Hello !
My first time writing a fanfiction in english, so sorry if some sentences are a bit weird.
I'm crossposting this fanfic on Ao3 too.
I must said, it's might be a bit better to read it on Ao3, cauz i included some drawings to illustrate the story :)
Hope you will like it !
Also, i don't own Maze Runner nor Harry Potter
I'm using The Fever Code book as reference, and i'll use both movies & books for the Maze Runner trial to the Death Cure. :)
Stephen is Thomas real name.
He was running, running, running, again and again. He didn't know how long he was running but he knew that he was out of breath, but he couldn't stop. He couldn't. Because if he stopped running, he would die.
Breath, breath breath.
He was running in a big forest, he didn't know where he was, but it was so dark, he couldn't see anything. It hurt everywhere. He was still getting small cuts with trees, and it was burning so much.
Breath, breath, breath.
" I SAW YOU POTTER ! " he heard, and almost choked.
Holy Voldemort Pants.
He was fucking dead. So dead.
He hadn't slept for 3 days, he was out of magic, of energy, he'd lost his wand, not like he needed it much since he didn't have enough energy to do magic. He thought he hadn't eaten for 2 days now. He didn't really have the time. Never had the time.
What an irony.
Harry Potter, the golden boy who lived, who defeated Voldemort, was going to die within the five minutes by muggle, 20 years after the Grand Battle.
How nice.
Killed by muggle technology. He was pretty sure it wasn't a normal gun. Like, how the hell did they drain his magic when they shoot him ? He knew for sure that magic and muggle technology didn't mix well together, so how the fuck ?
He felt like a teenager whining. How bad was that ?
And right at this moment, he tripped on a random tree root. He quickly put his arms in front of his face by reflex and fell down hard on the ground. He heard loud footsteps behind him and knew that he was done. He felt his body turn on his back before getting choked by the muggle. He was sweating, loud breathing, greasy hair plastered on his face, with a crazy grin on his face, a black gun in his hand.
" See you in Hell, Potter... " he sang with a mad grin.
And this was the last thing he heard before darkness.
Harry James Potter, died on the 1st August, at 1 A.M in the lost forest of Scotland, due to an anti-magic ball in his head, that had entered at the same place as his scar, at 38 years old. He was killed by the squib leader of the anti-magic rebellion, Thomas Riddle, who shot himself after killing the Savior.
Darkness.
That was all he could see.
Comfy Darkness.
That was all he could felt.
Distant Sounds.
That was all he could hear.
But, he could sense something next to him.
But,
He couldn't move.
A wailing sound, piercing his ears, it was burning, he felt weird, something was missing, it was cold, he couldn't see anything, everything burned, he could distinctly hear some people talking, but all his attention was on the wailing.
He didn't knew what to do, so he grabbed the first thing next to him, and suddenly, it felt better.
It felt better.
And the wailing calmed down.
Calmed down until nothing.
No sound.
Darkness.
Comfy.
Months passed before he became aware of the situation. It had been maybe 6 months now, he wasn't sure, but he did see a tall person come and tear a big page off something that looked like a calendar.
So it took 6 months for him to be awake long enough to finally understand what was happening.
He wasn't dead.
Or at least, Harry James Potter was killed by a muggle. And he had been reborn.
He had mixed feelings about it, but felt somehow relieved. Because he wasn't freaking Harry Potter anymore. He could be normal in this new life. And he may have been reborn as a muggle- what an irony.
But it didn't bother him, because he lived like a muggle first. He felt guilty about leaving Teddy behind, but he was sure that Hermione and Ron would take care of him.
And, well, he had been reborn. He might be in the future, or in a alternate universe, or the past, or even in a world without magic. But he wouldn't know until he got older. Until his magic core grow up.
Somehow, he still had his memories. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.. But maybe he was going to forget them while growing up, replacing old memories by new ones. He hoped that his baby body won't have any nightmare, that his mind got a baby mind and would shut down everything when he fell sleep.
But for this first time in his life, well, second life, he was happy beyond hell.
