Quotes may be rearranged or reordered.

Direct book quotes are bolded. Paraphrased quotes are not bolded.


Chapter 1


Harry opened his eyes and blinked several times as his drowsiness vanished. He stared up uncomprehendingly at the ceiling of his four-poster canopy for a moment, then he sat up and glanced around with incredulity, taking in the sight of the fourth year Gryffindor dorm.

He wasn't dead.

He'd felt himself die, but he wasn't dead.

He also wasn't in the graveyard.

WHY wasn't he wasn't in the graveyard and dead?

'A dream?' Harry wondered as he examined the sleeping forms of his dorm-mates. He picked his wand off the bedside table.

"Tempus." He murmured, flicking the tip. The faintly glowing numbers of the current time appeared over the tip of his wand. Three in the morning. Harry relaxed as he lay down again.

That had been one doozy of a nightmare. Voldemort getting a body, Death Eaters coming back to him in droves, dying at Voldemorts' hand… it had touched on fears that even HE didn't know he had… namely getting a friend killed because he was too weak, too slow, too stupid to protect them.

And it had seemed so real. That was the worst part really. It had been so real he was having a hard time believing it really was just a nightmare.

Harry paused.

What if it wasn't a dream? What if it was a vision? He'd had those regarding Voldemort before, even if this one was much longer and more detailed and didn't feel the same. Harry nearly surged out of bed to rush off to tell Dumbledore about it before he remembered the time.

He had time still until the third challenge. He'd warn Dumbledore about the portkey on the cup in the morning and there would still be plenty of time to fix it. If it was a vision, Dumbledore might even be able to take the portkey to stop Pettigrew before he did the ritual and before he killed-

Cedric was alive! Harry's eyes popped open as relief flooded through him.

Harry hadn't known the brave Hufflepuff well but his abrupt and meaningless death had driven a spike of sadness into his heart.

'I'll save him.' Harry vowed as he let himself drift back to sleep.


"Wake up mate! Today's the big day!" Rons' grating voice said happily as it dragged Harry from his slumber. Harry groaned as he struggled out of bed and started for the showers.

Harry tuned out the chatter of the other boys, working his way through his morning ablutions on autopilot as he thought about his vision. He would talk to Dumbledore right after breakfast.

He greeted Hermione automatically as the trio started towards the great hall.

Dumbledore should be able to figure out who made the portkey based on who he had planned to carry it into the maze and they could catch them early.

Harry was willing to bet his whole trust fund that it was Snape.

Some veritaserum would have Snape cough up the location the portkey was supposed to go to, and Dumbledore would be able to get Aurors out to arrest Pettigrew and Babymort.

On second thought, calling the Aurors probably wasn't such a good idea, since as soon as Babymort was in custody Lucius Malfoy would swoop in and bribe Fudge to give him up. Harry remembered that he was one of the Death Eaters who showed up first when Voldemort called, and Harry had known that Fudge was in Lucius' pocket ever since he got Hagrid arrested second year.

Harrys' musings were cut short as he walked into the entrance hall and saw something totally unexpected.

About twenty people were milling around the entrance hall, some of them eating toast, all examining the Goblet of Fire. It had been placed in the center of the hall on the stool that normally bore the Sorting Hat. A thin golden line had been traced on the floor, forming a circle ten feet around it in every direction.

Harry stared.

"Anyone put their name in yet?" Ron asked a third-year girl eagerly.

"All the Durmstrang lot," she replied. "But I haven't seen anyone from Hogwarts yet."

"Is this a prank? A joke?" Harry asked with bewilderment, "It's not very funny if it is."

"No… it's the Tri-Wizard Tournament dummy." Ron replied sarcastically, "It's the Goblet of Fire remember? Dumbledore talked about it yesterday."

Harry's thoughts ground to a halt as he struggled to process that statement.

Someone laughed behind Harry. Turning, he saw Fred, George, and Lee Jordan hurrying down the staircase, all three of them looking extremely excited.

"Done it," Fred said in a triumphant whisper to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Just taken it."

"What?" said Ron.

"The Aging Potion, dung brains," said Fred.

It was utterly surreal. Harry could remember this conversation from his dream with crystal clarity, but it had happened months ago, before his name had even come out of the cup. He watched the scene with the most intense feeling of déjà vu he had ever experienced.

"One drop each," said George, rubbing his hands together with glee. "We only need to be a few months older."

