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SIYE Time:20:26 on 1st December 2024
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The Seven Potters
By writetress

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Category: Post-HBP
Characters:Harry/Ginny
Genres: Comedy, Fluff, General
Warnings: Mild Language
Story is Complete
Rating: PG-13
Reviews: 37
Summary: Harry had seen six Potters when his friends had taken Polyjuice Potion and he had thought it bizarre. But nothing compared to meeting seven Potters that were actually himself.
Hitcount: Story Total: 10627
Awards: View Trophy Room


Disclaimer: Harry Potter Publishing Rights © J.K.R. Note the opinions in this story are my own and in no way represent the owners of this site. This story subject to copyright law under transformative use. No compensation is made for this work.



Author's Notes:
I just had to write this out once the plot-bunny took a hold of me. It just hit me when I was thinking about Ch. 4 of Deathly Hallows. So I hope you all enjoy it! Also I'm still working on Ch. 4 of my story A Long Overdue Confession, I'm just also trying to catch up with another story of mine. If you check my profile, I have posted a rough sneak peek passage from the upcoming chapter for you! I'm just amazed by your feedback on it and that it got another nomination! So thank you very much! DC: Still don't own Harry Potter and I also don't own the title to this story since it's the same as Ch. 4 "The Seven Potters" of Deathly Hallows. Big thank you to Spenser Hemmingway for agreeing to beta for me and dealing with my grammar mistakes.




ChapterPrinter


Harry stared down at the first step of the marble staircase leading down to the entrance hall. He then looked ahead, tilting his head at the double oak doors a little in the distance. Hogwarts? How did he get at Hogwarts? The last thing he remembered was lying down at Shell Cottage to get some sleep.

Harry looked around standing at the top of marble staircase, and then his eyes darted over to his arm. He raised his hand, pinched his arm, and didn’t feel a thing. Oh, this was a dream that made sense.

The Hogwarts he now stood in was quiet. No students, no professors, no creatures; it was as if he had the entire castle to himself. Harry took some tentative steps down the steps, the sound of his shoes against the marble breaking the silence in the room. He then reached the bottom, his shoes landing on the flagstone floor of the entrance hall. He took a couple steps forward. Well, this was a weird dream, nothing was happening. It was just him in an empty castle.

His eyes widened once he heard someone gasp from behind him. He grabbed his wand from his pocket, forever being on alert, and pointed it towards the slight movement he saw under the marble staircase. He couldn’t see what it was, as it was hidden by the shadows. “Who are you?” he demanded.

There was silence, and then a scared voice answered. “P-Please, don’t hurt me. I…I don’t know how I got here, honesty!” It sounded like a young boy, and his voice sounded familiar for some reason.

Harry somewhat lowered his wand. “It’s alright, I won’t hurt you. Could you come out, please?”

Slowly the young boy stepped out from under the staircase and into the light, and what Harry saw almost made him drop his wand. For there stood a young boy, his clothes worn out, drooping off his scrawny body, his hair unruly and his green eyes framed with glasses that had tape keeping the nosepiece together. He was staring at his eleven year old self.

The young boy stared back at him with a curious gaze, no longer looking afraid. “Hello, I’m Harry Potter,” he said. “Who…who are you? You kind of look like me,” his eyes widened as he pointed at Harry’s forehead. “You have a scar!” he reached up pulling back his bangs to reveal a lightning bolt scar. “So do I see?”

Harry just stared for a couple of moments, and then he spoke. “I’m…I’m you,” he stuttered out, “just six years older.”

The first Harry’s eyes widened. “You’re…me?” he choked out, and then glanced down at the floor in thought. “So, I’m dreaming about meeting my future self, right? This must be a dream.”

“No, I’m dreaming about meeting my eleven year old self,” said Harry.

The first Harry shook his head. “I’m ten, but I’m going to be eleven in a couple of weeks though.” His eyes then gazed around the entrance hall. "Wow, this place is huge,” he breathed in wonderment.

Harry narrowed his eyes in concentration, but then they popped open. “Wait, you’re ten? You…you’re never been here?”

The first Harry looked up at the high ceilings. “No.”

“What is the last thing you remember before you found yourself here?” Harry asked.

“I was in my cupboard under the stairs trying to fall asleep, but my stomach was hurting because I didn’t have any dinner because Dudley said I ate all his chocolates so Aunt Petunia would go get him some more.”

Harry stood dumbfounded as the first Harry continued looking around in curiosity. Was he dreaming that he was at Hogwarts with his almost eleven year old self, or were they both dreaming the same dream in different timelines? Was that even possible? Well, he guessed magic did make the impossible quite possible.

“Why are you pointing a stick at me?” said the first Harry.

Harry shook his head coming out of his stupor. “Huh?” he looked down at his wand that he was still slightly holding up. “Oh, this isn’t a stick, it’s my wand…,” he trailed off, looking at it more closely. “You’re kidding me!” he cried out. “Even in my dream I still have Malfoy’s wand and not my own!”

The first Harry came closer, his eyes roaming over the wand. “It’s a…fancy looking stick.”

“No, it’s a wand,” explained Harry. “It helps channel my magic.”

The first Harry raised his eyebrows. “Magic?”

Harry grinned fully for the first time in months. Oh, this was too good. He bent down and placed his hands on the first Harry’s shoulders. “Harry, you’re a wizard.”

The first Harry didn’t react the way he thought he would, he just stared at him for a second and said,” Well, I guess I could be a wizard here, since it’s a dream.”

Harry laughed, shaking his head. At first he had wondered if this dream was a trick by the Death Eaters or Voldemort, but now that he was looking at his almost eleven-year-old self and touching his shoulders. He just knew this was himself he was talking to, and that they were sharing the same dream. “No, no you’re...we’re a wizard in real life. I think we somehow connected through our magic, and are now sharing the same dream.”

The first Harry stepped back from him in shock. “I’m a what?” He shook his head feverishly. “No, I can’t be a wizard…I’m…I’m just me!”

“Remember how we did things we couldn’t explain,” said Harry. “Like when we suddenly found ourselves out of reach of Dudley’s gang and–“

“When I grew back my hair overnight,” interrupted the first Harry. He looked up at Harry in shock. “You…you really are me! And…I’m a wizard?”

