Even as Albus introduced himself Harry didn't lower his guard for a second. In fact, he was even more alert now than he was a moment before.
While he had never heard of Hogwarts, or Albus Dumbledore, Harry had been the Archmage of the College of Winterhold. And the position of Archmage almost always went to the strongest or most knowledgeable mage within the institution. Harry hadn't been when he was originally appointed, but he was a unique case, and he had quickly risen to that rank a few short years later anyways.
Harry didn't know what magic in this world was like, but he readily put it on the same level, or greater, than his own due to that as he regarded the elderly man before him.
"I also have this for you." Albus said, still as casual as ever, as he pulled an envelope out of his robes and held it out to Harry.
"What is it?" Harry demanded as he slowly accepted it with his free hand.
"Your acceptance letter, for Hogwarts." Albus replied, before settling himself into one of the chairs in front of the fire like he didn't have a sword pointed at him.
Keeping half of his attention on Albus, even as the old man started sipping the drink Tom gave him, Harry cautiously looked at the envelope containing his letter.
Mr. H. Potter
Room number 7, The Leaky Cauldron, London
His curiosity growing, Harry opened the envelope and began reading the text within.
~~~
Dear Mr. Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later that July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall,
Deputy Headmistress.
~~~
"Is this for real?" Harry asked warily.
"Of course it is." Albus answered as he sampled some of the little slices of bread Tom had left to go with the soup.
"Hogwarts is a school that traces its legacy back for nearly a thousand years. It is where all of the magical children in Britain attend when they turn eleven. Your name in particular has been down for attendance since the day you were born, and your parents were both particularly talented students of ours. It was a true tragedy what happened to them."
"They were killed because of the prophecy, right?" Harry asked, and old man froze for the first time before looking at him over his half-moon spectacles.
"You know about the prophecy?" He asked quietly.
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives..." Harry recited to Albus, just to measure his reaction.
Sure enough, the old man was looking at Harry completely serious now, as if truly studying him for the first time.
"I must say, even with all the surprising things I saw from you today, I never truly expected THAT." Albus said quietly.
"So you WERE the one watching me." Harry said pointedly.
"Indeed I was. After receiving the owl from Hagrid about being sent out to sea by a magic outburst, I searched for you and followed you for the day to see what was going on."
"Hagrid?" Harry asked in confusion.
"Ah yes! The Keeper of Keys and Gamekeeper of Hogwarts. Since you were not receiving your letters, he volunteered to personally deliver it to you. Yet when he arrived and knocked on the door of the hut you were in last night, he was blasted out to sea and had to swim for a few hours just to make it back to shore in that weather. Truly shocking for a man of his stature."
"..."
Despite his earlier caution, Harry couldn't help but feel more than a little sheepish as he recalled the hulking man he had sent flying the night before. But then again, what else was Harry supposed to think after someone breaks down the front door in the middle of the night?
"Is he ok?" He eventually asked.
"Oh yes! A little waterlogged I'm sure, but Hagrid is quite sturdy. When he learned you had left, he even spent the rest of the night riding up and down the coast in a little rowboat, shouting himself hoarse trying to find you. I practically had to order him to go and get some rest." Albus said with some amusement, before he turned serious yet again.
"But I digress. Shall we discuss the situation regarding that prophecy? And please sit. I'm sure your legs would appreciate it after wandering London all day. I know mine do."
Feeling as if all of the wind had gone out of his sails, Harry(cautiously) sat in the chair beside Albus's while making sure to keep the man in his sights, and while also laying the sword he had pulled from his bag across his lap, keeping it handy in case he needed it later.
"Now then, may I ask as to how you heard of that prophecy? As far as I am aware, only one person has ever heard it in its entirety, and he is sitting right here." Albus said while gesturing to himself.
"How much time do you have?" Harry asked while slowly taking the bowl of soup from the tray, though it had gone cold by now. Nothing a quick Flames spell couldn't fix, and he noticed Albus studying the magic intensely as he used it.
"Normally I would say that I have certains duties to attend to. But for you Harry, my night is yours."
Settling into the chair as he said that, Harry gave the old man a summarized version of the last fifty years for him. Basically just that he had been in another world for all this time, grew to become a man in his sixties, got married, adopted MANY children, possibly siring some he didn't know about, and then was forced to come back after repeatedly experiencing the same dream over and over again.
"Fascinating..." Albus said when Harry's (modified)tale was over, ending with him hearing the prophecy and seeing visions of the night his parents died.
"And now your turn." Harry said while gesturing to him.
"I beg your pardon?"
"I said its your turn. I gave you my answers, now you give me yours. Who was it that killed my parents? Was he who the prophecy was about? Where is he now?"
"..."
For a moment Albus said nothing as he studied Harry, thinking on everything the seemingly young man had told him that night(though he was still nearly half Dumbledore's age).
Finally, he sighed in resignation.
"Very well, Harry. But I want you to understand, much of what I'm about to tell you was supposed to wait until you were older. Firstly, the man you saw in your visions, the one who killed your parents. His name was Tom Riddle. But the world knows him almost exclusively by another name. Voldemort.
"In our world there are those who care about supposed 'blood purity' when it comes to wizards. We can typically be catagorized as either pure bloods, who have rich wizarding heritage, half bloods, who have mixed wizarding heritage, and muggle-borns, who have no wizarding heritage.
"Around twenty years ago, Voldemort rose in power as a dark wizard advocating for pure blood supremacy, and so many amongst the old families followed him as his power and influence grew. But this was no mere difference in philosophy.
"Any who disagreed with Voldemort's ideals, or stood in his way, were mercilessly killed or worse, regardless of their blood status. And as his power grew, our society in Britain almost collapsed as people began to fear even their own friends or family of either serving him, or being put under his control via magical means.
