Chapter 21

Harry managed to keep it together, thankfully, but his mind was racing with a lot of questions. "I'm Jack Bird," Harry said as he sank down on the seats beside Neville. "And I'm your Potions professor for the year."

Even though the life they were living as themselves again was very similar to their first one, there had always been small changes. A waterpark in Surrey that hadn't existed before. Barty Crouch Jr still imprisoned in Azkaban. Evan Rosier still alive until Harry used him up to resurrect Tom. And probably many more things that Harry and Tom hadn't noticed yet.

Harry couldn't help but wonder what was different about Hermione's family tree, but of course he wasn't going to ask because ultimately it didn't matter.

"Potions? Really? I've read the whole book already and it seemed a little wishy washy at first but the more I read the more I started seeing the patterns of how the different ingredients work together," Hermione rambled as she looked at Harry with wide, adoring eyes.

This Hermione was still obviously the Hermione he knew and loved and that was all Harry needed to know.

"Yeah," Harry agreed with a warm smile. "Brewing is much like cooking. The more you do it, the better you become and the more the recipes start making sense."

"I'm just glad Snape isn't there anymore," Neville whispered, looking like he wasn't sure if he was allowed to speak at all. "He isn't, right? Because I heard some horrible things about him from a second cousin."

"Professor Snape is taking a sabbatical this year so you don't have to worry about him." Harry couldn't hold back a chuckle at Neville's instantly relieved expression. "Snape may have a bit of an unpleasant personality, but he takes his potions very seriously and he's one of the most gifted Potions Masters I know. He was my Master when I was working towards my own Mastery," Harry said when it looked like Hermione might burst with all the questions she had for him.

"So which Houses are you hoping to get sorted into?" Harry asked, to change the subject. And to perhaps give one of his old friends a nudge in a different direction.

"Gryffindor!" Hermione all but yelled. "I heard it's the best House."

"You'd be wrong," Harry said at once, though he softened his words with a small smile. "All Hogwarts Houses are great. Let me guess. Minerva McGonagall, the Head of Gryffindor House, came to deliver your letter and she told you her House was the best."

Hermione frowned, looking like she wasn't quite sure where Harry was going with this.

"Now imagine for a second if Professor Flitwick, the Head of Ravenclaw House had delivered your letter instead," Harry continued while Hermione's face did a few interesting things as she understood the point Harry was making.

"Then I would be sitting here saying Ravenclaw was the best House," Hermione finished for Harry with a triumphant look. "Oh, that makes so much sense."

"Now I can tell from just talking with you for a few minutes that you are a very intelligent girl who loves to read," Harry said. Hermione ducked her head at hearing those compliments. "These are qualities that won't be appreciated in Gryffindor House. In fact, those qualities would make you into a bit of an outcast in that House. But Ravenclaw would welcome someone with those qualities with open arms."

"Would they bully me?" Hermione asked in a very small voice. "In Gryffindor?"

Harry's expression became utterly serious. "They're not allowed to, but they still might do that. But I can guarantee you they won't appreciate you."

Chewing on her lip, Hermione gave a few thoughtful nods.

There was a reason Harry was pushing this Hermione towards Ravenclaw. In his first life, once they were all adults and well out of Hogwarts, he and Hermione had often talked about the choices they'd made at school. Hermione had said she never regretted arguing with the Sorting Hat to place her in Gryffindor instead of Ravenclaw, as the Hat had initially wanted to do, but that she'd always wondered what would have happened if she had chosen Ravenclaw.

Hermione's life would be different. For one, Harry doubted she and Ron would end up together. Now, Harry loved both Hermione and Ron with all his heart, but even he had noticed as the years went on that Ron and Hermione weren't all that well suited for each other. Ron had far too little sympathy that an extraordinary mind like Hermione's needed constant stimulation, and Hermione had far too little patience that ordinary people like Ron needed much more time to accomplish tasks Hermione could do in a heartbeat.

