Disclaimer: Harry Potter does not belong to me. If it did, I wouldn't be
broke.
A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. Not sure how many I actually got, but thanks anyway! I love you all
~~*~~
In every story somebody has to faint. Of course, in this story, Harry took one look at his mother and his eyes rolled upwards before slipping forward in his chair and dropping into a dead faint.
~~*~~
Lily jumped backwards and watched as the unfamiliar boy slide forward in his chair and faint.
Did I do that? She thought as she hurried forward and picked him up. She nearly dropped him again when she saw his face. He looked so much like James that it was not funny.
"Who is he?" Lily asked, propping him in his chair, her eyes never leaving his face. Albus sighed and Lily tore her eyes away from the boy to stare at the headmaster.
"He claims to be Harry Potter," he said softly. Lily's eyes widened and looked desperately at her husband. James's lips were pursed and he was glaring at the ground, not sure what to believe.
"James?" Lily asked softly. James looked at her and she saw tears and pain swimming in his eyes.
"If it is Harry, then, that's great, but it's not possible. Our Harry died twelve years ago. But he looks so much like me and he has your eyes and..." James trailed off and he stared out at the ground once again. Lily turned towards Albus.
"Maybe I should explain something first," the old man said gently, directing her towards a chair. Lily nodded numbly and plonked herself in the chair, face devoid of any colour.
"You see, Mr. Riddle was trying to prove himself this afternoon," Dumbledore started. "To do this, he preformed an extremely powerful binding harm. So Mr. Riddle had properly bound himself to somebody. We were not sure of his partner's identity or even the gender of the person. So it was decided that we wait for the arrival of this person. I have a feeling that this is the person we have been waiting for."
The group contemplated this in a stunned silence.
"But sir," Tom spoke out. Dumbledore turned towards him and smiled warmly. "How is it possible? Didn't Harry Potter die when he was five?"
Dumbledore nodded slowly.
"That is true, but I have a feeling that this young man is telling the truth. The spell you cast was very powerful. I suspect that it has pulled this Harry Potter out of his universe to substitute for the Harry Potter that died here. After all, if a binding spell is cast correctly and has enough power, than nothing should stand in the way of soul mates," Dumbledore said, the twinkling returning to his eyes.
"NO!" Lily shouted, jumping to her feet. "I WILL NOT BELIEVE THIS CRAP! I'VE ALREADY LOST MY HARRY AND IF THIS TURNS OUT TO BE SOME SICK JOKE OR HE TURNS OUT TO BE A DEATH EATER, I WILL NOT BE SUBJECT TO THE PAIN IT WILL BRING. DO YOU EVEN KNOW HOW MUCH IT HURT ME THE FIRST TIME I LOST HARRY?!" Lily screamed, on the verge of hysteria. James hurriedly got out of his seat and ran forwards. Enveloping Lily in a hug, James murmured comforting things in her ear and rubbed her back. Lily sobbed loudly into James's chest and the occupants of the room shifted uncomfortably in their seats.
"How can you lose someone twice?" a voice asked and the whole room jumped. Everybody turned to see two emerald eyes looking at them with curiousity and suspicion.
~~*~~
Harry shifted in his seat a little as a voice attacked his consciousness. "HE TURNS OUT TO BE A DEATH EATER, I WILL NOT BE SUBJECT TO THE PAIN IT WILL BRING. DO YOU EVEN KNOW HOW MUCH IT HURT ME THE FIRST TIME I LOST HARRY?!"
Harry shifted a little more, frowning mentally. God, that sounded so much like his mother. That was when his world went crashing down around him.
"Damn," he muttered and opened his eyes. In front of him, his mother was being cradled by his father. Sirius and Remus were torn between looking at the couple and Tom. Tom was still pale as a sheet and was staring out of the window. Dumbledore was looking at the couple in concern.
"How can you lose someone twice?" Harry asked and watched as the room jump and turned towards him.
~~*~~
Tom's mind was in shock as he stared unseeingly into the window. Oh God, he had summoned a boy from another universe. A boy that seems to hate his guts and be especially afraid of Sirius being, well, alive.
Damn! He thought furiously, his hand tightening on the arm of the chair until his knuckles turned white. Why the hell does he hate me?! Sure, I've brought his out of his universe, but why me?! He wasn't even supposed to now who I am!
