Author's Note: Here's the next chapter. Sorry been busy with finals so the chapter's a little shorter than the others. So enjoy.
Chapter 10
Unknown Location
He lay face down not moving an inch. There was no real reason to why he did not move. He could if he wanted to quite easily. The pain that he had felt before was no longer present. In fact it was as if he was never in any pain at all.
Harry continued to lay there content with the current situation. He was alone in this place. How he knew this he wasn't sure but he knew it was true. He realized that he would eventually at one point have to get up but he was quite willing to wait as long as possible before he moved.
"I see that you have reacquainted yourself with the floor." Said an amused voice.
Harry raised his head and saw an old man with shocking bright white hair and electric blue eyes. For a moment Harry thought he was looking into the eyes of Albus Dumbledore but a closer inspection showed that while he did bare a resemblance to the headmaster that was were the similarities end. His nose was not crooked and he did not wear glasses.
"You're that judge guy from the trial right?" Harry asked.
"Yes I am." He answered a moment later.
Standing up Harry realized that he no longer had the body of an eleven year old but that of a seventeen year old.
Actually he realized he did have the body of an eleven year old but at the same time he had the body of a seventeen year old. Looking at the eleven year old attached to him Harry saw that he had his eyes open as well and was looking around. It reminded him of the time he saw the spectral image of himself and Hermione coming out of Slytherin's locket. They were separate yet at the same time joined.
It was a bit disconcerting seeing himself like this.
Some part of him thought that he should be freaking out at this but a bigger part thought that maybe he should be screaming his head off but the place they were currently in was affecting his behavior.
"You are correct."
Both Harry's looked up at the old man not realizing that he had spoken that last comment out loud.
"Do you not recognize where we are?" the Old man asked.
They were in a hall larger than the Great Hall at Hogwarts with a clear domed glass ceiling.
"This is where Voldemort sent us to after casting the killing curse at us in the forbidden forest." Answered the younger Harry.
"That is correct. Please have a seat." With a gesture of his hand two seats that he did not see before materialized across from each other a respectable distance between them.
The older Harry was not surprised that the younger Harry remembered this place. It seemed that both Harry's could access the memories of their other self.
They both sat down on the seats observing one another.
"I believe you would like to know what is going on." Said the Old man matter-of-factly.
"That would be helpful." Younger Harry shot back sarcastically.
"You are wondering why both of you are joined together like this? He gestured with his hand.
"It's a good place to start." Older Harry replied sternly.
"It is because while you are two different souls at the same time you are the same one because you are the same person. Basically each of you is a part of the same whole. You can access the memories of the other and vice versa."
"Good to know but can you explain how the hell did this occur?" Both Harry's said furiously together.
The old man did not seem offended in the slightest at his tone. "The spell that was placed on your soul---with a nod at older Harry---was designed to combine your two souls into one while also making sure that you would not remember your past life. It was so that you would be able to grow up normally or as normally as possible in your situation."
Seeing them listening he continued, "The spell also had another feature into it. It would also over time combine your magic as you got older. You notice that you were able to do more controlled magic as you got older and started to consciously us your powers."
Both Harry's nodded their heads in agreement at that remembering the many times he used his magic consciously at the orphanage and unconsciously while growing up with the Dursley's and seeing the difference.
"But then why was the sorting hat able to break it then? Shouldn't your powers have been strong enough to prevent the spell from breaking?" Older Harry asked.
"Tell me, do you know why the sorting hat is used to place children in different houses?" the Old man inquired.
"Tradition?" Ventured the younger Harry questionably.
"Partly yes. But more importantly the sorting hat can look into a person's soul and see exactly the type of person they are before sorting them."
"So you're saying that basically the sorting hat can see a person's true self?"Questioned a confused Older Harry.
"Exactly. The founders of Hogwarts were afraid that once they passed on there would be no way to properly sort future students which might cause problems later on. Before the sorting hat was created each person who would want to be a student at Hogwarts would have to pass a test created by the founders." Lectured the Old man.
"Then why didn't they continue to use the tests to sort instead of the sorting hat?"
"Each founder's test was different than the others and they didn't know what the other person's test was. Not even with the prospect of death looming over them would they have revealed it. You see even though the founders worked together and were friends they did not fully trust one another."
"Why didn't they trust each other? I can understand why they wouldn't trust Slytherin but why wouldn't Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor trust each other?" Older Harry inquired.
