Chapter One
Harry James Potter is on the run from the Ministry.
It has been two years since the defeat of Voldemort.
And he is once more seen as a dark wizard.
This change in mentality came after he discovered he was being kept under love and loyalty potions by people he cared about most.
That being the Weasley's.
Originally Harry just wanted to move far enough away and have nothing to do with them.
That was until Ron killed Hermione.
It turned out she too was under the same potions he was and had broken free of them in a similar manner as he did.
It was then that Ron's jealousies got the better of him.
Rather than allowing Hermione freedom and her own agency.
He thought she was going to end up with Harry.
Due to this he began using the Cruciatus on her.
All his anger, jealousy, and hatred was directed through that curse.
But what he didn't know was that she was also pregnant at the time.
The combination of the curse and her pregnancy resulted in a violent miscarriage.
And Ron never even allowed her to the medical care she deserved.
Instead she died there and then.
Harry tried to bring him to justice through the Ministry.
But he remained free on some old pureblood technicality.
Something made possible only because she was a Muggleborn.
This angered Harry more than he had ever been angered before.
As such he quit his job as Master Auror.
And then focussed on gaining justice for Hermione on his own terms.
It didn't take long for Ron to be found dead.
And it was most definitely not a pretty death either.
His skin was flayed, and potions were forced down his throat designed to prolonged his suffering.
And despite there not being even a shred of evidence of it being Harry's doing (he knew how to remove evidence obviously).
He didn't even receive a trial.
Much like with Sirius he was simply thrown into Azkaban.
According to Kingsley he was simply too dangerous to be left to roam freely.
That he was backed up by Lucius Malfoy of all people who had managed to survive the previous war infuriated Harry.
Unfortunately for Kingsley Harry had a secret.
You see just like Sirius and his Father before him Harry had become an Animagus.
And like them he never registered that fact.
As such he was easily able to escape Azkaban in his raven form.
He then flew back to Britain.
His first task was to capture Molly and Ginny Weasley.
He interrogated them for hours using all the training he had as a Master Auror combined with Veritaserum.
This enabled Harry to learn of every manipulation, every plot against him that they had ever taken part in.
Mostly all on Dumbledore's orders.
Sadly he couldn't kill them there and then like they deserved.
As that would tip the Ministry off of his position and enable them to get closer to him.
Instead he Obliviated them of his interrogation and left feeling deeply unsatisfied.
There he broke into Malfoy manor.
Where he did something similar to Lucius finding out everything he had his grubby little fingers into.
Harry also banished Narcissa and Draco from the House of Black.
Harry then pilfered anything and anything that he thought would be useful.
And imagine his surprise when he discovered a new type Time Turner.
One apparently made by Theodore Nott.
Unfortunately it was not quite as complete as Harry would have hoped.
And is unable to send ones physical body back in time.
It could however send their mind back to their younger body.
But the risks were severe.
The person they tested it on went insane after it apparently destroyed his body in the future and violently shoved his mind back into his younger self.
Which to Harry sounded like child's play after some of the stuff he had lived through.
Having little to live for in the present Harry began formulating a plan.
He wasn't sure if this timeline would simply stop and be replaced by the new one.
Or if they would run parallel to one another.
He desperately wished he had Hermione with him to explain such complicated things.
All he knew was that he was going to act as though it was the latter just in case.
Due to this the first chance he got he snuck into Gringotts.
Thanks to it being sovereign territory the Ministry's hunt for him held no sway there.
Not that they were all that glad to see him as they still hated him for the break in during the Horcrux Hunt.
It was only him paying them large amounts of his gold that maintained their reasonably civil business dealings with him.
There he organised a change to his will.
Everything of Harry's would be bequeathed to Teddy who he made the Heir of House Black.
Along with welcoming Andromeda back into the family.
Harry then left Gringotts and Apparated to the little shack where the Dursley's took him before his first year at Hogwarts.
He figured it would be the last place anyone would think to look for him.
Once there he put the shack under as many security charms as he could think of.
They were a combination of the ones used during the Horcrux hunt, and ones he learned during Auror training.
Once he felt reasonably safe he settled in.
Harry stayed there until Midnight July 31st 2001.
He only ever left under a Transfigured disguise so as to pick up food and supplies from a Muggle town across the ocean from the shack he now called home.
He spent most of that time preparing and planning for what he was to do in the past.
This was due to a suspiciously Hermione like voice in his head that whispered that "failing to prepare is preparing to fail".
This resulted in Harry studying his memories through his Occlumency.
It would have been far easier with a Pensieve but he was avoiding magical places to limit the chances of him being caught.
He went through everything he knew that had happened to him and began planning how to use those events for his benefit and for the benefit of those around him.
Then came the fateful night when he thought he had everything to plan.
As the clock struck twelve Harry began examining the Time Turner.
"Here goes nothing" Harry said to himself.
He then turned it as exactly Lucius explained.
The maximum he could go back with it was ten years.
And that is exactly what he did.
The moment he turned it for the tenth time a tornado of Time Sand erupted from the little device.
It spun around him smashing into his body.
The pain was unreal and Harry could see how a normal person would easily go insane.
Harry however was no normal person and pain was no stranger to him.
Harry experienced as the sands of time buffeted and dissolved his body.
When his body was finally completely dissolved into the sands of time everything went black for Harry.
Then suddenly the world regained clarity bit by bit.
First was shape, then depth, then colour, then sound.
It was all rather disconcerting.
Harry soon recognised he was still in the shack as he had planned.
Then came the sound of Hagrid banging on the shacks door.
