|
The World As We Knew It | ||||||
|
Category: Alternate Universe Characters:Harry/Ginny, James Potter, Lily Potter, Remus Lupin, Severus Snape, Sirius Black Genres: Action/Adventure Warnings: Death Story is Complete Rating: PG-13 Reviews: 309 Summary: Destroy the Horcruxes—that’s Harry’s goal, until an Aperio throws him and two other unknown people into a world where the prophecy never existed, his parents and Sirius are alive, and Ginny went to Azkaban for opening the Chamber. Canon pairings, pre DH. Hitcount: Story Total: 150286; Chapter Total: 4853 Author's Notes: Thanks to my great Beta NetJunkie! Forgive me for the fluff in the letter in here... Yes, I'm one of those ppl who believe that Snape liked Lily at Hogwarts! The chapter is short... sorry! Longer chapter after this one! |
Previous Next |
|
||||
|
“Operation Distract Mum,” Leila whispered to Harry. It was the following day, and both were crouched on the stairway. James was gone to Quidditch practice, and Lily was cleaning the kitchen after the noon meal. “Are you sure you can keep her occupied for a couple of hours?” Harry said skeptically. “Leave it to me,” his sister said, grinning conspicuously. “Mum won’t know what hit her. Watch the expert work.” Leila slipped out into the living room shutting the stairway door behind her. Harry pressed his air against the cool wood. “Mum,” he heard Leila say tentatively. “Can I talk to you for a minute?” The clattering of pots and pans stopped. “Sure, Leila. What is it?” “Well…It’s about something that happened at school…” Harry bit back a laugh. Leila’s voice was trembling; she sounded as though she was going to break into tears. “Oh, honey…” Lily said softly. “Tell me what happened.” “There was this boy I liked…” Harry scampered back up the stairs quietly. He had no wish to listen to Leila’s woeful tale; he had an invisibility cloak to find. The attic was dark and cool, with an odd assortment of both Muggle and Wizarding furniture and knickknacks. Harry passed a couple of old mirrors, a stack of old brooms (probably the ones James had worn out), and a whole wardrobe of clothes from the seventies. Finally he found what he was looking for–a stack of musty-smelling boxes labeled “School.” Harry pulled up a creaky stool and started to look. He found piles of his parents’ old textbooks, old school robes, and photo albums full of waving people in tiny pictures. He even came across a box of old Zonko’s joke stuff–old Crude Quills that wrote insults to the person who tried to use them, silverware charmed to make food taste horrible, and an assortment of firecrackers and dung bombs. Another box was full of ink drawings all bearing the tiny signature Lily Evans in the bottom right corner. Harry recognized Sirius, James, Peter, and Remus, along with an assortment of other girls and boys who must have been Lily’s friends during her time at Hogwarts. Then realizing with a jolt how much time had passed, he quickly moved on to the next box. This one was full of old clothes, but at the bottom, Harry discovered a small wooden box. He ran his fingers over the flowery engravings and found the latch. The lid swung upward on hinges, revealing rows of neatly stacked letters. All seemed to be addressed to Lily Evans in the same cramped handwriting. Harry’s curiosity subdued the tiny twinge of guilt he was feeling in the pit of his stomach as he picked up a letter at random and began to read. Dear Lily, Your letter came this morning by owl. A feeling of joy washed over me when I recognized your purple ink. Although I admit, I already knew who the owl was from before I saw the letter–no one but you writes so faithfully. I’m sorry to hear you had another fight with your sister. I can tell you love her a lot, and I relate to your situation. It’s amazing how uncomprehending Muggles can be about our ways. My father was a Muggle, and he finally left my mum a few years ago. He hated us, hated me in particular for turning out to be just like Mum. I think Mum loved him, though, because she never seemed to forgive me for my part in driving him away. Congratulations for winning the Potions award from Slughorn!. I knew you would get it. I guess I win the bet, huh? You won instead of me. Next time we go to Hogsmede you have to pay for the Butterbeers. This holiday is stretching so long… I can’t wait for it to be over. Only a few more weeks and I can see you again on the Hogwarts Express. Can you believe we made it to our sixth year? I never though I would. Especially with the constant bombardment from those dirty, slimy, rodents who call themselves