Chapter 1
Harry Potter knew from quite a young age his life wouldn't be a peaceful one.
Said thought started after years living under the roof of the Dursleys, his only living relatives, the sudden apparition of a noble giant saying he happened to be a wizard, and then knowledge about some sort of dark psychotic wizard trying to kill him since he was a baby. It was then when he decided his life was never gonna be easy, and six years at Hogwarts, a year on the run searching for Horcruxes, and one magical war later had proved him right. Even when he had overcome all of those situations the raven haired man still found a way to get himself into more trouble he would like to admit. To be expected, really. After all, Harry had chosen to pursue a career as an Auror, hence working for the department of magical law enforcement. No one could blame him, not when he still felt as if he had some kind of debt to the magical world after the battle of Hogwarts.
He had decided then to try and make the world a safer place for his friends, who had already lost too much, for the kids who had lost their parents for the same cause his own had died, and to honor the memory of all his loved ones who had died fighting for what seemed to be the right thing.
Harry had proven himself to be a powerful wizard over, and over, and over again. He had shortly become one of the best aurors the Ministry of Magic had ever seen and there wasn't even a soul who dared to say the opposite thing; for many he was the man that had ended a war two times before even turning eighteen but for the people on his division he soon became the workaholic auror that never seemed to catch a break after all of his peers had seen him take load after load of work home. Ron and Hermione, being his best friends, had tried plenty of times to talk him into taking a break, maybe some nice vacations overseas even. Hermione had gone as far as suggesting that he should get another job and let the persecution of dark wizards to other people.
Though all of their efforts had been merely useless.
Harry Potter had always been stubborn about certain things, and being asked to stop doing the one thing he had proven himself time over time to be good at was like asking the poor guy to stop breathing. It had frustrated many, but at the end Harry had settled for taking only one day off a week and another day to work from home.
He simply wasn't going to give up on making the world a better place, not when he still had people that needed him and people he deeply cared about.
Head Auror Hudson had met Harry when he had been transferred to his department as soon as he had turned nineteen, ever since the man had been surprised by the determination and disposition Harry had to learn and help. Contrary to what he had thought about the boy-who-lived he wasn't one who liked to brag about his outstanding accomplishments, but someone who was willing to learn and do his very best all of the time. Only speaking over his superior when he felt was completely needed or to provide them with useful information he might have.
Harry had soon become his right hand man, every time Hudson found himself busy enough to be unable to fulfill his monthly cases he would simply pass them over to Harry and this time was no different.
A raid had taken place days prior, resulting in the arrest of a potion dealer who had been causing more than one headaches to the healers form St. Mungo due the dangerous -and sometimes unknown- side effects of his brews. The poor medical staff had the worst two weeks of their life's when the halls started to overflow with all kinds of wizards and witches that had been unfortunate enough to consume some of the illegal potions. There was a reason why the ministry had created standard laws for the regulation on the brew and distribution of potions. Harry had grown completely obsessed with it, quickly finding out who had been responsible and raiding the warehouse the wizard had been using to brew and store his faulty creations.
Harry had been assigned to keep the first guard on the unit, making sure no one tried to take the potions or an accomplice could go and try to get rid of all evidence. An easy task, he had thought. But his lack of sleep from the past week, in which he had barely got enough rest trying to find the potion brewer, started to take a toll on him.
It was then, when he had been all alone waiting for his replacement to take over, that everything that could have possibly gone wrong did.
Unaware of the living creatures inside the unit Harry had fell on his back when a Billywig came out of nowhere flying straight to his face, on his way down to the ground the black haired man had knocked over a cauldron and once he had recover himself from the startling experience and got on his feet once again the cauldron had exploded causing the whole place to shake.
Harry panicked looking at all the potion vials starting to shake.
"Shit shit shit." he murmured at the same time he tried to hold in its place a big shelf full of shaky vials.
Little did he know, a small vial rested at the very top of the shelf he had just pushed back in place, causing it to fall straight to his head and pour a aquamarine looking liquid all over his head.
"Oh c'mon!" he yelled in frustration, grabbing the small bottle in his hand.
He had just won a ticket straight to St. Mungo.
"Sorry I'm late!" the voice of Vince Hortn, a fellow auror and his replacement on the watch, sounded at the same time he walked in. "Got caught up in the floo network again."
The man apologized looking nervous, it was no surprise for anyone the fact that the man was one of the clumsiest aurors around, but he was still one of the best ones. Also one of the youngest ones, being only two years older than Harry.
"It's alright Vince, I should get going then." Harry said, hiding the vial inside his pocket.
Harry stepped out of the warehouse and apparated himself outside his house. Number twelve of Grimmauld Place had become his official residence after the war ended.
Suddenly his body started to shake, feeling shivers running up and down his spine, and an awful necessity to vomit. A loud gasp for air escaped his lips as he felt his head start pounding violently and he knew there was no way he could make it to St. Mungo by himself. Everything felt as if it was spinning around and Harry was only able to gather the strength to take the small glass bottle off of his pocket before collapsing on the floor.
