything. He liked it. It was peaceful, quiet.

As he went deeper in, he noted a change in the sound. The drip, drip, drip of the water in the cave had slowly begun to stop. Instead he began to hear the sound of a small pound and the summer wind.

It confused him. It was fall outside, so why did he hear the sound of summer?

His Gryffindor side refused to back down in the presence of a mystery. But his Slytherin side demanded he exercise some caution at least. The two halves of his mind often bickered while he was in class, and he would have to silently yell at them to shut up.

As he went in deeper, he could feel a change in the temperature. Definitely summer. He could also hear a new sound. Almost like wood on wood. A spindling wheel perhaps?

Harry walked out into the light, and his eyes widened. This was the scene from his dreams.

The setting was summer, and the sky was as red as blood. There were red spider lilies growing in large patches near a medium sized pond. And beside that pond was a house he only saw in magazines about Japan. It was made of stone and wood. The roof was thatched with something he couldn't identify and the windows were made of paper.

He kept going. He had come too far to turn back at this point. Besides, he didn't feel like going back without something to say for it.

He opened the door. An antique computer stood on a small table. In the room past the open door was an elaborate kimono in black. The floor was made of tatami mats. Past the paper screen was an old woman, spinning a strange wheel. That was the source of wood on wood then. On the floor was a paper lantern. Next to the computer was a small dresser.

He went in further. On the floor were three straw dolls. Each had a single crimson thread. In another room were large pots. Something told him he had seen enough. He left the house.

He tried to ignore the feeling that the spider on the web gave him as he left.

Harry tried not to cry when he saw the damage Ron did to his trunk. Neville at least helped him clean up. Once he managed to at least semi-fix his broken trunk, he used his wand to shrink it.

He could never trust the redhead again. Maybe the twins knew of a place where he could stay? Even an abandoned classroom would be better than the atmosphere he had in his own dorm. Before he left the dorm, he turned to Ron with a cold look.

"The Hat obviously made a mistake when it sorted you. You despise Slytherins, when you are obviously a Snake in the Lion's den," said Harry straight faced. His eyes were as hard as the gems they resembled.

"Why you...!"

Ron moved to curse him. But Harry was faster. Before the red head could move, he hit Ron with a hex that would take weeks to remove, even with Hermione's help.

On bright green letters on Ron's forehead was the word Traitor.

Harry wandered around the castle under the cloak. The twins were unable to help him, even though Lee was the only other person in their dorm.

So he went looking for a place to crash. At the very least the sun would wake him up.

He found a classroom that had been abandoned ten years ago and went to open the door. But the sight that greeted him wasn't a classroom.

It was the house he had found the dolls. He heard wings behind him and saw Hedwig there. She looked a little concerned for some reason.

Hedwig landed on his shoulder as he went into the 'room'.

Ren looked up. He felt the winds of change blowing. He went to where he felt the others were.

They had felt it too. It almost felt like the Miss had returned. But the feeling wasn't exactly the same. For one thing the light felt too pure. And the feeling of vengeance was quite dim.

Still, it wasn't like they could bear to go back. The house where she lived was silent. If they went back and found it empty, it would break their hearts.

Their punishment was to suffer without her. Without the one who had saved them from the darkness. Her memories of them had been erased when she quit being the Hell Girl.

So they waited for a sign. Any sign, that she had come back.

Harry sat on the porch, enjoying the breeze. The place felt right to him, almost like he had lived here once and had only left for a brief time. There wasn't a hint of dust anywhere.

As he relaxed for the first time in days, he felt himself humming a song. He didn't know how or why he knew it, but he went with the feeling.

"No empty dreams, no eternal lament

The luster of the moon

Illuminates my soul

The dance of fiery flowers guides my way

The entangling song of errors

Bring me heartache

Placing my hand in the endless river, let it wash away

The words that tormented me, dyeing them in indigo."

Harry felt the words move past his lips and did nothing to stop them. He felt sleepy for some reason...then again it had been a long day.

Finding out the depths of Ron's betrayal, Hermione's indifference to his pain. And the near destruction of his photo album. That had been the last straw. The photos had been salvageable, but he could never trust them again.

