A/N: Hi all - as promised, chapter 1 of the Time Again rewrite. I'd really like to hear your feedback so please R&R!

Harry Potter belongs to JKR - anything you recognise is hers, everything else is mine.


Now the doors were slamming all along the scarlet train, and the blurred outlines of parents were swarming forwards for final kisses, last-minute reminders. Albus jumped into the carriage and Ginny closed the door behind him. Students were hanging from the windows nearest them. A great number of faces, both on the train and off, seemed to be turned towards Harry.

"Why are they all staring?" demanded Albus, as he and Rose craned round to look at the other students.

"Don't let it worry you," said Ron. "It's me. I'm extremely famous."

Albus, Rose, Hugo and Lily laughed. The train began to move, and Harry walked alongside it, watching his son's thin face, already ablaze with excitement. Harry kept smiling, and waving, even though it was like a little bereavement, watching his son glide away from him…

The last trace of steam evaporated in the autumn air. The train rounded a corner. Harry's hand was still raised in farewell.

"He'll be alright," murmured Ginny.

"As Harry looked at her, he lowered his hand absent-mindedly and touched the lightning scar on his forehead.

"I know he will."

The scar had not pained Harry for nineteen years. All was well.


Harry lingered for a moment, turning away from Ginny to watch the point where the Express had just disappeared from sight. He felt a small hand slip into his and smiled down at his daughter, her red hair shining in the morning sunlight, and her bottom lip beginning to quiver. He stooped and pulled her into his arms, cuddling her as she buried her face into the crook of his neck, wrapping her small arms around him and holding him tightly. His collar moistened and he realised she was crying quietly into his neck. He squeezed Lily just a little tighter, his hand gently rubbing circles on her back.

"Hey now," he whispered. "Don't cry, we'll see them again at Christmas and I'm sure they'll both be writing to us tomorrow to let us know where Al has been sorted."

Lily didn't speak but sniffed and nodded. Harry grimaced as his wand jabbed into his side as he tried to shift into a position from which he could stand whilst still maintaining his hold on his daughter. He swore silently at himself for forgetting to put his wand holster on in the rush to leave their home that morning. He managed to extract his faithful holly and phoenix feather wand from his pocket and passed it to Ginny who had moved to help, smiling up at her as he did so.

"Can you hold onto this for a second, please?"

Ginny stroked Lily's hair and pocketed Harry's wand, sharing a look of understanding with Harry at their daughter's unhappiness.

"How about we head to the Alley instead of going home," Ginny suggested kindly to Lily. "We can pop in and see Uncle George and Auntie Angie at Wheezes for a bit, then grab some lunch at Fortescue's if you'd like?"

Lily nodded again. She refused to remove her face from where she had concealed it and maintained her grip around Harry's neck. Harry grinned up at Ginny.

"I'll let Ron and Hermione know what we're doing, in case they want to join us," she said and started to head over to where the couple stood with Hugo.

Harry shifted his hold on Lily and climbed slowly to his feet, exaggerating a groan as he did so. "I really should stop carrying you around now you've turned 23."

"Daddy!" she giggled quietly, pulling back from his neck to look at Harry's softly smiling face. "I'm not 23! I'm only nine!"

"What?" Harry exclaimed in mock surprise. "Are you sure? I swear we had a big party and everything! Uncle Ron was there, and he ate all your cake!"

"He did! But that was last year," she pouted.

"Ah, yes. Of course, it was." Harry's eyes twinkled in amusement. "So, what do we do about that?"

"Always buy two cakes," Lily said solemnly.

"Always buy two cakes." Harry agreed, tapping Lily's nose with his index finger and eliciting a giggle from his daughter as she used her small fists to scrub the remnants of tears from her eyes.

"C'mon, you two!" Ron called from where he was standing between Hermione and Ginny, a hand on Hugo's shoulder. Harry grinned at his wife who was smiling gently as she watched her husband and daughter.

A silence fell as the final families left the platform, leaving the Potters and the Weasleys alone. A light breeze blew, causing the first leaves of autumn to skitter along the ground and ruffling Harry's untidy black hair.

