Chapter Text
Harry Potter opened his eyes to find himself in a too white and almost blinding version of King’s Cross Station. It was empty of trains, people, noise, and almost any color. Really, it was the most eerie thing he thought he’d ever seen. With an embarrassed start, Harry also realized he was completely starkers. With only that thought, his clothes from moments before were suddenly on his body; dirt, blood, tatters and all. He was going insane. Yes, that was it. He’d finally gone round the bend.
With a deep breath, Harry tried to calm himself enough to look around. Ok, so maybe he was just dead and not actually insane. He had just been hit with a killing curse. A train station was a solid metaphor for moving on, and that would probably explain the nakedness and even his clothes appearing when he wished for them. It would also explain why he wasn’t in significant pain even though he knew his body was still battered and bleeding…though the bleeding had seemed to stop for the moment at least…probably due to, you know, death.
He raised up the corner of his shirt and gave a resigned sigh at the new lightning bolt scar right over his heart. Yep, definitely dead. He supposed that had been the plan, and ironically the one plan which seemed to have gone off perfectly for him. He just really hoped someone killed the snake and took out Voldemort in his absence now. Bugger, but he hated leaving behind unfinished business…Harry looked up in fear at that stray thought.
“Forget that…I don’t have unfinished business, none at all,” he said in an echoing tone out into the station, really hoping that the universe or whoever didn’t think he wanted to go back as a ghost because that was the last thing he wanted right now. No way did he want to haunt the school for eternity; that just sounded horrible.
A small whimper sounded under one of the empty benches, and Harry finally realized he wasn’t alone to his surprise. He rushed over and knelt down to see the most pathetic sight he thought he’d ever seen in his life. It may have been a baby or some creature, but it looked like it had been tortured or burned. Harry wanted to reach out to it, but he didn’t want to cause it any more pain either.
He gasped something close to a sob at the sight, and his heart hurt for whatever it had been. “It’s ok,” he tried to softly say to the thing to hopefully calm it. “Hey, we’re dead now, so the pain should be over.”
He really hoped the thing wasn’t a baby and actually understood him. Why would there have been a baby at the battle anyway? There wouldn’t have been one in the castle, and why would any of the Death Eaters have brought one with them? It must be some kind of creature.
“Harry Potter…” a deep voice that didn’t echo at all like Harry’s had sounded from behind him. In fact, the voice was so flat that it had the hairs on the back of Harry’s neck suddenly stand on end, and he absolutely did not want to turn around and see what was there just over his shoulder.
“He cannot understand you,” the voice answered his earlier thought in what may pass for care or concern if it wasn’t in that terrifying flat tone.
Harry slowly turned his head to look over his shoulder, the fear not matching the nondescript man wearing a well-tailored black suit with silky, black hair and eyes so light blue they were almost white instead of having a color. “Er…hello…” Harry trailed off, having a good suspicion as to who this person might be and really hoping he was wrong. Who else would be meeting him in the afterlife than Death though?
“Hello young man, I’ve been expecting you for a while,” the man chuckled, and it caused goosebumps to raise on Harry’s arms. “Not that I knew when you would arrive, but I suspected it would be around this time. I am quite good at guessing when a person will pass on.”
Harry moved hurriedly to his left, still crouched since he didn’t want to leave the poor creature alone with this man, but the man stepped forward to sit on the bench like he owned the place…which he probably did. Harry wanted to be as far from him as possible while still being in range of grabbing the creature if needed.
Harry narrowly kept himself from lunging forward when the man just nonchalantly reached under the bench and grabbed onto the thing under it. Harry watched in fear and awe while the bloody and broken creature’s skin slowly healed and knit together leaving what could only be a newborn baby boy lying in the man’s lap.
The baby wasn’t moving. Harry stared in horror. “Is he…I mean I know he’s…but why…?” Harry trailed off. The baby was clearly dead if he was in the station with Harry who’d just been hit with a killing curse, but why wasn’t he moving?!
