A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who's liked, followed, and reviewed this story so far! You all make me smile, truly. Posting chapter 2 a little earlier than I intended... Happy Thanksgiving (if you're in America, anyway)!

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Disclaimer: Everything Harry Potter belongs to our queen, JK Rowling!

Otherwise, this story is a work of fiction, and any non-HP original characters, their names and adventures are purely a product of my imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and fictitious. This story does not take place in our Muggle world as we know it, but in a world entirely its own.

Chapter Two:

Sacrifice

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"Holy crap!" Daniyel gasped, backing away from Sirius and his wand as far as the bed would allow.

The four of them eyed each other for a frozen moment: Sirius glaring at Daniyel, who stared right back, slightly bewildered, while Ron and Hermione looked between them.

"Sirius, calm down!" Hermione cried, jumping up. "He hasn't done anything. We saw Dumbledore carry him in. He's been unconscious this whole time."

"Voldemort could've taken Harry and left this imposter in his place for us to find!" Sirius growled. "He could be torturing him right now! He might be dead already. This Death Eater smells nothing like Harry!"

He jabbed his wand at Daniyel and – before Ron or Hermione could stop him – cried, "Homorphius!"

A gust of wind blew past Daniyel and a glowing blue light surrounded him suddenly, flashing brightly as it obscured his vision. It was gone within seconds, and aside from the bright spots muddling his senses, he found himself unaffected. But for all that, the magic he had seen and felt with his own eyes was undeniable. "Holy crap," he said again.

Was it possible? Was it even a little bit remotely possible that he was…

"Not hiding under a transfiguration spell, are you?" Sirius continued, undeterred. "It must be Polyjuice then! What did Voldemort use for the transformation, huh?"

"Sirius!" Hermione cried, exasperated, as she grabbed his arm. "Stop it! That's completely impractical. I saw the whole thing happen, and there just wouldn't have been time! Besides, it's been hours since the battle. He would've turned back by now."

She turned back to Daniyel, scrutinizing his features closely.

"Also," she added, "he hasn't even asked for his glasses since he woke up, and if you look closely, he hasn't even got a scar! No," she said, turning back to Ron and Sirius, "I think he's a Muggle actor, just like he said."

Sirius lowered his wand and stepped closer, scrutinizing Daniyel's face.

"OK," he said slowly, "I don't know who the hell you are, or what the hell's going on, but tell us everything that happened. From the beginning."

It took Daniyel half an hour to walk Ron, Hermione, and Sirius through the events that had brought him to Hogwarts, and everything leading up to them. When he finished, the mood in the hospital wing was unusually somber.

"Blimey," Ron said finally. He stared at Daniyel as if he couldn't quite believe his eyes.

"Oh, this is bad," Hermione said, staring around anxiously. "This is really bad. Maybe I can find something useful in the library." And with that, she got up and walked out of the room without another word. Sirius watched her go before asking the obvious question.

"So if you're here, what happened to Harry?"

"If I'm here and we really did switch places, then I suppose he might be back in my world..."

"So he's all alone and confused," Sirius grunted, sinking down in a chair by the bed. He put his face in his hands.

"I'm sure Harry's fine," Ron said reasonably. "There's no You-Know-Who in Daniyel's world, is there? And Harry did grow up as a Muggle. Blimey, I reckon he'll think this is bloody brilliant."

"I think it's bloody brilliant," Daniyel echoed, because that seemed better than saying this was completely insane. They ignored him.

"You're probably right, Ron," Sirius said. "We'll sort this out. We'll just have to concentrate on keeping Daniyel safe until we can find Harry and figure out how to switch them back."

"You don't know how to?" Daniyel asked worriedly.

"I don't," Sirius admitted, "but I'm sure Dumbledore–"

"So what if You-Know-Who thinks Daniyel is Harry and tries to attack him before we figure it out?" Ron said, his tone slightly concerned. "He's already broken through our wards once. Daniyel's not a wizard. How's he supposed to defend himself?"

"I don't know, Ron," Sirius sighed.

"So we're just going to pretend he's Harry?" Ron persisted, perplexed. "Is he going to go to class and everything? How–"

"Yeah," Daniyel chimed in. "It's not like I can do any magic."

Sirius stood up abruptly. "I'm sorry, you two, I just don't have any answers for you right now. I must speak with Dumbledore – hopefully he'll know what to do. Daniyel, I'm sorry about this. And earlier..."

"No problem," Daniyel said distractedly as Sirius transformed into a big black shaggy dog right before his eyes and trotted out of the room.

"Well," Ron said, as he watched him go, "welcome to Hogwarts. I guess."

"Yeah…" Daniyel replied, "thanks. I gotta admit this isn't exactly how I envisioned it, when I imagined getting my letter..."

