Wow, 24 reviews for the last chapter. You people rock. If I had a heart it would be beating for your guys.
Anyway, not mine, please read the chapter and tell me what you think.
Before he could run over and save his godfather strong arms were wrapped around his torso and chest and stopped him from doing what he had planned to do. Instead Harry was forced to watch as Sirius fell in slow-motion. There were reaching out for each other but the arms holding him stopped Harry from getting close enough to take Sirius' hand.
Suddenly it was Harry who was falling. He did not need to look behind him to know that the veil was right behind him. Instead he looked forward. He did not want the veil to be the last thing he saw before he died.
He saw the faces of people he had known from his own time before Dumbledore had tried to kill him. The teacher whose hair he had turned blue when he had gotten angry enough. Hagrid, Hedwig, Draco, Ron, Hermione, and the professors at Hogwarts he had had through the years, Death Eater, the Weasleys.
They mixed into one twisted snakelike face with red eyes and no lips nor nose. Voldemort was smirking at him and victory was gleaming in his eyes.
Voldemort's face morphed into Tom. Now it was Tom who was trying to reach him in a similar way to when Harry had tried to reach Sirius. Tom was being hold back by Voldemort had stood behind the boy and had his arms around the boy in a similar manner to when Remus had hold him back from following Sirius through the Veil.
Harry's back hit a hard surface and he forced his eyes open though he had no wish about seeing Tom and Voldemort together like that.
His surrounding were a blur and Harry realised he did not have his glasses on. The light in the room told him he was not in the department of Mysteries any longer. Instead he found himself lying at his back on the floor in the living room.
Tears filled his eyes and Harry tried to rub them away. It had just been a dream and he had not had such a dream in a long time. Sirius had not died yet; he had not even been born yet. Harry had no doubt that his godfather would come to the world when his time came. Even though neither Orion nor Walburga had any love for each other they would do their duty and make sure the Black family had an heir to continue the family name.
It felt weird to know that he one day would be able to see his parents and their friends attend Hogwarts. Harry knew he would never be together with them the way he wanted to but at least he would be able to watch them from a distance.
While he laid at the floor the flames in the fireplace turned green, signalling that someone wanted to talk with him. Harry sat up and glared at the dancing flames as if it were their fault he still was tired after the meeting with Grindelwald last night.
Knowing he could not ignore the call all day Harry crawled over to the fireplace and seated himself at the small carpet in front of the fire.
Ragnok's head came into view in the flames and Harry smiled to the goblin. "Good evening, Ragnok. Are there any work for me today?"
"What other reason is there for me to contact you?" Harry smiled without letting the biting tone bother him. It was true the goblin only called him when it was something related to work. But Harry knew that Ragnok used the opportunity to check up on him and make sure he was okay.
The goblin claimed it was because they did not want to lose someone who earned them money but Harry liked to think it was because they were friends.
"Anyway, the lord of the Brave and Noble house of Potter has invited you to the Potter manor." For a short moment it felt like his lungs had stopped working and Harry worried that Ragnok was going to be witness to one of his fits.
As long as Harry could remember he had been the only Potter left. He had never seen his parents other than at pictures and in his fourth year at the graveyard. The rest of his family he had seen in the mirror of Erised.
Of course there had to be other Potters in this time. His father could not just appear out of nowhere.
When he first came to this time Harry had played with the idea about visiting his family. Since the Potters were a well-known pureblood family they should not be hard to find. But he had had no excuse to meet them. It was not like he could just walk up and knock on their door and tell them he was their grandchild from the future.
"Very well, tell them I will be over in a moment. I just have to wake Tom ad Abraxas and tell them I am heading out. It will not take long."
Ragnok's head disappeared and Harry rose from his spot at the floor. A glance at the clock told him it was indeed time for him to get the boys up. It would not do for them to sleep all day away even though they were free from school.
