Chapter Text

                   +—--------------------—+

Gone. Harry realized. They’re all gone. His wand- no not his- the Elder Wand sat loosely in his grasp as he lolled it around in his palm mindlessly. It’s your fault. You should’ve died. It should’ve been you, not them. Maybe if-

“Harry?” Hermione carefully placed her hand on his shoulder, snapping him out of his trance. “Are you alright? You don’t seem too well.”

He nodded absently, “I’m fine.”

Hermione squeezed his shoulder in reassurance. “The war has taken a toll on a multitude of people. Maybe you should-” Hermione paused, taking a breath, “Look, Harry… This wasn’t easy on any of us. Ron and his family are inside grieving over Fred, there are loads of injured kids and adults who want to see their family. Hell, I haven’t even seen my parents since we started looking for Horcruxes. Hogwarts is a mess and we’ve suffered many losses.”

 She stared solemnly at Harry. “What I’m trying to say, Harry, is that you’re not alone.”

Silence. Harry turned to face her, dropping the pieces of the Elder Wand into the steep canyon below Hogwarts’ bridge. “I know, ‘Mione. I know.” Your fault, your fault- The whispers echoed in his head as he walked away from her. 

There was no good in war.

Especially the days to come.

                      +—--------------------—+

After the war, Harry decided to visit Grimmauld Place for the last time. 

"Filthy half-blood master has called me... oh how I wish mistress would come back..."

Harry rubbed his temple tiredly "Look, Kreacher, I need you to keep something safe for me. Can you do that?"

"Yes, Kreacher can keep things safe."

Harry pulled out the three Hallows, handing it to Kreacher. "You must not let anyone into this house as soon as you hide these. Not even me. It will be a bloody nightmare if anyone finds these"

Kreacher takes the Hallows from Harry. "Kreacher will honor the nasty Half-blood master's command..." Kreacher muttered curses under his breath as he walked up the stairs to hide the items.

Harry sighed. "I suppose that's that." 

                            +—--------------------—+

6 Months Later

At Harry’s apartment

Empty bottles of beer lay all around the couch that Harry sagged into. Ron walked into the shabby apartment and dropped his bag onto the ground.

“Harry, you left your door unlocked again.”

Harry hummed nonchalantly in agreement. Ron sighed wearily. He pushed the now becoming common empty bottles of beer away as he walked to Harry.

“Mate… You need to get off that couch and go outside.” Ron tried pulling Harry away from the couch he’d been stranded on for the past half-year. Harry slouched onto the couch even more.

“Just let me rot away, Ron… I deserve it…” Harry mumbled incoherently, dismissing Ron’s concerned claims.

“C’mon, Harry. I understand you’ve had losses, but so have all of us. It’s been months. It’d be best to get over it and live your life normally.”

Harry scoffed, “Normal? When was there any “normal” in my life? It was always “the chosen one”, never “Harry” He looked up at him with hazy eyes, “And you don’t know what I’ve been through. No one does.”

Ron mumbled in annoyance. “Just… go outside for a few minutes… touch some grass, breathe some fresh air… it’ll do you good. Maybe you don’t even need to do anything. Just go outside.”

Silence. Harry finally broke it. “Ron, why are you here?”

His question took Ron by surprise but he quickly recovered. “You’re my best mate and I-”

Harry put up his hand sluggishly to stop Ron from talking. “You know that’s not what I mean. I may be drunk, but I’m not an idiot. Spill it, Ron.”

Ron swallowed nervously, then finally gave in. “Oh, alright, what did Hermione give you before she disappeared?”

Harry laughed hollowly. “Of course. I never thought anyone would ever offer me their pity unless they need something”

“It’s not like that, mate, but she was my girlfriend. I deserve to know what it is”

He cackled. “Deserve?” He scoffed.  “Deserve? You deserve nothing! Who was there when I was in my darkest time after the war? Hermione! Who was the one who encouraged me to get my life together when I was in shambles? Hermione! You did nothing to deserve anything, Ron. Life’s not fair, and we all deal with it.”

Ron fumed. “You don’t get to talk about what I do and don’t deserve when the wizardry world is in absolute disarray and you’ve done nothing to help it! You useless prick-”

Harry stood up and pointed his wand at Ron’s neck. “I’m supposed to fix everything, aren’t I? Because that’s what’s expected from me, right? Well, guess what? I don’t give a single shit about what the world thinks about me anymore. And if you don’t want to be sent to the hospital right here and now, you better take your crap and leave.”

Ron’s expression was livid. He swiftly picked up his bag and stomped out the door. “You need a fucking therapist, Harry. The war has messed you up.” Ron slammed the door shut and walked away. This ended the first conversation that Harry and Ron would have for a while.

If truth be told, Ron left so fast that he didn’t notice the 11” holly wand Harry was holding in his hand.

The wand that should’ve been gone when it was destroyed on Godric’s Hollow.

Strange, isn’t it?

3 Months Before

At Harry’s Apartment

Hermione dashed into Harry’s apartment. “Harry! I did it!” Harry jolted from his sleep and blinked drowsily as he sat up on the couch.

“Huh…?”

 She shoved a heavy duffle bag into Harry’s unsuspecting arms. He almost jumped out of his skin as the heavy duffle sunk him into the couch.

“Blimey, ‘Mione! You’re going to give me a heart attack!”

Hermione coughed nervously. “Sorry… but your door was unlocked again!” She scolded. “You should learn to lock it before you sleep.” She looked around at the empty bottles of alcohol scattered all over the apartment. “Harry, were you drinking again? You told me you quit.”

Harry cleared his throat awkwardly, changing the subject quickly. “How about we talk about something else?”

Hermione glared daggers at him before settling down. “Harry James Potter! The next time we see each other you are not getting away with this! Alas, for now, we can talk about the duffel bag. Precisely, what’s in the duffel bag. Open it.” She commanded.

Harry unzipped the duffel and pulled out a strange-looking contraption. Hermione took it out of his hands quickly as she smiled proudly at herself.

“What is that, ‘Mione?” He was very confused.

“The question you should be asking is ‘what does it do’? To answer that, it’s sort of like a time-turner, but a lot more useful. Of course, it has its issues, but-”

Harry interrupted her. “Hold on, that thing can turn back time? How far?”

Her smile faltered for a moment. “One, it’s not a thing, and two, I’m not too sure but from what I’ve found around 50-60 years.”

Harry choked on his spit as he heard her. “50-60 years!? Bloody hell! Where did you even find this, Hermione?”

“I made it myself.” She sniffed. “Quite proud of it if I do say so myself.” She wiped away a happy tear from her eye.

Harry was very puzzled as he ran a hand through his hair. “Hermione, there must be some sort of huge issue if you were to go back that far in time.”

She sucked in a breath nervously. “Well, there is one certain drawback…”

“‘Mione…” Harry said warningly. “What is it?”

“You get pulled into a different body if you go more than one year into the past… and that body could either be dead in a coffin or the middle of a conversation… It’s completely random. If I didn’t add this to the turner, then it would affect the timeline way too much.”

He sighed. “But, Hermione, who would use it?” 

She cleared her throat. “I was planning on giving it to you, Harry.” She stopped Harry from talking by continuing. “And before you reject, you need this Harry. At least to get some closure. Now, I’ve left a full guide inside the duffel bag that can tell you how to use it and-”

He groaned. “‘Mione, you know I’m not going to use it, right?”

“Yes, you are going to use it. Because if you don’t, I’m going to force you to. I’m not letting you stay like this, Harry. I care for you. You’re like a brother to me. It pains me to see you like this.”

He smiled weakly. “Thank you, Hermione. You’re the first person to say that in a while.”

She patted his shoulder. “Of course, Harry.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Hermione glanced at the clock. “Merlin! I’m late to my date with Ron! I’ll see you later, Harry!” She rushed out the door.

“Bye, ‘Mione. I’ll see you later.” He watched her rush out of his apartment with a fond smile. 

Alas, they never saw each other again.

For, Hermione met her end and Harry had no purpose to listen anymore. 

Present Time

A month after Ron and Harry’s argument

Harry dug under the rubble in his apartment, trying to find a cigar. 

“For Merlin’s sake… where is it?” He muttered under his breath. He pulled out a duffel bag and dug through it. 

He didn’t find the pack of cigars. 

Instead, he found the machine and manual to the device Hermione had given him months ago. 

It was covered in dust and rust. He stared at it blankly. He sighed tiredly and reluctantly pulled out the directions. 

“How the hell do I use this…?” He asked himself as he flipped the manual open. He skimmed the guide with haste then paused when he saw one of the warnings. ‘You may not be able to come back if you go more than 40 years’. He scoffed as he ran a hand through his hair.

“Someone would have to be crazy to go back more than one year…” He exhaled and took the machine into his hands. “Still…” Harry stood up and thought of using it. “‘Mione did tell me it would give me closure…” He scoffed. “I thought it would be Ron who would be there for me… but it was you, ‘Mione. Thank you.” He leafed through the instructions one last time before finally deciding to use it. 

 He flipped a couple of switches on the device and set the timeline to July 31st, 1979. It was the year before he was born. The year before the disaster.

