The Chronicles of Harry Potter: The Chamber of Secrets

Summary: Seventeen year old, Harry finds himself thrown back in time, he has no choice but to merge with his younger self in a desperate bid to save those who needn't have died the first time around. Armed with the memories and powers of his once future, Harry is determined to change the future; no matter the cost.

Chapter 1: Haunted Past, Daunted Future

"Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived. Come to die" Voldemort said softly as he addressed his followers.

Harry stood as bold as brass in the middle of the forbidden forest resigned to his fate as he closed his eyes. He never had given much thought to how he would die. It's amazing what ran through his head as he was about to die.

Voldemort raised his wand and cried out at the top of his lungs "Avada Kedavra!".

A flash of eerie green light and Seventeen year old, Harry knew no more. He'd been told to expect a white light, or that his life would flash before his eyes. But in reality death was like waking up from a dream.

As the darkness that had shrouded him began to recede his sight returned.

He was surprised that he found himself in the underground chamber of Hogwarts, where the Philosopher's Stone had been kept before it had been destroyed back in 1992, after Quirrelmort who had been willingly possessed by Voldemort had failed in his mission to acquire it.

"Dad?" Questioned a semi-conscious boy.

The ghostly form of seventeen year old, Harry Potter glided over to the boy "No, Harry. I'm not dad" He told the boy, before adding calmly "I'm you".

The boy furrowed his eyebrows in confusion "I-I don't understand, how can you be me?".

"I'm you. From the future" He replied.

He stared up at the ghost that claimed to be his future self with an owlish expression on his face. "Oh," The boy said he was beginning to wonder if he was dreaming. It wouldn't be the first time that he had a strange dream that didn't make a whole lot of sense, like the flying motorcycle and flashes of eerie green light. But this was a new first for him. He'd never had a dream where he was talking to himself, let alone his future self.

The ghost sighed knowingly and shook his head, "You're not dreaming, if nothing else I can assure you, Harry, that this is quite real. I'm here to help you. I've lived the life you're just beginning to embark on yourself. I must admit I did not expect to end up here of all places. I know that I'm not explaining this to you, very well. But you have to believe me, that I am here to help and prevent certain events from taking place that will inevitably lead to the death of our friends and people who we care about and dare I say love. You, see I just died Harry and I want to take advantage of this opportunity that we've been given". He paused for a moment and watched as the boy drained of colour, his younger self looked visibly shaken and upset at what he had told him.

Harry couldn't blame him as he continued, "That is why I'm going to bestow onto you the greatest weapon of all. Do you know what that weapon is Harry?".

The boy shook his head curiously.

"Knowledge, Harry. I'm going to arm you with the knowledge and memories that I have accumulated over the years".

"But, how?".

"Good question," Harry replied as he furrowed his ghostly eyebrows "to be honest with you, I'm not entirely sure, but I have a feeling that if I go through you that my mind and essence will meld with yours, and if it does then you will understand everything better. I know this must be confusing to you, Harry. Believe me when I say that I'm just as confused about all this as you, so, what do you say?".

The boy meekly nodded, barely managing to stave off the darkness that was closing in on him as he fought to stay conscious "I've got nothing to lose".

"And everything to gain" Harry replied as he placed a ghostly hand on his younger self. A white mist from unknown origins started to swirl around them, and slowly ghostly Harry, was absorbed into his younger body.

Three days later,

Harry let out a pained moan. He knew almost immediately that he was back in the hospital wing given the sterile cleanliness smell that assaulted his nostrils. His eyes seemed glued shut as he forcibly wrenched them open. His mind was still muddled as he focused solely on regaining his visual orientation.

He took a quick evaluation of himself making sure that nothing had gone wrong when he reabsorbed his ghostly self. It was still so confusing despite the memories that had been transferred to him. He still couldn't explain how he somehow had found his way back to 1992, when he had just defeated Voldemort for a second time after he and his friends, Ron and Hermione had gone on their first of many death defying adventures. Under the ridiculous presumption that Snape was after the stone.

