A/N: Sorry it's been so long! The wonders of having no Internet connection…

Thank you so much for all the reviews! Once again, a bunch of very good questions that I can't really answer, except to say that the Dumbledore of this world definitely is dead. (We may or may not find out exactly how). All the others are pretty relevant to the plot.

Which seems intent on twisting more here. I didn't anticipate the majority of the scenes in this chapter, so let me know if you think it works or doesn't work.

The Best of All Possible Worlds

Chapter Eight: Ducking, Dodging, Darting

Harry swallowed, and thought about running. Or could he pretend to have suddenly gone deaf?

No, he realized, as James's eyes focused on him expectantly. He knows I understood what he said. I must have flinched.

"Prankster?" James's voice was quietly coaxing, and he reached out and laid a hand on Harry's shoulder. It felt unnaturally heavy, Harry thought, ignoring the more likely explanation: that he just wasn't used to gestures like that. "I understand it's a heavy burden to drop on you all at once, but you're my son. I have faith that you'll make the right decision."

Harry swallowed and said the one thing he thought might get him out of this. "It's an awful lot to think about, Dad. Can I let you know in a few days?"

James paused, and stared severely at him. "Is something wrong, Prankster? You're not normally this quiet."

Of course. Why would that prat act anything at all like I do? Harry complained to himself, but managed to flash a smile. "Of course, Dad. Fine. I just didn't expect to hear this, you know? I really need some time to think."

James sighed and closed his eyes. "I didn't want to press you," he muttered, "so I didn't say anything. But your mother doesn't know about this, son. I don't intend to tell her until I'm in France."

"But that means—" Harry began in confusion.

"Yes." James opened his eyes again and gave Harry that same intense look. "I need you to make your mind up right now. If you agree to come with me, then we'll leave from Hogwarts."

Harry swallowed as best he could with a suddenly dry mouth. "And Mum?" he croaked.

This time, the change in Harry's voice didn't seem to bother James. He grinned, a little. "You'll tell her from France. Or we'll send Padfoot to explain. He's always had more indulgence from your mother than I did." A sound of old complaints entered his voice. "She never let me teach you half the things I wanted to teach you, you know. You'd have known a lot more pranks and spells by the time you got to Hogwarts if she'd just let me educate you the way I wanted."

Harry did his best impression of panicking, almost glad that it wasn't an impression. "But where would I go to school, Dad? And what about Ron and Hermione?"

James smiled softly at him. "Beauxbatons is a great school, Prankster. And it won't be long before you're able to Apparate. Then you can visit Ron and Hermione all you want."

It appeared that James had an answer for everything. Harry opened his mouth, still not sure what answer he was going to give.

"Dad! Hey, Dad!"

Harry glanced over James's shoulder, and sighed. Yes. Of course. It would happen this way.

James turned around, probably more out of habit than anything else. He did freeze for a moment when he spotted Ron and Hermione and the other Harry running towards them, and then turned back to Harry.

"Who are you?" he whispered.

"Someone who doesn't have the right to make decisions for your son," said Harry, enormously relieved. He would probably get in trouble if he told James that he was from another world, but at least he wouldn't be stuck making a choice that this world's Harry should really have to make. "So tell him that you're moving to France. I think it'll go over better than it did with me." He was already backing away. James didn't seem inclined to stop staring at him, and Harry could almost predict what would come next. "Now, I have to go—"

James was already pulling his wand, though. "This is some joke, isn't it?" he hissed. "Or you're a Duplicis."

He didn't even wait for Harry's answer, which Harry considered unfair, just pointed his wand and yelled, "Stupefy!"

Harry ducked the curse, and then scrambled around James and towards the school. That was towards Hermione, Ron, and the other Harry, but he thought he could dodge past them. He had to be more used to running away from curses than any of them were.

He heard an odd drumming sound from behind him, and looked over his shoulder, wondering what kind of strange hex James had chosen to pursue him. His mind changed dramatically when he saw no hex flying towards him, but a maddened, dark stag with antlers lowered.

Harry yelped and dodged behind the other Harry, who immediately grabbed him. "I got him, Dad!" he yelled. "I got him!"

Harry didn't appreciate being got. He grabbed the other Harry instead, and then felt his hand brush against something familiar. He pulled the other Harry's wand out of his pocket just as Ron yelled, "Tarantallegra!"

The hex hit both of them, which at least made it easier for Harry to break away from the other one's incompetent hold on him. He swerved shakily around the other Harry, who was bawling at Ron to make it stop, and waved the wand uncertainly. It shot sparks, but didn't do anything more dramatic. It seemed inclined to accept him, which, Harry thought, only made sense.

