Harry Potter, Heir of Gryffindor

Maturo Auctus

At first there was darkness. Nothing more. Nothing less. Just darkness. In his mind Harry turned, spinning around in every conceivable direction, to see if there was anything more but there was nothing. Just darkness. He didn't know how long it lasted. All he knew was that as soon as he began to wonder if this is what it meant to be dead a tiny pinprick of white light appeared in what he thought was the distance but couldn't be sure.

The light gradually moved closer, or grew larger as the case may be, until it became a part of him and he a part of it. The next thing Harry knew he was moving along a golden path bathed in white light, lush green meadows and fields stretching off into the distance on either side of the path and in front of him he could see a glowing white castle. It looked a lot like Hogwarts only larger.

He didn't know how long the journey took if, indeed, it took any time at all because time seemed to stand still while passing at the same time - it was an indescribable sensation of eternity. Before he knew it he found himself walking through the gates of this Hogwarts and crossing the castle grounds. In the distance the castle doors swung open and a large, shaggy black dog came bounding out followed by two people dressed in what looked like wizarding robes. The dog leaped down the steps and sprang across the lawns, skidding to a stop less than a meter from him. Harry looked at the all-too-familiar dog and, stunned, stepped forward. Scratching behind the dog's ears he asked, "Sirius?"

The enormous dog closed his eyes and stretched, luxuriating in the attention he was receiving from Harry. "Er, Sirius," Harry said, still hesitant but more confident than before. "I hate to tell you this but you're fat."

The dog immediately transformed into a much younger version of Harry's godfather. He looked at Harry with a hurt expression on his face but a smile on his lips and laughed. "I'm not fat, Harry!" he exclaimed. "I'm just healthy."

"No. Padfoot," one of the other two people who had come out to greet him called. "Harry's right. You are fat."

Sirius pulled Harry into a warm hug and said, "Welcome to Hogwarts, Harry."

Harry pulled back and looked up into his godfather's eyes. "Hogwarts?" he asked.

Sirius nodded. "Yes. You see, everything that exists out there - on the other side of the veil - is an inexact copy of its counterpart on this side."

Harry looked up at the castle then back at his godfather. "So I'm dead then?" he said, more as a statement than a question but with the implied question still remaining.

Sirius fidgeted slightly then said, "Well, yes and no. You are and you aren't." Glancing back up at the castle and the two approaching figures Sirius added, "I'm not so sure I'm the one to explain this to you, Harry, but . . . um you seem to have been give a rare opportunity to learn from the best and to grow in ways most will never either comprehend or understand. In the wizarding world it is called Maturo Auctus or 'accelerated growth.' If my understanding of it is anywhere close to being correct, you are being given the opportunity to learn about and internalize all branches of magic while you are here but you will have to go back because you are the only one who can defeat Voldemort, and even Salizar Slytherin himself doesn't like what his heir is doing."

"Salizar Slytherin?" Harry asked.

"Yes, Harry," a soft, woman's voice said. "As you know, Salizar Slytherin was one of the four founders and was one of the greatest wizards of his age. He will be one of your teachers while you are here and, if you will, you can learn a lot from him. All you have to do is keep an open mind."

Harry turned to look at the woman who had spoken to him and his mouth fell open as his knees gave way. "Mum?" he asked, looking up at her from his position on the ground. Lily Potter swooped down and pulled her son into the warm, motherly kind of hug that Harry had only really experienced once before, in the Hospital Wing after the third task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. "Yes, Harry, it's me," she said as she held him close and rubbed his back while he cried into her shoulder.

"And what am I," the man standing behind her asked, "chopped liver?"

Lily turned her head and gave her husband a scathing look but Sirius cut her off before she could retort. "No, Progsie old boy, I'm afraid you're veal," he laughed.

James Potter scowled and took a friendly swipe at his old friend. "Thanks a lot, Padfoot. Next time I want a comment from the peanut gallery I'll be sure to let you know."

Sirius knelt down next to Harry and Lily and said, "You had better be careful, Harry. I think he's jealous."

Harry leaned back and looked over at Sirius and then looked back at his mum who smiled and stood up. "Harry James Potter," she said with a smile, "let me introduce you to your father, one James 'Troublemaker' Potter."

"I am not a troublemaker!" James stormed. Then relenting, said, "Well, alright, so I'm a troublemaker. I didn't break any laws, though. That's gotta count for something."

After getting to his feet Harry looked at his father and laughed. "Don't worry, Dad, Remus told me all about your pranks."

James groaned, "Oh no."

