11AN: I know I've got a lot of Harry Potter wips right now, and that I shouldn't be writing this when I'm working on nearly four other ones. This idea just sorta came to me, and I've honestly never written a time-travel au before, so I wanted to give it a shot. This is also my foray in experimenting with larger poly, so that'll be fun.
Also, I truly recommend heading to achieve of our own if you don't already read there. I've had this first chapter posted there for nearly a week before I remembered to post it on here. My user is the same on both platforms.
Summary:
During the final year of the war, his 'friends' true colors start to show. Betrayed one too many times, Harry finds himself in front of the veil, the twins following closely behind him. What he never expected was to be given a new life in the past.
Rating: M
Pairings:
Fred Weasley/Harry Potter/George Weasley
Barty Crouch Jr/Regulus Black
Eventual Poly: Fred Weasley/Harry Potter/George Weasley/Barty Crouch Jr/Regulus Black
Warnings: Minor suicidal ideation, betrayal, character bashing, slash and polyamory.
Nothing hurt more than realizing that your entire life was nothing but a chessboard; to be played and gambled away as if it meant nothing. He was but a pawn, to be moved around and sacrificed at the perfect moment.
Every detail of his life was planted like seeds in a garden for him to pick with ungloved hands, their thorns sinking into his skin. Each thorn went deeper into his skin until there was nothing else for him to give, all of his blood and energy running dry.
The thorns that hurt the most were his supposed friends, all of them pushing him forward saying.
"This is your destiny, mate."
"If Dumbledore says you need to do this, then you have to! He's the greatest Wizard to ever live. He must know what he's doing!"
"This is your prophecy, Harry. You're the chosen one for a reason."
"You have to fight You-know-who. No one else can do it but you,"
"Harry, you must! We can't settle down and have a family until you do this."
"You shouldn't speak of Headmaster Dumbledore like that! If it weren't for him, we wouldn't know how to kill Voldemort. He's trying to help you!"
"You have to sacrifice yourself, Harry. There is nothing else that will fully vanquish Voldemort,"
"Now that Voldemort is gone, you need to look into being an Auror, mate. There's always going to be other evil dark wizards on the rise. It's our duty to stop them."
Hermione, Ron, and all of the Weasleys save for two, had all shown their true colors in the final years of the war. He hadn't wanted to follow Dumbledore's orders and plans blindly, but they had all pressured him into doing it anyway. They all pushed him to sacrifice himself, despite expressing his doubts about the plan.
But he did it anyway because despite it all, he loved them and he wanted them to be safe.
And when his sacrifice wasn't enough to appease them, his already broken spirit started to crumble even more, until it felt like nothing was left. The only thing that kept him moving was the loyal twins.
"No one would blame you-"
"-If you wanted to completely ditch this place,"
"Wherever you go-"
"-We go,"
This was how Harry found himself standing in front of the veil months later, looking haggard and despondent. Before he could take the final step forward, he froze when there were twin coughs behind him.
"How did you know I would be here?" Harry asked, forcing himself to look away from the veil and into the concerned gaze of his only friends. Fred rubbed the back of his neck, looking sheepish.
"We put a tracking spell on your necklace," On impulse, the younger wizard grabbed the pendant that always hung around his neck. It was one of the few things he had left from Sirius. Harry would have been angry at the intrusive spell, but their concerned gazes made his anger falter.
"You've been acting odd all week," George mumbled, taking a step closer to the younger. Fred moved in sync with him until they were both by Harry's side. "Especially after they tried to stop you from testifying for the Malfoys," Harry felt an uncomfortable tension settle at the words, his eyes slipping closed at the memory of most of the Weasley can trying to get him to turn on the Malfoys. They wanted to condemn them and ignore all they had done in the war.
Had it not been for those three, the outcome would have been drastically different. Voldemort would still be in power and the United Kingdom would still be in a state of utter chaos.
