Switching Places

Author's Note: Hiya! Taking time off to write this story. I am just making it up as I go along. I hope you like it!

Disclaimer: Alas! That I should own Harry Potter, but nay...alas, I do not...

Chapter Two

"Who are you?" Harry looked at the group, staring at them in disbelief.

"I...how did I get here?" he said nervously.

Sirius turned to Remus. "You think there's something wrong with this bloke, Moony?"

Remus shook his head. "Nope. Its James...he's just trying to fool us with some simple transformation charms." He grinned evilly. "James, transfiguration class should have taught you we couldn't be fooled by those tricks." His eyes flickered up to Harry's forehead. "What is that? Like anybody would have a scar shaped like that."

Harry felt a sensation of panic in his stomach. "I'm not James!" he said. "I've never even met him!"

"So, you don't know who James Potter is?" Sirius snorted. "Come, now. If you aren't James, then you must be related to him. What's your name."

"Harry...Harry Potter." Harry stammered, looking at all of them. "Can you please tell me how I got here?"

"Oh, Potter." Peter said. "So you are related to James?"

"No!"

"Then you ARE James." Lily said, laughing out loud. "You dork, why are you trying to fool us?" she looked into Harry's eyes and burst out laughing. "Oh, look everyone, he has my eyes..."

"Maybe it's your son, Lily..."

Harry, feeling a sense of panic, rose quickly. "I...she is my mum! She died when I was a year old!"

Lily got a look of surprise on her face and suddenly looked down at herself. "Oh no! I'm dead?" she began poking herself. "I don't know, I feel pretty alive today." Then she turned back to Harry. "But how did you know I was forty? Because obviously I didn't have you when I was just born."

Harry shook his head, staring widely at them. "No...you don't understand, really! I'm not James! James was my father! I'm...I'm not from this time...your time. I'm from the future..."

At this the group burst out in laughter. "Original, Harry." Sirius said, emphasizing his 'fake' name. "That one really got to me."

"This has to be some sort of joke." He said, nervously standing and looking out of the window of the train. "Malfoy or something...one of them did this to me..."

"Lucius? James, Lucius graduated three years ago. I don't think he's around...well, he might have to take another class, you never know..."

"Yeah, stick to blaming things on Snape. He's always a good target." Harry shook his head and sat back down. And when he did, he felt the hard lump in his pocket. He looked at them quickly.

"Do any of you know how to un-shrink a shrinking spell?"

"Duh." Sirius shook his head. "Ask Remus. He knows every spell there is."

"Then I can prove it." Harry said fiercely. He pulled his trunk from his pocket. "This is my trunk...open it up. You'll see I'm not from here." The group looked at the two of them. Remus shrugged and set the trunk on the ground, readying his wand.

"Engorgus Shrinkus!" he bellowed. The trunk began to swell until it was back to normal size. Harry rushed forward and opened it up. They all looked in and began to laugh.

"Yes, your Invisibility Cloak is going to convince us you aren't James." Sirius said, shaking his head. "James, stop this. It's getting weird."

"Quiet!" Harry started digging through the trunk. Finally he came across what he had been looking for. "Here! Look at this!" he said, shoving the large picture album into Lily's hands. She looked at the others before rolling her eyes and opening the book.

"Oh...pictures. I didn't realize you were so sentimental James. This is from our fifth year."

"No, look at the ones in the back. Just look!" Lily turned to the back and paused.

"They're pictures of us...older." she got a strange look on her face. "Look...we just took this one this morning." She said. "You couldn't have developed it...and you couldn't have made these up..."

"No. I couldn't have." He shuddered as he looked at Peter, but didn't say anything. He needed them to believe he wasn't James...attacking one of his father's best friends wasn't the way to gain their trust. "I got those in my first years of Hogwarts...and here, look at these." He pulled out a stack of newspaper clippings and handed them to Remus.

"Harry Potter...and yet another with Harry Potter, and...Sirius Black?"

"What?" Sirius took the clipping Remus was holding. "ME?" he read it and got an odd look on his face. "What am I...this isn't funny, James. I would never kill anybody...stop the prank, it's getting old."

"I don't think it's a prank." Remus said, looking at Harry.

"Why?" Peter asked.

"Look at that broom...nothing like that exists today." They all turned. Sirius picked up Harry's Firebolt.

"Come on...this thing can't be real. It's too..." As if on command, the Firebolt lifted from his hands to hover in the air. Harry cocked a brow.

"Now do you believe me?"

Lily shook her head. "Boys. Expect them to believe this guy, just because he's got a fancy broomstick."

************************************************************************

"How do you know who I am?" James said, staring at the girl with bushy brown hair and the redheaded boy.

"Because...everybody knows who you are! What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I'm...going to school. With everybody else." He stood and started walking away. "Listen, I think I had better go..."

