Chapter 5: Curiosity in Ones Mind

Two years had passed since the hellish year when Dumbledore had kidnapped Harry and the twins and Harry knew his parents and uncles truly hated Dumbledore for what he did. Not that he could truly blame them, what the controlling headmaster did was unforgivable. James and Lily tried many times to convince the ministry what happened, but the only people who had enough power to do anything to Dumbledore refused to believe them.

Of course an investigation was led, but it seemed Dumbledore covered his tracks well and even modified the Dursley's memories. When the minister closed the case saying they didn't know who really did it, Lily and James gave up on them and began thinking of moving away and have Harry be home schooled in the wizard education curriculum.

When Harry's parents informed him of this he forced him self to act calm, even though on the inside he was panicking. He needed to be at Hogwarts, if he wasn't there was no tell what Voldemort could do. He tried persuading them to let him go, and that Dumbledore wouldn't do anything, but they didn't by it. He tried leaving clues or hints that he desperately wanted to go but they didn't budge. They had asked the question way he wanted to go so much, since he couldn't tell them the real truth, he told them,

"It is still the best school in the country and all of you loved the place, even though Dumbledore was headmaster" reasoned Harry.

"Harry that was before he kidnapped my son and two new born daughters" said James as he went over a list of any new houses they could move to.

Harry bit his lip, he had a point, but it was essential that he go to Hogwarts or all of this could go down the drain.

Then a week before his 10th Birthday a thought hit him.

"If Mum, Dad and my Uncles forgot we were kidnapped, they would let me go to Hogwarts" but Harry quickly shook his head, could he really bring himself to modify his loved once memories of what really happened? But as more time went by it became more and more apparent they would not let him get his way on this. For his plan to save the future to work, he needed to be at Hogwarts, there was no other way. So on the night of his 10th birthday he used his magic to get inside his parents minds and swept away any incriminating memories with Dumbledore. The day he and the twins were kidnapped simply looked like they had vanished, with no memory of Dumbledore being involved.

Harry slept very little the rest of the night, he felt awful for what he had done. It had all started with that old manipulative Headmaster jumping to wrong conclusions and making a mess of things. Harry had hoped he would be able to forgive him but now he found himself even more resentful towards the old headmaster then he did to begin with.

Why? Because of Dumbledore's actions Harry was forced to use his magic against his family's wishes, and they were powerless against it.

Harry silently made a vow to himself, that from that moment on no matter what happened he would never use his powers against his parents again….

After the day his parents witnessed his patronus they had tried coming with some sort of explanation as to why he had such a good grasp on his magic, but they turned up nothing, so they asked Dumbledore why Harry found the hardest spells so easy. Since Dumbledore knew the true reason which he wasn't allowed to tell, he told the Potter's another plausible but very rear reason behind what was happening.

Since Dumbledore knew the true reason, which he wasn't allowed to tell, he told the Potters another plausible, but very real, reason behind what was happening.

"I believe Harry is a natural wizard. This means most spells will come easily for him, but not all spells will. There may still be some things Harry may find difficult. However, we haven't seen that limit yet." explained Dumbledore.

Harry had sighed with relief that day. He could now cast spells at home without having everyone ask him how he did it. Since Harry had so much control over his magic, his parents allowed him free rein of doing magic in the house. The only spells Harry hadn't been allowed to learn were spells taught at Hogwarts in class. To make sure Harry never performed those spells, Lily charmed his wand to not allow the spells she specified. The wand that Harry used was apractice wand, since no wand maker would sell a wand to anyone who wasn't at least 11 years old. The reason his Mum didn't want him cast "Hogwarts" spells was because she didn't want to take anything away from Harry's learning experiences at Hogwarts. He could learn all those spells with the other kids his age.

Harry couldn't agree with them more. If he knew all the spells, he would be considered a know-it-all like Hermione was, or would be. Although he already knew the spells, he would pretend he didn't, and he would pay attention in class if it killed him.

As for the twins, Kiara and Amara, they grew up to be very cute and smart toddlers. They looked a lot like both their parentstheir faces looked like Lily's, their hair was black with red highlights, and they hadn't inherited their father's unruly hair, which Lily was thankful for. Their hair was like Lily's, slightly wavy and thick.

Their personalities were exact opposites. Kiara was a quiet book worm, while Amara was more active and loved the idea of flying on a broom stick. While Amara talked to Harry about flying, Kiara always wanted him to show her how to do magic. Harry wanted to teach her, but he knew it was unwise. The Girls' powers were still untrained and, unlike him, Kiara did not have years of experience under her belt from a previous timeline. Harry had to admit they were persistent; on their third birthday they double teamed him.

"Harry, you promised me you would teach me magic when I got older! Now I am older! I am three years old now! Please teach me! Please!" begged Kiara.

Harry took a deep breath "Here come the waterworks" he thought.

"Kia, you know I can't teach you magic yet. You're…" Harry was interrupted by….

"You're going to have to wait for him to teach me how to fly first, Kia. Right, Harry?" asked Amara.

