Turn Back 53

By: Frida a.k.a Kefalion, inspired by J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter-series

Summary: It's the summer after Harry's sixth year. Voldemort is close to taking over and things are becoming real. On the night of his seventeenth birthday Harry gets a time-turner that can be used to travel 53 years back in time. Without thinking it though too much Harry decided to use it.
Back in 1944 he starts a new life, a life where he will do anything to make sure that Voldemort never rises to power. Part of the plan is to get close to Tom Riddle who will attend his seventh year at Hogwarts along with Harry.
Keep your friends close but your enemies closer, just don't become too close.
Will Voldemort's rise to power, and answers the question about who will change who. Will Tom see the light or will Harry descend into darkness? And just how tightly bound are Harry and Tom? This will be a TMR/HP pairing. Don't like it, don't read.

Disclaimer: This is obviously a story using the characters, places, things and what not that is own by none other than J.K. Rowling. Anything you might recognize belongs to her, or at least not to me. I'm just doing this for a bit of fun, and hopefully the enjoyment of me as well as you.

Edit
17th October 2012: This chapter has been edited.
6th Mars 2013: This chapter is now beta'd by the wonderful ihategoodbyes
23rd June 2013: This chapter was edited slightly again.
15th December 2013: And once more I've gone through this chapter. It got about 1000 words longer, and the embarrassing mistake of me spelling Weasley wrong among others was corrected.

Chapter 1
Words: 7 712

Harry woke when he heard a light tapping on the window. He groaned and rolled over in the bed, reaching out his hand for his glasses and his wand.

"Tempus," he mumbled sleepily, knowing that he shouldn't use magic but also that it couldn't be traced to him as long as he was staying at a wizarding home. The time showing spell lit up in the darkness, a tiny dial showing that it was a couple of minutes past midnight.

'I'm seventeen,' Harry thought with a small smile.

Ron was snoring softly in a bed in the other end of the small room, not having been disturbed by the owl's light tapping. Harry was a much lighter sleeper than his friend. Years of nightmares, fright and worry had done that to him.

He cast the red-head a fond smile as he got up and unlatched the window. As soon as the window was open an owl flew in soundlessly, feathered wings barely stirring the air. It swooped around the room a few times before it landed on his shoulder, its claws digging into the fabric of his pyjama top and grazing his skin, though without hurting him.

"Hey there," he mumbled in a low tone and petted its head gently with one finger, the small feather's there smooth against his skin. "Got something for me?"

The bird hooted in affirmative and held out its leg. With fingers that were still half asleep Harry unbound the small package that the owl had brought.

"Thank you," he whispered and put the package down on his bed before he went over to his trunk where he took out some owl treats. The owl clung to his shoulder, hooting a bit in irritation at the swift motion.

Harry fought down the sudden sob that wanted to escape his throat as he watched the small pellets in his hand. Taking out the owl treats had him thinking about Hedwig, and how she had been killed just days before. It had gone so fast and it had been so unexpected. Harry knew they were at war, but it had never crossed his mind that Hedwig could die in it. She had been his constant companion for six years and he had a hard time grasping that she was gone, never to bring him another letter, share a lonely late night or nibble affectionately at his fingers.

The owl accepted the owl treats before it flew away, back out through the open window. He went over to the window and watched as the bird became a small speck against the vast midnight blue sky until it was swallowed by the darkness.

A soft nightly breeze that came in through the window, tousling his hair ever so slightly and Harry decided that he'd go outside to have a look at the small package, he did not have the patience to wait until morning and he felt more than a bit certain that he would not be able to fall asleep again until he had satisfied his curiosity.

He grabbed one of his old Weasley-jumpers from his trunk and picked up the parcel that he had put on his bed. He walked silently down the stairs, avoiding the steps he knew to be creaky, continued his way through the first floor, into the kitchen and out though the backdoor there. The house was dark and he didn't meet anyone. It seemed that they were all asleep, just as one ought to be when it was after midnight.

A thin moon-crescent cast a silvery light over the open fields by the Burrow and the dark night sky was littered with twinkling stars. Harry allowed himself to be a bit sentimental, thinking that it was quite beautiful.

He had always felt at peace at the Burrow, although he couldn't help but also feel that he was intruding on the Weasleys. He sighed and tried to clear his mind and just enjoy the fresh air, which in the late-July-night was nicely tepid even as a gust of wind moved through the garden.

