Hey peeps, this one is long, I had two days free so I decided to use them here. I have never written this much before, and I didn't have someone beta read it so sorry in advance for any mistakes. You can always comment them in the reviews though. Also, this chapter is going to be one of the most crucial to the narrative of the story so let me know your thoughts on it

A warm gust of air blew around Surrey, rustling the leaves of the silver birches planted in Painshill a few years ago. The weather was still hot. The twelfth day of the seventh month had been the hottest this year. Even with today being the last day of July, the inhabitants of the twelfth-most populated county of South East England rarely left their homes at noon time. Although to be fair, the English were hardly known for their tolerance of heat.

Just like his countrymen, Harry Potter lay on his bed in the smallest room at 4 Privet Drive, doing nothing, regardless of being home for more than two months. The reason for him being indoors in summer and that too on his birthday had not much to do with being a Brit(maybe a little bit), but rather the lack of pursuits he could undertake while here at Little Whinging. It was a peaceful town, good enough for normal people who go to work eight hours a day and sure there was the occasional match of cricket at the Oval not far away, but it wasn't remotely exciting for a boy that flies above the clouds on eagle-faced horses and plays a sport on a mop fifty foot in the air. Also, he hadn't got any friends here to have a tête-à-tête with. And the fact that he didn't liked the Dursleys had much to do with Harry not leaving his room. However, to their credit his relatives had not bothered him much this summer and had kept their distance as much as possible. Even Dudley had steered clear of him. Harry thought that this new laissez-faire approach of the Dursleys was largely due to what had happened last year. They didn't want to provoke him, for the fear of being blown up like Aunt Marge or possibly bursting even. He bet they now believed that all those unexplained cases of human combustion were caused by his lot. Harry snorted at a mental image of him striking Dudley with lightening for making fun of his parents. Whatever anxiety they had in mind that led to this policy of giving him a wide berth, he was not going to assuage it by explaining that the inflation incident was just a case of accidental magic which was only possible if he was extremely angry.

On the matter of his training regarding the inexorable rise of Voldemort, Harry couldn't do much while outside of Hogwarts so he had simply begun reading his textbooks of the past three years for Charms, Transfiguration, and DADA. He was surprised to find that there were many tidbits of useful information that he had missed. For example, although the freezing charm Glacius can be used to freeze objects and nullify natural fire easily, to freeze flames of magical origin like the green ones from Incendio Duo, one has to say Glazius instead. Furthermore, he was much surprised to discover that Transfiguration could be used in a duel and not just Vera-Verto - ing a rat to a water goblet. Also there was a facts section in The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 3 where it was cited that the Patronus Charm could be used to send messages on top of being the only defence against Dementors and Lethifolds. He would need to ask Professor Lupin for this, as the instructions were not mentioned there.

So all things considered, Harry wasn't sitting on his hands these past couple of months. He was really glad that he had revised his previous years' text. If not much he was atleast a little better from when the summer started. As for the progress on the time travel front, Harry had made up his mind that he was going to ask Professor McGonagall for a time turner as soon as the term starts. Surely she could give him one to save his life if she had handed a piece to Hermione just for taking extra classes. If need be he would ask Professor Dumbledore to put in a good word for him or back his request. Contrary to popular opinion, Harry knew that the headmaster was partial to him. He would be blind to not see the brazen favouritism that the old wizard bestowed upon him during the leaving feast in his first year and again by honouring him with the Special Award for Services to School for his defeat of Slytherin's Basilisk.

He had to do something about this time travel affair soon if he were to survive against the Dark Lord. Just last month he had a very vivid dream regarding the said Dark Lord. He vaguely remembered being in a dim-lit room with a small fire going on. Below him was a snake coiled in a hearth-rug. Besides that there were voices. Voices whispering My Lord, Peter, Wormtail, Nagini, Barty, Bertha Jorkins, Muggle & Harry Potter. From what he could gather, Voldemort had make headway from his spirit form and taken hold of some other weak body. A man named Peter- most probably Pettigrew was helping him in his withered state. They were discussing Harry's employment in their master plan. Wormtail had kidnapped a ministry employee named Bertha Jorkins and a guy called Barty was going to help them. And they had killed a muggle as well who had the misfortune of stumbling upon Lord Voldemort of all people. If this dream was real, which Harry suspected it was as his scar had hurted as hell upon waking up which it always did with anything concerning Lord Voldemort, then he didn't have much time. He would discuss this with Professor Dumbledore at once upon returning to Hogwarts.

