Hero Summoning - Chapter 2

Sorry for the delay in this chapter. I had to take a two-day break because of a high fever and just began writing this yesterday. But don't worry about the next chapter of DyTSM; it will be out tomorrow or on Sunday at the most.

I hope you liked this chapter, and tell me what you feel about it down below.

Thank you, everyone! You are the best!

Lily rubbed the back of the big, rough hand in hers, and her eyes once again traced the features of the boy laying in front of her.

She was in one of the guest rooms at Grimmauld Place, where Sirius had suggested they lay their summoned hero down after he shockingly passed out after nearly defeating four of the best Order of Phoenix members.

They had taken the young man after he had felt unconscious and had shifted him to this room after a checkup from Pomfrey, who told them the reason for his unconsciousness was the effect of residue magic from ritual and the lack of sleep.

And now It’s been 10 hours since the ritual was finished, and from the 10 of the morning to the 8 of the night of the same day, Lily had been sitting here on the bed with their hero’s hand in her.

And how could she not? After all, who she was seeing with her very own eyes looked exactly like how her son Harry would have if he were alive.

The young man lying unconscious in front of her, looking peaceful, had the perfect combination of her and James features.

And no matter what her husband and others had to say, Lily knew he was her son from another world.

A mother always knows better than others.

A movement in her peripheral vision brought her attention to her husband, who had just entered the room.

"Lily, it's night now. We should go home. The kids must be waiting for us,” James said quietly, squeezing his wife’s shoulder.

“I have already told you, James." Lily replied without taking her eyes off the sleeping boy's face, “I am not leaving him here until he wakes up.”

“Lily” James sighed. “I know you think he is our son, but the matter of fact is, he is not the son we made.”

“I know, James, that I am not the mother who gave him birth, but I know he is my son from another world. I could feel the connection the second he joined my eyes with his,” Lily whispered softly, caressing the face of the young man.

“But what if he is not who you think he is?” James argued.

“How can you say that, James?" Lily turned her head and, for the first time, looked at her husband with fierce eyes. "Can't you see he has all the features of ours?"

“Look at him,” she said, pointing at the unconscious boy's face. “He has your strong, sharp jawline; even his nose is the same as yours.”

“And his cheekbones." She smiled warmly, tracing Harry’s pronounced cheekbones. “Those are my cheekbones, and even his slim, angular face is like mine but mixed with yours.”

“And his eyes,” she said, turning to her husband with her moist eyes. "James, for one second, when he looked right at me with his wide eyes, I saw it. His eyes were the same as mine. I know he is my son.”

"Or,” she stopped to rub the tear from her eyes. “The son that we were supposed to have but were taken away too soon by the gods. but now they are rewarding us back for that pain,” she said, bringing the hand to her lips.

James stood there with his hands on her wife’s shoulder without any desire for argument left in him. He knew his wife couldn’t be stopped once she had her mind on it, and no matter what point he brought, she wouldn’t believe that this powerful young man—the hero they summoned—was not their son from a different world.

And truthfully speaking, James himself didn’t want to argue because he knew Lily was right and this boy was most likely their son. And deep down, he wanted that to be the truth.

After all, only a Potter could have those messy hairs. But James was jealous of how long and more stylish the young man's hair looked than his. It was even less messy than his.

Smirking, he just knew by his face that the young man was a lady’s man in his world.

The gasp of his wife brought him out of his thoughts.

He looked down and was shocked to see the hand in Lily’s hand shake.

"James, he is waking up.” Lily smiled brightly, seeing the flutter of the young man's closed eyes.

James smiled and nodded. “I am going to bring Dumbledore,” he told her, and with a squeeze on her shoulder, he ran from the room to bring their leader.

Lily sat with the bated breath as Harry's eyes fluttered open, blinking the fog from them, and a smile spread on her face when she was the emerald green of his eyes, just like her.

