Back to Beginning: Divergence Path
This story is a work of fiction. All the characters, names and places belong to their respective owners.
Continuation & Errors:
You might need to read Back to Beginning to understand how Harry got back to the past and why he is immortal and almost invincible. Long story short, he used a Time Turner and he's the Master of Death because he became the sole owner of three special items. I'm playing this straight.
– [Back to Beginning] –
Divergence Path
Lily Evans Potter – the mother of one – stood outside his room and took in a deep breath, steadying her nerves. It was time. After three years of keeping her feeling a secret, she was going to tell him exactly how she felt. He came into her life half a decade earlier, saving her and her newborn son from the tragic event that had claimed her husband's life, and he never asked for anything return.
What kind of man does that? Perhaps he wasn't interest in her as a woman. Then again, why would he stay with her in order to keep the Death Eaters at bay? They were out there, bidding their time, waiting for the Dark Lord's return; the one-who-must-not-be-named. The Wizarding World was terrified at how many witches and wizards had supported Voldemort – people whom they had thought to be their family and friends.
Unlike them, Lily had no real family left except for her son, and perhaps him. She had seen how feeble Voldemort had been when facing her savior in single combat. His assurance that no harm would befall her son and her as long as he held a breath was the truest thing she had ever heard.
Her husband promised the same thing when they went into hiding, yet he failed that night.
Lily took a deep breath and gave herself a slap. She should not speak ill of her late husband. He did all he could to keep her son safe. What more could she asked for?
"I can do this. I want to do this," Lily assured herself. Before she lost her nerve yet again, she knocked on the heavy door in front of her. The hard wood of the door echoed the knocking sound, and the magical sigils along the wooden frame glowed lightly. These strange wards were carved personally by him as a protective charm.
"You can come in, Lily," her savior said from within the room. The moment he did, the insignia dulled, allowing her entrance. He was being overprotective.
Lily grabbed the knob, and as she turned, her hand trembled. "I can do this," she told herself once more while the inside of the room was revealed. The first thing she saw was her son, the five year old Harry on the floor, waving his training wand. "Harry… what are you doing in here?"
"Playing with daddy," Harry answered with a bright smile.
"Harry. Remember that I'm not your father," the man with deep green eyes said. He had a thick book in his hand, and he was teaching her son about the wonder of the Wizarding World, preparing him for the days when her son had to leave for Hogwarts. It would be in another six more years.
"I know," Harry mumbled sadly.
Lily saddened as well. Her only son had never known his father – James, but he knew the man who had protected him and her from death. Hardian was his name, at least that what he told her after he woken up from the ordeal. He did not reveal his family name, however. And she did not want to pressure him into telling her. He was likely being careful. When he came to her aid, he looked like he had been locked up for a very long time. His past must be even more tragic than she could imagine.
"But you could be," Lily said. Her heart paused as Hardian gave her a glance.
"Harry," Hardian said when he turned to face Harry, his younger self. To prevent confusion, he decided to use Hardian instead. He did miss being known as Harry as that was the name his mother gave him, but this was not his past. His past was much, much darker than this one. He would not allow his past to tarnish his younger self, not when he could prevent it. "I think it's time for bed."
"Awww…." Harry mumbled. He didn't want to, but Hardian wouldn't have any of it. His father – the man was not his father even with the resemblances – was really strict in such matter. For other things, there was a lot of leniency. And he was a really powerful wizard as far as wizard went. Harry wanted to be like Hardian when he grew up. A wizard who could stand on top of the world uncontested!
"Can you tell me another bedtime story?" Harry requested after some mild pouting. Another thing Harry liked about Hardian was his stories. He told these strange tales of a girl who go back in time so she could learn more each day. He told of a giant snake dwelling under a school. It could turn all that gazed upon its eyes into stone, but it was defeated by a sword in the hand of a courageous young boy.
"Yes, but you do know why it called bedtimes stories, right, Harry?" Hardian said and closed his book. He placed the book on the table and gave his wrist a flex. Insignia along the ceiling glowed. The surrounding changed, taking all three people with him into Harry's room down the hall.
"Wow! Can you teach me how to do that?" Harry asked and raised his wand.
"When you're older, I promise," Hardian responded and gestured at the bed. "Come."
Harry climbed onto his bed as requested, and instead of his mother, who was standing by the door with a small smile on her face, Hardian tugged him in.
"What should I tell you tonight?" Hardian said thoughtfully. Every story he told Harry was from his own experience. It was his past. Since he had changed the past by killing Voldemort, the future was unknown to him. But there was one thing for sure. Voldemort would return as long as there were those devoted to the dark lord. "Oh, I know. A long time ago, there was a boy just a bit older than you. He was born on the same day as you –
Lily listened on. She had always found it strange that most of the story Hardian narrated seemed to use her son as the protagonist, but as long as her son liked those stories, she didn't ask further of it. By the time Hardian finished an hour long story, Harry was half asleep.
"Good night, daddy," Harry muttered and entered his dream.