“He’s…let’s say asleep…” the man answered with a small smile that was more menacing than comforting. The man did actually shift the baby so that he was holding it cradled in his arms with a hand to the back of his head, and Harry let go of an ounce of his fear for the baby now that the terrifying man was at least holding him correctly. Merlin, he needed to get a grip! Maybe he really had gone round the bend this time, even if he was already dead.
The man gave him a knowing look that Harry didn’t like. “You have been in my realm only a short time, but since you have been here there has been no anger, no fear for yourself, only a desire for clothes, to not become a ghost, and then literally every thought since has been connected to the child in some form. The only question you have asked me has been concerning the child…now, what am I to do with you, Harry Potter?”
Harry blinked at the guy who was probably…yeah, he was definitely Death. So, Harry shrugged. What did the guy want from him? He’d made his decisions, and he didn’t regret them in the slightest.
“What would be the point of anger now?” He finally answered when the silence dragged on.
Another terrifying chuckle and the stare never let up in its intensity. “I believe there is a lot of ‘point’ here…” Death finally answered musingly.
“Really?” Harry raised a disbelieving eyebrow at him and finally stood from his crouch. “The way I see it, I’m dead, you’re most likely Death, this is some kind of metaphor for moving on, so yeah…done and dusted. What’s next? That seems to be your job now. I did mine.”
Death gave him a look that seemed impressed and a little proud. Harry was concerned. After a long moment, the guy laughed again and rubbed a hand down the baby’s back as if to comfort him. “You are correct in all of your assumptions. You were even asking the correct questions before my arrival. Where did the baby come from? Not from the castle, not from one of those minions, so where?”
Harry noticed Death’s sneer and avoidance of the term ‘Death Eaters’ and couldn’t help his little knowing smirk at the man who surprisingly rolled his almost white eyes in what could pass for exasperation. “Fine, so where did the baby come from?” Harry asked the question that Death seemed to be waiting for him to ask.
“You,” Death said simply and to Harry’s complete shock. “He’s yours…born of the piece of soul left in your scar when you were only a baby yourself.”
“The horcrux,” Harry breathed out, not knowing how he felt about that. He should hate the thing. It was a part of Voldemort. But he could only bring himself to pity it after what he’d seen had been done to the poor thing. And now…it was just a baby…
“Yes, I suppose it started out that way,” Death said, still rubbing the baby’s back with his black fingernails, which yeah, not paint, they were definitely black.
“There is a very good reason why no one makes living horcruxes though. The ownership of the soul passes to the one it is housed in. A foreign soul cannot reside that closely with another, so they become…related shall we say,” Death continued conversationally.
“Wait, what?” Harry frowned, no longer following in the slightest. He crossed his arms and shifted his weight, trying to catch onto what Death was telling him and coming up with nothing.
“This piece of soul has been yours for almost your entire life,” Death continued. “This child has been nourished by your own soul and kept safe in your mind. Voldemort did it much damage while trying to exploit his connection to you, but you held onto it until the very end.”
“But…I didn’t even know it was there until like an hour ago,” Harry just frowned at the thought that he might have been protecting the horcrux subconsciously.
Death shook his head. “That is of no consequence. This piece of soul is no longer Tom Marvolo Riddle,” he said definitively. “This piece of soul is more yours than it was ever Merope Gaunt or Tom Riddle Sr.’s.”
“So…it’s a part of me?” Harry looked down at his body wondering why they were separate then.
“In a way,” Death smiled. “Similar to how every child is a part of their parents.”
“Oh, hell no,” Harry shook his head firmly at that. “Are you telling me that I’ll be raising a kid in the afterlife? Seriously? Is that even possible? What the hell are you saying?!”
“No, that is not an option for your upcoming decision,” Death responded, making Harry’s brain pull up short. He had a decision to make?
Death still seemed to be weighing him, and Harry was exceptionally uncomfortable that he may be found wanting. “A decision?” He finally asked, not being able to stand it anymore.