Harry smiled as it was knocked off it's hinges.
And in walked the friendly half giant.
Harry did his best to act like his eleven year old did.
Thankfully years of Auror training which included undercover and infiltration training helped in that regard.
Events played out pretty much as Harry remembered.
And so Vernon's gun got bent like a pretzel.
Dudley gained a pigs tail.
And Harry and Hagrid left the small island early the following morning.
Hagrid took harry to the Leaky cauldron where once more he was assaulted by well wishers.
There was also Quirrellmort and it took all of Harry's mental fortitude not to grab the git turning him to ash.
Harry was just glad he never tried Leglimency on him as he had yet had the time to develop his mental defences in this younger body.
What followed was the same trip through Gringotts and Diagon Alley as Harry remembered.
Harry did his best to act amazed and in wonder at everything he saw.
Some of it wasn't all that faked as he was comparing it to the post war Diagon Alley he knew.
Harry only made mild changes here or there.
For one Harry purchased a more expensive trunk.
One that came with several expanded compartments including one for a personal library.
He also purchased a wand holster from Ollivander who gave Harry the same cryptic speech as he remembered.
It wasn't until Hagrid gave him Hedwig again that Harry began to feel a little choked up.
"Merlin I've missed you" Harry thought to himself as he stroked her plumage in just the way he knew she liked".
With his shopping seemingly done Hagrid put Harry on a train sending him back to the Privet Drive.
Unfortunately for Hagrid Harry had no intention of doing that at all.
He soon slipped off the train at its next stop.
Harry walked with his belongings for now until he reached a small side street.
He released Hedwig from her cage telling her to come find him later.
He then shrunk all his belongings taking advantage of the fact the Trace is not yet in effect.
And wouldn't be until he boarded the Hogwarts Express while holding the ticket Hagrid gave him, thus accepting his part in the Magical Contract.
From there he quickly vanished with a barely audible pop.
When Harry was squeezed through the other side of the tube that was Apparition he now found himself in the garden of the cottage in Godric's Hollow.
Harry soon put the Fidelius back in place only this time with him as it's Secret Keeper.
Thankful that it was something he taught himself in the future in preparation for this.
He then went around the destroyed cottage restoring it and fixing it up.
It took him until roughly the following night to get everything back in order.
By then Hedwig was waiting in a nearby tree.
She was unable to find the exact location of her human but coudl vaguely locate him through their familial bond.
Harry quickly shared the secret with Hedwig and took her into the cottage.
Harry had a month to prepare for his return to Hogwarts.
And he needs to use that time to shore up the defences in his mind.
Thankfully he knows several short cuts that his Auror training taught him.
Thus over the next month Harry would come and go from the cottage.
He would enter Diagon Alley.
His body was transfigured into an adult disguise and he would wear some of his Fathers robes he found in his parents old bedroom.
Harry then went started off in the local Apothecaries.
There Harry brought everything he would need to brew large amounts of Witt sharpening potions.
With the clear mind they produce it makes it only one hop skip and a jump into then clearing ones mind.
But Harry's most important purchases were done in Knockturn Alley.
First at Borgin & Burkes he purchased the vanishing cabinet, an enchanted bag with and expanded space, as well as a court Issue Pensieve.
This would enable Harry to relive the memories and thus organise them when putting them back into his mind would be much easier than if he simply relied on his Occlumency to do so.
Harry then used his knowledge of the Ministry to infiltrate the seat of magical government.
Gaining entrance was relatively easy.
He knew of some rarely used passageways he frequented while he was acting as a Master Auror.
Obviously his fame was a distraction and Robards taught him how to get into and out of the Ministry without causing too many interruptions.
Harry did the entire infiltration while hidden under heavy Disilusionment Charms along with scent and silencing charms.
He then made his way to the Department Of Mysteries.
Where first he retrieved the prophecy orb, and leaving behind a copy he conjured in its place.
It obviously wouldn't repeat the prophecy but it would do enough to stop people realising it was missing until someone comes to retrieve it.
Harry then stored the Prophecy into an enchanted bag Harry had purchased from Borgin & Burkes.
His next stop was to the Time Room.
There he pilfered one of their Time Turners.
After all he was going to need one and figured he might as well pick up one now rather than later.
Normally one would need an Unspeakable to remove said item for you without risk of setting off the security enchantments.
Unfortunately for the Unspeakables of this time Harry knew exactly how to bypass those enchantments.
After all he once had to investigate a case of stolen property from the Unspeakables in his position as a Master Auror.
And as the security issue had yet to be discovered and fixed it was like taking candy from a baby.
Harry then quickly used the Time Turner to leave the Ministry at almost exactly the same time as his younger self was entering.
Thus making it an almost perfect crime.
Harry spent the rest of the month stretching each day to it's absolute limits thanks to his pilfered Time Turner.
During that time he built up his Occlumency defences and organised his mind to as close to perfection as he could.
Due to this he regained the near Eidetic memory he had grown used to in his adult life.
Obviously he didn't work himself into complete exhaustion.
He rested enough to keep his mind sharp.
Ate healthily enough to keep his body in working order.
And even did some mundane activities like going clothes shopping in the Muggle World.
After all he refused to wear Dudley's castoffs for a second longer than he had to.
He even got his eyes tested knowing from the future that his glasses would end up doing more harm than good as they were of an incorrect prescription to his needs.
Harry also found time to study and revise his first year textbooks.
This was due to him using an charm most seasoned Auror's know called the Agilis Legere, or Quick Reading charm.
