Harry Potter and the Final Curse

Harry Potter and the Final Curse

Chapter 1 - Times have changed

Harry Potter was halfway through a very unpleasant Potions lesson, even more unpleasant than usual. At the start of the lesson, he had stupidly forgotten to bring the potion ingredients he needed and so had to make do with what he was given by Professor Snape. Snape, as you can imagine, wasn't too pleased with this and, as a result, Harry was given a week's worth of detentions. He did try and borrow the ingredients from Hermione, who nearly always kept spares, but strangely, she wasn't there. He looked around for Ron, but he was nowhere to be seen either.

Harry's archenemy, Draco Malfoy, who was sitting on the opposite side of the room, seemed to be enjoying his plight, pulling faces at him, accompanied by increasingly obscene hand gestures. Harry, however, ignored Draco's baiting, as his attention now focussed upon the boy sat next to him; where normally either Crabbe or Goyle should have been was Neville Longbottom, who was laughing alongside Draco as if they were best friends. But he had other things to worry about at the moment; the ingredients Snape had given him were of poor quality (which Harry thought was intentional) and the growth potion he was supposed to making had turned a very bright shade of pink, when it was supposed to be a brownish-green colour.

Harry wasn't sure whether he wanted the lesson to go more slowly, so he had more time to salvage the mess he had made, or more quickly, so the nightmare would be over that little bit sooner. In reality, he had lost all track of time; it was now nearing the end of the lesson, which invariably meant it was time for testing.

"Stop whatever you are doing," commanded Snape, his voice much more bitter than it usually was. "Each of you, in turn, will consume a small amount of your own potion, a spoonful should suffice. If it works correctly, you should temporarily increase in height by a few inches."

Harry stared at his own cauldron, now emitting an obnoxious yellow smoke, and desperately hoped that he wouldn't have to go first. However, today just wasn't his day.

"Potter," sneered Snape. "You will go first."

Harry didn't want to get in any more trouble, so he did as the Potions master asked, without complaint. Wafting away some of the yellow smoke, Harry used the spoon he had been stirring the potion with and swallowed a small amount of it. It was disgusting, reminding Harry of the time his Uncle Vernon had once cooked dinner for the family (it was Aunt Petunia's birthday, and Uncle Vernon had decided to give her a 'treat'); Harry felt an intense burning sensation, followed by a feeling like he was going to be sick, then he shrank to the size of a house elf.

The whole class screamed with laughter as Snape picked him up off the floor and placed him on one of the desks.

"Very poor effort, Potter," said Snape. "Five thousand points from Gryffindor."

Harry was the only one in the class who seemed to think this was totally outrageous.

"Five thousand points sir?" squeaked Harry, his voice sounding a lot like Dobby's. "Isn't that a little much?"

"No Potter, I think it's a perfectly suitable punishment," replied Snape, "and for that last remark I think you deserve an even worse punishment than losing points."

Harry dreaded to think what was coming next but he soon found out when Snape took out his wand and pointed it straight at him.

"Avada Kedavra!" shouted Snape. A green bolt of energy escaped from his wand and hit Harry straight in the chest. There was a moment of intense pain soaring through his body and then, all of a sudden, there was darkness.

"I've got to be dead," Harry thought. He just about managed to open his eyes and he found himself lying in a very comfortable double bed with scarlet-coloured coverings.

It took a moment for him to realise that the Potions lesson had just been a dream, and a bad one at that. He wasn't at Hogwarts anymore, and hadn't been for years now; he'd been thirty-six-years-old for about a month now. Harry looked over to the other half of the bed to find his wife Ginny still fast asleep. It was still fairly early in the morning, but he couldn't get back to sleep anymore, so he got up as quietly as he could without disturbing her.

Harry put on his slippers and dressing gown, and then made his way downstairs to the kitchen. Harry could still remember how Twelve Grimmauld Place looked when he first saw it, but he had done some renovations since he had inherited from his godfather, Sirius. It now looked very clean and orderly, although this was largely due to Ginny's meticulous housekeeping than any contribution that Harry had made.

In the kitchen, Harry put the kettle on in order to make some tea, when a large snowy owl came flying in; it was Hedwig, and she looked remarkably good considering her age now. Hedwig dropped a letter on the table, before perching on top of one of the wooden chairs. Harry thanked Hedwig by giving her an owl-treat, a box of which was conveniently kept on the mantelpiece of the fireplace in the kitchen, and then picked up the letter.