He had a brother.
A Twin.
A twin !
Like George and Fred !
He never had a family, and for the first time, he finally had one. One that he would protect with his life.
He was the reassuring presence next to him.
He was the person he held first when he came out of mum.
He was the cause of his wailing.
He was the one making his life comfy.
He had never felt that before, never, and it felt so good. So so good.
He understand how George felt now, when Fred died.
Because he was sure he would be broken as hell if his baby twin came to die.
Even if right now, they couldn't speak, and that all they did was nap, wake up, eat, watch curiously, drool and teeth on each other, smiling like idiots… His baby twin was the best thing in the world.
His brother.
It's been a year since he was reborn.
One year with his parents, and his baby brother.
And they were still alive.
And he would keep them alive.
Even if he was just one year old.
He learned that his name was James. He don't know if it was a joke from Fate or no. But hell. They didn't want him to forget, right ?
His baby twin name is Stephen. He found it super cute.
Because Stephen was all toothy grins, laughs, bubbly, curiosity, and rolling everywhere.
While he was all calm, and.. calm. He didn't really know how to react like a baby to not freak out his parents. But he didn't feel like Stephen and rolling everywhere. But he felt like a big brother, which was normal since he was older in mind, and so tried to take care of Stephen in the baby way.
" Ja-Ja- ja-miiiie ! " Stephie laughed.
James patted him on his cheek.
" Stephie ! " and he laughed at him too.
Stephen was his little sunshine.
Two years passed.
He learned many things during this time. They were now 3 years old.
He learned that they were twins, yes, but they were easy to differentiate, because while Stephen got hazel eyes, he had green eyes like in his previous life. Luminescent green eyes. His eyes were way brighter than his dad's.
This time, it was his father who had green eyes, and mum had lovely brown eyes.
Both twins had little freckles and brown hair, but James's hair was way messier than Stephen's.
Potter one day, Potter always, he guessed.
But hopefully he didn't seem to have problematic eyesight. Maybe when he grew older, but he didn't think so.
He also learned that he was more than 200 years in the future. Which was truly shocking, because their house kind of looked like the Burrow. Wooden stuff, not a lot of technology, just a few metallic things, and a bit more plastic stuff.
Maybe they were poor ?
Or technology didn't advance at all ?
Or maybe he was in a alternate universe where it was way more late than his first life?
But he noticed one thing : Only their father went outside.
They never went outside. Their mum sometimes went with their father, but mostly it was just him. He went outside at least 3 times a week. And he always came back sweaty, sometimes with bruises, just before nightfall, and with his bag full of stuff. Mostly food. Sometimes, it was a bit tougher and they ate less for weeks. Stephen noticed too, he was a bright child after all, but he said nothing and keep smiling.
He also noticed that it never rained. Never since he was born, at least. It was a bit weird when you're used to the English climate. But it also meant something else that was worrying him : water was hard to get.
They used water economically. Baths consisted of a humid cloth. They pooped and pissed in small containers before mom went outside to throw them away. He didn't really know what she did with it, but they didn't ever flush the toilet.
Also, when their father came back, he sealed all the entrances, and unsealed them before going out. And one time, he woke up at night to weird sounds. Really weird sounds. It sounds like painful moans, low and long. Some hissing too. In the end he fell asleep, but he guessed that was happening every night.
His mum looked so tired. But her face always lit up and smiled when she saw her sons. So they tried to always be with her, instead of playing on their own in some corner of the house.
This world seemed tough.
But James would protect them.
1 year passed.
"Jamie !"
James looked up from the children's book.
They were 4 years old. They didn't go to school, maybe because there wasn't a school to go to. James really did think the world outside was way harsher than his first, and he knew that he needed to appreciate all the small moments of peace he got.
So he was trying his best to teach little Stevie, since his mum was becoming weaker and weaker. He was really worried, he didn't want to lose her. And his dad had that haunted look in his eyes, so like his own back in his first life. Like he'd come back from a war.
" Yes Stevie ? " he asked, looking his brother coming his way with a big big toothy grin.
