The Wizard in the Leaky Cauldron with A Brief History of Time
Chapter 1
He sits in the leaky cauldron flipping through one of his favorite books in his secret collection. A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking. While the book had already been out for a couple years at this point, this specific copy was still unobtainable for another few years, if ever. As he absentmindedly stirred his tea magically without a wand his mind wandered. Thinking of different futures he'd been to, hoping they might still happen. He added another dash of his homemade concoction from a vial in his cloak to his tea to soften his trek home. Crossing great distances in both space and time very quickly can put unexpected tolls on the mind and body. Slugging back the rest of his homebrew and thinking of a very prophetic quote from the book in his hands, "If time travel is possible, where are the tourists from the future?" "I don't know, Stephen. I just don't know." He says quietly more to comfort himself than to answer the question.
Sluggishly he rises and shambles out of the leaky cauldron, not raising an eye he swishes around the corner. His silky, otherworldly cape in tow. As the sun falls the shadows grew longer and the back of the pub was quiet, dark and deserted exactly that for which he was looking. He takes a moment to quiet himself as his drink usually sends his mind swimming for the first few minutes after consumption. Picturing clearly in his mind his grovel in the present, thousands of miles away, with him standing at the entrance he quickly feels his body melting into the scenery in his mind.
He opens his eyes to see a rundown castle gate nestled into the side of a steep mountain with a single precarious path leading to it. He treads quickly and lightly up to the gate and gestures to one side and a portion of the brick wall built into the cliff swings outwards silently permitting comfortable entrance to a single wide human. He quietly and purposefully makes his way through an almost pitch-black corridor that smelled of musk and stale air. Not knowing the state of the world outside at every given moment he learned it better to shift time inside his home rather than outside. A faint trickle of light could be seen as he made his way to the end of the corridor. With another conductor looking motion, he gestures single handedly and another brick wall swings open for him effortlessly given the massive size of the stones. He steps into a very dusty sitting room with a few old chairs set in front of a fireplace with old wood doors on either side leading deeper into the castle. It seemed to have been abandoned for some time.
He pulls out a simple gold pocket watch and pops it open. Revealing 5 concentric gold rings where the numbers and hands would be with a small, clear diamond shaped crystal in the center. Each ring able to spin a complete 360 degrees around the gem at any angle or on a flat plane as well, separate from the gem and other rings but all totally stationary and connected always. The individual rings control separate forces and units of measurements. So far, he had a good grasp on its ability to move time in small or large increments forwards or backwards with the outer ring. Depending on how many times you spun it and how quickly, determined the distance traveled in time and the direction in which it's spun controls forwards or backwards. The other rings he knew also had very powerful properties but he did not know to what extent. Once when experimenting with the device he both stopped time and seemed to create a compact alternate dimension within our own in which everything was contained and time was significantly slowed down not affecting our own dimension. When messing with the 4th and 3rd rings respectively, he dares not touch the second or first after that experience without proper protection and guidance. He sighed at the thought and resigned to consulting a very old wizard he knew in another life almost, which ironically, he'd yet to have time to circle back to. It wasn't so easy, the old mage had a tiresome life and only a few moments of free time at his peak. Not an easy man to schedule an appointment with even with a device that controls time. He raises his other hand to his necklace and with a pointing motion spins his hand clockwise just over seven times in a small circle around the gem and rings. The fifth, outermost and largest ring begins to spin so rapidly the human eye cannot detect where the actual ring is only the shimmer of the after image. After a few moments of rapid spinning it slows slightly and stops abruptly.
He puts the pocket watch back in his cloak and looks up. Around him is the same sitting room only larger and even more run down than before. The walls were blown out and the adjacent rooms are visible with stones and debris everywhere. Massive boulders crushing a dining room table and chair in one room and destroyed candelabras and paintings in the hallway in the other. He walks past the destroyed eating area and pushes through an old rickety wood door in the back with scorch marks and holes, barely hanging on one hinge.
Inside is a quaint converted living space. It was previously a kitchen with, now, little to no resemblance to that fact. A small twin bed on an iron bed frame sat pushed against one corner with a weathered suitcase nestled safely underneath. A small coatrack by the door which had seen many better years creaked slightly as he waved his arm and his cape gently fluttered perfectly onto one of its hooks. A writing desk and stacks of books and loose papers that took up one whole wall with a plethora of papers, parchments, scrolls, articles and more hung up on the wall above it in no discernible order. On the wall closest to the door was seemingly a pile of junk just piled up. Again, with no rhyme or reason to the organization or items.
Amongst the random assemblage was an extremely tattered cap on an old three-legged short stool, a rusty sword that looked encrusted with jewels and like it had better days, a rusty birdcage, an old ornate bowl, a single old boot. A few broomsticks too crummy to fly at this point, a handful of old wands of greatly varying make and size, a stack of scrolls all old and yellowed, random trophies of various wizarding specialties from quidditch to spellcasting looking very dusty, an almost entirely tarnished mirror from time. Various pins of different magical positions at different ministries from around the world barely legible now, piles of robes of every color, size and sex, moving pictures and paintings so faded it was hard to make out the images within still moving and interacting, more books and journals and theses and manuscripts and newspapers all very old. Rings, pendants and jewelry glimmering faintly in the dim lighting, boxes and containers and wardrobes lined the wall presumably containing even more random goods. No windows but there was an additional doorway in the back corner that looking into you could see was a converted pantry with even more eclectic stuff almost overflowing through the door into the room it was stacked so high and deep.
