Disclaimer: I of course do not own any of the Harry Potter material, it all belongs to J.K. Rowling and any of the other appropriate people.

Story Summery: An alternate universe story where Harry Potter uses a spell to travel to a world where his parents never died, but he did.

Date Posted/Edited: April 11th 2004

Thanks To: Lina Inverse the Dramata, vmr, Indus, bagelbabe, phoenix-82usa, Arizosa, Chablis Jameson, FuzzyDIR, MegumiFuu, FrozenTearDrop, bryan, Beccy, Danielle, kaylin, Nessa-chan, Stardust2, clingon87, Tarawyn, selena, Eintein’s Troupee, Shadow, Georgia, Achilles, Lady Arwen of Rivendell, Junsui Chikyuu, silverkitten, Artemis-chan of Redwing, Pamela, Tracev, sexy-fleur, Celtic Ember, KLM Otome XIV, A Tye, Diana Cho, Rynye, smile7499, Ivy, Bumblebee Bucy, Chibi Chingo, Madelaine, iceworld4, Embyr Black, Xavien, Abby -WCD, Lila Mae, Lauren, smileygirlo3, AngelStar88, Bill weasly, Suzybeth, Tidmag, Buffelyn, master-of-magic1, SiriusBPadfoot, Michelle, Rozy4, smt, Hugh McDougal, SilveRain, Enialedam, kateydidnt, anarian, angeltears3, Ranchan17

Chapter One: Of Two Worlds Colliding

by S.L

“And how do you repel a boggart again John?” James asked as he rubbed his temples and tried not to think of the painfully slow hands on the classroom’s clock that hung just over his head. It was the last day of classes before the winter holiday and he felt as if he’d been going over boggarts for hours with his third year class. At this point he simply couldn’t wait for that blissful bell to ring and give him the freedom that he perhaps wanted even more than his students.

The nervous boy that he had addressed gnawed at his lip and peered up at his professor, trying to stall some time with his hesitation to come up with the answer he was looking for. “La-laughter... pr-profes-s-or?”

James closed his eyes briefly and he reached under his glasses to pinch them briefly, hoping to calm himself. For some reason unknown to him the Longbottom’s three boys were all nervous about everything they said or did. It made no sense to James, he’d been a few years below their parents in his own school days, and they had been an extremely confidant and intelligent pair. However John in particular had the worse nerves of the family.

“Yes, John, very good,” James said, trying not to sigh lest any of his mannerisms display that he wasn’t pleased with the boy’s answer. It was hard enough to get John to speak at all as it was, and he didn’t need the boy become even more nervous in his class.

Pausing for a moment James took a quick look at his watch, hoping that it would display something other than what the face of that horrid clock was reading. They still had a good fifteen minutes before the bell was due to ring. “Alright then everyone,” James called, picking himself up from his slackened position behind his desk. “Forget the rules, class is dismissed and have a happy holiday!”

He forced himself to smile as the students filed out in a massive and noisy rush, waving goodbye and wishing good wishes for the holidays. Normally he would need to have forced a smile around his students as he enjoyed teaching very much, but today for some reason he just had too big of a headache. Now all he could think about was the day bed in his office connected to his classroom where he could take a nice long relaxing nap before dinner. He’d be home in Hogsemeade by the night and if he still had a headache then he could always mix up a quick potion to take care of it.

After shutting the door firmly behind the last lingering student James immediately turned to the back of the room and walked into his office. With a relieved sigh he fell onto the low sleeping couch in the corner of his office, staying awake only long enough to kick off his shoes and slip the glasses from his nose and place them on the floor next to him. Then at last, he was enveloped in sleep.

The next thing James knew, he was being roughly shaken awake by two very small hands. “Dad!” A sharp voice called to him through the haze of his blurry sleep filled mind. “Wake up already!” James reached up a hand and swatted the source of the noise away from his face and turned over, all he wanted to do was get some sleep. “DAD!” The voice called once more, accompanied by a push he couldn’t ignore any longer.

Wearily James rolled back over and opened his eyes to see his daughter standing over him, with a thin lipped scowl. He blinked at her, feeling as if he’d only slept for a second, but the clock on the wall behind her clearly read otherwise. At least James found that his headache was only barely lingering so the sleep he had managed had done him some good.

The girl stooped over him, arms crossed across her chest, and annoyance written all of her features. Marissa Potter obviously had her mother’s looks and unfortunately she also had her mother’s temperament, (which at the moment was being pushed to it’s limits and both Marissa and Lily Potter had very short limits).

