Chapter Text
Ron breathed a small sigh of relief when he saw Harry hug Hermione and the fighting had stopped. Leave it to Harry to get himself into the most bizarre situations.
‘Although…’ Ron thought, gripping his wand tightly, looking around warily, ‘I must say that this is the strangest adventure I’ve seen with Harry to date…’ He could tell that Neville was also uneasy about being surrounded by all the friends they had left at home, dead and alive. ‘But Harry doesn’t seem to be bothered by anything here…that is if that is Harry…’
The man that Hermione was clinging to sure looked enough like Harry: messy black hair, green eyes with the same glasses Harry always wore, still pale, still shorter than Ron himself and still had his trademark scar…
But there was something wrong with Harry, that much was obvious. Ron could see the burns on Harry’s body, which he would investigate to be sure, and Harry didn’t even bat an eyelash at the fact that he was standing mere feet from someone impersonating his godfather…
“Ron, are you going to stand there all day?” Harry chuckled, “You can relax here, you’re among friends.”
Ron didn’t loosen his grip on his wand, and he could see Neville hadn’t either.
“Harry, you do realize half of the people in this room are supposed to be dead, don’t you?” Neville asked quietly, shooting nervous looks around the room at the people.
Hermione had finally let go of Harry, who had repressed his pained expressions for her sake, and looked around as well, “Harry…what’s going on?”
“I could ask the same thing.”
Ron turned to find himself staring at the end of Bill’s wand, while Charlie and Percy raised their own wands as well. When Neville tried to raise his wand to help Ron, Charlie pointed his wand at Neville in warning.
Harry stepped forward, “Bill, Charlie, you can relax. Ron isn’t-”
“That’s not our brother Harry,” Charlie said, his wand still pointed at Neville, “How can you all just forget that these three attacked Ron and the twins?”
“Frank’s still missing too…” Alice said quietly. Ron could see Neville twitch uncomfortably, but he said nothing.
“What did you do to the real Ron?” Percy asked, his eyebrows furrowed tightly over his glasses. It was definitely an expression that Ron had never seen on his brother before, at least not on Percy.
But Ron couldn’t think too much on Percy’s expression, he was far too confused, “What are you talking about? I am Ron! The imposter is in the dungeon!”
“Dungeon?” Bill jabbed his wand at Ron’s neck, “Are you telling me my brothers are in Castle Slytherin?”
“Castle what?” Ron shook his head. Surely he heard wrong, had he just heard Bill say Castle Slytherin?
Bill grit his teeth, “Don’t play dumb!” he snarled.
Harry rushed forward, grabbing Bill’s wrist, “He’s not playing dumb, Bill!” Ron watched as Harry forced Bill’s arm down, “He really has no idea what you’re talking about!”
“Harry, we know we owe you a lot,” Charlie said evenly, “But this imposter even admitted that our brothers are in the dungeons!”
“Yeah, YOUR dungeons!” Ron shouted, confused and frustrated. This was getting too confusing for his taste “And they attacked us!”
“You’re the intruders! They were good men!” Bill argued.
“We didn’t intrude!” Hermione shouted back, “We don’t even know where we are!”
Percy turned on Hermione, “You sure had no problem attacking us!”
“You lot attacked us first!” Neville insisted.
“You’re the enemy here!” Charlie jabbed his wand at Neville’s neck.
Hermione shook her head, “We just came to find Harry!”
Harry cleared his throat, “If I could interrupt…”
Bill ignored Harry, “So you can bring him back to your master, no doubt!”
“Master? What in Merlin’s name are you talking about?” Ron was getting a headache from all the shouting. Of course the situation wasn’t helping in the slightest….
“Don’t pretend you don’t know!” Percy said coldly. Ron was starting to remember why Percy had a tendency of getting on his nerves…
“We don’t have to pretend!” Neville looked just as confused as Ron felt. It was almost like a horrible prank that everyone was playing on them. If it weren’t for the fact that Ron could clearly see Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Alastor Moody and Nymphadora Tonks, all of whom were clearly dead, he may have thought this was a prank.
“So who are really under your disguises?” Bill insisted.
