Prepare for some very interesting encounters :)
Within the Folds of Darkness
Reunion
Harry had been walking for some time, mostly in a daze, and didn't remember much of how he got to where he was. But now he stood in front of a plain looking house with dark green shutters and an oak door. It was one of the nicer ones on the street, but it didn't stick out; unlike the one next door which had a bright yellow door and pink shutters.
He looked up at the house. Why does it feel familiar? Like I know this place? How could I? I've never seen it...have I? His eyes fell upon the mailbox. The name on the mailbox said 'The Gerkens', but he knew that wasn't who really lived there. And that confused him greatly. Why would those people live here? Why would I think otherwise? Though he was beginning to think, hope, that this was all one big dream, or nightmare depending on the way he looked at it.
Part of him just wanted to scream and tear his hair out. It had to be a dream. It couldn't be real. His father was dead. Sirius was dead. Everyone he loved was dead. Or he felt like it. Then the other part of him wanted to see if this was real, to go up to that door and knock on it to see who answered. But he was terrified. Perhaps terrified to see his father, to see the man that he had dreamed about so much, perhaps terrified that it wouldn't be his father and it was all some sick joke.
And what if what Malfoy said is true? If I left him...Merlin, I don't even know what's going on. I've heard about alternate universes...but I didn't think they'd be real. Is that what I'm in? Some sort of other reality? I don't know...he thought, getting extremely frustrated. Though his life hadn't been the greatest and had been filled with a lot of pain, it had also had plenty of great memories with Hermione and Ron. Hermione! Ron! I wonder where they are? I need to see them! Maybe Hermione can explain to me all of this... He shivered slightly, only then realizing that the snow had begun to fall harder. Not trusting himself to Apparate since he didn't even know how (though supposedly he did...it was all too confusing), and figuring he wasn't going to make it far in the blizzard, he began walking down the path towards the house.
He swallowed; a knot in his stomach was twisting every which way and was not making him feel too good at all. He reached up and knocked twice. Not hearing anything at first, he breathed a sigh of relief and turned to go. Thank Merlin... Though he had wanted to see his dad for so long, suddenly he wasn't so sure. Then he heard the door open and a voice call out, "Harry?"
He froze, his heart skipping a few beats and his breath held. That voice... He turned slowly, and found himself staring into the face of his father. The man he had seen in the Mirror of Erised...the man whose voice he had heard when he had faced Voldemort in the graveyard after Cedric fell... He was too shocked to move and James looked equally confused to see his son. It was like he was looking at the self he knew; an older version of Harry, except with hazel eyes instead of green.
Then all at once it was like a spell had been broken. Harry ran at James, throwing his arms around his father and sobbed. "Dad...Dad...." he choked through his sobs.
James furrowed his eyebrows, looking at Harry. This had been the last thing he had expected. Harry hasn't come around in years...not since his sixth year. The only connection I had with him was through Draco. What changed? James thought. Why's he acting like this?
"It's alright, Harry," James said quietly, hugging his son. "Let's get inside before we all get frozen." He led his son into the house, closing the door. And how did he find this house? It's hidden ... Helping Harry sit down on the couch, he said, "I'll get you a cup of tea or something. You're ice cold. Just stay there; you'll be alright." Harry didn't answer, just staring at his hands, so James walked into the kitchen, flicking his wand to get some water boiling.
"Who was that?" Lily asked, looking up from the table. She had been rolling the good silverware. It didn't really need to be done, but she always had to be doing something and it was getting late enough in the evening that nothing else was going on.
"Harry," he said incredulously. Lily's eyes widened. "I know, I know, odd. It was the last thing I expected. And he acts...I don't know how to explain it. I think you should go in and talk to him. He looked at me like he had seen a ghost."
"Okay," Lily said, standing. She smiled, walking over to James and kissing him lightly. "I think it was the hair."
James chuckled. "You know as well as I do I can't do anything about it."
"That I do." She smiled and walked into the living room. "Harry?"
Harry looked up and Lily immediately realized what James had been talking about. Harry was staring at her like he was dreaming and like he had seen a ghost. "M-Mom?" he choked out.
Lily nodded. "Yes...what's wrong, Harry?"
"I –" and he broke down into sobs. At this, Lily was extremely confused. The Harry she knew never cried and certainly wouldn't have come home. Though she loved her son dearly, she sometimes wondered if there was something she had done wrong. He was cold, careless, and extremely selfish. But as she looked at her son, she didn't see anything like that. All she saw was a very upset and perhaps even scared twenty-one year old.
She immediately went to her son's side and enveloped him in a hug, holding him close to her. "Shh, shh," she soothed.
