Disclaimer: everything belongs to JK Rowling
I love time travel stories but I hate the ones where Harry goes back to first year for some reason, he can't do anything then without arousing suspision x) So I've decided to try one where he can't prevent the war completely (wheres the action in that?) but can change its course for the better.
Chapter 1: Back Again
The first thing he noticed was the pain, worse than the cruciatus curse, worse than anything he'd ever felt before. He couldn't even open his eyes, a blinding light searing into his pupils, and then it was gone.
Breathing heavily, Harry looked around, everything was blurry, but it might just have worked, grasping for his glasses he shoved them hastily onto his face. Looking round, the room was small, the window allowing some light from the nearby streetlamp to filter in and cast huge shadows across the floor. Almost painfully slowly, his eyes adjusted to the light, it had worked, he was back at Privet Drive, for once he was happy, the only time he would ever be glad to see this room again.
Clothes littered the floor, and stacks of old school books lay in a corner, one side of the room was devoted to the storage of old broken toys, Dudley's uncared and undeserved birthday presents. Looking at his hands, the scar was gone, if they'd got the equations right, he would have to avoid detention with Umbridge. Carving 'I must not tell lies' into his hand was not appealing, hopefully he'd keep his temper this time round, knowing that the truth would come out, one way or another.
And Gin, he hoped she'd made it back alright too, there was no way to tell, he couldn't suddenly start owling her, that would raise more than a few eyebrows. It would be hard to hide their relationship, they'd have to act, a lot. Slowly appear to grow closer together. Hopefully he'd be able to meet with her in the house when he was supposedly 'grieving' over Cedric's death. In fact, his acting skills were really going to be put to the test, Sirius would be alive, so would Tonks and Remus and Fred and Ron and Hermione, so would half the people he knew who died in the battle of Hogwarts, he couldn't just rush up to them and hug them for dear life. Heck, half the order was dead, but now, most of the order didn't even know him. Well, apart from the ones on 'Harry Duty' anyway.
Looking round his room, he couldn't help the tears which collected in the edge of his vision, he could fix it, he could save so many more, the war didn't have to go as it had. He'd go to Hogwarts and destroy the horcrux there; he'd destroy the locket as well, go to the department of mysteries at Christmas and kill Nagini before she could even bite Mr Weasley. And destroy the prophesy, he knew it, Voldemort couldn't be allowed to hear it, Sirius would not die because of Dumbledore's mistakes… and his own rash actions.
Getting up of his thin, lumpy mattress, Harry started to rummage through his trunk, he had to check he'd made it to the right year, turning up at the beginning of third year or something wasn't something he could afford. Ginny and he had discussed the year they would return to, first year seemed a bit pointless, and Gin's first year had to stay, it was a horrible ordeal, but it had defined her character, made her so much stronger, they couldn't risk messing something like destroying the diary up either. Not to mention it would be hard to explain why he suddenly started training before Voldemort's resurrection, and they'd have the whole year to learn occlumency, Dumbledore believed he could be possessed at any moment, so never looked in his eyes, he just had to be careful of Snape, he couldn't risk that git finding out what they'd done, what they knew. He'd be glad to have his old mentor back, but even so, he doubted he would ever see Dumbledore in the same light again. The old man had kept too many secrets, been too manipulative, he'd love to enlist his help, but he didn't want to risk Dumbledore messing about, they'd have to keep him out of what they were doing for the most part. Hell, he couldn't walk up to Dumbledore having worked out one of the greatest secrets of the Dark Lord, he'd probably think he'd turned to the dark arts, horcruxes isn't a topic you stumbled across, you had to search, really search, it was too much to explain without getting caught or exiled.
Pulling out his old school books, he was relieved to see they were the old forth year books, they had made it back to the correct point in the timeline, well, he had anyway, he hoped Ginny made it back as well, she gave him strength to carry on, to live. Being without the Ginny he knew would be almost unbearable.