Ron sighed. This was getting old, and he was hungry, “Look, I have no idea what you’re talking about. I really am-”
Both sides of the argument stopped when Teddy’s laughter could be heard from the dungeon below. The entire room turned to look at the open door that led downstairs.
“A baby?” The woman impersonating Ron’s mother asked.
Harry looked at Ron, “Teddy?”
Ron nodded, “Someone had to watch him while you were off with…whoever these people are.”
“You left my godson alone in the basement?” Harry asked, frowning “Whose bright idea was that?”
“He’s not alone Harry,” Neville tried to explain things to Harry, “Malfoy’s down there with him, he’s watching…well he’s watching Ron, Fred and George and-”
Neville’s sentence was lost when the rest of the room heard the word ‘Malfoy’. Bill and Charlie were racing to get down in the basement, the rest of the imposters were close behind them.
And Ron was still confused.
‘Please stop crying…’ Draco thought desperately, looking down at the crying baby in his arms. Teddy’s hair was an awkward shade of brown, almost making him look sickly, and his face was bright red and dripping with tears and mucus. “Oh for the love of Merlin... Silencio.”
He probably should have felt bad about silencing the infant instead of comforting him, but what did he know about children? Draco had been an only child, the aunt that hadn’t been disowned had never had children, thank Merlin, and no proper pure-blood family ever had more children than they absolutely needed to.
Except the Weasleys, but they had a category of their own.
Draco sighed and looked around, rocking Teddy in his arms. The basement was dark without the light from Weasley and Longbottom’s wands, the only light coming from the open door. Draco could still see that the four bodies on the floor were still stunned, so he wouldn’t have to worry about them waking up anytime soon. He had already collected their wands in case Weasley’s stunning abilities weren’t up to par.
‘Of course they would be up to par, he’s been by Harry’s side for years…’ Draco mused, kicking aside the piles of wands as he looked at Teddy again. ‘Let’s see…Teddy is the grandson of my aunt, son of my cousin…does that make him my second cousin? No…first cousin, once removed…that sounds right….’
To be honest, Draco was bored. He wanted to find Harry too, but Weasley and Granger had declared him ‘useless’ because he didn’t have a wand. Typical…but it would have been a well founded judgment…
If it hadn’t been for Harry.
‘It’s always about Harry isn’t it?’ There was probably a time when Draco would have been resentful for the way attention gravitated towards Harry, when he would make some snide comment about ‘Saint Potter’ or ‘Scar head’ or perhaps insult Granger and Weasley. But that was in the past and his traumatic experience with the Deatheaters may or may not have played a part of Draco’s newly found humility…that and Harry saving his life.
Draco smirked as Teddy calmed down, only to grimace when the baby wiped his dripping nose on his shirt.
“Don’t push your luck, kid.” Draco grumbled. Teddy looked up at Draco, holding onto his shirt. Then the infant scrunched up his face and for a moment Draco feared he might have to change a diaper.
But then Teddy’s hair turned from the murky brown to Draco’s shade of light blonde. Draco chuckled, “You’re too young to be a brown-noser kid…but you have class, so I’ll let you have your voice back.”
Draco took the silencing charm off of the infant, who cooed cutely with his new hair. The blonde baby began to giggle loudly, bouncing in Draco’s arms. ‘Well what do you know?’ Draco thought, ‘Maybe I’m better with kids than I thought…’
The sound of arguing could be heard upstairs, but Draco didn’t care to listen in. Chances were that everything would be explained to him later, and there was no point in only hearing some information and making a rash decision based on it. It was when things got quiet that Draco started to get concerned.
“A baby?” Draco was sure that he heard Molly Weasley’s voice, which made little sense to him.
“Teddy?” Draco perked at the sound of Harry’s voice. Harry was here, which meant that Draco’s spell had worked! A smile tried to cross Draco’s face, but years of being trained to be a Malfoy had somewhat stunted his ability to stretch his lips that far.
Instead, he got an awkward toothy smirk, which made Teddy stop giggling. Draco quickly stopped trying to smile and reached up and touched his cheeks. He definitely needed to make sure he could smile before he tried to attempt to do so next time.