His legs had weakened rather fast and all he could think about was calling for help.
But who?
Ron and Hermione had left England weeks ago for their honeymoon, Luna had been traveling somewhere around Norway with her father and Rolf Scamander, Neville was currently teaching at Hogwarts... His head started to feel lighter and a groan escaped his lips at the same time a sharp pain crossed all around his chest.
"Expecto patronum!" he managed to say, almost instantly seeing a white stag appear before his eyes. "Rory... Emergency I..." he let out another groan at the same time his head pounded against his skull in the most painful way he ever felt. "Home! Please hurry!"
Harry felt as if his head was about to explode and the sight of the white light disappearing through the ceiling was all he could see before everything turned black and a loud noise could be heard inside the lonely halls of the number twelve of Grimmauld Place.
Aurora Blackwood was just about to pour herself a cup of tea when a familiar orb of white light appeared in the middle of her kitchen and a stag materialized before her eyes, making her frown. There was only one person she knew who had a stag for a patronus, and normally he would send her letters via owl or show up at her flat.
Harry never used a patronus to communicate with her.
"Rory... Emergency I..." Harry's voice came out of the stag following his words with a loud painful groan. " Home! Please hurry!"
Aurora's face lost all trace of color as she saw the stag disappear and rushed herself into the floo, getting to her destination in a blink of an eye and instantly recognizing the library on the second floor of Harry's house. The darkness and silence of the ancient house of the Black family made her shiver, though it was a familiar feeling this time it felt as a warning for something unexpected to come. She was careful with her steps and despite having the urge to call out for Harry right away she waited. Aurora felt the anxiety build up on every careful and silent step she made on her way downstairs, the lack of evidence of someone else being at the house made her grasp on her wand tighter as she made her way into the living room, looking for the only inhabitant of the house.
And she found him, though the sight before her eyes was definitely not what she had expected.
The body of a boy laid down on the floor under what seemed to be a bunch of clothes way too large to be his.
Aurora recognized those clothes instantly, but most importantly she would recognize that hair anywhere. Jet black untamed hair, rounded glasses, and a lightning bolt shaped scar on the forehead only could belong to one person: Harry James Potter.
She couldn't help herself but letting out a surprised gasp before kneeling beside the infant body of Harry, he looked so young. Really young. His face was rounder, having still the traces of his baby fat, looking as peaceful as a child sleeping can. Sleeping without a care in the world and loosely holding his wand still. He looked fragile, Rory thought in a panicked state.
How in the world could've Harry managed to look back like his younger self? Was he attacked by someone? Cursed?
The young brunette woman cast some spells under her breath, making sure the wards of the house hadn't been messed with. Making sure there was no one around that could represent any danger to them. She felt relieved and concerned in equal amounts when she realized there was no one else but them, and then all she could think of was Harry. She ran every diagnostic spell she knew on the infant unconscious body of the most famous wizard of the generation -perhaps maybe the century- but he seemed to be completely okay. As far as her magic was concerned, Harry was sleeping with a light fever that kept going back to normal each minute.
"Harry..." Aurora decided to speak as she noticed his eyes moving uneasy behind his eyelids.
The emerald eyes got wide open, blinking rapidly as they tried to adjust to the blurry lights surrounding him, as soon as they had opened they shut closed. His hands traveled to his eyes lazily, rubbing both of them carelessly before blinking repeatedly until his eyes opened widely. A blurry figure in front of him made the poor kid jump and sit in his place in a fast motion that caused the circular glasses to fall completely off his face and to the floor. Rory looked at the glasses realizing they were probably way too big for a kid his size to wear.
"Reducio." she whispered pointing her want to the glasses and placing them carefully on Harry's face.
The pair of emerald orbs stared at her cautiously and equally curious, completely still and flinching slightly at the sight of the stranger's hands approaching his face.
"I'm sorry." she apologized, placing her hands back on her lap under the stare of the young kid.
Her voice was sweet, Harry thought, her eyes were hazel and for some reason they reminded him of those of a baby deer. The bridge of her nose had freckles all around it and her hair was wavy and a light shade of brown. She was pretty and young, but he didn't know at all who this woman was.
"Who are you?" He asked cautiously not to sound too rude with his question. At the same time, he finally seemed to realize his body was practically swimming inside his clothes.
That wasn't like the normal feeling of wearing Dudley's hand-me-downs, this felt different. For whatever reason these clothes felt abnormally big on his body, he didn't even recognize the clothes and on top of it all, he wasn't even wearing shoes.
"Harry..." she said with a tone and a look he didn't seem to be able to place. "What's the last thing you remember?"
Harry frowned, making a face that reminded Aurora way too much to a fifteen years old Harry's facial expressions. The raven haired boy couldn't place her in any of his memories, so how would she know his name?
