Authors Note - This is my first stab at a fanfic so go easy on me. The jist of the story is this, everything in the orginal stories happened with exception of the snake being killed thus Harry did not kill Voldemort and the war raged on. Harry goes back in time to correct the errors he made but as Hermione pointed out in Prisoner of Azkaban terrible things can happen to people who medle in time. This is not like all the lovey dovey Harry-goes-back-in-time fics. Please read and review. Hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer - I do not own Harry Potter, he is the creation of the brilliant JK Rowling
Harry Potter and The Mistakes of the Past
Chapter 1 – The Scrolls of Time
Harry lay sobbing in the dark living room of the grotty flat he lived in, in London. It was over, the war was lost. His mind was going over and over the events of the last couple of years. His mind lingered in the grave yard of Little Hangleton were it had all begun. The death of Cedric Diggory was the start. The rise of Lord Voldemort. Harry wished so very hard he'd died that night. He wouldn't have had to cope with the grief and despair of the following ten years. But back then Harry, being nothing more than a boy was sure that good would prevail. But live wasn't a fairy tale, where the good knight would save the damsel in distress. Instead the wicked witch or in this case wizard, would destroy the world.
After Cedric of course was Sirius. Why did Sirius, a person so good have to die? Well Harry knew why, it was his fault. If he hadn't believed Voldemort's vision. If had just used the god damned mirror Sirius himself had given him, Sirius would be alive. This pained Harry so much, he'd had been unable to forgive himself, thus never really been able to grieve properly. The loss of Sirius remained an open wound, probably never likely to heal. Next was Dumbledore, the man Harry had been sure would live forever. He'd always imagined that he would conquer death simply by being good. Harry remembered that day very clearly. Being at the top of the Astronomy tower. Malfoy the little rat, staring at Dumbledore threatening to kill him. Like he ever had the balls. Then Snape turned up. Of course Harry knew now that it was all arranged between Snape and Dumbledore. But at the time he was sure that Snape was showing his true colours, and would liked nothing better than to have killed him. Harry mused that that was truly the night he lost everything.
The following year would produce a long list of fallen friends. He lost Hedwig early on, followed by 'Mad Eye' Moody. Granted neither affected him as much as Sirius or Dumbledore, they reinforced the belief that the war was worthy. And then almost as though to reinforce the point, that anyone who help's Harry Potter had to die, Ted Tonks is killed. Ok Harry had only known him for a little while, but he had helped Harry after being attacked by Voldemort. Then one of the killings that affected Harry very badly was Dobby the House Elf. Who had saved Harry's neck on more than one occasion. The rescue from Malfoy Manor was brilliant. The little elf had saved seven people. Selflessly sacrificing himself for others. His grave remains at Shell Cottage. Well the garden of what was Shell Cottage anyways. Then the battle at Hogwarts commenced and more deaths occurred. Fred Weasley, Remus Lupin, Tonks and Colin Creevey were among the most prominent. Not to mention the other fifty or so other victims of Voldemort and his death eaters. Angelina Johnson, Ernie McMillan, Cho Chang, Lavender Brown, Professor Filtwick, Fienze and Justin Finch-Fletchley, he found out later were also among the dead. The battle rained all night, and come dawn Harry had failed in his mission. Snape also died that night and yielded Harry a memory which was telling but even so, he failed. The piece of Horocrux that was in Harry was now destroyed. But the snake remained.
The war raged on. A year later, more battles produced more deaths. This time it was Professor McGonagall and Bill Weasley. A battle erupted in Diagon Alley, Lucius Malfoy, Draco Malfoy, Yaxley and McNair engaged in a duel with a number of the order. Harry was not present. Percy Weasley killed Yaxley, Draco killed Bill, Neville Longbottom downed McNair and Lucius killed McGonagall before fleeing as more order members arrived. Three months on, Fleur Delacour-Weasley give birth to a son and named him William after his father. However the boy was never destined to grow. Because whilst acting on a tip off Voldemort attacked the burrow. He believed Harry was staying there. However Harry was staying with the newly-weds Ron and Hermione Weasley. Voldemort and a group of death eaters attacked and destroyed the Burrow along with the occupants. Who were Mr and Mrs Weasley, Ginny, Fleur, William and Percy. Charlie was away on a mission for the order. George was at the shop in Diagon Alley. This was the hardest funeral of them all. The Weasley's were his family.
