A Space Between Worlds

Chapter Eight:

A New Power, A New Presence

"I surrender to the one who took my place.

I can feel your presence here with me..."

--"Here with Me" by Mercy Me

"I thought you'd be joining us, Tom."

Harry and the others watched with rapt attention as the two wizards moved to confront one another. He could feel Hermione shaking behind him, and he was sure that if Sirius opened his eyes any wider, they would pop out of their sockets.

"You old fool," hissed Voldemort, his eyes fixed on Dumbledore. If there was one thing that remained the same with this Dark Lord, Harry noticed, it was his voice. High, cold, and deadly. "Shouldn't you be back at that laxly-run school of yours?"

"Surely you know as well as I, Tom, that the students are still on holiday."

"Indeed, I know it. I keep a close eye on all the students, mudbloods and pure bloods alike." He grinned a dangerous grin, and then, with reflexes too quick to react to, he raised his wand.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Green light shot out of it and rushed towards Dumbledore...

But Dumbledore was no longer standing there.

It seemed as though he had Apparated away, but Harry knew better. He knew that the old headmaster would never leave a battle with Voldemort to save his own life. He knew that only too well.

And soon enough, he was proven correct. Dumbledore reappeared behind Voldemort, looking as casual as ever.

The Dark Lord hissed violently and turned to face the old professor.

"Crucio!"

The light sped from his wand and hit Dumbledore in the chest. There was a collective gasp, and the head that was still resting in Alice's arms shouted, "Turn me about...I can't see what's happening!"

But nothing seemed to be happening. Dumbledore merely smiled, as he had been doing, and took a step toward the seething Voldemort.

"I'm terribly sorry to disappoint you, Tom," Dumbledore said, not looking at all apologetic, "but I have taken my own precautions against some of your spells. Just as you have mine." Dumbledore raised his wand, and Voldemort did the same moving into a defensive mode.

Hermione squeezed her eyes shut and her grip on Harry's arm became almost unbearable. Despite this, he spent a few awe-filled minutes watching the duel between the two wizards, amazed as always of the power they possessed and the scope of their magical abilities. It was only then that Harry remembered what Dumbledore had said to him before: to keep away from where he would be fighting with Voldemort.

Harry began to back away, and Hermione shot him an anxious glance.

"Where are you going?" she whispered.

"Come on," he whispered back. "We should get out of here..."

Hermione gave him no objections, and followed closely as they went, unnoticed, from the duel. They weren't ten yards away, though, when another explosion filled the already vociferous air. Turning, Harry saw a cloud of smoke erupt from where Dumbledore and Voldemort had been previously dueling.

Please, Harry thought desperately, please let him be all right. I can't survive in this world without his guidance...

A shout went up from the crowd that surrounded the duel. A victorious shout. And Harry realized, with a great relief, that the noise of victory was coming from the Order and Ministry aurors, not the Death Eaters. In fact, the black-hooded followers of the Dark Lord seemed to be fleeing.

"Come on!" Harry shouted, yanking on Hermione's arm and racing back towards the center of the fight. Death Eaters were Disapparating around them, and Voldemort was no where to be seen.

They had won the battle.

Harry moved over to where Dumbledore was standing, surrounded by Order members congratulating him, complimenting him, and asking as to whether he was all right or not.

"Thank you, I'm fine," Dumbledore was saying, but Harry thought he looked uncharacteristically pale and tired.

Yet when he saw Harry approaching, he brightened. "Pardon me, please..."

He went over to Harry, beaming. "Are you all right, young man?"

"Yes sir," Harry replied, returning his smile.

Dumbledore looked as though he were about to say something else, until he noticed Hermione standing silently beside Harry. "Ah, Miss Granger. I did not know you had come to join us."

Hermione gave a timid nod, staring at Dumbledore as though he were God.

He nodded gently at her. "You live nearby?"

"Yes, Professor Dumbledore."

