Harry sat up in bed and took a deep breath. For the first time in two days, he had woken up without any congestion in his chest.

The entire time he had been sick, James had been there to take care of him. The experience had been everything Harry dreamed of on the rare occasions that he'd gotten sick at the Dursleys. James had treated Harry with such a degree of care and gentleness that Harry had been shocked. But really, he should not have been.

Ever since Harry had been dumped into their care, James and Lily had been open with their affections and provided for his every need while he was well. So really, Harry should not have been surprised that they continued to do the same while he was sick.

Harry was coming to accept that James and Lily took their jobs as his— caregivers? Hosts? Guardians? Harry wasn't sure what term to use to describe their relationship, but whatever it was, they were both very serious about the responsibilities the relationship entailed.

They were both so serious about it that James had been willing to listen to Harry have, well, a meltdown the other day. Harry still had a hard time believing that he had said so much to James, but in the end, it had all worked out okay.

Harry had harbored a fear that the truth about his parents' deaths would cause James to abandon him. Despite this fear, nothing of the sort had happened. In fact, James had even absolved Harry of his guilt. Harry wasn't certain if he believed James yet, but even thinking of those reassurances helped soothe some of his ever-present guilt.

Later, once Harry was well enough to think coherently, he had realized that James hadn't given him any medicine.

It had taken several more hours, and many more visits from James, before Harry had worked up the courage to ask James about it. All of Harry's experiences with Madam Pomfrey had taught him one thing: there was a potion for every ailment.

James had been quick to inform Harry that potion had been put into the tea. James's son apparently refused to take potions any other way, and so the method had become a habit.

Thanks to the power of magic and care, Harry had made a quick recovery.

Today was Friday, the day that Harry was supposed to meet with the Unspeakables. Harry was pleased to note that he was feeling well enough to attend the meeting.

For the first time in days, Harry was able to get up and get ready on his own.

As he walked into the kitchen for breakfast, he realized that it was still far later than he would get up when he was healthy. This meant that when he walked into the kitchen, breakfast was already waiting for him.

"Good morning, Harry," Lily greeted. "It's great to see you up and about!"

"Morning, and it's great to be up!"

"Eggs are on the stove and bread is in the toaster," Lily said, gesturing at each. "I wasn't sure if you were going to come down this morning, so I didn't bother to make up a plate— or tray— yet."

"Oh, that sounds good," Harry said with a smile.

"Since you're up and about, I ought to owl the Unspeakables so they know they're clear to come over this afternoon," Lily mused aloud.

Harry sat down at the table as Lily hurried off. When James had called to reschedule, the Unspeakables had insisted on making this a home visit. Their reasoning had been elusive, but persistent, and since Lily and James could take no more time off, Harry would be playing host on his own.

James wandered into the kitchen, a mug of coffee already in his hand. "Good morning, Harry! I thought I heard you getting ready up there!"

Harry flushed, wondering if he'd been too loud.

"I was right next door in my own room, working on my morning routine, so I couldn't help but hear the water running," James continued.

Harry ducked his head down, staring at his plate of food. Was he really that transparent?

"Anyways, how did you sleep last night?" James asked.

Harry lifted his head to answer. "Much better than I have in days, and much better than I expected to sleep. I got better very fast."

James grinned. "That's great to hear! Your m— Lily is very talented at potions; us Potter men always have swift recoveries thanks to her."

Lily walked back into the kitchen as he said this and tapped James upside the back of his head. "You know quite well that I'm following the recipes your family developed, and that you are more than capable of following them yourself."

"I'm not sure who told you I was good at potions," James said, "but they are a dirty, dirty liar."

Lily took her seat again, and they continued to go back and forth for several more minutes, their banter flying across the table so fast that Harry felt like he was watching a ping pong match. This was an arrangement that suited him just fine, as it allowed him to eat his breakfast and listen in peace.

Lily held up her hand to stop James from speaking. "Before we lose any more time to our nonsense, we ought to make sure that Harry feels ready to host the Unspeakables."

James closed his mouth and nodded.