Hardian smiled and gave himself a kiss on the forehead like any loving father would. He was filling in for his father, whom he failed to save. He had thought about using another time turner to go back and give his mother back his father, but that would mean erasing this timeline. He had erased one timeline out of pure selfishness, and if he had to erase another with the people he loved still living in it, he might able to bear the sin.
"Good night, Harry," Hardian said softly.
Instead of using magic to teleport himself out of the bedroom, Hardian left via the old fashion way with his mother in tow. He headed towards the staircase that divided the western and eastern wings of the mansion he erected in a remote town, away from prying eyes.
"Hardian," Lily said before Hardian could head to his room. "Can I talk to you?"
"You can always talk to me," Hardian – Harry – replied, "as long as it is appropriate."
Lily took in a deep breath. "I've been meaning to ask. What is Harry to you?"
Harry arched a brow. His mother was referring to her son, but he was also her son – just from another timeline. It was odd to hear that question, and honestly, he did not know the answer. "Harry is a good kid. He has a bright future ahead, and I will help him achieve all he desired."
"I'm not talking about that," Lily said. He was dodging her question again. "I'm talking what do you see him as? You treated him like a son, and yet you –
"Good night, Lily," Harry interrupted hastily. He turned around and headed to his room so he could go hunt down another known Death Eater. Until they were all dead, there was a chance Voldemort would be resurrected again. While he had the power to kill Voldemort with ease, innocents would get in the crossfire. Furthermore, he didn't know where Nexus was despite all these years of searching.
Nexus seemed to be more dangerous than Voldemort as Harry realized the man hadn't age a single day throughout his imprisonment. Such a person couldn't be left alone without grave consequences just like Voldemort had mistakenly done in the future. Nexus went behind Voldemort and gave Harry Hermione's Time Turner in order to alter the past, knowing full well Harry had the magic to kill Voldemort.
A wizard's magical core grew stronger and more potent for as long as a Wizard lived, and Harry was an exceptional wizard by anyone's standard. Nexus must have known that. If Nexus was loyal to Voldemort, he would not do such a thing unless there was something Harry couldn't see yet. And for that reason, he felt like he was a chess piece being moved around on a board without his knowledge. It bothered him.
"Wait! Please don't go," Lily called out and gripped his black coat. He stopped as she looked at his broad shoulders. It was near yet so far away.
"I can't leave if you are pulling me back," Harry said dryly.
"I'm sorry," Lily muttered. Her hand let him go. "I shouldn't be thinking about these things."
"It's natural for someone as young and beautiful as you," Harry replied. He had thought about it to since everyone he knew and loved was still a little kid, barely went through what he had suffered. They were his younger self's friends and future families. And he couldn't take them from himself. He would get to see them again when they attend Hogwarts. This time, they would have a smooth and trouble-free year.
Lily smiled at the compliment. She was young and beautiful in his eyes. "Do you ever think about me?"
"All the time," Harry admitted. He thought about his mother a lot, but not in the way she believed. His back was still facing her. "Maybe more than I should."
"I'm glad," Lily responded. Her hands touched, and fingers wrapped around each other. "It has been five years."
"I didn't know you keep count, Lily," Harry replied. He didn't know it was that long. He had been so busy since he stepped into the past, into the time that his mother was still alive. Killing Voldemort wasn't the only thing he had to do, but it was the first thing he wanted to do. It felt great to let out all that pent-up anger and frustration.
"I couldn't help it," Lily responded. Five years was a very long time for someone like her, who became a widow by the time she was 21. She was 26 now, living with a man who didn't seem to age during that time. In another five years, she would look older than him. She didn't want that.
"I took five years of your life," Lily said. "With your magic, your name would be heard in every place, in every home, from everyone. You didn't have to do all this. You could go anywhere you wanted."
"I don't want to be heard anywhere else, and I rather stay here," Harry said. He turned around to look at his young mother. His eyes matched hers, seeing himself in those green reflection. "I am where I wanted to be," he said as he leaned closer, "unless it bothered you?"
Lily couldn't help but lost in his strong, unwavering deep green eyes so similar to her son. He had seen much with them, yet they remained warm and assuring. She closed her eyes and lifted her head. It was the moment for a new chapter of her life to begin. Her son needed a father whom he loved and adored, and she needed a pillar to keep her safe and secure.
"Good night, Lily," Harry said and brushed his fingers along her lips. He left her there standing on top of the staircase, speechless.
"Why…?" Lily muttered a minute later and covered her face. The dampness was felt upon her palms and fingers. He would never reciprocate her feeling, and each time he walked away, taking the future she'd hoped, the crushing weight upon her chest became unbearable.
In his room, Harry dropped against his seat with a heavy sigh. He didn't want to tell his mother the truth about himself and the grim future he came from. A single mistake had cost him everyone he loved. And as long as he wasn't sure how she would react, he would refrain from telling her. It was better if she did not know what became of the son she never knew. For this timeline, her son was safe and well. Harry – his younger self – would become something that he could never be.