"Apollo," Dumbledore said, turning back to Harry, "would you mind escorting this young woman back to her home. That is, if you do not mind, Miss Granger."

"I don't mind," Hermione answered, seeming to come out of her awe-filled state a bit. "Do you, Apollo?"

"No, I'll go," Harry replied.

"Very well then, it's all settled," Dumbledore said. "Oh, and Apollo, be sure to come straight back here. We have a few things to discuss," he added, a significant look in his clear blues eyes.

"Yes, sir," Harry said, knowing it probably had to do with his mission. Though what about exactly, he had no idea.

***

"Would you...hold...still..."

Sirius watched, greatly amused, as Lily and Alice continued their struggle to reattach the head of the Death Eater, while Kingsley and Kai North did their best to hold the body still so that he wouldn't escape.

"That's almost as entertaining as you getting stuck under that roof," James mused, nodding to the grotesque spectacle as he leaned heavily on Sirius's shoulder.

"Hey there, Prongs, you were stuck under the roof, too, you know."

"No, I was stuck under Lily, who was stuck under you, who was stuck under the roof."

"Pft! Technicalities," Sirius said, brushing his good hand through his plaster-laden hair.

"There!" Lily shouted, placing her hands on her hips and having a look of grim satisfaction upon her face. "Your ugly head is back on your lumpy shoulders."

The Death Eater grumbled murderously as he was hauled away by Kingsley and North to where they were holding the other prisoners that were unable to escape when their master fled.

"Well now," Sirius said, looking around at all the destruction merrily, "that wasn't so bad, was it?"

Lily and Alice gave him a look.

"What?" Sirius defended. "We won, didn't we?"

"Hardly," Alice sniffed, trying to find a clean spot of her robes to use to scrub the dirt off her face. "If Dumbledore hadn't come when he did..."

"And look at all our casualties," Lily added, gesturing around herself. "Not exactly a clean job."

Sirius sighed, "Honestly, you two don't have to be such pessimists. You're ruining this joyous occasion. I am, did you see Lucius Malfoy? I didn't know he could run like that. Did you, Prongs?"

"Sorry, I wasn't listening," James said, wincing. "I was too busy being in pain."

At this, Lily went over to him and gently kissed the top of his head. "That better?"

James smiled. "Much better, thank you, love."

It was Sirius's turn to wince. "Please, you two, get a room," he teased.

"Silence, Padfoot," James said, "you voice hurts my head. It echoes around inside my skull."

"Well, your skull has a lot of room for echoing, doesn't it, James?" said another voice.

The all turned, and Alice jumped forward and threw her arms around the newcomer. "Frank! Are you all right? I wondered what had happened to you! I was so worried!"

Frank Longbottom laughed and kissed his wife. "Yes, I'm fine."

"Again with the displaying of affection," Sirius sighed.

"I think Sirius is jealous," Lily whispered to James.

"I think Sirius can hear you," Sirius said, turning red.

***

Harry moved stealthily down the hill towards the city, Hermione hurrying along at his heels. He knew that they were not out of the woods yet, so to speak. Just because Voldemort and most of his Death Eaters had fled, didn't mean all of them had. Hermione however seemed to think that they were totally out of danger.

"Did you see how they fought?" she asked, a bit too loudly. "That was amazing. I had never even heard of half the spells they cast, had you?"

"Shush, Hermione," Harry said softly. "There could still be some of Voldemort's followers--"

Hermione gasped sharply, making Harry whirl around on the spot, whipping out his wand. "What? What is it?"

She was staring at him in a mixture of shock and admiration. "You said...you said his name."

Harry sighed. "Oh is that all? You had me thinking it was something terrible."

"Oh is that all?" Hermione asked incredulously. "Is that all? I've never...no one's...just Dumbledore...you..."

"It's just a name, Hermione," Harry said, patiently. "He won't know if you say it."

She shook her head. "I couldn't. I shouldn't. And you shouldn't either."

"Why not?" Harry asked.