Sighing, he turned to look at his clock, it wasn't far past 5am, but no one had barged into the room, no one screaming about a blinding light, and his screams, well, his nightmares had always been an issue. It hadn't been the first time he was woken by his uncle thundering at the door because he woke up screaming. His nightmare where so real, he had more now, nightmares of events which hadn't even occurred, hopefully he wouldn't talk in his sleep anymore, he had a bit, not often, but he muttered the names of the dead in his sleep. Screamed them sometimes, at least Ginny wasn't dead, he'd be hard pressed to explain to Ron why he was yelling her name in his sleep, sharing a room with him, Ron's snoring meant most of his dorm mates never woke to his nightmares. Neville had woken twice at Hogwarts, but the quiet boy was more understanding than most. He'd have to include Neville more, he had been killed trying to destroy Nagini, the last Horcrux of the battle of Hogwarts. That was another thing, he wanted to start the DA up again, the skills he taught them would help them in the war, it probably saved more than just a few lives during the battles, before everyone was forced to flee, before he watched Hermione and Ron perish in the findefire unleashed by Voldemort. Wiping the moisture from his eyes, he sank down into the old chair by his desk. Hedwig was out, either hunting or delivering letters. He didn't know the date, with his luck, he'd probably have the whole month before the order came to rescue him, but now he had time, he had stuff to do. His mail was probably being monitored, and he was being followed when he went outside, moving about would be difficult, but he wanted to train, he had been lucky he hadn't had to duel many death eaters, he could duel quite well for someone his age, but he still couldn't match up to most people.
Ginny and he would have to train themselves, learn to duel, learn to brew healing potions, anything and everything which could help. They even toyed with the idea of becoming an animangus, if he could get books on the subject they would try, the year of hunting for food had made him appreciate just how useful something like that could be, not to mention it would give him a chance to run or fly or hide, maybe fight. It would take a lot of effort, but it would be a huge achievement and help give them an edge. Deciding how much to involve Ron and Hermione was another thing, they couldn't decide what to tell them, but Hermione always ran to a figure of authority, and that was going to prove to be a big issue should they tell her anything, not to mention someone could just read her mind. And Ron, he always meant well, but in the heat of an argument he always yelled the most inappropriate things, for all of Gryffindor Tower to hear, and he had no mind shields either. He and Gin had got better at Occlumency, their shields were weak, but enough to prevent passive legimency, they'd practiced legimency on each other, and learned so much more about each other that they ever thought possible in the process. She knew how the Dursleys treated him, she knew what his old bedroom was like, she knew, and strange as it was, that fact was unexpectedly comforting. They had few secrets.
After Ron and Hermione died, he and Gin had run off together, that was before they had a chance to kill the snake, now Tom was even more protective of it. Hogwarts had all but been destroyed, if he died Voldemort won, it had to be Harry who killed him, it couldn't be anyone else. How he was supposed to achieve that task was beyond him. But while he had time he would enjoy every last minute of it. He'd always wanted to become an auror, start a family and enjoy life, but that was something he was destined never to have, he had to kill or be killed by a prophesy made before he was even born. He had no child hood, he had nothing but Ginny and the Weasleys, Ginny was his future, if he could survive to live past the finale battle.
Pulling a piece of fresh parchment toward himself and picking up one of his many quills scattered about the floor Harry started to write. It was best not to write a plan down, but he couldn't plan like Hermione, if he didn't write it down he'd miss something, most likely a very important fact too. He had a lot of stuff he wanted to buy.
First he wanted decent clothes, stuff which would actually fit him, buying both magical and muggle clothes so he could blend in no matter where he was. A wand holster would be an invaluable asset as well, and save him vital seconds when trying to remove his wand from his back pocket, not exactly the best place to keep it. He also wanted a magical trunk, one he could store large amounts of items, Moody owned one, his had an actual room in it which you could stay in, if he could afford to purchase one with rooms he would, get one for Ginny as well. Large numbers of books was another thing, Hermione was obsessed with books, but he could see her point, still learning the textbook of by heart was a touch too extreme. He just wanted to focus on topics which would benefit him. A magical tent was another item he needed, although it wasn't needed immediately, the one they used was fine, but a bigger one wouldn't hurt, one with lots of rooms and space, if anything, the smallest luxury was something he would never take for granted. He also wanted an owl, he would never replace Hedwig while she was still alive, but she was too recognisable, the owl would be a birthday present to Ginny, that would be hard to explain, but hopefully Ginny would understand and keep the owl. Potions supplies was another thing, he wasn't bad a potions, his OWLs proved that, well, would anyway, but it was the only thing he could practice without magic, and for the time being it would have to do.
The most important thing he wanted to purchase was a second wand, he had been practically defenceless when his broke, he may not be able to find a wand which suited him as well as his phoenix one, but having a second one, just in case, would no doubt be money well spent. He'd have to get Ginny two wands, she was still using her grandmothers, it worked for her, but having to use one of the death eaters wands 'last year' had been frustrating. No doubt it would be a big improvement for her.
