AN: This story is a continuation of Discovering the Future; if you have not already read 'Future', I'd advise you to go do so before beginning this story as otherwise this story will not make a whole lot of sense otherwise.
As with the posting of 'Future' on this site, I have edited and revised a good portion of this entire story – in order to fix many of my rampant mistakes that I made the first time I wrote it. I have also been adding in a few new scenes and rewording others as well as adding a more in-depth summary at the beginning.
I hope you enjoy reading this story (as much as you enjoyed it the first time for those of you who have read one or both of the original versions on other sites). Thank you, and enjoy the story! – Jenn
DISCLAIMER: ALL HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and the respective publishing companies. I do own Jenn Parksen, Lori Wilson, and Monica Sinclair as well this twisted version of the plot. This is, of course, a simple Fan-Fiction that I have written in order to retain some semblance of sanity and dignity.
SUMMARY: After Discovering the Future, through the help of a battered old book titled 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone', Lily Evans and James Potter would give anything to change what fate has in store for their unborn son. However, when tragedy strikes and the future is rewritten, will they like the new future any better than the original one? Can getting your wish really be the best thing in the world?
Find out as our six friends set about 'Discovering the Truth'.
A MWPP era fic by Mrs. Insane One...
Discovering the Truth
Revised Alternate Version for Re-posting
Chapter 1: Desperation
Lori and Jenn slowly sank into chairs as they glanced around the room and noticed the burn marks from where the sparks had showered onto the floor. Sirius and Remus shared a look of disbelief before they both moved to look over James's shoulder and read the new title of the book. Shaking a bit as he realized the seriousness of what had happened, Remus sat back on his heels and shuddered. Sirius brought a hand up and rubbed at the back of his neck as he frowned down at the new book. No one spoke as they all sat fearfully watching Lily as James worked the book from between her clenched hands.
James read the cover once more and then tossed the book aside as he took Lily's hands into his and turned them over. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and began to wipe the blood from her hands, making a gallant effort to be gentle. Lily closed her eyes against the pain as her palms stung with each and every touch of the material. When he was done, James gasped at what he saw; the skin of Lily's hands was torn and shredded where she had held the book.
"Morgana's knickers!" he exclaimed softly as he dropped the blood soaked handkerchief.
"By Merlin's broken staff!" Sirius exclaimed as he watched the blood from Lily's hands soak into the cover of the book as it sat on the floor.
Lori jumped up from where she had sat down and quickly moved in to look at Lily's hands. She frowned and pulled out her wand, whispering softly she gently tapped each hand with her wand in turn and then watched as the skin slowly healed itself.
"You can heal?" James asked in astonishment.
"Yes, I've even helped Madam Pomfrey a time or two so I could learn more," Lori replied as she focused on her task.
"Thanks Lori, they don't hurt so much now," Lily murmured as she slumped back in the chair and dried the tears from her face. "What exactly happened? I remember picking up the book and feeling the air go cold. Then I could hear screaming… it sounded like you, James… and then I could hear – his – laughter in the background."
"We heard nothing but the roaring wind. There was a green light that surrounded you and cut you off from the rest of us," James answered as he took Lily's hands in his own once more.
"Oh."
Jenn moved forward and picked up the book, turning it over in her hands she read aloud from the back cover. "Harry Potter was a legend in his world. He could do nothing wrong. Witches and Wizards everywhere flocked to his house in the forest, where he had been raised by a kindly witch and wizard after his parents had been murdered, just to shake his hand and get a picture of the famous child. Spoiled by all, Harry thought he was the greatest wizard of all times until he received his invitation to Hogwarts. Instantly shunned by the other children Harry grows resentful and draws into himself. Alone and angry Harry stumbles on an ancient evil far below the castle and finds himself struggling for his very life. The choices he makes could very well destroy the world." Jenn looked up and found everyone staring at her and the book.
"I think this sounds worse then the last book," Sirius announced from where he sat.
"What have we done?" Lily groaned as she buried her face in her hands.
