Chapter 4: Harry's Mother
Harry took Lily's hand again when she offered it, and they were transported to a place called Godric's Hollow, in front of a large house that looked like it housed an extremely large family, but only one person was living in it. Harry looked at Lily, and she said,
"You won't like what you see or hear, Harry. Your mother isn't the way you always pictured her." Lily suddenly disappeared. Harry knocked on the door, and nobody answered right away. Harry waited awile, about ready to give up, then the door opened, revealing a woman with shoulder-length red hair, and bright green eyes, with a puzzled look on her face. She said,
"Can I help you?" Harry said,
"Mum." Lily looked at him with confusion on her face and said,
"Mum? I'm not your mother, I have no children."
"You have to know that I'm your son, what other person could look so much like James Potter and have your eyes?" Lily looked closely at Harry and said,
"Oh my God, you do look almost exactly like James. But I never had any children."
"Look, I'll tell you the truth, but I know you're going to think I'm mad."
"Well, no offense, but I'll already think that."
"I know, but you've got to hear me out. Ok, I was having this conversation with my friend Hermione Granger. I mentioned something about wishing I was never born, and then when I went to sleep, I woke up later and found a person looking exactly like Hermione standing at the foot of my bed, claiming to be a spirit that would show me what the world would be like if I had never been born. She says her name is Lily, and that nobody can see her or hear her but me." Lily looked intently at Harry for moment, then said,
"I may be crazy, but I believe you. Come on in, and tell me the rest of this story of yours." Harry followed his mother inside and into the sitting room. Lily sat down, and so did Harry. Lily said,
"So, you're stuck in this dream of some sort, correct?"
"Yes."
"And in your world, your name is Harry Potter?"
"Harry James Potter, yes." Lily smiled sadly and said,
"And in your world, I'm your mother, and James is your father?"
"Yes."
"Ok, tell me everything that's different in your world."
"Well, Sirius isn't in Azkaban. And..." Lily cut him off, her face contorting in anger and said,
"Sirius Black isn't in Azkaban? The bastard who betrayed my husband, his best friend is free?"
"Yes, but he was innocent." Lily calmed down and said,
"Ok, I'm sorry, go on."
"And..." Harry hesitated, carefully choosing his words.
"James is dead in my world too," His voice dropped, and he said quietly, "and so are you." Lily gasped and said,
"I'm dead? How?"
"Voldemort killed you. There was a prophecy made before I was born, saying that I would have the power to vanquish Voldemort, born to a couple who had defied him three times. James died trying to fight him off, you died trying to protect me. You had the Fidelius Charm put on you, but your secret keeper betrayed you."
"Yes, it was Sirius, wasn't it?"
"No, your secret keeper was Wormtail. Peter Pettigrew."
"Why would we choose him as our secret keeper?"
"You did have Sirius as your secret keeper, but you changed to Wormtail because you thought that it would be the last person Voldemort expected to be your secret keeper. And he betrayed you. And killed thirteen people with one curse, and Sirius spent twelve years of his life in Azkaban for a crime he didn't commit."
"So, does Wormtail ever get caught?"
"No, he still works for Voldemort, and everyone still thinks that Sirius betrayed you and dad."
"So, he's still in Azkaban?"
"No, he escaped in my third year to seek revenge on Wormtail, but failed. And he died last summer." Lily's jaw dropped and she said,
"Oh my God. How long have we been dead?"
"Fifteen years."
"So you never knew us." Harry shook his head.
"Where do you stay then?"
"With my aunt and uncle. Your sister and brother-in-law."
"You've got to be kidding me. Who, in their right mind would send you there?"
"Dumbledore."
"Ah, well, I'm sure he has his reasons. But, I'm sorry Harry."
"Yeah, well, you get used to being ignored and treated like crap after a while." Lily sighed and said,
"So, tell me about yourself, besides the fact that I'm your mother and James is your father, and that we're both dead." Harry noticed that Lily's attitude towards him had changed from uncertainty to eagerness, and she was anxious to learn more about her son that she had in another world.
"Well, I'm in the sixth year, I'm studying to be an Auror."
"Just like your father."
"Really?"
"Well, James was an Auror in this world, I'm assuming that he was in your world, too."
"I'm on the Gryffindor house Quidditch team, playing seeker, and am also captain this year too."
"Like your father." Lily said, grinning.
"Is anything about you just like me? Besides your eyes?"
"I don't know, what were you like?"
"A non-rule breaking, bookworm. To make a long story short."
"You sound like my friend Hermione. She's not one for breaking rules unless she has to, and she's always at the top of every class." Lily smiled, and said,
"You and her are best friends?"
"She one of my best friends, Ron Weasley is the other one." Lily nodded, and said,
"I remember Molly and Arthur in school, they were a few years ahead of me. They were those kind of people you could tell were destined for each other."
