STORY TITLE: The Rewards for Patience

PART: 02 of?

AUTHOR: Red Jacobson (red.)

DISTRIBUTION: Private

DISCLAIMER: None of the Characters You Recognize belong to me, they all belong to JK Rowling and her publishers.

SUMMARY: The War was over, but nothing changed. A hardened Harry Potter intended to go back and change things, to avoid losing everything important, including the love of his life, Hermione Granger, among other girls.

FEEDBACK: Of course! It Makes Me Write Faster

RELATIONSHIPS: Harry/Multi

RATING: NC-17

WORD COUNT: 5,069

SPOILERS: None, if you don't know how the Harry Potter story goes by now, why are you reading this story? The Prologue starts in a slightly AU from Canon, from when Ron left during the camping trip from hell. That really won't matter all that much once the story proper starts.

WARNINGS: If You've ever read any of my stories, you know what to expect, Oral, anal, Femme-slash, Dom/sub, multiple partners, and Femme-cest.

AUTHORS NOTES: Credit for Barchoke, the Potter Account Manager, goes to RobSt, the author of quite a few extremely enjoyable stories. I've reached out to him for permission to use the character but haven't heard back. I hope he doesn't mind.

ADDITIONAL AUTHORS NOTES: Re: Lemons, don't expect any lemons for this or the next couple of chapters, because they will only be 10, 11, or 12 at this point in time, and while I'm well aware that it happens in reality, I'm not comfortable with writing children getting nasty before they are at least 16 years old. Also: Quirrell's Turban, in the book it wasn't mentioned in the Leaky Cauldron scene, but in the movie the turban was covering Voldemort's face, so I'm saying he was wearing the turban at the Leaky and Harry just didn't think to mention it.

Diagon Alley

July 31st, 1991

11:00 am

It had taken Harry several hours to adjust to the fact that he was actually back in his eleven-year-old body, getting ready for his first year at Hogwarts! He had been planning to arrive during the night of the Dementors when he and Hermione had already been traveling in time, but he must have made several errors in his calculations. He really should have gotten somebody to look at his Arithmancy, but there was nobody he could trust available. He probably should consider himself lucky that he didn't arrive before his own birth because that would have caused far more headaches than just being 3 years early.

Arriving when he did have an unexpected benefit, he was able to keep Hagrid from giving Dudley a pig's tail, even though it fit him, so it avoided Dudley and Vernon having more reasons to dislike magic. Aunt Petunia was a lost cause, she was so jealous of his mum that there was no breaking through to her. It was a shame, but since he had no intention of ever seeing her again, he wasn't going to waste time worrying about it.

All through the trip from the cabin on the rock, he had been thinking, trying to dredge up 10-year-old memories, because if he was here, he was going to fucking change things! When Hagrid mentioned that Harry had money in Gringotts, Harry said, "Really? What do you do to get your money? Have to wrestle a dragon or something?" There was enough of a laugh in his voice that Hagrid was able to tell he was joking, but the big man just shook his head.

"Nah, you just have to show them your key. It'd be nice if they let us see the dragons, I always wanted one." Harry hid a smile, some things never changed, but Hagrid gave him the opportunity he wanted, and he leapt on it.

"Key? I don't think I have a key to anything. At least my relatives never said anything about it. They would have taken any money that was there if they knew about it anyway." The last was in a lower voice, but he knew Hagrid would hear him.

"Ah, don't worry Harry, Professor Dumbledore gathered up your personal stuff after that night, since your family wouldn't know what to do with it. I've got your key in my pocket, safe and snug!"

"You do? Can I have it? If it's my account, they won't just take your word for it at the bank, would they?" Hagrid nodded agreeably, reaching into a pocket of his heavy coat, and, after pulling out several other odds and ends, handed the key to Harry. He looked it over, noticing the '687' pressed into the metal, and slipped it into his billfold, putting it in his front pocket.

He would need the key to claim the other vaults because he wasn't going back to the Dursleys, and the Potter Ring would allow him to be emancipated, and choose his own magical guardian. That is, if he even has a magical guardian, no one ever spoke up the last time. And since the guardian was supposed to look after the young wizard or witch's interest, they certainly weren't doing the job, seeing how there were so many books, dolls, and even a training broom, that had his name and face plastered all over them. He would also need to find out who was providing the different pictures of him so all of the books and other merchandise had his current appearance. He suspected either Dumbledore or Arabella Figg, acting on Dumbledore's instructions.

There were a lot of things that he was going to change, and his reputation in the Wizarding World was one of them! He would need to find a solicitor to stop people making money off his name without permission. Then he could speak to the Daily Prophet with legal backup so they couldn't brush him aside.