Harry hurried up the stairs, taking two steps in a time. Outside Tom's door Harry stopped. Normally he would not hesitate when he should wake Tom but this was the first time Tom had anyone on visit. Harry doubted Tom wanted Abraxas to know what kind of methods Harry used when he woke the boy.
Taking a deep breath Harry raised a hand and knocked at the door. When no answer came Harry frowned. Of course he knew Tom was a heavy sleeper. After living together with the other wizard for so long he would have to be an idiot to not be aware of that.
Opening the door Harry looked inside and he was surprised to find the room empty for life. The beds were unmade but Harry dared to say it was because Abraxas was there that Tom had refused to make his bed. A last glance at the room and both of the beds were made.
Sometimes one just had to love wandless magic.
Turning around Harry let out a surprised yelp as he found himself face to face with the ghost. "Damn it, Hubert. How many times do I have to say this? Make some noise instead of scaring the life out of me."
"Sorry." The ghost looked anything else than sorry but Harry decided to ignore it and instead move onto something more important. "Anyway, have you seen Tom and Abraxas? I have been called to work and I cannot find them anywhere."
Hubert nodded and moved away so Harry no longer had to stand with his back pressed against the door to Tom's room. "Yeah. Tom told me to inform you that he and Abraxas would go to Hogsmeade, but he would not tell me why."
Harry did not like the fact that the boys had left before he could inform them about Grindelwald. Harry had no doubt that the dark lord would do something to harm those he cared for. He had dealt enough with Grindelwald's kind to have an idea about what he was like.
"Tell them I am at the Potter manor if they should need me. When they come home they must not leave the ground. I will explain why when I have finished my work." Harry used a refreshing charm at himself before he turned around and ran down the stairs.
He was going to meet his grandparents.
)00(
Harry stumbled out of the fireplace. Ash covered his glasses and made it impossible for him to see anything. Scowling Harry trying to remove the ash with his sleeve.
"Here, my dear, let me take care of that." Harry stopped moving and turned his head towards the sound. "Tergeo." The ash disappeared and Harry blinked surprised when he finally was able to see again.
He was in what looked to be the Potter entrance hall. While it was nowhere as big as the Malfoy manor Harry felt somewhat welcome. He felt as if he was finally home after having been away for a long time. He guessed it was because this was his ancestors' home.
Harry turned around and locked at the only other person in the hall. After meeting Mortimus Harry had learned he could not be too careful when he came to a new place.
The woman was beautiful. There was no other way to describe her. Harry recognized her from the mirror of Erised. "Hello, Mrs. Potter. My name is Evan James and I am the wardmaker." The woman offered him her hand and Harry grabbed the fine build hand and kissed it shortly before he let go of it.
"I am Dorea Potter, my husband, Charlus Potter, wanted to meet you but being an auror in this age is not an easy thing." Harry nodded but felt a pang of sadness that he would not be able to meet his grandfather.
Dorea's blue-grey eyes narrowed as she watched him. "Are you related to the Potter family? You look a lot like my husband. Could you perhaps be a lovechild of his?" Though she talked with a mild tone Harry could feel the suspiciousness. It made him wonder just what kind of relationship his grandparents had shared.
Harry was unsure about how to react. On one hand he was happy that he looked as much as his family. After all it was one of the few things he had from them. He could have been so unlucky that he would have looked like his aunt Petunia.
On the other hand he wondered how Sirius had been able to speak so great about his grandparents when he had told Harry about them. If his grandmother thought his grandfather was cheating on her how could the marriage last long enough for them to get his father?
Hopefully they would be able to work out their problem before long. Harry would like to be born, thank you very much.
"I can assure you that it is not possible. For all I know none of my parent had any close relationship to the Potter family."
"Can you not ask them?" Harry shook his head, smiling sadly. "Not unless you have a way which makes it possible for me to speak to the dead. If that is not the case I guess we will never get to know the truth."
He was not prepared when Dorea suddenly had her arms wrapped around his neck, hugging him closely. "You poor little boy." Harry blinked surprised at the woman's words. He had not thought it was possible for one to change so suddenly.
