SUMMARY
After spending half his life trying to rid the world of Voldemort, Harry Potter finally succeeds. However, the price has been high. Too high. Unfortunately, when Harry risks his life to go back and 'do things right', something goes wrong.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank…
S'TarKan – It was his story that gave me the idea for this story's starting point. Also, if you want to know what kind of Harry Potter my main character is (they've had similar experiences, losses etc), or just want to read a good Harry Potter fanfic, then read 'Harry Potter & the Nightmares of Futures Past'.
The creators of QUANTUM LEAP and SLIDERS – Anyone who's seen either of these shows might recognise elements of both shows central ideas in this story. The situation my Harry gets himself into was indeed partially inspired by the central features of both of these shows.
This website – For providing a forum where people like me can write stuff that people will actually get to see.
J.K. Rowling – They are her characters after all.
CHAPTER TEN – Saviour of the Condemned.
When Harry's vision cleared, he couldn't help but notice something about the stone hall he found himself in.
It was dark.
As his eyes got used to the light, he suddenly realised that the hall was lined with what looked like prison cells. Is this a prison? wondered Harry. Well, it can't be a Muggle prison, judging by the stonework and… oh crap!
He looked around him nervously as he realised where he must be, but by then, it was too late – the Dementors had found him.
"Lily! Take Harry and run!"
"No, not Harry, please…"
"Just make sure you send Tom on ahead before you try to catch up, will ya?"
"Severus… please."
"Kill the spare."
"Harry!!!"
"Avada Kedavra!"
"Harry… I… I… love…"
"That's enough!" Harry found himself yelling as he felt his fury being unleashed. Unnaturally high pitched screeches echoed through the halls as the hooded figures that had just appeared suddenly fled. A few seconds later, they were all gone, as was the white flame-like aura around Harry.
Harry sighed. Almost lost control there. Shit, I'd better get out of here before those soul-sucking bastards come back… However, before he could do anything else, he was distracted by a slow, sarcastic sounding applause coming from one of the poorly lit cells.
"Well," said a voice in the shadows. "I must say, I'm impressed."
Harry approached the cell carefully and saw a figure sitting on the bed, obscured by the darkness. No! thought Harry as he recognised the voice. It can't be…
The voice continued. "I mean, you managed to drive them away without a wand, and you didn't even use the Patronus charm." The figure stood up and stepped forward toward the bars. "It was a nice trick though. The white flames looked good and the glowing eyes were a nice touch. But I think that entrance of yours was probably the best bit – very spectacular."
By now the figure was standing right in front of the bars, only a foot or so away from Harry. Even in the dim light of the stone hall, Harry instantly recognised the green-haired prisoner with the long, unkempt dark hair. "Bloody hell!" he muttered, stepping backward slightly.
Harry James Potter, Prisoner number AZ-142670, regarded the stranger in the leather jacket with mild curiosity. He smirked slightly as he spotted the familiar scar on the stranger's forehead. "Something tells me you're not here to visit someone, am I right?" He watched the stranger nod slightly. "And I'm also guessing you didn't expect to find me in a prison cell." Another nod. "Well, I don't recall having done anything like you've just done, and if, judging by your expression, you were never in a prison cell, then who are you if you're not me?"
He's realised who I am already! Oh well, at least he seems to be taking my sudden appearance well, thought the Harry in the leather jacket. But what the hell did he do to get himself locked up in Azkaban? Oh well, if I answer his questions, maybe he'll answer mine…
"It's, uh, kinda complicated," said Harry.
The other Harry in the prison cell shrugged. "Well, if it's a long story then that's no big problem. I mean, it's not as if I'm going anywhere soon."
How the hell can he be so cheerful? thought Harry incredulously. "Yeah, well I don't think the Dementors'll be gone long enough for me to explain," said Harry. "Besides, I'd rather go somewhere a little less depressing first."
"Go somewhere?" exclaimed the other Harry. "Um, in case that little light show of yours scrambled your brains, we're in Azkaban, the most secure prison ever built. The only person ever to escape was Sirius, and he was an Animagus, which I'm not. So unless you can do that fancy blue light thing and get me out of here, then you'll have to explain yourself right here."
Guess he doesn't know how to Apparate through Anti-Apparition wards, concluded Harry. "Well, I suppose I could get you out of here if I really wanted to," responded Harry. "But first I need to know why you're in here."
"Because I supposedly tortured Percy Weasley and some other Ministry employees to death when I was seventeen." said the other Harry angrily. "And I've spent the last two and a half years sitting here, waiting for one of those Dementors to come in here and pucker up."
"Supposedly?" queried Harry.
"Yeah, well it was my wand that was used and no-one in the Wizarding world seems to have heard of 'checking for fingerprints', so obviously it was me, right?" the prisoner replied sarcastically.
You've got to be kidding me, thought Harry. Even the Ministry isn't that stupid! Unless he's lying… Harry decided to make sure. A quick Legilimency-assisted rummage through the other Harry's relatively unprotected mind revealed that he was in fact telling the truth – the Harry Potter before him had indeed been convicted of several brutal murders before being sentenced to imprisonment in Azkaban and condemned to receive the Dementor's Kiss at a later date.