Harry was cut from his gloomy thoughts by the sound of rapping on his bedroom window. There stood a tiny Scops owl holding a letter in his mouth. Harry immediately recognized it as Pigwidgeon, the owl gifted to Ron by Sirius. He quickly went for the window, excited to see the epistle from his friend. Letting the greyish owl inside, he plucked the missive from its beak. Moving towards his desk, Harry opened Ron's letter –

Harry – Happy Birthday! - How are you, mate? The muggles didn't trouble you much right? I'm good if you were wondering. Got to play plenty of Quidditch here at the Burrow with Bill and Charlie being back home. Percy's got a job at the ministry – Department of International Magical Cooperation – Mum is over the moon. Oh! Did I mention that Dad got the tickets to the final of the World Cup – Ireland vs Bulgaria – Tuesday at 18th. Will you be coming mate? We have got a ticket for you as well. You have got to come – this is a …..uh….one in a lifetime opportunity. Victor Krum – the BEST seeker in the world is playing. Just say yes and Dad and Mum will sort the Muggles out. We can pick you at Sunday, 16th around noon.

Hermione will be coming in a week as well. Send Pig back pronto with your message so Dad can talk to the muggles. You can spend the rest of the summer at Burrow. I will give your b'day present when you arrive here. See you soon – Ron

That was Ron's letter, scribbled hastily in his messy writing. But Harry could hardly complain – his wasn't much better. He liked to think this lessened the chances of someone intercepting their messages, but McGonagall thought otherwise if their graded essays were anything to go by. Hermione had already wished him in her last letter as she was then going to Italy with her parents. Pigwidgeon was zooming around the light bulb hanging from the ceiling. It was a good thing that his relatives have left him alone this summer. Otherwise, they would be here the moment they heard the fluttering of feathers. That was the reason Hedwig was not present here. Without the Dursleys complaining, there was no need to keep her locked in a cage. While most owls sleep at daytime, she had gone out for a hunt. Harry had also received a missive from Sirius last month. He was hiding somewhere in Nantes in France. How he crossed the border, Harry didn't know but it must not have been as difficult as escaping Azkaban. Sirius had told him to stay out of trouble and not go looking for Wormtail. After his dream, Harry had initially contemplated writing to Sirius about his scar hurting but thought better of it. He didn't want his godfather to worry needlessly about something so inane or worse come to England to check on him.

With nothing better to do, Harry picked up his eagle-feathered quill, grabbing a fresh piece of parchment he wrote –

Ron,

Thanks for the invitation mate. Yeah, the Dursleys ignored me this summer – I couldn't care less.

I would love to go to the World Cup with you and spend the remaining summer at Burrow –

BOOM!

…

…

An almighty ear-deafening explosion took place near Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, the epicentre being one of the most famous landmarks in the United Kingdom, an outer ring of vertical sarsen-stones standing four meters high around a ring of smaller bluestones. The resulting shockwave was felt throughout the entirety of Great Britain and the adjoining areas. People rushed out of their houses fearing another earthquake. The fire department was out on the streets looking for any mishaps. Government agencies had been called to examine the surmised place of detonation. The Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service had sent for the MI6 at the odd chance of the event threatening UK's national security. Local officials of the Amesbury Police Department were heading towards the famous yet mysterious prehistoric monument. Meanwhile, the news channels were having a field day speculating the reason for the colossal bang.

…

…

Harry scrambled to his feet to look out of the window. He had tumbled headlong to the ground from his chair during the sudden tremor. Out in the street, a few people were standing in the middle of the road, looking to get away from trees and overhead poles. It seemed that an earthquake had hit the British Isles. Back in his room, the letter lay unfinished and the ink bottle had spilled onto the floorboard, further staining the already grubby floor. 'I would need to clean that later', thought Harry. Pushing it to the side of his mind, he went for the door to see the buzz outside. Only he paused while turning the door knob. An argument, or so he assumed, was taking place downstairs. Pressing his ear to the battered wood, Harry tried to discern the exchange transpiring on the ground floor –

WHERE IS HE?...I don't know..…..I SAID WHERE IS HE?...we don't know who you are talking about..…..YOU DAMN WELL KNOW WHO I AM TALKING ABOUT VERNON…...we don't know anything GET OUT OF OUR HOUSE YOU FREAK.…..

