Chapter 2

Please Note: The first two chapters of this story are going under major revision. The new chapter has been posted but the new version of this chapter has not. I will update this note to reflect it's new status when I have posted the revised version.

TLDR: This is the old version of chapter 2, the new one has not yet been posted.

A/N: Hey everyone! Finally got another chapter done of this story after almost two months. I plan to get back to The Wizard and the Grimm after this and then Making a Deal with a Devil. Ill try to come to this for the third chapter after that. I'm planning on rotating through the three stories like that. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this update. We'll get to see a bit of Dumbledore in this and some other characters in this world. Please leave me a review to let me know what you guys think! Thanks!

Albus Dumbledore awoke suddenly, yet it took him a moment to figure out how he got to where he was. It all flashed through his mind in an instant. Hunting down Tom's Horcrux with Harry. The cave. Drinking the disgusting potion. Being trapped in his own mind, and being forced to confront the spectre of Arianna his mind had conjured up. Coming back to himself when Harry had been in danger. Fighting off the army of inferi. Arriving back at Hogwarts to find it infiltrated with Death Eaters. Beginning to enact his plan with Severus. Harry jumping in front of the killing curse intended for him.

Albus clenched his aged hands in distress. Someone as young as Harry, so full of light, so full of hope, shouldn't be extinguished so early. It had been the same with Harry's parents. It was the reason he hated the war. Hated it more than anything else he'd hated in his whole life. He'd already lost so many people over his long life. The very thought of losing Harry, someone he couldn't help but love as he would a grandson, was unbearable. He only hoped that the Horcrux that he knew resided in Harry's scar had been destroyed as well. At least his death wouldn't be completely in vain.

It was only then that Albus realized he could clearly feel his own nails digging into the skin of his left hand. The hand that had become almost completely numb over the past year. Glancing down he was shocked at what he saw. His hand almost looked completely normal! It still held a slightly unhealthy grey tint, but it was nowhere near as blackened as before. His sense of touch seemed to be completely back and he had a complete range of motion in his fingers and wrist, despite it being a bit stiff.

Sitting up, Albus looked around, realizing he didn't recognize his surroundings. He heard a low murmuring in the distance. It sounded somewhat familiar, like a crowd of some kind, or almost like hearing the Great Hall during a mealtime from a distance. A few seconds later, he noted that the Elder Wand was missing as well, before he remembered Draco Malfoy disarming him. He tried to quell his rising panic. He wasn't sure how Harry had broken the body-bind, but when he did, he had absolutely destroyed many of his carefully laid plans.

Before he could start figuring out what was going on, the door to the room he was in opened and young woman walked in. She froze as she laid eyes on him, looking shocked.

It only took him a moment to recognize who she was, "Nymphadora?"

The woman in question's hair cycled through several different colours rapidly as he'd become accustomed to. "Don't call me Nymphadora!" Suddenly she looked mortified, "err… Professor Dumbledore… sir…"

Albus frowned, "I'm sure I told you to call me Albus years ago." Miss Tonks was never this timid, even with him.

"Well… actually you haven't…" He was starting to feel slightly wary about this whole situation. He wasn't sure why, but something didn't quite seem right. "I… err… I'll just get mum to explain. MUM! Get down here!" Tonks exited the room.

Albus winced. Knowing Andromeda Tonks like he did, he knew she wouldn't appreciate being spoken to like that, even if it was by her daughter.

He was proven correct a moment later. "I will not be spoken to in that manner young lady!" The familiar voice was getting louder as the person it belonged to got closer. "What could possibly be the matter that you had to call me away when we were busy with so many customers."

"He's awake."

There was silence for a moment. "Mind the bar for me Dora."

The footsteps picked up again, this time sounding more hurried. The door was opened from the outside for a second time, as an older looking, and more weary Andromeda Tonks entered.

"It's good to see you again Mrs. Tonks." Despite how he was feeling, Albus put on his customary smile. He knew he needed to get some information on what he'd missed while unconscious.

"Andromeda is fine Albus, and I go by Ms Black now anyways."

Albus was shocked. He knew being disowned from the Black household as a young woman had been hard on her, which had led to her resentment towards the family over the years. He didn't think she'd ever take up that name again. "Really? I don't want to intrude but has something happened between you and Ted?"

