2017

"As you all know," Dennis informed the crowd, "this nondescript Muggle house was the childhood home of Harry Potter. Its preservation is the principal interest of the Creevey Historical Foundation. Now, you're probably wondering why the president of the foundation would personally give tours? Well, that just goes to show how far my devotion to Harry Potter really goes... as well as demonstrate our lack of funds." There were a few scattered chuckles.

"Well," he said awkwardly, having obviously been hoping for bigger laughs, "I suppose I should step back and explain my own personal interest in Harry Potter. You see, he and I went to Hogwarts together back in the '90s and I was one of a few students that knew him well. In fact, my own son, Martin Creevey, shares his Hogwarts dormitory with Harry's son Albus." Harry could only presume that Dennis' son must have been the mousy-haired boy that let him into the dormitory.

"From the outside," Dennis went on, "none of the Muggles living on the street could have ever guessed that someone extraordinary lived inside these walls. In fact, Harry's own Muggle relatives, the Dursleys, never truly appreciated how special their nephew really was -- perhaps no Muggle ever could."

"And where are these Dursleys now?" a tall wizard asked curiously.

"Well, you see, the Dursleys, er... never really liked our world," Dennis explained, "and, out of their Muggle fear of magic, they often made Harry's life under their roof quite miserable. You can imagine how they'd feel about wizards going up to them and asking them for autographs. Therefore, we've opted to keep their whereabouts quiet out of respect for their contribution to the Harry Potter legacy."

Their "contribution to the Harry Potter legacy"? Harry thought angrily. Why couldn't Dennis just say that the Dursleys were horrible people? Why was everyone who hated Harry suddenly given so much respect?

Dennis Creevey led the tour group into what used to be the Dursleys' living room. The room, which was barely large enough to hold all the people, looked much the way it had when Harry lived there, except that it was now adorned with various items related to Harry. The mantelpiece, which had always been dedicated to pictures of Dudley, now seemed to be entirely devoted to Harry. A broom Harry recognized as his Nimbus Two Thousand was hanging on the wall, apparently glued together after having been completely totaled. A case nearby held a badge reading POTTER REALLY STINKS.

"This was the Dursleys' living room," Dennis informed the tour group. "Note that it's been meticulously restored to look exactly as it did when Harry lived here. Now, my own late brother Colin took this photograph of Harry back in 1992. It's always been of special importance to me."

The picture Dennis was pointing at showed a handsome, flamboyantly dressed man trying to pull an arm Harry recognized as his own into the frame. The name "Gilderoy Lockhart" was elaborately scrolled below this man. Several people leaned forward to take a picture of the picture.

"Yes, that's Gilderoy Lockhart," Dennis said proudly. "Colin got Lockhart to sign it, but Harry was, unfortunately, too modest. Yes, Harry and Lockhart knew each other -- in fact, they were even featured on the front cover of the Daily Prophet as you can see over here."

Dennis led the tour over to the wall opposite the fireplace, which was covered with newspaper clipping. The one he was pointing at ("Harry Potter Meets Future Teacher Lockhart") was dated 20 August, 1992. A few of the headlines that bounced out at Harry read "Harry Potter: The Chosen One?" (1996), "Harry Potter Marries Weasleys' Daughter" (2002), "Harry Potter: 'Disturbed and Dangerous'" (1995) and "Harry Potter and Weasley Student Win Awards for Services to Hogwarts" (1993). The papers seemed to be organized in chronological order and earliest one was located to the left of all the others. Dated 1 November, 1981, the headline read "You-Know-Who Defeated by Potter Baby?"

"The Dursleys left this place in 1997 to go into hiding from Voldemort," Dennis continued, "and have since settled elsewhere. We at the Creevey Historical Foundation bought the house in 2003 and immediately sought to turn into a museum honoring what a great person Harry Potter truly was. Up ahead you can see the actual cupboard that served as Harry's bedroom for ten years."

The cupboard door was leaned open and Harry saw his own likeness lying on the makeshift bed. The fake Harry had apparently even been bewitched so that his chest would rise and fall as though in slumber. A witch squealed "Oh, look how small it is!" as several other people leaned forward to photograph the display.

