I guess that the first thing that I should say is that I really enjoyed writing this story. Really. Like, I had this idea in mind for a while now, and I'm happy with the way it turned out. But the thing is...well. English is not my first language, and I'm really, really afraid to have made mistakes. I read and reread it, but still...If there's any kind of grammatical mistakes, don't hesitate to tell me !


"In order to avoid this bitter end, we would all have to be born again, and born with the knowledge of alternatives. Even then?"

Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Birds Sings


Harry was slowly beginning to question his choices. He had no idea about what exactly happened, after he jumped into the Veil : he remembered falling, nothing but darkness around him, and finally landing on what he guessed was grass. There had been a spell, certainly, because he was in one piece and perfectly capable to get up.

"What the hell."

That's all he could mutter. He looked around him, disoriented, but it was useless : the sun had to be hidden behind many layers of clouds, because it was pretty dark and there was a thick white fog all over the place. Nonetheless, Harry spotted a forest, a few meters away. He forgot his sorrow to have lost his godfather for a second.

"What is this...what ? That's...what ?"

he looked in all directions, hoping to see Sirius appear, well an alive, but there was no one else, apart from him. Harry had some serious difficulties to tell if it was good or bad : it could means that his godfather had ended up somewhere else, that he was lying dead behind a hill, or that his first instinct had been to run into the dark, huge, and scary looking forest.

Fortunately, Harry hadn't too much trouble to believe that the last option was the most likely. He began to walk toward the forest, while knowing perfectly well that it was in fact a terrible idea.

The initial shock had passed, and the reason why he was actually there in the first place hit Harry like if his uncle had thrown one of his drill at his face. But it was even worst now, because he didn't know if he needed to feel sad and blame himself for Sirius death, or if his godfather was perfectly healthy and purely exploring the place.

When Harry reached the edge, he hesitated. Those trees did looked menacing, for some reasons. But he was nowhere near to be a coward : he made sure that his wand was in his pocket, clenched his fists, and entered the forest with a slight apprehension in his stomach. The fog was still there, and the wind through the leaves made them whistle a disturbing song.

It was cold, and his hair rose on his neck. He felt like if a million of invisibles Dementors were circling him, and it was not a pleasant thing. But he kept walking anyway, purely because standing still until someone – or something, maybe ? - found him didn't sound like the kind of thing that Hermione would have advised him to do.

"D'you reckon we should go home ?

-Negative.

-Ow...why ? I'm freezing.

-Me too. But I'm not too eager to disobey his order.

-Man...That sucks.

-Yes, yes. It does."

Harry stayed still for a second, startled like a deer caught in the headlights. But he quickly hurried behind a particularly large trunk, just in time to hear the footsteps on the creaking leaves.

"I don't want to be here. That job is terrible and everybody knows that. Why, of all people, is it us that got it ? We're supposed to be privileged !

-Yeah ? And why is that ?

-Come on. We're pure bloods ! Well, at least, you are. I don't believe in this shit, but you know that he does.

-Fair enough. Well, just think that we don't have a lot of work to actually do.

-Yeah. Never saw anyone stupid enough to come for a nice walk around here."

Harry felt offended. He almost burst out of his hiding spot to yell that it was his godfather's fault if he was in this situation, but he managed to contain himself, and he kept listening quietly.

"That's not true. There's stuffs, around here.

-Stuffs, not people. And thank you to remained me why I'm feeling like pissing my pants.

-You're welcome.

-I seriously want to go home.

-Come on, that's getting old.

-Right. Well, what about..."

The footsteps both stopped at the same time. Harry thought for a terrifying second that he had been discovered, but he could hear worried whispers beside his tree.

"D'you heard that ? That was...shit. Don't tell me that it was...shit.

-Yes. It most likely was...them.

-What d'you reckon we should do ?

-Cowardly run away and take the risk to be killed when he'll learn that we abandoned our posts.

-Sounds good to me."

Harry wasn't sure about what was going on, but he felt slightly scandalised. He didn't know who were the two persons behind his tree, but obviously, they weren't too concerned about dignity and such things. But he didn't get the opportunity to ponder about them too much : there was suddenly a funny noise coming from the depth of the forest. Harry thought, quiet alarmed, that it sounded like Dudley groaning for more bacon on his pancakes during breakfast. It couldn't be a good thing.