The letter was addressed to him, and bore the Hogwarts crest on the back. Curiously, he open it immediately, and read:

Dear Harry,

I thought I better remind you not to forget that you've got to take Lily to platform nine and three quarters today at eleven o'clock today. She needs to remember all of the things she'll need, including: -

Below was a whole list of school things, including spell books and potion ingredients, which he just skimmed over. After the extensive list, Harry read normally once more.

Don't forget, platform nine and three quarters today at eleven o'clock. Don't be late!

Professor H. Granger

Hogwarts Transfiguration Teacher

"Oh, Hermione," Harry said in a light-hearted way. "Why am I not surprised?"

Harry didn't need reminding that he was supposed to be taking his daughter Lily to platform nine and three quarters today. In fact it had been on his mind for the last few months, since Lily had gotten her letter of acceptance from Hogwarts. Harry still remembered clearly the day he finally got his letter: It was his birthday, the day he found out he was a wizard, and the first time he met Hagrid, the grounds keeper at Hogwarts. For Lily, the letter of acceptance was hardly a surprise at all to her; having learned about the school from an early age, and exhibiting signs of magic from the age of five, she was virtually guaranteed a place.

Harry made his tea (milk with one sugar) and then went to his way to his study, located on the ground floor; it was only a fairly small room, but it was big enough for what Harry needed it for. An antique wooden desk took up most of the space in the room, along with the chair that accompanied it. Also in the room, was a cupboard where Harry kept most of his work-related items, a grandfather-clock that was a handy reminder for important events, and an ornate mirror that was a gift from Remus Lupin. The walls were covered in numerous photographs and other mementoes.

"Good Morning, Sir," said the clock in a very posh English accent. "Today, you need to take your daughter to Kings Cross Station for eleven o'clock."

"Yes, I know," snapped Harry, slightly irritably. "I haven't forgotten."

"That's what you said the other week, when your wife's birthday was upcoming," recalled the clock. "There was a frantic rush to buy her a present on the day itself, if I remember."

"So there was," remembered Harry, smiling. "But this time I definitely haven't forgotten."

Since he wasn't going into work today, Harry thought he'd better at least do some of his paperwork so he didn't get too far behind. Harry was an Auror, and it was his job to route out evil wizards and bring them to justice. A lot of his work centred around locating Voldemort's old followers, but occasionally there was some new witch or wizard who decided to dabble in the Dark Arts. Harry loved his job very much, but today he just couldn't concentrate on it, so he took a moment to reminisce about his time at Hogwarts.

Hogwarts had included some of the best, and worst moments of his life, but, regardless of what happened, he still looked back on it fondly. He began to pace his study, looking at the various items he had procured over the years.

Mounted above the door was his old Firebolt, a broomstick that helped him to victory in a number of Quidditch matches, as well as the time with the dragon in the Tri-Wizard tournament. The Firebolt was pretty old hat nowadays, but it still held a warm place in Harry's heart.

On one wall hung a picture of his mother and father, which brought a tear to his eyes every time he saw it. At the moment his father was hugging his mother while she waved at Harry. Harry, like always, waved back, and his mother smiled broadly.

Next to that picture was another, which was taken more than thirteen years ago at his and Ginny's wedding. Their courtship had been an interesting one. At first, Harry pretty much thought of Ginny as Ron's little sister, and, to a certain extent, she was like a sister to him too. It wasn't really until the end of his sixth year at Hogwarts that things started to happen. In the summer of that year, he spent a lot of time with the Weasley family, as per usual, but for various reasons most of the family were out and about a lot of the time, including Ron, who was taking Apparation lessons.

He was left alone with Ginny for long periods of time, often several hours at once; they had a lot of fun together and it was all quite innocent, until it came to a point when Harry realised that she wasn't just Ron little sister anymore; she was a very attractive woman who Harry liked very much. Ginny still had feelings for Harry and they decided to explore their relationship. A short while into the new school year they officially started dating, and it all led on from there.

In the picture he and Ginny were holding hands, kissing every now and then. Beside Harry stood Ron, his best man, who also happened to be Ginny's brother. Beside Ginny stood her father, Arthur Weasley (then the head of the Department of Magical Law enforcement, but now the Minister for Magic), with an incredible proud look on his face. Behind them stood the rest of the Weasley family and a number of Harry's and Ginny's friends, which included Hermione Granger, who kept looking at Ron as if to say 'when are we going to do this?'. She and Ron had been dating for a few years at the time, and even after Hermione had caught the bouquet, it took Ron another few years to finally propose. They're still engaged to this day, and Harry continually reminds him to just go ahead and actually get married.

