Chapter 12
Harry could feel the shift in the world and he frowned, the window that showed the outside of castle, showed a dark gray sky, the overcast not being unusual. The shitty weather wasn't a pause for a concern, it was how sudden it came about. The weak sun had completely disappeared in a matter of moments.
Frowning, Harry started to make his way towards Dumbledore's office when a tremor shook the entire castle and he redirected himself to head outside.
His magic shivered inside of his body and the Elder Wand in his sleeve pulsed with what Harry could only describe as excitement, the two of them clearly knew something that he didn't know. Burying the feeling of uncertainly that was bubbling inside of his stomach, Harry sprinted down the halls, determined to make his way outside.
Dumbledore's booming voice echo'd throughout the halls "Everyone back into their common rooms"
Harry ignored the looks of the retreating students as he raced toward the entrance hall and he stopped as he saw Dumbledore waiting for at the main door to the school.
"Wand out, Harry" said Dumbledore, his usual jovial tone gone and his eyes lacking the grandfatherly loving look, replaced by an icy blue pair of shards that promised defeat. But he couldn't help but notice the look of concern on Dumbledore's face.
"Everything alright professor?" asked Harry to his mentor
Dumbledore shook his head, his beard swaying from the motion "No, someone has broken down the wards around the castle, people are entering the grounds. The magic, it feels like his."
Harry shook his head as the feeling of deja vu set in and the Elder Wand shot out of his sleeve and into his hand, the wand was warm in his hand and Harry felt his body relax slightly as the warmth spread throughout his body. Giving Dumbledore a nod, the pair of them pushed the doors opened and Harry's magic went wild inside of his body, begging to be unleashed.
Feeling magic up in the sky, Harry glanced upwards to the sky and felt his heart drop inside of his chest as snow started to fall from the gray clouds above him.
"This looks like the scene from your memory" whispered Dumbledore
Harry struggled to swallow as he agreed with Dumbledore, but didn't respond as he felt another surge of magic slam into the wards around Hogwarts.
"They're about to break through" said Dumbledore as he dropped to his knees in pain as the wards around Hogwarts shattered and the magical backlash slammed into him.
Harry wanted to turn and help the headmaster, but he was forced to throw up a shield that stopped a bright blue bolt of lightning as the snow continued to fall and a group of 5 appeared out of the mist created by the snow.
"Harry James Potter" greeted a slick voice, "A sight for sore eyes"
The leading figure came into sight and Harry narrowed his eyes as he saw the handsome face of Tom Riddle. He looked almost exactly like he had in his own world, but bald. But even without the hair, he looked exactly the same as he did in the past. The falling snow was a telling sign that he was not dealing with the Voldemort of this world, Harry had just met him the other day and he had lacked the ability.
"Tom, you're looking surprisingly alive" said Harry with a fake air of politeness, his attention really on Dumbledore's prone form panting on the ground next to him and the school behind him.
"No thanks to you" tsk'd Tom, "And Harry, you know better than to call me that"
"I would say my parents taught me better, but you killed them" replied Harry with a shrug, the snow starting to stick to the ground.
Apparently the talking was enough for Dumbledore to recover or at least give the appearance of being recovered enough to fight.
"Hello Tom" greeted Dumbledore to his former student "You are looking quite terrible. I hear muggles have this thing called lotion that can really help your skin. You should have picked some up in your little trip to London today"
Voldemort let a sick smile grace his face as he saw his former teacher before him, ignoring his words "Dumbledore, just the man I was coming to see. Where oh where is junior?"
Voldemort's red eyes scanned the area as if Harry was gonna pop out from behind a tree.
"I'm afraid that Mr. Potter is still learning, you will have to make due with just me Tom" said Dumbledore
Voldemort rolled his eyes at hearing his real name spoken by the ancient headmaster.
"I guess I can make due with you, or my followers and keep you occupied while I pay a visit to the students in the castle" said Voldemort as he gestured to Bellatrix and the trio of Death Eaters behind him
Harry frowned as the scene played out in front of him, so similar to his memory, but still so different.
A blast of flames shot out of Dumbledore's wand and Tom summoned a massive shield of icy to absorb the attack. Harry sent a massive wave of razor sharp wind towards where they had been. A pillar of ice sprung up absorbed the sharp blades of wind.
Bellatrix spun around the pillar and sent a blast of green light at Harry, who simply solidified the air in front of him to eat the killing curse for him. Twirling his wand, Harry sent out a trio of eagles that took to the sky before slashing his wand at the ground, sending sand and dust up into the air.
The snow was falling in a denser flurry now and Harry cursed as his vision was slowly becoming more and more impaired. Quickly, he cast a charm on himself to prevent the snow from impacting his vision, a useful charm from
With the ability to see once again, Harry could make out Dumbledore off to the side already dueling Tom. Knowing that for the most part, the two of them were equally matched, Harry turned his attention back to the remaining 4 followers.
"Oi Bella, fancy a go" said Harry as he wagged eyebrows
She crackled "Little ickle Potter, you're not man enough yet"
"That's not what your sister Cissy said" taunted Harry knowing that it would get the desired result.
Bellatrix snarled and unleashed a flurry of spells, each one aiming to kill Harry.
But Harry was able to slow them down with a thin wall of wind in front of his body, allowing himself the chance to slip in and out of the way of the spells.
The three masked Death Eaters tried interfering, Harry kicked his foot out in their direction and sent a tornado at them. Two of them managed to avoid it, but the third was less lucky and got caught up by the spinning tornado. Whoever they were, was shredded by them sharp spinning wind, sending body parts flying about in a spray of blood.
Bellatrix looked pleased as blood sprinkled down on her like red rain drops, the look of insanity in her eyes growing by the second. She slashed her wand at Harry and purple flames shot out at him.
He launched himself into the air and while making himself as light as a feather, snagged one of the eagles that he had conjured by the talons and used it to carry him a little higher before throwing the bird towards the ground.
Bella went to cast a spell to banish the bird, but Harry flicked his wand and the bird turned into a large metal spear before slammed right through one of the Death Eater's shield and through their chest. The masked person slumped over and their body shivered slightly before they collapsed dead.
Using the wind to force himself towards the ground like a bullet, Harry slammed down with a massive force and sent a rippled effect throughout the ground, forcing everyone off balance.
As he raised his wand to finish off Bellatrix, he gasped in pain as the skin on the back of his wand hand peeled away. Blood oozed from the wound and he was quickly forced to change hands to keep the Elder Wand in his grasp.
Bellatrix send spell after spell at him and Harry did his best to use his off hand to protect his body, but as the skin on his hand continued to be ripped off, strip by strip, he found himself slowly losing ground. Blood coated the inside of his mouth, the nasty metallic taste making him nauseous.
Finally, a spell slammed through his shield and onto his form, the Crucio sending his body spasming to the ground. Screaming in pain, Harry pulled off the band on his wrist and suddenly the spell didn't have an effect on him anymore.
The spell phased through him and he took a second to recover from the pain that he could still feel flowing through his body, before slowly climbing to his feet.
He felt a large chunk of skin on his back disappear and he jabbed at Bellatrix with his wand, sending a storm of jagged ice at her. It was instantly upon her, but she managed to deflect anything that would have killed her. But she was still clearly injured as seen by the shredded robes on her form, the gashes to her arm and legs.
Her last back up Death Eater had not been so lucky, the large shard of ice sticking out of his head showing his misfortune.
"I like you" said Bellatrix in a airy voice
Harry said nothing as he slipped the wristband back onto his body and felt his magic surge into it and the bleeding on ... in his back stopped.
Casting a numbing charm all over his body, Harry slammed his foot down and sent a blast of air across the ground, hoping to find Tom in this full on blizzard now. The wind radar immediately alerted him of both Tom and Dumbledore's presence to his left.
Harry sidestepped a spell and sent a trio of tickling charms at Bellatrix who shield against them only for a blasting charm to land in front of her shield, sending her stumbled backwards.
