Harry found himself jogging around the large time room as he had every morning for the past two and a half months, a time that he could only describe as his own person hell.
Filmore had been very much true to his word and had personally seen to it that Harry had been pushed as far as humanly possible, usually resulting in the teen vomiting and even passing out occasionally from the sheer amount of physical strain put upon him.
Though only 10 weeks had passed it had in actuality been 15 weeks for Harry as he would spend 12 hours a day, every day without fail, in the time room being tutored in everything imaginable to become the best wizard he possibly could.
Even after the time in the room was up, the day had only just begun. It was during this time that Croaker had insisted he did his own studying and even gave the boy lessons on the era he would be going to, to ensure he was able to conduct himself accordingly and blend in so that none would become suspicious of him. Much to his dismay, he had even been forced to continue with Occlumency lessons so he could defend his mind from any attempts to intrude upon it. He was pleased however that the lessons with Filmore were much more pleasant and instructive than those with Snape ever were and he even managed to become competent in the art, though he knew he would never been an expert in the field.
His day would begin in the same fashion with Filmore waking him using a liberal amount of stinging hexes to motivate the teen. He would then be forced to run, and exercise until he dropped before he was allowed to have breakfast.
After he had eaten and barely had time to recuperate his magical tuition would begin where he would learn all manner of spells that would be useful to him in a fight, whether they be charms, transfiguration or curses that would give him the best chance possible to not only survive, but be successful.
After this portion of the day he would be made to sit and begin studying the theory behind the spells he would be learning the next day for a few hours, something he was very grateful for as he would finally get a rest and could recover sufficiently before the real hardships would begin.
Once this time was up he would then spend several hours dueling members of Filmore's team, of none he was ever allowed to learn their identity.
What he did know however was that these people were very good fighters, something he learnt the hard way as the first month had passed with him constantly being bested and cursed repeatedly until he caught up to their ability. It was only his natural aptitude and the way he was continuously pushed to his full potential that even made this possible, and though he would curse the name Filmore constantly, he was pleased with the progress he was making under the tutelage of these people.
Something undeniable about Harry Potter was that he was, as both Filmore and Croaker believed and witnessed as time went by, an extremely gifted wizard.
The two men had thrown everything they could at him, pushed him to his absolute limits, but the boy did not have an ounce of quit in him, something that they became very proud of as his training progressed.
After the first month had passed they couldn't be any more pleased with the results they were having. The boy had learnt to apparate with ease and had taken everything they had been teaching him on board, even requesting more and more help. The teen had a hunger, a hunger that never seemed to be satisfied, no matter how hard and far they pushed him.
It was clear to them that he was dedicated to the cause and it gave them both hope that he would be successful. He had even retaken his potions, charms, transfiguration, History of Magic and care of magical creatures exams early on in the second month here and had vastly improved his grades, attaining an O in all but charms in transfiguration where he attained an O+, much to the delight of Croaker.
The two men had even offered him the chance to better his grades in Astronomy and Divination but Harry had flat out refused to waste time studying for those, it had been difficult enough to convince him to retake History of Magic so the duo were happy to allow him to drop the subjects.
Yes, Harry Potter had had a very difficult time of it, but after he had become accustomed to the new and exhaustive schedule he faced, he both excelled and thrived in the environment, though the start of the work had been more than surprising for them all.
Flashback
Harry was startled awake as a stinging hex collided with the meat of his thigh and he was unceremoniously dragged out of bed by his feet.
"Move you arse Potter, get running" Filmore roared, firing another hex at the teen.
Harry yelped in shock but immediately complied and found his route being laid out for him as Filmore continued to fire hexes his way, chasing him towards the time room.
He entered the room and was already out of breath as Filmore came in behind him, clearly not impressed with the young man.
"You will be spending as much time in here as necessary until you are competent Potter, is that understood?" he demanded.
Harry nodded.
"I didn't hear you" Filmore growled irritably.
"Yes" Harry answered hotly.
"Yes, sir" Filmore snarled and hit Harry with another hex. "Now drop and give me twenty" he commanded.
""Yes, sir" Harry shouted in reply and dropped to his stomach to carry out the task.
Filmore nodded approvingly and waited for Harry to finish before he explained the schedule he would be following.
Harry listened as the man informed of what his days would be like and felt exhausted just from the description. He knew it would be more of a challenge than he could comprehend but he would push himself to be better, he had to be better and he wanted it more than anything.