"Because..." she faltered, unable to come up with a good answer. She just stared at him closely for a moment, and he squirmed slightly under her brown gaze.

"Don't you fear him?" Hermione asked, quietly.

Harry was about to say "no", feeling rather brave with sun still hanging in the sky, but he also knew that, besides the dementors, few other things had scared him more than the power of the Dark Lord Voldemort.

"I don't know," Harry said, staring at his feet. "I mean, I've seen the worst he can do, he killed my parents. I suppose I hate him more than fear him. Or at the very least, I fear what he can do more than him himself."

Hermione cocked her head to the side. "I thought you said before that Death Eaters killed your parents."

Harry started, but recovered quickly. "Yes, well, on Voldemort's orders, you know." Keep your stories straight, Potter.

"Oh, of course," she said. "It's gotten a bit chilly, hasn't it?"

Harry hugged his robes closer to himself. "Yeah...come on, we should go..."

"I'd rather you stay where you are."

Harry froze and Hermione squeaked in surprise. Both turned slowly to see a figure in black robes and a mask standing a few yards away.

"Think you could run away, did you?" drawled the masked figure. His voice sounded young and very familiar to Harry. Apparently, Hermione also seemed to know that voice.

"Malfoy," she whispered, eyes wide.

"That's right," the Slytherin boy said, pulling back the mask and grinning wickedly at them both. "All right there, mudblood? Who's your friend here? Some more of the Muggle-filth you come from?"

Harry raised his wand higher. "Hardly." His voice was tight with anger, though it didn't surprise him in the least that Draco Malfoy was not only a Death Eater, but damn proud of it as well.

Malfoy grinned wider, twirling his own wand between his fingers.

"Shouldn't you be running away with all your friends?" Harry said, taking a step forward. The last person in the world he was about to let intimidate him was Draco Malfoy.

"Running away?" snorted Malfoy. "Is that what you think we were doing? No, we're regrouping, gathering more of our strength. We'll attack again, rest assured, we always do. We'll allow you to believe that you've beaten us; lead you into a false sense of security. It's all part of the Dark Lord's plans."

"The Dark Lord must really love having you as a minion, spouting off his plans to known enemies," Harry said, taking a few more steps nearer to the young Death Eater.

"You Muggle-lovers could hear every detail of every one of his plans and still not understand their full meaning. Quality of blood equals quality of brains, after all."

"Then you must be descended from apes, Malfoy," Hermione piped up bravely from behind Harry.

Malfoy snorted. "Shut your face, Granger. You're lucky I haven't cursed you into oblivion yet."

"Like you could," Harry said.

"Oh, you want to see proof then?" Malfoy said, running a hand casually through his white-blond hair.

"I don't need proof," Harry spat. "I can tell just by looking at you that you aren't worth my time. Though it might be good for a laugh."

Malfoy made an ugly face. "Who do you think you are, anyway? What's your surname?"

"Hero," Harry said, glad that this time he hadn't messed up his pseudonym.

"How appropriate," sneered Malfoy, and he lifted his wand, shouting, "Sagitti!"

Three whizzing arrows flew from his wand tip towards Harry and Hermione. Without even thinking of using his own wand, Harry ducked, and pulled Hermione down with him.

Malfoy laughed coldly, his pinched face full of malice. "Come now, Hero. Don't you want to play?"

"Apollo," said Hermione, "can't we go? I have to deal with him all the time at school. He's just a bully. Ignore him." She tugged on his sleeve, but Harry shrugged her off, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Shove off, Malfoy. You don't scare me."

Malfoy laughed again and sent another three arrows at them. This time, one caught Hermione in the arm, and she gasped in pain.

Harry stood up, and strode forward angrily.

Malfoy continued to laugh, but his grey eyes grew wary.

They watched each other closely for a few brief moments, fingers twitching on their wand handles, sizing up their opponents. But Harry had the advantage; while he didn't know everything about this particular Draco, he could see that he was not so different than the other one. This Draco, on the other hand, knew nothing about Harry.

