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003..."Spend All Your Time Waiting, For That Second Chance "

Harry expertly slipped in at the back of the cluster of new students that all slowly paced and marveled at their new surroundings; most mouths were wide open.

He stood next to a tall, Asian boy who spared him a glance as he came up from behind him and raised an eyebrow, "Where'd you come from?"

Harry frowned up at him, and hated that he had to crane his neck to look directly into his wide, brown eyes, "I was here the entire time," he lied smoothly. The boy didn't comment and faced front again, walking and letting his eyes wander around the walls.

"Attention," a stern voice called up all the first-years' eyes to the front and Harry saw McGonagall give him a quick nod before looking over the rest of the heads, "Welcome to Hogwarts. The start-of term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats, you will each be sorted into your houses. The Sorting Ceremony is a very important tradition, because while you are here your house will be something akin to your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with your house, you will sleep in your house dormitory, and spend your free time in the house common rooms."

She paused for a moment, looking at the faces that seemed alert with attention and continued, "There are four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has their own history and each house has produced fine wizards and witches. During your time at Hogwarts, the good will earn you points, and the bad will cause you to lose them. At the end of the year, the house with the highest number of points will receive the house cup. I hope each and every one of you put your all into aiding your house."

Harry almost smiled in fond memory. How many times had he cost Gryffindor house points? Mostly due to Snape's intense dislike for him. He was tempted to look around for a head of greasy, black hair, but thought it best if he didn't. He watched McGonagall go on.

"The Sorting will begin in just a few minutes. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up with the time you have," Harry did smile at this, "I will return in just a few moments when we are ready."

As soon as she disappeared behind the large doors, chatter immediately broke out among the first-years. They seemed excited and tried to guess what house they would most likely land in.

Harry pursed his lip and nervously fiddled with the sleeve of his large robes that he had borrowed for the time being as his own robes were upstairs with the rest of his supplies.

"What house do you reckon you'll be put into?"

Harry turned his green-eyed gaze to the cool-looking boy beside him and frowned. Where exactly? It's been years since his first sorting... would he be Gryffindor again? ... perhaps Slytherin?

But he didn't have to answer as the boy impatiently went on talking as Harry's silence had been too long, "I think I'd rather like to be in Ravenclaw. Mum was a Ravenclaw, Pa was a Slytherin," he smiled politely and outstretched his hand out for Harry to take, "Name's Xiaoue Chang. Pleasure to meet you."

Harry didn't hesitate to grab his hand in a friendly shake and grinned, he knew part of this man in his daughter, "Harry. The pleasure's mine."

McGonagall returned at this moment and gathered everyone in a straight line; Harry was at the very end of the row. She directed them into the Great Hall and the huge gulps of breath were immediate, even Xiaoue gasped.

Stunning as always, Harry walked with slight wonder at seeing the Great Hall returned to its former glory of enchanted candles, and bewitched ceiling of stars. He thought he would never see that ceiling again.

But his attention was stolen away when McGonagall moved to the front of the hall and placed a four-legged stool and an old hat on top of it.

It was time...

The hat twitched for a second before it fell motionless again. But Harry could see the distinct lines where the mouth and eyes were supposed to be.

Then it began to sing:

"Listen well, for I have a story to tell,
A story of four, and their each own ways.
Of founders and magic, and beginnings of us,
So listen to my melodic phrase.
Mighty Gryffindor, with head held high,
Dauntless valor that shines above all.
Strong Hufflepuff, honorable and just,
Patience and loyalty are never too small.
Wise Ravenclaw, witty and sharp,
Clever and quick in all the right parts.
Keen Slytherin, cunning and smooth,
Crafty charmers and masters of art.
You'll meet your greatest self with the four,
Guiding you through this obstacle.
And here my song ends, ladies and gents,
So this is the tale of the founders and this castle."

The Great Hall broke out into spontaneous applause and Harry joined in happily at hearing the Sorting hat sing once more.

"When I call your name, please come up and sit on the stool and try on the hat to be sorted." McGonagall summoned a long parchment from the air and began the sorting, "Allen, Synclair."

And she continued on from there. Harry sat patiently and slightly nervous on what surname he would be called by as she passed the A's quickly with five children and went on with the B's.

"Black, Sirius."

Harry straightened immediately and tensed to see a stern-faced, young boy walk up to the stool and allowed the hat to drape over his eyes. The hat paused for a few seconds, it's folds twisting and turning in a frowning expression before he called out, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Sirius turned an ashy color as he staggered off of the stool and looked around at the Slytherin table in horror. Harry turned his eyes to that direction as well and blinked at the look of betrayal on a pretty, blonde girl's face. But Sirius stalked away to the cheering table and sulked.

