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Dreams of Home Chapter 2
🕑 Added 2023-01-03 17:08:49 +0000 UTCChapter 2
For the second time, Harry had to blink the bright spots out of his eyes as he found himself standing in the same clothes he had been in at Kings Cross station. It seemed that only seconds had passed from when he left his grandfather's side, and he looked around desperately hoping to see something familiar. He was astounded and horrified to find that he knew exactly where he was. He turned to look at the mysterious archway that he had watched his Godfather fall through just a few years before and wondered just what had happened to Sirius when he fell through in the original timeline.
Harry gulped a bit of air as he realized that not only had he gone back in time, but he was in the heart of the Ministry of Magic and was definitely not going to be able to apparate out of the wards in this room. The Unspeakables would definitely have questions for him since he had suddenly appeared right inside their wards by the veil of death.
Checking his person, Harry quickly realized he only had a few things in his mokeskin pouch from when he had died in his previous life. His cloak was thankfully one of them, and so was the Marauder’s Map. Harry would’ve done anything to have packed his broomstick, or to have had his wand with him before he lost his life. He did however have his emergency stash of 50 galleons on him, which would be enough to get him into the world and grab a few essentials in case worse came to worse.
Thinking quickly, Harry tried to remember his way out of the Death Chamber and began scrambling as quickly as he could to the doors, throwing his cloak over his shoulders. When he reached the doors, a man was sitting by a table with a book in his hand. The man was clearly engrossed in his story, and Harry came to a crawl as he hoped to sneak past the man.
The elderly man was wearing a long purple cloak that flowed all the way to the floor. The man was around Professor McGonagall and Flitwick’s age, if Harry were to guess, and he was balding. There was a passing familiarity that the man held, but he dismissed it, hoping to sneak past the man undetected.
Harry cursed his luck knowing that it was just bad timing that had put him in this situation. It did not take long to realize that there would be no way of opening the door behind the man without alerting him of his presence. Not wanting to be a lab rat, Harry made his decision. Standing directly in front of the man he opened the cloak of invisibility just enough to hold his hand out and wandlessly summon the man’s wand. The reaction of the Unspeakable might have been comical, but Harry had the man stunned before he could shout his outrage. With two quick flicks of the newly acquired wand, the ground was cushioned and silenced, preventing a single noise from filling the long hallway.
Closing the cloak Harry continued his stealthy adventure towards the elevator to get to the upper levels of the Ministry. As he approached, the doors slid open and two cloaked individuals stepped out in quiet conversation. Slowly stepping aside to avoid the two Harry watched as they approached, and one of them froze. In apprehension, Harry began to tighten his grip upon his newly acquired wand. The man said something in a language Harry didn’t recognize and suddenly both men had wands in their hands scanning the long hallway.
The one closest to Harry cast several revealing charms, but they were no match for the Deathly Hallow in his possession. His senses screamed at him to shield as both men threw stunners in opposite directions, clearly firing blindly, but close enough that Harry had no choice but to shield himself. Tossing the cloak back over his shoulders with a whip-like motion Harry surged his hand forward causing one of the two men to be thrown into the wall nearby, while the other was a flurry of motions with a range of dark magic that surprised the younger man. Whoever was under that cloak meant business, and the air seemed to turn electric as Harry produced shield after shield.
Dodging under a black curse that was likely meant to do Harry serious harm, his eyes widened as an orange spell the size of his body hurled at him, its origin unknown. By instinct, his newly acquired wand flipped up as he cried out, “Protego Totalum!”
A massive clear wall absorbed the orange spell with a loud sizzle, and both duelists paused letting the moment of shock pass between them. The Unspeakable broke first however as he began raining fire on the ward that Harry had erected in the blink of an eye. It was at this point the young man knew his time to ogle the new magical ability that he demonstrated was over, and took off as fast as he could down the hall while his ward began to crack under the pressure of the Unspeakable’s assault.