Sirius laughed. "Did he give you our book?"

Harry smiled and said, "Yeah."

Lily turned Harry towards her and looked him sternly in the eyes. "I don't want to hear word one about you pulling any of those pranks while you are still at school. Do you hear me, Harry? If I hear about you pulling any of those pranks on any of your friends you will be grounded."

James smiled cheekily. "Don't listen to her, Harry," he said. "A guy's gotta have some fun while he is in school and with the Weasley twins gone I'm afraid that place might get a little boring after a while. I think what you should do is get the twins to write a book like ours and then combine the two."

"James!" Lily snapped as if scandalized by the very though of her son pranking anyone.

"Alright, alright"" James said, holding up his hands in defeat. "Get your studies done first then pull a few pranks."

Lily glared at her husband who backed down even farther. "Alright. No pranks until you defeat Voldemort."

Lily folded her arms across her chest and nodded her head. "I can live with that," she said.

As they approached the castle a tall, distinguished looking figure - a man dressed in long, flowing scarlet and gold wizarding robes with long, flowing blond hair and sparkling blue eyes - stepped through the main entrance and walked towards them, stopping at the base of the steps leading up to the main entrance. Harry, Sirius, Lily and James stopped at the base of the steps, less than a meter from the regal wizard. James turned to Harry and said, "Son, I would like you to meet the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Godric Gryffindor."

Harry's mouth fell open as he looked up at the man. "Are you really?" he asked.

The man smiled and laughed out loud. "Yes, as a matter of fact I am. Not only that, Harry," he said as he reached out to shake Harry's hand, "but if we discount the years and generations and such I am your great-grandfather something like fifty times removed and you are my sole remaining hear."

Again Harry's mouth fell open. Only this time he looked around at his parents and Sirius for some form confirmation. When all they did was smile and nod at him he turned back towards the ancient, long-dead wizard and said, "Er . . . um . . . okay . . . um . . . what am I doing here?"

Gryffindor walked over and put his arm around Harry's shoulder and began leading him up the stairs. With a small chuckle he said, "I'm sorry to spring that on you so suddenly, Harry, but I figure we had best get the dirty little details out of the way first so that we can get to work and teach you everything you will need to know so that you can go back and restore order to the wizarding world." At Harry's questioning glance the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry said, "Oh, don't worry, Harry, it will not all fall on your shoulders but then your advice, once you defeat Salizar's heir, will be greatly sought, as was Albus Dumbledore's after he defeated Grindelwald."

""Do you know Professor Dumbledore?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Do I know Albus Dumbledore?" Godric Gryffindor asked then laughed softly to himself. "Yes, I am afraid so. He was the last wizard to go through Maturo Auctus. And I must say that even with all of his failings - and here I must say, Harry, that none of us is perfect - he has done a splendid job. I am glad to see that the two of you have worked out your differences because once you return to your body you must be reminded of everything you learn while you are here and Albus Dumbledore - as the last wizard to go through Maturo Auctus - will be your teacher. You see, Harry, the responsibilities are great. Not only will you be taught everything you will need to know to defeat Tom Riddle and rebuild the wizarding world after his fall but you must also be responsible for training the next defender of the Light."

Harry smirked and coughed as he tried to catch his breath. They were walking across the Entrance Hall now and as Harry looked around he could see what Sirius meant when he said that everything on their other side of the veil was an inexact copy of their counterparts on this side. The Hogwarts on this side was spectacular. Rather than the dingy grey stones that made up his Hogwarts, this Hogwarts was made of glowing white marble that seemed to pulse with magical energy. When they - Godric, Harry, James, Lily and Sirius - entered the Great Hall all eyes turned towards the new arrivals and a hushed silence fell over the hall. Harry looked around nervously and whispered, "Um, sir? Who are all these people?"

The Headmaster and Head of Gryffindor House laughed. "Ah, Harry!" Godric Gryffindor said. "These are the future students of your Hogwarts. They go to school on this side of the veil to prepare themselves for what they hope to learn on your side."

"Oh," Harry said. "Erm, okay. Um, not that it's any of my business or anything but just out of curiosity are any of them related to me?"

James and Sirius laughed out loud. Lily glared at them and scowled. Turning to Harry she said, "Don't get me wrong, Harry. I love your father to death but sometimes he can be such a prat."

Harry chuckled. "That's what Remus has been telling me."

James stopped laughing. "What has Moony been telling you?" he asked accusingly.

"Everything," Harry said. "After I saw what you did to Snape at then end of your fifth year he thought it best that I know the truth."

