A/N: I do not own Harry Potter. Many thanks to Sectumus for their help with the chapter.
Chapter 2:Meeting the Family
Potter House, Stinchcombe, Gloucestershire, England, 8:17 a.m.
Dorea Potter was busy tidying the office since she knew Charlus wouldn't. Charlus preferred that he and Dorea were the only ones to tidy up the office. He had a method of organized chaos, as he liked to call it. Dorea had another name for it, madness.
Her husband was brilliant; even as a student, he had held more knowledge in his head than most of Ravenclaw house. It was a point of contention that had irritated Professor Merrythought to no end. It tickled Professor Dumbledore, knowing that it was one of his students who consistently scored higher than all Ravenclaws. Brilliant though he was, Charlus was also chaotic. His office was always in a continuous state of flux.
Dorea shook her head clear of thoughts and turned to where the Potter family's invisibility cloak lay. Or rather, where it was supposed to lay. The cloak was nowhere to be seen. Dorea barely avoided letting out a shocked shout. She immediately pulled her cedar wand out, casting summoning and detection spells to see if she could draw out its location.
The spells all returned negative, and Dorea sat in the office chair, suddenly feeling faint. Charlus would not like this, not one bit. She sat at the chair and began writing out a note. Her husband needed to be informed immediately.
As she left the room, she did not notice a new entry on the family tapestry, right below the entry for one James Arturius Potter reading "Harry James Potter (1980–)".
Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Scotland, 8:17 a.m.
Albus placed the papers he was looking over down and stood, making his way to one of the windows overlooking the grounds. He could see the half-giant Hagrid tending to the thestral herd near the edge of the forest. The sun was climbing over the hills and Albus basked in it's warm glow for a few minutes.
Albus turned back and began heading to his desk. He still had much work that needed to be done, especially with the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. This was the sixth straight year with a new professor at the post. Each year, without fail, some occasion or worse would result in the loss of the professor. This last year, poor Professor Strickland had a run-in with an acromantula. It had not gone well for the young professor. Hopefully, this year's professor, Kaitlyn Nameir, would not meet such a grisly fate. The headmaster was more convinced than ever that the rumors suggesting that the position had been cursed were true.
He heard the screech coming from Fawkes, his phoenix, just as he began to feel it. His hand went to his pocket, but it was too late. The Elder Wand was gone. He felt around, but all his hand found was dust. He pulled his hand and looked down. Staining his fingers was nothing but dark grey ash.
He could no longer sense the Elder Wand. Whatever had happened to it, the wand was beyond his reach. He sat down at his desk and immediately began penning a letter. He would need to check the security at Nurmengard Prison. For all he knew, Gellert had somehow summoned the wand to him.
For the first time in thirty-six years, Albus reached for his fir wand. Its phoenix core made it exceptional at transfiguration, and Albus savoured the warm feelings that surged through him. He pulled out the wand and looked down on it nostalgically. Though there was good reason to worry about the Elder Wand's displacement, it was wonderful to be holding his fir wand once more.
In the atrium of the Ministry, Harry was glad to see that it was pretty quiet. He ducked into a corner and cast a Tempus. It was still early in the morning. He tucked his wand away and he walked towards the entrance of the Ministry. As he passed the wizard at the desk, Harry cast a Confundo at the guard, making the man turn and look at other people in the atrium. Harry silently passed him and made his way out of the Ministry and onto the streets of London.
Moving into an alleyway, Harry removed his cloak and transfigured his clothing to look slightly more muggle-like. He then conjured a hat to help hide his face from the public. It's not perfect, but it'll have to do until I reach Tom's. He put away the wand and walked out of the alleyway, glad that like the Ministry, the streets of London were pretty quiet.
Harry passed a newspaper stand and checked the front page of The Times. At the top of the paper, surely enough, was the date, July 31, 1971. Harry nodded to himself and walked back into the alleyway, apparating to a traditional apparition point near Gringotts bank. He would rather head straight to Diagon Alley instead of going through the Leaky Cauldron first. It would be easier to avoid attention from people that way.
Harry thought of the attack that he knew would happen later today. If he let the DMLE know now, there was no guarantee that they would believe him. He would have to wait for the right moment. He cast another Time-Check charm. 8:50. He still had some time to kill before he sent a Patronus to Barty Crouch Sr. The thought of working with the man made him shudder a bit.
