The Sand Phoenix
by Teddylonglong
All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.
COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC! Time travel!
It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it. If you don't like it, don't read it.
Reviews are very welcome, as they inspire my muse.
When five-year-old Harry woke up in the morning, he was surprised to still find himself in the beautiful room, where he had gone to bed the previous evening. 'It wasn't a dream,' he thought, wondering if he was just still stuck in it and Petunia would shout for him to make breakfast any minute now.
However, to his amazement, it was not Petunia but his new Papa who entered the room, carrying the baby.
"Good morning Harry. What do you think of breakfast?" he asked in a soft voice.
Harry glanced around himself, panicking for a moment, before Papa reminded him that he did not have to cook any meal.
"Good morning Papa, hi James," he said, chuckling when the baby looked at him with a smile and reached out to him.
"Come downstairs when you're ready," Papa told him and left the room.
Harry hesitantly entered the shower, only to be pleasantly surprised at the most agreeable water temperature and the clothes which he found laid out for him in the bathroom.
'I get to wear new clothes, and they fit,' he thought, as he happily dressed into the blue trousers and the red T-shirt that was decorated with a small dog that was eagerly waggling its tail. Harry chuckled, happily, feeling very grateful towards his new father.
When he arrived downstairs and headed into the kitchen, Papa was just feeding James, who was happily munching his breakfast.
"May I help?" Harry asked, hesitantly, causing James to cheer at him, while Papa smiled.
"You may try if you wish," he said, gently.
'That doesn't sound very encouraging,' Harry thought and worriedly reached for the spoon to feed his new brother. To his surprise, however, it worked well, and ten minutes later, James' plate was cleared.
"Well done, Harry," Papa commended him. "Now please eat your own breakfast, and then we have to leave for the shop. This morning, Albus will join us. He's only four, but I think that the two of you will be well able to play together."
"Who's Albus?" Harry could not help himself from wondering aloud. Noticing his mishap, he quickly placed his hand in front of his mouth, sending Papa an apologetic look.
"Harry, it's fully all right to ask," Papa said, gently, before he explained, "Albus is my godson. His father, Severus Snape, owns the apothecary two houses from here, and he has to brew an important potion this morning, for which he can't have Albus join him in his lab. It would be too dangerous. I'm sure Albus will be happy to be able to play with you. He's a very nice boy."
Harry smiled, feverishly trying to suppress all thoughts of other children calling him freak. "Is Albus a wizard, too?" he asked in a small voice.
"Yes Harry, all of our friends here in Hogsmeade are magical," Papa confirmed, before he lifted James out of his high chair and said, pleasantly, "Now, let's go to the shop. You'll also get to know Draco, who's working together with me. Maybe, if we're not too busy this morning, Draco can take you to the bookshop to buy some books for you. All the children of our friends are only between one and four years old, so that you're the oldest. Thus, there won't be much of interest for you in the play corner."
'I'm going to get a book,' Harry thought in delight, as he followed Papa and James through the connecting doors into the shop, inwardly chuckling at how James was toddling along. 'He's really cute,' he thought, somehow feeling very much attracted to the baby, who suddenly slid his tiny hand into his. 'It's so cool to have a brother,' he thought, happily.
HP
When Harry stepped into the shop with little James walking by his hand, they were not alone with their father. To Harry's surprise, there was someone, who was just busying himself with one of the screens that were put up on tables.
"Good morning Draco," Papa greeted the man, before he introduced him as his friend and co-worker Draco.
'Oh right, he said he worked together with someone, who could take me to the bookshop,' Harry recalled, smiling at his Papa's friend.
"Hi Harry and if it's not my Jamie," Draco greeted the children, playfully throwing James up into the air only to catch him again right away.
If Harry felt a little shocked at the display, he relaxed immediately upon seeing James' cheer.
"My, aren't you a big boy already?" Draco then turned to him, causing Harry to nod. "How old are you, Harry?"
"I'm five," Harry replied, somehow feeling proud to be such a big boy.
"Five," Draco repeated, pensively. "Then you'll be well able to learn how to work with the computers. Let me just finish this, and then we'll have a look and see if we can find a game that you can play on one of the computers."
"Thank you," Harry replied, happily, and for the time being followed little James into the play corner that was set up in one corner of the shop, absentmindedly registering that Papa told Draco that Albus would join them shortly.
Suddenly, Harry noticed that James remained next to the playpen, raising his arms and giving him an expecting look.
"Do you want me to put you in there?" he asked, tentatively, causing his small brother to smile broadly. "All right, let me try then," he replied, unsurely. He carefully lifted the baby, but too afraid to hurt the little tyke, put him down onto the floor quickly. "Sorry James, I'm not big enough to lift you."
Noticing that James' lower lip began to quiver dangerously and the smile vanished from his face, Harry could not resist the urge to help his brother and with the help of accidental magic wished the baby into the playpen, inwardly sighing in relief when it worked.
