Forging of a Debt.
He was dreaming. And a pretty nice dream it was as well. Makes a change from all the creepy visions of the Department of Mysteries, or seeing through the eyes of a giant snake as it attacks your best mates dad. Definitely better than the Mistletoe botched kiss he had with Cho Chang. That was one nightmare he definitely could do without, thank you.
To be fair, I don't really know what I'm dreaming about. It's more what I'm...feeling? Happy, content, lighter than air? That sort of dream where you have no idea what's happening but you can still feel. Are those really dreams then? Where you feel things instead of see them? Hmm weird.
Anyhow, I still don't really know what's happening here. I should be an utter mess at the moment. I mean, I just died didn't I? Not five minutes after my beloved godfather at that. Stupid Sirius, with his stupid grin and his bark like laugh and his god awful "punnys" as he called them. But come on! Who the heck makes "funny puns" when duelling for your life with your powerful and super crazy cousin?
A small smirk comes to my lips, yea to be fair that was definitely his style. Man couldn't resist riling people up, years of practice as a Marauder that survived through his stint in Azkaban. The only man brave enough, he'd brag, to have always seen the line that must never be crossed. Then moonwalking over it and into the glorious sunset of hilarity and scandal.
How the heck does he even know what moonwalking is!
So to get back on topic, yea I'm surprisingly chipper for a dead man. It's weird, the grief and incomprehension of my current state of existence is, I dunno. Dulled? It's like I'm being given a break from my current emotions to work my logic into calming them down? Whatever it is, it seems to be working. In my dreams at least.
Oh wait, I cast my eyes around taking in my surroundings. Hmm, that's a interesting. I appear to be in a weird white expanse of nothingness now. Check out the cool, marble like white floor flowing into a gorgeous white horizon and meeting that beautiful white sky. And look, not a cloud to be seen either! Unless the clouds were also white...hmm.
My ears twitch. Did I just hear...voices? That would be a first. He had no idea how long he'd been...dreaming, but nothing else seemed to be happening around here. He'd tried to walk but couldn't tell if it made a difference or not, nothing changed at all no matter what he did.
"...unusual, another one? This is..."
"...unprecedented, entirely new window has..."
"...should help him, a lot of blood by th..."
"...yes yes, wouldn't do us any favours if..."
Hmm, yep he was definitely hearing voices now. How strange, man and a women by the sounds of it. Not only was he dead and dreaming he was hearing voices? Great. Just friggin fantastic! If he could try and wake up he could get some answers, but how do you awaken from a dream that your having when your dead!?
SPLASH!
Harry Potter let out a strangled shriek as he was awoken, of all things, by a bucket of water being drenched over him. This quickly lead to a minute or so of coughing and spluttering as he leaned on his side, heaving in gasps of air and expelling any more water from his lungs.
'Well...that's one way of doing it. Yeeuch is this...salt water? Merlin it tastes horrible. Who the he...oooooow'
With his immediate concern of not drowning, he slid onto his back and became immediately aware of the sorry state his body was in. He was aching everywhere, and there was a low burning throb upon both his chest and left hand. Inspection of both saw them both wrapped heavily in medical tape, his chest bandage held a red gel like substance onto his burnt chest which gave tingles he could feel mildly through the pain.
It was the examination of his left hand, however, that had him sucking in a deep breath through his nose. Heavily wrapped as it may be, even he couldn't fail to understand what the sight of three fingers and a thumb meant. 'That god damn psycho bitch will pay dearly for this. Dearly!'
"Yes, quite the state to find yourself in. One would almost think you'd been through a war" A woman's voice interrupted his inner cursing. Tilting his head, his eyes came upon a red haired woman. A rather strangely dressed one at that.
She was wearing a long brown skirt, with a white shirt, green tie, light brown vest and tan coloured jacket. It was a smart looking outfit, he noticed, it just looked rather...old fashioned. She had a fairly good poker face as well by the looks of it.
"Umm...not to be rude Ma'am, but who are you? And where am I?" Harry cautiously asked.
"My name is Rosalind Lutece, and the delicious question is not where. But.."
"...when. Mr Potter" A male voice interrupted her, startling Harry. Rosalind merely blinked and turned her gaze to behind him.
"Ah, Robert. What do you think then?" Rosalind asked the man curiously.
