Chapter 358: Finding a New Home
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 358: Finding a New Home
"This is a lot to take in..." Lily Potter said.
"Yes, take your time, Lily," Dumbledore reassured her.
James glanced at his son. "Looks like we missed quite a bit."
Harry nodded.
After bringing his parents into the Headmaster's office, they had to explain a lot of what was going on to them, including Victoria's situation.
It wasn't too hard for them to accept since they already knew about the existence of alternate realities and were aware that Harry came from one of them.
Even though his circumstances were very different from Victoria's. He had died in his old world and awoke here in a new body, while Victoria just found herself in a different place out of nowhere.
"I cannot imagine what that girl is going through... she lost her entire reality," Lily said.
They did avoid mentioning the fact that, had Victoria not lost her world, it would have been them...the Potters, and everyone else, who would have disappeared instead.
James looked at Daphne with curiosity.
"And how did you get tangled in this mess, Daphne?"
"Oh... well..." She wasn't sure what to answer. Now she realized that it had been a mistake to stay. She only wanted to be of some help to Harry.
"Miss Greengrass has not left Harry's side for a moment. I believe they are quite close," Dumbledore said, giving the Potters a knowing look.
"Are they?" Lily glanced at them with interest.
"Really?" James raised an eyebrow.
"Don't you have anywhere else to be?" Harry asked the Headmaster.
"This is my office..." Dumbledore responded.
"Harry, don't be so rude to the Headmaster," James scolded him.
"Is this true?" Lily was now staring directly at Daphne.
The girl grew embarrassed but eventually nodded.
"I believe we have more pressing matters..." Harry decided to help her out.
"Yes, Harry is right. Should we go talk to this girl? Victoria, was it?" James said.
"Victoria Black. And she also answers to 'Lady Black,'" Dumbledore said.
"Black? Wait, isn't she a Potter?" James felt like they had skipped an important part of the story.
"She is, of course, a Potter. But from what we know, she was adopted by some members of the Black family when she was little and ended up taking their name," Dumbledore explained.
"We can also be sure that all the Potters of her world were already dead since she was sent to the Dursleys," Harry commented.
"To Petunia? You mean like..." Lily started.
"Like me," Harry confirmed.
"I don't remember her mentioning that name," Dumbledore noted.
"She mentioned that you left her with 'those monsters.' That is also how I would have called them at some point in my life," Harry said.
"Oh… were they that bad?" The Headmaster inquired.
"Yes." That's all Harry was willing to say.
Lily frowned. She hadn't spoken to her sister in many years, and after hearing about Harry's past, she was in no hurry to call her again.
"Do we at least know which one of them adopted her? Please tell me it wasn't Walburga..." James said. He had met the woman only twice, and that had been enough for him.
"We don't know. You will have to ask her yourself," Dumbledore said before putting a box on the table. "I will entrust these with you."
He moved it closer so the Potters could see it better. There was a wand, a gun, and several pieces of jewelry.
"Is that a Muggle firearm?!" James was not expecting to see one of those inside Hogwarts.
"These are Victoria's belongings. She is apparently a master when it comes to runework. She created these magical projectile weapons. This pistol used to be a wristband, and we can assume that all these rings and other pieces of jewelry can also transform into something dangerous. So we took them all," Dumbledore explained.
Lily took the magic pistol and examined it.
"She made this?... This is very impressive work. There is an arkenstone and a piercing charm embedded into the barrel… it's very inventive."
"And dangerous. We all saw her use a large version of that to kill a dragon today," Dumbledore warned her.
"I would recommend not returning anything in there to her until you're completely sure she won't use them against you."
"We couldn't take her family ring off. But that should be fine," Harry said.
"Those old rings have so many protections that it would be impossible to add anything else to them."
James glanced at Harry. He was getting a bit worried about bringing someone dangerous into his house.
Lily noticed his look and could guess what he was thinking.
"James... she is also our daughter. We shouldn't judge her before knowing more about her, like what kind of childhood she had."
"You're right… we should go meet her then," James nodded. "Where is she?"
"I requested Severus take her to his office. She did not react well to being here or... seeing me. I believe it's better if I'm not present during your conversation," Dumbledore said.
Once they were outside the office, Daphne approached Harry.
"I think I better sit this one out too. It's going to be a family affair after all."
Harry agreed. The fewer people there, the better.
Daphne gave Harry a kiss on the cheek and excused herself.
"I'll see you tomorrow."
After she left, Harry heard his father chuckling.
"How long were you planning on keeping that to yourself?"
Harry sighed.
"Forever."
A.N - This next part was going to be a separate chapter, but I didn't want dedicate more chapters to Victoria's story since her remaining role is going to be very minor so this ended up as an extra part.
That's why this chapter is longer than usual. -
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"Potter..." Snape snarled after opening the door, finding himself face-to-face with James Potter.
