Champion Of Death

Unlike most young adults, twenty-one-old Harrison "Harry" James Potter only knew peace for a short period of time. Albus too-many-fucking-names Dumbledore destroyed the last chance of him ever having a normal childhood, after the death of his loving parents, by placing him with his magic hating relatives which whom he lived with for the next ten years of his life. His new family's hate for him was so great, their treatment of him would most likely make a Malfoy house elf envious of their own situation as he spent his time trying to survive on a regular basis.

Harry was snapped out of his stupor which happens occasionally as he reminisces about his past, when three particular items that he always kept in his possession. The Elder Wand, The Resurrection Stone, and his father's cloak which was promptly on his waist, all began to heat up and glow brightly which ended up blindly him. When he opened his eyes, he felt the tears begin to fall down his face, Lord Harrison James Potter-Black took a deep breath to banish the thoughts of the past from his mind which came in monumental tidal waves as he suddenly found himself in the middle of the Gryffindor common room where he spent majority of teenage years being manipulated by one of the few people, he believed he would happily give his life to.

Before he could think about why and how he was at what look like Hogwarts before the war destroyed parts of this very room, the door to the common room opened up, and the most beautiful woman he had ever seen walked in.

At 5'10" the stunning beauty was tall for a girl, and she easily towered over Harry's 5'5". The woman had silky black hair that hung down to her shoulders, and the bluest eyes he had ever seen. Her body was covered in a form fitting two-piece female muggle suit, and Harry was mesmerized by the sway of her hips, as she made her way towards him, it was hypnotic in some magical way.

He was knocked out of his daze when the woman conjured a beautiful leather chair in front of him, sat down and said, "Hello, Master. It's good to finally meet you."

Silence permeated the air which seemed like for eternity before it was promptly broken by a hollow broken laugh. "Uh, I'm sorry, but who are you? Where the hell am I? And most importantly, why the hell are you calling me Master?"

Harry gulped softly as the friendly smile disappeared from the woman's face, and she replied, "Well, straight to business I see. I guess I should just answer your questions in order than. First, my name is Death. Yes, THAT Death. I realize it's not the persona you were expecting to see, but this is me normally, so deal with it. Currently I have brought you into my realm, and I thought this room would help put you at ease. As for why I am calling you Master...it's because you are in possession of all three Hallows. As long as someone holds all three, they can prevent me from reaping their soul."

For some reason that he couldn't imagine, Harry knew the woman in front of him was really Death, and that she was telling him the truth, it was like his soul was confirming her identity a weird phenomenon. As her words slowly began to sink in to him, Harry couldn't believe the Hallows were real. He never thought anyone should have that type of power, and when he thought of why Death would want to speak to him, he figured it could only be about the items in his possession.

Quickly coming to a decision, Harry pulled off the ring that contained the Resurrection stone, grabbed the Elder Wand from his wrist holster and tossed both items to the woman in front of him.

"I'm sorry for holding on to those, mam, but I didn't think that the Hallows were real. If this is about me being your Master, then you have no need to worry, Lady Death. As far as I'm concerned, no one should have that type of power. You can have the other two Hallows back, but if possible, I would like to keep my father's cloak, as it is mine last remembrance of him, I have. In return I promise when my time comes, I won't make a fuss and hand it over."

Harry wasn't expecting the silence and cold stare from the woman in front of him. After a minute he became uncomfortable with the continued glare, and said, " If that's all, could you send me back please. I was finishing up on a potion, and I should be adding the wolf hair soon."

Death looked upon the young man that was facing her in surprise. For thousands of years she had been reaping the souls of mankind, and through those years she had seen few mortals that were truly pure of spirit. When she learned of her current predicament from her sister, Fate, Death asked her to help her find a Champion. Harry Potter from the Earth in Universe 3147, had been the person her sister sent to find. If his past actions had not convinced her, his current actions had more than shown that Fate had chosen the right Champion for her.

"You surprise me, Mr. Potter. Most of mankind is looking to find ways to escape my clutches, and yet here you are giving up your power over me so easily."

Harry shrugged uncomfortably under her piercing gaze. "Like I said before, ma'am, no one should have that type of power and I wouldn't mind joining my family when my time comes."

When Death slowly nodded her head in agreement, Harry silently let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding.

"While your actions here are a pleasant surprise, this is not why I have brought you to my realm, Mr. Potter. I have need of a Champion, and my sister assures me that you are perfect for the role."

"You have a sister?"

"Yes, Mr. Potter. You may know her as Fate. She's quite whimsical really, but she's never steered me wrong before."

Harry was shocked by what he was hearing. Not only did he find out that he was the Master of Death, but now she wanted him to be her Champion too. The entire situation was so ridiculous, Harry did the only thing he could think of...he laughed.

Death watched as her hopeful Champion began to giggle slowly. A well-manicured eyebrow moved slowly up her forehead, when the giggling turned into full-fledged laughter. Here she was offering this mortal a chance at a better life by being her Champion, and he had the audacity to laugh at her? Unacceptable. Or has she finally infected a mortal with insanity by just being present.

"Did I say something funny, Mr. Potter?" Death asked coldly.

The moment he heard her tone, Harry was filled with dread at the thought upsetting such a powerful entity. Hoping to appease her, he quickly controlled his mirth and replied, "My apologies, Lady Death, but I couldn't help but think how ridiculous this situation is. An hour ago, I was living the life of a hermit on my Island, and now Death herself wants me to be her Champion. It's a lot to take in all at once."

