"An… orphanage?" Harry was sure he couldn't have heard that right.

"Yes, a wizarding one. You want to help others and have a family, it just hit me that an orphanage could be right for you."

It sounded right; scary, but right. Harry had been babysitting Teddy Lupin for a few days last summer – looking after a baby was demanding, but fun, well, as fun as looking after the son of your recently deceased friends could get. He aspired to come across like Sirius to children, just more responsible. His experience wasn't vast, but he supposed he wasn't completely hopeless with kids… But that didn't mean he could handle, what, five? Ten? Fifteen of them?

"I… don't know. The idea seems nice, but I guess it would be a lot of responsibility, also expenses," he noted as he absent-mindedly played with Tom's curls.

"It's not like you have to decide on the spot," Tom said, obviously amused by Harry's rushed reaction, "just an option to consider."

"You wouldn't mind the, you know, kids and stuff?"

Tom exhaled deeply, staring at the night sky thoughtfully. "I can't say for sure. I've spent most of my time in the orphanage making sure everybody would leave me alone, so I obviously don't have much experience with young children from an adult perspective, but I believe I could manage it."

Harry was getting a bit sceptical. "But… would you want to? Not just because of me."

"…Yes. The more I think about it, the more advantages I see."

Harry's eyebrows shot up. "Really?"

"I told you I wanted to go into politics eventually – this would shed a very positive light on us and give us a good vantage point for criticising the way the Ministry currently operates. Also, we wouldn't just prevent magical children from growing up in inadequate circumstances, we would also get to shape their opinions – they would pass them on their friends and so on."

"You…" Harry couldn't help but chuckle, "will make a brilliant politician. That almost has me convinced you've had this planned all along, and I'm just a convenient person who walked by."

"That's not-"

"I said almost," he winked and silenced the other wizard with a light kiss. When they separated, Harry propped himself on his elbow by Tom's side, grinning. "The real question is, though: to gain all these advantages, would you be willing to change a nappy?"

Tom tried to look impassive, but he unwittingly scrunched his nose a little – the conflict was so adorable Harry thought his heart would explode. "We're wizards, there must be a charm for that."

There was, Harry even knew it since Andromeda taught it to him, but he marvelled at the fact that he knew a piece of magic Tom didn't. "Oh, I don't think there is."

"Then I'll invent one.".

And Harry burst into laughter, because the idea of Tom Marvolo Riddle, inventor of the Nappy-Changing Charm and hero to all exhausted mums was simply hilarious. It didn't help that the "inventor" looked as close to pouting as his pride would allow him.

"We should go, or we'll be knackered in class," Tom huffed and promptly abandoned Harry's side to gather his clothes.

Still chuckling, Harry followed suit and threw the Cloak of Invisibility over them for good measure as they set out on the way back to the castle.

xXx

Later that week, Harry beat the Hufflepuff Seeker to the Snitch after a tail-to-tail chase, granting Slytherin a chance at winning the Quidditch Cup depending on the result of the upcoming Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw match. To Harry's delight, some of the Gryffindors he'd been trying to make friends with actually cheered for him – he hoped some Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws would have, too, if his win didn't directly translate to their loss.

Even as the Quidditch season ended for him, his schedule remained tight – O.W.L.s were around the corner, and while most professors were considerate, assigning him less homework, he still had a lot on his plate.

…Which is probably why he hadn't noticed that Tom took longer than usual on his trip for the real estate printed matter. That is, until the younger wizard stormed into to their dormitory so abruptly Harry jolted from where he'd sat at his desk.

"Found it," Tom announced victoriously.

"Found what?"

"The perfect place."

A sudden understanding dawned upon Harry. "Really?! Where?"

Tom presented him with a Muggle newspaper, pointing to one ad in particular.

4000 Staffa Island of the Mull Isles, West Scotland. 33 acres, uninhabited since 1800, best known for its remarkable cave and rock formations. Home to fascinating wildlife, suitable for a fisherman's retreat. B. Forman, owner; 160 Hope Street, Glasgow.

"You want to buy a whole island?!" Harry gasped. He was no longer sure it was such a good idea to leave house-hunting entirely in Tom's hands.

"Of course. Remember how we talked about the necessity of a more secluded wizarding oasis?"

Seriously?!

"But…" Harry was lost for words, "Thirty-three acres, can we even afford it? And there are probably no buildings, will we have to build everything from scratch? How are we even going to get the material there?" More and more questions started flooding his mind.

"Hey," Tom said mildly as he came to stand behind him and lay his hands on Harry's shoulders. "We're wizards and we have the money, we'll manage. I've already talked to the owner and asked him to reserve it for a few days – all you need to do is take a look and say if you like it."

"Wait, you've seen it? When did have the time to do that?"

"I had a two-destination portkey made, first to the island, then to Glasgow. The travel wasn't too time-consuming."

"And the owner was willing to hold it for a seventeen-year-old?"