But he could think about that later, they were approaching the London Bridge Station, next stop, The Leaky Cauldron.

TRFP & TRFP & TRFP

For such a famous place, it sure didn't look like it. Everywhere he looked it was dim and shabby. Of course, the same could be said for the customers. Harry wondered if none of them had jobs, since they were drinking in the early afternoon. Quirrell was understandable since school wasn't in session yet.

He took a look at more of the customers, Dedalus Diggle was still wearing that ridiculous top hat...

Harry managed to look at Quirrell again, without making him aware and the man was already wearing the turban. So why didn't his scar react the first time? He didn't have a chance to think about it because between Hagrid and Tom the bartender, they managed to get the entire place's attention.

Knowing what was about to happen, he put on his best smile and prepared to be polite to these people, this was supposed to be his introduction to the Wizarding World, and if they saw him as a nice, normal kid, it should give him some support if or when the Ministry decides he's too popular, making him a threat.

But since he was planning for Dolores Umbridge to get her first and last kiss from a Dementor as soon as it could be arranged, and for Lucius to be defanged if possible, he could get Sirius out of Azkaban and get the Minister on his side. Fudge was a disaster as a Minister during the war, but wasn't bad as a peacetime Minister, and Harry was determined to keep the war from starting, so Fudge might be worthwhile to keep around. Especially since the two worst influences will be removed. He was ambivalent about Professor Dumbledore since he didn't know what advice he gave to Fudge the last time. Something else he needed to pay attention to, instead of just following Ron's example.

He wanted to make a good impression, so he shook hands with everybody who approached, making an effort to remember their names and use them when talking. He made Diggle's day when he said he remembered seeing the man, he had bowed to him in a shop one day. Harry didn't mention that he got ordered to his cupboard for asking Petunia why the strange man had bowed to him.

Things went along as they did the last time, with Doris Crockford shaking his hand multiple times, Diggle dropped his hat again, but, it seemed like Quirrell was almost pushed toward him by the crowd. Harry braced himself, just in case his memory was wrong and there was a reaction, but there wasn't, and other than a brief flash of 'something' in Quirrell's eyes, it was the same as meeting every other person in the pub.

Finally, they made their way out of the pub and into the alley, shaking his head at how needlessly dirty it was. The only people who would normally see it would be muggle-born and their parents, and having their entrance to the Wizarding World be a garbage-strewn alleyway is not exactly something to fill them with awe.

Harry was quiet as he hurried to keep up with Hagrid, the large man heading straight toward Gringotts, while Harry was running over different plans to let the goblins know about the theft that would be attempted later that afternoon. Remembering Hagrid's reaction to the cart ride, he smiled to himself, that would be a perfect opportunity, and he could also check to see if the Potter family had enough money to need an account manager and arrange a meeting if they had one.

The initial meeting with the goblins was similar to the first time around, except Harry made it a point to check the nameplate at the window and thank the teller by name and title when he finished. He wasn't expecting a small courtesy to make much of a difference, but treating the goblins professionally and courteously wouldn't do any harm.

He enjoyed the cart ride just as much as before, thinking it was as close as he could get to flying as possible without a broom. When the cart stopped at vault 687, he pressed the key against the door and stepped back as the door swung open. Grabbing a money bag hanging on a hook just inside the vault, he grabbed enough money to get his shopping and pay for his stay at the Leaky for the month.

When Hagrid asked if Harry had a problem with him getting a pick-me-up', Harry agreed quickly, saying he thought of a couple of questions he needed to ask the goblins and would meet him at Madame Malkin's. Hagrid didn't even question his need to talk to the goblins, just nodded and headed back toward the Leaky Cauldron.

As soon as the big man was out of sight, Harry turned around and went back inside the bank. Seeing that the first teller from earlier was available, Harry walked directly to the goblin. Speaking quietly, so no one else could hear him, he said, "There will be an attempt to rob vault 713 this afternoon, can you inform whoever is in charge of Security? And does the Potter family have an Account Manager?"

The teller nearly fell off his stool at the news of the attempted theft, before closing his window and telling Harry to follow him. Harry was amazed at how fast the goblin could move, but he was barely able to keep up. Finally, he stopped at a door, with the name 'Barchoke' on the bronze-colored plaque. The teller knocked once and the door opened, giving Harry a glimpse of a large office before the door closed behind the teller, leaving him standing there, being looked at curiously by the guards flanking the door.

