Thank you everyone of you who has read this story and to every one of you who took that extra minute to post a review. Thank you Harriverse, mab and Heather
Harry Potter and the Trip to the Past
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Chapter – 10
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Harry was wide awake even though he was lying down in his bed. He could not get back to sleep. Once again events had told him that they would happen if they wanted to. Like becoming the Gryffindor seeker, his broom buckling and now Fawkes feathers. It was also disturbing to know that Fawkes had given off two of his feathers; did it indicate he knew about the second wand or had it been two feathers for the one wand.
Dumbledore had been startled by the Self Updating Book of Spells. Harry had wanted to get as many details as possible on the table so that the details of what he was not saying a word about would not be noticed. Dumbledore seemed satisfied by the comments of shopping in Knockturn Alley, but with him one never really knew, Harry thought ruefully.
His thoughts went to Snape. He frowned; Snape was acting oddly. Apart from scowling at Sirius and Remus, he had not said a word, literally. No insulting remarks to Sirius and Remus and no comments about James to Harry. No word about the shopping trip to Knockturn Alley and nothing about the Self Updating Book of Spells. The only thing he had asked was the core of his wands and then apparently he had lost interest. What had happened there?
Harry laid in his bed thinking for a long time before he fell asleep and was up very early. He went down and seeing Sirius and Remus were still asleep, made breakfast and slowly ate it thinking about Snape and Dumbledore. Harry was finishing his breakfast when Remus walked in. Seeing Harry he smiled.
"Up so early Harry?" he asked smiling his thanks and accepting a cup of coffee and a plate of toast and eggs.
"I couldn't sleep Remus. I kept thinking about the Phoenix feathers Fawkes gave me. I woke up early in the morning and made breakfast." Harry smiled and placing his plates at the sink and came back to sit at the table with a cup of hot coffee, when Sirius came down and waving Harry to stay put, he helped himself to his breakfast and sat down beside Harry.
"So what's the plan today?" he asked Harry, ruffling his hair.
"Hey!" Harry pushed Sirius's hand off and grinned at him. "Inspecting my invisibility cloak first; and you two helping me to make that map Fred and George told you they had, second, okay?"
"Fine!" Sirius said, "But what will you do with the map my dear Harry?"
""Will tell you once I have done something with it my dear Sirius!" and all of them laughed.
That is what they did for the rest of the holidays; Harry sneaked up on Sirius and Remus and pranked them so much that they used homenum revelio every time they came into a room or the Accio cloak, waving their wand all around the room. They also worked hard at the Map and Harry asked a great many questions that Sirius and Remus answered and told him how they had created the Map the first time and many stories about how difficult it had been and fun they had and the research they had done on it.
Harry pretended he had not understood many things. He still asked a great many questions mixing silly and intelligent ones and Sirius and Remus humoured him by answering his queries, smiling when Harry did not quite understand. Harry though, was carefully filing away all this information so that he could include the Chamber of Secrets and a few rare passages that the Marauders' had not found. He also wanted to try if the Room of Requirement would also agree to be mapped.
Sirius and Remus went back in time mentally every time they worked on the basics of the Map and Harry had a great time listening to so many things his father and his friends had done; many stories he had heard before and rare ones he had not heard. Harry also spent a lot of time studying all that he missed all the weeks he had been in the infirmary.
All too soon the holidays came to an end and Harry was once again seen off at King's Cross by Sirius and Remus. He waved to them and then sat back in his seat. He was in a compartment with Hermione and Neville. Harry spoke to them about the Map and the spells Sirius and Remus had asked him to do in Hogwarts itself for the Map to activate. They had finished all the basic spells on the parchment and now it was ready for the final few spells.
"We took so much time and parchment mainly because we were experimenting and so many times our spells used to go wrong and it took us many months to complete. Now in a few weeks we are ready and we have been working on the Map for only a little while everyday. Do the spells we taught you carefully and write the results okay?" Sirius had told him and Harry had grinned, nodding his head excitedly.
Now discussing it with an equally excited Hermione who wanted to know about all the basic spells and a Neville who was simply grinning at Harry's increasingly flustered and involved explanations to her questions that were barked out the moment Harry finished explaining something. Finally Harry held out his hand. "Enough Hermione. I will answer your questions later. Please." He begged as Neville giggled and Hermione reluctantly smiled. "Okay later. I will not forget you know." She said half threateningly and Harry nodded just to stop this too-many-questions-at-a-time session.
They were soon at Hogwarts and took the threstal carriages that no one in their year except Harry could see and went to the School and after a huge dinner went up to their dormitories. Harry was putting his things away and relocking his trunk when a small brown School owl came pecking at his window. Surprised Harry opened his window and took the small note tied to the owl's leg. The owl did not fly away so Harry presumed she was waiting for an answer to whoever had written him.
