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Dreams of Home Chapter 3
🕑 Added 2023-01-10 16:42:35 +0000 UTCChapter 3
Harry had to go by Gringotts before he dared to attempt his trip to Potter Manor. It was there he confirmed that he was still a Potter by blood, and that he would indeed be able to cross the wards of Potter Manor. Thankfully Fleamont, who was currently the head of the family, allowed any Potter of age to have access to the family vaults. This gave Harry the slightest insurance policy which meant in the worst-case scenario Harry could grab some galleons and run if it became necessary.
When Harry apparated onto the grounds his breath was momentarily taken away. The house was beautiful. It was a little ostentatious for his usual taste, but the grounds were huge. Flower gardens that could rival many botanical gardens in the muggle world could be seen, and a white marble house was intrinsically designed before him. He briefly wondered what it would have been like to grow up here, because he was sure that while this house could rival Malfoy Manor in size this home would feel much cozier.
Already on guard and on the lookout for this possible guardian that Fleamont spoke of, Harry began making his way toward the house. He didn’t make it far before he heard a loud CAW in the distance. Harry spun around, looking to the sky, and saw a massive winged creature that had the body, tail, and back legs of a lion, and the head and wings of an eagle.
The creature looked incredibly beautiful and Harry felt that he was about to get a close encounter with his family’s guardian, which was clearly the mythical Griffin. As far as the young man was concerned, before today, Griffins did not exist. Hagrid had never spoken of them, and he had never seen one in all his years, but he was in no way surprised to find out such a mighty creature existed.
Whatever the deal was with this creature, it seemed to have no interest in attacking Harry for now, and that was a very good thing by the looks of the massive creature. Suddenly a voice came from behind him and Harry was forced to turn around again and deflect an incoming stunning spell that was uncanny in its speed, “Who are you? How did you get past the wards, and what did you do to Halo?”
Harry immediately held his hands up in surrender, “My name is Harry James Potter please do not kill me!”
The man looked bewildered at his explanation, “Lies, there is no Harry James Potter in this family.”
Harry looked the man in the eyes, “We look alike, I got through the wards, and for whatever reason, our family guardian is not attacking me. That has to mean something. Your brother Fleamont sent me.”
The imposing figure seemed to think for a moment, but shook his head, “I haven’t spoken to my brother in a while, but I definitely would have remembered him telling me about another son, or a new relative popping up. You must be some sort of imposter, and I will kill you where you stand if you don’t tell me how you got on this property.”
Trying to think of something quickly Harry said, “I think I have an item that can convince you, but I have to reach inside my necklace and get it. Will you lower your wand while I do this?”
The man shook his head, “You’re in no position to make that request. You come to my family’s ancestral home uninvited, and currently unwelcome, and if you think I am lowering my wand then you are not just a fool, but an idiot as well.”
Harry winced at this, but nodded. He reached into the necklace and pulled it off his neck as he fished around looking for the soft familiar material. When he found it, he slowly pulled it out, and the man’s wand lowered, but only for a moment. Then rage entered the man’s eyes and he knew he was in trouble, “You stole that cloak from my nephew? I knew Fleamont should never have trusted the boy with such a powerful magical artifact. Give it to me at once.”
Harry shook his head, “I can’t do that. This is my birthright, and I won’t give it to anyone.”
At this, the brown-eyed man flicked his wand at Harry with a speed the time traveler had only witnessed a few times, but in that moment the young green-eyed boy decided it was time to get through to this man the hard way. With speed that came from a year of being on the run, and fighting with the Order of the Phoenix Harry raised a shield, and began to spit fire curses right back at the man. Nothing dangerous, but something that might slow him down so he can explain.
If there was any doubt of who this man was before it was definitely out of the question now. Charlus Potter had to be in his late 40’s, possibly early 50’s, and he fought like a demon. He stood as a tall imposing figure with a youthful face that very much had the Potter look to him. He had thick black hair that appeared to always be in a mess, and his light brown eyes were a giveaway.
