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The Alternate by Aether
View Online<BR><BR><B>Format:</B> Novel<BR><B>Chapters:</B> 20<BR><B>Word Count:</B> 97,485<BR><B>Status:</B> COMPLETED<BR><BR><B>Rating:</B> Mature<BR><B>Warnings:</B> Strong Language, Strong Violence, Scenes of a Mild Sexual Nature, Sensitive Topic/Issue/Theme <BR><BR><B>Genres:</B> Action/Adventure, Angst, AU <BR><B>Characters:</B> Harry, Dumbledore, Sirius, Lily, James, OC, OtherCanon <BR><B>Pairings:</B> <BR><BR><B>First Published:</B> 07/05/2009<BR><B>Last Chapter:</B> 11/09/2010<BR><B>Last Updated:</B> 11/09/2010<BR><BR><B>Summary:</B><BR>
Beautiful banner by SwissMiss at TDA. COMPLETED!<BR><BR>Harry Potter is thrust into a world where his parents, Sirius and even people he never knew existed are alive, a world where his alternate self ran away from everything our Harry always dreamed to have. But life can never be too happy for Harry Potter until it is inevitably interrupted by a horrible truth...<BR><BR>
<B>Chapter 1: Prologue</B><BR>[View Online] [Printer Friendly Version of This Chapter]
<STRONG>Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. </STRONG><BR><BR>I will not be including elements from the sixth or seventh books. This means no horocruxes or hallows. Oh, and I'd be making a major understatement if I said I didn't love reviews. So please leave some sort of a review, if you read this, even if it's only to say you did.<EM>This has been edited for grammar and phrasing 6.4.10. No plot change offenses were committed. ;) </EM><BR><BR><BR>
<BR><BR><BR>1. Prologue<BR><BR>A raven-haired boy gasped as his back arched. His scream ripped through the night, tearing through the quiet suburban neighborhood of Privet Drive. He struggled, clawing at his sheets as he gasped and spluttered for air. His door shook and the locks jiggled as a pudgy fist pounded his door. <BR><BR>"Boy!" grated a hushed whisper. <BR><BR>The locks rattled once more, only this time, the door banged open, revealing an extremely fat man holding an assortment of keys. In a single step, he neared the screaming boy and shook his slight form roughly. <BR><BR>Harry Potter awoke, struggling against the force opposing him. His blood-shot eyes widened as he saw his uncle's red face leaning over his. <BR><BR>"Just what do you think you are doing, boy?" Vernon Dursley hissed, as he released his nephew. He glanced out the window for a second then back down at the fraught teen. <BR><BR>"I-I...he was..." Harry stuttered then trailed off hoarsely. "I have to find a way to contact the headmaster, Uncle Vernon." <BR><BR>"No! I'll have no more of those blasted owls!"<BR><BR>"If you don't let me find him, then something bad is going to happen!" <BR><BR>"Something bad?" repeated Vernon, "I'll tell you what's bad--the neighbors are talking, Potter. They are starting to <EM>suspect</EM>." <BR><BR>"Suspect what?" asked Harry in exasperation as he pulled his comforter away from him and shifted in his bed awkwardly. <BR><BR>"You, screaming at night like that." <BR><BR> Harry shivered. "Voldemort--he's going to attack Muggle London," he tried to explain. "I have to tell Dumbledore!" <BR><BR>Vernon fumbled for a moment. "What? What are you and your freaks sprouting this time? You decided you didn't like us did you, boy? And now you're saying you want to be rid of us then? After everything we've done for you?"<BR><BR>"Uncle Vernon-"<BR><BR>"Now you set up a web of lies, of threats! Are you <EM>threatening</EM> me, boy?" <BR><BR>"No! Voldemort is going to-"<BR><BR>"I don't care what that mold is going to do or what you get up to in that hoggy school of yours!" he spluttered. "If I hear another yell, then you're out of here! I don't care what Petunia says, you are out of here! Do you hear me?" <BR><BR>Harry nodded, but his neck was stiff, and he felt empty inside, knowing the attack was about to occur, that it was happening, and that he had no way to stop it. <BR><BR>Vernon stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind him, locking it eight times.<BR><BR>Harry breathed raggedly, and his eyes dilated, wide in horror. "No," he whispered, his scrawny legs slipping to the faded wood floor. "No!" He shut his eyes and took a deep, calming breath. "It's not going to happen. I'll save them all."<BR><BR><EM>Give it up, Potter. </EM>Harry's body stiffened, his eyes sliding shut and his jaw clenching at the sound of that cursed voice.<EM> I bet you liked that didn't you, Harry? Do you like knowing you're helpless now? Do you like watching me torture my minions? Do you like watching our eager preparations?</EM><BR><BR>"Stop it!" the thin teenager begged in a hoarse whisper.<BR><EM><BR><EM>I'm not the one calling you "freak" or slapping you around, am I, Harry? </EM></EM><BR><BR>"He doesn't hit me! Not all Muggles are like that!" <BR><BR>Harry stood and, panicked, made his way to his window, wishing that he hadn't told Hedwig to stay with the Order and only come back every three days to pick up his letter.