His eyes moved from her intriguing face to his surroundings, it looked like a living room, but this was nothing like Aunt Petunia's one at Privet Drive. No, this one was bigger, more elegant than his aunt's could ever be, and most importantly it was an unknown place for him. He tried to remember, for his own sake, what was the last thing his memory had registered, how had he ended up in said place. Harry remembered Dudley being particularly upset by the lack of gifts, if thirty six birthday presents could've been considered as a lack of them, he also remembered thinking how nice it would be to have even one thing of his own... He remembered uncle Vernon getting annoyed at the fact that Ms. Figg wasn't able to look after him that day and the annoyed look of all Dursley's because he had to come along with them to the zoo... The zoo! The snake!
"I was at the zoo with my cousin and a snake escaped" he said.
Harry remembered all too well now the collective panic of the zoo visitors and staff at the sight of the huge boa constrictor slithering around the halls after he had somehow let loose. He also remembered aunt Petunia screaming terrorized when she noticed where her only son was next to one of his buddies. He remembered the voice of the snake, how they had shared a short -but meaningful- conversation. And the last he could seem to remember was uncle Vernon looking about to explode dragging him inside the car while barking a warning for him and his freak behaviors.
The woman nodded her head, remembering vaguely one time Harry laughed while saying something about a snake he had talked to as a kid before Hogwarts even started. That could only mean the kid in front of her wasn't even eleven at this point.
"Harry... How old are you?" she asked.
Harry gave her a funny look, feeling slightly more anxious by the minute. He had asked something first and she had just avoided his question, and now the brunette woman asked him about his age. His head started to go wild once again, where were they? How did he get there? Did this woman kidnaped him? He felt his stomach tighten up at the sole thought of the stranger danger talk he had once heard aunt Petunia have with Dudley.
"Who are you? Where are we? How do you know my name?" he blurted in a tone Rory recognized as building panic. A sight of panic she had never seen on the boy before, especially at this age.
And then she realized once again.
She wasn't dealing with twenty-four-year-old Harry.
"Oh! I'm so sorry, how rude I've been." she said smiling. "My name is Aurora Blackwood, we are in London, and I must say I did not take you from anywhere."
London.
Harry was in London.
In London inside of an unknown place with a stranger. Him, a child, alone with a woman whom he had never seen before in his whole life. Maybe she had taken him from the zoo like his teachers had warned kids one time, maybe she was one of those bad people Aunt Petunia had warned Dudley about so diligently... Vernon and Petunia!
Harry's eyes started to burn at the feeling of tears forming, the Dursley's were probably not even bothered at the sightless by Harry being missing. In fact, they were probably glad he was. Because he knew better than anyone his relatives didn't really care about him.
"Harry, love, are you okay?" the woman carefully asked in the softest tone of voice he had ever been addressed with.
"How do you know my name?" he asked once again, this time holding the tears back.
"We're friends, Harry." she said.
"I've never seen you before."
"You have, I mean, not at this age of course. That is exactly why I need to know your age, Harry." Aurora spoke. "We are friends, very good ones I'll say, but you don't seem to remember."
Harry felt confused by her words, did he meet her when he was younger? No, definitely no. He would remember it, he had a good memory. His attention focused on the clothes and almost immediately he heard her speak again.
"I can fix them for you if you'll like." she offered, pointing at his pants.
Harry felt his eyes open wide and his throat go dry, remembering about the stranger danger talk he had at school, how they taught them about the kind of bad people that existed in the world, about their private parts, and so on. Rory facepalmed herself mentally soon as she saw how Harry's little hands grabbed the fabric of his way-too-large pants until his knuckles became white. She backed away a few steps and pointed her wand directly at Harry.
"Reducio." she said, catching Harry's attention as he felt the fabric slipping through his fingers.
Before his emerald eyes the clothes seemed to shrink and suddenly he had a pair of perfectly fitted pants on him. Soon he saw the same thing happen to the shirt and shoes. It was the first time in his whole life he had clothes feeling that good on him.
"How did you do that?"
The amusement in his voice made Aurora giggle.
"Magic, of course." she answered naturally, putting her wand back inside her sleeve and reaching her left hand for Harry's one.
"There's no such thing as magic." he said immediately without even giving it a thought.
Rory gave him a funny look raising her eyebrow.
"Of course there is, how else do you think I would do that?"
She got him right there.
Harry opened his mouth in an attempt to say something back, but he simply couldn't manage to find words to do so. Magic was the one forbidden word at the Dursley household. Magic seemed to be even worse than cursing or even dare to question his aunt and uncle, they hated questions. Harry's questions that is.
"But... How?"
"Well, that is quite a simple spell really." she said, shrugging her shoulders. "Let's do something, alright?"
"Like what?" Harry asked cautiously, though his curiosity was begging him to investigate more, he was still conscious about the woman in front of him being a complete stranger.
"You tell me how old you are and I'll answer all your questions." Aurora stated.
Harry seemed to give it a thought for a second before speaking up once again.
"I'm ten, my birthday is in a month." he said and Rory nodded, even if she knew Harry's twenty-fourth birthday had been months ago. "How did you do that with the clothes? How are we friends? How old are you? What am I doing here?"