"Yeah, Ron's my person to go to if I want to talk about Quidditch, complain about classes, etc., while Hermione's the one I go to for like advice, and those kind of deep thoughtful type of conversations." Lily, still smiling, teased,
"Do I sense a little thing going on between you and this Hermione friend of yours, Mr. Potter?" Harry looked at Lily with a disbelieving look on his face and said,
"Me and Hermione? That's impossible, it'll never happen."
"That's what your father and I used to think about each other. He always seemed to think that someday we'd end up together, while I was thinking I'd rather die than go out with him." Harry, suddenly rememebering something, said,
"Mu...sorry, Lily, last year I was in Snape's office for Occlumency lessons and I saw something in his Pensieve, and..."
"Snape? As in Severus Snape?"
"Yeah."
"He's a professor? What does he teach?"
"Potions."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Harry." Lily said, sympathetically, though still smiling.
"Yeah."
"Oh, I'm sorry I interrupted you, what were you saying about seeing something in Snape's pensieve?"
"Oh, it was a memory of when he was in his fifth year after the Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L. exam, and I followed him out to the grounds, where he was tormented by Dad and Sirius. And you came and were yelling at them both, trying to get them to leave him alone. What made you go out with him later?"
"In our seventh year, his ego shrunk, like, a lot. And he became this kind of romantic, caring kind of guy when he wanted to be. He stopped hexing people left and right, except for Snape, but I wasn't supposed to know about that."
"You knew, and you didn't stop him?"
"Harry, Snape always made sure to hex James everytime he saw him, so James wasn't just going to stand there and take it. And I wouldn't have wanted him too." Harry was silent, thinking about how his father was back then, when Lily broke into this thoughts and said,
"Harry, don't judge your father and me and his friends by what you saw in Snape's memory. The only thing he remembers about James was his pranks on him, since that was all that James ever did to him. But he was different than that." Harry still looked unconvinced and said,
"All my life, well, I mean, in the wizarding world, everyone always told me that I was just like my father, and it always used to make me proud to hear it. But then when I saw him in the pensieve, I never wanted to be compared to him ever again." Lily was looking at Harry just like a mother would to her son and said,
"Here, come with me, I want to show you something, maybe it'll give you a better perspective on what your father and I were really like."
A/N: How's that for the next chapter?? I finally broke out of my writer's block. I kinda left it at a cliff hanger, but I'll let you in on the title of the next chapter. It'll be called Lily's Pensieve. So you can kinda guess what'll be in it. So, as always, please read and review. I'm open to all constructive critisism. By the way, I still feel kind of depressed, nobody wants to review my story. Please R&R.
Husker_fan_2006
Harry took Lily's hand again when she offered it, and they were transported to a place called Godric's Hollow, in front of a large house that looked like it housed an extremely large family, but only one person was living in it. Harry looked at Lily, and she said,
"You won't like what you see or hear, Harry. Your mother isn't the way you always pictured her." Lily suddenly disappeared. Harry knocked on the door, and nobody answered right away. Harry waited awile, about ready to give up, then the door opened, revealing a woman with shoulder-length red hair, and bright green eyes, with a puzzled look on her face. She said,
"Can I help you?" Harry said,
"Mum." Lily looked at him with confusion on her face and said,
"Mum? I'm not your mother, I have no children."
"You have to know that I'm your son, what other person could look so much like James Potter and have your eyes?" Lily looked closely at Harry and said,
"Oh my God, you do look almost exactly like James. But I never had any children."
"Look, I'll tell you the truth, but I know you're going to think I'm mad."
"Well, no offense, but I'll already think that."
"I know, but you've got to hear me out. Ok, I was having this conversation with my friend Hermione Granger. I mentioned something about wishing I was never born, and then when I went to sleep, I woke up later and found a person looking exactly like Hermione standing at the foot of my bed, claiming to be a spirit that would show me what the world would be like if I had never been born. She says her name is Lily, and that nobody can see her or hear her but me." Lily looked intently at Harry for moment, then said,
"I may be crazy, but I believe you. Come on in, and tell me the rest of this story of yours." Harry followed his mother inside and into the sitting room. Lily sat down, and so did Harry. Lily said,
"So, you're stuck in this dream of some sort, correct?"
"Yes."
"And in your world, your name is Harry Potter?"
"Harry James Potter, yes." Lily smiled sadly and said,
"And in your world, I'm your mother, and James is your father?"
"Yes."
"Ok, tell me everything that's different in your world."
"Well, Sirius isn't in Azkaban. And..." Lily cut him off, her face contorting in anger and said,
"Sirius Black isn't in Azkaban? The bastard who betrayed my husband, his best friend is free?"
"Yes, but he was innocent." Lily calmed down and said,
"Ok, I'm sorry, go on."
"And..." Harry hesitated, carefully choosing his words.
"James is dead in my world too," His voice dropped, and he said quietly, "and so are you." Lily gasped and said,
"I'm dead? How?"
"Voldemort killed you. There was a prophecy made before I was born, saying that I would have the power to vanquish Voldemort, born to a couple who had defied him three times. James died trying to fight him off, you died trying to protect me. You had the Fidelius Charm put on you, but your secret keeper betrayed you."
