Disclaimer: I'm afraid that my limited brain capacity would never allow me to produce such a wonderful concept as Harry Potter, nor would my finances allow me to buy him. Therefore, I regretfully state that I own neither Harry Potter, nor any other characters that you may recognize. I'm not even sure if I own the plot.
Note: I'm assuming that you already know the basic story of Harry Potter from books 1 through 5.
'Italics' stand for thoughts/letters or text
Chapter Fifteen: Identity Crisis, Part One
Day Five, Afternoon:
There was barely enough time for Harry to put up a shield before Voldemort's body exploded in a blaze of light. Sparks showered down and flames sprang up. Despite the Death Eaters' best efforts, nothing could contain the magical blast.
'We're all going to die,' Harry realized in surprise. 'This whole building is falling down and there's no way to get out fast enough. I'm going to die.' But even as he thought this, he felt the anti-Animagus wards around the area fall. However, the anti-apparation and the anti-portkey wards remained firm, being stronger and better constructed.
Taking one last glance at the trapped wizards around him, he prepared to shift into his Animagus form. Hopefully, he could still do it, even if he had not done the necessary preparations in this dimension. Then, he remembered something. 'Professor Snape! Is he here? Where is he?'
Hastily, he scanned the ranks of Death Eaters, but it was hard to see in the smoke. "Professor Snape!" he yelled as loudly as he dared.
Someone staggered through the rubble and collapsed outside of his magical barrier. "Potter, are you mad? Get out of here!"
Dispersing his shield, Harry whispered, "Grab hold of my tail feathers, Professor," and transformed, laughing inwardly at the bewildered expression on his teacher's face at the mention of 'tail feathers.'
Snape shrugged off his confusion and shock and did as he was told. The two vanished in a burst of flame just as the hall crumbled. They reappeared outside in the midst of a grove of trees. Harry returned to his human form and staggered out — only to find himself facing a group of stony-faced Aurors, wands pointed directly at him.
…………
Day Five, Afternoon:
"Albus, there's been a huge magical explosion not too far from Hogwarts!" Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt gasped out. "Did you feel the backlash?"
"I did," Dumbledore confirmed. "The entire castle was shaking. What happened?"
"We don't know yet. A team of Aurors went down to investigate it; I thought you'd like to know in case you want to go see for yourself."
"Thank you, Kingsley. Where exactly was it?"
"Some manor about twenty-five miles south of Hogsmeade. I always thought it was abandoned."
Paling slightly, the headmaster pulled out a map and studied it. "Kingsley, Severus was called to a meeting about an hour ago, and I had a Tracking Spell on him. That magical explosion would have cancelled the charm out by now, but I'm pretty sure that when I checked it earlier, he was in that general vicinity."
"What! Are you saying that there was a Death Eater meeting on this spot?"
"I'm afraid so."
"I'd better contact the team down there and warn them, then. I'll talk to you later, Albus."
When the Auror had cut the connection, Dumbledore hurried outside until he passed the anti-apparation wards. From there, he apparated as closely to the site of the disturbance as he could and walked the rest of the way. He arrived just in time to see a group of Aurors pointing their wands at a black-robed figure leaning against a tree.
"What's going on here?" he inquired.
"This is the only Death Eater to survive the explosion," a wizard informed him quietly.
Curious but wary, Dumbledore stepped closer and gasped when the person glanced up. "Mr. Potter!"
…………
Day Five, Afternoon:
'I so did not need this,' Harry thought wearily, lowering his head, and turning slightly aside as he tried to hide his identity. Feeling fatigue overcome him, he sagged against a nearby tree truck and deliberated what to do.
"Surrender peacefully and you will not be harmed!" one of the aurors yelled. "You can't escape!"
Resigned, Harry was just about to obey when he noticed the approaching headmaster and decided to wait a moment. The elderly wizard spoke to the Aurors before moving towards him.
Although he was unsure of what his counterpart had been up to, Harry hoped that Dumbledore would listen to his story and help him out, so he tilted his chin upward and made eye contact. Upon seeing him, Dumbledore's expression immediately became cold and expressionless.
"Mr. Potter! What do you think you're doing here?"
"I was—" Harry started to reply, but stopped when he realized that he had no plausible explanation. To cover up his hesitation, he started coughing.
"You had better come with me up to Hogwarts; Madam Pomfrey can get you something for the smoke," Dumbledore said, sounding displeased.
"Wait— Professor Snape is over there, sir," Harry whispered, gesturing back into the woods.
"Very well, I'll see to it." He called an order to an Auror before pulling an emergency portkey from his pocket. "Hang on tight, Mr. Potter."
Harry's last thought before the sickening sensation in his stomach overcame him was 'He usually calls me Harry. What on earth have I done here!'
…………
Day Five, Afternoon:
No sooner had they landed in the headmaster's office, than Dumbledore whipped out his wand and disarmed Harry, who looked hurt but did not protest.
"I demand an explanation, Mr. Potter. Two of your classmates have claimed that you bear the Dark Mark, and another has testified to having seen you contact the Dark Lord. Now I find you at a Death Eater meeting. What do you have to say for yourself?"