"Mara, I can't. You…" said Harry, but he was interrupted again.

"But you said you would!" Amara yelled.

"Yeah! You promised you would teach me magic, too!" yelled Kiara.

With both of them whining at him, Harry finally said, "Fine. If Mum and Dad say you're allowed, then I will teach both of you what you want today."

Both the girls' bottom lips started to tremble and they both whined, "But Mum and Dad will say no!"

Harry shook his head and said, "Then you will both have to wait until they say yes"

At his comment, the bottom lips stuck out even more, and they batted their big blue and green eyes at him. Harry just raised his eyebrow and smirked.

"What do I always say about pouters, you two?" he asked.

"That birds will poop on their lips" they both said offhandedly. Then they both seemed to realize they were pouting, and pulled their lips back and straightened up.

Harry smiled and said "that's better".

Kiara and Amara were still very close to Harry, closer than one might think, considering the seven-year age gap and that the twins were still really young. But the bond that had formed between them at the Dursleys' still remained, even though neither Kiara nor Amara remembered what had happened.

Both of them looked up to Harry immensely and wanted nothing more than to do stuff with him, but they were both still too young to do the things they wanted. It often frustrated them to no end. As for Harry, being their older brother, he loved teaching them things, even if they, themselves, weren't aware of it.

One day in May when the twins were 3 ½ and Harry was only a few months away from turning 11, he caught his sisters fighting with each other up in their room over what they wanted to do that day.

"We should go to the library. They have the new Little Witch series book out today" said Kiara.

"But we went there last week. It was so boring! We should go to Junior Little League Quidditch game. It's the final match before the champion cup game." said Amara.

"But I want to go to the library" whined Kiara.

"Quidditch game!"

"Library!"

"Quidditch!"

"Library!

"Quidditch!"

Harry stood in the door way and rolled his eyes "Here we go again," he thought.

Because of all the commotion, Remus and Sirius came into the room to see what was going on. James and Lily had something important to do at the ministry, so they had Remus and Sirius baby-sit.

"What are they arguing about this time?" asked Remus.

"On where they want to go today" answered Harry.

Remus nodded his head and said, "Oh."

It went on for five more minutes and the twins were still going at it. It was like watching a tennis match. Finally Harry had enough.

"Alright! That is it! They do this every week why can't they just agree? They're twins, for Merlin's sake!" said Harry. Then his eyes lit up with an idea.

He whispered over to Sirius, "Hey, Uncle Padfoot, have you guys played any pranks on the twins yet?"

Sirius shook his head and asked, "Why"

"Because I just got an idea," Harry continued to whisper his plan to Sirius and Remus.

"Okay, Ready?" he asked.

"Ready," said both Remus and Sirius.

Harry stared the twins who were still arguing and waved his wand at them. Nothing seemed to change but Harry gave thumbs up to Sirius

"Books!"

"Brooms!"

"Books!"

"Brooms!"

"That is quite enough, you two," said Harry.

Harry pointed his finger at Kiara and said, "Go over to Uncle Padfoot; he will take you where you want to go." And before Amara could whine he said, "You will go with Uncle Moony; he take to where you want to go."

As the twins gave a shout of "Yay," Harry halted them. "Wait! They won't take you anywhere until both of you give me your word you won't complain once you get where you are going."

Both girls immediately said, "Yes, we promise"

Harry smirked. Little did the twins know he had switched their eye color so now Kiara looked like Amara, and Amara now looked like Kiara.

So as it turned out, both the twins kept the promises they made to Harry, even though they ended up going to the place they were arguing against. Kiara ended up going to the Quidditch game and actually had fun. Amara went to the library and, surprisingly, liked the peace and quiet for a change.

The twins discovered that when each stopped complaining about what her sister liked doing, they found it was actually enjoyable. So whenever they went on an outing, it was fun for everyone, at last.

Then Summer started and it would soon be Harry's eleventh birthday. Harry couldn't wait. James and Lily had said they would spend the entire day in Diagon Alley, and Harry would finally be able to get his wand.

On the morning of his eleventh birthday, Harry saw a brown owl perched on his window sill. He smiled and jumped out of his bed. He had been waiting for this letter, his Hogwarts letter. He put a sickle in the owl's money pouch and gave the owl an owl treat before it took off once again.

Harry quickly got dressed and ran down stairs, the Hogwarts letter clutched in his hand. Everyone was getting ready to leave for Diagon Alley. When they saw him come down stairs, they all yelled "Happy eleventh birthday, Harry!"

"Thanks everyone! And guess what?" he asked with a smile on his face.

Everyone gave him a questioning look and said "What?".

"My Hogwarts letter arrived!" he said as he held it up for everyone to see.

Everyone congratulated him, and James said "Well what are you waiting for? open it"

Harry opened it and inside was just what he expected…

Dear Mr. Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

"Come on everyone, lets go!" yelled Harry. He let the bubbling child-like excitement take him over. He would soon be back at Hogwarts and be able to meet his friends again. Harry felt more than just missing his friends. Hogwarts had been his first true home, and ever since it was blown to pieces by Voldemort in his last timeline he missed it terribly. The old enchanted castle held a place in his heart, and he desperately hoped he could change its fate this time round.

