Harry was virtually running to the Great Hall for breakfast. He wasn't anywhere near hungry; he just wanted to leave the hospital wing behind. The questioning wasn't the only thing that made Harry uncomfortable, it was the atmosphere. When he was five, he could remember having an extremely high fever and needing to go to the hospital. He remembered watching all the ill and injured people and feeling as if he was that person; he was the girl with the broken arm or the man with the cracked skull. Harry shivered with remembrance. He hated being sick and feeling the sickness all around him.

As he entered the Great Hall, he felt relieved. "Your sure your okay, Harry?"

"Yeah Ron, I'm fine. Just a little chilly. I think I have quidditch practice today…Save me a spot? I'll be there in a minute."

Waving his friends off, he walked over to a very upbeat Oliver Wood. Harry hoped that there was going to be practice today. He most definitely needed a break from his hectic week.

"Hey Wood."

Wood turned around and greeted Harry with a grin. "Wotcher, Harry?"

Harry leaned in and crossed his fingers. "Is there practice today?"

"You better believe it! We have a match next week! We need all the practice that time will allow. I am going to be pushing you hard today, so eat up!"

Fred and George groaned. They were sitting a couple of people down from where Wood was and, at the mention of practice, they came bounding over.

"Give us a break!"

"Yeah, it's not like we aren't going to win. We are playing against Slytherin, remember?"

"It doesn't matter!" Oliver looked at his team with a fanatical gleam in his eye. "Watch it Weasleys! I will be running you ragged. You need to shape up."

"You break our hearts, Wood."

"And here we were hoping that you would give us a break. Well, my fellow Gryffindors, we shall see you on the field….at what time is it Fred?"

"No idea George."

"Practice is at noon." Wood turned back to his breakfast and Fred and George walked away. Harry sighed with disappointment. Practice at noon? What was he going to do until then? Maybe Ron and Trinti would accompany him outside to enjoy the sunshine. He was sure that they were as tired as he was about being cooped up inside for the last week and a half.

Harry sat down beside Ron and grabbed some toast and pumpkin juice. "Hey guys, do you want to go outside for a bit? I could use some sunshine."

"Sure." Trinti smiled and went back to reading Everyday Potions. She was still helping Harry with Operation Grouchy Git, as she called it. However, it wasn't just for Harry's improvement but hers as well. She was determined to get better grades. When Ron had asked her why, she told him that she made a promise to her mother and that when she made promises to someone, she kept them.

"Yeah, do you have practice today?"

Swallowing his toast, Harry reached for another piece and said, "Yep. Wood is planning on 'pushing us hard,' as he put it. I am looking forward to it. I need something to get my mind off of what happened this week…"

Ron leaned in and gave him a inquiring look, "What did happen the other night? Did it happen during detention with Snape? Madam Pomfrey wouldn't tell us anything. Only that you needed peace and quiet."

"I will tell you about it when we are alone."

Ron nodded and went back to stuffing his face, to which Trinti looked up from her book, shook her head and grimaced.

"Oh by the way, have you guys met Hermione?"

Ron and Trinti looked up as Hermione came and sat down beside Harry. With shakes of their heads, Harry introduced Hermione to them. She blushed and timidly reached for the pitcher of milk.

Trinti smiled at her and said in her most congenial voice, "Welcome to the trio. Would you like to join us for a little stroll around the grounds after breakfast today?"

"Sure! That sounds great. I need some fresh air."

"So do we. Well…not me and Harry personally….but daywalker over here could use some sun…"

"Shut up, Triniti. For your information, I am not a daywalker. What ever that is."

Harry snorted into his cup of pumpkin juice and Hermione giggled.

"Whatever, Ron." Trinti and Ron glared at each other from across the table. Well, Ron was the one who was glaring. Trinti was smirking at him.

"Stop being cranky Ron. It was a joke." Ron looked at Harry and rolled his eyes.

When they had finished with their breakfast, they walked up to Gryffindor tower to grab a jumper.

"Harry slow down! We are going to get outside soon enough."

"Sorry. But don't you feel that?"

"Feel what?" They chorused. Harry was confused. How could they not feel that? The fresh air. The wind whisking away the falling leaves. The unnatural brightness of the sun. How could they not feel or see it?

"Everything."

They all looked at each other with equal expressions of bewilderment then Trinti shrugged and Ron shook his head and smiled. Hermione just looked at Harry with the look she usually possessed during class. She was dissecting him with her eyes as if he was a unfamiliar word or a potions ingredient. Harry turned away from them and started walking faster. He didn't like the feeling that he got when Hermione or anybody, for that matter, looked at him like that. He hated people scrutinizing him and trying to figure him out. When people did that, he felt the façade that he put up was susceptible to being exposed. No one should be able to get that close to him. It only lead to hurt and pain.

