Despite wanting to get the hell out of dodge Harry decided to stay at the SGC for a few days, mostly to see what would become of Teal'c. The Jaffa way of undoing brainwashing was brutal to put it mildly. This Bra'tac fellow was one hard core son of a bitch, even if he did complain about being a hundred and thirty-nine a lot.

Now with this being the SGC things were bound to happen. Oh and happen they did. An alternate Carter dropped by at the US military's secret storage facility in Nevada, oh so originally named Area 51, and after grudgingly volunteering to help he found himself in an alternate reality where Stargate command has fallen to Apophis.

The situation was strange even by Harry's standards. He also seriously wondered if Teal'c's old master didn't make a Horcrux or two. The bloke was almost as hard to kill as a cockroach. Anyway, things went south as they often did and they were captured…again.

Daniel muttered something about Deja-vu and Harry had to hold back a snort.

Apophis then turned to face the captured interlopers. "Who are you?" he demanded in that sexy raspy Goa'uld tone. Not that he'd ever admit it, though the Tok'ra were getting suspicious at how often he hit on their female members.

"Hey, is it me or do all of the bad guys in this dimension have badass goatee's or something?" Harry asked. Ignoring his capturer/interrogator probably wasn't the best idea, but it had to be said.

Jack turned to face the Kneeling Wizard next to him in astonishment. "Thank you. I was just thinking that!"

Apophis was about to order the Wise Cracker killed but the older human threw him off.

"My first prime killed you before my very eyes." Apophis looked confused, and more than a bit intrigued.

"Oh, I'm feeling much better now thank you." This time Harry couldn't help himself and did snort. His reaction earned him a blow to the back of the head by the nearest Jaffa.

"Enough!" Goatee Apophis next addressed Teal'c. "Who are you? What magic is this?"

As one they all smirked and looked to Harry, who was busy rubbing the rapidly growing goose egg on his head.

"Well you should know better than anyone there's no such thing as magic." Jackson just had to go there didn't he?

Hammond took a Zat blast to the back. "Tell me how you could rise without a Sarcophagus?"

"It's a bit hard to explain." O'Neill said next. "I don't really know it myself. But he does." Jack pointed to Daniel, essentially throwing him under the bus. Apophis didn't have much patience it seemed though, and really having Daniel try to explain quantum theory was just a bad idea.

Hammond was hit a second time. Kowalski at this point went mental. Harry made the best of the brief distraction and pulled his wand. Daniel was Zatted next. It seemed Apophis didn't buy whatever weird truth they were divulging.

Jackson was about to get a second helping while Harry was on the verge of acting to prevent just that when a pair of Jaffa came in, shouting what were probably warnings. A second dialed the gate. Whatever he'd said made the Apophis quite angry.

And look, he has a Kera Kesh! Brilliant.

Harry leapt into action, sending a powerful cutter towards Apophis in the hopes of forcing him to defend rather than press them into the back wall of the command room. Before the spell connected however he vanished, as did the other Jaffa.

O'Neill was shaking his head in confusion. "Ok, I'm guessing…

"…Asgard." Wow, Jackson sure recovered quickly from that Zat blast. What kind of immunity did he have against those? Harry was actually a bit jealous.

"Nice!" the Colonel said before getting to his feet. The remaining Jaffa hightailed it through the gate. Sam appeared in a bright flash of light soon after. The Asgard even revived Hammond!

"Wow, those guys are pretty handy" Harry studied the strange new ship descending over the mountain from the monitor. I was shrouded in fog, and looked quite cool. Their saviors however didn't show themselves, leaving Harry with a strange and what he thought bogus description from O'Neill to get an idea of what the Asgard looked like.

oOo

SG-1 + company left shortly after, job well done and feeling all warm and fuzzy on the inside. Yeah no, not really. When all was said and done it was decided the mirror was too dangerous to be left intact…and that was a real shame if you asked Harry.

Such a shame in fact that, with some well transfigured rocks there were now two mirrors. Except the body double he'd created had a dull black surface, meant to emulate it in the off position. The remote was easier, resting on top of the angular frame of the fake.

