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CH1
Second Time Through
Harry sat upright in bed luckily the pain in his scar dulled quickly. He checked the date and time it was 2:00am on June 7, 1994, before tying back down to think about this new development.
He had only been back in his dorm room an hour since leaving Ron and his dog bite in the hospital wing for the night. Harry did have to chuckle. Snuffles did not do that much damage but boy was Ron playing it up for Hermione and she had eaten it up. Coming back this way was going to make him change his plans. It saddened Harry to know that even with this new development and his changing things as himself and not helping his younger self behind the scenes; he still would not get the girl.
Harry shook his head to clear it of those kinds of thoughts before jumping out of bed grabbing his cloak. He would have to sneak to the Owlery to send Hedwig to Padfoot with a note not to leave. Then talk Dobby into going to Gringotts before his talk in the morning with Moony about his tutoring him over the summer, Harry only had one year to get things right so they don't repeat, he can't let so many good people die again, so he didn't have time to waist.
ooOoo
Harry felt Hermione sit beside him at the Gryffindor table. "Good morning Harry." She said cheerfully but tiredly.
"You should have stayed in bed longer, been to see Ron?" Harry asked not looking up from his plate.
That took Hermione aback for a moment, Harry sounded a little gruff to her, but she relaxed when she realized he would be very tired also.
"Yes, He'll be let out after breakfast."
Hermione thought she heard him sigh. "Ok, can we talk after you finish." he motioned to her plate, but had not looked at her.
Hermione looked around; the hall was starting to fill, Harry must want to privately with her. "Of course Harry." She answered touching his arm but he tensed taking a deep breath as he did. Harry had always been a little hesitant of touching but nothing like that, even in first year, something was wrong. Sirius having been caught was her first thought, even after all they had done, so she finished her breakfast fast, not Ron fast but fast and was ready to go.
Harry led her to an empty stretch of hallway and turned to her. "I want to say thank you for your help last night, Sirius would be dead now if it wasn't for you."
Hermione smiled. "Oh Harry your welcome."
Harry smiled back but then turned serious. "I know this is the only time I'm going to be able to do this, and don't worry, Ron will figure out you feel the same way, you may have to push to get him to see it though, unless you want him to take till your seventh year to do it on his own." Hermione was confused about what Harry talking about but those thoughts died in her head when Harry bent slightly and kissed her. He did not deepen the kiss but held it for a count of five before he turned a walked away. Hermione did not even realize he was gone until her brain rebooted and then she did not see him again, until the train five days later, no one did.
ooOoo
It had been five days and Hermione was worried as she looked through each compartment window. She was almost through the whole train and still had not found Harry when she finally spotted him. Throwing open the door she stormed in intent on telling what she thought of his disappearing act when she realized he was not alone, a small blond haired girl was sitting across from him reading a paper, strangely enough upside down. Shaking her head to clear the odd sight she turned back to Harry, "Where have you been? You haven't been to the Great Hall and Ron said you haven't been too bed."
"Where is Ron?"
"In our compartment," Hermione caught Harry's flinch as she said "our" but continued. ", at the other end of the train."
Harry nodded even as he pulled his wand and flicked it at the open door, closing, locking it and drawing the shades down and another flick did something else, but Hermione was not sure what it was. Harry smiled at her confused but interested look. "I silenced the compartment and added a notice-me-not charm to the door so we wouldn't be bothered, while you blow up at me. I am prepared to take whatever you have to say to me Hermione, but remember we are not alone, this is Luna's compartment, Oh Hermione this is Luna Lovegood, she's in Ginny's year, we just met but I believe she has the top marks in her year, I asked to share her compartment." Harry turned to the little Blond girl. "Luna this is Hermione Granger my best friend, I trust her with my life and I hope she feels the same. I hope to be able to call you a friend once you get to know me?" Luna smiled but said nothing as she turned to Hermione expectantly.
Hermione looked at both their expectant faces confused. "What?"
"You were going to yell and scream at Harry." Luna said in a matter of fact way.
