I fell asleep after the last great revelation. When I woke things hadn't changed much. More and more people came to see me. I met Albus Dumbledore, Hagrid, even Peter Pettigrew.
I quite proudly bit his finger. Well, gummed, but it's the thought that counts. I entertained the idea of getting him attached to me so that he would have a hard time with the betrayal but figured, if he could betray his friends of more than 7 years than he could betray a child he knew for barely a year with little remorse.
In my former life I had read the adventures of Harry Potter. I had hoped that all the names had been a fluke, but the first time Sirius turned into a dog I knew it was all true. And it was MY story now. And I was determined things would be different. I didn't think it would be possible to save Lily and James, now Mum and Dad, it was just too far out of my power as an infant.
But I spent my time with them well. I made sure everyone knew Sirius was my favorite over Peter, and pretty much everyone else. I wanted at least someone to doubt he would betray us. They say that children are good judges of character, and was hoping they would take my favoritism into account.
Once, I heard Lily wonder if I sensed something 'wrong' with Remus because of his ‘furry little problem’. For the rest of the evening I refused to let him put me down, or hand me over to someone else.
But my obvious soft spot was always Sirius. I knew that I would be unable to keep him from his time in Azkaban, even with all that ‘reasonable doubt’ I was trying to fabricate for him, but I would give him as many happy memories as I could to help for the meantime.
When we went into hiding I didn’t notice when we actually moved. I just woke up in a different bed. For the first time in my infant life I screamed. I thought Voldemort had come early and I was at the Dursleys.
But then my parents had come bounding in, scooping me up and reassuring me. I heard them murmuring about how everyone had been so sure I wouldn't notice the change because I was so young, but I ignored it. I was just so relieved they were still here.
Mum read me her textbooks often, James would poke fun at her when she did but I would fuss, (not cry I never made too much trouble for them) whenever she tried to put them up. I wanted as much magic as possible before it disappeared from my life. But I doubted it would disappear completely, especially when I was able to consciously use it to turn Remus' hair purple. After that I would prank the Marauders. It was a lovely feeling, knowing they couldn't retaliate because of my ‘age’.
But the peace didn't last. He came for us.
It was just like the memory played out by Harry’s dementor encounter. The screams, the flashes of light. It was a mass of confusion and brilliant luminosity, right up until I was staring Lord Voldemort in the face. Mum’s begging had done nothing to stop him.
He looked, almost normal. If it weren't for the malevolent aura and expression one would walk straight past him on the street without much thought. He pointed his wand at me, and I looked straight back at him. His eyes were cold. I was more terrified than I was willing to admit, I couldn’t move, even if I had wanted to. I was frozen in place. Then the spell came. Avada Kedavra.
I was in pain for a while, and my throat burned, I would have expected it would be my head, the forming of the scar or whatever. But when I was finally capable of conscious thought I realized that someone was there. Shadows played on the floor in the hallway, light flared. By that light I noticed that Mum’s body had been moved. I must have missed Snapes’ appearance then. I could only hope that it was Hagrid come to retrieve me, just like the books and movies, rather than some Death Eater come looking for its master.
It was Hagrid, his face covered in tears, his bushy appearance seeming more frazzled than the last ( and first) time I had seen him. There were no sounds other than his quiet cooling, which I didn’t quite understand the purpose of. I wasn’t exactly screeching, but he may have thought I was in shock. I very well might have been. We met Sirius outside, flying motorbike and all. I tried my best to get handed over to Sirius, fought as hard as I could but my opposition was nothing to the half-giant. Events played out exactly as they were foretold in my old life, I left Godrics Hollow. My goodbye with Sirius consisting of him saying ‘see you soon’ and my own mangled version of the word ‘Padfoot’ which had always been able to cheer him up. A small smile was the last I saw of him, and the last I figured I would be able to see for the next 12 years, right up until I was face to face with that demented wanted poster of his.
The original ‘Harry’ had fallen asleep on the way to the Dursleys’ but I wasn’t willing to give up on the magic. The sensation of flying, the sight of the stars almost within reach, and the arcane power emanating from both the bike and Hagrids umbrella. I was still most of the time, so it was no great surprise that he told Dumbledore I was asleep. I listened in on the conversation, the only difference being the gender pronouns. I had always wondered what had happened between the time Harry had been left on the doorstep and when Petunia had found him. It always seemed a bit dangerous to leave a small child out on the front step, especially in Late October.
Perhaps there were charms of some sort cast on me, I wasn’t sure. But I was frighteningly aware of ‘Aunt’ Petunia whenever she discovered me, waking me violently from my short nap. I was swept inside, the letter was read, heated discussions took place, and my life in the Muggle world began.
