Author's Note: I do not own Harry Potter

Harry woke to the clean, white walls of a quiet Hospital Wing. His head swam with pain, even the greatest headache he had could not compare. His body felt heavy as he attempted to understand what was happening.

"Ah, Harry my boy, I appear to have arrived at the most opportune time it seems."

The voice beheld a calming tone, and Harry recognised it easily as Professor Dumbledore's. He just had to take in the garish robes and long white beard to finish the combination to know it was the Headmaster.

"Professor," he said hoarsely.

"Here Harry." Dumbledore gently tilted Harry's head to allow for the small glass of water to be sipped. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions."

Harry closed his eyes; there was curiosity, but the most senior problem came first. "Sir, am I in trouble? It was Malfoy, and some other Slytherin's." His already quiet voice became smaller. "They forced me in there. I was so scared sir. I don't know how I made it."

"Those who acted against you have been punished, however," the man looked his age as he sighed tiredly. "There was not enough... evidence," he said the word distastefully through grit teeth, "To warrant a full punishment. I'm sorry Harry, I truly am. There is too much intrigue around this for me to get into too much detail, but I believe you, Harry. So no, you are not in trouble. Even if I were to be of the mind to do so, I daresay that you have suffered enough."

"I understand Professor." He was silent as he tried to process it. It paid to have high connections it seemed. "What was that sir? I was just thrown into it all and..." he tried to continue, but the traumatic events he had endured became too much.

Dumbledore hesitated briefly. He sat as close to Harry as he could, placing a hand upon his shoulder, wincing as Harry flinched.

"Voldemort. He was so dark. It was as though I was looking at death. I... I was so scared sir." He looked so lost that Dumbledore felt the weight of all his sins begin to crush him. "Why was I sent there sir?" He looked the man dead in the eye, hands scrunching up the bedsheets, in an emotion Dumbledore feared to ask.

"It was a gauntlet, Harry, to stop someone like Voldemort from getting to the Philosopher's Stone."

"Quirrell kept saying that. I don't know what it is."

"It's a powerful object, Harry. If used by the wrong person, it could have very well brought Voldemort back to life. Or, well, back from the spirit he had become." Dumbledore smiled wearily down at Harry. "I am so sorry my boy. I wanted your time here to be one that you would love, for that is what happened down in that chamber. It was love. Love protected you on that terrible night, and it halted Voldemort's touch."

"I don't think I know what that is sir." He looked away distantly.

"You do Harry. Your parents loved you very much. So much so that they gave their own lives for your own. And if you look at your friends. Mr Longbottom, Miss Dunbar. And Miss Bell. All of them, they all love you Harry. I can guarantee you, that it was their love that kept you going, was it not?"

Harry cocked his head. "You haven't answered my question sir."

"I have not." The silence was deafening. This did not look like the powerful wizard who had ended the reign of terror of Grindelwald. This was not the man who was apparently the only one that Voldemort ever feared. This man was simply... tired.

"The protection placed upon you by your mother forced me to place you with your only living blood relative. That person was your Aunt. I only thought to protect you from harm coming from the outside. We are short-sighted beings, those of us with magic, Harry. I did not think to look inward to those that would hurt."

Harry had spent years hating his parents, to his shame. Why did they have to die and leave him in a living hell? Why could he not have gone with them? He did not know how exactly to feel about this man who was the cause of so much suffering, other than pity. "Did you know what they did to me?" The whisper was too loud.

"No. No, I did not. By the time you arrived at Hogwarts, Hagrid had already told me, but I still had to see for myself. I know you may never forgive me for what I have done to you, but please, believe me, I only wanted you to live free of the fear that would come from the life outside Privet Drive.

"There are dark things out there Harry, and Voldemort is the most foul. He has made your life unbearable, I know this, but the pain he would bring... Forgive me, Harry. I truly only wished for your health and happiness."

He could not find it in him to hate him. He was within his right to, but there was no energy there. The man was lauded as a beacon in dark times, but so was he. Harry Potter is not what the public imagined him to be, a perfect example of wizarding's finest, so why should Dumbledore. Harry understood then, that Albus Dumbledore was just a man trying to do his best in a broken world. And Harry recognised that. "I forgive you sir. I can't forget what happened to me. I never can. But I can't hate you for it, even if I wanted to."

"I am sorry as well my boy that you must return there."

"I thought as much sir."

"The protective wards last only need charging up until your birthday, however, the magic of elsewhere is strong enough to help the wards survive until you reach the safety of Hogwarts. Therefore, I do believe that one of your many friends may be able to help you out."