It enabled an Auror to read large amount of parchmentwork in a fraction of the time they would ordinarily be able to.
The only downside is that over use gives the user one hell of a migraine.
Which is partially why most Auror's are almost constantly downing migraine relief potions.
Harry was however dismayed to find that even with his Occlumency he failed to remember large swaths of information that was stated in his textbooks.
Sure he knew from interrogating Ron that one of his goals was to keep Harry from his studies.
But he didn't realise just how successful the red head had been until this moment.
"Not going to happen this time" Harry said with a look of determination.
And thus Harry vowed to be a much better student this time around.
So much so that he fully intended to make the words of the Prophecy truthful.
He was going to be Riddles equal this time and not have to rely on blind luck.
Chapter Two
Harry was now on the Hogwarts Express on his way to Hogwarts for his repeated first year.
He had arrived early enough to avoid the Weasley's and their plot to ingratiate themselves with him.
He then boarded the train finding himself a compartment that he warded to hell and back.
This would allow him some peace and quite.
It would also prevent annoying visitors like Ron and Malfoy.
He spent that time in silence reading some of the supplementary texts for the first year curriculum.
That was until the door to his compartment slid open.
Harry hid a smile behind his book because only one person besides him was keyed to his wards.
And that person was none other than Hermione.
Harry rose his eyes from the page of his book to the girl stood in the doorway.
He took in what he saw.
She was small, with frizzier hair than he ever remembered, and an intrigued expression on her face.
Obviously she was looking at the title of the book Harry was reading.
"I'm Hermione Granger" she said in what others would call a bossy tone.
Harry however recognised it for what it was.
It was a defence mechanism to hide her anxieties.
"I'm Harry Potter" Harry replied with a friendly smile.
Her eyes grew wide.
"I've read all about you" she said proudly.
Harry sighed.
"I doubt it" Harry said before raising his hand to cut off her oncoming rant.
"Listen those books or at least the writers of them have never once come and spoken to me. So how can they know everything about me without going to the source" Harry explained.
Hermione looked conflicted.
But eventually she nodded.
"I can see how that would make knowing everything about you difficult" Hermione agreed.
Harry nodded.
"I know right. Like those books never once mention I was raised in the Muggle worlds with my magic hating relatives. Or that for the first eleven years of my life my bedroom was the cupboard under the stairs" Harry said in a rant.
Hermione gasped.
"Is that true?" She asked.
Harry nodded and handed over one of his Hogwarts letters.
One that Vernon had evidently missed in his desire to destroy them all.
Harry was just glad he returned to Privet Drive to compel them not to act as though he was missing.
Hermione was aghast as the address as it was definitive proof that Harry had indeed been forced to sleep in a cupboard under the stairs.
"How could they get away with that?" Hemione asked.
After all in her mind there should be an authority figure of some kind that picks up on such things.
Harry sighed.
"Well that is a long story" Harry replied.
Hermione simply sat down opposite him.
"I have time" was the reply she gave.
Harry nodded and began telling her how he was left on their doorstep by Dumbledore.
How the old man had never once checked up on Harry over the years.
He felt bad for doing so as he was sowing doubt into her young mind but the more leery she was of Dumbledore the better in his opinion.
They talked for a while with Harry fielding any questions she sent his way.
And he in return asked questions of his own.
As such they soon got to know one another.
And despite a quick break where they asked a Prefect to summon Neville's toad thus fulfilling her initial goal for coming here in the first place. They then settled down and spent the remainder of the journey together.
There they talked about Hogwarts and what they could expect from it.
Hermione stating things she read from Hogwarts A History.
Before they knew it they were arriving at Hogsmeade.
And the pair followed the booming voice of Hargid.
Who Harry introduced Hermione to.
She smiled brightly when Harry introduced her as his friend he met on the train.
Of course it was just as they were about the board the boats that one Ron Wealsey tried to push his way in.
And in doing so almost knocked Hermione into the water.
Obviously Harry wasn't about to stand for that.
"Hey!" Harry yelled as he held Hermione's hand having just caught her.
"What the hell do you think you're doing moron?" Harry berated Ron.
He could see the tell tale signs of a Weasley Temper Tantrum.
"I'm Ron Weasley" he said sticking out his hand. Obviously trying to put aside the anger he was feeling.
"And I don't give a crap. You almost knocked my friend into the water. And why?" Harry said.
"Let me guess you wanted to get in the same boat as the Boy-Who-Lived. Well I don't think so find somewhere else to sit" Harry ordered.
Ron was about to argue back when he suddenly turned around and stomped away.
Little did he know that Harry had sent a silently cast compulsion charm to leave them alone.
However before Harry could say anything else he was graped into a tight hug.
One he would know anywhere.
It was definitely one of Hermione's hermy hugs.
"You stood up for me" she whispered as her head was buried in the crook of his neck.
"Of course. You're my friend" Harry said receiving a slight squeeze in reply.
"Thank you" Hermione said.
"Any time" Harry replied.
Harry and Hermione then found themselves sharing a boat with who Harry knew to be Tracey Davies and Daphne Greengrass.
After briefly introducing themselves it was Daphne who stated to Hermione how Ron would probably be a Gryffindor as most of his family have been for centuries. Only really those who marry into the Weasley family have been known to belong to other houses.
That put a look of contemplation on Hermione's face for a little while.
Thankfully said look was soon replaced with one of awe and wonder as they caught their first glimpse of the castle.
Harry also smiled brightly.
And had similar feelings of awe.
However this was down to him seeing the castle in the state he remembered it.
And not in the repaired state he knew it to be post Battle Of Hogwarts.
