An Eclectic Catalogue of Ideas

The next morning, Harry showered and dressed quickly. Heading down the steps, he called Dobby from a dark corner of the Gryffindor common room. "Dobby, please take me to Diagon Alley."

With a soft pop, Harry found himself in front of the bank. Keeping his head down, he headed into the building, approaching a teller. When the teller looked up at him, he told him, "I wish to speak to an account manager."

"And who might you be?" the goblin asked brusquely.

"Harry Potter. And yes, I know I'll have to have blood taken to verify that," Harry said dryly.

The goblin smirked and said, "This way then, Mr Potter."

Harry was led down one of the hallways, past a series of doors. Standing in front of one of the doors, the goblin knocked and said as he opened the door, "A Mr Potter wishes to speak to you." The nameplate on the door said Brokentooth.

"Does he now?" came the question from the room. "Send him in then."

Entering the room, Harry looked around, before looking towards a squat goblin. You could see one of his teeth had shattered, which presumably was the reason for his name. "Sir," Harry said politely.

"Yes, yes, enough politeness. You claim to be Mr Potter." The goblin obviously didn't believe him, but Harry couldn't blame him, considering the situation. "Your hand, please."

Harry offered his hand, and the goblin pricked his finger with a silver knife. As the drops began to fall onto the page in front of him, the goblin chanted a few words in his own tongue, and the blood slowly began to form words.

Harry knew what they'd say.

"Fascinating. You're really Mr Potter, and are somehow seventeen years old and an adult." The goblin stood, moving to a cabinet and waved his hand, speaking in the goblin tongue. It opened and he looked through some papers as he returned to his desk, "You have full access to the Potter Vaults and also have full access to the Black Vaults. That's a surprise; I'd expect you to have limited access as Sirius Black's heir." The goblin glanced up, "Care to explain to me how you are an adult, Mr Potter?" He was actually being polite, though still forthright. Goblins didn't beat around the bush.

"The bloody Goblet of Fire. My name came out of the goblet. You need to be seventeen years of age. I am now seventeen," Harry said with a sigh.

"Ah. The Goblet. A dangerous artefact. It uses powerful ancient magic in unpredictable ways." Brokentooth nodded. "That would be one way for this situation to come to pass."

Harry snorted, "Yeah, unfortunately."

"So, why are you here, Mr Potter?" Brokentooth asked.

"I want my trust vault's contents returned to the Potter Vault and closed," Harry stated. "I also need to establish a will."

"We can do that. Do you want us to send it to the Ministry?" asked Brokentooth.

"I want a notarized copy sent to the Ministry. I want another placed in the Potter Vault for safety as well as another in trust with Gringotts itself. If I pass, I require you to release the will to the public, regardless of what the Ministry might wish," Harry said after a moment. After his fifth year, he does not trust the Ministry.

"Is that all?" Brokentooth asked.

"No, those were the minor things," Harry told Brokentooth. "For the major, I need you to purchase as much of the Daily Prophet as you can. Do it quietly. I want at least fifty-one per cent."

"Hmm," Brokentooth said after a moment, "The Black family holds twenty-three per cent. Potter holds none. You will have to purchase fifty-one per cent for the Potter family, or somehow get Sirius Black to authorize you to hold proxy to the twenty-three per cent the Black family holds and purchase twenty-eight per cent."

"We'll do the latter," Harry said after a moment. "I am not going to be maligned." Like he was last time.

"Maligned, Mr Potter?" asked Brokentooth.

"Goblet of Fire. Trust me, it's guaranteed that bitch Rita Skeeter at the very least would publish nasty articles about me, unfortunately. Best to get ahead of it." Harry really had learned over the years. Though he was still reckless at times.

"I shall start to work on that, Mr Potter," the goblin stated. "Anything else?"

"No, that's it, sir," Harry said with a shrug, "Let's get the will done. I'd like to pick up some funds from the vault, though."

"All right, sir. Now, who do you wish to inherit..." began the goblin as he began to work on Harry's will.

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Leaving the bank, Harry considered. Brokentooth had given him papers for Sirius to sign that would give him proxy over the Black shares of the Daily Prophet. He could do that now, at least if Sirius was at Grimmauld Place.

