Harry was walking down the familiar hallways behind Dumbledore. He felt melancholic seeing the castle unchanged and not a pile of rubble. He vowed to never let that occur this time. Stopping at the great hall, Dumbledore pushed the tall doors open with a loud thump, gaining everyone's attention. Harry gazed onward to see all the students staring at his now smaller form. Being savior of the wizarding world, the attention was something he was used to, but this time it wasn't for his status. Murmurs surrounded him as people turned and gossiped, guessing who he was. Dumbledore cleared his throat, gaining everyone's attention.
"Hello students, we have a unique case amongst us. We have a transfer student joining 5th year. This is Harry Peverell, he shall be sorted momentarily." With that, Harry was ushered forwards to the front of the hall. The whispering grew in volume, people were confused why he was suddenly joining, and purebloods were curious by his last name.
"Hey, that was the boy from earlier!" James whisper yelled to Sirius. Sirius turned and looked carefully with squinted eyes before they widened in momentary surprise.
"Wow, you're right Prongs, he looks just like you! Except his eyes, those look somewhat familiar..." Sirius trailed off. Peter looked at the boy curiously as he ate slightly messily, while Remus just hummed noncommittedly. Remus agreed, he looked a lot like James and suddenly appeared in front of him out of nowhere. Curious, wasn't it?
Harry steeled himself, momentarily blank in expression and sat on the stool which popped into existence. He forced himself not to look around at somewhat familiar faces of adults, now in their youth. Calmly on the stool, the hat was placed by a younger McGonagall. He would have to get used to the young faces; McGonagall had brown hair!
'Ah, Harry Peverell, or should I say Potter?' Harry gave a nervous chuckle but outwardly didn't respond much.
'Yes, here I am, again... Please don't put me in Slytherin. It wouldn't turn out well," he pleaded in his mind. That hat grunted in acknowledgement.
'You showed incredible bravery during that timeline, let's hope you can use it to fix this one. To do that you better be...'
"GRYFFINDOR" the hat shouted out. Harry sighed, absolutely relieved, 6and took off the hat. The gold and scarlet red crested robes suddenly appeared on his figure, and with a reassuring smile from McGonagall he headed to the Gryffindor table. The said table was screaming cheers, happy to get the mysterious student they knew nothing about. Harry smiled; Gryffindor has always been a welcoming home to him, even now. With a grateful grin, he seated himself purposely next to the Marauders.
"Hey, James Potter, right? The headmaster informed me you helped save me. Thank you for that, I probably would've died." His young father stared at him for a moment without response. It was like looking into a mirror! With the messy raven hair and similar bone structure, this boy was like a twin! Though, perhaps a bit smaller; he seemed quite short for his age. Harry on the other hand was trying to hold back flinging himself into his father's arms. But he couldn't tell him; at least not yet. Perhaps in the future...?
"It's not a problem, Peverell, was it? Just doing what is right," he managed after regaining his manners. The boy gave him a soft look.
"I'm still thankful though," the mysterious wizard responded. James looked at the boy curiously.
"I don't mean to be rude," Harry vaguely heard his mother snort down the table," But what happened? Why are you transferring now? Why were you so injured?" Harry became slightly uncomfortable, fidgeting in his seat with his head down. "I- I'm sorry, you don't have to answer..." James added seeing the downcast expression. Harry gave a small accepting sigh and faced him.
"No, it's fine, I get you were curious. You see, I was homeschooled by my relatives. My parents died when I was a baby; I'm an orphan. The area I lived in with relatives was attacked, and everyone except me was murdered by death eaters," he explained, his tone flat. Those listening looked at him stunned, that wasn't what they were expecting. Death eater attacks? They knew they were becoming bigger, but to kill someone's entire family... James seemed to be at a loss for words, so Remus as the rational one covered for him.
"I'm sorry for your loss, I'm Remus Lupin by the way, you can call me Remus." Harry looked at the young chestnut-haired boy he's seen so many times, only he looked so much happier, younger. He hoped he could preserve that this time.
"Nice to meet you, Remus, you can call me Harry." He replied with a smile. Remus nodded in understanding then nudged Sirius sharply in the ribs. Sirius gave a dirty look after yelping and turned to him.
"Hey, I'm Sirius Black. Also known as the most attractive and charming boy in the school," he stated with his nose in the air. Harry laughed at the antics, to which Sirius pouted. His godfather seemed so much healthier, his skin wasn't all pale and his skin wasn't sunk in. He was young, quite handsome, and he'd have to agree that he was charming. His happy pondering was interrupted.
