A/N: Because there comes a time in everybody's life where they need to write about dimension traveling. It's way too tempting and this little plot bunny won't leave me alone.

This is the product of reading way too many fanfictions of the same type lately and thinking 'why?' or 'I would've done this' and then wondering why I couldn't find the story I really wanted to read. Which of course is the universal signal for that person to just sit down and WRITE THEIR OWN STORY. I also want to give super props to Oreal770's story "Distorted Reality" because when I read that, I fell in love with the concept which centers more around our character's alternate reality selves coming in at the end of DH rather than Harry going to the alternate reality. I still did the typical thing but I hope this comes out more unique. I do have a plan for this story unlike usual.

(Also, if you are an old reader of mine, I ask that you don't pepper me with questions about my other stories – the likelihood of me picking up something my 13 year old self wrote is highly unlikely. However I have considered editing them and then maybe – maybe picking them up)

Without further ado

Chapter One: Strangers We Know

Lily and James Potter sat in silence, their faces hard. They had just lost their son – not to a Death Eater attack or a teenage prank. He'd disappeared right in front of their eyes in a flash of golden light, his eyes wide with panic. James could still hear the boy's frightened cry for his mother and his hand groping at the table, trying to hold on, to stay in the safety of that room. Lily's following scream had been worse. Worse than when Harry had almost died at the age of one, almost been killed. But they'd survived, all three of them and Harry had no memory of the incident, no fear tarnishing his innocent mind.

Lily was focused on the moment she saw her child fade away from her. The terror she felt . . . it was nearly worse than her fear on that Halloween night. Nothing could prepare her for losing the child she'd done everything to keep safe, nothing could prepare her for the fear she'd seen in his eyes. Sometimes she and James fought about keeping him in the dark, far from the terror of the war. James had always pushed for him to be taught a little of the world, to open his eyes to a fraction of the loss and fear. She'd always been vehemently opposed. It was bad enough to raise a child in world that was at war, it was already hard enough to protect him. Opening his eyes to all that pain would be more harmful than helpful. Thinking back on Harry's face when he vanished, she wondered if she'd made the right choice. Maybe that knowledge would have been a comfort to him wherever he went; maybe fear of the unknown was worse than just fear.

James grasped Lily's hand. They were sitting in Dumbledore's office at Hogwarts, waiting for some explanation of the event that had plunged the family into fear once again. Dumbledore was sitting across from them, casting spells over a golden object and occasionally murmuring seemingly random phrases to himself.

At that moment the statue at the back of the office rotated to reveal a flustered and terrified couple with red hair, freckles, and a disheveled appearance.

"Dumbledore!" Molly Weasley rushed forward, barely noticing the surprised looks on the Potter's faces, "Ron's gone – just vanished!" She clutched her side, out of breath from the run to his office.

Arthur placed his hand on his arm and looked imploringly at Dumbledore, a controlled panic hardening his face. Dumbledore stared at the two of them, shock lighting his eyes.

"How, Molly?" He said, his voice remained calm despite the growing concern he felt.

"A light, a gold light. It just took him." Arthur answered quickly, Molly was clearly panicked and in no place to answer.

"The Potters experienced the same thing," Dumbledore said heavily, "I assume whatever happened to Harry happened to Ron as well. . . Can you think of some sort of tie or similarity they might have? Something that makes them similar?"

Both groups of parents shook their heads. Their children weren't close, despite being in the same year, and they clashed. Harry was a bit selfish, with a big ego and Ron had a temper on him – something that prevented any friendship from growing. Typically the best they could hope for when their families got together during Order meetings was a handful of polite phrases back and forth. Both boys had grown up a bit recently and now tolerated each other.

Dumbledore shook his head and sat back at his desk, "You all should go home for the night, sitting here watching me won't be of much use. I recommend you try to think of anything different that you might have seen or heard in the past few days."

Grudgingly, Lily and James got up and left, leaving Molly and Arthur to stumble after them. As they reached the end of the stairs, Molly reached out to Lily, "Lily . . . I know how hard it must be for you . . ."

Lily shrugged off the hand, pity wasn't something she wanted. Finding her son was more important and worrying over the past would do more harm than good. The group trudged down the deserted corridors of Hogwarts. It was Easter in a few days and their children had just returned for Easter break, something both families insisted on. Lily and James always kept their son close; they'd never had another child. It was something Lily had refused to do after that Halloween night. This world wasn't safe for children. The Weasleys, to the other extreme, deemed any holiday the perfect opportunity to gather their seven children around them.

A crash echoed through the halls, followed by several grunts.

"Where'd everyone go?" The voice was female, cautious and barely audible. The adults stopped short of the corridor where the group had fallen.

"I dunno . . . Wands out?" Molly gasped at the sound of her son, nearly rushing forward before hearing another voice.

"Did you hear that?" A third voice entered – unmistakably the voice of Harry Potter.

Both Molly and Lily raced forward at the same time, turning the corner to find three exhausted looking teens, their skin and clothes grimy with dirt and – to their mother's horror – blood. At the sight of the two women, they raised their wands before Ron let out a gasp, "Mum? But what happened? Where is everyone . . ."

Harry had nudged Ron and, at the sight of the Potters and the grime free state of his parents, Ron trailed off, raising his wand, his eyes guarded.