"We will begin the schedule first thing tomorrow, we have to get your wand situation dealt with and we will see what you are capable of today" Filmore explained.
"Yes, sir" Harry responded immediately, not wanting to be hexed again.
Filmore grinned.
"You learn quickly Potter, you'll need to here" he stated knowingly. "Now follow me" he instructed.
Harry followed Filmore into the room his interrogation had been conducted in the previous night to find Croaker and another older man waiting for them.
"I hope you slept well Mr. Potter" Croaker greeted him with a smile. "This is Mr. Tobin, he will be crafting your wand for you, don't worry he is a very discreet man" he explained.
Harry just nodded.
"Take a seat boy" Tobin instructed in a very gruff voice.
Harry complied and looked at the man properly for the first time.
He was old though Harry suspected he was not as old as he looked as his eyes contained a very youthful glint within them. His hair was dark grey and the aforementioned eyes were near black, full of intelligence and penetrating, though not in a disturbing and intrusive way.
"May I ask what is wrong with your current wand?" Tobin inquired.
"I think I may have outgrown it" Harry sighed. "It gets very hot when I cast spells and it just doesn't work as easy as it used to", he explained.
"Hmm, may I see it?" the man asked with curiosity.
Harry removed the wand from his sleeve and handed it to the man who inspected every detail of it and even placed it to his ear, seemingly listening for something. He then drew his own wand and began casting several spells at it and finally smiling triumphantly when he had finished.
"Tell me boy, have you been disarmed or had your wand taken from you by force recently?" Tobin questioned.
"No" Harry answered confidently with a shake of his head.
"Interesting" Tobin mused. "Well you have outgrown the wand that is clear, it should not however grow hot when you cast with it, a wand will only do so when it recognises another as its master" he explained.
"But the wand chose me I've had it since I was 11" Harry responded sadly.
"Very curious" Tobin whispered. "If you have not had your wand taken from you forcefully then it must have a brother somewhere, the master of that wand will be the master of this" he deduced confidently.
Harry swallowed deeply at the realisation.
"Voldemort" he whispered.
"Excuse me?" Croaker asked with a frown.
Harry sighed and rubbed his eyes irritably.
"Voldemort has the brother wand to mine it's the same core from the same phoenix" he answered.
Croaker and Filmore shared a look of surprise while Tobin looked at Harry through narrowed eyes.
"The likelihood of two brother wands coming into contact is extremely low" he began. "Given the history between yourself and the Dark Lord I would say that there is more to it than just that" he continued shaking his head. "Has anything out of the ordinary happened between the two of you?" he questioned.
Harry swallowed again and nodded reluctantly.
"We used to share a connection, but since he possessed me my scar has faded and I've had no visions of what he is doing" Harry answered truthfully.
"What kind of connection?" Croaker cut in with a frown.
"I don't know" Harry admitted. "I used to be able to see him torturing and murdering people, it used to happen when he was angry, but Snape tried to teach me occlumency to block it out" he explained. "But it didn't help at all" he finished.
The three older men looked at one another before Croaker spoke.
"Go and fetch Sandy" he instructed Filmore who left immediately.
"Mr. Potter, connections like that simply do not exist and if you could not stop them through occlumency then the problem was not from outside, it must have been from within yourself" he said seriously. "Sandy is our expert in obscure magic and the best in her field, she will be able to figure out what it is" he added confidently. "Mr. Tobin we can resume this tomorrow if you have other things to do, I apologise for this unexpected outcome" he finished sincerely.
"It is quite alright, I am rather curious to see this through, it is not often an anomaly like this surfaces" Tobin replied happily.
"Of course you are welcome to stay, it may be useful after all, you are a very smart man in your own right" Croaker praised.
It was around 5 minutes later that Filmore returned with a short, bespectacled woman in tow.
"This had better be good Clarence I am very busy" she growled irritably.
"Sandy this is Mr. Potter" he introduced the teen. "We need you expertise on a matter" he informed her.
The woman turned and looked towards Harry with a raised eyebrow before speaking.
"What is it you need?" she asked reluctantly.
Croaker went on to explain everything that Harry had told him and the woman listened with rapt attention.
"So you see, we are rather stumped" Croaker finished.
The woman said nothing for a few moments, clearly lost in her own thoughts.
"Mr. Potter, do you have any abilities that you cannot account for?" she asked.
"I'm a parselmouth" Harry shrugged. "Dumbledore thinks Tom passed the gift on to me" he explained.
"I'm sorry, Tom?" Sandy questioned confusedly.