When Harry made it to the elevators a deep sigh of relief escaped his lips as he called out for the lobby. The war veteran knew that he wasn’t out of the woods yet, and that if the Unspeakables found a way to lock him in this elevator he would be doomed. Harry wasn’t certain if that was possible, nor was he certain whether there would be any further resistance meeting him when he made it to the lobby.
As the elevator doors closed his stomach turned as he watched the lever at the top of the elevator show him ascending the floor towards the lobby. Harry felt his heart fall through his stomach when the elevator stopped short of the lobby, and he felt the wand in his hand heat up in anticipation for the battle that would likely ensue when the doors opened. Clenching his magic and preparing to let loose he took a deep breath of anticipation. When the doors opened however a young red-headed man stepped into the elevator looking quite pleased whistling a soft tune. With a nod of his head, the man offered a smile, “Good afternoon.”
Realizing that this man was not likely to attack him, Harry returned the greeting staring at the man trying to place the face that he recognized. Harry nearly cursed the man when he whipped his head in his direction, “Great Scott! I just realized you must have been coming from the Department of Mysteries. Awfully young to be adventuring down there, eh?”
Thinking quickly Harry responded, “I was applying for an internship, sir. I was meeting with one of the Unspeakables for an interview.”
Harry had become quite adept at lying through the war. He had met people that certainly changed his perspective, and definitely made him embrace his inner Slytherin that the hat recognized all those years ago. The man however acted as if Harry had just told him he was going to be Minister however when he clapped his hands and said, “It is a most excellent aspiration to join that department young man. Arthur Weasley. Who might you be?”
Harry’s composure nearly shattered as he processed a young Mr Weasley standing before him. The familiarity of the voice and face now instantly connected in his mind. This was a stout young man who looked to have been some type of athlete. It was clear to Harry that having seven children seemed to make the man he greatly respected relax into a calmer lifestyle in his later years. While Mr Weasley had always been a very well-respected man at the Ministry and by Harry himself, he never found the man imposing, and that is certainly what the man before him was. Harry wanted to lie but found that he couldn’t to the man he trusted so much, “Harry Potter, sir.”
The man looked very surprised by this, “Potter? Are you a Muggleborn by chance?”
At this, they hit the lobby and Harry quickly stepped out hoping to dodge the question without lying, “Mr Weasley, it was nice meeting you, but I have to be off. I am in quite a hurry if I am to catch my train back to Surrey!”
This seemed to answer Mr Weasley’s question as he nodded and offered his hand to Harry once again, “Good luck to you, young man! I hope to see you again here at the Ministry one day.”
Harry nodded with a smile towards the man and quickly made his way out into a hallway that would lead to the atrium. Before he could make it to the opening, however, he found his path blocked by three Unspeakables. These men had their hoods up, and all had their wands at their sides. Harry fingered the uncomfortable wand in his hand knowing he was about to cause a huge scene in the middle of the forum for the second time in his life and took a deep breath as he reached for his magic, but before he could the lead man struck with his wand so fast Harry had no chance to move.
It wasn’t a spell however the man struck with but a silent, and powerful legilimency spell. The man was inside of Harry’s mind and knew all his darkest secrets in a matter of seconds. His occlumency shields were nothing compared to the power of this man. He doubted even Voldemort could have stopped him. The man pulled out of his mind after a few moments as Harry dropped to his knees holding his head in pain. Knowing he was in no condition to fight back he braced himself for the stunning spell that was likely to follow, but it never came.
Looking up, the lead Unspeakable spoke in the same unfamiliar language as before, and after a moment he turned back to Harry speaking in a throaty masculine voice, “We will be watching you, Harry James Potter. It seems your destiny is too great for us to interrupt. It seems I must wish you the best of luck in your endeavors.”
Harry stared at the man in surprise as two of the three casually walked past him as if nothing had happened. The remaining cloaked figure stepped within striking range of Harry, and merely held his hand out. At first, the young man was puzzled before he realized what the Ministry employee wanted. Slowly he rose back to his feet, and placed the wand in the outstretched hands of the Unspeakable. As the man passed him, Harry turned to watch the three get in the elevator, and before he could turn to make his escape, the deep voice called out to him again, “And Mr Potter…Don’t let us catch you in our department ever again. We will not be so lenient a third time.”