Running his hand through his hair, getting out to buy half this stuff would be difficult, not to mention he'd need to bring Ginny on one of the trips. And then he would have to do something about both there appearances, he couldn't perform a glamour charm now, not here, not to mention he was far to recognisable, Diagon Alley would be its old self, no buildings destroyed, no one forced to beg just to survive, the crowds would be back. The chance of running into an order member was too great, not to mention the Daily Prophet was printing he was a delusional brat, he couldn't walk into the alley and buy all those items without raising suspicion.
He could go to muggle areas though, wizards tended to keep to themselves; he could go shopping easily, just had to sneak past the guard with his invisibility cloak and to the local train station. Getting money to buy anything was the problem, visit Gringotts early morning when they just opened to miss the crowds, use his invisibility cloak, the goblins kept their dealings to themselves, so it was safe to assume he could manage. Not exactly like he had much of a choice, he needed to buy food as well, not much, but enough to stop him losing too much weight due to the Dursleys starvation attempts. However, writing down a plan on how to slip by the guards was not something he was stupid enough to do.
After being on the run for over a year, sneaking around became second nature to him, he couldn't cast a silencing charm on his feet, but he would manage. At least Moody was never put on his guard, which would have caused problems, however the paranoid auror was used for more serious missions, keeping a teenager inside some wards was not something he'd do. Dumbledore may have claimed it was for his protection from Death Eaters, but one guard wouldn't stand a chance if they made it through the wards, even so, he couldn't help but groan at how gullible he'd been in the past, now future, he was being kept in. Dumbledore had never trusted him completely, he meant well, but failed to see the effect he had on the people involved in his manipulations. He knew everything now, but it didn't make things any easier, the last time he'd seen Dumbledore was at the funeral, the day he 'broke up' with Ginny, one of the worst decisions he had ever come to make. He had good reasons, good intensions, but they didn't stop Voldemort; they never would, and separating from her, even when he had Ron and Hermione, had almost killed him.
The loss of his two closest friends had been a huge blow, when Voldemort found out what they were doing, Ginny wouldn't let go of him, he'd been in a daze, but they'd run, he apparated her back to the Forest of Dean. Back then they didn't even have a tent, the pink bag destroyed, along with most of his most precious belongings, it rained that day, he just clung to her, like a lifeline. That was when things got really bad, when they started researching time travel. Eventually Voldemort split his soul again, repeatedly, he was far beyond human, and they couldn't stop him, he hid more, put them where they could never retrieve them.
Resting his head on the desk, he fell into a fitful slumber, his body tired and hungry, but he couldn't do anything until he found what date it was. No doubt his uncle would not take kindly to him leaving the house without completing his chores, but as long as he wasn't locked in the room again he'd manage. They did allow him some freedom, and his chores had decreased when they found out who his Godfather was, once he was finished he could walk to the park, wonder the streets, as long as he was back before Dudley. Not difficult really, Dudley always came back drunk now, out with his gang, but off course, not ruining his 'diet'. If he ever came back in that state, he would be thrown out. His Aunt turned a blind eye, her Didlikins could do no wrong, biggest case of denial he'd ever witnessed, Dudley was always just a little tired.
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Beep, beep, beep, beep…
Lifting his head he turned to stare at the alarm clock, it wasn't far past 8 in the morning, at least he didn't have to cook breakfast anymore, but a small piece of grapefruit because of Dudley's diet wasn't terribly appealing either. Craning his neck, falling asleep in that position hadn't done anything for his muscles, reaching out he switched the clock off, he'd need to start getting up even earlier if he wished to achieve his plan, there were still a lot of kinks to work out though. The order members' probably didn't expect him to plan an escape and return, but explaining how he got all the new clothes would be difficult, and he needed to go to Diagon Alley in disguise.
Another thing Harry wanted to change was his glasses, he was virtually blind when they were removed, broken or covered in god knows what. Muggle contacts would do for the holiday until he could go to Diagon Alley and get magical ones. Besides, his old glasses hadn't been made specifically for him, they just magnified everything, and anything which could help him in a duel was vital.
