Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Harry Potter. If I did I would be a far richer man. And I'd be a woman. I also don't own anything related to the Fate/(anything) series because then I'd be able to speak fluent Japanese.

Reviews are appreciated but certainly not required.

AN: The next chapter might be delayed slightly as I am quickly coming up to the end of the already written material. I didn't want to delay this chapter though as I really liked the family dynamics and interactions here. I know I mentioned previously that Lily is not as well-off as in most stories where the Potters survive. That has not been forgotten or retconned and is explained in further detail during the next chapter.

CO AN: No specific comments from RhysThornbery at this juncture beyond hoping that everyone enjoys this chapter.

Chapter 4: Harry Who? Harry Potter? No…Just, no…

"Since when did we have a Manor?" Harry wondered aloud as he walked through the door and cast his wide-eyed gaze around the hall in front of him. It wasn't nearly as expansive as the Malfoy Manor had been or the Longbottom home at that, but it was still impressive. A welcoming two-story entrance way, complete with a grand staircase in the middle and several rooms off to either side were the primary features. A stained glass window framed the top of the stairs depicting a large phoenix and griffin flanking a man who Harry presumed was a member of House Potter. None of the side doors were closed and he could glimpse a large library through one arch and a comfortable living room placement in another. All in all, it was simultaneously impressive and homely. "I've been working out of a bloody two room flat when I could've been lounging in a mansion?"

"Language, Harry," Hermione chided, amusement coloring her tone. She shook her head at her friend and when Babbling caught her gaze a moment later she just shrugged.

"I…don't really think this counts as a 'mansion', Harry," Lily murmured frowning. She let the door swing closed as the last of the little group trotted inside. "It's more of a large house. Granted it's a very large house, but a mansion would likely imply there were many rooms not in regular use. We do have a few here and there, but for the most part it's really the perfect size for the three of us, plus our individual projects and a few guests here and there. The Potters have had this home for centuries and Sirius convinced me to keep it instead of selling it off. You really didn't know about it?"

"How the heck did you not know?" Aster muttered casting a baleful eye towards Harry before crossing her arms and leaning against the wall. "The goblins started rebuilding the thing the same night my grandparents were attacked. It's part of their standing contract. Even if nobody else bothered to tell you beforehand they should've informed you as soon as you hit 11 or at least when you came of age."

"Yeah, the goblins…really didn't like me much," Harry replied still turning in a circle and attempting to drink up the entire scene at once.

Jeanne smirked and rolled her eyes at the boy. "Yes, well, most people would get very annoyed if you stole their dragon and destroyed their house on the way out. You're lucky they didn't just kill you, you know that? The little buggers hold a grudge for forever. I lost count of the people who crossed my desk after having pissed them off."

"Stole a dragon…" Lily said softly, her mouth hanging open. She stayed silent for a long few seconds before shaking her head and snapping her jaw shut. "I believe that is a story for another time. You must all be tired. I know I am. Aster, Hermione, are the two of you still okay with sleeping in the same room or would you prefer separate accommodations?"

Aster's gaze dropped to the floor and she mumbled barely above hearing, "Separate please, Mum."

"Actually, I would prefer to bunk with Harry. We've gotten used to…" Hermione trailed off at the sharp looks that Lily and Bathsheda were sending her way. Sighing Hermione continued, "It's not going to happen is it?"

"Not under my roof, young lady," Bathsheda said sternly. "You can sleep in the room next to him if you want, but not in the room with him. I don't care how old you two are mentally. You look fourteen, I've known you as fourteen, you sound fourteen. You're sleeping in separate rooms. I am not Sirius Black."

"Thank, Merlin, for that," Neville said chuckling. "Mrs. Potter, Mrs. Babbling, I'm going to head home through the Floo. Thanks for letting me come along. I promise I won't tell Gran or Mum what's going on, but please let me know what you end up deciding for the official story so I don't get it confused later on."

"We will, Neville," Lily replying smiling. "Thank you for being so understanding. Tell Alice I miss them and she really should stop by for tea soon."

Neville nodded and started to walk into an adjoining room as he said over his shoulder, "I will, Mrs. Potter. Goodnight, everyone!"

"Right," Lily said twisting back to the group. "I'm going to sleep before the Calming Draught wears off. Aster, please show Hermione and Harry their rooms. You can use the usual guest beds. I doubt that Neville or Ginny would mind. Jeanne, if you'll follow me I'll point out your room."

"Thanks, Lily," Jeanne said smiling. She took a step to follow the other two adults before pausing and turning back to Harry. "Harry, you going to be okay alone for now?"

Harry finally tore his eyes away from the surroundings and snorted. "Please! I am not made of glass, Jeanne. I think we've established that. Hell if I can take being stabbed by my best mate without falling to pieces I think I can handle being in my ancestral home."

"Stabbed by your…" Hermione murmured eyes wide. "Harry, I would never!" Everyone stared wide-eyed at her though Aster and Lily both shifted to Harry with narrowed eyes. Hermione took in Harry's confused expression and gasped as the gears clicked into place. "Ronald! No! He wouldn't! But when…Six deaths…the Locket…Oh I am going to flay that buffoon alive when I get my hands on him!"

"Ronald?" Aster murmured. Her eyes narrowed further until they were barely open slits and her lips curled into a snarl. "You were friends with Weasley? Why do I have to play nice with this arse again?"

"Aster!" Babbling snapped. She pinched the bridge of her nose and continued in a softer voice. "Aster, please. If Harry is really from a different timeline then it's possible that the Ronald Weasley he knew was not as bad the one you do. We've all had a long day. Just…get some sleep okay? Please?"

Aster sighed and muttered something unintelligible under her breath before nodding. "Yes, Shiva. Fine. Harry, I don't care who you think Weasley was, but he's never coming into my home. Got it? You try and sneak him in here, you get tossed out on your arse quicker than a pixie can snort cinnamon."

"Aster!"

