Path's Reworked: Revised
A/n: There will be no slash!
Once I arrived at Remus's house, I knocked on the door. It had been a full day since I had been here and it was starting to affect me. Not getting an answer after a couple of minutes, I sat down and dozed to await Remus's return.
"You're the boy from yesterday."
I opened my eyes to see Remus standing there with questions on his face. I nodded, brushing sleep out of my eyes. When I looked at him, he gasped, he looked me straight in the eye. "Harry" his voice dripping with hope.
"That would be me" I replied as I yawned. "Pleasure to remake your acquaintance Remus" I stood up. "It's been a long day, and I've no where else to go. Would you mind if I caught some sleep here"
Moony nodded. "I took your advice and investigated the Weasleys and found a familiar rat."
"That's good. I'm glad that you took care of it so quickly."
As we sat down, Remus offered me breakfast, which I accepted. While he was making it he asked"How did you know Peter was at the Weasleys"
I smiled"You could say it came to me in a dream."
"Oh." He looked uncomfortable. "Why aren't you with your aunt"
"Better to live on the street than to live under their house."
He tensed. "You sound like a friend from a while ago."
I smiled. "Could you tell me about my parents? I know you were their friend."
At that point Remus began to tell me various stories about my parents, many of which he would tell me after Sirius death, as we ate breakfast. Remus regaled me with stories that he apparently forgot over the long years.
After a couple hours the fire turned green and a head appeared, it was Albus Dumbledore. "Remus, I need your help."
"What is it Professor" replied Remus.
"The wards have collapsed at the Dursleys' and Harry is no where to be found."
Remus gestured to me"He's sitting right here."
Dumbledore looked at me then said"I'll be right over." True to his word, he came shortly after his head vanished from the fire.
I got the feeling Remus took notice of my lack of surprise at a floo call, but I focused my attention on the Headmaster. Though we had learned to work together, I never fully forgave him for Sirius's death.
He pulled Remus to the side and started asking questions. Though I couldn't hear them, I could figure out what was being asked. Dumbledore wanted to know why I was there, how I got there and how I got to the Longbottom estate.
Poor Remus, I felt sorry for putting him through this, he most likely answered: he didn't know, didn't know that either, and didn't even know I had been there.
I could feel a smirk forming as I watched the headmaster become annoyed by the lack of knowledge. Finally he turned to me. Seeing my smirk he asked"May I ask what is so funny Harry"
"You."
"And why am I funny"
"Because you made an assumption that turned out false. And that you're upset your weapon is out of your control." This got the reaction I expected. Dumbledore looked shocked, Remus started off shocked but then it turned to anger.
Seeing Remus's expression I said"Perhaps you and I should talk in private sir." He must have caught Remus's temperament because he agreed quickly. Remus said he had things that he needed to take care of, but he would be back. He made sure it was clearly understood that if I wasn't there when he got back, there would be hell to pay.
As Dumbledore got settled I asked"Care for a game of chess sir" He agreed. I moved over to the cabinet in such a way he commented"You've been here before." It wasn't a question.
"After a fashion" was my reply. I sat out the pieces so that I was black. "Each time it's your move, you can ask one question. I will answer some, but others I will not." Looking at him I said"Your move Professor."
He studied the board"Why did you leave your aunt's" He moved his piece.
"Because I had things to do."
"How did you get here"
"I have a will so I made a way."
"Where did you come across the potion you gave to the Longbottoms"
"From a very skilled potion maker."
"Why are you here"
"To change the world for the better."
"How so"
"Divine intervention, check."
"And what did they do"
"Placed me where I would do the most good."
"What good"
"Save wizard Britain from complete destruction. Check."
"What do you mean"
"I came from the future to save it. Check mate."
Dumbledore looked down and saw how I had beaten him. No matter what he did, he could not save himself. After his turn, I would finish him. "Very good Harry, few have been able to beat me." He began probing my mind, though I showed him a single flame that threatened to pull him in. "Amazing shield, where did you learn it"
"Summer before my seventh year, I met a muggle who used it to refine his talents."
"If you came from the future, then you must know the consequences of altering the flow of time."
"That's assuming you wish to go back to the same place."
"Was it really that bad"
"The only one left for me to care about I brought with me."
"Another person"
"Right in one. She was all I had left, my one heart's desire."
"You are safer with your aunt, Harry."
"Actually I am safer here, after all, the Fidelius charm prevents those who aren't told from getting here."
"That maybe Harry, but Remus is a werewolf, you won't be safe when he transforms."
"Guess again. When I was here last, he wouldn't hurt me if I was standing right in front of him. I know, I did it."
Dumbledore shook his head"I will have to ask you to come with me then."
"Fat chance, I hold the knowledge of Tom, and you. Do you really think you can beat yourself"
"You have no wand."
"Hasn't stopped me yet."
Dumbledore seemed to be weighing his chances. Finally he said"I'll agree to this if you don't tell anyone about the future."
"You really think you can set the terms? Fine, I won't tell anyone who doesn't already know."
"That is all I ask."
"And it's all you get, good day." Dumbledore flooed himself where ever he needed to be. I decided to nap on the couch and wait for Remus to get back.