“Just to see Sirius and my parents one last time…”

His plan may have not been perfect, but it was enough. 

Of course, that’s assuming there wasn’t a little malfunction that would most likely result in Harry not being able to travel back to his time.

But that’s absurd, isn’t it?

                       +—--------------------—+

Hogsmead, August 3rd, 1944

On a Roof

Harry stumbled off the roof that he was, for some reason, standing on.

“Well, crap.”

At St. Mungo’s August 4th, 1944

In a Hospital Room

Harry woke up in a hospital bed with a nurse standing next to him. He cursed under his breath as he looked at his deathly thin wrists and legs. He suddenly remembered what Hermione had told him about the soul transfusion. He grumbled, disheveled. 

The nurse quickly looked at him. “Oh, dear! Do you feel alright? Hurt anywhere at all?” She started to poke and prod at areas on his body. Harry pulled away hastily.

“I’m fine.”

She was a bit disgruntled by his sudden annoyance but recovered. “I must inform your caretakers! They’ve been dying to see you.” She ran out of the room.

He sat up and looked at his body. “For Merlin’s sake, did this kid not eat food or something?” Sure, Harry was an alcoholic and smoker, but at least he fed himself enough that he wasn’t a bloody stick!

“God damnit… what timeline is this? It surely can’t be 1979. The stuff here looks way older than it would be 21 years into the past…” He sighed as he glanced around the place he was sitting. It was obvious he was in St. Mungos, but what timeline?

His mind started to go crazy.

“That kid was seriously suicidal if he was on that roof…” Then an idea popped into his mind as he started to check his wrists. As he pulled back his sleeves, he groaned at the sight of bruises and fresh cuts on his skin. It wasn’t his skin and he had no idea what happened to the person who originally controlled it. 

“Merlin, it all makes sense why he was on the roof… He’s bloody suicidal… Crap… this isn’t going to be easy to deal with.” He tried to rub the bridge of his nose only to realize that his eyes felt bare. He only now noticed that he wasn’t wearing any glasses. It was the little things that started to affect him once he didn’t have them. He instead ran a hand through his hair, starting to miss the unruly style of his own. 

“Guess the horrible soul gets the horrible body. Karma bites back at you… ‘Mione was right… I should’ve stopped drinking…” He glanced at the small drawer next to him and spotted a wand that was split in two. He guessed it belonged to the original owner of this body.

“Well, that’s just great! In an unknown timeline with no wand, no sense of the identity of the body I’m in, and signs of the stupid kid being suicidal! Fantastic!” His words were dripping with sarcasm. He sighed.

“I guess I could’ve had it worse… at least I’m not in a coffin six feet deep…” He mustered up enough magic so that he could use it wandless and summoned a mirror. He inspected his face carefully, the black locks and blue eyes were exceedingly over average, making the boy seem handsome. 

“I don’t understand why a kid that looks this good would want to die… I can’t say the same for his wrists, though. They’re probably skinnier than a cobweb.” He scoffed. “I swear there is something more to this. Maybe if-”

Harry spotted a file. 

“Aha!”

He picked it up and skimmed through it.

Document file of Patient in Room 11

Patient Name: Matthew/Matteo Evans

Status: Half-blood

Family Blood: Pureblood

Age: 16

Description: Black hair, Blue eyes, Slim body, etc…

Patient Injury: Head concussion with a rib fracture and broken arm after jumping off a roof. 

“Pureblood? That’s surprising. I don’t remember there ever being a pureblood family with the last name of Evan’s… and why is this kid half-blood if his family is pure-blood...?" He flipped to another page.

He saw a part of the file that he hadn’t seen before. 

Estimated Time of Injury: 8/3/44 at 10:01 PM

He sucked in a breath as he saw this. “1944-” He paused. “19 freaking 44!” He pulled on his hair. “Merlin's balls! All I wanted was to see Sirius and my parents one last time! Why does this always happen to me…” He sighed, placed the clipboard back in the drawer, and laid down. 

“I think this was Tom Riddle's 6th year at Hogwarts.” He laughed nervously. “This is going to be a bloody nightmare…”

Unfortunately for Harry, he didn’t know half of what was coming.

Ch. 1 End

Chapter Text

+—--------------------—+

Hogwarts August 5th, 1944 (Tom Riddle POV)

In Slytherin Common Rooms

Tom was sitting on a sofa near the fireplace of the Slytherin common rooms. Everything was going alright for now. He shouldn’t assume no obstacles would get in his way, though. Dumbledore was a nuisance that had to be dealt with. He was getting too close to the truth. Alas, he’d have to deal with him after he finished Hogwarts. He wanted to at least maintain some sort of image to the public. 

“Orion”

Orion looked at Tom. "Yeah?"

"I want you to do something for me."

"Yeah, Tom?"

"I want you to try and become friends with that kid. Matt, I think?"

"...Ok? But why?"

"Just do it."

"...Fine."

He waved his hand. “Now, shoo.” He watched as Orion walked away. 

Sure, he had the entire Slytherin house to bend under his will with even a few Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. But it wasn’t enough. You could even say he was bored with the normal setting in Hogwarts. Even Myrtle’s death was more interesting than this.

What did pique his interest, though, was the news of Matteo Evans's attempt at suicide.

The 16-year-old boy had always been average, sometimes even indicating he was below average. He was weak and measly and those traits made Tom feel disgusted that someone like him would even be in Hogwarts. So that’s why he was a bit taken aback in the first year when he was sorted into Slytherin. Slytherin was for the smart and cunning. Not the weak and brainless. Despite this fact, now that Tom looked back on it, it seemed like Evans did have some secrets. The rooms for Hogwarts boys in Slytherin had always been separated. He couldn’t remember any instance where Evans had let someone into his room. Perhaps Evans did have some brain after all. Then again, he never interacted much with him. It didn’t contribute to his plans in any way. 

Especially after the rumor.

Nobody talked to Matteo Evans after the rumor. 

At Hogwarts August 5, 1944 (Orion Black’s POV)

In Orion’s Dorm Room.

Orion sat on his bed, crossing his legs and flipping open the Daily Prophet. To be honest, he didn’t think that the dumb attempts at bullying would cause the measly boy to jump off a roof. 

If the Daily Prophet spoke the truth, then that would mean that Evans had lost his memories, and he could make use of that.

+—--------------------—+

In St. Mungos August 6th, 1944 

At Night

“Now, dear child, don’t jump off roofs again, ok? I’m going to be making sure of that from now on.”

Harry nodded blankly. 

He was about to be discharged from St. Mungos. Since the caretakers that supposedly missed him so much didn’t show, he was forced to leave with a maid that was sent from ‘his parents’. The woman probably was thinking, ‘Oh, this poor suicidal child! I must take care of him!’.

As soon as the nurse got out of St. Mungos she pinned Harry to a wall, pointing her wand at his throat.

"Listen here, you filthy half-blood. How dare you humiliate the Evans blood by trying to kill yourself? Your parents are very, very disappointed... so much so that they have sent me to kill you. Finish the job that you started.

Harry was confused and partially terrified.

So he ran.

He ran as fast as he could, almost tripping over his hospital gown. Harry apparated quickly to Hogsmeade. He bumped into someone and saw the nurse had apparated with him. He hastily apologized as the man started to shout at him. In other people's eyes, he probably was deemed a madman, but he didn’t care. Harry needed to find the machine Hermione had created and go to the timeline he originally planned to go to. He wasn’t going to let Sirius and his parents die this time, even if he was in another body. He glanced briefly at the plump maid chasing after him.

“Get back here!” She yelled, out of breath. Harry ignored her, rolling his eyes. If he was trapped in this timeline was he going to tell Dumbledore what happened? No. His trust in Dumbledore was shattered after he found out that he was raised like a pig for slaughter. What was he going to do, then? He didn’t even know what house Evans was in. He prayed to Merlin it wasn’t Slytherin. Then again, when has anything turned out the way he wanted?

He turned sharply into the corner hoping to lose the woman chasing him. He pressed his back against the wall as his breath heaved. The nurse seemed oblivious to where Harry was. He sighed in relief as he slid down onto the cobblestone ground. He buried his face inside his hands as he muttered curses under his breath. 

+—--------------------—+

At Hogsmead August 7th, 1944

In the Alleyway

Harry couldn’t find the machine. 

He searched the entire night and a bit of the morning until he finally stopped looking around 3:00 AM. He didn’t expect to find the contraption anyway. If what the papers say is true, then that means that he was out for around three days. So he gave up and decided to go to Hogwarts. He knew that it wasn’t the best option, but it was his only one. There’s no way he was going to go back to St. Mungos. Harry knew he had no means of getting into Hogwarts considering he couldn't apparate.

But he knew another way.

+—--------------------—+

Harry transfigured into the familiar snowy figure of Hedwig. Hermione had taught him how to Transfigure in a month. He never underestimated her. Not when she was the most brilliant mind he had ever known. 

He decided to quickly hop into a tailor's shop, taking down whatever ward was placed upon the shop. And although he wasn't proud of it, he stole robes from the back that he assumed would fit him.

