AN2/ This chapter has been edited for errors.

AN/ Hey, reposting this chapter as I was really unhappy with it before. As one of you pointed out, it was rough, I knew that when I uploaded it. But, here is the worked over version, I am much happier with it now, hopefully it sounds better now. I have more of an idea where I am going now so I was able to iron out some of the glitches. As always, let me know if there are any questions or concerns.

Disclaimer: Not mine, I am just borrowing.

Chapter 2:

Part 1: Resurrection of the Soul

Harry awoke with a start, shivering violently as he shook off the last of his nightmare. It was a familiar one, just a vague sense of great fear, a flash a green light and the echoing sound of sinister laughter.

Wiping the sweat from his brow with a trembling hand he reached out to switch on the light, illuminating the small cubby he occupied beneath the stairs of his aunt and uncles house. He could blurrily make out the hands on the small clock by his bed and he groaned, it was too early to be awake.

Slipping his round, wire rimmed glasses onto his nose, the boy turned to find his shoes, figuring he may as well get up, now that he was awake but an unexpected sight caused him to freeze.

Lying across his feet was a ragged looking form dressed in torn black robes. The most disconcerting thing about it, besides the fact he was there to begin with, was that Harry could see his faded blanket clear through the man.

"Ah, hello?" he asked nervously. For all the weird, unexplainable things that had happened to him, ghosts were certainly not one of them.

The 'ghost' groaned softly and pushed himself up off the floor and Harry scuttled back a bit, not at all sure how to react. The figure before him raised his hands to his head, muttering to himself and Harry bit his lip to keep from laughing at some of the vulgar language that he caught every now and then.

"Ah, sir?" he tried again, this time the ghost seemed to hear him, as he snapped his head up to gaze at him in a rather shocked way.

"Well this is not normal." He commented wearily, rubbing at his eyebrow, his voice sounded tired and there was an underlay of pain.

"Ah, excuse me but, um, who are you?" for some reason, Harry wasn't alarmed, even though he was, essentially, talking to a dead man. After all, what could he really do to him that would be worse then the torture his cousin put him through?

The ghost chuckled softly and raised ironic green eyes to meet his, the corner of his mouth quirking into a half smile, "I don't know Harry, how about you tell me." Raising a hand, the man swept back his ragged black hair to reveal a lighting bolt shaped scar on his forehead, a scar that Harry was intimately familiar with.

Swallowing heavily, Harry felt his heart falter slightly, and his eyes flickered over the rest of him, taking in the untidy black hair that refused to lie flat, the round, wire rimmed glasses and the disturbingly familiar green eyes. "I think you were right," he said weakly, "This is definitely not normal."

The ghost chuckled again, a faint light of amusement in his eyes, "You are going to have to get used to things like this, I am afraid." He said, rather vaguely, settling back against the wall.

Harry just studied him for a moment, his mind stuttering over what he could only think of as one very strange dream, finally the words sank in and he frowned slightly, "What do you mean by that?"

The ghost opened his eyes and looked at him for a moment, a faint frown on his face, "Can you tell me something first, what date is it?"

Not really seeing the relevance, Harry shrugged, "It's the fifth of July, why?"

The specter didn't seem to be listening, his face had taken on a thoughtful look for a moment before a relieved smile spread across his rather haggard face, "Well, looks like I get to start right from the beginning at least."

Harry was really getting confused now, this dream or what ever it was, was making less and less sense. "Um, I'm sorry to ask but, what are you talking about?"

The man glanced up at him, his face registering surprise before he chuckled, "Sorry, Harry. I suppose this is all rather odd to you. If you haven't already guessed, I'm you."

Harry blinked then shook his head, "Alright, I'm ready to follow that. So what are you doing here? I have to say that talking to my own ghost is rather strange."

The older Harry pulled a rueful face, "No kidding, it's rather disconcerting from my point of view too, to tell the truth. First things first, I have to warn you that this is all going to come as rather a shock, I'm afraid." Shaking his head he snorted, "Understatement of the century, the shock to the system first time round was more then interesting."

Harry tucked his knees up to his chest and cocked his head, "Does this have anything to do with some of the odd things that have happened to me over the years?" he asked curiously. There was something niggling in the back of his mind and it came to him that this visitation might just be able to give him some of the answers he had been looking for.

