Harry felt good, he was slightly taller than he was originally, about two inches, so he now stood at six foot and three inches. The ache the bearded man usually felt in his bones after years of abuse and malnutrition from the Dursleys and life in general was gone, his vision was also much better, he still needed glasses but the world was only slightly blurry without them.
His body was also a lot more filled out, Harry always had a strong build but it was more like a swimmer than anything else, it was never actually a problem aesthetically or otherwise but now, the ravenette was a lot more lean.
The Defense teacher hazarded a guess as to why he was so much healthier and stronger than before. The Ritual Harry performed when he arrived in this world basically aged him from one to fourteen under the best circumstances available and then the aging potion he invented did the same thing from fourteen to twenty one.
This body basically lived twenty one years never being beaten or starved and it was only ever put under any significant strain twice.
Frankly, he was in a much better position than the man first thought he was going to be in.
Of course he was still much weaker than Voldemort, The Master of Death title quadruple Harry's power and without the three Hallows, while he was still stupid powerful about Albus's equal, he wouldn't stand a chance against the Dark Lord, especially if this world's Tom Riddle was alive before they came.
It was so frustrating because no one actually knew, fourteen years ago Albus and the Dark Lord fought, the Hogwarts Headmaster won but Riddle escaped and was never seen again until the World Cup.
So fingers crossed that Albus actually managed to kill Voldemort or Harry and the world was in deep Dragon dung.
The Chosen One thought about trying to reunite the Hallows and reclaim his title but a few things stopped him.
One, the invisibility Cloak wasn't his, he wasn't the Potter Heir, Rose was and he wasn't going to take what rightfully belonged to her, maybe it shouldn't matter if it meant gaining more power for the upcoming War but Harry saw what that kind of mentality can do and he wasn't going to fall into that trap.
Number two, the Elder wand was in Albus's possession and it was basically the same reason as one. Frankly, that wand would keep the ancient man alive because despite how Voldemort acted like he was above the Headmaster, that he no longer mattered, Slytherin's Heir was a vindictive son of a bitch.
Number three, the Resurrection Stone was supposed to be hidden in Grant Shack in little Hangleton but when Harry visited it as he was waiting for his wand to be made, the ring wasn't there and none of the traps casted to protect it were placed.
A spell later, Harry saw that there were never any traps and no magic was ever used to deactivate anything in the last several months.
When Harry came to Hogwarts and had some free time, he went to talk to Albus about Ravenclaws Tiara and Hufflepuffs Cup and it turns out, they were proudly displayed in each House common room, same thing with Slytherin's locket.
After several quick checks during the night, there was no dark magic, no signs that they were Horcruxes, dark magical items that contained pieces of a soul to allow the user to be tethered forever to the mortal plane.
So either this world's Voldemort made a different set of Horcruxes or he never made any.
Potter didn't know if that was a good thing or not, what he did know was he needed to gain power and fast, which was when he had an idea.
Harry knew of a magical object that could enhance him, the Sword of Gryffindor, a silver weapon over forty inches long with rubies embedded in the hilt and the owner's name, Godric Gryffindor, written across the blade.
It was the main weapon used to destroy most of Voldemort's Horcruxes in his world, in this one, while still extremely powerful, hadn't absorbed Basilisk venom because, as it turns out, no one had killed it, 'Should have figured, I mean I only killed it because Tom's diary was in school and possessed Ginny. Frankly, I should have known when so many inconsistencies came up with the other items but what can I say? I've been busy.'
If there were no Horcruxes or different Horcruxes, then no one would have taken his place as its killer, 'Probably a good thing.' Harry sighed at his desk. 'I have to kill it and soon, if there is even a one percent chance that thing can escape or Voldemort can get to it then it can't stay alive.'
Back to the point in hand, the Sword of Gryffindor was made by Ragnuk the First, the Goblin King, one of, if not the greatest metal worker at the time. It was made with Goblin-wrought silver, the strongest metal in the world, that could absorb mostly anything to make it stronger and could channel magic like nobody's business.
It was later put through a surprisingly simple Ritual to bond the item to Godric's Magical core, allowing Godric to be the only person to ever be able to wield it and summon it from anywhere. It also allowed the Gryffindor Founder to become a living weapon with almost unbreakable skin, swift movements that came in quick bursts of speeds, allowed him to absorb non lethal spells before throwing them back almost instantly and made his magic much more powerful.
'And people say Gryffindor's are dumb.' Harry scoffed at the thought.
It made Godric something to fear but luckily for Harry, magic always has loopholes and while the original Gryffindor bonded the weapon to his Magical core, traces of the great wizard magic lived in Harry's veins.