Harry flew into the owlery as he transfigured back into a human. He knew it was a bit strange that he could transform into his animagus form despite being in a new body, but he didn't mind. Harry brushed off the dust that was sprinkled across the robes. He glanced at the hall as he heard the chatter of kids near him. He hastily tried to transfigure back into an owl, but his magic was exhausted and his futile attempts were to no avail.

The tallest amongst the three turned around sharply and spotted Harry. He cackled. 

“Oh, look who it is! Poor suicidal Evans is lost like a little lamb!”

His friends turned around and Harry analyzed their green and black robes.

Another spoke. “Did your mummy leave you unattended, hm? I bet she didn’t even visit to see if you were alright! Poor Matteo, running around like a rabid animal without anyone to take care of him! I bet-”

The shortest– although taller than Harry– amongst the three cast a stinging charm on the other two boys to shut them up. He was a bit surprised at how much the boy resembled Sirius. “Now, now, boys. Let’s not make fun of our dear friend here after his fall. I’m sure he’s in a bit of- ahem - disarray at the moment” He offered his hand to Harry. “I’m Orion. Orion Black. Call me what you will.” There resemblance of Orion to Sirius. Shit, he thought. Shit, shit, shit! I can’t deal with this right now. 

So he shoved them aside and ran away.

He didn’t have a good feeling about what would happen if he accepted Orion’s hand anyway.

+—--------------------—+

At Hogwarts August 7th, 1944 

In the Slytherin Dormitories.

“Hey! Hey, did you see that Orion? He just full-on rejected you!” Avery cackled as he patted Orion’s shoulder. Orion flinched in annoyance.

“Oh, shut up, Avery.” Orion retorted. 

Abraxas Malfoy looked up from the book he was reading. “Please do act more reformed, Avery. It’s 6:00 AM. This is not the time to be shouting.”

“Oh, you care about the little kiddies, don’t you? How Hufflepuff of you!” Carrow said sarcastically as he joined in. 

Abraxas sighed tiredly as he went back to ignoring their foolish shenanigans. 

Avery turned back to Orion. “Hey Orion, I bet you never thought jumping off a roof would mess someone up that bad!” He guffawed insanely.

Carrow butted in with Avery. “Yeah! I bet you didn’t think Evans would be crazy enough to reject you! You probably-”

Tom slammed his book shut loudly onto the table, looking up at them. “Shut it. Your laughing is giving me a headache.”

Carrow and Avery immediately shut their mouths. “S-Sorry, Tom.” They both said. “But you know about the news about Evans? He-”

“I do not care, nor do I want to know. Do not mention him anymore in front of me. He is not worth my time.” Tom picked up his book and walked with a heavy air out of the Slytherin dormitories. 

What nobody remarked was the fact that Matteo Evans was in the owlery.

At 6:00 AM.

Strange, isn't it?

+—--------------------—+

At Hogwarts August 7th, 1944

In the Headmaster’s Office.

“Can you explain to me again why you have no wand, Mr. Evans?” Headmaster Dippet asked.

“It broke,” Harry replied simply.

“Where, exactly?”

“When I jumped off the roof.”

He frowned. “Ah, yes. The roof. And why did you jump off the roof again?”

“Because I was suicidal.”

“I don’t understand how you can say that so casually, Matteo. It takes at least a month for someone with your injuries to return to Hogwarts. Yet, you have come back after less than a week. Not to mention you don’t have any guardians and somehow managed to get onto Hogwarts grounds.”

Although Harry was curious why his injuries healed so fast, he couldn't waste time thinking about things like that. “I just want to stay here. Please?”

Dippet contemplated this for a moment before finally giving in to Harry’s pleas. “Oh, alright I suppose. I’ll let you stay. You said your injury has made you lose your memories, yes?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I did.”

“Then I’ll have one of your fellow Slytherins show you around. I’m sure you’ll be alright. They’re all bright students”

Harry tried to hide his horror when the headmaster mentioned that the word Slytherin. He fumed internally. So much for avoiding Tom Riddle.

“I think I’m alright, sir. I’ll find my way around.”

Dippet raised his eyebrows. “Are you sure? Hogwarts is quite the maze.”

“I am sure.”

He chortled, “Well, alright then.  Don’t blame me if you get lost. I’ll have one of our teachers take you to Diagon Alley to get a new wand.”

“I won’t.” Harry walked out of his office with a grin on his face.

At least he’d gotten into Hogwarts without any problems.

Yet.

+—--------------------—+

In Hogwarts August 7th, 1944 (Tom Riddle’s POV)

In the Hallway

Tom was annoyed by how many times the name Matteo Evans had been mentioned in the past three days.

It was always ‘Matteo this’ and ‘Matteo that’. It was bringing Tom onto his last nerve and Tom wasn’t prone to getting annoyed easily. So, now that the only place he thought he could study in peace was filled with screams of Evans at bloody 6:00 AM, he had nowhere to go. Tom muttered curses under his breath.

“I swear… I will cruciatus the next person who even whispers the name Evans. Just wait-”

Tom stumbled as someone crashed into him. “Watch where you’re going, moron.” He brushed off the dust that fell onto his robes.

The person quickly stood up. “Crap! I’m sorry! Are you-” He paused as soon as he saw Tom’s face. Tom was a bit appalled as the boy’s eyes filled with hate.

Tom raised his eyebrows. “What are you staring at?” He realized it was Evans. Matteo bloody Evans. Tom sneered in disgust. “What are you waiting for, hm? Shoo. I don’t want to see your disgusting face.”

Evans glared daggers at him. “You don’t have the bloody right to tell me what to do, Riddle.”

He scowled. “And who gave you the right to talk to me like that?”

“I did. And you better deal with it, Riddle, because it’s going to be going on for a while.”

Matt shoved Tom aside as he stormed past him like an angry brat. Tom laughed, pulling out his wand. “Oh, no, you’re not getting away that easily. Confringo-”

“Expelliarmus,” He said swiftly.

Evans diverted it and Tom watched as his wand almost flew out of his hand. He looked back at Evans. “Are you done?”

Tom was stunned. 

“I’ll take that as a yes.” He walked off.

He scoffed. Evans? Diverting a spell? Never. No way in hell. It must be the end of the world. Evans couldn’t even conjure a simple Accio. Not to mention his attitude as well. He chuckled.

Perhaps Evans was interesting after all.

+—--------------------—+

      Ch. 2 END

Chapter Text

+—--------------------—+

At Hogwarts August 7th, 1944

In the Room of Requirements

Harry messed up.

He shouldn't have argued with Tom this early. He needed to stay unnoticed. That’s why he decided to stay in the Room of Requirements for the day. The room was decorated with golden and red banners of Gryffindor and lavish sofas and cushions with rows of bookshelves which was strange considering that he had not been thinking much about those things. Tom had only created two Horcruxes so far. 

Harry groaned as he realized something. “Wait… I don’t have a wand… or robes… or books…”

Harry groaned. “Ugh… how could this get any worse?”

It did get worse.

+—--------------------—+

At Hogwarts August 8th, 1944

In the Hallway

Although reluctant, Harry did go to the headmaster’s office to get his supplies. 

He was the most embarrassed he’d ever been in his entire life since he stated previously that he didn’t need his help. Dippet told him they could go to Diagon Alley on the weekend to get his wand. He also told him that Harry didn’t need to start classes until next week. So, here he was, in the hallway, wearing his- ugh- Slytherin robes and walking towards the Slytherin dormitories.

Except there was one little problem. 

He didn’t know what the password was to enter.

That’s why he stood there waiting for a Slytherin to either get out or go in. Unfortunately for him, Orion was the first person that he saw.

Orion stopped when he saw Harry. “Evans? What are you doing out here? Don’t you know the password?”

Harry pushed away the urge to run away again. “No one ever told me what it was… and I apologize for running away that day…”

Orion gave him the fakest smile Harry had ever seen. Was Harry supposed to believe that was real? Maybe Matthew Evans used to be a dimwit. “It’s alright. By the way, the passcode is Songbird.”

Harry nodded. “Thanks.” He said the passcode and entered the Slytherin dormitories. Oddly enough, there wasn’t a single person there. Perhaps it was because everyone was in the Great Hall eating dinner. He brushed away his concern and looked back to see Orion following him.

“Do you need something…?” Harry asked conspicuously. 

Orion smirked. “I wondered if you would allow me to see your room. Since we’re friends, right?”

“I never said we were friends…”

Orion frowned. “You don’t have to say anything. I’m the one who decided we’re friends. You don’t have anything against that, right?”

Harry considered this for a moment before shrugging. “I guess we can be friends.”

Orion smiled, satisfied. “Great! Now can I see your room?”

“Why do you want to see it?”

“Because we’re friends.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Oh, come on, Matt. Just this once?”

He sighed. “Oh, alright.” He walked up to the boy’s dormitories and down the hall until he found the room with his name on it. Harry placed his hand on the doorknob and tried to open it.

He couldn’t. 

Instead, he felt a large surge of magic emanating from Evan’s room. Numerous wards were preventing him from going in. Not weak wards, powerful ones. A series of questions sprung into Harry’s mind. Was Matthew more powerful than he assumed? If so, why would he let others bully him to the point he became suicidal?

Orion snapped his fingers in Harry’s face. “Evans? What’s wrong with you? Are you going to open the door?”

