The World as We Knew It

"Harry, you're mad!"

"Remus, it's the only way."

It was the following afternoon, and Harry was having a whispered conversation with Lupin via the two-way mirrors.

"It will never work."

"Why not?" Harry asked, smirking.

"For one thing, you're proposing that we break into Hogwarts and search for the diary. If we cannot find it in the school, we enter the Chamber of Secrets and look there, endangering ourselves with the possibility that there might be a Basilisk wanting us for lunch."

Harry rolled his eyes. "We're not going to break into Hogwarts. We'll just ask Professor McGonagall if we can search the school. And we'll be safe from the Basilisk; it can only come out if Voldemort calls it."

"Stop interrupting me!" Lupin snapped. "Then if we cannot find the diary, you're suggesting that we find that accursed cave you and Dumbledore visited on the night of his death and face the Inferi to retrieve the locket we already know to be a fake."

"I'll drink the potion this time," Harry said. "Besides, we don't know if it's a fake. Maybe R.A.B. never learned about the Horcruxes in this world."

"Like I said, you're insane."

"We have to bring back proof, don't we? The best proof will be the diary, if we can find it. My guess is that it's still at Hogwarts; Ginny must have been caught in the act of opening the Chamber, and she probably didn't take the diary to Azkaban with her."

Lupin sighed. "I don't know, Harry."

"We'll just apparate to Hogwarts to have a look. That's all. It can't hurt, and there's no danger. I told you, the Basilisk can only be called by Slytherin's heir. If we can't find the diary, we'll have to try the cave."

Lupin was silent for a moment. "How are you going to get out of your house? I most certainly refuse to show up on your doorstep and say, 'Excuse me, Lily and James, could I borrow your son for a day so we can search Hogwarts for Lord Voldemort's diary and perhaps venture into the Chamber of Secrets where a monstrous Basilisk lies in wait?' Your parents are suspicious enough already!"

"I'll find a way out," Harry said. "Maybe I'll just wait until they're both gone, and Leila's in her room. You know," he added, "sometimes I wonder if she ever comes out apart from eating meals. What does she do in there all day long?"

The Lupin in the mirror shook his head. "Don't even start asking me for girl advice, Harry. I cannot even begin to fathom the minds of women."

Harry laughed. "Me neither. You should try being best friends with Hermione Granger... At least I'm the only one who doesn't understand her. Ron can't either."

Lupin smiled. "If we were still in our old reality, I'd say those two fancy each other."

"Not anymore," Harry said, and told Lupin about Fred and George's story. "They said I'm Cho's boyfriend now, and she dumped Ron for me," he finished. "I guess we can forget about Ron being my best mate anymore." As he said it, he felt a pang of sadness in his chest.

"I'm sorry, Harry," Lupin said. "As soon as I find the third person in the Aperio, we can fix things."

"No!" Harry said quickly. "I don't want to go back."

"And I believe it is the right thing to do, so I suppose we've met a stalemate here," Lupin said.

Suddenly Harry heard footsteps in the hallway. "I've got to go, someone's coming. I'll contact you as soon as I've figured out a way to leave without detection."

But when Harry arrived back at Godric's Hollow the next day after Animagus lessons, he still hadn't a clue as to how to leave the house without his parents finding out. He said goodbye to Sirius, entered the house, and flung himself onto the sofa, still panting for breath after Side-Along Apparition.

"I hate apparating," Harry exclaimed to no one in particular. James was reading a pile of official-looking documents, and Lily was magically cleaning the living room. Suddenly Harry realized that the living room contained an old fireplace. "Hey, Mum, can't I just Floo over to Sirius's place tomorrow?" he said hopefully.

Lily paused, looking puzzled. James looked up from the papers. "Our house hasn't been connected to the Floo Network for years," he said, giving Harry an unreadable look. "I thought you knew that."

Harry mentally kicked himself. "Yeah... right... I just... forgot," he finished lamely. Lately he'd been using that excuse a lot.

Lily was looking at him strangely too. "Harry, are you sure you're alright? You seem to be... well, forgetting things a lot."

"I'm fine, Mum," he muttered, then quickly made up an excuse to leave the room.

Leila met him on the stairs. "Where are you going?" she demanded, blocking the path.

"Upstairs. Move."

"No. Mum's right, there is something wrong with you."

