A/N: you will not believe how long it took me to find where I left off on the last chapter when typing it up. Urgh! And I lost the notebook the story was in too—I was cleaning my room (I know what you're thinking—yes, I AM insane, Lerafea has already told me that.) and I had them in neat piles. I went for lunch and my mom put the neat piles somewhere else and I lost the notebook. But anyway. Here it is, and I hope I'm typing from the right spot.

Lerafea: You're not only insane, you're also one helluva mad woman. Pushes MedNar towards St. Mungo's ::Mutters:: Too many crucios.

(cackles and leaves in Lerafea's message) Aww, I knew you loved me!

Since I was informed by my lovely beta not to stick it in the middle of the story, I shall tell you all now that there are SPOILERS stuck somewhere in the middle. They're really big paragraphs—you can skip them, basically. I make up my own history for sixth year, just some background info, and then the history has all been told. =D

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. And I probably don't own half the plot, if I could figure it out with my brain working.

Have fun reading!

This is Parseltongue. Blah blah.

Italics like this represent Alex (Harry Potter) in his ORIGINAL world.

            Alex lay on a transfigured bed in the Potions Master's office. While his body remained still in the grips of sleep, his mind wandered through the dream planes, dark voids where dreamers appeared before disappearing into the dream or nightmare given to them that night. Alex sighed, recalling his slip in the Hospital Wing.

It was all Voldemort's fault. He, once again, had tried using the Killing Curse. You'd think the man would've learned his lesson by now. Alex, in defense, had pulled on the link through the famous scar on his forehead.

The yanking on the link did dissipate the curse, but it had an unforeseen outcome as well. The last time Alex had gotten angry, the change had happened for the first time. They'd shortly discovered that he had the ability to change halfway through an Animagus transformation, while controlling the parts that changed.

It had only taken about two days for Ron to get tired of constantly explaining whether he meant a full Animagus transformation, or the halfway change. Because of this, the full change was simply known as Animagus, while the halfway change was only 'Half'.

Before Alex could continue his contemplation, a new scene started to appear before him. He noted absently that he seemed to be some sort of astral projection, but turned his attention to the scene before him.

            It took place in a cemetery, though it was quite different from the one he was in during the 'trip' he had to take during his fourth year.  Not only was this one brighter and less gloomy, it had three weary-looking people standing around a newly covered grave. All though they were suspiciously bright eyed, Remus and Albus seemed to be doing their best not to cry. Draco Malfoy stood beside them, clutching a small bouquet of white lilies, tears threatening to leak from the corner of his eyes.

Curious, Alex peered at the inscription and gasped in faint confusion.

            'Harry James Potter. June 31 1989-2006. hero to all, friend to an honored few.' Draco and the two older men looked over towards the headstone at the gasp and blinked in surprise. Remus spoke finally, his voice shaky.

            "Harry? Is that you?" The ghost of their dear friend looked up from frowning at the stone, meeting their shocked gazes.

            "Yeah. They call me Alex in the other world though. Two Harry's at one place would be downright confusing." Albus's brows furrowed faintly.

            "I'm sorry—other world?" The ghost blinked.

            "Well, I'm not exactly sure how I got there. I was avoiding Filch again, ducked into a room, and woke up in the Hospital Wing with Severus Snape sitting by my bed and calling me 'son'. Actually, I was a spirit in this other-world-Harry's body, sharing the same mind space. Then we did a spell to give me a body—I think it's an Alternate Universe or something Albus, because James Potter died at age 2 and Voldemort never existed. But I have a question. What's that supposed to mean?" He waved at the headstone and grave.

Remus was the one who answered, having gained control of his use of vocal chords much faster then Draco, and Albus was lost in thought.

            "We found your body near the Great Hall the next morning, in a coma-like state. A few weeks ago it vanished. No one knew what happened, so we assumed you died."

            "That's around the time we got my body. Sorry," Harry winced.

            "No problem Harry," Albus smiled, looking more like himself then the haunted man he had been just now.  "I think I know what happened, but one can never be too sure. Research 'Universe-rooms', Harry. Remus, please come with me." The two older men left, leaving the two 17 year olds behind. Draco's hands tightened around the lilies, an effort to keep his voice from shaking—Malfoy's don't show weakness, after all—that Harry saw right through immediately.

