Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does!
This is my first Harry Potter fanfic. Please no flames. If you don't like this fanfic, then please do not read.
Note- I'm an American so spelling will be American. Characters will probably "sound" American as well. Sorry. I just cannot write like a British person!
Note 2- Some of it will be canon, some of it won't . I haven't really decided what will be different/same (when compared to canon) in each dimension. Characters will also be OOC (accidental and not). Expect angst, humor and a bit of fluffiness here and there.
Note 3- If there is any romance, it'll be from the canon pairings. However, the Harry in this dimension (you know, the semi-canon dimension) will not have a love interest or anything even remotely close to that. In the semi-canon dimension, Harry lost his only love and will not have another. Therefore, you will not be seeing the semi-canon dimension's Harry dating and adoring some girl. I will not be swayed on this subject. I mean it. (Don't get me wrong. I totally love Ginny and Harry's relationship in the books. I just want more angst.)
Note 4- There will be Dumbledore bashing. I love him in the books but in this fanfic, he's not so nice in the semi-canon dimension . . . He will be nice in the "other" dimension.
Note 5- I do not intend to copy anyone's work. Enough said. Seriously. I'm using a plot that most Harry Potter writers have used. What do you think will happen?
Note 6- I've dubbed the last battle (you know, when Voldie dies) as the Battle of Hogwarts (and so have many other Harry Potter fanfiction writers). I don't know what it's officially called but I could really care less. The Battle of Hogwarts sounds better than the Last Battle or the Final War. I don't know why but it sounds epic when you call it the Battle of Hogwarts. *shrugs*
Note 7- Italics will be thoughts, emphasis and spells. Parseltongue will be in bold ilatics.
Note 8- Instead of having Teddy born just days before the Battle of Hogwarts, he was born a year before. Therefore, he was born during Harry's sixth year. Tonks and Remus got married three months before he was born. I know that it's not canon. That is the point. I changed it so Teddy's two years old in this fic instead of one year old.
Anyway, enjoy! Remember, reviews feed my fingers~ Well, nice reviews. But you guys will be nice, right? After all, this is my first Harry Potter fanfic.
Here you are down on your knees again,
Trying to find air to breathe again.
And only surrender will help you now.
The floodgates are breaking and pouring out.
-Again by Flyleaf
Chapter One
Being the Chosen One had cost Harry Potter everything.
Everything.
Everything he had ever held dear to him, everything he had managed to become attach to during his cursed existence, everything he had ever wanted. Friends, family, love, a normal life, you name it. Being the Chosen One had taken it all away from him.
But maybe that made it easier for him. Maybe that made him appreciate the time he had shared with them so much more. Maybe that gave him an excuse to hide from the magical society that held him up on a pedestal for a year. Maybe it was better now that he had nothing left to lose.
After all, now there were rumors going around that he had used dark magic to defeat Voldemort a year ago, that he was the next dark lord.
Ha!
Harry? A dark lord? That was beyond laughable. Harry had lost everything to the previous dark lord. How would he be able to do that everyone else? How would he be able to use the Dark Arts as Voldemort had to torment people and take away their very lives? How would he be able to stomach the darkness that would encase his soul, tainting his white magic and his mind? How would Harry be able to look someone straight in the eye and utter the killing curse?
Yes, Harry had used the other two other Unforgiveable curses but he would never use them again. Never again. One of them had been for himself, to punish the person who had taken his godfather from him. That had been almost inexcusable . . . Almost. The other curse had been for everyone else, to gain the other horcrux so that he would be able to defeat Lord Voldemort. Now he had no reason to use them, to once again utter their incantations.
Harry could now rest and finally relax . . .
Except now the magical community was passing the rumor around and muttering that Harry Potter was dangerous, very dangerous. After all, he had defied the Ministry while he had been a mere teenager and even now refused the Ministry's offers -more like demands- to become Head Auror. Not to mention he had killed Lord Voldemort with little to no effort! Harry Potter obviously bowed to no government, to no leader and had an immense amount of power. So what was to stop him from going down that dark path? Who was going to be able to stop him when he finally decided to conquer the world? Who could say that Harry hadn't been a dark wizard when he defeated Voldemort?
