Summary: What would happen if Harry Potter went back in time? Not to be a student but to teach? This story is about Harry, at 19, going back in time to his parent's 7th year and teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts (DADA). What secrets would be found out? Find out all this and more.
A/N: You people are truly wonderful. I am really sorry about the wait, but school always comes first. I am glad that you like both my stories and you can be reassured that I will finish both of them. It may take awhile but I will finish them. Now on to chapter 10…
Days Gone By—Are They Really Gone?
Chapter 10: Secrets Being Spilled
"Harry, will you please come with me?" Dumbledore asked as Harry walked past him. "I wish to speak with you about something."
Harry looked at him and smiled. "Yes sir, lead the way."
Dumbledore didn't return the grin. "Thank you."
Harry was shocked. Dumbledore had never been this cold to him before. Harry brushed his hair out of his eyes and pushed his glasses back up his nose. A sharp pain came from the back of his head. He reached back there and felt something sticky. Blood. Harry grimaced as he remembered when it happened. 'Oh well,' he thought, 'this is a short price to pay when the alternative is the pain of the killing curse.' Harry crashed into something and he fell down. He looked up to see the stone gargoyle sitting peacefully in front of him. Dumbledore laughed. "Are you okay, Harry?"
"Yes, I am, sir. I was just a little distracted and I didn't see it. Are we going to go in?"
Dumbledore's smile was wiped off his face as he answered. "Yes, follow me."
"And he was almost back to normal," Harry muttered to himself as he followed Dumbledore to his office. Dumbledore gestured for him to sit down. He started talking.
"Harry, there is something odd about you. Death Eaters captured you this morning and you come back in the afternoon. Before you left though, you told me that you're classes should take place no matter what. And now you are having the seventh years write an essay about Voldemort. It makes a person wonder. You know more than you let on. You aren't telling anyone the truth about who you are. I will know. Whether by force or from your own free will, I will find out," Dumbledore gazed into Harry's eyes. Harry's shocked eyes gazed back.
Harry sputtered and then started talking, more calmly then he felt. "You are right. I was told not to tell anyone, but I guess there are exceptions to every rule. Please get Ryan in here. He is my godfather, he'll be able to help me explain this."
Dumbledore glanced at the now calm boy sitting in front of him as he called Ryan into his office—by the fire. Ryan's confused face cleared into a mischievous grin as he saw Harry. "I told you that some people wouldn't be satisfied by your answers, didn't I?" came the cocky voice.
Harry glared at him. "It's not my fault that Voldie decides to torture me no matter where I am."
"Excuses, excuses."
Dumbledore watched as Ryan sat down and they continued to bicker. "Excuse me, you two. But could we get to the matter at hand? I would like to know who you are."
Ryan settled further into his chair as he gestured for Harry to start telling their story. Harry glanced at Fawkes as he started to talk. "Where to start? Well a good place to start would be our names, so I guess I'll start there. My name really is Harry. That was never a lie, neither was the fact that I never knew my parents. But back to the names," Harry laughed, "I never thought I would have to reintroduce old students to you Professor. Let me introduce you to Sirius Black," Ryan gave a cocky wave. "He is a tad older then the Sirius black running around with James Potter. And me? I am Harry Potter. You, well an older you, decided to let me have a little fun and come back to meet my parents."
Dumbledore blinked. "So you are telling me that you came from the future?"
Harry nodded. "Quite right. Is that enough information for you, or do you want to know more of my past, which is right now your future?"
"More, if you please. I want to know everything," Dumbledore said folding his hands.
"Fine, let's start at the beginning. My name is Harry James Potter. I am the son of Lily Evans and James Potter. My birthday is July 31st, 1980. I lived with my Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia from the time I was one to the time I graduated. And that's my basic history."
Ryan raised his hand to get the attention on him. "Oh Harry, you forgot one thing."
Harry's eyes narrowed and snapped to Ryan. "Damn it Ryan, you know we can't tell that. We can't change history."
Ryan's eyes widened in innocence as he spoke. "I was only going to say that Voldemort was after your blood."
Harry snorted. "He got that, remember? Fourth year, but he was out to kill me."
"Excuse me, but would you mind filling me in? Why is Voldemort out to kill you?" Dumbledore looked intently at the two men in front of him. Harry turned to look at him.
"Was, sir. He was out to kill me. In our time, he isn't trying to kill me anymore."
