Lily Evans-Potter: World Wanderer
Wanda: This is a great way to deal with plot bunnies who I can't afford to give seperate stories to!
Tyene: (holding a rabbit who has 'generic love potion plot' written on its collar) Oh, goodie. Never mind that I have to chase them all down on my own.
Wanda: I do not own Harry Potter!
Chapter 3: Many Conversations
Harry felt comfortable.
Already that was confusing – the last thing he remembered was walking down a road in the evening before exhaustion caught up to him. Surely he was still lying on the concrete. Had someone found him and called 911? He hoped not, if only so they wouldn't call his parents.
He was dreaming. Harry knew as much; he and Dana were both lucid dreamers. He was wandering through a field of silver flowers, unsure of where he was or what was going on. A song was ringing through the air, a lullaby, soothing him and making him feel at peace.
The clearing was surrounded by trees. Harry couldn't see past them, but he swore that a shadow was watching him from within the cover.
A bright red light appeared in the trees. As Harry watched, the shadow jerked in panic and fled, the red light hot on its heels. Whenever the shadow attempted to enter the clearing and approach him, the red light would come out and attack it ferociously until it fled again.
It was a long grudge match, but eventually the shadow dissipated. The red light stopped moving, and grew brighter.
A woman appeared in the place of the light, though she was still glowing slightly. She wore a crimson trench coat and a beautiful amulet. Harry recognized her instantly – it was Lily Evangeline.
"Hello," She said softly. "You had a bad infection, Harry. I got rid of it for you."
"Infection?" Harry parroted, shifting uncertainly from foot to foot as Lily came to a stop a few feet in front of him.
"Dark magic." Lily explained, a look of anger and distaste flashing across her face at this. "It's been there for a long time. It was sapping your magic and damaging your health. Had anyone tried to look at it before?"
Harry shook his head slightly. "My parents...they said I was a horcrux..." His brain was starting to hurt. "It-It was just that one little thing? I thought...I thought I was made of dark magic...a construct..."
Lily looked horrified at the suggestion. "God, who told you that? A human being with a soul can't be transformed into a Homunculi; you and your siblings were attacked as babies right?"
"Yeah."
"Then there is absolutely no way you are a construct." Lily said matter of factly, concern washing across her face again as Harry gave her a look of pure shock. "As for the soul fragment, that's what I just got rid of. You are now clean."
Harry tried to say something in response, but his throat sealed straight up. His eyes watered and he collapsed onto his rear as this information rang through the field. Suddenly, all those 'punishments' and scorn of the last fourteen years had been for nothing. He was a human being, just like Dana had always said. He was a boy.
Lily walked over and sat down next to him. Her expression had become a mixture of anger and sadness at this. It was maternal.
"Who are you, really?" Harry asked, staring at her with rapt attention. "Where did you come from? Why do you look at me like you know me? Why do you care?"
Lily smiled sadly. "I'm not from this world, Harrison." She said. She waved a hand, suddenly Harry's dream transformed. They were moved from the field to a beach just after sunset. The amulet Lily was wearing glowed brighter in response.
"...How...?"
"Have you heard of the theory of multiple worlds?"
When Harry nodded, Lily went on, "It's true. I was born and lived in another world during my first life."
"..." Harry sat in wonder for a moment as he took in this information. "...How did you die?"
Lily closed her eyes for a moment. "I was murdered. I died protecting my son." Harry felt his heart jump into his throat; he knew her son's name before he said it. "Harry Potter."
"Y-You...you're my mother?"
"Yes...and at the same time, no. The Lily born in this world is the one who gave birth to you and raised you." Lily said. "After I died, I was greeted by Hela...that's one of the names for death."
"Death...is a girl?" Harry thought for a moment. "On second thought, looking at Dana, that's not so weird to consider..."
Lily let out a small laugh at that. Harry couldn't help but smile at the noise. "She told me that there was more I was supposed to do before I was killed, so she gave me this amulet. It has a bit of her power, and it is what allows me to travel."
"...Did your world have Voldemort?"
Lily nodded, looking grave at the man's name. "That's the assumed name of the man who killed me." She responded. "His real name is Tom Marvolo Riddle."
"I know. He told me himself."
"What!?"
"My second year. Dana's first." Harry explained uncomfortably. "A cursed diary turned up in our school, snared one of my sister's friends. When I confronted it, it had a copy of his sixteen year old personality in it."