Harry hated those rumors with a passion. He had lost everything to the dark side! People had died protecting him from the dark side of the magical world, from Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. People had laid down their lives so that Harry would be able to defeat the dangerous, murderous Dark Lord. Why would he even think of becoming a dark lord? Why would he throw away his small but only chance at a semi-normal life? Harry might have lost everything but he did have someone that had been left to him to protect for the rest of his life.
Teddy Lupin.
That boy was the only reason Harry got up in the morning and the only person he had left besides Neville, Luna and the few remaining members of the Order. Teddy had been living with Harry for a year and already Harry couldn't remember a day that he hadn't taken care of the boy. Even though Teddy's grandmother had insisted that it would be best if Teddy stayed with her, Harry had ignored her and taken Teddy into his house –well, Sirius' house- to raise the boy as if he were Harry's own son. Harry was the boy's godfather and he had promised Remus that he would protect and care for Teddy, something that Sirius had not been able to do for Harry.
Of course Teddy's grandmother hadn't taken it well and had fought with Harry for custody, naming a list of several reasons for why Harry shouldn't be the boy's guardian. Harry had just turned eighteen and didn't know how to care for a baby. Harry had angry Death Eaters hunting him down for killing their master. Harry obviously had post-traumatic stress disorder. Blah, blah, blah. No matter what reasons she gave and how close they came to the truth, Harry had been able to win the battle (he called in a favor) and gained custody of his father's best friend's only son.
That wouldn't have been possible if the ministry had known about Harry's furry little problem.
"Da-Da?"
Harry looked down at his crossed legs and saw his godson tugging on his pant leg, obviously trying to get his attention. "Yes?"
Teddy's grandmother had been right when she listed all of her reasons for why Harry shouldn't have custody of his godson. He hadn't known how to take care of one year old baby. He did have Death Eaters after him during those few months after the Battle of Hogwarts. He did have PTSD but only a little bit . . . Okay, more than a bit.
But she had been wrong to try to keep Teddy from him.
During those dark months following the battle, Harry had managed to effectively lose himself in grief and vengeance for his fallen friends and family. He hadn't slept or eaten much whilst he spent two months hunting down the remaining Death Eaters. Harry wasn't even sure he would have ever come out of it if Teddy's grandmother hadn't come to tell him she intended to raise the boy.
Those words had woken him up instantly, leading to a month long custody battle which resulted in Harry's triumph.
"Da-Da," Teddy repeated as he pointed at his stuffed teddy bear that his tiny left hand was holding on to.
Harry smiled slightly as he stared at Teddy, thinking about the past. Andromeda, Teddy's grandmother, had most definitely surprised him when she wanted to raise Teddy. She hadn't cared for Remus for both his age and furry little problem. In her opinion, Remus wasn't even human and therefore, had not business marrying her daughter. When she had told Harry that to his face, it had taken every ounce of his self-control to not start a heated debate and to defend Remus. He had known that it would have been useless, a waste of his time.
People like her who thought lowly of these so-called dark creatures didn't change.
Not unless it suited them.
Shoving those thoughts away, Harry ruffled the boy's ever changing hair. "You want it to dance?"
Teddy nodded, giving Harry his I'm-cute-so-you-have-to-obey-me smile as his hair became black and his eyes became green.
He's imitating me again.
Harry laughed as his right fingers twitched ever so slightly. "You're going to break so many hearts when you go to Hogwarts . . ."
He thinks I'm his father but . . . I'm not. In time, he'll have questions, so many questions. Then I'll tell him . . . Someday.
As Harry's voice died, the stuffed bear slipped out of Teddy's grasp and began to dance on the floor, making Teddy giggle and clap his hands repeatedly. With a soft smile, Harry gently picked up Teddy and placed him into his lap, taking comfort in the fact that Harry wasn't alone and certainly not on the battlefield.
