Dancing With Myself

Chapter 2: All Over the World

Five minutes saw Harry pacing nervously in front of the pavilion. Ten minutes saw him doing something he hadn't done in years, namely, smoking. Inside the tent, Harriet had yet to stir from Harry's little 'surprise', and he was starting to worry that he'd really cocked things up.

The whole plan had been spur of the moment and he had to admit more than a little rash. He silently cursed himself as he began to cast serious doubt on the wisdom of going off half cocked like that. Even if things worked out, he was more than a little worried about what Harriet was going to think of him now. He'd intentionally not warned her because he didn't want her to say no. Ironically, that was a trait he'd always hated in Dumbeldore, and he'd just gone off and done it himself. Even worse than that, what if Harriet didn't decide to come back from the afterlife? What if the response she'd gotten from the Elder Wand wasn't really proof of a connection to the Hallows and she couldn't come back? What if she did come back and hated him for what he'd done? There were too many questions and with his brain working feverishly, it didn't take him that long to plunge into self doubt.

Twelve minutes after casting the curse, however, the monitoring spell he'd placed around her body went off, and he rushed back inside. Her eyes flickered open just as he trained his wand on her heart and locked eyes with her. "Who are you?" he asked firmly, with command thick in his voice. He had fight hard to keep the hope hidden, in case it was Voldemort that spoke and he had to kill her. For real, this time.

Her brown eyes quickly gained their focus at his demand and she looked at him in confusion. "It's me… Harriet…" she choked out weakly. His skill with Legilimency wasn't great, but it was sufficient to confirm the truth of her words.

Dropping his wand, Harry closed the few feet of space between them, hugging his fallen twin. "I'm sorry, I was sure that would work, but… I started to doubt myself when you didn't wake right back up. I didn't warn you because I was afraid that it'd scare you too much… and I went all… Dumbledore… I'm sorry…"

For a moment, she clung weakly to him, then croaked out, "Why… why did you do that?"

"The soul fragment and the bindings. The only way to free you was to kill you… of course, the only way to survive that was to have a power greater than the killing curse, and the Hallows provided just that. Now, you're free of Voldemort. More than that, you're free of those accursed bindings."

Harriet closed her eyes, as though mentally feeling for something and then, slowly, her face broke into a weak smile. "I can feel it… so much power welling up inside me… I've never felt this way before."

"You should have consumed the fragment of Voldemort as well. That will have done a number of things for you, but the most immediate is that you will start to get pieces of his skills. Unfortunately, you have to deal with some of his personality leaking into your own… but there are methods for controlling that."

Harriet clung to him with renewed strength as she grasped the enormity of what Harry had just done for her. He knew that she was, no doubt, marveling at how clear everything seemed without the oppressive shadow of the former Dark Lord clouding her mind and emotions. It was true that a fragment of the bastard remained, but it was a completely different influence than the one she'd lived under her entire life. He was remembering just how thrilled he'd been when he realized the weight that had left him after the final battle when something startled him out of his memories.

That thing was the soft pressure of Harriet's lips to his. He resisted for half a second and then relaxed into her embrace, pulling her closer to him. After a seeming eternity, he pushed her away. "No, Harriet, not like this."

The hurt in her brown eyes almost killed him, as did the emotionless mask she donned as she pushed her disappointment away, burying it and hiding behind what he recognized as a 'Dursley defense'. "I'm sorry," she said simply, and he knew that she meant for more than just the kiss itself.

"No, that's not what I mean. You're still… look, I know a lot about you, but I barely know you. If we get to know each other better and want to go down that road, that's different, but right now, we're both a little emotional. I mean, we both feel like we're all alone in the world, and it's really tempting to give in to a momentary attraction. I'd rather not waste you on something like that. I have a feeling that we're going to be together for a long time, whether as friends, siblings or… something else, and I don't want to have that all get weird because we're hasty. I… I never did tell you what got me here."

He avoided looking at her for a moment, knowing that he wasn't saying all of his reasons. There was something alluring about his alternate self, and he had a strong feeling that he wouldn't have any problems finding attraction to a fourteen year old. Unfortunately, Harriet was as malnourished as he had been and looked more like twelve, which fell well below his tolerance for perversity. The fact that she looked alarmingly like his Mum certainly didn't help matters.