            "Draco…"

            Back in the dungeon office, Severus slipped out and returned, bringing Draco Malfoy with him to see if there was anything the boy could do, his name having been murmured by the sleeping Alex. The others had been listening with considerable interest as he had first begun to mutter in his sleep with what sounded like a tombstone inscription.

            The blond looked up as Harry drifted closer, placing his fingers under the grey-eyed boy's chin. The fingers, surprisingly enough, were not icy-cold like one would've thought, but were warm and rather solid. Neither seemed to notice as a soft smile touched Harry's mouth.

            "He's not here anymore, remember? You can do whatever you want, regardless of your name. Besides, only I'll know, and you know that I won't tell anyone." There was a pause before the Malfoy heir dropped the flowers and collapsed to the ground, bringing Harry with him. Harry simply rested a hand on the boy's shoulder as he shook, acting as a comforting presence. After he had calmed down enough, Draco let out a shaky laugh.

            "I'd thought I'd lost my last chance to make things right, to apologize for five and a half years of hatred and insults." Harry smiled, even as he felt himself fading, and unwound himself from the boy.

            "We're already on our way to friendship, Draco. And it will be continued when I get home. I'm being called back to Alex." Grey eyes watched the ghost fade away.

            "Very well, Boy-Who-Lived-To-Win."

Alex groaned as green eyes opened. He was instantly met with several pairs of concerned eyes because of the groan, and shook his head slightly.

            "I'm not hurt—just reminded of a nickname that I never liked." Harry nodded, then looked a little sheepish.

            "Um, Alex—we brought Draco here, and… well, I think he's a little confused." Alex turned slightly to peer at the blond boy, who was indeed looking extremely confused. He sighed slightly and stood up to pace. Remus watched the wizard carefully for any signs of weakness.

            "Draco. Remember how Harry would space out for a while earlier in the year? That was because he was talking to me. I'm from what we're pretty sure is an Alternate Universe, and somehow got transported here into Harry's head. We then managed to find a spell to give me my own body. I'm sure this would make more sense if I understood it myself," he sighed. Draco grinned.

            "That's alright. What you've said will probably kick in sometime tomorrow, and then I'll be shocked." He shrugged lightly and changed the subject.

            "Hey Harry! When's your mum coming for her visit?" Severus noticed Alex glance up quickly as his attention turned towards the conversation, listening intently. Harry shrugged.

            "Not sure. Probably soon though." He looked to his father for confirmation, and the dark-haired man smiled and nodded. Remus leapt forward and caught Alex as the boy's legs suddenly gave out from under him, setting the worn boy on the bed. A small smile was his reward.

            "Thanks Remus. I guess I'm weaker then I thought." His emerald eyes scanned the group for a moment.

            "Hey, Harry? I know I spot where I'll be able to rest without any interruption. Can you help me there?" The two similar boys began to slowly make their way out of the dungeon.

Harry waited patiently as Alex leaned heavily on him for a moment before they began to walk again. He frowned faintly.

            "Hey Alex? Where're we going?" The scarred boy's answer was labored with deep breaths.

            "Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, to the Chamber of Secrets." This made Harry stop in confusion, causing Alex to fumble for a grip to keep himself from falling. Harry helped him regain his footing, with a quick apology.

            "Sorry. Who's bathroom to where?" Alex's eyes lit in understanding.

            "Ah, that's right, no Voldie. Moaning Myrtle was a ghost in my world who haunted one of the girl's bathrooms, and you don't want to know how I know of the Chamber of Secrets. Can we keep going now?" With a soft blush of embarrassment coloring his cheeks, Harry helped Alex down the hall again.

They stopped outside a bathroom, and looked around. Seeing no one in the halls, Alex slid his wand out and murmured softly. There was a moments glow on the door and an 'Out of Order' sign hung upon the door, followed by Filch's messy signature. Harry took a deep breath and opened the door, calling in.

            "Hello? Anyone in there?" When no one answered, both boys stepped in. Harry stood and watched as Alex moved to the collection of sinks, running his fingers over them. He stopped at one near the left and seemed to tune everything out as he focused on a small bronze carving. Harry blinked and then shivered as a light, hissing language escaped Alex's mouth. His attention was caught again when the sinks shifted apart and sank into the floor, leaving an opening much like a pipe that led much further down then the dungeons.