Harry grinned at the wink sent his way. A sharp pain came from his left hand, his right coming over to it hastily.

"Sir," he gritted, "My hand."

Dumbledore frowned as he leaned over to take the hand in his own.

"Harry my boy. I'm afraid that something happened while you were down there..."

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The first person who came to see him, aside from the illustrious Headmaster himself, was none other than Katie Bell. Harry was in the midst of another depressive episode when he heard the hurried sound of rushed steps heading toward him.

He looked up in time to see the doors to the room burst open, and a black and red blur shoot directly into him. He gasped as the air was squeezed out of his lungs, and realised that his friend was practically crushing his ribs in the vice grip as she held on.

Katie had been more than worried about her little friend. When she had heard what those little rats had done to her Harry, almost all of the whole of Gryffindor House had to work shifts to restrain her from descending to the dungeons. To say that she was angry would be like calling Hagrid short. No one had ever seen her even say a truly bad thing about anyone and always attempted to play peacemaker whenever an issue arose.

Something switched when she heard that the actions of a few almost got her friend killed.

Her tears soaked the hospital clothing that Harry wore, his hand reaching up to hesitantly stroke the top of Katie's head.

"I thought I'd lost you."

"I'm still here Katie."

She pulled back slowly, and Harry reddened under her intense gaze. It looked as if she was trying to burn what he looked like into her memory.

"The others have been worried sick about... I've been worried sick. You have no idea..." She brought her hand up to caress his cheek softly. "You have no idea how happy I am that you're okay Harry."

She half lay on the bed, her feet kicking in a slow tempo off the edge of the bed as she wrapped Harry in her arms. She was aware when he stiffened, his body slowly fighting the rigidity as he became subconsciously aware that she wasn't going to hurt him. She reached over to gently take his hand, stroking the burnt black, jagged scar in the centre of his palm.

"Dumbledore and Pomfrey say it's because of the dark magic down there. They said it won't ever heal, that it'll be like my other scar."

"Does it hurt?"

He shook his head. "Not right now. But my hand is numb. I can feel my fingers, but my hand..."

She could only hold him tighter as he wept. 'How much do you have to suffer Harry?'

"I don't want to go back."

She never asked what his life at home was like. She knew that he lived with muggles and that he did not like to talk about them; any question that had been asked about his home life was easily and masterfully deflected with the skill of a pro. But she knew that there was something wrong there.

"Well I'm sure I can talk to mum and dad. They'd love to have you at ours sometime." Harry always enjoyed her laugh. It felt warm. "I mean, I am always writing home about you."

Katie was still on the hospital bed clinging to Harry when Neville and Fay walked briskly into the room. Looking around briefly, the moment they saw him they rushed over.

"Mate, you're okay." Neville looked like he had not slept in days. "Everyone's been worried sick over you."

Fay looked just as bad, the bags under her eyes were dark circles, and her eyes were pink and bloodshot. "You should have seen Katie here, I think if we hadn't have stopped her she would have burned down the dungeons."

"I wasn't that bad," she complained.

Neville let out a tired snort, "I think Fay may have underplayed in, to be honest." He just stared at Harry, an unreadable look on his face as he took everything in. "No one really knows what happened down there mate. There are stories flying all over the place but everyone's got their own version.

"What went on down there? What put you," he waved without direction at the Hospital Wing in general, "here, like this?"

So Harry explained everything. He started from the beginning, with the Slytherin's cornering and making him go into the room with the Cerberus. The interaction with the Devil's Snare, the flight to get the charmed key, the chess room, the troll, the potion, and then Quirrell.

None of them interrupted him as they sat there fascinated and horrified by what their friend was forced to endure.

"I dunno what to say," Neville whispered. "I'm so sorry mate."

"That must have been so horrible," Fay continued. "Oh, Harry." She got up off one of the chairs she was sat on and ran to the other side of the bed, smothering Harry in a hug only slightly less painful that Katie's original one.

When she had pulled away, she grabbed his face in her hands and pointed it at her own, ugly tears running down her cheeks. She gently pat his face and scraped her nails softly down his face. She nodded her head as she pulled back, satisfied finally that yes, he was still there, and yes, that was still the same Harry who was her best friend.

She slid slightly out of the way, noting that Neville had deftly moved beside her without anyone noticing. It looked as though he was semi-leaning in to hug his friend too, but just nervously settled with a nod of his head and a relieved look.