"It might not be all that bad, sure it sounds that way from the cover, but well… maybe it will be better this way," Jenn suggested. "We could always read it to find out."
"Burn it! I don't want to know anymore," Lily raged. "Just burn it!"
James and Jenn exchanged a brief look and then Jenn stood up and walked over to the fireplace and threw the book inside. Lily watched as the flames began to lick the cover of the book and green smoke curled up the flue. Sparks flared and the book began to glow blood red as the flames grew larger.
Suddenly a great snowy owl appeared among the flames and clutched the book in its claws. Flapping its great wings it burst forth from out of the fire and soared around the room screeching furiously. It dived and swooped over each of the kids' heads and finally landed on the arm of the chair Lily sat in, small wisps of smoke rising from its wings. Glaring at her the owl leaned forward and snapped at Lily's hands until she reached out to take the book from it. Screeching once more the owl jumped back into the air and flew back into the fireplace, only to disappear into the flames as suddenly as it had appeared.
Lily sat staring at the untouched cover of the new book in horror. There wasn't a single scorch mark on it even though she had seen it catch fire the moment it touched the embers.
"I guess we are not going to be able to get rid of it that way," Lori said slowly.
"I wonder where the owl came from," Jenn mused aloud as she stared into the flames.
James ignored her as he watched Lily's face. "We have to read it Lily. Someone or something wants us to know what the future holds. The future has been changed once already by us reading, maybe we can change it again, make it better." Lily looked into his face hopefully at this, gently taking her hand in his he spoke again. "This is hard I know, but how can we forget everything that has already happened because of the first book?"
Closing her eyes, Lily nodded slowly as she handed the book back to Jenn.
"Chapter One, The Boy Who Had Everything," Jenn read softly from the book as the others fidgeted around trying to get comfortable.
"Deep in the forest, far away from any of the nearby villages, there stood a simple whitewashed cottage. Though clean the small cabin looked as if it had suffered from neglect for several years. The paint was faded and peeling, several shutters hung at odd angles, several shingle tiles from the roof lay scattered around the sagging front porch and a small struggling garden could be seen behind the rotting boards of an old wooden fence.
Yet, despite the disrepair, an air of restrained excitement hung in the woods surrounding the cottage.
Suddenly a small deer burst through the surrounding trees in a state of panic. Right behind the deer was a small boy flying on a brand new racing broom. Eyes wide in excitement Harry Potter swooped down and swerved in front of the deer, causing it to leap the rotted fence and trample the struggling plants in its effort to escape the boy who tormented it.
Harry Potter turned the broom and raced up through the tree tops until he burst into the early morning sun light. Laughing aloud as he stopped to take a deep breath of the crisp air. Turning his new broom around he dropped into a dive and sped like a bullet down towards the deer as it tried once more to escape into the trees.
"Harry. Harry James Potter!" a voice rang out from the cottage.
"Coming!" Harry cried in reply as he turned from the deer and brought the broom to a jarring halt.
"Where have you been boy?" A woman's voice demanded as he pounded up the cottage stairs with the broom in hand."
"I was testing out my new broom Auntie Lupin," Harry replied as he brushed back a lock of unruly black hair out of his eyes."
"I'm married?" Remus asked with a dumbfounded look of surprise on his face. He turned to look at Lori and then blushed furiously as she just smiled back at him.
"Unless he calls you Auntie, Remus," Sirius said very seriously. Remus threw a pillow at Sirius while he glared at James who had laughed at the teasing remark.
"Well, so far it doesn't sound too bad. Of course, he seems to enjoy teasing animals, but most kids do that right?" Lori asked tentatively.
"I'm not sure, we haven't read much," James replied slowly as he sat frowning.
"Well, I think we should keep interruptions to a minimum." Jenn announced, "We didn't really get to read much of the last book, and well, we might never know what was supposed to happen. If we can finish this one, we might have a better idea about what is to be."
The others grudgingly agreed and Jenn turned back to the book to read on.
"Yes, well the sun isn't even all the way up yet - and you didn't leave a note or anything."