"Very well, Mr. Potter," Death replied, her tone slightly less icy than before. "Now, will you agree to be my Champion?"

Harry's natural reaction was to say no, but he had come far from the boy who jumped head long into any problem. Now he actually liked to gather as much information as possible, before making said leap.

"What exactly do you need me for, my Lady?", Harry asked curiously.

"To kill Voldemort, Mr. Potter."

Harry was stunned by her reply. He knew he had destroyed all of Voldemort's soul anchors to this world. There was no way the snake faced bastard escaped his death at the battle of Hogwarts.

"That's not possible, ma'am. I destroyed all his horcruxes. Tom can't still be alive."

Death winced at his statement, and she knew it was her fault for not being clearer. "My apologies, Mr. Potter. You're absolutely correct. The Voldemort of this world is dead and I thank you for returning his soul to me. The Voldemort I'm speaking of is from another world. It is this man, that I am recruiting you to defeat."

"Another world?"

"Yes, Mr. Potter. The Earth you live on, is just one of many. There are millions of Earths in the millions of different universes that exist in the multiverse."

Harry couldn't believe he was being asked to kill another Voldemort in another world. He'd already paid the price for his victory. What the hell was his counterpart doing? If he could win with all the obstacles he faced in his life, he couldn't fathom why his counterpart wasn't able to do the same.

"Uh, I'm sorry, Lady Death, but why can't the me from that world kill him?"

Death was pleased the young Wizard was asking questions and not rejecting her offer right away. Wanting to be honest with her potential Champion, she didn't hesitate to answer his question.

"The other you can't defeat Voldemort for me, because in that world he is a pseudo-squib and the Boy-Who-Lived is actually Neville Longbottom."

"Wait what?! I'm a pseudo-squib? What the hell is that? And Nev is the Boy Who Lived? Don't get me wrong, I love Nev. He's a great bloke, but I'm not sure if he's up for the challenge."

"I agree with you, Mr. Potter," Death replied with a small smile. "A pseudo-squib is someone who is a squib due to their magic not working, as opposed to someone who doesn't have any magic to begin with. The other you have a rare medical condition that caused his magical core to twist upon itself. As a result, he can feel the magic with him, but he can't get it to do anything."

Harry took a deep breath as he tried to take in everything he was hearing. If there were really millions of different worlds out there, and he really didn't have any reason to doubt Death, by the law of probability, some of those worlds had to end with Voldemort being the victor. If that's so, then why was this world's Voldemort so important?

"Why is this Voldemort so important, madam? If as you say there are millions of different Earths, there has to have been a few where Voldemort emerged victorious. What's so special about this one?"

Death wanted to be honest with her future Champion, but she didn't want to tell him about the power that could be available to him in the new world. If there was one thing the past 5000 years had taught her, it was absolute power corrupts absolutely. But then she remembered how easily Harry had given up his power over the Hallows, and with her sister's recommendation clearly in his corner, she knew she had to take a chance.

"This Voldemort is important, Mr. Potter, because if left unchecked, he will one day find an item, which promptly belongs to me has it has a part of my power, that will grant him the ability to start an unprecedented war across the multiverse. As I'm sure you are aware, should someone of Voldemort's moral standards have my abilities, he will no doubt use it to subjugate all the worlds that he can. It was bad when he tried to rule over Britain, but with power to fight entities he will be so much worse."

"Merlin's beard," Harry cursed softly to himself. "What kind of item would give him such an ability."

Death was willing to trust and be honest with her Champion, but even she would not dare to tempt fate. "The item is not important, Mr. Potter. Just imagine it as all three Deathly Hallows powered by more than a couple dozen times. I don't need you to look for it, or try to destroy it. What I need you to do, is kill Voldemort before he has an inkling that something like that even exists."

Harry was a little hurt that she wouldn't tell him what the item was, but when he took a second to think about it, he realized he would have done the same thing if he was in her position.

"Just out of curiosity, why is that world's Boy-Who-Lived not capable of doing the job?"

Death gently massaged her head, when she heard the question. Neville Longbottom had been a pain in her neck in many worlds, and she cursed her sister for making him the saviour in the world

she needed Voldemort to definitely lose.

When she saw Harry was waiting patiently for her reply, she sighed and replied, "In most of the worlds where Voldemort is a problem, the Boy Who Lived is usually you. You and your counterparts have a success rate of 92% in defeating the Dark Lord. In the worlds where Neville is the Boy Who Lived, the opposite hold true. With his failure rate, I can't leave this Voldemort up to him."

Harry momentarily allowed himself to bask in his and his counterpart's ability to defeat the Dark Wanker. It was nice to know he was good at fulfilling his destiny, no matter what universe he was in. Once he was done reliving in his glory, Harry seriously considered helping Death. Should any version of Snake face get hold of this power, he knew it would be bad for everyone.

The Gryffindor in Harry was screaming to jump up and say yes, but the Slytherin in him was urging caution. With Neville's success rate, Harry already knew he was going to say yes to Death. He couldn't risk Voldemort ever getting possession of it. But just because he was going to fight for her, didn't mean he couldn't try to get the best price for his services.

"I understand your predicament, Lady Death, and I might consider agreeing to become your Champion. But what are you offering me in return?"

When she heard his request, Death wanted to jump up and down with joy. She was now positive her Champion was going to fight on her behalf, and she was more than willing to make the deal as sweet as possible for him.