'Robert' could only have been her brother, Harry thought, taking in the man's appearance as he stepped around into view. Also a redhead, he was wearing practically the same outfit as his 'sister' was, only minus the jacket and with trousers. His sleeves were rolled up to the elbow, and he appeared to be drying his hands on a white and red cloth.
...oh.
That cloth wasn't meant to be red. 'Guess he's the one who's been patching me back up' Harry noticed with morbid curiosity. 'That's a lot of blood...'
Robert stood next to his sister, his arms crossed lightly behind his back as he answered her. "Well, the wounds were certainly numerous. Mostly cuts and scrapes, a few burns as well. Most unusual is what appears to be trauma to the nerves. He's only just stopped twitching. Not to mention the burn to his chest and the loss of his..."
"All well and good dear brother, but not the answer I was after" Rosalind interrupted, a thin eyebrow arching upwards.
Robert gave a small 'hmm' in response. "Just the same as before, same origin, same internal energy"
"Natural? Or augmentation of some kind? You know that it can be..."
"Not this, I've never encountered anything quite like it. Definitely natural, no signs of tampering in his genes that I could see. Truly remarkable, some kind of adaptation to...?"
"Possible. Quite exciting don't you think? An entire new area of study for us, I quite welcome the challenge in..."
"Now, now sister. First the boy, then the tests. We've only just adjusted to being scattered, not to mention our unfinished business"
A small frown worked its way over the woman's face, but she turned with folded arms, a familiar 'hmm' escaping her lips.
"You know my feelings on the whole affair, but you're correct. He is starting to look a little lost isn't he?"
Lost wasn't even the word, Harry was utterly baffled. Clearly he wasn't dead, the dull aches and burns of his body gave hint towards that. But if he was alive, then where was he? Where was Sirius? Who were these strange people? How long had he been here?
...Why were they surrounded by all these damn lighthouses?
Just as he opened his mouth with the intent of getting those answers, his jaw quickly clenched together furiously, his undamaged hand flying over his heart as a groan of agony escaped his teeth. His vision descended into a static of colours, a familiar ringing building in his ears. Why the hell were his insides on fire!?
"Robert! Another..."
"Flux, yes I can see that" Robert moved forward swiftly, dropping to his haunches next to the Harry's writhing form. "Mr Potter, listen to me. You need to breathe, long deep breathes. Come now lad, nice deep ones. In and out. In and out"
Barely able to pay attention to the man's voice, he nevertheless followed his instructions. Taking in slow, deliberate gulps of air, he felt the burning begin to subside. Feeling his body be manoeuvred onto its side, he burst into a fit of hacking coughs. Coughs that brought with it a dollops of blood that sprayed onto the stone floor and dribbled down his chin, until finally it was over.
Gasping weakly, more in panic than pain, Harry's mind was in a flurry, spitting out any leftover fluids in his mouth he turned weakly towards Robert, who was still on his haunches beside him observing him intently.
"Wha...what in the hell was that?" He wheezed.
Robert kept his gaze steady, and spoke firmly "That, Mr Potter. Is your body reacting to being where, and when, it does not belong. Your extremely lucky to be alive as it is, and I'm not referring to your wounds. This is not the first flux you've went through"
Shaking his head tiredly, Harry shifted weakly onto his back, staring through half lidded eyes.
"Flux? Not where...or when I belong? What are you talking about? Where am I? Who are you? Why am I here?" His tone became pleading. Robert almost thought it akin to a small child before shaking his head. Technically this young man still was.
Taking a deep breath, he replied "You are here at the beginning, middle and end Mr Potter. From here, you can see the infinite realities of each and every world in this dimension. You are aware of the theory of alternate universes? How each choice in time has several possible outcomes? It exists, and here we can see, and interact with, those outcomes"
Casting his head around softly, Harry whispered "So the lighthouses...? They're..."
"Doorways. At least, that is what our mind shows us. Makes it easier to interact with if it's some form of familiarity. Otherwise, your mind may overload completely. This is not something that we are meant to meddle with. Unless your exceptionally brilliant, of course. Which is why my sister and I are here"
"So...how did you get here? What sort of magic could...could allow you to travel across dimensions of all things?"
He was startled when Rosalind, almost forgot, let out a loud snort of incredulity. He turned an inquiring gaze towards the woman.
