FicWad

Chapter four
The next morning came too quickly for Harry's liking, but once he had pulled himself out of bed he made his way over to the bathrooms that he had had to persuade the founders to put into the castle and made his way over to the showers, only to find that there was a large group of boy gathered in the middle of the room trying to work out how to work the taps.
"Umm...Harry you would be able to tell us what these things are would you?"
"They are taps you turn the clockwise to let water come out and anticlockwise to stop it"
"What are these contraptions?" asked another boy who was pointing at the showers
"If you stand underneath the shower head then it will act like a waterfall...except the water will be whatever temperature you want it to be"
"How do you know all of this?"
"I helped to build them...oh watch out for the end shower...Slytherin put it in, the water out of it will always be stone cold"
Harry went back to his dormitory to get changed into his robes before he made his way down to the common room; he sat down with Hanna as they waited for Rodrick.
"What lesson do we have this morning?" he asked
"Spell work with Ravenclaw and healing with Hufflepuff and self defence in the afternoon with Gryffindor..." at that moment Rodrick fell down the stairs
"Sorry I took so long...lets go and get some breakfast"
......................................
The morning had been fairly eventless, but the afternoon was not looking too good, Harry had been paired with the Malfoy child who Harry noticed had made his sword a lot sharper than he was supposed to but the metal was brittle and would probably break if it got wet.
"Right now class. I don't want any accidents, you must be careful when using these...I want you to all go through the basic movements so that I may see down good you are at sword fighting."
As Harry had suspected this Malfoy's idea of basic was the same as his descendant, soon he and Harry were fighting a full blown duel; Harry had to admit it this boy was good, then again this boy had probably learnt sword fighting from a young age
"Potter, Malfoy calm down" came Godric voice, but when he saw that they would not stop he said only, "well all I can say is that someone is going to get hurt and Harry it had better not be Malfoy" Harry rolled his eyes but regretted it a moment later as Malfoy's sword cut his throat
He managed to mutter a faint 'oops' before he crashed to the ground and disappeared
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Harry came to in his room a few hours later, although his throat was a little tender he was pretty much alright, he wanted to visit someone again as he had a few questions for him...he concentrated hard on the felling of being nowhere and found himself face to face with death again.
"Hello, how are you faring?"
"Pretty well...I was just wondering when will I be able to go back to the future?"
"On your birthday...did you know that your birthday is a very special day?"
"Why?"
"Well on that day...and that day is the only day...I am able to transport you through time"
"Right...and I suppose you will use this ability to make my life more interesting?"
"How did you guess?"
"Call it a hunch; I was just wondering is there anything I will not be able to do?"
"Yes..."
"What?"
"Die."
"Oh great..."
"Don't worry it will take you a very long time to learn everything...but not quite eternity"
"Don't you get bored?"
"Not really...but the counselling job gets very boring after a while...I mean when the last dark lord came through the redecorating was fun..."
"Grindlewald?"
"Yep."
"Well I suppose I'd better go or else everyone will be getting worried about me I had better go"
"Hope to see you again soon"
Was the last thing Harry heard as left. He opened his eyes back in his room again and decided on a shower before he left to face the world again.
When he entered the great hall once more the entire place went as still as the grave and everyone's face turned towards him
"What have I got something on my nose?" Harry made his way to the Gryffindor table sat down next to Hanna and Rodrick put some food on his plate and started eating it.
Suddenly the noise returned to the great hall
"Harry, why aren't you dead" asked Rodrick
"I have a slight problem with dying; it just doesn't seem to suit me"
"But your throat was cut didn't that hurt?"
"Yes a lot but I passed out quite quickly"
"How did you apparate inside Hogwarts?"
"It's a charm Rowena designed it so that whenever I am on the Hogwarts grounds and I die then my body transports directly to a secret room in castle."
"Right...so I guess that this is another reason why you couldn't stay with your family,"
"Yes my powers are too volatile...my parents are dead"
"That makes sense then"
"Well, I try..."
....................................
The autumn term passed quickly, Harry had managed to die only nine more times, though if Malfoy had not been their he may have died slightly less often. Rodrick had invited Harry to stay at his house for the mid winter. So it was that on the last day of term he Hanna and Rodrick were sharing a compartment on the Hogwarts express.
"Your house would happen to be called the burrow would it?" Harry asked suddenly curious
"Yes how did you know?"
"Lucky guess I suppose"
"You want to play a game of exploding snap?"
"What?"
"Never mind...it's a gypsy game..."
"Harry, how do you celebrate Christmas at home?"
"We cut down pine trees and decorate them with trinkets and on Christmas day we wake and find a pile of gifts at the foot of our beds"
"Have you bought gifts?"
"Of course,"
"When? We've been with you every time there's been a Hogwarts weekend"
"I went the last time I died...no one can get into the room I go into when I die except me, its one of the rooms in my apartment I have in the castle..."
