Disclaimer: I own all characters that are not familiar to you; the same goes for situations. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. This happens to be the last disclaimer I'll write for this story.
A special thanks to:
Kilikapele- I feel honored to be placed in your C2 file!
Maxfic- Here's more for you.
Gibblegobblethesquirrel- I'm glad you think it's different (Love the name by the way).
Oxymoronique- I'm glad you like it. I love those stories too which is why I decided to write one myself (with a new-ish angle).
CapriceAnn Hedican-Kocur- Thanks, I always like a bit of interest from my readers.
I-Want-To-Fly- Bon Appetite!
I love reviews; they are the sustenance in my normally malnourished life. They lift me to a level of euphoria that is far above even the happiness gained from chocolate (that heavenly of heavenly substance)….more rambling, in short, review if you don't wish me to melt away to nothing.
Now, On With the Update
"Wait, that means," Harry turned toward James, astonished. "You're alive!"
James cocked his head to the side (so that's where she'd gotten it). 'Of course he was alive!' This whole "Harry from a different world" thing was taking up all his brain cells. Harry swayed for a moment, his eyes going oddly blank before he crumpled. James, parental vibes kicking in, dove to catch him and succeeded in tumbling to the floor along with the boy. This Harry was much thinner than his Harry so the experience proved a bit less painful than it could have been.
James gave Dumbledore a questioning look. "I suppose we should take him over to the sofa?" It was very seldom that Dumbledore was at a loss for explanations, or anything for that matter. Jumping worlds though… Dumbledore tapped his temple, wishing he had his pensieve handy. He had no earthly idea what would have spurred him to do something so fool-hardy. Perhaps in this Harry's world he was a batty old codger; of course in this world he was a batty old codger…
James lifted Harry easily and carried him to the living room where a fire was roaring in the hearth (kept for floo-purposes only; the heat had been de-activated). It was a comfortable, cozy room with plush, over stuffed furniture in deep plumbs and auburns. It had a fairly miss-matched look about it but the overall effect was quite pleasant. James stood over the boy who looked so very much like his son. He was of equal height but much thinner with a hollow look in his face. His eyes were the same green, Lilly's green, but haunted somehow. Then there was the matter of that scar. He had said that he'd defeated Voldemort but how? How could a seventeen year-old boy defeat Voldemort, something the entire wizarding community had been trying to do for nearly twenty years.
James and Dumbledore were drawn out of their respective reveries when Harry stirred. His eyes blinked open and surveyed the room with interest. He seemed calm until his eyes rested on James. He jumped up so fast that he nearly lost his balance again. "Easy there Sneakers," the pet name slipped out without James even thinking about it. When Harry had been three, James had believed it time for Harry to learn the finer points of Quidditch tactics. It went over well until he got to the Seeker position. Harry had botched the title, declaring that the Sneatch was caught by the Sneaker. James had laughed for days and dubbed his son Sneakers for all eternity. Harry looked at him questioningly. James waved his arm dismissively.
"Harry, do you remember what just happened?" Dumbledore asked hurriedly, side stepping the inconsequential tidbits. Harry's brow furrowed and he nodded solemnly.
"But I don't know if I believe it. You, well, the "you" in my world did you say?" Dumbledore nodded hastily. "Well, anyway, he would never do anything so stupid! I mean, he'd gotten kind of soft but…." Harry trailed off, a look of concentration on his face. Dumbledore had said he would show him but with this… "How is this even possible?" Harry looked up at the old man and his father, curious.
"Well, I'm not exactly sure. I've never really delved too deeply into this sort of thing." Dumbledore began but quickly changed tactics upon seeing the crestfallen look on Harry's face. "I mean to say that I just need to do some research. It's clearly possible as you're here. What should we do with you though?" Dumbledore posed the question to himself but Harry still heard. He began studying his hands with new found fascination. He had never really questioned whether or not his parent's would have wanted him but now he was starting to have his doubts. He was clearly different then their Harry.