"I know! I know! Fine…I'm sorry! I'm going! Come on you two, this way." She huffed and turned to march quickly up the stairs. Harry just stared after her for a moment and sighed.

"Bloody hell, this is not a good start," he muttered.

Hermione grimaced and started forward to walk by his side. "She'll warm up to you. She always does. Just give her a few days to get used to all of this."

Harry didn't even bother to take off his shoes before falling over face-up on his bed a few minutes later. He stared up at the ceiling as his mind raced, thoughts swirling far too fast and disjointed to even leave him with a hope of sleeping anytime soon.

"My mother is alive…I'm a girl…My mother is dating another woman…" Harry murmured to the empty room. He let out an explosive sigh and groaned, rubbing his eyes. "Two or three large changes my arse."

"Language, Harry," a soft chuckling sounded from the entryway. Harry smirked and lifted a hand to wave at his oldest friend. He didn't need to see her to know that she would be rolling her eyes and fighting back a grin.

" 'lo, Hermione. Come to check on 'Fate's Punching Bag' before turning in?"

Hermione snorted. "Well I certainly won't deny that designation's accuracy considering your history. Or…former history? My word, this is all going to be very confusing isn't it?"

"You can say that again." Harry pushed to a sitting position, with his back propped up against the headboard. Hermione wasted no time is sitting down next to him and promptly leant her head against his shoulder while Harry wrapped an arm companionably around her waist. "At least you remember what happened in this reality. That's got to help with adjusting to…well, everything I guess."

She huffed in amusement. "Actually, I would almost say I have it worse than you. Remembering two lives is not as simple as it sounds, Harry." She squeezed his knee and sighed. "How are you? Really, how are you?"

"I'm okay. This is just…not what I expected. I knew I would be stirring the hornet's nest – or tickling the dragon as anyone at Hogwarts would say – when I convinced Jeanne to come back with me, but this is a lot. I was thinking maybe something weird, like we'd be friends with Draco, or Dudley would've been a wizard. Or maybe I'd have been raised by McGonagall or Flitwick or something. I never considered that Mum would have survived."

"Or that your parents might've had a girl instead," Hermione said with a teasing lilt.

Harry laughed and that. "Yeah, that's certainly going to take some getting used to."

"Look on the bright side; at least you're not The Boy Who Lived anymore!"

Harry's jaw clapped shut and his gaze unfocused. It took several seconds before he very slowly murmured. "You're right…I'm not 'Harry Potter' anymore…I'm just Harry Potter. I'm…normal."

Hermione carefully lifted her head from his side and shifted so that she could look him in the eyes. "Harry James Potter, you are not, never were, and never will be what anyone could classify as 'normal'. You – " she stated pointedly jabbing a finger into his chest, "are extraordinary. You have done things that no one else would ever attempt or dream of. You have survived where wizards with decades of experience failed. Are you lucky? Yes. Do you seem to have an...unusual relationship with 'Fate'? Yes. But you are noble, selfless and loyal to a fault. You are extremely skilled and intelligent – when you care to use your intelligence at least. You are not 'normal', Harry. And this is not a bad thing. Right now, you are simply no longer famous."

Harry smiled and kissed the top of Hermione's head nodding slowly, conceding her point. "Only you could tell me I'm 'not normal' and make it into a compliment."

"I…may have been practicing that one for a bit," Hermione admitted with a half grin spreading across her features. Harry chuckled and shrugged in response. "So, on a different note, what is up with Jeanne? Can you explain that a bit?"

Harry ran a hand through his hair before shaking his head. "The condensed version is that she apparently saved my life when I was 10 by breaking some rules and convincing her boss that I deserved better. She's been looking out for me every time I got screwed over by the universe ever since it seems. The troll thing apparently didn't go so well the first time for either of us. Jeanne fixed that. Later on, she put me back together after I chatted with the dragon – which was a very bad move. Do not let me forget that Parseltongue and dragons don't mix." He shuddered.

Hermione slowly nodded. "I'm going to assume there is a story there, but I know better to ask when you get that look. You trust her then?"

"I do. She's really nice. I think you'll like her." Harry smirked and chuckled. "And she is not remotely close to what you would expect a Saint to be like."

"I admit, it is a bit intimidating to hear that your personal helper after death was the Patron Saint of France…" Hermione grinned at him playfully, then rolled her eyes. "Really, Harry, what normal person has a Saint watching their life unfold?"

"Oh haha, very funny. You've already made your point, Hermione, no need to rub it in," he commented rolling his eyes. "Anyway, there were a few more things that happened between the Tournament and the Fiendfyre tornadoes that she helped me work out before sending me back. Oh, and I'm not friends with Ron anymore by the way. It's probably going to take everything I have not to beat the snot out of the git the next time I see him."

Hermione's eyebrows lifted and she reared back slightly before covering her mouth with her hand to stifle giggles. "Well that certainly makes my warning that we aren't exactly friends with him in this timeline easier to deliver. If I may inquire, was I correct in thinking that he chose to strike you instead of the Locket during one of your deaths?"

"Yup, multiple times; bloody tosser apparently decided that I wasn't quick enough about denying having feelings for you." Harry paused and shook his head with his mouth set in a thin line. "And he apparently knew about the dragons from Charlie long before they were carted to Hogwarts."

Hermione's giggling stopped abruptly and she blinked several times. Almost immediately her lips curled up into a snarl and her eyes narrowed to slits. Harry reflected briefly on his life and deaths and almost found himself feeling sorry for Ron…almost. Anything Harry had planned to get back at the boy would pale in comparison to whatever the vision of rage in front of him had in mind. "He WHAT?" she hissed through clenched teeth.

"Yeah. So I have no intentions of trying to sort things out with Ron. What's Aster's problem with him?"

Hermione ground her teeth for several more seconds before her expression finally softened and she leaned back into her friend. "Ronald has been…dissatisfied with Aster. Do you remember how Ginny was at first around you?"

