Tempus Sanat Omnia Vulnera (Time Heals All Wounds)
Chapter 4 – 4th July 1988
After Harry's eyes were closed again, he felt something liquid pour down his throat, though he missed whatever it tasted like.
He was instantly knocked out, but this time, he felt like he was flying. He must have been remembering something else, since he saw an also murky vision of Sirius, except he looked quite a bit larger than he remembered.
Sirius was seated on what appeared to be a black motorcycle, with a small orange crest emblazoned on the front end, reading 'Harley Davidson'.
Attached was a white sidecar, which Harry was seeing this from. A pair of tiny, chubby hands stretched out in front of him, feeling the breeze.
This also must have happened when he was a baby.
Ahead and above them, there were no roads to speak of riding on; only clouds filling the great blue yonder.
They swooped over one large one and skipped over some tinier ones before Sirius turned his head to Harry.
"If only your mummy could see us now, eh Prongslet?" He whooped like a rooster.
Baby Harry gleefully giggled and clapped his hands, in spite of the motorcycle's roar.
"She would kill us if she knew what we were doing…" Sirius sighed.
But he did not count on an ear-piercing bellow sneaking up from behind them, shouting,
"SIRIUS BLACK! You bring my son back to Earth right this instant!"
At the sound of Lily's voice, the memory started to dissipate. When Harry felt his senses were returning, he heard a much more familiar voice. A voice like a concerned mother, or an auntie at the very least.
"Oh, wonderful, you're waking up," the woman exhaled.
"Ughh… Where am I?" Harry groaned.
"You're at my home," she welcomed. "Number 8 Derrong Way, Stoke Newington. This is the healing room."
When Harry opened his eyes, he found a somewhat older-looking Andromeda Tonks looming above him.
"I'm glad to see you're alright, Harry," she welcomed. "You won't remember me but…"
"Andi…" Harry smiled knowingly. "Andromeda Tonks."
Needless to say, Andromeda received quite a shock at the sound of her name, coupled with Harry's expression.
"How did you know…"
"It's sort of a long story," Harry replied.
Small tears of joy began to water in Andromeda's eyes as she sat on the edge of the bed and took Harry by the hand.
"You were only a baby the last time I saw you," she whispered.
"Now where have I heard that before?" Harry teased.
"I see you've inherited both your parent's senses of humour," Andromeda noted.
"It's strange," Harry noted. "I feel like joking a lot more, yet I'm thinking this is no time for jokes."
"It's not," Andromeda corrected, looking a bit more serious this time. "I've had to make a list of all the injuries you've sustained… How does a boy your age attract that many?"
"I don't know," Harry shrugged. "Trouble just seems to have a way of finding me?"
Andromeda presented Harry with a disapproving stare, but he felt no need to wince.
"It's true," he insisted. "I could fill four or five whole books with all the events of my life and why they happened."
"There is no need for that, Harry," A much older, but also familiar voice interrupted.
Through the open door shuffled Albus Dumbledore himself, who looked the same as when Harry saw him last, in spite of the seven-year difference.
"Professor Dumbledore!" Harry gasped.
But he ended up lowering his shoulders and hanging his head, but he didn't suspect that even this Dumbledore might have an inkling why.
"I see there are things you wish to discuss with me that haven't happened yet," Dumbledore commented. "And you realize I don't possess any memory of them, as I have in your time…"
Harry raised his chin again with a slight huff; even this Dumbledore never missed a trick.
"Yes sir," Harry confirmed.
"We will discuss them and much more when the chance arises, Harry," Dumbledore reassured him. "But right now, there is a more pressing matter at hand. You must create a new name and identity for yourself if you wish to finish Hogwarts…"
"And fulfill the prophecy…" Harry finished adamantly. "I've heard all about the…"
"I'm aware of that, Harry," Dumbledore interrupted, holding up his hand. "The Unspeakables have told me everything you've told them. It seems you're getting closer to the age I would have preferred to tell you. But we must keep your true identity and all this communication secret until you've returned to your time."
"I understand, sir," Harry exhaled.
He was pleased that Dumbledore wasn't going to keep him in the dark on this, although he'd only known where Harry's younger self was three days ago.
"But where will I stay, sir?" Harry requested. "I don't know what'll happen if the Dursleys find out there's two of me."
"No Harry," Dumbledore replied, shaking his head. "The Dursleys cannot host you and your younger self simultaneously. If both of you see each other, that could very well result in a serious paradox."