"Novaculo!" Malfoy yelled, and what appeared to be a knife or razor came flying out of his wand at Harry.

"Protego!" Harry countered, and the weapon bounced away, falling onto the grass.

"Crucio!"

Harry was able to dodge that curse, and immediately aimed a spell at his nemesis in return. "Rictusempra!"

Malfoy dropped his wand and rolled around on the ground, laughing hysterically. "AHAHA--STOP! HAHAHAHA! STOP IT! NO--HAHAHAHA!"

"Accio wand," Harry said easily, and Malfoy's wand flew into his outstretched hand. He lifted the tickling spell, and Malfoy lay gasping on the ground, watching as Harry approached with a mixture of hate and fear in his eyes.

Harry stopped above him, looking down at him. He was just calculating what to do with him next, when Malfoy suddenly sat up and grabbed Harry around the knees. He lost his balance and fell over, the wands flying out of his hands.

Malfoy landed his fist in Harry's stomach, but Harry managed to kick Malfoy hard in the shins in return, making him cry out. Taking advantage of his lapse in concentration, Harry lunged forward, and the two boys wrestled on the ground, fists flying, legs flailing, grunting and cursing at each other.

Somehow, Malfoy managed to land on top of Harry, pinning him to the ground. He grabbed hold of Harry's throat, choking him, and Harry clasped his hands in a pleading sort of way.

Malfoy snorted. "Giving up already, Hero?"

Harry nodded, but before Malfoy could react, Harry swung his clasped hands forward and into Malfoy's jaw.

The force caused Malfoy to let go of Harry's throat, holding his hands over his face, and Harry, though relieved in being able to breathe again, wasted no time in leaping forward and tackling Malfoy to the ground.

Malfoy cried out, but then picked up the knife that was lying in the grass. He rolled over onto his back, Harry bending over him, and swiped desperately at Harry. The knife caught Harry in the shoulder, and he recoiled slightly.

Malfoy then took the opportunity to jump up and run over to where his wand had fallen. He picked it up and, without a second's hesitation, Disapparated away.

"Apollo!" Hermione cried, running over to him. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," Harry said, examining his shoulder. "It's just a scratch. What about you? Are you hurt?"

Hermione grimaced as she showed Harry her arm. The arrow had only grazed it, but it had left a nasty cut just above her elbow.

"It twinges a bit," she admitted, "but I'll live."

"Let me have a look at it." But the instant Harry touched her arm, two very strange things happened all at once: a stinging pain shot up his arm, and the wound on Hermione's arm seemed to disappear.

"How did you do that?" Hermione gasped.

"I--I didn't do anything," Harry said, perplexed, as he rubbed his arm.

Hermione stared at him, and then shook her head. "I don't know about that, Apollo. I really don't know about any of this. But I do know that I am glad to have met you."

***

After Harry had seen Hermione home safely, he returned wearily to the field in Sarehole. As he went in search of Dumbledore, he watched wizards and witches helping the wounded and cleaning up the area. Everyone looked rather grim and on edge, as though expecting another attack.

"Miss Granger home, Harry?"

Harry turned and smiled at the old professor. "Yes, sir, she's home safe. You...wanted to talk to me about some things?"

"Yes, Harry," Dumbledore said, "why don't we find somewhere a bit more private?"

They walked over to a space apart from where everyone else was, near the bushes where Harry had first met Hermione. Dumbledore settled himself down upon the ground and motioned for Harry to do the same. It was then that the headmaster noticed the tear in Harry's shoulder.

"How did that happened?" he asked with a slight frown, gesturing to the rip in his robes.

Harry sighed. "Hermione and I were attacked by Malfoy. We fought a bit, but the he got away, or rather ran away," He added with a satisfied grin. "It's all right though, just a cut, it'll heal. Hermione got a bit worse than me, but--" He stopped, unsure of how to explain what had happened.

