Work Text
Prologue
When Harry opened her eyes, she wasn't surprised of her surroundings. A century had passed since she was last here but everything was the same as she remembered it. White and nebulous and then slowly taking the shape of a deserted King's Cross station.She got up from the floor, naked but uncaring of her state. Looking down at her body, she found it toned and fit again, though unhealthily skinny. She touched her face and found only smooth skin, her old round glasses perched on her nose like she used to wear them decades ago; even her hands were devoid of wrinkles.If she wasn't much mistaken, she looked like the last time she had been there, after Voldemort had killed her.This time there was no red, ugly baby crying under a bench nor Dumbledore waiting for her.She decided to wear some clothes in case someone would come to greet her. Jeans and a top immediately covered her body as soon as she thought of them, clothes she hadn't worn in so long, not since she had been in her twenties."Harry Potter," a low, chilling voice, like whispering wind, said from behind her.Harry turned around. The being in front of her wasn't human, and they weren't like anything she had ever seen either, and yet, she recognized them immediately. They looked like they were depicted in the story, the Tale of the Three Brothers. Long, black cloak with a hood that covered their face, and a long, sharp-looking scythe. It was Death."Hello," Harry replied, unsure how one was supposed to great Death. "Are you here to lead me on, to my next great adventure as Dumbledore would have called it?""I could," Death replied, voice so cold it could have turned her blood to ice if Harry still lived, but not purposefully threatening. "if that is what you wish.""I get to choose?" Harry asked, surprised. "Again?""You are still the Master of Death. You can choose to die, really die, whenever you wish to.""I do wish to. I want to see my loved ones again.""I understand. But what if I told you that you could see your loved ones again? They just won't be the same ones you knew.""What do you mean?""What if I told you that there was a way for you to try again. To fix things. Would you take it? I know you have regrets."Harry did. She had so many regrets. She had just learnt to live with them because, what else could she have done? There was no way to turn back time. The time-turners had been destroyed at the Ministry and not even with those, she could have managed to change all that she really wanted to change. She had needed to go too far back to manage it, back at the beginning. No, that was a door she couldn't open, and so she kept it forcefully shut in her mind. Even if…thoughts of him especially, were difficult to ignore."I do have regrets, yes. But the past can't be changed. What's done is done.""Ah, but you won't be changing the past, not exactly. Where I would send you, won't be your past but someone's else present, another version of you.""You're saying that you could send me to another world? Is that possible?""Everything is possible here. You aren't bound by your mortal body anymore. You could decide to board a train right now, or…""How would that work?"Death shrugged, or at least, that was the impression Harry got, though they hadn't really moved. "It's a very simple process really. Just a snap of the fingers and your soul will be sent somewhere else. If you're interested, that is…"Harry was tempted, so very tempted, but was it wise? What if she screwed it all up? Voldemort was dead. She could very well make things worse.“But where I would send you, Voldemort wouldn’t be dead,” Death said, seemingly able to read his mind. “That’s the point. Though, of course, you could very well ‘screw it all up’ but that is life. Life is always a risk. You need to decide if this is a risk worth taking.""Can I save them? Cedric, and Sirius and Dumbledore, and Remus and Tonks, and Dobby, and Hedwig, and Moody, and Fred? And…and him? Snape? Can I save them all?""You could certainly try. Though, I have to warn you, you will not be you anymore, not the exact same you anyway. You will not be the girl-who-lived there.""But the rest? Will it be the same? Will I still be James and Lily Potter’s child?""I’m afraid not. You see, in the world I intend to send you, the Potter child – who was born a boy there – never became the boy-who-lived. The prophecy was still made and overheard by Severus Snape, who, once he realized who Voldemort’s target was, went to Albus Dumbledore, begging him to protect Lily Potter. And so, the Potters went into hiding and Peter Pettigrew was still made the secret keeper. And he still betrayed them, revealing their location to Voldemort.“Unfortunately, when Voldemort chose to attack the Potters, he decided to disregard Severus Snape’s plea to spare Lily’s life. And so, Jamie Harold Potter never became the boy-who-lived, but another child did.”“Another child? You mean, Neville? But, how?”“Yes, Neville Longbottom. Voldemort intended to give Frank Longbottom the chance to join him. A pureblood from a very old and respected family, a powerful Auror. James Potter had already died, the Potter line coming to an end. And so many others, either dead or having joined Dumbledore’s side. So much waste of magical, pure blood. Of course, it was impossible for Frank Longbottom to join the monster who had killed his wife and intended to kill his only child but Voldemort never understood love, just like he never understood that he lost Severus’ loyalty the moment he targeted Lily Evans.“As Lily Evans refused to move aside in your world, so did Frank Longbottom in this one. And so, Neville survived the killing curse and became the boy-who-lived.”“I don’t understand, if in this world Neville is supposed to defeat Voldemort, then why do you want to send me there?”“Because he will fail. Neville is not like you. He doesn’t share the same similarities that you and Voldemort shared. Neville didn’t even become his horcrux. And because of that, in his fourth year, Voldemort will use him in his ritual to regain his body but because Neville’s wand was not the brother to Voldemort’s, he will die and Voldemort’s triumph will be complete. Nobody left to oppose him. Oh, Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix and Snape certainly will try, but in the end, without the Chosen One to finish him off, Voldemort will win.”