'Who would have known he was such a chatterbox. Of course being hidden away as a guard of a shortcut that no one had ever seemed to have found, can make even the toughest ma- portrait crazy.' The man shook his head.
'I just need to get the Sorting Hat and I can finish this in a day.'
…
The sorting hat once belonged to Godric much like the sword did and once the burly man knew his time was near Gryffindor enchanted the object to hold onto his weapon as a sheath, so that anyone that exhibited true courage in the face of ultimate danger as he would, could wield it.
Even when left out of its magical sheath, the sword would always return to it when a true Gryffindor in heart, reached within the inner lining for the weapon.
Harry had purpose, he was a true Gryffindor, now he just needed to reach in and he had the perfect excuse.
"Are you saying… that a Basilisk is hidden underneath the school, ready to attack at Voldemort's word." Albus' face was stricken with shock.
"Yes." Harry nodded, "By the end of my second year I was able to kill it with the Sword of Gryffindor, Fawkes helped by poking out its eyes." The Headmaster's eyes widened.
"A second year.." A tinge of horror could be heard in the old man's voice.
"Anyways, let me just take this," Harry summoned the sorting hat from its place on top of the book sleeve.
"AYE!" The aged clothing accessory screamed as it flew into the ravenette's waiting hand, "What's the big-" Harry reached into the inner lining and the moment Albus blinked, Harry held Godric Gryffindor's sword in his left hand.
With a wave of his wand, the hat flew back in its place.
The young professor stood up and began to walk away but before reaching the door he turned towards the Phoenix, "Want to help?" The giant magical bird hummed before flying on his shoulder and the two continued their stride.
"Wait-" Albus stood up to stop the two but they already walked out before sighing and sitting down, "That man keeps surprising me." He shook his head before smiling.
…
Harry had no idea what he looked like as he traveled through Hogwarts, a sword in one hand, his wand in another and Fawkes faithfully stationed on his shoulder.
He looked like the stuff of legend, his confident stride, the fire in his eyes and his set frown, made him look dangerous.
It didn't take long for him to make it to the second floor and enter the girls bathroom, otherwise known as Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
"Oh, it's you again." A female ghost wearing Hogwarts robes flew to his face but the man walked right through her and towards the sink, "You can at least 'act' scared." She muttered with hurt in her tone.
~Open~ Harry called out in Parseltongue, the language of snakes and a second later the sink folded into itself, revealing a pipe large enough for several grown men to enter and slide down.
With a flick of his wrist, his wand was lit with a white light that guided him down the pipe, It took him a minute or so to reach the bottom and pass the shedded skin he harvested for his aging potion, another minute or so until he reached the vault-like door that was decorated with seven snakes.
~Open up~ The snakes seemingly recoiled at the word and the vault opened, revealing a large, temple-like room with pillars of snake heads.
At the opposite side of the chamber was a giant, stone head statue of Salazar Slytherin with a body of water in between the carving and the walkway.
With confindate strides, he walked to the edge, where the water met the floor and tapped his glasses, blackening and blinding him, "Get ready." Harry muttered and Fawkes nodded.
~Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts four~ the statue mouth opened and while his wand pointed to the ground, he muttered a spell, "Volvebatur Aspectu." Harry could feel the vibrations in the ground and in his mind's eye, could 'see' his surroundings.
~I've waited for so long, master!~ Harry 'saw' a sixty foot snake that was wider than the trunk of an oak tree, 'So that extra two years made it that much bigger? Shouldn't matter.'
Harry held tightly onto Gryffindor's sword as it came closer before stopping, ~Your not Master Riddle!~
~Are you sure? Why don't you take a closer look!~ Harry replied and braced himself, he could see the snake raise its head high, as if readying itself to strike him.
~Die!~ The Basilisk roared and snapped down, only for Harry to roll out of the way, the man quickly stabbed to the side where the King of Snakes head was but it wiggled its body and almost body slammed the wizard, only for the young professor to disappear in a ball of Fire.
"CAaW!" Fawkes cried as Harry reappeared in the air and fell onto the sixty foot snake's head before stabbing down but the legendary blade only sank slightly in between scales before Slytherin's monster shook violently.
Harry was flung off the beast, the phoenix on his shoulder Apparated them in a ball of flames about a dozen feet away, "When it opens its mouth, Apparate us in." The man muttered lowly, the vibrations spell that allowed him partial 'sight' broken.
Fawkes squeaked in hesitation before he gave an affirmative call, Harry brandished the sword upward and when he felt a familiar wash of heat, he pushed forward.
