The End Or The Beginning?
The one without the title.
„Mr. Potter, I would like to suggest that you consider pretending to be James' nephew." They were sitting in Dumbledore's private chambers in the Headmaster's Tower.
Harry hated this place, it was here that he found out about Hermione and Ron's death. He was practicing his animagus form with McGonagall, when the news came. Because of that he never managed to appreciate his form, and this place just gave him creeps.
But he suppressed those thoughts, they were talking about his future, not his past.
"I could agree to this, but I don't remember having any relatives from my father's side. And what about people that attacked me?"
It was Nicholas who answered him, "You are correct, Harry, James doesn't have any other family, however, I am friends with some people from Australia and New Zealand and we think it could be arranged. Everyone would believe, that you came from one of those countries. Necessary records would be created, of course, and we could tell people that you were home schooled. If someone asked, we would say that the accent has been modified with vocaelo spell."
"You don't have to worry about the Ministry workers that saw you. The ones that we are not sure about, were oblivated. And the rest, are our friends, we can trust." Dumbledore finished smiling.
"So the Order knows." Harry stated, "May I know exactly who would be privy to this information." He enjoyed the shocked looks on their faces, even Dumbledore lost his twinkle for a moment, however, Harry was surprised to notice that Flamel was smiling, and that was him that answered the question. Well, Harry thought, it is only fair, the man is what.. four, five hundred years old and he is Dumbledore's mentor, after all.
"I am glad that you know about the Order, Harry, and to answer your question, Alastor Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, Frank and Alice Longbottom, Poppy Pomfrey, Katie Weasley and the Potters, Albus and myself, of course."
"Very well, I can accept them." Harry said thinking that he would want to talk to the Longbottoms, they were the only ones he didn't talk to, well apart from his parents and Rose. It felt strange, his sister, his parents…, really strange, but nice, nonetheless.
"Don't you think that me being so similar to James would be a problem, that people would get suspicious?" After all he did look almost like James and appearing out of nowhere and fitting the description of the Potters' son could rise some questions.
"We don't believe so, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore said, "the unfortunate event that led to our Harry's death, happened twenty years ago," he glanced sadly at Lily and James. "The Potters are known and respected family, however, we live under a constant threat of Tom Riddle and as unpleasant as it is, deaths happen from time to time. We don't think that your presence would stir any memories. And as most of the closest friends would know about you, no one should suspect anything."
Harry could see the logic in those words, he glanced at the Potters. Rose looked sad at mentioning the other Harry or the other deaths, Harry didn't know. And James and Lily had a mixture of sadness, longing and guilt, on their faces. He suspected that the guilt part was due him being there and the fact that they were happy about it. It meant a lot to him that they thought so well about him, but it also reminded him, that he was not their Harry.
"We think, however, that your presence here, would catch Riddle's attention. Some safety measu…"
Harry turn Dumbledore off for a moment, so Tom killed my other self, that created many questions, Harry decided to look through some old newspapers or read Hogwarts: A History, he wasn't sure if asking out laud would be the best idea, this place was very different.
"I think I can handle Tom," he stated firmly, interrupting Dumbledore rather rudely, the man suggested that Harry stay within Hogwarts or the Godric Hollow for awhile and when out he should be accompanied by an Order member, just in case. Okay, maybe not everything is so different. Harry sighed. Dumbledore is still Dumbledore. Harry was sure that as much as to protect, the minders would keep a close eye on him.
Dumbledore stopped speaking his list of pros and frowned, loosing his twinkle again. It was strange that Harry could read the man so easily. Harry decided to change the subject slightly, and dismiss the topic of his 'protection' for now. He knew that Dumbledore would return to that, as far as Harry remembered, Dumbledore should chose to show some of his aura flare, to intimidate him. The trick was so old that it was a shame that so many could be fooled that way, but Harry was taught by the second best in using it, Aberfoth Dumbledore, though, he always used it on his rowdy customers, rather than Ministry diplomats.
He looked with a slightly boring expression at Headmaster's display of power and then turned to Flamel and asked.
