Chapter 2

A Different Kind of Duel

Where could he be? Hermione had searched everywhere: the Burrow, Diagon Alley, every inch of Grimmauld Place, and more. It just wasn't like Harry to disappear on them unexpectedly. Hermione knew she should have kept an eye on him after all the business with Voldemort and Dumbledore, and now Death Eaters could have raided the place and kidnapped Harry.

She immediately went downstairs to ask anyone if they had found him, when she ran into Ron.

"Oh, Ron. You scared me. So, did you find him?" She asked desperately.

Ron shook his head, "No. Where could he have gone, the fool? You know what. I don't think he's been kidnapped."

"How can you tell?" Hermione said.

"Some of his money is missing. Maybe he took some with him to go and find the rest of the Horcruxes."

Hermione thought about it for a moment but disagreed, "No, he couldn't have. He knows he can't do it by himself, and plus, he promised he would take us when he decided to leave. It's definitely something else…"

"Like what?"

"Come on. Let's search his room one more time."

"I already looked in there."

"That's right. You looked in there. I didn't." Hermione grabbed his arm and lead him to Harry's room.

"Hey! What is that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it means." Hermione smirked as she opened the door. The room seriously needed some air freshener. The sheets on the bed were unmade, half of them dangling onto the floor. The room was practically bare except for a bed, a desk on the left, and a chair by the door. Hermione picked up Harry's wallet from the chair and searched it. Harry always kept a considerable amount of money with him, but there were only five Galleons in the wallet. Had he needed to pay off someone? This was all so confusing.

"So, found anything yet?" Ron said with an attitude. Hermione looked past the bed as her eyes rested upon the floor. Something shone against the limited amount of light emitting through the small window. She kneeled down and touched the green carpet. There was some sort of powder spread across it. She could sense Ron's eyes looking down from behind her.

"Maybe he spilled some Floo powder?" Ron suggested.

"But there isn't a fireplace in here. Why would he have Floo powder in here? Nope. It's something else, and I think I know what it is."

"What is it?" Ron asked eagerly.

It didn't take long for Hermione to realize what Harry had done. She gasped and covered her mouth in awe. Did he really have the guts to do that?

"What, what? Tell me!"

"Harry went back into time."

"What? Is that even possible?"

"Yes, and I'm pretty sure what year too…"

"Well, don't keep me in the dark then."

"Where his parents were alive…or maybe, he created an alternate reality where his parents are still alive today."

"Whoa. That's crazy. But how could he do it? He doesn't have a Time Turner." Ron said.

"There are other ways to do it, and now I think I'm going to hit myself for telling him those other ways." She got back to her feet and brushed away the powder from her hands. "In our third year when you two found out about the Time Turner, Harry asked me if there were other ways to do it, and I told him that you could do it with the assistance of a Time Bender. They are these extremely old witches that have control over time and space, and for some money, they can bend your reality."

"Oh…well, I can understand why he did it, not having any parents and all that."

"But he doesn't know the consequences. You can only come back when you really want to. Tell me what the chances are of that happening while Harry is with his Mum and Dad."

"Maybe…he'll really miss all of us and return."

Hermione made a skeptical noise, "I doubt it. If I were in his position, I wouldn't want to come back." Now that was a scary thought.

"But what if we never see him again? You don't think he would come back for us, his best friends?"

"I don't know Ron. Only time will tell. Let's go. We have to tell the others what's happened and see if we can bring him back."

"Alright." Ron agreed and followed Hermione out the door. Despite her doubts, Hermione hoped Harry would prove her wrong and come back soon. They could never make it without him in this existing world.

…

Harry made a huge effort to pull away from the locks of Marissa, but failed horribly, left overshadowed by her moans and hands traveling from his back to arms. After a few repulses, Harry stopped fighting and just kissed her back. She wasn't as much kissing him as trying to chew off his mouth, coming at him with a full tongue that would eventually suck out his own if they didn't stop kissing. One positive quality Harry caught was her scent. An aroma of sweet vanilla raspberry rose in the air and went through Harry's nostrils pleasantly, invigorating his sense of smell.

