Disclaimer: All characters etc. belong to JK Rowling not me.
Silence echoes around the room as the man, more a of a boy really, lands on the table with a resounding crack. Every eye on the room, and most of the wands too, were trained on the still body, ready to to attack at the slightest provocation. It was a fifty-fifty shot they had been told. And even though they had gone through with it, agreed to take the chance, they honestly didn't expect it to work in their favor. They all knew and accepted the harsh realities of life. Even that didn't stop their hearts from sagging as this new hope that had made them feel just slightest bit lighter burst like the fragile bubble that it was. For there was no way that this boy was who they were looking for. They were looking for a savior, someone to solve their problems that they could not longer face. That, or another Dark Lord destined only to add to their problems. But this boy could be neither and watching his unconscious form lying there, Sirius felt the last bit of hope drift away and watched it dissolve into the air as if it was a tangible thing. It was done. They had gambled and lost and now it was time to pay up.
Harry laid still, listening to the growing sound of voices, forcing his muscles to remain relaxed when they wanted to tense in anticipation. Careful to keep his breathing even, he allowed his surroundings to wash over his senses, trying to figure out where he was; trying to figure out what had happened. Then he tried again becuase what he was hearing simply could not be true. He was sure he just heard Dumbledores' gentle voice rising above a clamoring of other voices. His heart gave a desperate twinge as he heard something akin to Sirius's gruff tones drifting between the other sounds. No no no, Harry told himself firmly, barely repressing the urge to shake his head in denial. This was not happening, it wasn't real. No matter what he heard it was real. It was another vision, another night terror, some elaborate death eater attack. Hell, maybe I had actually cracked, he thought with grim good humor, I mean, no one actually knows the long term side-effects of the killing curse seeing as no one else had ever been alive to suffer them. Maybe there was a delayed reaction thing. Pushing away his morbid and confusing thoughts Harry once more turned his attention to voices around him, this time focusing less on who was saying what but rather the words that the impossible voices were uttering.
"Look, we must've done the spell wrong, got the wrong person."
"No, we couldn't have—"
"Sure we could have! We don't know a damn thing that's going on here, we could have done anything!"
"Let's everyone just calm down. At the very least we should get our guest settled into more comfortable accommodations and perhaps wait for him to answer our questions before jumping to any conclusions just yet." Harry listened as Dumbledore - no, the person-who-sounds-like-Dumbledore-but-isn't softly reign back in the barrage of voices and take control of the situation. Listening to the voices, trying to gather more information as to what was going on, Harry missed the gentle footsteps that had drawn closer to where he laid and was as such unprepared when cool hands brushed against his arms, attempting to slip under his back, presumably to take him to "more comfortable accommodations." Before the hands could do more than glance against his skin though, Harry had launched himself into a standing position, wand pointed at the attacker shield in place, hex ready on his lips. Silence fell across the room as those closest to Harry were pushed back by the strength of his shield, several falling to the ground in surprise. Harry's breath came in carefully measured gasps in a desperate attempt to keep his growing panic at bay as he surveyed the scene around him. Maybe I died. He thought suddenly, for everyone around him, he had seen die. There was Dumbledore, Moody, Tonks, Remus, Sirius, Madame Bones, the list went on and on as his eyes continued to scan the room, analyzing the threats as they came up. He had to admit it was rather disconcerting having those he considered his family pointing their wands at him but he didn't have it in him to be angry. It helped him ground himself for he knew that his Sirius, and Dumbledore, and Moody, and Remus, and Tonks would never point their wands at him like that. They would never have the look of nervous curiosity on their face, wariness engrained into their stances as they studied him like he was a new animal on display at the zoo. No. These people were not his family.
Harry felt his shoulders straighten and his back uncurl as he settled back into a more balanced position. He wouldn't start cursing if they didn't but neither would he trust them. Harry knew not if this was some kind of prank gone wrong or an elaborate trap set about by the remaining death eaters, but he was determined to be prepared either way. Neither of those theories really struck Harry as plausible though, so even as he adjusted his wand more comfortably in his hand, his mind continued to try and come up with other possible explanations. Time travel? Maybe, but no one seemed younger than they should be… His musings were interrupted as the Dumbledore look-alike stepped towards Harry slowly, as if he were a dangerous animal that had stumbled into their dining room. And a dining room it was, one that was painfully familiar, overflowing with grim memories. It was a dining room marked by the dour colors, deep shadows and darker memories.
"Who are you?" Dumbledore's voice was harsh and suspicious and Harry felt an eyebrow go up involuntarily in his surprise. What was going on? Why didn't Dumbledore know his name? Making a quick decision, Harry decided to not give out too much information before he knew what was going on. If one thing had made it through his thick head these past few years it was be careful who you trust for nobody is ever as they first appear; everyone has secrets.