His eyes now in focus, he turned to the right and landed on a red-haired woman sitting with him.

“Who are you?” He said his voice was scratchy and his throat was dry.

Lily smiled brightly and introduced herself, “I am Lily-“

“You think this is funny?” Harry cut her off.

Lily’s smile fell off upon hearing the anger in his voice.

“You think you can fool me with my mother’s face, huh?” Harry asked, sitting up on the bed.

Lily tried to hold his hand, but he pulled it away and shifted away from her.

“What is this? a new trick of yours, death eaters, to revenge your dead master?” Harry looked around the room, and for some reason he felt something familiar about it, but he ignored it for now.

“No!” Lily shook her head. “Please believe m-“

“Is this an illusion?” Harry continued in his harsh tone, “Or are you using polyjuice to become a doppelgänger of my dead mother just to fool me?”

“Please trust me; I am not a death eater who is trying to fool you." Lily pleaded with the paranoid Harry, “I am not going to harm you. You are in a safe place.”

“And how can I trust you?” Harry asked, trying to avoid the eyes of the woman, who looked just like his mother would have.

There was no way he was seeing his mother, who had been dead for almost 18 years now. It was impossible; even deathly hallows couldn’t do a miracle like this.

Harry was the only person who would know that because he had tried to do it many times himself.

Lily opened her mouth to calm down him, but they both were interrupted when James came back into the room with Dumbledore in his tow.

Harry’s eyes widened seeing the very alive form of his dead father, James Potter, and his former headmaster, Albus Dumbledore.

"No, no, this-this is a sick joke, right?" Harry laughed hysterically, looking at all three faces in the room who should be dead.

“This has to be someone's prank, surely, because there is no way there are three people in this room who should be dead!!” He shouted and tried to get off the bed, but he was rebuked from the wards around the bed.

"Please, young man, I would advise you to stay in your bed unless you want yourself to get injured by the wards around it,” Dumbledore told him. “And you can’t use your wandless abilities as well,” he added after seeing the way Harry was trying to move his finger in the air.

Harry stopped after getting caught, and to confirm what the old man said, he closed his eyes and tried to feel the magic in himself. And he was shocked to discover that there were heavy chains encircling his core.

His eyes opened, and he glared at Dumbledore. “What did you do?” he hissed at him.

“Calm down, young man." Dumbledore said, putting his hand up, and continued when Harry glowered, “After you fell unconscious, I made our matron give you a potion that restricted you from using your magic because I expected that with how powerful you are, there could be a possibility of you being capable enough to use wandless magic.”

Harry gritted his teeth at the thought of his magic getting blocked for no reason. He had always hated not having any control over his own life.

He controlled his anger for now, as the need to know what really was going on was bigger than anything else.

He needed to know how the fuck his parents were alive and looked as if they never even died, judging by their ageing selves.

"Can you please now get to the point and tell me where am I and how are you three alive?” Harry asked, only looking at Dumbledore.

It was easier to stare at the professor and avoid looking at the other two people in the room who looked like his parents because he didn’t want to feel the pain in his chest after seeing them in front of him, knowing this might all be just a farce.

Unfortunately, the lady, who looked like his mother, made it harder for him as she eagerly answered.

“You are at Grimmauld Place.” Lily smiled.

James chuckled, seeing the shocked face of Harry. “Judging by your reaction, it looks like you know this place.” He said, and Harry nodded with narrowed eyes. “Then I guess you are thinking that this place does not look like the one you remember.”

Harry's wide eyes were the only answer needed.

“Now I assume you are maybe thinking, How is that possible?” Lily asked, sitting down beside him, and was pleased to see him not flinch away.

Harry nodded mutely.

Lily then hesitantly grabbed his hand and smiled when he let her. She wanted to give him support before she dropped the bombs on him.

“It’s because you are no longer in your own world and are now in a different world,” she answered softly.

Harry sat still for a few seconds without any reaction, then burst out laughing.