With a shrug, he cast a quick charm on himself so no one would notice him, and apparated to a park not far from Grimmauld Place. Walking down the street, Harry walked up to the door and knocked. Waited.

Knocked again.

After a few moments, the door opened, the man inside swearing under his breath. "I hate that thing." The man in front of him wore worn, rather faded robes.

"Hello, Remus," Harry said to him politely. "Can I come in?"

"J--Harry? Is that you?" The werewolf's voice was incredulous. "You're...older. What happened?"

Harry couldn't really blame the slip, considering the situation. "James? Really, Moony," he quipped, "I'm insulted. Long story, though. Is Padfoot in? Best to only tell it once. I need to speak to him about something anyway."

"Uh, yeah. Come in," Remus managed, stepping aside and opening the door fully. Harry walked in, heading towards the kitchen. It was there that he saw his godfather, "Hello, Padfoot," he said quietly, ignoring a mental twinge. The man's death was not a pleasant memory.

"James?" Blinking, the man took him in, "No, Harry? What happened to you?"

"I'm wondering if I should really be insulted? Both of you thinking I'm my father," Harry said with a touch of humour. He sat down at the table, "I have to talk to you about a few things."

"Hopefully those things include how you look like that," Remus interjected as he sat down as well.

"Well, in a nutshell, you know the Triwizard Tournament?" Harry wrinkled his nose, "Well, some bloody wanker put my name in the Goblet of Fire and made it choose me. You have to be of age to compete. Do the math. It doesn't help that once your name is selected, you're under a magical contract to take part."

"Wait," Sirius said, blinking, "So it aged you up? You lost three years of your bloody life?"

"Not exactly." Harry shrugged, "It actually pulled me three years back in time, though this certainly didn't happen the first time around. The goblins said that it uses 'powerful ancient magic' and is 'unpredictable'. All I have to say is: obviously."

"You time travelled?" Remus is staring at him, "That's impossible."

"Well, apparently not. I went to bed in Gryffindor Tower after beating Snakeface and 'woke up' sitting in the Great Hall after the Goblet chose me," Harry said with a shrug. "Obviously the Goblet can do things like that."

"You beat Voldemort? He came back?" was Sirius response.

"Yes. Hopefully, we can change that this time around, I'd prefer not losing anyone," Harry said, rubbing his brow. "Anyway, I wanted to tell you so you weren't surprised when you heard about it." He paused, "And, I want you to sign these and put a drop of blood next to your signature." He puts a set of papers down in front of Sirius.

"What're these?" Sirius asked.

"They assign me as a proxy for your shares in the Daily Prophet. The Blacks own twenty-three per cent of the paper. I am having the goblins purchase more shares for me, as well. Last time, the Prophet was not supportive. If I have a majority interest, I can tell them to cut it out."

"That makes sense," Sirius said after a moment. "Won't people wonder how you got me to sign?"

"No need. Once I give it to the goblins, they'll simply give me notarized papers saying I have control over fifty-one per cent of the newspaper; they won't mention you at all," Harry said. "Or so Brokentooth said."

"All right," Sirius said. In what might be a surprise to some, he actually read through the papers before signing, and then flicked a penknife over his thumb and let a drop hit the paper by his name. "We'll leave it out to dry a few moments. So, you are really seventeen?"

"I am," Harry acknowledged. "I've only told the full truth to a few people: those who I care about or felt needed to know. The rest simply think the Goblet simply made me older."

"And who are we on that list?" Sirius teased, before growing serious. "Well, as you're in the bloody Tournament, I guess being three years older helps. We'll have to help you train."

"Honestly, I'm not too worried. Remember, I have to compete. I don't have to try my hardest. I discussed it with Headmaster Dumbledore and Madame Maxime. The papers will be coming out soon with a statement, but in a nutshell, I cannot win. I'm not supposed to be in the tournament, after all," Harry pointed out. "It's not fair to the other three."

"Mmm, that actually makes me a bit sad," Sirius said. "If you have to compete, you should be able to win."