“You promised you’d help me study,” she said in her brisk manner. She was in her fourth year and James’ youngest child. He and his wife Lily had once had three children, but sadly their eldest son Harry Potter had been killed when he was barely an infant. Feeling a chill at the thought that still haunted him to this day, though it had taken place years and years ago now, he pushed it away and forced himself to give his daughter an apologetic smile.

“Sorry Mare,” he said, calling her by her common nickname. “I’d forgotten about all of that.” He wrinkled his nose up. “Besides its the holiday now, there’s nothing to study for, and we have the entire holiday!” He chuckled to himself at the aggravated look on his daughter’s face. Of course Marissa would see a reason to study at the beginning of the holiday. The girl was like a walking library and was rarely ever seen without a book. Lily, though she had been head girl and was one of the smartest women that James knew, had not even been as much of a bookworm.

Lip’s still tightened, Marissa stood back and nodded seriously. “Fine,” she said, giving in reluctantly. “But as soon as he gets in town I’m going to ask Uncle Remus to help me.” This brought a smile to her face.

James snorted at the comment. His daughter absolutely adored Remus and his intellect and every time his old childhood friend came for a visit Marissa simply soaked up every word he said. James’ other best friend Sirius Black got along famously with his son Bran, who was a sixth year at Hogwarts. Bran thought Marissa and Remus were far too serious, and Marissa felt that both Bran and Sirius were very immature.

“Well, they’ll be here in two days, just try to remember that your uncles are coming for Christmas!” He gave Marissa a look to show that he was serious. “That means that you aren’t to bother them too much, they’re on vacation and I want them to be able to enjoy themselves and have some time to relax.”

Marissa smiled easily and nodded again in a brisk manner that was very reminiscent, though James had found that his wife had greatly relaxed over the years since their own Hogwarts days and was a great deal more laid back than she used to be.

“You missed dinner by the way,” Marissa continued on. “Mum says that if you meet her in the kitchens she’ll fix you something up.” Then with another quick nod, James’ daughter exited the room as orderly as possible.

As Marissa left the room James swung his legs over the side of the couch and reached for his glasses and shoes and began to tie them onto his feet. He could still feel the lingering effects of his headache and interrupted sleep and couldn’t quite thin straight. Food, he decided after finishing up, food always helped matters. Stretching, James stood up, grabbed his cloak and headed for the kitchens.

He was barely out the door of his classroom when a soft arm slinked around his waist. “A find night for a stroll Professor Potter,” a silky voice muttered in his ear. It was dark in the corridor and James couldn’t see the speaker, but he clenched a hand around the one at his waist and squeezed it gently.

“A fine night indeed Mrs. Potter,” he responded, pulling his wife to his side and smiling at her as she rested her head against his chest and gazed at him happily. James smiled back at his much shorter wife and brushed a lock of brilliant red hair from her face. Lily made a contented sound in her throat and pulled back from James, grabbing his hand and pulling him along down the hall.

It had been eight years since James had taken up the teaching position for Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts and five since Lily had moved up to the school from their home in Hogsemeade to join him and their two children. At first Lily had stayed home with the children until they were old enough to attend school while James made the weekend commute from Hogwarts to his home. The arrangement worked well enough for their small family with James and Lily staying in the staff quarters for most of the term and returning to their home on all holidays and Hogsemead weekends.

“I was just coming to see you,” Lily said as James wrapped his arm around her and set a more leisurely pace than her usual brisk and hurried one. “I wasn’t entirely sure that Marissa had delivered my message to you,” she looked up at him with a smile in her bright green eyes as if already predicting James’ answer.

James laughed lightly. “You know perfectly well that Marissa would never fail to do a thing you asked of her,” he snorted. “I’m still trying to figure out how she became so responsible even if she took after you, she definitely doesn’t have any of my traits!”

Lily turned to look forward again as she rolled her eyes. “We all know where your wonderful traits went James. Bran’s managed to earn himself another two detentions today alone,” James winced, already imagining the look of displeasure on Lily’s face. Though her attitude had eased a great deal over the years she still highly disagreed with rule breaking. “I think that Sirius and him have been writing again,” she gave him an accusing look as if hoping him to confirm her fears. “This last trick had the Marauder’s written all over it,” she shook her head. “Even Minerva recognized it.

