Chapter 1: The End is only the Beginning

Harry walked towards what he knew was his end. It was almost amusing to think that after so many years of trying to survive Voldemort's attempts at murder he was voluntarily strolling to his doom. He knew he had to though. Snape's memories told him as much. If Dumbledore himself believed Harry needed to die in order to save the wizarding world then who was Harry to question such an action.

He thought back on his final moments with loved ones gifted to him by the Resurrection Stone. Through his life he had longed to be able to talk to his parents. To feel their love. He finally had that opportunity… and he would be joining them soon. He didn't feel happy about it like he thought he would, nor did he feel sad about it like was expected. He just felt acceptance.

He heard Voldemort talking to his death eaters in the forest and paused in his movements. It was time. He knew it was. But for some reason, walking towards that monster seemed to be the wrong thing to do. None-the-less he stepped forward alerting his eternal enemy of his presence.

Voldemort let out a dark chuckle at the predictability of his opponent. Harry simply let his arms fall to his side with his palms up. He felt the light breeze through the trees. He heard the leaves rustling, whispering secrets that only they could understand. He closed his eyes and zoned out. The final moments of his life were a blur, even with his eyes closed. He knew Voldemort was probably giving some final speech of victory to his death eaters. It may have been amusing for Harry to listen to due to the amount of times Voldemort bragged only to fail. But he knew this time Voldemort wasn't going to fail. Harry was going to die. Then he heard 6 syllables that would kill him quickly.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

And he died.

Anger. Happiness. Enclosed. Free. Hate. Love. A whirlwind of pain and serenity coursed through his body for eternity and, at the same time, for only a second. He was falling and flying through a color that was a mixture of black and white, but wasn't gray. It was confusing and it made no sense. There was no explanation for it. It simply was.

He hit the ground. At least, he thought it was the ground. He couldn't be sure of anything anymore. His body ached and he let himself go to the pain he felt, letting his body go limp in his prone state. He wore nothing, but didn't feel bare. He was in a room of nothing. The floor of white that he stood on went on for ages in front of him. There was no roof. When he looked to his right and then his left he saw similar things. Curious, he spun around to see if what was behind him was the same. It wasn't. And he fell back down onto his butt.

Behind him stood a woman… or a man. It was hard to tell. The top of the beings head had hair and then a slight forehead. But that was all that was normal. The skin wrapped around the beings body in a swirl like a vanilla and chocolate ice cream. The skin was the vanilla. And the chocolate was death. Or, at least, what Harry thought death would look like. Dead, decaying, black leather alternated with the pure skin. He was almost reminded of a dementor who had decided to replace its cloth cover with leather. It was disturbing to say the least.

The figure wore a smirk that showed amusement at the boy. "Hello Harry Potter," it said.

Harry liked to think he was brave. He was a Gryffindor. He had faced Voldemort, a basilisk, a werewolf, dementors, and many other evils and had lived through all of those experiences after all. But something about this moment made him scream in absolute fear.

"You know," the figure began, "I should be offended by the amount of times I've gotten that reaction. But in your case I think it is warranted. After all," The smile fell into a snarl, "You threw away your destiny like it was one of the galleons in your vault."

Harry scooted himself backwards away from the source of his terror. "Wha-" was all he managed to get out of his mouth. Although, even that was a bit of a stretch. The sound was more a squeak of anxious confusion.

"You Harry Potter are a fool. An idiotic sheep who followed his shepherd to get its pelt removed. You got blindsided by a foolish, manipulative old man who thought he was a master of fate. You fell for the greed of the weasels who only wanted you for your money. You felt sorrow for the sob story that was never true. You let a naïve bookworm guide your path. You are a moron Harry Potter."

Harry spluttered. And then he roared in anger. "You can insult me all you want, but I will not let you insult my friends, nor speak ill of the courageous dead, no matter who you are!"

The figure laughed. Neither pleasant nor horrid, the sound carried into Harry's ears enraging him even more. It laughed and laughed with no explanation for its actions. Harry stood up furiously.

