*DISCLAIMER*
The following story is an unlicensed, unofficial, fictional story that takes place in the world of Harry Potter. Harry Potter and all associated content are the property of Ms. J.K. Rowling and Warner Bro., respectively. No money is being made from this publication. If any laws appear to be in violation, please contact the author of this fiction at once.
The highest form of flattery is imitation.
*AUTHOR'S NOTE TO THE READER*
Because this is, in a way, a story that manipulates time, certain assumptions must be made.
1) It is to be assumed that Ms. Rowling's seven books, and consequent plots, were created after the events of my story. So, basically, this means that for the purposes of my fiction, I am operating under the assumption that the books were written after the Hermione in my story traveled back in time. If she had not, Ms. Rowling's books would have ended in horror, as far as "The Indifference Child" is concerned. So, everything that was recorded by Ms. Rowling will hold true once my story is complete. This might be a confusing concept, but if you read the story, I think you'll understand what I mean.
2) However, there will be memories and situations in my story that will seem to contradict some of Ms. Rowling's works. Bear in mind, though, that this occurs because, for the most part, my story will not be written from Harry's point of view. I will try to keep as close to canon as possible, although it's tricky with the whole time element. I will also try to include direct quotes from the books at the beginning of every chapter. Feel free to point out any mistakes you feel I have made.
The following can be considered my story's cover flap:
Title: The Indifference Child
Rating: T (for violence, gore, and adult situations)
Summary: In fifth year, during the battle at the Department of Mysteries, Hermione is knocked unconscious. This is the story that Harry Potter never knew - the story of a brave witch who is taken back in time by a power hidden deep within the bowels of the ministry, summoned by the heart of a girl who would do anything to save her brother, summoned to save the world from two terrible fates, and perhaps to create a heart in the soul of a monster. Placed in Hogwarts during Tom Riddle's fifth year, Hermione has no idea what to do. She is left with a strange mission by three powerful sisters, one that she does not fully understand, and parts of her memory are missing. She does not know why the presence of Tom Riddle causes her to shiver in fear, and she does not know how to return to her friends and family, but she does know that she will do anything in her power to help a young Dumbledore defeat the rising Gellert Grindelwald. Will she ever return to the Wizarding World of 1996? Will there even be a world to return to if she fails her mission?
Pairings: Tom Riddle Jr./Hermione Granger
Now, on with the story!
PROLOGUE - THE THREE SISTERS OF LOVE
"There is a room in the Department of Mysteries…that is kept locked at all times. It contains a force that is at once more wonderful and more terrible than death, than human intelligence, than forces of nature. It is also, perhaps, the most mysterious of the subjects for study that reside there…" – Albus Dumbledore (OotP - pg 843)
A cloaked Unspeakable slowly approached a door hidden deep within the Department of Mysteries. The door looked normal, made of a plain brown wood. The handle was brass and unadorned, and the Unspeakable lowered her hood before reaching out to grasp it, revealing the head of a surprisingly young witch. In fact, she couldn't have been more than ten years of age. Waves of blonde hair cascaded around her shoulders, and as her small hand touched the handle, a brilliant golden glow enveloped the hallway.
The witch's eyes were closed, but she could still feel the warmth emanating from within the room. The door slowly opened before her, and her eyes shot open with a stunning intensity to gaze at the sight before her.
The room she now entered was full of a bright, white light, which encircled her as she closed the door.
She felt strangely weightless, suspended in the glow of the light. Patiently, the Unspeakable waited. Presently, three figures emerged from the light, appearing just as she'd seen them in her dream. She could not look at the figures directly; they seemed to be made of an even whiter light than the room around her, and her skin burned in their presence.
The figure in the center spoke, in a voice that was both beautiful and terrible.
"Welcome, Ariana Dumbledore. You come to us so young, though not wholly unexpected."
The young witch bowed her head in acknowledgement of their omniscience.
"Yes, my Ladies. I have had a dream." Here Ariana paused, as though waiting for permission to continue. The three figures glanced at each other, and their smiles could somehow be felt on the luminescent air. The middle figure, who seemed to be the leader, beckoned Ariana forward.
"Come, tell us of what you have seen." A silver chair materialized in the center of the room, and Ariana boldly approached it, sitting down with a delicate grace, folding her robes neatly about her ankles.
She bowed her head once more, and then spoke. "This dream was… different, from what I normally experience. It was somehow more than just a dream… It began with my older brother, Albus, with whom I've never really gotten along with, although I love him very much. He looked older then he does now, old enough to be an adult wizard. He was standing on a cliff, and he had the most peculiar expression on his face. It was one of adoration, almost worshipful, and it was directed towards another young wizard who stood slightly above him, on another ledger further from the edge of the cliff.
When I saw the face of this other young wizard, I felt a deep sense of unease. I am certain I have never seen him before, but he wasn't looking at Albus. No, he was looking behind them, at a magnificent glass sphere. In the sphere, I saw flashes of the world, and scenes of seemingly unrelated people, both Muggle and magical. I believe this sphere was a representation of the world, of the earth." Ariana paused to take in a deep, trembling breath.