"I'm sorry," Harry blurted out, not looking sorry at all. "I got excited when Uncle Remus handed me a Nimbus two-thousand when he woke me up this morning!"
"Yes, I am sure all thoughts of everything else just flew right out of your head."
Harry grinned and nodded at this and went thumping past Mrs. Lupin and tossed his new broom carelessly into the corner with his old Cleansweep seven. Charging into the kitchen he sat down and grabbed a huge handful of bacon and began stuffing his face as Mrs. Lupin walked in behind him smiling softly.
"Are all of those mine?" Harry asked through a bite of bacon as he pointed with another piece of bacon to a huge pile of packages and letters that were piled on a small table in the corner of the kitchen.
"Yes, dear, they're all yours. Your admirer's have been sending them not stop since late last night. Everyone knows it's your birthday today," Mrs. Lupin replied absently as she fried up more bacon and set it on the plate in front of Harry.
"What a spoiled little brat he had become. What have you been telling him Remus?" James asked in amazement as he looked over at Remus. "You are never that nice to us!"
"I don't know. Maybe I felt sorry for him after you died and I have been trying to make it up to him by being extravagant," Remus replied with a confused shrug. Waving his arm he motioned Jenn to continue with the story.
"When can I open them Auntie?" Harry demanded through a mouthful of bacon.
"When your uncle gets in." she replied.
Harry quickly stuffed several more pieces of bacon into his mouth as he eyed the large pile of stuff in the corner. As he sat chewing a rusty brown owl swooped in and landed on the table next to him. He was reaching out for the letter it held in its beak when Mrs. Lupin bustled over and shooed the bird from the table.
"Over with the others. He has to wait to open his cards," She said wearily.
The owl refused to budge as it stared reproachfully at Mrs. Lupin and ruffled its feathers indignantly.
Frowning Mrs. Lupin took the letter from the owl and turned it over to see who it was from. When she saw the purple wax seal bearing the Hogwarts coat of arms, she smiled and thanked the bird. Hooting softly it flew back out the window without waiting for permission.
"Here Harry, this one you may open," Mrs. Lupin said as she handed the letter to Harry.
"Who's it from?" Harry asked as he grabbed the letter and ripped it open.
Pulling out a thick parchment Harry read:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmistress: Minerva McGonagall
Dear Mr. Potter,
We have written to inform you that you have been
chosen to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books
and supplies.
Term begins on September 1st; we await your owl by
no later than July 31st.
Yours sincerely,
Severus Snape
Deputy Headmaster
"What!" James exclaimed as he jumped and grabbed the book from Jenn's hands. "How in the world did that prat get to be Deputy Headmaster! And why is McGonagall Headmistress? Where is Dumbledore!"
Sirius just stared blankly at the book a weird expression on his face as he listened to James's fuming. The others kept exchanging worried and uncertain glances as they tried to figure out what might have happened to one of the most powerful wizards currently living.
"He would never leave Hogwarts would he?" Remus asked softly.
"I don't think he would, at least not willingly," Jenn replied.
"Dumbledore hasn't been looking all that well lately," Lily added in a small voice as she tore her eyes away from the book in James's hands. "You… you don't suppose his heart could give out do you? Or that he'd… he could die from some magical illness?"
Silence met this query. The mere thought of Dumbledore passing into the afterlife was a terrible thought indeed. If anything happened to Dumbledore, Hogwarts would be as good as lost. There would be none to stop Voldemort from taking over the castle and turning it into a school for the dark arts or worse. The knowledge in the library alone could be disastrous in the dark lord's hands, not to mention the magical artifacts spread throughout the halls of the school.
After several dragging minutes of silence Jenn reopened the book. "Shall I read more?" she asked tentatively. When she got no objections Jenn continued with the story.
"I GOT MY HOGWARTS LETTER!" Harry cried out in wild abandonment as he jumped up from the table and began dancing around the room. "Auntie. Auntie I got my letter for HOGWARTS!"