"Who do you think you are you bitch."

"Oooh, how… clever. I've never been called that one before," the figure spoke in a mocking sarcastic tone. "Who am I? You won't let me speak of the dead? Oh this is a riot. I, Harry," It sauntered up to him and leaned over to whisper in his ear. "I am known by many names, none of which are correct. I am the matriarch of the universe. The one certainty of all beings. The controller of fate. Maker of the Deathly Hallows."

Harry's breath caught in his throat as he remembered the situation that led to his arrival in this strange place. As he realized exactly who he was speaking to.

She paced walking back and forth, eventually turning her back on him."Yes, Harry, I am death. Or Fate if you prefer – I don't really care what you call me, it has no consequence. After all," she whipped her body around to face him once more and released a feral grin, "you are nothing, nothing but a toy for me. A dysfunctional one at that."

Harry opened his mouth to speak, but with a wave of her hand he was cut off, no longer able to talk. He tried for a few futile minutes to get out a sound before settling down with a scowl.

Fate merely smirked. "Are you done now?" She asked.

All Harry could do was nod. He was completely over powered and at her disposal. He was nothing.

"Good," Fate began. "Now let me tell you what you did wrong. Actually," she paused and put a finger to her chin, "let me preface and then you tell me what you did wrong. Okay! Now then, you are a kid who is underfed, mistreated, and beaten by your guardians,"she sneered out the words. "One day you accidentally turn your teachers hair blue. True, this first event may have been excusable being as it could be a strange coincidence, but after teleporting onto a roof, surely something was going on, yes?" Harry scowled, but nodded. "Okay then," she waved her hand releasing Harry's voice. "Now tell me what you should've done."

"I should've explored the powers I had?" he question his answer and Fate scowled.

"I guess that's part of it, but there is so much more. You should have explored those powers, yes, but you also should've learned from them. You should have thought 'Hey! What else can I do?'. And then, with that knowledge you should have left the Dursleys and let your magic guide you to where you truly belonged, in the wizarding world. I suppose I can let you off the hook for that one. After all, you were abused and dissuaded from anything related to magic. So we'll go to your first year. To begin with, we'll start with the letters for Hogwarts. Now these letters are addressed to a Mr. Harry Potter who lives in the cupboard under the stairs. Strike one! Additionally, after years of being denied anything for yourself from the Dursleys you openly looked at your letter where they could clearly see that the letter was addressed to you and steal it from you. You idiot! Strike two. And then, after being sent hundreds of letters it didn't once occur to you to stuff one under your shirt or in your trousers?" Harry sheepishly shook his head, shocked. How had he been so foolish? Fate spoke again after a pause. "Now, tell me what you should've done this time."

Harry paused before answering, thinking carefully. After being told he was only partially right the last time he wanted to be sure that he got this one right. Finally, he came to a decision. "I should've hidden my letter in my cupboard under the stairs before giving the rest of the mail to the Dursleys and then read it the next time I was locked in the cupboard."

"And what about the address put on the letter?"

Harry was confused. "What about it?"

"It was addressed to the cupboard under the stairs. I repeat, it was addressed to the cupboard underneath the stairs. No red flags?"

Harry fell to his knees in shock. "But- but surely Mcgonagall wouldn't have left me if she knew." Fate nodded in affirmation to Harry's previous statement.

"True, if she knew she would not have left you. But she didn't send the letter. Your letter was a special case."

Harry paused and thought as hard as he could. Who else could've sent his letter. He thought of Lucius Malfoy's position on the Hogwarts Board of Governors, but quickly discarded that idea. The elder Malfoy was far more cunning than the younger and surely would've used that knowledge to his advantage instead of just sitting on it. And since he knew that Malfoy ruled the Board of Governors by blackmail he knew that no one else on the board could've done it. And there was no reason at all for a sentient Hogwarts to send him and only him a Hogwarts letter. The only other person who would've had the authority was—" his eyes widened in shock.