"The world I want to send you to is several years behind your own. While your world shares many similarities with the other one, they also have many differences. For instance, in the other world, your parents did not die on Halloween. While Peter still betrayed them to his master, Voldemort chose to attack the Longbottoms, and sent Bella, Rudolph, Rabastan and Crouch Jr. to deal with your family. Fortunately, that night Sirius was visiting your parents, and when they arrived the three of them managed to defeat the four Death Eaters. Meanwhile Voldemort killed Neville's parents and he became the Boy-Who-Lived."

Death could see the hope flash across Harry's green eyes, and disappear just as quickly. The moment it did, she knew what was bothering him.

"You are concerned about your counterpart?"

Harry nodded his head in answer. "Then allow me to ease your worries, Mr. Potter. Your counterpart has spent the last several years pushing his friends and family further away from him. He is bitter at his being a squib, and over the years his attitude has only gotten worse. Even though he has found a way to treat his magical core, his future still looks bleak. Should he fail in fixing his malady, it will result in his death before his eleventh birthday. Should he succeed in fixing his core, the bitterness he developed only worsens as he gets older. By the time Voldemort makes his return, your counterpart will join him, and eventually he will rise through the ranks and become one of the Dark Lords most valued Death Eaters."

Harry couldn't believe the other version of him would join Snake face, but he didn't think Death would lie to him. He didn't want to take over someone's life, but if their only options were death or turn evil, Harry was willing to do it. "If I said yes, how would this work? Obviously, I'm a lot older than the me in the other world. What happens to my body? Do I still keep my magic, or do I have to use his?"

"Since you will be living in the new world, you would have to leave your current body behind. Once your counterpart's soul leaves his body, I will push your soul and magical core into his. This should not only blend your abilities with his, but the merger of his core with yours, should also fix the problems Dumbledore caused by blocking your core for so long. If anything, it might even make you stronger than what you might normally have been in your original world."

The merging of the two cores was pretty straight forward for Harry, but the abilities part still confused him. "What did you mean about blending our abilities, Lady Death?"

"Parselmouth is an ability you gained when you defeated Voldemort." Death explained. "It is now a part of your magic, and will be passed down to your future descendants. Also, all of the skills you have gained in your eighteen years, will be added to the skills your counterpart's body already possess."

"What skills does my counterpart possess?" Harry asked curiously.

Death snapped her fingers and a small brown file suddenly popped into her hands. She flipped through it and said, "Your counterpart is smart, Mr. Potter. If you need a point of reference, he's probably smarter than your friend Miss Granger. He's also very adept at Runes. At the age of 9 he discovered a way to allow magic to work with Muggle electronics, but kept the discovery a secret. He's also quite good at investing. A true money-maker."

Harry was stunned that a little kid had discovered something that people in his world still hadn't figured out. But what caught his curiosity was the point Death made about investing. He could see a kid that was smarter than Hermione figuring out runes, but he couldn't understand how a kid his counterpart's age could be good at investing. Kids that age rarely had access to enough money to make an investment worthwhile.

"Sorry to interrupt ma'am, but how does a little kid even get enough money to work the market?"

Death flipped through a few more pages in the file and explained, "At the age of seven your counterpart determined since he was a squib, his parents would Obliviate him and send him to an orphanage once his Hogwarts letter failed to appear. While this wasn't true, and his parents loved him regardless of his magic, he still believed it. Since he didn't want to give up his knowledge of the magical world, he prepared himself to escape into the muggle world, rather than be Obliviated.

Knowing he would need money, he wrote to the Potter accounts manager and asked about his trust fund. When he was born his parents deposited 5000 galleons into his trust vault. Every year since then, 1000 galleons has been deposited. At the age of seven he had roughly 11000 galleons or 110000 pounds in his trust vault. While he wasn't allowed to withdraw money until he was eleven, he realized the rules didn't prohibit him from investing the money. After researching several muggle companies, he instructed the Goblins which companies he wanted to invest in and made enough money to open a separate account and return his original trust fund money with a fifteen percent interest."

Harry always believed Hermione was one of the smartest people he ever met, but he doubted even she could have done what his counterpart did. The little bastard may have been a Death Eater in waiting, but there was no question as to his brilliance.

"How much money did he end up making?"

Death knew Harry was a little put out by the younger Wizard's success compared to his own at the same age, and so she took a little joy in shocking her new Champion. "You will be taking over his body a month before his eleventh birthday, and by that time his investments will have earned him 12 million galleons. That's after he returned the original seed money plus interest to his trust vault."

"Merlin's balls, that kid is smart," Harry exclaimed in awe.

Death only grinned and nodded her head in agreement. "So, Mr. Potter. What do you think?"

Harry thought about the world she was offering him, and he had to admit the new world was better than his own. He didn't think he would ever be able to complete his promise to Sirius in his own world, but he just might have a chance in the new one.

"When it comes to Snake face, how similar is the new world to mine? Does he still have horcruxes? Are they the same?"

Death sighed because she knew this was the question, she was truly afraid of. Not wanting to hide anything from her Champion, she continued, "Yes, he has horcruxes, and yes they are the same. At some point you will have to remove the one in Mr. Longbottom to succeed. Barring any drastic changes, you may make to the timeline, most of the events leading up to your fifth year should be the same in the new world. The major difference will come at the end of the third task in the Triwizard's Tournament. Instead of coming back in the mutilated body you dealt with, Voldemort will be reborn in a body more powerful than his original one."

Voldemort was tough a tough bastard to begin with, and Harry couldn't fathom him being even more powerful. "Why the new body?", he asked. "How much stronger will this body make him?"