"It's nothing," said Harry, avoiding his sister's gaze.

She stamped her foot, and Harry was suddenly reminded painfully of Ginny by the fierce blazing look in Leila's eyes. "There bloody well is something wrong. You used to talk to me, you know, but then overnight you're all clammed up, acting like you never had a sister who actually cares about you...I'm sick of it."

Harry looked at her, surprised. "Oh... well..." He bit his lip. She wouldn't believe him if he did tell the truth.

"Something's up, and you won't tell me. Suddenly you can't remember that our house isn't connected to the Floo network, and you think dead people are alive, and living people are dead, and you're forgetting everything!"

He searched for an excuse. "I...er..."

"Don't lie to me. I know you're not my brother," she spat. "My brother was different. My brother didn't give a damn about what was going on with the war. My brother was a lousy Seeker. My brother didn't care whether he got a top Transfiguration grade or not. My brother didn't go around pulling wands on people."

Harry tried rearrange his face into what he hoped was an innocent look, but she just glared at him. "Don't play stupid with me, Harry James Potter. I overheard Dad telling Mum that you pulled a wand on him on the first day of summer, and that you forgot Moody was the Defence teacher!"

Harry stared at her, at a loss for words.

"You'd better have a good explanation for all of this, or I'm going to tell Mum and Dad you're the one who's a Death Eater under Polyjuice Potion," she snarled, her hand resting on her pocket. Harry knew she was close to pulling a wand on him.

"You won't believe me if I tell you the truth," he said, looking away.

"Yes, I will," she said defiantly. "Have I ever not believed you?"

"I don't know," he said shamefacedly. "I can't remember."

"SEE?"

They glared at each other for a long moment, but then Harry shrugged and said, "Let's talk in my room."

She stepped aside and let him pass, then followed him up the stairs and down the hall.

Once in his room, Harry shut the door and sat down on his bed. Leila plopped down on a squashy chair and stared at him. "Are you going to talk, or do you want me to just ask questions?"

"I'll talk."

There was a long silence as Harry struggled to find a place to start.

"Well?" she said, shooting daggers at him with her eyes.

Harry sighed. "Don't laugh, OK?"

"Do I look like I'm about to laugh?" she said.

He threw a pillow at her, and she arranged it in her lap and leaned her elbows on it.

"I know how to defeat Voldemort."

Leila had turned pale at the sound of the name, but she was staring at him, her anger gone, and an expression of wide curiosity on her pretty face. "Defeat You-Know-Who? What on earth are you talking about?"

"It's hard to explain. A week ago, I woke up in the morning and everything had changed."

"In what way?"

"Well, I suddenly had a mum and dad, and a sister, and Sirius was alive, and Ginny was caught opening the Chamber of Secrets and they sent her to Azkaban, and I had no scar, and Dumbledore died years and years ago, and Snape never came to teach at Hogwarts..."

"Whoa, slow down!" Leila said. "You're not making any sense at all."

"I mean, I guess what I'm trying to say is... I used to live in a different world, until a week ago."

Leila snorted, and looked like she was about to laugh, but after a long moment she just said, "You're really serious, aren't you?"

"Yeah. I'm telling you the truth. One night I was lying in my bedroom at the Dursleys'..."

"Dursleys? Oh, you mean that nasty aunt and uncle and cousin that hate us 'cause we're magical."

"Yeah, and the next thing I know I'm waking up in this bed, and the room's loads bigger and nicer and I see Mum and Dad and Sirius and it completely freaked me out 'cause they're dead and..."

"Are you telling me Mum and Dad and Sirius weren't alive in the other world?" Leila said, looking stunned.

So Harry explained to her about how Sybill Trelawney had made a prophecy and because of it Voldemort had murdered his mum and dad sixteen years before, believing Harry to be the Chosen One. Harry told her how he used to have a scar, and how the protection of Lily's sacrifice had kept him from dying from the killing curse. Then he outlined his miserable years at the Dursleys', how he had discovered his magical abilities with the arrival of the Hogwarts letters, and how Hagrid had fetched him in the middle of the night. He told her about his first and second years at Hogwarts, and the attempts the defeated bodiless Voldemort had made to kill Harry once again, how he, Ron, and Hermione had saved the Philosopher's Stone, and how he had defeated the Basilisk and saved Ginny Weasley in the Chamber of Secrets.