Hermione gulped but turned to Harry. "Why did you disappear, what was that kiss, are you mad at me?"
"You have done nothing for me to be mad at, the kiss was because I have always wanted to and I understand you will never allow me to do it again, and certainly Ron never would, did you tell him how you feel by the way? He'll take years to figure it out on his own if you don't, believe me I know." Harry grinned mischievously as a thought came to mind. "You know at first I hoped you wouldn't tell him that I kissed you but now I think you might want to. If you tell him I kissed you, he'll hate me, but when you tell him you didn't like it, it may just give him that push to kiss you himself and you can show him exactly how much you like his kiss more."
Hermione just stood there dumbstruck for several minutes trying to process what Harry had just said but then she smiled. "But what if I did like the kiss?" It was Harry's turn to be dumbstruck for several minutes as Hermione sat across from him next to Luna.
"B… But you like Ron, you have for four…" Harry stopped suddenly and looked horrified at what he stopped himself from saying but it was too late both girls were too smart not to be able to complete at least partially what he was going to say.
The girls looked at each other then back at Harry. "Four what Harry?" They asked in unison.
Harry looked at the two of them and sighed, he could not keep a secret from either of them. Both were always able to get him to talk in their own and often had opposite ways of doing it too and he just knew it would be harder with them both looking for the same information from him at the same time. Harry sighed and leaned back closing his eyes for a long moment before opening his eyes and starting "A few nights ago Hermione and I saved my godfather Sirius Black. What you do not know Hermione is that at the end of this summer we will meet back up to go with the Weasleys to the World Cup where the Irish will win but the Bulgarian seeker Victor Krum will catch the snitch. Then during the opening feast, an announcement will be made that, there will be no Quidditch that year because Hogwarts will host two other schools for the Tri-Wizard tournament. Champions will be picked by the Goblet of Fire on October 31st where Victor Krum, Fleur Delacour and Cedric Diggery will be chosen before a forth Champion's name will be drawn." Hermione gasped knowing but hoping she was wrong but Harry nodded sadly. "The cup was confounded to accept a forth school where my name will be the only entry and I will be forced to compete against the three seventh year students. I will be in the lead by the third challenge and I convince Cedric who made it to the cup at the same time, to take it with me to share the win. Because of that mistake Cedric will be killed by Wormtail and my blood used to give Voldemort a new body."
"Then during that summer where I'll be left alone and ignored by my friends on Dumbledore's orders I'll be attacked by Dementors in my neighborhood and sent to trial where I get off but the Minister is so pissed he sends a teacher to teach and torture students, while attempting to out Dumbledore. Dumbledore's Army, coined by Ginny, is started after you, Hermione, convinced me to teach them. During our Owls, Voldemort will send me a vision of Sirius being tortured, and I, not listening to my best and brightest friend, will attempt to rescue him. It was a trap and fall into it along with my friends, Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, and you two, and get Sirius killed who was only there to save us and again I'm abandoned all summer until Dumbledore picks me up so I can help talk an old potion's professor into coming back.
In our sixth year Draco will attempt to kill Dumbledore several times, almost killing Katie Bell and Ron in the process but in the end Draco finally disarms Dumbledore but cannot finish his mission so Snape does it for him.
In the summer that follows, during the wedding of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour, Voldemort gets control of the Ministry and sends Death Eaters to attack in an attempt capture me. Hermione, Ron, and I will escape though, thanks to Hermione. We end up on the run for the year trying to destroy pieces of Voldemort so that he can finally stay dead.
Finally, at the finale battle at Hogwarts, I win, sort of, but hundreds of people die, including Lupin and his wife leaving their child behind and Fred dies leaving George alone, countless others die along with them that I don't know. During the battle, Ron finally gets the nerve to kiss you Hermione and you finally got what you had always wanted. I, extremely tired end up in the Room of Requirements where just thinking about going back and changing everything forces the room to create a time-portal. I, hoping I can change things behind the scenes while my younger self actually enjoys his life, stepped through the portal after setting the date to five days ago. I set that date because some things had to happen the way they did so I could make the best outcome. I guess I could have gone back to before our first year, and the stone never would have happened nor the Chambers of Secrets but it would have been harder for me or more likely everything could have been lost."
