Regarding Harry
by Tsujton
Disclaimer: Anything recognizable from the Harry Potter Universe belongs to J.K. Rowling et al. I make no profit (story of my life…).
Summary: Harry destroys the last Horcrux and defeats Voldemort – but in doing so, winds up back where he started the night he got his scar: with the mind of a fifteen month old – big baby!Harry. But the Death Eaters are out for revenge… Slightly slashy. Some abuse and violence, so rated: M
Chapter 1: The Forbidden Forest
Hermione was relatively certain that she was alive. Well, that was something, then – though, rather uncomfortable. She opened her eyes, blinked a few times to gain focus and slowly sat upright. The sun rising above the lake by where she sat afforded some light. Her head throbbed and her wand hand burned. No. That wasn't right. Her wand hand was burned. The pads of her fingers and the tip of her thumb were covered in angry blisters. Worse, her wand was gone. A low moan to her left startled Hermione and she leapt to her feet turning toward the sound in time to see Ginny pushing herself up from the ground stiffly.
"'Mione? Where's-Harry?" Ginny grabbed onto Hermione's offered hand for support and looked around in a daze. She froze and her grip on Hermione tightened. Harry. He was there. Flat on his back, face covered in blood, and the bloody basilisk tooth held loosely in his hand. Hermione started towards him and had to shake Ginny loose to move. Ginny was rooted to her spot, holding her breath.
Hermione's mind was racing. Harry, Harry! Please, don't be – "Harry?" She knelt beside him and gently touched his cheek. She could see the slow rise and fall of his chest under his grubby robes. "He's alive Ginny," she breathed out in a sigh.
Ginny started to sway and almost sank to her knees in relief. Instead, she shook her head and walked unsteadily to the pair. She knelt beside Harry and called to him several times. Harry did not respond to her and Ginny bit her quivering lower lip to steady herself.
"Ginny, we have to get him out of here," whispered Hermione. "Greyback or Bellatrix may –" but her voice caught in her throat and she couldn't finish her warning. She swallowed and asked dubiously, "Do you have your wand?" But Ginny's was gone, too, and Hermione knew Harry's was gone. She'd seen it… Hermione shook her head. NO. She would dwell on none of that now. Now they had to help Harry. "Hagrid's hut is closest. Help me lift him." Together the two young witches hoisted Harry by his armpits and ankles. "Try not to jostle him," grunted Hermione under the weight. The journey was slow and silent as the two listened and looked for any danger signs coming from the edges of the wood. They heard nothing aside from the slight rustling of their own robes and later their labored breathing as Harry's weight began to take its toll. Hermione soon found her mind wandering, unbidden, to the events that had led them here.
The decision to leave Hogwarts and join Harry in his search for the remaining four Horcruxes had been an easy one. Even so, Hermione was surprised at how her education – which had been paramount in her life for as long as she could remember – seemed utterly meaningless.
She and Ron had accompanied Harry to the Dursleys' for a fortnight's stay – and a most unpleasant stay it had been. Harry's aunt had been furious at the prospect of Harry's two "freakish" houseguests. Petunia Dursley sent her husband and son to stay with her sister-in-law, Marge, for the duration, once it was established that Hermione and Ron were of age and therefore allowed to use magic outside of school. Petunia's anger at their inconvenient arrival battled for dominance with her fear of their "strangeness," as she called it. Still, she set down some very stringent rules about what they could and could not do and where in the house they could and could not go. Also, they were not to leave the house for any reason whatsoever, or they would not be allowed re-admittance. Petunia Dursley would not have her neighbors tongue-wagging about any peculiarities.
Hermione was (begrudgingly) given the guest room. She could tell by the way Mrs. Dursley watched her unpack her clothes and set them in a drawer that the woman was already planning a thorough cleaning – and perhaps disinfecting – of the room once the trio left. However, most of their time was spent in Dudley's half-abandoned second bedroom, where Harry was allowed to stay after he had received his Hogwarts acceptance letter reproachfully addressed to him at "The Cupboard Under The Stairs." There was a hodgepodge of broken and unwanted objects scattered against the walls, and though Hermione had wanted to use magic to clean it up a bit, Harry stayed her hand, saying he didn't want to do his aunt any favors.
