~To Kill You With A Kiss~

Chapter 28

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Author's Note: Thank you so much for sticking with the story so far! You guys have been wonderful, and I have been overwhelmed and touched by all the reviews, favorites, and story alerts. Only one more chapter to go after this, I think...

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Harry followed Alphard out to the rain-sodden Hogwarts grounds, where Tom was waiting for them.

"I just got my time-turner back from Dumbledore," whispered Alphard. "He woke me up at dawn and asked to borrow it. I have no idea what he wanted with it, but he looked as if he hadn't slept all night. I wonder what that was all about..."

Alphard laced the long golden chain of the time turner around all three of them and began to spin the delicate clockwork. "Ready to see the brave new world you have created, Harry?"

Harry nodded silently and grasped Tom's hand tightly. He closed his eyes, and the world around them became a meaningless rush of time and sounds and colors.

When they landed on the grounds of the future Hogwarts a moment after, it was still springtime. The air was fragrant with the scent of lilacs and honeysuckle, and the blue-white light of early morning shimmered over the dew-moistened grass.

"It is about a week earlier now than when you first left your own time, Harry," said Alphard softly. "The students have finished their exams, and they have a few glorious days of freedom left before taking the Hogwarts Express home."

"What about... Harry?" Tom shook the last rain drops out of his dark curls and glanced around. "The one without the scar? Is he here?"

Harry breathed in the sweet-smelling spring air. "There can't be another Harry in this time, Tom. I've been wondering about that too, but I don't think it's possible. When I traveled to the past and back before, there was still only one of me when I got back here. And Ginny traveled to the past and back, too, didn't she? And there's still only one Ginny."

Alphard nodded gravely. "All true, Harry. And yet... Look over there."

Harry followed Alphard's glance down to the lake, where a familiar dark-haired boy was sitting under a tree, gazing out over the glittering water. Another figure, half-hidden in the shade of the tree, sat by his side. Harry felt his heart lurch.

"That boy is... me?"

Alphard nodded silently.

Harry looked at the boy in wonder. How can that be me, when I'm right here? I wonder what he would think if he were to glance up right now and see the three of us here? I wonder if he remembers being me?

He tugged at Alphard's sleeve. "Alphard, that other person next to the boy... It's Sirius, isn't it?" Even at this distance, Harry could make out a mess of long dark curls, and his heart leaped in his chest.

But Alphard shook his head. "No," he said quietly. "That's not Sirius, Harry. Right now, Sirius and his wife are in Godric's Hollow, visiting your parents. The man sitting next to you - to the other you - is Regulus. Come..." He pulled a shimmering cloak out from his pocket and draped it over the three of them. "Let's get closer and hear what they are saying."

They moved invisibly through the grass, leaving only a faint trail in the morning dew, until they were close to the man and the boy under the tree. Harry's breath caught in his throat as he saw the boy's face so near: It was his own face, but softer and more innocent, unblemished by the scar that had marked him...

"It is me..." he whispered.

"No, it's not," breathed Tom in his ear. "Or... not quite you. He's got your green eyes, and your messy hair, but I can't feel his thoughts. I can't sense his soul, as I can yours. He's Harry, but he's not my Harry."

"Perhaps," whispered Alphard, "Voldemort's absence from his life has made him so different from you that the two of you are now two distinct people, Harry. He is no longer exactly you; he is the boy you could have been."

Harry stared at the dark-haired boy, the unscarred Harry of the future. "But his robes... He's wearing Slytherin robes. How can that be? Why would he have been sorted into Slytherin if he is no longer a horcrux? Didn't the Sorting Hat listen to him?"

"Perhaps the Sorting Hat did listen to him, Harry." Tom squeezed his hand. "Perhaps there is a part of you, not just the horcrux, that has always belonged in Slytherin."

"And Regulus... Why is Regulus here at Hogwarts?" Harry's eyes searched the curiously familiar features of Regulus Black. He is Sirius, and he is the boy from Riddle House, all at once. No, not quite Sirius; Sirius never had that faraway dreamy look in his eyes. And Sirius was never patient enough to sit still under a tree in springtime.