The next spell caught her in her chest and sent her flying backwards, but the evergrowing layer of snow managed to shield her from taking any serious damaged from the ground.
She spat out some of the frosty white flakes.
She sent a wave of flames that melted all of the snow in the area, but Harry sent a dome of wind out from his body that snuffed the rushing flames out.
Winking at her, Harry ripped the ground out from under her and her cursing brought a smile to his face. She was good, but she clearly lacked the edge of his own home world's Bellatrix. She had been free for at most a year, maybe two in this world. She hadn't recovered enough to be a serious threat just yet.
She climbed back to her feet and she sent a trio of spells at him, a bone breaking curse, a blood boiling curse, and a blinding curse. Harry used the ground to create a shield that took all three of the curses.
But as the shield was destroyed, it revealed Bellatrix doing the last thing that he expected and rushing towards him, closing the 15 feet of distance in surprisingly quick fashion. She tackled his stunned form to the ground and Harry immediately flipped them, so that he was on top.
"Kinky" breathed Bellatrix with a wink and Harry didn't even think twice about it before slamming his fist into her face, knocking her out.
He placed his wand at her neck, ready to kill her when a pained scream from Dumbledore drew his attention.
Climbing off of the insane witch, Harry raced over to where his little sonar wind radar had told him that the pair of wizards were. He arrived to see Dumbledore's shield shattering and a simple blasting spell sending the old headmaster flying off his feet. Using his wind powers, Harry caught the old man and allowed him to gently be lowered to the ground.
"How nice of you to join us, Harry" said Tom, his eyes locked onto the bleeding hand of Harry's.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, I had to deal with your backup dancers" retorted Harry
Voldemort didn't say anything back as he simply flicked his wand and a jelly-leg curse flew at Harry
Harry threw up a shield, but much to his surprise, the spell from Tom's wand slammed right through the shield like it wasn't even there. Harry side stepped it and shot a bolt of lightning at Tom, only for Tom to simply slap the bolt away with the tip of his wand. For the first since Harry arrived in this world, he felt something akin to uncertainty.
"I can taste the fear in the air, Harry" said Tom, "You see, while you were summoned to this world through alternative means, I was already cast adrift by my trip through the veil. I kept all of my magic potency, all of my power, and when I arrived here, I added it to the Voldemort that was already here"
Harry scoffed "I don't know if you realize it Tom, but even if you double your power, two times zero is zero"
"You have much to learn Harry" said Tom before he jabbed his wand at Harry and Harry was blasted off his feet. Controlling the wind, Harry slowed him to a stop in the air, but Tom already had sent a chain of spells at him. Flying up into the air, Harry whirled his wand in his hand before sending a cone of ice at Tom.
Tom pointed his wand at the cone of ice and flames shot out of the end of his wand, melting the ice. Harry quietly used the steam to slip around Tom and blasted him with a beam of wind that slammed into him with the force of a speeding bus.
Tom hissed in pain as he was slammed forcefully into from behind. Turning around, he sent another bright blue bolt of lightning at Harry, but Harry dodged and used his bloodied hand to send a gust of powerful wind wrapping around Tom as he sent a spell after spell from his wand. Tom batted away the spells only to stumble as if someone had pushed him from behind.
Gasping as he was hit with a bone breaking curse in the middle of his chest, He glared at Harry only for a spell to crash into him from the side, as Dumbledore stood there looking as furious as can be.
Dumbledore's eyes glowed and suddenly Harry felt very small.
"You old fool, you had your chance to slip away. But now you die" snarled Tom
"No, not today Tom" said Dumbledore as his voice boomed, his eyes locked onto Tom
"I've already proved that you're no match for me old man, give up" spat Tom
Harry watched as Dumbledore slashed his wand, before spinning and batting away a spell sent at him from behind from Bellatrix. Dumbledore's spell ripped through Tom's shield and sent him crashing to the ground, his flesh smoking. Bellatrix hissed in pain as her dark cutting curse was reflected back at her, slicing into the meat of her thigh and would without question leave a scar. She collapsed to the ground as Dumbledore hit her with a stunner.
Tom's smoking form rose up to his feet, his teeth clinched with fury.
Spell after spell rained down from Tom, but each one was easily dealt with by Dumbledore and Harry felt a shift in the air before he joined into the fray as well.
Harry hit Tom with a cutting curse as they wore down his defense, the spell clipping him on his wand arm at the elbow. The limb was basically cut in half, causing the forearm and hand gripping the wand to go limp as Tom roared in pain. But much to Harry's horror, Tom didn't drop his wand and the wound to his arm started to literally heal before their eyes.
"Play time is over Tom" said Dumbledore before he said something and there was a loud bang sound as the Wards of Hogwarts were put back into place and Tom was forcibly ejected from the school grounds.
Harry glanced back and noticed that Bellatrix was gone as well before he dropped to the ground, the world darkening as he landed.
Harry was standing in the middle of a grassy field, the setting sun on the horizon casting the entire field in a soft pinkish gold hue. He could feel the opposite presence and he turned to find Tom Riddle standing opposite of him.
"Tom" greeted Harry
"Harry" greeted Tom
"I would say that I'm surprised to see you here Tom, but that wouldn't be very honest now would it" stated Harry rhetorically
"I'm here for the same reason that you're here Harry. We're linked by fate, magic would not allow you to venture here without me. I believe the line is 'Neither could live while the other survives' is it not?" replied Tom
Harry nodded
"You know, I want to hate you, but for whatever reason, I just can't" admitted Tom, "But at this point it feels empty to hate someone that I know so well. Our battles have given both of us an insight into the mind of the other."
"Don't tell me that you're getting soft on me Tommy" teased Harry
"No, I'm not going to simply roll over and die because you ask Harry, if that's what you mean" said Tom, "But I will admit that while I don't hate you nor do i like you, I respect you"
Harry narrowed his eyes at Tom, before he nodded in respect.
"I get it" agreed Harry, "I don't particularly fond of you either Tom. But I respect the power you wield. You could have been the greatest wizard ever born in our world, but you had to be a little evil"
Tom allowed a soft smile to grace his face at the joke
"When we awake, it will be as if this conversation never happened, I am going to kill you Potter" said Tom as he turned away from Harry
"You've been saying that for years" countered Harry
"I underestimated you time and time again, even today. I will not make such a mistake again. We truly are equals, which is why I have to kill you. I cannot allow anyone else like me to remain in this world. That would simply be too dangerous" said Tom'
"We will met again, the next meeting will be our last" declared Harry as he turned his back to Tom as the entire world was consumed by white
Harry groaned as he opened his eyes and found himself in the Hospital Wing. The dark sky outside of the window let him know that it was already night time and he was probably not going to be able to leave until morning.
"Glad to see you awake" said Dumbledore from his left.
Harry turned and saw the old headmaster in the hospital bed next to his own bed.
"What are you doing here?" asked Harry, "The last thing that I remember was you dominating Tom with power like I've never seen before and then I wake up here"
"I'm not as young as I used to be" admitted Dumbledore softly, "I overexerted after being overpowered by Tom. I used a special ritual that can only be used by the Headmaster of Hogwarts. The result was that power that you saw, but the cost was the overwhelming fatigue and drain on my body. If I were to do it again, there is no guarantee that I will survive"
Harry frowned at hearing those words
"Well, once was more than enough in my book. Besides even if you and I know that, Tom doesn't have to know that" said Harry
Dumbledore nodded
"So, how does that ritual work?" asked Harry
Dumbledore mused over whether or not to Harry how the ritual worked before saying, "There is a lot of reasons that Hogwarts was built here. The isolation from the Muggle world, the fact that one of the founders managed to purchase the lot of land before they decided to come together to build a school was another. But the main reason that they choose this place, is that this location is saturated in magic"
Harry was very surprised to hear that and asked "What does that mean?"