"Come on. We gotta go.

-Yeah, let me just..."

Harry couldn't hold the somewhat high pitched scream that came out of his throat. The two guys had suddenly appear in front of him, and judging by their expression, they weren't too pleased to discover that some teenage boy was listening to their conversation hide behind a tree.

But Harry didn't care about that, because he felt has if he had just been slapped in the face by the giant squid.

"Zabini ! And...Nit ?

-Nott."

Blaise looked very pleased that a complete stranger had got his name correct and not Theodore's one, but it only lasted a second. He went from frowning to looking absolutely puzzled, and Theodore seemed equally lost – and, now, quiet offended.

But Harry was probably the most confused of them all. Maybe that it had something to do with his godfather being inhaled by a Veil, or maybe that it was all thanks to his two fellow schoolmates in front of him, who both looked about five years older than the persons he knew.

"What the hell are you doing here, kid ? Finally exclaimed Blaise with dismay. You do realise that you're...on the boundaries ?

-The boundaries ? Replied Harry without thinking. of what ?"

He felt as if he had to read a book and begin halfway through it. Of course, Harry was used to feel lost as he was alarmingly often thrown into quiet delicates situations, but it didn't mean that he enjoyed it.

"Do you live in a fucking tree-house or something ? Said Blaise who sounded more and more aghast. Don't you read the newspaper, once in a while ?

-Yes...no, quickly replied Harry, who had understood he had made a mistake. I can't...I can't read.

-What ? So you're walking around with those ugly glasses for the style ?

-That's...I can't see from afar !

-Shut up !"

Theodore was looking at them with a severe glare, and, at first, Harry didn't understand why. But then, he felt a sudden shiver go down his spine : he heard something. The groaning. It was much louder now, and Harry could tell that it sounded more like a death rattle than one of his cousin's complain for food.

"What's that noise ? He asked in a whisper.

-That's the sound of some serious shit coming after our asses, said Blaise."

He was admirably stern, as he said so, noticed Harry, and he was beginning to like the guy, which wasn't something that he could easily accept since he had always figured that he was an asshole just like Malefoy.

"They're here !"

It was the first time in his life that Harry had heard Nott scream, so he was already pretty stunned when he saw them. A few meters ahead, walking through the fog and the tall shadows of the trees. They were three, and Harry thought that it had to be the most awful creatures that he had ever witnessed. They were gaunt, with their exsanguinate skin as the only barrier to their skeletal body. Their eyes – only one of them had an actual pair – were rolling madly in their orbits, and the deep groans that they were making made them look like enraged animals, locked in a tiny cage for too long.

For the first time in his life, Harry didn't feel all that brave anymore. Finally, he didn't mind the idea of cowardly run away. And apparently, neither did Blaise and Theodore.

"Run ! And if you fall, I'm not going back to save your ass !"


"That was...That's not possible ! A Veil can't have killed Harry fucking Potter !

-He's not dead, Ron ! He's just...not there right now.

-He was just inhaled by some sort of fucking portal ! What do you think happened to him ?

-Don't be so pessimist all the time. He's going to come back, all right ? Because Harry doesn't just die like that."


"Looks like everyone is alive. That's good."

Harry wasn't exactly feeling all that alive, but he didn't actually have enough oxygen in his lungs to confess it. He was not good at running – unless it was shorts distances, like the good old days when Dudley used to beat him with his friends – and he would probably never have made it, if there hadn't been a bunch of terrifying creatures chasing them.

Blaise and Theodore both looked surprisingly fine, and Harry was pretty sure that it wasn't the first time that they came across this kind of situation. They had guided him through the forest like if they knew the place by heart, and, finally, they had entered what looked like a vast field of ruin.

"What on hearth was that ? Asked Harry when he was certain that he could speak without fainting.

-Those were Inferi, answered Theodore with a dark expression. They're nasty creatures, really, corpses controlled by a powerful mage through black magic. They always obey their master's orders."

The guy seemed disgusted, and Harry could understand why. He never heard about those creatures, and he was wondering if he ever read anything at all about them when he was suddenly cut in his reflexion.

"Who the hell are you, anyway ? Suddenly said Blaise, frowning. We saved your moron's ass, and you keep acting like if you just spent the last five years hiding in a fucking cave."

