Prologue - 25th June 1995

Mr. Harley Evans of Number 8 Derrong Way was proud to say he was a perfectly normal wizard, thank you very much.

He would have, had it not been for one little secret he had carried for the last seven years.

Harley Evans was a metamorphagus.

He could change his appearance at will; For which he gave himself the most outrageous appearance he could muster.

Harley was tall with broad shoulders, a lightly muscular chest and arms, and a chiseled face. His eyes were bright amber and his long, fluffy, lime green hair fell to his shoulders and covered his eyebrows.

Even his clothes could raise or lower an eyebrow.

Harley's jacket was made from a caramel brown dragon hide, with matching boots and fingerless gloves. His brown tight-fitting jeans were torn at the knees and tucked into his boots. Underneath his jacket was a swirling tie-dye T-shirt in purple, magenta, and yellow, reading The Heardles, with the 'R' connected to the 'S'.

In fact, he looked like he would have fit right in at a glam rock concert.

But it was not a look Harley chose himself; he would have rather picked a more common color of hair, such as fiery red. Maybe some hazel eyes would have gone well with it.

It was his girlfriend, Ms. Nymphadora Tonks, who goaded him into dressing like this.

She was known affectionately to Harley as "Nym", a name she only allowed him to call her.

Nym too was a metamorphagus, about a head shorter than him, with wide hips, a heart-shaped face, and a pair of dark violet eyes under a long mop of spiky, bubblegum pink hair.

Nym's black boots were a few sizes too large, with silver, heart-shaped buckles. Her black leather jacket was short and studded, with a matching choker and fingerless gloves. Her tight black jeans were torn at the knees. Underneath her jacket was a swirling tie-dye shirt in turquoise, green, and yellow, reading The Weird Sisters.

Naturally, Harley and Nym had attended a few rock concerts together by both groups.

In fact, the two of them had done practically everything together since first they met seven years before.

But now, they were about to do something that would bring about more uproar than they'd ever caused since they were students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

It was early in the morning of the 25th of June 1995. Harley and Nym hadn't stayed extensively at the school since they'd graduated, four years earlier.

But they arrived at the school late last night on urgent business. They were working as aurors for the Ministry of Magic and had come from the scene of a crime that was sure to rattle the bones of the whole Wizarding World.

They waited outside the giant doors to the Great Hall, stroking each other's hands until they opened. Classes had been canceled for the day, so that several of their old professors could attend this major meeting.

As the doors opened, Harley and Nym squeezed each other's hands, suddenly recalling what it was like to be an adolescent doing so for the first time.

Beckoning them towards the teachers' table was their former Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, seated at the center. Flanking his left was the deputy headmistress and their old transfiguration professor, Minerva McGonagall.

Opposite McGonagall was their former potions professor, Severus Snape who was grimacing like he didn't want to be there. Flanking Snape's right was their herbology teacher and former Head of House, Pomona Sprout. She looked as frightful as ever at the thought of two of her Hufflepuffs in danger.

All their other teachers were sitting in their respective seats as well, but standing above them all was Rubeus Hagrid, the half-giant gamekeeper of the school. It only was after Harley and Nym had graduated that Hagrid became the Care of Magical Creatures teacher. But he was trying not to blubber, almost like he'd lost someone dear to him.

Two seats had been laid out on the high stand for Harry and Nym. More had been laid out for several others, both young and old, who were gathered for this unusual procedure.

To their left, sitting stiff-backed, were two of their peers; werewolf Remus Lupin and auror Kingsley Shacklebolt. A large black dog with pointed ears rested at their feet, sniffing tense air wafting in, making a low growl.

Although it was probably because two others sat behind them at the teachers' table.

Next to Hagrid sat the even taller, beautiful half-giant Olympe Maxime, Headmistress of Beauxbatons, the French wizarding school. Just past professors Snape and Sprout sat the not even half-giant, but still tall Igor Karkaroff, Headmaster of Durmstrang, the Far Northern wizarding school.

Both were looking quite wary down Harley's direction, Karkaroff more so than Maxime. Harley knew Karkaroff to look unnervingly cheerful when his smile didn't reach his eyes. But it pleased him to see Karkaroff looking quite vulnerable now.

It also satisfied both Harley and Nym that four of their friends were seated on their right; black-haired Hestia Jones; blonde-haired Fleur Delacour; and red-haired brothers Bill and Charlie Weasley.

They were exchanging glances and whispers amongst themselves, doubtlessly pondering what their friends' secrets were.

Nym's parents, Ted and Andromeda Tonks, were also present, each placing a comforting hand on Harley and Nym's shoulders. They were staring back at two other sets of parents in the room; clearly knowing something the others didn't.

Those other parents were Arthur and Molly Weasley and Amos and Bethel Diggory.

