A strip of bright sunlight shining through the curtains woke Harry up the next morning. It took him several minutes to remember where he was, but once he did, he was angry. It was bad enough the adults in his own world made decisions for him without discussing them with him but the adults here didn't even know him! After picking his glasses off the bedside table, putting them on and looking around the room, he saw his counterpart sitting on the other bed reading what looked like a school book. According to the clock, it was just before ten.
"Good morning, sleepyhead. How do you feel this morning?" Harry's counterpart asked.
"I'm fine but I don't know why I had to be sent to sleep so fast, so early for so long," Harry said grumpily. "One minute I'm up having a conversation, the next I'm asleep. And no one asked me!"
The other boy shrugged. "Uncle Severus was surprised at how fast and how deeply you fell asleep. He spent quite a while raving about sleep deprivation and idiots who give children Dreamless Sleep Potion. I didn't even know there was such a thing." He put his book down and stood up. "You probably want a shower, then Mum gave me strict instructions about the minimum amount you're allowed to eat for breakfast. While you're eating, I'll catch you up on what they've figured out and what we're going to be doing."
Harry was agreeable and sat down to an enormous breakfast about half an hour later. While he ate, his counterpart explained what he had planned for the day. "The adults decided we should keep your existence here quiet. They are trying to get you back quickly. Not only are you needed back home," Harry winced at this, "but your being here makes both worlds unstable. The longer you're here, the more unstable it gets. They think they should be able to get you home in a day or two.
After listening to everything you said yesterday, I don't think you should be sent home without having some fun. I've contacted everybody you mentioned being friends with, and a couple of people you haven't mentioned, and we're having a party today. With a little luck, we can even get everybody back home and things cleaned up before Mum and Dad get back home and we get into trouble. And if we get caught, we can tell them we hadn't told you about keeping things quiet so you won't get into trouble. What do you think?"
Harry could feel himself grinning. It had been a while since he'd been at a party and the thought of one where he didn't have to worry about Voldemort, Death Eaters or Umbridge was heady. "Sounds great. Is there anything I can do to help?" A thought crossed his mind. "But what if we get caught and you get into trouble? I don't want to cause you any problems."
The other boy brushed the concern aside. "I haven't been in any trouble for over a week, and it's in a good cause. I can handle it. As far as help, why don't you clean up breakfast while I get everything else set up?"
It was a good thing they started when they did. They'd just finished straightening up when people started coming through the floo.
Harry wasn't sure which was more confusing: people he knew from home who looked and acted differently here, or people he knew who didn't. Most people looked and acted pretty much the same, but the exceptions were shocking.
Neville Longbottom was the most changed in appearance. Although he was no taller in this world, he was slimmer, more muscular and much more confident. He played Chaser on the house team and was one of the top students of their year. Although talking to him made Harry feel uncomfortable, looking and listening to him made Harry angry. This was how Neville should have been, would have been, if the Lestranges hadn't tortured his parents.
Ron Weasley looked exactly the same and mostly acted the same. This world's Ron seemed a little more reckless and a little angrier. In some ways, he reminded Harry of himself the past year, when he had been pushing everyone away with his anger.
The change that hurt Harry the most to see, though, was Hermione Granger. She looked the same and was every bit as intelligent and studious in this world as in his. But, where in his world, Hermione was respected, had friends and was able to put aside her studies occasionally, in this world, her brains, her focus on her studies and her being something of a know-it-all, had alienated her from everyone. Although she had come to the party, she was sitting by herself in a corner, watching the others with sad eyes. Harry felt the bubble of anger he had fought so often rising up. To prevent it from boiling over, he walked over to her.
"Why are you here by yourself?" he asked her.
She shrugged. "No one really wants to spend time with me," she said. "I'm not even sure why Harry invited me."
Harry's counterpart had walked over. "My doppelganger here said you were one of his two best friends. I thought, as long as I was ignoring my parents and having a party for him, I should invite his two best friends."