Harry looked up at the bank sign and dipped his hand into his pocket. He was reassured to feel his sack of galleons there. He always liked to keep a bit of gold on hand. He looked at the shops around him before making his way to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. It looked much less worn down than it had in his time, when it was Madam Malkin's daughter that ran the shop after the woman's death in 1998. The sign indicated that the shop was already open, so Harry entered quietly.
Madam Malkin, still wearing the same mauve robes that Harry remembered from his younger years, though looking quite a bit younger, looked up from her place at the counter, "How can I help you today?"
Harry smiled fondly at the squat witch, "Good morning, I have it on good authority that you sell quality robes, which is what I am in need of. Wanted to spoil myself a bit."
Madam Malkin shook her head in sympathy and gestured him over, "So, a full set will it be, then?"
Harry nodded, "Yes, please."
The woman nodded and gestured him over to a set of mirrors, "Let me take your measurements and we'll see what I can do for you."
She ran her wand over his body, taking various measurements and muttered notes to herself before disappearing into a back room. Harry stayed by the mirror, whistling a little tune to himself while he waited. Not much had changed in the shop since Harry's time. He noted the section of Hogwarts robes with fond memories.
He wondered how he would fill the time when he wasn't actively hunting Voldemort and his Death Eaters. He supposed that it would be a great time to get to know his father and eventually Sirius. That was, if he could convince his grandfather and his great-uncle that he was who he said he was.
His thoughts were interrupted when Madam Malkin came back with a bag in one hand, wand in the other. She set the bag on the counter and said, "That will be 17 galleons, 2 sickles, and 22 knuts please, dear."
Harry dug into his pockets, pulling out the sack of gold. He counted out 18 galleons and set them on the counter, "Keep the change. Have a great rest of the weekend, madam."
Harry took the bag of robes and exited the store. As he walked out of the shop, he heard a commotion down the street, causing Harry to flick out his wand, "Expecto Patronum!"
The stag whisked away and Harry jumped into the fray. Ahead of him, he saw a masked Death Eater about to send a Killing curse towards the back of an older man fighting another Death Eater. Harry flicked his wrist and summoned a slab of rock to block the curse. When the rock shattered, another incantation sent the shards back at the Death Eater as throwing knives. The man was only able to block a few of them before they pierced his body, sending him down to the ground, most assuredly dead.
The other man turned towards him momentarily surprised, but quickly continued his duel with his opponent. Harry turned, sending a Blasting curse at another Death Eater's head. The telltale 'pops' of apparition told Harry that the Aurors had finally arrived. As they engaged the Death Eaters, Harry turned towards one of the shops that was now up in flames. He cast an Aguamenti charm, hoping to put the flames out. He was just glad that it wasn't Fiendfyre consuming the shop. That would have made his work much harder.
When the flames were gone, Harry turned back towards the fading battle. Only a few duels were still ongoing and the aurors were winning handily. He recognized the enthusiastic yells of Alastor Moody as the (less) grizzled auror battled against two different Death Eaters. Harry could swear that the old man was grinning. He turned and helped another auror with dispatching another Death Eater, blocking a Killing curse from hitting a young kid.
When all was said and done, there were four dead Death Eaters, and Harry was almost certain that he had killed three of rest of the Death Eaters were bound and stunned. Alastor was currently speaking with the man that Harry had saved earlier. He was looking a bit frustrated, and Harry nearly winced when Alastor's roving eyes focused on him.
The auror turned and went up to Harry, followed by the older gentleman. Harry slid his wand into his holster. He had no desire to possibly annoy the man.
"Mr. Potter here tells me that you handled the rabble, want to tell me what happened?" Moody grunted.
Avoiding looking at his great-uncle, Harry calmly explained the events that had happened after he entered the alley. He made sure that he told Moody about sending the Patronus to the DMLE when the attack first began.
"Right. I should have asked this earlier, but what's your name, lad?" Moody was still looking suspicious.
"Harry Potter," he answered.
Moody flicked his eyes at Charlus who looked surprised.
"Have identification?" he asked.
Harry pulled out his ID and handed it to Moody.
Moody's eyes ran over the ID and he waved a wand over it.
"It's an official ID. Right, well, where can I find you later on?" Moody asked.
"He'll be staying with my wife and I." Charlus interceded.
Moody nodded and walked off, an unfamiliar gait in his step since he still possessed both legs. Harry quietly watched him walk away while Charlus stayed behind.
