Chapter Three: What I Always Wanted

A Blank Dimension: August 3rd 1995

"Harry?"

"Hmm?"

"Harry, honey, it's time to wake up. Are you feeling okay? Are you sick?"

Mildly confused, Harry blinked at the blurry face above him, but could make out nothing save a cloud of red. "Mrs. Weasley? What are you doing here?"

"Harry? It's Mum. Why are you calling me Mrs. Weasley?"

'Mum? What a strange dream.' He opened his eyes a crack, just enough to see the person claiming to be 'Mum'. He met a pair of sparkling green eyes identical to his own. Flaming red hair, green eyes. They looked familiar. He searched his mind to find who those eyes belonged to. That's when it clicked. He was staring into the eyes of Lily Potter.

'Well this is a pleasant surprise. Better wake myself up though, Dursleys would be coming any minute.'

Harry discreetly moved his arm towards his thigh and gave himself a sharp pinch. Nothing happened. He tried again, harder this time. Again nothing.

"Harry are you alright, dear?" Lily asked again.

'Okay, something is seriously wrong here,' Harry thought, beginning to panic. 'Is this one of Voldemort's schemes? But I thought I was safe with the Dursleys! Wait…that voice…I know that voice! It's my mum's voice, the one I hear whenever the dementors get close…but my mum is dead!'

"Harry?"

"Um…I'm awake. Strange dream, sorry," Harry mumbled, deciding on the spur of the moment to play along. "Don't worry, I'm fine."

"All right then, dear," Lily soothed.

"Breakfast is ready. Just get dressed and come down when you feel like it."

When she had gone, shutting the door behind her, Harry sat up and grabbed his glasses, jamming them on his nose and looking around frantically. Clearly, he was no longer on Privet Drive. The room he was in had pale blue walls and a navy blue carpet, with wizarding posters and pictures plastered everywhere. Clothing, all expensive and well-made, was scattered everywhere, and there were toys and trinkets thrown about as if a hurricane had passed through. Beneath the mess, there seemed to be some expensive, beautifully carved furniture, but it was a little hard to tell. Bewildered, Harry scrambled out of bed, noting that the mattress was ten times softer than his bed at the Dursleys, and seized his wand, which was sitting on his nightstand. 'Where on Earth am I?' he wanted to know. 'What's happened?'

Padding across to the huge bay window, Harry pushed the drapes aside and

peered out at what looked like lush, sweeping lawns, with a large Quidditch pitch in the distance. There didn't seem to be anyone around and Harry was sorely tempted to go flying, but in light of his current predicament, decided not to.

Unable to find a clue as to his whereabouts, Harry checked the doors leading out of the room. The first led to a gigantic walk-in closet, the second to a luxurious bathroom, and the third to a long hallway. As he was poking his head out, he caught sight of a girl walking down the stairs and called out.

"Hello? Excuse me," he called out to her.

She turned towards him hesitantly looking a bit confused. "What?"

"Where am I?"

For a moment, she just stared at him before shaking her head and continuing on her way.

"Hey, wait!"

"I'm not going to fall for your stupid tricks, you prat. " she spat, with such venom that Harry recoiled. "Quit teasing me."

"I'm sorry, I didn't, mean… I mean I wasn't trying to…" he stuttered out.

But she had already vanished. 'This is by-far the strangest dream I've ever had.'

Not wanting to roam unfamiliar territory in a pair of pajama pants, Harry found some jeans (with the designer label of American eagle), a Grey Henley shirt (that would make Dudley beat him up for weeks if he saw him in it), and some plain white trainers, that felt foreign on his feet, and almost missed the old beat up ones that the Dursleys gave him. It took him nearly thirty minutes to find just those, because the room was so messy. He made a resolution to tidy things up a bit, if he was to stay there for very long. Once dressed, he tucked his wand in his waistband, washed his face, ran his hands through his hair (which did absolutely nothing; somethings never changed), and walked out, following the path the strange girl had taken.

After several wrong turns, Harry managed to find the woman who had woken him up. As he entered what looked like the dining room, she looked up and beamed. "Good morning, Harry!"

"Um, good morning," he replied, still bewildered.

"Well, don't just stand there, sit down," she urged, motioning to the seat across from her. With a shrug, Harry did so and seeing as she was already eating, started to serve himself breakfast.

There was probably more food sitting in front of him now then the Durselys had given him in 15 years. Eggs and bacon, pancakes, waffles, sausages, and numerous filled the table. There was a small trolly in the center of it all, that carried twelve different types of syrup. He counted seven pitchers of juice littering the table, each carrying a different type of liquid. He took a bit of everything. Harry looked at the food plates. It didn't look like he had taken any, yet his plate was absolutely full.

He ate his meal in silence, not really wanting to say anything to 'Lily Potter'. His thoughts wondered, as he picked through his plate.

Suddenly, he decided something. If this was a dream or a plot of some sort, he might as well make the most of it. This woman claimed to be his mother, and she certainly appeared to be Lily Potter. So why not go along with it? He'd always wanted a family, and this was certainly better than the Dursleys.

" Mum?" he ventured.

"Yes, dear?"

"Where's Dad?"

"Oh, your father was working late last night and he's sleeping in. I'm afraid he won't have time to play Quidditch with you today; there's a lot of paperwork to do."

"That's okay," Harry said, though he was slightly disappointed. "I can just fly around by myself."

"If that's what you want," Lily approved. "Now, I'm still working on that Charms project for the Ministry, and Sirius is on duty today. Will you be okay by yourself? I can call Remus over if you want company, or you can invite one of your friends."

"I'll be fine," Harry insisted, wondering vaguely what 'on duty' meant. "Don't worry about me."

"Okay, honey. I'll see you later. Love you." And with a light kiss on his forehead, Lily headed out again, leaving Harry alone with his food.

'I don't think she's a Death Eater,' he concluded. 'She's not acting like one, unless she's trying to gain my trust…but…I just don't think so. Still…how can my parents be alive? This makes no sense. And who was that girl I saw this morning?'

Just then, Lily poked her head back into the room. "Oh, Harry, if you see Lila, please tell her to eat with the family instead of in her room when possible."

"Lila?" Harry blurted out before he could stop himself.

His mother raised an eyebrow. "Lila? Your sister? Now, Harry, be nice."

"Er…okay then…Mum."

Satisfied, Lily disappeared again, and Harry sat back, mulling over this new information. 'So I have a sister too. Wow…this is what I always wanted…well, even if it's not real, I can enjoy it while it lasts!' And with that final thought, he made his way towards the hallway, where he first saw the mysterious girl, named Lila.