When Harry finally dies, he is reunited with his friends, family and even Tom Riddle. But the world he left behind is still dark and gloomy, despite it being years after the war had ended. Finally, they are given a chance to change it all. Harry, Tom and Severus go back in time and are reborn as triplets in 1980, and they plan to finish the war before it even begins.
Return of the Three Brothers
Book One: Rebirth
Chapter One:
A New Start
He knew his time had come. Ninety-Two years of life, his grandchildren now with their own children. Ten prescient of his life had been living in a cupboard; Fifty prescient had been fighting a war; Twenty prescient had been about death; and another twenty had been the aftermath.
Ron had passed when he was sixty-nine. Hermione went when she was seventy-four. George when he was fifty-eight, Percy when he was sixty-two, Bill when he was eighty-seven, Charlie when he was ninety-one and Ginny when she was eighty. Many other where gone as well, like McGonagall, Flickwick, Luna, Neville, Draco Malfoy, Sprout, Rita Skeeter, Hagrid, and many, many others.
And finally, at long last, Harry was about to join them.
Harry laid down on his bed, letting out a long sigh of content as he closed his eyes. He listened to his heart thudding steadily in his ears and let himself sink into his mind. He remembered the time he'd turned his teachers wig blue, the time when he'd first met Hagrid and found out he was a wizard, the time he met Ron and Hermione for the first time, fighting the troll in first year, surviving the trials to the Philosophers Stone, saving Ginny from the Chamber of Secrets, meeting Sirius for the very first time, being entered into the Triwizard Tournament, Christmas at Grimmauld Place, meeting his godson Teddy for the first time after the war, marrying Ginny and his three children James, Albus and Lily being born.
His heart was slowing down. Harry took one last, shuddering breath and let his muscles relax, a small smile gracing his lips and the faces of his friends and family flashed before his closed eyelids. His heart gave one last, dull thud before coming to a complete stop.
Harry fell asleep. But this time, forever.
That's what he thought, anyway.
Death turned his hands round and round, the black wisp's trailing from his fingers and forming a smoky black circle. He reached up and touched his long fingers together and drew them down, then across, creating a triangle. He took one, long finger and touched the tip of the triangle, before bringing it down to touch the bottom.
"Is this a good idea?" a young man with neat black hair asked, looking at Death and then to the symbol curiously.
"We will never know until we try, Antioch." Death replied, in a deep voice.
The wizard with neat black hair grinned slightly. "I like that name better. It's more... unique then Tom."
"Hm, that is true." said another wizard, this one with shoulder-length black hair. He looked much warmer, much happier than he had when he was alive, as if he were a child again. "I seemed to have been the only one of us given a unique name."
"Yes," Antioch said. "But I think I would have preferred to be called Tom rather then Severus- it does mean servant after all, Cadmus."
Cadmus frowned slightly at this, but did not comment. It was almost impossibly rare to see the old, corrupted monster that his apparent brother had been when he was alive- but that had all changed when he entered death. He had never had the ability to love, for his father had been under a love potion while creating him and had accidentally passed it on to his son, not that the man had ever cared. But now, in death, the potion had been broken off and, for the first time ever, Tom Riddle felt something other then anger, greed and remorse. But he does show a bit of his older self from time to time, even the deep hatred to his Muggle father, but it was more- well, human.
"Ignotus will be arriving shortly." Death announced, now hovering over a shimmering black cauldron. "Then we shall add the last ingredients."
"Should we not let him see his family first?" Antioch asked, a small frown playing on his features.
"Of course." Death said absently. "They'll have an hour to chat and do what they please before it will be ready to drink. This will also give us time to explain to him what it is exactly you three are going to do."
"We'll only have an hour to make a list then." Cadmus commented, pulling out a piece of parchment from his black robes. "Antioch and I have already done a few things, but we need Ignotus as he was the one who actually did most of them and he can list things we've forgotten."
"Even if we aren't able to finish the list," Antioch said. "It's not like it's going to magically appear in our pockets once we get there. We'll have to get a hold of quill and parchment as soon as we can."
"We're going to be reborn, Antioch." Cadmus said, struggling not to roll his eyes. "It will be quite a while before we will be able to actually do anything."
