When Harry regained consciousness he realized that he was lying on what felt to be a cold stone floor. He really didn't feel like moving seeing as his head felt as though it was being split into two with a sledge hammer.
He sighed as it all came back to him. The final battle, bodies everywhere. Everyone he loved- dead. He choked back a sob. Deciding not to pursue these dangerous thoughts any further, Harry opened his eyes and looked around.
He noticed that he was in a hallway made of stone. 'It looks like something that would belong at Hogwarts.' That thought made him smile. Hogwarts had been one of the first things that Voldemort had destroyed. It was now just rubble. Harry had been of horcrux hunting at the time, but Harry remembered it vividly.
Harry was just about to enter an old run down bank where they suspected the locket might be. It was then the vision hit him. He fell to his knees as he saw Voldemort smiling viciously. Voldemort walked easily past the wards which had been taken weeks ago.
He gave a triumphant smirk as he stood in plain sight of Hogwarts front doors. He lazily gave a signal and Hogwarts seemed to burst into fire. Harry could feel Voldemort's pleasure at seeing the flame eating the building. It was then that the screams started.
Deciding not to further pursue those thoughts, Harry staggered to his feet. The pain in his head was staggering. Swallowing his pain, Harry began to walk through the halls.
He tried to rationalize what could have happened. At one point he had killed Voldemort then all he remembered was the light that consumed him. He frowned. The magical backlash must have transported him somewhere. Harry shrugged. 'Whatever. It's not like I couldn't get out of wherever I am.' It was funny how after defeating the darkest wizard of all time using wandless magic very little seemed to daunt him.
Looking around, Harry noticed that wherever he was it seemed to be looking more and more like Hogwarts. In fact- Harry could have sworn that exact portrait was in Hogwarts. Harry drew his daggers and started to jog. It was unsettling.
He ran up a couple flights of stairs only to stagger back into a wall at the sight that greeted him. There were students. This was not what shocked him. It was what was on their robes. The Hogwarts insignia. He saw ravenclaws and hufflepuffs walking around chatting as though it was the most natural thing in the world.
He practically gave a hysterical sob as he looked around. He had seen that girl tortured into insanity. He had seen that boy killed with a cutting curse to the neck. He had seen that first year beaten to death. He had seen that fifth year lifted with a levitation charm and then left to fall over a cliff.
The worst part was that no one seemed to notice him. No one was even the least bit suspicious that there was a stranger standing in their midst with two daggers held in his limp hands. Harry walked by them as though he was in a dream. He needed to get out of here. He quickly made himself invisible so that not even Dumbledore would be able to see him and walked carefully through the students. He needed some time to think. If this had happened at any other time Harry would have been convinced it was a death eater trick. As it was, Harry was forced to believe that it was actually real.
Harry began to sprint through the hallways, carefully maneuvering around people. At one point he could have sworn that he had seen red hair. Harry continued to sprint until he saw the doors to leave the school. Pushing his way through, he made it out of the castle and nearly chocked. The last time that he had seen these grounds they had been littered with dead bodies. In fact, he could pinpoint the exact place in which he had killed Voldemort. Harry continued to run until he found refuge in the forbidden forest.
Harry did not stop running until his battered body collapsed from exhaustion.
"Who is this school child who dares to sleep in our forest?"
"Calm down, Bane- you know as well as I that mars shines brightly upon this child."
"This is more the reason to be angry! He will bring conflict with him."
Harry slowly opened his eyes to the sight of a 2 centaurs standing over him. Not just any two centaurs but Firenze and Bane! Harry jumped to his feet.
"Firenze, Bane! I missed you guys so much! I can't believe you are okay?"
With this both centaurs, who had been watching him warily, pointed arrows at him.
Bane asked in a harsh voice, "Who is it that knows our names?"
Harry frowned, "Um… You know, Harry Potter."
At this point Firenze jumped in. "Harry Potter was killed a long time ago."
Harry was officially confused. "I am kinda standing right here."
Bane snarled, "You have some nerve. We centaurs are an ancient and noble race. You can not fool us with such blatant trickery. Go back to the school from whence you came."
"I really am Harry Potter. We are friends, remember?"
Bane laughed, "Why would we be friends with you?"
"Hm…" Harry said sarcastically, "Maybe because we had an alliance to fight Voldemort together. Maybe because I lived with your clan for little over a month at one point."
"Why would a human such as you live with our clan?"
Firenze cut in before things could get more heated. "I have sensed no trickery in his words." He looked at Harry inquisitively. "You really are Harry Potter, are you not?"
"Finally!"
Firenze said softly, "I believe you are not of this universe, but of one parallel. Here you died as a child."
It made sense to Harry. First Hogwarts, now this. Suddenly it all clicked together. "But if I died as a child, then Voldemort was never killed."
This startled the centaurs. Bane snarled, "Neville killed him as a child. Voldemort has recently come back."
Harry snorted at this. "Neville? And let me guess he is the boy-who-lived."
Firenze said softly, "Yes, he is."
Harry frowned. "Will you tell me what has happened in Hogwarts for the past 7 years?"
"Yes. Because you seemed to be allied with our clan in your past, we will place our trust in you." Bane said. "Every year, something has happened. We know not the details, but I know that Dumbledore has allowed Neville to rule the school. He believes that because he is the boy-who-lived he must cultivate his powers. He must also have a strong following. However, he is any normal wizard as far as I can tell. Though he has potential he has depended too much upon grown-ups to cultivate his powers. He is close-minded and prejudiced. He believes everything to be inferior to himself."
Harry frowned. "And what is Voldemort doing?"
"We do not know for sure, but he has steadily been getting stronger. He has nothing to challenge him. However, it is common knowledge that the next thing he is planning on doing is taking out Hogwarts. That is the sole place where his opposition lies. Both Dumbledore and Neville are there, the only two threats to him."
Before Bane could continue, he was startled to hear Harry chuckle.
It abruptly stopped and Bane could feel power swirling around Harry. "He has more than two threats now."
With that, Harry whirled around to leave.
Firenze called out to him, "Please. Tell us who you were in your other world."
Without looking back, Harry said, "Voldemort's worst nightmare."
Harry had decided. He would go to Hogwarts and stop Voldemort once and for all. He had allowed everyone to die once; he would not let it happen again.
With that in mind, Harry left the forest.