Harry Silver

They had lost the Battle of Hogwarts.

For one hopeful moment it looked like the battle had been in their favour, but then Voldemorts previously unknown reinforcements had arrived and all that hope was ripped away. Harry remembered sharing one last look with Ron before the latter charged back into battle to buy time for Harry and Hermione to escape. Broken, beaten and with nothing left to lose Hermione presented Harry with her final plan.

An experimental type of time travel magic that had never been achieved before, mainly because nobody had ever reached the required magical power to complete the ritual. But if there was one blessing from their retreat it was that Harry had somehow managed to hold onto the Elder Wand. Combined with his unique capability to somehow overcome death and Hermione suspected he was the only wizard to have ever lived who might be able to complete the ritual.

He had argued against it of course, in Harry's mind he was abandoning Hermione, leaving the war effort to Voldemorts mercy. Hermione had pointed out that they had nothing left to fight for, Hogwarts was lost, burned to the ground and nearly all their friends were dead. And if it worked none of it would have happened in the first place. In the end Harry had reluctantly agreed.

Hermione set about completing the ritual, gave Harry one last hug and with the incantation on his lips and the Elder Wand in his hand Harry felt the magic surge around him and he-

Opened his eyes to stare at a wooden ceiling. 

It was a rather nice ceiling actually, the wood was well maintained without an ounce of rot or dampness. Sniffing the air Harry could smell the slight hint of fresh pine from outside and baked goods from somewhere deeper within the building. He could feel a bed under him, a soft mattress and warm sheets that didn’t itch with just enough space for him to stretch out.

This wasn’t his cupboard.

“Did you really think that was going to work?”

Harry pushed himself onto his elbows and looked around the room. It was small (though far larger than where he should have been) with a wardrobe in one corner, a sink in another and a rug thrown across the wooden floor in an attempt to make it more homely. The most obvious feature of the room however was the near 9 foot tall cloaked figure standing in front of the door holding onto a scythe that was easily a foot or so taller than Harry.

“Um…. Hi?” Harry said and squeaked at the sound of his voice, looking down he realised that he was no longer in the lean fit body he had at 17 but rather the scrawny malnourished body he had at 10.

“Good Morning Mr Potter and welcome back to 1991.” The figure said in a surprisingly smooth tone.

Harry’s eyes widened, “Wait so it worked!?”

“Yes though… not in the regards you expected.”

“What do you- I’m sorry, who are you?”

The figure tilted its head and though its face was covered Harry could somehow tell it had rolled its eyes, “Really? Cloaked figure in your room after attempting a forbidden spell for the first time in history by the wizard who has survived not one but two killing curses?”

“Oh… Merlin, am I dead!?” Harry asked in panic as he patted down his body, half expecting to find a giant hole in his chest.

“Not yet, annoyingly. The spell you attempted was successful… amazingly. It gave me quite the shock, let me tell you. Time magic is normally incredibly restrictive but this was beyond anything I ever expected wizards to achieve. The magical surge alone rocked the whole planet. Every Dragon in Europe took flight at once.”

“You make it sound like the ritual destroyed the world.”

“If you had not been successful then the magical blow back would have likely wiped out most of Europe.”

“Oh,” Harry said as he felt a chill go up his spine, “I have that much magical power?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, you may be an exceptional wizard but you are still just a wizard. The ritual was designed to tear open a hole through the very fabric of time and space and into the void which nothing exists before pouring magic into it. All you had to do was open the tear, the reaction afterwards is what caused the power surge. Luckily for the entire planet you were able to control and direct the energy to send yourself back in time.

Harry frowned as he looked around the room, “If it worked then why aren’t I back with the Dursleys?”

“Because time doesn’t work that way. What did you think would happen? The current version of you just gets all your memories and doesn’t immediately go insane?”

“Um… Yes?”

If an entity representing the greatest fear of all mankind could sigh it probably would have, “That isn’t how things work. You’re lucky that I managed to catch you when I did or your mind, body and soul would have been ripped apart and scattered across all of existence.”

“That’s… good,” Harry said, paling slightly at the implications of what could have been, “So what has happened?”

“You’ve travelled back in time, to a new timeline, but you can’t replace the old you so now well… there’s two of you.”

“There’s two Harry Potters now!?” Harry shouted, leaping up from the bed, “That’s double the amount of ways Voldermort can return!”

“Relax, relax,” The figure said, holding up his hands, “While you’re back in your younger body the horcrux did not follow you through time. So no slice of Tom Riddle's soul inside you to use in any dark rituals this time around.”

Harry let out a sigh of relief, at least that was a complexity he didn’t need to deal with, “So how can there be two Harry Potters at the same time? Is it like a time turner?”

“No. This world's Harry Potter, or Harrison as he goes by, is not a previous version of you. He is his own person as are you.”