It wasn't long before Xiaoue was called up and the hat was quick in its decision and called out, "GRYFFINDOR!" Xiaoue walked over to the table with a handsome grin.

The numbers of students began to decline and Harry nervously toyed with his sleeve again.

"Evans, Lily."

The sudden rush of emotion was too much for Harry and he had to look away to stare at his shoes.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

High cheers followed after but Harry still kept his eyes on the ground. He heard a hissing beside him as another boy whispered into his ear, "That's the strange girl that keeps tugging at me. She's a bit of a bossy one."

Harry looked up to tell the boy off about speaking about his mum like that but froze at the face of the boy.

It was his face... but it wasn't him. Harry gulped as the blood rushed to his face, 'Dad...'

He shut his mouth and went back to staring at his shoes. He simply listened with a impassively as the rest of the names were called and his attention was perked again when another familiar person walked to the stool at the call of his name, "Lupin, Remus."

Harry's heart was pounding in his throat now.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Still no surprise yet, and Harry had managed to make a small hole in the cloth of the robe.

McGonagall finally made it into the P's, and Harry straightened slightly, but his gaze never left his shoes. He had to see if he would be called or not...

"Pettigrew, Peter."

A nasty snarl left his lips at that, startling the people around him, and he dug his nails into his arms to keep himself from jumping straight at the boy who was undoubtedly innocent at this moment.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

But that still didn't stop Harry from hating him.

"Potter, James," McGonagall's voice was stiff when she said this, and Harry had no choice but to look up and meet her eyes. He nodded once.

He saw a glimpse of black robes swirling around long legs, and Harry couldn't stop himself. He saw the boy, his father walking towards the stool with some regal air around him that struck Harry speechless as he saw a near-mirror image of himself having the old hat on his head and shouting, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Harry's eyes followed him all the way to the cheering table.

And Harry's name was called after his.

"Riddle, Harry."

He lurched, eyes wide and furious as he realized who's surname he had been given.

Dumbledore gave him a sad look, and McGonagall a reprimanding one as she called again, "Riddle, Harry!"

Harry walked forward, tearing his eyes away from the old wizard's and to the sorting hat in McGonagall's hands. He placed himself on the stool and allowed the hat to fall over his eyes and waited.

"Harry Potter... what a complicated mind," the voice chuckled, "It seems you managed to coax my future-self into making you a Gryffindor, when my future-self thought it would be best for you in Slytherin. Well. No matter, I'm afraid you can't do anything about my decision now, as it is final and unchanging."

Harry held his breath.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

And it was a good day to die. Harry grinned brightly, forgetting about his distress at such a disagreeable last name and smiled up at McGonagall who nodded with a small smile of her own. He looked over to the Gryffindor table that looked so familiar to him... like a dream.

But the smiling form of Xiaoue, madly clapping his hands, Harry knew for sure was not a dream. And he had to live this.

He paused to pass Dumbledore one last dirty look for bad naming sense before taking the empty spot next to Xiaoue and waited for the remainder of the students to be sorted.

A few more R's, then two S's before Harry saw him.

"Snape, Severus!"

Harry almost laughed out loud in relief. Snape was tall and lean for his age, his dark, greasy hair curtaining his face darkly and his waxen skin looked white in the light. But he was here, and Harry was glad for it.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Harry closed his eyes and breathed. Of course, of course...

Slytherin or not, Harry's Snape had died to save him. Died, not by the killing curse, but by a stray knife that caught him in the neck as he pushed Harry out from its way, breaking his carotid artery and stopping the flow of the blood from the heart to the brain. Snape had died in his own pool of blood.

But right now, he was alive. And if he could, Harry would change everything. James and Lily would live, Sirius wouldn't have to suffer, and Remus wouldn't have to go through hardships of discrimination and prejudice.

The rest of the names were called out and each student went to their houses and sat with their house mates, eagerly awaiting the feast.

Dumbledore stood from his chair, glancing at Harry momentarily, who ignored him, and smiled warmly, "Welcome to your first or new year at Hogwarts! Now before we begin our banquet, as we are all famished I'm sure, I'd like to point out that the Forbidden Forest, as always, is forbidden. I advise you to stay away unless you wish for a terrible accident," he smiled, "Now! Let the feast... begin!"

The food blossomed on the before-empty plates and Harry automatically reached forward to get the closet solid thing available.