Swallowing hard, Harry knew the man had to have seen a lot to know that Harry had broken into the Department of Mysteries before. Wanting to protest in his own defense he knew it was too late the doors to elevators closed.
Taking a moment to appreciate that Mr Weasley had missed the byplay between himself and the Unspeakables; he strode forward into a busy Ministry Atrium hoping that no further threats would present themselves. Harry contemplated his next step as he passed the busy Ministry employees. Apparating was a possibility, but there was a concern that he could apparate into something he didn’t know existed in this time. The Floo Network seemed to be the best decision for the time being. After all, the Leaky Cauldron had been around for decades at least, and landing in a familiar place to start his journey into Diagon Alley was an attractive option.
The first few steps Harry took in this new world would be crucial, and he knew it. Finding out what year it was would be a big help, but just as importantly he needed a wand in order to defend himself.
Judging by Mr Weasley’s appearance Harry would guess that Fleamont had been right. While Harry was uncertain of the exact age of Mr Weasley the man couldn't have been much older than his own parents, and had appeared to be in his mid to late twenties if he had to guess. That had to put him in the mid to late 70’s. Information was crucial though, and errors could not be made this early into his journey as he searched for a Newspaper stand that might give him some guidance. Knowing the Daily Prophet sold papers in the atrium during his time he looked around for a stand in hope of finding answers.
“Daily Prophets right here, folks! Get your Daily Prophet. Foreboding symbol cast in the sky over Falmouth, what is the Ministry doing to protect our families?” A woman’s voice called over the crowd catching Harry’s attention.
Making his way towards a small stand by the Floo Network he laid eyes on a young witch who was disturbingly familiar to him. The young witch was easy on the eyes, and her blonde hair looked quite lovely in their long neatly done curls. She was wearing some simple glasses and her blue eyes seemed to be searching for a story. This must have been Rita Skeeter's entry job at the Daily Prophet Harry thought with a grimace.
The woman made eye contact with him as he approached the stand and gave him a sultry smile, “How about you, handsome, would you like today’s Daily Prophet? I myself have a small piece towards the back about the upcoming Hogwarts School year and their new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. He was an old veteran of the last war. A Black too, wouldn’t you know? I bet that ought to really interest you, you look about Hogwarts age. Are you in your seventh year?”
Harry hadn’t exactly gotten a good look at himself since arriving in this timeline. He was unsure if he looked the same as he had the moment he had been killed by Voldemort, and his followers or if things had changed. Deciding to take a safe approach Harry spoke with confidence, “I should actually be in my sixth year, but my parents think I am advanced enough to start preparing for my NEWTs this year. There is a possibility I will be starting Hogwarts as a seventh-year student.”
Harry figured this was the safest answer he could give to the wannabe detective. Rita looked fascinated by his story, and not at all considering the fact that he could be lying. This gave Harry some credence that he must look at least close to his previous age as the woman exclaimed, “Oh, you must be quite the smart young man. What Wizarding school are you from?”
This made the boy think fast, “Ilvermony, but my family was from here.”
Taking a glance at the headlines for the day he continued, “My father had a terrible fear of the dragon pox pandemic so sent me away when I was younger. Now that things are getting…more political on the homefront he decided it was time for me to come back home. I would actually love one of these papers. I will read about this new defense teacher, and hopefully get an idea of what he will be like.”
Harry was pouring it on a little thick trying to sound young and confident, but he really just wanted to get away from Rita Skeeter. If anyone could sniff out a controversial story it was this woman right here.
The young woman smiled at him and asked for 6 sickles, but Harry gave her a galleon and asked for just a few sickles back in change. Finally, being dismissed by the woman he got a better look at the headline, “TERRIFYING SYMBOL LIGHTS UP THE SKY OF FALMOUTH.”
