Time in a Goblet - 3 (Patreon)

Note:
Wasn't able to write spicy stuff with the guests here.

3.

The best ambush is the one that neither of party is expecting.

Harry turned the corner on the way to the Great Hall to come face-to-face with Fleur Delacour. Normally, he would have felt her allure, but he was too focused on the memories he could still access. He had figured out that he could avoid headaches if he went for the clearer they were. It was a strange exercise as the memories would hopefully be defunct by the time they were supposed to happen. A lot of events could be prevented, if he could keep the migraines away.

Fleur stumbled back as they bumped into each other. Instinct had him moving before his train of thought had time to change direction. He caught her and pulled up back to her feet somehow making it look like a practiced dip than an accident.

"Let me go," Fleur glared at him.

Harry did with a nervous smile, "Sorry, Fleur. I didn't see you."

"I do not you and you have no right to be so casual with me," She snapped.

Harry took a step back, "Sorry, I'm still getting used to this. We are … were friends in the future."

"I doubt it," Fleur rolled her eyes. "The future. At least that is a lie I have not heard yet."

He chuckled, "I forgot how much of a brat you were at first."

A gasp from nearby brought his attention to the others in the hallway. Fleur had a few schoolmates with her. They were on their way to a subpar breakfast by their standards. Fleur's eyes burned with barely contained rage. Her fingers transformed into claws for a moment before she was able to contain her anger. She pushed passed him with her gaggle following closely behind. They all glared at him with a mixture of offended shock, anger, and a couple had a touch of admiration.

Harry barely stopped himself from smiling. They had become friends, but the war and being on the run didn't lend a lot of downtime. He still had memories of time at Shell Cottage. A spike of pain lanced through his skull as things changed. The time at Shell Cottage lost its form. Small moments had already vanished leaving only the empty space as proof of their existence. He placed his palm against his forehead. The pressure helped for some reason. Almost like he was holding the bones in place to prevent his skull from hatching.

"Look what we have here," A familiar voice he had hoped not to hear said.

He opened his eyes to see the Malfoy and his goons approaching him. A sudden surge of rage boiled through him. Flashes of memories fueled his anger to burn even brighter. Death Eaters stalking through the hallways, Dumbledore's death, and even more dead in the years that followed. He was in no mood to forgive since time itself was making him forget.

His hands moved in a blur. The trio were disarmed, bound, and floating before they could even think to act. Harry stalked over to Malfoy. The ferret opened his mouth to say something only to find he was silenced.

"You," Harry snarled. "I am giving you one chance. If you so much as look at me or my friends with an ounce of anything other than indifference I will strip the flesh from your bones while your father watches. The last thing he hears will be your screams knowing that you failed every single part of your life."

He heard the stomp-clack of Moody approaching but didn't bother to drop the spell.

"Mister Potter," Moody said as he came to a stop next to him. "Explain?"

Harry flicked his wrist. The trio rose into the air before he dropped the spell. They slammed into the flat on the floor. There was a chance a couple of their wands had snapped in the fall.

"Ambush," Harry replied simply.

Moody nodded, "Good use of the environment. Albus said you would be taking your NEWTS. It had better include Defense."

"Of course," Harry replied.

Moody motioned for him to follow, "How's the memory?"

"Annoying," Harry answered. "Anything close to this year is gone. It feels like my head is going to split open when I try to remember it."

Moody was quiet for a moment, "Shame. Could have put that information to good use."

"I know," Harry grumbled. "I'll try to prevent your death this time."

Moody laughed, "Death comes for us all. Wizards like us can only hope to go out with a wand in our hands."

"You did," Harry patted the man on the shoulder. "You went down dueling Voldemort himself."

Moody stopped, "The Dark Lord returns? Truly?"

There was something in the tone that Harry didn't like. He knew Moody had captured or killed a lot of Death Eaters in the last war, but he never spoke of it as anything more than a chore. It was only during the few training sessions he had with the real Moody that details ever came out. He didn't treat fighting like it was glorious, or noteworthy. It was something that had to be done.

Wait.

Real Moody? What the fuck did that mean?

Another lance of pain spiked through his skull. Harry pushed through it, knowing this was important.

~
"Hello, professor," Harry greeted Moody.

"Professor, bah," The scarred wizard grumped. "I didn't do much teaching locked in a trunk while that Death Eater ran around wearing my face."
~

"Potter," Moody's voice snapped him out of the pain. "Get ahold of yourself."

Harry's vision had gone red. He wiped the back of his hand across his face to find a smear of blood stained his sleeve. Not good, but there were more important things to handle. His vision cleared in time to see Moody unlatch his flask. He pointed at it then at the far end of the hall. The flask jumped from Moody's hand. It clattered along the stone for a moment before the gnarled wizard reached for his wand.