"Kinda hard to forget the girl squeaking and sticking her elbow into the butter dish," Harry commented grinning.

"Yes, well imagine Ron with similar hero worship and infatuation at first. I believe that Molly had shifted her talks about the greatness of The Girl Who Lived to Ron, the closest in age and…"

"Most likely to be in a position to marry her down the line." Harry sighed and squeezed Hermione tighter to his side. "Do you think she did it intentionally or was she just telling them the stories to, well, tell them the stories?"

Hermione shook her head against his chest and seemed to deflate. "Honestly, Harry, I don't know. I mean, I don't want to think badly of the woman, but it is suspicious that she changed the targets of her 'Potter Story Times' depending on the gender of the Potter in question. I almost don't want to know the answer. She may have been overbearing, but Molly was always good to you."

Harry considered for a moment before nodding slowly. "We'll keep an open mind, but yeah, I don't like those implications. I also still remember how she treated you after Skeeter's articles."

Hermione's eyes narrowed again and she actually growled. "I hate that 'reporter'. We'll have to cow her again as soon as we can."

"Agreed," Harry murmured. Then he smiled and chuckled. "So I guess it ended up being pointless for Molly to focus on Ron anyway huh? Should've still convinced Ginny that Aster was her girl?"

Hermione blushed and turned to stare at the floor. "I still can't believe she asked me out."

Harry's chuckle turned into a full blown, head-shaking laugh. "Hermione, this should not surprise you."

"Well, I distinctly remember a different Potter who never got the nerve to do so himself!" Hermione huffed crossing her arms.

Harry shrugged. "I was an idiot teenager and a boy to boot. Plus I thought Ron was into you and we were actually still friends at that point. Until we got together that night after Christmas at the Hollow I had no idea that I even liked you that way! How the heck was I supposed to know that I wasn't thinking of you as a sister? I didn't exactly grow up with a 'brotherly' relationship with Dudley. I didn't – and still largely don't – have a clue what 'familial love' feels like compared to 'romantic love'."

"Oh, Harry…" Hermione murmured. She twisted and hugged him hard enough to leave him with bruised ribs before she loosened her hold. "If we fix things this time, if things go better…"

"Then we can make a real go of it," Harry replied softly squeezing her tightly in return. "I'm sorry we never really had a chance to talk after Tokyo, Hermione. I…I would like to try…you know, dating. After we destroy the Horcruxes and sabotage the ley line locations for the Fiend Circles…would you like to…"

Hermione pulled back and mock glared at him before breaking out into a grin. "Yes, Harry I would. However, I would actually recommend we not wait that long. After all, you seem to be in the habit of dying early. You obviously need a woman to help walk you through things."

"Hey!" Harry cried, mock indignant, sitting up straight and striking a haughty pose. "I'll have you know that just because you've continuously saved my arse and Jeanne has stuck her neck out for me does not mean I can't take care of myself." The way his mouth twisted into a barely hidden grin did nothing to help hide his teasing.

"Apparently not." Hermione just lightly patted his cheek. "We'll discuss why the universe hates you later. For now, I should really finish telling you about Ron so that you are prepared." Harry deflated slightly and nodded mutely. "When Ron first met Aster, I think he was expecting a princess. A damsel who he could save or something. Someone he could impress and therefore use to surge ahead of his brothers in the world's perceptions. What he got was…well you've seen Aster. She's strong, impulsive, extraordinarily protective and quick to anger. She has a temper and she is not afraid to hurt someone who has hurt her family or her friends."

"Babbling said something about Aster taking care of Mum?"

Hermione sighed and nodded. "Lily Potter is not the woman she once was, Harry. She's not an invalid and for the most part she can function in society perfectly well, but she is broken after a fashion. She has a err, marked tendency to lash out – violently and with extreme prejudice. Aster recognized that far earlier then a young girl has any right to. She's made it her mission in life to protect her mother – even from herself if she has to. It's forced Aster to grow up just as fast as the Dursleys forced you to."

Harry grimaced. "I guess neither of us really had easy lives…At least she has her mother."

"She does. And she has Shiva – err, that's Bathsheda Babbling by the way."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I've gotten that much. Where did that name come from anyway?"

"A penchant for explosive rune experiments, a bit of friendly ribbing and a glaring lack of knowledge about Muggle religions," Hermione commented with a small grin. "But yes, she has both women as strong influences in her life in addition to quite a few more friends than you had when you arrived at Hogwarts."

Hermione trailed off and shook her head to clear it of stray thoughts. "Anyway, Ronald. He eventually realized that Aster was nothing like his fantasy princess and did not require saving. Especially not by him. Once he did, he shifted his stance quite a lot. Now that I remember the other timeline his actions make much more sense in hindsight…I believe Ron feels that Aster may have betrayed him in some way – yes I realize that is completely irrational," Hermione commented waving off Harry's attempt to interrupt. "Ron was never exactly the one to stop and think about things for long unless we forced him to slow down for a bit – barring things like Quidditch or chess of course. He started off with just teasing Aster about classes and her work ethic, moved on to insults, has attempted to prank her repeatedly with increasingly humiliating situations, and recently he has begun to send actual jinxes and hexes her way when he feels he can get away with it and she is distracted."

Harry blinked several times and gaped trying to find words. He got started on a sentence at least three times before finally managing to mutter, "Seriously? I mean, yeah I get turning on me during the Tournament. He's the youngest son of six and I was the famous friend…I hate that he did it, but I understand. He was jealous. Bloody hell, I even understand him stabbing me with the Locket! Sorta… but this? What is he thinking?!"

"I have long since given up trying to decipher Ronald Weasley," Hermione sighed. "I just wanted you to understand the situation. At this point in time, I would be less surprised to see Aster coming out of a broom closet with Draco Malfoy than having a civil conversation with Ron."

"Wow…Okay, yeah, thanks for the heads-up." Harry rubbed his forehead. "And the horrifying visual."