A freak? So it was someone from his world, someone who knew magic. The voice was clearly male. Who would come here? Professor Dumbledore? No, Harry didn't believe that the Headmaster could shout like that. Maybe Mr. Weasely? Ron said that he would talk with the Dursleys about letting him go to the World Cup. But he couldn't have come this soon. Harry hadn't even sent a reply. He listened closely once again –

Is the boy home or not?...GET OUT OR I WILL CALL THE POLICE THEY WILL KNOW THAT IT WAS YOU THAT CAUSED THAT EXPLOSION...…let me check upstairs...…DON'T MOVE…...step aside Petunia if you know what is good for you.…YOU CAN'T - …...STEP ASIDE

Harry felt a powerful wave of magic wash over him. It was as though his own magic was excited.

Sound of footsteps coming upstairs could be heard. Who was this man? Sirius? Yes it had to be, no one else knew his address and the names of his relatives besides the ones he considered before. Harry excitedly opened the door to meet his godfather only to come face to face with a familiar yet strange visage.

The face before him was one he had looked upon many times in the mirror, diamond shaped with uncommonly vibrant green eyes, the same long upturned nose and messy black hair...…but despite so many similarities there was the marked contrariety of age. Foremost, was the presence of a light stubble and amongst the sea of black hair, there were sporadic grey strands. A few wrinkles at the corner of the dazzling eyes which were surprisingly unobstructed by a pair of glasses, further added to the differences. The face before him was also at a much higher level than his eyes. Harry was so engrossed in scrutinizing the face, that he hadn't uttered a single world since the appearance of the man before him.

There was dead silence now. Both saying nothing. Harry knew it was highly unlikely and was completely out of the realm of possibilities but the evidence was staring right into his face. So he went with the only conclusion he could make.

"Dad?"

…..

…..

The man before him smiled and said, "Not quite".

Harry instantly went for his wand. It was not wise to be unarmed against strangers from the wizarding world even if the said stranger looked like his father. His short excursion to the Knockturn Alley came to his mind. Pointing his wand at the undoubtedly Polyjuiced man, Harry said threateningly, "Who are you?"

The man furrowed his brow as if contemplating what to say. He seemed to reach a decision and said slowly, "My name is Harry Potter". Harry had enough of this nonsense. He said in a voice which was more confident than what he felt, "Don't lie to me, I have already sent a Patronus for Professor Dumbledore. He is on his way as we speak". The man looked completely at ease despite the threat. He hadn't even drawn his wand. Looking right into his eyes, he said to Harry with a smirk, "Professor Lupin hadn't taught you that Harry".

"How do you know that?", the words slipped from his mouth before he could stop them. The man's smirk widened and Harry cursed his tongue for the nth time.

The man moved towards the only bed in the room while Harry kept his wand pointed on his back. He sat on the bed and faced him again, "How can I prove to you that I am Harry Potter? Hmm…...ask me a question for which only you know the answer to…...How about that?"

Harry was still suspicious about this man but he hadn't done anything to harm him yet. So Harry decided to entertain him for the time being. What can I ask him that only I know the answer to? A memory flashed through his mind. He faced the man and asked him smugly a question that he could never answer, "If you are telling the truth and really are Harry Potter then answer this….when Aunt Petunia hit you with the frying pan for the first time, you did something –

"I snuck into her room when she was taking her afternoon nap and stole her gold earrings which I dumped into the trash can for which I was locked in the cupboard by Vernon despite having no proof against me", the man finished for him.

Harry's jaw fell open. How did he knew about this? He was certain that he hadn't told anyone about that. Not Ron, not Hermione, definitely not the Dursleys…... "How?", he asked the man sitting on his bed at 4 Privet Drive.

The stranger just smiled. He looked towards his wrist, a minimalistic silver watch rested there, and faced Harry once again, "We don't have much time Harry. Let me explain everything briefly. Then you can give your opinion. Alright?". Harry nodded mutely.