"I'm sorry, mum," Harry apologized and looked at full body mirror directly across from him. He flexed his hand, causing the reflective surface to ripple. His reflection faded away, and a bedroom took its place. It was his mother's room in the opposite wing next to the bedroom his younger self slept. He had watched her for many months, and it felt like staring into the Mirror of Erised in a sense. She was something that he came to desire but could not have. He had not lost his mind just yet – no thanks to the dementors.
His mother's room was currently empty, but it would not be for long. When she entered the room, she went to her bed, dropped onto the sheets and wept. She continued to do so for many minutes before leaving and entering her bathroom to wash up and ready for bed. It was her routine these days, and it troubled him.
Since his mother would be in the shower for some time, Harry switched to his younger self. The boy was sleeping peacefully, dreaming about things he never did when he was little.
Harry never had a good sleep when he was living with his aunt Petunia and his cousin. He thought about cursing his aunt for how she and her family had treated him, but it felt petty when he pondered more on it. Not interacting with his aunt was the only mercy he could give. In fact, he hadn't truly interacted with anyone in the Wizarding World since he ended Voldemort's reign of terror. A few people – Death Eaters – attempted to find out what happened to their lord, but their struggles were short. Leaving their bodies out in the open to be found sent a message throughout the Wizarding World: a new player had entered the scene and he was far more powerful than he-who-must-not-be-named.
Just the knowledge of his existence was enough to give everyone pause. The Death Eaters stopped their investigation into the Potter, but their numbers still hadn't stop dropping each passing days since Harry vowed to hunt them all down. But he miscalculated. He didn't expect there were so many aligned with Voldemort. And with most of his victims appeared to be ordinary wizards and witches, his killing became a frightening thing despite the evidences of their guilt he left behind.
The Wizarding World was more afraid of him than Voldemort, and the reason Voldemort was more well-known because they did not want to make themselves a target by gossiping about him. Despite it wasn't his intention, he had become a boggy man of sort – at least that what Dumbledore equated him as.
Speaking of Dumbledore, Harry came to realize the wizard he admired was a scheme. Letting him lived with his aunt despite the prophecy surrounding his future was unreasonable, not to mention his obvious lineage and magical power. He was not a muggle since he was the boy who lived. A normal muggle child wouldn't survive an attack from one of the most powerful wizards of the era. Dumbledore should have known. Anyone with half a brain would have known that.
"How many are there… manipulating me," Harry muttered. It was one of the main reasons he didn't let anyone from the Wizarding World to come in contact with his younger self. They would attempt to use him in some way.
"I feel like I'm being manipulated all my life… none of the actions I had taken was my own," Harry said and flexed his hand. The mirror changed back to his mother's room. She was likely the only person that wouldn't manipulate him for her own gain. His mother would never do that. He smiled as she stood in front of her mirror, looking at herself.
"Am I not desirable?" Lily said and checked her face. She was still young, but she wouldn't stay young forever. "Was it too late?"
When Lily unrobed in front of the mirror to check her body, Harry scratched his temple and attempted to look. Attempted was the objective word. "No, you're very much desired, mum," Harry muttered as he took in her creamy skin, especially from her thighs up. Not letting her interacting with her friends back in the Wizarding World was a wise choice, but it made her very lonely.
When Lily began to strip, removing her black lingerie in front of the mirror, Harry turned the mirror back to normal. She had been doing that lately, making him suspicious. "Maybe she know I'm watching her? If she did… she should have said something about it."
Lily actually didn't know her son was spying on her. She became curious at her body after the people in town asked about her husband and why they weren't intimate like the other young couples in town. It placed her in an awkward position since Hardian wasn't her husband, and seeing how he treated her son like his own blood and flesh, she began to see him in a new light.
"Is it not enough?" Lily muttered and ran her fingers along her perky breasts. She cupped them and tried to imagine the sensation of his hands. As her mind recalled his touch upon her skin, a shock propagated through her spine, causing her gasped and staggered backwards. She felt onto the bed, spreading her long auburn hair across the sheet. Her fingers ran down her thighs and between her legs, pleasuring her sex and bringing vivid imagination into her mind.
Her red lips parted and her eyes rolled back as she moaned his name. His name! Not her husband! Her husband was a kind and gentle man, but he was dead and no longer by her side. She was still young and full of vigor with many womanly needs. She waited for five years! Five years! No one should had waited that long. Not her, not him! He hadn't been with anyone as far as she could tell. He spent each day with her son, yet showed no affection for her.
"Why won't you take me?" Lily called out and played with herself recklessly. "Why!?"
With her fingers plunging in and out of her soaking depth, she soon climaxed. Her legs tensed, and their toes curled tightly. They dropped against the bed as she panted heavily. She looked at her finger, seeing the glistering liquids coated them. She sucked on them, tasting herself while imagining what he would taste like. It would be pure bliss in her mind.
– To be continued –
This is one of many possible epilogues depending on what Harry did or didn't do in the "middle" of the story, which isn't written. You can have a really good guess via the information I provided though. There are multiple chapters to this epilogue since it spans around 10,000 words, likely more.