November 25th, 1999
Hogwarts, Scotland
One would think after having saved the entire wizarding world when he was nothing more than a teenage disaster of a seventeen-year-old boy, he would be excluded having to experience any more bad days for the rest of his hopefully long life. But it appeared that the opposite was quite true.
For Harry had never felt quite so unlucky in his short teenage life ever before (even if he was technically adult right now), and he'd been unlucky for most of his unfortunate life. Having to fear for his life in the case somebody suddenly decided to strike for him through most of his teenage-hood really did something to the otherwise perfectly ordinary teenage boy.
"Look, Harry." Ginny began pointedly, biting her lips somewhat anxiously. "We need to break up."
Like he'd said, he was having a tremendously bad day. Not only did he wake up with the worst hangover he'd experienced in his life (truthfully, the only hangover he ever had since he'd never quite spent enough time on getting drunk before the bald bastard was defeated for the good of the world) and somehow managed to trip on his way down the stairs and in the process, almost fell down the moving stairs before he finally made it to the Great Hall.
And then, as if that wasn't nearly enough, he had come in such a time that all of his housemates had already gone and eaten, and therefore, was forced to eat all alone by himself at the Gryffindor table.
And now, if only to make the day even worse than it already was before Ginny opened her pretty little mouth, the witch he thought to be the love of his life was going to break up with him. Now, the only thing worse than this would be if Ron and Hermione suddenly decided to abandon him now that the war was done and over with for the good.
Harry blinked his eyes wide, staring gapingly at the redhead. "But, why?" he asked.
"Harry, it's not like I don't love you. I think some part of me would always love you regardless of what may happen to us in the future, but I've spent thinking things through yesterday." She told him with an amount of finality he couldn't argue with.
"And I've come to the conclusion that I deserve better than to be forever tied to the one man that haven't looked at me twice in that way before I've started dating Dean. And it's not even like I'm not blaming you or anything. You didn't owe it to me to return the childish feelings I've had since like forever. I've always known that. But all I am saying is that I deserve to be loved by someone who didn't make me feel as if I wasn't nearly enough to be like any of the other girls you've crushed on before."
"Ginny –, "
But she didn't let him continue. She just went on with a saddening smile, regret filling her face like a tragic tale. "And I get that we aren't the same people we've used to be before everything had changed. The war had changed us more than any of us would like to admit, Harry." She told him sadly, sighing deeply under her throat. "And I am really sorry, Harry. I really am. And I hope you'd find the will to forgive me someday, but I just can't continue living this way anymore. I think I deserve way better life than that. After all, we only live once, don't we?"
"It's alright, Ginny. You don't need to explain any more. It's not like you've done something wrong here."
Only broke his heart. But he wasn't going to guilt-trip her like that. It wouldn't be fair to either of them. Besides, what else would it really achieve other than a heartbreak? Neither of them needed that today. "I understand somewhat why you've decided to end us. I think, deep down, I've always known. We are not meant to be together, are we?"
She shook her head bitterly. "No, I don't think we ever did." She told him bluntly.
"Come on, how about a farewell hug at least?" He asked, opening his arms wide for her to fall in.
Ginny laughed bitterly and jumped into his arms with an amount of force that made him stumble back a step from where he stood in the Astronomy Tower, the familiar scent of roses and lilies threatening to fill him with the sense of nostalgia and familiarity he didn't quite need right now.
"You are a good man, Harry Potter." She told him with a small smile, as they broke apart from the embrace, her face like a sad memory he could bear to see no longer. "Never let anyone else say otherwise." And then she kissed him lightly on the cheek, and slowly walked away from him with the slight tap of her shoes.
Harry Potter sighed deeply under his breath in the defeat and walked toward the edge of the Astronomy Tower, feeling lonelier than he ever had in his entire lonesome life. It was during that moment when quite abruptly, a sudden storm sent him flying down the castle walls.
And then, everything went blank.
November 25th, 1999
The Potter Manor
London, England
"Harry, honey?" A vaguely familiar voice asked, and Harry blinked his eyes open, jolting awake from his bed with a start. "You alright?" And almost as if in the dream, Harry found himself staring at the familiar green eyes of his late mother, and Harry was no longer certain he wasn't dreaming anymore.