Harry smiled nodding. “Yes, just like Mum and Dad.”

The first Harry’s eyes grew wide. “Mum, Dad?” he choked out. “They were wizards!”

“Well, Dad was a wizard, Mum was a witch,” explained Harry. “And they didn’t die in any car crash, they were…,” he paused, sighing, his shoulders slumping forward, “…murdered by a wizard called Voldemort, but his real name is Tom Riddle.

The first Harry blanched. “Murdered?” He stumbled back a couple of steps. “They…they lied to me!” he cried out, clenching his fists.

“The Dursleys lied about a lot.”

“Why?” the first Harry breathed. “Why did he…Tom Riddle kill them?”

Harry tightened his jaw, his eyes hard. “Because he’s a very bad man.”

The first Harry stood silent, his eyes down casted upon the floor. Harry stared down at him with empathy, knowing exactly how he was feeling. He walked over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder, giving him a sad smile. “But you have a home now,” said Harry gesturing around. “Harry, this is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the first place you ever felt at home.” He paused taking it in remembering how he first felt coming to Hogwarts. “The first place you found friends.”

The first Harry snapped his head up. “Friends?” he choked out. “I have friends?”

Harry turned to him, his eyes light with joy. “Yep, the best! Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.”

“Ron and Hermione?” said the first Harry, testing out their names on his lips. “My friends?”

Harry pointed with great excitement. “And over there are the House points hourglasses!” He walked up to the giant hourglasses with rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and topaz. His younger self followed him and walked up to the Gryffindor hourglass, lightly touching it and looking in awe at the rubies within.

Flashes of red rubies tumbling out, rattling onto the flagstone floor and glistening like blood ran through Harry’s mind. The first Harry’s voice bought him out of his trance. “What are House points?”

“House points, are something students get when they do something good or get deducted if you do something bad, even if you really didn’t,” Harry grumbled. He turned his head towards the doors leading to the great hall. “Come on, I want to show you something.”

Harry walked towards the door and pushed them open. He watched as his younger self’s face lit up and his mouth gaped at the candles hovering up in the air, the ceiling enchanted to look like the night sky, and the pure splendor of the room. The first Harry ran forward alongside the elongated tables, his head turning in every direction trying to take it all in. Harry followed him, feeling like a youth again.

“This is the great hall, where first time students get sorted into houses. The houses are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin,” Harry put out his chest proudly. “And we are a Gryffindor.”

The first Harry whirled around his eyes brimming with hope and anticipation. “And I get to come to this place, Hogwarts?”

“Sure do! Once you turn eleven,” said Harry. “And this is also where you’ll have all your meals. And you can eat as much as you want!”

“As much as I want!” the first Harry repeated in great delight.

Harry could only smile and then he turned around and motioned with his hand. “Come on, I’ll show you around. They went up the marble staircase to the first floor where Harry showed his younger self the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

“We’re pretty good at this subject, we got an O,” said Harry.

“An O?” said the first Harry, his mouth pouting in confusion.

“O stands for Outstanding,” said Harry. “You don’t want to get a T which stands for Troll,” he sighed. “Yes, it’s our favorite subject and it comes in handy…,” he trailed off, his eyes growing weary,”…when you have to face the Dark arts.”

The first Harry studied his older self, looking him up and down. “You don’t look so good,” he said anxiously. “You look exhausted.”

Harry glanced down at his younger self. “I’ve been through a lot.”

The first Harry glanced down at the floor then back up at him with a knowing look. “That means I’ll go through a lot, doesn’t it?”

Harry looked back at him. He wanted to lie and tell him no, and that everything was going to be alright but he couldn’t. “Yeah, it does,” he said regrettably, but then gave him a small smile. “But that doesn’t mean it’s all bad,” he said, thinking of Ron, Hermione, Quidditch, his life at Hogwarts, the Burrow and…Ginny.

After that they continued down the first floor corridors and the first Harry pointed to a room. “What’s that room?” he asked.

“Oh, that’s the Muggle Studies classroom.”

“What’s a Muggle?” asked the first Harry.

“It’s a non-magical person, like the Dursleys, they are Muggles since they can’t do magic. But you can be a Muggle-born wizard or witch with no magical parents like our best friend Hermione,” said Harry. “So was our mum, but our dad…both his parents were magical. That makes us what they call a half-blood, half magical, half Muggle.” He paused for a moment. “Some people are prejudice against Muggle-borns and half-bloods, thinking they’re better because they’re all magical.”

“That’s just wrong,” retorted the first Harry.

“I know,” said Harry.

Harry led his younger self to the grand staircase. They went down the steps but then his younger self halted once he noticed the steps ended in a dead drop below.

The first Harry turned his head, arching his eyebrow in confusion. “Um…where’re the rest of the steps? They’re all cut off,” just as soon as he said that, the staircase they were standing on moved. “Ahhhh! The stairs are collapsing!” he cried out, getting on his stomach and holding onto the steps for dear life.

Harry couldn’t help but laugh. “No, it’s alright!” he said reassuringly. “This is the grand staircase, it moves connecting to other staircases. It’s magic, we’re perfectly safe.”

The first Harry relaxed lying on the steps. “Oh, thank you God,” he sighed in relief.

“You know, technically this is a dream, even if you did fall off the stairs, you wouldn’t die.”

The first Harry shook his head. “I still don’t want to fall. Dudley said that if you die in your dreams, you die in real life. I don’t know if that’s true, but I don’t want to find out.”

Harry frowned. “Oh, yeah he did tell me that. Dudley is a git,” he spat, but then pondered aloud,” Although he did act different last time I saw him.” He turned back to his younger self. “You’ll get use to the whole falling thing quickly once you fly for the first time.”

The first Harry got up onto his feet. “F-fly? Like on an airplane?”

Harry laughed. “No, not an airplane.” The stairs connected to another staircase. “Come on, this way to the second floor.”

Harry and his younger self walked around the second floor corridors a little bit, and were approaching Moaning Myrtle’s Bathroom. Harry looked back at the first Harry. “There’s nothing really interesting on the second floor, well expect…,” he trailed off once he noticed the first Harry standing gobsmacked. “What is it?”

The first Harry raised his hand slowly and pointed. “I…I see another me.”