Wait, his mind reeled backwards. I'm bound. I'm bound to a boy! I'm gay?! I can't be. I am *not* gay! How the hell can that boy be my soul mate? I am not gay!
Of course you're not gay, a comforting voice that sounded suspiciously like Remus said.
The explain this! Tom shouted back mentally. The voice only shook his head sadly.
He was woken out of his thoughts as the boy's voice sounded.
"How can you lose someone twice?" the boy who claimed that he was Harry asked his green eyes peering out at all of them.
~~*~~
Harry waited impatiently as everybody stared at him.
"Are you going to answer me or not?" he asked hotly. Tom averted his eyes. Remus and Sirius frowned. James and Lily just continued to stare at him. Dumbledore coughed and smiled comfortingly at him.
"We'll you see Harry, if you turn out to not be Harry Potter, then it's like for your parents to lose you a second time," Dumbledore said kindly. Harry rolled his eyes, but remained silent, taking in everything he saw. His parents were sitting next to him, as real and as alive as him. His godfather and Remus were frowning at him and Tom Riddle was in between them, eyes staring unfocusedly into the window.
Harry clutched at the arm of his chair. His grip was so hard and tight that his knuckles were turning white.
"Harry?" Dumbledore asked questioningly. Harry blinked, as if just realising that he was literally boring holes into Tom's head with his glare, before loosening his death grip on the chair and directing his eyes to the floor again.
He could've almost sworn that the chair groaned in relief underneath him.
"Now Harry, I believe that you came from an alternative universe," Dumbledore began before being cut off by Harry's strangled choke.
"What?!" he asked weakly. "Alternative universe?"
"Yes," Dumbledore continued as if people popping in from other universes were a normal occurrence for him. "Because the spell Tom cast was so powerful and the Harry Potter died in this world, it pulled a Harry Potter form somewhere else. In this case, you."
Harry's eyes had progressively grown wider and wider as Dumbledore continued to talk.
Alternative universe? Bond? Spell? Dead? Harry's mind raced through the thoughts as he stared disbelievingly into the headmaster's face. No! I will not accept this! I am not bound to Tom Fucking Riddle!
"No," he uttered the single word softly, but firmly. It echoed around the room and the occupants stared at him. Harry's eyes were cold and his tone was harsh, the denial clear.
"I am not, will not be bound to a monster."
The voice was flat, the tone final.
Tom felt anger rise in his chest. What the hell had he done to be classified as a monster?! The boy didn't even know him and here he was, judging him.
"Who the hell do you think you are?!" Tom demanded, face flushed with anger. "You don't even know me!"
Harry sneered at him.
"I don't need to know you to know that you're a monster!" Harry spat back at the other boy. Tom glared and would've jumped out of his chair and strangled Harry if it wasn't for the constricting hand of Remus's on his arm. Sirius looked just as bad. His glare was furious as he glared at Harry.
"You're not Harry Potter. Harry Potter will never be so cruel or evil. He wouldn't judge before he knew anything. I don't know how your parents lived with you in your world. You're nothing like James or Lily. I bet they wished they never had you," Sirius lashed out, not caring for the consequences of his words.
There was silence in the room for a long time after that. Sirius realised that he had gone too far, but was still too angry to think properly. Remus was looking disapprovingly at his mate. James and Lily were staring in shock at Sirius and Tom was smirking in victory. Dumbledore was looking worriedly at Harry.
Harry, for his part, was shocked and hurt beyond anything else he had ever encountered. The one person he looked up to, the one person who loved him unconditionally was turning on him. The one person who he considered a father figure was defending Tom Riddle over him. He ignored the voice that told him that in this world things were different and Tom Riddle couldn't be as bad as Voldemort was in his world. He ignored the voice when it tried to tell him that Tom Riddle couldn't be his parent's murderer as he was but a child himself.
The shutters came over his eyes and a mask slipped on. His mind was still fuzzy with shock and hurt and his actions and words were on autopilot.
"You're right," Harry said simply, eyes blank and icy. There was another shocked silence as everybody turned towards him. The victorious smirk on Tom's face faded slowly. No one seemed able to tell the real feelings of the boy in front of them.
"They couldn't stand me, maybe that's why they died," Harry snapped, eyes now angry as he glared at Sirius. "After all, I don't have my oh so very noble parents to compare myself to. Maybe that's why I turned out the way I am. How can I ever do anything my parents would be proud of me for?"