"However, I was wrong about how the portal worked. When I stepped through my body was not, sent through like a time turner would have, instead my body was torn apart and just my ghostly soul or something like that was sent back. I was floating freely like a ghost drawn towards my younger body that had just fallen asleep after leaving Ron in the hospital wing. Our merger was disorienting for a moment but now I have to change things the way they need to be. I can't let things happen the way they happened the first time!" Harry said emphatically. He then realized that he had been crying and that both girls now were sitting at his sides holding him crying as well.
"I'm sorry!" Harry said as he started to get his feelings under control and his tears to stop. "I didn't mean to upset you guys, I hoped I wouldn't have to tell anyone but now you know why I know you Hermione end up with Ron and Luna you will be another one of my best friends and I believe leaning towards ending up with Neville."
Neither girl was able to speak, still to upset for words so; Harry sat back and closed his eyes waiting for one of them to say something. As the girls calmed down, they watched each other across Harry's chest and a silent understanding went between the two of them. Finally, Hermione sat up wiping her eyes and looked down at Harry with determination. "Harry you came back to change things right?" Harry nodded not really needing to say anything else. "Ok here's the first change." Hermione said as she bent down and returned the kiss she had wanted to return since he had given it to her.
She held the kiss until Harry got over his shock, she understood the shock, it was the same for her just days before, and she was prepared to wait it out until Harry responded and he did quite well. Hermione finally pulled back to see his stunned face before she looked at Luna who smiled back at her but hadn't moved from her spot cuddled into Harry's side.
"So tell me what does my boyfriend have planned for this summer and what can I…," Hermione looked at Luna's raised eye brow and she changed her wording. ", I mean we do to help?" Hermione asked as she cuddled back into Harry side.
"I hired Professor Lupin as a tutor and I plan on getting my NEWT in Potions, you gave me a good practical understanding of Runes during our time on the run so I plan on continuing to learn them hoping to get into that class even if it's a third year class". He answered with a smile to Luna as he finished; she would be in that class.
"I have no intention of ever going back to the Dursleys, they've already been notified that they need to find a new place to live considering I own the house."
Over the course of the train ride Harry talked more about what had happened before and by the time the train made it to London, plans' were made. The girls would train at Sirius's house with Harry as much as they could; all they needed to do was get Dobby to pick the girls up each day. Harry just had to convince Sirius.
Oo0o0
With summer over Harrys' tongue was dueling with another when they heard the compartment door open. He broke the kiss and looked towards the door. "Oh hi Ron how was your summer?"
"Bloody hell mate why is Loony in your lap." Harry bit down the retort he really wanted to say and instead answered differently, the anger issues he had in his previous life were gone courtesy of Toms Horcrux no-longer in his head.
"I believe a girlfriends place is in their boyfriends lap Ron, do you have a problem with that?"
"Unless it already taken by the other girlfriend." Hermione added from her spot cuddled up to Harry's side his arm draped over her shoulder before she turned her head up to kiss her boyfriend. Ron left slamming the door shut, and Harry took the opportunity to flick his wand at the door sealing it and making it essentially disappear so they could be alone for the train ride back to school. "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes in Sirius's pensive I would never have believed I fancied him before."
Harry laughed. "You believed me about my coming back in time without a pensive but you needed a pensive for that?"
Hermione scowled for a second then smiled. "Yes!" she said emphatically before she kissed him soundly.
00o00
The sorting went normally it was not until the students started to head towards their dorms when Professor McGonagall stepped up. "Mr. Potter the Headmaster would like to see you in his office."
"Um Ok Professor but I haven't been in the castle long enough to get in trouble that I know of, do you know why he wants to see me?" Harry asked he shot a look to Hermione, they both had an idea why the Professor wanted to see him, he hadn't even been to Privet and had no desire to go there, not that the Dursleys' should still be there, he told them to move, if they were still there he'd have to evict them.