Death nodded slowly. “Yes, the killing curse requires a life. That is the Law, and even I cannot break it,” he responded. “The original killing curse you were hit with took Lord Voldemort’s life because of the power of your mother’s sacrificial magic. Unfortunately, his soul remained tethered to the earth because of his horcruxes. You have been hit by the curse yet again; however, this time you have two lives to bargain with,” he lifted the baby slightly as if to motion to it.
Harry had a sinking feeling in his stomach. He didn’t like where it sounded like this was going. “What are you asking me to do?”
“Choose,” Death smiled again, not comfortingly at all. “You are welcome to return to the land of the living and leave this life here with me in my realm in exchange for your own.” Harry was already shaking his head, knowing where this was going now and immediately rebelling against it. He would never let someone die for him ever again.
“Or…” Death cut him off before he could protest. “You can stay here with me and send the little one back.”
The choice was so clear but so muddled at the same time. It was a baby! He couldn’t live knowing he’d killed it. But…the battle was still being fought. He couldn’t leave his friends when he had the opportunity to save them either. Also, the baby was kind of a part of Voldemort… but also maybe not?
“I see it is a difficult decision,” Death said, and Harry suddenly remembered that the man had seemed to know all his thoughts since he’d arrived in the King’s Cross metaphor. Death was continuing though. “To make your decision easier, I can guarantee you that the battle is already won. No matter which choice you make, Lord Voldemort’s forces are broken, and the light side will be victorious.”
Harry breathed out. Ok, he could live with that. Or rather, he could die in peace with that. “However,” Death said, getting a huff of frustration from Harry at his dramatics. The man just smirked at him knowingly. “I cannot guarantee the safety of a newborn baby in the midst of a group of Death Eaters, in the forest, late at night, during a war. There is no certainty he will survive the night. While his lifeline is strong, there are many decisions to be made by many people, and knowing the conclusions of those decisions is beyond my realm.”
“You aren’t helping in the slightest,” Harry grunted out and tossed out his fear to sink down and sit on the bench with Death. So what if he was terrifying, Harry was already dead for the moment at least.
Death leaned over and passed the baby to him. Again, not helping! Harry took the child and held him close though, feeling soft breaths leaving the little body now that he was in his arms. “How about I add a third option then?”
“Like we just both die?” Harry clutched at the baby, not knowing what was best. How could he live with himself if he returned, but was he sentencing the baby to a horrible death if he sent him back alone?
Death rolled his eyes again and crossed his arms. “You really are a perplexing human Harry Potter. You have yet to think about returning to the living for the sole purpose that you could live again. But I suppose you are correct in your options,” he said with that fond look again. “So, I propose then a fourth option.”
Harry wondered if the baby could be cold since it didn’t have clothes on. Harry wasn’t cold though, and they were technically dead, so was that even possible? “Could you please focus for a minute,” Death rolled his eyes yet again. Harry tended to have that effect on people, even primordial god-like beings it seemed. “The baby is not cold. He is not conscious.”
“Fine, what is this fourth option in all your terrible options?” Harry glared, never being good about not poking at the most dangerous thing around him.
Death just laughed though. “You make this easier surprisingly. I find I like you quite a lot,” Death said, and yeah, Harry was very concerned about that now. Death liking a person seemed like a terrible spot to be in. “Well, it seems you united my three Hallows before you died.”
“Er…yeah, well, I didn’t actually have the wand on me,” Harry frowned since Voldemort still clearly had the wand on his person, he’d just bloody used it to kill Harry.
Death waved his hand dismissively as if that didn’t matter in the slightest. “You were the master of the wand, the possessor of the cloak, and the owner of the stone…and then you died,” Death grinned smugly as if that last action had sealed some kind of deal. “So, I find myself obligated to grant you a boon.”
“Like, we can both go back?” Harry asked tentatively because then he could protect the baby in that clearing, and Death had said the war was won.
Death shook his head though. “No, the Law is very clear that a life is owed, and the Laws are far above my ability to ignore.”
“Right, so what then?” Harry asked impatiently. Merlin, but Death seemed to be one for dramatics.