"There are several different places in the world, where magic gathers by itself and sinks into the world. The ground, the trees, the water, everything is filled with an abundance of magic. It is why the staircases move on their own accord, it is why we have so many ghost in the castle, it is why the wards over the castle cannot be easily broken" answered Dumbledore
"And the ritual that you used to defend the school allows you to tap into the magic that has built up over time in this area" realized Harry
"There is a little more to it than that, but yes" confirmed Dumbledore, "But with that much power, you run the risk of burning yourself out"
"That's good" said Harry, "Because the Tom that we face now is the Tom from my world combined with the Voldemort. He's more powerful than he ever was back in my world and I imagine stronger than you've seen him in this world"
"I knew that some was amiss when he was so casual in our duel, it was if the thought of fighting me ... somehow bored him" said Dumbledore
"He's here to kill me, I brought him here by our fates being tied together. I have to ramp up on my personal training, he's not going to stop just because you banished him from the grounds. If anything, he's about to lash out at everything outside these walls and hope to get us to react to him" said Harry
"I fear that might indeed be what happens, I will have to call upon the Order to be on high alert as well as contact the Ministry to ramp up any patrols that they might have in place" agreed Dumbledore, "For the first time, this actually feels like war"
Harry didn't know how to respond to that, but it didn't matter as within a couple of minutes, Dumbledore's soft snores echo'd throughout the Hospital Wing and Harry himself slowly drifted off to sleep.
A/N: And scene.
Lot of things happened here, lot of things being implied here. Let's go over some of it.
Tom and Harry are absolutely bond together, nothing in the universe is going to be able to keep the two of them apart. Magic has already made the declaration that Tom and Harry have to duke it out, one of them has to win. So far in my story, while Harry sent him through the veil back in their home world, that does NOT actually kill Tom, it just sent him into a void.
Dumbledore in the canon book is implied to be like this Merlin like figure and while in OoTP, we see him duel Tom to a draw, we never see him use anything really crazy. Well, prepare to see some shit because in the next arc of this story that starts in about 3 chapters, Dumbledore will be having a much more hands on approach.
Lastly, Harry knows that Bella and Voldemort have been looking for Narcissa ever since he took her in the Diagon Alley, which is why he knew that taunting Bellatrix like that would throw her off her balance. More to come on that dynamic in the future because while they told Draco, his mother was dead, Harry told him that he has Momma Malfoy tucked away.
Chapter 13
We are here today to pay our tribute and our respect to a boy, no a man with pure heart, our brother in arms and sprits, Harry James Potter. Not only have people from this congregation and community gathered but those from all around the world. However, it is not just the people from foreign countries, who have come to pay their respects, but the Ministers as well. The leaders of our country and many foreign countries, Ministers who have respected what Harry Potter meant to the world.
But let us not dwell on the leaders, as we have many people loved him as a friend. To know Harry James Potter was to love him. He cared not of himself, but the people around him, as a truly good person would. His life was short but fulfilling in its own way. He touched the lives of many, and no one will truly ever forget him.
Now, before I hand the reigns over to some of his friends, who would like to say their own words. Open your ears and allow me to share with you some parting words in a situation like this.
Death leaves a heartache that no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal. As you comprehend this profound loss, let yourself cry knowing each tear is a note of love rising to the heavens above.
Although it's difficult today to see beyond the sorrow, maybe looking back in memory help comfort you tomorrow, If the future seems overwhelming, remember that it comes one moment at a time"
Nobody clapped as the Ministry Wizarding Official finished his words.
From the moment that the Daily Prophet came out proclaiming Harry's death, all of Hogwarts had felt that the report was fake. The entirety had waited the rest of the day, waiting for Harry to come storming into the castle, a goofy expression on his face.
"Please, I will die when I feel like it" was along the lines that he would say to Fleur and she would get to tell him, how she felt. He had already confessed his own feelings for her, and she would be more than willing to return the favor. But, that moment never arrived, as Harry didn't come storming into the castle. Harry didn't come laughing off the story of his supposed death.
No, instead his body had been recovered and identified as an exact match for Harry James Potter. The wand from the report, was also confirmed as Harry James Potter's wand. Harry didn't come forward saying it was all a joke and Hermione was not able to confess her feelings. No, instead she received an invitation in person from Headmaster Albus Dumbledore about attending and speaking at Harry's funeral.
At the moment, that is where she was, dressed in black like everyone else. Hermione watched the ministry go first (Hermione would be going after, and Dumbledore would close after the two of them) take the podium and noticed that the ministry official looked as bad as she did.
Hermione was pale, to the point that she looked sick. She enough bags under her eyes to travel the world, her hair in a messy bun. She also wore black, and it highlighted her how pale she really was.
"Thank you for the warm words sir" Hermione stated as she thanked short man. She turned and stood at the podium, as she started to address the crowd.
"To be completely honest, I am not sure where to start with this. I didn't imagine that the result of the 3rd task would be this. Harry was confident that he could win, and with the type of wizard that he was, I had no doubts about his chances. It is hard to think of Harry without thinking of the time that we spent together.
We actually weren't friends at first nor for the first couple of weeks of school. Someone had said some nasty things to me, and I was crying in the bathroom. A troll had broken into the school and I was the only one who didn't know. Knowing that I didn't know, Harry rushed off to tell me about the danger. He actually locked the troll in the bathroom with me before he realized what he had did. He opened the door and somehow ended on the things back and shoved his wand up the Troll's nose.
We've been friends ever since then, down right inseparable besides some normal fighting among friends. In our second year, he slayed a Basilisk, not just because it was a massive danger to everyone in the school and it had a hostage, but he told me "You will never be allowed to harm the people I care about while I can do something about it". At the time, I was petrified, frozen in time and unaware of anything. Harry took exception to a snake doing that.
In our third year, he drove over 100 Dementors away because they could have harmed us, and he didn't want that to be a possibly. It was then that I realized that Harry was truly in a class of his own, as his Patronus was something to really behold. I was then curious to see what Harry would do next.
This year, we all watched him outfly a dragon, save people from the black lake, and then win the tournament at the cost of his life. I still can't process that Harry is still gone, because he was never one to let anything hold him down.
I feel that we were robbed of the chance to watch one of the greatest wizards that the world would ever know, never get to show you why he is one of the greatest. Harry was more than the Boy Who Lived to me, he was my best friend, the person I trusted with my life. He is the brother that I never got to have, and I hope now that he is free.
Free of the nagging pressure that you all put on him since he survived the killing curse on that Halloween, all those years ago. You all seemed to forget that Harry is famous for surviving what his parents did not, he would have given up all of his money and fame to talk to his parents, to just meet them. He is free of the constant shifting public opinion that followed his every waking moment. He was the savior of the world one moment, and the next the darkest wizard to ever breath to you people.
Most of all, Harry is free of everything negative on this world. People shalt to use, market, exploit a child for their own purposes. Now, he doesn't have to deal with your every changing opinion, the people who want to use him for his fame, and he is free of all his burdens. I'm not sure if there is an afterlife or a heaven, but Harry deserves the best. And I know that there will not be a single day that I will not miss him. Not a single day, I wouldn't wonder what Harry would do in my situation.
The emotions here are high and I know that I've just say something about Harry that nobody else has mentioned and will admit. To all of the people here, Harry didn't know you or disliked you. I am not going to get up here and lie to the mass public like Harry Potter was a saint. I watched him attack first and ask questions later, I've seen him ruthlessly attack people over the toast rack at breakfast.
He stunned the first two, and then one of the others knocked the toast of his hand and he broke all of their legs. Legs were broken over warmed up bread, not exactly the actions of a saint. No, Harry was person who was mostly just tired of the people around him. His dream for the future was to move somewhere where nobody knew his name and start a family. He didn't care for the people who tried to smear his name. He really didn't care for the people who attacked him verbally or with spells. He only cared about his friends, the few of us that there were.
If Harry were still alive, he wouldn't like that so many of you showed up to his funeral, he certainly wouldn't like the way that people are portraying him to be. Harry was a selfish, smart, powerful wizard who cared about few, he wasn't this mystical warrior, defeating evil and protecting the good. He was a 14-year boy who was tired and simply wanted to be happy. Do not dishonor who he actually was with the fairy tale book version of who you wanted him to be. I knew the real Harry Potter, how many of you can honestly say the same?