Harry sat down on the steps by the door and cast a silent lumos, the tip of his wand giving of a clear white light for him to see by, knowing that it was past midnight he felt satisfied with performing magic, at last being in his full right to do so as an adult wizard.

The package in his hands was wrapped in coarse, brown paper with a thin, black string tying it shut. He pulled eagerly at the string and it easily fell open. In the wrappings lay a trinket which had him gaping. It was a time-turner; there was no mistaking it. It was a small hourglass, embedded in a disk hanging on a chain.

It was nothing like the one Hermione had been issued to be able to attend all her classes during their third year, though, this one was much fancier. It practically screamed expensive. The sand inside the tiny hourglass glittered like silver, and the disk and chain were, if Harry was any judge, made out of solid gold. Precious stones in different colours, mostly blues and greens were inset in the disk in an intricate pattern. He stared down at it wondering who might have sent it to him and why.

He picked it up and held it close to his eyes, peering at it. On the back there weren't any jewels just an inscription that said Turn Back 53. Harry hung the time-turner around his neck, so as not to loose it and picked up the wrappings. He then noticed that a small roll of parchment had been included in the parcel. He hurriedly rolled it out and was surprised at how much text there was on that tiny note, but then he recognized the writing; it was painfully familiar.

"Sirius," the name fell from his lips like a prayer as he quickly scanned the message.

Happy Birthday, Prongslet!

Some time ago I sneaked out from Grimmauld Place and went to Gringotts. Yes, I know I shouldn't have risked it, but I was going stir crazy with being cooped up all the time in this miserable old house as I'm sure you can understand.

I must also confess that I was a bit curious to what was hidden in the Black-family-vault as I hadn't had the opportunity to explore it before, for obvious reasons. Anything could be hidden in there with so many generations of dark wizards as my "lovely" family have produced. Most things were indeed cursed or dark, then I found this time-turner.

I arranged its delivery with the Goblins. In case of my death this would be sent to you on your seventeenth birthday. If I know myself, I did something stupid and heroic and ended up dead.

I'm sorry that I can't be there for you, Prongslet. I hope you can forgive me, as I hope that my death was meaningful. If I died for you, I died proudly.

Anyhow, about the time-turner, when I saw it I remembered that my old uncle Lycoris told me stories about this time-turner when I was a kid. I don't remember much as he died when I was just six, but I'm pretty sure that I remember things rightly.

He told me of how he had used it and how nothing was the same again. You see, this is no ordinary time-turner. It won't take you back a few hours. This is one of The Nobel and Most Ancient House of Black's greatest secrets.

This time-turner will transport you exactly fifty-three years back through time, and unlike how other time-turners function, with this you are truly able to change the past. I'm not much for theory, it just makes my head hurt, so I'm not gonna explain how it works. But using this you can change everything. At least that's what old uncle Lycoris said.

I wanted you to have the opportunity to choose. You are now of age and old enough to decide if you want to use it. If you want, you can leave everything behind and make a new life for yourself in the past.

There would be no more Boy-Who-Lived or Dark Lords. You can be free of that. You can be just "Harry" like I know you have wished for and I think you can be happy, if you allow yourself to be. If you go back we might see each other again, although I won't remember you I will always be your godfather. Good luck, Harry.

Love, Sirius Orion Black.

Harry stared at the inked letters with unbidden tears in his eyes as he tried to calm his pounding heart. He read the letter two more times and felt just as disbelieving as he had at first.

'What the hell was Sirius thinking sending me this? I can't go back in time! Hermione said that strange things happen to wizards who meddle with time, and besides, I can't just leave everyone I love and run!' Harry thought this in a rush and started to get angry.

'Damn it Sirius! How dare you send this to me from beyond the grave?' Harry rubbed at his eyes, brushing away the tears that had formed in them. '53 years is an incredibly long time. When would I even end up?'

He counted quickly. '1944. Shit. I would land in the middle of the Second World War. Though wizards weren't very affected by it, were they?'

Harry tried to think back on the history lessons, but he found that he couldn't remember if Binns had ever taught them about that time period. All that came up in is mind when he thought back to the history classes where the Goblin Rebellions and the Witch Burnings.

He tried to gather his wits, thinking about what he knew about the year 1944. 'Well, let's see.' Harry's thoughts easily went to Voldemort. 'Voldemort was a student at Hogwarts during the forties, of that I'm sure. Let's see. He would have started his seventh year in September 1944. Oh, Merlin! If I were to go back I'd be the same age as Voldemort! What are the odds of that?