"During the first war in your world, Mr. Potter, Voldemort only looked through a few of the tombs he stole from the families that he killed off. As such he poured most of his time into creating the Island you now live on. In the other world Voldemort was more thorough in his reading. He came upon an ancient text that allowed a person to create a Homunculus and then give it real life by adding a person's soul to it. The new body would require the willing deaths of a married Witch and Wizard, and once Voldemort's soul was added to the new body, his core would meld with the cores of the two others. Before he made his attempt on Mr. Longbottom's life, Voldemort had already sacrificed two of his followers to create the Homunculus. By the time he is ready to be reborn, his new body will have been magically aged to 25 years and he will be in the prime of his life."

The silence that followed was tough for Death. Thanks to Fate she knew Harry was her best bet to keep her powers, but she was afraid he would refuse to fight against such odds. All her doubts were put to rest, when she heard him say, "I'll do it, but I have some conditions."

Death was thrilled when Harry agreed to be her Champion, and she was more than willing to accommodate any reasonable conditions.

"Sure thing, my Champion," she answered happily. "What can I do for you?"

"First, a small question. How tall will I be in my new body?"

Death was a little taken aback by the random question, but she still went through the file Fate gave her. "Since your new body will be healthy, at the age you enter you will be 5'0" tall. At your peak physical maturity, you will stand at 5'8" in height."

Harry thought for a second and then replied, "My first condition is that I want to be taller once I reach physical maturity. I'm tired of having to look up to most of the people in the Wizarding world. Can you do it?"

Death shrugged her shoulders and nodded her head in agreement. "Sure. It'll be easy to stimulate the bones when I'm putting you into the new body. Any particular height you're looking for?"

"As long as I hit 6'0" I don't care."

Once Harry saw Death nod her head again, he continued with the second item on his list. "I also want to take everything I have in this world with me. That includes the Island I'm living on."

Death knew the second request was a little more extensive, but she decided it was still doable. "Fine. Once you're in the new world, I'll transport the Island and everything else you have here to a new location in that world. I'll leave the knowledge of the location in your mind. Anything else?"

"Just one last thing," Harry replied hesitantly. "I have some properties here that I didn't end up selling to the Goblins. They're quite valuable and I would like to get rid of them before I leave. My account manager made an offer for them, but I've been too busy to worry about it. I was hoping you could help me sell the properties before I leave."

Death was well aware that Harry wasn't normally so materialistic, so she found herself curious at his sudden desire to accumulate wealth. "That should be fine, Mr. Potter, but may I ask why this sudden concern you have for money?"

Harry blushed at the thought of Death thinking he was being greedy and replied, "You're pretty much giving me a second chance at life. With the knowledge I have now, and what I would gain once I blend with my counterpart, I have a real chance at making a difference in the world. If the new world's government is anything like the one from my world, then the Magical community has been stagnant for too long. If I can help drag them into the future, maybe there can finally be an end to

the pureblood supremacists that rule our world."

Death smiled when she realized what he was planning to do. She recalled the talks he had with Miss Granger during their time together in the Chamber, and she applauded his decision to make a difference in the world. As long as he still took care of Voldemort for her, she was more than willing to help him achieve his goal.

Happy that her new Champion hadn't suddenly turned into a greedy bastard, Death snapped her fingers and a trunk suddenly appeared in front of her. "Here you go, Mr. Potter. The three properties have been sold to the Goblins, and the trunk now holds the 250 million galleons you received as payment."

"250 million?", Harry asked in awe. "The Goblins only offered me 150 million for all that land. How did you get so much?"

Death smiled smugly and replied, "You just have to know how to negotiate, Mr. Potter. Besides, with two gold mines and several deep reservoirs of oil that were found on the three properties, the land was easily worth more than 400 million. The Goblins were making a low offer, and they expected you to counter back. You never did. The price I got you was the best they could give at the moment."

Harry didn't know what to say. He got everything he wanted out of the deal, and Death didn't even hesitate to give it to him. Intellectually he knew he was getting paid for his services, but a part of him still felt like he was taking advantage of the situation.

"Thank you very much for your efforts, Lady Death. While I'm in the new world, would you like me to destroy the Hallows there as well?"

Death was slightly touched by his words, and smiled kindly at her Champion. "There is no need to do that, Mr. Potter. I rarely make the same mistake twice. The Hallows only exist in your world. In the new world you will go to, I never interacted with the Peverell brothers, so there is nothing for you to do."

"Wow. I wonder how my dad got through Hogwarts without his Invisibility cloak?"

"Oh, he still had the Cloak, Mr. Potter. It just wasn't as powerful as the one you have."

When she saw the confused expression on Harry's face, Death explained, "The cloak was actually created by the youngest Peverell brother. The man was a master at Enchantment, and I have no doubt he could have given Merlin a run for his money in that department. The cloak Ignotus created was quite powerful by itself, and it was more than capable of avoiding almost all forms of magical detection. It wasn't until I added my power to it, that I made it invisible to everything, even me."

Harry was happy that his dad still had the cloak, and offered Death a chance to fix his as well. "Since I already gave you the other two Hallows, if you want, you can take back your power from my cloak."

"Keep it," Death replied. "Without the other two Hallows it won't really affect me too much. Besides, after everything you've been through, you deserve it."

Harry grinned happily in response. He was glad he would be able to keep his advantage. "I'm ready when you are, ma'am. Just tell me what to do."

"That part is easy, Mr. Potter. All you have to do...is die."

