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The World As We Knew It | ||||||
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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: 150273; Chapter Total: 4515 |
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When Harry opened his eyes, Ron’s room was filled with bright sunlight streaming through the attic windows. He slowly pushed himself up as his mind replayed the events of the night. The walk through the snow-covered forest, seeing the Weasleys again, the kitchen at five in the morning, the Pensieve journey with Ron and Hermione–they all seemed like a vivid dream. Harry got out of bed and walked to the window. Outside, the weather was gorgeous. The sunlight sparkled on piles of freshly fallen snow covering every square inch of grass, trees, and bushes. Then he saw what was written on the front lawn. “WELCOME HOME HARRY & REMUS!” read carefully drawn snow-letters. A giant snowman with grapes for eyes, olives for buttons, and a long carrot for a nose guarded the message, his stick-arms enchanted to wave every now and then. Harry grinned, wondering exactly whose idea it’d been to write the message. Probably Ginny’s, and the twins had helped. Most likely, if he got anywhere near the snowman, it would start throwing snowballs at him. He glanced down at his watch and whistled. It was one-thirty in the afternoon. Merlin, I’ve slept late. In fact, Harry couldn’t remember ever sleeping this late, unless he counted the times he was unconscious in the Hospital Wing with a Quidditch- or Voldemort-related injury. He slowly dressed, picking out his favorite clothes from his trunk and trying not to think about his growling stomach. How long had it been since he’d last eaten? Probably breakfast yesterday, he thought. Breakfast at Beauxbatons before the Death Eaters showed up and screwed it all. His wand was sitting on the bedside table, and he picked it up and tucked it into his pocket. Then, he slowly pulled it back out and examined the wand. If Hermione was right, there would be two phoenix-feather wands in this world, not counting Voldemort’s. Harry returned to his trunk and dub through it. He finally found the wand, lying underneath his sneak-o-scope and an old set of Quidditch robes that no longer fit. He picked it up and the handle glowed warm at his touch. Harry examined both wands. At first glance, they were exactly the same, save for a deep chip in the handle of his first wand from the battle at the Ministry of Magic. He tested both; they each emitted the same amount of sparks, and responded the same when he performed a few simple spells. He sat back on his heels, at a loss as to which wand to choose. The shouts from outside drew his attention to the window. Making an impulsive decision, Harry slipped his old wand into his pocket, threw the Aperio wand back into the trunk, and went to the window. Outside on the lawn, beyond the snowman and message in the snow, war raged. On one side, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Bill were frantically forming, enchanting, and throwing snowballs at Fred, George, Charlie, and the light-haired girl Harry had seen the night before. She must have been Charlie’s girlfriend, because the two were working closely together, ducking and laughing as they packed snowballs for Fred and George to enchant and send hurtling at the opposing parties. On the other side, Ron and Bill were enchanting and throwing snowballs while Hermione and Ginny formed them. As Harry watched, one of George’s snowballs hit Ginny smack in the face. The expression on her face was priceless, but it was quickly replaced by anger as she yelled something incomprehensible at him. The next thing he knew, Ginny had packed a snowball and snatched Bill’s wand out of his hand. She sent the snowball hurtling at the speed of light toward the unsuspecting twin, who received a face full of enchanted snow and fell to the ground, sputtering and shouting. Ginny handed the wand back to Bill, who was grinning proudly at his little sister. She dusted of her hands and rejoined Hermione, who shook her head and spoke to her, most likely saying something about being underage. When George wiped the snow off, Harry was surprised to see that his face had turned blue. And it wasn’t just blue from the cold; the snowball must have been specially enchanted to leave the recipient with a mark he wouldn’t soon forget. His respect for Ginny was rapidly growing. The fighting looked as if it was about to get dirty, but then to Harry’s disappointment, Mrs. Weasley’s voice echoed over the lawn, and everyone looked up. A moment later, they filed happily into the house and disappeared from view. Even from the attic, Harry could hear the sounds of the Weasleys, Hermione, and the other