Alphard smiled slightly. "My nephew Regulus Black teaches Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts, Harry. He is the sixteen year old Harry Potter's favorite teacher. They spend a lot of time together out here on the grounds, talking to one another."

Regulus turned now and gazed at the boy at his side. "Any more of your curious dreams lately, Harry?" he asked softly.

The boy next to him smiled and twirled his holly wand slowly between his fingers. "Yes, I dreamed about him again last night. This time, he was young, and quite beautiful. I walked with him over the moors, and there was purple heather everywhere... I wonder why I keep dreaming of him?"

"I don't know, Harry." Regulus' voice was soft. "I dream of him, too." He reached out hesitantly and brushed Harry's unruly black hair out of his eyes. "Perhaps I should never have told you of the Dark Lord, and of the murder I committed in the Riddle House years ago. But somehow, it felt right to tell you. Something told me that you would understand."

The dark-haired boy closed his eyes. "It's strange... When you told me about killing the Dark Lord, it felt almost as if I remembered it too, as if I were there with you in the Riddle House that day, seeing it all through your eyes." The boy smiled and glanced up at Regulus. "Don't tell my parents. They will think it's that unwholesome Slytherin atmosphere that's having an effect on me, and then my father will try to hex the Sorting Hat again."

Regulus laughed. "If it were up to your father, you would be spending all your time playing Quidditch rather than listening to old stories of a long-dead dark wizard. James doesn't even want you to take Defense Against the Dark Arts next year, does he?"

"No, he doesn't. He says there's no need to worry about such nonsense in this day and age, and that I should focus on my Quidditch instead."

Regulus gazed dreamily out over the glittering lake. "Your father is a good man, Harry. But I'm not so sure he is right about the Dark Arts. I think we need to worry about them. Lord Voldemort is long dead, it's true, but I am concerned about some of the news we are hearing from other parts of Europe. Karkaroff is gathering quite a few followers in the north, and some of their ideas are rather disturbing. Karkaroff dreams of a new pure-blood society. His followers regard him as some sort of prophet, but I have heard these ideas before, Harry. I hear that Karkaroff has taken to calling himself "The Dark Prince" these days... Perhaps there will always be a Dark Lord, Harry, as long as there is darkness in the human heart."

A distant sound, like dogs barking madly, interrupted him. Regulus smiled. "It seems that your friends are looking for you, Harry."

Under the cloak, Harry turned to Alphard, bewildered. "I've got dogs?"

Alphard grinned. "They are not... exactly dogs, Harry." He pointed out two small white puppies darting around in the distance. "Those are Sirius' children, Alba and Finian, two of your best friends. They are animagi, of course, like their father."

"Sirius' children? Who's their mother?" Harry stared at the two tumbling puppies, chasing each other madly around the grounds.

"Oh, you know her, I think. Rosmerta, the barmaid at the Three Broomsticks."

"Madam Rosmerta?" Harry pondered this for a moment. "Sirius married Rosmerta? Well, she is very pretty..."

Tom stared at Alphard. "What? Walburga and Orion Black's son married a barmaid and gave both his children names that mean "white"? That must have annoyed Walburga no end."

Alphard's grin broadened. "Oh, it did. I think that was the idea. He always was the white sheep of the Black family, Sirius."

Under the tree by the lake, the other Harry glanced hesitantly up at Regulus Black. "I've sometimes wondered, Regulus: How come you've never married, like Sirius?"

Regulus Black sat in silence for a moment, staring out over the shining Hogwarts lake. Then he whispered softly: "Perhaps I'm not a marrying man, Harry."

"Oh." The other Harry sat still for a moment, a slight flush brushing his cheeks. Then he whispered, so quietly that it was difficult to hear him: "Somehow, I'm glad that you are not..."

The two mischievous white dogs had found them now, and they came loping through the grass towards Harry. As they passed the three silent figures under the cloak, the dogs hesitated briefly, as if they sensed an unfamiliar presence. Harry held his breath, wondering if the dogs had caught their scent. But the other Harry called out to the dogs, and they ran happily towards him. The boy scrambled to his feet, laughing, and chased after the white dogs, while Regulus Black remained under the tree, eyes trailing Harry as he ran over the grounds.