The man started, "You wanted to use a time turner for training in order to fight Voldemort, but upon research you came to know that the current model of time turners were not feasible to your plan, am I right?", to which Harry nodded. The man continued, "Do you remember making a promise that you would find a way to make it work regardless?"

"Yes", said Harry.

"Well what words did you use specifically?"

"Umm…I think I said I would find some other way of time travel or…..improve upon the current one I believe."

"Correct but there was one more thing. You said that even if you had to travel to the past – "

"I would do it", finished Harry.

"That", said the man in an excited voice, "that promise you made to yourself was so strong that it created a series of events in the time-line resulting in your future-self travelling back in time to help your past-self. Do you understand?"

Harry nodded. Despite this all being so confusing, he was beginning to get what the man was saying. He asked, "So you are my future I mean I would look like me….you…..in the future right?" he fumbled at the end.

"Obviously" said the man calmly, then he asked, "Do I not live up to your expectations then?"

"No no", said the younger Harry quickly. He continued embarrassedly, "It's just that I didn't knew I would grow up to be this good looking."

The older Harry chuckled which soon turned into a full-blown laughter. After he had quieted down a bit he turned to his younger self and said encouragingly, "Don't worry you are just a teen now and everybody looks like shit at this time. Wait for you growth spurt to hit and then tell me how the girls don't leave you alone."

The younger Harry blushed but did not responded. After a few seconds of awkward silence he questioned, "You didn't told me however you managed to travel back in time this far?"

The adult in the room nodded and explained, "Well, first I had to locate sources of the magical quartz dust, after that it took less than two years to come up with the model I used to arrive here. It was designed for this task specifically and can be used to travel back from the year I came from to 1994 and back only. I couldn't have done it alone you know, someone smart helped me a great deal."

"It was Hermione right?", asked the teen.

The future Harry gave a wide smile and closed his eyes for a moment as if reminiscing something. When he opened them he turned towards the school boy and said with a fondness, "She is brilliant isn't she?"

The younger version of himself nodded wholeheartedly.

He continued, "No it wasn't Hermione. I had help from someone else in the future", said the man.

This left the smaller Harry confused who then said, "You said someone smart assisted you, I don't know anyone smart enough to do this other than her."

The future Harry said with another reassuring smile, "Don't be so sure, you will meet a lot of lovely and bright people in your future."

They remained quiet for a few moments after that.

Eventually the fourteen year old asked, "So what now?"

"Now" said the mature Harry, "it is up to you."

"Up to me?"
"Yes, you have got to decide if you want to go to the future with me or stay here."

The younger of two remain silent. After a pause he asked, "Did you travel to the future as well?"

"Yes", said the older one with a chuckle, "You know I asked the same to the Harry who came to take me. It is quite an interesting loop of events if you ask me, I can almost guess what you are going to say next."

The younger one turned that over and continued, "Seeing as you are alive I guess you survived Voldemort."

"Yes I survived, not to mention that I killed him as well."

The fourteen year old Harry did not replied immediately. I should feel no remorse for killing Voldemort when the time comes, he is a monster, and no one knows how many people he killed and how many children unlike me were slaughtered at his hands. He also murdered my parents.

"Okay", he said finally. "Do you think I would be able to do the same?"

The Harry that had vanquished the Dark Lord said, "If you are asking, whether you have the potential to beat him then that is a yes, or you will have it when I am done training you. But if you are wondering whether you will defeat him or not then only you can answer that."

"I suppose that is as good as an answer I am going to get from you", said the Harry who was completely unaware of the existence of a prophecy that tied his fate to the Dark Lord and his defeater in front of him.

"How long would this take? The whole training period that is", he asked his future self.

"It took me about two years when I did it."

"Two years? I can't be a truant for that long. Also what will you say to Professor Dumbledore?"

"First, you don't need to miss school. I have made certain arrangements that will allow you to come back before the term starts which I will explain later. Also, you can't tell Dumbledore."

"But why? I mean he will help me in defeating Voldemort. So we have to bring him in the fold."

"You've got to understand that it is very dangerous to play with time in the first place. It is already enough of a risk that we are conversing with our future/past selves respectively. To bring a third person in the know, could lead to anything from a minor alteration to a paradox."

"But surely you told the headmaster in your timeline, right?"

"I didn't", told the older Harry.

