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Chapter Text

May 2nd 2000

May 2nd. For many wizards and witches, May 2nd was a day of celebration. A day of joy. On this day, a young wizard by the name of Harry James Potter defeated Voldemort, the evil dark lord, in the Battle of Hogwarts. It brought the beginning of a new era.

An era of peace. An era where they didn't need to worry about attacks from Death Eaters. A new era where the younger generation had the chance to have a normal, peaceful and happy life. To not constantly live in fear of attacks, fearing for the safety of their loved ones and instead just be kids and enjoy their childhood.

But for Harry James Potter and Ginevra 'Ginny' Molly Potter, nee Weasley, the day May 2nd held nothing but pain. While everyone celebrated the day by being with their loved ones and enjoying with them, Harry and Ginny stayed in their house, grieving for the loved ones they lost on this day. They lost all their loved ones in the Battle of Hogwarts. While everyone celebrated the day, Harry and Ginny mourned the loss of their loved ones.

The happy memories of the Burrow, the pranks played by the twins, the bickering between Ron and Hermione, Arthur's fascination of all muggle things, Molly's cooking and fussing. Percy being prim and proper. Charlie talking about dragons. Remus sitting quietly, reading a book or just observing things. Tonks morphing into animals to make Ginny and Harry laugh. Fleur and Bill acting sappy. They missed all that. Those memories made them smile fir a brief time before they realized that they would never have that again. They would never feel that again.

How could they celebrate when they lost their entire family? How could they feel happy when all their happy memories revolved around them? When the day brought so much pain, grief and feeling of loss, how could they even act like they were happy? How could they celebrate a day which brought them nothing but pain and misery?

Harry and Ginny were in kitchen of 12 Grimmauld Place. After the battle, neither of them were able to stay at the Burrow. Each and every thing in the Burrow reminded them of what they had lost. Both had a glass of firewhisky in their hand. Anyone who knew Harry and Ginny could have easily seen the pain and grief from their looks.

It had been the same for the last 2 years. They would start moving on in their life when suddenly something would trigger a memory so powerful, so cherished that moving on with their life just felt impossible. How could they move on when everything reminded them about the people they had lost?

Harry turned towards Ginny. His voice hoarse, he said, "We can't live like this Gin. This guilt and feeling of loss is eating us up. It is consuming us. We have to move on with our lives." Ginny looked at Harry. Her eyes, usually so full of happiness and mischief, were full of pain. Her voice sounded as hoarse as Harry's did. It was like life was taken out of her. She said, "How can we move on Harry? When everything reminds us of them, when every happy memory is associated with them in some way or another, how do we move on from their death? To accept that we will never see them again, never hear them again. I can't Harry. Every time I try, something reminds me of them. It reminds me that I don't have them with me anymore."

Ginny broke down by the end. Harry wrapped his arms around her. Her tears falling on his shirt. His own tears flowed down. Everything she said was true. He was thinking about any possible way to try to bring them back. After all, Dumbledore always used to say, magic is all about intent. The only thing that came to his mind was resurrection stone. But it only brought back spirits. It was the resurrection stone which gave him an idea. He took Ginny's face in his hands. He gently wiped her tears and then said, "Gin, we have all three Deathly Hallows. What if we combined them? Never before had a wizard or witch had the three hallows with them. Never before were the three hallows combined. What if we combine them?"

Hope entered Ginny's eyes. She said, "Let's try it Harry. We have nothing to lose if it doesn't work, but if it works, we can get our family back. Let's do it." Harry ran upstairs to their bedroom. The three hallows were stored in the moleskin pouch. Harry brought the hallows down and laid them on the table. He then placed the three hallows in order.

Cloak at the bottom. Wand in the middle. Stone at the top. The symbol for deathly hallows was made. Suddenly, a bright light came from it. It blinded Harry and Ginny, who covered their eyes. The light suddenly diminished and in front them, a cloaked figure was standing. The figure held his hand out and the three hallows flew into his hands. His gaze then turned towards them.

Harry and Ginny were staring at the figure that has just arrived. He looked a lot like how a dementor would look. Cloaked, dark. He also has a scythe with him. But he didn't have the cold or dread that came out of a dementor. He was looking at them. The three hallows in his hand. He then started speaking. His voice was deep and booming when he spoke. "Harry James Potter. By joining the three hallows, you have become the Master of Death. You are the only person who has not only had the ownership of the three hallows at the same time, but also the only one to join them all together. Did you ever wonder why it was only you who could do this? Why not Dumbledore or Grindelwald? Why only you?" Harry didn't know what to say. How could he know why he was able to get ownership over all three hallows? Death perhaps send to sense his confusion. He turned his gaze to Ginny and asked her, "What you think Ginevra? Why Harry?" Ginny suspected that perhaps it was related to worthiness. Just like how phoenix choose their familiar, perhaps the hallows required their owner to be worthy.

Death seemed to again guess what Ginny was thinking. He said, "You are correct Ginevra. It is worthiness. Harry, you were deemed worthy of being the Master of Death. You never wavered from the path of light. You never shied away from your responsibility and destiny. The hallows deemed you worthy of their ownership. You and Ginevra now have 2 options. Option 1. You can take any one of the hallows as yours. The other two will be taken by me and would never be found again. The hallow you would keep would become a family heirloom. The other option is to give me all three hallows. Giving them up will grant you something no one has ever gotten. It is called Time's Gift. Time's Gift is a very powerful magical spell. It will take you back in time in another world. You can't change your own destiny. But you can change the destiny of people in that world. You can change their life and their destiny. But be warned, some things would be different in that world. Not everything would be the same as it was in this world. So, what do you choose? You can have some time to discuss this among yourselves."

Harry thought about it for a moment. It was a bit disheartening that they couldn't have their loved ones back. But the choice to go in another world to prevent this happening to Harry of that world was tempting to him. He then looked at Ginny. She looked at him and said, "Let's do this Harry. We can't change our fate. But we can prevent what happened to us happen with them." Harry wanted to agree with Ginny. But one thing still troubled him. Ginny seemed to get what troubled him and continued, "I know Harry. They wouldn't know who we are. We wouldn't have the same relation with them. But isn't any relation better than not having one?" Harry finally relented. What Ginny said was correct. He gave her a peck and then looked back towards Death.

He then said, "As the master of death, I return the three Deathly Hallows back to Death." Death then said, "I, Death, take the three Deathly Hallows back from Harry James Potter." Light came from the hallows and they disappeared. Death then looked at the couple in front of him and said, "You both once again proved yourself worthy. In 2 days' time, you will be given Time's Gift. Farewell Harry and Ginny Potter."

Chapter Text

May 4th, 2000

Harry and Ginny were in kitchen of 12 Grimmauld Place. In the past 2 days, they had prepared for their journey back in time. They had gone to Diagon Alley and brought supplies. They brought a huge amount of money from Gringotts. They even decided on what identity they would assume. They also made a plan of action. They decided to name themselves as Henry and Guinevere Peverell.

They brought a special compartment trunk. It had 7 compartments in it. 2 of them were special suite rooms. One was a library, one was a big bathroom, one was a dueling room and the last one was originally empty, but they made it as a store room. The trunk was expensive, but they both felt that it was worth the price. It was something that would be very useful to them. They then stocked the truck with all necessary items. They went to Gringotts where Harry did an inheritance test. The test proved to them that Harry was descendant of Ignotus Peverell. They decide to take 5 million worth wizarding and muggle money. Such high amount of money was required for their plan. Harry then had drawn up a charity fund and donated the rest of the wealth to that charity. It would provide support to both wizard and muggles.

With all the necessary things done. Harry and Ginny drew a plan of action. They decided to ask Death to transport them to the summer of 1992. For their plans, it was the perfect time. Harry would have become friends with Ron and Hermione. Ginny wouldn't have been affected by the diary yet. Both of these were 2 important aspects in their plan. They had also come up with a good background for them to meet with Harry. They would tell how they were in a feud with a dark family and lost their family in that feud. So for a fresh start, they came to England. Their plan was to remove Harry from the Dursleys, prove Sirius innocent and prevent the events of 1992 and 1993 from happening. Their ultimate goal was to kill Voldemort in the graveyard.

They were brought out of their musing by the arrival of Death. He looked at them and then said, "Are you prepared?" Harry and Ginny both said yes. He then said, "Before doing this, I would like to remind you that some things will be different in the world we are going. You will be identified as belonging to Peverell's by Magic. The fate of the people in that world depends on your actions." Harry and Ginny nodded. Death then said, "Grab my hand. Close your eyes. When you feel ground on your feet, open your eyes then. I hope Time's Gift serves you well." Harry and Ginny closed their eyes. They were lifted up and suddenly vanished from 12 Grimmauld Place. The travel was similar to apparition. Within few seconds, they felt ground beneath their feet and opened their eyes.

They looked at their surroundings before looking at one another. Their features had changed. Both had become taller. Harry had gotten a beard and had long hair. His body became less scrawny and became muscular. It was how he would have been if he hadn't been malnourished as a child. Ginny meanwhile had lost lot of her freckles. Her hair became much darker. Her hair looked like Lily's did. Both had lost the scars they had gained. Harry also lost the scar on his forehead that had made him famous. They then looked around. They found a convenience store nearby. They went there and brought a bottle of water and a newspaper. They looked at the dates on newspaper. It was July 3rd of 1992. It was the 3rd day of summer vacations. Ginny then said, "We should start our plan tomorrow." Harry agreed with her.

July 4th, 1992

Henry and Gin planned to go to Gringotts today. They planned to get their inheritance test done. They knew Harry would be related to them. But they wanted to make it sure. They also wanted to know what inheritance they had. They already brought a house in Ottery St. Catchpole. They knowingly took that house knowing that the Burrow would be close to their house.

They entered Gringotts and went to one of the many goblins present there. Henry asked the goblin for an inheritance test. The goblin brought the test out and asked Henry to let a drop of his blood on the paper. He did and his inheritance and close relatives came up. Harry was one of those mentioned. As for their inheritance, they had 80 million Galleons, 50 million Sickles and 30 million knuts. They also had several properties in France, Switzerland, Greece and Italy. They were well off financially. Now, they needed to start the next step of their plan. They had to get mastery in DADA now. The thing that they didn't like was they would need to bribe the minister official to get their mastery quickly. Getting that was instrumental in them becoming DADA professors at Hogwarts.

They apparated to the ministry of magic. They had their wand checked and then went to the Department of Magical Education. They wrote the test for being eligible for mastery. They then submitted the research they decided to use to get mastery. Henry also handed a bag containing 1000 galleons. The officer didn't even bat his eyes. As if he was used to this. He told them they would get their mastery by tomorrow.

With that done, the next step was meeting Harry. They decided to do that after getting their mastery. The next day, they got an owl stating they had been awarded mastery in DADA. Henry and Gin both were happy at that. They decided to visit Harry the next day and establish a relationship with him.

July 5th, 1992

Harry James Potter of 4 Privet Drive was doing his chores. He was living at his aunt's house for his summer vacation. He was currently cleaning the dishes from breakfast. After that he had to do laundry, trim the front lawn, clean the bathroom and a whole lot of chores. He also had to work on his holiday homework. But you may be wondering, why was he doing so many chores? Why wasn't his aunt or cousin helping him? You see, Harry Potter was a wizard. And that meant he was a freak. At least to his aunt and uncle.

His relatives made it clear that if he were to live in their house, he would have to do all these chores. It was his way to repay their kindness. Harry absolutely hated living there. Especially after the great, magical experience he had at Hogwarts, the school for wizard and witches. It was the first place where he felt at home. The place where he found his friends. The place where he got his first Christmas present. It wasn't surprising to say he missed Hogwarts and its moving staircase, its long hallways, the great hall, the feast and classes.

His reverie was broken when he heard the bell. Petunia came to answer the door. She opened the door and found a couple standing there. The man was tall, had messy raven hair and his eyes were green. The female had red hair, the same shade as Lily's. Her eyes were brown. The man asked, "Are you Petunia Dursley?" Petunia said yes. The man then said, "I am Henry. Is Harry home?" Petunia suddenly grew wary of the couple. What did they want her nephew for? Were these people freaks like him? But they looked normal. Deciding it was better to not think on it, she called Harry.

Harry came to the door. He saw the couple standing. The woman kneeled down and said, "Hi Harry. I am Gin and this is Henry. We are relatives from your father's side. How about you come for a walk with us? I hope it wouldnt be a problem?" The question at the end was directed to Petunia. But from the look Gin gave her, Petunia knew she wasn't asking her. She went inside. Harry meanwhile was surprised that his aunt agreed so easily. The woman spoke again, "Why don't you get ready Harry? We will wait for you?"

Harry ran to his room and took the best clothes he had, which considering that most of his clothes were Dudley's old clothes, was not saying much. He went to take a quick shower. Meanwhile, Henry and Gin were talking. Gin said, "He still looks a lot like how you did, but some differences are there. He looks healthier than how you did in your first year." Henry nodded and said, "He also looks a bit different. He has mum's cheeks and nose while the rest matches dad. Maybe these were the differences Death mentioned." Before Gin could reply, Harry came back. Gin smiled at him and said, "All ready?" Harry nodded and Henry said, "Why not take us to someplace we can talk Harry? Know any place?" Harry knew a private spot in the park. He had found it when the school took them for a trip and he had spent the whole day hiding there from Dudley and his gang. Harry took them there. The three sat down on the grass. Henry and Gin sat opposite him. This time, it was Henry who spoke to Harry.

"Let me introduce ourself. I am Henry Peverell. This is my wife, Guinevere Peverell. But she prefers Gin. You must be wondering why we came to visit you, right?" Harry nodded. Henry continued. "There are a lot of magical families Harry. Some are very old, some are relatively new. Peverell's is one of the oldest magical families. The Potters are said to be descended from Peverell's. In a way, you can say we are your uncle and aunt." Harry nodded his understanding. But one thing confused him. Why come now? Why come to meet him? Harry asked, "Not that I am ungrateful, but why meet me? As you said, we are distinctly related. Why try to establish a relation with me?" His question suddenly changed the expression on Henry and Gin's faces. Their smile vanished. To his shock, tears appeared in their eyes. It was Gin who answered, "Harry, we used to live in a small town in Eastern Europe. Our family was in a feud with another dark family. The family decided to attack us to end the feud. They attacked us in the dark of the night and enflamed our house."

"Our entire family died in the attack. We narrowly escaped. We were injured, had no resources and no place to live. Somehow, we managed to hide at a dilapidated house. We healed ourselves and escaped. We came back to England for a fresh start. We were at Gringotts to do an inheritance test when we found out that you are related to us. We wanted some type of relation with you. That is why we came to meet you today." Henry wrapped his arms around Gin. Both had tears in their eyes. Harry wished he hadn't asked them what he did.

Harry was thinking over what he had heard. He, Henry and Ginny were similar, in that they lost their family due to a dark lord. But Harry never knew his parents. As much as he missed them, he couldn't imagine how painful it would be for Henry and Gin to relive those moments. They had memories of their family. Losing them would so painful for them. He decided to have a relationship with them. They seemed like nice people. He said, "I am sorry for making you relive losing your loved ones. I didn't mean to do that. I would like getting to know you and have a relation with you." Both gave him a small smile. Gin then said, "Why not go to eat something? Let's talk over lunch. Any good place nearby Harry?" Harry said he didn't know. Henry said, "I think I saw a pizzeria nearby. Is pizza ok for lunch?" Harry said ok and Ginny nodded. Harry was actually excited on eating pizza. He had never eaten a pizza before. Dudley used to always boast on how delicious pizza tasted. He could now try it out for himself. He was also excited to know more about Henry and Gin.

Over pizza, the three of them got to know the other. Harry came to know a lot about Henry and Gin by observing the way they interacted with one other and with him. Gin was a cheerful, mischief loving woman. Henry was a quiet, reserved man. Their relation was playful and affectionate. It was a stark difference to how his aunt and uncle were. He had never seen them joking around, being playful or affectionate to the other. He had never even seen them hold hands together. Not with Henry and Gin. They also were fun loving people and had a great sense of humor.

After pizza, the three of them strolled around. Henry and Gin told Harry about their family. Harry meanwhile told them about his first year at Hogwarts. Henry and Gin noticed few differences. Like Hermione coming back after Christmas. He also had gotten better marks at the end of the year. Neville was also a friend to Harry. These changes while not monumental proved to them that things were different in this world. After some time, Henry and Gin thought it was time that Harry goes back home. They went back to Privet Drive.

They rang the bell and this time Vernon Dursley opened the door. He saw Harry and said, "Where are you coming from Boy? Why were you not at home doing your chores? Go make supper." Harry nodded. He went towards the kitchen to do his chores. He however stopped when he heard Vernon say, "And who are you?" Gin's answer surprised both Harry and Vernon. She said, "We are his relatives Dursley. From his father side. And let me tell you something. We will visit him wherever he want. You better treat him right or results won't be good for you. See you later, Harry."

Throughout the month, Henry and Gin visited Harry at least 3 times a week. They took him to clothes shopping, brought him new specs and took him to places he never had been to before. He looked forward to these visits from Henry and Gin. For the first time in his life, Harry felt as if he belonged to a family. For he truly began to think of them as Uncle Henry and Aunty Gin. He wished he could live with them. Unknown to him, Henry and Ginny were planning that. Harry was about to get a big surprise.

Chapter Text

July 20th, 1992

Albus Dumbledore was sitting in his office. He was waiting for the Peverell couple who had applied for the post of DADA professors. He had been surprised to see that Peverell family still existed, for he believed the family had died down long back. The only other to apply for the post was Gilderoy Lockhart. Dumbledore knew he was a fraud and didn't want to employ him. So he hoped that this couple would prove to be better than him. Another thing to consider was employing 2 people for a single subject. It had been done once in Hogwarts history. But it had been a special case then. Another thing was will the curse act again, as it had for more than 50 years now.

He was brought out of his musings with the movement of the gargoyle, meaning that the Peverell's had arrived. They came to his office. Dumbledore stood up and shook hands with both of them while saying, "Welcome to Hogwarts, Henry and Guinevere Peverell. I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts. Please be seated." Both Henry and Gin sat down on the chairs in front of them. Dumbledore offered them lemon drops, which while they both declined, made them fondly remember how Dumbledore of their world used to offer lemon drops to anyone who came to his office. Dumbledore ate one himself and then started the interview.

The interview contained questions regarding to the subject, then some related to discipline and their teaching philosphy and at last their grasp on the rules followed in Hogwarts. Both of them had answered each of his question brilliantly. But Dumbledore still wasn't sure on whom to employ as he couldn't do both. Decided to tell them this, he said, "Henry and Guinevere, both of you have great knowledge on the subject and either of you would make great addition to our staff. But I can't decide on whom to select as both of you are equally good. Do you have any solution?" Henry and Gin shared a smile among themselves. They knew this would have happened.

They had planned for this. Henry said, "Professor Dumbledore. We knew you wouldn't have been able to hire us both. So we had come a plan for this. We also know about the curse on the DADA post. For the last 50 years, no DADA professor has been able to last for more than year continuously. For this, we came up with a solution. Hire anyone of us for this year only, the other will be assistant professor. The next year, the other would-be professor. We can repeat this. The curse would be broken. Is this agreeable to you?" Dumbledore was shocked. The solution was foolproof. And so simple. This would actually work. If he wasn't sure before, he was sure he was going to hire them now.

He said, "I never thought like that. This is a great solution. I will present this to the board of governors. Congratulation, you both are the new professors of Defense Against Dark Arts." He then shook hands with them. He was happy at finally having not one, but two competent DADA professors. Once they sat down again, it was Gin who spoke. "Professor Dumbledore, now that the official reason for our visit is over, there are two things we would like to talk about with you."

This piqued Dumbledore's interest, who nodded. Gin continued, "All of us know about the ghost teaching History of Magic. Professor Binns only ever teaches about goblin revolutions. Number of students taking Newt in History is very low. You need to change the professor." Dumbledore agreed with what she said. He said, "I agree Ms. Peverell. But I am still not able to find a good professor for that subject. I am forced to continue with Professor Binns." Henry said, "Professor, I think you have a capable candidate. I think you should consider Remus Lupin." Dumbledore asked in surprise, "How do you know about Remus Lupin?" Henry then told him how they met him in Leaky cauldron and had become friends with him. In reality, they had met Remus working at a book store. He looked healthier and less scarred, perhaps due to having a job."

Both were happy at this. But they wanted to reintroduce Remus to Harry. Remus had meant a lot to Henry. He knew he would mean a lot to Harry as well. For that to happen, they first needed Remus to have a good job. Henry knew Remus had loved teaching. So him being History professor would not only be good for him, but also for the students. Hence this plan. Dumbledore accepted their story. He said, "You are correct. Remus would make a great professor. I will call him for an interview. I am sure he will accept it." Henry and Gin smiled. Henry then said, "The second thing is about a student you know and care about a lot. It is about Harry." Dumbledore now became more attentive and careful.

Henry continued, "We know why you have kept Harry at Privet Drive. But the wards are not going to hold on. I am not going mince my words professor. We suspect that Harry was physically and mentally abused in his childhood. The wards are very weak. They require love between the inhabitants. Dursleys hate Harry. Keeping him there is not good for him. We have met him several times these past few weeks. We have come to love him as our own. We are planning to adopt him. Whether you agree or not." Dumbledore let out a sigh. He hated this. He had to keep Harry there for his safety. But if Harry was being abused, the whole purpose of being there would be redundant.

He asked, "You know the reason I am keeping him there. I never expected them to abuse Harry." Henry said, "Professor, we understand why you did what you did. But does Harry deserves to stay in that environment? He doesn't. We are going to introduce Remus to Harry. We then will ask if he wants to live with us. If he agrees, then we are going to apply for being his guardianship. We need your support. Because I know purebloods will try to become his guardian. Will you help us?" Dumbledore thought about it and said, "I will support you. Harry deserves to live with people who love him and care for him. Let me present the request in next the Wizengamot session. It is next week."

July 28th, 1992

Henry and Gin were excited today. They were not only going to ask Harry his consent for guardianship, they were also going to introduce Remus to Harry. Henry and Gin both knew how much Remus had meant to Henry. They wanted the same thing for Harry.

Harry meanwhile was excited as well. He looked forward to visits from Henry and Gin. In his mind, he had begun thinking of them as Uncle Henry and Aunt Gin. For they were that. He never had someone care for him and love him. He never felt being part of a family with the Dursleys. But he had come to feel that with Henry and Gin. He felt being a family with them.

He suddenly heard the bell and ran to open the door. A smile came on his face on seeing who was standing there. Henry and Gin were standing, a huge smile on their faces. Harry smiled and Gin said, "Ready to go Harry?" Harry nodded and Henry said, "Let's go." The trio went to their spot on the park. After they had sat down, it was Henry who started, "Harry, before going somewhere there are 2 things we want to do. The first is introduce to someone who knew your parents since his first year at Hogwarts. He was a very close friend to your parents, especially your dad. Would you like to meet him Harry?" Harry said yes. He was excited to meet this person. Henry gave a whistle.

It was their signal for Remus to come. Getting the signal, Remus came to the spot. When he looked at Harry, he suddenly remembered how James used to look at that age. The same messy hair, similar face. Everything reminded him of James. But his eyes, they were exactly like Lily. The same emerald green eyes that expressed so many feelings. He looked so much like them that the pain of losing them struck him hard. He somehow controlled his emotions. He said, "Hello Harry. I am Remus. I went to Hogwarts with your parents." Harry couldn't control his excitement. He said, "Can you please tell me anything about them? I never knew anything about them except how they looked."

