Day in and day out were the same. He no longer had to do any chores, but school was awfully dull. Thankfully he had managed to bully Petunia into letting him get a library card at the local library so he could borrow more appropriate books to read. He needed to brush up on his muggle education.

The whale and his wife still hadn't made any new attempts at putting Harry 'back in his place'. He didn't doubt that the fear they now held would eventually go away, Vernon wasn't known for being intelligent. But, he'd deal with that when the time came. For now he'd just enjoy the freedom it gave him, and the weariness they held for him.

Dudley was still young enough that upon his parents telling him to stay away from Harry, and seeing how scared they were of him, he kept his distance, which suited Harry just fine.

He hadn't talked to Death or summoned anyone else since the day after he arrived in this timeline. It had been months. The idea of summoning his parents had been very tempting but he didn't know what he would say to them. How was he going to explain everything that had happened? So instead of opening up that can of worms he had refrained.

Recently, however, he had been thinking about summoning someone who could teach him more magic. He was most likely going to be stuck in the muggle world for years to come, and although catching up on his muggle education was interesting, he had a deep need and desire to learn more about the magical world he belonged to. He wanted to be more prepared by the time he reached Hogwarts. The problem was just that he didn't know who he was going to summon. Death was out of the question, he didn't know how to deal with the deity yet.

Ideally he would have loved to talk to one of his Potter ancestors, but he was sad, and ashamed, to admit that he didn't know any of their names.

The only magical people he knew the names of, that were dead, and that he actually wanted to possibly talk to, were the Peverell brothers and Iolanthe Potter neé Peverell.

In the end he decided on speaking with Ignotus Peverell. He wasn't entirely sure how the whole process of summoning worked, but he figured that if he took the same approach as he did with Death then maybe he would get it right.

Harry had locked himself in his room and used the Elder Wand to cast a Notice-Me-Not and Silencing charm on the door. He didn't want anyone to walk in on him talking to empty air, that was strange even for wizards. Yes the Dursleys were already scared of him, but he didn't want them to think he was a nutter!

Harry sat down on the comfortable bed that was now his and took a deep breath, closing his eyes. He thought of the stories about the three brothers, Ignotus in particular. He thought of what Death had told him about the man, how he seemed to care about his family, how he was a decent man, at least that was how Harry pictured him.

With his mind focused on the idea of Ignotus Peverell, he rubbed his thumb over the symbol engraved in the silver and obsidian ring.

"Well this is new," a deep, raspy voice said with curiosity.

Harry's eyes flew open and he drank in the sight of the unfamiliar man. He looked nothing like he'd imagined he would. Ignotus appeared old, maybe around eighty years of age, it was always hard to tell with wizards since they aged differently to muggles. He had dark, grey hair that came down between his shoulder blades and was pulled back with a leather band. The clothes he wore seemed more muggle than wizard, maybe it had been a way to better blend in? Harry couldn't remember when the Statute of Secrecy came into effect, and wasn't that just embarrassing.

The ancient wizard had pale skin, dark eyes, and a well trimmed beard. And although his hair was grey from old age it still held a few strands of rich brown here and there. His eyes were deep and soulful, portraying a man who had lived a life well worth living.

"You must be the young Potter I was informed about. You have caused quite a stirring on the other side. Everyone is interested in getting to know who Death's mysterious Master is." Ignotus said humorously, eyes glittering with mirth. "I have to admit though, you are much smaller than I expected."

Harry snorted and ran a hand through his hair." It's not my fault that Death decided to shove my soul into a four year old body." He grumbled.

"But yeah, I'm Harry Potter. And you're Ignotus Peverell right?" Merlin, he hoped the summoning had worked as it should. Well, even if this wasn't the Ignotus Peverell, at least it was someone he could talk to, hopefully a wizard.

"Right you are" the newly identified Ignotus said with a quick nod. "So, to what do I owe the pleasure of being summoned for, young Master?"

Harry hesitated, nervous now that the opportunity to ask was finally there.

"Er… I was wondering if you could maybe teach me some magic?" Harry blurted out at a rapid pace, his young voice sounding squeakier than normal and a tad desperate. His cheeks burned in embarrassment when Ignotus laughed.

"So you wish to learn some magic lad? Sure, sure. I don't have much else to do these days so why not. It might prove to be enriching for the both of us." Ignotus replied with a chuckle. The man made himself comfortable on the chair by Harry's desk.

Even though he wasn't solid and couldn't actually interact with his surroundings, the action served to provide a sense of comfort by seeming more human.

In truth, whether he hovered in a sitting position just over the chair or floated upside down in the air, didn't really matter to the spirit, but it would put the young boy at ease he thought.

"How about we start by getting to know each other. You said Death sent your soul into this body, how old were you when that happened? Knowing your age would greatly help with putting together a curriculum for you." The dead necromancer stated.

"Seventeen… I was seventeen when I died and uh, got sent back here. My birthday was in July so I guess that means I'm eighteen now." Harry replied.

"Seventeen hmm? I suppose you went to Hogwarts then? Which house were you in? Me, personally, I was a Ravenclaw, always had a big thirst for knowledge. My brothers, not so much. Oh they were both intelligent men, don't get me wrong, but they didn't enjoy academics the way I did. My eldest brother, Antioch, was a Gryffindor. He was always loud and brash, got himself killed because of it, he did." Ignotus sighed.