The original now sat in a specially warded room aboard his Al'Kesh that only Harry had access to. And rightly so, considering he'd hidden it with another Fidelius charm. Yes, a Fidelius within a Fidelius.

Inception! Not even SG-1 knew it even existed. If someone read the files they'd assume it was destroyed, so there was no worry that he'd incur the wrath of the Americans...again. Harry had a bad habit of nicking stuff they found. But back to the mirror.

The Quantum mirror was both the most advanced thing he'd ever laid eyes upon and simultaneously the crudest in almost painful ways. Its creator must have had some sick sense of humour to make such a device and give it a remote with a simple forward and backwards setting.

Add to that the fact that somewhere, in a parallel universe someone else could be 'flipping through the channels' so to speak complicated things considerably, even if the odds were slim to none of it affecting 'your' mirror.

From what Sam had told him, it was like sitting at home watching MTV and suddenly someone from the Oprah Winfrey Network plugs in to watch you. Chances are you won't ever see MTV again, and all you're left with is shitty OWN.

Oh, and if you touch the TV you get sucked over to the other side. Confusing? Harry thought so too.

Of course it didn't help that should the mirror be turned off it wouldn't be connected to the place last seen. While he didn't understand its power source the Wizard was able to hook up a permanent connection to the Bebop's power systems, so losing his way wouldn't be an issue.

But despite the great number of things that could go sideways when dealing with the artifact Harry was unable to leave it be. To think that somewhere out there a version of his parents and of all the friends that had been lost during the last war could be alive! It was too tempting to pass up.

And so here he stood, flipping through realities in a room no one could find in a ship no one could find, parked light-years from the nearest star, yet alone Stargate. Harry was looking for realities where the mirror was on Earth.

So far he'd found one, and that trip had been a bloody disaster, ending with an Occupied SGC being destroyed via the often activated but rarely used self-destruct. Yeah, let's not go there.

Alien laboratory, laboratory, smoldering ruined laboratory, random alien landscape with purple sky…ah, the ubiquitous doors of Star Gate command. This looked promising.

Making sure the Hallows and his other things were secured in his mini trunk, Harry pulled the Holly wand and brushed his fingers against the silvery surface of the device. With a flash of light he was on the other side.

On the Bebop side of the mirror stood a Voldemort mannequin with a valet sign hung around its neck that said; 'Potter'. The thing was pretty odd to look at, but then again that was the point. It would give him the visual que needed to return in case the mirror was tampered with. Also, if anyone other than him returned the wards would make short work of them.

That Mannequin could fight!

Right, first things first.

Light. The fact that the glaring fluorescent fixtures did indeed work was promising. It meant someone was paying the power bill. Transfiguring a paint can into a sheet Harry covered the mirror. He'd considered throwing the invisibility cloak over it, but removing one of the Hallows from the rest would void the immortality warranty he'd come to consider a safety net of sorts.

Well, without so much as wanting to open the door the young Wizard concentrated on Apparating. Long distance apparition was a bit tricky, but only because it was a power hog. There was a reason Port keys existed.

With a faint pop the Dimension traveller disappeared.

There were several places Harry knew very well back in England that he could focus on. The most powerful and important of course would not work, seeing how the school had extremely strong anti-apparition wards. Similarly, Grimmauld place was also out of the question. Besides, who knew what sort of nasty stuff was lurking in that house. The next logical choice then was of course the Burrow.

What he found there was troubling. Where the infamous leaning house had stood was nothing more than a burnt, black hole. Some of the metal components, like the claw footed metal tub could be picked out of the wreckage. It was hard to tell, considering it was pitch black.

'Must be night time' the Wizard thought, lightly kicking a charred piece of lumber that stuck out of the ground. It fell into a pile of ash with a soft 'thump'. Keeping track of day and night became somewhat overrated when living inside a spaceship travelling to other planets, all of which did not have any semblance to Earth's rotation.

There was clearly nothing left here, and from the looks of it the fire happened quite some time ago. With a worried frown Harry popped to the Diagon alley apparition point. There was some life here, though it seemed as though the magical district had seen better days. Hidden under the cloak, Harry took in all there was to see.

