Portals to the Past

Chapter 2

Harry spent the next month studying the strange book he had found in the Parlor. He had started making plans in the back of his mind the moment he read what the book was about. Not only would he be able to fix all of his past mistakes, but he would be able to save everyone he cared about. Now, he just had to figure out how to do it.

The rituals were actually pretty simple. Well, simple for a man who had spent the last nine years doing nothing but studying the most advanced magical theory and practicing the most difficult spells in the world. That is to say that the rituals in that thin little book were immensely complicated for a normal person. But since when was Harry Potter ever considered a 'normal person'?

The most difficult thing about the rituals, by far, was the Arithmancy equations needed to direct the Portals. Harry had never seen such difficult equations. Thankfully, he had studied Arithmancy during his self exile. He had to use his full name, the date and time he wanted to return to and the location of where he was at the time he wanted to return to, among other things.

He had decided go back to midnight, exactly one week before his 11th birthday. He would have gone back to his birthday, but he didn't know the exact location of that hut on the rock. Ultimately it would be easier to use the Dursley's oh-so-normal house, more specifically, the cupboard under the stairs in which he had spent ten of his formative years. Another week with his relatives would not hurt anything (he hoped).

The last chapter of the book dealt with combining different portals. Actually, it dealt with combining the last two portals. Though the 'time turner' portal could be combined with one of the other two, technically the first two were already combined and the portal to send things back was just a by product, an off shoot if you will, of the original. When you sent your body back, you took whatever you had on you at the time with you, and if you wanted to combine it with the 'soul portal', you might as well just do the soul portal by itself. Really, if you're going to kill yourself to go back in time, you should at least go farther than a few hours.

For that was exactly what Harry was going to have to do. In order to send his soul back to his younger self's body, the portal would first have to separate his soul from his older body. True, he could just create a Horcrux diary as Tom Riddle had done so long ago, but that would make him little better than Voldemort. Indeed, it would make him exactly the same as his long dead enemy. No, he could not condone using the life force of his younger self to 'resurrect' his older self in the past.

As an added bonus for his sense of right and wrong, when his soul merged with its younger counterpart, so would their magical cores. Harry would be twice as magically powerful this time around. He would just have to remember not to get too cocky.

It was theorized by Ms Tempest that once the soul of the traveler was sent back in time, either the original time line would cease to exist, or it would fracture at the point of return, making an entirely new timeline. This, she said, would explain all of the different Alternate Realities. If other people had sent their souls back to change part of the future, and if the realities split at that point, there could be millions of them. There could be one where the Roman Empire never fell. There could be one where Hitler triumphed! The possibilities were endless.

Endlessly frightening!

One little decision could mean the end of the world! As someone once said, "If a man looks right, the world lives, but if he looks left instead, the world ends." They call it the Chaos theory. One small thing being changed could spell disaster.

Harry knew this. He read the theories, studied the possibilities and made sure he knew the consequences of his actions before he decided to disregard it all. After all, what could possibly be worse than being completely alone in the world, feeling hopelessly guilty about leading your friends and family to their deaths and not doing anything to try to rectify the situation? He had to at least try.

So, not only was Harry planning to send his soul back to, hopefully, merge with his younger self, but because there would be no more Potters in this time line to inherit, and the possibility that this world would cease to exist, he planned to take everything he owned with him as well (minus the properties, naturally). The wealth of knowledge that was, at that very moment, residing in his Library would be immeasurably useful, and though he knew money did not make one happy, it certainly made things easier. He wasn't planning on being under anyone's thumb if he could help it.

The New Moon is a time for new beginnings and, according to the book, the perfect time to complete the rituals. While he could have begun immediately, Harry decided to do the thing right. Several more months would not affect anything and would allow him to prepare more fully.

He started by making a timeline. Everything that happened in his life, the good and the bad, was written on a parchment scroll. It seemed expectant, as if it was eager for Harry to begin making his changes. On a second scroll, he wrote a different timeline. This would be his goal. First things first, though. He would be getting away from the Dursleys as quick as he possibly could.

