Author Notes: And there you have it!

Chapter 8

Amara Zabini gave out a polite yawn when she welcomed them in. Sirius's expression was disgruntled at seeing her presence, she was the last person he wanted to share "sensitive" information with right now. And behind her was James Potter, clad in a comfy maroon robe and peering at the three sleepily from near the staircase of the manor.
"What brings you here gentlemen? And lady?" asked Amara smirking, her dark eyes flitted past Bellatrix's immobile body.

"Hell, I might ask you to mind your own damned business, woman." said Sirius pushing past her roughly

"You know Sirius, your attitude is why you're still single. As well as you inflated sense of self-worth." Amara retorted casually, while training her eyes on the boy beside Bellatrix, "You alright child? Your neck's bleeding."

"It is, do you have dittany?" asked the boy entering inside and allowing the light to fall on his face.

"Jason? What are you doing out of Hogwarts?" demanded James craning his neck sideways to get a proper look, and turned to Sirius with a raised eyebrow, "How can you allow such blatant disregard for rules? I mean this lacks subtlety, of course having you as his godfather-"

"James, can we talk privately?"

"Sure, what about?"

"I'm not telling you until she leaves!" said Sirius tiredly, and annoyed with his best friends's lack of tact.

"You want me to ask her to leave?" asked James in disbelief, before catching sight of Bellatrix, "And is that who I think it is?"

"Can't explain, long story short, it isn't who you think it is. Now ask her, or tell, order whatever, to get out of the house."

"There is no way I'm leaving the house just because you wish for it Black!" raged Amara, losing some of her composure.

"I'm not asking her to leave!" stated James, "I can't! Her villa is in Italy!"

"Tell her she can stay in the cottage then!"

"She can hear you. And she is not staying in the cottage!" uttered Amara in a voice of finality.

"Fine!" said Sirius throwing her a venomous glare, he turned to James with a determined look, "We'll go to the cottage and your lovely girlfriend can have the manor! Evan! The floo's this way."

And he stalked past them without another word. The amused potter look-alike followed him, levitating Bellatrix's body along.

"Evan? You're not my son then?" questioned James weakly, "This isn't Bellatrix either huh? What have you been up to Sirius! Messing around with polyjuice potion?"

"I'll tell you everything once we get to the cottage, and you swear an unbreakable vow to boot!" Sirius hollered from deep inside the manor.

"Amara sighed, "Go on then darling, I'll be waiting."

"It's just Sirius." James tried to explain, "He is this arrogant, rough, thick-hide-"

"Don't forget to tell your girlfriend that I'm single because I choose not to be tied down by gold-digging-"

"Shut up Padfoot!" James yelled, then gave Amara an apologetic smile and headed towards the floo place as fast as his squeaky purple slippers would allow him.

He met the two just in time to watch them shove Bellatrix down inside it, "Is that safe?" he questioned uneasily not knowing if the body was fake or not.

"Perfectly safe, don't worry your pretty little head over it." answered Sirius, taking some floo from the stand nearby.

"When'll we be back?" asked James

"We are going to shack up in the cottage for the night Prongs, so go get your favorite lamp with you."

James just shook his head dazed, "Merlin, you need to stop letting that son of yours teach you muggle slang."

"Why not?" asked Sirius innocently, "I can't help it, I just pick it up when he spends time with me."

"You just implied-" Evan started before shrugging, "Never mind, its not like you two understand it really."

"I do," said James, "I had a proper teacher in Lily unlike Sirius's son, Aries, wily little brat"

...x...x...x...x...x...

"So, she came to Grimy zone for a little trinket, is that what you're saying?" questioned James incredulously

"Sirius," said Evan quietly," made it out to be less crucial that it actually is. The dark Lord-"

"Hold on, which one are you talking about?" asked James interrupting

For the first time, the teenager's face showed surprise, "Which one do you think I'm talking about? Voldemort of course."

"Haven't heard of him," said Sirius looking thoughtful, "There are rumors definitely, you hear them here and there, but there is the Dark lord Grindelwald, old codger's been laying low for years now and then there is this new one in Africa, but no one has a name to identify him with. In fact, we barely get any information of his doings."

"Are you telling me," Evan said, twisting his fingers in a show of what could be considered nervousness, " that there are two dark lords about and the one besides Grindelwald is in Africa?"
Sirius could make out the disbelief in the teenager's tone, and was about to give further proof when James beat him to it.
"They say another dark lord is rising in East Berlin...so...that brings the count to a total three."

