Chapter One - The Merge

"Lily it's him! Take Harry and go, I'll hold him off!" James Potter barely had time to get the words out before the front door exploded inwards. Yet as he ran towards the door he knew his life was at an end. He just hoped Lily could get Harry to safety.

"Avada Kedavra!"

As the killing curse rushed towards him James' thoughts turned to his son. There was so much he wanted to tell him. To let him know that he would miss him. As the green light surrounding him pulled his soul from his body his last thought was, "I love you Harry".

—

She burst into the nursery and slammed the door shut. It was then that she realized she had left her wand downstairs. She reached for the door when she heard the two words that meant that James would never move again.

"No!"

Panicking now she started piling boxes against the door. She looked over at Harry and saw him standing in his crib. Trembling she walked over and picked him up and held him tight.

"It'll be alright, Harry. It'll be okay." she whispered.

The door blasted open, boxes flying aside revealing the most feared wizard alive. Lord Voldemort stood tall, and held himself casually as if he didn't just commit the murder he did.

"Give me the boy"

Still holding Harry, Lily turned around and walked over to his crib and set him down before turning around and standing between Harry and the dark wizard.

"Leave him alone," she whispered softly yet with determination.

Lord Voldemort narrowed his eyes.

"Stand aside, silly girl, and I will let you go free"

"Leave him, I beg of you! Take me instead, leave my baby, please."

Lord Voldemort had been sure she would leave and flee. He couldn't understand how one would waste there own life for another. Not that it mattered. He would kill them all instead. Still he would give one last chance.

"I said, stand aside… Now!"

"Please don't no, take me instead, just leave Harry, not Harry" she begged.

Stupid girl, he thought before casting the curse. As light hurtled toward her she knew that he wasn't going to let Harry live. All because of that damn prophecy. She contented herself with the fact that in whatever next adventure she entered Harry would be joining her soon.

"I love you Harry"

—

Warm. It was the first thought that occurred to him. Weird really. He no idea where he was as all around him was pitch black. He wondered why he couldn't feel his limbs or why it felt like he was floating and yet the first thought he had was that he was warm. But warm he was and he figured it was better to dwell on what he knew rather than what he didn't. Although he wasn't sure where he was, he felt quite content. Like he was where he was supposed to be, even though he wasn't sure what that meant.

He was suddenly aware that he was not alone. How he knew that was lost to him as everything was black. Yet he was sure that there was someone else nearby and he drifted closer.

"Hello?" he called out

And then he heard the sweetest voice reply and he was sure that he had gone to heaven.

"James?"

"Lily!"

James Potter wanted nothing more than to rush up and embrace his wife. It was then that he realized he had no idea where she was. Her voice sounded like it was coming from all directions at once.

"James, where are we?"

"I don't know, I can't see anything." he said. Why can't I see her? he thought. He was about to ask her this when a scream ripped through the dark. All of a sudden it was like the lights had been switched on bright and fast. After readjusting his eyes he realized he was staring up at a giant of woman. No that wasn't quite right, not if the door way she was standing in was any indication. It was then that he realized he was...small?!

"Oh my gosh!" again Lily's voice and again it came from all directions. James was starting to get worried about all of this.

"Petunia!"

James looked closer at the woman. She was right, it was her sister. Petunia reached down and picked him up before hurriedly bringing him inside.

Wait…picked him up? James may have been a slightly lightweight guy but even he was sure this thin looking woman would have difficulty picking him up.

"Vernon ….Vernon!" Petunia rushed up the stairs

"Lily? Are you still there?" James looked around but couldn't spot his wife anywhere. It seemed he was in a house, a muggle one at that."

"Yeah I'm still here," she said. "Your voice… it sounds like its coming from everywhere at once!"

"So does yours. Lily can you feel your… well anything? I can't feel my arms or even my feet!"

"Me either, it's like I'm just a head! Heck I can't even even talk out loud."

"Is this some kind of spell Lils? I mean even in a full body bind you can still feel your lips, or even if you have to pee. I know cause one time Sirius and I were…"

"James!"

"Er… right sorry got off track."

"Even if there was a spell to create this sense of… bodilessness, that doesn't explain how you're in my head."

"In your head? I thought we were in my head!

"James for all we know we could be in somebody else's head."

"Really? If so, whoever's head we're in isn't doing very much thinking…"

Before she had a chance to answer, Petunia came down the stairs Vernon in tow.

"Honey what is it you need to show me at 5:30 in the morning?" Vernon's rough morning voice came from out of sight.

"If its one of Dudley's messes, it could wait until late-" suddenly Vernon and Petunia both came into James and Lily's line of sight and Vernon abruptly cut off.

"Pet… thats not Dudley."

"What's a Dudley?" asked a confused James. "Dudley is my nephew," said Lily.

"Vernon, this is my nephew…Harry."

"HARRY!" James and Lily both shouted in surprise. And then, "Ow!"

"Note to self, never yell like that again, it's loud in here." James said.

"James that explains everything! That's why we can't feel our limbs, we're not even in our own bodies! We're in Harry's!" And then panic set in, "Oh my God! I am in my own son's body…," then as an after thought, "with my husband."

"Well you could be with worse company," James joked.

"Ok and what is your nephew doing at our house and who the heck brought him here?" Vernon peered out the window.

"I found him on the doorstep, Vern. There was a note," she paused and looked away from Vernon, hers eyes suddenly far away and her voice empty, hollow, "It said… Lily and James are dead. The wizard that had been hunting them finally caught up to them. Only Harry survived…"

Vernon's eyes went wide, "Dead? This… wizard. Why would he not kill Harry too?" then winced. Even he recognized how little tact that was. "I mean surely he would have been able to if he wanted…"

But Petunia shook her head, "Apparently he tried, the…spell backfired though and now he's dead."

"What?" cried James and Lily.

"Did she just say Voldemort's dead?" said James incredulously.

"Thats impossible!" said Lily, "the killing curse doesn't backfire, especially for Voldemort!"

But as if hearing Lily's voice, Petunia turned to Harry and spoke, "All that was left was this scar on his forehead." And she reached down and brushed Harry's hair away from his forehead. She stood back up and picked up the letter off a table

"The letter said we have to take him in Vernon, this wizard had followers that would kill Harry in revenge for what he did to their master.

Vernon sighed, "Pet, We can take him in, but," Vernon sat down. "I only did want to have one kid, you know? Not that we can't afford another, but Dudder's is all I really wanted."

She scurried over to him, "I know honey," She paused for moment. "But just because Harry will be here doesn't mean we have to let him take away from Dudley's place as our baby boy."

"Where's he gonna sleep anyway? Dudley's cot isn't big enough for two…"

"What about the spare room?"

"I don't know, theres all those valuables in there, we couldn't have a baby in there."

"Hmm," Petunia looked around. Suddenly she got got up and strode across the room. Curious, Vernon followed her. She stopped beside the stairs and opened the cupboard door. Inside lay a mop, bucket, broom and other various items.

"What do you think?

"I suppose it could work..if some stuff went to the garage…"

"I could put the cleaning supplies in the kitchen…"

"Alright its settled then. Harry will sleep in the cupboard."

And so he did. For ten years Harry would sleep in his cupboard underneath the stairs, lying underneath the cobwebs of spiders young and old, dreaming dreams of flying motorcycles, mysterious green light and cold laughter.