Title: Aren't You Supposed to Be Dead?
Summary: Future, leader-like Harry abruptly drops into the past during an Order Meeting in the summer between fourth and fifth year.
Rating: K
Warning(s): None really, except of course the warning of complete randomness. This story has been changed to multichaptered but despite having thought of some scenes following the first and having thought of an AU future where this Harry came from, it's still rather random still. I haven't thought of an actual plot yet, so I have no idea where this will eventually lead, how Harry came to be there, why the future is so different from canon. So many questions are still unanswered even for me, so the randomness warning still stands. It's just now a multichaptered randomness.
Oh and I forgot the obvious OOC-ness warning, cause that could quite possibly happen.
A/N: Well look at this, mspstar97, just a girl and Susan, your wishes are coming true. I'm turning this into a longer story, possibly a multichapter story. I'm actually thrilled I'm managing to write anything. I hope I can write at my other stories soon.
And special thanks to mspstar97 for your wonderful supportive review.
Again excuse any grammar or spelling mistakes, I'm writing in a rush without a plot just to see if I can actually manage to write chapters. I'll reread my chapters later when I feel up to it. I'm just testing my mind and my muse with this complete random story.
Enjoy!
Chapter 2
It's a Statement, not a Question.
Quote: Don't depend on anyone, because even your shadow leaves you when your in darkness.
A collective intake of breath went around the room, several people holding their hand before their mouth as if to stifle the sound or perhaps to show the horror they felt. Whereas several people were shocked, others reacted differently. Many of the more seasoned Order members, mostly aurors, tensed up and held their wands more securely, their eyes never wavering from the boy.
Dumbledore's eyes had narrowed, not into a glare but as if he was trying to figure something out. Sirius stood frozen unable to decide how to react for this was an answer he'd never expected to ever hear from his godsons' mouth. The little voice in his head reminded him that this couldn't be Harry and after what this lookalike had said, it seemed even more true that this wasn't Harry.
Mad-Eye Moody was neither startled, shocked or horrified. He wasn't even nervous or anxious. His one good eye almost glinted in anticipation as he took a step forward past Albus, stretching out his wand arm even further and taking a most intimidating stance. His magical eye swirled wildly in its socket as it tried to fix itself upon the supposed Potter-boy.
"Is that a threat?"
Albus laid a gentle hand on Alastor's shoulder, not to restrain him but merely to remind him not too act rashly. He knew he shouldn't worry about Alastor, the man was an experienced auror and knew how to play his cards. Yes, he was mad, but a little madness did not unhinge him. He had utter faith in him, but something made him take caution. After all, an act of fury or loss of control could happen so quickly and he couldn't risk Alastor injuring the boy who looked so much like Harry.
The Harry lookalike fixed his eyes on Moody, glancing a mere moment at the deathly aim of the mans' wand. He cocked his head to the side in a similar fashion as moments earlier, regarding the newest development of this situation with almost an air of curiosity. There was no trepidation in his eyes, no shake or tremble in his limbs, no irregular breathing. He was utterly calm, almost detached if the eyes were any indication, which they were. Those usually bright, emerald eyes seemed dull and defeated. No not defeated, just, without caring. He looked as if nothing fazed him, like he was dead inside. This made a shiver run up even Mad-Eye Moody's spin, but he hid it well.
"No."
The answer was abrupt, without warning. There was no indication the boy was going to answer him. One moment he had been regarding him with a dead curiosity, a curiosity not for the sake of being curious but merely because he had no reason for anything else. No reason for suspiscion, no reason for anger, no reason for distrust, no care for anything. Curiosity merely because Moody had done something different from everyone else. What was wrong with this boy?
"No." The boy repeated in that same numb voice, void of emotion as the silence dragged on. He effectively caused everyone to tense up again after having felt the slightest relieve at his answer. "I was merely stating a fact."
Again, the room went silent. Many people turned almost feverish eyes towards Moody, Nymphadora Tonks being one of them, as if expecting Moody to drop dead right then and there.
Moody was quickly getting fed up with the whole situation and the lack of proper response from everyone in the room. An intruder had just landed in the middle of Headquarters which shouldn't even be possible, he looked like the Potter-boy and he was acting exceptionally strange. And then there was that cold, dead, numb aura surrounding him. Not to mention the absolute lack of reaction at being cornered and having more than a dozen wands pointed at him.
