"Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived. The Man Who Won. Now, defeated, discarded and broken. Look at you. How pathetic. Wizards are a bunch of miserable creatures, indeed." Looking at the setting sun, Harry closed his eyes painfully. He had failed. He had failed the wizards. He had failed himself. He had failed Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Dumbledore, and countless people. He as a protector had failed his dead companions. He looked at the man standing over him, pointing his wand at Harry. He only had one last chance now.
The man sneered. "Look who wins now. Remember that time, when I proposed a truce? You thought you were winning and pushed me on the brink, didn't you? I lost an arm." The man spelled out each word as if he wanted to spit out his hatred. The man has a respectable height of over 6 feet. His handsome and sharp face was further pronounced due to the setting sun's last light. The only imperfection of the man was his missing arm. The right arm was cut off from the shoulder, the reminder of his weak past.
"Yeah, I'm not sorry, buddy." Harry grinned at the man. "AAAAHHHHHHHH..." Harry had to cry out in pain for the sudden spell cutting off both his arms, although his eyes remained unwavering. Blood gushed out of the cleanly cleaved stumps. Harry's face became ashen white due to blood loss. However, Harry smiled at the man as if he didn't feel anything. He had faced much more pain than this.
"You think it's funny, huh?" The man pulled Harry's hair, lifted his head, and stared into his green eyes. "You are nothing compared to me. Don't think for a second that you still have a chance. I have already sent people to the little hideout of Luna Lovegood, which is supposed to be your last card to preserve wizardkind. Isn't it?"
Harry Potter widened his eyes in fear and desperation. "No, not them... please" Desperation seeped through his words. But Harry was pushed down harshly. Luna and the remaining Order of Phoenix members were supposed to hide with the children in the place that they had magically constructed to sustain people for over a century. That place was well hidden. He knew this but he must not let the man know.
The man smiled wickedly in satisfaction. He circled around the fallen Harry Potter and looked at the sky, which no longer had the sun. The darkness of the night fell silently over the confrontation between them. The man said it, almost whispering to himself. "You know. I was forced into this, too. If only you wizards had not killed my mother, I would have a life for myself... leisure and perhaps happiness. Now, if I stop, I will be consumed."
This was what puzzled him and every wizard. This man always claims that he did what he did because he was forced. His past and his supposed mother's past were investigated extensively but no information was founded. A man who can stand shoulder to shoulder with Harry Potter, Dumbledore and the like. What did he mean by being forced? Is it a trick or is it genuine?
"I envy you sometimes. An orphan but went to a good school. A childhood with immaturity, innocence, and curiosity." the man continued calmly. He looked at the sky longingly. "Anyway, after this, I believe I can retire for some time."
His wand pointed back to Harry. "In honor of your strength, I will let you die with the spell that killed your parents." Without waiting for any response, his spell hit Harry Potter. "Avada Kedavra"
Harry closed his eyes as the familiar spell once again approached him. He activated the variation of the spell that his mother had used decades ago, which was named 'Love' by Professor Dumbledore. However, he preferred the word 'sacrifice' better.
The effect of the spell is simple: in exchange for the eternal death of the caster, the perpetrator will be killed as well. His eternal death does not scare him. After all, he was the master of death. Death is just a natural event for him. His consciousness waned and faded as time passed. Before he died, he opened his eyes with difficulty and watched as the spell rebounded and killed the man.
This man was the sole decision maker of the organization. His subordinates were selfish people with various motives. They worked for him because he can suppress them. The organization was held together by the man. If he was killed here, the organization will crumble in one day. That would leave rooms for Luna and others to navigate. As his thoughts get more and more sluggish, the darkness fell over him. The sunless sky was lit by various celestial bodies. However, they will never be able to replace the sun. The night is also just a natural event.
---
The sky churns as thunder strikes continuously. Harry stared at the old ceiling of the hut with utter confusion. Raising his tiny, malnourished arms, it was clear that he was seeing things from his younger version's viewpoint.
He remembered his childhood, which was the most torturous and simple time of his life. It's not that he enjoyed this place. If he were given a choice, he would still gladly choose to be a wizard. "I still have clear consciousness. What is happening?" muttered Harry.
Boom!
The sudden noise came from the door leading to this hut. Harry subconsciously searched for his wand. No wand. Right, he had died already. He died trying to ambush that man as a last resort. He was sure that the killing curse had killed both of them.
Boom!
"What's going on? Mom... Dad!!!," The sudden panicking voice near me broke me out of my thoughts. Oh, Dursley. A child at that. This is different from what he knows. Death wasn't supposed to be like this.
"Who's there? What the devil are you doing out there? I'm armed; I'll tell you!" said Uncle Vernon while holding his rifle. Wasn't it when Hagrid came to tell me about Hogwarts? Am I in a memory?
The door burst open with a thunderous sound, revealing a giant of a man with a wild mane of hair and a beard to match. He ducks to enter the hut. "Sorry 'bout that." The giant man looked around the room cheerfully as if he hadn't just broken in. The man's voice was explosively loud, like his size. "Where's Harry? Harry Potter?"