" Look at what daddy gave me !" He was so excited, he was practically bouncing on his feet while waving something rectangular in his hand.
Dad was back? That was nice to hear. He looked worse every time he came back, James was afraid that someday, he wouldn't return at all.
" Shhh calm down Stevie, you don't want to wake mum !" he scolded his baby twin, but with a fond smile on his face.
Stephen quickly nodded his little head and proudly showed him a little black board, which had a piece of chalk attached by a small rope.
James could understand his excitement. They didn't get a lot of stuff. Sometimes they got children books, though these were often badly damaged. They got two plushies when they were two years old, and some wooden cubes with letters. But that was it. So, every time Dad came back with something else than food or water, it was like Christmas.
James smiled brightly at Stevie and got an idea in his head.
" Stevie, gimme the board, I'm going to tell you a story ! " Stephen looked at James curiously and tilted his head before sitting in front of him and giving him the blackboard.
And so, James started to tell him his story, but a child's version, with little doodlings to illustrate his story on the blackboard. He wasn't that great an artist but he managed.
He could see the stars in Stephen eyes, and he knew that storytelling was now his favourite thing in the world.
4 months later.
Their mum was trying her best to educate them, but James saw that she had mixed feelings about him teaching Stevie.
When she tried to teach them something, Stevie would get bored and start to fall asleep. James figured it was probably his fault, since he was teaching him now with the blackboard, with a funnier way.
She was a bit defeated first but in the end, their mum focused on teaching James, knowing that he'd pass it on to Stephen later.
Life was harsh, but life was great.
He loved his family, even if he wanted his father to be a bit more present.
He was out almost every day now.
And he looked like shit.
" Jamie ! Jamie ! wake up, wake uppp !" He heard Stevie whispering in his ear. He grunted and opened one eye.
It was still dark.
What's happening ?
He turned his head and looked at his brother with both his eyes. Stevie looked super excited.
" What ?"
"Daddy forgot to lock the door behind the house ! let's look what outside looks like !" he whispered excitedly while pointing behind him.
Forgot to lock a door ? That had never happened before. He must've been really tired.
"I'm not sure Stevie.." he hesitated.
He was also curious about what the outside world looked like. He could feel the excitement in him caused by Stevie.
He noticed that he could feel every emotion of his brother some months ago. And it wasn't helping sometimes…
"C'mon ! I wanna see what outside looks like !"
He understood his brother's excitement, truly, but he couldn't help but think of these moans he heard one night.
"It will be fast, promise ! Just looking and then locking the door !" He looked at him expectantly with big eyes.
How do you even say no to those eyes ?
"Fine, fine ! no more than 5 minutes okay ?" he sighed.
He go out of his bed, taking Stevie hand, and walked slowly to to back of the house. He didn't hear any moaning sound, so it seemed safe. They were trying to not make any sound so they wouldn't wake up their parents. They both needed sleep.
They arrived in front of the door, which wasn't sealed by wooden boards. He turned the handle and slowly opened the door. It caused a small grating sound, and he couldn't help but cringe.
When the door was finally open, he can't hold in his gasp. And his brother did the same.
Sand.
That was all he could see.
A landscape full of sand, with small rocks, and some destroyed buildings. He could see the moon shining, black sky full of stars, no clouds in the horizon. It was beautiful.
But it also hit him really fast. This barren landscape...
Their dad was going out everyday in desperation to find something in the ruins. There was nothing outside.
He could see a destroyed city in the horizon. And it hit him hard. Really hard.
Somehow, Steven seemed to understand that too.
They took some more steps out onto the warm sand, and watched a bit more around them. He went left, and Stephen went right.
But then he suddenly felt uncontrollable and immense fear, and spun around looking for Stephen. He wasn't really far, but he saw Stevie stumble down, mouth wide open, and gaping like a fish, with big eyes full of tears.
He could hear his brother's voice in his head. Calling him. Calling his name. Jamie, Jamie, Jamie, Jamie cried Stephen.
