Down And Out:

When the Hogwarts express began to move, Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley jumped up.

'We need to find Harry, if he's not here, then we have to find a way to tell Professor Dumbledore,' Hermione said urgently.

'I'll take Ginny with me, you take Neville. We check every compartment,' Ron said then grabbed his sister's hand dragging her off towards one end of the train. Hermione and Neville held hands as they went to the other end of the train.

During the staff meeting at Hogwarts, the talk was mainly around keeping the students safe now Voldemort had return.

A patronus bear appeared before them, "Harry Potter is missing, he was not on the train. His friends searched everywhere," the voice faded then the patronus disappeared.

'I will get Alastor to go to Surrey. Severus, check in, make sure he did not find a way to get Harry. Minerva check with Arabella, ask her if she saw Harry at all during the holidays.'

Alastor Moody limped towards number four Privet Drive. He knocked using his walking stick.

'What do you want?' Petunia scowled.

'Is Harry here?'

'He hasn't left his room all summer, the lazy freak.'

'Tell me you have made sure he is alive.'

'Yes, but that's all I did, apart from leave food inside his door. I never wanted him, I never wanted anything to do with your world. So I would appreciate you packing up his stuff and take him away. I should also tell you that we have sold the house and plan to move, he will not be coming with us. I was planning on leaving him with the police.'

Alastor growled as he pushed his way past the woman and up the stairs. He found the door with many locks on it, but he was relieved that none were locked. He knew he would have to inform Albus about the locks because since they were there, meant the boy had been locked in. That also told Alastor that Harry Potter had been a prisoner.

'Potter,' Mad-eye said as he moved into the stuffy and smelly small room, 'Potter, can you hear me?' Mad-eye moved closer when Harry never answered, he just continued to sit in the corner. His head on his knees facing the wall, 'Potter,' Mad-eye shook Harry's shoulder, but there was still no response.

'This is not good,' he cast his patronus before staring around the room. He found dozens of plates still full of food which is where the smell was coming from. There were also a dozen bottles of water.

Mad-eye heard the sound of apparition, he stood with his wand in hand then waited to see if it was Albus or Voldemort. It turned out to be Albus, Poppy, Severus and Minerva.

'What is wrong?' Albus asked anxiously.

'He's not responding and by the look of all those plates, he hasn't eaten in a long time.'

Poppy moved over to the small boy, 'Harry, can you hear me,' she sighed then began to move her wand over him, 'He is not responding to anything, there is no sign that he even realises were here.'

'You should have checked up on him Albus,' Minerva said then looked around the room, 'This is no bigger than a prison cell and by the look of those locks on the outside of that door, it has been a prison. I did not want to believe the Weasley boys when they said they broke Harry out of the room, but they were telling the truth.'

'Let's just get Harry to Hogwarts, hopefully being in a familiar place will snap him out of this.'

'I believe it is not going to be that quick Albus. This boy has retreated into himself. It will take a lot of healing and talking to get him to return,' Poppy said.

'Let's just pack up his stuff,' Alastor went to the trunk, opened it, 'These can't be his clothes, they look like rags.'

'There is nothing in the wardrobe,' Severus cast several spells, then moved to the bed. He removed the loose floor board and pulled out the invisibility cloak. Inside the cloak was a small photo album and a broken wand, 'His wand is broken.'

'No, that was needed,' Albus rushed to Severus, he took hold of the two parts of the wand, 'It's gone, the protection from the brother wand is gone.'

Mad-eye, Severus, Minerva and Poppy all noticed how pale Albus was as he stared at the wands. None of them understood why that wand was so important.

'I didn't realise how traumatised Harry was. But why did his family not help him?' Albus murmured.

'She told me they never wanted him, they are leaving, moving and he's not welcome. They planned to dump him at the muggle police. By the sound of it he was never welcome here,' Alastor said.

'We need to move him so I can begin him on some potions since he is not eating. He's badly dehydrated,' Poppy said them began to move her wand over him so he floated up, still Harry never moved or responded.

Albus pulled himself together, placed Harry's things in his trunk then took one of the broken items from the shelf and made a portkey. The five adults took hold, Poppy keeping a tight grip on Harry. Albus tapped the portkey with his wand, they vanished from the room.

Albus watched as Poppy got Harry settled on one of the beds then began doing her healing charms and giving him potions. Not once has Harry responded. Albus needed information, so he knew he would need to speak with Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley the moment they arrived.

Severus stared down at Potters son, then he remember the boy was also Lily's son. Severus always believed the boy was spoiled. After seeing the room, the locks, the clothes, the small amount of food on each plate and the way Petunia acted, he now realised that Harry Potter never had a family that cared for him. After the way he had treated the boy, he would never be forgiven by the boy and he knew he did not deserve that.

'Petunia did not like that Lily was a witch, but I find it hard to believe she would treat a child this way.'

