There was a common misconception about Albus Dumbledore that he was all-knowing. That nothing surprised him. This could not be less true. There were many things that surprised him throughout his life. While there were fewer and fewer in the last decade or so, there were still quite a few instances where he could say he was truly surprised, or even shocked. The revelation that Sirius Black had been a traitor was one and his subsequent reappearance and innocence another. Learning the truth about Salazar Slytherin's monster lurking in the bowels of the castle had taken him by surprise. The time when Harry Potter's name had appeared in the Goblet of Fire was another instance that shocked Dumbledore. And yet another was the realization that his old friend Alistair Moody had been captured and replaced by Death Eater Barty Crouch Jr. A sad surprise was learning how drunk Cornelius Fudge was in his position as Minister for Magic and his abject refusal to believe Lord Voldemort had returned, as well as the surprise that most of the wizarding community chose to side with him.

That wasn't to say all the surprises were bad. There were quite a few that had delighted Dumbledore over the years, such as learning new things about his beloved castle that he never known before. Or seeing one of his students surpass even his wildest expectations. Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ronald Weasley came to mind but there were others such as Neville Longbottom.

However, on July 25 1995, for the first time in many years, Albus Dumbledore truly found himself taken utterly by surprise when a mysterious man suddenly appeared in the middle of his office without warning.

All the paintings around him instantly started shouting in alarm and Fawkes let out a startled squawk while Dumbledore whipped out his wand and pointed it at the intruder. "Who are you? How did you get in here?" The castle was protected against apparition, one of the most protected places in the world. And Dumbledore's office was laced with even more protection spells. It was next to impossible to suddenly appear here like the man did.

The man didn't answer the question. Instead he just stared at Dumbledore with a strange look in his eye. He was holding something in his hand that Dumbledore couldn't see. So far, the stranger was making no threatening movements. He was making no movements at all, simply staring at Dumbledore as if in a trance. He muttered something under his breath, something that sounded like, "it worked."

Dumbledore wasn't quite sure what to do next. The stranger wasn't doing anything and he did not seem to have the air of a Death Eater. Then again, both Quirrell and Crouch had fooled Dumbledore before. Even Pettigrew had surprised him, so he wasn't about to let his guard down simply because this man wasn't doing anything.

"I'll ask once more. Who…" Dumbledore found himself trailing off, distracted as he realized there was something eerily familiar about this person. He hadn't noticed before since he had been distracted by the man's arrival in the first place, but he had certain recognizable features. Messy black hair that seemed determined to remain untidy that led down to a scruffy beard, lines of grey hair mixed into it all. Emerald green eyes behind circular glasses. And the slight appearance of a scar behind the mess of hair at the man's forehead. Dumbledore couldn't think it was possible, but he had to ask, "Harry?"

The man smiled, his eyes glistening softly. "It's good to see you again, Professor."

"H-how…?" Dumbledore stumbled for a second before collecting himself. "How is this possible?"

Harry opened his hand revealing the small spherical item within, an hourglass within several metal bands. Dumbledore's eyes widened as he recognized it. "A Time-Turner," he breathed. But not like one he had ever seen. This one glowed a faint gold and had a strange metallic look to it. He turned back to Harry. "Why?" he asked. "Why have you come back?"

Harry's soft smile faded and his expression became dark. "To save all I can," he replied.

As much as Dumbledore wanted to believe this man was actually Harry Potter, he needed to make sure. He sent a message to Professors McGonagall and Snape who swiftly arrived. They both stopped when they saw the other Harry. Snape seemed to recognize him immediately, a surprised look crossing his face which slowly transformed into a sneer. It took McGonagall a minute longer before she saw the similarities and then she gasped, clutching her heart.

"Ho-how…how is th-" she stumbled. She then sat heavily on a chair.

"Professor McGonagall," Harry smiled and greeted, nodding his head slightly in her direction. He then turned his attention to Snape and his smile faded, turning into something else. Dumbledore was surprised to see that it wasn't a sneer to match Snape's. Instead there was something akin to sadness and sympathy in the man's eyes. Did he know then? Dumbledore felt his lips twitch at that. If true, this would be a very interesting conversation. Which brought him to the next point.

"Severus," he said. "Did you bring what I requested?"

"Yes," Snape replied slowly, removing a small bottle from within his cloak. "Veritaserum. Three drops wi-"

"Will have me spilling my innermost secrets for the whole room to hear, yes I remember," Harry interrupted and a flash of surprise crossed Snape's face. "But since there are a few things that I do need to keep secret, let's try for two drops right now."

Snape opened his mouth, most likely to refute that, when Dumbledore chimed in. "Agreed," he said. Two drops would force this Harry to tell the whole truth but still allow him some control. Dumbledore and Snape would both peer into his mind as he talked to make sure he was not resisting the serum. It was as close as they could get to full verification that this was in fact the future Harry Potter.

Snape tipped two droplets of the serum into a glass of water before handing it to Harry. "Remember, Potter," he practically spat, "I will be ensuring every word you say is in fact the truth."

"Ah Snape," Harry smiled, rolling his eyes. "Never change." Then, before Snape could react, he picked up the glass and downed its contents in one go. Dumbledore watched carefully but Harry hadn't made any movements with his wand or fingers that would alter the serum in any way. He had actually drunk it.

Harry groaned softly as the drink went down, scrunching his nose. "Would have preferred it in some pumpkin juice," he said and Snape once more stiffened ever so softly. "Shall we?" he asked.

