Destiny Reversed

Chapter 4 Surprises

Rays of sunlight filtered through the window of Harry Potter's room as he began to stir. Groggily, he opened his eyes, blinking fiercely as he adjusted to the morning light. Not bothering to put on his glasses, Harry laid there in that unfamiliar bed, staring up at the white ceiling, smiling in amusement when he saw a somewhat blurry wizard poster of England's national Quidditch team.

Bludgers flew about, thanks to the Beaters, and the Seeker executed an impressive loop to avoid one before speeding off to chase the Snitch again. Chasers passed the ball to each other and took turns throwing the Quaffle into the goal hoops, which the Goalkeeper adamantly attempted to save.

Harry watched the live action poster for a couple of minutes before directing his thoughts back to his dilemma. Last night, everything had been muddled and confusing, leaving his thoughts a jumble of theories and suspicions. The only thing he knows for sure is that he doesn't have the liberty of showing weakness, especially in this unfamiliar environment.

Something has to be done; he needs answers, not guesses and speculation. Sirius and Remus were definitely out –they were all a part of this. But who could he trust? Closing his eyes in frustration, Harry cast his mind around, trying hard to think of some solution to all of this. Finally, he found himself staring in his mind's eye at a pair of twinkling blue eyes behind half moon spectacles.

Dumbledore. But the bubble of hope immediately burst when Harry remembered that the Headmaster was dead.

But –if his parents and Sirius were alive, surely Dumbledore would be as well? It'd be the best place to start; Dumbledore was an incorruptible man, and if he can't help Harry, nobody can –

Ron and Hermione. But he wasn't sure where they were in all this. Harry knew he had to get in contact with them, see for himself whether or not they were his Ron and Hermione, and not the Ron and Hermione of this place.

Instinctively, Harry pushed on his glasses and made a move towards where Hedwig would normally reside. When it became clear that there was no cage or snowy white owl, Harry realized that this must be some sort of ripple effect. Hagrid had gotten him Hedwig –he supposed he would have gone school shopping with his parents instead of the Hogwarts gamekeeper.

He sighed. Looks like he'll have to contact his friends through another way –

Harry turned around sharply, grabbed his wand from the bedside table, and pointed it threateningly at the grey owl stationed at the corner of the room, who had hooted loudly to get Harry's attention. Cautiously, wand still pointing at the bird, Harry moved towards what was apparently his owl, surprised that he hadn't noticed it yesterday. But then, he had been more concerned about the fact that Sirius and his parents were alive than what had been in his room.

"Er . . . I've got a message for you to deliver," Harry informed the owl as it happily perched itself on his arm, leaving his right hand free to write. He figured that Hermione would probably be in France or somewhere else on vacation right now, so Ron would be the better bet if he wanted a quick answer.

Ron,

I've got to talk to you. Reply back quickly.

Harry

He scanned his brief note and deemed it satisfactory. If this was the Ron he knew, then he had a plan. If not –well, he was sure that it wouldn't be enough to make him suspicious or anything. He hoped. After rolling the little scrap of paper up, he placed it between the grey owl's raised talon. "Can you take this to Ron Weasley for me?" The owl hooted and flew up into the air, though it paused in front of the window.

"Oh, sorry," Harry apologized, opening the window for it. He paused for a moment to watch it glide through the sky, hoping that it'd reach its destination and bring back an optimistic note.