Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter. I only wish I could say the same. Please don't sue me. Thank you.
Long Summary: After the fall of Voldemort, twenty-three year old Harry Potter is gearing up for some major downtime. However, being Fate's favourite toy, things rarely go as planned. And so, instead of finding himself relaxing on the beaches of wherever, he's trying his best to fade into the background, in another dimension and eleven. Oh, woe is him. And to complicate things, Neville is the Boy-Who-Lived, Voldemort is alive and laying low (but not for long) and his counterpart is a spoilt brat that even his parents cannot control. While content at first to just sit in the background, Harry soon finds himself getting ready for war once more. Why? Read and find out!
A.N.: yaaaaaaaaaaay reviews :D thaaaaaaaaaaaaaank yooooooooooooou!! here is the next chapter of FFT! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! (though the ending is kinda bland... damn...)
Warnings: Slash (though not yet) and warnings of the usual unbetadness :P and maybe OOCness? Though I guess it's to be expected with this kind of plot... plus I wuv messing around with their personalities :D
Word Count: 3949
Fate's Favourite Toy
Chapter 2.
Harry twitched.
Peeking round the corner, see could see them. The bushy browned haired one nagging the ears off the freckly red-haired one. No doubt about the amount of progress the latter has made preparing for his OWLS next year (it went without saying though, the answer was obviously non-existent).
Harry stared at them silently. He had DADA now but to get to the defense classroom he'd have to pass through here. A part of him knew, rationally the two would just ignore him (those two were always off in their own little world when they bickered) and Harry would slip into class nary a minute later. However, knowing his luck and – Harry turned his eyes towards the ceiling warily – a certain immortal, making his way past Hermione and Ron would be likethe day Dumbledore walked up to Voldemort and snogged him.
Bad things would happen.
People would be scarred for life.
The apocalypse.
You get the picture.
So Harry watched them carefully, a brilliant plan slowly being concocted in that devious mind of his. Surely, someone of his advanced knowledge and wisdom would be able to come up with a solution to this problem. He just needed a nudge in the right direction. That was when something touched his shoulder.
Something touched his shoulder.
Harry shrieked loudly, immediately fearing the worst.
Spinning around, he stared wide-eyed at the equally shocked Neville Longbottom. Harry's heart thumped loudly in his chest.
"Ah... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to surprise you like that..." the brunette offered weakly after a tense silence.
Harry continued to stand there shock-still and stared at him like he'd grown an extra head; one that was the exact replica of Severus Snape. And Gilderoy Lockhart. Combined.
Neville looked at the frozen Hufflepuff uncertainly, "Erm... Is there... something on my face?" he asked, laughing nervously.
No reaction.
The brunette twitched slightly as that intense emerald eyes continued to be directed at him. He was starting to get used to everyone staring at him being a celebrity and all but this... This wasn't the stare off a star-struck first year. He didn't know what it was but it was something different all together. It was strangely... comforting.
...and a little freaky.
"Neville? Is that you?" the Boy-Who-Lived gave a small mental sigh of relief when he heard Hermione's voice, a moment later appearing from around the corner, Ron right behind her giving him a quizzical look.
"Heya, mate," Ron greeted, "I thought Sprout wanted you to help her with something?"
"Yeah, I needed to grab some stuff from my trunk but I'm heading over there now..." Neville trailed off as his gaze slid back over to the strange first-year he had been talking to.
Harry had looked away from Neville at the same time as the brunette had, heart thumping even faster as Hermione and Ron appeared.
A single mantra ran through his head; oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!
It was around then that the other two Gryffindors had followed Neville's gaze and realised they weren't alone. Hermione seemed to recognise him instantly as the boy from the train (oh my GOD!) while Ron's face twisted in confusion, wondering what the Hufflepuff was doing there.
Harry looked at Neville. Then he looked at Hermione. Then he looked at Ron. Then he looked at Neville again. And finally, he did the most rational thing one could do when you were in his situation.
He stomped on Ron's foot.
Hard.