"He looks like Prongs."
"Wait till you see his eyes, you would swear he was Lily. He is going to be quite the heartbreaker when he gets older."
I recognized the second voice as Remus, so the other must be Sirius. I slowly opened my eyes. Sirius stood there, a plain blue robe on his shoulders. I could feel my chest tighten, he was here and alive.
I sat up, trying very hard not to run over and hug him. I felt myself staring, I couldn't look away; he might vanish.
"Harry, this is Sirius, he's your godfather." I nodded, my grip on the English language was gone. Sirius, for his part, just stood there. I could tell he was nervous, but I couldn't bring myself to move.
"Padfoot" I said softly. Sirius nodded, that broke the paralysis. I jumped up and ran over to him. I could hear myself say"It's not a dream" over and over. They took it differently from what I meant, but I wasn't going to complain.
I turned to Remus and hugged him as well. Remus had been the only one, besides Hermione, who stood by me through all the hells I went through. He also died to bring us the knowledge that Voldemort would attack the school.
For a long time, none of us let go. Finally we all sat down. Sirius explained what had happened, and why he wasn't there for me. We spent a lot of time talking. They both said they would be more than happy to have me live with them.
Once I agreed Sirius said"Let's go and get your things." They both stood up.
I really didn't want to explain why I hadn't moved. Remus asked"You alright cub"
I sighed"There's nothing at the Dursleys I want, or that belongs to me." The effect was like a gunshot to Sirius. His face went from concern to outrage in no time flat. I grabbed his arm before he did anything rash. "They don't matter. Let's just be a family and forget about them."
Sirius and Remus shared a look. Turning to me Remus said"Harry, there is a small problem."
"If you're talking about you being a werewolf, then there is no problem." At that point I changed into a large wolf. The only thing that distinguished me from a normal wolf was the white lightning bolt patch of white fur on my head. I changed back to their flabbergasted faces.
"How did you do that" sputtered Sirius.
"I've always been able to" Came my reply. I didn't want to admit the truth.
After the initial shook, they had me do it four more times, they both were more than happy to keep me permanently. The three of us flooed to the ministry; deciding to capitalize on the notoriety of Sirius's innocence. We were in and out in about twenty minutes. Once we arrived home, I explained to them that I could move myself from one place to another. They had me demonstrate, I apparated behind them silently.
After they got over their shock, Remus said"Well, let's get you some better clothes." Casting his eyes to my scar he said; "Definitely before it becomes public knowledge that you're with us."
I smiled and used the skills Tonks showed me.I changed my appearance so that I would more closely resemble Remus. Again their jaws dropped.
"Harry you're a Metamorphmagus" whispered Sirius. "That's a rare gift. The only person I have heard of that has it is my cousin Nymphadora Tonks. Add that on to being Animagus and you have some very developed abilities."
"You say that like it's a bad thing" was my reply.
"No cub, we're just impressed. It isn't common at your age" Remus said. We decided to go today, as the change in my custody would be in the evening paper. Sirius and Remus were surprised when I made myself look a great deal older, rather than just change my appearance. I explained that anyone who saw three men of the same age would not be paid as much to as two men and a child.
I didn't change my size much, a quarter inch taller at most, added some facial hair, changed my hair and eyes brown, and then we just Flooed to Diagon Alley. We spent the evening shopping, I saw Hedwig and was tempted to buy her. She was rather young, which was why I didn't. Once we returned to Remus's house, they setup one of the extra rooms for me to stay in. While I was putting everything away, I over heard them having a discussion.
"He knows I'm a werewolf" Remus said. "How does he know"
"I don't know Moony, Dumbledore might have told him."
"But that would mean he tried to scare him away"
"Doesn't matter, it didn't work. There are a lot of things he's not telling us. You saw his face when he first saw me. He knew my face, though he hasn't seen me for six years, and he was one when he last saw me" said Sirius.
It was quiet for awhile before Sirius said"Let's just be grateful he wants to be around us." After that they got silent. They deserved to know, how else am I going to explain Hermione?
Walking into the living room with them, I sat down and told them that I overheard them, and the reasons I could do the things I did, how I knew things I shouldn't, and why I was here. After I was finished, they sat there with their heads bowed. Sirius looked like he wanted to say something, but decided against it.
"So that's why. Now it makes a lot more sense" said Remus. "Thank you for telling us Harry." We spent most of the night talking about the things we were going to do until I got my Hogwarts letter. Then they teased me about Hermione, saying they were going to give me 'the talk'. We laughed for hours about it, but they decided that I was mentally mature enough to handle myself. Remus did say that we might be in love, but not to move into a physical relationship until we were more physically mature.
Tomorrow, we would be meeting the Grangers, I hope that we can seem normal enough.
A/n: 2179 Words. (Sniffs) Thank you for the reviews. Reedited so as to correct for an error in my timeline.
Questions/comments:
Captuniv: Here's your answer. I didn't really let Dumbledore have a choice, but he will try to sway things in his favor. Sirius and Remus are not going to be very happy about Dumbledore's treatment of Harry.
Loopy dane: Not a problem. Please continue reading.
Bobboky: Yeah took me forever, thanks.