girl entering the house, like a herd of elephants. Several sets of footsteps got closer, pounding up the stairs; they were probably all coming upstairs to change clothes. He moved back to his trunk and replaced all the items carefully. Just as he was putting the last set of robes on the top, the door flew open, and a very red-faced, wet Ron flew through the door. “Oh, Harry, you’re up!” he exclaimed, shrugging off his wet coat. “About time.” “Can’t you give a bloke some time to sleep in?” Harry said, shaking his head. “Sure,” Ron replied, now pulling off his other wet clothes and replacing them with a dry set. “But not until 1:30 in the afternoon! Darnnit…” “Why didn’t you guys just dry out your clothes with your wands?” Harry asked. “Fred came up with this handy little charm that makes the moisture in the snowballs become immune to drying and warming spells. Stupid git…” “Oh.” “Mum’s just called us in for Christmas dinner,” Ron told him. “Imagine it, Christmas dinner and we haven’t even opened presents yet!” “Why not?” “Oh, Mum gave us this crap about waiting for you to wake up first so you could be there…” “I really don’t care.” “I know,” Ron said. “I told her you that, but she was adamant.” “Well, now you can tell her that I said I don’t care.” “But that would defeat the purpose, mate,” Ron said, grinning. “Because then she’d know that you’re awake, and the next thing you know, she’d be dragging you downstairs to eat with us...” Harry sighed. “I guess I’d better go down for dinner.” “Probably a good idea,” Ron said wisely. “Lupin’s anxious to talk to you too.” Then his eyes widened. “Oh, I forgot to tell you! Lupin’s awake.” Harry scrambled up. “We’ve got to talk to him before he spills the whole story to your parents.” “I don’t think there’s any chance of that,” Ron said. “Mum’s been quizzing him all morning, but he only shook his head and said something about wanting to wait for you to be there…” “How’s Leila?” Ron shrugged. “The same. Mum’s dying to call Madame Pomphery, but she hasn’t because of your request. But if we’re planning on telling the Order members that you’re back, surely it couldn’t hurt?” Harry nodded slowly. “Maybe she could help figure out what’s wrong with Leila.” He turned and shut the lid to the trunk. “Oh, and thanks for keeping this safe for me, mate. Hermione told me.” Ron’s ears reddened, but he grinned. “What are friends for? Come on, let’s get down there before Mum drags us down by the ears.” They descended the stairs, Harry fighting back the mounting queasiness in his stomach in anticipation of seeing everyone again. But to his surprise and relief, when he entered the room, Mrs. Weasley only looked up and said, “Oh, Harry, you’re up! And just in time for dinner. Perfect.” Harry threw Ron a quizzical look as the rest of the Weasleys went about their business, washing up for the meal. “This morning, Dad gave us all a lecture about treating you normally, not like an alien who’d dropped in for a visit,” Ron explained, then frowned. “What’s an alien, anyway?” “Muggle term for extraterrestrial creatures,” Harry said, watching Ginny set the magically-expanded table for the meal. She moved like a bird, flitting from seat to seat, straightening the silverware, folding the napkins, placing the cups in the right places… She must have felt his eyes on her, because she looked up, then glanced away quickly. Harry felt strangely disappointed, let down in some way. “Harry? Harry!” Ron was waving his hand in front of Harry’s face. “What?” Harry said, irritated. “I’m listening.” “Want to play a game of chess after dinner?” Harry opened his mouth to reply that he thought a game of chess was a good idea because he’d so missed Ron beating him at every turn, but at that moment, Hermione appeared by his side. “Oh, Harry, you’re awake! I was about to give up on even seeing you today… Are you feeling better now? I hope we didn’t completely wear you out last night, or shall I say this morning… Oh, I nearly forgot. Lupin’s in the living room. He wants to talk to you alone, I think.” “Good to see you too, Hermione,” Harry said quickly, and pushed past Ron. “Be back soon.” “Six months he disappears, and this is the greeting we get?” Ron grumbled loudly, but Harry was out of the kitchen before he heard Hermione’s reply. Lupin was sitting in the armchair by the fire; he looked up as Harry entered and smiled. Harry quickly crossed the room and slid into the opposite armchair. “Morning,” the werewolf said. “Or should I say, afternoon? You’ve nearly slept the day away.” Harry glanced around the room; fortunately, it was empty, and the noises from the kitchen made him pretty confident that they wouldn’t be overheard. Still, it never hurt to be careful. He pulled out his wand and muttered the spell. “Muffliato.” “I was