"Oh, that's Voldemort's real name, Tom Riddle" Harry answered.
"How do you know this?" Croaker asked.
"He told me himself and Dumbledore knows, he used to teach him" Harry shrugged.
"It's irrelevant right now" Sandy cut in. "Can you still speak it?" she asked warily.
"Yes, Dumbledore already checked" Harry confirmed growing a little nervous.
"I see" Sandy mused.
As quick as a flash she drew her wand and bound Harry to the chair so that he couldn't move.
"I'm sorry Mr. Potter but if it is what I think then you could be very dangerous to us" she explained urgently.
"What is it?" Croaker asked worriedly.
Sandy sighed before answering.
"There are only two things that I know of that can explain what you have said, and possession is one of them" she began darkly. "It can't be that because you said yourself that the man possessed him and he fought him off, that leaves only one thing" she finished with a shake of her head.
"What?" Croaker demanded impatiently.
"Well the fact that occlumency didn't stop any of the problems and his wand has just suddenly stopped working, I believe that we are dealing with a Horcrux" she said ruefully.
The three men in the room noticeably paled and looked at Harry warily.
"Are you sure?" Croaker choked in disbelief.
"Almost certain, but it is easy to find out" She explained confidently. "Mr. Potter I need you to hold still and be as calm as possible" she requested softly.
"What's going on?" Harry asked, clearly fearful.
"I will explain in a moment" Sandy promised. "I just need you to trust me" she implored.
Harry swallowed deeply and nodded.
Sandy began casting several spells on him and finished with the one that Dumbledore himself had used on Harry in which his head felt as though it was swelling from within.
"Unbelievable" she whispered in awe when she was finished.
"What is it?" Croaker demanded.
"Hold on a moment Clarence" Sandy retorted.
She then moved Harry's fringe aside and glanced at what remained of his scar.
"Has it always been this faded?" she asked seriously.
Harry shook his head.
"It used to be a lot darker and would give me constant headaches" he explained as calmly as possible. "It even used to bleed sometimes" he added.
"I think we can certainly expect great things from you" she whispered and gave him a smile.
"Will you bloody well explain now?" Filmore cut in heatedly.
Sandy just raised her eyebrow at him before she spoke.
"It's gone" She confirmed simply. "Merlin knows how but it's gone and Mr. Potter is very much completely in tact which is a damned miracle" She finished seriously.
"What do you mean?" Croaker asked.
"The boy had 50% of Voldemort's soul trapped within him, it's unfathomable to even think that he could fight off that man for over 15 years subconsciously" She explained.
"How the hell is that even possible?" Filmore asked. "It should have completely taken over him" he added knowingly.
"Mr. Potter must be a very exceptional wizard, most people are not even as half as powerful as the man yet he fought him off, I assume that when he possessed the boy the soul fragment simply left with him, even though I'm sure he created it completely by accident" she explained. "No wizard in their right mind would create one like that on purpose" she spoke assuredly.
"So it is gone?" Croaker asked.
"Yes" Sandy reiterated. "And unless he has created more since his return then there are no more" she elaborated with certainty.
The three men all sighed in relief.
"Will someone please explain what just happened?" Harry demanded irritably.
"It is not at all important Mr. Potter" Croaker assured him. "We just had to be safe, but we do know why your wand won't work for you, it should never have been yours in the first place" he stated, getting a nod of agreement from Tobin.
"You should consider yourself very lucky Mr. Potter" Sandy cut in. "There are very few that could survive what you have" she explained darkly.
"Are you saying that I had half of Voldemort's soul inside me?" he asked the woman worriedly.
"You did, but it is certainly not there anymore" she answered. "I look forward to seeing what you are capable of" she added before bidding her colleague's farewell and leaving.
"Shall we get on?" Tobin asked after a moment.
"Indeed" Croaker responded, unbinding Harry from his chair.
Harry was confused about everything that had happened and put it to the back of his mind to think on later. He had understood the basic principle of what had been said, he just did not understand how it had happened, and knew he never probably would.
"Pass me your wand arm" Tobin requested, cutting in to his thoughts.
Harry snapped out of his reverie and complied. He watched while the man measured his arm and began jotting down notes.
He then pulled out several shrunken trunks from his pocket and began restoring them to their original size before popping each on open with a flick of his wand.
"Firstly, we will ascertain what core suits you" he explained. "Just place your hand in the trunk and feel for the one that is right, your magic will tell you" he elaborated.