"What about Ron and Hermione, then?" Harry whispered under the cloak. "Am I still friends with them as well?"

Alphard nodded. "Of course you are, Harry. How could you not be? You are all friends: you, Ron, Hermione, Alba, and Finian. You spend so much time together that Ginny has begun to call you "The five marauders"..."

Harry smiled. "Are Ron and Hermione still together, then?"

Alphard grinned. "Of course. And bickering as much as ever. Some things never change."

Harry pressed Tom's hand. "And some things do... What about my parents, Alphard? Can I see them?"

"Of course. Let's go to Godric's Hollow."

...

The small house was surrounded by a pleasant garden. Pink rhododendron and white hawthorn stood in bloom, and fragrant purple wisteria climbed the garden walls. Four people were sitting in the grass, while a fifth, a small child, was climbing all over them. Harry's breath hitched as he recognized his red-haired mother and his dark-haired father, a bit older than in the pictures he had seen, laughing in the morning sunlight. The mirror of Erised. I am looking into the mirror of Erised... And there was the golden-haired and dark-eyed Rosmerta, as lovely as ever, and there was Sirius, his grey eyes sparkling as he helped the small dark-haired boy carve a little toy wand out of a wisteria twig.

"Now, don't you go around cursing people with that, do you hear me, Will?"

"I won't," promised Will solemnly. Then he added, as an afterthought: "Unless they are dark wizards, of course."

"Well, of course." Sirius grinned at him.

The boy watched closely as his toy wand took shape under Sirius' deft fingers. "Won't Harry be amazed to see that I have a wand of my own!" He frowned a little. "When is Harry coming back? I miss him."

Lily smiled at him and stroked his unruly black hair. "Very soon, Will. Your brother will be back from Hogwarts in just a few days."

"He's my brother?" whispered Harry under the cloak. He couldn't tear his glance away from the small boy. "I have a brother?"

The little boy's green eyes glittered. "What about uncle Sev, mum? Will he come here soon, too?"

"Of course, Will. We will ask Severus and Bella over for tea very soon." Lily's voice was soft. "Uncle Sev is almost done with teaching for the semester, just a few more days..."

Harry felt dazed. Why on earth would his parents want to invite Snape for tea? And Bellatrix? Surely, even the absence of Voldemort didn't make Bellatrix less of a death eater?

"Good. I miss uncle Sev." Will turned his attention back to the wand in progress.

Sirius ruffled the boy's hair. "What, I'm not fun enough for you, Will?"

The little boy sighed. "You are always fun to play with, uncle Sirius, but you are Harry's godfather. Uncle Sev is mine, you know."

James groaned. "I blame you for this, Lily. I told you we should have made Remus his godfather instead, but no, you insisted..."

Lily looked sternly at her husband. "Oh, stop being silly, James. Severus is the best godfather Will could possibly have. He simply adores the child... Too bad Severus and Bellatrix don't have any children of their own; Severus would have made such a good father."

Sirius grimaced. "Please don't go there, Lily. I'm having a hard enough time grasping the fact that Sniv... sorry, Severus... is married. I can't imagine what dark spells he must have cast on Bella to make her agree to marry him. But the notion of a Severus junior is just too revolting."

James chuckled, but Lily looked annoyed. "Please, Sirius. Severus is a dear, dear friend, and I will not have you talk about him in that tone. For Merlin's sake, grow up and put those silly school day rivalries behind you. I think it's wonderful to see Severus and Bellatrix so happy together. Your cousin adores him, Sirius."

"That's because she's insane. Always was, the lovely Bella. Here, Will, your wand is all done." Sirius handed the twig to the little boy, who immediately ran off with it, muttering weird syllables under his breath.

Lily let out an long sigh. "Insane? So were Rosmerta and I, for falling in love with men as exasperating as you and James."

"Absolutely." Rosmerta smiled.

Sirius leaned over and kissed his wife tenderly. "I am grateful for that insanity, Rosmerta..."