Suddenly, Harry was reluctant to ask his next question; If he wanted to do anything in his new timeline, it was to make a few changes to the future. Maybe he could save Sirius without him even knowing.
"What kind of paradox, sir?" Harry requested.
"What's happened to you may not happen to the other Harry," Dumbledore suggested. "Therefore, you must not interfere with any major events happening within that timeframe.
So, to remedy this, Andromeda has offered to take you into her custody."
Now, Harry felt deflated as the weight of unfairness dropped back upon his chest; he couldn't save Sirius. His upper half was about to crash back upon the bed, when Andromeda caught it and laid it gently down.
"Easy dear," she instructed. "You've only just recovered from all those injuries and there used to be a block on your Metamorphagus abilities."
"I trust there will be no problems in teaching him to control them?" Dumbledore asked her.
"If I can teach one out-of-control child, a more polite, relaxed one should be a holiday," Andromeda confirmed.
"But I already worked out how to choose a form!" Harry insisted, shifting back to his base form.
"Yes," Andromeda agreed. "But you still have much else to learn about being a Metamorphagus…"
The hand mirror the Unspeakables had given him was at Harry's bedside. With it, he noticed his hair turned bubblegum pink and his eyes turquoise blue.
"Example," Andromeda noted. "And I suspect you haven't taken your final exams before you were sent back?"
His final exams! Harry had completely forgotten about them, which was peculiar, because he always had a long list of things to be concerned about. It was funny what the heat of the moment could do to a person's mind.
"Actually," Harry began. "They ended on the day I was sent back…"
"I see," she mused. "Unfortunately, your exams haven't happened yet, and there's no way to salvage your scores, so you'll need to take all of them again. Some of the information should be at the forefront of your mind already. As soon as you're out of bed, we'll get you a new wand and you'll take them."
"As for your identity," Dumbledore interrupted. "I suggest that of a student from abroad… News from the rest of the world doesn't reach our ears as often."
"Why is that?" Harry asked.
"International traveling is quite complicated in the Wizarding World, Harry," Dumbledore explained. "Any attempts to create our own vessels or services could result in injury or exposure to muggles. With one or two exceptions, anyone who does usually attempts to blend in with muggle means…"
"But what if I tried passing myself off as a muggleborn?" Harry suggested.
"It may very well be less suspicious," Dumbledore replied.
Harry didn't want to keep Dumbledore and Andromeda waiting too long.
He wanted to get right out of the bed he was in and begin his new life, so he decided he'd use the second or third Muggle surname he knew of.
The first one belonged to a family he once called home with, but now, wanted to be as disassociated with as possible.
It only took him an extra minute to think of a first name.
"I'll try 'Evans' for a family name and I think you know why," Harry declared. "Besides, there are loads of muggles that have it. As for the first name… I'll be Harley! Harley Evans!"
"Why 'Harley'?" Andromeda queried, raising an eyebrow.
"Let's just say I've been thinking about motorcycles lately…" Harry explained with a cheeky grin. "Flying motorcycles…"
Dumbledore let out a hearty chuckle, while Andromeda leaned into his ear.
"Perhaps his mother should have chosen his godfather," she suggested.
Dumbledore softly laughed again before making for the door.
"I'm pleased to have offered my services, but I'm afraid now, I must be on my way," He announced. "Besides preparations for next term, my duties with the Ministry of Magic and the ICW summon me. I expect you'll be recording Harry's progress for the next two months and keeping me informed, Andromeda?"
"Absolutely," she confirmed.
"And Mr. Potter," Dumbledore addressed him. "Or shall I say, Mr. Evans?"
"Yes sir?" Harry answered, not completely used to the name yet.
"We will return to all you wish to discuss, beginning on the 1st of September," Dumbledore promised.
"Until then, I wish for you to concentrate on settling in, finishing your exams, and honing your new abilities.
But first and foremost, I wish for you to enjoy yourself… You have seven years before until your time, and I don't wish for you to deny yourself happiness. Are we understood?"
"Yes sir," Harry sighed in relief, a wide smile on his face.
"Good luck… Harley Evans," Dumbledore whispered.
He took a step backwards before he disappeared from the room with a swirl and a pop.
For the first time, Harry was actually looking forward to the summer ahead; he'd never possessed this kind of freedom during the and to see Dumbledore step back from it was very refreshing.