Remus looked both a bit sad and angry at that. Sad that Harry never knew anything about James and Lily. The pleading nature of his request, the excitement in getting to know something about them, all that made him feel sad. And anger came at himself and at Petunia. Despite how much she had hated magic, Lily was her sister. She should have told Harry about Lily. He felt angry at himself that he never made the effort to check on Harry. Deciding that thinking about past was useless, Remus said,"Of course Harry. I would love telling you about James and Lily. There are so many stories about them that I want to tell you. I will tell everything I know about them. But not now. We have something important to discuss. Afterwards, I promise." Harry nodded.

Henry then started, "Harry. Right now, you are living with your muggle guardians. But since you are a wizard now, that too one studying at Hogwarts, a magical guardian would have been appointed. Dumbledore till now hadn't passed this proposal through the Wizengamot to prevent any dark wizard to get your guardianship. But we managed to convince him to pass it. We have applied to be your magical guardians. Would you like us as your magical guardian?" A lump had formed in Harry's throat. Somehow, he said this, "Can I live with you? Can I call you uncle Henry and aunt Gin?"

Gin tightly hugged Harry when he said that. A huge smile was on her face when she said, "Sweetheart, we wished for so long that you would call us Aunt Gin and Uncle Henry. There is nothing more that we would like than that love." Harry finally let the tears fall from his eyes. Never had he heard someone call him love or sweetheart. He never had someone who loved him. He finally had 2 wonderful people who cared about him and loved him. He also had someone who was very close to his parents. He finally felt a part of a loving family. And at that moment, it was the happiest thing he had ever experienced till then. He finally got something he had desired for so long.

It was Henry who spoke after this emotional moment. He said, "Harry, tomorrow we will go to the ministry of magic. There, we will become your magical guardians. Do you want to spend some time listening to some stories by your parents?" Harry gave a smile. Remus happily told Harry about some of their funniest moments. From James over-the-top plans to ask Lily out to some of their most hilarious pranks. He then told him about Lily's compassion and kindness. It was then when he told Harry why he hadnt visited him anytime and about being a werewolf. Remus grew a bit emotional at that. Harry's reaction wasn't what Remus had expected from someone his age.

Harry said he wouldn't treat Remus any different just because he was a werewolf. His parents hadn't and neither would he. The rest of the day was spent sharing stories about James and Lily. Before sending Harry back to the Dursleys, Henry and Gin said to Harry, "Tomorrow, we will officially become a family Harry. But even if we don't, you always will be our nephew." Harry gave them a tight hug. When he went to sleep that night, he dreamt that he was living with Uncle Henry and Aunt Gin. Remus being another uncle to him and visiting them regularly. The only thing he missed right then was letters from his friends. Why hadn't they sent a single letter to him?

Chapter Text

July 31st, 1992

The courtroom 10 of the ministry was jam packed that day. And why wouldn't it be? For the case being held that day was one of the most important trials in recent wizarding history. For the trial would decide who will gain the guardianship of the boy-who-lived. Something that everyone desired for various political and financial reasons.

Harry was sitting beside Gin in the front row. Till now, it had been the best birthday he ever had. Henry, Gin and Remus had took him out to celebrate his birthday. After lunch, they showed him the house they were going to live in. Then they took him for shopping and brought many things for him. Remus had given him a photo album. The album contained photos from their Hogwarts days. Harry had tightly hugged Remus after that gift and thanked him a lot for that gift. It was a gift he would cherish for a long time.

Harry was brought out of his thoughts when he heard the banging of gavel by the judge. "However in Harry's case, with the death of his parents, he was sent to live his muggle relatives. Hence there was no magical guardian for him. Hence, me and my wife have applied to be his magical guardians. The Peverell's and Potters are related to each other and upon checking Gringotts records, we found that Harry is our nephew. We thus apply to be his magical guardians." After Henry was done, the judge said, "Mr. Peverell, many other families have also applied to be Harry's magical guardians. Tell me why I should give you the guardianship." Henry said, "I would like to see the hands of all those that would like to apply for Harry's guardianship."

The judge said, "Those wishing to apply for guardianship of Mr. Potter are asked to raise their hands." Henry cast a look at all those who raised their hands. As he expected, Malfoys were one of them. The Parkinsons, Notts, Patil's and Greengrass were some of the families that applied as well. Seeing this Harry looked at Gin and asked, "Aunt Gin, why would so many people want to be my guardians?" Gin looked at him and said, "Sweetheart, you are one of the most popular figures of our world. Having your guardianship would not only mean having you as part of their family, it also means several political and financial benefits for them."

"Don't worry, Henry and I had planned for everything." Harry looked back at Henry, who started speaking again. "To the Patil's, Greengrass's and the other families, I would say that Harry hasn't interacted with you or your kids much. You being his guardians would be uncomfortable to him since he doesn't know you at all. To the Malfoys, Notts and Parkinsons. Harry does not have a good relation with your children. I would even say they are enemies, considering the rivalry between Harry and Draco. I don't believe that Harry would be happy with them. I don't believe Harry would be safe with them. Their reasons for guardianship might be wrong for Harry and his well-being."

Henry had deliberately added that last part. He knew that the pride of the dark families would be undoubtedly hit. And at least one of them would demand satisfaction. As they expected, Nott did. "Your honor, this lord has questioned the honor of the ancient house of Nott's. I demand satisfaction as is my right." The judged looked at Albus, the chief warlock, who said, "How do you want satisfaction Lord Nott?" Nott said, "A magical duel. Everything except unforgivable curses." Henry smiled at this. He drew his wand and took his stance. Gin looked at Harry and said, "Enjoy the duel Harry. Your uncle is a brilliant duelist." Harry focused his attention on the duel, watching it carefully.

Nott came down and cast the first spell. Henry sidestepped the spell. The duel began. Nott fired one spell after other while Henry effortlessly dodged them or blocked them using his shield. His counter spells were hitting Nott and he was tiring. Harry was in awe. His uncle wasn't saying the spells. Yet he was able to use them. He asked Gin, who said, "That is non-verbal magic Harry. Your uncle is very good at it." Nott was getting tired from the heavy usage of spells. Sensing this, Henry removed his shield and did the disarming jinx on him. It was so strong that it knocked Nott out. Harry was now in awe of his uncle. The way he dueled was amazing. He wanted to duel like that.

Henry then said, "Anyone else?" No one dared to say anything. The sheer power and the ease at which Henry had won the duel had scared most of the Purebloods. Henry Peverell was not a man to be messed with. The judge said, "Lord Peverell has won the duel. Lord Peverell, as the one who won the duel, you can demand whatever you want from the Notts, as is your right." Henry said, "I don't want anything your honor. Let's go on with the case." The judge nodded and said, "Mr. Potter, please stand where you are." Harry did stand. He felt his aunt's hand on his back and that calmed him. The judge said, "Young man, do you want to live with them? Would you like them as your guardians?"

Harry said, "Yes your honor. I want Uncle Henry and Aunt Gin as my guardians." The judge nodded and said, "The guardianship for Harry James Potter is awarded to Henry and Guinevere Peverell." Henry and Gin smiled at each other. They had got the guardianship of Harry. No longer would he live at that abusive house. He would live with a family that loved him and cared for him. As soon as they reached outside the courtroom, Harry hugged his aunt and uncle. Thanking them for loving him. Few tears escaped his eyes. Gin took his face in her hands and said "Don't cry sweetheart. Come, we have a birthday to celebrate." They then flooed to their home, where a party awaited them.

The party was being held to celebrate the birthday of Harry James Potter. The Weasley's and the Granger's were invited to the party. Harry was with his best friends Ron and Hermione. They were telling him how they had sent him letters but hadn't received any from him. This confused Harry, for he didn't get any letter. Was someone stealing their letters? Why would someone steal letters between friends? It didn't make any sense. But before they could think more, Henry and Gin called Harry to cut the cake. Harry went towards them and stood in the middle with Henry and Gin standing beside him. As he blew the candles, he was supposed to wish something. But with his biggest wish fulfilled, what more could he want? Seeing these people sing happy birthday to him and celebrate his birthday with him, giving him his first birthday party he could ever remember made him emotional. He wished these people would always be with him. The cake was then cut and eaten. The presents were given to Harry, who was excited to open them. He never had gotten presents. To see so many people give him people made him feel as if he was over the moon. His favourite was from Henry and Gin who gave him a broom servicing kit and new quidditch gloves.

Ron had gifted him candies and Cannons jersey. Hermione had given him a eagle-feather quill. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had given him some homemade fudge and treats. The twins gave him some prank items. Ginny had given him a practice snitch. Harry said, "Thank you Ginny. I always wanted a practice snitch." Ginny blushed and stammered a thanks. She quickly ran towards the garden. Harry was puzzled by Ginny's behavior while her brothers laughed silently, knowing what prompted this. Henry looked at Gin, fighting the grin threatening to take over his face. Gin saw that and felt a small smile appear on her own face. Seeing Ginny like that reminded her how she had behaved when she met Harry the first time.

Henry came over to Gin and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. He gave her a kiss and then said, "Go help your younger self Gin. Otherwise she might be blushing every time she sees Harry." Gin smacked his arm and tried to glare at him. But it had no effect as her own lips were curling. She kissed Henry and went to look for Ginny. She found her sitting in the garden. Gin sat beside her and said, "Feeling embarrassed, are we? Embarrassed by your crush on the Boy-Who-Lived?" Ginny looked at Gin in surprise. She said, "How did you know? Did my brothers tell that I have a crush on Harry?" The last part was said in anger. Gin laughed and said, "No, they didn't. But how do I know? I know because I had gone through the same thing that you are going through. I had a huge crush on Henry when I was your age. I wasn't able to stay in the same room as him. Do you want to know how I got over it?" Ginny said yes. Gin said, "I tried to be myself around him. I realized that if I couldn't even talk to him or stay around him, why would he like me? He wouldn't. I tried to treat him like he was a normal boy. I slowly became his friend and later we became very close friends. We became a couple when he was 16 years and I was 15 years old. We are now happily married. You need to get over this crush on the boy-who-lived and be yourself Ginny. Otherwise, if you always blush or embarrass yourself around Harry, he would be uncomfortable around you. Do you understand me?"

Ginny nodded and said, "But how can I be myself around him? Every time I see him, I do something embarrassing. How do I stop that?" Gin gave her a very simple advice. "Ginny, whenever you see Harry, you see the Boy-who-lived. Harry is just a normal 12-year-old boy Ginny. Think of Harry as a normal 12-year-old boy." Ginny heard what Gin said and thought about it. After few seconds, she said that she will try to do what Gin said. Gin smiled at her. She ruffled Ginny's hair and said, "Why don't we go and rejoin the party?" Ginny nodded and they went back.

When Henry saw Gin and Ginny come back together, he looked at Gin. She gave him a discreet nod. Henry gave her a small smile. He then said, "Everyone, I thank all of you for coming here to celebrate Harry's birthday today. Before we all retire for the night, Remus here has a small announcement to make." Henry gave Remus a cheeky grin, who glared at him. He however happily said, "Dumbledore had called me for a job interview a week back. Today, we met again and he said that I had gotten the job. You all are looking at the new History of Magic professor." Everyone led a loud cheer at that, except the twins, who moaned and said, "When and where will we sleep now?"

Molly smacked their heads. But everyone laughed at their joke, for everyone slept in Binns class, except for Hermione. Everyone was also happy at Remus getting the job. It was on this high note that the party ended on. After everyone had left and Harry had gone to his room to sleep, Henry and Gin called Remus. As the three of them sat down on the dining table in the kitchen, Henry looked at Remus and said, "Remus, there is something important we need to tell you. Do you promise not to freak out and listen to us before asking questions?" Remus was intrigued by this. He said, "I promise. Now what is all this about?" Henry took a deep breath and then started speaking

Remus was curious and intrigued. What was making Henry act so cautious? What could possibly freak him out? He saw Henry and Gin share a look among themself. Gin gave him a brief nod. Henry took a breadth and then said, "Remus, what we are telling you is something very few people know. Listen to what we are saying first. Agreed?" Remus nodded and Henry continued, "Remus, Sirius is innocent. He wasn't the secret keeper." Remus looked at Henry and Gin, his eyes expressing his disbelief at what they had said. He wanted to express his disbelief but kept quiet. Henry said, "We have proof Remus. Did you know that James and Lily's will wasn't executed? That their will was sealed by the ministry."

The shock and surprise on Remus's face was enough for Henry and Gin to tell them that Remus didn't know it. It was Gin who said, "Yes Remus. Their will was sealed by Fudge, who did that under Minister Bagnold's order. The goblins had the will, but couldn't reopen it unless Harry's guardians asked them to. We asked them and what was written in the will shocked us as well. James and Lily had clearly stated that Sirius was never the secret keeper. It was Pettigrew who was the secret keeper and the one who betrayed them. Sirius wasn't the one who betrayed them. It was his idea to make everyone believe he was, but he never was the secret keeper." Remus sank back into his seat. His brain couldn't believe what it had just learnt.

The shock turned into anguish and self-hate. How could he have believed that Sirius, who was James best friend, pseudo-brother, would betray James and Lily? Wasn't Sirius one of their best and closest friend? But before he could think more, Gin stopped him by saying, "Remus! Snap out of the self-hatred. It isn't your fault. You just believed what the evidence pointed to. Don't berate yourself." Remus just gave a small nod. He however said, "What use is him being innocent? He still killed Peter and those 12 muggles." Gin said, "He didn't. It was Peter who killed them. Sirius was innocent in that case as well." Remus looked at them once again in surprise and shock.

Henry replied, "Think Remus. What spell was supposedly used by Sirius?" Exploding hex was what Remus replied. Henry then said, "And what body part was found of Peter?" It suddenly clicked to Remus what Henry was trying to say. He loudly cursed and wanted to curse something. He went to the garden, where he let his anger out. After calming down, he came back inside. Gin gave him a glass of firewhisky, earning a grateful smile from him. After taking a sip, Remus asked them, "How do we prove that Sirius is innocent and that Peter is still alive?" Gin said, "We have a plan Remus. We need to find Peter first. When we have found him, we can request Albus to reopen the will of James and Lily. Once the will is read, Sirius would be proven innocent of the betrayal charge. We can request trial for Sirius then. In case Fudge refuses, we bring out Peter and force them to give Sirius a trial. We can then easily prove Sirius innocent then."

Remus thought over the plan for a bit before saying, "This will work. Now where and how do we find Peter? He must be hiding in a good place if he wasn't found for this long." Henry said, "What is Peter's animagus form?" Rat was the reply from Remus. "Do you agree that Peter must be hiding in his animagus form?" Remus again agreed. "We can also say that he would be with a wizarding family to keep up with our world. We will search at Hogwarts. Someone is bound to have him as their pet."

Remus agreed. The plan was good. He then bid them goodbye. After Remus had left, Henry wrapped his arm around Gin. Henry looked at her and said, "How are you Gin? It was hard seeing them alive but not recognizing us." Gin nodded and said, "It was. But Henry, we are giving our younger selves a childhood we never had. We could finish Voldemort earlier than when we did. They can spend their time at Hogwarts without worrying about Voldemort. They would enjoy their time at Hogwarts just like how other kids did." Henry agreed. They could never enjoy Hogwarts like a normal wizard and witch did. But Harry and Ginny will. They will make sure of that.

Chapter Text

August 3rd, 1992

Harry was currently in the orchard of the Burrow. It was his first time visiting the Weasley home. Harry was in awe of the house. It was one of the most unique houses he had ever seen. With its crooked stories, chimneys spread throughout its roof, its huge garden, the orchard and the pond, everything about the Burrow shouted Home. There was no way that it would have existed without magic holding it together. He was excited to spend the day with the Weasleys. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were among the most welcoming people he had ever seen. He was already friends with Ron and the twins. He was excited to know Ginny and be her friend. He had seen her at the party but hadn't interacted much with her.

He was with the twins and Ron. The three of them wanted to play a game of quidditch. He looked up and saw Ginny looking at them. Her face had an expression of longing, at least that's what he thought it was. He waved to her, who shyly returned the wave back. Harry said, "Why don't we call Ginny as well?" Ron said, "She doesn't know how to fly. She is too young to fly a broom." Harry was confused by this answer. After all, Ron was only a year older than her. He said, "Ron, you know that you only are one year older than Ginny, right?" Ron was stumped by this answer from Harry. He hadn't expected this answer from Harry and had expected that Harry would accept what he had said and leave it.

Ron looked at the twins who were equally surprised at Harry's answer. Sensing that they were not going to give an answer, Harry looked again at Ginny and waved her to come down. Hope entered Ginny's face and she ran downstairs and came running to the orchard. She came and stood in front of Harry. He asked her, "Ginny, do you know how to fly?" Ginny said yes. The twins looked at her and said, "We never taught you how to fly Gin-Gin. How do you know how to fly?" Taking their answer as challenge, she said, "If I show that I know how to fly using Harry's broom, do you guys promise to include me in your quidditch games?" The twins agreed, knowing that Ginny would surely not know how to fly as no one had taught her.

Ginny gave them a feral grin. Harry handed her the broom and she took off. She flied around the orchard at high speed, doing loops and rolls, flying with ease. Harry was cheering while Ron and the twins were staring at her with their mouth open. She flew better than they did. Ginny landed in front of them. Harry said, "Wow Ginny, you are a wonderful flier. How did you become so good?" Ginny turned to Harry and said, "I have been flying since I was 6 Harry. These guys didn't let me fly with them. So I used to sneak and fly, learning how to fly by myself." Ginny got a smug look on her face and looked at her brothers, who were in shock by now. Harry meanwhile was rolling on the floor laughing. He was laughing at the irony of the situation. They had not taught Ginny flying and believed she didn't know how to fly. But she taught herself and was better than them at flying. He eventually controlled his laughter and stood up. He looked at her and said, "You are a great flier Ginny. Want to play tag?" Ginny didn't reply him. She gave him his broom, ran to the broom shed and brought Charlie's old broom. She had learnt flying on Charlie's broom and felt comfortable on it. She flew towards Harry, touched his arm and said, "Tag." Harry took off on his own broom, chasing her. The twins and Ron eventually joined them and they all played until Molly called them to come inside for dinner. That day marked the beginning of Harry and Ginny's friendship.

August 11th, 1992

Harry was very excited today. Today was Ginny's birthday. And the reason for his excitement was what Ginny's reaction would be to the gift he, uncle Henry and aunt Gin had brought together. In the past few days, he and Ginny had become good friends. They played quidditch with Ron and the twins. They tried to prank the twins, sometimes succeeding, sometimes failing. They even roped in Ron, who readily agreed as he wanted to take revenge for the numerous pranks the twins had played on him. But the best thing to Harry was that Ginny tried to treat him like a normal boy and not like a hero. Yes, she sometimes blushed or did something embarrassing when she was around him. But at least she was trying to be herself around him.

This blossoming friendship between the two was closely observed by Henry and Gin. Henry knew that he was never comfortable around Gin at first because of her crush on him. But once she outgrew it, she and Henry became good friends. It was when she was herself around him that Henry fell for her. By helping Ginny come over her crush, she and Harry had become friends at a much younger age. They were hoping that they could have the childhood they never had. The three of them were currently at the Burrow. They were invited for Ginny's birthday party. They were sitting on a table set outside. They were waiting for Molly to bring the birthday cake for the birthday girl. The presents would be opened after cake was cut and eaten.

After a while, Molly brought the cake out. It was a chocolate cake shaped in the shape of quaffle. Ginny blew the candles and cut the cake. The twins took a small piece of the cake, smeared it on Ginny's face and ran away. Ginny gave an angry scream and ran after them. Everyone laughed at this. But no one noticed the small tears soaring at the corner of Henry and Gin's eyes. This small moment reminded them of so many things they had lost. It also reminded them what they were trying to achieve and made them more determined. Ginny eventually calmed down and came back. Molly cut the cake and gave everyone a piece. After everyone had eaten their piece, it was time to open presents. Ginny was excited to see what she had gotten as presents. She opened presents from her family first. The presents included candies, homemade fudge, some pranks, few books and a beautiful hair clip, the last one a gift from her parents.

She then opened the presents from Harry and the Peverell's. The box was long and thin. Ginny was curious as to what the presents could be. She carefully removed the package. A wooden box now laid in front of her. When she opened the box and looked inside, her jaw dropped. As she pulled the gift outside, everyone saw what had Ginny have the reaction she did. She had gotten a Cleansweep 6 as her birthday gift from Harry and the Peverell's. Ginny just admired the broom for few minutes. The fact that she owned that broom still hadn't registered in her brain.

A sudden laugh broke her concentration. She looked towards the sound to find Henry and Gin failing to control their laugh. Gin knelt in front of her and said, "Yes the broom is yours Ginny. Harry had the idea to combine our gifts to get you a broom. It is not new but we felt you would like having your own broom." Ginny gave both of them a hug. Then, in a move that surprised even herself, she hugged Harry, thanking him for the gift. Harry was a bit startled at the unexpected hug. Ginny just as quickly pulled back, perhaps realizing what she had done. A small blush was on her face as she realized this. Harry however said, "Let's try the new broom Ginny." The two of them ran towards the orchard.

Ron however didn't join them. He instead went towards his room. Henry and Gin both saw that and knew what was the issue. Ron was feeling jealous. Gin looked at Henry, who said, "I will go talk with him. I know what his issue is." But before Henry could go, he was stopped by Molly and Arthur. They both looked a bit troubled. In a hesitant voice, as if he was trying not to anger them, Arthur said, "Henry, Gin. We can't accept the broom as Ginny's gift. We know how much a broom costs. You shouldn't have brought a broom for her." Gin said, "Arthur, we both know money isn't everything. Beside, just look how happy she was. It was worth it. Besides, you can't refuse or return a gift."

Arthur wanted to argue but he couldn't find anything against Gin's argument. Henry went to Ron's room during this. As he entered Ron's room, he was reminded of his Ron's room. The same orange color wall, the same posters of the Cannons on the wall. He suddenly missed his best friend a lot. Controlling his emotions, he looked at Ron, who was confused as to why Henry was in his room and why he was emotional. Henry said, "I wanted to talk to you Ron. I see you didn't join Harry and Ginny. I saw the expression on your face when you saw Ginny's Gift. Were you jealous Ron?" Ron looked shocked at this question. How could have Henry guessed what he was feeling downstairs? He tried to deny but couldn't.

Henry meanwhile was looking for something. His eyes eventually found what he was searching for. He turned his attention back to Ron, who appeared conflicted. Henry then said, "Ron, we both know that you were jealous downstairs. Why are you jealous Ron?" Ron finally gave a sigh and said, "Because I always feel I am in someone's shadow. All my brothers have done something different. Ginny being a girl is already different. Whatever I do, I would always be compared to my brothers because they would have already done it. At Hogwarts, I am known as Harry's best friend. Harry is rich and famous. I am always in someone's shadow. Nothing I do will ever be special or unique." Ron's eyes were downcast and all his anger was replaced by sadness and a feeling of worthlessness.

Henry said, "Ron, I want you to listen to me very carefully. You are in no one's shadow. You are your own person and have your own talents. Harry told me about his 1st year. If you hadn't been there, Voldemort would have gotten the philosopher stone. Could your brothers have won that game of chess? Could Ginny have done that? Do that doesn't make them any less, just like how you not doing something special makes you any less special. You have already proven yourself. You know Harry's story right. How did he get his fame? He got it based on his parents sacrifice. You know he would give it without hesitation if it brought his parents back. While he is rich, he never had a family. He was jealous of you. Did you know that?" Ron's surprise was enough for Henry. He said, "Why don't you go join Harry and Ginny? They are waiting for you in the orchard." Ron nodded and thanked Henry. After he had left, Henry looked at the cage Ron had on his bedside table, looking at the rat sleeping inside it.

