Ace sat up and rubbed his ears as a bit of phantom pain remained from when his eardrums had shattered moments before he had become a fine red mist that was probably floating around in London right now.
A quick look around revealed that he was in a long white corridor that seemingly went on for an eternity and he quickly summarized everything in his head and came to on singular conclusion.
"Well fuck me, I'm dead." Ace announced to no one.
"Astute observation Mr. Potter." A female voice deadpanned from above him.
Rather than turning around to find the origin of the voice Ace laid down and used his now lying position to look into the eyes of the woman that had spoken.
She looked to be somewhere be a good 1.8-2 meters tall with blonde hair and brown eyes and tanned skin, a healthy looking young woman if Ace had to say anything… and pink panties with red hearts on them, cute.
"If you are quite done staring up my skirt Mr. Potter then we have somewhere to be." Said the woman.
Ace sat up with a sulk before standing completely and brushing himself off which revealed to him that he was wearing a pair of white training pants and matching t-shirt, no shoes though.
"So where am I?" Ace finally asked.
"The Afterlife if that wasn't clear." The woman deadpanned.
Ace snorted before declaring "No really? I thought this was Disneyland!"
The woman rolled her eyes before turning and beginning to walk. Ace quickly realized that he needed to follow and fell into step with her as they walked down the long hallway until they came upon a door with a sign on it.
John Constantine
Senior Soul Manager
"John Constantine… isn't he like a comic book character?" Ace muttered to himself as he rubbed his chin.
The woman gave a small smile before she opened the door and gently pushed Ace inside and then closed the door soundly behind him.
Ace took in the room and realized it was boring as all hell as there was nothing in here aside from a glass desk with a black chair in front of it and a white chair behind it. The white chair was turned around but Ace could see a pair of legs covered in what looked like a pair tuxedo pants and a set of freshly polished black shoes.
"Sit down Mr. Potter; we have a bit to talk about." A familiar male voice said.
Shrugging to himself Ace sat down in the black chair and when he realized it could turn around, began spinning mindlessly until he heard the sound of the other chair turning around. He stopped his own turning, looked upon the man, and was surprised to find Keanu Reeves in a black tuxedo sitting and staring at him.
"I'm sorry for this but… what the fuck?!" Ace exclaimed loudly.
The man didn't seem to take offense and smiled warmly at Ace before he began shuffling through some files in front of him that Ace could have sworn appeared out of nothing.
"I take it my appearance surprises you?" Keanu-replica asked.
"Well that and the name, yeah" Ace agreed.
"Both were merely chosen for your convenience, to make you deal better with speaking with me" Keanu-replica stated.
Calming down slightly Ace sat a bit straighter and gave the man another once over.
"Well then who are you to be specific?" Ace asked.
Looking up the man gave a smile "Well my real name you couldn't pronounce so we will go with John, and as the sign says I'm the senior soul manager of the afterlife, I deal with some of the more important souls throughout history"
"Ookay… so what you dealt with Hitler?" Ace asked lamely.
John gave a slight nod "I did though I am not at liberty to discuss the current status of other souls."
"Fair enough, so what are we going to be talking about?" Ace asked in curiosity as he looked around the office.
"Well first off I must congratulate you on dying to a poorly planned magical explosion that, in all seriousness, shouldn't have killed you." John didn't sound like he was congratulating him.
Ace snorted loudly before shaking his head
"I didn't think Granger actually dared to kill herself just to take me down, did she really love Weasley that much?"
John shook his head "No she did not. Mr. Weasley had gotten her pregnant and she lost the child due to stress shortly after Mr. Weasley's death. She blamed you."
"Of course she did…" Ace grumbled.
"But let us not dwell on that little fact. I am here to discuss your rebirth." John stated as he pulled out a set of papers from his desk.
"Rebirth? You mean I have to go through a new life?" Ace asked in a slightly worried tone.
"No, that would be reincarnation. Rebirth means that I am sending your soul back to your younger body." John explained courtly.
"What?! Oh come on why would you do that? I mean I know I have killed a few kids and puppies but can't I just go to hell?" Ace practically begged. Would you want to live through his life again?
John chuckled at Ace's willingness to face eternal damnation rather than reliving his life in Hogwarts and the attached "Adventures."
"I'm afraid there is no choice Mr. Potter. You see I am sending you back both so you can fix your life but also to ensure that a certain mistake is rectified." John clarified as he shuffled around the papers he had pulled out.
