Hey there everyone, chapter 8 is here! Sorry it's been a while; life has been crazy busy, and I have overextended myself with all my WIP's. I am back to working on my stories again and have promised myself not to start any new ones until I finish some Anyway, I hope you enjoy this latest chapter. This chapter is mostly Harry telling everyone a bit of his past, so hopefully you don't find it boring. Enjoy!

Chapter 8

The room froze, no one quite knew what to say to that statement. Everyone had heard about the rising Dark Lord, but most had hoped that it would be a passing threat. Orion was particularly concerned, as he knew who this Lord Voldemort actually was.

"I think that's something we can discuss later, right now there are more important things that we need to go over" Orion said diplomatically, though with the air of someone who expected to be obeyed.

Harry nodded as he let out a deep sigh, he supposed they did have a few things to talk about. He wasn't exactly looking forward to it though.

He ate his breakfast slowly, purposefully ignoring the pointed looks everyone in the room was shooting him. When he could delay no longer, Harry stood up and made his way towards one of the sitting rooms, a flurry of bodies clamouring behind him.

He chose his usual seat, not really thinking about it as he settled himself into the dark brown leather. He sat his cane beside him, letting out a soft sigh as the tension in his leg eased again as he sat. James and Sirius had a brief scuffle over who got to sit next to him (Sirius won), before everyone else settled around them on various seats, or in James and Remus's case, the floor.

"So…" Orion began.

"So…" Harry echoed.

He glanced up and found his grandparents watching him carefully.

He rubbed his chest, his heart was pounding painfully, anxiety running through him at everything he was about to reveal.

"How about you start at the beginning" his grandfather said

The beginning, Harry thought, but where was the beginning?

"Well, I guess it really starts a long time ago, but it has mapped my entire life." Harry started with a deep sigh, rubbing his eyes wearily. "I come from a time where Voldemort is growing stronger every day, where people live in fear. There are deaths, disappearances, people are forced to do horrible things, it's… not good."

Orion had to keep from rolling his eyes at the teens underwhelming summary.

"You see, Voldemort… You do know who Voldemort is, don't you?" Harry asked.

A chorus of yes's and nods erupted in the room.

"Voldemort, well a few months before I was born, he found out that a prophecy was made" he decided not to mention that it was Professor Trelawney who had made the prophecy and that it was Snape who had heard it and told Voldemort.

"Prophecies are a very imprecise branch of magic" Lady Potter said critically.

"I know that you know that, but Voldemort didn't know that" Harry said with a self-deprecating chuckle.

"Anyway, he heard this prophecy, well part of it and decided it was about me and that I was a threat and had to be eliminated."

James gasped at that. "He started hunting you before you were even born?" He felt sick at the very idea.

"What did the prophecy say?" Regulus interrupted curiously.

Harry shuddered, he remembered it word for word.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."

Everyone looked stunned as Harry finished speaking. Lady Potter reached out and gripped her husband's hands tightly.

"The thing is" Harry said, working himself up a little as he remembered how this all started. "It didn't necessarily mean that it was me! There were two baby boys born at that time, both to parents who had thrice defied him. Me and Neville Longbottom."

"Franks son?" Remus whispered brokenly, somewhere to Harry's left.

"But Voldemort chose to target me, the half-blood not the pureblood. Dumbledore thinks that he saw himself in me" Harry said distractedly.

"Well, at least Frank and his family were safe" James murmured, clearly trying to find some good from the situation.

"Oh, they weren't safe" Harry said distantly, his eyes were unfocused, clearly lost in a memory. "They were tortured into insanity by Voldemort's supporters, they live permanently in the Janus Thickey ward for spell damage at St Mungo's. Neville was raised by his grandmother, he still visits them often."

Remus had to bite back the bile that was rising in his throat at the words. Sirius covered his mouth to try to hold back an anguished cry, his other hand reaching out to grip Harry's tightly. The contact seemed to bring Harry back to the present. He shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"Sorry" he said softly.