"Malfoy isn't quite as awful as you're used to. He's certainly not nice, but he's not an evil little cockroach this time." Hermione squeezed his leg and hugged him one more time before standing. "I should go. It's getting late and something tells me tomorrow is not going to be any easier."

"Yeah…" Harry grimaced and shook his head. "I'm going to have to figure out how to deal with not previously existing in this world aren't I?"

"Yes, you will," Hermione replied chuckling. "But you have a bevy of intelligent friends and family surrounding you. I'm sure we'll figure it all out together."

Harry nodded as she reached the door to his room and paused to look back at him. "Hermione, if I had to navigate a new life with anyone…I'm really glad it's you. And that it's you you."

"Me too, Harry," she said softly, her smile spreading to encompass her entire face. "Sleep well."

"…And then this guy asks 'What if I lead him to the stairs? He'd fall down and break his neck right? He looked pretty stupid and clumsy.' " Harry heard Jeanne's voice drifting out as he stepped off the stairs. A moment later it was followed by a booming laughter that planted a grin firmly onto his lips. He hadn't heard that laugh in years.

"No! He didn't!" Tonks yelled between peals of laughter.

"He did!"

"I remember that troll! Snuck away from the Den to check it out when I heard firsties brought it down! Thing was huge and that log it carried was nearly as big as it was! How did he plan to lead it to the stairs and avoid being clubbed along the way?!"

Jeanne broke down into laughter of her own as Harry's smile faltered slightly when he finally realized who they were laughing at. "I asked the same question! His answer, I kid you not, was, 'well, aren't you supposed to run faster when your life flashes in front of your eyes?' "

Harry groaned and wiped a hand across his face. "You know I was 11 people. I wasn't exactly at the brightest point of my life then," he stated as he walked into the kitchen and mock-glared at the occupants. Unfortunately it wasn't just Tonks and Jeanne, it seemed he was the last one to make it down to breakfast. Babbling and Sirius were laughing along with Tonks while his mother and Hermione had pained grimaces. Aster was rolling her eyes though the ghost of a smile seemed to tug at the corners of her lips. Harry was only mildly surprised to see Amelia and Susan Bones smirking and shaking their heads at the table near Tonks.

He was however, brought up short for a moment as he took in Susan. The demure, buxom red-head that he remembered was long gone and in her place a teen rebel had apparently been born. Susan's hair had streaks of purple shot through it and she had a tight-fitting T-shirt on proclaiming her love for a Muggle rock band. Her pierced ears had long hoops of gold and silver dangling from them and her necklace straddled the line between gaudy and fun. Harry realized he was staring quickly enough to shake his head and move further into the room. As he passed behind Jeanne he lightly rapped on the top of her head. "Stop telling stories about me being an idiot."

"Hey!" Jeanne shouted playfully reaching up to rub her head and pout at him. "I mostly only got to talk to you after you were done being an idiot. Those are the best stories I have!"

"I cannot be the most interesting person you've ever worked with," Harry retorted arching his eyebrows and sitting down next to Hermione.

Tonks' amused snort only barely managed to avoid devolving into a new round of laughter. "Harry, you have apparently caused enough waves both in life and in death to justify resetting the universe! I'd say you're probably the most interesting one Jeanne here has ever dealt with." The metamorphmagus grinned over at Harry who just groaned louder.

"That hurts, Tonks. That hurts right here," he replied tapping his chest over his heart and doubling over. Hermione rubbed his back while most of the rest of the room broke out into renewed laughs.

"Oh, I have another hilarious one!" Jeanne burst out sitting up straighter. Harry groaned and covered his face with his hands, but waved for her to go on. He couldn't deny at least mild curiosity in how he'd reacted the other times she'd seem him. "Okay so this guy shows up in my office almost done with his 'quest'. Bit of a stumble near the 3/4 mark. Gets himself stabbed by a jealous…friend."

"You can't blame everything on him. The bloody Horcrux was open and right there," Harry commented. Just because he currently hated Ron's guts didn't mean that he wouldn't at least mention some of the extenuating circumstances.

Jeanne scoffed and continued her story. "Anyway, so I try and explain how things work and I think he's listening all nice and attentively and all. Then, when I get around to asking him if he has any questions, what does Harry ask? 'Do you think he meant to stab me? Maybe he just missed the Locket?' " Peals of laughter made the rounds again.

Harry's hands dropped from his face and his jaw fell open as he stared at Jeanne. "I did not!"

"You did!"

He groaned and slammed his head against the table. "Oh, Merlin…seriously?"

"You had four stab wounds, four! 'Do you think he meant it?' God, Harry, I swear that was almost worth the waste of a reset just to have that exchange!" Jeanne clutched at her sides as she devolved into wheezes along with Tonks, Sirius and Susan. Even Aster had started chuckling at that comment.

The merriment finally subsided as a familiar high-pitched voice cut in. "Mistresses, breakfast bes ready. Should Dobby serve everyone?"

"Just put the food on the table, Dobby. I'm not sure what everyone wants this morning so buffet style is fine today," Lily replied smiling down at the elf. Harry found his breath catching in his throat as he caught sight of his friend.

"Hello, Dobby," Harry breathed out.

The elf turned to look at him and bowed. "Hello, Young Master. Dobby hears Master's name bes Harry?"

"Yes, that's right. You don't have to call me Master though," Harry said with a wide smile. Flashes of 'the Great Master Harry Potter Sir' paraded through his head.

"Yes, Master Harry," Dobby replied for his part as he just rolled his eyes and started to bustle back towards the stove. "All Potters be the same. None respects proper address…"

"Mmm, scones!" Susan exclaimed as she reached forward and snagged two rolls that Dobby had set on the table. She nibbled on one as she idly started to roll the other one in a small circle on the table in front of her.

"Missy Susan should stop playing with her breakfast!" a muffled shout echoed from the kitchen.

Susan smirked and winked at Harry as she shouted back to Dobby. "You're already cooking again, you have no idea if I'm playing with my food this morning or not!"

