Disclaimer: If it's already been published and translated into 67 different languages, then it can't be mine. Otherwise, I'd be rich.
A/N: Please don't ask about my long absence. Suffice to say, I've been feeling pretty crappy about my ability to write. The idea for this story struck after reading a few similar fics. I don't know how far it'll go, but your feedback is always appreciated.
"Are you ready?" Victoire asked, her voice on the fence between eager and anxious.
Teddy Lupin nodded wordlessly, unseen beneath the loose black travelling cloak, as he kneeled inside the runic circle scrawled upon the flagstones of the Hogwarts entrance. The great wooden doors behind him creaked in the slightest gust of wind, the lock having been destroyed several years ago by a hefty Reducto. Teddy's amber eyes followed the incomprehensible Norse symbols around him, and then flicked to the miniscule golden hourglass around his neck. Such a small thing, he mused, and this tiny time-turner was supposed to save them all…. Let it work, he prayed. It has to work!
His attention turned to the young woman before him, gaze roaming hungrily over her familiar form. Victoire's shimmering silver hair was just like her mother's. The haggard features and hollow eyes were just like everyone else. The war had not been kind to the Weasley family. Even less so to the Lupins, of which Teddy was the last. The Potter line had ceased to exist altogether. Hopefully, this mad venture would change all of that.
In the dead of night, beneath the quarter moon, two teenagers stood upon the abandoned grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They had found a way to travel back in time, more years than anyone thought possible, in order to change the outcome of Lord Voldemort's second rise to power. This opportunity was only available because the Dark Lord had fallen six months ago, and his remaining bases had been raided by the best curse breaker around, Bill Weasley. An unusual time-turner had been unearthed in Wales, hidden by the actual owners of the manor—another old family driven to extinction for defying Voldemort. It had taken some time for anyone to realize that the time-turner was more than it seemed, but even then the survivors dared not risk their hard-won victory by messing with the past.
"…We can only rebuild the Wizarding World," an aging Arthur Weasley had said. His face was full of pity as he looked upon Teddy, who could feel his hopes shriveling into frustration. "It may take decades, but we are free at last. You children will finally have the world you deserve. Someday, you will have every chance your parents had. It's going to get better, you'll see…."
They said it was too dangerous. That it wasn't worth it. Victoire and Teddy disagreed. The Wizarding World may indeed have recovered in a few decades, but their family and friends would never be the same. Too many people were broken. The ministry could be rebuilt. Hogwarts could be repaired. But people could only be wrapped in spell-o-tape, pretending they weren't shattered.
And so they planned, researching time travel in secret, and studying up on their family history. None of the adults suspected a thing. They were too busy "rebuilding." The sudden relief, after so many years of fear and desperation, made them blind to the machinations of the eldest children. On the lookout for vengeful dark wizards, Bill never noticed his own daughter slip through his office wards to steal the time-turner. Molly Weasley, as caught up as ever in the past, never questioned Teddy's sudden interest in the famed "Golden Trio" or the infamous "Marauders." The younger children were a little shrewder, having noticed that their favorite playmates were suddenly preoccupied. Teddy suspected that at least the twins, Lorcan and Lysander Lovegood, had recognized the book of runes under his bed. They had asked if he was going to make the Wrackspurts go away. Teddy promised he would.
Teddy was going into the past alone. The time-turner, while powerful, had its drawbacks. For example, a complex ritual was required to send him to a specific place and time. For the number of years they needed, simply turning the hourglass was not enough. In addition, there was only enough sand to support one magical person at a time. Victoire could have gone in his stead, but she joked that the world could only handle so much veela charm at a time…. She also knew how desperately Teddy needed to see his parents. So, Victoire took charge of the ritual, and it was up to Teddy to keep the future from going to hell. He was not going to play an active role in the war. No, that would draw unwanted attention and leave far too much room for disaster. Instead, he had compiled a very special book, which he was going to read to certain people, and explain in detail as they went along. This book was called Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Teddy had never met his godfather, who died shortly after his parents. Magic, however, was a wonderful thing, and allowed Teddy to tell every moment of Harry's final year, through the very eyes of the Boy-Who-Lived-Once. If this didn't convince the people of the past, then nothing else would….
Victoire thrust the leather-bound book into his arms, shaking Teddy from his last-minute worries. Tears gathered in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.
"Alright, let's do this," she said tightly, blinking and moving away from the circle. Looking everywhere but down, at him, she lifted her wand and took a deep breath.
Teddy swallowed the lump in his throat. This would probably be the last time he ever laid eyes on Victoire—at least, in this lifetime. He would never let himself forget this girl, no matter how far he traveled or how long he was gone. Victoire was the closest in age of his surviving family and friends. His long-time confidant, sister, best friend, and—if they'd only had more time—perhaps something more.
The blonde began chanting, the language so old that Teddy caught maybe one out of every ten words. Her robes fluttered in a sudden gust of wind, and the hair on Teddy's head stood on end. The symbols around him began to glow, first white like their chalk, and then a brilliant, burning gold. Victoire spoke faster, the roaring wind stealing her words before they reached Teddy's ears. He gripped the book more tightly beneath his cloak, the new parchment cutting into his fingertips. He kept his eyes on Victoire, but they watered painfully as the runes glowed brighter. The circle flashed once, like lightning, and the time-turner answered tentatively, a candle flickering in the night. Victoire's chant reached a crescendo, her face pale and streaked with new tears. The chain of glowing runes became a ring of fire. Teddy snapped his eyes shut and grit his teeth.
The time-turner around his neck exploded.
So, what do you guys think? I know who I want to read the seventh book with, but I'm open to any suggestions. Teddy is going back to the Marauder's era, if you hadn't realized, and I have plans to take this story as far as the actual changes they implement after knowing the future.