All that is left to say, is goodbye Harry, it was a pleasure knowing you, I hope that one day I see you on the other side, because we'll have a lot to catch up on."
Hermione had tears flowing as she finished speaking from her heart. Her face was twisted into a frown as her eyes turned puffy and red. She walked over to coffin that held Harry's charred remains and kissed it before she left the stage and the funeral all together, unable to take any more of the pain she felt.
She had spoken with such fire, that nobody interrupted her, no one tried to correct her, and no one brought up that they were at a funeral. After she finished, she returned to her seat and watch Dumbledore rise and move to address the crowd for the last time.
"We've had two speakers who have shared their perspectives of what one Harry James Potter was. A public figure who the general public adores and misses and a caring friend and apparently a jerk with a soft spot for certain people. I had a different perspective than either of them. To me, Harry was more than a boy who survived the killing curse when his parents did not. He was more than just another student to walk through the halls of Hogwarts.
No, Harry Potter was the future of our society, the next leader of the next generation. Harry was different from your average student, and not just in terms of power. Harry was always up for the challenges in life, he never stopped moving forward. He explored the library, the school grounds, and the depths of his own magic.
Harry understood who he was as a person, what he could and could not do. He was developing the social understandings of being a leader, growing and maturing before my very eyes. I have seen hundreds, no thousands of students cross the doors of this school, but none of them had what Harry had.
Harry naturally cared about the people, even if he grew to dislike them. That wasn't who he was, it was who he was made into. Harry wanted to save people, even if meant that his safety couldn't be guaranteed. He outgrew this as his power grew, able to tackle issues at any place and time. Harry grew in terms of power, skill, and ability, not because he wanted to. But because it was needed of him, with the tasks that laid ahead of him.
Harry wasn't just a person, or a celebrity, he was a symbol. Harry was the hope that was left in the world, he was something that could not be denied. That is what I wish to impart on you, do not grieve Harry because he is lost, you should celebrate the life that he lived because of what he stood for.
I plan on being a better person because I will stand by what he stood for. I urge you to try and maximize your own potential, because Harry strove to be the best that he can be, and you should as well. I will try to make the world, a place where we will not need a Harry Potter to remind us of the things that we value in life.
I want to help make a world where no children have to live like Harry, without their parents. I want to create a world, where there are no children who have to hold up the weight of the world. I plan on making a world, where we don't need a Harry Potter to take care of our issues. For Harry Potter, I will help build a world in which we don't have to bury any children ever again. "
Some thought that Dumbledore's speech was a more of a campaign speech than anything else, although it was a bit touching how honest the old man had been. After that, the speaking portion was over, and the erecting of the tomb was done.
It was a tall Marble Tomb, that read;
Harry James Potter
July 31st, 1980 - June 24th, 1995
Whoever has brought me here, has brought me home
Dumbledore was lifted from the memory of burying the Harry Potter of this world just in time for the one that he summoned from another world to knock on the door to his office. He had enough on his mind without thinking about his biggest source of guilt. He had failed time and time again, first with his sister. Then with his friendGellert, there had literally been a war that Gellert started and what had he done? Stick his head in the sand and wait for it to pass, he waited to long and it was on his doorstep before he took action. And now Harry Potter, 14 years old and nothing more. Dumbledore knew that James and Lily would be disappointed him, he was disappointed in himself. Harry Potter sat in a tomb on the school's ground and also had just entered his office and took a seat across from him. He couldn't afford to fail Harry twice, he had to be better.
"You look well for a man who just fought Tom" said Harry as his eyes gave Dumbledore a once over, looking over the perfectly healthy headmaster. The older man was back to perfect health despite the wounds that Tom had left him with.
"I have recovered, it has been an eventual last couple of days" admitted Dumbledore, "But you'll find that Madam Pomfrey can heal just about anything"
Harry nodded in agreement, she was known as one of the best in the world back home. It would make a lot of sense that she was still one of the best in the world.
"So, where do we go from here?" asked Harry
"We need to plan an attack, I had Sirius sent over the locket that you said was vital to Tom's plans and I must say Harry, while the piece of Jewelry is rather nice, I fail to see how it helps Tom" said Dumbledore as he pulled Slytherin's locket from a drawer in his desk and placed it in front of Harry.
Harry allowed the Elder Wand to slide out of his sleeve and into his hand before he washed the locket with magic, frowning as he realized that Dumbledore was correct. The locket no longer contained a hallow echo of Tom's soul, it was empty. There was a lingering touch of darkness over the locket, but it was a far cry from the disgusting nature of a Horcrux.
"What about the ring?" asked Harry
"The ring is the stone like you said, but it also had the same feeling as the locket, it seems that whatever Tom has done, he has reclaimed all of the pieces of his soul" said Dumbledore.
Harry bit his lip, "He's going off script as far as I'm concerned"
Dumbledore leaned back in his chair, "Things have been chaotic to say the least, it seems that bringing you here has not made things as easy as I had hoped, I'm sorry Harry"
"I brought my own issues here" admitted Harry, "I'm going to pop over to Diagon Alley, is that ok?"
"I trust you to take care of yourself Harry, but don't go looking for trouble" said Dumbledore
Harry scoffed in mock disbelief "Trouble finds me sir"
Dumbledore chuckled and Harry departed the office, making his way down stairs, through the hallways, and out the castle. He walked through the gates that opened for him and closed behind him.
But he didn't pop over to the alley like he told Dumbledore, he was actively looking for trouble this one time in his life. He popped into the cemetery near Riddle Manor and waited. His presence would trigger the alarm that Tom had sent up here. Harry was not disappointed when there was a series of cracks and Tom and his band of misfits appeared around Harry.
"Harry Potter, come to die?" asked Tom
"Yeah from boredom of these speeches that you love to give Thomas" said Harry
Tom crackled a laugh and lightning split the sky, storm clouds formed overhead and a light flurry of snow started to fall, Harry willed the air around his body to grow warmer and while the death eaters shivered, Tom and Harry remained perfectly comfortable.
"I think we should both bow Harry, this is it. A final duel between two of the greatest to ever walk the planet" suggested Tom in a mock parody of politeness
"I think Hogwarts should have Fridays off from class
"I said, bow," Tom said, raising his wand and Harry felt his spine curve as though a huge, invisible hand were bending him ruthlessly forward, and the Death Eaters laughed harder than ever. Harry felt his brain squeeze as the memory of him doing something similar to him back in his home world ran through his head. The place where his scar had been gave a soft phantom throb and his eyes turned a glowing green, and remained the color this time.
"Very good," said Tom softly, and as he felt the pressure bearing down upon Harry lifted by Harry's angry pulse of magic.
"And now you face me, like a man . . . straight-backed and proud, the way your father died. And now, we duel."
Harry raised his head and looked at Tom, red eyes meeting green eyes, and the death eaters gasped as Tom flinched.
Harry flicked his wand and waves after waves of confringo's exploded out of his wand. Tom summoned a shield that lasted all of 3 seconds before Harry's spell overwhelmed it and shattered it. Tom deflected it before he sent a multiple bone breaking spells at Harry.
Ducking under a spell, Harry launched whatever spells that popped into his head "transmogrify, Bombarda, Bombarda, Afflicto, Defodio"
Tom dodged the first spell, deflected the second spell into the third spell, shielded the fourth spell, and the fifth spell pierced his shield and scratched his cheek. Tom returned fire with a lot of killing curses, a couple bone breaking curses, and an organ destroying curse. Harry's magic made the air vibrate as he deflected what he could, dodged what he needed to, and absorbed whatever he couldn't deflect or dodge.
Harry stood panting, his red eyes tired and his magic draining as fast as his body could replace it. Tom had a massive advantage over Harry, he was older and thus developed. His magical pool was deeper, bigger, and thicker. His spells came out faster and were stronger than Harry's.