Aurora let out a little laugh causing him to frown, she always knew Harry was one of the curious kinds of guys but she never truly gave it a thought on how he should have been as a child. She was not surprised though, not surprised at all by the amount of questions he asked. Aurora understood too his lack of knowledge when it came to magic, she had heard it from Hermione, how muggle born children found out about being wizards and witches on their eleventh birthday when a ministry official came to their houses to talk with both the kid and its family and how despite Harry not being a muggle born his relatives hated magic so much that never bothered to talk to him about his magical parents or their world.
"I told you." she said "It was magic, I happen to be a witch. We've been friends for years now, I'm twenty three and you are currently in your house."
Harry frowned at her answers, not quite believing them. It almost sounded like she was making fun of him and he didn't like that at all. If there was something Harry disliked with all his heart was having people making fun of him.
"You don't look like a witch, I mean, at least not like the ones from the telly. You're pretty." he said, causing Rory to giggle. "We cannot possibly be friends for years now as you said if you are twenty-three and I'm only ten, and I don't have a house. I live with my aunt and uncle in Surrey."
Aurora nodded her head once again, processing Harry's words in order to find the right answers to give him.
"I'll take your compliment, I took muggle studies at school and Hermione took me to muggle bookstores so I can assure you that despite being a witch I do not own a black cat, eat children or have my skin turning green. But I do own a cauldron for potion brewing and know how to fly a broom." she said, shrugging her shoulders. "We've been friends since I was thirteen and you were fourteen, we met at school, and this is indeed your house love. Your godfather gave it to you.
Harry was confused.
Magic seemed to be a thing, Aurora was a witch, he had a house his godfather gifted him, and on top of that they were friends from school.
They both, still sitting on the floor and staring at each other silently, Harry licked his lips until he found the words his young mind thought to be fitting for such a strange situation.
"What date is it?"
Rory looked around the room and stood up as soon as she found what she was looking for, Harry's green eyes followed her every move carefully as she turned back around and handed him a piece of paper.
"November 25 of 2004" he read the date out loud "That is not possible! It was June of 1991!"
Rory watched as Harry opened up the newspaper and dropped it to the floor with a loud surprised gasp.
"It moved!" he yelled pointing at the pictures. "Why did it move?"
Rory let out a sigh.
"Harry, what do you know about anything?" she asked the confused child in front of her.
Harry's face grew dark and his expression became blank immediately, his mind replaying all of the times his teachers had said he was underdeveloped. How his classmates would make fun of him or call him dumb. How Dudley told him he didn't know anything about the world because he didn't have parents to guide him.
How he was told repeatedly he was useless.
"I know plenty!" he let out loudly before covering his mouth with his hands looking at the young woman in horror.
What if she got mad? What if she shook him by the shoulders like aunt Petunia did? Did Aurora even have a cupboard to put him in too?
"I know that, love. You are perhaps one of the brightest people I have ever known." she said with a soft smile. "I'm just wondering how much catching up we have to do. Maybe Ron would've been a better option, he probably knows more about you than anyone else, but I'm afraid he isn't available at this time."
"Ron?"
"Ron Weasley, of course. Your best friend."
Harry suddenly felt more curious than ever in his short life, he now had a best friend named Ron too. He didn't have friends, so knowing there was a person willing to be his friend was intriguing to say the least.
"You said you'd answer all my questions, right?" he asked and she just moved her head affirmatively. "Why am I ten and you're twenty-three if it's 2004 and I should be twenty-four?"
"That is one question I don't have the answer for, I'm afraid. But I was hoping you'll be able to help me figure that out." Aurora said with a side apologetic smile. "You called for me saying you had an emergency and that you were home, you never do this kind of thing so I got worried. When I came here you were laying on the floor looking like... Well, like this." she said pointing at him.
Harry looked at his hands, suddenly wondering if there was something wrong with him. After all, Aurora had pointed him whole.
And then his stomach growled.
"Are you hungry, Harry?"
He blushed instantly, feeling embarrassed that she heard his loud stomach growl for food. It almost never did that. He let out a little 'yes' and she smiled at him.
"Alright then."
Harry had seen every move Rory made while fixing him a sandwich using her stick and watching in awe how everything assembled by itself before his eyes. He had been pretty quiet the whole time, eating his magically made sandwich sitting on the couch -something aunt Petunia would completely disapprove of- while the young woman looked around for clues on what could've possibly happened to Harry for him to de-age fourteen years. Rory, as she had asked Harry to call her, found a labeled crystal vial like the ones on chemistry sets Harry had seen at school. It clearly said 'evidence' but Rory looked awfully unsure of what it was.
"Do not worry, love." she said, giving him a smile and focusing on the aquamarine looking liquid left on the vial. "I'll call for help."
Rory was trying her best to not freak the kid out, panicking internally. Harry was a kid who knew absolutely nothing about it and she was in the dark as well when it came to Harry's upbringing prior to Hogwarts. Ron and -or- Hermione would be the right choice for such a job, taking care of a young version of Harry... But he had called for her. Maybe Harry called her because of her knowledge on healing or even because she was good with children. Even maybe because of how close they were... The options seemed small when it came to resources she could trust on a search for magic knowledge, especially when it came to potion brewing and healing of the mind. Let alone the mind of a child as young as Harry was...
