This story branches from Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality after chapter 113.

If you have not read HPMOR up to that point first, this will not make sense.

CHAPTER 114: Failure

Fifty seconds.

I know ssecretss you would like to know. I hessitate. There arre ssecrets whosse verry knowledge would cosst you. Will take time to work out hhow to tell you without rissking world.

The Dark Lord was intrigued. Of course that was the point.

Time you have little of. Wasste not and try not myy patiensse.

A short pause. The boy who lived collected his thoughts.

Will you gamble on losing ability to casst killing cursse with hate? Am cerrtain you will not losse ability to casst with indifferensse.

The Dark Lord paused. A couple of the death eaters were able to make out the look of bewilderment on his face. Harry wasn't even paying attention.

I'll take the gamble.

There was a thread of moonlight coming from Harry's wand, and he hissed something in parsletongue so quietly that Voldemort failed to hear it.

Sspeak up boy. I guess thiss is someting of the guardian charm.

For my father, I offer thiss ssecret. Tell it only to thosse who cannot casst guardian charm and the killing cursse, elsse at your peril. Vow warns ssomehow. Ssurprised I can sspeak. Charm that destroyss life-eaters can only be casst with utter rejection of death. You will never be able to casst it, but perchance you can find ssomeone who can. The happy thought ussed is the earth and the people of the earth among the sstars. Your ssecret sspell may insspire ssomeone to learn it.

The Dark Lord was no fool, but he trusted his wards. He pondered how he could possibly use this. Depriving somebody of the killing curse wasn't likely to be useful, and it couldn't kill him anyway. Maybe it had only the obvious use.

Interessting. Your father's life I grant. Any more ssecretss? Mr. Bronze, recast the anti-time-turner ward, and put more magic behind it this time.

It is not for no reasson I chosse that one. Before I sselect another, you must hear thiss. The power to desstroy death musst not end even if I musst. I give you thiss one chance to end death. If you find no one to tell thiss ssecret to you wasste it, and death takes all in the end, even you. Your horcruxess won't last forever.

I appreciate your warning. I feel generous. If you tell me how you know my horcruxess will not lasst forever I grant you one friend.

I am not abssolutely certain I know how, but I believe template-on decay. Yet if not thiss ssomething elsse in time. The ssecond law cannot be dissplaced unless you managed to make the pioneer plack a ssource of magic, and I am ccertain you did not. Nevelle Longbottom.

The Dark Lord was not amused. Any more ssecretss?

Harry Potter took a calculated risk. Among my books if you looked you would find a book called timelesss physsicss. It is a powerful grimoile if you can managed to rip the ssecret from it. To avoid attracting attention, buy another copy from a muggle booksstore.

Come on, what iss the ssecret within?

No wordss in ssnake sspeech. Clearly it hass to do with one of my sspecial sspells.

A pause. Not quite long enough for the Dark Lord to come up with a response.

My mother. And for Lesah Lestrange I give you thiss. Time turnerss are blocked from full action. By sscience time travel is not limited to ssix hourss.

"Stun him. Now."

"Stupefy." "Stupefy." "Stupefy." "Somnium." "Stupefy." "Stupefy." "Prismatus."

Most of the stunners bounced off. The last one crashed through, sending up a shower of sparkles. Harry dodged it. Mr. White went down, hit by a reflected bolt. But death eaters were too battle hardened to be daunted by this.

"Stupefy." "Stupefy." "Stupefy."

Harry Potter went down. Two seconds later there was a brilliant glow that enveloped his body and disappeared again, taking Harry with it.

"Crucio."

Alastor Moody was startled by the patronous before him. As a long-time member of the order of the phoenix he knew about sending messages with patronouses. But nobody had told him about one looking like a man before. There was no time to ponder this though, as it spoke very quickly.

"Ask transfiguration teacher my transfiguration go to my father add wisdom to yours rescue girl heroine when you can war upon us vulcan seriously do not reply-"

Moody possessed wisdom enough to understand not to ask for clarification. A compressed message like that meant the sender had little time indeed. A minute's pondering allowed him to expand as follows: "Ask Minerva McGonagall about someone with a new transfiguration spell and go to my father and add his wisdom to yours. Rescue heroine (Hermoine?) when you can. War is upon us. Do not reply because I cannot risk the reply being overheard." The single word vulcan would have to wait for later to be understood. Moody knew about the Greek god and the connection to molten rock but neither made immediate sense here. But who could be the sender? Nothing to do but go ask.

Getting into Hogwarts by floo was easy enough, but only when he found the great hall empty did he remember to check the clock. Ah, it's the time of a Quiddich match. It took an annoying amount of time to walk the distance to the Quiddich field. He walked up to Minerva and quickly cast a quieting charm before asking "Who has a new transfiguration spell and a human patronous?"

Minerva was so startled she nearly jumped out of her skin. "Mad-Eye? What on earth is going on?"

"A patronous message. It said war is upon us and I should ask you about some new transfiguration spell. I can guess you-know-who is back, but not the charm, and it must be extremely useful to be worth mentioning in a message shortened to the point of removing all its grammar."

"Harry Potter has a new transfiguration spell but I don't think he can cast patronous."

What do you know and how do you know it. "Right. It would have to be some other student with a new transfiguration spell who would know to call for my aid then. We should leave this place."

Minerva was not the least bit slow to the uptake. The two of them started walking to the edge of the Hogwarts wards at a very fast pace. As soon as she was far enough away to not worry about being overheard, which was not very far at all on account of all the shouting which would be quite loud on even an ordinary Quiddich match without Harry's disturbance, she cast her patronous and said "Go to Dumbledore and tell him we need him immediately." Her cat only looked at her sadly. "Never mind come along we could use some light anyway." Of course she knew she didn't have to command a patronous to move with words, but she needed to steady her nerves.

The strange darkness wasn't helping anybody's nerves either. By the light of Minerva's silver cat the grass was green but the shadows quickly overtook the grass and it was dark. The stars shown bright against the pitch-black sky, and that was odd for the time of year. The sun had set not long ago but the twilight had faded to black so fast it was like it was vanished.

Ut oh thought Alastor, who had caught on faster than Minerva what it meant when a patronous didn't go where it was sent. "As soon as we get outside Hogwarts I need you to apparate us to Harry's father's house. I hope we're not too late. In the meantime what's with his transfiguration."

Minerva swallowed. "Harry can transfigure part of an object without changing the whole thing. He kept on talking about science and timeless physics, and a bunch of stuff I didn't get at all, but he did it. I saw him transfigure a patch of glass to steel. Dumbledore warned me not to tell anybody, but I don't think he's with us anymore. He said it was a power the Dark Lord knows not. I can certainly see that. Yet against the Dark Lord of what use could it possibly be?"

"On a related note, is there another girl in the school whose name sounds like heroine besides the obvious?"

"There is not."

That's it then. "Harry's in grave trouble and knows we cannot get to him. He has passed on his quest to us. We're about to cross the ward boundaries. Can you apparate us both to Harry's house? I'm not quite sure where it is."