~AAAGHGHHHH~ For a moment the duo was thrown to the side as the giant creature tumbled but Fawkes forced the two of them out with another burst of flame Apparition that only a Phoenix could perform.
After a second of non movement Harry stood up straight and tapped his ears, enhancing his hearing and detected no heartbeat, "Great." The wizard waved his wand in front of his glasses and the black tint lightened, revealing a corpse of the legendary quintuple 'X' magical creature.
He immediately walked about two dozen feet away before stabbing the sword into the ground, Fawkes flew off his shoulder and landed next to the sword and watched curiosity as his friend began drawing in the air a magical circle with his wand.
After a minute he flicked his wand to the ground and twisted his hand, the circle he drew embedded into concrete.
Harry yanked the sword out from its place before walking towards the middle of the circle and pierced it with the weapon, Fawkes landed at the edge of the circle and stared intently at the runes surrounding the edge of the drawing.
In the next moment the ravenette took his wand and slit his wrist, from the palm to his elbow before beginning to chant, ignoring the surprised squeak from the Swan sized Phoenix.
"Ego sum Harrius James Potter, Dominus Potter et Niger, descendens e forti Gryffindore Godric, mea magica, sanguine meo, et me hoc gladio merge! Sanguinem meum verte in ignem, et pellem meam in ferrum: quia dorsum gladii mei ego sum!" Harry's blood flowed down the silver weapon and stretched across the magical circle, filling the caverns.
The circle glowed brightly, swallowing his body along with the entire chamber before dying down, leaving a pale kneeling Harry.
Fawkes took a moment before shaking off his hesitation and flew onto his shoulder, rubbing his head against the man's cheek.
The wizard chuckled before scratching Fawkes chin, silently reaching into his pocket for some mint that the giant bird gladly ate.
After a few moments of peace, Harry stood up and looked towards his wrist ready to heal them but the wounds were gone, he shrugged and pulled the sword out of the ground, he looked at the weapon and saw that Godric's name had been replaced with his own.
Harry then firmly placed his wand onto the blade, "Simul." He muttered, the silver blade melted into the Blackthorn wand, turning the magical focus silver.
He could literally feel the wand vibrate with excitement and gratitude, "Aren't you glad you picked me?" The professor smirked down, getting a hum in return.
…
In Harry's honest, non biased opinion, the week was turning out fantastic.
First he turned himself back into his proper age, his students were rapidly approving, he killed the Basilisk before it became a problem and increased his magic back, it wasn't anywhere near back to when he was the Master of Death but by first bonding his core to the sword of Gryffindor and then merging the blade with his magical focus, turning the wand into a superconductor, he magnified his magic two-fold.
"Wotcher, Harry!" Nymphadora greeted the man with a smile, Harry raised an eyebrow at the woman who smiled cockily in return, "I've decided that I'll be using your first name from now on."
Harry narrowed his eyes but soon rolled them, "Sure, Adora." The pinkette blinked and her own eyes narrowed before a smile broke free.
"Nickname accepted!" Harry smiled lightly as she bounced happily beside him, "I see you're in a good mood~! Care to explain?" Nymphadora pursed her lips before gasping. "Is it because of me! You're definitely warming up to me." She nodded at her words.
Harry rolled his eyes, "Sure, it's because of you." The pinkette hair became a pale red for a moment before quickly turning back.
The ravenette paused at the color, stopping the duo, "Harry, what's wro-"
"Auror Tonks," Harry removed his arm from her grip and the woman pouted lightly, "I'm sorry, this isn't a good idea. I.. um.. I should go." The man quickly moved past the Metamorphmagus.
"Harry wai-" The Junior Auror tried calling out but the Defense teacher turned a corner.
Nymphadora stood in hurt, her hair turned a deep blue to reflect her sadness and her eyes widened when she realized why he ran, 'Liar!' The Metamorphmagus face drew down in an angry frown. 'You did know me!' Her deep blue hair turned into an angry blood red.
…
Harry swallowed as he moved to his classroom, the ravenette didn't expect Nymphadora to develop feelings for him, especially since he looked fourteen for the majority of the time they knew each other.
He wasn't sure what to feel about this new development. He met the woman when he was fifteen coming off a year of trauma and two months of isolation.
She was fun, funny, smart and a Hell of a fighter.
They were friends! Sure he had a small crush on the woman but he was fifteen and while she was everything he thought he would want in a partner, someone who could make him laugh and forget the bad times, that didn't treat him like a Hero when he felt like anything but or a boy in over his head that he definitely was most of the time, to her he was just Harry.
Of course he quickly grew out of it, especially after Remus, a pseudo Uncle figure, wrote to him about his developing feeling in equal parts of unending joy and terrible fear.
