Chapter 3
Harry was awake, he could feel it on every inch of his body. But he refused to open his eyes.
He had a beautiful dream that night, about a nice, beautiful, brunette woman spending the day with him; about owls, photo albums, and magic. Lots of magic.
He still felt warm and happy about being tucked in but at the same time he felt extremely afraid. He was afraid of opening his eyes and finding himself in his old, dusty, and small cupboard. He was afraid of waking up to the lightbulb above his head instead of the night sky on the roof, he felt afraid of seeing his old beheaded soldiers on the shelf above his head instead of feeling the fluffy pillow he had fallen asleep into. And most importantly he felt afraid that his photo album would disappear and he really won’t know if he looked like his parents.
He felt afraid to wake up and find the annoyed faces of his aunt and uncle instead of the nice smile and patient explanations of Rory to all of his endless questions.
But Harry knew he had to face reality once for all, and for his delight he found himself lying in the four-posted bed. Still tucked in the soft bed sheets and with his photo album from his friend named Hagrid by his side. He felt for once overjoyed to wake up and leave the bed, even if his current bed was the most comfortable he ever had slept on.
The black haired boy walked next door, trying to find Rory, but found only a neatly made bed and a suitcase on the floor of the room. He walked trying not to make a sound in search of the brunette, carefully he made his way downstairs only stopping by the sound of Rory’s voice.
"I’m telling you, Kreacher, he is a child. Body and mind, so he does not remember anything magical."
"Outrageous lies! Master Potter would never forget about poor old Kreacher."
"I’m not saying he only forgot about you, but everyone. He used to live with muggles when he was little."
"How did Master… Who hurt Kreacher’s master?" He heard the voice cry. "Kreacher should have been here to protect Master Potter!"
"It’s okay, Kreacher. Harry is in perfectly good health and Draco is working on a potion to bring him back to normal."
"Mistress’s Cissy’s son is helping young master Potter? Kreacher is happy to know someone with the Black’s bloodline is helping his new master."
Harry decided that eavesdropping wasn’t a nice thing to do, and maybe it’ll be better for this Kreacher to see that he was more than okay. He didn’t understand much on why he was calling him ‘master’ but he sounded concerned nonetheless so he followed the voices into the kitchen. And he was definitely not ready for what he found.
"Master Potter!" the voice of who he now knew was Kreacher reached his ears.
Before Harry stood a humanoid creature dressed with what seemed to be a pillowcase. It was definitely a shocking sight to see first thing in the morning, and though Harry wasn’t scared of it he was intrigued by the many folds of skin, bloodshot eyes, and the bat-like ears with white hairs poking out of them. Kreacher was shorter than himself and way way more skinny.
"Good morning Harry." called Rory from the kitchen table. "I reckon you slept alright?"
"Good morning. And yes, better than ever." he said, not taking his eyes off Kreacher. "I am sorry if it’s rude but… What? Who is him?"
Kreacher let out a gasp and Rory just approached them both.
"This, Harry, happens to be Kreacher the house-elf." She introduced him. "Your house-elf."
"It is very nice to meet you, Kreacher." He said, sticking out his hand to shake it with the creature in front of him. "What exactly is a house elf?"
"House elf’s are noble creatures that work for noble wizards like master Potter. We do the cleaning and cooking and about anything our master orders us to do. We live to serve our masters and we do it gladly." Kreacher said, taking Harry’s hand in his and bowing dramatically.
Harry looked at Rory asking for a further explanation on this, especially since it sounded like Kreacher was to Harry what he was to his uncle and aunt. He cooked, cleaned and did pretty much as they said too.
"Kreacher was the Black’s family house elf. He is like a servant, a butler or the help. As you wish to call it." She explained. "Your godfather inherited him to you with this house and since you were seventeen he’s been a loyal house elf for you."
Owning a living humanoid creature sounded pretty bad to him.
"Do I pay him?"
"Never! Kreacher does not serve master Potter for his wealth, he could never take not one knut from him."
That started to sound a bit much like slavery.
"Why is he dressed like that?"
"If you give a house-elf clothes you are essentially giving him his freedom, and trust me, that is the worst thing you could do to most of them."
Harry didn’t like the sound of that at all.