Harry knew now that this man fought against Gellert Grindelwald, and had he not known that, the younger Potter would’ve easily mistaken this man for someone in his 30’s, because Charlus Potter was quite the stout man and looked like he hadn’t missed working out a day in his life. Give him some glasses and he could have looked like his brother Fleamont if he were a little older and a lot thinner. There were no punches being pulled from his end, and Harry was witnessing magic he had never seen before, and he was very thankful that his shielding was his best quality in dueling or he would already be a dead man.
Knowing he had to get off the defensive though and start fighting back Harry apparated around the man and threw his Patronus at him as a distraction, “Get him, Prongs!”
The creature charged the man, and Harry apparated again, but this time Charlus did as well, and when they both landed somehow the man had ended up behind where Harry was going and had to duck out of the way of a nasty-looking purple curse that almost took his head off. Harry quickly began transfiguring the trees around him, and hoped that his battle transfiguration would keep him in the fight as the trees began to form into a dragon.
Charlus stopped for only a moment to stare at the creature, and he flicked his wand and the dragon immediately turned back into trees, and the man conjured a lot of water and hurled it at Harry. Harry tried to deflect it, but it was too late. He was drenched and washed away in the water, and before he knew it he was tied up, bound, and wandless.
The man strode over to him with a different look on his face now, “Let’s try this again. Who are you?”
Harry felt a little light-headed and responded instantly, “Harry James Potter.”
The man stared hard, “Who are your parents?”
“James and Lily Potter.” Harry said in surprise, no longer able to control himself.
Charlus’ eyes widened at this point, “What year were you born?”
“1980.” This was not how Harry wanted the truth to come out, but he couldn’t stop himself; it must have been something in the water, or something Charlus had cast on him.
“Impossible.”
Suddenly a woman appeared, “If you are quite done, Charlus, you can invite our nephew into the house.”
Harry took a moment to stare at this woman and he was briefly reminded of Andromeda Tonks. The woman was certainly older, and appeared to be around the same age as Charlus. She had dark purple eyes that resembled Bellatrix Lestrange’s, but also had startling black hair that was put up in a tight ponytail, more like Andromeda. Her face was angelically smooth, and the woman had a very regal look to her high cheekbones. This was a pureblood Lady if Harry had ever met one.
The man only slightly lowered his wand, “But. Dorea. This young man speaks the impossible. He cannot be who he says he is.”
The woman rolled her eyes at the man, “Charlus Henry Potter, the boy is obviously who he says he is. I have heard every word since he arrived on this property, and if he wasn’t exactly who he said he was then none of this would’ve been possible. Plus I saw you hit him with the water spell. He could not have lied his way through that unless he knew what the curse was. This is only taught to the Potters after all. Where is that intelligent man I married?”
This seemed to make the man pause, and Harry just stared at the man pleadingly. After a moment he rubbed the back of his neck and grumbled, releasing Harry from the spells. The woman turned to Harry now, “Get up, Harry. I believe you have a remarkable story for us, and I haven’t had much diversity in my company for many years so I would love something refreshing and new.”
Whatever he had expected out of Dorea Potter née Black it was not this. The woman seemed calm and almost chipper. This was not the type of woman that would seek refuge behind everything, and hide out from the world. There was much to their story that Harry had yet to learn, and as they were his family, he was very curious.
Harry summoned his wand back to him, and gave Charlus a small smile, “Sorry about all this.”
Charlus looked confused, “Why are you sorry? I was the one that almost killed you.”
“I have a feeling I am about to become a major inconvenience to you, so I am apologizing in advance.” Harry said with a regretful smile.
The man grumbled some more, and began leading the way to the house, but keeping an eye on Harry at all times.
The inside of the house was substantially more remarkable than the outside. The inside seemed to be very modern, and was well furnished. There were family pictures, portraits, and magic everywhere. Knitting was going on in the living room, the kitchen seemed to have food in the oven, and Harry could briefly see it was being run by two house elves that seemed very happy as they chattered away during their work. The books were organizing themselves, and even what Harry thought might be a potion lab seemed to currently be sitting in stasis.
