Grandpa and Aleksandar

The boy was distressed. Only two days ago, he had watched the rebirth of the Darkest Wizard of all time. Just a day ago, he discovered that many of the people close to him were just pretending. His godfather, Sirius, was just pretending that he was his father. The man didn't care about him; he just wanted his best friend back. His father's other friend cared but had other things on his mind, like the fact he was a werewolf. The boy he thought was his best friend was only hanging around him to get attention and his other so-called best friend was only with him to get closer to Ron. Harry was upset. And worried. His headmaster, Albus Dumbledore had told him that morning that Harry needed to go into hiding. Voldemort was looking for him and would do anything to get to him. The government wasn't much help as they thought Harry was being an attention-seeking liar- how on earth could Voldemort be back? Preposterous! Harry had asked Dumbledore if he had any ideas on how to hide and the man said he had a few but they were all very extreme. At the time, Harry had worried about what extreme meant. Now, however, Harry realised that he didn't care.

"Dumbledore- I've made up my mind. I'll do whatever it takes to stay hidden until the time is right- it doesn't matter how extreme it is."

"Harry, are you sure?"

"Yes, Headmaster. The only people who believe in me at the moment are you and Cedric."

"Okay, Harry," said Dumbledore, looking upset at the truth of Harry's statement, "I have two options. The first is preferable- we can disguise you as another person- you could be my grandson! The disguise would have to be very thorough although I know I can do it. The second option is you go into hiding completely under the Fidelius and not leave the house you are in until the time is right." Harry shivered at the second option. It sounded terrible!

"The first option! How are you going to do this, though?"

"Harry, first- don't be mad at your parents, they didn't do this, but there are several glamour charms and blocks on you to make you look more like James- well, the glamoured James. A long while back in the Potter line, a child was born- but it looked nothing like either parent. The mother panicked- and hoping that her husband hadn't noticed, put a major glamour charm on her child to look like an exact replica of the father- except for the eyes. The glamour, however, was too powerful and it was passed down through the generations. The appearances weren't the only things altered, though. The child had been born with incredible powers, so a block was placed on both his mind and magic so that he didn't overpower the rest of his family too much and looks suspicious. Once again, the blocks were passed on down the family line. So, if I can remove the glamours and the blocks you would look incredibly different—except for your eyes, but I daresay you want to keep them. My last layer of disguise would be optional for you. It would look a little suspicious if all of a sudden I had a 15year old grandson attending Hogwarts the year Harry Potter disappears. If, however, I had an 11 year old grandson, I could say that I was trying to keep him out of the spotlight so he could grow up having a normal childhood…" Harry was excited. A month ago, he would have complained about having more power- making him even less normal. Now, though, he knew he would need more to face Voldemort- and he had a strange feeling that one day he would have to fight the man to the death.

"Dumbledore- I accept that, and I agree to be 11 again… though I don't know how you are going to do that. Who was the original glamoured man, though?" Dumbledore had a scary twinkle in his eye.

"Godric Gryffindor!"

"What? I'm related to Gryffindor? Directly?"

"Mhmmm…"

"Cool. So, how are you going to make me 11 again, Dumbledore?"

"Oh, I thought that maybe an de-ageing potion would do…"

"Will it last?"

"Well, this is a rather special one…"

"Uh… ok, I'll do it," said Harry feeling slightly apprehensive.

"Well, I'm rather looking forward to it, now, Harry! Oh, and we will need to change your name… get you some new belongings and so forth…" Harry felt his nerves drain away as he looked at the sword of his ancestor in the glass case behind the headmaster.

"Brilliant! So, when do we start?"

"Hmmm… Let us wait a day and I will give you a portkey to use when you get to Kings Cross station when you get back from Hogwarts. It is plausible for you to go 'missing' from there."

"Okay, that'll work."

"Hmmm… portus." The Knut in front of Dumbledore glowed blue and he tapped it again, saying;

"Help."

"There. The activation word is help and it will bring you straight here. That way it sounds as if you are being captured if you want it to."

"Thank you, Dumbledore!"

"No problem, Harry… although you might as well get used to calling me Albus, or Grandfather."

"Ok… grandfather…" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled.

Harry left Dumbledore's office feeling lighter than he had since the beginning of the Triwizard Tournament. The only thing that would make it even better would be to tell Cedric what was happening… but he knew that until he had the Headmaster's permission; that was impossible. He made his way to the Gryffindor tower thinking of all the things he would need to do the next day. He was hoping to visit Gringotts before he used the portkey, but that was impossible. He shrugged, Dumbledore would work something out. He kept thinking, and before long he was at Gryffindor Tower. He gave the password to the Fat Lady- Champion and walked into the common room.

