Review Responses:
Tsukoblue: They never met the good Tom Riddle and the alternate Dumbledore is old and has a school to run.
King dearth: Thank you for the suggestion, but I'd like to keep it in one place—it makes it easier for me to organize.
SamonIllmantrim: Thank you for the feedback! I will definitely consider that idea.
keht jelicho: I agree, flashbacks make sense. SamonIllmantrim suggested those as well.
A/N:
So... it's been a while.
I've been a little inactive with this story ever since I got back to it and posted that chapter a while ago. The reason for that is because I got totally sucked into writing this other story, and it's been taking up more or less all of my time. I'll be back to updating this, but don't expect super frequent updates... My attention is still heavily focused on the other story. Sorry, not sorry. I'm having way too much fun.
Still isn't abandoned, though.
Anyway, enjoy.
Previously:
Ginny chuckled. "So," she said, looking at Lily speculatively. "You're Mrs. Potter?"
Lily smiled mischievously. "I'm one of them," she said, glancing not so subtly at Hermione.
To her credit, Ginny caught on immediately. "Oh. My. God. Hermione, you married Harry Potter? You need to tell me everything!"
They were interrupted when Harry suddenly stood up, looking grim. "Hermione, please floo call St. Mungos, we need a mind healer. I'm not skilled enough for this."
Chapter 7: Aftermath
Sirius paced back and forth in the Atrium, unable to so much as look towards his downed fiancée—it hurt too much. To think that what happened to her could be compared to what Harry and Hermione had said of the Longbottoms was almost too much for the usually cheerful man, who hadn't seen nearly as much war and death as his counterpart.
A passing woman, who had likely arrived to assist in the clean-up efforts gazed sadly upon the scene. "How horrible," she muttered to herself, passing the distraught man while shaking her head minutely.
Sirius felt like he was ready to burst with frustration at the injustice of the situation. It's all their fault! We followed them back here and look what already happened—No. Sirius firmly quashed the anger that had begun to fester. It's not their fault.
"Sirius...?" came a hesitant voice from behind him, a mixture of hopeful and wary.
He sighed. This was not the time for this. Reluctantly, he turned to face the older version of Remus Lupin. "Please," Sirius begged. "I can't do this with you now... my fiancée could be lost forever. I don't... I can't—" He trailed off at the end, eyes diverting to the ground.
The older man nodded, sighing. He knew that pain, that fear. "I do expect an explanation, though."
"And you deserve one," said Harry, who had walked up from behind, badly startling both men.
"Blimey, Harry," Sirius gasped, clutching his chest. "Too many shocks for one day..."
Harry grimaced. "Sorry, hadn't intended to scare either of you. Unfortunately, I'll need to borrow Sirius here. We've got some news on her condition."
Sirius tensed. "Good or bad?" he asked cautiously, afraid to get his hopes up, lest they be dashed.
"Better than you're hoping," Harry replied blandly before making his way back towards the fallen witch and the gathering that was surrounding her.
Ignoring the confused look Remus was shooting him, Sirius shuffled after Harry, unable to completely chase the hope in his eyes away.
"Fortunately," the healer said once everyone had gathered around, "the situation was not quite as hopeless as the Longbottoms'. Unfortunately, she will still need intensive care for the next week at the very least."
The tension visibly left Sirius, and he let out a very audible sigh of relief.
"Thank Merlin," whispered James, who had been positively distraught at the thought of someone who was like a sister to him losing her mind.
"This is easily fixed," said the healer. "You are indeed very fortunate that she had not been put in this state by the Cruciatus. That would have undoubtedly been irreversible. Luckily, I have seen this curse before, and know the exact counter-spell to utilize."
The group was silent as they watched the healer cast a complicated-sounding charm. A glance at Hermione told Sirius that she was soaking up as much of the incantation as she could to analyze later—he'd seen her when she got into "research mode." Ginny was staring blankly at Harry while hugging Hermione as if she'd vanish again if she let go. It was quite a shock—her friends had suddenly gotten nearly six years older. Lily was supporting Harry, who was once again struggling to stand, while James and Remus were in a similar state to Sirius, unable to tear their eyes from the unconscious Jess.
A scant few moments later, after the healer had ended his long chant a breathed out heavily, he waved his wand, weaving several diagnostic charms which told him she was simply magically exhausted and would need bed rest for the week that he had predicted. As he relayed the information to the group, everyone seemed to let out the last bit of tension that had been festering for the last few minutes. Despite his initial release of tension, Sirius was still so relieved that he fell to his knees, and wept in happiness.