“I don’t understand?” Harry asked, he really wished Hermione had more time to explain the whole process to him instead of just hastily setting everything up in the forbidden forest as Voldermort hunted them down.

“When you completed the ritual you didn’t just send yourself back in time. You ripped apart reality and completely reset the timeline. Even events before this moment have been changed, nothing too dramatic but it’s there. For instance your, or I suppose the other you’s family, now reside in number SIX Privet Drive. And Harrison Potter is well known for his messy brown hair and bright blue eyes.”

“So it’s more like an alternate dimension?”

“An alternate timeline but yes.”

“That’s great!” Harry said leaping up once again with a wide smile, “That means I can get ahead with Voldermort, start hunting down his horcruxes now, maybe even stop Quirrell before he starts at Hogwarts!”

“Slow down child!” The figure snapped like a parent out of patience, “First of all while you may have all your knowledge your body has reset to the state it was in seven years ago, your magical core is weak and you’ve yet to practise any physical magic. You’d likely struggle to cast even an expelliarmus and that’s if you even had a wand in the first place. Secondly, be careful about changing too much in the timeline. Right now your greatest asset is your knowledge of what’s coming and though there are changes this timeline is on a similar path to your original time. But intervene too much and that course will veer into the unknown and you’ll be left once again fighting a war you can’t predict.”

“I think I get it,” Harry said slowly as he remembered Hermione’s lectures on time turners, “Right now I can kinda control where things go but the more I change, the less control I have.”

“Precisely.”

As Harry thought about his situation he suddenly sagged as a thought rampaged into his mind, “I’m not Harry Potter here I… My parents… My friends… They’re… They’re not… I have nothing…” He whispered as the realisation hit that everything he’d once had now belonged to the other Harry Potter.

“You have a chance,” The figure said and stepped forward, “A chance to guide this world to a better future than yours. You’re, correct, your parents don’t exist in this world, at least not as your parents. Your Godfather is not your Godfather but his. But your friends still exist, your world is still here, it has just been reset to what it once was. You have a chance greater than any mortal has ever received, to help Harrison Potter down a path you failed to walk. To build a better future not just for him but for you too.”

The figure was right and Harry knew it, a small part of him wanted to hate this other him, Harrison, for essentially taking the life he had. His parents, Godfather, everything. But deep down he couldn’t blame him, Harry had made his choice and taken the risks. And yes, it was sad he’d never get to mourn his parents in public but truth be told nothing had changed, he’d never met them before and he never would now. But he could still be friends with Hermione, with Ron, still be taught by Professor McGonagall. He still had a chance to beat Tom Riddle.

“Hang on…” Harry said with a frown as something occurred to him, “How am I supposed to build a better world? I can’t exactly walk out into the streets and announce that I’m another Harry Potter.”

“You’re not. I may have… manipulated the timeline slightly in your favour. You’re now Harry Silver, muggleborn orphan just days away from his 11th Birthday and Hogwarts letter. Your parents were killed when you were young and you’ve been thrown around from orphanage to orphanage. Nothing of note but it will satisfy mortal minds and make sure nobody questions who you truly are.”

“Why are you doing all this?” Harry asked as he looked up at the entity, “Aren’t you essentially a God or something? Why would you help out little old me?”

The figure paused as it looked at Harry, the silence went on for just long enough to be unnerving before the figure spoke, “There are exactly three mortals in all of existence who have bested death. The first did so out of a cunning deal so smart that I can hold no ill will. The second is you and as annoying as it is that you have avoided death this long, that annoyance pales in comparison to the utter disdain I have for how Tom Riddle has made a mockery of my craft. So think of this as a deal, I’m giving you a second chance at life in exchange for you finally bringing Riddle.”

Harry took a deep breath, it wasn’t what he thought would happen but he understood how great of a chance this was, “Thank you. I know this may be more than I deserve.”

“It is not my place to decide what mortals do and don’t deserve. A few more things before I leave you, first of all I have locked your memories of your previous life behind an occlumency shield so strong there is no being alive today who can break through. I would also advise you against telling people who you really are, no being, mortal or otherwise, has done what you have done. Your magic and body may be… valuable to some who wish to study it. Having said that, while no mortal will know I am not the only being in existence who will have registered what you’ve done, be on guard, there are those out there who do not feel time in the same way as mortals do. They will be more than aware of who you are and what you’ve done, another reason not to brag about it. Also, you may have your memories but you are young again, your mind is still that of an 11 year old so don’t expect to be writing deep philosophy or the like anytime soon. Quite frankly I’m not exactly sure how your mind and mental state will react to your situation. And finally, to kick start your quest I’ve given you the same birthday as before. That way as a muggleborn a professor should be by to take you to Diagon Alley…”

“The same day Hagrid takes Harrison!” Harry gasped as a plan started to come together in his mind.