A few minutes later, the door opened again, and he was waved into the room. Going straight to business he said, "Thank you for taking the time to speak to me, Account Manager, I know that only an idiot would try to rob Gringotts, but it is going to happen this afternoon."

The senior goblin looked down at a jewel on top of the desk, it was glowing with a soft green light, and then looked directly at him, "Very well, I can see that you at least, believe what you are saying to be true, so what do you know about the theft, and how do you know?"

Looking over at the teller, Harry made a quick decision, "Would you object if I cast a privacy spell around us? It won't prevent us from being seen, but I'm depending on your honor as a goblin, and an Account Manager, not to disclose anything not related to the attempted theft."

Barchoke sat quietly for a moment before nodding and barking something in his own language to the teller and the guard inside the door.

Concentrating, because his 11-year-old body didn't have the control of his magic that he remembered, so it took work to gather enough to cast wandlessly, and after a moment, a blue light flashed and a transparent barrier appeared, separating him and Barchoke from the others in the room.

The only sign that Barchoke was surprised was a very slight twitch of his left eye, and then he called to the guard, who gave no sign of hearing anything.

Barchoke turned to face him and gave a gravelly chuckle before waving Harry to a chair in front of his desk. "Well, young Potter, I can see you are going to be just as entertaining as your father and grandfather. I am the Potter Family Account Manager, and you will be dealing with me when you come into the bank. Now, talk to me of this thief,"

Keeping his voice steady, he said, "At some point this afternoon, a turban wearing wizard named Quirinus Quirrell, the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts. But more important, his body is currently possessed by what is left of the wizard born Tom Marvolo Riddle, better know as Voldemort. That wizard did not die when whatever magic my mother and father performed destroyed his body."

As he expected, Barchoke sat up straight in his chair at the disclosure of who was behind the theft, "Very few humans know the birth name of that wizard, and we have been aware since that night that he wasn't completely dead, but of course, your Ministry wouldn't believe anything a goblin told them, so nothing was done. Now, you've told me who, but I need to know how you know this."

"I am Harry James Potter, son of James Charlus Potter and Lily Marie Potter, born July 31st, 1980. Yesterday, by my personal calendar, it was July 31st, 2001, and Voldemort had been permanently destroyed for just over three years. My mates and I had been searching for a way to send at least our memories to our younger selves, unfortunately, they and the babies they were carrying were killed less than six months after Voldemort's death. It took until about a month ago to perfect the magic needed, unfortunately, I'm not the Arithmancer my mates were, and I ended up going further than I intended.

Barchoke glanced at the jewel and it was still showing green, but he still looked at Harry skeptically.

Harry smiled slightly, "I know it sounds insane, and I'm willing to provide more information, but that will be after the thief is captured, I have to finish up my shopping for school and Hagrid would probably be suspicious about the time spent with you, and inform Dumbledore, who is absolutely not to learn about my origins, he has a bad habit of believing he is the only one wise enough to have that sort of knowledge."

Barchoke nodded, "So we have long suspected, and you have been, as far as you believe, honest with me, and I will be expecting you later this afternoon, just before the bank closes for the night."

TRFP & TRFP & TRFP

Harry was surprised that there was no sign of Hagrid when he got out of the bank but wasn't going to complain since it made the next part a lot easier. It was time for him to meet Draco Malfoy, and while it was going to be strange to talk to Draco when he was still parroting everything Lucius said. But it would be interesting to find the roots of his desire to be a healer and help to bring them out a bit early.

Ron would probably throw a wobbly at him befriending Draco, but hopefully, he can get the two of them talking, without insulting each other, that would be a good start.

But first things first, meeting Draco, he didn't particularly like who Draco was, but if he could avoid antagonizing him, at least he wouldn't be as much of a pain in the arse while they were in school. Fortunately, he did remember the pure-blood etiquette that he had to learn to get along in the Wizengamot, which would help smooth things out between the two of them.

When he got to Madam Malkin's, Draco was already there, and the conversation went a lot smoother this time. When Harry mentioned that Hagrid was showing him around, he managed to make Draco aware that it was Hagrid who rescued him from his parent's house and got him to safety after the attack. This caused a look of respect to appear on Draco's face, so hopefully he wouldn't be disrespectful to Hagrid in the future. Which would be helpful if the giant was their teacher in the third year. Harry also managed to order some additional clothing and robes, suitable to his status from Madame Malkin, which also pleased Draco. The other boy had looked askance at how he was dressed at first but hadn't said anything. By the time Hagrid arrived, the two of them were having a friendly conversation and agreed to speak again on the Express.