"No Mr. Potter I don't."
"Will you be there?" at McGonagall's confused look he continued. "You are my Head of House Professor, and since I haven't done anything wrong then I don't think I want to be alone with an old man with creepy sparkling eyes, that's always looking at me, I mean in fact he never stopped watching me all throughout the dinner. It's starting to make feel uncomfortable." Harry finished with a shutter. Harry had to hid a grin as McGonagall eyeballs' attempted to leave her head but to get her off that subject he pulled out a sheet of paper and Hermione did the same handing hers to him. "Oh here Professor, I know we should have owled you these but we just got them yesterday." He handed his and Hermione potion OWL and NEWT results only the NEWTs really mattered. "I'm sorry but I got tired of Professor Snape not acting like a Professor and not teaching the class, I hired an independent tutor this summer for Hermione, Luna Lovegood and myself. They both beat my 87, Luna had a 93 and Hermione what 98%. Luna is almost as smart as Hermione I am so out classed," Harry proudly. ", anyway our tutor could actually teach and corrected everything Professor Snape had taught wrong or left out of our instruction these past years. I mean the way our tutor explained things I'm surprised no one has died in one of the Professors classes yet, there hasn't, has there?" Harry finished innocently, he had really tried to not spit out the word Professor each time he had to refer to Snape, and he knew he hadn't done that good of job but he thought he did a good job considering he wanted to choke each time.
The professors eyes were bugging out again but she just shook her head but it was so little they almost missed it. "Come Mr. Potter let us not keep the Headmaster waiting any longer." Harry flashed a smile over his shoulder as he followed his Head of House out of the hall.
00o00
"Please sit Harry, lemon drop?"
"No think you Professor I just ate." Harry said nicely as he sat pointedly not looking into the Professors sparkling eyes.
"Professor McGonagall, you may go, I'm sure you still have lots to do before you turn in."
Harry expected the Professor to obey but was surprised when she did not. "No Albus Harry asked me to attend as his Head of House to keep everything proper, besides I'd like to know what he has possibly done wrong in the few hours he's been at school and may I ask why the Potions Professor is here if I'm not allowed to attend?" Harry could almost hear the Professor part of that spat out by his head of house. She had done a better job than he had earlier but then she has had ten years of practice getting it right, too bad ten years was not quite enough.
Her remark had noticeably taken back Dumbledore while Snape sneer deepened but then the Headmaster recovered and smiled. "Of course Professor McGonagall Harry's Head of House should of course attend, forgive me, now Harry," he started as he turned to him. ", where were you this summer and why didn't you go back to your Aunt and Uncles, you know you could have been hurt running around without protection of the wards around their house?"
Harry sat up. "Protection from whom, Professor, because I got no protection from my Aunt, Uncle or even my Cousin, before my letter came I was beat and starved regularly, I'm sure Dobby had a worse life with the Malfoys' but mime wasn't much better." Harry felt the mind probe, luckily, he had been able to learn Occlumancy this time around, he was not perfect, with less than three months of practice, but he had been motivated. "Professor, please call the DMLE," Harry looked over his shoulder at his head of house and asked. ", one of the Professors is using Legilimency and from what my tutor said that's illegal." Both Professors looked away guiltily. "You know, maybe it was a mistake to come back here, I mean someone or something has tried to kill me all three years I've been coming here. Now you're attempting to mind rape me, what are you trying to see, what I look like in the shower or something, do you do that to the girls too, or is it just little boys?" Harry turned back to his Head of House, "Professor, may I leave before I'm physically molested too." Harry pleaded. "Maybe the Aurors can talk to me in the tower, I heard there was a spell to make people forget things maybe they can check to see if I've forgotten things and if I have I don't think I'll want to remember them." Harry shivered closing his eyes in horror as he did.
"Yes Harry you can head back now I need to talk to the Professors."
