Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns all of these characters. Some of these characters have multiple personalities, but they are getting proper medical help.
Chapter 2: I Hate Rainy Sundays
"I hate rainy sundays," Harry said to himself, as he sat in the deserted classroom. Hermione demanded that he try to solve the mystery of the egg for the Triwizards Tournament, and refused to have anything to do with him when he told her there was still plenty of time. Ron was too busy playing wizard chess, after all he was winning. He decided to go for a walk, only to be chased away by Filch and Flitwick, who were talking in the hallway. He finally ended up hiding in the classroom to avoid the Weasley twins.
The twins were always searching the school on the weekends they did not go to Hogsmeade. They always hoped to uncover another secret passage or something. Harry didn't want to join them in their search. If he did and then they got bored he could easily become the test subject for their latest practical joke. Harry could live without that.
And here he was, sitting in an empty classroom, watching the rain. Finally, he heard their voices fade beneath the patter of the rain against the windows. As he turned to leave, he casually glanced around the room, and at the cabinet he had been leaning against, and that is when he saw it. Coming from the crack between the cabinet doors was a soft red glow. If the room hadn't been as dark as it was, he would have never seen it. He opened the cabinet to find out the source.
There it sat, a red jewel shining with its own light. As he looked at it, he realized it was not sitting on the shelf but was in fact floating an inch above it. He ran his hand underneath to verify this and, as he did so, a finger lightly brushed the bottom of the jewel. Suddenly, he couldn't move, not even to breathe. In that same instant a voice spoke inside his head, "Come, Traveler, to learn what path might have brought you here. Cross over to another plane and see what might have been." As he watched, the jewel faded from sight.
Harry was relieved he had not tried to grab the jewel or he might have faded with it, going who knows where. Then he thought to himself, 'I have to tell Ron and Hermione.' The thought 'perhaps I should tell Dumbledore or one of the teachers' was also in his mind. Unfortunately, it was right behind 'I hope they have treacle pie for desert tonight' and it never had a chance.
Heading back to Gryffindor, Harry ran into no one. When he arrived at the entrance, he said "Golden Snitch," but the picture didn't move. "Excuse me," he asked, "aren't you going to open up?" The Fat Lady laughed, "You have to give the password first." "I did, Golden Snitch," Harry repeated. "That is not the password," said the Fat Lady in a haughty tone, "and that is a terrible disguise." "What do you mean," asked Harry, but before he could get an answer he heard a familiar voice behind him, "What are you doing here?"
When Harry turned around, he saw Hermione, who in turn started laughing when she looked at his face, "What's the matter, two eyes aren't good enough for you, you had to try for four?" "I told him it was a terrible disguise," snickered the Fat Lady.
Harry stared in disbelief, "Hermione, why are you talking to me like that?" She replied mockingly, "Hermione, why are you talking to me like that." "That will be enough Miss Granger," said Professor McGonagall walking up to the two students, "And, Mr. Malfoy, You will explain what you are doing here, and why you are wearing those ridiculous glasses." As his jaw dropped, Hermione piped, "close your mouth, Malfoy, you're attracting flies."
Ignoring her, Harry asked McGonagall, "Professor, what did you call me?" McGonagall arched an eyebrow at the unusual question. "I called you Mr. Malfoy," she repeated. When she noticed his confusion, she added, "is there any reason why I shouldn't?" "Because I'm not Draco Malfoy," Harry said, "I don't even know why you would think I was." The Professor looked at Hermione, causing her to swallow whatever words she was about to say. Then she turned back to Harry, giving the kind of smile you give a little child so as not to frighten him, which is exactly what it did to Harry. "I do not think you are Draco Malfoy," she said carefully, "but I think it best if you tell me your name. That should end the confusion." "I'm Harry Potter," he said, his voice shaking.
He saw Professor McGonagall step back as though she had just been hit. Even Hermione was surprised at her reaction. McGonagall turned to the girl, "Miss Granger, you are to tell no one about this. Go to the Malfoys apartment and tell them to meet me in Dumbledore's office as soon as possible." As Hermione turned to leave, the Professor called out, "and, Miss Granger, it would be best if you came with them." At this, Hermione turned, and ran as fast as she could.
"Harry," she said gently, "you know who I am. Do you know Headmaster Dumbledore?" When Harry nodded, she took him by the hand, and led him away.
Dumbledore smiled at Harry, handing him a cup of tea. "Let me warn you in advance, Harry, I have a good idea of what has happened, and I believe you are in for a bit of a surprise." "I have had a few surprises already, Professor," Harry replied. "If it makes you feel any better, Harry, I remember holding you when you were a baby. You have your mother's eyes, you know." Harry smiled at that.
At this point, there was a knock on the door. In walked Hermione, surprised at Harry's smile. She was more surprised by his reaction to the people behind her. It was Lucius Malfoy and his wife, Narcissa. Both were dressed in modest robes. Behind them was Draco, who smiled when he saw Harry, and gave him a thumbs-up. Without even looking around Lucius said, "stop that Draco, and go sit with your brother." Then he turned to Dumbledore and added, "what did he do now, Albus? I hope it isn't serious." "Oh, Del," sighed Narcissa, looking at Harry like he was a lost puppy. Then she frowned, "Dudley, take off those silly glasses, right now." Dumbledore interrupted, "Narcissa, Lucius, this isn't Dudley. That is why you have been called here."
Dumbledore signaled Harry to stand up saying, "I believe we should start with an introduction. May I present to you Master Harry Potter." "That's impossible, Albus, He's dead," Lucius replied. "Apparently, not in his world, Lucius." was the response. Lucius Malfoy nodded thoughtfully, "He found the traveler stone?" "Yes," said Dumbledore, "and I think we should explain it to him, as he obviously does not know."
Harry tried to remain calm as Dumbledore, explained about the traveler stone and its ability to send a person into a parallel world, a world of what might have been. He answered the questions about how he found the stone and accidently touched it, confirming Dumbledore's suspicions. "Excuse me, Professor," Harry started to ask. "Headmaster," Narcissa said, correcting him. "Um, Headmaster," Harry began again, "What happened to the stone? It disappeared when I touched it." "Nothing happened to it, Harry, it is still there, on your world. In our world, we hid it in a different place. It seems my counterpart has only the Weasley twins to worry about, While I have the Malfoy brothers as well," Dumbledore concluded, looking pointedly at Draco, who looked back with his best 'Who Me' face. "Lucky him," Lucius muttered.
"Headmaster," Hermione asked, "Why don't you lock the stone away in a safe place, instead of leaving it around?" "An intelligent question." the Headmaster said, " and the simple answer is that the stone refuses to be locked up. It insists on being accessible. If I were to lock it in a vault, for example, the stone would merely relocate itself. Think of the havoc, if it suddenly appeared in the middle of London in the middle of a work day. The stone is quite content to sit behind a locked door, but if you put a ward or spell on the door, the stone would be gone the next time you checked. I know, Miss Granger, a very annoying artifact."
"Headmaster," Harry said, looking at Narcissa to make sure he wasn't doing anything wrong, "Why can't I just touch the stone again and go back to my own world?" Again, Dumbledore shook his head, "It doesn't work that way, Harry. If you touch our stone, you will not return home. Instead you will be 'trapped' in this world for the rest of your life." Harry nodded glumly, asking, "What do I do?"
"Headmaster," Draco said, "I have a question. If Harry is supposed to be the same person as my brother, then why does he wear glasses, and Del doesn't?" Dumbledore shook his head saying, "I'm sorry, Draco, I don't know."