That was all Harry could see just from the main entrance. He could also see a grand set of stairs that you could go up on either side, and the elegance just seemed to never end. Dorea called out, “Mipsy.”
A small female house elf that resembled a house elf Harry once knew as Winky appeared in a bow, “Yes, Mistress?”
“Prepare tea for three, and have it ready in the library. We have a current house guest, and he is to be treated like family for as long as he is here.” The woman said shortly.
The house elf took one look at Harry, nodded, and then disappeared. Dorea called out to Harry, “Follow me please.”
Harry remained quiet as he followed the woman through the house, and Charlus now lagged a bit behind them, most likely trying to keep an eye on Harry.
When they arrived in the library Harry was eerily reminded of the Black Family Library. They were on the third floor, and what Harry thought was the library downstairs must have simply been a large study, because what they were in now could easily fit some small houses. The woman seemed surprised, “You have never been to this house, have you?”
Harry shook his head in wonder trying to take it all in. The woman gave him a minute, and Charlus remained silent. Then she spoke, “Perhaps you should start from the beginning. How is it you came to be here?”
Taking a deep breath Harry said, “Yesterday, I was killed by the Dark Lord known as Voldemort, or at least by dozens of his followers.”
The two Potters stared at the young man, and he continued, “When I died, I appeared at what appeared to be Kings Cross Station. Your brother was there with me, and he told me that Death was unhappy with our match, because before Voldemort could kill me yesterday, I hit him with the killing curse knowing I would die, and of course, before he even hit the ground his followers hit me with about a dozen in retaliation.”
The two Potters exchanged looks at this. It was clear to Harry that they understood that Fleamont had not lived to see his birth, but neither commented further on it while Harry continued, “The gist of it is that Death was unhappy and I was sent back in time to have my rematch with Voldemort. I am to attempt to minimize casualties from the first of two wizarding wars that are going to take place over the next twenty years. Hopefully, we come out on the winning side this time, and we prevent the second version of this war from ever taking place. Fleamont told me I should seek you out, because you would be what I needed to win this war.”
Charlus stood and began pacing. Long moments of silence followed before he stopped and turned to his nephew, “What do you know about us?”
Harry shrugged, “Almost nothing.”
Charlus growled, “Surely you know something. Tell us all you know about us.”
Dorea just watched the boy in curiosity, no hostility in her eyes. Harry spoke calmly as the woman just had that ability on him, “All I know is what Fleamont told me at Kings Cross. He told me that you two fought against Grindelwald. Apparently, you were a War Hero, or a commander, or something. I also know that you don’t speak much with my grandfather anymore, and that you lost a son, Henry, I think his name was.”
Both of them flinched at the name, but neither said more. Dorea calmly asked, “Will you tell us your story? I think if we are to help you,” Charlus looked sharply at the woman when she said that, but she ignored him, “We need to know as much as possible.”
Nodding, Harry explained the events of Halloween 1981, followed by an extremely glossed-over version of his time at the Dursleys. This included Sirius Black’s wrongful imprisonment, the death of Lily and James Potter, and that Harry was the last of the Potters. He went on to explain some of his time at Hogwarts. That ranged from the loyalty he had in his friends, to the philosopher’s stone, to all the other jaunts that he could remember, including the basilisk, troll, acromantulas, dementors, and the Triwizard Tournament.
This section of his life led up to the fight inside the Department of Mysteries, and his hunt for Horcruxes with Dumbledore, which eventually led to the fight inside Hogwarts castle. When Harry was about to explain what a Horcrux was he was informed it was unnecessary as both Charlus and Dorea knew what the foul abomination to magic was.
It all came down to the final year of what should have been his seventh year of Hogwarts where he continued hunting Horcruxes and trained everyday with the Order of the Phoenix instead. Lastly, he talked about the final battle and that he learned from Fleamont that in his timeline he ultimately lost the war, and all his friends were killed.