'Petunia had a cruel streak Albus. She often hurt Lily. It seems she never grew out of it.'

'At least now I know the reason for Harry's size. I always thought he was on the small size.' Minerva said sadly.

It was hours later that Albus was standing just inside the door of the castle. When the students arrived he got the Weasley's and Hermione's attention.

'We found Harry, he's not well and Madam Pomfrey said it will take a long time before he is well. I need the truth about his life with the Dursley's.'

'They hated him, they worked him like a slave and only fed him once a day,' Ron said.

'They would give him stale bread and sometimes old cheese. He had to work all day with only those two things. They would lock him up after he finished working,' Hermione said.

'When we rescued him…' Fred said pointing at his twin and Ron.

'We had to get his trunk which was locked in the cupboard under the stairs,' George said.

'We found writing, a child's writing,' Fred said.

'Harry's room,' George said.

Albus sighed, 'It seems I have made a grave mistake by believing Petunia would care for her nephew. Right now, due to what he went through and how he was treated by the Dursley's it has been too much for him. You can visit him tomorrow, but I should warn you that he is not responding to anything. You best get into the great hall so the first years can be sorted.'

'What if people ask where he is?' Ron asked.

'Just say he had a family emergency so he is not returning right now. Stick with that story and say that is all you know. We have someone who works for Fudge here who is following his story. If they find out that Harry was mistreated by his relatives they will take custody of him and they could give him to Lucius Malfoy. Narcissa Malfoy is blood related to Harry and even if it is distantly, she would be classed as family.'

'Sirius would have the best claim, so isn't there some way you can help get his name cleared?' Hermione asked.

'I'm unsure if anyone will listen, not without proof and that would mean finding Peter. Go on. Everyone will be curious.'

It didn't take long before every student began to ask, where was Harry Potter. The ones that had believed him about Voldemort thought Harry had gone into hiding and was training to fight him. Others believed he ran away, those were the ones that supported Voldemort. But many of those students were worried. They had been ordered to find a way to slip Harry a portkey, but make sure it was done when he was alone. Now Harry Potter wasn't at Hogwarts and no one was sure if he would return.

Dolores Umbridge had been upset that the dementors she sent after Potter had ended up attacking a bunch of muggles, which brought the aurors in to investigate. She was supposed to keep an eye on Potter and use any means to make him change his story. He had not arrived so she had instantly spoken with Cornelius. They worked on a new law that all children had to learn at Hogwarts until they did their newts or they would have their wands snapped.

Even with the news of the new laws, no one knew where Harry Potter was or if he would return. Hermione, Ron and the twins were often asked about Harry. They said the usual line, he had a family emergency and couldn't return, yet. They weren't sure how long it would be before he could or if he would.

During these first few weeks, Harry still didn't respond. Poppy was able to heal his new injuries but also many of his old injuries that must have been done by the muggles he lived with. She continued to give him potions which were keeping him alive. She had to spend an hour a day working his body to keep it supple. There was never any type of recognition from Harry.

Poppy had thought she saw his eyes move under his eyelids, but after a while, she believed she imagined it.

What no one would know until the following day was a large population of witches and wizards were crushed to death when a large manor house collapsed. No one inside was able to get out in time, all died. Within an hour, parts of another building collapsed, killing dozens of people working inside the ministry of magic. Another hour passed and in two different parts of a large castle in Scotland, more rooms collapsed, killing all those in those rooms.

The large manor house was the headquarters of Voldemort and his death eaters. All of them died, slowly and painfully. Their deaths were not instant, they slowly suffocated by the heavy parts of the house landing on them. But their injuries were very painful, yet nothing they did could get them out from under the ruins. It took hours for them to die.

Inside the ministry of magic, Cornelius Fudge and his staff, which included Percy Weasley had also suffered the same fate. They had been crushed to death when the room of their offices collapsed. There were many other people and offices that suffered the same fate inside the ministry of magic.

Inside Hogwarts, Dolores Umbridge was pinned down by part of the roof and a large black sharp quill had stabbed her through the middle of her forehead. She again did not die straight away, she suffered for more than an hour before she died.

Another room at Hogwarts also collapsed, onto Severus Snape. Many potion vials had fallen and broken, landing on the man as he lay pinned under a large chunk of stone from the roof. The vials caused his body to begin to burn and blister. He suffered for more than three hours before he finally died.

A large section of the dungeons in Hogwarts also suffered a lot of damage when the roof collapsed. Every student in Slytherin house died within minutes from being crushed to death.

It took hours for the headmaster and many of the staff to be able to get inside those rooms. They hoped they could save all, if not a few. By the time they got inside, all were dead. They did not know about what happened at the ministry or Malfoy manor.

Albus was sitting his office speaking with one of the aurors who joined the order of the phoenix. Kingsley Shacklebolt had explained about the minister and all the other people who had died due to parts of the building collapsing.