Slumping slightly in his chair Ace looked into the ceiling as he mumbled "What mistake?"
"The fact that rather than destroying the last Horcrux that Mr. Riddle made you decided to transfer the soul fragment in your head to a stone and then threw that stone down into the deepest part of the sea and then kill him, thus robbing us of a soul as it is currently trapped at the bottom of the ocean." John didn't looked too happy as he explained just why they were having this meeting.
"You mean I have to go through hell on earth again because you guys are sour that I'd rather leave Tommy boy down at the bottom of the pacific instead of sending his sorry ass up here?" Ace asked with a sour look.
"A crude way to put it, but accurate none the less." John agreed with a slight nod.
"And there is no way around this?" Ace almost begged.
"Sadly not, but look on the bright side Mr. Potter, you can change anything you wish and we won't interfere, as long as Mr. Riddle's soul finds its way to us then we are content." John said as he hoped this would calm Ace down.
"Really? What if I chose to save Sirius or someone else? What about their souls?" Ace questioned.
"Mr. Potter unless you decided to somehow make them immortal then I can assure you that their souls would come to us in time, we see no harm in waiting a bit for certain souls." John explained with a deadpan expression like Ace was already supposed to know these things.
Ace thought the entire thing over and he realized that certainly there was some bonus for him in the form that he could fix a lot of the shit that happened in his life but there was one very important detail that he simply couldn't let go…
"What about Vanessa?" Ace asked with a shaky tone.
"You mean your lover? She will be placed where she belongs. Mr. Potter you might love her but you must learn to live without her as I am sending you back whatever you want to or not." John stated in a slightly harder tone.
"Then… then… fuck fine! I'll do it but expect to see some souls come flying real fast!" Ace yelled as he slammed his fist against the armrest on his chair.
"If you mean Mr. Weasley and Miss. Granger then I urge you to at least wait a few years, the two might make themselves useful in some way." John suggested.
Ace grumbled his agreement but didn't like it. There was a long list of names he wanted to take down and those two were close to the top, though Albus "too many fucking middle names" Dumbledore was squarely at the top.
"I shall send you back to the moment you arrived on King's Cross station for your first year at Hogwarts. I wish you a pleasant journey and I hope your new life will turn out better." John stated before taking a stamp and slamming it against the papers on his desk.
Ace snorted loudly "Let's see about that" as a bright light began enveloping him.
"You will retain your memories and magical abilities, I urge you to quickly acquire a staff or similar as you will need it. Also we are giving you a few tools to assist you in your job; you will know what they are when the time is right." John remarked with a dismissive hand gesture.
Ace stared at John with ridicule and threw his hands in the air as the last of his body was consumed by the light "Kiss me in the darkest par…" and then he was gone.
King's Cross Station
It was like blinking… with two eyes which was weird, as Ace had gotten quite used to only having one eye. He looked around and sure enough, he was standing at King's Cross right about where Hagrid had left him way back when…
"So here I am huh…" Ace's face fell when he heard his own voice and a loud groan escaped him though with his now distinctly lighter voice it perhaps sounded more like a squeak to him.
"I'm a fucking eleven year old again… oh god I have to go through puberty again?!"
Ace didn't care that people were looking at him like he was insane, he was for all intents and purposes completely off his nutter but that wasn't the issue right now. Pulling his way to large pants forward slightly Ace looked down and he quickly released his pants and looked straight forward with a twitch slowly erupting over his left eye… he was definitely eleven again.
Shaking himself out of his funk Ace began pushing his cart towards the entrance to the platform, though he hoped he could make it before the Weasley clan showed up or he feared there was going to be a blood bath.
Thankfully he arrived at the wall between the two platforms and not a redhead in sight. Not wanting to risk it Ace ran thought the wall quickly and out the other side.
His mouth twitched upwards slightly as he saw the large Hogwarts train in all its glory, it was a sight for sore eyes as Ace did have some nice memories from Hogwarts and this train was the cause of a few… or rather it's lavatory was, damn did Ginny know how to… well that is all in the past.
Ace pulled out his wand and looked at the thing with an offended sneer but he couldn't very well just start using wandless magic here in the open… for now he would fake it until he could get a staff again and then this piece of shit "Brother to Voldemort's Wand" could get thrown in the Black lake for all he cared.
Aboard the train a different problem presented itself… Ace didn't wish to sit in the same compartment because he knew just who was going to come knocking and he didn't wish to face Ron just yet. So that left the problem of finding a different compartment to spend the trip in but who to spend the trip with?