“Someone had to watch him while you were off with…whoever these people are.” Draco raised an eyebrow as Weasley spoke, absentmindedly bouncing Teddy in his arms.
“You left my godson alone in the basement? Whose bright idea was that?” Harry sounded irritated at Weasley, which made Draco smirk, before all of Harry’s words sunk in. Teddy was Harry’s godson? Draco hadn’t known that…he was aware that Harry had been friends with his cousin Nymphadora and their former professor, the werewolf, but it hadn’t crossed Draco’s mind that Harry was father material…
‘Godfather material,’ Draco corrected, looking down at Teddy.
“He’s not alone Harry,” It was Longbottom who spoke this time, “Malfoy’s down there with him, he’s watching…well he’s watching Ron, Fred and George and-”
There was a stampede in the room above, and Draco wasn’t sure exactly how many people were actually in the building…but he was aware that they were coming downstairs.
Draco turned away from the stunned bodies on the floor and towards the staircase.
Just in time to narrowly avoid a jet of bright red light as it streaked past his ear and into the wall behind him.
‘I’m being attacked!’ Draco’s eyes widened as he looked up at a trio of murderous looking Weasleys. ‘Oh sweet Merlin, how many older brothers does Weasley have?’
Before Draco could think any farther, another curse was shot at him. Teddy was screaming in his arms as Draco ran out of cursing range and into the corner of the dungeon. ‘I take back every Weasley joke I’ve ever made, just don’t let them kill me!’
Just when he thought he was going to get retribution for his Hogwarts years of teasing Weasley, the rest of the stampede rushed down the stairs. It was odd because it looked like the entire Order of the Phoenix was piling into the dungeon…including those he knew were quite dead. Most notably his former professor, who looked more ragged and tired than he had before he had been killed. But instead of stopping the bloodthirsty Weasleys, the adults looked at Draco before raising their wands and cursing at him.
Draco didn’t have time to think of anything as he turned his body to shield Teddy, raising his hand quickly, “Protego!”
The shield was able to deflect most of the curses, giving Draco the chance to adjust his grip on Teddy so he could cast spells better. He was now glad he had let Harry talk him into learning wandless magic, he just never thought that he would have to use it against people who were already dead…
“Bombarda!”
“Protego!”
“Stupefy!”
“Expelliarmus!”
“Duro!”
“Protego!” ‘Protego…Protego…Dear Merlin, they’re going to kill Teddy and me!’ Draco was terrified for himself as well as for the crying child in his arms. There were just too many people attacking him for Draco to fight them all off… with one last shield, Draco turned his back to his attackers, hoping to maybe shield Teddy with his body, ‘Please don’t let it hurt too much…’
But no pain came. There was a long period of quiet where no curses were thrown, no shouting, only the sounds of Teddy’s crying and heavy breathing could be heard. Curious, Draco turned his head to look behind him.
Only so see the back of a very familiar head of black hair.
‘Harry…’ Draco felt his lips tug and resisted the urge to attempt to smile, lest he frighten Teddy even more, but he couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief and, dare he say it, joy at the sight of the Gryffindor hero…but perhaps it was the fact that he was the reason Draco wasn’t dead yet.
“Harry, step aside,” One of the older Weasleys, Casper or Charlemagne or something, growled. Draco couldn’t remember the man’s name, only that he looked like he could possibly break the blonde in half with his bare hands.
Harry shook his head, keeping his arms out wide, “None of these people are your enemies Charlie. I’ve been trying to tell all of you that!”
Sirius Black, who was supposed to be dead, looked at Harry with a stunned expression, “But Harry, he’s-”
“Trust me!” Harry insisted, “They’re all from my world.”
‘His world?’ Draco thought, curious. He shook his head, instead turning to comfort Teddy again.
“Harry…” Arthur Weasley started, wary.
Harry slowly put his arms, “Just give me 10 minutes to explain everything to them. If we haven’t come out of the basement in 10 minutes, you can come down after us…please, just trust me.”
The Order looked skeptical. With a sigh, Harry pointed at Draco, “How many Deatheaters do you know would protect a baby with their own lives?”