Harry immediately moved on, well it took him a few weeks which was made smoother since he only talked to the Auror in letters and the overall cluster fuck of his fifth year.
This might not be his Nymphadora but he wasn't going to stand in the way of a relationship that made both her and a man in desperate need of love supremely happy just because of a re-emerging crush.
He definitely wasn't going to be the reason why his Godson was never born, his world or not.
"Harry Potter!" A scream of rage reverberated throughout the hall, lingering students looked in shock as their Defense professor ran as if his life was in danger before ducking into a classroom.
"Ahem!" Harry turned around and saw over two dozen eyes looking at him with amusement and shock, including the eyes of his little sister, "Hello Professor Potter." Minerva greeted the man with a glare. "What, may I ask, is that you need? As you see I'm a bit busy." The young Professor opened his mouth and closed it several times, his eyes flickered to the board and calmed himself.
"I heard you were teaching the third years about Animagus, I thought I would offer my services since I happen to be one." Rose's eyes widened with awe while Minerva raised an eyebrow.
"Are ya, now? Well I suppose it wouldn't hurt for someone else with experience to help." The wizard gave a nod and stood next to the older woman, a moment later the door swung open and a red-haired Nymphadora looked startled.
"Is there a problem, Auror Tonks?" Harry asked with an emotionless face as the woman glared at the man.
"No, Professor Potter, I'm just searching for a cowardly lion." Harry hummed while the students looked at the two adults in confusion.
"Well, no cowardly lions here, search somewhere else." The Junior Auror narrowed her pink eyes that deepened into dark red, matching her hair before closing the door, loud footsteps began moving away from the room.
Harry looked towards the Transfiguration students who looked at him with varying levels of interest along with their Professor, "Who wants to see my Animagus form?" Every student raised their hands high up.
Harry gave a sigh of relief and a second later, he morphed into a Kodiak Bear, a subspecies of the grizzly, he had raven black fur and while standing on his hind legs stood at twelve feet and three inches, the scar that defined his life still clearly seen over his right emerald eye.
"Oh my." Minerva took a step back as Harry fell down on all third year Gryffindor and Hufflepuff students had never seen an Animagus besides the Transfiguration Professor tabby cat form.
"My brother is the coolest." Rose muttered and several of her friends nodded in agreement as they stared at the bear who was as wide as two people.
"Ragh." He slowly grumbled as he looked over the class.
…
As class ended with both Harry and Minerva giving first hand experience at what it was like to be an Animagus and the amount of dedication needed for the process to be successful, Harry absent-mindedly left the classroom but was stopped by a small, feminine hand.
'Oh no.' The man was pushed back into the classroom.
"Good luck, Professor Potter." Minerva left the classroom, leaving it empty.
Nymphadora narrowed her eyes harshly at the man who kept his face clear and Occlumency shields up, "Auror Tonks." Harry greeted.
"You're a liar!" The woman exclaimed, "You said you didn't know me but the only way you would know what my hair means is if I explained it to you!" The wizard raised an eyebrow, stopping himself from swallowing thickly.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." The woman scoffed.
"You took one look at my hair and bolted, the only explanation is if you knew," Her face reddened slightly, "you knew what that meant. That I, that I liked you as more than a friend." Harry felt uncomfortable but made sure his face didn't flinch or show any emotions.
"Listen Auror Tonks, I simply don't like you that way-" He was interrupted by the woman.
"Dragon dung! I see the way you look at me! You think I'm an idiot! Don't for a moment think I haven't caught you staring at my lips,my chest or my ass!" The man kept the heat out of his face.
"You're mistaken." Nymphadora took a step forward, pushing her chest against his own.
"Am I?" Harry nodded without a hint of emotion and Nymphadora rolled her eyes.
"Even if I am, that's not what I'm mad about! You lied to me! You said you didn't know me in the other world?" She questioned with a hurt tone.
"Information can be dangerous, you would want to know everything about your alternate self but just by knowing could change decisions that I know will make you happy in the near future." The young professor replied, almost robotically.
"Fine! I get that! But why didn't you say that? I would've accepted that." Harry gave her a look and Nymphadora bit her lip, "Eventually." She muttered before taking a breath. "Then why did you try so hard to not be my friend, to not talk to me?"
"Because you're not my Nymphadora Tonks, you're a different person and it wouldn't be fair if I see you the way I saw her." A little bit of emotion entered his voice.
The calming pinkette licked her lips and with hesitation asked, "Were you guys together?" Harry shook his head.
"No, there was a seven year difference. We were friends." Nymphadora narrowed her eyes and looked at the man straight in his emerald eyes.