Harry slowed down and looked up at the brilliant blue sky. He was speechless at it all. The endless blue sky with clusters of clouds and small rays of sunshine made him feel so small but made his soul feel free. After being locked in a cupboard and sometimes the cellar for all of his despondent life, that was something he longed for. He wanted the sky to consume him and rip him from his body. For he felt that he was not meant to have a body. He was a spirit contained in a fleshy jar and he loathed being trapped. When he was younger, he spent a lot of his time just staring up at the sky. He had stared at it so much that a teacher of his once commented to his aunt and uncle during a school performance for Dudley that he had the 'sky in his eyes'. Of course his aunt and uncle wasn't to pleased to hear that and locked him away for a week and made him promise to stop. That didn't stop him though. It just made him careful.

"So Harry, why were you in the hospital wing?"

Harry tore his eyes away from a passing cloud and looked over at Ron. "I don't really remember. All I remember is…well not being there." He shrugged. "I know it sounds confusing but it was as if I didn't exist for that bit in time…."

Hermione piped up, "So what your saying is that you don't remember because you weren't there…"

"Pretty much."

Trinti snorted, "Well that clears things up for us Harry. 'Preciate it."

Harry sneered at her and Ron raised his eyebrows. Something about the way he was looking at Trinti then reminded him of Snape. Ron shook his head. Stop being stupid, Ron.

Hermione was also looking at Harry with a funny look. She furrowed her brow and then a look of dawning comprehension spread across her features. She had known it all along.

"Well, sorry. I mean I did have that headache before I left for detention. That might have had something to do with it."

"If it was just a headache, how come you had to stay for so long?"

"Dunno. Madam Pomfrey said that she wanted me to stay, 'for observation'. I felt like a freaking animal."

"It was probably for the best, Harry."

"Yeah, that's what she said, Trin."

"How come Dumbledore was there?" Ron asked. "When we came to visit you, he was talking to Madam Pomfrey about something. It looked serious."

"Oh. About that…he wants me to have lessons with Snape….something called Occlumency…"

"What's that?" Trinti asked. Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Wish I knew."

They all turned to Hermione, who looked equally puzzled. "Why don't we stop by the library today when you have practice and see what we can find? There has to be something there about it. Besides I think that we should study anyway. We do have that Charms test on Tuesday."

"Your faith in the library astounds me." Hermione contorted her face into a scowl and 'hmpfed'. Trinti smiled. She had liked Hermione from the moment she corrected Ron in Charms. Swish and flick, Trinti mused. She knew that she was a sarcastic piece of work but she was thankful that the other boys allowed her into their little 'golden group'. Her mother would have to be proud, knowing she made best friends with the famous Harry Potter. She snorted at her wishful thinking. No, her mother would hate it because her father would have approved.

Ron shivered. "How many times a week are you going to be having these lessons with Snape?"

"Three times a week until I succeed with Occulmency. I know Snape wouldn't want to spend any extra time with me unless it was prudent. I am not sure about the days."

"Ew. Extra lessons with Snape. Sucks for you mate."

Harry glanced at Trinti. "You have no idea."

XXXX

Harry smiled as he felt the rush of wind as he kicked off. As with every practice, his stomach seemed to turn over with every swoop and dive that he made. Breathing deeply, he felt something that he wasn't used to but longed for.

Freedom.

Being on his broomstick, he felt that much closer to breaking away from his body, his life, his destiny. He did not know how he survived without this. His cupboard walls would always mock him. The walls resonated with hopelessness and wretchedness until he felt it soak through to his bones. Flying seemed to alleviate all the years of despair that he felt had been building up within him and he couldn't get enough of it.

"Harry, get your head out of the clouds! I am letting out the snitch."

When the snitch flew out of the Quidditch chest, Harry's mind focused on nothing but the shiny, golden ball. He watched it as it flew over the Ravenclaw stands and circled around the tower. When it was finally in his range, he dove. Picking up speed, he was getting closer and closer to the ground. Grabbing the struggling ball in his hand, he soared up at the last second, barely missing the ground.

Feeling a rush of excitement, he looked over at the faces of his teammates. Fred and George were frozen with their bats suspended in the air. The three chasers, Angelina, Katie, and Alicia, stared open mouthed at Harry. Landing softly on the ground, Harry blushed and looked for Wood. Wood was hovering near the goalposts with a look of giddy excitement on his face. He flew over to Harry and grabbed him by the shoulders.

"OI! What is the deal, Wood?"

Wood stared at Harry as if he had grown a second head, "Harry, did you realize how fast you caught that snitch?"

"Well no. What was it like 15 to 20 minutes?"

Wood shook his slowly, his eyes never leaving Harry's face. "Five, Harry. Five minutes."