"No, don't be sorry, everything you can tell us is important" Orion said earnestly, though even he looked a little ill.

"Anyway, Voldemort started hunting me, thinking that I would be the one to bring about his downfall or whatever. You and mum received a tip off" Harry said pointing to James "and went into hiding after I was born."

Harry paused, "this next part might be difficult to hear…"

James swallowed thickly but nodded.

"You were put under a fidelius charm" Harry continued slowly. "You chose Sirius to be your secret keeper."

Sirius nodded beside him, and James murmured "of course."

"But" Sirius tensed beside him, and Harry turned to him with pain filled eyes. "At the last moment you convinced them to use Peter instead." No one seemed to quite see the problem yet.

"Peter" Harry paused again, glancing at Sirius, Remus and James. He knew this was going to be hard for them to hear. "Is in league with Voldemort."

A stunned silence filled the room.

"What?" Remus croaked looking around the room wildly, as if for answers, while Sirius shook his head, dark hair flying erratically.

"You're lying!" Sirius snarled, ripping his hand away from Harry's and jumping to his feet.

Regulus frowned at his brother's behaviour, carefully getting out of his seat and making his way to Harry's side, reaching out to take the hand that Sirius had abandoned.

"Why would you even say something like that!?" Sirius cried and Remus stood up and put a hand on his shoulder to calm him.

"It's the truth" Harry said, subconsciously squeezing Regulus' hand for support. "I know its hard to hear but Peter, he – he told Voldemort where to find us. On Halloween Voldemort arrived. Dad you tried to fight him, tired to keep him at bay so mum would have time to run with me, but he killed you."

James's face was ashen and Lady Potter and started to cry. Remus and Sirius sat down on either side of James and just hugged him. Harry continued; voice thick.

"He told mum that she didn't have to die, that he would let her leave if she moved aside and let him kill me, which of course she didn't."

"She wouldn't" James whispered, completely convinced of his futures wife's goodness.

"So, Voldemort killed her as well."

James was outright crying now and even Orion looked subdued.

"He lifted his wand to kill me, but the spell rebounded, all I was left with was this scar" Harry said as he lifted his fringe to show everyone his lightning bolt scar.

Regulus leaned around to see what Harry was indicating to, but there was nothing there.

"There's nothing there" Regulus said quietly. Harry's eyes popped open in surprise.

"What's supposed to be there?" Orion asked.

Harry didn't answer, he jumped up and ran from the room, leaving everyone more than a little surprised. They could hear him stomping through the house before the footsteps started heading back their way.

"It's gone" Harry said in surprise, rubbing a hand over his forehead as he burst back into the room.

"What's gone?" Lord Potter asked in confusion as Harry sat back down next to Regulus.

"When Voldemort attacked me, he left a scar, a lightning bolt scar on my forehead." Harry said with a wave of his hand at his head. "I can't believe it's gone."

"Maybe since you've gone back in time, to before the event took place it vanished?" Orion said thoughtfully and Harry pulled the sleeve of his shirt up to check the back of his hand. But no, there on the back of his hand, I must not tell lies. So, what made his lightning bolt scar so different? Because it's a cursed scar? He wondered.

Regulus was peering down at Harry's hand as well, frowning at the words etched into his skin, Harry quickly covered them up, probably making himself look guilty as hell.

Orion cleared his throat, gaining Harry and everyone's attention, "lets continue, yes?"

Harry nodded, now that he had started, he might as well keep going.

"Ah yeah. So, Voldemort was vanquished, for the time being. There's more to that part but we can talk about it later."

Orion looked like he was going to object but then just nodded, waving his hand for Harry to continue.

"And you see, the thing was that, well everyone thought that Sirius had been the Potters secret keeper, you know."

Orion nodded slowly; he didn't like where this was going.