"Quiet." Death hissed, raising his head. There was silence for a moment, the two brothers watching the hooded figure silently. Death lowered his head and turned back to the cauldron, speaking to Antioch and Cadmus without looking at them. "Ignotus has arrived."
"Harry!"
As soon as Harry opened his emerald eyes he felt arms wrap around him in a hug. He automatically returned it, before pulling back to see who the hugger was.
It was Hermione, no longer old and wrinkly. She now appeared to be twenty years old again, with a broad smile on her face. Harry realized he probably looked the same.
"Hey, mate!" Ron said, wrapping his arms around his shoulders in a half-hug. "About time you arrived- it's been dead boring without you!"
Deciding to ignore the irony of that statement, Harry returned to hug with ferocity. No sooner did he pulled back that another pair of arms wrapped around him in a hug.
Looking up, Harry gasped. "Sirius!"
"Hey, Harry." Sirius said, his grin rather dog-like. He looked as if he'd never even heard of Azkaban. "Miss me?"
Everyone was there. Ginny, Fred and George, McGonagall, Dumbledore, Snape, Hagrid, his parents, Remus, Tonks, Hedwig, Snape, Neville, Luna, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Mad-Eye, Kingsly, his old professors, everyone.
Lily and James Potter came over and hugged him, tears leaking from Lily's eyes, which where identical to his own. Dumbledore clapped him on the shoulder, McGonagall hugged him, Hagrid nearly crushed his bones, Remus hugged him and Tonks ruffled his already messy hair, Hegwig landed on his shoulder and nipped his ear just like she did when he was in school, Neville and Luna shook his hand, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley hugged him, Mad-Eye shook his hand, Fred and George pounded him on the back at the same time, Kingsley grinned at him, his old proffessors and even Snape smile at him widely and Ginny kissed him deeply for about three minutes, causing Sirius and James to wolf-whistle, which they both ignored.
Harry was led into a living room like structure, where, to his great surprise, he found none other then Tom Riddle. Not snakelike at all and smiling at his shocked expression, shaking his hand in greeting.
That's when Harry saw the dark, cloaked figure standing a little ways away, next to a black, bubbling cauldron. Death's long fingers trailed across the cauldrons rim, before he turned to look Harry right in the eye.
"We're going back?" Harry gasped, looking around in astonishment. "We're going to be reborn?"
"You, Antioch and I are." Severus corrected him. "The others will remain here. Sort of. Not really."
"But- that's impossible!" Harry exclaimed. "You can only travel back in time to a day at the very most and even then you can't be reborn."
"This is Death, Harry." Remus said, ever the professor. "Many more things are possible then in life."
"And if we mess up?" asked Harry. "What if we just make things worse?"
"I won't let that happen." Tom said determinedly, crossing his arms. "Not under my watch."
"Besides," said Severus. "We can always just kill ourselves and start again."
Tom rolled his eyes. "Honestly, are you suicidal in all your past lives? Death would rather not have to make the potion again- it took fifty-two years just to make this one and Death says that this is the fastest it's ever been brewed!"
"Okay, so we basically have one shot at this." Harry said, his stomach dropping. "But why you two? If your reborn, what would be the point of me coming along?"
"We're not going to be reborn with the same parents." Severus said, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "Voldemort and the, ah, older version of me will still be there. We're technically going to be reborn as your triplet brothers."
Harry's mouth dropped open. When he found his voice, he said, "That's... strange."
"Well, yes," Tom said. "But we where brothers in at least one past life- not triplets, but brothers nonetheless. So... yeah... I'm just going to keep telling myself that to try and make it less strange."
"Is that why you keep calling each other Antioch and Cadmus? Aren't those the names of two of the brothers?"
"Yes." Severus answered. "Death gave us a potion that shows us bits and pieces of our past life as the original Deathly Hallows masters. Eventually, calling each other Antioch and Cadmus just became natural. Death'll be giving you the potion as well shortly."
Harry nodded slowly, a slight frown on his face. "What is it we're going to be doing exactly?"
"Stop the war before it even begins." Tom answered. "Maybe even get your godfather out of Azkaban early. I'm afraid to say that we won't be able to save your parents."
