Hagrid walked away to do some errands as Harry entered Ollivander's wand shop. They had their little encounter that took a good half an hour before the fated wand was finally presented to the boy and Harry marvelled at it as it sent out sparks and felt better than anything else he had ever felt in his life.

“Curious.” Ollivander said and Harry ignored him as he stared at the wand. The old man waited for several moments for the boy to ask him what was curious, then sighed internally when the boy remained silent. “It's the wand that chooses the wizard, Mister Potter. It's curious that the wand that chose you...” The old man pointed at his face. “...when its brother gave you that scar.”

Harry froze stiff at the bony finger, because it triggered a memory. A horrible memory. A memory that no child should never remember.

Harry stood in his crib as a dark figure shot a red-haired woman with a green light. She collapsed to the floor unmoving and then the wand swung and was levelled at his face, just like Ollivander's finger had been.

“Avada Kedavra!” The voice said and a bright green light hit him and the darkness claimed him.

Harry woke up on the floor of the shop and blinked his eyes several times.

“Are you all right, Mister Potter?” Ollivander asked with concern in his voice.

“I'm fine.” Harry said before he closed his eyes and waited for the slaps and kicks he always received for causing trouble. When the beating didn't come, he slowly opened his eyes and saw the old man had backed up and stared at him with a completely blank expression on his face.

“That will be seven galleons.” Ollivander said in a soft voice.

Harry nodded and put the money on the counter. He knew to never pass money to anyone, because no one wanted to touch a freak. He turned around and left the shop with a very unnerved man behind him.

*

“Strictly speaking, you're not allowed to do magic outside of Hogwarts.” The large man named Hagrid said as Harry was dropped off in front of Privet Drive with his trunk and owl cage. Hagrid also warned him to stick to his ticket on September first and then disappeared when Harry's head was turned to stare at the ticket's odd numbering.

The slightly bewildered boy tucked the ticket into his pocket and dragged his heavy trunk of school supplies to the front door of the house. To his surprise, it was unlocked, and Harry entered the house with a clamour of sounds that was in no way quiet.

“BOY!” Vernon yelled as he left the living room and entered the little hallway that led to the front door.

Harry winced at the yell and shut the front door as he tensed up and grabbed his brand new wand from his pocket. It was an automatic reaction, because he was terrified of his relatives and they hated him.

“I'm warning you right now that...” Vernon paused as he saw that the boy had one of those wooden sticks in his hand. “What are you going to do with that?” He asked and glared. “You don't know anything to do with them!”

Harry remembered what happened at the wand shop and couldn't stop his next words from coming out. “I know a spell.”

Vernon let out a scary growl, one that Harry was very familiar with, because it meant he was going to get another severe beating.

Harry felt the hate from the man and his terror rose to meet it and somehow changed to hate as he raised the wand at his attacking uncle. “Avada Kedavra!”

To both of their shocked surprise, a bright green light shot from the end of the want and hit Vernon's chest. The large man didn't even have time to take a breath because he immediately died and fell flat onto his face with a loud thud.

“VERNON!” Petunia gasped and ran out of the kitchen and into the hallway where Vernon lay, face down. She checked his pulse and there was nothing. Her gaze went to Harry and her face twisted to show more anger than Harry had ever seen before. “You little FREAK! YOU KILLED HIM!”

Harry took his eyes off of her and stared at the still form of his uncle. This was a mistake, because Petunia let out a shriek and lunged for him. They both fell to the floor as Petunia tackled the much smaller boy and Harry felt Petunia's fingernails rake across his face. He cried out as his glasses were torn off of his face and shattered against the wall. Blood filled Harry's left eye and he felt a bony hand slap his face so hard that it left him dazed.

“I'LL KILL YOU!” Petunia yelled at the top of her lungs and started slapping the boy's face with both of her hands as hard as she could.

Neither Petunia nor Harry heard the thumping of footsteps on the stairs.

“MUM!” Dudley exclaimed when he saw his mother wailing on his favorite punching bag.

“Avada... Kedavra.” Harry whispered through swollen lips and eyes.

Dudley didn't see the green light and only saw his mother's body drop to the floor, lifeless. “MUM!”

Harry was trapped under his dead aunt and couldn't see anything from the damage to his face. He saw a blob move around his head and then felt when his cousin started punching him. It was too much and he lost consciousness and didn't hear his cousin's words or the front door opening.

“You FREAK!” Dudley shouted and didn't stop punching, even though Harry's face wasn't as hard as it had been the last time he had punched his cousin and it was getting softer. “DIE! DIE! DIE!”

A beam of red light hit Dudley and he slumped over Harry and his dead mother.

Three Aurors stared into the house and they couldn't believe what they had just seen. They had received an alert that magic had been cast in the area, a completely muggle area, and they had responded as soon as they could.

“Detection and diagnostic spells.” The Auror in front said and all three of them started casting spells.

“The two adults are dead. No signs of damage enough to cause death.” The Auror on the left said.

“The tiny boy on the bottom is severely hurt. It's life threatening.” The Auror on the right said.

“The large boy is severely overweight and is fine, just unconscious.” The lead Auror said. “Assessment done. Portkey the bodies to the Ministry Morgue and take the large boy to a holding cell. I'll take the victim to St. Mungo's.”

“Here's an evidence bag for his wand.” The Auror on the left said and handed a bag over.

“Thanks. We can check it for spells when we get this sorted out.” The lead Auror said and the other two nodded. When he checked the boy's face and moved his hair out of the way, he caught his breath.

“What is it?” The Auror on the right said as he dropped a temporary portkey onto Vernon's back.

“It's Harry Potter.” The lead Auror whispered as Dudley was pulled off the top of the pile.

Harry Potter took in a ragged breath, which scared them a little. They hadn't realized that he wasn't breathing through his nose, which was clearly broken.

“I'm kicking this up the chain of command.” The lead Auror said and the other two nodded.

*

Harry woke up and his face throbbed with pain. He opened his eyes and he didn't know where he was, not that he could see much of anything around him. Everything was blurry, which meant his glasses were still gone. He didn't bother trying to reach around to search for them, because he had no idea where they could be.

When he tried to lift his hand to touch his face, it wouldn't move. A strap held it secure. The door opened into the room and a mostly white blob entered the room. The door closed and the blob became a little clearer as it approached the bed.

“I see you're awake, Mister Potter.” The man said in his deceptively calm voice.

Harry knew what that meant and cringed as he closed his eyes and waited for the hits to come. His body tried to curl up into a ball automatically, to somehow make himself a smaller target. It didn't work, since his arms were tied to the bed rails.

The man let out a slight sigh. “Please relax, Mister Potter. I'm not here to hurt you.”

“They always say that.” Harry whimpered as tears came to his eyes.

The man stood there for a moment before he let out another sigh and went to the door. He opened it and left.

Harry heard the door close and actually did relax. He opened his eyes a little bit, just to make sure he was alone, and didn't see any blobs around. He let out a sigh this time and he wished his arms were free so he could wipe at his face. He hated it when he cried.

The door opened again and a different colored blob entered the room with the white blob. It was mostly red and became a little clearer as it approached.

“Mister Potter.” The woman said in as soft of a voice as she could.

Harry winced only a little this time and kept his eyes open.

“Do you know who I am?” The woman asked.

Harry was quiet for a moment before he convinced himself to speak. “I can't tell. You're too blurry.”

The woman turned to the man. “I thought you checked him over for injuries?”

“We did. His face had to be carefully restructured with sticking charms, then we vanished the damaged bones and regrew them. The bruising will fade in a few days with constant bruise cream application.”

“And his eyesight?” The woman asked.

“We had no idea there was a problem until now.” The man said and moved towards the door. “I'll call in a colleague for a consultation.”

The woman moved back over to the bed and leaned down a little, without crowding the clearly scared boy. “My name is Amelia Bones and I'm the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.”

Harry stared at her and didn't know what to say.

“My Aurors showed up at your home to investigate magic being cast in a muggle neighborhood.”

Harry wanted to ask what an Auror was, except he had it beaten into him to never ask questions. He stayed quiet and thought he saw the woman frown. He flinched and closed his eyes as he waited for the slap. When it didn't come, he didn't know what to think. He opened his eyes and looked at her with fear in his eyes.

Amelia stood up straight. “Mister Potter, I need to know what happened.”

Harry winced at her harsh voice and did his best to curl up again. He closed his eyes tightly and shook his head several times as he whispered. “Don't hit me. Don't hit me. I'm a good boy. I'm a good boy.”

Amelia stared at the clearly afraid boy on the bed as he did his best to hide from her. She was at a loss as to how to proceed, since their primary witness was too scared of her to answer simple questions. She decided to leave it for now and went to the door. She stepped outside and looked at the two guards on the door.

“No one but the doctors go in or out of this room and only if you know them.” Amelia said and both men nodded.

Just then the healer assigned to Harry Potter walked up the hallway with another healer beside him.