"Sirius, you went mad with grief" Harry explained. "You tracked Peter down, but before you could do anything he shouted for the whole street to hear how you had betrayed Lily and James. Then he cut off his own finger, blew up the street, killing a dozen people, before turning into a rat and escaping into the sewers."

Harry looked down mournfully, picking at the hem of his t-shirt.

"They arrested you, sent you to Azkaban without a trial."

Sirius felt his blood run cold at the words and Regulus reached out and gripped Harry's hand again, though he got the feeling it was more for Regulus then Harry.

"No" Orion croaked. "I would never let that happen to my son."

Sirius felt a warmth spread through him at the words.

"I- I think you were already dead" Harry said, glancing at Orion apologetically.

"Dead, within three years" Orion muttered more to himself, but Harry answered anyway.

"Yeah, if I were you, I'd do something about Walburga sooner rather than later."

Orion nodded, I feral glint coming to his eyes, and Harry was reminded just how ruthless the Blacks could be. "I will deal with that shortly, keep going."

"Ah yeah, so Sirius was sent to Azkaban" Harry continued.

"But what happened to me? You knew me, so I obviously didn't stay there long."

Harry's lips twisted and James had the feeling he really wasn't going to like the answer.

"I think it would be better if I told this story in order" Harry said, not meeting Sirius's eyes.

"I was all alone. My parents were dead, grandparents gone" Harry said with a sad glance at his grandparents, who were watching him with tears in their eyes. "Godfather in Azkaban and Godmother in St Mungo's. Dumbledore decided to send me to my closest living relatives. Mum's sister, my Aunt Petunia, her husband Uncle Vernon and their son, my cousin Dudley."

James' mouth dropped open in horror. He didn't know Lily's family very well yet, but he hadn't heard good things about her sister.

"They didn't like anything related to magic" Harry explained with a deep sigh, staring pointedly at his knee, "which meant they didn't like me. They weren't afraid to show it either."

Regulus' hand around his own clenched for a moment and Harry glanced at the other teen to find a perfectly blank expression on the others face.

"What did they do to you?" Remus asked softly and it seemed like the whole room was suddenly taking in his appearance. His tiny frame and stature and putting two and two together.

Harry gave a non-committal shrug. "I'd rather not talk about it now, maybe another time."

"I didn't know that I was magic, they would just get so mad if anything strange or peculiar happened around me. I- I didn't know what had happened to you or mum" Harry said, looking at James. "They told me that you were a drunk who had died in a car accident."

James seethed in anger at the words, at the lies told to his son, at how he had been treated. It didn't take a genius to work out that Harry had been the victim of abuse. He took a deep breath trying to quell his anger and wasn't surprised when he heard Remus growling softly beside him.

"When I turned 11 all these letters kept arriving for me, but the Dursleys burnt them before I could read any. Eventually Dumbledore sent Hagrid to give me my Hogwarts letter in person and take me to Diagon alley for the first time."

Orion and Lord and Lady Potter looked shocked. "Dumbledore sent the groundskeeper who can't even do magic to take you to Diagon alley for the first time?" Lady Potter asked, completely flabbergasted.

Harry just shrugged, "I suppose he thought it was for the best. Besides, Hagrid is really nice."

"Hagrid is a lovely man" she agreed "that doesn't mean he was the right person to take you. I honestly can't believe it" she muttered to herself.

"Hagrid was also the one who explained about what had happen to my parents and who Voldemort was."

Lady Potter looked like she was seconds away from fainting, her husband reaching out to comfort her.

"Umm… anyway, I started at Hogwarts and was sorted into Gryffindor" Harry grinned at the three Gryffindors who smiled back at him, finally some good news.

Harry paused again, wondering how much detail he should go into about his school 'adventures'.

"School was amazing, I finally felt like I had found a place where I belonged, where I wasn't such a freak."

His wording causing everyone in the room to frown.