The fate of the old castle in his old time line was a sad one. Voldemort may have been the catalyst behind her destruction by giving the order, but it was the students that carried that order out. Most of the students in Slytherin House turned on them. When Voldemort was just outside Hogwarts grounds, many of the Slytherin students started firing explosive spells everywhere throughout the school. If anyone stood in their way, they killed them.

Theteachershad no choice but to get as many students as they could to safety. Most of those students were only first or second years. The older students tried to stop the Slytherins from destroying the school, but it had been useless. Once Hogwarts started to collapse, it was too late. The wards around the place went down and Voldemort and his death eaters came into the fight.

Out of all the students who stayed to fight at Hogwarts, only Harry had survived. Those many surviving Death Eaters may have thought him dead, for he had collapsed soon after Voldemort had fallen. Harry vowed to try his best and unite the school this time. Slytherin had to be a part of the school this time. He didn't know how, yet, but he wouldn't stop trying until all four Hogwarts Houses worked together.

Harry thought about Hogwarts the entire way to Diagon Ally. They were going through the muggle world entrance. His parents said that his first Hogwarts trip to Diagon Ally deserved a grand entrance. As soon as Harry stepped into the Leaky Cauldron he felt the cold presence of Voldemort, though he was still very very weak. Harry looked around the pub until he locked eyes with Quirinus Quirrell, and felt the old sting of his scar.

The pain was unexpected and he couldn't stop the hiss that escaped his mouth, but he luckily stopped his hand from going up to his forehead.

Remus and Regulus seemed to notice that Harry had suddenly stopped in his tracks and asked… "What is wrong Harry?"

Harry fought the stinging back to the edges of his mind and said, "It's nothing; don't worry. I just felt like someone was watching me."

Both Remus and Regulus looked at each other, not convinced by Harry's excuse.

Regulus asked, "are you sure nothing is wrong Harry?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," said Harry as he sent one last quick glance at Quirrell before hurrying after his parents and Sirius, who were waiting for them at the wall entrance.

"What was that about Harry? What happened back there?" his father asked.

"I am sure it was nothing Dad. It just felt as if someone was watching me that's all. It was probably just my imagination." explained Harry. James looked over to Remus and Regulus questioningly, but both shrugged and shook their heads saying they didn't know what happened.

"I will tell them what happened later, I can't tell them here," thought Harry.

Luckily everyone let the subject go. It was obvious they weren't going to get anything out of Harry now, so Lily took out her wand and tapped the bricks on the wall. As it opened, Harry found the view much more amazing this time around than last time. Maybe it was the people he had been with. Not that Harry felt anything against Hagrid, but back then Hagrid had been only a friendly stranger to him. It felt different having your parents lead you through the opening.

The day soon become fun for everyone; they went everywhere. At Lily's request they stopped by Flourish & Blotts to pick up Harry's school books. While browsing around the store, Harry came face to face with an old friend, well from his perspective anyway.

He saw Hermione Granger flipping through a first year transfiguration textbook. Her brown eyes read through chapter titles of the book hungrily. Harry had a good guess that by the time she walked out of the store she would have read the entire first chapter.

"You know, if you study too much before the term starts, you will find the school year very boring," said Harry.

His comment seemed to surprise Hermione as she snapped her head up from the book and looked at him. " Excuse me?" she asked.

Harry couldn't help but smile at the sound of her voice; it had been so long since he last heard it. "That book is the standard book of Transfiguration spells, grade 1. It's made for the curriculum at Hogwarts, meaning if you read that now, your first year of Transfiguration class will be so dull. The professor will just lecture in her own words the same thing that is said in that book." he explained.

Hermione stared at him, seemingly trying to figure out if he was lying to her. "But doesn't every wizard or witch know about this stuff?" she asked.

Harry shook his head. "What would be the point in going to school if you already knew everything they're teaching you?" he asked, while secretly laughing at his own question.

"Oh the Irony!" he thought.

"Well, I thought I would be behind everyone. I am not from this world." Hermione stated.

"So that's why you're actually studying! You're muggle-born, aren't you?" he asked. Even though he knew the answer, he had to act as if he'd never met her before.

"Yes, is that a problem?" she asked, a little leery of him all of a sudden.

"No, not at all. And let me tell you, if anyone does have a problem with it, just ignore them. They're just too deluded in their pure blood superiority ideals to realize that muggleborns are just as, if not more, talented than they are." said Harry, thinking of the Malfoy family.

Hermione actually laughed as he grumbled about the arrogant pure bloods and asked, "My name is Hermione Granger, what is yours?"

"Harry Potter," he replied.

"Nice to meet you, and thank you for the tips. I believe you just saved me from making a know-it-all out of myself." she said as she stuck her hand out to shake his.