Harry realized with wide eyes that this must have been the first time the world had seen the Dark Mark, and that things were obviously just now starting to heat up in this timeline. He looked for the date at the top right of the paper and stared in surprise, “31st July, 1976.”
It was his birthday, or at least it would be in about 4 years. Harry sighed as he further pondered just what his leap through time had done to his appearance. Deciding it was time to get moving with his plans he took a deep breath and pushed himself toward the Floo Network.
Arriving at the Leaky Cauldron Harry looked around, and couldn’t stop the slight smile that crossed his face. It would be fifteen years before he ever stepped foot into this pub in his timeline, but other than the crowd around the room you would never know it. It was the same dark and dinky little pub as it would be 15 years later. Some things, much to Harry’s pleasure, were simply timeless.
A younger version of Tom the barman was currently standing behind the bar with several young men filling every seat at the long bar top. It was clear to Harry that the war was not yet in full swing, because people looked happy. Harry hadn’t seen this kind of joy on people's faces in years. Ever since the Graveyard, the country had a dark shadow cast overhead. Even when people were burying their heads in the sand, they all knew that something big was coming. Even if most of the idiots thought it was Dumbledore bringing a revolution.
Harry strolled towards the back exit that would take him into Diagon Alley without a passing word to any in the bar. When he arrived in the back area he swore internally, realizing that without a wand he would struggle to get through the barrier. To his luck, however, some patrons came out of the tavern jovially, and hardly even gazed at Harry as they drew their wands to open the barrier. The bricks unfolded on themselves in seconds and Harry got a good look at the first place he had ever seen in the magical world.
This time Harry didn’t even attempt to cover the smile that crossed his face. Another timeless place that would give him a familiar feeling of home. It seemed to look exactly the same as when he would enter it for the first time fifteen years from the date. The only thing missing was Weasley Wizard Wheezes at number 93 Diagon Alley. Instead, a large empty shop stood there, and Harry figured it would probably remain empty until Fred and George occupied it many years later.
Navigating through the streets Harry quickly made his way to Ollivander’s Wand Shop, and took a deep breath as he approached the door. This was the first place Harry had discovered his connection with the Dark Lord. He could only hope in this new timeline without the Horcrux things might be different.
Entering the shop a young Garrick Ollivander looked up from his book with a look of surprise. The man’s wild spiky hair was the same as Harry had always remembered it. The last time Harry had seen the older man they had escaped the jaws of death at Malfoy Manor. Their meeting that followed had been distinctly unpleasant. Harry would never forgive the man for doubting their chances after they had saved his life. Ollivander had told them they were all doomed if Voldemort held the Deathstick, and Harry supposed the man was right, but not for the correct reasons.
Biting down the resentment of their last meeting Harry tried to offer the man a smile, “Mr Ollivander, I presume?”
Ollivander looked up slowly at the young man analyzing him for a moment before offering a more genuine smile, “Ah, a Potter.”
Without much thought, the older man turned, and immediately began looking through boxes of wands. Staring at the man in amazement he asked, “How did you know?”
The man laughed, “Oh, you look just like Fleamont and Charlus Potter. You could be a spitting image of Fleamont’s oldest son James.”
Surprised, Harry asked, “You know my family well?”
Ollivander nodded, “Oh yes, I was good friends with Charlus before…well before tragedy struck, of course. So, whose side are you related to? My family has given every Potter their wand at eleven and obviously, you are not eleven, so I am assuming you were raised in secret. Probably in America or on the continent?”
“America, sir. I am not supposed to talk about my family as you know we are-“
“Quite private, oh yes, of course. You could even be from the Peverell line of your family I suppose.” The man speculated, knowing he would not get an answer.
A small tinge of bitterness crept into Harry. Ollivander claimed that he was friends with his Uncle Charlus, but the man had not mentioned him once in their encounters. Biting back the unpleasant feelings he watched as the older man pulled the first box off the shelf. Looking it over carefully Garrick seemed satisfied before offering it to Harry. The young man began to reach for it, but a sudden sense of dread flooded him, and he withdrew his hand as a negative feeling began to taint the back of his mind, “Not that one.”