"Okay" said the younger one. He had already made his mind. This was his only way to survive. Only way to defeat Voldemort. "I am ready just let me pack some stuff and we can leave", he stated.

"Good! But be quick about it and let me know when you are done I will shrink the trunk for you", instructed the future Harry. "And don't forget to finish that letter to Ron."

The teen nodded and began packing his trunk.

….

….

Just as he was about to finish, Hedwig came in through the window hooting at the other owl to budge who had taken her place near Harry's bed. Harry ignored them and went to his desk and resumed the letter to Ron –

Ron,

Thanks for the invitation mate. Yeah, the Dursleys were good this summer. I would have loved to go to the World Cup with you and spend the remaining summer at Burrow but something important has come. My relatives are taking a trip to Birmingham, Uncle Vernon has some important business there and he insisted that I attend. I am extremely sorry that I wouldn't be able to come with you guys. Maybe you can invite Neville in my place, he most likely is not going. Send my regards to Mr and Mrs Weasley, Ginny, the twins and Hermione.

Meet you at Hogwarts next term. Have fun at the World Cup.

Harry Potter

PS: I am sending Hedwig to the Burrow while I am away.

Harry didn't like to lie to his friends but he couldn't exactly tell Ron that he was going to the future for two years. Shaking his head, he stood up to put his quill in his trunk and found that his future-self had cleaned the ink stains. He locked his trunk shut and send Pigwidgeon and Hedwig on their way to Burrow. Turning around, he saw that the older Harry was looking around the room curiously.

….

….

Seeing that the teen was ready and looking at him expectantly, he shrunk the trunk with a wave of his hand and put it in his pocket and then asked, "Shall we?"

"One more thing", said the younger Harry trying to ignore the effortless use of wandless magic, "we both are Harry, and it would create a lot of confusion to communicate. So we should come up with names for each other."

"Good point. I will call you Harry only. You can use Potter, Caesar or any other name you like."

"Okay you can call me Harry", agreed Harry, "as for your name I get Potter but Caesar though?"

"You will know one day. You can call me Potter for now", said the time traveller as he turned towards the door.

"Hmm", mumbled Harry.

Exiting the room and descending downstairs, Harry and Potter came to the hallway of 4 Privet Drive. The Dursleys were all sitting in the living room. Although Harry's relatives noticed the duo, they didn't comment and just turned their heads the other way. Harry suspected it had something to do with the man beside him. Making his way towards the door, Potter motioned for him to exit. Harry stepped over the threshold and turned around to face his companion. "Go ahead to the street I will be there in a minute", instructed Potter as he went inside towards the living room.

Harry had a hunch regarding what Potter was going to do and he didn't think he would like it, so he went down the sidewalk towards the street. Standing there lonely he realised that it was going to be more than a bit weird calling someone else Potter. For a long time he had been the only magical alive with that name, so it was reasonable that he didn't want to address other with his surname. 'I guess I would be calling him Caesar from now whatever that means.'

He was interrupted from his thoughts by the sound of the front door opening. Caesar emerged from behind, stuffing something in his pocket. He walked quickly towards Harry with his wide steps.

"You obliviated them". It wasn't a question.

"It had to be done, we can't risk Dumbledore reading their minds and knowing about me", told Caesar as a means of explanation.

"He can do that?", asked an open-mouthed Harry.

"Yes, it is called Legilimency. Dumbledore, Snape and Voldemort are masters in this field. You will learn it during your stay with me", elaborated Caesar. The teen nodded.

"Where to now?", Harry asked the older man after a pause.

"Okay. Listen. In order to come back in past this far I had to make a time machine which worked on the power of arcane magic accumulated inside the Earth. This intrinsic arcane magic of Earth flows out at certain…..shall we say, magical hotspots like how hot water comes out at hot springs. So I used the time machine at the best hotspot location in Britain. And we have to go there again in order to travel to future. I know you haven't Apparated before, so it is going to be a little unpleasant", at Harry's confused look he explained, "It is another mode of magical transport, similar to teleportation but feels like you are being squeezed through a narrow tube. Got it?"

"Yes Caesar", nodded Harry.

"Not Potter, eh?"

"I don't know, it feels weird to call someone else that."

Caesar chuckled a bit then questioned, "So your kids won't have a surname then?"