<BR><EM><BR><EM>But most of them are. How many have tried to protect you from him? How many times has this piece of trash pushed you around or underfed you and gotten away with it?</EM></EM><BR><BR>"He hasn't! Never!" Voldemort seemed very intent on convincing Harry he was miserable. But he wasn't. Harry was fine. It wasn't like he knew what his home life so desperately lacked. Or, perhaps Harry just didn't want to face the fact that his last chance of finding out had been swiped a few weeks ago with the death of his godfather, the supposed mass-murderer Sirius Black.<BR><EM><BR><EM>And how many of those Muggles have tried to save you? You would never have to worry about these pesky Muggles while you were under my watch! Come join me, Harry Potter. Dumbledore is a bumbling, manipulative fool. I could protect you, I will protect you. I have a way...</EM></EM><BR><BR>"You've murdered my parents and nearly killed my best mate's sister. And that's not to mention the plans you have for Muggle London tonight. I have no reason to trust you, <EM>Tom Riddle</EM>." <BR><BR>Harry whimpered when a rush of pain sent him to his knees. Voldemort was angry. <BR><BR>"I hate this!" Harry whispered in frustration, his voice hoarse from that nightmare of a vision.<BR><EM><BR><EM>I bet you'd like it to end, too, wouldn't you?</EM></EM><BR><BR>Harry snorted. He could never leave. If he left, then what would happen to everyone he loved? Where would Hermione and Ron be? Where would Remus be? Nowhere. Because Harry was the only one who could defeat the sadistic bastard that currently resided in his head. <BR><BR>It had started yesterday, when he was weeding the Dursley's garden. For the entire summer, his scar had been hurting, but suddenly the pain had drifted away and Voldemort had taken its place. It felt nothing like that excruciating possession Harry experienced at the ministry. It was just a presence, in the back of his mind. For Harry, it felt as if his privacy was being breached; and every time he heard the Dark Lord speaking in his mind, he felt a wave of humiliation, as if Voldemort were somehow violating him. <BR><EM><BR><EM>I bet you'd like me to free you, to take you away from this place.</EM></EM><BR><BR>Harry chuckled dryly. "I don't doubt it, Voldemort, but I have other plans." Harry vividly imagined giving Voldemort a very long and painful death! There was nothing Harry wanted more than to be free of the villain who had ruined his life. It was Voldemort's fault that Harry's parents and godfather were dead and that he was stuck at the Dursleys. <BR><BR>But there were still those nagging feelings deep inside Harry which longed for freedom from this dreadful responsibility. How was he, a hardly sixteen-year-old teenager, supposed to defeat the Dark Lord?<BR><EM><BR><EM>I will take an Unbreakable Vow, if I must. </EM></EM><BR><BR>"An Unbreakable Vow?" repeated Harry incredulously, as he raised himself from the floor and headed for his trunk. He needed to find a way to contact someone, anyone, so that Dumbledore could save Muggle London and hopefully figure out how to expel a very annoying Dark Lord from his mind. <BR><EM><BR><EM>Does that school teach you anything?</EM></EM> Voldemort snapped, but Harry could practically taste his amusement and satisfaction--definitely not a good thing from Voldemort. <EM>Yes, an Unbreakable Vow. I, Lord Voldemort, swear upon my magic that I will not harm or attempt to capture Harry Potter against his will. </EM><BR><BR>There was a pause as a great sweeping sensation flew through Harry, as if something monumental had just occurred. But before he could process it, the Dark Lord spoke, <EM>I am waiting outside for you, but if you prefer I come in your relative's home- </EM><BR><BR>"Outside?" Harry repeated. "You are outside?" He rushed to the window glancing around his backyard frantically. Weren't there some sort of indestructible wards guarding this place?<BR><EM><BR><EM>Ah! It worked.</EM></EM> Harry watched in horror as an ominous figure appeared right below his window. The man wore a black shimmering cloak that billowed menacingly in the still night air. But it wasn't until Harry saw those glowing red eyes illuminated in the Dursley's porch light that he began shaking in dread. <BR><BR>"You can't get in here," Harry muttered uselessly.<BR><EM><BR><EM>"Oh, but I very much think I can."</EM></EM> Voldemort was so close that Harry could hear him speaking now. <BR><BR>"How?"