Headmaster Dumbledore's office was still the same as ever, minus a few trinkets perhaps. The headmaster seated himself behind the desk, still giving Harry a curious look, though there was less of an edge to it than before.

After a moment, he spoke. "It is not every day the wards inform me there is an intruder who isn't."

Harry blinked, and pushed a strand of hair out of his eyes. Then he blinked again. That's odd, I don't think it was that long before. Hermione only cut it two weeks ago.

The Headmaster smiled slightly. "The wards informed me there was an intruder on the grounds, but at the same time they were unsure that you were an intruder. As that is generally not an everyday occurrence, I felt it warranted a personal investigation."

Harry grinned in spite of everything. Professor Dumbledore had evidently been in possession of his sense of humor for a very long time. "I guess that's kind of one way to put it sir. I'm not exactly from around here, but I know Hogwarts pretty well."

The headmaster eyed him sharply, all trace of his usual twinkle gone from his eyes. "Perhaps I should be asking when you are from, rather than where."

Harry felt his jaw drop. How does he bloody do that? He remembered just in time that the headmaster was a legilimens and broke eye contact.

The headmaster smiled briefly. "Let's just say that taking things out of context can indeed occasionally help." Then he tilted his head. "You also seem strangely familiar, though I can't place it. I can only assume that you are the child of one or more of my current students."

Harry nodded, feeling somewhat lost for words. Little wonder Voldemort had always feared the man, if he was this canny. "Yes sir."

The headmaster tilted his head. "Do you have a specific reason for coming to this time?"

Harry licked his lips and shook his head. "Not exactly. It was sort of accidental."

"I see." The headmaster rose and began pacing behind his desk. "Perhaps it might help if you told me just how you got here then. Anything could be important."

Harry bit his lip. "Umm, no offense sir, but I'm not sure I should. It kind of involves you and a couple of people here."

Professor Dumbledore eyed him briefly. "Very well then, perhaps what you feel you can tell me."

Harry smiled slightly. "A time turner, a pensieve, memories, and phoenix tears."

Albus Dumbledore stopped short and stared at him. "I see." Then he sat back down behind his desk with a sigh. "Was the time turner set for any particular number of turns?"

"I doubt it sir. It kind of um, shattered when it fell into the pensieve."

The headmaster frowned. "In that case, arrangements shall have to be made." When Harry looked confused, the old man smiled. "Until it is proven otherwise, we'll operate under the impression that the time turner is responsible for your trip. This of course means that you could be with us for quite some time. "He clapped his hands. A squat bowl on one of the tables sprouted wings and fluttered across the room to land in front of him.

Tapping his wand on the inside of it, the Headmaster said, "Time turners are a very old form of magic." A wispy golden image of an hourglass appeared over the bowl. "They are made using a special form of sand and ancient spells. While the sand is renewable, it is in extremely limited supply, and there is only enough produced to create one time turner a year."

The image in front of them rotated slowly. "What you see before you is one of the first time turners." The headmaster said. Back in those days, they were capable of much more lengthy travels, and could actually be adjusted as needed. Unlike modern time turners, they could also bring you back."

The image shrank. "Unfortunately, as time went on, pardon the pun, the source was overused, and the ability to make larger time turners was lost. This was deemed for the best however, as there have been many disasters with time travel. By now, most of the more ancient time turners have been either destroyed or otherwise ruined. The few remaining are either well hidden, or in very well guarded collections."

The image faded as the headmaster gently shooed the bowl away. "Now, there is in fact, one of the ancient time turners within the school. However I would not recommend attempting to return to your own time with it."

Harry stared at him. "Why not sir?"

The headmaster frowned slightly. "First of all, they can be highly unpredictable. It would be far too easy to overshoot your mark. Secondly, two time turners should never counteract each other. "

"Why?"

The headmaster smiled again. "The results can be very unpleasant." he said cheerily. "People tend to explode across the time stream."

"Explode across the time stream?"

The headmaster waved a hand airily. "Oh yes, a bloody arm in the twentieth century, an eyeball in the seventeenth century, that sort of thing." He gave Harry a conspiratorial wink. "And those muggle Americans wonder what happened to Amelia Earhart."

As Harry digested this rather disturbing insight, the headmaster clapped his hands briskly. This time it was the sorting hat that responded, leaving its shelf to float into the headmaster's hands. "Now then." He said. "It stands to reason that you are best suited to remain here in the castle." He paused. "How old are you, by the way?"

