Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, I do not have any rights to Harry Potter and I do not make any money from writing these fic's.

A/N: Written for Remi's Random AU Challenge with my AU being a different ending. This is about what if instead of being hailed as a hero and getting the girl in the end Harry was pushed aside and ignored? Also written for the one million words added comp.

Chapter 1

Tears rolled down his face as he curled up into a tight ball and hugged himself in a poor attempt to find some form of comfort. His whole body shook with unhidden emotions as he tried to keep himself from totally falling apart and becoming lost in his pain and angst.

'I thought that when I defeated Voldemort that everything was meant to become perfect, I thought it was meant to be time for my happily ever after' Harry thought as he let out another heartbroken sob 'I did not think that I would be wishing for the war to never of finished!'

Unable to continuing looking at the now empty beds that had once housed his fellow year mates who had now gone home to celebrate the end of the war Harry buried his face into his knees and allowed a fresh wave of tears to flow down his face. He was alone, out of everyone in the whole his family was the only one that did not want him.

Too lost in his self hatred he never noticed the sound of the door slowly opening and closing or the sound of feet softly but quickly making their way across the well worn floor making sure not to step anywhere that might alert Harry to the owner's presence. Luckily for the person Harry was lost in his angst as he made no attempt to stop his tears.

Unaware of the new presence in the room Harry allowed himself to become lost to the world around him as he tried to take in the comforting darkness in an attempt to block out the once beloved red of his house that reminded him so much of the blood he had seen coating the battle field like a sickening red paint. He would never look upon the saying 'Painting the town red' the same ever again.

Sniffling Harry buried his face into his knees in an attempt to make himself as small as possible only for his breathing to hitch and his heart skip a beat when he felt a large hand on his back. Unable to help himself with it being not very long ago that he had been fighting for his life on the Hogwarts grounds turned battle field Harry's mind began to calculate the situation, who the owner of the hand on his back and how fast he would be able to pull out his wand and fire a spell. All of his fears and plans though where put to an end by one simple word.

"Harry," it was the familiar voice of Professor, now Headmistress, Minerva McGonagall came to Harry's ears making Harry to relax ever so slightly, "I have been looking everywhere for you, I...I noticed that you are not coping at all with the end of the war and it has not escaped my notice how everyone has gone their own ways and left you alone. I...I have an idea though I would like to hear what you have to say before I go ahead with it."

Wondering just what his old transfiguration professor had in mind, though it did not matter as he had nothing left, Harry took a deep shaky breath and allowed himself to unball and sit up straight though not before quickly wiping his face of any tears. With red puffy emerald green eyes looked up into the kind but strong blue eyes of Minerva McGonagall.

Unable to help herself Minerva slowly moved her free hand and in a motherly manor began to run her hand though Harry's messy black locks causing the young man to slowly relax into the motherly touch full of unconditional tender love.

"Harry...you know I see you as a grandson and I only want what is best for you, especially after everything that you have done for us," Minerva said as she continued her soothing actions while making sure to keep her voice soft and gentle, "I...I have a friend who owns a special shop of sorts...he sells pet's but they are not the normal type of pet's that you would think of finding. They are really normal people who have something special about them and my friend...they look after these people until they find new homes with people who will look after them..."

"A bit like that book I saw once in the muggle library called Pet Shop of Horrors," Harry said softly as Minerva's words ran though his mind, "Would...would I be the one buying the pet or would I be a pet?"

"You would be one of the pet's my dear," Minerva answered softly as she made sure to carefully word her words, "We could do it so that you would be able to keep everything you own and make sure that there will be no problems with your finance or anything else."

Taking a deep breath Harry allowed the woman he viewed as a Grandmother of sorts words to sink into him as he thought everything though. Was he really up to this? Could he really take a step back and allowed someone to take care of him? It sounded too good to be true though, biting his lower lip nervously Harry turned and looked up at Minerva with big wide eyes that made the older woman's heart instantly melt.