August 12th, 1992

Azkaban, the wizarding prison. One of the darkest places in the whole world. Many describe it as hell on Earth. Dementors, the soul sucking magical creatures, guarded the prison and looked after the prisoners. Most of the prisoners there had either gone mad or died. It was in this prison that Sirius Black was currently imprisoned. He was imprisoned for betraying James Potter and Lily Potter, Peter Pettigrew and 12 other muggles. He wasn't even given a trial and was directly sent to the prison. He was believed to have been guilty as he belonged to one of the most prominent pureblood family, the Blacks. With his brother a known death Eater and the family know for it support to blood supremacy, it was believed Sirius would be guilty.

However, that wasn't the truth. Sirius was innocent. He was not the secret keeper of the Potters. It was his plan to make everyone believe that. In reality, the secret keeper was Peter Pettigrew. No one would have suspected it. Everyone would have believed Sirius would be the one as he was James's best friend. No one would suspect Peter and the Potters would have been safe. But it was not to be. Peter was the spy the order had been searching for. He betrayed them and framed Sirius. Sirius blamed himself ever since that day. How could he have ever suspected Remus for being the spy? Wasn't Remus one of his best friends? Why hadn't he ever suspected Peter? Yes, he wasn't the one who killed them, but it was his plan that led them to their death, and for that he would always blame himself for James and Lily dying and Harry becoming a orphan. He would never forgive himself for that.

He heard a sound on his cell door. He looked up and saw a guard standing there. The guard said, "Hey Black. Turns out you have a trial today. Merlin only knows why the ministry is having a trial for you. After all, you killed 15 people." Sirius didn't give a reply. His mind currently was focused on what the guard had just said. He was getting a trial? After 10 long, dark years in Azkaban, he was being given a trial? The guard didn't notice this and said, "Come on Black. I haven't got the whole day." Sirius followed the guard who placed the handcuffs on him and took him to the boat on the coast outside the prison walls. He was then taken to the ministry, where his trial was going to be held in the courtroom.

They reached the ministry, where they were greeted by Aurors Alaster Moody and Nymphadora Tonks. Sirius was surprised seeing them there. The last time he had seen Tonks was when she was just 6 years old. Tonks however smiled at him and said, "Wotcher Sirius." Sirius came out of his surprise and was about to say something but Moody interrupted them. In his gruff voice, he said, "Come Black. Time to go and get you out of Azkaban." This confused Sirius. He however followed them and the trio reached the courtroom. Sirius was taken to the witness stand and his handcuffs were removed. Tonks then said to him, "This is your chance. Tell them the truth. Prove your innocence."

The judge looked at Sirius and said, "Sirius Orion Black. It was recently brought to attention of this court that you haven't received a trial before being thrown inside Azkaban. Therefore, you are called in front of the court to tell your versions of the events that occurred on Halloween of 1981." Sirius was given Veritaserum. He then told what happened that day. He told the judge how he convinced James and Lily of the switch in secret keepers. He then told them how he went to find Peter, who hadnt contacted them for a long time. When he reached his home and found it empty, he felt perhaps Peter was the spy they had been searching for. He rushed to Gordic Hallows but found the Potter's house completely destroyed. He found Hagrid, who was taking Harry to his aunt's. He then searched and found Peter in a muggle alley, where he shouted how Sirius betrayed the Potters.

Before Sirius could even do anything, Peter casted the blasting hex and escaped in his animagus form. Sirius was then accused of killing all these people and then sent to Azkaban without a trial. At the end of the story, Sirius became emotional. Letting the young man get his emotions under control, the judge thought over just how much this young man had lost that day and how wrong this young man was done by the wizarding world. After Sirius controlled himself, the judge said, "Mr. Black. The reason you are having a trial today is not only because you weren't given a trial but also because Peter Pettigrew has been found and caught. He has already been tried and sent to Azkaban for life. But his arrest made us look on what charges you were sent to Azkaban, which led to us find that you weren't given a trial. You have suffered for 11 years in Azkaban despite being innocent. You are announced innocent of the charges for which you were sent to Azkaban. You are a free man now. A compensation of 1000 galleons for each year will be given to you. If you wish, you will get your old job as an Auror back as well." Sirius was able to only give a nod. The judge then announced the trial over and everyone began to leave. Tonks went to Sirius and said, "I knew you were innocent you old mutt. Come, let's go to the Aurors training room. You can have a shower there. Merlin, you stink." Sirius laughed at this and followed Tonks.

After taking a very long hot shower and wearing the clothes Tonks had brought for him, Sirius came out and found himself standing in front of Remus and a family of three people. But he wasnt able to think about it as he was tackled by Remus, who gave him a huge hug. Sirius returned the hug with same force. He heard an apology from Remus. Sirius however said to Remus, "Moony, it is me who should say sorry. I suspected you of being the spy. That's why we never told you about the switch. Forgive me for not trusting you." Remus said, "Only if you forgive me for thinking you betrayed James and Lily." Sirius gave Remus another hug. Remus then said, "Sirius, these two people are Henry and Gin Peverell. They were the ones who caught Peter and proved you innocent." Sirius said, "Thank you. It mean a lot to me that you helped me get my freedom, even without knowing me." Sirius at last looked at the kid in front of him. Seeing him reminded him of his best friend. The same messy black hair, that same face. But his eyes, they were Lily's. That same shade of emerald green that only she had.

Sirius knelt in front of Harry. Harry looked at him and said, "Uncle Henry said you are my godfather. And that you were my dad's and uncle Remus's best friend." Sirius nodded. Harry then asked him, "Will you tell me some stories about dad? Uncle Remus told me some but he knows more about mum. Will you tell me about my dad?" Sirius said, "I will tell you all stories I know about James, Harry. That's a promise." Harry gave Sirius a brief hug, which made Sirius tear up a bit. He had failed once as Harry's godfather. He wouldn't fail now and be the best godfather he could be. Henry and Gin meanwhile just shared a look among themselves. That brief look said it all. They had got Sirius free. Henry wrapped his arm around Gin. Their plan only had one thing remaining.

Chapter Text

August 20th, 1992

The Weasleys, Peverell's, Harry, Hermione, Sirius and Remus were in Diagon Alley. They were shopping for the children's school supplies for Hogwarts. They had decided to shop in groups. One group was Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Sirius, Remus, Henry and Gin while the other was Percy, the twins, Molly and Arthur.

The first group was currently in Flourish and Blots. The adults were purchasing the books required for their classes, leaving the kids to look at other books. Hermione went towards the section which contained books on wizarding world history. Ron meanwhile was in the section which contained books in quidditch. Harry and Ginny were looking at books randomly. Both were laughing at the name of some of the books they saw. Some of them were just ridiculous while some of them were weird. They were laughing at another books name when they heard someone say, "Still hanging around the blood traitors Potter. When will you learn that being friends with a rich pureblood who comes from a noble family, like me, is much better than being than hanging with these dirt poor Weasley's and that mudblood Granger?" Harry and Ginny both looked back and saw Draco Malfoy standing there. Harry said, "I would much rather be with them and be friend with them than be around you and your slithery Slytherin friends Malfoy. The Weasley's and Hermione are much better company anyways." Draco's face turned red from anger. He said, "You will pay Potter. You will regret turning my friendship down. You will regret when the dark lord comes back and kills you."

Ginny said, "I think you forgot something Malfoy. Harry here defeated your oh so great dark lord when he was baby. He again defeated him last year. Go bother someone else." Malfoy looked at Ginny and was going to say something to her when he felt a stick on his shoulder. Turning back, he saw his father there. Lucius looked at Harry and said, "Had you been under my care Potter, you would have learnt how to be a proper wizard and what kind of company a proper and respectable wizard keeps around him. But alas" Lucius was interrupted by someone saying, "And what does a proper wizard means Lucius? Last I remember, you were nowhere close to being a proper wizard." Harry and Ginny both felt Sirius's hand on their shoulder. They felt at ease with him there, knowing he would never let anything happen to them.

Lucius looked at Sirius and with a sneer on his face said, "Sirius Black. How has life been treating you outside Azkaban? I heard many went crazy there." Sirius gave him a smirk and said, "Oh I am wonderful Lucius Malfoy. How about you? A little bird told me that Malfoy vault is running low. Need some help?" Lucius looked in shock at Sirius. Not many knew but in the recent times, few of the business that the Malfoys had shares in were underperforming. With the high cost of living of the Malfoys and maintenance of the manor, the money in the Malfoy vault had been slowly reducing. This was one of the major reasons Lucius wanted Potter's guardianship, believing being the guardian of Potter meant acquiring the Potter Vault and its contents.

Lucius however looked back at Sirius and said, "You got wrong information Black. Malfoy vault is full of money. With Draco as Black family's heir we have a lot of extra wealth. Unlike some family I know." He said the last part looking towards Ginny. Sirius again laughed and said, "Draco? Black heir? Who do you think is current Lord Black? Did you honestly believe that I would let Draco get the lordship of Black family Lucius? He never was the heir. It is Harry who is Black heir." The shock and surprise on the faces of Lucius and Draco made them all laugh. Shock turned into anger for Lucius. He always thought Draco would get the Black lordship. Black family holdings made the Malfoy family holding look like mere change. Blacks were that wealthy. They were after all an Ancient and Noble House while the Malfoy's were a Noble house. Being an ancient and noble house meant that the family was very old and was a founding member of the ministry.

Pride and Wealth were the two things Malfoys prized most and above everything else. And Sirius hadnt only attacked both of them, he also took both of them away from the Malfoy's. In his anger, he didn't think and swung his fist at Sirius. As if expecting this, Sirius ducked and punched Lucius back, making him fall on the floor. Before Lucius could take his wand out and curse Sirius, he heard someone say, "I wouldn't do that if I was you Lucius Malfoy. Last time someone tried to challenge us, it didn't end up being good for him." He looked up and saw both Sirius and Gin pointing their wand at him. He got up, gave each of them a sneer and left with Draco following him. Before leaving, he shoved Ginny's cauldron towards her, slipping something inside it. He had done what he had come for. No one insulted a Malfoy and got away with it. All of them will rue the day they went against the Malfoy's.

Gin and Sirius waited for the Malfoys to leave before they lowered their wands. Gin looked at Harry and Ginny and said, "You guys want anything else?" Harry and Ginny shook their head. The four of them went and joined Henry and Remus, who were with Ron and Hermione and were paying for the books brought by the group. With their shopping done, it was time to go to Madam Malkin's to buy robes. They meet with Molly, Arthur, Percy and the twins there. Molly pointed to the second hand robes shop and said, "Come kids, we need to go this way." Henry however said, "Molly, Arthur, can I talk to you for a minute?" Henry took them aside and quietly told them, "You know about the ministry ball that is held every Christmas, right?" Arthur said, "We know Henry. We are invited but we have never attended it. Why? What about it?" Henry said, "Sirius and I are members of the Wizengamot. We are required to attend the ball. Harry would also need to attend the ball, with us being his guardians and him being the boy-who-lived. Gin, Sirius, Remus and I agree that we would feel a lot more comfortable if you and your family was also there." Molly however said, "But why tell us this now?" Henry said, "Molly, you need to buy dress robes for the kids and yourselves. We both know how costly new dress robes cost. If me and Gin buy the school robes for the kids, you could save some money and buy the kids new robes. Please let us pay. I know you won't allow it but please imagine how happy the kids will be if you brought new dress robes for them for Christmas. Please think about it." Molly wanted to argue but Arthur stopped her.

He said, "Just give us a moment Henry" Arthur took Molly aside and said, "Molly, I know you want to disagree. I too want to disagree, for Henry and Gin have already done a lot for us. But just think, how happy will our kids would be if we saved some money and buy them new robes. They never asked us anything and have always been happy with whatever we could provide them with. Let's do this thing for them." Molly thought for a moment and said, "Only for the kids Arthur. I don't want us to look as if we are using the Peverell's for their wealth." Arthur gave her a nod and said, "I agree Molly. We agree with Henry for now. But we will repay them when we can." They then went to Henry. Arthur said, "We will agree this one time for our children sake Henry. Only for them. We don't want to make anyone think that we are using you for your money. While we never had much, we have always prided ourselves on being happy and content with what we had." Henry said, "Thank you. Thank you for agreeing. I promise, neither I or Gin will ask this of you again." They went back to others. To the Weasley kids surprise, they were brought new school robes. All in all, it turned out to be a great day for all of them.

September 1st,1992

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were sitting together in the Great Hall of Hogwarts, watching the sorting ceremony get finish. Harry's attention however wasn't on the sorting ceremony. His mind was reliving the summer he had. It was the best summer he had in his life till now. He remembered how when boarding the Hogwarts express, he for the first time felt sad that his summer was over. Throughout the summer Sirius would tell him stories about James, who was like a brother to Sirius. Remus meanwhile would tell Harry about Lily, who was like a sister to Remus. Their stories would be funny at times while sometimes very emotional. Harry felt like he was part of an actual family with Henry, Gin, Sirius and Remus. An actual family where he was loved and cared for, not a family where he was just a member for name's sake and instead was a slave. He would miss them very much. But he would also enjoy his time at Hogwarts, his first home.

He looked at his 3 friends. Ron and Hermione were his first friends. His best friends, who helped him discover the Philosopher Stone and prevented Voldemort from getting it. Then there was Ginny. Within a month, Ginny had become another best friend for him. Some of the best moments of his summer were playing pranks on the twins with her and Ron and playing quidditch with all of them. In very short time, she and him had become very good friends. Surprisingly, Ron didn't have any problem with this, something that Harry was very about for he didn't want to lose his first friend.

His mussing were stopped when he heard Dumbledore say, "After such a long ceremony, I am sure all of you are hungry. Enjoy the wonderful feast prepared for all of you." He clapped his hands and food appeared on the plates. Everyone started placing food on their plates and the feast began. After everyone had their fill and had their stomach full of food, Dumbledore again clapped his hands, vanishing all the remaining food away. He then started speaking, "I hope all of you enjoyed the wonderful feast prepared by our wonderful elves. With that, welcome to Hogwarts. Before sending all of you to your dorms for a well-deserved rest, there are a few announcements to be made. First, the forbidden forest as the name suggests is forbidden. I would like to remind this particularly to few students." His eyes looked at the twins when he said this. "Another thing is that many items have been added to the banned items list, with the list having 527 items in it. If anyone wants to see the full list, please see Mr. Filch, our caretaker."

"As you all can see, we have a new teacher among us today. He is an old student of Hogwarts and is one of your new professors. Professor Remus Lupin is your new professor for History of Magic." Remus stood up. An applause was given by the students, who were happy that finally a real teacher would teach them History. They hoped Remus would teach something other than Goblin Wars. Dumbledore let the applause die and then continued, "Last announcement before you can go. The Defense Against Dark Arts class has been renamed to Defense class. You will have not one, but 2 new teachers for this class. Your new Defense professors are Henry and Guinevere Peverell." When Dumbledore said that, Henry and Gin opened the door of Great Hall and came inside the hall.

Another loud cheer came from the students. The Peverell's had become very famous after Henry's duel with Nott Sr. Harry was meanwhile in shock. He had no idea that they were his professors. Henry saw this and pointed this to Gin, who saw it and laughed. She gave a small smirk to Harry, who smiled back at her. He had to hand it to them. He has no idea about this. He, however, had no doubt that they would be great as they knew a lot about DADA. Dumbledore said, "They are not only your new Defense professors, they are also the new heads of Gryffindor. Professor McGonagall has stepped down as head of Gryffindor because she felt overworked with her position as transfiguration professor, deputy headmistress and head of Gryffindor house. Please give a round of applause for Professor McGonagall." Huge applause came from the students, in particular the Gryffindors.

"That is it for today. Prefects, guide the first years to their dorms. Have a well reserved rest students." The prefects called the first test to take them to their dorms. Henry and Gin meanwhile went to Professor Dumbledore. Henry said, "Professor, why us? Why not Remus? After all Remus was a Gryffindor." Dumbledore said, "Henry, we did ask Remus, who declined due to his condition. You 2 were the only other choice. Minerva felt either of you would be good. I felt having 2 instead of one would be good not only for you but also for the students." Henry and Gin nodded and went to the Gryffindor Tower to meet the students. They wanted to ask them if they had any problem or issues. They had to also talk about the quidditch team.

Henry and Gin entered the tower and found several students still in the common room. They all stood when they saw then. Henry conjured 2 chairs for him and Gin and said to the students, "Can you call all students except the first years to the common room?" After few minutes, all students except first years were present in the common room. Henry then said, "All of you may already know us. But for those who don't, I am Henry Peverell while this is my wife Guinevere Peverell. You can call us Professor Henry and Professor Guinevere. We wanted to tell you that you can come to and tell us about any problem any time. Don't be afraid to ask us anything. Ok?" Everyone either gave a nod or said yes. Henry then said, "Can the prefects come forward?"

The six prefects came forward. Gin said, "You all probably remembered how overwhelmed we all were when we were in first year with how big this castle is and not knowing where to go. You all need to help the first years get to know where the classes are and the way to them. Make a schedule among themselves. Just help them this week. After that if they can't remember, tell us. We will help them. Agreed?" The prefects said, "Agreed Professor." Gin then said, "Before we leave, is there any problem you want to tell us about?" Nearly every student complained about Snape's teaching. His bias towards Slytherins, lack of explanation about the potion being taught, his attitude and behavior towards them and how he took away points for the silliest and most idiotic reasons.

Gin and Henry looked at each other. This was very bad. This world's Snape was apparently much worse than their world's Snape. After thinking for a while, Henry said, "Ok. Here's what we will do. All of you note down all the points you have lost in potions along with the reason you lost them. Do the same for detentions. 2 weeks from now, we will see how many points we lost and why. If the points lost and the reason for taking them seems wrong, we will bring it to Professor Dumbledore's attention and take suitable action. Is this agreeable to everyone?" All students said yes. They looked hopeful that maybe, Potions could become better. That some action would be taken against Snape, for he was a major reason why potions was the least favourite for many.

Chapter Text

September 15th, 1992

2 weeks had quickly gone by at Hogwarts. For Harry, all his classes except for Potions were great. History was now one of his favourite classes. It had also become the favourite class of many other students as well. A large part of this was due to the Remus's teaching style. His classes were always lively and fun. He made history interesting for them. Unlike Binns, who used to only teach them the Goblin Wars and made all of them sleepy, Remus instead taught them about the history of the wizarding world. How Hogwarts came to be, how the ministry came to be and lot more. Harry never thought that learning history could be so much fun. But Remus made it fun. He was now one of the most liked professors at Hogwarts.

In contrast, Potions has become much worse. Snape had never been fair to Harry, taking away points for the weirdest reasons, ruining his potions or taunting and ridiculing him. However, this behavior has reached new heights now. Remus and Sirius had told him how James and Snape had been enemies at school. Both used to hate the other with a passion. This explained Snape's hated towards Harry, for Harry looked nearly identical to James. Harry however did what Henry and Gin had told him and other Gryffindors to do. He noted all the points he had lost and Snape's taunt towards him. He hoped that Henry and Gin would be able to do something about Snape and his teaching. For it was getting worse with every passing day.

DADA was the other favourite class of Harry. He still remembered the first class. It was with the Slytherins. In their first class with the second years, Henry and Gin had taught the students the disarming hex, Expelliarmus. Before that, they had given them a brief summary of what they would learn. It was Henry who had told them this. "Before beginning the class, we are going to tell you what you all will learn this year. This year, you will learn some simple and basic jinxes and hexes. You will also learn about defense against some magical creatures. You will learn also learn this in your third year. However, the coming 2 weeks, we will revise all the spells all of you have learned in your first year."

Gin then continued, "One last thing before we begin the class. We believe more in practical than theory. Therefore, you all will learn the spells by practicing's them. We will randomly call you to do a spell. You will have to do the spell we will ask you to do. Do you all understand?" Everyone nodded. They were excited to learn some hexes Gin and Henry then taught them how to cast the disarming hex. At the end of the class, nearly every student was able to cast the spell. Everyone, even the Slytherins, agreed that it was a great class. Every student at Hogwarts felt happy that finally they had gotten a great History of Magic professor and not one, but 2 brilliant Defense professors. The Peverell's and Remus had become favourite of many after few classes.

Harry entered the Gryffindor Tower with his friends, coming back from Hagrid's hut. The four of them had gone to visit Hagrid as he had invited them for a cup of tea. When they came inside the common room, they found Henry and Gin sitting with many students sitting in front of them. In Henry's hand was a long list which contained all the points Gryffindor had gained and lost. Gin had another list which had the points Snape had deducted from the Gryffindor students, which the students had noted. Harry went towards and handed his own list. Gin took it from him and looked at it. Her eyebrows arched up and she gave the list to Henry. She looked at Harry and said, "He took that many points within 2 weeks, for those reasons?"

Harry nodded and said, "Professor, he has taken points from not only me but also from Ron, Hermione and many others as well. He once took points from Hermione for answering a question. He said that Hermione's answer was straight from books and took 5 points away." Gin looked at Henry and quietly said to him, "This is worse than what we imagined Henry." Henry nodded and said to the students, "We will take this to Headmaster Dumbledore. Taking points away for the reasons you all have written is unjust to all of you. We will make sure some action is taken against Professor Snape." Henry and Gin stood and went out from there Tower, going towards Dumbledore's office to inform him about this problem.

While going there, Gin said to Henry, "Henry, in a total of 50 points lost, Snape alone has taken 35. Harry got 15 points taken. Once, because Malfoy ruined Harry's potion, Snape gave Harry a zero. When Harry tried to protest, he took 5 points for being disrespectful. This is ridiculous." Henry said, "I know Gin. Some students were complaining how many Slytherins who perform badly or are failing in other classes get good marks in Potions. Many 5th years actually don't want to take Potion as NEWTs subject because of Snape." They both reached the gargoyle guarding the staircase. Henry and Gin said the password to the gargoyle. The staircase came and they climbed up. They reached the door and heard Dumbledore say, "Come in".

Henry and Gin were currently sitting in Dumbledore's office, waiting for Minerva to come. They had told Dumbledore that her presence was necessary. After few minutes, Minerva came to Dumbledore's office. After she had come in and sat on one of the chairs, Henry began speaking, "Professors, many Gryffindors have been complaining about Potions class. They have complained about Professor Snape's teaching, his bias towards Slytherins and his attitude towards students of other houses. Many of them have even said that they don't want to take Potions as a NEWT subject and are taking Potions till now because it is a compulsory subject. They want changes in Potions and the Professor teaching it."

Gin then said, "Another thing we want to discuss is professor Snape's attitude towards Harry. Ron and Hermione have both told us how professor Snape taunts Harry in the class and takes away points for even smallest things. This needs to change Professor. If this continues, a time will come when no student other than those in Slytherins will take NEWT Potions." Henry handed Minerva the list that the students had given him while he gave the list made by Harry to Dumbledore. Both looked at the list. Minerva looked at Dumbledore and said, "Some action must be taken Albus. This is simply unacceptable. Taking away points for giving a textbook answer, berating students and giving marks to Slytherins who are bad at the subject is unacceptable and inexcusable. I will take this to the Board of Governors if you do nothing." Albus thought for a moment before calling Snape into his office. Snape came few minutes later. Seeing McGonagall and the Peverell's there, he was confused why he was called. He said to Dumbledore, "You called Headmaster." Albus said to him, "Severus, complaints have been made by students on your teaching methods. Many don't want to study Potions. Complaints have also made on your bias towards your own House." Snape was getting angry. He was supposed to change his standards to appease few students. Students who couldn't even brew a simple potion. The presence of the Peverell's meant it was the Gryffindors who had complained. Potter must have complained as well.