The only reason that Harry was keeping up was because Tom was still adjusting to his new body nd the elder wand amplifying his own magic. His magic was just a fraction slower, his strength wavered from spell to spell, from slightly stronger than Harry's to completely overwhelming.
Finally, Tom hit Harry with a spell that ended the stalemate. Tom raised his wand, and before Harry could do anything to defend himself, before he could even move, he had been hit again by the Cruciatus Curse. The pain was so intense, so all-consuming, that he no longer knew where he was. White-hot knives were piercing every inch of his skin, his head was surely going to burst with pain, he was screaming more loudly than he'd ever screamed in his life and then as fast as the pain started, it stopped. Harry rolled over and scrambled to his feet; he was shaking as uncontrollably as Wormtail had done when his hand had been cut off; he staggered sideways into the wall of watching Death Eaters, and they pushed him away, back toward Tom.
"A little break," said Tom, the slit-like nostrils dilating with excitement, "A little pause. That hurt, didn't it, Harry? You don't want me to do that again, do you?"
"Crucio!" shouted Harry as he hit Tom in the middle of his mad rant with the spell that caused unbelievable pain.
Nobody was sure what to do when Tom dropped to the ground, twitching and spasming with pain. Harry let up for a second before reapplying the unforgivable curse. Stopping the curse for good, Harry watched Tom shake like a leaf in the wind.
"A little break," said Harry, his tone filled with a mocking tone as he repeated Tom's line to him, "A little pause. That hurt, didn't it, Tom? You don't want me to do that again, do you?"
That was apparently the wrong thing to say as Harry was knocked off of his feet and onto his back by some kind wave of magic. Tom climbed to his feet and summoned Harry but his shoes.
Standing over the younger male, Tom sneered at Harry.
"I don't understand why you continue to fight in the face of unwinnable odds. Give up Harry, give up and I will grant you a small piece of mercy and I will send you to meet your parents. What a gift that would be from me to you, one orphan to another. It is the thing that I am sure that you've wanted your entire life, give in and I can make it happen."
"The only thing giving in around here, is my stamina after I defeat you guys and celebrate with your followers' daughters" spat out Harry.
Tom looked at Harry, the boy who lived, and shook his head.
"Classy Harry, you truly were in a class of your own."
"I think that you could have applied Tom, you could have been the class's transfer student."
"You know Harry, despite everything that has gone on today, I will miss this little back and forth, nobody will hold a place in my heart for such verbal banter as you did. Unfortunately, I still have to kill you, can't let you and your riskless mouth inspire one of the dumber of my followers to get any ideas about how to address me."
"Yeah, that's probably for the best, Tom. No offense, but some questionable blood lines and incest-based blood purifying methods, you don't exactly have the sharpest knifes in the crayon box"
"I believe it is time that we finished what we started here today."
"I couldn't agree more Harry"
Wind swirled around both of them, a storm cloud brewing above head.
Tom raised his wand and began to cast curses and spells at Harry.
Harry deflected the bone breakers and blood boilers back at Tom, summoning bits and pieces of earth to jump into the way of Killing curse.
Tom made a hand motion and several death eaters banished some of the destroyed tombstones at Harry.
Harry shield against the pieces of stone, but no magical shield would stop the storm of killing curses that Tom and his followers unleashed on him.
Harry had nowhere to run, no place to hide, and no ability to stop all of the curses that were coming his way. Finally, old snake face managed to aim one perfectly, at the center of Harry's chest as he was pinned down to a single location.
The killing curse tore right through Harry's shield and continued on towards his chest. Tom smiled evilly at the sight of the deadly curse about to end his biggest foe's life. Harry looked at the curse and the world seemed to stop. The curse was within a foot of hitting Harry, when it started to warp off to Harry's left before wrapping around Harry and sling shotting at a Death Eater. Tom watched with an amazingly shocked face as the sure fire way to kill someone, refused to hit its target.
"WHAT?! THERE IS NO WAY THAT YOU SHOULD STILL BE ALIVE!" Roared Tom, his anger getting the best of him. His magic flared out and several patches of fire came into existence, due to sheer magic alone, an impressive feat for a man whose magic was closer to ice than anything.
As Harry tried to contain the massive firestorms that Tom was summoning, he was unable to notice that runes where being written all around a wide area that contained him.
As the runes were finished being carved into the ground, Harry watched Tom snarl and noticed the shift in the mood of the fight. It had gone from extremely angry and deadly to Tom was now happy and deadly.
"I want you to know Potter, that no matter what you do, you'll never escape this place. I wish I could have done this in Godric's Hollow. That way you would be lain to rest with your parents. It would have symbolic to kill you where you stripped me of my powers and body."
"You know Tom, you keep saying that you're going to kill me, but it has yet to happen. If I had a dollar for every death causing spell that you cast, I could afford to but the Malfoy's manor. I mean, with the way that you aim, it is a wonder that you managed to kill anyone."
Somehow, Tom didn't take the bait that Harry laid for him. Instead, he simply took a couple of steps backwards and pointed his wand at Harry.
Harry sucked in all the air in the graveyard, Tom grasped at his throat, his lungs begging for air and Harry stopped it as he dropped to his knees and coughed, the harsh act ripping up his throat and his mouth was coated with the red penny tasting liquid.
A circular dome buzzsaw sharp wind shot out from Harry's body and a couple of the slower death eaters were too slow to avoid the sharp wind that sliced them into pieces. Tom was able to pop in and out of the way of the wind and he looked at Harry with a tilted head.
"You've grown up so much, but you're still playing the hero like a fool Potter" said Tom
Harry climbed back to his feet as a bone breaking curse warped around his form, his magic refusing to allow such curse to hit him.
"Do you ever get tired of these rants?" asked Harry
Harry's aura blanketed the entire area as he laid waste to everything in sight. Tom was forced onto his back foot as he was forced to defend himself from Harry, his once superior magic seemingly being surpassed by Harry in the blink of an eye.
Tom watched as Harry picked apart his shields, his attacks never making it to Harry as he either deflected or simply allowed the spell to wrap around his body and shoot at one of the death eaters. Finally, all of the help that Tom had brought with him was killed and it was only Harry and Tom in the graveyard, well them and a bunch of corpses.
Tom slashed his wand at Harry but rather than Harry's magic bending the spell around him, the spell simply passed through him.
"I ... i am jealous of whatever this *Tom gestured with his wand at Harry* newfound ability is" admitted Tom
Then Harry vomited a puddle of blood as his body glowed a shimmering silvery color
"Maybe not" said Tom as he looked on with disgust
Harry body shook as he struggled to breath and he looked at the wrist band that was crumbling to dust before he released more blood filled bile onto the ground.
"You .. you ok?" asked Tom, as the form of Harry became translucent before he disappeared all together leaving Tom very much confused.
Harry crashed down onto a table and his body spasmed as he felt his eyes grow heavier. His body felt so cold and yet there was a puddle of warmth where he was laying.
It was only with his last conscious thought that he realized that it was a pool of his own blood.
Chapter 14
Harry's eyes flickered open and he found himself looking up at a dark ceiling, the covers draped over his body in an almost loving way. He glanced around and he found that the curtains were drawn open, his body was shaking and he felt bandages wrapped around his body. Wherever he was, this was most certainly not the stronghold or base of any of his enemies.
Or maybe Cissa had escaped his trunk and returned to his house, outing her husband. Then maybe this could be his enemy's house. Narcissa Malfoy absolutely hated him to his guts, she probably loved that he could reach them as well to be fair.
The room was dark, but as Harry started to actually awaken, he saw the Emerald and Silver banners of Slytherin in the room. A friendly Slytherin was not the weirdest thing to happen in his life, so when the door opened, he wasn't surprised to see Sirius in the door frame, looking concerned.
Sirius opened his mouth to say something, but he closed it almost immediately, his eyes locked on Harry's form.