His magical eyes swerved into the back of his head -revealing the icky whiteness of the back of his eye to the boy- to look menacingly at the fools behind him who were looking at him as if he were a talking corpse merely because the boy said he was dead! Tonks, his former student, quickly recovered herself and had the deceny to look ashamed for her reaction.
Remus in the mean time struggled with his inner wolf. Despite the absolute impossibility of this boy being Harry, despite the obvious changes about him proving this couldn't possibly be his Harry -his cub- his feelings -his instincts- were shouting at him to protect him, to stand in between his cub and all the drawn wands. It was shouting at him to lower his own godforsaken wand! It was only the shere force of his own willpower that kept his wand aloft, but his arm was trembling, nearly shaking by now. He was half-listening to what was going on while the rest of his attention was fighting Moony.
The full moon was mere days away and it was calling to Moony, giving his inner wolf strength whereas his human self had to struggle with what it always had. Remus knew he would lose, that much was certain. Be it today, tomorrow or the next he would lose if only for a minute and he knew he could count on Sirius to stop him, calm him down. But right now, with the current situation, Remus felt his grip on Moony wavering. Was this really Harry?
Moody's magical eye quickly turned itself the right way in its socket, once again fixing madly upon the boy still facing them with a calm aura as if he were merely visiting an old friend. Moody saw from the corner of his eye, his good eye, movement from the old headmaster. Albus was a wise man and powerful indeed, but Moody could tell that he was perturbed by this sudden change of events. It was no secret that the headmaster cared for the boy and to suddenly see him standing here with obvious signs of having been in some sort of struggle, not to mention how strangely detached he was, -when he should in fact be safe with his relatives, was enough to even unsetlle the great Albus Dumbledore.
Thus Moody made to stop Albus' approach, stepping in front of the man and halting his movement. Albus didn't even spare him a glance, his eyes fixated on Potter, confusion and concern shining through his calm exterior. Moody blessed their good graces that this hadn't happened any other day -at least today of all days those damn brats weren't present- for if Albus was unsettled, how would those kids react to seeing Potter in this state?
Having had enough of this silent stand-off, Mad-Eye made to demand a proper answer, more than a mere syllable or sentence. He wanted to get the whole damn story of who this really was and how he'd gotten in here, but he never got the chance for at that exact moment the blasted Black house elf decided to appear. And by appear he meant apparation, one of his newest annoying quirks to unsettle Order Meetings. The following reaction however, unsettled the entire situation.
Taken by surprise at the sudden crack of the apparating house elf by the name of Kreacher, several non-aurors set off sparks with their wands. Moody reacted immediately and fired a stunning spell at Potter, expecting him to see the sparks as a threat. A blue shield erupted in front of Potter -had he even uttered the spell?- and his own spell bounced harmlessly off the shield. Moody cursed and made to go around the boy, but he was suddenly tackled from the left and before he could blink felt himself slammed up against a wall staring into the eyes of one very unhinged looking Remus Lupin.
"Remus!"
Sirius wasted no time in rushing after his friend, trying to stop him from ripping Moody to pieces. He vaguely wondered what had set him of -sure it was close to the full moon, but even Moony wasn't normally this aggressive for no reason. As Sirius aided by Kingsley tried to restrain Remus, the rest of the people in the room were in a frenzy. People were shouting at Remus and Moody, others were scrambling to get away from the unhinged werewolf knocking over chairs and other pieces of furniture. Wands were changing targets between Harry and Remus as people tried to get it together and Kreacher shouted insults and profinities while hiding in the furthest corner from the struggle. And of course Mrs. Black joined the fray with her shrill, cruel voice shouting along with Kreacher as if in sync with the nasty elf.
In all this -as Albus kept a firm eye on the struggle in case he needed to help- he noticed a drastic change in Harry. No longer were his eyes dead and emotionless, no longer was his body holding steadfast, no longer was his breathing calm. His eyes were wide with definite fear blazing inside, his hand was trembling and grasping his wand with such a vice-like grip his knuckles had turned white and his breathing had sped up considerably, his mouth slightly open as if he couldn't catch enough oxygen through just his nose.
As if sensing the Headmasters' gaze, Harry locked eyes with him and in that second Albus realized the boy's next move. He saw the frantic fear, terror really, that demanded flight. He was going to run.
The boy aimed his wand up at the ceiling firing a spell without uttering an incantation. Albus had barely enough time to move out of the way of the heavy ornate lighting of the Black living room, but it was enough. Harry ran for the nearest door which happened to lead the to main hallway with the front door, easily jumping over a table that stood in his path. Spells missed the boy by inches as he ran for his escape.
