Keeping The Dark Lord (on his toes)

Chapter - 3 A new beginning ( the year 1991 )

“You better look after yourself or well will know!” “Please don’t go all Hero on us again Scarhead, I spent years getting it out of you to have you regress again!” “Make sure to keep out of trouble, and whatever you do, don’t hex the Old Coot on your first day…even if it will be hard.” “Kick my younger self’s arse for me, yeah mate?” “Even if you are still going to see other versions of ourselves…please don’t forget us!” “Take care Harry, but do what YOU want to do, you deserve it…” “And no matter what, and no matter what you do… never think that we wouldn’t stand by your side with the choices you make.” “We love you, Harry!”

His friends’ wishes echoed in his mind as Death finally sent him back. Their farewell had been slightly bittersweet, but Harry wouldn’t exchange it for the world. Death even informed him that he was willing to play messenger a few times a year if Harry’s situation warrants it, and Harry was happy to know that he still had a way to contact his old friends.

He soon found himself back in his old cupboard, and though he hated it, he had to start from somewhere, and this way he knew what to expect next. This time it was easier to simply just slide the letter under his bedroom door on his way to the kitchen and he was much more subtle while speaking to the snake. He let it go as they were leaving and his uncle never found out.

The trip to Diagon Alley was boring when compared to his very first time, but he was glad to have his old wand as well as Hedwig back. He still had the Elder Wand, but as always it would stay a secret from the rest.

Hagrid prattled on like always, but this time Harry only listened with half an ear as they entered Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions. He told Hagrid that he would be fine and the man finally wandered off to take care of a few other things.

He waited until he heard the doorbell and just barely stopped himself from smiling as he turned to see a familiar blonde enter the shop. He didn’t yet know how he was going to handle the much younger and more biased version of Draco, but without believing the whole ‘all Slytherins are bad’ propaganda, he found that the blonde looked a bit friendlier than what he could remember from his memories.

The blonde quietly nodded to him as he was led to another pedestal. Another woman came out from the back room and looked at Harry, “Another student for Hogwarts?”. Harry nodded and he saw Draco’s head snap back towards him before looking him up and down.

Harry forced himself to stand still, even though he knew what the blonde would see…the years with the Dursleys hadn’t been kind to him so he looked to be around 8 or 9 instead of 11.

The women finally finished and their purchases were paid for, but before Harry can think of a way to address the blonde, he saw that Draco was already waiting for him under the guise of looking at a few more expensive-looking traveling cloaks.

The blonde turned towards him and held out his hand, “I’m Draco Malfoy…I hear that you are also going to Hogwarts?”

Harry nodded and hesitated a split second before he took the offered hand and shook it firmly, “I’m Harry Potter, and yes, I am.”

They released their hands and Draco looked deep in thought, though Harry could see slight signs of the tell-tale blush of excitement that had crept past the blonde’s control. He’d barely believed his Draco when the other man admitted to being quite a fan of his when he’d been younger.

Harry watched as the other boy smiled and he prepared himself for what he knew was coming. “It’s my first year too. Do you know in which house you will be sorted in yet? I am sure that I will be in Slytherin because my entire family is, but no one knows until the hat announces it.”

To Harry’s surprise, Draco didn’t start the whole ‘Slytherins are the best’ speech, and he found himself unconsciously relaxing and enjoying the conversation. “I honestly don’t know, I’ve heard that some of my family members could be found in all of the houses, so I decided not to worry too much about it yet.”

Draco nodded in response before he noticed something over Harry’s shoulder, which had Harry turning around before turning his gaze back to Draco. The blonde’s eyes widened slightly and if Harry hadn’t known the Malfoys in the past, he would’ve thought that Draco was scared of his father. Luckily he knew what the blonde was worried about and he decided to set the blonde at ease.

“I still need to go get quite a few things, see you later? Or maybe on the train?” Draco nodded in relief and Harry slipped out of the robes shop before Lucius and Narcissa arrived. He may be friendly with Lucius from his world, but the Lucius from this world had not gotten to know him yet, and he would rather not reveal his identity yet.

He knew that Draco would probably wait until they were at Hogwarts before informing Lucius about him, so he still had time. He glanced around before heading to Gringotts once more…this time without Hagrid.

Unfortunately, the visit went as expected, but he managed to get the Goblins to move most of his money and objects from the Potter Vaults to the Peverell Vaults after proving that, yes, he had indeed traveled from the future. Besides…the sight of Death had most of the Goblins scurrying around anxiously and Harry was quite happy when they offered to Emancipate him after they also tested his magic and found that he was indeed 25 years old. They also changed all of his keys.

They then disguised his Emancipation with a fake adoption certificate keyed to one Dimitri Ignotus Peverell, which was the alias Harry decided to use for his older self. The fact that Dumbledore will probably soon be hunting his imaginary guardian all over the world almost had him smirking evilly, but he kept his cool.

He concluded his business by choosing one of the Peverell castles as his new home and the Goblins immediately made a portkey for him before giving him a slight bow, one he returned with a dip of his head as he left, much to Death’s amusement.

Hagrid managed to catch up to him while he grabbed ice cream at Florean Fortescue's. The half-giant looked extremely relieved, but he didn’t reprimand him, and soon it was time for Hagrid to take him back to his ‘loving’ relatives.

Hagrid only stayed long enough to drop Harry at no 4 Privet Drive before he was gone again.

Harry turned back to the house and clutched his shrunken trunk in his pocket before walking towards the house. He knocked and was relieved to see that only Petunia was home. She opened her mouth to give him some kind of scathing remark, but Harry merely pushed an envelope into her hand.

“The letter inside states that I have been adopted, so I will never be returning here again. The money is for all the expenses you had for looking after me, though it's not much because, let's face it, you barely gave me enough to even survive.” With that, he yanked the door shut in her face and walked down the street until he reached the park.

In a secluded area that he usually used to hide away from Dudley, Harry used the portkey and found himself pleasantly surprised at what waited on the other side…which only happened after he realized that he was back to being pants at any form of magical travel except a broom.