They spent the days planning their trip to Godric's Hollow and researching the Dark Arts to develop defenses. Professor Slughorn had been most helpful in procuring some confiscated books discovered at last at Malfoy Manor (Slughorn's connections with Ministry of Magic officials had come in most handy), and these contained a wealth of heretofore little known information.
It seemed like a far off tale that had happened to someone else, mused Hermione: the stay at the Dursleys', Bill and Fleur's wedding, and Godric's Hollow (Harry had naturally been more withdrawn than ever at the place where his parents' murder had taken place). Then came the months-long journey following clues to find the hidden Horcruxes.
As it turned out, Sirius Black's brother, Regulus A. Black – a Death Eater who saw the light too late, had indeed already destroyed the Slytherin locket that had once belonged to Tom Riddle's mother. Helga Hufflepuff's cup was well hidden in the mountains near Durmstrang Academy. Harry had made Hermione and Ron stay back at the last leg of that journey. He had emerged from the cave, crawling on skinned elbows and knees, the blackened cup clenched in his hands. He was quite weak and they had taken him back to the small cabin they had procured in Godric's Hollow. Harry had unequivocally refused to go to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, or even to see the Nurse, Madame Pomfrey, at the Hogwart's hospital wing, for he didn't want anyone to get wind of what they were doing. Without the magic of professional healers, it took Harry five weeks to get his strength back. He absolutely would not talk about what had happened.
It was finding Nagini, Voldemort's familiar, which proved the most difficult. Dumbledore had confided in Harry his belief that Nagini was one of the six Horcruxes that Voldemort had created to secure his immortality. Harry's ability to speak Parseltongue proved both invaluable and frustrating in tracking down the giant reptile. Many snakes with which Harry communicated claimed to have no knowledge of Nagini. Information from others proved to be misleading falsehoods, sending the trio on arduous treks that were completely fruitless. But they were at the mercy of the snakes. They couldn't afford not to follow every lead, no matter how dubious.
Yet, they had at last found and killed Nagini. And spent months after, vainly searching for clues about the last Horcrux. Hermione, Ron and Harry were back at Godric's Hollow. It was an unusually gray day in July, when Ron had just received an Owl telling him he would be an uncle: Bill and Fleur were expecting twins. The letter contained the usual postscript on anything sent to them from the Weasleys: "Says she's fine, hopes he is, too." This was about Ginny, of course, but at Harry's insistence any such information was not to be related to him. Hermione knew that Harry hated hurting Ginny. The realization that he loved Ginny – and that she loved him – had been both elating and devastating to him. He was adamant that Ginny would not be a part of the Horcrux hunt. He wanted Ginny safely away from the danger they were descending into. Harry had made it clear that the only way for him to resist Ginny's pleas (and insistence) to join them was to cut off all communication.
Harry had spent most of the week that followed Nagini's destruction peering into memories from the Pensieve he had inherited from Dumbledore. One bleak morning, he emerged stiffly from his room with an inscrutable expression on his face. He told Ron and Hermione to sit down and they did so stiffly. Hermione's heart was filled with a dread that only deepened as Harry spoke. He would only say that he was ready to confront Voldemort, that he had located the last Horcrux, and that it would be destroyed along with the Dark Lord. Hermione and Ron were both decidedly unsatisfied with Harry's cryptic words but he refused to elaborate.
"You have to trust me, 'Mione, Ron," and his grim determination brooked no further discussion.
"It looks deserted." Ginny's words pulled Hermione out of her reverie. They had, at last, arrived at their destination. Wordlessly, they set Harry down carefully. The door wasn't locked. Ginny pushed it open slowly and looked around. "Empty," she breathed in relief and realized her heart was pounding in her throat. She swallowed hard and hurried to Hagrid's enormous bed, pulling down the worn patchwork quilt, before returning to help Hermione with Harry. He hadn't made a sound or even stirred thus far. With some difficulty, owing to the bed's height, they lifted Harry onto the mattress and pulled the quilt over him.
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A/N: no beta work yet. This is my first upload of a fic, so I've got a long 'get the hang of it' journey ahead of me. Bear with?