Disclaimer: I neither own nor make money off any of the following material as it is owned by J.K. Rowling.
It was the quiet of the night that should have tipped off James Potter as he strode through the backyard of his family's manor. It wasn't unusual for his father to be up late in his study working or for his mother to be reading a book on the back porch. On this night, however, no noise was coming from the house and no light could be seen.
James felt relief as he caught sight of the dark exterior of the house. It wasn't that his parents disapproved of their seventeen year old son coming home at such a late hour it was just the manner of his return that made him nervous. Having just spent the better part of the night trying to find the bottom of a rather large bottle of firewhiskey with his best friend Sirius Black he wished only for his bed and not for a lecture on the dangers of drinking and apparating.
After just three or four stumbles James finally made it to the back door of the manor and, with all the subtlety of a cat being dropped in water, quietly opened the door and made his way inside. "Lumos," James whispered as he made his way into a large living room. The beam of light that emitted from his wand helped to lead him around several pieces of furniture and into the center of the room.
His slightly altered sense of awareness allowed his vision to slide over the object laying haphazardly beside the couch but a second glance back was all it took to sober him up instantly. "Mum?" James asked loudly. No movement came from the body and James repeated the question a little louder as he leaned down to flip his mother over. He let out a yelp and scrambled backwards as he caught sight of his mothers wide open eyes and slightly open mouth.
"Shit, shit, shit," James cursed as he desperately tried to shake his mother awake. "Dad," he yelled in the direction of his parents bedroom. He got up and ran into the adjoining hallway. A smiling picture of his parents on their wedding day seemed to mock him as he hurried through the hallway. "Dad," he yelled again as he pushed open the bedroom door. He found his father lying face down next to his bed. A wand was laying on the ground next to the dresser and some glass from the mirror on the wall lay shattered on the ground. It looked like his father had at least had the time to defend himself before he too was killed. A low moan escaped James lips and he let his legs collapse underneath him. He dropped his head into his hands and allowed the immense sense of sadness to overwhelm him.
xxxxx
Somewhere on the other side of England another man with unkempt black hair and spectacles also hit the ground. Harry Potter was quite used to being thrown around. It happened every time he used the floo network and it occasionally happened to him while playing Quidditch. Unfortunately, for him, neither of those things could prepare him for the power that sent him sprawling across the forest floor.
Letting out a few choice words Harry reached his arm into the front pocket of his pants and pulled out a wand. It was certainly beat up from years of use but ultimately appeared to be in working order. His other arm reached into the second front pocket and pulled out a small cloth sack that jingled as he shook it.
Satisfied that his meager processions had arrived safely with him, Harry forced himself into a sitting position and began to access the situation. His immediate surroundings were nearly indiscernible in the dark of the night, though a small sliver of moon light was peeking in through the leaves. A cool breeze made it's way through the trees and helped to clear his head but did nothing to recede the painful throbbing.
Wearily, Harry pushed himself to his feet and began to slowly stretch out his stiff limbs. Having just traveled twenty five years into the past, no one knew the importance of time as much as him. Even so, he would not rush the process of making sure his body was physically healthy. It was a mistake he had painfully made in the past and pulling a muscle in an unknown location, in an unknown time in fact, would surely slow him even more. He did not allow his mind the same luxury, however, and he immediately began to formulate his next move.
His current location was easy to determine, even through the darkness. Twenty five years into the past did little to change the area of the Forbidden Forest that Harry had used to mask his preparations for time travel. The various trees that Harry had used as bindings remained the same, albeit perhaps younger looking. This realization allowed Harry a moment of hope that perhaps it had worked but he forced himself to be rational. It was possible he had only sent himself back to the night before.
In theory the magic that allowed him to travel into the past should have placed him somewhere in the summer of 1977 and he hoped early in the month of June. Even being off by a few weeks would cause drastic changes to his plans and improvisation was something he hoped to avoid for as long as possible. If he found himself in July or even late June his first major plan would already be to late to implement.
xxxxx
Flashback
"I still say that May should be the latest possible time for arrival if we are to be successful in this Harry. That gives you plenty of time to make contact with my past self and gives my past self plenty of time to create a believable working background for you."
Harry eyed his colleague with barely masked annoyance, "We have been over this enough. May is too early due to the limited amount of funds I will be able to bring with me. Unless you expect me to live on the street and still be able to competently conduct phase 1 while also quietly making myself known to some of the more prominent members of wizarding society in 1977. Or perhaps you think I should resort to criminal activity and make off with some poor sods Gringotts vault?"