"What is it, Harry?"

"Well...the arrow that did it, it only grazed her skin, but it left a nasty gash. And when I went to have a look at it, it...disappeared. As though it healed itself, instantly."

Dumbledore looked thoughtful for a moment. "Hmm...perhaps we shall see if anything will become of this in the future..." He looked thoughtful for a moment longer before glancing back at Apollo. "Did you notice anything about yourself? While you were fighting? Any new abilities show themselves?"

Harry shook his head. "No, sir, just the same old, same old."

"Ah well," Dumbledore said sagely, "I expect it won't be much longer now."

Harry wasn't sure of what he was saying, but he nodded anyway.

"Now," Dumbledore said suddenly, "you will be starting Hogwarts here on 1^st September correct?"

"Of course," Harry said.

"Are you still willing to be a Gryffindor, or do you which to be resorted?"

"Gryffindor," Harry said at once. There was no question in that.

"Very well," Dumbledore said. "You will be a Gryffindor, and be sure to tell your housemates, if they ask, that you were given a private sorting in my office."

"Yes, sir."

"Now, I have one more thing..."

Dumbledore reached into his pocket and pulled out the parchment upon which the directions for the Intermundia Charm were written.

"Oh!" Harry exclaimed, taking them from the headmaster. "I'd forgotten all about this!"

"Sirius found it."

"What?" Harry asked sharply, eyes wide. "He saw...?"

"No, dear boy," Dumbledore said with a smile. "He couldn't see. He thought it only a blank piece of parchment when he found it in your pockets the day he found you, though he gave it to me to check over anyway, just to make sure. You see, Harry, no one can see the directions, unless they know, as you and I know, what they are."

Harry sighed, relieved, and put the directions in his pocket. "Is that all you wanted to discuss with me, sir?"

"Yes, Harry, you may go now. I shall see you on 1^st September."

Harry got up, but then turned to face the old man who still sat cross-legged on the mossy ground. "Sir? May I ask you something?"

"Of course, Harry."

"It's about the Object...how am I to find it? Do you know?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "No one, as far as I am aware, knows what it is our where to look for it. This is something you must figure out own your own."

A great rock of disappointment fell into his stomach. How in the world would he be able to find it?

"I know it seems like an insurmountable task," Dumbledore continued, "and it's not fair that such a fate should be thrust upon your young shoulders, but you are the only hope that both worlds have, Harry."

"I'll do it, sir, it's just...how long will it take?"

"I don't know, Harry," Dumbledore said sadly, "I wish I could tell you. But for now, you must try and do your best to live in this world."

Harry nodded. "Goodbye, sir."

"Goodbye, Harry."

Harry left and went in search of Sirius and the others. He found them standing in front of what remained of the old house.

"All right there, Apollo?" Sirius asked, upon seeing him.

"Yeah," Harry said, "just a bit bruised here and there, but mostly tired."

"Well, you can go on back to my house now," he said, "I have a few things to take care of here. I'll be along in awhile."

Harry nodded and clambered back into the fireplace that had brought him here.

***

Harry lay upon the bed, utterly exhausted. He felt as though he hadn't slept for days, even weeks perhaps. The mattress beneath him was softer and more comfortable than he remembered it to be, and it was easy for him to shut his eyes and fall straight to sleep.

But unfortunately, his reverie was short-lived.

He opened his eyes suddenly, confused as to what had awoken him. Then he realized. It was a baby crying.

It didn't strike him how very odd this was until he was a bit more awake. He sat up suddenly and looked about the room, listening hard. Yes, it definitely was a baby, and it sounded close by, as though it were in the room with him. But Harry knew that could not be so.

He got up, and followed the crying noises out into the hall. He could not discern from where it was coming from; the sound seemed to reverberate around him. So, he decided to check each room.

As he did so, he found nothing, but he began to wonder, what was a baby doing in Sirius's house? Harry was almost certain that his godfather in this world was unmarried and had no children to speak of. Surely he would have said something if he did.

