41DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING THAT LOOKS FAMILIAR :)
A/n: I hope this turns out okay. This is a challenge piece, challenged by reptilia28. I hope the chapters will get longer as the story goes on. The pairing for this story WILL Hermione/Harry. Enjoy, and feel free to comment.
Chapter One:
Harry groaned as he lifted his head.
"NEXT! DREW LAFTMEN" He heard a loud voice sound.
As Harry opened his eyes, he got an eyeful. White, and blue. Why in the seven seas was he in a waiting room? The last thing he remembered was putting on a hat, then going out to duel Voldemort. As his brain went more deeply into the subject, he heard his name called.
"NEXT! HARRY POTTER"
He got up, and went over to the desk in which a lady was calling out people's names.
"I'm Harry Potter," he said to the woman.
"Just go down the hall, the left one. The office your looking for is the third one down."
He thanked the lady, and made his way down the hallway. Once he made his way to the door, he knocked three times.
"Come in," a male voice called.
So, Harry opened the door. When Harry looked at the person in from of him, the man was wide-eyed. Harry looked at the nametag on his desk. Seeing as it said "ADAM ASHER", he guessed that was his name. Adam Asher pointed to the seat, so Harry toke that as a suggestion to sit down.
The man at the desk sighed. "So, how'd you die this time?"
"Wait. This time? I don't remember dying. Wait. I'm dead?" Harry asked the man in a confused tone.
"Mr. Potter. You've died at least ONCE every school year since you've first started Hogwarts. Then some, too. Remember your fifth birthday? That was the first time you DIED! It got WORST every single year! Of course, Fate has to go and heckle me!"
Mr. Asher seemed to be going into rant mode. Harry tried to make up his mind if he should run to the door and get his arse out of here faster than a jackrabbit.
"SEVEN TIMES! Seven times you've died, Mr. Potter! THAT'S SEVEN BLACK MARKS ON MY CARD! IF I GET ANYMORE, I'LL GET FIRED!" Adam then toke a deep breath. "Just...go and sit down, Mr. Potter. I need to go and make a call."
After what seemed ages, Adam came back.
"Mr. Potter. My boss has a deal for you. On this paper," Adam held up a scroll "States that, as long as you agree and sign, you can do what Fate keeps nagging at me for letting you screw up more than once. All you have to do is live to AT LEAST 200, make sure your soul mate, some Granger girl I believe, stays with you. For heavens sake, please STAY AWAY FROM THE TWO YOUNGEST WEASLEYS. Nothing but trouble. The girl used potions on you, of all things. The boy is just a plain prat."
Harry looked confused. "Wait. Hermione is my soul mate? Ginny was using POTIONS on me?"
Adam sighed. "Yes, and yes. Now, buy signing this, you can go back to any place in your childhood. May it be the duel, or when you were three years old. I'd suggest not when you were still a babe. It might be..odd for some to see a two year old, or even four year old to be going all independent. I'd suggest the longest you go back is when you were 6 years old."
"Erm. Okay, sir."
Handing Harry a pen, he motioned where to sign.
Meanwhile, Harry was wondering; why didn't he get a word in edge-wise?
"Now, see this shiny bracelet? Just put it on, and when it's time, just think about which point of time you want to be in. Be careful, for once you go there, you can't go back."
Harry nodded "Sir, I -"
"WAIT! Just one last thing to say, The purple piece of the bracelet opens up. Just use that to put any of those soul-thingies in. I'll get rid of them, and stuff. Now, whenever your ready, Mr. Potter."
"Erm. Okay."
"Friendly advice, if you go back before the sorting, go to a different house" Harry heard as his self zoomed away.
"Well, there you are, boy. Platform nine - platform ten. Your platform should be somewhere in the middle, but they don't seem to have built it yet, do they?"
He was quite right, of course. There was a big plastic number nine over one platform and a big plastic number ten over the one next to it, and in the middle, nothing at all.
"Have a good term," said Uncle Vernon with an even nastier smile.
Harry blinked. As he watched the Dursleys drive off, he remembered where, and when he was.
Just a few steps away from platform nine and three quarters. Making sure he had everything (seeing as this was years ago, he believed he did) and headed on to see the Hogwarts Express.
It was going to be a long year.
- Bolden text taken from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.