Harriet didn't look that happy with his explanation, but at least she wasn't wearing the patented Harry/Harriet Potter 'I'm fine' face.

"Back in my world, after I took care of Voldemort, I tried to make a go with Ginny, but that just didn't work out. I guess you can see it more clearly than I could, what with you both being girls, but she's a little fixated on the fairy tales and romance novels. Needless to say, I wasn't interested in playing a role for her and things fell apart after a little while. After that, I dated a few other girls, though the only one worth talking about was Luna Lovegood. She's a great girl, but there was just something… I don't know. Something was missing. She lost her mother when she was nine, but she had a mostly happy childhood, even if it was full of fantasy. Anyway, she's got a way of looking right at the heart of things… I think she has some of the Sight in her. She told me that I'd never really be happy unless I learned to love myself. Then she did the kindest thing she could have done. She kicked me out and told me that she'd wait for me to figure things out, but I wasn't going to sit around her flat while I did it."

"It hurt a lot at the time, and it lead to me moving around a lot. As you'll find out, you have a lot of what Voldemort knew inside you now. It's no easy thing to harness that knowledge, though, and it'll take some hard training before you're ready to deal with it. I learned to duel on the road, challenging anyone I came across who was game. I won a few, lost a few others. If I lost, I always made a point to get better and come back to answer the loss with a win. On top of that, I picked up what I could, when I could. A bit of cursebreaking here, a bit of wandcrafting there, you name it and I did it. In the end, I went out looking for a lost artifact in Egypt. There's a legend about a sapphire the size of a man's fist that can grant a man any wish made with pure intentions. Took well over a year, but I found it and wished to learn to love myself, as Luna had told me. I guess the blasted thing was a little more literal than I'd have liked," he said with a lopsided grin.

"All of that leads me here. I found the sapphire, made my wish, and now I'm here. I don't know how to go back or even if I can go back. It's obvious that it turned me into a seventeen year old for a reason and that it put me near to you for a reason. I think I need to help you, and in the process you'll help me. I don't know if the stupid thing is waiting for the two of us to… you know… or if helping you out is going to free me from enough of my personal demons to make my whole self image thing better. It might even mean that learning to love you like a sister is going to help me with some of the baggage the Dursleys left me with. I'm just afraid that… if we jump to a conclusion about what route I'm supposed to take, that I'll chose wrong and end up ruining both of our lives. I'm used to making my own life a mess, but I don't know if I can handle ruining yours, too, so let's take it slowly."

Though she looked a little wistful, Harriet did nod and give him a soft smile. "Alright, then, Harry. I'll let you take the lead on this one." Without warning, her face hardened, and she punched Harry right in the nose. As weak as she was, it wasn't enough to bloody it, but it made him gasp in pain and raise his hands defensively. "But if you think it's a good idea to cast a killing curse at me again, I'll blast your bits off."

Harry pulled away, still defending his battered face with both hands and gave Harriet a hurt look. "I geb I deburbed dat," he managed. She continued to glare at him, but it didn't last long before she started laughing and soon he joined her.

After that, they engaged in a slow conversation about various topics, and generally got to know each other better. With each passing moment, Harriet felt stronger as the lingering effects of death left her. Harry eventually thought to reclaim his wand and cloak, though he left the ring on Harriet's finger.

As the sun started to set, Harriet expressed concern at the time. "I guess I have to go back… I don't want to, though."

Harry gave her a lopsided grin as he made a decision. "Go on. Meet me back here tomorrow night, and bring your trunk. Leave Dumbledore a note telling him that you're withdrawing from Hogwarts and seeking private tuition. Baring some loopholes for purebloods, British law requires you to attend Hogwarts or another accredited institution until you've finished your O.W.L.s, but I think I have a way around that. I've got a few things to handle, but I'll be back here waiting. You've still got how long… three weeks till the first task? We'll get you in shape and ready for it, since you can't really duck out on a magical contract without paying for it. Well, I guess you're probably strong enough to shatter the thing, but that'd probably kill the other champions in the process."