"We're going to split the thousand Galleons between the three of us if one of us wins," said Lee, grinning broadly."I'm not sure this is going to work, you know," said Hermione warningly. "I'm sure Dumbledore will have thought of this."

In his dream he had just watched, so he decided to try something different. He nodded in agreement.

"It won't work." He said with surety, "You'll get thrown back and grow long white beards."

Fred, George and Lee looked at him doubtfully.

"How'dcha know that Ickle Harrikins? Somebody else try first?" Fred asked solemnly.

"I didn't see anybody try but-" Harry started.

"Aging solution actually physically ages your body Harry," George explained patiently, "It's no good to take a lot of it before you're thirty since your core growth is dependent on your bodies' age and by aging your body you damage your core growth potential."

"You damaged your cores?!" Hermione shrieked in dismay.

"We're already plenty strong, and a single drop for a few months of aging isn't anything to worry about." Lee said reassuringly, turning to Harry "Since our bodies will actually be older we'll be able to cross over the line Harry. We'll be able to buy booze legally too. We took the permanent version of the potion anyway, to make sure it didn't disqualify us for not actually being that age, so we couldn't reverse it even if we wanted to."

"Ready?" Fred said to the other two, quivering with excitement. "C'mon, then - I'll go first -"

Harry watched in disbelief as Fred once again pulled a slip of parchment out of his pocket bearing the words Fred Weasley - Hogwarts.

Harry glanced around and noticed several people watching with smirks on their faces, their silence clearly stating that they wanted to see the pair embarrass themselves.

He watched as Fred again walked right up to the edge of the line and stood rocking on his toes like a diver preparing for a fifty-foot drop before again taking a great breath and stepping over the line.

Harry watched as George again out a yell of triumph too early and leapt after Fred – and he watched as both twins were hurled out of the golden circle violently. They landed ten feet away on the stone floor and with a loud popping noise both of them sprouted identical long white beards.

The entrance hall rang with laughter. Even Fred and George joined in, once they had gotten to their feet and taken a good look at each other's beards. Only Harry refrained from the merriment, his humor submerged beneath shock, fear, and uncertainty. He had gotten something new to happen, but it seemed like everything went back to following his memory in short order.

"I did warn you," said a deep, amused voice, and everyone turned to see Professor Dumbledore coming out of the Great Hall. Harry noticed a brief glance at him before he surveyed Fred and George, his eyes twinkling. "I suggest you both go up to Madam Pomfrey. She is already tending to Miss Fawcett, of Ravenclaw, and Mr. Summers, of Hufflepuff, both of whom decided to age themselves up a little too. Though I must say, neither of their beards is anything like as fine as yours."

Fred and George set off for the hospital wing, accompanied by Lee, who was howling with laughter.

Ron and Hermione, also chortling, went in to breakfast with Harry following dumbly.

The decorations in the Great Hall had changed this morning. As it was Halloween, a cloud of live bats was fluttering around the enchanted ceiling, while hundreds of carved pumpkins leered from every corner.

Harry followed Ron with uncertain steps over to Dean and Seamus, who were discussing those Hogwarts students of seventeen or over who might be entering.

"There's a rumor going around that Warrington got up early and put his name in," Dean told Harry. "That big bloke from Slytherin who looks like a sloth. And we can't have a Slytherin champion!"

"And all the Hufflepuffs are talking about Diggory," said Seamus contemptuously. "But I wouldn't have thought he'd have wanted to risk his good looks."

"Listen!" said Hermione suddenly.

People were cheering out in the entrance hall. They all swiveled around in their seats and saw Angelina Johnson coming into the Hall, grinning in an embarrassed sort of way. A tall black girl who played Chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Angelina came over to them, sat down, and said, "Well, I've done it! Just put my name in!"

"You're kidding!" said Ron, looking impressed.

"That's right, you're seventeen." said Harry faintly.

"Course she is, can't see a beard, can you?" said Ron.

"I had my birthday last week," said Angelina.

"Well, I'm glad someone from Gryffindor's entering," said Hermione. "I really hope you get it, Angelina!"

"Thanks, Hermione," said Angelina, smiling at her.

Yeah, better you than Pretty-Boy Diggory, said Seamus, causing several Hufflepuffs passing their table to scowl heavily at him.

"What're we going to do today, then?" Ron asked Harry and Hermione when they had finished breakfast and were leaving the Great Hall.

"I-" started Harry thickly. He swallowed, "I think I need to go talk to Dumbledore."