"He's dead Albus," Albus was shocked. He'd just seen the couple recently. He couldn't help but wonder how long he'd been out.

"Oh my! I hadn't heard. I'm terribly sorry. He was a good man. If you don't mind me asking, when did this happen?"

"A long time ago… though it still feels as if it were just yesterday," she sighed while he looked on confused. "I'm not really sure how else to say this so I'll come right out with it. I believe you have accidentally been transported into a dimension different than your own, namely the one I reside in. I believe the Ted Tonks of your world is still alive, while my late husband has been gone now for almost all of Nymphadora's life."

Albus thoughts were spinning out of control. Unlike many, he knew exactly what Andromeda was speaking about. He was a scholar, and had always kept up on all the latest research into magical theory. He was, himself, a believer in the idea of an infinite number of alternate realities, but he had always been firmly in the camp with those who thought interdimensional travel was impossible. Now, unless this was all some kind of hoax, or a strange dream, he might be proven wrong.

"How do you know?"

"I don't for sure. This is just the most likely scenario I could come up with after speaking with Harry, I-"

"Harry's alive?!" Albus shot to his feet, almost dropping back down a second later as he dealt with a sudden dizzy spell. Luckily, Andromeda was beside him in a flash, grabbing his arm and guiding him back down to the edge of the bed.

"Albus! You need to be careful! You're not one hundred percent better. You'll need to take it easy."

"He's alive?" He asked again, this time much weaker, as he tried to catch his breath, ignoring her orders.

Andromeda's stern expression softened. "He is. He spoke to Dora and I last night." Now she looked grave, "The Ministry took him though. I just hope he survives until we can get him out."

Albus stood again, ignoring the dizziness this time. "I need to go fetch him. I'll speak to the ministry."

"No!" The raven haired woman stepped in his way. "You can't go to the Ministry! First of all you can barely stand, second they'll never let a supposedly dead man go take custody of a supposedly dead child, and third, you don't even have a wand!"

Albus frowned at the last remark, again noting the loss of the Elder Wand, before his mind locked onto her second statement. "Dead? Harry and I are dead here?"

Andromeda looked somewhat weary now, "Yes you are…"

Letting out a deep breath, he allowed himself to be steered back towards the bed. He had a feeling that if Minerva could see him now, she would find his current interactions with Andromeda amusing. She always said he was too stubborn, and now he wasn't even allowed to leave his bed.

"I feel it would be best if you started filling me in on what's going on in your world. It would be best for me to figure out where it is different from mine own."

"That is probably the best course of action, and from what I could tell from Harry last night, I believe things diverge on October 31st, 1981."

Albus pinched the bridge of his nose, "Of course they do… that Merlin be damned prophecy won't leave Harry alone in any world it seems." After a moment he spoke again, "Could you tell me what you know to be different, and any major events that have occurred thereafter?"

"Of course. Well, You-Know-Who located the Potters who had been in hiding, as you know from your world as well, but, it seems in our case instead of killing just James and Lily, he got Harry as well."

"A few days later, there was a similar attack at the Longbottoms. Sirius, who had been tracking both Peter Pettigrew and You-Know-Who, ever since the Potters death arrived on the scene first, just in time to witness Frank and Alice's young boy, Neville, be slaughtered in front of his parents. In his rage, he managed to decapitate… Bella… with a single cutting curse. Everyone else arrived moments later and we were able to drive the rest of the Death Eaters off."

"Oh my…" Dumbledore paled at these revelations.

"The news about the prophecy came out soon after."

"What?" Albus was shocked.

"Yes, You-Know-Who announced it to the world. In an attempt to crush the remaining resistance, he told everyone that those prophesized to be the only ones with the power to defeat him were dead."

"That's when he decided to launch, what was most likely supposed to be the final assault on the Ministry. Barty Crouch was the head of the DMLE at the time. He was forced to kill his own son in the Wizengamot chambers after he assassinated Minister Bagnold. Crouch was given emergency wartime powers by the Wizengamot, allowing him to be Minister while continuing to hold his old position as well."

