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+[[!meta title="Try Again"]]
+
+This is my take on the reptilia28's "Don't fear the reaper" challenge:
+
+> ## CHALLENGE OUTLINE
+>
+> * Harry is killed at 17 during a fight with Voldemort. He's sent to his
+>   Death's office (explained later) and finds out that this isn't the first
+>   time that this has happened.
+>
+> * Harry's Death (who can have a human name) is mad at his arrival. Apparently,
+>   people dying before their time is a black mark on the various Deaths'
+>   records, and Harry is getting perilously close to getting this particular
+>   one fired.
+>
+> * When Harry asks what was supposed to have happened, Death goes off on a rant
+>   saying how he was supposed to have killed Voldemort, found his soulmate
+>   ("Some Granger girl...") and lived to be a centennial age. But since Harry
+>   keeps getting into life-threatening situations for one reason or another, he
+>   keeps dying before that happens. Harry is surprised about the soulmate part.
+>
+> * Death gives Harry a paper to sign that allows him to retain his memories
+>   (the previous times, he wasn't given this option for some reason). Harry is
+>   deposited to a previous time of the writer's choosing.
+>
+> * Eventually, Harry gets it right. He kills Voldemort, gets the girl, and
+>   lives to a ripe old age of whatever. And Death doesn't get fired.
+>
+> ## MISC REQUIREMENTS
+>
+> * Harry had to have died at least three times before this one.
+>
+> * The memory keeping contract must be included.
+>
+> * Death must refer to Hermione as "some Granger girl" when Harry's soulmate
+>   turns up in his rant.
+>
+> * Obviously, must be H/Hr.
+>
+> * Have fun.
+>
+> OPTIONAL:
+>
+> * Dumbledore's manipulations can be a factor in Harry's premature demises.
+
+<hr />
+
+Here's my outline so far:
+
+* Death has no idea who Voldemort or Tom Riddle are. They just aren't important.
+
+  * Upon investigation, it turns out that Tom Riddle died while he was attending
+    Hogwarts. Cause of death: Horcrux creation. What's left behind isn't really
+    alive in any meaningful sense.
+
+  * Because he's not alive, Voldemort can be permanently destroyed by a simple
+    exorcism. On any fragment of himself.
+
+  * The prophecy applies to some dark lord in Canada. He was vanquished, as per
+    prophecy, in 1984 by someone else.
+
+* Because I need a villain, this is going to be a manipulative Dumbledore story,
+  will all the clichés that entails.
+
+  * Dumbledore will never believe that Voldemort is gone.
+
+  * Dumbledore is stealing Harry's money.
+
+  * The Weasleys are in on it.
+
+  * In large part I'm still going to keep Dumbledore/Harry interaction to a
+    minimum.
+
+    * Harry undoes manipulations as he discovers them.
+
+    * Harry does everything he can to keep a low profile and prevent Dumbledore
+      from noticing and raising the stakes.
+
+    * Primary source of action is going to be unforeseen ramifications of
+      Harry's actions. Turns out that the 90s are just a shitty time to be at
+      Hogwarts, even without a Dark Lord out to kill you.
+
+* Return date: pre-Hogwarts; age 6 or 7?
+
+* Voldemort is defeated entirely pre-Hogwarts on this next go around for Harry.
+  Mostly off-screen; I want it to be a completely minor obstacle.
+
+  * Harry's first action upon getting reset: Find adult Wizard and steal wand.
+
+  * Harry's second action upon getting reset: Cast single spell at scar; defeat
+    Voldemort.
+
+* Harry doesn't leave the Dursley's, but without remorse he straight-up imperios
+  them to be a loving family for him.
+
+  * Dumbledore left charms to keep them mad, but they are overpowered by Harry's
+    compultions.
+
+  * Dumbledore never notices, as he never checked up on Harry anyway.
+
+  * Harry puts on a show of pretending to dislike his living conditions for
+    Dumbledore.
+
+    * In the weeks prior to his Hogwarts letter, Harry moves into the cupboard
+      ("for an adventure, like camping!") as part of the scam to keep Dumbledore
+      in the dark.
+
+* Harry shows up to Hogwarts after some sort of permanent appearance alteration.