To his credit, the fake Moody was fast. The fight would have ended in one spell if he had been facing the younger Harry. However, this Harry was a fighter with plenty of recent experience in battle. The first spell was aimed directly for his chest.

He summoned a shield, blocking a nasty eye-melting curse then slapped another spell into the ceiling. A chunk of the stone crumbled into dust once it made contact. Harry tossed a leg-lock jinx at the fake Moody who planted his peg-leg and spinning out of the way. It was a move that he had seen the actual Moody use a couple of times. Whichever Death Eater had taken the form was familiar with Moody's tactics.

Harry could see a crowd of students starting to gather. He needed to end this before the bystanders got hurt. Harry sent a Piercing Spell off to the side, making fake Moody dodge out of the way and into a Bludgeoning Spell. The Death Eater's face twisted into rage.

"AVADA-" Moody roared.

He held up his hand in a 'stop' motion freezing Moody in place.

"Alastor!" Professor McGonagall called storming down the hallway.

She came to a skidding halt as she watched 'Moody' change. Something in his mind twisted as he watched the wizard begin to shift and change. The wooden leg dropped to the floor when the supposed missing limp regrew. It was followed by the magical eye being pushed from the now-occupied socket.

"Barty?" McGonagall gasped as the true wizard too form.

Harry wobbled on his feet, "Check the trunk."

He managed to get the words out before he pitched forward. Muscle memory allowed him to catch himself before his face hit the stone. He rolled out of the way until he stopped flat on his back.

The world spun. Tingling jolts raced along his scalp triggering brief flashes of heat along the attached nerves. He could feel his body twitching, but his eyes were shut tight. The sensation stopped as quickly as it began.

Harry sat up in time to see Madam Pomfrey running toward him. She had her wand out and casting spells the moment he was in range. It was lucky he recognized them or he would have reacted poorly. The spells were medical in nature to assess his condition. He was too tired to try to figure out how he could identify them. Harry could see it was obvious that this new knowledge had something to do with the splinters of the Elder Wand that were dotted along his hands and arms. It was a painful way to learn that he was still able to cast spells.

Slowly, he got back to his feet. Dumbledore had arrived at some point. Poppy was fussing over him as the Headmaster stared at Barty in shock. It wasn't often he got to appreciate such a sight, the man always seemed to be two steps ahead with plans and contingencies.

"Harry?" Dumbledore took a step closer to him. "What happened?"

Harry sighed, "I had a memory from a couple of years in the future connect with something while talking to him." He shook his head. "It was random chance."

"That is something of a boon," Dumbledore patted him on the shoulder.

He shook his head, "I don't think the memories I have left will help much. I could feel it change."

"Feel it? How?" Madam Pomfrey cut in. "You're bleeding from your eyes."

"Not anymore," Harry ran a hand through his hair, "It felt like my scalp was on fire. When I try to focus on a memory from this year I get migraines. My mind was adjusting to the changes or removing the ones that won't happen anymore." He jolted as Madam Pomfrey produced a damp cloth from somewhere and began to clean the blood from his face. "There are spells for that."

Poppy huffed, "Mister Potter, I have been a healer for longer than you have been alive with both of your lives combines. I know when to use magic and when to use mundane means for treatment."

"Sorry," Harry blushed.

She smiled gently at him.

"Harry," Hermione said as the trio rushed over. "What happened?"

He tried to motion toward the frozen Death Eater only for Poppy to give him a little glare.

"That guy was pretending to be Moody," He replied doing his best to stay still.

"Who is it?" Junior asked.

Harry suppressed the urge to shrug, "I have no clue."

"How did you know he was a Death Eater?" Ron asked.

Poppy took a step back giving him a quick once over, "You are not to skip any meals and get a full night of sleep until I say otherwise." She actually shook her finger at him. "Don't think I don't know about your habit of sneaking around at night. No hijinks or tomfoolery for at least a week, Mister Potter."

Harry gave her his best charming smile.

"You aren't the first to try to charm me," Poppy huffed. "You're not even the first Potter to try. Go on, you're going to miss breakfast."

Harry nodded. She crossed her arms until he actually started walking again. The younger trio were right behind him. They kept their questions to themselves until they made it to the table. Ron pulled over the plates in front of the group and started to load them up with food. Harry watched as the younger version of his friend selected the preferred dishes with easy accuracy. He scrunched his brow in thought. His memories from before this year didn't cause painful backlash. Ron made sure he and Hermione remembered to eat something when things were in the midst of their multiple adventures. He hadn't realized it before.

"Thanks, Ron," He said to his friend.