Most shops were boarded up. Some had clearly met the same fate as the Burrow. Gringotts's pearly white façade was dirtied with soot and pitted from curse fire. Its heavy doors were firmly shut. The WWW store was empty, with no sign of the building having ever housed the twin's joke shop.

Flourish and Blotts was open however, and although the store catered to those seeking books, it also kept a meticulous record of newspapers, including the trashy Daily Prophet. At the back of the store Harry removed his cloak and applied a glamour. It wouldn't do if people saw the archives open and close as if haunted.

Harry read over yesterday's issue first, hoping to glean some information from the current coming and goings with which to refine his search. With a feeling of dread he read the headlines, and promptly vomited into a conveniently conjured waste bin seconds later.

The Order here had been all but slaughtered a mere days ago. Moving pictures of familiar faces, both alive and dead back in his world were shown crucified, hanging from heavy wooden crosses.

They were still moving as of yesterday's issue, though some were clearly beyond even his help. The archives forgotten, Harry bolted from the cramped shop and headed towards the main square. There were few people milling about, but even more were just hanging around. Harry kicked himself for the terrible pun.

There they were. The entirety of the Order of the Phoenix, reduced to this. Elder Wand in hand, the two dozen crosses were ripped from the square and gently placed on the ground. As of yet no one had stopped him but that would no doubt change soon. With a grim efficiency he moved from victim to victim, wand held so tight he feared it might snap.

Harry had come here to find his parents, but instead found his very own Hell on Earth.

The first live one (and this was a very loose term to be used in this case) was oddly enough Moody. They'd taken his magical eye, and should he ever walk again his approach would sound more like a thunk, thunk, thunk, instead of the thunk tap thunk Harry remembered.

They'd taken the other leg as well. The wound was in bad shape. Infected, but fortunately it wasn't bleeding. No, the bastards had cauterized it to prevent him from succumbing to blood loss.

Harry transfigured the barely conscious Ex Auror into a marble before moving on. At least in this state he'd be stabilized. The rest were dead already, but one of the twins seemed to show signs of life. Harry paused. The long haired Carter had suffering from some sort of temporal malady before she was sent back. Would the universe care what twin it was he brought back?

'Fuck, no time to ponder this shite Potter, just get him off that thing and figure it out later'. Harry made sure to apply numbing charms to the Weasley's wounds before prying the rusty rail spikes from wood with a loud creak.

This was it, he concluded as a second marble joined the first. Out of two dozen, he'd gotten two. And chances are that they might not make it anyway.

"Hey you, stop right there!" It seemed whoever was running or at least policing this sorry excuse of an existence had shown up to stop him. Well, let them come. Let them reap what they've sown.

Harry loosened a powerful banisher, not aimed at the group of dark robed wizards but the cross lying on the muddy ground beside him. The thick trunk leapt towards the group like a missile, impaled the leading man through the chest…and kept going, at least until the sides of the perpendicular cross member hit and blew him apart.

The others scrambled to cover themselves from the gory display of raw power. Harry quickly followed up by throwing the nastiest spell chain he knew, all positively dark stuff thanks to his access to Voldemort's memories. A tendon shrinking curse struck a Death Eater (he assumed that what they were).

The snapping sounds of his bones breaking could be heard over the agonizing screams. Oddly enough it was one of his fellow henchmen that put him out of his misery. The barrage of spells continued, with about one in four aimed at a random Death eater while the majority focused on one man.

Harry recognized him to be the most powerful if not experienced, and therefor focused his efforts on him. Despite the volume of fire the hooded man ducked, weaved, and sidestepped with practiced efficiency, occasionally loosening an accurately cast spell that Harry was forced to avoid.

Harry switched tactics, going for broad spectrum elemental attacks that couldn't be easily blocked. They would drain him faster, but prolonging this fight was unwise. Already two of the hooded men were moving towards his flanks. The fire whip forced them to raise shields, and Harry wasted no time pulling a concussion grenade from his robes.