A minute passed and Harry couldn't breathe. He practically had to shove her back to break off, and she looked startled at his action. As she gave him a look of disgust, Harry took his chance to examine her. She was pretty. If he had been at home, he would have never thought her to be attractive. Marissa was a blond haired and blue-eyed beauty, where her hair trailed past her shoulders and her aquamarine eyes looked huge in proportion to her pale face. Her freckles made her sort of cute, though.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" She snapped, while wiping the side of her lip.

"You scared me, sneaking up on me like that. So, did you want anything?"

"No," Marissa said simply, coming closer to him, "I just wanted to see my baby."

Her hands wrapped around Harry's neck as her lips widened into a sweet smile. Her touch was rough like a man who didn't want to touch another but lighter. Harry pretended to enjoy it by forcing a smile. Hopefully, she wouldn't kiss him again-

His wish was not her command. Harry found himself endorsed in another snogging fest that should have been passionate but was far from it for him.

"Alright alright. I'm assuming no one's home?" Harry pushed her back again.

"Wha-stop doing that! And yeah, no one is home. I thought we'd have a private party of our own. What do you think?"

"Mmm, as much as I want to, I can't. Jam-Dad's planned dueling lessons for me, and speaking of that," Harry pretended to check hi watch, "I have to be back home in a minute or so."

"Aww…party pooper. Come over later if you have time. No one is going to be home for ten hours. I'll wait for you." She made a puppy dog face at him, and Harry had an instant urge to run away as fast as he could. He wouldn't be caught dead alone with this girl. Who knew what she was capable of? He even enjoyed a good snog, but he wasn't about to get serious with a stranger.

Marissa kissed her on his cheek and said, "I love you baby."

Harry nodded nervously without uttering a word and went for the Floo powder.

"That was fast." Dad said as Harry came out of the fireplace, "You ready?"

"Yeah."

"We'll review the things we learned from last lesson, just to get you warmed up. Be prepared for my signal."

"Just a second, Dad. I was wondering if you had heard of this man named Voldemort."

His Dad raised a hand to his cheek in consternation, "Strange name, don't you think? No, I don't think I've ever heard of him. Why do you ask?"

"Nothing. I just read something in the Daily Prophet, that's all. Okay, I'm ready. Sorry about that." Harry didn't want to get him too curious.

"Ready?"

"No no no! Wait!" Harry held out his hands in protest, "How are we going to duel if I can't use magic yet?"

"Who said we were going to use wands? This is a sword duel, Harry."

Harry's mind froze. What had he just said? "Wha-wha-what? A sword duel-"

"That's right. Don't look so frightened, boy." He laughed openly, "Alright. Whether you're ready or not, here we go! Accio swords!"

Out of nowhere, two shiny elongated swords appeared in Dad's hands. He put hi wand aside on the floor. Surprisingly, there were no pieces of furniture in the room they were in, being perfect for a dueling room.

Harry's mind told him to go along with the dueling. As soon as his eye rested on the swords, he swore he started to perspire everywhere. His sweat was even telling him to run. Oh, what was going to happen? What if he got hurt? No, his Dad would never hurt him…

"Here." He heaved the sword to Harry, who stumbled with the and until he grasped a hold of it. Harry smiled nervously at his father as he gave him a calculating look.

"Alright. I'm ready." Harry stood up straight with both hands on the sword handle and his legs parted slightly. The opposite sword came flying against Harry's, and as both clanged, Harry let his other hand go. It aimed at his feet and Harry lowered his to level with the other. Well, this wasn't so bad, he though as he jumped back from a strike against his chest. The clattering of the swords was keeping a rhythm in Harry's ears, making it possible for him to stay on his feet for so long.

Harry wasn't so lucky with the next attack. Harry's eyes were focused on the floor for a precious second as Dad's sword pierced across his right cheek. Harry screeched with intense pain and let go of his sword. His cheek was on unbearable fire. It felt worse than the Cruciatus Curse. Dad dropped his sword as well and went rushing to Harry's aid.

"Oh my lord. I'm so sorry. Does it hurt?" Dad breathed in horror.

Harry nodded, suddenly wishing he hadn't, because as his skin sagged down, he was hit with another dose of pain. More blood trickled down his neck. Who in the world had ever invented sword dueling?

"Here. I'll heal it. Medicor!"