"He'll stay here," James said quickly, seeing the abashed look on his suedo-son's face. Harry looked up instantly, sizing up the situation.
"You-you, well, you don't have to." He blushed deeply and averted his eyes.
"No, I'd like to hear about, well, everything. This is a bit alarming but still quite interesting. I am your father after all." A wide grin split across Harry's face. James was a bit alarmed to notice how unnatural the smile seemed. He couldn't imagine what this Harry had been through.
Dumbledore rose suddenly. "Well, if I'm to get to the bottom of this I should get cracking." He smiled but Harry notice him gesture for James to join him in a secret conversation. It seemed that the Harry of this world was a bit hard of hearing as Harry heard every word.
"James, try to find out how he killed Lord Voldemort," Dumbledore whispered urgently.
"But-"
"James, this could be the key to his defeat!" James nodded curtly though he looked a bit wary.
After Dumbledore departed, James and Harry were left in awkward silence. James caught Harry studying him intently as if he was trying to take in every aspect. His Harry had long gotten over his clingy stage long ago. James had had, for the past couple years, a tough time even worming out a conversation. It was odd, this new attention, but it wasn't exactly unwanted.
"So-" James began but was cut off.
"I've waited so long to-to be in the same room as you. I've dreamed about it, seen it in the Mirror of Erised. It was my first Birthday wish, to have you and Mum back. I didn't even have a cake, just a stale little cookie with an old candle perched on it. I was five; I got a paper airplane Uncle Vernon had made for Dudley. Dudley had pitched it across the room and it didn't quite make it to the waste basket. I've just-"
"Uncle Vernon? Surely you didn't grow up with the Dursleys!" Harry looked down at his feet. James' eyes bugged out of his head. "But why?"
"Maybe I should start from the beginning." Harry was interrupted by the front door opening. Harry looked up to see two people who made his heart stop. The wounds were still so raw. "S-Sirius?" Harry said tentatively. "P-P-Professor Lupin." He still remembered Sirius falling through the veil and Professor Lupin, white as a ghost on the Hospital bed. He still hadn't woken, almost three weeks in a coma." Harry didn't faint this time. There was no time and the pull on his heart was so strong that he made it to them in three steps. With a mad passion he swung his arms around their necks. Tears were spilling down his cheeks in sheets. Sirius put a tentative hand on Harry's back.
Over the teenager's head he mouthed "what" to James who shrugged. "H-Harry, are you okay?" Lupin asked. "And why in God's name did you refer to me as Professor Lupin, bloody travesty that is." This Lupin was much more foreword than the Lupin of the other. Apparently all the losses he'd suffered had severely darkened his disposition.
"Why don't you all sit down. Harry should only have to explain this once. We'll just wait for Lily." Harry nodded, suddenly embarrassed. He still couldn't connect the dots in his situation. These men were not his Godfather and Professor/Friend/Mentor/Guardian. Harry fell into the loveseat, his face very white.
The girl Harry had met earlier walked in a moment later. Sirius, Remus, and James seemed oddly relieved by her presence. "Maddie, Madeleine, my dear Goddaughter, how are you girly?" Lupin asked, pulling her into a one-armed embrace.
"Okay I guess," she said, eyeing Harry strangely.
"So, what, do I get nothing?" Sirius asked, putting on a pout.
"Paddy, I could never forget you!" she said brightly, giving him a hug. James raised his eyebrows and she wordlessly walked over to him, sliding under his arm which he wrapped about her shoulders. Harry glanced at the two jealously. What he would have given to have had that.
The awkward hush was broken by a auburn haired woman tumbling from the grate. There was an anti-apparating charm around the house, Harry deduced. She surveyed the party cautiously. It was particularly odd that Harry was sitting all alone while the others were crammed onto the couch. "What's going on?" She asked, walking to Harry and sitting down next to him, pulling him into a hug and pecking him on the cheek. She was definitely not prepared for what happened next. Harry dissolved into uncontrollable sobs.