"What? Why?" asked Ron with surprise, turning to face Harry. "Why do you need to go see him?"

There was a long silence which cause Hermione to turn and face him with concern as Harry formulated a response.

"What date is it?" Harry finally asked.

"It's the thirty-first of October, nineteen ninety-four." Hermione responded instantly, "Are you okay Harry?"

"I-" Harry paused for a moment as he considered the question.

Harry suddenly realized that he actually felt amazing. His scar didn't throb or itch like it usually did. He didn't have the omnipresent headache he was only now realizing he had suffered under for years. His magic seemed substantially stronger and faster, easier to access. He felt like the boiling pool of anger he always had to keep contained was gone, and he felt like a great weight had been lifted from his body.

"I actually feel great!" Harry responded, surprise evident in his voice.

Ron and Hermione examined him for a long moment before Ron responded.

"Okay then," said Ron, turning away while Harry looked up and watched the hall.

The students from Beauxbatons were coming through the front doors from the grounds, among them, the veela-girl. Those gathered around the Goblet of Fire stood back to let them pass, watching eagerly.

Madame Maxime entered the hall behind her students and organized them into a line. One by one, the Beauxbatons students stepped across the Age Line and dropped their slips of parchment into the blue-white flames. As each name entered the fire, it turned briefly red and emitted sparks.

"What d'you reckon'll happen to the ones who aren't chosen?" Ron muttered to Harry as the veela-girl dropped her parchment into the Goblet of Fire. "Reckon they'll go back to school, or hang around to watch the tournament?"

"They'll hang around," said Harry. "Madame Maxime's staying to judge."

When all the Beauxbatons students had submitted their names, Madame Maxime led them back out of the hall and out onto the grounds again.

"Where are they sleeping, then?" said Ron, moving toward the front doors and staring after them.

"They sleep in the carriage they flew in with." Harry answered.

"Ok then," said Ron absently, jumping down the steps while keeping his eyes on the back of the veela-girl, who was now halfway across the lawn.

"Harry?" Hermione asked with an unsure tone. Harry abruptly noticed that she had been observing him intently with a look of worry on her face.

"Do you want me to come with you to meet with Dumbledore?" She asked with worry, placing her hand on his arm reassuringly. Harry shook his head slowly.

"I'll be fine, I think." Harry said, "I just have to talk to him about some personal stuff that might be important in the future. You should go keep Ron from embarrassing himself. Maybe you should take him to Hagrids'."

Hermione eyed him for a moment before nodding and heading off to stop the allure-infatuated Ron.


Harry found himself in front of the gargoyle before he realized that he didn't know the password. He started listing sweets absently while he enjoyed how light his body and magic felt, despite his lack of understanding the seemingly impossible situation.

Several minutes later, a voice shocked Harry from his thoughts as it sounded from behind him.

"I'm glad to see my gargoyle is getting some good use," Dumbledore said as he smiled at Harry, eyes twinkling, "But we would be more comfortable in my office I imagine."

Harry just nodded and stepped aside as "Lemon Drop" the Headmaster started up the stairs. Harry followed him up and into the Headmasters' office.

"What did you want to talk about Harry?" Dumbledore asked kindly as he seated himself at his desk and gestured Harry into the seat in front of the desk.

That opened the floodgates, and Harry poured the whole experience out to the old headmaster.

He told the headmaster about his name coming out of the cup, about the dragon and summoning his broom, about the Yule ball and his disastrous date with Parvati, about the lake and gillyweed and saving two hostages. He spoke about finding Mr. Crouch in the forest, about having visions of Voldemort, about the maze and the portkey cup and the ritual, about his own death at the hands of a resurrected Voldemort, and, finally, about how he woke up, nearly eight months before he died, but with memories of what was to come.

Harry finally stopped speaking, his voice now more of a croak from the excessive use.

Harry felt something poke him suddenly, and he reflexively batted it away with a blink of surprise. He froze as he tried to figure out where he had been poked and what he had done to defend against it.

There was another poke, this time much stronger, and Harry flinched at the attack, looking around in confusion.

Dumbledore got up moved around to the front of the desk silently.

"Professor?"

Harry suddenly found himself disarmed and bound to his chair by ropes.

"S-Sir?" Harry squeaked in surprise, "What are you doing?"

"Oh Tom." Dumbledore said sadly, speaking to Harry, "You were very foolish to think I would not notice your horcrux missing from his scar or that my binding on his core was missing after you entered my office. There isn't any need to keep up the charade of being Harry."