Harry chuckled, "Honestly, while I'm competitive, I've done this before. It really wouldn't be fair, you know?"

"I guess," Sirius said with a slight sigh. "Still."

"Sirius, he's right. If he's done this before, he knows exactly what each task will entail. That really wouldn't be fair," Remus pointed out.

"I have to ask, Sirius. Why are you here?" Harry gestured with a hand. "I mean, yes, it's warded, but you hate this place. The Blacks are supposed to be really rich, aren't there other properties you could stay at?" It's something he always wondered, after the fact.

"Oh, there are other properties," Sirius admitted. "But I can't get entry to their wards right now. My grandfather sealed them and placed the ward keys in trust at Gringotts. He was a right old bastard, but honourable in his own way. I figure he didn't want Malfoy to get access to the properties through Narcissa. I can send Kreacher for money or whatever else I need from the vaults, but I'd have to show up physically for the ward keys, and that's too dangerous. I grew up here so am already part of the wards here. So I could enter and unseal Grimmauld."

"Huh, I guess that makes sense. I'm glad your grandfather wasn't a total arse. From what you've told me, most of your family were, other than Mrs Tonks and her daughter," Harry said after a moment's thought. "I'm an adult and have access to the Potter resources. I'll have one of them warded up the wazoo and you can move there. I know you hate this place."

"You don't have to do that," Sirius said with a frown, "I'm fine here, honest. I don't like the place, but I'm okay."

"Sirius, you forget. I'm from the future. I know how much this place affects you," Harry said with a frown. "It's not a lot of money, really. If you're that worried about it, you can pay me back later, but I'm going to do it. Should only take a few days."

"Just say thank you, Sirius," Remus said to him. "You forget I'm staying here too. I can hear you some nights."

Sirius' shoulder slumped, "All right, all right." He smirked, "Pushy, aren't you, Harry?"

"When it's about your safety, yes. I want you to be happy, mutt." Harry shrugged. "I should get back to Hogwarts. I'll see you guys later."

"So soon?" Sirius looked disappointed.

"Sorry, I kind of sneaked out. I need to get back before I'm noticed," Harry said. "I'll see you both later. Dobby?"

"Master Harry called Dobby?" the house-elf announced as he appeared.

"Yes. I wanted you to know this place so you could take me here in the future or deliver messages," Harry told the house self. Glancing at Sirius and Remus, he added, "I'll see you two later. Dobby, can you take me to Hogwarts?" He paused as he pulled out his invisibility cloak, "Let's say Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, no one's likely to be there," he said as he slipped it on.

"Dobby will do so." With that, the house-elf grabbed Harry's hand and they disappeared.

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Harry was rather glad that at least one thing was different this time. People were too busy gossiping about the new Harry Potter and the reveal of Barty Crouch Junior to talk about him cheating. Not that they could with the latter revelation. Running his fingers through his hair as he wandered the halls, Harry sighed as a pair of giggling girls walked past him, staring.

Behind him, Harry heard a snicker. Turning, he saw Ron standing there with Hermione, "You're even more popular than usual, mate." The redhead's hand was holding Hermione's, which caused Harry to grin.

"Unfortunately. I take it you two worked things out?" Harry asked.

Ron's ears turned red, and he nodded, "Yeah, we did. We took your advice and promised to talk to each other instead of just getting mad at each other."

"Thank god," muttered Harry dramatically, shuddering, and grinned at their expressions. "Come on, let's go to lunch." Arriving in the great hall, Harry took a seat at the Gryffindor table; Ron and Hermione sat across from him. He looked around the room, again reeling at how young everyone looked.

"Hello, Harry!"

Harry turned to glance at the speaker, and he smiled, "Hello, Angelina. Katie. Alicia. How're you three doing?"

"Not as good as you apparently," Angelina said with a smirk as she looked him up and down, laughing as his cheeks coloured. "Good to see that older or not, we can still fluster you."

"Of course you can," Harry said dryly, "I'm older, but I'm still myself. And you're all mean."

"Hey, we didn't do anything," Katie said, even as Alicia joined her in laughter.

"Laughing at me. Mean," Harry quipped before putting food on his plate. "Too bad there's no quidditch. Perhaps we can do a few pick-up games at least."

