Chapter Text
Prologue
James Potter held the letter in his hand with a painful expression. The wizard knew this day would come, there was no escape from it, and yet, when the past finally caught up with him, he was not prepared.
Sitting in his unsuspecting house in the middle of Vermont, the former auror laughed. The man had faced more creatures, evil spirits, and other unnameable things over the last eleven years as his job, and yet, he was afraid of crossing the Ocean and coming back home.
But it would still be home without her?
His musings were interrupted by the sound of voices outside the house, sounds of laughter. Sirius had picked up Harry in school, and the boy was telling him something about his English teacher. Harry was eleven now and loved school, just like his mother. Even more, confirmation that James would have to suck it up and be strong. For Harry.
"Dad!" The pre-teen said as he entered the house, dropping his school backpack on the floor. "Miss Johnson loved my story about the mysterious game wizards and witches play during the full moon!" The boy was laughing. "She says I should be a writer, if only she knew!"
"Yeah," Sirius said, closing the door behind him. "We were discussing if this should be considered a breach of the statute of secrecy or not." The long-haired, tall man looked at his brother in all but blood and noticed something had happened. "Any problem, Prongs?" Harry looked at them while pouring a glass of orange juice for himself. James just shook his head with a smile.
"Harry, a very tired owl, delivered this to you this morning." James presented him with a golden envelope, sealed with pressed red wax and a red ribbon.
Harry's eyes went wide as he stopped drinking his juice, his cheeks big as a squirrel preparing for the winter. The boy gulped audibly and reached for the letter. His hand was shaking from nerves and excitement. He knew what it was; both his father and godfather had told him about it. Even so, he almost didn't believe it.
The boy quickly opened the letter, and read it once, twice, three times, before finally calling. "I'm going to Hogwarts!" James nodded, smiling.
"Once the school term ends, we will pack our things and return to England!" James said. "I just need to get some things right before we go, but we are going."
"Yes! Can I write to my friends about it?" Harry asked.
"Sure," James shrugged, and Harry ran towards his room. "Hey! Don't leave your backpack in the living room, pal!!"
"Yeah, sorry…"
James shook his head, and felt Sirius's Hand on his shoulder.
"Guess it’s time, right?" The long-haired man said. "We knew this day was coming…"
"Can't outrun from the past forever," James answered.
"Both of us… she would be proud, Prongs, you did a great job."
.\./.
Six weeks later
Platform 9 ¾
King’s Cross
Harry sat down with a sigh and opened the Spiderman comic book while waiting for the Express to start moving. The young wizard and his father had arrived very early at the historic station. He embarked as soon as the train arrived, trying to avoid most of the crowd. He smiled; neither he, nor his father were prepared for the kind of reception they got once the small family went to buy his school supplies in Diagon Alley. Once people realized that the boy who lived and his war hero father were there, all hell broke loose. Harry was barely able to get a wand before they had to leave. Luckily, Amelia Bones and Augusta Longbottom had students going to Hogwarts for the first time, just like Harry, and helped get the supplies they needed. Harry also was happy to know both Neville and Susan, even if briefly, as James had decided to come back to England very close to the start of the term; Harry was not sure why.
The sound of students flocking the old train wagons started fueling the air, friends laughed, kids were running, and Harry felt just a little anxious. He had always dreamed about going to the school his parents went to, but now that he was on the train, he felt somehow inadequate, having been away for so long. Would people like him? Would he make friends?
Well, it was a new adventure, and he would face it head-on, just like his father and godfather did with the creatures they hunted.
Harry returned to the comic book, but after only a couple of minutes, someone knocked on the door. A girl with amusing bushy hair slowly opened the fragile wooden door and peeked inside, biting her lower lip with big squirrel-like teeth.
"Please," Harry said. "There is a place here!" He tried to sound welcoming, making the shy girl blush, but she entered the cabin nonetheless, placing a heavy bag at her side. The train sounded a loud whistle, and the big machine started moving.
Harry lost himself for a moment, looking at the window, when he realized he was being incredibly rude. He turned around to introduce himself, but the girl had her head inside comically inside her bag, until she pulled a very thick book from inside it. Harry could read the title, and it was Hogwarts a history. Harry giggled, the boy decided he liked her. He would ask her name when she was a little less entangled with her book, the boy decided, looking back at his comic.
