Disclaimer: I'm afraid that my limited brain capacity would never allow me to produce such a wonderful concept as Harry Potter, nor would my finances allow me to buy him. Therefore, I regretfully state that I own neither Harry Potter, nor any other characters that you may recognize. I'm not even sure if I own the plot.

Note: I'm assuming that you already know the basic story of Harry Potter from books 1 through 5.

'Italics' stand for thoughts/letters or text

Chapter Three: What I Always Wanted

"Harry?"

"Hmm?"

"Harry, honey, it's time to wake up. Are you feeling okay? Are you sick?"

Mildly confused, Harry blinked at the blurry face above him, but could make out nothing save a cloud of red. "Mrs. Weasley? What are you doing here?"

"Harry? It's Mum. Why are you calling me Mrs. Weasley?"

'Okay, something is seriously wrong here,' Harry thought, beginning to panic. 'Is this one of Voldemort's schemes? But I thought I was safe with the Dursleys! Wait…that voice…I know that voice! It's my mum's voice, the one I hear whenever the dementors get close…but my mum is dead!'

"Harry?"

"Um…I'm awake," Harry mumbled, deciding on the spur of the moment to play along. "Don't worry, I'm fine."

"All right then, dear," the woman who sounded like his mother soothed. "Breakfast is ready. Just get dressed and come down when you feel like it."

When she had gone, shutting the door behind her, Harry sat up and grabbed his glasses, jamming them on his nose and looking around frantically. Clearly, he was no longer on Privet Drive.

The room he was in had pale blue walls and a navy blue carpet, with wizarding posters and pictures plastered everywhere. Clothing, all expensive and well-made, was scattered everywhere, and there were toys and trinkets thrown about as if a hurricane had passed through. Beneath the mess, there seemed to be some expensive, beautifully carved furniture, but it was a little hard to tell.

Bewildered, Harry scrambled out of bed, noting that the mattress was ten times softer than his bed at the Dursleys, and seized his wand, which was sitting on his nightstand. 'Where on Earth am I?' he wanted to know. 'What's happened?'

Padding across to the huge bay window, Harry pushed the drapes aside and peered out at what looked like lush, sweeping lawns, with a large Quidditch pitch in the distance. There didn't seem to be anyone around and Harry was sorely tempted to go flying, but in light of his current predicament, decided not to.

Unable to find a clue as to his whereabouts, Harry checked the doors leading out of the room. The first led to a gigantic walk-in closet, the second to a luxurious bathroom, and the third to a long hallway. As he was poking his head out, he caught sight of a girl walking down the stairs and called out. "Hey!"

She turned towards him hesitantly. "What?"

"Where am I?"

For a moment, she just stared at him before shaking her head and continuing on her way.

"Hey, wait!"

"I'm not going to fall for your stupid tricks," she spat, with such venom that Harry recoiled. "Quit teasing me."

Confused, Harry started to stutter an apology, but she had already vanished. 'What was that all about? Am I dreaming this or something? Have I got crazy?'

Not wanting to roam unfamiliar territory in a pair of pajama pants, Harry found some jeans, a grey t-shirt, and some plain white trainers, though he had to dig through piles of more fancy outfits to find them. Once dressed, he tucked his wand in his waistband, washed his face, ran his hands through his hair, and walked out, following the path the strange girl had taken.

After several wrong turns, Harry managed to find the woman who had woken him up. As he entered what looked like the dining room, she looked up and beamed. "Good morning, Harry!"

"Um, good morning," he replied, still bewildered.

"Well, don't just stand there, sit down," she urged, motioning to the seat across from her. With a shrug, Harry did so and seeing as she was already eating, started to serve himself breakfast.

Suddenly, he decided something. If this was a dream or a plot of some sort, he might as well make the most of it. This woman claimed to be his mother, and she certainly appeared to be Lily Potter. So why not go along with it? He'd always wanted a family, and this was certainly better than the Dursleys.

"Mum?" he ventured.

"Yes, dear?"

"Where's…Dad?"

"Oh, your father was working late last night and he's sleeping in. I'm afraid he won't have time to play Quidditch with you today; there's a lot of paperwork to do."

"That's okay," Harry said, though he was slightly disappointed. "I can just fly around by myself."

"If that's what you want," Lily approved. "Now, I'm still working on that Charms project for the Ministry, and Sirius is on duty today. Will you be okay by yourself? I can call Remus over if you want company, or you can invite one of your friends."

"I'll be fine," Harry insisted, wondering vaguely what 'on duty' meant. "Don't worry about me."

"Okay, honey. I'll see you later. Love you." And with a light kiss on his forehead, Lily headed out again, leaving Harry alone with his food.

'I don't think she's a Death Eater,' he concluded. 'She's not acting like one, unless she's trying to gain my trust…but…I just don't think so. Still…how can my parents be alive? This makes no sense. And who was that girl I saw this morning?'

Just then, Lily poked her head back into the room. "Oh, Harry, if you see Lila, please tell her to eat with the family instead of in her room when possible."

"Lila?" Harry blurted out before he could stop himself.

His mother raised an eyebrow. "Lila? Your sister? Now, Harry, be nice."

"Er…okay then…Mum."

Satisfied, Lily disappeared again, and Harry sat back, mulling over this new information. 'So I have a sister too. Wow…this is what I always wanted…well, even if it's not real, I can enjoy it while it lasts!'