"Sirius," coaxed Hermione, who had untangled herself from Ginny's iron grip, "we'll need to be going soon before we get caught up with the Order. None of us, especially not Harry or I, are prepared to face them right now." This last sentence was said as she glanced over at the approaching Albus Dumbledore, who looked extremely curious, an expression that almost certainly promised an interrogation. None of them were in the right state of mind for that, and Hermione knew that one of them would end up cursing the venerated man before everything was all said and done. Luckily, he had previously been on the other side of the Atrium and was still rather far from them.
Quickly whipping a few extra pain-relief charms at Harry to get him moving again, Hermione rapidly herded the group, including Ginny, towards the Floo, ensuring that Sirius was carrying Jess.
"Leaky Cauldron," Hermione said quietly enough to be missed by the Headmaster, who lengthened his stride when he noticed what the group was doing.
One by one, the group Flooed to the popular pub, Hermione bringing up the rear and staying just long enough to wink at the now-frustrated Headmaster who was annoyed by the realization that he would be unable to follow them.
Jess awoke to pandemonium.
Feeling utterly exhausted, she forced her eyes open and tried to determine where she was. Unfortunately, that was the moment her hearing returned, and she was immediately overwhelmed by the sudden cacophony of noise that besieged her. She clamped her hands over her ears and screwed her eyes shut. That was also the moment that she noticed that she was being carried, as the arms that held her tightened at her sudden movement.
"Jess?" came the hopeful query that almost didn't reach her due to the massive amount of other noise and the fact that she was covering her ears with her hands.
Slowly moving her hands away from her ears, she cautiously opened her eyes. She was not overwhelmed this time, because she had been prepared for the noise and the light. However, she was wholly unprepared for the broken and raw look in Sirius's eyes when she gazed into them. Everything else bled away as she stared into his eyes.
"Siri," she whispered back, knowing and hating how weak she sounded. Her vocal cords screamed in protest and she broke out into a coughing fit. Forcing herself to speak through the fit, she asked her question. "Where are we?"
Sirius's eyes hardened. "The Leaky Cauldron. These people are giving James and Lily a bit of a hard time."
"Understatement of the month," muttered Harry, who was standing next to them, watching Jess anxiously.
"Let me stand," Jess demanded, ignoring the warnings her body tried to give her.
"No, no, no," Sirius rejected. "You're not strong enough for this right now."
She glared at him fiercely. "Not going to work," Sirius said gruffly.
"I agree with Sirius," Harry interjected. "You're suffering from severe magical exhaustion. The worst thing that you could do right now is overexerting yourself."
"But—"
"No," Sirius said again, cutting off her feeble protest before she could articulate it.
She growled. "Someone has to get this crowd off of James and Lily," she gritted out, frustrated.
Harry exchanged a guilty glance with Sirius. "I'll do it," he said when he looked back at her, using a tone that brokered no argument.
Jess scowled. "Fine." She didn't like being treated as if she was incapable, but she was conscious enough of her own physical state that Harry was able to get through to her.
Harry flicked out his wand and turned his attention towards the crowd, which was pushing James and Lily back against the wall, bombarding them with so many questions at once that nothing could be made out. He growled and stalked towards the crowd, which had thankfully ignored him, Sirius, and Jess.
Casting a non-verbal Sonorus, he spoke. "Sit down, shut up."
He flicked his wand thrice and as if lifted by invisible hands, the patrons floated back to their seats and were magically silenced.
Quietus. "How could you? This couple has done nothing to deserve your treatment. I am very disappointed by what I have witnessed here today. Just... stay in your seats."
He flicked his wand again, removing his silencing charm from them. James and Lily shot Harry grateful looks as most of the customers openly gawked at him. Turning around with a sigh, he made his way back to Sirius and Jess with James and Lily trailing behind him.
"Where are Hermione and Remus?" Jess asked Harry as he reached them.
Harry smiled at the thought of Hermione. "They're booking rooms for us, and our friend from this world, Ginny, is with them."
As if summoned, the trio re-entered the room behind Tom, the bartender, who stopped abruptly at the sight of the pub completely silent and all staring at Harry. Seeing that Jess had awoken, the three quickly made their way over.
"Jess!" Hermione exclaimed. "You're awake! Are you okay?"
The aforementioned girl smiled faintly. "I'll get better quickly," she said.
Hermione glanced at Harry for confirmation, who nodded. "Another question, why is it so quiet in here?"
"Yeah," Remus added, looking around, "it was extremely loud earlier when we first came in... They're staring at you, Harry."