James hung his head and looked down at his feet. After sighing heavily he looked at Harry and Harry could see the regret in his eyes. "About that," he said softly. "If you get a chance could you tell Severus that I'm sorry. I'm sorry about all of the stuff we did to him because I didn't know how rough he had had it while growing up and we didn't realize how mean we were being to him. To us it was just a game. I know we were trying to help the muggle-borns but some of the stuff we did was inexcusable."

"Same here," Sirius said. "I know we didn't necessarily see eye to eye on a lot of things but things on your side of the veil are far from perfect. I only wish we had all prepared ourselves to be better listeners before going through to your side."

"And that is one of the things you are going to learn while you are here," another, older looking wizard with flowing white hair and beard and wearing powder blue robes with a matching hat that rose to a peak almost a full meter above his head.

Harry looked at this new arrival as he approached from the direction of the Head Table and his jaw almost hit the floor. He had seen pictures of this man - one of the most famous wizards of all time - but he had never expected to meet him. "Merlin?" he asked.

The ancient wizard nodded his head. "Yes, Harry. That is one of my names. I will be one of your instructors while you are here and my hope is that you will learn as much as you can while you are here because even though time does not work the same on two sides of the veil we do still only have a limited amount."

"Yes, sir," Harry said, awed by the presence of one of the most powerful wizards of all time. "I will do my best, sir."

Merlin chuckled and stepped forward, placing his arm around Harry's shoulders. "Yes, Harry," he said. "I'm sure you will. For now, however, I believe you would like to spend some time getting to know your parents, your godfather and," he hesitated, ". . . your children."

"My children?" Harry asked, his eyes bulging and his mouth falling open for the second time in as many minutes.

James and Sirius burst out laughing again. "Yes, Harry," Sirius laughed. "Someone's got to carry on the Potter name and since you are the last that task kind of falls to you."

Harry glared at his godfather for a second but couldn't force a scowl. "Don't listen to him, Harry," Lily said. "You've got plenty of time to find the right girl; but whatever you do, don't turn into a womanizer."

"Er, how long do I have?" Harry asked.

"At least six years," Lily said reassuringly as she took his arm and led the nervous teenager over to the Gryffindor House Table closely followed bye James and Sirius.

As they approached the halfway point a red haired little girl with bright, emerald-green eyes and a brown-eyed little boy with messy black hair stood up and looked at Lily. "Hello, Gran," the little girl said, "Is this our daddy?"

Lily knelt down in front of the little girl and said, "Yes, Lily, this is your daddy." Looking up at Harry she said, "Harry, I would like you to meet your children, James Sirius Black Potter who is in his second year and Lily Lupin Evans Potter who is in her first."

Uncertain as to what he should either say or do, Harry knelt down next to his mother and said, "Erm, hi. Er, nice to meet you."

His future children looked at him and, seeming to recognize his uncertainty, walked over and hugged him. "Welcome to Hogwarts, daddy," the little girl said.

"Hey! Budge over, mates!" the little boy called out. "Make room for my dad!"

For the next several hours, as the Great Hall slowly emptied out for the evening, Harry sat between his children and got to know them while his parents and Sirius sat across the table from them and got to know their son and godson.

For what in Harry's mind was several months but which, due to the time distortions, was, in reality, little more than a few minutes Harry spent a lot if time learning the soft logic of humanity. He did this by experiencing life through a wide variety of circumstances. With the aide of a special pensieve he was allowed to experience life as a werewolf, a centaur and a wide variety of other magical and non-magical creatures as well as an even wider variety of both magical and non-magical people. He did this so that he could learn what it was like to be other people and other creatures and so that he could be tolerant of their habits, traditions, activities and beliefs. He also spent a great deal of time getting to know his parents and Sirius and playing with his children. He even spent a day with Cedric Diggory who thanked Harry for taking his body back to his parents and went out of his way to make sure that Harry understood that his death was not Harry's fault but was the doing of Peter Pettigrew on the orders of Tom Riddle.

When this portion of his training was finished Harry went through another period of darkness, of indeterminable length, during which he thought about everything he had learned and internalized as much of it as he could without sacrificing himself to any of the many conflicting values. During this period he grew to have a greater understanding of, and appreciation for, the wondrous variety that is Life. He learned patience with himself and others and gained an understanding of why there were so many laws protecting the rights of the individual. He also came to an understanding of the intricacies of time and why things had to be allowed to happen in certain ways.