Ollivander raised his eyes in surprise, “You could sense the wand without touching it?”
“I am quite in tune with my magic. What is that one made of?” Harry asked cautiously.
The man nodded in understanding, “Nothing with Dragon Heartstring. I understand. A little temperamental for some.”
Temperamental indeed. Harry’s only encounters with dragons always ended quite poorly. He could immediately understand why his magic might react poorly to those types of cores, but he was unwilling to voice that opinion out loud.
Ollivander pulled another few boxes out and laid them out in front of Harry carefully watching with intense curiosity on his face. Nodding in acceptance Harry raised a hand above each case. The one in the middle was powerful of that there was no doubt, but it was not meant for him. He hesitated over it for a long moment, but shook his head. Whatever the power was, it was not meant for him.
Ollivander eagerly swept the boxes off the table, and as he searched through the back Harry called to the man, “Sir, what was in the middle box?”
Absently the man called over his shoulder, “Phoenix feather and Holly. Quite a powerful combination.”
A sinking feeling crept over Harry as he realized he had just passed on his previous partner unknowingly. He wasn’t surprised he could sense the power of his old companion, but a small part of him wouldn’t have been upset to be reunited with his first wand.
Knowing that the future would be different, he steeled himself over to what would happen next. Several boxes later no success came, and Ollivander seemed pensive as the process dragged on. The man snapped his fingers, and seemed to be hit with some type of epiphany, “Say, Mr Potter, what was your house at Ilvermorny?”
Harry was very thankful he was not looking at the old man when he asked this, because he had only the slightest of ideas what the houses were at Ilvermorny and he definitely didn’t know all of them. He had met a witch, however, that told him she was a Wampus, and he now prayed that this was in fact a house as he told Ollivander so.
The man’s eyes seemed to glow with joy at this and went into the back to pull out a wand case, “This is the wand of an adventurer and a survivor. The Wampus live to incredibly old ages and they are most difficult to kill. This one died right in front of me as a young man. This magnificent creature passed on in its old age. Newt Scamander actually was the one who was accompanying me on this adventure early in my life. He was in search of one hoping to simply study it, never did we realize we would witness the passing of such an ancient and powerful creature. We harvested it down to the teeth and nails trying to salvage everything we could. I made only 4 wands out of the magnificent creature. This is the last that remains.”
Harry could feel its power of that there was no doubt, but it seemed to be calling to him. When he opened the case, the wand was black with a spiral-like design carved into it. A symbol was also at the bottom and Harry suspected it was the symbol of house Wampus.
When his hand connected with the wand, he felt the connection, and there was no doubt that this wand was coming with him as the room began to dance to life with magic as it sang with joy that it had a new master.
Ollivander didn’t look surprised, “You Potter’s are always very difficult, but my family has taken pride in always having something for each child as the generations pass, and rarely in the past my family has crafted wands specifically for some of the children in your family that have proven more difficult. I have never done such a thing, but I have heard of it happening before. I was beginning to think you would be one such child.”
Harry gave the man a smile, “Well I may be back for a secondary wand one day soon. I am just coming back to England and my last wand was crushed in a duel, so I needed something quickly before I returned home.”
The man bowed slightly as he took the standard seven galleons from Harry, “Please come see me when you seek an extra partner, and please give each of your family members my best.”
Harry returned the bow and walked out of the shop as quickly as possible. Armed with his new partner he figured it was time to go meet his uncle and see just what they might discover together.
(A/N) Hello everyone! If you would like to read chapter 3 of this story you can follow me on Patreon for just 1$ a month (OrionB15). Patreon will be receiving updates every Tuesday until the completion of this project. Don’t want to pay? Join me on discord, and receive 3 updates a month instead of 2! Cheers guys, and let me know what you think of the new story thus far.
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