Vanish

Harry stood at platform nine and three quarters not quite sure where he had to go. On one hand he had no interest in returning to Janus and on the other his invitation to Malfoy Manor had been rescinded due to extenuating circumstances or so Lucius Malfoy explained in his letter.

This led to a road block Harry was not expecting to find. Where should he go? He supposed Privet Drive was an option, maybe Dudley would be there and he would get a chance to skin that fat pig... or perhaps Diagon Alley?

He was saved from the conundrum when he spotted the headmaster walking towards him from the gateway.

"Did you have a nice trip Harry?" he asked cheerfully, like he was Harry's parent.

Harry scowled. "What do you want? School is over."

"I am your guardian Harry. Where you go is my responsibility and I hardly think Janus is the place for you now. I've found you a home I think you might prefer over the stifling environment at Janus."

He took a hold of Harry's arm and Harry let him, knowing this was the part where they apparated. He suppressed the instinct to lash out and let the headmaster take him to places unknown.

They reappeared in a field of sunflowers. The sun was almost directly above them and a warm wind breezed through what Harry understood was a hill top.

Serenity and tranquility washed through the void and Harry smiled. This was a beautiful place Dumbledore had brought him to.

"Missed the mark," Dumbledore chuckled. "Come on Harry. There a path up ahead."

Careful not to step on any flowers, Harry followed the headmaster to a narrow stone path leading up the hill.

A flock of colourful little birds raced past them chirping and dancing making Harry laugh.

Dumbledore glanced at Harry and smiled sadly. The boy was badly damaged. Perhaps beyond repair. He had an inkling of the way the boys mind worked but his thoughts were too haphazard and his magic too chaotic for him to make much sense of it. It was entirely his fault Harry Potter had ended up like this. He could see the golden gem the boy could have been but it was all for naught. Now the boy clung on to one thing alone. The only thing that kept his mind from shattering completely. Magic. Or the void as the boy so affectionately called it.

A cottage came into view.

It was a small thing. Had a thatched roof and appeared to be made of badly cut logs. Thin wisps of smoke was rising from the chimney.

There were several fenced fields behind the cottage where chickens, sheep and cows grazed lazily. Basking under the yellow glow of the sun.

Outside, near the cottage, a man was hard at work, cutting up big logs into smaller logs. He was well built, shirtless and had long wavy black hair.

"Sirius."

The man turned. Grey eyes widened when they saw the boy beside Dumbledore.

For a moment there was complete silence. Dumbledore stared patiently, Sirius apprehensively and Harry curiously.

"Well," the man named Sirius said with a sigh. "You better come inside."

Sirius took a shirt that was lying in the grass, dusted it and put in on casually, not bothering to button it up. Harry's attention was drawn to the moving tattoos that adorned his chest and arms.

"Are-," Dumbledore began.

"Asleep," Sirius said abruptly. He knew what the headmaster wanted to ask.

The front door opened with a screech as the bottom dragged against the stone floor.

"Gotta fix that," he mumbled.

The inside of the cottage was remarkably well done and larger than possible.

Harry's eyes widened when he saw the webs of magic that pulsed through the entire house. It was amazing. The front door opened into a large sitting door decorated tastefully with polished woodwork and magical portraits. Opposite was an open kitchen with counter running around three corners. A fire crackled beneath the stove and above it was the opening for the chimney.

"Tea?" Sirius asked gruffly.

"It's the middle of the day Sirius."

"What about you Harry?" Sirius asked. There was something odd in his voice when he said Harry.

Harry ignored him and focused on the tightly bound threads of magic that physically reformed into stairs leading to a second floor.

"He doesn't talk much," Dumbledore said apologetically.

Sirius shrugged and poured himself a cup.

"The Dursley's treating him okay?"

"Not quite," Dumbledore said carefully. "A lot has happened. Harry doesn't live there anymore."

Sirius hummed and led them to the sitting room and gestured carelessly at the sofa's, inviting them to sit.

"Why are you here Dumbledore?"

Albus Dumbledore sighed heavily, looking every bit his age.

"Things have happened Sirius. Things that our strained world is ill equipped to deal with."

"I don't care."

"I see a Civil War coming."

"Great. Is that all? I'm sure you didn't make this trip for idle conversation. I can imagine what you're here for and I don't approve. It's not the place for him."

"He has nowhere else to go." Dumbledore hesitated. Weighing the pros and cons of the truth. In the end, he settled to tell the truth. "There was an incident when Harry was very young which led him to brutally murder his uncle and aunt."

Sirius's jaw dropped. "Wha-!?"

Harry's eyes brightened at the mention his uncle and aunt's death. "That was a fun night," he giggled.

"Harry is something of a Sociopath Sirius. I have kept this under wraps for now but now that he has re-joined our world, sending him back to the juvenile prison is not an option."

"Hold on one bloody second!" Sirius shouted, jumping to his feet. His cup had fallen and shattered on the floor. Tea began to spill under his armchair. "Just shut the fuck up for a moment."

Sirius closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It didn't help.

"What do you mean Harry killed his relatives? What the fuck Albus?"

"I won't sugar coat it Sirius. They abused Harry. And one day Harry snapped. He used magic to kill his uncle and slit his aunt's throat."

Sirius collapsed into his chair. "Merlin," he whispered. "Oh Merlin!"

"He's not quite stable," Dumbledore added.

