Harry awoke bright and early the next day, thankful that it was another nightmare free night. He actually hadn't been experiencing them as often as he used to, nor as often as he expected.

He wondered if they had been exacerbated by the Horcrux living in his scar. It would explain why things had calmed down since he came to this timeline. In addition he felt more at ease and clear headed now that he'd come to terms with his situation and set himself some goals for the future.

The young boy slipped out of bed and continued with his morning routine. On socked feet he padded down to the kitchen for breakfast.

Harry moved one of the chairs to the counter and quickly set out to make himself some scrambled eggs and toast.

Meanwhile, the kettle finished boiling and he poured some of the hot water over his Tetley tea bag, letting it steep for a few minutes while plating his food.

It smelled delicious and Harry's stomach growled in appreciation. It was nice not having to worry about food anymore, maybe this time he wouldn't end up with stunted growth due to his malnutrition.

It wasn't that he minded being short, but a few more inches would have been nice. He'd been told that both his parents were quite tall, so his stature shouldn't be the fault of genetics.

Harry sat down at the table and doctored the tea to his liking, two sugars and a splash of milk.

Tea itself was a luxury he didn't get to indulge in before his Hogwarts days, and since then he'd found that he quite liked it. He'd drink almost any tea, but he preferred a hardy black tea with a bit of milk and sugar for sweetness. It was comforting and reminded him of home.

He inhaled the fumes before digging into his meal. Ever since 'The Incident' he had slowly adjusted his eating habits, going from small bland meals to more hearty foods and bigger portions. It took time for his body to adjust after surviving so long on meagre rations, but now that his stomach could handle it, he happily indulged in eating whatever he desired.

After polishing his plate, Harry went about cleaning up after himself. Even if he refused to do chores for the Dursleys, that didn't mean he was a slob.

The other occupants of the house were still asleep, which was a normal occurrence on Saturday mornings. Then again, it was only 6:30am. Harry still hadn't shaken off the habit of rising early, it was ingrained into him by now. Not that he minded, he liked having the early hours to himself.

He cast one last look over the spotless kitchen before trotting back up to his bedroom. Today was going to be the start of his tutoring by Ignotus and he was excited.

Harry had nicked a brand new notebook from Dudley's school supplies that he was sure the boy wasn't going to miss. It had a hideous pattern on the front in red, green and yellow, making it look like a Christmas tree on acid. Harry wondered what on earth had possessed Petunia into buying something like that.

He'd ask his aunt for some new stationery for himself in a few days, he thought. She had already gotten him some more appropriate clothes.

They weren't new, but he didn't necessarily need brand new clothes, second hand was fine as long as they were whole and fit him. The only thing he put his foot down for getting used was underwear and socks. Those were items that were cheap new, and he'd rather not wear someone else's knickers, thank you very much.

Harry closed the door behind him and used the Elder Wand to apply the same spells as yesterday for privacy.

Since his meeting with Ignotus he had been thinking more about his parents. Was it really right of him to still feel so angry with them? They hadn't done anything to deserve this behaviour from him. Plus, he did want to see them again, even if it wasn't in the afterlife like he'd hoped.

Maybe this was his chance to slowly get to know them. Death had said that he couldn't die, and being distant from them forever didn't sound like something he wanted to do.

It would most likely be awkward at first, but he decided that it was going to be worth the effort, hopefully.

Harry sat down at the head of his bed and crossed his legs. He drew in a deep breath before going through with the summoning process. He would tell his parents everything, he decided, even the gritty bits about his childhood that he hadn't shared with Ignotus.

The spirits of James and Lily Potter appeared in front of the small boy, looking exactly the same as they had in the forest.

A gasp tore itself from Lily's lips when she saw him.

"H-Harry?" She asked hesitantly, one hand clutching at her chest.

"Hey mum." the boy replied with a watery smile.

He hadn't thought it would, but seeing them again almost knocked the air out of him. It was bittersweet in a way.

"Oh my baby!" Tears streamed down Lily's face as she rushed over to the young child's side. She tried to cup his face with her hand but it went straight through him.

"My poor, poor baby." Lily sobbed.

For her it had been nearly no time at all since the attack that resulted in her death, whereas for Harry it felt like a lifetime ago.

"It's okay mum. I'm okay." Harry said soothingly, shooting James a pleading look.

The shocked man thankfully took the hint and guided his wife to sit down on the bed next to Harry. They couldn't touch the living but they stayed as close to him as they could. James wrapped his arms around Lily and held on tightly, the action bringing comfort to them both.