Her face lost all sight of color at the realization.
There was only one person Aurora Blackwood knew about that happened to be a great potions master and a powerful enough healer that could warn her about the dangers someone's mind could face when it came to erasing years from it. And those two happened to be married.
Aurora gave Harry a nervous look before making up her mind.
"Harry, follow me." she asked politely.
Harry left the plate he had been eating from on the coffee table and stood up at the same time Rory made her way to Harry's office. Twenty-four year old Harry's office.
"Try not to touch anything, please. Your older self it's quite messy with his work and up there might be some dangerous stuff laying around."
"What do I do for a living?" he asked curiously. "Do I make homes? Fix them? Perhaps I am a carpenter? They use big saws and nail guns, those can be dangerous."
"Do you want to be one?" Aurora asked now full of curiosity. "Never really knew you were into fixing stuff."
"Oh." Harry assumed then his job was way different, but what could that be? "I thought it'll be nice making myself a little home."
"Well, I think you can still do that if you'd like. I'll make sure to remind you once you grow older." Aurora said with a smile opening the office door.
"Then what is it?"
"Your job?" he nodded. "You're an Auror." she answered at the same time she sat down at older Harry's desk and started to write down with a feather.
Harry had found that odd, having someone write with a feather that is, but then again his whole day had been very weird. Maybe, he thought, it was just a dream.
"What's an auror?"
"That is..." Rory frowned, spacing out the word. "You make sure to catch bad people and bring them to justice."
"Like a policeman?"
"Exactly like that! A policeman for wizards and witches."
"Am I a wizard?" he inquired.
Rory stopped writing at his sudden question, looking at the boy standing in front of her.
Harry's hands were clasped together in front of him, as if the raven haired boy was making sure that he wouldn't touch anything by mistake. His eyes looked at everything in the room filled with curiosity and somewhat wary about his surroundings. And it was then that Rory noticed how small he really was, even for a ten-year-old he looked rather small. His hair was messier than usual and his features were more rounded and delicate. He was one cute kid, that was for sure.
"You are indeed a wizard, Harry." she said with a kind smile on her lips. "And one of the best ones I would dare to say."
He smiled for the first time.
Harry Potter being the best at something? If he was dreaming this was definitely a good dream. He couldn't help himself but smile about it, he hadn't ever been the best at anything. He was just an average kid, never succeeding at anything other than being outcasted and making people mad for no reason, only by existing. He was Harry. Just Harry. An orphan with no family that loved him, no friends to play with, and not even a room of his own.
Being called the best at something was a new thing, and it made him feel good.
"Alright." Rory said, looking at the paper she had just finished writing in.
'Dear Draco and Astoria Malfoy,
I shall need assistance on a very serious, and very confidential matter. At the moment I find myself at number twelve of Grimmauld Place and I find it almost impossible to meet up at a public place, or use the floo to the manor. I would greatly appreciate it if we could discreetly meet up shortly. I promise I'll explain things once we are all face to face. Sending my affection and kind regards. -Aurora Blackwood.'
"Who are those people?"
Aurora jumped in her place, not having noticed when Harry had moved to her side.
"They are some friends, probably the helo we need to figure out how to get you back to normal."
"I am normal"
"Of course you are, love. But you stopped being ten almost fifteen years ago. " she informed him, watching how Harry grew silent once more. "Not that I don't enjoy having you around at this age, mind you."
"Not many people do."
Harry didn't think about what he just said, not until he realized the curious look Rory was giving him and jumping when she suddenly whistled. Now it was him the one taken by surprise by the actions of the woman.
"You like animals, Harry?" she asked.
"They're alright, I suppose. I'm not allowed to have pets but I've seen Dudley's turtles." he said. "And I've seen the animals at the zoo, in books, and sometimes the telly."
"Well then, what do you think about owls?"
All of sudden a bird came flying through a window Harry just realized was behind him, his green eyes watching as the owl graciously landed on the desk and made a little hoot sound at Rory. It was an owl just like the one's Harry had seen in books at school.
"Would you like to pet him, dear?"
"Can I?"
"Of course! His name is Perth."
Harry placed his finger in front of the animal and quickly felt the small beak carefully nibble.
"Allow me." Rory said, taking his hand delicately and placing it on the head of the owl, moving it down its spine in a careful motion so Harry could feel the feathers of the animal.
"It's soft." he said with an amused face still watching their hands.
"It is... You like it?"
Harry nodded in response, feeling Rory's hand slip away from his so he could freely stroke the animal as he pleased. The boy smiled at the little hoot the owl made every time he stroked its feathers.
"Owls are commonly used in the wizarding world to send mail, and Perth here will deliver this message to my friends."
"How will he know where to go?"
"Trust me, Perth knows." she said rolling and attaching the piece of parchment to the owl's little feet. "You only need to tell him the name of the person you want to send the letter, message, or package and he will find them."