"What are you talking about? I am Harry!" Harry said, starting to feel nervous.

"Ah, but you forgot that Harry has been my pawn for a very long time Tom." Dumbledore said calmly. "Harry has no Occlumency shields or defenses, which was your first error. If you hadn't countered my passive and then my wandless Legilimency I might have doubted my initial diagnosis."

"Legilimency?" Harry asked in bewilderment.

"You can't fool me that easily Tom." Dumbledore said with a sad look. "I am sorry about this."

"Legilimens!"

Harry's world exploded as a battering ram struck his mind.


"Hmmm," Dumbledore hummed, continuing to read the mind of the boy in front of him in spite of him sporting blown pupils, bleeding nose, eyes, and ears. "He was actually telling the truth- he really isn't Tom. No wonder his mind shattered from that attack- it was meant to go through powerful Occlumency shields. I wonder what happened to the horcrux? Was it destroyed in the future and that's why it isn't in Harry now? And how did he manage to violate Godel's law and go back further than six hours anyway?"

Dumbledore smiled at Harry as he withdrew from the Harry's shattered mind, eliciting a shudder and an animal whine of pain and violation.

"Harry." Dumbledore called gently as he dumped a vial of phoenix tears down the boys' throat to fix the brain damage his Legilimency attack caused. Harry emitted another animal whimper in response, unable to voice his protests through the horrific damage to his mind.

"It's all right my boy, I'm all done with your memories. After your brain is all fixed up I'll just Obliviate you of your future knowledge and this meeting. Don't worry, I'll put some compulsions on you to start training properly. We have so much ground to make up if you are going to actually kill Tom like the prophecy said!"

Dumbledore hummed a little and flicked his wand, cleaning up the blood as he waited for the phoenix tears to take full effect and repair Harry's brain.

"Believe it or not I'm actually glad that you don't have to die." Dumbledore said, smiling at Harry, "I hated the thought that an innocent would have to die to stop Tom forever, but it needed to happen for the greater good."

Five minutes later, Harry sat looking at Dumbledore with something between confusion and terror.

"S-sir, w-what-" Harry started.

"Don't worry Harry, I promise that everything I do really is for the greater good." Dumbledore said with a smile. "I love memory spells, they're so convenient for fixing mistakes like this."

"Confundo! Compulsio! Obliviate!"

"So Harry my boy, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Dumbledore said, smiling happily as he flicked his wand back up his sleeve.

"I-" Harry paused as his mind swirled in confusion. What did he come up here for? He couldn't remember…

You are here to ask to take harder classes.

'I'm here to ask about taking harder classes?'

Yes, Voldemort is after you after all. You need to get ready.

That certainly felt like something he should be doing, but wasn't he here for something else? He couldn't remember any reason to be here though, and he remembered needing to see Dumbledore badly about something…

"I wanted to switch out of Divination and Care of Magical creatures and start taking Runes and Arithmancy." Harry said, trying to ignore his bewilderment. If whatever he was up here for was important, he would have remembered it wouldn't he? Voldemort was important enough as it was…

"I don't know my boy," Dumbledore said with a serious expression, "Are you sure you can catch up with your classmates? You have the whole third year curriculum to make up before you can begin your fourth year classes."

"I'm sure sir." Harry stated firmly, starting to warm up to the idea a bit further. "Voldemort is after me, and we both know he's still out there. I need to get ready. Care of Magical creatures is fun, and Hagrid is a great guy, but I need to learn more about the nature of spells to try and match Voldemort, and Arithmancy is the class for that. Divination is just a joke, so dropping that is no great loss as a cost for learning to make my own wards in Runes."

"Very good Harry." Dumbledore said with a happy smile, "I'm glad you've finally decided to take your studies seriously. I will approve your transfer immediately."

"Thank you Professor!" Harry said happily as he stood to leave.

"I suggest asking Mrs. Granger for her previous textbooks and notes from last year. She should be able to help you catch up." Dumbledore suggested with a smile and a dismissive wave of his hand.

Harry hummed happily as he left the office, his initial confusion forgotten as he made his way down to Hagrids to find Hermione. He needed to get started!

Note that future loops will move far faster. This one will be pretty slow because Harry is obliviated so he can't remember the first time and gloss over the boring parts, and because it was the first loop. Future chapters will probably be one or more loops per chapter if I can manage it.