"Well I think there can be only one choice." Ace mumbled to himself as his thoughts fell on a certain girl that he had genuinely been sad to leave behind when he bailed from the Wizarding world, Nymphadora Tonks!
Quickly scanning the compartments for the soon to be seventh year Ace saw a lot of familiar faces and couldn't hide the smile as some of his old friends appeared, damn was he going to enjoy getting to know them again.
Finding the compartment he wished, Ace steeled himself for a moment before opening the compartment door and looking inside. There she sat, pink hair and matching eyes with her Hogwarts robe already on and her nose in a magazine that was surely going to be confiscated by the first teacher that saw it.
"Excuse me?" Ace said weakly.
Tonks looked up and stared at the young boy who she thought to be one of the firsties.
"Wotcher firsty." She declared with a wide grin.
"Do you mind if I crash here for the trip? I really don't want to risk sitting with some of those snobs I saw outside." Ace said, hoping to use Tonks dislike of people like Malfoy to his advantage.
Tonks smiled, she liked how the kid thought. And he seemed decent enough and she couldn't shake this feeling that she knew him somehow.
"Sure come inside kid, I'm Tonks." She announced as she gestured him inside.
Ace quickly levitated his trunk up on the rack much to Tonks surprise; he then sat down and put forward his hand.
"I'm Harry Potter but call me Ace." Ace declared proudly.
Tonks was visibly stunned when she heard his name, perhaps which was why she thought she knew him.
"You are Harry Potter?" She asked dumbfounded.
Ace's eyes squinted dangerously as he glared, he didn't like that tone.
"Yeah, what of it?" He half growled.
Tonks recoiled slightly at the harsh stare and realized her mistake.
"Sorry… I was just surprised. Didn't think I would get to see you before the sorting." She stated in an apologetic tone.
Ace shrugged it off with a grin. "Well I'm here now… got anyone else joining us in here?"
Tonks shook her head "Nah, I like to take the trip to the school alone."
Ace focused on the magazine in Tonks' hands and his eyes widened slightly as a grin spread across his features.
"Playboy Magazine? I can see why you prefer to be alone." He teased.
Tonks' hair shifted through a few colors before settling back on its previous pink hue, a small detail Ace chose to ignore as he didn't really care about Tonk's metamorphmagus abilities aside from them being a good stealth tool.
"How does an eleven year old know what Playboy is? More so how do you know?" Tonks asked suspiciously.
"Grew up with muggles, my uncle had a small stash of those magazines. Stole some when I was bored and looked at them." Ace replied with a small shrug and grin.
Tonks felt her mouth twitch upwards once more, she definitely liked Harry.
"Oh really? What's the whole "Ace" business about?" she inquired as she stuck her nose back into the magazine.
"Just a nickname, I don't really like my name as it draws too much attention." Ace explained.
"Fair enough, what house are you hoping to get in? Gryffindor like your old man or Ravenclaw like your mum?" Tonks asked.
"Oh I'm going to Ravenclaw that's for certain, the house of cannon fodder isn't really my thing and the house of dark lord butt boys isn't my scene either, I could live with being a loyal badger as you guys are cool enough but I much prefer the house of the wise." Ace commented as he ticked each house off on a finger.
Tonks was snickering when Ace had called Gryffindor for cannon fodder and she fell out of her seat when he had used that name for Slytherin, she was definitely remembering that one for later. She respected his choice through and through, even more so because he apparently realized that Hufflepuff wasn't all that bad.
Through all of it she "conveniently" forgot that Harry had grown up with muggles and wasn't supposed to know anything about the magical world, despite what the teacher that came to get him might have told him.
"So have you met any of the other firsties yet?"
Ace shook his head "Not yet and I don't particularly want to either, I saw a group of redheads on the station and one of the looked my age… only he looked to be a few cards short a full deck."
Tonks nodded in understanding "The Weasley family, good people really, but sadly not that well off financially… definitely won't be seeing any of theirs in Ravenclaw"
The two continued their chat during the entire ride and Ace was more than happy to reestablish his old friendship with his cousin, she had been a source of stability for him in these younger years and he hoped she could be it again… though perhaps this time he would like to see her with someone a bit more deserving than Remus.
The train pulled into the station and everyone began shuffling out, Ace and Tonks were among the first as Ace needed to catch the boats and Tonks wanted to get into one of the first chariots so she could get a good seat in the great hall.
"Firsties over here, over 'ere!" Hagrids booming voice reached across the platform.
