Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own Hardin Potter. Therefore, all of this incredible universe where this fanfiction will take place belongs to J. K. Rowling. No profit, except my entertainment, is being made.

Chapter One

Harry had already been through many strange situations in his life before, but this one was starting to become the strangest of them - and the fact that he had just woken up in the middle of Forbidden Forest, wearing Slytherin's robes was the most normal part of it.

He woke up with the sunlight beating onto his face, feeling a horrible pain on his back, his head feeling like it was about to explode. However, the only real thing that was up in his mind was: why his vision of the sun and treetops seemed so clean, even though he had just woken up and was, obviously, without his glasses. That didn't make sense at all. He shouldn't be able to see so perfectly the treetops and birds in them…

It was only then that realisation hit him, and he thought:

'Why am I seeing trees?'

Harry got onto his feet as quickly as he could and started to look around, trying to figure out where he was. It was a massive thick forest with multiple trees, knotgrass, and thorns. He could spot a single cleaned path, cutting the forest - possibly his only way out if he didn't want to use his wand….

His wand! Where was his wand?

He quickly searched through all of his pockets but found nothing. Harry was a step away from having his anxiety and stress consume him when he saw a messenger bag lying a few inches away from where he had just woken up from. He caught the bag, and the very first thing that came into his mind was that the bag didn't belong to him - it was way too fancy to belong to him, but could easily pass as something Malfoy, for example, owned - which had the initials 'HCB' engraved in it.

Opening the bag, Harry saw a wand, a ring, a notebook, a Daily Prophet, a cloak, and a golden snitch.

Harry firstly took the wand out, and he couldn't help but be disappointed with the fact that this was not his wand - although it felt as natural as his own had once felt. Had he got this wand from a duel? On the other hand, the cloak strongly reminded him of his Invisibility Cloak, but it wasn't his cloak - the color, the drawings, and the smell were just too different. Taking the fancy ring out, he noticed it had a dark green color and the letter 'B' engraved in it, possibly being worth more money than all of the things he possessed. Finally, the golden snitch looked just like any other snitch he had ever seen before.

Still confused but too determined to find out where he was, Harry placed everything back in the bag but kept the wand into his left hand, which - for whatever reason - seemed to be more fitting for the job than his right one.

'Weird.' Harry thought, looking at his left hand.

Gathering back all of his so famous bravery and trying to forget his headache, Harry started to follow his only available path.

"What is happening?" He murmured as he walked.

Harry had been into many atypical situations during his lifetime, but this was the first one he had absolutely no idea of what was going on. Although his plans or deductions never worked properly, he always had the context of what was going on in his life. But what could possibly be the context for him to be taking a nap in the middle of a forest? Where was he? Why was he dressed as a Slytherin? Who was the owner of the bag and wand he was currently using?

As he walked through the path, he had the peculiar feeling he had already been here before. Everything seemed familiar. However, only when he saw the end of the path did he realize why it looked familiar: he was in Hogwarts, or better, in the Forbidden Forest.

Hogwarts...The battle!

"Shit!"

With the wand in his hands, prepared for combat, Harry rushed towards the castle. While running as fast as he could, his mind was bombarding him with questions. For how long had he been out? Why did everything seem so well-cared, and there weren't any bodies laid on the ground? Was the battle already over? Voldemort. What about Voldemort? Had he won?

As he reached the Training Grounds, where his first flying class had taken place, and spotted the Hogwarts Castle, he instantly realised something was wrong. The castle looked as majestic as it ever had. There were no signs of the war. All the walls were perfectly built, the grass was green, and students were sitting in the Clock Tower Courtyard playing Exploding Snap and Gobstones like they weren't in the middle of a war.

"What's going on?"

However, when he got a little bit closer, he noticed an even stranger thing: the students who were not with school robes were wearing tie-dye shirts, bell-bottom pants, and, well, their haircuts were something else. Why did they look like they had just come out from a 70s movie? Had he been out for so long that the 70s fashion had come back to be a thing? Honestly, he was hoping hard that it hadn't.