Harry felt his eyes widen in surprise, but before he could do anything, Death's palm connected with his head and his world turned dark.

Harry heard a familiar sounding voice calling his name, and when he opened his eyes, he was surprised to see Death's blue eyes staring back at him. "Did something go wrong with the transfer?" he asked in fear. "Am I dead?"

Death grinned and shook her head. "Relax, Mr. Potter. You're fine, and we are currently speaking in your mindscape. I just wanted to let you know that everything went better than expected. Apparently, my sister has taken a fancy to you, and when the transfer occurred, she allowed you to keep all of your counterpart's magic."

Harry was confused by the statement. "Wasn't that supposed to happen anyways?"

"No, Mr. Potter. I was expecting you to lose around half your counterpart's magical core during the transfer. Fate apparently had other ideas for you, and my sister decided to gift you with all of his magic. Once you get a chance to visit your Island, she left a book for you to explain your new powers. In the meantime, I've placed two magical suppressors inside of your wrists. They should allow you to hide the majority of your power. After all, a ten-year-old that is more powerful than

Dumbledore would definitely raise a lot of questions. Your magic has been flaring strongly for some time now, and since the healers have already taken several readings, for now I've set the suppressors to show your magical core to be equivalent to that of a third year Hogwarts student."

"New powers?"

"Ah, ah, ah. Sorry, I can't tell you anything, Mr. Potter. Fate wants it to be a surprise. Now, everything you own has been placed on your Island. Once you're ready, I'll download your counterpart's memories to your own. You still have some time before you will wake, so I suggest you take the time and use your Occlumency skills to shelve the new memories."

Harry really didn't have any more questions for his new boss, so he smiled politely and said, "I'm ready, ma'am."

Suddenly the image of Death disappeared from his mind, and he was bombarded with memories of his counterpart. As he quickly sorted through them, Harry realized what an ass the kid had been. He understood the boy's fear of being abandoned, but his actions had estranged him to so many people, Harry could only hope he would get a chance to build the bridges his counterpart had failed to do.

________________________________________

Harry opened his eyes and he was immediately blinded by the bright light in the room. His ears picked up the sound of someone crying gently by his bed. When he turned his head to see who it was, he felt his throat tighten at the site. There in front of him sat the mother he had always wanted to see. Her crimson red hair was a mess, and her tears fell continuously from her emerald coloured eyes. By the look of the wrinkles in her robes, he knew she must have been there for a while.

The last thing Harry wanted to do was lie to his mother, but he knew a few lies would be necessary in the beginning. Unable to see his mum cry anymore, he reached out and grabbed her hand. "I'm sorry for making you cry, mum, but I'm better now. I did it. I'm not a failure anymore. You won't have to send me away for being a squib."

Lily Potter was beside herself with worry. Twelve hours ago, she received a letter from the Goblins that her son was being monitored for a risky procedure that he was doing to fix his damaged core, and that he would most likely not survive the process. Despite the distance that had grown between her eldest child and the rest of the family, she had never once given up hope that she would still have a chance to connect with her son. She knew her husband still held on to that same hope, but for him it was tempered with the reality that their son might never get over his bitterness at being a squib.

When she heard the soft sound of her son's voice, she looked down and saw his bright green eyes staring back at her. For the first time in years she could see the love he had for her, clearly written on his face. That sight alone was enough for her to wrap her arms around him and crush her son to her chest.

"Harrison James Potter, what possessed you to do something like this? Why didn't you tell your father and I about what you were planning to do? Do you know how scared I've been that you would die tonight? How many times do I have to tell you that I love you? Whether you have magic or not, it doesn't mean anything to me or your father. We would never send you away from us."

Intellectually Harry knew he wasn't at fault for any of these things, but his mum's words still made him ashamed of his counterpart's actions. "I know I haven't been a good son, mum, and I'm sorry for pushing you guys away all these years. It's just the Wizarding world looks down on squibs, and I couldn't stop myself from thinking you would send me away. I didn't tell you and dad about this procedure, because I knew you wouldn't let me go through with. But I did it mum. I can feel my magic for the first time, and it feels great. I'm sorry for all the pain that I've caused the family, but if you give me another chance, I promise to be the son that you deserve."

Lily cried at hearing the pain in her son's voice. She always knew he felt bad about his magic, but she never realized how alone and afraid he really was. "Hush, sweetheart. You don't need another chance, because you never lost the first one. I've always been proud of you, and I love you very much."

"Do you think everyone else will give me a chance too, mum? I've been a right prat for a really long time. I was just afraid of getting close to them and then losing everyone. I want to make it up to dad, Padfoot, Moony, the girls, Daniel especially Bill."

Lily laughed happily at her son and nodded her head. "They're your family, sweetheart. Of course, they will forgive you."

Before she could continue, she saw her son's eyes close again, and she gently ran her hands through his sloppy black hair. When the door to the room opened behind her, Lily turned around to see the Goblin healer walk in, and she immediately stood to greet him.

"Harry was up just a few moments ago, Master Healer. He spoke to me for a bit and told me he could finally feel his magic. Will he be alright?"

Lily watched fearfully as the Goblin ran several tests on her eldest son. When his eyes widened in surprise, her heart skipped a beat and she prepared herself for the worst.

"Your son will be fine, Lady Potter," the Goblin replied politely. "In fact, now that his core has finally settled, it seems your son is quite the powerful young Wizard. According to his MPI his core is similar to children that are entering their third year at Hogwarts."