"How old are you Harry?" His father asked, voice rough with emotion.

Harry sighed. He'd known this was going to be a long and difficult conversation, but somehow it felt even harder than expected.

"It's... complicated. I'm both five and eighteen." The adults seemed lost for words at this proclamation.

"I'll tell you the entire story if you promise not to interrupt."

His parents gave him their word, and so the tale began. Unlike with Ignotus, Harry told them everything. Every dark and ugly detail.

He started with his childhood, laying it out from start to finish, not leaving out any of the nasty parts of the abuse he'd suffered at the hands of his loving relatives.

His mother had gone pale as a ghost, whereas James looked like he wanted to murder someone. Both kept their promise however, and stayed silent.

Harry continued with his years at Hogwarts, then the war and ultimately his sacrifice that had been plotted by Dumbledore.

He explained how he had unknowingly gathered the Hallows and become the Master of Death, and with it gained both gifts and curses. Not being able to die was nice in the short run, but he imagined that at some point one just had enough of life and wanted to rest. He'd never get that.

"That nasty, lying, manipulative, old wanker!" Lily hissed out in seething rage at the end.

"I knew we shouldn't have trusted him! I told you it was an awful idea to let him cast the Fidelius for us!" Lily screeched and hit James in the chest again and again, all out of tears by now and instead filled with motherly rage for the injustice her child had suffered.

James simply let her, looking both green and apoplectic at the same time.

"I know Lils, you're always right. We should have… we should have let you cast it and have me as the Secret Keeper. We just… we thought we were so clever." James looked lost. The hero worship and faith he'd had in Dumbledore completely crumbled, just like it had for Harry.

"Wait… you're saying Dumbledore knew who was the Secret Keeper all along? " Harry burst out indignantly.

"Sirius rotted twelve years in Azkaban without a trial because Dumbledore wanted me locked up with the Dursleys." Harry continued monotonously, the revelation hitting him like a train.

"I'm gonna fucking strangle the twinkling, old codger with his own beard." Lily snarled.

James snorted. "In case you haven't noticed, we're dead."

Lily glared at him. "There is nothing stopping me when he's dead along with us." She added testily.

James threw up his hands in defeat, clearly not about to step in the way of his wife on a warpath, which was probably wise.

Harry closed his eyes. This conversation had brought forth so many new revelations that he'd rather not deal with. They hurt, they really really hurt.

He still didn't know if the blood wards were actually there on the property, but the truth was that Dumbledore had known that Sirius was innocent, and instead of getting him a trial which would have cleared up everything, he'd tossed him into Azkaban just so he wouldn't be able to raise Harry.

Because a Harry raised by a brash and cocky Sirius would not have been as easy to manipulate and control as one who was abused by his relatives. A Harry raised by Sirius would not sacrifice himself, nor let Dumbledore make all the decisions for him.

Harry had to admit that while he didn't think Sirius would have been the most responsible guardian, anyone would have been better than the Dursleys.

He took a deep breath and opened his green eyes, looking at the bickering couple.

"I'm going to ruin him." Harry said calmly, making his parents quiet down and look at him. It wasn't something he had planned on doing initially, but the more he heard of Dumbledore's machinations, the more he craved revenge. For him, his parents, for Sirius… even Tom Riddle.

Lily seemed all aboard that notion, whereas James was hesitant.

"Dumbledore is a very powerful man Harry. Not just magically, but politically. He has a reputation that will make anything you try extremely difficult." James said with a worried frown. "Wouldn't it be better to just leave Britain? Let them destroy themselves instead of getting involved." His father suggested.

"No. I don't care how long it's going to take. One day I'll ruin him. Plus, I want to change things. And if I run away then Sirius will stay in Azkaban until he eventually breaks out or dies in there. I can't allow that, not when I know that he's innocent. I need to come up with a plan to get him free. And Dumbledore…I want his reputation in shambles. " Harry firmly stated. He had made up his mind and no matter how hard James tried to convince him otherwise, he refused to budge.

His father sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Alright kid, if that's what you want to do, then that is what we're doing. We'll help you as much as we can."

Lily looked like a vindictive demon, grinning sharply. "I'm going to see what kind of dirt I can dig up on the manky pillock. Dead people are inordinately chatty " She hummed manically.

James gave his wife a weary look.

"Thank you, both of you." Harry said softly, their support warming him.

"Is it okay if I call you back later? I promised Ignotus that we'd start my lessons today."