Mrs. Lupin laughed and joined Harry in dancing around the table unable to ignore the pure joy on Harry's face at receiving his Hogwarts letter.
"What's all the excitement?" Mr. Lupin asked as he stepped into the house and knocked mud from his shoes.
"I GOT MY LETTER UNCLE REMUS!" Harry hollered as he rushed over and grabbed his uncle around the waste and waving the Hogwarts letter in his face. "I'm going to Hogwarts! Just like my mum and dad!"
Remus Lupin laughed as his adoptive nephew continued to dance excitedly around the kitchen.
Walking over to his wife he wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her softly on the cheek. "Has he been this loud all morning Monica dear?"
"Monica?" Lori gasped slightly as she gave Remus a hurt look.
Remus was totally confused; he had never really cared for Monica, it made no sense to him that he would marry her sometime in the future. He had no response or explanation for Lori as she turned from him. In his distracted state he never even considered trying to comfort her.
Jenn continued to read from the book after a few minutes, the small frown on her face and sadness in her voice the only indication that she was bothered by the latest revelation.
"Most of the morning it was silent as a tomb in here. Of course, it would have been a complete madhouse if someone hadn't given Harry an early present at the break of dawn this morning," Monica replied as she smiled up at her husband.
Blushing Remus grinned as Harry continued to dance excitedly.
"I couldn't help it dear; he'd been drooling over that broom since it was first placed in the window of the Quidditch supply shop," Remus replied sheepishly.
"Yes, I recall every 'can I have it know' each time we passed the display. I thought we had agreed to wait though?" Monica sighed in exasperation.
"Yes, well, I wanted to get him something special for going to Hogwar -"
"Uncle Remus, can I please open my presents now?" Harry interrupted.
"It's impolite to interrupt when someone is speaking, Harry, dear," Monica chided.
"Sorry Auntie. Please uncle Remus? May I please?" Harry begged. "Auntie said I could as soon as you got back."
"Go ahead champ," Remus said with a smile."
Jenn continued to read about Harry opening cards and letters that had wizard money in side, all wishing him a happy birthday. About Harry unwrapping gift after gift, each one more extravagant then the last. From gold cauldrons to silver telescopes, from racing brooms to fancy quills and two or three of everything in between. As the list of gifts grew longer, Jenn read of the thank you list Monica started writing for Harry, or Lupin gathering up the discarded wrapping paper and empty boxes and of the steady stream of package laden owls that continued to bring more gifts for Harry. In no time at all she was reading the last few paragraphs of the chapter.
"It was long past midnight by the time the last owl dropped its burden and fluttered out into the starlit sky. Harry still had a large pile of gifts yet to open, and he had not had much time to enjoy any of the gifts as he had opened one after another.
Monica wearily wrote the last sender's name on the thank you list and then began rolling up the six foot parchment so that it would not get lost.
"Harry dear, why don't you leave the rest for tomorrow," She murmured softly as she stood up and set the list inside a kitchen drawer and turned to watch Harry.
"Aww Auntie, can't I finish tonight?" Harry whined as he pulled the paper off yet another racing broom.
"Come on, bed time birthday boy," Monica repeated as she shooed him towards bed. Harry grudgingly stood up and dragged his feet upstairs.
"What are we going to do with all this stuff Remus?" Monica asked forlornly as she gazed at the piles of books, cauldrons, brooms, weights, telescopes, candy, and money spread out all over the kitchen.
"The same thing we do every year for the boy who has everything," Lupin replied just as wearily as he shoved a stack of chocolate frogs off a chair and sat down. "We let him choose which ones he would like to keep and we sell or donate the rest."
"That's the end of the chapter," Jenn announced to the others.
AN: Finally managed to get around to posting the first chapter of this story, hope it has lived up to everyone's expectations! Chapter 2 will be added as soon as I'm happy with the edits I've been making to it, which might take at least a week because I've just been commissioned to start a new project for a client and will be working on her new website for her. I'll do my best to get it up as soon as I can though. Thanks for reading everyone! - Jenn