Harry's face reddened. "Only if I survive Voldemort", he muttered.

Caesar put a hand on Harry's shoulder and said softly, "That depends on you Harry", he turned them both around and continued in a much lighter voice, "But between you and me, I know that you can do it". "Really?", asked the boy in a hopeful voice. But all he got in reply was the feeling of being squashed through a duct which was too small for even his head.

…

…

Harry plummeted to ground at a neck breaking speed but thankfully nothing cracked. Only his head was swimming, as though it had taken a dozen bludgers from behind. "You could have warned me", he grumbled at his travelling-companion.

"It was better this way, otherwise you would have fretted needlessly", came the answer.

Harry scrambled to his feet to look around their point of arrival.

The duo had side-along Apparated at Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire behind a boulder of rocks, about three hectometres away from their destination. Their destination being the most architecturally sophisticated and only surviving lintel-led stone circle in the world. Also, a large crowd had gathered around it.

"You used the Stonehenge as an anchor for travelling back in time?" asked an incredulous Harry. He had read about it in his History of Magic class the previous year.

The twelfth-century book Historia Regum Britanniae tells the story of how Stonehenge was brought from Ireland with the help of the wizard Merlin. The stones of Stonehenge were said to be healing stones, which giants had brought from Africa to Ireland. They had been raised on Mount Killaraus to form a stone circle, known as the Giant's Ring or Giant's Round. The fifth-century king Aurelius Ambrosius wished to build a great memorial to the British Celtic nobles slain by the Saxons at Salisbury. Merlin advised him to use the Giant's Ring. The king sent Merlin and Uther Pendragon, King Arthur's father, with 15,000 men to bring it from Ireland. They defeated an Irish army led by the Irish king Gillomanius, but were unable to move the huge stones. With Merlin's help, they transported the stones to Britain and re-erected them as they had stood.

Everybody at Hogwarts have heard that story, and the whole wizarding Britain knew the importance of the huge circle of stones present near Amesbury. It was one of the many legends involving the legendary wizard Merlin. Even at this distance, Harry could feel the ubiquitous magic encompassing the ancient memorial site.

"Well it was the most magically imbued place in Britain, so I thought it would be my best bet", answered Caesar.

"More saturated than even Hogwarts?" questioned Harry, because to him the castle was the most magical place on Earth.

"The magic that Hogwarts has is derived from the surplus magic the bodies of people living there extravasate. Although, I later learned that the Founders had also put in place a self-occurring ritual that absorbs magic from the moon every lunar eclipse. Stonehenge on the other hand, is a natural outlet for the magic inside Earth's core. That magic is renewable and will never extinguish", explained the wiser of the two.

Harry just nodded. Hogwarts had always been so full of magic, as if it was almost alive. Only now he knew that this was because of the students that merrily resided there and whatever ritual the Founders had installed.

As they moved towards their objective, Harry recognised that the monument itself was encircled by a yellow barricade tape and some of the people in the horde ahead, wearing the distinct dark blue tunic with polished silver buttons and trousers of matching colour, were instructing the civilians to stay back.

"There is police ahead. How are we going to get there?" asked the young boy nervously.

Caesar winked at the teen and said, "Just watch".

The time traveller drew his wand from out of nowhere, turning towards the assembled crowd he whispered, "Somnus".

A blue mist emerged from the tip of his wand, spreading outwards and in a matter of few seconds the fumes have engulfed the whole area.

"What does it do?" asked Harry after looking at the dense blue fumes for a few seconds.

"It is a modification of a Latin spell used for putting patients to sleep only this one lasts much shorter."

As the mist cleared, Harry could see that all the people present were fast asleep. Not a single man was standing, all were lying on the ground on their backs. He was amused to see that some grown men were even sucking their thumbs. Following Caesar's lead he reached the yellow tape saying CAUTION – DO NOT CROSS – POLICE LINE along its whole length.

A few people at the front were dressed in white coats, which Harry presumed were either some experts or scientists. Jumping over the fence, they walked towards the centre of the inner bluestone ring.

"Won't they know that something like this happened?", Harry said pointing his chin towards the heaps of dozing folks.

"No they won't remember a thing, not even the mist. To them it would be like their eyes drooped for a second", replied Caesar.