Harry had no good answer, mostly because he had no idea himself what he was doing here. He wished that Hermione could be there and tell him what to do, but, since it was not the case, he would have to actually use is brain.

"I'm...well. It's complicated.

-You know what would be less complicated ? Let the inferi out there feast on your flesh. Offer them a nice meal, you know. Not that there's lot of flesh on you, but I'm sure that you got the point.

-Right. Then I'll tell you the truth. I know that it's going to sound crazy and that you'll probably don't believe me, but I swear that I'm not lying."

So he told them. He told them all about who he was, the Veil and his godfather – he didn't precise that he was famous through Great Britain for being a particularly ruthless assassin, though -, and he did his very best to try to sound convincing.

At the end of his story, he couldn't tell if it worked : Blaise had now his eyebrows so raised that they were almost disappearing under his hair while Theodore was wearing an unreadable expression.

"So...slowly declared Theodore, you're Harry Potter."

Blaise gave him an incredulous look.

"That's the thing that you've got the most troubles to believe ? He said, incredulous. He's telling us that he comes from some sort of alternative universe, and that he crossed a fucking artefact locked in the most obscure depth of the ministry to come here, and...that's what you're questioning ?

-Yeah, because...his story is possible, replied Theodore with a thoughtful expression. That's would mean that this Veil is some seriously powerful shit, though, but it's possible. Actually, that makes sense.

-Really ? Because I've got some troubles to see the connexion here.

-Potter can exist in this universe purely because he's, in fact, dead. However, if he was still alive here, he would have appeared in another place where he does not exist. Do you get it ?"

Harry felt like if Hermione was trying to explain him her Ancient Runes class. His poor brain could barely handle all those informations.

"Hold on, he said that I'm dead ?"

Harry was really not all that surprised. In fact, he was more amazed by the fact that he was fifteen years old and still alive. But still, he was a bit concerned for his alternative self.

"Yeah, mate, answered Blaise with a nod. Since...well, it's been four years, I think. I don't exactly remember...no offence. But, hey, now that I'm thinking about it, you do look like this good old Potter.

-You were murdered, added Theodore like if it was only a small detail. But I suppose that I don't need to tell you by who.

-Voldemort, answered Harry with a lump in his throat."

The situation was weird, to say the least. But Harry had heard worst, and judging by Blaise and Theodore lack of stronger reaction than slight surprise, they had too.

"So you believe me, said Harry with a dubious side glance. Just like that.

-Well, unless you found Potter's grave and put...I don't know, one of his rotten finger in your Polyjuice potion, then I don't think that you could be lying to us, answered Blaise."

He shrugged before adding, something like slight admiration in his voice :

"And if that's what you did, then let me tell you that I'm in awe before your commitment"


They had left what had to be the main hall and were now walking through a huge and tall corridor. Or maybe that it used to be, at least, because it was now reduced to a heap or ruins, the fallen brick wall like a huge window to the dismal and foggy forest.

"What happened ? Asked Harry, looking outside with a mixture of amazement and apprehension. I mean...the place where I come from...it pretty much sucks, right now. But I don't think that it can become this bad in...what ? Four years ?"

Blaise and Theodore were both walking ahead of him. They exchanged an unreadable, yet indisputably dark side glance. Harry knew what it meant : they weren't going to tell him the truth. Not completely, at least.

"Things, said Theodore with pursed lips. You know...The Dark Lord...no one wanted to believe you when you told them that he was back. That's sad, you know, because after that, more things happened. Bad things. And while no one would just admit that he was back, he got the idea to use them.

-Inferi, explained Blaise, shaking his head in disgust. He killed enough people to make an army. A huge one. He took control over all Great Britain, you know. Not only the wizards, but muggles, too. Our job – the one that we were doing in the forest – is to make sure that no one with bad intentions cross the boundaries of his new kingdom."

Harry was left speechless. He could hardly take all the informations in when Blaise added with the air of one speaking about the weather :

"His army of Inferi is his greatest pride. I mean, he has celebrities amongst them. This good old Cornelius Fudge, Viktor Krum – that's a real waste, I'm telling you – Sirius Black...

-Sirius ? Choked Harry. He's...he's dead ?

-What ? Yeah, since a pretty long time. But I'm not sure to know how...

-Nat, the thing...

-That's Nott for you, asshole.