"Of course, sweetheart." Lily replied, her expression turning into a loving smile.

"I want you to know how proud I am of you for taking your education seriously. I know you can do anything you put your mind to, and we will be here for you every step of the way, no matter what you decide." His mother pretended to caress his face, just hovering above his skin.

"I mean it Harry. No matter what you choose to do with your life, even if it is following Voldemort, I will support you. All I ever wanted for you, was for you to be happy."

Harry looked at her in shock, eyes blown wide. She couldn't truly mean that could she?

"But he killed you!" He blurted indignantly.

"Yes he did. And still I wouldn't mind as long as you followed your heart and did what made you happy. " His mother replied calmly.

"Right James?" She turned her head to confront her husband, eyes glaring daggers at him to confirm her statement.

"Er...right." James swallowed and nodded.

Harry wasn't sure if his father was completely in agreement with his mother, but knowing that she would go to such lengths for him, just to make him happy, was a strange and exhilarating feeling.

"Okay honey, you best get to your lesson now. Me and your dad will start talking to people, see if we can find some skeletons in Dumbledore's closet." Her eyes shone with unholy glee at the opportunity.

The two spirits vanished and Harry sucked in a deep, shaky breath. That had been way more emotionally draining than he'd prepared for.

He was in no condition to focus on a lesson at the moment, and was grateful that he and Ignotus hadn't agreed on a set time. He figured getting a small snack was wise.

When he walked down the stairs he could hear the sounds of aunt Petunia watching a rerun of one of her soaps. He thought it was Coronation Street but he couldn't be sure.

As soon as Petunia's eyes fell on him she stiffened. Her skin paled and Harry could see her clutching the pillow by her side. The young boy gave her a blank, indifferent look before continuing into the kitchen to get an apple, if they had any.

Originally he'd planned to start the lesson straight after eating, but some sunshine and fresh air would probably do him good. His mind was still an unfocused mess.

"I'm going for a walk. I should be back in an hour or two." Harry said monotonously, not waiting for an answer. He doubted he'd get more than a nod anyway.

The sun shone brightly in the morning sky, the early October air crisp and refreshing. Harry wrapped the wool scarf tighter around his neck and started walking down Privet Drive and into the nearby Magnolia Crescent.

There was a loud yowl coming from his right and Harry turned to the side. He recognised the characteristic lion tail of a Kneazle. It must belong to Mrs Figg down on Wisteria Walk. She bred the critters.

He could clearly remember her house reeking of cat urine and old cabbage whenever she had to babysit him. She used to show him mountains of pictures that she'd taken of her cats. Thankfully that hadn't happened since he returned to this time, nor did he plan to let it. She was a bloody spy for Dumbledore and a member of the Order.

Harry crouched down and put out his hand for the Kneazle.

"Hello, I'm Harry. I don't think we've met before." the boy spoke softly and smiled as the Kneazle purred and rubbed against his hand.

"I have to admit that you have much nicer fur than Mr Tibbles." Harry said, making the feline preen under the praise. It wasn't a lie either. The Kneazle had a speckled, silvery coat, making him look almost like a miniature snow leopard or a lynx. It was quite handsome.

"I'm just going to walk around the area, you're free to join if you'd like."

Harry knew that Kneazles, even part-Kneazles, were extremely intelligent in comparison to regular cats, so he had no doubt that it would be able to understand him.

The park was unfortunately filled with children playing, so he and his Kneazle companion walked away. There was no set destination in mind, Harry merely enjoyed the mindless exercise after such heavy subjects being spoken about with his parents.

"I guess I'll see you around sometime." Harry said as he patted the feline one final time. They had circled back to the edge of Privet Drive. His companion turned to the left while Harry walked forward.

Safely back in his room with rosy cheeks from the cold, Harry laid down on his bed. He felt calmer and more relaxed.

Life wasn't so bad right now. He knew it would become more complicated when it was time for Hogwarts, but at the moment he could enjoy the freedom he had to simply be. There were no great expectations of him from anyone and he had the opportunity to learn whatever he desired. It was a heady thought.

Harry looked at the small alarm clock on his nightstand. It read 11:38am. He figured he should get on with the day and summon Ignotus.

He jumped up onto the wooden chair, it's legs having been made longer through transfiguration a while back. He was still short for his age so the boost in height made it easier for him to work at the desk.

The ugly notebook he'd nicked, and a pencil, was pulled out of one of the drawers. Looking around, Harry decided that he was ready for the lesson to begin, and so, quickly summoned Ignotus through his ring.