He used the rest of his time wisely, and on one particular day even went so far as to venture into Diagon Alley.


Harry looked around the busy alley. He hadn't been here since the reading of the wills nearly ten years ago and was suitably impressed with the way things were rebuilt. The happy, carefree laughter of children filled the air, smiles were on several faces and the dark, depressed feeling of yester year's Diagon Alley was no where to be found. In its place was the feeling of wonder and excitement that Harry hadn't felt here since the summer before his third year.

Walking down the street, he couldn't help but feel that this was the way it was supposed to be. Without the threat of Voldemort looming over the magical community, people could go about their business feeling safe and secure. This is what he had been fighting for all along. This is what he would make sure of once more.

His determination once more firmly in place, he made his way to the magical luggage store that was situated just next to Terrortours Travel Agency. Harry knew the owner of this store quite well as he was the one to provide the resistance with their multi-compartment trunks. When Diagon Alley was attacked, he was one of the few that tried to fight back and he joined the resistance when his family was murdered before his eyes.

The tinkle of a bell above the door announced his entrance. A moment later, a large, balding man sporting an extremely bushy mustache came through a doorway leading to the back of the shop. He was extremely muscular, with arms the size of small tree trunks that looked as if they could crush a person before they could scream. All in all, he looked extremely fierce, but the laugh lines around his eyes and mouth belied his amiable nature.

He caught sight of Harry and beamed. His voice thundered through the shop, a deep, rich baritone, "Why, bless my soul! It's Harry Potter!"

Harry's face split into his first real smile in over ten years and he laughed. "Hello, John." He walked towards the much larger man and shook his hand warmly. "Been a long time, eh?"

"A long time, he says! A long time?" He still had a hold of Harry's hand and used it to pull him in for a warm, brotherly hug, "It's been damn near forever!" After much back slapping, he held the Wizarding world's hero at arm's length. "You look good, Potter. Where in blazes have you been?"

Harry gave a rusty chuckle. "Oh I've been around. You know, here and there, mostly there. How've you been, John?"

"Good, good. Since you took care of that slimy bastard, things have been pretty peaceful around here." He looked piercingly at his war time comrade. "So, what can I do for you, or is this a social call?"

Harry smiled, slowly getting used to the unfamiliar expression. "A little of both, actually. I wanted to catch up with you, but I need several new trunks and I couldn't think of anyone I'd rather get them from than you."

"Well, I'd be happy to help in any way I can. How are those old trunks holding up?"

Harry cringed. "Er… they're not, actually." Seeing the larger man's raised eyebrow, he hurried to elaborate. "You see, whenever I looked at those trunks, all I could think about were the Twins, Ron and Hermione. I'm afraid I smashed them to bits years ago just so I wouldn't have to look at them anymore."

John nodded in sympathy. "I would've done the same, lad." His mustache twitched as his lips curved into a sad smile, his features softening in the face of his friend's confession. "How about this, then, you tell me what you need and we can talk while I charm the trunks for you."

Harry agreed and followed him into the back where his workshop was set up. When they were both settled into comfortable chairs, and John had a Parch Pad and quill ready, Harry began telling him what he wanted.

"Let's see… I'm going to need at least two… no, three. Each trunk needs to be feather light no matter what's in them. I'm going to be carrying all of them around at the same time and they're going to have a lot of stuff in them, so I don't want to be weighed down. I'll need built in wandless shrinking charms that are keyed to my magical signature and locking and security charms keyed to the same. I don't want anyone getting in unless I let them and if they do get in somehow, I don't want them to be able to get out."

He paused for a moment, thinking. "The first trunk will be for WWW items."

