Knowing and Changing

“It’s okay, Harry. We can do this. We can get through this. We can make new memories. Better memories. With our family. We can help them. Protect them. And we can be safe, eventually. Happy,” George whispered, sounding as if he was trying to convince himself as well as Harry. 

“Erm, are you two okay?” a gentle voice broke through the silence, causing Harry and George to jump up and spin around to face the group of students standing in the door looking at them with worried eyes. 

Then their eyes locked on one person and the three of them gasped, in awe and pain, as a bond lit up between them.

And with that bond lit up another with the boy standing next to the one they bonded to the first time, though this bond was a tad weaker than the other, it was still very noticeable, however, in the magics of the four of them. 

The four of them were breathing heavily, shakily as they stared at each other in shock, confusion, and awe. The others in the group that had arrived with the two boys looked at them all in concern. 

“What just happened? Are you all okay?” a young Severus Snape asked, looking between his friends and the twins with worried eyes. 

“H-how-” Regulus breathed as he stepped closer to the twins who were both rather firmly in place. 

Harry started shaking slightly. Pain, fear, and nerves filled him to the point of him needing George to hold him up because his knees were on the verge of collapsing under him. 

“H-how is my magic telling me that you two are my sons?” Regulus finally managed to ask, shocking everyone apart from Barty and the twins. 

Barty was moving with Regulus and soon they were both standing in front of the twins with looks of awe mostly. Regulus’ hand was resting on his flat stomach, though, as if he was imagining carrying them in him. 

“I-I-” Harry stuttered, he couldn’t speak. 

What was he supposed to say?

This wasn’t supposed to happen. 

He was supposed to pretend that he was nothing to them, until they became friends, then they could be friends. 

They weren’t supposed to know the truth. 

They weren’t supposed to know about what the future became.

They weren’t supposed to know anything. 

He looked at George and saw that he was in shock, too, but he was more coherent than Harry was. George looked at him and seemed to decide something then looked back at who were now both of their parents apparently. Harry didn’t think the blood adoption was thorough enough to make George fully his brother. But he didn’t mind. Merlin knew he needed someone.  

“We can’t say anything with the door open and no privacy wards up,” George said as smoothly as he could manage, but there was a slight warble in his voice that showed some of his nerves. 

It wasn’t long before the others had managed to slide into the compartment, lock and ward the door to prevent any of their conversation from getting out. The twins, Regulus and Barty were the only ones still standing by the time everything was ready, and everyone was comfortable in their seats. 

Whilst there was still room for the four of them to sit none of them could move, too shocked to be able to do so. 

“How are you both our sons?” Barty asked after a few moments of silence, “How old are you?”

“We are from the future,” George whispered, but everyone heard it anyway if the gaping was anything to go by, “We’re currently fifteen, physically anyway,”

“You say that as if you aren’t supposed to be fifteen,” Frank said. 

“I-I’m supposed to be seventeen. George is supposed to be twenty,” Harry found his voice, but it was very shaky. 

“How did you end up de-aged and with our past selves rather than with our future selves?” Regulus asked, concerned. 

Harry choked on a sob and looked at the floor. 

George squeezed him gently in comfort. 

“That is rather a long story,” George said quietly. 

“And we are on a train to Scotland, from London. We have the time,” Barty said gently as Regulus just stared at them in awe and pain at the hurt in their eyes. 

“Yes, I need to know what my babies are doing so far away from home,” Regulus said, clearing his throat. 

And Harry crumbled.

Merlin knew he wished he could keep his emotions under control, but everything was just too much as he sunk to the floor of the compartment, George going with him, and he cried, again. He couldn’t stop it. It was like his eyes were taps that just kept leaking no matter how hard he tried to turn them off. 

George held him close, rocking him slightly, and he saw Regulus and Barty sit on the floor in front of them, both worried and not knowing what to do, how to help. 

And it hurt. 

“What’s your name?” Regulus asked Harry gently, “We know George’s but we don’t know yours,”

Harry looked at him in shock and tried to stop crying enough to speak, “H-Hadrian. But-But e-everyone called me H-Harry,” his voice was shakier than it had ever been as he cried. 

“Well it’s nice to meet you, Harry,” Regulus said, smiling at him and George, “And you, George,”

“Nice to meet you, too,” George whispered, and Harry nodded. 

“So, do you want to tell us how our babies ended up so far away from home?” Regulus encouraged gently. 

“We don’t have a home,” Harry hiccoughed, then he threw caution to the wind since the group they had come to be friends with knew who they were, somewhat, and told them his long, sordid tale. 