Lily hissed like a cat who's tail had been trod on. "Inside Hogwarts!?"
"Yeah."
"Where the hell was security?!"
"Nowhere to be seen." It was probably meant as a test for Adam – Harry knew that Dumbledore suspected what the monster inside the Chamber really was. And yet he made no move to evacuate the building – the building full of baby kids, including Dana.
"Son of a bitch!" Lily growled. "Pardon my French," She added quickly.
Harry flushed a bit when he found himself smiling. "It's okay. I've heard worse." Megan swears worse than a US Marine. I think her mum encourages it.
"You had to confront that monster? You poor thing. That must have been terrifying." Lily said sympathetically.
Harry stared down at his hands, unsure how to respond. "Well, someone had to do something...I mean, everyone was panicking and none of the teachers were looking for Ginny."
Unconsciously, he rubbed his arm where the basilisk's fangs had tried to rip him open. Lily's brow furrowed; before he could stop her she reached over and pulled his sleeve back, revealing the scarred and mangled mess that remained of the limb.
Harry looked away in shame, waiting for the older woman to retch and back up. But instead, Lily sat right where she was, paralysed in shock and horror. "Harry...how the nine rings of hell...what did this to you?"
So Harry told her everything about his second year. He wasn't sure why, but this other mother, the woman who died for another Harry, gave him comfort. So he told him about confronting the basilisk while Adam lay unconscious in the rubble from his failed attempt to rescue Ginny, the victim in question.
By the time he was over, Harry was beginning to question his decision to tell her because Lily looked ready to murder everyone at Hogwarts with a calm expression on her face. Her knuckles had turned white from clenching her fists.
"Bullshit!" Lily spat, eyes blazing. "Bullshit! You're a hero, and they hung you out to dry like that!?"
"Well, it's because-"
"Stop. Stop right there." Lily ordered. Harry instantly stopped talking, filled with frightened awe over the sheer killer intent radiating off the redhead. "You are not a construct or a puppet of Voldemort's. You are the real boy who lived – just like my Harry."
"W-What?"
"Each time Riddle has stepped forward, you stopped him. Not Adam. You. Even if I weren't able to sense these things now because of the death magic running through me, I'd say that's a pretty solid indication that Adam is not the true hero. Especially since he doesn't act like one at all to begin with!" Lily growled. "And I would love to know how my counterpart is still alive, when my son only because known as the boy who lived because I willingly gave up my life to save him out of love!"
Harry gasped.
"Yes! Love! That is why Tom Riddle couldn't kill my Harry all those years ago! I didn't cower behind my babies when he came calling; I fought him until my dying breath! My James did the same!" Lily ranted. "So what Dumbledore and his cronies have been doing all this time has not only been cruel, but stupid and pointless! Only the sacrifice of love grants true protection!"
After a moment, Lily reached forward and pulled Harry into a fierce hug.
Harry, who had only ever been hugged by Dana, crumpled in her embrace and sobbed at his sudden vindication. All this time fighting for his worth, and only a few had seen his worth.
"Shhh..." Lily whispered, rubbing his back. "Shhh. It's okay. I'm not going to let them hurt you."
"But it's the Order...if they turn on you, you'll be thrown to Voldemort."
"Hah...! I'm not afraid of him anymore... nor am I afraid of cowards who abuse children! You are safe here, Harrison...you've protected everyone here since you eleven. Now let me protect you." Lily whispered.
**~Across the City, with Dana~**
Megan Jones opened her door, affectionately rolling her eyes at her cousin Graham's Sherlock Holmes impersonation, to find Dana standing in the rain.
"I'm really sorry," Dana said with a sort of forced calm that instantly told Megan something had happened at home. "Can I crash at your place for a little?"
"Sure thing." Megan said. "You hiding from your folks?"
"Yeah."
"Come up to my room. Graham likes to charm our houses to prevent break ins; it will look like no one's home. Tori is here too."
Dana nodded gratefully and stepped inside, tossing her wet sweater over the nearest chair and kicking off her shoes. Megan glanced towards the hallway; her parents were abroad to seal some international laws leaving her to take care of Graham and the house. Megan was the most responsible of the Jones-Pritchard family, but that didn't mean she didn't indulge in rule breaking when she felt it was appropriate.