The red-head howled in pain, foot raised so he could clutch it in his hands, attempting to stem the pain. He hopped awkwardly to the side, unable to maintain his balance. Having left a clear opening, Harry seized this opportunity and streaked past them, tearing off down the corridor leaving the three older teens to gape incredulously at his back.
Up in Wherever, Fate cackled, clutching his/her/its stomach in uproarious laughter. He/She/It didn't have to do a single thing.
-
"Ow..." Ron moaned, massaging his aching foot. For the runt's small size, he sure packed a lot of power...
Hermione humphed, "Well, you certainly deserved it," she said, still angry from their previous argument.
"What?" Ron whined disbelievingly, "What did I ever do to him?"
Neville didn't know what to say. He turned around when someone started snickering behind him. His gaze fell on a smirking blonde and the two hulking masses that followed him around everywhere, "Malfoy," he greeted coolly.
The smirk on the blonde's face just widened, "My, my, Longbottom. Never thought I'd see the day the Golden Boy terrorises an wimpy, little Puff. You scared him shitless."
Hermione glowered at him, "Neville wasn't doing anything of the sort! That boy is obviously just really shy. If anyone's doing the terrorising, it's you."
Draco Malfoy just gave her an uninterested look, "Whatever, Granger," he said before turning his smirk on Neville again, "I think big, bad Longbottom here can defend himself," the blonde snickered, his two apes following his lead almost immediately, "But you, Weasel. Beaten up by that same wimpy Puff?" Malfoy gave a full-blown laugh.
Ron's face reddened, fists clenching, "You..."
Neville blocked out whatever was said afterwards as he turned slightly to glance down the corridor the first-year Hufflepuff had ran down. That pale, wide-eyed look that had come across the boy's face as he stared at Neville came to the forefront of his mind. And then he wondered; Am I really that scary?
-
Harry barely held back his flinch when Moody walked in. The man's keen eyes would have immediately picked it up and Harry would've found himself in a world of trouble. But then again... maybe Moody wouldn't have noticed... after all, this wasn't actually Moody was he? No, this was Crouch jr. polyjuiced to look like the sharp and slightly insane ex-auror.
Harry felt sick to his stomach.
But then again... would Crouch really need to come? Since Voldemort had already gotten back his body, would there be any need for the Death Eater to take this role again.
But then again... Voldemort could be using he ruse to get his hands on his arch nemesis. With Neville in his grasp or, even worse, dead, wouldn't that be the perfect way for the Dark Lord to make his comeback? The perfect way to restart his reign of terror? Striking down the one who had brought about his downfall and the beacon of hope of the wizarding world...
But then again...
Harry's brows furrowed; all this was starting to give him a headache.
Then out of nowhere a hand slammed down onto his desk, "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"
Harry jumped a mile out of his seat, hand clenching his chest; this can't be healthy for my heart, he thought. Seeing the frown on Moody's face though, he muttered a soft apology, a sheepish look on his face. Thankfully, the ex-auror just grunted and continued on with his lesson. Harry tuned him out again – nothing he could learn in a first-year class could possibly be new to him. He'd already graduated after all, not to mention he'd even defeated a Dark Lord!
So Harry's thoughts went round and round in his mind as he tried to come to a decision as to what to do about the DADA teacher when a particular thought struck him.
What's wrong with me? He thought incredulously, Why do I need to do anything at all?
And so it was with that, Harry happily sat back in his chair totally unaware of the calculating look Alastor Moody gave him in the corner of his eye...
-
Neville and Hermione were studying together in the library when they saw something very peculiar. A small shadow whizzed through the doors, disappearing into the rows of bookshelves. Not moments later, a small black head peeked out, emerald eyes narrowed as they analysed his surroundings.
It's that same Hufflepuff, Neville realised, recognising that unique eye colour immediately. Potter and his mother also had the same coloured eyes yet at the same time, they were completely different. There was something about this boy's eyes caught his attention, drawing him in. They made him think of the rare Rymaldus plant that glowed emerald green under the soft light of the midnight moon.
Neville blinked, that was a weird thought...
"Is that the runt again?" Ron grumbled as he finally arrived to join them in studying, albeit very begrudgingly.
