A/N:

Aprilise: Thanks for the review; you gave me lots of motivation to finish this part.

"Tom Marvolo Riddle?" Harry asked, wondering if the wizard who had blighted his life even existed in this world.

"Tom Riddle died about a quarter of a century ago," Dumbledore said, his eyes curious. "What does the death of one obsessed wizard have to do with us today?"

Harry took a deep breath. "In my world, he didn't die. In fact, he's been working on becoming immortal." Harry did a quick calculation. "About 26 years ago, he started gathering power and followers. He became the most powerful dark wizard in over a century. A little over sixteen years ago, a prophecy was made that described the one who could vanquish him. Two boys were born who fit the prophecy. One was pureblood, one half blood. He went after the half blood boy first. My father tried to draw him off, to give my mum and me a chance to run for it. He killed him, but he gave my mum a chance to live. She just had to let him kill me. She refused, he killed her, and then he tried to kill me. The curse rebounded. It left me with this scar and him without a body. It took him thirteen years to bring himself back, but he has."

The room was dead quiet. Everyone was staring at Harry open-mouthed. After a few minutes of the silence, Harry found himself speaking, "I'm sorry. I never meant to come here; I just needed . . . I have to get back home, to my world. If I don't stop him, I don't know if anyone can." Harry couldn't breathe properly any more; he was gasping for breath but getting light-headed from lack of oxygen. "I have to get back."

This last seemed to unfreeze James. "Look, kiddo, that's much too much responsibility for an almost sixteen year old kid." His son nodded, wide-eyed. "We'll help you get back but you have to let the adults worry about this Voldemort character."

"What adults? Huh? My parents? They're dead, since I was a baby!" Harry could see Lily crying in the corner of his eye. "My aunt and uncle? They're Muggles and hate me anyway! My g-g-g-godfather? I got him killed! The prophecy says it's me; I have to do it. I either have to become a murderer or a victim and no adult can change that!" He didn't even know what he wanted any more. His head hurt, his stomach was churning and he felt dizzy. He sat back down and closed his eyes, waiting for the room to stop spinning.

After a minute, he felt a hand on his arm. Opening his eyes, he saw it was Lily. She smiled gently at him, and then took his hand, tugging him upright. "You look exhausted, dear. Why don't you lie down upstairs and I'll bring you something to eat. You can calm down and we can figure out where to start sorting this out. That's likely to take a while." Harry let her lead him upstairs, where she showed him to a bedroom he reckoned was his counterpart's. There were Quidditch posters on the wall and an owl cage on the desk, along with a number of books Harry recognized as schoolbooks. He lay down and closed his eyes, falling asleep almost immediately.

When Harry woke up, it felt like he'd slept for several hours. "I hope you slept well," he heard. He recognized the voice as Lupin's. When he'd sat up and put on his glasses he could see Lupin and his counterpart. "You'd better go to work on that food or Lily will have both our heads." Harry saw a bowl of soup and a platter of sandwiches on the bedside table. He was able to finish the soup but could only eat one sandwich.

"Why is it you here instead of someone else?" Harry asked. "Not that I mind; it's actually easier."

Lupin smiled. "We hoped it would work that way. You said your parents and godfather were dead; we thought it had to be tough talking to people who look just like them. And the way you were glaring at Severus, and even Albus, we assumed you don't get along with their, erm, counterparts in your world. Of course, we didn't even consider Peter. That left me. If you're uncomfortable with that, tell me, but we do need some questions answered." When Harry nodded, he went on, "You told us your parents had been killed by Voldemort. You also said your godfather was dead and implied that you've been raised by your aunt and uncle. Let's start with two questions. How'd your godfather die and which aunt and uncle?"

Harry took in a deep breath. "The easier question is which aunt and uncle: my mum's sister and her husband, my Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon.."

The other Harry whistled. "I can't imagine them letting a wizard in their house for an afternoon, let alone raise one. Gran and Gramps have us all over for Christmas and things like that, but I've never been in their house."

"Be thankful," Harry said grimly. "They hate me and don't try to pretend otherwise."

"Is that why your clothes fit so badly?" Lupin asked. When Harry nodded, he continued, "Do they feed you?"