Next to that picture hung one of Harry, Ginny, and Lily in the hospital when Lily was just born. At the moment Harry was cradling Lily in his arms while Ginny was in bed looking at her daughter fondly. The birth of his daughter was the happiest moment of Harry's life, and was the thing he always thought of when he needed to produce a Patronus charm.

On another wall hung a large picture of him, Ron, Hermione, and the rest of their year in Gryffindor, all in dress robes, which was taken at their graduation from Hogwarts. Harry looked at each one of them in turn and could remember a story about them. At the back stood Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas, who we're best friends their entire time at Hogwarts. While neither of them got up to any dangerous and rarely got into trouble, they were always a lot of fun and they had plenty of laughs together. To the right of the picture stood Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown. While Hermione had plenty of stories about them, the only one Harry could really recall was the time he had taken Parvati to the Yule Ball in the fourth year. Looking back, he couldn't believe how much of an idiot he was that night, and he never really did make it up to her. In the middle of the picture stood Neville Longbottom. Harry had to be honest and admit that he didn't have a very high opinion of Neville during the first few years but, as he got older, he changed into a man he now considers to be a friend. As for Ron and Hermione, he had many memories of both of them.

The rest of the walls of his study were taken up with various other pictures and mementos, including a picture of a number of members of the Order of the Phoenix, and a picture of Hagrid outside his hut.

Harry checked the time and saw that it was nearly half-past seven, which meant Ginny and Lily would wake soon, so he went back to the kitchen in order to make a start on breakfast. Sure enough, Ginny entered the kitchen soon afterwards in her mauve-coloured dressing gown.

"Good morning, Harry," said Ginny, before yawning.

"Morning," said Harry, as he gave Ginny a peck on the cheek. "Is Lily up yet?"

"Not yet, I don't think," said Ginny, going over to the teapot to see if it was still warm. "Give her another fifteen minutes more sleep. It's going to be a long day for her."

"Yeah, I remember it quite clearly myself," fondly remembered Harry. "The first day seems to go on forever, doesn't it?"

Ginny nodded in agreement, as he reheated the cold tea with her wand. "What time are we picking up John?" she asked.

"Ten o'clock at his house," replied Harry.

* * *

John Sanders, a small boy for his age who had sandy-coloured hair, was the only child of muggle parents who lived around the corner from twelve Grimmauld Place. They were normal people, living normal lives; Mr. Sanders had a respectable job in a high-street bank, and Mrs. Sanders worked as a legal secretary for a small solicitors. They spent their entire day completely ignorant of the wizarding world.

The only thing that was slightly abnormal was John's love of magic and fantasy, so on his eleventh birthday, it was not unexpected when he received presents related to his interest. Among his presents he received the latest book from his favourite author (which was all about wizards), a computer game where you could fight dragons, and a magic kit which contained all sorts of tricks you could play on friends and family. He also got the usual assortment of greeting cards, several of which contained money, but there was one piece of mail that looked unlike anything else.

On the back was a strange emblem of an H with a lion, eagle, badger, and snake; John ripped it open immediately. According to the letter, he had been accepted in a magic school called Hogwarts, but he had never heard of it before, not even in the many story books he had read. He handed the letter to his parents, who read it carefully.

"Hogwarts?" asked Mr. Sanders rhetorically, screwing up his face at what was written. "What's that all about?"

"It's probably just a joke," assumed Mrs. Sanders. "I bet one of his relatives sent it. They know how much he loves all this magic business."

"Well I don't recognise the name," he said. "Do you know of an H. Granger?"

Mrs. Sanders thought hard for a moment, trying to remember her family tree.

"Hmm, I think my one of my mother's cousins was married to a man named Granger, and they had a daughter," she thought hard again trying to remember more details, "and I think her name was either Harriet or Hermione or something, but I haven't seen any of them since I was about five or six years old."

The rest of the day was spent wondering if this obscure relative was the person that sent the letter. They phoned around their relatives to see if anyone knew her but they never got anywhere. It wasn't until later that day that they got some answers. There was a knock on the door around six thirty in the evening, and standing on their doorstep was a man they didn't recognise.

"Err...Hello," said the man nervously. "My name is Harry, and I live around the corner."

"Yes, can we help you?" asked Mrs. Sanders, thinking that the man was just trying to borrow some sugar or something.

"I understand that your son received a letter this morning about a magic school," said Harry.

"What do you know about it?" Mrs. Sanders asked suspiciously. "Do you have anything to do with it?"