"Awesome." Harry said as he continued to pet the owl as if he was infatuated by the animal. "Do I have an owl?"
Aurora smiled sadly.
"You did, it was the prettiest owl I've ever seen." she said "And you loved her very much."
"Is not around anymore, isn't it? Like my parents." he said quietly.
Rory felt her heart drop to her feet in a painful motion at his words.
"Yes... Her name was Hedwig, if you wanted to know, and she was a snowy owl. Very pretty too."
"Did I name her?"
"I think so." Rory said unsure about the veracity of that answer. "Would you like to send Perth on his way?"
Harry nodded, feeling the owl climb his arm and starting to walk slowly to the window. Being extremely careful not to make the animal uncomfortable or even drop him.
"To Astoria and Draco? Please." he said looking at Rory to make sure he got the names right.
She gave him a thumbs up and a smile as she saw the owl fly away through the window. Harry watched it fly away until it disappeared in the sky. Aurora felt then, she should start asking questions about all the things Harry might or might not know about his own life.
"Harry, what do you know about your parents?"
"Aunt Petunia said they died in a car crash when I was a baby and that's how I got my scar." he said touching his forehead, right where his scar was hidden by his hair.
He had been told more than enough times how ugly and disgusting his lighting bolt shaped scar was, so much that he started to believe it himself. The last thing he wanted was for Rory to feel uncomfortable at the sight of such a strange scar.
"A... A car crash?" she murmured in disbelief more to herself than for the boy standing by her side. "What else... What else did aunt Petunia tell you?"
"Yes, a car crash. Uncle Vernon doesn't really like to talk about them, so he doesn't say much, but when I have asked my aunt she said my dad didn't have a proper job and he had some drinking problems."
In Harry's head it was possible, if he had drinking problems then he would've been the cause of a car crash. Though he didn't like that story or even talk about it, it was his reality. Aurora's face grew warmer and Harry saw the face she made, the way her lips were pressed together and her cheeks became a shade of pink. He knew then he shouldn't have said any of it, no one ever wanted to talk or know about his parents. No one cared about a Potter who was unemployed and had a wife who wasn't good enough to find a nice man and settled down instead of getting together with a drunk. No one cared about Harry or his life.
"That is outrageous!" she screamed out loud, unaware of the way Harry jumped at her voice getting louder. "They were none of that! A car accident? Unbelievable!"
Harry wanted to apologize immediately, promise her he would never speak of his parents again if it upset her that much. Promise that he'll stop making questions if she wants it too... But he only stood there, making himself small as he often did when his uncle started to yell at him for something he did wrong. Pretending to be invisible. He didn't like it when people screamed, even less when it was because of something he said or the screams were directed at himself.
A poof came out of the fireplace at the same time green flames appeared and from them, to Harry's amusement, a woman emerged from the fireplace into the office followed by a man.
"Aurora, my dear!" the most elegant woman Harry had ever seen called in a soft tone of voice. "What happened? Are you alright?"
"Astoria." she leaned into the woman for a hug. "You'll see I..."
"What on Merlin's name happened to him, Blackwood?" the tall, blonde -almost platinum haired- man spoke pointing at Harry. "What did you do to him?"
Harry frowned at the man, unknowing that even when his tone was calm the way he was reacting was the way he normally did when something got him nervous.
"Rory didn't do anything to me." Harry spoke up, getting everyone's attention as he stood firmly in between Aurora and the man. "Who are you?"
"And here we got him once again, this is what I've told you about dear." he said at Astoria. "Potter, the protector of the people."
If Draco Malfoy was honest to himself, he had absolutely no clue on how to react. Harry looked almost the same as the first time he ever saw him at Diagon Alley before Hogwarts even started, it was like being a kid all over again and he couldn't help himself but to speak as he had done in his youth.
"Give it a break, Draco." Aurora said. "He did it to himself, it's my theory."
Harry looked at them confused.
Here he was, between Rory who talked in a very familiar way to the man and there also was this tall blonde man teasing him as if they've known each other for a while.
"Found this with him, not sure on what it is but I was hoping you could help me with that." she spoke once again, handing the man the crystal vial Harry had seen her retrieve from the living room. "I ran some diagnostic spells on him to check if he was alright and it seemed like everything was normal but... Well, we know I'm not the best at that."
"How old is him?" Astoria asked, looking at both of them.
"He's twenty-four, we're the same age, Tori." Draco said.
"I mean as of right now, dear." she said.
"Ten, he's ten. A month away from his Hogwarts letter."
"Hogwarts?" Harry's voice asked, interrupting the talk between the grown ups.
"The school we went to." Aurora replied.
"Where is that? I've never heard of Hogwarts."
"Somewhere around... Scotland?" she guessed looking at Draco as he nodded, confirming the school was indeed in Scotland.
"I went to school in Scotland?" Harry asked with wide eyes, finding it almost impossible to believe he had gone to school so far away from Surrey... But how? Had the Dursley's finally gotten rid of him? Was that a school for troubled kids as uncle Vernon had planned to send him?