He wanted to fight this time round, not just run, the order fell apart after the death of Dumbledore, but even now, when he was alive, they didn't fight. Just guard and attempt to prevent Voldemort from gaining too many allies, they knew the names of most death eaters because of Snape, but never made any attempt to stop them. When Diagon Alley was attacked they reacted, but not many fought. When the ministry was infiltrated they watched, sure you couldn't always tell who was under the imperius, but there were signs. The fact that Azkaban came under his control didn't help; those who were caught were thrown in there, only to leave not long after, for the wizarding world who prized themselves of being above muggles, they had major problems. Problems the muggle governments would not be stupid enough to ignore or overlook.
He could hardly open a jail though, but sending caught Death Eaters to other wizarding governments would be an improvement, like France or Spain. Voldemort based himself in Britain, and although he gathered followers from all over the world, his main influence was Britain. Harry wanted to put up some resistance, organise counter attacks, they would be enough to slow him down, not stop him, but it would reduce the death toll. Too many muggles and wizards died simply because they were in the way. However, discovering the Dark Lords plots beforehand was no easy feat, spies would be needed. Snape may have been cold and infuriating, but his life held no joy, he shielded Harry with his life, and despite their differences he'd come to respect him, well, his memory at the time. Keeping the same open minded view of Snape was not going to be easy, but no one should have been forced into that position, Snapes life suffered at the hands of Dumbledore's and Voldemort's manipulations, almost as much as his had. Snape made one wrong decision and was trapped.
Giving a mental shake, Harry forced himself to his feet and headed down for his pitiful breakfast, he ate better when they were on the run.
Walking into the kitchen he sat at his usual position, breakfast sitting out as he entered, receiving a glare from his Aunt, some things never change, at least he knew noting useful was in the paper this time round. Slowly spooning the sour fruit into his mouth he squinted at the paper, he could just make out the date, 7th of July printed next to a headline proclaiming another celebrity who had fallen foul of a drink addiction. I have three weeks to sort everything out without Dumbledores watchful eye. Harry could leave Hogwarts by apparation, but until he got a wand without a trace it wasn't an option, Fudge would have a field day should he find out what he was up to.
Placing his dishes in the sink he picked up the list of chores he had for the day and wandered back upstairs. Looking at the neat script of his Aunt, hopefully the stuff wouldn't take too long.
Paint the garden bench
Weed the garden
Wash the car
Do the laundry
Hoover the living room, dinning room and bedrooms
Great, he was stuck doing the same tasks as the first time round, at least it wouldn't take too long to complete, why his Aunt insisted he weed and vacuum everyday was ridiculous. At least she wouldn't notice should he miss the odd one, Aunt Petunia spent to much time gossiping and spying on the neighbours to pay him any heed. Muttering under his breath, he might as well get started.
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Sitting on the swing, it was not far past 2 o'clock when he finished all his chores, at least at the park there was shade. The heat wave was back in full force, the stifling heat making him slightly lightheaded. The park was reasonably empty, too warm for the normal hoards of kids to run about for any length of time, the only thing he really wanted was a drink, and a half decent meal. Lunch consisted of a cheese sandwich and a glass of water, not exactly filling or appetising, but he was brought up never to be fussy with food. There was a local shop just round the corner, it wasn't going to sell meals, but the basics were there, breakfast items and breads, along with plenty of junk food.
Scanning the surrounding area, he had no money on hand so until tomorrow, when he left to put the first part of his plan into motion, he could do nothing. The immediate area did appear to be empty, no point straining his ears either; his 'guard' would have placed a silencing charm on their feet. He suspected it was Tonks shift just now as something bashed off the slide 5 mintes earlier, he really couldn't believe how he missed the signs the first time round, just walking to the park someone invisible fell on a hedge in front of him. Of course, he kept his head down, no point letting them know he was on to them; closer scrutiny was the last thing he needed now. Come seven in the morning he was off to Diagon Alley.
That night, Harry set his alarm clock for 6:30AM, he wasn't a morning person, but he wanted to start getting up early to go running soon. Getting in better shape would be a big help when duelling. Focusing on clearing his mind before collapsing asleep, time to start raising his shields.
A/N: Well this is my second fanfiction, I always like time travel fics x) anyway, don't bother asking me how they travelled back in time, frankly I plain don't know. Something to do with runes and time turners sounds plausible enough for me. I'm thinking of writing an alternative dimension fanfic but I always struggle to keep going with a story, to tempting to ignore the plot I've set out for myself and go off in some tangent.
I've done my best with spelling and grammar but there may still be some mistakes, especially when it comes to spells and wizarding things, I've double checked all of them but I may have missed the odd one.