Potter,
Meet me at the empty classroom on the second floor three doors next to the Transfiguration class at eleven tonight. Confirm.
Malfoy
Harry looked long and hard at the letter and ran a few revealing spells but could not discern any. Well, time to put his beloved invisibility cloak into use, Harry thought grinning and wrote back on the same parchment and tied it to the owl's leg and sent her off.
Will be there.
Harry
Harry looked at his watch. It was getting half past ten and Harry shouted a goodnight to Neville and said a hello to Ron and closed his curtains and added a mild repelling charm at his curtains.
Then with his invisibility cloak Harry slowly crept out. He reached the classroom and removing his cloak and stuffing it into his bag, pushed the door slowly and went inside. Malfoy was already waiting for him. He jumped off a table, upon which he was sitting and walked towards Harry. He came very close and peered into Harry's eyes and face.
"Are you alright?" he asked abruptly.
Harry was puzzled and it showed when he answered Malfoy. "Yeah, I am. Why shouldn't I be?"
Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Nut! Potter, I meant when you were thrown off your broom." He pinked a bit before turning to stare at the wall and continued. "I couldn't come and see you in the infirmary. There were people all the time. I even checked after dinner but someone was there. So," he looked at Harry whose green eyes had softened greatly, "are you okay?"
Harry smiled. "Yeah Malfoy, I am perfectly okay. I used to get a bit tired easily at the start of the holidays but now even that is not there. Thanks for asking." And Harry held out his hand. Malfoy clasped it tightly. He looked just a bit worried. "None of us in Slytherin had anything to do with your broom, you know. Only the bludgers."
Harry nodded and went to sit on a dusty chair. "Yes I know. I was here with Sirius and Remus one evening for dinner. Sirius asked Dumbledore in my presence and he said no one knew who had done that."
Malfoy looked relieved. "Well I thought you might be you know," he ran down.
"Hey! I would never think of you like that. We are friends." Then cocking up his face to look a bit hesitantly at Malfoy, "We are, aren't we?"
Malfoy beamed. "Of course." He drawled and then both giggled a bit, very uncomfortable at such disclosures and at that point they decided to leave for their dorms to sleep. The next day both of them had potions the first hour and needed to be fresh for it.
The next day was bitterly cold and Harry as he bundled up and started to go down to the Great Hall for breakfast, realized he still had to tackle Quirrell and his attempt to steal the Philosopher's Stone. Harry was in two minds about the stone. On one hand he wanted to attack Quirrell like last time. But another thought these days was with him continuously telling him to steal the Stone before Quirrell and keep it safe with him and later hand it over to Nicholas Flammel. That would be simpler and would save him a lot of trouble.
"Knut for your thoughts Harry?" Neville asked him while they were walking towards the Great Hall.
"Not even worth that Nev. I was thinking about how cold it is today. Seems colder than what we've seen before haven't we?" Harry asked him putting his hands inside his robes in a futile attempt to keep them warm.
Neville nodded. "It is Harry. Today is colder than it has been ever before." He said entering the Great Hall with Harry and Hermione and all three of them heaved a sigh of relief. It was warmer here.
They had their breakfast and went down to potions and met the Slytherins there. "Potter." Malfoy told him smirking.
Before Harry could answer him Ron butted in. "He is fine no thanks to you slimy snakes." Ron snarled.
"And what do you mean by that?" Malfoy asked him pompously, his hands going to his robes and his wand inside them.
"Well it was you Slytherins who hurt him and now you have the nerve to say something to Harry?" Ron shouted and drew his wand. The Slytherins reciprocated and Harry went to stand in the middle.
"Ron that was not necessary. Remember Sirius told us that it was very dark magic to manipulate the broom. It was not done by the Slytherins." Harry shouted at him and at that time the doors banged open and Snape came out.
"Detention Potter, Weasley." He hissed and started to turn inside when Malfoy spoke, shocking everyone and even himself.
"But professor, it wasn't Potter. It was Weasley." Malfoy spoke into the deathly silence. "Potter was trying to stop Weasley." Snape turned and stared at Malfoy who blushed but stood his ground. Harry gaped along with the others. This was probably the first time that a Slytherin had spoken for a Gryffindor.
"Nevertheless Draco, my detentions stand. Potter you will take it with me and Weasley will take it with Flich." Snape said flatly and turned once again and went up to the front of the class.
The whole class was so silent that day. Snape did not utter a word but flicked his wand at the board and set them to working on a simple potion to heal cuts.