Harry crossed the entrance door, and he was surprised to see that all the statues and armors that had once been animated and destroyed during the Battle of Hogwarts were looking just like new. Not even a single scratch in them, as if they had never been in a battle. Had he dreamed about the battle? Or, better, was he dreaming now?

He was so taken in his thoughts that he didn't notice a young girl passing by his side, which caused him to accidentally bump against her, taking her and himself to the ground.

"I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going." He quickly said, with his head down, trying to collect the girl's belongings from the floor.

"It's alright." The girl said rather dryly, but Harry couldn't help but notice how familiar her voice sounded.

When Harry looked up to see who he had just crashed into, he almost had a heart attack. The gorgeous and delicate face, the fair skin, the mesmerizingly bright green eyes, and the auburn colored hair - there was no mistake. Harry had dreamed about this meeting for way too many years to get it wrong. No matter how impossible this was, the girl he had just crashed into was his mother - she was Lily Potter. Well, at least Lily's fifteen - maybe sixteen - years old version.

'What the fuck is happening?' He wondered, unsure if he should feel happy or scared.

Harry must have looked at her for far too long because he could see the girl's, his mother's, Lily's discomfort with the situation.

"I-I-I'm really s-sorry." Harry tried to say, but he stuttered way too much, probably making her think he was a complete idiot. How was he supposed to talk with his mother, who was now younger than him?

"Yes, you've said it, Burke." She pronounced the word Burke with an amount of venom in her voice, which Harry didn't think was possible to come out of her mouth. "Just give me my materials."

"B-Burke?" Harry asked immediately, causing her to frown at him.

She sighed.

"Don't make your stupid jokes at me, Burke. I've better things to do." She said, taking from Harry's hand the materials he had collected for her. "Thank you for picking it up, though."

With just those last words, leaving a mouth opened Harry behind, she disappeared into the hall. She might have been rather polite, but there was no doubt that the girl hated him. This was not the friendly, caring, and loving voice Harry had thought his mother would possess when they talked for the first time.

Harry did not know what was going on, but if this was a joke, it should stop right now. How had he just met his mother? It should be impossible, yet, here it was. He had just crashed into his mother, made her think she was an idiot, and she clearly didn't like him much. Why had she just called him 'Burke' either way? Why did she act as if she knew him?

He had to find some help.

Not knowing what else to do, Harry made his way to the Headmaster's tower. Maybe it was the force of habit taking control of him, but going to the Headmaster's office, even if he knew Dumbledore wouldn't be there, seemed like the best option.

As he reached the entrance, he was glad to see that he wouldn't need to guess the password to reach the office, as the staircase was already on display. Harry quickly went up and, as he reached the door, he didn't even bother to knock, simply stormed inside the room.

Perhaps he should have knocked - it would certainly have minimized the shock of seeing a younger Professor McGonagall, a happy-looking Professor Slughorn, and a very living and young Professor Dumbledore in front of him.

This was too much for him.

"Professor Dumbledore?"

That was the only sentence he managed to formulate before everything went dark.

"Have you notified his parents, Horace?"

"I've sent a letter to his grandfather, Minerva. His parents live abroad, and I doubt he would be glad if I reached them."

"Poppy, what do you reckon has happened to the boy?"

"Probably a breakout due to excessive stress, Albus. I wouldn't doubt it has something to do with the OWLs. I've always said that making kids take this amount of exams in a week it's hazardous to their health."

"I think he's waking up."

Harry could hear the voices whispering, but they made no sense whatsoever. He didn't have a clue where he was, or how he'd got there, or what he'd been doing before he got there. All he knew was that his head was aching as it never had before.

He slowly opened his eyes and scratched his head as he remembered the weird dream he had just experienced. It had been so weird. His mother was there, the people in the dream looked like they were from the 70s and, oh, Professor Dumbledore was alive.

Harry snorted with his thoughts.

He had been very creative with this dream. What were the chances of meeting his mother in her fifteen years old version and re-meet Professor Dumbledore? It was insane.

Quickly scanning the place he was, he soon figured he was inside the Hospital Wing. After spending so much time in it over his Hogwarts years, it was impossible for him not to recognize this place. Gathering all of the strength he had, he used his arms to get up from the bed - however, his plans were interrupted by a very light hand that touched his right shoulder.