"We can go and speak at my house. I'll need to call Fleamont and Euphemia over. As well as my mother. She'll want to hear about this," Charlus let out a sigh before continuing, "My wife is already upset about an heirloom going missing this morning. This will just be insanity to add to the madness."
Charlus offered his hand, and Harry grasped the forearm, allowing the familiar feel of a side-along apparition as they travelled to Charlus's chosen destination.
The house they appeared in front of was a two story Tudor style home.
"Let us go inside and see if we can't scrounge ourselves together some tea," offered Charlus. Harry looked at him and returned his kind smile. He nodded, and Charlus led the way forward.
As Charlus entered the building, he called out loudly, "Dorea, mother, I'm home! I've brought us a guest."
Harry smiled nervously, rubbing the back of his hair with his left hand. He looked up to the stairs as two women walked down. One of the women had grey hair and matching glinty eyes. This had to be his great-grandmother. He didn't know what her name was, but he was excited to meet her.
The second, much younger woman, made him think of Sirius, Andromeda, and Bellatrix. She had long black hair, held back by a red hair tie. There was no doubt that this was Dorea Potter. She held herself just as regally as Harry had seen in every other member of the Black family. However, her eyes were a softer grey, fondly reminding Harry of Sirius and Andromeda and their kind faces.
When Dorea looked down at Harry, he could see something akin to confusion flash in her eyes. She looked questioningly at Charlus before voicing it, "Who is this, Charlus?"
Charlus looked at his wife sheepishly before turning to Harry, "There was an attack at Diagon Alley this morning. It's okay though, this young man saved my life. Harry, this is my wife Dorea and my mother, Lucille. It might be best if we take this to the living room."
Harry followed Charlus into the living room, and gratefully took the seat that Charlus offered him while Dorea and Lucille trailed in."
"Charlus, you're worrying me. What happened?" Dorea asked.
"Dorea, mother, this is Harry Potter," Charlus introduced him.
"Potter?" Lucille asked. "What sort of vile trick is this?"
"No trick, mum," Charlus raised his hands placatingly. "Harry is a member of our family. And he's promised to tell us how he got to be here."
When he finished, he turned to Harry, "Isn't that right Harry?"
"Yes," Harry answered, "But didn't you want to call over Fleamont and Euphemia first?"
Charlus blushed, "Yes, I did."
He turned to his wife, "Can you prepare some tea? I'm going to call up Fleamont and Euphemia."
Dorea stood with her eyes narrowed at Charlus, "You better have a good explanation for all this."
"I promise, we do," Charlus reassured her, "I just need my brother here for this."
Harry watched quietly as Dorea searched Charlus's gaze for something before she nodded her head, shot a glance at Harry and headed out of the room towards the kitchen.
Charlus went over to the fireplace and set up the call with his brother.
Fleamont's head peeked through the flames, "Charlus, how can I help you?"
Harry smiled, hearing how jovial the man sounded.
"Can you and Euphemia come over?" Charlus asked.
"Sure, when do you need us?"
"Now if you're able," Charlus pressed, "I have somebody I want the two of you to meet."
Fleamont hummed to himself, "We'll be there in a few minutes."
The flames returned to normal and they sat quietly until Dorea came back into the room with tea on a large platter.
Charlus reached over to help her and put it down on the center table in the room.
Dorea smiled at her husband, "Thank you, dear."
Charlus blushed, which made him look a decade younger.
A knock sounded at the door and Charlus took the opportunity to walk over and open the door for his brother and sister-in-law.
Fleamont was an older man with thinning hair and knobbly knees. His wife, Euphemia, was an older witch with graying hair and small spectacles on a round face, looking remarkably how Harry remembered from his vision in the Mirror of Erised.
"Harry, I'd like you to meet Fleamont and Euphemia," Charlus introduced.
Harry stepped forward and reached out with a hand towards Fleamont, "It's nice to meet you, sir."
Fleamont laughed, shaking Harry's hand firmly, "None of this 'sir' stuff, Fleamont or Monty is perfectly fine."
Euphemia smiled, "It's nice to meet you, Harry."
Charlus gestured towards the living room, "Let's take our seats, shall we?"
They took their seats, and after greeting her son, Lucille poured out tea for all of them.
"So, Charlus," said Fleamont once they were all settled comfortably, "what made you call us over."
Charlus pointed over to Harry, "This young man would like to tell us a story. One, that I might imagine, will explain his name and why he looks like younger version of you."