Hermione had even commented on this a few times as they got older, when their kids were already grown. During more than one evening spent sharing a bottle of wine Hermione had confessed that while she loved Ron she did feel like she'd settled when she married him. He was the easy, comfortable choice, and right after the war that's what Hermione had craved. But as she grew older, her needs changed and she often lamented that she felt she could have had a different life, much better suited to her hungry mind, if she'd simply waited and given herself a chance to heal immediately after the war before committing to a relationship with anyone.

Harry had admitted during those evenings that he felt exactly the same about Ginny. Yes, Harry loved his wife, got along great with her, but Harry was well aware that he'd married her so he could simultaneously marry her family as well.

It wasn't that either Hermione or Harry had been unhappy in their relationships. It wasn't quite that bad. It was more the idea that something better may have been waiting for them if they hadn't settled so quickly for the easiest candidate to share their lives with.

And right then and there, Harry wanted this Hermione to get the chance she'd always regretted not taking in his first life.

"How about you?" Harry turned towards Neville while he raised his eyebrows.

"Gran wants me in Gryffindor but I'll probably end up in Hufflepuff," Neville said, his shoulders slumping while he stared at his shoes.

"Gryffindor and Hufflepuff are both fine Houses," Harry said at once. "They would both be proud to have you, I'm sure."

Neville stared at Harry in disbelief, but Harry knew that Neville was a true Gryffindor at heart and would go straight to the House of the Lions. Neville had defied Voldemort to his face when everyone else stood back. That kind of bravery was rare, but Neville had plenty of it, even if he didn't yet know it.

"Say, what are your names?" Harry asked, since he realized they hadn't even introduced themselves.

"Hermione Granger."

"Neville Longbottom."

"Nice to meet you, Hermione and Neville," Harry said, beaming at his two old friends. He truly loved seeing them again, even as tiny eleven-year-olds, and his chest hadn't stopped glowing since he'd boarded the train.

Slowly, the Hogwarts Express pulled away from the station and all three of them sat up a little in excitement.

"What house were you in, Professor Bird?" Hermione asked with a curious look.

Harry almost wanted to tell her to call him Jack, but that would be inappropriate. He was their professor now, after all. "I didn't attend Hogwarts. I was raised in the United States, and no," Harry quickly added at seeing Hermione's eager look, "I didn't attend Ilvermorny either, unfortunately. I was home-schooled, so this is all as new for me as it's for you."

Hermione asked Harry a ton of questions over the next hour which Harry didn't mind answering. Neville seemed content to just sit back and listen, though he occasionally asked a question as well. Soon after that they saw Ron walking past their window, pausing for a moment to look inside.

Ron had confessed, once they were in Auror training together, that he'd definitely wanted to meet Harry Potter on the train and that he was secretly chuffed when he saw Harry Potter sitting in a compartment by himself. They'd both had a good laugh about it, because Ron had not been subtle in his fanboying as an eleven-year-old. Harry teased him about wanting to see his scar for a few weeks after that conversation, randomly lifting up his fringe whenever Ron was around and telling him to take a good look.

Honestly, Harry couldn't blame Ron for his behaviour as a child and Ron had snapped out of that phase soon enough anyway.

Leaning over, Harry slid the door open, much to Ron's obvious surprise. "Can we help you?"

"Er…" Ron looked at Harry with wide eyes, clearly not expecting to meet an adult on the Hogwarts Express. "I was looking for Harry Potter."

"He's probably not on the train," Harry said with a shrug, though he was inwardly very amused by Ron's reddening face. "But we're a friendly bunch so you're welcome to join us."

"What do you mean, Professor?" Hermione said, sitting up while giving Harry a look full of disbelief. "I read all about Harry Potter and he should be joining us this year at Hogwarts."

"He's missing," Neville whispered.

"Yeah," Ron said, shuffling inside the compartment before he even seemed to know what he was doing. "My dad works at the Ministry, in a different department, but even he and his colleague were brought in to help with the search."

"What happened?" Hermione demanded while Ron sat down beside her.

"No one knows," Ron said mysteriously, which apparently drove Hermione up the wall if her gnawing her lip in frustration was any indication.