Ryan winced. "I don't really think he could hurt a fly after what you did to him, Harry."
Dumbledore looked at Harry. "What did you do to him?"
"Killed him," he said simply.
"Okay, somehow this conversation went from Voldemort wanting to kill you to you killing Voldemort," Dumbledore said while Ryan nodded. He continued talking. "Why don't you tell me why Voldemort was after you, Harry?"
Harry opened his mouth to start talking but then shut it. "I don't think I can tell you that. It would reveal too much of the future."
Ryan sighed. "Oh sod off, Harry, you know he won't rest until he knows. He's just like you when someone has secrets, he won't stop until he knows. And besides, you won't be able to tell him how you got back today until you tell him one little fact."
"Ryan, I am not going to tell him that!"
"Why not? It's not going to change anything!"
Harry sighed and was about to say something when Dumbledore interrupted. "Why don't you just tell me and trust me to keep the information to myself? Hmm?"
Harry looked at him and then at Ryan. He sighed. "I guess you would have found out eventually. Alright, if you must know, I can survive the killing curse." He turned to face Ryan. "That is what you wanted me to tell him right? Or did you want me to tell him that the unforgivable curses don't work on me? Any of them! Hmmm Sirius? Is that what you wanted me to tell him? Or do you want me to go blurting out my entire history as the freaking 'Boy Who Lived'!"
Harry paused to catch his breath and started to talk again. But Ryan cut him off. "Harry, shut up," he said calmly. Harry stopped. "Good, now just tell him everything. No holding back, except about the information on Lily and James. Oh and don't tell about me."
Ryan turned to face Dumbledore. "I'm sorry, he doesn't do that often, but when he does we like to let him get it out of his system. He tends to keep things bottled up inside of him. He doesn't like to have people harmed or in danger because of him. In our time he is quite famous, with the whole Voldemort thing. Now, Harry, talk."
Harry bit his lip before starting to talk in a monotone voice. "I have faced Voldemort, or one of his supporters, every year since I was eleven. I have been kidnapped 3 times—today was the fourth. When I was 16, Voldemort captured me and tortured me. He just every type of torture you could think of. He even resorted to muggle types. I managed never to cry out and eventually got use to the pain. I was there for a whole summer and the first month of my sixth year. I said before that the unforgivable curses don't work on me. They worked on me before this little "visit". Well the 'crucio' curse did. I didn't know about the killing curse until I was 18; he used it on me twice. He couldn't believe that I could stand back up after being hit with an unforgivable curse. Let's just say that is gave him another reason to hate me."
Harry looked at both of them. "Is that enough, or is there something else you want to know?"
Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, how old are you, and when did you kill Voldemort?"
"I am 19 now, I was 18 when I killed Voldemort," Harry laughed. "I just turned 19 last July. It hasn't even been a year since I killed Tom. Barely even half a year, if you want to get really specific."
Dumbledore smiled and the twinkle came back into his eyes. "What house were you in, Harry?"
A corner of Harry's mouth twitched. "Gryffindor, sir. But get one thing straight now, no matter what you find out about me, remember that I am a Gryffindor."
"Why do you say that Harry?"
Harry sighed. "I am a lot like Tom Riddle. I can talk to snakes, even. So don't be fooled. I am a Gryffindor, even if it seems otherwise."
Ryan turned to Harry. "You're a Parseltongue? How come I didn't know about this?"
"You never asked. Besides, I had expected you to read about it in one of Rita Skeeter's articles. It was in the one that said I was mentally unstable, if I remember right. Or was it the one that said I was dating Hermione?" Harry shook his head and smiled. "It was one of them anyway, in my fourth year."
"Oh," Ryan said absently and then as he thought about it, it came in stronger. "Oh, I remember now. I don't think I've heard you do it though."
Harry smiled wirily. "It isn't exactly something that is well liked. And it is not as though there are a ton of snakes coming up to me and talking."
Dumbledore sat, fingers tented and resting on his lips. He folded his hands and put them on his desk. "You have not had an easy life, have you Harry?"
Harry did not say a thing, but Ryan gave him a look as though to say 'Duh'. Dumbledore continued talking. "But there is one thing that I can see now, even when I don't know all of your secrets. I have never seen a person more fit than you to teach the Defense Against The Dark Arts class. You are a remarkable person, and what surprises me is that you are only 19. I cannot even begin to imagine what you will, or can, do in the rest of your life. You are truly an asset to this school. I am sorry for ever doubting you. Though, this does explain why, even though evidence points otherwise, people trust you. I don't know if I have ever said anything like this before, but please realize that I am saying it now, even before watching you grow up."