Harry quickly whirled around to see another him staring back at him, standing just outside Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom. The other him looked to be twelve years old.

His twelve-year-old self pointed back at them in shock. “You’re….you’re me,” the second Harry choked out. “And you’re also me!” he suddenly took out his wand. “Who are you? You used Polyjuice Potion to look like me, didn’t you? Are you Slytherins?”

Harry held up his hands. “Whoa, whoa! If we had taken Polyjuice Potion we would look exactly like you, not older and younger versions of yourself.”

The second Harry lowered his wand. “Oh, yeah that’s right,” he said, and then stood looking at them; his face masked with puzzlement. “So, I’m guessing this is a dream,” he paused. “I do remember getting into bed, this is better than the nightmares I get.”

“What did you do before you got into bed?” Harry asked the second Harry.

“Well, I went to my classes, then went to Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom with Ron to see how the Polyjuice Potion was coming along and then worked on my homework in the Common Room wondering if that house-elf Dobby was still around somewhere–“

Harry’s eyes widened, he gazed solemnly down at his shoes, thinking about the socks covering his feet. “Dobby,” he breathed.

“–and then the next thing I know I’m standing in Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom again with no one around, and then I walk out to find you two,” said the second Harry finishing.

Harry came forward and placed a hand on the second Harry’s shoulder. “I know Dobby’s a bit odd, but he means well. He will be your true and loyal friend,” he paused, giving a sad smile, “till the end.”

The second Harry just stared up at him, not understanding the full magnitude of his words, but he nodded taking them to heart.

“This is a dream,” said Harry, “but I believe we’re all sharing this dream together.”

After a couple of minutes of explaining and persuading, the second Harry joined them as they moved onto the third floor.

“Do you know why I’m…we’re a parselmouth?” asked the second Harry as he walked alongside the first Harry.

“Um…,” Harry started to speak but was interrupted by the first Harry.

“What’s a parselmouth?”

“It means we can talk to snakes and understand what they are saying,” said Harry.

The first Harry was silent taking it in, his lips then curved up revealing a smile. “Brilliant.”

“It’s not brilliant!” the second Harry snapped, which made the first Harry frown. “Everyone thinks I’m the heir to Slytherin and that I’m attacking people, and I keep hearing voices.”

“You’re hearing a basilisk,” said Harry matter-of-factly.

“A basilisk?” asked the second and first Harry in unison.

“It’s a giant snake, and it’s what has been attacking everyone.”

The second Harry suddenly halted. “So, I am the heir of Slytherin?” he choked out, looking ready to retch up slugs.

“No, you’re not,” said Harry calmly.

The second Harry took a couple of steps catching up with them. “So who’s been ordering the basilisk to attack everyone, is it just doing it by itself?”

Harry squeezed his eyes shut for a second and clenched his jaw as the painful memory of Ginny pieced at his soul. It would never again slip his mind, what she had gone through that year. Lucky you. He could still remember the coldness in her voice when she had reminded him of her possession by Tom Riddle. He had been a complete prat. “No, it’s not doing it by itself,” he finally answered, as they passed by the statue of the humpback witch in the third floor corridor.

“Then who’s giving it orders?” said the second Harry eagerly.

“It’s–,” Harry never finished what he was about to say, because they all suddenly bumped into something–or someone.

What the–,” cried out the boy they had bumped into. He clutched the map in his hands and then looked up at them and stumbled back losing his footing. “Great Merlin…you’re all…me?”

Harry stared back at his thirteen-year-old self holding the Marauder’s map, as did the first and second Harry.

“I…I…don’t understand,” stuttered out the third Harry. “I’m the only person on the entire map,” he glanced down at the map, and then did a double-take at what he saw.

“What is it?” Harry asked the third Harry.

The third Harry stood in a stupor and turned around the map to show four people gathered around, all with the name Harry Potter.

Once again, this time the third Harry explained what he had been doing before he got into bed. “Well, we had just won the Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw match, and I had casted Expecto patronum at a bunch of dementors during the game, but it only turned out to be that git Malfoy and his goons. I went to the Gryffindor party in the Common Room, and then climbed into bed. I was dreaming I was in a forest with my Firebolt over my shoulder, and then the next thing I know I’m walking through the corridors of Hogwarts with the Marauder’s map, and then I run into three Harry Potters!”

Harry lightly chuckled. “You’re in for a rude awaking.”

The third Harry turned to him raising an eyebrow. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Harry shook his head. “Never mind.”

After that, the third Harry joined them as they continued walking through Hogwarts.

“This is really…,” the third Harry looked at each Harry as he walked with them,”…bizarre, and I’ve seen some pretty odd things.”

“Believe me, you’ll see even more bizarre things,” said Harry.

“Tell me, do we ever catch Sirius Black?” said the third Harry, his hands gripping the map making it crinkle under the pressure.

“Who’s Sirius Black?” asked the second Harry, as the first Harry also looked on in curiosity.

“He’s a Death Eater,” said the third Harry, his voice dripping with contempt. “He was best friends with our dad, and he betrayed him. He might as well murdered him–“

Shut up,” Harry hissed, coming to a dead halt. His body shook with rage threatening to spill over. He turned sharply to glare at the third Harry. “SHUT UP! DON’T TELL THEM THAT! YOU DON’T KNOW! YOU DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT SIRIUS!”

The three younger Harrys backed away, staring at their green eyes in the face of the older Harry glaring back at them in agony.

Harry’s chest heaved as he tried to calm down, he glanced away staring at the floor. “I’m sorry, it’s just…Sirius,” he choked out. “He was framed. He would never do anything to hurt our parents. It was Peter Pettigrew that betrayed them to Voldemort.”

The third Harry faintly shook his head. “But he’s–,”

“Still alive,” said Harry. At least still alive in his third year, but the Peter he knew had already died by his own sliver fingers. “He faked his own death. I know; I’ve met the rat on more than one occasion. But he will find out nothing good comes out of serving Voldemort.”

The first Harry looked between him and the third Harry. “This…Sirius Black,” he said hesitantly, “he was best friends with our dad?”

“He’s our godfather,” Harry said, his eyes softening. “And he’s the best,” his voice caught in his throat and he cleared it. “You will love him, once you meet him.”

