Until You Come Back Home
Chapter 2
He was in pain.
An agony so great that made the pain inflicted by the cruciatus curse look like an harmless pricking.
Every single inch of his body was aflame, burning hotter than dragon-fire.
Muscles and bones were repeatedly whrithing, pulling and shrinking in every direction. His heart was beating frantically, pumping in his blood vessels something that felt more like molten iron than blood.
Breathing was difficult, nearly impossible. He felt like something very heavy was laying atop his chest, making every gasp he could take seem like a stab at his lungs.
He wanted to scream, but he couldn't find his voice anymore.
He wanted to see, but he was blind.
He could only thought that, perhaps , going back has not been such good idea, after all.
When the pain hit his head, he finally fell into unconsciouness.
He woke up looking at a white ceiling slightly ruined by moisture spots, lying down on a old looking wooden bed very worned out by the time, but with white and clean sheats that smell of lavander. His confused head was laid on a comfortable pillow.
He got up not without effort, still sore and dazed from the...fall? rebirth? the something? Yes, The Something was probably the best word to descrive his "little" travel to the unknow.
And surely he was in the unknow. He could see that he was in a small bedroom poorly furnished with only a bed, a tiny table with a book under one of his legs to keep it steady, a camping chair, a small wardrobe and a mirror.
The chamber was lit by a big window that gave a great view on the landscape.
'This isn't my chamber at the Dursley...' he thought with a frown '...nor i'm at Hogwarts or Grimmauld Place'.
He slowly approached the window and gave a peek outside pressing his forehead on the cold glass.
He was greated by a grey and cloudy morning that already seemed to promise a rainy day. A big and very busy city was spread as far as he could see, with lots of people walking around dressed in various -plainly Muggles- style of clothes. The streets were occupied by a car's traffic jam with a cacophony of klaxsons and imprecations. Lastly, in the distance, he could see a world famous and very characteristic clock tower.
"So i'm in London..." he whispered to himself, more confused than before. He couldn't remember to have ever been in this place, no matter how hard he tried to think back.
Shaking his head, he moved away from the window and looked to his right, where he saw a little toy on the little table. It was a simple but well made toy soldier. He took it in his hand and looked at it with a small smile, remembering some memories of his past. The soldier, in fact, was oddly similar to the toys that kept him company in the Dursley's cupboard years ago, when he was just a child: companions of hundreds of adventures.
It was...nice.
Quitting his digression with a shrug he decided to keep exploring the place but he casually looked in the mirror, meeting the gaze of his counterpart. In a instant, his breath died in his lungs and his eyes grew big as saucers.
Because, looking back at him, was a small boy -not older than ten or eleven- with big green eyes, black and neat hairs, high cheekbones and a nearly faded lightning scar on the forehead. The boy was dressed in plain white shirt, jeans and a pair of brown shoes -the same clothes that he found in the void- and a silver necklace with a lily pendant around the neck.
He took him some minutes to counsciously understand that the puzzleded-looking boy stairing at him was, in reality, just himself.
He open-mouthed reached the mirror and touched the glass at the height of his face, looking at himself in wonder. His mother was right when she said that there will have been differences. He didn't look like anymore a green-eyed carbon copy of his father. On the other hand, he didn't look like a copy of his mother neither. He now was a person on his own, with traits from both of his parents, even if with a little more were from Lily.
"I-i look great! Better than before" He claimed with a big smile, taking away the hand form the mirror, keeping stairing to his reflection, before morphing his expression to one of horror, having reached two terrible and cruel truths.
"And i'm a midget, again" He said dejected, looking down at his short stature and finally understanding the pain he felt after the fall in the void. He didn't seem as short as before, but he still was on the short size. "Going through puberty once more will be a bitch..." he grumbled with a grimace. He had only bed memories related to that period.