-Yeah, whatever. The stuffs that you said about me only existing in this universe because my other self is dead...that...that applies to other people, right ?"

Theodore stayed quiet. He was looking suspiciously at Harry.

"If you're question is "if Sirius Black had crossed this Veil, does that mean that he could still be alive ?" then the answer is yes. But I'm not sure to get why it's important at all to you."

Harry couldn't exactly tell the truth. Apparently, no one ever revealed his godfather's innocence. Not in this universe, at least. Harry didn't know just how much Blaise and Theodore believed him, so revealing a governmental secret to them in his situation seemed a bit like giving Seamus a box of matches.

"It doesn't matter, decided to answer Harry with a wave of the hand. But I need to find him.

-Why the hell do you need to find Sirius Black ? Replied Blaise, seemingly lost. I mean...he's dead !

-I told you, it doesn't matter ! Now I just need you to tell me where I am...and maybe indicate me where's the nearest pub."

Blaise and Theodore exchanged a side glance before bursting in laughter. The sound was echoing through the corridor, and Harry felt like when he was at school with Dudley and his cousin smashed is head with a basketball. The laughter of all his classmates was not a pleasant memory.

"You're daydreaming, kid, said Theodore."

He had laughed so much he had tears in the corners of his eyes, and Harry meanly supposed that it was certainly not that hilarious : Theodore was probably just not used to laugh. But Blaise was not in a better shape, so his theory suddenly seemed a bit rickety.

"You haven't realised where you are ?

-What ? I should ?

-Since I'm guessing you already spent at least...four years in here, yeah, you should."

Harry felt his hair rose on his neck and his throat suddenly seemed dry. He had immediately guessed where he was. And he couldn't believe it. It couldn't be Hogwarts. The place was in ruin, completely abandoned and miserable. There was not a painting or a carpet left to recognise the place.

"No one is allowed in here, explained Blaise. The dark Lord's order, naturally. But still, some people like to break the law and come light candles and shits to...how do they say that ? Honour the brave souls who fought for peace. Not that I get how a perfumed candle is going to help, but, hey, I don't judge.

-You see, things aren't great around here. So if you go outside and someone recognise you, you're dead. Again. It would sucks, wouldn't it ?"

Harry was feeling slightly overwhelmed. It began to be a lot, even for him. Suddenly, he had the terrible vision of a revolution happening in his world right now, and that when he would go back, it would be to find his universe just like this one.

"Listen...I don't care, said Harry, pinching the bridge of his nose. I just need to find Sirius, all right ? And then go back to where I belong.

-We're listening, replied Blaise with a sly smile. We're just telling you it's a terrible idea.

-I don't...I'm not telling it again. Come on, I always thought that you were assholes. Prove me wrong.

-I forgot that you weren't the brain of your little Gryffindor trio.

-Please."

Blaise rolled his eyes – excessively, noticed Harry a bit bitterly – before letting out a deep sigh. Theodore gave him a dark glance, like if he knew exactly what was going to happen next and didn't like it one bit.

"All right, said Blaise, ignoring superbly Theodore. But before I tell you anything, you're gonna have to change some...stuffs. Are you fine with that ?

-Uh...yeah, I guess so, answered Harry uncertainly.

-Great."


"I feel like if I just sent a lamb to slaughter.

-Don't be so pessimist. He'll be fine.

-That's what you said last time, and he was killed by an Avada Kedavra in the face.

-Why d'you care, anyway ? It's not like if he was going to save the world. It's a bit too late. For this one, at least."


"Hogsmeade. Right. Should have think about it."

Harry was heading for the small wizard's village, and the least that you could say was that he was feeling a bit uneasy. He hadn't guessed that "changing some stuffs" meant to make his hair look like a brown version of Dudley's hair and modify his glasses to have a square shape. Yet here he was, walking around the vestige of Hogwarts and feeling like if a much skinnier and nerdy version of his cousin.

But Harry did not focus too much on it. He had other things than his look on mind, really : as he was looking around him, he could now tell that some things did seemed familiar. The lake was there, and he recognised that the forest he went through to escape the Inferi was the forbidden forest. But It seemed way bigger than the one he knew – it seemed that the forest would soon completely swallow Hogwart's ruin -, and Hagrid's house was not there. Unless you knew that it had existed, you couldn't have been able to guess something once was there.