Harry blushed as all the faces turned towards him, "So, I'm going to have to ask you all to bear with me for a bit here, because there is no nice or tactful way of sharing this information."
He turned to Fleamont, "I was born in 1980, to James Potter, and his wife, nine years from now."
Fleamont's previously jovial face turned pale, "What do you mean?"
Harry cleared his throat, feeling awkward, "Exactly what I said, I was born in 1980. And I was brought here after falling through an artifact called the Veil of Death attempting to stop an incursion at the Department of Mysteries in 2003."
"But I thought whoever went through the Veil died?" asked Lucille.
Harry nodded, though he wondered just how she knew about the Veil, "Normally, that would be the case."
He looked down at his hands, "But in my time, and in this one, I suppose, I gathered three objects that, well, protected me."
He pulled out the Elder Wand from a small pouch, pulled the Resurrection stone and his invisibility cloak.
Dorea frowned for a moment before gasping, "I recognize that wand."
Harry nodded, "You might. Until I came into possession of it in this time, it was the wand wielded by Professor Albus Dumbledore, the Elder Wand."
Fleamont looked confused for a moment, "The Deathly Hallows?"
"They are," Harry confirmed, "I am the Master of Death, and it allowed me to come back to this time."
He looked to Charlus, "Specifically, to prevent your death this morning."
Charlus looked ghostly, "My death?"
"In my timeline, you were killed today, and Dorea died not soon afterward," Harry said sadly.
He turned towards the other members of the family, "The dark wizard parading himself as Lord Voldemort is a man named Tom Riddle. He must be stopped at all costs."
He looked down towards his hands, "When I was one year old, a friend of my parents betrayed their hiding location to Voldemort. He came to our house and killed my parents."
He chuckled dryly, "It was more complicated than that, but that is the gist of it."
"How do we stop him?" asked Euphemia. Gone was the soft face that Harry associated with his memories of the Mirror of Erised, replaced with a stern visage.
"I can defeat Voldemort in battle," Harry answered, "but that won't be our biggest problem. He has made several items that store portions of his soul, Horcruxes."
"No," Lucille whispered, pale, "it cannot be."
"Mum?" Charlus asked, looking concerned.
"They are a vile piece of magic," Lucille's voice was like venom and everyone but Harry in the room flinched slightly.
"They are," Harry confirmed solemnly, "I know how to destroy them, but we'll need to speak with Professor Dumbledore for access to the Chamber of Secrets."
Dorea's head whipped towards him, "It exists?"
Harry smiled ruefully, "I have entered it. And though I do not wish to do so again, I will go to stop Voldemort."
"Will we be enough?" Charlus asked, "Or should we get others involved?"
Harry studied his hands, "In the case of the Chamber of Secrets, we will likely need some roosters and a squad of Aurors well versed in offensive magic."
"And Voldemort?" asked Fleamont, "We cannot fight a war alone."
"No," Harry agreed, "We can't. We will need the help of the Blacks."
"My family?" Dorea asked, "Why?"
Harry chuckled, "Arcturus can bring considerable resources and connections to the fight. Having him side against Voldemort would go a long way to rallying support in the levers of power to fight the Death Eaters."
"Why would Arcturus agree?" asked Lucille, "No offense Dorea, but Arcturus's views mostly align with that of the Death Eaters."
Harry smiled, "He, like most members of his family before him, cared about making the family powerful. In my timeline, fighting for Voldemort wipes out their family."
Dorea gasped, tears pricking her eyes, "All of them?"
"By the time I returned to the past," Harry said somberly, "the only Blacks left alive were Narcissa Malfoy, her son, Draco, and Narcissa's sister, Andromeda and her grandson, Teddy."
Dorea slumped back against her seat.
Lucille scooted forward, "Maybe then, it's time to bring Arcturus into the fold?"
Fleamont frowned for a moment, "Yeah, maybe."
It took another hour, but soon enough, Arcturus Black and his wife Melania were sitting in the living room with them. It was a bit cramped now, with Charlus and Fleamont sitting on conjured barstools.
"So tell me, Harry, why I was asked to come here," Arcturus demanded, voice stern.
Harry straightened his back and explained everything. He explained how Charlus had been supposed to die and its effect on the rest of the Black and Potter families. Harry told them of how bad the war had gotten, how Sirius had been picked to be their secret keeper after his parents went into hiding, and how they had switched Sirius with a friend, only for that friend to betray them. Then of how Voldemort had come for his family.
