A/N: Welcome to A Black Opportunity! I hope you all enjoy it. Many thanks to Meneldur, The ReaperD, AppoApples, Nauze, and Saliient91 for all their help! Of course, I do not own Harry Potter, I merely play in JK Rowling's sandbox. Onto the story:


Chapter 1: Through the Veil

July 31, 2003

"Break-in in the Department of Mysteries, Code 2 response teams move out!" the voice of Gawain Robards gave no room for dispute.

Not that Harry Potter was too concerned about that at the moment. He had been spoiling for a fight. A part of his mind said that he should have taken the day off after breaking it off with Ginny, especially considering that it was his birthday after all. After everything they had fought about the night prior, he wasn't in the correct mental state to be going into a possible battlefield. It was irresponsible and reckless. True to his Gryffindor nature though, Harry's blood was burning to hunt down a Death Eater or two.

He got up from his spot at his desk, pulling on his navy Auror cloak. It was a beautiful piece of spell work. It was designed to be light but charmed to withstand any climate and still have the wearer feel comfortable. As he made his way to where Robards was sending off squads, he avoided casting any glances at Ron. He was sure by now that Ron knew a good bit about what had happened the night before, and he did not want to be any more distracted than he was already feeling. That would just cause more problems in a fight.

"Right, four intruders, reports indicate that Rodolphus Lestrange is among the possible suspects, be prepared for Unforgivables," Robards briefed. "Potter, take Westen, Savage, Weasley, and Longbottom with your strike team. Let's see if you blokes can't catch them unaware."

Harry nodded and looked over as the three aforementioned wizards and one witch made their way to him. He took a final glance at them before leading the strike force to the emergency elevators. With a wave of his wand, the doors opened and the five of them stepped in. It was a bit cramped but the others took a corner while Harry took the center of the cab. With a wave of one of the junior auror's wand, the elevator began moving to the lowest levels of the Ministry. The entire ride stayed quiet, with even Ron not making a joke of any kind as they made their way down. This was unusual for Ron, but Harry figured that he was recalling their first incursion into the Department of Mysteries, just as he himself was doing.

His thoughts turned to his first few months as an auror. They'd just finished a raid, capturing Daniel Greengrass' disowned older brother, Marcus. The little snot had taken out one of the senior aurors before a well-placed Stupefy from Harry had knocked him out. Harry had been glad that they had tagged another Death Eater, however Minister Shacklebolt, still acting as Head of the DMLE, had not been pleased. He had called Harry into his office almost immediately.

"Tell me Harry, was it WORTH it?" Kingsley's voice was abnormally quieter than usual, and Harry was immediately put on edge, "We've lost three aurors since the Battle of Hogwarts. All of them in Death Eater raids. Was losing Auror Williams worth letting Marcus Greengrass taking an extra victim before a stint in Azkaban?"

"But sir-" Harry tried.

"Don't 'but sir' me. Marcus Greengrass will spend ten years in Azkaban, fifteen if we're lucky. Then he'll be out of prison once again, causing more death once again. We're still at war, Potter. We don't have the time, and quite honestly, the patience, to coddle your sensibilities. You need to aim to kill, because the next person that we might lose will be Ron, Neville, or Susan. Is that what you want? Because if you keep it up, you're going to lose friends before all of this is over."

Kingsley sighed, running his hand over his bald head. His voice was noticeably softer when he spoke again, "You've got the makings of a great auror in your bones, Harry. But, we're not going to coddle you anymore."

"Sir?" asked Harry, feeling, not for the first time, distinctly unsure of himself.

"I will be pairing you up with Robards. He's going to be training you in how to cast more efficiently. You're damn powerful, he's going to teach you how to channel it. Now get out."

Harry stood and made his way to the door. He paused, his hand sitting on the gold handle, and turned to the man he considered a friend and mentor, "I am sorry about Auror Williams' death."

Kingsley nodded, "Honour him by becoming better, Harry. Do that, and I will consider it even. Leave me, I need to write a letter to Alexander's wife."

His robes swished behind him as he stepped off the elevator. Up ahead, Harry could hear the sounds of an ongoing battle. He brandished the now familiar elderwood wand that he now carried as their response team picked up their pace to get support to the Unspeakables. He missed his holly wand, but he was never able to fix it, even with the help of the Elder wand in his hand. Spells were flying about as they entered the Department of Mysteries.

Harry allowed himself to fall into the familiar flow of battle. This wasn't the first incursion by rogue Death Eaters that were still griping about the death of their master. It was almost sad in a way, they claimed to be all for blood purity, yet their constant attacks had resulted in the end of seventeen more Pureblood lines.