Once again lost in his thoughts, he noted a piece of paper hanging from the wall at the left of the mirror. He curiosly looked at it and saw that was a simple calendar,of the type you could find as a gift in a supermarket or sundries stores. But it was the crossed date that truly shocked him out of his mind. He let the small toy fall from his trembling hands to the floor, breaking it, and instead grabbed frantically the calendar, looking at it like it was particular ugly piece of dirt.
The date was 10 may 1971. He's traveled twenty-six years back in time.
"Damn...this might be a problem"
He was in the time of his parent's first year at Hogwarts, and from his look, it probably was his too. But if this was the case, everything became very complicated. First, he couldn't present himself as Harry Potter anymore. Noone will ever belive him, and even if they did, it was just unfair to a child Lily and James Potter, that by this time, probably didn't even knew eachother, know that they have a son, even one coming from the future.
Second, he couldn't take any money from his Gringott vault. As of now, he was totally broke.
Third, he must forge himself a new name, or at least a surname, and a credible cover story. Difficult, but not impossible. The only problem was Hogwarts's enrollment. What if there he was listed with his real name? If so, this might lead to a great deal of problem. For him and everyone else.
'This bullshit of time travel is a problem after one other' he thought annoyed, his hands closed in punch. 'I'm totally screwed'
He started to walk up and down, trying to come up with solutions, but they were one more farfetched than the other.
He was take out of his musings by a knock at the door. Startled, he looked at the door with wide eyes and asked "Yes?"
"Harry, may i come in?" a soft voice -certainly female- asked.
"Ehm, sure. Come in"
The door opened with a slight noise. A woman in her late twenties with brown hair in a braid, hazel eyes, a kind smile on her face and dressed in a nurse-like uniform walked into the room.
"Hello Harry, how are you today? Is the head a little better?" She asked kindly, looking at him with attention.
"Ehm, who are you?" asked Harry perplexed. This girl was not familar at all.
"Oh, i see that it's not got better..." replied the nurse shaking her head in disappointment.
"What are you talking about, Miss..."
"Miss Roberts, Harry. Yes, the doctor said that you probably would suffer of amnesy for some time. After all, you've fallen from a very tall tree. But well, it's already been a week..."
'So she think that i lost my memory...how convenient...' he thought, smirking internally. He's just found a way to ask questions without sounding crazy -or an idiot- for not knowing anything, like a guy called Jon Snow.
"Ehm yes, Miss Roberts, my mind feel still very cloudy. To be honest, i don't even remember anything about myself, other than my name. Can you please give me a hand?" He asked with puppy eyes and an hopefull smile.
'So cute' She thought patting him on the head. Harry has always been the most adorable of all the children at her care in the orphanage. A pity that she was still too young and economically precarious to adopt him.
"Sure, my dear Harry...Well let's see" said the girl, trying to remember anything she knew about the boy. "Your name is Harry James Peverell, born 31 july 1960. Sadly, you've lived all your life here, in Saint John Orphanage. We never knew who your parents were. My mother -the orphanage director, that's it- found you when you were still in bands, with only the necklace you have around your neck and a letter with your name and date of birth. Nothing else" She finished speaking with sad voice. She always thought that Harry deserved better. He was such a sweet boy.
"Thank you miss Roberts, you've been very helpful. I'm starting to remember a few things" He replied with a small smile.
"Glad to be of some help. Now, chop chop, go back to bed and rest a little. We don't want little Harry to be sick again, don't we?" she claimed laughing, ruffling the always neat boy's black hair.
"Yes ma'am" he chirped in his best childlike voice, sounding a little like ol' Bellatrix Lestrange. The though gave him creeps.
She went to open the door again to exit, before she stopped, and looked at Harry from over her shoulder and said "Oh, and call me Lucy, Harry. You've always did. Rest well" and she left the room, closing the door behind her.
Harry looked at her with a smile. Yes, sure...some things never change, and he was still an orphan even this time around, but at least he was not at the Dursleys; and this Lucy girl seemed to care a great deal about him. It was an improvement.
