A truth too late.

[Miss Wings]

Harry was sat leaning against a tree outside the Burrow when the Owls arrived bearing the letters, 1 headed towards him and the rest inside the Burrow. Opening the letter Harry found that it was a request to appear in Gringotts for 3PM that day for the Will of Albus Dumbledore. A look at his watch found that it was already 2.50 and so Harry headed inside to use the Floo Network and that’s where he found Hermione and the rest of the Weasley’s with the same letters. “Ahh Harry, I was just about to shout for you, by the looks of that letter I assume that Gringotts have contacted you as well. Why don’t you Floo first and we’ll follow you? We’ll meet at the Leaky Cauldron before making our way to Gringotts” Arthur stated as he grabbed the Flood powder for everyone.

Harry nodded his agreement as he made his way to the fireplace “The Leaky Cauldron” he shouted as he disappeared in a whirl of green flames before appearing in the pub and quickly moved out of the way before he was trampled. One by one the Weasley’s and Hermione found their way to the pub before the whole gang marched towards the famous Goblin bank.

“Excuse me, were here for the Will of Albus Dumbledore, could you please show us where to go?” Harry asked politely.

“Down the corridor, 3rd door on the left” the goblin replied with a sneer.

Walking down the corridor Harry took a deep breath before walking in. On the right sat his ex-girlfriend Emma Dumbledore and her parents William & Sarah, next to them was Professor McGonagall, opposite sat Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks. Harry sat next to Remus and watched as the rest of the people sat around the table. At precisely 3PM an old goblin made his way into the room carrying a scroll and a pensieve.

“Good afternoon my name is Duxamg Ironfang and your all here for the Will of Albus Dumbledore, first we’ll make sure that everyone’s present and then we’ll get started.”

Everyone confirms that they are there.

“I, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, do declare that this document to be my last Will and Testament making all previous ones invalid. Being of somewhat sound mind I declare the following:

To Hermione Granger I leave 5 books in the hopes that you gain as much knowledge as you do all other books, please see Duxamg for them.

To Ronald Weasley I leave my chess set in the hopes that he finds a mighty opponent.

To Remus Lupin I leave Raven’s Nest in the hopes that you & Nymphadora finally settle down.

To Molly & Arthur Weasley I leave 5000 Galleon’s.

To Emma Dumbledore, my dear Granddaughter I leave to you the family history, all emerald jewellery & 500.000 Galleons.

To Minerva McGonagall Dumbledore, my dear wife I leave you a million apologies and Godric’s Cove.

To William & Sarah Dumbledore, I’m sorry but it was for the Greater Good. I leave you the rest of the Dumbledore fortune.

To Nicholas William Arthur Dumbledore, you’ll forgive me eventually. I know you will, I also leave you a new family. I’ve left you a letter explaining everything.

Thus concludes the reading of Albus Dumbledore’s Will”

“Excuse me Duxamg but why was Mr Potter invited if he never received anything? Plus why did my husband leave our Grandson something when everyone knows that he’s dead?” Minerva asked in fury.

“I’m afraid that Mr Potter will have to read the letter from Mr Dumbledore to answer that one” the goblin explained. “Now you have this room for another 30 minutes and then you’ll have to leave. In this box are the keys to your vaults, homes, books and letters, I’ll see you all another time, goodbye.” With that the goblin walked out of the room.

Harry was the first to reach the box and sitting back down he began to read his letter.

Dearest Child,

I’m not really sure how to start this letter, Dear Harry, Nicholas or Grandchild? Oh I knew who you were, how could I not when it was I who faked your death and gave you to the Potter’s?

When I heard of the Prophecy I knew of only 1 couple that had defied Lord Voldemort 3 times and yet I knew of 4 people born in July, Neville, you, Emma and myself. I’m an adult so I knew that it didn’t refer to me and my son hasn’t defied Voldemort so it didn’t mean you and your twin. Considering what I knew of Frank and Alice I also knew that Neville would turn out the same way and that isn’t a good thing for a ‘chosen one’ so I decided to create my own. It was the birthday in July that cemented the idea to use you in my head. That and I also knew how my son had turned out; if you were anything like him then the world would have its Saviour.

All I needed next were parents and it was when I bumped into Lily & James Potter that I had willing people. I tweaked the memories of a lot of people and that’s when Nicholas William Dumbledore died and Harry James Potter was born. I do regret what I did but Voldemort had to be defeated and so sacrifices had to be made. Oh don’t worry Lily & James aren’t really dead, I only modified your memories that night and made it look as though they had died. It’s not as though Voldemort was going to tell people that they were alive when he saw their injured bodies. He like you assumed that they died. I do believe that they now live in Ireland as Evan & Amelia Griffin with 3 children: Thomas, Charles & Hannah.

As I watched you grow up into the young man that you are I realized that I had made a huge mistake. Especially when I found out that you and Emma were now linked romantically but I couldn’t reveal the truth and so I had Severus brew a potion that would force you to break apart. The potion sadly wasn’t completed until April 1st, 4 months into the relationship, oh don’t worry I did do regular checks to ensure that you hadn’t had intercourse. Spells truly are a marvellous thing aren’t they? I stopped on the 28th March when the results once again came back negative.