Hermione hummed non-committally as they blatantly stared at the strange boy, wondering what he was doing. Neville frowned slightly when he realised they still didn't know his name.
Maybe that'll change today... he thought when those emerald eyes finally gazed in their direction. Or maybe not... when those eyes narrowed even further before they ducked back behind the bookshelf, disappearing for good this time it seemed. Ron scowled and strode forward.
"What are you doing?" Hermione frowned at his back.
"Just a little talk," was Ron's answer.
But it was enough to set Hermione off, "What?! Get back here Ron!" she hissed. Unfortunately, he obviously wasn't listening, "Neville?"
Neville's frowned deepened as he stood and quickly followed the red-head.
Meanwhile, Harry scowled darkly at some random, innocent looking book. Why the hell did he keep running into them? It seemed this Neville was a lot more studious than he had ever been which would explain why the three of them would spend the weekend in the library instead of in the dorms, playing chess or exploding snap while Hermione glowered at them darkly from some corner as she did her homework. This was obviously, once again, the doing of a certain immortal.
Harry finally gave into the urge and shook his fist angrily at the ceiling.
"Hey, you," a voice called out from his right. Harry hastily dropped his hand, pretending to look like as if he was merely trying to reach a book. He then turned his head slowly to stare at the intruder and cocked a solitary eyebrow at him, "Yes?" he said coolly.
That just made Ron angrier as he stomped towards Harry, "YOU-!"
"Ron!" another male voice cut in and Neville Longbottom appeared behind Ron, "That's enough," he said sternly before he turned to smile at Harry, raising a hand to shake, "Hello again." Beside him, the red-head spluttered in disbelief.
Harry eyed that hand speculatively. Alarm bells rang angrily in warning in his head but he really did want to get to know his friends again and for them to acknowledge him... It'd only been a week but he really did miss his friends...
Maybe he'd give in just this one time... Surely one handshake wouldn't be too bad...
And so Harry raised his hand, shaking ever so slightly as his brain screamed at him to stop. He pushed the thought back ("OMG! Don't do it! NoooOOooOOoo!" his brain shrieked pleadingly even as Harry stuffed it in a metaphorical box), encouraged by the soft smile on Neville's face. But just as their fingers were to touch, another voice cut in.
"What are you two doing here?"
Harry jumped back in surprise, the smile on Neville's face faltering; So close, damn it!
"No amount of reading could possibly help an idiot like you Weasley," the voice sneered, "In fact, I'm surprised a plebian like you can read at all."
Harry blinked at the newcomer as Ron's face started to match his hair. It was that tall boy he had seen trailing the other Harry Potter on the train. The teen was alone at the moment, the other three Gryffindors nowhere in sight. He'd heard about his other self from smatterings of gossip here and there. Apparently, the other Harry was a prankster, taking on the legacy of Marauders with much vigour. But unlike his predecessors, he wasn't much loved at all by the Hogwarts students as he had the reputation of being a bully on top of the pranking. However, this other boy... he hadn't heard about him. Who was he?
His dark black hair had grown past his shoulders, tied back neatly by a single red band. Brilliant blue eyes that stared back at them reminded him of Dumbledore however, they held none of the warmth that could be found in the Headmaster's eyes. Instead, they were as cold as ice, sharp enough to pierce one's very soul. Those eyes flickered towards Harry and not for the first time, the Hufflepuff felt a sense of deja vu. What was it about this boy that was so familiar?
"Fuck off, Black," Ron replied crudely.
...wait... Black?!
Neville's eyebrows knitted together in confusion as the Hufflepuff stiffened visibly, eyes going impossibly wide once more. He reached forward to touch the boy's shoulder in concern, "Hey, are you okay?"
Black, Black, Black, Black, Black... Harry thought, Oh my God, that's who he reminded me of! SIRIUS!
And with that, Harry's mind shut down, his eyes rolled back and he crumpled to the floor in a dead-faint.
"Hey!"
Heaven have mercy on our poor souls: Sirius Black has a son.
-
Harry blinked. Okay... where the hell am I now?
He remembered being in the library and his annoyance at bumping into the Golden Trio again. He remembered Neville's smile and then he remembered the name Black. Fate seemed to have skipped over the slight detail of Sirius having a son. Wonderful.