“I have a godfather,” the first and second Harry said in disbelief.

The third Harry just stood looking floored by this information. He looked up into the eyes of his older self for a long while, and then slowly his face lightened. “I can’t wait to meet him, then.” He then glanced back down at his map and let out a gasp.

Harry narrowed his eyes and walked up behind the third Harry, peeking over at the map. He grinned at what he saw, for another Harry Potter had shown up on the map. “I should have known,” he said. “The fourth Harry is in the prefects’ bathroom.”

Harry then led the other Potters to the fifth floor where he knew he would find the prefects’ bathroom; the fourth door to the left of the statue of Boris the Bewildered. He still remembered when Cedric told him where to find it. His stomach lurched at the thought. He hadn’t liked Cedric very much at all at that point because he was with Cho, but he never wanted him to die.

Harry came upon the door to find it slightly ajar, he leaned forward peeking in and saw his fourteen-year-old self sitting down in a blue bathrobe with his feet soaking in the pool-like tub foaming over with different colored bubbles.

The other Potters at this moment decided to peek in as well. “This is a bathroom?” exclaimed the first Harry in disbelief.

The third Harry pushed the door open wider. “This is the prefects’ bathroom? Blimey! Percy gets to use this? Merlin, it’s not fair!”

The second Harry nodded in agreement. “Way better than Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom! Why couldn’t we have made the Polyjuice here?”

Of course, all this commotion alerted the fourth Harry that he wasn’t alone. He quickly stood up, droplets of water running down his feet onto the marble floor. “What are–,” his voice died in his throat as he looked closely at his four intruders. “You’re…you’re...”

Harry sighed, rolling his eyes. “Yes, I’m you, you’re me. I know; I’ve been through this three times already.”

A couple of minutes later the fourth Harry explained what he had been doing before he got into bed. “Well, I was having a hard time trying to figure out the golden egg, so I thought I’d give Cedric’s advice a try. Though I had no idea how talking a bath was going to help me. Anyway, I took a bath in the prefects’ bathroom and figured out the clue…with a little help from Moaning Myrtle,” he added quickly. “Almost got caught going back because I dropped the egg, and then finally I got into bed, and the next thing I know I’m back in the prefects’ bathroom wearing nothing but a bathrobe, getting walked in by four Harrys!”

The first Harry bent down and took some suds into his hands and blew them, making them take off into the air. He smiled watching them. “I like this place more and more.”

“Wait, how are you in here?” asked the third Harry while he looked at the fourth Harry. “You’re not a fifth year, are you? Do I become a prefect?”

The fourth Harry shook his head. “No, the only reason I got to come in here was because Cedric told me the password…and I can’t believe I’m talking to myself.”

“You’ll get to use it too, once you’re made the Quidditch captain,” Harry interjected.

The second, third, and fourth Harry turned to him in surprise, and the second Harry voiced what they all were thinking. “I’m…I’m the Quidditch captain?” he said, looking like he just won the Muggle lottery.

The first Harry arched his brow looking between everyone. “Could someone tell me what Quidditch is?”

The second Harry turned his attention to his younger self. “Only the best thing ever!” he exclaimed, and then starting going into detail of the many wonders of Quidditch.

Harry glanced around and saw the painting of the mermaid once again asleep, her blonde hair over her face. It made him think of a popular Muggle cartoon about a mermaid with red hair, and then his thoughts turned to Ginny. She had brilliant red hair, he vaguely remembered that she wore it down during the Yule Ball; the majority of his memories during the Yule Ball were watching Cho with Cedric and Ron glaring at Hermione as she danced with Vicky, as Ron liked to call him.

Harry hung his head low feeling disgusted with himself. “I should have taken her to the Yule Ball,” he groaned.

The third Harry glanced up from his map. “Her who?”

Cho Chang,” the fourth Harry answered miserably for him.

Harry jerked his head up, glaring at the fourth Harry. “No, not Cho Chang! Blimey, was that all I thought about back then?” The fourth Harry slightly jumped, and gave him a what’s-up-with-you look. “You know what, never mind.”

“That’s odd,” said the third Harry, leaning against the wall looking at the map again. “There’s not another Harry popping up on the map yet.”

Harry stood in thought for a moment, and then a very Sirius like grin spread across his face. “If things continuing going where I think they’re going, I believe I know where to find the fifth Harry. He’s in a place that doesn’t show up on the Marauder’s map.”

“Where?” asked the fourth Harry looking on in curiosity.

Harry’s grin widened further. “The Room of Requirements.”


“Are you lost?” asked the third Harry as he followed along with the other Potters. “We’re going around it circles, we’ve already passed that same vase three times!”

Harry glanced back at him. “I know what I’m doing. The Room of Requirements only appears when you need something. I’m sure the fifth Harry will be there.”

“Why do you refer to him as the fifth Harry?” asked the fourth Harry. “There’s….,” he looked around pointing at each Harry, silently counting off,”…five of us, so he would be the sixth Harry.”

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “Well, yeah but I’m not counting myself.” They passed the vase again. “I’m not meeting myself.”

“But you are meeting yourself,” said the second Harry motioning around at himself and the other Potters.

Harry paused in his footing. “Yeah, but I’m not meeting my self-self….my seventeen year old self…because I’m seventeen…,” he trailed off, his brow furrowing. “Oh, you know what I mean!” he reached up touching his head as he started developing a headache. “I need some firewhisky,” he said under his breath, and then just like that the door to the Room of Requirements appeared.

All the other Potters stared at the door in astonishment, and Harry stepped forward taking a hold of the brass handle and pulled the door open.

As soon as Harry stepped into the room he found himself greeted by a wand pointed up in his face held by his fifteen-year-old self. “How did I get back in here? Do you work for Umbridge?” the fifth Harry started demanding, and then his eyes grew wide as he looked at the face his wand was pointing at. “You’re…,” he trailed off then glanced behind Harry to see the other Potters. He looked back at Harry looking wholly confusion. “They’re….all me?”

And for the fifth time Harry had to explain that they had somehow connected through their magic and were all experiencing the same dream.

Harry stared at the fifth Harry as they sat next to each other on cushions.