Marauders… But I apologize. Although I know you detest them too, I did make an oath I would not insult any Gryffindors in your presence whether they deserved it or not. I should remind you that it was my house, not yours that won the Quidditch Cup and House Cup last year… Again I have strayed from the subject into grounds that may be unsafe for conversation between you and me, who are from Houses that differ as the night and day. But strangely when I am with you, I forget both my background and my insufficiencies and I feel that I can rise to any level for you. I can attain any height if you will be there to cheer me on. You are special to me, and I know you have asked me not to say the words, but I feel I must. I love you, Lily. We are of two different worlds, but somehow a bridge has formed. Waiting impatiently for our next meeting, Harry stared. There was no signature. The corner of the letter had been ripped away, as if his mum hadn’t wanted anyone to know who the letter had been from. The letter was certainly not from James or even from a Gryffindor. It was probably no one Harry knew, but why did he feel like he had seen that handwriting somewhere before? Harry shoved the letter into his pocket, meaning to show it to Leila later. He closed the box and rearranged the clothes on top of it. Five boxes later, he found what he was looking for–James Potter’s Invisibility Cloak–and something else useful that Harry had not been expecting to find–the Marauder’s Map. Why his father had ended up with the map was a mystery, but it was definitely a turn of luck in Harry’s favor. He closed the boxes, repositioning them in a dusty stack. Shoving the needed items under his shirt, Harry crept back down the stairs and into his room. Leila burst into his room after another fifteen minutes. “You’d better have found that stupid cloak,” she grumbled. “I am not covering for you again. I had to listen to two hours of Mum’s boy advice!” “Yeah, I found it,” said Harry. “And something else too.” Harry drew the Marauder’s Map out from under his bed. “Watch.” Pulling out his wand, he said, “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.” Lines suddenly began to appear on the blank parchment, forming the outlines of a map of Hogwarts. “Wow,” Leila breathed, “How did you…” “Like I said, in the other…” “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” she said, tossing her head impatiently. “You learned in the other reality. So who created this map? My brother or not, I know you don’t have enough brain power to make something this advanced.” “Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Harry said, grinning. “No, I didn’t create it. Dad did, along with Sirius, Peter, and Remus, when they were all at Hogwarts. But enough on the map. Have you ever seen this letter before?” Harry pulled the letter from his pocket and handed it to Leila, who unfolded it and quickly scanned it. “Yeah, I have,” she said. “I told you, I was reading Mum’s old letters to try to figure out who she was going out with before Dad, but all the letters have the name torn off at the bottom. I think she might not even want Dad to find out.” “I’m sure Dad already knows who it is. He was at Hogwarts with her for seven years,” Harry reminded her. “It must be someone else who she’s trying to hide the identity of the writer from.” “Like her insensitive kids who snoop around in her old school stuff?” Leila said, smirking. “Maybe…” Harry said doubtfully. “Have you ever seen this handwriting before?” Leila looked at the letter once more. “Nope, never.” “Look again,” Harry pressed. “Are you sure it couldn’t be the handwriting of any of the Hogwarts professors?” Leila shook her head. “I’m sure. I’ve never seen it before. So what are you going to do about retrieving the diary?” Harry sighed. “I have no idea. Mum’s not working this week, so she’s always going to be home! Dad will be most of the time too. I have no idea how to get out without their detection.” “Just don’t go when they’re watching,” Leila said. “Huh?” “Go at night, when they’re asleep. If you’re quiet, you can return before the morning, and they’ll never find out.” Harry stared at her. Why hadn’t he thought of this before? “If they wake up before you’re gone,” she continued, “I’ll cover for you with a story.” “Leila, you’re a genius.” She colored slightly, but flashed him a grin. “I know.” “Remus!” There were a few moments of silence, but then Lupin’s head appeared in the two-way mirror. “Harry. Has something happened?” “I found a way to leave so we can find the diary.” |
| Reviews 309 |
Previous Next
|