The man scowled in return, "I was thinking more along the lines of a job, I know the concept may seem foreign to you."
"My work ethic not-withstanding, how do you purpose I find a job with no personal identity and no person who has ever met or even heard of me to vouch for me. I don't think you fully understand the precariousness of this plan. If I have even an inkling of a reputation as a man with something to hide then any chance of successfully completing phase 2 will be thrown out the window. Hell, I might as well sit here with you and hold the same god damn argument with you every day for all the good I would be in the past."
"Once you make contact with my past self money will no longer become a concern-"
"Your past self is a liability that we do not yet know the consequences of. I will not risk the entire mission on the kindness of your heart."
The man held his hands up in defeat, "Alright, alright keep your glasses on. I just think we need to fully think this through before moving forward. We are meddling with time itself you know, we should not hurry this process."
"The time for caution has ended. We move forward with our current plan. We have spent the better part of a year devising it and it will not fail. I will not allow it to fail."
"Have you- have you considered the possibility of failure Harry?" the man asked softly.
This time Harry did not even attempt to mask his annoyance as he glared at his collegue. Had he considered the possibility of failing? Hell, it was all he thought about. Every waking second he contemplated what he intended to do, the lives he would change without even asking permission, the prospect of returning Voldemort to life after having killed him just five years earlier.
"I will not fail."
xxxxx
James wasn't exactly sure when the numbness turned into blinding anger. Somewhere between the somewhat harsh interrogation by the lead Auror and the kinder questioning by his Headmaster Albus Dumbledore James finally began to realize just what had happened to him. In the span of a few hours he had gone from concern over hiding his drunkenness from his parents to the heartbreaking feeling of being newly orphaned.
"James I am so sorry my boy," Dumbledore said sadly, "No person should experience the death of a parent at such a young age." James looked up to the man, his teary eyes in stark contrast to the anger that showed on his face, "Who did this, who did this to my family?"
Dumbledore's frown deepened as he addressed the increasingly distressed teen, "Until a full investigation takes place we cannot know, however, I have some suspicions on potential suspects."
"Who would- why would anyone want my parents dead?" James forced out as he tried to pull himself together in front of a man he greatly admired.
"If the Aurors are able to confirm my suspicions I will answer that, you have my promise."Dumbledore replied softly.
"Until then we need to address your current living arrangement until school starts. As an adult you are of course entitled to remain here in your family home. However, I seem to recall a certain Mr. Black claiming to own his own place near Diagon Alley this summer. Perhaps it would be best for you to be around loved ones, in such a trying time as this."
"I don't care about my fucking living arrangement," James snapped, any attempt at calming himself gone as a new wave of anger took him. "I am going to find out who did this and I am going to make them pay for what they've done."
Dumbledore's face grew stern, "James I implore you to have patience in these dire times. Let the Aurors do their jobs and enact your revenge on the cowards who committed this crime." James made to argue but he was cut off, "After the investigation we will discuss what to do going forward, you have my word. Until then I suggest you go be with your friends, it may help to cheer you up even if such a thought seems impossible at this time."
James let out a sigh as he leaned back into his chair, " If the Aurors don't catch them soon I will go find them myself."
"If the Aurors do not catch them you will have my full support in that endeavor I assure you," Dumbledore replied gently, "Now go be with your friends."
The numbness returned to James as he got up and walked over to the fireplace. Sirius doesn't even know. A new wave of sadness washed over him as he thought of the friend that he considered a brother. While they weren't actual brothers by blood everyone, especially James, considered them to be. The previous summer Sirius had even moved in with them and he had on more than one occasion claimed to have loved Charles and Patricia Potter as his own parents.
It was going to be a very long night.
"Sirius's Pad," he called out and he stepped into the green flames.
xxxxx
The commotion of downtown London was enough to bring Harry's headache back to the forefront of his mind as he walked briskly down the street. The night had turned into early morning and with it brought honking horns and screeching tires as people hurriedly made their morning commutes. Despite the effects the vehicles were having on his headache they did bring him some sense of relief as he noticed the decidedly older model cars than were available in his time.
The apartment complex that Harry approached had the look of a rundown building that hadn't seen maintenance in years. The concrete steps that led up to the entrance were crumbling and forced the walker to considered each step carefully before actually proceeding. The entrance door was barely in better shape and the windows on each side of it were missing several panes.
The appearance of the building caused Harry to pause and a worry to grow inside him. This was not how the building was described to him. Had he missed so widely on his jump back in time that the entire building was different?