Upon emerging from this period of darkness Harry found himself lying at the edge of the quidditch pitch. His father, son, Sirius, Cedric and several of the friends he had made during his initial visit were standing around waiting for him to wake up. Each of them was holding a broom. Sirius, however, was holding two. "Get up ya lazy bum," he scolded. "We've gotta get you in shape for quidditch. After all, you've only really played one game in the past two years."

Harry squinted up into the sunlight and grumbled as he raised his hand to shade his eyes. "Sirius," he said, "you're incorrigible."

Sirius turned to James, Harry's father, and laughed. "Prongsie old boy," he laughed, "I do believe he's learning."

Harry scowled and sat up. Turning to his son he said, "James, how do you put up with these two?"

James laughed. "It isn't easy, Dad, but they do kind of grow on you after a bit."

James and Sirius looked at each other and didn't seem to know if they should be insulted or not. Everyone laughed at their discomfiture as Harry stood up and faced Sirius. Then, looking down at his son said, "Good one, James. I think I'm going to like having you as my son." James smiled up at his dad. "What position do you play?" Harry asked.

"I play chaser and reserve seeker," his son said proudly.

"Takes after his grandpa," the older James said proudly as he affectionately tapped his grandson on the jaw.

Harry looked proudly down at his son and smiled. Taking the broom Sirius held out to him he saw that it was a replica of his Firebolt. Mounting his broom he kicked off and yelled, "Last one in the air is a greasy git!"

Sirius and his father scrambled not to be the last one up. Unfortunately, however, Sirius lost. Harry flew over as Sirius rose into the air and snickered, "Hey, Sirius, how does it feel to be Snape?"

Sirius scowled and looked menacingly over at his godson. "Just be glad I'm on your team, Harry. Otherwise I might be tempted to send a bludger your way." Harry smiled sweetly at his godfather and flew away to get set for the start of the game.

For the next three hours Harry thoroughly enjoyed himself. His father and son and a future Weasley - one of Bill's future children - were the chasers on his team, Sirius and another future Weasley - one of Fred's future children - were the beaters on his team and one of Ron's future children was the keeper on his team. The other team, with the exception of Cedric who was the seeker, was comprised of past and future Weasleys. It was a tight match from start to finish and when the snitch finally appeared the score was 210 - 200 in favor of the Potters. Harry and Cedric both spotted the snitch at the same time, from opposite ends of the pitch, The snitch appeared in the exact center of the pitch in the middle of a play. Harry and Cedric both turned sharply and banked into the middle of what promised to be a major wreck. "Sweet Merlin" Harry could hear some of the people in the stands gasp, "they're gonna crash!"

It was a close series of maneuvers but both Harry and Cedric weaved through the rest of the players while dodging bludgers sent their way by the opposing beaters and approached the snitch from opposite directions at breakneck speeds. At the last possible moment Cedric flinched and pulled up. Harry kept his eyes on the snitch and, as Cedric flinched, reached out and wrapped his fingers around the elusive golden ball. As they floated back down to the ground Cedric flew over to Harry, James and James and said, "You're a maniac you know that, Potter?"

All three Potters looked up and said, "Why thank you, Cedric." Everyone burst out laughing and Harry couldn't remember ever being so happy.

As soon as they touched down, however, Harry's mother and daughter raced out onto the field. "Harry James Potter!" his mother scolded, "how dare you scare your mother and daughter like that!"

Harry blanched briefly but from the look in his mother's eyes he could tell that she was happy that he was happy. Then, smiling, he said, "It's all a part of the game, Mum. You don't get anywhere if you don't take at least a few risks."

His mother just shook her head and smiled as his daughter jumped up into his arms. "But daddy," she cried, "What would Madam Pomfrey say if she knew what kinds of risks you were taking while you are over here on this side of the veil?"

Harry thought about this for a few seconds then looked his daughter in the eye and said, "She would probably just shake her head and say, 'It figures.' After all, She is kind of used to me getting hurt."

Sirius grabbed Lily out of Harry's arms and swung her around. "That's right, Lily Flower. And your daddy is a great seeker."

Lily squealed. "Uncle Sirius!" she screamed. "You put me down this instant!"

Sirius laughed and swung her around again before setting her feet firmly on the ground. "Lily," he said to Harry's mother, "I do believe you are having a bad influence on your granddaughter."

Harry's mother scowled.

For the next several months veil time Harry studied Religion, Philosophy, Psychology, Politics, Government and Muggle Relations. When he was finished with this course of study he was returned to the timeless void of darkness where he spent an indeterminate amount if time integrating these lesson into the structures of his soul. He knew that everything he was learning while in this other dimension would remain dormant until he was either reminded of it in some way or it was needed in real life. But at the same time he knew that it was his responsibility to lay the foundation and do all of the preliminary work so that he could recall it when necessary.