“Huh?” Harry realized he had spaced out. “Oh, yeah. Just give me a second.” He looked at Orion. “Could I borrow your wand real quick?”

He scoffed. “Why are you asking me? Don’t you have your own?”

“I don’t have mine.” Harry shrugged. “If you’re not willing to give yours then I guess you're not seeing my room.”

Orion scowled before finally handing Harry his wand. “If you break it, I’ll kill you.”

He rolled his eyes and then performed an Alohomora with an enhancement spell Hermione had taught him. This time, when he tried the door knob, it opened. Harry handed Orion back his wand,

The room was not at all what he expected it to be.

It was extremely plain. The bed was perfectly made, the floors empty, the walls bare. It was almost as if nobody lived here. Harry walked inside and Orion trailed behind him, shutting the door as he entered.

Harry turned around, “Why’d you close the door?”

Orion shrugged. “Does it bother you that much?”

He stayed silent for a few moments. “I guess not.”

Nobody talked briefly before Harry broke the silence, “I’m going to go to the library if you want to come.” Harry opened the door and left his room, waiting for Orion to exit. 

Orion got out. “Lead the way.”

Harry was so busy he forgot that he wasn’t supposed to know any spells.

(Orion Black’s POV)

Something had changed within Evans.

Evans never let anyone into his room. Ever. It was the one thing that he was smart enough not to do.

So that’s why he was surprised when he agreed. He was also surprised that Matt somehow convinced him to give him his wand. A wand is a wizard's most prized possession. If you lose it, you’ll never find the same wand again. Sure, you can perform wandless magic but it would never be as powerful as if you had a wand. 

Then again, he could use this to his advantage. 

He could pretend to be Matt's friend. Maybe even get Evans to trust him.

Orion just had to make sure he developed no platonic attachment to him. 

But that was easy, right?

+—--------------------—+

Orion peered at Matthew who currently had his nose stuck in a book. He never thought Evans would be the type of person to study. Orion never saw him leave his room except for classes and even then, he was in his own world. 

“Hey, Orion? Dumbledore is taking me to Diagon Alley to get some supplies. Would you like to join?”

Orion mulled this over for a moment then shrugged. “I suppose so, sure.”

Not to mention that he somehow knew how to perform Alohomora considering he lost his memories.

Orion decided to ignore it for now.

Whether he’d remember it later, was the question.

+—--------------------—+

At Diagon Alley August 9th, 1944

In Ollivander’s Wand Shop

Harry tried a lot of wands. 

When he said a lot, he meant a lot. It reached the point where Dumbledore even offered to pay Ollivander extra for all the trouble they caused him. Of course, Ollivander declined. His fascination with wands was far greater than his need for money. He was determined to find the perfect wand. Harry suddenly got reminded of how much Ollivander was affected after Dobby saved them from Malfoy Manor. It was refreshing to see him back to normal, even if he didn’t know Harry like before. He had missed that familiar spark in his eyes although it was sometimes crazed. 

Finally, Ollivander took out the familiar case for the 11” Holly wand. He handed it to Harry.

“This is my last option. If this doesn’t work, I’m afraid I don’t have a wand for you, Mr. Evans.”

Harry took the wand and flicked it, smirking as the familiar magic pulsated out of it.

His expression turned gleeful. “Wonderful! Just wonderful! The 11” Holly wand with a phoenix core has picked you, Mr. Evans. Now, see this wand has another pair. Its core is made from one of the two feathers a phoenix bore.”  Ollivander cleared his throat, “Now, talking about payment… I’ll let this one be on the house! It’s always a wonderful experience seeing young witches and wizards get their wands!” He patted Harry’s back. “Now, off you go!” 

Harry and Dumbledore left Ollivander’s shop.

As much as Harry disliked Dumbledore, he couldn’t draw suspicion from the teachers, so he decided to be respectful, “I’d like to thank you for taking me to get a wand, sir. I know it can be tedious”

“It’s no problem at all, Matteo. Help is always given at Hogwarts if you ask for it.”

Harry tried his best not to let his anger show. Help? What about Draco Malfoy? Or how Dumbledore raised him like a pig for slaughter? He wanted to rip him up into-

Orion cleared his throat as he walked alongside them.

Dumbledore turned to him. “Ah, Mr. Black. What are you doing here, again? I do hope your wand hasn’t been broken too.”

Orion gave Dumbledore a forced grin. “No, actually. Evans invited me to come along with him since I’m such a good friend.”

Dumbledore’s smile faltered. “Apologies, then. I was never aware Mr. Evans was friends with someone like you. ”

Ah. There it was. The hypocrisy against Slytherin. Why should Harry be surprised? That’s how Dumbledore always was. Then again, Dumbledore seemed to be more suspicious of Orion than he originally had been. Was it supposed to be strange that Harry had made friends with Orion? Harry wished he knew what happened to this boy before he possessed his body. What about his parents? Where were they? He prayed to Merlin they weren’t still looking for him considering what happened with the nurse.

So many questions. Yet so little answers.

+—--------------------—+

At Hogwarts August 10th, 1944

In the Slytherin Common Rooms

Harry couldn’t sleep.

He got up around 4:00 AM despite going to bed at around 12:00 AM. He was constantly on edge. He knew he couldn’t trust anyone here. Not now, not ever. To be honest, he didn’t even trust Hermione.

Especially not after what she did.

She knew. She knew and she didn’t do anything.

+—--------------------—+

Deafening silence befell the common room as Harry entered. He had a strange feeling of nostalgia from the way they looked at him as he entered. But it wasn’t fear that plagued their faces as he entered, it was like a burning hate. Harry paid no mind to them, though. He was used to it from his original life after the triwizard tournament. The only time he ever felt at home and safe was when he was with Sirius. And look how quickly that died out. No one was safe with him. They never were.

He flinched as he felt an arm wrap around his shoulder.

“Well, well, look who it is!” Carrow cackled, tightening his grip on Harry’s shoulder. 

“Poor mummy left you all alone again, did she? Not a single pair of robes I hear!” Avery barked out as he stood in front of Harry.

Harry knew he wasn’t talking about his own mother. His real mother. But he couldn’t help but feel angry. Carrow doesn’t know half of what this child has gone through. And to make such cruel assumptions really made him want to tear his throat out. It took every last ounce of his self-preservation to keep himself in place.  

“Let go of me, Carrow.” Harry said carefully as he clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white.

“Oh! Looks like little weak Evans is standing up for himself! How stupid!”

Harry held his wand in his fist-

“You’re just a filthy half-blood! You’re related to those muggles!”

That was it. Harry elbowed Carrow in the guts and slammed him onto the ground.

“I’ll show you how muggle I am, you filthy rat!” Harry pounded his fist into Carrow’s face. He really was going crazy. Blood stained his knuckles as Carrow’s face was beaten to a pulp. His nose was broken and eyes swollen. Harry didn’t stop. He couldn’t. Those words were some sort of trigger to him. Maybe because it reminded him of the discrimination in his past life. Harry felt burning in his hand as he kept beating Carrow. He wasn’t- He couldn’t-

He felt arms wrap around his elbow from behind as someone pried him off of Carrow. “What do you think you’re doing, Mr. Evans!” He knew that voice. He remembered. It was Slughorn.

Carrow looked up at Harry in shock as he wiped blood off his nose. “Y-you’re a bloody psychopath Evans! Stay away from me!” Carrow stood up and ran out of the Slytherin dormitories.

“Let me go!” Harry cried out as he started sobbing, “Let me go, god damn it! Let me go…” 

He felt his consciousness slip away as he passed out. 

He just wanted to go home…

Those words triggered something.

+—--------------------—+

At Hogwarts, August 11th, 1944 (Albus Wulfric Brian Dumbledore’s POV)

In the Headmaster’s Office.

“With all due respect, you were a fool for letting that boy back in, Dippet! Just look at what he has done to Carrow!” The Herbology teacher cried out, enraged.

“Now, Ms. Nyx. I do suggest that you calm down-” Dippet said calmly.

“Calm down? Calm down!? His parents are purebloods! They’re powerful people and they’re not afraid to do something if necessary! We can’t handle that, Dippet! We’re barely scraping by due to the Merlin forsaken war with Grindelwald!”

“I barely was able to pry Evans off of that poor boy! You should’ve seen how beaten up Carrow was!” Slughorn said.

“If everyone does not stop shouting in the next few seconds I will curse all of you!” The Dark Arts professor replied in annoyance as everyone shut up. She sighed. “We should not be arguing at a time like this. Let the boy be for now. If he causes more trouble, then he will be expelled from Hogwarts.

Dumbledore seethed. How could Evans have been so foolish? “I believe Mr. Huxley is right, Ms. Nyx. If we continue arguing like this it will only lead to more issues.”

Nyx rubbed the bridge of her nose and looked up at them. “Apologies, professors. It makes me frustrated to see how normalized fights like these are in Hogwarts… I swear to Merlin kids are getting stupider by the day…”

“It’s quite alright. I’m sure we all have our moments, Ms. Nyx.” Dippet said and looked around the room. “Now, I believe this concludes the meeting, yes?” Everyone nodded in agreement as Dippet gave them a weary smile. “Wonderful. I hope not to see us arguing again.” 