“These are the only two allowed in.” Amelia said and both Aurors gave the two healers examining looks before they nodded.

“Is that really necessary?” The healer asked.

“That boy has been abused, both physically and mentally. I can't even talk in my normal volume of voice without scaring him.” Amelia said, sternly.

None of the men said a thing about it scaring them as well.

“I want a full medical check-up done on him and I want to know what he's gone through.” Amelia said and both healers nodded. “Do not question him about the incident. I'll send over someone closer to his age to handle the questioning.”

“Madam Bones? Is that wise?” One of the guards asked. “The only ones close to his age are trainees.”

“I know.” Amelia said and let out the sigh she had been holding in. “I'm tempted to assign a seasoned Auror to monitor it, except that would make the boy even more afraid to say anything.”

The two guards exchanged looks and the one on the right spoke. “We've been hearing the rumors...”

“Lock that down right now!” Amelia spat at them and both men flinched and nodded. “Rumors and conjecture won't help this investigation. I want it known that NO ONE is to say anything at all about who is in that room or what happened!”

“Yes, Madam Bones.” The guards said as one.

Amelia turned to the two surprised healers. “That goes for you as well.” She said with a glare and they both nodded. “Inform me immediately when you get his sight worked out. Have his full medical file ready for me when I return.”

“Yes, Madam.” Harry's assigned healer said.

Amelia nodded to them, to the two guards, and strode down the hallway as if on a mission.

*

A week later, Harry sat up in bed and stared around at the room he was in and he couldn't believe how clear it was. The look of wonder on his face was quite pronounced.

The specialist healer smiled with pride. “I told you that you wouldn't need glasses when I was done.”

“H-how?” Harry asked and looked back at the man.

“Almost everyone has a little something wrong with their eyes. Nearsighted, farsighted, myopic, lazy eye, wandering eye, cross eyed, bow eyed, and a bunch of others. You name it, I've treated it.”

“But... glasses...” Harry said.

The healer chuckled. “If you see someone wearing glasses, it's an affectation. They are usually charmed with different spells for detection and to reveal harmful magics.”

“R-r-really?” Harry asked, surprised.

The healer nodded. “You won't find a shop that sells them, however. Most are privately enchanted by the wearer or commissioned from an enchanter.”

Harry assumed they would be expensive and his idea to replace his unneeded glasses with enchanted ones was pushed to the back of his mind.

There was a knock on his door and it opened as a guard poked his head in. “Madam Bones is on her way.”

“Thanks Gowain.” The specialist healer said and the guard nodded before he closed the door. “It looks like my work here is done.” He said and stood up and left the chair beside the bed. “It was very nice to meet you, Harry.”

Harry looked surprised. “R-really?”

The specialist healer let out a chuckle and didn't try to pat the lad's arm. He had seen how the boy reacted to any physical touch, especially if it looked like you were going to raise your hand to him.

“I've never met a nicer boy in my life, Harry.” The healer said and smiled at the slight smile on Harry's face. “Just remember what Gowain, Chris, Howard, and I have said about Madam Bones.”

“She's harsh but not mean.” Harry said. “Those are not the same things.”

The healer grinned and nodded. “She's been doing her best to help you, just like Howard and I.”

Harry nodded back. “I wonder who she's bringing?”

“I'm sure it will be a surprise and also good for you.” The healer said and Harry's slight smile became a normal one. “I'll be back next week to make sure your eyes are okay.”

“Okay, D-Donald.” Harry said, still a little embarrassed about using the man's first name. He had tried to only call him by his job title and last name, and neither he nor the other healer would answer unless he said their first names.

The healer waved and left the room. There was a bit of muffled talking through the closed door before the door opened and a handsome older woman entered. She had a square jaw, short strawberry blonde hair, and wore a monocle. After the specialist healer's explanation, Harry knew she didn't wear it to see.

“Mister...” Amelia paused and put on a bit of a smile as she spoke softly. “Harry, you've met me before. I introduced myself last week as Amelia Bones.”

Harry's eyes widened at that, because that was not how she had talked last week. “H-hi.”

“I've brought someone that wants to talk to you.” Amelia said and stepped aside to reveal a much younger woman. “This is Auror Trainee Tonks.”

“Wotcher, Harry!” The bubbly young woman said and waved. She had spiky bubblegum pink hair and the smile on her face seemed to be really wide and almost too big for her face.

Harry blinked his eyes several times and didn't know how to react. He had never seen or met anyone like her before. Her hair was PINK!

“When I told her about you, she immediately volunteered to come and visit with you.” Amelia explained. “If you don't mind, I have a few other things to do right now and I would like to leave her here for a while.”

Harry looked from the bright pink hair to Amelia's face. “Uh... um... o-okay.”

“Wonderful.” Amelia said and looked at Tonks. “Remember what I said.”

“Yes, boss! It's not a problem at all.” Tonks said and gave her a weird salute.

“I said to stop doing that.” Amelia said with a sigh and went to the still open door. “I'll be a few hours.”

“I'll be here!” Tonks said, happily.

Amelia took in a breath and let it out. “Don't make me regret doing this.”

“Don't worry, I got this.” Tonks said and closed the door behind the older woman when she left. She walked over to the chair the healer had left there and plopped down onto it. “Do you want to hear a joke?”

Harry stared at her and didn't say anything.

“Is it the hair? It's the hair, right?” Tonks asked and Harry nodded. “That's why it's pink.”

It took Harry a moment to get it. “You want people to see you.”

“You got it.” Tonks said with a beaming smile. “I figure if they're going to look anyway, why not shock them with it?”

Harry thought about it and curled in on himself a little. “I... I'd rather not be noticed at all.”

Tonks saw him trying to withdraw and very slowly moved her hand towards the bed. She kept it low and in sight, just so Harry could see where it was and what it was doing, and she lightly touched the tip of his index finger. When he didn't react or pull away, two of her fingers did a walking motion as the other two fingers and thumb tucked underneath her palm.

It almost looked like a real pair of legs as they strolled up his index finger, over the back of his hand, and jumped down off his hand to land on the blanket beside it. It then 'sat down' as her other fingers and thumb unfolded, which put her hand on top of his.

Harry stared at it, because he had never seen anyone do that before. It never occurred to him that she was now technically holding his hand.

“Are you ready for that joke?” Tonks asked and didn't wait for him to answer. “Why did the little girl throw the full butter dish out the window? Because she wanted to see a butter-fly!”

Harry blinked his eyes and lifted his gaze from her hand to look at her face.

“Oh, a tough crowd.” Tonks said. “Hmm, okay. What do you call cheese that doesn't belong to you? Nacho cheese!”

Harry just stared at her. He had cheese taken from him before, so he heard 'not your cheese' a few times.

Tonks internally sighed and tried again. “How do you know the ocean is friendly?”

Harry reacted this time. “I've never seen the ocean, so I don't know.”

Tonks did her best to not wince. “It... it waves.”

“Like you did?” Harry asked, curious.

“Uh... kind of.” Tonks said and thought of another one. “What did the math book say to the English book?” She asked and Harry shrugged. “I have so many problems.”

Harry opened his mouth a little and ducked his head as he whispered. “M-me, too.”

“Oh, Harry.” Tonks whispered and couldn't stop herself before she wrapped her arms around him to hug him. Or tried to.

Harry had stiffened at the contact and stayed perfectly still, his muscles tense. The look of terror on his face told Tonks that whatever had happened to him, it was horrible. He wasn't going to be accepting casual hugs for a very long time.

Tonks reluctantly let him go and watched as his face lost the scared look and his body stayed tense. “I wasn't going to hurt you, Harry. I was hugging you.”

Harry gave her a blank stare. “Uncle Vernon made my bones break when he grabbed me like that.”

Tonks felt her face drain of color at hearing that. “H-Harry, I... I'm sorry. I was trying to comfort you.”

“What's that mean?” Harry asked and gave her confused look.

Oh, Merlin. Tonks thought and then cursed in her head. This assignment just became a whole lot harder.

*

Amelia sat in her office two days later and held her head in her hands as she leaned her elbows on top of her desk. The whole Harry Potter case was a complete mess. His Ministry records were all sealed, even the accidental magic records, and it had taken her cashing in several favors and promises of others to get the unofficial copies.

There were over fifty Obliviations recorded inside the house during the last ten years and nearly two hundred with the neighbours, school teachers, classmates, muggle healers, and janitorial staff. That was only for the physical abuse that the boy officially suffered, too. It didn't cover the gang of kids that beat him up at least once a week.

There were no records for the verbal assaults, either. The only thing her investigation team had detected were the slight compulsion charms on the teachers to ignore Harry's appearance and his complaints. The worst part about it all was that every single one of them had been obliviated of whomever it was that had charmed them.

Amelia knew who it had been, though. Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter's supposed magical guardian. He had blocked everyone from having access to the Boy-Who-Lived for years and now she knew why. He was covering his own ass for not taking care of the boy that he had legally kidnapped when Harry's parents were murdered.