“I thought Umbridge had somehow found out about the Room of Requirements, brought me here without my knowing and locked me in,” said the fifth Harry. “The Room of Requirements wouldn’t let me leave. I was starting to panic.”

“It didn’t let you leave, because it knew we required you,” Harry pondered aloud. He then chuckled when he spotted some firewhisky on an end table. “The Room of Requirements is the same, even in a dream…or maybe because my mind is picturing it that way?”

“So this is a dream,” said the fifth Harry glancing at the other Potters walking around the room. “That would explain why I suddenly found myself in The Room of Requirements not knowing how I got here.” He paused looking at Harry. “It’s weird. I know you’re me, because somehow I can just feel it.”

“I know what you mean,” said Harry. “What were you doing? Before you found yourself back in The Room of Requirements?”

“What was I doing?” said the fifth Harry, letting out a dry laugh. “Feeling downright miserable, that’s what! I’ve been banned for life from ever playing Quidditch, and I think Umbridge is going to give Hagrid the boot,” he paused. “I must have fallen asleep in the Common Room trying to work on my pile of homework.”

Harry sat up straight, his eyes lighting up with an idea. “The Common Room!” his eyes darted over to the first Harry. “I wanted to show my ten-year-old self the Gryffindor Common Room. He hasn’t been there yet.”

With that, all the Potters headed towards the Gryffindor Common Room on the seventh floor. They found the portrait of the Fat Lady absent, and the portal already open so they all went in.

The first Harry looked around the Common Room, his face filled with joy as he walked around the cozy lounge that would be his House Common Room. He settled himself in a cushy armchair by the fireplace feeling right at home.

“I’ve had some good memories in this room,” said the fourth Harry.

The second Harry nodded. “Yeah, that’s true, there’s nothing like coming to the Gryffindor Common Room.”

Harry stood in the middle of the Common Room remembering how a certain girl came rushing towards him, her beautiful red hair whipping behind her, those eyes staring at him with a blazing look, those lips on his making him lose track of the days; he wasn’t even sure if asked, he would have been able to remember his name. He grinned to himself like an idiot and sighed. “This is where I first kissed Ginny.”

Many things happened at once after he said that.

The first Harry stared at him in shock. “Kissed? You mean like on Aunt Petunia’s TV dramas?” he said with a mixture of curiosity and disgust.

The second Harry did a double-take at him. “G-Ginny? Ron’s sister who barely talks to me and runs off?”

“Yeah, this is where I first…,” the third Harry whirled around to look at him,”….this is where I first what?”

The fourth Harry blanched. “Did…did you just say I kissed Ginny? I don’t understand, was it a peck on the cheek?”

The fifth Harry looked the most shaken. “I kissed Ginny? I…I mean she’s alright…but I don’t fancy her! I…I thought I was making progress with Cho! She said I made her nervous! Ginny…,” he stared off with his jaw hanging, “….Ginny. She doesn’t even fancy me anymore! Doesn’t she have a boyfriend…um…I can’t even remember the bloke’s name, but I know she’s seeing someone!”

Michael Corner,” Harry spat. It really irritated him that, that git was the first bloke to kiss Ginny. He guessed it was his own fault, but that still didn’t stop him from wanting to turn him into a jelly.

Why didn’t I kiss Cho?” the fifth Harry cried out.

Harry snorted and crossed his arms. “Oh, you did…or more like Cho kissed you.”

The fifth Harry blinked at him, blushing furiously. “She did? What…what was it like? The kiss with Cho?”

Harry felt disgusted with himself once again–literally–he couldn’t stand looking at that mooncalf look on his fifteen-year-old face, and the anticipation shining through the eyes of the third and fourth Harry.

“Wet,” he replied shortly.

The fifth Harry’s face instantly fell, as well as the other two and Harry couldn’t help but feel a spark of triumph at dowsing his younger selves’ hopes–which was beyond twisted. “W-wet?” choked out the fifth Harry. “Is…is a kiss suppose to feel that way?”

Definitely not, at least not in that way,” Harry sighed, thinking around the hours spent with Ginny on the grounds, hidden away from the rest of the world. “Ginny kisses way better. It’s like…it’s like…better than Quidditch.”

All the Potters expect the first gasped at him, as if he had just said Snape is the kindest person in the world.

The first Harry looked around confused, his face scrunched up as he looked at the oldest Harry. “You’re getting all gooey-eyed like Dudley when he sees food.” He shook his head. “I don’t understand. Who’s Ginny and who’s Cho?”

Harry walked up to his almost eleven-year-old self sitting in the armchair. “It doesn’t really matter who Cho is, but Ginny…she’s a very lovely girl you should get to know.”

Several Potters opened their mouths to protest, but Harry stopped them. “Listen all of you, you might not understand it now, but I fancy Ginny. I’m sure if all of you got to know the real Ginny, you wouldn’t be surprised by this. I don’t know why I didn’t notice,” he glared at each of them,” her before, but I definitely notice her now.”

“Um…?” said the third Harry.

What?” Harry snapped.

The third Harry glared at him. “Blimey, don’t bite my head off! I was just going to say, the sixth Harry is in the dungeons!” he exclaimed turning around the Marauder’s map.

After heading all the way back down, all the Potters were soon found roaming the dungeons.

The first Harry looked around warily. “Why do they have dungeons? Do they punish students here?” he asked gulping.

The second Harry laughed. “It’s a punishment having to take a class by a pasty faced git!”

“You’re not kidding,” said the fourth Harry. “Never thought I’d find myself down here. I can’t stand potions…well, more like I can’t stand Snape.”

“What’s a Snape?” asked the first Harry.

All the Potters expect seventeen-year-old Harry turned around to answer him. “A greasy git.”

Harry clenched his firsts, his knuckles turning white and his face turning stone cold. “He’s more than a greasy git,” he said under his breath. At this moment he spotted the sixth Harry leaning against the dungeon wall up ahead, reading the book of the Half-Blood Prince.

Harry quickly ran up to the sixth Harry snatching the book right out of his hands, throwing it against the opposing wall with a heavy thud. “You shouldn’t read such rubbish.”

The sixth Harry glance up at him outraged, but then his face lost its color as he gaped at him. “You’re…,”

“You,” finished Harry for him and stepped aside to show the other Potters. “We’re all you.”