Harry scoffed inwardly at the idea. Snape wasn't trying to steal the stone, he was trying to protect it. He and his friends didn't need to go to all the trouble to retrieve the stone as Quirrell would never have been able to possess it due to the seventh obstacle that Dumbledore had put in place as an extra security measure should anyone had gotten past all the other obstacles that they would have had to face.

Now he was stuck in the hospital wing, with an eleven year old body, and seventeen year old mind. Harry rubbed his throbbing head as he felt a headache coming along. He pulled himself upright into a sitting position much to the dismay of his scrawny pre-teen body that protested the sudden moment. He stretched his hand over to the night stand and placed his glasses on.

Looking around the hospital wing, he had a strange sense of deja vu. There were cards and candy wrappers everywhere.

He saw Dumbledore approaching him out of the corner of his eye "Good afternoon, Harry. Ah, tokens from your admirers".

"Yes, sir, it would seem so. I suppose it is only safe to presume that the whole school knows about what took place between myself and Quirrelmort down in the dungeons. After all secrets always have a way of coming out in the end whether we want them to or not" He told the headmaster as his attention drifted towards the cards and candy in order to avoid making eye-contact with Dumbledore.

He chuckled lightly "I take it, Ron, has saved me the trouble of opening my chocolate frogs. I must remember to ask him whether or not he was able to get the cards he was looking for in order to complete his collection. He's still missing Agrippa or Ptolemy" He said thoughtfully, "How are Ron and Hermione, sir?".

"Fine. They're both fine" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled merrily.

Harry nodded as he let out a sigh of relief "And the stone?. What of it, sir?".

"Professor Quirrell did not manage to take it from you. The stone, it has been destroyed".

"It was the logical thing to do, sir, if Voldemort had managed to acquire the Philosopher's Stone then he would have been able to create a rudimentary body for himself and return to power once more. Now, with the stone destroyed. He will have to find an alternative means to gain a body. However, that would mean having to use unicorn due to its life based properties as a result he would be cursed to half-life. Which means that when he regains a rudimentary body of his own then it will be deformed and weaker as a result, instead of full and powerful body that he would have gained had he been able to acquire the stone. At least with the stone gone, it has delayed his inevitable return. Does Nicholas, know what has become of the stone?".

A momentarily flash of surprise crossed Dumbledore's face before he nodded gravely "Nicholas and I had a little chat. We agreed that it was for the best".

Harry frowned sadly "But that means he and his wife will die, won't they?".

"They have enough Elixir stored to set their affairs in order and then, yes, they will die".

"I suppose to the well-organised mind death is nothing but the next great adventure. It is my belief that Death does not like to be cheated, and when you meet death and deny him your soul. You become a changed person. Death is unavoidable and will come for us all. I don't know how Voldemort has managed to elude death for so long, but when my time comes to pass, I shall greet him as an old friend, just Ignotus did".

Dumbledore smiled at Harry "Ah, you've heard the old wise-tale about The Deadly Hallows. I must say Harry, I wasn't expecting you to be wise beyond your years".

"I am wise beyond my years because I have experienced life beyond my years, sir".

Dumbledore hummed a little with a thoughtful expression as he looked at the ceiling.

"Sir, there are some other things I'd like to know, if you can tell me... things I want to know the truth about.…".

"The truth." Dumbledore sighed. "It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution. However, I shall answer your questions unless I have a very good reason not to, in which case I beg you'll forgive me. I shall not, of course, lie".

"Do you know who sent the invisibility cloak to me?".

"Ah – your father happened to leave it in my possession, and I thought you might like it." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Useful things... your father used it mainly for sneaking off to the kitchens to steal food when he was here".

"And there's something else...".

"Fire away".

"Well... Voldemort said that he only killed my mother because she tried to stop him from killing me. But why would he want to kill me in the first place?".

Dumbledore sighed very deeply this time. "Alas, the first thing you ask me, I cannot tell you. Not today. Not now. You will know, one day... put it from your mind for now, Harry. When you are older... I know you hate to hear this... when you are ready, you will know. Harry do you know why, Quirrell couldn't bare to have you touch him?".

Harry scrunched up his face in thought "It was my mother...Her love was that strong that she sacrificed herself unknowingly invoking an ancient, forgotten branch of magic. It is only a theory sir, but I think that whilst standing in the face of death. She unwittingly exchanged her soul for mine, which provided me with the ultimate protection so that when the killing curse hit me. It rebounded onto Voldemort".