There was a knock on her door and it opened as Tonks poked her head inside. “You wanted to see me before I headed over to the hospital?” She easily saw Amelia's upset state. “Is now a good time? I can come back later.”

“Come in and shut the door.” Amelia said without lifting her head.

“Boss? Is everything okay?” Tonks asked as she sat down across the desk from Amelia.

“Everything is just great.” Amelia said and finally lifted her head and passed the parchment she had stared at for the last ten minutes to the Auror Trainee.

Tonks took the parchment and read it. The color faded away from her face. “This can't be true.”

“Those are the only two spells cast by the wand that had just been purchased.” Amelia said and sat back in her chair as she rubbed her face. “The worst of the Unforgivable curses, The Killing Curse.”

“H-how? How could... he's only eleven!” Tonks exclaimed.

“I know.” Amelia said and dropped her hands to rest them on the other reports on her desk. “His medical exam results read like a healer's dictionary for injuries.”

Tonks felt her mouth drop open. “You're joking!”

“I wish I was.” Amelia said and handed the report over. “I really, really wish I was.”

Tonks spent the next ten minutes reading it and she felt equal measures of hatred and shame. Hatred for the muggles that did it and shame that Harry had to go through all of it and no one knew.

“What do you want me to do?” Tonks asked.

“I need to know how he knows that spell.” Amelia said and gave her a pointed look. “I can swing the justification for using it, considering what they did to him. I can't do that if someone actually taught him that spell before he even started Hogwarts.”

Tonks stared at her. “You can't mean a Death Eater had... I thought Dumbledore said that Harry was safe from...” She stopped herself before she continued to say anything even dumber.

“Now you see the problem.” Amelia said and Tonks nodded. “Get me that information soonest.”

“Yes, boss.” Tonks said and stood as she placed the report and piece of parchment back on the desk in front of Amelia. “I'll get back to you as soon as I know.”

Amelia nodded and Tonks left her office at a fast pace. “I just hope it's not as bad as I think it is.”

She would soon discover that it was much, much worse.

*

Tonks spent most of the day with Harry, talking and doing her best to make little jokes here and there, only for most of them to fall flat or for their meanings to either mean nothing to Harry or caused him to become sad and depressed.

The very last thing Tonks asked before she left, was how Harry had learned the spell he had used.

“I remember seeing someone being knocked out with it.” Harry said. He had been a little more open with the eighteen year old girl after spending several days with her talking to him non-stop. “A redheaded woman was hit with it and then I was hit with it, too.”

Tonks stared at him with her mouth open. “You... you really...” She stopped herself before she told him what the spell actually did and that he had survived it.

Harry Potter really was the Boy-Who-Lived.

“What happened when you went home after your visit to Diagon Alley?” Tonks asked.

“When I came home, Uncle Vernon saw my new wand and attacked me. I knocked him out with the only spell I knew. When my aunt saw him, she thought he was dead and attacked me, too. It really hurt.”

Tonks watched as Harry lightly touched the sides of his face where the healing scars were. They would soon be gone, just like all of the other signs of abuse he had suffered from the Dursleys.

“I knocked her out and my cousin found us and started hitting me even harder than he normally does. I don't know what happened after that. I woke up here.” Harry said.

Tonks nodded and slowly held a hand out to him. Harry looked a little nervous as he slowly took the offered hand. Tonks gave him a happy smile and carefully intertwined her slim fingers between Harry's smaller ones. It had taken her dozens of attempts before Harry started to accept that she just wanted to hold his hand.

*

“He doesn't know what it does.” Tonks said that evening as she sat across from her boss, Amelia Bones.

“Excuse me?” Amelia asked, surprised. “It's one of the worst...”

“He was raised completely muggle and didn't know anything about magic at all until Hagrid delivered his letter.”

“HAGRID?!?” Amelia gasped and growled at the same time.

Tonks held up her hands in a clear peace gesture. “I nearly apparated out of the room to go choke the overgrown bastard when I heard that.”

Amelia huffed. “I actually would have.”

Tonks nodded. “It's all in my report about Harry's school shopping.” She said and handed it over. “Harry's really starting to open up to me now.”

Amelia gave her a searching look. “Have you shocked him with your abilities yet?”

Tonks softly laughed. “I showed him my duck face this morning and I couldn't get him to shut up about it.”

Amelia had to smile at that. “You got the ball rolling with getting him to ask the questions.”

Tonks nodded. “The more open and carefree I was about things, the more he relaxed. He even held my hand and didn't flinch when I offered it to him.”

“Good. That's good.” Amelia said and then frowned slightly. “I know this isn't a good subject for you; but, I need to ask you this anyway.” She said and Tonks sat straighter in her chair. “I want you to use some of your own school experiences to try and get him to open up about his own.”

Tonks blushed a little and her pink hair faded into a soft brown. “Boss, I...”

“It's one of the reasons I asked for you specifically and pulled you from your normal training classes. I knew you would have a lot more in common with him than anyone else that works here.” Amelia said and Tonks sighed. “I'm not saying you need to bare your soul to him, Tonks. Just a few incidents and nothing that will make you uncomfortable.”

Tonks thought it over and she could see what Amelia meant. “You want him to identify with me.”

“You are making fantastic progress with him, even faster than I thought you would.” Amelia admitted and Tonks blushed. “I've been doing this for many years and I doubt anyone else in this department could be doing a better job.”

“Thanks, boss.” Tonks said, softly.

“Head on home and get a good night's rest. I'll work on how to break the news about his family to Mister Potter after all of his healing treatments are done.”

“Do we need to tell him?” Tonks asked. “It's not like he's ever going to go back there.”

Amelia took a deep breath and sighed. “I'll go talk to Marchbanks in Child Welfare Services. If she thinks she can find somewhere suitable for...”

“Mum will take him!” Tonks nearly shouted and then wilted under her Amelia's glare for interrupting her. “S-sorry, boss.”

Amelia held the glare for a moment longer, then nodded. “Give Andromeda my best.”

“I will!” Tonks said and ran out of the office without shutting the door behind her.

“Do I want to know what that was about?” Amelia's secretary asked as she poked her head around the doorframe before she reached for the open door's handle.

“An overexcited Auror Trainee getting her way without having to fight for it.” Amelia responded.

The secretary let out a little laugh and shut the door.

*

Two weeks later, Harry Potter laid in bed and groaned as the last potion dose was delivered. Skele-Grow was the worst tasting thing he had ever ingested and he swore that if he ever had the chance to make it himself, he would add fruit flavoring to it, just like he did for Dudley's yogourt at the Dursley's.

There was a knock on the door and Howard the Healer spoke. “Come in!”

“Harry!” Tonks exclaimed and ran in, elbowed the chuckling healer out of the way, and gave Harry a quick hug and let him go before he could react. She was getting really good at sneaking in affection when he least expected it.

“You're lucky the last bones we're working on are in his legs.” Howard said.

“That means you're almost done and we can take you out of the oven soon!” Tonks said to Harry and took his hand.

Harry's fingers intertwined with hers, as if it was the most natural thing to do, and smiled at her.

“I've brought someone to introduce you to.” Tonks said and waved at the open door.

A woman with long black curly hair entered the room wearing a dark blue business suit and skirt combo. She was five foot eight inches tall and looked both stern and welcoming, which was a weird combination. The man beside her was almost the same height and his short dark brown hair was styled. He wore a dark blue business suit as well, as if the two of them were just going into work.

“The woman on the right is my mum, Andromeda Tonks. The woman on the left that's pretending to be a man, is my dad, Ted Tonks.”

“Do you have to say that every time you introduce me?” Ted groaned at the old joke.

“Not every time.” Tonks said with an evil grin.

Harry stared at them, because he had never seen anyone act like that. Ever.

“You have to forgive my daughter, Harry. She is a horrible example of how humor should be properly applied.” Andromeda said.

“Hey, it's not my fault that I try to make jokes and they almost always fall flat.” Tonks grumped.

“I rest my case.” Andromeda said with a similar evil grin that Tonks had just worn.

“And that's the best introduction to life with the Tonks that anyone could ever have.” Ted said with a chuckle.

“Shut it.” Andromeda said sternly and smacked his arm.

Harry flinched hard and his hand gripped Tonks' hand really hard.

“MUM!” Tonks yelled. “I warned you not to...”

“AH! Don't hit me! DON'T HIT ME!” Harry shouted and yanked his hand out of Tonks' grip and rolled over onto his side and curled up into a ball. He ignored the pain from his twisted lower leg that had the shin bone vanished. He shivered and shook as he waited for the beating he always received when he yelled like that. His hands covered his ears and he didn't hear several soft curses from both Andromeda and Tonks.

“Get out.” Howard said in a calm and deadly voice. “All of you. Now.”

His tone brooked no arguments. After a few muffled apologies that Harry didn't hear, the room cleared out.