The tattered cap on the stool spoke in a deep, startling rumble, "So? Did you see him?".
"No, but we'll get him next time." Leo responded.
Sensing his frustration the cap did not press further for now, he was technically immortal, he could afford to be patient while Leo could not.
Leonardo, the time traveling, wand less spellcaster raised by scientists turned wizards was entirely alone now spare a talking cap older than time itself he swore. It had been what felt like a lifetime since the war. It took everything from him, everyone he knew and loved of both the magical and non-magical worlds had been killed. Along with most of the planet. Voldemort rose to power again only a few years after Dumbledore's defeat and Harry's kin passing mysteriously. Having imbued himself to multiple horcruxes unbeknownst to everyone except his most devout followers he was able to resurrect again even after the suspected destruction of all his horcruxes in Harry's time. It was then that he laid waste to the world and almost every single living thing on it.
Leo was still too young to fight let alone spell cast and his parents were the head of the order of the Phoenix at the time so they had him secreted away to a hallowed place outside of navigable space and time especially to the dark side. They died valiantly but unnecessarily defending liberty and the genocide began after that.
He scrounged the wildlife around the timeless castle foraging and hunting for survival. Having been taught by his parents, both very powerful and knowledgeable wizards and wise overall. He was very capable in adapting to his environment. To pass the time he read the many texts and scrolls strewn about the castle and practiced their teachings learning anything and everything. Languages, animals, sciences, history, art, social studies, physics, astronomy, psychology, philosophy, math and an extensive amount more of muggle knowledge. Spells of hugely varying degrees, some of which took him years to get and he still hasn't quite mastered in his opinion, curses, charms, hexes, counter spells, enchantments, wands, mythical creatures, dark arts (trepidatiously, mind you), if it was in reach he read it. He would attribute nearly half the destruction of the castle to himself from testing and perfecting spells like Asciendo (ascend) and Expelliarmus (to remove). Don't get me started on Invorto (to turn something inside out), Venire (to come) or Gyrari (to flip). Oh, the amount of food and drinks I've poured on myself with those.
The other half of the castle was destroyed in the prelude to the war many years ago. It was a key stronghold for the Order and a top priority target for the dark side. With such powerful protection enchantments on it not all of it was destroyed though, leaving the safe haven and store room intact along with bits and pieces of rooms here and there keeping the whole thing together. for the most part. Leo was in the castle but because of the gem he had been trapped in an alternate version of it, cast by his parents to preserve his life and home. Only after he learned of some of the gem's properties was he able to return to his original dimension. How long he'd been trapped and how much time had passed he had no idea but when he returned to the real world it appeared as if man had been gone for centuries. When he caught his reflection for the first time he knew he aged more than twenty years. Which meant the alternate dimension he was trapped in must have also caused some time dilation, he grew old slowly while the world died quickly outside. He has roamed around for some time far and wide searching for survivors but has found little to none. The world is largely a barren wasteland with most of the seas burned up from the sun and thin atmosphere. The only signs of life are nomadic tribes of ancestors of the Death Eaters that helped Voldemort all those years ago. Living in the desert where no other humans could, relying on necromancy and the dark arts to sustain a vile, inhuman existence.
Now he seeks a different future, free of the cruelty of Voldemort. That is all he craves, collecting trinkets and brushing up on his knowledge of the old world whenever he can keeps him sane. Reflecting upon them in times of great loneliness and despair.
After thorough leg work involving a lot of jumping around in time and apparating and a lot of bodily adjustments to it, he feels he finally discerned Voldemort's most vulnerable point in time. Roughly five years before his defeat to Lily Potter. Leo will first hunt all the horcruxes and finally kill Voldemort before he can return to power. Having thought about this so much, he understood now what it meant. Even if he won, which he hoped he would, he would die. His timeline would cease to be and he would change the world's path permanently. He was okay with that though, he knew his life would go on in another time, but more importantly he'd save everything. That's what mattered, even if his life didn't continue with his family in another timeline it was still the only thing he wanted. The only thing that mattered, the hope that others might live again, in peace, to their fullest.
But if that plan proves true, where are the time traveling tourists he asks for the second time tonight.
"Sooooo..." The cap says hesitantly, jarring Leo from his sulking. "What's the plan?" He continues gently once it seems Leo is hearing him.
"Well cap, the same thing we do every night." Leo responds patiently.
"We sit and wait?" the cap asks knowingly.
"We sit and wait." Leo repeats in a similar tone.
The gem in his pocket watch only had a finite amount of energy and requires recharging periodically. By now he had a pretty good feel for when he should head home to let it recharge. Trying to find a safe place for an extended period without having to interact with anyone isn't easy without heading way off the beaten path and that's where you run into things that don't frequent safe establishments. While he can interact with people and the world in times other than his own he tries to touch and tamper with as little as possible leaving little to no trace of his existence.