"Harry! Where have you been, we've been so worried about you!" Harry snorted internally. He knew it was just a show for the other members of the house.

"I went for a walk, Hermione, but I'm tired now. Can we talk tomorrow?"

"Oh, of course, Harry," she said, a little too cheerfully.

"Thanks," Harry mumbled as he went up the stairs to the dorms.

He looked around. This would be his last night in the 4th year's dorm- his last night sleeping in the same room as these people. He sighed but felt a little guilty realising that he looked forward to leaving. He wanted to become someone else that no one had ever heard of- that would be recognised for his own achievements and nothing else. He fell asleep with a smile on his face.

The next morning, Harry woke to the less-than-pleasant face-full of pillow.

"Get up, Harry, you're going to miss the train!" Harry groaned and tried to bury deeper into his pillow.

"C'mon, Harry! It's already 9 in the morning! You've missed breakfast!" Harry grumbled as he sat up. That had been his first proper sleep since the third task. He kept waking to nightmares of what would have happened had Cedric taken the Cup with him in the maze. Harry had tried to convince the older boy to take it with him, but he had refused. The boy had then levitated the cup over to Harry and before he could protest, set it down in front of him. Harry was now glad- he had only been allowed to live to duel Voldemort because the wizard was so angry at him for destroying him almost 14 years ago that he wanted to settle it himself. He wouldn't have given Cedric the same opportunity to duel- he would have been killed from behind. Voldemort was a coward.

Harry packed his trunk as quickly as he could and levitated it into the common room in record time. He had fallen asleep in muggle clothing, so he didn't bother to get changed. The train ride was uneventful as usual- the only interesting thing had happened right at the end when Harry forced the Weasley twins to take his Triwizard winnings. He didn't want it- the money only reminded him of Voldemort's rebirth. He thought that the twin's ambition of a joke shop would create a lot of laughs and he was under no illusions that they wouldn't need them soon. Voldemort was going to make life difficult very soon. Besides, he had nothing against the twins, in his opinion; they were the only ones worth knowing in that family.

Harry got off the train with the others and walked towards the barrier. He soon lost them and when he knew that no one was watching, he whispered 'Help!' He didn't want to make a scene out of disappearing.

"Ah, Harry! You're back!"

"Hi Grandpa!" Dumbledore chuckled.

"Put your trunk down! Get comfortable! When do you want to go through with this? If you still want to do this, that is?"

"Only if you're okay with that, Grandpa! And you're stuck being called Grandpa now. I've never had one before, but always wished for one, so…"

"That's fine, Harry, I'm glad you're comfortable with it!"

"So… can we do this now? I'm sick of being Harry Potter who people have already made their mind's up about before they meet me."

"Of course, Harry. Sit down over here, this will take a while and it might not be painless." Harry groaned inwardly.

"…of course, people will make their mind up about you fairly quickly when you carry the name 'Dumbledore' as well, Harry."

"I know, but it can't possibly be as bad as 'Potter,' as they've never heard of me."

"True, true… now, we need a name for your new identity… and a story."

"Um… can I be Aleksandar? I know it's old-fashioned but it's cool," said Harry nervously, "and it's not as though the Dumbledore's have sane names!" Dumbledore chuckled.

"Very true, Harry. You need more than one name, though… Aleksandar James Dumbledore?"

"Hmmm… Better than Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore… how do you remember all of that?"

"You just did!"

"Hmph"

"So… you agree to the name?"

"Yes"

"Good! Hmmm… family. Your parents will have to have died… sorry Harry. It would be better if it was a while ago so you can explain why you're not grieving."

"They can be killed by rampaging Death Eaters when I was one… I was staying with you. I'm an only child and my mother's parents died in the battle as well," said Harry sadly.

"I'm sorry, Harry, but we need to do this."

"I know," he said heavily, "My father can still be James, but my mother… Annastasia? They can be Dumbledore's as well… James was a store assistant abroad before he came to England and married Annastasia. She was an unspeakable and had been schooled overseas because of her name- that's where she met James. When she came back she started her job until a few years later James came back. They got married after two years and Annastasia quit he job as they had more than enough to last a lifetime. They lived quietly for a few years until I was born, and then… the rouge Death Eaters came. By the way- Annastasia was your daughter, but you barely ever saw her as her mother left you after she was born, and you had never revealed her as your wife because of the danger it would put her in."