When he got to his third year, Leila had to be filled in about how after the Dark Lord's fall Sirius had been blamed for the deaths of Lily and James Potter. Then he launched into the story of Sirius's escape from Azkaban, the repeated attacks on the castle, Wormtail the rat, the confrontation in the Shrieking Shack, Lupin's transformation, and Hermione's Time Turner.

The fourth year was even harder to explain, because he had to tell her all about Barty Crouch, Jr., and Voldemort's plan to use Harry's blood as an ingredient for his rebirth. When he told Leila he had competed in the Triwizard Tournament at the age of fourteen, her eyes had flown open, but she did not speak. She gave a little gasp though when he related the story of Cedric Diggory and the Portkey that transported them to the graveyard, where he had duelled with the newly reborn Voldemort and watched his parents emerge from the end of Voldemort's wand.

Then he launched into the fifth year, explaining how his scar had connected him to Voldemort causing him to feel emotions that didn't belong to his body, and see things through Voldemort's perspective. He described attacking Mr. Weasley, and the weird dreams of long corridors and black doors. He explained how the Ministry was interfering with Hogwarts, how the students weren't learning how to defend themselves, and how Hermione and Ron had convinced him to start Dumbledore's Army, a secret society to learn defence spells and things. When he told her of his life-long Quidditch ban, she actually exclaimed in anger, "That evil hag! That's horrible!"

"You play Quidditch on the Gryffindor Team, don't you?" Harry asked.

"Of course I do. I play Chaser," Leila said. "Go on with your story... not that I believe you yet," she added hastily.

Harry explained Voldemort's clever plan to get the prophecy, the duel in the Ministry, and Sirius's death through the veil. He explained about the sixth year, his Potions book and the aid he received from the Half-Blood Prince, and how he had suspected Malfoy of being up to something dodgy. "Well, he is a git," Leila said darkly. "He tried to hex me on the Hogwarts Express a few weeks ago... bad idea. Death Eater though, I would have never guessed."

"Well, we don't know whether he is in this world, just that he is one in my life," Harry pointed out fairly, then gave her a detailed description of his visits with Dumbledore, the background of Tom Riddle, and the remaining Horcruxes. Feeling a growing lump in his throat, he recounted the night he and Dumbledore had travelled to the cave, battled the Inferi, and retrieved the locket. He pressed on, glazing over the details of the tower scene, Snape's betrayal, and his final mission to find the Horcruxes.

"But I don't have the scar anymore," Harry finished, "and I'm not the Chosen One anymore."

Leila's eyes narrowed again. "That's some story."

"It's the truth."

"I still have some questions."

Harry waited.

"What's the real reason you've been going over to Sirius's house every day?"

Harry decided to tell the truth. It couldn't hurt...and he wasn't sure she'd believe a lie. Despite her brutal interrogation, Harry was beginning to like his fiery younger sister a lot. "You're a lot like Mum," he said before he could stop himself.

"Don't dodge the question," she said fiercely.

"Fine. I'm going to become an Animagus."

"Why?"

"So I can get Ginny out of Azkaban."

Her mouth dropped. Harry felt a burst of pleasure at finally shocking her beyond words.

"You...you...what?"

"I'm going to save Ginny from Azkaban," Harry said again, more firmly.

"That's impossible!"

"No, it's not. Sirius did it, Barty Crouch did it, and I can do it too. I'll come up with a plan."

"You're mad."

"I know," said Harry, wryly, thinking of Lupin. "Any more questions?"

"Yeah. Did you like Ginny?"

Harry paused. "Yeah," he said softly.

Leila was silent for a long time. Then she said simply, "I believe you. About everything, I mean."

"You do?" Harry said, surprised.

"Yes. I don't think you'd lie about that. And it's the only explanation that makes sense. Mum and Dad weren't the only ones to notice how weird you've been acting. I can see it too. So," she said, unfolding herself from the chair. "What will you do now?"

Harry shrugged. "Lupin has re-formed the Order, and told a select group the information I just told you about Horcruxes. They want proof, so now I've got to help him find a Horcrux before next week. I have to find a way to sneak out for a day so we can search Hogwarts for the diary."

"And saving Ginny?"

"Well, obviously I have to complete Animagus training first. I'm working hard, and Sirius thinks I'll have it learned in a couple of months. Maybe sooner. Hey," Harry said, grinning broadly. "Watch this." He screwed up his face and turned his hair red.