Howard very carefully straightened Harry's leg and then conjured restraints to keep his leg stable and his foot pointing in the right direction. He touched Harry's shoulder as lightly as he could without scaring the boy more.

“It's okay, Harry. They're gone now.” Howard said.

Harry shook his head several times. “Not okay. Never okay.”

Howard let his shoulder go. “I need to have a few words with your visitors and I'll be back later.”

Harry didn't say anything until the room's door closed. “Nobody likes a freak like me.” He whispered as tears came to his eyes. “Nobody does. Nobody ever does.”

*

It wasn't the first verbal reaming out that Tonks had ever received, considering her usual outrageous behaviour and who her mother was. However, it was the first time that she had received one with both of her parents also being reamed out.

Howard was not someone to casually lose his temper like that, either. It took a lot for him to break his normal calmness to deliver a slightly loud reprimand. Now he was shouting at the top of his lungs and letting his anger out for the first time in his life. He had a lot of it built up, apparently.

When he was out of verbal slap downs, he stepped aside and revealed that Amelia Bones stood behind him. The look on her face let the Tonks Family know that they were about to receive their second public and quite embarrassing chewing out that day.

They knew they deserved it, because they had lost nearly all of the progress that had been made with bringing Harry out of his shell.

*

It took until three days before the school term at Hogwarts was going to start for Harry to be comfortable enough around Tonks for her to finally bring him home to the house that she and her family lived in. Thankfully, it had been the day before when she discovered that Harry didn't own anything to bring to the house and she had only flipped out and ranted around her parents about it, well away from Harry's sensitive ears.

Andromeda and Ted weren't happy about that, either. All Harry had were his Hogwarts uniforms and some hand-me-down clothes that didn't fit him. They promised themselves and Tonks that they would fix that as soon as possible.

Harry was surprised when they told him that he had his own room and he didn't have to sleep in the hall closet. Tonks did her best to hide her pushing from Harry as she pushed her parents out of the room and shut the door normally. The three of them rushed out of the house into the backyard and all three of them ranted and raved about the injustice of it all.

Harry heard them yelling and dove under his blankets and hid from it. He just hoped that if they couldn't see him, they would leave him alone. He hated yelling, because it always led to him being hurt.

Tonks knocked on the door and poked her head into the room, only to see Harry hidden under his blanket. She closed his door and went back downstairs. “He must have heard us.”

Andromeda rubbed her forehead in frustration and Ted sighed.

“At least he's only here for a couple of days and we won't make things worse.” Andromeda said.

“Mum! You can't think that...”

“He needs to go to school, Nymphadora. We can't change that.” Andromeda said.

Tonks glared at her for speaking her hated name. “But...”

“It's the law and there's nothing you can do about it.”

Tonks tried to not keep glaring at her. “You know what the other kids are going to be like!”

“There's nothing we can do to change that. Not with so little time left.” Andromeda said. “We need to get back to the construction company.”

“Yes, because building muggle houses is much more important than the savior of the wizarding world.” Tonks said, sarcastically.

“That's enough, Dora!” Ted said and gave her a glare. “If he didn't keep having setbacks, we could have helped him adjust to how we act around each other.”

“It's not our fault that carrying on playfully will trigger his anxiety.” Andromeda said.

Tonks couldn't help but glare at them for that. “Is it really so Merlin-be-damned hard to STOP HITTING EACH OTHER FOR ONE DAMN DAY?!?”

There was an articulate scream from upstairs and the three of them felt guilty that their argument had once again caused an innocent boy to be afraid of them. Ted and Andromeda didn't say anything as they left the house and Tonks grabbed a pint of ice cream and a spoon before she started to eat it. She was on her third mouthful before she realized what she was doing and what she could be doing.

Tonks grabbed a second spoon and went up the stairs to Harry's room. “Harry? I need your help.” She said and the blanket didn't move. “I'm going to get fat if I eat all of this ice cream by myself.”

Harry moved the edge of the blanket and peeked out through the space it made. “Ice cream?”

“I have two spoons and we can share it.” Tonks said and held up the spoons.

Harry moved the blanket down just enough to uncover his whole head and one hand.

Tonks smiled briefly and slowly walked in. Instead of sitting on the bed, she sat down on the floor beside it and handed Harry one of the spoons. “I hope you like double chocolate chip.”

“I... I've never had it before.” Harry whispered.

“It's my favorite.” Tonks said and put the container on the edge of the bed before she took out a huge scoop of it with her spoon. She started biting it and licking it like it was trying to escape and had a hard time not smiling when she heard Harry let out a muffled laugh.

Harry's spoon dipped a little into the container and plucked out a quarter of a spoonful before he quickly put it in his mouth as if she was going to steal it if he did it any slower. He let out a pleased sound and gave her a pleading look.

“I'm still working on my single spoonful. Help yourself.” Tonks said and kept biting her large scoop that was about half gone now.

Harry nodded and took another quarter of a spoonful and ate it normally. Tonks nodded at the container and continued to eat her outrageous scoop. Harry accepted the invitation and kept taking increasing amounts with each spoon movement, that would eventually become a full spoonful.

Tonks smiled when she took another huge spoonful for herself and Harry let out a laugh.

*

The next day, Harry received a whole bunch of delayed birthday presents. He had no idea what was going on, because only Dudley ever received presents for both Christmas and birthdays.

Thankfully, the Tonks Family had their tempers under control and their outrage that Harry's deceased relatives never gave him presents for the entire time he lived there, made their simmering anger build and build. If the Dursleys hadn't already been dead, the Tonks Family would have killed them.

The day after that, Madam Amelia Bones showed up and had a very important meeting with Harry. She did her best to not scare the boy and she was glad that the healers had made sure that Harry knew she was stern and not mean.

“Harry, this topic is a very sensitive subject and I apologize if this is going to upset you.” Amelia said and Harry nodded.

Tonks held his hand and whispered a promise to give him half of her bowl of ice cream later.

“You were mistaken in your belief that spell you used only knocks people out.” Amelia said and saw Harry's eyes widen. “That spell... it's one of the darkest magics of our world.”

“It... it is?” Harry asked.

“Yes. It's common name is The Killing Curse.”

“The K-k-kill... killing curse.” Harry whispered.

“It's one of the three Unforgivable Curses and casting it is a one-way ticket straight to Azkaban.”

“B-but... but, I...” Harry stammered. His little-used mind went over his memory with the red-haired woman and then what happened to his Uncle Vernon. His aunt said he had killed the fat walrus and he hadn't believed her. Until now.

“I've cleared your wand for you.” Amelia said and took out his wand from her robes.

“What does that mean?” Harry asked. He did not show how happy he was that neither his uncle nor his aunt would ever hurt him again. He had done that. He had protected himself when no one else could.

“We have a spell that detects the last ten or so spells cast by a wand.” Amelia said and used her own wand and cast the spell on Harry's. Ghostly words floated out of the wand and Amelia explained that they were names for cleaning charms, locking and unlocking charms, and wand lighting charms. The Killing Curse was not listed.

Harry accepted the wand back and it felt great in his hand. “Th-thank you.”

Amelia saw the happiness on the boy's face and nodded. “Tonks, make sure he's up and at the train station on time.”

“Don't worry, boss.” Tonks said and gave Harry a kind of sad look. “Even though I want to keep him here with me and don't want to send him away...”

“Auror Trainee Tonks.” Amelia said, sternly.

Tonks sighed when she felt Harry's hand grip hers tightly. “I'll warn him as much as I can without giving away too much about life in Hogwarts. He'll be on the train at 10 sharp.”

Amelia nodded again and looked at Harry. “Good luck at school, Harry.”

“Thank you.” Harry said and ducked his head a little.

Amelia left the room and had a few words with Andromeda to see how Harry was settling in, accepted that it wouldn't happen after such a short time living there, and left the house to return to work.

For the rest of the morning, Tonks did her best to tell Harry everything she knew about the castle, the teachers, and what the students were going to be like when they learned about who he was. Harry held her hand the entire time and didn't let go, even when they went into the house to have lunch.

Tonks had to leave for the afternoon and evening to train at work, so Harry asked about practising his first year charms while she was gone. She told him that their house was in a muggle neighborhood and even though it was warded for protection, it didn't block the trace on Harry's wand. After a short debate with herself, Tonks handed Harry her backup wand.

Harry promised to not go overboard and would only practice one spell. Tonks gave him a searching look for a moment before she put a single arm over his shoulders and gave him a one-armed hug. Harry smiled at her and she went out into the backyard and apparated away.

Now that he had so much time to himself, he would do exactly what he told Tonks he would do. Harry went out into the backyard and found a weed that was nearly identical to the ones that his aunt hated and made him pull out and discard.

Harry brought up how he felt about those stupid weeds and how angry he would be when he weeded the garden and was never thanked for it. He felt his magic swell inside of himself and pointed the backup wand at the ugly flower as he imagined it had Petunia's face.