'He was powerful already back then, but perhaps it would be easier to stop him then compared to now. I stopped the diary after all and this Riddle would only be a few years older than the diary-Riddle was. I could go to Hogwarts. I'd be in class with him. I could easily kill him.'

Harry paused and shook his head, angrily. 'What the hell am I thinking? Am I planning to murder a teenager? Riddle hadn't done all the horrible things back then. Though he would have killed Myrtle and his father and grandparents already, framing Hagrid and his uncle for the murders, but is that enough to sentence him to death?'

Harry raked his hands though his hair in aggravation; the words of the prophecy rising in his mind, echoing within his brain in Trelawney's rough voice. '…and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…' Harry sighed deeply and tried to just relax, tried for a moment to forget that he had ever received the parcel from Sirius, the effort was useless. His thoughts would always land right back onto the track that he had begun to tread.

'There's no way out of it is there? Whether I'm in the past or in the future it is my destiny to kill Voldemort. But… would the prophecy really be valid back then? How does a prophecy even work? It is about the Dark Lord and Riddle wasn't a Dark Lord yet, was he?

'Perhaps I could stop him from ever becoming one? His soul would already have been broken, but it might not be too late to save him. Oh, God, there I go. I'm thinking about saving Voldemort.' Harry let out a hollow laugh, it sounded weird to his own ears and very weak in the silence of the July night. 'It's my saving people thing, isn't it? Hermione has to be right as always. But, just to think…I could save everyone. There wouldn't be a need for the two wars that have ruined so many lives and no one else would have to be hurt like they will untouchably be even if I can defeat Voldemort.'

The train of thought came to a standstill before it could go any farther. 'What the hell am I thinking? I can't leave them all. No. I can't imagine never seeing Ron or Hermione again. If I went back I'd end up before anyone I know was born and there would be no guarantee that they would ever be born.'

Harry breathed out harshly and rubbed at his temples. 'Man, Sirius was right. I am getting a headache from this. 'Then again what are the odds that the time-turner would take me back to the year when Voldemort and I would be the same age?'

His thoughts were circling and his hands were shaking. He wasn't sure about what he should do. He put the time-turner away under the collar of his jumper and rose to head back inside. He walked back up the stairs in a haze, almost stumbling on every other step.

Ron was still sleeping soundly; without any worry in the world, just as when Harry had left. Harry felt a bit jealous. His friends would never have to face the same decision he did. Ron didn't have the fate of the wizarding world resting on his shoulders. He knew that Ron would follow him, he would follow Harry in the hunt for horcruxes and Harry believed that if he asked the red-head would come with him to the past as well.

Still the other wizard had a choice; a choice that had been taken from Harry before he was born. He sat down on his bed, pulled off the jumper, throwing it in the general direction of his trunk. The time-turner now hung visibly on his chest. He touched the cold metal, stroking over the jewels. With just a turn of this little devise he would be gone. With apprehension clawing at his insides Harry pulled the chain over his head.

He couldn't let the time-turner lie around so using an old trick he pulled out a sock form his trunk, put the time-travelling device in it and placed it back in the trunk. Out of sight, hopefully out of mind. Resolutely Harry closed the lid of the trunk and snuck under the covers of his bed. He lay on his back staring up at the ceiling unable to see the flaking paint he knew to be there. He rolled over on his side, settling in for a night through which he didn't expect to get much sleep.

=(#)=

That assumption turned out to be true. It was only when the dawn was lighting up the sky that Harry finally fell into an uneasy slumber. Before that, he had turned over every thought that was connected to his possible travel through time. He went over everything he knew about the time period and what he would do if he went there.

In his mind he took Sirius' advice to heart. Back then he could have a new life in which he'd only be Harry. If he went back he would try to change things, of course. He could never live with himself if he allowed things to unfold in the same pattern as they once had. Seeing as the future would be changed with his travel he wouldn't have to take up a false identity. He would only need to have a back-story to explain where he came from. Saying "Hey I'm from the future!" would probably not be overly wise. He supposed that he could tell a number of people eventually; when he was sure he had their trust. Keeping a secret such as that would consume anyone and make for a very lonely existence, something he did not desire.