            Alex looked up at Harry with a faint smile as he spoke.

"I'll keep an eye on what's going on. If you need me—" he hesitated. "—then come here, go to the right wall, and yell my name. I'll come, don't worry." The two smiled at each other before Alex slid down the tube. The sinks began to close again as Harry exited the bathroom.

He left for the dungeon room, where he would spend the next five minutes telling Severus, Draco, Remus, and Sirius what little he'd gotten out of Alex.

Alex grimaced as he slowly picked his way through the tunnel to the final door. With a hissed 'Open', he once again entered the Chamber of Secrets for the second time in his life. This time, however, he didn't need to kill a basilisk to save Ginny Weasley. As the door shut behind him with a resounding clang, he called out in Parseltongue to the seemingly empty Chamber.

            Basilisk! Please, show yourself to me with closed eyes. I need to ask a favor of you. There was a faint splash of water and the slithering sound of wet scales on stone as a large body heaved itself out of the moat around the statue of Salazar Slytherin.

            Master Snake-speaker? A slight smile crossed Alex's face.

            Yes Basilisk. My name is Harry. He had worried about telling the snake his real name, then realized that it was foolish. Who was the basilisk going to tell? The large snake bowed it's head, eyes closed.

            Master Harry. I am Narzaia. It is nice to have someone to talk to. Alex's teeth flashed in a slight grin.

            Yes, I can understand that. Narzaia, I need to ask you to watch the school for me. You must travel only in the pipes and with your eyes closed so no one is killed. Can you do that for me? The basilisk twitched excitedly.

            Of course! She shot off into the school as soon as Alex gave her the hiss that meant 'go on.' Chuckling softly, Alex made his way towards the statue and sat down to rest. He would be woken by Narzaia as time passed so she could give her report to him.

            On the third day (the sixth time Narzaia woke him) the basilisk seemed fidgety. His brows furrowed.

            What is it Narzaia? The beast shook her head.

            Most of the school is just as it was before. Lily Snape is here, and Harry Snape is waiting outside for you master Harry. Alex smiled and got to his feet, feeling strong again.

            Thank you Narzaia. I'll try to return, but I can't promise anything. Poisonous fangs bared in a gentle smile.

            Yes Master Harry. Goodbye! With another smile to the creature, Alex began his return to the pipe. Taking a breath once there, he allowed the magic to suck him back out to the girl's bathroom. As he stepped off the air rush to the ground beyond the sinks, he smiled at Harry.

            "I told you I'd come if you called. What's up?" Harry smiled.

            "My mum's here. Thought it'd be nice for you to meet her now." Alex froze for a moment before nodding apprehensively. They began the walk to the dungeons as the sinks closed behind them.

Harry sensed rather than saw Alex slowly tense up. When they finally reached the Potions office, Alex seemed ready to bolt at the slightest warning of danger. Harry placed a hand on his friend's back, frowning as he flinched.

            "It's alright Alex—she'll like you, I promise." Alex grinned slightly in response, but said nothing. He pushed the door and stepped inside, to be meet by the sight of Lily Snape, once Evans, turning to face him with a smile.

            Auburn hair flowed down Lily's back, cascading to about mid-back length. Familiar green eyes, almost exactly like the one's that stared back at him from the mirror everyday (hers were missing the flecks of gold and onyx), danced with mirth as she smiled at Alex. She chuckled softly, holding out a long-fingered hand to him.

            "You're Alex, right? Come on in, don't just stand there." She blinked slightly as the boy's flecked green eyes glimmered with unshed tears. The motherly instinct in her kicked in and she pulled the 17 year old who had recently saved Hogwarts onto her lap as she sat down and held him, murmuring soft words of comfort into his hair.

            "It's alright to cry… you don't have to be strong. Let it out, that's it. You can cry, it doesn't hurt." She continued to comfort him as tears began to flow from his eyes, faster and harder, until they fell out with a relentless fury. As his tears slowly began to halt ten minutes later, Lily rubbed his back.

            "There, see? It's all ok, you're fine." Alex took a shaky breath and smiled slightly.