But the best thing was that he's finally discovered something. He now knew where he was; he knew that someone -and he clearly could understand when he was given an help from above- gave him a new identity, and that indeed, he was ten and ready for his first year at Hogwarts in a few months. He just hoped that his fake name was written in the school list of new students, probably as a muggleborn.
Tired of all the emotions and surprise of the day, he decided to follow Miss lucy's advice and went to bed, even if was still morning. He fell asleep in a heartbeat.
He woke up at the sound of a knock at the door.
"Peverell, get up! It's already nine in the morning!" exclaimed a low and deep voice, sounding a little annoyed " And dress nicely, you have a visit"
"Ehm yes, coming!" he yelled in reply. 'A visit? from whom?' though perplexed.
He quickly got up, got dressed and went before the mirror to fix his hair a little, but noted with amazement that they were as neat and well coiffed as before he went to sleep. Now that's it that was a very big improvement.
He opened the door, where outside he saw a woman as big as a whale, with sandy brown hair and little brown eyes. "Oh, finally the sleeping beauty deserves us with his presence" she said now cleary upset "Everyone else woke up one hour ago. Don't think that just because my daughter Lucy spoils you rotten, everyone else must do the same. There are rules in this place, and everyone, and i underline, everyone, must respect them. Are we clear?" She asked threateningly
"Yes, ehm...Lady Roberts?" He replied unsure. 'Lucy is this woman's daughter? wow, she must have taken everything from the father...' he though mokingly.
"Very well. Now, this morning an old hag came here as a representative from a border school, saying that you were enrolled in it by birth. She want to talk to you"
So they already found him. 'Let's cross fingers and hope that everything go for the best' he though worried. This was the moment were everything was decided, and if they knew his real name, then he was in very deep shit.
"Okay, where is she?"
"Oh she's talking with my daughter in the hall. Now let's go" she replied taking him from an arm and dragged him for half orphanage. When they arrived at the hall, Harry did everything that he could to not laughing, because waiting for him, was a slightly younger McGonagall, dressed in maybe the worst muggle disguised ever. She was wearing a jeans overalls over a white t-shirt with the logo of the Queen, long and black boots, a leather jacket left open and a borsalino over her head. She looked totally ridiculous.
Lucy must have been of his same opinion, because she was looking at her like she was some crazy just left out of an asylum.
"Oh hem, here they are" she said lucy uncertainly, walking toward Harry and her mother.
"Harry, would you want for me to call the police? She seems a nutter to me" she wispered in Harry ear, worried for his favourite boy.
"No, thank you Lucy. Let's ear what she want to say. Who know, maybe she might tell me something about my parents if she had said that i was enrolled in her school since birth" he wispered back, trying carefully to not be heard by his old teacher.
"Ok, but be ready to run if she do or propose to you something strange, okay?" she asked with pleading eyes before walking away with her mother, leaving them alone.
Harry nodded and walked toward the witch and handed her his hand that she proptly accepted.
"Hello ma'am, my name's Harry Peverell. Who are you?" asked innocently, trying his best to sound oblivious.
"Hello mister Peverell, I'm Minerva McGonagall, and i'm one of the teachers in a wonderful school, where you were enrolled by birthright, even if your request arrived only yesterday. Unusual, but it's already happened." She said in scottish accent, looking at him with attention.
"So i was not enrolled by my parents,then...You don't know who they were, right?" he asked with his heart in his throat, sweating cold. This was the prove of the nine.
"I'm afraid not, Mister Peverell" She replied "You were enrolled because you have something different, something special. Tell me, did ever happened to you something that you could not understand? maybe when you were angry or frightened?" She asked.
"Mhm, not really, no" he replied . It was the truth, after all. In all the day he was sent here, he never had an attack of accidental magic. Not he did any kind of magic at all.
"Strange. Maybe you just don't remember. Your caretaker has already explained to me of your accident that you had one week ago"
"Perhaps you're right. So you were saying?"
"Yes, sorry. Listen, in this world there are people that have something special in them, special qualities. I come from a school named Hogwarts, a school that teach youngster like you to contol and understand the gift that you posses"
"I think to understand..." He replied, smirking internally.