"That was well thought-out, Harry, you've put in a lot of thought." Harry blushed. He had.

"That sounds fine," continued Dumbledore, "but where were you for the last 10 years?"

"With you," said Harry promptly, "I have no other family, but for security reasons, I had to stay hidden. You couldn't even tell your closest friends for fear of them being captured and forced to reveal things. Their positions as friends of yours made them targets for attack."

"Hmmm… Okay, Harry, I think we're ready. I'll take the glamours away first, that is when you become Aleksandar. What does Aleksandar mean, anyway?"

"Errr… Aleksandar is a derivative of Alexander which kind of means 'the defender.'"

"Ok. Ready, Harry?"

"Yes!"

"3… 2… 1… Tolle abscondita ostende veram ostende faciem velaminis veris. Tolle abscondita ostende veram ostende faciem velaminis veris…" Dumbledore began to chant and Harry felt pain. It was everywhere and it was terrible! He bit his lip to stop himself from screaming and soon had a mouthful of blood when he began to feel himself changing. His limbs were getting longer and he was starting to fill the clothing he was wearing. His hair was growing longer and he was sure his scar was disappearing, although he could not see it. His cheekbones were rising and his nose was shrinking. His lips were changing shape. He could feel his chin taking a more angular shape and feel hair beginning to sprout from it. Finally, it was done. Dumbledore showed him to the mirror, and let out a gasp of disbelief. He looked nothing like Harry Potter! He had grown a whole foot and he was sure he would be taller than Ron. His jawline was different- more masculine, he thought, and so was the rest of his face. His eyes were the only thing he recognised- they had not changed. He still had brilliant emerald-green eyes. His hair was dark brown and wavy- it went down to just below his shoulders. His scar was gone as well, which Aleksandar was glad about. His skin was darker- it looked as though he had a tan, but that was impossible. The only thing that Aleksandar felt needed to change was his glasses and muscles. As Harry Potter, he had been fine but his new body demanded strength. He was going to work hard.

"Ready for the blocks, Aleksandar?" Aleksandar jumped. His new name was going to take some getting used to.

"What? Oh, right. Yes, I'm ready, Grandpa," he said nervously.

"Ok, Alek, this will hurt as well, so you might want to sit down." Aleksandar gulped and ran to the chair, relishing how fast he could run with his longer legs.

"Ready, Grandpa," he said once he was comfortable. Dumbledore nodded and pointed his wand at Aleksandar.

"Ligat, relinquere, tuae revelare verum magicis potentia!" The old man cried. Aleksandar felt it immediately. It wasn't a strong ache all over as it was last time, but a huge amount of pain building in his chest. He couldn't feel it anywhere else, it felt as though someone just stabbed him in the chest and put numbing spells of the rest of his body. It was excruciating. Alek couldn't tell which one was worse- the Cruciatus was or the un-binding spell. They both hurt. Aleksandar couldn't help it- he screamed. Dumbledore quickly put up silencing charms as the screams grew louder. Dumbledore sighed. The thing he hadn't told Alek yet was that with every generation, the bound magic grew stronger. Alek had already been the most powerful in his line since Gryffindor, but without the binds he was going to be incredible.

Aleksandar was screaming. The burning pain in his chest was slowly spreading, as though it was in his blood and was slowly being pumped around his body. He knew it was the magic but it didn't help him accept it. Finally, the pain began to subside and a feeling of calm and warmth spread through his body- he had accepted the new magic. He sighed in contentment and smiled before he opened his eyes. With a start, he realised everything was blurry. He searched around for his glasses before realising he was already wearing them. Confused, he took them off. Alek gasped. Everything was so clear! He grinned. Even with glasses he had never seen as clearly as he could now. He put the glasses on the ground and stepped on them. There was something very satisfying about the CRUNCH that followed.

"Wow," he croaked, "that hurt, but I feel great now! Errr… D'you have a throat-soothing potion?" Dumbledore grinned.

"Only you, Alek, would say that after being put under a spell more painful than an illegal torture curse." Aleksandar grinned.

"Grandpa, I had to! You weren't about to break the tension!"

"Indeed, my boy."

"I think there was another bind?"

"Mhmmm… this one won't hurt, though."

"Oh, good!" said Alek, grinning.

"Ready?"

"Yup!"

"Ligandi potestatem, relinquere. Sap ostendere me!" Alek didn't feel it at first- but when he did he realised why. His grandfather had been right, it didn't hurt. It felt as though someone was in his mind, releasing all of the pressure and he felt the headache he never knew he had leaving him. It felt nice. He smiled.