"Well that sucks. I had no idea that not listening to me could cause that much damage."

As he was walking, Harry absently thought about a plan : he had to find Sirius and bring him back to the Veil. He didn't know how it worked, but he hoped that if he crossed the thing again, they would go back to where they came from. If it didn't work...well. Harry wasn't too concerned about that. It wouldn't be the first time that one of his plan failed.

As he was pondering all those things to himself, he walked pretty carelessly. It turned out to be a huge mistake.

"What the hell !"

He yelled when something tried to grab his shoulder. He jumped back, his heart racing, and screamed a second time when he saw what was the thing : an Inferius, and a rather hungry-looking one. The creature was groaning menacingly at Harry, and he thought that it didn't need to do that to scare him shitless.

He took out his wand, ready to fight. Admittedly, he was not too confident in his survival rate.

"Impedimenta ! He tried, quiet distraught."

The spell did nothing, expect stop the Inferius for a good three seconds. He groaned even louder and was looking at Harry with his mad eyes as he began to walk over to him. Harry tried all the spells that came to his mind – even the jelly fingers curse – but none worked. It seemed that killing something already dead was not as easy as one could have imagined.

As Harry was walking backwards – not running away, merely proceeding to a strategic withdrawal -, he almost tripped over a large trunk. He looked at his wand, then at the piece of wood at his foot, and after a second of hesitation, he picked up the trunk.

Maybe that the Inferius understood Harry's process of thinking, because it suddenly began to run, it's arms swinging wildly at it's sides. But it was too late : Harry let out some sort of battle cry when he hit the head of the Inferius with all of his strength. It made an horrible squashing sound, and you could hear the skull snap under the impact.

Harry was left breathless, awkwardly holding his trunk and some sort of black, blood-like liquid all over his clothes. But alive. He wasn't certain that it was something to be grateful for anymore.


When he reached Hogsmeade, Harry was still a bit shaken by his encounter with the Inferius. This time, he took great care not to lower his guard all the way to the small village, but it turned to be useless. Nothing attacked him, but there was still the heavy weight of apprehension in his guts : he didn't dare to picture what Hogsmeade could be looking like. Was it in ruin, just like Hogwarts ? Or worse, maybe ? Was the village still there at all ? Harry soon got all the answers to his anxious interrogations, and it turned out not to be what he had expected.

The streets of the village were all intact. The shops stood at the exact same spot they had always been, and, so, Harry immediately saw Flourish and Blotts and Quality Quidditch Supplies. He thought that he should have felt relieved, but there was something eerie in the atmosphere : none of the shops looked quiet as welcoming as in his memory. There still was a white fog all over the place, like summer haze on a hot lazy day, but it was definitely not the only disturbing thing in the air.

As he walked through the street, Harry noticed that a few more shops had blossomed between two buildings, and the beautiful clean facades seemed oddly out of place.

"Hey, watch where you're walking, dickhead !"

Harry was almost thrown on the ground, as he bumped into someone's shoulder. A bunch of paper fell on the pavement, and Harry hurried to pick them up, but the other person grabbed them before he could even move his arm.

"I'm really sorry, mumbled Harry.

-Yeah, you better be."

Harry had not meant a word of his apologies, since the guy could have watched where he was going as well, and he didn't understand how a man alone could be so rude and unpleasant. That was until he looked up, of course : he thought for a second that the guy's face – blond hair, a upturned nose in the middle of an emaciated face – looked oddly familiar. And, then, he remembered.

"I take it back, quickly said Harry. I'm not sorry."

It was Zacharias Smith. Harry couldn't believe he hadn't recognised his annoying voice sooner.

"What was that for, dickhead ? Replied Zacharias, sounding more surprised than angry. That was not...Ah, shit. I don't have time to lecture you about being nice to people. Too bad, my job is waiting for me."

The guy gave him a small nod, and then walked away – he was almost running, his papers under his arm –, leaving Harry incredulous. He shouldn't have been surprised, after Blaise and Theodore, but it still was a really weird experience, to randomly meet the future self of his classmates.