"His wife died days later, some say of a broken heart, but others say she had already been ill before. Old Barty hasn't been the same since, and he hasn't given up his powers in the last 15 years either. England has become a fascist state under his rule, and I'm not sure how much better he is than You-Know-Who anymore."

Albus couldn't believe how wrong things had gone in this world. Harry's survival had been a blessing for his world. "What about myself? You said I have passed on as well?"

Andromeda was looking distinctly uncomfortable again, "Yes... you have. You see, after the two boys death and You-Know-Who made his announcement about the prophecy, you disappeared. When you returned a few months later, you immediately started leading… err… you-know-what meetings again, and even took part in a few scuffles, but it was obvious you were cracking under the pressure. I'd never seen you so tired. We were looking to you for leadership, You-Know-Who was out to end you once and for all, and Crouches Ministry wouldn't stop hounding you." She paused.

"I see. I can tell there is more to come, it's best just to get it over with."

Andromeda nodded, still looking nervous, "That's when you decided to set Grindelwald free."

Silence reigned, "I beg your pardon… I… I… Gellert? I let him out?"

"Yes. You came back afterwards telling us it was the only option, and that he had agreed to fight with us against You-Know-Who in exchange for his freedom."

Albus shook his head, already guessing where this was going. "He killed me, didn't he?"

"Yes… a week later, he stabbed you in the back with a knife in the middle of Diagon Alley. He took your wand, and has been using it ever since. You-Know-Who didn't take it too kindly that someone else killed you, especially a rival dark lord. He sent men after Grindelwald, but news of his presence got out, and hundreds of his former supporters from around the world, many who had somehow escaped punishment after Word War II, flocked to his side. I heard there were a few Death Eaters who even defected. "

Albus looked down at his own clasped hands without saying a word. "My hand… do you know what happened to it. It has been under the effects of an extremely powerful withering curse for most of the past year. I didn't foresee surviving much longer, but this morning it appears to be completely gone."

Looking surprised at the sudden change in topic, Andromeda answered anyway. "It was whatever potion you ingested yesterday. I could tell it was a powerful hallucinogenic, but I also noticed it was a Class E potion."

"Of course, a Class E potion would be able to wipe away that kind of enchantment from the body! I can't believe I didn't think of it before."

"Well, it's not everyday you come across a Class E potion. Many are lucky to even see one in their life!"

"Still, it should have come to mind…" Albus fell back into silence, being unable to keep his mind off the other information he'd just learned. "Is the Ministry really as bad as you say? How much danger is Harry really in?"

"I wasn't lying when I said that Crouch may be just as bad as You-Know-Who. He's committed atrocities while he's been in office. If he's able to keep his head down, and the DMLE thinks he's just another random criminal he might have a chance to stay alive until we figure out how to rescue him. If Crouch finds out about who he is and how he got here, well… I don't know what would happen. The fact that Ministry personnel haven't come back to level us with a fine for lying about Harry last night has me worried, as it means they're too busy with something else."

Albus was started to become more and more concerned for his missing student the more he heard. He remembered Barty after his son had been sent to Azkaban, he could only imagine how he would be after being forced to kill him. "How was he arrested in the first place?"

"Illegal apparition."

"He's only a couple months from being able to acquire his licence. It should only be a fine…"

"No Albus… apparition itself is illegal. Only authorized Ministry workers are given a licence, the rest is tracked to help catch Death Eaters or Grindelwald's followers."

Albus was shocked once again. The fact that Barty would go that far astounded him. "We need to get Harry back before it's too late." Andromeda nodded. "There's one last thing… I need to know where I can find Aberforth."

"I need that report on my desk by first thing tomorrow, Auror Barnes!"

"Of course Minister Crouch! A-a-anything you n-need," the thirty something wizard stuttered nervously.

"This night has been a mess. You're lucky there were no casualties or I would've had your job. You're only holding onto your current position because I haven't had time find someone else while Head Auror Dawlish has been away."

"B-b-but sir! We couldn't do anything about tonight! We were told we were to intercept a Death Eater raid. Grindelwald's forces were supposed to be there as well! We were pinned down!"

"You… you didn't expect…" Crouch looked at the temporary Auror captain aghast before he felt his rage building. "You didn't expect Grindelwald's forces?! We've been stuck in this Merlin be damned war for over three decades! Grindelwald's return was about ten years ago now too! These things shouldn't be a shock to you anymore!"