John nodded, his mustache twitching. He knew all too well what needed to go into a WWW trunk. Some of the Wheezes were particularly dangerous. "I'd heard you got Fred and George's notes." He cleared his throat, "So, besides being impervious to fire, water and Hogwarts curriculum curses, hexes and jinxes, you'll be wanting about 20 different compartments so you don't blow yourself up if something breaks open that might react badly with other Wheezes.

He scribbled furiously on his Parch Pad as he continued to rattle off the specifications for the WWW trunk. "Each compartment will be expanded to about 100 times their normal size with shelves lining the walls and a ladder to get in and out of the trunk. You'll also be wanting the stabilizer charm so things don't shift, right?" He saw Harry nod. "Okay, anything else on that one?"

Harry smiled and shook his head, amazed that after all these years, his friend had remembered everything that they had put into the original trunks. "That's it, John. Think that one can be done before I leave the shop?"

He waived his hand as if to dispel Harry's concerns. "Oh, yea, it'll get it done. No problem. That one might take me about half an hour, tops. That many locks have a lot of keys, so well just do a hand circle to make it easier. All you'd have to do then is put your hand in the circle and say which compartment you want."

Harry agreed and John finished taking notes on his Parch Pad, then looked up expectantly. "Next?"

"The next one will be used to store important papers that I don't want to get damaged. We could do a hand circle on that one too. It should have five compartments with archival charms built in along with climate regulation charms. For the most part if will be staying in a Gringotts type vault, but I want it impervious to practically everything." He thought for a second before adding, "If you could make it impervious to Fiend Fyre as well that would be a plus. You know. Just in case."

John gave a mirthless little snort. "Yea, we know all about 'just in case' don't we, Harry?"

"Indeed we do, friend. Indeed we do." Harry's answering smile didn't quite reach his eyes

John cleared his throat again. "Do you want any expansion charms on that one?

Harry's eyes cleared and he shook his head, "Nah. If I change my mind, I can always get them added later, right?"

John laughed, "Of course. That one shouldn't be too difficult either. A couple of environment regulation and preservation charms is all. Well, that and the impervious spell. I don't have anything to protect against Fiend Fyre," he scratched his chin, "but I do have one that will protect against every other kind of fire including the fire of a Chinese Fireball. I don't think anyone's invented a spell to protect against Fiend Fyre yet." He furrowed his brow in thought for a moment. "I've got a fiver out front. It won't be too hard to just add the charms. Might take ten, twenty minutes tops."

Harry waited while John scribbled a few more notes. When he looked up again, Harry continued. "The last one is the one I'm expecting to pay out of the nose for. Somehow, I get the feeling that you may want to retire after this one… and knowing you, you'll charge me enough to be able to!"

John's deep belly laugh filled the small back shop. "Merlin, boy! Nothing could be that bad."

Harry shook his head and smiled at his friend. "You know better than to tempt fate like that, John."

The bald man chuckled. "Alright, go on. Tell me what you want and I'll decide for myself if I'm going to want to retire after wards."

Harry took a deep breath. "Okay, on the outside, the trunk should look like a higher end Hogwarts trunk. Nothing too terribly fancy, but it should look like it cost about the same as something that, say, a Malfoy would buy." He saw John nod his head. The look on his face told Harry that he thought it would be easy so far. He just smiled to himself.

"I want eight compartments but only one key lock which will open the first compartment. I want that compartment to look like a normal school trunk. Again, nothing special. I don't even want any kind of security features on the first compartment other than a normal lock. If someone wants to get into it and snoop around, let them. It's a decoy anyway."

"The other seven compartments should open like a high security Gringotts vault. Like the others, these seven compartments should have a hand circle and only open for my magical signature unless I key someone else into the security features. The hand circle should be discrete enough not to draw too much attention. Just an outline would be best. Make it part of the decoration or something."

"The second compartment is where this gets tricky. I want a three bedroom, two bath flat with a full sized kitchen, a dining room and a living room with a fire place." He chuckled at his friends gob smacked expression, but he wasn't done yet.

