Falling Home

Chapter 3- Of Duplicates and Imposters

Thank you all so much for the lovely comments! They really made my day.

I know it's been absolutely AGES since I last posted but I'm hoping to be posting more regularly from now on :)

Of course, Harriet wasn't going to expose her entire life's story, even if it was to strangers who took the faces of her parents. Rather, she stared on intently, silently willing them to ask a question, hoping against hope that it wasn't anything too personal.
The silence dragged on for one beats, two, three, before, Jame's eyes widened in realisation that Harriet was waiting for him to speak.
"Alright, well," he started, the confident air around him when they first met diminished greatly. "You mentioned that your parents- in your world, I mean- are dead? How'd that happen?"
"James!" Lily exclaimed in horror, striking the side of James' arm. Harriet couldn't help but flinch ever so slightly.
"No, it's okay," Harriet attempted to reassure, not wanting James to get any more bruises from a horrified wife. "Everybody's always talking about it anyways."
Although the last comment was an attempt to lighten the mood, it did none of the sort, Harriet realised with a start, as the silence dragged on like a piece of bubble gum stretching.
"Umm, well...." Harriet started before furrowing her eyebrows. "Do you guys have a dark wizard named Voldemort here?"
The flinching of the name was answer enough.
"Right, well, I guess that answers that," Harriet chuckled, shifting in her seat. "Well, he went after them, my parents, I mean, and killed them."
The bluntness of her answer seemed to startle them, as they both leaned forward simultaneously, a duplicate shadow gracing their faces.
"We're sorry to hear that," Lily replied.
Harriet shrugged her shoulders in discomfort, as if to brush aside their sickening pity that was the very last thing she wanted. "It's fine, I barely remember them. I was one the time they died."
Once again the silence stretched before them, taunting them, mocking them with its vastness.
"Right, okay," James nodded to himself as if still processing the information. "Normally I wouldn't push the issue, but, seeing as we're alive in this universe, I believe that more information surrounding our- I mean you parent's- deaths might be needed."
Harriet resisted the urge to clench her chest as she felt her heart contract painfully. She wasn't ready to become the Girl-Who-Lived in a whole new universe. She wasn't ready for the expectations, the judgemental looks, the prejudice that seemingly came with surviving the killing curse. She knew it was selfish, she knew that she was probably subjecting hundreds of people to danger by withholding information, but she couldn't seem to form coherent enough thoughts to explain.
"Got lucky, I guess." Her voice was colder than she had meant it to sound. Judging from the glances from James and Lily, they certainly weren't expecting it either.
Lily raised her eyebrows and, for a moment, Harriet was afraid she was going to push the matter. Instead she merely pushed a plate towards her and, in a tone that was very similar to Mrs Weasley, remarked "Have some more toast, dear."
Harriet couldn't help but blink in surprise, glancing down at her empty plate and back at the offered food. She hadn't even noticed herself eating. Before she could grab another slice, however, her stomach gave a painful lurch in warning. With reluctance, she pushed her hand back down and onto her lap before giving a strained smile at the couple. "I'm alright, thanks."
She didn't miss the glance that the couple gave before looking back on her. She noticed, but couldn't muster enough energy to care.
"That's alright, kiddo. There'll be leftovers if any of us get hungry later," James smiled at her before standing to clear the table.
Harriet leapt up, grabbing the nearest plate in a movement that she hoped looked more enthusiastic and less frantic. "I-I'll do it! You guys cooked breakfast!"
A hand appeared in her vision and before she could properly process what was happening, Lily had gently taken the plate from her.
"That's alright, dear. I'm sure you're rather exhausted from your impromptu trip. It's perfectly fine if you need to go lie down for awhile."
As if Lily's words were a trigger, Harriet felt her muscles heavy with fatigue, her eyes stinging with the need to close, to rest. But she couldn't do that, it wouldn't be fair to Lily and James if she left them to clean such a mess after they had been so kind to let her stay with them.
As if sensing her reluctance, James turned around from the sink where he had been enchanting the brush to clean the dishes. "It's alright, we've got it handled. Go take a nap."