There would be war back then. Grindelwald was terrorizing Europe, but that didn't concern Harry much seeing as the war never truly reached England as far as he knew and he remembered that Dumbledore had defeated the German Dark Lord in a great duel only one year later in 1945.

Harry thought about all the people who weren't dead back then. Dumbledore was the first one he thought of, following the train of thought from Grindelwald. The old headmaster would have still been the Transfiguration Professor and Deputy Headmaster at Hogwarts. Harry wasn't one hundred percent happy with how the man had managed things, but he would be glad to see him alive again nevertheless.

Also there would be his grandparents who he had never known. He felt eager at the thought of meeting them; although it would probably be weird. He supposed that if there was anyone he would tell the truth it would be them. Surely they were good people. Sirius had told him a little and any other time he had heard of them the image he had gotten was the same.

If he could find them in the past he could have a family, a family that was actually his. He loved the Weasleys dearly, they had taken him in and made him feel welcome and in the manner of true family they would never turn him away, but the truth was that to Mrs. Weasley he would always come last and in a family of nine that was a long queue to be standing at the end of. Despite that he would never fault Mrs. Weasley. Blood came first in the ideal family, which was as it should be.

Then there were all the people who would die, the people who hadn't yet to be born when it was 1944; his parents, Cedric and Sirius. He could save them all. The only problem was leaving everything behind. He mostly thought of Ron and Hermione. If he went back he might never see them again. And if he did end up meeting them again, they wouldn't be the people he'd grown up with.

=(#)=

When Harry woke the next day he was bleary-eyed from too little sleep and his thoughts were still racing. He was more observant than usual taking in everyone's faces and voices, clinging to every word they uttered. As a result he was more emotional than usual and he found himself crying embarrassingly much, not blotchy tears, just water making his eyes shiny, but it was far more tears than he had cried in all his years at Hogwarts. He tried to hide what was on his mind, but he had always worn his feelings on his sleeves so that plan didn't work out especially well for him.

To both his and Ron's mortification he got tears in his eyes when Ron gave him a book on how to seduce witches and told him that it had been a great help for him in trying to figure out how to behave towards girls. Neither Ron nor Harry had ever been good at dealing with tears or any emotional situation, so things got a bit awkward between them after that.

Harry smiled sadly when Hermione gave him a new Sneakoscope and gave her a hug, something that had her blushing. Harry normally never initiated these sorts of things.

He failed the most spectacularly when Mrs. Weasley gave him a pocket watch that had once been her brother's. He sobbed into her hug and thanked her so much that she blushed and tears of joy appeared in her eyes having both of them standing in the kitchen with puffy eyes.

He thought about Fabian Prewett who had died during Voldemort's first rise to power. He had been too young, all of them too young, and he promised himself that he wouldn't let that happen again.

When Ginny dragged him away to her bedroom after breakfast he felt himself turning into Cho Chang as she kissed him. This more than anything else helped him to compose himself somewhat, as he realized that he'd hit a new bottom low, crying and kissing was not something to be combined.

When he thought about why he was crying he realized that his choice had already been made. Subconsciously he had already decided that he was going to use the time-turner. He was planning on starting a new life in 1944. That meant that he would need to work out the details a bit more, but he decided that he would leave soon.

He, Ron and Hermione had planned to leave directly after the wedding that was to be held the next day, so he'd need to leave before that. Perhaps that was just as good, he hadn't felt very at ease about attending the wedding, and who knew perhaps he would get to attend Bill and Fleur's wedding in a different, happier future.

Before everyone had gotten seated for dinner, Arthur Weasley showed up with none other than the Minister for Magic himself, Rufus Scrimgeour. To the surprise of everyone there he asked to speak with Harry, Ron and Hermione.

They went into the house, sharing wary looks. It turned out that the reason for the Minister's visit was to read the last will and testament of the late Albus Dumbledore.

Harry couldn't really concentrate through the reading and he had no idea why Dumbledore had given him an old snitch. Hermione seemed as perplexed over the small book she'd gotten and Ron was just shocked that the old wizard had wanted to give him anything at all.

Harry actually got a bit angry. 'What was Dumbledore thinking, just leaving me without telling me anything? This isn't going to help us find the horcruxes at all. If this is all he could do, it seems to me like the best way to fix things is to use Sirius' time-turner.'