But the last three remaining Weasley Men were soon to join their family. Five years passed. The war was still raging. The order was still fighting although with limited numbers now. Harry had taken leadership. The Death eater attacked Hogwarts again. It was a bloodbath. Hagrid was the first to fall. Harry was duelling with Voldemort in the entrance hall unaware what was happening in the Great Hall. Professor Spout (the headmistress of Hogwarts) died next at the hands of Draco Malfoy. Charlie was fighting a hooded Death eater when he was killed from behind by Goyle. George followed when a large chunk of the ceiling collapsed onto him. Ron who'd seen what happened ran to help his brother only to be hit by a stray curse. He fell on top of his bothers body. Dennis Creevey who joined the Order as soon as he was old enough (no doubt to revenge his brother) also died although no-one knew how.
And then just yesterday, he lost the remainder of his friends and those he called family. At the tenth birthday party of his godson Teddy Lupin, another attack. Hermione was also present with her and Ron's two children; Chloe and Robin. Luna Lovegood was also present. And a handful of other people who were relatives of Teddy were also in attendance. It was chaos. Teddy's grandmothers house was ripped apart. Harry, Hermione and Luna tried to fend of the attacking death eaters to no pre veil. Harry was duelling in the garden when the house exploded. The house was a smouldering pile of rubble. It was impossible to even believe that anyone survived. He managed to apperate away before he too was killed. Ever since he'd been sobbing on his moth eaten sofa.
Hours later Harry fell silent, he'd sobbed himself to sleep. He'd only been asleep for perhaps an hour before he jerked awake by a noise outside. He hurried to the window to see that it was just a cat that had knocked over a bin in the lane below his flat. Harry went to the dresser at the back of the room and took out a bottle of Firewhiskey. He poured himself a large glass and downed it in one. Harry went back to the sofa he'd been lying on and sat down. As he did, a large scroll of parchment that was on the coffee table caught his eye.
Harry had found the scroll two weeks earlier. He'd been on a mission for the order, what was left of it; he was attempting to get information on the whereabouts' of Voldemort who had taken to step back from the fighting. He hadn't been seen for some months. Harry who of course needed to get to the snake and then finish of Voldemort had been searching for weeks. He found himself in Finland; the last known place that Voldemort had been. He was in the wild country side when under the disguise of Polyjuice potion he entered a grubby looking inn to get some food. He met a Finnish Wizard, who had apparently sensed Harry's magical presence. He sat down opposite Harry and had been fairly forthcoming.
"You boy, you're a wizard, aren't you?" he muttered in a strong finish accent but pronounced the words in English without flaw. Harry gulped down the piece of stake he was eating and looked at the man. Harry studied him for a minute and felt it was ok to answer truthfully.
"Yeah I am" He answered.
"English? Hogwart's taught I suppose." It wasn't a question but a statement.
"Yes, I am sorry, who are you?" asked Harry.
"I am Miko, you are?" he replied
"I…I am Vernon Dudley." Replied Harry. He'd been using this alias for a couple of years. He'd become used to using this name when he was in cogneto.
"Dudley? Hmm…you muggle born?" Asked the old man frowning.
"Nope, half blood. Both parents were witch and wizard though" explained Harry. The man went silent and allowed Harry to finish eating.
After Harry had finished eating. The man spoke again. Harry assumed he was trying to figure Harry out to ensure he wasn't a Death Eater or someone untrustworthy. Evidently the man believed he could trust him. They talked for a long time, so long in fact Harry had excused himself to go to the bathroom to take some more Polyjuice Potion. Soon after they were discussing different branches of magic.
"Have you ever heard of Elder Magic Vernon?" Asked Miko.
"Is that related to the Elder Wand?" asked Harry causally.
The man laughed wildly. He looked at Harry who smiled weakly.
"Fairy tales? No. Elder Wand HA!" he laughed some more. "No Vernon it has nothing to do with the Elder Wand. Elder magic was studied by old Finnish Wizards. They were really powerful, could do amazing things. I've been studying it for years. Just thought you might want a look at some of the writing. It's really interesting stuff."
Harry stared, they didn't know each other yet the man wanted to give him something that obviously meant a lot to him.