As he and Hagrid were heading toward Ollivander's shop for his wand, he looked back and saw Draco talking excitedly to Lucius and Narcissa. Lucius looked towards him with a speculative look on his face, before he gave Draco a smile of approval. Considering how Draco worshiped his father, that should make the boy happy.

Harry got a huge surprise when he went to buy his wand, because his old wand, Holly and Phoenix Feather did not react to him at all, it seemed to surprise Ollivander as well, because he made his comment about the brother wands, and gestured to his famous scar. It suddenly hit him, to see if he still had the soul splinter in his scar, because that could explain why he didn't react to Quirrell's passenger. Putting the thought aside, he continued trying wands, until he felt an immediate connection with an Aspenwood wand, with a Unicorn Hair core, and as soon as he touched the wand dozen's of stars burst from the end of the wand and spread throughout the store before fading away.

The reaction made Ollivander smile, as Harry paid for the wand, and a wand holster, saying,

"Well, I expect we shall see great things from you, Mister Potter. The Aspen wood is extremely uncommon, it signifies someone with a strong will and great determination. I wouldn't be surprised if you found yourself bored with a rather normal life, this is a wand for revolutionaries, and the Unicorn Hair makes it doubly so, but also a concern for all types of justice. I look forward to sitting back and watching you as you grow, it will doubtless be interesting to see who grow into."

As they were leaving, Hagrid slapped him on the back, making Harry stumble, "See, I tol' ya you were a wizard, and with a wand like that, you'll be a thumpin' good one, just like your mum and dad!"

Harry smiled at his large friend's words and spent the rest of the afternoon prompting Hagrid to tell him stories of his parents when they were at Hogwarts. Of course, a lot of the stories had Sirius and the rat involved, and it was hard for Harry to listen to Hagrid denigrate Sirius, and praise the rat when he wanted to tell him the truth about who the traitor was, but if Hagrid had more than two drinks, he kept no secrets, and that would cause more trouble than he was ready to handle if that happened.

He did let up on the questions when they got to Flourish and Blotts bookseller, where he picked up the books on the list, as well as several books that weren't on the required list, but would make life a lot easier for him, including the supplemental potions primers and books on magical traditions. He bought extra copies of the books because he was planning to give a copy of each to Hermione and Dean Thomas, so they didn't get off to a bad start. On a whim, he picked up another copy of the potions books, hopefully this would keep him off Snape's radar. He also noted a few other books that looked interesting but would pick them up later. After all, he had over a month before getting on the Express!

That was the last of the shopping, and so Hagrid put him on the train back to Surrey, handing him the ticket for the Hogwarts Express. Harry found a seat and, with a farewell wave to Hagrid, sat back as the train started moving. Once it had left the station, he opened Hedwig's cage and, telling her to meet him at the Leaky Cauldron, he opened the window and let her fly free.

Walking casually through the train, he slipped into the men's toilet and, with a moment of concentration, Apparated back to the Alley behind the Leaky. It only took a little effort to convince Tom to rent him a room for the rest of the summer, and he took his trunk up to the room. He knew that Dumbledore would find out that he wasn't at his relatives, but that wasn't going to be a problem for a couple of days.

Checking the time, he still had well over an hour before he was expected back at Gringotts and his stomach was complaining that he hadn't eaten that day so, after changing into his new clothes and robes, went down to the dining room and enjoyed a shepherds pie and a large glass of milk. Finishing, it was time to leave, so he left money for his dinner, plus a nice tip, and went back into the Alley, destination Gringotts.

TRFP & TRFP & TRFP

Walking steadily, he reached Gringotts at the time agreed and was shown directly to Barchoke's office. What followed was one of the longest nights he could ever remember, but it was also very productive. The first thing that happened was the Account Manager offered the thanks of the bank, and its Director, for letting them know about the theft. Quirrell was captured, and the parasite was separated from Quirrell's body, killing the man, but unfortunately, he was a dead man walking once Voldemort took up residence. The wraith was enclosed in a block of Amber that could easily be destroyed once the remaining Horcruxes were destroyed.

The Goblins were offended that one of the Horcruxes was stored in their bank, but the cup was removed, and purified of the taint of Voldemort. Teams had been sent out to retrieve the ring, and the team was warned about the compulsions and the curses on the ring, and the team sent to 12 Grimmauld to get the locket was confronted by Kreacher, who was ready to fight to remove the intruders. The head of the team told the ancient elf that they were there to complete Master Regulus' last order. That changed an immediate change in attitude, and, prompted by an impulse he could never identify, the leader of the team told Kreacher to listen for his name, when they were about to complete the order, he would be called, so he could witness it himself. They were waiting until September 1st to retrieve the Diadem and diary since it would be easier for Harry to access the 7th Floor, while the goblin team could enter Malfoy Manor when the family was at Kings Cross Station to find and remove the diary.