"I heard he ran away," Harry supplied, because it wouldn't hurt anything if these kids knew the truth. "He lived with his muggle family but they treated him very badly, so he just ran away." Harry leaned forwards a little. "I even heard that Harry Potter didn't even know he was a wizard."

Shocked gasps were heard around the compartment as Ron, Hermione and Neville all looked at each other with wide eyes. Harry's chest glowed even more and he couldn't hold back a very happy smile at seeing his former best friends sitting together again. Ah, such lovely nostalgia.

"Has anyone seen Harry Potter?" Draco Malfoy yanked the compartment door open and gave everyone a haughty look. When he spotted the adult in the corner he plastered on a polite little smile. "I heard he was on the train."

"I'm afraid you heard wrong," Harry said while Ron was puffing up and up, ready to throw down if he needed to. Harry wasn't about to let that happen. "I doubt very much Harry Potter will attend classes with you this year."

"Oh." The disappointment was clear on Draco's pale face. "Are you a professor?"

"Professor Jack Bird," Harry said pleasantly. "I'll be teaching Potions this year."

"Potions?" Draco's eyes widened almost comically while he inhaled a sharp breath. "What happened to Professor Snape?"

"He is taking a sabbatical this year."

"And who will be our Head of House then?" Draco all but demanded.

"I'm not sure," Harry said with a bit of a challenging look. "Seeing as you don't have a house yet, do you?"

Draco huffed, gave Harry an annoyed look, and slammed the compartment door shut.

"He wasn't very nice, was he?" Hermione said to no one in particular.

"His whole family is a rotten bunch," Ron said with a disgusted look on his face. "He's going straight to Slytherin, mark my words. They're nothing but bad eggs."

"Merlin was a Slytherin," Harry said conversationally, and once again shocked gasps were heard around the compartment.

"Is that true?" Hermione asked, sitting so far towards the edge of her seat that she was in real danger of falling off if the train gave a sudden jerk.

"Yep," Harry said with a grin. "Slytherin House is no more evil than any other House." When Ron looked ready to argue, Harry said, "Slytherin House stands for ambition and cunningness, amongst other things. Those are not evil traits."

"Maybe so," Ron countered with a mulish look on his face. "But there wasn't a follower of You Know Who who wasn't in Slytherin."

"Peter Pettigrew was in Gryffindor," Harry said with a bit of a triumphant look.

"Right," Ron muttered with a mild scowl. "I'd forgotten about him."

"Most people do," Harry said patiently. "It's much easier to blindly hate a whole group of people than it is to realize that each and every one of us has the capacity to do horrible things. Most of us choose not to, of course, but each of us has that potential."

"That makes sense," Hermione said while Neville nodded in agreement.

"Were you a Slytherin?" Ron asked with narrowed eyes as he glared at Harry in suspicion.

"Nope, I never went to Hogwarts. But I'm married to a Slytherin. In fact, my husband is a descendant of Salazar Slytherin himself. He even speaks parseltongue."

"That's an evil trait!" Ron all but shouted.

Hermione had widened her eyes at hearing that Harry was married to a man, but she quickly forgot about that fact and turned in her seat to glare at Ron. "Professor Bird is a very kind man. I doubt very much he would be married to someone evil."

"You'd better get over your prejudice against Slytherins," Harry said with a pointed look at Ron. "Because my husband, Professor Tom Riddle, will be teaching you Defence Against the Dark Arts this year."

Ron got a very complicated look on his face, as though he was instantly constipated yet also came very close to crapping his trousers.

Hermione gave Harry a look full of solidarity. "Well, I cannot wait to meet Professor Riddle. I'm sure he'll be a great teacher."

"He is a very good teacher," Harry said with a warm smile. "And I think you'll like him, Hermione. He's easily as smart as you are."

Since there would be no more Voldemort, Harry had decided at some point during the summer that he was going to challenge the House prejudice that was still so rampant at Hogwarts. Ron was a good example of that, but so was Draco in his own right. Harry was determined to challenge all of their ideas at every opportunity he could and to make them understand that there were good and bad sides to each of the Hogwarts Houses, but that ultimately everyone was a human being in the end.