Snape said, "I see Potter has grown more arrogant. It must have been him who made other complain as well, thinking with his guardians being his house head may be beneficial for him. Potter is one of the worst students in my class. I will not change my standards just to appease him and his fragile ego. He is just like his father, self-centered, arrogant" Snape was cut off by Gin. Her wand was on his throat. When she spoke, her voice was full of fury. "One more word against Harry and you would wish you never came across me Severus Snape. If we wished, you would be out of this school by today. Did you forget that Sirius is in the Board of Governors? He could easily petition that you be removed from your post. I think Mrs. Longbottom, Mr. Patil and other governors would support his petition, considering your behavior towards their children. You better stop this pretty behavior of yours towards Harry. You will not like the result otherwise. If you have any doubts, remember the duel Henry had with Nott Sr. You will be on the other end this time, only I won't be as merciful as Henry." Henry gently grabbed Gin's arm and pulled her back towards him. Gin went towards Henry and sat down on her chair, trying to calm herself down.

Snape was shocked. Never before had he seen someone draw their wand this fast. He was also shocked by the sheer anger in Gin's voice and the power in her voice. Only one woman had this effect on him, and she too was very similar to Gin. He looked at Dumbledore and Minerva. Dumbledore was intently looking at this scene while Minerva remained as stoic as ever. But internally, Minerva was impressed with Gin and was happy with her decision to make her be the head of Gryffindor. She would take good care of her cubs. Dumbledore looked at Snape and said, "You are in probation Severus. You will be in probation until you change your teaching style. Otherwise I will have to take severe and drastic action against you." Snape said nothing. He just left the office. Henry and Gin thanked the two of them and left the office as well. They went to their office.

The next few weeks went by fast for everyone. Snape had started ignoring Harry and tried to reduce his disdain towards the Gryffindors, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. As a result of this, students started performing better in Potions. To Snape's dismay, Harry started improving in Potions. With him no longer needing to block Snape's taunts and insults, Harry could focus on the potion he was making. Soon, Halloween was near. For Henry and Gin, that year's Halloween was a very important day. It was on that day when Ginny opened the chamber of secrets. If a message appeared, it would confirm the existence of horcruxes. But there was another reason that they were waiting for Halloween. Henry, Gin and Remus had a surprise for the students.

Halloween, 31st October, 1992

Henry, Gin and Remus had planned a surprise for all the students. While wizards and witches knew about Halloween, it wasn't celebrated like how the muggles did. It was just a holiday for many. Henry, Gin and Remus were going to change that. During their 6th year, the marauders had once applied a charm on the door of the great hall that turned all the clothes of Slytherins into pink, Ravenclaws into blue, Hufflepuffs into yellow and Gryffindors into red. They had modified the charm to change everyone's appearance randomly. They had also applied the charm on the seats of the head table. The charm would be change appearance after 5 minutes. They applied the charm on the door. They now had to wait till the feast.

The feast began after an hour. All the students came inside. Dumbledore gave a short speech and opened the feast. The students had just started eating when a huge cloud of smoke came from each of them. When it cleared, they saw that everyone's appearance had changed. Some had become Dracula. Some had become Vampire. Some had become Frankenstein. Some girls became Cruella while some became zombies. Everyone looked at one another for few minutes. Suddenly, someone let a small chuckle out and soon everyone was laughing. After the laughter died down, the students looked at the different appearances. Even the teachers were looking at the different costumes they all were wearing. Henry, Gin and Remus shared a smile among themselves. The plan had worked perfectly.

Another thing however was running in Henry and Gin's mind. Harry and Ginny were sitting along with Ron, Hermione, Neville and Luna. Harry was a Dracula while Ginny was a vampire. They were laughing at something. No message had appeared either. It was on Halloween of 1992 when the message appeared that the chamber of secret had been opened by the heir of Slytherin. But not in this world. Did this mean that there was no diary in this world? If there was no diary, did it mean that Voldemort didn't make Horcruxes? But if Voldemort hadn't made horcruxes, how was he still in spirit form? Did he just make one horcrux instead of 7? There were so many unanswered questions. They decided to think about it later and to enjoy the feast.

Ginny was enjoying her time at Hogwarts. It was everything her brothers had told her and then some more. She had made wonderful friends in Harry, Hermione and Neville. She was already friends with Luna. While she enjoyed Hogwarts, she had most fun when she was with her friends. Especially Harry. After her talk with Gin and befriending Harry, she realized just how different he was from the Harry she had read about in the story books. The stories made him out to be a larger-than-life person. But Harry wasn't like that. He was a shy and reclusive boy who loved quidditch as much as she did, who was addicted to treacle tart and had a sarcastic sense of humor just like she did. And Ginny liked this Harry way better than the one from the stories.

Harry too was enjoying his second year at Hogwarts. It was unlike his first year where one thing or another seemed to happen to him. But this year, nothing like that had happened. It was a quiet year. His year was going like it would for any other student and Harry liked that.

The feast was over after an hour. After another 5 minutes, the charm wore off and everyone changed back to their original appearance. The students went back to their dorms while the professors went to their rooms. It was wonderful Halloween at Hogwarts that year.

Harry was in his bed, about to go to sleep when he heard a pop sound. Someone had come inside the second-year boys dorm of Gryffindor. Harry took his wand out and slowly peeked from his curtains. He looked towards the source of sound and found a house elf standing there. Harry opened the curtain fully. The elf saw Harry and said in a high pitch voice, "Harry Potter sir. It is such an honor to meet you. Dobby has wanted to meet you for so long sir." Harry asked the elf, "Um, Dobby. Why do you want to meet me?" Dobby said, "Dobby wanted to save you sir. A terrible thing is going to happen at Hogwarts. Harry Potter must be kept safe. If you came to Hogwarts, you would have in mortal danger sir. But Dobby failed. He is a bad elf." He started pulling his ears. Harry said, "Dobby, you are not a bad elf. Please stop pulling your ears and harming yourself. What trouble is going to come to Hogwarts?"

Dobby said, "Dobby cannot say what will happen without masters permission. But what Dobby can say is that he heard master say "When will the girl use the bloody diary? Why isn't she using it?" That is all Dobby can say sir." Harry said, "Don't worry Dobby. The professors will keep me and the students safe. I will tell them tomorrow. Thank you for telling me this Dobby." Dobby said, "Harry Potter is a great wizard to thank a lowly house elf like Dobby." He then vanished, leaving Harry to think over what had just happened.

Ginny was on her bed, writing in her diary. She had picked up the habit last year, when she was in the Burrow with only her mother for company. It was a good way to pass time. The habit had reduced now since she had so many friends to talk with. She still however wrote once or twice in a week. She was writing her diary when she noticed that her book was nearly completed. Rummaging through her books, she found a black worn-out book with the name TM Riddle written on it. She looked inside and found that all the pages were empty. She thought that perhaps this book was never used. She dropped a drop of ink and was about to write when she saw the ink get absorbed. She then saw a message appear. "Who are you and how did you come by my diary?" This surprised Ginny and piqued her interest. But she was also hesitant. Her dad had always said to never trust anything whose brain you couldn't see.

Hesitantly, she wrote, "Are you TM Riddle?" She again saw the ink get absorbed and another message came. "I am Tom Riddle. Who are you?" She closed the book, threw it inside her truck and locked the truck. Her father had always told her about the many muggle things he had found which wizards had added magic to and had changed. He had told her about the different types of magical books he had found. One that the reader couldn't stop reading, one that bit anyone other than the owner who tried to read it. But he had never told her about a book that can talk back. She decided to show it to her friends. Hermione would definitely know if magic like this was possible. After all she knew the most about magic among them. She then went to sleep.

Chapter Text

1st November, 1992

Ginny was sitting in the common room, waiting for her friends to come from their dorms. The diary was in her hand. She didn't knew why, but she was feeling compelled to write in it. Somehow, she was ignoring it. She saw Harry, Ron and Neville coming down from their dorms. She waved to them and told them to come near. After a minute, Hermione and Luna came down and joined them. Ginny said, "Look at this. I found this among my books yesterday." She then opened the diary and dropped a drop of ink. Everyone saw the ink get absorbed. A message appeared, "Why didn't you respond yesterday? Who are you?" Everyone was shocked at this. Suddenly, Harry remembered Dobby's warning yesterday. This must be what he had warned him about.

He said, "Yesterday, a house elf named Dobby came to me. He said his master had given a girl a dark and magical diary and was waiting for her to use it. This has to be it. We have to show this to uncle Henry and aunt Gin." Everyone agreed and they quickly went to their quarters. Harry knocked the door. Henry opened the door and let them in. He saw the tense and worried look on their face and said, "What has got all of you this tense?" Harry said, "Uncle Henry, Aunt Gin, you got to hear this. Ginny found this among her books." Ginny and Harry then told them what happened yesterday night. Henry looked at Gin. Gin gave Henry a brief nod. Henry took a quill and wrote in the diary, "Are you Lord Voldemort?" The reply made the kids gasp.

The reply was, "How do you know this? Who told you this? Who are you?" Henry said, "This diary is one of the many dark objects that Voldemort had made. Tom Riddle is his real name. We will destroy it after dinner. Come at 9 pm today." The kids nodded and were about to leave when Gin said, "Harry. Call Dobby once." Harry was confused by this request but called Dobby as Gin had asked him to. To his surprise, Dobby came and said, "The great Harry Potter called for Dobby. How can Dobby help Harry Potter?" Gin said, "Dobby, would you like to work for Henry and me?" Dobby looked at Gin and said, "Dobby would like working for you Miss. But master would not give Dobby clothes to free Dobby." Gin thought for a moment. She got an idea.

She said, "Dobby, if you dropped a sock on your masters head and caught it when he threw it, would you become free?" Dobby's eyes grew huge at this while Henry got a grin on his face. Trust Gin to come up with such ideas. Dobby vanished and within few minutes, came back and said, "Dobby is now a free elf Miss. You are a great person to help Dobby. Dobby will happily work for you." Henry and Gin bonded with Dobby. Gin then said, "Dobby, why don't you go and help in the kitchen?" Dobby nodded and vanished. The kids left as well to attend their classes. After they had left, Gin looked at Henry and said, "This explains why there was no message on Halloween. Ginny hadn't used the diary before last night. She didn't need to use it before."

Henry nodded and said, "We should go to the chamber. We will need the basilisk venom and the fang." Ginny agreed. Their first and second lesson were free that day. Since Henry was no longer a parselmouth, they went to the Room of Requirement. They asked for a passage to the Chamber of Secrets. A passage appeared and through it, they went inside the Chamber of Secret. To their surprise, the basilisk was already in the chamber, sleeping. In their world, Voldemort had called the basilisk, which then came inside. The basilisk seemed to sense their presence. It was about to open its eyes when Gin conjured a rooster and made it crow. The basilisk eyes turned glassy and it fell down dead. The rooster's crow had killed the basilisk.

Seeing the basilisk dead, Gin turned towards Henry and tightly hugged him. Tears were flowing from her eyes. Finally, she could move on from the chamber of secrets. A small part of her had always stayed in the chamber, reminding her of her foolishness, her possession by Tom. She could finally leave the chamber behind. Henry gently ran his hand on back, comforting Gin. He then took her face in his hands and locked at her. He wiped her tears and softly said, "Its over Gin. You killed the basilisk. The basilisk which took away your childhood and innocence is dead. Ginny would never lose them like you did. You made sure of that love." He then gave a gentle and soft kiss to her. Gin returned it, expressing how much she loved him through the kiss. Gin pulled back and said I love you to Henry. Henry gave her a smile back and said it back to Gin. They took few vials of venom and a fang. They then went back to their quarters. They took a shower and then went to take their class for the day.

After the dinner, the kids went to Henry and Gin's quarters. Henry let them inside. He conjured a table and placed the diary on it. He gave Ginny a vial, which contained a small amount of the basilisk venom they had collected. He said, "Ginny, what you are holding is one of the most powerful venoms in the world. Pour it over the diary carefully." Ginny carefully poured the venom on the diary. When the venom touched the diary, black mist came out of the diary. A scream of pain was heard from the mist. The mist disappeared. The diary's front was destroyed. Henry vanished the table and placed the remnants of the diary inside a glass box. He said to the kids, "The mist you saw is the dark magic in the diary. The venom destroyed it. You all need to keep this quiet. No one should know what we just did." The kids nodded and left, except Harry, who stayed. He saw that his usually lively and mischievous aunt was very quiet. He asked, "Aunt Gin, why are you so quiet? Did something happen to you?" Henry was about to say something but Gin said, "I will tell it Henry." Gin looked at Harry and said, "When I was Ginny's age, someone gave me a similar diary. I didn't have friends then and felt very lonely. I didn't think and started writing in the diary. I felt that the diary was my friend. It made me feel less lonely. Slowly, the diary began possessing me and taking control over me. It made me do many bad things without me knowing that I did them. I tried to resist it but couldn't. Eventually, your uncle rescued me by destroying the diary. He became my friend after that. Seeing something so similar to it made me remember that." Harry gave her a hug and said, "You are so strong to be able to move on from something like that Aunt Gin. And so brave to face it again. You are one of the strongest and bravest people I know." Then surprising both Henry and Gin, he kissed Gin's cheek. Gin tightly hugged him and kissed his cheek. A huge smile was on her face. Henry too had a smile, feeling proud of his nephew.

Christmas, 25th December, 1992

The hall room of the Ministry of Magic was decorated for the annual Christmas Ball. Round tables for 5 people were placed around one end of the hall while a stage was made on the other end. A bar was located near the tables. The middle of the hall was where the ball would be held.

Currently, the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Oswald Fudge was giving a speech. He was supposedly speaking about some accomplishments the ministry had made this year. Harry's attention wasn't on the speech. His attention was on the upcoming ball. He would have to dance in front of all these people. He had never danced in front of so many people before. He learned dancing just days ago. He was very nervous. He felt someone grab his shoulder.

Harry turned and saw Henry there. Henry said, "Why so nervous Harry?" Harry said, "What if I mess up Uncle Henry? I have never danced in front of so many people before. I learned dancing properly just a week back. I am nervous." Henry said, "Let me tell you a story Harry. When I was 14, a ball was held in our school since a famous competition was being held in our school. I was one of the competitors and had to open the ball. I didn't even know how to dance. I was so bad that I stepped on my date's feet 5 times. I hated dancing." Harry looked at Henry in surprise and said, "But you like dancing with Aunt Gin. You both are great dancers." Henry gave him a small smile and said, "Gin taught me how to dance Harry. I enjoy dancing with her. And you too are a good dancer. You danced well with Ginny during the lessons. Just think of this as another lesson." Ginny was Harry's dance partner when Gin and Henry were teaching him dancing. It was around a week before the break when Henry and Gin told him that he had to dance during the Christmas Ball at the Ministry. Harry at once told them how he didn't know how to dance. Henry had said, "Don't worry Harry. We will teach you. Your aunt is a very good dancer." Harry had then asked, "But who will I dance with?" Gin had said, "Harry, would you like to dance with Ginny? The Weasley's would be there at the Ball." Harry nodded and said, "I will go and ask her if she knows about the ball and whether she would be my dance partner."

Harry had then ran towards the Gryffindor Tower. Inside the common room, he found Ginny sitting with Hermione and Luna. Harry went towards them. He looked at Ginny and said, "Um, Ginny? Can you come aside? There is something I want to ask you." Ginny was a bit surprised by Harry's behavior. She didn't know why he was so nervous. She nonetheless went with him. Harry then asked her, "Do you know about the Ball that would be held in the Ministry during Christmas?" Ginny said, "I know about it. Dad told us about it. But we never went to it. Why?" Harry said, "Uncle Henry told me today that we, along with Sirius, Remus and your family, were going to attend the ball this year. He told me that I had to dance. I have to learn how to dance. I also need to a dance partner for the ball. I would be a lot more comfortable and less nervous if my partner was someone who I knew and who knew me. You are one of my best friends. Will you be my dance partner Ginny?" Ginny was shocked. Harry had called her one of his best friends. He had asked her to be his dance partner. A blush started appearing on her cheek. She tried to control it but suddenly, a mischievous thought entered her mind. She gave him a smirk and said, "Sure Harry. It would be great being your dance partner. But I want to dance for more than one song with my partner. You up for that?" Harry happily agreed and profusely thanked her. Ginny laughed at his antics. Harry left to tell this to Henry and Gin.

After Harry had left, Ginny went back to the girls with a huge smile in her face. She told the girls what happened. She was over the moon that Harry had asked her. She was very happy.

Throughout the previous week, Harry learned and practiced dancing with Ginny with the help of Henry and Gin. He had stepped on her toes few times. He apologized every time he did that. Ginny however didn't suffer from much pain or bruised toes as Gin had applied few charms on her feet to prevent that. Harry slowly got better at dancing and by the end, he started enjoying dancing with Ginny. Harry's attention then shifted. He looked at his friends. He was sitting with Ginny and the Weasley brothers. The adults were sitting on the table beside them. All of them were wearing new dress robes. Arthur had received a raise in income and with the money saved this summer, Arthur and Molly brought new robes for their kids as a Christmas present. All of them had the crest of Weasley clan on their robes. Ron had worn orange color robes. It was similar to the Chudley Cannon's orange, Ron's favourite quidditch team's jersey color. The twins were wearing identical gold color robes. The twins were undoubtedly flaunting their house pride. Molly had apparently warned them that no pranks were to be played during the ball. Percy had worn a silver color robe. The other two Weasley brothers, Bill and Charlie had also come to celebrate Christmas with their family.

Ginny had worn blue dress robe. Her hair appeared a bit darker than usual and was tied in an elegant ponytail. The dress and her hair complimented each other. She looked very pretty and cute. Harry said, "Wow Ginny, you look very pretty." A small blush came on her cheeks. Ginny said, "Thank you Harry. You too look very good." Harry blushed as well. The twins had observed this exchange and were not going to let this opportunity to go to waste. Fred said, "Did you hear this George? Harry thinks our dear sister is pretty and cute." George looked at his twin and said, "Yeah Fred. And our dear sister finds him handsome as well. What do you think Fred?" Fred and George continued teasing Harry and Ginny, making them blush.

By the end, both Harry and Ginny were blushing like a tomato. Even Ron joined the twins in their teasing. Everyone were either laughing or trying to control their laughter. Molly eventually told the twins to stop their teasing. It was around that time when Fudge had begun his speech.

Fudge speech was finally over and he opened the feast. The feast was just like the feast held in Hogwarts during Halloween and Christmas. After everyone had eaten their fill, Fudge said, "The Ministry's annual Christmas Ball starts now. Enjoy the night." He then took his wife's hand and went to the dance floor to start the ball. The ball had begun and with that, Harry's nervousness returned. Time to face the music.

The Ball was going to open with a formal dance. Music began playing in the hall. Harry saw Henry, Sirius, Remus and Arthur stand up and offer their hands towards their respective dates. As it was a formal dance, they formally asked their dates to a dance. Harry stood up. He looked at Ginny and held his hand out to her, asking her, "Up for a dance Ginny?" Ginny could see the nervousness in Harry. Deciding to distract him, she gave him an impish smile and said, "Of course. You after all owe me a couple of dances Mr. Potter. Think you can keep up with me?" Ginny's reply made Harry chuckle and he said, "I will try Miss Weasley." She took his hand and they went to the place where their family and friends were dancing. They started dancing as well.

Harry started the dance slightly nervous. He was afraid that he would either mess up or step on Ginny's toes, like he had when he was learning how to dance. The nervousness was visible in his dance. But after one dance, and constant reassurance and support from Ginny, his nervousness slowly disappeared. He even started enjoying dancing. He and Ginny changed partners after few songs. Harry danced with Gin, Molly and Tonks while Ginny danced with her brothers, Arthur and Henry. After they had danced with others, they partnered up again. The last song was a ballroom dance. Harry and Ginny enjoyed that dance the most. Harry even gave Ginny a twirl at the end. After the song had ended, Harry asked, "You satisfied, Miss Weasley?"

Ginny gave him a smile and said, "I enjoyed a lot Harry. You were a wonderful dance partner." Then surprising everyone present there, she kissed him on the cheek. Harry's jaw dropped when Ginny kissed his cheek. Ginny gave him a grin and closed his mouth. She then went towards her family. Ron was as shocked as Harry. The twins were having gleeful expression on their face. Percy looked like he disapproved what Ginny had done. Molly and Arthur were smiling, trying to control their laughter. Henry and Gin on the other hand were outright laughing. Sirius and Remus were meanwhile grinning at each other. This was perfect teasing material. Harry's reaction was exactly the same expression James had when Lily had kissed him for the first time.

And the thing that made it even better was that Lily was a redhead just like Ginny was. Oh this was a gold mine to Sirius and Remus.

Throughout the remaining year, Harry would endure countless amount of teasing from Sirius and Remus. Even Henry and Gin joined them sometimes. But through this teasing, he learned a lot about his parents. He also came to know about the Potter Curse.

The rest of the year passed by Harry and his friends. They all had a wonderful year in Hogwarts. For Ginny and Luna, their first year at Hogwarts was everything they had expected and then some more. Harry, Ron and Hermione meanwhile were happy that they got a normal, quiet year at Hogwarts.

After all the drama they had faced last year, they were very happy that this year had none of that. Except for the diary, which Henry and Gin handled. This was a great year at Hogwarts for them.

Henry and Gin meanwhile were thinking on what to do next. The existence of diary meant that the horcruxes existed in this world as well. But how many did he make? Were they the same things? Hidden in the same locations as they were in their world? There were so many things that could change. While the major events had remained the same, there were many things that were either inherently different or were made different by Henry and Gin's interference. They needed to know what was different in this world Tom's life to make plans.

Chapter Text

Author's Notes
One thing someone pointed out in comments that Sirius and Remus teasing Harry for either being with Ginny or for anything else, especially considering his upbringing with Dursley's, didn't not feel right or was too much. So i want to clarify here that by teasing, i mean the kind of friendly ribbing one does with friends and other loved ones, where there is no malice or ill intent behind the teasing. It is just casual teasing and nothing else. Just putting it out and I hope that clarifies that point.
With that out of the way, here is the next chapter.

June 1st, 1993

Henry and Gin were sitting in their living room, waiting for Dumbledore, Sirius and Remus to come. After thinking a lot, they had decided to let the three of them in on their plan and tell them the truth. So they had asked the three of them to come today. Harry was at the Burrow, making it a perfect opportunity. Henry and Gin were about to call the three to check if they were coming when Sirius and Remus came. Dumbledore came after few minutes. After giving tea and some biscuits to them, Gin said, "Thank you for coming. There is something important that Henry and I want to tell to the three of you." Sirius and Remus looked curious as to what Henry and Gin wanted to tell them. Dumbledore meanwhile gave his full attention to Henry and Gin.

Henry said, "When Gin and I met the three of you for the first time, we said that we were from Easter Europe. That a dark wizard has killed our family. But that wasn't the truth. The truth is, we are not from this world." Sirius and Remus looked gob smacked while Dumbledore looked thoughtful. He said, "I always suspected this. You both know a lot of things that you have no possible way of knowing. Like the blood protections on Privet Drive and Sirius being innocent. But I never said anything because you never gave any reason to suspect you of any evil. How did you do it?" Gin and Henry looked at Dumbledore, surprise visible on their faces. Dumbledore had his signature twinkle in his eyes and motioned them to continue their story.

Henry then said, "As I said, we are not from this world. In the world that we came from, I was Harry Potter while Gin was Ginny Weasley. The Dark Wizard that killed our family was Voldemort of that world. We had defeated him and won the war in the end. But the cost had been very high for us. We lost everyone in that war. All the Weasleys, Hermione, Remus, Tonks, Neville and many others died in the final battle. Luna and her father were tortured and then killed by the death eaters. Sirius and Dumbledore had died before the final battle. We both survived, but everyone we cared fir and loved had died. Our lives became hollow. It was two years before we got the idea to combine the 3 Deathly Hallows to get a favor from Death. He gave us this chance"

Gin then said, "Once we came into this world, we got the Peverell name as the Potters are descendants from the Peverell's. After that, we met Harry and became close to him. What happened after that is probably known to all of you." Sirius, Remus and Dumbledore nodded. Henry and Gin then explained the differences they had made in this world while also telling them what happened in their world. At the end, Sirius, Remus and Dumbledore were unsurprisingly shocked. They understood why Henry and Gin did what they did. Anyone who was in their position would do the same thing. Sirius said, "Henry, Gin. What happened to you is something no one deserves. How can we help you?" Remus and Dumbledore both agreed with Sirius and said so to Henry and Gin.