<BR><EM><BR><EM>"I just swore an oath upon my magic, didn't I? I am not here to do you harm. Harry Potter, I will save your life. These blood wards mean nothing to my harmless intent." </EM></EM><BR><BR>In horror, Harry watched as the Dark Lord took a step into the Dursley's home. He rushed to his bedside table and grabbed his wand, gripping it so tightly that his knuckles turned white. For moments, all he could hear were the quiet ticks of one of Dudley's broken clocks. He glanced out his window, looking at the long drop down. Could he make it? Wasn't there supposed to be some guard from the Order out there? <BR><BR>He heard the stairs creaking. Frantically, he fumbled with the latches of the window, wishing that his uncle hadn't jammed them to keep Hedwig out. He heard a scream, his cousin's throaty burst of horror, and then there was silence. <BR><BR>Harry turned back to his window's jammed latches, staring at his wand, hysterically searching his narrow spell vocabulary for something that would work. "<EM>Alohamora</EM>!" he whispered, pointing his wand at the jammed latches. <BR><BR>They exploded from the unexpected force of the spell, sending sharp pieces of metal into Harry's face. Not wasting a moment to notice the blood sliding down his cheeks, Harry pulled up the window and moved a chair so that he could climb out...<BR><BR>All eight locks clicked, at once. The door opened with a whine. <BR><BR>"I cannot harm you, Potter, but I can kill this filth." <BR><BR>Harry turned and saw the Dark Lord standing in his doorway, his wand lazily pointed at a silenced Dudley, who he held by the scruff of his pajamas. The large teenager was squirming, cheeks wet and eyes wide in terror. <BR><BR>"No," Harry whispered, his hands falling loosely to his side. Where was his strength? Why couldn't he stand up and fight that monster? It was his job, wasn't it? It's what he was supposed to do: defeat Voldemort. <BR><BR>But Harry could practically taste the dark power spilling off the Dark Lord Voldemort; it was a gut-wrenching realization that Harry could never defeat the wizard who stood before him. The very same wizard that he had dismissed so breezily minutes before was now teeming in a threatening pulse of powerful and convoluted magic. That only left one alternative. Harry's wand slipped from his sweaty palms and hit the floor. <BR><BR>"You have made your first mistake in caring for this filthy Muggle!" <BR><BR>Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon huddled together behind Voldemort, shaking. Harry could see the intense fear reflected in his Aunt's usually cold eyes. They had everything to fear from the man in front of them and everything to regret about raising their dangerous nephew. They would die that night. <BR><BR>Harry felt a deep, wrenching guilt at the thought that he had brought Voldemort to them, and he was only too aware of the Dark Lord's intent gaze. "I'm sorry." The silence was deafening. "He said I'd be safe." <BR><BR>"Who said you'd be safe, Harry?" Voldemort demanded silkily. Harry shut his eyes, and then opened them again, watching as the most evil Dark Lord in history shook his cousin. "Tell me!" <BR><BR>"Dumbledore said so. He was wrong." Harry's tired eyes watched in surprise as Voldemort released Dudley, propelling the large teenager, with a thump and a soundless scream, against the wall of Harry's bedroom. Voldemort smirked at Harry victoriously. <BR><BR>"And you wish to leave this place?" <BR><BR>Harry's breaths expelled sporadically. He glanced down at his silenced cousin, his huddled aunt and uncle. <BR><BR>"Could I save them, if I said yes?"<BR><BR>Thin, barely visible lips and rotting teeth contorted into a fearsome grimace. "Of course, all of this is your fault, isn't it?"<BR><BR>Harry nodded, slowly at first and then more vigorously, as if Voldemort's glowing red eyes had taken hold of his chin. "Yes, I'll go, if you spare them..." Harry trailed off, face tightening in annoyance. "And Muggle London." There was no use fighting anymore. Harry was sick of fighting such an unbeatable force. He was going to die, but at least his relatives and Muggle London would survive. <BR><BR>"That's all I needed." Voldemort raised his wand, and Harry lifted his chin to meet it. He was unprepared for what would come next. <BR><BR>A blinding red light. <BR><BR>Then nothing.<BR><BR>-- <BR><BR>The nothingness expanded outwards in a vast expanse of the purest and most blinding white Harry Potter had ever seen. Was he... dead? It was an odd concept to Harry Potter; the absence of anything at all. It was almost as though the universe had been wiped clean, and all that was left was him, floating and lost in time. He felt no sense of urgency or insecurity, only a strange melancholy calm that originated from his mind and tingled through his limbs. <BR><BR>"Harry Potter." <BR><BR>The voice was expected--Harry was not surprised by the booming song that filled his ears. It was neither masculine nor feminine, but an entrancing melody. <BR><BR>"We are displeased. Your people have breached the universe." <BR><BR>The melody turned harsher, making Harry feel a quirk of stress at such a lovely tune's anger. <BR><BR>"They have fiddled with something that wasn't meant to be fiddled with, and now it is your job to fix it." <BR><BR>Harry shut his eyes, as the feeling of expanse fled from his bones and the white darkened. His stomach plummeted, and he was falling. <BR><BR>"You will fix it, mortal, and I shall help..." <BR><BR>Bliss fled from Harry Potter, leaving him haunted with restless dreams.<BR><BR>