"Missy Susan has played with Dobby's food creations six out of the last seven times she has eaten here!" Harry's eyebrows lifted at Dobby's rejoinder. "Dobby requests Missy Susan stop or Dobby will begin taking measures!"

Susan chuckled and rolled her eyes though she did let the scone roll to a stop in front of her. "Dobby, you need to chill out, it's just food!"

"Getting into a food war with a House Elf," Sirius murmured. He smiled, playfully reaching up a hand to wipe at a non-existent tear. "I am so proud!"

Aster snorted at their antics. A moment later she turned to stare critically at Harry and frowned slightly. "You mentioned being stabbed last night too. Your friends were pretty shitty."

"Aster, language," three voices chimed in almost simultaneously. From the bored delivery it appeared that Babbling, Lily and Hermione all ended up doing that fairly regularly.

"Yes, parental units. Apologies parental units," Aster replied robotically with accompanying rolling eyes. "My point stands."

Harry shrugged. "To be fair, he wasn't entirely in his right mind."

"He'd left us for months, Harry," Hermione said. The rough edge in her voice served to remove whatever jovial atmosphere remained. "Whatever influence that infernal item had over Ron was long gone. The few seconds the Locket was open would not have been any worse on him than the months you and I dealt with the horrid thing closed. He made his bed. Stop defending him and let him lie in it."

"As I believe you mentioned last night, Hermione, different Ron, different experiences," Harry said softly. "I have to at least make a small effort to defend him. I erased him from existence."

"Technically, I erased him from existence," Jeanne commented with a small cough. "But hey, as your female alternate has said, he was a shitty friend."

"So it was Weasley…" Aster muttered.

Harry grimaced and nodded slowly. "Yeah, Ron was…err well I guess maybe not better, but err…more…directed? No, that doesn't…Okay you know what, no, he didn't tell me about the stupid dragons I'm not doing this. Aster, if it helps I no longer consider Ron Weasley my friend and have no intentions of changing that. I am rather angry with him."

Aster took a few moments to digest that before nodding curtly and leaning back with folded arms. "Well, at least you aren't completely senseless."

"She means she's sorry," Lily supplied helpfully.

"Aaaannnnd moving on," Susan commented smirking. "Uncle Sirius filled us in, but I admit I'm curious about one thing."

"Just one?" Hermione asked.

Susan shrugged. "Well, a ton, but let's start with one. Who are we saying you are? I mean you look just like Uncle's pictures of James Potter. There's no way we can just say you're not related to the guy."

Amelia nodded. "I agree with my niece. What is the current plan regarding that? It is only a matter of time before Mister…well, before Harry is seen. We need to be prepared."

"I was thinking about that last night," Babbling said. She looked to Lily before casting her gaze down resolutely at the table and picking at her waffles. "I think the best possible option is to say that he's the result of a previously unknown liaison. His birth mother didn't make it and he only just learned about us so he managed to track us down and – "

"No." The simple refusal from Lily immediately brought a halt to the quiet explanation from Babbling. The Hogwarts professor looked up from her plate grimacing. She opened her mouth but before she could say anything Lily again simply stated, "No. James did not cheat on me and I will not say that he did. Harry has my eyes and my cheeks and my ears. He is my son. I will not say otherwise."

Sirius sighed and moved from his spot behind Susan to lay a soft hand on Lily's shoulder. "Lily…we need to be reasonable about this. You aren't going to say that you thought he was a Squib and left him for 14 years either. There's no way that we can reasonably say that Harry is yours. We can't even use a Blood Adoption ritual because all that changes is familial magic recognition, not physical features. It would just call attention to the lie from the Purebloods who understand the ritual."

"I will not say that he is not my son," Lily said again shaking her head and sipping her tea. She was as calm as if she was discussing the weather.

Harry, at stark odds with his mother's demeanor – and in keeping with the majority of the room – was distinctly not calm. He was blinking away a sheen over his eyes and clenching his right fist while his left ran over his ear with a light touch. "I have your cheeks and ears?" he murmured. He barely even noticed Aster's frown or Hermione's hand on his arm. "People only ever mentioned your eyes…"

Lily smiled at him and nodded. "Yes, Harry, you do. The eyes are noticeable sure, but I see the rest as well. A mother notices these things."

"Lucky," Aster muttered. "I'd kill for her ears. I have Dad's though. They're huge. Thank god for a lot of hair to cover them up."

Tonks snorted. "Okay, family bonding moment is cute and all, but guys we still need to sort this out. Aunt Lily, do you have a counter suggestion?"

"Lily…" Babbling said softly. She reached over the table and squeezed her partner's hand though her eyes stayed resolutely downcast. "I know you don't want to do this, but it's the only thing that makes sense. We can pass the eyes off as coincidence. Most people don't look at your face every day so they won't notice the rest. We don't have a choice, Lils. I'm sorry, but…"

"No."

Aster sighed and rubbed her forehead. She shook her head and shared a glance with Babbling. "Mum, look, I know you want to be loyal to Dad – "

"And to you and Harry," Lily cut in. She shrugged. "Honey, it doesn't look good for you either if James had a secret affair. And I will not deny Harry the right to consider me his mother. I may not have given birth to him in this reality, but I am as much his mother as the woman who did."

"Mum…" Harry murmured. He moved to stand next to Aster unaware of the smile that graced his lips. "I really appreciate it, but if this is the best way then – "

"It's not and I refuse to believe that we cannot come up with something better. We are all rather intelligent here. I will not accept that James having an affair is the only possible explanation we can come up with."

"Lils, you're not being reasonable," Babbling said. She shifted off of her chair and knelt in front of her partner, finally lifting her eyes to meet Lily's own. "You're not just saying that we can't say James had an affair. You're also saying that we can only say Harry is yours and his. There's no way we can explain that away. We just can't. Not without memory charming the entire British population!"