All the blood vanished until there was only a tickling sensation on his cheek. Harry brushed his hand against it, feeling his smooth skin, and then reluctantly picked up his sword and got ready to duel again.

"No," Dad shook his head, "That's enough for today. You're too tired to concentrate. Your mother told me you were up at five this morning. Sleep for four hours will make anyone exhausted. Go back to sleep and we'll continue this tomorrow."

"Alright Dad." Harry handed the sword to Dad and left the room hurriedly. Now he had to figure out how to be a sword dueling champion by tomorrow, or his father would probably kill him. He hadn't been expecting Harry to such a novice, though, so it wasn't his fault. Wow, the fake Harry must have been really good at all the fighting. He sure could take on Voldemort any day. He still didn't know why they were having lessons. There was no threat in the Wizarding World in their time. Nothing made sense…

Sooner than expected, Dad followed him and said, "Harry, I have to go. Work calls. Tell your mother."

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"Some fools are terrorizing Ottery St. Catchpole. I'll be back in a couple of hours. Bye!" With a crack, Dad Disapparated, and Harry headed to the kitchen to eat a snack. All this dueling had already made him hungry.

But it turned out that there was already someone in the kitchen. He could see the back of a redhead sitting at the small table.

"Hey prick. Lessons done already?" She said, without looking at him. There was something annoying about her voice that he didn't want to hear a second time, and it wasn't just that she had called her a prick, but the amount of attitude that had been existent in her voice was amazing. So this was his younger sister. He was suddenly reminded of Aunt Petunia.

Harry rummaged through the cabinets and finally found a piece of lemon pie stacked in the back of the fifth cupboard. Mmm…his mother was definitely a good cook.

"That was my pie." The sister said. Yes, that was her title for now, since he didn't even know her name.

"Did you make it?" Harry challenged her while taking another bite of the pie.

"No, but I called it yesterday while you were with that slut."

"What is your problem?" Harry said crossly.

"Miss Monica doesn't have a problem; however, Mister Harry is a problem himself."

Harry chose not to comment and instead asked, "Why don't you take lessons from Dad?"

"Because he seems to think you need them more since you're a man, genius. I could most definitely beat you to a duel."

"Are you challenging me?" Harry might not know much about swords, but he did know the basics of wand dueling.

"Not now. I'll tell you the right time when it comes. I need to shower, plan a party, go shopping-"

"What party?" Harry inquired.

"Don't get so excited. I'm not planning your birthday party, bro."

What was her deal? Why was she being so cruel to him? The twins might make fun of him but at lease they weren't this rude. Harry sat at the table to get a better look at her. She looked just as he had imagined. The way her nose flared up gave her a snotty appeal and her partly narrowed green eyes inflicted pride on everything she laid her eyes on.

"Stop staring at me."

Oh god, wasn't she ever going to stop snapping at him? What had he ever done to her? This trip wasn't turning out as he planned. All he had wanted to do was spend some time talking and traveling with his Mum and Dad, but instead he got stuck with three siblings and another one coming on the way.

When he wasn't paying attention, Monica snipped the pie from his reach and shoved it under the table.

"Hey!"

"I told you that's my pie. Now sod off."

Harry got off his chair and sighed. This was not going to be an easy month.

"Fine then. I'll check what we have in the fridge, or have you called that too?" Harry asked, crossing his arms.

"Oh, you're free to scourge the refrigerator. Not that you'll find anything in there, though. The twins have probably eaten everything by now."

She turned out to be right. The only things left were the essential vegetables, bread, some eggs, and other items Harry had never seen before.

"Bad luck, bro." Monica said, as she retreated from table, took the pie in her hands, and exited the kitchen. What an annoying little-

"Prongs! Prongs! Hey Prongs!" A deep voice ran throughout the house. Harry walked out to see who it was, and amazingly found Sirius standing in front of him. He was the same handsome Sirius that had posed as best man in his Dad's wedding, but only some odd years older.

"What's up Harry." Sirius lifted his eyebrows in acknowledgement as if they were just acquaintances and moved on to the family room, yelling, "Hey Mona! Have you seen your Dad? Is he here?"