Gin and Henry both gave them a small, grateful smile. Gin said, "To ensure that he would remain immortal, Voldemort had his soul split into 7 parts and stored them in various object. These are called Horcruxes. He also made them in this world. But we don't know what and where those things are. Professor, in our world, Henry was shown memories of Tom by you. We need them to guess where they are and what they are? Sirius and Remus, you need to discover ways to remove part of soul from a body. Harry has a part of Voldemort in his scar. The Black family must have found some method for that. Sirius, as Lord Black, you own 12 Grimmauld Place. We had found one in there, hidden by Kreacher. We need you to ask Kreacher to give it to you."

The three of them nodded. The rest of summer was spent finding every possible piece of information. Sirius also had searched the Grimmauld Place along with Remus and with help from Dobby. Kreacher had died 5 years back due to not having a master. It took a week for them but at the end, they didn't find anything in the house. Sirius however had found Regulus's diary. Inside it Regulus had written all the locations he had searched for the locket. He had died during the search. The cave was one of the locations were he had searched but found nothing. He however has written that he has heard Bellatrix boasting that the Dark Lord had given her something that he wanted protected. He had hinted that perhaps it was another Horcrux.

Upon searching the vaults at Gringotts, which Sirius could do as Bellatrix was a member of house Black and as Lestrange's were under arrest, Sirius held control over the vault. Upon searching, he found the Locket Horcrux there. This further proved to Henry and Gin that the locations were changed.

Meanwhile, the kids were spending the summer, oblivious to all this. Harry was in particular having the best summer he could remember. He would spend most of day at Burrow, enjoying being a kid for the first time.

Harry however had a goal in his mind. He was trying his hardest to make Ginny blush, as a revenge to her kiss to him at the Ball. Ginny, never the one to back down, was doing her best to make him blush. They tried everything to make the other blush. They even tried to flirt once but were pathetic at it. Instead of blushing, they instead laughed at their pathetic attempts. This however gave more teasing material to the twins, Sirius and Remus. And they used it to the fullest. But they never let it go their heart. They knew that the teasing was done in good nature. And Sirius and Remus made sure that the teasing never went overboard and controlled the twins when they felt it was too much. Harry and Ginny on the other hand pranked them. Many times a prank war started between Harry, Ginny, Ron, the twins, Sirius and Remus. It only stopped after Molly and Gin said to stop. No one pranked after that in fear of the wrath of the two ladies.

A year later

Third year for Harry had quickly gone by. Just like his second year, this year had also been a quiet and normal year for him. He had another wonderful year. He had spent his time studying hard, doing his best in classes, playing quidditch, attempting pranks or just being around his friends. The six friends always sat together during the meals. During the meals, Harry would sit beside Ginny while Ron and Hermione would sit in front of them. Neville and Luna would sit beside them.

Classes were also going brilliantly for Harry and his friends. DADA and History of Magic were still their favourite classes. They were still the most popular classes in Hogwarts. Transfiguration was as great as before. Afterall, McGonagall was teaching it.

The other classes were good. But the biggest change was still in Potions. Snape had severely reduced his taunts towards students of other house. He still hated them, especially Harry, but kept it to himself, which to Harry was way better than before. He actually started liking Potions. Sirius and Remus had given him Lily's old potions book and James's old transfiguration books. Both had written lot of notes inside them. And Harry used them and shared them with his friends.

Another great thing Harry got that year was the Marauders Map from the twins. The twins had handed it to him during Christmas Break. They had heard him calling Sirius as Padfoot and Remus as Moony few days before Christmas.

Sirius and Remus showed Harry how to fully use the map. The map had many hidden features that they had built into it. Like one command showed them what pranks were present in the area. Fred and George were surprised that map had a lot more to it than they thought. They went on their knees and loudly proclaimed them as the greatest pranksters in the world.

Harry used the map to plan numerous pranks on the Slytherin like Malfoy and his gang. Malfoy and his gang suffered from numerous pranks, never knowing who pranked them. Harry, Ginny and Ron loved to prank them and did the pranks. Neville and Luna gave them ideas. Hermione meanwhile tried to persuade them to stop the pranking.

But all of them knew that she enjoyed it as much as they did and the only reason she tried to stop them was to prevent them from getting caught and punished. She was the one who found the spells to use.

So while the kids enjoyed their school year, Henry, Gin, Sirius, Remus and Dumbledore were still working on finding the horcruxes and Voldemort's history. Henry, Gin and Remus tried to find what they could when they had the time to search. But being teachers, they weren't able to do as much as they wanted to. Dumbledore and Sirius were doing most of the heavy work. Dumbledore had collected as many memories of Tom Riddle as he could. Sirius meanwhile was finding as many details about horcruxes as he could. The Black family had a lot of books on dark magic.

Around Christmas, Sirius found something in the Black Family Library that solved one of their biggest problems. How to remove the horcrux inside Harry? The book spoke about a ritual which could destroy part of soul in the body. He showed it to Henry, Gin, Remus and Dumbledore. Upon seeing it, Henry and Remus started thinking about possible side effects. Gin however looked at Dumbledore and asked, "Will it work without destroying Harry's soul? How do we know that Harry's soul won't get damaged?" Dumbledore said, "I need to look deeper into this ritual. There are many possible ramifications here. Don't worry Guinevere. We will do this only after we are sure it is safe." Gin appeared relieved to hear that. She didn't want to take any risk.

Just before the summer break was about to begin, Dumbledore called all of them to his office. Once they all had assembled in his office, he told them that he had collected all the memories of Tom Riddle's past that he could. And he had also researched into the ritual. There was a way to prevent Harry's soul from getting damaged. Harry had to be surrounded by his family and friends when the ritual was being performed. They all agreed that Dumbledore should perform the ritual. Dumbledore then showed them the first meeting he had with Tom in the orphanage. After watching it, Dumbledore asked Henry if it was different from the memory he had seen in their world. Henry said that while majority of the memory was same. There were some differences.

Like the way Tom spoke or the way he behaved, there were minor differences there. But they needed to see more memories to know if there were any more differences. It was important that they be sure that Voldemort made multiple horcruxes before trying the ritual on Harry. Otherwise the result would be disastrous for them.

But that would have to wait. The Quidditch World Cup Final was going to be held in England. As a surprise to the kids, the adults planned to take the kids to the cup. Arthur, Henry and Sirius had gotten the tickets to the cup. They were going to surprise the kids on Harry's birthday. They hoped that unlike the last time, this time they could enjoy the cup without any trouble.

July 31st, 1994

Harry was currently sleeping in his bedroom, having a wonderful dream. He was playing quidditch with Ron, Ginny, the Twins, Sirius, Remus, Henry, Gin, Arthur, Bill and Charlie. All were flying on firebolts. He and Charlie were the seekers. The twins, Sirius and Remus played beaters, Ron and Arthur were keepers while the rest were chasers. Hardy and Charlie were battling to get to the snitch first. His hand was inching close to snitch and he was about to grab it when suddenly the dream changed. He found himself from someone else's eyes. This person was climbing up some old, rickety stairs. The house itself looked very old and down ridden. The man had a lamp in his hand. Some faint noises could be heard in the background.

It sounded like two people speaking. The person climbed up and reached a door behind which voices were coming. He opened the door to find someone kneeling beside a huge chair. His face wasn't clearly visible. He could just make out the outlines of his face. A huge snake was also near the chair. It turned its slit like grey eyes towards him and snarled its huge fangs at him. He heard someone say, "Looks like we have company Junior. Nagini, please welcome our unwanted and intruding guest." Nagini slithered towards him. The man tried to run but couldn't. It was as if magic held him in place. Nagini then attacked him. Harry screamed at that. It was as if the snake had actually bitten him. He felt someone rub his back and heard a soothing voice.

The voice said, "Harry. Wake up. It's just a dream. Come on love, wake up." Harry slowly opened his eyes. His head was pounding and he felt nauseous. He saw his aunt Gin holding him, rubbing his back. He murmured, "Aunt Gin, my head is paining a lot. My scar is also paining." She said, "Uncle Henry is bringing some pain potion love. Don't worry. Is this feeling good?" She said the last part while gently massaging his head. Harry murmured, "It feels so good Aunt Gin." Gin continued gently massaging his head. Henry entered the room with a potion for pain. It was a potion Gin had made whenever he used to get his migraines. Gin took it and made Harry sip the potion. She kept his head on her lap, running her hand through his hair, just like how Henry liked it.

Henry looked at her and quietly said, "I will tell the others that the party had been delayed by an hour." Gin nodded and said, "Do you think it's the same nightmare you got before the world cup?" Henry said, "It may be Gin. The first nightmare was very painful for me. Did he get pain in the scar?" Gin said, "He said he did." Henry then said, "I think this confirms that he has a horcrux inside him." Gin nodded. Henry said, "I will go tell others then." Gin nodded her head. Henry then went and flooed to the Burrow. He found Arthur, Molly and Ginny sitting on the dining table. Harry went there. Molly saw him and said, "Come Henry, I just made some tea. Here, have some. Is everything ok? Need any help?" Henry took the offered cup of tea and said, "Thank you Molly." Henry took a sip and then said, "There is nothing to urgent. I just came to tell you that the party would be delayed by an hour. Harry has a terrible headache this morning." Molly and Arthur got a bit worried at that. But before they could say anything, Ginny asked Henry, "Is he ok? Is he hurting badly?" Henry told her, "Its nothing worrying Ginny. Just a normal headache. Gin is with him and is looking after him. He is sleeping now." The three of them appeared satisfied by this. Henry said, "I need to go to tell others as well. See you later at the party." He then left. He told this to Hermione's parents, Neville and his grandmother, Luna and her dad, Sirius and Remus and at last to Dumbledore. He told the last 3 that perhaps Harry had a horcrux in him.

Harry woke an hour later. His head felt better now. He slowly went downstairs to the dining room. He saw Henry and Gin talking. Gin saw him coming. She asked him, "Feeling better Harry? Any pain?" Harry sat down on one of the chairs and said, "I am feeling better Aunt Gin. What was it that you gave me?" Gin said, "It's a pain potion I made. Whenever your uncle Henry gets his migraines, I give him that." Henry then said, "Harry, do you remember what you dreamed?" Harry said, "At first the dream was normal. But then, it changed. I became a man who was walking towards a door. Voices were coming behind it. When I opened it, I saw someone kneeling beside a chair. Then a snake came towards me and bit me. I don't remember anything else. The dream was blurry and I couldn't see anything else." Henry nodded. Gin said, "Don't worry yourself about it Harry. We will think about it later. Right now, let's celebrate your birthday. What do you want for breakfast sweetheart?" Harry said, "Some of your chocolate pancakes Aunt Gin. I love those." Gin smiled at him and said, "Chocolate pancakes coming up." She then went to make them. Henry then said to Harry, "So birthday boy, excited for the party?" Harry said, "I am uncle Henry. But first, where is my present?" Henry said, "Nope. It's a surprise." Harry said, "Come on uncle Henry. Please. At least a clue." Henry said, "Nope. And the puppy dog eyes won't work Harry." Harry said, "It was worth a try." Henry laughed at that.

Few hours later, Harry's birthday party started. All his friends had come. All wished him happy birthday and gave him gifts. For Harry, even after having the birthday parties by now, he still wasn't used to the fact that there were people who cared about him. He never had someone care for him like Gin did in the morning few years back. He now had a family who loved him. He had wonderful friends and best friends. And he had people who cared for him. When he blew the candles on the snitch cake Gin and Molly had made, he wished that he always had these people with him. After the cake was cut and the delicious food made by Henry, Gin and Molly, it was time to open presents. From Remus and Sirius, he got a book which had all the pranks the Marauders had done. From Ron, he had gotten quidditch magazines. From Hermione, he got a book on famous quidditch stars. From Ginny, he got seeker gloves. The twins gave him home made pranks. Molly and Arthur gave him some of Molly's homemade fudge and a photo album that had many photos of Harry with Ron, Ginny, Hermione and the twins during the summer. Sirius also said that he will help Harry and the other kids become Animagus. It was time for Henry and Gin to give their gift. Henry said, "We all know that Harry loves quidditch. We also know the Quidditch Finals is going to be played in England. Well kids. We along with Sirius and Arthur got premium tickets to the finals." A huge cheer came from the kids. It was one of the best birthdays Harry ever had.

Chapter Text

August 16th, 1994

Today was the day the Quidditch World Cup Final was to be played. The kids were excited for this match. The final was between Bulgaria and Ireland. Ron was a huge fan of the Bulgarian seeker Victor Krum while Ginny was very excited to see the chaser trio of Ireland, who were reportedly one of the best trios currently playing. Harry didn't have any favorites but was excited to see Krum play as he had heard that Krum was the best seeker playing in the cup. Neville, Luna and Hermione were excited to see the match. The group was currently gathered around a fire, outside the Weasley tent. Many Ministry officials had come towards them and had greeted Arthur and Sirius. Some students also came to introduce their parents to Henry, Gin and Remus as their professors.

After a while, Ludo Bagman, the Head for Magical Games and Sports, came to talk with Arthur. During their talk, he said, "So Arthur, who are you rooting for? Who do you think will win?" Arthur said, "Well I think Ireland have more chance of winning. Their chasers are very good." Ron and Ginny had been arguing on this issue when they heard their dad say this. Ron said, "But dad, Krum is the best seeker right now. Clearly Bulgaria have the better chance." Arthur said, "Seeker can only give you 150 points Ron. Chasers can give you more than that." Ron accepted that. he looked at Ginny, who was shooting him a smug smile and gave him an "I told you so" look. Seeing this made Harry, Hermione, Neville, Luna, the twins and everyone else laugh out loud. Even Bagman had a small laugh.

Bagman then said to Arthur, "Willing to make a bet on that Arthur?" Arthur appeared reluctant at that. But eventually said, "1 galleon that Ireland wins." Bagman was a bit disappointed at that. But he quickly masked it and then said, "Anyone else wants to bet?" Fred and George were looking like if they were thinking of betting. But one look from Molly and Gin stopped them. The kids laughed at the look on the twins face when they saw the look on the face of Molly and Gin. Henry slipped his arm around Gin's while he was chuckling. Gin looked at Henry. She tried to looked angry at Henry for not stopping the twins but her eyes and the small smile on her face failed her. Henry kissed her cheek and said, "Can't blame me love. I couldn't control myself." Gin laughed at that.

Molly was about to scold the twins but Arthur said, "Molly, let it be. Fred and George were not going to bet. Were you boys?" Fred and George obediently shook their heads and swore they weren't even thinking of betting. Sirius said, "Ludo had a very bad name of not paying back his bets. Even if you won your bet, it were likely that Ludo won't pay you back. Why don't we bet among ourselves? If that ok Molly and Gin?" They agreed but said, "At most 5 galleons. No more than that." And the group bet among themselves.

Eventually time came for the match to start. The group went to sit at their seats. The adults brought the kids omnicolors and few programs. The Malfoy's saw them. Lucius was very tempted to go and make some snide comments to Arthur and Remus. But the presence of Henry and Sirius stopped him. Both of them were financially and politically strong.

The match started with the arrival of the mascots. The Irish brought leprechauns and the Bulgarians brought the veela's. Harry had a mild pull towards the veela. He was able to shake it off. He looked around and saw Henry, Sirius, Remus and Arthur have no effect. Harry also saw that many other men were either staring intently or drooling at the veelas. He turned to Henry and said, "Uncle Henry. Why so many men drooling at the veelas? And why aren't we?" Henry said, "Harry, veela are magical creatures who attract men with their beauty and charm. but they don't affect those who are already married or in love, those whose minds are protected or are genuinely attracted to someone."

Harry was surprised at this. He wasn't affected by the Veelas. This meant he was attracted to someone. But who could it be? He knew Hermione and Luna were like sisters to him. The only other girl was Ginny, who was his best friend. But thinking the past 2 years made him realize that he never felt sisterly towards Ginny. His feelings towards her were different. His eyes widened at that realization. Henry and Gin both saw this. It was clear to them that Harry had fallen for Ginny. and by the look on his face, Harry realized this too.

The referee released the snitch, starting the match. The match was a fast paced one. every player was giving his 100%. Ireland chasers were making brilliant plays after plays. Krum was doing every maneuver in the book to catch the snitch as soon as possible. Bulgarian players however couldn't stop the Irish chasers, no matter what they did. By the time Krum caught the snitch, they had scored more than 15 goals. Krum had caught the snitch by executing a perfect wronski feint, the hardest move in the book. But it didn't matter. Ireland won the match and the celebrations began. The group went back to their tents after the celebrating the won for a while. They had lot of fun. As soon as they reached their tents, they went to sleep.

Henry and Gin however were waiting with Sirius and Remus. They knew death eaters would attack. The attacks started after few minutes. Henry told Remus and Sirius to safely take the kids away to the forest with Molly. They needed to keep them safe. Sirius and Remus did what was asked of them without arguing knowing the two were correct. Henry and Gin along with Arthur, Bill, Charlie and Percy were stunning the death eaters. They were able to prevent major damage from happening to muggles and muggleborn. They saw someone cast the Dark Mark. Henry and Gin knew it was Barty Crouch Jr. They scanned around and saw the death eaters leave. Aurors looked around for others but couldn't find anything. Henry sent them a signal to tell it was safe to come out. When they did, Gin went towards Harry and checked him for any injuries. Henry went to Sirius and Remus and told them what occurred. The adults decided that 3 of them should keep a watch. Sirius, Remus and Molly took the first shift and the rest went to sleep.

After 2 hours, Arthur, Bill and Percy took over and after another 2 hours Henry, Gin and Charlie took over. They woke up others after 2 hours and everyone went to their respective homes. All of them were tired and they rested in their homes. Harry however had another dream. In this dream, he saw Wormtail taking with someone sitting in the same chair in the same room he had seen in the earlier dream. The snake was also present. He at once told Henry and Gin about this. They told him that this maybe some sort of prenotion and told him to be careful. Afterwards, Henry told Gin, "It is time Gin. We need to perform the ritual." Gin agreed. They by now knew that Harry had a horcrux in him. Henry flooed Dumbledore. He said, "It's time professor. When can we do the ritual?"

August 18th, 1994

Henry, Gin, Sirius, Remus and Dumbledore were currently sitting around the dining table. They had been seeing the memories of Tom's past. They had been doing so for the past 4 hours and had finally seen all the memories and identified what horcruxes were made and even when they were made. By now, they had destroyed the diary horcrux, the locket horcrux and cup horcrux. They had found the cup horcrux in the Room of Requirement. Nagini was one and the Harry's scar was another. Remaining were the ring and diadem horcruxes. The five of them had already searched many places. Only few places remained. They were the orphanage, the Gaunt shack, Ms. Smith's house and Brogin's shop. They were going to search those places today.

After searching those places, they finally found the 2 horcruxes in the Gaunt shack and orphanage. Again the positions were changed. The ring was in the orphanage while the diadem was in the Gaunt shack. It was lucky for them as in their world, it was the ring that had significantly weakened Dumbledore. They destroyed the ring and kept the Resurrection Stone with themselves. Sirius and Remus had found the diadem in the Gaunt shack and destroyed it as well. Only Harry and Nagini remained. All other horcruxes were destroyed. And the horcrux n Harry would be removed tomorrow. The five of them met in the Peverell house again and shared a drink of Firewhisky. Dumbledore meanwhile informed the Weasley's to come there tomorrow.

The next day, everyone was in the Peverell's living room. Dumbledore explained to the others the reasons behind the attack on the quidditch world cup final. Molly argued with Dumbledore about telling the kids as she felt they were too young to listen to this but Dumbledore told her that this concerned the kids. He then explained them how Harry's dream about Voldemort were in reality what Voldemort was experiencing. He then told them how a piece of Voldemort was in Harry's scar. He told them the ritual they were going to do. He saw the look of disgust and self-loathing on Harry's face. He then said to Harry, "Harry, just because a piece of Voldemort rests in you doesn't mean you are like him." Everyone nodded, agreeing with Dumbledore.

He then made Harry sit in the middle. Henry, Gin, Sirius and Remus behind him, Ginny on his right, Ron and Hermione on his left. Dumbledore stood in front of him. He casted the spell on Harry. Sweat appeared on Dumbledore's forehead. Lines began to form between Harry and the others with him. The line between Harry and Ginny was a mix of gold and silver while it was silver with others. This was seen only by Arthur and Molly. They gasped at what that implied. In magical world, before marrying a wizard and a witch, a compatibility test was performed between them. If they were compatible with each other, then the line would show gold. Better the compatibility, brighter the gold line. For Harry and Ginny, it was very bright.

Eventually, black mist started coming out of Harry's scar. Harry screamed in pain. He had never experienced pain of this level. It felt as if his scar was being removed from his forehead. Eventually, the mist came out completely. Harry was so tired that he lost consciousness. Dumbledore too was very tired and he sat down on a nearby chair. The others were tired as well but not as much as Harry and Dumbledore. Arthur took Harry to his room while Molly gave the rest some strengthening potions. She also made the kids go to the guest room to rest for a while. The kids agreed and did what Molly told them. After resting for a moment, Henry asked Dumbledore, "Was that it? Did it work?" Dumbledore said, "It did. The black mist was Voldemort's soul."

Arthur then said, "There was something else that happened. Harry and Ginny had a very bright golden line between them. I think you all know what it means." Henry said, "I expected this to happen. Harry likes Ginny. And from the way Ginny reacts to some of his antics, I know she likes him as well." Molly asked, "Did Harry say that?" Gin said, "He didn't. But we know he does. He wasn't attracted to the Veela's at the world cup and when Henry told him why some men aren't attracted to them, his eyes widened and he looked at Ginny." Molly happily said, "I was hoping they would notice each other like that. They make such a great pair." Sirius meanwhile turned to Remus and said, "The Potter curse struck again Moony." Remus laughed at that.

When Henry and Gin went to their bed that night, they were very happy. And they had every reason to be happy. One of their biggest worries had been resolved. Harry no longer had Voldemort's soul in his scar. Only Nagini remained as a Horcrux. the rest of them were destroyed. And Nagini would be destroyed at the graveyard. Their goal was very close. The only thing that remained was the TriWizard Tournament. Even that wouldn't be too worrying as they again were there to help Harry along with Sirius, Remus and everyone else. He wouldn't be alone or underprepared this time. When they went to sleep, they dreamed of a future with all their loved ones alive and with them.

Chapter Text

September 1st, 1994

Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Neville and Luna were sitting in the great hall, enjoying the opening feast. As usual, the feast was wonderful. After everyone had their stomachs filled, Dumbledore stood up. He then started speaking. "I hope everyone enjoyed the wonderful food made by our house elves. With that out of the way, welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Before letting you all go to your dorms, there are few announcements to be made. I would like to remind everyone once again that Forbidden Forest as the name suggest is forbidden to every student. Another thing that Mr. Filch has told me is that the Banned Items list now contains more than 200 items. The full list can be seen in his office. Now, on to something interesting. This year, we are not going to have the Quidditch Cup." Students started shouted, not liking this announcement. Fred and George were the loudest.