"I made seeker on the Gryffindor quidditch team in my first year" Harry continued proudly, and James crowed in triumph. "I had two amazing best friends Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley."

"That sounds wonderful, Harry" Lady Potter said smiling at Harry warmly.

"It really was. There were a few bumps over the years, but nothing that I couldn't handle" Harry said blithely but Orion latched onto the statement like a dog with a bone.

"What kind of bumps?" he asked suspiciously.

"Well… in my first year Voldemort tried to come back. He possessed our defence against the dark arts teacher, and I caught him drinking unicorn blood in the forbidden forest. But thankfully Ron, Hermione and I managed to make it passed all the security measures the teachers had put in place and stopped him from stealing the philosophers stone." Harry said in a great rush, as though getting it out quicker would make it easier for everyone to hear.

"What?" Orion croaked. Possession, Voldemort, unicorn blood, the philosophers stone? Just what the hell was going on at Hogwarts in Harry's time? Lord Potter seemed to be thinking something along the same lines.

"How did all that manage to happen at Hogwarts right under Dumbledores nose?" he asked his eyebrows scrunched up in anger.

Harry tilted his head in thought, "I'm not really sure, to be honest."

"Be having words with Dumbledore" Harry heard him mumbling under his breath.

"So, the takeaway from all that" Regulus summed up with a wave of his hand, "is that you stopped Voldemort again?"

"Yeah, pretty much" Harry nodded.

"Were you injured?"

"Huh?" what did that matter? Harry wondered.

"Were. You. Injured?" Regulus bit out, his dark eyes boring into Harrys and the younger teen found himself momentarily frozen by the gaze.

"Uh yeah, I was in the hospital ward unconscious for a few days, but Madame Pomfrey fixed me up right as rein."

Regulus' lips pressed into a thin line, as though he was fighting back a comment on that.

"You really should have been taken to St Mungo's" Lady Potter put in.

Harry wasn't sure what to say to that, should he have been taken to St Mungo's? Madame Pomfrey had always managed to fix him up.

"Did the school alert your family as to what had happened?" Orion asked, face serious.

Again, Harry looked confused, and Lord Potter and Orion shared a look.

"I'm not sure. If they did the Dursleys wouldn't have cared anyway."

There was a lot here that needed to be unpacked, but for now Orion thought it best to keep Harry on track.

"So, that was first year, what about second year?"

Harry shuddered at the mere memory of his second year.

"Second year was tough. Students kept getting attacked, petrified, messages written on the walls in blood saying that the heir of Slytherin was back. Of course, with my luck everyone thought I was the heir of Slytherin after people found out that I'm a parselmouth."

"What!" Regulus squawked beside him. "You're a parselmouth?"

"Ah, yeah" Harry said sheepishly, not missing the look Regulus and Orion shared.

Harry decided to ignore the interruption and continue with the story.

"People weren't very nice to me after that."

James's stomach tightened at the words; he could imagine how Harry would've been treated. He could also admit that he probably would've been one of the worst. The realisation sent a spike of shame through him.

"It ended up alright though. Ron and I found the chamber of secrets and I battled and killed a basilisk. It turned out that the culprit had actually been Ginny Weasley, Ron's younger sister. But she wasn't to blame, she had been writing in a book that Voldemort had enchanted, and it was slowly draining away her life force and possessing her, making her do those terrible things. I managed to stab the diary with a basilisk fang and destroyed it, thankfully before Ginny died."

Harry spoke so matter of factly that Remus struggled to comprehend all that was being said.

"You battled and killed a basilisk at 12" Remus asked incredulously.

Harry shrugged again, like it was no big deal. "Not on my own, Fawkes clawed out its eyes so it couldn't petrify me as well."

Remus just shook his head, mouth hanging slightly agape, and James got the unsettling feeling that Harry got into far more trouble at school than he could ever hope to imagine. If this was the stuff, he was telling them, he couldn't imagine what he was leaving out.