"The time that they lived in was a very dangerous time for magical beings. They were constantly living in fear of being found out by the non magical population. Even back then muggles outnumbered wizards and witches and they were afraid of the power that wizards possessed. I'm sure you heard about the witch hunts that were being done at the time."
Harry nodded in agreement and gestured for him to continue.
"People with magical powers were being persecuted and executed. Sometimes other magical beings would turn on each other and turn them in hopes of not being sentenced to death themselves. Salazar Slytherin was one of those wizards who was betrayed by what he believed was his muggle best friend and he almost died were it not for the timely arrival of Godric Gryffindor. This is where Slytherin's hatred for muggles began. Together they escaped and eventually met up with Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff who were running from soldiers chasing them. Rowena was the daughter of a noble family and Helga was a servant who worked for Rowena's family. When people found out both of them were magical Rowena's father ordered his soldiers to kill them. They escaped using their powers and were on the run until they met Gryffindor and Slytherin. Eventually they decided that they would have a better chance surviving if they traveled together but there were times when each person would do something questionable that would put the others on guard. It was never an all out betrayal but they were always cautious around each other especially after they created a school for magical people."
Harry was hanging on to the old man's words finding all this fascinating but something was bothering him.
"If that was true then why did they create a school?"
"Hogwarts originally belonged to the Ravenclaw family but had been abandoned since the castle was in need of repairs. Rowena suggested it as a place to stay so they could recuperate since she knew that nobody from her family ever went there. The repairs were easy to make with magic and they fixed it up. Unfortunately for them they didn't know that a person from the nearby village saw them and recognized Rowena from the wanted posters. He contacted the Ravenclaw family and they sent some troops to take care of them. The founders were able to beat them but not without injuries. The only reason they won was because of their magic but they realized that they would need help if they were going to survive the next attack. It was Godric who came up with the idea to recruit other magical beings. The idea worked and the muggles were unable to beat them but at the same time the wizards couldn't overwhelm their numbers so they came to a mutual agreement. The muggles would stop attacking them if the wizards would keep to themselves and take in any person who had magical powers. They agreed and that's how Hogwarts began." He finished.
"Why this was never covered in History of Magic?" Older Harry wondered.
The old man gave a loud laugh at this. "Do you honestly think that if the ministry would admit that the founders were really only together for their own protection and not for the betterment of wizarding society that it would put the school in a favorable light? If they found out that the school only existed because wizards were not strong enough to beat mere muggles?"
Harry had to admit that it would definitely cause problems especially among the purebloods who thought muggles were beneath them.
"Remember when you found out that the dark arts was taught at Dumstrang how did that make you feel?"
"Not all that great really. It did make me think that the school only produced dark wizards especially after I found out Grindelwald went there. I was worried that maybe one of the Dumstrang students would curse me after I was named the fourth champion in the tournament." Older Harry answered. That had been a troubling time for him being on constant guard during the first few weeks of the tournament.
"So you see what do you think would have happened if people found out the truth now?" Without waiting for Harry to answer he continued, "It would cause even more problems between muggles and wizards. Not that there isn't problems now just that the current situation could be a lot worse."
"This is interesting but can you get to the point already?"Younger Harry snapped. Older Harry had to admit as interesting as it was they really did need answers.
"You are quite right." The old man replied patiently. "The sorting hat was Godric's idea as you know. He thought that if they didn't want to share their methods they should come up with a way that would enable students to be sorted correctly while at the same time preserve each founder's ideas about who they wanted in their house. So Godric had the idea of a sorting hat and placed a part of himself in the hat as well—"
"You mean the sorting hat is a horcrux?" Older Harry interrupted shocked.
"No the hat is not a horcrux. The founders put their personalities into the hat so that they would be able to sort a future student without revealing their secrets. It is similar to the personalities that your father and his friends put in the marauder's map but on a more complex level." Replied the Old Man.
"Oh. Sorry." Harry said sheepishly scratching the back of his head.
"Gryffindor placed a copy of his personality in the hat as well as the other founders. As the years passed the sorting hat whenever it sorts a person gets a small almost negligible amount of power from each student it sorts and stores it. You can imagine that it would build up overtime. Also the castle itself was sentient to a certain extent with all the magic being performed in it and the hat was able to communicate in a way with the castle as well. When you placed the hat on it was able to see your true self and saw a part of it was blocked. The hat was able to see what was blocked and in its wisdom built up over the years believed you would have a better chance if your memories were returned to you. The hat used the magic stored and was able to overwhelm the spell and break it. Since he used brute force to destroy the spell it caused you a good deal of pain in assimilating the memories."