While the teams were retrieving the items, Harry was able to take up the role of Lord Potter, the Head of the Family Ring accepted him immediately, which automatically emancipated him. It took several hours to go over the basics of the Potter finances but wanted to laugh knowing that he could easily buy and sell the Malfoy's four or five times over, but since he was attempting to befriend Draco, he wouldn't rub the other boy's nose in their comparative wealth, but if needed to slap down Lucius, he would take great pleasure in explaining to the ponce exactly where the Malfoy's stood in relation to the Potters, just to see the expression on the man's face.

Barchoke seemed to be amused by the expression on Harry's face when he found out just where the Potter fortune came from. It was well hidden by several layers of other businesses, but the major source of the money is from several brothels spread throughout the magical world, where it is legal, and also clubs where the female dancers are either topless or totally nude, but those are in the non-magical world, and, to keep the law from causing problems there is a strict policy that all the employees are aware of, that anything even close to prostitution is reason for termination. Gringotts also made sure that all the legal responsibilities were taken care of, especially Inland Revenue, taking care that the records were kept immaculate.

It made him laugh, finding out about the different businesses, although he was less amused to discover that Remus Lupin was managing several of the clubs, but never seemed to make any attempt to find him while he was at the Dursley's. In the past, he didn't meet the man until the third year, and even then waited til the end of the year to reveal his relationship with James and the others. He would need to learn the reasons why Remus wasn't a part of his life growing up, before letting him be a part of his life now.

While they were waiting for word from the two teams, Barchoke asked if Harry wanted to be looked at, and treated for any problems. Knowing that he almost never got enough to eat, along with the occasional broken and untreated arm and leg, would be constant problems unless they were treated, so he accepted the offer, and, 10 minutes later he was standing in a circle, stark naked, with different rune clusters painted on different places on his body, places where Harry remembered being hurt by Dudley and his gang, or his relatives when they were in a bad mood they took it out on him.

There were four goblins, all of them wearing white uniforms and they started chanting in unison. After a minute or so, Harry seemed to fall asleep while still standing, and the next thing he knew, he was waking up both taller and bulkier, not that he would be close to the size of Dudley the baby hippo, but it was a noticeable change, and he was very glad he purchased re-sizing charms on all his clothes or he would have had to go through the whole thing again.

He had only been awake a short while when Barchoke received word that the two retrieval teams had returned, and he was taken to the ritual room where the ring and the locket were placed in ritual circles, and chunks of what he was told were amber were in the circles with the Horcruxes.

He was very curious to see Kreacher standing outside the circle that held the locket, but the goblins formed a circle around each of the ritual circles and started chanting and gesturing. It only took a few moments before the ring and the locket started to shake and unearthly screams tore out of the tainted relics. The screams continued as darkness was pulled out and forced into the amber, which started glowing a deep red as the parts of the soul were completely encased.

When the rituals were completely finished, Kreacher looked very different, as if years had fallen off of him, and, in recognition of his devotion to his Master Regulus, Harry asked the goblins to give the locket to the ancient elf. Kreacher took hold of the locket, a stunned expression on his face as he looked at Harry. The elf's mouth was moving, but nothing was coming out, and Kreacher just bowed in his direction before disappearing.

With that finished, he set another appointment with Barchoke to go further in-depth with the family businesses and made his way back to the Leaky Cauldron and fell into the bed, but sleep eluded him, his thoughts full of his time with Hermione and Luna, and the other women who joined them, either for a night of fun or for longer. Fleur, Cho, the Patil sisters, and Lavender, all the others, dead before the war was over, making him even more determined to keep Voldemort returning. Tonight was a very good start, and he was curious to find out if the prophecy was still showing active, or if the orb had gone black. Still going over the rest of the things he was going to do now that he arrived 2 years early, including getting rid of the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets, so even if the goblins aren't able to discover and destroy the diary, there won't be the frightened students this time.

Still thinking, he eventually fell asleep, tomorrow was going to be just as busy.

Later that Night

The Rookery, Ottery St Catchpole

Summerset Crescent, Crawley

Friday, July 31st, 1991

11:59 PM

In two girl's bedrooms, at the exact same moment, a nimbus of golden light surrounded their sleeping bodies until it was absorbed by the two girls.

As soon as the glow faded away, both girls' eyes shot open, and they cried out, "Harry!"

End Chapter Two