“Th-that’s a go-good joke,” he said between his laughs.

He laughed for a few minutes, but then noticed the serious expression on everyone’s face, and he stopped laughing.

Gazing at all three faces that had no hint of a smile on their faces, he then pin down Lily with his steel gaze.

“Who are you on about?” He asked quietly, with his voice low and severe, “What do you mean I am in a different world? How the fuck is that possible?!!” He roared in rage.

Lily refused to flinch back and kept looking at his face, and after he stopped, she rubbed his hand to calm him down.

"Please, I know what I am saying might sound ridiculous, but it’s true,” she pleaded with her kind eyes. “You are in a different world, and we brought you here from your world by using a ritual.”

Harry’s anger was still there, but his curiosity won out as he asked, "What ritual?”

Lily gave side eyes to Dumbledore, who was ready to explain the ritual, and she stopped him as she wanted to do this by herself.

“This ritual was done by us to help us fight our enemy." Lily began her explanation by saying, “We have an enemy with whom we have been fighting for a decade now, but we have been unsuccessful for years. We keep losing our members, and seeing the dire situation and a seemingly dead end, we decided to use a ritual that will summon a hero for us from another world who will help us defeat our enemy.”

She finished and let him soak in the information he just got while accepting her husband’s comfort when he stepped closer and squeezed her arm in comfort.

Harry sat in silence, his mind turning, and from the corner of his eyes, he noticed the old man fidgeting under his gaze, which made him realise that this ritual was planned and done by the Hogwarts headmaster.

And he was not surprised at all. Only the man who was always willing to sacrifice everything for victory could do something like this.

“So in simple terms, you have kidnapped me to fight your own battle,” he said, breaking the silence and staring down at the old wizard.

Dumbledore opened his mouth to rebuke, but Lily was faster.

"Yes, you are right, we did,” she nodded, shutting Dumbledore again with a single look.

Let it be never forgotten that Lily Potter was so dangerous that she could shut any powerful wizard with just a single look from her eye.

“But I need you to know that we only did it because we had nothing else left. We are on the verge of losing a war for the future of our kids and losing everyone. And for that, we had no other way but to use it.” Lily said it passionately. “But even though we might have our reason, it was still wrong. Which is why I want to know how you feel about it?” She asked, staring into his eyes, which were so similar to her, it was uncanny.

Harry gazed at the eyes and the beautiful face of the woman he had seen in photos and in his dreams for so many years, and now that same woman was right in front of him, alive and breathing.

No matter how much anger he felt, seeing the face of his mother calmed it down.

“Trust me, I should be angry. You have practically taken me from my world without my permission, knowing if I wanted it out or not,” he said, staring at all three faces in the room, making them nervous and guilty.

He then closed his eyes and sighed, “But as someone who has fought in the war himself and led his group, I know very well how hard decisions have to be taken for our people and to win the war.” He said, giving them hope.

"But,” Harry turned to Dumbledore, who was looking happy, “that still doesn’t mean I am happy, or I am just going to accept you picking up from my world and dropping here just to fight your own battle. because I am already tired after finishing my own enemy only a few months ago."

Dumbledore perked up upon hearing the end: “You have beaten the dark lord of your world." He asked eagerly.

Harry stared incredulously at the dense wizard, and he was about to give a sarcastic answer to shut him up, but he didn’t need to.

“Shut up, Albus,” Lily hissed at the bearded wizard. “That is not the point right now.”

Dumbledore clumped his mouth and did as Lily told him, realising how much his eagerness looked immature.

Harry chuckled for the first time, seeing someone control his previous headmaster better than even Professor McGonagall.

James then decided to spare his mentor from his wife and asked Harry, “Can you tell us your name? We still don't know.”

Harry blinked at him. “I think you already know, seeing my face,” he replied, pointing at his face, “that I am Harry Potter, your son from another world.”