Morally I knew that I had done the wrong thing but it was far too late to back out of the plan now. As soon as Voldemort was dead I would have told you the truth. I knew that you would never forgive me but I at least hoped that you could find it within your heart to forgive the rest of the family. I also prayed with all my heart that you and Emma would be able to make it past the awkwardness and see each other as the twins that you are.

I guess the only thing left is to say goodbye. I also leave you with the trust fund that was set up for you as a baby, I have been adding 300 galleon’s a month and as your now 17 I imagine that’s a considerable sum by now.

I wish you every luck in the world.

Your Grandfather,
Albus Dumbledore.

Harry let the letter fall onto the table as he sat there in with tears streaming down his face. The same words were constantly running through his mind.

‘Twin, sister, relationship’

“Harry son, whatever is the matter?” William asked the shocked boy.

Harry looked up and caught the gaze of Emma. Wiping his tears away Harry stood rather abruptly before he threw up. “I, I’m sorry. I have to go” Harry stammered as he backed out of the room, he gave one last look at Emma and her, no HIS parents before he bolted out of the room, through Diagon Alley and onto the muggle side of London.

Remus Lupin jumped to his feet, “you read the letter and I’ll follow him. I’m the fastest of us all” Remus explained as he dashed out of the room. He’d just made it onto the muggle side of London himself when he witnessed Harry flying through the air as a result of a speeding car. Remus ran for the direction that Harry was falling but he was too late. He could only watch in horror as his surrogate Nephew smashed hard against the floor, he just had time to see Harry be sick once more before he passed out.

---

Back in Gringotts 5 minutes after the accident and the entire room are immensely shocked to hear the news that they have just read.

“He’s my twin?” Emma asked in disbelief.

“It looks like it; if my Father wasn’t already dead I’d kill him for this!” William spoke in fury as he paced the room.
“I’m having my own brother’s baby?” Emma asked sobbed as she slid down the wall.

“The baby is Harry’s? But Father said he did the spell, how can that be Emma?” William uttered as he slid beside his daughter and pulled her into a hug.

“It was March 29th; we weren’t planning it or anything. Harry or should I say Nicholas had just mastered his Animagus form and I guess we were so ecstatic that we got a little carried away. If I knew who he was I’d have never done it. Hell I’d have never been involved with him if I knew!” Emma cried as she held onto her Dad.

Before anyone else could reply a glowing Wolf Patronus appeared in the room:
“Come quick. On way to St Mary’s Hospital with Harry, not good news, sorry”

“Where’s St Mary’s?” Sarah demanded as soon as the message faded.

“It’s not far from here, it’s only a few streets away” Arthur Weasley replied. “I can make a portkey around there, has anyone got anything that we can use?”

“The letter will work” Emma replied as she held the letter out.

---

Remus Lupin paced up and down the corridor as he waited for the Dumbledore’s to arrive. “Remus. What happened?” he heard, turning around he saw everyone from the Will.

“I ran after Harry but I was too late. He was hit by a speeding car. I could only watch as he flew up into the air. He hit the floor rather hard and he threw up before he passed out. Apparently it’s a sign of a head trauma. They’ve taken him into theatre already because he’s already flat lined once” Remus explained.

“Noo, that can’t be right. You’re lying Remus. Harry can’t die. He’s Harry, no wait he’s Nicholas isn’t he?” Hermione sobbed as she held onto Ron.

2 hours later

“Mr Potter’s family? Are you Mr Potter’s family?”

Looking up William saw 2 Doctors in front of them. “Yes, I’m his Dad. Is there any news on my son?”

The younger looking Doctor looked at the older before stepping back, thus allowing the older one to talk.

“What is your name Sir?” the older one asked.

“It’s William Dumbledore, that’s my wife Sarah and Daughter Emma over there. These are friends of ours, what does this have to do with my Son? Why can’t you just tell me?” William asked as he got to his feet.

“Mr Dumbledore I regret to inform you that at 7.10PM this evening your Son, Harry James Potter was pronounced dead. Harry suffered a bleed to the brain and we were operating on that when he flat lined for a second time, we spent 30 minutes trying to revive him with no success. I’m so dreadfully sorry Sir” the old Doctor informed the now pale group.

“Noooooooooooooooo” Emma cried. “Bring him back, you have to bring him back, it’s not too late”.

“I’m dreadfully sorry Miss but there’s nothing that we can do” the old Doctor replied. He truly was sorry for the young girl, it was obvious that she was pregnant and news like this wouldn’t do the baby any good.

“What do you mean he’s your Son? That boy belongs to James & Lily, to claim Harry as your own is just disrespectful” Remus shouted in fury as he suddenly found himself in front of William.

“I’m sorry Remus. Read this letter and it will explain everything” William uttered as he shoved the damned letter in Remus hands before he made his way to his Daughter.