Dumbledore put his hands together and rested his chin atop them as he appraised Sirius. They were sitting in Dumbledore's office. The portraits on the walls were all feigning a very deep and unconvincing sleep, and Albus Dumbledore could see that he would be up for hours yet.

"I've never heard of anything like this happening before!" Sirius said. "How is this even possible?"

Dumbledore sighed wearily as he examined the situation. It was, to say the least, a rather interesting development.

"Well?" Sirius prompted. "Have you, Dumbledore?"

"It is not altogether impossible," Dumbledore allowed finally. "Perhaps…"

"Perhaps?" Sirius echoed, folding his arms and looking at Dumbledore questioningly.

Dumbledore sighed once more and glanced at Sirius over his half-moon spectacles. When he spoke again, his voice was firmer. "It would appear that Harry was thrown into an alternate world. Similar to ours, of course. You say that this boy, Daniyel, mentioned there was an explosion on his side? I presume that happened at the same time as Voldemort's attack on Harry. This most likely caused a rift to open up between Daniyel's world and our own. Something must have pulled them to each other, and in turn, to the other side."

"So how do we fix it?" Sirius asked. Dumbledore held up a hand, and Sirius fell silent, listening.

"Unfortunately it will not be so easy to get to Harry. We cannot simply Apparate or take a Portkey to another world. However, I do believe we will be able to speak to him. By using Harry as the link, I can send through a device through which we can communicate – a sort of holographic projector, if you will. We will be able to see and hear him, and he us."

"OK, yes, great. But how do we switch them back?" Sirius asked. "Surely you can get Harry back here."

Dumbledore sighed again, and paused before continuing, as if trying to delay the inevitable for as long as possible. "That is more difficult, I'm afraid. In order to get Harry back here, we would have to recreate the circumstances under which the rift occurred," he said. His face was rather grave. "If you recall those circumstances… The only way Harry can come back is if he calls upon our world with the Spell of Return, while Daniyel is actively engaged in a fight. With Voldemort, Sirius. We can then use the energy of Harry's return to open up a pathway to Daniyel's world and send him back."

The silence that followed this pronouncement seemed to last for centuries.

"But, Dumbledore," Sirius finally managed, his face pale, "that's impossible. The boy is a Muggle – he can't even use magic. How can we ask him to face Voldemort on our behalf? It would be like sending a sheep to slaughter. There must be another way."

"I'm afraid not, Sirius."

"So then…" Sirius said, trailing off. "But Daniyel…"

"It would, of course, be Daniyel's decision," Dumbledore said softly. "But he would hardly go defenseless. If the boy was able to travel through the rift, I daresay he has some magic within him."

"Are you saying he's a wizard?"

"It is possible. In fact, I should say probable."

Sirius shook his head and slammed his hand down on the desk in frustration. Fawkes made an alarmed noise in the corner, and there was the tiniest pause in the rhythmic snoring of the portraits on the walls, throwing their illusion of deep sleep into question.

"I don't like this!" Sirius growled. "The boy knows nothing! We can hardly send him off to be a sacrifice."

"If he were to agree to this, Sirius, we would, of course, train him. We would teach him to control and use his magic. And I daresay we would be able to amend the circumstances of this battle to our liking. Of course, Harry would have to agree to this as well."

Sirius looked down and said nothing.

"Now we can sort the details out later," Dumbledore continued, "but in the meantime we must send the projector. If we can't find Harry, the plans we are making here will be of little consequence."

Dumbledore raised his wand and two flat oval discs appeared. They were dark, smooth, and reflective. He waved his hand over both discs, and a blue light glowed into being above them. Dumbledore seemed satisfied. He waved his wand again and one of the discs disappeared. He turned back to Sirius.

"It is done. Now we wait. Best not tell anyone about this, Sirius. The less who know, the better. We cannot risk Daniyel's safety."

"So Dan's at Hogwarts," Ella said, her eyes wide.

Harry shrugged as he dug around in the clear plastic bag until he found his glasses and slipped them on. At least he could finally see properly.

"I reckon so."

"Well how do we get him back?" Robert said seriously.

"I don't… I dunno," Harry muttered, thinking furiously. He was sure he would be all right in this Muggle world until he somehow figured it out, but Hogwarts was another story. Voldemort was there… and the battle… He cursed inwardly. What had happened? Was Voldemort still there? A cold wave of terror washed over him as he thought of his friends and Sirius. Were they all right? He couldn't go there. He couldn't think about that. Not now.

Ella sank down into an empty chair beside his bed while Robert leaned against the wall. Harry stared into space, trying desperately to think of any spell that might be helpful in this bizarre situation. How the hell was he supposed to get back? Suddenly there was a bright flash of light and something small bounced off Harry's head and tumbled onto the bed before him.

