Chapter 3: Proper Preparation and Planning
Harry grinned, meeting the eyes of his father and friends and seeing a mischievous glint reflected back at him. "What did you have in mind?"
"All in good time pup!" laughed Sirius, pleased to see Harry so eager to get involved. "First we need to talk about the changes you're going to make. Dumbledore kept this quiet as he needed you to be entirely reliant on him if his plans were going to work, but I'm sure you realise you've got a bit of a profile in the Wizarding World?" Sirius smirked at Harry and threw him a wink.
Harry rolled his eyes "Yeah as if I could forget. I tried to ignore it as much as I could but…"
Sirius interrupted him, "This time you need to embrace it. Grab it with both hands and make it work for you." Harry felt pretty uncomfortable at the thought of this, he'd actively spent two-thirds of his life trying to avoid public attention, and nearly every time he'd failed at that task it had backfired on him spectacularly. Even years later he hadn't forgotten the denigration and smearing he'd taken from the press after announcing Voldemort's return following the Triwizard Tournament.
"I know what you're thinking but hear us out," said James quickly. "You're in a truly unique position here – saviour of the Wizarding World, experienced in the Muggle world and, lest I forget, heir of 3 old families with votes on the Wizengamot…" James trailed off, a broad smile on his face as he allowed Harry a moment to comprehend the possibilities this presented.
"Part of the problem you had at school last time was that you didn't present yourself how others expected. The purebloods didn't know what to make of you as they knew your status but you didn't behave as they anticipated, and everyone else saw you as aloof or intimidating, shying away from attention outside your comfort zone. You had a couple of close friends and didn't really make any effort to expand that circle. This time around you've got to change that."
"But I don't care what others think of me" protested Harry.
"An admirable position to take," agreed Remus "and one that we all fully believe in, but in this case of absolutely no help to you whatsoever. I'm not saying don't be yourself, or change who are you inside, but in order to make a difference to society you need to be accepted into it in the first place."
James now took over "Which leads us nicely onto our first change. When you return you need someone to help you learn Wizarding customs so you aren't going in blind and can begin to forge the relationships you'll need in the future. You need to get away from the Dursley's as soon as you can and reach out to Andromeda Tonks – as a former member of the Black family, she'll be able to help you navigate the Wizengamot and give you those lessons in etiquette you so clearly need. As a bonus, you can stick it to Dumbledore by making her your proxy." He added with a wink.
Harry knew and loved Dromeda from the time they spent together with Teddy Lupin and knew he could trust her. "How would that affect Dumbledore?" he asked curiously.
"As your magical guardian, he currently controls your votes on the court. Get to Gringotts as soon as you can, accept your roles as heir and ask Dromeda to stand in Dumbledore's place."
Harry pondered this for a moment. "OK – so controlling my own votes is going to help us pass or change the laws we need and put a block on anything we don't want. But I'll only have a few votes out of, what, 50 or so? How do we get anything done from there?"
"Change number two Harry"
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I CAN'T BE IN GRYFFINDOR?"
"He's taking it well then," said Lily as she reappeared next to James. "Listen sweetheart – there's a good reason. With everything that was going on you probably didn't realise this last time around, but in addition to you, your year group at school contained ten potential heirs to their houses with an eleventh joining the following year. If you can ally with some or all of those heirs, together you can bring about some real change."
"Why can't I do that from Gryffindor? I can make…" a sudden comprehension dawned on Harry's face. "Some of the heirs are in Slytherin."
"Correct," nodded Remus "and there's little chance of getting any cooperation there with the depth of animosity between the two houses."
"I'm not going to be in Slytherin," said Harry in a disgruntled tone.
"You'd have the same problem. It'll have to be Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. You could use the reputation of Ravenclaws to hide your future knowledge - you'd be expected to be ahead of the curve there so the fact you've done all your lessons once before should be concealable – and no-one would think twice of a Hufflepuff reaching out to students in other houses. Either would suit your purpose."
Harry contemplated this. He'd known it was likely the Sorting Hat would be able to tell he'd been there before once the sorting began. Perhaps he could take the hat's advice?
"Fine" sighed Harry. "Is that not going to cause issues with the whole 'no big changes' thing though?"
"You'll be OK. Being in Gryffindor has no impact on anything major in your first few years, though you will have to get used to new Quidditch teammates." smiled James
"I suppose there is a silver lining. No more 4 AM strategy sessions with Oliver Wood."
The bright, white mist that lay around the platform lingered in the same state as it had been when he arrived. Harry and his family discussed his plans. He knew that he wouldn't be able to stay much longer and sensed that the time of his return was approaching rapidly.
"What about the Horcruxes?" Harry asked.
"Well," Remus replied, "you know where they all are now so you can begin to collect them as you see fit. You no longer have to worry about the one in your scar and Voldemort won't turn Nagini into one until he kills Bertha Jorkins in your fourth year. I would seriously recommend speaking to the Goblins this time though rather than breaking in and riding out on a dragon?" There was a general chuckle of amusement from the group.
"Remember though son, you don't have to deal with them entirely on your own. Reach out for help – there's other magic in the world than that wielded by Wizards. Dumbledore made the entire thing much harder than it needed to be by keeping everything so hush-hush. Not everyone can be trusted but that's no reason not to trust when it's warranted." James stopped, plainly thinking of his own mistake trusting Peter Pettigrew to be their secret keeper. "Just be sure OK?"
"I will Dad." Harry agreed. "So at what point will I be re-entering my life?"
"When you wake you'll be 8 years old again," said Lily. "That should give you ample time to prepare for Hogwarts. I believe you'll have been caught on the school roof the previous day…"
Harry vividly remembered the beating Uncle Vernon had given him when he'd got home from school for his 'freakishness' when Harry couldn't explain how he got up there in the first place. A couple of cracked ribs, a whipping that left marks covering his back and two black eyes. He knew he was going to be sore in the morning.
His mother winced and a look of rage crossed her face as she realised what Harry was recalling. "I'm sorry sweetheart. If I could spare you that pain…"
"It's fine mum, I understand. It'll be a good excuse for some accidental magic anyway." Harry winked in an attempt to lighten the dark mood that had fallen.
A tingling sensation began in Harry's fingers and toes and began to slowly spread throughout his body. "I think it's time," he said quietly.
"Come here, son." James and Lily pulled Harry into a tight embrace, trying to communicate their feelings to him through that simple act of contact.
"Never doubt that we love you, Harry," Lily spoke, unable to prevent the breaking of her voice as James gave him an extra squeeze to emphasise the words.
"We'll see you soon pup." Sirius and Remus smiled at him.
The figures of those that had greeted him upon his arrival faded back into view, as though they were giving him their blessing ahead of his return. One stepped forward.
"Remember Potter – CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" Moody's voice rang out around the platform and Harry gave a short burst of laughter before everything faded to black.