The professors started filing out of the office as they descended the stairs to the main castle. Dumbledore breathed a sigh of relief as soon as everyone had left. He knew Evans had lost his memories, but how could it have been to this extent. 

He just hoped he hadn’t forgotten their agreement.

Their very important agreement.

+—--------------------—+

???????? ???? (Harry Potter’s POV)

??????

Harry fell onto the ground with a thud as he looked up to see Dumbledore above him. Not the younger Dumbledore. The one he had known. The one from his past life. 

He felt the familiar feel of his glasses on his face. He was confused. Was it all a dream? But how would he have fallen asleep on this vicious water? 

“Professor Dumbledore…?” Harry questioned as he looked up at him.

Dumbledore glanced down at him and gave him a smile. “Ah, my boy. Finally up, I see? You fell quite harshly when the boat turned.”

“Where… are we?” He asked

“Surely you haven’t forgotten? Did that fall truly make you lose your memory? We’re going to retrieve one of the Horcruxes.

It was then that Harry finally realized what had happened.

He was back.

He was back to the year before the war.

+—--------------------—+

Chapter Text

+—--------------------—+

At Hogwarts August 12, 1944 

During Potions

“Tom.”

Tom sighed, “Yes, Orion?”

“You heard, right?”

“Heard what, Orion? You’ll have to be more specific.”

Orion lowered his voice to a whisper. “About the” He glanced at the teacher. “You know! The thing!”

Tom started to get frustrated, “If you have something to say to me, then hurry it up.”

“Well, it would be rather-”

“He’s talking about the fight Evans and Carrow had” Abraxas interrupted, getting impatient with their constant banter.

Orion glared at Abraxas. “I was about to tell him, you know! You didn’t-”

“Oh, lovely. Looks like we have a volunteer! If you can chatter so enthusiastically, perhaps you can demonstrate which ingredients are needed to make a polyjuice potion, yes?” Slughorn asked. 

Orion looked at Tom desperately, “You’ve got to help me! I don’t know shite about potions!” He whisper-shouted.

“I’m not involved in this…” He grumbled. 

Orion glanced at Abraxas. 

“Don’t look at me.”

Orion sighed and got up, walking to the front of the class.

He cleared his throat nervously. d“One of the ingredients is the powdered Bicorn Horn. Then the wheatgrass…? Then it’s Lacewing Flies, which you brew for 23 days. Then it’s-”

“It’s 21 days, not 23.” Evans corrected as he walked into the classroom. “And it’s not wheatgrass, it's Knotgrass.”

Orion stood there in shock for a few moments then glared at Matt. “Shut up. I didn’t-”

Slughorn put his hand up. “No, let the boy finish. Tell me, Mr. Evans . If you know so much, why don’t you tell us how to make polyjuice potion?” He challenged, obviously expecting Matteo to fail.

“Of course, sir” He cleared his throat. “The polyjuice potion takes around one month to make, consisting of Lacewing Flies that are brewed for 21 days, powdered Bicorn Horn, Knotgrass, leeches, Fluxweed that is picked at the full moon, shredded Boomslang Skin, and a bit of the person you want to turn into. Preferably a piece of their hair or a toenail clipping. Now, is that enough of an explanation, Professor Slugorn ?”

Slughorn twitched at the impertinence of this boy. First, he dares to hit another Slytherin and then pretends to act like a potion know-it-all? “Of course, Mr. Evans… you may head to your seat…” He replied through gritted teeth.

He watched the faces of disbelief from the entire class as he headed to his desk.

+—--------------------—+

At Hogwarts August 12, 1944 

In the Hallway

Harry was walking towards his next class when he heard Avery calling his name.

“Oi! Evans!”

He ignored them.

Avery grabbed his arm. “What the hell, Evans!? Why’d you punch Carrow!? Have you become a bloody maniac!?”

“I suggest that you let go unless you want to sustain the same injuries as your friend. And trust me, they will be more painful." 

He hesitated for a moment before letting go of Harry’s arm. “You’re bloody crazy, Evans… Professor Slughorn already despises you. By the end of the month, you’ll have every teacher wanting your guts spilled out!”

“Is that a threat, Avery?”

He scoffed. “I only threaten people I’m scared of. I am not scared of you, Evans.

“Is that right?” 

He nodded. “No doubt about it.”

Harry nodded as well. “Alright. We’ll see about that, Avery. We’ll see about that.” He walked away briskly.

“That damn brat…” Avery mumbled under his breath, “I’ll get him one day, I swear…”

+—--------------------—+

At Hogwarts August 12, 1944 

At Herbology Class

Ms. Nyx was setting up the classroom as Harry walked in. She turned around. “...Hello, Matthew. You’re here rather early.” She eyed him with contempt.

“...Yeah. I just-” He thought back to what Avery told him. Maybe it would be reasonable to not be so rude to them. “I decided to come earlier today, if that’s alright with you…”

She looked at him in surprise. “Early? Well that’s new.” She brightened a bit. “I think it’s perfectly fine to come early, if you’d like. I could use the company.”

“Alright. Then that’s what I’ll do from now on.”

Ms. Nyx gave him a small smile before the other students started to file into the classroom, all sitting down at their respective seats. Harry placed his bag down and sat in the only empty seat. Which just so happened to be in between Tom Riddle and Orion Black. 

Great.

Orion was sneaking looks at him. He couldn’t tell if he was doing this on purpose or genuinely thought Harry didn’t notice. 

He sighed. “Orion, if you have something to say, say it.”

He flinched as he realized he was caught. “Oh, alright! Since when did you learn so much about potions, huh? And why did you have to make me look bloody stupid like that in front of the Slytherins and Ravenclaws!”

“It was… just something I picked up. And you were going to get humiliated anyways. I just saved you the embarrassment from the teacher laughing at you too.”

Orion sneered at him. “What do you mean it’s “something you picked up”! That’s the hardest potion to make!”

“Yeah, well, it’s the hardest to make. Not to memorize.”

“What sort of time do you have to memorize that stuff?”

“Just focus on the lesson.”

“...Fine.”

“Today, we’re learning about the gillyweed plant.” Ms.Nyx explained. “Gillyweed is a plant that looks like "slimy, grayish-green rat tails," which allows you to breathe underwater and communicate with mermen. We don't know what plant inspired the fictional gillyweed, but it seems that it’s based on a type of seaweed, probably imagining a kind of magical transfer of properties. In other words, you would need to ingest something that could "breathe" underwater, like seaweed, in order to be able to do the same yourself.”

At this point he was sure that 90% of the people in the class had already fallen asleep. He was honestly surprised how he wasn’t considering he knew shite about herbology. The only other person who was fully paying attention was Tom Riddle. That wasn’t too surprising. 

After some time, the class ended and everyone ended up having to write a five-page essay about plants that help you breathe underwater. Harry considered that pretty much a win-win because he could just use details from his own experience with Gillyweed and the other things the competitors used in the second event. 

“Evans, I’d like to talk to you for a moment, please.” Ms. Nyx called out as the rest of the class filed out of the classroom. 

He turned around. “Yes, Ms. Nyx?”

She waited until everyone left the classroom until she spoke. 

“Do you remember how you got into the hospital?”

“I jumped off the roof.”

“...Matt, I don't think you jumped off the roof.”

“What?”

“I think someone pushed you.”

+—--------------------—+

Slytherin Dorm Rooms, August 12, 1944

In Matteo Evans Room

Harry thought about what Professor Nyx had said to him before. Someone pushed him? But who-

Oh.

It all made sense now. His “parents” had staged the whole thing. They had hired someone to push him. But since he didn’t die from that, they tried killing him again after he left the hospital. But how come they didn’t try to kill him while he wasn’t awake? And why did his parents want him dead in the first place?

He had to go out to the library tonight. 

He put on his coat and opened his door.

There was someone already waiting for him. “Dormir” A familiar voice said.

And he passed out. 

+—--------------------—+

Hogwarts, June, 1996, 4:56 PM

Harry sat up and immediately recognized the cold stone under his palm. “What…”

Dumbledore glanced at him. “Ah, Harry, there you are. I was a bit concerned when you passed out like that again.”

Oh no.

Oh, no, no, no, no. Not this again. What is even happening? First, he’s in a timeline that he never even had a single thought about going to and now he has to experience his 6th year all over again? No bloody way!

Wait. 

This was it. This was the hour before Dumbledore died.

The hour before the disaster. The only reason he had not realized it before was because when he came here the first time, he was immediately awoken after. 

“Professor Dumbledore.”

“Yes, Harry?”

“We need to go back. We need to go back right now.”

“What’s the urgency, Harry? It’s a saturday. I assure you you’ll have time to finish your homework.” He chuckled.

“Sir, the Horcrux is not here.”

“Yes, I know, Harry.”

“It’s not here- wait what?”

“I know it’s not here, my boy.”

“Then why have we come here in the first place?”

Dumbledore smiled knowingly. “That’s something I’ll have to tell you another time, my boy.”

+—--------------------—+

Hogwarts, June, 1996, 5:38 PM

At the Astronomy Tower

Harry and Dumbledore stood in the astronomy tower. He knew that they had to be here. Even if they were earlier than before. And although he hated to admit it, without Dumbledore, chaos would befall Hogwarts. 