"I hope you can tell us which one my cousin's working for." said Sirius, jerking his head towards a stupefied Bellatrix, "Crazy bint won't talk, bit her tongue off...disgusting sight."

"So, has Britain never been under threat before? By any dark lord?"

Sirius and James smiled a little at that, "We'ave certainly been attacked many times, lost count of it really, but Britain's been holding it off well. I mean we have a good Ministry, a little prejudiced yes, but they do their job. They take threats seriously you know. I mean real serious."

James chuckled at that, "They enlist our dear grim's services when the attacks become a little too organized, like when it starts leaking into the country. There are some purebloods who join up with these dark lords I'm sure of it. We just really have no clue though on the culprits."

"This is much more complex than I thought." Evan muttered

The two old friends exchanged glances, before Sirius spoke up, "Hell, yes you're probably right. Why don't we shift the topic, Bellatrix isn't going anywhere for some time. So where do you come from kid?"

"Britain." was the short reply

"Never seen you before." commented James, "And you look a lot like a Potter, mind explaining that?"

"Not a distant relative or anything are you?" asked Sirius

A long silence descended on them after that.

"I'm a Potter." answered Evan, "And you can choose to believe me when I say, I'm from an alternate reality."

A second silence followed, lasting for a proper few minutes.

"Joke's over, now really where are you from kid?" Sirius questioned breaking the silence.

"I knew this was going to be difficult. I had trouble accepting it too, but it's true. I'm not saying anything more until you get your minds around it."

"You're saying you got pulled into a world very different from yours? Padfoot, I thought he didn't suffer from any head injuries."

Sirius shrugged, "Not to my knowledge...Remus might have..."

"My head's fine! Look, this really isn't my world but if you refuse to accept that then I'll just leave. I can find my own way back."

"Okay, listen...can you tell us your...err last moments that you remember before ending up in my house?"

"I was in my bed, sleeping." said Evan tiredly

"And you woke up to two kids practicing voodoo?" Sirius pushed

"No," Evan gave Sirius a forced smile, "I saw two bumbling fools trying to escape potion fumes. Managed to defeat them easily, got a wand from one of them and escaped."

"You were still stuck in the house." James pointed out

"Yes, that baffled me a bit...and then you and Remus came in."

"Yes, Remus...Remus Lupin, he is the other friend. I suppose you would remember him. His punches are world-class, but he hardly resorts to them unless forced to." said Sirius reminiscing, "You shouldn't have broken his wand."

"Yes, but he keeps spare wands about him, doesn't he? For a reason, that I know."

"What?" asked James and Sirius at the same time

"I guess it could be because he is a werewolf."

"That's public knowledge." waved off James

"And you guys call him Moony."

"Alright," James conceded, "But that only just shows you know about us-"

"Without your knowledge, you haven't even seen me before, nor do you have any fleeting memories of our paths crossing. I don't understand why it's so hard to believe!"

"Your suggestion that there is a different world out there makes no sense, no books have ever been written on such stuff...nor will you find any."

"Don't be so sure of yourself Sirius." said Evan quietly

"Even if there were, and I say if," James stressed for Sirius's benefit, "One cannot simply jump in and out of worlds...and you didn't even play a part in it. Didn't even know about it happening. Are you saying you were yanked out from...your world into ours?"

"Yes," said Evan sounding exasperated, "It's magic, why is it so hard to get, for you two?"

"Because, hypothetically speaking, no one is capable of that, they would have to wield... a hell lot of power to pull off something like that. And as much as I'm proud of my son's accomplishments, he and his friend are in no way near that circle."

"The book!" Sirius exclaimed, rounding on Evan, "Arsenia said you took the book, they used a-"

"A potion book." finished Evan condescendingly, "It's true, I took it from them, seemed like a good idea then as it looked pretty important at that point, but I let go of it once I leafed through it's pages. Nothing, nothing about...err hopping from one world to another."

"There was an explosion." began James uncertainly

"You don't actually believe that do you? What could possible pull me into your world because of that explosion? Potion stains, slug's blood? That's just absurd, laughable really."

"Oh, I wasn't talking about the world hopping, I still think you mind's muddled." James defended

"So what do you think brought me to your home Sirius? Your home with all its fancy security measures, all just got broken due to a potion accident then?" Evan turned to Sirius

"The same way you managed to enter my house tonight." answered Sirius, his brows furrowed, "I banished that elf, so how was it able to apparate inside? That's not possible."

