Chapter 1 – Prologue Starts

"The ones that love us never really leave us. And you can always find them in here."

–Sirius Black

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

"Imperio!"

A thin mist entrenched his mind, dulling his senses. He couldn't make out anything, there were voices whispering softly to him. They were there but then there were not. Voices which he knew but couldn't point out clearly. His mind was all but a haze and all he could hear were the voices who were dear to him whispering to save them all. To enter the Veil of Death. This wasn't right, was it? He thought, they were dead right? As if to disprove this thought, chains seemed to have appeared tightly around the voices making them writhe and scream in agony. It was a great day in hell for him.

Imagine hearing the ones you loved scream in pain but just ten times more. This was what Harry felt. He was feeling suffocated, the noise was pressuring his head from all sides, blurring his senses and the only release was to enter the veil. He had to do it. He started walking. Just as he was about to enter the veil, he stopped as he felt a cold wind passing by, he shivered. Suddenly the noise was weaker, and he could breathe a bit more.

✮°。⋆⸜ ✩°。⋆⸜ ✮

Looking back, he should have known better. To never place trust on those he had been cheated by more than once, but he was tired now. It was not pretty being on the negative end of the spectrum. Being talked behind his back as the newspapers trilled up their popularity by savagely tearing into him. All the dirty glares, the frightened stares and the accusing looks every day, it teared him on the inside. Being on guard twenty-four seven was probably worse than a dementor's kiss. He was just moving in a lifeless cycle with no one to care for him. Not even her. Was wishing for someone to love him too much to ask?

Harry chuckled in remorse. He could hear her voice ringing in his mind scolding him not to trust anyone easily.

Hazel brown eyes playfully taunting him—her sly little smile which did wonders to his heart—her hazel eyes—full of love looking dear at him—her soft laughs as they danced together slowly. It made his heart ache. She was gone, and it was his fault. None to ever care for him and no one to ever love him again. What was life living for then?

*Flashback*

A scream broke the silence of the night. It was her again. Harry jumped from the bed determined to save her. He wouldn't lose her today. He scrambled towards the door but just as he reached to pull the handle, the door flung back violently, and he was thrown back to the side of the bed, his head hitting the corner of the bed with a sharp thud.

As Harry struggled to open his eyes despite the increasing pain from his head, he saw a blurry figure standing by the door. It was him. Voldemort. Harry got slammed into the wall by a bony but surprisingly strong hands. Blood red eyes staring at him—black smoke circling—mad laughter everywhere— Two bony hands on his throat slowly choking him —

"You failed to save her, and You shall die too Harry Potter,"

The bony hands on his throat tightened as he felt his chest being shaken wildly.

The voice screamed hoarsely at him. "Failed to save what mattered the MOST," Harry felt his chest tightening, he couldn't breathe.

He was going to die. He should die and suffer for it. Harry resigned as he waited for his fate. But then the pressure building over his throat and chest disappeared.

An eerie silence surrounded him where the only sound was his quickening breath and, the soft crying of someone?

He opened his eyes to find those hazel brown eyes that he loved, now looking cruelly back at him. "YOU KILLED ME," The voice turned into her.

His breath quickened as took in her appearance. She was crying and it was his fault. " Selena? " He said weakly as he felt the pain increasing in his head.

Just. A. Few. Moments. More

She looked up to him. "WHY? " She screamed desperately at him. "I. Loved. You!" She cried, sobbing softly into her knees.

" I—I didn't—"

He felt his throat dry, unable to speak yet desperately wanting to as the pain pounding into him got stronger and faster. His heart got heavy as he watched her cry. Her white wedding dress now looked dirty, her beautiful black hair was frizzled, and her face red from crying as she put her head onto her knees. He was helpless, wanting nothing but to run to her and hug the life out of her and tell her that it will be alright, but he couldn't move. He stared at her sadly, cursing every deity in existence as the world around him rumbled.

"Harry Potter? — HARRY POTTER SIR?"

Two small hands violently shook his chest. Harry gasped as he jumped from where he was sleeping. A loud crash was heard in the room. He breathed heavily as he tried to make his heart calm down.

"Is Harry Potter Sir alright?" A small voice asked timidly.

"Kreacher?" He asked, his voice still hoarse from screaming in his dream.