"Yes, as little as they can get away with. This summer hasn't been bad. My Professor Lupin, Tonks, Moody and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley threatened them when I was picked up this year, so it hasn't been that bad. I haven't had much of an appetite."

Lupin looked rather stunned at this statement. "You know, you're being really good about answering questions for us. The only problem is, every answer means a dozen more questions. In your world I, my counterpart, is a teacher. Where?"

"Hogwarts. He's not any more; after Snape told everyone he's a werewolf he decided to resign to save Dumbledore the trouble of sacking him." Harry realized that this Lupin looked younger, not as ill and had much less grey in his hair. "Er, are you a werewolf?"

Lupin grinned. "Yes, that's why I was so surprised. Albus went out on quite a limb to allow me to attend school in the first place; I don't believe he'd ever consider hiring me. It's much too dangerous." He thought a minute. "You said Severus told everyone. Was this in the newspapers, or what? Oh, and what did your Lupin teach?"

"He taught Defense Against the Dark Arts." Harry grinned back. "The job seems to be jinxed. I've been there five years and we've had five instructors. You were the best of the lot, and the only one who wasn't evil or incompetent or both. Snape told all of the students in his house, Slytherin, and it spread around the school. He's Potions Master," Harry added.

"Someone hired Severus to teach children," Lupin mused. "Do you know the story behind that?"

"I know he's a Death Eater who came over to our side. He started teaching right after Voldemort was defeated. Dumbledore trusts him but I don't." Harry decided to leave it there; the Snape here didn't seem too bad. He hadn't sneered at Harry once.

Lupin nodded, seeming to understand what Harry was leaving out. "I assume a Death Eater is one of Voldemort's followers?" At Harry's nod, Lupin took a deep breath. "I know this next question is hard but how did your godfather die?"

Harry closed his eyes as he explained about his connection to Voldemort, about the vision he'd had in his History of Magic OWL, about trying to contact Sirius, about going to the Ministry and getting into the Department of Mysteries. He continued on about finding the prophecy, being attacked and, finally, the battle in the room with the veil and Sirius falling through it. When he finished he opened his eyes, expecting to see contempt and condemnation. Instead, he saw tears rolling silently down Lupin's cheeks. Looking over at his own counterpart, he saw to his surprise that he was sobbing quietly.

After a minute, Lupin asked quietly, "This happened last month?" When Harry confirmed this, he shook his head. "No wonder you've been having trouble with this. How old were you when your parents died?"

"I was a baby. Erm fifteen months, I think. Can I ask you some questions?"

Lupin seemed to be relieved. "Yes, I think we could use a bit of a break. Go ahead."

The three of them continued talking through the afternoon. Harry discovered that Lily and Snape were both Unspeakables, who worked together researching the foundation of magic. Sirius was an Auror and very well respected. James and Lupin ran a company that developed new magical items, especially "joke" items. This made Harry laugh. "Do you know the Weasley twins?"

"Oh, yes," Lupin laughed. "We know Fred and George well; in fact, we just hired them on. We're just glad the company's not a building, or sedate, or we'd never recover from those two trouble-makers."

"Dad says they remind him of the Marauders," the other Harry said. "That's their company. 'Marauders Ltd., Messrs. Mooney, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, Creator of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers,'" he quoted. "The only thing I haven't been able to figure out is who those guys are."

"You don't know?" Harry asked, wide-eyed. At Lupin's shocked expression, he winked. "I think you and I need to have a long, private conversation before I leave. There's a map and a cloak you need to know about. Yes, Messrs. Mooney, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs have been very good to me."

Lupin glared at him. "I don't think we need to go any further into that subject." Harry smirked at him and his counterpart had a calculating look on his face. "To continue, you obviously are angry with Peter and my instinct says it's with good reason, but you haven't even touched on it. Why do you hate Peter so much?"

"Because he's a traitor and a murderer! I let him live once, because I was stupid, but if I ever get my hands on that . . ."

Lupin held his hand up. "That you hate his counterpart enough to kill him is obvious. My question is why." His eyes were trouble. "I find it very difficult to believe that Peter would ever hurt anyone deliberately."