Lily and James faces lit up in a bright smile, and James looked down at her when she squeezed his hand. But their smile was wiped away after what Harry said next.

“I am your son's duplicate, as you already must know since we both most probably look similar right now. Expect some changes,” Harry said, touching his long hair, which he didn’t expect this world Harry Potter to have. Since he kept it long only after one of his girlfriends suggested it.

Noticing the silence, he looked up and saw the grimace of pain on the faces of the parents of his counterpart.

“What happened? Did I say something wrong?” He asked, cursing himself for making the faces he always wanted to put a smile on look like they were in pain.

"No, it’s not something you did, Harry." Dumbledore was the one who answered, and Harry turned to him, “It’s just that in this world, Harry Potter died almost 18 years ago.”

Harry's eyes widened, and his head turned to Lily and James in shock and guilt, and he grabbed Lily’s hand. “I am so sorry for being such an idiot; I had no intention to hurt you,” he apologised sincerely.

Lily smiled, fighting the tears, and shook her head. “It’s not your fault, Harry; you didn’t know that,” she replied.

"Still, it was very insensitive of me to just assume that,” Harry insisted. “And for that, I am sorry for causing you pain and making you remember someone you lost because I know that feeling more than anyone,” he muttered, thinking about his own parents, which was so weird because now in front of him were the same people who should be his parents but biologically, they were not.

“You really are a very mature young man, Harry,” James complimented with a smile, and Lily nodded with him.

“Thank you." Harry blushed a little bit. “But I think I need to know about this world first before I say something stupid again without even knowing it,” he said.

“An excellent idea, Harry." Dumbledore said, grinning, “I think you should come to my office, and I will explain to you the whole history of our world.”

"No, not you,” Harry declined, the great wizard shocking him, and James had to put a fist into his mouth to not laugh out loud at the shock on his face.

“Why?” Dumbledore asked in stupor, feeling a little insult.

“First of all, because you are the reason I am here,” Harry counted, pointing at him, "and second of all, I only want mo- Mrs Potter here to tell me the history because I trust her the most. No disrespect to you, Mr. Potter,” he added, looking at the head of House Potter.

James nodded. “Don’t worry, I understand,” he said while Lily was trying to not smile widely, hearing the words Harry almost uttered.

Even though she knew it was very early, she would make sure and hope that there would come a day when Harry would call her mom.

After that, James, as Harry said, left the room with the dejected Dumbledore, leaving behind Harry and Lily.

Harry turned to Lily, but as soon as he opened his mouth to speak, he began coughing.

Lily's face turned in worry as she sat closer to him and patted his back. “Are you alright?” She asked with concern.

Harry nodded, still coughing. “I am. It’s just...cough... my throat is...cough...so dry," he said, feeling his dried throat.

Lily's eyes widened as she realised her mistake. “Merlin I am sorry; it’s my fault. I forgot to give you water after you woke up,” she said in panic, and then stood up to bring the water from the bedside on the opposite end of the bed.

Harry, however, who grabbed her hand and shook his head, stopped her. He then, outstretching his hand, accioed the glass of water wandlessly and drank from it, sating his thrust.

All the while, Lily looked at him in shock and amazement. "Ho-How did you d-do that? The potion should still be working,” she whispered in shock.

Once he finished fixing his dry throat, Harry sighed in relief and then answered, “It should be, but I am too powerful for it.” He smirked.

Lily stared at him in shock as she wondered how powerful a person had to be to break the effect of a brewed potion.

When she saw Harry sitting and smirking at her, she shook her head and mumbled, “There will be new surprises at every moment with you, wouldn’t it be?” She smiled.

“Of course, it will." Harry nodded, still smirking, and both laughed lightly.

After composing himself, Harry's face turned serious, and he looked straight into her eyes and said, “It’s time for you to tell this world history so I can find out what the differences are between this one and mine."