Lily was stunned by the news. She was expecting to hear her son wouldn't make it through the night, but to learn the child that everyone assumed was a squib was in reality so powerful, it was almost too much for her to take. The fear, anger and sorrow she had been feeling for so many years, was swept away by the happiness she felt at hearing the good news.

"Thank Merlin he will be alright," she exclaimed. "I would also like to thank you on behalf of House Potter for your actions here tonight, Master Healer. You saved my son's life."

The Goblin shook his head and replied, "While the thought is appreciated, it is also unnecessary, Lady Potter. All I did was monitor your son's vitals. Tonight, he saved his own life. Only he could fix the problem with his core, and he did so on his own."

Lily wiped away the tears that were still falling down her face and smiled kindly at the smaller Goblin. When he continued to run his scans on Harry, she excused herself and made her way outside of the room. She knew there were quite a few people waiting to hear about Harry, and she couldn't wait to share the good news with them.

When she finally found the waiting room the Goblins had set aside for the Potter family, she walked in and found that the room was packed. In the corner of the room, her husband sat with his two best friends, Sirius and Remus. On the other side of the room, Sirius' wife Amy was watching over her twin

daughters and youngest son as they played with Sirius' two children.

Before she could think to announce herself, her presence was noticed by her husband, and she saw him jump up with worry. "Is Harry okay, Lils?"

Lily couldn't stop the smile from lighting up her face, as she nodded her head and said, "He's going to be fine, James. I spoke to the healer, and whatever procedure Harry did to fix his core, it worked."

The cheers that erupted within the room, prevented Lily from continuing with the report. She laughed at seeing everyone so happy at the news.

When the group finally managed to calm down after a few minutes, Lily continued. "I want to tell you about his magical strength, James."

"I don't care if he's not magically strong, Lily," James interrupted. "He's my son. I'm just happy he's going to be okay."

The simple words spoken by her husband reminded her once again why she fell in love with him in the first place. Most pureblood men would look down upon a squib or magically weak child, but her husband never once thought that about their eldest child.

"He's not weak, James," she explained to her still ecstatic husband. "I just spoke to the healer, and after running some tests, he said Harry's core has finally settled, and right now he's as powerful as a third year at Hogwarts."

Lily could tell her news had stunned the room, because all the noise had come to a sudden stop.

"How is that possible, Lily?," she heard Remus ask.

"I'm not certain about all the details, but from what I learned from the healer when I first got here,

Harry was suffering from a rare condition where his core had twisted upon itself. That's why the scan always showed him as a squib. His magic just couldn't be released the way his core was positioned."

Sirius was stunned that his godson was so powerful, and surprised that such a magical condition even existed.

"How come no one found out about his core? You and James must have taken him to St. Mungo's at least a dozen times. You even had Albus come and check Harry out himself."

Lily shook her head before replying, "The Goblin healer explained that his condition is so rare, it only shows up once or twice a century. Unless you ask for it, no one runs scans to check for a magical core in a squib."

Remus' intellectual curiosity was peaked by the news and he asked, "Do we know what type of procedure Harry went through?"

"I don't know all the details, but from what I was able to learn, Harry figured out how to connect to his core from a book he got from the Goblins. He found a page that mentioned his condition and the suggested method of treatment was to have the patient enter a meditative trance and have them connect to their magical core. They were supposed to unravel the twist, but the procedure was dangerous. If the person failed to fix the core fast enough, it was possible for the core to rupture and kill the patient."

All the adults in the room gasped at the news. "Why would Harry do this without telling us?"

Lily could see the anger and frustration clearly on her husband's face, and she gently brushed her fingers down his cheek.

"He was afraid, James. Despite everything we told him, he truly believed we would send him away for being a squib. He pushed us all away, because he didn't want to get close to us, and then have to leave everyone. He was so sad and ashamed, James. When he woke up, the first thing he did was apologize to me, and begged me to give him another chance at being my son. It broke my heart to hear he thought we didn't love him anymore."

James was shocked at hearing how his son really felt. By the silence that coursed through the rest of the room, it was evident everyone else felt the same way too.

"So, what happens now?", James asked his wife.

"The healer says we have to wait a few days before we can take him home. After that, I think it's time we all became a family again."

James grinned at the news, and room once again erupted with cheers and happiness.

________________________________________

Harry had just finished dressing in the clothes his mother brought for him, when the door to his room opened and his Accounts Manager walked. Surprised to see the Goblin paying him a visit, he bowed his head politely and said, "It's nice to see you, Manger Ripclaw. What can I do for you?"

The Goblin grunted at him and handed him a stack of papers. "The properties you asked us to purchase on your behalf have been assessed, and you have once again been successful in your endeavour. You are quite the investment prodigy, Mr. Potter."

Harry swept through the memories of his counterpart, and even with his new eidetic memory, he couldn't recall asking the Goblins to buy any new properties. Uncertain what to do, he took the paperwork from his manager, and his eyes lit up as soon as he saw what he was holding. The deeds in his hands were the same as the deeds he asked Death to sell in his old world. Harry was once again the proud owner of two untapped gold mines, and a large parcel of land that held several deep reservoirs of oil.

Before he could think how this was possible, a familiar voice echoed inside of his head. "You are welcome, Mr. Potter, and good luck in accomplishing your dream. Just make sure it doesn't interfere with what I need you to do. Oh, and my sister would like to congratulate you on the potion you were working on. She took a look at it while dropping off the book on your Island, and she believes you will be quite happy with the results."