"Magic? Are you truly so naive as to believe that magic exists? I thought most children your age grew out of such silly nonsense. Magic indeed" She trailed off muttering darkly.
Robert, however, had a curious look on his face. He looked upwards, as if in thought, before a small smile came across him "Hmm, interesting"
Rosalind looked at her brother in question, who quickly spoke his mind "You forget, sister dear, of our friends little anomaly. Theory; could this magic he refers to be what his unusual form of energy is? "
Rosalind's eyebrows rose (she seemed to be doing that a lot) before a look of contemplation spread across her.
"It's a possibility. Highly unlikely, yet...if true...hmm, fascinating. Definitely worth investigating when we're done here hmm?"
Robert still held his small smile, a sparkle in his eyes told he was just as interested
Harry shook his head slowly "Umm...not to be rude, but muggles...sorry, non magical people aren't supposed to know about magic. It's actually..umm illegal to tell anyone. Statute of Secrecy and all that"
The siblings ignored him, Robert standing up and walking towards his sister again. They shared what appeared to be a silent conversation as Harry tried to gather his scattered thoughts.
"So...umm what now? If I'm not dead then...how do I get back home? Can I even get back?"
Both turned and fixed there gaze upon him, Rosalind's features more uncaring once again, but Robert's was contemplative. He tilted his head and appeared to stare into the distance just behind him, his sister following his gaze. Both appeared to be...watching something?
After a few moments, Rosalind's arms crossed in front of her as a small frown appeared on her face, she shot a look to Robert who had an eyebrow raised in question. She shook her head slightly before turning and walking off. To Harry's shock, she disappeared from sight. He hadn't even blinked.
Robert reached towards a tan coloured jacket that was hanging over the stone ledge surrounding the walkway they appeared to be on, shrugging it on casually he spoke without turning around.
"Not to worry Mr Potter, we can send you back without anymore fuss. I imagine you'll find little time has passed since you fell here. Although I must thank you, your presence has shown my sister and I an entirely separate reality that was previously hidden from us. Nothing more satisfying than the challenge of figuring out the unknown. We'll probably be distracted for weeks to come" He grinned cheerfully.
Easing up slowly into a sitting position, Harry was hit by a thought "Mr Lutece, did...did another person arrive with me? Tall, thin, long black hair and beard?"
Robert tilted his head, a small "Ahh" escaping from him.
"I'm afraid not Mr Potter, I'm sorry but I cannot say where your godfather has landed. Although he will most likely be alive, if it's any comfort"
Lowering his head and exhaling softly Harry shook his head. It wasn't, not really. But at least he wasn't dead. Maybe after he helped his friends back at the Ministry he could ask Professor Dumbledore for any help he could have in bringing him back.
Looking back at Robert Lutece as he slowly stood back up, Harry nodded his head warily towards the man.
"Thank you for saving me Sir, I'm forever in your debt for patching me up"
Robert inclined his head in return "Your most welcome Mr Potter, now I believe it's time you return"
Harry paused, before quickly blurting "Why did you dump a bucket of water over my head?"
Robert's smile grew a bit bigger, before tapping his left cheek. Harry looked closer and could see the light purpling of a bruise appearing. What did...?
"Unconscious or not Mr Potter, nobody gets a free hit on Robert Lutece. Farewell"
With that, Harry's world spun around him. The infinite lighthouses around him blurring into a mash of white and black. His eyes clenched shut as his body spun in something a hundred times worse than a portkey.
Line-break-line-break-line-break-line-break-here-line-break-line-break-line-break-here
'Ooof!'
He opened his eyes warily, still dizzy from his little spin as he pulled himself to his knee's, his wand clenched in his hand and he took stock of his situation. His wounds, while still sore were tempered under the adrenaline of his twister like journey. And he appeared to have regained a bit of his magic and stamina back from the time he was unconscious. Blinking, he rose to his feet and looked at his surroundings.
There was the Veil, which he was now on the other side of. He spotted Bellatrix's shocked face looking back at him. Actually, everyone's faces looked shocked. The Order and Death Eater's had all paused in their battles to gape at the scene.
When it appeared Bellatrix had done the unthinkable and thrown Harry through the Veil of Death, nobody had just expected him to go sailing right through and come out the other side as if he'd just been thrown through a god damn curtain!