Alarmed, she repeated her quarry. Everyone seemed at a loss for words. Gaining a bit of control, Harry lifted his head from his lap. "I-I suppose I should explain." Everyone nodded vigorously. "Okay," Harry said uncertainly, getting up and beginning to pace as was his habit (gleaned from his dear Professor Dumbledore). "I don't know quite how to say this-"
"Come on Prongling, out with it," Sirius said, feigning seriousness. Harry sent him a half-hearted, slightly nervous grin.
"I'm not from this world," he said bluntly. Everyone but James jumped at the bit but Harry held up his hand to silence them. "I know it sounds preposterous but, well, it's true. In my world I just defeated Voldemort. Dumbledore, to somehow appease my depression, decided to send me to a different universe in which, I well, I had never been marked. I assume you know of the prophesy?" Upon receiving cautious nods Harry continued. "In this world I've inferred that Sirius got to Wormtail's house in time to keep him from, well, Voldemort never got you…obviously."
"And in your world?" Sirius voice sounded as if he didn't really want to know any more.
"In my world, Voldemort got there first. Dad you-you, you told Mum to run, that it was him. You said you'd try to delay him. I-I heard your voice when the Dementors neared. Well, Mum and I didn't get out. He caught the two of us in the nursery. I-I heard it, Voldemort telling her to give me up and no harm need come to her. She, you," Harry turned to Lily. "told him to take you instead. You died to save me so, when Voldemort turned to me he muttered the curse, Avada Kedavra, but it rebounded on him. It left me with this scar, marking me." He was crying freely now.
"No one knew about the switch. Sirius left me with Hagrid to find Wormtail. He found him in a muggle street but the little rat got the better of him." The acid dripped from Harry's voice now. "He cut off his own toe and blasted the street, killing a dozen or so muggles before transforming and escaping into the sewer. Sirius, you were put in Azkaban and I, I was placed with the Dursleys." Lily drew in her breath sharply.
"Surely not! Dumbledore would never!"
"The sacrifice you made for me left me marked as well," Harry continued painfully. He had to get it all out. "Your blood, and your blood alone kept me safe which meant Aunt Petunia. Then, after I got my Hogwarts letter ten years later-"
"Wait, how did they treat you?" James asked quickly, looking at him intently. Harry again averted his eyes. It was clear that Harry needed a bit more prodding.
"They didn't hurt me or anything if that's what you mean," Harry muttered evasively.
"No, that's not what I mean," James stated sternly. "Tell me, how did they treat you."
"It doesn't matter, really, over now."
"WHAT DID THEY DO?" James boomed, causing Harry to jump.
"Very little, that was most of the problem," Harry said simply. James motioned for him to continue. "I, well, I slept in the cupboard under the stairs till, well, till I became a wizard. I-I just wanted to be loved, to be wanted and they couldn't do it. They-they, I was just a kid!" The flood gates seemed to have opened. "I tried, I tried to get a hug. All I wanted to hear was a simple "I love you". When I was five they left me home while they went to dinner for Mother's Day. I worked for hours on a Mother's Day Card. I put it on the foyer table to make sure she saw it. I stayed up to see what she'd do. She tore it up. Why, why couldn't I have…" Harry trailed off, running his hands through his hair. "They finally threw me out; said they'd had enough. So, to answer your question, they did nothing because I was, am nothing. I guess I could just leave it at that." It was Lily who made the first move. She got up and threw her arms around Harry. Hot tears coursed down Harry's cheeks. James joined a second later. It felt good, to be wanted again. He couldn't imagine what Harry'd gone through but he needed to hear it.
After Harry had regained his composure he zoomed foreword, making a seamless transition from first to second to third. "Then fourth year rolled around. Summer was horrendous till my friend Ron invited me to the World Cup. It was fantastic! I was happy but it wouldn't last, it never lasts," Harry added darkly. "Death Eaters attacked a group of muggles that night."