Dinner had him tearing up again, although he tried his best to not show it. The cake in form of a snitch that Mrs. Weasley had baked was beyond extraordinary and everyone was so happy for him. They, unlike him, were able to put their troubles aside for a while and rejoice over the things that were still good in this world, it just went to show how different he was, how inescapably he was tangled up in this war.

His heart ached when he thought that this was the last time he would be seeing them all. He has decided that he would leave early in the morning. He just couldn't attend the wedding and pretend like nothing was wrong, and he might not be able to sneak away later with his tow best friends watching him like hawks.

He berated himself for thinking about it. He really should enjoy himself while he could.

They all took the opportunity to enjoy themselves. There was so little joy left so every moment of it was precious. He forced himself to only live in the moment and he laughed at the tricks the twins preformed, he smiled warmly at Ginny across the table and talked freely with Remus.

Hagrid asked if he remembered that it was exactly six years since they'd first met and Harry had to smile, saying that he remembered it vaguely. "You tore down the door, gave my cousin a pig tail and told me that I was a wizard, does that sound about right?" What little skin was visible behind Hagrid's large, black beard had turned rosy.

He hadn't concealed his staggering emotions well enough though, so when the dinner was over Ron and Hermione dragged him off and demanded to know what was wrong.

"Harry," Hermione said in a miserable tone once they were alone in Ron's bedroom, the door shut and rigged with an array of privacy spells. "What is going on with you? It's your birthday and yet you've been crying all day." Harry opened his mouth to try and protest, before he got a single syllable out though she had continued. "And don't you dare deny it! We've seen it!"

"Yeah, mate," Ron said sounding uncomfortable, wringing his hands. "What's up with that?"

"I can't say," Harry mumbled refusing to meet their eyes, knowing that they would see right through him if he did, or rather that he would falter if he dared look at them.

"You're not planning on going off on your own again, are you?" Hermione asked, hitting the nail on the head. When Harry didn't look up at her she gasped. "Harry! I thought we'd been through this! You don't have to do everything alone! We're coming with you! We're together in this, right until the end!"

"I'm sorry, guys. I don't know what's come over me," Harry said in a choked murmur, still keeping his eyes firmly trained on his lap. He wouldn't tell them. He couldn't. It wasn't like he could bring them with him. He could never ask them to give everything up. It was better this way. "I'm sorry," he said again and chanced a glance upward, meeting Hermione's eyes. The worry and love he could see there was breaking down his defences little by little. He endured it, holding on to his resolve. Just as he was about to fold she must have been satisfied for she embraced him tightly.

"Oh, Harry," she murmured by his shoulder.

He felt very bad for deceiving them but convinced himself that it was for the best. For the greater good and all.

=(#)=

Harry didn't sleep very well that night either, lying in his bed in Ron's bedroom, thinking through what he was going to do.

He got up early in the morning before anyone else had begun to wake. He shrunk his trunk and put it in his pocket. He pulled on his invisibility cloak and went out of the house with no one the wiser. They wouldn't notice that he was gone until later, with the wedding going on and all. Perhaps this would all seize to exist when he was hurled back through time. He turned around to look at the Burrow one last time. Then he turned on his heel and disapparated.

Harry landed outside the Leaky Cauldron with a small pop. No one noticed him when he entered the pub. He was glad that he had his invisibility cloak. He truly had come to depend on it. He already planned to take it with him; of course he wasn't leaving it behind.

He thought that there might be some problem with that. Some items would become duplicates, and in a way everything would be duplicated as he distinctly remembered Hermione talking about physics and that energy, which matter was made up by couldn't be destroyed or created, but either it worked or it didn't, there was no way of knowing until he tried. So in the hope of being able to bring stuff Harry planned to get a lot of things together before using the time-turner. He did not fancy the idea of getting stuck in the past without anything to his name, being in a time not his own would be difficult enough as it without having to worry about such things.

He could have used Hermione's excellent sense for planning when it came to the next step, but he would just have to do without. He would have to do without her for the remainder of his life, so he might as well get used to it, no matter how depressing the thought was.

He sat down at a table in the corner of the pub and where he wouldn't be bothered and waited. It would be a few hours yet before the stores out in the alley would open. As he sat there people came and went. It wasn't a large crowd, but some wizards and witches came to the Cauldron for breakfast and a bit of company before heading to work and there were also a patron or two coming in for something hot to sip on as their night shift ended.

When the clock struck eight Harry got up and walked out back. He tapped his wand to the bricks in the wall in the small alley behind the Leaky Cauldron and the bricks turned to form formed the familiar archway that Harry remembered from all his previous visits.