His answer was an out right laugh, "Oh yes. That it most certainly does." The weary voice had taken on a note of rusty humor, "Think over all of those odd things. The ugly clothing that would shrink as Aunt Petunia tried to force it on you. Your hair growing back overnight after one of her horrible hair cuts. The teachers hair turning blue that time." A smirk grew across his face as Harry watched, his mind swimming, "That python at the zoo." The other Harry laughed as he flinched, still stinging from the punishment he had received overthat little incident. "Well, let me tell you that there is a perfectly good explanation to all of it."

He met the other set of green eyes that watched him thoughtfully, "I can give you an idea of what I am talking about and what I am here for," he told him slowly, "Or I can show you. Are you willing to let me into your mind? That way I can just give you the memories directly and let you see for yourself."

Harry blinked in confusion, "Ah, my mind?" he asked, not entirely sure he had heard right.

The other nodded gravely, "Yes. I can show you my memories and seeing as we are the same person it shouldn't be too difficult. Once you see what I have to show you, all of this will make a heck of a lot more sense."

Harry felt a little apprehensive, after all the thought of someone being able to manipulate your mind was a frightening one, but his curiosity was rather quickly taking over his fear, "Alright," he answered finally, "Go ahead. After all, if you are me, then I doubt there would be anything in my mind that would be surprising to you."

The other Harry snorted softly, "That's for sure. All you have to so is relax and close your eyes. If I am right, then you won't even notice the intrusion."

He did as he was told, closing his eyes and letting out a deep breath. After a moment there was a faint chill on his forehead and he shivered before his mind came awake with images and he sagged back against his pillows as his brain let go of his body and concentrated on sorting through the information flowing into his head.

It wasn't long before the images stopped and once they did he ran through them carefully before opening his eyes to stare at his older self, a feeling of awe running through him, "Damn." He whispered, rather shocked.

The older Harry gave a strained smile, "Damn indeed."

Shaking his head slightly, Harry pulled himself up again and stared at his hands, "A wizard, huh." He mused softly. "That certainly explains a lot. And Mum and Dad." He cast his eyes up to meet the sorrowful gaze of himself, "So this Lord Voldemort is the reason you are here."

The other nodded, "I only showed you a few things, mainly to give you an idea of what was happening so this will make more sense, after all, many of my memories are not pleasant, but if you agree to help me, maybe we can change things."
Harry spent a moment going over what he had been shown.

He saw the sweeping towers of Hogwarts, the castle that would become home to him, he saw the faces of other children, a red headed boy, a bushy haired, bossy girl. Friends that would mean everything to him. He also saw the face of a hideous creature, red reptilian eyes glaring into his mind, he felt the echo of great pain and even greater grief. Last of all, he was shown the voices of the fates, giving him the chance to try again.

"What do I have to do." He whispered, echoing the memory in his mind. There was a faint sigh and he opened his eyes to see naked relief on the haggard face before him.

"Just let me in."

He closed his eyes again and this time when he felt the cold touch on his brow everything went black.

Part 2: And So it Begins

"Up! Get up! Now!" Harry grimaced and blinked open his eyes as his Aunts grating voice came through the door. Shaking his head slightly, Harry tried to orientate himself as she rapped at the door and he groaned, hearing her footsteps head off to the kitchen.

Sitting up, he gabbed at his head as everything seemed to swim for a moment before coming into focus again with a snap as his merged memories synchronized.

"We did it." he whispered to himself, both consciousness's in complete harmony.

It was a rather odd sensation as both spirits were aware of each other but shared the same thoughts; the older spirit had an overwhelming sense of relief and hope where as the younger was more in awe of what they had accomplished.

He sat for a moment, gathering his confused thoughts trying to pinpoint exactly where his memories joined, 'Oh, right. It's the sixth today. I'm being sent to Mrs Figg's while they get Dudley's uniform.'

Feeling much more optimistic about today then either of them remembered being, Harry pulled on his shoes then let himself out of his cupboard and stretched his back.

There was a brief moment of trouble when he started to walk as the older spirit was used to longer legs so he stumbled a bit until he managed to level things out, but aside from that, he went into the kitchen and prepared breakfast with rather good cheer, completely ignoring the insults of his family, much to their confusion.

After everyone had finished eating, Harry cleared the dishes without being asked then slipped out to sit on the doorstep as his family got themselves organized to leave.