"No one died though! So you could say tonight was a success."

"A success? Auror Micheals lost a hand, and you failed to apprehend anyone!"

Crouch took a deep breath trying to calm his suddenly racing heart. Everyone he worked with was an incompetent. He was glad he had been able to take power all those years ago. The wizarding world was in shambles and would be lost without his guidance. He knew that some people thought he was harsh, but they didn't understand the true scope of things. He couldn't allow anyone who spoke against his Ministry to get too much power. They couldn't afford another Albus Dumbledore. Despite his reservations, he used to have some respect for the old wizard, well that was until he bungled the who prophesy business and then unleashed a second dark lord on them. No! He knew his firm stance was what was needed. The people would have been long dead without him!

With this in mind, Crouch was ready to finish ripping into the cowering Auror before him when he was interrupted once again. "E-excuse me Minister Crouch… sir?"

"What is it cadet?" Crouch bit out looking at the young man. He was already expecting this to be a massive waste of his time. The Auror cadets were only assigned to the low level cases.

"I have a suspect down in interrogation that was brought in for a case of illegal apparition."

"Get on with it Cadet, it sounds like a pretty standard case to me."

The young man swallowed nervously, "Well you see he was lying about his name, so I dosed him veritaserum-"

"WHAT? You don't have authorization for that!"

"I'm sorry sir, but you should know what he had to say," he quailed under his bosses furious glare.

"Go ahead," Crouch growled.

"He claims he's Harry Potter."

The Minister for Magic just watched the cadet for a moment before sighing. "No one has probably told you yet but we get these kind of guys in every once in awhile. People claiming to be Harry Potter or Neville Longbottom. That they are the wizarding world's savior, but it's not true. Those two died fifteen years ago. Nothing will change that."

"You misunderstand me sir. That's the answer he gave after I dosed him with veritaserum."

Crouch stopped, his brain caught up to what he'd just heard before shaking his head, "It's not possible. We buried the Potters, just like we buried Dumbledore. This boy must be insane, if he actually believes himself to be Harry Potter."

"I-I don't know sir…" the Cadet's voice betrayed his nervousness at disagreeing with the Minister for Magic. "I think you better see this for yourself."

He thought about this for a moment before acquiescing, "Fine. We'll see who this boy really is." Crouch followed the cadet down to the detention cells leaving Auror Barnes behind, feeling relieved he'd escaped punishment this time.

Harry groaned as he came to. He wasn't even sure how long he'd been in this cell. As soon as he'd been arrested he'd decided that using his real name wouldn't be a good idea, but obviously his story hadn't been very convincing, as he'd immediately been force fed, what he'd soon realized was veritaserum. The Minister had arrived shortly after, and Harry had immediately recognized him. Barty Crouch Sr. This Barty Crouch looked the same as his worlds counterpart, if a little older and lot more severe.

The questions that came after proved his identity almost immediately. Crouch seemed under the impression that he'd been in hiding for the past fifteen years, so Harry tried to stick with that story, but alas it wasn't to be.

"Did you or someone else fake your death to go into hiding since the attack on October 31st, 1981?"

"No."

"But we recovered the body of Harry Potter at the scene. Are you saying that was not the body Harry Potter?"

"N-no." Harry had fought to the urge to respond.

"And yet you are Harry Potter?"

"Yes."

"Did you die on October 31st, 1981?"

"No."

"What? Was there two of you?" Crouch let out a bark of laughter, at what he'd said, though it didn't seem to be humorous at all. He was eyeing Harry dangerously.

At this point, Harry was screaming expletives within his own head. Crouch hadn't even meant it as a real question, but he'd asked it anyway, and Harry could feel the compulsion to answer. "Y-y-yes."

For a moment Crouch didn't react and Harry thought he'd might have gotten away without him hearing him, but the man slowly turned back towards him a strange smile on his face, that would have caused Harry to shiver if he could move.

"There were two of you?"

"Y-yes."

"How is that possible?"

It had been at that point that Crouch had learned about Andromeda's theory's about him having traveled from an alternate universe. Despite his reluctance for this to get out, it was a different area of the conversation that proved to be the worst outcome of that meeting.