He then looked around the play corner. There was a large table with six chairs around it and a bookshelf that held about a dozen children's books. Standing in front of the bookshelf, Harry pulled out a book called 'The Magical Cat'.
During the last year, he had been attending playschool together with his cousin, and for some reason, the teacher had occasionally singled him out and taught him how to read. She had told him that she deemed him more intelligent than his classmates, but that he should not speak about the matter with the Dursleys. Of course, the Dursleys had not noticed that he could read a little, but now, Harry realised that it did not matter anymore.
He pulled one of the chairs next to the playpen, sat on the chair and opened the book. "I'm gonna read you a book, but I'm not good at reading yet, sorry," he told his brother, before he began to read the book about a cat that was very fond of herbs and used to gather various herbs and brew potions for all the other cats who were living in the Forbidden Forest.
HP
Unbeknownst to little Harry, Draco and his older self were watching him closely.
"He's really doing well," Draco said, making older Harry smile.
"Yes, it was a good age to fetch him I think. Of course, it would be nicer for him if everyone was the same age instead of being the big brother to all of them, but it would be even harder to leave and attend Hogwarts just by himself, so…" He slowly trailed off.
"I fully agree," a soft, silky voice spoke up from behind them.
"Hello Uncle Hawwy and Dwaco," four-year-old Albus greeted them, before he let go of his father's hand and hurried into the play corner to join Harry and James.
HP
Harry had just about finished reading the little book to his brother, when he realised that another boy was standing nearby eagerly listening to the story. To his relief, the other boy remained calm and did not interrupt him. Only when Harry was finished and closed the book, did the boy speak up.
"Hi, I'm Abus Snape."
"I'm Harry, hello Albus," Harry replied, smiling.
"Sowwy Hawwy, can you wead that again please? I lub that stowy," Albus asked, giving him a pleading look.
"Sure," Harry replied, shrugging. He waited, while Albus pulled a chair over to join him and James, before he opened the book and read the whole story once more.
"Thank you Hawwy," Albus said, once Harry finished the book. "Can you play Wizawd's Chess?"
"No," Harry replied, regrettably, giving the younger boy a hesitant look.
"Do you want to try?" Albus asked, eagerly.
"Of course," Harry agreed and observed with interest how Albus summoned Cicero, his family's elf, and ordered him to bring him the Wizard's Chess set.
Time flew by with Albus teaching Harry how to play Wizard's Chess, and the two boys had much fun to say the least. After two rounds of playing, they ventured to the shelf with toys and decided to play with the Lego Hogwarts Express for a while. Too soon for their liking, the adults came to call them for lunch.
"Shall I eat with you?" Albus enquired.
"Yes, your father is going to join us for lunch, or at least that's what he said," Draco explained, before turning to Harry. "Did you have fun, Harry?"
"Yes." The response came immediate. "I love playing Wizard's Chess with Albus. It's great," Harry replied, smiling happily, thinking, 'I've never met such a nice boy, and I've never played anything so interesting.'
HP
Albus seemed equally pleased, and by the time Severus Snape joined them for lunch, he noticed that his son seemed to be extremely happy.
"The children seem to have had fun," he spoke up, quirking an eyebrow at the older Potter boy in silent question.
"Albus taught Harry how to play Wizard's Chess," Draco explained, smirking.
"It was gweat, Daddy," Albus blurted out. "Can I stay here in the afternoon, too?"
"Why don't the two of you join me in the potions lab for a while to brew fruit drops?" Severus suggested. He had worked until late at night, as his wife had been busy at the ministry all evening, so that he was well able to take the afternoon off in favour of his son and the younger self of his best friend.
"Yeah," Albus cheered. "Let's do that, Hawwy. We can still play Wizawd's Chess later on."
"Kay," Harry agreed immediately, smiling happily.
HP
During the afternoon, Severus taught Harry and Albus how to brew strawberry drops, and Harry thoroughly enjoyed himself. It was fun to prepare the ingredients, even more so than cooking, because it was like a small challenge to Harry to measure everything exactly and cut it like he was told, and it was an additional plus that the drops were absolutely delicious.
"Uncle Severus, thank you very much," he thanked his new friend's father, after they had cleaned up their workspaces.
"You're welcome. You've done very well," Severus commended him, causing Harry to smile broadly.
'That was much fun. I hope Uncle Severus and Albus will invite me to brew together again,' he thought, when he left the apothecary together with the Potions Master and his son.
On their way to Harry's home, Severus and Albus led Harry for a small detour to the joke shop to introduce the two couples of twins to Harry and to share some fruit drops with them.
Harry immediately liked the red headed children. They were very friendly and seemed to be quite funny like their parents, although he slightly regretted that they were only three years old. 'They're a bit small,' he thought, glad that Albus was at least four and of the same size as himself, so that there was not a big difference.