"Were you injured this time?" Regulus asked coldly, noting the way Harry failed to meet his eyes.

"Well…" Harry began, and he looked like he wasn't going to answer, until Sirius butted in. "Were you Harry?"

"I was stabbed with a basilisk fang" he mumbled, knowing that it wouldn't be taken well.

"Stabbed with a basilisk fang!" James shrieked and Harry winced.

"Look, it wasn't a big deal, Fawkes came along not long after and cried some phoenix tears on the wound. Healed me right up."

Everyone in the room looked flabbergasted at that.

James was muttering to Remus and Sirius, all who were watching Harry very seriously. "Thinks it's not a big deal to be stabbed by a basilisk fang then healed by phoenix tears."

Harry just rolled his eyes.

"Then came third year."

"I'm not sure I even want to know" Lord Potter whispered to his wife.

Harry looked sheepishly at Sirius and Remus, "this is where you two come back into the story."

"He was on his own until he was 13!" James muttered angrily, but low enough that Harry didn't think he was supposed to hear.

"The year started with a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher" Harry said with a flourish as he pointed to Remus, who looked pleasantly surprised at the news. "And the escape of mass murderer Sirius Black from Azkaban."

Both men just stared at Harry in disbelief.

"I was in Azkaban until you were 13? And I wasn't even released, I had to escape" Sirius had gone very pale at the words, his hands shaking. Remus and James reached out to comfort him.

"How did he escape?" Regulus asked from beside Harry, watching his brother with concern.

Harry decided to just be truthful, he was revealing his secrets, they could to.

"He turned into his animagus form and escaped through the bars."

"You're an animagus?" Regulus asked Sirius in surprise. The latter just nodding stiffly.

"I can change into a grim."

"Everyone thought you had escaped to kill me, to finally finish the last Potter off" Harry said grimly, and Sirius looked sick at the thought. "It turned out that you had seen a photo of Peter in his rat form in a family photo of my friend Ron, that had been posted in the paper. You knew Peter had positioned himself to act if needed and you escaped to try to help me."

Harry said with a fond look at Sirius.

"At the end of the year Remus, Sirius, Ron, Hermione and myself cornered Peter but he managed to escape. With his escape there was no way of proving your innocence Sirius, so you were forced to go on the run."

Sirius blinked slowly, obviously struggling to comprehend that he had been a wanted fugitive in Harry's time.

"Fourth year was probably the most… difficult" Harry continued.

Regulus felt his eyes widen, if Harry was saying that then it must've been a traumatic year indeed.

Harry started talking, failing to notice that Lady Potter had called for tea until a warm mug was pushed into his hands. He took a sip gratefully as he continued.

"It's kinda hard to explain…" Harry said rubbing his eyes wearily.

"The Triwizard Tournament came to Hogwarts, and I was chosen as the fourth Hogwarts champion, which made me about as popular as I had been back in second year as there was only supposed to be three champions. Everyone thought I'd cheated, but I hadn't!" Harry said indignantly.

"We got a new Defence teacher, Mad Eye Moody. But it ended up being Barty Crouch Jr polyjuiced to look like Mad Eye. He kept the real Made Eye in a trunk for the year, using his hair to make the potion."

"But why would Barty Crouch Jr do that?" Regulus asked beside him. He was somewhat friends with Barty after all.

"Well, you see, Barty had been sent to Azkaban as he was one of the death eaters who had tortured Frank and Alice Longbottom." Harry explained. "However, his father managed to fake his death and smuggle him out of Azkaban, he escaped his father's control and returned to Voldemort's side, ready to do his bidding."

The most shocking part of that whole sentence had been the fact that Barty had tortured someone. The boy he knew didn't like his father and was already entertaining the idea of joining Voldemort, but he was still a kind person.

"What a fool of a man" Lady Potter fumed. Harry just nodded in complete agreement, thinking about how different things may have been if Barty had never escaped.