"Would you like to hear why Hermione's one of my best friends?" Everyone nodded and the room got quiet. Harry could tell that, although they'd come hoping to have a good time, they had also come to hear about this strange version of their friend. "First, I have it on very good authority that Hermione is the smartest witch of her age. It was Hermione who saved Ron and I from the Devil's Snare in first year. It was also Hermione who solved the logic riddle with the potion bottles and enabled me to save the Sorcerer's Stone without either of us being poisoned. It was Hermione who knew about the Polyjuice Potion and who stole the ingredients we needed. She figured out that the monster in the Chamber of Secrets was a basilisk and how it was traveling around the school.
"It was Hermione who figured out that our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was a werewolf. She taught me how to do a proper Summoning Charm. She believed me when I was chosen as a champion for the Triwizard Tournament. It was her idea to form Dumbledore's Army, so we would actually learn Defense instead of just what Umbridge and Fudge wanted us to hear. It was her quick thinking that kept Umbridge from casting the Cruciatus Curse on me. And it was Hermione who figured that Voldemort was tricking me to get me into the Department of Mysteries. Doesn't that sound like someone you'd all like to be friends with?" Harry looked around the room, to see everyone looking at him with open eyes and mouths.
Surprisingly, Hermione didn't look terribly shocked. "It sounds like your Hermione is a sensible girl. She knows when to break the rules." She looked worried. "She does follow the rules most of the time, doesn't she? I mean, the examples you're using are the exceptions, right?"
Harry grinned at her, then rolled his eyes. "Yes, she believes in the rules; she's a prefect, after all. And she believes in studying. Any time we're faced with a problem, Ron and I can count on Hermione's first reaction to be to go to the library. For Christmas, she gave us both homework diaries!"
"That just shows she's a good friend," Hermione maintained. "After all, last year was OWL year." That comment got laughter, but it seemed warmer than it had before.
From there on, the party was a lot of fun. Harry found himself in much demand as a dance partner. When the girls discovered he didn't know how to dance, they decided to teach him. He didn't think he learned too much, but it was fun to have half a dozen girls clustered around him and arguing about what he should be doing. Especially when they would put their arms around him and pull him in the "right" direction. Harry found he especially enjoyed it when it was Ginny trying to teach him.
At one point, Harry noticed his counterpart snogging with Parvati. He was talking to Susan Bones at the time. When she noticed where his attention was, she asked him, "Are you dating anybody?"
"No. I went on one date, with Cho Chang, but it was a fiasco. She thought I was interested in Hermione," Harry explained.
Susan grinned up at him. "After the way you defended her, I can see why," she laughed. "You're pretty passionate about those you care for."
"I guess. But I don't fancy her." Harry stood there for a minute, thinking, when his gaze moved over to Hermione. She was in an intense discussion with Ron and both of them looked like they were about to start shouting. "And it looks like Ron fancies her as much here as at home."
Susan looked over at them. "Do they fight all the time in your world, too?" When Harry nodded, she rolled her eyes. "Idiots"
Around lunchtime, picnic baskets came out and everyone passed around food. The afternoon was filled with more music and dancing, Quidditch and simple fooling around. Harry thought that the party might have gone on well into the night when James came home. "Harry James Potter!" Harry's counterpart went up to his father, unrepentant. "You were told to keep things quiet!"
"No neighbors have complained," his counterpart answered. He then pulled his father aside and had a quiet conversation. James looked over at Harry, then shook his head, sighed and addressed the group. "On behalf of my idiot son, I thank you for coming, but I have to call a halt to things. When Harry's no longer confined to his bedroom, I'm sure he'll be contacting you with some new scheme to get everybody into trouble." Everyone packed up and left, wishing Harry good luck when he got home.
After everyone was gone, James turned to Harry. He was shaking his head in exasperation, but he was also smiling at his son's antics. Then he sobered. "We've figured out how to get you home. Unless you object, we'll send you back tomorrow."