"I...I thought I'd never see you...ever...have you touch me...real....I..." Harry sobbed, his face buried in her chest. She just held him, laying her head on top of his.
Harry kept his eyes squeezed shut, the tears running down his face. My mom...she's holding me...she...she's really real...my dad...they're alive... "You're alive," he whispered. "I've wished so much...so much..."
Lily stroked his hair, looking down at her son, wondering what could have happened to change him into what she held now.
He finally pulled back, looking at her. She was every bit as beautiful as he had seen in the Mirror of Erised, if not more. Her hair was still fiery; her green eyes still had some sparkle, and her smile ...the same as the one he had memorized since that day with the mirror. "Mom? How? I don't understand...."
"How what, love?" Lily asked, smiling. "We're just happy you came home finally."
The man you emancipated yourself from...Draco's words came back to Harry. "I don't want to leave," Harry said. My parents here...right in front of me...I never want to leave!
James walked out at that moment and he took a seat, looking at Harry. "What happened, Harry?"
"I – I don't know," Harry said and it was the truth. He had no clue how this had happened to him, but he knew he never wanted to give it up. Not if it gave him the chance to spend time with his parents.
"Well it's great to have you here. Did you think about the Order?"
"I –"
Lily 'tsked', looking at James sternly. "He's exhausted, James. Let him get some sleep before you barrage him with questions."
"I just wanted to know," James replied.
Harry had to fight back the tears, looking at his parents. From all that he had heard about them, this was more than he could ever have hoped for. But he could feel his eyelids growing heavy and he knew that he was exhausted. He fought to stay awake, wanting to talk to his parents more, but Lily saw him and shook her head.
"Harry, let's get you to bed. You can talk all you want in the morning."
Harry wanted to protest but he knew she was right. Besides, if all this was truly real, then he did have time to talk to them. "Okay," he said finally, standing. He walked over to James. "Dad, I missed you," he whispered, hugging him fiercely.
James hugged him back. "Same here, Harry." They pulled back and Harry smiled. Lily took his arm and led him to another room.
"Goodnight, Harry," Lily said, smiling. She hugged him and he hugged her back, never wanting to let go. When they finally did pull apart, he had tears in his eyes. "Don't cry. You're home now."
"I know," Harry whispered, wiping the tears and smiling. She gave him one last smile before leaving.He lay down on the bed and before he knew it, he had fallen into a restless sleep.
Later that night, somewhere around two in the morning, Lily sat at the kitchen table, her hands wrapped around a steaming cup of tea. Her eyes were on the dark liquid, deep in thought.
"And here I thought you hated reading tea leaves," a warm voice joked and Lily looked up to see James standing in the doorway.
Any other time, she would have smiled and teased him right back, but she only looked at him and then back at the tea. James frowned, wondering what was going on. Walking over, he sat down next to his wife. "Lily? What's wrong?"
"It's Harry – I don't know why, it's just... doesn't something feel off?" She looked at him.
James pushed his glasses back on the bridge of his nose, running a hand through his hair. "I don't know, love. Maybe he just changed his mind."
"After five years? We haven't seen him since that day he walked out and suddenly he comes back crying? It just doesn't seem like him."
"Maybe something happened. But I know Draco would tell me –"
"You honestly think he would tell you everything about Harry? This is Draco Malfoy we're talking about. I know you think he's changed and he's become more reliable since he joined the Order, but you know as well as I do that he's the one that changed our son into what he is."
"That's not necessarily true, Lily. Unfortunately, after Harry went to school his attitude started changing. Even Dumbledore noticed that. Growing up with fame, Harry had everything handed to him and when school proved a challenge, he found ways of slipping around it. When he pushed Hermione and Ron away in his fifth year and sunk inward, you remember how hard it was to talk to him. Then suddenly he gets up and leaves us, never to hear a word from him again. Dumbledore had expressed his concern about Harry hanging out with Draco but how could I believe that? And then I saw it for myself. Harry's been rebellious since he was little."
Lily sighed. "But then why would he suddenly come back?"
"Honestly Lily? I don't know."
"I –"
But she was interrupted by a scream. "SIRIUS! No!" Immediately, Lily and James jumped to their feet, running for the source of the scream. They found Harry thrashing in his bed, tears streaming down his face, his eyes squeezed shut, in the throes of nightmare. His hands, the knuckles turning white, were gripping the sheets. "SIRIUS! Please! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it! Please! Come back! SIRIUS!"
James and Lily stood there, staring, at a loss of words and actions. They looked at each other and then Lily moved swiftly to Harry's side, pulling him into her arms. "Shh...Shh," she soothed, stroking his hair and rocking him, singing a soft lullaby. Harry quieted and the last few tears trickled down his cheeks.
