The Dream Trilogy Book One: To Dwell On Dreams (A Harry Potter FanFiction)

Chapter Forty Three

Very carefully, Harry picked up the envelope and turned it over to see the address. And his heart stopped.  

For her last birthday, Harry had bought Hermione a Quick Quotes Quill to help her dictate her homework. It was a lot more accurate than the one Rita Skeeter was so fond of, but it insisted on making this strange wiggle every time it wrote a capital 'H' that looked nothing like the rest of Hermione's handwriting. It drove her crazy, and refused to go away no matter what how many charms and spells she tried on it. 

This envelope had Harry's name on the front, nothing else. And there was the wiggle.  

Was this from his Hermione? Or could someone else have the same quill problem? With Hermione's hand writing. 

"I think you should open it Harry," said Sirius, his fingers propped under his chin. "I know it's got your name on it, but I thought it might have been related to Sarah so I read it. I'm sorry, but..." 

His voice sounded strangely detached, and it made nausea creep up Harry's insides. He flicked the envelope over and prised out several folded sheets of thick cream parchment. The letter was addressed to Harry, and where his name sat, there was the wiggle again. 

"Read it aloud," Sirius instructed, but Harry had a feeling they both knew what it said already. 

Sweating with anticipation, Harry began recite. "Dear Harry," stated Hermione's neat and tidy calligraphy. "We pray this letter finds you intact, and that you have not strayed too far from where you started. Dumbledore and McGonagall have been helping us extensively since your disappearance. We had to go through all your stuff, I really hope you don't mind- 

"Tell him about the book!" Harry read it aloud before he twigged Ron's handwriting had just intruded on Hermione's. They were both talking to him. He felt a lump rise in his throat, and had to take a moment to compose himself before he could continue. 

"Yes, I'm getting to that Ron! So, I found a book in the restricted section of the library, Dumbledore gave us permission. It was called 'The Boundaries of The Universe' by Estella Linyar, and it talked about something called a 'Dimensional Hotspot.' We think that's what you went through, it says there's one just outside the History room where the window was smashed, was that you? 

"He can't reply Hermione. 

"Stop interrupting. So this Hotspot is like a- 

"Crazy door! 

"The book says 'gateway between the delicate fabrics of the space-time continuum'." Harry could practically hear her upset at being undermined. 

"Crazy door gets the point across quicker. Mate, Dumbledore reckons you've landed in a parallel universe. I think it's mental, but you're bloody well not anywhere else as far as we can see. 

"When all possible options have been removed you must consider the impossible, Ron," Hermione scalded.  

Harry was as cold as ice. He dared raise his eyes from the parchment to look at his mother and godfather. "You said you were at the school," said Lily in little more than a whisper. "When you woke up, you said that's where you just were. I thought you were delirious." 

Harry bit his lip, he didn't know what to say, except; "Yes, I was." 

"You were talking about the Weasleys. They had a son called Ron." Harry nodded again. Both the adults were incredibly pale.  

"Harry," said Sirius. "Are you telling us this is true? That when you collapsed last night, that you...that you..." 

"Crossed over from a parallel universe and took your Harry's body," finished Harry numbly. "Yes."