Prongs was coming at him once more, all his momentum given to the charge. It wasn't hard for Harry to fire off a full-body bind that hit the stag and dropped him in his tracks, at least once he canceled the hex that Ron put on him.

"How can he use Harry's wand?" Ron was shouting. "He shouldn't be able to do that!"

"He certainly shouldn't," Hermione was saying, in a voice that held more scholarly interest. "I don't think the Duplicis Theory accounts for that—I'll have to check the books—"

"Dad!" the other Harry was yelling. He was still dancing, but he had a look of rage on his face, and Harry swallowed. It wasn't the best idea to anger a Gryffindor.

He did what he had to, swishing the wand and yelling, "Accio wand!"

His own wand flew out of Ron's pocket; Ron made a grab for it, but it was too late. Harry grabbed it from the air and tossed the other Harry the one he held, a moment before he asked himself what the hell he was doing. Hermione was already counteracting the body-bind on Prongs, and soon Harry would have four enemies after him, all angry and trained wizards.

He whirled around and ran.

He could hear hooves pounding the ground again, and listened hard until they got closer, then darted to the side. Prongs plunged past him, whirling around with a thick snort, and a black dog joined him a moment later, bounding out from behind one of the greenhouses.

"What is going on?" asked Sirius, as he changed back.

"He's going on!" the other Harry said, and Harry glanced over his shoulder to see the three of them coming fast, now all wearing looks of rage. "He hurt Dad, and he's been hanging around here and—and looking like me!"

"Was he?" asked Sirius, narrowing his eyes. "We'll see about that." He changed abruptly back into a dog and began inching forward, his hair standing on end and a growl rumbling from his throat. Harry backed away, looking between the stag, the dog, and the three younger wizards, and wishing he had his Firebolt.

"Impedimenta Omnes!" shouted a new voice, sounding like a hiss of irritation even when raised. Harry started to turn his head towards the sound, and then froze. He could vaguely see Ron, Hermione, and the other Harry doing the same thing out of the corner of his eye. The spell seemed to take a bit longer to hit Padfoot and Prongs, but abruptly stalled the dog in mid-bound and the stag in mid-stamp. Harry winced as Sirius fell heavily over on his side, but preferred it to being attacked.

Besides, he told himself, this isn't really my Sirius. He was ready to attack me when he discovered I was hurting his godson.

It didn't help that much. His Sirius would have done the same thing for him, after all.

"What in the name of Merlin is going on here?" Snape snarled, striding into the middle of the gathering and looking from face to face. Of course, none of them could answer him, but Snape didn't really seem to expect a response. "An experiment of mine escapes from my lab, and all of you are ready to destroy it? A fine waste of work that would have been!" By now he was shouting, his dark eyes flashing, more upset than Harry had ever seen him except in the Pensieve memory. "First these idiot children try to do so last night, and now you are trying, Potter? Can you not stand to see advances in Potions happen, then?"

With a growl, he turned and released Harry from the spell. Harry stretched cautiously and scratched his neck; the spell had caught him in an awkward position. Snape seized his sleeve and dragged him to the side.

"Not a word," he said. Feeling that he would probably push his luck if he tried anything now, Harry nodded, and stepped back as Snape snapped around to face the others again. At least, Harry consoled himself, venturing outside Snape's office wasn't a complete waste. He did have his wand back again.

Snape muttered the counter-curse, and Ron and Hermione gasped as they relaxed. The other Harry promptly tried to glare at Harry. Padfoot and Prongs transformed before they did anything else, and then Sirius scrambled up from the ground, scraping dirt off his robes and practically spoiling for a fight.

"What the hell was that for, Snivellus?" he said. "I was attacking that creature of yours because it was threatening my godson. Of course, I should have figured it would be your work. Can't stand to be outdone by the next generation of Potters, can you?"

"If you had a larger brain than one of the fleas that bite you, Black, you would have seen that this creature, as you call it, was not threatening your precious godson," said Snape, biting off the words. "It escaped from my lab. It is young, and does not know much of the world around it. Of course it would run when it met a threat. It was trying to get away when it saw you. How does that equate with turning around and pointing a wand at young Mr. Potter?" His voice was back to normal level now, but still dangerously cold.

"I know about the Duplicis Theory," said James, who had taken the moment to recover his calm. Harry still shuddered when he saw the dark expression on his father's face, though. It appeared as though he were barely restraining the urge to hex Snape. "The creatures that come out of the mirrors are evil. Even if it wasn't hurting my son right now, it would have done so."

"It would not," said Snape. "This is the unexpected result of a new potion that I tested on a frog. Why it turned out to look like young Mr. Potter, I have no idea. That is one of the things I am researching. You may have set back my research incomparably by snatching it out of the halls and yelling at it and chasing it." He paused, then struck like a snake swallowing a rat. "Speaking of which, Potter, why were you here to yell at and chase my experiment anyway? I was under the impression that you were strictly forbidden contact with your son unless Professor Evans was nearby."

