Almost Me Again by nuw255
Chapter Notes: Harry travels to Ottery St. Catchpole and ends up being told something very disturbing.
Harry Potter’s first few days in the village of Ottery St. Catchpole were pleasant but uneventful. He spent his time getting to know several of the shopkeepers and chatting with the locals in pubs and tea shops. He also made sure to always wear a hat of some sort to hide the scar on his forehead. It wasn’t that he disliked his scar - in fact, he had always found it rather cool. However, part of what made it so cool was the fact that it was so distinctive. It was too distinctive, too easily recognizable for undercover work. It was much more difficult for criminals to steer clear of ‘the man in the hat’ than ‘the man with the lightning bolt scar on his forehead.’
On Harry’s third day in the village, he learned that there would be an art exposition that evening for aspiring local artists. Figuring that this would be as likely a place as any for the culprits to strike next, he decided to attend. He was not disappointed. Halfway through the event, just as the host was introducing a rather good painting of a large river otter, his hair spontaneously turned yellow, then bright green, and finally electric blue.
The room erupted in pandemonium as Harry’s eyes darted about in search of a pair of redheaded teens. Spotting them a short distance to his left, he began pushing his way toward them through the crowd. They noticed him a little sooner than he had anticipated, and fled outside through the doors of the auditorium. Harry gave chase, and soon began gaining on them as they raced through the darkened streets of the village. He may have been approaching middle-age, but he prided himself on being in top physical condition.
“Quick, where’s the cloak?” the girl shouted as they rounded a corner ahead of Harry.
“I thought you had it!” the boy shouted back at her. They both glanced over their shoulders and spotted Harry a short distance behind, coming around the corner at a full sprint.
“Run!” they shouted in unison, their voices frightened as they sped toward the edge of the village.
As the teenagers turned down a dirt road heading out of town, Harry began to worry that he might lose them in the darkness. Concentrating on slowing them down, he aimed his concealed wand at them, causing them both to trip and fall. Before they had a chance to recover, he was on top of them, pulling them to their feet. Only then did he notice that each teen held a polished stick similar to his own. He immediately snatched the sticks away, just in case they could be used against him.
“Hey!” yelled the boy.
“Give those back!” the girl shouted at the same time.
“Why?” Harry snapped. “So you can use them to turn my hair blue?”
Both redheads froze.
“What are your names?” Harry demanded.
The teenagers remained silent.
“What are your names?” Harry repeated, a bit louder this time.
“Who wants to know?” the boy shot back.
“I do,” Harry responded, flashing a badge at them. “Now, do you want to tell me your names, or shall we head back into the village? I’d imagine a night in jail would be enough to loosen your tongues.”
The girl, who looked reasonably frightened, stammered, “I-I’m Lily. This is my t-twin brother, Brian.”
“Okay, Lily and Brian, do you mind telling me why you’ve been harassing the good people of Ottery St. Catchpole?”
“We were just having a little fun,” the boy grumbled.
Harry let out a disbelieving grunt. “Do you live nearby? Perhaps we should have a little chat with your parents. I’m sure they won’t be at all thrilled to find out that their children’s idea of fun is playing malicious pranks on unsuspecting people. Why don’t you take me to your house?”
Lily opened her mouth to answer, but Brian cut her off by hissing, rather loudly, “Lily, no!”
Lily glared at her brother. “We only have to make it to the end of the drive,” she responded in a whisper that was still plenty loud enough for Harry to hear her. When her twin didn’t react, she gave an exasperated sigh and added, “He’s a Muggle.”
Brian’s eyes widened in comprehension, and he turned to Harry. “This way,” he said in what would have seemed an intimidated voice had Harry not just overheard his conversation with his sister.
Although somewhat confused by the exchange he had just witnessed, Harry followed them down the winding dirt road, keeping a close eye on the pair as they reached a long drive stretching out to their left. As one, the twins sprinted about five steps up the drive before slowing to a walk once more. Harry shrugged and continued following them.
“What was with the running a few steps back there?” he asked after a moment.
The twins turned around and stared at him in shock. “Why’s he still following us?” Brian whispered.
“Because I plan on having a talk with your mother and father,” Harry reminded him. Both teens paled at his words and suddenly looked terribly frightened. Brian recovered first and tried to cover his reaction with an air of false bravado.
“Good luck with that one,” he scoffed. “Our dad died before we were born.” Lily, who looked hurt by her brother’s comment, elbowed him rather hard in the ribs.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Harry said softly. “I never knew either of my parents, so I know how it feels. I do need to talk with your mother, though.”
Lily nodded shakily and began walking toward the house once again, although both twins now seemed reluctant to turn their backs on Harry. They walked on in silence, the teenagers occasionally glancing nervously back at their escort, until a large ramshackle house that was at least four stories tall came into view.
“It’s just the two of you and your mother living here?” Harry asked in surprise.
Lily shook her head. “Mum was only eighteen when dad died,” she said in a reverent voice. “Actually, he died the day after they got married - it’s a really sad story.” She shook herself. “Anyway, she never moved out of her parents’ house, so we all live here with our grandparents. It’s nice.”
Harry nodded absently as they approached the house, and then watched with more than a little curiosity as Lily and Brian took off for the front door at a dead sprint. They disappeared inside, slamming the door behind them, and he shook his head in confusion. For a pair that was subtle enough to be able to remove the inner tubes from the Prime Minister’s tires without leaving any evidence, they were certainly behaving rashly. Perhaps they simply didn’t know how to react when caught, but for some reason, Harry doubted that was it.