"More like the entire world's population," Susan snarked. "Sorry, Aunt Babs, but The-Girl-Who-Lived is famous worldwide. We'd be rewriting the entire story."

"So go back further," Jeanne said. The room quieted as all eyes turned to look at the Saint. She frowned at the attention and fumbled at her shirt's collar for a moment before laying her arms flat on the table and shaking her head. She lifted her gaze and held Lily's own. "Who was with you at Aster's birth? Was it at the hospital?"

Lily slowly shook her head. "No. We were targets by that point. I had her in my in-laws home. This home actually. The only people there were James, his parents and Sirius. Alice was supposed to come because she was the godmother, but she was delayed and didn't make it until the next day."

"Were you under a Fidelius yet?" Jeanne continued.

Again Lily shook her head. "No. Not for another four months."

Tonks smiled as she picked up the train of Jeanne's thoughts. "Well, I'd say we have a window right there then. Cor, that's right perfect! What if we say that you guys were attacked the night of the birth and you thought Harry was killed? Except he actually apparated as a baby or something and was found by Muggles. Or maybe he was kidnapped, but the wankers were tagged by James as they got out and they ended up dying and Harry was found by Muggles. He found out he was a wizard, by a local antisocial wizard who home-schooled him for a bit then finally saw a picture of the Potters in the Prophet while looking up the Quidditch Cup results, saw the resemblance and sent the lad on his way!"

"That is…incredibly convoluted and not what I was going for, but…well something like that actually sorta works," Jeanne said blinking repeatedly and chuckling. "It's actually something I could see the Sisters doing. The Fates simply love to build coincidences like that into their weaves."

"Nope, bad idea. Not gonna work," Susan said shaking her hair. Harry found himself staring at the patterns her highlights made as they flopped around her face. He briefly reflected on how not even seeing a female version of himself had thrown him for as much of a loop as this odd, step-daughter of Sirius Black…"Okay, Tonks, good attempt. 'O' for effort. But, Aunt Amy and Uncle Siri are always complaining about how the stuffy Purearses and Wizenfools check into the fishy things they want to tear apart and leave alone the fishy things they do themselves."

" 'Purearses' and 'Wizenfools'?" Amelia murmured. She twisted and glared at Sirius. "When we get home, you and I are going to have an in-depth conversation about appropriate language when speaking around our daughter."

"The Wizenfools one wasn't me," Sirius said rolling his eyes. He flashed Susan a large grin a thumbs-up. "Way to go, honey. Love the creativity on that one!"

Susan smirked and saluted him. "Anyway, yeah, they're going to go looking for the old guy that home-taught Harry. When he doesn't show up, that's going to be a big red flag."

"She's right," Hermione commented. "And I'm not certain if it's possible for babies to apparate…We'd be safer going with the kidnapping. We could even say that that was the impetus to drive you into the decision to use the Fidelius charm later on. We do need a better explanation though then the old man who kicked Harry out to find his family…"

Aster shrugged and waved to her doppelganger. "You all are making this way complicated. If Mum's dead-set on being stubborn, we should go with Tonks' and Jeanne's idea. Just instead of the old guy kicking him out, what if he just died a few weeks back and Harry was still getting his bearings on where to go? Easy peasy."

"And then I saw the article myself and decided to try and seek them out," Harry murmured. He nodded and looked up at the group. "I can sell that. I can work in enough about the life I actually lived with Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon and adjust it so that it was just a mean old wizard who disliked magic, but still figured I needed to know how to control myself and…Mum?"

Harry had trailed off as he caught sight of Lily trembling. Her eyes were narrowed to slits and the windows started to shake slightly as the teacup in her hand exploded into small pieces. "Petunia? They sent you to PETUNIA?! They sent my son to live with VERNON AND PETUNIA DURSLEY?!"

"Oh shite," Aster murmured. She grabbed Harry's arm and hauled him back behind her. "Never ever mention Aunt Tunia!" she hurried whispered to him as she reached for her wand. "Mum, calm down! He's fine! She probably wasn't as bad there! Right, Harry? You grew up fine!"

"Um, yeah, yeah I uh…Yeah! It was fine! She was a bit brusque, but right as rain! I uh, I had a brother in my cousin Dudley!" Harry hurried agreed. His eyes widened as he saw Lily's hair start to whip around her face and her eyes began to glow slightly.

"I know my sister, thank you very much!" Lily stated in a whisper that whipped through the room. "Who condemned my child to hell? I want a name and I will make sure that they – "

"Lily!" Babbling's shout cut through the whistle of the rising wind and magic. She stood and planted her hands on Lily's shoulders scowling. "The day your sister cares for the kids is the day that you, me, Sirius, Alice, Amelia, Andi, Tonks, everyone is dead in a bloody ditch! Fuck, Lily! One or both of both of us will come back as bloody ghosts to make sure she never touches them! Calm down right now or I swear I will slap you in front of your daughter before I force a Calming Draught down your throat!"

Lily glared at Babbling for another few tense moments before the whistling started to die down and the wind dissipated. Lily's eyes had just started to dim as she closed them and took several deep breaths. It took nearly a minute before she reached up and squeezed her partner's arm. She opened her eyes again and nodded up at Babbling.

"Alright, that's enough for now," Babbling said quietly. She shifted one of her hands to cradle Lily's cheek and looked at the rest of the occupants. "We're going to take a quick walk. I think we have our story. Aster if anyone asks, you're the older twin. Don't want to have to deal with Goblin Inheritance Tests. Merlin and Morgana only know what would turn up on that. Come on, Lils." She gently pulled Lily to her feet and led the still slightly shaking woman out of the kitchen.

Harry could only stare after them. He felt a hand close around his arm and felt his eyes widen further as he saw Aster clutching him and shaking her head with a sad smile. "Welcome to the Potter household, Harry. I'll give you the crash course in topics to avoid after we finish breakfast."