The anger melted out of Sirius's eyes and his jaw had dropped open in shock. Remus looked at Harry with sad eyes and James and Lily were subdued, wondering how they had died in Harry's world.
Remus nudged Sirius sharply and his glare told the black haired man to apologise immediately. After all, this was his godson.
"Harry I," Sirius started, before Harry turned away from him.
"Shut up Black," Harry snarled. "I don't need your apologies. I can so clearly see that you're not apologising because you want to, you're doing it because Lupin is forcing you to."
Last names, his mind told him. Last names don't hurt as much as first names. With last names, I can push them away. They are nothing but strangers to me. Building a barrier around me is the best thing I need if I don't want to get hurt again. Last names.
Sirius closed his mouth a snap. What was he supposed to do now? Remus was frowning slightly, wondering how the boy's attitude could change from cool to down right frozen in the space of a coupe of seconds.
"Harry?" Dumbledore asked softly. Harry turned his gaze to him.
"What?" he snapped, crossing his arms.
"You must accept that you are bound to Tom Riddle," the old man continued. Harry growled.
"No," he said simply. "I will not accept this. I will find a way back into my world where I will be able to live my life the way I want it."
"I'm afraid that once you've seen the person you're bound to, you can never them. When the spell was cast, it created a sort of bond within both of you and you can't separate. Think of it this way. The bond is an elastic band. Quite useful Muggle inventions actually, but we're not here to talk about that. The further you go, the further the band is stretched. Stretched too far the band will snap and you will die."
Harry glared at the ground again. How stupid could Riddle be to cast a binding spell?
"The bond in formed out of your life force," Dumbledore concluded.
Harry sighed softly and rubbed his eyes. All of a sudden, the proud and angry young man turned into a fatigued and confused teenager.
"Bloody hell," Harry muttered. "How stupid do you have to be to cast a spell like this?"
Tom glared at the other boy.
"If Weasley hadn't challenged me then it wouldn't have happened," he snapped, his tone indicating that he hated the Weasley boy as much as the Weasley boy hated him. Harry blinked again. Weasley? Ron Weasley?
"So I take it that you go around casting spells that your enemies hand you without checking them first?" Harry asked, his tone, scorning, mocking and sarcastic at the same time.
Tom flushed pink, but continued to glare at Harry. Harry glared back equally hard.
Both broke away their gazes when Dumbledore coughed in amusement.
"Bastard," Tom muttered softly, earning a stern look from Remus.
"Dickhead," Harry said under his breath ignoring Dumbledore's twinkling eyes. There was another awkward silence as Dumbledore refrained from laughing at the two boys' attitudes.
"Now, Harry, I take it that you haven't completed your schooling in your world?" Dumbledore asked. Harry shook his head and continued to glare at the ground.
"Excellent, you shall finish your schooling here," Dumbledore continued and Harry nodded stiffly, not really listening to what was being said.
Another silence stretched throughout the room and Dumbledore looked deep in thought.
"Headmaster, what do I do for books? And quills? And clothes?" Harry asked finally. "All my things are in my world." Dumbledore smiled at him.
"All take care of," he answered and Harry nodded. "What house were you in your world Harry?"
"Gryffindor," came the tense reply. Tom snorted and rolled his eyes.
"Figures I'll be bound to a geeky Gryffindor," he muttered and was faced with a pair of blazing green eyes the next second.
"And what are you? Slytherin? Suits an evil git like you," Harry snapped, momentarily forgetting about his vow to never people by what house they were in. Tom's greyish/greenish eyes blazed as well and the two teens were back to glaring at each other.
Harry's concentration was broken when a small figure suddenly threw herself at him.
"Oh Harry," Lily sobbed into his chest. "I've missed you so much." Harry was frozen in shock before snapping out of his reverie. He leaned into Lily's embrace for a second, enjoying the love of a mother before pushing her away from him. Ignoring her hurt look, Harry turned away from Lily.
"No, you haven't," he said flatly. "I'm not your Harry and never will be. You don't even know me. I'm a complete stranger to you."
Dumbledore looked sadly upon the mother and son. Harry was right of course. Lily Potter had never really gotten over her Harry's death. Now that she had a second chance with Harry, she was trying to make him into something he wasn't. She was trying to make this jaded Harry into her innocent five year old Harry.