"That felt so good, Grandpa!" Dumbledore smiled at him and Alek's eyes fell on the bookshelf. He felt weird. He wanted to get over there. There was so much information there that he didn't yet know! His thirst for knowledge had just increased dramatically.

"Grandpa… can I…" he looked longingly at the books. Dumbledore chuckled.

"Never thought I'd see you want to read a book for fun, Alek!" he teased.

"Remember though, Alek, we're not done yet! We can't have, say- Minerva walk in and find a 14- almost 15 year-old grandson who then turns up at Hogwarts in 2 months as an 11 year old!"

"No, you're right, Grandpa. I can wait… I think…" Dumbledore chuckled again.

"Today will be the worst for your knowledge thirst because your mind was just released. It will settle down and you will still want to learn more but the urge won't be as powerful."

"So, are you ready?"

"Yes, I'm ready Grandpa, but how did you get the potion?"

"My old friend Nicholas left me a vial when he died- said I'd need it one day. Never really believed him, but there you go! It will put your body back 4 years making you 10- almost 11. Your birthday will stay the same, though."

"Ok, Grandpa! So, where's the vial? How did Nicholas know you'd need it? Did he tell you how to make it?"

"Alek!" Aleksandar grinned sheepishly.

"I have the potion here, Nicholas was a seer- of sorts and no, he didn't tell me how to make it although I doubt I would be capable of it if he did! Now, here." Dumbledore handed him the vial and Alek sat down. Dumbledore cast a pain-numbing spell on him and then he drank the vial in one gulp. It tasted different- like the night air, but liquid. Alek supposed it tasted like time, but that thought almost gave him a headache, so he left it. Then he felt himself begin to shrink and was glad for the pain numbing charm. His limbs all shrank and the stubble on his chin receded. He felt his body change- his Adam's apple shrank until it was barely visible and he could tell that when he spoke he would sound a lot younger. When it was finished, Alek was still shocked at his height. He looked small, but he knew that Harry had been a lot shorter than that in his first year. He looked up at Dumbledore, questioning him silently as he wasn't sure his vocal cords would appreciate him trying to speak just yet.

"Ah, yes, the magical blocks would stunt growth." Alek nodded to show his understanding.

"Oh, I wondered why you weren't talking! I'll get you another throat-soothing potion and then we can work out your living arrangements as well as any extra magical gifts you had that were blocked." Alek nodded his thanks as the potion was passed to him. He drank it all, thankful that it tasted normal. Even if it wasn't pleasant.

"Living arrangements, grandpa?" Alek almost smiled at the high-pitched voice that came out when he spoke. Hermione would have called it cute, he realised.

"Well, you need a bedroom! We can't have you living in Gryffindor tower, Alek, although I would be highly surprised if you didn't go to live there after the holidays." Alek grinned.

"Right, bedroom. All I've seen of your living areas is this office, Grandpa!" Dumbledore chuckled.

"Well, let's have a tour now, shall we?"

"Yes please, Grandpa!" Alek couldn't believe how easy it was to act like a child. It came so naturally, he supposed that discarding his 'Harry Potter' mask brought out his true personality and the younger body probably encouraged his behaviour. He followed Dumbledore up the stairs at the back of his office into a circular living room that was quite obviously his. It had the same style. Nice, large but still very cluttered with strange devices everywhere and a very plain colour choice which Alek supposed was to keep all of the houses from complaining about favouritism.

"What do they do?" he asked, pointing at a large group of silver devices. Dumbledore chuckled again.

"Even I don't know with most of them, Alek! People give them to me and forget to explain what they do. Assuming that I know everything, I suppose." Aleksandar grinned.

"I thought you did," he said innocently. Dumbledore rolled his eyes. Alek then noticed all the doors leading off the living room.

"So, this door…" he said questioningly.

"Right! Tour! I almost forgot!" said Dumbledore and he began walking to the first door.

"Dining room is in here, though I usually use it as a meeting room and eat in the living room- don't tell Minerva, though, sometimes I think she's my mother in disguise!" Alek giggled. Did I just giggle, he thought, where did that come from? Oh well, if it comes naturally it makes my job easier! He looked in the room and saw that it was modest and plain but obviously well looked after and used. The next door was opened and Alek went over to it.

"The bathroom- this one is the one that I show to visitors, you'll have your own one, Alek." Aleksandar nodded and looked in. Just a little more luxurious than the dining room, he thought sarcastically. It dwarfed the prefect bathroom in both size and opulence. Dumbledore saw his expression and added;

"Just wait 'till you see yours, Alek, this one's nothing!" Alek gulped. Dumbledore's voice sounded almost- sinister? He walked quickly to the next door, but Dumbledore didn't open it.