After departing from the boats Hagrid led the first years up to the antechamber.
There he handed them over to Professor McGonagall.
Who once more gave them the "your house is like your family" speech.
And when she went to check if they were ready for them Malfoy once again made his move.
Only this time instead of insulting Ron he insulted Hermione.
To pretty much the same results.
Only with Harry pointing out "You know my Mother was a Muggleborn right. And thus as you called Hermione a Mudblood" Harry stated calmly.
Malfoy was about to say something else but was interrupted by the screams of the students which heralded the arrival of the Hogwarts ghosts.
After that pretty much everything went as he remembered it.
They entered the Great Hall.
Hermione quoted Hogwarts: A History to him.
The sorting hat sang it's song and thus began the sorting.
It was all going as Harry predicted until it was Hermione's turn.
Instead of the almost hatstall he remembered she was quickly sorted into Ravenclaw.
Harry was amazed by the change in circumstances but soon realised he shouldn't have been.
Obviously her experiences this time around had put her off the idea of joining Gryffindor.
Then after a few more people it was Harry's turn.
"Well well well. It's not everyday I get a Time Traveller to sort" said the hat.
Harry instantly began to panic and locked down on his Occlumency.
"Fear not Mr Potter. What I see can not be shared with anyone" soothed the hat.
"Phew" Harry thought.
"But how can you bypass my Occlumency so easily?" Harry asked
"I was created by the founders" the hat replied as though his answer was obvious.
"Now what to do with you?" The hat asked.
"I see you have a good mind, lots of courage, loyalty and cunning. You pose quite the conundrum" the hat said almost gleefully.
They remained in a state of conversation for quite some time.
So much so that the longer it went on the more excited the students and the staff were becoming.
The hat would mention each house and he and Harry would talk about the pro's and cons of him being sorted there.
They eventually dismissed each option one by one.
First was Slytherin.
And while Harry would do well there he felt he would probably end up killing someone if he was forced to endure their pureblood rubbish.
Gryffindor was also ruled out, as it would place him too close to Dumbledore's manipulations.
And thus it was a toss up between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw.
Finally the fact that Hermione was already in Ravenclaw won out.
The thought of going anywhere without her was preposterous.
And thus after confirming with Harry the hat yelled out "Ravenclaw".
And thus after the first hatstall in decades Harry made his way over to the blue and bronze table.
There a smiling Hermione was waiting for him.
The students erupted in conversation talking about this juicy bit of Gossip.
"We Lost Potter!" yelled the Weasley twins.
And a quick glance around told Harry that people definitely didn't expect him to find himself in Rowena's House.
Most of the staff seemed a mixture of confused or angry.
With only Professor Flitwick seeming like he had just won the Lottery.
McGonagall had to get the students back in order before she could continue the sorting.
Which resulted in no other surprises.
A concerned looking Dumbledore then began the feast.
It didn't take long into the feast for Harry to feel a Leglimency probe.
Harry promptly repelled it and began rubbing his scar.
Sure he knew it was Dumbledore who was responsible but he figured that rubbing his scar would make the meddler think the Horcrux provided Harry with mental defences.
Something he did again when Snape and Voldemort's attempts at Leglimecy followed not long after wards.
The latter of whom he repelled from his mind with such force that if his face was visible it would protray a visage of absolute agony.
Then post feast Dumbledore made his announcements.
Obviously Harry now noticed how they were designed to entice the more adventurous student than actually warn them.
Harry was also ashamed at just how much that ploy worked on him during his first time through Hogwarts.
Following Dumbledore's announcements came the stupid school song which the Weasley Twins once more hijacked singing it to the tune of the funeral march.
They were then dismissed with the first years ordered to follow their prefects.
Harry had to admit however that Penelope Clearwater was a much better guide than Percy was.
There was no pompousness from her and she did her best to point out landmarks to prevent students getting lost in the future.
They then made their way to Ravenclaw Tower.
Where they were given a riddle to solve before gaining entrance.
What shocked Harry however was that upon their arrival there was Professor Flitwick waiting for them.
And once all seven years were accounted for he began a house meeting.
Something he never experienced in six years under McGonagall.
It was obvious Flitwick took his duties as Head Of House far more seriously than his former Head Of House ever did.
Not surprising really considering on top of the job of being a Head Of House, she was also the Transfiguration Professor, and Deputy Headmistress.
Obviously one of those jobs had to be left by the wayside for her to manage the other two.
It was just a shame the students had to suffer for it.
Harry sighed.
Professor Flitwick then introduced himself.
Told the first years what he expected from them as Ravenclaws and introduced them to their prefects.
He then gave them a tour of the common room detailing its history as he went.
Harry looked at the statue of Ravenclaw wearing her Diadem.
"Can't deal with that just yet. Not with Quirrellmort in the castle. He would probably sense it's destruction" Harry thought to himself.
Flitwick then showed them their own library which he detailed with pride.
And by the end he dismissed them all up to their rooms suggesting they get an early night.
Which everyone obediently did.
After a quick goodnight to Hermione, Harry made his way up to the dorm which he would be sharing with four other boys.
Harry quickly got his nightly routine taken care of and he quickly slid into the bed designated for him with his trunk at it's base.
Harry pulled the curtains closed around it's four posters.
Cast some silencing charms and set an alarm charm on his wand.
And Harry quickly fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.
Chapter Three
Harry soon settled into his routine at Hogwarts.
By day there were lessons which were laughably easy.
When not in lessons Harry and Hermione could often be found in the Library studying.