"Why not?" Harry asked, disappointed. James squeezed his shoulder.
"Everything evolves around them dying." Severus explained. "If they don't die, you don't defeat Voldemort temporarily. Besides, how are we supposed to stop it if we're babies?"
"I suppose." Harry muttered.
Death appeared in the doorway, carrying three goblets filled with a black substance and a small, violet vial. Their hour was up.
He was running along a grassy hill, trying to keep up with his two older brothers. Antioch, his cloak bellowing in the Autumn wind, reached the top first and looked behind him to grin at them.
Ignotus tripped and fell onto the grass, scraping his hands and knees. Cadmus, who had nearly reached Antioch, paused to look at him, before running back down the hill to help him, soon followed by Antioch.
"Are you okay, Ignotus?" Cadmus asked, kneeling besides the youngest brother.
The four year old sniffed, but nodded, slowly getting to his feet.
Suddenly, Antioch grinned. "Here!"
Ignotus' feet suddenly left the ground and he found himself on Antioch's back, gripping his shoulders tightly to stop himself from slipping. Antioch began running up the hill again, much slower and panting much sooner then before, but he kept at it.
When they where near the top, Antioch slid Ignotus off his back and the youngest brother only had to take a few steps before he reached the top. Both Antioch and Cadmus cheered, as if he'd just won sort of great race.
Ignotus giggled, grinning at his brothers, who grinned back.
It was so dark.
He felt two other bodies pressed against his own, and he felt as if he were floating. It was like he was under water.
Suddenly one of the bodies that was in the dark space with him let out a high-pitched cry, as it was sucked, head-first, through a small hole.
He jerked, his heart jumping madly. Where had the other body gone? What was happening?
Suddenly, the second body was being sucked through the hole as well and this one, too, let out a high-pitched scream. Then it was gone, just like the first body.
For a moment, he just floated there, heart thumping, head spinning, fear clogging his throat. Then he felt himself being sucked towards the hole as well and began to thrash madly, not wanting to go through the hole and experience the obvious pain the other two bodies had been in.
But it was as if he were a spider being sucked into a vacuum cleaner and before he knew it, he felt himself being squeezed at all sides, a bit like Apparating but painful.
He couldn't help but cry out, especially when the cold hit. Blinding lights filled his vision and everything seemed blurry. Why was it so cold? Where had the warmth gone? The lights were hurting his eyes and he suddenly wanted to be back in the darkness again.
Something fuzzy was being wrapped around him. His vision cleared enough for him to realize it was a blue blanket. Warm, strong arms took him in their grasp and he suddenly felt safe. When he looked up, he saw the beaming face of his father, gently rocking him back and forth.
"Heya, Harry." he whispered.
Harry tried to answer, but only achieved a soft cooing. This seemed to make James happier, because his grin broadened. He was gently laid down in a cot, next to the other two bodies, who he now realized where Tom and Severus. Both did not seem to be enjoying themselves. Severus' nose was no longer hooked, but long like Ron's. Harry guessed this was so he looked a bit less like his older self.
"What will their names be?" he heard one of the Healers above them ask. This immediately caught the three's attention. They had not considered their names being changed.
"That one's Harry James Potter." James said. Harry heard a quill scratching and then he suddenly felt something plastic being clipped around his wrist.
"That's Thomas Henry Potter."
Harry was able to make out the Healer clipping a blue wristband with a name written on it onto Tom's wrist.
"And that one..." James trailed off, looking at Lily, who looked exhausted but happy. She nodded, giving him a small smile.
"And that one's Severus Aaron Potter."
Harry saw a look of surprise enter Severus' black eyes, as the blue band was clipped onto his wrist. Apparently, he had not been expecting them to even consider naming him Severus, let alone James going through with it. Harry himself was a bit surprised.
Suddenly Tom was picked up, soon followed by Severus and Harry himself. The Healers carried them to the bed where Lily sat, giving them a sort of exhausted smile yet glowing all the same.
Harry was handed to her first and Tom was squeezed in next to him, while Severus was placed in the other arm. As the Healers left, telling James to call for them if anything seemed off, three tall figures squeezed past the Healers and into the hospital room.