Finally, the adults consented to Harry’s request and managed to drag the rabid Weasleys up the stairs, pausing only to gather the bodies of the stunned before leaving Harry with Draco, Teddy, Weasley, Granger and Longbottom.
“Harry,” Granger sighed, “Please, just tell us what’s going on.”
Harry took a deep breath, “You’re not going to believe this, but…”
“…and that’s why everyone is still alive for the most part.” Harry watched his friends’ reactions as he finished explaining everything to them, waiting for a backlash of questions and comments.
Hermione looked like she had discovered a new section of the library, but it was all in a foreign language. Ron just looked like he wanted to go to bed…or eat his weight in food… then go to bed.
Neville looked to be in shock, and Harry didn’t blame him. Ron and Hermione were at least used to be dragged on odd adventures more than once. Neville had only gone with him so far as the Ministry of Magic. And it didn’t help that he was hearing his parents’ voices for the first time.
Draco looked like he was taking the news rather well. He didn’t look like he wanted to insist on going home or exclaim that he didn’t belong in a war…and the way he was holding Teddy, he looked like he belonged in the kitchen.
The mere image of Draco in a kitchen almost made Harry snort, but he knew it was not the time or place for such things.
“We better get upstairs to the rest of the Order, they’ll want an explanation as well…,” Harry sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly, “Damn it, now I’m starting to understand why Dumbledore avoided explaining things, it’s so exhausting…”
Ron chuckled, “You gunna start talking in riddles too mate?”
Harry shook his head, “There isn’t enough firewhiskey in the world to get me that drunk Ron.”
Hermione rolled her eyes, “Boys…” she muttered.
Harry chuckled, “Come on, let’s-”
The door to the basement opened and Harry could see Tonks standing in the doorway.
“Time’s up Harry.” She said.
Harry smiled, “Perfect, we were just heading up.” He looked back at his friends, only to have his eyes stay on Neville. Suddenly his heart dropped into his stomach. The moment Neville would be introduced, Alice and Frank may very well attack Neville in a fit of joy and tears…and Neville wouldn’t even know why. “On second thought, Tonks. could you take Hermione, Ron and Draco up to the study? I’ll be up in a moment.” He rested a hand on Neville’s shoulder.
Tonks raised an eyebrow, “Did you always call me by my surname?” she asked, then shrugged, “But oh well, come along. Dumbledore is eager to meet you all.”
Hermione and Ron looked at Harry before heading up the stairs, Draco close behind them.
“Ron, make sure no one kills Draco, he’s holding my godson.” Harry joked, and Ron rolled his eyes before leaving with Tonks and the others.
Neville looked at Harry, “Thanks Harry…I think I needed a little more time to comprehend what’s happening…”
Harry sighed, “Neville, there’s something else I need to tell you, just you.” He knew that Neville may be shocked or horrified at what Harry was about to tell him, but Harry knew what it felt like to go into a situation blind, and he wanted Neville to know everything he needed to.
“What could you possibly have to tell me that you wouldn’t tell Hermione or Ron?” Neville blinked, confused to say the least.
Harry sat down on the bottom step of the stair case, “Have a seat Neville…this could be a long story…”
The other man looked at him oddly, but none the less sat down beside Harry.
Harry took a deep breath, “You remember in fifth year when we fought at the Ministry over that prophecy?” He decided to start simple and work from there.
Neville nodded, “Of course, the one that talked about you being the one to kill Voldemort.” He smiled softly, his eyes losing focus as he became lost in the memory, “It was the first time I felt like I was a Gryffindor…”
Harry cleared his throat, trying not to let Neville’s heartfelt moment distract him, “Well that’s not exactly what it said. It talked about who could be the one to defeat Voldemort…” At Neville’s confused expression, Harry continued, “He would be born at the end of July, to parents who had defied Voldemort three times and lived to tell about it-”
“Harry.” Harry looked at Neville, “Why are you telling me this Harry?”
“Because Neville,” Harry closed his eyes tiredly, “At the time the prophecy was told, back when my parents were killed, there were two boys that fit that criteria.”
Neville raises his eyebrows, “There was someone else who could have defeated Voldemort? Who?”
Harry opened his eyes and looked evenly at Neville, “When’s your birthday Neville?”