Harry rubbed the bridge of his nose and groaned. How could he work this out? He needed to remember. Who was there first?

It was Draco, wasn’t it?

No, no, he had to let this play out as it originally had.

“Sir, I’ll be right back. Just stay right there”

Harry ran out of the Astronomy and into the Gryffindor common rooms. Hermione glanced up at him from the table she was studying at. 

“Harry? What’s wrong?”

“Not now, ‘Mione!” He rushed up to his room and opened his trunk, digging out the invisibility cloak from under it. He pulled out his wand- oh, how great it was to have it again- and placed a silencing charm over his feet. 

+—--------------------—+

He climbed up the stairs into the astronomy tower, freezing as he realized that Draco was already here. Harry made sure that the cloak was near him, standing in the same place he did the last time this happened.

“Good evening, Draco. What brings you here on this fine spring evening?”

“Who else is here? I heard you talking!” Draco said, his whole body trembling as he pointed his wand at Dumbledore. 

“I often talk aloud to myself. I find it extraordinarily useful. Have you been whispering to yourself Draco?” He quired. Silence lingered between them before he spoke again. “Draco, you are no assassin.

“How do you know what I am?” He spit out. “I’ve done things that would shock you!”

“Oh, like cursing Katy Bell and then hoping in return she’d bear a cursed necklace to me like replacing a bottle of mead with one laced with poison. Forgive me, Draco. I cannot help but feeling these actions are so weak that your heart can’t have really been in them.”

“You trust me? I was chosen!”

“I shall make it easy for you.”

“Expelliarmus!” Dumbledore’s wand flew out of his hand.

“Very good… very good..” A voice whispered.

Dumbledore was surprised. “You’re not alone? There are others. How?” 

“The vanishing cabinet in the room of requirements. I’ve been mending it.”

“Yes… it has a sister… a twin.”

“At Borgan and Burkes. They form a passage.”

“Genius…” Dumbledore paused. “Draco. Years ago, I knew a boy who made all the wrong choices. Please let me help you.”

“I don’t want your help!” His voice shook. “Don’t you understand? I have to do this! I have to kill you… or he’s going to kill me…” 

He couldn’t let Draco stay like this. He had to help him too. But he had to wait.

Dumbledore glanced to the side as the door opened, revealing Bellatrix, Dolohov, and a few other death eaters behind it.

“Well, look what we have here” Bellatrix chastised. She walked up to Draco and whispered in his ear. “Well done, Draco…”

“Good evening, Bellatrix. I think introductions are in order, don’t you?”

“Love to Albus, but I’m afraid we’re on a bit of a tight ship.” She turned to Draco. “Do it!”

“He doesn’t have the stomach.” Dolohov commented. “Just like his father. Let me finish him in my own way.”

“No! The dark lord was clear that the boy was to do it!”

Harry wore the cloak, just moments before Snape entered the space. He followed him up the stairs.

But this time, he did not see Harry. 

“This is your moment, Draco!” Bellatrix urged.

“No.” Snape walked to Dumbledore, pausing a few feet in front of him. Harry trailed close behind him.

“Severus.” Dumbledore said calmly. “Please.”

He pointed his wand at Dumbledore. “Avada Kedavra.”

Surprisingly, it wasn’t Severus who said the spell. 

It was Harry.

Dumbledore's eyes were wide in horror as he fell off the ledge and everyone turned to stare at them. 

But Harry knew something the others didn’t. Something very important.

And even if he hated it, it wouldn’t go away. 

It never did.

+—--------------------—+

7 Months After The War

Harry sobbed. It was over. Everything was over. Nobody was left. Should he just end it?

Maybe… Maybe that would be the only way to get rid of this horrible feeling.

He scavenged through the remaining rubble in his apartment, finding his wand at the very bottom. He held it and polished it carefully with his musty shirt. No… he had to at least honor the thing that had kept him alive all these years. Harry went to the bathroom and wet a rag to clean his wand. 

He pointed it to his head. 

“Avada Kedavra.”

+—--------------------—+

Hogwarts, August 13, 3:47 AM, 1944

In the Slytherin Dormitories

Harry woke up with a constant throbbing in his head.

“Ugh… bloody hell…”

Harry felt his vision slowly come into focus. “Orion?”

Orion stood up. “Abraxas, he’s awake.”

Harry stood up along with him. “Orion, what is this?” 

Abraxas glanced at Harry. “You should be thankful I even healed you, Evans.”

“What do you mean?”

He sighed. “You were kidnapped. In Hogwarts at that.”

“I was kidnapped?”

“Yes. You were nearly beaten to death. If Orion hadn’t asked me to find you, you wouldn’t be alive.”

Harry glanced at Orion. “You asked Abraxas to find me?”

Orion looked away. “I didn’t ask you to be my friend for no reason, Evans. I may seem like I’m an idiot, but I’m smart when I want to be.”

He thought about that for a moment. “Thanks, I guess… on another note, who kidnapped me?”

Orion glanced at Abraxas then back at him. “We thought you knew. They disappeared as soon as we found you.”

Maybe this related to his attempted assassination back when he left the hospital. He rubbed his forehead. This day just kept getting crazier and crazier. “Then where is everyone else right now?”

“Asleep.” Abraxas replied. “It’s 5:00 A.M.”

“Aren’t we talking pretty loud right now?”

“I placed a silencing charm over us, so they can’t hear us.”

“Alright, then.”

“I think you should place some wards over your room tonight, Evans. It’s not safe.” Orion suggested.

“I will. Well, goodnight, Abraxas and Orion.”

“Night,” Orion replied.

+—--------------------—+

Harry washed his face in the sink and looked at the scar on his cheek. This wasn’t there before. It was oddly… familiar. He scratched it a bit. It didn’t hurt, so that meant it wasn’t new. But then how did it get there?

Wait.

No, it couldn’t be. 

He got this scar when he fell on a piece of glass in his apartment. In his other life. How was this here? Bloody hell! This is bad. 

He scrambled for his wand and placed a charm over the scar, covering it. 

Were the realities blending? Hermione had warned him about this…

He couldn’t stay here any longer.

He had to find that machine. 

+—--------------------—+

Chapter Text

+—--------------------—+

Hogwarts, August 15, 1944 2:34 AM

Slytherin Dormitories

Orion looked at Evan’s unconscious body in shock. “Merlin’s Balls! What did I just do!” He looked around frantically before his gaze fell upon Evan’s again. He clenched his fists. 

“No. I have to do this,” and picked up Matteo by the legs. He dragged the boy’s body to his room and pulled him onto a chair, noticing how thin and slim he was. What did this guy eat every day? Air? Orion shook his head. No. Now was not the time for this. 

“Legilimens.” 

And then Orion entered Matteo Evan’s mind.

+—--------------------—+

Orion looked around. “What… is this?” He could barely breathe. The air was practically pressing down on his lungs. 

As if… a dark secret was being kept. 

Orion walked forward, opening the only unchained gate in Evan’s mind. 

“Bloody hell.” Orion looked at the group of people in Harry’s mind. Who were they? And wasn’t that the Astronomy Tower? 

Then the boy entered. 

He looked just like Abraxas, except younger. How-

Then he saw the boy show his mark—the dark mark Tom had shown the group. At the moment, it was only an idea. So then, how did this boy have it? 

Wait. 

Is that… Dumbledore? 

How-

This was… Evan’s memory right? 

Maybe… just maybe… 

No, it couldn’t be. It wasn’t possible. There aren't even any books on it. 

But then, what else? 

He needed to access the other memories somehow. 

Orion walked out of the gate with a heavy mind.

Then the figure appeared. 

“You are not supposed to be here.” It said, then Orion was kicked out of Matt’s mind. 

+—--------------------—+

Orion rubbed his head, racking over the new information he had just learned.

That figure… looked just like him. 

He cursed to himself internally. Why does his head hurt so much? And who was that figure that kicked him out of Evan’s mind? He groaned. Why did this have to be so complicated? If only Tom wasn’t the one who had asked him to gather information on Matteo… then he wouldn’t have so much as glanced at him. 

Orion looked at Evan’s unconscious body. 

Right now, he had to take care of that first. He got up and stumbled over to Abraxas’s room, knocking on it. Gee… Legilimency had taken a toll on him. Maybe because that was the first time he’d done it in the past year… But Orion was confident in his ability to do Occlumency.

Abraxas opened the door and rubbed his eyes. “What are you doing here so late, Orion?”

“I need your help. Right now.” He grabbed Abraxas’s hand and took him to his room.

“Is this an emergency, Orion? If not, I-” Then he saw Evan’s unconscious body on Orion’s sofa. “Bloody hell, Orion. What have you done?”

“I think you know what I’ve done, Abraxas, and I need help with how to deal with this. Now.”

Abraxas rubbed his head. “Is this part of what Tom asked you to do?”

“Yes.”

He sighed as he looked at Evan. “Alright. We’ll have to bring him to the lounge downstairs.” He looked back at Orion. “Without magic.”

Orion was confused. “What? Why no magic? The only way Evan will know what we did is if he checked our wands.” 