"Um, I'm sorry about your brother… and uh, I was in Gryffindor too, but- " Harry took a deep breath, he hadn't told this to anyone before and for some reason it made him nervous. There was still that ingrained sense of 'the whole house being rotten' that had been knocked into him by those around him. But he felt like he needed to tell someone, and Ignotus was a neutral party. Plus, who was the spirit going to tell? The man was dead and could only communicate with him and other dead spirits as far as Harry was aware.

"The Hat wanted to place me in Slytherin. The only reason I didn't go there was because the first friend I made told me the house was evil, and so I begged the Sorting Hat to put me anywhere but Slytherin." He sighed. "To be honest I don't think I'll get into Gryffindor a second time." Harry looked away and rubbed the back of his neck. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to be in his old house, it would put him in the 'hero' and 'golden-boy' position again, something he wanted to avoid at all costs. He was no hero, not this time.

"Mh, I see. However you have nothing to be ashamed of, young man. True, each house has their own characteristics that they value, but we as humans are more complex than just the traits of our Hogwarts house. One can be brave in the face of adversity but still have a cunning mind. One can work hard and use creativity to reach one's ambitions. A well rounded person will normally contain a good mix of all the houses. Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?" Ignotus looked intently over at the young wizard.

"I… yeah I think so. We aren't defined by which house we are sorted in. I... thank you. I think I needed to hear that." Harry admitted.

He knew he was most likely bound for Slytherin this time, and although he knew the house wasn't evil, nor were all of them Death Eaters, he still had some learned prejudice that he struggled with. Hopefully he'd be able to get rid of it before he turned eleven.

He offered the old man a watery smile. "What was your favourite subject in school?" Harry asked, figuring it was a topic that probably wouldn't make him an emotional wreck.

"Hmm, I enjoyed most of my subjects back then, however runes and blood magic quickly became my most favoured." Ignotus mused.

Harry frowned at the mention of blood magic.

"Um.. I don't think they teach blood magic anymore, isn't it… you know, Bad magic?" He asked hesitantly.

Ignotus seemed shocked at the very idea of it. "Bad? Heavens no! What made you think something like that? Blood magic is more Grey than Black and can be used for all kinds of purposes. Sure, blood can be used in some rather nasty rituals, but so can various plants and animals, does that make them bad or evil? No!" Ignotus exclaimed.

"Blood magic is more often used for protection, healing, wards and so forth. At least they were in my time. It can be combined with rituals, runes, even potions! Did you know that using blood in certain potions can make it possible for it to be tailored specifically for you? Blood magic is also very important when creating family tapestries. It has to be weaved in with the threads of the fabric." The elderly wizard explained passionately.

"I guess I just have a bad experience with my blood being taken unwillingly. I had- well I guess it's have now, since he's still around. There's this Dark Lord trying to kill me, and when I was in my fourth year he sort of kidnapped me and used my blood to create himself a new body…" Harry slowly replied, rubbing the spot on his arm where Wormtail had cut it open during the ritual. The scar was gone but he could still remember the pain and fear that accompanied it.

"That is rather unfortunate." Ignotus gravely replied. "We will have to discuss how you plan to deal with this Dark Lord at a later time. From what I can understand you still have a few years until he will become an issue, correct?"

"Yeah… I need some more time to think about it to be honest. My entire life after I went to Hogwarts has been about fighting him. It wasn't fair of them to put it all on a kid, I still don't think it is. But… I can't just leave him to terrorise and murder whoever he wants either, right? I dunno" Harry sighed tiredly. "I'll think about it."

"Don't worry lad, we will figure something out. And since you asked to be tutored, I promise that I will do everything in my power to make sure you are ready to face whatever comes next." Ignotus promised solemnly.

"Thank you." Harry said, feeling incredibly grateful to the older wizard.

"Well, since it seems the Hogwarts curriculum has changed rather drastically since I was in school, how about you tell me which classes you took and how well you did in them."

As Harry talked about his classes, the stories seemed to merge into that of his entire Hogwarts career, everything from trolls and alchemical stones to his bitter potions professor that had saved his life so many times. The words flowed out of him like a river. Unable to stop, Harry spent hours telling Ignotus what had happened in his life, it felt good to unload on someone who had absolutely nothing to do with it. His ancestor was an objective party. By the end of it all, Harry's voice was hoarse with use and he felt tired to the bone, but relieved and maybe a tiny bit lighter.

"That is quite a life you've had young man" Ignotus said with a pensive frown, having been quiet during Harry's monologue, only nodding and humming at the right places.

"I for one, am glad that you will not have to go through it again, unprepared for what awaits you. No heavy burden like that should have been placed on the shoulders of a child." He spoke in a sombre voice.

"I am sorry for what you've been through." The elderly wizard looked at Harry with grave sincerity, making a lump form in the throat of the young boy.

"Thanks," he choked out

Ignotus merely nodded at that. "We will begin your lessons tomorrow. For now I will let you rest. Summon me when you are ready."

And with that, the spirit of Ignotus Peverell vanished, going back to the realm of the dead until he was summoned again.

Harry let out a drawn out sigh. That conversation had taken a lot out of him. Ignotus was a surprisingly easy person to talk to, and didn't seem to judge Harry's actions, or lack thereof, but it had gone on forever. It was nice to be heard though.

His small frame flopped down onto his back, resting comfortably on the bed as he stared up at the ceiling. Without much further ado, Harry got ready for bed and curled up underneath the warm duvet, excited about the promise of learning more magic.