Dumbledore however applied Sonorus Charm on himself and said, "Quiet everyone." Students stopped their shouting, but their faces still showed that they didn't like this announcement. Dumbledore then said, "The reason we are not having a quidditch cup this year is due to a prestigious event that would be held at Hogwarts later this year. That prestigious event is the TriWizard Tournament is going to be held here in Hogwarts. I will explain what the TriWizard Tournament for those who don't know about it. The TriWizard Tournament was a legendary competition between three schools. The schools being Dumstrang, Beauxbatons and Hogwarts. A champion was selected from each school and the champions participated in three tasks that tested not only their magical prowess, but their skills, intelligence, bravery and many more. But the tournament was stopped due to the high death toll associated with it. But after much planning and thinking, the tournament is being revised and brought back, with Hogwarts being host for the first tournament." Excited murmurs started coming from the students, the protest against the lack of quidditch cup forgotten in the view of the upcoming tournament. Dumbledore then said, "One of the new rules incorporated for the new tournament is that the champion must be of age. This means that the champion must be above 17 to participate." Disappointment spread through many students.

Dumbledore continued. "The delegation from the two schools will arrive on October 30th. That is it for today. Perfects, please guide the first years. I wish you all a wonderful night." With the feast over, students started going to their respective dorms. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna were all discussing what the tasks could be. Some of the tasks they came up with were hilarious while some were very dangerous and deadly. They came near the Fat Lady's portrait. They said the password and went inside to the Gryffindor common room. Harry saw Henry and Gin talking to the first years.

The others went to their dorms while Harry sat in one of the empty chairs near the fire, watching Henry and Gin talk with the first years. After few minutes, they were done and the first years went to their dorms. Harry then went towards them. They saw him come towards them. After giving him a hug, Henry said, "Harry, there is something important that we want to discuss with you." Harry said, "What is it, Uncle Henry?" Gin said, "Harry, as Dumbledore said earlier, the TriWizard Tournament has a very bloody past. Not only the champions, but many others have also died. We know Voldemort is still alive as you saw him in your dream. He will try to enter you in the tournament and try to kill you. Anything bad happens to you, the tournament will be blamed, with no know knowing the truth. We need to be very careful Harry. We along with Sirius and Remus will train you and your friends. Be very careful Harry."

Harry nodded, understanding the seriousness of what his guardians had told him. He was a bit scared and nervous. But was also reassured that he had the best support in the form of his friends, Henry, Gin, Sirius and Remus. He knew that they would never let any harm come to him. He gave a hug to Henry and Gin and then went to his dorm.

The next day, he told his friends what Henry and Gin had told him. The reactions of his friends was similar to his reaction when Henry and Gin had told him this. But his friends told him that they would help Harry however they could. From the next day, their training started.

Sirius and Remus started their training. Every day, they ran around the quidditch field to increase their stamina and become physically fit. Sirius and Remus taught them many defensive charms that Henry and Gin would teach them later in class. They also taught them some offensive charms. They even taught them some pranks spells and charms. These spells would prove useful in fights to surprise and distract the enemy for a while.

October 30th arrived. The entire school was excited for the delegation that was coming from the other 2 schools. The students were outside, waiting for them to arrive. First to come were the Beauxbatons with their headmistress Madam Maxime. She was the tallest person Harry had ever seen. Then came Dumstrang with their headmaster Igor Karkaroff and their star pupil, Victor Krum. Nearly everyone thought that he was going to be Dumstrang champion. Everyone then went inside the castle and towards the Great Hall. Once everyone was inside the hall, Dumbledore stood and started speaking, "Students of Beauxbatons and Dumstrang, welcome to Hogwarts. We are excited to have you all here. Standing beside me are the judges of the TriWizard Tournament. Along with the headmasters and headmistress of the 3 schools, two more judges are there. They are Ludo Bagman and Barty Crouch Sr. They are the ones who are responsible for the revival of the TriWizard Tournament and it's organization. And now, let me tell you about the Goblet of Fire. The Goblet of Fire is a very powerful magical artefact. Those who want to participate in the tournament can place their names in the goblet. But be warned, only those who are above 17 can enter their name. Several protections have been added to the Goblet to prevent this. With that, the TriWizard Tournament has begun." Later, in the Gryffindor common room, Henry and Gin again told everyone that they should give their names only if they are above 17. They told them that the tasks will be dangerous. Gin also warned the twins to not try anything. She told them that Sirius and Remus knew about their joke shop dream and they wanted to fund and advise them. The twins were over the room. Harry however was scared that his name would come out of the goblet, making him a TriWizard champion.

October 31st, 1994

All students, judges and professors were in the great hall for the Halloween Feast. But everyone's attention was not on the fabulous feast in front of them. They were excited for the reveal of the champions from the Goblet of Fire. While most of them were excited, there were few people who were worried. Most worried was Harry. He was worried that his name would come out of the goblet. His friends had been trying to calm him down but they themselves worried about this.

Their musings were broken by Dumbledore, who stood up and clapped his hands to get the attention of everyone. He then started speaking, "I hope you all have enjoyed the wonderful Halloween Feast. But time has come for the Goblet of Fire to choose the champions. When I call the champion, they have to come near the table."

Dumbledore then dimmed the lights of the Great Hall so that the Goblet's flame was visible to everyone. The Goblet started burning maroon, the color of Dumstrang. It flared up and a piece of paper came out of the flame. It came to Dumbledore's hand, who said, "Viktor Krum." A huge applause rung out in the hall, the loudest being Igor. Krum went to Dumbledore who handed him his paper, shook his hand and asked him to stand beside him. After that, the flame turned light blue, the color of Beauxbatons. It again flared up and another piece of paper came out. Dumbledore took it and read the name on it. "Fleur Delacour." An applause started again. Harry saw that many boys stared at Fleur and clapped overenthusiastically. Some girls meanwhile had a look of hatred on their faces.

Dumbledore shook Fleur's hand and had her stand beside Krum. The flare then burned in four colors, in the color of Hogwarts house's. The last piece of paper came out. Dumbledore read it. "Cedric Diggory." A huge cheer came from the students, the loudest being from the Hufflepuff table. Cedric went to Dumbledore, who was proudly smiling at him. Cedric stood beside Krum and Fleur. Dumbledore said, "These are the TriWizard champions." Another applause came from everyone. Dumbledore then turned to the champions and said, "Please go to the trophy room just behind you. The Judges will join you in few minutes and explain the rules." The champions then went to the trophy room. Harry felt lighter and better after this. He wasn't a champion. But he then saw the flare burn up again.

Everyone else saw that too. Another piece of paper came out and Harry's heart was filled with dread. Dumbledore then read out, "Harry Potter". Harry turned to look at his friends. All of them looked worried. Dumbledore again called Harry's name. But Harry didn't want to go. Hermione said, "Harry, go. Just go and talk with Dumbledore." Ginny said, "We will handle others." Harry nodded and went to Dumbledore. He felt everyone's eyes on him, judging him and talking about him. He looked at Dumbledore, who had a worried expression on his face. But he said, "Don't be worried Harry. I know you didn't enter yourself." Harry turned to look at Henry, Gin and Remus for support. Henry and Gin gave him a reassuring look while Remus came to him and lead him to the trophy room.

He said to him, "Harry, we all are going to help you. Me, Sirius, Henry, Gin, Dumbledore, everyone is with you. Don't be worried. We all know that someone placed your name." Harry nodded and said, "I am worried that everyone will think that I entered in the tournament." Remus said, "Those who know you know that you wouldn't do it Harry." Harry said ok. They reached the trophy room and Harry went inside. Cedric, Fleur and Krum were waiting near the fireplace. Cedric saw him and said, "Are they calling us back Harry?" Before Harry could even reply, another voice behind him said, "He is your fourth champion. It's a wonder. Never before has the goblet given more than 3 champions. for the first time TriWizard Tournament will have 4 champions."

The other 3 champions were surprised at this. Fleur and Krum went to their headmasters and asked them if it was true. A rapid conversation occurred between them in French and Bulgarian. Madam Maxime looked at Dumbledore and said, "How is it possible that two champions came for Hogwarts Dumbledore? That too an underage wizard? You had assured us of the protections around the Goblet." Dumbledore looked at Harry and asked, "Did you enter yourself Harry?" Harry said no. He then said, "I also didn't ask anyone to enter my name. I don't want to participate in this tournament." Karkaroff said, "The boy is lying. He is just jealous of the lack of attention on him. After all, being the boy-who-lived must have got him a lot of attention and glory from everyone and he got used to it. He wants more glory and attention and entered the tournament to get it. Being the Boy-Who-Lived isn't enough for you boy?" Igor was going to say more when suddenly huge bats started coming out of his nose and started attacking him. Everyone stepped away from Igor. Harry looked at Gin, whom was red with anger. Her wand was aimed at Karkaroff and she looked as if she was going to cast more spells at him. She went near him and held her wand near his face. She said, "Think before saying anything Igor. I don't think you would like bats the size of your head coming out of your nose now, would you?" Henry pulled Gin back and tried to calm her down. He looked at Harry and said, "Harry, go with Gin to the Gryffindor Tower." Harry nodded. They then went to the Gryffindor tower. Henry meanwhile went to Igor and cancelled the spell. The bats vanished. But his face was covered with cuts and bruises.

Igor said, "You and your wife will pay Peverell. She attacked the Headmaster of Dumstrang." He was stopped midway by Henry, who muted him and said, "Listen carefully Igor. You just accused the Black and Peverell Heir of being an attention seeking boy. The heir to 2 ancient and noble houses. Seems you have become disillusioned since you became headmaster. We all know how you became a snitch and ratted out other death eaters to save yourself. You took the cowards path. Say anything to Harry again and you will find me and my wife's wand at your face. And this time, neither will I hold her back nor will I hold myself back. You will not like that Igor." He looked at Dumbledore, who understood the silent question and nodded. Henry nodded back and went to the Tower. Dumbledore healed the wounds of Igor's face. He said, "Igor. The couple you just saw are one of the most powerful magicians and duelers. And you abused their nephew, who is Harry Potter, right in front of them, whom they are very protective of. They don't take kindly to such things and it would be better for all of us to not earn their wrath." He then looked at others and said, "Harry is a victim in all this. Someone has placed his name in the goblet. We don't know who. Or how. But we can't blame Harry for this. Barty, is there any way we can remove Harry from the tournament?" Barty said, "The rules are absolute Dumbledore. The moment his name came out, a binding contract was made. He has to compete." Dumbledore said, "This is not good. Nonetheless, Champions, the TriWizard Tournament tasks are going to test your bravery, skills, cunning, spell prowess and knowledge among many things. These tasks are not going to be easy. They will be very tough. Barty, please state the rules." Barty said, "The rules states that the champion cannot have any external help during the tasks. He has to do it on his own. The first task will test your bravery. It will be on November 24th." After that, they all went to their respective places, the previous hour replaying in their minds.

Henry made his way to the Gryffindor Tower. Just as he and Gin had feared, Harry's name came out of the goblet. But the thing that confused them was who could have placed his name in the goblet. Who was Barty Crouch Jr. imitating? It couldn't be his father as Sirius had been keeping a close eye on him. Who else could it have been? Henry had a suspicion that it could be Karkaroff because of his reaction. While the Igor of their world had a harsh and condescending reaction to him when he was the champion, that was no where close to this world's Igor's reaction.

He reached the tower and went inside. He found Harry sitting beside Gin, with his friends sitting with them. It looked like Gin was reassuring Harry. He went to them. Harry's eyes found his and Henry at once understood that he was scared. Henry knelt in front of Harry and said, "Harry, I know what you are thinking. You are thinking about the tasks, aren't you?" Harry nodded.

Henry said, "I know you are scared of the tasks Harry. Even me, Gin, Sirius, Remus and everyone else is scared about them. But being afraid of them isn't going to help us, is it?" Harry again nodded. Henry continued, "We will practice Harry. Sirius and Remus are already teaching you and your friends useful spells and charms. Gin and I will also help. You aren't alone in this Harry. We all are with you." Harry said, "But what if they use you or Aunt Gin or Uncle Sirius or Remus? What if they used Ginny, Ron, Hermione or any one of my friends for the tasks? You yourself told me that this tournament has a bloody past." Gin said, "Then we will do everything to make sure they are safe and that no harm comes to them. We will train you so that you can do the task. We all trust you and believe in you Harry."

Harry hugged his aunt and uncle. He was thankful for having such a wonderful and great family. When he was young and with the Dursleys, he always used to dream that he would be a part of a family. And now, not only was he part of a family, he had people who cared for him. And to him, it was one of the most wonderful things in the world.

Henry and Gin made their way to their quarters. They found Sirius and Remus waiting in front of their quarters. They went inside and sat around the table. Henry and Gin told what happened in the trophy room to Remus and Sirius. Sirius then said, "We need to keep an eye on Igor. We all know he was a former death eater. I suspect that either he has joined them again or that Jr. is in disguise using him. If either of the cases is true, then it could also explain how Harry's name came in the goblet." Henry said, "That was what I was thinking as well. We will keep an eye on him. Did Barty show any weird behavior Sirius?" Sirius said, "No. Barty still is his usual self. I didn't find anything that could make me suspect him. But I will still keep an eye on him in the ministry." Gin then asked, "Did the tasks get finalized?" Sirius said, "They got finalized today. They are the same as what you told us they were. But there are some differences as well. Anti-Summoning charms have been placed on the egg for the first task. Also, the dragon would be same for all the contestants. This was due to both Igor and Maxime arguing that it would make the task difficult for some champions and easier for the other, making the task unequal. For the second task, a hostage would be placed in the Black Lake. However, the Mer people in the lake will not interfere in the task. The champion has to locate and being them back. The third task will only have illusions and puzzles. No dangerous magical creatures."

Henry and Gin weren't surprised by these changes. They had suspected some changes would be there. Gin then said, "We should involve the kids as well. They might have some good ideas for the tasks." The other 3 agreed and then went to their quarters to rest.

A week later, the group was brainstorming ideas for the first task. Sirius had already told the task to all of them. The group had 2 ideas. One was for Harry to distract the dragon and then get the egg when it was distracted. The other idea was to summon his broom and then outfly the dragon and then grab the egg. This idea was bit risky. Hermione said, "Why not combine these 2 ideas? The twins can make some of their prank items and we can use that to distract the dragon. Harry can then summon the broom and then fly and grab the egg. he can even use his cloak to hide himself from the dragon's view." The adults looked at each other and smacked their heads. Why didn't they think of this? Sirius said, "We got outsmarted. We, the marauders, got outsmarted Moony." Remus said, "We got outsmarted by the smartest witch of her age Padfoot. It was going to happen someday." Everyone laughed at that. The remaining time was spent perfecting the spells and the items. Harry had gotten very good at summoning charm. They had tried summoning the broom from the Quidditch field. Harry had been able to get his broom in 5 seconds from his dorm in Gryffindor tower to the field. He was confident that he would complete the task.

The wand-weighing ceremony was held on November 14th. Harry was accompanied by Gin and he saw the look of fear in the eyes of Igor and Barty Crouch. Maybe Karkaroff still remembered Gin's attack. The ceremony itself wasn't something big. Their wands were tested and checked for any problems by Ollivander. Cedric, Fleur and Victor had become good friends with Harry. After coming to know that Harry was forced into the tournament, they started befriending him. They also became friends with Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna.

After coming to know that Harry was immune to Veela Charm, Fleur let her true nature come out and become friends with him. The arrogant and obnoxious attitude she had in front of them earlier was just a front. Same with Krum. Many people only wanted to know him because he was a famous quidditch player. No one wanted to know the person he was. While he was a bit annoyed at Ron's fan behavior, he found out that Ron's fanboyish nature only came during quidditch talk. Anyone who knew Ron knew that he was a quidditch fanatic. Krum was amazed at the sheer trivia Ron knew. Ron tried to control his fanboy nature after learning Krum didn't like it. The 4 champions had become good friends. The next day was the day for the first task for the TriWizard Tournament.

Chapter Text

November 24th, 1994

Today was November 24, the day when the First Task of the TriWizard Tournament was going to be held. Harry was in the Champions tent. Sitting beside him was Sirius, who was telling him jokes and some funny stories about his parents, in an attempt to calm Harry's nerves. And for the most part, it was working. After few minutes, Henry, Gin and Remus joined them. Gin said, "How are you Harry?" Harry said, "A bit nervous and scared." Henry said, "You remember what we planned Harry?" Harry nodded. Henry said, "Just remember what you are going to do Harry. Be calm and don't panic. Just keep a cool head. We all believe in you and know you can do this task." Harry nodded, understanding what his uncle said. He felt good that they all believed in him and his abilities.

Remus then said, "Harry, after you summon the prank items and the broom, hide using the cloak and then use the pranks. They will emit smoke which will not allow the dragon to smell you. Then fly slowly, while hiding using the cloak. the dragon wouldn't even detect you." Harry nodded. He was now feeling confident that he could do the task.

Harry was then hugged by the girls while he was patted by the boys. They then left to go and sit in the stands. Harry meanwhile just remembered what the plan was. After few minutes, he heard his name being announced. Taking a deep breath and trying to calm himself, he entered the arena made for the task.

The arena was a circular area with rocks of various sizes and shapes arranged in circles. The nest was kept in the middle of this circle. The dragon was a Common Welsh Green dragon. It was chained at some distance but the chain had enough length that the dragon could be anywhere within the circle of rocks.

Harry hid behind one of the larger rocks and summoned his broom and the box Remus and Sirius had made for him. Both items came after few minutes. Harry placed the broom beside him and then opened the box. He took the cloak from the box and placed it over himself. He then slowly walked the right of the circle. He placed the box there. The box contained fireworks. Using Incendio, he ignited the fireworks and made his way back to where his broom was. The fireworks then started doing their work. They distracted the dragon towards them while emitting smoke, restricting the dragons smell and vision. Harry then climbed his broom and covered himself using the cloak. He then used the Point-Me spell and slowly made his way to the nest.

After reaching the nest, he tried to find the egg. It was a bit difficult with the smoke. The eggs were also having a golden tint to them, which made it difficult to find them. He eventually found it and flew vertically up as fast as he could. He then flew back to tent and landed near it. As soon as he had landed, the smoke started disappearing. The dragon at once went to check its nest. Seeing her eggs safe, she sat beside them. The task was done in 8 minutes. Harry had the fastest time and didn't even have a single scratch on him.

A few minutes after he had landed, Harry was tackled by his friends. They all jumped on him and gave him a group hug. Henry and Gin were laughing seeing this. They pulled the kids up. All of them were laughing. Gin hugged Harry and kissed his cheek while Henry patted his back. They didn't say anything. But Harry didn't need them to say anything. Their proud smile and the happy look in their eyes was enough for him to understand how proud they were of him. Sirius and Remus were meanwhile proudly and loudly proclaiming that Harry was a true marauder. They then said to Harry, "You are now a member of the marauders Harry. Your marauder name is Prongslet." Harry laughed and said he was proud to be a marauder. Sirius and Remus laughed with him.

They all then turned towards the judges. Dumbledore stood up after a while and said, "The first task of the TriWizard Tournament is completed. All the champions have performed brilliantly and have displayed wonderful use of magic. Now, the scores. Viktor Krum used the Conjunctivitis Curse on the dragon. This blinded the dragon for a while but also destroyed some eggs. He is awarded 38 points. Fleur Delacour managed to lure the dragon into a sleeping trace, but a snore from the dragon burned her arm. She is awarded 42 points. Cedric Diggory managed to successfully conjure a dog and managed to distract the dragon, but it didn't work for long. Cedric suffered few burns on arms. He is awarded 43 points. At last, Harry Potter used the summoning spell to summon his broom and some items. Using them, he successfully evaded the dragon and got his egg. He did this in 8 minutes, the fastest and was unharmed. He also didn't use any spell on the dragon. He is awarded 45 marks." After a huge applause went in the arena for the champions, Dumbledore then said, "Champions, the next task is on February 24th. Enjoy your break." Harry was shocked that he was awarded the most points and was in the lead. He was congratulated by the other champions. Dumbledore congratulated Harry later and with a twinkle in his eyes asked him if he should expect some Marauder pranks from him later. Harry and others laughed,

Later that night, one of the biggest, loudest and longest parties was held in the Gryffindor house. McGonagall came and she too congratulated Harry for the task. Sirius stayed and Tonks and Amelia came as well. Amelia stayed only for a little while. She congratulated Harry and spent her rest of the time with Sirius. Harry was very happy to see his godfather so happy with Amelia and other members of his family. The effect of Azkaban was nearly finished and Sirius looked and behaved a lot like his younger self. Harry then saw Tonks with Remus. Remus was blushing at something Tonks had said while she was laughing. They both had their arms looped and hands intertwined. Harry found that at that moment, he was content with his life. Ginny came and dragged him to play a game of Exploding snap. While playing the game, half of Harry's attention was on the game while the other half was on the friends he was surrounded by.

Ron and Hermione were his first friends, not only in Hogwarts but in his life. Neville had also been a friend in the first year but now their friendship was closer and stronger than before. Luna was another close friend of his. They all were amazing and wonderful friends and he was happy that they were his friends. He then looked at Ginny. In a short amount of time, Ginny had come to mean a lot to him. She was beautiful but not vain, confident but not arrogant, funny and witty. He had fallen for her and wanted to ask her out. And someday, he would ask her out. For now, he had amazing family and friends and was enjoying his time at Hogwarts. What Harry didn't know was that something special was about to happen in the future. Something that would change many things.

December 9th, 1994

Voldemort was sitting in his house, listening to his spies tell the latest information they found. And the information they were giving him was making him rethink his plans and to his shame and anger, even make him a bit scared. Potter looked to be more powerful and adapt at magic than he had previously thought. Or that was what the information was telling him. Till now, he was under the assumption that it was his mother's protection that had been protecting him. That Potter by himself was nothing special. But his performance at the First Task made him change his opinion. The boy had some talent. His spies told him how he summoned a broom from the dorms to near the quidditch field. Also he was able to get the egg without getting a single scratch.

Another thing that was worrying him was the Peverell couple. Not only did they break his curse over the DADA position, they also were said to be very strong magically and were very dangerous. Henry had defeated Nott Sr. His wife was also a powerful witch. Her spell on Severus and Igor had been brutal. Both of them would be very useful and powerful allies. But they were with the old fool. This was not good. The three had to be quickly eliminated before they became too powerful. Voldemort knew he was way more powerful than the and knew magic they hadn't even dreamed of. But he was not a fool. He was not going to ruin his plans by being over-confident and arrogant. He needed to play the game carefully and cautiously. Nagini came towards him and he petted her. For the past few weeks, he had been feeling weaker without Nagini by his side than he did before the summer. And this confused him, for he couldn't find any reason that explained this weakness. The only plausible reason he had was the lack of proper body. He was still in spirit form, Maybe that was weakening him. Once the ritual was done, he would recover his strength.

Meanwhile at Hogwarts, Harry was currently enjoying his break. The egg from the first task was in his truck in his dorm. Henry and Gin had told him that they would discuss about the task after Christmas break and to not think about it now. Hermione had tried to get him to open the egg and get the clue from it. She felt it was better to think and plan early. Gin later told Hermione that they already knew the task and what the clue was. Sirius had told them about the task. And they had some ideas on how they could do the task, but right now they didn't want Harry to be worried about the task which was anyways in February. A mollified look came on her face and she sheepishly said she was just worried. Gin smiled at her and told her that she wasn't wrong in her thinking. What she was trying was correct. But for now, she didn't need to worry. Hermione smiled back and then went back to her friends.

The next day, Henry and Gin came to the tower to make an announcement. They sat near the fire and asked the prefects to call every Gryffindor above 3rd years from their dorms to the common room. In 10 minutes, every Gryffindor above 3rd year was in the common room. Henry said, "I know some of you know about the tradition of ball during Yule. But for the benefit for everyone, I will explain everything. In wizarding traditions, a ball is held during Christmas Eve. In wizarding families, this is called Yule Ball. Whenever the TriWizard Tournament is held, the hosting school hosts a Yule Ball. So, this Christmas Eve, we are going to be holding a Ball." A look of excitement came on girls faces while a look of fear and worry came on the faces on boys. Gin then said, "But this time, there is a small twist to this. Generally boys ask girl to the ball. But this time, the girls will ask the boys out." At the very instant, the looks on everyone's faces changes. Seeing this change in expressions made Gin and Henry laugh. Everyone left after that.

