Chapter 7
James blinked as he came back to reality. Harry had not just shown him the day when he had thought Harry had died but also snaps of what looked like years where Harry was kept in a small cage big enough for only a dog. A muzzle was kept around his face and a chain from the collar around his neck was attached to the cage door. Every day Voldemort would walk in and ask if he would join him and every day Harry spat in his face.
Appalled at what he had seen, James turned to look at his son. Thinking back, he realized he hadn't called Harry his son since the day he had seen Harry supposedly join Voldemort. Now he knew that Voldemort was manipulating the situation. He had arrived with the aurors just as Voldemort had risen from the cauldron. Cedric was on the ground dead, Peter was kneeling on the ground and from his position, Harry was as well. He now knew that Harry was not kneeling on the ground subservient to Voldemort. Instead he had run up to Cedric as soon as he had been free of the gravestone and was kneeling next to him to see if he was alright.
James winced at the scene replayed in his mind. And now he understood why Harry thought he had betrayed him = it was because he had. The years he had spent locked up in the cage, James could hear the pleas, the cries for someone to help him and finally, he had seen Harry break and give in to the dark lord. James didn't blame him.
Harry looked at his father as emotions flitted through the man's face. And finally it seemed like he was going to leave when James Potter did the one thing he had never done in his life. He grabbed Harry and bodily hugged him before dragging them both to the floor as he cried. Harry stiffened as he was hugged, something that hadn't happened since he was fourteen.
"What are you doing? Let go of me!"
James sniffed and held Harry closer as tears rolled down his face. It felt like forever before James released Harry. holding him arms length out, he wiped his eyes and said, "you are so thin."
Harry raised an eyebrow, the scowl still etched on his face. "What did you expect?"
"I guess I don't deserve a second chance do i?" James looked ashamed.
Harry looked at his father and thought back to all the things the man had done. He had never once when alive even cast a spell at him. after finding out Harry was alive, James had in the alternate timeline tried to talk to him and Harry had refused, the wounds still raw. But now, this was different.
"I am willing to give you a second chance."
James jumped and his hold on Harry's shoulders tightened, "You are?"
Harry would have smiled if he could, "Yes."
"Would you… would you also give the Order another chance?" James asked. Harry looked at him inquisitively.
"Why should I?"
"Because you hate Voldemort more than all of us combined" a new voice answered. Harry turned to look at the newcomer and saw Danny standing in the doorway. As he neared, Harry saw a blow on his cheek "What happened?"
Danny shrugged, "Nothing. Just something I got hit with on the raid to rescue you."
Harry raised an eyebrow at him before turning to James, "Why don't you just go kill Voldemort yourself if you know where the lair is? Why do you need me?"
"You know the answer to that, Harry" Dumbledore answered as he too walked in. Harry scowled as he saw more people arrive including his mother, "We cant kill Voldemort. Only you can."
Harry rolled his eyes and stood effortlessly. The fact that his hands and legs were chained did nothing to stop him as he turned to them, "Why would I want to do that? Every attempt I have made at his life has only ended in me being the worse for the wear."
"Because he is cruel! He separated me from my babies for thirteen years! Come on Harry, we have seen how you deal with children. Think about how many mothers and fathers Voldemort has killed for no reason at all!" Miranda spoke angrily as she pushed her way forward. Harry looked at her and again would have smiled if he could. She looked much better for the wear. Dressed in clean clothes and her hair neatly combed, she could barely be recognized as the same woman in the prison with him.
Everyone around her nodded vigorously and a man ran forward. He showed a picture of two small blond children, "These are my kids Mary and Jane. They were both killed by Voldemort last week. I want vengeance and only you can provide it!" He exclaimed, his eyes red.
Harry looked at the people around him in surprise. He knew how much it took for all of them to ask him for help. He was definitely no saint and was ready to kill them as he had proven multiple times.
"Harry, we know you are a good person inside. Please help us?" Dumbledore spoke quietly.
"Old man, you know nothing of me or what I have done. I assure you you wouldn't want my help if you knew that all the families in this room ended by my hand."
"We know Harry" Danny spoke again, "and it doesn't matter. In your position, I doubt anyone would ever have done different. And we are giving you a means to get rid of Voldemort. Isn't that what you want?"
Harry snorted "There are only two ways to kill the dark lord. I would rather remain in his service than attempt either one again."
"Harry you will help us. Prove to me that my son isn't evil and help me save this unborn child" Lily spoke finally. She walked forward and it was then that Harry saw the bulge in her stomach. He had not seen that when he had used her in his last visit to the manor. Letting his telepathy roam a little, he found the life force in her stomach and found three small life forces in there.
"You are going to have triplet girls. And for them, I shall help you all" Harry finished finally. A resounding cheer was heard in the room particularly by James and Danny.
"Awesome! Thanks mate!" Danny hugged Harry making him stiffen again before running off. Others said words of thanks and smiled at him before walking out as well finally only leaving James, Lily and Dumbledore in the room with him. There was silence for a bit before James said, "Lily sit down."
Lily rolled her eyes at James before asking, "Did I have more children in your timeline as well?"
Harry looked surprised at the question and thought back. A faint memory of three young women with red-black hair and emerald green eyes flashed before him.
"Maybe. I wasn't let out this early so I am not sure if you did or not" Harry said.
"Let out? From where?" Lily asked biting her lower lip.