"Tell us your full name?" Dumbledore asked.

"Harry James Potter," Harry said and McGonagall let out a soft gasp, still unsure if what she was seeing was real.

Dumbledore felt the same. He could feel no resistance to the serum's effects from the man. In fact, he was even giving into it a little. It was the truth.

"How old are you?" he asked.

"40," Harry replied. "Almost 41."

"What year is it where you are from?"

"July 25th 2021."

Dumbledore blinked, a few tears appearing in his eyes. This Harry had lived for that long. It meant that his plan had worked. He had succeeded. Unless, he was traveling back to fix something.

"How are you able to travel back?"

"Several years ago, wizards working in the Department of Mysteries discovered more about the nature of temporal magic and were able to construct new Time-Turners." Here Dumbledore felt some resistance and Harry grimaced a little as he kept talking. "I was given the chance to come back and fix things, to save as many lives as I could." He grimaced again.

"Why are you resisting?" Snape hissed, lifting his wand.

"There are some things I cannot share," Harry told him. "The secrets of temporal magic are one of them."

Snape looked at Dumbledore. "We can't trust him," he said. "He could be lying. We need to-"

But Dumbledore held up his hand. "He was honest about everything else. And as curious as I am about the secrets of temporal magic, it is not something I need to know. Apart from one thing." He turned back to Harry. "Won't changing the past affect your future? Will it not change your entire life? Why would you risk that? Is your future that grim?"

It was a question that had been at the forefront of Dumbledore's mind since he first saw this Harry. Why would someone risk everything coming back?

"My future…" Harry paused here but Dumbledore felt no resistance. Instead, Harry was simply finding the best way to say what he was about to say. "My future is perfect. My life is perfect. It is everything I could ask for."

And Dumbledore felt a swell of relief at those words, a small tear escaping his eye.

"Then why have you returned?" McGonagall asked, speaking for the first time. "Why would you risk that life to change things?"

"It won't," Harry told her. "This Time-Turner," he held it up, "creates a new reality. My actions here will create a new timeline different from mine. What happens now will have no effect on my future."

Dumbledore breathed as he absorbed this. "The Multiverse theory," he mumbled to himself. A theory he had researched heavily for many years but could never find proof of. And yet here it was, all the proof he needed.

"Exactly," Harry nodded. "I can say and do what I want and then, when I'm ready, I press this button," he pointed to a small button on the side of the Time-Turner," and it will return me to my timeline at the exact moment I left."

Snape still looked conflicted but one look at McGonagall and Dumbledore knew she was convinced. He was as well. He could sense no lies coming from Harry's mind. This was all the truth.

"How much time do you have?" he asked.

Harry shrugged. "As much as I want," he replied.

"Then perhaps we should get started," Dumbledore nodded. "I assume you have knowledge to share with us, knowledge that can help us defeat Lord Voldemort."

"I do," Harry nodded. "But I think it would be best to share it with the Order." He eyed Dumbledore carefully. "No more secrets."

Dumbledore nodded in response. He did regret how many secrets he had to keep from both Harry and his colleagues over the years. He did what he thought was necessary in order to save as many lives from Voldemort's reign. However, if this Harry could deliver them a new way to end the dark wizard, then Dumbledore would happily reveal all he knew.

"I will send the word out for an emergency meeting," he nodded. "We should be gathered within the hour."

"At Grimmauld Place," Harry said, "if you don't mind." He smiled wistfully, but then his expression became serious. "It needs to be there. You'll see."

Dumbledore frowned a little but he nodded, preparing to send out word.

"Hold on," Snape interrupted. "Do you not find this convenient? This man appears out of nowhere claiming to be an elder version of the Potter boy," both Harry and McGonagall frowned at his word choice, "and to know how exactly to defeat the Dark Lord and we are just jumping to believe him. Does that not seem a little like a trap?"

Dumbledore had considered the same thing, but if it was then it was a very strange and elaborate one. He could think of no reason why Voldemort would implement such a plan. Perhaps, if this Harry's revelation about Riddle involved them all traveling to a certain location, then Dumbledore would become suspicious. But for now, he trusted him.

"I for one will not be taken in by this man's elaborate tale for a false promise of salvation just to-"

"Your patronus is a doe." Harry said the words softly but they effectively shut Snape up. The man turned to Harry, his eyes wider than ever before. Harry looked at him with deep sympathy in his eyes. "In honor of my mother," he continued. "Because you never stopped loving her. It's why you protect me even if you hate me, why you work against Voldemort. You suffered and underwent so much pain all for her." He smiled a little. "For most of my life, I hated you for the bullying and torment you put me through in your classes. But I know you are a man of true honor." He took a deep breath after this. "It's why I named my son after you. Albus Severus Potter." He looked over at Dumbledore as well. "Named after two of the greatest men I ever met."

Dumbledore felt even more tears drip down his face and onto his long nose, just dangling there. In all his years, he had never quite felt the rush of emotions he was experiencing now.

Across the room, Snape seemed to be undergoing a similar experience. He now sat heavily in a chair, staring vacantly at the wall, his wand hanging limply from his hand. Harry smiled softly as he looked at them both. "That enough proof?" he asked simply.

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes. Yes I believe that will do."

"Good. Oh, and one other thing." He nodded at the sword of Godric Gryffindor hanging behind Dumbledore's desk. "Bring that. We're going to need it. Along with one other thing."