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Author: Sorting Hat Story: Through a Dark Mirror Rating: Teens Setting: Pre-DH Status: WIP Reviews: 7 Words: 13,544
"What the hell went wrong with the Portkey?" someone was yelling. "I don't know!" someone else yelled back. "We should try to get him back from this end." "Fine." Moments passed before the voice that had advocated retrieving him spoke again. "I was afraid this would happen. He's dead." Harry woke up in a cold sweat. His double was already awake, glaring at him. "Bad dreams?" his double asked. "Yeah." "Well, it's time to get up anyway. We have work to do." "Once the others know how to make the Portkey, we'll--" Harry began, but the other Harry cut him off. "Look, I don't know how things are done where you come from, and I don't care. Here, everyone pitches in. We don't have time to waste. Or did you expect we'd be drinking butterbeer and catching up on old times?" The other Harry's voice dripped with contempt. "I couldn't care less what you think or what you expect. I have a job to do, regardless of whatever you might have planned. I'm having dreams about things that are occurring on my side of the mirror, and I've never known my dreams to be frivolous. You go gallivanting around the grounds all you want. Don't bother me with it." Harry snapped. His double rolled his eyes, then got up and left. Harry followed suit, but instead of going to the Great Hall, he stormed off in the direction of Dumbledore's office. Those he met on the way gave him a wide birth. Apparently, this universe's Harry was prone to bad moods. Before he knew it, Harry had reached the statue guarding the Headmaster's office--or where it should have been. Even through his anger, he was shocked. The stone gargoyle was gone. In its place stood a very large and very mean looking live gargoyle. It sized Harry up in about 2 seconds and seemed to decide he'd make a nice snack. "Password?" it asked in a very ominous voice. "Stand aside," Dumbledore's voice rang out from the opposite direction. He approached his office, and eyed Harry. "I trust you found your bed comfortable?" Dumbledore asked, sounding as though he really didn't care one way or the other, as though his mind were elsewhere. "Fine." "Have you considered the idea that you may not be able to continue hopping universes?" Dumbledore looked grave. "What do you mean, Professor?" Harry asked. "Something occurred to me last night, after a particularly foul episode with Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. Stupid ear-wax flavour." Dumbledore growled. Harry was reminded very strongly that this was not his Dumbledore, no matter how similar he looked to the man Harry had known. "What occurred to you?" Harry asked. "The dimensional hopping might have a negative effect on you. Every magical being on Earth has a specific magical signature. It's as unique as your fingerprints. Not even twins have the same magical signature. It's part of the magic that makes up our world." Albus explained. "What does that have to do with anything?" Harry asked, though a horrible thought had already occurred to him. "You're not of this universe. Or of the other you spoke of. I'm concerned that so many changes might be...harmful." "You mean I might lose my magic?" Harry asked nervously. "Well, no. I don't think that will occur. I do believe however that your signature will change as you spend time in other universes." Dumbledore explained to him. "And that means?" Harry pressed. "That you may one day find yourself unable to shift again. If you are not in your universe when that happens--" "I'll never be able to go home," Harry said dully. "Correct. There is one other possibility..no...there are more possibilities than come to mind, as your hopping suggests. The other is that you may have a negative effect on the universe itself." "Oh. How do you mean?" Harry asked. "As to that, Harry, I do not know," Dumbledore finished. Harry sighed and began to explain what he knew about the modified Portkey to the professor. Dumbledore nodded occasionally, interrupting only when he had a serious question. It could have been minutes or hours later when Harry's concentration was suddenly shattered. "Emergency communication" came the voice of Lucius Malfoy; "Death Eaters have been detected in the Forbidden Forest. All students and teachers report to battle stations." "Damn!" Harry heard someone swear as the corridors filled with students of all ages. "I assume you know how to defend yourself?" Dumbledore asked, his voice all business. "Yes." "Good. Join Harry and me in the Great Hall." They ran through the castle until they found themselves in the Great Hall. Harry fought back a shudder when he saw Lucius Malfoy directing the students to various defensive positions. The wards began to rock and the castle rocked with them. A large brick fell from the ceiling toward Professor Malfoy, but someone blew it out of existence before it could hit him. Harry felt a surge of pride, though he was in the wrong universe. Good job, Neville! he thought. Harry felt a surge of magical energy as it flooded through him. The staff and entire student body were conducting magical reinforcement to the wards. All but Malfoy, Harry