He gently pulled the door open and stepped into the entrance hall. The inside of the building left him in momentary shock as he took in the beautiful chandelier that illuminated a rich grand staircase and walls lined with paintings of various people who were now giving him an odd look as he stood dumbly by the door.
Harry mentally berated himself on having mistaken the obviously intricate muggle-repelling charm designed to make the upscale apartment complex appear as a rundown building on the exterior. Bloody insecure wizards and their refusal to assimilate on any level with people they deemed inferior to themselves. It would surely lead to their downfall sooner than any Dark Lord would.
Shooting a glare towards the nosy paintings Harry quickly ascended the staircase and began searching for room 13 where the first, and perhaps most integral, part of his plan would take place. He would either leave this building with an important ally deep inside the Ministry who could help provide him an identity or die trying. He could not fail in this.
He found the door for room 13 rather anticlimactically positioned between doors 11 and 15 in the first hallway he walked down. Harry found himself uneased at the simplicity of finding it, the man's future self would not have allowed his living quarters to be so easily discovered. But then wars changed people and that could certainly be said for both of Voldemort's attempts at world domination.
As Harry waited for an answer to his knock he mentally prepared himself for the conversation that was about to take place. His colleague's future self had assured him that he would be easily persuaded to believe Harry's story of time travel but that did little to ease his worry as a misstep here would derail his plan entirely at best. At worst he could find himself dueling a younger version of the man he had almost considered a friend.
After a short time the door was opened by a disheveled looking man who appeared quite annoyed to be called upon at such an early hour.
"Yes? Can I help you?"
"Yes, I am looking for a Mr. Theodore Denton."
The man eyed Harry suspiciously, "And who told you that you could find a Mr. Theodore Denton here?"
"You did Theodore. Or rather, you will roughly twenty five years from now. You also told me that you may not be alone today so I think you should ask her to leave for a few hours. This is a conversation better had in private."
Harry saw the man's eyes flick over to a partially closed door inside the room but that did not distract him from noticing his hand slowly releasing the door handle and reaching for his pocket.
"I think you've got the wrong information sir. No such person lives here, now good day." The man made to close the door but Harry shoved it back with one hand while his other made it's way toward the pocket that concealed his own wand.
"What if I told you that I came from a future so ravished by war and bigotry that I, with your help, concocted a plan to travel to the past in order to prevent it all from occurring. Me and you Theodore, we are the only hope our civilization has at retaining our way of living."
Harry stared the man in the eye willing him to believe his story. The blunt revelation was not his idea but he could see the logic in depicting a story of heroism to an ambitious young man with delusions of grandeur. No, there was nothing heroic in what they planned but Theodore Denton did not need to know that. Indeed, all he needed was the time to tell his story and then, as the muggles say, the chips will fall as they may.
"I would say you are fucking crazy," said the man. "But then I never did outgrow a childish love of mythical stories."
Theodore turned and began walking towards the interior of his living quarters. The door remained opened which was as close to an invitation as Harry expected to receive so he followed after.
"Teddy," Harry said. The man froze momentarily at the casual use of his nickname before he turned and stared at Harry questioningly.
Harry nodded towards the partially open door inside the room, "This conversation is meant for your ears only."
Teddy paused before motioning towards the furniture, "Make yourself at home." He then entered the aforementioned room and shut the door behind him.
xxxxx
Flashback
"I would say you are fucking crazy," Teddy said.
"But you wouldn't say it is impossible."
"Impossible? In theory no, but Harry this- what you plan-," Teddy paused as he considered the right words to describe what he was thinking. "It's fucking crazy," he finished rather lamely, but he felt they were the perfect words for such an idea.
"Fucking crazy happens to be my specialty," Harry said with no trace of emotion on his face. "In fact, you could say I exceed exceptionally when doing fucking crazy things."
As usual, his friends odd sense of humor left Teddy unfazed. "Perhaps I used the wrong words then. Stabbing a basilisk with a sword is fucking crazy. Riding a dragon out of Gringotts, now that is fucking crazy. But this-," Again Teddy grasped for a way to put his feelings into words. "It's- it's just fucking crazy!"
"Once again your way with words leaves me in awe. Have you ever considered a career in speech writing?" Harry said deadpan, " Merlin knows that boring old Minister could use some life in his next depiction of just how much we have to blame the muggles for."
Teddy chose to ignore that quip as he contemplated what Harry was suggesting.