"What year do you think it is?" The girl said. James paused.

"What?"

"What year do you think it is, James?"

"It's 1976." He shook his head. "Why?"

"It's not 1978." She said excitedly. "It's much later than that!"

"What do you mean?" he asked, sitting back down. "Of course it is."

"No, it isn't." She smiled proudly. "It's 1997. You've come twenty years into the future."

"What?!" he stood quickly. "Okay, you two are crazy." He shook his head. "I'm leaving..."

"Don't!" She rushed forward and grabbed his arm. "Listen, you can't go! You have to understand, we're not crazy or lying or playing a joke on you. You're in 1997!"

"If I am, then where am I?" he crossed his arms. "My parent's always say I won't amount to anything...I'd like to see if they are right."

"You're dead!"

James looked at them blankly. And wordlessly, he turned to leave.

"Listen! We know all about you...prongs!" James paused and turned back.

"You've heard my friends call me that..."

"How could we, if you've never seen us? You're friends are Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew, right? And you're dating Lily Evans!"

"Uhm...yes. All right...so you know that. You could have found that out anywhere."

"But could we have also found out you were an illegal animagus anywhere?" she hissed. "A stag?"

James paled and rushed forward. "Shh!" he hissed. "How did you know that?"

"We know all about you...the rat, the dog, the stag...and the werewolf." James turned even whiter. "We know..." she continued, "because our best friend is your son, Harry!"

James shook his head. "My son? But..."

"Yes. Your son with Lily."

"I...how is this possible?" he shook his head. "That thing...it wasn't a portkey..."

"What thing?" she said quickly.

"In the wall...I heard something, and found some weird thing. I touched it, and it felt like a portkey...and here I am."

"Harry heard something before he left, too." The girl said quickly. The boy nodded---he hadn't spoken one word the entire time.

"So...so what are you saying?" he asked suspiciously.

"You've...you've switched places in time with your own son!"

************************************************************************

"Well, this proves he isn't James." Remus said, looking at his watch. "If this were a spell, it would have worn off by now."

Lily shook her head. "This is so strange...I don't understand."

"Did...did my fath...James...hear anything before he left?"

"No..." Sirius froze. "Actually, I think he might have..."

"So did I." Harry said, leaning back. "And then I touched something...it transported me like it was a portkey, except I turned up right where I started...except twenty years earlier."

"It seems like I've heard about something like that." Remus said. "I should look that up when I get back to school."

"So...so all of you believe me now?"

"Seems like we have to, doesn't it?" Sirius said, grinning. "So...I escaped from prison, did I? Incredible...do I meet any attractive female ex-convicts on the run?"

"Nope." Harry shook his head. "Sorry. You live with Remus and a Hippogriff named Buckbeak."

"What?"

"Long story." Harry shook his head. "I'll tell you later. You're my godfather, by the way?"

"Really?" Sirius laughed loudly. "Thanks Lily!"

"James forced me into it, I'm sure." She replied, turning her nose at him.

"Must have." Remus said. "I'm much better godfather material."

"What about me?" Peter said, pouting.

"Nah." Sirius said absently. "You're not one of the Sexiest Men Alive."

"Excuse me?" Harry said, shaking his head.

"Ahh...forget it, Harry...you don't want to know." She sighed. "So you're my son? Just don't call me mum, please...I don't think I'm quite ready for that."

Harry sighed. "Don't worry. I'm just trying to figure this all out."

"Trying to figure what out, Potter?" came a voice from behind. They all turned.

"Go away, Snape." Called out Sirius. "Geeks aren't allowed in here...except Remus, anyway."

Harry stared at Snape for a long moment. And quickly burst out laughing.

"What are you laughing at, Potter?" said Snape darkly. "Don't make me do something you are going to regret."

Harry shook his head. "This is wonderful." He pointed at Snape. "Did I mention that he's my Potions professor?"

"Him?" Sirius said, going wide-eyed. "Really?" And promptly the rest of the group began laughing as well.

Snape sneered at them. "What is this?" he said. "You better not be planning anything..." He froze when he saw Harry. "What? You're not..."

"Nope." He said. "I'm not James. I'm his son...from the future. You're my teacher, by the way...my worst teacher, I might add." He smiled and turned to Sirius. "You know, saying all this is quite fun..."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Snape said angrily.

Lily looked at Snape and shook her head. "Go away, Severus. You aren't part of this."

"Yeah." Harry laughed. "Go away you greasy-haired idiot." He sighed. "Wow, I've wanted to say that to you for years."

"I..." Snape clenched his jaw and pulled out his wand. "You'll pay for that, whoever you are."

"Go ahead." Harry said darkly. "Try it..."

"No!" Lily rushed forward, grabbing Harry's shoulder. "Listen, go away Severus. I mean it! He really is from the future...hard to believe, I know..."