Harry just nodded and stuck his hand in the trunk feeling several phials within it.
He frowned when he felt nothing and shook his head at the man.
"Interesting" Tobin mused. "Try the next one" he instructed pointing to another trunk.
When Harry got the same results the man frowned.
"You are a challenge Mr. Potter, but there is another way" he explained. "I need a small vial of your blood, if you will" he requested, gesturing for Harry to pass him his hand.
Harry sighed but offered the man his hand nonetheless. Ever since the night in the graveyard with Tom he had been protective of his own blood and was not entirely happy to give it up.
Tobin drew his wand across Harry's palm, cutting shallowly into the flesh to fill the small vial, sealing the cut once more when he had finished.
"This will take a few minutes, why don't you try the wood" he suggested pointing to the largest of the trunks.
Harry nodded and made his way over immediately feeling something drawing him within the large container.
He placed his hand inside and removed small block of wood that was jet black in appearance and it shined slightly in the light of the room.
He could still feel something drawing him to the box and reached back in, these time removing a wood that was dark purple, though it was considerably lighter than the first.
He made his way back Tobin and placed the pieces on the table causing the man's eyebrow's to raise slightly.
"Both of them?" he asked to which Harry nodded.
"Ebony and Purple heart" he stated with a nod. "Then I imagine you will require two cores" he added with a light frown. "Let us see" he finished, turning his attention back to the vial of blood that was gently swirling above the table.
Harry waited patiently for the man to be ready and watched as his blood changed colours and seemed to form into miniaturized liquid creatures within the glass.
After a few more minutes had passed it stopped and the vial descended down and rested on top of the table once more.
Tobin immediately picked it up and inspected it, giving a satisfied nod.
"Interesting, very interesting indeed" he mused. "The first core we need is the hair of a Thestral, something I have never used in a wand before" he explained. "It will be very interesting to see how it works" he added more to himself.
"Why have you never used it?" Harry asked curiously.
"Thestrals are rather complex creatures" Tobin began. "They live in herds, yet are still rather independent but very protective of their own kind and can be very dangerous, I imagine that you share those characteristics" he surmised confidently.
Harry just nodded his agreement, it did sound rather like him.
"The next core is even more interesting, and will be very costly indeed to obtain" Tobin answered thoughtfully.
"Even more interesting?" Croaker cut in.
"Yes, the heartstring of a Ukrainian Ironbelly" Tobin responded seriously.
"But they are extinct" Croaker replied with a frown.
"There are some parts still on the market" Tobin said dismissively.
"What's a Ukrainian Ironbelly? A dragon?" Harry guessed.
"It is", Croaker answered. "Perhaps the most dangerous breed to ever exist as proven by the fact that it was purposely hunted into extinction at the end of the last century" he informed the teen.
"Also know as the silent inferno" Tobin cut in. "They were enormous when they could be seen but they hid well and a single one could reduce a village to ash in only seconds, they were completely ruthless if provoked but were rather placid until they hunted" he finished expertly, giving Harry a very calculating look.
Harry's eyebrows rose at the description and he waited for the man to continue.
"I know of a place I can get what I need but it will cost around 10,000 galleons" he informed them.
"I have the money" Harry replied instantly.
Tobin nodded.
"Ok, I will fetch what we need and will return shortly" he responded.
Harry left the room and collected the required amount of gold for the man and handed the large bag to him.
"Your wand will be the most costly and perhaps one of the most difficult I have ever created Mr. Potter" Tobin explained with a smile. "I am rather looking forward to the challenge" he added before leaving the room.
"Well, as we have a little bit of time, why don't we get you checked over by our medical team" Croaker suggested. "We need you to be as healthy as possible" he concluded seriously.
Harry sighed but nodded his agreement.
It was around two hours later that a thoroughly fed up Harry Potter returned to the room after being poked, prodded and finally deemed medically fit to find Mr. Tobin adding the finishing touches to his wand.
"Ahh, Mr. Potter" the man greeted him rather jovially. "I shall be with you in a moment" he explained.
Harry waited patiently for the man to be finished. When he was he gestured for the teen to join him, with a very anticipatory look on his face.
Harry approached the man and saw that there were two identical wands on the table in front of him, both shiny black in colour with purple streaks spread vertically throughout the shaft.
"It's illegal to own two wands" Harry pointed out, having read the laws of wand carrying in the book Dobby had gotten for him.
"Are you planning on telling the Auror's?" Tobin asked with a raised eyebrow. "You should always have a spare, just in case" he said firmly.