"Er..mmm.. I don't know." Mumbled Harry
"Why not? I don't normally meet wizards, this being a muggle village. I recognised you as a wizard straight off. I don't get much chance to discuss magical theory." Explained the man.
"Hmm, Miko are you not worried about the muggles over hearing?" asked Harry quietly. He had noticed a couple of woman and at another table close by listening intently. Miko laughed again.
"Oh lord no! They don't speak English do they? I thought you knew that given you were smart enough to use the translator charm on yourself."
"Oh I see, so how do you…" started Harry.
"….speak English?" finished Miko "I lived in England for a while. I am keen to learn about the education of Wizards and visit different countries to find out. Hogwarts was an absolute delight. Amazing castle. I loved teaching there."
"You taught at Hogwarts?" asked Harry awed.
"Yep, only lasted a year though. I taught…" started Miko
"…Defence Against the Dark Arts" finished Harry.
"Yep, they say the job is cursed. I don't know if that is true. My visa was up and I had to leave England. That was about 20 years ago now."
"So you're a teacher. Have you taught anywhere else?" asked Harry.
"I filled in at an American School; East Wick Institute of Magical Learning. Perhaps you have heard of it?" Miko paused, Harry shock his head. "It's in Florida, too hot for me. I didn't stay long, two years at that post."
"What did you teach there?" asked Harry.
"Metamorphing, you'd call it Transfiguration." Explained Miko.
"So your multi skilled" smiled Harry.
"Come now Vernon, I am sure you can perform defensive spells as well as transfigure things. Doesn't make me special." Laughed Miko.
"Fair point." Muttered Harry feeling slightly silly.
"Then I worked at the Finnish School here. But the last 5 years I have been a student studying the art of Elder Magic." Said Miko.
"So what is it then?" asked Harry
"It is a very diverse branch of magic. It takes a strong mind to master and can go horribly wrong. You ever heard of Dragon Magic?"
"Yeah of course, but not many people study that now though do they. Isn't it dangerous and draining of magical power?" said Harry looking puzzled.
"Yes it is and Elder Magic is similar. Finnish Wizard's 100's of years ago developed the method. They were monks. They believed the path to god was though the Elder teaching. They believed that the teaching of the magic were in the bible. Of course many Wizard's don't believe in the concept of God. Muggle born's mostly are the only ones who do. Well the monks started preaching to the Wizards and Witches of the time, course they weren't buying it. But when Rinock; the Elder monk, managed to fly simply by the power of his mind, people sat up and were at least willing to hear what he had to say. There were still some who were sceptical of course. Rinock kept performing for the locals. It eventually ended in his death as the monks felt the 'commoners' were not worthy of seeing such magic. If they refused to believe then they were un worthy."
"Sounds like Slytherin saying that Muggle Born wizards are not worthy of magical education." Interjected Harry.
"Yes it does. The spells are very complicated, well I say spells but they are more like rituals. Everything has to be perfect. For example for some things you will need to do at 3:26 on the morning of a full moon and combine it with a potion that has brewed for 6 days 6 hours."
"What is that spell for?" asked Harry eagerly.
"That particular one is a fertility ritual, it is said in the text that any woman who had trouble conceiving who carried out the ritual would become pregnant 3 days later. If it is true I don't know" sighed Miko.
"Do you believe it?" asked Harry
"A lot is unbelievable, but then thousands of muggles believe in a God they have no physical proof of. Never underestimate the powers of the beliefs of others. Whilst studying I have found some of the magic has worked, some I have had trouble with. Like flying unaided like Rinock apparently did." Explained Miko. Harry couldn't help but notice that the man seemed very unsure of what he was saying.
"Hang on, flying unaided I have seen someone doing that" said Harry suddenly remembering something that happened 10 years earlier.
"You have?" asked Miko in amazement.
"Yeah, You-Know-Who!" exclaimed Harry. He couldn't say Voldemort's name as it was still taboo. His Death Eaters would know where he is.
"You saw him do it?" asked Miko his eyebrows raised.
"Yes, he was perusing Harry Potter." Harry paused "Potter was on a broom and You-Know-Who followed unaided."
"Fascinating. I guess he didn't catch Potter"
"No, he got away."
"He is an interesting boy. Would love to meet him. I would think a boy with his talents could master Elder Magic."
"Could I see some of the writings?" asked Harry, he didn't know why he was interested but he was. Possibly because he wanted to know if Voldemort could be using this branch of magic.