"You promised Albus," Sirius said, his voice shaking. "You promised he was safe. You promised!"

"I was wrong."

Sirius goggled. "I can't believe you. What kind of a person are you!" he shouted. "First you let me rot in Azkaban for almost a year. Then you don't let me take Harry and now you're telling me my godson is insane and a murderer?!"

Dumbledore felt his heart ache. "The blood wards-" he started.

"Fuck the blood wards! A lot good they did!"

"Would be have been better off here Sirius?" Dumbledore asked softly.

Sirius hesitated. The anger rushed out leaving him empty and exhausted. He was always exhausted. He didn't have much to live for. He looked at Harry who was busy staring at the ceiling with his mouth half open.

"A sociopath huh," Sirius said. He drew his wand and vanished the spilled tea and repaired the cup before banishing it to the cupboard.

Suddenly footsteps echoed from the top floor and someone began to descend down the stairs.

Harry turned to look and grimaced at the sight of the lady reaching the bottom of the stairs.

She had dull red hair that was thinning rapidly. She was bone thin with a bathroom robe covering her up. Her green eyes were hollow and empty and she was shuffling across the room aimlessly.

Sirius ran to the door and opened it allowing her to walk out.

Harry was revolted by her. She had no core at all. He had noticed even muggles having a tiny spark but she had nothing. There was no trace of any magic in her. There was no life in her. She was just a body walking. There was no soul. It was absolutely disgusting.

It must have shown on his face because both Sirius and Dumbledore were looking at him sadly.

"Would you like to say hello to your mother Harry?"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Harry's introduction to his father was certifiably bizarre.

James Potter had a unique mental condition that made him revert back to his thirteen year old self randomly. Every time he did, he woke up and panicked. He had to be taken care of constantly and had nervous breakdowns regularly. His mind was broken and he sometimes remembered what really happened to him. It was how the truth about Peter Pettigrew was shockingly revealed.

"You? You're my son? Harry?"

Harry was too stunned to reply as the man knelt before him, his hands on his shoulders and brown eyes looking deep into his with regret and hope. Harry just couldn't believe how alike the man looked to him. Except for the brown eyes, balding head, wrinkled skin, Harry felt like he was looking into a mirror that showed the future. Of course Harry pictured himself not looking like he was diseased and dying.

Brown eyes flickered and confusion entered.

"-why am I staring at a clone?" he demanded childishly. He backed away and fell, feeling disoriented. "What the hell? MOM!" His eyes darted around, recognizing nothing, feeling completely unbalanced. MOM! DAD!" He was beginning to panic and Sirius came running.

"Hey! Hey James," he said softly, kindly. "It's me Sirius!"

"Sirius?! What the hell did we do man! Why I am all huge? Why are you old? Don't tell me we screwed up an age potion dude. Holy Merlin dad is going to kill me!"

"Yes. We screwed up a potion," Sirius replied calmly. "Now just take a few deep breaths and take a moment to think. Come on now, let's go to my bedroom and plan a way to reverse this colossal backfire."

"Yea, and who's the look alike shrimp dude? He's got Lily's eyes though."

"Golem gone wrong," Sirius lied with a chuckle.

"Fuck. Why don't I remember that?"

Sirius led James out of sight and Harry blinked. That had been bizarre. "I thought they were dead," he commented.

"Let's go outside Harry," Dumbledore sighed. "I have a lot to explain."

Dumbledore mumbled something about child environment, protection, some guy named Voldemort, the name sounded familiar, and it all bounced off Harry's head. This didn't interest him. Meeting husks who were called his parents was boring. Being introduced to some man who was his godfather was dull.

Harry was itching to go back to his books. He had also seen a bookshelf in the sitting room and was waiting to go and see if there was anything interesting.

Hours began to tick past, Dumbledore and Sirius talked some more and soon it had been days since Harry was left in the care of his godfather. Harry after a couple of days couldn't take the magic in the house. It was too dull, depressing and miserable. James slept and woke up ten times a day, screaming his lungs out, Lily walked like a zombie, lifeless and animated. Sirius ran the whole day long, feeding them, bathing them, clothing them. The man was a robot that refused to give out.

Harry stayed away from the cottage and chose refuge in the sparse forest near the cottage.

There the sounds of birds and tiny creatures rustling about calmed the agitation of the void and his mind was able to focus onto the picture book. He had found it in the bookshelf. It was a book of famous locations in the world. Harry was staring at a picture of a desert. It was a vast expanse of dunes. Camels were captured in the photo and there was a sun beating down, making the sand shine golden. Harry wished he were there.

He wanted to know what it was like to truly fight for survival. The desert was one place every book described as harsh, unforgiving and deadly. The void reformed around him, brimming with his intentions.

And then, with a resounding crack. Harry Potter disappeared.

Hours later Sirius wandered out into the forest looking for Harry. It was dinner time and the boy was nowhere to be found.

"Harry!" he shouted. The sun was beginning to set. It was going to be a full moon. Moony would be around and he was sure Prongs would want to join them. "Harry, where are you? You got to get inside!"

He found Harry's nest and discovered dozens of books lying around covered with dry leaves. He knelt and picked up Wonders of the World and snapped it shut. "Where are you Harry?" he whispered. He used his nose to try and sniff which direction the boy went it but there was no trail. His scent was centered around the trees and didn't go anywhere else.

Worry coiled in his gut. Where was Harry?