"I know you're new to our home," Lily began, "so this could be stressful for you. First of all, I want to reassure you that everything is going to be fine. The Unspeakables that are coming are Liz and Sue, the same Unspeakables that greeted you when you arrived here. They will be arriving by floo at one in the afternoon, and I have already keyed them into the wards."

"James will set out the things you will need for tea, and I can go over our teas before I leave, if you like. You're welcome to hold the interview anywhere in the house that you feel comfortable. I believe that is everything that you need to know. What do you think, James?"

"I can't think of anything you missed," James confirmed.

Harry nodded, some of his anxiety over the meeting lifting from his chest. "Thank you," Harry said.

"By the way, I will likely be home late from work," James said. He had gotten up to pack away the leftover food from breakfast. "I have heinous amounts of paperwork built up again from the time I took off. I'm just lucky I somehow didn't catch whatever it was Harry had, otherwise it'd end up being so much worse."

Harry shifted guiltily in his seat, aware that the time off— and therefore the paperwork— was all his fault.

"And don't you dare feel bad about that, Harry," James said, turning to point a serving spoon at Harry.

"I'm sorry," Harry said reflexively.

"It's alright," Lily said, "there's nothing to be sorry about."

While Lily and James finished tidying up the kitchen and completing the rest of their morning routines, Harry continued to work his way through his breakfast.

Just before Lily left the house, she darted back into the kitchen. "I just wanted to say, before I left, that you're going to be a wonderful host."

Harry flushed. "Thank you."

"I have to dash now, goodbye," Lily said, smiling warmly at Harry before turning to hurry away.

"Goodbye," Harry called after her. Her words had left behind a warm glow.

Unfortunately, the warm glow was replaced by anxiety as he got up from the kitchen table. The tightness in his chest persisted throughout the morning as he selected a book to read and settled in to wait for the Unspeakables to arrive, and then as he paced around the sitting room, too anxious to read.

He was so deep in thought that the sudden flash of the floo startled him. He jumped back, away from the floo, his hands coming up to cover his mouth.

"Oops, did we startle you?" the Unspeakable— Liz or Sue— asked, brushing herself off.

The other Unspeakable arrived then, and Harry stole a glance at the clock. One in the afternoon, on the dot.

Harry nodded, then exchanged greetings with the Unspeakables— learning which was which in the process— and guided them to seats in the sitting room. As they sat down, Harry asked for their tea orders, then hurried into the kitchen to prepare the tea.

Though the kitchen was still unfamiliar, the process of making tea came back to him as soon as he began.

It required little thought for Harry to bustle around the kitchen, getting everything together. In no time at all, Harry was carrying out a tray with tea and biscuits for Liz and Sue.

"Oh my, that was fast," Sue said, turning to watch as Harry walked into the room.

Harry shrugged and set the tray down on the coffee table. Then he went and took a seat on the couch across from them.

"Wait, Harry, where's your tea?" Liz asked.

Harry glanced at the tray and realized he hadn't thought to make himself some tea. "Oh, I just didn't want any."

Sue nodded.

As Liz and Sue each picked up their teacups and took their first sips, Harry sat and twiddled his thumbs, feeling a little awkward without anything to do.

Sue set her tea back down on its saucer. "That is delicious tea, Harry. Thank you."

Harry smiled shyly. "You're welcome."

"So," Liz said, swirling her teacup, "I'm sure you're curious about why we insisted on having this meeting here, at your house."

Harry nodded.

"We in the department found it curious that you got so violently sick," Sue began.

"It's not uncommon for people to contract colds and flus in the summer, but you are a young, healthy teenager. The degree of illness you experienced is an outlier and unusual," Liz continued.

"After extensive discussion," Sue said, "we determined that it is likely due to the fact that your immune system is developed for microbes from your universe— not ours. Given the rates of microbe evolution, the chances that your immune system would be at all effective here are slim to none."

"So we decided that it would be safest for you if we were to come to you," Liz said.

"Oh wow," said Harry, surprised. "So I can get sick really easily?"

"Yes, precisely. For the foreseeable future, you're going to want to be careful about going out in public if you don't want a repeat sickness," Liz said.

Harry nodded. "Thank you for telling me."

"Of course," Sue said.