Harry immediately recognized Sirius, Remus and Snape. Pettigrew, it seemed, was absent. But what was Snape doing here?
"Where's my godson?" Sirius asked, grinning widely.
James, who was sitting with his arm around his wife, stood up and pulled a camera out of his pocket. "You'll get to hold Harry in a moment, just let me take a picture first."
As James held the camera to his eyes, Lily smiled at it. There was a small flash and a picture came out of the bottom. James took it and looked at it, still grinning. It seemed to be hurting his face.
Almost as soon as James had tucked the photo into his pocket did Sirius demand to hold his godson. Harry felt warmth spread through his chest as his father handed him to Sirius, who grinned down at him just like James had down, gently rocking his back and forth, holding him in a way as if he were afraid he'd break him.
Remus appeared over Sirius' shoulder and smiled at Harry, before James handed him Tom. "I believe this is your godson."
Tom's eyes widened in shock, maybe even a bit of horror. He probably hadn't even considered anything about guardianship, let alone his new godfather being a werewolf. His past self was going to kill Lily and James in about a year. That was a weird thought.
Then Severus was handed to Snape, almost reluctantly, by James. But then the black-haired man squared his shoulders and put on a smile, maybe just a little bit fake. Lily's certainly was real.
"You name him after me?" Snape said, looking at the blue bracelet, which bared the name Severus Aaron Potter, in shock.
"Yeah." James said quietly. "You can just call him Junior, if you like. It would make things less complicated 'cause your his godfather."
Okay. Wasn't expecting that.
The three newly dubbed brothers were soon taken to Godric's Hollow. Each had found a birthmark in the exact, perfect shape of the Deathly Hallows symbol on their right hand. Sirius seemed to think it was rather cool that all three of them had it, in the exact same spot no less.
Harry enjoyed spending time with his parents and godfather, for he knew two of them would be dead and the other would be shipped off the Azkaban. Remus, while he was godfather of Tom, would not be able to get custody of him if something where to happen to James and Lily, but can help raise him and see him frequently. Remus and Sirius had agreed that Sirius would take both of them into custody but it would pretty much be Remus raising Tom if anything where to happen. If only they knew.
The year seemed to fly by. As it turned out, Harry, Tom and Severus where unable to speak at all and instead could only say 'baby gibberish.' Severus had quickly found this irritating. Then there was the rather awkward fact that Snape would come by as frequently as Remus and Sirius and at one point had actually change Severus' nappy. Both Harry and Tom had nearly giggled (as for some reason they seemed incapable of just laughing) their heads off.
But eventually the time that Harry was dreading was here. The three of them where wide awake on the night of October 31st and no matter how Lily tried to put them to bed, they would not sleep. Eventually James took out his wand and began blowing rainbow bubbles for them to pop.
Then came the sound of the wards being broken.
The Dursleys were worse then he remembered.
Since there were three of them, the cupboard was extremely cramped and they were given more chores to do. Tom had said it was outrageous that they expected three two year old's to be able to scrub the entire kitchen in under three hours, even if they did have the minds of very old men.
Ignotus had quickly become Harry's new nickname when they were finally able to pronounce it and he eventually became comfortable with calling Tom and Severus, Antioch and Cadmus and even with seeing them as his older brothers. He'd never had a sibling before now.
Despite technically being ninety-four, both Tom and Severus treated him as if he was really young and they were his protective big brothers and kept giving him some of their food and Tom even went as far as saying he'd broken a vase when it was actually Harry who had knocked it over.
While all this annoyed him deeply, Harry couldn't help but feel touched. All three of them where still getting flashes of their past lives as Antioch, Cadmus and Ignotus, but most of them came when they were sleeping.
When they were able to hold a pencil properly, Severus stole some paper and they began planning the things they should do when they get to Hogwarts. When they were four, Tom suggested running away from the Dursleys, but that was quickly dismissed. If they ran, no matter how horrible the Dursleys were to them, they couldn't risk changing too much and loosing their advantages. But that night, when they thought Harry was asleep, he heard them agree that if the Dursleys decided to go physical on him they were leaving. Period.