"But…"
"They are quite fascinating creatures, but as far as I’ve known, even if you don’t completely accept the idea of owning him you have allowed him to serve you because he loves it and this house is all he’s ever known. You treat him with respect and dignity, while he takes care of you." Rory explained. "You just need to ask him."
Harry looked at the creature moving around the kitchen seemingly making breakfast and nodded.
"Can I ask him to wear some other clothes? It’s winter…"
"You can try."
Harry looked at the house elf and approached carefully.
"Uh… Kreacher." He said. "I would like it if you wore some clothes more appropriate for the winter."
"Does master Potter want me to change?" the elf questioned.
"Yes, please. Maybe put on some hat and a coat."
"As master Potter wishes." he said before disappearing into the air with a loud sound.
"What…"
"House elf magic, they’re quite powerful too and they don’t even need a wand to help their magic. Amazing creatures really." Rory said. "Well, Kreacher did bring the breakfast near the fireplace in the living room, like you said last night. Would you like to eat, Harry?"
Harry nodded, still confused about the whole house-elf situation, but that thought was quickly stored somewhere else in his mind when his eyes landed on the coffee table full of food in front of him. There was a plate fixed with a small bowl of oatmeal, eggs and bacon. Toast and jam. Orange juice and milk. Harry felt his mouth water and he sat down next to Rory staring at the fireplace while his mouth was filled with the food.
"Pretty hungry, ain’t you?" she said looking at the boy.
Rory had been awake for a couple of hours, she went to her flat to pick up some clothes and when she came back Kreacher was in the kitchen making breakfast already. She had taken the time to explain everything about the current situation much to the elf’s disbelief. She had also written to Hagrid, as she promised Harry she would, and even took the liberty to send an owl to head Auror Hudson to state Harry was going to be home for the next two weeks due a magical bug that caused him to get sick. Sick enough to miss work but not enough for anyone to pop by his house to check on him. Astoria had, at Rory’s request, confirmed his sickness and called herself his personal healer until the bug was gone. Rory felt like she could rest easy once the response to this bug situation was only a ‘get well soon’ card.
Harry looked at Rory while she happily ate a piece of toast and noticed she was wearing pajamas too. They looked way bigger than her size, and it was easy to know, by the button at the front they were male pajama bottoms. And he somehow knew those were his older self pajamas. After all, they were at his house and he seemed to live alone.
"Do we eat breakfasts like this when we have get togethers with our friends?" Harry asked.
"Sometimes we do, other times you wake up super early and eat first."
"Oh." Harry said. "Who are my friends?"
"Well, you have quite a few." Rory started. "Your best friend is Ron Weasley, a ginger, tall, blue eyed man. Then there’s Hermione Granger, a bushy hair brunette, not that small but not that tall either, probably the smartest witch out there."
"And you."
"And me, yes. There’s also Ron’s siblings, George and Ginny whom you are the closest, Neville of course, and Luna who happens to be my best friend."
Harry looked happy at her answer, it seemed like his older self had quite a few friends.
"And Hagrid?"
"Yes, there’s also Hagrid."
"What are they like?"
"They are all the best bunch of lads you could meet, we’ve been together through a lot and Ron and Hermione are like your family. Since you were eleven."
"Where are they now?" Harry inquired.
"Well, they just got married so they went on their honeymoon."
"Oh, good for them." Harry said before going back to his food.
Rory let out a little laugh at his reaction, it sounded unapologetically like the Harry she met years ago when he didn’t know how to respond to something. Perth came flying back, sitting at the table, Harry left his toast aside to pet the owl while Aurora checked on his paw for the piece of parchment and Perth was sneaky enough to steal Harry’s toast. The boy didn’t even complain, happily petting the owl. Aurora unrolled the paper, finding in it Hagrid’s response.
"Seems we can visit Hagrid this weekend. He’s quite enthusiastic about getting to see you once again, and said he’ll bake you some cake."
"Really?" Harry asked.
He never had anyone baking him a cake before, not even for his birthdays he got to eat cake. He had some of Aunt Marge’s cake once but it was only because none of the Dursleys liked it at all. Harry didn’t like it either, it tasted the same way she smelled; dog food. Uncle Vernon’s sister was into breeding dogs and treating them as her children hence her always smelling clothes. She even gifted him dog biscuits for Christmas once, or she said she did at least. Truth be told, she only handed them to him because her dog refused to eat them.