"I'm sorry," Harry said softly before turning away again. Dumbledore sighed and clapped his hands together, attracting everybody's attention.
"It's late, time for everybody to go back to their quarters. I need to speak to Harry alone," Dumbledore said and everybody nodded. James shot Harry an unreadable look before supporting Lily out of the office. Sirius avoided looking at Harry and was out of the room as soon as possible. Tom glared once more at the teen before stalking out. Remus looked sadly at the boy.
"It'll work out Harry," he said gently before walking out of the office. Harry stared after the werewolf in shock.
"Now Harry, I will tell the school of who you really are and what you're doing here. They've seen so much already, there's really no use hiding it from them. Also I need to tell you about your history in this world," Dumbledore stated matter-of-factly and Harry nodded silently.
"Harry in this world died when he was six years old. The Dark Lord had been gaining power and he seemed to have a grudge on James and Lily for some reason. Of course, when I learned of his identity, I realised why. Harry was out flying when the Dark Lord turned up at his house with some of his followers. Even at that young of an age, Harry had tremendous power and I think the Dark Lord wanted his parents to hand him over to him. Of course James and Lily refused. The Dark Lord couldn't have an almighty follower of Light alive, so he killed the Harry in this world that day. The Dark Lord jinxed Harry's broomstick and he fell. Harry broke his neck instantly. He died painlessly."
Harry absorbed the information and nodded for the headmaster to go on.
"Before Harry died, he let out all of his power and while it didn't kill the Dark Lord, it wounded him badly and he has been dormant until two years ago, when he seems to have recovered somewhat. Death Eater activities have started up again ever since last year and I fear that the wizarding world will have a war on its hands soon."
Harry took one look and saw that Dumbledore looked older than his age. His shoulders were stooped and the lines on his face stood out.
Great, Harry thought tiredly. Guess I'm famous here too.
Sighing deeply, Dumbledore continued.
"About two years after Harry died; James and Lily had another child. It was a little boy called Cameron Orion Potter. Another year after that, Lily had a daughter called Rose Margaret Potter. So you have, technically speaking, a brother and a sister."
Harry looked into Dumbledore's smiling face and felt his eyebrow rise.
"What is it with Evans and flower names for girls?" he asked and Dumbledore laughed merrily.
"Sirius asked that once and got a black eye and a clipped "It's a girl thing" from Lily," Dumbledore informed Harry with a wicked light in his eyes. Harry felt himself smile.
**Dumbledore's P.O.V. **
The boy is but a child and yet he looks like he has the world's weight on his shoulders. His eyes show that he is far older and wiser than he really is. What has the boy been through for him to become so jaded? Yet, when he smiles, I can that there is still a child in him.
**Normal P.O.V**
"So am I - , I mean, is the Harry in this world famous?" Harry asked tenderly. Dumbledore looked at him and wondered whatever prompted him to ask such a question, unless.....
"Yes, yes he is. He is known as The Boy Who Saved," Dumbledore answered and watched as the boy in front of him snorted.
Boy Who Saved? God these names get cornier and cornier, Harry thought mockingly before asking the question he had been holding in for a long time.
"Who, exactly, is the Dark Lord?" Harry asked and watched as Dumbledore sighed again. "Lucius Malfoy."
~~*~~
Ohhhh... and the tension runs high between Harry and the rest of the world. Sorry it took so long for it to be ready, but I had tests and so many assignments due and everything. Anyways, thanks for all the reviews and I would like to get a few things cleared up.
1. Harry and Draco are not dating. Repeat Harry and Draco are NOT dating. They're just friends. The whole "puppy dog eye" thing will be explained in a future chapter. It's just some stupid, silly little thing I threw in for fun.
2. Um, yes I realise that whist Harry is jaded and Tom seems like a carefree young teen, he really isn't that innocent. That will be cleared up as time goes on.
Yes, I realise this chapter was kind of, well, boring, but the whole history of Harry had to come in somewhere.
Thanks to those who reviewed! I love you all *throws flowers and confetti around* Oh great reviewers! I will give you a choice for something since I can't make up my mind.
Do you want Tom and Harry to share a suite, room type of thing? Or should they just stay in their respectful house dormitories? Drop me a line and the majority wins!
