Hit a bit of a wall for One Last Chance. So I started this one. Anyway, tell me how you like it.
(A/N: 20110527 1855hrs = Errors with Lily's name and Hermione's birth year have been corrected.)
Chapter 1 Different Circumstance
The house was silent as the dust of the attack settled. A small child could be heard whimpering as a sudden whirlwind of energy swirled through the sitting room. Two beings seemed to materialize from nothingness. After a moment of disorientation, the two looked around, confused.
"You sure the spell worked?" the dark haired man asked.
The woman with long red hair nodded.
"Yes. It worked."
The man looked around before his eyes settled on the mantle, where his eyes grew moist. He slowly walked over and picked up the photo, and looked upon it, happiness and sadness both in his eyes as a few tears began to fall.
"Lily." He whispered.
Lily Potter nee Evans looked over to her husband as he held the photo out to her. Looking down, she felt her heart clench with emotions. The picture was of a small dark haired infant, smiling up at his father as the man looked lovingly down at his son. The boy looked at least a year old. Lily looked up at her husband, tears running down her pale cheeks.
"He's alive here, James." She whispered, her voice chocked with emotion.
James nodded and both froze at the cry from the second floor. Both Potter's headed for the steps, lightening quick and pushed the half open door all the way open and froze. Lily placed a hand over her mouth as James' jaw dropped.
"Oh my."
Lying on the ground was another Lily Potter, her eyes vacant as the baby seemed to try to wake her. James moved over and picked up the small boy, feeling his heart swell with happiness while Lily moved to her double and closed her eyes.
"We'll take care of him. I promise." She told her double.
She rose to her feet and looked at James, who was hugging his son, crying silently as the child hugged him back. Lily moved over and placed a hand on James' shoulder. The man looked at her, a watery smile on his face.
"It's him, Lily. He's alive here."
Lily nodded and smiled sadly. James placed the boy into her arms and saw her tender, caring expression as she stroked the child's cheek, trying hard not to cry. A sudden noise caused them to spin around, wands drawn. James' moved first, hurrying out of the room, wand at the ready. With a silent leap, he landed at the bottom of the stairs, his wand raised at the shape in the doorway.
"Identify yourself before you find your ass missing." James snarled.
The man froze, raising his hands. When he spoke, his aged voice carried his confusion, even though James' couldn't see his face.
"J-James? But…the wards…How?" Albus Dumbledore asked.
James didn't lower his wand.
"Dumbledore. How convenient. Timed it perfectly, did you?" James shot at him.
The old man was truly confused as Lily came down the stairs, Harry sucking on the bottle she held for him. She narrowed her eyes for a few seconds, before turning to her husband.
"Lower your wand, dear. His aura is pure."
James lowered his wand and motioned for the man to enter. Albus Dumbledore followed them to the sitting room and sat down, thoroughly relieved, but confused. He didn't waste anytime in asking his question.
"How are you both alive? The wards Lily and I cast would only fail if you both died."
Lilly was now confused.
"What do you mean, you and I set?"
Albus narrowed his eyes, hand going for his wand.
"What kind of trick is this? I should kill you both for trying to take the Potter's son!"
Albus had not counted on James' laughing as he stood up.
"Professor, I believe we both have made several assumptions tonight. So let's stop making asses of ourselves. We'll explain as best we can, if you'll explain as best you can."
Seeing the nod, James began.
"We aren't the Lily and James of this dimension. You see, six months ago, under orders from your other self in our dimension, we went into hiding, with Peter as secret keeper. Two nights, two bloody nights after we entered this cottage, he attacked. He made us watch while he killed our son. Then left, laughing all the way. Lilly was distraught and she began looking at someway to save Harry. She found a way, but it would require us to leave our dimension and look for another one where we could save him. If we died, so be it. As long as our son had a mother and father, we would be willing to sacrifice ourselves. It's what your counterpart talked us into."
Albus looked outrage.
"I cannot believe that! I would never, ever allow anyone to die if there was another way!"
James looked at Lily who nodded. So far, this Dumbledore was the kind hearted leader of Light that his counter part pretended to be. James continued.
"Be that as it may, we were prepared to die for our son. We hadn't counted on coming here just after our counterparts were murdered. But it looks as if Voldemort is dead and gone."
Albus breathed a sigh before looking sadly at the two.
"I had tried to talk you out of it Lily. You had found a charm that would use your sacrifice of love to protect Harry from that monster. As much as I sought for another answer, I could not find one. It seems though, that it worked."
Lily nodded her head before adjusting Harry.
"What now, Professor?" She asked.
He paused and looked thoughtful for a moment.
"I'd suggest we have a private funeral for your counterparts. Alas, we will have to tell the minister about this. And-"
Whatever was next was cut off by the scream from on Sirius Black.'
"PRONGS! LILY! Please God, be alive!"
James moved quickly.
"Sitting room, Padfoot. And please keep your voice down."
The sound of running footsteps brought the sight of a distraught Sirius Black skidding into the room. His look of relief was all they needed to see. Sirius pulled James into a tight embrace before hugging Lily herself. He looked down at Harry, smiling before he began to frown.
"What's with the cut?" He asked.