So the prospect of his ‘good friend Hagrid’ baking him a cake sounded truly amazing. A very lovely gesture.
"Yes, you’ll see that he is a great host." Rory said, remembering all the times during school Hagrid had invited her into his hut for tea, and how despite the man not being the greatest cook ever he had a unique way to make you feel at home, safe and cared for all the time.
Always willing to listen and comfort those who looked for him.
Harry was already looking forward to seeing his friend.
Rory had maintained a full on conversation with Harry about Hogwarts. How kids got his letters to school, the sorting hat, the houses, classes, quidditch, and the teachers they have had there. Harry seemed to like the idea of going to school in a castle and getting to fly a magic broom. He had always wondered how it would feel to fly, and he only grew more excited about the magical sport when the woman mentioned him playing it through all his school years. Turned out he was very good at it, even becoming captain of the team and continuously helping them win the Quidditch cup.
Harry also learned that he was sorted to the Gryffindor house, house of the lions. The house for those who were brave, courageous, and bold. The house of his parents and godfather. That knowledge made him proud. Rory on the other hand was a Hufflepuff, the house of the badgers. Those who are loyal, patient, fair, just, and hardworking. Harry thought that truly suited her. She told him about her friend Luna, who was a Ravenclaw; creative, intelligent, wise, witty and accepting. Aurora assured him Luna was all that, and that in fact Harry liked Luna a lot. And then there was Slytherin, the house of the serpents. Those who were resourceful, cunning, ambitious, and loyal to their own. Rory explained to Harry the reputation Slytherin house had at some point but also pointed out that Astoria had been in said house and she never was a bad person at the slightest. Harry thought that maybe, being a serpent and true to your own could backfire if you surround yourself with the wrong people, maybe that was why they had a bad reputation.
He listened to her closely as she started to talk about magic. Harry had decided he truly wanted to do magic and Aurora promised him he could give it a go and handed him a stick.
”This belongs to you, Harry.” she said with a smile. “Each wizard gets its wand at eleven, and this one belongs to you. She chose you a long time ago.”
Harry grabbed it and felt an electric feeling go through his right arm. A nice one. It was as if the wand recognized him and was greeting him, and for what Rory had said it was exactly that.
Wands chose the wizard or witch according to their needs, personality, and magic type.
Rory taught him a couple of spells, simple ones she had said. Conjuring light to his wand, turning it off, levitating things too. Some simple color spells and the good old cleaning spell. Harry had entertained himself going ‘Lumos-Nox-Lumos-Nox’ for a solid five minutes. Then he tried to scrungify the breakfast plates and he managed to change one of the plates from white to blue, to green and to pink. He looked proud of himself and for the first time felt like a good student. Maybe all he ever needed was a patient teacher who would repeat words for him and gently show him the right way to do things.
"Want to see something awesome?" Rory asked him.
"Another spell? Yes, please." he said, excitement showing all over his face.
"Alright, this next thing you taught me, so you better keep an eye on it." she said. "Expecto Patronum."
Rory’s eyes closed and her mind tried to travel to a certain memory of her companion, one in which he was way older, laughing hysterically and holding his stomach. His hair looked messier than usual and both of them were laying on the same floor she was sitting right now.
Harry saw a bright light coming out of her wand and slowly started taking form into something he couldn’t quite figure yet. It had the head of an eagle but his body looked an awful lot like a horse, except for the wings and the clawed feet.
"What…? How?" he managed to say, still watching the big figure fly around the room graciously.
"It’s an Hippogriff."
The creature landed and laid down in front of the fire, just in front of Harry. He stood up and got closer to it, gaining a head movement from the creature, and then he tried to touch it, having his hand go through it. Rory let out a giggle.
"It’s a patronus charm, so it’s a non-corporeal Hippogriff." Harry’s face looked disappointed. "But I know first hand you touched one, and even rode it. He took you flying around the castle and liked you very much."
"Really?"
"I promise, maybe Hagrid can tell you more about it this weekend. He knows all about creatures."
"What is a patronus?"
"Well, they are protectors. They are made from our happiest memories and protect us from dementors, acting like shields. They change forms according to the wizard or witch that casts the spell. Yours is one of the most powerful ones I’ve ever seen, may I add."
"What is mine? How did I learn it? How did you learn it?"