"Right...I hope you didn't waste too much money on those presents" said Rodrick worried.
"I hope I haven't, but I did get a little carried away..." Harry had still not told Hanna and Rodrick about the small matter that he had been the person who funded the building of the school; he had had to go to the founders for small change when he had gone shopping with them.
...........................
There was a big difference between the kings cross station that Harry knew in the future and the square of the kings cross that existed in this time. Rodrick was pulling Harry over to a red haired man and woman who were standing in a corner of the square waving at them.
"Mother, father this is Harry Potter, he is a good friend of mine from school" said Rodrick formally
"It is a pleasure to meet you my lord and lady Weasly" Harry bowed
"We are no lord and lady and you have no need to bow to us" said Mrs Weasly
"Very well..." Harry was uncertain of his standing and didn't want to offend Rodrick's parents.
"We are going to the burrow by broom, you did bring yours didn't you Harry"
"Yes ma'am"
"Very well there will be more time for talk when we reach the burrow, that is a very nice broom you have there Harry" said Mrs Weasly
"Thank you ma'am"
"Now we're lucky today with the cloud being so low none of the muggles will notice us"
Once they were above the cloud Harry called to Rodrick
"Race you back to your home, bet you a galleon I win"
"Harry don't be stupid, firstly you don't have a galleon and secondly you don't know where my house is?"
"Want to bet on that?"
"I bet I'll win my broom is best of the range"
"For what? Sweeping floors?"
"You've done it now Potter...marks...set...go!"
Harry was careful not to let himself go too fast, but it was hard work he allowed himself to fly neck and neck with Rodrick...
"Harry," called Rodrick, "the enchantment on my broom is failing...I'm falling"
Harry looked back just in time to see Rodrick falling through the clouds, without a second thought he turned his broom into a steep dive he managed to catch Rodrick just about a inch above the ground, looking around he almost swore, they had landed in a muggle village, muggles of this time hated witches and wizards. Harry silently shrank his broom back into his shrunken trunk which he had hanging invisible as a necklace. Then on a flash of inspiration he allowed his wings to form.
The muggles in the fields around them stopped giving him murderous looks and started to fall on their knees and prostrate themselves before him shielding their eyes.
Harry spoke,
"rise god fearing people, I am sorry for dropping in on you but this clumsy idiot fell out of heaven so I had to come and pick him up, as a gift from god for this midwinter season I leave you these foods to see you and you family through the winter"
Harry waved his hand and a large wagon had appeared it was full of rich good foods. While all off the villagers were busy with the wagon Harry picked Rodrick up and took off. It was fortunate that they met up with Mr and Mrs Weasly just as Harry came through the cloud. Mrs Weasly saw Harry and started to scream,
"Please ma'am, he's just fainted, I caught his before he hit the ground"
"Where did you land? This is a densely populated muggle area"
"We were lucky enough to land on a village green"
"What? The ministry will have to be informed"
"I really wouldn't bother...they thought I was an angel so I told them that Rodrick had fallen out of heaven and I had been sent to pick him up...I left them a wagon load of food as well, they looked as if they needed it!"
"Are those wings conjured dear? Because if so then..."
"No what I told the muggles is partly true; I have some angel blood so hence the wings"
"Oh..."
Mrs Weasly spoke no more as her son regained consciousness
"Am I dead?"
"No"
"Good. Harry how did you get me out of that one? And why am I hanging from your broom?"
"I'm not on my broom, I'm flying...I told the muggles I was an angel"
"That must have been funny"
"It was rather...they started to bow down to me..." Harry winced
"Well comfortable as this is, can I borrow your broom?"
"Yes but watch out, it can go twenty times as fast as a horse at full gallop"
"Don't exaggerate"
"I'm not"
"Very well then...is that bet still on?"
Harry nodded, then flew as fast as an express delivery owl, he landed in the garden of the burrow and searched the skies for signs of the others returning and had to duck as Rodrick almost crashed into his head and landed in a patch of prickly bushes
"Harry give me a hand out of this, please, the gnomes are starting to poke me"
Harry ran over to 'rescue' his friend
"You need to show these gnomes who is boss" said Harry
"How do you do that? No spells work on them"
"It is simple you catch them by the ankles spin then around and hurl them over the fence into the field next door" Harry smiled to himself he never thought he would have to show a Weasly how to degnome a garden.
About ten minutes later Mr and Mrs Weasly arrived to find the two boys working like fury
"Hey mine went further than yours did"
"Well done, I find four spins works best"
"Hello children, May I ask what you are doing?"