The door suddenly opened, and a panting pre-teen looked inside the cabin with pleading eyes.
"Hi, sorry, hum… my brothers are giving hell in their cabin, and you seem to have some room…" They asked.
"Sure! Please." Harry said, and looked at the person quickly entering the room. He was unsure if that person was a boy or a girl, they had bright red hair cut in a masculine way, and their clothes looked like boy's clothes, with slacks and an oversized Chudley Cannons shirt. But their facial features were soft, and the lips especially seemed very feminine. Harry also found their vast amount of freckles cute, either boy or girl. The kid waved at the bushy-haired girl with a big smile and then at Harry.
"Your accent is weird!" They said.
"Yeah, I grew up in the States."
"Cool!" The ginger responded, sitting at his side.
"Wait," The other girl finally spoke. "If you are from the United States, why are you not going to Salem, or some other school there?"
"I grew up there, but I was born here," Harry was happy the conversation was finally happening. " Also, my family is from here. They all go to Hogwarts and…"
The cabin's door opened one more time, and all three of them turned their heads to look who it was. A tall, blond girl, with greyish eyes and very slick hair that Harry thought resembled a cat's fur when they licked themselves, studied them carefully. Behind him, Harry could notice two other boys, a bit more on the chubby side. Harry found the way the girl snared funny.
"Finally found you," The blond said, looking at Harry. "I am Mandrágora Malfoy; you must have heard of my family." Harry's expression turned severe; he had indeed heard of the Malfoys. "You don't need to sit with those low-lifes here, when you can come and sit with the true wizards and witches!" She said proudly, making the bushy-haired girl flinch.
"Piss off, Malfoy!" The ginger said, showing the blond girl the middle finger. The Malfoy girl just scoffed.
"I can see the rumors are true, and even the Weasleys girls dress like dirty boys…" Harry looked; it was a girl, after all. "Someone as ugly as you will be lucky to clean the stables at the school once you graduate. And you," She said, pointing her chin at the bushy-haired girl. "An ugly mudblood that…" That was enough. Despite being young, Harry knew very well what those words meant, and how his family and many others had suffered because of them. He got up to the blond girl's face with a furious glare.
"I like my company here. Now, why don't you fuck off and leave me alone!" He said, closing the door in her very red and astonished face.
"Hey," Harry said to the bushy-haired girl, who had tears in her eyes. "Don't mind her; she's just a spoiled bint!"
The girl looked at him and nodded.
"That was cool!" The red-haired girl said, jumping from her seat and extending her hand. "I'm Ronnie Weasley, by the way!" Harry happily took her hand.
"Ronnie?" He asked.
"I hate my first name," the girl shrugged.
"Ok, I'm Harry!" Harry said. "And you are?" He asked the other girl.
"Hermione Granger." She gladly took his hand and shook it.
"Wait, wait," Ronnie said. "Harry like in Harry Potter?" Harry just shrugged as an answer. "Blimey, that's wicked! Do you like quidditch?"
.\./.
"Not a word!" Ronnie said after sitting beside Harry and Hermione on the Gryffindor's table after being sorted, her cheeks almost the same colors as her hair.
"Hey, there is nothing wrong with Ronda!" Harry said.
"It was my aunt's name…" Ronnie tried to explain.
"Really, nothing wrong," Harry said. "but if you prefer Ronnie…" The boy shrugged.
"I like it too," Hermione said, still a little in awe at everything around her.
.\./.
"A bloody troll?!” James Potter yelled at the headmaster, making Arthur Weasley look at him with wide eyes, while professor Minerva McGonagall only raised an eyebrow. "How in the hell did a troll invade the school?"
"Invaded may be too much of a strong word, lord Potter," The headmaster said from behind his desk. "More like sneaked through our protections."
"I have been hunting this kind of things for a living for the last eleven years; headmaster, a troll can't be sneaky," James said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Something happened here."
"What are you insinuating, Potter?" Snape asked with a hiss. James glared at the man.
"What I'm saying is that you are lucky Harry and Ronda were there to have the girl."
"Lucky? You soon only made things worse! We would have handled the situation…"
"Yes, like Quirel did." James was starting to lose his patience with the man.