"Oh, that'd be fun. Perhaps we can get some of the folks from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang to join us," Angelina said. She smirked, "You can fly against Krum, see how you rank."

"Below him, definitely," Harry said confidently. "I'm very good, but he's had training that I lack. There are things for me to learn, after all." He grinned, "That might be fun even so."

"Dunno, Harry," Ron said. "I bet you could take him." Beside him, Hermione looked amused. She wasn't a fan of quidditch but was willing to listen.

"I heard that some of the Beauxbatons teams have good chasers. It'd be fun seeing how I compare," Katie said brightly.

Harry listened to the chatter, joining in occasionally. However, even as he chatted, he watched his surroundings, gaze making a circuit of the hall. Being on the run for a year did that to you.

Finishing his food, Harry stretched and said to his tablemates, "I need to practice. I'll see you all later."

"Awww, but I was about to tease you again," quipped Angelina. "See you, Harry."

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Harry walked along the lakeshore, heading back to the castle. He'd checked the woods, and just like before, the dragons were present. As he neared Hogwarts, he approached the Beauxbatons carriage and knocked on the door.

The door was opened and a red-haired girl peeked out, "What do you want?"

Harry smiled at her, shrugging, "I need to speak to Fleur Delacour a moment. May I come in? Or, if she's willing to come out to speak to me, that's fine too."

"I'll ask," the girl said, shutting the door in his face. Harry shook his head. She had a reason to be annoyed but didn't have to be rude about it.

After a few moments, the door opened, and Fleur stepped out of the carriage, shutting the door behind her. "You wished to speak with me?" the beautiful blonde asked.

"I did," Harry said, "Mind if I put up privacy charms so we can't be heard?"

"I'll do it," Fleur said cautiously, pulling her wand and casting a few spells quietly.

"Huh," Harry mused, "I didn't recognize one of those charms. I'd love to learn it later," he said to her with a smile before continuing, "I figured I'd warn you of the first task. It's going to be dragons. We will have to sneak past them to procure a golden egg in their nest. Nesting mothers, of course. Because a normal dragon isn't dangerous enough," Harry said with a snort.

The look Fleur gave him was suspicious. "Why are you telling me this?"

Harry shrugged, "This is a competition, yes, but I don't agree with their methods. A bloody mother dragon protecting her eggs? That's beyond dangerous and more like a blood sport. I'm going to be telling Cedric and Viktor as well. Besides, you--" He paused, biting his lip. He'd almost let his secret slip.

"I?" Fleur's brow rose slightly.

"Nothing," Harry answered.

Fleur shook her head, "If you aren't going to trust me, I see no reason to believe you." She turned to leave.

"Wait!" Harry sighed, "Listen. What do you think happened when the Goblet chose me?"

"Obviously, it made you older," Fleur said with a shrug, "You were a little boy, and now you're not. At least physically."

Harry couldn't help it. He laughed, softly, "That brings back memories," he said sadly. "You're both right and wrong." He knew he shouldn't do this. The more people he told, the more dangerous it could be for him. He'd already risked himself by telling Dumbledore and Maxime, but that was necessary. But if he could trust Ron and Hermione, Sirius and Remus, then he could trust Fleur. "I am actually seventeen years old. The Goblet didn't age me. It yanked me back in time. I was asleep in my bed in Gryffindor Tower after...well, after a lot of stuff happened, and then I was in the Great Hall. The only bloody issue is this whole time travel thing didn't happen to me last time when I got entered into the tournament. It's bloody confusing."

"Time travel." Fleur's voice was disbelieving.

"Yeah, I knew you'd find it hard to believe." Harry sighed, "I talked to the Headmaster and Madame Maxime. They believed me after I told them all three tasks they had prepared for the tournament and explained that that's how I knew Moody was polyjuiced." Harry's lips curved, "Last time when I went into the chamber, I was fourteen. You said I couldn't compete because I was a leetle boy." He emphasized the accent.

Crossing her arms, Fleur said dryly, "All right, if you're from the future, prove it."

