Chapter Text
My senses came back to me quite suddenly. One moment I was watching Dumbledore disappear into the swirling white mist, and the next I'm back in my body. Hair is sprawled across my face, and my limps are limp and bent at awkward angles from the force of the killing curse that had slammed into my chest. Everything throbs. I can feel my wand digging into my side, and my father's invisibility cloak pressing against my stomach. The earth beneath me is cool and slightly damp against my cheek.
Forcing my body to remain loose, I strained my ears for any sound of Voldemort or his followers. Time passed slowly as I lay there waiting for something to happen, for them to learn I was still alive. Nothing happened. Ever so slowly, I opened my eyes to a deserted clearing. There was no sign of anyone. Light shone through the canopy of leaves high above me. Something wasn't right. How long had I been out?
Staggering to my feet, my heart beat wildly against my chest. Voldemort went back up to the school. Pausing only long enough to pick my glasses of the forest floor and shove them onto my face, I ran as hard and as fast as my sore legs could carry me. Thoughts of the fighting that must be raging on flew past my mind because surely Hogwarts wouldn't give up simply because I was announced dead. My lungs burned and the stitches in my sides ached sharply as I pushed myself on. Voldemort was venerable now more than ever. It was just the snake left, and them him.
The rough terrain of gnarled roots and fallen tree limbs soon gave way to dead leaves and patches of grass. It wasn't long before I burst through the treeline. Never slowing, I raced up the steep lawn towards the castle. The sun rested in the middle of the sky, beating down my neck. As I grew closer to the school, an unsettling feeling toyed with my nerves. Where the courtyard had been in ruins when I entered the forest, it now stood unscathed. All signs of the battle had been erased. Pushing myself still further, I ran up the flawless stone steps. The Entrance Hall looked exactly the same as it had the first time I stepped foot in it. The marble floors shone cheerfully as my dirty sneakers slapped harshly against it. The doors to the Great Hall stood closed. Skidding to a stop in front of them, I pushed them open, pulling my wand out as I went.
All four House tables stood filled with students eating and laughing with one another. Confusion distorted my face and my steps faltered halfway to the staff's table When a knowing pair of electric blue eyes landed on me.
Dumbledore.
My heart skidded to a stop.
By now the room had fallen silent and every eye was on me. Tearing my eyes off the silvery-haired man before me, I turned my eyes to the Gryffindor in hopes of spotting Ron or Hermione. Long red hair caught my eye. Lily Evans sat there, looking at me with mild concern. A few seats down from her sat who could only be James Potter. They looked just like their pictures. The longer I looked, the more familiar faces appeared. Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black. All of them watching me with different degrees of concern. Turning to face Dumbledore once again, I spoke to while I slowly lowered my wand.
"Am I dead?"
My legs shook violently beneath me. No one moved.
Of course, I wasn't dead, strangely enough. I knew I must look half-crazed. What with dirt and flecks of dried blood covering my face. Still, no one moved, except Dumbledore who stood. The only sound in the hall was the scraping of his chair legs against the floor followed by his footsteps. Whispers broke out across the hall as the watched their headmaster approach the wild looking girl. His blue eyes twinkled with concern. He placed a large hand on my slight shoulders and led me from the hall filled with prying eyes.
All the adrenaline I had felt leading up to this moment fled from my limbs, leaving me feeling as though I were filled with led. The next few hours flew by and were filled with worried faces and hushed whispers from professors as Madame Pomfrey scurried around me, checking for injuries. I didn't say a word. Some way, Somehow everything was fine. I-I had seen my parents, and Remus, and Sirius. It was impossible and wonderful, and I was waiting for the other shoe to drop.
When my cuts and scraps had been dealt with to Madame Pomfrey's satisfaction, Dumbledore conjured a plush red chair and sat at my bedside.
He smiled kindly at me over his half-moon spectacles. "Do you know who I am?"
A startled laugh bubbled on my lips. Of course, I knew who he was. The problem was he didn't know who I was. No one did. "Professor Albus Dumbledore." I paused a moment. "You don't remember me, do you?"
"Alas, I'm afraid I can't say I do. Would you kindly tell me your name?"
I soothed the crisp white blanket that covered my lap. It was a strange feeling. Having spent the last seven years with my name being whispered behind hands and books wherever I went, and now to be completely anonymous...
"Harriah Potter."
"Well, Miss Potter, tell me your story."
And I did. Or I tried to. I had only gotten to the bit about Voldemort killing my parents when he stopped me.
"Who are your parents?"
"James and Lily Potter." I hesitated. "I saw them in the Great Hall earlier."
Dumbledore looked thoughtful. "What year would you say it is?"
I gave him a confused look. "Er, 1998."
He nodded with his hand on his chin. "Unless I am dearly mistaken, Miss Potter, it's 1975."