"Severus," The headmaster said. "Although I admire your loyalty display, lord Potter does have a point. The fact that the creature was able to enter the building was, at the very least, a failure from our wards that must be investigated." Snape nodded, still glaring at James. "Now, lord Potter, Mister Weasley, both Harry, and Ronda, as well as Miss Granger, are mostly unharmed but still in the infirmary, if you want to see them." Dumbledore finished, dismissing the room's occupants. "Lord Potter, may I accompany you to the hospital wing?"
James nodded.
They let Arthur Weasley walk some feet in front of them through the stone corridors before Dumbledore cast a privacy charm around them.
"I am afraid you are most right, James, my boy; this creature coming into the school was not an accidental occurrence. Someone let him in."
James nodded. "Any idea who?"
"I have some suspicions, but it is a little too early." Dumbledore sighed. "I thought Harry and yourself would have a couple more years of peace after coming back…" His voice was sad, and tired.
"I don't think that was ever an option, Albus; there are too many people that hate us around. I've been trying to prepare Harry for this, but I don't think he understands it yet."
"He is much too young."
"Well, I will talk with Amelia; maybe she can try and dig something up. Please, Albus, keep an eye on Harry; he is too much like me in this regard; he may try to do something dangerous."
"I will, my boy, I will…"
Dumbledore canceled the charm as they arrived at the infirmary, and Madam Pomfrey told the adults that other than some scratches and bruises, the kids were in good condition.
"Wow, it was amazing!" Ronnie said when her father asked what happened. "Hermione was there, and then the troll came and CAPUTCH with his club, and them Harry VUSH AND KAPLAN, and I tried to use my wand and BANG BANG BANG, and the thing was really smelly and…"
"RONDA!" Arthur called, making the excited girl stop talking. "Enough." The man sighed.
James approached the kids; Harry was sitting on one of the beds, with both Hermione at his right side, clinging to his arm, and Ronnie at his left.
"Harry," James said. "What have we talked about? This could have ended very badly, son."
"Sorry, dad, I know." Harry looked back at him. "but I couldn't leave Hermione alone; she's my friend."
"But why didn't you call an adult?" James asked.
"I tried to tell professor Quirel, but he ignored me. After that, everything was a mess, and I decided to act."
James sighed. "Harry, I am very proud that you tried to save your friend, but you need to think before acting, ok? You not only put yourself in danger, but also Ronnie…"
"I came from my own account, lord Potter!" The red-haired said.
"Quiet, Ronda!" Arthur said, and Ronnie pouted. "I will discuss this with your mother, and you will hear from us very soon, little lady."
Ronnie crossed her arms with a humph and leaned against Harry.
"I will try to be more careful, dad," Harry said, and James hoped it was true.
.\./.
"I don't know, Harry," Hermione said. They were sitting in the Gryffindor's common room, in a gathering of colorful puffs close to the fireplace that was quickly becoming their spot. "I think you are becoming too obsessed with this mirror, and we don't really understand what it is…"
"But, it must be safe, no? Otherwise, why would it be at the school? Little help here, Ronnie?"
"Oh no! I am with Mione on this. We don't know what that thing is."
Harry crossed his arms, angry at his friends. "I don't think you two understand."
"Then, explain it to us, Harry," Hermione asked, sounding skeptical.
Harry tried to say he kept coming back because it was the only way he could see himself with his mother. That he could see his father really happy, not the man that cried when he thought no one would be watching.
He tried to say, but, for some reason, he could understand, but he couldn't. It hurt, and he was not sure why. All Harry could do was to get up, and quickly retreat to his dorm, leaving two confused girls behind.
.\./.
Having five older brothers, Ronnie had learned very early she had to be brash, loud, and could not demonstrate fear. But right now, looking at the bloody carcass in front of her, she couldn't help but shiver and latch herself on Harry's arms. Looking at her friend, he was not doing very well too.
"What, what did that?" Harry asked while Hagrid looked around the scene.
"No trail, no broken twigs, this was no predator from the forest. C'mon, kids, we need to go back to the castle; I have to report it to the headmaster."
Ronnie and Harry nodded, more than happy to leave the dark forest behind.
.\./.
Amelia Bones sat beside James Potter at the rundown pub in the diagonal alley, gesturing to the bartender. With a nod, the older man behind the counter placed a glass of firewhiskey in front of the tall red-haired woman, the same drink James and Sirius were taking.