Hermione went to the 3rd year dorm, to tell Ginny and Luna about the ball. She wasn't a fool. She had seen the way Harry looked at Ginny when he thought no was looking. She also knew that Ginny liked Harry, for she herself had told her.

Ginny and Luna were in their dorms, discussing Potions homework. They saw Hermione come in. Hermione then told them about the Ball and the twist. She then asked Ginny, while having a teasing smile on her face, "Are you going to ask Harry to the Ball, Ginny?" Ginny thought for a moment before an idea came to her head. She smiled deviously and said, "I have a plan Hermione." Hermione and Luna smiled as well and said, "What is it?" Ginny then told them the idea and the girls planned how they will execute Ginny's idea.

The next day, Ginny woke early. She and Luna had come up with a poem which would embarrass Harry. They wrote it on a letter. Hermione charmed it in such a way that it will come to Harry at lunch. Afterwards, it will loudly sing the poem in a dwarf's voice.

Ginny left the letter after they all had breakfast in the Great Hall. At lunch, after they all had sat down for lunch, the letter came and sat in front of Harry. Curious, he opened the letter. As soon as he opened it, it began serenading loudly, "His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad, His hair is as dark as a blackboard. I wish he was mine, he's really divine, the hero who conquered the Dark Lord."

After serenading the poem, the letter fell on his lap. Everyone had been staring at Harry until then and after it began laughing. Harry's eyes at once began searching for Ginny. No one was as devious as Ginny when she wanted to be. He saw her near the door. She smirked at him before running away. Harry ran after her. He chased her while calling her. Ginny meanwhile was loudly laughing and ran as fast as she could. Harry eventually caught her. He said, "You devious girl. You did that to embarrass me, didn't you?" he was tickling her as well. Ginny was laughing while she said, "Yes. And you did get embarrassed." Harry continued tickling her until Ginny begged him to stop. He finally stopped after a while. Ginny was still laughing when Harry asked, "Why this prank?" Ginny laughed again and said, "Prank? This wasn't a prank Harry."

It then clicked to Harry. Ginny wasn't pranking him. She had asked him to the Ball in her own unique way. He said, "You want to go to the Ball with me?" Ginny nodded, finally controlling her laughter. Harry said, "But I want more than one dance Miss Weasley. You up for that?" Ginny knew that Harry told her what she had said to him when he had asked her to be his dance partner. Never the one to back down, Ginny said, "Don't be worried Mister Potter. We will dance so much that you will beg me to stop." Harry smiled and said, "Challenge Miss Weasley?" Ginny smiled and said, "Challenge Mister Potter" And they shook hands. But Harry held on and said, "Thanks for asking me Ginny. I wanted to go to the ball with you." Ginny smiled at him.

Chapter Text

December 24th, 1994

After Harry ran out of the Great Hall chasing Ginny, Hermione and Luna went and sat beside Ron and Neville. To Ron's and Neville's surprise they were asked by Hermione and Luna to the ball. They had been so shocked that they didn't even reply to the girls after they asked them. They then very happily accepted and said that they had been hoping that the girls would ask them but had never expected that they will ask them.

At the moment, Harry, Ron and Neville were in the common room, waiting for the girls to come down. While Harry and Neville were calm, Ron was a nervous wreck. What if Hermione didn't like his robes? What if he wasn't able to dance properly and stepped on her toes? He didn't want Hermione to regret coming with him to the ball. Harry decided to reassure his best friend. He himself wasn't that worried or nervous, because he had already danced with Ginny before. He said to Ron, "Ron, calm down. You won't mess up. Just be calm and follow Hermione's lead." Ron nodded, feeling a bit better after this.

Luna was the first one who came down. She was wearing yellow dress robes. Her blond hair was loss around her neck and she also wore a necklace. She later told them that the necklace was her mother's, which she wore during her wedding. Neville went to her and said that she looked beautiful. He then handed her a corsage of lilies.. Luna smiled at him and took the corsage. She then said, "You look dashing Neville. And thank you for the corsage." Harry and Ron also said Luna looked great. Neville and Luna then went to the Hall.

After Luna, Hermione came down. She was wearing a blue periwinkle dress. Her always bushy hair was sleek and shiny and was tied in an elegant knot. Ron was mesmerized by how beautiful she looked. Harry went to her and told her she looked beautiful. Hermione smiled at him and said he looked great as well. She then went to Ron and said, "So how do I look?" Ron stammered and said that she looked very beautiful. He then gave her the carnations corsage he had brought for her. Hermione took it and said, "Thank you for the corsage Ron. You look very stunning. These robes look great on you." Ron's nervousness disappeared after Hermione said that. Offering her his arm, which Hermione accepted, they both went through the door to go to the Hall. After that Ginny came down.

If Harry had thought Gin looked cute and pretty during the Ministry Ball, right now, he thought she looked gorgeous. Wearing a light green dress, her red hair looking darker than usual and in a French Braid, she looked stunning and gorgeous to Harry. Ginny came in front of him and snapped her fingers, bringing Harry back. She was smiling, happy at the reaction Harry had to her. Harry then said that he was sure that Ginny was going to be the prettiest girl at the Ball. Her smile grew and she said that Harry was looking hot and handsome in his greenish black robes. Harry then handed her the orchards corsage he had got for her. Ginny took it and after looping her arm through his, said, "Shall we go then Mr. Potter? We have a ball to attend." Harry said, "Let's go Miss Weasley. You owe me lot of dances." Ginny laughed at that.

They then went to the Great Hall, which had been redecorated for the Ball. They saw their friends sitting around a table for 6 and joined them. Harry then looked around to see how the hall was decorated. The great hall was completely redesigned. The top of the hall was a dark night sky with full moon and stars. Harry got worried on seeing the full moon as he thought the werewolf inside Remus may come out. He looked at Remus, who was sitting with Henry, Gin, Tonks, Sirius and Amelia and was looking perfectly normal. Ginny saw Harry looking at Remus. She told him how it really wasn't the full moon, just an imitation. So, it didn't affect Remus. Harry nodded and again looked around the hall. The hall was completely made of ice. The head table had been converted into a stage for the band coming to perform for the night.

The long house tables were removed and instead round tables for 6 were placed throughout the hall. The tables were placed in such a manner that they made a u-shape with the stage at the open side. At the center a model of Hogwarts was present. That too was made from ice. Mistletoe was hung at various points. Snowflakes were dropping. Harry thought however did this deserved recognition. They had done brilliant work.

After everyone had come to the hall, Dumbledore stood up and welcomed everyone to the Yule Ball. He then showed everyone how to order the food. The feast started and everyone began eating. The elves had once again made a brilliant feast for the special occasion.

After everyone had their fill, Dumbledore then said, "With the wonderful feast done, it's time for the ball to begin. Today, the Weird Sisters will perform for us." A huge cheer came from the students as the Weird Sisters took the stage. Dumbledore then asked the champions to open the ball with the first dance. The four champions and their dates came to the middle. The band then started a traditional waltz song and the champions started to dance, thus starting the ball. After the song was done, everyone else joined. Harry and Ginny danced few songs together and then danced with their friends. Harry even asked his aunt for a dance. While Harry was dancing with Gin, he saw that Henry and Remus were talking with Sirius in a corner. Sirius looked a bit nervous and Henry and Remus were reassuring him. Harry asked Gin why was Sirius nervous. Gin then told him that Sirius was going to propose to Amelia tonight. Harry was very happy to hear that.

He had seen how happy Sirius was when he was with Amelia. After dancing with Gin, Harry went to look for Ginny. Ginny was sitting at their table, drinking some butterbeer. Harry went to her and said, "Would you like to get some air outside?" Ginny nodded and together, they went outside to the rose garden. Sitting on one of the benches, they looked at the beautiful star filled night sky. Harry asked Ginny, "Did you enjoy the ball Ginny?" Ginny looked at him and said, "I enjoyed a lot Harry." Harry smiled and said, "I did too." Ginny said, "Well I won the challenge then Mr. Potter." Harry laughed and said, "That you did Miss Weasley. But I didn't lose." Ginny got confused and asked, "And how did you not lose Mr. Potter." Harry said, "Because of this." He then kissed Ginny on the lips.

Ginny was surprised by the kiss for a moment. She then kissed Harry back. When they pulled back, both had a smile on their faces. Harry was about to say something but Ginny kissed him back. When they pulled back, Ginny said, "Be my boyfriend?" Harry laughed and said, "Ginny, I was supposed to ask you to be my girlfriend. But yes, I will be your boyfriend." Ginny laughed as well and they kissed again. After that, they went inside to tell their friends and family.

When they went inside, they saw their friends congratulating Sirius and Amelia. Harry and Ginny saw the ring on Amelia's hand and congratulated them as well. It was on this happy and high note that the ball ended. When Henry and Gin went to sleep that night, they were thinking of the changes they had made. They had really changed things for better.

January 10th 1995

The Christmas break went by brilliantly for Harry and his friends. They all had a wonderful time with their families. Harry and Ginny hadn't told anyone about their relationship yet. At first, they didn't want to take the focus off from Sirius and Amelia's engagement. But later, they just decided to see how long they could hide their relationship before others would realize that they were a couple. Till now, it looked like no one saw any change. This is was going to be very fun.

Sirius and Amelia meanwhile had decided to have their wedding on August 20th. It was the day when Sirius and Amelia started dating when they were both in Hogwarts. Amelia asked Molly and Tonks for help in arranging the wedding. They happily agreed. Everyone was excited for the wedding.

The group returned to Hogwarts on January 6th. Right now, they were all sitting in Henry's and Gin's office, discussing about the second task. Sirius said, "Harry, you still have that golden egg?" Harry nodded and took it out from his bag. Sirius said, "Open it Harry." Harry opened it and a loud shriek came from the egg. He quickly closed the egg and said, "What was that shriek?" Luna said, "It sounded like Mermish. The Mer people voice sounds like that. You should try to keep it under water and check Harry." Henry conjured a bucket while Remus filled it. Harry then placed the egg inside it and then opened it. Instead of the ear-piercing shriek, a melodious poem played. Harry heard the poem twice and then repeated it to Hermione, who wrote it down and read it.

They all thought about the poem for a bit. The adults already knew what the poem meant and what the task was. But they wanted the kids to figure it out on their own. It was Hermione who started. She said, "So the poem clearly says that something that Harry holds dear would be taken." Ron said, "And it would probably be in the hidden in the Black Lake as the poem is in Mermish. And he will have one hour." Ginny said, "And it will be something that Harry will sorely miss. But what could it be?" Harry thought for a while and said, "The things I would miss the most are my broom, the map, the photo album and the cloak. But what will they hide? And how will they decide what to hide?" Hermione then said, "What if they don't take the thing you will miss the most, but the person you miss the most?"

Harry immediately looked at Sirius and said, "Hermione isn't right Sirius, is she? Are they seriously going to keep someone inside the lake?" Sirius said, "Hermione is correct Harry. It is a hostage task. You will have to rescue your hostage within an hour." Harry angrily said, "How can they? I understand that I am forced to take part in this tournament. But you all didn't. How could they make you a part of the tournament?" Sirius said, "The rules allows it Harry. It was what the organizers agreed to." Harry then asked, "And who will they decide who I will miss the most?" Sirius said, "I don't know Harry. But if what I fear is correct, it will be Ginny." Shock and disbelief replaced anger. Harry asked, "Ginny? How? Why not someone else? Why only her?"

Sirius said, "Because you went to the Yule Ball with her. The goblet will most probably recognize her as the person you will miss the most." Harry was a bit worried now. He said, "What if I am not able to find her within an hour?" Sirius said, "I don't know Harry." Remus quickly added, "Knowing Dumbledore, he would have counter measures ready Harry." Henry then said, "And you will find her Harry. We all will help and train you." Harry quickly looked at Ginny, his eyes still showing that he was worried and scared. Ginny took his hand and said, "If I am the one who is taken, then I know that you will rescue me. I believe in you Harry." Harry nodded. He had gripped her hand as well. No one expect Henry and Gin saw that. While others thought it was just one best friend comforting other, they thought that something between Harry and Ginny had changed.

Harry then said, "How can I hold my breath for an hour? Is there any charm for that?" Neville said, "There is a plant called Gillyweed. It will give you gills and make your hands and feet padded to become like fins of a fish." Harry said, "Will it last for an hour?" Neville said, "You will need to eat a bit more for it to last an hour. We can try and find how much lasts for how long." Harry then looked at Henry and Gin and said, "I need to learn swimming. Ron and Ginny had taught me some basic swimming but I want to learn it completely and properly. Is there some way I can learn swimming?" Gin said, "There is a way. Let me and Henry arrange it. We will start in 3 days." Harry nodded. With the plan made, everyone went back to their dorms and rooms.

Henry and Gin started teaching Harry how to swim in the Room of Requirement. Along with Harry, his friends came as well and join him. During these sessions, Henry and Gin caught Harry and Ginny staring at each other and even blush sometimes. They also noticed Harry and Ginny holding hands when they thought no one was seeing them. They were sure now that these two were hiding something. Henry and Gin were hoping that they had started dating. Their suspicions were proved correct when they caught them kissing each other after practice one day.

After the practice was done and Henry and Gin had cleared the room, they left the room and started walking towards their quarters. On their way, they heard quiet laughter coming from a deserted corridor. Gin and Henry went towards the direction of the laughter, for it sounded very familiar to them. When they heard the laughter coming from one of the broom closets, a smile came to their faces. For the laughter was coming from one of the closets they themselves used to be frequent occupants when they themselves had been dating at Hogwarts. Gin quietly whispered to Henry, "5 sickles that its them inside." Henry said, "I know I am going to lose but sure. 5 sickles." Henry and Gin opened the closet and saw two very familiar teenagers jump apart. It was clear that these 2 teenagers had been snogging. Henry and Gin were not going to let this teasing opportunity to go by. Gin said, "Snogging in broom closets after curfew huh? Since when did you and Ginny started snogging Harry?"

Henry said, "And you didn't even tell us. We are hurt. Wait till Remus and Sirius come to know this." Harry's eyes widened. While he knew his uncle and aunt were only teasing, if Sirius and Remus came to know this, the teasing would be over the top. They might even send a howler just to embarrass with him. Ginny however gave them a cheeky smile and said, "Like you two don't snog whenever and wherever you get the chance." Harry said, "Yeah, you are way worse than us. At least we don't kiss in front of everyone." Henry and Gin started laughing at that. Henry said, "They got us there Gin." Gin agreed. All four of them laughed. Henry and Gin then said that they were very happy for them and that they wouldn't tell anyone. Harry and Ginny said they wanted to see who will figure it out first. After that, they went back to their rooms.

February 24th, 1995

Harry was currently waiting on the stage for the second task to start. As they had expected, Ginny was taken as his hostage. Henry and Gin had come to take Ginny yesterday. She, along with Gabrielle, Cho and Susan were taken as hostage. Gabrielle was Fleur's sister, Cho was Cedric's date for the Yule Ball while Susan was Krum's date for the Yule Ball. All of them were inside the Black Lake near the Mer people village. Harry felt someone come beside him. He looked to his side and saw Henry sitting beside him. Henry said, "How are you feeling?" Harry said, "Nervous." Henry said, "That's not surprising. Had it been your aunt and me instead of Ginny and you, I would have been nervous as well." Harry said, "I just want the task to be over." Henry nodded, agreeing with Harry.

After few minutes, the remaining champions came to the stand while the judges and remaining teachers and students went to the sitting area. The judges explained the rules to the champions. The rules were that the champions would have 1 hour to locate their hostage and come back. They were not allowed to attack any magical creature inside the lake until the said creature attacked them and they retaliated in self-defense. After that, the judges went back and the task started.

Viktor did a partial animal transfiguration to become a shark while still retaining his legs. Fleur used the Bubblehead Charm as did Cedric. Both did it perfectly. Harry used the Gillyweed and dove into the lake to locate and bring Ginny back. Luna had already given him a rough idea where the Mer village would most probably be.

Harry was swimming towards the Mer village when he saw grindylows swim beside him. He saw Fleur being attacked by the grindylows and helped her by stunning some grindylows. Fleur mouthed a thank you to Harry and they began swimming again. After swimming for a while, he found the village and the posts where the hostages were tied. Harry found Ginny and quickly untied her. He then grabbed her and started swimming to the surface. As soon as they reached the surface, Ginny woke up and was initially confused where she was. After letting her calm down and gather her sense, Harry and Ginny swam back to the stage, where Madam Pomfrey was already treating Fleur and Krum. She quickly casted a look over the two and declared them fine. Few minutes later, Cedric came back as well.

Madam Pomfrey checked him and his hostage as well and applied heating charms on them. With that the task was over. After few minutes of discussion among judges, Dumbledore stood up and started speaking. He said, "With that, the second task of the TriWizard Tournament is over. Our champions have once again showed wonderful magical prowess, for all them have returned within the allotted time. Here are the points awarded to them. First to return was Viktor Krum. He used animal transfiguration to turn himself into half-shark. This requires a lot of strength and skill. He is awarded 45 points. Next to return was Fleur Delacour. She used the Bubblehead charm perfectly and rescued her hostage, despite being attacked by the Grindylows. She is awarded 44 points. Next to return was Harry Potter, who used Gillyweed. While using Gillyweed in itself doesn't need any skill, it requires knowledge of Magical plants and he showed that. And Miss Delacour has told us that Mr. Potter had helped her when she was attacked by grindylows. Hence, he is awarded 43 points. Last to return was Cedric Diggory, who also employed Bubblehead charm. He too did the charm perfectly and is awarded 42 points. With this, the current points tally is as follows. Harry Potter with 88 points, Cedric Diggory and Fleur Delacour with 86 points and Viktor Krum with 83 points. That's it for the second task. The third and final task will be held on May 24th." A huge cheer came from everyone after that. The people around Harry were cheering the loudest, for Harry was still in the lead. They soon began cheering for another reason.

That other reason was Ginny kissing Harry after the final scores were announced. Hermione, Ron, Neville, the twins, Remus and Sirius were shocked and surprised by this. Luna was smiling while Henry and Gin were laughing at the looks on others faces. When Ginny and Harry pulled apart from the kiss, Ginny was smirking while Harry was smiling like a dork. Later that night, a huge party was held in the Gryffindor Tower. Harry and Ginny were bombarded with questions by their friends. When did they become a couple? Why they didn't they tell them? And other such questions. Harry and Ginny answered all their questions. Afterwards, they all celebrated Harry's great performance in the task and his and Ginny officially becoming a couple. It was a wonderful night of celebrations and happiness.

June 15th, 1995

These 4 months had gone by quickly for Harry and his friends. Sirius and Remus had taught them many transfiguration and charm spells. Sirius had also started teaching them the basics about how to be an animagus. He had made them the animagus potion, which revealed their animagus form. They had even started turning their arm into their animagus counterparts. They all were making good progress and Sirius was sure they would easily become animagus within a year.

Henry and Gin had started training them some advance defense spells. Sometimes, even Tonks came. when she came, she told the group about some of the stuff she did as an Auror. Hearing about these tales made Harry and Ron want to join the Aurors. Ginny was fixed on becoming a professional quidditch player. Her dream since she was a young girl was to play for the Holyhead Harpies. Neville wanted to learn more about Herbology. Luna wanted to find new magical animals and plants. Hermione was the only one who wasn't still sure. But they all still had lots of time and were enjoying their time at Hogwarts. With all the help he had received from Henry, Gin, Sirius, Remus and Tonks, he was confident that he would be able to complete the 3rd task.

Henry, Gin, Sirius and Remus were with Dumbledore in his office, discussing what to do about the 3rd task. They all knew that the cup would be a portkey to take Harry to the graveyard, where the ritual would be performed to bring Voldemort back. For the past week, they had been coming up with all possible scenarios and plans. But all of them had one flaw or another. It was Remus who came up with the plan they finally decided upon. He said, "We know that Harry would be taken to the graveyard and that his blood would be forcibly taken. Wormtail will forcibly take his blood. What if me and Sirius were already waiting at the graveyard, disillusioned and hidden. When Wormtail starts the ritual, we will send a Patronus to you. Henry and Gin can quickly come to the Graveyard while Dumbledore, Tonks and Amelia can locate Barty and Karkaroff. If we all go together, others will notice this and everything we have done till now would be for nothing." Everyone agreed with Remus's plan. They started preparing for it.

Tonks and Amelia were told of the plan and both of them agreed. Sirius and Tonks went to the graveyard and surveyed it. They found a place where they could apparate to and found another place where they could stay hidden and still see what was happening. Sirius and Remus also decided to buy invisibility cloaks. While they won't be as good as Harry's was, it was better than just being disillusioned. Henry and Gin meanwhile taught as many spells as they could to Harry.

Henry and Gin were very nervous for the coming trial. All their efforts, everything they had done till now, rested on the result of this plan. If their plan wasn't successful, everything they had done would be for nothing. Gin was even more nervous because she was hiding something big from others.

Chapter Text

June 24th, 1995

June 24th. The day of the 3rd and final task of the TriWizard Tournament. Harry was waiting outside the Great Hall, waiting for his friends to come from their final exam. As a champion, he wasn't required to write the exams. He saw Hermione and Ron coming, both of them looked like they were bickering as usual, most probably about the exam they just wrote. Behind was Ginny, Neville and Luna, watching the other two. They came to Harry, who asked them about their exams. It went well for all of them. Hermione then asked Harry how he was feeling. He said, "Bit nervous. But not as nervous as I was when my name came out or for the previous tasks. I am more confident now that Uncle Henry, Sirius, Remus and Aunt Gin have taught us so many spells."

They went inside and were surprised to see Arthur, Molly, Bill, Sirius and Tonks along with the twins sitting at their spot. Ginny quickly went towards her favourite brother and gave him a tight hug. Bill returned the hug and ruffled her hair. He also gave Ron a hug and shook hands with others. Harry asked them what they were doing at Hogwarts. Molly told him how the champion's family was allowed to visit for the third task. Harry was happy that the Weasleys came, for they were so close to him that he could call them part of his family. They ate lunch while talking and laughing. Sirius was telling some of the pranks marauders had pulled while Molly and Arthur told them some funny stories during their time. Ginny also introduced Bill to Fleur while Ron introduced Krum. Both Fleur and Bill stared at the other and it was clear to everyone that they had fallen for each other.

Henry, Gin and Remus joined them after some time. Henry told them that the task was about to begin. They all went to the quidditch pitch, where the maze was made for the task. Sirius, Remus and Tonks playfully warned Harry that with all the training they gave him, he better win the task. Harry laughed and said he would do his best to win the task. Ginny gave a kiss for good luck, earning catcalls from others. Henry told him to trust his instincts. Gin came at last. She kissed his cheek and told him, "You have a surprise waiting for you if you win the task and the tournament." Harry was intrigued what this surprise was. The judges then signaled the champions to get ready for the task. Harry went near the entrance of the maze. The sound of a cannon fire signaled the beginning of the 3rd task.

Harry entered the maze first since he was leading the tournament till now. The maze had 3 entrances. He choose the left entrance. He used Lumos and slowly and carefully walked through the path. The first obstacle he faced was a Hinkypuff. Henry and Gin had told them about hinkypuffs during the class. He used Lumos Duo, a stronger version of Lumos, to blind it and then used Flipendo to knock it out. He then faced a boggart, nearly avoided something that looked similar to an armantucula and faced a charm illusion which made the world inverted. He crossed them all and found himself in front of a sphinx. The sphinx told him that if he answered her riddle, she would directly take him to the cup. If he answered wrong, he would have to fight her. If he didn't want to answer her question, he could leave without any repercussions

Harry asked the sphinx to tell him the riddle. The Sphinx said, "What animal goes on four feet in the beginning, two in the middle and 3 at the end?" Harry thought for a while before the answer came to him. He said, "Humans." The sphinx smiled at him and said he was correct. She then stepped aside and showed him the path, the end of which was the cup. Harry quickly made his way to the cup. He reached the end of the path and stood in front of the cup. He looked around, looking for any trap. Finding none, he grabbed the cup. It then transported him to a graveyard, surprising him. But before he could do anything, he was stunned.