"Dana!" Astoria said brightly when the redhaired girl stomped into the bedroom, Megan and Graham warily trailing behind her. The blonde haired girl had been conversing with the final member of their circle of friends, Ginny Weasley, who was currently trapped in her home with Ron and Adam Potter.
Dana forced another smile, hugged her friend, and then said, "You all might want to cover your ears."
Graham – always quick on the uptake, even at twelve – cast a silencing charm over half the room.
Dana immediately began screaming loud enough that you'd be forgiven for believing she was half Banshee. "I HATE DUMBLEDORE, I HATE HIM, I HATE THOSE SMUG SELF SATISFIED BASTARDS, I HATE THEM ALL! FUCK THE PROPHECY, FUCK THE ORDER, FUCK EVERYTHING! I SHOULD JUST FUCKING HAND THIS WHOLE COUNTRY OVER TO VOLDEMORT, YOU WOULDN'T EVEN NOTICE THE DIFFERENCE! GAH! ARRRRGHGHH!"
Astoria quickly muttered an apology to Ginny and deactivated the mirror so Dana couldn't be heard on the other side of the connection. "-EVIL OLD BITCH HAG AND BASTARD, THEY GLOAT LIKE PUREBLOODS AND THEIR VILENESS FOLLOWS ME EVERYWHERE. I SWEAR IF THEY'VE HURT HARRY BAD ENOUGH TO KILL HIM, I'M GOING TO RETURN THE FAVOR SEVENFOLD-"
"It's bad, isn't it?" Graham asked mildly as Dana's magic caused the air around her to crackle with lightning.
"I don't know yet," Megan said, looking vaguely impressed at the display. "She hasn't said anything. Clearly, whatever happened was really bad."
"This can't be good." Astoria noted in concern.
"What else is new with the Potters?" Megan asked sourly.
A few minutes later, Dana finally ran her throat raw and collapsed on Megan's bed, seething. Graham took down the wards and Astoria brought Ginny back into the conversation.
"Impeccable timing." Ginny informed her friends. "Adam was just hitting on me. I'm almost grateful; it gives me an excuse to hole up in my room and not be bothered while he's visiting." She groaned. "I should have run off with Fred and George and lived in the flat above their joke shop."
Dana spat another three lines of curses, this time in German. Megan silently summoned a glass of water and handed it to her.
"Dare I even ask what happened this time?" Astoria asked faintly.
Dana propped herself up against the head of the bed and asked, completely seriously, "Tori, if I disown myself from the Potter family, would your mum and dad adopt me?"
Astoria brightened. "I think I could plead with mum until she caves. I mean, now that Jason and Percy are born, dad isn't worried about having another girl around the house."
"That bad, huh?" Ginny asked, sounding as though she already knew the answer.
"Lily and James have convinced themselves that Harry has me under spells." Dana spat out eventually. "Never bloody fucking well mind that they could just cast 'finite' and discover I hate them on my own free will; Harry had to run away from the house to protect himself. Now I don't know where he is."
"Bullshit!" Megan said incredulously. "Are they really that blind?"
"Willfully blind." Dana growled, downing her glass. "All on the orders of the great Albus Dumbledore. They're such puppets, saying that it must be dark magic."
"They don't know the first thing about Dark Magic." Astoria grumbled, thinking of her Slytherin friends Hestia and Flora. Both girls used dark magic defensively, but they were some of the most empathetic students in Slytherin. (granted, the bar wasn't exactly set high).
At this point, Megan's mirror began vibrating. The black haired girl quickly got up and activated it, revealing the unamused face of Adina Black and her twin sister, Ainsley.
"Megan! Is Dana with you?" Adina asked anxiously. "Dad is going after Harry with a bunch of the Order; they're going to imprison him at Hogwarts!"
"Dana's here." Megan said, though not before Graham said something spitefully directed at Dumbledore that would get him docked his video game privileges. "Harry isn't; he had the sense to run while he had an opening."
Ainsley sighed in relief. It was well known among the group about her crush on Harry.
The Black twins, unlike their elder brother Moran, were disliked by their father and mother due to having been sorted into Hufflepuff as opposed to Gryffindor. After all, that was the only place heroes went.
Because of this, Adina and Ainsley had more in common with Dana than any of the boys, so they also discreetly helped Harry through the trials he was undergoing.