"The fire place should be capable of floo chatting at the very least and the Master bedroom should have its own bathroom." He grinned, "I also want the cupboards and fridge to stay fully stocked with food staples. I want to be able to live out of this trunk."

Harry pulled out a rough sketch of what he wanted his flat to look like. "You don't have to worry about furnishing it, I'll do that myself.

He gave John a moment to assimilate his instructions and to take notes. "The third compartment needs to be roughly three times the size Hogwarts library used to be with 20-foot vaulted ceilings and floor to ceiling bookcases with a track ladder to reach the higher shelves. I've got a little over five million books and I may end up getting more, I don't know yet." Harry pulled out another sketch, this time of his Library compartment.

John shook his head in amazement at the thought of all those books and, when he could form a coherent thought again, asked, "Do you want archival charms on this compartment too? It might be a good idea what with all the books."

Harry looked thoughtful for a moment. He hadn't thought of that, but it was a good idea. Some of his books were quite old. "I like it. Let's also add a charm that won't allow flame of any kind and another that won't allow fluids." It wouldn't do for any of his books to get damaged, and you never know what might happen.

"Okay," said John as he finished his notes on Harry's third compartment, affixing his sketch to the page with a sticking charm as he had with the previous sketch. "What's in the fourth?"

Harry smirked. "The fourth compartment is the main reason I'm going to need a very powerful feather light charm on this trunk. I want a Gringotts vault in my fourth compartment."

John arched an eyebrow, giving him a skeptical look. "Why would you want to have a vault in your trunk?" His eyes widened comically. "You're not going to…" He trailed off.

"I see you know me too well." Harry sighed. "I am, indeed going to keep all of my money, down to the last Knut, in my trunk. It would be much more convenient than having to go to the bank every time I need some cash. Other than that, I can't tell you why, so don't ask. I just need to know if you can do it."

"Well, yea! I can do it, of course." He still looked like he wanted to question Harry, but somehow refrained. "Exactly how big are we talking? I know you're rich, but I don't know the extent of it."

Harry thought for a moment. How much room would he need? "You know, I haven't been to my vaults in almost ten years. Perhaps it's time to take a look." He paused, as if unsure of his friend's response to his next suggestion. "Why don't you come with me to Gringotts? Then you can decide how big to make the trunk's vault."

John, being a half blood, knew both Muggle and Wizarding views on the sanctity of money. People from neither culture would ever think to suggest such a thing. Most people would have issues showing their vault to their mother, much less a friend they hadn't seen in over a decade. He stuttered out his agreement and, though he didn't think of his friend that way, he was suddenly intensely curious about what he might see in the vault of 'the great Harry Potter'.

Harry, knowing that he must have just shocked his friend, waited until John stopped doing his gold fish impression and looked like he was ready to continue. "The fifth compartment will be set up like a Muggle art gallery. I plan on keeping several priceless works of art there and I want them to be properly displayed." He took out yet another sketch to show the trunk maker.

"Now, compartment six will be used as a training room. I'm sure you remember how I train." Seeing John's nodded affirmation and sympathetic wince, he went on, saying, "I'll need two dueling platforms, and space to the side for some Muggle training equipment. I want a whole back wall taken up by several cabinets for my weapons. I want 16 Auror grade dueling dummies, half black, half white, and a wardrobe to hold two more dummies that will be wearing my Battle Robes."

He handed over yet another sketch, "I'll need several safety charms around this room. I'd really rather not get too seriously hurt during training, so cushioning charms on the floors and walls as well as impervious charms on the walls to protect the trunk."

This time he didn't pause for John to catch his breath. "Compartment seven will be a fully operational potions lab. It will need to have ventilation charms, fume dispelling charms, charms against fire, charms against potion damage and spells to keep the floor clean." He smiled wryly. "There's nothing worse than trying to put the finishing touches on an extremely complex potion while your feet are slipping and sliding around."