"I see you understand. Dumbledore sent you the letter. In case you don't believe me, think about who sent Hagrid to collect you from the Dursleys." Harry's eyes filled with tears. His previous beliefs came crumbling down.

He tried to say "but why?", but all that came out was "wergh".

"Why? Because Dumbledolt was a manipulative fool who didn't know his place in the world. Now that you have seen the biggest mistake you made, let me glaze over the many other mistakes you made." Fate took a deep breath in order to get out all of the information she wanted to as quickly as possible. Granted, she didn't need to breathe, but it was best not to disturb Harry anymore than she already planned to.

"Year 1: You go to Diagon Alley with Hagrid, who is not at all certified to take care of youngsters and has only the educational knowledge of a third year. Further, he is piss drunk. Now, he openly reveals that you are Harry Potter in the middle of the Leaky Cauldron. Queue the many witches and wizards swarming Harry Potter, making him wonder how he became famous.

After being swarmed, Hagrid brings you to Gringotts and installs wizarding prejudices into you about the goblins. He also bad-mouths Slytherins. Both of them could've been a great ally you know. Especially with that abomination in your head. And with explaining your legacy. In Gringotts, Hagrid 'sneakily' gets the Philosophers Stone on the same visit as he brings you. And by 'sneakily' I mean the kind of subtlety that only a half-giant can use.

Anyways, we'll skim over how you only got yourself a shabby trunk, as minimal books and potions ingredients as possible, and shabby clothes. Let's go to the incident in Ollivanders. The same core of the wand of Voldemort? C'mon notice a scam kid. Sure it matched the fragment in your head, but it didn't match you. If you had been paying attention you would have noticed part of your magic rejecting that wand. I'll give you a bit of knowledge for next time. There was no wand that matched you in Ollivanders. You needed a custom made wand. A wand that could be upgrade to fit you as you progressed through life.

To end the trip, Hagrid buys you Hedwig. Nothing wrong with this, at least nothing a first year could know about. In actuality Dumbledore put a tracking charm on Hedwig as well as a confudus in order to confiscate any mail that he didn't want to be sent or received. Finally finished shopping, he sends you back to the Dursleys who he now knows to be abusive. Not only does he know they're abusive, but he also hexed their prized baby whale making them particularly angry over the whole magic thing. All of these mistakes in one shopping trip. Now onto the Hogwarts journey."

Harry was groaning on his back over his foolishness. The truth truly was painful. It was like a knife stabbed into his heart, being twisted with every word. He had a couple of questions from Fate's words, but figured it was best to let her finish her rant before asking them.

"Hagrid tells you to go to platform 9 ¾ without any further information. Because of this poor little Harry Potter is forced to wander through Kings Cross Station without a clue of where he is headed. You walked straight into a trap. What were the words again? Ah yes, '-packed with muggles of course-'and 'Now what's the platform number' (taken directly from HP-PS). Did you think you were part of a story with convenient moments for the protagonist for the sake of pushing the plot? Molly Weasley has been to platform 9 ¾ countless times, Harry. There is absolutely no way she could've forgotten what the platform number was. Now that, in combination with the comment about muggles, blatantly broke the Statue of Secrecy and gave you a family to trust. A family that blindly followed Dumbledore. Let's not talk about the love potions Molly and Ginerva Weasley fed you.

Anyways, now on the train a kid from the same family is stuck joining your compartment because everywhere else on the magical train was full. No wonder you needed glasses this go around, you really were blind. Ronald proceeds to bad mouth any and all Slytherins just like Hagrid did. And you blindly ate it up. Draco Malfoy comes to your apartment and offers to teach you pureblood etiquette. Sure, he was a snob about it, but it was a good offer. By denying shaking his hand you committed political suicide and were extremely rude.

Your next incident came with the sorting. While I do believe that Gryffindor was the best place for you in the long run -strategically anyway-, you really did belong in Slytherin. But the badmouthing of Slytherins rubbed off on you and you chose Gryffindor.

