Sorry for updating so late, people, but blame it on school!

Anyway, Happy Reading!


Chapter 1: A surprise worth being surprised about

"… arry, Harry!"

Harry James Potter woke up with a start, expecting Voldemort to strike down the heavens at him.

But he opened his eyes to a room. It was brightened by sunlight which filtered through the curtains that covered the windows.

Harry sat up, realizing he was in a soft bed. Mystified, he grabbed his glasses from the side table and pushed them on, looking at the room he could honestly say he had never seen before.

But… it somehow looked… familiar…

"Finally! You're awake!" Harry snapped his head to look at the ten-year old who stood in the doorway.

He cautiously got up. "Who are you?" He asked menacingly, his stance not breaking. He might not have his wand, but he still had his reflexes.

Even in this small body.

The girl raised her eyebrow. "Don't joke, Harry, and don't take too much time. Mum, Dad and Uncle have been waiting along with Tom and Orion for a long while."

Something clicked in Harry's mind. He just didn't know what, so he kept quiet.

The girl sighed. "Seriously? I'm SEMELE! For Merlin's sake, brother, if you were any more scatter-brained than this, you'd be sitting in snow thinking it's too hot!" Despite her scorn, Semele looked slightly worried. Slightly.

Again, Harry kept quiet, still not knowing how to respond. Semele literally panicked then. She ran to the edge of the staircase, and yelled. "MUM! DAD!"

At her worried tone, there were instantly footsteps thundering upstairs. Footsteps belonging to people Harry yet couldn't see.

And then he heard the voices. "Are you okay? What happened?!"

He would recognize these voices anywhere.

Then Semele started gushing, atypical of girls. "Harry's freaking me out! Something is really wrong with him!"

James and Lily Potter, aliveJames and Lily Potter, ran into the room, fearing what they might see.

Fortunately for them, all they saw was Harry, bawling his eyes out.

Harry, though, saw much, much more.

He saw his family.

"What's wrong, son?" James asked, his brow furrowing.

Lily sat down next to Harry, on the bed, too showing her concern.

Harry wiped away his tears. "I… I just had a… bad dream…" He mumbled, unable to tear his eyes away from his… living parents.

Harry knew something was wrong. In fact, he realized, he had known since he'd woken up, that something was really warped about this. Of course, he had had made thousands of enemies during his auror career and defeat of Voldemort, so this could be a cruel trick, made to play on his insecurities and emotions.

But Harry's instinct, his gut told him that this was all real, that these were really… really his family…

Lily laid a hand on his forehead, checking but failing to find a fever. "Can you describe your dream?" She asked softly, her voice washing over Harry, who for the first time was really feeling what parents could give you. Mrs. Weasley had been great and all, but she could only go so far.

Harry nodded mutely, wondering whether to tell them the truth, or just to make up a lie – he'd gotten pretty good at it, what with dark lords thirsting to kill you since you were born. It gave a person skills, you know?

Then Harry saw Semele was still in the room, eagerly listening. And so he decided to give a vague description. "There… there was a big battle…" He said quietly, acting as if he was trying really hard not to cry. "And everyone…" He didn't fake the tear that slipped down this time. "Everyone… died… because of me!" He choke on the last words, letting out pressure of years of pain. Sure, Ginny had helped. A lot.

But it wasn't the same as unburdening yourself to one's parents.

"Oh, Harry!" Lily cried, as her worry turned up a notch further. She gathered him into a motherly hug, instantly making him feel as if his worries no longer existed. And it proved something to him. Any doubt he still had about her not being his mother disappeared. No charm, curse or illusion could make him feel the truth.

This was… reality.

"Don't worry." James Potter consoled from in front of Harry. "It's just a dream." Harry smiled, though in his mind, he really, truly wished the battle had been just that. A dream.

"Yeah," He said, feeling safe. "Just a dream…" Even if it wasn't true, it felt like heaven on earth to say those simple words.

Relief washed over his family's faces.

"So…" He began brightly, grinning so much that his mouth started to ache. What's for breakfast?"

James laughed, as Lily got up. "You were the one who chose, silly! It's your birthday, after all!" She laughed and everyone exited, to let the Potter heir get dressed.

In the cupboard, he found a normal emerald green robe, and shrugged into it after changing into a simple shirt and jeans. Then he went down. Some way or another, Harry found his way to the dining room, and on the table there was set a HUGE breakfast, enough for an army. There were eggs, boiled potatoes, sautéed mushrooms, bacon, and pudding… hell, there was even treacle tart! It was a classic English breakfast, hands down.

"Woah…" He breathed in awe. Behind him, there was a hearty, familiar, chuckle. Instantly, he spun around, waiting for his fantasy to end.

Only he staggered.

Standing in front of him, healthy and alive, was… "Sirius…" Harry could barely say.

Then he ran to hug his godfather. Sirius hugged him back. "Hey Prongslet! Happy birthday!"

Harry couldn't help but grin. "Thanks, Sirius."

From behind Sirius, there came an accusing voice. "Let metalk to him too, dad!"

Harry was momentarily baffled. Sirius, a dad?! Really?!