"What did you do?" Hermione asked suspiciously, peering at her husband, who blushed.
"Gave them a stern talking-to," Sirius answered helpfully, grinning at Harry. "Don't think you could've done a better job."
Hermione nodded approvingly. "That explains why James and Lily aren't being swarmed anymore."
Tom approached the large group, eyeing James and Lily curiously. "I can take you to your rooms?" he asked, rather than said.
"Am I staying with you guys?" Ginny asked.
Harry and Hermione exchanged a look. "You can stay in our room, but you need to send an owl to your mother. If I know Molly Weasley, she'll be worried sick. Don't forget, you're going to have to go back to Hogwarts soon too."
Ginny frowned. "I don't have an owl, and Pig isn't nearby, I'm sure."
Hermione gave Harry a sad smile. "Hedwig... you can call her, can't you?"
Harry's mouth dropped open. "Hedwig," he breathed. It took him a moment to wrap his head around it... his first birthday present, and his loyal companion, his familiar. "Yes... I should be able to call her, I think."
It just depended on how much his bond with her had deteriorated.
"I know you've missed her," Hermione said softly, grabbing his hand.
Harry's face broke out into a ridiculous grin. "I can't believe we're going to see everyone again!"
"I know," Hermione said happily, squeezing his hand tighter. "But, for now, we need to get out of the limelight. Everyone is still staring at us."
"Ready?" Tom asked, trying to look as if he hadn't been listening to their conversation.
Everyone nodded, and the bartender led them up the stairs. As they disappeared, the room exploded into noise once again, no doubt discussing the last few minutes.
Amelia winced as Fudge hit his desk, hard.
"Damn it!" cursed the Minister for Magic.
One could say that the man wasn't in a particularly good mood... it would have been a gross understatement. Amelia would argue that his mood was fairly understandable, though. He'd made himself look like a proper fool over the past year. Voldemort had led an assault against the Ministry itself, proving that Dumbledore and Potter had been right all along... and what had the Minister done? He'd had them all but carted off to Azkaban. Dumbledore'd lost all of his positions bar his place as Hogwarts's Headmaster and both Potter and he had gotten their names dragged through the mud so thoroughly, that even with the truth coming out after so long, it wasn't likely that the public would be fully swayed.
And that was leaving out that whole deal with Umbridge.
It truly was a proper mess.
"What can we do?" Fudge was saying. Amelia refocused on the conversation happening in front of her. She could've kicked herself for drifting so far into her thoughts as she had... it was always necessary to be paying attention in situations such as these.
Timothy Nott, the Fudge's new assistant, sweated profusely as he nervously struggled to respond. "W-well," he stuttered, eyes darting around wildly, "I do suppose we could, um... try and c-cover our mistake?"
Fudge glowered, bringing forth a whimper from the young man. "And how do you suggest we go about that?" Fudge said fiercely, glaring.
It was clear he didn't expect a coherent answer. The man's term as Minister was over, as far as Amelia was concerned. His stumble was far too noteworthy to be swept under the rug this time.
Amelia sighed as another sharp retort from Fudge made the man shrink further and further down in his seat. It was a pitiful display, nothing like what she'd normally expect from a Nott. Their family was fairly well-known for its fierceness in the political arena, and if Amelia was asked, she'd say it was precisely why Fudge had hired him. He hadn't been so cut-from-the-mold, though, which was unfortunate for the Minister. A competent Nott may have been able to somewhat salvage the situation, possibly keep the impact to probation, but this young man, no, this boy, could hardly be expected to fetch tea for his boss without pissing himself. It was too bad that Percy Weasley had lost his job. He hadn't done bad work, despite his tendency to turn up his nose at anything he thought was "against the rules."
She shook her head. This wasn't why she was here.
"Sorry to interrupt, Minister, but there is something I need to report," she said, trying her hardest to keep her tone respectful. Honestly, if she wasn't required to do this, there was no way she'd be there.
Fudge turned his glare to her. "What?" he asked, also looking like he was struggling to control his features.
"There have been several reports of a pair of men who both look almost identical to James Potter. Also, there's a woman with them who has a similar resemblance to Lily Potter. They have several other companions, but they aren't quite as noteworthy."
Fudge rolled his eyes. "Why should this be of any importance to me?" he queried. Amelia had to admit that his question was somewhat valid, but she hadn't finished yet.
"One of them was seen fighting Voldemort by himself."
Fudge flinched violently. "Don't say his name!" Fudge hissed, eyes narrowing. Timothy just whimpered again.