When his tale was over, he had talked for hours, and not once did Charlus or Dorea interrupt him. His story was insane, and at the end all Charlus did was look at his wife and she sighed, “Every word was the truth.”
Harry looked at the woman in surprise that she took his side so easily, and Charlus explained, “Dorea is empathic. She could read the emotions of anyone regardless of Occlumency shields. No one can lie to Dorea. It is a powerful gift not seen in the Black family for generations. She was invaluable to me when we were fighting against Grindelwald’s band of fanatics.”
The young man looked at his great aunt in amazement, “That is an incredible gift.”
Dorea gave the young man a smile, “It seems you have many incredible gifts yourself. You remind me much of Charlus when he was your age. You seem to have everything but his legendary confidence.”
Charlus snorted, but Dorea gave him an affectionate smile, and Harry grinned at the two, but was confused, “May I ask a personal question?”
Charlus froze, but Dorea nodded shortly, and Harry took a breath, “Fleamont told me that Charlus would be lost, and that you two don’t socialize with the outside world much anymore. In fact, he said that Charlus hasn’t seen much of James in years, but forgive me when I say you two don’t seem like you’re hiding.”
Dorea gave the boy a sad look, “It’s not so simple you see. Charlus and I aren’t hiding; we are still grieving. The loss of our son was immense. Like my brother and sister-in-law we had quite a difficult time having children, and when we had Henry it was like all our prayers had been answered. To have him taken away from us the way he was…was devastating to say the least. It’s been many years, but we have never moved on or recovered. We spend most of our time overseas among friends to distance ourselves from the constant reminders.
“Many people in this country see us as bitter people, but that’s not the truth. We just can’t stand the pitying looks every person gives us when we are out in public around here, it’s why we don’t venture out very much. I can assure you, Harry, had we been able to have as many children as we wanted you would have had plenty of magical relatives to live with.”
Charlus and Dorea exchanged sad smiles, and Charlus kissed his wife on her outstretched hand. Harry was moved by the amount of love between the two, but he could tell they never moved on from losing their son, and that there may not be much anyone could do to change that, but he would do anything he could. Harry desperately asked, “Will you help me? I am no one in this world, and I need someone to stand behind while I prepare to take out this monster, and prevent him from wiping out what is left of our family.”
The two looked thoughtful and Harry continued, hoping to drive his point home, “Voldemort wiped out both of our families like a plague. There were no Blacks alive by the time I left my world. With my death, both the Potter and Black lines were extinguished. This house was burnt to the ground by Death Eaters and Voldemort himself when he showed up. I hear they didn’t do it without a fight though.”
Charlus looked disturbed for a moment before a smile that could only be described as sinister stretched across his face, “How many did we take down before they got us?”
Harry grinned back, “From what I understand over a dozen and it took Voldemort himself to take you down. Apparently, he didn’t dare do it alone, and relied on the help of Augustus Rookwood.”
Dorea looked surprised, “Augustus Rookwood is a Death Eater?”
Harry shrugged, “I don’t know if he is right now, but I know he will be.”
Dorea had a sad expression on her face, “We were friends in school. That is rather disappointing.”
That was a punch in the gut to Harry. Imagining one of his friends turning on him in the war, even a casual friend like Seamus or Dean caused him pain. Charlus growled, “I knew this Tom Riddle when I was in school. I was a few years older than him, but I remember him. We dueled once, and I wiped the floor with him. He respected me, and I respected the kid for his power, even though I could tell he was very well-versed in the Dark Arts at just 14 or 15. I should have known those little psychopaths that followed him around would start something like this one day.”
Harry asked, “I only arrived here hours ago. Where is the war at right now?”
Charlus snorted, “We aren’t even at war yet, but I have seen it coming for years now. There have been disappearances, and if we believe the Daily Prophet they are now hiding behind that cowardly symbol. All psychos have one.”