"You're a sight for sore eyes" said Harry as he collapsed back down into the bed, his body continuing the soft shivering, "I thought Voldy caught me"
"You should be dead" whispered Sirius
"Yeah, I've heard that one before. Isn't that the entire reason that I'm here? Because Harry Potter died?" asked Harry
Sirius shook his head, "You appeared over the dining table, dropped down onto it in pieces"
He shook at the memory, "You were missing so much less, blood was everywhere. Moony and I did our best, but the scars will be there forever"
Harry moved his hands to the bandages that were wrapped around his torso, his arms and legs also had the same kind of bandages.
"A scar is what defined me for years, a couple of new ones aren't going to make much difference" dismissed Harry as he removed his hand from the bandages
"Do you think the wards did that to you? Anti-Apparation wards are a real big net, but I've never seen them shred anyone's skin like that. Last time, I tried to pop into a place with them up, I broke my nose" questioned Sirius
"I don't so, I didn't try to apparate, at least not consciously anyway" answered Harry, "I was in the middle of handing Tom, his own pale arse, when I found myself falling and crashing into the table"
"Yeah, you just appeared out of thin air. It was a little bit strange because you weren't the only thing to appear, The burnt up rags of the invisibility cloak were next to your body" said Sirius, "Which is strange because I'm sure that I tossed that shit out"
Harry blinked at the information being presented to him. Not only had he been brought back to the site of the ritual that brought him. But the cloak was brought back as well.
His magic swirled around him with ease and Harry lifted himself off the bed, the blanket being blown off of him. With the pressure of his body off the bed, he could feel the aches and pains all over his body, especially his legs.
"Merlin's fucking sake, how the hell are you doing this?" asked Sirius with wide eyes as wave after wave of magic washed over him, pouring out of Harry's form as his eyes glowed with power like Dumbledore's.
"Magic" replied Harry sarcastically as he floated in the air, "Can you move out of the way so that I can take a look at the ritual site"
"I guess, Dumbledore should be on his way" said Sirius as he took a step backwards and allowed Harry's form to float by him before he followed behind him.
"So, whose room was this? It wasn't your brother's" asked Harry as the pair of them made their way down the stairs.
"This was my grandfather's room when he came to visit" answered Sirius, "The little shit stain of a house elf has refused to unlock my brother's room as of late"
"Interesting, crying over something like a locket?" asked Harry, trying to confirm something as the pair of them arrived on the ground floor
"Yeah, said the bloody thing got really hot and a crying black something oozed out, he's too barmy and loony to put together a full sentence about it" replied Sirius
"The locket is what got your brother killed" whispered Harry, "Your brother found out how Tom was going to stay alive forever, ripping his soul apart and placing it in items like the locket. Your brother found out and tried to do something about it, having a change of heart. Kreacher went with him, your brother died sending Kreacher home and staying behind, with the promise of Kreacher destroying the locket"
Sirius eyes watered up but he said nothing as the pair of them arrived at the dining room where they held the ritual that brought Harry here.
"How long have I been here?" asked Harry as he stopped floating and eased back down onto the ground, his legs wobbling from the effort of standing up under his own power, but he eased that effort by grabbing onto the chair in front of him. Both to help himself remain upright and to get a taste of any and all magic that was present in the table.
"A couple of hours, it's really early in the morning, But I had left a sensor spell on your bed to make sure that when you woke up, I would be there" said Sirius
Harry nodded and closed his eyes and listened. A deep breath and his magic raced through his body Exhale, the magic flowing inside of his stopped and Harry took another deep breath before things slid into place.
Harry opened his eyes and his vision was slightly different, the colors of the real world were muted and a strong white glow was seen over everything, the signs of magic being used at this site, From the brightness of the glow, a lot of magic had been used at this location.
"Do you still have the cloak?" asked Harry to Sirius
"It's on the chair near the head of the table"
Harry nodded at the answer and his magic flared out and the mangled burnt remains of his father's cloak raced towards him. The white glow on the cloak covered up the soft silvery glow that struggled to remain in the fabric of the cloak, but Harry could still see it.
But as he turned the ruined cloak over his hands, much to his horror, he could see a single thin faint white thread of magic that went from the cloak to the table where they had performed the ritual.
Ice filled his body and he clinched his hands into fist, the skin on his hands strained as they turned red as the blond flow was cut off. His eyes looked at the table as he followed the thread over to the head of the table before seeing a stronger, thicker line of pulsing white magic lead from the table towards his body. Looking down, the thread went into his feet and he looked at the places where his body was ripped up, finding signs of the same pulsing white magic.
His jaw clenched and he started panting before Dumbledore popped into the room and looked at him, those stupid twinkling blue eyes locking with his glowing green eyes.
"Mage sight from a person so young, most impressive Harry" complimented Dumbledore before he picked up on the anger in the air, "Is everything alright?"
"Did. You. Know?" hissed Harry as his vision returned to normal, his eyes narrowed in rage and his body trembling as his magic begged him to unleash it on this person, one whoever had dared to anger him.
Harry lifted his right hand and the Elder Wand zipped into it, racing from the room that he had been placed in to return to his hand. The legendary wand purred with delight in his hand, a comforting warmth traveled from the wand through his body.
"I know a lot of things Harry, you'll have to be more specific" joked Dumbledore trying to defuse the situation without giving into conflict.
"You know damn well what I'm talking about you" hissed Harry, talking in the language of snake in his anger
"I quite literally have no idea what you're saying but seeing you hold the cloak that was sacrificed to bring you here, I can only assume that you are asking about the ritual" said Dumbledore as his eyes lost their twinkle and grew serious.
"What's going on here?" asked Sirius
"I would take a step back Sirius, this might get a little ... violent" said Dumbledore as he drew his wand and his magic flared and flooded the air, every bit as overbearing as Harry's.
But both Dumbledore and Harry knew it was nothing more than a show, Harry continued to glare at the headmaster, "Did. You. Know?"
Dumbledore internally winced at the repeated question and he knew that if there was any chance of him keeping this Harry on his side, he needed not to have some plan or speech for Harry. He needed to do the thing that he did the worst, tell the truth.
"Yes" said Dumbledore before all hell broke loose
Harry raised his wand so fast that Dumbledore had barely thought to even raise his own, Sirius couldn't even process what was happening before there was a loud bang and Dumbledore felt himself flying backward as shot out of a canon; as he slammed through the dining room wall and slid to the floor inside of the kitchen. Groaning, he looked up as Harry blasted his way through the wall with a flick of his wand and marched right towards him.
Sirius scrambled around the doorway and slide between the downed Dumbledore and the angry Harry.
"Get out of the way" warned Harry
"Not a chance pup, we can talk this out" rejected Sirius
"Words will never be able to make up for what he did ... for what was done to me" snarled Harry before he repeated "Get out of the way"
"I understand that you're angry Harry, but leave Sirius alone" said Dumbledore from his place on the ground behind Sirius, "Please let us just talk about this"
Harry tried to pop away only to slam into the wards and bounce back into place, the numerous gashes all over his body opened back up and the bandages that covered his body were soon stained red.
"Let me out," Harry said yet again, in a voice that was cold and almost as calm as Dumbledore's had been a moment ago, "These wards wouldn't keep me here for long, I can punch my way out and the backlash will seriously hurt you"
"Harry, be reas-" started Sirius before he was pushed to the side and silenced by Harry who glared at Dumbledore.
"Not until I have had my say," said Dumbledore.
"Do you ... do you think I want to ... do you think I give a — I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU'VE GOT TO SAY!" Harry roared and his magic filled the room, making it difficult to breath, "I don't want to hear anything you've got to say!"
"You will," said Dumbledore sadly. "Because you are not nearly as angry with me as you ought to be. If you are to attack me, to kill me in a fit of rage as I know you are close to doing, I would like to have thoroughly earned it."
"You selfish old coot, you've all but guaranteed my death with your half baked ritual. I will be summoned back to that table time and time again, who knows how long I can resist the call of that magic. How long before it rips more than skin from my body?" said Harry, his words coming out in an icy manner, his voice no longer raised.