+
+  * Metamorphagus? I'd rather not, to be honest. Permanent transfiguration
+    appeals to me more, as metamorph Harry sort of wants to be its own huge plot
+    point.
+
+  * No scar.
+
+  * No James-hair or other strong resemblance to his father.
+
+  * Snape still hates him, but he's trying very hard to distance himself from
+    the storybooks.
+
+* Harry does something about the storybooks; suing for damages seems
+  appropriate.
+
+  * Lots of money-revenge from Harry where he gets the Goblins on his side by
+    letting them keep all the money they can get out of people.
+
+  * Setting up for a Goblin revolution courtesy of Harry.
+
+    * Death told him he needs to stay alive because his purpose in life is to
+      "play a pivotal role with regard to the last Goblin rebellion". Harry
+      takes this to mean he is either meant to prevent it, or meant to minimize
+      the bloodshed.
+
+    * Harry spends the whole story trying to keep the Goblins happy, giving them
+      more ways to make money, fighting for equal rights, etc.
+
+    * The whole reason he goes to Hogwarts this time around instead of fleeing
+      the country is because he wants to stay near the Goblins and try to keep
+      them appeased.
+
+    * Punchline of the story: The Goblins rebel, which they wouldn't have been
+      able to do without Harry's monetary and political support, and proceed to
+      brutally conquer Wizarding Britain with Harry as their posterchild.
+
+    * Harry is not amused when this happens. Fortunately, the Goblins have
+      already recognized him as a citizen of the Goblin nation, so he's safe,
+      and his friends and the small proportion of Wizards who aren't wholly
+      prejudiced are allowed to integrate peacefully under the new Goblin
+      regime.
+
+* Harry sorts into Ravenclaw along with Hermione.
+
+* Quirrel isn't possessed, but still tries to steal the stone. Let's face it, he
+  was evil to begin with, or else Voldemort wouldn't have been able to talk him
+  into the possession scheme.
+
+  * Turns out being possessed by an insane and technically dead spirit isn't
+    really all that good for you. Unpossessed Quirrel is competent.
+
+  * Harry has to intervene.
+
+    * Steals the stone himself very early on, but Quirrel and Dumbledore don't
+      know this.
+
+    * Quirrel eventually takes some students hostage as part of his bid for the
+      stone, including Harry.
+
+    * Harry defeats him, while trying very hard to not make himself look
+      dangerous or Horcrux-possessed to Dumbledore.
+
+* Harry does not get on the Quidditch team his first year.
+
+* Harry gets the cloak first year, but realizes it has tracking charms and such
+  on it courtesy of Dumbledore.
+
+  * He gets the Goblins to fix it.
+
+  * And leaves it in their care.
+
+  * And tells Dumbledore he sold it to them, just to fuck with him.
+
+* Pettigrew is dealt with first year.
+
+  * Harry captures him, mails him to French DMLE, figuring that Britain is too
+    corrupt.
+
+  * France determines that Black is innocent, publishes this everywhere, parades
+    Pettigrew around in the ICW.
+
+  * As a result, Dumbledore loses his ICW position, and France takes over
+    leadership of the European magical states.
+
+  * Sirius is freed, and immediately co-opted by Harry into helping him bring
+    down the British Ministry politically.
+
+  * The Black fortune was largely exhausted, but there are lots of properties
+    out for rent that haven't been paid for properly. Sirius, on Harry's advice,
+    turns debt collection over to the Goblins and allow them to keep most of the
+    profits.
+
+    * Many purebloods, notably Malfoy, lose quite a lot of money and power.
+
+* Second year we still get basilisk attacks.
+
+  * The diary is already dead, but Lucius had communicated with it beforehand.
+
+  * Draco is instructed to release the basilisk.
+
+  * It doesn't help that he isn't a parselmouth and has no real control over it.
+
+  * Students die. So does Lockhart.
+
+  * Hagrid still arrested without due process.
+
+  * Harry, being a parseltongue, manages to assume control of the basilisk and
+    divert it from its rampage.
+
+    * He doesn't want to kill it, but it can't stay in the school.
+
+    * Harry doesn't know the spells used by Slytherin and Riddle to put it back
+      to sleep.
+
+    * Harry gives it to the Goblins, who assure him that they have access to
+      parseltongue Goblins and will use it for bank security.