Both had already read and re-read the textbooks and the supplementary texts that accompany them.
Now their aim was to further improve their grasp on their subjects.
And as Harry had always had the practical side of things come easy to him he instead focussed on the theoretical.
Something he was laughably distracted from learning the first time around.
And thanks to his Occlumency enhanced memory, Witt Sharpening potions, and Agilis Legere spell he was able to read far more than any student would be capable of.
Then there was the time he spent alone in the Room of Requirement.
Inside he would work through upcoming assignments and sit through lessons that had yet to come via his Pensieve and having the memories of actually sitting through them once.
This enabled him to work quite a way in front of his classmates.
And it didn't take long for him to set himself apart as being the top student of his year with Hermione as a close second.
There was only really Potions in which Harry was having any troubles.
As you can expect those issues came down to Professor Snape and his inability to let a childish grudge die with the person long since buried.
And thus the bitter man would often vanish Harry's perfectly brewed potions just so he could claim it was unfinished.
Unfortunately for Snape this time Harry wasn't in Gryffindor.
And McGonagall wasn't Harry's head of house.
And to Harry's amazement when he brought up his treatment by Snape up to Flitwick, the diminutive Professor showed why you never mess with one of his students.
Harry had no idea of exactly what happened but after that Snape began simply ignoring his existence only paying him enough attention to fairly mark his work in class.
Little did Snape know however was that Harry had already taken his revenge.
And he did this by sneaking into the Potions classroom and pilfering all seven years worth of Snapes annotated textbooks.
Sure it was petty but Harry had how many years of mistreatment he needed to vent on the man.
But what came from having Snape's textbooks at hands was that Harry began brewing the potions during his time in the Room Of Requirement.
He would brew them in both the original form and with the alterations.
Harry would cross reference the reactions with the supplementary potions texts.
And note down his findings.
This in turn gave Harry a far greater understanding than Snape would have ever been able to impart to Harry directly.
Thus Harry felt it was only fair.
After all he was paying for the man to educate him in the form of his tuition wasn't he.
And Harry was also more than willing to share his every insight with Hermione who likewise shared her own.
The pair were in their element often debating academic subjects at their leisure.
Harry loved seeing just how happy and excited she was in this life.
It was a far cry from the lonely young girl he remembered at the start of her time in Gryffindor.
And with that happiness came confidence.
She knew Harry had her back no matter what.
In fact he had already stood up for her multiple times when Ron Weasley, or Draco Malfoy had tried to make even more disparaging comments aimed at her.
That both often found themselves on the wrong side of various pranks didn't go unnoticed by her either.
And while she suspected Harry there was never any proof he was responsible.
The only sign they were caused by the same person was that after every prank a magical tattoo would appear on their skins in the form of a stag, wolf, and grim.
But most confusing of all was that Harry always seemed to have the perfect alibi.
Little did she or the teachers know that was easily accomplished with his Time Turner.
Time soon passed and with it came certain events.
There was the first years flying lesson's.
Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw had their after the Gryffindor Slytherin.
As such Harry wasn't anywhere near the excitement that was portrayed by the Hogwarts rumour mill.
Poor Neville had once again fallen off his broom and broken his arm.
And once again Malfoy stole his Remembrall.
Only without Harry there to challenge for it, the task fell to Ron Weasley.
The result of which was both Ron and Malfoy ended up knocking each other off their brooms.
And soon they were joining Neville in the hospital wing with broken limbs of their own.
That no punishment other than a loss of house points was taken made Harry roll his eyes.
Then came Halloween.
And once more Quirrellmort let in a Troll.
However unlike last time Hermione wasn't crying in the bathroom.
Harry who prepared for this very day had removed the Marauders Map from the Weasley Twins.
Which while they defended their stash of goods they were still children.
And thus compared to Harry's Auror training were unable to prevent him taking the map.
Obviously Harry didn't simply steal the map.
He left behind a little note with the same images he used in his own pranks along with a note.
That it was signed "The Son Of Prongs" had the Weasley Twins in such a good mood it was unreal.
And thanks to having the map Harry was able to tell if anyone was in danger with the Troll.
he also followed Quirrellmort on the map as he was repelled from the Third Floor Corridor by Fluffy and an arriving Serverus Snape.
Thus the first Halloween ended with nary a need for Harry to dirty his own hands.
Then came Christmas.
Harry was once more signed up to remain in the castle.
And Hermione lamented having to leave him behind.
She even offered to stay with him which warmed Harry's heart.
Alas he had to refuse her offer.
He instead encouraged her to spend time with her parents.
After all he wanted her to maintain the relationship she had with them.
Something that was never recovered as even with their memories returned in the last timeline the damage was done and they disowned Hermione.
The pair did however stay in contact via Hedwig, who was more than willing to ferry Christmas presents between them.
Hermione had gifted him a book on potions as it was seemingly Harry's best subject.
And to Hermione he sent her a set of communication Mirrors he charmed himself using knowledge he learned from Sirius and Remus' notebooks.
They would enable her and her parents to talk to one another.
Of course he also created a set for himself and Hermione which he would share with her upon her return to the castle.
Other than that Harry once more received his families invisibility cloak along with the cryptic letter from Dumbledore.
Harry instantly got to work trying to detect any monitoring and tracking charms that might have been on it.
And as expected he found them on a small piece of thread sown into the Cloak's fabric.
Harry quickly removed the offending piece of material.
And thus his Hallow was back to working as it was intended.
Annoyingly there was also a Weasley Sweater in the mix also.
Due to that Harry confronted Ron who said he told his Mother how Harry wouldn't be receiving many presents.