Without much further ado, Ignotus appeared.

"Good morning sir." Harry said with a smile. "Hope I didn't disturb you."

"Oh not at all!" Ignotus chuckled. "I was merely discussing today's lesson with one of my brothers. Cadmus in particular wanted to know what I planned on teaching you. He asked whether he could help with the divination branch of necromancy, but I told him that we needed to get you up to par with the basics first before starting anything more complicated."

The ghost stopped talking when he saw the uncomfortable posture of his young student.

"You don't seem too excited about this. If you aren't interested in meeting Cadmus that is fine, I am perfectly capable of covering that particular subject." The spirit said.

"No it isn't that… I don't mind meeting your brother. It's just that I don't know if I actually want to learn necromancy you know?" Harry slowly admitted. The thought of necromancy still made him extremely uncomfortable. He had to swallow away bile at the memory of the Inferi in Voldemort's cave.

"Ah. I see." Ignotus hummed thoughtfully.

"I will advise you to think about this and come up with reasons as to why it makes you uncomfortable. Then, in the future we can go over the list together, and maybe I will be able to convince you that necromancy isn't as bad as the stigma will have it. And if after that, you still aren't interested in learning any of the necromantic branches, then that is perfectly fine. I won't pressure you." The dead wizard said.

"Yeah I… I can do that." the young boy replied with a nod. He made a small note of it at the top of the page so he wouldn't forget.

"I had a question I hoped you might be able to answer, sir." Harry said.

"Go ahead." Ignotus nodded with a soft smile.

"What can you tell me of blood wards? I remember you mentioning them yesterday but you didn't go into detail. Dumbledore says the reason I have to stay here with my relatives is because of blood wards. Supposedly after my mum sacrificed herself for me when Voldemort tried to kill me as a baby, they were erected, or he erected them, I'm not certain. It isn't something we've covered at school, and I guess I just want to know if he lied to keep me here or if they are actually real and offering me some sort of protection." Harry sincerely hoped it wasn't all just a lie. He wouldn't put it past him though.

"Hmm. A sacrifice is a powerful thing, especially if she set up a ritual around it." Ignotus mused thoughtfully.

"If I were alive I would be able to check and see if there were wards around this property connected to you. But as I don't have a body, nor my magic, that is out of the question. I hadn't planned on bringing up blood magic so soon since you seem to have some trauma related to it, but if you want to know the answer to your question, the best I can offer is to teach you the methods to find out. It will however take time. You still need a foundation to build this knowledge upon. It might take months or even years for you to be able to safely work with blood wards. If you are prepared to put in the dedication to this then I will adjust my lesson plans to reach your goals."

Years… Harry hadn't thought it would be that long, but it did make sense. This was an area of magic he knew nothing about. Normal wards were complicated in their own right, blood wards probably more so.

"I don't mind how long it takes, I just want a definitive answer to whether Dumbledore kept me here on purpose to make my life hell, or if there was an actual reason to ignore the abuse." Harry sighed and ran hand through his black locks.

His hair had gotten longer since he arrived. He refused to let Petunia anywhere near him with scissors. He actually planned on growing it out a little, hoping that it would make it slightly more manageable.

Ignotus gave the boy a good long look before he nodded decisively. "I will change my plans then. Luckily what I had planned for today is still needed for our new goal. But first, lets get any questions you might have out of the way. Was there anything else you wished to know?"

"Uh...oh! Yes actually there was! It's sorta related to the blood wards though, I suppose. You also mentioned family tapestries yesterday, and I was wondering how you go about making one, and if it's something I'd be able to do. The only tapestry I've seen belonged to my godfather and he didn't like it very much because of his family." Harry sighed. "I don't know anything about my family history, I don't even know the names of my grandparents! No one's ever told me! " his voice had become heated with anger and grief. It felt like everyone had kept things hidden from him.

Harry took a deep, calming breath before he continued.

"I suppose I just want to find out their names, and see if there are any distant living relatives aside from my aunt and cousin. I mean, they can't be the only ones alive right?" Harry looked desperately at the older wizard, praying that he had some answers to give.

"As for living family, I'm afraid I can't tell you. Creating a family tapestry might indeed give you the answers though. Unfortunately, as with blood wards, it is something that is very difficult to create. Normally I would have suggested for you to see a tapestry maker of good renown, but since you've told me that blood magic is considered Dark these days, and taking into account your celebrity status and young age, that would be nearly impossible. In addition, making a family tapestry requires a lot of blood, it is therefore important that whomever you give the job to is someone you trust not to misuse said blood. It could have catastrophic consequences if it got into the wrong hands." Ignotus frowned and rubbed his beard pensively.