"Yes, it was Sirius, wasn't it?"
"No, your secret keeper was Wormtail. Peter Pettigrew."
"Why would we choose him as our secret keeper?"
"You did have Sirius as your secret keeper, but you changed to Wormtail because you thought that it would be the last person Voldemort expected to be your secret keeper. And he betrayed you. And killed thirteen people with one curse, and Sirius spent twelve years of his life in Azkaban for a crime he didn't commit."
"So, does Wormtail ever get caught?"
"No, he still works for Voldemort, and everyone still thinks that Sirius betrayed you and dad."
"So, he's still in Azkaban?"
"No, he escaped in my third year to seek revenge on Wormtail, but failed. And he died last summer." Lily's jaw dropped and she said,
"Oh my God. How long have we been dead?"
"Fifteen years."
"So you never knew us." Harry shook his head.
"Where do you stay then?"
"With my aunt and uncle. Your sister and brother-in-law."
"You've got to be kidding me. Who, in their right mind would send you there?"
"Dumbledore."
"Ah, well, I'm sure he has his reasons. But, I'm sorry Harry."
"Yeah, well, you get used to being ignored and treated like crap after a while." Lily sighed and said,
"So, tell me about yourself, besides the fact that I'm your mother and James is your father, and that we're both dead." Harry noticed that Lily's attitude towards him had changed from uncertainty to eagerness, and she was anxious to learn more about her son that she had in another world.
"Well, I'm in the sixth year, I'm studying to be an Auror."
"Just like your father."
"Really?"
"Well, James was an Auror in this world, I'm assuming that he was in your world, too."
"I'm on the Gryffindor house Quidditch team, playing seeker, and am also captain this year too."
"Like your father." Lily said, grinning.
"Is anything about you just like me? Besides your eyes?"
"I don't know, what were you like?"
"A non-rule breaking, bookworm. To make a long story short."
"You sound like my friend Hermione. She's not one for breaking rules unless she has to, and she's always at the top of every class." Lily smiled, and said,
"You and her are best friends?"
"She one of my best friends, Ron Weasley is the other one." Lily nodded, and said,
"I remember Molly and Arthur in school, they were a few years ahead of me. They were those kind of people you could tell were destined for each other."
"Yeah, Ron's my person to go to if I want to talk about Quidditch, complain about classes, etc., while Hermione's the one I go to for like advice, and those kind of deep thoughtful type of conversations." Lily, still smiling, teased,
"Do I sense a little thing going on between you and this Hermione friend of yours, Mr. Potter?" Harry looked at Lily with a disbelieving look on his face and said,
"Me and Hermione? That's impossible, it'll never happen."
"That's what your father and I used to think about each other. He always seemed to think that someday we'd end up together, while I was thinking I'd rather die than go out with him." Harry, suddenly rememebering something, said,
"Mu...sorry, Lily, last year I was in Snape's office for Occlumency lessons and I saw something in his Pensieve, and..."
"Snape? As in Severus Snape?"
"Yeah."
"He's a professor? What does he teach?"
"Potions."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Harry." Lily said, sympathetically, though still smiling.
"Yeah."
"Oh, I'm sorry I interrupted you, what were you saying about seeing something in Snape's pensieve?"
"Oh, it was a memory of when he was in his fifth year after the Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L. exam, and I followed him out to the grounds, where he was tormented by Dad and Sirius. And you came and were yelling at them both, trying to get them to leave him alone. What made you go out with him later?"
"In our seventh year, his ego shrunk, like, a lot. And he became this kind of romantic, caring kind of guy when he wanted to be. He stopped hexing people left and right, except for Snape, but I wasn't supposed to know about that."
"You knew, and you didn't stop him?"
"Harry, Snape always made sure to hex James everytime he saw him, so James wasn't just going to stand there and take it. And I wouldn't have wanted him too." Harry was silent, thinking about how his father was back then, when Lily broke into this thoughts and said,
"Harry, don't judge your father and me and his friends by what you saw in Snape's memory. The only thing he remembers about James was his pranks on him, since that was all that James ever did to him. But he was different than that." Harry still looked unconvinced and said,
"All my life, well, I mean, in the wizarding world, everyone always told me that I was just like my father, and it always used to make me proud to hear it. But then when I saw him in the pensieve, I never wanted to be compared to him ever again." Lily was looking at Harry just like a mother would to her son and said,
"Here, come with me, I want to show you something, maybe it'll give you a better perspective on what your father and I were really like."
A/N: How's that for the next chapter?? I finally broke out of my writer's block. I kinda left it at a cliff hanger, but I'll let you in on the title of the next chapter. It'll be called Lily's Pensieve. So you can kinda guess what'll be in it. So, as always, please read and review. I'm open to all constructive critisism. By the way, I still feel kind of depressed, nobody wants to review my story. Please R&R.
Husker_fan_2006