It didn't take Harry's Auror training to spot the condescending tone this time around.
And thus Harry had no issue telling him to keep his nose out of Harry's business while shoving the ugly Weasley sweater back at Ron before storming off.
He later sat as far away from Ron as possible during the Yule Feast, where he once again received a Wizarding Chess set, A grow your own warts kit, several white mice, and some none explodable luminous balloons from his crackers along with this time a top hat which would vanish and reappear the white rabbit like a muggle magician.
Harry then spent the remainder of the Winter Break sorting through items from the Room Of Hidden Things.
He found many ancient books.
Many of which are no longer in circulation.
He also found a broom that while no Nimbus 2000 was good enough for him to enjoy the occasional flight to blow off some steam.
He also found large quantities of Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts, along with jewellery, and gems.
Obviously he retrieved the Diadem also. Harry's iron will enabled him to fight off the compulsion to wear the cursed Tiara.
He then stored it in a curse proof iron box he conjured.
He had also found the twin to the vanishing Cabinet, thankfully before it could be broken and stored in the Room Of Hidden Things.
He quickly shrunk it and stored it along with his loot from the Room in his trunk.
Harry also began using the Vanishing cabinets to travel back and forth between Hogwarts and the cottage at Godric's Hollow.
It was there that Harry had a flash of inspiration.
The idea that his blood holds some protection against Voldemort gave him an idea.
And thus with a slashed wrist and many a blood replenishing potions Harry filled a bucket full of his own crimson fluids.
He then levitated the Diadem, dropping it into the bucket full of his blood.
To his amazement his plan worked.
The shard of Voldemorts soul houses within was expelled from the Diadem and vanished with a pitiful shriek of a death scream before burning to ash.
Harry then removed the Diadem and cleaned it off.
Harry was amazed that it didn't seem damaged in the slightest.
And what's more it's tarnished state was replaced by it looking brand new.
Harry smiled that his idea worked.
And wondered why he never thought of that before.
Harry only surmised that by the time Harry was actively hunting Horcrux's Voledemort had long since taken his blood.
And as such his protection probably wouldn't have had the same effect.
Soon Hermione returned and practically dove at him like a heat seeking missile.
She thanked him profusely for his Christmas presents.
Telling him how amazed she and her parents were by the mirrors he gave her.
They sat together and began discussing their winter break and what they got up to.
It was honestly nice seeing Hermione so carefree.
It made Harry wonder when the last time he saw his Hermione as such.
He vowed there and then to keep her life as peaceful as it is now for as long as possible.
And sure the irony that he was trying to make sure she enjoyed her childhood wasn't lost on him.
It was after all something he heard repeatedly from Dumbledore.
Unlike the old meddler however Harry was willing to prepare Hermione for the worst while hoping it never happened.
It was for this exact reason he began teaching her Occlumency.
He however phrased it as not only a mental defence but as the ultimate study aid, given what it can do to boost ones memory.
Hermione was understandably excited to learn and immediately rushed off to the Library.
She soon came back disappointed when Madam Pince informed her that books on the mind arts are within the Restricted Section.
It was then that Harry let Hermione in on one of his secrets.
He took her to his dorm room.
And showed her the Library compartment in his trunk.
A compartment Harry had slowly filled up over the school year.
It held books trips where Harry snuck out of Hogwarts where he made various purchases.
From Diagon Alley he routinely shopped in Flourish & Blotts, Obscurus Books, the Second Hand Book shop.
From Knockturn Alley he picked up various books from all over the place. Mostly all related to the Dark Arts.
But he was able to pick up some on the Mind Arts and other Grey leaning subjects.
There were also books he purchased from Hogsmeade in Tomes & Scrolls as well as books on pranks from Zonko's.
That combined with what he found in the Room Of Requirement meant Harry had a personal library, the likes of which that left Hermione drooling.
Obviously Harry had to promise to give Hermione access to his library any time she wanted.
As such he quickly keyed her into the security enchantments of his trunk.
Which as you can imagine earned him possibly the biggest Hermy Hug he could remember recieving.
It took him a while to settle her down enough to begin their Occlumency training.
Which Hermione instantly added the lessons of into her schedule much to Harry's amusement.
It was not long after classes began again that harry discovered that the Diadem worked similarly to the Witt Sharpening Potion.
Only the results are far more pronounced.
Due to this he soon began wearing it during his personal studies where he spent his time in the Room Of Requirement.
By now he had moved onto second year classes and assignment.
With the sole exception being Lockhart's Defence classes as repeating them would be futile.
Harry was however amazed at just how much he enjoyed applying himself to his studies.
He lamented at just how easily lead astray he was in the last time line.
Thankfully Ron Weasley was barely an irritant this time around.
And anytime he attempts to be Harry simply compels him to bugger off.
The same exact way he deals with Malfoy.
Its ironic really how similar the pair are.
With how busy Harry was he simply didn't have time for childish squabbles and instead focussed on improving himself.
After all his goal of reaching Voldemort and Dumbledore's level kept him going.
Due to that time as you can imagine moved along at a brisk pace.
Harry for the most part ignored whatever hints Dumbledore would drop into his lap.
These included the Mirror Of Erised miraculously being found not far from the Ravenclaw dorm.
Or Hagrid once again being unable to keep anything Dumbledore told him secret.
Harry felt bad how much Dumbledore uses hargid without the friendly half giant noticing.
Due to that, and him being one of Harry's first friends Harry and Hermione still visit him for tea and cakes.
Even if his version of a cake could be mistaken for a bludger.
