SUBTLETY

JK Rowling owns all the rights to the books and the amazing characters she created. I write only to satisfy my imagination and use my creativity and make no money from my writings.

NOTE: I apologize for messing up chapters 3 & 4. Hopefully it is fixed now. Also I will be redoing Hidden to fix that story under the name of The Hidden so that I can add another chapter and eventually finish it. Thanks for your patience and following.

Chapter 1 - Planning

If all went well none of them would know he was the one responsible for the punishments soon to be meted out.

Of course very few plans, if any, made by Harry Potter ever went the way he hoped, but that was mostly due to the manipulations of a certain unscrupulous wizard, the self-proclaimed Leader of the Light, Albus Dumbledore. But this time, Harry Potter now had the tools to free himself from the prison which had been his life and get his revenge on everybody.

Dumbledore had been manipulating the life of Harry Potter even before he was born having decided that Lily Evans would marry James Potter even though she totally despised the man for many good reasons.

But James Potter wanted Lily Evans because he couldn't have her and that made her all the more desirable and he would do whatever it took to make her his. Dumbledore "played Cupid" and arranged for certain untraceable spells to be cast on the unwilling girl so that it couldn't be said that James had used any magic – other than the magic of his many charms – to make her fall hopelessly in love with him.

James didn't want to actually marry her, he just wanted her to fall in love with him, date him, he would shag her and then dump her like he and his friend Sirius did to all the witches they dated. But since James was already in Dumbledore's pocket he was persuaded to marry her "for the Greater Good."

Then he had to get her pregnant as soon as possible as Dumbledore had a plan to end the war that Voldemort was winning and Lily Evans having a baby was a large part of this plan. Naturally he didn't tell James why but then he never told anyone the reasons for his plans. They were just given their orders and they obeyed without question.

James had no idea that his death was also part of the grand plan but he found out the hard way. Lily was to sacrifice herself for her son and when Voldemort went to kill the boy, using no doubt his favorite curse the Avada Kedavra, the curse would hit the boy and then bounce back and hit the Dark Lord, killing him instantly. There was a slight chance that the boy might live and if so, Dumbledore had already planned for that happening.

In any event, if the child died then Dumbledore would have arrived too late to save the Potters but just in time to confront the Dark Lord. They would duel and Dumbledore would finally kill Voldemort and no one would be the wiser. If the child lived, there were plans already set in motion and in the end, if the Dark Lord really had found a certain type of immortality, Dumbledore would have the time to find out the ins and outs, and still defeat Voldemort in the end once again becoming a hero.

The child lived and Dumbledore sealed Wills, help set up Sirius Black, and condemned the boy to a life of abuse, starvation, misery and pain. Then he would be "rescued" told he was a wizard and come to Hogwarts to join the pawns that worshiped, adored and blindly followed Albus Dumbledore. He would then be tested while Dumbledore worked out his theories and eventually be a martyr so that Dumbledore could swoop in and save the day once more.

Everything had gone according to plan from the boy's abusive childhood, the carefully chosen and only friends allowed, the tests taken and the utter subjugation of the boy.

But then there had been the Triwizard Tournament which had turned out even better than Dumbledore had anticipated. Voldemort was resurrected and shockingly, the boy had survived. Then he was sent back to the hell of Privet Drive and the hysterical Minister of Magic and his minions took control and further injured the boy's reputation by sending Dementors to kill him. It ended up with him being tried before the entire Wizengamot and once again Dumbledore swooping in to save the day and "rescue" the boy.

Dumbledore had many other plans in place for the boy's fifth year, plans which would crush the boy and destroy his spirit and although it "looked as if Dumbledore was being used and abused by the Ministry" he really wasn't, he just allowed it to further his plans.

Dumbledore couldn't wait for the school year to begin so that Potter could go through the worse hell yet. It was for the Greater Good and in the end, the boy would be so tired of life and feel so hopeless that he would willing sacrifice himself because death would be much better than his miserable life.

However, not only Dumbledore but everyone else would be in for a shock and all those carefully laid plans would be destroyed and not the boy.