Ron had gone too far.

He went inside, petting Hedwig goodnight before falling asleep under the mat.

Hedwig kept a silent vigil over her nestling. She had felt the change in the boy long before the dreams began. But since she felt nothing dangerous about them, she did nothing.

But this tournament...it was by far more dangerous than a soul from the past making itself known.

She lightly dozed...until she heard someone approach. That snapped her awake pretty quick.

The people who approached had an accented way of speaking English.

"Are you sure you heard singing Hone On'na?"

"Positive. Someone must be here."

"Do you think..."

"I don't know. It didn't sound that feminine, but I could be mistaken."

Three voices. Two male and one female. One sounded fairly old, and another sounded like he was barely out of his twenties. The woman sounded mature, but not too old.

Hedwig prepared to attack if they came in.

"Hold up. There's something in there," said the younger male.

The woman spoke up.

"Are you sure Ren?"

"Positive. It doesn't feel evil...but it is definitely hostile."

"What do we do now?" asked the older male.

Hedwig heard her nestling stir. The voices had woken him up! Before she could shriek at them for doing so, she saw his eyes. Instead of the emerald color that they belonged, they were a ruby red. Almost the color of blood.

"It will be fine, Hedwig. Your master will awaken before breakfast," said a voice she didn't recognize.

But...this feeling was unmistakable. It was the soul she felt intruding upon her nestling during his nightmares. Unlike the darkness that was in his scar, this person did not mean him harm. It was simply his luck that placed the soul in him.

So Hedwig calmed down. Whoever this soul was, it wouldn't hurt her nestling if it could help it.

"Huh? The presence calmed down. I think we can enter without getting attacked."

"Ren, if whatever is in there attacks, I WILL get you back," said the woman.

Hedwig heard the male chuckle. 'Harry' went to the door. As he opened it, she heard a gasp.

"Who are you?" asked the older male.

"You know who I am."

The three gasped in shock.

"Miss?" asked the younger male in hope.

Whoever this 'Miss' was, the three had been quite close to her. 'Harry' brushed his hair back, and he changed. He no longer looked like her nestling.

There in the doorway stood a young girl about his age, with long black hair and a black uniform.

She turned to face the owl. Her ruby red eyes were silent, but not completely cold.

"Hedwig," she called.

The owl saw no reason not to humor her. She was still her nestling in a way. She flew to the girl's shoulder and hooted.

"Miss, what is that?"

The girl turned to them.

"The boy's light called to me in the dark. This is his owl."

"So the presence I felt about to attack..."

"Was her. The boy has lost his only support, and she was feeling overprotective...as always," said the girl with a small smile.

"What happens now, Miss?" asked the older male.

"Now...it all begins. I cannot stay in this form without him falling asleep. Though he IS aware of my presence to a point."

"Miss...what can we do?" asked the woman.

"He needs help from someone who won't judge him. Unlike me, he has never acted up the desire for revenge. And I'm beginning to suspect he never will."

Harry woke up in the house. It didn't seem as empty as before. He couldn't explain the change. He got up and made sure the mattress was back to the way it was. He didn't question why or how he knew what he had to do.

After the week he just had, he wasn't in the mood.

When he exited the room, he stared. In the room was someone he didn't recognize.

"Who are you?" he asked finally. The man felt familiar.

"My name is Ichimoto Ren. Sorry, I mean Ren Ichimoto. I almost forgot you Westerners have the names reversed."

"It's okay. My name is Harry. Harry Potter."

When he showed no sign of recognition at the name, Harry felt a sense of relief. He hated it when people treated him different because of his curse scar.

Harry didn't know why he felt perfectly at ease with Ren, but he didn't question it. Ren asked how he got into the house, and he answered him honestly. He felt so comfortable around the strange man that he answered questions he would normally avoid.

Ren didn't change his expression once when he was told about the Dursleys, or how Harry ended up an orphan. Hedwig seemed fine around him, and that was all Harry needed. She always had his back, even when Ron and Hermione didn't.

