Jump 3: Harry Potter
Origin: Drop-In [1050] - Going back to my talk about attachments, would be great to not have to worry about family.
Wealth: Poorfag - Par for the course!
House: The dice say Slytherin, which...heeeeell noooooo. So I'll go Hufflepuff.
Perks:
Just and Loyal - Got a good sense of fair play that promotes FRIENDSHIP in folks who think like I do. Long as I act decent, other decent folk will support me. Which is nice!
Occlumency - My mind's not a nice place to be. No tells, stronger mental defenses. [950]
The Only One He Ever Feared - Able to look magically scary and powerful at will. It's the ultimate party game! [750]
Most Potente Potions [450] - I need a hobby. Potion-making, Harry Potter style. Won't screw up, and will think of innovative formulas and uses for potions.
Memory Spell Specialist [0] - Good at memory-erasing charms. I think I get why this is sitting snugly in the Drop-In tree...

Items:
Wand - Dragon heartstring for a core because I am an aggressive fuck.
Potion Reagents - Because ingredient hunting is for squares and Elder Scrolls protagonists! No extremely rare ingredients, though. [150]
Dark Arts Cache - Because sometimes you have to bend the rules to enforce them...right, old lady? [50]

I remembered something. It was during the time of my training at Kamar-Taj. The skies were a bit overcast and there was a breeze in the courtyard. I was finally getting the hang of using a sling ring - I was forming a complete portal in a few minutes, and was practicing so I could eventually form one in just a few seconds. I think one reason I had rushed learning that particular technique is because I didn't want to be the latest victim of the ‘Mt. Everest Magical Training Sink-Or-Swim Special Patented Ancient One Technique.’ Speaking of the old lady, she was watching me curiously. I think the conversation went something like...

“Your first instinct is always to run away. To escape.”
I didn't deny it. That's why I was out here in the first place. I knew the world would always keep spinning without me, no matter what I chose to do...so I just focused on myself and what was in my arm's reach. That's why the sling ring portals were my first priority. So I could escape from any more trouble.
“Mr. Strange believes his world is the be-all, end-all...but it seems you have the opposite problem.”
...opposite problem? Isn't this just humility?
“Believing you should carry no burdens and bear no responsibility is no different from believing the world lies on your shoulders. It carries the same sense of self-importance, just from a different perspective. The Multiverse is vast, and you have been given an opportunity very few ever reach, or even come close to grasping.”
I know, I know that...I didn't really do anything to deserve it. So I shouldn't flaunt it or act too big for my britches?
“It's not about your pride or what you perceive as hubris, Anon. It's about what you choose to deny or turn your back on. When you released Circe, your first instinct was to turn around and fight, wasn't it?”
I couldn't stand the idea of someone dying because of my screw-up.
“You immediately risked your life and the gifts you were given in the name of strangers, and yet you devalue your own actions. There will come another time, I think, where your conscience calls you to do something you wouldn't have imagined before then.”
...and when it does?
“That is your choice. But the more you fight your own nature, the more suffering your journey will bring you. I hope that whatever choices you make on your quest, you do so with an open mind and a clear heart. If you cannot overcome yourself, then you cannot overcome the enemies and the darkness you are bound to encounter.”
I just nodded and accepted it, even if I didn't quite internalize it at the time.
I didn't realize what she meant until I tried and failed to save her life.

The sound of the train whistle woke me up from where I was resting, my head leaned against the window of the Hogwarts Express. It was in the dead of night and the train was slowing to a halt. I blinked and looked in front of me...Hobbes was napping in the seat across from me, with me having setup an illusion of him being an ordinary dog. I don't remember if non-Owl pets were actually allowed here, but that's what the Pokeball was for. Besides, it had been too long since my canine companion got some fresh air. I could hear Hagrid - Hagrid, imagine it! - calling for us all to start leaving the train. I quietly returned Hobbes to his Pokeball, his sleep undisturbed as he turned into a red beam of energy once again, placing it away into the pocket of my robe along with my Sling Ring.

I wonder why I remembered that moment, of all things...?
“Stop fighting my own nature...” I mumbled it thoughtfully to myself, my fingers fidgeting with the Sling Ring in my pocket as I stepped off the train with many other students. I blended in, just another face in the crowd, no one really acknowledging my presence. Maybe it was just from my mental age or my attitude, but I felt more like a background prop that one of the new First Year students. I tried to see if I could spot Harry or anyone else I recognized, but it was a bit too dark aside from the lamps around the train station.

