Life has a funny way of throwing everything at you at the one time. In the order of the Universe why does the bad seem to attract more bad? Is it random? Coincidence? Fate? Destiny? When Harry shot out of his bed that morning, he knew things were going to be tough. For one he was already late for his first class.

With a loud swear he tossed the bed covers aside, and threw on his uniform and was out the portrait hole like a bullet, leaving startled Gryffindors who had a free period that morning staring after him. Even his familiars looked askance at each other before giving the equivalent of an animal shrug and settling back down.

Loud footsteps echoed the empty corridors of the castle as Harry sprinted through its many corridors and down its many stairs. How he managed not to break a leg or fall down a couple of flights of stairs he did not know. Skidding past a door, before backtracking, he flung it open with an unintentional bang. He winced as the loud sound reverberated through the suddenly quiet classroom.

Professor Flitwick eyed Harry disapprovingly. "Please take a seat Mr Potter," he gestured to last empty seat by Daphne Greengrass, "And 10 points from Gryffindor for your tardiness." Harry, red faced, avoided all the stares and sat down silently by Daphne. She gave him a bright encouraging smile. He returned with a wan smile, breathing heavily trying to catch his breath.

"Now before our interruption, I was discussing the charm which we shall be learning today; the Velieris. This charm is from the Fidelius charm family. As you can imagine so, it is a difficult spell to perform. Therefore, no messing will be tolerated as the results can go hideously awry." he eyed them sternly.

"Now, first you need to know what the Fidelius charm is and how it works to gain any sort of appreciation of the Velieris charm. The Fidelius Charm is a complex and powerful spell that allows someone or something to be hidden from the sight of anyone besides specific individuals for an indefinite period of time. Those specific people are the Secret Keeper and the individuals to whom the Secret Keeper reveals the information." Flitwick lectured.

Once again Harry was pressed to pay attention. He had already learnt about the Fidelius charm and its variants. Actually on a small level he was surprised he had gotten as far into the curriculum as he had studied. On the plus it made things much easier in class.

"The secret being hidden is stored within the very soul of the Secret-Keeper," Flitwick continued, "Only they have the power to reveal the secret; not even those who have been told the secret can reveal what they know. The information may be passed on through words or writing. If someone has not been given the information, they will be unable to locate the hidden secret, even if they are staring right at it. When the Secret-Keeper dies, everyone who has been told the secret becomes a Secret-Keeper. If the Secret-Keeper dies without having revealed the secret to anyone, then the secret dies with them, forever. The information will be hidden for all time, unless, of course, there were multiple secret-keepers before the death. It is unknown if coercive methods to have the Secret-Keeper reveal the location, such as Veritaserum or the Imperius Curse, would work."

Taking a deep breath, the small stature of the professor wobbled precariously upon his stack of books, before steadying himself and returning to his lecture without missing a beat. "Now, the Fidelius charm cannot be performed by any sixth year student and we begin to teach the mechanics of it in the seventh year. In fact most of you will never be able to perform the Fidelius charm. And just demonstrate this Harry Potter, with his late arrival has volunteered to try, and fail to perform this charm before we move on to the Velieris charm. "

Only half listening to the Professor, he calmly walked up to the front of the class, thinking back to what the book he had read about the Fidelius charm had said.

"Right, Mr Potter, I don't expect you to be able to do this, but I want you to give it your best shot. I want you to attempt to use this charm on my office door. " He waved his hand vaguely to a door in the corner of his classroom that led to his office. "I want you to swirl your wand in -" Alarm crossed Flitwick's face as Harry started to swirl and twist his wand.

"Harry-" but he couldn't get a word in edgewise, Harry wasn't listening.

The class looked on in curiosity, none really had an idea if what was occurring. Only Granger had a suspicious frown on her face.

Five minutes later, the class gasped as Flitwick's office door completely disappeared and the information of its whereabouts was wiped immediately from their heads. Flitwick's eyes were as wide as saucers; mouth hanging stupidly open in a similar fashion to McGonagall’s the other day. Shaking from his stupor, he summarily dismissed the class gesturing to Harry to stay.

Amidst the cheers and the pandemonium of students rushing off to enjoy their unexpected free period, Granger stood furious that Potter could achieve such advanced magic, outstripping any of her achievements. Weasley was confused at the situation, no surprise there, but steadily his face turned an ugly purple colour as Granger whispered what had happened. His fists were clenched tightly, and he was shaking with utter fury. He took a step forward when...