How would Harry accomplish this you ask? He had been freed from the miasma which had been placed on his since October 31, 1981. It had happened in the graveyard before the Death Eaters had been summoned. As soon as he resurrected Voldemort and stunned Peter Pettigrew and had used not his yew wand but another wand.

In the 12 years of his existence as a disembodied wraith, Voldemort had been in excruciating pain and unable to think clearly. However, once he had taken on the homunculus form, he wasn't perfect and very weak BUT he started to think lucidly. He did some research and fooled Pettigrew into thinking that Potter was going to be killed in the graveyard.

The only person who he had let in on his real plan was Barty Crouch, Jr. Crouch had been impersonating Moody and had access to the boy. Not only was he to put Potter's name into the Goblet of Fire, he was to help him survive and win the Tournament. Voldemort also had Crouch do a few investigations regarding Potter.

Thus, once Pettigrew was stunned and Potter still was tied to the gravestone both Voldemort and his snake Nagini had a chat with the boy. He also removed a few charms on the boy and revealed the results of his research. Potter didn't want to believe what he was told but then Voldemort swore on his life and magic and Potter agreed to go along with the "plan" which Voldemort had proposed to him.

He placed a few charms of his own on the boy, mostly involving shielding his mind from a certain Occlumens or two, revived Pettigrew, obliviated certain information and then summoned the Death Eaters. The show could then begin.

There was a lot of posturing for show, they dueled, a special Prior Incantato was created and Harry escaped with Cedric's body. He played his part perfectly as a hysterical sobbing boy (which he really was), panic ensued, a cover up was begun and Dumbledore "took charge" and eventually the usual disregard of the boy's welfare began.

Barty had summoned his former house elf Winky and re-bonded with the grateful little elf. She had always loved and cared for her master and was eager to serve him again. Although she had to pretend that she was drunk on butter beer, which she had been for the first two months at Hogwarts, she used this ruse to do a little spying and help her master. She was given some final orders and when Harry returned from the graveyard, Barty made his escape.

No physical, emotional or mental care was given to Harry and he was just sent home as usual. His "friends" acted as usual, namely they had their orders from Dumbledore. Harry arrived at Privet Drive and his misery began.

However, at night Winky would meet up with him and whisk him away from his prison and to the presence of the Dark Lord. There he would be fed a decent meal, given a few necessary potions and chat with Voldemort. When it was needed, Winky would glamour herself as Harry and do his chores for him, but only when he was being healed or if more intensive training was given. Plans were made and Harry was given the necessary tools to recover.

When he had possessed Quirrell, Voldemort had cause to be in the Headmaster's office on many occasions. He recognized all the various monitors, trackers and magical machinery which Dumbledore had on Harry. During the Tournament, Winky had secretly taken pictures of all of those things tracking Harry Potter. This enabled Barty to make copies of everything so that they could be replaced and the real ones monitoring or controlling Harry could be destroyed. Harry could be free of the spells, charms and hexes and Dumbledore would be none the wiser.

They had hoped to have most of the summer to get Harry mostly healed, given some much needed magical lessons and briefed but then the Dementors made their appearance. Still, there had been much accomplished and Harry was mostly free of the really damaging things. He also learned a lot of magic.

When Harry arrived at Grimmauld Place and talked with his friends, he had found out that they had been ordered by Dumbledore to basically abandon him and leave him with his feelings of guilt (because Harry had so many guilt charms placed on him that if it hadn't been for the anti-suicide spells, he probably would have killed himself long ago) and after analyzing the situation, realized it was all just more of Dumbledore's manipulations. The trial left no doubt about the Ministry's intentions and when Harry "met" Delores Umbridge at his trial, he automatically added another person to his list.

During his stay at Grimmauld Place, Harry's estimation of Sirius Black took a nose dive. Sirius viewed Harry as a replacement for James. Sometimes he even slipped and called Harry James. Then there was the treatment both he and Sirius received at the hands of Dumbledore and especially Molly Weasley.