"Uh- hi. I'm Peter, Peter Pettigrew," the plump boy squeaked out. Harry's eye twitched, only Remus noticing with a frown, but nevertheless he gave him a plastic smile, that was bordering a condescending one.
"A pleasure, Peter." He responded, though his voice was slightly tight. The boys glanced at each other, what was with the sudden mood change? Peter coughed and looked down shyly. Sirius coughed awkwardly.
"So, Harry, do you want a quick tour around the school?" Sirius offered. Harry shook his head with a grin, seemingly cheerful again.
"I'll be fine, Dumbledore showed me. Thanks anyway," he responded. He then started eating. Oh, how he missed the Hogwarts food! While he happily munched away on some treacle tarts, the boys glanced at each other again. He was quite bipolar, wasn't he? He was happy to sad to irritate to happy again in a few minutes. They decided to ignore it for now, maybe he was simply weird. Their silent conversation was interrupted by what James thought was an Angel, fiery scarlet hair swished past him.
"Hello Peverell, I'm Lily Evans," the gorgeous redhead introduced. Harry turned to his mother with wide eyes; she was so beautiful. No wonder Snape liked her so much, and the eyes. They truly were his eyes. Those green orbs stared into his own, and it felt oddly comforting.
"Nice to meet you, Evans. Thank you for saving me as well. You can call me Harry, I prefer it," he told her with a sweet smile. Of course, he did, he wouldn't want his own mother calling him by his last name. The girl gave a polite nod with her hands clasped behind her, she always did like the name Harry.
"Then call me Lily, and it isn't a problem, I'm glad you are doing well. It was nice meeting you." And with that, the young girl skipped back over to her seat. When he turned back to his food, he saw James glaring at him.
"Back off, she's mine," the boy snarled. Harry choked a bit, feeling green by the thought of dating his own mother.
"I assure you James, I'm not interested. I don't swing that way," he told him, adding the last part as a noncommitted afterthought. The four looked at him surprised.
"You mean you..." Sirius slowly asked.
"Gay? Yeah." Harry had realized this after Ginny. He honestly only saw her as a sister, and while she was pretty, wasn't his type. Who was? Well, he realized it wasn't Cho but Cedric that got his attention. And as much of a prat he was, Draco Malfoy was an attractive pureblood.
"Oh, huh, well I guess I won't have to worry," James laughed. "But man! She still won't let me call her Lily, and she just met you!" he whined dramatically, hand on his forhead. Harry gave a small laugh at his lovesick father.
"Don't worry, I'm sure she'll come around," he stated with absolute conviction. After all, he knew it. He was the living proof of that, not that they know. Lunch soon ended and the marauders headed over to the common room along with Harry. Once there, they were stopped by McGonagall.
"Mr. Peverell, you shall be sharing with Mr. Potter, Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew. Welcome to Gryffindor." And with the quick statement, the stern professor walked off. The four looked at each other, and Harry pretended not to notice. They were worried, how can they get away with things with this new kid in their dorm? They didn't say anything though, and instead headed back to the common room to do homework. Harry was feeling a little awkward, he didn't want to interrupt their tightknit group, but he wanted to know them better, except Pettigrew. He had no idea how to forgive the little traitor. His actions caused him to lose his parents and caused Sirius to be locked up. Harry sighed and walked to his new dorm, which ironically was his prior one. Perhaps he could stop Pettigrew from becoming evil. Sitting on his bed was some clothes and basic supplies Dumbledore provided him. He reorganized everything then headed to Dumbledore's office. He would be defeating Voldy as soon as possible but needed some supplies to do so. Heading out of the room, he saw the boys staring at him curiously. The boy was new, so where was he going so suddenly?
Harry saw Dumbledore ahead and greeted him. The two headed up into the office.
"Headmaster, may I get supplies out of school today? I'm able to apparate out of the castle." After Voldemort's defeat, he was keyed into Hogwarts's apparating ward because of his heroism, claiming he had the right to visit anytime. While he thought it was unnecessary, it made things convenient.
"You may, though you might want to come back in my office, no need for bystanders." Harry nodded.
"I'll need some supplies for my er project. One of which I'll need combat material to obtain. Could you make a coverup?" the headmaster's eyes twinkled.
"Yes, I can cover it. You'll be training under my wing for protection." Harry nodded at that.