He shivered suddenly and the hairs stood up on the back of his neck. A sense of unease came over him, the disquieting feeling that something wasn't right. The war with Voldemort and his ensuing years as an Auror had taught him to trust his instincts when they flared, and his were flaring now in a way that they hadn't for quite some time. His eyes scanned the rapidly emptying Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, searching for the source of his discomfort.

"Lily," he whispered, bending down and placing her back on her feet, "I want you to stay behind me."

"Daddy? What's wrong?"

"Harry?" Hermione stepped away from Ron and walked closer, concern showing in her eyes as she watched him scan their surroundings. "Is everything OK?"

Harry held up his hand to quiet her. They appeared to be alone on the platform now and silence fell as the last of the other families dispersed, returning to their homes and places of work. The feeling in Harry's gut was growing stronger – he still wasn't sure what was causing it but he knew what it meant… what it always meant. Trouble was on the way. Suddenly, Harry glimpsed movement in his peripheral vision and turned towards a figure in a long black cloak, their face concealed inside a deep hood, who had stepped out from the shadows of an archway. A wand raised in one hand, the other pushing the hood back to display a sallow, sunken face, changed by years of exposure to the Dementors of Azkaban but recognisable to Harry, nonetheless. How could he fail to recognise the person who had once almost stolen his best friend from him?

"Dolohov" Harry whispered. Hermione spun on the spot, a moment of fear in her eyes as she caught sight of the Death Eater that gave her the jagged scar that remained on her chest to that day. Unconsciously, her hand rose to touch it, her face twisting as she remembered the pain she'd felt as the dark curse had struck her so many years ago.

Dolohov smiled at the pair as he whispered the words almost lovingly. His voice seemed to caress the syllables…

"Avada Kedavra"

Harry threw himself to the side, pulling Lily with him and they came to rest behind one of the pillars that lined the platform, the bright green light flashing through the place he had stood only moments before. He heard Hugo cry out for Hermione and Ginny scream for him and Lily as Dolohov cursed and slid behind a pillar of his own. Harry glanced over to see Hermione taking shelter in one of the many archways embedded into the wall of the platform, her wand gripped tightly in her hand and a wild look of panic in her eyes; Harry knew instinctively that she was reliving the last time they'd found themselves on the wrong end of Dolohov's wand. He swore under his breath as he realised that his own wand was in his wife's possession – he needed to get it back if his family were to get out of this alive.

He peered around the pillar, hoping to get an idea as to where Dolohov now lurked. Not seeing him, he ducked back and turned hurriedly to Lily.

"Listen to me sweetheart," he said in a hushed voice, gently stroking her hair as she trembled in fear, tears pouring down her face. "I need to get my wand from Mummy so I'm going to run out from here and get that man's attention, OK?" Lily shook her head, begging her father not to do so. "When I start running, I want you to get to Auntie Hermione as quickly as you can, alright? Can you do that for me? She's going to look after you." He assured her. Harry looked up and caught Hermione's eye again, he gestured at her, indicating his plan and saw that the panic had receded from her eyes, though she was still fearful. She nodded in return.

"We're going to go on three, OK?" Harry whispered, holding his daughter close. "I love you, sweetheart. Everything's going to be alright." She clung to him tightly, still shaking her head, but he eased her back and placed a soft kiss on the top of her head. "Get ready to run."

"One."

"Two."

"Three!"

Harry leapt from their hiding place, seeing Hermione beckoning frantically at Lily as he did so, and sprinted down the platform towards where he had last seen Ginny. Dolohov stepped out from cover and fired another spell at Harry who threw himself out of the way of the awful purple flame that he'd hoped to never see again. He landed in the archway that Ron, Ginny and Hugo had taken cover in and looked up immediately for his wife.

She wasn't there.

"Ginny!" Harry called, panicking.

"Harry!" her voice came back from further down the platform where the trio had run to hide after the killing curse Dolohov had sent at Harry.