"Mr Weasley, Miss Granger, I dismissed you. Please leave the immediate vicinity or I will be forced to dole out detentions!" barked the professor. With one last furious look at Harry they turned on their heels and swept out of the classroom. And the professor turned to the enigma that was Harry Potter.

Harry stood cursing himself for bringing more attention to his self. He cursed Fate for making him late that particular day, and he cursed Professor Flitwick for picking a volunteer this particular day, something he rarely did and then for picking him of all people. Bloody chain reaction of events! He groaned inwardly.

"Well Harry, I presume you understand what you have achieved." Flitwick was forcefully neutral, for he did not know how to react. Should he celebrate that his student showed such promise or be suspicious, because he showed so much promise, of which he kept previously carefully hidden.

"Umm I successfully cast the Fidelius charm or, "he rephrased, "I think I cast it successfully, however I can still see its location and can only judge by everyone's reactions." he shrugged carelessly.

"Indeed Harry, you correctly cast a Fidelius charm in your fifth year, on your first attempt?" Harry nodded. "May I ask how you knew the incantation and wand movement for the charm?"

"I've had a lot of time on my hands since the start of the year and I've found studying ahead a suitable activity to fill the time." Harry answered truthfully.

Flitwick was very surprised at how Slytherin Harry sounded. Not so much in the context of what he said but the manner in which he said it and the vocabulary he used. "And how, when you really didn't show any amazing aptitude for any particular subject you now have a flair for charms and transfiguration?" Harry started at the mention of his transfiguration class. Apparently the teachers 'talked' in the staffroom.

Harry sighed, deciding to be truthful. "In all honesty professor, I've found without Ron's influence in doing the bare minimum and Hermione's insistence on checking and correcting my work for me, I've put in the work myself and quite enjoyed it. I've found nearly all my work easier without their...their distractions."

Flitwick's eyebrows rose in shock at Harry's blunt answer. He couldn't deny that all the staff had noticed the disintegration of the trio's friendship and were taken aback by the other two's sudden open hostility to Harry. They had all noticed once attention had started to be drawn to Harry once again, that they had changed and he wondered if they were under some outside non optional influence. It was an area worth investigating, considering they were so out of character.

"Well Harry, I'm not quite sure what to make of it, but I'm glad you're putting in the effort and showing your true potential. I shall observe your work for a while yet, and if I decide you're sufficiently ahead, I’ll give you the option of advanced work for extra credit. Here's a note for your next class. Keep up the work Harry."

With that Harry was dismissed and he headed off to History of Magic. He groaned quietly at the thought of an hour with his dead teacher, as he shut the classroom door.

Once he heard the lock click, a huge smile lit up the Professor's face and the excitement he felt during his conversation with Harry now showed a hundred times magnified. He couldn't wait to tutor the boy in some advanced charms. To have such a protégé in his class, not that he would tell him, was exhilarating. There would be some talk in the staffroom later, at The-Boy-Who-Lived's sudden prowess at magic.

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Once again Harry found himself in a similar situation, standing at the doors to the Great Hall at lunch. He was determined not to break down like the previous time. Clenching his fist tightly, he composed himself, delving into the recesses of the basic Occlumency he had learnt, relaxing completely all his muscles, feeling the blood flow through his veins and stopping short of feeling the exuberance of his magic within him. He did this all in a matter of seconds, progressing from the hour or so it had taken him the first time. However this time round he had taken to studying Occlumency with a purpose and vengeance and exceeded far beyond even Professor Snape's expectations, who had said he was ready for the next step.

With a determined stride he walked through the doors and almost faltered. The Magic, he could still feel it, but it had dimmed to a strong glow around objects and people. Much more manageable. With a slight smile on his face he decided he didn't want to isolate himself any further and decided to sit with Neville and his strange group that sat at one end of the Ravenclaw table. People were taken aback, as they were used to Harry with a sorrowful, haunted look. Not the slight smile that lingered upon his lips. In fact, it was almost infectious and those around couldn't help but perk up.

"Hey guys, do you mind if I join you?"

"Not at all Harry," Neville replied with a grin. Maybe today wasn't turning out so bad afterall, thought Harry.

"Here Blaise, budge up there and make room for Harry." Harry settled down alongside Blaise and Susan and soon became immersed in the conversation. He had forgotten how good it was just to talk with other people. In fact, he was afraid he had lost his voice for a while from disuse.

