Harry through the Veil
I'm being drowned in plot bunnies again and I need to get them out of my head. So here's the first of those.

Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: I'd like Snarry. meep But can be anything. Even het with canon pairings. Urgh.
Canon: only until the end of OotP
Notes: It's one of the What if...? scenarios that I like so much.



Harry through the Veil

What if ... Harry had managed to follow Sirius through the Veil?

Well, he wouldn't have died. Not with that additional bit of soul inside of him. (At least, I say so.) I think he would have ended in a place very much like the one that became King's Cross. He'd probably burst into a teary reunion scene of Sirius and James and Lily (and other Order friends, perhaps the Prewetts?).

Sirius, James and Lily are shocked to see Harry there and want to send him back. But Harry is, at first, far too happy to see his parents and therefore far too stubborn to go back. He talks to his parents and learns some really interesting things. Like the fact that Snape and Lily had been friends for years, that Lily feels rather guilty about the break-up etc.

A little digression: I once read that in a fanfic and liked it: Lily doubted Severus's hints that Lupin is a werewolf. After she had married James, she finds out that Severus was right. And is ashamed of her dismissive treatment. And perhaps, that's my addition, starts to think about what else Severus could have been right which she never wanted to believe.

So, Harry learns more about his parents. A lot more. Things he didn't like to know (like the fact that Snape was really right when he called James arrogant. Perhaps James even reminds Harry a little of the way Draco Malfoy acts.). I also wonder what the other Order members could tell Harry, about his parents and about those who are still alive.

Anyway, in the end they convince Harry he needs to go back. They depart, and Harry manages to struggle back to the light ... and stumbles through the other side of the Veil. Very much alive, but minus the soul bit (of which he never knew).

On this side of the Veil, only seconds have passed. Bellatrix has just managed to run up to the exit. She's probably missed what happened and now taunts Harry, who takes off after her. Things play out a little like in canon, with the minor difference that Voldemort does manage to possess Harry, that Harry doesn't think he's about to die from pain. But Voldemort also cannot - or doesn't want to - continue the possession: because Harry has been through the Veil, has been dead, and Voldemort really doesn't want to have anything to do with that.

Well, from then on, things are different from canon. Harry is obviously different, less angry now that he doesn't have a Dark Lord in his head. I'd also like to think that dying and coming back through the Veil might have taught him something along the lines of maturity and responsibility.

Perhaps Harry even confronts Severus about what he has learned Beyond the Veil. And what Lily has told him. (See? Could be Snarry! *laughs*)

Plus, the information Harry got from deceased Order members is probably very useful as well.

Year 6 might not be all that much different - except, of course, if this ends up Snarry - but year 7 will be. Because with no soul-bit left - and Albus sure will figure that out during the private lessons in year 6! - Harry doesn't have to sacrifice himself. And his connection to Voldemort is gone, too. No more headaches, visions, or Parseltongue. Plus, with some added maturity, Albus might trust Harry a bit more with his plans before he makes his grand exit. Harry and Snape might actually be able to work directly together.

Damn. I really wish I had the time to write this story.