"Not exactly no, but I do know who sent it," said Harry.

"You do? Then you know this H. Granger person?" she asked.

"Yes, her name is Hermione Granger and we're quite close," said Harry. "If you'll let me in, I can tell you everything you need to know."

After much deliberation, Mrs. Sanders agreed to let the stranger in to her house. If he knew what he said he knew then maybe he could clear this whole matter up.

Harry told the Sanders family exactly what the letter was all about, and they were sceptical at first until Harry gave them a little demonstration of real magic (just a simple summoning charm). They were remarkably calm about the discovery about this whole new world they knew nothing about, and they seemed to find it rather interesting, especially John who couldn't wait to start casting spells and riding broomsticks.

Soon afterwards, the Sanders family were regular visitors to the Potter household, and the two families got on very well together; Lily, who knew precious few witches and wizards her own age, became good friends with John. Harry and Ginny took the Sanders family to Diagon Alley the same time they had to take Lily to get all of her school things. They spent almost an entire day in the Alley, and both Lily and John both got everything they needed, and a few extra things they didn't need but they thought would be fun to have.

Since Mr. and Mrs. Sanders both had full time jobs and couldn't really get time off, Harry and Ginny offered to take John down to Kings Cross Station in order to catch the Hogwarts Express, which they agreed to.

* * *

Harry gave Lily fifteen more minutes and then went upstairs to her bedroom, located on the second floor, and he was amazed to see she was already washed and fully dressed.

Lily inherited physical features from both of her parents: from her mother she got her body build and facial characteristics, and from her father she obtained the black colour of her shoulder-length hair, although she also inherited its difficulty to tame. As her personality went, the lines of inheritance were a little more blurred; she seemed to have a disposition of her own, not taking any obviously strong traits from either parent.

Lily was sitting with her legs crossed on her bed, practising spells from her copy of 'Standard Book of Spells, Grade One'.

If it had been twenty years ago when Harry was still at school, this sort of behaviour would merit a letter from the Ministry reminding her that underage wizards were not allowed to use magic outside of school; however times had changed, and so had the law. It was now legal from the age of eleven to use magic outside of school, although there were still restrictions. Only simple non-dangerous spells were allowed and they were also not to be used on living creatures. The usual restrictions that applied to all magic use were also in effect, such as its prohibited use in front of muggles. Simple spells like Lumos were perfectly acceptable, and young witches and wizards were actively encouraged to learn a few spells before they began their education. It was a shame that the laws pretty much prohibited Harry from teaching Lily those spells that he knew well: curses, and battle magic.

"Lumos!" Lily said loudly, as light issued from the tip of her wand.

"You seem to have the hang of that one now," said Harry, incredibly pleased with what she was doing, as he perched on bed next to her. "Well done, Lily."

"Thanks, Dad, but that one is easy," she said. "I'm still having trouble with the reparo spell though."

Lily attempted to repair the broken teacup she had been practising on but only managed to put half it back together.

"You just need to perfect the wand motion and you should be able to do it," explained Harry. "Here, let me show you."

After a few minutes of her father's tutelage, Lily was able to fully repair the teacup.

"Yes!" cried Lily shrilly.

"See you can do it," smiled Harry. "Now you better come down to the kitchen for breakfast; It's best you start the day on a full stomach."

"Can I bring my wand with me?" asked Lily, sweetly. "Just this once, since it's the last day?"

"Oh, I suppose so," agreed Harry.

Harry and Lily made their way downstairs to the basement kitchen. Ginny had finished making a breakfast consisting of bacon, eggs, toast, and juice.

"Hey, mum, I just did the reparo spell!" said Lily as she greeted her mother.

"You did?" said Ginny, amazed. "Show me."

Ginny took a plate from the side in the kitchen and broke it on the floor; Lily readied her wand.

"Reparo!"

Sure enough the plate was repaired as good as new. With a quick flick of her wand Ginny levitated the plate off the floor and into the sink ready to be cleaned.

"I'm impressed," said Ginny. "I wish I could have done that before I started Hogwarts. It wasn't until Christmas of the first year before I could manage it."

Lily seemed to be very pleased with herself as she grabbed a clean plate and helped herself to some of the breakfast. The three Potters ate their breakfast, all the time discussing other spells that Lily could do, those she couldn't quite manage yet, and those that both Harry and Ginny wouldn't let her attempt in a million years. They decided to savour the moment as long as they could; it would be many a day before they would have a nice family breakfast again.