But then Sirius smirked. He turned around and swung into his hand a four year old. "Sure, Tommy."

Tom looked different from Sirius. Blue eyes, blonde. But one thing was the same. In the young boy's eyes, there was undeniable Sirius mischief copied straight down through the generation.

Tom pouted. Then brightened up when he saw Harry. "Harry!" He exclaimed. "Happy Birthday!"

Harry flashed him a smile. "Thanks, Tommy."

"I told you not to call me that!" He grumbled.

Harry and Sirius laughed. Then the doorbell rang and Lily's voice came floating from the kitchen. "Harry, dear, check the door!"

Answering an affirmative, Harry exited the room towards the main door.

Soon enough, he opened it… finding a close-knit group of guests.

First was Remus, smiling brightly, with not an unhappy thought in sight. "Good Morning and Happy birthday, Harry!" he handed Harry a wrapped box and headed inside.

Then came the Longbottoms, and Harry's heart gave a beat, as he saw them very, very much sane. And Neville no longer looked like a bumbling nervous wreck. He carried himself with pride, the pride His world's Neville had after Dumbledore's Army.

Then came the Weasleys. The group of redheads who'd been the family to him in the other world.

George with his ear… Fred - alive… Mr. and Mrs. Weasley not looking even a bit war-ravaged. Ron, the same was ever… Percy…

And Ginny. The love of his life, not really knowing that. With 'Happy Birthdays' all around, and a bout of Forge and Gred, everyone entered, and only one last guest awaited.

"Good Morning and a very Happy Birthday to you, my dear boy!" Dumbledore's voice was the last he expected to hear.

Harry could only smile faintly. But then he decided to ask the one important question. "Professor…"

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Yes, Harry?"

"What…" He hesitated, then rushed on. "What about Voldemort?"

Dumbledore, for the first time in front of Harry, looked confused. "I'm afraid I have no inkling to what you might mean." And with that, he too, entered the house.

Harry sighed, and closed the door. He then proceeded to go to the dining room. On the way, though, he saw Ron and a copy, a mini-Sirius standing next to him.

"Hey… Ron" He said warily, and then looked at the black-haired boy. Who was obviously a Werewolf,if his scars ran true.

Ron started defending himself, confusing the universe-jumper. "I was just talking to Orion. You don't have to blame him…" And on and on he went.

Harry looked at him confusedly. "Why would I blame Orion for you two talking?"

Ron was taken aback. "What's wrong with you?!" He spat out bitterly. "First telling me to go to hell, and then backing away?! Coward… I should've known…" He muttered the last part under his breath, but Harry still heard, as his apparently-former-best-friend stormed away, Orion following him with a suspicious look.

Harry felt weak. He'd gotten too used to Ron being his friend, he guessed. Taking him for granted was out of the question, especially now that they were apparently enemies.

Sighing, the birthday boy returned to the ensuing celebrations in the dining room, putting on the brave smile he always did. It was a great party.

… Well, forgetting the fact that if looks could kill, Ron would've been blamed for Harry's sudden death ten times over.

Then all thoughts were driven out of his mind as his mother (It was GREAT to say that word!) waltzed in with a gargantuan frosted cake in the shape of a golden snitch, making everyone drool with envy.

Harry smiled at everyone and looked at the cake as his mother set it down on the table and his father struck the matchstick and lit up the candle.

He looked at the candle, wondering what to wish for…

His Ginny…

His Ron…

His Hermione…

James, Al and Lily…

All left without him. They obviously didn't know where he was. And even if his parents were alive here, even if Voldemort never existed, even if he had a sister…

He belonged in his old world. He belonged with his family.

He blew out the candles as various strategies raced through his mind, from asking someone to help him and risk revealing his secret, to just running away and finding the truth on his own.

Then everyone started clapping as he sliced the cake with ease. Forgetting the over-bearing thoughts for a bit, Harry smiled widely, happier then when Hagrid had come and given Dudley a pig tail.

An hour and a half later, Harry sat contentedly, staring as Tommy started to annoy most of the people in the room. Then Lily and James cleared their throats so that everyone turned their attention to them.

"Everybody, we've… uh… got an announcement to make." James started off awkwardly.

Lily smirked at her blushing husband, and then turned her eyes to the rest of the guests. "Well, I wasn't feeling so well yesterday morning, so I went to a friend of mine for a check-up."

Alice looked at her best friend worriedly. "Did something bad happen? Are you alright?"

Lily grinned at her, and then unconsciously touched her flat stomach. "Well, you see, I asked her what was wrong with me and she told me that… we're having babies!"

After a moment of silence, everyone started shouting out congratulations and running over to ask her the details.

Harry was the only one who didn't move. "Babies?" He croaked.

James smiled brightly. "Yeah, twins!"

Behind him, Semele groaned, much to Harry's surprise. "Now I'm the only one alone!" She complained playfully. Everyone laughed, and then moved on to other subjects, much to Harry's bemusement.


By the time afternoon arrived, only Sirius and his children were left as Lily announced their next task for the day.

Diagon Alley. Which clearly meant shopping.