Death leaned back and glanced over his shoulder as if to check that they were alone, but who else would be there? “Well, technically,” he said, and Harry was suddenly reminded of Hermione when she didn’t want to break a school rule but thought she’d found a loophole. “I can still take both of your souls from your world but deposit you in another. There are many dimensions and worlds I have dominion within. I’m a very busy being.”
Harry just blinked, trying to catch up. “Er…like other planets?”
“Some,” Death shrugged. “But there are also parallel dimensions where other decisions were made, sometimes just one almost insignificant decision or action with ripple effects throughout. There are some very similar to your own dimension and some very different. The curse and Nature still takes its due, but I can grant you and yours this boon if you would like since you united my Hallows three.”
Harry really didn’t have to think about it. He couldn’t throw a baby in the midst of the group of Death Eaters in the forest at night, and he couldn’t just turn his back on this soul which was apparently something like his own child even if he would miss his friends so much. Death had said the soul wasn’t Voldemort anymore but belonged to Harry, and Harry had never had a family before. What if the weird baby-crux thing was his only chance at a family? Merlin, he really was a little messed up in the head, wasn’t he?
Was a chance at a life in a different dimension with a baby who used to be Voldemort worth giving up everything he knew? But also, Death said there were similar dimensions. “Can I pick which dimension we go to?” He asked, his decision already made before he’d even weighed the options.
Death smiled a toothy smile again…and yeah, his teeth were pointed, weren’t they? “I knew I liked you,” he said. “No, but I’ll allow you…three, since that is the number of my Hallows, three requests for your new dimension which I will fulfill.”
Harry held the baby tighter and thought it over. The first request was easy to find. “It shouldn’t be at war…I just ended a war and don’t want to step into another one.”
“Your society,” Death held up a finger. “There is no dimension where war does not exist in some form at all, but I can put you in one where your own society is not at war and also not quickly heading that direction.”
Harry just nodded because that was fair. He thought over his other requirements. “Er…I want to be me still, so not like a blue, tentacle alien or anything.”
Death rolled his eyes. “I said another dimension, not another world, so you would not be an alien. To respect your requirement though, I will move you as you are now into the dimension.”
Harry nodded because he could live with that. He just didn’t want to have a completely new body to deal with on top of a new world and, he guessed, a baby now. It was just one more change he didn’t want to deal with. “Hey…he’s not going to like turn into Lord Voldemort at some point, is he?” He asked, just now thinking of that.
Death glared at him. “No, he is yours,” Death said as if he’d already said that, and Harry supposed he had. “He will eventually look similar to how Tom Riddle should have without all the dark magic because you’ve claimed the soul, not the genetics. However, he will have no memory or even echoes of the main soul’s life imprinted on his.”
Harry just nodded because he was definitely cool with that. “Brill…just checking to know what I’d need to watch out for.” Because, yeah, he’d been planning on raising the kid even if he had the potential for wanting to take over the world one day. Merlin, his head definitely was a little screwed up. He’d apparently had the soul with him his entire life, but he’d only been holding the kid for like ten minutes now, and he was already attached.
What to ask for next though? He could ask for his parents to still be alive. Or actually maybe Ron and Hermione would be the better ask since he really didn’t know his parents at all. But would Ron and Hermione be his friends? Would they even know each other? He could ask for Ron and Hermione, and they not even like him. Or, what if he was a muggle or squib and they weren’t even in school together? Merlin, what if he didn’t have magic?!
Harry blinked because Death had said another dimension, and it could literally be one with no magic. Could he live without magic now that he knew about it? Well, yes, the answer was decidedly yes, but still…it was a big part of him now. Plus, if he had no money, no house, and no NEWTs on record, at least having magic would guarantee that he could use spells as a stopgap to find them shelter, food, and heat until he could get a job. It was probably his safest option and then just let the chips fall where they may after that.
“I can do that,” Death responded, reading his thoughts before Harry could put it into words. “You are correct, having magic both complicates and makes life simpler. I think you made a good choice for you both, if you care for my opinion on the matter.”