Lily nodded, and then, getting comfortable, she started the tale all the way back to the point when the first war against the dark lord Voldemort started.

At first, Harry noticed it was almost the same as his world.

The beginning of the formation of the followers of Voldemort, who were later named as death eaters. After that, the events of the first attack and how the fear of Voldemort began spreading were also the same in both worlds.

After that, it was the start of the main war, and it was still the same with how the war truly began and how the order of the Phoenix was brought back for the first time since the war against the previous dark lord, Grindelwald.

It was when the story came to the point of the night of Halloween that Harry noticed the thing really changing.

And it started with the differences in what happened that night in the cottage of Godric Hallow, which shocked Harry.

“Wait!” He said, stopping Lily's narration, “You are telling me that in this world, Voldemort only stunned you and James?” He asked in shock.

Lily nodded. "Yes, he first defeated James and stunned him downstairs, and then he came up stairs, and before I could even do something, he stunned me as well,” she told him, and then curiously asked him, “Did it not happen the same in your world?”

Harry shook his head. "No, in my world, he killed my parents.”

Lily's face softened in guilt. “I am so sorry.”

Harry smiled, not wanting her to feel guilty. “Don’t worry, as you just told me a few minutes ago that it’s not your fault; you didn’t know it.”

Lily chuckled and nodded.

Harry's lips became thin again as he leaned in. "But if you were not killed, then the ritual you drew also didn’t work," he stated more than asked.

Lily was shocked to hear about Harry knowing her secret ritual that no one else still does, but she shouldn’t be; after all, since Harry was here alive, it would mean he survived the killing curse from the death lord because of her ritual.

“Looking at you, I guess the sacrifice from my counterpart worked and the ritual was successful,” she smiled.

“It did.” Harry nodded, and pulling the bang from his forehead, he showed her the scar.

Lily touched the scar in reverence and felt proud knowing that at least one of the different worlds, Lily Potter, was able to save her son by sacrificing her own life instead of losing him.

Harry, seeing how emotional she was getting, decided to get back on the story. “What happened after that?"

Lily came out of her thoughts, hearing him. Shaking her head, she began retelling the past.

“Once he had me stunned, he then killed Harry, my s-son." Her voice broke, but she continued with the support of Harry. “But after that, for some reason, he vanished from the face of earth, making everyone believe that he was dead, and we won the war. And after that, he was not seen for the next 11 years.”

“How is that possible if he killed the boy who was prophesied to kill him, and since you did not die, the ritual also didn’t work, so then why did he vanish like that when he was on the verge of victory?" Harry pondered on his own, and his mind began working to solve the mystery.

He remembered that his mother's ritual and sacrifice were the reasons Voldemort was defeated the first time when his own curse rebounded and hit him, effectively killing him, and he only survived because of his Horcruxes.

Wait! His Horcruxes.

Harry’s eyes widened as something clicked in his head.

He suddenly remembered that Voldemort was going to make his last seventh Horcrux on that Halloween night after killing him. It was always his desire to complete the set of seven and become truly immortal.

And going by that, he would have wanted the same in this world as well, which would mean that he tried it that day too, but when he killed little Harry off this world, there was a chance that his soul was too damaged and he was unsuccessful in making his seventh Horcrux, and when he tried to, he might have gotten severely hurt and had to flee the crime scene and get to hiding.

So that no one could know he was weak and vulnerable.

Harry turned to Lily, who was looking at him curiously, seeing his mind work, and waiting for him to tell her what he thought.

“Unless there is a possibility that he killed Harry and then, while trying for his seventh Horcrux, his already broken soul got seriously damaged and he had to go into hiding to recover himself.” He told her his guess, and going by the shocked eyes of Lily, he was right.

“How did you..." she stopped while asking as she realised how dumb it sounded because, of course, he would be the one to know that “it took Dumbledore years to come to that conclusion and find out about the Horcruxes after his years of research, and did you just say seventh?!!!” She exclaimed in shock and fear.