This eventually came to a head when Hagrid once more hatched Norbert in his hut.
And once again it was needed to be smuggled out of the castle and country.
Unlike last time however Harry simply designated such a task to the Weasley Twins.
Who as you can imagine found the idea of smuggling a dragon out of the castle absolutely hilarious.
Thus neither Harry nor Hermione received detention in the Forbidden Forest.
Soon came the end of year exams.
And Hermione as she was prone to do began to panic.
It took all of Harry's knowledge of the girl to calm her down enough and keep her focussed.
Each day was an uphill battle in that regard.
But as the pair often studied together Harry had no doubt at all that she would do amazingly well in her exams.
Something Harry was sure he himself would also achieve.
Finally after an exhaustive week their exams were finally over with.
And while many were settling down to relax for the end of year festivities.
Such as the final game of Quidditch between Slytherin and Ravenclaw.
Harry found himself dragged into the whole Philosiphers stone debacle despite his desire to stay out of it.
And how did this happen you ask?
He received an anonymous not that Hermione had been kidnapped.
And that if he wanted to see her again he would have to make his way through the defences on the Third Floor.
A quick look at the Marauders map told him Hermione was indeed there.
Along with Quirrellmort and Dumbledore.
The latter of whom was supposed to be "flying" his way to a meeting at the Ministry.
"Of blood course" Harry thought angrily.
Obviously Dumbledore would move to make Harry confront Voldemort any way he could.
Due to that it was a very pissed off Harry Potter who breezed through every last "Defence" that was put in his way.
The so called defences meant nothing before Harry.
As such he instead compelled each of Fluffy's heads to chase his own tail and thus that was one issue he didn't have to worry about.
The Devil's Snare retreated from an Incendio.
The key was once more caught by Harry.
The Chess match was completely ignored by Harry staying on the broom and simply flew abover the pieces.
The troll was already knocked out, and such Harry gave it not even a second thought.
Then came the potion riddle.
Where by Harry simply drank the potion he remembered Hermione pointing out after a brief read through of the clue to make sure it was the same.
He then walked through the flames and into the chamber.
Before him stood a sneering Quirrell with an unconscious Hermione at his feet.
"I see you got my letter Potter" Quirrell spat.
"Oh look the st...stu...stutters gone" Harry replied sarcastically.
"You dare mock me boy!" Quirrell roared.
Harry just yawned annoying his foe even more.
"Mental warfare is the best" Harry thought to himself.
"Allow me to speak to him" said a voice Harry knew to be Voldemorts.
"But master you are not strong enough" Quirrell said, his tone dripped with worry.
"I have strength enough for this" said Voldemorts voice.
Quirrell then reverently unwrapped his head and turned around.
Voldemort then began his monologuing.
He then asked Harry to retrieve the stone for him.
But as Harry wasn't having anything to do with what he was saying it was then up to Quirrell to capture Harry and make him comply.
Unfortunately for Quirrell Harry didn't stand still long enough for even a single one of the Defence professors spells to land.
"Man you suck" Harry mocked as he spun dodging another disarming charm.
"Use the girl" Voldemorts voice said.
And Quirrell turned towards Hermione.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" he began to scream as Harry used that moment of inattention to grasp onto Quirrell's outreached arm.
"Someone give the man a hand" Harry said as Quirrells hand turned to ash.
Quirrell was spitting with rage and began rushing towards Harry.
"No you fool" Harry heard Voldemorts voice.
Rather than use his wand Harry began pounding on Quirrell.
With every blow he caused more and more damaged.
The Blood Protection burning his foe to ash with every punch and kick.
Harry soon took out Quirrells legs dropping him to his knees.
Harry grit his teeth and reared back.
He sent an almighty punch through the head of both Quirrell and Voldemort.
Without a head the body then dropped fully to the ground.
Harry then rushed towards Hermione.
He silently and wandlessly checked her over sighing in relief she was just stunned.
Harry then caught the wraith of Voldemort rising from the body of Quirrell out the corner of his eye.
He turned just in time for it to fly through him.
It was all Harry could do to let it happen.
After all with Dumbledore in the room observing he couldn't use any advanced magic.
That however didn't stop him from getting a little bit of revenge on Voldemort.
The moment he entered Harry's body he focussed all the love and possitive emotions he coudl muster into his being.
He flooded his entire body with such.
Voldemort was sent hurtling out of Harry's body screaming all the while steaming like acid had been thrown on him.
"Coward!" Harry yelled at the retreating Voldemort before he passed out from magical exhaustion.
When next he woke up it was to find himself in the Hospital wing.
There sitting next to his bed was a concerned looking Hermione.
"Hey there" Harry said with a smile.
"Harry Potter" she said looking stern before her features softened.
"I was told how you came to rescue me" she said shyly.
"Of course. You're my best friend" Harry replied.
"You are a great Wizard Harry. And not just because of your smarts. You have something many lack" Hermione said confidently.
"Oh" Harry replied.
"There are more important things than smarts. There is friendship, bravery...and love" Hermione said.
Harry was amazed by her words.
"Wait! Did you just confess you love me?" Harry asked.
Hermione blushed furiously.
"Maybe I did. But don't think anything is going to happen yet. I'm far too young for that sort of thing" Hermione said sternly.
And yet the blush didn't even remotely abate.
They stared at one another for a moment before the doors swung open and in walked Dumbledore.
"Harry my boy. You are alright. And Miss Granger too I see" Dumbledore said earning a scowl from Harry.
"Sorry sir. But when have I ever been your boy? And as far as I can recall this is the first time I have ever actually spoken to you" Harry corrected.