"I'll say. So what happens now? Are you going to reseal my memories now?" Older Harry asked warily.
"No. We will allow you to keep your memories—"
"Yes." Both Harry's cheered.
"But only up till the day you died in the forbidden forest on May 2, 1998. After that all the memories of your past life will be erased. You should also know that we will not be sending you any visions or guides to help you. Now that your memories have been restored we believe that you do not need our input." He completed.
Harry immediately calmed down at this. It dawned on him that he had a little over seven years to defeat Voldemort.
"I see. Is there anything else I should know before you leave me on my own?" Harry retorted angrily.
"Your angry and I understand that but you should know that if we were to interfere too much in the affairs of mortals it would cause an imbalance between good and evil possibly tipping the scale too much towards one side and if that happened the world as you know it could be irrevocably damaged." The old man explained.
"Why would having too much good be a horrible thing?" younger Harry asked confused.
"Balance. It's all about balance. If there is too much evil in the world then how will a person know what is good when all around them they are surrounded by evil and conversely if there is too much good how will a person know what evil is if they have never seen it? Good and evil depend on each other to survive but at the same time detest the fact that the survival of one depends on another."
Harry didn't fully understand it put saw the futility in pursuing the topic.
"Is there anything else you wish to know?" The old man asked.
"Why did you send me to the Dursley's of all places? Why them and not Sirius or Remus?"Older Harry asked.
"It was the farthest place away from the headmaster's control at that time. We needed to make sure that Dumbledore didn't get a hold of you otherwise he would try and mold you into a weapon of his choice. We made sure that the Dursley's would drop you off at an orphanage and not keep you hoping it would help you. We hoped that being raised in a different, less abusive environment you would have more self-worth and confidence as well. As for Remus and Sirius they were still and currently are under Dumbledore's control and would have obeyed his commands believing it for the best." He explained.
Harry didn't want to believe it but he knew it was true. Hell, he followed Dumbledore with the same devotion as everyone else and it got him killed.
"You said that the sorting hat can see a person's true self right?" Older harry asked carefully.
"Right."
"Then why didn't the hat see the part of Voldemort's soul attached to me?" Younger Harry finished.
"Because Voldemort's soul was too entwined with your own soul. The piece of Tom Riddle's soul was in you for ten years by the time you went to Hogwarts. Even though the soul piece wasn't active some of its personality bled into you. Nothing consciously but truthfully there's no telling what he passed on and what is yours." He explained.
"And now?" Harry asked afraid of the answer.
"Honestly, the personality you have will always be a little bit influenced by Tom but" He raised his voice over Harry's shout, "in the end it is up to you to decide whatever it is you would want to do."
"If that is all the questions you have we should really get going." He said.
"Going?"
"Yes you should head back to your body now. Just to let both of you know the minute you wake up you will be disoriented a little. That would be due to the memories you are re assimilating. I would advise you to properly learn occlumency to organize your mind. The Room of Requirement would be most helpful in this."
The old man stood up and so did the two Harry's. The area surrounding them swirled around them and they started to fall. Just before they fell Harry asked him one last question.
"What's your name?"
He saw the old man saying something but Harry wasn't able to hear the response. As soon as he finished the question he started falling and he blacked out.
Hospital Wing
"Uggghhhh." Harry groaned. His body felt like it was on fire. The minute he tried to sit up the room started spinning and his head felt as if was going to split in two. He was about to fall back down but he felt a pair of hands steady him.
"Drink this. It will help."
Harry immediately drank the vial that was placed in front of him and the pain disappeared as well as the room stopped spinning.
"Thanks." Harry coughed out.
"Your welcome dear." The person who spoke was a middle aged woman with brown hair with specks of gray. She had kindly brown eyes that was looking at Harry in obvious concern. "My name is Madam Pomfrey and I am the school healer here at Hogwarts. Just relax for a few minutes I have to call the headmaster here."
With that she got up and left Harry to fetch the Headmaster. Harry looked around the room and saw that he was in the hospital wing. Further inspection showed that he was the only person there. He also saw that there was sunlight outside so he had spent the night here.
I do think that is a new record Potter. In the Hospital wing before the sorting finished.
His head was no longer throbbing but was more like a dull sting. For a second he wondered what happened but then his memories returned. He remembered his life as a Gryffindor. He remembered all the adventures he had. He remembered the Weasley's, Hermione, Snape, Horcrux's, Dumbledore, everything. He remembered being back in that hall and the conversation he had with the old man.