Harriet sighed and nodded. She didn't look ready to commit three counts of murder to avoid the tournament. Harry considered it briefly, but he'd lost some of the hard heart he'd once had since being regressed to a teenager.

oOoOoOoOo

The next evening, a tired but happy Harry Potter waited invisibly in the clearing. He'd had a very full day, using some of his future knowledge to enrich himself by plundering an unopened Egyptian tomb, using much of the proceeds to secure for himself official identification papers and arranging things for the excursion he had planned. Escaping Dumbledore meant going Muggle or going foreign. Choosing to err on the side of caution, Harry intended to do both.

He didn't have long to wait before a fuming Harriet stormed into the clearing, pulling off her invisibility cloak. Harry let his invisibility effect fade and offered her his half smirk again. "Hard day?"

She glared at him as she folded her cloak and stuffed it into her backpack. "You have no idea. I forgot to take my ring off last night on my way in and Lavender saw it. She can't keep her fat mouth shut, of course, and I had to put up with kissy faces and snickers all day. I. Hate. Children."

Harry internalized his urge to laugh at his double. "I've been there. That soul fragment infusion most likely matured you a little over your peers and they're decidedly immature around here for some reason. Remind me to tell you about my first… err… only date with Cho sometime. Complete disaster."

That seemed to take a little of the edge of Harriet's anger and she calmed down. "So, what are we doing? I only know about four places, and none of them are exactly secret."

"Well, we're going to head over to Privet Drive for about ten minutes, then we're off for parts unknown. Well, I know where they are, but it'll be a surprise." He held out his arm to her. "Come over here and let's get started. The faster we go the less likely they are to catch up with us."

Harriet nodded and let Harry embrace her. Within seconds, they were standing in the back yard of number 4 and tromping through the rose garden on their way to the front door. Harriet took particular glee in grinding one of the budding rose bushes under her heel.

Harry hit the buzzer and they waited for only a few minutes before the doorway opened to reveal the imposing bulk of Vernon Dursley. The great lump's eyes narrowed as he caught sight of Harriet on the stoop.

"Kicked you out, have they?" he groused and made no motion to open the door farther and offer her admittance.

"Mr. Dursely," Harry said, doing his best Lockheart impression. "Might I have a few moments of your time? I would like to discuss a business proposition with you."

Piggy eyes fixed on Harry and his brow furrowed in even greater disdain. "Get in here, then. Don't let the neighbors see you."

All in all, it took only about fifteen minutes to get Vernon to sign guardianship of Harriet over to Harry. The bank draft that Harry produced for ten thousand pounds sped up the process, to the point where Harry didn't even have to use one of his carefully prepared threats of violence on the man.

"Great guardians, weren't they?" Harry asked as the door slammed behind them on their way out. "Selling you off to some guy they'd never met for a few thousand like that. He'd probably have tried to bargain with me more if you weren't so skinny. Birthing hips, those aren't."

Harriet lips twisted in amusement as she cuffed him on the arm. "Arse. Now, get us out of here. If our exit happens to accidentally set the place on fire on the way out, so much the better."

Harry laughed and Apparated them away, though his exit was noticeably lacking in pyrotechnics. Three quick hops later and Harriet's exposure to the world in general had increased exponentially.

"Woah. Where were we?"

"Oh, in order, Cairo, Sydney, Boston, Rome, and then here." He waved an arm at the neon landscape before them. "Viva Las Vegas."

"It's impossible to…" she managed, but stopped. Harry could tell that she was starting to understand a little about the kind of power she now commanded. "Vegas? Why are we in Vegas, exactly?"

Harry grinned down at his new ward. "People here keep odd hours, no one notices anything strange, and it's about the last place Dumbledore is going to come looking for us. Now, let's go check in to our hotel. You've got a potion regiment to start tomorrow and it's not going to be fun."

oOoOoOoOo

Harriet quickly discovered that 'not fun' was a massive understatement. The damage she'd suffered in her childhood included malnutrition and numerous poorly healed injuries. The first three days were spent on high potency nutritional potions that caused her soft tissue and bone structure to expand to what normal growth would have done with it. Since the expansion was so great, however, Harry warned that she was going to face a lot of broken bones and problems without the second part of the treatment. The pain from the first was nothing when compared to the agony she then experienced as she had every bone in her body systematically vanished and regrown with a fast acting version of Skel-Gro.