"Thank you, Headmaster." And with a pop, he disappeared. Dumbledore looked at the empty spot and chuckled. Harry seems to be quite the character, no wonder future him liked the boy so much. With that, he jovially grabbed a lemon drop and popped it in his mouth.
Harry appeared in the middle of Diagon alley with his wand. Because of the crowded area, he had no issues with the trace. Casting a strong glamor, he made himself slightly older and with blond hair. First, he quickly walked into Gringotts and took out a deposit, as it turns out he could use the Potter vault as he was still of Potter blood (he felt sort of bad, but it was technically his money too). Next was combat material. He headed to Knockturn alley for that. Despite what people thought, Knockturn had the best enchantments and weaponry you could find. Walking down the dark and eerie alley and avoiding sketchy people, he reached a small shop near the end. The store had iron bars on the windows and the door was pure steel. There was a bulky wooden sign on the door with the words, "Weaponry and attire" carved in. Harry had visited and bought from the shop many times as an auror. He pulled the heavy door open and entered, the door closing with a crash.
Harry looked around the dim candle lit shop. The black patterned walls were covered with all sorts of weaponry displays. A glass case in the front had enchanted jewelry next to the cashier, and the back had a couple mannequins on display. Harry noticed a young man dressed in combat attire sitting on a stool behind the desk, appearing to be asleep. Harry first made his way to the weaponry. There were only two methods of defeat, basilisk venom or fiendfire. Looking at the displays, he targeted in on two sections: one of poison absorbing and the other of fire inducing. He heard footsteps and turned to see the worker looking at him. The man looked in his early 20s with blond hair and hazel eyes.
"Need any help?" he asked in a nasal voice. Harry curtly nodded.
"Do the fire educing weaponry induce fiendfire?" he asked bluntly. The worker looked at him startled but didn't say anything about the request, not wanting to lose a customer.
"Well, no, but- "Harry stopped him.
"Look, I'm destroying cursed objects here. They can only be destroyed by fiendfire, so yes, or no?" he stated. The wizard stared at him.
"Um, no... "Harry huffed, of course it wasn't that easy.
"Okay then, do the poison daggers work on any venom?" he questioned. The worker nodded warily; this teen seemed to have quite the quest.
"Yes, any venom can be absorbed." Harry nodded, and grabbed the nicest one. It was a silver dagger with red and blue crystals on the handle. The shape was thin and sharp, with the top side having a touch of gold. Happy with it, Harry knew he'd buy it. Next, he walked to the mannequins. Looking at the different materials and models, he silently stared at the other wizard who hastily made his way over.
"I want the dragon leather combat attire on the left, completely black along with a mask. The mask is to be half face with a stag engraving." Okay, so maybe a little obvious but people didn't know about his stag yet. The wizard quickly nodded.
"It will be done, come back in about an hour or so." Harry nodded and swiftly left the shop. Once in the alleyway, he went to a very much illegal shop of spell breakers, but it was necessary. Entering the plain wooden room, an old women walked over to him and grabbed his hand with their clammy ones.
"Ah, a youngster. What may we do today?" the lady asked in a sickly-sweet voice. Harry had to bite back a sneer. She was too much like Bellatrix for his taste. He noted illy that she'd be at Hogwarts currently.
"Remove the trace from my wand, I'll offer you 40 galleons." The woman's eyes widened at the amount and quickly nodded. Not wasting time, Harry handed it to her, and the witch grabbed her own to work on it.
"This should take 5 minutes, dearie." And with that, Harry watched her work, not stupid enough to leave his wand out of sight with a stranger. He watched curiously as she weaved undone the magic in the shape of a web from his wand, each strand coming undone and loosening another. Once the witch was finished, she eagerly handed him the wand without the trace. With a short thanks and nod, he handed her the galleons and left without another word. No need for her trying to identify him, or any indication who he was. He wondered if his wand was still at Ollivanders. Heading back to grab his order, he picked up his bags before apparating back into Hogwarts into Dumbledore's office.
Dumbledore wasn't present now, so Harry headed back into the dormitory. Walking in, he saw that the boys were nearly ready for bed.
"Hey Harry, where'd you go, hey what's in the bag?" Sirius asked him, curious where the new boy headed off to.
"Oh, just the library, and some basic school supplies" he feigned innocence, before changing his clothes and putting away his bags. The four boys shrugged believing him, and they promptly went to bed. Harry knew he had a long day ahead of him, he was here for schooling and defeating Voldemort after all.