The other Harry, realising what his doppelganger was doing, spoke. "Hard to believe they'd put a seventeen year old on Death Row, isn't it?" he smirked.
"Bloody hell," muttered Harry.
There was a fairly long silence before either one of them spoke.
"Hey, uh, listen," said the other Harry, breaking the silence. "I don't suppose you can tell me who you are, y'know, before the Dementors come back?"
Harry sighed. "Well, you are right in that you and I aren't the exact same person," he said. "But I am Harry Potter, just from a different timeline."
"Different timeline?"
"Yeah, an alternate reality," elaborated Harry. "I'm a version of you that's lived a different life."
"How different?" asked Harry's other self.
"Well, I was never sent to Azkaban and Percy wasn't tortured to death until I was nineteen," replied Harry. "So I think it's safe to say there're more than a few differences."
"And I suppose there's a reason you're in my 'reality' too, right?" said the other Harry.
"Yeah," nodded Harry. "Except I only wanted to go back in time and save a few lives. I didn't intend to end up…"
"Harry! I can't hold them off much longer!"
"Bugger!" cursed Harry. He saw his other self grimace as he too began to hear his worst memories played out in his mind. Harry reached through the bars and grabbed his other self as the first Dementor appeared at the end of the hallway.
"Hold on."
There was a whooshing crack as Harry Apparated the two of them away from Azkaban Prison.
XxXxXxXxXxX
It was early evening, Harry noticed as they appeared on the outskirts of Gryffindor Forest. He stumbled forward slightly before using a tree for support. His other self, who was also trying to keep him on his feet, looked at him with a mixture of amazement and concern. "You okay?" he asked.
Harry nodded slightly. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that Apparating such a long distance through an Anti-Apparition ward takes a lot out of you."
"But how did you…"
"There are ways," interrupted Harry. "It helps if you know if the ward is there first, otherwise you have to use sheer power to break through, which isn't a very good idea."
"Oh," replied the other Harry. The former prisoner looked around him at the trees, his eyes settling on the first sunset he had seen in two and a half years. "Where are we?" he asked after a thirty second pause.
"Gryffindor Forest," answered Harry, by now standing upright again. "Near Godric's Hollow."
"Godric's Hollow?" exclaimed the other Harry. "You Apparated us all the way here through a ward?"
"Well, I had to get you as far away as I could and Gryffindor Forest was the least obvious place you'd go I thought of," said Harry.
"Good point," nodded the other Harry. "Well, uh, thanks. For getting me out of there, I mean."
"Don't mention it," replied Harry. "Besides, I couldn't let a fellow Harry get his soul sucked now, could I?"
"Guess not," mumbled the other Harry.
There was another silence between the two before the conversation resumed from where it had left off in Azkaban. Harry quickly went over how he had tried to go back in time and fix a few things. Surprisingly for Harry, his other self didn't ask many questions like everyone else had done. He didn't complain though, as he wasn't really in the mood to tell the former prisoner his life story.
"So, uh, what're you gonna do now?" asked Harry after the subject had changed.
The other Harry shrugged. "Well, first thing I'm going to do is let Ginny know I'm okay."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" said Harry.
"Well, she should hopefully still have my wand and Invisibility Cloak," responded the other Harry. "Plus, she was the only one who actually visited me."
"What?" gasped Harry. "What about Ron and Hermione?"
"Ginny told me they were still searching for the Horcruxes," shrugged the other Harry. "Probably wouldn't be a good idea to try and find them though, I mean, that's what people'll expect me to do."
"Including Aurors and Death-Eaters," added Harry.
"Right," nodded the other Harry. "Besides, it wouldn't do them much good if anyone found out they were in contact with a convicted felon. No, I'll just get my stuff off Ginny and tell her I'm okay. I'll leave it up to her if she wants to tell the others." He looked at the sunset again. "Better wait 'til the morning though."
"You'll have to get some new clothes too," suggested Harry. "No way you'd go unnoticed in those rags."
The other Harry looked down at his ragged prison robes. "Tomorrow," he mumbled.
"Y'know, I could get some for you…" offered Harry.
"No," interrupted the other one. "You've done enough. Besides, we wouldn't want anyone blasting you while thinking you were me now, would we?"
Two and a half years in Azkaban, yet he's still thinking of others and has a sense of humour, marvelled Harry. Well, he's not going to dismiss me that easily. "Well, how about I keep a lookout for any unfriendlies while you get some rest?" he said.
The other Harry looked like he was going to refuse but finally nodded in agreement. "You keep a lookout, then I'll take a turn…"
"Then I'll take another turn until dawn, if I'm still here," interrupted Harry.
"Okay, okay," said Harry's other self as he sat down against a nearby tree. After a few seconds, he looked up. "Hey, uh, what d'you mean 'if you're still here'?"
"That 'spectacular entrance' of mine, as you call it, takes me to and from realities whenever it pleases, so if you wake up and find I'm gone, then that'll be why," explained Harry.
The former prisoner nodded and said nothing more. Soon, he was fast asleep.