+
+    * The Goblins issue a statement (at Harry's request) saying they were paid
+      to defeat the basilisk and have done so.
+
+      * This lets Harry stay somewhat anonymous, which he greatly desires.
+
+      * Also good press for the Goblins.
+
+      * And we know why Hogwarts stays open.
+
+  * Dobby, basically the same as canon.
+
+* Also second year, we need some political movements in the background.
+
+  * Sirius has taken his seat on the Wizengamot, and is doing his best to get
+    revenge on those who wronged him.
+
+  * Goblin rights are supported because hey, they helped him get revenge, and
+    it's something that would've pissed off his parents.
+
+  * Along with international pressure from the ICW, he successfully campaigns to
+    have Dementors removed from Azkaban.
+
+* Third year, the Dementors are running amok.
+
+  * Turns out that forcing the immortal soulless killing machines to leave the
+    island full of food may have been a bad plan.
+
+  * No Dementors near Hogwarts to begin with, but there is talk about them in
+    the background.
+
+  * Harry signs up for runes and arithmancy and care. Flitwick does not allow
+    Hermione to sign up for everything, so she takes the same as Harry.
+
+  * Harry, feeling like this is going to finally be a calm year, decides to sign
+    up for Quidditch.
+
+    * He plays Beater.
+
+    * He's OK, but not spectacular.
+
+  * Dementor attacks!
+
+    * Hogsmeade weekend, resulting in evacuation interrupting Harry's first
+      date with Hermione.
+
+    * Quidditch match, resulting in serious injury to some players.
+
+  * Harry isn't the one to solve the problem this time; ICW authorities step in
+    and contain the Dementors.
+
+    * They're shipped off to Canada, where they hunt their natural prey:
+      Bigfoots.
+
+    * The British populace starts to become more polarized.
+
+      * A faction bemoaning the incompetence of the British Ministry.
+
+      * A faction blaming the foreigners for creating the problem to begin with.
+
+  * Snape outs Lupin at the end of the year.
+
+* Over this summer, Harry attends the Quidditch World Cup with Sirius.
+
+  * Ireland is not playing.
+
+  * Bulgaria wins this time.
+
+  * No deatheater attack.
+
+* Fourth year: Dumbledore has organized the Triwizard Tournament, primarily as a
+  mechanism to restore some of Britain's fading glory.
+
+  * The defense teacher actually is Moody this time. He's too paranoid to do a
+    particularly good job, but he's better than Lockhart.
+
+  * Crouch Jr. escaped, but didn't go after Moody. We hear about the murder of
+    Crouch Sr. in a newspaper.
+
+  * Harry, having put a lot of thought over the years into how bad the security
+    around the cup was, gives the twins a laundry list of ways to get names into
+    the cup.
+
+    * He is expecting them to enter themselves, which he thinks would be a
+      laugh.
+
+    * They decide to enter his name, which they think would be a laugh...
+
+    * ...as well as the names of several dozen other students...
+
+    * ...and Snape...
+
+    * ...and Fudge.
+
+    * Obviously, every one of these names comes out of the cup.
+
+  * Harry takes the opportunity to "research", primarily to create an excuse for
+    his superior spellcasting abilities.
+
+  * More events, in order to better differentiate between the contestants.
+
+  * Harry very carefully arranges to get through the first events unhurt and in
+    the bottom half of the contestants.
+
+  * Harry sells his egg to the Goblins.
+
+  * Fudge does a terrible job, only marginally better than...
+
+  * Snape completely fails at every event, having literally every single
+    Hogwarts contestant independently sabotage him.
+
+  * Harry takes Hermione to the ball, and they have a good time.
+
+  * Harry does not summon anything from outside the field until the last event.
+
+    * When he summons a paid-for Goblin bodyguard...
+
+    * Who proceeds to cut a bloody swath through the maze, allowing Harry to
+      easily win the tournament.
+
+    * Harry uses this to further prop up the Goblins, by giving them the
+      publicity and the prize money.
+
+* Fifth year, Fudge is now convinced that last year was a setup by Dumbledore to
+  humiliate him and drive him out of office.
+
+  * He sends Umbridge in to keep an eye on Dumbledore.
+
+  * This time there's no particular animosity between Umbridge and Harry.