Deciding that there was nothing else he could do at the moment, he approached the front door, knocked loudly, and waited for someone to answer. After a moment, the door swung inward, revealing a very attractive woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties. She had long red hair, just like Lily, but her eyes were dark brown. Harry guessed she must be the twins’ cousin, or possibly a young aunt. When her eyes met his, she caught her breath.
“Is something the matter?” the woman asked after a moment. Her voice sounded strained, and Harry noticed that she was clutching a polished wooden stick in her right hand.
“Unfortunately, yes,” said Harry. “I’ve been assigned by the Prime Minister’s office to investigate some strange goings on in the village, and they all seem to lead back to these two.” He gestured toward the twins, who were cowering in the background. “Is their mother home?”
“You’re looking at her,” said the woman. Harry tried his best not to look surprised; he’d never met anyone other than himself who looked that much younger than their real age. The mother glared at her children and said, in what Harry thought was a very forceful voice for such a petite woman, “Upstairs, now. We’ll discuss this later.” As the twins hurried up the stairs, she invited Harry inside.
“Thank you,” he said as he stepped through the doorway and into the living room. Out of habit, he removed his hat and held it in his hands as he waited to be invited to sit. After the twins’ mother shut the door, she turned back toward him and her gaze fell on his lightning bolt scar.
“Oh Merlin, Harry!” she gasped, and fainted dead away.
Harry rushed over to her and began gently patting her cheeks, hoping that she hadn’t hit her head too hard when she fell. Her eyes began to flutter, and finally opened, fixating themselves on his face. She began to cry.
“It’s you,” she sobbed, throwing her arms around his neck and holding on for dear life. “It’s really you. So many years... thought you were dead... you’re really here,” she finished in a whisper.
“Er-” Harry interrupted as he attempted to extricate himself from her embrace. “What’s going on, Mrs...?”
She pushed him away, a look of horror on her face. “But... you mean you don’t remember?”
“Remember what?” Harry asked in exasperation.
Her tears began flowing anew as she whispered, “You don’t remember me?”
“Sorry, no. Have we met before?”
“Met before?” she shouted, her sorrow abruptly giving way to anger. “I’m your bloody wife, Harry Potter! It’s me! Ginny!”
“Calm down, ma’am,” Harry said soothingly. Clearly, this woman was mentally unstable, if not outright insane.
“Don’t you ma’am me!” Ginny shouted, and Harry was suddenly very glad that she had dropped her stick when she fainted. He didn’t even want to think about what she might be capable of doing to him with it.
“Look, can we just talk about this rationally for a minute?”
“Fine,” Ginny snapped, furiously wiping her tears and folding her arms in front of her. Her face was still flushed, and her eyes seemed to bore into him as she waited for him to speak.
“There must be some mistake,” said Harry. “I’m not married. I’ve never been married. Your daughter-”
“Our daughter,” Ginny interrupted.
“Your daughter told me that her father died the day after you were married.”
“That’s because that was what we all thought,” Ginny insisted. “There was the battle- and then Snape- and you disappeared. You don’t remember any of it?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Look, Mrs...?”
“Potter,” Ginny ground out from between clenched teeth.
“Fine. Mrs. Potter, what makes you think I’m your husband? You haven’t seen him for what, fourteen years?”
“Fifteen,” Ginny corrected through clenched teeth. “And I don’t think you’re my husband, Harry; I know you are. I can tell you how you got that scar on your forehead. I remember when you got that little line of scars on the back of your right hand that spells out ‘I must not tell lies.’ I know how you got that scar on the inside of your right elbow.”
Harry tried not to let his shock show on his face. The scar on his forehead was noticeable enough, but the scars on the back of his hand were barely visible anymore; the fact that she even knew of their existence was nothing short of disturbing. She had made a mistake mentioning the scar on the inside of his elbow, however.
“I’m not sure what you’re playing at,” Harry said harshly, “but you’ve managed to slip up in your game. I don’t have a scar on the inside of my elbow.”
She arched an eyebrow at him. “Don’t you? Why don’t you check? I’m willing to wait.”
“I don’t have to-” Harry began angrily.
“What’s the matter?” she interrupted. “Afraid that I’m right? Afraid your wife knows your body better than you do, even if she hasn’t seen you in almost fifteen years?”
“This is ridiculous,” Harry muttered as he unbuttoned the cuff of his right sleeve and began rolling it up. “See? There’s no-” He stopped abruptly as he rolled the sleeve up a little further, uncovering a small scar on the inside of his elbow. It was less than an inch long, and so faint that he would never had noticed it if he hadn’t specifically been looking for it.
“You see, Harry?” Ginny asked quietly. “I know this must be difficult to accept if you don’t remember me, but I do remember you. I’m telling you the truth.”
“I’m sorry,” Harry gasped, as his heart began pounding heavily in his ears. “I have to go. I’m not your husband, Mrs. Potter - or whatever your name really is. I don’t know what kind of game this is, but I don’t appreciate being played around with like this.” He scrambled to his feet, allowing the twins’ wands to clatter to the floor, and bolted from the house with the sound of Ginny sobbing and calling his name ringing in his ears.