Harry nodded. "Yes, he made seven of those cursed things because, for him, seven is the most powerful magical number, and it gave him the highest chance of immortality.”

“That would explain so much,” Lily whispered with her eyes far away, and she was brought back to the present by Harry.

“Do people know what happened that night and why they think he died?” He asked her.

Lily shook her head. “No Dumbledore made sure to protect us and our privacy so that no one would know what happened because we knew that if people found out that somehow Voldemort died after killing Harry, they would all worship my already gone boy like a hero, and we didn’t want that,” she explained with difficulty whenever she mentioned her son.

Harry squeezed her hand and smiled warmly. “I’m glad Dumbledore did that for you and that no one had any false image of what actually happened.”

“You’re wrong about the last part,” Lily snorted, and at Harry’s confused expression, she continued, “The people do have the wrong image of that night, and it was made by the Longbottoms,” she said angrily.

“What? The Longbottom are alive and healthy in this world." Harry asked in confusion.

"Why? Are they not in yours?” Lily asked back in intrigue.

Harry shook his head. "No, they were attacked at the same time our house was by the other death eaters, and they were left in coma after suffering a prolonged crutiatus curse, which left their son Neville orphaned like me.”

"Ah,” Lily said in surprise at the completely different story compared to what happened here, “nothing like that happened here. In this world, they were attacked, but fortunately, they were able to defeat their death eaters, but what they did after that was truly disgusting.” Her voice turned in anger at the end as she recalled what happened.

“After they found out that Voldemort vanished, they twisted the truth and fed the media lies that there was a prophecy because of which Voldemort attacked them instead of us, and their son Neville is the one who defeated him. And because of this false lie and the fact that Dumbledore and us didn’t try to reject this, because we wanted no one to know the truth, the people believed their lies and ran with it,” she spat, her anger always rising whenever she thought about the Longbottom and how they used her son's death for their own gain.

“And you know what the worst part is?” She asked, and Harry shook his head mutely as he watched her fume.

"At that very convenient time, their son Neville got a scar on his face during the fight with death eaters, and he was proclaimed the boy who lived and the hero who defeated the dark lord that day.” She finished her rant, breathing heavily.

Harry rubbed her hand in comfort to calm her down, while he shook his head sadly. Who would have thought that the good family who fought against Voldemort in his world would be so cheap in this?

To fabricate a lie about a little boy's death just to make their son the hero was truly disgusting. And Harry could only imagine how Lily and James had been suffering all this year, every time they saw the people worship the boy who did not deserve it. And it was their son instead who should be mourned and remembered.

For some reason, Harry already knew, even before meeting him, that he was not going to like the Neville of this world. He just wished he was not as arrogant as Draco Malfoy, which would be the worst thing in the world.

“What happened after that?” Harry asked, and Lily began retelling the story from where they left off on the night of the supposed demise of Lord Voldemort.

She told him how, after that night, it was peaceful and everyone lived without worry about the dark lord; as for them, he was dead. But the same couldn’t be said for the people who knew the truth and were worrying about the return of the monster who they knew hadn’t died.

And their worries were proven correct when, after 11 years since that night and 6 years before this day, the dark lord Voldemort came back to terrorise the wizarding world.

Harry keenly listened as Lily told him how the dark lord came back to power and slowly built his whole power base again.

And while listening to her, he noticed many differences between his world, Voldemort, and this world’s after they came back.

The Voldemort of his world was a complete terrorist monster, a being who was obsessed with power. Harry remembered how, when he got exposed at the end of his fifth year, the dark lord started terrorising and attacking everyone, killing all his enemies as quick as he could.

But the Voldemort of this world didn’t do the same. It seemed from what Lily told him that he built his base slowly and quietly for the first few years, giving people a false sense of security, and only in the last few years had he begun to really go in front and attack the public.