Harry sighed, it wasn't that he didn't love his Godfather – no, Harry adored him with all his heart. It's just that Sirius the Godfather was very different to Sirius the Father and Sirius the Father was a very unfathomable idea as Sirius had never really grown up despite having lived through the thick of a wall and spent more than a decade in Azkaban.
Hmm, Harry mused, maybe here, it's different and Sirius actually acts his age.
A mature Sirius.
Harry shivered slightly: a very scary thought indeed.
"Oh, Harry!" a happy-go-lucky voice chirped up from behind him.
Harry froze, recognising that voice immediately, fear for the well-being of his dignity and pride escalating to ne'er before been reached heights and then, almost as immediately, Harry took off in the opposite.
"Hey! I'm over here!" the voice pouted. Harry walked a little faster.
"Haaaaaaaaaarry!" Said human began to run.
"Fine, if that's how you want to play!" And then with a loud pop, the thing that Harry least wanted to see in his short life appeared before him, forcing him to stop.
And then immediately tear off into another direction.
Pop. "Harry!" the immortal chirped, appearing before Harry again. Harry spun again.
Pop. "Haaaaarrry!" another appeared.
Pop. Pop. "Harry!" "Over here, Harry!" Two more appeared, blocking Harry's path. Emerald eyes stubbornly stuck to staring at the white floor as he changed directions once more.
Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop.
More and more of the same immortal appeared all around Harry until there was no where for him to escape.
"Harry!" one cried out.
"You can't escape, Harry!"
"Harry, be a good boy!"
"Haaaaaaaaaarry!"
"Harry, Harry, Harry!"
"Alright!" Harry finally screamed, "What do you want?!"
Pop. And suddenly, there was only one.
He/She/It pouted at Harry, "What? Do I need to reason visit my favourite toy?"
Harry merely gave him/her/it a dry look.
The immortal huffed, "Fine, if you're going to be that way, then I guess you don't want to hear why Sirius has a son..." he/she/it trailed off nonchalantly.
Harry groaned, "Alright, alright... I'm sorry. Could you please tell me why Sirius has a son?"
The immortal hummed non-committally, "Only if you promise to do something in return..."
Emerald eyes narrowed.
"It's nothing bad, really!"
Harry remained utterly and entirely sceptical.
"I just want you to be friends with him."
Harry's brows furrowed; that didn't sound too bad... "Why?"
Fate sighed, "He doesn't have a lot of... friends, you see, and he's such a nice boy, really. I don't want him turning to the Dark side just because of who his father his."
Harry frowned, thinking about how that could describe a certain annoying What's-His-Name as well, "Why would he turn Dark because of Sirius? And it's not like he's in Slytherin..."
Fate gave a wry grin, "No, not because of Sirius. It's because of his other father."
Harry's eyebrows shot up into his fringe, "...his what?"
"Remus Lupin-Black," he/she/it grinned.
"He- Wha- Huh...?" Harry's mouth fell open in surprise, utterly flabbergasted, "Remus is his WHAT?! Siruis and Remus are WHAT?!"
"They married!" the immortal giggled, "And then they had a big, bouncing, baby boy!"
"WHAT?!" Harry's brain exploded, "Why?! HOW?!"
"You're parents didn't die," Fate explained, "So Sirius didn't get taken to Azkaban and subsequently proposed to Remus. They got married and then used a super-duper-magical potion to have a baby. And as for why..." the immortal shrugged, "Fangirls."
"WHA-" Harry paused, brain backtracking on what he/she/it had just said, "Wait... what was the last thing you just said?"
Fate shrugged once more, "Well, I suppose the term fanservice may be more appropriate here," the immortal said with a cheeky grin.
"F-F-Fan- ...wah?"
"Anyway!" Fate perked up again, pushing Harry to a door that had appeared from nowhere, "It's time for you to wake up! Now, don't forget what you promised!"
"But I didn't promise anyt-!" But he didn't get to finish as he was promptly shoved into the shiny blue portal.