Harry looked on in shock. Dumbledore had never… never said anything along that sort. Sure he had been told that he was remarkable, but come on… He was famous, that was expected. But to hear Dumbledore say all of that…
Dumbledore continued. "Please tell me all about your experiences in school, and most of your life. You don't need to tell me about why you are living with your aunt and uncle, just tell me everything that happened during school."
Harry smiled and looked over at Ryan for confirmation; Harry didn't want to tell almost everything without having approval. Ryan nodded and settled in his chair to listen. Harry cleared his throat and started to talk.
"When I was eleven, Hagrid, the gamekeeper, rescued me from the Dursley's. I had never known about the wizarding world before then… That moment when he told me, everything changed. When I say everything, I mean everything. That year it was the stone, it was that stone…" Harry went on to describe everything about his first year, right down to the dragon escape. He didn't mention how the Dursley's treated him, he told about Dobby, and skimmed the facts of the events in his second year. He didn't tell about his third year, knowing that Ryan didn't want that known quite yet. Fourth year he told in a monotone voice, mainly just saying that he had met up with Voldemort. Fifth year was his only normal year, mainly learning about his parents, and worrying about the O.W.L.'s. Sixth year was the year that Voldemort had captured him and tortured him. Seventh—the same as sixth, only he wasn't kept as long. He had to mention that he had been Head Boy and Head Girl had been one of his best friends. He had been grinning at this. And when he was eighteen… He just said that he had defeated Voldemort… He smiled. "After all," he said, "we need to keep the future a mystery, don't we? We can't know all the facts, otherwise where's the fun?"
He went on to say that he had allowed Harry to go to the past in order to get to know his parents. Dumbledore listened pensively during the entire time that Harry had been talking, knowing, somehow, that Harry wasn't even scratching the surface with what he told. But like he had said, where is the fun if we know everything that is to come… Dumbledore decided to speak up. There was still that one thing that was bothering him…
"Harry," he said, voice cutting through the silence, "You told me that you could survive the killing curse… How? What happens?"
Harry leaned forward, folding his hands and resting his forearms above his knees. He rested his chin on his hands. "It is fairly hard to explain," he said, voice oddly loud in the circular room. "But I will do my best. You see, I do actually die, and to tell you the truth it is quite painful. However, my soul is fairly content on staying with my body," he smiled at this, as though he was telling a joke, "When that curse hits me, I die, but there is that white light… The white light that I know to be my soul and, so to say, essence. Back to the point, the white light goes out of my body, leaving me quite dead, but it comes back. It heals me, taking away any magical spells and reviving myself to how I would look if I hadn't used magic to change myself. Hence the reason my hair is so long," he held up a lock, "If I had just been able to get to the person who cuts my hair, I wouldn't have needed to use magic to keep my hair the same length. Now that the spell is off it went to how it would be if the spell had never been there. Anyway, the light then re-enters my body, allowing me to live again. The process takes very little time; I am usually back on my feet within a minute or two. Sometimes even less. I don't know why I can survive the killing curse, it just happens. Please don't tell anyone."
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he gave a reassuring smile. Harry glanced at his watch, and quickly stood up. "Oh no! I have to go, I was supposed to meet a group of third years! They thought they saw a Boggart and I really need one for my next lesson with the second years."
Dumbledore wave his hand dismissively. "Go on, we've talked long enough. I'm sure that they are waiting for you, hurry up."
"Thanks, sir," and with that he rushed out the door.
Dumbledore turned to look at the man sitting in front of him. He could not believe he hadn't seen the resemblance. Ryan grinned at him.
"Weren't expecting to see me, were you?"
"No, I can't say I was. Then again, I wasn't expecting Harry to be James and Lily's son, so that isn't saying much at the moment. I have one question to ask before you go, because I know you want to clean up your room. Was everything that Harry said true?"
Ryan bit his lip and thought a moment before answering. "I know one thing about everything he said, and that I can tell you know. He wasn't even scratching the surface; however what he told was the truth. As much of it as you need to know at the moment. Harry has so many secrets and doesn't tell half of them. But he was telling the truth," Ryan laughed, "He doesn't lie very often, and to tell you the truth, he isn't very good at it. He is, however, very good at telling only what needs to be known. So believe him, and later, trust him. You won't be sorry."