The cap, not demoralized any whatsoever. Ever. Sought to cheer Leo up. "What's for dinner?" It asked with an upbeat inflection. Jumping space and time often left him nauseous but this time he had a little appetite so he decided to bite.
Playing along he jokingly says, "Maybe some spaghetti and meatballs with some cake and ice cream for dessert?" "Or maybe a roast, or a stew? Or just a hearty salad?" The truth was even as adept at magic as he was and with all his innate abilities he wasn't the greatest cook. Magically or regularly. He chalks it up to never having a womanly touch to teach him the secrets not in the cook books he read. "Let's keep it safe like usual, noodles or rice and maybe some soup kid." Winking at the cap, the cap cracks a broad grin with its tear for a mouth and returns to pondering the meaning of his response when he first returned home.
The aforementioned devout follower to Voldemort, X, as they've come to dub him not having a name for him at this point, wasn't at the leaky cauldron tonight. That's a problem, either something changed in the timeline or the information was faulty and the latter is unlikely. Stepping in and out of time and changing or observing something here and there only works to some extent. The issue is if you're not there to babysit the timeline all the way to where you want it, it most likely won't make it there. It'll make it partway but things will change, small details like specific people in specific places at specific times or certain events, sometimes nothing happens at all. Like hiccups or glitches. The only question being was he early, late or did it happen at all. Leo had privy information of a meeting between X and another death eater to administer orders and give an update. Having run into this problem before, with what they called time skips, he knew what Leo would do next. Check the day before and after to see if time had truly skipped, like a time traveling broken record player on repeat he would do his due diligence. Funny how the universe works for a person who doesn't move exclusively forward through it.
Chapter 2
After a well-deserved long night's rest Leo was feeling renewed and ready to begin the hunt again for their nameless lead. They knew he was the only one that might know for sure where Voldemort's horcruxes were. All of them.
Fetching his pocket watch from his desk he notices upon opening it that two of the rings are lit up completely. Both the first and the fifth rings were glowing white, almost bright enough to blur out the rings underneath. He begins to wind back the fifth ring as he was intending on doing anyway to travel back to the leaky cauldron. But while attempting to spin it the ring begins moving on its own. It spins backwards very quickly for what seems like a horrifying amount of time, in reality only being roughly 9 seconds in total.
He closes his eyes and holds his breath subconsciously hoping there is nothing exactly where and when he is about to step out. Opening his eyes a second later he notices, no, there is indeed nothing in the spot where he is. In fact, there's nothing in the room at all. The stone and fireplace and doors were all there but no chairs or candles but especially no giant boulders. Hearing voices down the hall on the left he heads into what he knows will eventually be a dining room if it isn't already on the right. Fortunately, it too was empty of both furniture, debris and people. The voices continued into the room behind him and he could now begin to make them out. It sounded like an appraisal or sale of the castle itself. Both men from the sounds of it and only two of them, one touring the place to the other while the second indulged.
"Just look at these vaulted ceilings and expansive hallways and archways, you could fit an army of tikes in here I tell ya! Just stack 'em on top of each other if you have to!" The first voice said only half-jokingly.
"An interesting suggestion, I do say, I will take that idea into consideration. Yes, the entire grounds inside and out are quite spacious aren't they." Replied the second voice, clearly very patient and wise but alarmingly, seemingly half-serious about stacking children. Footsteps could be heard making there way toward the room Leo was in again. He quickly dashed into the would-be kitchen as quietly as possible, closing the door behind him noiselessly just as the other door opened across the room.
The first man continued, "This could be a teacher's lounge with an attached rec room or better, a smoking lounge." Winking at the second man to truly solidify the unknown awkwardness he was creating. Little did he know his buyer wasn't the "smoking" type. A small and intimate staff room with an adjacent kitchen would be quite nice in all honesty. It would foster more productivity and comradery amongst his team, forcing them to rub elbows more often. He smiled kindly at his liaison though, cool as a cucumber was an understatement. Leo's heart sank into his stomach as he heard them approaching his room for the third time. He again silently booked it across the room as much as stealth would allow. Hiding in the pantry in the back corner of the room he had nowhere else to go. Now he had to decide what he would do if they found him. Try to fight his way out which having not even seen them he had no idea had poor of a thought that was or talk his way out and again with no reference of who or when these men were no idea of how good an idea that was.
They stepped into the also empty kitchen and were silent for a few moments clearly taking in the space. The second man spoke "I think this will do nicely."
The first man responded quickly, palpably excited but trying not to show it, "I knew you would be, couldn't find a better locale than this one! Asking price is a bargain too, got all the grants and everything already in place and the paperwork is all ready for the Ministry to cross some t's and dot some I's and you can have her open and molding young minds in no time! We'll get a train put in to get your students here, don't you worry about that. It's a real fine place, originally constructed by King Theles in the 13th century to protect his villagers and peasants from dragon swarms and migrating giants. Safer place ye can't find, I'll betcha on that!"
"I'm greatly looking forward to all that is to come." The second man replied upbeat and optimistically.