For Harry, if he had to describe both Voldemorts, he would describe the one he defeated as a monster who had lost any humanity in him and was only fighting to gain power and rule over others.

On the other hand, he would describe this world, Voldemort, as someone who was smarter and more calculated with his every action. He didn’t seem like a dark lord who went out to kill his opponents; instead, he had been doing it slowly and secretly, which was making it much harder for his opponent to fight back against him.

He even sounded stronger with the fact that he has defeated Dumbledore easily every time they have faced each other in the last five years. Something that his world Voldemort wasn’t able to do.

Which was the reason the Order of the Phoenix of this world was losing every battle and was so desperate to summon someone else.

And it confused Harry because this Voldemort didn’t sound like the monster he should be after destroying his soul in seven different parts. He sounded more like a sane Tom Riddle if he had not made Horcruxes.

For now, Harry put that thought on the side of his mind to mull it over later because, for some reason, he knew the reason this Voldemort was so unbeatable was somewhere in there.

“…and this was why we had no other option but to summon you to help us.” Lily finished telling the history of the last 19 years, and Harry rubbed his face, feeling tired after digesting all the different histories of this world.

“Bloody hell, it is so much different than I expected,” Harry groaned. “It’s really a lot to take in, and despite the fact that I just slept for 10 hours, I feel tired again,” he groused, rubbing his eyes.

“I’m sorry; I shouldn’t have put all of that on you so soon,” Lily apologised, looking concerned.

Harry shook his head. "No, it’s not your fault; it’s just that it’s been some time since I've slept properly,” he said tiredly.

Lily narrowed her eyes and grabbed his chin to look at the black spot under his eyes. “When was the last time you actually slept before today?” She asked firmly.

Harry was not surprised to see her already, knowing he had not slept for many days; she was a mother after all. Even though she was not his “three or four days maybe,” he told her hesitantly and was not shocked to see her anger.

“Three days!” Lily shouted, “No shit, you look so tired. Come on, let’s go. It’s time for you to eat something and sleep for a whole day.” She grabbed his hand and forced him off the bed.

Harry tumbled behind her. “I can stay here; you know there is no need t-“

"No, you’re coming with me and James to our house." Lily cut him off and glared at him over her shoulder. “And that’s an order. I am not going to listen to you.”

Harry shut his mouth, didn’t reply back, just like she wanted, and followed her down the stairs with a smile on his face.

For the first time in his life, he felt like he had a mother. And it felt very good.

They came downstairs into the main room, where James Dumbledore and Sirius were talking and waiting for them.

Harry felt his heart beat faster after seeing the godfather he lost three years ago. Looking at the smile on his face, he felt a pang of pain in his heart as he still blamed himself for his godfather’s death.

Although Harry must remember now that he was in a different world and this Sirius Black was alive and looking much healthier and livelier than he remembered, which would make sense given he never went to Azkaban in this world.

"Ah, Lily Harry, you took your time." Dumbledore said, standing up and looking at Harry, “Did Lily tell you everything you needed to know?”

“Most of it for now at least,” Harry nodded. “The rest of the differences, I just have to see them for myself and take them in slowly; otherwise, my head is going to blow right now.” He pinched his forehead as he felt a headache right around the edge.

“Which is why I am taking Harry to our house so that he can get the rest he needs.” Lily told them while signalling for James, who nodded and stood up to leave.

“But Harry can stay here if he wants," Sirius said, smiling at Harry, who weakly smiled back, still feeling regret every time he looked at the head of the House Black.

"Sirius, this place is just a headquarters for the Order of Phoenix, and even you don’t live here." Lily shook her head and told her friend, “He would be safer and more relaxed with us in our house, you know that.”

Sirius nodded. “Of course you’re right. I was just asking because if Harry is not comfortable enough to go with you, he could stay here.”

"That's very nice of you, Sirius,” Lily said, smiling softly and then smirking, “but I am sure you’re getting late as well; your wife might be waiting for you.”