The next several minutes were spent engaged in small talk as Liz and Sue worked their way through the tea and biscuits. The longer the small talk went on, the more anxious Harry began to feel. This was his chance to learn more about the world he now lived in, and he wanted to get started.

After what felt like an eternity, Liz set down her empty teacup and leaned forward, propping her elbows on her knees. "I'm sure you're ready to get down to business," Liz said.

Harry nodded, the motion exaggerated to convey his eagerness.

"We also spent a good deal of time thinking about the best way to have this discussion," Sue said. "We decided that the best way would be to have you give us a general idea of current events in the world that you came from. When you state things that differ from this world, we will stop you. Then we will point out the difference, and we can begin tracing back history to find the point of divergence, if we can."

"Does that sound alright to you?" Liz asked.

"Sure," Harry said.

"Then let's get started!" Liz exclaimed.

There was a long pause.

"So, uh, I guess the biggest current event I can think of is that Voldemort is back," Harry began slowly. "Do you know who that is?"

Liz and Sue shook their heads in unison.

Harry frowned, certain that Voldemort was out there somewhere. "Wait, how about Tom Riddle, have you heard of him?" Maybe Voldemort had gone undercover before his name became well known?

"Of course we know Tom Riddle!" Liz said.

Harry straightened up, his heart pounding in his chest. "You do? What's he up to? Where's he hiding, I know—"

Sue held up a gloved hand. "I am sorry to cut you off, but I have to ask: what do you mean by 'where is he hiding'? Is he so famous in your world that he must have a pseudonym to hide from the press and the public?"

Harry frowned and opened his mouth to respond, then closed it. He shook his head, then tried again. "He's not famous, he's infamous. He's a Dark Lord— he's— he's evil!" Harry spat out.

"Wait, what?" Liz asked, her voice laden with confusion. "What?"

The nervous energy in Harry's body became too much. He got up and started pacing around the sitting room.

"What can you tell us about this Voldemort?" Sue asked.

Still agitated, Harry did his best to order his thoughts so he could respond coherently. "He's the worst Dark Lord of the century, even worse than Grindelwald. Most people are afraid to even speak his name, but Voldemort isn't his real name. His real name is Tom Marvolo Riddle, which is an anagram for 'I am Lord Voldemort'.

"He was defeated back in 1981, but that only lasted until about a year ago. He's back now, and he's gaining power."

Harry stopped his pacing and turned to take in Liz and Sue's reactions. They were both staring at each other, motionless. Then Sue turned towards Harry.

"Our universes must have diverged significantly for this to happen— I have to ask, are you sure Voldemort was named Tom Riddle?"

Harry thrust his hand through his hair. "Yes, I am sure. He told me himself!"

Liz reached out and grabbed Sue's shoulder. "You've met this Dark Lord?"

Harry's eyes widened, and he looked away. "It's a very, very long story, and I don't think it's helpful for figuring out where our universes diverge," Harry said instead.

Liz released Sue's shoulder and smoothed down her robes. "One day, I'd like to hear that story. It sounds important, even if it's not relevant to our discussion today."

Harry shrugged and nodded, not sure that he would ever be ready to share it.

"Right, so if Tom Riddle is a— a Dark Lord, then who is Headmaster of Hogwarts in your universe?" Sue asked.

"Professor Dumbledore," Harry answered reflexively before the significance of Sue's question came to him. "Wait, wait does that mean that Voldemort, sorry, Tom Riddle, is the Headmaster of Hogwarts?"

"Yes, mostly," Liz said.

"How is he mostly Headmaster?" Harry asked.

"He and McGonagall alternate the Head position. When Riddle is the Headmaster, McGonagall is the Transfiguration professor. When McGonagall is Headmaster, Riddle travels and does groundbreaking research. It's an arrangement that suits them both and has been effective for years now," Sue explained.

Harry walked over to the couch and flopped down on it, his thoughts sluggish. Voldemort, Headmaster of Hogwarts. A name and a title that ought to be incompatible with each other.

"This must be terribly shocking for you," Liz said, solicitous.

Harry nodded.