"So?" James asked.
"Guess you were right," Amelia said, sounding tired. "Every single request for an investigation into Hogwarts and its board have been barred by the ministry and the house of government."
"Told ya!" Sirius said.
"The little I could get," Amelia continued. "Is that the headmaster may not be so welcomed anymore."
James sighed.
"What a time to come back and have my son at school."
They stood silent for a while; James asked for another dose and downed it in one go.
"You know, I'm actually happy that you came back, both of you," Amelia said. "I missed you guys."
Both James and Sirius smiled at her.
"We missed you too, Ami," Sirius said, smiling.
"Have you considered coming back into the ranks?" The woman asked.
"Nah," James answered. "I already served corrupt governments enough for a lifetime." The man got up, pushing his spectacles up his nose. "Need to go, some family business to attend."
"Hey!" Amelia called with a smile. "No drinking and apparating!"
James just grunted and walked to the floo.
Amelia and Sirius watched as he departed before turning to each other.
"How long has he been like that?" Amelia asked.
"Almost twelve years now." Sirius sighed.
"Alone?"
"Other than Harry and myself, yes. It is being hard for him to come back here."
Amelia looked at the fireplace, feeling sorry for her good friend.
.\./.
Harry knew he was dead; his father was going to kill him. If he survived first, of course, then his father would kill him.
Quirel had his wand pointed at him, trembling with a mixture of rage and fear that made Harry thankful that both Ronda and Hermione had stayed behind the chamber doors.
He was alone, and it was better this way. It was his fault they were in this mess anyway. Harry could see the Mirror of Erised behind the professor, but the only image shown was the back of said man.
"Where is it?" The professor asked with an angry voice.
"Where is what?" Harry asked, truly confused.
"THE STONE!"
"Really, I have no idea what you are talking about." Harry tried to stall, to gain some time, maybe an adult would arrive, or perhaps he would have some good idea to get out of this.
So far, neither has happened.
"Quirel!" A voice echoed through the din lited chamber, and Harry groaned, in actual physical pain, his forehead exploding like a hot iron had been placed over his scar. His legs became weak, and the young boy few to the ground.
"Aaaargh!" It was all he could scream.
"Y… yes, master?" Quirel answered.
"Unveil me…" the voice said, again sending a wave of pain through Harry's body.
Quirel quickly started undoing the turban in his head, and Harry's eyes went wide at what he could see in the reflection in the mirror. The thing, the monster, protruding from the man's head could barely be called humanoid, its features misplaced all over the professor's scalp, tiny appendages that Harry believed were his arms and legs stuck out like inhumane tentacles, and a black substance ran from the malformed mouth, packed with yellowish pointy teeth. It was the very substance of nightmares, and it looked directly at Harry through the reflection.
"You know who I am, boy?" The monster hissed.
"Yes…" Harry answered. "But, but you are dead…"
"That is not dead which can eternal lie…" The creature laughed, and Harry felt the pain again, clenching his fists.
Harry felt his body being lifted from the ground as Quirel used his magic to bring him closer to the mirror.
"Now, boy, you know where the stone is. Get it, or I will feast on your little friends' lives." With every single word, Harry felt like a thousand needles were being pushed against his body. And the worse, he had no idea what this thing was talking about.
The boy looked into the mirror, and saw the thing vanishing from the reflection. Instead, he saw himself, his father, and a beautiful woman that Harry had only seen in pictures, but he knew it was his mother. James then kneeled beside him, and placed something into his pocket with a firm nod. Harry felt the stone materializing into his clothes, and looked one more time at the beautiful face of his smiling mother.
Suddenly, her face faded, and the monstrous thing behind Quirel's head took its place, roaring in anger and frustration.
"I am starting to lose my patience, Harry Potter; bring me that stone, now!" It seemed Voldemort had taken complete control of the professor's body, as it reached down to grab the boys, its body rotating in an unnatural manner, cracking and snapping the bones while Quirel screamed in pain. But even the pain of his bones being broken and relocated was nothing compared to the pain he felt when his hand touched Harry.
All three of them screamed; Harry could barely see what was happening, light and fire surrounded them, and the boy saw as the monstrous face melted in agony, consumed by silver flames. Quirel looked at him, his eyes wide as his skin burned, his life ending in agony while Harry's conscience faded away.