It's All in the Name

a/n - As usual, everything you recognize from the Harry Potterverse is the property of JK Rowling and her assorted creative partners. While I haven't done it in a while, I do thank her for her allowing folks to play in her sandbox.

This story started while I was reading some email exchanges on the CaerAzkaban online group about people's aversions to stories where the author makes changes to Harry's first name. Personally, I think that Hermione settles the issue on those times she was upset with him. If she's going to give him the 'three name warning of doom' she would have used his real name so if she spits out 'Harry James Potter', then that's it.

But who am I to judge and it doesn't really matter in someone else's world what they do.

But, one of the more observant members of the group commented that the whole name thing could derail the train wreck that was the TriWizard Tournament. And while this story doesn't derail the entire tournament, it does uncouple Harry's car from the train.

Chapter One – Family Resources

31 October, 1994 The Great Hall, Hogwarts School of W&W, Scotland, UK

"Harry Potter."

As Professor Dumbledore's voice reverberated through the room, Harry Potter simply rolled his eyes, fished into his pocket and handed over a galleon to the witch sitting next to him, Hermione Granger.

Smiling the self-satisfied smile of one who had been proven correct, again, she nodded slightly to him and simply mouthed "And now, the floor show".

Seeing that young Harry wasn't reacting to his calling out his name, Albus Dumbledore simply cleared his throat and said, "Harry Potter, would you please go join the other Champions in the waiting area?"

Turning slightly, so he was facing the Head Table but making no effort towards standing, Harry simply asked, "What name is on that slip, Headmaster?"

Surprised, and losing a bit of his twinkle, Albus Dumbledore looked down at the scrap of parchment, that had been obviously torn from a larger sheet of parchment, and replied, "Your name, Harry Potter."

Reaching into his pocket and handing Granger another galleon, he sighed. "And the Goblet of Fire implements a binding legal and magical contract, correct?"

Seeing the Headmaster's nod, Harry continued, "And there's nothing else on the parchment of an identifying nature? 'Hogwarts School'? 'Gryffindor House'? 'Of Privet Drive'?" he inquired with a slightly bored tone.

"No, nothing other than your name, so if you'll just move to the waiting area with the other champions …"

Cutting across the Headmaster, Harry shook his head, "Then, while it's an honor, I'm going to have to decline since that couldn't possibly be me. Some person named 'Harry Potter' tried to enter the competition, and I wish him all the best. But since it's not me, I'll be watching to see if he, or whomever entered him, shows up for the events."

"Of course, it's you. Whom else could it be?"

Holding out his hand, Harry waited until Hemione place the sheets of foolscap into it before replying.

"Hermione thought it a bit … odd that I was named 'Harry', since it's such an unwizardly name. So, she did some research and as of August first, according to the British government, there were fourteen persons named 'Harry Potter' living in Britain, twenty-eight named 'Harrison Potter', eleven named 'Hadrian Potter', ninety-four named 'Henry Potter', ninety-seven named 'Harold Potter', and one poor sod named 'Hereweald Potter' which is apparently the root name that Harold and Harry are derived from.

"And, fortunately for me, I'm not any of them."

Blinking in surprise, the Headmaster looked over at his Deputy for a moment and seeing the 'I've got nothing' look on her face, turned back to his suddenly recalcitrant student.

"Don't be absurd, of course you're Harry Potter."

"Actually, no. People just call me 'Harry Potter'. People also call me 'The Boy Who Lived', but that isn't my name, correct?"

"Well, yes," Albus conceded. "But your name …"

"People call Percy Weasley 'Egregious Pillock', 'Insufferable Brownnose', and 'Presumptuous Teuchter' and none of those are his name, correct?"

Ignoring the snickers from the gingers seated at the Gryffindor table, Harry simply took the Headmaster's befuddled shake of his head as leave to continue.

"Forgive the cheek, but some people, and certainly not me, refer to Professor Snape as 'Great Greasy Git' or 'Snivellous' and those aren't his names?"

"Certainly not," Professor Dumbledore replied. "But what has that …"

"Well it stands to reason that just because people call me 'Harry Potter' then it's possible that they are also mistaken."

"But you are …"

"And since I have a copy of my birth certificate that I found in my mother's diary this summer hidden in the attic of my relatives' house, we can put this to rest."

Finally standing, Harry held up a piece of paper and a small leather-bound book. "Apparently my mother was not really happy with my father filling out the birth registry entry with the midwife while she was recovering. He went with a couple of Potter family names and totally ignored the names that they'd discussed before I was born."

Walking towards the front, Harry smirked. "After she recovered, and had her wand, they compromised.