"Seventeen sir. I was born in July."

The headmaster frowned. "Hmm…You look fifteen." Ignoring Harry's answering frown, he said, "That works out splendidly then. You'll have up to two years you can effectively hide on campus." He held up the sorting hat. "That just leaves us with which house you'll be in."

He held out the sorting hat invitingly. Harry grinned and took it, placing it on his head. He couldn't help laughing as it fell all the way over his eyes again, just as it did in first year. Godric Gryffindor must have been a big man. He thought.

"Nah, he just had a big head. One too many spells to the face during the wars back then." The sorting hat sounded as grouchy as ever, and it brought another wave of emotion crashing down on Harry. He was grateful that the brim was over his eyes, as it absorbed the few tears that actually did manage to escape.

Harry got a distinct impression of a smile in his head. "Ah now, don't worry. You'll find it's pretty hard to get rid of me. But dry those eyes eh? You'll salt my sweet disposition." Harry gave a laugh that hid a hearty sniffle. "Much better. Now let's have a look and see where you go."

The hat was silent for a long moment. Then it said softly, "Well, I can see Gryffindor was your home before, but do you think you'd do better in another place?"

It sounded as though it was an honest question, and Harry gave it a moment of thought as the hat waited patiently. Finally, he thought to the hat, I think I fought against something that could have helped make everything so much better. I think maybe If I had gone where you wanted to send me the first time, everyone else wouldn't have lost so much.

"None lost so much as you." The Hat's voice was quiet. "None faced as much darkness and sadness in their time as you, that I can see. Yet it is you who came out strong and true, you who fought on, knowing what you faced. Those are the elements of true Gryffindor courage shining in you."

I wanted a better world for everyone else. Harry thought. And I knew I could do it. I knew I had to do it, if anyone ever wanted to see peace.

"And that-" the hat thought with satisfaction, "would be the truest elements of cunning and ambition shining out again, the elements valued by Slytherin!" Harry realized abruptly that the last word had been shouted.

The hat lifted off his head to reveal the headmaster's smiling face. "Well then, that's decided!" he said brightly. If he saw any indication of Harry's emotional moment, he tactfully made no mention. "Shall we go to your common room and introduce you to your dorm mate?" He paused. "Oh, but first, we need you to be in uniform." He pointed his wand at Harry, and there was a disorienting swirl of fabric. It settled a moment later into a somewhat short uniform.

Eyeing it critically, Professor Dumbledore said, "My apologies at the length, but clothing was always the area of transfiguration that I was least practiced in."

Harry shrugged. "That's okay sir." He grinned. "This is actually the first time something's been too small for me, rather than the other way around."

The headmaster's eyes narrowed, but all he said was, "Splendid! If you'll come with me, then we'll get you introduced to your housemates, and get your rooming squared away." The he paused and put both hands on Harry's shoulders. "But remember! Don't tell anyone where you're from or what's going to happen!" He paused. "Unless you're supposed to, in which case for the love of Merlin, don't not do it!"

At Harry's somewhat confused nod, they were off. It was a short, but informative trudge through the castle. Harry found himself looking over everything as they walked.

The headmaster chuckled as they started down into the dungeons. "Not what you're used to seeing?"

Harry grinned. "Not exactly sir. It's a treat just seeing everything quiet and in one piece."

Looking ahead, harry missed the elder man's expression, and therefore the false casualness of his next question. "Bit of construction was there?"

Harry snorted. "Hardly. Everyone was fighting for their lives against Voldemort and his Death Eaters." He winced and stopped short. "Oh shite! I mean…"

The headmaster waved a hand dismissively. "It's alright. I'm in no position to be taking points for a stray word." He winked. "Especially when I've been known to let a few of them slip myself."

Harry grinned for a moment before sobering. "I suppose I should tell you anyway. Voldemort was defeated and came back years later, during my fourth year. Before long, he'd captured most of wizarding Britain. When I left my time, Hogwarts was making its final stand against him and his followers."

Dumbledore tugged at his beard thoughtfully. "What year did you say you were from again?"

Harry shot him a look. "I didn't." To his relief, the headmaster grinned again. "Professor McGonagall is a hell of a fighter by the way."

The headmaster smiled. "Indeed she is. It's one of the reasons I hired her. A better duelist you'd be hard pressed to find."

"Except for Professor Flitwick."

"Well he was once freestyle champion, but really, who do you think taught Minerva?"

The ensuing dueling spell discussion lasted all the way to the dungeon.