Harry Potter and the Shifting Timelines

A Stupid Decision

Chapter One

It was the last day of term. Harry was going back to the Dursleys for another long summer.

He could have never gone back there. He could have moved in with Sirius at number 12 Grimauld place. Sirius had been pardoned of all crimes, but it was too late. Sirius was gone, forever. He had no family left.

"Hey Harry, what are you thinking about?" it was Hermione. The trio was sitting in the room of requirement, they had met in here to get away and talk in peace far from the commotion of everyone packing for the end of term.

"Oh nothing" he replied.

"It's Sirius isn't it?" she asked.

"Hermione!" Ron warned.

Harry didn't want to talk about it, but at the same time he did, he wanted to vent his frustrations. So for the first time ever, he did.

He told Ron and Hermione about how frustrated he was, how angry he was, at the world, at himself for letting Sirius die, how it was his fault, how he wished he just had a normal life, all of it. They listened to it all, Harry thought they would stop him, tell him they didn't want to share his burdens, but they didn't, they just sat there and listened.

"I have no family left," he said.

"Harry don't you dare think that!" said Ron, "You have us, and you know my mum thinks of you as her seventh son, and you have my dad and my brothers (the non traitor ones) and Ginny and Neville and Loony Lovegood" Hermione elbowed him at that, "and we are your family mate!"

Harry was surprised, he really hadn't thought about that. He realised now how much his friends had done for him. They had risked their lives countless times to help him, and Mrs. Weasley had always treated him like a son and he never realised!

He was speechless.

"Hey Harry," Hermione said, "I probably shouldn't be telling you this but maybe this can fix everything." she withdrew a time turner from her robes, Harry recognised it as the one they had used in their third year to rescue Sirius, there was one slight difference though, it had a crack along the glass of the hourglass.

"Merlin's beard Hermione you didn't!" exclaimed Ron.

"I may have told Professor Magonnagal it was destroyed at the end of our third year" She explained.

"I had no idea you had it in you to lie to a teacher!" Ron said.

"But time travel!" Harry exclaimed! "It's dangerous, you said yourself time shouldn't be messed with!"

"This is for you Harry" she said, "and for Sirius, you've lost enough people already, we can go back to just after you've had your dream and prevent our past selves from going to the ministry.

Harry didn't know how to feel, he could save Sirius again.

Then he remembered something.

"Just one problem though," he said "the time turner can only send you back a couple of hours, it's been a week since, well you know," his voice broke.

"Not with this one," Hermione explained, "it was damaged shortly after we used it to save Sirius, I meant to go back three hours once and was instead sent back three days.

Somehow this time turner now sends you back a day for every spin not an hour, I spent those three days in the shrieking shack, it was not fun."

"So we go back a week, have a chat with our past selves, save the day, then chill for a week, sounds good to me!" said Ron.

Harry was overwhelmed, he actually had a chance to save Sirius!
"Alright, I'll do it."

"Woah, woah, woah, we are going with you!" said Hermione.

"Yeah stop trying to run into danger without your amazing backup!" exclaimed Ron.

Harry knew there was no arguing with them, he also knew there was no way he was putting his friends, his family, in danger again.

"Alright you win" he said.

Then he lunged for the time turner, he grabbed it from Hermione and started turning it the correct amount of times.

Hermione and Ron weren't going to let him do this alone though.

Just as Harry finished the last turn they lunged for him, and in doing so they knocked the time turner, currently spinning out of his hands just as Harry vanished leaving Ron and Hermione alone in the room of requirement with the time turner.

Harry flew through space and time, had this happened the first time around? Harry was disoriented.

After a little while he landed with a thud on hard ground. He pulled himself up to see he was in the great hall, it was packed, like there was a feast going on.

Harry seemed to be near the head of the Gryffindor table.

The hall was filled with hushed whispers, all eyes seemed to be on him, and standing above him staring at him with wide eyes, was himself.

No this person was different, their eyes were hazel unlike Harry's and he was a few inches taller, no, he knew who this was, this was a sixteen year old James Fleamont Potter.