suddenly realized. He snarled and pointed his wand at the professor's heart. "Harry, no!" his double yelled. "Expelliarmus!" Harry's wand flew out of his hand. He turned on his double with a look to kill. The rocking stopped. People began to calm. Harry suddenly realized why. Lucius was looking at him with a very quizzical expression. So were several others. "But...Professor...I mean...What's going on?" said a voice Harry would recognize in his sleep. "What is going on, Mrs. Granger, is that we have a temporal visitor," Dumbledore cut in, though the question had been directed at Professor Malfoy. Hermione's eyes widened. She grabbed Ron's hand. Ron didn't seem to notice. "Harry?" she asked in a small voice. "Yes?" Harry asked. "What?" his double responded at the same time. Hermione fell silent, but Ron was looking from Harry to his double. Several expressions played across his face and he opened his mouth and closed it several times. Finally he settled on, "D'you know how to play Quidditch?" The more things change...Harry thought. "Yes." "Wicked!" Ron exclaimed, causing Hermione to give him an exasperated look and some of the other students to look at him like he'd grown a second head. "Albus, I'd like to know what's going on myself," Malfoy said, his voice low. For a moment, Harry could see only the Malfoy of his universe. "I apologize for not informing you last night, Lucius, but there were some things I had to establish first. "Can we trust him?" Lucius asked. "Yes. I believe we can," Dumbledore replied. "Then that's good enough for me," Malfoy replied. "So this was some sort of drill?" Harry asked, as he yanked his wand up off the floor. "Yes," Dumbledore replied, "We try to make the preparations we give our students as realistic as possible. "I...see," Harry muttered. "I'm just used to you being on the other side, Professor." The word felt strange in Harry's mouth, but Lucius nodded. "I understand. No harm done." "Well done everyone," Lucius said, turning to the student body at large. "Well done. You may all return to your various activities. Do not forget that your battle preparedness essays are due the day after tomorrow." There were some grumbles about this, but the students left peaceably for the most part. Soon, Harry stood in the room with Lucius, Dumbledore, the other Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "This is very strange, Harry," Hermione said to Harry's double. He glanced sideways at her with a grim chuckle. "You think it's odd when you see him? Imagine how I feel, seeing myself." "So you do play Quidditch then," Ron cut in. "Our Harry was the youngest--" "Seeker in a century, right?" Harry replied. Ron nodded. "Yeah. Me too. And it's all because of Draco Malfoy--" "Complaining about the Nimbus two thousand I got from Dumbledore," Harry's duplicate cut in. "Well, yeah. But I got it from Professor McGonagall." Dumbledore had been talking to Malfoy, but his head snapped toward Harry with that statement. "What did you say?" Dumbledore demanded. "I got my Nimbus from Professor McGonagall." A faraway look came into Dumbledore's eyes. His voice shook slightly when he spoke again. "I see. So Minerva is still alive in your universe." "Yes. Deputy Headmistress and Transfiguration teacher," Harry replied. This seemed to distress Dumbledore, but he shook it off. "Very well then, off you go, all of you." Ron, Hermione, Harry and his double all trudged out of the Great Hall. Going to Gryffindor Tower seemed to be the most logical thing to do, so Harry turned toward it. The others followed, though Harry's double pushed forward to stand beside Harry. "What else is different?" "Well, Ron has a sister. Ginny Weasley. Molly and Arthur are the only parents I've ever really had." Ron shuddered. Harry looked at him. "When my mother died, the doctors said she was pregnant with a girl. Ginny, I guess you called her...the sister I never had." "She is a credit to the Weasley name. Red hair, fiery temper, but willing to defend anyone who she cares about." "Yeah. That's not surprising. What about my brothers? Percy, Charlie, and James?" "James?" Harry asked. "The oldest. He's a curse-breaker in Egypt." "He's there, but his name is Bill. Charlie works in Romania with dragons. Percy, well...he's the Weasley Who Must Not Be Named." "WHAT?" Ron yelled, "You mean he'd a Death Eater?" "No! No. Sorry. It's just that...he moved away and isn't on the best of terms with your parents or the rest of your family. He makes your mum cry." Ron sighed. He lagged behind the rest of the group, causing Hermione to go over to him. They spoke in whispers. From the look on Ron's face, Harry could see she was trying to comfort him, and that he was used to it. "When are you going home?" Harry's double asked him. "Well, Dumbledore asked me questions about it. He said he'd work on getting it made for me. Last time, Sirius didn't seem to have much trouble but--" "I'd prefer not to discuss any versions of Sirius Black," Harry's double said in a tone that brooked no argument. When they finally got to the tower, Harry's double gave the password. The Fat Lady looked at him, and then at Harry, but shrugged. The portrait swung open. The tower was still empty, and it seemed to be