That was odd. Why hadn't he asked Harry where his Dad was? He was being ignored and ridiculed by almost everyone and he didn't like it one bit. The only person that Harry appreciated so far was his father, and he had to keep in mind that he had gashed Harry's cheek too. Harry must have been a completely different person in this reality, and he would surely bet that the kid was a lover of Quidditch, arrogant, skillful at dueling, and rude to his sister. Also, the way his godfather had given him a short look and moved on made Harry think that they weren't close.

"Hey Sirius! Want to go out for lunch?" Harry followed after him, thinking he could sway him back with this new Harry.

"Out? You hate eating out." Sirius looked strangely at him.

"So? I can try. Variety is the spice of life, after all!" Oh, what a corny thing to say, but he was glad to see that it made Sirius laugh. He was also glad to see that his laugh was still bark like. Hmm…Harry wondered if Sirius had a girlfriend…

"Nah, sorry Harry. I gotta talk to your Dad."

"He went to some mission at St. Ottery…" Harry had forgotten the rest of the name.

"St. Catchpole. Damn, boy. You got amnesia?"

He was really tired of everyone calling him boy.

"No…um, how about we go see Remus?"

Sirius stared at him, "Moony? Last time I heard, you weren't talking to him."

Harry gaped at him, "What? What did I do?"

"You told your little girlfriend that he's a werewolf."

"No I did not! What are you-" Harry cut off his sentence. He probably had told Marissa of Remus, but just not him. Ugh, what a traitor he was…

"I mean, yes, I did. I didn't mean to, but it just came up and she squeezed it out of me." Harry lied, tapping his foot lightly.

"I think I need to go apologize to him. Will you take me?"

Sirius considered Harry for a few seconds and then said, "Alright, if you really want to."

"Do you want to Floo?"

"No. We'll use Side-Along Apparition."

Harry held on to Sirius's hand as he Disapparated. It was so weird to be doing this with Sirius, a supposedly convicted killer in his own world, but he was free to go anywhere in this one. He wondered if Sirius was still his godfather and not just his father's best friend. Oh my, that was reminding him of the Dursleys and was curious if they lived at Privet Drive. How big was Dudley?

Lupin's house turned out to be more like a one story apartment. Gloom was the message Harry received in every room, which weren't plenty. There was one bedroom, one bathroom, and the kitchen and living room were adjoined with only a half brick wall as a separator. All the furniture seemed as if it had been picked up from the garbage. Harry guessed Lupin was as unemployed in this world as he was in the other.

Lupin was home. He was in the kitchen, cleaning the blackened stove by hand. As soon as he heard the crack, he turned around and smiled at Sirius, "Oh, hey Padfoot." His eyes traveled to Harry, and suddenly his eyes went cold, "Hello Mr. Potter."

He didn't know why, but Harry found Lupin's coldness admiring. They had to have been close enough for him to be this angry with Harry. Oh, why had he gone off and told that girl everything? She wasn't worth anything compared to Lupin and it was obvious that all she wanted with Harry was a physical relationship or Harry would've gotten a chance to say two words to her in the morning.

"Sit down. Want anything to eat Padfoot?"

"Yeah, I'd love something. Thanks!" Harry intervened, and both men turned to look at him.

'What's up with you?" Sirius asked, "You're not one to make a joke at a time like this."

"A time like what?"

"In a time when he is angry with you. He could chop your head off, you know."

"No he couldn't. We're buddies."

"That may be true, but you don't know Moony when he's in a temper. He goes wild and scratches and eats you up-"

"I heard that Padfoot." Lupin said loudly. Sirius laughed as he settled on the chair nearest to the kitchen. However, Harry went inside the kitchen, grabbed a glass, and got himself some water.

"Lu-Remus, I wanted to apologize for what I did. I'm sorry I told Marissa about you. Forgive me?"

Lupin still had his back turned on Harry when he said, "Forgive you? Forgive you? I don't think so. Actually, I think I should bite you and make you see what it's like to live as a werewolf in this world. You wouldn't be able to stand it for one day, with everyone staring at you like you're some contagious disease and no one willing to employ you. That's right; you wouldn't survive it a day. Get out of here. I don't want you here right now."

The words had a full effect on Harry. His heart sank like it had never before and his body forced him to move out of the kitchen without saying anything else. That had been the meanest and most hurtful thing anyone had ever said to him.

A/N: Thank you for all the wonderful reviews. They mean a lot to me. :)