It was going to be a long decade.

First Year:

Hogwarts felt suitably archaic as we were all herded into the Great Hall. The boat ride on the way over was incredibly boring - while everyone around me was watching the castle with slack-jawed awe, I just wanted the cramped ride to end. After having your soul sent screaming into the Multiverse as part of an exercise and even just Pokemon before that, your sense of wonder is a bit tempered - not gone, but tempered. Also because sitting on a wooden boat on a lake in the middle of night is FUCKING COLD. I ended up in the middle of the crowd in the back, taking in the environment. I was a bit antsy since I knew I'd be stuck on the grounds for most of the year since my ‘boss’ made it abundantly clear I wasn't allowed to let everything be someone else's problem. After all, I was their entertainment.

...this train of thought made me wonder if they were watching me all the time, though. Including moments where I would GREATLY appreciate privacy. I slapped myself a few times to banish the thought.

Harry's first meeting with Draco happened in front of us, with everyone except me being impressed at the presence of The Boy Who Lived, since I was too busy spacing out and thinking about something else. Something I noticed is that the conversation felt...different from how I remembered it. Maybe it was just the difference between the movies and the books, but while the same thing happened - their rivalry beginning at this moment - the lines felt a little bit different. I couldn't really tell at the time due to how fuzzy my memories of ‘canon’ really were.

When I got sorted, the Hat got really quiet for a few moments. Everyone looked at me a bit curiously before the hat's ‘mouth’ creased into what looked like a frown. Then he let out an exaggerated sigh and then unenthusiastically said: “Hufflepuff.” In a quiet, almost dejected voice. Like someone reading lines from a script they only wanted the paycheck for. I shrugged and went on over to the Hufflepuff table, who gave a round of applause like they did for anyone else sorted in. A few people in the Ravenclaw and Slytherin tables were snickering at me, like it was some indicator I was probably an amazingly dumb student. My absent-minded expression didn't help much. Doesn't this usually go a lot more smoothly in fanfiction...?

Anyways, learning in Hogwarts...I wanna say it was a mystical, enchanting experience but the fact of the matter was that I had just finished learning a combination of kung fu and magic from drawing power from the Multiverse from a century-old teacher just previously. The lessons at Hogwarts felt really sluggish and droning in comparison, and the Defense Against The Dark Arts class in particular felt...I don't know, toothless? Most interesting thing that happened there was when Quirrel asked me what I should do when confronted at wandpoint by a Dark Wizard? The ‘correct' answer was to run or hide behind something, since most spells needed eye contact or a projectile. My answer was: “Well, I'd grab his wrist and move the wand, then deliver a quick punch in the windpipe so they couldn't recite a spell. Then I'd hit the groin or the stomach and then--” Some of the class started chuckling, and Quirrel said in his usual nervous stutter, “Y-yes, I'm sure that would be wise to do if you were a grown adult. But the fact is, most dark wizards wouldn't let you get close enough to use such...hamfisted s-self defense techniques.”

Remember this moment.

Despite the fact I came off as a weirdo who tried too hard to look tough, with my ‘Monkey’ nickname resurfacing during an incident I was climbing a bookshelf instead of waiting for a ladder, I did manage to make a few friends in-house. Nervous and slightly-gullible Justin Finch-Fletchley actually took my self-defense tips seriously and asked me on ways to fight a wizard without a wand. Fact is, we were both kids and most of what I said wouldn't help him in a serious fight, but we were both kids and I was just happy to have someone who would listen to me. The other was Susan Bones, who would eventually hold the world record for ‘most orphaned person next to Harry Potter’. She was a little bit dour and depressed as a result of her parents being dead, so I found myself unable to resist the urge to try and cheer her up with a few dumb jokes and puns. She didn't appreciate it, but seemed disappointed when I acted serious. It was a weird friendship.

I tried not to think too hard about the fact I was technically older than everyone else there.