Trying to appease her, James hugged his wife closer. “Oh let those two have their fun, they’re not doing any harm after all and you know how much Sirius adores Bran. You know he’d never do anything or tell him to do anything that would be truly harmful or get him into too much trouble.

“I suppose you’re right,” Lily said, sighing against him. “I just don’t want them to get into any trouble that they can’t get themselves out of. The world today... well it isn’t what it used to be when you two were Marauders, and I think both you and Sirius forget that sometimes,” she paused briefly. “So how were your classes today?” She asked, changing the topic dramatically.

At the reminder of his horrific day James groaned and reached one hand up to run through his disheveled hair. “Terrible, nobody was making any effort at all to even think about the lesson.”

“What, with the holiday starting tomorrow? It’s no wonder James!” She snorted and pushed against him playfully. “As I remember it my dear, you made the last week of school before any holiday an absolute hell for each and every one of your professors.” She then laughed at the memory as if she hadn’t just been discouraging and despising such tricks only a moment before.

Skeptical of her memory, but knowing hers was better than his, James shrugged. “I wasn’t that bad. Besides, who wants to learn about goblin rebellions anyways? Defense isn’t boring though and I don’t make it so, the kids today should be able to stay alert.” He smiled slightly, lips twisting. “Back then all I did was make things a little more colorful...”

Lily pushed away from him entirely stopping for a second to stare at him in wonder before he pushed her back into a steady walk, he was still hungry after all. “Colorful indeed, remember when you dyed Minerva’s hair blue?”

James recoiled in protest. “Hey! I told you things needed more livening up, and she’s forgiven me for that!” He shrugged his indifference, then reached out to pull his wife to his side again. “So enough about me, how was your day?”

An uneasy smile appeared on Lily’s lips. “Oh, its wasn’t too bad.”

After Lily had insisted on moving up to the castle with her family Dumbledore had offered her a reason to do so by hiring her as his personal assistant and secretary. Now she worked under Dumbledore publicly as the Headmaster of Hogwarts and more secretly under him as the First Phoenix of the Order of the Phoenix.

Her voice lowered as she continued to talk so James had to dip his head down to hear her. “We had another threat today.” She paused to allow this information to sink into James’ already troubled mind. You-Know-Who was becoming more terrifying than either of them had ever known in their lives and they had been dealing with him since just after they had graduated from Hogwarts themselves. “He’s said that he is going to take Azkaban next,” she continued.

James hugged his wife around the shoulders as he felt her shiver, knowing already that she was thinking of the terrible guards of the magical prison. Anyone in their right minds feared dementors just as much as they feared You-Know-Who. “Don’t worry yourself over it too much,” he told her, although he himself was already worrying over the new thought. “We’ve been dealing with him for what? A little over twenty ears now and we’re still alive aren’t we?”

The moment the words were out of his mouth James instantly regretted them. He knew that Lily would only take them in one direction, and already knew that she had as he felt her shoulders tense under his arm.

“Harry’s certainly not alright,” she said in a small breath.

James pulled her to the side of the hall and wrapped her up in both of his arms, pressing his face into her jasmine smelling hair. “Oh Lily,” he said as she sobbed silently against his chest. She couldn't’ keep doing this to herself, thinking about their lost son every time death was brought up. It had been years since his death, he had only been a baby after all and not even Bran had been born yet, yet still she was constantly reminded of him and the fact that he was dead. It seemed that every attack, every death, and every baby boy reminded her of that terrible night, that horrible Halloween.

Finally after several minutes of James comforting her in the darkened hallway she nodded against his chest and he felt her hands slip between them to rub the tears from her eyes. “No,” she said, pulling back, though still refusing to look at him. “I know, I won’t think about it,” then she buried closer to him all the same, needed another moment in his embrace before either one of them was able to continue their walk.

“Shh, Lily,” James said as they started off again. “Let’s just go and grab something to eat okay? I did miss dinner,” his rumbling stomach reassured this as James patted it.

“Of course,” Lily said, not even laughing at the sounds that James was making. “I just can’t help it,” she said after they had been waling in silence for another minute. “He was just so young and so helpless, there was nothing that I could do.”

James closed his eyes hard at the thought, feeling his heart burn at the painful reminder. “I know Lily, I think about him too. I know he shouldn’t have died that way, he shouldn’t have been killed, but he was and we need to move on.”