"This is great. I'm a Gryffindor... I can't wait to see Mum and Pa's faces when I tell them the news," Xiaoue chirped, digging his teeth into the pie and downing it with his juice.

Harry swallowed and wiped at his lips with his sleeve and smiled worriedly, "Will they be angry?" Xiaoue shrugged, "I don't know. Pa expected me to be in Ravenclaw. I keep telling him I'm not that smart."

"It doesn't have to do with smarts, I don't really think," came a sudden reply from a girlish voice next to him, and Harry leaned over to see wide green eyes under the fringe of red hair. Lily Evans cocked her head to the side and fingered the brim of her goblet gently as she stared at the Asian boy next to her, "I think it's most about wit and how quick you are. A person could read a book over and over again and become that book, but that doesn't mean it comes naturally."

Xiaoue pulled a face, "I am witty though," he whined, "Don't you think I'm witty Harry?"

Harry looked away, unable to answer as he found his voice taken away by Lily's presence. Xiaoue misinterpreted his silence and pouted, "Fine," and he returned to his pie.

This was too hard. He couldn't possibly survive being in the same house as parents and the people he cared for most. He sneaked a peek down the table and saw James getting along well with the upperclassmen, but Sirius was sitting at the very corner, poking at his food, and Remus looked deathly pale and smiled weakly whenever addressed to.

Harry allowed himself to look at Peter who was staring at James with a sense of awe and amazement and he nearly retched in disgust. He was only glad the traitor-Peter from his time was dead. He and Ron both finished each other off at the same time.

He stopped himself before he made himself sick.

"Harry? Are you okay?" Lily seemed to be worried as Harry's face took on a green shade, "Oh, um... do you mind me calling you that? Urgh... is it too...familiar or anything?" she bit her lip and looked helplessly at him, but relaxed when the other boy smiled at her, "Harry is good. And thank you Lily, but I'm fine," he laughed weakly at how he lied to his mum straight through his teeth.

But Lily's face turned pink and she smiled back, "Okay..."

The feast was satisfying, but after the sight of Peter, Harry lost his appetite and settled himself for just the juice. He stayed behind as the Prefects went forward and called all first-years to them. Casting a look to Dumbledore, who caught it, Harry made his way though the crowd and towards the Headmaster as he walked away to the privacy of his office.

Harry easily caught up with the other wizard and waited until they were up in his office before he allowed himself to blow up, "Riddle! Do you think I'm stupid, sir! I know who Riddle is, and I'm not particularly happy I took on his name."

Dumbledore sat in his chair behind his desk and laced his fingers together and frowned, "Of course, Mr. Potter. I understand your feelings if you know what kind of character Riddle is..."

Harry did not say anything. He could've easily gloated that he had already killed Riddle, but did not say anything.

"Mr. Potter... I'll be frank with you. I find you a dangerous character."

Harry stiffened. To be distrusted by Dumbledore was something Harry thought he would never have to experience, "You don't even know me..."

"I know enough about you. Your temper, the look in your eyes, your name..." Dumbledore paused at Harry's vacant expression before continuing, "You come from the future, but how could I believe that? I could just easily think of you from the past in order to destroy me, Hogwarts, and its students." Harry opened his mouth to retort, "How could I know?" Dumbledore continued smoothly, "... I couldn't know. Because you're being quite smart about keeping your mouth shut and I wish it to stay that way."

Harry frowned, "But I could save lives with what I know. I could do the world something greater! I could—"

"No, you can't Mr. Potter. That is not the natural way of how our lives go. You cannot change the future by mouthing off that you're from 20 years later, and expect people to freely believe you!"

He was getting scolded by Headmaster Dumbledore, and Harry felt his face hot with embarrassment, "... But I could save your life."

Dumbledore shook his head tiredly, his blue-eyes twinkling behind half-moon glasses, "... I cannot live forever. You cannot save my life," he looked at his hands and smiled wryly, "Promise me... make me a Wizard's Promise, Mr. Potter, that you are not allowed to spread anything about the future to anyone."

Harry wanted to sigh, but he simply shook his head, "I cannot make that promise, Headmaster, and expect keep it," he bowed his head politely and walked out of Dumbledore's office without a another word.

His head pounded by the time he made it back to the Gryffindor common room, but stared helplessly at the Fat Lady's portrait when he realized he didn't know the password. He groaned weakly and fell to the ground, holding his head in his hands when his headache beat relentlessly at his temples.

He hated childhood.