00o00
"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed when he entered wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a kiss but she pulled back before he could deepen it. He knew she was right they could not start that in the middle of the common room but he had showed his disappointment as they sat to wait for the room to empty so they could talk privately and then maybe Harry would get a little more than just a soft kiss.
It took an extremely long hour hours for them to get their privacy but when they did, Hermione looked at him expectantly, and before long, she was laughing until she schooled her features and looked sternly at him. "I can't believe you did that, so we should be expecting the Aurors anytime now?" Harry shook his head.
"Did any Aurors show up during second year, first or even third? I mean what is a little perving compared to that, besides Dumbledore could AK a first year in front of the whole school and still talk his way out of an investigation and get a medal for it." Hermione nodded sadly. She had seen his pensive memories of the next four years and he was right but even then, Hermione wanted to trust Dumbledore and it took both Harry and Luna to convince him not too. Too much did not add up about their Headmaster, even then she still just could not seem to shake her faith in authority figures, but she was working on it.
00o00
It was the weekend when Harry took the girls to the ROR asking for the Time Portal room. What they found surprised them. Everything Harry was wearing the night he came back was still there, luckily no dead body but everything else was, his repaired wand, the elder wand which when Harry flicked it still worked, the map and the invisibility cloak.
"You're the master of all three Hallows!" Luna exclaimed jumping into his arm and planting a kiss.
"You can't have two cloaks both being Hallows can you?" Hermione asked always being the voice of reason. Harry handed his previous cloak to Luna and took his out of his pocket they both disappeared beneath them.
"Well I say they work, we can't get the other stone back but it's not needed, I've talked to my parents, Luna was able to talk to her mom, and your grandparents were nice so we know the stone from this time works. I for one am not going to worry about it. I was not going to use the Elder Wand or the stone again so we will have to hide them. Harry noticed that Hermione was not listening as she stared at the arched portal. "Hermione?" Harry asked slightly annoyed, she asks a question and then stops listening.
Hermione looked over at him sheepishly; she hated it when someone just stopped listening to her as she had just done to him. "What if we all went back?"
Luna jumped up and down, "Yeah we could redo the summer again, and focus more on defense or something."
"I was thinking more of the power issue, we know you're more powerful now then when you were the first time through, if you went through again you'd be even stronger and so would we. I mean Voldemort has a phenomenal amount of raw power." Harry grinned at Hermione ingenious idea.
"Just think of the pranking, Remus and Sirius were blown away by us this time, if we go back again…" Harry left it hanging they were all on the same page, maybe different paragraphs but still the same page.
Both girls nodded but Hermione had another idea. "We should wait till Oct 31st."
At least Harry felt better that Luna was also looked confused. "And why is that?" Harry asked.
"Well silly we have access to Hogwarts library right now and we will again, after we go back on the 31st." Hermione answered as if that was the most logical thing in the world, which it was, it was just Hermione would be one of the only ones to think of it like that. Luna liked libraries almost as much as Hermione but she had a more adventurous spirit; Harry had wondered why she had not ended up in Gryffindor.
Luna's eyes bugged out for a second, only people who knew her could tell though, and the only time it happened she had made and earth shattering discovery, so Harry and Hermione prepared to listen to whatever she had to say. "We'll have to go before the 31st we don't know what a magically binding contract will do to Harry once his name comes out of that Cup."
It was Hermiones' turn to bug out. "It could kill him."
Therefore, the plan was set, study and practice just like during the summer, read everything possible in the library, which was easier not having Potions to deal with. It had already been decided during summer that Harry was not going to take Arithmancy or Ancient Runes courses, it would cause too many questions and he could just study along with Hermione and her notes and just take his Owls and NEWT independently, Luna was doing to same while still taking the 1st year course in those subjects.