Second thing was Professor Snape. I was a little bit prepared for the worst time of my life considering how vividly I remembered he was a bit of a sadist as a teacher...though I had forgotten it was mostly directed at Harry and the Weasleys most of the time. I was worried doing well in Potions would make him direct his ire to me in some way. But when I handed in my first test, he just looked at the paper, frowned, but then nodded once and just said: “Acceptable.” And that was it.

I felt kind of cheated, honestly.

Once I had adjusted, though, First Year was really uneventful for me. Sure I had to relive school again, but it wasn't too bad. That said, I came off as a bit of a late bloomer when it came to magic - the biggest problem was the crossed wires when I tried sorting out ‘this’ magic from the magic I learned in the last world. It didn't help I'd regularly sneak off into my Dojo to read the many, many collection of spellbooks I still had from that world instead of actually studying for tests in this one. Ironically, the only class I consistently aced was potions, and I came off as a dullard at nearly everything else.

And then Second Year happened.

The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir, beware.

In terms of classes, I had originally figured the reason the lessons felt so slow and dumb was because of me having to adjust and the fact they were literally geared towards kids. But I started noticing a trend in the lessons - we would learn about individual spells but not touch on things like how to make your own or even safety tips that weren't incredibly contextual. It was just repetition after repetition, and having peeked at the textbooks of some of the older students, it didn't change much between grades. Oh, and Snape apparently interpreted me as only being a potions savant and a moron at everything else last year as a challenge, especially when it looked like I was spacing out in class. He assigned me ‘extra credit’ work that he would deduct points for Hufflepuff in if I didn't complete it, but didn't actually give me any extra grade or points of my own if I completed it. It was the ‘write out the same formula by hand multiple times’ sort of work, too.

Jackass.

Of note, I had been keeping Hobbes under an illusion most of the time to look like an ordinary dog, but when I found out Hogwarts didn't really care about exotic pets as long as they didn't attack other students, I gave up on maintaining it and let the dog out whenever we got a moment's rest. We ended up running into Hagrid while he was heading out to apply Flesh Eating Slug Repellent to the fields, and was completely fascinated by my Lucario, especially when it became obvious he was completely sapient and could understand what he was saying. He practically begged me to let him spend a day with Hobbes, and I reluctantly agreed on the condition I chaperoned them both - I knew Hagrid liked to play with fire a bit too much when it came to magical beasts. I had to tapdance around questions like where I found Hobbes or how we met, which made the big guy a bit sad, but we ended up talking the entire day about the school and our respective experiences. I did my best not to sound too pessimistic, but he empathized with how difficult Snape was making class for me and that I didn't seem very good at magic in general. Hagrid's the sort of person it's hard not to want to be friends with, even knowing the man has ASTOUNDINGLY horrible safety judgment.

Then, while I was having a conversation with Justin on the way back to the Common Room, my sharp ears overheard something. A venomous hiss and the slithering of something against the surface of the castle. The soft dripping of water as it emerged from the metal of a pipe. My blood ran cold and I could hear it approaching behind me.

“Justin.” I said, firmly.
“What?” He asked, turning to face me, looking a bit confused. He didn't hear what I did. He didn't have Enhanced Senses.
“Start running.”
“What, why...?”
“I SAID RUN YOU FUCKING IDIOT!” I said, giving him a hard shove. That was enough to convince him and he started running off towards the Common Room. I hadn't really raised my voice before then, so I guess that was enough to convince him. I could feel it getting closer, moving more quickly after hearing me yell. I looked at my hands. Eye contact was instant death. And I couldn't trust myself to not be clumsy. Two hexagram circles formed in my hands, glowing orange, before I shoved them against both of my eyes. I felt a sharp pain as everything around me turned white, before becoming just a hazy black outline I could only see shapes of. Like everything that moved was a black shadow against an endless snowstorm.
I had crippled my own senses, but also opened them up to something else...something I couldn't see eyes in.
I turned around, and sure enough, I saw a gigantic serpent poised for attack. Aside from what my sharp ears could pick up, it was deathly silent beyond a barely-audible hiss. That was probably how it was able to stalk the castle without anyone being able to scream for help...not that it helped much in this glorified deathtrap. I had left the Heart Staff and my guns in the Warehouse. Really wish I had remembered to carry them.

“Hello, beastie.”