Everything turned black for a moment. Then realised this was actually because he had his eyes shut. From what he could gather, he seemed to be sitting on something warm and soft and leaning on something similarly warm and soft.
"...take him to Madam Pomphey," a voice said.
"Wait!" Harry's eyes snapped open as soon he heard that dreaded name of all names, "No Madam Pomphrey!" he cried, arms flailing, "I'm okay, I'm okay! There's no need for me to go see Madam Pomphrey!" Again... he thought with a small sob. It was bad enough he'd already gone once before even the school year began!
"...Are you sure?" worried brown eyes leaned over him.
Harry froze, eyes widening ever so slightly as he finally realised his position. Slowly but surely, he raised himself up, and turned to look at the brunette beside him stiffly, "Why... am I on your lap?" he dead-panned.
Ron Weasley scowled, "He caught you when you fainted. Personally, I would have just let you fall on the ground but evidently, he has more patience for ungrateful, obnoxious, little brats like you."
"Ron!" Hermione huffed, but Harry ignored them in favour of narrowing his eyes at the strange slight flush that streaked across Neville's cheeks. ...He's very pretty, he thought absentmindedly.
And then he immediately face-palmed; What the hell was that?!
Neville gazed at the first-year worriedly once more, "Are you sure you're alright? If you've got a headache, I'm sure Madam Pomphrey would have a-"
"I'm fine!" Harry almost snapped but held himself back. The teen did catch him after all when he'd fainted. Hurriedly, he hoisted himself away from Neville's lap, intent on getting away from here as fast as he could, "Thanks," he mumbled and turned to take off...
...only to collide with a strong chest.
"Ow," Harry grumbled as he rubbed his abused nose, annoyed his attempt at escaping was so soundly thwarted. The black-haired teen he had run into merely raised an unconcerned eyebrow at him.
"And where are you going?" he said.
Harry scowled but didn't answer.
So Ron took it upon himself to do it instead, "And what are you still doing here, Black? If we see someone looking for a wannabe, we'll direct them to you," he sneered, "Otherwise, get lost!"
Harry watched as the dark-haired teens eyes darked, his fists clenching at his side, "I know you're pathetic, Weasley, there's no need for you to insult yourself. In any case, who says I wanted to stay in the first place!" he said defensively, "The only reason I'm here at all because you are blocking me from getting a book!"
Behind him Ron growled and he could vaguely hear Hermione scolding the red-head, Neville held Ron back from pummelling the other Gryffindor as he focused his attention on the expression on the dark-haired teens face and what he had just said. He couldn't help but be reminded of all the times Draco had expressed concern for him only to be rebuked by Ron leading to another one of their infamous fights. And so, despite the very good reason of anything-Fate-suggests-would-rather-die-first, Harry found himself considering the idea trying to befriend the boy before him. Plus... wouldn't that also give him a chance to meet Sirius and Remus?
Thus, against all rationality as well as sanity, he stared into those familiar blue orbs and said simply, "Thank you."
Silence fell over the group as the four older teens stared at him in surprise. Harry offered the black-haired teen a shy smile.
Black regained his blank expression, staring back at him, "...What?"
"I said, thank you," Harry repeated, giving him the best wide-eyed, innocent smile he could possibly.
It seemed to work, "Er... You're... welcome?" the dark-haired teen said, looking a little lost.
Harry took a risk, throwing away all logic as he leaned forward and grasped one of Black's hands with both of his and shook it, smiling widely all the while, "I'm Harry Skywalker. What's your name?" Three jaws hit the floor behind him, mouths wide open.
The taller teen stiffened but Harry pretended not to notice, "Orion Black."
"It's nice to meet you, Orion!" Harry chirped. He opened his mouth to say something else but just then, the bell sounded for the beginning of class. Emerald eyes widened, "Crap! I've got to get to Potions!" Hurriedly, he slung his bag over his shoulder and ran out, shouting, "Seeya later, Orion!" over his shoulder as he waved, getting a disapproving glare from Madam Pince and leaving four stunned teens behind him.
"What... just happened?" Ron said after finally picking his jaw off the ground.
And for once, not even Hermione had an answer.
o.o