"Not at all," Harry said as he shook Hermione's hand. "You know, if you're curious about the wizarding world there are many people in Diagon Alley you could talk to. Or instead of reading spell books, you could read up on the wizarding society. There are books about the general history and laws of the wizarding world."

Hermione's eyes shone at the mention of interesting information. "Thank you, Harry," she said. "I may just do that. Ummm, I may call you Harry, mayn't I?"

"Of course. That's what all my friends call me. As long as I can call you Hermione," he replied.

Hermione only nodded. She seemed half shocked at something he had said, but Harry didn't press.

"Harry, lets go! We need to get your Hogwarts robes now at Madam Malkin's!" called his mother from the check-out counter.

"Coming Mum!" Harry yelled back before turning back to Hermione and saying, "I look forward to meeting you again on the Hogwarts Express, Hermione Granger." Then he turned and followed his mother out.

If Harry had looked back he would have seen Hermione with a huge smile on her face.

"Friends?" she whispered wistfully.

When Harry walked into Madam Malkin's fitting room he found himself in the middle of a glaring contest between Draco Malfoy and a girl he didn't know. Malfoy noticed him first. His face became blank and he nodded his head to Harry.

"Potter," Malfoy said in a neutral tone.

"Malfoy," Harry returned in a equally neutral tone of voice.

Then Madam Malkin came through the door and said, "Mr. Malfoy, you are done".

As Malfoy left he turned to Harry and said, "See you at school, Potter."

Harry just nodded his head to him and watched him walk out the door. He and Malfoy weren't exactly friends in this timeline, but they weren't enemies, either. They had first met at a Ministry party. His father said the Minister wanted the both of them to attend. The boys had been nine at the time. The Minister introduced him and his father to the Malfoys, hoping they could become friends.

James and Lucius both rolled their eyes and muttered "Ridiculous," before turning away from each other and storming off. As for Harry and Draco, they actually managed to get along until Draco mentioned the word 'Mudbloods.' Harry left before he said something to make things worse.

Harry stood in the spot that Malfoy had been standing in and glanced over at the girl Malfoy had been glaring at. She looked 11 years old. She had long dark brown, almost black, hair. Her eyes were blue but had a silver ring in them; they seemed rather mysterious to Harry. He couldn't tell what her emotions were.

"Are you quite finished gawking at me or would you like a picture instead?" the girl suddenly asked. He had been caught staring.

Harry blushed and tried to think of a reason for his staring, but he couldn't.

"I..I am sorry I was just.. just umm errr - curious." Harry could have slapped himself, he sounded so stupid.

The girl cast him a sideways glance and asked, "Dare I ask what it is about me you find curious?"

"Damn! Come on Harry think. You got yourself into this you can get yourself out!" thought Harry.

"Your name! I was wondering what your name was." Harry finally said at last.

The girl gave him a funny look and said, "How can staring at me help you figure out what my name is?"

"I.. Oh, never mind. I don't know why I was staring; I just was." said Harry as he hung his head in defeat.

"Hmm… a pity," the girl beside him whispered.

"What?" Harry asked questioningly.

The girl looked like she was actually going to answer when Madam Malkin walked back into the room and said, "Miss, you are finished. You may go now."

"Thank you, Madam Malkin," the girl said as she gathered her things and walked out the door.

Harry let out a sigh of relief that the girl had left without saying anything else.

"I wonder what she meant by a pity? What did she mean?" he thought.

Once his measurements were finished, Harry met his Mother and Father at the front desk where they paid for the robes and got a slip that showed the date to pick them up.

They only had one more place left to go and that was to Olivander's for his own wand, which he couldn't wait to get. When they got to the store, his parents told him they had one more thing they needed to pick up and they would be back shortly. So Harry entered the wand store much like he did the first time round.

He walked around the dusty waiting room and looked at the rows and rows of selves filled with wands. He felt himself being pulled to a particular area; he could feel the familiar presence of his wand. It seemed wands didn't know if one traveled through time or not. He could already feel his magic radiating through the wand's aura. It knew he was there, he knew it. AsHarry was just about to reach up and pull the wand off its shelf, he heard foot steps coming towards him. Knowing it was Mr. Olivander, he quickly walked back to the front desk to meet him.

The old man walked up to the desk in front of him and said, "I see you are interested in the wands Mr. Potter. I must say it would take an awfully long time if you looked for your wand that way."

"How did you know?" Harry started.

"Your name? I remember every person I have ever sold a wand to Mr. Potter. Your Father, James, Mahogany wood, 11 inches, very pliable and excellent for Transfigurations. You look just like him, boy." Mr. Olivander said as he walked closer to Harry, gazing into his eyes.

"And your Mother, Lily, Willow wood, 10 ¼ inches, very swishy and a nice wand for Charm work. I would know those green eyes anywhere." he continued in a voice that made Harry shiver. This guy was worse than Dumbledore. He only needed to look at you and he would know your life story.

"Now Mr. Potter, which is your wand arm?" he asked.