The device detonated between the group of wizards, so loud a faint ring was all he could register despite plugging his ears. Overpowered bludgeoners found two targets shortly thereafter. Fun fact, a bludgeoner at full power creates a similar effect to a reducto depending on where it hits.

Harry had aimed for their heads. Four down, two more to go. A flick of the wrist and a low Bone shatterer from the sole remaining minion was deflected back. The man was quick enough to block, but his hood fell back.

Harry's anger increased tenfold when it turned out to be Malfoy, junior. It had been years since he'd used the Cruciatus last, and back then he'd honestly thought Bellatrix deserved every bit she got. Well, with the Elder wand and a fully mature core, there was a lot more juice behind it now.

He didn't doubt that it was every bit as strong as the Dark Lord's at this very moment. Draco squealed like a pig, writhing on the muddy ground. Unfortunately he had to break the curse to dodge the AK coming his way.

Shame, but it seemed he'd have to deal with those two swiftly.

Harry reciprocated with his own killing curse, feeling no qualms about using it. Dumbledore would be disappointed. Luckily even the dead couldn't watch him here, at least none he knew. The group leader, as Harry had categorized him dove to the left and narrowly avoided instant death.

His use of multiple unforgivables left him feeling tainted. Harry was quick to follow up with Severus's favorite cutter and neatly cleaved the bastard in two. Or so he thought. The illusion shimmered away, and the battle hardened Wizard's body moved purely on instinct.

Not in any calculated manner or predetermined direction, but simply to get away from the spot he'd occupied a mere second ago. The transparent curse grazed his shoulder, and the dragon hide material instantly began to turn to dust. It was like the magical resistance didn't even matter. Harry shed the red coat with a curse and glared at the person who'd cost him his best outfit.

For a few seconds the two remaining able-bodied combatants simply stood there, looking at the other, trying to figure out who the other was. Harry was cherry picking some of the more vicious spells from his brain, cataloguing them in order of effectiveness and possible counter spells for the next spell chain.

He never got the chance to start though. A dozen pops announced the arrival of reinforcements. Out of options and time, he summoned a small explosive device of his own design from an inner pocket. It was a Naquadah infused hand grenade with built in inward facing concussion wards.

The single use runes carved into the bottom of the cylinder would erect a spherical shield fifty feet from the device. Anything inside will vaporize. With a twist not unlike an Egg timer it activated.

Harry apparated just as the first spells flew, not even bothering to place the device on the ground. He chose a nearby spot for two reasons. One, to watch the result. The second was not to give them an apparition trail to follow. The likelihood of them doing so from the bottom of a glass crusted fifty foot hole was slim, but erring on the safe side put his mind at ease. This wasn't the time to horse around.

The flash was blinding, but there was no sound. There was a tremor that transferred through the building's foundations and shook the slate tiles. He didn't remain long enough to watch the vaporized particulates clear the now collapsed barrier. After all, there was nothing to see.

With another crack he was back at in the SGC store room, slightly panting but otherwise fine, physically anyway. Well that was a disaster.

Made his last furrow into the mirror look mild by comparison. A quick check confirmed that he was indeed still dialed into the right place. Harry stormed from the Mirror room and headed to the medical bay, making sure to kick the large heavy sarcophagus on the way to the stasis chambers.

The journey back to Earth would take several hours, and fortunately the Bebop had the suspended animation chambers. The marbles, even with the Elder wand in the equation would not last much longer.

He cursed his lack of a functioning Sarcophagus for the tenth time. After unshrinking it the thing refused to work. Damn finicky Goa'uld piece of rubbish! Harry suppressed the thoughts about what he'd seen. He didn't want to go there right now. Who knew, if those two pulled through this little field trip might be worth the weeks of nightmares he was bound to have.

oOo

Harry parked the Bomber in geosynchronous orbit over London and pulled the two survivors out of stasis. Within a minute they were in the emergency ward of St. Mungos and in the hands of some truly baffled Healers.

Harry decided to Apparate to the Ministry directly. No need to confuse Schack more than necessary. The hyperspace journey had given him time to digest what he'd seen. That world was fucked.