"Ouch!" he said, rubbing his aching head as he reached for the mysterious object.

It was a dark and flat oval disc. It weighed almost nothing. He flipped it over, trying to make sense of it, while Ella and Robert looked on curiously. It abruptly turned hot in his hands. Harry accidentally dropped it back on the bed in surprise.

A dome of blue light appeared above it as it fell, and Sirius's and Dumbledore's faces materialized within the dome, as if they had just popped out of a fireplace.

"Sirius!" Harry gasped, grabbing the disc again eagerly. "Professor!"

"HARRY!" Sirius cried. "Are you all right?"

Harry nodded, and felt a wave of relief surge through him as he did so. He let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Dumbledore was involved now, and he would fix everything. Ella and Robert crowded around him, staring curiously at the two wizards.

"This is Ella and Robert," Harry said, indicating his two new companions. Sirius nodded at them. He didn't seem surprised, which confirmed Harry's suspicions.

"Is Daniyel–" he began, but Dumbledore cut him off.

"Yes, Harry, he's here. I see that you are aware of the predicament we are in. You were thrown into an alternate world."

"Yeah, we kind of figured that."

"Very good," Dumbledore said, smiling as if they were in a classroom and Harry had answered a question correctly. "Then please tell me everything about your current situation, and what you remember about the battle."

Harry acquiesced and summed up the events of the last few hours. Dumbledore listened patiently.

"Very well," he said, when Harry was finished, "thank you, Harry. Now listen well, as this is of vital importance. First, until we can successfully switch you back, you have to pretend you are Daniyel. Do you understand?"

Harry nodded wordlessly, before following up with a question. "When will you be able to switch us back, Professor?"

"That is, unfortunately, a little more problematic. There is only one way to get you back here. Voldemort would have to attack Daniyel and he would have to fight back. Only during that time, with a certain spell, can you return."

"That… that can't be," Harry gasped. He glanced sideways at Ella and Robert, who were both gaping at Dumbledore in shocked disbelief. "There must be another way."

"It's the only way, Harry," Dumbledore said quietly. "I am sorry."

Harry turned away, shutting his eyes tightly, as if the action would make the problem disappear. Would Daniyel be another sacrifice so that he, Harry, could keep on going? Ella and Robert's silence beside him was suffocating. He couldn't meet their eyes. He heard Sirius call his name softly, and reluctantly looked back at his godfather's face within the dome.

"Harry… it would be Daniyel's choice, if we do this. I'm sure he wants to go home as well. And we would do everything in our power to keep him safe. Everything."

"He can't even do magic," Harry said quietly. "He's just a Muggle – he won't stand a chance."

"Don't count him out just yet," Dumbledore said gently. "Daniyel could not have come here if he did not have magic within him."

Harry considered this, but in the end it changed nothing. "I don't think I could live with it if he got hurt because of me."

"Harry," Dumbledore said kindly, "it is your empathy, your huge capacity for love, that makes you strong. I understand that this is painful. But sometimes we must do things we would never expect or imagine, out of necessity. We will talk with Daniyel, and we will all come to a decision together. Why don't you rest until then?

"The projector will grow hot when we call, and to accept you need only channel your will – your desire to speak with us, and touch it with your hand. To call us, you need do the same: channel your desire, and touch it to reach out. We will talk soon, Harry."

And with that, the blue light faded and they were gone. Harry stared at the empty space where their faces had been just moments before, and felt more alone than he could ever remember; more so, even, than when Ron had stopped speaking to him the previous year. Mutely, Robert placed a hand on his shoulder and the three of them sat there for a while longer in silence.

Hours later, Harry lay alone in the moonlight, gazing up at the tiled hospital ceiling. Ella and Robert had finally left for home, and aside from a Muggle doctor who had stopped by to examine him and informed him that he was doing quite well, and a few Muggle nurses who checked on him periodically, he had seen no one else. Someone had pinned a few drawings to the ceiling and his eyes moved over them without really seeing them as he tried to sort out his thoughts. Perhaps he could do with Dumbledore's Pensieve.

He just couldn't understand how this situation had come about, and how it could be that it required such a drastic solution. Tired as he was of being chased by Voldemort, the idea of sending someone to face him in his place seemed so abhorrent to Harry that he simply could not accept it. And of course, there was also that little voice in the back of his head. That little voice that said, simply, Ah, but you wanted to go somewhere Voldemort couldn't find you, didn't you? This is all your fault, isn't it? You wanted to be somewhere safe.

And wasn't it so? Could it have been his wish that latched on to the energy created by the collision of the spells that sent him here? This Muggle world where Voldemort did not exist; where Harry was, apparently, a famous movie star, and the life he had known was just a story; a world that was alien while familiar, comforting while lonely, and, above all else, safe.