"We all did my dear." Astoria answered at him, gaining herself one curious look from both green and gray eyes. "My name is Astoria, I'm a healer, and this gentleman's wife."
"Harry Potter." he said shyly. "A healer is like a doctor for wizards?"
"That is correct." she smiled. "Aurora called us because she's unsure about how this change could affect you. Normally you would be twenty-four and around Draco's size, but your body was somehow changed and if it was a malpractice of some type of magic it could be potentially dangerous... Would you be okay with me running some tests on your health? It's just a precaution."
Harry looked back at Rory with a questioning look, almost as if he was asking for her permission to reply to the soft spoken healer woman.
He didn't particularly like going to the doctor, they always said he was small for his age, that he needed something, and that one time they said he needed glasses was a very unpleasant experience. They had dilated his pupils and he could barely see a thing, Dudley had made sure to make him trip every two steps and uncle Vernon had been significantly more upset than he had ever seen about having to pay for glasses for Harry. And after he had gotten his glasses it seemed to him it was even harder for aunt Petunia to look at him.
It had always made him uncomfortable, wearing glasses, that is, he thought they made him look ugly. Probably more unfit than what aunt Petunia considered him to be, never missing an opportunity to tell him, and it didn't help him at school either. Yes, he was finally able to see the board from his place without having to squint at it every two seconds to recognize the picture in it but he was being relentlessly teased by Dudley and his classmates all the time, going as far as his dear cousin making sure to break his glasses over and over again making them look worse each time Harry had to add another layer of glue to them or a new band aid.
"It's okay, Harry. It'll be pretty quick and it won't cause more than a few tickles on your body. I promise." Astoria reassured him.
"Go on, love. Tori is the absolute best healer you can find, she works mostly with kids too so she'll make sure you're comfortable at all times." Rory added with a smile.
Harry then nodded, following Astoria to a couch and sitting beside her, closely watching her pointing her stick at different parts of his body and feeling the light tickles she had warned him about. He noticed too how different colors came out of the wooden artifact and Astoria was very nice, letting him know what the colors meant, what she was doing, and making him comfortable warning him about the new wave of tickles approaching.
"He really doesn't remember anything?" Draco asked Aurora in a low voice.
"He just told me his parents, the Potters, died in a car accident and that's how he got his scar."
"In a car accident?!" he let out as offended as Aurora herself was.
"He didn't even know there was such a thing as magic or that he was a wizard."
Draco passed his hand through his face and started pacing around in a circle.
"Not only his body but his mind too..." he muttered to himself. "Where on earth are Granger and Weasley?"
"Honeymoon somewhere I don't remember."
"Right, they got married."
They both focused their attention on Astoria and Harry, noticing how the kid looked at ease. Still like a little statue, looking way more wary and shy than any of the present had ever seen him, but at ease. Draco decided then to open the vial and smell it, trying to detect anything familiar that could help the cause.
"In all honesty Blackwood, I have no idea what this thing can be. Let alone come out with a cure." he said, starting to get frustrated. "I'll take this home and work out something, I should be able to, at the very least, tell you what is in this thing in a week or two."
"A week or two? Seriously?" she said irritated. "I don't know if you've notice but he is ten-years-old!"
"I noticed that, trust me. I assumed with your little note you don't want anyone knowing about said incident. Am I right?"
"Of course I don't want anyone to know! There's still people out there, Draco." she pointed out. "Dangerous people that would do anything to hurt him given the chance. Just give him a look."
"I'm well aware about how young he was, mind you." he said looking at the now more relaxed boy pointing at the golden spectrum of magic surrounding his head. "Merlin, Blackwood."
Draco let out a sigh, knowing probably better than anyone about the dangers Harry could face if his new condition managed to get to the wrong people. And, even when the young version of Harry brought back his childlike angst it was completely different. He was now an adult and he was nothing but a child. A clueless one at that. He wouldn't like to see a kid that young, now being Draco an adult, having to fight experienced dark wizards. Not again.
"It's alright." Aurora finally said. "He can't be more difficult to deal with than a twenty-four year old Harry. Can it?"
"I wish you luck then, you will need it."
"Just please make sure to find out whatever that is."
Astoria smiled at Harry one last time before standing up, followed by the kid, and take place beside her husband.
"A perfectly healthy ten year old boy, body and mind." she said. "A little underweight and rather small than other kids his age, but nothing a good diet can't cure. He's outstandingly healthy."
"He did look like that when we first met, so I would say he looks just fine to me." Draco pointed out casually.
"So his head ain't fried or his organs bigger than they should for his age?"
"He had potion residue in his hair, I didn't touch it. But it seems to me he had it thrown directly at his head." she said directly at Draco. "It's as if he had used a time turner and just appeared here, he is rather perfect as far as it goes. Whoever made that brew made something really powerful."
Rory nodded, relieved to learn Harry was in perfectly good condition.
"Alright then. I'll make sure to keep him safe until we can safely return him to his proper age, but I need complete discretion with this." Aurora said, giving her friends a smile. "I appreciate you both coming all the way here, I owe you a big one."