Diagon Alley was in a sorry state. The war had found its way here and when it had arrived it had been with full force. Many of the stores where closed. Junk and broken bricks filled the street; the windows of the buildings were all barred. It was all so changed from his first visit six years earlier. There wasn't a happy crowd filling the streets, walking around in groups chatting amicably.

The few people who were about in the early morning hour hurried to get their errands done, everyone clenching their wands and looking frightfully over their shoulders. Harry didn't imagine that the crowd would fill out much later in the day either. Seeing this, he couldn't say that he was sorry to leave this war-torn world behind.

His first stop was at a store that sold magical trunks. With all the things he was planning on brining to the past he really needed a new trunk with a few fancy extension charms. He could have done something with his own old trunk, but he didn't trust enough in his own ability to feel that it would be sufficient.

He was pleased to see that the store he intended to visit was still in business. He looked around before he pulled off his invisibility cloak and went inside.

"Welcome to Cadogan's wizarding luggage. What can I do for you today?" Harry was a bit surprised at the friendly greeting he received, but didn't think too much about it.

"I'm looking to buy a trunk."

The wizard who owned the store was very helpful. He was a bit nervous, which was only natural and that actually had Harry relaxing. He had grown a bit tense when the wizard was so pleasant with his greeting. During the whole time he worked on customizing Harry's trunk he kept casting glances out the window anxiously.

The trunk turned out to became a fancy thing, with silver escutcheons and engravings in an intricate pattern. It had three key holes. When you opened the first it would look like a completely normal trunk. Harry wanted it like that to ward off suspicion.

The second was designed to hold books. It had a rotating shelf that would expand as needed and you could keep pulling without ever coming to an end seeing as it would just start over again.

When you turned the key in the last hole a cavernous room would appear. The extension charm was quite impressive. Harry thought that you could possibly fit a house in there. Harry felt a bit apprehensive when he saw it, seeing as it reminded him about the trunk that Moody had been locked in for a year, but he conceded that it was practical and something he might wind up needing.

All three of the compartments were also protected by a password, one for each key-hole. And they were possible to reset at anytime by using the right phrase combined with the previous password. The trunk would also shrink with just a tap of his wand and it had a feather-light charm on it. It went for a hefty sum, but it wasn't like Harry couldn't afford it. He thanked the wizard, who most likely was Cadogan himself and left.

As soon as he was out the door he pulled on his invisibility cloak again and trudged through the alley down to the familiar, snow-white marble building that housed Gringotts Wizarding Bank. The guard goblins stood by either side of the great doors, but they weren't alone there, beside each of the beings stood a wizard.

It appeared as if some reformations had been made. They thankfully couldn't see Harry under his cloak and he was relieved that he had chosen to wear it. He didn't dare take it off when he entered the bank either. The goblins always stayed out of wizarding conflicts so getting their services shouldn't be a problem; the problem was if he was seen by someone from the Ministry or someone who was loyal to Voldemort or simply afraid of the Dark Wizard and his Death Eaters. To stay hidden seemed like the safest bet.

The Main Hall was like he remembered it, very grand with its huge chandeliers and polished stone floor. He walked to a counter with a goblin seated behind it, busy looking at a pile of fist sized emeralds through a loupe, placing them in two different piles, though Harry would be hard pressed to guess what the difference were between the two sorts. Harry cleared his throat and the goblin looked up.

"Who's there?" the creature asked in the rough voice that was the trademark of his race.

"I'm Harry Potter and I'm currently under an invisibility cloak."

"Ah, Mr. Potter. I see." Harry smiled a little at the unintended pun, because he believed it to be unintended, goblins had never stuck him as a folk that appreciated humour. The goblin leaned back in his chair, apparently not thinking it strange to talk to an invisible wizard. "What can I help you with?"

"I'd like a full account over my funds and then I'm withdrawing it all."

If ever there had been a startled goblin this was it. "Mr. Potter," he said slowly. "Why would you want to stop using our services?"

"I can answer that in private," Harry said a bit reluctantly. He had anticipated that the goblin might enquire as to why he would want to withdraw his entire fortune, but he had still hoped that he wouldn't need to explain.

"Very well, Mr. Potter. I will notify the manager of your vaults. If you will just wait here for a moment." The goblin scurried away and soon another goblin returned. This one was looking very important and he made Harry feel a bit uneasy.