"I managed to make it through the first two tasks, the final task was a maze." Harry gripped his mug tighter. "You had to make your way through the maze battling anything you came across and be the first one to touch the Triwizard cup in the centre of the maze. Cedric – he was the other Hogwarts Champion – and I got to the cup at the same time, so we decided to take it together. A Hogwarts victory, you know?" Harry asked, looking around the room sadly.

Sirius nodded in understanding, but he knew it wasn't going to end well.

"The cup ended up being a portkey, when Cedric and I touched the cup, we were transported to a graveyard, where Peter was waiting for us. He killed Cedric" Harry said, his green eyes shining with tears. "He tied me up and used my blood in a ritual to return Voldemort to his full strength."

Regulus wrapped his arm around Harry's shoulder, silently offering support as Harry continued speaking voice breaking in pain.

"We duelled but I managed to escape. I took Cedric's body back to Hogwarts with me, h-he asked me too."

Orion's mind was reeling. So, Voldemort was vanquished but somehow managed to return. He would need to speak more with Harry about this when the young teen was feeling up to it.

"He asked you to?" Remus asked in confusion.

Harry nodded, subconsciously leaning further into Regulus's embrace.

"Voldemort and I have brother wands" Harry explained. "Which means that the core of our wands came from the same phoenix."

The room looked interested in that; it was a very rare occurrence.

"When brother wands are forced to duel each other, one wand will force the other to regurgitate the last spells that it cast. An image of Cedric came out of Voldemort's wand, he asked me to return his body to his family."

James's stomach tightened; he couldn't even imagine how horrible that must've been for Harry.

"I tried to warn everyone that Voldemort back, but not very many people believed me, everyone though I was crazy. In my fifth year the Ministry appointed a Ministry worker as the new Defence teacher, she was…cruel" and Harry nearly snorted at the understatement. "Voldemort managed to trick me into thinking that he had Sirius hostage at the Department of Mysteries. So, some friends and I rode Thestrals to the Ministry to try and save you." Harry said, looking at Sirius sadly. "But it was all a trap, Voldemort's death eaters were there, he needed me to get our prophecy because he hadn't heard the whole thing. But you and Remy arrived with some other members of the Order of the Phoenix" Harry was talking to Sirius now.

"W- we battled the death eaters and Bellatrix, she hit you with a curse and you fell through the veil" Harry had silent tears running down his face now as he looked at Sirius. "I tried to go after you, but Remus stopped me, he's just so strong." Harry took a deep breath, "but- but It's my fault that you died!"

Now Harry wasn't the only one who had tears running down their face.

"Oh, Harry no" Sirius said pleadingly crawling over to Harry and resting his hands on thin knobbly knees. Sirius had no idea what the veil was but hearing the story now he knew nothing that happened to him in the future was Harry's fault.

"It is! It is my fault! If I hadn't been so stupid you never would've been in danger."

"I was there because I wanted to be, Harry. The only person to blame here is Voldemort" Sirius said gently, and Harry gave him a watery smile though not entirely convinced.

"I think that's enough for the day" Regulus said firmly.

Orion opened his mouth, but Regulus shot him such a cold glare that he quickly shut it again. Perhaps that was enough for today.

"I think I'll take Harry back to his room for a rest" Regulus said decisively as he helped a dazed Harry to his feet, grabbing his walking stick and placing it in Harry's lax hand.

"I'll take him" James said with a frown, jumping up and moving toward the pair.

"I've got him" Regulus said, pulling Harry more firmly into his side. "Sirius needs you."

James turned to find Sirius looking distraught, both Remus and Orion talking to him quietly. His parents also looked distressed, so James nodded reluctantly. Harry was tucked securely under Regulus's chin and looked to be half asleep anyway.

James ran his hand through the wild black locks and Harry leaned into the touch.

"I'll come and check on you later" James whispered as Regulus helped Harry from the room.