"I can use both, but I usually use my right," Harry replied as he held out his right hand. Mr. Olivander proceeded to measure him. And measure he did, even the space between his eyes and how long his nose was. Finally he disappeared to the back and came back with a wand. Harry knew just by looking at it, it wasn't his.

So they went through wand after wand after wand, but the excitable wand maker stayed away from the shelf in the corner on the room where Harry's wand was. After going through a whole shelf of wands, Mr. Olivander was looking quite puzzled.

"Well, Mr. Potter, I do believe you are the most difficult customer I have ever had," he said as he perused the shelves of wands, looking for another possible match to Harry.

Harry folded his arms together in impatience. Mr. Olivander had looked over all the shelves except the one in the corner. As Harry waited in the room he heard a tap on the window, it was his father holding a sleeping Kiara. James gave him a questioning look asking what was taking him so long.

Harry mouthed back to him, "No wand."

James gave him a surprised look and came inside the store.

"You don't have your wand yet?" he whispered.

Harry shook his head and said, "He's gone through an entire shelf already."

His father let out a whistle and said, "Wow.. You really are a difficult customer."

Harry shrugged and said, "So I've been told."

Finally Olivander returned with another wand and it was the same as all the others, just not right. After another five wands and five duds, his mother came by the store with a sleeping Amara and asked what was going on.

"Great it must be getting late if even Mara has fallen asleep. I think it is time to push Mr. Olivander in the right direction." thought Harry.

"Mr. Olivander? I haven't seen you look at the shelf in the back corner. Could my wand be back there?" asked Harry.

Mr. Olivander shook his head and said, "No, Mr. Potter, those wands are dead."

Harry looked at him in confusion and asked, "Dead? Wands can die?"

The wand maker nodded as he rummaged through more wand boxes and continued to explain. "Wands die just like we do if they go for a long time without a wizard to use them and connect magic with. But most wands can stay alive for hundreds of years before they die"

"Most wands? You said most wands can stay alive for hundreds of years. Do you mean that some live a shorter time than you expect them to?" asked Harry. He had a feeling he was on to something.

The old wand maker stared at him oddly and said, "Yes. Actually, there is one wand that died almost ten years ago, and it was a newer wand. I hadn't expected it to die so soon, though I think it had something to do with You-know-who's demise, because it was the brother to his wand. I suspect he placed a curse on it that destroyed the magic in it. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious, sir," said Harry.

"I think I know what happened," he thought. "When I sent myself back in time, I had my wand on me. It must have come back with me and went into its younger self. But the two magical cores must have over loaded it and caused it to shut down. Mr. Olivander must have thought the wand had died after it over loaded, when really it's just been laying dormant, waiting for me to reactivate it."

"Are there any other wands that come close to his measurements, Mr. Olavander?" asked Lily.

The wand maker sighed and said, "I only have one more wand that would match Mr. Potter, and is the very wand I just mentioned. It is dead."

His parents sighed and his father said, " Come on, Harry, we will just have to get your wand another day." He patted Harry on the shoulder.

But Harry would have none of it. "No wait! Could I try the wand anyway? Just to ensure we tried every one of them?" he asked.

"If you wish, Mr. Potter, though I wouldn't expect anything from it," said Mr. Olivander as he walked over to the shelf and grabbed the wand box.

When he got back and took the wand out he said, " Well, lets give it a try. 11 inch, holly and phoenix feather, a very unusual combination."

As soon as Harry's fingers wrapped around the handle, he and the wand began to glow. He could feel the air around him begin to move and crackle with magical energy. Harry couldn't help but smile; it felt so good to hold his wand again.

"I have no doubt that this is my wand, Mr. Olivander," said Harry as the magical glow finally faded.

"That was very curious Mr. Potter. No one before you has ever reawakened a wand after it had died. It is also very Curious that you should have this wand, when its brother did great and terrible things. I think great things are expected out of you, Mr. Potter, as well" the wand maker said ominously.

"Talk about Daja vu," Harry thought.

"How much for the wand, Mr. Olivander? It's getting late, we should really be going" said Lily as she shifted Amara's weight to her other hip.

"Free of charge, Mrs. Potter, for the long wait. And I had thought the wand was dead long ago,anyway." said Mr. Olivander.

When they walked out of the store James walked alongside Harry and asked him, "You knew the wand was over on that shelf all along, didn't you?"

Harry looked at his father for a moment and sighed before saying, "Yes, I felt it soon after I walked into the store; it was like it was calling to me."

Harry looked down at his black holly wand that was still gripped in his hand, "It is starting again, my scar and now the brother wands. It is only a matter of time before I meet him again, and this time we will both be on unknown ground. This time line was completely changed the moment I revealed Wormtail; there is no telling what will happen when we meet again." Harry contemplated.

James seemed to notice Harry's troubled face and asked, "Something wrong, Harry?"

Harry was quiet for a moment and said in a quiet voice, "This is all to do with my destiny isn't it, dad."

Clearly James hadn't expecting that. "Harry?! What…"

But James was interrupted by Sirius's exited voice. "Come on, you two, hurry up! We still have Harry's birthday to celebrate!"