He told them of his birth. 

His kidnapping. 

The Potter’s dying. 

The muggles he thought were his relatives. 

His letters to Hogwarts. 

Hagrid coming for him. 

Going to Hogwarts. 

His years at Hogwarts. 

His relationship with Fred.

The war. 

The Horcrux hunt. 

The battle. 

Fred dying. 

Severus dying. 

Going to Gringotts. 

Finding out the truth.

The memories Regulus gave him.  

Finding his true family, or what was left of it anyway. 

Severus’ funeral. 

Coming up with a plan. 

Blood adopting George as his brother. 

Them de-aging themselves so they could be with their family, and save Severus. 

Speaking with Fred, seeing his and Fred’s daughter, and the two of them, and Severus.

Them coming back in time. 

The past few weeks of preparing for school. 

All of it came tumbling out of his mouth with no filter as he looked at his knees, not wanting to see their faces, their reactions. 

George held him the whole time despite the fact that his brother was shaking himself. George’s face was hidden in Harry’s hair and Harry could feel his tears falling onto his scalp, but he didn’t care. 

His parents knew. 

He wouldn’t have to pretend, not in private anyway. 

It was a lot to take in, really. 

Two sets of arms wrapped around Harry and George and the two of them stiffened in shock. 

“You’re home now, my babies,” Regulus told them softly, and yet there was a slight thickness to his voice also, full of emotion that it was. 

That really was the straw that broke the camel’s back as Harry and George sunk into their parent’s warm, comforting, strong embrace and cried. You’d think they were all cried out by that point with all the tears they had cried over the past months, and yet, they just kept flowing. Never seeming to want to stop. 

“And we’re never letting you go, never again, neither of you,” Barty said, his voice just as thick with emotion.

It took a while for everyone to calm down, and when Harry finally looked up at everyone there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. Though they managed to clean themselves up eventually, Regulus and Barty helped Harry and George stand and led them over to the empty seats in the compartment, Harry being sandwiched between Severus and Regulus, and George between Barty and Alice opposite them. 

“Well, this has certainly been the most eventful train ride to school,” Severus said, clearing his throat as he tried to lighten the mood. 

Harry snorted before letting out a few chuckles. 

“Maybe we’ll be able to top it next year, or the year after,” Harry said. 

“What could possibly be more eventful than this?” Severus said, grinning slightly. 

“I don’t know right now. But I’m sure between all of us we can come up with something,” Harry grinned back. 

“I happen to think that quite a few things could be more eventful than this,” George said with a smirk, “First of all, someone could get married inside the compartment. We could even have a little, cramped reception afterwards. Speeches included, of course. Second of all, someone could give birth to a child inside the compartment, that would be very eventful indeed. Thirdly, we could stage a duelling competition for the whole school, on the train. Fourthly, train wide prank war that starts the second the train leaves the station and finishes the second everyone is off the train. Fifthly, party. And number six, a tortoise race from one end of the train to the other. It might finish just in time for us to arrive at the school,”

“And how exactly is a tortoise race going to be more eventful than this?” Lucius said curiously. 

“Well, good sir, betting pools, and seeing how the students attempt to help the tortoise they bet on win the race will be rather interesting,” George said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

“You Slytherins especially would be rather cunning about it, wouldn’t you?” Frank grinned. 

“Of course, it is the only way we know how to be,” Severus said, also grinning. 

Even though emotions were still running rather high throughout the compartment, they managed to spend the last few hours of the train ride happily chatting about anything that wasn’t related to anything Harry had revealed. 

He was rather shocked at how quickly they had all accepted him and George, and a look at George revealed that he was also. 

It made him both happy and nervous that their family accepted them, though. Even after everything he had told them. 

He had a feeling that he probably shouldn’t have told them everything, well, nearly everything he did. But it all just came tumbling out. There was no stopping it. He needed to rant, and rage, and let it all go. And they provided him with the opportunity to do so. 

He was worried that it all was going to come back and bite him in the arse one day. 

But at the same time, the more time he spent with them, the more comfortable and hopeful he was. 

Hopefully this would be the first time that things started truly being good for him. 

Although a part of himself felt like that was just asking for a miracle. 

…

When the train came to a stop and the group climbed off it they stood in a huddle of sorts for a few moments as everyone else bustled around them and Hagrid called for the first years, and the two new fifth years. 

“We have to go with Hagrid,” Harry said solemnly, not wanting to leave his family. 