"Harry…" he said carefully, watching the reactions of the others in the room. No one seemed to recognize the name and Harry felt himself getting even more confused. Just what the hell was going on here?
"Do you have a last name to go along with that?" The man who looked like Sirius inquired sarcastically.
Instead of answering Harry keeps his attention focused on Dumbledore. "What's your favorite flavor of jam?" Harry asked abruptly.
If Dumbledore was perplexed the question it didn't show in his face he simply regarded Harry with a searching look before answering in a measured tone, "Raspberry, but my boy, why ever would you want to know that?" Harry simply shook his head, a headache brewing behind his eyes from the stress of maintaining the shield as well as trying to keep everyone in his sights.
"Look." He snapped instead of answering, the pain getting the best of him, "Can't someone tell me what is going on here?" Despite his calming breaths, Harry gelt anger growing in his chest, fighting for space with the panic that was already nesting near his racing heart.
At his question the people looked at one another, suddenly looking rather sheepish. Again Dumbledore was the first one to speak. "Maybe we should all put our wands away so we can figure out what's going on here." Harry warily watched as those in the room hesitantly put away their wands, although their hands never strayed far from their hiding places. Harry could practically feel their fingers itching to hold the polished wood once more. Still cautious, despite the fact the immediate danger had lessened somewhat, Harry lessened his shield but did not drop it completely and although his wand dropped to his side as he slowly made his way over to table where he had woken up, it did not leave his hand. He may be an idiot but even he was not that stupid. He sat down at the table, arching an eyebrow as an expectant silence filled the room. No one spoke as they sat and stared at one another, no one wanted to be the one who broke the silence. Despite his unease, Harry carefully schooled his face to a blank mask and slowly gazed around the room, content to wait as long as it took. First impressions mattered and he sure as hell wasn't going to let these people push him around. Not again.
Harry jumped ever so slightly as a throat was cleared from the corner of the table and Harry found himself looking into the care worn face of Remus. The face he last seen in the great hall, pale and waxy, with blue tinged lips as sobs echoed throughout the great hall. Harry squeezed his eyes shut quickly, desperately trying to drown the memories in the darkness, forcing his expression back to one of bored casualness before once more looking at Remus, ignoring the stabbing pain shooting through his heart.
"Well… You see, we sort of brought you here. Into a different world that is," Remus began, ignoring the glares being sent his way from around the room. "It was supposed to, well, I don't know how much you know from your world but we are at war here. A war against a powerful dark wizard and we used a spell that was supposed to send us someone who could help. But, it obviously went wrong and sent us you instead."
Despite his previous resolution to not give away more information than he had to Harry was helpless to stop the question that fell off his lips before his brain could catch up.
"You mean Voldemort is alive?"
"Yes." Harry sagged back against the chair as his brain raced to catch up with all the information that had been dumped into his head. Of course Hermione had theorized to him about alternate dimensions, fascinated by the idea due to the mystery that surrounded it in both the muggle and magical world, but he had never really given it much thought. Who the hell would think what would happen if they got transported to an alternate dimension. Only he could have that kind of crappy luck. Even though he remembered little of Hermione's lecture, he did know that he did not have to worry about messing up timelines the way he would if he was sent to a different time, which was a relief. Harry already found himself accepting the idea that he was in a different universe and moving on to other plans that he would need. It spoke to how messed up his life was that even this could hardly faze him.
"Okay…" He began slowly, trying to puzzle out the best way to continue. "Maybe you should tell me what has been going on here." He figured he couldn't help if he didn't know what he did not know what was going on. Whether he was trying to help these people or himself, Harry decided not to examine too closely.
"No bloody way. We don't even know who you are!" That was Sirius again. Harry found himself surpassing a smirk at his reaction. It seemed some things, such as Sirius's hot-headed attitude, transcended worlds. Harry simply cocked an eyebrow at his godfather's rather rude exclamation, avoiding his gaze. He liked his intact thank you very much. Harry debated whether there was any harm in sharing his name as he studiously trained his gaze at a knot in the room across from him. The problem was, he didn't know who was alive here, if there was a prophecy, he didn't know anything and he hated giving away information without knowing the full picture. Searching for some guidance Harry did his best to recall the rather long winded discussion that he and Hermione had shared as she rambled on about alternate universes and such but could bring little to mind. There had seemed little point to paying attention at the time. When would he learn it was always in his best interest to shut up and at least try to follow what Hermione was saying? Sighing, he figured he would just would have to say his name and clean up the mess that it caused after the fact. It wasn't like it was a new concept to him but he felt himself sigh internally in exasperation. Why did this crap always happen to him?
"My name is Harry James Potter."