Now, it felt like everyone was still trying to make decisions for him, even though the prophecy had been completed for well over a year now. Dumbledore had been dead for over three years, but the man was like a ghost, lingering behind him and casting a shadow over his every move.
It didn't help that his so-called friends took it upon themselves to act like the deceased Headmaster, trying to control every aspect of his life and push things on him. Hermione made it her mission to force legislation after legislation on him, demanding that he help improve the world he helped save.
The sad thing was that Harry wanted to do that. He did want to improve things, but not the way she wanted.
"There needs to be more bans. Maybe we should set forth a new subject at Hogwarts. Have a class that all purebloods need to take so they can better appreciate half-bloods and muggleborns. It could include muggle celebrations and their religions."
The more Hermione rattled on, the more Harry realized there was no getting through to her, or correcting her. She was stuck in her ideas of what the Wizarding World needed, even if the ideas were the direct opposite of what was needed right now.
Instead of creating even more of a divide like she suggested, there needed to be more unity. Wizards needed to come together instead of letting their different beliefs separate them for good. Another war would break out because of that, and Harry wasn't sure if society could withstand another one.
He was trying his hardest to improve things, but with how often he was being dragged away from actually making a difference, everything felt futile. Any time he tried to push for a new legislation, Hermione butted in, disapproving it if she deemed it too 'dark' or too 'pureblood elitist.'
"I'm just so tired," Harry confessed in a broken voice, his shoulders slumping as twin arms wrapped around him, keeping him close as frustrated tears spilled over the dam he erected. "You two are the only people I have. Everyone else-" Harry doesn't have to say it, because the twins merely hold him tighter as a sob escapes him, thinking of all the death and betrayal that followed him wherever he went.
"We told you once, but we'll say it again." Fred began, curling his arm and holding the younger closer. "Wherever you go-"
"-we go," George finished, holding Harry tighter. "We meant it, Harry. Even in death, we will follow you,"
Harry let out a choked sob, crying into the twin's chest at the wave of undying loyalty, something he had never known the full extent of until now. Emotion clogged his throat as he held them both tightly, words leaving him as tears slid down his face like a flood.
"We don't want to stay here either," Fred admitted after Harry's sobs had subsided. "Even though we love the joke shop we built-"
"Nothing we do is good enough either. You know that our parents still disapprove of the joke shop, but they continue to ask for our money from said joke shop." Harry didn't know that last part, anger starting to fester in him at the information. "We also can't continue being cordial with them when everyone in the family has hurt you,"
"Charlie never did," Harry was quick to defend, earning fond huffs from the twins still holding him.
"Charlie doesn't count. He's denounced everyone except for us and Bill." They said in unison. Harry could hear the pain in their tone at the mention of the eldest Weasley. He held them tighter, comforting them.
"That's another reason we want to leave," George confessed softly. "With Bill dead and Charlie never wanting to return, there isn't anything keeping us here." The twins went silent, before speaking up in unison again.
"Besides you," They said together, somehow pulling Harry closer to them. "We stayed for you," More emotion clogs Harry's throat as he tries to swallow the lump, eyes burning with fresh tears.
"Are you sure you want to do this? Follow me in there, I mean," He glanced back to the viel, which only seemed to beckon him more.
"Harry-" George huffed.
"We're positive," Fred finished.
As Harry looked into their eyes to try and find any sort of hesitation, all he saw was conviction and unwavering loyalty. He saw their care for him, which was so bright he briefly thought he would combust from the heat of it.
He took a breath and nodded, giving them a small, but genuine smile.
"Well then," He said, grabbing their hands and squeezing. "Into the abyss," Harry said, taking the final plunge into the darkness.
"Have to be honest," Harry began, still holding the twins hands. "I wasn't quite expecting this,"
In the middle of a vacant room, a cloaked figure stood, their arms crossed.
"Neither was I," The figure answered back, moving to the trio. "But," Harry could see a smirk playing on the figure's partially hidden face. "It was about time we fixed your unhappy life, my master."
