Harry slowly edged the door open and slid through. Lily was dabbing her red eyes of the lingering tears whilst she sat on the sofa, Mark was beside her and rubbing her back comfortingly. He nodded for Harry to take the armchair and Harry did.

The more Lily cried the more protective Harry grew. He silently glared at the hand on her back, waiting for her to finish composing herself. His irk towards Mark was still present, and Harry felt it was different somehow to genuine dislike. Maybe his subconscious was trying to tell him something. 'Your subconscious is the only thing you can trust now' was Corby's own words.

"Come on love" Mark encouraged and Lily began to work her courage up. "Ok, I've got to tell him. He should know the truth." She took a deep breath and added "Harry, you wanted to know who Tom Riddle is. I will tell you...but you can get mad and leave anytime and I won't stop you."

There is no way Harry could leave without knowing, especially because of how big of a deal it seems to be. Also this is who Voldemort was based on; Harry was ready for anything."I won't leave mum."

Lily was still struggling to open up so Mark started it off. "You thought Tom Riddle was a bad man Harry...well, he isn't. Not according to your mum anyway."

"He was the sweetest man I've ever known. Oh Mark is lovely and funny, and James had his charming looks, but Tom was...a wonderful man." Lily's explanation was incredibly heartfelt. Harry's brain began to fry.

Lily continued "but not only that Harry, I loved him. I was head over heels...and I shouldn't have been. I hadn't long gotten married to James. But Tom swept me off my feet, and I feel guilty everyday for allowing it to happen whilst still with James." Lily then smiled at Harry warmly and said "but I don't regret a single thing." Harry became suddenly nauseated, he didn't really know why but some sort of recognition in that smile triggered it.

"Is that why you and dad divorced?"

"Well, sort of. I mean he didn't catch us but I...I had to tell him...eventually."

"About the affair?" The word offended Harry as it left his mouth, there was more than a bit of anger for his mum now. For the first time ever he felt ashamed of her, and he never thought that would ever happen.

"Yeah...the affair. But it was what pushed me to tell him that he was most mad about?" Lily was completely shameful in finally coming clean. Harry did not like where this was going, the nausea only intensified. "What was that?"

Lily hesitated and cried out in a sob "That I was pregnant!"

Harry felt like he'd apparated for the first time again. Harry was actually eating his thoughts from earlier. He could have accepted millions of other alternative lives where Voldemort was a liontamer, a Hollywood actor, an alien, or an opera singer.

But this...this...being an actual thing. Harry Potter being the son of his mortal enemy. That. Was. Insanity.

"I'm his son?" Harry might've got the wrong end of the stick, and he hoped he bloody well had.

"Yes Harry. Tom Riddle is your biological father."

Harry absolutely exploded with emotion. "My dad is Tom Riddle! Tom Marvolo Riddle! The most evil sorcerer of all time and my mortal enemy Lord Voldemort, and you're telling me I'm his son!" Harry knew he'd revealed too much, but if Lily or Mark were not expecting it they were damn good actors. They only seemed concerned with how angry Harry got.

"Harry, sweetie. 'Lord Voldemort' was a very wonderful person, he would've made a great dad to you I know it" Lily replied. "Mark told me he caught you using Tom Riddle's name in your story. I didn't know you'd hate him this much to see him that way."

Out of all that information, the one thing that piqued Harry's attention most was "would've made? What happened to him?"

Lily became sad again "he died before you were born."

Did Harry feel bad for internally being relieved? No way. He was glad he didn't have to know the man and be nice to him. No matter what, Harry was not going to change his feelings on people from his magical life, just because they were different here. And that definitely went for Voldemort too.

"Ok, but why was I never told this?"

"Because you loved James so much. Even if I no longer care for him i'm not going to ruin your time with him" Lily replied.

Mark challenged her "Why not? You said yourself he's only ever built Harry in his own image to hide the fact he's not his real son."

"Mark! It's Harry's choice...and I didn't say it like that. I just said James can be too obsessed sometimes."

"The boy knows the truth now, he doesn't ever have to go to him again."

"Yes I do!" Harry barked. He needed to locate his dad...biological and non-biological now. Also it looked like his dad was the victim in all this, and didn't deserve Mark's criticisms.

"You see Mark. He loves James and James loves him. To Harry, James is his dad" Lily turned back to Harry "that's why I didn't want to tell you; I didn't want to break your heart."

"Or make me hate you for what you did" Harry added.

Lily nodded and looked Harry in the eye. "Do you?"

Harry indeed was conflicted. Harry didn't hate her because he felt she wasn't the true Lily. His mum Lily died when he was one trying to protect him, and that's the Lily that Harry knew. But this was apparently the real Lily, and if this Harry had found out about all this before his head injury then it would make some sort of sense that he'd kill off his parents in the story.