Silence fell for a long moment as Harry attempted to wrap his mind around the thought of Voldemort as Headmaster of Hogwarts. Harry knew that Voldemort had wanted to be the Defense professor— maybe he had gotten the position in this universe?

"You wanted to talk about how the divergences may have come to be, right?" Harry asked.

"Yes," said Sue.

"Well, in my universe, Voldemort put a curse on the defense professorship because he was declined for the position. Maybe the point of divergence was that he wasn't declined for the position here?"

Sue tapped her fingers against the arm of her chair. "That does sound reasonable, but then we have to ask, what was the reason that Tom Riddle was given the job in our universe but declined the job in yours?"

Harry thought back to everything he knew about Voldemort and the curse on the Defense position, but he could not think of any information that could help. "I'm sorry, I just don't know about history that far back. Because he's a Dark Lord, information about him from that long ago isn't really talked about."

"This feels like it's going to be a dead-end route of inquiry, so why don't we try something else?" Liz suggested.

Harry nodded, and so the rest of the conversation went. Harry learned that Cornelius Fudge was a minor politician with little career to speak of. Instead, the Minister for Magic was Barty Crouch Jr., a fact that would have disturbed Harry greatly were he not so preoccupied with the concept of Voldemort as Hogwarts' Headmaster.

Dumbledore had spent a couple of years as a professor at Hogwarts, up until he defeated Grindelwald. At that point, he was recommended for— and received— the position of Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards.

The biggest thing to come of the conversation was that Harry finally believed that there was no Voldemort. There was no Voldemort out there waiting, biding his time. There was no hoard of Death Eaters growing more powerful.

And more than that, there had never been a Voldemort and there had never been Death Eaters. All the people lost to the first war could still be around. The peacefulness Harry noticed at Diagon Alley was warranted— it had been decades since Britain's last significant magical conflict.

By the time the Unspeakables floo'd away, Harry was stunned into shocked silence as he processed all that he had learned.

Harry had spent the past five years of his life living under the shadow of Voldemort. Really, he had lived his entire life under that shadow. But now, it was gone.

He was free.

Harry spent most of the afternoon pacing around the house, just thinking. When Lily, and later James, got back from work, he settled down with an open book on his lap.

The time before dinner was spent in pleasant silence with Lily grading, James doing paperwork, and Harry pretending to read. Harry was grateful. Though Lily and James seemed curious about what had happened at the meeting, they left the subject in peace.

Dinner conversation was light, focused on Lily and James sharing their days. Harry listened, doing his best to keep his hands and mouth occupied with eating to ensure he was not asked to join in. Eventually though, he finished his food and set his utensils down.

Not long after, Lily set her own utensils down and turned to face him.

"I know you've had a shocking day," Lily said, resting her forearms against the kitchen table and clasping her hands together, "and James and I want to give you space, but there is something we need to discuss before tomorrow. As you know, we will be going to pick up our son at Kings Cross tomorrow. We view the trip there as a family excursion, so we would appreciate it if you were to come along with us."

"We would never force you to come, of course," James cut in.

Harry set his hands in his lap and began to fidget with the hem of his shirt, his anxiety over meeting the other Harry making itself known. "Are you sure you want me to come—"

"We're sure," Lily and James said in unison.

Despite his anxiety, the quickness and surety of their response brought a smile to Harry's face. There was a hopeful light to their eyes, telling Harry that if he refused, they may not be upset, but they would be disappointed.

And besides that, Harry couldn't help but want to be included in a family excursion. "Then I'd be happy to go. Oh, um, there is something you should know, though. The Unspeakables said that my immune system is very vulnerable here, and that I should be careful going out in public."

Lily and James exchanged a look.

"We could take precautions, but if you're not comfortable with going then we certainly won't force you," James said.

"No, I'd like to go," Harry said.

"Well, an obvious precaution is to have you use copious amounts of hand sanitizer after you touch everything," Lily said.

James nodded. "And I can cast the Bubble-Head Charm on you so that the air you breathe is clean."

"But what about the Muggles, won't they see the bubble around my head?" Harry asked.

"Not if I cast the variation that is undetectable," James said with a smile. "It was developed for the Aurors and is very handy."

"Would that be enough?" Lily asked.

