New World

Chapter Two: The Wizarding World

Harry's explanation to Maggie and William had been both vague and brief. The two had been adamant that if they needed a place to stay ever again they were always welcome at their home. After that Harry had gone in search of the people who had had the Daily Prophet. He found them once again amongst a crowd of muggles and approached them. He stood beside the one who looked like the father of the other three and whispered, "Do you know where I can find a fireplace?" To any normal person the question would have been very odd, but this man understood and nodded. He pointed to one of the others, a girl of about 15 who nodded and began to move out of the crowd. Harry followed silently as she led him back into town. She walked into a hardware store and went to the back, opening a door and going to the upper level. Then she turned around and left. At one end of the room he was in was a large fireplace. Harry smiled and set PJ down. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a very small chest, no bigger than the palm of his hand. His put it on the floor and then tapped it twice with his wand. It blew up to normal size and opened.

PJ reached inside and pulled out a set of robes for himself and quickly put them on as Harry did the same. After that Harry removed a black pouch from the chest and then shrunk the chest again and returned it to his pocket. He then moved to the fireplace and, with a flick of his wand, started a fire. He opened the bag and threw a pinch of white powder on the flames. He then stepped in, picking PJ up and both adjusted hoods over their heads.

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The Hogsmeade Train station looked just as it had in his world when he tumbled out of one of its fireplaces. He stood and helped PJ up. PJ had been here only once before and looked around in wide-eyed fascination. Harry picked him up and began to walk into the town and up the long trail to Hogwarts.

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"Headmaster we have to do something." Minister of Magic Fudge snapped at Headmaster Albus Dumbledore as they stood outside the Great Hall.

"Minister, I am the Headmaster of a school, my responsibility is to my students." Dumbledore replied calmly.

"It's your job Fudge, not his." Another voice added from behind Dumbledore.

"Stay out of this Professor Potter, this is between Dumbledore and I." Fudge retorted to Professor James Potter who now stood beside Dumbledore.

"Do your job." Was all James said in reply, his wife, Lily Potter had moved to stand on Dumbledore's other side and looked disapprovingly at Fudge.

Dumbledore's attention was suddenly caught elsewhere as he felt a great power moving toward him. He looked behind Fudge to see a hooded figure carrying a smaller hooded figure in their direction. Dumbledore was confused, this power was incredible, and pure, completely unbridled, yet tame.

"Don't you agree Headmaster?" Lily was saying to him. He had missed the comment and blushed slightly.

"I apologize Professor Potter, but I was not paying attention." He replied honestly. He saw the figure stiffen at his words, and the small bundle in his arms turned to look. "Will you excuse me?" he asked as he walked passed Fudge to the figures and stood before them.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Dumbledore whispered to the figure. It relaxed visibly at the question, but its answer was careful.

"I'm a friend and I'm here to help." he replied, Dumbledore knew in an instant he could trust this man, although he didn't know why.

"Where are you from?" he asked, unable to stop the question from coming.

"Far away." Was all the man said. "Can we talk in your office Albus?"

Dumbledore was taken aback. Very few people called him Albus, even people not his former students tended to call him Dumbledore or Professor. He led the way to his office, noticing that the man hesitated when they passed Fudge and the Potters.

"Headmaster, do you need any help?" James asked as they passed. Dumbledore shook his head and continued to his office, the robed figures following distractedly behind.

Dumbledore closed his office door behind them and put a silencing charm on it. As he turned around to instruct his guest to sit he found that he already had, so he moved to his desk.

"Now, I can properly answer your former questions." The man began, "I came here from another dimension a little over two weeks ago by way of a charm you taught me when I was in my seventh year, incase I ever needed it."

Dumbledore nodded slowly, "This means that I trusted you on your world and also that we were close, since you called me Albus earlier."

The man chuckled, "You could say that."

"Why, may I ask, did you react to the Potters so strangely down stairs?" Dumbledore asked.

"Because they died along time ago in my world." He replied, quieter than he had been talking before.

"And what is your name?"

"Harry, Harry Potter." He replied.