"The others wanted to be here too, but Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall said that only a few of us were allowed to see you at once," Neville said. "We all agreed that Katie would be the first to see you. We kind of..."

"We called dibs," grinned Fay, causing Harry to laugh for the first time since waking up.

"What's wrong?" Katie asked, seeing the mournful smile.

"It's just what happened when Quirrell attacked me. Dumbledore didn't want to tell me, but I made him."

"What?"

He looked away, refusing to meet any of their looks. "You'll hate me."

Katie placed her finger under his chin, directing his face to look at her own. "Harry, I could never hate you." She waved her arm at Neville and Fay. "None of us would ever hate you."

"Quirrell's dead." He struggled, but he carried on, knowing that they would leave him. "He's dead because of me. I killed him."

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The final day of the year had arrived. For some, it was a relief, as it heralded an end to education for another year, or even altogether. For others, such as Harry, the end signalled the start of something undesirable.

He sat, sandwiched between Katie and Angelina, Neville and Fay directly opposite, and the rest in a protective bubble surrounding him.

After he had told them what he had done to Quirrell, they had clustered closer to him, trying hard to comprehend how much more the boy had to endure in his already short life. He had been prepared for shouting and disgust, yet instead received looks of worry and acts of care.

When Flitwick and McGonagall had arrived, they were unanimous in their support and awe of his skills of survival.

"Mr Potter, 50 points apiece is no such reward. The fact that you made it through, only coming to harm with that... ugly business at the end."

The two of them had been profuse with their sentiments, causing Fay to snicker behind her hand at seeing their Transfiguration professor so flustered. When Madam Pomfrey came out of her office, noting the collection of people by her patient, she demanded that they left Harry to rest. However, the two elders pulled some strings to allow for Katie at least to remain with him.

She spent the next night in a bed next to his, refusing for a second to leave him after hearing his tale and seeing him so fragmented by what he had done. When he was finally considered well enough to return to Gryffindor Tower, she had escorted him by the hand, distracting him from the hushed whispers that followed him; it seems that the rumour mill had well worked with abandon, although the true story was only known inside his circle. The tale being told in half-truths, combined with his stay in the hospital wing as well as the beaten-down look of five certain Slytherins as well as the missing Quirrell, created a legend that seemed more fanciful than the actual truth.

As Dumbledore bid the required niceties in his farewell speech, Harry made sure to burn the sight of the Hall into his memory, focusing hard on his circle. Angelina's shoulder brushed his and Katie's hand grasped his own under the table, and he realised that he did not want to leave. He had memories now that he could be proud of.

He had friends who cared, and he knew magic, and his being demanded a greater immersion into the world he was born in. He discovered the thrill of flying and Quidditch and everything else that lay in between it all.

"I would like to congratulate, that for the first time in seven years, we see... Gryffindor as the winners of this year's House Cup." The more than half the school erupted in cheers and applause, with more than a few heads pointed at him, grins and excited whispering abound. He ducked his head shyly as he locked eyes with the Headmaster, who surreptitiously raised his goblet in a salute.

He wanted this moment to last forever, but the clammy feeling in his heart brought him back to the reality of the moment.

All too soon the feast ended, and the group made their way slowly to the train station; the three first years saying a brief farewell having to return to the express via the same way that they had arrived at the school.

"Hagrid, why do we have to take the boats back?" Harry asked faintly.

"Summin' abou' tradition Harry," he responded with a laugh.

The three of them got into the boat directly behind Hagrid's joined by an annoyed looking Ravenclaw who had most likely been unable to fit in the boat with his other friends. Harry being Harry was polite enough to him but left him well alone. Fay was next to him, and he felt her hand sit atop his own, while Neville had leaned forward to rest his own hand on his shoulder.

He basked in the rays and the soft ripples the boats made as they glided soundlessly in the water. He soaked in the air and magic of the castle and recoiled slightly as his skin brushed along that invisible force that had sent shocks into his body vanished, leaving a hollow feeling in his gut.

His body drooped into his seat, becoming more withdrawn. He accepted Hagrid's assistance to exit the boat when they finally docked at that small jetty.

Fay took his arm in her own, while Neville smiled wanly at him. He accepted the shoulder pat and half-hug from Hagrid, who started sniffling as he turned and walked away.

"Harry, guys, over here."

They turned their heads as one to see one of the Weasley twins standing by their luggage, while the other one was waving out of a window.

They made their way over to the two of them, lugging their trunks onto the train with welcome support. The group, minus Oliver who had his regular group to ride home with, shared a cabin comfortably thanks to the expansion charms on each compartment.