"I hate it when she does that," Sirius said softly. He clutched Amelia's arms as she wrapped herself around him from behind. "I haven't been able to shake her out of those moods for years…"

"Harry," Hermione murmured. Her hand replaced Aster's as he sat back down at the table. "It's not all bad. Your mother cares for her family very deeply. She's just…protective…"

Susan sighed and moved to sit next to the other teens. "Trust me, I've seen worse. Be glad you weren't around when Bellatrix Lestrange tried going after Aunt Alice. Aunt Alice was like a bloody demon. It was the only time I've ever known – ever even heard of – that Bellatrix decided to run away. Ever. I would've run too if Aunt Alice had turned towards me while she was raging," she finished softly.

"I…" Harry trailed off as he looked towards the door his mother had vanished through. He caught a brief glimpse of her collapsed in a chair in the library across the hall clinging to Babbling – clinging to Shiva – before the door swung fully closed. "There has to be something I can do to help her…"

Aster shook her head and speared some eggs. "If you come up with anything let me know. I gave up awhile back. The best we can do is make sure she doesn't get herself killed when she runs after her target and pick up the pieces afterwards."

"Man," Jeanne murmured. "Maybe I should've just stayed dead."

Maybe I should've too, Harry couldn't help thinking to himself. At least she was happy before.

Breakfast ended up finishing mostly in silence with the good mood of the earlier antics largely dissipated. While Harry was pleased with the development of an acceptable backstory for his appearance he couldn't get rid of the image of his mother sitting raging in the center of a maelstrom with glowing eyes. The rage and pain radiating off her had been unlike anything he'd ever felt before – except in the very few instances he let his past catch up with him. That this was apparently a somewhat regular occurrence with Lily Potter – regular enough to warrant off-limit topics – was…distressing.

He'd ended up begging off of a tour of the grounds to ostensibly 'check out the family library first'. Harry knew the guests weren't fooled by his excuse for some time alone, but at least they were polite enough to avoid bringing it up. He ended up grabbing a book at random and collapsing into one of the easy chairs in the center of the room.

Harry wasn't certain just how long he had been sorting through his thoughts and feelings on the morning and situation in general, but he figured it couldn't have been longer than ten minutes when Tonks ended up pushing through the doors to the library and sliding into the seat across from him. Harry idly flipped the page in the book open on his lap. He wasn't actually reading said book of course, but with a semi-audience he should probably at least attempt to keep up appearances he supposed. And he'd been blankly staring at that paragraph for long enough that he figured it was probably time to switch pages.

"So I took long enough they sent a rescue party huh? I'm a bit surprised it's not Hermione to be honest," Harry commented a ghost of a smile briefly flickering across his lips. He kept his eyes resolutely on the book in front of him.

"Nah, she said it was a new world and you would need more support or you'd get codependent or something," Tonks said waving a hand in dismissal. "Personally I think she's overreacting, but hey, relationship building is not my strong suit. Relationships in general? Sure! Deep relationships? Yeah, not so much."

That actually sent Harry for a bit of a loop and he looked up with a raised eyebrow. "Really? You?"

"Eh, the metamorph thing comes with its downsides. Sure, it's fun when it's my idea to swap forms on the fly, but by the seventh guy asking you to make your breasts bigger on a date it gets old. So yeah, I have a grand time on short-term stuff, but I know squat about a real relationship!"

Harry paused and considered that before shrugging. "Okay, I understand where you're coming from there. I don't really see how that pertains to me being a bit out of it."

Tonks met his gaze and snorted, leaning back into her chair and crossing her arms. "A 'bit out of it'? Come on, I may not have known you for long, but Potters are supposed to be smart, Evanses even more so. You can do better than that, Harry."

"Fine," Harry replied with a sigh. "I'm mildly depressed and upset that I apparently screwed my mother up even more than in my version of history and that it's apparently a large enough problem that the people closest to her accept it can't be fixed. Not to mention that I just had to come up with a fiction for why I even exist which is really freaking weird and totally not disturbing at all."

"See if you realize the problem why do we still have a problem? I don't get Potters…" The exaggerated eye roll and the smirk on her lips took any potential rebuke out of the statement and turned it into something that almost had Harry shaking his head in amusement at her horrible humor.

Instead he settled on a shrug and mock-glared at her. "It's not that easy, Tonks. Besides you're not one to talk about simply deciding to not be depressed. Or have you not fallen for Remus yet in this timeline?"

"Remus?" Tonks frowned and her eyes widened to the point that she had to be using her powers to exaggerate it. Her mouth also dropped open a tad bit too far to be natural. "As in Remus Lupin?! Seriously?! What the…Lupin? The guy who basically hangs a sign on his back every day that says 'Kick me'? The guy who's fourteen years older than me at least?! The guy who cares more about the bottle than his goddaughter? Please tell me you're joking…"

Harry frowned and slowly shook his head. "Wow…well I guess that's not going to happen in this universe. Great, another life I snuffed out…"

Tonks blinked several times before scowling and leaning forwards enough to lightly slap the back of Harry's head. He glared at her for a second before rolling his eyes at her approach. Tonks crossed her arms and huffed. "Okay Rule One, kid, you do not get to talk about dooming people to nonexistence by coming back in time. I'd say saving six billion people earns you some leeway. Not that any of it is on your shoulders anyway since, let's face it, if MERLIN can't change time I rather doubt a somewhat scrawny fourteen year old is going to pull it off. People way higher than you did this, Harry."

"While you have a point," Harry conceded slowly, "I'm still the one who killed Voldemort and set things in motion. And I was twenty for the latest time reset thing."

"Well you're fourteen now. As for Voldemort, if you hadn't someone else would have," Tonks replied with a shrug. "Maybe you did it a bit quicker than others, but someone would've eventually offed the tosser and then the world would be in the same position."

"I think the fact that I didn't do it quickly was more of the problem…" Harry replied. He shook his head trying to sort out why he was the one confused by this conversation.