"It is my fault that this is happening to you, Harry" said Dumbledore somberly as if he was seeing someone he loved waste away, "Or I should say almost entirely my fault. I will not be so arrogant as to claim responsibility for the whole. The ritual was a good idea for the most part, but I overestimated some of my members.
They did not have the magical ability nor the magical reserves needed to supply for the ritual. That part I was aware of, but I did not factor in that some of them might not have the desire to have Harry Potter come and save them. Their lack of direction made the ritual much more difficult to direct and since I powered it, I will take responsibility.
If you are truly so angry that violence is the only option, do not turn your wand on anyone but me. I drew the runes, I started it and I ended it."
Harry looked at the tearful Dumbledore standing below him and he felt his wand arm shake as he tried to retain his anger. But how could he? The sight of the man who had raised him back in his own world was sitting at his feet, tears flowing freely. He wanted to be angry, but he couldn't. He wanted to unleash magic so destructive that Tom would blush in envy, but he couldn't ... he wouldn't.
He lowered his shaking and unsilenced Sirius with little more than a thought and a flare of magic.
"You need to fix this Dumbledore, we had a deal" said Harry, "I kill your Voldemort and you find a way for me to go home. Let's amend it so that you don't kill me, find a way to keep me here in one piece. I can't trust you to send me home, just find a way to keep me here without me dying then"
Harry didn't say anything else before he ripped apart the Anti-Apparation wards with a slash of his wand and popped away.
Dumbledore sighed "That went better than I thought it would"
"Are you alright?" asked Sirius as he immediately came to Dumbledore's side and helped the old man to his feet, "Harry seemed to be so angry, how bad did we botch up the ritual?"
"I could not tell you" admitted Dumbledore, "Maybe if you had been part of it, it might have worked better"
"He looked like he was going to tear you apart and you looked like you were going to allow it" noted Sirius
"I doubt either of us would have lasted long against Harry if he really wanted to hurt us" said Dumbledore
"He's certainly scary" said Sirius, "I wouldn't want to fight him"
"I am thankful that I don't have to either" said Dumbledore before he sighed, "He really dismantled most of the wards on this place with ease. I will have Bill swing by soon and put up some new ones. Maybe add a keystone to add some extra power behind the wards"
Sirius nodded, "That would probably be for the the best. Also, never pissing Harry off again would probably be for the best too"
"We might have come to an agreement on that part" said Dumbledore as he waved his wand and set up some basic wards to temporarily make the place more secure. With such poor treatment of Kreacher and the location written down on paper somewhere in here, we can't ever be too careful. Honestly, you should be nicer to him Sirius, he's all that's left of your family"
"I guess" muttered Sirius as he remembered the story that Harry had told him and he felt a pulse of sadness when he thought about the mistreated house elf in his house, but he shook his head and it was gone, "Where do you think Harry went?"
"Probably to release some stress, do not worry about Harry. Worry about whoever is foolish enough to get in his way" said Dumbledore
With Harry:
Harry popped into the end of Diagon Alley, the one part of the alleyway that people never ventured towards. With a quick wave of his wand and he was wearing a pair of standard black robes before he waved his wand once more and he was no longer Harry Potter in the face but a rather non-descript looking young man with slicked back brown hair and brown eyes.
He walked down from the residential area and over towards the shops. Normally he didn't care about the people who might come up to him asking for an autograph nor did he worry about anyone dumb enough to attack him. But he wasn't in the best of moods and didn't want to potentially kill someone.
He entered the first bar that he saw, walking up to the bar as he pulled out enough for twin shots of firewhiskey before he slammed both of them with ease, letting out a belch of cinnamon tasting flames.
Harry repeated this action once, twice, thrice and then a fourth time more before he felt like he was in a much better mood before he on shaky legs walked out of the bar and back out into the alley where he apparated back to Hogsmeade and started to walk up the pathway that lead to the castle.
He might have been a little more on the sauce than he expected as he made his way into the castle, he for the first time years was lost. He wandered around aimlessly, his vision blurring and then he found himself knocking on a door.
The door opened right as he turned around to find someone where to sleep and a tired voice said " Arry, it is early"
Her words were said with a defaulted french accent, something that if she was fully awake would have made her blush. She took so much pride in being able to speak proper English that hearing this accented version would have made her red with anger and embarrassment.
Harry whirled around and he saw the tired form of Fleur looking at him, his shoulders slumped and the magic that created his robes dispelled itself as his legs gave out and he revealed his heavily bandaged form to Fleur.
She was quick reach out and grab him, his form heading towards the floor without her help. She had his torso in her arms, keeping his head from hitting the ground and she could feel the stickiness of the blood in the bandages. The wounds were still open, still bleeding as she held in her hands.
"Harry, are you okay?" asked Fleur as seeing Harry in this shape, but Harry used the opportunity to grab her by the collar and pull her into a soft kiss, one that she returned for a moment before the taste of cinnamon and fire caught her attention.
"You're drunk" she accused as she pulled back, her eyes narrowing in anger as she looked at Harry
"Only a little" burped Harry before he tried to sit up much to hr protest. His wand slipped into his hand and he poured as much magic as he could muster into healing himself.
The magic of the ritual was overpowered and the wounds closed as Harry went limp from a combination of exhaustion, blood loss, and being drunk. She set him down before retreating into her room to grab her wand. She levitate him up and into her room, putting him down on the couch in her common room area of her quarters.
Harry's eyes were unfocused and he was staring off into the distance. Her wall wasn't as interesting as he was making it seem. She sat down next to him and whispered in his ear.
"Talk to me, Harry. What's going on?"
Her voice was soft and warm and it seemingly did the job as Harry muttered something, but his voice was so quiet that she was unable to hear him. She leaned in closer and asked him again.
"The ritual is going to kill me" said Harry with some effort and a hiccup.
Fleur's stomach twisted into a knot upon hearing his slurred words. Ritual? What ritual? If there was ever a chance for her to confirm any of the different theories that she had, this would be her best time.
"What ritual was that Harry? You can tell me" she whispered back to him, her magic blanketing the room and her allure twisted around his tired form, releasing any and all restrictions that he might have had about telling her any of this.
"The ritual that brought me here" he said in a airy manner, his eyes closed and it was only the pain of his body that kept him from simply drifting off to sleep.
Fleur didn't say anything at first as she looked down at the shivering form of Harry before her wand moved without her thinking and a warming charm was cast over Harry who stopped shivering and his eyes regained a little bit of the sharpness that she was used to seeing in his eyes.
"Are you okay" asked Fleur
"Yessss" hissed Harry before Fleur felt a slight shift in magic on his body, it was not the overwhelming cold magic that he usually commanded though. No this magic was like a rainbow of people and whatever it was, it caused his wounds to close for good and he looked much more alert in that moment. But she wasn't going to simply let him leave after the things that he had said, she felt that she deserved some kind of answer from her glass wearing companion ... a man from a different would that had locked lips with her so casually over the last couple of weeks.
"So, you're from another world?" asked Fleur as her wand pressed itself against his neck, digging into the skin in an attempt to intimidate him.
"Yes" answered Harry at once, a completely serious answer from him.
"Are you even Harry Potter?" asked Fleur
"I am Harry James Potter, just not the Harry James Potter that you would have met last year during the TriWizard Tournament. That Harry James Potter met his end in a duel with Tom"
"Tom"
Harry let out a tired laugh at hearing the confused question, "You don't read the paper? Voldemort's real name is Tom Riddle Jr"
"You mean to tell me that random newspaper got it right?" asked Fleur, "How could they have known that? I imagine Tom wouldn't have like that information shared among the public"
Harry beamed weakly, his smile bright even in the darkness of the morning, "I wrote it"
Fleur felt a headache coming on and she shook her head as she removed her wand from Harry's neck.