Harry just shrugged and picked up one of the wands immediately feeling its compatibility to himself as a powerful wave of warmth spread throughout him.
"I had to fuse the two woods together using amethyst, I chose it as it would be less noticeable than any other stone I could have used, as you can see it blends perfectly with the purple heart" he explained proudly.
Harry had to admit that it was rather beautiful and even the purple appealed to him in a strange way.
"Well, give it a try" Tobin instructed impatiently.
Harry took a deep breath and thought about the prospect of seeing his parents alive and basked in the feeling of anticipation that enveloped him.
"Expecto Patronum" he whispered.
Immediately Prongs erupted from his wand as clear and as bright as Harry had ever seen him, causing the teen to smile.
"Very impressive indeed Mr. Potter" Tobin praised as he looked upon the patronus in awe. "I assume we have been successful?" he asked hopefully.
Harry smiled and nodded at the man as he let the stag dissipate into nothingness.
"How much do I owe you?" he inquired.
"Only 10 more galleons" Tobin answered.
Harry gave him 50 and the man looked at him questionably.
"You've been here all day" Harry reminded him. "For loss of possible business" he added, gesturing to the bag.
"That is very kind of you Mr. Potter" the man said gratefully. "Ah, you will need holsters for them", he pointed out with a nod.
Tobin reached in to one of the trunks and removed two black holsters and handed them to Harry.
"Hebridean Black hide" he explained. "I'm sure Mr. Croaker will explain how they work".
"Thank you, for everything" Harry replied offering the man his hand.
"It has been a pleasure Mr. Potter, do look after them well, they are rather spectacular creations" he returned as he shook the teen's hand. "Croaker" he added with a nod as he begun shrinking his trunks and pocketing them before leaving the room.
"Now Mr. Potter, I believe that Filmore is waiting for you in the time room" Croaker spoke, gesturing for Harry to lead the way.
The duo entered the room to find Filmore and three other people in dark grey cloaks waiting for them.
"It's about time Potter" Filmore growled. "These are the people, along with myself, who will be training you" he explained with a malevolent grin. "Their names are unimportant but they are the best we have and you will have to be better than damn good to even come close to matching them, got it?" he demanded.
"Yes, sir" Harry answered smartly.
Filmore nodded his approval.
"Now, let us see what you are really made of" he stated with his eyes narrowed at the teen.
What followed was Harry being put through his paces over the next several hours as he was instructed to cast many different types of spells and curses, many of which he had learnt recently from his books.
It did take him a while to adjust to it, but Filmore insisted he used all of his spells non-verbally and would hit him with a stinging hex if he failed at any point, something that certainly motivated the teen to get it right.
He was finally happy to have a wand that was obeying him and the spells left his wand much more readily than they had and the effects of the various curses and hexes he used were much more powerful than they ever had been.
The biggest improvement he noticed was in his blasting and cutting spells that simply obliterated and tore the dummies he was using to shreds, impressing all of those that were watching and taking notes on his performance.
Finally after demonstrating his patronus to them all he was instructed to stop, much to his relief.
The five people who had been evaluating him moved to the other side of the room to discuss their observations, leaving Harry to catch his breath.
The group came back around 20 minutes later and Filmore gave him a respectful nod while Croaker was looking very happy indeed.
"You have a hell of a lot of power" Filmore began. "You need work on your finesse and movement, but damn kid, you've got potential, how do you feel?" he asked.
"I did feel a little tired, but I'm ok now" Harry answered honestly.
"Damn" Filmore returned with a shake of his head. "That would have exhausted all of us, it will be interesting to see how much stamina we can build in you" he mused. "You're special kid, there's no doubt about it, we will see how far we can push you" he finished with a predatory grin.
"Well done Mr. Potter" Croaker praised. "Could you answer me one thing?" he asked.
"I will if I can" Harry agreed.
"Is there anything else in the prophecy that you think we need to know?" he questioned. "It might be important" he added.
"I think after all the help you have already given the least I can do is give you the contents, it's not like it will make any difference here anymore" he obliged.
"Thank you" Croaker said gratefully.
As promised Harry provided them with what the prophecy contained and they agreed that it pertained to himself and Voldemort but they did not understand what the power the Dark Lord knows not meant, though Filmore speculated that it might refer to the time travel, though none could be confident.