"Master Should stop drinking the nightmare potion. It is not good for Master."

Harry rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he moved the messy black hair away from his eyes. It was what, thirty days that she was gone. He never liked to remember the fact that she had died. To him she was there, or was she?

Harry sighed wistfully "What should I do Kreacher, No matter what we do, I can't see her. I can't remember her. It's like … like she didn't even exist" He shivered at that notion. It was a frighting thought; he couldn't imagine a world without her in it.

"Nightmares, " He said melancholy.

"It's the only way I have to see her. "

"Mistress won't want Master to be like this" Kreacher noted dutifully.

"I know Kreacher, isn't that why I am accepting the Minister's proposal. "

Kreacher nodded approvingly at this. "Mistress's favourite dress for Master has been ironed and laid out for him" He said with a bowed head.

"Thank you Kreacher, you're a good elf."

"Kreacher lives to serve the House of Black proudly" said Kreacher with a flourish as he disappeared with a pop.

Harry chuckled at the antics of the elf. After Selena had released Kreacher from the dark magic ensnarling him, Kreacher had just turned into a new leaf, for lack of better words. He took devotion to Selena the same way he had to Regulas, and Harry was kindly included too. It was a weird one month after that. Funny how a bit of kindness can change things.

"Even when you are gone, you still take care of me." Harry sighed. "Will you ever forgive me?" said Harry, looking at the frame by the bedside which had a picture of Harry who looked like he was holding someone.

✮°。⋆⸜ ✩°。⋆⸜ ✮

As he entered the ministry atrium, he was aware of the increased auror presence looking closely at him. Their hands hovered across their wands as they waited with awaited breath for him to make a mistake so they could arrest him. "Not that they could" he thought, amused at the situation. He was way out of their league.

He pulled his woollen black trench coat, her first gift to him, closer to him, relishing in the warm feeling it gave, as he walked past the annoying wizards and witches scowling at him. It was worse when he ignored them. Like they were some sort of Gods whose opinions and looks mattered to him. The muttering got louder. Don't they get a hint? He stopped walking, smirking internally at the dead silence that followed it. He stared coldly at the crowd enjoying as most of them flinched at his stare before he started walking again.

It was the same as he entered the lift. He could feel the glares burning holes at the back of his head, yet when he looked back, no one looked him in the eye. "Backstabbing Cowards," he muttered under his breath, ignoring the outraged whispers that followed.

As he walked past the corner to the Minister's office, he collided with a fast moving stack of books with a bushy hair top. A startled feminine yelp greeted him as the books fell on him.

He knew the voice, only one person could be found hurrying across the ministry filled with books. Hermione looked busy now, the leading position of the Wizengamot council laws.

"I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going, Harr" The woman gasped as she realized who he was. He waited for her to walk away as soon she saw him instead, she took a deep breath and put on a weak smile for him instead of ignoring him altogether. Maybe his friends were beginning to realize he was not what was printed in the papers, Harry thought.

"Harry, It is so good to see you. "

"Wish I could say the same" He thought internally. "Hello Hermione, It's been some time since we met."

"Ah you know all the crappy lords and stuff. " She said. " It's made me so busy that I forgot to see the things that were happening before my eyes" She added sorrowfully.

"So, where are you going Harry? " She asked hesitantly.

He eyed Hermione carefully. Deciding to take a leap of fate he said "The Minister's letter came today. Said he had something to speak to me."

"The Minister inspecting the veil today. " Hermione answered after a second, "To check if it can replace the Dementor's problems."

Her eyes glazed with an unknown colour as she eyed Harry excitedly, "Come on then, I will show you the way." She spoke, almost earnestly.

Seeing his surprised eyebrows, she said, "I have access Harry, the Minister's under-sectary sure has some neat benefits, if you ask me " She winked at him in double meaning.

"The unspeakables are also trying to figure out what happened to Sirius" She added after seeing his hesitation in following her.

"Maybe having a person having a connection to him might help" She said quickly after seeing him starting to walk away. "You know, the power of love and all" She added humorously.

He was just a moment away from walking away but stops upon hearing the name of his Godfather, old emotions coming racing through, so he hopes for something in his heart to find closure about Sirius; as he walks towards her smiling face hidden with an unknown malicious intent.