Lily glanced down and spotted the strange lightening shaped cut on her son's forehead. Albus looked over before he rose and moved to Sirius' side.
"If I may, Lily? I'd like to check for any after effects from the curse."
Lily nodded and Dumbledore smiled down at Harry as he pointed his wand over the child. Muttering a short complicated spell, a set of colors began to appear in the air. Most of them were blue and green, with the odd hint of red, but a small black orb appeared, making Albus frown. He shook his head, and redid the spell, getting the same results. Lily looked up at him, seeing the anger on the old man's face.
"What? What is it?" She asked worriedly.
"I can not believe this! That inhuman, evil, son of-" He pasued at Lily's warning look. "gum chewer." He finished embarrassedly.
James chuckled a bit as Sirius looked at the headmaster in shock. Lily, however, was worried about what Albus had seen.
"What is it?" She asked again.
Albus took a calming breath before speaking, but his anger was still present.
"Riddle came here with the intent to make a Horcrux. I never suspected he had even heard of them, as anything to do with the subject are banned material. Only those going for Master's in Defense or going into Curse Breaking are even aware of them." He explained.
Sirius' face hardened at the information.
"And let me guess? The evil toad has a bit of his soul stuck to my godson?"
Albus nodded, while Lily and James gasped.
"I can, however remove the soul fragment, as it was not meant to be attached to him. However, it will hurt him." He warned.
Lily looked over at James, who nodded his head.
"Do it." She whispered.
Albus nodded and rolled up his sleeves before pulling a strange rectangular box out of his robes and placing it on the table. Before anyone could ask, he looked over at James and Sirius.
"When I remove this soul fragment, it will try to flee. I need you both to use the capture charms on it and hold it in place. From there, the three of us will force it into this little device I designed to capture Riddle, had everything else failed."
Both men nodded as the old man looked to Lily.
"You're going to be the anchor for Harry. Since it is still relatively fresh, so to speak, the fragment will not have attached sufficiently for Harry to be at any risk. However, it will be quicker with you as his anchor." Albus explained.
The young woman nodded her head as Albus took a deep breath.
"Here goes, Lady and Gents."
With that, he began channeling his magic. Albus held his wand, point first over the scar, and began to slowly pull it up, straining as the soul tried desperately to remain in it's host. He tried to hurry the process as young Harry began to wail in pain, making the old man feel guilty for hurting the child. He looked up as he felt a hand on his to see Lily looking at him with determination.
"It's alright Albus. Let's get this damn thing taken care of now instead of later."
The old man nodded and poured even more magic into the spell and yanked back in one fluid motion, tearing the soul fragment from Harry. Just as he predicted, the fragment immediately tried to flee, only to be hit by Sirius' capture charm. The beam of red energy lanced around the fragment, writhing like a snake as it held tight. James quickly activated his and the two struggled to keep it held over the small rectangle box Dumbledore had created.
"James. Ease off your charm. I don't want half my face burned off." Sirius warned as the energy from James' charm threatened to do just that.
Albus spotted something that could possible end bad.
"Watch it you two. Don't cross the streams."
Sirius glanced over to him.
"Why?"
"Would you like to be ripped apart by a total protonic reversal?"
Sirius wisely shut his mouth and waited as Albus readied himself.
"Center it over the table." He ordered.
Both man forced the thing over the box as Albus tapped it with his wand before sending his own charm to stabilize the fragment. The box gave off a vortex of light and power that seemed to be trying to suck the fragment into the box. Albus spotted the curious glances.
"Don't look directly into the trap." He warned.
"I looked into the trap, Professor." Sirius stated, looking worried.
Albus growled in frustration and began lowering the thing into the box, the other two quickly following suit. The thing tried to claw it's way out of the traps gapping maw, but failed. With a final shout, the fragment was forced into the trap, and it sealed itself with a burst of magic. All three men were sweating as Lilly tended to Harry in the kitchen. Sirius was the first to recover and tapped the box with his foot, prompting Albus to shake his head.
"Well…that went better than I predicted." Albus stated as he tucked the device away in his cloak.
Albus stayed for another hour while Lilly and James explained everything to Sirius, who was saddened that his friend from this reality was gone, but he still had James from the other reality. It would take some getting used to, but they would managed. Just before the professor left, he paused to ask Lily and James where they would move to, as Godric's Hallow was no longer safe. Lily looked over at James before looking at the Professor, one place coming to mind.
"Crawley."
-x-x-x-x-x-
Albus sighed as he leaned back into his chair, letting his stress bleed off. It had been a day and a half since the attack on Godric's Hallow. As far as the wizarding world was concerned, Harry Potter had somehow defeated Voldemort after his parents had been rendered unconscious. He rubbed his temples to get rid of his head ache before a sudden vibration caught his attention. He quickly grabbed the book in question and opened it wide as it flew to the page of possible students. He saw a new name appearing on the register, along with an age and birthdate.
"Hmm…muggleborn. Let's see…born nineteen September nineteen-seventy-nine. Name…Hermione Jean Granger…Hmmm…Interesting…" Albus spoke slowly as he watched a small gold line snake to young Harry James Potter's name.
Albus smiled to himself.
"I think time at Hogwarts will be very interesting in the next decade."