"I don't know," Harry's counterpart said. His eyes were far away. "Uncle Peter's more than a bit timid. If he thought getting together with these Death Eaters would keep him safe . . ."

"That's exactly what that rat did," Harry interrupted. "When my parents found out Voldemort was coming after them, after me, Dumbledore convinced them that their best choice was the Fidelius Charm. They decided Sirius would be their Secret-Keeper."

"What's the Fidelius Charm?" Harry's counterpart asked.

"It is a charm that hides a secret, in this case the location of Harry and his family, within a single living soul. If done properly, this Voldemort could look right in the window and wouldn't be able to see them." Lupin turned to Harry. "Sirius would be the right choice; he'd die before he'd let anything happen to James, Lily or any of their children."

"Sirius convinced them to switch to Pettigrew. He thought no one would believe that they'd choose him, leaving Sirius to play the decoy. They let everybody else believe that Sirius was the Secret-Keeper. Pettigrew had been leaking things for about a year; when they switched, he told them.

"The next day, after Voldemort was defeated, Sirius caught up with Pettigrew, intending to kill him. Instead Pettigrew cut off his finger, cast a curse that killed twelve Muggles, and escaped. Sirius was thrown into Azkaban for the next twelve years."

"Azkaban?" Lupin asked hoarsely. "For twelve years. He couldn't possibly have stayed sane. The Dementors . . ."

Harry glanced over at his counterpart. The other boy was staring at Harry wide-eyed and in shock. "Well, the fact that he was an animagus gave him a rather surprising protection," Harry said dryly. "Apparently they had trouble affecting him as Padfoot."

The other boy seemed to have gone beyond shock. "Sirius is an animagus? Hey," as it occurred to him, "Padfoot was one of the names! That's Sirius? And Mooney, that'd be Uncle Remus, right? So, the other two are Dad and . . .?"

Lupin was shaking his head, seeming to be torn between horror and amusement that this world's Harry now knew the Marauders' secret. "James is Prongs; his animagus form is that of a stag. And Peter is a rat, Wormtail. For now, I think I'm going to call a dinner break. Let me go down and bring up something for the three of us and we'll keep talking over our food."

Harry looked at him wistfully. "Am I going to be stuck in this room for the whole time I'm here?"

Lupin gave him a guilty look. "We'll see what we can do." While he was gone, the two Harrys talked about Quidditch. Lupin returned shortly, levitating a large tray that included all of Harry's favorite foods. Their taste buds were apparently the same. Before Harry could start eating, Lupin handed him a potion vial with a small amount of a clear fluid. "Take this first. It will settle your stomach and help you eat better."

The three of them ate dinner together, discussing some of the same topics they'd been discussing through the afternoon. After a while, Lupin started telling stories about things they'd done when they were in school. Both boys were laughing hard when there was a knock on the door.

Snape walked in without waiting for an answer. "Harry, I have a potion for you. You two," he indicated Lupin and the other Harry, "can run along." The other two left.

Harry eyed the goblet filled with a smoking brownish fluid with trepidation. "What is it?"

"A mixture of a nutritive supplement, an immune system booster and a sleep potion," he answered. "I should think you'd agree you could use all three components. I'll have two questions for you once you finish it."

"Dreamless sleep potion?" Harry asked first. It wouldn't bother him at all to be able to sleep a night with no nightmares.

Snape looked shocked. "That stuff is dangerous! What irresponsible prat's been feeding you Dreamless Sleep Potion?"

"Dumbledore gave me some after the Third Task. Of the Triwizard Tournament," Harry continued when Snape looked confused. "I was just thinking I wouldn't mind not having nightmares."

"No, although it is designed to give a peaceful night's sleep, so you're unlikely to have nightmares. How often have you been given the other?" Snape had pulled out his wand and was running it over Harry. He seemed satisfied with the answer he got, because he put away his wand and handed Harry the goblet. Harry took it and drank it as fast as he could. "How does it taste?"

"Not bad," Harry answered, rather surprised. "And it was only the one time." He could hear his voice slurring as his body sagged into the mattress. "What's the other . . .?" He didn't finish the question, as he was pulled into the mattress and a deep sleep.