While he waited, he slipped into his own mind;

"So, how do you think we should handle this? You are the one who has been through all this before so I'll follow your lead."

"I'm not entirely sure. There are some things we will have to take care of pretty quickly but I don't want to confuse things too much. We are going to have to play a careful game here."

"Do you think we should get Mrs Figg's help?" the older spirit laughed as he caught the surprise that was still leaking out of his younger self at the information that Mrs Figg was an untalented witch, or squib.

"I think we should be careful to begin with. There are some major laws regarding messing with the timeline. Although I hardly think they are going to be able to say much in this case. Why don't we just play this by ear at the moment."

Harry snapped back into focus as the door behind him opened and he scrabbled to his feet. Aunt Petunia cast an odd look at him then gestured sharply for him to follow as she led him down the street and mentally, Harry rolled his eyes. It was taking some getting used to, having memories of things that hadn't happened yet but it made it easier when people acted as they always had.

He ignored his Aunt as she nattered instructions at him and instead studied the street around him. His mind showed him two images, the one he was seeing overshadowed by a darker image of the same houses lit up by flickering flames, the neat gardens torn up and strewn with the bodies of the dead. Over it all a glowing green skull loomed, a snake slithering from the grinning jaws.

"What is with you this morning, boy?" his aunt's sharp voice penetrated his musing and he gave a shudder before assuming a carefully blank expression.

"Nothing, just tired." He muttered. He could see the desire to screech at him for his lack of manners flicker in hers eyes and her horse like face hardened as she turned away from him, not willing to berate him in public.

Shaking his head at the familiar reaction, Harry stayed silent as she led him up the path of the house he had dreaded in his younger days. Before he had learned who the old woman who had taken care of him actually was.

Aunt Petunia knocked on the front door and waited for Mrs Figg to open it before stiffly thanking her for watching 'the boy' then turning back down the path, leaving Harry standing on the porch.

Harry felt himself more kindly disposed towards her, courtesy of his new memories, and without thinking he nodded his head gravely, "Good morning, Mrs Figg."

The old woman stared at him in surprise and he mentally slapped himself for acting out of character. "Good Morning." She answered and he could see her eyes skimming over him, a faint frown on her face.

He knew she didn't have any magic, but she was observant, that was why she had been placed here to watch him in the first place, he should have known she would pick up on something had changed.

After a moment she nodded to herself and stepped back to let him through and he slipped past her into her home. He had once thought she was more than a little daft, with all of her cats and some of the weird things she collected, but now he looked around her home and had to bite back on a grin as he recognized many of the odd ornaments for what they were, magical devices that didn't need a wand to be activated.

Once the front door closed the old woman came up to him, her eyes questioning, "What has happened?" she asked softly. Harry debated about what to tell her. He thought about keeping her ignorant, but he knew she would be reporting to Dumbledore that he had been acting oddly, and the last thing he needed at the moment was the old man poking his nose in before he had worked out what he was going to do.

Taking a deep breath, he let in out slowly, then shook his head, "I really think you should take a seat." He told her gravely.

Mrs Figg's eyes widened and she did as he suggested, "I have a feeling that somehow you have found out information you shouldn't." she muttered.

Harry chuckled and sat across from her, "You could say that." He shook his head, "I can't give you all the details, not yet. But I'm going to have to ask you to keep this out of your report to Dumbledore." The old woman's eyes widened in shock and he grimaced, "Oh yes, I know. All I can tell you now is that there is no longer any reason for the secrecy."

She continued to stare at him in shock for a moment longer then shook her head, her grey hair wisping out from under her bonnet, "Well, I have no idea what has happened, but I must say you certainly are different. How much do you actually know, Harry?"

He grinned, he would have to try harder to act like a ten year old, this whole thing of having forty year old memories was disconcerting, "Let's just say that when my letter arrives in a few days it is going to be less of a shock to me then the muggles I live with."

That surprised a laugh out of her and she shook her head, "Well, if that is the case, feel free to rummage through some of the books if you want. I have a few there that might be of interest to you."

He smiled in thanks but there was one concern he had, "So, are you going to inform the headmaster?"

She shook her head, "No, I suppose not. If you know what is going on, I assume there is a reason for you not wanting him informed."

He nodded, "There are a few things I need to do before he finds out, but trust me, there is nothing to be alarmed about. I just need to make sure I have a few things in place before he learns what I know. I'd rather he not panic at the moment."