"Wicked", said Harry.

Caesar nodded and then pulled out a small green glass pyramid from his back pocket. The object was almost as big as his palm and was shining as brightly as the finest of diamonds. A fluid seemed to be swirling inside it. With perfectly cut edges and silky smooth surface, it was a stunning piece of art. Harry was mesmerized by its craftsmanship. "Is that the time turner?", he asked the one who had made it.

"It can be called a time turner, though we don't have to turn any crowns here. Personally, I think time pyramid is a suitable name", said the man with a snicker. "Now", he continued seriously, "we have to hold this at the same time and speak a short orison twice. I will say first, you repeat after me. Ready?"

This was really happening. He was going forward in time. To train for fighting Voldemort. He didn't know whether this was a good choice or not. But now was not the time to back off, he had already come this far. Also, if it had turned out well for his future-self, then maybe it would work out for him as well. Harry took a deep breath and nodded to the man in front of him.

They both clasped hands in such a way that their palms were equally touching the glowing emerald pyramid. Caesar said slowly so that Harry could easily discern it, "O Aion tempus deitas nos adiuvante hoc instrumento adhibe, O Aion tempus deitas nos adiuvante hoc instrumento adhibe."

Harry repeated the strange words very carefully. For a moment nothing happened and he thought he must have skipped something. He was just going to ask the man to repeat the prayer, but all of a sudden an eerie green light came out of nowhere all around them. The inner ring of Stonehenge was glowing blue, while the outer one gleamed gold. A portal manifested on the ground below them. As he fell in it, all Harry saw was an endless darkness lidded with small white dots just like the night sky.

When Harry returned to the land of living, all he could feel was pain. Not the type of pain that comes with an injury, but the one due to a headache, only that it was not limited to the head. He didn't know for how much long he lay there, wherever he was, holding his head but the pain eventually fade away. If he thought Apparition was bad, then this was ineffable.

The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was that he was laying on the floor of a dimly lit room. Also, his companion Caesar was standing in front of him and observing the same pyramid that brought them here. But then why wasn't he at the Stonehenge in future. A sinking feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. Maybe the device didn't work. A thousand thoughts crossed his minds. What if I am now stuck here and can't go forward in time to train. He took a long breath and forced his mind to stop being stupid.

"Shouldn't we be at the same place when we travelled to the future?", he asked the man who was now looking at a square metallic box in his hand, which had an illuminated glass on its front and was as thin as a pencil.

"Good you are awake now", replied Caesar without looking up from his phone, "and we are not at Stonehenge because I teleported you here."

Harry sighed with relief. He had just been overthinking things. "Now what, when do we start training?". Although he was very much excited for learning new and powerful magic, he was feeling quite tired as well.

Caesar pocketed the phone and turned towards him, "Now we both will be going to a time chamber. Every forty three hours inside the chamber will be equal to one hour outside it. There you will be put on healing potions for a week, then your physical training will start shortly. Only when you will have adjusted to the time pace inside, we will start your magical training. It may take you upto three to four weeks to adjust", he explained the plan to the younger boy.

"Okay", Harry replied, relieved that he wasn't doing any heavy work the first day here. His head was still a bit dizzy.

They both left the gloomy room. Walking through another similar room, they arrived at an outside corridor which opened onto a lovely garden on one side. On the other side, the walls were decorated by expensive ornaments, magical paintings, swords and much more. Looking at the back of the man walking ahead of him, Harry said, "You didn't told me you live in a manor estate?"

"Well sorry for not flaunting my wealth in your face earlier", came the amused reply.

Harry shook his head. Am I that sarcastic in the future as well?

The duo walked for a few minutes, with Caesar leading them and Harry following behind. Finally after passing numerous hallways and corridors, they reached a big set of closed doors in an isolated part of the vast manor. The door was made of some dark wood which Harry didn't recognised, but the handles were clearly gold, though Harry thought they might have some brass in it. He didn't know whether the magical world have found some way to create gold objects without making an alloy first.

"Okay Harry we have finally reached here", announced Caesar, "just behind these doors is the time chamber where you will be training for two years or seventeen days if you see from outside. Now you should calm your mind before going in, while I say good-bye to a few people. I will be gone from their lives for more than two weeks and it will be inappropriate of me to not meet them before going. You can wait here for a few minutes just not go roaming the halls, alright?"

