Okie dokey, firstly let me apologise for not updating in ages. My real life caught up with me and I just haven't had any time to do it.
Secondly, thanks to Dacuycuy, Jennison, Moonfyre, Jeanne2, Wolfawaken and Tinks for reviewing the last chapter.
Dacuycuy - Megan kissed Ron on the cheek because he had just rescued her from being trapped, it doesn't mean anything will happen between them.
Spurred on by Liverpool's wonderful win last night against Chelsea, I found some time to finish this chapter when I got home from college.
"No. We'll explain later," said Ron quickly. "Anyway, what did you say your name was?"
"I didn't. I'm Megan," she said cheerfully. "Megan Potter."
Silence met her words.
"What?" she said, breaking the silence.
Harry dragged himself over to Ron and sat down next to him.
"Did you say Potter? As in child of Lily and James?" asked Ron, slightly afraid of what she would say.
"Yeah. What of it?" She snapped. Megan's voice took on a more emotional tone. "They're all right, aren't they," she asked anxiously.
"They're fine. Wow Harry, you're not an only–."
"Ron," interjected Harry. "Not now. Can we do this in the morning? Please? Nox," he said to his wand, and the light at the end at the end of the wand extinguished itself.
"I guess," said Ron. "G'night Megan."
"Goodnight Ron."
"G'night Harry."
Harry didn't answer. Ron held his lit wand high and looked to see if Harry was all right.
"I can't believe this," sighed Ron. "He's already asleep."
Ron looked for the softest piece of floor that he could find and curled up in a little ball to keep warm.
"Nox," he whispered to his wand. The light went out, covering the little group in darkness once again.
Ron was soon asleep, and Megan quickly followed.
Harry awakened to the sound of digging. Harry grabbed his wand and sat bolt upright. What he saw surprised him. There was a man about ten feet away from where he had been sleeping. He had a shovel in his hands and was digging holes in the ground.
Harry stood up slowly and moved cautiously towards the man, trying not to make any noise. Harry got closer to the man and almost dropped his wand in shock.
"Remus?" he said, not believing his eyes.
The man stopped digging and looked up. He smiled at Harry.
"Hey kid. You know, you and Ron might want to think about a little guard duty. If I'd been a Death Eater you two would be in trouble," said Remus, leaning on his shovel.
"What are you doing here?" asked Harry, curiously. The man standing in front of him had been so adamant about not wanting Harry and Ron to leave, Harry couldn't think why in Merlin's name he was there.
"Digging graves," said Remus sadly. "These poor souls. Do you know what happened here?"
Harry nodded and said,
"Death Eaters. Got another shovel?"
Remus tossed his shovel at Harry, his seeker skills coming in handy as he caught the shovel. The older man bent down and picked up another shovel off of the ground. He started digging again. Harry looked around him properly for the first time since he woke up and saw that Remus had been busy. There were freshly dug mounds set in neat rows along the edge of the little town. Most of the bodies that had been lying around were gone. Remus had obviously buried them.
Harry picked a spot next to Remus and started digging a rectangular hole. He was surprised at how easy it was to dig.
"Remus, what are you really doing here?" asked Harry as he threw some dirt behind him.
"Well I couldn't exactly let you go out here all alone. You'd get completely lost. I mean, this prob'ly looks so different to your home that you would get lost."
Harry planted his shovel in the ground and gave Remus a look that clearly said, 'yeah right.'
"Oh alright," Remus said. "I had a guilty conscience. Sirius is one of my best friends, Hermione's yours and I don't think Molly would be able to cope with another son dead. No one actually knows where I've gone so Merlin knows what'll happen if we get back."
"There. See," said Harry brightly. "Wasn't that hard was it?"
"I guess not. No, Harry stop," said Remus, grabbing the shovel. "You're hopeless. Go and wake Ron up and I'll fix breakfast."
Harry stepped up out of his pathetic sized hole and walked over to wake up Ron and their guest. Harry smiled as he realised something. Remus hadn't acknowledged the fact that there was another person in the camp. If this girl really is who she says she is then Remus would recognise her.
Harry stopped in front of the girl. He froze in shock. This girl looked exactly like Lily. She had the same long red hair and piercing green eyes. Harry stopped. Green eyes? He jumped back as he realised she was staring up at him.
"You know," she said thoughtfully. "You look exactly like dad."
Harry took a step closer and held out his hand to help her to her feet. She accepted it gratefully.
"Yeah, we'll explain that in a bit. I've got to wake Ron and then it's time to eat."
The redhead sighed.
"Thank god. I'm absolutely starving."
Harry picked his way over the debris and stooped over next to Ron. He shook him none too gently and Rons eyes snapped open with a start.
"Wassup?"
Harry leaned closely to Ron's face.