"Shit." He swore angrily as he tensed his muscles, preparing to run again. He peered quickly out of the archway and ducked his head back in as a dark cutting curse flew just past his head. He looked back down the way he'd come and was horrified to see Lily, still sitting on the floor where he had left her, her knees pulled up to her chest and her hands pulling at her hair as she rocked back and forth. Even from where he crouched now, he could see the tears continuing to pour down her face.

He heard Hermione call her, "Lily! Sweetheart! Come to me, quickly!" and watched as she lifted her eyes and looked at her Auntie. Harry risked another peek at Dolohov's position and dodged back at once, narrowly avoiding another curse as it streaked past his head. The Death Eater stood out in the open now and laughed maniacally.

"Come on Ron... Ginny... One of you take a shot at him." Harry muttered under his breath, wondering why there was no help coming from their direction.

"To think I came here for one Potter and I'm going to be walking away with three." Dolohov taunted, "and the mudblood as well!"

"Ginny! Ron! Go!" Harry shouted, realising how badly the odds were stacked against them. "You need to get out of here!"

"Oh, there's not much chance of that happening," Dolohov sneered, "Take a look for yourself, I won't even try and curse you."

Harry peered around the corner again and, once more, pulled his head back hastily as another curse flew his way.

"Shit," Harry muttered once more. "I thought you said you wouldn't curse me," he called, raising his voice, and trying desperately to buy some time to work out a plan of action.

"I lied." retorted Dolohov, who shrugged as he did so.

He stole another quick look and saw Ginny, Ron and Hugo knelt on the platform, a second figure, wearing dark muggle clothing, stood behind them. He risked a longer look and got a better view of the mystery individual. He was surprised to see it was a young woman, no older than 20, with silver and blue hair swept over one shoulder and what appeared to be a tattoo of feathers peeking out from below her collar. One hand grasped a wand which was pointing at the backs of their heads while the other gripped three wands that were familiar to him even from a distance – his own, his wife's and his best mate's.

At that moment, a flash of movement in the corner of his eye caught Harry's attention and he swung his head back to look at where his daughter had been hidden. "Lily! No!" he shouted as she began to run towards Hermione.

Dolohov turned, smirking as his wand tracked the progress of the small girl, his smile turning predatory as she tripped and tumbled to the ground in full view of him. He glanced over at Harry's hiding place once more. "Say goodbye, Potter." he mocked. "Avada Kedavra!"

A blinding flash of green light.

A scream of terror came from Ginny who was unable to tear her eyes away from what was unfolding before her.

A cry of "Lily!" as Hermione threw herself from her hiding place and scrambled across the platform to shield her niece with her body.

A shriek of "Mummy!" from Hugo, as he clung to his father's arm. Ron's mouth opened in disbelief.

The loud crack of displaced air as Harry did the only thing he could and pulled desperately on his magic, willing himself to apparate to where his daughter lay and overpowering the anti-apparition wards that had stood for over 150 years, bringing them crashing down in the process.

The terrible rushing sound as the unforgivable curse struck home.

And the thump of a body hitting the floor.


Harry opened his eyes and blinked at the bright mist that surrounded him as he lay once more on the hard, white floor of the Kings Cross station that was located somewhere between the world of the living, and that of the dead. He recognised where he was immediately - the visit he had paid to this location nineteen years ago wasn't one he would ever forget.

"Fuck," he muttered quietly as sat up slowly, taking in his surroundings once more. Harry was relieved that there was no small, shuddering, whimpering bundle in sight this time but couldn't understand how he could possibly be here again? The shard of Voldemort's soul that had been embedded in his scar was long gone, and Harry's blood that had once flowed through Voldemort's veins no longer anchored him to life.

The sound of footsteps echoed in the silence and Harry stood to face whoever was approaching.

"Potter," a voice growled. "What the hell are you playing at? Handing your wand over to someone else? Didn't you learn anything from me? CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"

Harry twisted rapidly and blinked unbelievingly as he gawped at Alastor Moody. His face was whole, as it had been in Dumbledore's Pensieve memories, without the chunk missing from his nose courtesy of Evan Rosier or the magical eyeball whizzing around in its socket. Missing too was the fake leg ending in the clawed foot that was a familiar part of the Moody of Harry's past, instead, his real leg was firmly in its place.