All of them finished their potion and handing it silently, trooped out before heaving huge relieved sighs. Harry was scowling, though. Snape was different today. He had not looked at Harry even once and it was beginning to scare him. Snape knew something. What he knew was the mystery and Harry was racking his brains to see if he had said anything out of place or order. Bur he could think of nothing.
"Potter, thanks for standing up for us and I am sorry," Malfoy was hurrying along to Harry's side and he slowed down and started walking with him, when Harry cut him off.
"Hey not your fault, but how long do these detentions last with Snape or Flich anyway?" Harry asked him.
Malfoy shook his head, "I really don't know. Maybe an hour or two at the most. He will make you clean cauldrons or something."
"He really should not have punished Harry. It was you and Ron who were fighting." Hermione sniffed. They had planned to study today and she wanted to test Harry on all that he had missed when he was ill.
"Hey it was not me. It was Weasley. I drew my wand only when he brought his out. He was going to hex me and I just could not stand there taking it, could I?" Malfoy protested.
Neville nodded. "Malfoy is right Hermione. Ron was shouting. In fact he need not have said anything, Ron I mean. It was Harry and Malfoy who were speaking to each other. He butted in and now Harry has to serve detention with Snape of all people."
Malfoy looked to say something rude for a minute before he nodded. Snape was a terror after all and they walked to their Charms class that they had next. Ron was glowering at everyone and he looked betrayed that Harry should be walking in with Malfoy of all people.
Harry though did not say a word and went to sit with Neville and Hermione was shocked when Malfoy sat next to her. Usually she sat with one of the other Gryffindors, but today Malfoy had slid into the seat next to hers. Harry was also shocked for a second and then he grinned widely. Malfoy was acting as if it was an everyday occurrence and he was more than satisfied when Ron simply snarled at him. Malfoy raised one eyebrow and then turned to talk to Hermione. Before Ron could start another fight Flitwick thankfully came in.
"Calm down Ron." Harry hissed to the redhead and then turned his attention to the class. The classes went by slowly and finally it was time for lunch. "How could you Harry? He is a slimy Slytherin and all of them are pure evil." Ron burst out the moment they had sat down for lunch.
"He is not, at least not yet Ron." Harry said calmly to the boy who had come and sat in front of him.
"You-Know-Who was in Slytherin and all the death eaters are all from Slytherin." Ron started before he was cut off by Harry. "Wrong! Sirius comes from a family that is extremely dark. I hope you will not say he is evil merely because his family was and his brother was a death eater Ron." Ron started to say something and Harry held up his hand and continued. "Peter Pettigrew, your Percy's pet rat who was a death eater and who betrayed my parents and most likely killed dozens of people was a Gryffindor and he was my parents' best friend. So because of Pettigrew, are you saying that all Gryffindors are traitors? Because that is what your argument concludes."
Ron gaped and everyone apart from those on the train who had heard all this before gaped as well. "Pettigrew is only one person Harry. The entire House is evil." He managed to come back, though.
Harry shook his head at the stubbornness Ron was showing. "I don't know Ron, but I am not going to judge someone because their family is evil; because then I have to run away from Sirius. I also will not judge anyone because they are from a particular House because of Pettigrew. I am sorry if you cannot see it."
Ron opened his mouth to argue but, "Shut up will you Ron." Fred told him. "Harry has a point here and I vote that is what we all should do."
"No need to be friendly if they insult us personally or try and harm us, but so far Malfoy has done neither. So…" Harry left it there and turned his attention to his food. Ron scowled and also looked down and all of them ate, an awkward silence in between them and finishing they stood up relieved to get away from a very stifling atmosphere.
The day dragged on and after dinner that was once again full of stilted conversation, Harry stood up to leave for his detention. At that time McGonagall came up to him. "Mr. Potter, the Headmaster would like you to bring that book he had wanted to see, tomorrow morning after breakfast."
Harry nodded his head and waving to his friends who were heading off to the library, Harry went down to the potions classrooms. Reaching it he knocked softly and heard Snape's voice. "Enter."
Harry opened the door and saw Snape sitting at his desk. All the other desks except one were pushed to one side and Harry shut the door and turned and walked towards Snape's desk. Snape flicked his wand and muttered a few words and Harry stood there dumbly as many warding spells flew past him and warded the door and the room.
Harry checked up his Occlumency shields once more and proceeded with caution to the single desk and chair that was in front of Snape's desk. Snape had not uttered a word after bidding Harry enter the room and he was gazing intently and unblinkingly at him from the minute Harry stepped into the room.