Harry snorted at that. That's a crapload of shite. They didn't care about purity. As Tom Riddle had once said: "There is no good and evil. There is only power, and those too weak to seek it". While Harry didn't ascribe to the Dark Lord's views, he recognized the truth behind the veil of blood purity. Yes, it wasn't about their precious blood purity, only power, both political and magical, and who was able to seek it.

It didn't matter that even after all of these years, the purebloods still held a majority of the political power in Wizarding Britain. Nor did it matter that there were no elective seats in the Wizengamot, only hereditary ones, those afforded to Department Heads, and the Minister and their secretaries. No, Death Eaters just wanted to be the ruling class to assert their anarchical views upon the country.

"Potter, keep an eye out!" Samantha's voice called out, shaking Harry out of his thoughts. A blue spell, likely the Organ-Swelling curse, barely missed his torso. He could hear Robards cursing his carelessness in the back corner of his mind. He forcibly silenced the voice and cast a Bone-Breaking curse back at the source of the last curse.

"Damn," he cursed as a last minute Protego kept his own spell from hitting home. He turned to Ron, "Give me a count."

"Four reported wands, but I'm only seeing three, looks like Rodolphus is missing. Were you really expecting the Unspeakables to get it wrong?" Ron snorted as he fired multiple curses towards the opposing Death Eaters.

I expected them to take care of their own bloody Department, Harry kept himself from grumbling out loud, "I'm going to take the Death Room," he said, placing his hand on Ron's shoulder, "If they're here, it's for a reason. Finish these guys off, I'm going to go find Lestrange."

Ron nodded as Harry broke away from the group. He left them behind, slipped on the Cloak of Invisibility, cast a Silencio on his feet, and went down the hall, towards the room that housed the Veil of Death. Harry had no doubt that the Death Eaters were hoping to find some artefact or ancient magic to bring their long deceased master back from the grave. Harry kept his wand aimed out in front of him.

Just like the last time he had fought Riddle's Death Eaters in the Department, the corridors were suspiciously empty. You'd think after the last break-in, they'd have invested some time into putting up a decent security force. It's not like they couldn't afford it.

Unlike last time though, the silence and deserted feeling of the hallways didn't bother him. He had a job to do and a bone to pick with Lestrange. Harry hadn't gotten his comeuppance against Bellatrix, so taking out her husband would have to do. Ahead of him, he saw the door of the Death Room and he sent a powerful Banishing charm at the door, quickly overpowering the smaller wards laid upon the door.

He flicked up a shield with his wand to stop a particularly nasty looking purple spell, the standard Organ Liquifying curse if he recalled correctly. Granted, it would probably be a bit worrying to both Hermione and Mrs. Weasley that he viewed any dark curse as "standard" in his day job.

He slashed his wand and a Bone-Piercing hex flew back at Rodolphus, hitting the man's offhand arm in the elbow. Harry made his way into the room, launching a volley of curses, probing Lestrange's defenses. Rodolphus proved to be as able a fighter as he had been during the war, launching a quick Avada Kedavra followed by multiple other dark curses. Harry dodged the Killing Curse and parried the rest. He recognized all of them, and Harry repressed his urge to roll his eyes. He's trying to play with me. If he wants to play, let's play.

Harry began conjuring shadow ravens, a staple of Black family battlemasters. They immediately launched themselves towards Rodolphus. While they kept the Death Eater busy, Harry made his way deeper into the room. He rolled his shoulders, focusing himself back towards his foe. Unlike many dark curses, Corvi Umbrae had a single purpose, to completely enthrall and distract the caster's opponent. As Harry was about to be reminded, however, Rodolphus had not been a member of Voldemort's inner circle just because of the financial support the Lestranges had supplied.

Rodolphus had used a Flame-Whip Charm to chase away the shadow ravens. Harry had a Lightning Curse ready when Rodolphus looked over Harry's shoulder and cast a white spell at the ground in front of Harry's feet. Harry let loose the curse, catching Rodolphus unaware, but he didn't recognize the spell for what it was until it was too late.

The words Bombarda Maxima flashed in Harry's mind as the ground before him exploded, sending Harry flying backwards. His last sight was of the Lightning Curse hitting a grinning Rodolphus even as Harry's body was launched into the Veil of Death. It didn't matter to Harry, he'd gotten the bloody bastard.