“Avada Kedavra.” Harry whispered and a beam of green light hit the plant and it died. It seemed to wither away and crumble into nothing and Harry smiled. Another weed was not far away and he took aim. A barely whispered curse later, the plant had withered and died.

By the time suppertime had arrived and the entire yard had been cleared of weeds, Harry no longer had to speak the curse to get the same effect.

It was very late that evening when an exhausted Tonks entered the house as quietly as possible. She made sure to brace her hands on the walls as she went up the stairs, because she didn't want to accidentally trip and wake everyone in the house. She went to her room and changed for bed, which was just her wearing panties and an oversized t-shirt.

Tonks had an odd thought and left her room and stopped by Harry's door and listened. She couldn't hear anything and opened the door slightly and peered inside. Her eyes widened when she saw a wide awake Harry staring at her.

Without saying a word, Tonks stepped into his room and closed the door. She walked over to his bed and motioned with her hand for him to roll over. Harry gave her a wide-eyed look.

“Scoot over or I can't fit on the bed.” Tonks whispered.

Harry just kept staring at her.

Tonks sighed and lifted his blanket, gently rolled him from his left side to his right side, and climbed under the blanket. She felt Harry stiffen up as she spooned him from behind and ignored his reaction as she draped an arm around his waist and pulled him in closer.

“Goodnight, Harry.” Tonks whispered.

Harry didn't know why her extra warmth seemed to be comforting and her hot breath against his neck was so soothing. He hated it when people touched him too much, because he always expected to be hit, especially when he couldn't see them doing it. Yet, here he was in bed and Tonks had pressed herself right up against his back, hugged him tightly from behind, and he wasn't fighting against it.

“G-g-goodnight.” Harry whispered back.

*

“I'm really going to miss you now.” Tonks whispered into Harry's ear. She had carefully hugged him and his arms had snaked around her waist. “Thank you for hugging me back.”

The pair stood beside the Hogwarts Express with Harry's featherlight trunk beside them.

“T-Tonks.” Harry whispered back and blushed.

“The hair color charm will end in a couple of hours, so make sure your compartment is locked by then.” Tonks reminded him and eased her hold on him to look down into his eyes. “Do you remember my warnings?”

Harry nodded as he looked up into her eyes.

“Then get on board and wave to me when you find an empty compartment.” Tonks said and reluctantly let him go. “If anything happens, you send your owl right to me, got it?”

“But, I thought...”

“Only if you get into Hufflepuff. The other heads suck at their jobs.” Tonks said with a smirk.

“T-T-Tonks!” Harry gasped and then ducked his head as he waited to be smacked for being so loud.

Tonks laughed softly to make him relax and then leaned in close to whisper. “I'm sorry that I'm not sorry about this.”

“About what?” Harry asked and opened his eyes just in time to see Tonks as she planted her lips right on his cheek. His face turned bright red from embarrassment.

“You are coming home for Christmas.” Tonks ordered and Harry nodded. “I expect a letter letting me know what House you get sorted into.”

“O-okay.” Harry said and bent down to pick up his trunk. “S-see you later, Tonks.”

“See you, Harry.” Tonks said.

Harry entered the train and went down only two compartments and put his trunk on the upper rack and leaned out the window that was almost right beside where he had stood with Tonks. Tonks let out a laugh and held a hand out to him, which he took and their fingers intertwined. The two of them stared into each others eyes for several moments, without saying anything, then they both let go at the same time and Tonks waved before she disapparated.

Harry sat down and was glad that he had dressed in his Hogwarts robes, because they had deep pockets for wands. He pulled his normal one out and smiled at it, tucked it away, and pulled out Tonks' backup wand. This made his smile grow and he tucked it away before anyone saw him with it. Having a second wand, one without the trace on it, gave him the perfect way to protect himself from anyone that would ever hurt him.

With that comforting thought, Harry pulled out his spell books for first year and read up on the spells that he knew that would be easy and quick to cast. He needed to practice clearing his wand in case he ever did get caught with the second one. No evidence could be found and no one would know it was him.

An hour later, the train's whistle went off to signify that there was only five minutes left before the train left. Harry paused his self-learning to gaze out the window at all of the crowded people on the platform. He shivered at the sight and tried to not let his anxiety overwhelm him. So many people in so close of a space made him very nervous.

Harry's eyes widened when a huge group of redheaded people rushed onto the platform and scrambled to get their trunks onto the train. As soon as they did, the plump woman that he assumed was their mother, pretty much assaulted them and smothered them with hugs and kisses before she shoved them onto the train.

Harry shivered, because of what usually happened to him when he was shoved like that. The girl didn't get on the train, though. Before he could guess that she might not be old enough to go to school, the door to his compartment opened and he turned his head to look. One of the redheads gave him a look, saw the book in his hands, and shrugged before shutting the door again.

Weird. Harry thought and went back to reading. He was relieved that Tonks had helped him hide.

Not long after that, the door opened again and a bushy-haired girl poked her head into the compartment. “Excuse me, have you seen a toad? A boy named Neville's lost one.”

Harry shook his head without speaking and went back to his book. The girl gave him the same searching look as the redhead did, shrugged, and closed the door.

Half an hour later, the door slammed open and a blond boy stood there arrogantly with two larger boys behind him. “Word is that Harry Potter is on the train. Have you seen him?”

Harry shook his head and went back to his book. He hadn't lied, either. He didn't see his reflection while on the train, so he hadn't seen himself. Another searching look came from the boy, which made three people so far. Harry had only met three people, so he was very grateful to Tonks. He would have to give her something as thanks.

The boy left and slammed the door closed, which made Harry shake his head again. The boy reminded him of Dudley, whom also slammed every door he passed through. He would have to watch out for him after the color charm on his hair faded. After a check to see if the door had a lock, it didn't, he took out his backup wand and practised the locking charm. He got it after the fifth cast and smiled.

*

When the train came to a stop, Harry's hair was back to its normal color, so he slowed down and stayed at the back of the group of first year students that Hagrid called over. They walked down a winding path to a huge lake and Harry climbed into a boat with a dark skinned boy with black hair, a blonde-haired girl, and a dark-haired girl.

They didn't talk as the boats moved on their own across the lake and Harry did his best to not huddle at the back of the boat. Tonks had warned him that if he looked afraid, people would automatically pick on him. He agreed with that, because bullies at his old school had homed in on him from day one.

Harry didn't look up when the other three made surprised sounds and he fingered his wand. He missed the sight of the castle as it came into view and its once a year lit up splendor was lost to him.

The boats arrived at the other side of the lake, went through a tunnel, and the students all climbed out onto the docks. Harry once again hung back, as did the other three students from the boat they had shared, and they followed the group up the stairs to a set of oak doors.

A stern witch named Professor McGonagall stood there and gave them an explanation of the Houses and their rules. He barely hid his terror at the thought that his housemates would treat him like his family did.

They were led to a small anteroom and Harry closed his eyes to try and calm himself. He heard several students gasp and a few of them let out startled sounds. He fully agreed with that sentiment and shivered, not realizing that he had missed the appearance of the ghosts that had passed through the waiting room.

McGonagall came back for them and led them into the Great Hall. The stares and mutterings were even worse than after Harry had somehow popped onto the elementary school's roof and he had to be rescued by the fire department. He couldn't stop himself as he tried to make himself a bit smaller and the blonde-haired girl saw this and lightly touched his hand.

Harry turned his head to look at her with wide eyes and she gave him a quick smile before she schooled her face and looked forward. He knew what she was trying to do, so he did the same thing as her. When the group stopped walking, he took a huge chance and lightly touched the back of her hand. She looked just as surprised as he did and after another quick smile that disappeared, they both looked forward.

The sorting started and Harry stared at the hat as it sang. He didn't hear any of the words, because he was trying to figure out how he was going to not let the thing sift through his head like the stern witch said was going to happen.

Harry learned the blonde-haired girl's name was Daphne Greengrass and her eyes had darted to his before she walked across the hall to light applause from the students at the Slytherin table. Harry ignored everything as the names were called and the other students were sorted, because it was getting closer and closer to his turn.

“Potter, Harry!” McGonagall called out.

Harry winced at that, because everyone stared at him as he walked forward. The muttering became talking at a normal volume and he ignored it as much as he could, especially everyone commenting about him not wearing glasses. He sat on the stool and put on the hat.

Hmm, not difficult at all. A voice whispered in his head. You've had a horrible life up until now, Mister Potter.

Harry didn't bother nodding. If the hat could see into his head, then he knew everything.

I do and I am very sorry about this. If there was anyone that shouldn't be subjected to how things are run in the House of the Snakes, it's you. The hat thought to him. However, you have almost none of the traits to put you into another house. You're not studious like a Ravenclaw, you have no friends or feel much loyalty like a Hufflepuff, and you're not very brave like a Griffindor.

You don't have to rub it in. Harry thought and his face flushed red from embarrassment.