"Uh. Master?" Harry asked, opening and closing his mouth as the figure lifted his hood, revealing an unusually pale face with sharp cheekbones. "What?" Harry asked, shaking his head.
"Oh, Harry." The man smiled at him in amusement. "Surely you recognize an old friend?" The younger wizard was about to demand an explanation, when the words struck a cord within him, their meaning making him freeze.
He then greeted death as an old friend.
"Death," Harry said, watching as the twins parted their lips in shock when the man merely smiled brightly at him, more amusement shining in his ancient eyes.
"Hello, Master. It's a pleasure to finally meet you like this," Death then turned to the twins, still smiling. "And it's also a pleasure to meet the few people in your life that stuck by your side. I can assure you that when your former friends pass, they won't receive a warm welcome."
Harry had no idea how to respond to any of this, and it must have shown because Death simply laughed.
"This is-"
"Wicked."
Again, Death laughed.
"Come with me. It's about time we get you settled into a new life that will be more… beneficial for you," Harry could see the twinge of displeasure on the ancient entity's face. "I am sorry for the treatment all three of you have endured in this previous life, especially you, Master." Death spoke with a frown.
"Where are we going?" Harry asked, still clutching the twin's hands as they followed the cloaked man.
"Someplace far from your old life. Fate wants you in 1977 so that you can have the happiness you deserve. All of you," Harry opened and closed his mouth again, but his heart started to beat erratically.
"My parents are in school during this time," Harry said in a soft murmur, swallowing hard. "We won't…disrupt the future, will we? Could we stop ourselves from being born?" Harry had to ask, everything happening far too fast.
"The master of death and his two most loyal?" Death gave him another amused look. "Nothing could ever stop you from existing." Death came to a stop in front of a barren door, looking at the trio fondly. "I have to admit, I'm surprised you've taken this so well."
"Once you have to sacrifice your life to kill a dark lord, you stop reacting as blatantly," Harry said with a shrug, smiling at the snickers on either side of him. He turned more serious, as more thoughts started to plague his mind. "Is there another reason…Fate wants us in this time?"
"She believes that you will secure a more stable future for all wizards by doing this," Death said, looking at the three of them with approval. "And she is rarely wrong. She believes that sending you here, you can prevent many things from happening, especially where Dumbledore is concerned."
Harry's lips turned in displeasure at the mention of the old wizard, his nose scrunching up as his eyes flashed dangerously.
"Can we just kill him-"
"-on sight?" The twins innocently asked, and Death couldn't stop another grin from blossoming forth.
"I would say not to, but I would love to make him suffer a second time," The cold smile on his face made the twins share a look, contemplating.
"Harry gets the final say," The twins agreed to each other, making the younger snort fondly and shake his head.
There was so much Harry wanted to say and ask, but he could tell that it was almost time to leave, based on the way the door was starting to glow.
"You don't have much longer," Death said, cutting into Harry's thoughts. "As soon as you land in this new time, venture to Gringotts. The Goblins will have already been informed of you and they will have everything you need."
As the door started to open on its own, a cold hand touched Harry's forearm, making the younger look up at the ancient being.
"If you ever require my assistance, call for me and I will appear for you." He gave the same look to the twins. "The same goes for you,"
"But we're not-"
"The master of death."
"No," Death agreed. "But I have my favorites," He said, shooing them through the door and to their new lives.
Once it was shut, Death chuckled to himself.
"Fate, you're going to have a field day with that trio,"
He could already feel his sister shooting him a fond glare.
"You're happy to send him to his other soulmates too," Fate whispered through the air, making Death smile to himself. "And at another chance to meet Albus Dumbledore again,"
Death's eyes flashed dangerously as they turned red.
"You have no idea," The being said. "My young Master will bring hell to him first, but I will eagerly dish out his second punishment,"
I hope you all enjoyed this first chapter! This is going to also be a more crack fic than my other stories, so its updating process will differ from the others. I enjoyed writing this story and it was fun just writing something I could laugh at.