"I'm so sorry, Sirius," he whispered. "It's all my fault."
Lily continued to rock him until he fell back into a restless sleep, his hands relaxing. She lay him back in the pillows and brought the covers up to his chin. Standing, she looked at him for a few moments. James came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. "What could have happened to cause such a nightmare?" Lily whispered.
"Maybe we should talk to Sirius. He might know something."
"All we can do is try."
&&&
"Sorry, no. I haven't seen him since his sixth year," Sirius said, taking a bite out of his apple. James had come by his cubicle and told him what had happened the previous night. Now James was sitting on the edge of Sirius' desk.
"Then what could he be talking about?"
Sirius shrugged. "I don't know, James. It's not like we can do anything about it. Harry shoved us all away that day. I've told you countless times since then, don't go after him because it'll only make it worse. Though I'll admit this is really odd, having him suddenly showing up like that, but maybe it's just a mood." Sirius had been indifferent to Harry after Harry had graduated, for Sirius had tried to convince Harry to rethink his decisions, as he cared for him like a son. But Harry wouldn't have any of it and he had shoved Sirius away as well in a duel. Sirius still had a small scar on his chin from that and ever since then, Sirius stayed away from any Harry topics. It hurt too much to think about his godson and the person that he had become.
"But maybe he's changed," James said hopefully.
"Do you honestly believe that?" Sirius eyed James.
James was silent for a few moments and then sighed. "No, I suppose you're right. Sorry, mate, for bringing this up. I know you don't like talking about it."
"I'm still your best friend, James. No matter what it is, you can talk to me. Now shove off before this gets sappy." Sirius gave James a grin.
James smiled back. "Wouldn't want that." He hopped off the desk. "Come home with me for lunch, alright? Maybe you can help convince Lily."
"Will there be free food?" Sirius asked hopefully.
"Of course."
"Then I'll be there." They laughed.
James picked up one of Sirius' apples and bit into it. "Thanks for the apple." He walked out with a smile on his face.
"I never offered!" Sirius called after him and leaned back in his chair. It had felt good to smile and joke, even though he knew James was laughing hollowly. The thing with Harry had definitely shook up James and even Sirius wasn't dense enough not to see that. Sirius tossed the apple core into the trash and sat up, rifling through his papers. Working for Intelligence wasn't exactly the easiest job on the market, but at least it kept his interest. With James moving up the ladder and next in line for Head Auror, James had enough on his mind without needing the added aggravation of Harry. Sirius didn't understand why James kept pursuing Harry, even trying to go through Draco to get Harry to come to the Order. It was a useless effort and it only wore James down. Sirius didn't like seeing his best friend so exhausted all the time and on the account of his son. Though Sirius loved Harry and that would never change, it didn't mean he had to like the person that Harry had become.
Taking a sip of coffee (the only thing that kept him going in the morning), he went back to work.
&&&
Lunch came quickly and everyone at the WCI (Wizarding Central Intelligence) headed out for the hour. Though the Aurors were a large part of the WCI and the Head Auror Rich Voltras oversaw the operations, it was really the Intel personnel that kept the show running. Sirius was top of the Intel department and for good reason. With the work he had done, they had come very close to bringing down Voldemort. The only reason they hadn't, was because there had been a spy. Having rooted out that person, the WCI had come back on its feet and with James heading up the larger operations, they were regaining their footing in the war. Just barely. They had their own spies, like Draco Malfoy, but even that was risky. Too many had ended up dead in the past years. James was the head of the Order of the Phoenix as well and though Lily was helping him with the Order, Sirius could tell that James was wearing down. It was no great surprise, as the war was wearing everyone down, but James looked the worst; which was most likely because he worried about Harry as well.
At the Potter's, Sirius and James sat in the living room, talking about various issues while Lily finished making lunch. Though they couldn't talk about work (never knew if someone could be listening, though unlikely), there was plenty of other things to talk about.
"- and since they're still going, I think we definitely should try to score tickets for the match," Sirius was saying, talking about the upcoming Quidditch World Cup. Even with the war, Quidditch still went on and Sirius was grateful for that. It helped relieve stress.
"I'm sure you can get us tickets," James smiled.
"We're talking about me here. Of course I can," Sirius laughed.
"Of course," James laughed. "Did you see the match between the Magpies and the Tornados?"
"Of course. And that final play at the end? Amazing. With the way Gran swooped down –" Sirius was making a downward swooping motion with his hand but froze, looking at something past James' head.
James looked at his best friend curiously and then turned. Harry stood in the doorway, having just woken up. Harry had a look on his face that was a mixture of horror, shock and astonishment.
"Hello, Harry," Sirius said, standing.