Harry didn't know what to do. A part of him wanted to scream in joy, but the rest of him knew to remain composed in front of his manager.

"Thank you for the hard work, Manager Ripclaw. Your services have so far been spectacular, and from now on I request you bump your cut from 2% to 5%."

The Goblin's grin would be scary to most people, but Harry had spent six years with several Goblins in the time Chamber, so he didn't even blink an eye.

"That is most generous of you, Mr. Potter," the Goblin replied happily. "I must say you have been a pleasure to work with. I look forward to our future ventures together."

"May your gold flow like a river, and your enemies tremble before you, Ripclaw."

"May your vaults overflow, and your enemies cower at your feet, Mr. Potter."

________________________________________

When Harry followed his parents into Potter Manor, he couldn't stop himself from becoming anxious. Two days ago he had requested this meeting with the entire extended family. At first his parents had been against it, but after his continued insistence, they finally relented.

Today was his homecoming from his medical ordeal, and he could now see why his parents were against his idea at the time. Summoning his Gryffindor courage, Harry followed his parents into the living room where the rest of his family was already waiting for him.

The moment he saw Sirius and Remus, it took all of Harry's self-control to not go running to embrace the two men. When his eyes fell upon the rest of the people in the room, it took him a moment to identify everyone that didn't exist in his old world.

The first people he noticed were the twin's girls that looked like younger replicas of their mother, complete with crimson red hair and emerald green eyes. Born a few months after the death of Voldemort, from his memories he knew the elder girl's name was Rose Lily Potter, and the younger twin was named Violet Dorea Potter. The next person he noticed was his younger brother Daniel Charlus Potter, who was three years younger than him. Finally, he laid his eyes on his twin brother William "Bill" Jacob Potter, who stood with messy dark brown hair and hazel eyes. His memories showed him how awful his counterpart had been to his siblings, especially to his twin and he swore he would do everything in his power to change the relationship they had with their eldest brother.

As his eyes continued to sweep the room, Harry noticed Sirius' wife Amy Alexandra Black sitting beside her husband. Formerly a Mckinna, he knew the gorgeous brunnette was a pureblood and in this world, and Sirius' girlfriend since their seventh year at Hogwarts. In front of her sat their two children. The eldest was a girl his own age named Alexandra Artemis Black, and her younger brother Orion Arcturis Black.

When he saw his parents take a seat on the couch near his Aunt Amy, Harry finally noticed that everyone was staring at him. Knowing they were all wondering why he had called for this meeting, Harry took a deep breath and said, "Hello everyone. I'm sure you're all wondering why I begged mum and dad to gather you here today. The answer is simple...I wanted to introduce myself."

"We all know who you are, Harry," Violet answered with a sneer.

Harry was a little saddened to hear the obvious dislike in his younger sister's voice, but he knew he deserved it. His counterpart's actions had done a lot of damage to this family, and it would take time to heal all the wounds he'd caused.

"You know my name, Violet," Harry replied patiently. "But you don't know who I am. None of you do, and I only have myself to blame for that. I pushed all of you away for years, and I never let you know the real me. I asked you here so I could finally tell all of you who I really am."

"I for one would love to know, sweety," his mum said with a smile.

The smile seemed to energize Harry, and he couldn't stop himself from grinning in return.

"As all of you know, I've been a right prat for the past few years. What you don't really know is why. It started right after Daniel's third birthday. I was six at the time, and it was the day he did his first accidental magic. Mum and dad were so thrilled to see it, but it made me jealous. I had already gone through the same thing with the twins doing magic, but when Daniel did it, I thought my time with the family was over. Bill already showed that he could do accidental magic and that already put a heavy burden on me. I knew what a squib was, and after doing some research I knew that squib children were often Obliviated and sent away to live in orphanages in the muggle world."

Harry's speech was interrupted, when his father jumped up and said, "We love you, Harry. With or without magic, I would never send a child of mine away from the family."

"I know that, Dad, but I couldn't stop myself from believing in the worst-case scenario. The day after

I overheard you and mum celebrating Daniel's accidental magic, I thought my days with the family were numbered. As a squib I couldn't inherit the Potter Lordship, but since William and Daniel was magical, you would have a valid heir if something unfortunate was to happen."

When he saw the tears form in his father's eyes, Harry had to force himself to continue. "That was the night that I decided to keep my distance from the rest of the family. If I didn't have a relationship with any of you, it wouldn't hurt if I was forced to leave. As the months passed, I tried my best to try to do some magic. I even found mum's books from her time at school and learned all the theory up till the end of third year. I would then steal dad's wand at night and for hours I would try to do all the spells I had learned. After months of trying, I finally gave up."

Harry knew this news was startling for everyone, because he heard Remus ask, "I don't want to doubt you, Harry, but how is it possible for you to pick up material that is taught to third years. Some of those classes are really hard."

Harry smiled at the younger version of Remus and replied, "You're correct in your suspicions, uncle Moony. Learning third year material should be hard for a six almost seven-year-old. But I have a gift I never told you guys about. Do any of you know what Eidetic memory is?"

When he heard his mother while Bill just nodded, Harry wasn't surprised the smartest witch of her age knew the answer and Bill who he knew was a prodigy. "Could you explain it, mum?"

Lily nodded her head in awe and said, "It's when a person can remember anything they have seen, heard, read, touched or tasted for the rest of their life."

Harry could tell the others were uncertain about his gift. So, to prove it was true he decided to share one of his counterpart's earliest memories. "Mum, Dad, Padfoot, do you guys remember the

Halloween night we were attacked at Godric's Hallow?"

