Summary: A wooden box sent to Harry throws him and Draco into an alternate world. One in which Voldemort is still alive. They soon find out that neither of them were ever born here, due to certain people making different choices than they did in Harry and Draco's world.
Needless to say, there'll be some surprises along their journey of finding their way home. Said quest becomes all the more difficult when they become part of another war, one that they both had been trying very hard to forget.
Pairings: Harry/Draco, Severus/Lily, Neville/Ginny, Ron/Hermione
Chapter 1: Do Not Touch
The package arrived minutes after midnight. Harry had been sleeping with his head lying on the desk - he hadn't felt like going home that night. So much work to be done. The candles had burnt down and the silence was only broken by the enchanted rain. There was no owl carrying the package, no memo going along with it. It simply appeared with a noise like thunder that had Harry wide awake in a second.
He reached for his wand, whispered "Lumos" and looked at the package on top of the case files he'd been going through before he fell asleep. It was a small object wrapped in old copies of the Daily Prophet. Harry touched it with his fingertips, then conjured up new candles. His name was written across the paper in red ink. He traced the letters, one at a time, before unwrapping the package. There was something important about it.
What he was holding in his hands then was a small wooden box. There were no ornaments except for one crystal in the middle, catching the candle light. Harry held it in both hands though it would easily fit in one. His eyes were drawn toward the crystal. He couldn't remember the last time he hadn't been able to look away because of something so beautiful. He tried to open it and failed. There was no apparent opening mechanism, just a thin line running along the sides. He tried magic and failed again but kept trying - every spell that came to his mind, shutting down the whispers in the back of his mind about keeping his hands off strange magical objects before defining them. He tried until the early morning when the rain ceased and the darkness changed to daylight. Then he opened a drawer and put the box inside. He didn't want to share with his fellow Aurors. This wasn't meant for them.
He couldn't help but think about the box all morning and had to force himself not to look at his drawer. The whispers grew stronger at one point, telling him that it was some kind of magic trying to seduce him and not the good kind. He ignored them. He hadn't felt much for anything, anyone, in a while now. Four years since the end of the war and Harry thought he must be the only one who couldn't let go. He didn't understand the smiles because he couldn't find them within himself. There was emptiness, as if Voldemort had left a hole inside of him. The thought had frightened him at first, then he had made it his calling to hunt down every other dark wizard and witch he could get his hands on. It had to be the reason he was part of this world.
The other aurors didn't notice, as far as he could tell. He'd been practising his false smile and office small talk. Anderson was getting married, Trent considered switching to a different apartment. The crystal in his drawer.
He met Ron and Hermione for lunch. Hermione insisted on them having meals together at least once a week. Harry waited until he was the only one left in the room before he got his box out of the drawer and wrapped it inside a bag. His friends were waiting for him at the Muggle restaurant Hermione picked out for them.
"Good to see you, you're late." Hermione stood to hug him, Ron gave him a nod and rolled his eyes toward his girlfriend.
"Sorry, I got hold up at the ministry. We're still catching up on a lot of cases."
"One would think that stuff should have gone back to normal by now," Ron said.
"There's always bad people, Ron." Harry sat down and reached for the menu. "You guys already ordered?"
"Nah, she wouldn't let me. Said we had to wait for you." Ron grinned and leaned toward Harry so he could scan the menu.
"You need to catch a break," Hermione said after the waiter had taken their orders. "I'm sure they can work a few cases without you."
Harry frowned at her. He had placed the bag on his lap, one of his hands resting on top of it.
"I honestly don't know what I'd be doing with all that free time on my hands. I like working."
Ron shot him a curious glance.
"When did you turn into all work, no fun? Hey, how about we go see a Quidditch match some time?"
"Yeah, maybe."
"You need to relax, mate."
"I guess you're right" Harry forced himself to smile. He could do one Quidditch match. And he didn't want his friends to be worried about him. Whatever the reason for his emptiness, he was going to figure it out by himself. They were happy. He could see it in their smiles, the way they looked at each other or were holding hands under the table.
They talked about the Quidditch season until their food arrived and then ate in silence. Harry caught Hermione looking at the bag but she didn't say anything.
"Did you hear about Ginny and Neville?" Hermione asked as soon as Harry had set down his fork. She watched him thoughtfully, almost nervous. He hadn't heard.
"Really?"
"They're dating," Hermione continued. She said it as if it had the power to destroy him.
"Good for them," he answered. He had tried getting back together with Ginny once and it hadn't lasted long, although she had kept trying. Ginny dating someone else was a good thing. So she can be happy.
"When is the last time you went on a date?"
Harry didn't answer the question but looked at Ron instead.
"I'm sure Harry will find someone," Ron said. Hermione pressed her lips together and nodded. Another few minutes of silence passed between them until she finally asked.
"What's in the bag?"
"Nothing," Harry said and tightened his grip around the box.
"Then why'd you bring it to lunch?" Ron leaned forward to try and catch a glimpse at Harry's secret.