"So Harry, we were just taking about the regular study group we hold every day and we were wondering if you would like to join us?" asked Padma. She had a strange glint in her eye. Perhaps the Slytherins were rubbing off on her

Harry eyed her suspiciously, "What is the catch? Judging by the calculating gleam in your eye worthy of Blaise and Daphne here, you want something from me." There were scattered chuckles throughout the group, and Padma glowed a bright red from being caught out.

"Fair enough Harry, all you have to do is give something back to the group like everyone else. Whether it's helping out the others with 'spells'," she said putting emphasis on spells," or say running a lesson now and again on the subject or spell you're particularly good at." Padma made it clear without saying so directly, that she wanted to pick his brain for knowledge.

Harry arched his eyebrow in amusement. "Is that all? Guess you heard about charms and transfiguration class? You know I would have done that anyway, without your manipulations."

The whole group laughed as Padma smugly punched the air. It was no surprise to them all that she was a true Ravenclaw.

"Anyway, we're meeting tonig-" she was cut off by a sarcastic drawl behind Harry.

"Well well well, if it isn't the outcasts of the school!"

Harry closed his eyes and counted to ten. Of course lunch was going too well. He should have expected something like this. When he opened his eyes, people drew back as the haunted, tired look had returned and people’s mood inevitably plummeted as Harry's did.

Harry turned slowly to face a furious Weasley, Granger a step behind and both wearing ugly sneers across their faces.

"Weasley, Granger." he greeted neutrally. He wasn't going to lose his temper.

"Figures you would go and abandon your real friends for a bunch of misfits." The hall had completely silenced and even the Professors were listening in. All had, however sucked in sharp gasps, and there were even some cries of outrage at Weasley's accusation. Everyone knew that in fact it was the other way round and for Weasley to blatantly lie as well as insult the odd group in hearing of the entire school and professors was quite audacious of him. Hermione said nothing, but the twisted sneer said all and that she completely agreed.

Harry was furious. He wondered how he was ever friends with these pompous prats. His eyes had darkened with fury, but that was his only visible reaction. The teachers silently applauded his control but still had done nothing to stop the confrontation.

"For your information Weasley, Granger, it was you who dumped me for some reason I still have no idea of. Anyway, I'm not going to argue the point with you, I know the truth and that's good enough for me. Frankly, you're not worth it anyway." Harry dismissed them casually and turned his back on his former best friends and turn to Neville and the rest. "I'll see you later guys, I've suddenly lost my appetite." he climbed over his seat and made his way to the doors.

Halfway there, he heard an inhumane growl and two incantations.

"Haaaarrrryyy!" Daphne screamed in warning.

Harry turned, and everything slowed down. He saw Weasley and Granger both with their wands pointed at him with self-righteous smirks. He saw two streams of sickly yellow flying towards him. He saw the horror on Daphne and the rests of the students faces. He saw the teachers scramble over the tables in an attempt to stop the inevitable. He saw the magic of Hogwarts building up around the students so they were safe from any deflection and reassure him that it all would work out, and to stay calm. And he heard a thrill of fury. He calmly faced what was to come, no fear evident, trusting in the Magic of Hogwarts.

All this happened in a matter of seconds.

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Snape watched in interest and admiration at how Harry had controlled the situation without losing his temper. He could see that the other students were also impressed and that Weasley and Granger only had a small gathering and was in the minority.

Admiration turned to horror as he saw the two reach for their wands. He was first over the staff table and halfway down the aisle, but he knew he would not make it in time and that those bone breaking curses would cause considerable damage and pain. He saw Harry's eyes connect with him and smile reassuringly at him. How could he be so calm. He couldn't save him. He could feel his oath to urging him to do so, but he would be too late.

Then he heard roars of fury echo through the hall!

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Back in Harry's dorm, his familiars were playing rough and tumble in the empty dorm, whilst his Phoenix watched over them regally.

It was the cub twins against the wolf and unicorn. And currently all were tangled in Harry's sheets, his pillow torn to shreds, feathers floating like fluffy snow above his bed. They were all preparing for round two, when Flora cocked her head sideways, listening to something far away. This got the other's attention and they stilled, waiting. Flora was becoming increasingly agitated and this was transferring those on the bed.

Suddenly with a furious screech and short thrill to the others she flamed away quickly. The rest of the familiar's added their voices angrily to the din and disappeared immediately after.

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In the great hall, Harry stood incredibly still and calm. He knew what would happen and was just waiting. The teachers were still only halfway to him and the students were bound in place by Hogwarts herself. All watched in horror as the curses flew through the air to an inch away from Harry.