"Oh no," Neville cried out of the blue. "Trevor's escaped!"

"Who's Trevor?" Ron asked in confusion.

"My toad. He must have slipped out of the door." Neville looked genuinely upset, his eyes even filling with a few unshed tears.

"Not to worry." Harry got up, pulled out his wand, opened the door a crack and said, "Accio Trevor the toad." Within seconds a toad came flying towards him and Harry caught it easily before handing him to a very relieved Neville.

"Do any of you two have pets?" Harry asked as he sat down again, tucking his wand away.

"My parents offered to buy me an owl or a cat," Hermione said in a prim voice. "But I told them I'd much rather use that money to buy more books."

"Spoken like a true Ravenclaw," Harry said with a chuckle.

"Do you have pets, Professor?" Neville asked quietly while he held onto Trevor for dear life.

"We do. We have an owl named Pluto and a dog named Izzy. She's a Staffordshire Bull Terrier."

"A dog?" Neville looked like Harry had just confessed he kept a Hungarian Horntail as a pet.

"She's a sweetheart, I promise," Harry quickly assured the kids. "You'll be seeing plenty of her around Hogwarts." Harry looked at Ron. "And you?"

Ron shook his head, face the picture of misery. "I was going to get my brother Percy's pet rat Scabbers while he got a new owl, but then it turned out Scabbers was a Death Eater so now I've got no pet."

"What?" Hermione shrieked.

And with that Ron launched into the exciting yet horrifying story of how Percy found out he'd been sleeping with a Death Eater named Peter Pettigrew for a few years.

When the trolley stopped by an hour later, Harry treated all his old friends to some pumpkin pasties and chocolate frogs. He really enjoyed spending time with them again after so many years, but at the same time he became more and more sure he'd made he right decision to not return as an eleven-year-old Harry Potter.

As much as Harry loved Hermione and Ron and Neville, these were children. Spending a few hours with them was fine, pleasant even. But Harry couldn't imagine having to spend every waking moment with them while pretending to be eleven himself. No, Harry was now absolutely sure disappearing Harry Potter had been the right thing to do.

Being an adult having to pretend to be a child was a fucking nightmare, to be honest. Harry and Tom had been forced to do it quite a few times in all manner of lives whenever they met when they were still quite young and they both hated it. Harry was sure that if he'd had to do it this life, it would have ruined his memories of his old friends because he would have grown far too frustrated being around their child versions all the time.

No, this was a great solution. Harry was going to be their professor, and once they were older and closer to adulthood Harry might try to strike up a genuine friendship with them at some point. But until that time he'd keep a professional distance, as was expected of him anyway. Still, seeing them sitting there, arguing about chocolate frog cards, was a blessing and a joy Harry hadn't thought he'd ever receive again after almost 200 lives.

"Why are you riding on the train, but your husband isn't?" Hermione asked as they neared their destination. "If you don't mind me asking," she added quickly when Harry quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Because my husband has ridden this train often enough in his own school days," Harry replied easily. "But I had never been on it, so I wanted to see what it was like. Thank you very much to all three of you for making my journey to Hogwarts so enjoyable."

"You're welcome," Hermione said sincerely while Ron and Neville muttered similar things. Harry was ready to let his young friends go again, let them find their own way at Hogwarts from now on, though he imagined that they might form some sort of friendship amongst themselves anyway since they'd spent a whole day chatting on the train.

When they arrived at the station, Harry let his young friends off first and told them to look for the tallest man they'd ever seen. Harry loved Hogwarts and the nostalgia of riding the train, but he wasn't crazy enough to step inside those rickety boats with a bunch of nervous eleven-year-olds. He'd take the carriages instead. As Harry stepped off the train, he spotted an identical set of redheads in front of the crowds, walking towards the carriages.

A lump formed in Harry's throat. It was so good to see Fred alive again. George had never been the same again after losing his twin, and frankly, neither had Molly after she lost one of her sons. Seeing the twins niggled at Harry's mind that there was something he needed to remember about them. Something rather important.