“I’m sure if Hermione were here, she would have had much better ideas,” he sighed, knowing he was probably forgetting something vitally important.
Death just smiled. “This is your boon though, not Ms. Granger’s,” he said simply. “You know…I may just check in occasionally. I have so enjoyed our conversation. It has been a long while since I have enjoyed a conversation so thoroughly.”
Harry opened his mouth to discourage that thought vehemently before there was a blinding light and he was suddenly blinking stars out of his eyes from a very empty clearing in a forest. “Merlin’s balls!” Harry gasped and sank to his knee, holding the now squirming and crying baby tight. He hadn’t felt his injuries at all in the afterlife, but Death hadn’t lied when he said he’d return Harry exactly the way he was then.
Harry struggled to stand again with his aching muscles, the ankle he was certain he’d twisted at some point in the day, the burns all over his hands and arms from the vault, and he was also bleeding from several scrapes as well as the deep lightning bolt cut on his chest. The baby gave another soft cry and held onto Harry’s dirty shirt with his little hand.
“Right, so first thing,” Harry found his wand in his back pocket and thanked Death for allowing him to keep it. He was pretty sure it had never materialized with his clothes in the afterlife. On second look, Harry then cursed Death because that wasn’t his wand. He was holding the bloody Elder Wand in his hand!
“Bloody hell,” Harry grumbled, but went ahead and cast a warming charm on the baby. It was night, and it was cold, and the baby’s warmth and comfort were most important. Next…he supposed he needed some medical help…
The baby settled in, seeming to fall back asleep. Dying and coming back to life was very tiring, Harry agreed. He would be asleep now too if they weren’t in what was most likely the very same clearing they’d died in within the Forbidden Forest. So, they could theoretically walk up to Hogwarts and get help from Madam Pomfrey…if Hogwarts existed in this world and had a Madam Pomfrey that was.
That would raise a lot of questions though. Supposedly a Harry Potter existed in this world, and damn…did he kill the poor bloke off by taking his place?! Were there two of him? Ok, definitely should have asked Death more questions… He could hear echoes of Hermione yelling at him for not thinking of that.
Shove the thought in a box and deal with that later! Harry decided out of self-preservation and general bone-deep tiredness.
Ok, so too many questions that he couldn’t answer, and his brain was too tired to come up with lies to attempt the castle in the state he was in. He would really prefer to keep it a secret that he was from another dimension if at all possible. There were a lot of questions he really didn’t want to answer about his old life, and what if the Unspeakables decided he’d make an excellent research project?! What if Dumbledore was still alive? The headmaster always seemed to know when Harry was lying. He needed time to get his bearings before being interrogated by anyone.
So, the school was definitely out, even if it was there. St. Mungo’s was an option, but Harry figured it was probably the same exact day and time he’d died in his own dimension and him being out of school would raise just as many questions. He needed someone with at least some medical training who he could trust to not blab to the Unspeakables or the press about what happened to him.
Medical training…Madam Pomfrey who would be at the school was this first thought. Probably Snape who would either be at the school or somewhere Harry couldn’t find him, but he was pretty sure Snape hated him in all dimensions. He really couldn’t think of anyone else. Merlin, he needed more friends with medical training. And his shirt was starting to get soaked through with blood concerningly fast…
Right, so professions that may require some first-aid knowledge…maybe the aurors. What aurors did he know? Shacklebolt, who he didn’t know how to find…Tonks…oh Merlin, Tonks was probably still alive! But no, aurors worked for the ministry and he was both not in school when he should be and maybe killed their current Harry. Plus, Harry had never actually been to wherever Tonks lived. He didn’t think he would be able to find her.
Ok, so not aurors. Charlie maybe… Harry actually considered that. Charlie would have some medical knowledge working with dragons, but he was all the way in Romania and Harry definitely couldn’t get there in the state he was in as well as not knowing where in Romania the dragon reserve was. But that did raise another option, Bill.
