This idea has been bugging me for a bit, and it felt wierd not writing anything so I decided to start something new!

I hope you like it!

*I AM NOT JK ROWLING, I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER*

Distorted Reality

Harry scuffed his shoe as he meandered down Hogwarts' familiar corridors. He remembered with a smile a time he was certain he would never know his way around the castle, yet now it was like a second home to him.

Second to Potter manor, of course. Potter Manor, with its sloping lawns and small Quiddich pitch (he had been playing since he could walk). Potter Manor with their three house elves (Blinky, Twinkie and Pinky), whose company Harry enjoyed to an extent – they were only house elves, who lived to do your bidding.

Shaking his head out of thoughts of home, Harry returned to his dilemma. The stupid Patronus Charm. Why could he not get it to work for him? NEWTs began next week, and even he was fully immersed in his studies. Gryffindor tower was silent most of the time now, because Granger – who had been studying for months, the weirdo – had shouted at several first years for playing exploding snap too loudly.

Harry drew to a stop outside Uncle Moony's... No, Professor Lupin's room, and knocked lightly.

The door opened quickly, and Harry grinned up into the familiar face of his 'Uncle'.

Moony smiled warmly back, enfolding Harry into a hug and pulling back to look at his face. "Are you okay, Harry?" he asked kindly, "Needed a break from studying?" he teased, knowing that, despite Remus' best efforts, Harry had left the cramming to the last minute, again. Harry's face took on a pained expression.

"I can't get the patronus to work!" he lamented, "It's always just a load of mist that just hovers there for a bit. Ron got it weeks ago!" he whined, "Help me Uncle Moony!" And Harry pulled out his best puppy-dog eyes.

Remus laughed, shaking his head, "why didn't you come to me sooner, Harry?" he asked, stepping back to let Harry into the room. Harry's eyes widened as he looked at a small crowd of familiar faces.

"Mum?" he asked, looking to the red-haired witch sat at Uncle Moony's table, "Dad? Uncle Paddy?" he addressed the others in the room. "What are you guys doing here?" he asked, embarrassed at being caught asking for help.

Lily rose to her feet, walking towards her son, "Hello Harry dear" she said, pulling him into a reluctant hug, ignoring Harry's whine of "Muuuummm!"

"Uncle Padfoot, Dad and I were just visiting our favourite professor." She told Harry, causing Remus to blush and grin slightly. They all ignored Sirius's cry of "Minnie's here?"

Remus grinned at his surrogate nephew, "I invited them over for dinner." He explained to Harry. "I'm sure they won't mind me giving you some help with your patronus." Harry blushed, smiling sheepishly at his parents, causing James to wink at him and ruffle up his hair.

"Dad!" Harry protested, ducking out of his father's reach, "You said you'd stop doing that when I got taller than you!" James laughed, and stepped back, his hands held up in surrender.

"Do you want to stay for dinner, Harry?" Remus asked, pulling his wand out of his pocket, "I think the house elves are going to send it up soon." Harry's stomach rumbled and he laughed, messing his hair up like his father used to.

"You know me too well, Uncle Moony." He said, also pulling out his wand, and looking at it sceptically. "I don't know why the spell won't work." He grumbled. "I'm thinking of something happy, like you said, but nothing happens."

Remus smiled kindly. "Don't worry about it, Harry; it's a very advanced spell. Many grown wizards can't pull it off. Are you sure your thought is happy enough?"

Harry thought back to a lunch time to week previous, when he, Ron, Seamus and Dean had caused a small explosion of food on the slytherin table, sending pieces of mashed potato, gravy, sausages and more onto the appalled slytherins, including the one and only Draco Malfoy, who had screamed like a girl, his hair full of mashed potato and ran from the hall, screaming something about his father hearing about this...

Harry grinned mischievously, waving his wand and muttering "Expecto Patronum!" A white mist issued from his wand, and Harry frowned at it, waving his wand and groaning. "Why won't it work?" he demanded angrily as the mist vanished.

Remus placed a calming hand on Harry's shoulder, and Harry took a deep breath.

"What were you thinking?" Remus asked. Harry shrugged, blushing slightly.

"Just the look on Malfoy's face when he got mashed potato in his hair last week." He muttered, not looking at his mother, who he knew would be shaking her head, her arms folded and her brow furrowed. He also knew his father would be trying not to laugh, and also not looking at his wife, who would undoubtedly throw an exasperated expression his way, obviously telling him she was sure he was completely to blame for their son's unruly behaviour.

Remus sighed and brushed a hand through his hair. "You need something deeper than that." He told Harry seriously, "something meaningful, not just a silly joke. You don't feel pure happiness at playing jokes on others. Think about someone, something that makes you happy, like friends, like having fun." He encouraged Harry.

Harry nodded, determined, just as the dinner materialised on the side – some form of stew, Harry noted, as Sirius jumped up with a cry of happiness at the sight of the food. Harry felt himself grinning at his godfather, choosing not to crack a joke about what Uncle Paddy would undoubtedly choose to think of when casting a patronus.

"Expecto Patronum!" Harry cried, letting in thoughts of his family, of his childhood, whizzing around Potter Manor on a small broomstick, his mother crying out for him to be careful, his father's laughter egging him on... He thought about his friends, about playing jokes, about messing around in the common room, about making it snow in the Great Hall on Christmas Day last year...