Given that they weren't Gryffindors and therefore worshipping the ground Dumbledore and Adam Potter walked on, they knew that most of the students at school were thoroughly displeased by both Dumbledore's handling of the dangerous situations they had been in continuously over the past four years. Most of the Slytherins (who weren't following in their parents footsteps) were already planning to throw their lot in elsewhere the moment they had the opportunity, while the Ravenclaws had suspicions that Adam was not actually the boy who lived. The Hufflepuffs, more simply, despised the way the Potters acted (like drunken, spoiled celebrities) and their abuse of their younger son.
Also, virtually all of them hated Adam, regarding him as little more than a pompous, cowardly bully with a huge ego – essentially a Gryffindor version of Draco Malfoy, right down to the two bodyguard toadies in Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.
"Ainsley, Adina, hi." Ginny said happily from her mirror, which Astoria propped up on the desk so she could see everyone. "Good to see you two seem to be doing okay."
"For the given definition of okay," Adina said, scowling fiercely. "I'm about as happy as Dana right now, for all the same reasons."
"There's got to be some sort of way we can stop this," Ainsley said fearfully. "Harry's going to get seriously hurt at this rate, and with no one at the Ministry believing that Voldemort is coming back, our only hope is resting on that doddering old man!"
"If that's our only hope, we should pack our bags and run off to Canada." Graham said sourly. "Maybe we'll be able to live happy lives there until Voldemort's influence spreads beyond Britain."
Dana, who had worn herself out screaming, growled in agreement.
"I've got an idea." Megan announced. Once she had everyone's attention, she said, "If Harry gets captured, we rescue him ourselves and bolt for the Smiths."
For a moment, the room was silent with surprise. "Seriously?" Astoria asked. "That'd be considered open rebellion, wouldn't it?"
"Hah! Rebellion against one? A couple of idiots who are incompetent to the point of maliciousness?" Megan scoffed. "Adina, Zach likes you – do you think he'd shelter us?"
Adina twisted a strand of her curled reddish brown hair between her fingers. "Probably." She said. "We could probably ask Blaise as well."
"Would you be able to make it if you ran, Ginny?" Dana asked in concern.
The redhead bit her lip. "I'd have to get lucky. Mum and dad wouldn't want anything going wrong for the Potters after all."
Ginny's family had been relatively stable until Ron Weasley got involved with Adam Potter. To put a fine point on it, Ron already possessed some unpleasant characteristics and being best friends with the spoiled supposed BWL had made them all much worse. Molly and Arthur had fallen with the Potters and fiercely defended them from any criticism, no matter how deserved.
The family splintered thanks to the Potters. Bill and Charlie basically fled oversees to their respective jobs. Fred and George, who sympathized with Harry and tried to help him out, were verbally harassed until they left the house to start their own joke shop. (Astoria and Daphne provided the money.) Ron was devoted to Adam, Percy devoted to the corrupted Ministry.
Meanwhile, Ginny herself was being heavily pressured into being Adam's girlfriend. Since he 'rescued' her from the Chamber (when it was really Harry), Adam and his parents decided that meant he was entitled to have her as a future wife. Adam treated her like a personal toy, causing Ginny to resist bitterly. Her parents kept trying to 'raise her right', which included forbidding her from hanging out with her friends in Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff.
Luckily, Ginny had Dana, Adina and Ainsley looking out for her, so Adam had learned to mostly keep his hands to himself whenever they were all together.
Suddenly, Dana's phone rang. She pulled it out and looked at the number ID before gasping in relief. "It's Harry," She told her friends.
"Hey Dana." Harry's voice floated through the room. He sounded relaxed and calm. "You okay?"
"Me? What about you!? Where are you!? Tell me, we can go pick you up and get you someplace safe." Dana said, anxiety visible in her voice.
"It's alright, Dana. I'm safe where I am right now. I've met someone who can help me." Harry explained. "I told her about you, and I'd like you to come over. Bring your friends, if they can come."
"We can." Megan said helpfully. "Where is this place?"
End Chapter
So, Dana sure has a lot of friends! That's what happens when you aren't an arrogant egotist. Those conversations I hope gave some worldbuilding, which I'm going to build on next chapter. I figured if Sirius was alive, he'd have kids as well - you know, to be like James.
Read and Review please!