And then, like many times before, it was the sixth Harry’s turn to tell what he had been doing before he entered their dream. “I was with Dumbledore, he showed me a couple of memories and then he showed me the memory of Slughorn having one of his dinners with a young Voldemort. Something was off about the memory though, it had been tampered with. Dumbledore gave me homework to get the true memory, and then I went to bed, and I guess I entered this dream we’re all sharing.”

All the Potters stood in silence in the dungeons until the sixth Harry broke the silence. “If you’re the seventeen-year-old me, you must know….is Ginny still dating Dean?” he asked hesitantly. “Do I have a chance with her?”

Harry almost barked out laughing. Oh, he just knew that would be the first thing his sixteen-year-old self would ask.

The fifth Harry stared at the sixth Harry in horror. “Oh, not you too! Since when do I start fancying Ginny?”

“Not soon enough,” retorted the sixth Harry. “Trust me, once you get Cho out of your system, you’ll be singing the same tune.” It then seemed to hit him what exactly his younger self had said. “What do you mean me too?” he turned to Harry with hopeful eyes. “Do you mean?”

Harry nodded. “Yeah, she’s my girlfriend.”

A very ecstatic, “YES!” echoed all throughout the dungeon chambers.

The sixth Harry started chuckling, looking overwhelmingly relived and happy. “And here I thought I had lost any chance of ever being with her! I was also kind of afraid how Ron would react but that doesn’t matter now! She’s my girlfriend! I can snog her in deserted corridors anytime I want!” he paused for a moment, blushing. “Well, um…if she wants to also, of course. You don’t know how happy you’ve made me! I was feeling miserable wondering if she was ever going to break up with Dean!”

Harry looked at the sixth Harry with an uneasy gaze; he had spoken too hastily and had not chosen his words correctly. “Well, you’re going to be miserable again,” he paused, dreading to tell himself this. “Eh…when I said she’s my girlfriend, I should have said ex-girlfriend…err…I kind of broke up with her.”

Before he even knew what was happening, he found himself up against the dungeon wall with the sixth Harry gripping him by the shirt. “YOU WHAT?”

Harry realized at that moment, he looked downright scary when he was mad.

The fourth Harry had very bad timing when he decided to remind them of something. “But…what about Cho? He said she had kissed us.”

The sixth Harry turned his wrath at the fourth Harry with his gaze, while still holding up Harry against the wall. “Oh, would you get over bloody Cho Chang! I don’t even see why I fancied her in the first place!”

“I couldn’t have said it better myself,” said Harry grinning despite the position he was in.

The sixth Harry turned his attention back to him. “You!” he growled. “You’re not allowed to smile! You lost me the best girl I’ve ever met! How could you do something so…STUPID!”

Harry narrowed his eyes down at the sixth Harry. “Hey, you’re the one that did it!” he fired back. “We did it to protect her! I couldn’t stand it if something happened to her because she was seeing–” He didn’t get to finish his sentence as he felt himself falling backwards, because somehow the dungeon wall had completely disappeared.

Harry found himself lying on pavement with the sixth Harry on top of him. “Get off!” he yelled. The sixth Harry got off of him, standing onto his feet, glaring down at him.

“What just happen….?” Harry trailed off as his eyes landed on a sign that read nine and three-quarters.

Harry quickly scurried to his feet, his head whipping around at his surroundings. The dungeons were completely gone, and he now stood on platform nine and three-quarters. All the rest of the Potters were there also looking around bewildered by their change of scenery. Harry noticed that the Hogwarts Express was nowhere to be found, and no one else was around, but just then he spotted a lone figure standing on the platform a little ways down. He hesitantly approached the figure, and then the figure sensing his presence turned towards him.

Harry stood dumbfounded as he stared at the man that was undoubtedly an older him.

The seventh Harry stared back at him with wide eyes. He turned to look at the other Potters now approaching as well. He turned back to Harry, arching an eyebrow. “Well, this is…bizarre.”

Harry finally seemed to find his voice. “After a little bit I knew I would be meeting all my past selves, but I didn’t expect to meet my…my…how old are you?”

“I’m thirty-six,” said the seventh Harry simply.

“My thirty-six year old self,” repeated Harry flabbergasted, he then gasped. “Wait, does that mean…?” He was too afraid to complete the sentence.

The seventh Harry still looked a little confused why he was there, but he could very well tell what his younger self was thinking. He looked at him with a deep meaningful look in his green eyes and said two words. "We win.”

Harry fell to his knees as those words sent a shock to his system. It felt hard to breath with all his emotions overwhelming him. His eyes began to water, and he couldn’t resist the urge to smile. “We win,” he choked out passed the lump throbbing against his throat.

All the other Potters looked emotional moved, expect the first Harry who didn’t quite understand everything that was going on, and had yet to experience what they had.

After a couple of minutes of letting everything sink in, the seventh Harry told them what he had been doing. “I dropped Ablus off for his first year at Hogwarts, along with James for his next year. Then I went home since it was my day off, did some different things throughout the day, tucked in Lily and then got into bed next to my wife.”

All the Potters just kind of stared at the seventh Harry and then the third Harry spoke. “None of what you just said made any sense! Why would you be dropping off Dumbledore for his first year of Hogwarts? And…and Dad? Tucking Mum in?”

The seventh Harry shook his head laughing, with his eyes squinting behind his glasses and slight laugh lines around his mouth. “No, no, not Dumbledore! I was talking about my son Albus Severus Potter, my eldest son James Sirius Potter, and my daughter Lily Luna Potter.”

All the Potters were kind of floored by this, all of them having their own reaction, but most of them looking deadly pale or too petrified to speak.

“I…I…have kids?” Harry choked out. At first he felt kind of numb, but then slowly started to panic at the thought of being a father, but, as he stared at the seventh Harry, seeing the happiness and pride shining through his eyes, he began to feel it as well. He was going to be a dad. He had succeeded in something he never thought would happen. He had a family.

All too soon his happiness was suddenly replaced as he recalled his second son’s name. “Did you say Albus Severus Potter? I must have lost my mind during the war to taint my son’s name with that filthy–“

The seventh Harry interrupted. “Dumbledore asked Snape to do that to him.”