To make along story short, she spent almost an entire week whimpering, sobbing, and crying to herself in a hotel bed as she was remade. Harry offered to stop a few times and let her rest, but Harriet seemed determined to get the whole process over with as quickly as possible. She spent much of her time asleep, though most pain relieving potions had a strong potential for interactions with the Skel-Gro, offering her no relief. When she was awake, Harry held her often, stroking her hair and telling her about his travels to distract her. Six days later, a stiff and aching but healthier Harriet walked out of the hotel room leaning on Harry's arm for support.

They grabbed a cab down the strip and spent most of the day shopping for clothes for Harriet. The shopping, as much as anything else, seemed to restore her spirits and on the seventh day she was back to a strong semblance of normal.

"Just remember that pain," Harry advised her at one point. "When you get hit with the Cruciatus, remembering how much more the regrowth potions hurt will help you overcome it."

Harriet made a sour face. "I'd rather not get hit with that, thank you very much."

"I don't think you'll have much choice in the matter, Harriet," Harry said softly, but firmly. He'd made no secret of how extreme his training methods were going to be, and he could tell that it scared Harriet to think about it. His voice softened and he placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's terrible, but you're going to have to learn to overcome it if you'll be facing dark wizards of any caliber. Believe me, I learned my lesson that way. Once you figure out the trick to sublimating it, you can generally get the drop on the asshat casting it on you."

Harriet nodded and sighed.

Over the course of that second week, Harriet felt like a new woman, but Harry worked her like a dog. Amazingly enough, that only made Harriet blossom because, even though Harry was harsh, he was more than willing to praise accomplishments and positively reinforce lessons. The fact that her efforts were giving her highly visible and measurable results also helped.

Her training took place out in the Nevada desert and was both magical and physical. Using conditioning charms and potions typically only used by professional duelists in training, Harry made sure that even a week's training showed strides of improvement. Of course, the increased rate of gain from the magical steroids would taper off as Harriet's performance neared the upper ten percent of human ability, but the initial gains were staggering as she'd started off low-average in most aspects.

That isn't to say that all the pair did was work, however. The two of them hit many of the casinos and took in a large number of shows, Harriet taking great delight in making Harry dress up and be her 'date' for them. As Harriet had filled out considerably and looked more like fifteen or even sixteen than twelve, Harry had no problem flirting with her, though he was very much the gentleman and never so much as kissed her again.

While he'd initially feared that his somewhat abusive drill instructor persona would turn her off, he was surprised and a little disturbed that it seemed to have the opposite effect. For whatever reason, Harriet seemed even more attracted to him when he was his harshest to her. He'd always heard about girls from abusive environments that turned out like that, especially in the Muggle world, but he would never have believed it of a version of himself. What was even more disturbing to him is that he liked the dominant role that she seemed to be encouraging him to assume. He would never hit her outside of training, of course, but so long as she was okay with it, he didn't feel an overwhelming urge to make everything a joint decision. She liked to be controlled, and he certainly liked the feeling he got from playing the part.

On November 18th, they checked out of their hotel and Harry Apparated them to a small clearing in a much colder area. Harriet immediately started shivering and complaining about the cold. She wilted under Harry's steady gaze and sheepishly pulled out her wand to cast a warming charm on herself. His grimace broke and he ruffled her hair after that, giving her a smirk. "See, you are a witch after all."

Harriet blushed and stuck her tongue out at him, though it only made him laugh. "Alright. You might be wondering where we are, and so… I'll tell you. We're in the middle of the Canadian wilderness, and what you see around us is a preserve for Yukon Smallsnouts. Let me see your wand." Reluctantly, Harriet handed it over and Harry cast a spell on it. He handed the wand back and continued. "If you are in a dire emergency, get a little bit of blood on your wand. It'll alert me and break the spell I just put on there. While the spell is active, the wand won't work. You've got three days to meet me there," he said, pointing to a mountain in the near distance.

"So, what, you're just dumping me out here?" Harriet asked, looking decidedly uncertain and more than a little afraid.

"Yep! I'm not too mean, though," he said as he tossed her a small pack. "Pay extra attention to the dragons around here, since I can assure you that you'll need that knowledge when we get back to Hogwarts."

Before she could protest further, he disappeared with a faint pop.

oOoOoOoOo

Harry wasn't as cavalier about the whole thing as he pretended to be, of course. He spent the most part of the following three days quietly shadowing Harriet on his broom, under his invisbility cloak. He did make a quick detour to Hogwarts to confirm that there were dragons being handled in the Forbidden Forest, but aside from that he spent most of his time hovering near his young ward.