He wanted to avenge the Order there and make Voldemort pay for what he's done, but the more rational part of his mind screamed at his that it wasn't his fight. But what if he'd rescued Hermione or Ron, or anyone else who just happened to be alive here? Hell, what if that was George down there and in a few days he'd start to get sick like Carter had? Harry couldn't send him back. There was nothing there for him. No one.

He cursed. An entire universe of space but the one poor bloke who deserves it the most can't find a place in it. Harry shook his head walking past the baffled Ministry security detail. With a deep calming breath he took a step back.

He was getting ahead of himself. No sense in cursing the powers that be for something that might not come to pass. For now all he could do was pray the redhead was indeed Fred Weasley.

As much as Harry Potter hated his fame, there was something unquestionably brilliant about being able to walk into the acting Minister of Magic's office and get his full and undivided attention. No wonder Albus liked being the most influential wizard of his age. Those sorts of perks he could get used to.

"Hey Kingsley, how's politics treating you?"

The dark skinned former Auror looked flabbergasted as the reclusive War Hero waltzed into his office and flopped down on the visitors chair, then placed his feet on the desk.

"Harry…? I wasn't expecting you." There was a double meaning there.

"Ah, well I wasn't expecting me either, if you know what I mean. Heck, twelve hours ago I was halfway across the galaxy. Strange world we live in, eh Shack?"

Harry sounded aloof. Call it a defense mechanism for awkward conversations. The former order member was also quite good at reading people. What emotions he could pick up from Harry included frustration, rage and nervousness.

So he hid it behind a facade that all but screamed crazy. Shacklebolt meanwhile decided to overhear the whole galaxy bit, which simply added to Harry's already good deception.

"Errr, yes. What brings you here then Harry? No one's seen or heard from you in quite some time."

In fact the last Kigsley had heard of Mr Potter was when his American colleague had ranted on about the boy a few months ago. While he wasn't officially deemed a criminal, they were very keen on bringing him in for questioning.

Harry dismissed the faux concern Kingsley was showing and decided to get right down to business.

"I dropped off two badly injured Wizards at about five minutes ago. No, before you ask I didn't cause their injuries. In fact I saved them from a most painful death." Images of a bloody and lifeless Kingsley Schackelbolt briefly came to mind before Harry clamped down on his wandering thoughts.

The minister remained silent, waiting for the young man to get to the point. After all, one didn't just walk into this office with irrelevant news such as this.

The identity of the two individuals however is the real reason for me poorly announced intrusion."

Harry leveled an intense stare at the man sitting across from him. Shacklebolt leaned closer, the chair he was occupying creaking as he did so.

They are one Alastor Moody and Fred or George Weasley."

The Minister sighed, looking weary and more than a bit disappointed. "Harry, I'm all for a good joke but this is neither funny nor appropriate."

Potters expression never faltered however. If anything, the next words were spoken with a clear chill.

"I assure you Minister that this information is entirely true."

Kingsley shook his head and rose. "Mr. Potter, there is no way to bring back the dead. Now I must insist you leave. Please make a proper appointment the next time you feel the need to visit."

Harry sighed, not in the mood to be handled like some child who made up stories to get attention. He grabbed the Ministers arm and forced his way through the anti-apparation wards placed on the ministry. They arrived in St. Mungos practically in the exact spot where the port key had dumped the two survivors, as marked by the still bloody floor.

A confused and very agitated Healer marched up to them, but just barely managed to regain his composure when realizing he'd be addressing the Head of State.

"Minister, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Shacklebolt looked both mad and concerned at what Harry had done, but thankfully kept his mouth shut.

"Healer Stanrobe! Harry greeted the man as he strode past and pushed through the heavy double doors to the Intensive care ward. "How are you good sir? I trust you've taken care of our newest patients?"

"Mr. Potter? Potter! That is a restricted area!" Harry ignored the enraged man and made a beeline for the only two occupied beds in the wing. This place hadn't seen much action in the last few years, ever since the war ended. Both Moody and the mystery twin were heavily bandaged, but thankfully their faces were recognizable.