John just nodded and made non committal noises as his quill flew frantically across his Parch Pad. He didn't even look up when Harry passed him the sketch for his Potions Lab. Harry knew that the next compartment would be a hard sell. Some of the things he wanted were just barely legal and some weren't legal at all.

When the trunk maker finally stopped his hurried quill scratches, he looked up once more at Harry, waiting for his specifications for the final compartment.

Harry took a deep breath, pulled out his last sketch and just plunged right into it. "The last compartment will be a prison."

"I beg your pardon? A prison?"

"You heard right. Where I'm going, there are still Death Eaters at large. They need to be stopped. I want 18 jail cells in the last compartment. Each will have a cot and a bucket. Nothing else. The floors and walls will be stone, Muggle cement if you can swing it and I want every charm that's on the Ministry holding cells to be on each cell, including the anti-Animagus charm."

John was temporarily rendered speechless. "H-Harry!" he stuttered, "I don't even know where to begin to find out what charms they put on those cells." His mouth dropped open when his friend handed him a list of charms and another rough sketch of the Prison compartment.

He read:

Anti-Apparation

Anti-Disapparation

Anti-Portkey

Anti-Suicide

Anti-Owl

Anti-Tracking

Anti-Tracing

Magic Dampening

Sound Proofing

Air Circulation

Health Monitoring

One Way Door

Anti-Animagus

"Okay, so you have the list of spells. Harry, I must tell you that this is extremely illegal." He could see his words had no effect on the other man, so he tried again. "So, what, you're just going to lock them up in an enchanted trunk and hope they don't escape?"

"No. I will eventually hand them over to the Ministry for judgment. But until I can do that safely and be assured that they will not go free, I will keep them in my own personal prison."

"I don't know, Harry. Some of these spells seems a little … well, dark."

Harry just shook his head. "If there's one thing I've learned in my studies it is this; there is no such think as light and dark spells. A spell is what it is. It is what it's used for and the intent behind it that makes it light or dark, good or evil."

He could see that his friend was still struggling with the ethical ramifications of what he was asking him to do. He sighed. "If you don't want to risk it, I'll understand. Just set up the last compartment with 18 eight foot by eight foot rooms. We'll call them 'guest quarters'. I'll take care of the rest."

"It's not that I don't want to… well, actually, you're right, I don't, but each spell and charm that is cast can be traced back to its originator. I don't know that I want to be brought up on charges if someone happens to find out what you're up to." He let out a sigh, "In any case, you are magically stronger than any Wizard I know. There is always a chance that spells of this type could fail without routine reinforcement."

Harry nodded his understanding. "True. And, of course, you will not be with me to handle the reinforcements. It's probably better that I do it myself."

John let out a huge sigh of relief. He thanked his lucky stars that his friend was being so understanding of his reservations. If Harry had pushed the issue, he knew he would have folded like an unstable house of cards. He had dodged the proverbial Avada Kedavra and was left wondering where Harry was going and what he was up to.

Thinking he had better double check, John started going over all of Harry's specifications one more time. As he spoke, he referred to Harry's sketches and used them to clarify.

"Alright, we've got a high end trunk with eight compartments in all; number one is a normal looking school-type trunk with a visible lock and no other protections. The other compartments will have no visible lock and will be accessible only with your magical signature, like a Gringotts high security vault."

Harry nodded and John took a deep breath, "Compartment number two is a three bedroom, two bath flat with a Kitchen, Dining Room and Living room with a fire place connected to the Floo network and food conjuring charms on the fridge and cabinets. You do realize, of course that there won't be any windows, right? It is, after all, still a trunk."

Harry nodded and said, "Yes, but I plan on buying several faux windows. There's a new company that has taken the idea from the Muggles and expanded it. They're surprisingly realistic and can give off imitation sunlight as well. I believe a few of their clients have used them to create conservatories and green houses in their basements."

"Really?" John looked shocked for a moment. "Well, that would be something. And it would make living in a trunk more comfortable." He shook his head. "What will those Muggles think of next?"