Harry lay there quietly, guilt wrecking him, as the silence of the night was pierced by stray car horns that drifted in through the window. No matter how he looked at it, this wasn't Hogwarts anymore. His weary eyes blinked closed without him being aware of it, and the hand holding the oval disc dropped heavily to the bed.

In his dream, he was being chased by Voldemort as he flew wildly through the halls of Hogwarts on his Firebolt, dodging this way and that as Voldemort aimed curse after curse at him, breaking chunks of stone off the walls in his wake. Suddenly the Firebolt vanished from beneath him, and for a second he continued flying through the air without it, until he realized nothing was holding him up, and tumbled to the ground. As he started running, the stone walls of Hogwarts changed into a dark forest, and he dodged trees as he heard Voldemort closing in, laughing gleefully. Up ahead he saw the back of someone's head, covered in a shock of messy black hair. As Harry grabbed the figure in his hurry to get away and pushed him forward, the figure spun around, and Harry saw that it was his own reflection staring back at him. He drew back sharply, and sensed Voldemort draw up behind him. As Harry stood, frozen, Voldemort reached past him with his wand and struck his reflection down in a flash of green light. His triumphant laugh was ringing in Harry's ears, and as Voldemort reached for him, he felt his touch, like a burning fire on his arm.

Harry jolted abruptly awake, sweating, and stared around the room wildly. The oval disc was hot in his hand. They were calling. Trying to control his breathing, he wiped his face hurriedly on the blanket and raised the disc in a shaking hand, trying to focus on maintaining the connection.

The face that filled the blue dome was his own. Harry nearly dropped the projector, the dream still fresh in his mind. The face of his twin looked almost as pale as he felt.

"Harry?" he said.

"Harry, are you all right?" Hermione's voice said, and her face appeared behind the boy who was surely Daniyel. Harry found he didn't have a voice.

"Harry!"

Ron appeared next to Hermione. Harry felt warmness spread through him at the sight of his two closest friends. He smiled weakly.

"Hey there," he choked out. "Ron. Hermione. And you must be Daniyel?"

His twin nodded. "You don't know how odd it is to speak to you, Harry."

"I can imagine," Harry said, his face turning up into a slight grin.

"I assure you," Daniyel said, grinning as well, "it's odder for me." He paused briefly, before continuing in a more serious voice. "Harry, Professor Dumbledore told me everything. They're going to teach me magic. And this fight with Voldemort…" he paused. His face was pale, but it was also set in a mask of steely determination.

"I'm going to do it."

Harry hung his head, shame and helplessness washing over him. For the first time since he had stepped into the wizarding world, it was a plan he could only watch from the sidelines.

"I can't ask you to do that," he said.

"You don't have to," Daniyel replied with a grim smile. "I can't stay here either. There are people waiting for me too, even if they don't know it. And hopefully, thanks to you, they won't. Besides, don't you know, Harry? Every eleven-year-old dreams of getting their Hogwarts letter. Mine just came a bit late, is all." He smiled wider. "Don't you worry – once Professor Dumbledore brings you back, you can help me finish off Voldemort. We'll kick his ass!"

Harry let out a laugh he hadn't realized he'd been holding. It felt brilliant.

"You're very confident," he told Daniyel.

"I have to be," Daniyel replied evenly. "I have to hunt down a big, bad wizard. Apparently. And"– his tone turned serious –"I'm going to need every advantage I can get."

Harry nodded, not sure what to say. Daniyel's confidence made him feel just a little ashamed. But then again, it was always easier to take action than to sit back and wait. He knew this well.

"Harry," Hermione cut in gently, "I spent hours looking in the library, and I couldn't find anything that will get us out of this. Professor Dumbledore says it's the only way. I'll keep looking, though."

"Thanks, Hermione," Harry said, well aware that if Hermione couldn't find something, it probably didn't exist.

"All right you lot, that's enough," Sirius's voice interjected, and Harry saw his godfather appear behind the other three. "It's late. Let Harry get some rest. We have a lot to do tomorrow as well."

"Good night, Harry," Hermione said. "Hang in there."

"See you later, mate." Ron.

Daniyel waved good-bye, and their faces vanished in an instant, leaving only darkness.

Harry let go of the disc and sank back into the bed. Somehow, he would have to come to terms with his inability to help. He could not face Voldemort for Daniyel, but would do his best to make sure Daniyel had the same home to come back to that he had left behind. Come morning, he would have plenty of his own battles.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed chapter 2! I'd love to hear what you guys think, so please do leave a review if you can. Reviews are the best presents that exist!

Thanks all!

Rina