"Minister, here's your proof. As you well know Poly juice doesn't work with dead people's hair. That is Alastor Moody laying in front of you.

Kingsley swallowed hard, looking at the grizzly face of his former superior. Next he cast a finite, just to make sure this wasn't a glamour.

"How is this possible?" he whispered.

Stanrobe had followed them in and Harry now looked at the man, pondering whether he should forcibly remove him or not. Stanrobe was quick to recall the doctor patient confidentiality agreement, which was a magically binding vow.

Anything discussed regarding how or why these two people arrived here would be impossible for him to divulge. It was good enough for Harry.

"I picked them up in an alternate dimension. They'd been crucified by Voldemort."

Kingsley looked pale as a sheet, which was an impressive feat for a man of his…complexion.

"Potter, what on Earth have you been up too?" he whispered. Harry smirked. "Actually, I haven't been on Earth in months. To be honest it was all a bit unexpected."

Shack just nodded, still studying the unconscious men's faces.

"And this is Arthur's son?"

Harry frowned. "Yes. But I'm not sure which." Kingley looked at the unconscious redhead. "Why does it matter?"

"About a month ago someone from another dimension arrived here." Harry pursed his lips, recalling the strange fuzziness that Carter had experienced. "When there are two people occupying the same verse the visitor will eventually develop an illness.

The physics and reasons are beyond me, but the punchline is that they must return or die. Moody here is safe, considering ours is dead. But with the twin here, there is a chance he might have to return." Harry shut his eyes and praying again that it was Fred lying there. "And Kingley, that place isn't very pleasant."

The minister nodded, his frustrated demeanor morphing to one of pity for the young man lying on the hospital bed.

"How long before the first symptoms begin?" Harry was glad Schack had a good head on his shoulders and didn't ask stupid questions.

"Eight to twelve hours", he said with a shrug. "There hasn't really been any time to study the effects."

At this point Stanrobe piped in. "His injuries weren't as severe as Mr. Moodies. He should be awake within the hour."

Harry nodded in thanks. "I'll stick around Shack, at least until I know who he is."

"Very well. I must return to the Ministry and soothe over the ruffled feathers with my protection detail." Harry grinned shamelessly.

The following sixty or so minutes were spent leafing through outdated Teen witch weekly and Daily prophets. The visitor chairs here weren't really that comfortable, even with a cushioning charm. They'd slipped the mystery twin a calming drought about fifteen minutes ago, just in case.

A half gurgle, half groan alerted Harry that he was coming to. The young Weasley looked dazed but was quickly perking up.

"Hiya mate, you all right?" Confused eyes focused on the greeter's face and immediately went wide in recognition.

"Harry?" Fred or George croaked. Harry smiled. "The one and…wait, no I guess that wouldn't be right now would it?"

"Am I dead?" A sense of Dei-ja-vu hit the Master of Death. He'd asked train station Dumbledore the same thing during the battle of Hogwarts. Never thought he'd be on the other side of that conversation.

"Ahh, no. You and Moody made it."

The ginger tried to sit up but was foiled by the steady hand of long dead younger brother's friend.

"I know this must be confusing…"

Understatement of the year there Potter, his unwanted inner voice quipped. "…let's take a little trip." A shrunken Pensieve found the light of day from Harry's robe pocket and was quickly inflated (i.e unshrunk). Wand drawn, he pulled a short memory from his temple and flicked it into the bowel.

The Weasley looked at him suspiciously but accepted the offered hand. Thanks to the magic within the Bowl one can move within despite injuries. For the rich but crippled few who can afford the relic it is often used as a retreat. To be able to walk, run, at least within your own conscience was well worth the immense price these things fetched.

Harry's companion was fully mobile and marveling at the sensation of not hurting for the first time in what felt like an eternity.

The memory began in front of the mirror, on the Al'Kesh's side.

"What is that?" the redhead asked, curiosity getting the better of him. Harry turned and gazed at the source of all this trouble, his past self-frozen a mere millimeters from reaching out to the surface.