“Orion, you are an idiot. Evans is good at hiding things. Too good sometimes. I, for one, know that personally.”

“...Merlin, I hate it when you’re right.”

Orion and Abraxas picked up Evan’s body and carried him down the stairs. 

That is until they were met with the sight of Walburga Black sitting on the couch. They both froze.

“Good Morning, boys. I believe it’s a rather early time to be awake, isn’t it?” She glanced at the body. “Especially when you’re carrying an unconscious boy down the stairs. Seems rather… strange .”

Orion glared at her. “Not now, Burgy. You already know what Tom entrusted me with.”

“Oh, I know perfectly well what Tom assigned you. I’m just… what was that word again?” She looked at the ceiling in thought then gave Orion a sly smile. “Ah, right. Jealous. That’s what I am. Jealous. Now, you can either let me in on your little project or I can go straight to the headmaster's office and tell them what you’re doing. Choose one.”

“Don’t do this, Walburga. You know Tom wouldn’t like other people in this project very well.” Abraxas replied in Orion’s stead. 

She looked at him and glared. “You surely are not the one to be talking, Abraxas. I wonder how Tom would feel if I told him you were in on it as well. I’m sure he wouldn’t be happy considering what happened last time.” She looked back at Orion. “So? What will it be, dear cousin?”

Orion glanced betweenAbraxas and Walburga. “Alright. But you can’t tell Tom.” He said hesitantly. “And you have to follow my instructions.” 

She smiled. “Done!” She got up. “Now how about this?” She plucked Evan from Orion and Abraxas’s hands and placed him on the couch using her wand.

“So much for not using magic” Abraxas grumbled. 

“Hush, Abraxas. The only reason you weren’t using magic is probably because you can’t use it.”  She knelt before Evans, flicking a piece of hair out of his face. “He looks almost... delicate, doesn’t he? Just like his mother—always had a way of bending for the right kind of man.”

Orion felt irritated by her attitude. “Shut your trap, Walburga. Don’t talk about Evans like that.”

She turned to him. “Why, because you’ve become friends with him, is that it? You like this little son of a bitch?”

Orion's face flushed. “Of course not! I’m only saying because Tom could hear and if he did, we’d all be in trouble…”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh please, when have you ever cared about whether Tom would hear?”

“I’ve always cared, Walburga, because unlike you, Tom trusts me. Not that surprising that he doesn’t after what you did.”

Walburga was practically fuming at his words. “I still have the power here, Orion. I can always report you to Tom!” 

Abraxas sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Stop fighting, you two. Let’s just get this over with before you both rip each other's throats out.”

They both huffed before finally nodding their heads. 

“Alright, so what should we do with Evans?” Orion asked Abraxas.

“We should make a story that would be believable.” He glanced at the girl next to him. Nasty girl, Walburga Black. She always butted into other people's businesses and somehow knew how to get everyone to agree with her. “But I don’t think Evans would take kindly to waking up next to a woman he did not even know.”

“So what- are you asking me to leave? I told you I want to be part of this-”

“Yes, and you will. Just as soon as we know Evans isn’t getting suspicious of any of us for any reason at all. We can’t take that risk right now.”

“I am not -” Walburga protested before squeaking as Orion shoved her towards the girl dormitories. “Get your hands off of me! What do you think you’re-”

Orion sighed with contempt, “Just go. We’ll tell you what happened when Evans is in his room.”

She huffed but eventually stormed off to her room.

“Brat,” Orion muttered under his breath as soon as she was gone. “She thinks she owns this whole bloody castle…”

“And why couldn’t we have just taken Evans back to his room?”

Orion looked up at him, “Because he has several charms locking his room tight like a bloody cocoon. How do you think I was supposed to get in there?”

“Then what’s the story?”

“The what now?”

“The story! The one that will make Evans believe this is all an accident!”

“...I’ll think of something.” 

But then Evans woke up and there was no time to make a plan.

 “Ugh… bloody hell…”

Orion sneered when he remembered Walburga accusing him of being acquainted with Matthew. Me? Friends with this immature brat? Never.

“Orion?”

Orion could tell how disoriented Evans was. They couldn’t mess this up. He stood up with haste. “Abraxas, he’s awake.”

Abraxas observed Matteo as he stood up along with him. “Orion, what is this?” 

Abraxas glanced at Evans as he tried to remain inconspicuous. “You should be thankful I even healed you, Evans.” 

Matt looked dumbfounded. “What do you mean?”

He sighed. “You were kidnapped. In Hogwarts at that.”

“I was kidnapped?”

“Yes. You were nearly beaten to death. You wouldn't be alive if Orion hadn’t asked me to find you.”

Evans glanced at Orion. Orion shied away under his stare, although he couldn’t quite tell why he did. The look in Matt’s eyes made him seem like he knew years beyond what he knew. “You asked Abraxas to find me?”

Orion looked away. “I didn’t ask you to be my friend for no reason, Evans. I may seem like an idiot, but I’m smart when I want to be.” Merlin, he should get an award for his manipulation skills.

Matthew thought about that for a moment. “Thanks, I guess… on another note, who kidnapped me?”

Orion glanced at Abraxas and then back at him. “We thought you knew. They disappeared as soon as we found you.”

Merlin, he hoped that would work. Evans' dismissal of the subject soothed his conscience for a moment. “Then where is everyone else right now?”

“Asleep,” Abraxas replied. “It’s 5:00 A.M.”

“Aren’t we talking pretty loud right now?” Stupid boy, Orion thought. Haven’t you ever heard about the muffliato charm?

“I placed a silencing charm over us, so they can’t hear us.”

“Alright, then.”

“I think you should place some wards over your room tonight, Evans. It’s not safe.” Orion suggested although he knew he had more than enough to ward off a banshee.

“I will. Well, goodnight, Abraxas and Orion.” 

“Night,” Orion replied.

And that was that. Except it wasn’t because even Orion could tell how suspicious they were to Harry.

+—--------------------—+

At Hogwarts August 15, 1944 

In the Slytherin Dormitories

An hour into the tossing and turning on his bed, Harry decided not to try to sleep since he would have to be up in thirty minutes anyway. The scar he attained just a few minutes before may have caused his restlessness.While they all had separate bedrooms, they had to share one bathroom between the 8 boys in their year, not including himself. So yes, it would be quite cramped if he decided to shower any later.

Harry took his towel and robes and walked out of his room, closing it behind him as he walked down the hall to the bathroom. He placed his robes down at the shower stall in the farthest corner of the hall lined with the room of Slytherins. He didn’t need more boys jinxing him in the hallways because he had woken them up at dawn just to shower. He tossed the towel over the bar, closed the black curtains, and twisted the nozzle to turn on the water. At first, he only basked in the scalding water as it hit his arms and ran down his legs. God, when was the last time he could feel relaxed when showering? Then he realized he should probably get moving and took the soap as he scrubbed himself in all his nook and crannies before pausing when he was about to rinse off his chest.

What. The. Fuck.

There were deep scars all over his body. Although faded, he could tell how gruesome they must’ve been just by looking at them. He traced his fingers over the longest one that ran right from his left shoulder to the right side of his waist, then the same scar but crossing down from the other side. How did someone like Matthew Evans even get these scars? More tiny gashes were covering the small of his back and his pelvis. Yet another unanswered question. 

When Harry finished rinsing himself, he turned off the shower and dried himself off with his towel, wrapping around his waist. But he had no time to react when he heard the door open from the entrance to the bathroom and in stepped Tom Riddle floating a towel and his robes behind him. They made eye contact for a moment before Harry looked away and tried to ignore the other man’s presence as he dressed.

+—--------------------—+

Tom gazed at the array of scars covering Evan’s back as he placed the towel down on the small stand next to the shower stall. 

“Haven’t you learned it’s rude to stare, Riddle?” Matthew said from the other side of the room.

Tom merely scoffed, “Brash of you to say that Evans while you’re so clearly showing off your scars to whatever ghost resides in this bathroom.” Tom watched as Matt put on his robes, before tossing his wet towel onto the shower stand.

Matteo glanced at Tom and their eyes met briefly before the other boy suddenly looked away, grabbing his wet towel and walking out of the bathroom. He raised an eyebrow and continued setting up the shower. 

Perhaps stalking Evans wasn’t as useful as he thought. All he did was act like a stuck-up and believe he was entitled to respect. 

Oh well. He’d have to see what Orion had gotten on him tonight at their meeting before he made any judgments.

+—--------------------—+

At Hogwarts August 15, 1944 

In Defense Against the Dark Arts

As always, Harry had arrived five minutes before class started and took his seat near the back of the class, hoping to go unnoticed by Professor Merrythought.

Of course, nothing happened the way he wanted it to because the moment class started, Merrythought mentioned him personally .

“Mr. Evans, I hope you know that I will not be lax with your education simply because of your injury.”

He didn’t so much as flinch as he responded. He had handled Snape for at least seven years of his life. He could handle a little interrogation from this professor. “Of course not, professor. How could I ever suggest using my injury as leverage between other students? That would be selfish.”

Ms. Merrythought skimmed him over before saying quietly, “I hope your change of attitude will not impair your ability to perform defense against the dark arts, boy.”