Dumbledore looked momentarily put out.
Before he slipped on his Grandfatherly mask once more.
"Indeed, my apologies Mr Potter" he said sounding very put out by the words.
It was all Harry could do not to smile at him.
"I assume you have some questions Har...Mr Potter?" Dumbledore then asked.
"Like how the hell did Voldemort possess a teacher. Enter the castle undetected. And stay so under your nose for an entire year. Yes sir I have some questions" Harry said earning another scowl from Dumbledore.
Obviously he wanted Harry to ask about his relationship with Voldemort and why he wanted Harry dead.
But he certainly didn't expect Harry to ask those more pressing questions.
"Bloody Ravenclaws" Dumbledore thought to himself.
Obviously Dumbledore didn't answer Harry's questions just passing them off with some meaningless platitudes and half truths.
Not that Harry expected anything else.
Thankfully Dumbledore was too uncomfortable to stick around.
Especially when it was clear things weren't going according to plan.
He needed to return to his office and regroup and re-strategize.
Thus he soon left Harry and Hermione under the tender care of Madam Pomfrey.
Harry and Hermione were discharged from the Infirmary just in time for the end of year feast.
Which Harry thoroughly enjoyed.
He had a decent helping of Shepherds pie, plenty of Pumpkin Juice, and a large slice of treacle Tart.
Once the feast was finished Dumbledore rose to announce the winners of the House Cup.
Which given the Slytherin colours was pretty obvious.
The man actually looked conflicted but he obviously decided not to dish out any last minute points.
No doubt he thought Harry was too smart and would see through it.
Not that Ravenclaw minded losing to Slytherin.
They all knew the snakes only won because of Snape's manipulation of the point system.
And thus nobody saw Slytherins win as legitimate.
What they were bothered by however was that Ravenclaw won the Quidditch Cup.
Something Harry had conflicted feelings about.
After all he loved Quidditch.
But given everything on his plate he doesn't feel he could devote the time needed to the sport.
And thus he put his misgivings aside and celebrated with the rest of his house on their victory.
Before they knew it Harry and Hermione were on the Hogwarts Express on their way home.
"It's certainly been one busy year" Hermione said.
"You can say that again" Harry replied.
They then reminisced about everything they had done and accomplished over the year.
Hermione smiled.
"What's got you so happy?" Harry asked.
"Us" Hermione said with a smile that showed off her slightly too large two front teeth.
"Here were are two Muggle raised individuals. And we are leaving Hogwarts as the top two students of our year" Hermione said proudly.
Harry nodded.
After all the paid had passed all their exams with an O and O+ average.
There was only Potions in which they both scored an EE.
Yet both knew they deserved better as Snape was purposely marking them down so that his Snakes could get a higher score despite brewing inferior potions.
At first Hermione was irate and wanted to bring it up to Flitwick.
It was only when Harry reminded her that school exams scores don't really matter that she calmed down.
After all it's what they get in their O.W.L's and N.E.W.T's that matters.
"And just imagine the look on their faces when we can shove out scores down their throats" Harry said with a vindictive smile.
One Hermione soon returned.
"Okay Harry. We play the long game" Hermione replied.
Harry stuck out his pinkie finger.
"The long game" Harry said earning a chuckle from Hermione.
She wrapped her pinkie around Harry's and repeated "the long game".
Thankfully their journey was blissfully quiet.
Where when they weren't conversing with one another they quietly pulled out a book from Harry's library trunk.
"I'm going to miss not having access to your trunk" Hermione said.
"Oh using me for my books are we Miss Granger" Harry said sarcastically.
"You know it" was Hermione's reply that set them off into a fit of giggles.
Before they knew it the Express was pulling into Kings cross station.
Harry and Hermione didn't stick around on the magical side.
Instead making their way onto the Muggle side.
There they met Hermione's parents.
Both of whom were glad to get to meet Harry.
They introduced themselves as Drs Emma and Daniel Granger.
And they thanked Harry profusely for those Mirrors.
As it allowed them to keep in contact with their little girl far more efficiently than by relying on Owl Post.
Harry simply smiled.
"I was glad I could help" he said.
They made their way outside the station where Harry instantly spotted Uncle Vernon waiting for him.
Hermione scowled at the surly looking man.
After all she knows exactly how they treat her Harry.
She was so angry she didn't even realise that she mentally called him "her" Harry.
"Are you going to be okay?" Hermione asked.
Harry nodded.
"Remember that plan we came up with?" Harry asked earning a nod.
Hermione quickly grabbed onto Harry hugging the daylights out of him.
"If it doesn't' work you get the hell out of there okay" she said.
"I will don't worry" Harry said before saying his farewells to Hermione and her parents.
He then made his way over to Vernon who immediately bellowed at him to "get a move on. I don't have all day".
Harry simply rolled his eyes but said nothing in return.
Instead he moved his trunk into the boot of Vernon's car, glad that Hedwig's cage was stored within one of the compartments and he had sent her on ahead.
Before he knew it he was sat silently in the backseat as they drove back to Little Whinging.
The only sound between them being the chatter on the radio and Vernon's far too frequent bouts of road rage.
Normally this would be the point in the Harry would be lamenting returning to Privet Drive.
This time however he had a vastly different mentality.
He almost couldn't wait to get back.
After all he had a lot of things to accomplish over this summer break.
They needed to be done for the year to be as successful as he thought the previous first repeated year had been.
All in all it was a very optimistic Harry Potter who was staring our of the window of Vernon's car watching the world pass him by.