It's all right, Mister Potter. I'm not allowed to reveal any secrets I learn while sorting. The hat told him. So, there's not much point in wasting any more time on this. “Better be... SLYTHERIN!”

The entire Great Hall fell deathly silent as Harry took off the hat and handed it to the shocked stern witch with the scroll in her hand. He walked over to the Slytherin table and sat beside an also shocked Daphne. In fact, everyone looked completely stunned as they stared at him.

No one moved or said anything for nearly a full minute before McGonagall shook herself and called out the next name. That seemed to be enough for the rest of the students to come out of their shocked state. Mostly. A lot of them still stared at him, even as they talked to their friends.

“You know you don't look like you.” Daphne whispered.

Harry thought about not answering, then remembered that she had helped him when he started to panic. “I spent almost a month in St. Mungo's recovering from ten years of abuse from my muggle relatives.”

Several gasps and surprised sounds came from everyone around him, especially the girls.

“What... what did they do to you?” Daphne asked as her hand lightly touched his.

Harry turned his hand over and she held onto it. “I don't... I can't...”

“It's okay.” The dark-haired girl beside Daphne said. Her name was Tracy Davis. “We're all friends here.”

“Friends?” Harry whispered and shook his head. “I've never had friends before.”

A sound that reminded him of Tonks came from Daphne. “You do now.”

Harry turned his head to look at her face and saw her staring at him. “They starved me.” He said and her face flashed anger for a second before going blank again. “I had to have most of my bones regrown because they healed wrong.”

Tracy also had an angry face for a moment before she also showed a blank face.

“I had most of my skin removed and regrown because of the scars from the beatings.” Harry said and the dark-skinned boy named Blaize Zabini let out a growl-like sound. “The specialist healer worked on my eyes for a week to get them working properly. He said my cracked skull from my aunt's frying pan damaged the muscles and nerves and I needed a lot of work done to fix it.”

“Oh, Merlin.” A girl named Pansy Parkinson whispered and covered her mouth with a hand.

Harry was on a roll now and he wasn't sure why it was so easy to confess everything that had happened to him. He thought it was because of Tonks and how she had spent so much time coaxing him to talk about it. He told his new friends about being bullied from a young age by his cousin and his gang of bullies, about sleeping in the boot cupboard under the stairs, and about how he had to do all the chores and cooked the meals.

By the time he was done, nearly the entire table of Slytherins had listened to his tale. The various looks on their faces were difficult for him to read, since he was only eleven. Three of them gave him almost eager looks and they were similar to what Dudley had on his face when he knew he would get Harry alone to beat him up.

The sorting ended and Daphne still held his hand. The headmaster didn't say anything and just stared at Harry until McGonagall returned to the head table and whispered something to the old man. He stood and made several announcements and said a few words that didn't make sense, clapped his hands, and food appeared on the tables.

“I heard he's barmy.” Blaise whispered as he dug into the bowl of potatoes to take a generous scoop.

“We just had proof, so I have to agree.” Tracy said and helped herself to a pork chop and some carrots. A spoonful of gravy covered both before she started to eat.

“He's the one that kidnapped me and put me there.” Harry said and took three slices of roast beef and a scoop of potatoes for himself.

“You're joking!” Tracy gasped.

“I wish.” Harry said and poured gravy over his food. Pepper and salt were added and he took a spoonful to chew and swallow before he spoke. “Tonks said her boss is compiling a bunch of charges against the headmaster.”

A light chuckle came from the blond boy that he had seen on the train. “I can't wait to tell father about this.”

Harry didn't bother trying to ask them to keep it quiet, because he was sure that the more people that knew, the safer he would be from the headmaster. At least, he hoped so.

When the meal was over and the desserts cleared away, the headmaster stood up. He gave a few more announcements, the last of which was a warning to stay away from the third floor corridor on the right-hand side, unless they wanted to experience a painful death.

Those words made Harry tremble, because he could have sworn that the old man had looked right at him when he said them. Daphne saw it and touched his hand to give him a chance to pull away. He didn't and held onto it for comfort.

“Mister Potter.” A stern male voice said as a greasy-haired and thin man strode over to him. “The headmaster wishes to see you.”

Harry shook his head and leaned away from him.

“That wasn't a request.” The man sneered.

“Professor Snape, there's something you should know...” Daphne started to say.

“Then see me in my office tomorrow.” Snape said and grabbed Harry by the back of his robes and hauled him to his feet.

“NOOO! DON'T HURT ME!” Harry yelled and did a great impression of a ball as he curled up to hide.

Everyone froze as they all looked over to see Snape's angry face.

“Stop your whining, Potter! You're making a scene.” Snape snarled and shook him.

“Professor!” Daphne gasped and stood. “LET HIM GO!”

“That will be a detention with me tonight, Miss Greengrass.” Snape said and started to drag Harry over his seat to the space between the tables in order to force the boy to walk.

No one saw Harry pull out his backup wand and he pressed it to Snape's belly. A brief flash of green light later, that no one saw because Harry was still curled up and had hidden it, Snape seemed to trip and dropped to the floor and also dropped Harry to the floor as well.

Harry let out a yell at the rough treatment and stayed curled up in a ball on the floor as he quickly put his wand into his pocket and then muttered 25 spells, varying between Lumos, Alohomora, Nox, and Colloportus to clear his wand.

Everyone had stayed frozen and gave him plenty of time to cover up his crime before Daphne let out a shout and went to him. She quickly checked him over to see if he was hurt, then she let out a sigh of relief and sat beside him to hold his free hand. His other hand came out of his robes and he held onto her hand with both of his as the students started talking about what they had all seen.

With Daphne's actions mostly seen by the staff, they finally realized that Snape wasn't moving. The Hogwarts Healer named Poppy Pomfrey rushed over as Minerva McGonagall and Albus Dumbledore stood. Pomfrey knelt by Snape and checked his vitals, shook her head, and used her wand to cast several diagnostic spells.

“Poppy? What is it? What happened?” Minerva asked.

“I don't think I should say...” Poppy hedged.

“I'm sure it's not too serious. He only tripped.” Albus said in his grandfatherly voice. “How hurt could he be?”

Poppy gave him a stern look before she relented. “He's dead.”

There was absolutely complete silence for about three seconds, then about three quarters of the students let out loud cheers and hollers of celebration and the Slytherins let out sounds of disbelief. Draco looked shocked and stared at the still form of his godfather on the floor.

“Surely, you jest.” Minerva asked, her face pale.

Albus took out his wand and cast a spell at his potions professor and let out a sigh. “I'm afraid that she is quite correct. Professor Snape is no longer among the living.”

Daphne's hand clenched Harry's and he opened his eyes to look at her. She saw his eyes up close then and she couldn't help but notice the eerily similar color to the Killing Curse. The question she wanted to ask didn't pass through her lips, however. Suspecting something was much different than knowing something and she wasn't about to hint at anything until after she had gotten Harry alone.

“Harry, my boy.” Albus said, his grandfatherly voice almost echoed in the Great Hall, despite the ruckus the students were causing. “Do you know what happened here?”

“Y-y-yes.” Harry said and shivered.

“Can you tell me?” Albus asked and everyone quieted down to listen.

“It's a f-f-family c-curse.” Harry lied. “Anyone... that hurts me... will... will...”

“Will what?” Albus prompted.

Harry took a deep breath and let it out before he spoke in a steady voice. “They die.”

All of the females near him let out gasps, even Minerva and Poppy, as a ripple of shock flowed out across the hall at the boy's words. Harry didn't have to see the faces of the three older Slytherin students that he had noticed before, to know that their hungry looks had completely disappeared.

“May I see your wand for a moment, Harry?” Albus asked and everyone knew it was an order.

Harry dug into his robes and held up his registered wand. Albus plucked it from his hand and cast the spell reveal spell and nothing happened. He cast it again and still nothing showed up or was revealed.

“Why is nothing happening?” Minerva asked, confused.

“I've never used it before.” Harry lied. He didn't know that the spell only worked once and removed all traces of inconsequential spells from the wand for legal purposes.

“He was in St. Mungo's until three days ago.” Daphne offered and did her best to glare at the headmaster. “Thanks to you.”

Albus startled for a moment before he bent down to hand Harry his wand back. His eyes caught Daphne's and a few seconds later, his face drained of all color and he slowly stood back up.

“I... believe...” Albus paused and lifted his head to look around at the tables. “Prefects, please lead the first years to their dormitories.”

Gemma Farley stood and waved to the other first years. “Come on, you lot. We need to clear out to let the headmaster deal with this.” She said and walked over to Daphne. “Greengrass? Potter? Can you stand?”

Harry nodded and winced as he stood. His knees and left elbow had hit the stone floor hard when Snape had dropped him. Daphne saw him struggle and offered to help. Harry shivered a little before he slowly accepted and put his arm over her shoulders to hold on. Daphne couldn't stop her smile before she schooled her face to keep it blank. Tracey stood on his other side, ready to help as well.