Harry was confused. Having never heard of Quidditch until he was received onto the house team, he didn't understand what the big deal was about. Sure he caught the snitch fast but he was sure that there was loads of other people who could do better.

"So what?"

"So what he says! So what!" Fred and George had landed beside Harry and took the snitch from his clenched hand.

"Yeah, Harry. That's a new school record."

"What?"

Wood was shaking now. A silly grin nearly swallowing his face, he looked like he had died and gone to heaven. "You caught the snitch in five minutes, Harry. No one has ever done that here before!"

"Can you believe it?" The girls started laughing and hugging Harry. Now, Harry felt extremely uncomfortable. He withdrew from the heart-stopping hugs and blushed furiously.

"Practice is over for now. I don't think I can focus on much anymore." Wood smiled at Harry and walked away with a dreamy expression of his face.

"Good going, Harry."

"Yeah, I don't think I have ever seen Wood so happy."

The team trudged off towards the changing tents, leaving Harry alone on the field. He looked up at the afternoon sky and decided to take a walk alone. He needed time to himself.

XXXX

Severus Snape was currently grading essays. Most of them were dismal attempts, as usual. Foolish children, he thought as he marked a essay with a D. Turning to the next essay in the stack, he paused.

Harry Potter.

Severus took a deep breath and read through the essay. With each line, his eyebrows rose in surprise. There wasn't any mistakes, at all. He frowned and dipped his quill into the ink. With his hand hovering over the top of the paper, he debated on the grade. He longed to mark the essay with a T for troll and watch as the boy's face fell lower then his grade. However, something in him couldn't write it on the paper. That is not fair, Severus, a voice whispered. He slammed the quill down on his desk and leaned back in his chair.

Placing his chin in his hand, he pondered the upcoming Monday. Damn you, Albus. His eyes lingered on the essay in front of him.

After what seemed like an eternity, he leaned forward, picked up his quill and marked the essay with an O.

XXXX

Sitting atop the astronomy tower, Harry watched as pink and purple streaks lined the horizon. He had been sitting there for hours upon hours, not thinking about anything but feeling everything. His face had remained impassive during this whole ritual but inside was a torrential storm. So many feelings and emotions raged inside of him. He felt that he was no longer in control of anything. After Quidditch practice, he spent the rest of the day wandering aimlessly around Hogwarts. He finally stopped at his favorite spot.

Today at practice, he realized that he was good at something besides avoiding Dudley and his gang. However, instead of feeling elation at his accomplishment, he felt nothing but despair. This was just another reason for him to stand out. On top of being a 'celebrity', and his secret being revealed, he was now an instant Quidditch phenomenon. The praise from his teammates made him feel like some sort of weapon. He knew that he was probably reading to much into things and overreacting but he had a knack for finding the bad in every good. He knew that every good thing came with a bad thing. Such as surviving a killing curse but becoming an orphan or the joy of finding out that he had a father that was alive but realizing that he hated him for something that he wasn't.

All he was left with now was wondering what bad thing is going to come from being decent at Quidditch.

As a cool breeze lifted his fringe, his scar became visible. He raised his hand to cover it back up but paused and slowly traced it with his fingertips. He wondered what secrets lied behind this scar. He knew there was a piece missing from the puzzle, something he wasn't told. Why did he have this scar in the first place?

With a heavy gait, he walked down the stairs. He dragged his long fingers along the stone wall. Without warning, he felt a familiar rush of whispers in his ears. Instead of panicking like before, he listened and wondered what these voices were saying. He froze with his hand resting on the wall. He listened as the whispers became decipherable. He was overcome with an enigmatic longing. It consumed him and he felt himself fall to the ground. As the longing increased, the words of the whispers became clear.

XXXX

Severus Snape's eyes flickered as he surveyed the student body. He raised his glass of wine to his lips and took a long swig. As he listened to mindless conversation of hundreds of adolescents, his eyes roved over to the Gryffindor table. He frowned as he saw that once again, the boy was not at supper. It wasn't as if he concerned for the boy's health. He frowned because he was curious. The boy's self-destructive habits should be the care of his head of house but she did not see them. No one did but Severus, for that matter. He didn't have to wonder why that was because he knew that not many saw the boy behind the scar.

Severus did.

He watched from a distance as the boy tugged at his sleeves and bit his lips when he was uncomfortable. He watched as the boy avoided everyone's eyes…except his. The boy trusted him and Severus couldn't fathom why that was. He had been cruel to the boy and hated every part of him but the boy trusted him.

He watched as he avoided eating at meals and studied endlessly. What was the boy trying to prove? It wasn't as if he had to prove anything. He already had more fame than anyone in history. Severus scowled.