"I believe Madam Pomfrey will not be pleased if you try to leave her domains without her approval, Mr Burke."

Harry looked over his shoulder, and there was no doubt: this was Albus Dumbledore. The same calming voice filled with wiseness, the shining blue eyes, the long white beard, and the very questionable fashion choices. However, apart from the fact this Albus Dumbledore was pretty much alive, he also looked younger than Harry had ever seen. Sure, he was already one hundred years old, but his face didn't seem as hard as before.

Harry's heart skipped a bit when he realised he hadn't been dreaming. It was not a weird dream he would wake up from. As impossible as it could be, it was truly happening. He had just met his mother and Albus Dumbledore.

"However, if you don't mind, we could use the time to elucidate some doubts of mine, Mr Burke."

"Mr Burke?" Harry asked, causing Dumbledore to give a slight frown.

"Well, yes," He said, taking a clipboard from the side table and reading, "Hadrianus Caractacus Burke. Isn't this your name?"

Now Harry didn't know what to do.

The Headmaster didn't know who he was, and his mother hadn't recognized him - although he could hardly blame her, considering she was still a student and most certainly wasn't pregnant yet….Yet.

It was then that everything made sense in Harry's mind: he was in the past.

He shouldn't exist here. Harry Potter would only be born in the 80s. So, how had he ended up here? Had he used a time-turner and didn't remember it? But if he had, why was everybody calling him Burke? Shouldn't they mistake him for his father? Call him Potter?

Hadrianus Caractacus Burke, Dumbledore had called him. Lily had also called him Burke, and he could remember how much hate she seemed to hold for the last name. These weren't mistakes. No, they genuinely believe he was this Burke boy. How was this possible?

There was only one explanation: magic.

Magic was always responsible for all the impossible things that had happened in his life, and this time wasn't different. Somehow, magic had brought him to this time. Now, it was up to him to decide what he was going to do next.

This Dumbledore had no reasons to believe in Harry's words if he claimed to be Harry Potter from the future. Neither Harry was sure if he should trust in Dumbledore. After all, he hadn't told Harry he was a Horcrux, nor had he been frank with his plans to Harry in the past. Although he could understand why Dumbledore had done it, it still bothered him.

No, this time, Harry would solve his problems by himself.

"I am." Harry lied, although it didn't feel like a lie. "I'm Burke. I just...thought I've heard you calling me something else."

"Excellent," Dumbledore said calmly, "Now, Mr Burke, my friends and I were rather curious to know why you were in such a rush to speak with me earlier today. Would you be able to explain it?"

Harry scratched the back of his head, saying, "I can't remember anything, Headmaster. Have I been in your office today?"

"You have, my boy, and I must say you gave me quite a scare when you fainted."

"We were wondering if you saw those boys doing...fooling around again," Horace said, sounding legitimately concerned. "After what happened to Ms Macdonald, we've got to pay close attention to our students."

Macdonald? Harry was sure he had never met a girl named Macdonald before. Still, somehow, he had a feeling that he had helped her. But this didn't make sense. He didn't remember doing anything.

"I'm sorry, Professor. I really can't remember why I was in your office today." He said, trying to sound as honest as he could. "I didn't mean to cause any trouble."

"I've given you the Prefect's badge this year because, despite your less than examplar grades, you've always had a good heart. I deeply hope you are not hiding anything from us." Professor Slughorn sat on the side of his bed and handed him a badge, "You've let it drop when you bumped into Ms Evans earlier today. Thankfully, she's been kind enough to return it to me."

He tried not to demonstrate his surprise when Professor Slughorn mentioned his mother, trying to keep his attention focused on the Prefect's badge in his hand. It would take some time for him to get used to the fact that he would finally meet his parents.

"Worry not, Mr Burke," Dumbledore said kindly, "We are quite aware that these two weeks at times get the best of our students. It's a shame that we cannot change it."

"These two weeks?"