A giant stag erupted from the end of his wand, causing Harry to stumble back slightly in surprise. James let out a shout of joy from where he had just jumped to his feet, and Remus laughed and clapped his hands happily. "Well done Harry! I knew you could do it!"

Sirius... well, Sirius was carrying the stew, and in his shock, the pot had fallen from his hands...

Sirius let out a cry of shock as the stew knocked over a cauldron, causing both liquids to mix together, bubbling furiously. Everyone stopped to look at it, including the stag, before the liquid exploded, bits of it covering the whole room...

And the inhabitants in it.

Remus looked confused at the patronus covered in stew and wolfsbane potion for a second, a confused look on his face... But I thought they weren't completely solid... he mused, How is this possible?

All the inhabitants stared at each other for a second before disappearing with a pop, their skin burning; feeling like every particle in their bodies was being pulled in a different direction.

Harry thought he was screaming, but he couldn't hear anything. Flashes of colour spiralled past him, faster and faster, his eyes felt like they were popping, but he couldn't close them, couldn't move.

There was air beneath his feet, but he could feel the ground under them, and the colours were making him dizzy. He tried to look around for the others, but his body wouldn't obey him...

WHAM!

The world righted around him, and he fell to the ground clutching his head in pain.

"What the bloody hell was that?" a familiar voice sounded from next to him, and he looked up to see Uncle Padfoot, clutching his head too. His Dad was holding tight to his Mum's hand, looking into her eyes to see if she was okay ,she on the other hand was trying to throw him off, insisting that she was fine, telling him to stop worrying. Uncle Moony was looking around the room, confused, noticing that everything looked different.

His office was covered in small metal devices which he didn't really want to know were used for, and an open area in the middle, with spots of... was that blood? Remus' eyes widened, and he backed away. "I think we need to get out of here." He said quietly. "Harry, put your cloak on."

Harry, realising this was not a time for complaining, pulled his invisibility cloak round his shoulders, and watched as the others placed disillusionment charms on each other, and held onto each other as they left the room.

A loud, booming voice echoed round the castle, and Harry's eyes widened. He clutched at his parents' hands on either side of him.

"Harry Potter is dead. He was killed as he ran away, trying to save himself while you lay down your lives for him. We bring you his body as proof that your hero is gone."

Harry froze. He was kind of sure he wasn't dead... he placed a finger to his pulse to check... nope, everything was beating away as normal... what the hell was going on? There was only one Harry Potter... wasn't there?

"The battle is won. You have lost half your fighters. My Death Eaters outnumber you and the Boy Who Lived is finished. There must be no more war. Anyone who continues to resist, man, woman or child, will be slaughtered, as will every member of their family."

Harry heard his family around him shuffle closer to each other. He heard them muttering, clearly panicked.

"Padfoot?" he heard his Dad hiss, "What the hell did you do this time?"

"Me?" Sirius protested, "I didn't do anything! It's not my fault we're all hallucinating, or some psycho has started some random killing spree!"

"Calm down!" Remus hissed, "We can't-"

The voice continued:

"Come out of the castle, now, kneel before me, and you shall be spared. Your parents and children, your brothers and sisters will live, and be forgiven, and you shall join me in the new world we shall build together."

Harry pulled the invisibility cloak off his head, talking to the shimmering outlines of his family.

"What the fuck?" he cursed, eyes wide. "Am I dreaming?" he demanded.

An outline pulled him into a hug. "I don't know what's happening." James' voice told him, "But don't worry, we'll figure something out." He assured him. "And none of us are dying." He added, shuddering in remembrance of the cold voice echoing round the castle.

"Come on." Remus' voice sounded. "We need to find out what's going on. Harry, keep a tight hold on your parents' hands." He told him, and Harry nodded, before ducking under the invisibility cloak he was glad he carried everywhere with him.

The small family walked through the silent castle sombrely, each lost in dark thoughts at the sight of their beloved castle looking so destroyed. More than once they passed a still body, a child, an adult, they could not stop to look closer... in case it was someone they knew, someone they loved...

Reaching a window... or rather a missing part of wall – Harry shuddered at the implications of the curse that would hold the power to destroy part of Hogwarts – they looked out into the courtyard.

A dark, masked army was lined up in front of the building, let by a terrifying-looking man... was it even a man? He had a white face, and his gleaming red eyes were visible even from where they stood. His face looked oddly flat, as if he was missing something.

And next to him, stood Hagrid, an old friend of Harry's... he had visited his hut many times, and he was a qualified teacher of Care of Magical Creatures.

And in his arms...

"NO!" Harry heard a cry from the audience gathered outside the school. Was that Professor McGonagall's voice?

"Is that me?" he whispered to the others incredulously... he couldn't believe it...

"No!"

"No!"

"Harry! HARRY!"

Harry heard the shouts, and stared, dumbstruck at the still body in Hagrid's arms, not quite registering who was shouting... one of them sounded like Ron.

Harry stood frozen, his mouth hanging open in shock, "Am I dead?"

I hope you like it, I will update soon.

Please Read and Review!

Oreal