Will pointed his wand at them. "Hey, knock it off, or I'll curse you, uncle Sirius."

"So sorry, young Will." Sirius straightened up. "Hey, better watch your parents, Will, they are kissing too..."

James and Lily broke apart, giggling, upon seeing Will's stern little face as he pointed his wisteria twig menacingly at them.

"I always did wonder how two such difficult people as Bella and Severus could fall in love," Rosmerta mused, closing her eyes and turning her face to the sun.

Lily smiled a little. "They are both rather complicated people, aren't they? But Severus told me once that he had learned the secret to a happy marriage from his mother... I wonder what it was. I know his parents were besotted with each other to the very end. So sweet, isn't it?"

"Touching." James flopped down in the grass, closing his eyes.

Harry touched Alphard's hand gently under the invisibility cloak. "I've seen enough, Alphard. Let's go back to Hogwarts."

"Are you sure? Don't you want to stay longer?"

Harry shook his head, blinking away a tear. "There is no point, Alphard. I'm... I'm so happy to see them, happier than you can possibly imagine, but... But I don't belong here, do I? The other Harry does, the one who has grown up with them, the one who knows them. He is their son; I'm just... someone who remembers strange things that never were..."

"We will come back and see them later, won't we, Harry?" Tom breathed in his ear. "We will watch over them, my love, over your parents, and you little brother, and over the boy you could have been..."

Harry nodded, unable to speak.

...

Ginny was waiting for them back at the Hogwarts grounds. She reached out for Alphard's hand and glanced uncertainly at Harry. "Are you all right, Harry?"

"I suppose so..." Harry breathed deeply. "There has been a lot of changes... I have a little brother now."

"I know," said Ginny softly. "My little sister plays with him sometimes."

Faint laughter echoed among the trees, and Harry turned towards the sound. Three figures were walking slowly over the Hogwarts grounds in the bright morning light, their long cloaks fluttering behind them. The sunlight shafting through the ancient oak trees dappled the grounds and their billowing cloaks in green and gold.

"Who are they?" he whispered to Alphard.

But Alphard simply shook his head and whispered back, bewildered: "I have no idea, Harry."

At first, Harry couldn't quite make out who they were, only that they were very old and moved with a mysterious grace. As they drew closer, he saw that their lined faces resembled one another strangely, as if they were simply mirror images of one another. But then, with a start, he recognized the figure in the middle as Dumbledore. But Dumbledore seemed strangely different now; something about him seemed so suddenly and curiously right, as if he had always been meant to walk with these two figures by his side.

As they approached, Harry saw that the figure on Dumbledore's right was a woman, and that the one on his left was a man. They both had long white hair that danced in the light breeze. Dumbledore spoke, so softly that Harry could not hear his words, and his two companions leaned their heads slightly towards him. There was a strange tenderness in their movements, as if the old man's words were infinitely precious to them both.

The three faces must once have been quite dissimilar; there were traces of a slight timidity in the woman's features, and something in the lines of the face of Dumbledore's male companion that suggested that he had once been a cruel man. But their faces had grown oddly similar with age; the years had robbed the three companions of their individual expressions and replaced them with the serenity of old age.

"Who are they?" whispered Tom.

Ginny smiled. "They are the three heads of Hogwarts, Tom. They have been here for as long as anyone can remember. They are the three guardians of Hogwarts. The one in the middle is Professor Albus Dumbledore; of course you know him. The lady to his right is his sister, Professor Ariana Dumledore, and the man to his left is Professor Grindelwald. Together, they have run Hogwarts with great wisdom and compassion for many, many years. It seems impossible to imagine Hogwarts without them... Before he became head, Professor Grindelwald used to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, and they say that he understood the dark arts like no other. Lady Ariana, as she is often called, used to teach Herbology, for she loves everything that grows and lives. And Albus Dumbledore used to teach transfiguration, for he understands the mysteries of change and transformation better than anyone else."

The three figures smiled slightly as they strolled past Harry. Then they walked towards the ancient castle in the distance, their soft laughter lingering in the spring air.