There were gasps all around the room when they heard about the first and second tasks of the Triwizard Tournament as he had expected. "The Third Task was right up my Alley. I'd been through obstacle courses before," he shot Lupin a small smile which he returned. "It was easier then I had thought it would be. I should have known, should have suspected but I didn't. I wanted to win the cup for Hagrid, for Sirius, for everyone. Cedric and I got to it about the same time. We decided to take it together, you know, Hogwarts victory on all sides. It was a portkey. Wormtail killed Cedric immediately and I was used, or, at least, my blood was used to aid Voldemort in his rebirth. That done, Voldemort decided to finish me off. He didn't know though that we had brother wands. The core was the same, a phoenix feather from the same bird, Fawks. We were surround by this orb of light and you came out, you and Mum, told me what to do. It was the first time I'd seen the face and heard the voice at the same time. I escaped; the Ministry didn't accept the story though."
"For a whole year Fudge played the fool and even had the gall to discredit Dumbledore and myself. They didn't believe till the end of term when something happened in the Department of Mysteries. I'd been having visions all year. Dumbledore had tried to get my to learn Occlumency from Snape but it didn't work. Voldemort found out and used it against me. He made me believe you were in danger," Harry turned to Sirius, a wave of grief passing over him.
"I rushed there to discover it was a trap. Death Eaters were there waiting. They wanted the prophesy and I was the only one other than Voldemort who could get it. I'd lead my friends into horrible danger. Me and Neville finally got cornered when the Order showed up. The prophesy was destroyed. Sirius was dueling Bellatrix Lestrange. He fell through the veil and I lost him. I lost, I killed the person whom I'd come to regard as a father of sorts. I always did; I always hurt the ones I love. Well, the war was on. I finally killed him after term ended my seventh year and now I'm here."
"My parents, and my godfather are dead. My two best friends along with my suedo-parent are unconscious at St. Mungo's. The love of my life has run off. I've got nothing left, no home, no family, nothing," Harry finished his story miserably, stopping his pacing.
"You need sleep," Lily said suddenly. "You've clearly had a very long, err, day so you should go to sleep. James and I will tuck you in." It felt like old times, when Harry had been little and defenseless. This Harry was very much capable of taking care of himself but, at the same time, seemed so vulnerable. Harry was so surprised that he allowed himself to be lead up the stairs to the bedroom he could only assume was "his".
"The pajamas are in the drawer," James said, gesturing to a dresser. Harry was surveying the room with amazement. It was big and covered with Chudley Cannons posters along with a leering image of the Weird Sisters. The bed was huge and had a red and gold comforter with a large lion stitched in the center. Lily left to allow him to change but James needed to make sure he was okay. Harry pulled off his grubby robes slowly to reveal a heavily bruised torso. Harry winced as he brushed a large gash in his side which was oozing green.
His ribs showed plainly through his skin. There was a large scar right next to his heart which James could only assume had almost caused Harry's death. It was painful for him, knowing he hadn't been there to help his son, to save him. Harry pulled on the pajamas gingerly. "Do you want me to help you with your wounds?"
"No, I, they, I need them," James had the distinct impression Harry meant he deserved them.
"Tomorrow then," James said definitively. Harry looked up at him. "Harry, I love you," Harry's heart broke.
"Don't say that," he sobbed. He didn't want more pain, more rejection. He didn't want to feel that empty void again when he woke to find it all a dream.
"Harry," James stepped a little closer. "I love you," he pulled the boy to him, a fierce need to protect his son sweeping over him. Perhaps it was the fact that Harry could protect himself that forced him to this feeling. Harry tried to push away but stopped struggling in pure exhaustion.
"I love you Dad…."
A/N- An emotion-filled chapter to say the least. I hope you all liked it. Now, review you knaves!