Snape stunned him in an instant, but he didn't fall instantly. Alt Harry collapsed first to his knees, glaring at Albus, then to the floor.
"My sister is dead," Ronald repeated, faintly. "My… my…"
He swallowed. Then, slowly, he walked over to the unconscious Harry, and turned him over. The scar that had graced his forehead for nearly fifteen years – a heart with an arrow through it – was gone.
"Riddle's love spell," he said aloud. "It seems to have worked, at last."
Ronald smiled, something he found unbelievable of himself, given the circumstances.
"It seems the boy-who-hates can love after all," he said, looking up at Dumbledore and Snape, who were both confused. "That spell that Riddle sent at him when he was young; it did the opposite of what it was meant to, made it so that he could never love; at least, that's what we thought. I guess he was just waiting for the right person…"
The resident Harry felt a deep sense of shock. He had been under the impression that his alternate self couldn't love, nor did he want to; judging from the stunned faces on both the resident and alternate wizards, he hadn't been the only one.
"Blimey," Ron said from behind him. "I hesitate to say it, but… poor bugger."
"Yeah," Harry nodded.
Ronald stood up, and faced Albus, eyes wet, but jaw set and firm.
"If you could send us all home, now, please, sir?" he asked, his voice strong, but a little cracked.
Albus nodded kindly, and raised his wand, pointing it first at the older wizards, who looked set to protest, but vanished before they could.
Then the alternate trio walked together, Ronald and Hermione lifting Harry. Albus raised his wand again, and with one wave, the trio vanished.
"Thank bloody God!" Ginny yelled.
Snape gave Dumbledore a quizzical look.
--
Ron, Hermione, Harry and Ginny were in the Gryffindor common room.
"You know, all this has got me thinking," Harry said. "Don't put off tomorrow what you can do today."
Ginny gave him a furtive look, then grinned. Ron stood up and walked over to the window. Hermione followed him, and put her arm around his shoulder.
"You alright?" she asked.
"Well," he said. "I'm… well… fine."
"You sure?" she asked.
"Yeah," he said. "Fancy going for a walk?"
"Alright," she smiled.
--
In Defence Against The Dark Arts the next day, Snape decided to be a little nastier than usual.
"Class," he said to his Sixth Years, "what advice would you give when dealing with parallel universes?"
Hermione Granger raised her hand, and when no one else did, Snape asked her to answer.
"At all costs, avoid them," she said, deadly serious. Snape considered this, and then, grudgingly, he nodded.
"Very well, Miss Granger," he said. "One point to Gryffindor."
Five minutes later, the entire class started breathing again.
--
Albus looked up as Snape entered his office.
"Apparently, the Dark Lord is off in America, healing the sick," he said without preamble.
"Hm," Dumbledore smiled. "How nice for him. You gave a point to Gryffindor," he added.
"And?" Snape said, not particularly wishing to discuss this.
"Are you ill?" Dumbledore asked, faux worried. Snape scowled. Dumbledore laughed, and stood up.
"What did you want to talk about?" he said.
"Well," Albus said, "I wondered if you had any questions regarding the parallel universe."
"I do, actually," said Snape. "Why did you let them go? They'll come back."
"The trio won't," Dumbledore smiled. "I might have got their destination wrong…"
--
Ronald raised an eyebrow as a masked and hooded man ran at him. He stunned him in an instant.
Harry looked around, and Hermione cowered; the corridor they were in was empty apart from the stunned man.
"Well," Ronald smiled. "I don't think this is home."