So at this moment Harry found himself sitting on the Hogwarts Express waiting for Hermione and Ron to come back from the Prefects' meeting. Yes, Ron had been made Prefect and not Harry, who was the natural choice. He found out later that McGonagall had made Harry the Prefect but had been overridden by Dumbledore who had personally chose Ron.

"If it can't be Harry then it should be Neville Longbottom" the witch had screamed at Dumbledore, "Ron Weasley will not make a good Prefect, he will neglect his duties, make Hermione Granger do most if not all the work, will lord it over the younger years and abuse his position by taking points off Slytherins."

But Dumbledore's word was law and McGonagall had been forbidden from even telling Potter that he had been her choice.

The only interesting thing on the ride was the meeting of the strange but intriguing Luna Lovegood. Harry liked her immediately, even though she seemed to look directly into his soul.

Malfoy had made his annual visit, gave the usual taunts and insults but Harry didn't rise to them. Instead he just smiled a Mona Lisa-type smile at him and refused to be bated. So that was when Ron stepped in and started the fight. Eventually Malfoy and goons left, while Ron ranted at Harry for "not doing anything to retaliate" or some such stupid thing

"I just don't care anymore Ron," Harry had told him. He then tuned out Ron's rants and Ginny's attempt to flirt. He even managed to get a little sleep.

He knew that Malfoy would be getting "his payback" very shortly.

They went to the feast and Umbridge made her appearance. Harry developed a headache, but he consoled himself as she too would soon be gone, just as soon as he found out her greatest fear.

Finally the feast was over and they all went to bed. In the middle of the night Winky appeared as pre-arranged and Harry informed her of his mission of the night.

After casting several charms around his bed, disillusioning himself and Winky, he had her pop him to Malfoy's dorm room. Harry cast a few more spells and then began his punishment of Draco Malfoy.

Although Lucius Malfoy was a member of the Inner Circle, he had betrayed his Lord one time too many. Once Voldemort found out that the diary he had entrusted to Lucius had been destroyed, he was a marked and doom man. Thus Voldemort would allow Harry to punish Lucius' son not only to get his own revenge but to hurt Lucius.

Harry cast his curse and then had Winky take him back to bed. Harry had acquired a second wand which was kept disillusioned and hidden as no doubt he would be blamed for the action, at least by Snape, despite not having the means or magic to accomplish it. Besides the new wand, due to his increased health, Harry's magical signature had also changed so even Dumbledore wouldn't be able to discover who had committed the deed.

Harry went to breakfast the next morning and with the exception of the absence of Dumbledore, Snape and Malfoy, there was nothing worth noticing. It wasn't until the dinner meal that the rumors started flying. It seemed that Draco Malfoy woke up that morning minus his tongue. He was now at St. Mungo's being treated but from what was being said, since it was a magical curse, his tongue couldn't be regrown.

Just imagine, Draco Malfoy not able to talk. He couldn't taunt, call people names or insult anybody unless he wrote it down on paper and handed it to his victim. Tsk, tsk, how would he survive?

Hermione was horrified, Ron was ecstatic and Harry just chuckled lightly before being chastised by Hermione. Strange, but she didn't chastise Ron who was far more cruel in his comments and actually laughed – while stuffing food in his mouth.

The Slytherins had a mixed reaction. Most of them were delighted that something bad had happened to the snarly git. He considered himself the leader of Slytherin since his first year but had it not been for his father's wealth and power as well as Snape protecting him, the ponce would have been cursed to bits before the end of his first year as it was the Slytherin way.

Pansy Parkinson was wailing as without a tongue, "How can Draco properly kiss me?" That caused many people to gag.

Crabbe and Goyle were in shock as they didn't know what to do with themselves as Draco wasn't there to give them orders. What would they do if he didn't return to school?

Delores Umbridge was making her displeasure known as Draco was the heir of THE most prominent Pureblood family in Britain and she would not rest until the culprit was discovered and sent to Azkaban.

The other teachers were also quite happy the brat was tongueless permanently as Poppy Pomfrey informed them. Of course he would just have to learn silent casting sooner but he could return to school but, YIPPEE HE COULDN'T TALK!

Little did anyone know but this would just be the first of many paybacks.