Master of my Fate

The night that followed, Harry couldn't find sleep. He was still haunted by the look of his friends and his brain was teeming and seething with questions and ever more dreadful ideas. If Ron hadn't been asleep in the bed facing his own, he would have been pacing up and down the room. He took off his glasses and forced himself to breathe with the discipline that Salazar had taught him.

One thing at a time.

He was an Horcrux, and it was clear that the implications of this condition were broader than what Tom himself had foreseen. Whether Voldemort was aware of this or not, Harry was no more than a puppet bound to his will. This bloodcurdling discovery made him realise the threat he truly was to the Order. If Voldemort was possessing him, he was giving the Dark Lord a clear view of its headquarters. Breathless he thought about everything he had heard that he shouldn't had. Every conversation he had eavesdrop, every information he had found out over the past months.

He felt tears welling up in his eyes as what he had to do became clear in his mind. He had to leave Grimmauld Place straightaway.

Where would he go? Hogwarts? That would put the other students in danger. A leaden sensation was settling in the pit of his stomach. He had no alternative. He had to cut himself from the Wizarding World entirely. But he wouldn't stay idle. He couldn't. He was the only one who knew Voldemort's secret. His Hunt had to begin, and he would need to go on without Tom. At least for the time being.

'Are the bets on your survival open?' Asked a mocking voice in his head.

He clenched his jaw.

'I can do it…' He whispered. 'I can and I will do it!'

He put his glasses back on with determination and headed silently towards his trunk. There was only one thing he would need, hiis Invisibility Cloak. Travelling light was the first advice Tom had given him. He couldn't Apparate but there was a way for him to travel undetected by wizards. He would use the Muggle bus network. He silently casted the Quietening Charm to make his footsteps soundless and climbed down the stairs towards the main door, his Cloak under his arm. He was grabbing the doorknob of the front door when a snide voice rose from the dark.

'Running away, are we?'

Phineas Nigellus had appeared on an empty canvas near the door and was looking at him with that famous Slytherin contemptuous look.

'I thought Gryffindor folks were brave,' continued the portrait. 'But it turns out that in the end we all try to save our necks.'

'It's not my own neck I'm saving!' Retorted angrily Harry.

'Oh I see,' said Phineas Nigellus, while stroking his beard. 'This is no cowardly flight. You are being noble.'

Harry ignored the remark. He had his hand on the doorknob and better things to do.

'I have a message from Albus Dumbledore,' added casually Phineas.

Harry removed his hand from the doorknob and turned toward the portrait.

'What is it?' He asked in an irritated voice.

'"Stay where you are."'

'I am not moving!'

'No, you so silly adolescent, I just gave you the message,' said Phineas. 'Dumbledore says: "Stay where you are.'

'Dumbledore has no idea…' Started Harry,

'Ah you see,' said Phineas cutting him off. 'This is exactly why I loathed being a teacher. Young people are so infernally convinced that they are all right about everything. That they always know better. Well guess what, my poor puffed-up popinjay, if the Headmaster of Hogwarts has decided you had to stay here, it is because he must have a very good reason to do so. If he didn't want to share the details of why he has come up with this decision, maybe it is because he might have a better understanding than a young fool of what the Dark Lord may be planning.'

'So, the Dark Lord is indeed planning something about me then?'

Phineas ignored him, too focused on his silk gloves.

'You listen to me very carefully,' said Harry in a strange calm voice. Even Phineas looked back at him, suspicious about the change of tone in Harry's voice. 'I am done being a pawn in a game everyone think I am too dumb to understand. I am done being a threat to the people I love. I am done having to go through the years with people of my kind seeing me as either a murderer, a cheater or a liar. I dare Voldemort to come at me. I dare him and his stupid followers to come get me. They might succeed, they might kill me. But they won't touch my friends.'

Phineas stared at the boy a few second. He seemed on the verge of telling something but, reconsidering, he simply said:

'I do not have the time to listen to a whining and agonising adolescent… good night to you.'

Phineas then left in canvas while Harry was swearing internally. He looked at the doorknob he had been about to open and closed his eyes, calming himself down. He was about to disobey a direct order… Oh well...

He wrapped himself in his Cloak, opened the door and wandered out in the cold and dark winter night. He was going to Little Hangleton.

Harry was able to navigate the Muggle's transport network and found a coach to the West Country. The travel took all night and Harry stepped off the bus in a small village a few miles away from his destination. He set on the end of his journey, putting his Invisibility Cloak on his shoulder as it wasn't much needed now. The Sun would soon come up and people would start looking for him. Ron wasn't an early riser and Harry figured he still had a few hours before the alarm would be raised.

He had barely slept during the last twenty-four hours and promised himself than once he would be done with his task, he would take some rest. Then… He had plenty of time to think about what he would do then.

He glanced at country covered by snow. Despite the calming effect of the serene landscape, he felt a jolt go through his body. It wasn't the first time he was breaking multiple rules at once, but this once felt different. He was taking his Fate into his own hands and that was exhilarating. Before the first ray of sunrise, he saw light in the distance and recognised the church tower of Little Hangleton.