Harry smiled and whispered, "I'll explain later," before running off to join the others at the Leaky Cauldron entrance.

Harry and James entered the pub to find Lily, Sirius, Remus, Regulus and Amara all standing around a table. Kiara had woken up and she and James joined the rest of them at the table.

"Happy birthday, Harry!" they all yelled. Then they stepped away to reveal what was sitting on the table behind them

Harry had to cover his mouth to stop from yelling out, "Hedwig!" He stared at the great white owl on the table in front of him and could only say, "Oh, Merlin!"

Everyone around him laughed.

"Do you like her Harry?" asked Lily.

"Like her? No, I love her!" Harry said as he unlocked the cage, knowing how much the owl hated being locked up. Hedwig perched herself on Harry's shoulder and nipped his ear in gratitude.

"It looks like she is fond of you, too, Harry," said James.

"What are going to name her, Harry?" asked Remus.

Harry pretended to think about it for a minute and said, "Hedwig." To confirm that she liked the name Hedwig spread her wings and hooted.

The rest of the day went by splendidly. They all played Quidditch, with Harry being seeker, of course. His team, which consisted of Harry, Sirius, and Remus, beat his father's team, (Seeker James, Lily, and Regulus.) Kiara and Amara stood off to the side and cheered for both teams.

After the game they had dinner and cake, which was perfect. For presents Sirius gave him a practice snitch so he would be really good when he started at Hogwarts. His parents' gift had been Hedwig and all her supplies. Remus had gotten him a book on animagus training. It was for beginners and it explained how to do the meditation to find out what your animagus form would be.

The twins gave him a gift as well, a necklace that had defensive charms placed on it to protect him from many curses.

"It was their idea Harry. They picked it out and everything." said Lily as she observedHarry's expression as he looked at the pendent at end of the string. It was a golden phoenix which held two small Griffins on its wings.

Harry stared at his little sisters and and they smiled back at him. Harry hugged them as he said, "I thank you both so much." Then he felt something weird. He looked down at the twins as they hugged him, and noticed that they were glowing with highly intense magical energy. And something else caught his eye; the twins' eyes were momentarily the same color.

"What the?!" thought Harry as he pulled away from the twins and looked into their eyes more closely. Their eyes seemed to glow for a second, and then they went back to normal.

Then Harry felt the pendant's magical strength start to grow very quickly with the same magic that was given off by the twins. The twins looked at him questioningly as to why he was acting so strange.

"Harry?" they both said.

Harry concentrated on their magic levels and discovered that they were quickly returning to normal. He glanced around the room and it seemed no one had noticed that the twins had been glowing. Why, he didn't know, but he knew that he had seen it.

Harry shook his head slightly; he would think about it later. In the mean time he would keep a close eye on them. Using their magic without knowing they were doing it could be dangerous.

Harry just smiled again and placed the necklace around his neck. "I love it and I thank you both very much"

Then Regulus presented his gift, and Harry had to admit he was shocked when he saw what it was.

"It's a Pensieve," he said in amazment. He hadn't expected to get one of those for his eleventh birthday.

"Yes, I think it will be very useful to you when you go to Hogwarts. It will help you sort things out in your mind and make sense of things that you may not have the answers to." Regulus explained.

"This is just…. wow! Thank you so much, Uncle Reg, This is so cool! Thank you, Thank you, everyone. This is the best birthday ever." said Harry happily

Later that night after Lily put the twins to bed, the conversation turned serious.

"Alright, Harry, what happened this morning at the Leaky Cauldron? You looked quite shaken for a minute there. You said you felt someone was staring at you. Do you have any idea who?" questioned Regulus.

Harry sighed. This was going to be difficult. He would tell them the basics about what happened, but make it sound like he didn't know what really happened.

"Well, I'm not sure how to explain it. As soon as I walked into the pub, I suddenly felt very cold, and the scar on my forehead started to sting. It all happened very quickly, and then suddenly I felt normal again." As Harry said this, his hand traveled up to his scar and he traced its outline. It was a old habit of his that seemed suddenly to resurface when he spoke about his scar hurting him.

Everyone in the room looked worried. They all knew how Harry had gotten that scar, and it still puzzled them on how Harry had even survived it. Up until now Harry had shown no side effects from it, and now, nearly ten years later, the scar started causing him pain.

Regulus looked at Harry intensely. He had been the one to find Harry after the incident with Voldemort. He had never mentioned it to anyone before, but when he first saw Harry in the room, Harry was still being bathed in dark magic. It had taken Regulus awhile to dispel the lethal magic around Harry before he could get to him. When he eventually got to Harry, he could still feel the effects of the curse on Harry. He had pinpointed the source of that magic; it had been his lightning bolt shaped scar. In order to carry Harry out of the room, Regulus had to place magical blocks on the scar so he could touch him safely.

If those blocks had been broken, then effects of the curse could become active again. The pain in Harry's scar could be those blocks breaking. Perhaps Harry feeling the initial affects of the Avadra Kedavra spellhad caused him to feel cold.