"Mom?"
"Evans, what'd happened?" And then out of the hallway of the house, his father came bursting inside the bedroom. "Is he awake?" he asked.
It was that moment when Harry remembered everything that'd happened the last few hours today. His trouble with getting to the Great Hall. Eating all by himself his breakfast before heading to the class that in his opinion, felt completely unnecessary. His break up with Ginny and then, the storm that forced him to fall down from the Astronomy Tower.
"Dad, am I dead?"
It was the only explanation he could think of that made any sort of sense.
His mother glared at his father sideways, her face flaring with an anger. "See? I knew I shouldn't have let Sirius talk me into letting my son staying with you of all the people. I am gone from his life for few days, and then he almost falls to his death!"
"If you somehow managed to forget, he is my son too, Evans! You didn't single-handedly make him by yourself!" His father's voice raised dramatically high and then he spins on his heel, glaring at his mother as he were ready for a murder. "Besides, how is any of this my fucking fault? He is eighteen, Evans! He should be able to take care of himself by now!"
"Oh, really? If he's such an independent human being, then how is it that he almost died today?"
"If you've raised him to be far better human being–,"
"That's a lot coming from you, Potter! Besides, since when were you an expert on parenting? You've spent the majority of his life hunting down one criminal group after another, far too busy to give even a minute of your life to your own son! So, don't you even dare lecture me about how I should parent my own son, Potter!"
"I've told you, Evans. I am busy with my work. You may not know it, but being the Head of the Auror Department isn't as easy as you seem to think it to be. So, while you go around defending murderers and petty criminals, I hunt them down and put them exactly where they belong!"
His mother huffed loudly under her throat in the clear disbelief, shaking her head stubbornly across the room. "I can't even believe you. You're insulting the work I do for the good of the people? No wonder we didn't work out for so long."
"No wonder." He agreed.
"Excuse me, but what the hell is going on here?"
His mother arched her eyebrows, falling down to kneel in front of him with the softest look he'd seen on her face today. "You fell down the stairs, honey."
"I…fell down the stairs?"
He knew he didn't fall down the stairs. Of course, he still didn't know if he was having a very wild dream or if he somehow fell into an alternate universe where his parents were alive and well, if only divorced. Though, that didn't matter much to him at the moment. He had more important things to worry about right now.
"By the look of it, you fell down pretty hard." His father added with a worried look on his face, sitting down by the bed beside his ex-wife. "Tell me, though, how are you feeling right now?"
"I feel fine." He told them plainly. "Just very confused."
"Confused how, honey?" His mother asked him, tilting her head at him somewhat curiously.
"How are you two still alive?" he asked. "Or am I just having a very wild dream right now?"
"Harry, what–"
Suddenly, the front door bust open with a loud thud against the wall, and his godfather came stumbling inside with a very similar looking fellow in the tow, both of them dressed as if they've come straight out of the gothic novel he knew Hermione secretly liked to read before bedtime.
"I came as soon as I've heard." Sirius informed them pointedly. "And as you can see, I even dragged my little brother here along."
"You didn't drag me along, you wanker." Regulus Black corrected his brother with a small frown. "I came along willingly. Stop telling people unnecessary lies, Sirius."
"He doesn't know what he's talking about, people. I dragged him along all the way from the hospital to here. And we all know he's always telling lies left and right. So, don't believe a word he says. I mean, he had me believe that I was actually a woman named Esmeralda Blackwood once. I don't think I even have to tell you people she was one hot looking witch."
"I was seventeen." Regulus looked like he was getting more and more annoyed by his older brother as each minute passed. He also looked like he was ready to strangle Sirius any second now. "And we were drunk."
"Anyway, how's my godson doing? He didn't forget me, did he? I heard that's what happens to the people who fell down the stairs. From the many medical books this little asshole here writes, of course." Beside him, Regulus rolled his eyes dramatically.