Dumbledore froze. He stared at the figure, transfixed on the darkness hiding his face. Harry reached up his hand and pushed the hood away from his face. Green eyes stared back at Dumbledore, black hair that was so reminiscent of James.

"Harry?" Dumbledore whispered. The small form in Harry's arms shifted and Dumbledore was drawn to it. "And that?" he said pointing to PJ.

"This is my son Ron," Harry said, removing Ron's hood revealing almost an exact replica of James. Dumbledore gasped. "No one calls him Ron though, bad memories. We call him PJ a name he was given by my godfather."

Dumbledore stared at the small child in Harry's arms, he looked about four or five, Dumbledore couldn't guess. He was very small, but his gaze spoke of great intelligence for someone his age. Harry went on, trying to break the silence. "He's five."

"And his mother?" Dumbledore suddenly asked.

Harry and PJ both flinched. "She's dead, right before we left our world. It was Voldemort." Harry said very quietly. PJ looked away when Harry spoke, burying his face in his father's robes.

"Why are you here?" Dumbledore asked, quick to change the subject.

"Here, in your office, or in this dimension?" Harry asked, speaking as though the topic was something like the weather.

"Both."

"Well, I came to this dimension for PJ. Everyone I cared about was gone except for him and I wanted him to grow up where he wouldn't constantly be reminded of that. Where he could be anonymous. Which would have been impossible with me as a father." Dumbledore looked ready to interrupt but Harry raised a hand for silence and continued. "The next part ties in with why I'm here. You see in my world Voldemort was destroyed, it was my own narrow-mindedness that assumed the same would be true here."

"So you've come to tell us how he was destroyed in your wold so that we can duplicate the process?" Dumbledore said hopefully.

"Sort of. It isn't something that could be duplicated by anyone, only the person who performed it on my world could produce enough power to destroy him." He replied, still being vague.

It hit Dumbledore suddenly, the strength he had felt from Harry. "It was you… you defeated Voldemort on your world…"

Harry only nodded. Dumbledore tried to pull his thoughts together when the door swung open violently. He registered vaguely that James, Sirius, Remus, and Lily had entered and that Harry and PJ had their hoods on again. Remus and James laughed, Lily looked amused but indignant and Sirius looked guilty. Dumbledore pulled out of his thoughts.

"What did you do Professor Black?" he asked, sighing.

"I didn't do anything! that bad." He said with no sign of smile.

"Yeah right." Harry muttered from behind them. All eyes were on him instantly and then a sound arose from Dumbledore. It was uncontrollable laughter. Everyone looked confused except for Dumbledore.

"Who are you?" James asked, completely ignoring Dumbledore.

"Now James," Dumbledore said as he stood, instantly serious, "Don't pester the poor man, leave him be."

James looked confused as well as very suspicious. Lily approached the two cloaked figures and knelt to be eye level with PJ. "And who are you?" she said, a smile evident on her face. She reached up and touched his arm and he screamed and jumped out of his father's arms. Everyone stood in shock as he ran toward the door. Everyone except Harry whom was in front of the door in an instant, blocking the way. PJ's hood fell to reveal scared light blue eyes and tears running down his cheeks. He launched himself into Harry's arms. Harry stumbled back and his hood fell. He didn't care though, he was focused on PJ only. The room was completely silent as Harry stared at his son another moment and then scanned the room with his eyes, looked at all the faces. He paused on Lily before moving to James. He really did look exactly like PJ and him. Harry didn't move, just smiled nervously as he backed against the door. He then turned to Dumbledore.

"I'm going to get some air," he said, indicating toward PJ. "You can send someone to get us when you catch them up." He nodded to the room before leaving.

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Harry sat on the lawn by the lake, PJ cuddled up to him in his lap. Harry removed his hood, no one was around so he didn't care. He pushed PJ's hood back as well.

"It's okay, she wasn't going to hurt you." He said soothingly as he stroked PJ's back.

"I know." PJ sniffled, "I'm sorry, it's just…"

Harry shushed him. "It's okay PJ, I understand." Harry cuddled in close to his son and began to rock him back and forth. About half an hour later someone sat beside him. He didn't look up, just looked out over the lake. Three other people sat on the ground around him.