"Who are you?" This phrase came from Harry and shook his parents to the core. This was their child, their baby. The one they had protected from the world and all its hurt, the one who followed his father's footsteps as a prankster and didn't have a care in the world. But the Harry that stood before them was not the one they knew. His eyes were heavy with grief and pain, he stood proudly – confident in himself, so unlike the slightly arrogant slouch of the boy they'd raised.

Lily was the first to recover from shock and she moved forward slowly, her hands reaching out to her only son. Harry's stance faltered at her movement, his wand dropping a few inches. His eyes met hers. He'd never truly seen his mother, he'd seen a semi-real form only hours ago but she was nothing compared to the solid woman with green eyes and red hair that stood before him. She moved forward, smiling at him with all the love in the world. She was inches away from touching him – really touching him when –

"Protego!" Hermione's yell startled everyone and the shield burst forward, pushing Lily back a few feet.

"Hermione?" Harry's voice was hoarse as he looked at her, betrayal seeping into the single word. But she simply shook her head sadly:

"Your parents are dead, Harry." She laid a hand on his shoulder, "You know that."

Harry nodded, to Lily's complete and utter confusion, "We're not dead!"

But Harry's face, so full of emotion only moments ago, closed off. His wand, while shaking, was pointed at Lily. Looking from the wand to the face of her son, Lily whispered, "Harry? Harry, please. What happened? Where'd you go?"

The girl – Hermione, she remembered – stepped in front of him, her wand steady, her eyes narrowed in anger. "Who are you?"

Lily whimpered at the vehemence she saw and felt James come up behind her, looping an arm protectively around her waist. Molly and Arthur were standing farther off, staring at their son in silence. But no one was focused on them; the three teens were staring at the two Potters. At James' movement, Harry had paled and Ron had drawn a sharp breath. They had all seen pictures of Harry's parents but never had they come face to face with their images. Only Hermione had seemed unfazed, as if she expected him to appear.

"Are you Death Eaters?" She continued. This had to be finished, "The war's over. You lost, Voldemort's dead."

This time it was James who spoke up, his voice scarily quiet, "We're not – how dare you suggest – We're not Death Eaters."

Hermione opened her mouth again but Lily overrode her, "Lily – Lily and James Potter."

"No." This time it was Harry who spoke, his voice laced with pain, "Lily and James Potter are dead."

What? Lily looked at him in fear, "Harry . . . you saw us at dinner a few hours ago . . ." Her voice shook as he shook his head.

"Lily," James looked at the group in front of him. He hadn't failed to see their injuries, the age in their eyes, the way they stood, and his Auror training was not useless. Something was wrong and that was beyond the conversation that had transpired. "We should take them to Dumbledore – "

"I'm already here, I'm afraid." A weary Dumbledore stepped out from the shadows, "I'm sorry, I had to hear the conversation."

He looked at Harry, Ron, and Hermione, taking in their looks of panic and distrust at his arrival, "I take it I am dead as well." He stated pleasantly, "Lily, James, I'm sorry but he is not your Harry. This is not your Ron either, Molly."

The parents gaped at Dumbledore, eyes wide with confusion – an image mirrored by the three new arrivals.

"What?"

"Not my Harry?"

"- Death Eaters?"

"But then where are they?"

Dumbledore held a hand up, "If you will permit me, I will do my best to begin to answer a few questions." Turning to the trio he asked, "Would one of you – Harry, perhaps – please allow me to ask a few questions."

Harry looked at his friends, worry lining his face, but Hermione whispered something and he nodded. Stepping forward, he looked Dumbledore straight in the eyes, "Go on."

"You said Lily and James were dead. How did they die?"

Harry closed his eyes for a moment, "They died on Halloween when I was one. Voldemort killed them personally." It wasn't the full truth but they didn't need to know the details, no one needed to know those details.

Lily gave a little whimper and James' eyes narrowed slightly, anger and confusion tearing across his mind. They hadn't died, they hadn't even come close. It was Harry who had been in mortal danger that day, Voldemort throwing aside his parents and all the protective spells they'd put up. They hadn't died.

Dumbledore nodded briefly, before James burst out, "You're just going to believe him? Like that? He could be lying; he could be a Death Eater!"

Harry glared down at his feet but stayed silent. Dumbledore shook his head, "He's no Death Eater."

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPH

Harry woke in a destroyed corridor, a boy with red hair and a girl with bushy hair beside him. Ron and . . . and Hermione? He'd never even spoken to Hermione outside his yearly pleading for History of Magic notes. He and Ron weren't that great of chums either for that matter. They'd only decided to be civil in light of being shut out of Order meetings. As they began to stir, Harry got up and took in his surroundings.

It was like nothing he'd ever seen. Destruction was all around him, bodies littered the floor – some human, some spider, some indefinable. Stumbling backwards, he wretched behind a corner, all the while occupied by the simple question of what happened?

End of Chapter One

Quick note of clarification: Essentially Canon!Harry, Ron, and Hermione are in an Alternate Dimension, and AU! Harry, Ron, and Hermione are in Canon Dimension. However, the story will mostly revolve around our Canon Golden Trio.

So! What do you think? Good, bad, terrible? I always accept constructive criticism and would love to here your thoughts. I intend to lengthen the chapters once the ball gets rolling but for now, this will have to do.

Please review! You know how important it is :)