"You know I am not that young. I have been working for years now and taking care of myself and Tom the last few years."
Mrs. Potter let go of him and stepped away from him. "Of course not, I hope you will forgive me my words. It is just that you look quite like a Potter. Only that your hair is black instead of brown and I have never seen any Potter with such an eye colour. I bet you can get any woman you want with those eyes." Unsure of what to say Harry decided to stay silent.
He watched the portraits in the entrance hall. As far as he could what Dorea had said had been true. None of the Potters had green eyes and only a few of them had the same hair colour as him. It seemed like his father and he had gotten their hair colour from his grandmother.
"And here I am talking. I guess you rather want to get your work done so you can return home. Perhaps there is someone special waiting for you." Harry felt himself blush at his grandmother's words. "I guess you can say that." His thought wandered towards Tom. Had he and Abraxas returned home yet? If they were not back when he was finished here Harry would go to Hogsmeade and seek them out.
Dorea leaded him into a longue where a tray with small sandwiches and tea had already been prepared for them by the house elves. Harry, who had not gotten anything to eat yet, felt his stomach rumble and hoped that Dorea not had heard anything.
"Sit down and let us talk. All we shall today is talk about what kind of wards you will do and the price for your work. And please make sure you taste the sandwiches or else the house elves will feel they have to punish themselves."
Harry nodded and took one of the sandwiches. After all, Hermione would kill him if he was the reason to why the house elves punished themselves.
)00(
Snow had started to fall when they left the potion shop. Tom wrapped his cloak closer around himself in an attempt to keep himself from getting too cold.
The potion was safety inside his pocket. He wanted to get home with the potion before something happened to it. But he knew Evan had probably been called away to work or was still sleeping. He had looked like he needed the rest and it made Tom wonder why the other wizard had been sleeping in the living room.
Had Evan had yet another one of his nightmares? If that was the reason Abraxas could be damned. Tom would not just stand at the side while someone whom belonged to him was hurting themselves.
After all, he only kept was what perfect. And Evan needed a good night sleep or else he would risk getting sick.
Remembering the last time Evan had been sick Tom smirked. Perhaps it would not be so bad if Evan became sick. At least Tom knew how to take care of him.
There would not be much for them to do back at the cottage. Therefore they would stay in Hogsmeade for a little longer.
It was not like much could happen there anyway.
"My lord, have you any plans about what you will do after graduation?" Tom turned his head and looked at Abraxas whom was walking next to him. "I plan on teaching."
"But, my lord, would that not be wasting your-?" Abraxas cut himself of before he could say anymore.
Tom raised an eyebrow as if daring him to say anymore.
"Even though I have no reason to explain you the reason behind my choice of future I will it explain it to you so we prevent any misunderstandings in the future. You see, children are formed by their parents. Magical children spend their adolescence at Hogwarts. It means they are under influence of their schoolmates and professors. The easiest way to change the world we are living in is by stating with the rot. By changing the youth we will change the future."
Tom breathed out and looked forward. "Of course we also need people in the ministry to make sure the changes we want goes through. We cannot allow fools like the Weasleys and professor Dumbledore to stand in our way."
By the look of it, it seemed like Abraxas bought everything he said and Tom smirked to himself. He had used years to perfect his method of manipulating people into doing as he wanted them. They felt important to his case. It was the easiest way to make people do as he wanted them to do.
"Yeah, I have enough reasons to join the ministry anyway. My father's way of acting cast shame at the Malfoy name and people are laughing at him behind his back. As soon as I become the head of our family things are going to change. Luckily, one can come far with money as long as they know how to use them."
Tom just nodded. He knew mostly every detail about his followers' plans for their future. Some of them had he change so they would fit better into his place. Of course he had done it without anyone else finding out.
Things were much easier when people thought they had come up with it on their own.
Hogsmeade was an impressive sight covered in snow. It reminded him of those Christmas cards muggles would send to each other. It was a lovely sight but he would rather spend his time somewhere warm rather than being out in the cold.
