"Now, now, to bed with you. The effects should kick in within a couple minutes. Off you go," Lily smiled.
Harry headed towards the stairs. He looked around the house. It smelled of home. It reminded him of home. It was a nice family home. More importantly, it was his home.
Upstairs he found his bedroom and laid down after taking his shoes off. He had some serious thinking to do. Where was he? Why was he there? Where was here?
And after some crazy theories and thoughts, it came to him like a mental shot.
Years ago Dudley had been assigned a book report. He didn't want to do it so the easiest thing to do was to get his 'freak' cousin to do it for him. The only problem with that logic was that his aunt and uncle had decided that he was not to read any books outside of school as it would corrupt his freakish mind, possibly putting things in there that they couldn't beat out. Or so that was what Harry speculated since they didn't let him do any homework once he was home and ready to begin working for the rest of the day.
Dudley got past this by threatening Harry into doing it after his chores were normally done for the day, telling him to stay up late at night until it was done. Harry didn't care at the time as it beat simply laying on his cot until he fell asleep. This gave him some slight distraction. The book that Dudley had to read was a science fiction novel called, " What Mad Universe " by Fredrick Brown. The premise of the story had been that somehow a man had moved from his reality to an alternate reality where the rest of the story went. The main character had gone from reality to reality, usually based on what he was thinking of at the moment when the event happened to move him. This is what must have happened to him.
He was in an Alternative Universe. Of course in the book the man had moved to a different reality and stayed as himself, wearing the same clothes he had on prior to the event, but Harry was now younger. His body was small. And flabby. His clothes and all his possessions were not there. His wand was missing. He had to have swapped bodies with the Harry in this universe. That was all good for the Harry in his original dimension who had the capital to take care of himself, but for him that wasn't so good as he was dead broke in a strange environment surrounded by people he didn't really know.
Only, he did know them. Lily Potter had a knack for wanting to cook meals. Only she wasn't very good at it and the household didn't employ a house-elf much as his father wanted one. Her husband James, Harry's father, was one of four captains in the Auror division. He ran the weekend shift, which meant he was gone for two full days every week, but was home for the rest of the week. There was more information about his family, such as his sister Rose…
Harry laid in bed for hours as his memory caught up with images, sounds, smells, emotions, joy, pain, everything that it was to be Harry Potter in that dimension. Only, he could tell it was incomplete. After three hours of lying on this bed he had only gotten through the last couple years of his 'life'. There was more, he was sure of it. He needed to review more memories in depth. But at least he had the gist of his family down now.
Lily and James Sirius and Amy
Harry - 10 Alex - 9
Shelia - 9 Jasmine - 9
Rose - 9 Amanda - 5
Leon - 8 Eric - 2
Sylvia - 4
Lily - 3
It was June 30th and he was home for the holiday. His sisters and brothers (for he included Alex as a brother as he and Leon were inseparable) had months to play before going back to school. Something had happened yesterday that caused Harry to get worried and late last night he stole away on a broom. He must have crashed and hit his head just prior to them switching positions. That would account for the bump but not the scar. He'd always had the scar - only, did this Harry have a scar. No, he didn't he remembered. He was unmarked. Then, who defeated Voldemort or was there even a Voldemort here?
Ah. Neville Longbottom was the Boy-Who-Lived. Harry hadn't met him but was sure to when they went to Hogwarts. He liked the idea of meeting him. He must be awfully brave to have gotten rid of a dark lord when he was only a year old. Okay, Harry steeled a voice inside his head, enough hero worship on someone you haven't even met.
This having two sets of memories was going to take a bit to get used to, Harry mentally grumbled.
He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard his mother speak. "Harry, what's wrong? The potion wore off over an hour ago. Usually you would be outside playing pranks by now. You're awfully silent," she said analyzing her son's worried look.
"Mum…?" Harry asked, getting off the bed and walking to her. He now had the opportunity to do what he'd always wanted.
"Yes dear?" she gave him an odd look.
He spoke in an embarrassing way. "Can I hug you?"
She didn't know why he just asked that question, but she nodded. She was surprised when he just jumped into an embrace and hugged her. What she heard next made her smile and appreciate her son even more.
"Mum… I… I love you so much." Harry's emotions finally got the better of him and he cried for the first time in a long, long time.
Part of him knew that Ginny would be proud he'd been able to open up again.
He broke down and sobbed onto her apron. She smelled so sweet. The warmth and love she was giving him in her arms made him so comfortable he loved it.
"Shhh… everything will be okay," she said, stroking his hair. Those Potter men. Always with the untamed hair. He ought to save a fortune not needing combs or brushes for the rest of his life. She didn't know what was going on, but she liked it. However something different about him, he was quiet, polite, and seemed like a dear to her. Normally her son would be loud, rash, rude, and she had to admit, annoying. Yet the person in her arms was different. He'd changed. Maybe she should have him go gallivanting off at night more often if this is what it did to him.
"C'mon, sport, you can help me with lunch," she said encouragingly. Together they went back to the kitchen and this time Harry actually helped. It wasn't a large lunch - just a few different soups for the various palates in the family, and enough sandwiches to fill a couple Quidditch teams. Harry watched his mother as often as he could while fixing the sandwiches. She saw him watching her; sometimes he would look away embarrassed, another time when she caught those familiar green eyes starting at her she winked at him and giggled when it caused him to flush red and hurriedly look away.
Harry on the other hand couldn't help but admire his mother. The way she cooked, the way she chopped. It was similar to his style. Of course she really didn't watch what she was putting where and several times he stopped her from putting wrong ingredients in the soups. In no way did Chicken Noodle Soup have beets in it. Or, come to think of it, mustard.
His mother was quite the beauty, he had to admit, she looked very beautiful compared the pictures he saw. For some reason, she reminded him of Ginny. Physically, they were very different, but comfort wise, well, they were spot on.
After an hour or so, everyone came down for lunch. Harry immediately sat by his mother. Harry didn't say anything, but instead listened to all the conversations going on. Shelia and Rose were fraternal twins, with only minor differences. They were both red heads. Shelia had green eyes, and Rose had brown. Leon had black hair like him, but brown eyes like his dad. Sylvia had black hair with green eyes. Little Lily, the youngest of the Potters had red hair and green eyes.
Sirius' children were a surprise. Sirius' wife, Amy, was half Japanese and half American. Alex was the oldest of the Black family with his twin Jasmine who was a girl; he looked exactly like Sirius with black hair and blue eyes. Jasmine on the hand favored her mother with pale blonde hair with brown eyes. She was best friends with Shelia and Rose since they were the same age. Amanda was a mixture. She had brown hair and brown eyes. Baby Eric had black hair, and brown eyes.
Harry had never been in a family setting outside of the Weasleys. Even there, with Mrs. Weasley fussing over him like he had been their child as well, he couldn't help but feel a little like an outsider. Here, however, this was his family. He listened in on the conversations. Some people were quiet, others boisterous and loud. Jokes, pranks, and Quidditch were all being discussed by boys and girls. Harry ate quietly, just enjoying being immersed in a true family setting. They may not have started out as his family, per se, but they were his, right? At least part of his.
Harry's silence did not go unnoticed. Most of the kids, especially Alex and Leon ignored it thinking that Harry still wasn't feeling well. But the adults could tell that something wasn't right with the black-haired boy.
Here, like back where he had come from, Remus was unattached didn't have any children. When Harry asked if he was trying to date anyone, Remus clamped down and just concentrated on eating. It was probably due to his werewolf status that he wasn't with anyone. Harry thought he'd also have to look into seeing if Wolfsbane was created here and if not, he was pretty sure he remembered the ingredients and brewing process.