The right path

Two

Harry was desperately weighing his options. He had no idea of what to do next, he was utterly lost. He was about to voice his concerns when his older self spoke again.

"Wait, stop thinking right now. You don't have to make the decision yet. Geez. I still need to tell you what my reasons to choose this option are, or well, my main reason. I told you before what you needed to know before we got to that part."

"I -uh- sorry"

"There, let me explain. After I died, all I wanted was to return. I had a girlfriend...well she was not my girlfriend at the moment, but after the war I was planning on marrying her. Anyway, I had a girl, I had my two best friends, an honorary family and a future all for myself. What could possibly go wrong if I returned? Well... Nobody knew of my parselmagic. That was a big secret to have, right? So, when I told Death that I was willing to return, he offered a sneak peak. I accepted, I was very curious to see if the war was going to end that day. So, I experienced two weeks of my life if I decided to return. What I saw...wasn't good. At some point after the war, Voldemort's followers started to get trials, to determine if they were guilty of their crimes. Just two days before my 'sneak peak' ended I was called to the court room, accused of murder. Someone had insisted on a trial for the murder of Voldemort. They assured me that there was nothing to worry about, they would give me a truth serum, they would make sure that I was a good guy, and they would write in the records that I indeed murdered Voldemort, but just because he was threatening my existence. And I would be free to go and do whatever I liked. All I had to do was answer some questions. But everything went really wrong. Bear in mind that people were truly afraid of dark magic by this point, even when we know it is not inherently evil to begin with. That's what war does, it erases gradients and stigmatizes everything associated to the losing party. So, they found out about my parselmagic and everything went to hell. Not even Ron and Hermione could change a thing, it was all laid there. I was guilty. I practiced dark magic consciously. After that, I was sent to Azkaban for the remainder of my two days of sneak peak. That's why I didn't return. Even if I wasn't sent to Azkaban, Ron and Hermione wouldn't have accepted me, not fully. They didn't visit me, even when they could, not once in the time I spent there. I can't blame them, they thought I trusted them to accept every part of me, but I still kept that secret to myself, of course they would be hurt. The only person who went was Mcgonagall, who told me to be patient, after all, I only had a year sentence. I was not in the mood to return to that life, and even if I did, now I understand that I don't believe anymore in the society we were fighting for. The wizarding world is now very biased, all of it product of the last wars. I guess I'm not a believer of black and white scenarios."

"Th-they...did they seriously sent you to Azkaban after you saved the lot?"

"Yeah, not a nice thought."

"So...you decided to take the risk and see if a younger version of yourself wanted to try something different?"

"Essentially. I know that you don't like to be seen like a savior, because you don't even remember what you did to gain that title, and this would give you the opportunity to discover the magical world the normal way. As a normal student, I mean. And you could still fulfill the real prophecy without anyone the wiser."

"...And...if I refused?"

"You would continue with your current life, and I would pass on. You would grow up and become me, I guess."

"And if I say yes what would happen, exactly?"

"Well, that's the thing, that is up to you, you get to live your life. I would be able to take you to 1940, ideally to September 1, where you would enter Hogwarts as a third year."

"Now, hold on a minute. Are you telling me that nobody would question the sudden appearance of a student?"

"I never said that. Everybody will question it, and that is exactly the point. All of your background story would be defined today, if you take up on my offer. I had some ideas, but I would rather have your input, because, after all, it will be your life."