Before he could ponder his next move the doors to the hospital wing opened and Albus Dumbledore walked in.
"Ah Harry. I'm glad to see you're awake." Dumbledore said jovially.
For a moment Harry felt happiness at the sight of him. No matter what Dumbledore did to him he had this type of aura around him that you couldn't help being drawn to. The feeling faded though when he felt something brush across his mind. Instinctively Harry lowered his eyes breaking eye contact with the headmaster and missing the headmaster frown briefly before replacing it with his grandfatherly smile.
"Thank you sir." Harry said making sure not to look Dumbledore in the eye. As long as he didn't look him in the eye Dumbledore couldn't read his mind.
"How are you feeling?"
"Fine."
"Do you remember what happened, Harry?"
"Yes."
"Do you know why it happened?"
"No"
Dumbledore sighed getting tired of these monosyllabic answers. Worse still was that Harry wasn't making eye contact with him so he couldn't use legilimency on him.
"Do you remember anything that could help us?" Dumbledore asked.
"Nothing sir. Sorry I couldn't be of more help." Harry said shrugging his shoulders.
"Quite alright my boy." Dumbledore affably answered not showing the disappointment he felt. "Anyway since you were…incapacitated you were unable to be sorted. You have also missed a day's worth of lessons but nothing that you won't be able to make up for."
"Of course sir. How soon before I can leave?" Harry asked hopefully. He never liked being in the hospital wing more than he had to even in this life.
"That is up to Madam Pomfrey. You would be out by most likely dinner time tonight. After all you still have to be sorted though I daresay you won't have to worry about it seeing that you know how it happens." Dumbledore debated momentarily telling Harry about the changes that happened to him but decided not to. It wasn't too noticeable so hopefully he wouldn't notice.
"If that is all I have some paperwork to finish up." Dumbledore said politely getting up seeing that he wouldn't get anymore answers from Harry.
"Good day sir." Harry replied still not making eye contact. As soon as he was sure Dumbledore left he raised his head.
Close call Potter. Harry thought sighing in relief. His relief was short lived though when Madam Pomfrey came back and told him under no circumstances would he be able to leave until the feast.
Great Hall
Harry grumbled as he walked out of the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey was as usual her overprotective self and he had to wait in the hospital wing all day. The only bright spot came when Hermione visited him during the lunch hour. She gave him a hug which Harry enjoyed a bit too much. She talked about the classes she had so far and how great they were. Harry saw that she was still in Gryffindor and was happy. He couldn't imagine Hermione in any other house but had to keep reminding himself that this Hermione wasn't his Hermione. She didn't stay long since she had afternoon classes and promised to tell him about it later.
Eventually dinner time came and he was able to leave. Madam Pomfrey escorted him down to the Great Hall. The minute he walked in though all eyes turned to him. It seemed as if it was planned. He saw the sorting hat and walked towards it.
Warily he put it on hoping nothing bad was going to happen.
Ah, back again I see and with your memories this time. Good.
Yeah that's real great. Can we get on with this already?
Impatient aren't we. Very well. Hmmm. Most intriguing. Your bravery and courage is astounding. You have experienced hardships that most would break under yet faced it and conquered. Your loyalty to others is amazing as well. Your mind is not as bad as well. Intelligent when solving the puzzles you faced and also cunning enough to find the answers to your problems.
Thanks.
But at the same time you have learned nothing. That thirst you had to prove yourself all but disappeared. It seemed that the Dursley's view of normality seeped through to you as well. It was different than theirs but you essentially didn't want to deal with all the fame. You still think that all Slytherin's are evil forgetting that people from other houses have joined the Dark Lord, you use your heart more than your head and while that's not necessarily all bad there are times when you should have thought things through instead of rushing in and making a situation worse.
Harry had nothing to say to that. He remembered what the old man said about the sorting hat and how it sees a person's true self. Did he really act like that? About the Dursley's and Slytherin's?
Difficult to place you it is. You have plenty of courage, loyal to your beliefs and friends, cunning and you do have ambition to rid the world of Voldemort, and when you do use your brain you can figure out the most difficult of problems.
Gryffindor. Put me in Gryffindor.
Gryffindor you say? Yes I see in your mind that Gryffindor has been good to you but there is one thing you need to sharpen if you have any hope of surviving what has yet to come. Yes. Yes what you need is not bravery, cunning, or humility. What you need to do is hone your mind and use it as the powerful weapon it is. Indeed it will be your most potent trump card if you use it well. And you would do well in
"RAVENCLAW!" The sorting hat shouted.