tired,” Harry protested in reply to Lupin’s earlier comment. “Good grief, I woke up at five this morning–couldn’t sleep.” Lupin merely raised one eyebrow. “Oh, all right. I came down to the kitchen and Hermione was here, and I ended up…well, telling her everything. Her and Ron, actually.” To Harry’s surprise, Lupin nodded. “Good. That will make things less complicated. Now, have you done any thinking about what we’ll tell everyone else?” Harry took a breath. “Well, I think telling them about the Aperio is mandatory. Snape’s loyalties, however–I’m not sure if we should divulge that piece of information, or come up with a story to explain why he was the third.” Lupin pursed his lips. “Why do you think it would be a bad idea to tell them?” “Hermione told me of the Pensieve Dumbledore left to her. Inside were memories that served as proof of Snape’s loyalties, and instructions for us to keep it a secret. It seems that we weren’t the only one Dumbledore left a task for. Snape’s job was to become Voldemort’s closest confidant, and then at the right time, kill the snake.” “No wonder he was anxious to get back to Voldemort,” Lupin said thoughtfully. “But I really think we’re going to have to tell the truth about Snape’s loyalties. They will know we’re lying if we try and come up with a story, and Hermione and Bill seem to know enough Aperios that they will be suspicious anyway.” Reluctantly, Harry conceded the point. “So, we tell the Order that you and I are back,” Lupin said. “We’ll explain the Aperio and Snape’s position, and tell them enough about the other world to appease their curiosity–the history, who was dead in that world, your rescue of Ginny, the betrayal of Clark…” But Harry had thrown up his hands. “Whoa…you can’t tell them that–I don’t want them knowing about the Azkaban event.” “But then how will we explain your Animagi abilities?” “We don’t have to tell them that either.” Lupin clicked his tongue. “Don’t you think the Weasleys deserve to know about Ginny’s conviction and imprisonment? We’re not going to lie to them about Charlie’s and Bill’s deaths.” But still, Harry shook his head. “I don’t want them knowing.” What he really didn’t want was the attention it would bring. He shuddered at the thought of a crowd of Weasleys pressing in around him to thank him for his bravery… He didn’t want their thanks, praise, or anything else. He’d made his decision to rescue Ginny the moment he’d asked Sirius to teach him to be an Animagi and hadn’t once regretted it. Seeing the other Ginny alive and well had been all the reward he needed. Lupin was silent. “Alright,” he finally said. “Whatever you say. So we’ll tell them everything except the Horcrux information and Ginny’s imprisonment.” Harry leaned back in his chair. “Is it too much to ask… I mean, I really don’t want to…” Lupin looked sympathetic. “I’ll do the talking.” Harry sighed in relief. “Thanks.” Mrs. Weasley appeared in the doorway. “If you two are ready, it’s time to eat,” she said. When Harry entered the kitchen again, most of the family was there. All but George, anyway, who was probably still trying to get the blue off of his face. “Where is your brother?” Mrs. Weasley snapped at Fred. “Go and get him, please.” Fred disappeared, and Harry took a good look around the room. Bill and Fleur were standing in the corner, arms wrapped around each other. Hermione and Ron were bickering over something trivial, while Ginny played referee. Mrs. Weasley was leaning over the stove, while Mr. Weasley talked animatedly with Charlie. Closest to Harry stood the light-haired girl, looking a little uncomfortable. She moved a little closer and stuck out a hand. “I’m Amanda,” she said, and Harry shook her hand. For someone so delicate-looking, she had a strong handshake. “Harry Potter,” he said. “Nice to meet you. Are you Charlie’s…uh, girlfriend?” She grinned. “You could say that. Or maybe he was just being nice when he invited me home for Christmas… After all, I didn’t have anywhere else to go.” “So, do you work in Romania?” She nodded. “With the dragons, like Charlie.” They fell silent, but then Amanda looked over shyly. “So, is that girl in the next room your sister?” Harry nodded. “Yeah. Have you seen her?” “I was with her for a couple hours this morning.” “How is she?” Amanda shrugged. “She seems to be in some kind of magical coma. I’m sure she’ll come out of it, though. We’d need a trained Healer to take a look at her to be sure. But I’m positive she’s in no immediate danger.” Harry let out his breath, feeling several muscles in his shoulders relax. Just then, George slunk into the kitchen, Fred behind him. “You’re finally here,” Mrs. Weasley chided, her back still turned. Then she turned around. “George Rudolph Weasley! What happened to your face?” Shooting a dangerous glare at