"The cage I was kept in" Harry answered nonchalantly. Lily looked appalled and Dumbledore's eyes were missing their twinkle. He asked, "How long?"
Harry shrugged "Not sure. I think it was twenty or so years. When I came out into the world, everyone was grown."
"You were in that miserable cage for twenty years!" James exclaimed, "And you didn't give in to Voldemort!"
Harry raised an eyebrow, "Yes though after that I did not see the point. I began thinking of myself."
James nodded dumbly. He quickly told them what he had seen in Harry's memory much to both Dumbledore and Lily's shock.
"I let this happen?" Dumbledore's reaction was surprising.
"No one knew of me. I was assumed dead and the dark lord kept me hidden from anyone and everyone. Only Dobby ever found me and that was quickly rectified."
From the way he said it, it was clear that meant the house elf had been killed. Lily sobbed, "I am so sorry, baby!" and jumped on him, hugging him with full might. Harry stiffened as he scowled. He couldn't even push her off in his current predicament. James came to his rescue though and pulled Lily off.
"Can you speak?"
Harry shrugged, "No clue. I haven't tried in about three or four centuries."
The three gaped before James said, "You weren't kidding about being over four centuries old!"
Harry shook his head and remained silent.
"So why do you wear the scarf around your face?" Lily asked wiping her tears.
Harry shrugged again "There was this child I knew once who used to have nightmares upon seeing me so I took to covering it up."
"How… how long since you put it on?" Lily shifted into healer mode.
Harry raised an eyebrow at her, "Give or take a few centuries. I don't remember these things, woman."
Lily shook her head as she stood up. She pushed Harry gently into the bed, "When you were first brought here, I tried to get the scarf off but it was magically sealed to your face. How do I take it off?"
Harry's eyes narrowed "You can take it off only if I give permission and I am not about to do that anytime soon – no use scaring everyone here."
"What is so bad or are you just trying to scare us?" James asked as he tried to pull the scarf off. Harry looked amused but didn't say anything. Neither did Dumbledore as he watched silently.
"Can you please remove it? I would like to see my son" Lily said firmly. Harry sighed, "There is no stopping you is there?"
"Unfortunately not. How do you do that mind thing anyways?" James asked as he stepped back. Harry looked at him oddly "It is a form of legilimency – one that I have gotten so used to that I subconsciously now."
"So you are reading our minds?" Lily asked.
Harry shook his head "I can but I need a wand to. I am merely projecting my thoughts now."
Lily looked awed. So did Dumbledore, "That is quite amazing Harry. was this common in your time?"
Harry shook his head, "As far as I know I am the only one able to do it. Ever."
"Why would you need to?"
Harry sighed and let go of the knot of magic he was using to hold the scarf on his face. As it fell off, all three people in the room gasped in horror. Harry;s lips were swollen oddly and six curved spikes were inserted holding them together. But the grossest part was the bolt that was inserted right under his nose that went through his tongue and came out right under his chin.
Lily took one look before rushing to the bathroom to vomit. James looked likely to do the same so Harry redid the knot of magic and covered his face back up.
"Who did this to you?"
Harry looked at Dumbledore with a raised eyebrow, "It was soon after I joined the dark lord's service. He decided he didn't want to ever hear my voice again – said it reeked of mudblood. So poof this happened."
"Merlin Harry, I thought you were exaggerating."
Harry shook his head at his father, "Nope. And before any of you tries – none of those can be removed. They are made of pure magic that the dark lord forged in 2320. It cannot come off without his permission."
"You are sure? We have to try!" Dumbledore exclaimed.
Harry shook his head, "I would rather you waste your time on something else. The pure magic cannot be stopped. They are also what make up the bond I share with the dark lord that allows him to control my every move. If he can see me, he can control me and nothing can stop it – not now or in the future."
"Merlin!" Lily walked in just then. She pressed a gently hand across Harry's face before saying, "We have to do something."
"I agree. I know you say there is nothing we can do Harry but Lily and I are going to attempt to find a solution" Dumbledore spoke.
Harry raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. Instead, he bowed his head awkwardly to use his hands to move aside some hair from his face. Apparently that brought the others back to reality as Dumbledore spoke again.
"Harry, unfortunately, we cannot have Voldemort knowing where you are or calling you. Therefore, I had to use Morgana's shackles on you."
Harry's eyes widened a little as he realized what he was wearing. They were invisible most of the time but activated in the presence of the wearer's masters. Apparently everyone in the manor was now his master.
"I am truly my boy but we needed to make sure Voldemort couldn't get to you. Your marks were burning nonstop and this was the only way to stop that" Dumbledore explained.
Harry shrugged "Its alright – an improvement to my previous situation."
"It is absolutely not alright but I am going to relax the bonds" Dumbledore spoke and pulled out his wand. Waving it, he spoke a complex incantation that caused the shackles to indeed relax. The length between his hands and feet grew and the chains were no longer attacked to his waist. Harry nodded in satisfaction.
"If you hurt anyone in this manor though…." The threat went unspoken and Harry resisted the urge to mentally snort. What was Dumbledore going to do? He couldn't die and there was nothing anyone could do that had not already been do but best not to tempt fate.
And so Harry nodded stiffly. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, "So I was wondering if you might tell us how to fight like you do. It is quite incredible, my boy."
Grasping at the sudden change of topic, Harry started about the inventions of the future.