Bill might know some first aid at least…Bill was a curse-breaker, so he would see injuries often and was very trustworthy in Harry’s dimension anyway. Also, it was one of the few houses Harry had been to and had even been told the location by the secret keeper… though it probably wasn’t under a Fidelus if there wasn’t a war in this dimension. That was if Bill even lived at Shell Cottage in this dimension. The cottage had been in the family though and Bill had inherited it from an aunt or something, so maybe if Bill wasn’t there, whoever was would know how to find him.
Harry had to weigh his options with the very little sleep, food, and mental capacity he had at the time, but he decided in the end to chance Gringotts before Shell Cottage. Showing up on a random Weasley aunt’s doorstep was the best way to get the aurors called on him. However, if Harry asked for Bill at the bank, then they would know how to get in contact with him and give Bill fair warning before Harry appeared. At the very least, Harry hoped there may be a goblin healer or a healer they could refer him to if Bill wouldn’t see him. Harry just really hoped this world’s Bill Weasley was still a curse-breaker with Gringotts, Also, he really hoped his dimension’s Harry hadn’t had any reason to steal the bank’s dragon!
The clearing was outside the wards of Hogwarts, so Harry turned on the spot and apparated to Diagon Alley. The baby in his arms woke up from where he’d drifted off while Harry thought and immediately started crying. Harry held the baby tight while he threw up the nothing in his stomach in the side alley he’d landed in. That was not a pleasant experience in the slightest! He bounced and shushed the baby while he banished his sick and turned to find the bank. Yeah, he really shouldn’t be apparating in his current condition. Probably best to take the Knight Bus next time to wherever Bill lived or something.
Harry had to pause and take in a very different Diagon Alley. Well, different from his time at least. It looked almost identical to before his fourth year when everything had started to fall apart. Sadly, there wasn’t a Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes storefront in the middle of the alley, but everything else was there. It looked like it would be a bustling shopping area if it were daylight. He was pretty certain there were actually more stores than usual, but it was dark, and he frankly didn’t care to look or spend the energy to process in the slightest.
He gave his head a little shake to try to focus back in before hurrying up the steps to the 24hr bank. The baby was still sniffling some with snot running out of his nose, but he had quieted significantly when Harry pushed open the glass doors and strode up to where one of the goblin night-tellers were working.
“Can I help you?” The goblin trailed off with a clearly concerned frown at where Harry was injured, definitely bleeding, and probably only barely standing. “Should I call an auror? Have you and the baby been attacked?”
“No,” Harry quickly cut off the goblin and bounced the baby a little more. “No, I’m fine. It was just an accident, really.”
“Babies are not allowed on the carts down to the vaults,” the goblin eyed the baby next, seeming to try to figure out what the hell was going on. Harry’s eyebrows went up, not expecting that rule, but it very much did make sense. There was no way he was letting his baby on one of those death-trap carts!
“Actually,” he sighed tiredly, hoping to stay vertical for a little while longer before he would most likely pass out. “Do you have any way to get in contact with Bill Weasley? Er…I think he’s a curse-breaker here at the bank?”
The goblin’s eyes narrowed. “And who may I say is needing him?” The goblin asked in suspicion.
Harry almost sighed in relief. Wonderful! So, Bill did work for the bank here. Merlin, but that was good to hear! Harry opened his mouth but closed it again. It was second nature to not want to announce who he was at this point in his life…but if there wasn’t a war on here, then maybe…maybe he wasn’t famous? He could only hope.
“Harry Potter,” he finally said with his fingers metaphorically crossed that this was going to go well, and he wouldn’t be arrested on the spot like he would be in his own world.
The goblin’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Mr. Potter?” He asked incredulously. Harry suddenly had the sinking feeling that he may look very different from this dimension’s Harry. Realistically, he’d been starving for the past…well, his entire life. Plus, he needed a haircut like six months ago, and that wasn’t even taking into account his injuries. Maybe this whole laying low thing wasn’t his most reasonable idea.