            "Sorry about that. It's just—well, I suppose I should tell everyone. Harry, Professor Snape, you'll be interested in this too. Mrs. Snape," he looked at the woman, not to hard a feat as he was still on her lap.

"You know I'm from what we decided is an alternate universe, right?" At her nod, he continued.

"Harry, you'll remember I've told you Alex isn't my name? Well, my name is Harry James Potter. My father was James Miles Potter, and my mother was Lily Ann Potter, once Evans." He smiled weakly, looking at Lily.

"That's why I cried, because I never knew you in my own world. Voldemort, the Dark Lord who had been gaining power in my world, attacked my family when I was 15 months old. James stood against him the entrance to give Lily time to take me and run. There wasn't enough time. He cornered us in my room before we could leave. He told Lily to move away so he could kill me, but she wouldn't. He killed her. Then he raised his wand against me, a defenseless little baby. When he cast the killing curse, it reflected off me and struck him. His body died, but his tainted soul survived, to wander the world for ten years, living in snakes. What he didn't realize was there was now a connection between us. His hand rose to trace the lightning bolt part of the scar on his face.

"It left this. I was rescued from the ruins of Godric's Hollow and taken to the house of my only living relatives—the Dursleys. Dudley and Petunia Dursley were my relatives by blood; Vernon by marriage. I lived without knowledge of magic until I was eleven. During that time, I thought I was inferior. My bedroom was the cupboard under the stairs and I did all the chores. As my 11th birthday neared, my Hogwarts letter arrived. My aunt and uncle knew what it was and didn't let me read it. They hoped to squash the magic in me. Letters began arriving faster and in greater numbers until my uncle took us from the house, driving us to a lonely cottage. My birthday came while we were there and Hagrid arrived to hand-deliver my letter. He forced the Dursley's to allow me to go, and ended up giving Dudley a pig's tail.

"The next day he took me to the Leaky Cauldron, where I found out that I was the famous Boy-Who-Lived. The part of the title they seemed to leave out was 'While-His-Parents-Died.' They all thought Voldemort was gone, except for a select few, like Albus Dumbledore. I got to Hogwarts and was sorted into Gryffindor with my two new friends—Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Of course, Hermione wasn't our friend until after Halloween, when we fought a troll to save her. Near the end of the year, we got past a huge three-headed dog, Devil's Snare, a giant chess board, which caused us to leave Ron unconscious, through a potion's logic puzzle, where I had to leave Hermione, and the Mirror of Erised to save the Philosopher's stone from Voldemort, who was living in our DADA teacher, Quirrel. It turns out that I could not be touched by Voldemort or Quirrel because of my mother's love and sacrifice for me. In my second year, the Chamber of Secrets was opened by the youngest Weasley child, Ginny. She was possessed by the 16 year old memory of Voldemort in the form of a diary. Several students were petrified, including Hermione. She had figured out that it was a basilisk released from the Chamber. Then, Ginny was taken to the Chamber to die. I went after her. I received the Sword of Godric Gryffindor from the Sorting Hat that Fawkes had brought." He sighed and cleared his throat, finding it hard to continue.

"Fawkes clawed the basilisk's eyes so that I could see what I was doing with open eyes. I killed the basilisk, was healed by Fawkes, and destroyed the diary that held the memory Tom Marvolo Riddle. Ginny was alright, thankfully. In my third year, Sirius Black broke out of Azkaban after 12 years of imprisonment. Everyone believed he was after me. Dementors were placed around the school. I took extra lessons to learn the Patronus from Remus, my new DADA teacher, to help combat my reaction to the Dementors. Every time they come near me, I hear the last moments of my parents. I finally mastered the Patronus, found out Sirius Black had been framed by Peter Pettigrew who had been hiding for 12 years as the Weasley's rat, and found out Black was my godfather.

"Fourth year I was entered as a fourth school in the Triwizard Tournament by my disguised Death Eater DADA teacher. In the third task, the other Hogwarts champion and I took the cup together. The Portkey took us to a graveyard, Cedric was killed, and Voldemort was brought back, using some of my blood. I lost the protection from my mother, and we had a wizard's duel. Our brother-wands reacted and the shadows of the people killed appeared. I managed to escape and brought Cedric's body back. We got rid of the Death Eater. Fifth year my godfather died because I didn't try to learn Occulmency and Voldemort sent dreams of Sirius trapped in the Ministry. My friends and I went, we were attacked, and some of the Order arrived to save us, but he fell through the Veil." He closed his eyes as his heart wrenched in pain.

