Shadows of Redemption: Harry's Pact with Death [TOMARRY]

PREQUEL

He blearily opened his eyes as looked at the strange surroundings around him. Nothing around him was familiar. He didn't recognize the sober white ceiling nor did he recognize the textured red and yellow wall. Hell he didn't even recognize the padded bedding underneath his small body.

Small...

Harry's bright green eyes widened as he looked at his tiny fists with very tiny fingers that looked so soft that he was scared of touching them himself.

'Damnit! Didn't I ask death to put me in the body of my older self? How can it be considered old? Do I even know how to walk?!'

The tiny baby tried raising his head to look at his body. He saw a fat baby tummy with equally lumpy legs and arms. It was only for a second before his tiny form exhausted its energy and his head plopped down again.

'I am just a lump of fat! At the best this body can do is possibly roll down a flight of stairs like a ball. What did my mother think she was doing? Feeding me so much that I look like a formless blob.'

Harry remembers when he died at the age 150 surviving wizarding war and muggle-wizard war. There weren't many who could say to have done so. The only reason Harry survived it was because he started to live like a hermit in the woods after the events transpired when he defeated Voldemort. It still hurt him like a needle to his heart when he thought of it.

It wasn't until then he noticed that there was something in his peripheral vision. His body was immediately taut and he struggled with his lumpy body to sit and then stand up holding the crib.

A black misty shadow was looming on the ground circling the robe. When it noticed eyes on it, the wraith immediately stopped and turned as if looking at him.

Harry then stopped to notice other things, there was a woman with red hair fanning under her as her dulled green eyes looked up. Her mouth half open in a terrified scream and her body laying limp.

Dead.

Lily Potter, his mother, was lying there dead in front of his crib.

No matter how tragically dreadful the sight was, Harry couldn't bring himself to feel the real pain. He was sad; sure, and he thought that he should be hurt but he wasn't. Lily Potter was his mother but she also was a woman that he never knew. In fact it was the first time in his two lives that he saw the woman in flesh. No matter how emotional a person was he still wouldn't be able to really feel the loss for something he never had.

But if that was his mother then it means that the wraith was Voldemort!

Now Voldemort was someone he knew. He was someone he understood, someone he related to. Harry raised his chubby fist over the bar and beckoned him.

The wraith suddenly stopped as if shocked and moved towards it cautiously. When it was at a touching distance Harry caressed the misty shadow and patted it on his supposed head two times. Even though his hand went through it both times, Harry supposed his action was clear.

A sudden pop sounded in the room and the wraith quickly flew out of the window like a frightened squirrel who you approached too close for its comfort.

Harry turned his head and looked at the tall man with stringy black hair and a hooked nose standing in the doorway and gazing at the dead woman on the floor. Severus fell to his knees when he saw the limp dead body which was turning cold. Her once bright eyes looked so dull after losing the light of life. He crawled towards the dead red head and embraced her fiercely and started crying.

Harry knew he was small but he wasn't microscopic for god's sake! He was still there but the dungeon bat didn't even notice him!

Harry made a gurgling sound and thumped the crib bar to draw the attention towards him.

Severus's eyes widened as he looked at the green eyed boy looking at him with an incredulous look. He quickly got to his feet and rushed towards the babe.

"Harry!" He exclaimed as he hugged the small guy in his arms. But his relieved expression was immediately lost as he heard another popping sound. Standing behind the pair was a man with snow white beard and twinkling eyes which stabbed his retina even more horrible than the man's bright purple robes.

A bright yellow beam shot from his wand and the black onyx eyes staring up at him to turn blank and lifeless. The potion's master mechanically set down the small babe in his arms down and turned around to apparate on the spot.

'Oi! You just left?! And how the hell is everyone popping up here? Does this place not have any wards?! Is this how my parents were hiding themselves? A robber had better chances of murdering them than Voldy boy.'

The eyesore from the doorway walked in and studied the fallen robe on the ground with curiosity. When he was satisfied he turned back to the wooden crib in the room not even shooting a glance at the dead body. He looked at the green eyed baby and smiled shrewdly.

'What do you want, old man? You wanna fight? Come at me you stupid goat!' Harry yelled in his head as he waved his chubby fist in the air.

Dumbledore was amused by his action as he gazed at the small babe, "Ah Harry, my boy. Sometimes the path to greatness is long and rough. It does not come without sacrifices and a lot of hard work," he said as his fingers glided over the rough wood of his wand. "You, You will be my stepping stone, Harry. One of the necessary sacrifices — a pity just like your parents. But it's all for the greater good."

That was all Harry heard before magic washed over him and the world around him turned dark.