With Regulus in deep thought, James started asking his questions.

"Harry, when we left Olivander's, you said that this was all to do with your destiny. What did you mean by that?" he asked, although he was afraid he already knew the answer.

Harry looked at James with burdened eyes. "You heard Olivander as well as I did, Dad. He said the wand I hold shares its magical core with Voldemort's wand. And you did tell me something happened between Voldemort and me the night he died, and I somehow survived." said Harry.

Then, slowly, a burning in his scar returned. He knew Voldemort was up to something. The burning started to grow stronger.

Harry bit back a hiss of pain. Now was not the time to allow it to bother him; he had to continue his explanation. "But what if he never died fully that night? Every one knows he wanted nothing more then immortality. I think some pieces of his soul are still alive, and he has somehow connected himself to me." he said as he rubbed his scar.

"Whatever Voldemort did to me that night, he marked me, and I can feel that he is still alive" He had to pause, his head felt like it was splitting opened. In a sudden burst of pain a gasp escaped his mouth, and his hand flew to his forehead. All eyes focused on him in concern.

"Harry? What's wrong?" Regulus asked.

But Harry couldn't hear him or anyone else in to room. His mind was taken somewhere else.

Harry recognized the place he was in immediately, the Forbidden Forest outside Hogwarts. He was looking through Voldemort's eyes, but he could also hear Quirrell's thoughts as well.

"May I ask what we are doing Master?" asked Quirrell.

"Silence, you sniveling fool! I need to concentrate on the link. I believe I have found a great source of power that can sustain me through the Potter boy." hissed Voldemort.

"But I thought you said that the boy's powers were blocked from you, Master? Have you managed to get through?" Quirrell asked again.

"I said silence! And no, the boy's powers may be blocked, but I have found two other links inside the boy's head. It seems he has formed a very powerful link with two extremely powerful twin sisters. They're both flooding with magical energy. If I can obtain all of their magic, it would be just enough to get my own body back." explained Voldemort.

A second later Harry felt magic building around Voldemort and he could see that it had a blue-greenish tint to it. That was when he knew, Voldemort was using him to steal the twins' unusually intense magic.

"No, the twins! I have to stop him. If he steals all their magic they could die!" he thought. Harry focused on his scar and willed himself back to his own body.

Harry then found himself back at his house with his parents, Regulus, Remus, and Sirius all kneeling beside him in worry.

"Harry?! What's happening? What is wrong?" they all asked him.

Suddenly feeling another stab of pain in his scar Harry jumped up and yelled, "The Twins! He is after the twins!" He ran to the twins' room. Everyone tore after him, confused as to what was going on.

When Harry entered the twins' room they were both ablaze with their magic. They were sleeping restlessly, as if they were having a nightmare.

"I have got to wake them up and disrupt Voldemort's connection to them!" Harry thought franticly.

Harry ran over to them and tried to shake them awake, but neither of the girls responded. Harry could feel their magical levels getting weaker and weaker. Actually he was shocked they still had magic at the moment. Voldemort was trying to suck them dry of magic and all their life energy. The twins magic was unusually fast at regenerating, but Voldemort seemed to have caught on to that and was trying suck it all up, taking all he could from them.

"They are connected to me somehow, and Voldemort is going through me to get to them, so how do I block him?" Harry wondered as he knelt down between the twins' beds and placed his hands on their foreheads.

In the back of his mind he could hear his parents and Uncles yelling, asking him what was happening. But he blocked them out, he had to, to concentrate on the magical bonds he made with others inside himself. If he could block the ones with the twins somehow, that would be great, but if worst came to worst he would have to destroy the bonds completely.

Back in the twins' room, Lily and James were frantic. They had tried to get to their daughters, but it seemed the twins and Harry were giving off so much magic, a magical wall was created so they couldn't get to them. They had no choice but to stand and watch, as their children struggled to play tug-of-war of magic with the evil spirit of Voldemort.

Harry drew himself into deep meditation and slowly worked his way to the area in his mind that held all his magical connections. There were channels of magical energy everywhere, although many of them seemed frozen, and not alive.

"Those ones are probably the links I had in the in my old time. They aren't active now." thought Harry as he seemed to float through the void of magic. He quickly found the link between him and Voldemort. It was huge and it seemed to radiate a sickly green aura of the killing curse.

Beside the link with Voldemort was a pathway to his own mind and magic, but Voldemort's magic seemed to be unable to get inside because of a bright golden shield, not allowing it inside his magical core. But there were two other links connected to him that Harry was sure those were the twins bond to him, and their pathways weren't protected by the golden shield. Why they were there he didn't know, but Voldemort was using him to get to the twins' magic. It needed to be stopped. Harry had to stop him.

The only problem was that he wasn't sure how. He didn't want to destroy the twins' link to him because there was no telling that would do to his sisters' magic, so for now would try to block Voldemort's magic with his shield.

Harry focused on moving theshield to protect the twins, but his shield wouldn't move.