Did it notice I didn't drop dead from its gaze? Did it even care? That question gets answered pretty quickly as I see the serpentine shadow jump and then crash into the wall next to me as I leap out of the way. My footsteps leave tiny black ripples in the empty white void around me as the gigantic snake doubles back around. I'm made aware of the size difference and how young my body is compared to my original one, when I was an adult fighting sorcerers and Pokemon. Step one, get rid of the eyes. It was a big and stupid monster - dangerous, but it didn't have opposable thumbs or much fighting experience for me to worry about. It was used to its prey dying. I baited it into attacking me again before I formed two daggers of light into my hands and slammed them into the creature's eye sockets. It kicked its head back, launching me back with it as I rolled along the floor, and then hurriedly threw the lone Pokeball out of my sleeve and against the wall. “Hobbes, I choose you!”

My canine companion emerged and then hurriedly jumped out of the way when the snake went after him next. Quickly grasping the situation, the two of us began to fight the Basilisk together. Hobbes' punches were strong enough to knock the creature off balance, while I ended up using the magical daggers conjured into my hands to cut along its body. Only for it to knock me off its tail as it turned around to face me again and lunged at me. That's when Hobbes had run back and grabbed at the creature's tail and pulled it back with some strain and effort, pulling it away as it thrashed and thrashed against the castle, several windows shattering along the way.

I could vaguely hear Nearly Headless Nick yeling for us to keep down the racket.

As neglectful as Hogwarts teachers were, my little secret would be exposed a hundred times over if we didn't take this somewhere else. I focused a portal into existence in the middle and called out. “Hobbes! The Old Christmas Routine!” I called out. I wasn't sure if he heard me until I saw a snake-shaped silhoutte be tossed into where I had formed the portal. I was about to give chase only for something to grab at my collar from behind me and stop me from making the jump. From the feel of a paw, I could tell it was Hobbes. I felt the rush of cold air in front of me - it wasn't the Mirror Dimension, like I had intended. From the interior of the portal, I could hear the sound of something piercing flesh and the Basilisk letting out a death cry before it thrashed against something. I could hear screams.

I hastily restored my vision...to see that the Basilisk hadn't been dropped into the Mirror Dimension, but had instead been dropped out of the sky just above Hogwarts, and was impaled on the architecture.

It turns out sling ring portals need a lot of focus to create the right destination for, especially when you're in a hurry and your senses are divided between what you know as ‘normal’ sight and your own magic-o-vision. I had meant to toss the Basilisk into the ‘sky’ of the Mirror Dimension and crush it there, but...I GUESS I MISSED A STEP SOMEWHERE???

Um. Shit.

I hurriedly close the portal, return Hobbes, and run the fuck away before anyone else sees me.

So luckily, no one else was hurt but...you know. A thousand-year-old basilisk was dropped out of the fucking sky and was impaled on one of the towers, which led to said tower being quarantined while they got rid of the blood. Meanwhile I just try to go about my business as usual while maintaining a poker face. Justin kept giving me weird, almost knowing looks. You know, quirked eyebrow and a posture that just questioningly asks: ‘Did YOU do that?’ I saved your life, damn it! While the body was eventually disposed of, it wasn't long before some kids were writing back to their parents ‘OH MY GOD A GIANT SNAKE FELL ON THE SCHOOL’. It wasn't even to close down Hogwarts due to how lackadaisical they were even during emergencies, but the Ministry ended up paying a visit and talking to Dumbledore.

I don't know how that conversation went because I had other problems to worry about. I realized that without a Basilisk around, Harry wouldn't have anymore reason to be concerned about the whole Heir of Slytherin thing...and as a consequence, his name probably wouldn't have been cleared, either. So it was up to me to dispose of that particular Horcrux and get it out of Ginny's hands. As before, sling rings make this incredibly easy - just waited until she was asleep while I watched from the Mirror Dimension, then took the book quietly out of her hands.

My first plan was to toss the diary into the center of Betelgeuse because hey, that's a few steps up from a Basilisk Fang so it would work, right? It then occurred to me that this plan would probably kill me and everything in a billion mile radius of me, so I decided to settle on throwing it into the mouth of an active volcano instead.

...hm, you know, it's starting to occur to me that I seem to escalate problems in the most extreme manner possible when I'm thinking in a severe panic. I really need to work on that habit or things could get really dangerous.