“Good, you’re not hopeless. Now, one last gift before I depart.”

The figure waved his hand and a photo frame appeared on Harry's desk, even before he’d fully clocked it he recognized the picture. It was his parents, his favourite picture in all the ones that had been given to him. Slowly reaching out Harry picked the photo up and ran his fingers over their smiling faces.

“I charmed it myself so that anybody else who looks at it will see a muggle photo of Harry Silver's parents, only you will see the truth. I am… not oblivious to mortal emotions.”

Harry clasped the photo to his chest and bowed, he had no idea if it meant anything to the figure but he had to do something, “Thank you… for everything.”

The figure nodded at him, “Well then, for what may be the last time you hear this name, good luck Harry Potter.”

With a tap of his scythe against the floor the figure vanished from the room and Harry was left alone with the soft rumble of traffic out the window the only source of sound. A moment later there was a soft knock at his door.

“Are you up Harry?” An elderly female voice called through, “Breakfast is waiting downstairs for you.”

“Oh right… uh, I’ll be out in a minute!” Harry called before talking to himself, “Ok Harry. Gameplan. You just need to meet up with the alternate you, guide him through 7 years of Hogwarts, try to change the timeline enough to win the war but without causing utter chaos all while ensuring nobody realises you're Harry Potter from another timeline… Should be easy.”

As it turned out, the orphanage he’d been stuck in wasn’t so bad. It was a small place with less than a dozen orphans who kept to themselves, but that suited Harry considering in a few weeks he’d be whisked off to Hogwarts anyway. The whole place was run by a group of nuns (which was a little on the nose if you asked him) who were sweet and kind but not particularly enthusiastic about anything. But compared to the Dursleys it was like an all day spa as far as Harry was concerned. He was happy to just sit in his room and plan out the next 7 years of his life and figure out how to win a war against the world's darkest wizard.

It was surprisingly more difficult than he realised, first of all he quickly realised there wasn’t a lot he could change at this stage without dramatically altering the timeline. Revealing Quirrell too early for instance would stop Dumbledore understanding Harrisons connection to Voldermort and as much as the old man had abused that connection it was useful information to know. Even stopping the troll on Halloween could change how the rest of the year panned out. What Harry needed to do was work out how to gently push the timeline to a better future without completely shattering it.

There were a few ideas Harry did have though on how to counteract the terrible years that had plagued him. For starters he needed to work on Harrison’s confidence, if he was anything like Harry was at that age he was pretty much terrified of the entire wizarding world. Harry also realised Harrison would need an extended friend base beyond Hermione and Ron (and that was assuming he even became friends with them in this timeline). He hated to say it but he also needed to quash the inter house rivalry Ron had pushed into Harry's mind so early on. It was only towards the end of the war Harry realised how much they had pushed slytherins into Voldemort's clutches and how useful it would have been to have a united front against him. That didn’t mean he was ready to befriend Malfoy but there were others in slytherin he knew weren’t devout followers of Voldermort.

He was also aware that he would essentially be working against Dumbledore. Harry had mixed feelings on that topic. He knew the headmaster meant well and was a good person at heart, but his need for the greater good and arrogance had led him to attempt to manipulate Harry and others into what he thought the wizarding world needed while ignoring people’s personal wishes. 

The thought made Harry’s gut twist slightly, he was essentially about to enter a chess match with Albus Dumbledore where all the pieces looked like people he knew. If Harry pushed Harrison too far away from what Dumbledore thought he required he wasn’t sure how the elderly wizard would react.

“I wonder what I should do about Snape…” Harry mumbled to himself as he scribbled notes in his new dairy, it was basically a blueprint for how he was going to operate at this stage. 

As he wrote he grabbed a slice of chocolate cake by his side, today was his birthday and the nuns had gotten him a cake and sung to him. It wasn’t much but it was far more than he’d received the first time around and it had nearly caused him to cry in the middle of breakfast. Much to the amusement of the other orphans.

It also meant today would be the day he was visited by a Hogwarts professor. He wondered who he would get, obviously Hagrid was out of the question as he would be with Harrison, he knew Hermione had McGonagall but Dean was apparently shown around by Professor Sprout. Maybe Harry would get Flitwick, he’d always wanted to be closer to the charms professor but had never gotten the opportunity.

As he pondered there was a knock at his door and it creaked open to reveal the wrinkled face of a nun, “Ah Harry dear, there’s someone here to see you.”

“Oh ok,” Harry said, trying to sound surprised as stood up to greet his guest, making sure his eyes would be at half goblin level just in case.

The nun smiled and pushed the door open and in walked a man in slick black robes with greasy hair and crooked nose. He looked down at Harry with the slightest hint of disdain as his black unimpressed eyes roamed around the room.

“Fuck.” Harry said out loud as Severus Snape walked into his bedroom.