“It’s…the 30th of July…” Neville’s eyes widened as comprehension dawned on his face, “Oh Harry, surely you don’t mean I was the other boy…”
Harry nodded slowly, “You could have been the Boy Who Lived, but you aren’t because Voldemort chose me as his equal. Once he attacked me, you were safe from the prophecy.”
Neville took several deep breaths, “…I’m glad it was you Harry…” he said softly.
Harry chuckled, “No doubt you do, after all the trouble I’ve gotten myself into…”
“I don’t mean that,” Neville insisted, looking at Harry, “I don’t know if I could have handled all that attention without turning into some horrible snob or pompous bastard.” He chuckled softly, “You had the entire world on your shoulders and you were still a better man than most could even imagine.”
“You’re giving me far too much credit.” Harry started.
Neville shook his head, “No, I’m not. I’ve watched you from the sidelines for years Harry, and I’ve seen the way you’ve modestly handled you’re fame, gracefully accept defeat and you’ve approached the most dangerous situations with a level of maturity that most adults never have.” Neville smiled softly, “You’ve been like that since you were 11 Harry. Others may say you were immature for breaking rules, but I don’t think I can remember a time when you didn’t have some reason for stepping outside the thinking of a rulebook…”
Harry stared at Neville for a minute or so before continuing, “Neville, the reason I’m telling you about this prophecy now is because of the fact I wasn’t born in this world.”
The other man blinked, “And if you weren’t born in this world…”
“That meant there was only one option for the prophecy.” Harry finished.
“…So the me in this world is the Boy Who Lived?” Neville asked curiously.
Harry flinched, “He would have been…if he had lived.” Harry didn’t look at Neville as he continued, “For reasons I don’t know, you were killed when you were a year old. The Frank and Alice Longbottom of this world have been mourning the loss of their son for 17 years…they haven’t had their son anymore than you’ve had your parents.”
Neville was looking up at the ceiling, “At least I got to have my parents; I was just visiting them this morning….” He whispered, “You deserve to have your parents more than I do…”
Harry smiled, “Neville, I’ve got my parents too. James and Lily are upstairs in the study with the others. It’s been a bit awkward, but we’re getting along fine. We haven’t had a group hug or anything, but that’s fine with all three of us...”
Harry watched as Neville covered his eyes with his hands, still looking up at the ceiling. Neville said nothing for the longest time, biting his lip as he took a shaky breath in. Harry could see a wet shimmer streak down the side of Neville’s face as his friend sat in silence.
After a few minutes, Neville hurriedly wiped his eyes, trying to keep from sniffling as he spoke, “Promise you won’t tell the others about this?”
Harry smiled, “Tell the others about what?”
Neville smiled, “Thanks Harry…you’re a real friend.”
“Thanks, you too Neville.” Harry stood up before offering Neville his hand, “Now come on, I’m sure the Order is about ready to kill Draco for being a Malfoy.”
Neville’s mind was swimming with what Harry had just told him. He had been a mere decision away from being the one chosen to kill Voldemort, and for that reason, he had been killed as an infant here in this alternate reality.
To think the first words he would remember his mother saying were ‘Frank’s still missing too…’ Then Neville realized that he had been the reason why his father had been missing. He had stunned his own father, not to mention that Mad-Eye wouldn’t be happy with him when he woke up…
Harry led him up a few flights of stairs to a study, “Dumbledore has everyone meet in here whenever there’s something important or something.” He said with a chuckle before opening the door.
The room was very full to say the least. Everyone who had been stunned had been revived, which now meant that Ron had a twin, and his father was standing beside his mother, neither of whom knew that Neville was their son…yet.
Ron and Hermione were standing in the center of the room, in front of the desk that Dumbledore was seated at. Malfoy looked like he had been forced to sit on the floor in between Ron and Hermione, and the blonde was clutching Teddy tightly.
It was odd behavior for Malfoy to be sure, at least to Neville. Then Neville remembered that the Order had only refrained from killing Malfoy was because he had Teddy.
‘Teddy’s Malfoy’s character witness…’ Neville mused as he and Harry walked into the room.