Harry looked at the sleeping figure curiously. Well, he seemed to take the whole 'alternate reality' thing well, he thought as he watched his other self. Then again, he probably has more to worry about than how or why I'm here. Good thing too seeing as I don't have to answer the same questions for the… He stopped for a second. This was the tenth reality he had visited now, yet from Harry's perspective, it had only been about two or three days. Unbelievable, thought Harry as he watched the sun disappear over the horizon.
XxXxXxXxXxX
Several hours later, Harry heard something stirring nearby. He turned, only to realise that his other self was waking up. He looked at his watch – 2:19 AM. Oh well, five hours isn't too bad.
His other self rubbed his eyes and looked up at Harry. "So, anything happen?"
Harry shook his head. "Nothing much – just a couple of owls flying around and a passing werewolf."
"Werewolf?" exclaimed the other Harry ass his eyes darted towards the full moon. "You're kidding, right?" he said as he got up.
"Yeah, I'm kidding," said Harry. "Though I wouldn't have minded dealing one, seeing how it probably would have given me something to do."
"Right," said the other Harry sarcastically. "And I suppose you've dealt with werewolves before, right?"
"A few," shrugged Harry, remembering the time Fenrir Greyback had tried to bite Ron, shortly before Ron's final battle.
The other Harry gave him a look of surprise as he straightened out the rags that had once been robes. "First thing in the morning, I'm getting a disguise of some kind," he muttered. "Where'd ya get that jacket of yours?"
"This old thing?" said Harry. "Muggle clothes shop somewhere in Scotland, can't remember where though."
"I suppose Muggle clothes'd be the best option if I want to have a chance of blending in and not be noticed by any passing Aurors," agreed Harry's other self. "I'll just have to make sure no-one gets a good look at this thing," he added, pointing at the scar on his forehead. "Pity I didn't take after that one uncle of my dad's, who I'm told was a Metamorphmagus."
"Well, according to Tonks, I might have," replied Harry. "I just never got around to trying to learn. That's why I nicked that book from Hog…"
He stopped suddenly. The book! he thought as his hand felt the so far unread book in his jacket pocket. He reached into his pocket and took it out. He probably needs it more than me, and I seriously doubt he'll be able to just go into a shop and but a copy of his own, he reasoned as he held out the book for the other Harry to take.
"What's this?" he asked, taking the book from Harry.
"A book I pilfered from the Hogwarts Library in the reality before last," answered Harry. "I was going to try and learn the basics so I could at least hide my scar, but I didn't get a chance to look at it in the last reality."
The other Harry squinted at the book, barely able to make out the title in the moonlight. "Metamorphosis: A Guide," he mumbled.
Harry nodded. "Keep it. You probably need it more than me."
His other self looked at him, then at the book. "You sure?"
"Yeah," replied Harry. "Besides, I can get another copy in another reality."
The other Harry nodded. "Thanks," He paused and put the book in his last remaining pocket. "Your turn," he said, nodding towards the tree nearest Harry.
Harry sighed and sat down, knowing that his other self would probably insist if he get some sleep if he tried to refuse. He closed his eyes and within a few minutes, he had fallen asleep.
XxXxXxXxXxX
Ten minutes later, when he was sure his 'other self' was asleep, Harry stood up and started to walk away.
After a few steps, he paused and took the book he had been given out of his pocket. "Lumos," he muttered, holding his hand over the book as he opened it with his other hand. A dim light formed just above his palm as he flicked through the first few pages of the book. He then extinguished the light and closed the book. He looked back at the sleeping figure in the leather jacket. "Thanks," he muttered, before starting to walk away again.
He had just passed the final tree and was now outside the forest when he heard a strange noise from behind him. Turning around, he saw in the near distance that other him was being engulfed by the same blue light that had brought his saviour into his world. The aura, which to Harry sounded like a strange mixture of chimes, a church choir and some sounds that would have fit in well in a sci-fi film, seemed to flow through the other Harry before the light seemed to implode in an almost blinding flash.
Harry blinked slightly and looked at the now empty space under the tree before turning and walking down the hill and into the night.
-
AUTHOR'S NOTES
A short chapter, I know, but this is really meant to set up the beginning of the next reality (i.e. when Harry wakes up/is woken up). Anyway, I'll try and get the next chapter, as well as SoTG Chapter 2, done over Christmas and New Year.
Concerning 'The Story of The Guys'
All other stuff about SoTG will be addressed in that story's A/Ns. What I will say is that, though I agree with Zero Blitz that Slytherin Harry/Ginny would be good for the conflict, I'm also fairly sure that it's probably been done before and would also probably end up being similar to the many Malfoy/Ginny stories out there. Besides, I think you're going to enjoy what I've got in mind.
Concerning this story
Why do I get the feeling someone's been hacking into my computer? At this rate I won't have any ideas I can claim are my own. Glares at Cocoa Girl, who's just scratched the surface of several (but not all) of my best ideas. Oh well, at least there's more to them than you probably think and I've still got plenty other ideas that haven't been mentioned.
Anyway, enjoy what little I've put up and Merry Christmas.