"Umm Hagrid?" Hagrid, a father figure of him, is a half-giant with an almost obsessive love for dangerous magical creatures. He died early in war, sacrificing himself to give a chance to the ambushed Hogwarts students. What is happening? It's like I've traveled back in time. Time!! Harry shouted. "Someone traveled back in time!!!!"
"What were yer talkin'? Travel Time? No hoho, Imma just a litta' bigger than most." Hagrid seems puzzled. But his mood remained joyful. Harry forced a smile at Hagrid, who was fumbling to take out a slightly squashed birthday cake. "Las' time I saw yeh, yeh was only a baby. Yeh look jus' like yer dad, but yeh've got yer mum's eyes. Got summat fer yeh here—Happy Birthday, Harry." Hagrid looked happy and a little nervous, though not obvious.
Someone fucked with time, and I got back to this point in time. Didn't anyone tell that fucker to not mess with time? The extermination of wizardkind is nothing compared to a natural, or in this situation, unnatural, disaster. He knew all too well how much danger the time travel possessed since he had experienced it firsthand. That guy was one of the anomalies caused by time travel. Thinking about the consequences, he got a severe headache.
Once, the Department of Mystery in the British Ministry of Magic was infiltrated by Voldemort, and all time-turners were destroyed. However, one time-turner resurfaced during the third wizarding world war, which was centered in the Asia region. Apparently, the war was initiated by a Japanese wizard called Hikaru Asahi, who challenged the International Statue of Secrecy. A big troubled spot called Europe was relatively peaceful at that time. And somehow, a time-turner, which was exclusively owned and produced in Britain, was used by Hikaru Asahi when he was pushed into a corner.
The situation was unclear for Harry since he had married Ginny for a year at that time and wasn't paying attention to international affairs. His daughter, Lily, disappeared just in front of his eyes. He didn't remember what happened after that, as the memories were blurry. Every day passed in a blink of an eye. Maybe time really was passing faster? He and Ginny were devastated. They later learned that the cause was an unverifiable time-turner. It wasn't as complete as the British's, so people were somewhat aware of irregularities, unlike what was known from the British Ministry's experiments on time-turner. Magic was exposed. The International Statute of Secrecy was breached beyond repair. And war after war came.
While Harry was in a giant quagmire of his own thoughts, Hagrid sat down at the tiny lounge, which squeezed and wailed, bearing the enormous weight. Hagrid grinned at Harry, who was still standing and holding the birthday cake, with a blank expression. He assumed that Harry was a quiet boy. "Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. Course, you'll know all about Hogwarts." With a hint of pride, Hagrid introduced himself, which should have been the first thing he did considering his size.
"Er... No?" Harry faked a confused face and asked back innocently. He had decided to lay low and slowly gather information for now.
"Sorry? Don't know abou'—don't know abou' Hogwarts? Where d'yeh think yeh'll be goin' then?" Hagrid's shocked face could be seen even through his thick beard.
"Go... where?" asked Harry. His clear green eyes never betray the complex emotions he is feeling. "What is that Hogwag?"
"It's Hogwarts. Never got—never got yer letter? The letter with yer acceptance to Hogwarts?" Hagrid asked, his voice a little more forceful. He glanced at the quiet Dursleys with growing anger. "An' I suppose it was them who kept it from yeh, was it? I shoulda known."
"Now, look here—I demand that you leave at once, sir! You are breaking and entering!" said Vernon Dursley, trying to regain the initiative. His fat face was red with frustration.
Hagrid ignored Vernon Dursley and turned to Harry. "Here yeh are, Harry. A letter fer yeh." After handing the letter to Harry, Hagrid continued to argue with Dursleys.
Seeing the familiar seal and envelope, Harry started to tear up.
---
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Mr. Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
---
"But...why am I a wizard? How?" said Harry.
"Yeh've got yer mum an' dad ter thank fer that. Yer parents, they was some of the finest witches an' wizards ever. Lily an' James Potter. But I reckon yeh already know that." said Hagrid, his voice softened.
"No, no one ever told me," said Harry. He already knew how Hagrid would respond.
"Blimey. Yeh don't know—yeh don't know what happened...?" said Hagrid sadly. Taking Harry's silence as a yes, Hagrid explained as much as he could. "I suppose it had to come out eventually. See, Harry, yer a wizard, but not just any wizard. Yeh're the son of Lily an' James Potter, who were killed by the Darkest wizard of all time, Lord Voldemort. But when he tried to kill yeh, he couldn't. No one knows why, but somethin' about yeh stopped him. An' that's why yeh've got that scar on yer forehead. Yeh're famous, Harry. Famous for somethin' yeh don't even remember."
"I'm...famous?" said Harry.
"Aye, famous in our world, Harry. An' now, it's time yeh learned more about it. Come on, we've got a lot ter do before yeh start school."
They departed from the small hut, riding the flying old motorcycle after packing his things, which were not much, and some enjoyable light-hearted conversation. Naturally they ignored the astonished Dursleys.