"I'll explain that in a moment. But first, I was hoping you could tell me if you're Fred or George? I never really figured out how to tell you two apart", Harry added with a small grin.

The twin hesitated. "And please don't lie. You're life quite literally depends on it." Ok, so that could have been interpreted as a threat. Yeah, he took it as one.

"No, I'm not going to kill you. But physics might. Look, I'll explain later. For now just tell me. Please?"

"Fred. Fred Weasley." Harry visibly relaxed, as if the anxiety and worry simply fell off his body. "Oh thank Merlin," he whispered.

No longer guarded, Fred instead looked mildly concerned. Harry cleared his throat. "Right. That's damn good to hear. C'mon, let's get this show on the road."

They approached the stone gateway and watched as Harry was sucked into the silvery surface.

"Woah, what just happened?" Fred asked, his suspicion momentarily forgotten.

"It's called the Quantum mirror", Harry explained "and it's a portal to other universes or realities."

One could almost see the dusty gears grind into place in the twins head. Ron would have taken a considerable amount of time longer, but despite their poor attendance and work ethic the Weasley twins were anything but slouches in the brains department. He briefly wondered if this Fred had helped found the WWW franchise over there.

"You're from another reality?"

Bingo! Harry nodded. "I was looking for my parents and stumbled onto your world. Harry's easy smile faded into a frown. "It wasn't a very nice place."

Then the reality of Harry's comments hit home. "Merlin, you said me and Moody were the only ones. Oh no, George, mum, dad. Everyone! They're all dead!"

Seems the calming droughts effects didn't extend into the Pensieve, Harry concluded.

"I'm sorry Fred." The twin sunk to his knees and wept. Originally Harry had planned to show him the full memory, but now he wasn't so sure. He gave the twin a few minutes to compose himself.

"Fred. Remember why I asked you who you are?"

"What of it?" His chest was heaving, trying in vain to keep it together in front of a man he really didn't know.

"The reason was that in my world Fred Weasley died. It also means you can stay." Harry gently patted him on the shoulder. "Voldemort is dead here. The Deatheaters all gone. No more war. Your family is alive."

Fred shook his head. "They're not my family", he hissed.

Harry sighed. "I'm truly sorry. If I'd used the mirror sooner they might still be alive."

Fred said nothing for a while. On the other side of the mirror the memories' Harry had left. In another few minutes he'd return with the two marbles.

"The Weasleys here, they were kind enough to take me in," Harry recalled fondly, breaking the awkward silence. "Molly was like the mother I never had. They're good people, and your…his death left them broken. They put up a good front, but none of them were the same after. There isn't anything left in your world. Just pain and death. Here though, you could help them heal."

Harry squeezed Fred's shoulder before pulling his hand away. "And who knows, maybe they can do the same for you."

The memory faded and they returned to the Hospital. Kingsley would be back soon, and he'd ask a lot of awkward question Harry had no intention of answering.

"Listen, I have to go. Tell the Weasleys I said hi."

Fred nodded, still somewhat loopy from the drugs and painkillers. But despite his current state of mind the twin remembered what Molly and Arthur had taught him. Gratitude.

"Thanks Harry," a once again tired and battered Fred Weasley said weakly, extending his hand.

The boy who lived flashed him a crooked smile and accepted the bandaged limb, giving it a gentle shake. Harry apparated away. He needed to get drunk. Maybe it was time to see Vala again.


Before you rage quit and send me nasty messages about the timeline being screwed, Yes I'm aware. Quantum Mirror happening in season 3, and we are currently somewhere in season 5. But it's a standalone episode that doesn't further the Canon, so I felt safe moving it slightly. I also need it for future chapters.

The fic went a bit dark this chapter. Blame it on me watching crime shows at my in-laws all weekend. I was downright depressed by the time we came back.

So we've finally toe dipped into the Alternate Universe bit of this story. Don't worry, there will be more. One thing I'd like to touch on about most AU stories is that Harry seems to find THE perfect one every time. Here he'll have to work a bit to find what he wants. I didn't want to be an ass and send the twin back, so yeah that one was pretty obvious. I'm not a completely heartless bastard you know.