In hindsight, falling into the Veil of Death should have felt more death-like and frightening, similar to when Harry marched up to his death before the final Battle of Hogwarts during the Second Voldemort War. Instead, for once, it'd felt just like Sirius had told him in the Forbidden Forest, "Quicker and easier than falling asleep". There was definitely much less fear in his heart as he closed his eyes and flew through nothingness... only to suddenly land on his back.

The first thing that he noticed after landing was the crackling of flames, like the popping of candy in your mouth. The second thing he registered was that, wherever he was, it smelled like autumn. He opened his eyes and was surprised to see the Gryffindor common room. He slowly pushed himself up and looked at the fire. Feeling a slight chill, he immediately made his way to the flames and began to warm his hands.

"Hello, Harry." The words were spoken so softly that Harry might have missed them. If they weren't spoken in a voice that he hadn't heard since that fateful night in May of 1998, he probably would have jumped. Instead, he closed his eyes as tears started to leak from the corners of his eyes. He turned to look at the man that he had regarded as almost a second father.

Sirius looked so much healthier than he had been when he was on the run. Harry let his eyes roam over the man, drinking in the sight, afraid that if he closed his eyes, Sirius might disappear once more and he would wake up as if it had all been a dream.

"Sirius?" Harry's voice came out as a question, his tone quavering.

The older man gave him that trademark grin, "That's my name."

"Is it finally over?" Harry asked quickly. He needed to know, he was not sure that he could take it again if he was to be ripped away from them again. Sirius gave him a small frown and motioned to the seats by the fire. Harry took the cue, sitting down together, leaning forward to be closer to Sirius as a new voice entered the room.

"I suppose that depends. Are you sure that you're ready for it to be?" Harry turned as he recognized the voice of his mother. She was no longer translucent, and Harry could not help but lean into her hand when she rested it upon his cheek, more tears streaming down his face. He broke into sobs because for the first time since he could remember, he felt his mother's touch.

Lily pulled Harry into a hug, rubbing his back as ugly, shuddering sobs wracked his grown frame. Quiet sobs told Harry that his mother could feel it too, and was just as overwhelmed as he was. He could smell a light perfume and he inhaled deeply; Harry could finally hug his mother. That, more than anything, slowed his tears to a stop. He slowly pulled back from his mother and looked at her through red, bleary eyes.

"I'm ready Mum. I'm so..." he struggled to find the correct words, "tired. I'm ready. I don't have anyone since Ginny and I aren't a thing anymore, and the Weasleys and Hermione will be able to move on without me. The Wizarding World will be fine without The-Man-Who-Conquered. I just want to rest, don't make me give that up." He sucked in air, the brief statement having finished what little he had left in his lungs after his sobs.

Lily's face took up a frown when his voice had turned sour at the end. She hugged him again and tried to console him, "Maybe so, but you've never had a chance to live your life properly."

Harry let out a watery chuckle at his mother's assertion, tears beginning to flow once more at the thought of having a family of his own. He was finally with the only family he had ever known, and even that, only after dying. What life could he have ever lived properly without them? "What do you mean?"

Lily nudged Harry back to the chair, "You need to understand. The last time Voldemort tried to kill you, he took away his own Horcrux instead. Then you united the Hallows."

Harry looked about ready to interrupt, prompting Lily to keep going before he could, "I know, it wasn't intentional. We saw you trying to get rid of them. The problem is, you weren't supposed to die. If it wasn't for you being flung through the Veil, you likely would have lived for centuries, as the Master of Death. By taking them through the Veil, you've cleansed them of their taint."

"Their taint?" Harry questioned, his eyebrows scrunching together in a fashion reminiscent of how his father's face would appear when Lily tried to explain something he could not fully understand, causing her to smile wistfully.

"You are the first person to successfully merge them. By bringing them with you through the Veil, they've been cleansed of their previous owners, affording you another chance at life," Lily answered.

Harry looked at both of them and asked, "Another chance how?"

Lily smiled softly again, running her fingers through her son's hair, "If you agree, you will be sent back in time and have to fight against Voldemort from an earlier point, allowing yourself the chance to get to save many more lives than those that were lost originally. That said, if you choose to go back, you won't get another opportunity to make a life for yourself if you die again."

Lily paused and turned to Sirius, obviously hesitating to continue and Harry thought of what she'd said, an earlier point. He took the chance to ask, "When exactly would I be going back to?"