Harry instantly lost his voice and just stared horrified at the seventh Harry. He couldn’t possibly mean that Dumbledore asked Snape to kill him?

The seventh Harry looked back at him with a steady gaze and nodded. His expression clearly saying, ‘Yes, he did.’

Harry’s eyes grew wide. His head slowly moved side to side as he was having a hard time with his motor functions. “No,” he breathed.

The seventh Harry turned to look at his younger selves looking glad that they seemed too shocked by the pervious news to notice what was going on between him and his seventeen- year-old self. He then looked back at Harry. “There’re a lot of things you didn’t understand before,” he nodded towards the other Potters, “but just like them you’ll come to understand when the time comes. It won’t be easy, some things will be hard to come to terms with, but you will in the end.”

Harry didn’t know how long he just stood there in shock. It might have been days; it was only when the first Harry approached them, and tugged at the seventh Harry’s jacket that time seemed to start again.

“Pardon me, did you say you got into bed next to your wife?” asked the first Harry. “I have a wife?”

The seventh Harry smiled down at his younger self. “Yes, you do. Our wife is Ginny Potter,” he said a little loudly so he would be overheard.

Suddenly there was a loud collaboration of “WHAT?”

Harry felt like someone had just knocked the air out of him. Ginny? Ginny was his wife? Of course, he had, had daydreams about Ginny being his wife, but he never truly believed they could come true with the future looking so bleak, but Ginny was his wife, the mother of his children. Suddenly the future didn’t look bleak at all. He felt like in that moment he could produce an infinity of corporeal Patronus.

“She…she forgives me?” Harry choked out, even though the answer was obvious.

The seventh Harry kind of winced. “Yeah, but…err…you’re going to have to grovel a bit.”

Harry sighed, shrugging his shoulders. “Yeah, I kind of expected that.”

Very soon all the Potters came closer so they were standing only mere inches apart. Some of the Potters looked on the verge of fainting, but the sixth Harry was positively beaming. “Really? Ginny is my wife?” he asked, and then looked a little uncertain. “You didn’t mean to say ex-wife, did you?”

The seventh Harry shook his head. “She’s my wife, has been for a while now. I made the mistake of letting her go once, but I don’t plan on ever letting her go again. I’m afraid she’s stuck with me.”

Once again there was a “YES!”

“But…but...I...and Ginny…and–” the fifth Harry uttered unintelligently.

“But…but she is Ron’s sister!” the forth Harry exclaimed.

“She’s not our sister,” said Harry, the sixth Harry, and seventh Harry in unison.

“So, I’m married…to a girl?” the first Harry said, sounding as if he didn’t know how to feel about that.

“I know they’re a bit weird around your age, but girls are brilliant,” said the sixth Harry.

“Especially, Ginny,” said Harry.

“Yeah, you marry Ginny, and she’s a person that loves you very much,” said the seventh Harry warmly.

The first Harry glanced down, nervously playing with his oversized shirt. “I’ve never had anyone love me before.”

“Trust me. It’s all you could ever hope for, and you love her just as much. She’s the love of your life,” said the seventh Harry. Suddenly there were sounds in the distance that seemed to be fast approaching. “Is that a train?”

And sure enough, the Hogwarts Express came rolling in with puffs of steam filling the surrounding area. Its brakes made a smooth halt at Platform Nine and Three-quarters, and then the train’s door was pushed open to reveal a sixteen year old Ginny Weasley smiling at them. “All aboard the Hogwarts Express!”

Harry gaped, blinking at her. “G-Ginny?” he managed to stutter. “You’re having this dream too?”

Ginny shook her head, making her long red hair bounce against her face. “Me? Nope, I’m not sharing this dream with you. I’m just a part of your imagination.”

“You all reached out to each other for comfort and connected through your magic, and are now all sharing the same dream,” she explained then turned her head towards the first Harry. “You needed comfort because of the Dursleys.”

She turned towards the second Harry. “You needed comfort because of the uncertainty of being the Slytherin heir.

“You needed comfort because of your struggle with Sirius Black.

“You needed comfort because of the Triwizard Tournament.

“You needed comfort because of the stress of Umbridge.

“You needed comfort because of your frustration with Malfoy and well, also…me.”

She turned to Harry. “You needed comfort because of your pain trying to finally end the war.”

Finally she ended on the seventh Harry. “And you needed comfort because of your worry at letting another child go out on their own.” She then looked at all of them. “Once you board the Hogwarts Express you will return to the world of the awake in your respected times. You won’t remember what happened in the dream, but you won’t lose the feeling of comfort you have gathered from each other tonight.”

Harry looked solemnly at Ginny as she spoke. He kind of had a feeling that they would all wake up with only the vague feeling that they had a dream. That was why he didn’t care to elaborate everything to his past selves. Still, he was glad to have experienced this dream together with them, and to be filled with some comfort.

“First Years, first!” called out Ginny.

The sixth Harry turned to his almost eleven-year-old self. “That would be you.”

“Oh,” said the first Harry, but instead of coming forward, he took a step back looking somewhat terrified of boarding the Hogwarts Express. “I don’t want to wake up,” he cried out, shaking his head furiously. “What if this all really is just a dream and there’s no Hogwarts, no Ron and Hermione, no godfather, no Ginny, no anything and I’m just stuck forever in that cupboard!”

The seventh Harry knelt before his almost eleven-year-old self and placed his hand gently on his shoulder. “You’re going to be okay.” He then turned to the other Potters. “We’re all going to be okay.”

The first Harry looked deeply into his older self’s eyes, and then slowly nodded. He took some tentative steps to board the train but Ginny blocked his path. “Sorry, you can’t get on until you pay the toll,” she said smiling brightly at him.

The first Harry looked down at his pockets, and then back at her with a flash of panic in his eyes. “Um…I don’t have any money.”

“The toll isn’t money,” she replied.

“What is it?” asked the first Harry.

Ginny bent down so she was more level with him, and then she leaned forward planting a soft kiss on his cheek. “A kiss,” she said pulling away. “There, you can go on now.”

The first Harry stared at her with adorable, astonished eyes. He slowly raised his hand to touch his cheek. “T-Thanks,” he stuttered out. He then got onto the train still touching his cheek and mumbled under his breath,” I think I’m going to like her.”