"That's the private kitchens. You can see it later, there's no house elves. I use it mostly when I want to make lemon drops, I find them fun to make and you can lick the excess sugar from the bowl when you're done!" he said excitedly.

"You're worse than Arthur Weasley with his muggle obsession!" he teased. Alek was then shown to the Library, duelling room, fitness room, guest room and Dumbledore's own. They were all impressive, though Alek preferred the ones he would actually use. Finally they made it to the last room. Dumbledore stood outside the door.

"This, Alek, will be your room until you no longer want it. It's got the basic furniture in it and I will leave you to decorate it however you want. You can do magic here, though we need to get you a new wand as your current one, apart from being highly recognisable, won't be able to handle advanced magic from you- you'll overload it and it will explode. Also, you might want to try wandless magic, there's no doubt that you're powerful enough, you could have done it before the blocks were removed!"

"But I wasn't powerful before," said Alek, confused.

"Aleksandar, you were very powerful before I removed the blocks. You were blocking your own abilities because you feared it. You feared being more powerful than was 'normal,' so you shut most of your power away without even realising it." Alek was amazed. He hadn't ever thought he was doing that!

"So… wandless magic is possible?" he asked to change the topic, even though he knew the answer.

"Yes, Alek, you already knew that!" said Dumbledore, eyes twinkling. Alek wondered if he used magic to do the twinkle effect. Almost as if he could read his mind, Dumbledore said;

"No, I don't use magic to make my eyes twinkle per say- It is the magical power of a person that causes it. Alek, if you look in the mirror you will notice that your eyes are twinkling as well. Hardly anyone knows why it happens so they will just assume that it's a Dumbledore-trait." Alek smiled.

"So, my room?"

"Ah, yes!" and Dumbledore opened the door, letting Alek in. Alek looked around happily. The room was large and spacious. It didn't have the trademark Dumbledore clutter. Instead, it had nice, expensive-looking furniture but no personal belongings. The large four-poster was near the door. There was no hangings, nor any bedding and Alek assumed that Dumbledore hadn't wanted to leave any decorating to himself- it was all for Alek to do. There was a large desk with an even larger bookshelf beside it and a matching chair. A bedside table stood beside the bed and a wardrobe was standing in the corner of the room. A large window looked over the lake and an armchair was beside it. A small door was hidden away and when Harry went to investigate it, he was shocked. It opened up to the bathroom Dumbledore had warned him about- but the warning wasn't enough. It was huge! The bath- no, pool was Olympic size. The only difference was the absence of lane ropes, the depth and the bubbles. Alek shook his head. Only Dumbledore would combine an Olympic lap pool and a diving pool before calling it a bath. Everything else in the room was just as impressive. Alek wondered why something so large could feel so comforting. It baffled his. Suddenly Dumbledore was beside him and Alek didn't hesitate. He wrapped his arms around the old man and whispered in his ear;

"Thank you so much, Grandpa, this is the best thing anyone has ever done for me!" They stayed that way for several minutes before Dumbledore cleared his throat.

"I think there are a few things we need to buy today, so we need to get going now. We'll just have some lunch and them go. No, not your wand," he added at Alek's questioning look, "we can't get that until your letter… arrives… well, anyway, we need to get you some clothing and other belongings for your room, not to mention bedding and the like." Alek grinned. Dumbledore looked way out of his depth.

"Okay, lunch it is!" Dumbledore smiled and called for the house elf to bring up lunch for two. It took less than a minute. Very soon the two of them were stuffed full of chicken sandwiches and were ready to go.

"So where're we going?"

"Ah, now that's a good question… I guess we will have to brave Diagon Alley. Well, we will just have to let everyone feel our magic to make them stay away!"

"How do you make people feel your magic?" Alek asked curiously.

"Alek, you do it naturally. I have to practice keeping it under control so that people aren't afraid of me."

"Oh," was the only reply Alek could make.

"Hmmm… let's go by portkey, I rather dislike Floo powder." Alek giggled. That sounded so strange coming from Dumbledore!

"Portus."

Alek put a finger on the little device that Dumbledore was holding and almost immediately felt the familiar jerk behind his navel, and they were standing behind a building that was quite obviously Gringotts. The two of them walked around to the front and Alek noticed almost immediately that people were clearing a path around them. He smirked to himself. They walked up the stairs of Gringotts and went to a free goblin. Dumbledore pulled out a key that looked vaguely familiar…