Both of the men agreed that Harry was his equal in both ability and power and that furthered Filmore's resolve to turn Harry into the best that he possibly could. That resolve would lead to the hellish weeks that Harry would endure, all in the name of saving the wizarding world, a much more noble cause than Dumbledore's greater good, Harry felt.
End Flashback
So Harry's time here was now coming to an end, but Filmore had assured him that he had readied the teen as much as he could, the rest was now up to him.
He would have an additional two years at Hogwarts to improve even more so, something he was very much more than willing to do, especially since he had a room there ready and waiting for him to discover, somewhere that not even the marauder's knew about and a room would provide him with everything he could need to continue his journey of self-improvement.
He was feeling a little torn however and would have moments where he just wanted to go home or spend time with his friends, something he really did miss, but he knew and accepted that wasn't possible.
He would do his best to swallow the sadness that would fill him at the thought of never being able to see any of them again but he doubted that it would be a feeling that would ever truly subside. He would always miss them all in some way but hoped that in some form, he could see them again one day. But he would have to wait as time passes by for that to even become a possibility, years in fact, and even then it would not be the same.
(BREAK)
Albus Dumbledore was sat at his desk feeling defeated for the very first time in his long life.
He himself and every person possible had done all they could yet they had come up with noting in regards to the location of Harry Potter, much to the man and many other's dismay.
After weeks of investigating they had all simply drawn a blank. He had not been to Gringotts nor had he contacted anyone in any way. Albus Dumbledore was stumped.
He knew that it was not like Harry at all to run from his responsibilities and was still convinced that wherever Harry was, he was very much alive.
Severus had confirmed that Voldemort did not have the boy as he still had all of his most able followers attempting to locate the teen himself, and as yet had been equally unsuccessful as the order.
Remus had become inconsolable and more than desperate to find the son of his deceased friend, even having spent many nights in the darkest of places hoping to get a whisper of Harry's whereabouts, but to no avail.
Dumbledore himself had explored every possible avenue. Fawkes had not been able to locate the boy and he had even asked Dobby for help, who had bonded himself to the teen, but even the house elf could not find a trace of him.
The mystery of Harry Potter's disappearance was becoming very desperate indeed and Albus Dumbledore had run out of options. The only thing left for the headmaster was to wait and see if Harry would emerge, the outcome of the war hinged on the boy after all.
(BREAK)
The day Harry had been working towards had finally arrived and he had no idea how he was feeling as his emotions were so mixed about the impending changes about to take place in his life.
He had accepted that he would be going but that did not make it any easier in his heart or his mind where he would carry memories and feelings for those that would no longer exist in the world.
He managed to hold himself together however as the prospect of seeing and getting to know his family had become the one beacon of hope he clung to desperately when the difficult emotions threatened to overcome him, though he would freely admit that he was very nervous about the whole upcoming ordeal.
He had finished packing his trunk and placed Hedwig back in her cage as he made his way to the time room to receive his final instructions and face the journey of no return.
He was pleased that he was able to bring along his feathered friend, Croaker had in fact insisted that he did as it would leave him with some form of connection to where he came from, a connection that was very much welcomed by the teen.
He had asked why it was him and him alone making the journey leading to a rather detailed explanation about the intricacies of the calculations that had been completed to ensure that the plan would a success.
In short, Harry only understood that the room would only be able to transport himself as it would only be able to send one person back that far. If another person was added into the equation then only half of the required time could be achieved and so on.
According to Croaker Hedwig did not account for another person as she was only a common, albeit beautiful owl and was small enough to make insignificant difference to the outcome of the complicated formulae.
Harry understood that it was only possible to send him and accepted it as best he could, though it was a difficult revelation to swallow and because of the prophecy, he knew that it had to be him.
He sighed as he shrunk all of his possessions and pocketed them and made his way to the time room for the final time.
He entered the room to find both Croaker, Filmore and Filmore's team double checking everything to ensure that it was all prepared and working correctly.
"How are you feeling Mr. Potter?" Croaker asked, sounding more than a little concerned.
Harry shrugged and swallowed deeply.
"I don't know" he answered honestly. "Sick, scared, everything" he finished uncertainly.
"I understand" Croaker responded with a sympathetic smiled. "What you are doing is exceedingly brave and I cannot respect you anymore than I do for the sacrifice you are making" he praised sincerely.
"I agree" Filmore cut in. "It's been a damn difficult time here but you've impressed the hell out of me and my team, there is nothing else I can do to prepare you, but I wish you all the best kid, you're a damn fine wizard and a damn good man for what you're doing" he finished genuinely.