“He was just so tiny James,” A tear fell onto the arm James had wrapped around Lily and he knew it wasn’t his. “I couldn’t protect him, I couldn’t save him, I-”

“Hush Lily, neither of us could do anything,” he said squeezing her. “You-Know-Who got to him before we could get up the stairs. We should be grateful that we are alive ourselves and have Brandon and Miranda.”

Sighing, Lily whispered. “I know that James. I should be grateful that we’re alive and a family, but... I can’t help wishing that Harry was here too...” She was silent for a long moment, before she wiped away the tears and looked up at James with a forced smile. “Now how about that dinner hmm?”

James gave his wife a sad sort of smile, glad that at least she had recovered somewhat, and nodded, “definitely my dear, lead the way.”

Harry looked about his surroundings skeptically, his muscles taunt, hand gripped tightly around his wand. This certainly looked like Hogwarts, it felt like Hogwarts, and yet- it still wasn’t his Hogwarts. It wasn’t the school that he had been apart of for all of those long years.

Perhaps the spell had truly worked.

He looked down at his wand in wonder, not daring to quite believe it. His wand looked perfectly fine, save for the thin column of smoke that coiled snake like out from its tip in a lazy sort of manner. Obviously his spell had done something, but was it what he had intended?

The spell that he had used had been taught to him by none other than his greatest and dearest friend Albus Dumbledore himself. The old man had given Harry the instructions on how to use it right before he had died, telling him that he would use it when the time was right. The only clues that the old Headmaster had given him was that he had to remember the Mirror of Erised and that true wishes could really be granted if wanted badly enough. He had said that it was a spell that would completely change his life, but to be careful because after he used it, life for him would never be the same.

Harry snorted at the thought, life for him had never exactly been normal, and boy did he ever need what the spell Dumbledore had taught him had to offer. For all of his life Harry had wished of nothing more than to be with the parents he had lost as a baby. When Dumbledore had first given him the spell Harry had been quite tempted to use it then and there, already having suspicions on the effect that it would initiate. However Harry had forced himself to remember the dying man’s words and he remembered that he would know what to do when the time was right.

For seven months after Albus Dumbledore had died Harry waited, but even that had felt like an eternity after all the years of waiting he had already done. Before anything could be done, Harry knew that he had to finish the task he had started as an infant, the fight that he had been destined to fight. He had to destroy Lord Voldemort.

Then the time finally came after eighteen years, and now Voldemort was truly gone. It hadn’t been more than a month ago since Harry had fought the Dark Lord, but then he knew that it was time to live that world and use the spell that Dumbledore had taught him.

He hadn’t even known if the spell would work, or if it even could, but Dumbledore had given it to him and there was no one that Harry trusted more. So, Harry had made the necessary arrangements to disappear, making his intentions known that he wasn’t going to return. Only a few very close friends and colleagues knew the chance he was taking and they were reluctant to allow him to do so, but they had to let him. After removing the single greatest threat to the magical and muggle world no one had been in any sort of position to deny Harry Potter anything he wanted. Besides Harry had already lost so much and they knew he needed something to believe in again. First there was Dumbledore, and the countless others, until even loosing Voldemort had come as a major shock.

After all, the Dark Lord had been such a large part of his life that Harry couldn’t imagine living without him. Ever since the truth about the prophecy had come out, everything he had ever done had been geared to preparing him for Voldemort’s demise. Harry was certainly glad that the terrifying man was gone, but life, he had to admit, would seem almost boring now. Certainly there would be no more adventures, missions or drills, but there also wouldn’t be any more death’s either.

Swallowing faded memories Harry tried not to think of what he was leaving behind. He had left a broken world, already on a fast road to greatness, thanks in large part to him. Even in it’s state after the war Harry had never known the magical world to be a better place. It was only knowing that he had left behind a good life for his friends and the entire magical and muggle population that Harry had allowed himself to move on. No doubt they would miss him, and there would be a few who would become frightened when they realized he never intended to turn up again, but eventually everyone would move on and he would become another name in the history books.

There was no doubt that the world he had left behind would be able to learn without him. Harry just hoped that in turn, he could learn to live without them.

Harry looked up at the strange, yet familiar Hogwarts again, letting his wand arm fall down to his side. He felt completely drained, and absolutely famished after the trip Dumbledore’s spell had taken him on, and he badly felt the need to be around familiar settings again.

He sighed contentedly, relaxing at last. Perhaps he truly had come home, after all Hogwarts had never been anything else. Well, he decided as he hitched up his knapsack over his shoulder and set off, there was only one way to find out.