So maybe it was because of the stress of having to act ‘normal’ and not do anything else unusual during the investigation and cleanup of the incident, but my grades actually managed to get just a bit worse. Except for potions. This continued to baffle and infuriate Snape too, and doubled my ‘extra credit’ work. I ended up thanking him profusely because it gave me some way to preoccupy myself instead of panicking over thinking about the fact I may be found. I hurriedly shook his hand and ran off. I could almost feel him glaring into my back as I ran off.

Year Three was uneventful! That's...that's really it. Once the petrification had stopped and the staff drew the logical conclusion, people just kinda forgot about the Chamber of Secrets thing. The Daily Prophet chalked it up to some sort of Death Eater remnant attack on Hogwarts that was somehow botched. There was still a cloud of suspicion around Harry, but me and (surprisingly) Justin vouched for him whenever the subject came up. I mostly spent this year improving on my studies and trying to be a less terrible wizard. Finally was starting to make a bit of progress on that front, too.

I was starting to miss wandering. Hogwarts stops being fun once you know where everything is and you've seen almost all of it.

OKAY SO LET'S SKIP AHEAD A LITTLE BIT. Year Four. The Triwizard Tournament. This was when I started realizing the gravity of my screw-up. While Harry got it a bit easier on year three aside from the whole Sirius Black thing, when his name came up in the Goblet of Fire the poor kid somehow had it EVEN WORSE. The bullying and the favoritism Cedric got had intensified twice over. I ended up stepping in - not anything blatant, but I encouraged Harry despite the jeers of my peers. Tried acting supportive. Since I was in Hufflepuff, a lot of people treated me a bit like a ‘traitor’ for this act of solidarity, and my already-low popularity plummeted. All because I wanted to make some orphan kid feel better. God, this usually works out better in the fanfiction, doesn't it?!

Aside from that, I did what I always did and kept to the sidelines. But as the Tournament progressed, I became increasingly anxious. What if the worsening bullying weakened Harry's willpower any? What if he had become estranged with his friends, or if he and Ron would never make up? What if...when Voldemort was resurrected, he was outright killed in that moment? That and hearing Justin and Susan talk about Cedric, I realized what The Ancient One was trying to tell me. I was too busy fighting my own nature. I -wanted- to get involved, I wanted to fight, I wanted to step in and be the hero in even in the smallest capacity...and spent so much time trying to keep out of sight, out of mind and let things progress how they were ‘supposed’ to that the ONE time I let my true nature slip out, it had probably created a snowball effect I wasn't sure I could stop. And the longer I kept my hands off the wheel, the more things would spin out of my control.

I had to do something.

I mentally scried for where Harry was and then made an excuse to go to the restroom, then opened a sling ring portal to the graveyard. Voldemort was already preparing to duel Harry when I arrived, and all heads turned to look at me. Before I could even open my mouth, I saw a glint of recognition before Voldy pointed his wand at me and fired off a spell. The green light as I ducked behind a tombstone gave me a pretty good indicator. Except he didn't stop and my cover was quickly suppressed. “Keep him at a distance!” Voldemort called out.

“How did you even know what I was going to do...?!” I yelled back.

“You are the one who so enthusiastically spouted about inferior Muggle dueling all those years ago...and wouldn't you know it, you came here unprepared!”

Huh. That's actually kind of impressive. He's wrong about that second part, though. “Harry, run! Grab the damned cup!" I yelled as I slammed my palm onto the graveyard dirt. Channeling power from the Mirror Dimension, the geometry and space of the dirt changed into a checkerboarded hell and began to smooth out around the Death Eaters and Voldemort, before it started running like an escalator, making them all trip and be launched backwards in a suitably undignified fashion. It was kind of like watching a bunch of black mothballs being launched out of a cannon, before they collided with the house in the background. I could hear a few windows shattering. I looked to see Harry grab Cedric's body and disappear as he grabbed the Cup. That was my cue to leave, too. I just had to open a portal---

A curse goes flying from the distance and forces me to take cover. Shit. I can see Tom's body levitating upwards from where he was launched, several wispy shadows joining him. They were coordinated, even after this many years of inactivity. I couldn't open a sling ring portal until I found a better spot for cover. Crouching down, I made a mad leap away from the graveyard and into the misty hills surrounded the old Riddle estate. More curses flew, but I'm not a stranger to dodging quick projectiles at this point. The one who quickly caught up was Tom. “Avada Kedavra!” He yelled as a jet of green was launched at me. Like before. I leapt backwards, this time hiding behind a tree.