"Yours is a stag, like your dad’s." She said looking at Harry. "I reckon you learned it from professor Lupin in your third year, and by fifth year you taught me how to do it. In fact you taught a whole class of students how to do it."
"Why?"
"Because we needed to defend ourselves and no one else was willing to help us."
Harry looked back at the shiny creature in front of him.
"Why an Hippogriff?"
"Loyalty, second chances, and because I would do absolutely anything to protect the people I love."
"I think it suits you," he said. "Why is mine a stag? Is it because of my dad?"
"I would sure think so, but maybe it’s because of how much of a leader you are. You’ve always been, looking out after everyone, making sure we’re protected and cared for." she said, caressing Harry’s hair almost in a loving way. "As far as I know, James had those qualities as well."
Harry smiled and stood up.
"Can I go take a shower?"
"Of course, I’ll take care of the mess."
"And can I try more magic?"
"Sure, I believe I can find some school charms books around the house. Age appropriate ones that is."
Harry nodded and ran upstairs, leaving Rory behind staring at her patronus. The hippogriff was gorgeous and one of the rarest forms for a patronus to take. She sat there staring at the fire, wondering if she was doing the right thing for Harry, wondering if she was really capable of keeping him safe. She had noticed the look on his emerald eyes every time he made a question, every time she made a sudden move… Aurora didn’t want to assume anything about the black haired boy under her care, but he looked puzzled every single time she had a nice gesture with him. And that wasn’t normal. It didn’t feel right at all.
Harry deserved to be happy, to be cared for.
He always did. No matter if he was ten or in his twenties. Harry Potter deserved to be cared for the same way he took care of everyone else. And she had an opportunity to make this child happy, an oblivious little kid who had his innocence still intact as he should have during his original timeline. A version of Harry that wasn’t that broken yet… One that could’ve been loved and cared for, one that still could laugh and feel excitement by the simplest of things…
Rory decided then, staring at the fireplace, she’ll make sure to make him enjoy his childhood for as long as they could. Let him for once be a child that didn’t have to worry about a psychotic killer, a neglectful family, or a bully for a teacher.
Harry was going to have a bit of what he should’ve had for as long as Rory had his younger version around.
…
Having a younger version of Harry around was nothing less than delightful, Rory had decided.
The ten year old boy had slowly started to show his true colors and create some kind of routine in the household; he made lots of questions all the time, politely asked Kreacher for a different breakfast each day, helped sort the table, asked a round of more questions, practiced spells by the fireplace, and inquired about more magical topics.
He really didn’t seem to be at all like the shy fourteen year old boy Aurora had met ten years ago, or the angsty fifteen year old who she had grown to love.
This younger Harry was eager to learn, cautious about every movement he made, curious about everything around him, not afraid of speaking his mind most of the time, and innocent.
His young mind, even when Aurora had explained everything he had been through in the past fourteen years as best as she could, wasn’t even bothered by any of it. He had no memory of the sadness, the trauma, or the pain from the years to come -or those who had passed-. He was sympathetic to his older self, every once in a while admitting to Rory how sad it would make him think about his past-future experiences.
Other times he called himself a brat.
And she had noticed that around their third day together his emerald eyes had started to follow every move she made. Sometimes she even caught him staring at her and blushing when she caught him, so Rory had decided to ignore his eyes on her and act normal, not wanting the boy to feel embarrassed for being curious.
Harry had to admit he had found a liking on staring at Rory for some unknown reason, he thought it was curiosity. Aurora had been flawlessly taking care of him, teaching him, and allowing him to make many questions as he pleased only to explain as much as she could or considered proper for his age. But there was one little topic he hadn’t dared to dig in more just now: Rory’s life.
She had been quite careful every time she disclosed anything about her life with him, choosing her words carefully and giving him nice smiles.
He had decided then that maybe, and just maybe, she didn’t feel all that comfortable talking about her life. Maybe she was just a very discreet woman. Or maybe, and Harry truly hoped to be wrong, she didn’t have the happiest life growing up.
So he quickly decided to keep his questions for himself, not wanting to get on her nerves or upset her.
Harry had instead decided to pay close attention to her every move, and so far he had found out a few things about her: Rory had two older brothers, was a year younger than he was, had a best friend named Luna -aside from the elegant Astoria he had met once-, she also worked with magical creatures.