Sirius was the one to answer when Lily looked a bit pained at the thought of answering, "That's the thing, Harry. In 1971, your great-uncle and aunt, Charlus and Dorea, were killed in Diagon Alley by Death Eaters. They'd caught them unawares and Charlus gave his life to save another of his grand-nephews and his grand-nieces. It snapped the mind of my great-aunt, Dorea. She went on a rampage and killed 3 Death Eaters before being killed herself. This event was disastrous," Sirius said, running his hands through his hair, "while my grandfather refused to ever join Voldemort, he did decide to not interfere."

"In the Grindelwald War, Arcturus and Charlus were on the same squad and they were demons on the battlefield and masters of the political arena. By removing them from the equation, Voldemort was able to get laws passed in the Wizengamot without an organized opposition. You'll be going back to the day it happened, July 31st 1971. You'll have a couple of hours before the attack starts, at around noon, to get to Diagon Alley."

Harry looked at them, distraught, "But, what about you guys? Will I see you guys again?"

Lily placed a cool palm on Harry's cheek as tears tracked down the side of her cheeks, "Not like this. But you'll have the chance to know us as we were growing up," she gave a teary sob as she hugged him close to her."

Harry looked at Lily and Sirius and pulled them into a close hug, "I'm going to miss the both of you so much, but I'll do it," he looked at Sirius and grinned, "How could I pass up a chance to see the Marauders in action?"

"Plus, a chance to properly fall in love, spit out some more Potter terrors." Sirius added in with a sly grin.

Lily glared at Sirius, "Be seri-," she stopped and restarted, "Hush yourself, you know what needs to be done. It's time for you to go. Always remember that we're so proud of you Harry. We will always love you."

Harry began to shiver as the world around him began to fade. For a moment, the world was dark as he closed his eyes. Then the feel of hard, stony ground met his back, forcing out a grunt of Harry as he took a moment to just rest against the ground in what he was sure was the Death Room.

His mother. She had been right in front of him. He had hugged her. Now she was gone and he was where? He opened his eyes, seeing the archway of the Veil of Death above him, seemingly inert. He was tempted, briefly, to jump back in, but he thought of what his mother and godfather had told him. He was needed here. In 1971.

He stood and looked down at himself, glad to see that the Cloak of Invisibility was still in place. He cast another "Silencio" to replace the one he had cast before his 'death', and quietly left the room. Entering the hallway, Harry unobtrusively made his way out of the Department of Mysteries.

In the atrium of the Ministry, Harry was glad to see that it was pretty quiet. He ducked into a corner and cast a Tempus. It was still early morning. He tucked his wand away and he walked towards the entrance of the Ministry. As he passed the wizard at the desk, Harry cast a Confundo at the guard, making the man turn and look at other people in the atrium. Harry silently passed him and made his way out of the Ministry and onto the streets of London.

Moving into an alleyway, Harry removed his cloak and transfigured his clothing to look slightly more muggle-like. He then conjured a hat to help hide his face from the public. It's not perfect, but it'll have to do until I reach Tom's. He put away the wand and walked out of the alleyway, glad that like the Ministry, the streets of London were pretty quiet.

Harry passed a newspaper stand and checked the front page of The Times. At the top of the paper, surely enough, was the date, July 31, 1971. Harry nodded to himself and walked back into the alleyway, apparating to a traditional apparition point near Gringotts bank. He would rather head straight to Diagon Alley instead of going through the Leaky Cauldron first. It would be easier to avoid attention from people that way.

Harry thought of the attack that he knew would happen later today. If he let the DMLE know now, there was no guarantee that they would believe him. He would have to wait for the right moment. He cast another Time-Check charm. 8:50. He still had some time to kill before he sent a Patronus to Barty Crouch Sr. The thought of working with the man made him shudder a bit.

Harry looked up at the bank sign and dipped his hand into his pocket. He was reassured to feel his sack of galleons there. He always liked to keep a bit of gold on hand. He looked at the shops around him before making his way to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. It looked much less worn down than it had in his time, when it was Madam Malkin's daughter that ran the shop after the woman's death in 1998. The sign indicated that the shop was already open, so Harry entered quietly.

Madam Malkin, still wearing the same mauve robes that Harry remembered from his younger years, though looking quite a bit younger, looked up from her place at the counter, "How can I help you today?"

Harry smiled fondly at the squat witch, "Good morning, I have it on good authority that you sell quality robes, which is what I am in the need of. Just got here from France, and lost my bags over the Channel."

Madam Malkin shook her head in sympathy and gestured him over, "So, a full set will it be, then?"

Harry nodded, "Yes, please, some dress robes as well if you can."

The woman nodded and gestured him over to a set of mirrors, "Let me take your measurements and we'll see what I can do for you."