"Mr. Potter?" he inquired looking a little bit to Harry's left.

"I'm here."

"Come along, then." The new goblin led him through the Main Hall and through a pair of double doors on the opposite side of where you would go to get down to the vaults. The corridor they walked through was as fancy as the rest of the upper reaches of the bank. A plush, deep-blue carpet lay under their feet, muffling the sound of their steps. Priceless artefacts hung on the walls and grand chandeliers hung from the ceiling.

After a surprisingly long walk Harry was led though another door into an office. The goblin went over and sat down behind a large mahogany desk and immediately began to survey a stack of parchment that appeared on it the moment he touched it.

"You can feel free to put away your cloak now, Mr. Potter. You are safe as long as you reside within these walls. We take costumer confidentiality and safety very seriously and you are one of our wealthier clients, no interfering wizards will be permitted to disturb us."

Harry pulled off the invisibility cloak and got seated on the other side of the desk.

"There you are," the goblin said with a leer, showing off a row of pointy, yellow teeth. "I am Ordeg and as it happens I have been in charge of both the Black and Potter vaults over the last two centuries."

Harry stared. He had forgotten that goblins could grow even older than wizards, sometimes living to an age of beyond five hundred years.

"And now I would very much like that answer, you promised to give in private, Mr. Potter."

"I am going somewhere where I won't have access to my vaults. And I won't be coming back so I'm simply taking what is mine."

The silence felt heavy and Harry swallowed, then he thought that he maybe he should appease the goblins somehow. "I might also add that Gringotts is in no way loosing me as a costumer."

"Ah, I see," Ordeg said and looked down at a parchment. He raised an eyebrow and his leer got wider. "Might this have something to do with the package that was delivered to you by Gringotts yesterday morning, following the request of one Sirius Black?"

"Yes," Harry said, not as surprised as he thought he would be at finding out that the goblin knew about the time-turner. Goblins were fiercely intelligent, after all, and so greedy that they held account on every last Knut in their bank, never mind a priceless artefact.

"Then there won't be any problem. We will very much enjoy it when you deposit all your money again. Am I also to understand that there might be as slightly different outcome to the war?"

"That is my hope," Harry said stiffly. Not feeling very comfortable with this. He didn't see why the goblin would care about that.

"Then I request that you give a letter to one of the goblins here at the bank at your arrival. Will you do that for me, Mr. Potter? I would be forever in your debt."

Harry didn't hesitate for long. To have one of the goblins at Gringotts in your debt was a chance every reasonable wizard would jump at. He greatly respected the beings and thought this proposition to be very beneficial. "I most graciously accept your request."

"Very good, Mr. Potter." The goblin held up his hand and a clean piece of parchment appeared in it. He put it down on the table and wrote a long message. He folded it neatly, used the magic of his species and sealed it; finally writing his name on it. "Just give it to anyone at the bank and I will receive it and come and see you so that I can once again be at your service." He handed the letter to Harry, who shrunk it and put it away in his pocket. "Now to have a look at your finances, Mr. Potter. You are the owner of no less then four vaults."

"Four?" Harry asked not understanding. He thought that there'd only be two; his own vault that he had taken money from ever since he entered the wizarding world and the vault that had been Sirius'.

"Yes, Mr. Potter. Four vaults. First we have your trust found that I believe you have been accessing previously. Then there is the Potter-family vault that became available to you upon your reach of majority. Yesterday that is. We also have the vault that belonged to one Sirius Orion Black. Finally there is the Black-family-vault that Mr. Black also left to you. All in all its quiet a hefty sum."

"How much is there?"

"I believe that there should be approximately," the Goblin looked down on one of the parchments, "684 million galleons."

Harry refrained from gaping although it was a close call. It was a staggering amount.

"And in that the artefacts are not counted, neither are your estates."

"I have estates?" Harry asked beginning to feel dumb for not having looked into this earlier, then on the other hand it seemed as if he hadn't been able to access a lot of it until just the day before.

"Yes, Mr. Potter, although you will not be able to bring them with you."

"No, of course." he mumbled still a bit stunned.

"Well then, shall I have Rupog accompany you down to your vaults?"

"Yes, please." Harry said in a weak voice.

=(#)=

Rupog met them out in the Main Hall where Ordeg took his leave. And down they went in one of the small carts, on a wild ride through the tunnels.