"Now what do I do?… wait this is My magical shield, it won't move even if I want it to when Voldemort is attacking me, so the twins need their own shields to protect themselves. That's it!" thought Harry as he followed Voldemort's magic into one of the twins' mind.

When he entered, he saw Voldemort's magic sucking up his sister's magic and then leaving. Harry didn't know how he did it, but he felt a flash of heat and Voldemort's spell was momentarily dispelled. Harry's magic abilities were limited in another person's mind so the block he placed on the pathway was only temporary, but it would last a few minutes. Right now he needed to find Kiara. He could tell this was Kiara because of the forest green magic that was still in the area. She was the only one who could erect a permanent barrier.

He walked through the area and searched for Kiara's magical spirit. He soon found her, floating in the middle of the room. She looked tired and scared as she stood there looking for any more threats. Although this spirit wasn't really Kiara, she would recognize him, for this was the personified version of her magic.

When she saw him she seemed to move into a defensive position, and she began to glow green, although it wasn't very bright.

"Who are you? What is it you want?" she asked in a tired, scared voice.

"I only want to help, I can show you how to block that pathway permanently against that intruder. Just allow me to take over for a second; I promise I mean no harm." said Harry. He couldn't teach a magical spirit how to use magic, it just didn't work like that. He needed to control her for just a moment so the shield could be put in place.

"But!…" suddenly she looked panicked and glanced behind her where another pathway was, it was blue and the dim light was flickering. "No," she whispered before turning back to Harry.

"Alright, but hurry there isn't much time left!" she said as she ran over to him and hugged him.

With Kiara's magic spirit in physical contact with his, Harry was given control of all the workings going on in the room. Seconds later a powerful barrier was up around the opening that Voldemort was attacking from.

Then Kiara's magic let go of him and she yelled, "Now, please help my other! Please, she is in trouble too! Please hurry, she is almost beaten."

Harry felt himself being pushed out and into the blue tunnel. When he came through he felt like he had just landed in the middle of a war zone. He saw Amara's spirit fighting Voldemort's magic, and from the looks of it she was losing. Each time Voldemort's magic touched her, more magical energy was sucked up. Harry wished he could help, but was unable to do anything without the magical spirit's permission.

Harry tried to dispel Voldemort's magic like he had in Kiara's mind, but it seemed Voldemort's magic expected this and resisted. It persisted on its relentless attack on Amara's magic spirit.

"I need help! Please Kai help me" said Amara's spirit. Suddenly in a flash of green light Kiara's spirit was standing with her. Harry stood and watched curiously wondering what they would do, when Kiara's spirit turned to him and said, "We can't do this all by ourselves. Even with both our Magics we can't stop it. We need your help." She held her hand out to him

The moment Harry locked hands with her, he gained full use of their magic and then he locked eyes with Amara's spirit and the three Magics combined into one.

Volemort's magic was flushed out of Amara's mind, and Harry allowed himself to float back to his own mind and body.

When Harry opened his eyes he found himself back in the twins' room. He could see the magic around them fading. The twins fell into a peaceful sleep. In the morning, the fight with Voldemort would most likely be forgotten.

His Mother and Father looked at him worriedly as if fearing what he was going to say.

"Voldemort is somewhat alive…" Harry paused for the gasps in the room and continued, "but he is very weak. From what I saw in that vision, he was attached to someone. I didn't see who and I didn't recognize the voice, but he was able to search through my magical connections, I think. And he found the twins' connections to me and tried to take their magic. I helped their magic stop him and kept him blocked from their minds."

"They'll be fine in the morning." he addedwhen he saw his parents' panicked looks.

"But Voldemort has now discovered one critical thing; he knows that I know he is alive." Harry said the last part darkly, sending shivers down everyone's spine.

After hours of talking to his family about what had happened, Harry had asked that he be left alone. He had explainedthat he was sure it was his destiny to destroy Voldemort for good this time.

Of course, everyone tried to deny the possibly that Harry would have to face Voldemort once again, and that there was a chance that Harry would die in the fight. That was something none of them wished to think about.

Harry spent the night building protective shields around his mind so Voldemort couldn't use the link to read his thoughts and memories. He needed to make sure Riddle couldn't get him the way he did today. It was critical, that Voldemort couldn't access his memories, magic, or any other part of his mind.

Harry fell into a troubled sleep that night. He was worried for the twins, his parents, Sirius, Remus, and Regulus. Of all of them, Regulus seemed to take the news of Voldemort the worst. Throughout the whole evening Regulus was pale and had that far-away look in his eyes. Harry knew why, he was scared. Regulus was a known Ex-death eater, and if Voldemort ever came back into power all of his betrayers would be killed in the most painful way possible. Harry had never been told directly that Regulus was ever a death eater. It was probably at the request of Regulus, himself, afraid of what Harry would think of him should his dark past be revealed.

Yes, Harry's sleep was haunted by worry for the people he had come to love more than anything. He feared what would happen if any one of them died. It seemed even more important that Voldemort be stopped before that fear was realized