Harry just barely kept from gaping. Will I ever learn how many mysteries there are in this place?

James flushed, but lifted his chin. "That's for him to decide," he said stoutly. "Harry's sixteen now." He turned to face the other Harry, who was starting to look dazed. "Prankster, I'm moving to France. Do you want to come with me?"

"Just like that?" the other Harry asked. Harry started to feel sorry for him, given his blinking and staring.

"Yes," said James firmly. "We have to leave now. We've been cleared for Apparition at several points along the way, and we don't want to miss the times—"

"You have to leave now because you are afraid your wife will find out and prevent you from stealing the boy," said Snape. Improbably, he sounded amused. Harry shuddered. Given how nasty that amusement was, he hoped he never found out what had made Snape smile yesterday. "So you come in secret, in the middle of the day, intending to drag him out on the Pitch. You even bring Black with you, as if this were one of your pranks. Tell me, Potter, were you going to kidnap the boy if he refused?"

James shot Snape a look of unadulterated hatred. It was Sirius who spoke, though. "Shut up, Snivellus!"

"I am only too happy I came outside," said Snape calmly. "It appears as though rescuing my experiment from your bullying was not the only good deed I shall perform today." He had a smile in his voice, or something like one, as he glanced at the other Harry. "Go inside immediately, Mr. Potter, and to the Headmaster. He will want to see you." The other Harry nodded in that same dazed fashion and trotted towards the school. "Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger, fifty points from Gryffindor and detention for a week."

"But—"

"You frightened a defenseless creature," said Snape. "That is quite enough." He turned back to Sirius and James. Harry heard him draw a deep breath of what sounded like rattling ice before he said, "As for you, I shall take the greatest pleasure in seeing how many Potions ingredients I can harvest from your bodies if you do not leave at once."

"It should be Harry's decision," said James defiantly. "Lily has never understood—"

"Exactly." Snape had lifted his wand and was pointing it between James's eyes now. "It should be young Mr. Potter's decision. That you would take him whether or not he made that choice says that you were not truly interested in seeing him make it. Leave now, Potter. I won't repeat myself."

Sirius laid his hand on James's arm. "Come on, Prongs," he said softly. "We'll try another plan. You know I didn't think this kidnapping idea was the best one."

James gave him a glance of frustration, and Snape a glare, before he at last turned his back and stalked away with some dignity. He Apparated with a crack in mid-step. Sirius hesitated a moment and looked back at Snape.

"You know this isn't over," he said.

"It never has been," said Snape, his voice cracking like ice again.

Sirius's eyes turned dangerous, but he vanished without another word. Snape turned towards Harry, then checked when he saw Ron and Hermione watching them. "Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger, why are you still here? You have done quite enough for today, I should think."

Ron opened his mouth, but Hermione claimed his arm. "Come on, Ron. I want to research the Duplicis Theory, anyway." She gave Snape a defiant look.

"Why, Miss Granger, there is no need," said Snape smoothly. "I told you, this is one of my experiments."

Hermione, looking as if she didn't believe that for a moment, said, "Of course, Professor," and dragged Ron away.

Snape drew in another deep breath, then whirled on Harry, who had expected something like this and tried to stand as firm as he could. "Idiot boy!" he hissed. "You could not remain in my rooms as I told you?"

"I had to get my wand back," said Harry, matching him glare for glare. This wasn't the Snape he had hated in his world, he reminded himself steadily. This was a Snape who had, in fact, saved the other Harry from being taken away against his will, and saved him from being gored or hexed to death. Harry couldn't feel as intimidated by him when that happened.

Snape closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them. "It will be just as well that you have it," he said. He was back to the cold, calm voice. "I have found a potion that I believe will take you home. It requires your full magical cooperation, however, and we should begin brewing it at once."

Harry straightened. "I'm ready, sir."

He followed Snape in without another word, too relieved to hear the news to even care about his Invisibility Cloak for the moment. He wanted to leave this world as soon as possible. He didn't belong here, and he didn't want to speak to the basilisk again, or somehow save Hogwarts from Lucius Malfoy.

More than anything else, though, the way that James had tried to trick him made him angry, and frightened, and sick to his stomach.

I don't want to know that this happened, even in another world, he thought. I just want to go home and forget.

He was almost too deep in brooding to notice, but a small movement did catch his eye. Harry turned his head, and was sure that he saw, in the moment before it scuttled for shelter in a clump of grass, the tiny brown shape of a rat.

He swallowed back another lump of cold disgust. Of course they could probably try again, if they have Wormtail with them.

That's it for now! With luck, the next chapter should be up on Friday.