"But you wanted more, didn't you?"The man opened his mouth to try and respond but closed it a second later.
"You were happy and I was like your little brother, even if you and Re-" Harry paused and rubbed his eyes, "You were extremely happy Tonks, for almost the entire time I knew you, you were deeply, madly in love with 'him' and I had a school boy crush that I got over."
"It doesn't seem like you're over it." The Junior Auror leaned back into him, tilting her head up and stood on her tippy toes to get a few inches closer to his mouth, the Metamorphmagus was tempted to grow a few inches but decided Harry needed to take the next step.
"Tonks you had a child, a little boy you loved with all your heart." The woman rolled her eyes but didn't move from her spot.
"You said I wasn't her, it's cool that in some alternate reality I met a great guy and had a kid but that's not my life, this is. I want you, Harry Potter. If you want me, kiss me." She firmly said, her bright pink eyes never straying from his, he leaned down slightly.
"Remus loved you." Nymphadora shook her head and circled her arms around his neck.
"No he doesn't, he loved the Tonks in your world. I'm a free agent, well… hopefully not for long." The woman fluttered her eyes at the man who leaned a little further down.
"But-" The Junior Auror interrupted the man.
"I owe nothing to this world's Remus, whoever he is. I never heard of Remus but I do know Harry Potter." Harry leaned another inch.
"Aren't you worried that my feelings for my Tonks are just being transferred to you?" He questioned, a hint of fear could be heard.
"Are they, honestly?" The wizard bit his lip and shook his head, "Then what's the problem?"
"I don't know, I'm… I'm so broken." He moved away an inch, "I've, I've been fighting for so long, all my life, I honestly don't know who I am without the constant violence. I don't know if I can have a healthy relationship with anyone with the way that I am." The man admitted, his voice breaking slightly.
"Let's find out." Harry rolled his eyes at her cocky tone but her pink orbs held a softness that he was already growing to love and after a moment of doubt, he captured her lips with his own.
A second later a tongue poked his teeth and Harry opened his mouth, their tongues wrestling for dominance.
When they separated Nymphadora had a serious frown across her face, "I never want to hear Auror Tonks come out of your mouth again, Harry Potter." The ravenette nodded at the woman.
"Of course, Adora." The pinkette's hair turned a pale red along with her eyes and Harry smiled, he leaned back down, reconnecting their lips together.
…
Harry felt content eating his lunch, actually responding to some of Lily's small talk.
" "Big Bro!" " Derek, Evan and Rose walked to the high table with excited faces.
Lily looked at her children with curiosity while many of the teachers looked on with amused faces, "Rose said you could turn into a Bear!" Evan said with awe.
"Can you show us!" Derek practically demanded as he vibrated with excitement.
"Can we also ride you!" Rose threw her brother her watery doe eyes.
The three excited yelling gathered the attention of the rest of the Great Hall.
Harry sighed before surprisingly smiling at the trio, "Sure." The man nodded, getting the three Potter children to cheer, as the ravenette moved around the table he transformed into his Animagus form.
Derek and Evan tackled the Kodiak Bear and started to pet him along with Rose, " "Your fur is so soft!" " Rose nodded along.
"Grraagghhh." The animal's lips rumbled in a soft growl as he laid on the ground, the trio of children helped each other on and the Bear suddenly sprinted across the room, getting screams of excitement.
Before stopping in front of a grinning James, a moment later he transformed into Prongs, a Red Deer, it's fur a light brown almost red and his antlers a dark brown, it stood a little shorter than his son on all fours, and his dark brown eyes had square marking resembling glasses.
It galloped at the larger creature, Harry patted his head and pushed him down, Prongs shook the paw off and happily circled around him, "Dad!" Evan laughed.
The Kodiak Bear grumbled until he felt a hand on his cheek, turned his head slightly and saw Nymphadora petting him with a small smile, "Aren't you full of surprises?" The animal nodded and rested his head on top of hers, getting a giggle in response.
"What kind of school is this?" A Durmstrang student muttered with shock at the display.
"It's Hogwarts Mate! Expect a little chaos every now and again." A Ravenclaw answered, laughing happily as he looked at the cool scene, "I really want to ride Professor Potter now." He whined slightly.
Fleur looked on with clear awe at the display of advanced magic, she had never met or seen an Animagus before and now she just saw two fairly young Wizards transform into majestic animals and play together in the middle of lunch, "Hogwartz ez weird." She heard several giggles and the young woman blushed.
"It really is but it's also the best." A pale blonde haired girl absent-mindedly said, swaying slightly to a song only she was listening to.