Disclaimer: Not mine

Chapter One: Sirius Surprises

Harry Potter stared up at the ceiling from his bed in Grimmauld Place. After only two weeks with his relatives, he had been summoned to the home of his recently deceased godfather. Now he was absentmindedly listening for the sounds of footsteps on the stairs. Any minute now, someone would come to tell him it was time to meet in the drawing room. Sirius' will was going to be read, thus making his death a finality.

It wasn't as if Harry expected him to come back. He understood that no matter what, Sirius was indeed gone. This did not make it any easier for Harry to deal with however. In fact, one could tell by looking that Harry wasn't dealing very well at all. He had noticeably lost weight (which he couldn't afford to lose in the first place), and he looked pale.

Harry didn't have a lot of experience dealing with the emotional wreckage of lose. He had no memory of his parents or their deaths, and he truly didn't fully recover from seeing Cedric murdered at the end or fourth year. At the beginning of the summer, he had wanted to mourn properly. Since he had never been taught any coping mechanisms, however, this was difficult.

Then one morning while he was still at the Dursleys', he read an article in the Daily Prophet regarding Delores Umbridge. Her name immediately brought forth memories of the detentions he had served with her. He remembered the pain of the quill cutting into his hand. At first, he had been horrified by this particular type of punishment, though he couldn't deny that on a couple of occasions it had been a release from his anger.

Harry hadn't meant to cut frequently after that morning. It was just something that happened. He at once fell in love with the release that came from the cuts, from his blood dripping out. He needed it, and the small sense of peace it brought him. He would just have to be careful. All of his clothes had been Dudley's, so they were all far too big. They proved perfect to conceal Harry's unorthodox way of coping.

So far, everything was going well. He had been at Headquarters for three days, and no one had question his clothing. They were all used to seeing Harry dressed as he now was. Mrs. Weasley was, of course, making a fuss over his weight and diminished appetite. He had so far managed to keep her desire to shovel food down his throat at bay by appearing to try to eat. As long as she saw him take a few bites, she held her tongue.

Harry suddenly sat up on his bed. He now heard the sound he had been so dreading. A knock sounded at his door, and Tonks poked her head in.

"They're waiting for you Harry." she said.

Harry stood and followed her downstairs. When he arrived at the drawing room, he say everyone else already seated. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Kingsley, Professor McGonagall, and Remus sat in chairs around a large desk. Tonks took her place, and Harry sat down beside her. Just then, he looked up and realized that Professor Dumbledore was standing in the corner, regarding Harry with concerned eyes.

Harry quickly looked away. He wasn't entirely sure how he felt about his headmaster anymore. He knew he was angry with him, but Harry was angry with most people a lot of the time. He knew for sure that there was no way he could possibly trust Dumbledore anymore. Harry was, perhaps, too hurt to trust anyone again. This thought made Harry impossibly sad. That led him to think that it was all Dumbledore's fault that he was sad, because it was Dumbledore's fault that he couldn't trust. This, in turn, made Harry angry again.

In Harry's circular thinking, he barely heard a word Dumbledore was saying. Indeed, he missed almost the entire reading of Sirius' will in his sadness and anger. It was not until the last part that he turned his attention to what his headmaster was saying.

"And lastly", began Dumbledore, still reading from the will, "I still have legal custody of my godson, Harry James Potter."

Harry perked up. Whatever was coming was definitely going to concern him.

"It is my last wish that someone who has his best interests at heart take guardianship of him. As you all know, Remus is barred from this by those bigoted idiots at the ministry. Therefore, I most settle for the next best thing, no offense. It is my wish that custody of Harry be turned over to" there was a slight pause in the reading, and then, "Albus Dumbledore."

"WHAT"