"Harry!"
Sirius had noticed the spells flying about and caught a glimpse of his godson -or was it his not-godson- as he blasted open the door and disappeared into the darkened hallway, his mothers' loud screams sounding far louder with the open door. Knowing Kingsley had Remus under control, Sirius sprinted after his godson, beating everyone else who had been in pursuit and had been far closer, and delved into the dark yet extremely loud hallway. His eyes wildly searched for the front door at the end of the hallway only to find it still shut tight. A sliver of movement from above caught his attention. Harry had run upstairs!
Sirius bolted up the stairs, his fellow Order members following fast, and caught a glimpse of Harry disappearing onto the next staircase. Sirius sprinted after him, only to have to throw himself onto the ground as a spell or jinx came soaring towards him. People behind him hit the ground while others jumped aside hitting the walls. The spell hit the back wall and almost instantly the wallpaper came to life, ripping loose and wrapping around anyone within reach. Sirius hesitated but determined eyes belonging to Tonks -how had she managed not to trip yet?- caught his gaze.
"GO!" She shouted and without wasting anymore time Sirius bolted ahead after his quarry. He managed to dodge the still coming to life banister of the staircase, nearly tripping and falling flat on his face when the steps disappeared and became one huge slide, but he managed to grab the corner of the wall and pulled himself up onto normal ground. If Harry was trying to escape, Sirius couldn't fathom why he'd go up two storeys. But he didn't have the time to wonder any of this. He had to find Harry first. So he hoisted himself up and ran down the only hallway. Turning the corner he came to a sudden stop.
Harry ran like his life depended on it, which his instincts were screaming he were. His rational mind would have told him otherwise but he had only his irrational mind present at the moment. He could tell one of them -Sirius- was following closely. He had to slow him down, he couldn't catch up to him. He needed time to escape. Muttering a few well-chosen words, Harry aimed his wand over his shoulder and heard several thuds and shouts as people ducked and jumped to avoid his spell. When more shouts erupted he knew he had aimed true. Not taking any chances though, he cast several more spells at the stair and banister before bolting down another freaking hallway. He skidded around the corner and almost smiled. He made it, for now.
Without pausing Harry aimed his wand focussing on every ounce of strength his magic possessed. "BOMBARDA!" The spell charged ahead towards the window only to slam against an invisible barrier which rippled as if it were water before vanishing from sight once more. Harry felt relieve at the sight. The barrier was the same and its weak point was also at the same spot.
He cast his eyes wildly about for anything he could use. He decided upon an out-of-place snowglobe -it seriously did not fit with the decor- and ran over to the window. Quickly casting the neccessary spell upon the object, Harry swung his arm forward hitting the window with brute force. The ripple returned but this time a bright light followed it, blinding the entire house from the inside. The sound of shattering glass reached Harry's ears but so did the sound of footsteps, clumsy footsteps, as if someone was stumbling towards him.
The light vanished just as quickly as it had appeared and Harry blinked to clear his vision. He kept utterly still, even though he knew the person behind him did not want to harm him. "Harry?" Sirius couldn't believe his luck that Harry hadn't escaped yet. The blinding light had scared him for he knew exactly what it had meant. The protective barrier around Grimmauld Place had been damaged or even fully broken. Looking at the missing window he knew it had been Harry.
The statue-like boy tensed as he felt the magic pulsing around him, offended by the aggressive intrusion, and he knew his time was severely limited. If he wanted out, it was now or never. He looked at the snowglobe in his hand as if it held the answers, but he knew what his answer was. He looked over his shoulder at his godfather and for the first time since arriving showed the utter sadness he carried in his eyes. The emotionless eyes were suddenly throbbing with sadness and Sirius sucked in his breath at the sight. But just as quickly as the sadness had shown, it also left again. Harry then suddenly threw an object towards Sirius who caught it at the last second and looked confused from the globe to his supposed godson. Harry smirked -an unnatural look for him- before turning back around and diving through the window.
Sirius surged forward reaching for the windowsill only to be mercilessly thrown on his back as the barrier fixed the hole which was the window and smoothed back out around Grimmauld Place twelve. Sirius jumped to his feet despite knowing it was futile and stared out of the window. There was no sign of Harry anywhere. His pup was gone.
end
Well that was chapter two. I hope Harry's escape wasn't too pathetic or unreal. I apologize for OOC-ness, it's bound to happen with so many characters and I'm no whiz at every character.
Please review if you feel or are up to it. Help me fight my writer's block and horrid insecurities!