"What happened on the night of October 31st, 1981 in your world?"

"Peter Pettigrew betrayed my parents to Voldemort-" however before he could continue, a large rumble passed through the building.

"Stop!" Crouch looked a mix between panicked and enraged. He turned to the Auror in the room. "Go check our status!"

They only had to wait a minute, but during that time Crouch was eyeing Harry with a dangerous glint in his eye. "Minister Crouch! The wards are still intact. The taboo was not enough to bring them down."

Crouch looked like he relaxed slightly before whipping around to face Harry once again. "Why would you utter his name like that? Idiot boy!"

"Fear of the name only increases fear of the thing itself."

The Minister didn't reply right away, he just held the bridge of his nose between his fingers before muttering, "Dumbledore should have been killed a lot sooner than he was. I'm still cleaning up his messes."

Inside Harry was raging. Was the Ministry always doomed to be corrupt like this? He could not let Crouch find out that his Dumbledore came with him!

"Now, you said You-Know-Who found out your location from Pettigrew?"

"Yes."

"Did he attack your home?"

"Yes."

"What happened to James and Lily Potter?"

"They died."

"Did You-Know-Who attack you?"

"Yes."

"What happened?"

"His killing curse rebounded off me and hit him."

The room was silent once again. Crouch was staring at him, but he couldn't read his expression, which he found worrisome.

"How did you survive the killing curse?"

"I don't know." A momentary look of annoyance passed across his face.

"Come now, Mr. Potter. Didn't anyone else have any theories?"

"Y-yes." Crouch smiled.

"What was this theory?"

"That when my mother refused the offer to step aside and saved her own life, she sacrificed her life for mine. This invoked an ancient love based magic that shielded me."

There was silence again for a moment.

"You're joking…"

"No." Harry internally got a measure of grim satisfaction that his sudden emotionless response startled the aged Minister. He was clearly not expecting an answer, almost having forgotten that he was forced to answer.

Shaking his head to refocus himself, Crouch asked the other question he didn't want to answer, "Is that the only time you have been hit with the killing curse?"

"No."

What followed was a several hour interrogation about the events of his life, especially about his interactions with Voldemort, and what he knew about the prophecy. Crouch had only relented when the other Auror finally pointed out that they couldn't risk continuing to dose him with anymore Veritaserum. Taking in Harry's feverish condition, the Minister had agreed. Despite being forced to answer questions for two hours, it was Crouch's parting statement that he'd found the most chilling.

"Cadet, grab a free Auror and then escort Mr. Potter down to see the unspeakables," he handed him a note. "Give this to the head of the department when you do." He walked over to the door, but stopped with his hand on the handle. He looked over his shoulder at Harry's dazed form, "I want to thank you now Mr. Potter, for both the service and the sacrifice you're making for the Ministry."

With his mind still reacting sluggishly after the large quantities of truth potion he'd ingested, Harry couldn't quite remember why the name Unspeakables sounded familiar. It wasn't till he was actually walking down the familiar hallway heading for the Department of Mysteries that he remembered, and realized where he was going. He'd started to struggle at that point, hoping to get away, but it was futile with his two escorts with him. They'd subdued him in less than thirty seconds.

Once being passed into the Unspeakables custody, he was immediately placed into the cell where he was currently residing. The days that followed had devolved into him becoming a human guinea pig. Harry couldn't help but wonder if sitting with the Dementors in Azkaban might have been preferable, something he never thought he'd ever say.

At first it hadn't been too bad, just lots and lots of magical scans and tests, especially surrounding his scar. Those tests had started to involve being force fed strange potions, much to his dismay. It only got worse after that. They started involving strange operations, things more inline with what he'd consider to be muggle medicine than magical.

The very worst though, had just started. In his last session, one of the Unspeakables, he wasn't sure which as they all looked the same in their identical hooded robes, had informed him that they were going to do stress testing. They wanted to see what extra abilities would manifest by putting his body through extreme conditions. If anything, Harry would call the word extreme to be a gross understatement, and that Voldemort's cruciatus curse now seemed like a tickling jinx in comparison. Even now, his whole body ached, as he sat slumped against the wall of his cell. He knew he'd have to relieve himself soon, but he couldn't find the energy to move.