Harry nodded then said, "No problem take as much time as you want just not forget about me", he finished jokingly.

Caesar smiled and left through a nearby passageway which they didn't use earlier. With nothing else to do, Harry just surveyed the artistry on the walls around him. His future-self was not simply joking about his wealth. From what Harry had seen upto now, this place was fit for a king. White walls with golden linings forming square patterns was the main theme. Elaborate designs which Harry didn't knew the name of were also made onto the walls. A French window was cut every few metres for better lighting and view. Fancy curtains most likely silk, were hanging around them. Polished Bocote wood was used for flooring and the centre of the hallway was covered by a blue carpet. The ceiling was something that Harry had never seen before, it was two layered, one below the other making intricate shapes. All in all Harry felt out of place here. He didn't knew what his occupation in the future was but it was certain that he was loaded. His parents had left him quite a bit of money in the vault at Gringotts, but he doubted that would buy him even a room here. He just hoped that the future-Harry wasn't involved in any shady businesses.

Just a few feet ahead of him, he saw a portrait he hadn't noticed before while coming here. Caesar had told him not to go anywhere but this wasn't very far, so he might as well take a look. Reaching in front of the canvas, Harry saw a man with blonde hair, though there was no label stating the name. The man in the portrait instantly opened his eyes as if sensing the presence of other near him. He watched Harry for a few moments, almost like he was weighing him up. "Who are you boy?" asked the portrait at last.

Seeing no harm in it, the teen answered, "Harry Potter".

"A Potter you say", murmured the man in the portrait. He then continued, "Are you by any chance the son of the one who defeated the Dark Lord and marri –"

Harry heard the sound of footsteps nearby. Without waiting for the portrait to finish, he hurried towards the time chamber Caesar had left him outside of. The passage the man had went through was in between the portrait and the set of doors. As Harry passed by it, he saw Caesar at another door the passage led to. His back was facing Harry and he was talking to someone with blonde hair but Harry couldn't see their face. Not wanting to be caught disobeying his instructions even before the training had started, Harry dashed to the end of hall, where he had come from initially.

There was a nagging suspicion in the back of his mind now. Lavish hallways, expensive walls, elaborate corridors, blonde portraits and people too. It all screamed Malfoyish to him. He now had some doubts regarding the morality and mental state of his future-self. When the man re-joined him in front of the time chamber a few moments later, he couldn't resist asking, "Have you been consorting with the Malfoys?"

"No, not much. Just at the occasional functions or gathering", replied a bemused Caesar, "They live at Wiltshire you know, far away from here at Essex. Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering", lied Harry. He then asked hoping to veer the topic, "Are you ready?"

"I am. But the question is – are you?"

Harry thought about it. Never in his wildest dream would he have imagined this. He had gone from lazing in his room on his fourteenth birthday to travelling ahead in time by Merlin knows how many years. He would be staying here for two years at the very least, away from everyone. Away from his friends, away from Hogwarts. It would be difficult, he was sure of that. If the training would make him the man at his side, it was going to be hard. He just need to take one look at the man beside him to know how powerful he was. Maybe even powerful than Professor Dumbledore. He had killed the Dark Lord after all. Harry needed to be like him. He had to do this. If he wanted to become powerful, to survive Voldemort and to beat him one day, he need to train here. In this time chamber that his future-self had brought him to.

He looked towards the man and said confidently, "I am".

The man nodded and fished out a wrapped box from his pocket which was too big to have fit there without magic. Holding the glittering packet to the boy he said, "I forgot earlier, still better late than never – Happy Birthday Harry"

Harry hesitantly tore the gift-wrap. Opening the box, he found a wrist-watch inside. It was silver in colour with a golden bezel. Only four hours were marked inside. Two additional sub-dials were present as well. The chain was also metallic silver. He remembered seeing the same timepiece on man's wrist earlier in the day. Turning towards Caesar he said, "Thank you".

The man acknowledged the gratitude with a nod of his head. He then took a step forward and opened the massive double doors to the time chamber. A white light was coming from inside, nothing else was visible. He motioned for the boy to go ahead. As Harry stepped into the strangely bright room he knew he had reached an important turning point in his life.

End of Chapter

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