Ryan stood up. "If you would excuse me, sir, I really do need to clean up my classroom."
"Thank you for telling me what you did, Sirius."
Dumbledore turned to face his pensive as Ryan walked out of the room. 'Of all the things to ponder…' he thought as he went into his pensive. 'Of all the things to ponder…'
In the Gryffindor common room, not a lot was happening. Lily and James were curled up together by the window watching the thick flakes of snow fall. Lily sighed contently as she snuggled closer to James. He, in turn, tightened his hold on her. Lily's mouth twisted and she sat up frustrated.
"I can't get that image out of my head. I can't help thinking about it, James."
James put a soothing arm around her as Sirius and Remus came and sat down on the floor in front of them. Remus spoke first.
"I want to find out a few things about Harry, guys."
James and Sirius looked at him in shock.
Lily spoke quietly. "But I thought you liked him, Remus."
He nodded. "I do like him, I just… There are just too many loose ends."
James nodded. "I know. I would just like it if I knew who he was. But I don't think that is ever going to be possible."
Lily looked at him oddly. "What do you mean?"
James frowned as he looked at everyone. "I have a feeling that not even Professor White, his godfather, knows him entirely."
Lily and Remus looked at James. "Professor White is Harry's godfather?" they both exclaimed at the same time.
Sirius nodded. "Yep, James and I figured that out a while ago. We have been trying—"
James reached over and clamped a hand over Sirius' mouth. Lily looked suspiciously over at James and narrowed her eyes.
"James…" she said in a low voice.
James looked back guiltily and Sirius gave a cry of glee.
"I did it!" he yelled. He jumped up and grabbed the closest girl and kissed her. He had her by the shoulders and was smiling while shaking her. The poor girl just raised an eyebrow and smiled.
"Just what did you do?" she said trying to pry his hands off of her.
"I got Lily to get mad at James and this time he actually did something. Pay up, Moony!" He quickly let go of her and she walked off muttering to herself. Sirius ran over to Remus and held out an open hand. "Three sickles was the agreement."
Remus shook his head. "No way, remember? He also had to confess and I don't believe he has yet."
Sirius frowned and then turned to Lily. He smiled charmingly. "Lily," he started in a sweet voice that gained momentum, "James and I have been trying to find information on Harry and Ryan and we have found out some things and I think that they will help us out."
She looked at him like he was crazy. He had been talking so fast by the end that you couldn't understand him. Remus smiled contently.
"Oh, don't look at me like that Sirius. I don't have to pay you now."
"What!" Sirius jumped up and everyone looked at him. He waved and shrugged, "Lost a bet," he called in explanation. The room broke out in understanding babble. Sirius sat down and whispered to Remus. "What do you mean? She knows now…"
Remus just smiled. "James had to confess, you dolt, not you confessing for him. So it doesn't count. And if I were you I would run."
Sirius' eyebrows drew together in confusion. "Why?"
"Because James does not look too happy," he said laughing.
Sirius looked over at James, and, noticing the murderous look on his face, quickly ran out of the common room. James stood up slowly.
"Excuse me, will you? I need to go kill him," he shot Lily a wink and walked slowly out of the room.
As soon as he was out of the room, Lily turned to him. "Do you have any idea what that was about?"
Remus shook his head, "Nope, you?"
Lily sighed. "No, you know, James and Harry have more in common then looks."
"What's that?"
"They both keep more secrets then a secret keeper."
'Christmas, a time of good tidings and cheer. I wonder if they figured Voldemort into that equation.' Harry's lips curved into a smile as he thought that. The Great Hall was decorated to the furthest extent, everything hung in Christmas colors. It was the one time of the year that the house colors merged. Green mixed with red. That was what stood out. It made a person wonder if anyone noticed that the two houses with the biggest rivalry had allowed their colors to mix and to hang side by side. Harry walked in quite unnoticed. Though, that could have possibly been because he had worn his invisibility cloak. There weren't that many students that stayed, no, that was reasonable. People were not living for being safe, they were living to see their families and spend as much time together as they could. Even with that threat, oh everybody knows that threat, the one that is the prickling of the fine hairs at the nape of your neck. Yes, with that threat, people were joyful. Snowball fights were still held, homework was still being done, and, one can't forget this, Harry Larson was still being discussed. Harry sighed as he heard, once again, someone mention how cute he was. He walked over to Lily, who was reading a book at the Gryffindor table. He sat down next to her. Not taking her eyes from the book, she spoke.