+
+    * Harry swallows his distaste and sucks up to her.
+
+    * Harry manages to trick Ron into starting Dumbledore's Army, then turns him
+      in.
+
+    * Umbridge foolishly targets Susan Bones with the blood quill this time.
+      Amelia Bones finds out, and things do not end well for Umbridge.
+
+  * Now halfway through the year and without a defense teacher, Harry decides to
+    try more Goblin integration and gets them to send a defense teacher.
+
+    * Dumbledore is disgraced and desperate at this point, so he latches on to
+      the idea.
+
+    * What follows is one of the bloodiest and most effective defense classes
+      Hogwarts has ever had.
+
+    * At the end of the year, parents and the board absolutely *demand* that
+      Dumbledore find someone else.
+
+  * Harry and friends do well on their O.W.L.s.
+
+* Sixth year: without the Dementors policing Azkaban, several prisoners escape
+  with the help of Crouch Jr.
+
+  * Lestranges, Carrows, possibly one or two others?
+
+  * Snape teaches defense, and is predictably shitty.
+
+  * Slughorn is teaching potions; without the looming threat of Voldemort, Harry
+    was not required to convince him to return.
+
+  * The escaped prisoners have Dumbledore keeping Harry confined to the castle,
+    except when he sneaks out.
+
+  * Encounter in Hogsmeade; the escapees really do blame Harry for the death of
+    their Lord.
+
+  * Once it becomes clear that Crouch Jr. is alive and acting as a mastermind,
+    the aurors begin to ramp up for Blood Purity War Part Two: The Bloodening.
+
+  * Dumbledore becomes really loud about insisting that this means Voldemort is
+    back.
+
+  * Harry really does start a defense organization this year.
+
+    * Hermione insists he calls it the "Student-run Magically Useful Training"
+      sessions. This probably helps attract members, to be honest.
+
+    * Gets some sort of special allowance from the Ministry. Off-duty aurors
+      help with training.
+
+  * This year is spent with Harry preparing for what he sees as the final battle
+    to end the blood supremicists.
+
+    * Harry learns that the Malfoys are in contact with the escapees.
+
+    * Harry manages to plant the clue about the vanishing cabinet for Draco to
+      find.
+
+    * Harry contacts the Goblins about what is going on, and pays them to help.
+
+  * Some interaction with the younger Weasleys? Love potions, perhaps.
+
+  * Over the year and the following summer, there are attacks by the escapees.
+
+  * The international community takes notice and officially quarantines Britain
+    "to prevent the escape of unsavory elements of society".
+
+* Year 7. Harry is only barely involved; this is pretty much the end result of
+  his actions so far, and it comes together too quickly for him to realize
+  what's happening.
+
+  * Immediately after the sorting feast, Draco activates the vanishing cabinet
+    and signals to the escapees.
+
+  * The Goblins have been prepared for this, and have a way to intercept the
+    vanishing cabinet's traffic.
+
+  * Purebloods meet basilisk. Basilisk wins.
+
+  * A great many Wizengamot representatives were part of the planned attack.
+    There is a huge power vacuum, paralyzing government.
+
+  * The Goblins immediately place armed guards throughout Wizarding society,
+    taking the place of the (confused, panicing) aurors.
+
+  * Goblins apply for recognition with the ICW as an interim British government.
+
+  * As soon as the ICW approves, the Goblins start interrogating *everybody*,
+    holding them to the standard "are you as tolerant and unbigoted as Harry
+    Potter?"
+
+    * Needless to say, a great many people fail, and are slated for
+      "reeducation".
+
+    * The Goblins introduce themselves to the Muggle government, painting the
+      Wizards in the worst possible light and arranging for assistance in the
+      reeducation and integration of the Wizards.
+
+  * Hogwarts is shut down as "a hotbed of bigotry and intolerance".
+
+  * Harry and close friends are vetted and named the first Human citizens of the
+    "Reformed British Magical Empire".
+
+  * We end the story with Harry, horrified at what he's done, making motions
+    towards fleeing to Australia.
+
+    * He is discretely notified that the Goblins are fine with this, but don't
+      really realize that he's fleeing.
+
+    * The Goblins want to know if he would like to be named their ambassador to
+      Australia.