It hurt James so much.
What did he see ? What did he see ?
He ran to Steve to ask him what was happening before he heard it.
The moaning sound.
His body froze, half way to hugging Stephen, and looked up slowly before making a strangled noise.
What the fuck.
What the actual fuck.
Humanoid form, ripped clothes, small patches of hair, dark veins all over his skin, dark liquid coming from his mouth, with white bloodshot eyes.
What the fuck was an Inferius doing here.
Inferius.
In this world.
He could sense his brother trembling like a leaf behind him, crying and calling his name, looking at him in desperation. They needed to run.
But then...
The Inferius took a step forward.
And James took a step forward too, putting Stephen behind him, protecting him, with an arm out. Stevie grabbed his arm and said that they needed to run. That they needed to go back home and lock the door.
But it was an Inferius.
An Inferius.
It won't let us go.
Unless we kill it.
It will wait for us to come out the morning at the door.
James green eyes brightened and gleamed, like a green light that he knew so well in his previous life. His eyes were cold and determined.
"Incendio," whispered James in the tense silence.
There was nothing.
Then, a small light started to light up.
He could hear the little gasp from Stevie.
The Inferius screamed.
The light was getting bigger and bigger. Flames were reflected in both children's eyes.
And it burned.
Burned.
Painful noises, painful moans.
He could smell the burned skin. It was disgusting. It was awful. He was drained and Stephen looked traumatized. So he hugged him, turning his back to the Inferius, protecting his brother from the awful view, and took him back home.
He quickly locked and sealed the door, pressing his back to it Stephen was on the floor, shaken.
They could still still hear the Inferius screaming and moaning. Until it stopped.
Then there was nothing.
It was hell. It was scary. It was terrible. But it also meant something.
He had magic. He had his magic.
Nobody needed to know.
But then it hit him hard again.
If he had magic, did that mean that there's still wizards around ? Were they the cause of the Inferius being nearby ? He was sure it wasn't the only Inferius here. Were they the cause of the destroyed city that he saw on the horizon in the short time they were outside ? Was it revenge from the wizards to the muggles ? When he died, did war break out?. A war between the wizards and the muggles. Could this world be the result ?
Also, now he had time to think, he realised that the Inferius had looked a bit weird. It hadn't looked like the usual Inferius. They don't usually have veiny dark lines. They didn't usually have black roots coming out of the mouth. Was it a new kind of Inferius-
"-mie ! Jamie ! Jamie !" whispered desperately to his brother. " Please calm down ! "
It was only then that he noticed that he was hyperventilating, and shaking, and had fallen to the floor. He looked at his hands, took a big breath in and out, trying to calm himself.
After a few minutes, when he felt settled again, he turn his head towards Stevie.
He could still see the tears on his cheeks. But he could also the worry and something else in his eyes.
"I-..."
"I'm sorry Jamie ! It was my idea to go outside…" he said with a trembling voice.
He could feel it.
How he was shaken, afraid, terrified. But also worried.
James just looked at his brother's big hazel eyes.
"I.. will always protect you." Stephen said with determined eyes, even if he was still a bit scared.
That should have been James saying this to Stephen. But he said nothing, and just looked at his brother and a small desperate smile.
He guessed that seeing your usually super calm brother breaking down was quite something.
"Hey Stevie… Let's keep it for us okay ?" he said with a breath.
He didn't know himself if he meant his magic, or the Inferius, or their small escapade outside.
Stevie just nodded, eyes hard and determined.
James hugged him firmly before taking him to bed, and cuddled with him as they slept.
He dreamed about a boat that night. A wooden boat on a black lake. And burning Inferius.
They were quite silent in the following days, which made their parents worry.
Stephen got back to himself rather quickly and tried his best to appear cheerful.
But James knew that they somehow both lost a bit of their innocence this night.
And… His mind was quite preoccupied with something else.
Was he.. the only wizard here ?
Okay that's it for the first chapter !
Chapter 2 will be a bit longer :)
I hope you liked it, so if you have time, reviews ?