"I won't leave, until..."

"GO!" she raised her wand and pointed it at him. He went flying back through the doors, which slammed shut behind him.

"Nice one, Lily." Peter said.

"Thanks."

After a half-hour, the train finally stopped. Harry glanced out...Hogwarts, as he remembered it, though he noticed many of the trees were younger and Hagrid's cabin was still intact...it had been blown up by one of Hagrid's creatures in Harry's sixth year.

"Well...I guess we better get you to Dumbledore." Lily said, sitting across from Harry. "I mean, he can help you. I'm sure of it."

"Yeah." He said, looking out the window as the castle grew nearer and nearer. "I can't stay here forever, can I?"

The carriage slowed and Harry jumped out, followed by the rest of the group. They went quickly into the castle. Lily glanced around. "There...McGonagall!" Lily hissed. Harry glanced around to see a younger, but still stern, McGonagall.

"Let's go!" he hissed. They walked up to her. "Uhm...Professor?" he murmured. She turned and looked at him.

"Yes, Potter?"

"I need to see Professor Dumbledore immediately." He said quickly, looking about him nervously.

"Why? The feast starts in a few minutes, and he is obviously busy. Whatever it is, I can help you..."

"It's an emergency!" Harry said. Suddenly, he felt a cold shiver down his spine and said the only thing he could think of. "It's...about Voldemort!"

She shuddered upon hearing the name. "This...you better not be joking!" she walked to the table and said something in Dumbledore's ear. He looked down at Harry and the rest of them and nodded as he stood and started heading their way.

Harry felt cold wash over him. He looked into Dumbledore's eyes. "Professor, I..."

"I can help you." He said quickly. "Come with me...the rest of you, go on to the feast." They went slowly to their table as Dumbledore led Harry to his office. Harry sat in the chair and looked awkwardly at his hands.

Dumbledore looked at him, his eyes twinkling. "Now tell me...who are you exactly? And where did you come from?"

************************************************************************

The girl---who had identified herself as Hermione---and the redheaded boy whose name James had been told was Ron, dragged him up to the head table. "Professor!" Hermione hissed.

"Miss Granger...what are you doing here?" Professor McGonagall said quickly. "Go to your table."

"Do you recognize him?" she said, nodding at James.

"Yes." McGonagall said with exasperation. "Mister...Potter?!" she paled quickly. "Oh God...is that you, James?"

"Yes, Professor." He said, grinning with amusement. "Wow, you look a lot older than you used to. What about me? Do I look the same?"

Dumbledore looked over and stood quickly. "I'll take it from here, Minerva." He said quickly. He stepped down and motioned to the hall. "James, come. I know it's really you...not some prank." He led him down the hall. "I dare say you remember where my office is?"

"I've only been there a few hundred times." James said, shrugging. "Can you please tell me why I've found myself in 1997? I knew I overslept, but this is a little much..."

"You touched something at King's Cross, didn't you?" Dumbledore said, turning. James froze.

"Well...yes..."

"I knew it." Dumbledore sighed. "Fizzing Whizzbies." He muttered. The statue sprang aside and he entered, James in front of him. He opened the door. Fawkes the phoenix looked up and made a soft sound. James sat and stared back at Dumbledore.

"So?" he said finally. "What is going on?"

"We sealed up the portal long ago..." he muttered. "The muggles built their station there, so we had to do something...but none of us realized the ministry would make it into the loading dock for Hogwarts. I've worried for years..."

"The...portal?"

"Time Portal." Dumbledore sighed. "It was made by Merlin, himself...and it allowed the user to transport forward or backward twenty years in time." James stared.

"So...I can just touch it again, can't I?"

"No...you can't." Dumbledore shook his head. "Merlin made only one flaw when creating the portal. It was designed so as not to change history, so unless we can calculate the exact time to send you to, there will be two of you in one dimension...and when that happens, the ebb and flow of time is twisted beyond recognition...you could ruin the world."

"So..." he said slowly. "How do you figure out how to send me back?"

"I don't know." He sighed. "Only Merlin has ever figured that out.

After a long while, James finally left, heading towards the Gryffindor common room. When he got to the door, he stumbled into somebody.

"Professor? I've just heard the most ridiculous..." the man froze and looked down into James' eyes.

"Oy...Severus." James snorted. "Wow, you look even uglier than you did as a kid. So much for saying time heals all wounds. You still got that stick up your arse?" he chuckled. "Yes, it is me, didn't expect that one, did you? But don't worry...you know what a great student I am." He walked away, saluting with one hand. "See you in class...I'm looking forward to having Sevvie as a teacher."

************************************************************************

So, whaddya think? Different, eh? Just a lighthearted piece of work to keep you from getting too down. Please R & R and tell me what you think! I love to hear what you people have to say!