Let's fast-forward to the troll incident. Recall how Quirrell fainted after announcing the troll that was not actually in the dungeons. In his exaggerated faint he fell backwards. The only reason for this to happen is if he was leaning backwards. However, he sprinted into the Great Hall which would've carried his momentum forwards. The faint was obviously fake. While I should reprimand you for going after Hermione without telling a professor, I won't because it should have been a smart move that would've gained you a good ally. Too bad Dumbledore later bribed her to spy on you." Harry swore at that revelation.

"Yes, yes you should be mad. Anyways there are only two more big mistakes that you made that year. The first was the duel with Draco Malfoy. As the challenged, you had the right to determine the time and the place. With that you could have gotten a huge political advantage, a few favors, or money. Instead, you let him lead you into a trap.

Finally, the whole Philosopher's Stone incident. Every one of those traps meant to guard the stone were easily bypassed by 3 first years. Obstacle 1: Fluffy. Hagrid reveals that his Cerberus falls asleep when music is played. Obstacle 2: Devil's Snare. Lumos is one of the first spell a witch or wizard learns. Obstacle 3: Catch the Key. While that was a difficult enchantment performed by Professor Flitwick, it was not a difficult obstacle to pass; especially not for the youngest seeker in a century. Obstacle 4: The Giant Chess Board. Again an impressive bit of magic, but not difficult at all to get past. In fact, you could've just flown over it with a broom. Obstacle 5: The Troll. Honestly I have to give that one a troll for effort. 'The Golden 3' had already beaten a troll before. Obstacle 6: Logic. This one was the only good protection and it would really only take time to solve. It also conveniently made it so you were alone in facing Voldemort while Dumbledore flew a broom to the Ministry of Magic. Obstacle 7: The Mirror of Erised. Pretty simple to solve to be honest as Quirrellmort showed you. It was also tailor made to test your character." Fate let out a deep breath. "Now then, any questions?"

Harry didn't hesitate for a second. "You said that the Goblins and Slytherins could've been good allies. How?"

Fate let out a sigh of exasperation. "The Slytherins would have been able to educate you in pureblood culture, something that would've helped out in the future. The Goblins would have made you aware of your legacy. They also have a particular aversion for horcruxes. Had you come to them they could've ritualistically removed the horcrux from your head allowing you to absorb the soul pieces magic and knowledge. They also would have given you the Lestrange Vault if you had revealed the existence of a horcrux within it… after taking some of it for their services and to pay a fine of course."

"Okay," Harry mumbled trying to absorb all of the knowledge he had just received. "Wait, what was that bit about helping me discover my legacy."

Fate growled out something that sounded like manipulative old coot. "You are the heir of the Potter legacy. That alone gave you access to vast amounts of knowledge, wealth, and political power. Further, the Potters were descendants of the Peverells. When you finally attained ownership of two of the Deathly Hallows you would have been named lord of the house. While all three hallows would've been nice, you only needed for magic to recognize your ownership of the majority of the Hallows and to trace your lineage back to the Peverells. Additionally, when you pulled Gryffindor's sword from the hat you gained lordship of the house of Gryffindor. This is because Gryffindor's final will stated that his lordship would be inherited by someone who was his descendant and was recognized as worthy by his sword. When you killed a class XXXXX creature, the basilisk, which you incidentally could have sold to the goblins and made armor and weapons out of, with the sword, you were recognized as worthy. Finally, you were Heir to the House of Black. As Sirius was unable to produce offspring after his stay in Azkaban, he named you his heir. You knew this, but not all that it entailed, something that was evident when you only utilized Kreature and Grimmauld Place. Needless to say, next time you will want to play nice with the goblins."

"That was my next question," Harry said confused. "What is this about 'next time'?"

"I would've thought that obvious Harry," Fate offered through a smirk of mischief. "You are going to get a redo."

"Oh. Okay… wait… NO YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!" Harry was furious. He was going to be denied the pleasure of being with his parents, Sirius, and Remus.

"Actually," Fate began, slightly annoyed, "I can."

"But why?" Harry sobbed.

"Do the words 'and either must die at the hand of the other' mean nothing to you?"