Hagrid the lovable half-giant called out to all the first years and they all duly followed to the boats where they were informed that no more than four to a boat. Ace seized the chance to get into the boat with three people that he knew had their heads on straight… well two of them did.
"Hello, I'm Susan Bones"
"I'm Padma Patil and this is my sister Parvarti Patil"
Ace smiled as the three girls introduced themselves, he hadn't had much time to get to know Padma as she had been in Ravenclaw back then and he had been in Gryffindor but he had heard good things which he had later gotten confirmed. Her sister though was a little too much of a girly girl in his books but she was a good enough person though a bit of a gossip queen. Susan bones he remembered fondly as the two had been good friends in the years leading up to him leaving the Wizarding world.
"Well I certainly picked the best boat here, three pretty girls and little me. Call me Ace." He stated with well-practiced ease.
The three girls blushed under the compliment, just the reaction Ace had expected. He might be eleven in body but his mind was certainly not and he was going to take full advantage of that fact to woo as many of the girls to his side as quickly as possible… lots of potential alibies for later.
The four had held minor conversations as they sailed towards Hogwarts but the three girls were so enthralled with the school that they couldn't really sustain a meaningful conversation for long.
Once everyone had departed the boat they were shown into the castle and soon they were waiting at the door that would lead them into the great hall where they would be sorted and their lives as Wizards and Witches would begin.
"My brothers told me we have to fight a troll for our sorting…"
That was the first words Ace heard from Ron this time around and they were as utterly stupid as he remembered them to be, of course eleven year olds being just that, eleven, many of them grew fearful but Ace just rolled his eyes and sent a reassuring smile to his three companions who smiled in return.
McGonagall soon came out and gave them all the talk about how their houses would be their family and how the point system worked as well as curfews and the like, she ended with explaining how the sorting would work which resulted in a few muted laughs at Weasley's expense as he looked like a fool for sprouting that troll nonsense.
As they entered the great hall Ace couldn't help the smile on his face… he had missed looking upon that enchanted ceiling and behold its wonders. Now here he was again and some changes were definitely coming, but perhaps it was better to deal with the sorting first.
It was with a smile that Ace listened to the sorting hat's song and realized that it was a different one than the one he had heard in his original first year… a different song each time that was certainly true.
"Abbot, Hannah!"
McGonagall called their first name and the sorting began. Ace tuned out most of the sorting as people were placed right where they were last time, he made sure to look around and focus on a few people in the room though he kept his gaze as far from Snape and Dumbledore as he could.
"Potter, Harry!"
Ace perked up slightly along with most of the hall as his name was called. With a serene smile and a bit of lightness to his walk Harry approached the stool and gave McGonagall a smile before sitting down and feeling the hat placed on his head.
" Aha here's the culprit! A Rebirth Mr. Potter? I expected better of you! "
Harry smiled as he knew that the hat could read his mind but he was certainly surprised that it knew as much as it did… perhaps one should…
" Come now Albinnius, you can't keep me solely responsible… I'm sure you have seen who caused all this and how do you know what a Rebirth is? "
" Hmm yes… the young Miss Granger was certainly disturbed I must say… and give me some credit Mr. Potter; you are not the first victim of a Rebirth to pass through Hogwarts. So what will it be Mr. Potter? Gryffindor again? "
" Merlin No! Ravenclaw like my mother please… this time around I'm not making myself look like an idiot just to make Ron feel better "
" I hoped as much from you Mr. Potter… do come by and talk with an old hat from time to time, I sense you have wonderful stories to tell, as do I "
" Count on it Albinnius "
"Well then better be RAVENCLAW!"
The great hall fell into stunned silence as Harry stood up and went over to join his new house with a smile.
Up at the staff table Filius Flitwick the head of Ravenclaw was ecstatic, the son of Lily Evans was hopefully as big a prodigy as her mother and if he was then Filius would only be too happy to teach him.
No one paid any mind to the black haired lord of grease that was Severus Snape as he sat and brooded in silence over the spawn of James Potter attending this fine institution.
Down with Ace he was talking with a few other Ravenclaw first years and ignoring most of the sorting, he did pay attention when both Hermione and Ron was placed back into Gryffindor and he thanked the hat silently for sparing him the know it all this time around.
He looked through the remaining first years and summarized their houses until he came by one face… it was as if the world around them vanished as Ace recognized the face that despite sitting on an eleven year old could only belong to one person, it could only be…
"Weaver, Vanessa!"