Harry shrugged. "I think so."

"Then we can get back to the original topic that I wanted to talk about: the fact that you will be meeting our son tomorrow," Lily said. "The main thing we wanted to be sure you know is that we won't be forgetting you, come tomorrow. Yes, our attention will be split between the two of you, that much is inevitable. But we will still be here for you and for anything you need."

James reached out and put a hand on Harry's knee. "If there's any concerns you have, we'd be happy to address them now— or whenever you like, if you're not ready or can't think of any now."

Harry sat for a moment. His thoughts went to all his fears that this other Harry would be just like Dudley. He started to bury his fears again, to pretend they weren't there, because surely Lily and James would be offended if he suggested that their son was anything like Dudley.

Harry looked into Lily's, then James's eyes, saw the sheer sincerity they contained, and took a deep breath.

"Back in my universe, I had a cousin, and he was really nasty and spoiled. Whenever we fought, my aunt and uncle would take his side over mine no matter what…" Harry trailed off, unsure where he was going.

James squeezed his knee. "Harry is far from nasty, and I don't think that he's spoiled either, but Severus always says that we spoil him, so I guess take that bit with a grain of salt."

"More importantly," Lily cut in, "I can guarantee that if you and Harry ever have a conflict, James and I will be sure to investigate both sides of the situation before mediating. We would never blindly take our son's word over yours."

The pounding in his chest settled somewhat, and Harry's face relaxed into a slight, relieved smile.

After that, Lily and James spent some time with him, reassuring him further. Harry basked in the attention and did his best to allow their words to soothe his fears over the coming days (and weeks and months). His fears didn't go away, not entirely. As he took in their words, the knowledge that Lily and James would be very biased sources about their son weighed on him, preventing him from relaxing all the way.

But by the time Harry went to bed that night, he managed to feel a twinge of excitement about meeting the other version of himself.

Harry followed close behind Lily and James as they pushed through the crowded train station. His right hand was clenched around his wand, and his left around a container of hand sanitizer. He had spent most of the morning feeling anxious about the upcoming trip, with the occasional burst of excitement to disrupt the anxious monotony.

But now the time was almost here.

Though the Bubble-Head Charm was invisible to observers, it still warped the sounds of the train station. Harry felt distanced from his surroundings. On top of this, Lily and James had set a very fast pace through the station, so almost before Harry knew it, they had arrived on Platform Nine and ¾.

The train had just arrived, so Harry stood just behind Lily and James as the students spilled out of the cars and onto the platform. Harry's eyes caught on Cho Chang, and he stepped more firmly behind James. The memory of their last interaction was too fresh for Harry to want to be spotted by her.

Then Harry remembered that this was not the Cho Chang he knew. And there behind her was Marietta Edgecombe, but she was not the Marietta that had snitched on the DA.

Scanning the crowd, Harry was able to pick out more and more familiar strangers.

Dean Thomas, Luna Lovegood, Astoria Greengrass, Dennis Creevey—

And Ron and Hermione.

Harry stepped back out from behind Lily and James to get a better look at them, to see if he could discern any differences— to see if they were alright. They looked just the same as they always had, and Harry had to stop himself from stepping forward, from calling out to them.

Then Ron stopped to tie his shoe, and Harry saw that there was someone else with them. Harry didn't recognize the student— he was a Gryffindor, a bit shorter than Ron, his hair was black… and messy…

The realization of whom the student was dawned on Harry slowly, then all at once. His eyes widened and shock flooded his senses as he stared from across the platform.

Bright green eyes met bright green eyes.

This was the Harry Potter of this universe.

AN: thank you all for reading! please leave a review letting me know what you thought! just so you all know, i am not the biggest fan of ffn as a platform for publishing my writing, so there may come a point where i give up on it. never fear! my writing is all on ao3 (archive of our own) under the same penname (there are some oneshots that are only posted there atm) so i highly recommend checking me out there!

for definitive information on whether i've given up on ffn– or on anything else im up to– join my discord server! the code to join is DeENpZK. to use it, google 'how to join discord server' and follow the step by step instructions! i am also semi-reachable by dm here if you'd like help. i look forward to seeing you all there!