Harry nodded gratefully but didn't trust himself to speak.
"Here" Croaker spoke, handing Harry a set of Dark grey robes and a leather wallet. "I imagine that you will appear here in the department, you will need these to get out, just show them the badge and keep your hood up" he instructed. "No one will question you with those credentials" he explained.
Harry took the robes and pulled them over his head, putting the hood up as he finished. He then took the offered badge and opened it.
It was a simple gold plate with the phrase 'Unspeakable Class 1' etched into the circle of gold.
"It is only a temporary badge, as soon as you exit the department it will vanish" Croaker informed him.
Harry nodded his understanding.
"The first thing you should do is head to Diagon Alley and get a newspaper to confirm the date, you should arrive around mid August 1976 give or take a couple of days" he told him confidently. "Have you removed everything from your possessions that would give you away if seen?" he asked seriously.
Harry nodded and swallowed back another stab of pain that threatened to overcome him at the memory of having to leave behind his firebolt though he had been allowed to keep a photograph of the DA the Colin had took.
"And you have the clothes we got for you? Though I suspect you will need more" Filmore inquired.
"I've got everything, gold, clothes, everything we talked about" Harry confirmed.
"Good" Filmore replied with a nod. "Then I guess we are ready" he sighed a little reluctantly. "Good luck Potter, it has been a pleasure working with you" he intoned seriously taking the teens hand in a firm grip.
"You too sir, though I still hate you for what you put me through" Harry retorted with a grin.
"That means I did my job properly" Filmore returned with a chuckle. "Stay safe" he finished before he and his team exited the room after each gave him a simple nod.
"I too wish you all the luck in the world Mr. Potter" Croaker cut in, offering the teen his own hand.
"Thank you Mr. Croaker, for everything" Harry replied warmly.
"I think after everything we have been through since you came here you have earned the right to call me Clarence" Croaker said with a light laugh.
"And I think Mr. Potter makes me sound much older than I am" Harry pointed out.
Croaker smiled at the teen.
"I'm praying for your success Harry" he said truthfully.
"I will do my best Clarence" Harry promised.
"That is all that we can ask of you" Croaker declared giving Harry a pat on the back before he too left the room, leaving only Harry and his familiar within.
"Things are going to be very different from now on Hedwig" Harry whispered as he stroked her feathers through the cage.
The owl simply hooted and nibbled his finger affectionately.
It was a few minutes after Croaker had left the room that Harry began to feet a disturbance around him that grew and grew, causing the room to shake violently.
The shaking became more and more vigorous and Harry was certain that it would collapse in on itself, but before that became a real possibility Harry felt a violent jerking as he was hoisted into nothingness, though he could not be sure where he was as he could not physically open his eyes, it was certainly much more different than when he had used a Time-Turner in his third year. It was definitely much more physical and was taking an inordinate amount of time to even begin to slow.
The feeling however subsided much more quickly than it had taken to start and Harry did find himself within the very same room after he managed to open his eyes, though it was clearly different.
Instead of the exercise equipment and area in which he would practice his spell work, there were various cabinets full of Time-Turner's and tables spread throughout the room all full of delicate looking instruments.
Harry himself was feeling rather sick, though it was not as bad as he had anticipated. He checked that Hedwig was ok and that all of his possessions had survived the journey before proceeding to leave the room, only to run into a much younger looking Filmore.
"Who the bloody hell are you and what are you doing in my room?" he growled.
Harry simply removed the badge he had been given and showed it to the man whose eyebrows shot up to his hairline.
"I'm sorry sir" Filmore professed profusely. "I didn't know" he added weakly.
Harry stifled the chuckle he wanted to let out and simply nodded before exiting the room and managing to get out of the department without being hindered any further.
He managed to leave the atrium of the ministry of magic and surfaced inside a toilet cubicle where he removed the grey cloak he had been given, ensured to door was locked and sat on the toilet, placing his head in his hands where he simply cried silently for a time.
He cried for those he had left behind and he cried from the sheer amount of emotions he was feeling all at once. He was both sad and happy, though scared and excited.
It had all gotten too much for the teen and he knew he needed to just finally let it out, he had been strong for long enough after all.
After he had managed to dry his tears and prevent anymore from falling he stood and took a very deep breath in preparation to face what was ahead of him.
He was alone and though he had Hedwig with him, he had not felt this alone since before he started Hogwarts, a feeling that he was not at all fond of.