Love, S&p
A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. Not sure how many I actually got, but thanks anyway! I love you all
~~*~~
In every story somebody has to faint. Of course, in this story, Harry took one look at his mother and his eyes rolled upwards before slipping forward in his chair and dropping into a dead faint.
~~*~~
Lily jumped backwards and watched as the unfamiliar boy slide forward in his chair and faint.
Did I do that? She thought as she hurried forward and picked him up. She nearly dropped him again when she saw his face. He looked so much like James that it was not funny.
"Who is he?" Lily asked, propping him in his chair, her eyes never leaving his face. Albus sighed and Lily tore her eyes away from the boy to stare at the headmaster.
"He claims to be Harry Potter," he said softly. Lily's eyes widened and looked desperately at her husband. James's lips were pursed and he was glaring at the ground, not sure what to believe.
"James?" Lily asked softly. James looked at her and she saw tears and pain swimming in his eyes.
"If it is Harry, then, that's great, but it's not possible. Our Harry died twelve years ago. But he looks so much like me and he has your eyes and..." James trailed off and he stared out at the ground once again. Lily turned towards Albus.
"Maybe I should explain something first," the old man said gently, directing her towards a chair. Lily nodded numbly and plonked herself in the chair, face devoid of any colour.
"You see, Mr. Riddle was trying to prove himself this afternoon," Dumbledore started. "To do this, he preformed an extremely powerful binding harm. So Mr. Riddle had properly bound himself to somebody. We were not sure of his partner's identity or even the gender of the person. So it was decided that we wait for the arrival of this person. I have a feeling that this is the person we have been waiting for."
The group contemplated this in a stunned silence.
"But sir," Tom spoke out. Dumbledore turned towards him and smiled warmly. "How is it possible? Didn't Harry Potter die when he was five?"
Dumbledore nodded slowly.
"That is true, but I have a feeling that this young man is telling the truth. The spell you cast was very powerful. I suspect that it has pulled this Harry Potter out of his universe to substitute for the Harry Potter that died here. After all, if a binding spell is cast correctly and has enough power, than nothing should stand in the way of soul mates," Dumbledore said, the twinkling returning to his eyes.
"NO!" Lily shouted, jumping to her feet. "I WILL NOT BELIEVE THIS CRAP! I'VE ALREADY LOST MY HARRY AND IF THIS TURNS OUT TO BE SOME SICK JOKE OR HE TURNS OUT TO BE A DEATH EATER, I WILL NOT BE SUBJECT TO THE PAIN IT WILL BRING. DO YOU EVEN KNOW HOW MUCH IT HURT ME THE FIRST TIME I LOST HARRY?!" Lily screamed, on the verge of hysteria. James hurriedly got out of his seat and ran forwards. Enveloping Lily in a hug, James murmured comforting things in her ear and rubbed her back. Lily sobbed loudly into James's chest and the occupants of the room shifted uncomfortably in their seats.
"How can you lose someone twice?" a voice asked and the whole room jumped. Everybody turned to see two emerald eyes looking at them with curiousity and suspicion.
~~*~~
Harry shifted in his seat a little as a voice attacked his consciousness. "HE TURNS OUT TO BE A DEATH EATER, I WILL NOT BE SUBJECT TO THE PAIN IT WILL BRING. DO YOU EVEN KNOW HOW MUCH IT HURT ME THE FIRST TIME I LOST HARRY?!"
Harry shifted a little more, frowning mentally. God, that sounded so much like his mother. That was when his world went crashing down around him.
"Damn," he muttered and opened his eyes. In front of him, his mother was being cradled by his father. Sirius and Remus were torn between looking at the couple and Tom. Tom was still pale as a sheet and was staring out of the window. Dumbledore was looking at the couple in concern.
"How can you lose someone twice?" Harry asked and watched as the room jump and turned towards him.
~~*~~
Tom's mind was in shock as he stared unseeingly into the window. Oh God, he had summoned a boy from another universe. A boy that seems to hate his guts and be especially afraid of Sirius being, well, alive.
Damn! He thought furiously, his hand tightening on the arm of the chair until his knuckles turned white. Why the hell does he hate me?! Sure, I've brought his out of his universe, but why me?! He wasn't even supposed to now who I am!