She ran her wand over his body, taking various measurements and muttered notes to herself before disappearing into a back room. Harry stayed by the mirror, whistling a little tune to himself while he waited. Not much had changed in the shop since Harry's time. He noted the section of Hogwarts robes with fond memories.

He wondered how he would fill the time when he wasn't actively hunting Voldemort and his Death Eaters. He supposed that it would be a great time to get to know his father and eventually Sirius. That was, if he could convince his grandfather and his great-uncle that he was who he said he was.

His thoughts were interrupted when Madam Malkin came back with a bag in one hand, wand in the other. She set it on the counter and said, "That will be 17 galleons, 2 sickles, and 22 knuts please, dear."

Harry dug into his pockets, pulling out the sack of gold. He counted out 18 galleons and set them on the counter, "Keep the change. Have a great rest of the weekend, madam."

Harry took the bag of robes and exited the store. As he walked out of the shop, he heard a commotion down the street, causing Harry to flick out his wand, "Expecto Patronum!"

The familiar stag leapt forward, and not seeing any dementors, turned back to its creator questioningly.

"Go to Barty Crouch Sr. and tell him that there's an ongoing attack in Diagon Alley."

The stag whisked away and Harry jumped into the fray. Ahead of him, he saw a masked Death Eater about to send a Killing curse towards the back of an older man fighting another Death Eater. Harry flicked his wrist and summoned a slab of rock to block the curse. When the rock shattered, another incantation sent the shards back at the Death Eater as throwing knives. The man was only able to block a few of them before they pierced his body, sending him down to the ground, most assuredly dead.

The other man turned towards him momentarily surprised, but quickly continued his duel with his opponent. Harry turned, sending a Blasting curse at another Death Eater's head. The telltale 'pops' of apparition told Harry that the Aurors had finally arrived. As they engaged the Death Eaters, Harry turned towards one of the shops that was now up in flames. He cast an Aguamenti charm, hoping to put the flames out. He was just glad that it wasn't Fiendfyre consuming the shop. That would have made his work much harder.

When the flames were gone, Harry turned back towards the fading battle. Only a few duels were still ongoing and the aurors were winning handily. He recognized the enthusiastic yells of Alastor Moody as the (less) grizzled auror battled against two different Death Eaters. Harry could swear that the old man was grinning. He turned and helped another auror with dispatching another Death Eater, blocking a Killing curse from hitting a young kid.

When all was said and done, there were four dead Death Eaters, and Harry was almost certain that he had killed three of rest of the Death Eaters were bound and stunned. Alastor was currently speaking with the man that Harry had saved earlier. He was looking a bit frustrated, and Harry nearly winced when Alastor's roving eyes focused on him.

The auror turned and went up to Harry, followed by the older gentleman. Harry slid his wand into his holster. He had no desire to make Moody any more suspicious of him than he already was, and his unique wand would certainly do that. He considered himself lucky that Moody hadn't acquired his magical eye yet, meaning he couldn't see beneath Harry's sleeve.

"Charlus here tells me that you handled the rabble, want to tell me what happened?" Moody grunted.

Avoiding looking at the man he was sure was his great-uncle, Harry calmly explained the events that had happened after he entered the alley. He made sure that he told Moody about sending the Patronus to the DMLE when the attack first began.

"Right. I should have asked this earlier, but what's your name, lad?" Moody was still looking suspicious, but Harry was sure this was more about his methods rather than actually thinking that Harry was a Death Eater himself.

Casting a quick glance at Charlus, Harry answered, "Harry Evans."

Moody grunted, "Right, where can I find you later on?"

"I just arrived in Britain this morning. I will likely stay at the Leaky Cauldron, though if I move residences, I shall let you know by post," Harry offered.

Moody nodded and walked off, an unfamiliar gait in his step since he still possessed both legs. Harry quietly watched him walk away while Charlus stayed behind.

"Now that that matter is over, would you like to tell me what your real name is?" Charlus started.

Harry gaped at him, stunned into silence for a moment, "What do you mean?"

Charlus pointed his wand at Harry's right hand, "I know the Potter Family Ring when I see it. Once again, what's your real name?"


A/N: So, Chapter One is in the books. Next week will be Chapter Seven of Forged Through Resilience. I would like to announce that I have a Discord that I share with Sectumus Prince for my stories! The invite code is discord . gg / ZaPCTAtkZ4 (just remove any spaces; or alternatively, copy the last section and paste it into the invite section of Discord). Hope to see you guys soon and make sure to leave a review if you enjoyed it (or hated it tbh).