Ginny chuckled to herself as she watched him get on and then she turned her attention back to the other Potters. “Second Years!”

Soon the second Harry was standing before her, somewhat gawking at her. “H-Hi,” he blurted out. “Um…you look different than I remember you…well, I haven’t really seen that much of you.”

“Yeah, I was kind of running out of rooms when you entered,” she said and bent forward planting a gentle kiss on his cheek. “Thanks for being my hero, Harry,” she said pulling away. “I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.”

“Oh, you more than repaid me when you agreed to marry me,” exclaimed the seventh Harry. Ginny glanced up for a second then winked in the seventh Harry’s direction.

The second Harry looked between them, looking lost at all this talk of repayment and being a hero. He quickly got on the train as he started to feel himself blushing after her kiss.

“Third Years!”

The third Harry stood before her, nervously clutching the Marauder’s map. “Um, hey Ginny,” he said uncertain.
Ginny only grinned at him and planted a big kiss on his cheek; he in turn blushed and almost walked into the train before entering it.

“Fourth Years!”

The fourth Harry came forward, his cheeks slightly pink from embarrassment, as he was still only wearing a bathrobe. He pulled the robe closer to his body as he stood in front of Ginny.

Ginny smiled at him with an impish little glint in her eyes. “No, reason to be shy Harry. We’re kind of married in the future so I’m going to see it all anyway.”

The fourth Harry’s eyes grew to the size of Galleons as he gulped and his face turned howler red, and if possible he turned even redder once Ginny’s lips touched his cheek. He quickly scurried away onto the train once she pulled away.

“Fifth Years!”

The fifth Harry kind of shrunk before Ginny as she arched her eyebrow at him. “Cho Chang, huh?”

“Well…um…,” the fifth Harry trailed off having no idea what to say.

“I hope you know you’re going have a lousy, pink disastrous first and last date with her,” said Ginny smugly.

The fifth Harry turned to the other three Potters for confirmation. “It’s true,” said the sixth Harry miserably. The fifth Harry turned back to Ginny and was completely taken aback to be met with her lips on his. Ginny pulled away making a little smack as their lips parted. “Well, at least I was your first dream kiss,” her lips curved upward into a smirk. “You enjoy that wet kiss, now.”

The fifth Harry stared at her as if she had suddenly appeared in front of him, his mouth opening and closing wordlessly, he then turned in a stupor and boarded the train.

“Sixth Years!”

The sixth Harry looked more than delighted to pay the toll as he leaned forward and closed his eyes, to receive a kiss on the…cheek. The sixth Harry snapped his eyes open, frowning deeply at her. “That’s not fair!” said the sixth Harry. “The fifth Harry got a kiss on the lips, and he’s still sprung over Cho Chang! I’m the one that fancies you!”

Uh-huh, what took you so long?” Ginny retorted.

The sixth Harry turned quiet. He glanced down, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. “Well, I don’t know. I guess I was bit dense and I never mmfph…” his words were muffled as Ginny took his lips into hers. His eyes went wide, but then they drowsily came to a close as he gave into the kiss.

Ginny pulled back from the kiss, looking pleased with herself. “I’ll see you in the Common Room after Gryffindor wins, okay?”

The sixth Harry opened his glazed eyes. “Okay,” he said, his tone light and dazed. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, but okay.” He then walked happily onto the train.

Harry took a couple of steps towards Ginny as he knew he would be next, but Ginny crossed her arms. “Where do you think you’re going?” she nodded towards the seventh Harry. “Respect your elders, let him go on next.”

The seventh Harry didn’t look too happy at being called an elder. “Gee, thanks love.”

Harry looked between Ginny and the seventh Harry. “But I thought we were going youngest to oldest?”

Ginny pointed to herself. “I’m the conductor of this train. I can change the rules if I want.”

So Harry stepped back and let the seventh Harry come forward. “I have always liked older men,” said Ginny teasingly as the seventh Harry stood in front of her. “Now, give me a kiss.”

The seventh Harry smiled and leaned forward sharing a sweet kiss with his former girlfriend, now wife. Ginny pulled away and pat his chest tenderly. “It’s only natural to worry, you know, but, Albus is going to be okay,” she said. “Now, get on that train and back to your extremely attractive wife.”

The seventh Harry chuckled. “Gladly, love, gladly.” He then got onto the train.

Ginny looked to Harry. “Will the last Harry Potter step forward, please?”

Harry stepped forward. He couldn’t believe he was seeing her again, even if she was only part of his imagination. Ginny just stared back at him for a while and then they came together to share a long kiss. It was wonderful, but nothing really compared to kissing the real Ginny. It made him ache even more to hold the real Ginny in his arms.

Ginny pulled back from the kiss, staring up at him lovingly. “You can do it, Harry,” she said. “You can beat Tom. I believe in you.

“But you’re not the real Ginny, you’re just a part of my imagination,” Harry said sadly.

“But you know me Harry, you know deep down that the real Ginny believes in you,” she said, her voice firm.

Harry looked at her one more time and nodded, heading into the train, but then he heard Ginny call out his name. He turned back to look at her, to see that same blazing look in her eyes when they had first kissed.

“Just return to me, Harry,” she said. “I’ll be waiting.”

Harry smiled at her and nodded firmly again, he then stepped onto the Hogwarts Express and knew no more.


Harry’s eyes fluttered open to stare at the material of his sleeping bag and the sound of the sea’s waves hitting against the cliff entered his ears. He slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes of eye crust, and then reached for his glasses putting them on. He had a vague feeling that he had a profound dream, but he couldn’t really remember any of it.

As he got up and walked through the corridors of Shell Cottage, he couldn’t shake off this feeling that he had experienced something astounding and bizarre. He entered the kitchen to find Fleur preparing breakfast with Bill helping her, Ron and Hermione getting out plates to set the table, and Luna and Dean walking in from the combined dining and sitting room. They all turned to him when he entered the room.

He looked at their worn and yet slightly cheerful faces, that these times of war threatened to erase forever. He was going to say, good morning but then stopped. He didn’t even know what compelled him to say what he said instead, but somewhere in his soul he felt an unexplainable sense of comfort that made the words seem true even though he very much doubted them even as they were leaving his mouth.

“It’s…going to be okay.”




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