00o00
It was finally the morning of Oct 30th and Dumbledore still hadn't called Harry back to his office and Snape was ignoring him, which was fine by Harry. Unfortunately, the houses were set by year so Luna was not standing with Hermione and him as they watched for the first sign of flying carriage carrying the Beauxbaton and the ship carrying the Durmstrang students. They had spent every waking moment not in class together and had become much closer than they were even after the summer break. Tonight was the night they were going to go back, just at midnight. The girls had something planned, something big but he did not know what it was. They each had this mischievous look about them whenever they looked at him; it was like Sirius and Remus or even the Weasley twins before they pulled a prank. Harry was getting more nervous until the carriage landed giving him something else to think about for a while. Harry and the others watched the as the girls entered the school. "Keep your eyes in your head buddy." Hermione said smacking him just as bubbles appeared in the lake and the Durmstrang ship started to rise.
Again just, like last time Ron a row over went gaga over Krum. Harry stifled a laugh and Hermione glared at him. "What? Ron should ask Krum to the ball is all." Hermione rolled her eyes. She had seen Ron's jealousy in the pensive but he had been horrible to her starting just days after stepping off the train, never within Harry's hearing. Ron would be stupid to say anything near Harry he was more than ready to take his DADA OWLs and NEWTs and they would once they go back and could schedule the tests for all of them. They all planned on retaking potions again to get better scores; she planned to ace it this time.
00o00
The door to the ROR was there when Harry and Hermione reached it just five minutes to 12. Hermione smiled mischievously at Harry as they shared his cloak. A shiver ran down his neck as she led him into the room. The arch was there but it was not the only thing, a large bed with Luna spread out across it but the shocking thing was she was nude. Harry had never seen either girl nude before, sure he'd seen everything they had, done things to those things, things that both he and they enjoyed but he'd never seen everything in the all together before. He was so entranced that he missed Hermione undressing so it was another shock when she stood next to the bed. "We're ready when you are Harry?"
Harry could not speak but he could nod, making both girls smile, but he still did not move. "I think he needs help." Luna said as she slid off the bed and approached him with Hermione following her lead. Luna first took his glasses, "I think these will just get in the way." Harry blinked, now everything was blurry so Harry was very disappointed and it showed. Luna cocked her head to the side thinking before she pulled her wand from a top her ear and waved it in front of his eyes making Harry blink again. He could see, clearly, better than he ever could with his glasses. Hermione turned to Luna questioningly.
"What was that?"
Luna shrugged. "Oh just a simple charm that temporarily fixes a wizards eyes I had wondered why Harry never used it but with practice Harry could get it to last six or eight hours. That and many other charms were made for times of battle; it wouldn't do to lose your glasses in the middle of a fight."
Harry's eyes widened. "Or, during Quidditch!"
Luna shook her head as she started to undress him followed by Hermione. "No, charms like these are against the rules during a Quidditch match."
Two hours later, they were redressed and ready to go, abet with goofy grins. "Dobby, Winky!" Hermione called giving Harry another surprise she never called them. They each popped in with trunks, and popped back out only to bring more, until there were eleven trunks. At Harry's expectant look, Hermione explained. "One is everything in your trust vault; the others are library books, specifically the restricted section."
Harry looked at the trucks again. "All of them?" and started to blink it was time to reapply the eye correcting charm.
Hermione looked down sadly. "No, but a good chunk of them." She whined.
Harry tried not to laugh as he pointed his wand at himself and saying the charm to fix his eyes for third time that night. Luna said it was only temporary but every twenty minutes was a little too often. "Well love, you can't have everything." Hermione looked up and stuck her tongue out at him making the three of them laugh.
Hermione looked through the time arch and squealed making Harry and Luna look at her. "Look." She said pointing through the arch. "Both of Harry's wands, his phoenix and elder wands, along with his cloak and map are there, once we go back he will have the ones on him and those already there, making four phoenix wands, cloaks and maps but only two elder wands. The great thing about that is since we emptied the Potter and Lestrange vaults; once we go back they haven't emptied them yet."
Harry set the time for 2:01 am June 7 1994, didn't want to meet himself, and started levitating the trunks through and then the three of them took hands and stepped through.
Authors note: Next chapter see what changes that Hermione and Luna bring to the table.
Word count: 5,550