The rest of the day he spent a pleasant time reading through some of the books she had hidden behind the dusty encyclopaedia's in her bookcase, ranging from a few basic magical history books to a few of the ones that held articles about him. He hadn't really bothered reading them before, so skimming through them now had him laughing incredulously. He had no idea that so much rubbish had been written about him, no wonder people had such a warped opinion of him.

The rest of the time he talked with Mrs Figg, he didn't give her any information about what he knew, or how he came by the information, but it was pleasant to talk to her without all the pretense. So by the time his Aunt came to collect him that afternoon he was hard pressed to act as depressed as he normally would have been after being left with the 'barmy old woman' for the entire day.

That evening, Dudley paraded around the living room for the family in his new uniform and Harry thought he was going to bust a lung trying to hold back his laughter. Even a second time round, the sight of his pudgy cousin in the maroon tailcoat, orange knickerbockers and flat straw hat was beyond hilarious.

He merely held his breath and rolled his eyes at his uncles comment about this being the proudest moment of his life.

Throughout dinner, he had pondered what he was going to do in regards to his Aunt. He wanted to bring her around before it was too late this time, maybe he would be able to save them if he could convince her to pull her head out of the sand. As much as he resented his muggle relatives, the sight of them being taken down by death eaters for no other reason then that they were there was something that he would always remember.

From what he could recall, once things started getting more and more tense in the wizarding world, she had payed more and more attention but he doubted he could get her to listen if he just warned her straight out. The jealousy she held for her sister was a strong hurdle to overcome.

By the time he closed himself in his cupboard for the night, he still hadn't come up with a viable plan. So he split his consciousness in an effort to talk things through.

"So what do you suggest we do? I mean, if it is as important as think to bring her around now, we are going to have to think of something before we head to school."

"True, but it is going to be difficult. I had a lot of trouble last time with her over Mum. I think that we are going to just have to give a few nudges to begin with. If we take things too fast, she will panic. Anyway, we should get the letter tomorrow in the post. After that I think that convincing Aunt Petunia to give up that note from Dumbledore might be the first course of action. I don't know exactly what he wrote, but there might be something in there that could be of use."

"I agree, although I think it would be better if we manage to talk to her after Uncle Vernon leaves for work. Somehow I think she might react better if he isn't there hanging over her shoulder."

"Agreed."

The next morning Harry caught a familiar smell when he walked into the kitchen for breakfast and he smiled slightly to himself.

Going over to the sink he looked down at the tub of grey water with it's load of old clothes and chuckled softly to himself. "Oh well, may as well play along for now."

"What's this?" he asked.

Aunt Petunia frowned at him as she came over to the sink and stirred the contents of the tub, "It's your new school uniform." She answered.

Harry mentally rolled his eyes but put in the smart comment he remembered giving the first time round, knowing it would annoy her, "Oh," he deadpanned, "I didn't realise it had to be so wet."

"Don't be stupid." She snapped, right on queue, "I'm dying some of Dudley's old things grey for you. They will look just like everyone else's when I am done."

Somehow that statement was even less convincing then the first time she said it. Harry just shook his head and took a seat at the table. It wasn't as if he had to really worry about the stupid uniform any more. It was odd really, the merger of the two spirits had managed to give the younger Harry a lot brighter outlook on things.

It wasn't long before Dudley and Uncle Vernon joined them in the kitchen and Harry anxiously waited. Getting the Hogwarts letter was just the beginning, but it was a significant step, so he strained his ears as he picked at his breakfast, trying not to be too obvious that he was waiting for something.

The click of the letterbox and the sound of letters hitting the mat almost had him jumping to his feet, but he held back, not wanting to cause suspicion.

"Get the post, Dudley." Uncle Vernon ordered absently from behind his newspaper.

"Make Harry get it."

"Get the post Harry."

At the order, Harry got up from his chair with a faint glower at his cousin and made his way out into the hall.

Picking up the letters, he shuffled through them until a familiar envelope with emerald green writing caught his attention. With a smile of satisfaction, he slipped the letter into his shirt then headed back to the kitchen.

"And so it begins."

…..

AN/ I am much happier with this now and the next chapter will be up soon, I am writing the last of it now. To those reading Full Metal Magic, It will be updated soon.