"Sixth year—or should I say, the summer before it—Voldemort attacked the Dursley house. The Order arrived just as they broke through the wards. A battle began and I somehow ended up in front of Voldemort. He sent the Killing Curse at me…" Alex paused here, a flash of pain crossing his features.

"Severus Snape, the greasy-haired overgrown bat of a Potions Professor that no one liked, a spy in the Death Eater ranks for the Light, knocked me out of the way, taking the curse himself." Alex's green eyes flicked to this world's Severus Snape for a moment.

"I cast the Destroy Soul on the Dark Lord, a Parseltongue spell that doesn't require a wand, just enough power. It requires a sacrifice though—it causes a scar to cross your face, which will make you famous—or, in my case, even more famous, if you killed someone 'evil'. At school, it was rather un-hectic, unless you count reporters trying to snatch me at all times and kids wanting autographs as hectic.

"So far, 7th year had calmed somewhat. Then, of course, I ended up here. My life just can't be normal." Lily tightened her hold on him fractionally as he finished his story. She smiled slightly.

"I'm glad you were here though, Alex—everyone would've died otherwise." Before she could finish speaking, Alex fainted. Severus and Harry caught him before he hit the ground. They watched as he began to mutter. Severus sighed.

"Looks like he's seeing the other world again."

Harry's ghost form fizzled into view in front of Remus and Dumbledore, sitting in the library with an open book. Albus smiled as Harry appeared—it meant that they're idea of summoning had worked well enough. Remus grinned at Harry, who seemed slightly irritated.

"We think we found it Harry. It's called Room of Universes, and it will transport you into the other 'you' in an Alternate universe. Apparently it moves around all the time, so to find it you'll have to just walk around opening doors." Harry nodded, with an amused grin.

"Shouldn't be too hard for me to do that. I'll see if there's anything in this world's library also. I'll talk to you later!" He closed his eyes and 'drifted' back to his body.

Severus, Lily, and Harry looked up from explaining to Remus about the alternate universes. Alex stretched and looked at the others.

"I need help to look up the Room of Universes. I also need to know what I've missed in classes." Grinning, Harry and Alex returned to the Common Room to prepare for the Animagus transformation the next day.

            Alex sat on a desk in the Transfiguration classroom, watching as all around him, his fellow classmates began to transform. He had a look of intense concentration on, but his head was focused on anything but the gryphon form. After having spent two years on his cobra form, he knew exactly what to do to change. Right now, he was perfectly content to watch his friends attempt to change, especially since McGonagall thought it would take longer for him.

            Draco managed it first, after over an hour of having triangular black ears, then a long black tail, a thin layer of black and white fur on his body, narrowed pupils, and thin claws on his hands. He finally transformed into a black panther, white fur on his left shoulder forming the shape of a snake.

            The next to complete the transformation was Blaise, his coming all at once. Brown fur covered the foot-long monkey, a golden 'mane' around his compressed, black leathery face. The end of his tail was covered in a furry golden ball of fluff. A golden star shimmered on the leathery palm of his right hand.

            Harry finally changed, having been unable to speak since they began, as all that he said came out as barks. Golden fur covered the large dog, the fluffy tail waving happily. Two parallel streaks of dark brown ran from his ears down to his front paws.

            Alex looked up as he realized that, aside from McGonagall, he was the only one still human. He watched as McGonagall approached, and waited until she was about to speak to him. He released his control over his form and reveled in the millisecond feeling of the change. He allowed the gryphon mind to take over as he examined his new body through his senses. Small, as gryphons go, because of what his body was made up of.

            A raven made up his front half, with black feathers falling easily over his head and the first half of his body. A creamy beak was held ready for ripping and tearing while crimson eyes stared at the class, one with a diagonal white line through it. The line continued on the feathers, in the exact shape of the Destroy Soul curses. Sharp, tearing talons flexed slightly, the scales tinted a silver color. They were also somewhat orange, giving them a creamy look.