"Nah, never send a teenager to kill an experienced psychopath. That's Rule Two by the way."

Harry held up a finger to state a point and let it fall back to his lap a moment later shaking his head. "I have no idea how to respond to that. I have no idea how to respond to half of this talk."

"Excellent! I'm making progress!"

"You're…What is going on?"

"I'm cheering you up!" Tonks replied smirking and leaning back winking at him.

"Are you sure? Because this is quite possibly the strangest attempt at a pat-on-the-back speech I've ever gotten…" Harry murmured. The oddest thing was he was now so thoroughly confused that he could barely remember why he had retreated to the library to begin with.

"I think that's why I was nominated," Tonks whispered nodding sagely. "Sirius is always quite…"

"Don't!" Harry warned glaring at her.

"Serious!" Tonks finished triumphantly. She burst out giggling while Harry just groaned. After she got herself back under control Tonks shrugged and continued. "Jeanne was going to come in, but she was also behind the Hermione idea of getting you to make more friends. I floated the idea of Aster since – well it's her mum too that kicked this off. I was voted down. Though I do think she wants to talk to you later anyway. We all decided Amelia was a bad idea cause while Old Amy is great and all she's not really the greatest at conveying sympathy. Susan was the next choice, but she bowed out 'cause she doesn't really know you and she felt it was probably a bad idea to send her straight into the fire instead of the frying pan. I was the one left!"

Harry snorted at that, but he couldn't prevent a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "That is some impressive jumps in logic there."

"I thought so," Tonks agreed nodding.

"Especially since from your perspective, you don't really know me more than Susan does."

Tonks shrugged and grinned. "Yeah, but remember I'm good at making friends quick! Plus you're a Potter, you lot tend to have similar vibes and routines I've found."

"This family is weird," Harry said throwing his hands up in defeat.

"Extremely weird."

Harry chuckled and waved his hand towards Tonks. "Okay, I'll bite. I think I'm sufficiently kicked out of my self-hatred so let's get the script over with shall we?"

Tonks smirked and slapped her legs. "Damn right you are! Okay, so you were upset that Lily is a bit broken and gets set off by some things right? Don't be. That's firmly a Death Eater and trauma thing. Muggles have a name for it, but I'm not sure what it is. PTSD? Anxiety? No…ah whatever, not important."

Harry held up a hand to stop Tonks for a moment. "It was just her sister that set her off though and that's not related to Death Eaters."

Tonks spread her arms wide in defense and shook her head. "Oh no, you don't even get to get started on Petunia Dursley mister. That evil sack of flesh was a flash point in the Potter household long before you came along. Since before Aster was born! I still remember my mum first taking me over to see the little tyke and warning me to avoid mentioning the Muggle side of the family. Thought it was right strange at first that a Muggleborn would hate Muggles until Mum explained that Aunt Lily loved Muggles, she just hated her sister. Petunia Dursley said some stuff about baby Aster that basically made her dead to Lily forever. Some stuff you just don't say. I still haven't found out what set her off, but it sure as heck was not something that would've changed from a male to a female thing. So yeah, we're going to ignore the Petunia Dursley anger because, really, that would've been the same if your own version of Lily had lived."

Harry frowned for a few moments trying to think back to his childhood and was forced to admit that the scattered memories he had did seem to support that both sisters despised each other to a similar degree as he'd seen earlier.

"Anyway," Tonks continued. "The important thing is that I can guarantee you that Lily would take this anger management problem over watching her daughter – or son – grow up from the Great Beyond. That's a trade anyone would make! You didn't seriously think that she'd be better off dead did you?"

Harry frowned and squirmed a bit in his seat at that. "I think that's a gross oversimplification and it is not at all what I had meant when I was thinking that…Well…Wait…That's not what I…Oh bloody hell…Fine, you're right, it was stupid."

"Progress," Tonks said her smirk widening. "I am getting so good at this!"

Harry laughed and threw his hands up into the air. "Tonks, you are horrible at this! You're just so insane about it that it seems to work somehow."

Tonks stood and stretched still grinning at him. "Well, I am a Black. We have to manifest our insanity somehow. It's in the birth contract."

Harry paused in the process of standing up and stated very slowly and very calmly, "You know, knowing your family, I would not be surprised if that was actually true."

Tonks let her hands drop to her side and snickered as she fell into step with Harry while they exited the library. "Yeah, neither would I. That's a scary thought. Do me a favor and whenever I have a kid make sure I don't write a contract beforehand just in case, yeah?"

"Sure, Tonks," Harry replied fighting back his urge to laugh.

"You're a good mate. We may have only technically met an hour or two ago, but you're a good mate, Harry."

"Whatever you say, Tonks."

Fic Recommendation: "An Idiot's Love" by I'mjusttryingtofindmyway. This is a longer oneshot with a Harry/Tonks pairing. In it Harry falls for Tonks almost immediately upon seeing her, however in a bit of a twist, she does not fall for him. It's mostly canon but the story only actually details the sections that end up being altered by Harry's crush/growing affection. It's very good and fairly long for a oneshot.

And again, since the above was a oneshot let's have a second shout out. "In Another Life" by kathryn518. This is not a Harry Potter fic, it's actually a Twilight fic. Before you crucify me for suggesting it remember who Kathryn is and the other awesome fics that she's written. This was her first foray into fanfiction and while at points you can tell, it is still very good and a very different take on the Twilight franchise. Basically the Cullens left after Edward was a horrible, manipulative lying bastard and Bella fell into Victoria's clutches. Several decades later she works with the Volturi, has a nerdy vampire semi-daughter and goes back to Forks to quell the start of a potential war with someone experimenting with hybrids and werewolves. Bad timing has the Cullens coming back as well. I don't like Twilight for the most part but I greatly enjoyed this fic. It's a Bella/Alice slow-burn pairing and a mature/non-hothead Jacob is featured prominently with his pack as well. If you like Kat's Harry Potter stories I urge you to give this one a shot as well.