“Try to keep up. I'll send someone to the hospital wing for a pain potion and bruise creme after we get to the common room.” Gemma said and walked to the front of the group of first years.

Harry, Daphne, and Tracey walked at a slower pace than the others while keeping them in sight. By the time they reached the entrance to the dungeon common room, the first years already had their brief introduction and were given the password to enter Slytherin House.

“Normally, the Head of House Professor Snape would come here and give you a speech about house unity and mutual support outside the common room. Any problems among ourselves are to be handled and dealt with while inside the house and never outside.” Gemma said and looked at Harry. “I think after what just happened, this rule should be strictly followed.”

“Yeah, Potter.” An arrogant boy said and approached them.

“Back off, Pucey.” Gemma warned him.

“He's the Boy-Who-Lived and he's in the House of the Snakes. If he can't handle himself, then I think we all need to make sure that he's... properly taken care of.” Pucey said with an evil smile.

“I will not be bullied.” Harry said and pointed his wand at him.

“Oh, look! Potter's going to deal with me with a wand he's never cast spells with before!” Pucey said, playing it up to the room, and a bunch of the Slytherins laughed. “Well, go ahead, Little Potty! Show us all what a great wizard you are!”

“You asked for this.” Harry said and a bolt of green light shot out of the wand and hit Pucey's chest.

The lifeless body fell to the floor and everyone stopped breathing and stared at it.

“My family's curse has struck again.” Harry said and looked at everyone's shocked faces. “Does anyone else want to try and bully me?”

Not one single person moved or spoke.

“H-Harry, you... did you really...” Daphne whispered, her eyes wide as she stared at the body.

“My aunt and uncle fell to the curse, too.” Harry said and Daphne turned her head to look into his eyes.

“You... you didn't lie, did you? What you said was true?”

“They hated magic and hated me. They saw nothing wrong with beating me and treating me like a slave.” Harry said and looked at Gemma. “I need that pain potion.”

Gemma nodded several times and waved over a third year student. “Go to the hospital wing and get me a pain potion and a jar of bruise creme.”

The young boy looked down at the body and back at her face.

“I'll handle that. Go on.” Gemma said and the boy ran across the room and out through the door. “Dorms for the boys are down the right hallway and girls are on the left. First years are right by the entrance, so you can't miss it. Your trunks and things will be in front of your beds.”

The first years split up and the boys went to the right and the girls went to the left, except for Daphne and Harry. They both stayed there.

“Go on.” Gemma said and waved them off. “You don't need to be here for this.”

Harry and Daphne exchanged looks before they nodded and went to the right hallway for the boys and Daphne disappeared into the first year boy's dorm.

Gemma sighed and looked down at the body. It was going to be a huge pain in the ass trying to explain it and not get Harry in trouble for casting an unforgivable curse. Multiple unforgivable curses.

“Did we just see what we thought we saw?” A seventh year Slytherin asked.

“No, you didn't.” Gemma said.

“What?!?” Multiple students exclaimed.

“Did any of you hear Harry actually say anything when he cast the spell?” Gemma asked and they all shook their heads.

“It was the same light, though.” One of them said.

“Doesn't matter. We can't testify that he spoke the curse when he didn't.” Gemma said. “As far as we know, it could be any other spell and have a similar effect, like stopping a heart.”

A few of the Slytherins let out chuckles.

“Already making up lies for your new favorite boy, Farley?” A boy named Marcus Flint asked.

“No, Flint. I'm trying to make sure that no one else in this room suffers from the Potter Family Curse.” Gemma said and that stopped him and a few others from laughing. “You saw him and how he acted.” She reminded them. “He didn't care that he just killed a boy in a room full of witnesses.”

“Yeah, so? He's arrogant.” Someone else commented.

“No, he isn't.” Gemma said. “You saw what happened in the Great Hall. He's scared of being hurt.”

“That's why Adrian wanted to put him in his place.” Flint said. “Potter's weak and...”

“Shut up, you fool!” Gemma spat and he clapped his mouth shut. “Potter won't hesitate to deal with you. With any of you. With anyone at all!” She said, her voice raised. “He KILLED Professor Snape in the Great Hall, in front of the ENTIRE school, AND GOT AWAY WITH IT!”

Everyone flinched and wilted at her yell.

Gemma pointed at the body of the boy that she hated. “This was a warning that no one is safe from retribution! If he sees you as a threat, you won't be one for much longer.”

“Then we can gang up on him and...” Flint started to say.

“Do YOU want to be the next to die? Your buddy beside you? Your girlfriend?” Gemma asked and the dark-haired girl beside Flint moved away from him slightly, as did the boy on his other side. “I've never heard of anyone that could cast that spell wordlessly. He could do it from anywhere and you would never know it was coming, especially if he does you like he did Professor Snape. None of us saw it!”

All of the students looked pensive.

“I think it would be in all of our best interests if Potter becomes the most protected student in the school.” Gemma said and a bunch of people nodded. “Spread the word to those you trust. Let them know... let everyone know... that Harry Potter is untouchable.”

A lot of uneasy looks were exchanged before they all nodded in agreement.

Daphne and Harry stood beside the wall near the first year dorms, out of sight, and looked at each other. Both of them smiled and quietly entered the dorm.

*

Albus Dumbledore sat at his desk with his head in his hands. He had known he was sentencing Harry to ten dark years when he left him at the Dursleys. He also knew that it was for The Greater Good of the wizarding world. If Harry had been raised knowing he was famous and had access to his fortune, the boy would have been spoiled rotten and wouldn't have respected or revered the wizarding world.

Now he had two bodies at his school and he didn't know how to handle it. Severus would be easy enough to cover up; but, the student was the son of a prominent pureblood family and they were screaming for an appropriate punishment against the Boy-Who-Lived for killing their son.

The problem with that was that word of the Potter Curse had already made the rounds at the school and every single student knew that if you crossed Harry Potter, you died. There would be no warnings, no second chances, and definitely no way to argue out of it. If he discovered that the Pucey Family were after him, Albus was scared that they would all be lost and not only their spoiled brat of a son.

Albus sighed and sat back in his chair to listen to his phoenix, Fawkes, as it warbled a sad song. “Yes, my old friend. I believe I have messed up completely.”

Another warble had Albus nod his head.

“I've already checked and Andromeda Tonks and her husband Ted have taken custody of the boy.” Albus said. “Their daughter Nymphadora has also taken a liking to him.”

A warble and a chirp answered him.

“Unfortunately, Miss Greengrass was completely correct. Harry spent barely any time at their house and hasn't fully recovered from his extended stay at St. Mungo's.” Albus said and rubbed his tired eyes. “If I had known...” He paused and shook his head. “No, I can't second guess myself. Even if I had known the true extent, beyond what Mrs. Figg has reported, I still would have left him there.”

Fawkes warbled sadly and ducked its head under its wing.

“I wish I could have found a more suitable spot for him on such short notice, too.” Albus said and lightly touched the bird's feathers before he went back to the paperwork on his desk. He denied the suit to call a hearing of the Wizengamut over the death of a student and signed the death notice for Severus Snape to be sent out and filed, even if there was no one alive in his family to receive it.

As he worked, Albus did his best to not think about how long he would have before the Potter Curse made its way to him. His only hope was that it would take Professor Quirrell as well.

Perhaps a few choice words would put the possessed man into Harry's sights. Albus thought and smiled slightly as he wrote out a note to have the man visit his office. He would have to deliver Harry's cloak as well. Every little bit helps.

Quirrell's body was found the following Monday and Albus felt nothing but relief.

*

“I can't believe you're a slimy snake!” Ron Weasley spat at Harry Potter in the hallway before their first Transfiguration class together. He was right in Harry's face as he shouted. “We're supposed to be best mates and you're evil! EEEEEVIL!”

No one saw the green bolt from Harry's backup wand that was pressed to Ron's stomach and everyone stared as the redheaded idiot dropped to the floor, dead. No one saw Harry tuck the wand away or heard his muttering as he cast the required spells to clear the wand of the curse.

“I wonder how many more people are going to try that with you.” Daphne said and didn't bother looking down at the body.

“It doesn't matter. The Potter Curse can handle them all.” Harry said, confidently.

All of the Griffindors took a step away, or tried to. They were against the wall of the hallway and there wasn't really anywhere for them to go. None of them would meet his eyes, either.

The next morning, the owls flew in and a barmy old owl slammed into the table near Harry and stumbled to its feet before it held out its leg with a red letter attached.

“I'll deal with that Howler for you, Harry.” Daphne said and plucked the letter from the owl's foot, read who it was from, and took out her wand. “Incendio.”

The Howler burned up before it could explode and fill the hall with Molly Weasley's irritating voice.

“Who was it from?” Harry asked.

“Molly Weasley.” Daphne said with a scowl and wiped up the ashes. “Stupid harpy.”