He tore his eyes away from the table full of dim witted Gryffindors and looked at the headmaster. Albus looked over at him and gave a slight nod. Severus got up and left his meal. He was going to figure out what trouble the boy was causing. He was so distracted about the possibility of taking away house points and detentions that he didn't notice the ruthless glint lingering in the Defense Against the Dark Arts professors' eyes.

XXXX

Harry sat himself up against the wall and shivered with cold…or was it fear? He didn't know. He looked around him and pushed himself up. He grabbed onto the window ledge near him for support and walked unsteadily towards the entrance door that lead out onto the grounds. He needed to get out of Hogwarts.

He started to wheeze and felt panic grip his heart. As he became determined to leave, he walked faster and faster until he was all but running. His vision was tunneling in and felt as if the walls surrounding him were going to crash down. Seeing the door up ahead he flew towards it and gripped the handle. Flinging the door open, he ran out onto the grounds and ran until he found himself on the hill overlooking the Dark Forest and Hagrid's hut. His breath started to slow and he was finally able to think rationally.

He knew what the voices were saying now but the trouble was none of it made sense. The only thing that was clear was that Hogwarts was no longer safe.

A traitor was in our midst….

Who was the traitor? He thought about everyone that resided inside of Hogwarts and became dizzy realizing that it could be anyone. It could be a student. A picture of Malfoy sprang instantly sprang into his mind but he ruled out the possibility of Malfoy being capable of anything but disturbing the peace. The most likely possibility was that it was a teacher…

And with a look of horror, he cringed as a picture of his father sprang into his mind. He couldn't believe it. There was absolutely no way that his father was a…a….a traitor, he thought with hope.

But, Harry, he does fit the general description of a villain, a voice inside his head reasoned.

NO.Harry refused to believe it was his father. The man may treat him horribly and belittle him whenever the chance presented itself but he didn't believe that his father was evil. He saw himself in his father. His father had many masks and could be as vile as a snake but so could anyone.

No, there was someone else that was going to betray them all.

And Harry would rather die then let that happen.

XXXX

Severus Snape was becoming increasingly aggravated. Not only had he not found the boy but he realized that what he was doing was pointless. The brat could be anywhere. He could be in Gryffindor tower, studying, like he always was. Severus snorted at his stupidity.

I can just take away points from him the next time I see him, he thought with pleasure.

Passing a window, he looked over the grounds and marveled at the brightness of the stars that night. His thoughts traveled to Quirrell. He knew that he was not what everyone thought he was. He was not the stuttering, jumpy teacher but an untrustworthy pawn. He could fool everyone but Severus saw past the impression into the man's thoughts. He knew what Quirrell was after. Severus Snape couldn't blame him. The possibility of immortality and riches tempted him as well but he knew that Dumbledore had eyes everywhere. Be that as it may, he knew that Quirrell was unworthy of the stone.

His thoughts were interrupted by the figure standing a top the hill. His eyes glinted with satisfaction and he swept towards the door with the intention of taking away 20 points from the brat for being outside when he wasn't supposed to be.

As Harry's figure got closer to Severus, he wondered what had possessed the boy to be outside at a time like this. He took in the hunched figure with enmity. He hated what he saw in the boy. He hated the weakness that the boy portrayed. He marveled at the wizarding world's adoration of him. How anyone could believe that this scrawny, small, weak boy could kill the Dark Lord was beyond him.

When he was close enough to see the shaking of the boy's shoulders, he slowed his step. As if he could hear Severus' soft footsteps, Harry spun around. And Severus froze.

Those eyes narrowed and shot him a look of pure venom. Severus couldn't think, he knew what he was seeing but he couldn't bring himself to realize it.

"You," Harry whispered in a silky voice.

Pulling himself together and shooting the boy a look of revulsion, he said with a voice that held an air of superiority, "Be mindful of who you are speaking to in such a manner."

Harry cringed, "Sorry, sir. I did not mean to offend. I have a lot on my mind and I didn't think." He looked at the professor through his long fringe and winced as he saw the look of fury shadow his face.

"30 points from Gryffindor. You are not only outside when you are forbidden to be but you have clearly lost your head." Leaning in closer, he fixed his gaze with Harry's. "Never venture to speak to me in that tone again. Or you will be facing relentless punishment. Understood?"

"Yes sir."

"Get inside and back to your common room before I amend my decision."

Harry couldn't move or breathe for that matter. The man was glaring at him with unadulterated contempt. Harry felt his skin boiling under such a gaze and he wanted to crawl in a hole to hide. No one had ever hated him so much and Harry had no idea why this man, who he had never known, could feel this way. He didn't even look like James or his mother. He looked like him. Professor Snape. And yet, he hated him. Harry just couldn't understand.

"Now, Mr. Potter!"

Shaking out of his trance, Harry rushed forward and out of the range of that hateful glare.