HP
During the following weeks, Harry became good friends with the four twins as well as with Maja, Luna's and Neville's two-year-old daughter, and Gaius, Susan's and Draco's two-year-old son. He and Albus became inseparable, and from this first day onwards, they did everything together. Sometimes, Draco or Harry's Papa taught them about computers, at other times, Severus instructed them how to work in the potions lab, and when all adults were busy, the two friends occupied themselves playing together in the play corner of 'Wizardnet' as the computer shop was called. They also spent much time babysitting James and playing with him.
When everyone gathered at Gryffindor Manor on Sunday afternoons, older Harry, Fred and George often took the children flying, and little Harry realised soon that he absolutely loved to roam the air above the beach on his children's broom looking for the Snitch.
HP
Almost too soon, the summer holidays ended, and the Hogwarts Primary School opened its doors. To Harry's enthusiasm, he and Albus could attend school together, and their teacher, Andromeda Tonks, was an elder witch, who was strict but very friendly. There were ten children in their class, and Harry found that everyone was very nice. No one called him a freak, and everyone was magical anyway. They learned to read, write and do easy Math, and they also studied easy magic using children's wands.
The two couples of twins had just turned four in August and were able to enter the playschool class together with a couple of other four-year-olds from Hogsmeade, and their class was taught by Ginny Weasley.
'I like Mrs. Tonks more,' Harry thought one day, noticing that Ginny cast him a strange look during their lunch break, which the children spent on the Hogwarts grounds.
"She's the younger sister of Fred and George," his Papa informed him and advised him, "Just ignore her as much as possible."
HP
It was two years after little Harry had joined his new family that Severus Snape said to older Harry, "You must be incredibly gifted at hiding your abilities."
"And why might that be?" Harry enquired in surprise, causing the Potions Master to smirk.
"Your younger self is as gifted at Potions as your mother or Albus. I still remember the dark times, when I was forced to teach the dunderheads at Hogwarts, but you never showed any of such ability, although you must have had it, that's for sure."
"Oh well, maybe you were just too intimidating," Harry replied, smirking. "My younger self seems to thoroughly enjoy himself brewing together with you and Albus. I just wonder what his reaction will be when he arrives at Hogwarts only to be confronted with your younger self."
Severus let out a long sigh. "Believe me, I'm worried about that as well. Do you think I should give him a letter for my younger self and tell him everything?"
Harry remained pensive for a moment, before he agreed. "We shouldn't tell anyone else, but maybe in your case, it would be more helpful than dangerous," he said, thoughtfully. "Let's wait and see how everything develops. I wonder if and when Harry is going to find out that he's nineteen years in the future."
"In the worst case, you'll have to tell him right before sending him to the past. He won't take it well I'm afraid. He's very close to Albus."
"I'd love to just keep him here, but unfortunately, that's not possible," Harry said in a grave voice.
"It's not, but at least we have the knowledge and capability to support him beyond belief with your time travel ability as well as the computers," Severus replied, reassuringly. "I believe that it's about time for the two of us to get together and begin to plan the path for your younger self."
"Yes please, I'd like to enlist your help with that, and I've also assigned Draco a special project using a tablet PC," Harry said, pensively. "We also need to discuss how much to tell my younger self in advance if at all."
"Well, we still have four years to plan everything," Severus replied, calmingly. "Don't worry too much about it. Since Harry will be able to return here at any time, at least during the holidays, we can always make amendments."
"Yes, that's true," Harry agreed, feeling very much consoled by his friend's advice. "Thanks Severus," he added, causing the Potions Master to quirk an eyebrow in clear amusement.
HP
When little Harry turned eight years old, his Papa began to teach him the Animagus transformation. Harry still had three years to practise transforming into a sand phoenix and flash himself through time, and older Harry knew that he had been able to become an Animagus fairly quickly. Nevertheless, he did not want to take any risk and decided to teach his younger self early.
As could be expected, by Christmas, Harry was able to do the complete transformation. He could fly and flash himself all over Hogsmeade, however, his Papa had yet to tell him about his time travelling abilities.
At the same time, Albus practised to transform into an eagle. He had been torn between the lynx form of his father and some kind of bird, however, had finally decided on the bird in order to be able to communicate with Harry.
The people of Hogsmeade soon became used to the unlikely couple of a phoenix and an eagle, who often spent their time after school flying over the small town.
As much as everyone admired the two friends, all the adults, who knew about Harry's background, were worrying a lot about a certain time two years into the future, when Harry would have to leave for a very dark time in the past. Even if they hoped that they had evened the path for little Harry with their knowledge of the past, their knowledge of modern technology and their long-time planning, they knew that it would be hard for him to leave his friends and only find his parents and their friends as children.
It was the Weasley twins, who finally came up with the most striking idea of a solution.
tbc...
Thank you for your kind reviews!