Amelia rolled her eyes again. It was just a name, and probably a made-up one at that. "Anyway," she continued, "they appeared again later, in the Leaky Cauldron. There was a... commotion. According to reports, one of the men and the woman were swarmed by the patrons. Even old Tom admitted to thinking they were Lily and James."
Fudge shook his head, the flab on his neck jiggling a bit with the motion. "Can't have been. They're dead, buried near that cottage of theirs. Maybe some sort of relatives of theirs, but I can't imagine they'd be here alive."
Nodding reluctantly, Amelia turned to leave. "Thank you for your time, Minister," she demurred, hating herself all the while. She'd done her job... but there was something bugging her about this. It couldn't just be a coincidence, she was sure of it.
As she shut the door to his office, she winced as she heard the Minister begin to shout at his assistant again.
Harry rubbed his eyes tiredly and let out a huge yawn as he sat up.
"Sleep well?" came the quiet voice of his wife from next to him.
He sighed, laying back down. "It's... well, you know how it is. We're back here, and I missed here, but I can't stop stressing over everything."
He'd been made painfully aware that lives were at stake. It was an obvious sentiment, but it hadn't really sunk in after their years away.
"Hmm," Hermione hummed, scooting closer and wrapping her arms around him. He similarly turned towards her, wrapping his own arms around her. "I know what you mean... I can't stop thinking, if you hadn't been fast enough... what would have happened to Jess?"
Harry shuddered at the thought. Despite the warmth of their embrace, a shiver went down his spine. "I... nothing good," he replied. "We were cocky... arrogant. Yesterday was lucky, all things considered. We need to be more careful."
She nodded into his chest. "Very lucky," she whispered.
The conversation faded away, and they just stayed for a while, taking comfort in each other.
A few hours later, they were startled awake by tapping on the window. "Huh," said Harry, disentangling himself from her, "I guess we fell asleep."
Hermione snorted.
Harry walked cautiously over to the window... and there she was.
Hedwig.
He'd seen her last night, as he had luckily been able to call her, but it still felt novel. Shaking away his thoughts, he pulled open the window, letting her drift in and perch on his shoulder.
"She's got a letter," Hermione commented idly as she pulled open the closet, sorting through the few pairs of clothes she'd stored in there the night before.
"Huh, so she does," said Harry, laughing. He'd been so caught up in seeing her again that he hadn't noticed her quarry.
At that moment, Ginny stepped into the room, looking like she'd just taken a shower. "The lovebirds are awake, then," she said, grinning. "Oh, and that must be Mum's reply!"
Hermione blushed a deep red. Harry had to hold in a chuckle. One would think that she'd be mostly immune to teasing after years spent with the Marauders, but no. She was surprisingly the easiest of them to tease. She usually gave as good as she got, though.
Harry rolled his eyes and held out his arm for Hedwig to perch on instead. His feathered friend followed his nonverbal queue and stuck out her leg with the letter attached, easily balancing.
Ginny nearly pranced over to them and carefully untied the letter. "Let's see what it says," she breathed, sounding excited. Her eyes flitted down the page, excitement undiminished as she read through her mother's letter.
"What's it say?" Harry asked curiously as Hedwig quickly flew to the table.
Hermione strolled between them, snatching the letter from Ginny's hands, looking eager to read it herself.
"Dear Ginny," Hermione read, "I can't believe you! You're lucky this isn't a howler, young missy!" Hermione paused, unable to contain the laughter that forced its way out. Harry had a few chuckles of his own. After she'd laughed for a few seconds, she recovered and started reading again. "You're staying in the Leaky Cauldron? Please write back with your room number. Give Harry and Hermione my warm regards, and tell them that they're always welcome at the Burrow. Lastly, if I hear any news on our Ron's condition, I'll write. Stay safe. Love you, Mum."
"Maybe we should've asked to crash at the Burrow," Harry said thoughtfully, tossing Hedwig an owl treat, which she snatched out of the air with unsurprising dexterity.
Hermione gave him an exasperated look. "Would that really have been a good idea?" she asked skeptically. "Showing up on their doorstep looking like completely different people... not to mention James and Lily. What were we supposed to say about them?"
"Oh," Harry said, that part of it not having occurred to him. He'd just missed the Weasleys. It would've been nice to stay the night.
Hermione rolled her eyes as she folded the letter back up neatly. "Yes, oh."
With that eloquent statement, the door burst open.
"GOOOOOOD MORNING, POTTERS!" yelled Sirius, clad in only a pair of shorts.
Ginny squeaked, covering her eyes with her hands while Hermione made a hmph sort of sound.