"Seems like you've had a rough life. Why didn't you act upon your wish of revenge on them? Or on the others who wronged you?" Ren asked.

Harry was stumped by that question. He had never once thought of taking revenge.

"I suppose...it's because they weren't worth the effort. Sure I could have done something when I got my wand, but I just didn't see the point. What would revenge bring me other than more trouble?"

Ren conceded his point. From what he could tell Harry attracted trouble without trying. Bringing revenge could have brought more than he was ready to handle.

Harry went to breakfast and ignored everyone except the twins. They had kept quiet about him disappearing from the dorm. No one had thought to alert McGonagall, and the last thing he wanted was for her to get involved in this. She would only make it worse.

So he kept to himself. He never noticed the changes that had begun to take place. It had started slow at first, but people started to take notice.

Before Harry had been an almost plain boy who people would pass by without looking at him twice...if it hadn't been for his curse scar and fame.

Now...people actively avoided him, even if it was an unconscious act.

Harry now had bright, blood red highlights in his hair. His emerald green eyes had become as cold as the stones they resembled. His clothing, which had been normal for a student, was now as dark as the dungeons.

He wore a long silver chain on his left hip, and from it hung a small sword key chain. His shoes were black as night, and had no laces. Around his neck was a black choker that resembled a collar. He almost seemed like a dark wizard, except that he didn't actively attack people.

He was simply indifferent to everyone around him. Like he was silently judging them and found them unworthy.

It drove the teachers up the wall. Snape merely sneered at the change and proclaimed that the 'Potter brat' was only doing it for attention. But even he was concerned.

Harry stood before the dragon, unfazed. If he was going to get roasted or crushed, then he was prepared. He walked out and faced the dragon.

The horntail was cross. Not only had the humans dared to remove her from her nest, they had forced her into a cage and made her endure that horrible feeling! (Port Key)

When the human child approached, she was fully prepared to eat him whole.

That is, until she felt the energy coming off him. The human child was cold, almost hollow. It frightened her.

He approached her, and she shrank back. That energy terrified her up close! The closer he came, the more she shrank back. When he came to the nest, she feared for the hatchlings inside. The child took the fake one and turned away. He wanted nothing to do with her or the eggs.

She shivered, terrified. That boy was hollow inside.

Harry didn't react to the party. He let the students have their fun. Fred and George at least made him smile by hexing their brother when he attempted to mend the friendship he ruined. Even the twins knew Ron had acted too late. Hermione, when she saw what happened to Ron decided to take the smartest route and left Harry alone.

Neville congratulated Harry and gave him some butterbeer. Harry allowed him to come close, because unlike the others, Neville never once turned his back on him.

Once it was all said and done, Harry walked through the portrait hole to the hallway. Percy never saw him leave, since he was too busy trying to keep the twins in line. Hermione noticed, but she couldn't exactly follow him and not get hexed.

Ren was waiting. Harry found him soothing to talk to. Hone On'na was a nice woman. She even told him her name from when she was alive. She didn't mind him calling her Tsuyu. Wanyuudo was friendly enough.

They seemed to find him interesting. He didn't react at all when they showed him their true forms. Ren was a sword spirit. Tsuyu the soul of a dead geisha. Wanyuudo was the spirit of an abandoned wheel.

Harry never once glanced at the computer. Even though every once in a while it would start up and show a strange site. He couldn't read what it said, but his sixth sense for trouble went off whenever it came on.

"So how did it go?" asked Tsuyu.

"The dragon was terrified of me. It just shrank back when I came near."

They didn't seem surprised at this fact.

Harry leaned back on the porch and enjoyed the breeze. He felt so at home in this place. He couldn't explain why. He had noticed that the place seemed to change a bit every time he came here.

At first it appeared to be permanently set on a summer day at sunset. Now it appeared to be a spring day at sunrise. He liked coming to this peaceful place.

But he didn't think Sirius would like it as much. The place had this strange feel to it that would bother most people. The only thing about the place that bothered him was that computer and the spider web.

He had tried to get rid of it repeatedly, but the thing kept coming back. The others said nothing.