Chapter two

Harry slowly walked the same path he took the previous night. He never hesitated and only stopped when he reached the clearing. He looked around, remembering where Hagrid was, where Bellatrix was standing, where the Malfoy's were and where Voldemort stood while they stared at each other. He knelt down and ran his hand over the grass where he had laid, the place he thought he would die, but he didn't.

Harry wasn't sure how he felt about what had taken place, he knew he was relieved that Voldemort was gone, he knew he was also relieved that the casualty number wasn't higher, so even though he grieved for everyone that died, it could have been a lot worse.

After spending an hour on the spot he stood the previous night, Harry turned and walked away. As he passed the area where he dropped the stone, something on the ground glistened in the sun, and he realised what he was seeing, it was the stone. He never expected to ever find it, he had hoped no one would ever find it. Maybe it was time to really make sure, he could throw it as hard as he could into the forbidden forest, deeper in where no person apart from Hagrid ever goes.

Harry kept staring at the stone, something told him this is the reason he came in to the forest, not just to see where he faced Voldemort. Then he knew what he had to do, he just wasn't sure why.

Harry reaching down and his fingers closed around the stone and before he could drop it again he felt a familiar pull, a pull like from a port key and this Harry Potter disappeared from the forbidden forest, from Hogwarts but also from his time.

Minerva woke and saw the morning sun streaming through her window. She realised that she slept the rest of yesterday and last night. After showering and dressing, she needed to get stuck into plans of repairing Hogwarts and organising for all the bodies to be collected so the funerals could be arranged. After eating breakfast she spoke with the staff and the people that were still there helping. She noticed though that more had turned up since she retired the previous afternoon. After organising who would do what, she went to Hufflepuff rooms to start work.

'Professor, didn't you say Harry was going to be staying?' Neville asked as he stepped beside her with Ernie, Seamus, Luna and Cho.

'Yes, he was going for a walk yesterday, then going to sleep. I assumed he meant Gryffindor tower, maybe he found somewhere else to sleep.'

'We checked professor, he's not anywhere, not even in the room of requirement.'

'Maybe he slept then went to see Ron and Hermione, you could contact the Burrow, ask if he's there.'

'We might do that now professor, thanks,' Neville said urgently then hurried off with his friends.

Minerva watched them go before decided to do some checking on her own because something didn't feel right and she realised it was what Harry had been talking to her about yesterday. She headed outside and saw Hagrid with his brother.

'Hagrid.'

'Minerva.'

'Have you seen Harry at all?'

'I saw him yesterday, he went into the forbidden forest. I asked what he was doing, he said he needed to do something then he could finally rest.'

'Do you remember where he faced Voldemort?'

'Yeah, it's deep inside.'

'Would you mind just checking, Neville said that they can't find him. They have gone to check with the Weasley's to make sure he never turned up there.'

'I'll do that now Minerva, come on Grawpy,' Hagrid picked up his crossbow and hurried into the forbidden forest and he just hoped that Harry was alright, that he never got taken by any death eaters that might have been hiding in the forest.

Harry slowly wakes and looks around, he was still in the forbidden forest, then he remember about the stone. He looked down and saw his hand closed around it.

'It felt like a port key, but how, no one knew it was there, I was the last one to touch it so how could it have been turned into a port key. Maybe I'm wrong, it didn't take me anywhere because I'm still in the forest,' Harry stood then put the stone in his pocket and started to walk out of the thick dense of trees. As he got closer to the edge of the forest, he heard voices, lots of voices, excited, happy voices. He understood how everyone was happy yesterday, but these voices sounded different than when everyone cheered after Voldemort died.

Harry had a very strange feeling and he had no idea why, but he didn't feel like there was danger, so he walked closer to the noise then stopped, gaping at what he was seeing. He stood just behind a tree watching students, real students in their uniforms, students having a break between classes. He saw McGonagall and the first thing he noticed about her was she looked healthy, younger and not hurt.

'What in blazes is going on?' Harry kept staring, then he gasps as he saw Dumbledore step over to McGonagall, they spoke for a few minutes, she nodded as she took a bag from him, then Dumbledore walked over to a group of students, but McGonagall headed towards him. Harry quickly darted back and put his back against the tree, but his thoughts were on how Dumbledore could be alive, how students were at Hogwarts, why McGonagall looked different, but his other thought was Hogwarts, it wasn't wrecked at all, it looked like it always did.

He heard footsteps, then what sounded like something heavy hitting the ground, not far from his hiding place either. Harry took a couple of deep breaths, then very slowly peered around the tree to see the back of McGonagall as she headed away from him and back onto the ground of Hogwarts. Harry looked down and saw a backpack, similar to his and next to it was a thick book, one that had his name on the front.

'Fuck,' Harry murmured, he looked around again then quickly grabbed the bag and book before stepping back behind the tree. He ran his finger over his name, Harry James Potter, underneath was the name Brian Dumbledore, Harry had no idea who Brian Dumbledore was just that it must be a relative of Dumbledore's and he knew that one of Dumbledore's middle names was Brian.

But what was confusing him more was why Hogwarts wasn't damaged, he had no idea why Dumbledore was alive. Right now, Harry Potter had no idea what the hell was going on. All he did know was he needed to leave Hogwarts and wasn't sure how, he also knew that either he was dreaming or he was in an alternate universe which was impossible or maybe he had been transported to the past and that's why everything looked so different, maybe that stone was like a time turner.

Harry moved back into the thick trees, found a patch of grass, sat down and scanned the book again before opening the bag, he gaped again as he saw clothes, clothes he liked to wear and also his size, but also a pouch similar to his with money in it, lots of money. Whatever this is Harry knew that right now it would come in handy, once he was able to leave Hogwarts and work out what was going on.