"Your little sister's name is Gabrielle. She's eleven years old and worships you. You and she have a private flower garden to the rear of your family home. Your favourite flower is the lilac and the garden is filled with them..." Harry paused, even as he watched Fleur's expression change. "Your dream is to make a name for yourself as a curse breaker and enchanter to prove that you're more than a pretty face. That's also why you're in the tournament. You like being a veela, but hate how many people prejudge you for it."

"How do you know this?" Fleur asked, frowning as her voice rose in pitch, "Have you been spying on me? Stalking me?"

"And how would I know how you think and feel if you hadn't told me? Last time, we became friends after the second task. We talked a fair bit," Harry said, running his fingers through his hair as he looked down. "We also corresponded through letters for a time after you went back to France when things got bad."

"Bad?" Fleur asked, watching him. She'd calmed down a bit, though he wasn't sure if she believed him.

"Why do you have to ask this now?" Harry asked her quietly, "It'll just sound crazy, and then you won't believe me and..." His shoulders slumped. He felt so tired. Again. "At the end of the Tournament, Voldemort returned. No one believed for a while due to the Ministry being bloody wankers and sticking their head in the sand. After the tournament, you came to Britain to work for Gringotts, learning to be a curse breaker. When Voldemort fully revealed himself, you returned to France to work for them there." He smiled sadly, "Your letters were one of the things that kept me going."

It was impossible. But Fleur had been corresponding with Gringotts about a curse-breaking apprenticeship. She asked, "It sounds like we were close?"

"Friends, anyway." Harry shrugged and chuckled, "The last letter I got from you was you excited about getting to meet a famous French enchanter. Beau-something. You said they were an idol of yours."

"Beaufort. Annette Beaufort." She was starting to really believe. He just knew too much.

"That was it," Harry nodded. He smiled, "I sent back a letter teasing you about it, but hadn't gotten a response back when I fell asleep and somehow woke up here."

"And you say this didn't happen before for you?" she questioned, leaning against the carriage.

"No. When I went through this the first time, we didn't know who put my name in until after the tournament. I was just fourteen years old and stuck competing." Harry snorted, "I did not have a good time of it, everyone thought I was a cheater." He sighed, "That's one reason I made sure to reveal Moody as I did. They can't say I'm a cheater with an unconscious Death Eater masquerading as a teacher."

Fleur couldn't help it. Her lips quirked into a smile, "I can see that." She considered, "So, in all honesty, how good are you then?"

Harry considered, "I'm good. You're better than me in raw skill, though. I mean, I'm skilled, but I've seen you do some amazingly complex things with magic. I'm stronger magically, though." Shrugging, he added, "But that's my opinion."

Fleur's lips twitch, "So muscle versus finesse?" she teased.

"Something like that, though I wouldn't call you weak by any means," Harry said with a shrug. "But I once saw you snap conjure this really intricate bird statuette; it had so much detail. I still can't do something that complex quickly. Now if you need a big chunk of granite to block a Killing Curse, I'm your man."

The veela smiled, "I'm rather good at that, though I'm better with charms. Did I animate it? Gabrielle loves when I do things like that for her."

"It was for Gabrielle actually, and yes, you did," Harry said with a chuckle. "You had all of these pieces going in unison, I still haven't seen anything like it."

Fleur made a decision, "I believe you. You know far too much, not even you being some sort of obsessive would let you know this much." Her lips quirked into a smile.

"Obsessive? Me?" Harry sniffed, "Hardly." He grinned at her, "I'm glad to hear that, I was worried."

"We should talk more, but I will leave you to speak to Diggory and Krum," Fleur said to him. "Perhaps later or on the 'morrow?"

"Later works," Harry agreed, before adding, "Thank you."

Fleur blinked, "Why are you thanking me?"

"For believing me. I honestly wasn't sure if you would," Harry admitted. "This whole thing is crazy, you know?"

"I can understand that. To find yourself in the past, losing in a way people you knew." Fleur reached out and touched his shoulder. "We'll talk later." With that, she turned, waving her wand and dispelling her privacy charms and entered the carriage.

Watching her go, Harry shook his head as if to clear and turned to make his way back to Hogwarts. He still had two people to speak to.