"Good morning, Sirius," Harry replied, grinning.
Jess walked into the room much more sedately, thankfully wearing a shirt in addition to her shorts. She seemed a lot better, though she still had to lean heavily on the wall. "Tried holding him back," she said, giving him an annoyed look, though it was belied by the twitching of her lips, "but he avoided all my advances."
Harry coughed. That could be taken in a number of ways.
"You bet I did!" Sirius exclaimed, exuberant.
"Get dressed, Sirius!" Hermione said, gesturing to Ginny, who still had her eyes averted.
Sirius barely spared a glance to the nervous girl, clearly too energetic to care. "So," he started, talking quickly, "James came in, he said old Tom had gotten him a menu. You guys ready for breakfast, or do you want to wake up a bit more?"
Harry looked to Hermione, feeling indecisive. "I'm good with whatever. What do you feel like?"
Hermione shrugged. Clearly, she was feeling similarly indecisive.
"Is everyone ordering now?" Harry asked, turning back to Sirius.
The long-haired man scratched the back of his head. "We'd been waiting on what you were going to do, honestly. James and Lily haven't ordered yet. They got a menu, but they're still lounging around," he said.
Jess smiled. "Typical, right?" she said, grinning at Hermione who returned the expression.
"I'd feel up for some food," Ginny spoke up nervously, having finally taken her hand down from her eyes. She still wasn't looking at Sirius, though.
Harry shrugged. "Alright, we'll eat then," he said.
"Great," said Jess, smiling. Sirius bolted out of the door.
"What's up with him?" Hermione asked, sidling up to Jess as she stared at the door Sirius had just bolted through.
Jess grinned. "Nothin' much," was her impish response, eyes gleaming with mischief.
As soon as he descended the steps towards the main room, he knew staying at the most popular wizarding bar overnight was a mistake.
The place was stuffed with all kinds of people. Unfortunately, journalists seemed to be the majority of the crowd's composition... and they noticed him immediately.
He staggered back up a few steps as bright flashes of light nearly blinded him. Nearly growling, he swung out his wand in an arc, freezing every single camera in place. Then came the yells.
"Mr. Potter!"
"Mr. Potter!"
"Where have you been for the last fifteen years, Mr. Potter?"
"How does your son feel about your return?"
They thought he was his father? Harry would have laughed if it wasn't for the situation. They'd gotten pictures of him... this was not good. He'd discussed it rather extensively with Hermione and the others... the Ministry could not be allowed to know the Veil's true purpose. They'd already been reckless enough in the Ministry, what with Hermione shouting his name and all.
Twisting on the spot, he apparated back up to his room, tearing through the wards, cursing all the while.
Hermione jumped as he appeared, rather startled by his appearance.
"Harry!" she squeaked, half-dressed, but not making any effort to cover herself.
He ignored her for a moment, sweeping out his wand in another arc, stitching the hole he'd made in the wards back together. With another wave and an incantation of "Pack!" everything in the room that belonged to them flew towards their trunks, shrinking appropriately in order to fit inside. They needed to leave.
"Don't go downstairs," he said shortly. "There are dozens of reporters and Merlin knows what else... we need to get out of here!"
Hermione frowned, flicking her wand around the room and magicking her clothes on her body. They needed to leave. It wouldn't be long before the reporters would likely storm the rooms, searching for Harry after his abrupt departure. Harry rushed out of the room in search of Sirius, James, Jess, and Lily.
A few minutes later, Harry arrived back in the room, everyone else behind him carrying their trunks. Sirius was carrying Jess again, as she wasn't suited to fast speeds just yet. Realizing that they were about to leave, Hedwig flew and perched on Harry's shoulder.
"Where are we going?" asked Ginny, looking overwhelmed.
Harry frowned. Where were they going?
"How about to the Weasleys?" Hermione suggested, eyeing Harry to gauge his thoughts on the idea.
It wouldn't be particularly polite to just... show up, but what other options did they have? Harry stood, thinking, but was quickly interrupted by the sound of clattering as many pairs of feet ran up the stairs.
He swore. "Okay, Weasleys it is!" he said, looking at everyone frantically. "You know where the Burrow is, right?" He hoped that they did, given that they'd all been there before. Arthur had been a friend of theirs.
Upon receiving nods, Harry grabbed Ginny's wrist and disapparated with a crack, a few dozen coins falling to the ground where he once stood.
Seconds after everyone had left, the door burst open, the newcomers looking immensely disappointed at finding nobody inside.
It had been a very close call.
A/N:
I hope you liked it.
See you next time!