Ron nodded, "Of course."

Junior and Hermione looked from him to Ron with confusion. He motioned to their plates. They seemed to just now realize they had food in front of them.

"I don't know how I knew," Harry said before they could start. "The memory connected from a random conversation. I don't know how to do it again. We were having a conversation and things just sparked."

Junior nodded. Ron wanted to ask something but had the proper manners to wait until he was finished with the food in his mouth. That did not mean he chewed with his mouth closed. Hermione wasn't happy with the explanation. She hadn't pressed him yet, but he was pretty sure she would soon.

"What are you going to do?" Junior asked. "You know everything I know, right?"

Harry nodded, "Sirius, Pettigrew, and all that. Yes, I know. I'm going to Gringotts later today. After that I get to re-enroll."

"Really!?" Hermione perked up.

He sighed, "Yes. I didn't have the chance to get my NEWTs."

Hermione gasped at the news. Junior and Ron shared a smile when she wasn't looking.

"You're going to be a student?" Hermione beamed. "Are you going to move into the Gryffindor dorms?"

Harry shrugged, "They gave me a room of my own."

"Hermione," Ron spoke before Hermione could ask more questions. "Madam Pomfrey told him not to miss any meals. He needs to eat."

Hermione nodded, then started on her own food. He closed his eyes as he took his first bite. If he hadn't eaten last night he would have started crying. The memories brought by the scents and tastes were almost too much for him even now.

The sound of giggling brought him out of his fugue. Ron, Hermione, and Junior were smiling at him.

"What?" He asked raising his eyebrows.

Ron pointed to the table. He followed the direction to see two empty plates. His brow furrowed.

"That's your third," Ron chuckled. "You ate more than I did."

Harry blanched, "I did?"

They were early enough to get a good spot, and the commotion in the hall had slowed the arrival of the other students. The combination gave him plenty of time to finish his meal in peace. Professor McGonagall arrived before the majority of Gryffindors.

"Mister Potter," There was an urgency in her voice. "Elder." She clarified. "The DMLE would like to speak with you. If you wish, I can stand in for your guardian."

Harry smiled at her, "Thank you, professor. I no longer need a guardian, but you could be there if you would like."

"Are you finished with your meal?" McGonagall asked.

He stood, "Yes, thank you for waiting."

McGonagall led him into the room they had assembled the Tri-Wizard Champions last night. A group of Aurors led by Amelia Bones waited for him. He recognized Tonks, Shacklebolt, Dawlish, and Scimgeour. The last two brought up mixed feelings. Dawlish had stayed an Auror even after Voldemort took over the Ministry. He had always had doubts about the man. Dawlish had said he stayed active because he was loyal to the Ministry regardless of who was in charge. Scimgeour, while it could never be proven, seemed to drag his feet responding to the attack at Bones Manor.

Thankfully, Fudge and his cadre had not arrived with them. He wasn't sure how he would handle seeing him again.

"Lady Bones," Harry inclined his head. "Nice to see you alive."

Bones, for her credit, didn't react to his words. She was rather concerned about the entire situation.

"You claim to be Harry Potter from the future?" Bones asked.

Harry shook his head, "I am Harry Potter from a future that I intend to stop."

"Bold words," Bones said. "Tell me what happened in the hallway that led to revealing a supposedly dead Death Eater posing as a retired Auror."

Harry took a breath, then started to tell his story of his arrival. He could remember the last few days well enough, though the blank spots were becoming more pronounced. Bones stopped him for the occasional question.

"The Unspeakables have been informed and would like to speak with you as well," Bones said once he had finished his tale.

Harry's gaze drifted to the individual that stood in the corner. He recognized the gray robes as well as the slight sheen that identified an invisibility cloak. The Unspeakable straightened once they realized they had been seen.

"That makes sense," Harry replied. "Going to Gringotts will help confirm my identity. I plan on claiming the title of Lord Potter as well as Lord Black."

Bones furrowed her brow, "How can you claim Lord Black?"

"Sirius didn't want it and willed it to me," Harry replied. "You do know he's my godfather, right?"

Bones froze, "How do you know that?"

"He told me in my third year," Harry paused. "Last year to you."

Bones stiffened in her seat, "You met him last year?"

"Yes," He replied. "Peter Pettigrew faked his death and Sirius took the fall. We tried to tell Fudge, but Snape said we were Confounded. Fudge jumped on it considering arresting Sirius was a big boon in his career." He shook his head. "Check the trial notes if you don't believe me."

Bones nodded, "I will. Thank you for your time, Mister Potter. The Unspeakables will be in touch shortly."

"I'm sure they will," Harry looked at the figure in the corner as he spoke.