"The strange wizard was as focused on the sphere as Albus was on him. He reached out a hand to my brother, and Albus took it gladly, although the young wizard still did not even spare my brother a single glance. They approached the sphere together, and the expression on the young man's face suddenly grew dark and terrible. My unease spiked, and I felt a jolt of fear. He suddenly pulled out a black, thin wand and stabbed it into my brother's heart. A beam of power shot from Albus' chest into the wand, and the wizard channeled that power onto the sphere, which began to grow dark. The images inside the glass frightened me. They showed death, and blood, heartache, sadness, and despair. And still, Albus looked at the young wizard as though he were some kind of Savior, even as his power, and life force, was completely drained away, and turned into the blackest kind of magic I have ever seen.
When the entire sphere was at last covered in a mist of darkness, the power of my brother completely siphoned from his heart to the wand, the young wizard at last turned to look at Albus. And then he grinned the most horrible grin and… and he…he…" Ariana swallowed hard, and then continued bravely as the light in the shining room seemed to envelop and encourage her.
"He kissed my brother. On the lips. While simultaneously, he withdrew the wand, and Albus' blood gushed out onto the rocky cliff…And then he suddenly pushed Albus away, towards the edge of the rockface, and Albus was still looking at him so trustingly, even as he plummeted to certain death.
Then my dream, which had previously been loud with the howl of the wind, grew completely silent. The wizard was standing alone on the cliff, and seemed not to care at all when Albus fell. His attention was focused completely towards the sphere, which was slowly rolling towards the place Albus had been standing before he had been pushed off. And then, in the blink of an eye, the sphere rolled off the cliff behind my brother. Sound rushed back into my dream as the young wizard let out the most terrifying cry, and everything went dark! I was trapped in my dream for what seemed like hours, with only the desperately angry cries of the young wizard for company, and I felt certain I'd go mad with despair. It was even worse than the feeling I got from the three muggles who attacked me a few years ago, because this feeling was not just fear, it was hopelessness, almost as though I accepted that everything bad that could possibly happen would happen and there was nothing anyone could do to change it. However, I pictured Albus' face, and as my mind caught hold upon that image, I was filled with a great love for my brother, and an urgent need to somehow save him.
Finally, just as I started to wake, I saw a bright light, and as though in answer to my thoughts, it spoke to me, and told me of this place, here, in the Department of Mysteries, and that if I could find love enough in my heart, that I could save my brother and the sphere from the despair I had witnessed. The light told me how to get here undetected, and told me that I would see three figures in this room, who together held a power greater than any other imaginable. And so I have come, and I await your command. I am willing to give you all the love I possess, or anything else you may require, if you will somehow help me save my brother."
Ariana finished her tale and for the first time was able to look directly at the figures before her. She concentrated on the eyes of the middle figure, which were a magnificent red, which warmed her all the way down to her toes.
The middle figure spoke.
"We are pleased that you have come here with an open heart, young Ariana. Your words are brave, but they are also true, which is what makes them powerful. I am Commitment, and these are my two sisters, Intimacy and Passion. We are Love. We have seen that you hold a part of us in your soul, and we are honored that you would give that up for your brother.
Time is not the same for us as it is for you. The Past, Present, and Future are one moment for us. We experience all at the same instant. However, we are aware that to you, these three states are divided.
All is not well, in what you call the Future, in this moment, because of the wizard you saw in your dream. We are very powerful, but in order bring about change, we need the love that you have in your soul, because you are a creature of the earth, and bound to it as we are bound to heaven. If you give us this love, you will die, and become bound to heaven like us. However, if you give us the love in your heart, we can use that love to save your brother, and the earth, from its dark fate. With power like that found in your heart, we can help a young witch cross the boundaries of time, a young witch who will have such a capacity for love, such an unique inner strength, that your brother will be saved. We are watching her even now, and there is none other more perfectly suited for this task.
She will also be able to rectify an injustice wrought by the Sisters of Despair. A child, not yet born in your perception of time, has been conceived not out of love, but out of magic, from the false ties of Amortentia. This child is unable to feel love from, or love in return, any ordinary mortal. However, with the love of your soul placed in the young witch we have chosen, we believe that she will no longer be an ordinary mortal. She will be the only person that the Indifference child, as we have come to know him, will be capable of loving.
So your love would serve two purposes, and save the world twice, as well as your brother from a fate worse than death.
However, we must be clear: this will cause your mortal body to die in your near future, and you will no longer be bound to this earth.
Ariana Kendra Dumbledore, do you accept this way of life, and freely give unto us your heart? This world has not always been kind to you, and in all places but here and in your dreams, your mind is no longer clear. Happily, it bears mentioning that once you enter heaven, the events of your childhood which hurt you so badly will no longer be able to affect you. Your mind will be whole once more, as it was before you were attacked as a child. What say you to the terms of this covenant?"
Ariana's eyes were overflowing with tears of joy. She felt more peace and love than she ever knew existed. She knew with certainty what her choice was to be. She did not have to voice her answer, for her heart cried it for her, even as the paths of the future were irrevocably changed, and the Sisters of Love welcomed her with outstretched arms.
Three babies were born, seemingly in the same instant, although for mere mortals, many years apart. One was a small boy, whose mother barely had time to whisper the name Tom before her spirit left the world behind. The second was a bawling black-haired child who would soon bear a lightning shaped scar. The third, however, was the most significant to all the spirits who watched. It was a baby girl, already sporting damp brown curls as she rested in her mother's arms after the labor. The name on the nurse's chart read Hermione J. Granger.