Sirius and Remus had already been waiting at the graveyard. They saw Wormtail stun Harry and quickly sent a Patronus to Henry and Gin. Henry and Gin got the Patronus and quickly went to Dumbledore and told him, "Remus and Sirius sent the signal." Dumbledore nodded and said, "I will take care of things here. Both of you go." Henry and Gin nodded and quickly ran to the gates. They then apparated to the graveyard.

Harry was tied to a statue. Wormtail used the reviving spell on him to wake him. When Harry opened his eyes, he saw Wormtail chanting and mixing something in a bowl. Wormtail was performing the ritual to being Voldemort back.

He said, "Bones of father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son." He then added the bones to the bowl. "Flesh of servant, willingly given, you will revive your master." To Harry's shock, he cut his own hand and added to the bowl. He at last came towards Harry. "Blood of enemy forcibly taken, will resurrect your foe." He then made a gash on his arm. Thinking quickly, Harry braced himself for his blood to be taken, thus making the blood given willingly. Pettigrew didn't notice this and added the blood to the bowl and mixed them. He chanted the ritual once again. After that, Voldemort came out of the bowl and stood in front of him. Unlike the last time he faced Voldemort, Harry didn't feel any pain in his forehead.

Voldemort took his wand from Wormtail and said, "You have proved your worth Pettigrew. You believed in me and the cause. Stretch your arm." He then gave him a silver arm. He then pressed the dark mark on Pettigrew's hand, which made everyone's dark mark pain. It was the message for them to come to him. He then looked at Harry and said, "You have been a thorn for long in my side Harry James Potter. You prevented my rise not once, but twice. You made me live in this miserable weak state for 14 long years. I should kill you for everything you did. But, I have seen the prowess and skill you showed in this tournament. I give you another chance to join me Harry. We will be unstoppable together and can rule the world." Harry said, "How delusional you must be to think that I will join you." Voldemort expression changed. But before he could do anything, his death eaters came to the graveyard. His attention shifted to them and he started berating them and even punished few of them by using the cruciatus curse. But to his surprise, the curse wasn't as strong as it used to be and he was feeling weak after using it.

It was during this when Henry and Gin apparated into the graveyard. Sirius and Remus saw them and the four of them silently went behind the statue that Harry was tied to and started cutting the ropes binding him. One of the death eaters saw this and casted the killing curse at them. They evaded it and the fight began.

Voldemort quickly called Nagini to him. He was keeping her close to protect her and regain some strength. He then started dueling Harry. Meanwhile Remus, Sirius, Henry and Gin were dueling with other death eaters. They were soon joined by some aurors who had been send by Amelia. After a while, all the death eaters were defeated, stunned and bounded. Henry and Gin turned towards Harry who was still dueling with Voldemort.

He had been hit with few cutting curses but the curses were not too strong and had been weakened by his shield so much that they left only a small cut. Voldemort meanwhile was panting and was heavily tired, which confused him. Why was he so tired? He then started using killing curses. Henry started casting spells at Voldemort, who started firing spells back at Henry. Henry said, "Your spells are so weak Tom. What happened? Feeling tired?" Voldemort said, "I am Lord Voldemort, the most powerful wizard alive. Pettigrew messed the ritual. Otherwise you and your nephew wouldn't be alive this long." Henry said, "Whatever Tom. Did you ever wonder why you felt so weak throughout the summer? Let me tell you why. Because we destroyed your horcruxes."

Voldemort's face was filled with fear. How did they know about the horcruxes? How did they find them? He however then said, "Lies. You didn't find all my horcruxes. Otherwise I wouldn't have been resurrected."

Henry said, "True. But we know were the last one is." Voldemort quickly looked for Nagini. He then saw Gin cast the severing charm at her. He tried to cast a shield to protect her but his shield was so weak that he wasn't able to protect her and the charm severed her head. Voldemort then laughed. For the horcrux in Nagini joined his soul, giving him more energy and power. He said, "Foolish thing you just did Peverell. You made me more powerful and energized." But he didn't notice Harry and Henry exchange their wands. Neither did he notice Henry telling Harry something. He then casted the Killing curse at Harry. Harry dodged it and then casted Expelliarmus at Voldemort. Their spells connected.

Voldemort was surprised when their wands connected. Only brother wands were supposed to connect. But unlike what he expected, which was for Priori Incantato to occur, the spells reflected. Before even he could do anything, his own spell killed him. Instead of Priori Incantato, the spells rebounded since the wands were not brother wands.

Only silence was present for few seconds. After that everyone began cheering. Voldemort was finally dead. Harry had finally killed him. Harry feel on his knees. The duel had taken a lot of energy out of him. Henry lifted him up. Tonks came to them and told them to go back to Hogwarts. She and the aurors will manage things there. The group apparated back to Hogwarts. As soon as they came back, everyone ran to them, asking them what happened. Dumbledore however came and told them to go and get some rest. But he knew that the task was done. They had succeeded. They had won.

After Dumbledore told them to go get some rest, Henry and Gin went to their quarters while Sirius and Remus took Harry to the Hospital Wing. Others followed them as well. Sirius and Remus knew that Henry and Gin needed some time alone. They had finally completed their mission. When they reached the hospital wing, Sirius placed Harry on the nearest bed. Madam Pomfrey started treating him while the others went outside. Sirius and Remus then told them what had happened. They all were surprised at what happened. But they were also proud of what Harry and they had done. For if what Sirius and Remus told them was true, Voldemort was finally, truly dead. It was during this retelling that Dumbledore came with Amelia to the hospital wing.

Amelia told them that the death eaters caught at the graveyard had been arrested and sent to Azkaban. Fudge had tried to prevent the arrest of some death eaters who were prominent and rich members of the Wizengamot. But he himself was arrested due to him taking bribes from prominent death eaters like Malfoy and Nott Sr. She was currently the Interim Minister of Magic. Everyone congratulated her for that.

Meanwhile, in Henry and Gin quarter, both of them had broken down. It was finally over. Voldemort was dead. He wouldn't kill their loved ones. The Weasley's won't die. Sirius, Remus and Tonks won't die. Harry and Ginny wouldn't lose their loved ones like they did. They had prevented that. For few minutes, they just let all their emotions and pain of that time loose.

They felt better after finally letting all that pain and hurt go loose. Henry eventually went to their truck and brought the Resurrection Stone out of it. After finding the ring and destroying it, Henry and Gin had took it and stored it safely. He took Gin's hand and together they used the stone to call and speak with their loved ones one last time. Each and every one of them came. Harry's parents, Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Hermione, Ron and the remaining Weasleys. They all came. Henry and Gin were holding each other tightly. Ron looked at them and said, "It's done Harry. You and Ginny are finally free mate." Hermione said, "You have another family now Harry and Ginny. Enjoy it." Arthur said, "We will always be with you two." James pointed to their heart and said, "Right here. And we will always be there with you, anytime you need us."

Everyone else smiled at them. Tears were flowing down everyone's eyes. Time however was running out and it was time for them to go and pass on from this world. But before going, both Lily and Molly looked at Gin. They said, "You should tell him Ginny. He will love it." Gin nodded. After that, they all disappeared, leaving this world. Henry turned towards Gin and was about to ask her what they meant, but Gin interrupted him by kissing him. Henry, though confused, returned the kiss. When they pulled back, Gin whispered to him, "I am pregnant Henry." Fresh tears filled Henry's eyes. But this time, they were of happiness and joy. His voice was full of emotions when he said, "You are pregnant?" Gin nodded, smiling at him. He said, "We are going to become parents? We are going to have a baby?" Gin again nodded. Her smile grew bigger. Henry lifted her and spun her around. This was the first step in their new lives. He then gave her a passionate kiss which evolved into more. Both of them slept with heart full of content and excitement on their life ahead.

On June 30th, a small celebration was held in the Peverell home. They all had just come from the award ceremony for the TriWizard Tournament. Snacks and drinks were there and everyone was having a good time. Sirius offered a glass of firewhisky to Gin, who was sitting on Henry's lap and wasn't drinking anything. Gin declined it and said, "Thanks Sirius. But I can't drink anything alcoholic." Sirius was about to ask why but he saw both Gin and Henry place their hand on her stomach. Sirius's eyes widened and he looked at them.

Both saw his expression and the unspoken question in his eyes. They both nodded. Sirius loudly exclaimed and congratulated them. Remus asked him why he was congratulating him. Gin stood up and said, "Sirius was congratulating us because Henry and I just told Sirius that we are going to welcome a little one in late January if everything goes well." Everyone cheered at that and congratulated them. Henry then went to Remus and Tonks and said, "Remus. Tonks. Will you both be the godparents?" Remus was shocked at that while Tonks happily accepted. Remus said, "Me? Are you sure Henry, Gin?" Gin looked at Remus, her hands on her hips and an angry expression on her face as she said, "Remus John Lupin. Are you refusing to be godfather to our baby?" Remus wanted to tell how he wasn't fit to be a godfather. He was a werewolf after all. He wasn't fit to be a godfather.

Gin understood his hesitation and softly said, "Remus. You being a werewolf doesn't change a thing." Remus tried to protest but Sirius said, "Don't try Remus. You know you will not win. Gin is as stubborn as Lily was." Everyone laughed at that, including Remus. He looked at Henry and Gin and said, "Are you sure you want me to be the godfather?" Gin and Henry nodded. Henry said, "We wouldn't have asked you if we didn't want you to be the godfather Remus." Remus smiled at them and said, "I would be honored being godfather to your child." Everyone cheered at that.

Harry was very happy that night. Not only did he win the TriWizard Tournament, he was also going to get a cousin. He was over the moon for his uncle and aunt. They would make wonderful parents. He knew how much this meant to them. They had lost their family and now were not only part of a huge family, they were also going to become parents. He also understood how much the title of godfather meant to Remus, who throughout his life had been shunned and casted aside due to him being a werewolf. He was completely sure that Remus would be a great godfather. And Tonks would be an equally great godmother. He was very happy that Henry and Gin had asked them to be the godparents. The rest of the night was spent celebrating many things. Harry winning the tournament. Voldemort's death. And finally, Gin's pregnancy. It was a night full of celebrations and happiness. It was the beginning of a new era for them. An era full of happiness and joy.

Chapter Text

January 24th, 1996

Henry was in his and Gin's quarter, sitting beside Gin. He was grading some projects while Gin was reading a book. She was on maternity leave. She taught along with Henry for first 5 months but after that she stopped taking classes with him. She however still helped Henry grade papers and come up with assignments. Looking at Gin made remember Henry the weird craving Gin had in the middle of night, the feeling of feeling their child kick for the first time, hearing the heartbeat of their child. All of it made him excited. They were just about to go for lunch when Gin started experiencing pain. Henry saw this and immediately came to her. She said, "Henry. It's time." Henry took his wand and sent a Patronus to Madam Pomfrey before helping Gin up and taking her to the Hospital wing.

They reached the Hospital Wing and found Madam Pomfrey waiting for them. She quickly had Gin lie on a bed and asked her how often was she experiencing the pain. She then started preparing her for the delivery while Henry sent a Patronus to others.

Remus was in the Great Hall, sitting at the Head Table when he got Henry's Patronus. He told the message to Dumbledore and Minerva before going to the Hospital Wing. Harry saw this and was about to go after Remus, but Ginny and Hermione stopped him. Hermione told him how labour takes a lot of time and that it could easily take an entire day before the baby is born. Ginny told him that she was sure Henry would call him once the baby was born. Harry nodded and they went to their classes, excited for the baby's birth.

Sirius was in Amelia's office, waiting for his wife to be done with her work before going for their dinner date. They had gotten married in the summer. Sirius was enjoying the married life, something which Henry, Arthur and Remus never forgot to remind him.

Amelia just came in her office when Sirius got the Patronus from Henry. Amelia told him to go and to take Tonks with him. She would join them in the evening, Sirius kissed her and went to the Aurors office, where he found Tonks talking with one of the trainers. He told her the news. Together, they took a portkey and reached Hogwarts. They then quickly made their way to the Hospital Wing. There, they found Remus waiting outside. They conjured some chairs and sat down, waiting for the arrival of the baby.

After a while, they heard Gin's angry shouts of pains and Henry trying to help her and calm her, who took them and tried to calm Gin. Sirius and Remus remembered Harry's birth, where James was in a similar position. It was after 7 hours that the heard the loud painful screams of Gin, followed by the cries of a baby. They became excited. The baby was finally here.

Inside, Madam Pomfrey had Henry cut the umbilical cord and took the baby to remove all the blood. Henry meanwhile sat beside Gin. She was tired and sweaty, but a smile was on her face. Their baby was here. Madam Pomfrey came back, with the baby in her arms, wrapped in a soft cloth and handed the baby to the new parents. She then said, "Congratulations Henry and Gin. You have been blessed with a healthy baby girl." Both Henry and Gin thanked her.

Gin took their baby in her arms. She looked a lot like her. The same nose and cheeks. She had tuft of brown hair on her head, which looked a mix of Henry's black and Gin's red. She then opened her eyes and looked at Gin. Bright green eyes started at the brown eyes. It was Henry's eyes staring at her. Henry then gently took her into his arms. He gently kissed her forehead. He looked at Gin. Tears were flowing down both their eyes. He gave her a soft kiss and said, "She is so beautiful." Gin smiled at him and said, "She is. She is finally here." Henry nodded. She was finally here.

Madam Pomfrey went outside and found Sirius, Remus and Tonks eagerly waiting. She said, "They have been blessed with a baby girl. Why don't you all go inside?"

They went inside and found Henry sitting beside Gin, holding their daughter. They saw them come inside.

Henry stood and came towards them. He looked at Remus and Tonks and said, "Remus, Tonks, meet your goddaughter, Hope Marie Peverell." He then handed Hope to Remus, who gently took her. He looked at her. He gently whispered to her that he was her godfather and would try to be the best godfather he could be for her. Tonks then took her from Remus. She gently bounced her on her arms. Hope started falling asleep and Tonks gave her to Gin. Sirius looked at Hope and had a huge smile on his face. It was clear to him that Hope would be babied by everyone, especially by Remus. He was completely besotted by his goddaughter. Remus turned to Sirius and asked him, "Is that how you felt when you held Harry for the first time?" Sirius smiled and said, "I did. It's great, isn't it?" Remus nodded. Sirius then said, "It only gets better from here."

They along with Henry went outside, letting Gin and Hope sleep. When they went outside, they found the kids waiting for them. Harry asked, "How does the baby look?" Henry said, "Why don't you see it for yourself? But you all have to be very quiet. Both Gin and Hope are sleeping." Harry asked, "Hope? Do I have a cousin sister?" Henry smiled and said, "You do Harry." He then quietly took the kids inside while Sirius, Remus and Tonks went to tell others. Henry took them to Gin's bed and carefully took Hope from Gin's arm. He then showed her to the kids. All of them feel under her charm, just like everyone else. Harry said, "She looks a lot like aunt Gin." Henry said, "That she does." He then placed her back on Gin's arms while the kids went outside. Harry was very happy. He had a new sister. For the longest time he had wanted a sibling of his own. He did consider Hermione and Luna s his sisters and Ron and Neville as good as brothers. But now, he had a real sister. He was a big brother now and that thought filled him with happiness.

May 20th, 2000

Henry and Gin were in their home, decorating their house for their son's birthday. Their son, Andrew Charles Peverell was born 2 years before. His birth had turned what used to be a day filled with sadness into a day of happiness. While decorating their house, both of them were thinking about how drastically their life had changed from when they came to this world from theirs on this very day. Then, they had been depressed and had nothing to live for. Now, they had a daughter and a son. They had a nephew whom they loved like their own son. They had wonderful friends whom they considered family. They were happy.

Hope was 5 years old now and doing all the things any 5-year-old did. She and Andrew were both very close, always playing together or making mischief. Sirius and Amelia were godparents of Andrew. They themselves had 2 daughters, Dorea Amelia Black and Sophie Minerva Black. Dorea was 3 years old while Sophie was 1 year old. While Dorea was Sirius's copy, having the same love of pranks and mischief that her father had, Sophie was her mother's copy. She was sassy and was mischievous as well, but not as mischievous as her sister. Both of them had Sirius wrapped around their fingers, something which everyone teased Sirius about.

Remus and Tonks got married 6 months back. Their wedding had been an intimate event, with only family and close friends called for the wedding, a sheer contrast to the big wedding Sirius and Amelia had. Not that they wanted it, but they needed to.

Just few weeks ago, Tonks had told them that she was pregnant. Remus had initially been deathly scared, fearful that his child may get his condition. Assurances from others that lycanthropy couldn't be passed to his children had reduced his fears. A small part of him was still scared, but support from his wife and friends was slowly reducing that. Both he and Tonks were excited.

Harry and Ron had joined Aurors right after graduating from Hogwarts. For their first year in training, Tonks had been their trainer. Now, in their second year, Kingsley was their trainer. They had even done one raid under Kingsley's leadership. Both of them enjoyed the raid. Both of them were excited for the day when they would do raids on their own and would lead the raids.

Hermione had joined the ministry in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She wanted to change many of the archaic laws in the ministry, that targeted Muggleborn and Half-bloods. In the past 2 years, she had quickly risen ranks and was now directly working under the head of the department. Amelia had told the adults how the head had been very impressed by her work and was planning on grooming her to be the next head of the department.

Ginny had completed her dream and joined the Holyhead Harpies as a reserve chaser. She also got to meet her idol, Gwenog Jones, who was the captain. Gwenog had been impressed seeing Ginny's chaser skill during Hogwarts Quidditch matches. She now was training Ginny herself to make her even better.

Neville had become Professor Sprout's apprentice and was teaching the first and second years. Professor Sprout had told Dumbledore that she was planning to retire in few years and felt Neville would make a wonderful Herbology professor.

Luna meanwhile became a magizoologist. Along with her father, they roamed England and found 2 undiscovered magical plants and animals. They published it in the Quibbler and even brought one of the plants back. They even got some photos of the animals. They even got published in Newt Scamander book and she even got to meet the legendary Magizoologist.

Henry, Gin and Remus still taught at Hogwarts. Sirius meanwhile had joined the Board of Governors and was also an important member of the Wizengamot.

Tonks was now a senior auror along with Kingsley. She was currently assigned to train the first year auror trainees while Kingsley dealt with second years.

The house was completely decorated. But there was another reason this day was very important to Henry and Gin, for they had decided that they were going to tell the others the truth about them. They had decided to tell them after the kids had gone to sleep.

After the party was over and the kids asleep, Henry and Gin asked the adults to stay. After they all had settled, Henry started speaking. He said, "Thank you for coming everyone. There is something Gin and I have to tell you. When we meet you 8 years ago, we told you we came from a remote part of eastern Europe and that a dark lord had killed our family. While not exactly false, that wasn't the complete truth."

"The complete truth is a bit different. In reality, we are not from this world. We actually come from another timeline. In our world, we are Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley." Henry waited for the news to settle in. Everyone who didn't knew this were shocked with their mouth open. Harry and Ginny were the most shocked. Henry and Gin then proceeded to tell them about their life story. The Chamber of Secrets incident, Sirius's escape from Azkaban, Harry's trouble at the TriWizard Tournament, the minister's refusal to accept Voldemort's return, their relationship in 6th year, Dumbledore's death, Henry's life on the run, Hogwarts under Carrow's reign, the battle of Hogwarts, the death of their loved ones and the time after that. They then at last told about their decision to come to this world.

Everyone was in tears by the end. How could they say anything to them? What could they say? Harry realized just how easy he had. He only had his first year to worry. After that, he got away from the Dursley's and didn't had to face anything Henry and Gin had faced. The tournament was easy due to the help he had from Henry, Gin, Sirius, Remus and Tonks. His respect for Henry and Gin, which already very high, grew even more.

Everyone were thankful for what Henry and Gin had done. Because the alternative they had just heard from Henry and Gin was just catastrophic. The events from the past were finally laid to rest for Henry and Gin. They were done with that past. They had moved on from that. Happier things were to come.

September 1st, 2006

6 years had gone by since that day. A lot of things had happened since then. Henry and Gin had another daughter, Gwendolyn Irene Peverell. She had Gin's red hair and eyes, while looking like Henry. She had the same sass and mischievous nature that Gin had, while also having Henry's sense of humor. With the birth of their 3rd kid, they decided to upgrade their house. They added another floor to their house and add 3 more bedrooms and bathrooms. Each kid got their own room and bathroom.

Dumbledore had retired from all his positions. He said he was getting way too old and felt someone younger was needed. He thus handed the position of headmaster to Minerva and also left his position of Chief Warlock and Supreme Mugwump of ICW. He along with his friend Elphias Doge finally went on their long-delayed tour of the world.

After becoming the Headmistress, Minerva started looking for a transfiguration professor. But her search had increased to look for a potions professor as well as Snape also left Hogwarts. He never gave any reason why he left now, but Minerva felt that Dumbledore leaving might have some role in it. For Potions, Andromeda Tonks applied. Minerva hired her and she became the potions professor while professor Sinistra became the Head of Slytherin House. But what surprised her was Sirius applying for the post of transfiguration professor. When she asked him his reasons, he said that he was tired from all the politics from being on the Board and Wizengamot.

He wanted an out and when he heard about the post, he decided to apply. He and James had been natural at Transfiguration and Minerva hired him. Amelia meanwhile was still at the ministry, but was planning to leave the ministry as well. She wanted to spend more time with her daughters and wanted to do something else. But before going, she started grooming Hermione to be her successor. Some backlash came from the purebloods, who didn't want a muggleborn as their minister. But they were outvoted. Hermione started learning the ropes and Amelia began referring to her decision on many things while also showing her how she couldn't always achieve what she wanted. She had to make do with what she had and make the best of the situation. Amelia would retire 2 years later. By the time Amelia retired, Hermione was the perfect candidate and became the first muggleborn minister of magic.

Ron and Harry were both aurors now and were among the best in the department. Working as a pair, they were responsible for arresting some very dangerous criminals. They were senior aurors now and directly reported to Kingsley, who was head auror, and to Tonks, who was the deputy head auror.

Ginny was the lead chaser of the Holyhead Harpies now. She had established herself as a brilliant chaser and was one of the best playing in the league. She also won the best chaser award twice and the Harpies themselves won the Championship for the last two years. They were aiming for the 3rd one now.

Neville meanwhile was the Herbology professor at Hogwarts and was a student's favourite. Luna meanwhile had become a famous magizoologist. She had also founded a new department in the ministry, focused on discovering new magical animals and plants.

Harry and Ginny were engaged for 5 months now. Harry asked her out after her 2nd championship win. They decided to get married in winter next year. Ron and Hermione were still dating. But they had decided to move together. Neville and Luna were also living together. Neville had shared with Harry and Ron that he was going to propose to her.

Remus and Tonks had a son. They named him Edward Lupin, but everyone called him Teddy. He was a metamorphmagus like Tonks.

All of them were currently in Platform 9 3/4. Hope was going to Hogwarts for her first year. She was very excited for her first year at Hogwarts. She gave all her uncles, aunts, siblings and cousins hugs. She then came to her parents. Both Henry and Gin had tears of joy in their eyes. Both them gave her a tight hug and told her to enjoy her time at Hogwarts.

As the horn of the express sounded, Hope boarded the train and waved at her family. As the train disappeared, everyone started leaving. Henry and Gin also started towards the exit. They were talking about the things that had happened. They were happy with them. Their lives were looking good. They shared a kiss and went on, their future looking bright and colorful.

~The End~