“So, it has to be me anyway?”“I’m afraid so. You’ve already done it once. Even if the horcrux inside you is gone, that Halloween night changed you forever. You will always bear Voldemort’s mark in your soul, just like you will always bear Lily’s protection inside you. You will always be the Chosen One destined to kill him. You and Voldemort are two sides of the same coin.”Harry felt trapped and Death probably knew it. They must know that the idea of a world where Voldemort won the war, even if it wasn’t her world, was unbearable to her. They must know she would do whatever it took to defeat him, if it was in her power to do so. And if there was a chance to save all the people she lost in her world…Yes, they wouldn’t be the same, not exactly, but it would still be them. A world where she could stop them from dying."I take it you're interested in my offer?" Death asked her.Harry frowned. So, they knew what she was thinking then."Of course, I am,” Harry answered, knowing Death was playing with her and yet unable to resist the temptation of such an offer. “What's the catch, though? I don't believe you're sending me there out of the goodness of your heart. That is, if you have a heart at all."Harry couldn't see their face, only a black hole where the face was supposed to be, but she still had the impression Death was smirking. "There is a small catch, yes.""Figures. Well, what is it?""You're the Master of Death because you not only became the Master of all my Hallows, but you also willing accepted to die. And by accepting to die, you defeated me. You defeated Death."Harry nodded, understanding where this was going. "So, you’re sending me in this new world because I will stop being the Master of Death there. I won’t need to sacrifice myself to destroy the horcrux because in this world I won’t be a horcrux. I won’t be James’ child in this new world, so I won’t be the owner of the Cloak of Invisibility, nor will I have Peverell blood, so I won’t have any right to the Resurrection Stone. And, of course, if I manage to save Dumbledore, he won’t stop being the Master of the Elder Wand. And that means that if I die, this time I will really die. No more second chances, no more do-overs."“Yes,” Death confirmed in a hiss as cold as cut glass.“Can I make whatever choice I want? As long as I don’t collect the Hallows?”“Yes. Whatever you think is best. As long as you destroy all of Voldemort’s horcruxes so I can collect his soul.”Harry nodded. While she wasn’t jumping in joy at the idea of destroying horcruxes or facing off against Voldemort once again, she would always do whatever it took to stop him."So, do we have a deal?" Death asked him.Was she really going to do this? She was finally finished. She could move on, have peace at last. Yet, she knew she couldn't pass this opportunity up. If she did, she would just add one more regret to the list, one more what-if. No, she knew she needed to, at least, try. If she could save them, if there was a slight chance to save them all, she would take it. She had to."Yes," she said, but then something occurred to her. “Wait! If Neville is not a horcrux in this world, then what happened in second year, when the Chamber of Secrets was opened?”“Ah, yes, the Chamber of Secrets. Well, in this world, the Chamber wasn’t opened in Neville’s second year, but in fifth year. Neville was already dead by that point and Voldemort had gained back his body. It was by his command that Lucius Malfoy managed to get the diary into the school, as a power play to undermine Dumbledore even more.“In this world, just like in your world, the Ministry wouldn’t believe that Voldemort was back. Fudge tried in every way he could to smear Dumbledore’s reputation. Cedric Diggory didn’t die in this world because Neville was the only one to grab the Triwizard Cup and then his body was returned to the school, a clear message by Voldemort to Dumbledore that he had won.“But Neville’s death was ruled a terrible accident by the Ministry, just like Cedric’s death in your world. And so, when the Chamber was opened by a poor, naïve muggleborn first year student possessed by Tom Riddle, that student died, the school had to close, Hagrid was sent to Azkaban for opening the Chamber a second time – supposedly – and the piece of Voldemort’s soul that used to be inside the Diary joined Voldemort’s main one, making him that much stronger and gaining him an almost human appearance.“And then, by what would have been the end of Neville’s sixth year, Voldemort and his death eaters took the Ministry of Magic. The Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore faced off against them, but Dumbledore – who had discovered Voldemort’s secret to immortality by that point – had destroyed the Gaunt ring and, like in your world, had suffered a terrible curse which had weakened him terribly. Because of that, Voldemort managed to gain the upper hand and kill him. Snape, whose role as a spy had been discovered by that point, was also killed, by Nagini, like in your world. Most of the Order of the Phoenix perished that night, in fact. Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Minerva McGonagall, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Arthur Weasley, Molly Weasley, Bill Weasley, Charlie Weasley…they all died that night. All the others, in the end, they all surrendered. Voldemort had won.”Harry shuddered. It was even worse than what had happened in her world. Death’s recounting of events only strengthened her resolution. She had to defeat Voldemort once again. And save as many people as she could while she was at it, including Neville.“Can I save Neville too?” She asked, just to be sure.“If you manage to, of course. As long as you kill Voldemort and you don’t become Master of Death a second time, you are free to make whatever choice you wish.”Harry nodded. “Very well. Let’s do this.”"You have to choose a year in which to send you first Harry," Death said.Harry thought long and hard about the year she wanted to end up in. Her first thought was in 1981, to save her parents, but she knew she couldn't do that. So the next best option was, of course..."September 1994. The year of the Triwizard Tournament. Just a few months before Voldemort regains a body."Death nodded. "Very well." And that was that. Death snapped their fingers – of the skeletal hand not holding the scythe – and then there was only darkness.