"What about my name, wouldn't it be weird to have the same name. And, well, my second name is James, so that is rather out of the question, as well."
He could see that Flamel was amused, his eyes twinkled merrily. Dumbledore on the other hand was fun to watch, not that Harry was looking.
Harry wasn't a child anymore, he wasn't a child for a long time, and as the one who led the Order and those who chose to fight against Voldemort, he had learned how to be a leader. Undermining the authority of Dumbledore wasn't the best of actions Harry could choose, but he wouldn't allow anyone to tell him what to do. And that should be clear as fast as possible.
Harry didn't see the looks on the Potters' faces, he hoped they wouldn't think him arrogant.
Nicholas Flamel seemed obvious to the silent war, between Harry and Dumbledore, only his eyes gave him away, they were almost laughing out loud.
"I don't think that using your name, Harry, will be a problem. You seem older than twenty-one, and that will also be a additional disguise. You can easily add three or four years if someone asked."
By the time Flamel finished, Dumbledore had composed himself again and with a smile asked.
"What about your wand, Mr. Potter? It could be a problem if you use a wand that have the same signature that the wand in our world. We thought, that we would like to check if someone was using the same wand." His twinkle was dimmed a little.
Harry sighted, he knew that he would have to tell them about his world, he already decided that he would do it when he found out more about this world first, but some facts should be said.
"Well…, from where I came form, we were at war with Voldemort. And yes, he managed to widespread the use of this title. He was successful to the point that people were afraid to even call him by this name, using the title You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and there were very few that knew his real name." He paused to gather his thoughts.
"That's ridiculous, why would people be afraid to use his name, more so, if it was a fake one." James spoke for the first time since they started talking about Harry's new identity.
My thoughts exactly, Harry mussed, but shoot James' hard and a very meaningful look that seemed to shut him with a silent "Oh.."
"Anyway," Harry continued, not noticing the worried glances of the other occupants of the room, "when I was sixteen, our wandmaker, Mr. Olivander," he looked at Dumbledore and Flamel to see them nod, "disappeared, some time later, Mr. Gregorovich, vanished as well." He could see that the name of the other wandmaker was known as well. "Within the year, three more craftsmen were killed. It is not that creating a wand was some kind of a secret, there were many books about the process, but during the war…." Harry shrugged falling silent.
"I lost my wand during one of the battles, that year. Well…, since I seem to have a knack for a wandless magic, it helped. I never acquired another wand, though." Harry knew that wandless magic was possible, more due the power, than ability, and he could see that Dumbledore and Flamel knew that as well.
The silence stretched for awhile. Harry lost in his sad memories. The others trying to digest the information he gave.
He knew that he gave them a lot of clues about his life and decided that he wouldn't allow them to ask their questions just yet.
"Sometimes, I used a conjured stick to appear as if I was carrying a wand. I could do it here," he paused, then a thought struck him, "or, I could buy myself a new wand." He looked to Flamel and Dumbledore to see what they thought about it.
After a moment, still, rather distracted Dumbledore said, "I think that it is an excellent idea, Mr. Potter."
Harry nodded and looked at his family. He saw that they had tears in their eyes. Before he could say anything Lily had thrown herself at him, hugging him tightly. Harry sighed in the embrace of his mother, wondering if he said to much.
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James was listening to what Harry was saying with wide eyes. He wasn't shocked that they seemed to fight a long war in Harry's universe, James was fighting in a war since he had graduated, what shocked him, was the scale of it in Harry's home. They were afraid to say Riddle's name, his fake one, what did he do to inflict such fear? What's more, killing the wandmakers, it was stupid and pointless, unless someone wanted to kill everyone and prevent people from… living. He shuddered, that's not all what he had noticed, the Riddle, from Harry's world, it seemed, he was active all around the world, not only on the Isles. And Harry had fought in the battles when he was sixteen!
James looked at his daughter, from her expression, he could see that she had noticed those things as well, he couldn't imagine her fighting to death in any battle. He took Rese's hand and squeezed it. She didn't look up but grab his hand in hers and didn't let go.
