Disclaimer: I don't own this. As you can see from this story, if I did, Sirius would not have died.

A/N: Okay, to explain why Sirius is not dead in this story and why all the events went the same for the most part. Instead of falling through the veil, Sirius fell the other way, seemingly dead. Harry thought he was dead and went after Bellatrix, later learning that he did not die. Everything happened the same, except Harry wasn't angry or grief-stricken.

Chapter One

Trials and Tribulations

The day seemed to dawn as normally as ever, on a normal street full of normal families with normal lifestyles. However, in Number Four Privet Drive, the rising of the sun was viewed by the most abnormal boy imaginable. His appearances were not so strange; he appeared to be just a normal skinny teenager with messy black hair and glasses. Even the curious lightning shaped scar on his forehead could be overlooked. Harry Potter was a wizard, which in itself would seem to be the reason for his abnormality, but he was not normal even by wizarding standards.

Harry was now anxiously watching an owl fly toward him. He fervently hoped that it held a letter saying he was getting away from Privet Drive. He had only been at the Dursleys' for two weeks and already he was sick of them. Not that his family had mistreated him in anyway. On the contrary, his family had been making an extra effort to keep him happy, and frankly, it was driving him crazy. As the owl flew in, he saw that it had a letter, one that seemed to be from Professor Dumbledore.

Dear Harry,

I know that you have been eager to get away from your relatives' house. I am pleased to inform you that you will be removed in two days time. A few Order members will arrive Sunday to pick you up. When you arrive at Headquarters, we will allow both you and your friends to sit in at Order meetings. I believe that if you are told everything we know, you will not have to assume anything, which may lead you to endanger yourself.

-Albus Dumbledore

Harry felt a stab of guilt. He knew that what happened in the Department of Mysteries at the end of the year was mostly his fault. He had jumped to the wrong conclusions and not only endangered himself, but also those he cared about. However, what was done was done, and he would not make the same mistake twice.

OoooOoooOoooO

In the quiet London night, the house at Number 12 Grimmauld Place was home to the most unusual sort of people compared to their inconspicuous neighbors. This particular dwelling housed the Order of the Phoenix, a secret society dedicated to fighting the Dark Lord Voldemort. However, though a meeting was currently in session, what was most concerning about this house was locked in a room on the second floor.

There lay an inconsolable brown-haired girl, with her two red-haired friends trying desperately to comfort her, even though they knew nothing could. This young girl had just been stripped of her parents, a cruel fate that the other two could never imagine.

OoooOoooOoooO

At the magical infirmary of Saint Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, a brown haired boy came across a tearful brunette girl, who, although he only knew her through fleeting meetings in which they were never fully acquainted, he felt drawn to her. She had just lost her aunt, who had become her guardian after a stroke had claimed her father's life. Her mother hadn't been equipped to handle a magical little girl at the time, so her aunt had graciously taken her in. She had been her role model, her protector, her friend. And now she was gone, merely because some power-crazed, self-styled lord had returned to his followers.

The boy could sympathize with her. He too had lost had the hands of this maniac. Together, they promised, they would help each other through this darkness.

OoooOoooOoooO

In a quiet country home, a dishwater-blonde teen said good-bye to her father yet again. She understood the reason behind these endless hunts. It was not, as he often claimed, to discover some unknown creature and go down in history. It was to cover up the pain he still felt over the death of her mother. He blamed himself because if he hadn't married her, she would not have been targeted so specifically. Sure, there was the off-chance they would have killed her either way just because she was a Muggle, but his marriage to her, he felt, sealed her fate. The young girl knew that her death was not his fault. The ones at fault were the ones who killed her. Yet, her father would never believe this.

She sighed as she faced the lonely house. Although she loved her father and understood why he left, it still hurt to be left all alone.

OoooOoooOoooO

The young platinum blonde sighed as he entered his elaborate rooms. How did his life come to this? During his younger years, he had been spoiled by his father, yet taught to live in fear of his wrath. Then a few years back, his father had seemed to completely cast him aside, merely playing the part of a doting father in the public eyes. Of course, he could still get nearly anything he wanted. But something was missing. He often looked at the lives of others his age and could tell that they had something he did not. After his father was locked up, he began to realize what it was. Love. This was a foreign emotion to him. His father viewed him merely as a means to an end, and apparently his importance ended their. His mother, he couldn't be sure about. She was an aloof presence, caring in a cold, unfeeling way. And now he was being pressured to join the ranks of the Dark Lord's followers. Frankly, he did not see the point. Sure, he had always put up the front of wanting purebloods to reign supreme, and had actually believed it to a point. However, he was a very intelligent and practical boy. When he had really looked at the world, he had realized that blood obviously didn't matter. He had seen muggle-borns achieve more than purebloods. He had seen through the so-called Dark Lord's pure-campaign and realized that a half-blood ran the show. And he had seen the dangers of continued intermarrying, his Aunt Bella being a prime example of that.

His ambitions were not set at ease with these notions, for he had been taught that blood was what commanded respect in this world and sometimes you had to use fear to get it. However, experience had taught him that fear could not hold sway for long. Real power was gained through trust and mutual respect. Dumbledore had taught him that. His father often said that Dumbledore was the worst thing that ever happened to Hogwarts, and until recently, he agreed. Then he realized the amount of followers Dumbledore had, and he had not gained them out of fear. He was starting to see things in a new light, and to be honest, he was afraid of the consequences. His world was being turned upside down. All he needed was a simple push, which would be soon in coming.

Tbc…

Please review! Cookies to whoever guesses the identities of all eight, although most are painfully obvious!