Regulus and Barty pulled him and George into their arms again and the twins relaxed against them, breathing in the comfort in awe and shock. 

“We’ll be proud of you both no matter what House you get sorted into,” Regulus said, and Harry tried desperately to not start crying again. 

He had been doing that too much lately. 

Soon the two groups parted, Harry and George off to stand with Hagrid and the gathering eleven year olds, and the others heading towards the school with everyone else. 

Harry took a shaky breath and George grabbed his hand, squeezing it comfortingly. Harry smiled at him sadly and George returned the smile. 

Soon they were on the boats and floating across the lake. Their first sight of Hogwarts is both awesome and horrifying to Harry and George. They both freeze in place, a tight grip on each other’s hands as they looked up at the still intact castle and remembered. 

They remembered supposed good times. 

They remembered war. 

They remembered love. 

They remembered pain. 

And it hurt. 

But it was still a beautiful sight. 

A miracle of one also given that the last time they had seen the castle it had been in ruins. Fire and smoke drifting into the clouds above. 

Neither of them had expected their miracle to be time travel, though. 

Was it really a miracle though? Given that they had so much to fight against, to save the world, to save their family, to save themselves? So much to do before they could truly find safety and happiness. 

Could they ever be happy?

Harry rather thought they needed a lot of miracles for them to truly be happy at any point in their lives. 

Harry and George followed behind everyone else at a slightly slower pace, their steps faltering every now and then as they entered the castle behind the half-giant and their old-future Head of House, and all the eleven year olds that looked so very excited and hopeful. 

Harry didn’t think their grips on each other’s hands could get any tighter. 

But it did, right as they entered the Great Hall. 

It took all the little energy they had to stay upright as they walked through the hall. Their legs were shaking, their hearts pounding, and their breaths were shaky. 

Harry really didn’t think either of them could do this. 

It was a mistake. 

A terrible mistake. 

They shouldn’t have come back.

They should have made someone else do it and disappeared into nothingness waiting for time to catch up again. 

“Peverell, George,” Professor McGonagall said, and the gasps around the room broke into Harry’s shattered heart and mind. 

He didn’t want to let go of his brother’s hand. He felt like if he did then they would both collapse. 

George took a fortifying breath and squeezed Harry’s hand, “It’s okay, Harry. We’re safe for the minute,” he whispered, “You’re not alone. Never,”

Then he let go of Harry’s hand and Harry felt rather cold at the loss of contact. 

He watched nervously as his brother walked up to the stool, sat down, and the Hat was placed on his head. 

It took four and a half minutes for the Hat to shout, “Slytherin,” and the House of snakes cheered loudly, but none louder than their family. George smiled at Harry as he moved to sit on one side of Regulus, and Harry smiled shakily back. 

“Peverell, Hadrian,”

One shaky step at a time led Harry to the stool and soon the Hat was over his eyes and he felt like he could breathe again. He could no longer see everything. Everyone. 

“Hello, Harry,” the Hat said gently. 

“Hello,” Harry said shakily. 

“I already know where I’m going to sort you. You ought to go into your proper House this time, I believe. But I know you need some time to not see everything so I won’t announce it until you feel like you can move safely over to your family,” the Hat said. 

Harry chuckled bitterly, “So never then?”

The Hat chuckled, too, “Oh, young Harry, you are stronger than you know. And capable of so very much if you put your mind to it. You just have to take it one step at a time, like you did when walking up to me. It will be difficult, I know. The pain you are in knows no bounds, and it isn’t easy to heal. But you will, slowly, eventually heal. With the aid of your family. And there are some reliable people who aren’t known to you, yet, but they will come. You are the power that brings people together, Harry. And I know it is a tough burden to bear, but I know that you can and will do what is needed to end this war, and to fix things. But know that you will never be alone, Harry. Never again,

“And if you need anything, even if it is just a chat, please do call on Fawkes. The Headmaster likes to make everyone believe Fawkes is bound to him, but my phoenix friend is actually bound to the school and the students within. Call for him and he will come to your aid. If you need me he will bring me to you,” 

“Thank you,” Harry whispered.

“Slytherin,” the Hat called out for the Hall to hear, and the Slytherins cheered, but again no louder than his family, as he slowly stood and made his way over to his family. 

He sat on the other side of his mother, breathing shakily and deeply, at least until his mum gripped his hand under the table and smiled at him reassuringly. Harry smiled back sadly, wishing that he had had the comfort of his mum his whole life. 

But he was infinitely glad that he got to experience it now.