"Harry left his cupboard and moved into a proper bedroom shortly before he started Hogwarts," Dennis continued. "Upstairs we have beautifully restored his room to look just as it did when he inhabited it. Unfortunately, most of the possessions Harry kept there are still in his possession, so we've filled the room with some replacements and, for his personal possessions, carefully constructed replicas. Based on weeks' of research we've even tried to simulate the untidy state Harry would've kept the room in."

As the clamoring crowd eagerly followed Dennis up the Dursleys' staircase, Harry slipped away. There was no way he wanted to see a guided tour of the mess in his bedroom. He walked back into the living room, which was just as ultra-clean as Aunt Petunia kept it. Ironically enough, the level of cleanliness in number four had always reminded Harry of a museum. Suddenly, a wide smile split across his face. He was thinking about how the Dursleys would react if they knew wizards had turned their home into a museum about Harry.

Still grinning, he turned to look at the newspapers. One particular headline caught Harry's eye:

VOLDEMORT DEAD!

"CHOSEN ONE" POTTER FULFILLS PROPHECY

The edition was dated "24 May, 1998" -- less than seven years in Harry's own future. Harry quickly calculated that that meant he would kill Voldemort just as he was finishing Hogwarts. He looked at the picture that accompanied the story and saw a seventeen-year-old version of himself along with those who he recognized as Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny and Luna. They were standing somberly -- and barely moving -- in the Great Hall, which was filled with what looked like dead bodies. Clearly the defeat of Voldemort had not been a completely happy occasion.

It struck Harry that his entire future could be found in these newspaper clippings -- all the answers he sought were on this wall. Harry scanned the 1998 article and vaguely made out that there had been a huge battle at Hogwarts. He eventually found a reference to Snape, but it only listed him as a casualty and mentioned he was headmaster. Well, maybe Rose was right then. Voldemort attacking Hogwarts would give Snape plenty of opportunity to nobly sacrifice himself. That could have inspired Harry to name his son after Snape, couldn't it?

It seemed to make sense, but a lingering doubt remained. After all, the Snape of 1991 did not appear to be at all the self-sacrificing type. But wasn't Harry turning to the Dark Side more unlikely? Well... Harry wished he could be more sure about that, but he wasn't. He quickly decided he'd take a look at the other newspapers.

"POTTER!!"

Harry spun around and saw a gray-haired, toad-like woman standing in the entrance to the Dursleys' living room -- and pointing a stubby wand directly at him! Based on the state of her, you'd have thought she spent the last ten months living in a jungle somewhere. In fact, she was wearing a tattered pink cardigan that was probably at least ten years old.

"D-d-do I know you?" Harry asked her nervously.

"Not yet," she said nastily, "But you will -- or won't. You see, you're the one who completely ruined my life!"

"I did?" Harry asked in surprise. "Sorry."

"My name is Dolores Umbridge," she told him, "And you're Harry Potter. I heard you ran off from the Leaky Cauldron -- always breaking rules, aren't you, Potter? The Ministry is searching for you as we speak, but I still have my connections there and now I've found you first. I knew you'd come back here -- knew you'd come back to your filthy Muggle roots where you belong!" Harry quickly grasped that the ruination of this Umbridge woman's life had probably been a good thing.

"Look, if you know what's happened, you must realize that I have to get back to 1991," he told her. "Otherwise, history would be changed." Umbridge laughed.

"Yes, that's exactly what would happen, isn't it?" she said in a falsely sweet voice. "In fact, if you didn't go back, you wouldn't have been there to stop me from taking over Hogwarts in 1995. Just think; with Hogwarts under my control then, I might just make it to Minister by 2017..."

Realizing that there was no reasoning with this woman, Harry looked around for a quick escape. His eyes settled on the Nimbus Two Thousand on the wall, but it looked like it would never fly again and Harry had left the fully-functional 1991 version in the Leaky Cauldron. Seeing no other option, he made a mad dash towards the Dursleys' kitchen.

"You won't escape me, Potter!" Umbridge shouted, raising her wand. "Avada Kadavra!" A flash of green light flew out of her wand and hit Harry in the chest.