The pack he'd left her was magically expanded and contained warm clothing and enough rations to last her till her destination, though the rations were decidedly unappetizing. A couple of books provided her with all of the information she'd need to be proficient in the wild, as well, and Harry knew that desperation was a great motivator for learning how to build shelters and the like.

Of course, that's not to say that his presence was always benevolent. He put as many obstacles in her path as he removed, though they were always of a nature that he felt she could handle. Some of the tests she flubbed, but others she passed with flying colors. Most importantly of all, however, was the confidence she seemed to be gaining as she made progress.

On the third day, she staggered to the base of the mountain and Harry began her real lessons. The hike had been a vacation, after all.

oOoOoOoOo

Harry checked his watch again late on November 23rd. He and Harriet had spent the night in the royal suite of a lodge not too far from the dragon preserve. He'd been forced to pay out numerous foot and back rubs to make up for the wringer he'd put her through, but he could tell that she was generally pleased with the results she was seeing.

While a few short weeks before she'd been a bare slip of a girl, she was now fully worthy of the title 'young woman'. Her height had increased significantly and she'd filled out in all of the right places. She was still athletic, with better muscle definition and tone than before, but now she had more than enough of the appropriate padding to make that attractive. The fact that she carried herself with more confidence also lent to the overall attraction she now projected.

Harry did some mental math in his head and decided that they had about an hour before they needed to leave for Hogwarts. "Come on, Harriet, we need to do something before we go!" he called to the closed bathroom door. Harriet was taking another long shower, and it was a hot one if the wisps of steam slipping out around the doorframe were any indication.

A short while later, the door opened and his counterpart stepped out wearing a towel around her torso and another done up in her hair. "What's the hurry?" she asked, looking a little put out by having to cut her shower short.

"The hurry is that we have fourty five minutes to get to Hogwarts and we need to discuss something first. Get ready. You have fifteen minutes," he said, pointing toward her room in the suite.

Harriet didn't protest and actually hustled into her room to get ready. Fourteen minutes later, she was standing in front of him in a set of very flattering yet practical robes with her hair down. Harry offered her a grin because she'd obviously used charms to get her hair ready so quickly. Her makeup, too, if he was any judge.

He shook his head of the thoughts her appearance was stirring up and produced a thick sheaf of papers. "This," he said, waving them about dramatically, "is a standard Apprenticeship agreement. It's a magical contract that can only be broken by breaching one of the terms, by mutual agreement, or by a decision of a court in the country of issue on a case brought by either the Master or Apprentice. As the Apprentice, you're required to follow my direction in matters regarding your education, do nothing to act against my welfare, and keep my secrets as your own. On my part, I am required to do noting to endanger your welfare, to keep your secrets, and to educate me to the best of my ability. There are a number of other clauses in there, but those are the big ones. The penalty for breaking the contract is rather painful, but moreso for the Master than the Apprentice."

"Does that mean I have to call you master?" Harriet asked, with a twinkle in her eye.

"It doesn't stop you from calling me master, but it doesn't require it, either. I understand that used to be standard in these things but it's fallen out of favor," he supplied in a monotone. He just knew that this one was going to come back to haunt him.

"Yes, Master," she replied with an exaggerated show of deference. Harry sighed.

"More importantly, with this contract in place, it's illegal for anyone to attempt to dissolve the Master-Apprentice bond without the consent of at least one of us. Since these papers are issued by an American magical court, Dumbledore would have a harder time pulling his usual tricks there. Now, let's get these things sealed and head on off to face your first challenge. You're ready, right? Have you given any thought to the entrance we're going to make?"

Harriet nodded happily and chirped in a sing-song voice, "Yes, Master!"

Harry groaned.

oOoOoOoOo

AN: Well, that's chapter 2. I softened the rough bits and expanded some of the sketchy bits from the original incarnation. This is a Harry/Harriet fic, but it'll have a slower pace on the ship than most. Harry is still hesitant, though Harriet has already decided what she wants.

The "master" stuff is the result to Harriet overhearing an episode or three of "I Dream of Jeanie" and is not part of anything sexual. She just likes to annoy him.