Once the door to the study shut behind them, Neville watched as Dumbledore stood to address the group.
“It would appear,” He began, looking at Neville and the rest of the Harry’s friends, “That we have new guests.” Neville could almost feel a ripple of awkward acceptance at Dumbledore’s words: that the Order would accept them, but they wouldn’t trust them. “Now Harry, you’ve placed your trust in these young people, I believe it is only fitting that you introduce them to us.”
Harry chuckled, “Well to make a long story short: these guys are from my world, so I know I can trust them.” He quickly went over to Ron and rested a hand on his shoulder, “I don’t know much about your Ron, but the Ron Weasley in my world has been by my side since the beginning, and all the adventures I’ve told you all about, he’s been there with me fighting and avoiding danger when possible.”
Ron rolled his eyes, “If it was possible Harry, which it wasn’t.”
Neville could see the other Weasley’s sparing a glance at their own Ron, who seemed to be shrinking back away from the attention. It was odd, seeing Ron (or at least a version of Ron) so soft spoken…but then again, things were different in this world…
Harry smiled, and Neville watched as he rested his free hand on Hermione’s back, “And this is Ron’s better half, Hermione Granger. There’s nothing that she doesn’t know or that she won’t find out for the sake of a mystery or an adventure. I shudder to think what would have become of me without her guidance.”
Hermione jabbed at Harry’s ribs, ignoring his wincing from his burns, “You sound like you’re speaking at my funeral Harry.”
“Yeah, but at least he has nice things to say.” Ron smiled at Hermione. Hermione blushed and Neville resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He wasn’t sure what was better: the bickering or the flirting.
Harry shared a look with Neville and he could tell that Harry was thinking around the same thing as he walked over to Neville.
“I’ve had a lot of help in my world in the fight against Voldemort.” Harry said with a smile, “In a lot of ways…”
Neville looked at Harry, and he could see what he was doing. Harry was trying to stall telling the Order who he was. He smiled and nodded to Harry, urging him to continue.
Harry gave a small nod back to Neville, “I really don’t know how to put this delicately, but um… this is Neville Longbottom.” He finished lamely.
There was a collective intake of breath from around the room, ranging from amazed breaths to stunned gasps, and quiet murmurs soon followed. Neville didn’t trust himself to look over at where his parents were standing; he was too nervous and too uneasy at what their reactions would be. Instead he looked at Harry, trying to calm himself down, lest he start crying again.
This time it was Harry’s turn to nod to Neville, “Go ahead Neville,” he whispered, “Go ahead and look…”
With a deep breath, Neville turned his head to look at his parents.
His mother was already walking towards him, her steps slow and hesitant, while her husband stayed behind her, wary. Neville didn’t blame them, to him he was getting his sane parents back, but to them, their son was coming back from the dead…but they had missed his childhood.
‘Well I guess now I have someone who will listen to me when I tell them stories.’ Neville mused as Alice Longbottom stood in front of him.
She was shorter than him, but that was to be expected. “…Are you really Neville?” She asked quietly. “Are you really my son?”
Neville gave a small smile, trying to keep from biting his lip, “I was Neville when I woke up this morning…” He almost wanted to laugh at himself. After all these years of wanting to be able to really talk to his parents and the first thing he says to his mom was ‘I was Neville when I woke up this morning’? Well, it could have been worse; he could have accidently spewed about the time he passed out in second year from the Mandrakes…
He was cut off from his mental ramblings when he felt two arms wrap around his middle. Neville looked down at his mother, hugging him tightly and, judging from the wet spots forming on his jacket, having a tearful reunion. After a slow moment, Neville wrapped his arms around his mother and buried his face in her hair.
She didn’t smell like the sterile environment of St. Mungo’s, her hair wasn’t cut short to keep her from hurting herself, she wasn’t wearing a hospital gown and slippers, she wasn’t handing him candy wrappers as her only display of affection…she wasn’t insane…
She could talk, she could listen, her eye could focus, and for the first time Neville could remember, they were focused on him.
Neville was aware that the rest of the room was watching, but they could go tickle a sleeping dragon for all he cared, he had his parents back.
From where he stood watching, Harry smiled warmly.