"The OWLs exams, Mr Burke," Professor McGonagall spoke for the first time, looking stern as always. "If you feel well enough, your Defence Against the Dark Arts exam will start in less than an hour. You might want to be there in time."

"Thank you, Professor."

The three of them stayed with him for a few more minutes, questioning him about trivial things to check his level of consciousness, and eventually left the room, wishing him good luck in his exam.

After Madam Pomfrey made him drink a nice tasting potion and gave him recommendations of what to eat for the rest of the day, she freed him to go out of the Hospital Wing. She said that, if he wanted, he could stay under her care for the rest of the day, and she'd sign an exemption for him to take the OWLs on another date, but he politely refused the offer. He hated staying locked in the Hospital Wing and he had too many things to do to waste time in there.

He took the messenger bag in the side table and headed towards the Great Hall. Honestly, his true wish was to get out of Hogwarts and search for information, but he couldn't raise suspicions - especially now that he had gotten the attention of two teachers and the Headmaster.

Once he reached the Great Hall, he was so absorbed with his countless doubts that he didn't notice a group of girls led by a beautiful auburn-haired girl passing right by his side, nor the group of boys laughing around, a few meters away from him.

Harry went straight to the desk that had been designed for him, lowered his head, closed his eyes, and tried to think about what he should do. Right now, he was obliged to take the test. Considering he was pretty sure he was inhabiting a body that did not belong to him, he figured he should at least try to help the real Hadrianus Burke, wherever the kid was. Had Hadrianus, perhaps, been sent to take over Harry's body in the future? What had happened to the boy?

"Mr Burke." Professor Flitwick's voice called him, making Harry turn in his direction. He couldn't help but notice that he looked younger. "Your test."

Harry took the parchments the little Professor was holding and read the head of the examination paper:

Defense Against the Dark Arts — Ordinary Wizarding Level

A little lower there was a place containing a name:

Hadrianus Caractacus Burke.

'What a ridiculous name. Hadrianus Caractacus. Couldn't the poor boy's parents pick something worse?' Harry thought, somewhat annoyed. 'At least, this shouldn't be difficult. I've done this before and got an Outstanding. I can do this again.'

Without looking at the people by his side, too afraid of losing his concentration by meeting someone he wasn't meant to, Harry began answering the test and was happy to see that it was as easy as his own had been.

One asked him to discuss the differences between Inferius and Zombies, another about nocturnal beasts, methods to defend yourself from vampires…

However, as he read question ten, he had déjà vu: name five signs to identify a werewolf. It was an easy one, but why it felt so familiar was beyond him - as well as everything that had happened today.

Strangely, the O.W.L.'s this time wasn't nearly as exhausting as it had been for his first time. Harry was sure he had finished the exam in half the time he had used in the past...or should he say future?

Considering he had already finished but would have to wait until the end of the exam, he decided to use his time more productively. So, he started to write in a scrap parchment:

Unsolved Questions

Who is Hadrianus Burke, and what happened to him?

Who the hell named him Hadrianus Caractacus?

How have I ended up here?

Am I truly in the past? Is the past the same as I know? Or has something changed?

How old are my parents? How to meet them?

Harry felt the urge to curse himself. How could he not know what his parents' birthdays were? When had they attended Hogwarts? Or how old they were when they died? These were quite basic information, yet he didn't know. However, if he had to guess, he would

It was thinking about his parents that he thought: Can I avoid their deaths?

Can I avoid all the deaths?

Harry thought he could. He knew about the Horcruxes, and he could hunt them down. But the thing bothering him was his relationship with time. During his third year, Hermione had told him that bad things happened with wizards that messed with time. But was he playing with time? When they used the Time-Turners, they had stayed with their bodies and had only gone back a few hours.

However, now, things were different. It seemed as if Harry had taken the place of another person, as everyone seemed to know him as Burke. He was even a Prefect. If he had to guess, the rules of time traveling didn't apply to him, and, even if they did, why wouldn't he try to help the people in here? He had the knowledge that could stop the death of hundreds of people - including his parents, Sirius and Remus. He couldn't waste this opportunity.

'You can and you'll save them all, Harry," He thought.