Harry nodded, “The Dark Mark will be a symbol that brought terror to my world for 3 decades. This won’t be the last time it pops up. If you see it, supposedly someone has been killed.”
There was silence for several moments before Dorea said, “I think it is time to come out of hiding, darling. Not for us, but for our family. I may not have much contact with my brothers and sisters, but I would not wish to see any harm fall upon them. Arcturus needs to be warned.”
Charlus nodded and his eyes seemed to light up a bit at the name, “He needs to be made aware of everything. So does Monty.”
Dorea shot back, “Is there anyone else we can trust with this?”
“Don’t even think about Dumbledore!” Charlus shot off.
Snapping back the woman said, “I wasn’t! I was thinking about the Longbottoms, you nitwit.”
Harry watched the byplay in surprise, and watched as the married couple went back and forth on several names, but ultimately decided it needed to stay within the family for now. Harry asked a little nervously, “What about me?”
The two looked at him for a moment then at each other. Surprisingly Charlus spoke this time, “Within the family, you can be yourself. To the outside world, you will be our son. Hidden away in America because you were special and we wanted private tutors for you. It was also our way of helping you escape Dragon Pox. We can also use this to explain why we spent so much time living in America. It can be said we were raising you, and taking you to new magical tutors all over the world. You have the skill and power to back it up. If we disguise you as a sixteen-year-old you will be even more impressive. How old are you really?”
Harry answered, “It’s hard to say, but I died just a few weeks before my 18th birthday, and today is my birthday just five years before I was born.”
Dorea nodded, “You will look a little old for your age, but if we do this then we can put you in the class with James.”
Charlus added, “I think it would be best not to tell the boy who Harry really is. If we tell him he might become too interested in the mother, or too interested in Harry’s best interest. Too many unforeseen consequences. If we can convince Fleamont then I suppose we should keep that bit to ourselves.”
“We could chalk the whole thing up to a family secret. We were hidden away enough after Henry’s passing that we could make it work. As long as we have Arcturus feed some lie about why he isn’t on the Black Family Tree I think we can get away with it.” Dorea said thoughtfully.
Charlus nodded, “We will enroll the boy in Hogwarts, and let him finish his magical education while he attempts to finish off this mad man. We will reach out to headmaster Brown at Ilvermorny and fake his transcripts as well. It's the least he could do for us. I can give Harry our old training regimen from the war. That will keep him in shape, and help him inch towards the coming confrontation. He is good, but he has a lot of work to do if he is going to stop a monster.”
They turned back to the young man who was astounded at how fast the two accepted this and prepared to take their stakes in the war. Harry shook his head, “What made you think so fast, and graciously accept all this?”
Charlus and Dorea smiled at each other, before the woman spoke, “We died, but the fact we only took twelve Death Eaters down with us is slightly disappointing, and as much as we have enjoyed our solitude the fact that a member of our family was raised by muggles even if they were the greatest muggles in history is simply unacceptable.”
Charlus picked up from there, “You were deprived in your previous life, and part of that is on us. It’s time to make things right, and if that means telling some lies to some people we couldn’t give a shit about while also taking down another Dark Lord then we will do it.”
When Charlus was done talking Dorea took her husband's hand, “I fell in love with my husband during war times. I was young, hopeful, and looking to shake up the establishment by enlisting in the fight against Grindelwald. Everyone in my family disapproved, and even my commanding officers tried too, but then I beat all of them in a duel.”
Charlus smirked, “All but one.”
Dorea rolled her eyes, “You were lucky and you know it.”
Harry’s eyes widened, “You two met in the war?”
Dorea smiled at the boy, “We knew of each other and met a few times at pureblood gatherings growing up, but we never knew each other well. We were two years apart at Hogwarts, and did like to tease each other a lot. Charlus did help out my brother in a few tight spots, and they were pretty close friends when they graduated, so we had a few adult conversations after school, and always held a mutual respect for each other.”
