Chapter 23: Finding Harry

Slowly, Harry came to and blinked in surprise. He was in a forest. He sat up, rubbing his damp back – and slowly it all came back to him. How it had all suddenly gotten too much for him. How he'd shouted at Lily and made Sam cry. How he'd run away from it all. And how he'd heard Hermione's voice in his dream…

And yet, he was still there. Well, not quite there there. Not in the Potters' kitchen, but in Sam's world at least – he remembered picking this spot to sit and rest after his mad sprint. He must have been more tired than he'd realised, to fall asleep so abruptly and so soundly…

Harry stood up and stretched, mentally building himself up to head back to the house. Part of him was embarrassed that he would have to face the Potters after his earlier outburst, but another, bigger part was relieved that he'd get the chance to apologise and explain.

He was just about to set off in the general direction that he remembered coming from when a loud crack and the sudden sound of voices had him scrambling for his wand.

"I'm telling you – there's something really off here. And he knows it too, or he would've told us ages ago."

Harry froze. The voice was familiar – yet one he hadn't heard in far too long…

"I know, Sirius, I know," another voice replied, weary and familiar too. "Not least because this is the fourth time we're having this exact same conversation…"

Harry forced himself to take a deep breath and let it out again slowly. He got to his feet and braced himself – but not quite enough. He still found himself swaying at the sight of Sirius, closely followed by Remus, emerging from behind a tree.

"I just don't get how you can be so calm about it," Sirius was muttering, looking behind him at Remus.

Neither had noticed Harry yet, and for a beat, it was just him watching them. His heart felt like it was about to leap out of his ribcage, it was beating so hard.

Then Remus looked over Sirius's shoulder and his silver eyes widened when they landed on Harry.

"Oh," he said in a croaky whisper.

"What?" Sirius asked. Then, catching the change in his friend's face, he spun around with his wand held high. "Woah!" he shouted.

Harry's breath was coming out short and shallow, and it took all of his willpower to keep steady, matching Sirius's tense pose. He suddenly missed his wand fiercely.

Sirius… He looked so much younger than Harry had ever seen him. His face was full and tanned instead of the gaunt mask Harry had been used to. His hair fell down to his chin and he wore a ridiculous goatee like in the photos Harry had seen from his parents' wedding. But the biggest change was his eyes. Gone was the haunted look. Still, they were hard and alert as Sirius appraised Harry.

Remus stood right behind him. Though still on edge, he looked slightly more relaxed. And younger than in Harry's memories too. There was less grey in his hair, and he didn't wear the expression of a man trampled by the world that Harry had come to know.

At last, Sirius swore loudly, shaking his head and approaching slowly, as if Harry was a wild animal.

"Hello," Remus said mildly. "You must be Harry." He seemed to consider holding out a hand but hesitated. Harry was relieved in a way – he wouldn't have been able to take it even if he'd been offered it as he seemed rooted to the spot.

"I'm Remus Lupin, and this is –"

"Sirius Black. I know," Harry finished for him, finding his voice at last.

"James mentioned us, did he?"

Harry shook his head, although technically, he had heard James mention Sirius a few times over the past few days. Remus seemed to catch his drift.

"You know us, don't you? From… wherever you're from?"

Harry got the impression that he felt too silly saying "your world" and had changed his sentence at the last second.

"Yes," he said.

Remus looked at Sirius, Sirius shrugged, so Remus carried on.

"James thought you might have gone beyond the wards. He's currently checking the other side of the forest. Shall we head back and let him know you're ok?"

The man's tone was conciliatory, but something in Harry bristled. He hadn't gotten this far in life by being careless and following the first person who came along. Remus had half-turned, expecting him to follow, but Harry stayed put. Seeing this, Remus stopped and raised an eyebrow at him.

From the corner of his eyes, Harry could see Sirius tightening his grip on his wand. He squared his shoulders and kept his eyes trained on Remus, his thoughts racing.

"What does your boggart turn into?" Harry asked, his voice low. It was a weak question, he knew it, but it was the best he could come up with under the circumstances…

"Pardon?" Remus said, turning back to face him fully now.

"You heard me," Harry said. "What's your boggart?"

Remus eventually sighed. "Fine, if it's the only way to make you follow us… It's a full moon." He raised an eyebrow and Harry nodded jerkily before turning to Sirius, who was glaring at him.

Harry swallowed down the panicky feeling that was threatening to overtake him. His mind was completely blank, and there was only one thing that he could think of that probably wouldn't have become public knowledge even with the difference between their worlds – and it felt like a low blow.

Still, there was no way around it.

"In your fifth year, who did you tell how to get past the Whomping Willow?" he asked.

Sirius bristled and glare intensified. "I don't see why I should answer that," he retorted.

Harry tensed, ready to bolt.

Remus sighed again and sent Harry a mildly reproachful look. "Just tell him Sirius. The sooner you do, the sooner we can get back to the house."

"Snape," Sirius grumbled after a last glare at Harry. "And how are we supposed to determine your identity?"

Harry shrugged – until he suddenly remembered something. It wasn't particularly confidential but it was the best he could offer. "You gave me a broomstick, for my first birthday," he said, looking at Sirius. "My… Lily wrote you a letter about it, saying I almost killed the cat and broke an ornament Aunt Petunia had given her…"

Sirius was frowning. For a moment, Harry wondered whether maybe this hadn't happened in this world. After all, he didn't know exactly when things had become different…

But then, to his relief, Sirius gave a groan of grudging acceptance and, turning on his heels, disappeared in the darkening undergrowth. Harry heard Remus take a deep breath.

"Come on, let's go," the man said, turning his back to Harry who finally followed. Ahead of them, he could hear Sirius talking to James on what he recognised with a shock as a two-way mirror.

"It's fine, we found him," Sirius said, casting a glance back at Harry. "You know, he's a right little –"

His sentence was abruptly cut off as he stepped through the wards.

With a few flicks of his wand, Remus allowed Harry through the wards.

"You'll have to get Lily to key you in properly when we're back."

Harry nodded, and that was all that was said during the entire time it took them to trudge back to the house.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Now that the half-term break is over, I should be able to go back to a (more or less) regular update schedule :)