"Thought you'd never ask. I have a new scroll here which I only just acquired." Explained Miko.
"Really? What is it?" asked Harry
"They are called the Scrolls of Time. Legend has it that they will allow you to control time. The ability to move backward and forward at will." He pulled a large scroll out of his cloak and handed it to Harry. Harry looked from the scrolls to the man, who was watching him closely. The man was staring Harry in to eyes, Harry felt a sudden familiar feeling that he was being x-rayed. Harry stared back and said nothing. A couple of minutes later Miko looked away. Harry continued to stare for a couple of seconds and then he peeled his eyes away and examined the scrolls. It was large, he unrolled the first foot or so of the scroll. There were diagrams of a man who appeared to be changing, it reminded Harry of the pictures in Moste Potent Potions that depicted the changes made by polyjuice potion. Before Harry had a chance to read any of the writing or say anything, the man named Miko raised from his seat and turned to leave.
"Hey wait, your scroll" Harry called to him. The man stopped and turned back towards Harry. He stepped forward towards the table and bend down and said so only Harry could hear him.
"You keep it, I am sure you'll find a use for it Mr. Potter"
"What…how?" stammered Harry. He looked down at his hand it was still black, as was the young man who's hair he'd used for the potion.
"I know; which is enough" he answered simply and walked out of the inn. Harry who had paid for his food when he ordered, hurried after the man. By the time Harry reached the open air he had disappeared.
Harry was due at Hermione's house the following day. Slightly spooked by what had happened he decided to go that night instead. He headed down a back alley and apperated to a country lane just out side of London. He walked up the lane towards the small house at the end. He saw that despite the late of the hour there was a light on in the house. He walked to the door and knocked. Hermione's voice came from behind the door.
"Who's there?"
"It's me, Harry" He answered.
Hermione opened the door a crack and looked at him. She looked him up and down, frowning. Harry realized he was still under the polyjuice potion.
"I am, I have used polyjuice potion." He explained.
"How did Harry and myself become friends?" she asked.
"Ronald Bilius Weasley and myself Harry James Potter, saved you from a mountain troll from a bathroom in Hogwarts School. The troll had been let in by Professor Quirrell. Satisfied?" replied Harry.
Hermione threw the door open and allowed him in.
"I am sorry, you give me a start and you well of course don't look like yourself." She said hugging him. "Why are you early? Did something happen? Did you find him?"
Harry paused to take the antidote for the Polyjuice Potion he shuddered as he felt himself change back.
"No I didn't, but something did…" started Harry but was interrupted by a voice coming from the stairs.
"Mummy" said the five year old Robin Weasley.
Harry looked at the stairs and saw a tiny replica of Ron. Robin was his father's exact double.
"Sweetie, you should be in bed it is late." Hermione said scooping her son up into her arms.
"I heard something, outside." Said Robin sleepily.
"Sorry sport that was me." Answered Harry before Hermione could say anything. The boy looked around and face lit up at the sight of his Godfather.
"Uncle Harry!" He squealed joyfully.
"How you doing little guy?"
"OK, I missed you."
"Missed you too. How about you be a good boy for your mummy and go back to sleep." Said Harry.
"OK, will you be here tomorrow?"
"Yes I promise"
"Can we play quiddich?"
"We'll see, now go to bed"
Hermione took the boy back to his bed and returned to the living room about 5 minutes later.
"Sorry about that" said Hermione.
"Don't worry. How's Chloe doing?" Harry was referring to Hermione's six year old daughter, who had taken the death of her father the year before really hard.
"She is slowly coming around. She'll be pleased to see you though" explained Hermione.
"Well I am here for the three of you, I am not going anywhere" said Harry
"Thanks Harry. Anyways you said something happened"
Harry explained about the strange meeting Miko. Unsurprising Hermione had heard of Elder magic. Harry got the scroll out of his bag and showed it too her.
"And he know it was you even though you'd used the potion?" she asked.
"Yeah that was the weird thing. It was almost as thought he was waiting for me."
"Strange"
They spent the next couple of days going though the scrolls. They appeared just to contain spells that Hermione was very sceptical of. She didn't believe that anyone can control time without a time turner. Privately Harry disagreed. He kept think of what Miko said about flying unaided. Voldemort had done it, so was completely impossible to think that these spells could work too?