Harry did not listen to the whistle, nor did he notice the wheels start their movements as they screeched on the tracks. He remained fixated on the location where he knew his home lay, finding himself totally numb to any stimulus.

It was not until they went under a tunnel for the first time, did he finally take note of the hushed conversations and gentle laughter as Fred and George said something to Fay and Alicia.

"Harrikins."

"Solver of riddles."

"Defeater of beasts."

"Awful at chess."

"So awful."

"Good flyer though."

"Why I know I am dear brother."

"Not you idiot."

"At least I'm the handsome one."

Harry broke as his pealed laughs brought genuine raised lips to them all. He had seen their worry for him, but he refused to bring them down in any way over him.

"So, anyway Harrikins, we wrote our mother," began Fred.

"And she has insisted that you come to ours over the holiday."

"Damned near insisted actually."

"Really?" asked Harry, sceptical of what he was being told.

The collective nods were enough for his marginally good mood to remain as the train inched ever closer to King's Cross.

They spent the time left with each other creating as much last minute memories as they could, but even they could not stop the march of time, and several hours after they began their journey, they began to slow down to an eventual stop.

It was in silence that Harry left the train, Hedwig in her hated cage hooting at him as if trying to reassure him it would be all okay.

One by one, he saw as the students caught up with their families and saying goodbye to friends.

Oliver Wood came by to say a quick goodbye and a promise from Harry that the next year they would find the Quidditch Cup in their arms once more.

Alicia and Angelina gave him lasting hugs and swore that they would write to him, waving sadly as they were embraced by their parents and disappearing off the platform.

Fred and George said their own farewells, promising that someone would be over to Privet Drive after his birthday to bring him over to theirs. Large ear-to-ear grins placed on the two of them as they too disappeared to find their family who was apparently always running late to just about anything.

Fay too took him into an embrace, with assurances to keep in contact over the summer, nearly threatening him is she found he did not send Hedwig to her frequently. Neville shyly said goodbye, before slinking off to find his overbearing grandmother.

Each time someone had left, it was as if someone was cutting into him with a jagged knife.

"I asked my parents to meet me on the muggle side." Harry couldn't face her. This would probably be the hardest one. "Come on Harry."

They walked side by side, coming out in the gap between platforms 9 and 10. Katie waved at a mousy haired man, while the woman looked near identical to what Katie would be in several years.

He stood by awkwardly as the family reunited, not exactly sure of his place.

"Mum, Dad, this is Harry."

Mrs Bell gave him a quick once over, approaching him when her brief observation was over. "Katie's told us all about you, Harry."

"It's good to finally meet you, son," said her dad.

Harry was still wary of these people that he did not know, but comprehending that they were related to Katie easily ingratiated them to him. The now quartet moved together to the exit; an area where he was told that the Dursley's were going to be waiting for him.

"Boy!"

Katie could not help but to look over distastefully at the walrus of a man growling, purple-faced, by an open car door. Her parents frowned at the interaction, putting two and two together as they concentrated on Harry's submissive response to the sight of the man and two others in the car.

Katie turned Harry towards her, staring intently at him, while he did the same to her. Neither of them knew exactly how they had become so necessary for each other, but Harry knew that the knowledge that he would be able to come back to the world he belonged in would be enough to keep him going. This was to be the thing that would be at the forefront of that.

Not a word was spoken as her arms wrapped tightly around him, his head resting on her shoulder. Then, for the first time, he reciprocated the affection directed at him. Tentatively he raised his arms, only lightly gripping her shirt, hesitant that it would be too much. But it was enough for Katie.

Harry would remain locked on the sight of his friend as the car drove off; the rage was a solid wave in the vehicle as a quiet journey took him further and further away from the light that he had basked in for so long. But now, he would shed no tears as he accepted his sentence. For there was something waiting for him when he was released.

Author's Notes

So book 1 is over – it should be a week according to my schedule for the first chapter of book 2 to come out. Then it should most likely be a chapter released weekly which would allow me to be able to keep up with a regular scheduling pattern.

This was only a small chapter, but to be honest I just wanted to get the book out of the way.

If one has been noticing, then they would notice that this chapter title is also a bit different. It's a line from 'Schism', and I think this chapter represents the split of magic and non-magic that Harry is trying to avoid, but is unfortunately unavoidable. But he still wants that schism to occur. It works in my head.

Next Chapter: Long Summer

Keep safe

KhaosOnion