He rubbed his hands together and said, "Okay, moving on. Compartment number three is a massive two-story library with built in floor to ceiling shelves and a track ladder. This compartment will have archival spells built in."

He checked with the next sketch. "Four is a Gringotts-type vault with… what is this? A lobby area?" Seeing Harry's nod, he just shrugged his shoulders. "Okay. Number five is your Muggle Art Gallery with what looks like 18 spotlights aimed at the walls and one more in the middle, right?"

"Right, you're spot on, so far."

He gave Harry an injured look as if to say, 'I'm always spot on', and continued with his recap. "Number six will be your training room with safety charms all around, sixteen Auror grade training dummies, half white, half black, a rack for your collection of weapons, two dueling platforms, a cabinet to hold your Battle Robes and space on the side for Muggle gym equipment." This got another nod of approval from Harry.

"Number seven is a fully functional Potions lab with a low brewing counter in the middle, a regular height counter on one wall for preparations, and shelves around the rest of the room for completed potions, supplies and equipment."

He shuffled the papers and cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Last, but not least, compartment eight will be your 'guest quarters'. You'll have 18 eight foot by eight foot rooms with a cot and a bucket."

He looked more closely at the sketch in his hand, noticing something he hadn't before. He looked back over the other sketches and realized that each one had the markings in the lower corner, except the first one.

"Harry," he asked, "what is this?"

"Oh, I almost forgot that part. I want to be able to go from one compartment to another, except the first of course, without having to leave the trunk. That mark shows where I want the doorway to be and the mark next to it shows where the access ladder will be."

He thought for a moment. "You know, it would probably be a good idea to be able to open the trunk from the inside as well. It wouldn't be very inconspicuous for an open trunk to be sitting in the middle of a room."

John had to concede the point. An open trunk would attract too much attention. Despite the hard work ahead of him, John was impressed. "Well, Harry, it looks like you've been planning this for a while now."

"Not really, just the last day or so." He smiled a bit, "Are you ready to go to Gringotts now, or do you want to wait a bit?"

John thought for a moment and sighed, "I suppose we should go get the measurements for your vault compartment before I start. If you want to wait for about an hour, I can have your first two trunks ready before we go. That way you can get on with your day after the Gringotts trip."

Harry agreed and spent the next hour chatting amiably with his old friend and watching him weave layer upon layer of spells onto two identical trunks. By the time they were finished, the two men had caught up sufficiently. After Harry paid for the trunks, he shrunk them down and put them in his pocket, then waited while John put a closed sign on his door.

The friends ambled down Diagon Alley, still chatting about old times until they reached the Wizard's bank. As they entered through the burnished bronze doors, all conversations seemed to come to a grinding halt. People stopped right in the middle of what they were doing as if someone had cast a massive Impedimentia. Heads turned and eyes stared.

Suddenly pandemonium broke out and cries of 'Harry Potter!' could be heard from the street. Harry was soon surrounded by adoring fans doing their best to touch him or speak to him, pushing and elbowing anyone who got in their way.

This was a terrifying new experience for Harry and, he would reflect later, he reacted badly to it. After the third person groped him in a very sensitive area, he finally had enough. Using a self levitation charm he had read about, Harry rose high above the rampaging mob and looked around frantically for his companion.

When the crowd shifted, he could just make out the prone figure of his friend. He had been shoved aside and knocked down when he had refused to leave Harry's side. A strange ringing filled Harry's ears and he saw red. Maintaining his own levitation charm, he cast another at John's still figure and soon had him in the air beside him and out of harm's way.

"ENOUGH!" bellowed Harry. The resulting hush was anything but instantaneous, but it finally quieted down enough for Harry to be heard without having to destroy his voice in the process.

"Have you no shame? Had I known that this world was filled with such careless people as yourselves, I would not have bothered to save it!" His rebuke had the desired effect. People seemed to suddenly realize what they had been doing and were coming to see that it was less than acceptable behavior.