He couldn't believe he was going to say this, but: he needed a library. Hermione would be so proud of him. If only he could get a hold of some old Daily Prophets, he possibly would be able to find out if this past was the same past that he knew of and, if it weren't, he would learn what kind of mess he was getting himself into.

'You have a Daily Prophet in your bag,' He remembered, 'You should check it later.'

It took at least an hour, which felt like an eternity, but eventually, the exam was over.

"Quills down, please!" Squeaked Professor Flitwick, taking Harry away from his thoughts and bringing him back to reality. "That means you too, Stebbins! Please remain seated while I collect your parchment! Accio!"

Harry felt once more the weird sense of déjà vu as he watched more than a hundred rolls of parchment zoomed into the air and, later, into Professor Flitwick's outstretched arms, knocking him backward off his feet. Several people laughed, and Harry had to say he was one of them. Usually, he wouldn't laugh at people's misfortune - unless their names were Malfoy - but it had just come out so naturally. Perhaps he had gotten a few traits from the real Hadrianus Burke?

A couple of students at the front desks got up, took hold of Professor Flitwick beneath the elbows, and lifted him onto his feet again.

"Thank you . . . thank you," Professor Flitwick panted, "Very well, everybody, you're free to go!"

Taking his bag and carefully hiding his parchment inside it, Harry got onto his feet and started to walk, aiming for the library. However, he had barely given a step outside the room when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Hadrianus," Cadmus Mulciber said with a crooked smile, "I've heard you fainted earlier. Were the exams too much for this stupid head of yours?"

"Be careful, Cadmos. He might run to Slughorn and say you've been mean to him." Evan Rosier added, kicking one of Harry's feet, trying to make him lose balance, which didn't work. "The pampered prince here doesn't know how to take some harsh words."

"I've heard he went to Dumbledore's office this time," Marcellus Avery said in a mocking, "Apparently, being the Slughorn's pet isn't enough for him anymore."

Harry might not know exactly what the reasons were behind this hatred, but he was no fool. He wasn't about to let a bunch of Death Eaters spawns talk shit about him – or Hadrianus. And how he knew their names and that they were into the Dark Arts were just two more questions to which he had no answer.

They were now close to the lake, and everyone was too distracted talking with their friends to pay his situation any mind. If he was quick, he could jinx them all and leave without getting himself into trouble.

Harry pushed Mulciber away from him, "I'm glad to see you three finally created some courage and started picking up on people your age, rather than muggle-borns firsties."

"Wow, look what we have here, boys. It seems that Hadrianus is finally able to speak for himself." Rosier mocked, "Why don't you start by apologizing for being a pain in the arse for your superiors, Burke?"

"You know, I've always failed to see how walking around pretending to know the Dark Arts and attacking younger students that can't defend themselves made you superior to me." Harry replied, "Besides, I've always thought you liked a pain in your arse, Rosier."

Mulciber laughed and patted his shoulder, "That's adorable, Burke. I didn't know you knew so many words. One might think you've made your decision and you know what happens to Slytherins who make the wrong decision, don't you, Burke?"

"Seriously, why don't you three go bother someone else?"

Rosier and Avery pushed him against a tree while Mulciber spoke, "We gave you a chance, Burke, and I reckon you've already made your choice. It's a shame that you are this stupid."

"I think we should teach the ickle Prefect here a lesson, boys,"

Seeing that Mulciber had taken out his wand and was about to cast a spell, Harry quickly kicked his leg, making him lose his balance, drew his wand out and cast a silent Stunning Spell on him. Before the other two could even react, he did the same with them. It wasn't even hard - these kids were amateurs. Although he guessed it wasn't a fair fight, considering he mentally was three years older than them and had probably duelled more times than the three of them combined.

Harry casually walked out of the area as if nothing had happened and started to walk back towards the castle.

Somehow, he knew that these boys were very fond of Voldemort and acted as Death Eaters wannabees in Hogwarts, attacking anyone weaker with Dark Magic. Now, he could recall the incident involving Mary Macdonald and Mulciber, that he had been the one to place an end to a few months ago. After this happened, they had offered Hadrianus forgiveness if he joined them - which didn't and wouldn't happen.