"Mad-Eye? Where am I?"

"You know where you are, Potter. You know what happened for you to get here. The real question is how in Merlin's name did you let it?"

"It was Dolohov," said Harry defensively. "He was in the shadows…" Harry trailed off. "Oh my god. Lily!... Ginny! I've got to get back to them!"

"There's no going back to them now," uttered Moody gruffly. "That life is no longer open to you."

"But my family! Ginny! James! Albus! Lily!" Harry felt a pain rock him to his core. Tears streamed down his face as he sank to the floor once more, heartbroken and drawing deep shuddering breaths between sobs.

"What about Hermione? She was right next to me when that curse hit…"

Moody shook his head slightly.

Harry pulled his knees up to his chest. His mind battled back and forth, trying to absorb what Mad-Eye had just told him.

Moody crouched down next to him and lay a hand on his shoulder. "You can't go back to them, Potter," he said quietly "but you do have a choice to make." Harry looked up at him with watery eyes. "I know that Albus once offered you the chance to get on a train here and go onwards." continued Moody. "You could do that, or you could take the second option. It's not the easy choice and it won't be without its own problems and hardships, but you'll have the chance to do things differently. To make decisions that could save lives and lead to a better future. For others, and for yourself."

Harry inhaled deeply and closed his eyes, trying to calm himself using the occlumency training he'd received when he became Head Auror. Consciously, he slowed his breathing and he unhurriedly counted to ten in his head. When he felt he had gained control of himself once more, he opened his eyes though they remained directed at the platform floor. "What do you mean?" he asked as calmly as he could, though his voice still shook a little as he spoke.

"You can be sent back. Not your body but your mind, your memories, and your experiences. Back to a time when you can make a difference."

Harry's eyes shot up to meet Moody's, the possibilities immediately beginning to unfurl in his mind. "How far back would I go?" he asked intrigued. The lives he could save… Fred, Remus, Tonks, Sirius, Cedric… maybe even…

"You won't be able to save your parents," said Moody. Harry's heart fell as the brief glimmer of a life unlived was snatched away from him, "but you could save hundreds of other lives. You can go back and change things for the better." Moody paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts.

"We have no way to interact with the world from this place but we can see what is happening. I want you to think about what I'm going to say and be honest with yourself. In the nineteen years following your defeat of Voldemort, can you truthfully say things have moved forward in wizarding Britain? Sure, there was a little progress whilst Kingsley was Minister, but the old pureblood factions have already started pumping their galleons back into the process. It won't be long before everything will be back to how it was before the war. That discrimination against non-purebloods and other sentient magicals like the Goblins is still there, it's just simmering under the surface, waiting for an excuse to bubble up again. That belief that the purebloods have the right to rule still exists today, just as it did when Voldemort rose to power the first time."

Moody looked into Harry's eyes. "You need to go back, Potter. I'm not allowed to tell you much about the future, but I can tell you this. If this course of events isn't changed, within the next quarter of a century a new Dark Lord will begin their rise to power. Motivated by the hatred of the way their family and friends were treated; ostracised and trodden on by those who claimed to be above them. Eventually, this person will cause the shattering of the statute of secrecy leading to an all-out war between magicals and muggles, and the eventual destruction of our world as we know it."

Moody paused again. "I know what I'm asking of you. What we're all asking of you." His eyes flicked to a point over Harry's shoulder.

Harry turned slowly to see they were no longer alone. Behind him stood the figures of those who had fallen due to the two wars with Voldemort. There were faces he didn't know standing alongside those he only recognised from photographs - the Prewett brothers, the Bones family and the McKinnons. Those who were, or should have been, friends - Frank and Alice Longbottom (who had passed away shortly after Neville assumed his role as Professor of Herbology at Hogwarts), Ted Tonks, Fred, Cedric, Colin and Lavender. And finally, his family. Remus, Tonks, Sirius, and, stood in front of all of them, his mother and father.

"Mum? Dad?" Harry whispered.

"Hello Son," James said as he and Lily pulled Harry into a tight hug.