With each empty room, Harry grew more and more curious, and more and more nervous. He could find no child, but the cries that it continued to utter grew neither louder nor softer. It was almost as if the sound of them were following Harry, or that they were within his very mind.

At last Harry entered Sirius's room, the last room on the first landing. He half-expected to see a little bundled-up baby lying on Sirius's bed, but, like all the previous rooms, there was nothing. And the cries continued.

The sound must be coming from downstairs then, Harry thought, but just as he was leaving Sirius's room, he heard a noise from downstairs that made him panic.

It was Sirius. He was home. And Harry didn't have his talisman on.

The guest room where Harry was staying in was down the hall from Sirius's, exactly opposite. In order to reach it, he would have to walk by the stairs, and then Sirius would see him. But he couldn't just stay here where he was...

He could hear Sirius moving around downstairs. Perhaps if he ran for it, he could get by Sirius unseen.

His heart thumping wildly in his chest, Harry made a mad dash down the hall, but just as he passed the stairs, just when he thought he was safe, Sirius's voice stopped him.

"James? What in the world are you doing here?"

Harry froze, not knowing what to do next. Sirius had seen him, but had mistaken him for his father.

"James?"

"Er..." Harry said, trying desperately to make his voice sound more mature.

"What are you doing here?" Sirius repeated. "You should be home."

"Er..."

He could here Sirius coming up the stairs now; he shrunk back into the shadows.

"I..." Harry racked his brain furiously for an excuse. "I had to...get something...for...er...for work...I thought that I had...left it here...but..."

From where he stood, he could see Sirius reaching the top of the stairs and beginning to round the corner.

"But I guess I left it somewhere else, bye," Harry said in one breath and then Disapparated into his room.

He landed on the bed, his legs feeling shaky. He breathed a sigh of relief, but inwardly he kicked himself. Why had he panicked and not just Apparated into his room in the first place? Stealing a moment for his heartbeat to return to normal, he noticed that the baby noise had stopped. This, of course, did not mean that he was going to let this whole thing go without investigating further. He slipped the talisman back on around his neck, changed back into Apollo, and went back out into the hall.

Sirius was standing at the top of the landing, looking utterly bewildered. "Apollo," he said, "did you happen to see or hear James Potter come in here just now?"

"Er...no..."

"Well, that's odd," Sirius said, looking thoughtful. Harry decided to play along.

"Why? Was he here?"

"Yeah, he just left a moment ago...said he needed to find something for his work..."

Making sure that he didn't give Sirius's brain time to work out anything it shouldn't, Harry said quickly, "What does Mr. Potter do?"

"I dunno," Sirius said, still looking very thoughtful. "He and Lily don't say a word about they're work. They're Unspeakables--"

"They're what?"

"Unspeakables," Sirius repeated, looking pensive. "They work in the Department of Mys--"

"I know what an Unspeakable is, I just had no idea that they are..."

Sirius leaned back over the railing, then sighed. "Ah well, it doesn't matter much. James's going to get an earful, though, when I tell Lily he's been Apparating with a concussion."

Harry's stomach churned uncomfortably. "You...you're going to...tell?"

Sirius frowned at him. "Er...yeah. I never miss an opportunity to have Lily rip his head off."

Harry thought quickly. "Well, couldn't you, instead of telling on him, keep it secret...?" Why would Sirius do a lame thing like that, Harry? Stop being thick and think of a real reason to prevent Sirius from mentioning anything.

But to his great surprise, Sirius's grey eyes lit up and he smiled wickedly. "Excellent idea. I won't tell Lily, I'll hold this information over James's head...as blackmail." He turned to Harry, grinning. "I like the way your mind works, Apollo."

"Er..."

"Well, go on now, back to bed," Sirius said. "You've had a long day."

Harry didn't need telling twice, and as he finally lay down to sleep, he was plagued with strange dreams of crying babies and headless Death Eaters.