Of Dimensions And Family
"By: YellowRosesAndDragons

James Potter surveyed the room before him. It was warm and golden, lit both from the crackling fire on the wall opposite, and the faintly glowing Christmas tree in the corner. This was a room he knew well; he had grown up in this mansion, spent countless Christmas mornings surrounded by presents and love in this very den, and had built his family inside these walls. He grinned. Every person in this room was a person he loved, and loved dearly. His wife sat leaned up against him, her red hair clinging to the mildly hideous Christmas jumper he had recieved as a gift two Christmases ago. His daughter, Annie, leaned up against his legs and was snoozing gently in the comfortable atmosphere of after-presents lethargy. She had green eyes (not like her mother's- there was far too much of James' brown for that), incredibly messy red hair, and the same elvish features that her brother had before he hit puberty. Her brother Harry was sitting across from her, quietly but avidly discussing Quidditch with his godfather.

Harry was an almost exact replica of his father, both in looks and personality. Fortunately, he was also his mother's child, and possessed both her green eyes and the humbleness that his father had lacked when he was seventeen. He smirked at his father when he caught James looking, and mischief lined his face, proof of the numerous pranks pulled over the years. Harry opened his mouth to say something undoubtedly disruptive, before his godfather pulled him back into the conversation. His godfather, Sirius Black, was tanned and long-haired, with grey eyes that always held a sense of amusement, barring the rare piercing stare that accompanied anger. Sirius was healthy, tall, and looked about ten years younger than he actually was.

Beside Sirius, Remus looked at James with an expression of quiet happiness, clearly sharing his feeling content. Remus was wearing new comfortable clothes that he was able to afford now that he had got that job as an unspeakable a few years ago. Lily had been able to develop a cure for Lycanthropy shortly before Harry was born, and Remus and many other werewolves were allowed many more opportunities. Peter layed dozing on the floor next to Annie, identical expressions of laziness on their faces.

James sighed. This was perfection."Comfortable, are you?" Lily whispered teasingly, looking up at her husband with big, green eyes.

James smiled. "I dunno, I mean, I've got this strange, red-headed woman cutting off the circulation to my left arm, so-"

Lily mock-glared at him, then grinned. "Well, if I'm a strange, red-headed woman with great circulation cutting powers, then I suppose there's no reason for you to kiss me!"

"No, no! There's plently of reasons for me to kiss you!" James insisted.

Lily nodded and pretended to think deeply about her reply before saying, "Ah, well I suppose that's all fine and good for you, but unfortunately for you, it's a well known fact that red-haired-strange-women just don't kiss black-haired-four-eyes'."

"Oh they don't, do they?"

"Nope."

"Not anywhere?"

"Nuh-huh."

"And this is a well-known fact?"

"A rule written in every rulebook."

James paused, then leaned down and whispered in his wife's ear, "Well it's good then that I'm a bit of a rule-breaker." He then leaned down, and kissed Lily, pouring all the love and contentedness he could into the kiss.

Harry smiled as he watched his parents, both amused and slightly disgusted by their flirting. Sirius was explaining to him how it was clearly the beater who had the most important role in Quidditch. He was wrong of course, as it is obviously the seeker.

He was about to explain to Sirius exactly how he was wrong when a curious thing happened. Everyone began to give off a faint glow. The room felt warm and heavy, laden with magic, and the air was thick with energy.

Harry's Dad's eyes widened, and he shook awake his daughter, and yelled at Pete to get up. Something was wrong. No magic he'd ever felt was this heavy. Not even in Hogwarts.

"Dad, what's happening?" Harry asked, his voice laced with panicked curiosity.

It wasn't Dad that answered, but Remus. "I've seen this happen only once! At the DOM, some people were working on alternate dimensions," Remus said, amber eyes serious. "They were... transported. To another dimension, I mean."

"Well then let's leave! Get out of here!" Sirius said urgently, standing up to execute his suggestion.

Remus sighed, looking terribly sad. "It's too late. The magic has already taken hold of us, preparing our souls and bodies to be transported. We leave the magic now, and we're dead."

This made everyone freeze. "Daddy? I- I'm scared!" Annie whispered, terrified. She climbed up into her father's lap.

"Alternate Dimension? I've read the theory on those!" said Lily. "The thought is that anything could be different. We could end up in the middle of an ocean! Who knows!?"

Remus nodded, solemn.

Lily sighed, and steeled herself. "How long?"

"Any second now. The magic's almost thick enough."

Harry looked at his little sister, so terrified at the prospect of an alternate dimension. He couldn't blame her. Any second now his whome world would change. He grabbed her hand, and waited for the things to come. Everybody else in the room, having seen what he was doing, gathered around in a tight circle, seeking comfort in each other.

The magic in the room grow heavy to an almost unbearable level, and then the walls shifted.