That's when he heard it. It was such a break from the deathly quiet that was his time in his cell, that Harry managed to raised his head slowly. The walls and floor had shaken a moment earlier. A minute later, it happened again. The third occurrence followed even sooner, and was much more noticeable. It was at this point that Harry started to hear it too. First it was raised voices in the distance. And then the sound of hurried footsteps running one direction. A few minutes later it was even more footsteps accompanied by more voices coming towards his location. All sound stopped outside his cell.

With a loud bang, the door blew backwards into the cell about a foot before falling onto the ground, the shock making Harry jumped and fall over sideways with a grunt. He couldn't push himself back up. Three men entered cell. They wore dark, nondescript, unfamiliar uniforms. The only thing that stood out on the clothes was a strange triangular symbol that Harry didn't recognize.

Other than the clothes themselves, Harry's gaze was drawn to the strange silver swords they seemed to be carrying apart from their wands. Now, Harry knew he was by no means an expert on swords, but he was fairly certain this kind was called a rapior. Before he could think on this anymore, one of the men spoke in a thick German accent, "Is this the boy?"

"I think so… he is not looking well. These unspeakables have not been gentle."

The first man grunted in agreement, before the third spoke up. "Hurry up. We should not linger here long." The one man grunted again before moving forward. Before he could protest Harry was jerked off the floor and thrown over the mans shoulder. The rough movement only served to exacerbate his pains. As embarrassing as it sounds, Harry would admit that he'd cried out when that had happened, but those who appeared to be rescuing him didn't seem to care.

Their exit from the Ministry became a blur to Harry as he passed in and out of consciousness. He'd been lucid enough when they crossed the atrium to pick up on the fight that was happening around him. It seems there were more than just the three men who'd come to his cell. There were another several dressed in identical apparel fighting against a swarm of Aurors, as they attempted to prevent their prisoner from escaping.

He'd been awed to see a few of the dark clothed wizards wielding their rapiers to bat away incoming spells, or in some cases even absorb them. He'd seen a few of the Aurors fall as sharpened metal pierced their guts as they got too close. Through all this, they made it across the floor, and the group Harry was with apparated away, which served to knock him out once again.

The only other thing he remembered was the feeling of a soft bed beneath him, and once again the sound of voices, but this time he recognized one of them. He wasn't sure who it was but the soft melodic voice seemed so familiar, as did the faint whiff he caught of some kind of sweet flowery scent. He tried to open his eyes, only to catch a flash of something silver, but he couldn't keep them open any longer. Harry wouldn't find out what it was quite yet though, as he soon fell back into a deep exhausted slumber.

Lord Voldemort, self proclaimed Dark Lord, and most powerful wizard of all time, watched in slight amusement as one of his servants approached his throne. The man was clearly terrified to have to make a report directly to him. He let him cower for a minute or so before he started lose his patience. He gripped his wand tightly and hissed, "Your report?"

The wizard shuddered as he listened to the command, his eyes wide, watching his master's wand. Fortunately for him, he did manage to start speaking, "I-I have news from th-the Ministry my Lord."

He waited a few more seconds in silence. "Crucio!" The Death Eater writhed on the floor as he was held under the curse. "Don't keep me waiting…. Finish your report!"

"O-o-of course m-my lord." The man wheezed. "There are reports of someone being captured who claims to be Harry Potter. It wa-"

"Enough! We've heard reports of this kind before. They've always been lies. If that was all?" He raised his wand threateningly again.

"No! No, it was confirmed under veritaserum!" The Dark Lord froze, and would've raised an eyebrow if he had any. "Crouch himself led the interrogation, and after he was taken down to the Unspeakables."

"How is that possible? I killed the little wretch and his entire family!"

"I heard talk that he is a traveler from another world. I don't really understand it my-"

"I know of what you speak. It is a theory that until now had never been proven. You've done well to report this to me. Now, get out of my sight!" The man didn't need telling twice, as he scurried out of the room, leaving the Dark Lord to his thoughts. Voldemort knew that if this was all true, he had a big problem. He knew of the prophecy and couldn't afford to let this new Harry Potter run around. He would send some of his Death Eaters to go fetch the boy from the Department of Mysteries that night.