"What happened?" Remus asked.

"She frightened him." Harry stated very softly. PJ had fallen asleep and he didn't want to wake him.

"All I did was touch him?" Lily whispered back, glancing around Remus to look at Harry's face.

"It's a long story." He replied quietly. "Does Dumbledore want us back now?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"No." James said in a whisper. "He's doing damage control with the minister."

Harry chuckled at this and turned for the first time to Sirius. "What did you do Padfoot?"

Three laughs joined his as Sirius smiled indignantly, "It was an accident, those water balloons filled with chocolate pudding weren't meant to fall on him.

Harry raised an eyebrow, and then shook his head, "You weren't so obvious on my world, you used to employed a little thing called tact."

"Oh!" James taunted, "Sirius he just insulted you."

"What happened?" Lily asked, very serious. "You said used to, and Albus told us you told him everyone you cared about was gone except for PJ."

"Most died in battle against Voldemort. Ron, my best friend died right before PJ was born, that's his namesake. Sirius, Remus, Albus, Snape, and my other best friend Hermione all died in an earlier battle, the one that almost ended everything. My wife Ginny died in the final battle. But not me. I lived. I always live at the expense of others."

The silence that surrounded them now was deafening. James stood and grabbed Harry by the front of his robes, forcing him to put PJ down as his father lifted him forcefully to his feet.

"How selfish!" he yelled. "Would you have done the same for them? Of course you would have! So why do you blame yourself?"

Harry wasn't stunned, he was used to this speech. He got it from Hermione all the time when they were in school. The yelling had woken PJ and he looked up in horror at James yelling at his father.

"Let him go." PJ spat.

James turned his stunned gaze on the five-year-old. PJ glared at him, fists tight in balls at his sides.

"LET HIM GO!" he yelled.

"Ronald James Potter don't you dare!" Harry yelled. PJ's hands had begun to glow yellow as power flowed into them, but at Harry's words he blinked and the power vanished. James dropped Harry suddenly and Harry approached the boy and kneeled. "He wasn't hurting me PJ. I'm okay." PJ was ready to cry, but nodded and apologized to James.

"Hey," James said soothingly, "I would no sooner hurt my son than he would you."

PJ nodded and Harry stared back at James with what looked like tears in his eyes. But they were gone when he turned back to PJ. "You see, nothing to be afraid of." And then he lifted PJ into his arms again and turned. PJ looked convinced now and laid his head on his father's shoulder absentmindedly.

"So Daddy, what did Padfoot do?" PJ asked innocently.

"Don't you dare tell him." Harry laughed out to them all. "He doesn't need any more ideas."

PJ looked hurt, but still expectantly stared at Sirius. Sirius laughed, "You look so much like James it's scary."

PJ scrunched up his nose and looked at James. "I wanted Daddy's eyes but got Grampa's."

They all laughed at that and Harry looked at Sirius. "Try to figure out what PJ stands for."

"Why me?" Sirius asked.

"Because you gave him the nickname in the first place." Harry replied calmly.

"Prongs Junior?" Sirius asked. PJ nodded and they all roared with laughter.

"Only you would nickname him that Padfoot." Remus laughed out.

Dumbledore appeared suddenly beside Lily, "You all appear to be having fun." He commented with a smile.

"Oh yeah." Harry said after a pause to stop laughing, "I especially liked when my Dad took me by the front of the robes to yell at me and PJ nearly took his head off!" he said, trying not to laugh.

Dumbledore looked nervously at PJ still nestled comfortably in his father's arms.

"Well," he said in an attempt to change the subject, "shall we continue our former conversation back in my office?"

As they all followed Albus back to the school. James watched his son, a few moments ago was the first time Harry had referred to him as his Dad and just before that PJ had called him Grampa. He smiled at the memories. It made him proud that his son was so powerful and that he was so close to his son. But it made him sad the way he blamed himself for the deaths of those around him. He knew there was more to it than that, and was determined to find out.

((A/N: Review!!! PLEASE!))