Harry decided to put one more nail in the proverbial coffin. He pointed to the blood on John's temple, "Your mob mentality has seriously injured a very good friend of mine. Now I'm thinking I should have left you all to Voldemort."

A shudder ran through the group. Even ten years after his second downfall, the evil wizard's name still struck fear in the hearts of the people who had lived through his reign of terror. Most faces in the crowd looked properly ashamed of their actions, but Harry and John remained aloft until the crimson and gold clad guards could clear enough space for them to safely return to terra firma.

With the guards keeping the throng at bay, Harry was finally able to concentrate on John and his wounds. He carefully healed each one and used a diagnostic spell to determine how bad off he was. The results were not terribly serious, but each injury made Harry see red. The larger man had a few fractured bones, including two ribs, and a slight concussion. All of those were taken care of within moments and as the glow from Harry's wand receded, John slowly opened his eyes.

"What happened?" He asked groggily.

Harry helped him to sit up carefully. "What do you remember?"

Holding his head in his hands, John struggled to think clearly through the blinding headache that had begun to form behind his left eye. "I remember walking down the Alley and entering Gringotts…"

He trailed off and Harry could only sigh. "We were mobbed." Remorse filled his emerald eyes. "I am so sorry, John. I should never have put you in such a dangerous situation."

The large bald man just looked at him blankly. "How were you to know?"

"Huh?"

"Well," he said slowly, "it's not as if you've been out much lately. How were you to know how the people would react?"

"I still should ha-"

"Harry stop. You didn't know."

Harry nodded and rose to his feet, offering his friend a hand. "Now, how about that trip to the vaults, huh?"


Harry concluded his business with Gringotts in record time. The Goblins at the Wizarding Bank were understandably upset when Harry informed them that he would be emptying his vaults. After fending off several sometimes disturbing offers, he exited the bank and, wearing heavy glamours this time, walked with John back to his shop. He left his friend there with the promise to return in two weeks for his new trunk and another chat.

Still under the glamours, he made his way to Flourish and Blotts to buy new history books detailing Voldemort's reign of terror. His favorite, and the most useful he had found, gave a detailed account of each confirmed Death Eater attack. He thought he would definitely find a use for that information.

Satisfied with the way things had gone, Harry Apparated back to Potter Manor, content in the knowledge that he had gotten things started. Soon his plans would all come together. Soon, he would be able to make a real difference. Soon the day would come when he would be able to right past wrongs.

That day couldn't come quickly enough.


Author's Note:

Due to the encouraging responses to the last chapter, I have decided to continue Portals to the Past. That being said, credit must be given to my new friend Paladeus. Without his wonderful suggestions, this chapter would never have been written! Thank you so much! And if you like my story so far, you should check out Death's Pride. I promise you'll like it! Thanks again, Paladeus! You rock!

No one seemed to like what I wrote about Harry, Ron and Hermione's relationship, so I will be taking the pairing in a new direction (Just for you Paladeus!). No worries. Not a trio story anymore.

Also, I must give credit where credit is due. I am not the one that came up with the Live-in-trunk. The first person I ever saw that put it in their story was Ross Wrock. Seriously, go read Harry Potter and the Power of Time (it's in my favorites). Totally worth the hours and hours you'll sit there reading it. It's not done yet, but he promises it will be soon. I've read it about 6 or 7 times myself. Wonderful Independent! Smart! Powerful! Harry story.

If any one is interested, look up Terrortours Travel Agency. It's cannon! Cool, huh?

Thanks for reading!

Please Review and let me know if I'm doing well or if I suck worse than a Chupacabra.

Thanks again,

AF Marauder

P.s.

In case anyone is curious, the United States Library of Congress has over 120 million books, so I don't think Harry's collection is impossible, especially when you think about all the doubles he must have and how Hermione 'liberated' all those books from their safe houses.