Wait, his mind reeled backwards. I'm bound. I'm bound to a boy! I'm gay?! I can't be. I am *not* gay! How the hell can that boy be my soul mate? I am not gay!
Of course you're not gay, a comforting voice that sounded suspiciously like Remus said.
The explain this! Tom shouted back mentally. The voice only shook his head sadly.
He was woken out of his thoughts as the boy's voice sounded.
"How can you lose someone twice?" the boy who claimed that he was Harry asked his green eyes peering out at all of them.
~~*~~
Harry waited impatiently as everybody stared at him.
"Are you going to answer me or not?" he asked hotly. Tom averted his eyes. Remus and Sirius frowned. James and Lily just continued to stare at him. Dumbledore coughed and smiled comfortingly at him.
"We'll you see Harry, if you turn out to not be Harry Potter, then it's like for your parents to lose you a second time," Dumbledore said kindly. Harry rolled his eyes, but remained silent, taking in everything he saw. His parents were sitting next to him, as real and as alive as him. His godfather and Remus were frowning at him and Tom Riddle was in between them, eyes staring unfocusedly into the window.
Harry clutched at the arm of his chair. His grip was so hard and tight that his knuckles were turning white.
"Harry?" Dumbledore asked questioningly. Harry blinked, as if just realising that he was literally boring holes into Tom's head with his glare, before loosening his death grip on the chair and directing his eyes to the floor again.
He could've almost sworn that the chair groaned in relief underneath him.
"Now Harry, I believe that you came from an alternative universe," Dumbledore began before being cut off by Harry's strangled choke.
"What?!" he asked weakly. "Alternative universe?"
"Yes," Dumbledore continued as if people popping in from other universes were a normal occurrence for him. "Because the spell Tom cast was so powerful and the Harry Potter died in this world, it pulled a Harry Potter form somewhere else. In this case, you."
Harry's eyes had progressively grown wider and wider as Dumbledore continued to talk.
Alternative universe? Bond? Spell? Dead? Harry's mind raced through the thoughts as he stared disbelievingly into the headmaster's face. No! I will not accept this! I am not bound to Tom Fucking Riddle!
"No," he uttered the single word softly, but firmly. It echoed around the room and the occupants stared at him. Harry's eyes were cold and his tone was harsh, the denial clear.
"I am not, will not be bound to a monster."
The voice was flat, the tone final.
Tom felt anger rise in his chest. What the hell had he done to be classified as a monster?! The boy didn't even know him and here he was, judging him.
"Who the hell do you think you are?!" Tom demanded, face flushed with anger. "You don't even know me!"
Harry sneered at him.
"I don't need to know you to know that you're a monster!" Harry spat back at the other boy. Tom glared and would've jumped out of his chair and strangled Harry if it wasn't for the constricting hand of Remus's on his arm. Sirius looked just as bad. His glare was furious as he glared at Harry.
"You're not Harry Potter. Harry Potter will never be so cruel or evil. He wouldn't judge before he knew anything. I don't know how your parents lived with you in your world. You're nothing like James or Lily. I bet they wished they never had you," Sirius lashed out, not caring for the consequences of his words.
There was silence in the room for a long time after that. Sirius realised that he had gone too far, but was still too angry to think properly. Remus was looking disapprovingly at his mate. James and Lily were staring in shock at Sirius and Tom was smirking in victory. Dumbledore was looking worriedly at Harry.
Harry, for his part, was shocked and hurt beyond anything else he had ever encountered. The one person he looked up to, the one person who loved him unconditionally was turning on him. The one person who he considered a father figure was defending Tom Riddle over him. He ignored the voice that told him that in this world things were different and Tom Riddle couldn't be as bad as Voldemort was in his world. He ignored the voice when it tried to tell him that Tom Riddle couldn't be his parent's murderer as he was but a child himself.
The shutters came over his eyes and a mask slipped on. His mind was still fuzzy with shock and hurt and his actions and words were on autopilot.
"You're right," Harry said simply, eyes blank and icy. There was another shocked silence as everybody turned towards him. The victorious smirk on Tom's face faded slowly. No one seemed able to tell the real feelings of the boy in front of them.
"They couldn't stand me, maybe that's why they died," Harry snapped, eyes now angry as he glared at Sirius. "After all, I don't have my oh so very noble parents to compare myself to. Maybe that's why I turned out the way I am. How can I ever do anything my parents would be proud of me for?"