Harry gave her a tight smile, “I hope it won’t as well.”

With this, Professor Merrythought moved on to her lesson, pulling a trunk out from behind her desk and displaying it in front of the class.

“As I have said before, I have been planning this day to be our second boggart lesson since the beginning of the school year. This is not a test. I only want to see how far everyone has gotten in facing their fears.”

Wonderful. Splendid. Absolutely fantastic ! Harry was just so excited to see how much his fear had changed over the last six years! 

Yeah, that was sarcasm. Pure sarcasm.

He was fine. His boggart is probably going to be a dementor again, right?

He fiddled with the hem of his sleeves as he waited in the line for his turn. 

Then, the person in front of him finished and he had to step forward. He watched as the boggart morphed and its horrid body twisted into whatever his worst fear was. Silence filled the room for a few moments before it finally took form.

“Why didn’t you save us, Harry?” Sirius’s voice spit out.

What?

“Sirius?” A tiny voice whispered. It certainly couldn’t be his. He doesn’t remember ever sounding that small. Then why did it come from him?

Then it was Hermione who appeared, blood dripping down her face, red veins popped, and pink bits of her brain gushing out of her head. Merlin, he felt like throwing up.

“You stood there while we all died. You useless freak. ”

No. No, no, no, no ! He raised his wand getting ready to cast the spell but had to pause when Remus appeared. Then Tonks, then Snape, then Dumbledore, then Dobby, and Moody, then Cedric, and-

He fell to the floor, legs too shaky to hold himself. Chunks of red brain oozed out of every part of their body, their eyes popping out of their sockets and rolling away. The overlapping voices called him many things, freak used most frequently. All because of him. This is all your fault, Harry. Harry curled himself up into a fetal position. His wand fell out of his hand and rolled away. Fuck. Shit. You stupid idiot! You lost the only thing that could protect you! Useless freak! Dudley was right!

Then it was the Dudley experience all over again. He was back at Little Whinging and Dudley was beating him again while all Petunia and Vernon did was scold him for getting blood on their carpet. Every day he would go to school and pretend everything was fine just to return to beatings and psychological abuse. Dudley would play his "games" on Harry with his friends and he would return to 4 Privet Drive with cuts and bruises all over his hands. The teachers would ignore him and then there was the one teacher that- Oh Merlin, he was going to throw up just remembering that. 

*He stayed after class once at the end of the day during 2nd grade (He was seven) when Dudley and his friends had taken out all of the papers from his folders and dumped them in the water. Mr. Miller saw him struggling and walked over to him to help him pick all of his soggy papers up. 

"Dudley again?" Mr. Miller asked.

Harry just nodded shyly and continued stuffing wet papers into his folder. 

"If it happens again, always know that I'm here to help, Harry." Then he smiled at him and Harry trusted him. Harry started visiting him every day. Even the days that Dudley didn't hurt him (which was rare), he always stopped by for help with homework or to say hello. He couldn't help it. Mr. Miller was just so nice to him. One day, Mr. Miller asked him to come to his room at the end of school instead of during lunch or snack time. Harry agreed.

He shouldn't have, of course.

(Why did it always have to be him?)

As soon as Harry had entered the classroom, he knew something was off. All the curtains were closed and the room was so dim he could barely see in front of him.

Then the door behind him clicked shut. He whirled around to the noise. 

(Stupid boy.)

"Mr. Miller?" He called out. 

--

The tissues in his backpack felt like a heavy weight on his shoulders.

He had received a beating that day along with no dinner.*

Then the screams brought him back to the present

It wouldn't stop.

He placed his hands over his ears, nails digging into his skin, blood and skin seeping under his fingernails. Pools of salty tears poured down from his eyes like a fucking waterfall. The voices grew louder and louder and louder.

Then a steady hand was placed on his shoulder. He flinched away violently but looked up to see Professor Merrythought had cast “Riddikulus” in his favor and was desperately trying to get his attention. Harry stood up stiffly.

“Would you please excuse me,” muttered that voice that sounded as small as it had been earlier. Stop talking like that, idiot . He practically ran out of the classroom as static filled his ears. Useless. Freak. Idiot. He muttered out the code to the dormitories, entered his room, and then promptly passed out from his panic attack.

Not a great way to cope, is it?

+—--------------------—+

Hogwarts, June 1996, 6:23 PM (Severus Snape’s POV)

At the Astronomy Tower

Bloody hell.

Bloody hell . That imbecile of a boy just killed Albus Dumbledore. The headmaster of Hogwarts. His own headmaster.

Fuck. He needed to get them out of there. 

No. Stop. Gather yourself, Severus, you can’t let them think you’re a traitor just yet. You still need to protect Draco, not the boy, so snap out of it!

But if that was the case then why did he have the incessant urge to just save them both? It’s because of the wand , he told himself. Yes, Potter owned the elder wand and would now need protection. But the plan Dumbledore devised had been so meticulous! Severus was supposed to pretend he owned the wand to stall time for the boy to destroy the remaining Horcruxes.

Fuck this. 

He grasped the boy’s shoulder. “Bellatrix, allow me to handle the Potter boy,” Snape said in a cautious voice. Bellatrix whined with those insane, obnoxious lips and aimed her wand at him.

“No! He’s mine to kill! He got to kill Dumby, now I get to kill him~” She cackled like a fucking maniac. That psycho.

“Bellatrix, may I remind you that I am trusted most by the Dark Lord? I advise you to take my advice before I speak to him about defying his orders.”

Yes, he made that up. The Dark Lord distrusted him as much as he trusted him, but Bellatrix had to remember the Dark Lord wanted to kill the boy himself.

She growled and lowered her wand. “Fine!” She stomped away, most likely going to fire hexes at other people. Dolohov followed soon after, muttering things to himself. Then it was only Draco, Potter, and Severus that remained in the room. He glanced down at the boy to see the glassy look in his eyes. He shuddered and looked back up to Draco. 

“...Draco, follow me if you wouldn’t like to get punished by the Dark Lord for not being able to kill the one man he told you to.” With this, Snape firmly gripped Potter’s shoulder and spun around to leave, leading a stiff boy and a traumatized boy with him. 

Merlin, this was going to be a long night.

+—--------------------—+

Severus reached his potion chambers and placed the boy onto his sofa. Well, more like shoved, but it didn’t really matter at the moment. Both boys in the room are as tense as a stick. Snape glanced back at Potter and watched as the glossiness in his eyes faded away to something more dull, but still looked like he was more conscious than before. Draco momentarily forgotten, he turned to the boy.

“Are you demented, Potter? You killed the headmaster, for Merlin’s sake, and- are you even listening boy!” Severus couldn’t hold in his outrage when he saw the boy rocking himself back and forth in a fetal position and muttering things to himself.

Harry giggled to himself. “The pig has finally defeated the slaughterer,” he whispered insanely. 

Severus rubbed his forehead. Merlin, now he had to deal with two insane people. 

“Potter!” He snapped.

Harry finally looked up and stopped muttering, only staring at Severus with a look that looked like he wasn’t really in the moment. Merlin, was the boy disassociating? His face scrunched up in concern.

“Potter, what-”

“The Horcruxes.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“The Horcruxes. There are only two left. The Diadem and Nagini.” Harry stood up. “We need to destroy them before they keep hurting people.” Then he dared to start walking out of the room. Was he an idiot? He grabbed Potter’s arm. 

“Are you an idiot? You can’t go out looking for Horcruxes when-”

“Stop,” Draco said in a soft voice, “Don’t speak to him like that. It only makes it worse.”

Severus paused for a moment before he let go of Potter’s arm and watched as Draco walked up next to him and placed Harry’s hand on the hem of his sleeve. “What do you feel?”

“I-I-” Harry’s eyes slightly cleared as he looked at Draco, “Fabric. The silk fabric of robes that were made in Madam Malkin’s shop.”

“Good, Pot-Harry.” Harry shuddered at the praise, “Now, where are you?”

“I’m at-” His eyes finally cleared as they grew wide and he took a step back, “Fuck, I’m so sorry.”

Draco stiffened for a moment, then turned around, walked to the sofa, and sat down. “He’ll be fine now if you need to talk to him, Severus.”

Severus turned once again to the boy and one glance at the haunted look in his eyes stopped him from asking any question about what had happened in the previous moments. “Rest boy, the war has started and you’ve just become the center of it.”

Harry took that as his chance to finally get rest and lay on the other sofa across from Draco. He mouthed Draco a ‘thank you’ once they made eye contact. Draco shied away and mouthed a ‘whatever’ back. 

He’d have to deal with the consequences of his actions soon.

+—--------------------—+

Hogwarts, August 16, 1944 12:01 AM

???

Harry arose to an uncomfortable position on a sofa that he was oddly tied to.

“What the-” He looked up and saw he was seated at the top of a circular table full of the Knights of Walpurgis, Orion being one of them. He should have known. You idiot .

“Well, Harry.” Tom raised his eyebrow and Harry flinched at the name. “Why don’t you explain your recent experiences in the past month? Oh, don’t forget to leave out the part about why you have a man that looks just like poor Orion protecting your fucking mind.”

Well, shit.