Next chapter: Chapter twenty-six: There can be only one
In his seventeen years of life Harry Potter had done, seen and heard a lot of strange things. It was kind of ironic that after having grown up with people who detested 'freakishness' in any form, he would go and encounter so many of the things they detested above all, but after all the strange things he had encountered this one was definitely one of the weirdest.
Coming face to face with an alternative universe version of oneself … yeah defiantly weird. Then again he also had seen his past self, back in his third year. And speaking of weird things there was that time he was told he was the heir to the four founders and he had to be with at least five witches …. oh wait that had been a weird if not very pleasant dream back in fourth year staring among others a certain French and Asian witch.
Harry shook his head as his line of thoughts started to head in the direction that besides rather random was a bit out of place right now. Once his head was back on straight Harry had to say he was sure if anyone saw the two of them right now than they would make quite the sight.
Two people; identical yet at the same time very different. Both were the only son of Lily and James Potter, both had the trademark black and unruly hair of the Potters and the emerald green eyes that was often seen in the Evans line and of course they both had lightning shape scar on their forehead, but there were also some major differences so for example did Harry wear his fighting outfit that was mostly based on Muggle style clothing while his counterpart was wearing dark robes and had a scabbard attached to his waist and a golden mask that was often worn by inner circle Death Eaters stuck on his hip.
There were also some other difference, both for example had scars on their exposed skin, but other than the lightning bolt one all of them were different. Harry also noted that there was something very different about the eyes of his counterpart (besides that he still had two of them), they looked haunted, empty, but also filled with rage. What the hell had happened to him since he had disappeared?
To be honest Harry had known his alternative self was alive for months now. He knew from the moment he could not summon him with his ring that he was alive somewhere, but he had always suspected the boy was locked up somewhere. He had never expected him to show up here. Did his appearance here mean he had joined the Death Eaters? By the looks of his mask he had.
Maybe it was because he was an alternative universe version of himself, but Harry just could not see it happening. The image he had created in his mind of his counterpart after all the things he had heard of him was one of a more arrogant version of the Ron of his universe; so he just could not see how someone with such a black and white view of the world would ever join the Death Eaters willingly.
'Then again' Harry thought, 'Going by the scars and the look in his eyes it might not have been that willingly.'
Harry hesitated for a moment on what to do; on some level the very idea of duelling and possibly killing some kind of version of oneself was rather unappealing, but on the other hand standing in front of him was still a man who was prophesised to like him be Voldemort's equal. If he was even remotely similar in power as him then he really couldn't turn his attention away from him. Then a much darker thought entered his mind; this could very well be the one who had killed Morag and if he did he would pay. Screw the technicality that he hadn't known this Morag or that the man in front of him was his alternative self if he had been the one who put her in that state he would suffer.
''So a servant of Voldemort huh? I will admit after all I heard about you that is a surprise. Not only a follower of a dark lord, but also a slave. How the mighty have fallen.'' Harry said with a frown on his face.
His counterpart did not look amused as he narrowed his eyes on Harry and slowly drew his sword with his right hand before pointing it straight at Harry and saying, ''A imposter like you has no right to judge me.''
''You do know I never claimed to –'' Harry said before he was before he was forced to appearate away as he saw his other self do the same thing moments prior. He reappeared several meter away and saw that the other Potter had reappeared close to his old position and more importantly from the looks of it, if he hadn't moved he would have lost his head.
''Oh? You managed to dodge that … impressive then again you were trying to impersonate one of the greatest wizards of all time so you should have at least some skill.''
Harry snorted in contempt as his counterpart disappeared again and made a quick twirl with his wand and thought, 'Ignis Circuli'
As Harry expected the other Potter reappeared again behind him seemingly intend on cutting him down, but this time he wasn't greeted by an empty space, but instead a wall of flames. The flames forced him to stumble back a couple of steps and Harry not wasting an opportunity used the moment of unbalance to nail him with a full body-bind. Another wave of his wand and a lowly muttered word brought the flames down.
''You have no experience in duelling do you?'' Harry asked the young man lying on the ground. While his little appearating close trick was not bad, it was rather suicidal when used multiple times in a single duel.
Due to being hit by a full body bind, his counterpart could obviously not reply to his statement, but the look of pure hatred in his eyes said more than enough. Harry was not impressed however and walked over to the downed figure. He then stomped down hard on his counterpart left hand which was holding the man's wand. After a moment or two he heard the distinct sound of a wand snapping and going by the look of pain on his counterpart's face he might have broken more than just a piece of wood.
Harry then moved his gaze toward the sword in the other Harry's right hand. While he was not exactly an expert in enchanted weaponry, from what he could see at first glance it was just a normal sword, maybe goblin made like the knife he owned, but other than that normal. So not fearing any repercussion he raised his feet again and this time stamped on the other hand. After that he kicked the now loosely held sword away, not really caring where it landed as his full focus was still on the person he could have become if circumstances had been different.
Then with an almost casual wave of his wand he lifted the effects of the spell around the downed figure head, giving him back the ability to speak. Surprisingly his counterpart did not use his newly regained use of his voice to shout in pain. Instead he in a way that showed the two Harrys might be more alike than most people would assume gritted his teeth as he glared at Harry while muttering, ''Bastard.''
If he was in a different state of mind then Harry might have found the insult rather amusing due to irony of who had uttered it and to whom. He might even have felt a level of respect for acting so defiant while being completely under his mercy, but right now, moments after witnessing the death body of one of the people he had been closest to in his universe, those thought didn't even appear in his head, instead he placed one of his feet on his counterpart's throat and added slight pressure.
''Did you kill her?''
It was a short question that was asked, but the look in Harry's eyes made it clear to his counterpart that 'the imposter' wanted a satisfying answer otherwise his feet might do a repeat performance to his throat of what he had already done to his hands.
For a moment four green eyes were locked in contact; anger, defiance and another emotion that Harry could not identify were visible in the set of emerald green eyes of his counterpart, while the lone emerald one of himself held something more akin to cold fury.
Apparently his gaze was intimidating enough as his counterpart flinched away after only a few moments. Unbeknownst to both Harrys it wasn't just that the standing Harry's gaze had been intimidating, it was also the magic that he unknowingly had started to leak as got more and more angry.
The moment of weakness of the alternative Harry however lasted only moments as seconds after averting his gaze he returned it back to Harry, a defiant look back firmly in place.
''So what if I did?'' The young man spat, causing Harry's eyes to narrow. ''She was weak! Those who are weak will suffer! Those who are strong are allowed to do what they want!''
''Those who are strong are allowed to do what they want and the weak should suffer?'' Harry repeated coldly, his attitude making it clear what he thought of that statement. ''I see …'' He muttered and slowly raised his feet that had previously rested on his counterpart's throat. ''If you truly believe that then you know what will happen next don't you?''
It took only a moment, but it seems his counterpart understood what Harry was about to do and for the first time he could see fear as his counterpart quickly spoke. ''No – no – you are wrong – I am not weak – I am not weak anymore – I will never be weak again – go away – no!''
Still with his leg raised in the air, Harry stared down at the man who seem be having some kind of breakdown. A part of his mind demanded that he just bring his foot down and kill the man who had killed the counterpart of his dear friend. Another part was wondering just what the hell was wrong with the guy as even though he was no mind healer he knew this couldn't be a normal reaction. Lastly a very small part of his mind, a part that was so small his conscious mind barely registered it was wondering if killing his alternative self was some kind of messed up form of suicide.
Harry's moment of hesitation was broken when he heard an all too familiar howl and without even noticing it he had already placed his feet back on the ground and had turned to the diction of the sound.
What he saw there made him swear loudly. His mind did not even registering that what he saw shouldn't be possible. No the only thing the sight of the new threat did was clear his head somewhat as the anger was driven away by survival instincts and the need to rapidly plan.
For a moment he stared at the new threat and then glanced at his counterpart who was still chanting that he was not weak before he turned his gaze back the now rapidly approaching enemies. He made a sound of annoyance and retrieved what looked like two normal pebbles from his pocket.
''Activate,'' He muttered as he tapped on of the pebbles and it glowed a faint blue for a brief moment. He then appearated to the death body of Morag and placed the pebbles on her. He then used appearation again to return to his former position, not sparing the body another glance as he trusted that the Portkey that was spelled to activate ten seconds after the activation phrase to work.
As soon as he returned to his former position he delivered a solid kick to the face of his counterpart. The young man's head jerked to the side and he fell silent … Harry honestly couldn't care less at this point just what kind of damage his kick had done as long as his other self was silent (and he could vent a little). He then tapped his wand on the second and last pebble he had been holding and muttered the activation phrase again. After it flashed blue to show that the countdown had begun, he unceremoniously dropped the Portkey and immediately appearated away.
XxX
John Bell cursed inwardly as he saw another student fall to the ground after hit by a spell of some kind. Luckily the spell hadn't been green and John didn't see any blood from his position so perhaps she was still alive.
''Lang, Thomas, cover me.'' He barked as he used his off hand to grab a peddle/Portkey from his pocket. Once he was sure the two were indeed in a position from where they could protect him from each available attack angle he made his way over to the girl who looked unhealthy pale and looked to be somewhere around his niece Katie's age (thank Merlin she had already graduated and thus wasn't here).
Once he was there he placed the pebble on her and waited the necessary ten seconds for her to be transported to HQ and the able hands of his wife and the rest of the medical staff.
Once she disappeared he jumped right back in the battle. The battle itself wasn't going well at all; while he had easily accomplished his and his team's assigned task of driving the Dementors away, securing Hogsmeade had proven to be a lot harder. If this was a straight out battle with his people on one side and the enemies on another and nothing but a plain field as their surroundings then John held no doubt they would have won by now, but unfortunately this was not a plain field and they were definitely not alone.
It has been many years since he had attended Hogwarts, but he couldn't imagine he was ever so foolish as most of the students he had encountered thus far were. Seriously if you are surrounded on all sides then you don't try to run away and hope that no one curses you in the back. At some level he could understand that the situation would be terrifying for those who had never seen combat before, but giving in to your emotions and just run and hope for the best was just foolish.
That being said he had seen a couple of students who had actually managed to keep their cool. He had seen a trio of girls defending the Three Broomstick and trying to get others students to get in the building so they could use the Floo there to escape.
Due to the position of the inn and how it was already being used Bell had ordered the two newest teams (the ones who had already been ordered to look after the safety of the students anyway) to secure a perimeter around it and assist the brunette (who bore more than a passing resembles to a certain cadet Vance he remembered from instructing at the Academy), the redhead (Rosaline Potter if he was not mistaken) and the raven-haired girl.
As he dodged around another curse John seriously began to wonder what the rest of the teams were doing. As far as he knew Ming and her team were still trying to get the giants out of the village. Once outside of the village they could probably be taken out without too much problem, but when they are still within the confines of the village no stronger area affecting spells could be used and taking down a giant let alone two in the middle of the village wasn't a very bright idea either.
Then there was his boss; where was he? He hadn't seen him since entering the village and the village wasn't that big either. Even if both of them were moving around he should have seen by now.
Suddenly his previous thoughts didn't feel important at all anymore as he heard a familiar howl. One he hadn't heard in years and one he would be more than glad to never hear again. He quickly appearated toward the top of a nearby building and immediately crouched so that he didn't make too big a target.
What he saw in the distance heading toward them via the main road was something that almost immediately made his blood run cold. Large wolves were running on all four legs toward them, but John knew from experience that those weren't normal ones … no those were werewolves. Someone like him who had faced more than his fair share of Werewolves in his years as Auror could easily spot the difference between a regular albeit dangerous beast and a cursed human. The only problem was that it was still the middle of the day and he was pretty sure the full moon wouldn't be there for over a week so how could those 'things' be werewolves?
Maybe they weren't werewolves after all … perhaps they were the results of illegal magical breeding or perhaps someone had taken a regular wolf and had turned it into that or something? Or perhaps they were Skinwalkers? To be honest John doubted his latest idea. Skinwalkers weren't native to Britain and from what little he knew about them they would never serve Voldemort so what the hell were those things?
He shook his head, no it did not matter what they were. Right now he needed to ensure those things wouldn't overrun the defenders. He could try and find out what they were after the battle. He was about to act and move until he saw someone else had appearated in to the battlefield. The new figure was standing right in the middle of the main street and was facing the wolves. It took John only a moment to realise who was standing there and as soon as he spotted the familiar figure of his employer he appearated right behind him. Harry must have seen him using his magical eye as he did not react in any way other than saying. ''I take it you saw them too?''
John nodded and without asking posited himself so that he could watch his superior's back.
''I see,'' Harry said as he pulled his knife from the sheath on his back and aimed his wand at the approaching group of wolves. ''Inform the others about what is coming and get ready to move if necessary.''
John nodded and pulled his personal communication mirror from his pocket. Just as he made contact with the teams in the area, Harry started to unleash hell on the approaching threat.
XxX
Unbeknownst to Harry and his teams, Hogsmeade was not the only place were fighting was going on. In one of the dungeons of the castle of Hogwarts, hidden behind a seemingly normal length of wall was the Slytherin dorm. A place that was normally home to students who were practically raised from young age to see everyone around them as a potential asset or an enemy that needs to be destroyed. A place where they didn't have to look a united front like they have to do in the rest of the school. A place were the weak follow the strong and lastly and lastly a place that had been in complete disarray for the last few hours.
One of the people still in the dormitory was Daphne Greengrass. The raven haired young woman was leaning against the wall and every time she breathed in she felt a sharp pain. Even though that she still had a firm grip on her wand.
After taken several more breaths to gather herself she tried to push herself of the wall, but immediately her free hand shot to her side as feeling of extreme pain erupted from that area. As she after several moments removed the hand from her side and into range of her vision she saw her hand was coated red with blood and she knew that unlike some of the bloodstains on her robes, this blood was her own.
She was started to feel a bit lightheaded and regardless how much she tried she couldn't keep her eyes open and after fluttering them for several seconds they finally shut down as she started to lose all strength in her body.
She didn't know how much time had passed, but suddenly she felt her arm being moved and slung over someone's shoulder. She tried to move her wand-arm, but it felt like lead. She tried to open her eyes, but she could only open them far enough to see the vague outline of a familiar blonde.
Her body relaxed slightly at the sight of her ally and she allowed herself to be dragged away from that place.
'' We need to get you out of here. You can't afford to be seen here anymore.'' She heard her companion say and even in her current state Daphne knew this to be true. She had done it … her actions these last few hours made it clear she had chosen a side. No longer could she could remain in the middle; for better or worse she had picked a side and know she only hoped she hadn't made the biggest mistake in her life.
Author notes:
Damn writing Harry vs Harry was a serious pain, but hopefully I managed to write it somewhat understandable. Anyway could you guys describe (in more than 1 word) what you guys thought of alternative Harry? I am seriously interested to see how people who have no idea exactly what happened to him perceive his behaviour.
Before any of you comment; yes I know that the chapter was short, but adding more would just not have fitted. Next chapter will probably be a bit longer. If everything goes as I have planned than it should answer a lot questions some of you might have been wondering about.
Will this be the last of alternative Harry? No it will not; like I said in last chapter's Author Notes. He is important for the character development of several characters so expect to see him again in the future.
Next chapter: chapter twenty-seven: The fallen & fallout