"I guess we better head back now. Evan is probably up by now. If we are lucky he will have dinner ready for us." It was not because he wanted to spend time with Evan. However, his guardian seemed to be a magnet for troubles. To Tom it was a wonder he had no grey hair from all the time he used to worry about Evan.
"I guess you are right, my lord. Besides it seems like the weather is getting worse." Tom looked around and saw that Abraxas indeed was right. Another thing he noted was that they were the only Hogwarts student left. Of course one would not be able to know this since they were not wearing their school robes. He did not really wonder about it since the others had to walk the whole way back to school, but Tom was still starting to feel worried.
Every time Hogwarts' students were allowed to go to Hogsmeade some of the professors would accompany them and make sure that the students did not do anything dangerous either to themselves or their surroundings.
He remembered professor Slughorn telling him that he had been assigned to watch the students today. The head of the Slytherin house had been mumbling something about missing an important party or something like that.
But who was the other professor who was supposed to keep an eye at the students today?
"Hello, my dear boy."
)00(
Harry rolled out of the fireplace, coughing a mixture of a fit and getting ash into his lungs. Harry knew this could not be good for his lungs but could not find the time or energy to care. All he could focus on was to make it stop, in one way or another.
Gasping for air Harry forced his body to uncurl and blinked the tears away. He coughed one last time to clear his lungs from the ash. Harry summoned a glass with water to clear his mouth from the taste of blood.
The cottage was silent and dark and Harry knew neither Tom nor Abraxas was back. Even if they were studying in Tom's room the cottage should not had been this quite.
Cursing Harry stood and brushed the ash of his clothes. "Hubert, where are you?" The ghost came into the living room as if it just had been waiting for him to arrive.
"Oh, there you are, Evan. I have been so lonely since neither you nor the boys have been home all day. One would think it would not bother me after being alone for all those years but I think you have grown on me."
"I take it that neither Abraxas nor Tom has returned."
Hubert's shaking head was the only answer Harry needed. Without a second word to the ghost Harry had grabbed his winter cloak and was out of the door. Though he had run out of the cottage in the middle of the night and only in light robes Harry had no wish about getting anymore sick. He had enough on his plate as it was already.
Harry did not know why he was this worried. The chances that the two Slytherins were out for buying gifts were great. But Harry could not shake the feeling off that something was wrong.
Perhaps it was because of his meeting with Grindelwald but Harry was not willing to take any chances. When his instincts acted like this he knew he had to follow them. Even though he knew Tom should be able to take care of himself, Harry knew he would not be able to calm down before he had seen Tom with his own eyes.
It took him longer than usually to reach Hogsmeade. Harry knew that the snow had a part of the guilt. After all it slowed most of his movements down. But Harry also knew his health was not as good as it once had been.
Shaking his head to clear it from thoughts Harry arrived to Hogsmeade after what seemed like forever. It was already dusk and Harry hold his wand in his hand and whispered a lumos so he was able to see.
Not many people were out at this clock. Most of them sat inside their houses and were enjoying some warm food.
Despite the sandwiches he had gotten at the Potter's Harry felt his stomach protest in hunger. It wanted to be feed, and soon.
Harry was cut out of his thoughts by a sight which made the hate flare to life inside him.
With long strides he walked closer to the trio. None of them seemed to have noted him just yet. Tom and Abraxas were standing close side by side. Even though none of the boys had a wand in their hands Harry knew it could soon change.
His mind held no doubt that it was Tom and Abraxas, even in the growing darkness. And Harry doubted he would ever be able to doubt who the other person was.
When Harry was close enough he finally spoke and his voice was filled with hate towards the man whom was facing the two Slytherins and therefore had his back to him.
"Hello Dumbledore."
Next update will not be before sometime next week or the week after that. The reason is that I am going through a surgery in two days and need total rest after that. And I honestly doubt that Mortimus will let me leave my bed this time.