"Remus turned up. It's time to see if that girl is who she says she is."
Ron looked confused for a moment and then his eyes widened in understanding. He nodded.
Harry turned and called back quietly to Megan.
"Come on."
She picked her way carefully over the mess, stepping exactly where Harry had stepped for she knew that to be the safest option.
"Let's go."
Ron walked in front with Harry in the middle and Megan behind.
"Hey," called Ron. "Enough for one more?"
Remus looked up, slightly distracted. Harry and Ron sat down next to him, slightly hiding Megan from view.
"Huh?"
Harry motioned for Remus to look up and he did so. Remus took one look at the red-haired girl, dropped the pan he was holding onto his foot and he toppled backwards, almost sticking his foot into the fire.
"M-Megan," he stuttered in disbelief.
Megan grinned and waved at him.
"Hey Remus."
Remus pushed himself to his feet and hugged Megan tightly. She hugged him back. It was obvious that this girl was really Megan Potter if Remus had reacted like that.
Remus and Megan broke apart and sat down. Harry was surprised to see tears in both of their eyes.
"Are you alright?" asked Harry.
Remus wiped his eyes and nodded at Harry.
"Uh huh." He turned to look at Megan. "We didn't know what happened. We thought you were dead Megs. You had a funeral and everything. Where have you been for the last eighteen months.
Megan smiled at Remus and leant against him.
"With Voldemort."
Remus jerked and grabbed Megan's shoulders, turning her to face him.
"What! What on earth were you doing there and with him?"
Megan frowned. "Didn't Dumbledore tell you where I went?"
Remus shook his head. "What are you talking about?"
"He sent me to do something and told me he'd tell mum and dad and you and everyone else. He wanted me to find out something. I did find out something but not what he wanted me to find. It was something a whole lot better. Remus," said Megan seriously. "We're gonna win this war."
"What are you talking about?" repeated Remus.
"I–" started Megan.
"Look, I'm sure this is going to totally change everything but please could we eat and then go find Hermione," interrupted Ron.
"Who are you?" asked Megan quickly.
Harry and Ron stared at her.
"I know you're called Harry and Ron but who are you really. You look like dad," said Megan, pointing at Harry. "You look like Molly's son," she said, pointing at Ron, "but I don't think you are and neither of you seemed fazed or concerned by what is happening. You only seem concerned about finding this girl and it just doesn't seem right."
Ron and Harry could think of nothing to say and instead looked pleadingly at Remus for help.
"You didn't tell her who you were?" asked Remus, slightly surprised.
"No because we didn't know if she really was a Potter. It was too dark last night to really see and we were too tired to explain much," answered Harry. "Look Remus, can you please make breakfast or we'll have to eat chocolate frogs of Bertie Botts."
Remus instantly started making breakfast. There was no way that these children were going to eat sweets for breakfast. Remus picked up the pan that he had dropped and placed it back in front of him. He opened his bag and pulled out two silver packets. They reminded Harry of the vacuum packed foods that astronauts took with them when they went up into space. Harry couldn't think what Remus was going to do with them though because two certainly wouldn't go around four people. They were much too small. Remus put one of the packets into the pan and pulled out his wand.
"Nutrie Engorgio," he said as he tapped the silver packet with his wand.
Harry stared at the packet, not knowing what would happen. His eyes widened as the packet began to unfold on itself, slowly getting bigger and bigger. When it eventually stopped it filled up all of the space in the pan. Remus put his wand down and tore open the packet. He tipped it upside down and a thick yellow something poured out of the packet. Harry looked at it in surprise. It was scrambled egg, more than enough for four people.
"How did you…What was that?" asked Harry.
"It's magic," Remus said smiling.
Harry rolled his eyes.
"I know that you twit. It's just, at home we don't have those, at least, I don't think so. I've never seen them before." Harry looked at Ron questioningly, after all Ron would know more about this kind of thing than he did. His friend shook his head.
"Nope. Never seen them before."
"Oh. Well, they're–."
"How can you not know?" interrupted Megan. Her tone was accusing. "Everyone uses these when we go out. Anyway, how can you never have seen them especially if you live in the tunnels?"
"We only said we, in a way, live in the tunnels. It's too complicated to explain right now how we don't know about this," said Harry.
Remus sighed. "Harry, Ron and their friend Hermione are not from this reality. Something happened a while ago and they appeared here. Their reality is different to ours. Voldemort is just returning to power so they don't have much of an idea about what is going on. Harry's a Potter. Ron's a Weasley and Hermione's a muggleborn witch."
"Apparently it's not," muttered Harry.
Megan gaped at Remus.
"You have got to be joking?" she exclaimed
Remus shook his head.
"I'm not."