"Don't you worry about it, Rory. I'll make sure to keep this confidential and I'll come by to check on his health every now and then."
"I appreciate it, Tori."
Aurora wrapped her arms around her long time friend tightly, feeling Astoria hug her back in the same way.
The now called Mrs. Malfoy had always been nice to her and exceptionally different to most pure-blood Slytherin rich kids from her generation making them the best friends an unlikely pair of a Hufflepuff and a Slytherin could, and Draco didn't stand to far from her. He had changed tremendously over the years and dating, and later on marrying, Astoria had just made him a better man. He had changed his whole world view after the war and did his best to become an honorable man despite his past. A man capable of love and cherishing his wife more than anything in this life the way only a Malfoy could.
Aurora had found it odd at first, once she ran into the blonde man when she was taking her potion master classes, she found odd how nice he had been to her and even helped her when she seemed to struggle with assignments. They had, over the course of a year sitting beside each other daily, became good friends, being able to compare their experiences of a traumatic past between them and reassure each other about how they had been kids. Just kids on the different side of a terrible period in time. Fast forward to this present day she was absolutely comfortable by trusting them with such an important task.
Harry walked over to them soon as he noticed they were getting into the fireplace once more.
"Thank you, Miss Astoria." he said politely.
"My pleasure, Harry."
"Nice to see you, Potter."
Harry stared at the blonde man and placed his hand out to shake hands with him.
"Nice to meet you..."
"Draco, Draco Malfoy." he answered, giving Harry's hand a shake.
"Right."
The couple went inside the fireplace, arms linked with each other and after Astoria said in a clear voice "To Malfoy Manor!" Harry was surprised again at the sight of the couple disappearing into the green flames.
"Well Harry, it seems you are in perfect health." said Rory looking at him with a smile. "But it also looks like we won't be able to grow you back to your twenty-four year old self just yet."
Harry's eyes looked alarmed as Rory saw him look around him as if he was trying to find a place to hide. And he actually was.
That was it, he thought, if he was a child and he would have to go and live with his legal guardians once again. He had to go back to Privet Drive. Harry didn't wanted to go back there, at least not yet, not when Aurora was a witch that made awesome things to happen with a flick of her wand and answered to all his questions, and she had made him a sandwich and allowed him to pet her owl who could find anyone just with a name. He wanted to stay in London. He wanted to ask more questions and see more magic, he wanted to know why he was a child and didn't remember anything about growing up or being an adult. He wanted to know more about this so-called Ron friend he had, about his owl that wasn't around anymore. He wanted to know about his parents. And even if he wasn't allowed to talk about them he would rather stay.
"I can cook!" he blurted out, taking Rory by surprise. "I can clean too, and I'm very good at making myself invisible. I don't need much space, or anything really."
"Pardon me?"
"I am very good overall, I swear. Sometimes I ask too many questions but I can stop asking if you'd like. I'm not very big so I don't need much space at all so I don't need a room, a cupboard will do. Do you have one of those? I cook bacon very well, and some other things. I'm tall enough to manage the stove and I haven't burned my hand since I was seven. And if I'm not needed or wanted around anymore I can just disappear, and even if you get annoyed at me and scream I won't even cry. I also do not get sick very often, not even the flu but..." he stopped as soon as he saw the expression on Rory's face. "Do I need to go back to the Dursleys?"
Rory had a horrified look in her eyes at Harry's words. A cupboard? Just disappear? Not crying? Not being sick? What on earth was the child in front of her talking about?
"Harry, you haven't lived with the Dursley's since you were seventeen." she managed to say.
"But if I'm young again I..."
"You'll need some clothing for your current size and someone to keep an eye on you." she said, offering him a kind smile. "Unluckily for you, love, I'll have to stay here with you until we sort all of this out."
"I'm staying here?"
"Where else would you go? This is your house, Harry." Rory pointed out. "And you have your own bedroom, no cupboard should be used to keep a kid inside. The cupboard is only used to store your brooms."
"And you live here too?"
"I have my own place, we can go see it if you'd like, but I believe it'll be best if we stayed here."
"So I don't have to go back to Privet Drive?"
"No, not really." she said. "Unless you'd like to visit. But I must insist on going to get you some clothes, shirking and transfiguring clothes is not the most effective thing. It damages the clothing and that would soon leave older Harry without a wardrobe."
"I get to stay with you then?"
"More like I get to stay with you, this is your house after all."
"And do I get to pet Perth too?"
"Of course."
"Can I ask questions?"
"As much as you like."
"Will you answer them?"
"I promise you I'll try my very best to answer as much as I consider proper for you to know at this time."
Harry smiled then, satisfied at her answer and deciding once for all that he actually liked Aurora. And more than anything he felt like he could trust her.
She didn't feel unsafe, nor unpredictable, she didn't seem to dislike having him around, and she was soft spoken which for him was soothing. He didn't know her very well yet, but he could see why his older self would like a friend like her.
And he liked that idea very much.