Lily's eyes were misty, she probably noticed more important details than he did. James put his arm around his wife in a silent comfort and suddenly remembered that many times, she had said that she felt as if Harry was struggling, fighting, wherever he was. Could it be that she felt this Harry?
James wondered how they died in Harry's world. When his wife hugged his son, soon joined by his daughter in a group, family hug, James stood up as well and patted his son reassuringly, letting him know. that he had his support.
Harry had a surprised but grateful expression on his face, however, his eyes were sad. James noticed that they brightened only a little during their breakfast. Another prove of his hard live.
"Harry," he asked hesitantly, surprising himself, "how did we die?"
The younger man stiffened immediately, his face became blank again. He looked at James with Lily's eyes, but so much older at the moment. Lily's sobs lessened and she looked at Harry as well.
James didn't dare to look away from those eyes, he could see that his son was fighting internal battle, deciding how much should he tell them, or anything at all. James new that they died when he was young, and that he grew up with those awful muggles, the Dursleys. He couldn't understand why not with Sirius or Remus or Alice and Frank, surely someone would take care of him.
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Harry sighed, probably for the tenth time that day. He didn't know how to tell them the story without reveling the prophecy, or the fact that he survived the killing curse.
He took a deep breath, "I think you should sit down."
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AN:
Another chapter to go, another chapter to REVIEW.
If you have any questions, please ask.
Mr. Gregorovich – HP4, Krum's wandmaker.
Thank you very, very much.
Chapter 4 - Tritium; cj-cold; Bluie Twilight Star; nljfs; Hpfan550; Viira; Madengineer; Goku-lover21; Mog-everything; Chris-Halliwell; Gato-sama; Shadowed Rains; Bloodless Ace; zan189; pixy; Lady Gallatea Ravenclaw; Maygie07; KTskywalker; Ava; you muggle; Never Odd Or eveN; Szihuoko; Marguerida; Althea; Inu-Angel Z; Padfoot Reincarnated;
Chapter 5 - Shadowed Rains; cj-cold; william488; .; Mystiksnake; puffskein; Emmelz; Jinxeh; Maygie07; Jarno; wolfbear; hit0-; Bluebear13; viira; Szihuoko; ALTHEA WHERE ARE YOU?; Bloodless Ace; Chris-Halliwell; Marguerida; Bluie Twilight Star; KTskywalker; Gato; CrimsonReality; .; Ava (to lazy to log-in); Jenniyah; japanese-jew; nljfs; Inu-Angel Z; you muggle; zan189;
Chapter 6 - Mirax Myra Terrik; sparkley-tangerine; Bluebear13; Emmelz; Szihuoko; .; becky; .; Bluie Twilight Star; lilly tiger; Althea; viira; Marguerida; you muggle; Padfoot Reincarnated; hero-chan; Bloodless Ace; Creator's Lost Island; KTskywalker; Inu-Angel Z; CrimsonReality; william488; Shadowed Rains; ImproperUseOfMotorVehicles; pixy; japanese-jew; cj-cold;
To all of you Sirius fans, yes Padfoot Reincarnated, I mean you, Harry will talk with Sirius soon, I don't know if I will fit it in the next chapter but they will talk and they will drink, I am just not sure where, yet.
Shadowed Rains – thank you for reviewing wide grin, nodding head, scratching my left arm… err… anyway, the changes didn't have any impact on the story plot, trying to remember I moved the action to the kitchen, instead Dumbledore's office, there was something about the elves added, but the old version doesn't exist anymore looking happily at the burning fireplace no worries the story goes on.
japanese-jew – thanks for pointing that out, but I think that was Harry's, I've added the line there, so go and check it. If there is still something wrong, let me know.
And I have my own two "dots" reviewing – aww – thank you guys.
KTskywalker – Great that you like it, keep reading, and don't forget to review. Thanks
Becky – we'll see about that. I'm glad you like it.
you muggle – does it really look like that, I will check what I've written.
cj-cold – Thanks, keep guessing, I believe you're close.