The shock quickly wore off as Tonks and Moody took advantage of the lull in battle and cursed their distracted targets, binding and stunning them. That quickly roused the Death Eaters as they began cursing back rapidly. Harry held his wand aloft as he took a step towards Bellatrix, preparing himself for round two!
...Only for the bitch to turn tail and sprint towards the exit.
Harry gaped for a moment, actually shocked that the fearless dark hand of Voldemort ran from him as like a bat out of hell!
Then the burning throb of his missing finger reminded him that even if she hadn't technically killed Sirius, she'd still cursed him into an unknown universe. Oh yea, and she'd cut his freaking finger off! With a red haze settling over him once more, Harry took off after her.
Line-break-line-break-line-break-line-break-here-line-break-line-break-line-break-here
Robert Lutece sat on the stone paths below one of the many lighthouses, his gaze cloudy in thought as he stared into the distance. Mr Potter had been an entirely unforeseen variable in his plans on the future, simply because before his arrival that particular universe had been hidden from both his and his sister's gaze, truly remarkable
It's a shame that the lad probably wouldn't remember any of the details of his little visit with them. The human mind was such a funny thing. It could create memories where none exist, as his sister so frequently remarked. Yet under terrible stress, it could also blur and, in some cases, entirely block them as well. Mr Potter's little episode, or his 'flux' as he'd coined it had shown a remarkable discovery.
His internal energy reacted to the location of his body. It reacted to the lack of...whatever the root of this 'magic' had in his home dimension, to being cut of from the source as it were
And it rebelled, hard, at the loss of the fundamental unknown to it's existence. Could there be a 'point' or a 'well' that all 'magicals' unknowingly drew on that was required to control and tame their 'magic'?
So many theories, so little time to investigate. And experiment. It would appear his sister had already gained a head start on him. She had delved quickly into the knowledge this fresh universe had to offer, no doubt to prove 'magic' to be nothing more than a yet undiscovered form of energy that just needed study to unlock.
He'd just call it magic. It would rile her up something rotten, and that little boy deep inside him that used to run around with a small branch of tree fighting the evil monsters from alternate dimensions was screaming with glee right now.
But Mr Potter. He had potential, if his various futures held steady. A hero to rid the world of one of the sickest and most depraved beings in existence, a powerful mage, a traveller, a seeker of knowledge. Almost all possible branches of success showed that young Mr Potter was a strange mix of warrior and scholar, bringing aid to those in need wherever he could with no thoughts of reward. Slaying beasts, battling all manner of the dark, the depraved and the wretched humanity could create, saving people from burning buildings, getting kittens out of tree's...
...maybe even saving girls from their towers.
His breath hitched as his mind suddenly froze, slowly he reached into his jacket pocket and removed a small silver coin. Rolling it absently across his knuckles, his thoughts started back up, plans were prepared and discarded, faster than the speed of light. Ideas and theories began spinning wildly under his red hair.
Constants and variables.
"I'm forever in your debt for patching me up'
In my. Debt. You say?
Constants. And. Variables
Flipping the coin back up, he caught it and slipped it back into his pocket. Turning, his gaze slid over to a lighthouse in the distance, then to the empty space next to it. Closing his eyes he released took a deep breath, before his eyes snapped open and he nodded his head. Turning away, he gave one last glance at the empty space. He walked off to find Rosalind. This would be most interesting, indeed.
Behind him, in the empty space where he had gazed. Stood a new lighthouse.
Tbc...
A/N So yea, there's chapter 2. As I thought the more I write into this the more directions my mind starts heading into what I want to do with this story wise. Clearly I need Harry to be a bit older before it hits 'canon' Infinite. Wouldn't do for 15yr old Harry trying to save Elizabeth (Who is 19 if I recall from somewhere)
Then my mind starts wondering if the Deathly Hallows could have a role, but I'm already thinking on a limit on the actual magic available, yadda yadda my mind wanders away with plots and plans.
Biggest one I could do with help on is a certain Mr Booker DeWitt. Should he be in this story? Or does Harry become the replacement Hero of the Infinite storyline? Hard choice, but I'm leaning towards replacing Booker just to make fight scenes and bonding between Harry and Elizabeth a little easier to flow with.
Opinions? R&R.