A young man lying on a bed opened his eyes groggily and looked around. Before he could fully register his surroundings, his mind was assaulted by immense pain, and he instinctively clutched his head.
Memory after memory flooded his mind, and it took a few minutes for the mind-numbing headache to subside. The boy stared wide eyed at the ceiling.
The boy was none other than Harry Potter, but his body had now been occupied by a new, foreign soul- his own soul from the future.
Harry Potter organized his memories to understand what had happened. He remembered his past eighteen years of life. He also remembered another three hundred and fifty years of his life from his future.
Finally, after successfully sorting his memories, a wide grin spread across his face.
He exclaimed in quiet happiness, "I am back."
He looked around to register that he was lying in a hospital bed in the Hogwarts infirmary.
On his right, on another bed, Ron Weasley was sleeping soundly. Though a lot of accounts were to be settled with the red-haired idiot, Harry ignored him, for now.
On his left, on another bed, was a beautiful witch, Hermione Granger.
Today was the night when he had met Sirius Black for the first time. He had learned the truth about Peter Pettigrew. That it was not Sirius but Peter who had acted as the secret keeper of the Fidelius charm. And how the rat had betrayed his parents.
Snape had wanted Sirius to be administered the Dementor's Kiss. How the potions professors had tried all his best to get his old nemesis killed? But Harry had ultimately helped Sirius to run away with Buckbeak.
Harry, lying on his bed, concentrated on his mind, and the next moment his consciousness was inside a gloomy looking place. This was his mindscape.
The entire mindscape was covered in darkness. Anything beyond a short distance was not visible. The surroundings felt gloomy and oppressive. The air felt suffocating and bone chilling, as if him being merely present at this location was a taboo. But Harry did not feel any anxiety or worry.
He muttered in a calm voice, "Such a pathetic wizard I was."
"Or maybe too great a wizard to perform magic, that too a corporeal Patronus, with a mindscape like this," he added after a pause, with a soft chuckle.
He sighed, "I will deal with this later, and with that piece of shit dark lord too."
With another thought, Harry's consciousness was back in the original world, in his body.
He looked to his side and saw Hermione sleeping peacefully. A subtle, almost mischievous smile touched his lips.
"Such an idiot I was," he muttered under his breath.
He got up from his bed and walked near Hermione's bed.
He then lay down on the small space next to her, on her bed. After turning around to face Hermione's back, he placed his arm around her waist in a tight hug and closed his eyes.
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When Harry woke up again, he found an alert Hermione who was breathing uncontrollably and was as stiff as a rock. Even at a distance, Harry could hear the frantically beating heart of Hermione.
"Good morning, Hermione," said Harry, shifting his face closer to her body, his warm breath landing on her neck.
Hermione shivered. "Harry… Goo… good morning…"
"What are you doing here?" she stammered, her voice weak and trembling. His presence was arousing such feelings in Hermione which were hard to contain.
Before Harry could answer, the doors of the hospital wing opened, and in walked Madam Pomfrey and the eyes of the medic-witch widened at the scene before her.
"Mr. Potter," she almost shouted. "What in Merlin's name are the two of you doing?"
Hermione almost panicked and was about to stammer an answer but felt Harry's hand pressing gently on her waist.
Harry was very calm, and his reassurance also calmed Hermione slightly. He turned around slowly and got down from the bed.
"Madam Pomfrey," addressed Harry with a disarming smile. "We were like this when we woke up."
He lied smoothly.
"I believe it was a case of accidental magic. I must have somehow accidentally Apparated to Hermione's bed," added Harry while casually walking towards his own bed.
"Mr. Potter, one cannot Apparate within Hogwarts," added Madam Pomfrey, her eyebrow raised and her face stern.
Harry chuckled without any embarrassment. "Maybe. But maybe accidental Apparition is allowed. This can be a good topic for research."
"What do you think, madam Pomfrey?" He asked.
Although Madam Pomfrey's expression clearly indicated that she did not believe this nonsense, she did not say anything further except a glare towards Harry. Her eyes merely narrowed as if giving Harry a silent warning.
She looked towards Ron, who was still sleeping soundly.
"Even your friend looks like he has recovered," she said. "When he wakes up, he will be free to leave the hospital wing."
Harry nodded but did not pay any attention to the red-headed idiot.
"Can we leave immediately?" asked Harry.
"Yes," said Madam Pomfrey and walked away, still eyeing Harry suspiciously.
Hermione had also gotten down from the bed and had walked near Harry.
"Are you alright?" She questioned with genuine concern.
It seemed that even if Madam Pomfrey had not accepted Harry's explanation of accidental magic, Hermione had either accepted it or was too embarrassed to ask further questions.
Harry nodded, "Let us return to our dorms. We should pack our luggage."
Hermione looked uncertainly towards Ron.
"What about Ron?" she questioned with a frown.
Harry smiled and leaned closer towards Hermione, lowering his voice, "Hermione, he has three brothers and one sister currently in Hogwarts. I believe they will be coming soon to see him. He will also have help with his luggage, which we do not."
Hermione, though still slightly uncertain, nodded in a daze and walked with Harry towards the Gryffindor dormitories.
"You should meet Professor Lupin before we depart," said Hermione. "He has been our best DADA professor in three years, if the other two we had could even be called professors."
Harry nodded his head nonchalantly. For now, he was unsure about Remus Lupin.
After he has arrived back in time, his view had completely flipped about many things. His perspective to look at certain issues has changed and he now had a new angle to judge things.
For seventeen years, the man had not cared to look even once for the son of his best friend.
He had been an idiot in his past life not to think about these things and had readily accepted Remus without any question.
In his previous life, Harry had always been only grateful, even for the bare minimum. He never questioned or asked what he truly deserved. But not in this life.
One might understand the logic that Remus was afraid because of his identity- him being a werewolf.
But then it must also should have been considered that Harry was the son of the same person who had taken a significant risk to become an Animagus so that he could accompany Lupin during his transformations. Harry's father had risked his life so that he could accompany Lupin once a month and there was this man who could not pay a visit in 18 years.
These were things Lupin needed to explain.
Although Harry did not hate Lupin, he also felt no particular affection for him.
At least, he definitely held a certain respect for the man. He, along with Tonks, had died in the Battle of Hogwarts, leaving their only son an orphan.
He had no doubt about the man's intentions. His simple question was whether whatever Lupin did, he did it out of genuine love for Harry or because of his unwavering loyalty to Dumbledore. What side would the werewolf choose if he stood on the opposite side of Dumbledore? This was the question which mattered the most.
For now, he would simply go and meet the man, as the Marauder's Map was still with Lupin, and it could prove a handy tool for his future plans.
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