Harry suddenly had a very bad feeling about this and he was thinking that perhaps Snape had planned for his detention. He had been acting oddly for some time and Harry did not know how to deal with this because this had not happened in the past.
Snape silently pointed a long finger towards the desk and chair, looking at Harry, indicating that Harry should sit down. Harry sat down and looked expectantly at Snape.
"Who are you?" Snape asked him conversationally.
Harry started a little, his heart beating very fast. "What? Sir I am Harry Potter." He replied his mind, boy and senses on full alert, his eyes open very wide. Snape got out of his chair and Harry sat up straight his nerves tingling with awareness. But Snape paced the floor up and down slowly. The third time he was walking towards Harry, Snape waited until he was close enough and suddenly jumped towards Harry and cast a freezing charm and also placed magic binders on Harry.
"I know you are not boy." Snape snarled and glared at Harry who was cursing himself for not having expected an attack like this. "Just who are you? No matter, I will find out now." And to Harry's dismay took out a bottle of clear liquid. Veritaserum!
Snape took out small filler and drawing the liquid, he bound Harry impossibly tightly keeping the magic binders on. Though he did not know it that prevented Harry from doing his wandless magic and Harry could only gaze helplessly when Snape removed the petrificus totalis. Snape forced open Harry's mouth roughly and placed six drops on his tongue. Harry's eyes glazed. Snape looked triumphant.
"This is a special form of the truth serum that can be safely administered to children, if you are really one boy. Now what is your full name?"
"Harry James Potter." Snape frowned at that answer and was silent for a few minutes before he repeated that question and got the same answer. He scowled and asked his next question.
"How old are you?"
Harry struggled until blood was seeping through his nose. But he could not beat the serum that was a double dose. He slumped.
"Thirty seven and eleven."
Snape started. He had not been expecting that answer. He stared at Harry for some time before he said 'Legilimens'.
He tore through Harry's head that would have brought Harry to his knees and made him faint if it were not for the veritaserum that was still controlling him and started looking through Harry's memories. He saw all the memories of Harry from the time Sirius took his away from the Dursleys but came up under a block after that. Snape stood there battering away until he could do no more and defeated, he slowly came out of Harry's mind.
He looked at Harry who had blood coming out of his nose and ears and mouth and his eyes had rolled up and he had fainted. Snape was very puzzled as he removed the antidote potion to counter bad Legilimency attacks and also added a pepper up and another nutrient potion scowling thoughtfully all the time.
The bleeding slowly stopped and Snape wiped off all the blood and still staring at Harry, enervated him, making sure the magical binders and the ropes were in place.
Harry felt his head was breaking into pieces and cursed as he woke up. He looked at Snape with blood shot eyes. "Head hurts Snape."
Snape scowled at the familiarity and gave him a pain killer potion and a head ache potion.
Harry took it without a word and felt so much better after a few minutes. Then he stared at Snape.
Snape was staring right back at him and after a few minutes of tense silence Snape cleared his throat. But before he could say a word Harry spoke softly. "You know Snape; you could get life in Azkaban for this stunt you pulled."
Snape smiled and Harry froze at the malice in his face. "Yes I know Potter; that is why I intend to oblivate you before I remove the magical binds and sending you to your dorm. But first tell me why do you have two ages? Even for the Boy-Who-Lived," here Snape sneered magnificently, "that is a bit too much."
Harry shivered. "What made you suspicious in the first place?" he asked settling down in his chair as comfortably as he could. This was going to be a long and a weary detention.
Snape stared. "And why, Potter," he asked softly, "do you think I will tell you?"
"If you want any answers from me you will. Even under veritaserum I am protected from saying some things Snape." Harry told him with an outward calmness that was not there inside.
Snape stared maliciously at Harry. "I came to see you the day you had fallen. That night." He started abruptly. "You were in a warded bed so that no one could harm you while you were recuperating. But foolishly some one had kept your wand outside the wards. I took the wand meaning to take it with me and hand it over to the Headmaster the next day when just of curiosity I cast the priori incantatem on it and found a Reducto, enervate and a non-tracking spell that even as a prodigy first year, you should not have known to cast properly. Then I thought back to the troll and remembered that we had found the troll only after some time and how its face had been blasted away and there you are."
Harry had he been free would have banged his head on the table. Again and again. But he was bound and so he stared at Snape. He remembered he had two of his wands in his hands to blast the troll and he had in his hurry to get back to the dorm, had used his School wand to cast the bloody spells and now he was caught because of Snape's curiosity of all things. Harry cursed a bit and closed his eyes.