"I cannot support this idea Harry. You may be The-Man-Who-Vanquished or whatever bloody title they have bestowed upon you these days but you are not a god! And I will not support you in playing as one. I will not allow it."
Harry looked at the man who had become the closest thing he had to a friend since the end of the war with a flicker of emotion finally showing on his face. "You are right, I am not a god. Nor do I intend to play at being one, but think of the lives we could save if we succeeded, Teddy. Millions or more. What is that if not an honorable cause worthy of us doing everything in our power to make a possibility!"
"Honorable? You speak of saving millions of lives while at the same time ignoring the fact that you will be rewriting history for billions of others. Where-," Teddy was interrupted by Harry suddenly standing up with a look of determination.
"I have of course considered that, in fact it is the only thing that has held me back from doing this long ago. But we continue to sit here and do nothing while our own government is committing atrocities against muggles and muggle-sympathizers alike! Yes, we will be rewriting the lives of billions of people but it is for the greater-"
This time is was Teddy who brashly interrupted, "If you fucking say the greater good I will lose it. What the hell is going on with you Harry? The man I know would never consider ruining innocent lives as a means to an end."
Harry sank back into his chair in defeat. The look of determination was gone and in it's place was the face of a man who was lost.
"We've lost, Teddy. I defeated Voldemort and yet his will lives on in the people of our world. Thousands are dying daily due to his influence and for the first time in my life there are people out there who need help and I- I can't give it to them."
Teddy sank into his own chair and stared at Harry. His friends sudden and unusual display of vulnerability left him at a loss for words.
"I mean to go through with this Teddy. And when I get to what ever afterlife there is and meet my maker I will gladly pay for all of the wrongs I have done. But I cannot- I will not sit by and allow all this wrong to happen when there is a chance, a flicker of a chance, that I can prevent it."
xxxxx
" So what's the next step then?"
Harry marveled at the man's seemingly instantaneous acceptance of his story. He had expected veriteserum at the very least and yet all it had taken was a few hours of detailing future events to the man to persuade him to his cause. Harry could relate somewhat, trust was a character flaw that he had only been able to correct through his own painful experiences. This war would be a bitch slap to the wizarding world's unprepared face.
"My first job is to become known to the important members of society who will play a key role in this war. But before I can become known I need to acquire a legit background that will pass all forms of inspection and that is where you come in. This is crucial so you can not fuck this up."
"Right. So no pressure then." Teddy nervously fidgeted in his seat as he refused to meet Harry's eyes. "It's just that-"
"If you do not think you can complete this task I will find someone who can," Harry said. It was an empty threat, mostly, but Teddy did not know that. There were few men who could provide what Harry needed and even fewer who would be willing to do so.
"No, no I can do it. It's just- after hearing of all the awful things that are going to happen I was hoping to be able to take a more hands on approach," Teddy said while finally meeting Harry's eye, determination overcoming his earlier nervousness.
"Do not wish for blood with war so soon to become reality, you will quickly become sick of it." Another lesson Harry had learned the hard way. It seemed likely that everyone else would soon come to the same painful realization.
The rising sun peeking through the curtains of the room served as an appropriate distraction for Teddy to break the eye contact of the cold man in front of him. The tension in the room coupled with the weight of what they were planning left Teddy with a strong desire to shift the conversation toward lighter topics, if only to allow his mind time to fully grasp the situation.
Forcing himself to face Harry again and putting what he hoped was a friendly smile on his face Teddy said, "So time travel huh? This must be a pretty weird experience for you. You'll probably meet loads of people you knew from your time. Maybe even your family! I bet your parents are about your age now huh?"
Harry sighed and leaned forward in his seat openly glaring at the man in front of him. "Now let me make this clear from the get go so there are no misconceptions in this. I am here to prevent Voldemort from becoming the power he could become and in doing so stop the world from descending into madness due to his influence. I am not," Harry emphasized, "here to make friends with you or anyone else who could potentially deter me from this path. We succeed in this and that is our one and only goal, is that clear?"
Teddy coughed awkwardly and stood up, "Right. Right, of course. I suppose I should get to it then."
"And Teddy," Harry called to the man's quickly retreating back. Teddy turned and looked at the man who had flipped his life upside down in the span of a few hours. "Yeah?"
"We will succeed in this, I promise you."
The look that Teddy saw on the time traveler's face was all it took to erase any lingering doubt that was in him. This man may not be the most friendly of people but there was something in him that inspired trust and inside Teddy felt a deep, almost instinctual desire to earn the man's trust as well.
"I believe you," Teddy said before turning and exiting the room.