The anger melted out of Sirius's eyes and his jaw had dropped open in shock. Remus looked at Harry with sad eyes and James and Lily were subdued, wondering how they had died in Harry's world.
Remus nudged Sirius sharply and his glare told the black haired man to apologise immediately. After all, this was his godson.
"Harry I," Sirius started, before Harry turned away from him.
"Shut up Black," Harry snarled. "I don't need your apologies. I can so clearly see that you're not apologising because you want to, you're doing it because Lupin is forcing you to."
Last names, his mind told him. Last names don't hurt as much as first names. With last names, I can push them away. They are nothing but strangers to me. Building a barrier around me is the best thing I need if I don't want to get hurt again. Last names.
Sirius closed his mouth a snap. What was he supposed to do now? Remus was frowning slightly, wondering how the boy's attitude could change from cool to down right frozen in the space of a coupe of seconds.
"Harry?" Dumbledore asked softly. Harry turned his gaze to him.
"What?" he snapped, crossing his arms.
"You must accept that you are bound to Tom Riddle," the old man continued. Harry growled.
"No," he said simply. "I will not accept this. I will find a way back into my world where I will be able to live my life the way I want it."
"I'm afraid that once you've seen the person you're bound to, you can never them. When the spell was cast, it created a sort of bond within both of you and you can't separate. Think of it this way. The bond is an elastic band. Quite useful Muggle inventions actually, but we're not here to talk about that. The further you go, the further the band is stretched. Stretched too far the band will snap and you will die."
Harry glared at the ground again. How stupid could Riddle be to cast a binding spell?
"The bond in formed out of your life force," Dumbledore concluded.
Harry sighed softly and rubbed his eyes. All of a sudden, the proud and angry young man turned into a fatigued and confused teenager.
"Bloody hell," Harry muttered. "How stupid do you have to be to cast a spell like this?"
Tom glared at the other boy.
"If Weasley hadn't challenged me then it wouldn't have happened," he snapped, his tone indicating that he hated the Weasley boy as much as the Weasley boy hated him. Harry blinked again. Weasley? Ron Weasley?
"So I take it that you go around casting spells that your enemies hand you without checking them first?" Harry asked, his tone, scorning, mocking and sarcastic at the same time.
Tom flushed pink, but continued to glare at Harry. Harry glared back equally hard.
Both broke away their gazes when Dumbledore coughed in amusement.
"Bastard," Tom muttered softly, earning a stern look from Remus.
"Dickhead," Harry said under his breath ignoring Dumbledore's twinkling eyes. There was another awkward silence as Dumbledore refrained from laughing at the two boys' attitudes.
"Now, Harry, I take it that you haven't completed your schooling in your world?" Dumbledore asked. Harry shook his head and continued to glare at the ground.
"Excellent, you shall finish your schooling here," Dumbledore continued and Harry nodded stiffly, not really listening to what was being said.
Another silence stretched throughout the room and Dumbledore looked deep in thought.
"Headmaster, what do I do for books? And quills? And clothes?" Harry asked finally. "All my things are in my world." Dumbledore smiled at him.
"All take care of," he answered and Harry nodded. "What house were you in your world Harry?"
"Gryffindor," came the tense reply. Tom snorted and rolled his eyes.
"Figures I'll be bound to a geeky Gryffindor," he muttered and was faced with a pair of blazing green eyes the next second.
"And what are you? Slytherin? Suits an evil git like you," Harry snapped, momentarily forgetting about his vow to never people by what house they were in. Tom's greyish/greenish eyes blazed as well and the two teens were back to glaring at each other.
Harry's concentration was broken when a small figure suddenly threw herself at him.
"Oh Harry," Lily sobbed into his chest. "I've missed you so much." Harry was frozen in shock before snapping out of his reverie. He leaned into Lily's embrace for a second, enjoying the love of a mother before pushing her away from him. Ignoring her hurt look, Harry turned away from Lily.
"No, you haven't," he said flatly. "I'm not your Harry and never will be. You don't even know me. I'm a complete stranger to you."
Dumbledore looked sadly upon the mother and son. Harry was right of course. Lily Potter had never really gotten over her Harry's death. Now that she had a second chance with Harry, she was trying to make him into something he wasn't. She was trying to make this jaded Harry into her innocent five year old Harry.