He really did not know what to do now; he thought his eyes still closed tightly when Snape spoke harshly. "We don't have all night Potter. May be I should bring Albus into this." Snape said contemplatively and Harry shuddered. Dumbledore with the type of information Harry could give was a walking bomb. Harry would once again be subjected to Merlin knows what. Harry slowly opened his eyes and looked at Snape.
"Remove my binds and take away the magic suppressing restraints and we will talk." He said softly and watched as Snape laughed humourlessly.
"And I should obey you and believe you because?" he asked Harry softly.
"I am from the future Snape." Harry suddenly came to a decision and spoke abruptly watching Snape's eyes widen in shock. So Snape had not thought of that.
"Wha… what!" Snape stuttered still in shock.
"Open my binds and I will tell you." Harry told him.
"Oh no you don't Mr. Potter. How many years from the future?" Snape asked him, knowing fully well how many years into the future Harry was.
"Oh no you don't professor Snape." Harry replied throwing back his words at him and seeing his face contort into a scowl. "And for this even veritaserum will not help, because I have protected my memories very well. Remove my binds. I swear I will not attack you or run away from here. Please."
Snape simply looked at him and then, "Give me an oath that you will stay here today until I dismiss you and that you will not attack me." He told Harry abruptly.
"Given, but I will defend myself in case you attack first. On my magic! I promise I will not attack you first and I will stay here until I am dismissed."
The binds vanished with a flick of Snape's wand and Harry slumped into his chair and shivered as the magic surged through him. "May I have some replenishing potions please? My head is so sore after your Legilimency attack and now my head is killing me with this release of my magic. It is surging to my already painful head." Harry asked slightly irritated with everything.
Snape went to the other room safe in the knowledge of the oath Harry had given him and brought about three potions. Harry did not even look at them but drowned all of them, surprising Snape. "What?" he said sounding a bit better. "I know you won't kill me."
Snape flicked his wand and conjured a chair at right angles from where Harry was sitting and asked him once again. "From how many years into the future Potter are you? It is Potter is it not?"
"I replied to that under veritaserum Snape. I am many years into the future. Wait," he said Snape started to scowl. "I didn't say I will not tell you Snape. Twenty five bloody years into the future as you very well know. But I will tell you that a lot of bad things happened before the good stuff even began to show its face. I did not plan to come into the past. I did not want to. I had made my peace with everything and everyone. I was married," here Harry's voice turned bitter, "and I had three lovely children. I was so happy and then investigating some dark activity got me here to the past."
"What were you?" Snape asked quietly.
"An auror, Head auror in fact." Harry's eyes took a far away look and his face grew very tight as he thought of his three precious children.
"I have already lost that life, you know. My kids are never going to happen because I have already changed so much from the past." Harry whispered his green eyes shimmering with tears of regret. Harry abruptly looked down and angrily brushed his eyes and stood up and started pacing the room, keeping his face away from Snape, not wanting him to see his vulnerability.
Snape watched Harry's obvious agitation in silence and after a few minutes, he stood up. "It is very late Potter. But I have still not finished with you. You may tell your classmates that you did not finish the potion I had assigned you to complete during detention, and you must come back here tomorrow after breakfast to finish it. We will continue this then."
Harry looked up in gratitude and nodded his head. He was talking to someone about his past for the first time after he had travelled here and it was draining him emotionally.
"I need only one thing from you sir. I want your oath on your magic and life that what I say to you will never ever leave you without my express permission. Not even Sirius or Remus knows of this. Please." Harry pleaded.
"What will you do if I do not give it?" Snape asked and was taken aback when Harry smiled.
"I cannot do anything now. But the moment you dismiss me I will oblivate you and believe me I can." Harry said just as softly and Snape saw that Harry had already his wand in his hand.
"But I don't want to do that. I never wanted anyone to know. But now that you do I merely want that information protected." Harry told him, his eyes begging him not to fight this.
"I swear on my magic and my life I will not betray anything you tell me about your travel to the past without your express permission. Is that alright?" Snape asked mockingly as a golden swirl of magic circled him and went to Harry.
"I accept." Harry said and waited until the swirl disappeared into him and then he said softly, "Thank you sir. You don't know how much and may I have a Dreamless Sleeping Draught."
Snape merely looked at him and nodded once, before going inside once again and bringing a vial of the Dreamless sleep potion. Handing it to Harry he said, "You may leave Potter." Harry took the potion in his hand and got up rather unsteadily and stumbled to the door. He turned to ask Snape about the potion they were to have done because he knew Hermione and Neville would want to know.
"What potion am I to have half completed?" Harry asked him just as he reached the door.
"The potions for curing curse boils." Harry grimaced and left the potions classroom and it's Master.
End of Chapter – 10
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