darker somehow than Harry's own, though sunlight streamed through the windows and a fire burned in the fireplace. "A fate ill met..." Harry muttered. "What?" his double asked. "Nothing." "Are you alright?" Hermione said, looking at him strangely. Apparently, she recognized the reference. "I'm fine," Harry muttered. "We're more alike than I thought," his double told him. "You aren't fine! Don't give me that!" Hermione snapped at him. "What's going on?" "Nothing," Harry replied, attempting to shake off an overwhelming sense of dread that had just hit him. "It's something to do with that Portkey, isn't it?" Hermione asked. "Dumbledore told me I may not be able to go home. And even if the Portkey works, who knows where I'll end up? "If you think that way, you're only going to give yourself gray hair, Harry. I don't really want to see myself with gray hair," his double cut in. "Shut up, Harry," Harry spat. Harry's double looked at him with a strange look on his face. Then he began to laugh, haltingly at first, but then more fully. Harry chuckled just a bit, but then found himself laughing with his double as Ron and Hermione joined in. "But gray hair is dignified," Harry explained. "Not at our age, it's not," Harry's double shot back. "No, at our age we're supposed to cause gray hair, not have our own," Harry replied. "Remember what we did to Snape?" Ron asked Harry's double. "Of course. We turned his hair bright pink just in time for Valentine's day. Remember the Dwarf?" Ron nodded, laughing. "With hair oh so greasy, and eyes oh so dead..." "How many points did he take for that?" Harry's double asked Hermione. "Five hundred seventy," she replied, looking amused. As the laughing died down, Harry looked over each of them. "No matter what happens, it's good to know that our trio is just as close in your universe as it is in mine." "If someone wants to kill one of us," Harry's double began. "They have to get through the other two first," Ron and Hermione finished. "Yeah. That's how it is in my universe too. Listen--" Whatever Harry had been about to say was cut off by Dumbledore's voice. "Harry Potter, report to the Headmaster's office." Harry and his double both set out toward the head office, with Ron and Hermione in hot pursuit. "Password," the gargoyle asked. "Boysenberry Butterbeer," Harry's double replied. The gargoyle moved aside, and the group entered the head office. Dumbledore and Malfoy stood there, along with Professor Snape. "We believe this is what you need, Harry." "It will be," Snape said gently. "I don't see how anything could possibly go wrong." Snape's hair was still greasy, but streaked with white. Harry shuddered. "Yeah, ok. Lets get this over with," Harry told Dumbledore, before turning back to his friends. "You lot stick together, no matter what happens." They nodded. Harry turned and, closing his eyes, took the Portkey. The universe began to shake and... The world flashed red. The world flashed green. The world flashed red. The world flashed blue. The world exploded. The world caved in. Harry cried out in fear. Harry was relieved that everything worked out. Harry braced for death as it didn't work. Lily screamed. James yelled. Sirius cried out for him Sirius tried to kill him. Sirius promised to always take care of him. Remus promised to take care of him. Harry clung to Ginny. Harry clung to Hermione. Harry clung to his mother. Harry clung to Parvati. Harry's head exploded in pain. He landed on the floor and shook himself off. What the hell was that? he thought. Where am I? That which once was, that which will be, that which never came to pass, that which has always been. That which could have been, a strange voice in his mind said. He looked around. Saw himself landing in Godric's Hollow. Saw himself being raised by his parents. Saw himself being beaten up by Dudley. Saw himself being shot by Vernon Dursley. Saw himself being given a mirror by Sirius. Saw himself smashing Dumbledore's office. Saw himself unfreeze as Dumbledore fell off the castle wall. Saw Malfoy die as Dumbledore avoided the spell and then killed him. Saw himself talking to Chancellor Dumbledore as a young child, and as an old man. Saw a universe being pulled by a train. Saw a universe being pulled the other way by the same train. Saw the universes collide. Had no idea where he was. Knew exactly where he was. Had never left. Had never been. Saw another train on the track, braced himself as the train began to squeal. Felt the shock of the train crashing.... .....And woke up surrounded by Fred, George, Remus, and Ginny. Author's note: I'm sure the last few pages of the chapter made no sense whatsoever. After he grabbed the Portkey, Harry fell into an area where he could see every choice he'd ever made, and all the outcomes of each. He saw every universe there was to see and his role in each. We've been to Tracks A and B. Harry has now woken up in track C. This is where he spent all of his life, before the failed experiment that had him waking up in track A. Welcome to Derailment. Things aren't going to make much sense. I hope you'll stick with me. As Harry begins to figure things out, they will become clearer to you as well.
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