A black and silver blur and a flash of green flames and Harry was gone a millisecond before the curses hit. With an audible gong, the curse reflected of the shielded students and dissipated into the ceiling of Hogwarts.

At the same instant there were two cries of pain and snarls of fury. Ron and Hermione were flat on their backs as Harry's magical panther cubs stood on their chests ready to attack. More gasps as a sage wolf appeared from the shadows circling his 'prey' and a gold unicorn foal stood guard at the entrance hall.

The teachers were frozen at the sight of so many rare creatures in the one place and obviously bonded to Harry. Hagrid was visibly reigning himself in from charging at them in enthusiasm.

Snape and Dumbledore sighed, visibly relieved as Harry reappeared with a magnificent black and silver Phoenix. What were even more startling were their eyes. Both were identical emerald green shades and both had darkened in fury. Students shivered.

Harry was visibly fighting for control and Snape wasn't surprised to see the magic of Hogwarts, building up behind the boy, like a raging wave of colours, as it seemed to bend to the child’s emotions.

He stalked forward, an intimidating sight, with fiery tails of magic curling off and dissolving. With a wave of his hand, he sent forth a swirl of magic, freezing the professors in their positions so they couldn't interfere.

"Well Weasley, Granger, who would expect such a cowardly attack from two of the house of lions." he hissed, mocking resonating in each word he spat. They whimpered in fear, they were clearly in no position to argue, though he could still see the defiance in them.

"As you can see, I'm well protected by my familiars. They are like an extension of me. Let's get this straight! I want nothing from you and nothing to do with you. I don't know what the hell I did to evoke such a response from you, but I'm passed caring. Stay AWAY from me!" he growled in a near perfect imitation of his Sal.

Then several things happened simultaneously. Harry walked a couple of steps, before curling in on himself and then springing up, throwing a hand to the ceiling, releasing all the pent up magic he held within safely. The teachers were suddenly able to rush forward and Hogwarts trembled with all the excess Magic running into her.

Snape reached Weasley and Granger first, binding both in place so they couldn't slip out in the chaos. Then he turned to Harry, just in time to catch him as he lost consciousness. He laid him gently on the floor, his familiars crowded around to offer their support.

He left the other Professors deal with the duo, with the Headmaster eyeing them disappointingly, no twinkle in his eye and Professor Flitwick straining to whisper something frantically in the Headmaster's ear, gesturing wildly to the two bound on the ground.

Snape was oblivious to this, more worried about Harry. Madame Pomphrey and Professor McGonagell rushed over to him. Pomphrey knelt beside the child running a general diagnostic upon him. McGonagell stood worriedly over them, twisting her robe in her hands anxiously. Snape was slightly calmer as Harry's familiars didn't seem too worried about the boy.

Pomphrey sighed in relief. "just magical exhaustion. He used too much too quickly and strained himself reigning it in. Poor boy, everything always happens to him," she ran her hands through his hair sadly. "Right, the best thing is for him to sleep it off, so up to the hospital wing with him."

Snape conjured a magical stretcher and gently levitated Harry upon him. All proceeded up to the hospital wing with an entourage of magical creatures.

Dumbledore and Flitwick left determinedly with both Granger and Weasley, to his office to sort them out.

And as soon as they left, Hogwarts released her hold on the students and immediately, the rumour mill swung into action combining fact, fiction and exaggeration.

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Harry slowly drifted into consciousness. On second thought, as soon as he fully focused, he drifted into consciousness, within his subconscious. He almost groaned as he lived out that dreaded dream again. Everything was the exact same, even the time of night it showed in the window.

When he finally he got to the portraits, he prepared himself to wake.

And he waited. And waited.

"What the hell?" This was certainly different. He looked around and tried to take a step towards the door, deviate from his dream path. But he was frozen in spot. He couldn't move.

"Haaarrryyy!" a voice whispered.

He was beginning to panic.

"Harry!"

Where was it coming from? He looked around frantically.

Finally he looked to the portraits and saw them staring worriedly down at him. For the first time he could discern different details, the Red, Blue, Green and Yellow robes each wore. How one of the males had chestnut crown wavy hair to his shoulders and hazel eyes and the other had shiny black short hair, which stuck up at all angles and had sea green eyes. How one of the females had blue black, dead straight long hair to her lower back and icy blue eyes. Where the other had beautiful golden curls to her bottom, and kind, honey coloured eyes. He noted that they were all exceptionally beautiful in a regal way.