"Seeing as you have no such contact I will need to find someone in the realm of the dead to teach you how to weave one. That is if you are agreeable to summoning someone else. "

"Yeah that's fine." Harry said, happy to know that in the future he'd have his very own family tapestry. He wanted to display it proudly in his house when he finally got one in the future. Maybe he'd put it in his study? Yes, that sounded brilliant.

"I thought I might inform you that there exists an alternative to the tapestry. There is a lineage potion you could make. It is however out of your capabilities at this moment. The drawback of this potion is that it will only show three generations back. In addition, it only shows the parents of each generation. So no siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles et cetera. As you are hoping to find living family members, this is probably not something worth wasting your time on right now." Ignotus added.

"Yeah. Potions is probably my worst subject because of Snape. It's kinda funny if you think about it, it was the subject I was looking forward to the most when I came to Hogwarts. It reminded me of cooking which I'm pretty good at. But because Snape seemed to hate me I never bothered to put in any effort since he graded me down no matter how well I did." Harry shook his head with a wry smile.

"He'll be surprised this time though." The boy smirked mischievously. Snape being biased towards the Slytherins would definitely be to Harry's advantage, since that was where he was headed. He couldn't wait to shock the bitter dungeon bat.

Ignotus laughed heartily. "By that time we will have made a potions master out of you, I'm sure." The old man returned the smirk, eyes glittering with humour.

Ignotus clapped his hands together. "Well! If that was all, we will get started on your first lesson. Today we'll begin by learning the history behind the elder futhark alphabet."

Harry paid rapid attention as the spirit detailed the rich history behind the Norse runic alphabet. He explained it's areas of application with magic and how it had developed from older runic scripts, which they would cover in more detail eventually.

His pencil had to be sharpened several times during the long lecture due to heavy note taking. It wasn't until his stomach growled that he realised they had been at it for hours.

Harry cast a quick Tempus, finding out that it was already 4pm. He blinked in surprise.

"Ah, I think you're due a break. My apologies for dragging it out so long, it has been a very long time since I had a physical body myself." Ignotus apologised.

"If you wish to continue after your break, simply summon me. Meanwhile I am going to search for a weaver to help with your tutoring. They will be able to cover things I cannot."

"Thank you, sir. I should make some dinner. Thank you for taking the time to teach me though. I really appreciate it. It was a good lesson. I never knew runes could be used for so much! No wonder Hermione kept gushing about it." Harry said with a smile.

"You are welcome young man." Ignotus smiled softly before disappearing.

Harry slipped down from the tall chair and stretched out his muscles with a groan, his back making cracking sounds as he bent forward to touch his toes. Next time he'd ask for a break sooner.

A sandwich was made and scarfed down quickly. He returned to his bedroom and decided to take a short nap, his body was young and needed more sleep than he was used to.

The alarm he'd set woke him up an hour later and he yawned.

"I guess I should summon Ignotus again." Harry mumbled to himself.

With a groan of effort he sat up and called the spirit of Ignotus Peverell from beyond the Veil.

"Hello again sir. Did you find who you were looking for?" Harry asked.

"Hello to you too, young Master. And no, not yet. However, I have a few leads that I will investigate once we finish for the evening. Are you ready to proceed? I would like for us to go through the elder futhark alphabet. I thought sowilo was highly appropriate for you. Do you know why?" Ignotus asked.

Harry shook his head, puzzled why the rune should have any special meaning to him.

The spirit pointed to the scar on Harry's forehead. It had healed perfectly since the exorcism of the Horcrux, there was only a faint, pale, pink line left. It still held the same lightning bolt shape, but he hoped that with a little more time it would fade and become hard to notice.

"Your scar is the exact shape of the sowilo rune. I believe it was part of the protective ritual your mother set up for you that night. It is a rune that represents life and power among other things. Quite accurate if we consider what happened."

Harry thought that he'd have to ask his mother about it when he summoned her next. He also wondered if it was possible for him to leave a sort of open invitation for the spirits to come see him. Did he really need to summon them each time? They seemed perfectly able to return beyond the veil of their own will.

The lecture itself continued for several hours, detailing a brief overview of the runes in the elder futhark alphabet. By the time Harry was ready for bed, he was so exhausted that he fell asleep instantly.