"I think he damaged his head badly, Regulus." His mother told the youngest Black brother, and the tall, dark-haired man nodded his head in the acknowledgement.
"I'll get him checked the first thing in the morning, Lil. So, don't worry yourself it too much, alright? He would be just fine." He said. "But right now, I think we all need some sleep before tomorrow. It has been quite a stressful day."
"Understatement of the century." James Potter agreed.
"And yes, sweetheart, that also involves you. If anything, more than any of us, you need a sleep. You've already gone without sleeping for three days straight already with all the work you've had back at the Ministry. You can't spend another sleepless night here. I am sorry, but I won't permit it. It's borderline unhealthy."
His mother waved her hands around her in the defeat and turned her head once again toward him, a soft smile filling her face like a morning sun. "You've heard him, Harry. Come on, let's go home." She informed him.
Home?
"But isn't this my home?"
His mother stared at him puzzled, sharing a secretive look with Regulus. "Honey, you haven't lived here more than a week since the divorce." She said. "And honestly, I think you've spent more than enough time here already this month."
"Where is home then?"
Now, his mother was staring at him as if he had grown a second head. "Why, in New York, of course."
Harry Potter was having one bad day.
And the day wasn't even close to over yet.
Chapter II
November 25th, 1999
New York, USA
When they'd port-keyed in the front of the house, Harry felt the familiar feeling of sickness in the pit of his stomach, and all of sudden, he felt like vomiting any moment then.
"Why couldn't we have taken a plane?" he asked his mother questioningly as they opened the front door with slight click, walking inside the quite expensive looking house with slow, careful steps. Regulus Black trailed after them cautiously, as if he were afraid something was going to strike them any moment then. "You know I loathe Portkey."
At least, he hoped she knew.
"Sweetheart, I don't like traveling by portkey either, but taking a plane would mean we would have to wait hours until we would arrive in New York."
"She just doesn't like planes, Harry. You know that." Regulus explained, looking at him suspiciously from the corner of the eye. "It seems we do have to get you checked first thing in the morning if you can't even remember such an important detail. You must've hit your head way harder than I previously thought."
He then sighed deeply under his throat, buttoning off his trench, dark coat. "Now, Harry, why don't you head to the bed? You have a rather long day waiting for you tomorrow." He told him. "You do remember you've promised to meet up with your friends tomorrow in the evening, right?"
"Of course," He didn't think he fucking remembered any of these stuff he was supposed to have known beforehand. "I may have hit my head, but I would never forget my friends."
Let's just hope that the friends he had here were the same ones he had back at home. He wouldn't know what else to do if we would have to act like he knew them on top of his family too.
Regulus still looked uncertain.
"Anyway, Regulus, would you mind? After all, as someone so wisely reminded me, I do have busy day tomorrow. So, I do think it's best to head off to the bed."
And try not to speak a word about how everything was much too weird here for his taste. Like, the fact that Regulus and his mother appeared to be far closer than he previously thought them to be. Maybe they were even married. After all, why not, right? It would only make sense that his mother remarried again after having divorced from his father.
Even if he still didn't even come to close to understanding any of what was currently happening to him right now.
Hopefully, he would wake up tomorrow morning from this bizarre dream (in more ways than just one) and everything would be fine once again, and he would be free to forget all this ever happened.
November 26th, 1999
There were quite a few things Harry Potter realized upon waking up in the somewhat unfamiliar house he was now forced to call home if only because he didn't think he was going to live anywhere else soon. Firstly, he had forgotten to brush his teeth last night before he went off to the sleep. Secondly, he'd also forgotten to change his clothes, and therefore, he was now sitting quite uncomfortably by the edge of the bed in the yesterday's clothes.
Lastly, he was now forced to accept the fact that everything that had happened since yesterday wasn't just another bizarre dream he'd had (after all, bizarre dreams of this sort weren't that unusual with him) and was actually a reality he now had to live with, even if he still didn't even come closer to understanding any of this mess than he was yesterday,.
"Good Morning, Harry." Lily greeted him warmly with small, quite happy looking smile when he stalked down the stairs toward the kitchen. "Omelet?"