"It's... it's something I have to deal with. For the department. It's the kind of thing I can't let lying around and it's also the kind of thing I can absolutely not talk about with anyone. No offense." He stood, pressing the box against his chest and turned to leave.
He heard his friends call after him but didn't look back. He kept walking, holding on to his bag, through the door and out into the streets.
When he arrived back at the ministry his lunch break had been over for fifteen minutes. Maybe he should just go home and lock his box up in that cupboard he never used. He could protect it with various charms. He went through them in his head while waiting for the elevator and was only slightly concerned when his mind decided to come up with curses instead.
The elevator was empty when Harry entered, though only stayed so until it reached the next level. Harry took a step back when someone else entered and another when he recognized that someone as Draco Malfoy.
Malfoy hesitated before he reached out and pressed the button to go back to the entrance hall. He considered Harry with a deep frown.
"Potter."
"Malfoy."
The doors closed and they went downwards.
"What's that?" Draco asked nodding toward Harry's package.
"None of your business."
"Of course. High level security? I bet they let you enter any room in here, don't they? Me, they prefer throwing out" He snorted and leaned against the elevator wall. "Do you have anything to do with that, Potter?"
Harry didn't answer.
"This new policy they're apparently applying in every department? The one that says I can't get a job or even a stupid internship because my name doesn't work that way anymore?"
Harry didn't care what Draco was talking about, but he did notice the anger and that Draco was taking a step toward him.
"I don't know," Harry said because his mind was still circling around dark curses to protect his box and not willing to concentrate on a conversation.
"Oh. So I'm not worthy listening to, is that it?"
Harry tried to flee the elevator as soon as it reached its stop. Draco was blocking his way with one quick movement.
"I don't think so, Potter. I want you to do something about this. It's all your fault anyways."
"I really don't know what you're talking about, but if you don't..." The doors shut again and they went back up. Harry took a deep breath.
"You know how many interviews I've had in the past few months - hell, make that the past three years. I thought the war was supposed to be over and didn't I get exonerated?"
Harry looked up when he caught the last word. He had been at that trial.
"I mean, do they think we're secretly recruiting the Dark Lord's successor?!"
"We?"
"Them," Draco corrected. "Whoever. I just want a job. Is that too much to ask for? So could you please talk to someone and tell them that the bad days are over and I'm not going to kill anyone?"
"Tell them yourself."
Draco didn't seem to be having a good day and Harry wasn't in a generous mood either.
He closed his eyes and saw the crystal. He opened them again and saw Draco, standing closer now and reaching out to touch the bag in Harry's hands. Harry grabbed his wrist.
"Don't," he warned.
"So it's a secret?" He remembered this kind of smile on Draco's face - this knowing, teasing, calculating smile that stood as a sign for the plan forming in Draco's head.
"I could arrest you if I wanted to." He so wanted to.
"For touching whatever you got in there?" Draco's other hand shot forward and grabbed one end of the bag before Harry could stop him. He pulled. Harry tried to hold on to the box, released Draco's wrist. The elevator came to another stop just as the box fell out and onto the ground. It should have made a sound. All there was instead was a blinding light filling the tiny room. Harry pressed his eyes shut.
"What the..." Draco's voice sounded as if he was talking behind glass. Harry couldn't see. He was kneeling on the ground, his fingers searching for the box. It had to be there.
"Potter?"
He touched something with his fingertips.
"Your eyes are closed, Potter."
He blinked. Draco was coming into focus in front of him, sitting on the ground with one hand against the wall. His eyes, of course. That's why he couldn't see. He looked down at his hand lying on top of the crystal. The box itself was gone.
"I told you not to touch it," Harry said as he picked up the crystal and closed his fingers around it. He blinked a few more times until he could see more clearly.
"What happened?"
Draco struggled back to his feet, his eyes out of focus. Harry shook his head. His fascination with the box wasn't there anymore. He felt no loss, no need to keep staring at the crystal - he shoved it into his pocket. It had to have been something inside the box that got to him. Something that was gone now. Harry stood up.
"We're not moving."
The doors were closed, the display reading "Entrance Hall".
"Some kind of magical weapon, I assume? Artifact? Prototype?"
"I have no idea, okay?" Harry interrupted. His head hurt. "Would you just... stop talking. And why did you have to be here today anyways? I havn't seen you in like what, two years? And the day you show up again, this happens? Seriously?!"
"Oh, yeah. I made that happen on purpose. I enjoy being blinded. I thought you might wanted to try it, too."
Draco's hand never left the wall as if he was afraid to stumble back to the ground if he let go.
"Whatever. How do we get out of this thing?"
Harry stepped toward the doors to touch them. He jumped back when they opened.
"Finally," he heard someone complain on the other side. The voice was familiar. He felt Draco shift behind him. Then the doors were open completely and Bellatrix Lestrange looked at them with a curious frown.
"Now can you boys tell me why this is taking so long today?"