He sighed and exited the cubicle to carry out the next part of what needed to be done. He needed to ensure that he had arrived at the right time and he needed to buy more clothes and the best broom available, even though it was not a necessity, it was something he knew that would make him feel a little better and he was interested in seeing what was on offer here.
With a plan formulated in his mind he apparated away to Diagon Alley to start putting everything into motion.
He appeared close to the brick wall that would gain him entrance to the Leaky Cauldron and tapped the correct bricks with his wand to pass through.
He entered the pub and immediately noticed the difference. Everything inside looked less worn and almost every table was occupied by various groups of people sharing a drink and chatting happily amongst themselves. This was the first time he had managed to be in the wizarding world without people gaping at him and pushing there way forward to greet him, something he could definitely get used to he concluded.
He made his way to the bar and was greeted by a much more youthful looking Tom, who actually had a mouth full of gleaming white teeth and though his hair was grey as he remembered, it was flecked with brown.
"Good Afternoon sir, how may I help you" Tom asked him with a warm toothy grin.
"I'd like a room please" Harry requested.
"And how long will you require it? Tom asked, reaching behind to a row of hooks and retrieving a key.
"I'm not sure yet" Harry answered uncertainly. "But I will pay for a week now and then give you more if I need it longer" he offered.
"Very good sir" Tom agreed with a nod. "If you would kindly follow me" he requested and began heading up the staircase that was placed at the side of the bar.
Harry followed the man up the flight of stairs up until the point that he paused outside a door, unlocked it and stepped inside, gesturing for Harry to follow.
"I'm sure this will be sufficient" Tom spoke confidently. "You have a private bathroom and breakfast is included in the price, for one week that will be 12 Galleons" he finished expectantly.
Harry was surprised by the low price but quickly paid the man and thanked him for his help.
Tom took the gold and bid the teen farewell having a full bar to tend to.
Harry removed his trunk from his pocket, resized it and fetched some more gold knowing that he would needing it for his shopping.
He took a seat on the bed and sighed as he let Hedwig out of her cage who quickly hopped on to his shoulder and began rubbing her head lovingly against his cheek.
"Do you think we should write to Dumbledore?" he asked the owl who hooted disapprovingly. "You think we should just go to Hogwarts?" he questioned further.
Hedwig hooted and began bobbing her head in reply causing Harry to chuckle.
"I guess you're right girl" he conceded. "We have to do this in person" he said uncertainly. "Do you want to go and stretch you wings?, it's been a while since you've had fresh air" he pointed out.
The owl hooted again and immediately jumped onto the window ledge, clearly keen to go for a fly.
Harry chuckled as he opened the window and sent her on her way. He knew that she would be ok and would come back when she was ready.
He then made sure he had everything he would need and placed a notice-me-not charm on himself, not wanting to draw attention to the fact that he looked very much like his father without having met with Dumbledore and figured everything else out first.
He then exited the pub and took his first glimpse of Diagon Alley as it was now.
The alley itself did not look all that much different though there were a few different shops and the ones he did recognise looked more recent and fresh than he remembered.
He began walking down the alley and quickly found a newspaper stand where he bought the day's edition of the Daily Prophet.
"August 14th 1976, it worked" he whispered in relief having appeared exactly when he was supposed to.
Having ascertained that the jump back had gone according to plan he made his way to a clearly newly opened Madame Malkin's and purchased a whole wardrobe of clothes, though he found the style to be rather eccentric for his liking.
He had kept his wardrobe simple and had opted to buy fitted jeans rather than the flared ones that Madame Malkin had recommended. He was fairly happy with the rest of his purchases as they were much more neutral and not as garish as the flared trousers and found that they were actually rather normal in comparison, much to his relief.
He also bought various types of shoes and trainers and even managed to buy some clothes to exercise in, something he had promised Filmore he would continue to do.
After he had finished his clothes shopping he entered Quality Quidditch Supplies and bought himself a Comet 200, the best that was available at the time and was content with the broom, though he knew it would pale in comparison to his firebolt.
He had considered going to Gringotts to open up an account so that he could store the vast amount of gold he was carrying but decided against it for the time being knowing that it was likely that unwanted questions would be asked of him. He would simply have to carry it around with him though he was not completely comfortable with the idea.
With his shopping done he returned to his room and decided that he would make his visit to Hogwarts the next day and not prolong the inevitable any further than necessary, something that he was very nervous about.
Everything depended on the outcome of tomorrow and he knew it, though the thought of the meeting with Dumbledore left him feeling more than a little anxious.