Leila laughed, delighted. "Will you teach me how to do that?"

"Maybe," he said noncommittally. Harry suddenly had an idea. "Leila? Have you ever poked around in Mum and Dad's stuff?"

She looked hard at him, then said, "Promise you won't tell Mum and Dad?"

"Have I ever?"

"Well, there was that one time I was going out with Theodore Nott and you..."

"You went out with Theodore Nott?" Harry almost shouted.

"...and you obviously don't remember that either...honestly, Harry, he's quite a nice bloke, but you had to go blabbing to Mum and Dad that I was seeing a Slytherin and they grounded me for months and months."

Harry shook his head, trying to remember what they were talking about earlier. "Well, I need to talk to you about him later..." His sister shot him a vicious glare. "...but back to the original topic, Mum and Dad's old school stuff."

"Oh yeah, I did," she said. "I was looking for old letters of Mum's because she hinted one day that she went out with more than one guy before she and Dad got together. I wanted to know who, so I waited till they were out on Order business and went looking."

"Did you ever find an invisibility cloak?"

"A what?"

"A silvery cloak that makes you invisible when you put it on."

Leila scratched her chin thoughtfully. "Maybe. I'm not entirely sure, but I think I found one once. I don't remember where, though. Why?"

"Because I have to help Lupin find a Horcrux! And if the diary is in the Chamber of Secrets, I'm the only one who can open it, 'cause I'm a Parselmouth."

"Then I'll help you," said Leila resolutely.

"Operation Distract Mum," Leila whispered to Harry. It was the following day, and both were crouched on the stairway. James was gone to Quidditch practice, and Lily was cleaning the kitchen after the noon meal.

"Are you sure you can keep her occupied for a couple of hours?" Harry said skeptically.

"Leave it to me," his sister said, grinning conspicuously. "Mum won't know what hit her. Watch the expert work."

Leila slipped out into the living room shutting the stairway door behind her. Harry pressed his air against the cool wood.

"Mum," he heard Leila say tentatively. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

The clattering of pots and pans stopped. "Sure, Leila. What is it?"

"Well...It's about something that happened at school..."

Harry bit back a laugh. Leila's voice was trembling; she sounded as though she was going to break into tears.

"Oh, honey..." Lily said softly. "Tell me what happened."

"There was this boy I liked..."

Harry scampered back up the stairs quietly. He had no wish to listen to Leila's woeful tale; he had an invisibility cloak to find.

The attic was dark and cool, with an odd assortment of both Muggle and Wizarding furniture and knickknacks. Harry passed a couple of old mirrors, a stack of old brooms (probably the ones James had worn out), and a whole wardrobe of clothes from the seventies. Finally he found what he was looking for--a stack of musty-smelling boxes labeled "School."

Harry pulled up a creaky stool and started to look. He found piles of his parents' old textbooks, old school robes, and photo albums full of waving people in tiny pictures. He even came across a box of old Zonko's joke stuff--old Crude Quills that wrote insults to the person who tried to use them, silverware charmed to make food taste horrible, and an assortment of firecrackers and dung bombs. Another box was full of ink drawings all bearing the tiny signature Lily Evans in the bottom right corner. Harry recognized Sirius, James, Peter, and Remus, along with an assortment of other girls and boys who must have been Lily's friends during her time at Hogwarts. Then realizing with a jolt how much time had passed, he quickly moved on to the next box.

This one was full of old clothes, but at the bottom, Harry discovered a small wooden box. He ran his fingers over the flowery engravings and found the latch. The lid swung upward on hinges, revealing rows of neatly stacked letters. All seemed to be addressed to Lily Evans in the same cramped handwriting. Harry's curiosity subdued the tiny twinge of guilt he was feeling in the pit of his stomach as he picked up a letter at random and began to read.

Dear Lily,

Your letter came this morning by owl. A feeling of joy washed over me when I recognized your purple ink. Although I admit, I already knew who the owl was from before I saw the letter--no one but you writes so faithfully.

I'm sorry to hear you had another fight with your sister. I can tell you love her a lot, and I relate to your situation. It's amazing how uncomprehending Muggles can be about our ways. My father was a Muggle, and he finally left my mum a few years ago. He hated us, hated me in particular for turning out to be just like Mum. I think Mum loved him, though, because she never seemed to forgive me for my part in driving him away.