"As pleasant as always, Snivel-ouch!" James grabbed his head in pain.
"Do not call him that," Lily warned with a glare from his side.
"They came to meet Victoria. We thought they might have better luck getting through to her than the Headmaster," Harry explained.
Snape grunted before opening the door wider. "She hasn't made any sign of waking up yet."
"Of course not. Unless I remove the spell I put on her, she won't wake up for another day or so," Harry said, walking into the office, followed by his father.
Lily paused for a moment to greet her old friend. "It's nice to see you again." They hadn't seen each other since the end of last year.
Snape nodded. "Yes... it is."
"So, this is... her," James said, staring at the sleeping girl on the large black leather sofa. "She has the Potter hair..."
"And my eyes, from what I've heard." Lily got closer. "She's beautiful."
"And has quite the temper, too," Snape added. "Did the Headmaster tell you she tried to shoot him?"
"He did. Apparently, in her world... Dumbledore was responsible for a lot of bad things happening to her," James said.
Snape glared at him. "How much do you know about that?" He was just starting to learn about it and didn't like that Potter might know more than him.
"Just a few things Harry decided to share with us," Lily said.
Snape turned his gaze toward Harry, trying to piece things together.
Harry noticed his stare. "You can ask questions to the Headmaster later. But for now..." He pulled out his wand and approached Victoria.
"Should I leave you alone?" Snape asked Lily.
"I believe it's best if you stay, Severus." Lily noticed Victoria's robes. "This girl is a Slytherin. Maybe she'll feel more comfortable with the head of her house present."
"Then, I'm going to wake her up." Harry pointed his wand at Victoria. "Finite."
Victoria gasped and opened her eyes, her body contorting violently before she fell back onto the couch, breathing rapidly.
"It's okay, you're not in danger," Lily said gently, trying to calm her. It looked like she'd been having a terrible nightmare.
"Yes, you're safe here," James added.
Victoria's eyes scanned the dimly lit room and stopped on Snape for a moment.
"Professor Snape... what's going on?" She looked confused.
Snape raised an eyebrow. "Have you forgotten our conversation at the Headmaster's office?"
Victoria gasped. "That was real?... No... that can't be." She appeared to be in shock.
"It was as real as it could be. I won't claim to understand everything, but..." Snape gave Harry a passing glance. "You're no longer in your own world."
Victoria stared at Harry. "Then, you are..."
"Harry James Potter. I am the 'you' of this world," Harry said, though that wasn't exactly true, but he didn't want to confuse her further.
He then pointed at his parents. "And these two... can you tell who they are? You must have seen some pictures of them in your past."
Victoria looked at Lily and James for a long minute before it clicked.
"You... can't be alive."
"Things went differently here. They were never killed during the war. And they also have two more daughters," Harry explained.
"Really?" Victoria looked at them in shock.
"It's true. Their names are Holly and Lyra," Lily said.
"I'm sorry we couldn't be there for you, in... you know... your world," James said. "I wish we had.
"
"Yes, and I'm sorry that my sister treated you badly," Lily added, pained.
Victoria shook her head. "I never blamed you two for that. I left that place before my seventh birthday. Haven't seen them since."
"We were told you were taken in by the Black family. How did that happen?" James asked. "I mean, my mother was a Black, but they never showed any interest in my family after she left. I don't think our families were on very good terms."
"It was thanks to Sirius," Victoria revealed. A soft smile appeared on her face as she mentioned the name.
"Sirius?!" James was surprised to hear that name but then realized that he must have been alive in other realities, even though he'd died early in theirs. "He took care of you?"
"Oh yes. Him and my adoptive mother, Cassiopeia Black. She got Sirius out of Azkaban, and after he recovered, he started asking questions about you two and then... about me. It took them almost a year to find out where Dumbledore had put me. And when they did, they rescued me without a second thought." Victoria smiled as she recounted this.
"Sirius saved you..." James couldn't help but feel emotional hearing about his old best friend.
Lily placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Well, we did name him your godfather for a reason. He was reckless but also reliable and loyal."
"Sirius showed me a lot of pictures of you two. You do look somewhat different though," Victoria said.
"They are a lot older," Harry pointed out.
"Harry!" Lily frowned. She didn't like being reminded of that.
"Say, Victoria," James began. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions, so... would you like to come stay with us for a while?"
"You mean at your house?" Victoria asked.
"It could also be your home, if you want it to be. But we won't pressure you. You have a lot to process right now. I would love to learn more about you," Lily told her.
Victoria glanced at Snape.
"You can trust them... at least Lily," Snape said.
"Hey!" James protested.
Victoria considered it for a moment. "I do need a quiet place to think about what to do next..." She didn't feel comfortable staying at Hogwarts with the Headmaster, especially without her old protections.
She looked at the Potters, trying to gauge whether she could trust them. It seemed, at least for now, like her best option.
"I'll go with you," Victoria finally said.
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