The lower half of his body was that of a lion's, though pitch black in color. Powerful haunches tense slightly, the long sleek tail twitching. The gryphon mind lowered the body into hunting mode, smelling, seeing, and felling all the prey around him. McGonagall motioned all the animals behind her, speaking to them.

            "Don't move—the gryphon mind has taken control, and we need to treat Alex as dangerous until he regains control." She reached for her wand, only to freeze as the gryphon spread huge wings, lowered his head, raised his hackles and crest, and hissed a warning. The wingspan of at least 10 feet took up most of the classroom, ebony feathers holding a startling design. The under-sides of both wings held identical skulls and crossbones, such as that of the pirates of old. The skulls were thin and narrow, with high cheekbones and narrow eyes. If skin were put on them, they would be like the last face of Voldemort.

            The gryphon suddenly pounced, talons pinning the black panther who had been slow to react to the floor. Though they didn't pierce, they didn't let up either. Draco's blue-grey cat eyes stared up into amused crimson ones. Before McGonagall could do anything, Alex easily re-took control of the body, and lowered his head to nuzzle the panther's. Releasing the other, he turned to look at McGonagall expectantly. She stared up at him.

            "Alex?" The regal head bobbed up and down once. She smiled and directed her statement to everyone.

            "To return to your own body, simply think of it. Almost before she finished the sentence, Alex returned to his human form with a smile. The others followed quickly. When McGonagall dismissed them, he slipped away to the lake while most of the others went to the Great Hall for lunch.

Once he stood at the shore, he glanced around before changing into his cobra form. Black scales glittered in the sunlight, tiny white ones forming the same markings on the shake as the gryphon, the white line crossing ice blue eyes. Alex slithered over onto a rock, remaining there and sunbathing until lunch ended. He transformed back to himself, grinning, as he felt the new energy racing through his body, restoring that which had been lost in the transformation to gryphon. He headed up for the DADA lesson.

A/N:  4,461 words! Wheee!

That's all for now! I have… looks about 10 more handwritten pages, so when I get this chapter up I'll start typing that one up. Or sometime soon. Anyway, that'll be the end of the story. Only one more chapter! Now, once I go back and read through this and fix the more obvious mistakes (typos, etc.) I'll ship this off to Lerafea to be beta-ed. Thank you!

Review Responses:

            Damon Rhodes: lol, Vampire Harry stories rock my world. =D I look forward to more of Crimson Nights—it's a fun story! I can't wait to see him at Hogwarts. And I figure that at least I didn't make James's death THAT bad—I mean, he did save the world for a while. =D Thanks for the review!

            Lord Elrond of Hogwarts: Thanks Tara! And yes, Dumbledore can definitely be a meddling old coot and needs to be put in his place once in a while. I figure his manipulating would be less… how to put it… 'veiled' if there had been peace for so long. Sorry the update was a little slow—like I said, I lost the notebook!

            Lady Shang: I'm glad you liked it! Sometimes I read my work and go "Harry's sort of like a Gary Stu… except he's already in the book…" and then I decide it doesn't matter, I like it, and I write more anyway. =D Thanks for the review.

            Lerafea: My beta! big big BIG hug Margins… margins annoy me. I go to a fanfic and see the scrollbar is really small, and half of it is margins. I have trouble reading a story that has huge margins. sheepish grin

            Kateri1: I'm glad you thought so! Thanks for the review.

            Oklina: I figure with all the rooms in Hogwarts, there has to be ONE that connects to 'another Hogwarts'. I liked the 'Harry in Harry's body' part too. =D

            LilyG: shakes head no no, Harry Potter (y'know, the one we all know and love.) is the one that had the change with the claws/snake eyes, etc. And I hope I explained it ok in this chapter—if I didn't, please let me know and I'll try to make it clearer!

            IMPORTANT! I need to know if you want a rather short chapter next and then a separate chapter for the rather short Epilogue, or if you just want them both in the same chapter. Please let me know, or it'll just be all at once. (I think.)

Now that I have gone back, and hopefully successfully un-lumped all the paragraphs, let me know what you thought! And heck—if you thought it was absolutely terrible and I should never write again, tell me! (although I probably will keep writing, but I'd prefer to know you don't like it.)