Harry walked quietly towards the carriages and it wasn't until he saw Fred and George step into a carriage a long way ahead of him that Harry remembered what it was.

The Marauder's Map!

Holy fuck, the twins had the Marauder's Map. And the map never lied. It would most certainly show Harry's real name instead of Jack Bird.

A hot flash of panic gripped Harry's entire body but he pushed it down at once. Now was not the time to lose it. He could easily break into Gryffindor Tower and steal the map from the twins, he was sure. And if the twins found out before Harry could get the map, he could simply obliviate them.

There was no reason to panic. At least, that is what Harry kept telling himself as he rode in a carriage with a bunch of fourth year Hufflepuffs, all very friendly when he introduced himself as their new potions professor. Apparently they were clearly relieved to know they wouldn't have to put up with Snape for a whole year.

Tom was already seated at the Head Table when Harry walked inside the Great Hall. Harry gave him a beaming smile while heading straight to him.

"Hi!" Harry said down in the empty seat Tom had been saving for him, right next to Professor Flitwick.

"How was the Hogwarts Express?" Tom asked with an amused smile at Harry's obvious enthusiasm.

"Amazing. What a fun way to go to school," Harry said honestly. "I spent my time with a few first-years. A very friendly bunch."

"Ah, Professor Bird," Flitwick said while he turned in his seat to address Harry. "Your husband was just telling me you've invented a Concentration Concoction that helps him a great deal."

"I did, yes. It will be marketed soon. I'll hopefully sign a contract for it this week," Harry said, curious where Flitwick was going with this.

"That is excellent news." Flitwick gave him a bright smile. "A lot of my Ravenclaws have trouble concentrating, especially around exams. Too much stress."

"Then the Concentration Concoction should help them," Harry said while wondering if perhaps Ravenclaw House attracted a higher percentage of neurodiverse students than other Houses.

"I will inform my students of its existence during our first House Meeting," Flitwick said just as McGonagall led the first years in.

The sorting went much as Harry remembered it, save for two things. When Hermione sat down on the little stool, the Sorting Hat only needed a few seconds to shout, "Ravenclaw!" And when Harry Potter's name was called, no one walked up to the front, much to everyone's obvious disappointment. Harry made a show of sharing a concerned look with Tom while they could both see the humour shining in the others' eyes.

Eating dinner in the Great Hall again, even at the Head Table, wasn't that much of a novelty, though Harry and Tom still enjoyed it plenty. Even though this was the first time they were Harry and Tom since their first year, they had been plenty of other people attending Hogwarts, and they'd even been professors at Hogwarts more than once before. Still, it was good to taste the Hogwarts house-elves' cooking again.

From their position at the Head Table, Tom and Harry could hear whisps of conversation from the Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables. Most students were discussing theories of what might have happened to Harry Potter. Some theories were clearly more realistic than others. A few Ravenclaws were convinced Harry had been sent to Beauxbatons or Ilvermorny for schooling to protect him from the followers of Voldemort who had gotten away. That wasn't a bad theory at all, even if Harry was sitting right there listening to it.

A few Hufflepuffs were convinced poor Harry Potter was dead and the Ministry was covering it up by pretending he'd simply disappeared into thin air. Also a reasonably realistic theory.

And at the Slytherin table the consensus seemed to be that Harry Potter was in fact attending Hogwarts disguised as some random muggleborn, to protect him from some evil plot to see him dead. Harry was impressed how close those snakes came to the truth, even if they got the disguise and motivations wrong. Tom also looked proud of his House, but disguised it very well.

"I'm going to have so much fun with that theory," Harry whispered to Tom, suddenly struck by inspiration. "I think I'm going to misspeak during one of my classes and accidentally call Justin Finch Fletchley or Dean Thomas 'Harry Potter'."

Tom gave Harry a very unimpressed look. "Be careful with that. You might very well ruin some kid's whole first year."

Harry gave that some thought and finally nodded. "Yeah, okay, if the wrong people find out they might haul the kid in for questioning at the Ministry or something. Still, it would have been hilarious."

"That's certainly true."