Sirius grey eyes widened, and he stared at the clock in the room. "Shit, you’re right, if I don’t go home soon, Marlene might just come here herself,” he panicked, and Harry was amused to know that the most irresponsible man he ever met was married in this world and was so fearful of his wife.

James and Lily laughed at their friends faces while Dumbledore furrowed his eyes and stared at Harry.

“But before you go, I must know if you will fight for us or not, Harry,” he said, breaking the funny banter in the room.

“For fuck’s sake, Albus." Lily hissed at him coming into Harry’s defence, “Are you really this insensitive? Can’t you see Harry needs a rest after what he has just gone through today?”

“Lily is right, Albus,” James said in support of his wife. “At least give the poor kid a day out or two to relax and think about it.”

“We have already summoned him here without his consent; at the very least, we should give him time to think about his decision, Professor.” Even Sirius stepped forward in defence.

Dumbledore, seeing all three against him and realising the point they were making, accepted that he was behaving a bit too insensitive and impatient.

“All three of you are right." He sighed and then turned to Harry. “I’m sorry, my boy. I shouldn’t have forced you like that.”

“I can understand your impatience, headmaster,” Harry replied, speaking for himself for the first time.

He had been on the back, staring as three people came in defence of him—something that had never happened before. And it made him a little emotional to see the three, who could be his parents and godfather, worry so much for him.

Although he shook his head to make him remember that these people weren’t his, they were the family of his counterpart.

But since the Harry Potter of this world was dead, weren’t they his now because he was in his place now?

“I know that with the ongoing war you have little time, but I do need a couple days to come to terms with where I am right now and to think about my decision,” Harry told him and then stared at him steely. “Because don’t forget, I am here without my choice, but my decision whether I will fight for you or not is in my hands.”

Dumbledore got the message and warning clearly as he nodded and accepted Harry’s wish.

"Good, now let’s go, Harry; it’s getting late." Lily smiled and grabbed Harry’s hand, pulling him to the floo.

"Wait,” Harry said, stopping her. Then, outstretching his hand, he accioed his wands that were in the pockets of Dumbledore.

"I can't leave these behind, can I?” He smirked, staring at the shocked face of Dumbledore and the amused faces of Sirius and James, who were trying to hold their laughter back.

Lily, who was also smiling, grabbed the floo powder and threw it at the floo “Potter Manor,” and then, with Harry and her husband, all three Potters vanished into the green flames of floo.

Leaving behind a shocked Dumbledore and snickering Sirius.

“H-how d-did he? The potion was supposed to work for a full day." Dumbledore stuttered in shock as he patted his pocket and confirmed that Harry had just wandlessly pulled his wands from his robes. Which he should not be able to.

“I love that boy already,” Sirius remarked, still laughing.

Dumbledore turned to his amused former student and cocked his eyebrow at him. “Are you not getting late now, Sirius? Your wife must be waiting for you,” he said, smirking as Sirius's face turned pale.

Sirius could already hear his wife shouting in his ears. “Fuck!” He exclaimed in fear, then, grabbing the powder, he flooed straight to his home as quick as he could.

Dumbledore chuckled, feeling satisfied with getting one back against the marauder. He then sighed in the empty room. “You are really something interesting, Harry Potter. We have much to talk about, especially about how you have the elder wand with you.”

He took out the mythic wand that he had been using for half a century now and traced his finger at the beads on the wand like he always does when he looks at the beautifully carved wand.

He then waved his wand, and just like what had happened every time he had used his wand in the last 10 hours since Harry had been summoned, the wand refused to work for him.

It was nothing like the legendary, powerful wand he had fought with for so long.

All it now felt like was a piece of wood in his hand.

And Dumbledore could think of only one reason for that.

The wand no longer recognised him as its master because the true master was someone else in this world.

And it was Harry Potter, the first master of all deathly hallows in all the worlds.