Now that he thought about it, he remembered a conversation between Hadrianus and Professor Slughorn, in which the former confessed that he had decided to ignore his bad grades and give him the Prefect's badge because he knew Hadrianus didn't think highly about You-Know-Who. Apparently, he was the only fifth-year Slytherin boy to do so.

However, before he could even get properly away from the place where the other three Slytherins laid stunned, he heard something that made him change his destination.

"Leave him ALONE!"

He immediately recognized the voice and sentence.

This was Lily Evans' voice. Suddenly, Harry remembered why he had so many déjà vu during the exam: he had already seen it. This was Snape's memory! Not literally, but it was the exact moment.

Knowing all too well what would happen next, Harry rushed from where the voice had come from. He saw his father messing his hair with his hand, his mother arguing with his father, Snape in the air, and Sirius casually being handsome precisely like it had happened before.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Lily shouted.

She had her wand out now. James and Sirius eyed it warily. Her scream had also been enough to take Harry from the trance he had gotten himself into due to the emotion of seeing his parents alive for the first time. Being sent here had been a blessing like none other.

"Ah, Evans, don't make me hex you," James said earnestly.

Harry was in the middle of a big debate with himself. Should or should he not step in to help Snape? If he helped Snape, he would get himself in an even worse position with his father and the Marauders, but, perhaps, he would get on his mother's good side. Also, he could prevent his mother and Snape's friendship from being ruined…

However, why would he want this to happen?

Snape had been a bully during his time in Hogwarts and had hated Harry from the first time they saw each other. If Snape hadn't told Voldemort of the prophecy, then Harry wouldn't have been an orphan, and Neville's parents wouldn't have been tortured to insanity. Snape had only cared about Lily Evans but didn't care for the ones she loved…

Didn't he believe in Blood Purity and learned the Dark Arts? Hadn't his mother said, in his own memory, that he called every one of her kind as a mudblood?

In the end, if Harry intervened, he wouldn't be helping his mother. Snape wasn't a good friend to her. He walked around with the ones that insulted her daily - Avery, Mulciber, Rosier. Harry, or better, Hadrianus, knew of Snape's beliefs, acts, and what he considered a laugh. And none of this information was good.

Was he still worthy of Harry's help in this case? He didn't think so. Harry could and would try to help him in other ways. But this one situation Harry had to allow to happen in the same way it had happened before, because he genuinely believed this was the best for his mother.

Therefore, he stayed there, in silence, watching.

"Take the curse off him, then!" She insisted.

James sighed deeply, then turned to Snape and muttered the countercurse, while Snape struggled to his feet again;

"There you go. You're lucky Evans was here, Snivellus—"

"I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!"

He watched, once more, his mother leaving the area, his father telling Snape to clean his mouth and, later on, saying he would take Snape's pants off. However, this time, he saw that this never happened as the arrival of the Head Boy hindered James. Honestly, teenage James was a right git.

After that, Harry slowly walked towards the library. Wondering if this was fortune or bad luck playing with him. But he would rather be positive. This seemed to be the first potentially happy adventure he had got himself into, and he vowed to himself not to waste it.

Author's Notes

I had no intentions of ever making an Author's Notes, but as I've received three PM straight (in the first two hours) talking about the same thing, I've decided to clear something out.

For me, the author, Snape didn't become a Death Eater because of this moment with James and Lily. Just no. In Deathly Hallows, during his memories, we see him talking with Lily, and she claims that Snape already walked around with people that offended her kind, and it's implicit that he calls everyone but her a mudblood. He also thought that Mulciber using dark magic against Macdonald was a laugh, and this is canon. Snape already acted like a Death Eater to anyone else aside from Lily.

Therefore, in my opinion (which is also Harry's opinion in this fanfiction), Snape's friendship was toxic for her, which does not mean that he agrees with the Marauders bullying Snape, nor that he enjoyed seeing it. There are other ways for him to help Snape, which will not prejudice his relationship with the Marauders, and that's what he will do.

I just ask for you all to have a bit of patience.

I guess this is all.

Thank you for reading!