Next, he explained his placement with the Dursley family glossing over their treatment of him. He moved on quickly, speaking of Hogwarts's letters, meeting Hagrid for the first time, and his love and wonder of the magical world when he'd seen Diagon Alley for the first time. All of the adults smiled at this; they had seen many children staring at Diagon Alley in wonder upon their first trip there.
Harry spoke of his first year and the shade of Voldemort that had possessed Professor Quirrell. He covered the duel with the man at the end of the year and how his mother's sacrificial magic had protected him by killing Quirrell. He reminisced about his second year and the Heir of Slytherin mess, along with the terror caused by the basilisk. He shivered as he talked about the battle against Tom Riddle and the basilisk. He ended that part of the tale by telling them how Fawkes the phoenix, Dumbledore's familiar, had saved his life and allowed him to get rid of Tom Riddle's horcrux.
He paused to answer questions that they had. He then moved on to talk about Sirius Black and the dementors that had haunted his third year. Tears fell across many faces when he told them his memory of hearing his parents' voices through the painful memories that the dementors brought forth of his parents' deaths. He told them of the end of the year mishap with the dementors. He proudly cast the Patronus charm to show them his father's animagus form. There were gleams of pride in both Fleamont and Euphemia's eyes. Even Arcturus and Melania were riveted by the sight of the spirit guardian.
Harry moved onto his fourth year at Hogwarts. He talked about the Goblet of Fire debacle and the three tasks. He told them about the resurrection of Voldemort. He told them about the dementor attack that summer and his criminal trial. He told them about Dolores Umbridge and the torture at her hands in his fifth year. He told them about Sirius Black's death at Bellatrix Lestrange's hands and his use of the Cruciatus Curse in his rage. This had garnered looks of sympathy from the Potters and Melania, while Arcturus looked pensive.
Finally, he told them of his final two years and how the war began and ended. He told them of Draco Malfoy's mission and Albus Dumbledore's eventual death at Severus Snape's hands, a Death Eater turned spy. He covered the hunt for Tom Riddle's horcruxes and the final battle, and his first "death". He told them about his "resurrection" and the death of Voldemort.
After this, he moved on to the years afterward, and his time as an auror. He finished with his discussion with his mother and Sirius and his actions earlier that morning at Diagon Alley. When he was finished, he looked down at his plate and nipped at a crumpet while he waited for them to cast their judgment on his tale.
He knew it would be overwhelming, but he needed them to understand, to get the full weight of what happened in his past.
Arcturus leaned back against the sofa cushions, looking deeply troubled, "I'd accuse you of lying, but Charlus would not ask me here to listen to an old maid's tale."
He rubbed his face, "Also, we've been here since near noon, there's no way you could make up some of these details on the spot."
"What do we do?" Dorea asked.
"Isn't it obvious?" Melania said. "We go speak to Albus Dumbledore."
Arcturus looked at his wife, but after she raised an eyebrow he sighed, "My wife is correct, we will need to move the levers of power to get anything done, and Professor Dumbledore is the most powerful wizard in the country, whether he likes to acknowledge that fact or not."
Dorea invited them all to eat some dinner together and things settled into less stressful conversation as Charlus cooked in the kitchen.
Later on, long after dinner had been had, Harry sat quietly in his little corner, sipping at his tea as he let the sounds of conversations flow around him.
Lucille came over, "Let's get you settled in a bedroom."
Harry followed his great-grandmother up the stairs and was grateful when he was led to a cozy bedroom.
"Thank you," Harry murmured.
"You are family," Lucille said firmly, "You will always have a place here at Potter House. I'll let you get settled in."
When she left, Harry took out his bags from his shopping earlier in the morning and placed them on the bed. He pulled out his wand and began returning everything to their proper sizes. Harry laid out the robes on the bed before turning to the other matter at hand.
He would need to get a trunk with compartments. It would be the best way to store the Resurrection Stone. In the meanwhile, a personal vault would have to function in its stead. He conjured such a safe and set the passcode to Ron's birthday. After placing the stone in the safe and closing it, Harry cast extra enchantments to keep intruders from trying to access the stone.
Setting his wand down, Harry laid down on the bed and tried to get some sleep.
A/N: And our first major change from the original is here. Let me know if you caught it. I share a server with Sectumus. Information can be found in my profile (and has been added to my AO3 profile).