Glancing to the side and making sure that Flitwick was distracted, Harry pulled his wand out under the table and cast a discreet privacy charm.

"The Marauder's Map," Harry whispered urgently, giving Tom a significant look. "I completely forgot about that bloody thing."

"Ah." Tom glanced towards the Gryffindor table, keeping his face set in a blank mask. "I assume the Weasley twins still have it."

"Yeah, as far as I know." Harry heaved a very frustrated sigh. "And the map never lies."

"So obliviate them when they confront you." Tom frowned a little. "Unless you think they'll take to Dumbledore to show him?"

That sent another hot flash of panic through Harry, until he realized the twins were true Gryffindors and they'd never plan that far ahead. "Nah, they'd simply come and investigate on their own."

"Exactly. Now stop worrying and enjoy being at Hogwarts again." Right as Tom said that their dishes disappeared and instead their tables were suddenly filled with all manner of desserts.

"What an excellent idea." With a huge grin, Harry served himself a slice of treacle tart, one of apple pie and a small bowl of trifle. Tom rolled his eyes, yet also had two slices of apple pie because the Hogwarts house-elves sure knew how to bake.

Dumbledore took them by surprise during his speech after the tables were empty of all food. "All students should avoid the third floor corridor if they don't want to die a most painful death."

Harry shared a wide-eyed look with Tom. "For fuck's sake," Harry muttered, thankful their privacy spell was still up. "Harry Potter isn't even here and there's been no sign of Voldemort and he's still setting up that ridiculous obstacle course?"

"How about we sabotage it?" Tom suggested with a wicked little smirk and Harry had to work very hard not to cackle in delight at that idea.

"Yes. Let's." Harry had a million ideas already how they could sabotage Dumbledore's disturbing goals for that year.

After that all students left for their beds and Harry and Tom did the same. "Our quarters are quite nice," Tom told him as they walked towards the 3rd floor where the Defence classroom was and also their rooms. "I left Izzy in her crate with a smoked pig's ear."

"I'll take her for a quick walk," Harry said just as they reached the door to their quarters. They were fairly close to the corridor Dumbledore had just warned the students about. That wasn't a bad thing, Harry decided. This way they could keep an eye on it and chase off any curious students.

Izzy was elated to see them and Harry picked up her leash even though he didn't attach it to her collar. Let Izzy run around for now. If he met a huge throng of students he could always leash her.

"We have a storage closet right there that we could enlarge and charm to look like the outside, with some grass and trees," Tom said as he sat down on the bench in their small hallway to take off his shoes. "That way we don't have to walk through the whole castle late at night just to take Izzy for a wee."

"Good idea. Also great during inclement weather." Harry leaned over and gave Tom a long, lingering kiss. "Missed you today," Harry whispered while Izzy stood in front of the door, wagging her tail impatiently.

"Pfft." Tom sounded exasperated but he couldn't hide his smile. "It's probably healthy for us to spend some time apart. We've become far too co-dependent in our old age."

"That is certainly true." Harry opened the door to release the Kraken, also known as a very enthusiastic Izzy, who bounced out into the hallway and turned around in a few circles while she waited for Harry.

The trek through the dark castle was accompanied by strong feelings of belonging and of coming home. No matter how many times Harry had attended the school and had even lived there to teach, Hogwarts would always have a very special place in his heart. Izzy seemed to enjoy running through the empty corridors and down the stone staircases until they reached the entrance hall. Harry easily pushed the door open and Izzy all but flew out into the darkness.

Harry took her for a small walk around the lawns and part of the castle, for no more than 15 minutes, so Izzy could do her business and stretch her legs before turning in for the night. Just as Harry opened the heavy doors again to get back inside, two familiar figures stepped into his path from either side of the door.

Fred was holding the Marauder's Map opened in his hands. He glanced at it and then at Harry, and back again. George soon did the same as he stepped up to his brother.

"Well, well, well," Fred said while his mouth quirked up in a grin.

"If it isn't Professor Potter," George added with an equally wide grin.

"That was quick," Harry said with a sigh and reached for his wand.