The lady with blue black hair urgently spoke. "Harry, you must wake up. He's coming!"

Harry was confused. "What? Who? How-how did you know my name?"

The man with hazel eyes responded. "No time for questions, young one. They are for another time. You need to get out NOW!"

"What?" Then Harry felt a tug at his navel like a portkey, except he was slowly fading instead of instantly being whipped away.

He was vaguely aware of the conversation continuing.

"Oh no, it's too late!" the one with honey coloured eyes cried. "He's already fading."

The man with short black hair only shook his head. "Let’s hope he is strong enough to endure. Hopefully he'll seek help. He'll need it!"

They slowly dissolved from sight, each with a sorrowful expression, leaving him feel like he was going to his own funeral.

Then he was dumped in a house. A muggle one by the looks of it. Or muggleborn he corrected as he saw a wand upon the mantle above the fireplace.

His veins turned to ice as he heard the cruel laughter ringing through the air. He focused on his surroundings and realized that the house was in a state equivalent to that of a vicious break in. Leather suites were upturned and ripped in half. Vases with beautiful red and white roses in full bloom had been thrown to the ground. Furniture had been hacked at and scorched and family pictures lay smashed on the floor. He heard evil, mocking laughter.

Oh no! He backed into the corner. On no, oh no, oh no! His head whipped around as the door swung open. A band of ten death eaters entered, holding a man and women. And then Harry spied two children behind them. A young girl of about 10 and a small baby boy. Harry almost gagged. Voldemort brought up the rear, a sadistic smile on his face, twirling his wand lazily in his hand.

They spread out into a semicircle, leaving the two children in the middle and the parents restrained by the remaining death eaters.

"Well well well, my loyal death eatersss. All I can sssay iss to have fun. None sssurvive!" he hissed harshly. They cackled with glee as the mother wailed desperately. Voldemort took a seat in the remaining upturned comforter and watched maliciously.

Harry had turned ashen. He didn't want to watch and yet he couldn't tear his eyes away. As if by watching he could help, even if it was just to let another know of this treachery.

They started on the young girl, a slow skin peeling curse, the cries and pleas of the parents encouraging them. Then Malfoy, he could tell because of the platinum blond hair flowing from his dark hood, sickly caressed the girl's cheek. She was beautiful and would of grown to be a heartbreaker with gorgeous blue eyes and silvery blond hair. They were dulled with pain and tears now, but she never gave them the satisfaction of her screams.

He had an odd gleam to his eyes, he reached a hand down and ripped off the girls skirt. Harry's eyes went wide and he had to turn away as realization dawned in the young girls eyes.

But they could not block out the screams as she finally broke. They could not block out the parents pain and despair for their child. Harry slid down the wall and curled himself into a ball, rocking himself, trying to block the pain and the screams.

For what seemed liked hours, they tortured the helpless family. For what seemed like days, Harry sat in his corner, unable to do anything, completely helpless. By the time Voldemort rose and finished all of them off with a flash of green light, Harry's eyes were dead, completely void of life.

As all the death eaters filed out, Voldemort once again bringing up the rear, he turned slowly with an evil grin and whispered, "That was for you Potter. I know you're there. You're shields are pathetic!" and with a chilling laugh he disapparated.

Not a second later, Harry felt himself being pulled from the vision. Immediately he was comforted by his familiars, but they couldn't do much for the hollowness he felt within. He leaned over the rail of the bed and wretched onto the floor below. Only vaguely noticing it was the middle of the night and he was in the hospital wing, he spied his bag by the bed and pulled out his knife from the pocket he hid it in. He held it up for a minute, the moonlight shimmering eerily on the silver blade before pressing it upon the flesh of his wrist.

But he stopped short of drawing blood. He suddenly remembered the promise he gave to Snape. He wanted, he needed the release, but he also knew that in this situation, he wouldn't have any control in his emotional state.

Mind made up, he threw his blade back into his bag and leapt up from the bed, wobbling a bit unsteadily, before gearing up to a flat out sprint. His familiars trailed behind eyeing him worriedly.

He sprinted through the cold corridors, his bare feet slapping against the stone. He ignored various portraits shouting at him to return to bed and ghosts reprimanding him for being out late. Finally in the depths of the dungeons, he skidded to a halt before Snape's office door. He thudded urgently on the door, praying he would still be up and nearly fell atop of the professor as the door swung open with force.

"What the-" he broke off as soon as he saw who it was. One look into his dead and jaded emerald eyes and he nodded.

"Come in."