The rest of their children were all seated at the Gryffindor House table. The remaining Weasley children, twins Fred and George, age seventeen; youngest son Ron and daughter Ginny, ages fifteen and thirteen; and Cedric Diggory, age seventeen. Cedric was a Hufflepuff, but there were no other students in the hall, and he did not want to sit alone.

Also joining them was their bushy brown-haired friend, Hermione Granger; fifteen years old, muggle-born and commonly known as the "Brightest Witch of Her Age".

An event such as this would have piqued her cat's curiosity, Harley knew all too well. He also knew that if Hermione was excited about something, all the Weasley children would follow.

But to Ron, Fred, and George's surprise, Hermione and Ginny were gawking up at Harley like he'd stepped out of a dream.

The eyes of both girls were quite hungry eyes, even sharing competitive glares with each other, which seemed to irritate Ron.

Despite his own memories of adolescence, Harley felt no anxiety in addressing the gathering. On the contrary, the last seven years had instilled in him a confidence he wished he had in a previous life.

Still, he enjoyed the feeling of Nym gently squeezing his leg as the others chatted amongst themselves.

After Professor Dumbledore clapped his hands together, the others snapped their attention to Harley. Finally, Nym nodded for him to stand.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Order of the Phoenix," Harley began slowly. "By now you all know me as Harley Evans, Auror, Class of '91, and Permanent Vanquisher of the Dark Lord Voldemort Last Night…"

He inhaled very quietly as to not sound nervous before moving on.

"You should know the story of where I've come from," He continued. "But you're also probably wondering where a friend of yours has gone… Namely Mr. Harry Potter… more commonly known as The Boy Who Lived…"

He mentioned the nickname with derision, to which the teenagers at the Gryffindor table narrowed their eyes; Harley sounded familiar to them somehow.

"It seemed he sacrificed himself, not unlike his parents," he continued. "During the Third Task of this year's Triwizard Tournament… In a graveyard in Little Hangleton, so that his humble friend, Cedric Diggory could live…"

Cedric looked rather affronted by that description. That episode seemed to bring them closer, but he never heard Harry refer to him as a friend.

"And yet it wasn't even his second act of heroism," Harley added.

"There were two other encounters with old Moldywarts himself; First over the Philosopher's Stone three years ago, when Potter made p-p-poor st-t-tuttering Professor Quirrell bite the dust..."

Harley snickered to himself, proud of his impression of the so-called Defense Teacher.

"Then came the fight in the Chamber of Secrets just two years ago," Harley pointed out. "When miraculously, all the muggle-borns were only petrified, and Potter ran the Sword of Godric Gryffindor through the roof of a Basilisk's mouth."

Harley couldn't care less about the others' reactions. He'd learned to use sarcasm to get straight to the point and finish his speeches.

"But by far, the most like his parents had to be last year," he concluded. "When he cracked up a patronus to blow off a hundred dementors and save his shockingly innocent godfather, Sirius Black…"

There were a few gasps and a couple of "eeps" from the girls. Partially because of a few barks coming from the black dog.

Hermione suddenly looked less smitten than she'd been before. Her eyes were as narrowed as they could be, as she impatiently leaned forward.

Harley smiled, for he seemed to have her right where he wanted her. Even the Weasley children seemed to sense what she was onto. Cedric, however, looked as though he was learning all this about Harry Potter for the first time.

Harley didn't see how the adults were reacting to all of this. He'd check on them after the grand reveal.

"I'm sure the first thing you're all wondering is how I know all of that…" He surmised. "But I expect you to have other questions for me first…

Such as, 'What's it like on the other side?'"

This was the moment Harley had prepared them for. He closed his eyes and shifted his features.

He was now a head shorter, with a much thinner face, scrawnier limbs, knobby knees, and slightly narrower shoulders. His hair was the same length, but it was now jet black and untidy, covering a thin, lightning-shaped scar. Finally, when he opened his eyes, they were an emerald green.

Mr. Harley Evans really was, unquestionably, Mr. Harry Potter.

It was barely even a millisecond before a gaggle of gasps broke the silence. Hermione capped it off with a tiny squeak, before immediately blushing and covering her mouth.

Harry smiled brashly at the teenagers at the Gryffindor table, glad to see some old friends again. But a sea of wide eyes and furrowed eyebrows flooded the Great Hall, as well as a few murmurs.

"Potter!"

"Can it be?"

"Bloody Hell!"

"Is it really him?"

"Who lent him the hair for…"

They were interrupted by a low bark, as the black dog stood up and slowly brushed past Harry's legs, carefully sniffing him here and there. But the dog twitched an ear as Harry cracked a smile, for he recognized him all too well.

This was enough for the dog to stand up on his haunches and start licking Harry's face.

"Okay, okay, quit slobbering," Harry whispered. "I missed you too, you mangy mutt!"