But... Harry thought wryly, he never made it to adulthood either. He simply smiled and buried his face into his arms, knees pulled up to his chest and his back pressed against the stair rails.

How was he going to survive this year?


Lily was the first one to notice the lack of Harry's presence. She stayed at the back of the line, hoping to see the boy around there, noting how shy he was and thinking that he was simply lagging.

Xiaoue followed her easily when she mentioned the missing boy. Using his height to his advantage, he skimmed the tops of people's heads as they walked in front of them, "... Isn't that him?" Xiaoue pointed to a head of unruly black hair of James, but Lily squinted her eyes and shook her head, "That's not Harry. Don't even compare him with that prat! Harry's such a sweet boy."

The other shrugged helplessly, but could not find Harry in the crowd of first years, "Maybe he got lost?"

Lily chewed on her lip thoughtfully, worry catching up to her quickly and she was urged to go up to the Prefect and tell him that Harry was missing. But she didn't want to say anything in front of everyone else, in fear of embarrassing the other boy.

They reached a large, rectangular portrait of a rather oversized woman in a pink dress. The woman moved, startling Lily, and smiled at the students sweetly, "Password?"

The Prefect straightened proudly, his pale cheeks an ugly, red shade, "Treacle Tarts," he answered. The woman in the painting nodded and swung open for them, showing an opening to where the Gryffindor Common Room was.

Lily stepped in, gasping when a warmth enveloped her body. The Common Room was a gentle color of scarlet, and the fire was lit in the furnace, making the room glow in an unearthly way.

She forgot about Harry at that moment and allowed herself to be taken by the hand by various other first-year girls as they chattered excitedly and ran up to the girl's dormitories. She grinned at once and joined in their conversation.

So this is what peace at home was.


"Hey, hey..."

Harry was rudely awoken by a strong hand on his thin shoulders and he sniffed pathetically, "Wha...?" he started to lift his head but groaned at the pain in the back of his neck. He fell asleep in his stiff position on the stone-cold ground.

Harry let himself be lifted up out of his uncomfortable position by the stranger's hands and blinked wearily as he saw the black-headed blur.

Grumbling obscenities, Harry pulled his glasses back onto his nose and jumped back a foot when he saw Sirius standing just before him. He ejected a small noise, but did not say anything besides that.

Sirius frowned at the other boy and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his robe, "What are you doing out here?" he asked, his tone rude and mocking. Harry opened his mouth to retort but was cut off when Sirius decided he didn't care anymore and walked to the portrait as if he owned the world.

It ticked Harry off to no end.

But he was his beloved godfather—no not now... but later. Sirius gave the password in a long drawl and stepped through the hole in the wall and didn't wait to watch Harry scramble in through it as well.

The familiar embrace of the Common Room was immediate and Harry breathed it in gratefully. He also saw Sirius pause in his steps for a second before resuming. Harry frowned and stepped after him, "What were you doing out?"

"None of your business," Sirius quickly said.

It was suspicious now, and Harry could only think it was just like Sirius to sneak out on the first day. He didn't have a clue as to what the other was doing, but didn't really want to know.

Harry followed Sirius up the spiraling staircase, hoping to get to his bed before his body failed him and simply passed out in exhaustion. But Sirius was making this harder for him.

The boy stopped in the middle of the stairs and turned to give Harry a mean glare, "Why are you following me?" he demanded.

Green-eyes widened at the question and laughter bubbled out of Harry's twitching lips, "Following?" he repeated through weak chuckles, "This happens to be my dormitory as well, Black."

Sirius took his bottom lip between his teeth and frowned, "... bloody Gryffindors..." and stomped away, leaving Harry there on weak legs and a question on his mind, "... didn't he enjoy being a Gryffindor...?"

The memories he had of Sirius from Snape's pensive in his fifth year, then the many stories he had heard from everyone else served as evidence that Sirius had enjoyed Gryffindor company...

But he was being so hostile now...

Harry shook his head and resumed his trek up the stairs, using mostly his arms to aid him in the short trip. He pushed through the door of the boy's rooms and recognized a familiar string of magic.

It was calling him, so he responded.

Following the magic that seemed to tie all around his body, Harry found himself in a room with an empty bed nearest the wall among the other seven.

He promptly collapsed into the mattress, ignoring the loud squeak that came from it and dismissing the idea that he had accidentally woke the rest of the boys up.

He would've taken this time to think about his way back home... but Harry immediately fell asleep.

-be continued-

Title comes from Sarah McLachlan's "Angel."

Edited: Sunday, March 11, 2007