I assessed the situation. His followers would soon surround me, and then it would be curtains for me. I didn't have the expertise at magic to use a charm or a curse I felt confident enough about using. He expected me to try to get close - to engage in a melee. But as long as I couldn't close the gap between us, all it would take was one Killing Curse to end my life and my journey. I was, after all, a dullard of a wizard.

I looked at my hands as my mind quickly put together a plan. True, in this world, I was an inadequate wizard...but in another world, I was a decade-long student of the Mystic Arts! All of that wasn't just for show! I split my focus. The Mirror Dimension flows through the floor again. Voldemort is expecting that, and he levitates upwards once again. There's a few moments where he regains his balance, a split second that I was counting on. In my hands, the normal hexagrams of eldritch magic had formed, and I pulled on one side to form it into a bow. Like loading a cannon with alcohol and glass, this was a crude use of a magic otherwise designed for utility and personal weapons. But that's what I needed right now - a cannon, not a refined tool. Nocked on the bow would be an improvised bolt of energy from the Multiverse, one that burnt my hands as I held onto it.

Most people can't hit a snake-headed sorcerer who is levitating in the span of a short second, much less land a shot right between the eyes on a dark and misty night.

I am not most people.

Whirling out of my hiding spot, I took aim and let go. I saw the flash of panic in Voldemort's eyes right before his head dissolved into a fine, black mist. His body would fall down to the ground in an undignified clump before exploding. His soul likely fleeing to one of his personal Horcruxes, or just out of my sight. His followers hadn't caught up yet, but they certainly became more frantic right after that. Hurriedly, I formed a sling ring portal back to Hogwarts and leapt out into it, shutting it right behind me.

And that's how I painted the world's biggest bullseye on my back.

So pretend you're Voldemort for a second. You've just had your big triumphant return, you were just a moment away from finally killing your personal nemesis. Then some Hufflepuff mudblood shows up, humiliates you and your minions, and you got to enjoy being alive again for about twenty minutes before your head got exploded in a painful fashion. Take a moment to imagine how angry you would be.

That's the sort of trouble I was in.

This began the start of what amounted to a blood feud between me, myself, and I against the Death Eaters.

At this point I had no choice but to come clean about what I had been up to this entire time - I went right to Dumbles and explained everything that had happened up to this point. I danced around how I knew certain things would happen, giving vague answers that I had a ‘strange magic’ that I was born with and that omens and portents had led to me being able to see things ahead of time. He PROBABLY didn't buy most of it, but demonstrating what I had lived through via Pensieve did at least make it clear I had good intentions. Avoiding the memories about where I was before this world, of course.

Without any reason to hold back what I knew, I kept Harry from going to the Ministry in what he thought was a rescue attempt of his godparent. Also the Death Eaters were now actively trying to kill me - before the school year had actually started, the orphanage I was in was attacked, and I ended up giving them a lesson in muggle dueling. And giving my caretakers a heart attack when it turned out I was packing heat. It...it kinda hurt, actually, since I was starting to like them. I didn't want to show off I wasn't just another kid there so brazenly, but I had to just to defend them. The Ministry didn't take me in for questioning since they cared amazingly less about Muggle affairs and more about magic being used openly, but I was still present at Harry's trial due to the Order picking me up.

I swear Snape nearly had a stroke when he saw I was there.

Sling ring portals certainly made finding the Horcruxes a whole lot easier.

>There's more to tell, like Journal Jumper's involvement with the War, Umbridge, and more. But I'm losing energy for this particular bit of the chain.
>The takeaway is that Journal Jumper learned he can't just sit on the sidelines but still want to involve himself - he can't have his cake and eat it.
>The War teaches him a bit about thinking on his feet and not immediately resorting to escalating a situation.
>He also realizes how dangerous the chain will be in the long run, and he can't just entertain his new boss with slice-of-life forever.
>They confirm this, and ask if he wants to keep going.
>A moment's hesitation, but they agree. They can handle it.