Rory had been friends with him for around ten years and smiled at him most of the time, seemed to love messing up his hair -if that was even possible considering it was already a mess-, ate a bowl of porridge every morning, sometimes he had eggs too but no matter what she ate she’ll always have her porridge and fruit. He had never seen her out of her pajamas eating breakfast, normally she ate it as soon as she woke up or simply liked to roam around the halls in comfortable clothing and most of the time she wore shirts too big to be hers, fluffy pants and socks.
She was patient, kind, and always willing to explain every single one of his doubts.
Harry still thought he liked her very much.
“So, how has he been this past couple of days?” Draco asked, holding his coffee mug and leaning his hip on the doorway of the living room of Grimmauld place.
The blonde man had owled Aurora the past night, letting her know he was going to stop by the place to deliver some stuff Astoria thought Harry could possibly need, with the days getting colder in London and the sudden letter she had sent to inform the Malfoy’s of their upcoming visit to Hogwarts grounds the healer had consider it of vital importance for Aurora to have a first aid kit with everything she could possibly need in case she found trouble with apparating with Harry.
“He’s been doing more than fine.” she responded with a smile “Kreacher has been surprisingly over the moon with him, I don’t think Harry has ever asked him for this many things in all the years he’s been at his service.”
“He ain’t the only one that seems happy with the mini version of Potter.”
“Certainly… It’s just, I’m learning so much about him.” she said “I’m just trying for him to have happy times, to be comfortable… We didn’t got much of that growing up.”
“Do say. You know who you’re talking to?”
“It is slightly different, Draco.” Aurora said, looking at the stairs “He didn’t have a loving family, and as soon as he finds friends and a place where he can feel he belongs he's forced to fight over and over again against the worst kind of…”
“No need to get into that, I know more than anyone how awful he was.”
Aurora nodded, as they both remained silent for a second.
Years ago, when Draco had started to befriend her as they got into master potion classes, they had discussed everything regarding the war. But it hadn’t been until one night at Astoria’s flat that the three of them had opened up about their very different upbringings, the effects the sides they had been raised had on them, and on Draco’s part the way he still got nightmares about the time Voldemort had used the Malfoy manor as his quartet.
“So… How’s that potion coming along?” Rory decided to ask.
“Nicely done, I would say.” Draco’s gray eyes seemed to come back into the moment, as if he had been somewhere else in his mind. “I think I have at the very least half of the components identified, there’s just something missing so I assume it must be a difficult ingredient to find. After that I think I should be able to recreate it and test it on rats.”
“And then?”
“Well, after I find the correct potion I should be able to find a way to reverse it in a safe way for Potter to drink.”
“You truly are amazing, ain’t you?”
“I’m just good at my job, that's it.”
“And there it is, Malfoy’s modesty.” she laughed out loud. “Who would’ve thought the most egocentric kid in school would grow to me so modest about compliments?”
“Theodore Nott, that’s who.”
Aurora rolled her eyes, being now familiar with Draco’s way to evade awkward conversations.
“Fine, how long do you think this would take?”
“Since I’m amazing, I think it’ll be ready after the holidays.”
Aurora placed her hand over her mouth, biting on the skin of her thumb as she thought about it. She had completely forgotten Christmas was around the corner.
“Speaking of the holidays, what are you going to do about that? It's my understanding that Potter usually goes to the Weasley’s.”
“He does… I can think about something. I mean, I already managed to excuse him from the Ministry.”
“Very well.” Draco straightened up his posture, walking to the center table and leaving the mug there. “It’s time I go then, I’ll let you know once I have everything.”
“I appreciate it, Draco.” she said, standing up from the couch. “Tell Tori hi, would you?”
“Will do, she insists you need to go see her at St. Mungo’s.”
“Once everything is settled, perhaps.”
“You really shouldn’t let that pass, Blackwood.”
Aurora frowned looking at him in the eye.
“Has she mentioned anything to you?”
“She definitely has, we’re married, you troll.”
“Anyone else?”
“Not a soul, that’s up to you.”
“Alright then, go on.” she said, moving her hands as if she wanted to push him to the floo “I have people to see and a kid to wake up still.”
“Safe travel.” he said, before disappearing through the green flames.
Aurora passed her hands over her face and pulled her hair a little bit, starting to walk upstairs.
They had a long day ahead.