Nonetheless, Harry didn't ponder about it too much. He began to walk when something caught his attention. It was a little shop between Amanuensis Quills and Potage's Cauldron Shop. It was nothing extraordinary, really : the facade looked as old and dirty as the other shops, but Harry was fairly sure that he had never seen the building before. Beside, it appeared like the inside was ridiculously tiny. But, even if Harry couldn't exactly say what, there was something irremediably attractive in the deep blue colour of the facade.

Harry bitted his lips. Of course, he really wanted to move forward : if Sirius was alive, Harry didn't doubt that his godfather was currently enjoying a drink at the Three Broomsticks. But his curiosity was definitely tickled, and, well, he wouldn't have jumped through the Veil in the first place if making good decision was his best quality.

"Hello ?"

Harry had entered the shop with apprehension, and the light sound of the bell hung over the door was definitely not enough to make him feel more comfortable. He felt incredibly dumb : there was no one in here. He was purely losing some precious time that he could have used to search for Sirius.

"Welcome. Please make yourself comfortable."

The room was suddenly illuminated by dozen of candles hung on the walls. Harry blinked a few times, disoriented. But, soon, he was able to say that he was standing in a quiet large room, way more spacious than you would have guessed from the outside. It was not what was really monopolising Harry's attention, thought. What was truly impressive were the paintings. They were all over the room : canvas of all sizes, all colourful and made with various techniques, portraits, landscapes, abstracts paintings...They were everywhere, and they were actually good.

From what Harry could say, at least, and he had to admit that the Dursley didn't have the habit to bring him to fancy art exhibition.

Nonetheless, he was in amazement in front of all the works, wondering if he could buy one to bring back with him – it was perfectly useless, but he had just seen a beautiful portrait of a woman who remained him strangely of Ginny – when he saw a tall silhouette standing in the back of the shop. Suddenly, the paintings didn't seem all that interesting anymore.

"What the fuck, mumbled Dean when he saw Harry.

-What ? he replied, not sure to know if it was a normal greeting or not.

-You're Harry fucking Potter !

-No I'm not. I don't...I have no idea what you're talking about.

-Come on, don't play fucking dumb with me. I spent six years of my life seeing your ugly mug everyday, it's not a damn brown wing and square glasses that are going to foul me."

Harry was slightly incredulous. Not really because Dean had recognised him, though, since Blaise had done a pretty poor job on his disguise. But he had spent so much time of his school life mostly trying to stay alive until the end of each year - and avoid plots to get him killed at each end of said year - that he had forgot about normal things such as classmates.

But it seemed that they hadn't forgotten about him.

"You were less vulgar in my memory, said Harry, a bit distraught.

-Well you didn't look like a carpet in mine. You were more of a scrubbing brush kind of person.

-I had to change a few things, for...you know. Not get recognised.

-It worked out wonderfully.

-Right. Well, I just saw Smith. Zacharias, you know ? He didn't recognised me."

Dean's face went from incredulous, yet delighted, to absolutely horrified. He moved closer to Harry, looking around with a crisped expression, and put his hand on his shoulder.

"Smith ? He whispered anxiously. And you're certain about what you're telling me ? He didn't say anything weird that could...that could let you know that he guessed who you are ?

-Our whole conversation was weird, answered Harry, frowning. But I'm pretty sure that it had nothing to do with me. Why does that matter so much ?"

Harry hadn't realise just how miserable looked Dean, until now. His tall silhouette – Harry had forgotten just how gigantic was the guy – was lightly leaned forward, as if he was tired to carry his own weight. His eyes were dug in their orbits and there was large purples dark circles under his eyes.

"Smith has become a journalist, said Dean after a quiet long hesitation. He always dreamed to do that, you know ?

-Well, that's...that's great for him.

-Yeah. Not for us. He works for the Daily Prophet. Since you-know-who took the power, it has become a real fountain of bullshit. All that they do, those days, is write about Volde...you-know-who greatness. The only purpose of this piece of crap that they call a newspaper is propaganda.

-What ? Smith works for them ? Voluntarily ?

-I don't know about that. But the point is...if he recognised you...even with your little wig, I would suggest you to find a way back to your...Wait. Where the hell do you come from, anyway ?"


"Cheer up, the worst is yet to come."

Anne Sullivan Macy


At first I wanted to make it a one-shot, but then...well, I supposed that it would be a bit too long. Not everyone wants to read 17 pages at once, I guess. So I separated it in two, which means that the second part is done and waiting to be posted.