When he saw their reluctant nods, Harry continued with his story. "That night mum was wearing a blue jumper and she was singing me a lullaby as Bill was already asleep. When the wards around the house fell, Padfoot screamed for mum to take us and run, and dad was yelling curses at the Death Eaters. Since the anti-apparition wards had been put up, mum was unable to leave. Instead she barricaded herself inside our nursery. Once the fighting finally ended, dad came upstairs and knocked on the door. Mum was holding me in one arm, and with her other hand, she had her wand pointed at the door. When dad told her it was him, she asked him what they did on their first date."

As he looked around the room, Harry could tell most of the people were shocked at his revelation, but that they still needed some convincing. Turning to Remus he asked, "Do you by any chance have a book in your Mole-skin bag, uncle Moony?"

Remus nodded his head and pulled out a large muggle dictionary. The moment he saw the surprised looks on everyone's faces, he shrugged his shoulders and said, "I work in the muggle world, and sometimes I need it to understand some of the things that aren't available to us in the magical world."

Harry took the book from Remus and randomly opened it to a page in the middle. He gave himself a minute to skim through the page on either side and then returned the book to his pseudo-uncle.

Over the next three minutes, Harry repeated verbatim everything that he read on the two pages. By the time he was done, Remus' jaw was hanging open in awe.

"Why didn't you tell us, Harry?", his mum asked.

The hurt in his mother's voice tore at him. "I don't really have a reason, mum. I just kept it a secret."

After a brief moment of silence, Harry figured it was time to continue with his story. "After I determined I wouldn't be able to do any magic, I decided I would make my way into the muggle world on my own. Since I was really good at runes and potions, I didn't want to have my memories of the magical world taken away from me. I figured I had until I was eleven years old and my Hogwarts letter failed to arrive, before I would need to make my escape. Knowing I would need to have money to make it on my own, I wrote a letter to the Potter Accounts Manager and asked about the status of my trust vault. After reading through the paperwork he sent me, I realized while I couldn't pull out money until I was eleven, it said nothing about me investing it. Once I verified that with the Goblins, I spent several weeks researching muggle companies. I decided if I was going to live in that world, it would make sense for me to invest in it. My first few investments did really well for me, and I made enough money that I was able to return the galleons I took from my trust vault. After that I opened another account that only I could access, and got myself a new Accounts Manager."

Harry felt bad about all the surprises he was dropping on his family, but the Marauder in him slightly enjoyed all the stunned expressions on everyone's faces.

"How much money have you earned so far?," Sirius asked curiously.

When he felt his family all stare at him at once, Harry blushed slightly and replied, "Before I went to the Goblins to fix my core, I had 12 million galleons in my personal account."

Harry had to stop himself from flinching when the adults in the room erupted around him. They were all talking so loud, he couldn't tell if they were happy or upset with what his counterpart was able to accomplish. After a few minutes, his dad's piercing whistle broke through the noise, and the rest of the family finally settled down.

"You said before you went to the Goblins your account was at 12 million galleons?", his dad asked him patiently.

When Harry nodded his head in agreement, his dad asked, "What's your account balance now, Harry? As 5 million Galleons in a family account would make ancient family into a noble and ancient family."

"Well, technically it's the same, but I asked the Goblins to purchase some property I was looking to build on, and they didn't finish their assessment until I was ready to be released by the healers. The several plots of land I purchased turned out to have two untapped gold mines, and several reservoirs of oil. The Goblins valued the three properties at around 400 million galleons."

The silence that followed his announcement made Harry more uncomfortable than he could imagine.

"Is there any more to your story, Harry?", Lily asked him hesitantly.

Harry had a couple more things to share with his family, but after seeing the stunned looks on everyone's faces, he thought he would keep his revelations to just two more.

"Just a little bit, mum but it's not important right now."

When he saw his mother shake her head, Harry took a deep breath and looked at James who stared into his son's green eyes and he was shocked at how little he knew the person that looked back at him. "I'm not angry, Harry. I'm just stunned at how brilliant my son is, and how little I knew about it. You've accomplished so many wonderful things in such a short time, and I haven't been able to help you at all. I feel guilty for not being a better father to you."

Before his dad could continue any further, Harry ran up to the sofa he was sitting on and knelt down in front of him. "This is not your fault, dad. You and mum never once gave up on me. No matter how hard I tried to push you guys away, you still did your best to show me that you loved me. It was me who didn't accept it. None of you know me, but it's my fault and my fault alone. That's why I wanted everyone here today. I don't want to keep you guys away anymore. I've been a horrible twin, a horrible brother, a horrible nephew, a horrible friend and a horrible son to each and every one of you. Now that I won't ever have to leave again, I just want a chance to save the relationships I almost threw away."

After everything he suffered in his old world, Harry found it hard to meet his father's eyes. The tears that were forming in the older man's hazel orbs, hurt him worse than any of the Dark Lord's Crucios. If he was unable to save his relationship with his family, he didn't know what he would do.

Suddenly Harry felt a hand grip his shoulder. When he looked up, he saw his dad smiling down at him, and all his worries seemed to melt away. "Maybe you were right about today, Harry. I think it's time we all had a new beginning."

With that statement, Harry was suddenly enveloped in a tight hug by both his parents. He tried to control his emotions, but his Occlumency failed him. The love he could feel in his parent's embrace was something he had dreamed of for countless years. Now that he finally had it, the tears of happiness that poured down his face, couldn't be stopped.