"Harry know how to rid the garden of gnomes...but he says it needs to be done regularly"
"Oh good, those gnomes are an awful pain...come on in dears we can have a nice cup of tea and some cake"
"Rodrick tells me you are a brilliant cook, ma'am"
"Why thank you...and thank you for saving Rodrick today"
"It was nothing I'm sure he would have done it for me"
"Oh no I wouldn't, there would be no point"
"Rodrick Weasly how can you say such a thing?"
"Rodrick...you wouldn't have wanted me to miss Christmas would you?"
"Good point, but you would have been able to save your self and make all muggles who saw you think that god had blessed their harvest"
"Yours is also a good point...your descendants take after you"
Mrs Weasly looked startled, "are you a seer also?"
"No...do not worry yourself"
Mrs Weasly looked at her watch and then exclaimed
"Merlin, it's very late and it is Christmas Eve this day"
Harry and Rodrick took the hint and went up their bedroom, Harry went over to the window and opened it
"Are you mad Harry? All doors and windows must be kept closed on Christmas Eve"
"Can I bring Hedwig in she was tapping on the window, I just had her deliver a few presents"
"Sorry, I suppose the angel in you would stop any spirits anyway...why did you never tell us?"
"Sorry...I just don't like being different"
They crept into their beds and wished each other good night
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Harry was woken the next morning my Hedwig tapping on the window to be let out. There were a few presents at the bottom of his bed
"Wake up Rodrick"
"Present time, shall we take them down to the kitchen so that we can open them with your parents?"
"We do that every year"
That made their way down to the kitchen Rodrick staggering under the weight of the pile of presents he had been given.
"Morning mother and father" he said once he had dumped his load
"Good morning sir, ma'am"
"There's one present that has been intriguing me" said Mrs Weasly as she pointed at a tall thin box that stood in the corner
"Who is it from?"
"A Potter...but the Potters are too high class to even think about us" muttered Mrs Weasly distractedly"
Rodrick rolled his eyes and said "well I know a certain angel whose surname is Potter"
"Harry" squeaked Mrs Weasly in a startled voice, "this is a present from you?"
"Yes..."
"But you have already given us a great gift by saving Rodrick's life"
"But this present is of no use to any family but yours"
Mrs Weasly walked up to the package and after cutting the strings was helped to remove the wood by Rodrick, before them stood a tall grandfather clock
"it is a family clock, it is set to you immediate family, when someone is born a new hand will appear with that persons name on it, when a person is no more it will rest at death for three days and then disappear"
"Thank you very much Harry, it is beautiful"
Mr Weasly broke up the thoughtful moment, "come on lets open some more presents,"
Harry watched as Rodrick opened his present from Harry, it was a large box of honey dukes sweets.
"Wow Harry, thanks...is that chocolate?"
"Yes Rodrick"
Harry reached into his pile and drew a bulky package from the middle, it reminded him of Mrs Weasly's Christmas jumpers, but it was not a jumper it was a quilt with pictures of magical creatures on it.
"Mrs Weasly this is amazing, your skill with a needle is something out of this world"
Out of the corner of his eye Harry saw Rodrick unwrap a similar quilt, this quilt depicted a story that of Merlin, the colouring was exquisite.
"Thank you, mother, why don't you open a gift"
Mrs Weasly conceded and opened a small round glass ball
"What is this Harry?"
"It is a music ball, it is supposed to contain one thousand tunes, but I added a few gypsy ones that I like, there are instructions with it"
"Father will you open a present?"
"Well as I am somewhat intrigued by this one..." Mr Weasly opened the long thin package from Harry, it was a sword...not especially fancy but evidently of good craft with shapes of animals crafted into the handle.
"This is a very good sword, who forged it?"
"Umm..." Harry felt himself blush
"It must have been a master smith"
"Err...I...umm"
Rodrick decided to spit it out for his friend
"Harry forged it himself"
"Really?"
Harry nodded
"Then I shall treasure it all the more"
To save himself further embarrassment Harry opened one of the gifts in front of him it was from Rowena, it was a book on obscure magics
He opened another one, after he had written down what he had already received on a piece of parchment; this one was from Helga and was a case of samples from rare plants
The next was from Salazar, it was a self restoring potions kit, it contained many potions including wolfsbane which Harry had taught Slytherin, on pain of death that he should tell anyone.
Godric present was next; it was a pair of daggers with foot long blades that could be used for fighting of throwing.
The next one was from Hanna; she had sent him semi precious stones.
The last one was from death, the note read
Hello Harry!
Had to sort out a man who didn't want to die, saw your owl in the distance thought I would leave you this gift sorry, it is so small
Death
It was a bag of Bertie Botts every flavour beans, Harry smiled to himself he would have to get death a gift...that was a hard one...
"What is that? Harry" asked Mrs Weasly pointing at the bag of Bertie Botts every flavoured beans.
"They are a type of sweet...a gift from an old friend of mine"
Christmas day passed with two amazing feats of culinary art and a snow ball fight
Harry lay down in his bed completely happy
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