Congratulations for winning the Potions award from Slughorn!. I knew you would get it. I guess I win the bet, huh? You won instead of me. Next time we go to Hogsmede you have to pay for the Butterbeers.

This holiday is stretching so long... I can't wait for it to be over. Only a few more weeks and I can see you again on the Hogwarts Express. Can you believe we made it to our sixth year? I never though I would. Especially with the constant bombardment from those dirty, slimy, rodents who call themselves Marauders...

But I apologize. Although I know you detest them too, I did make an oath I would not insult any Gryffindors in your presence whether they deserved it or not. I should remind you that it was my house, not yours that won the Quidditch Cup and House Cup last year...

Again I have strayed from the subject into grounds that may be unsafe for conversation between you and me, who are from Houses that differ as the night and day. But strangely when I am with you, I forget both my background and my insufficiencies and I feel that I can rise to any level for you. I can attain any height if you will be there to cheer me on. You are special to me, and I know you have asked me not to say the words, but I feel I must. I love you, Lily. We are of two different worlds, but somehow a bridge has formed.

Waiting impatiently for our next meeting,

Harry stared. There was no signature. The corner of the letter had been ripped away, as if his mum hadn't wanted anyone to know who the letter had been from. The letter was certainly not from James or even from a Gryffindor. It was probably no one Harry knew, but why did he feel like he had seen that handwriting somewhere before?

Harry shoved the letter into his pocket, meaning to show it to Leila later. He closed the box and rearranged the clothes on top of it.

Five boxes later, he found what he was looking for--James Potter's Invisibility Cloak--and something else useful that Harry had not been expecting to find--the Marauder's Map. Why his father had ended up with the map was a mystery, but it was definitely a turn of luck in Harry's favor. He closed the boxes, repositioning them in a dusty stack. Shoving the needed items under his shirt, Harry crept back down the stairs and into his room.

Leila burst into his room after another fifteen minutes. "You'd better have found that stupid cloak," she grumbled. "I am not covering for you again. I had to listen to two hours of Mum's boy advice!"

"Yeah, I found it," said Harry. "And something else too." Harry drew the Marauder's Map out from under his bed. "Watch." Pulling out his wand, he said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Lines suddenly began to appear on the blank parchment, forming the outlines of a map of Hogwarts.

"Wow," Leila breathed, "How did you..."

"Like I said, in the other..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she said, tossing her head impatiently. "You learned in the other reality. So who created this map? My brother or not, I know you don't have enough brain power to make something this advanced."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Harry said, grinning. "No, I didn't create it. Dad did, along with Sirius, Peter, and Remus, when they were all at Hogwarts. But enough on the map. Have you ever seen this letter before?"

Harry pulled the letter from his pocket and handed it to Leila, who unfolded it and quickly scanned it.

"Yeah, I have," she said. "I told you, I was reading Mum's old letters to try to figure out who she was going out with before Dad, but all the letters have the name torn off at the bottom. I think she might not even want Dad to find out."

"I'm sure Dad already knows who it is. He was at Hogwarts with her for seven years," Harry reminded her. "It must be someone else who she's trying to hide the identity of the writer from."

"Like her insensitive kids who snoop around in her old school stuff?" Leila said, smirking.

"Maybe..." Harry said doubtfully. "Have you ever seen this handwriting before?"

Leila looked at the letter once more. "Nope, never."

"Look again," Harry pressed. "Are you sure it couldn't be the handwriting of any of the Hogwarts professors?"

Leila shook her head. "I'm sure. I've never seen it before. So what are you going to do about retrieving the diary?"

Harry sighed. "I have no idea. Mum's not working this week, so she's always going to be home! Dad will be most of the time too. I have no idea how to get out without their detection."

"Just don't go when they're watching," Leila said.

"Huh?"

"Go at night, when they're asleep. If you're quiet, you can return before the morning, and they'll never find out."

Harry stared at her. Why hadn't he thought of this before?

"If they wake up before you're gone," she continued, "I'll cover for you with a story."

"Leila, you're a genius."

She colored slightly, but flashed him a grin. "I know."

"Remus!"

There were a few moments of silence, but then Lupin's head appeared in the two-way mirror.

"Harry. Has something happened?"

"I found a way to leave so we can find the diary."