'So it wasn't just here. Do you think these collapses are connected Albus?' Kingsley asked.

'Yes, but I have no idea how it happened and who would have done it. Since he returned, I have strengthened the wards around Hogwarts. No one can get inside without my permission. I even had the Weasley twins show me all the tunnels. Those were sealed as well.'

'Since it all happened close to each other, it must be a group and a few of us believe it was people who suffered because of the death eaters that got off. But that's another odd thing Albus, not one of them has been seen since yesterday. Gawain has sent some aurors to their homes to see why none turned up at the ministry. All of them had backup's and emergency portkeys in case this is the start of them causing trouble. We will have to let the parents know about their children, yet we have to wait until we can find out where they are.'

Albus sighed, 'Keep me informed and I will do the same. We have removed all the bodies and Poppy has put them in stasis until they can be picked up by loved ones.

It was two months after the students returned to Hogwarts that Albus informed Poppy that he had to sneak Harry out of the castle. He had opened her floo so she could take him straight to headquarters of the order of the phoenix. When asked why, Albus explained that somehow the new minister found out that Harry was ill and at the hospital. They planned to take custody of the boy.

By the time the minister for magic and the aurors turned up at Hogwarts, Harry was gone.

'I will keep his wand until he returns,' Rufus said with a smirk.

'You're welcome to it Rufus,' Albus placed the two piece of wand on the desk, 'He snapped it during the holidays. I believe it was his way of saying goodbye to the wizarding world, for all the lies that Cornelius and others had printed about him. Now since I did say Harry had a family emergency, you might as well leave and please taking your lap dogs...I mean aurors with you.' Albus allowed his power to leak which weakened everyone in the room. Even four aurors could not match Albus Dumbledore's power.

Within minutes of Albus returned to his office, Albus Dumbledore had died as a large chuck of roof fell right on top of him. He would not be dug out until late that night.

By the end of the school year, Harry was still unresponsive. Sirius would spend hours every day with him, talking to him, but he got nothing. Remus would do the same. When the Weasley's and Hermione stayed there, none of them ever got any response from him.

Apart from having the fidelius charm, Sirius decided to activate some old wards his family owned. He controlled the wards so even if someone like Narcissa Malfoy, nee Black tried to enter the house, the wards would kill her, instantly. Sirius was not going to allow anyone into the house that could hurt his godson.

Even though all the death eaters and Voldemort was dead, Sirius wasn't going to take any chances when it came to his godson. He just wished Harry would wake up.

No one knew this, not even Harry but his tormented mind was the one causing all the deaths. Every time he dreamt of some mistreatment or danger done to him since he returned to the wizarding world, it would cause his magic to lash out at those responsible. It wouldn't be until the summer holidays that someone would find out that Vernon, Petunia, Marge and Dudley Dursley had all died when the house collapsed on top of them. Like the death eaters, Snape and the minister, it took a long time before they died, they suffered from a lot of injuries before they finally died.

Time skip:

The day of Harry Potter's seventeenth birthday Sirius walked into the room his godson was using to see Harry standing in the middle of the room, staring around.

'Harry,' Sirius whispered.

Harry turned, 'Padfoot, where the hell am I and why do I look bigger?'

Sirius rushed to Harry and hugged him, 'I never thought you would wake up.'

'Wake up, what do you mean?'

'You didn't turn up on the train to start your fifth year, Mad-eye found in some type of comatose state. You were in the hospital at Hogwarts for a few months before Albus snuck you out and hid you here, with me. It's been two years Harry. None of us thought you would ever wake up. It's your seventeenth birthday today.'

'Damn, I don't know what to say. I remember feeling really alone and even though I hate admitting this, I figured I would be better off dead. That's the last thing I remember. So what's happening with Voldy and Fudge?'

'All dead pup.'

'What?! How?'

'There's a lot to go into but everyone that died did because the rooms or buildings they were in all collapsed. They either died straight away or suffered due to injuries or slowly suffocated. It wasn't just them either, Snape and all the Slytherin's were crushed to death, along with Albus. Part of the ministry collapsed, those people died. It took months but the aurors found every person who had been a death eater or strong supporter of Voldemort had died when they were crushed to death. Umbridge, she was found a day later, crushed but also with a dark quill in her head. No one could recognise Snape when they found him. Many potions broke and landed on him when the roof collapsed, he was badly burned.'

'Blimey, well, some bad people are gone. I suppose there are a lot of changes. Maybe you can tell me about them while I eat. I'm starving.'

Sirius laughed then hugged his godson again. Harry couldn't help but smile. He was an adult now, people like Voldemort was dead so he realised he could finally decide how he wanted to live and where. For now, he wanted to spend time with his godfather and find out everything that was going on in the wizarding world. He wouldn't say it, but he felt in his heart that he would finally have a better life than he had over the last seventeen years. This was the start of his new and better life.

The end: