The Abuse in a Violently Different Dimension
By VG Jekyll
Not Beta-read

37. No More Secrets

No more secrets, no more lies
See right through your alibis
Take a look into my eyes
No more secrets, no more lies

Harry was not sure if he would ever be able to breathe again.

From the moment he had called Sirius-HIS Sirius!-by his Animagus's nickname, he'd been embraced in such a tight hug, it had pushed all the air out of his lungs. Sirius had swept him right of his feet too, and it didn't look like Sirius was going to let go of him any time soon. Not that Harry minded. He felt like he could stay in this embrace forever.

It felt like coming home. Like he had found something he had lost and thought he'd never find again. Which was in fact what had in fact happened. His worries just disappeared, because Sirius was here. His godfather was here. And Harry was not alone anymore.

The older man held onto him as if he were were afraid that Harry would disappear as soon as he let go of him. His large hands were clutching Harry's shirt rather tightly and he kept muttering how it was impossible that Harry was really there. Impossible, but oh so wonderful. He was so incredible happy to see Harry. And he loved Harry very much, did Harry know that?

Harry simply clung back and let the stream of words fall over him. Apparently it had seemed like the two of them would never let go of each other, for Remus forcefully separated them and then ushered them back to the living room where Jacob still was waiting.

Harry immediately felt ashamed of himself when he saw that the boy was still dutifully sitting on the couch, waiting for them to return. The boy's face was rather pale though, and his brow was furrowed. He had probably worried about what was going on and why they hadn't returned for a while.

"I'm sorry I-" Harry started to explain, but Jacob didn't let him finish his excuse.

"I overheard," he said. The boy's eyes were firmly fixed on his own hands. He was rubbing them together as if they were itchy. Harry bit his lower lip and glanced to the two adults. Remus shrugged, not having noticed the boy listening in on them earlier despite his better senses.

Sirius didn't appear to notice Jacob at all. He was still firmly immersed with staring at Harry. Perhaps he was afraid that it was all an illusion and that Harry was nothing more but a Boggart that could disappear on him at any time.

"You followed us?" Harry asked. His brother snorted and finally looked up to stare reproachingly at him.

"I'm a Gryffindor," Jacob stated shortly. "How could you expect me-of all people-to stay behind when something strange is going on? And I already knew before you, just so you know. I already figured something odd was up long ago. And-"

Remus held placating his hands up. "Jacob, listen to me, please. It's compli-"

Jacob shook his head and nearly sprung up from his seat on the couch. He took his gaze of Harry to glance from Remus to Sirius and back. He pointed accusing with a finger at the two of them.

"No! I know exactly what is going on! I get it. I'm not stupid, you know! In first year, the sorting hat considered placing me in Ravenclaw, I told you that." The last part of the sentence was directed at Remus with a firm nod.

He then pointed at Sirius. "You are not my Sirius. I knew that the moment you and Remus got together. No, sooner even. I knew it the moment our Sirius died!"

"How the hell do you know about that?" Sirius asked startled. He finally lifted his gaze off Harry, who felt like a large gust of wind was now sweeping through his lungs again.

"My watch had his name on it and it was on 'Gone'. I was actually mourning his dead when you showed up at our doorstep with Remus. You pretended to be him for weeks, before you told mum and dad the two of you got hitched."

He then turned to face Harry. "And you are not my brother, I know that! He was a big arse and you are not. He hated flying and you seem to love it!' He glanced away from Harry, seemingly embarrassed as he added: "You talk to me at school."

Okay, Harry thought amazed. The kid was indeed smart. Though the way he spoke about his real brother made Harry wonder how bad the relationship between the two of them actually had been. When the kid stopped talking, probably to finally catch his breath, Harry asked what had been worrying him.

"And what do you think of all this?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, do you... hate me?"

Jacob appeared honestly surprised at that statement. "Why would I hate you?'

"I'm pretending to be your brother. I tried to trick you," Harry pointed out, Jacob merely shrugged his shoulders.

"I like you better than him. He can stay away for all I care."

Though that statement made Harry feel slightly happy inside for being wanted, it couldn't shut away a small thread of dread. "Your brother could be dead, or locked away somewhere," he warned.

The kid looked ashamed, showing that this hadn't even spared a thought to that. Harry then felt a hand on his shoulder as Remus pulled him around to face him. He looked grave.

"What happened to my Harry?" He asked him and Harry couldn't prevent a shiver from travelling down his spine. He shrugged the hand off and let himself fall down on the couch. He didn't mind the fact that Sirius sat down beside him, close enough to feel his body heat. It felt comforting.

Jacob was quick to claim his other side, though he kept some space in between them.

Never did Harry imagine that he'd had to regale the same story he'd told Jay, twice in the same week. Specially after having agonized over it for such a long time. Jacob, Remus and his Sirius were good listeners though. They didn't interrupt him while he told what he knew, and Remus only asked questions to make Harry go deeper into details or to help him continue when he couldn't find the right words.

"-his uncle is looking into it," he finalized his tale. He gratefully gulped down the glass of water that Remus had retrieved for him.

"Could you ask Jay for his uncle's name and contact information? Sirius and I would like to contact him to see what he's actually doing. And maybe we can help." Remus glanced at Sirius who gave a short nod. "We don't want to sit here twiddling our thumbs and do nothing."

Harry promised to see what he could do and then Jacob tried to draw his attention. The kid seemed a bit disturbed. "So um, I don't exist where you're from?" he finally asked. Harry blinked at the unexpected question.

"Ah no. My mum died when I was but one year old."

Remus shared an ominous look with Sirius, who shrugged to show he hadn't been aware of anything.

"She must have been pregnant when she passed away," Remus figured.

Sirius shook his head. "James would've told me. He was my best friend."

"Maybe they didn't know it themselves." Remus placated him.

Harry drew an arm around Jacob, who had been strangely silent after the question. "I guess that taking my baby brother away from me is another thing for me to hate Voldemort for," he muttered darkly, and totally missed the perplexed, yet happy look on Jacob's face.

Remus and Sirius caught it though and shared another knowing look.

They spoke more about what Harry had gone through ever since he had appeared into this universe and about what he had discovered so far. He flushed when Remus pointed out that he hadn't done that much when it came to research.

Sirius asked if Harry still suffered from visions, which the Hufflepuff could thankfully deny. Sirius' relieved smile was wiped off his face by Jacob though, who piped up that Harry suffered from nightmares. Harry shot him a betrayed look, but the kid seemed undisturbed.

"Well, it's true!" Jacob argued. "And mum always said it was better to speak about those things instead of bottling them up. Besides, I had written them about it anyway."

Sirius and Remus vowed to help him get over that, starting with sending him a batch of dreamless potion as soon as they could. They also spoke about how Sirius got there, after falling through the Veil and how he tried to go back to his real dimension.

Apparently he did nothing short of throwing himself through the Veil again. But then he met this world's Remus, who knew immediately that he wasn't their real Sirius and things escalated from there.

The two boys promised to keep in contact with Remus and Sirius though letters and floo, if possible. Harry also vowed to spend his next Hogsmeade visit with them, to which Jacob said he'd like to join them too.

Before Harry and Jacob moved to leave, Sirius took his godson apart for another bone crushing hug. He muttered into Harry's hair how hard it was to let him leave to Hogwarts.

"I really missed you kid," he admitted and Harry's throat felt tight. He gulped a few times to get rid of the hot, constricting feeling.

"I missed you too," he said rather quietly. He didn't want to leave either, not now he knew he wasn't really alone anymore. He finally had someone to fall back on, to trust unconditionally to just be there for him. Sirius then asked if Harry was really all right with Remus and Sirius being together in a romantic relationship.

"If not, I would... I can..." he mumbled, clearly feeling uncomfortable and rubbing awkwardly his neck.

Harry stared gaping at him. "Bloody hell! Siri! I would never ask you to leave someone you love! Why would you even think I-" Harry's outraged rant was cut off by another bone crushing hug and Harry simply let himself go limp. The indignation left as he realized that Sirius was mouthing 'thank you's' into his hair.

"Be safe, Harry," Sirius finally said as goodbye. "The war here is not in full swing yet, but it's coming closer."

"I'll be able to protect myself," Harry promised. He hadn't told them about his elemental power yet though. Since he still wasn't sure if Morgane had been real or not. He'd tell them at a later date. Really. Honest.

Probably.

To Be Continued

VGJekyll:
So, I couldn't stop smiling and really wanted to hug Jacob-no matter how fictional he is-when I read this:
J.K. Rowling has revealed that Lily was pregnant with her second child, when Voldemort killed her.

And I read something on Fandom Wank about fanfic writers who feel entitled to receive good feedback. Can I just say that I'm still incredibly happy and humbled to receive any replies? Specially with my erratic way of uploading chapters and all the long time-spans in between updates.
Each time, I am amazed you people still haven't given up on me yet!
THANK YOU!
(even though I feel like it's a crappy written chapter. Again.)

Oh, and if you wish to know why it took me so long this time:
I wrote

three first drafts of original novels. Hopefully, I'll be able to publish them some day.

[Papa Roach – No More Secrets]