“But when she showed up in my barracks reporting for duty, I tried to have her sent back to her brother, but when she drew her wand and took down half my men, I figured it would be best if I kept her around. After all, someone was going to have to take down Rosier eventually, and too many men hesitated because she was a woman.” Charlus explained.
“Rosier? I know the name. There was a Death Eater my best mate killed named Evan Rosier.” Harry said.
Dorea remarked nastily, “If they were an evil little shit then maybe they were related. She definitely didn’t have any children, but maybe a nephew or a cousin. Vinda Rosier was a real piece of work.”
Charlus smirked, “Got Dorea an Order of Merlin second class for taking her down. One of the best duels I had ever seen. They didn’t think taking down three others of Grindelwald’s Lieutenants was all that special because I never got anything like that, and I led the troops.”
The woman patted the man’s face affectionately with her hand, “Thirty years later and you are still a little bitter about that aren’t you?”
Charlus grumbled, and called the house elf. When Mipsy appeared Charlus spoke softly, “Mipsy, will you prepare a bedroom in the family wing for Harry. He is a Potter, and I expect you to help with anything he may need.”
Mipsy looked at the boy in surprise and closed her eyes for a moment in deep concentration before opening them again in surprise, “He is a Potter! His magic is like little James.”
All three of the room's other occupants looked at the elf in surprise while Dorea smiled a little, “Maybe we can not mention that to anyone else, Mipsy. Harry is going to be our little secret, and to the world, he will be our son.”
Mipsy nodded in understanding, not even daring to question her mistress. When the elf disappeared, Harry looked outside to notice the sun had gone completely down. Charlus looked at Harry, “There is much to be done if we are to claim you as our son. We will also start preparing you immediately for the coming conflict. Tomorrow we will train at the break of dawn so be up and ready. You will also be getting an introduction to my brother Fleamont and Lord Arcturus Black. Along with probably going on a shopping spree with Dorea as she will take you to buy anything you need to get along in our world. I see you already bought a wand, so that takes care of the most important thing.
“We have a lot of things to get done, so you should get some rest and let Dorea and I discuss some things. We will probably have more questions for you tomorrow, and we can work some details out that will be beneficial to us all.”
Harry gave the man a very thankful smile and offered his hand, “Thank you for this. I was really worried you might kill me earlier.”
Charlus waved it off and took the boy's hand and then brought him in for a short hug. Harry tensed at this, but melted into the man as the impact of the last twelve hours of his life began to set in. All day he had been in fight or flight mode, but now as his great uncle held him the weight began to feel immense. His friends had all died. He wasn’t strong enough in his previous life. Tears were pooling in his eyes, and in the arms of his great uncle, he felt safe to grieve for what he had lost.
Charlus spoke softly as they separated, and kept both hands on his nephew's shoulders, “Harry, I know you never had a chance to understand this and I will admit over the last ten years I have not upheld this very well, but to a Potter, nothing is more precious than his family. You telling me that mine was wiped out has opened my eyes wider than anything else could have possibly done, and I thank you. I won't let this bastard take you, or any other member of this family. You have my word.”
When Charlus released Harry, Dorea already had her arms open for the boy and she pulled him into an embrace, “We will do everything we can for you, Harry. I know it may seem like you are asking a lot from us, but for our family, there is nothing we wouldn’t do. Go get your rest, and tomorrow we will get to work. Believe me, I think Charlus and I are very much looking forward to this. It was our dream to train Henry to be the Wizard we hoped he would be, and now we are going to get to do it with someone who has already seen battle. We know you aren’t going to replace him, but maybe you can help fill a little void that has been in our family.”
Harry offered the woman a melancholy smile and gave each of them a goodnight as he began to follow Mipsy, the house elf, up to his room. Laying in his bed he took in his surroundings, and realized this was nicer than any room he had ever stayed in. It seemed he was going to be given a fighting chance, and as Harry closed his eyes he swore upon the names of all those he lost he would do better in this timeline.