Time to crank it up a notch.
Smirking, Harry's right fingers once again twitched and the stuffed bear began to sing.
"Voldie's nothin' but a wartie, Voldie's nothin' but a wartie."
Teddy's laughter became hysterical, his cheeks reddening as his smile widened. He was taking great pleasure in watching the bear dance and sing his favorite, slightly bothersome, made-up song. Harry's face softened at his godson enjoying the bear and he wondered if this was how he had acted as a baby. Had he laughed happily at such a simple thing? Had his parents watched him with amusement?
Maybe.
After a while, Harry could feel Teddy starting to slump against his chest and grasping Harry's left arm tightly.
"Armie . . ."
Smiling to himself, Harry carefully cradled Teddy in his arms and got off the floor to put his godson down for his afternoon nap.
Maybe I'll take one too after I take a dose of that potion. It'll be the full moon tomorrow-
Suddenly, something pulled at Harry's magic and light exploded all around him. Wandlessly, Harry threw defensive and offensive spells at whatever was attacking him and held on tightly to Teddy's frail, small body. But nothing worked. The light kept getting brighter and brighter and Harry felt as if he were being pressed into a tube.
No!
Desperately, Harry threw off some offensive spells all around him in the hope that he would hit whatever was dragging him and Teddy to some other place. What was happening? Where was all the light coming from? Who had been able to break into Grimmauld Place, a place almost impregnable as Hogwarts? Who had been strong enough to break all the protection spells of Sirius' family and Harry's own additions?
As the light began to die, Harry fell to his knees in exhaustion and could not see. The trip to . . . wherever had drained him. He was so tired . . . so tired . . .
Teddy . . .
And with that, Harry passed out sideways and instinctively turned onto his back so that Teddy slept on his chest, unaware of the dark-haired man that eyed him warily as the last of the Death Eaters Apparated away to save his own skin.
"You're late."
Albus paid Severus no mind as he knelt down beside the brown-haired teenager and the baby resting on the teenager's chest. Severus had told him of what Tom was trying to accomplish through his Death Eaters but he had not thought it to possible. After all, he had the Elder Wand, one of the three things you needed to become that certain person. There was no way that Tom's Death Eaters would have accomplished their goal. The person that Tom so desired simply did not exist in this world.
Interesting.
Albus eyed the tattoo that lied just south of the teenager's right palm, resting on the inside of his wrist that was bared to Albus. It was black as ink and shimmered under the moonlight, radiating a hint of some kind of magic that Albus knew not. He recognized what the tattoo represented but Albus could not truly believe his eyes. It could not be possible . . .
A glamour? A tattoo laced with magic? No . . .
Albus frowned slightly. If the tattoo was not a fake and in fact real, then that would mean that the teenager was whom Tom wished to summon. That would mean that Tom had succeeded and this teenager, along with whom Albus assumed was his sibling, would be hunted down until either Tom accomplished what he wanted or the poor boy killed Tom, something that could only be done by one, single person.
But if he isn't . . .
The boy and his sibling would be fine. Of course Albus would have to get the Sorting Hat to confirm that the tattoo was a fake but after that, the teenage boy would be free to leave with his sibling (granted that Severus had successfully gotten the message to Tom that the summoning had been an utter failure). Then the unconscious teen would have no fear of being chased throughout the world because he had simply chosen the wrong tattoo to get on his inner, right wrist.
But if he is . . .
Then there was only one explanation, an explanation that only the Sorting Hat and Albus believed to be true.
Albus could only hope that the boy wasn't whom Tom wanted him to be.
But that magic . . . it is not something I recognize. Neither Light magic nor Dark . . . Just magic.
"I have found that most often, the other party had arrived too early. I simply arrived on time," Albus said with a smile as he once again stood up.
"So is he who we think he is?" James Potter asked, glancing around to see if any Death Eaters had stayed and were watching them.