“Daddy?”

“Yes Emma?” William whispered in her ear.

“My waters have just broke” Emma started to cry again, knowing that her brother would never know his Nephew and that her ex-boyfriend would never know his Son. She would never let her child find out that he was actually the Son of her brother and not Nephew. The world would go on believing that her brother died as a baby and that Harry Potter truly existed. Or at least it would in her mind.

[Kitty279]

Oh man, you made Dumbledore really manipulative! Is it sad that I don't even think it's beyond him to do something like that? Poor Harry! Though, to send him to the Dursleys makes even less sense than in canon now. That was then plain evil.

The end was very sad and depressing. Poor Harry, he didn't deserve that! You left me wondering if he did it deliberately or if it was an accident. And I feel sorry for Emma, she's in a horrible situation now. They all are. And you know that I'll lay all this on Dumbledore's doorstep; if he hadn't done that, then Harry wouldn't have run out and been hit.

[Miss Wings]

To be honest I didn't know what direction to go in. I typed most of it last night and then I wrote the letter before adding it in with some tweaks today. I wanted Harry to have an accident and to have slept with his sister but that's where it got awkward.

Would he have committed suicide for what he'd done to his sister? Wouldn't you if you'd done that?

Would he suddenly play happy families? I thought I'd be better off with a truly manipulative Dumbles with is why I gave William his Son back just to tragically loose him a few hours later.

Would he have met Lily's parents and come back to life like in DH just to die again an hour later, one last moment with Emma and the child that was miraculously born? Kinda like Downton Abbey where Matthew met his Son and then died.

We all know that I'm not good at writing script compared to thinking up the plots which is why I did it the way I did.

[Miss Wings]

[Miss Wings]

[RandomPasserby]

I'm assuming, since it's posted here, that this isn't part of some larger series so I'm not missing something huge (and if I am, feel free to tell me to shut up).

Technically your writing is good. There are some small errors (tense changes, minor misspellings, random capitalisation) and parts which could do with being a little more integrated into the narrative - like the list of where everybody was sitting.

Dialogue tags - said is not the enemy. Said is not a bad word, it's an invisible word. By constantly using different dialogue tags you actually devalue them since you're drawing attention to the speech tags. Tone and emotion should be conveyed through the dialogue and through the scene itself. Somebody storms across the room, worries at a thumbnail, paces incessantly, won't meet anyone's eyes - that creates a mood. "How could you!", "I...I don't know what you're talking about", "Come on, come on", "I'm fine, I promise" - what their saying conveys how they're saying it. Said is only there to tell the audience who is saying it (if they can't already figure it out)

There are situations where a different tag is useful, and if you don't use them often then it has impact. You have a wham line.

With constant use of different speech tags you get redundant sentences, '"Sorry," he apologised' sounds ridiculous. Telling me that somebody 'asked' something when the dialogue itself ended in a question mark is pointless since I understand the function of a question mark. You also repeat dialogue tags, not just within the entire text but occasionally immediately after.

There are points where your writing lacks emotion. 'The entire room are immensely shocked to hear the news that they have just read'. That's great for a newspaper report. Factual but not emotive and I doubt that's what you're going for.

Now admittedly that might work as a stylistic thing, a minimalistic response from the characters to allow the reader to process the shock better but that doesn't work here because of the lack of build up and because of other things.

My main quibble with it is that I spent most of it not knowing what on earth was going on. Dumbledore was married and had kids? Harry had a non-canon girlfriend? Harry was an animagus? Lily and James are alive? Voldemort is dead but Dumbledore's will hasn't been read yet?

Over-familiarity in writing is confusing, much as over simplification is annoying. You're introducing a number of thematic elements which would be interesting by themselves, even in a one-shot, but you introduce them so casually that it left me wondering if I'd missed the rest of something. We get less than one line explaining who Emma is and suddenly she becomes vital to the plot. Less than one line and then suddenly I'm expected to care about her.

In media res only works if you then explain how we got to the point we started at. By the end of the fic I still have no idea how we got to the starting point. It feels like this has far too much plot for a 2250 word one-shot and I ended up being more interested in what you didn't tell me than what you did.

Again, that might work as a stylistic element but you'd really have to do it deliberately.

It's a bit like one of those movies with endless action sequences, where the director keeps trying to one-up himself. There’s no room to breathe, there’s no catharsis. By the end of it I really don’t care because it feels like you're just throwing things at the audience to shock them.

And I have to ask, how far along was Emma supposed to be? Nobody mentions that she looks pregnant but shock induces labour rather than miscarriage (and nobody freaks about about pre-term labour).

I'm not sure whether it's nonsensical or utterly brilliant to have everybody believe what Dumbledore said so implicitly.

I also have an issue with the Dumbledore/McGonagall pairing. Dumbledore is gay and it's not like there's an overabundance of out gay characters in HP that you can afford to erase them. He's 44 years older than her and fell in love with Grindelwald before she was even born. I am aware that LGBT people can marry those of the opposite sex and have children, but that's usually not exactly a healthy response.