It wasn't that Harry didn't respect Dumbledore; it was just that the man didn't always seem to know when to quit.
Harry was about to throw his arms behind his head, but Andromeda stopped him.
"Ah ah ah," she warned. "You need to rest those just a bit longer, dear. They just stopped healing"
"How long was I out this time?" Harry asked.
"Three days," Andromeda clarified. "The perfect amount of time to heal a fractured leg, excessive shock to the nerves, and an improperly located arm. That's not even counting the eight inches missing from a boy your age."
"I thought they told me my dad was a… how did they put it? A 'scrawny specky git' when he was my age," Harry joked, clicking his tongue.
Andromeda huffed, rolling her eyes as she covered him with his duvet.
"Wasn't he?" Harry persisted.
"He and your godfather were quite a bit younger than me," Andromeda explained. "I didn't see him very often, but when I did, he was taller than you were before…"
Andromeda fluffed Harry's pillow a bit, which he seemed to enjoy, before going to fuss over his arms.
"What in Merlin's name did your previous guardians feed you?" she exclaimed.
"Very little, honestly," Harry replied.
"You're going to need some extra nourishment if your potions are going to do their jobs," Andromeda explained.
"How much longer do I have to stay in here?" Harry queried.
"You'll be let out tomorrow afternoon," Andromeda promised. "Until then, have some of this…"
She laid a plate of fish, chips, and mash peas, with some buttered bread, on a small table next to him. It was a larger serving than Harry was used to, but he recalled what Andromeda instructed him to do.
"And take this for easier swallowing," she furthered.
Next to the food, she laid a bottle of ketchup and a glass of what looked like the cordial mixed with soda water, like the Unspeakables had given him.
"Are there any potions in this?" Harry queried, gesturing to the drink.
"Just a malnutrition potion," Andromeda replied. "You'll need to keep taking them every meal until the supply runs out. Once you down that, it'll refill itself without the potion."
"Brilliant," Harry exhaled.
He really did enjoy the taste of the drink, but without the potion, he suspected it would taste even better.
"And when you finish eating, why don't you start revising," Andromeda suggested. "You have a lot of exams to pass, so you can use some of my daughter's notes…"
She laid a stack of several folders, each marked with a different subject, each filled with a messy stack of notes. Underneath was a stack of spell books, all with the required subjects, from Potions to Defense Against the Dark Arts. But he noticed two electives presented to him were Arithmancy and Ancient Runes.
"What's all this?" He cried. "I haven't taken either of these classes!"
"They're the most useful electives you can take at Hogwarts," Andromeda explained. "If that's the case, then what have you been taking?"
"Care of Magical Creatures and Divination," Harry replied.
"Hardly surprising," Andromeda murmured. "That's a class filled to the brim with boys looking for an easy 'Outstanding'."
"Very funny," Harry grumbled. "These other classes are one thing: they're just a year's worth of stuff. Runes and Arithmancy, that's two years."
But Andromeda merely gave Harry a gentle swat upon the shoulder.
"Take your potions and eat your lunch," she ordered. "You'll get behind this little problem and work something out."
She then laid some quills, a few bottles of ink, and some parchment next to his material.
With no more to say, Andromeda exited the room and stalked out of the room with the air of a confident, experienced mother. Just before she stepped out the door, she stuck her face back into the room.
"I'll be back roundabout eight o'clock with your dinner," she promised. "You'll have plenty of time to revise; Try an hour a subject and I advise getting to bed at ten. Because tomorrow, you'll be meeting the rest of the family."
"Yes ma'am," Harry answered, deflated.
"I'll leave the door open a bit," she offered. "You could do with some air."
"Thanks," Harry replied with a shrug.
Harry decided he'd spend the first two hours getting to know the basics of the two courses he was starting late. As he poured over the Arithmancy and Runes notes, he found that the basic principle of the courses was memorization.
Runes seemed to be a bit easier, since it seemed to be just associating ancient pictures with words.
But learning to navigate the basic Arithmancy Decoding chart didn't take as long as Harry thought. There were nine corresponding numbers and only twenty-six letters, so all it took was to divide them into even groups.
Within the next two hours, Harry found he was getting more practice in these complicated subjects than he'd ever put into Quidditch. Although he still planned to play this year.
With Andromeda's organizational methods, he'd balance out his life much more than he'd ever expected to.
