69
CHAPTER SIXTY NINE:
It took Harry some time to get away from the Ministry, especially after all the revelations concerning him. There had been even more than he had expected – and he definitely didn't look forward to telling Harry that their mother had only married James Potter because of a love potion.
"Why does all this shit happen to me?" he muttered as he trudged up the path to Hogwarts. "Maybe someday I'll have a normal life," he added, his tone both longing and dark, already knowing but not wanting to accept that his life would never be 'normal'. "What's 'normal', anyway?" Harry snorted, seeing a Thestral fly overhead.
It took him a while to reach Gryffindor Tower, but once he reached it he had the odd sensation of not knowing the password for the first time. After a moment's deliberation he hissed Open at the fat lady, giving her an apologetic smile when she swung aside against her will.
Stepping into the common room, Harry ignored the students' reactions to his unexpected presence and caught his younger self's eye. A brief jerk of his head in the direction of the hallway had the boy abandoning his books, and Harry shook his head at Ron to keep him and Hermione from joining them. Ron simply nodded and turned back to his homework while Hermione gave him a smile that he returned, knowing that she would notice his preoccupation and corner him about it later.
Not that I know when she'll find the time to, he thought with a mental sigh. His days seemed endlessly long lately.
He sighed out loud when the portrait had closed behind him and Harry. "I'm not even sure where to start," he said, passing a hand over his face. "For now, let's get out of Hogwarts; we're going to get you emancipated today so that you don't have to go back to the Dursleys."
The guarded hope in his younger self's face woke unhappy memories in Harry. "Really?"
"Would I lie to you?" Harry countered, raising his eyebrows and pulling a set of papers from within his robes. "There's a lot to tell you, but let's deal with the Dursleys first. I'm sorry that I haven't spent any time with you," he apologized as they started walking away from Gryffindor Tower. "I've been a bit busy…"
"A bit?" laughed the younger Harry. "Don't worry about it; I've been busy enough myself. Not as much as you, I'll admit," he grinned, "but I do have homework to keep me busy."
"Ah, homework…" Harry said wistfully. "Those were the days…"
The student sobered slightly, looking at his older self through his round glasses. "You never sat your NEWTS, did you?" A humorless laugh was his answer.
"Well, I'm glad you don't think I've been neglecting you," Hames grinned wryly at him. "I'm hoping I can make up for it when Summer Holiday starts – I was thinking we could travel somewhere, just the two of us."
Harry grinned excitedly, but managed to sound skeptical as he asked, "Without Snape?"
"Alright, the three of us," Hames amended sheepishly. "You wouldn't mind?"
"I'm not sure yet," Harry replied, still glowing at the prospect of a proper vacation. "He seems alright, but I don't really know him at all… I figure he won't treat me too bad with you around, though," he grinned mischievously and Hames laughed.
"I think he'll actually come to like you," he said, "since we are the same person…" His grin was as mischievous as Harry's, but flavored with a slightly dark edge that Harry couldn't replicate. "So, where would you like to go?"
"Is that what you two were discussing this morning?" Harry asked with sudden insight. "I heard from Ginny that you two were saying something about Egypt and France over breakfast."
Harry laughed in memory of that brief conversation. "Yes; I suggested we go to Egypt first, but Severus vetoed my suggestion. He thinks France is a much better choice," he grinned.
"Not sure I disagree with him," the student grinned back. "Egypt must be pretty hot in summer!"
"Ah, what are cooling charms for," Harry said flippantly.
"You better cast them on me, too," Harry retorted. "Or were you planning on watching me sweat?"
Harry raised his eyebrows at his younger self with a grin. "Have you already forgotten that you'll be considered an adult by the end of the day?" The surprised look of his companion was just too funny.
"Actually, we'll have to discuss quite a bit on that point, preferably with a goblin present. Once you're emancipated you'll be a legal adult, and as such will come into your inheritance," Harry said in a more serious tone. "You'll be the new Lord Potter, and can then access all the Potter vaults. As an adult and especially a Lord you'll have a lot of privileges – one being that you can leave Hogwarts at any time without permission. The professors don't want anyone to know, though, so don't tell anyone," Harry laughed. "Otherwise the seventh years would leave anytime they wanted!"
"Wait, if I'm Lord Potter, does that mean you won't be anymore?"
"We'll both be," Harry replied. "I'm also Lord Black at the same time as Sirius, so I'm kind of an exception. You don't have to worry about the responsibilities the Lordship brings until you're out of Hogwarts, but then I'll be more than happy to give you the Potter seat on the Wizengamot," he grinned at the grimacing student.
"Thanks," the shorter guy replied sarcastically.
"You're welcome!" Harry chirped, laughing at Harry's exasperated look. "Anyway," he said, "there's plenty of time to deal with the privileges and responsibilities later, except that you'll have to be aware of your new status. As a Lord you'll be above all other Hogwarts students in terms of status – I think there may be one or two new Lords at Hogwarts if the parents of any seventh year students are Death Eaters that end up in Azkaban, but even then you should be above them in terms of status. The Potters have always been a very politically powerful family, and right now the name enjoys a certain celebrity status as well," he grinned wryly, an expression that looked closer to a grimace on his younger self's face. "So you'll need to be aware that your actions reflect on the House of Potter, and affect the respect you, and I, will receive. Basically, if you decide to break any rules, don't be caught," Harry said, his voice both mischievous and serious at the same time. "You'll be exempt from most rules – such as curfew – anyway, but it would probably be a good idea to abide by the rules anyway, and treat all professors with even more respect than you have previously. It'll reflect well on your maturity."
The younger Harry sighed. "It's so weird hearing this from you and knowing that it's me lecturing myself on how to act."
"Yeah," Harry grimaced slightly, "it's weird treating myself this way, but I remember the times I wished there was someone to tell me how I was expected to act, especially when I became Lord Potter and Black. I know you don't need the reminder to treat the professors respectfully and act maturely, but it's something I feel I should say anyway, just because it's so important. It's not that I feel I'm superior to you," he said, a faint look of worry in his eyes.
"I know," Harry immediately reassured him. "I don't get that impression, either; I feel kind of like you're my older brother. You know, that you understand me and want to help me out, but let me live my life on my own. And I appreciate that," he said earnestly, stopping briefly and looking Hames squarely in the eye. Thankfully, there were no students around despite the entrance hall usually having at least a few stragglers. "I know that I can come to you if I need any help, but you don't try to push your knowledge onto me. I'm sure that you know a ton of things better than I do, but you're letting me do things on my own, even if that means I develop into a different person than you've become. And that's cool," he smiled sheepishly. "It feels good, knowing that there's someone there for me, without pushing his way into my life. You trust me to handle things on my own while supporting me from the background. I know you haven't had much time lately, and it feels good knowing that if I had an issue, you'd make the time to help me out. I've never had that before."
By this time they both had wet eyes and sad smiles. "I'm glad," the time traveler replied. "And I know exactly what you mean; Ron and Hermione are great, and so was Sirius, but Ron abandoned me more than once, Hermione was too pushy for a long time, and Sirius seemed to expect me to be exactly like my father. It wasn't until later that I found the kind of support you just described, and I'm so glad you feel I do that for you." Harry swallowed hard, then pulled his younger self into a fierce hug. "And you're welcome to call me your brother."
Harry laughed tearfully and held on tighter, clinging to the first true family he had.
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