The other first years chuckled at her indignation, because they all knew that the Weasleys were a disgraced family for being blood traitors and for deriding their traditions.

Another owl landed near Harry and it had a letter for him.

“I've got this one.” Gemma Farley said and cast a reveal charm on it. “It's from the Puceys.”

Everyone saw the words of the curse that had been on the letter. If anyone tried to open the thing, they would suffer for it.

“That curse is going to cost them a six month sentence in Azkaban!” Gemma said, clearly surprised.

Tracey picked up the owl and didn't touch the letter. “I'll bring this to Professor Sinestra.”

Harry nodded and watched as Tracey went to their new Head of House and the professor looked irate as she let out a startled shout at the cursed letter. Everyone saw as Dumbledore tried to calm her and also tried to remove the letter from the owl.

Both the Head of House and Tracey stepped away from him as Sinestra asked very loudly for McGonagall to call the Aurors. The deputy headmistress sighed and looked at the headmaster, who shook his head.

There was a brief argument, which quickly spread to the other professors, then Sinestra took Tracey by the arm and quickly walked out of the Great Hall with both Dumbledore and McGonagall following them. The other professors soon followed as well and the students watched and listened as the confrontation continued.

When the doors to the Great Hall closed, Daphne turned to look at Harry. “The headmaster is trying to cover it up.”

Harry nodded. “I assume he's trying to save face for the school and himself, since my being attacked would bring out how and why.”

The other first years nodded, even Draco. His father and mother had specifically told him to never antagonize Potter and to pretend that he was someone to always keep at arms length. He also didn't want to die, so that request was more than easy to do.

*

Four days later, the Daily Prophet reported that the Pucey Family were all dead. The article said when Aurors showed up to arrest the mother for sending the letter, the father and eldest son had attacked them. They were experienced fighters, as were the Aurors, and the fight dragged on for some time. The Aurors were trained to last and eventually managed to win in the end.

The Puceys were caught and brought to trial. The father and eldest son were revealed to have the Dark Mark and a truth serum was applied. The men sang like canaries in a coal mine and identified twenty other prominent families as Death Eaters and that they and their wives were continuous supporters of You-Know-Who.

That explained why a third of the Slytherins were missing that morning. Several Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were also not present and that had all of the students muttering and discussing it. The professors were discussing it as well, especially since Albus Dumbledore was not there, either.

The next day, the headmaster appeared and informed everyone that he was retiring and that the third floor corridor on the right-hand side, was no longer out of bounds. None of the students wondered exactly why he had said such a thing, since most of them had thought it was just a joke anyway.

Harry knew this would probably be his last chance to make the man pay for everything he had done, so he made his way out of the Great Hall and went to the headmaster's office to wait. He didn't bother trying to enter and stood just off to the side of the gargoyle and out of direct line of sight. Even with the invisibility cloak, he didn't want to take the chance of being seen.

Albus never saw the curse that killed him. His wand was taken and joined Harry's backup wand in his pocket and no one would ever know what happened to it. With a levitation spell, the body was brought to the top of the Astronomy Tower and thrown off. Only a few would ever guess that it had been the Potter Curse that had gotten the old man.

*

With Ron Weasley dead, no one was around to feed his pet rat, nor cared. Most of them hated the dirty and smelly thing and would have nothing to do with it. So, being the entrepreneurial rat that he was, he made his way to the kitchens to scrounge up some scraps.

Unfortunately for him, the house elves were not slouches when it came to protecting the food that was meant for the students. As soon as one of them spotted the rat trying to raid the pantry, a call to arms was raised and the rat was soon pelted by six heavy iron frying pans, ten broom handles, and no less than twenty-six fiercely stomping feet.

“Bad ratsy! Youse no touching foods!” Mipsy the House Elf said and brought down the edge of her skillet on the stunned rat's neck. The crack was very loud and everyone let out a sound of satisfaction for dealing with the menace.

The body was scooped up and Mipsy popped away and tossed it into the furnace that kept all the kitchen fires going. She popped away just before the rat died and it transformed into the dead body of Peter Pettegrew. The much larger body burned up just as well as the rat's body would have and no one would ever know.

*

Daphne Greengrass waited for two months before she submitted the requests and payments to the Ministry of Magic for copies of the Death Eater trial transcripts. When they were delivered, they were gone over extensively and all of the names were compiled into a list. It was fairly long and at the top of the parchment were three important words.

The Potter Curse.

Harry couldn't believe it when Daphne presented him with a Christmas present just before they were to leave the school to go to their respective homes. When he opened it and saw the list on top, he caught his breath. He lifted his Killing Curse green eyes from it to look into her Glacius ice-blue eyes and saw complete acceptance there. Without saying a word, he leaned towards her and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Daphne caught her breath this time, because Harry almost never initiated personal contact and that had been the very first time he had done anything so bold. She gave him a grateful look as she blushed and her hand found his. They both smiled shyly at confirming that they liked each other in that way, before they leaned on each other and sighed contentedly.

*

When Harry was thirteen, Tonks moved out of the house her parents owned and rented a two bedroom flat. She did it for several reasons, such as wanting her own space and gaining her independence. The main reason was because she wanted to give Harry a place to live where he was actually wanted and accepted.

Neither Andromeda nor Ted had been able to deal well with Harry's behavior after he had been abused. It wasn't his fault that he wasn't comfortable with people play fighting around him or carrying on. It was the shouts and yells that really bothered him, though. Even if they were done jokingly and with teasing voices, it always reminded him about everything being his fault and being punished for it.

Harry's affection for Tonks rose to a much higher degree when he found out that was why she needed the second bedroom, and Tonks was ecstatic to receive a willing kiss on the cheek from him. Like Daphne, she knew it took a lot for him to make the first move like that and she was glad that he was comfortable enough around her to do it.

*

Over the next few years, the Potter Curse ravaged the pureblood families and a good portion of the Wizengamut. Word of it had spread far and wide and no one in their right minds would ever do or say anything against the savior of the wizarding world, unless they had a death wish.

Those that were not in their right minds, namely the idiot Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge and his Undersecretary Deloris Umbridge, had tried to have Harry Potter prosecuted for his family's curse and how it was killing off the people that bribed them. The pair soon found themselves abandoned by everyone, including their friends and families.

Not long before the trial was supposed to be brought before the much smaller Wizengamut, their bodies had been found on the shore of the island that held Azkaban Prison. They also found the bodies of all the convicted Death Eaters in their cells and the happy Dementors nearby, because they had taken the souls before the prisoners were killed.

*

It took almost twenty years before Voldemort had gained enough strength to return and had tricked another volunteer to let him possess them. His promise of eternal life had been a lie and he used his limited time to brew the right potion, created the temporary body, used his stolen flesh as part of the ritual, then added the vial of stolen blood from an Auror.

He abandoned his possessed body and inhabited the construct, then tossed himself into the cauldron of potion and cancelled the hover charms on the other ingredients. His volunteer dropped to the floor with surprise on his face as Lord Voldemort stood up in the cauldron.

“My... my lord.” The man whispered as his life faded away.

“Your sacrifice will live within me forever.” Voldemort said, almost teasing the man for the immortality lie, and watched as the man died. With him out of the way, Voldemort dressed in the man's clothes and took his vault key. He would soon discover that after twenty years, the goblins were much stricter with people having access to the bank.

As soon as Voldemort entered the bank, the Thief's Downfall flowed over him and cancelled his transfiguration and glamour charms. He was revealed in all of his horrible glory and he didn't bother trying to fight the gathering goblins. Despite being quite powerful, the security wards that had just snapped into place would take him some time to overpower to get to the vault he had the key to.

There was a crack of apparition nearby and Voldemort turned to look at who could appear inside the wards of the bank if he couldn't apparate out. He stared at the tall handsome man and couldn't tell who it was.

“Hello.” Harry Potter said and a bolt of green light shot out the wand he held by his hip.

Voldemort was so startled by the unorthodox and silent attack that he couldn't get any defense up in time. He dropped to the floor, dead, and a black mist flowed out of the body's head.

A slightly different green bolt hit the cloud and Voldemort screamed in pain, because the spell was designed to tear the soul out of its current form. Since he had already been removed from a body, his soul was torn from its current form of a spirit. The cloud dispersed and Harry turned to the goblins, gave them a deep bow, and apparated away.

Daphne rested her head on the belly of her lover and looked over at the side of the room when a crack of apparition happened. “Did it work?”

“Just like you predicted.” Harry said and swiped his wand at his clothes. They disappeared and he walked over to the bed. “The prophesy orb?”

“Gone dark.” Tonks said from underneath Daphne and tossed it to him. “Now get back in here and get me off before I go crazy.”

Harry chuckled and tossed the dark orb over his shoulder and heard it smash as Tonks spread her legs. He slipped right inside of her and felt Daphne's tongue caress him, then Tonks let out a ragged moan as both he and Daphne made up for the interruption.