"Not exactly. He was willing to hold it for Baron Potter who had been considering buying the island as a present for his son."

Harry sighed, "Polyjuice?"

Tom's face twisted in disgust. "The transformation process is horrendous."

Harry winced sympathetically at the memory, "Tell me about it."

"When are you free?"

He glanced over to his notes miserably. "Er, next June?"

Tom gave him an impatient look, "Come on, Harry, you already know you can pass it and you're not that studious anyway. You can spare two hours."

Merlin help him – was Tom actually excited?

Unable to say no to him and more than a little curious, Harry started gathering his study materials and putting them in the bag.

"Alright, you've convinced me."

xXx

Harry wanted to bring Voldemort with them, but Tom talked him out of it because of the multiple Apparition – he would love any place with an abundance of fish anyway. They side-along Apparated from the tunnel leading to Hogsmeade.

The sudden brightness blinded Harry for a moment, making him squint and blink furiously to adjust. When he finally did, he took a proper look around.

Air escaped his lungs all at once. "Bloody hell!"

They were standing on a rocky beach with columns upon columns of hexagonal rocks rising into a levelled cliff around them. Tom didn't let go of Harry's hand and led him up the path of pebbles until they reached a plateau. It was wide and covered in grass, easily large enough to accommodate a village and maybe a wood or a pasturage as well. The plateau was rising steadily at a low angle, the ground was mostly flat and looked like it was built on a platform.

Harry turned to Tom, sea breeze playing with his hair, eyes wide in wonder. The younger wizard was smiling; proudly, genuinely. When he noticed Harry was looking at him, he pulled him closer and Apparated them again without a word.

They emerged on a shore in front of a majestic cave composed entirely of tall hexagonal rocks, supporting a large chunk of ground which was presumably the plateau. Its insides were flooded by a metre or two of seawater, it seemed mysterious and magical all on its own, with no wizarding intervention.

"There are several caves like this around the island," Tom explained. "I can think of various uses for them, most notably, they would be good for an underground settlements."

Harry felt quite a bit overwhelmed.

"It's… wow," was all he could muster.

Tom Apparated them back to the plateau, more precisely, to the top of the tallest cliff that oversaw the island.

"So? What do you think?"

Harry spent a moment in silent awe before answering. "It's brilliant."

Tom adopted that smug look again, the unsaid "told you so" hanging in the air.

"Um, you sure you want to do this? Building a house here and… the orphanage thing?"

"Yes," Tom replied without hesitation. "Are you?"

Harry hadn't been, but standing here, seeing the place, breathing the salty air,…

"Yeah."

xXx

So, they bought a sodding island. Tom played Harry's posh father (Who's calling whom "daddy" now?) while they signed the contract with Harry's name, immediately submitting the change of ownership to the Muggle land registry and owling a copy of the contract to the Ministry of Magic to list it as a wizarding residence.

Harry went back to his O.W.L. preparations while Tom took up the study of magical architecture – Harry would often catch him staring at various structures in Hogwarts thoughtfully.

The first week of exams actually flew by, definitely so in comparison with the first time around. Maybe it was because Harry felt more prepared, but, although he would never say it aloud, it could have been because Hermione wasn't there to obsess over it and drive her classmates (including Harry) mad.

It occurred to him while he was sitting in the Great Hall, with his Defence written exam finished ahead of time, that Myrtle Warren was taking the exam just a few seats to the right – she never got to do that in his original timeline. It reminded Harry of the importance of his quest here – he'd been forgetting he had been on one at all lately.

After he'd given it more thought on the nights when his brain refused to read another word about the Goblin Wars or the Invigoration Draught, the orphanage seemed like a great idea, as far as ending chains of misery went.

…Or maybe it shouldn't just be an orphanage: they could make it a shelter for any youth that the wizarding world couldn't or wouldn't take care of, magical folk and Squibs alike. A place someone like Sirius or Snape could have found refuge at – that should be his next mission, Harry owed that to those men, even if they wouldn't know it. How many sad stories like theirs were being written that Harry hadn't known about? He resolved to find out by setting them all straight.

Speaking of, there was one more fate he'd already set straight, but not completely: Rubeus Hagrid, currently a fourth-year and the proud owner of Aragog the Acromantula, whom he kept in an unused cupboard in the dungeons. Tom mentioned catching in the dungeons at night repeatedly, and Harry interceded on Hagrid and Aragog's behalf, thinking that was all he could do.

Although, now that Harry wasn't a twelve-year-old, he started to see why raising a venomous flesh-eating arachnid in a school full of children wasn't the best idea – maybe Aragog hadn't caused the death of a student in Harry's original timeline, but he easily could in this one.

Also, Hagrid was an orphan since his dad had died in his second year, right? Where did he spend the past two summers? Harry didn't think he had any other family and doubted they could stick a ten-foot boy in a Muggle orphanage.