"What is it, James?"
Harry laughed. "Whoever said I was James?"
Lily turned her head to where he would have been. "If you aren't James, then who are you?"
"Harry. I just wanted to talk to someone around my age for a bit. It gets kind of boring when the only people you talk to are more then twice your age."
Lily laughed as she put her book down. "I can imagine! Oh dear," she said quietly, as she noticed that everyone was staring at her. "Can we continue this in the Gryffindor common room? I really don't want everyone staring at me like I'm crazy."
Harry smiled, a smile she couldn't see of course. "I was wondering when you were going to notice that."
"Oh shush up," she said standing up. She walked quickly out of the Great Hall. As soon as they were clear of any spying eyes, Harry took off the cloak and put it in his pocket as he walked along side Lily. They walked silently until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. Lily looked at him curiously as Harry said the password. He walked inside.
"How did you know that?" she said as she raced up to him. Harry sat down near the fireplace and waited for her to do the same.
"Another of my secrets, I'm afraid," he smirked. Lily reached over and lightly slapped him on the arm.
Lily settled back in her armchair and sighed. "This is my first Christmas without my parents, you know. It is kind of scary."
"How so?" inquired Harry.
"Everything I see is so cheerful and it reminds me of them, my parents. I wish for just a moment that I had been there—that I had been killed alongside them, just so I could spend Christmas together with them. I know you are probably going to tell me that there isn't anything I can do about it but I just can help but think about it."
"You're right, I am going to tell you that you can't do anything about it. But I know what it's like. There are so many times that I wish that I had been killed with my parents, or that I could have died in the place of a friend. But I can tell you one thing, you can't base your life on what it could have been. You waste so much of it that way. You have to hold their memories tight but you can let others in with them. Love is the greatest antidepressant that you can receive and the best thing is you can have as much of it as you want."
Lily laughed. "Okay, change of subject. Why did you really want to talk to me?"
Harry shrugged. "I really wanted to talk to someone my age. I'm only nineteen, don't I deserve to have a fun Christmas?"
"Oh, so you wanted to hang out with the local goof-offs?" Lily said accusingly.
"Nah, I was just bored and you were the first person I saw. Well, that I could trust."
"Oh, okay," she said before getting an idea. "Do you want to go outside and join the Marauder's snowball fight? That is always a lot of fun. You never quite know what to expect from any of them… Especially James…" she said the last part more to herself.
Harry smiled. "You really love him, don't you?"
She sighed. "Is it really that obvious?" Harry nodded. She got a goofy grin on her face before she answered. "Yes, I really do love James. I hope we get married someday, but don't tell him I said that."
"I won't tell a soul. And, just so you know, I think that you two would be perfect together."
Harry stood up and walked over to the window. He looked down on everyone laughing and playing in the snow. He turned quickly around. "Do you think that they would let a teacher join in on the fight?"
"Are you kidding?" she said standing up. "They would love it."
"Then come on," he said rushing out of the door.
Lily sighed before running to catch up with him. The snowball fight in the freshly fallen snow left everyone with a light heart and frozen fingers. Harry had pelted James and Sirius with snowballs before they had realized what was going on. It didn't take long for the organized teams to fall apart and the name of the game to turn to revenge. Everyone was hitting as many people as they could and it was chaos, pure, blind chaos. This had continued for a few hours, well, until it had gotten so dark that no one could see what they were hitting. When everyone had called a truce, they went inside and had hot cocoa in the kitchens. The Christmas Eve night had passed with everyone in warm spirits.
Nobody had really gone to sleep that night, they had stayed up and talked in the common room all night. Though Harry listened more than talked. He was staying, or so he said, so that they could talk without getting in trouble. Harry stood up when the clock struck one.
"Sorry, everyone, I would love to stay, but everyone needs to get a little sleep tonight," He started walking through the portrait hole as everyone said good night. Harry smiled remembering everything that had happened that day.
"Merry Christmas everyone!" he yelled as the portrait went shut.
"Yes," he said to himself as he heard faint cries of 'Merry Christmas. "My first happy Christmas with my family. And it was definitely merry." He walked slowly back to his room before going to bed.
A/N: If you would like me to notify you when I update one of my stories, or post a new one, please tell me so in a review or send me an email at dynamic_duo178@hotmail.com. You people are wonderful to have been patient with me this long.
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