"Since the birth was registered with the muggle system, it was valid and binding with the Ministry as well and changing a person's name with the Ministry involves three different rituals, so they decided that my name could stay but they would call me 'Harry James after my maternal grandfather and my father."

Pausing for a moment, he added, "It's not as catchy as 'Greasy Git', but 'Harry James' is easier to sign on a cheque or inn registry book."

As he reached the spot where Professor Dumbledore was standing, he added, "And since 'Harry James' was her favorite American musician, that's what everyone called me. But this is who I really am."

As the Professor took the piece of paper and adjusted his spectacles, activating the runes that would tell if the seal was genuine, he stared in disbelief.

Looking down at the form, he could see that it recorded a birth on 31 July, 1980 at 7 Peverell Place in the village of Godric's Hollow of one …

"Maximus Shiva Potter?"

Shrugging, Harry smiled brightly. "Apparently Maximus Potter was the last Potter Duke before the Statutes of Secrecy. He defied Parliament over some sort of stupid regulation banning Christmas and told the Wizengamot where to get off when they tried to enforce it. "

Seeing that the Headmaster was still staring at him in disbelief, Harry added, "And apparently 'Shiva' is a much older name from back when the Potters came to Britain with the rest of the Celts."

Tucking the diary under his arm, Harry nodded to the Headmaster, "That's a certified copy you can keep it."

Turning around, Harry started heading back to his seat at the Gryffindor table as the Headmaster said, "But the Tournament …"

"Best of luck finding the right 'Harry Potter'," Harry replied. "I can give you Hermione's notes. I'd avoid the one named 'Hereweald'. According to the records, he's currently doing a life sentence for killing some bloke who was laughing at his name in a pub in Dover."

After forty-five minutes of arguing with the Ministry representatives and adamantly refusing to go anywhere near the room where the Champions were waiting, the official party finally moved into the room where the three who were chosen first were waiting and the rest of the students were dismissed.

While the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang contingents had to wait for their respective leaders, the Hogwarts students got out while the getting was good.

Walking slowly back to their dorms, and ignoring the comments one way or the other about what had happened, Harry and Hermione were finally reasonably alone as they stepped into an abandoned classroom on the seventh floor down the hall from Gryffindor Tower.

Sealing the door while Hermione cast a series of privacy charms and stunned the one portrait that was hidden in a back corner of the room, Harry shook his head and chuckled.

"While I'm glad you dropped Divination, you certainly did call it about my name being entered into the Tournament."

Buffing her nails on her robes, Hermione smirked. "Like you couldn't see it coming since it was today."

"You were right, they didn't even ask to look at Mum's diary," Harry said.

Nodding, Hermione smirked and simply said, "Still best to leave the original in my parents' safe deposit box. The only real changes this one has is the bit about the argument about your name and all of the references Sirius snuck in about Professor Snape being a pervert and getting caught peeking into the quidditch locker rooms multiple times."

"I'm not certain which is more disturbing, the fact that Sirius can flawlessly forge my mother's handwriting or the fact that he swears the bits about peeking into the locker rooms are true."

Shrugging, Hermione smiled. "I'm not worried, it was the wizards' locker rooms he got caught spying on."

"And the birth certificate?"

"Gramma Jane was a midwife, so the certificates and the stamps are genuine. She had a whole box of those things pre-signed along with the seal I found when I went through the summer cottage basement. And if they check in London, Aunt Julie works in the records office in London. I told her we were pranking one of the professors at my boarding school about your name so if a request comes in, she'll send a certified copy of the one we created."

Seeing the question in his eyes, she took his hand and squeezed it gently. "We checked the rules three times. Even if that slip is valid, the rules state that there's a twenty-four-hour period for people to change their minds. If a participant declines, then the name of the next person chosen will appear on the slip

"As long as you do nothing to indicate you're a champion before the end of dinner tomorrow night, you're clear of this train wreck."

Unsealing the room, the two headed on towards Gryffindor tower, still hand in hand when Harry stopped and said, "Maximus?"

"It was either that or 'Fleamont'."

"Good choice."

As they stepped through the portrait hole, the room was surprisingly quiet. Seeing that most of their housemates had gone on up to the dorms, Harry looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Got the cloak?"

Nodding imperceptibly, she added, "And the map. It'll take Lavender and Parvati until midnight to settle down enough for me to sneak out."

As they parted, she leaned over and whispered in his ear, "I'll be there as soon as I can for you to rock my world again."

Smirking, Harry buffed his nails on his robes and said, "That's why you call me 'Shiva, Rocker of Worlds'."

a/n 2 - My apologies to Doctor Oppenheimer for paraphrasing his comment after watching the explosion at the Trinity site.

a/n3 - Edited for spelling and grammar corrections on 07/09/2017. Thanks to alix33 for the catch!