On Friday the 9th of June, between his first and second O.W.L. week, he'd finally decided to take action.

xXx

Hagrid opened a crack in the door, taking a cautious peek of the corridor to see whether it was safe to leave. Everything was silent, there was no one in sight. He slipped out of the door.

"Rubeus Hagrid, right?" said a voice behind him.

He jumped in surprise and turned to see a bespectacled Slytherin student standing in a spot he'd just checked. He was older, possibly a seventh-year, but he wasn't wearing a prefect badge.

"Er, sorry, I didn't mean to startle you, I just wanted to talk," Harry said awkwardly, "I'm Harry Potter." He offered Hagrid a hand.

Hagrid was still rather taken aback, but he reluctantly took it. "Ar, but everyone calls me Hagrid... Wha' d'yeh want ter talk about?"

Harry had wondered about the best way of approach; knowing the half-giant, it would probably be the direct one.

"Alright, Hagrid, I'm going to be frank. I'm not going to report you or anything, but I really don't think keeping an Acromantula at Hogwarts is a good idea."

Hagrid looked shell-shocked. "Yeh know 'bout Aragog?"

"Yeah... Hey, calm down, you're not in trouble," he tried to appease the half-giant, "Um, where do you stay over the summers?"

"...Bin helpin' ol' Mr. Picardy with groundskeepin', s'ppose this year'll be the same."

"Oh." So that's where he'd been – maybe that was why Dumbledore was even able to give him the position in Harry's timeline. Knowing Hagrid, that was probably better for him than what Harry and Tom could offer. "Could you perhaps move Aragog to the Forbidden Forest then? It would be safer since it's forbidden to the students anyway… I can help, if you want?" Harry offered, although he felt and probably looked a bit squirmy about the last part.

Hagrid had a worried expression on his face. "But he's jus' a baby! Wha' if somethin' happens ter him out there?"

Harry gave him his best reassuring smile, powered by a surge of nostalgia, because worrying over a dog-sized carnivorous spider like this was just so like Hagrid, "I'm sure he'll manage."

Hagrid looked torn, probably wondering how the hell he was having this conversation with an unfamiliar Slytherin student – Harry certainly would have been.

"Why'd yeh not report me?"

Harry shrugged. "There's been enough bad stuff around here lately, I guess, for beasts and people both. If you could just move him, there would be no need to involve the professors."

"…Aight, I s'ppose he could take care of 'imself. I'll move 'im tomorrow morning."

"Great! Do you need any help with that?"

"Nah, I had a feelin' it would come ter this, got a nice clearin' picked fer 'im." He looked quite deflated.

"How about a moral support?" Harry suggested.

Hagrid perked up at that. "Yeh'd do that?"

Harry smiled warmly, "Sure. Let's meet here at, say, six a.m.?"

"Deal," Hagrid returned the smile. He was almost as tall and massive as he'd been as an adult, but still somehow endearing in his boyishness. "Thanks fer not tellin' anyone."

xXx

Once the exams were over, Tom and Harry finally had the luxury to enjoy a proper celebratory shag in the Room of Requirement. The Room always provided a rare sense of privacy, there wasn't a place quite like this to have a truly private conversation in Hogwarts.

"We should kill the basilisk soon," Tom opened.

"Why?"

"The funds would come in handy for the construction."

Harry considered it, but he shook his head, "No, selling the hide now wouldn't be a good idea."

"Because of the wizarding war?"

"Yeah, that's the one event in this timeline I really don't want to disrupt. Grindelwald in a basilisk hide armour… just the idea of it gives me the chills."

Tom nodded. "When is he going to lose?"

It should be fine to tell him now, right?

"Next June."

"I see. We'll just keep harvesting the venom throughout seventh year then."

Harry cringed. "Ugh, I wish she would shut up while we do that."

"If everyone else paid me as well as her to listen to their rants, we could buy the entire Scotland," Tom snorted.

Harry snorted right back. "True."

Tom reached for his wand and cast a charm Harry didn't recognise: thin lines of light flowed from the tip and gradually assembled into the three-dimensional model of a house. It had two floors and a habitable loft, divided into the central part and two wings. The style of it was mostly contemporary English with long rectangle windows and several dormers, making it elegant but not overly showy.

"Will this be okay?"

Harry snuggled up to him, studying the design with unconcealed admiration. "It's great! How many people can fit in?"

Tom gave him an amused look. "Anywhere from two to two hundred. Magic, remember? It has narrow rooms for one that could be expanded to fit two or four."

"Wicked."

"Here's the catch: we have enough money left to buy the materials and Portkey them to the island, but we would be pushing it if we hired too many workers, especially the magical ones. Beyond the foundations, we'll have to do a lot of work ourselves if we want to have the basic construction finished by the end of summer."

Harry blinked. "You think we can build it over one summer?"

"It will be hard work, Harry."

"I can work hard! And I can handle the interior enchantments since I spent the best part of last summer restoring the Great Hall."

"I like that attitude," Tom smirked.

"I like you," Harry retorted playfully and leant in for a kiss.