"Banished house-elfs can still apparate and disappparate, in fact any elf can if the-"

"Wards are not opposed to them, yeah I know, genius." cut in Sirius, "But the Black wards have always included enchantments against other elfs, along with centaurs, hippogriffs, ghouls...because of one paranoid grand-aunt."

"Shouldn't have been able to break the wards." mumbled James before huffing in frustration, "Instead of getting answers, we are digging ourselves into a question mine."

"Yes, well I think the one in the front has some answers." said Sirius, biting his fingers out of somnolence, "Once he decides to be honest, we will be spared from racking our brains."

Evan sighed heavily, "Sometimes the truth is just so beyond belief...which is why it should be easy to believe."


Madame Gazelle thundered about as she tried to find the correct place. She had got the potions book and she was in cloud nine! She was yet to inform the Headmistress though, but had decided to do so once the book was placed back in its home. Her feet walked rapidly from section to section, trying to pin the book's original location. In her haste she didn't see the extended leg and toppled down, She was saved from having her face smacked to the ground by a strong hand which lifted her up.

"Are you alright, Madame Gazelle?" asked a soft voice.

Madame Gazelle's heart warmed up as she saw her favorite Hogwarts student, Lyall Lupin looking at her with warm chocolate brown eyes. He was a quiet child and treated her books with the utmost respect. But just then her mind pronounced the question, "Who had tripped her?" She looked around trying to find the culprit, but no one was near enough to be suspected.

"Lyall, did you see who tripped me?" she questioned curiously, then noticed something, or more like the lack of something, "Mon Dieu! Where is the liber!"

"Pardon, Madame Gazelle?"

"The book! The scriptum, libretto, the sacred pages!" Madame Gazelle wailed in anguish, unmindful of the annoyed glares from the Hufflepuff students researching in the next section.

For indeed the book had disappeared from sight, no matter how many times Madame Gazelle got down her knees and poked her head between the many spaces under the sections, she couldn't find it to her utter dismay.

...x...x...x...x...x...

"How did you come across the book, Madame Gazelle?" asked Severus, inwardly feeling there was better things to do with his time than interrogate the flustered librarian. Minerva had conveniently dropped the task on him.

"This strange, strange room I came by in the corridor today, really I was thinking about the book and too worried to notice but this strange door just materializes out of nowhere while I was pacing the area. And when I enter it, the book is there. A true miracle! But then I lose it in the library-"

"Which corridor?" asked Severus cutting her short

The woman looked affronted at having her flow cut short, "I didn't notice, I told you I was worried! But then I head back to my library, and something trips me. Next thing I know the book's gone!

After questioning the woman a little more, Severus flooed back home. He told Lily of the conversation with Madame Gazelle.

"Lily, there is something that is missing. Black, who got you to the hospital, he said he didn't use any dark spell on you. While I don't ever believe that mutt's word alone-"

"Maybe he just didn't Sev, why should Black have to lie about this? Besides James told me Black found me and Walburga Black lying on the floor and Bellatrix was nowhere in sight."

"Maybe he is leaving parts out." muttered Severus. Then he thought over his recent accusation, "On second thoughts, you're right Lily, Black's ego would never allow for him to be modest."

His wife was way too sleepy to respond.


It was pouring heavily. A hooded figure stood alone on a cliff overlooking the sea.

A dark, long haired figure walked beside it. "So have you decided?"

"I still don't know if I should trust you." replied the hooded figure

"How, I shall ask you is it capable for a person, no matter how talented or skilled to survive what he did?"

"I don't know. He didn't just dabble in the dark arts as you are well aware of."

"Of course I'm aware of it you foolish child!" the dark figure rasped, "But tearing apart one's soul into seven pieces. Well six, you were...unplanned."

"It's not impossible!" the hooded figure defended

"And you think he would depend on chance, risk death? The one thing he ever feared? No! He came to me. i made it possible for him to survive."

"I can't do it." the hooded figure moaned, "I can't!"

"You can't or you won't?"

The scene turned black. A piercing scream reverberated through the air a moment later.

Dark green eyes opened up in terror and the scream echoed off the walls.

"Merlin!" cried James woken up from his sleep. His friend sat up bleary-eyed beside him.

"What the hell?" muttered Sirius watching worriedly at Evan screaming his lungs out.