Larry Lupin and That Which Is Broken
Chapter Two
Larry made his way through the forest onto the castle grounds. He needed to get close to Harry and convince him he was here to help him. Larry walked up the main path to the castle still debating, in his mind, how he was going to solve the mess Harry was in this time. Larry walked to the side of the castle and and melded in with the darkening shadows.
He emerged a few moments later next to the repaired gargoyles that marked the stairs to the Head Master's office. Larry sat looking at the stone faces lost in his thought. He heard a scratching and scurrying from one of the dark corners. Without looking away he shot out a tentacle and snatched something from the shadows.
Larry held the squirming rat up in front of his face, focusing his eyes on the eyes of his captive.
"Relax little friend," he said almost purring. The rat ceased in it's struggle.
"Show me what I need to know," Larry said softly.
Larry concentrated for a few moments longer before nodding and placing the rat back on the ground.
"Thanks," he murmured turning to the gargoyles.
"Fidelity," he spoke and the Gargoyles moved aside giving him access to the spiraling stairs.
Larry climbed the stairs quickly, and stopped in front of the great oak doors leading into the office.
Larry considered his options. The office of the Head Master of Hogwarts was one of the few places in all the dimensions blocked off to his powers. He raised his hand to knock when the doors flew open and a tall stern looking woman stopped short of barreling him over.
"Who are you? How did you get here?" The woman asked drawing her wand.
"Relax lady," Larry said raising his hands to show they were empty. "I came here to talk to you."
"How did you get up here?" She demanded, not lowering her wand. "I just changed the password."
Larry maneuvered his way into the front room still holding his hands up.
"I was sent here to fix something," Larry started to explain. He backed away further towards one of the large bookcases.
"Sent? By whom?" The woman asked poking his wand towards his chest.
"Look lady, I seldom do my best work backed against a bookcase. If you just calm down a bit and let me explain..."
"Explain what? How your here to finish what your precious Dark Lord started," she snapped.
"Oh, bugger this," Larry sighed. He shot out three previously hidden tentacles so fast that the woman had no time to react. He snatched he wand from her hand with one, used another to grab a nearby chair and used the third to unceremoniously dump her into the chair.
He slid another chair over to himself and sat in front of the now disarmed lady.
"Headmistress McGonagall, my name is Larry Lupin," he noticed the look on the woman's face at the mention of his last name. "I am Remus Lupin's son from a different dimension."
"You expect me to believe that balderdash?" She asked.
"You've got spunk lady. I'll give you that," Larry said scratching the back of his neck. "I hate spunk."
"What are you going to do?"
"Like I said, I am here to fix something." Larry noticed the disbelieving look on her face. "I can tell I am going to have to explain everything. I ask you not to interrupt until I am finished. If, after that, you still require proof I can give it to you."
"Being that I am your captive; I really don't have a choice, do I?"
"You really don't. As I said I am Remus Lupin's son from a different dimension. There are an infinite number of other dimensions. Each one different and unique. As an example, in my home dimension Remus Lupin had a son. I was one of six children brought into this world through a ritual all designed to keep one little child safe. That child was Harry Potter and my mother was Lily Potter," Larry saw the shock beginning to wear off. He also saw McGonagall staring intently at his features.
"I was altered on a genetic level and sent to live with the merpeople of the Black Lake. There I was found by Gaia and further changed. I am what you might call a repairman. I have been given the ability to travel between dimensions. When something goes all wonky I am sent to set it right," Larry stood up and began pacing.
"You see each of these dimensions has a destiny that is laid out before it. Something out there, I don't know what, is causing these destinies to shift and change. I am here to set it back on the right course."
"Assuming I believe you, and I don't, what needs fixing here."
Larry shook his head. "Not until I can count on your help."
"You mentioned something about proof?"
Larry nodded and walked over to one of the paintings.
"Have you ever wondered about this painting," Larry said pointing at a framed painting of the Parthenon in Athens. "Why there are not people?"
"It's a landscape," McGonagall said dismissively.
"Really? You're sure are you?"
Larry turned to the painting and concentrated.
"Athena, Are you there?"
Suddenly an unearthly beautiful woman appeared in the painting. McGonagall gasped.
"Brother, what is it?" the woman asked smiling.
"I'm not your brother," Larry growled. "I need to speak with Gaia can you contact her for me."
"Is that all I am to you," the goddess pouted, "a telephone operator."
"Athena please, I need to speak with your mother can you please get her," Larry snarled between his teeth.
"You're always so grumpy. I really don't know what Phoebe sees in you."
"Athena..." Larry snapped louder.
"Fine, wait there. I'll let her know," and she was gone.
After a few moments of staring at an empty painting a new figure appeared. This one was older than the first and dressed in a green gauzy material that left little to the imagination.
"Larry, what do you need this time?" The portrait asked.
"Gaia, I need you to convince someone I am who I say I am," Larry said.
"Can't you convince this person yourself?"
"I could but I thought we were in a hurry. You know, time is of the essence and all that."
Gaia sighed very well. The whole castle began to shake as if stuck at the epicenter of an earthquake. At the same time dark clouds began to grow outside the castle became and lightning streaked across the previously clear skies.
Larry turned to McGonagall and smirked. "Convinced?"
McGonagall swallowed and nodded.
Larry looked at the portrait and cocked his head. "Thanks, yeah?"
The clouds outside dissipated and and the thunder stopped.
"So Mr. Lupin, why are you here?" McGonagall asked, regaining her composure.
"I am here because my brother needs help. His destiny has been has be knocked wibbly wobbly by something. I need to set it right."
"What are you going to do?'
"In this particular instance I am gonna have to play Cupid," Larry answered sighing.
"What do you mean?"
"Harry has more possible futures than any other person. He is one of the very few dimensional constants. In fact most Talismans are," Larry talked almost as if trying to reason something out.
"Most what are?"
"Talismans. That's what Harry is. He is a Talisman of Light. Let's just say that Harry is important to this dimensions survival, and leave it at that." Larry sat back in the chair opposite McGonagall and pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing.
"Harry needs to be with a certain person in this dimension. This Harry is one of the broken ones. Harry usually goes one of two ways. He either gets tough or he gets so fragile that a stray memory or wrong word with send him spiraling into despair like a kamikaze pilot," Larry smirked. "Just my luck this is probably one of the most broken Harry's in all of creation."
McGonagall nodded. She had noticed Harry's depression and his self loathing.
"There is another constant. Whenever there is a broken Harry there are only two people who can help him heal. One is Nymphadora Tonks."
"But she is..." McGonagall started to say.
"Dead. Yeah I know. That leaves just one person and that person is Ginny Weasley."
"But they aren't together any more. They had a large fight and broke it off."
"Yeah I heard. Carl told me," Larry said absently.
"Who's Carl?" She asked.
"My godfather, the giant squid in the lake."
"The giant squid has a name? And he's your godfather?"
"Well yeah he has a name, don't you? And as for being my godfather, you have Dumbledore to thank for that."
"Albus?"
"Yeah in my home dimension he is the one who cooked up the scheme to have Lily Potter give birth to sextuplets of different fathers. He then took me away and had me raised by the merpeople. He giant squid looked out for me and really was my only friend for a long time."
"Do you have any idea how you are going to get Harry and Ginny together?"
"Usually when I have a problem, I just hit it with the Axe until it stops squirming."
"I don't think that will work this time" McGonagall smiled unable to control herself. This ceature was crass, rude and uncivilized but she could not help but like Larry.
"Yeah, I'll figure something out. I always do." Larry stood up and straightened his robes.
"First things first, have you got any moonpies?"