"It sounds too good to be true, what if something goes wrong? If something happens?" Harry asked as he looked almost beggingly into the Headmistress' eyes, "What is the person who buys me turns out to...be less then pleasant? What if it turns out that for some reason I cannot be a pet? What if I turn out to be bad at it? What if your friend hates me?"

"I promise you Harry that my friend will not hate you, in fact it might be the opposite with those wonderful big expressive emerald green eyes of yours," Minerva replied with a fond look at Harry, "And you do not need to worry about ending up with a horrible owner, my friend has a special skill that helps them to match the a pet and an owner together to find the perfect match, there is also a contract that they have to fill out with several parts to it that they have to follow. If they do not follow it...well then you get to get free and return to the 'pet shop' and my friend in any way you have to."

"I...but I am not a magical creature or an animagus or anything of the sort," Harry said nervously as he slowly reached out and wrapped a hand around Minerva's elegant but practical robe, "How can I be a pet when I do not-"

"My friend has a potion, a rare special one, for situations like this one, it will help you find your form that you are meant to be. It will not harm you or your magic Harry, in fact if there is a magical creature in your family history that is lying dormant and it suits you then your creature side will awaken and you will have your creature inheritance activated. If not then you will simply become an animal or creature that will best suit you and your magic. What do you say? Will you give this a chance? I promise that if you do not like it for whatever reason you can come back to Hogwarts."

Emotions danced high inside of Harry as his heart and mind battled each other as Harry found himself trying to weigh up his options to make a choice. Even if everything went pair shaped he had nothing to lose, no one wanted him anymore and he had already filled out a will at Gringgotts where it was under high level goblin protection.

"Okay...But I already have everything sorted out at Gringotts because I thought I would not live though the final battle," Harry replied softly and nervously as his grip on Minerva's robe tightened, "They gave me a special money bag that is hidden as a necklace with the Gringgotts symbol for the pendent...they said that it will let me access my vaults no matter where I am. They gave it to me just in case I needed to get out of England fast after I defeated Voldemort..."

"You have very good allies in the Goblins," Minerva said with an impressed tone, "It is hard to even get them to stop sneering at you...if you want we can leave now while the castle is empty so no one will try anything..."

"Okay...if you think it will work," Harry replied softly as he slowly let go of Minerva's robes and sit up, "Do you think all of the paperwork will at least be sorted out before anyone realises what is going on?"

"It will be, I will call in a few favours that some people owe me too, with the special skill my friend has for keeping her 'pet shop' out of the spot light everything should go along smoothly," Minerva replied as she looked around her at Harry's items, "Is there anything you want to take with you?"

"No, I only kept a change of clothes and a few things like quills, parchment and the odd book. I really did not think that I would survive so I put all of my belongings into my vault so there would be one less argument over who owns what of the destroyer of Voldemort," Harry answered as he began to straighten himself out, "Anything that is here with me can be left behind as it can be replaced...the clothes are hand me downs from my cousin anyway."

Nodding her head in understanding Minerva pulled her wand out with a flick of her wrist and with practice ease caught it as it came flying out of her arm wand holder. Pointing her wand at the bed opposite her Minerva muttered out a few softly spoken words only for a red beam of light to come shooting out of her wand and the blanket on the bed opposite was transfigured into a warm long black cloak with a large hood which would hide the wearers face. Quickly putting her wand back into its holster Minerva reached forwards and pulled the newly transfigured cloak from the bed and offered it to a confused Harry.

"It is cold outside dear and we have a bit to walk before we make it out of the wards where I can use my special Portkey," Minerva explained upon seeing Harry's confused expression.

Nodding his head Harry took a deep breath, stood up and slipped the cloak over his thin frame ignoring the way his body protested after being curled up on the bed in a tight ball for so long. Inside of him his heart was pounding away as he found himself hoping for the best in his new future.

He was finally doing something for himself.

To Be Continued...

So, how was it? I have had this idea for a while now but never got around to writing and posting it. Hope you liked it.