He went through this process - the process of learning and then integrating the lessons learned into his soul - three more times and each time he got to spend more time getting to know his parents, godfather and children. During these visits Harry was happier than he ever thought possible. It was also during these visits that Harry learned what it meant to love and to be loved. He learned that to love is to share a part of one's self with others and to care both for and about the growth, evolution and development of another's soul. And he learned that to be loved is to allow others to share a part of themselves with you and to let others care about your soul.

After he felt he had mastered the softer subjects of human relations He moved on to the more concrete subjects of Potions, Charms, Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts. He learned more about potions than he ever knew existed and, while working with Salizar Slytherin himself, Harry learned to brew many potions that hadn't been used for over five hundred years. It was during one of these sessions that he made some comment about Snape being a greasy git and a lousy potions master. At this Salizar laughed and said, "Yes, well, Severus always has been good at potions but he is not ... shall we say ... well endowed in the social graces."

Harry looked up at this and laughed. "Boy, you can say that again. He's good at what he does but he is most definitely not a people person."

Salizar nodded and said, "Yes, that is true. But then again he chose a difficult life for himself so you should not judge him too harshly. After all, have you not seen a few of his childhood memories?"

Harry grimaced as he recalled the scenes of a little boy shooting flies out of the sky with his wand while his parents argued. "Yes, I have," he said somberly. "And I'm sorry he had to go through that but it still doesn't give him the right to terrify a bunch of children who are trying to learn."

"No, it doesn't," Salizar said sadly. "But then again, that is one of the lessons he is trying to learn."

After he had learned everything he could about the more fundamental and basic branches of magic Harry moved on to a few of the more advanced and obscure fields of study. During these lessons he learned Wandless Magic, Spiritual Magic, Elemental Magic, Animagus Transformations (he learned that he would have two primary animagus forms and several secondary forms he would be able to access over time), Metamorphmagus Magic and Ethereal Magic (which would allow him to exist as an undetectable, ethereal being, unhindered by the usual laws of Magical Manipulation). It was during one of these sessions that he was taught how to merge more completely with his physical body's magical core so that he could take full advantage of everything he was learning.

His fifth visit to the Hogwarts-Beyond-the-Veil, as he had come to call it, was dedicated to learning all forms of magical and non-magical, armed and unarmed combat. He learned swords, bow and arrow, crossbow and bolt, throwing knives and daggers, throwing stars, karate, kung fu and judo.

On his last day there his mother took him aside and said, "Harry, I don't want you to be afraid to love or to allow yourself to fall in love because that is your greatest strength and your most powerful weapon. Tom Riddle is a twit and he will pay for all of the pain he has caused but I don't want you to be one of his victims. You know that your father and Sirius and your children and I love you deeply. You have many friends on your side of the veil who love you just as much. They know the risks and they are willing to take them so please, don't chase them away. Besides, you have two wonderful children over here who are counting on you and we will all be rooting for you."

Harry nodded and said, "Okay, Mum. I promise not to chase them away. But if you don't mind me asking, is there any possibility you could tell me who my wife is going to be?"

Lily threw her head back and laughed. "Oh, Harry," she laughed. "That would take all the fun out of it! But I will tell you this: You already know her and your soulmate is a very caring and sensitive young woman who loves you much more than you know. But I must caution you to take your time getting to know her because you don't want to frighten her away."

Several minutes later, as the darkness approached for the fifth time, Harry hugged his parents and Sirius goodbye and knelt down in front of his future children. "You two be good, you hear," he said. "I don't know if it's possible yet but if I can I am going to check on you from time to time to see how you are doing." Looking up at his parents and Sirius he said, "You have three of the greatest pranksters Hogwarts has ever known who can teach you a lot. I want you to learn as much as you can from them. But I don't want to hear about you causing too much trouble. And I most definitely do not want you to pull any pranks out of pure maliciousness."

Lily and James hugged their father and assured him that they would be good. But as Harry stood up he recognized the mischievous grin on Sirius' face and turned to his mother. "Mum," he said, "I have a feeling you are going to have to keep an eye on Dad and Sirius to make sure they don't corrupt my children."

Lily scowled at her husband and his best friend. "Don't worry about that, Harry," she said as a warning to her husband and Sirius. "I'll make sure they behave."

After one more round of hugs Harry said goodbye to his family and stepped into the darkness.