Dumbledore once again, failed to conceal his surprise, "How very perceived of you. Yes, I do believe you're correct, my boy. It was old magic that Voldemort was foolish enough to overlook. Her sacrifice did in fact provide you with the ultimate protection out of pure love. Something that Voldemort is incapable of feeling".

Harry silently nodded and picked a bit of lint of his bed sheets with an incredibly guilty look on his face as he swallowed thickly "Quirrelmort would have never been able to have retrieve the stone, from the mirror. The only way someone could obtain it was for an individual to look into the mirror and see themselves possessing the stone but not using it" He clenched his fists angrily and rubbed his face harshly "It was a trap that Voldemort and Quirrell set up to lure me into retrieving the stone for them. And I fell for it that a god damn idiot" He said, genuinely peeved with himself for falling for it "Had I just stopped to think. None of this would have happened. I put not only the lives of my friends in danger, but the world" He said getting himself worked up.

Dumbledore placed a frail hand on his shoulder and squeezed lightly "Harry, you weren't to know. You and your friends truly thought that the stone was in danger. You performed admirably given the circumstances, you and your friends found yourselves in. Let me tell you this, Harry, you are not the first to have been fooled by him" He pats Harry's shoulder "Ah, Bertie Bott's Flavor Beans. I was most unfortunate in my youth to come across a vomit flavoured one, and since then I have lost my likening for them. But, I think I could be safe with a nice toffee..." Dumbledore takes a brown bean and eats it. "Mm. Alas. Earwax".

"Sir, before you go, I have one more question" Harry said his anger having been deflated.

"Just the one?".

"Quirrell said Professor Snape hates me because he hated my father. Is that true?".

"Well, they did rather detest each other. Not unlike yourself and Mr. Malfoy. And then, your father did something Snape could never forgive".

"What?".

"He saved his life".

"What?".

"Yes..." said Dumbledore dreamily. "Funny, the way people's minds work, isn't it? Professor Snape couldn't bear being in your father's debt...I do believe he worked so hard to protect you this year because he felt that would make him and your father even. Then he could go back to hating your father's memory in peace".

"Oh, I thought maybe that-" Harry shook his head "no, it's ridiculous, I'm sure I must have misinterpreted...It's just that during our first Potions lesson together, Professor Snape asked a question in particular. What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?. Interestingly enough, asphodel is a type of lily, which, according to Victorian Flower Language means 'My regrets follow you to the grave'. Meanwhile, wormwood means 'absence' and symbolizes bitter sorrow. When you combined the two to derive the hidden meaning: 'I bitterly regret Lily's death'. Do you think it was just a coincidence, sir. I suppose what I'm really asking is did Professor Snape know my mother?".

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled brightly as he stroked his beard, deep in thought before answering, "I'm afraid that I cannot answer that question, Harry. Only Professor Snape, would know the answer to that question. What I can tell you is that Professor Snape had known your mother before and during their Hogwarts years".

Harry nodded thoughtfully "You won't tell him, will you about his hidden message, if that is what it is. No one can know" He said firmly, "Despite, the mutual animosity, we have for one another I doubt that he truly wished for me to figure it out. I believed that it would have been more for his own closure than anything else".

"You have my word, my boy, that I shall never reveal the best of you" He said softly.

His last words seem to echo in Harry's mind as he lay back down on the bed lost in memories of what is to come.

Later that day, Harry was released from the hospital wing.

He went over to the stairway balcony and could hear Hermione and Ron talking in hushed whispers.

Both of them stop when they see Harry, leaning over the railing.

"All right there, Ron?".

"I'm alright, mate, what about you?".

Harry gave a nonchalant shrug "Madam Pomfrey, tells me that I'll live to fight another day. What about you, Hermione?".

Hermione smiled "Never better".

Later in The Great Hall, It was decked out in the Slytherin colours of green and silver to celebrate Slytherin's winning the house cup for the seventh year in a row. A huge banner showing the Slytherin serpent covered the wall behind the High Table.

Dumbledore, standing up at the podium, nods to Professor McGonagall.