"How is that possible? That can't be…" Megan looked around in disbelief. She didn't understand this. "So, if you're telling the truth, Harry's my…my brother? The same brother that died in '81."
She received three nods from her companions. She put her head into her hands, trying to digest all of the new information she had just heard, well, at least that's what it looked like to Harry. Nobody moved for a time. They just sat there in silence.
Megan sighed and then, to Harry's surprise she looked up and grinned at him.
"What?" he asked cautiously, moving back slightly from her.
"I'll tell you later on when we find your friend. What's her name?"
"Hermione," said Harry. He wanted to say something else but Remus interrupted.
"Eat breakfast and then we're leaving."
He handed each of the teens a small plate with scrambled egg and two sausages on. He put his plate on the ground in front of him and handed out knives and forks. The four companions tucked into their breakfast; the younger three much more eagerly than Remus as Ron and Harry hadn't eaten since lunch the day before and Megan since she escaped. Nobody said a word until the meal was eaten and the plates and cutlery had been packed away.
Ron and Harry stood up and went to find their brooms and schoolbags. Megan already had everything she needed. She only had her wand with her.
The two boys came back clutching their brooms, with their schoolbags slung over their shoulders.
"Remus, Ron and me have been talking and we wanted to know how you managed to find us."
"Ah, I figured you'd want to know. I'll tell you when we are on the move. I don't know how much longer this place will be safe for. We'll walk for a while and then we'll do something else."
Harry looked questioningly at Remus. Remus didn't give an explanation, he just started walking. Megan looked at Harry and smiled, running quickly after Remus. Harry sighed and both him and Ron walked quickly to catch up with Remus.
"So, how'd you find us Remus?" asked Harry.
"Well, it's a map. James, Sirius, Peter and I made it. It shows anybody in the area of the map…"
"Like the Marauders Map of Hogwarts?" interrupted Ron.
Remus looked shocked.
"You know about that?"
Ron and Harry looked at each other and grinned.
"Yep. I was given it and taught to use it by…" said Harry.
"By my brothers," interrupted Ron, "who found it in Filch's office in their first year. They would have given the Marauders a run for their money. You have to teach us how to make something like it," said Ron eagerly.
"How come you know about the Map and the Marauders if your dad died, Sirius was in prison, Peter was suspected dead and you didn't meet me until you were thirteen?"
"I knew about the Map and the nicknames you four had, but neither me nor the twins knew who they were. Long story, but basically, you and Sirius told Ron, Hermione and me about the four of you in the Shrieking Shack and then later you told me who each of the Marauders were."
Remus paled at the words 'Shrieking Shack.' Ron noticed and whispered quietly to Harry. He then looked back to Remus.
"You alright Remus?"
Remus nodded mutely, refusing to speak.
"What's the Shrieking Shack?" asked Megan curiously.
Ron opened his mouth to answer and then looked quickly at Remus. He looked terrified. Realisation dawned on the redhead.
"Remus, doesn't anybody actually know about you?"
"What? What?" asked Megan impatiently. She was ignored.
Remus didn't answer. Harry, having cottoned on to what Ron was talking about, decided to try.
"We know, Remus, so don't worry. Hermione knows too."
Remus stopped and looked fearfully at Harry.
"H-how?"
"You, well I suppose it was actually both you and Hermione who told us. What, you thought we wouldn't know. I don't care and neither does Ron. It's not your fault and there's not much you can do about it."
"Are you two serious?"
The two boys nodded.
"Most people can't see past the name. They're all prejudiced."
Remus stopped the conversation there. It was getting too uncomfortable for him. He began walking again. Megan was looking back and forth between Remus, her brother of sorts and his friend. She was confused. Harry and Ron said nothing else though. It was Remus' story to tell and not theirs.
Everything Harry and Ron saw was exactly the same as the place they had found Megan; death, destruction, no signs of life. It was terrible.
Harry had noticed something. Everywhere they went it was witches and wizards that were dead, there didn't seem to be any muggles.
"Remus, where are the muggles? There don't seem to be any anywhere."
"Huh? Oh that's right. You wouldn't know. Well, about twelve years ago, the muggles found out about our world, and the war that was going on. I mean, how could they not, what with all the mysterious deaths and everything. Eleven years ago, the muggles started to fight back but they didn't stand a chance against the Death Eaters. Then around ten years ago, they all just left."
"Left? What do you mean?" asked Ron.
"They just seemed to disappear. No one knows where they went and how they've been able to hide for so long. They haven't been seen in ten years."
"Well, I don't blame them really. It is strange though"
"I know. We've looked for them but we can't find them anywhere."
The small group had been walking for several days. All they had seen was the same death and destruction that they had seen in London. Harry knew there was no way in hell he'd let his world get like this. He was going to defeat Voldemort and he was going to do it soon.