"I'm sorry," Harry said softly before turning away again. Dumbledore sighed and clapped his hands together, attracting everybody's attention.
"It's late, time for everybody to go back to their quarters. I need to speak to Harry alone," Dumbledore said and everybody nodded. James shot Harry an unreadable look before supporting Lily out of the office. Sirius avoided looking at Harry and was out of the room as soon as possible. Tom glared once more at the teen before stalking out. Remus looked sadly at the boy.
"It'll work out Harry," he said gently before walking out of the office. Harry stared after the werewolf in shock.
"Now Harry, I will tell the school of who you really are and what you're doing here. They've seen so much already, there's really no use hiding it from them. Also I need to tell you about your history in this world," Dumbledore stated matter-of-factly and Harry nodded silently.
"Harry in this world died when he was six years old. The Dark Lord had been gaining power and he seemed to have a grudge on James and Lily for some reason. Of course, when I learned of his identity, I realised why. Harry was out flying when the Dark Lord turned up at his house with some of his followers. Even at that young of an age, Harry had tremendous power and I think the Dark Lord wanted his parents to hand him over to him. Of course James and Lily refused. The Dark Lord couldn't have an almighty follower of Light alive, so he killed the Harry in this world that day. The Dark Lord jinxed Harry's broomstick and he fell. Harry broke his neck instantly. He died painlessly."
Harry absorbed the information and nodded for the headmaster to go on.
"Before Harry died, he let out all of his power and while it didn't kill the Dark Lord, it wounded him badly and he has been dormant until two years ago, when he seems to have recovered somewhat. Death Eater activities have started up again ever since last year and I fear that the wizarding world will have a war on its hands soon."
Harry took one look and saw that Dumbledore looked older than his age. His shoulders were stooped and the lines on his face stood out.
Great, Harry thought tiredly. Guess I'm famous here too.
Sighing deeply, Dumbledore continued.
"About two years after Harry died; James and Lily had another child. It was a little boy called Cameron Orion Potter. Another year after that, Lily had a daughter called Rose Margaret Potter. So you have, technically speaking, a brother and a sister."
Harry looked into Dumbledore's smiling face and felt his eyebrow rise.
"What is it with Evans and flower names for girls?" he asked and Dumbledore laughed merrily.
"Sirius asked that once and got a black eye and a clipped "It's a girl thing" from Lily," Dumbledore informed Harry with a wicked light in his eyes. Harry felt himself smile.
**Dumbledore's P.O.V. **
The boy is but a child and yet he looks like he has the world's weight on his shoulders. His eyes show that he is far older and wiser than he really is. What has the boy been through for him to become so jaded? Yet, when he smiles, I can that there is still a child in him.
**Normal P.O.V**
"So am I - , I mean, is the Harry in this world famous?" Harry asked tenderly. Dumbledore looked at him and wondered whatever prompted him to ask such a question, unless.....
"Yes, yes he is. He is known as The Boy Who Saved," Dumbledore answered and watched as the boy in front of him snorted.
Boy Who Saved? God these names get cornier and cornier, Harry thought mockingly before asking the question he had been holding in for a long time.
"Who, exactly, is the Dark Lord?" Harry asked and watched as Dumbledore sighed again. "Lucius Malfoy."
~~*~~
Ohhhh... and the tension runs high between Harry and the rest of the world. Sorry it took so long for it to be ready, but I had tests and so many assignments due and everything. Anyways, thanks for all the reviews and I would like to get a few things cleared up.
1. Harry and Draco are not dating. Repeat Harry and Draco are NOT dating. They're just friends. The whole "puppy dog eye" thing will be explained in a future chapter. It's just some stupid, silly little thing I threw in for fun.
2. Um, yes I realise that whist Harry is jaded and Tom seems like a carefree young teen, he really isn't that innocent. That will be cleared up as time goes on.
Yes, I realise this chapter was kind of, well, boring, but the whole history of Harry had to come in somewhere.
Thanks to those who reviewed! I love you all *throws flowers and confetti around* Oh great reviewers! I will give you a choice for something since I can't make up my mind.
Do you want Tom and Harry to share a suite, room type of thing? Or should they just stay in their respectful house dormitories? Drop me a line and the majority wins!
Love, S&p