Semele was kind of grumpy at this point, as she still had a year to go before she left for Hogwarts. Which incidentally made her pout.

Harry grinned at his little sister. It was a new feeling he was exploring. A big brotherly feeling. Sure, he felt brotherly towards Luna and Hermione, but it reached new heights with the real deal.

Anyway, Sirius decided to come, having nothing to do, and since Orion too had to go to Hogwarts this year.

They all apparated to the leaky cauldron, side-along for the young ones, of course. Soon they were gathered in front of the bartender, who nodded warmly at the adults. "Good day, Mr. and Mrs. Potter, Mr. Black."

"Good day, Tom." James replied.

Little Tommy giggled. Obviously he hadn't come here before. "Look, Daddy! A man with my name!"

Tom cracked a smile. "Tom Algion Black. Good to see you too!" Then the bartender turned to the adults. "On to business. Diagon alley?"

Sirius grinned wolfishly. Though not without pain. "Yes. Though I wouldn't mind a bottle of-"

"Sirius!" His best friend's wife chided. "You've been drinking too much already!"

James sighed. "Don't worry, Lily. It's his business."

"But since Marlene di-"

"ENOUGH!" James voice was hard with both worry and rage.

Lily winced. "Sorry, Siri. I know how I feel. I just… you know. Marlene wouldn't want you to feel that way."

The said man managed a dry smile. "It's okay, Lils. And I know what she'd want, but I can't forget her."

Tommy was the first of the pre-teens to interfere. "Daddy? What's wrong?"

Harry and Orion were speculating the spectacle, while Semele just looked scared.

"Sorry, Tommy. We didn't mean to scare you."

"SO, all matters settled, let's GO!" James proclaimed.

AS they entered Diagon alley, harry couldn't help but grin at the happy place that had no worries, and no one worrying about old Voldie's followers who had gone into hiding or had just been supporting from the sidelines.

People were milling about, from Florean's to Eyelops, and to the rest of the valley. First, of course, they went to Gringotts. Harry read the poem with a smirk.

Enter, stranger, but take heed,

Of what awaits the sin of greed,

For those who take, but do not earn,

Must pay most dearly in their turn;

So if you seek beneath our floors,

A treasure that was never yours,

Thief, you have been warned, beware,

Of finding more than treasure there.

'Like dragons.'Thought Harry, grinning. Inside, they went to both the Potter family vault, and the Black family vault, Harry enjoying the ride immensely.

Out of the bank, Lily proposed the idea of splitting up, and the other two agreed, leaving Orion and Harry to go with Lily to Ollivander's and the other's to buy the books and other things, except for the Robes, which they had already ordered and James would pick up. Afterwards, they were going to meet in the ice-cream shop.

In the musty shop, Harry couldn't help but remember the way the same man had been in Malfoy manor's dungeons. He shuddered but quickly hid it, hoping his mother didn't see.
…though he had a suspicion Orion did.

As they entered, Ollivander got up and smiled. "Lily Evans." He said. "Ten and a quarter inches, nice and swishy, made of willow. Quite good for charms, if I am right?"

"True, but it's Potter now, not Evans."

"Yes, yes. So, Harry Potter and Orion Black. Here to choose the wand? Though, of course the wand chooses the wizard. Hold out your wand arms, please." The boys did as they were told, and they started getting measured.

That done, Ollivander started rifling through the thousands of wands in the hundreds of shelves in his shop. "How about this one? Willow, mermaid scale core, seven and a half inches." Orion waved it and Ollivander instantly snatched it away, starting the long process of picking and putting down pieces of wood that didn't exactly match.

After about fifteen rejections, He got his chosen wand. "Ten inches, Core of dragon heartstring, maple wood. Rather bendy and great for all kinds of magic." Orion waved it and got a tiny stream of water.

"Now for Mr. Potter." Harry grinned, wondering if it would take as long as last time.

To his amusement, it did. "Eleven inches, made of Holly, with a phoenix feather core. It took longer to make than any other wand in this shop. Try it, Mr. Potter."

Harry eagerly grabbed the wand, and felt the familiar comfort and warmth as the wand spit out tiny colorful fire bullets.

Ollivander too smiled, seeing the wand accept the master, but then he started rubbing his chin. "Curious… Very curious…"

Harry felt dread as his inner self started panicking that Voldemort wasn't supposed to exist here. Which was true, so far as Harry could understand.

Unfortunately, this caught the other two's attention. "What's curious, Mr. Ollivander?" Orion asked

"You see," Garrick Ollivander began. "The phoenix which gave the feather of this wand, gave only one other. And this wand's brother wand belongs to…" Harry clenched his fist. "… The minister of magic."

The wand clattered to the floor, and - As opposed to his undeniably Gryffindor nature – Harry James Potter… fainted.


So the end of the chapter is here! Yay!

Anyway, sorry again for not updating earlier, but as you must know from some point in your lives, school work, especially in high school is totally CRAZY!

See you later, and don't forget to review if you think there's something wrong, or something else.

Have a nice day, everybody!

(Or evening, if it's night!)