"Then came the prophecy...
"While I am the only one who has heard it in its entirety, a follower of Voldemort heard part of it, and brought it to his master to warn him. And soon after, you were born and your parents had to take you into hiding.
"Through the ultimate betrayal by one of your father's closest friends, Voldemort found you when you were just over a year old, and killed both Lily and James before turning wand onto you. And then he cast it...."
"Avada Kedavra." Harry said, to which Dumbledore nodded.
"A most vicious curse, that instantly kills any struck by it. Unblockable through magical means, none have ever lived after being struck by it, except for you. But while it did not kill you, it still left its mark upon you."
Harry's hand then went to his forehead, where he had a jagged scar in the shape of a lightning bolt. The same scar he knew the people downstairs were staring at when they heard his name.
"After failing to kill you, Voldemort's curse rebounded and struck him instead. Destroying his physical form. Everything he worked for collapsed almost overnight. The Ministry of Magic worked around the clock to round up everyone who supported him, though unfortunately several managed to slip through the nets. Amongst them though was the man who betrayed your parents, who even now sits in prison where he will stay for the rest of his life."
"What is his name?" Harry asked him suddenly.
"Pardon?"
"The man who betrayed my parents. What was his name?" Harry repeated in a firm voice.
"His name, is Sirius Black." Albus finally said after a moment, as if debating on whether or not he should tell him.
"I want to meet him."
"!!!"
Albus looked at Harry sharply when he heard that.
"Why would you want to do that?"
"The man betrayed my parents to their death. I think I at least deserve to ask him why." Harry stated while directing a firm look at Albus, who seemed slightly relieved at that answer.
"So you don't intend to pursure revenge?"
"To me, it happened sixty years ago. I don't know my parents or anything about them, only that they gave their lives for mine. In his case, I just want to know why he betrayed his closest friend in such a way. As for Voldemort, I intend to enact justice on him for his crimes against my family. Not revenge, justice."
"What makes you think Voldemort is still around?" Albus asked while studying Harry.
"Well, when I came back I heard the prophecy that sent him after me to begin with, so it stands to reason he isn't quite dead yet. Plus you said so earlier, he didn't die that night. His physical form was destroyed. That tells me he survived somehow, out there."
Dumbledore nodded slowly to Harry's reasoning.
"I believe you are correct. Unfortunately I cannot prove it just yet."
"How did he do it?" Harry asked next.
"Truthfully? I don't quite know myself. There have been many a dark wizard who sought immortality throughout history. He could have used any one of the methods they came up with, or he could have invented something entirely new himself."
"You have a theory." Harry stated as he studied Albus.
"A theory, and no way to confirm it just yet. I would like to before saying anything specific."
Harry nodded slowly in affirmation, already planning to start doing his own research once he arrived at Hogwarts, as where else could he start making the preparations he needed? Plus Harry wouldn't mind learning more magic that he didn't know just yet. He just hoped there wouldn't be as much theory to study.
"And Sirius Black?"
"I shall talk to the Ministry about allowing you to see him for yourself, with me accompanying you of course. Azkaban is quite horrible to visit, and I have some questions to ask him myself."
"You didn't ask them before now?"
"We were quite busy after the fall of Voldemort. Plus the evidence against Sirius was pretty damning when he was captured after blowing up an entire street, and killing twelve muggles along with another wizard, another of your father's closest friends, Peter Pettigrew. With dozens of witnesses it was a pretty open and closed case, and he was sent directly to Azkaban prison with a life sentence."
"..."
Harry said nothing as he took a deep swig of his drink, which was quickly growing on him despite the lack of alcohol.
"Do you disagree?" Albus asked, noting Harry's silence.
"Just thinking. I had my own experience when I first entered Skyrim, where I accidentally walked into an ambush meant for the leader of the rebellion taking place there. I was captured along with him and his men, and we were promptly taken to the nearest hold for immediate execution via beheading. It was obvious to anyone with a brain I wasn't involved, but the Imperials decided to execute me anyways out of convenience. The axe was literally about to come down on my neck when the hold was attacked by a dragon."
"Thankfully we don't have the death penalty here, but that does sound like a thrilling tale. Would you be willing to share it?"
Harry smirked as he recalled the entire story, as the dragon that attacked was none other than the World Eater himself, Alduin. So basically he ensured Harry would defeat him by preventing his death from the moment he entered Skyrim. If only the Wyrm waited just a couple more minutes.
His previous tension when he first met Albus almost completely forgotten, Harry shared with him some of the tales of his life and travels in Skyrim, while Albus responded in kind by telling Harry some of the stories regarding his parents. Specifically the trouble his dad used to get up to back when he was in school with his friends, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and the fourth member of their group, Remus Lupin.
***
The next morning Harry's eyes wandered in every direction as he took in the scene of the alley before him, Diagon Alley to be specific, as numerous shopkeepers prepared to open for the day.
"It is quite something the first time you see it." Albus said beside him with a smile.
"And much better than London." Harry said in agreement, as he prefered Diagon Alley to the rest of the city outside.
"I am sure the modern Muggle world is quite overwhelming to someone who has spent the majority of the last fifty years in what amounts to medieval Norway." Albus replied with mirth, even as he steered Harry to their first destination. Gringotts.
The wizarding bank was a massive snowy-white building that dwarfed every other building in the alley, with goblins standing guard out front that reminded Harry of the rieklings that were found throughout Solstheim. And after they passed through the first set of bronze doors, they found themselves with another set of doors, silver this time, with an inscription on them.
Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed,
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn.
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there.
Harry couldn't help but take those words as a challenge, as an agent of Nocturnal, and when he and Albus were bowed into the main hall by a pair of goblins guarding the doors, he couldn't help but think he'd been dropped into a thief's wet dream.