Fantasy or reality? #8 (Harry/Fleur/Daphne) (Patreon)

All characters are adults

Chapter #1 (Preview): Fantasy or reality? #1

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Chapter #8: The big crunch.

Harry was back in Hogwarts hallways, but this time he wasn’t coming back as a student, trying to earn an apprenticeship or to ask for a job, no, there was a better reason, he came to see someone who could answer the questions he had about the universe. Harry wasn't alone; he was walking alongside an elderly witch.

“It’s been a long time since we saw each other, the last time was during Christmas, right, Harry?” Spoke an old witch.

She was tall and slender, and her usual serious and stern expression was now adorned with a smile. One of the best students she has taught throughout her years of teaching came back to school.

“Yes, Professor McGonagall, that pumpkin tart you brought to the dinner was great,” Harry smiled at his former charms professor.

It was so nostalgic to come back here, and he felt like an outsider even though in his mind the last place he remembers is Hogwarts and him defeating Voldemort in the front yard.

“It pleases me to hear that you loved it, Harry,” she smiled.

Harry smiled back and greeted some of the lower years and others who knew and admired him.

“Please, call me Minerva,” she winked at him. “So, what has brought you back to our humble castle? Even though you’re amazing, we don’t hire professors with less than years of experience, sorry, Harry,” she quickly turned him down.

Harry just laughed; he liked how pragmatic the professor was. It seemed like, regardless of which universe he was part of, she was mostly the same.

“I came to see the muggle studies professor, I have some questions that only she can answer,” Harry explained, and she nodded.

“She’s about to finish a class. Why don’t you wait in her chambers, and I’ll send Lily a message?” She suggested, and Harry nodded, pleased.

“Thank you, Minerva, I’ll do that, I know the way, so I'd better leave you to your duties, professor,” the emerald-eyed wizard said in a polite tone.

Minerva couldn’t help but smile. Yes, that was one of the best students she has had the pleasure to teach in her whole career. People like him made it worth it for her to choose teaching instead of traveling around the world. Harry, meanwhile, couldn’t help but appreciate the fact that the students looked happy and lively.

The last time he paid attention to his fellow students, they were in the great hall, and the place was a mess; most of it was destroyed, as for the students, some were hurt, many were sad, others were wailing, and others were dead, that was the sad reality of the war.

He was happy to see nothing but motivated faces, and those who weren’t smiling were probably only concerned about the upcoming exams. He felt jealous, actually; it seems like he had a peaceful school life, but he doesn’t remember living it.

He was lost in his thoughts until he felt someone poking him on his back. He looked back with a dangerous expression; the war instincts were still fresh to him, but then, his eyes widened at the sight. In front of him, there was someone who should’ve been dead.

“Snape… I mean, Professor Snape,” Harry said with a surprised tone.

“You’re not a student anymore… You can call me uncle here, you know?” Harry heard, and then his eyes widened as he saw Snape smiling.

It was a very disturbing sight to see to say the least and then, he started to remember, yes, it was true, it seems like the Snape in this universe never fell in love with his mother, instead, he had a rivalry with Petunia because both wanted Lily’s attention, it was crazy but in this universe his aunt Petunia was magical.

So, the rivalry turned into love, and then, they got married, and they had Daisy Snape, who should’ve been Dudley Dursley, he doesn’t know how to feel about it, but at least one thing is clear, Snape and his father never hated each other in fact, they became friends as they were part of the quidditch team of the school.

“Sorry, uncle… I was just lost in my thoughts,” Harry sighed.

The older wizard nodded, but before he could say anything, Lily decided to appear.

“Harry… Severus, I wasn’t expecting to receive many guests this evening, but you two would be happy to know that I didn’t forget to eat my lunch!” Lily celebrated.

That was a common problem; his mother usually forgot meals because she was more focused on her work. Of course, later she ate more to compensate, but that wasn’t a healthy eating schedule.

“Come on, let’s get inside,” Lily encouraged them.

“Sorry, Lily, I have a class to teach. I’ll see you at dinner,” Snape said with a calm expression. “It was good to see you, Harry. I hope you visit my home soon. Your aunt Petunia has been asking about you lately,” Snape sighed.

Harry grinned and nodded.

“I’ll make a space in my schedule, see you soon, uncle Severus,” Harry tried to remain as cheerful as possible.

However, it was hard not to chuckle after saying those words; it was a very interesting experience, to say the least. But now that he was alone with his mother, they took a seat at a small table, and soon, Lily was drinking black coffee, and for Harry, she brought him a chocolate ice cream.

“Well, I’m surprised you wanted to see me so soon, Harry. Don’t misunderstand me, I love when you visit me, but it’s not usual,” Lily said as she scratched the back of her head.

Harry nodded.

“I’ll be brief, Mum. What do you know about deja-vu? Do you know what causes them? Is there a muggle scientific theory that could explain them?” asked Harry with a calm expression.

Lily arched a brow.

“Wow, that’s a lot, I think you’re better asking your aunt Petunia, physics is her forte, after all, even if she’s magical, she works as a chemical engineer, anyway…” Lily clarified her voice.

Then she took another sip of her coffee.

“I hope what I know can help you. Let me tell you about the big crunch theory… As you know, the universe is in constant expansion, so, from what I know, that theory proposes that the universe at some point will contract and then, there would be another big bang, and the events will repeat infinitely.” Harry gulped after hearing those words.

The thought of repeating the same things all over infinitely was scary; he was imagining himself fighting Voldemort endlessly, which would really suck.

“I’ve always thought that the theory was plausible and that it would explain why we sometimes feel like we're doing things that we already did,” Lily explained, and Harry nodded.

“Sounds awful… Imagine doing the same thing over and over for all eternity…” Harry couldn’t help but sigh.

However, if he, in fact, was remembering a life from a universe that doesn’t exist anymore, shouldn’t he be going through the same thing? Where’s Voldemort and the war, then? There were many questions in his head right now.

“That’s the thing, I have no basis for what I’m saying but, if we take into account deja-vu, we can assume that through history people will remember events from their previous lives and depending if they were right or wrong for them, they’ll maybe decide to change the outcome and so, just like the butterfly effect, if you traveled back in time and killed a butterfly, it would be interesting to see the results that it would cause in the future,” Lily explained.

Harry’s eyes widened. What she said made sense.

“Of course, you should take what I said with a grain of salt. I have nothing but speculations to answer your questions,” she smiled weakly at him.

Harry didn’t know how to feel right now.