"So what, you come to this world and then what? You leave? Bouncing from world to world defeating different versions of this Tom fellow?" question Fleur
"No" chuckled Harry, "I grew up in my own world where I had to battle my own Voldemort and I defeated him at 15. I was looking forward to a peaceful year when the Order of the Phoenix of this world managed to create a ritual that would bring a hero capable of defeating this world's Voldemort back to this world"
"And that's you" realized Fleur, "So what happens now? You defeat our world's dark lord and then you go home?"
"Absolutely not" stated Harry, "They did such a shit job at the first ritual that I'm laying here drunk and bleeding on your couch. The botched ritual is going to kill me, I keep getting summoned back to the place of the ritual, it's quite literally ripping me apart from the inside out. I don't know if I can survive much more of it, of this"
Fleur nodded
"Okay ... so what about us?"
"I like you Fleur, I never lied to you about that. I saw a young woman who was being given the shaft by the bigot British world and decided to help you out. I knew you a little bit from my world, but we were also three years apart in age back there, so I never got the chance to make a move on you. But I'm 16 about to be 17 if you count the aging caused by a Time Turner. I feel much more comfortable telling you that I like you, knowing that things are a little bit more level"
"I don't know Harry, you kept all of this a secret from me. How can I trust you?" asked Fleur as she sat down on the edge of the couch, her body pressed against the side of Harry's stomach.
"If I had just come out and said that I was Harry from a different world brought here to kill dear old Moldy Voldy, would you have believed me?" asked Harry
"No" admitted Fleur
"I couldn't say that, but I never lied to you" said Harry as he used his wind ability to push himself up into a sitting position and wrapped Fleur in a weak one armed hug. His left hand drifted up and down her back as he brought his right hand to her chin and he directed her face to look at him in the eyes.
"I can't tell you that i have any idea of how this will end, but I can tell you that I am willing to be in this until the end, whatever ending that we get" whispered Harry
Fleur didn't say anything as she stared into his bright green eyes
"I'm going to kiss you now" said Harry, "If you don't want me to do so, just stop me and all of this ends"
Harry leaned in closer and he froze as he felt Fleur's hands land on his shoulders, keeping him from moving forward. Her hands gripped his shoulder, before sliding to his neck and moving up to the back of his head.
She pulled him forward and their lips met in a soft, yet hungry kiss. Fleur twisted them until she was straddling him, her weight pressing down on his form. Harry leaned back and she followed him on the way down, their lips still connected.
When they did part, Fleur cupped Harry's face and squeezed, "We're not sleeping together tonight, so don't get any ideas. But you don't have to go back to your own bed tonight"
Harry resisted the urge to smile and asked "So, what does this mean for us?"
"Us? It means that you and I will have to tolerate each other a little while longer Potter" she said as she brought her lips to his neck and nipped at it
Harry couldn't stop the smile this time and he wagged his eyebrows, "Let's take this to the bed than shall we"
He took a deep breath and his magic flared as it wrapped around both of them and they floated off of the couch and drifted over to her bed. Upon landing, Harry flipped them over and his mouth left hers, before finding her cheek, her neck, her collar bone and then her shirt and bra disappeared off her body and onto the bedding as his mouth continued the natural path and Harry was continued on determined to discover every single nook and cranny of Fleur's body. It would require some time and effort but it was something that he was willing to take one for the team for.
The Next Morning: Sunrise
Harry woke up early and had to untangle himself from Fleur's surprisingly strong grip, even as much as he wish he didn't have to. But he had a couple of things to do and laying around in bed wasn't one of them unfortunately.
Making his way back to his common room, Harry slipped into his shared room and opened his trunk before climbing down into it. He was greeted by the sight of Narcissa's backside as she was bent over cleaning something off the floor.
"Hello love" said Harry as he brought himself to her attention. She turned around and looked at him, her eyes dropped down to his mid section and she licked her lips.
"Sorry, no time for that" said Harry as he remembered his deal with Draco, "I've actually come this way for another reason. Your son is under the impression that you're dead. Voldy has him under his thumb saying that he's next, but I am trying to save him"
Narcissa gave a kind smile, "You take me out of the life and are now doing the same for my son, you're too kind"
"I try" joked Harry, "I need you to write him a letter saying that you're okay and it needs to contain something that would allow him to know that it's you"
Narcissa nodded and immediately raced off to write such letter and within 10 minutes, she was handing over the letter which Harry used a school owl to deliver.
After setting Draco up to be his agent on the inside, Harry sent a message to Dumbledore, it was time for him to set up the second part of his plan. The DA needed to get a jump start, after all without it, he never could have gotten Fleur to come live in the castle.
Harry arrived at breakfast roughly a few minutes after Hermione and Ron, who were hunched over the morning paper together, hissing angrily at each other. Harry sat on the other side of Neville.
"Any idea of what is driving those two crazy nice and properly" asked Harry to Neville as he started loading his plate with food.
"Yeah, the paper is saying that You Know Who defeated Harry last night, the whole country is in uproar" answered Neville absentmindedly
"That's insane, I would have called that duel last night a draw more than a defeat of either of us. But then again, Tom lives in his own world the bald bastard" dismissed Harry
Neville gasped "Harry, you're okay"
"For the most part, might have a screw or two loose in my head, but I'm in generally good health at the moment" joked Harry
"We thought you were dead" said Neville
"Neville, my chubby faced friend, if Voldy beheading me couldn't kill me, what makes you think that I'm going to simply roll over because the snake faced bastard wants me to?"
Neville genuinely looked confused by the rhetorical question, bless his soul. Harry decided to take pity on him and continued on to say, "We fought and it was a draw Nev, don't worry about me. I give it as good as anyone alive at the moment"
"I wish I could say the same" mumbled Neville
"Oh don't worry about that Neville, you'll find your place in the world much sooner than you think" said Harry before he gave his blond friend a soft clap on the back.
Dumbledore strolled into the Great Hall and him and Harry shared a brief set of eye contract before they shared a mutual nod of respect. Harry knew that he wasn't going to win this war fighting both Dumbledore and Tom. Dumbledore knew that he couldn't win this war without Harry in general, that was the entire reason that he was here.
The mail came in and Draco received the mail from his mom and his face grew bright red as whatever she used to verify her identity was not what Draco expected to read. Nevertheless, Draco looked over to the Gryffindor table and gave a small nod to Harry, showing that he was good to go with the plan.
It was near the end of breakfast when Dumbledore rose to his feet, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.
"Good morning, I hope that this fine morning, I myself have a bad back, slept on the wrong side of an angry spell" joked Dumbledore, getting scattered laughter from the students.
"Anyway, angry teenagers aside, due to the recent activity of the terrorist known as Voldemort *Mass Student flinching*, it has come to my attention that the standard Defense Against the Dark Arts is simply not enough. I cannot get the ministry to change what has to be taught, so Hogwarts is once again bringing back the dueling club as Professor Lockhart had three years ago"
The room filled with chattering at the news and Harry elbowed Neville, telling him to pay attention to the announcement.
"The leader of the club shall be the one who due to some technicalities, has the most experience fighting against Voldemort *One of the students from Ravenclaw fainted* and thus after some consideration, Harry Potter will be leading the club"
The Slytherins groaned and Harry rolled his eyes before he stood up and pointed his wand at their table, silencing the entire table before pointing his wand at his throat and amplifying his voice.
"Hello, yes it is I, Harry bleeping Potter. I know, aren't I supposed to be dead? The paper tends to get these things wrong, Tom aka Moldy Voldy couldn't get a confirmed kill on me if I stabbed myself in the heart.
Now, I know you're all wondering why would I sign up to teach y'all when generally you guys turn your back on me literally every chance you get, see last year for example. Still waiting on those apologizes guys, but the truth of the matter is simple, Voldemort is back and his death eaters don't care about hurting children. He's going to attack our trains, he's going to attack any pureblood families that don't join him.
My destiny is to defeat him, but I can't afford to protect every single one of you. You saw him invade the castle, he did not care that his follower's children where here. He would have razed this place to the ground and never blinked. I want to give you a chance to learn how to defend yourself in the real world. Take it or leave it"
With that Harry sat back down and went back to eating his fried egg sandwich.