Megan was leading the way since she was the only one who had the vaguest idea where Hermione actually was. She turned left sharply and led the group into a small cave that Harry would never have noticed if she hadn't led them into it. It was probably some sort of protection spell or something similar.
The cave wasn't exceptionally big but it wasn't too small either. It was about the size of the Gryffindor sixth year boy's dormitory. The cave had the same lighting as the Orders caves.
"Megs, what are we doing here?" asked Remus, leaning against the wall.
Megan was walking around the cave, touching various points on the wall and muttering. She looked up at her companions.
"I found this a little while ago. It's how I escaped. There is a spell in here that, once activated, takes you to a remote villagefive miles from where I was being held captive."
"Please don't tell me it's like a portkey," begged Harry.
"Okay. I won't then," said Megan cheerfully.
Harry paled and slid down onto the floor. He couldn't use another portkey. Not again. Not after what happened last time he used one. One of the last times Harry had used a portkey, he had ended up witnessing Voldemort's rebirth and seeing somebody murdered right in front of his eyes.
"What's up with him?" asked Megan. She wasn't paying much attention. She was concentrating on trying to activate the spell.
"Last time Harry used a portkey…well, let's just say it brings back bad memories," answered Ron, kneeling next to his friend.
"What happened?" asked Remus. He was curious. These three teenagers seemed to have seen and gone through a lot more than a sixteen-year-old should, especially considering the state of their own world.
"Somebody died and something happened which most of the Wizarding World said would never happen again," answered Ron. He had chosen his words carefully so as not to upset Harry even more.
"I don't understand. What happened?" asked Remus again.
"Use your imagination," muttered Ron irritably.
Remus stared at the two boys sitting on the floor and then suddenly understood. "It was Voldemort wasn't it?"
Neither of the boys answered. Remus knew it was true. Harry had seen Voldemort reborn and had seen somebody else die. How many people had this one sixteen-year-old seen die? Remus felt a pang of sympathy for this poor boy. He had thought that it was bad living in his world, but at least here things were consistent and didn't change.
The wizard was happy. Somebody was about to use the transportation spell. He had no doubt that it was the Potter girl who had escaped. He knew she would find the spell and no doubt use it to escape. They were obviously trying to rescue the three prisoners his Death Eaters had taken from the resistance's headquarters.
The wizard turned away from the black-haired man that lay on the floor, and turned to a black-robed figure standing next to him.
"Keep and watch on that spell. If the girl somehow manages to reactivate it again, I want to know before she returns here."
"Yes, my Lord." The figure bowed and walked over to a corner of the room and closed her eyes. She was tracking the progress of the spell. Her master had only just recently taught her how to track spell use. He had said it was a privilege of being marked. The problem was she was one of the only two who had been shown how to do it. It meant that there wasn't much else she could do because it was a very complicated art to master and most could not do it.
The Potter girl and her companions would be in for a surprise when she got the spell working. The wizard turned back to the man lying on the floor and pointed his wand at him.
"Where can I find your pathetic little resistance?" he asked.
There was silence and then,
"Go to Hell, Voldemort," spat the man hoarsely.
"You are not fit to say my name. Crucio," he hissed. The man's screams echoed around the chamber.
"Ah ha," cried Megan.
"Have you got it?" asked Ron. He was anxious to get going and rescue Hermione, and the others, he added as an afterthought.
"Yep. Stand in a circle around that point," Megan said, pointing at a spot on the floor that looked darker than the rest. Her companions hurried to comply. Megan joined them and then began to activate the spell.
"Portus, carlum, dunus, activatus."
The cave filled with a bright blue light, enveloping the four figures.
"My Lord," cried the robed woman, "she has activated the spell."
Voldemort released the screaming man from the spell and turned to the speaker, nodding slightly.
Voldemort took hold of the spell and added his own spell on top of it that cancelled it out. He felt it click into place and allowed himself a small smile. Voldemort turned back to the man on the floor.
"I will ask you one more time, where can I find your pathetic resistance?"
"Go to Hell," the man cried defiantly.
"If you insist. Crucio," said Voldemort coldly.
The man began screaming again.
Harry felt a jolt and his vision was filled with coloured lights. He shook his head to try and clear his vision and when he opened his eyes he was standing in front of a mountain. The first thought that went through Harry's mind was, Merlin it's cold. Harry pulled up his hood and saw that the others were doing the same.
Megan was looking around. To Harry it seemed as if she were looking in the way that one does when one is lost.
"Are we supposed to be here?" asked Ron, "'cause I don't recognise it."
Megan sighed and turned back to her companions.
"I'm sorry. I don't know what happened."
"Megan," began Remus.
Megan bowed her head and started sobbing gently.
"Don't start Remus. Please. I'm sorry. We're not supposed to be here. I have no idea where we are."
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