The first stop was at the familiar vault 687, which was Harry's trust vault. The gleaming piles of money looked like they would last him forever and Harry thought that he'd be very content with just this, but when he asked Rupog how much this vault held the answer was a meagre two-hundred-thousand galleons. Harry couldn't believe how much the other three vaults must contain if this mountain of gold was no more than that.

He took out his new coffer and unshrunk it, turned the key in the third hole and said open which was the default password, as he hadn't yet taken the time to change it. The cave-like room was revealed and Harry started to wonder if the gigantic space would be enough.

Harry was very glad that he had magic. If it weren't for a nifty charm that Rupog told him to use it would have taken him days to levitate all the coins down in his trunk, and he shuddered to imagine how long it would have taken for him to move the gold by using only his hands. As it was now they flowed easily and the vault was emptied within minutes. His own, familiar vault had only held money and the same went for vault 711 that had been his godfather's.

Sirius' vault was deeper down than his own and from there they only ventured further down below London. It appeared as if the older vaults were all deeper down under the bank.

The Potter family vault had the low number 54 and it was truly gigantic. For the first time Harry could appreciate that he indeed hailed from an old pureblood-family, a linage that could be traced into the distant past. There were piles and piles of gold and on shelves all around the room lay different objects, magical and valuable alike. All of it went down in the cavernous room in his coffer.

The Black vault lay deeper still. Rupog had to call for assistance with it for a strange instrument that made a horrible noise had to be used. When Harry asked about it he was told that they were called clankers. And soon Harry knew why they were used.

Down at the very bottom of the bank lay the oldest vaults and in the cave in front of them resided a gigantic dragon. The creature was pale from years upon years of living underground. It was chained and Harry could see that it was blind.

He didn't like the sight at all, but refrained from commenting. The other goblin kept making that sound which drove the dragon away. It was unsettling to see such a majestic creature cover in fear. Rupog told him that in old times they had hurt the dragon when using the clankers so the beast had learned to fear the sound.

Harry swallowed at this, thinking it inhuman to keep a dragon like this. He hurried to empty the vault, eager to get out of there. He was careful though, wary to set of any curse that might linger on the objects. Sirius had after all told him that they were all dark and or cursed.

=(#)=

Harry was glad to leave Gringotts behind when he went out into Diagon Alley, again concealed under his cloak. He had one more stop he wanted to go to before he was ready to use the time-turner.

He went to Flourish and Blotts, unhindered by the few wizards who were shopping in the Alley. Harry more or less raided the book-store; choosing books of every imaginable subject. To have the knowledge of the second half of the twentieth century could prove to be invaluable. The store-clerk almost has a seizure when Harry brought pile after pile with books to the counter. Overwhelmed by the income he would make this day no doubt, or perhaps just intimidated by thinking of the work it would take to restock the store.

The book compartment of his new trunk proved to be just as good as promised. All of the books fitted in there without any trouble. Harry paid for his purchases and though he had practically bought a library worth of books he barely dented his pile of money. When he was done at Flourish and Blotts Harry felt that he was ready to leave. Anything else he might need he could get in the past. He walked through the Alley trying to find a secluded corner where he wouldn't drop down on any unsuspecting shopper at his arrival.

He had everything. His old trunk along with the new one were shrunk and put safely away in his pocket. He pulled out the time-turner from under his jumper where he had placed it before, not feeling comfortable with leaving his means of travel in a pair of socks as he shrunk his trunk upon leaving the Burrow. He stared at the small hourglass for a long minute.

He was truly doing it. He was setting out to a time that was not his own and he was doing so in typical Gryffindor manner; running headfirst into the unknown without thinking it through. Doing something irreversible only a day after the possibility had presented itself. He could almost imagine Snape sneering at him, calling him a foolish dunderhead. But, thinking of the traitor only had him getting mad, though it also reminded him of the lives he could save.

He was at least a bit proud of himself; he had thought to bring things with him. He had thought to go to Diagon Alley. He hadn't used the time-turner the very moment he got it.

He thought one last time of the people he had left at the Burrow. He wondered if his friends had noticed that he was gone. They should have by now. They were probably frantic with worry.

Harry swallowed down the lump that formed in his throat at that last thought and turned the golden desk in his hands before he could change his mind. The silvery sand trickled through the hourglass and Harry was pulled away in a swirl of colours and distorted noise.

End Chapter 1