Albus sighed. "Only the Sorting Hat can be certain."
"The Sorting Hat?" Severus questioned, a frown spreading itself onto his thin lips.
Albus nodded, casting another glance at the unconscious teenager that he guessed was about thirteen or fourteen. He could not explain the feeling he felt when looked upon the teen's face, the feeling that whisper incoherent words as if it were trying to tell him something important. It was not as if the teen's appearance called out to him, stating that he recognized the boy. No, this face was unfamiliar and new to Albus. The teenager had a cut on his left cheek from what Albus guessed was a knife and another cut that went straight through the teenager's right eyebrow and towards his right eye, the mark ending just a hair away from his right cheek. His neck had strange, dark green markings that wrapped around his neck three times in a language Albus could not identify. While Albus could only guess the boy's eye color, his light brown hair could just barely reach his shoulders.
So, no, Albus did not detect any sort of characteristic that he would be familiar with.
Yet . . .
"Yes, the Sorting Hat. He is the only one who can tell us if this boy is whom the Dark Lord thought he would be."
"If this poor bloke is, there's no telling what Voldie will make him do," Sirius Black said as he gestured to the man on the ground.
"But how can this teenager be him?" James Potter questioned his companions, turning his head so that he could stare at Albus. "Albus, how is this possible?"
Albus gave a soft sigh and steeled himself for their disbelief. "There are multiple dimensions, different paths if you will, that are worlds like ours yet not. These different paths are the result of all possibilities. For instance, there might be a path in which Lord Voldemort won the war and took over like a plague."
Everyone shivered at the thought of a world where that crazed murderer had actually won and had complete control over everything.
Remus Lupin slapped his forehead, suddenly realizing something. "Of course! Different dimensions. I've read about that theory in a muggle library."
"Moony, do you ever stop reading?" asked Sirius, his tone slightly curious.
"Continuing on," Albus said loudly, trying to keep Sirius and Remus from going off-topic. "Despite how all the paths are different, every world has one person in common."
Severus' eyes narrowed, his arms crossing themselves against his chest. "You mean that this boy could be another world's-" His sentence came to a stop, almost scared to speak his fear.
Upon seeing Albus nodding his head, Severus held the bridge of his nose between his right index finger and thumb.
"Albus, that's ridiculous! Other worlds? Really? If that were true, then Voldemort would have tried to summon another Voldemort, one that had already won!" James exclaimed.
"That's just what we need," Sirius muttered.
Albus shook his head. "Voldemort may not know of the different dimensions and if he does, he would not summon a counterpart of himself."
"Because the Dark Lord does not share," Severus said quietly. "If there were to be another Dark Lord, one with greater power than this one, the Dark Lord would attempt to kill him. There is also the possibility that another world's Dark Lord would simply kill our Dark Lord and take his place. So, no, our Dark Lord would not attempt to summon another version of himself. Assuming, that is, that he is aware of the multiple worlds. After all, he tried to summon our world's . . . you know and not another world's."
Seeing that James seem to accept those answers, Remus spoke up.
"So what are we to do with the boy and the baby? We've already been here for five minutes, discussing different things. Voldemort could be here any minute."
Remus' four companions' eyes swiftly moved to look at the collapsed teenager and the sleeping baby. Albus had said that only the Sorting Hat could tell them whether or not if this teenager was, well, who they thought he was. They couldn't just leave him here to get the hat. Voldemort would surely send Death Eaters to get the boy or come to retrieve the man himself. If that happened, the teen would be as good as dead. So that left only one option.
"We must take him to Hogwarts," Albus said firmly as he kneeled down and gently picked up the baby. "James, would you mind holding him?"
"No, not at all," James replied as Albus handed him the sleeping baby.
Once Albus and Severus Apparated with the man and James and Remus followed close behind, Sirius muttered something before he joined them.
"Should've known Voldie would try to summon the Master of Death."
A/N- Don't worry. Everything will be explained. This was published on 4-26-14 with the length of 3,390 words .