Ginny, George opened his mouth, but Ginny got there first. “Bill did it,” she blurted out. “But I’m sure you can get it off, can’t you, Mum?” “I’ll try,” Mrs. Weasley said, pulling out her wand and looking disapprovingly at her oldest son. George wordlessly gaped at his sister, and she smirked at him from behind Mrs. Weasley’s shoulder. Bill glared at her too, but Charlie patted him on the back sympathetically and he looked a little less irked. Harry shook his head. Ginny was certainly spoiled by her oldest brothers. After finally admitting defeat and telling George he’d have to visit Madam Pomphrey to get the spell damage reversed or fix it himself, Mrs. Weasley clapped her hands. “Gather round, gather round…” she called, and everyone found seats at the long table. Harry found himself wedged between Hermione and Fred. Lupin was sitting next to Mr. Weasley, and Ginny had slipped in between her two oldest brothers. Harry was suddenly struck by the feeling of emptiness in the room without Percy. Sure, the Percy in this world was a git, but now Harry was positive that beneath the layers of cold masks, Percy somehow still cared about his family. “Attention,” Mr. Weasley called, tapping her glass. “Another Christmas has come, and I must say, I never expected to see some of the same faces at the table as last year. We are very thankful for your safe return to us, Remus and Harry.” Mrs. Weasley beamed at Harry. “A toast to being reunited once again,” Mr. Weasley said, raising his glass. Harry clinked his glass with Fred, took a long draught of pumpkin juice, and smiled. The only way he could feel more content right now was if he knew Leila was awake and well…but she’d recover. He had the gut feeling that everything was going to be alright. Somehow. “Pass the mashed potatoes,” Hermione said, and Harry complied. The meal proceeded without confrontation. George was the butt of quite a few jokes regarding his blue face; Mrs. Weasley was complemented on her superb cooking skills; and Charlie told several funny stories regarding his experiences in Romania, with Amanda adding the parts he left out. Presently, Lupin set down his glass and said quietly, “Arthur, do you and Molly mind if I call an Order meeting this afternoon?” Instantly, conversation ceased, and the atmosphere changed. Harry was pretty sure that everyone had been waiting for this topic to come up. “Certainly,” Mr. Weasley said carefully. “Might I inquire as to what for?” “Of course,” Lupin said politely. “Harry and I have agreed that it is not fair to keep the other members in the dark regarding our current circumstances.” “Then it’s settled,” Mr. Weasley said. “I’ll Floo everyone after the meal is finished.” The topic was dropped, but Harry knew it was still on everyone’s mind as the meal concluded. The table was cleared, the food was put away, and slowly everyone migrated into the living room, where Mr. Weasley was using Floo powder to call every Order member who wasn’t out of town. Slowly, they began arriving. It was almost like watching a Muggle sitcom, seeing all the shocked expressions of the Order members as they climbed out of the fireplace and found Harry and Lupin sitting calmly on the couch. Dedalus Diggle gave a loud squeak and nearly toppled to the floor before Mrs. Weasley gently led him to the kitchen. Arabella Figg merely squinted at him when she appeared. “Where’ve you been, boy? Up to trouble, I’m sure.” Mad-Eye Moody had his wand out the second he’d regained his balance from the Floo ride, demanding that Harry and Lupin answer dozens of questions to verify their identities. McGonagall gasped and looked faint; fortunately, Bill was watching and quickly pushed a chair behind her, which she gratefully collapsed into. “Right then,” Mr. Weasley finally said, looking around. “That’s about it, I think. Kingsley, Mad-Eye, Minerva, Dedalus, Poppy, Arabella… Hestia isn’t home, probably visiting her sister in Chicago for the holidays. As always, I can’t reach Hagrid, and Sturgis isn’t answering his fire either. Mundungus…well, no explanation needed.” A few people chuckled, but most were still gaping at Harry and Lupin. Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat, wondering how Lupin managed to take all this so calmly. “Anyone else missing? I’m sure they’ll be along presently…” Harry looked around. All the Weasleys were there, as well as Amanda and Hermione. Fleur, he knew, was sitting with Leila, having volunteered to get the information from Bill later. But still, there seemed to be someone missing…only Harry couldn’t figure out who. “Now, to all of you who aren’t in the Order,” Mr. Weasley continued, sending a foreboding look at his younger children, Hermione, and Amanda, “this information is extremely confidential. If you value your life, you will not be sharing it with anyone under any circumstance.” They nodded solemnly, but just then a puff of green smoke announced the arrival of one last Order member. Harry turned to see who it was, and froze. Tonks stood in the fading cloud of Floo powder, looking confused as she took in the crowd of Order members. Then her eyes fell upon Lupin, and her face paled. “Remus?” she whispered. Lupin half-rose from his chair. “Nymphadora? Is that you?” he said, looking dazed. Tonks was as still as a statue, her mouth partly open. Then she blinked, and her face coloured quickly. Before Harry even realised it, she was striding across the room, her face set… Smack. Lupin reeled back, eyes wide as a red mark rapidly formed on his left cheek. “What was that for?” he asked, his voice rising a little. “Good god, Nymphadora, is that any way to greet someone you haven’t seen in months?” “That was for disappearing like that, Remus,” she cried, shaking her finger in his face and glaring at him. Lupin looked incredulous. “You think I vanished on purpose? You’ve got it all wrong! I’m telling you, it wasn’t my doing. You must listen to reason!” “I don’t want to listen to reason! I want answers; I want to know why you’d leave me like that…” “I told you, I didn’t mean…” “Like hell you didn’t,” she snarled. “I’m sure you had fun on your vacation, Remus, but do you have any idea what you put me–us–through while you were out gallivanting around the country? Or wherever else you went? You don’t know what I felt…hoping, praying, wishing, wondering, waking up each morning not knowing if you were dead or alive or something in between…whether you’d been captured or if you’d just run away from it all… Did you run away, Remus? Don’t you think that we wish we could just vanish and leave it all behind too, sometimes? But you don’t see Kingsley running away from his problems, or Moody, or Arthur, or Minerva, or any of them!” Remus started to speak, but Tonks cut him off. “I’m not finished yet! And what did you do with Harry? Do you have any idea what we went through when we found both of you missing? We looked for months, Remus, months! No clues, no nothing. Even your wands were left here. Where did you go? What happened?” “Tonks, I said, I’ll explain everything!” Lupin shouted. “Will you just listen to me for one bleeding minute?” “Listen?” She shrieked with laughter. “You expect me to listen? How can I listen to you after what you did?” To Harry’s surprise, faint tears began to streak their way down her cheeks. “You don’t know…how could you know? Months of waiting, watching, looking… We looked for anything–a scrap of clothing, a body part, a strand of hair…anything to give us clues of what had happened to you…” Tonks began to pace. “So if you think your disappearance didn’t affect us, you’re wrong. WRONG. Do you have any idea what I went through? Oh god, Remus, I was so worried…so scared…” Her tears were falling even more freely now. Lupin took one brave step forward and reached out, gently touching her arm. “You know I didn’t leave you here on purpose,” he said quietly. Tonks sniffed loudly and swiped her sleeve across her face. “Merlin, Remus, I know that. I know you wouldn’t have done that on purpose…” She suddenly blinked and glanced around the room, as if suddenly realising that the whole Order was witnessing her outburst. She turned back to Remus. “God, I’ve messed this all up. Here I am, yelling at you in front of everyone, when all I really wanted to do is this…” And before Remus could react, she’d thrown herself into his arms and kissed him, full on the lips. Harry’s jaw dropped. He definitely hadn’t been expecting that. Looking around, he found the others wearing equally shocked expressions. His attention turned back to Lupin and Tonks. Lupin, having finally recovered from the first shock, had pulled Tonks closer to him and was now kissing her gently back. They didn’t break apart until Fred and George began whistling and catcalling, only to be stopped by several whacks applied to the backs of their heads by a teary-eyed Mrs. Weasley. Harry dove out of the way as Remus gently pushed Tonks down onto the sofa beside him, grasping her hand tightly. There was only one seat left in the room and Harry headed for it before he’d realised that the empty seat was next to Ginny. She courteously slid over to make room for Harry on the bench, but pointedly avoided his gaze. Harry shifted uncomfortably, wondering what it would take to break the tension that had been building ever since the night before. He really wasn’t sure what to do about Ginny, but now was not the time to be thinking about that… “Well,” Arthur Weasley said, taking off his glasses and rubbing his forehead with a handkerchief. “Shall we get started?” |
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