"Really?" She demanded, sounding surprised.
"Yes, a lot of people have always said that i've an amazing gift. You see, i can lick my nose with my tongue. Amazing, right? Are you going to teach me how to do this better?" Harry asked with a cheeky smile.
McGonagall looked at him like he had grown a second head before snapping with an high-pitched voice "I certainly was NOT speaking about that, Mister Peverell!"
She tried to calm herself inspiring and expiring deeply, choosing carefully her next words. Clearly, she was dealing with a dunderhead, and sadly for her, a very probably new Griffyndor. She chose to be direct.
"You are a wizard, Harry"
"Sorry, a what?"
"A wizard. You know, a person that can do magic" She replied annoyed.
"Why didn't you tell that sooner? I already know that i'm a wizard. I can do a lot of tricks with cards" He said happily. He was so going to enjoy the chance to annoy his ex-teacher, without the risk of losing house point.
"Please, just shut up and look" she take out her wand from the jacket sleeve and started to shake it.
"It's not too little to be a walking stick?"he asked innocently, stopping her spell.
She looked at him like she was ready to hex him to kindom come now.
"This, Mister Peverell, it's not a walking stick, but a wand. A magical wand, more exactly. We wizard can do magic with this. Now please, shut up" She replied between gritted teeth. This boy was clearly too clever for his own good, or a total idiot.
She shook the wand and said "Wingardium Leviosa"
As if by magic, a pen on the desk started to levitate in the hair, before stopping at Harry's eyes height.
He looked at the magic with faked awe, and put his hand over and under the pen, trying to see if it was hanging from a wire or something. It wasn't.
"Well, i admit that i cannot explain this" He said scratching his head in well simulated confusion.
"There's nothing to explain, it's magic, mister Peverell. You will learn this and so much more if you come to Hogwarts. But i must warn you, disrespect and the witty remarks you seems so fond of, won't be tolerated at Hogwarts. Students can be punished and even expelled if they do something dangerous or severe. In Hogwarts there are many rules, rules that must be respected. From. Everyone. Are we clear?" She asked threatening, one of her eyebrow raised in a dangerous frown.
"Y-yes Ma'am"
"Good, any questions?"
"Yes, when i can buy a wand?"
"We will buy everything in Diagon Alley. Don't ask, you'll see. And before you ask, yes, i know that you don't have any money, your caretaker was so kind to remind me of that. I'll let you know that Hogwarts offer to the less lucky children, just like yourself, a little fund for buy the necessary scholastic material. You'll probably have to settle for second-hand books and uniform, but you'll manage to take everything" She explained in professional manner.
"Okay, soooo, when are we going to this Diagon Alley?" Harry asked, voice filled with excitement.
"Not today, mister Peverell. I'm already late for another meeting with another young wizard. I'll come back here the next week, and together we will go to Diagon Alley. Is it okay for you?"
"It's perfect"
"Ok, then let me be the first to congratulate you on your acceptance at Hogwarts and here you are..." She said before taking out a letter from one of her jacket's pockets and giving it to him "...This is your letter. Inside, there is a list of everything you'll need, together with a train ticket for the school. I'll explain better the next time, now i'm really terribly late." she finished with a nod.
"Mister Peverell, it's been a pleasure. See you next week. Bye" Said that, she disappeared with a pop.
Harry looked down at the letter, adressed to: Mister Harry James Peverell, chamber 46, Saint John Orphanage, London.
He turned the letter and recognized the Hogwarts's coat-of-arms pressed on the red wax that kept the letter closed. He opened the letter and started to read:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand sorcerer, Chief Warlock, Supreme Mungwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Mr. Peverell
We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts school of withcraft and wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on 1 september.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress
He finished reading with a big grin on his face. He didn't cause a disaster with his only presence, his new identity was safe and he could go to Hogwarts, again. Things were starting to get interesting.