She dings her glass and the chatter stops as Dumbledore speaks "Another year gone!" Dumbledore said cheerfully. "And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been!…Now, as I understand it, the house cup here needs awarding, and the points stand thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve points; in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two;Ravenclaw has four hundred and twenty-six and Slytherin, four hundred and seventy- two".

There is an immense cheering over at the Slytherin table as they other tables sat gloomily in their seats.

"Yes, Yes, well done, Slytherin," said Dumbledore. "However, recent events must be taken into account".

The room went very still. The Slytherins' smiles faded a little. "Ahem," said Dumbledore. "I have a few last-minute points to dish out. Let me see. Yes...".

"First – to Mr. Ronald Weasley…" Ron went purple in the face; he looked like a radish with a bad sunburn.

"...for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor house fifty points".

The Gryffindor cheered as Percy could be heard telling the other prefects, "My brother, you know! My youngest brother! Got past McGonagall's giant chess set!".

At last there was silence again. "Second – to Miss Hermione Granger... for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor house fifty points". Hermione buried her face in her arms; Harry strongly suspected she had burst into tears.

"Good job, Hermione" Harry placed an arm around her shoulder and leaned in to whisper in her ear "There is more to you, Hermione than just books and cleverness. I never told you before, so I'm going to tell you now. Don't you ever think you're not good enough. I know that you're pushing yourself to prove that despite your blood status that you're just as good as everyone else. But, you know, Hermione, that you don't need to push yourself so hard. You deserve to be here. People don't get accepted into Hogwarts because of the families they were born into. They get in on pure talent. I see potential in you that others have yet to see. And I know that one day, you will be the brightest witch of your age if you, put your mind to it" He gently rubbed her arm as a gesture of comfort "Had it not been for you, Hermione. Ron and I would be dead. We would have never made it past the first obstacle without you, never mind the last one without you".

Gryffindors up and down the table were beside themselves – they were a hundred points up. "Third – to Mr. Harry Potter..." said Dumbledore. The room went deadly quiet "for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house sixty points".

There was immense cheering for the Gryffindor table. Those who could add up while yelling themselves hoarse knew that Gryffindor now had four hundred and seventy-two points, exactly the same as Slytherin.

"We're tied with Slytherin!" Someone shouted.

Harry sighed and shook his head as he rose from his seat "Sir, I really must protest. I do not deserve to have points awarded for sheer stupidity" He said, quoting Professor McGonagall "I was reckless and had acted rashly. If anything points should be deducted for the events that led to my confrontation with Professor Quirrell down in the dungeons. However, if points are to be awarded then they rightfully deserve to go to Neville, it takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends, sir".

The students broke out in whispers amongst themselves as the Gryffindors looked at Harry, as if he had gone mad. McGonagall looked proudly over at her young lion whilst Snape looked bewildered by his unexpected actions.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he looked over his half moon spectacles at Harry "Very well, Mr. Potter. Then I shall award the points to Mr. Longbottom".

Neville sat there in disbelief as the cheering grew louder. He had never won so much as a point for Gryffindor before.

"You earned them, Nev".

"Assuming my calculations are correct, I believe that a slight change of direction is in order" He claps. Half of the green banners had changed to Gryffindor red and yellow. "Gryffindor and Slytherin win the house cup!".

Someone standing outside the Great Hall might well have thought some sort of explosion had taken place, so loud was the noise that erupted from the Gryffindor table.

All the students stood up and were throwing their hats into the air in celebration. All except, Draco, who is downtrodden at having to share the house cup with the Gryffindors, no less.

"Yes!" Hagrid exclaimed.

Seamus shakes Neville's hand profusely "Neville!".

All The Gryffindors rub each other's hair and jump around cheering and laughing.

Snape was shook Professor McGonagall's hand, with a horrible, forced smile at having tied in first place with Gryffindor. He caught Harry's eye and Harry knew at once that Snape's feelings toward him hadn't changed one jot. This didn't worry Harry. It seemed as though life would be back to normal next year, or as normal as it ever was at Hogwarts.

Hermione smiles and places a hand on Harry's shoulder "That was really noble of you, Harry".

"Thanks, Mione".