The dog whined as Harry set him down, but all that still wasn't enough to convince the others.

Ron stood up, but Hermione rose in front of him much quicker. She grabbed Ron by the arm, pulling him up to the high stand. They stopped on the top step, not too close to Harry, although both of their left feet were still off the ground.

Harry chuckled as he tilted his head down, but Ron lowered his foot when he noticed. The dog ran up to them, barking urgently and turning back and forth. Ron quieted the dog by patting his head, then leaned into Hermione's ear, whispering something that sounded urgent.

Harry, thanks to his auror experience, had the intuition to realize what Ron was suggesting.

Hermione inhaled before speaking, though she kept her foot raised.

"Three years ago, before going off to confront Professor Quirrell…" she began. "What three things did I tell Harry Potter were more important than books and cleverness?"

Harry grinned, hesitating for a minute to mess with Hermione, until he noticed her getting impatient.

"Friendship, Bravery, and 'Please be careful'!" Harry replied, imitating her voice on the last bit.

Hermione and Ron's faces lit up again, as they rushed towards Harry. Hermione wrapped him in one of her trademark hugs that would have been bone-crushing had Harry not built up a bit of muscle over the last seven years.

"It is you!" Hermione sobbed. "It really is…"

Harry tightly hugged her back, until Ron clapped him on the shoulder. It was his turn for a best friends' hug, but Hermione wouldn't let go. When she finally did, she furiously slapped Harry's forearm, but he didn't even wince.

"You prat!" Hermione growled. "You promised us you wouldn't get hurt last night!"

"Hey, I'm looking better than ever, aren't I?" Harry whispered.

"Don't you dare change the subject, Harry Potter!" Hermione insisted. "You were kidnapped by Voldemort last night, and you're concerned about your…"

Harry stopped her with another slack jaw as he transformed a second time.

He was a head taller again, with his shoulders, chest, and arms all the same as before. His face was defined again, and his knees were no longer knobby. Only a white line indicated where his lightning scar used to be.

He, in fact, looked seven years older than Hermione and Ron remembered him. Around twenty or twenty-one years of age, to be more precise.

"I'm just glad I don't have to keep looking like a fourteen-year-old," Harry teased.

"H-h-Harry!" Ron gasped. "How did you…?!"

"It's a long story, Ron," Harry dismissed.

Ron awkwardly threw one arm around Harry as Fred and George raced to the high stand, joining the boys in a fierce Weasley family hug, with compliments, of course.

"Well done, Harry!"

"Never looked better!"

Once they released Harry, some of the other adults, from professors to friends to parents, had to get close to him.

The barking of the dog, who by now appeared as confused as the others, did nothing to dissuade the chaos.

Nym, who Harry hadn't looked at for the last five minutes, was the first to notice his discomfort as he was surrounded with a barrage of loud exclamations and questions.

"Oh, my dear!"

"So, you're…"

"You mean we went to Hogwarts with…"

"OI!" Nym screamed at the top of her lungs. "If all you berks would just shut your bloody gobs and let my boyfriend talk, you might… just might… get a few answers."

Only Dumbledore, Kingsley, and the Tonks parents had not crowded around them. By their silence, the others realized they already knew all of this. Although they were also quite appalled by the language Nym had used.

"No promises," Nym teased with a shrug.

But even Harry was slightly frozen by Nym's outburst, though not for long. She switched to a bright, bubbly smile as she leaned into her boyfriend's ear.

"You remember how you're going about this?" Nym reminded him.

"At the start, just like we agreed," Harry replied, slightly griping.

He'd been through this with her time after time, but she softly giggled and kissed her boyfriend on the cheek.

Harry wrapped an arm around Nym as she placed her head on his shoulder, returning his kiss to her forehead.

Their little love moment was interrupted by some higher-pitched barking from behind. Harry thought it was the dog wanting a few more scratches behind the ears. But instead, sitting upon an iron roost next to Dumbledore's throne was another animal Harry had been missing, his pet snowy owl, Hedwig.

Hedwig flew from the roost and perched herself upon Harry's shoulder, gently nibbling his ear.

"Hey girl, did you miss me?" Harry whispered.

Harry was all too happy to stroke the feathers of his first lifelong companion, before turning her over to Nym,

"Ooh, you're a pretty bird, aren't you?" Nym complimented.

Hedwig preened under Nym's affection, until they heard a high-pitched throat being cleared.

Harry and Nym noticed Ginny eyeing them with displeasure, crossing her arms. Cedric stood next to her, though looking a bit more put out than envious.

Hedwig ruffled her feathers, Nym gently nudged Harry, who swallowed his pride.

"Alright," Harry resolved. "You're all waiting for an explanation…

Wondering what happened last night… well, it all began in the middle of the Third Task, when Cedric and I came up to the Triwizard Cup…"