James and Lily's marriage died because of Tom Riddle.

But why then did he come up with Tom Riddle trying to kill him? Why was Tom Riddle his mortal enemy in the story if Harry knew he was a nice guy?

His mum looked more and more crestfallen the longer Harry waited to answer, and it aggravated Mark. "Harry, answer your mum's question. You don't hate her."

"No mum, I do not hate you" she cried in relief and clutched Mark tight "but I..." Harry was about to question her on the readon behind Tom Riddle being Lord Voldemort, but was sidetracked by the appearance of Corby coming up from behind the sofa. He was mouthing to Harry something like 'it was him' whilst pointing at Mark as he comforted Lily.

"Err...mum. Can I go now?"

Lily pulled out of the hug and tried yet again to compose herself. "No Harry, I'll be fine. I know you don't like me crying, I'll stop. We were thinking of going to the supermarket...get some dinner in and some milkshake."

"Actually mum" Harry chance a skittish look at Mark "I've got a bit of a headache. I just want to lie down."

"Oh, okay sweetie. Go and lay down, I'll come and put a film on for you to watch in your room."

Mark stopped her getting up "don't worry hun, I'll put it on for him."

Harry tried to object "no its okay, I'll put one on myself."

"I've got to give you a paracetamol tablet anyway mate, go on up and I'll bring it to you."

Harry wanted to discuss what Mark's deal is with Corby, who was suggesting sinister motives from Mark. But Harry felt he could learn first hand what his problem was. It's that sort of thinking that put Harry in danger in the magical life; some things just never change.

So Harry headed to his room to wait. He had barely stepped through the door when Corby bounded up to him. "You should never let yourself be alone with him. The moment he starts anything call for your mum, you got that?"

"Yes, but what-?"

"No time, just do as I say. You'll find out soon enough."

Harry turned towards the slow heavy footsteps on the stairs and as he turned back, Corby was gone. Harry made a beeline for the bed and laid on it just in time for Mark to walk in. "Here you are mate, got you a glass of coke as well."

Mark closed the door and the atmosphere changed instantly "right you snitching little toerag, time for our own little heart-to-heart". He put Harry's glass on his desk and bared down over the boy. He lifted Harry by his shirt and thumped him back against the headboard. "You can't even remember your own name, yet you still grass me up to your mum."

Harry had expected verbal abuse, but not man-handling. Harry just flared his nose and glared back at him. Apparently that was new to Mark "ooo, wee Potter finally grew a spine. But of course, you don't remember. You don't remember anything. How very beneficial."

So Harry from before was scared and intimidated by this abusive man; magical Harry had much experience with abuse. In fact, he doubted Mark could be any worse than Vernon used to be. "You don't scare me."

"I don't? Well that's not very good for you then. That just means I've got to remind you of what you should be scared of." Mark ripped his belt from his waist, pinning Harry down with one hand. "The best part of amnesia is that I can break you all over again."

Mark raised his belt just as Lily called from the stairwell "Mark, work is calling you."

Friendly bloke Mark was back again as he called "on my way now hun."

Mark released Harry and returned his belt to around his waist. "Looks like you avoid a beating for a little while longer. Enjoy your coke won't you." Just as he said that he deliberately knocked the glass and its contents spilled all over his papers.

Harry didn't really care about the coke, but the papers were vital information Harry needed to understand more of why he created what he did. So as Mark left Harry quickly attended to the soggy papers and searched for the nearest radiator.

As he draped the papers over the radiator, waiting for it to turn on, Corby spoke up from behind again. "You really are the Harry from the story, why didn't you call out?"

"I needed to know his motives right? What better way than get it from the source."

"I could've told you and saved you the aggro. This isn't the Dursley's house Harry, there is someone downstairs who will have That out on his ear for hurting you."

"I can't start changing things before I know what they are. If it means I'm abused, then I'm abused. When I've learnt his story then I'll do something about him."

Corby groaned and said "you didn't know his story before all this. We don't know what his problem is, and it shouldn't matter."

"There is a reason for everything Corby" Harry left it at that, standing up again and turning to Corby. "What day is it by the way?"

"Saturday."

"The date?"

"the fourteenth of January, two thousand and one."

Harry went to his desk and flicked through the papers that weren't wet "Two thousand and one? That means I was born in...nineteen ninety. My birthday is still thirty first of July, right?"

Corby nodded standing beside him now.

"So why is the story set during the nineties? Nineteen ninety one to be exact?"

"The main story ended in ninety eight, the year you decided to create the Harry Potter story. In your folder there is the first thing you ever wrote for this, backdated to second of May" Corby knowingly explained.

Harry recalled from his magical life "the battle of Hogwarts."

"The very same."

For the first time Harry felt like he was going to enjoy working all this out.