“I’ve had a very rough day,” Harry lamely sighed. He really wasn’t going to come up with a good lie right now. “Can you please just get Bill for me before I bleed all over your lobby?”
The goblin shook his head, still seeming to try to get over his surprise before he turned and went into a backroom. “Hey, shhh,” Harry bounced the crying baby again. He just didn’t have the strength to do more. Actually, he would really like to put the baby on the counter to take some of the weight, but he currently had the kid wrapped in his shirt as much as possible, and everyone would see he didn’t have any clothes on if he did that. Merlin, he hoped he didn’t get peed on before he could find some nappies!
The goblin was suddenly back, surprising Harry who seemed to have zoned out for probably a long while. “Follow me,” the goblin opened a small door in the teller stand and motioned for Harry to enter. “Mr. Weasley has granted you access to floo through to his residence though I do not understand why.”
Merlin, that was good to hear. He hoped he had one more magical trip in him. At least he wasn’t using his own magic this time, or he’d probably splinch himself or the baby. The green flames of a fireplace in what looked like a waiting room was welcome for the first time ever. Harry hated floo travel, but he just needed to get somewhere safe. If he got somewhere safe, he could rest and put the baby down. He hadn’t been safe in so long…Honestly, he wasn’t sure he even remembered what safe felt like. Had he ever been safe? No, the prophesy had been made before he’d been born, so no, never been safe in his life.
The goblin held out a tin of floo powder and glared. “The address is Shell Cottage, Cornwall.”
Harry almost collapsed then and there hearing that. Bill and Fleur were at Shell Cottage here too! Maybe things weren’t so different after all. He really wished he’d tried Shell Cottage first now, but he just hadn’t been sure how close the dimensions would be.
Harry shifted the baby to more safely protect his head for the trip. He’d gotten much better about not stumbling out of floos, but he still worried about the spinning and how it would affect a baby. Harry took some of the powder and threw it into the flames before quickly wrapping that hand around the baby too and shielding the small form with his own body.
“Shell Cottage, Cornwall!” He yelled clearly.
Harry held onto the baby as the air spun past them until he staggered out into the night-darkened kitchen at Bill and Fleur’s home. The baby let out a loud wail at the horrible form of travel, which Harry understood completely and supported wholeheartedly. Harry just sat right down on the stone floor, having nothing left to give in him at all, no matter what awaited them now.
“Hey,” Harry blinked up at where Bill Weasley, without any visible scarring, stood holding a wand on him in the middle of his kitchen with a surprised look in his eyes. “So…er…help us…please?”
Bill’s wand sank a little, and he looked completely lost at this situation. Harry suddenly realized that this Bill Weasley might not even know him at all. But…why would he let him come through the floo then?
“Merlin, Potter…,” Bill breathed out in shock. “Ramhorn said you were injured and had a baby with you, but what the hell are you coming to me for?”
“Ah, the baby,” Harry let out a slightly unhinged chuckle. Because yeah, of course, Bill would let someone he maybe only vaguely knew come to his house because they needed help and had a baby. Bill had been raised by Molly Weasley after all. Oh, this was probably a bad idea…
He had no energy left within him to keep going though. He hadn’t slept since the last time he’d been at Shell Cottage, he didn’t think he’d eaten since then either, and well, he’d lost a lot of blood. Even the baby had some of his blood on him now even though Harry had been trying to keep him clean on the other side of his chest. Harry just gave up. For the first time probably ever, he gave up.
Harry lay back on the ground and shifted the baby to rest on his chest, not even able to sit up anymore. “Please,” was all he could get out as his vision blurred.
“Oh, hell, don’t you bloody die in my kitchen, Potter!” Bill hurried over, and Harry felt the baby being gently lifted from his arms. He almost tried to pull him back, but Harry trusted Bill…he just really hoped he could trust this dimension’s Bill too.
“Don’t call the aurors,” was the last thing Harry could get out before he felt himself decidedly slipping from consciousness.
“I should have gone on that dig in Argentina,” Bill grumbled before Harry knew nothing else about what was going on around him.