There was a clock hanging above the door, which Harry used to keep time. His first two hours seemed to go by like lightning for how well he took to his new subjects.
His other subjects seemed to go by quite a bit longer; He was familiar with much of the material already, but some of them were subjects he struggled in, like Potions, Herbology, and History of Magic.
Yet once he was bedded with nothing else to do, even these became somewhat easier to understand.
He couldn't say much about Herbology, but History of Magic was more interesting without Professor Binn's droning voice to put him to sleep.
But best of all, he realized he'd be without the eagle eye of Professor Snape's scorn for the next three years.
"I could get used to this 'secret identity' business," Harry chuckled to himself.
A fair seven hours had passed before the clock struck eight. At this point, the door blew open and Andromeda brought Harry his dinner. It was also a simple affair; sliced leftover roast with mash, peas, and carrots.
But Andromeda seemed to find it peculiar that Harry took his meal without hesitation. In fact, he was pleased at how suspicious she looked towards his ear-to-ear grin.
"How is the revising going along, dear?" she asked formally.
"Oh, just terrible!" Harry falsely swooned, still grinning as he offered Andromeda a wink.
"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.," Andromeda clicked her tongue, shaking her head. "Harry James Potter, what is Hogwarts going to do with you?"
"They can tell me why I feel like joking this way," Harry answered. "Because honestly, I've never felt this way before… not aloud, at least. I've always been just so… so…"
"Broody?" Andromeda suggested.
"Hey, I have NEVER been broody!" Harry retorted. "I just depressed and depleted myself whenever something happens or is going to happen. And I don't feel depleted either. I feel like I could spring out of bed tomorrow morning like the happiest man in the world!"
"That's because you no longer have that vile horcrux wedged into your forehead," Andromeda explained, gently stroking his forehead.
"But I wouldn't jump out of bed without a meal…"
Harry was able to eat his dinner in peace, but once he was finished, Andromeda held him down and presented him with a toothbrush and a cup filled with water.
"Save your strength for tomorrow," she ordered. "For now, brush and go back to sleep. You're in exactly the right hands here."
Andromeda sounded as though she meant that when she said it. When she collected Harry's dishes and left the healing room to wash them, he went back to revising. But for the next two hours, he still couldn't help but ponder her words.
Once the clock struck ten, Andromeda returned to collect Harry's brush and cup. But he realized there was another key question he'd forgotten to ask her.
"Andi," he began. "How did you know my parents… and my godfather?"
"Your godfather is where it all begins," Andromeda replied. "He was a cousin of mine, a few years younger. But both of us were considered traitors, to our family and our blood. We chose not to follow the path of darkness, like the rest of the Black family… I, for one, married a muggleborn Hufflepuff, rather than a pure-blood Slytherin…
So, in a way, we were a couple of kindred spirits. He introduced me and Ted to your parents when they were at Hogwarts… and we stayed close friends until we lost touch… when the threat of You-Know-Who started looming."
Although Harry was less inclined to brood than usual, he still wasn't completely used to a mother's love or being part of a family.
He suddenly felt compelled to ask her some things that before, he would have been ashamed to. In his old life, he never wanted anyone to think he was weak in any way.
"How did it feel…" He interjected. "When you heard that Dumbledore sent me to my other relatives? Were you worried about me? Did you ever wish you could have been the ones… you know, to take me in?"
Andi's tears started to return, but she still retained the smile from when first Harry saw her.
"You listen to me, Harry James Potter," she commanded. "If we had our way, we wouldn't have thought twice about taking you in. There are people in this house that were so worried they lost you. But now, we have you back and there's no getting away from us. You're part of our family and you will never be a burden to us. Do you understand?"
"Yes ma'am," Harry repeated, feeling his own tears coming on.
"Good," Andromeda approved. "Now, you best get some sleep, darling. There are some people who'll be waiting to see you in the morning…"
She swept Harry's hair out of his forehead and kissed where his scar used to be. She laid his top half back upon the bed and covered him up before turning the light off and stepping out of the room, closing the door behind her.
"You're going to need it, before a certain someone jumps you," she seemed to mutter.
But Harry didn't hear her much as he drifted off to sleep. He suddenly recalled a photograph on a plaque from the Hogwarts Trophy Room. The inscription upon it read Hufflepuff Quidditch Team, 1990-1991, with two peculiar names inscribed in the middle and near the end.
Those names were Harley Evans and Nymphadora Tonks.