Harry yelled out an agonizing "FUCK! But, Dumbledore said—nevermind."

Fate laughed at that. To be honest, she believed Harry would be a lot more stubborn about this. Feeling that she should take advantage of the momentum she spoke up, "You realize that in a redo, while you wouldn't be able to have your parents, you would be allowed to have Sirius and Remus back."

Harry's heart started pumping hard. So hard, in fact, that he could feel the pulse in his temples and could almost hear it. Pain had never felt so good. But then he paused as he thought of something. "But why would you do this. Surely you would want to keep people dead… I mean you are literally death. Don't you want to keep your residents?"

Fate actually growled her answer. "I hate when people assume I'm a heartless bitch. I mean, I am, but it still isn't nice. Anyway, all the people who died last time will eventually die again. Voldemort, however, cannot die unless it is by your hand. Or if he chooses to accept his death, but I don't think either of us can see that happening." Harry shook his head. After making so many horcruxes there was no way Voldemort would ever accept death. Fate then explained why she wanted Harry to win instead of Riddle. "You, however, would accept your death. You would be willing to join your loved ones in my domain when the time comes. For that reason, it is imperative that you beat Voldemort.

Harry cried at the pain he was bound to experience once more in his life. He would have an advantage, yes, but there would still be so much pain. If he were allowed to die he could be at peace. He could be with his parents and have a family again. "Please don't make me" he cried. While he did want Sirius and Remus to live, he selfishly wanted the whole package which included his parents.

"I can't do that Harry." Fate put her hand on his shoulder in sympathy. Harry shivered at the feeling. After talking for so long, he had begun to think of Fate as a normal person. The death leather swirl brought him back to reality. "I can, however, give you any one boon… as long as it is reasonable. I can't have an overpowered wizard running the wizarding world who can resurrect the dead and kill people with a stare after all."

Harry let his shoulders slump in defeat. "If I am to be sent back," Harry said at last, "I want someone that will always be at my side. Who will always be loyal to me, that can protect me and can be protected by me. Someone to love me and be loved by me. My own eternal family member."

Fate let the cogs swirl as she thought about exactly what to give her resigned champion. "Your own eternal family member? I can do that, but not in the way you think. You will have Sirius and Remus and eventually others to fill that position anyway. No, I will give you what you want, but it will not be a person." She smiled as she saw Harry's confused look. Before he could ask for clarification she spoke again. "We went very off topic, but I think after explaining all of the mistakes in first year, you and your allies will be able to figure out the rest. Good luck Harry!" She smirked as she waved he hand and snapped he fingers.

"Wai—" Harry began before being cut off by a dizzying spiral of nothingness.

In a cupboard under the stairs a young boy was curled up in a corner. His only companions were 2 spiders and a frayed drawing that was falling off the wall. It was silent, just as the Dursleys wanted it to be. They were perfectly normal after all. Not the sort to be awake after hours. The boy up until this day had been beaten, malnourished, and abused. Up until this day. The 10 year old boy rolled onto his back. There were two more moments of silence, during which everything seemed to hold its breath. And then two green eyes sprung open, shining in the darkness of the cupboard. Harry was back.

A/N: Hello, I am Whitedrago. This obviously isn't my real name, but it is what I go by on this site none-the-less. This is my first serious attempt at fanfiction and my first work on . That being said, I am sure it is riddled with errors and it is likely a bit awkward to read at times. Because of this I would really appreciate leaving reviews to tell me how to improve this story (criticisms are encouraged, flames are not). Any offers to beta would also be appreciated (though only in PMs). At this point I think I am headed in a Slytherin in Gryffindor direction. There is going to be bashing. Likely a lot of it. The paring, if there is any at all (I will try, but I have never written anything close to that) will be Harry/Daphne. Finally, I thinkI will often ask for fan suggestions to help guide the story. This is to avoid writers block which I have seen plague fanfiction writers all too much. The updates will likely be sporadic, at least until I get into a groove with writing. Anyways, this AN has gone on for far too long so… Toodles

~Whitedrago