Chapter One: Serious Magic
"You must be joking!"
Harry looked over at Ron, shocked by his friend's sudden outburst. Ron was usually meek and intimidated around the Headmaster. Still, Harry completely understood Ron's emotions; he was just as shocked at the Dumbledore's plan. Looking to his right, he saw that Hermione was feeling the same.
"I assure you Mr. Weasley, I am completely serious. To bring up magic of this magnitude one must be deadly serious. To my not inconsiderable knowledge, such magic has not even been spoken of in modern times." Dumbledore's eyes, missing their familiar twinkle, underscored the seriousness of those remarks.
"Professor," Hermione begun, "I'm still a bit confused. I've heard of the idea of alternate universes before, but only in muggle science fiction. Now you're sitting there and telling us that they're real?"
"Your skepticism is reasonable, Miss Granger. Many wizards have looked upon the idea of alternate universes with similar scornful disbelief. It is for that reason that the idea has fallen out of modern knowledge, with the exception of the fiction you mentioned. Yet I assure you they are quite real. Five hundred years ago, in France, there was a reclusive magician named Darius. He posited the possibility of these alternative universes. Officially, the Ministry in France condemned him as a crackpot, and our Ministry quickly followed suit."
"But unofficially…?" Hermione asked.
"Some believed him, and preserved the material he wrote down about these universes. Theoretically, he found a way to travel into one of these alternate dimensions and come back, and left detailed instructions for his followers about how to complete this journey themselves."
"And I'm guessing somehow you've somehow found that knowledge," Harry said wryly.
A smile returned to Dumbledore's face, but it was uneasy. "Yes, Harry, I believe I have found that information. It has taken my not inconsiderable resources, and a lifetime of study, but I tracked the works to a small monastery in southern France. The monks there had preserved the text, though they were not wizards themselves. They were not willing to let go of the text, but they were willing to let me look over the text. This past summer, I spent months copying down everything Darius had to say, and referencing it with other magical sources. Finally, I believe I am able to make this happen."
"Assuming that this is even possible," Harry said, "what exactly is it that you expect us to do if we are able to reach this alternate world?"
"What we need, Harry, is information. I have told you what I know about Voldemort, about how he achieved some of his powers, about his ways of staying alive. But knowing how powerful Voldemort is does not necessarily mean we know how to destroy him for good. Harry, I believe soon you will face Lord Voldemort in battle, and one of you will die. As it stands, I think we can move towards evening the odds by destroying the horcruxes. But there is still much risk in this plan. Voldemort may still defeat you, and if that happens I gravely fear the consequences.
"My plan is to send you into this alternate world in the hopes that they know something that we do not. In this other world, perhaps the people have found a way to defeat Voldemort. Perhaps they know the location of the remaining horcruxes. Perhaps they know weaknesses we are completely aware of. It's not a complete plan; even if you do manage to find weaknesses, there's no guarantee they'll transfer to this world. But it's the possibility of an advantage. It's a piece of magic that we have that I am confident in believing Voldemort has never explored."
They were all silent at that moment, considering what Dumbledore has just said. Then, Dumbledore added, "I felt that it was better that the three of you went together. You have accomplished many great things together, and I have no doubt you are up to the unique challenges that this will impose on all of you."
"Besides," he said, the twinkle returning to his eye for the first time that evening, "If I only asked Harry to go on this mission, somehow both of you would find a way of coming along. I thought it better to just ask each of you to go upfront. This is a tough decision I am asking of you; it involves risking your life in a completely new way, an unknown way. I will understand if you need the night to think it over."
Without a moment of hesitation, Ron spoke up. "I'm in." Harry and Hermione both looked over at him, shocked at their friend's courage. Seeing both of them, Ron said, "What? We all know Harry would have said yes eventually, and that even if for some reason we said no we'd end up going anyways. Thought I'd be the noble, brave one for once. I'm thinking now about telling Harry he can't go, that this is something I've got to do by myself." Ron grinned sheepishly, then all three of them burst out laughing. Even Dumbledore smiled at them, wearily but with a note of cheer that had been missing from his earlier smiles.
"As I can assume that both of you are in agreement with your friend," Dumbledore said to Harry and Hermione, "I would like to request that you join me tomorrow morning at 9:00 A.M. at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. There I will give you my final instructions. For now, please return to your dormitories, and try and get some rest. You will need all your energy for tomorrow."
The three friends got up and left the Headmaster's office. Without saying a word to each other, they returned to their dormitories. Harry went directly to bed, as did Ron, but he did not sleep right away. Instead, he sat up wondering what he'd be seeing the next day. His whole life, he dreamt of living a different life, where everything was different. Tomorrow, he would see a world different from his own. What might he see there? More importantly to him, who would he see there?
The next morning, Harry, Ron and Hermione found themselves standing out in front of the Forbidden Forest, waiting for Dumbledore. Seeing him approach, the three of them waved, but they remained silent. Their trip to the forest was unusually silent for the three of them. They had no idea what they would be facing, and that scared them.
"Follow me into the Forest please," Dumbledore said, leading the way.
"Professor, why are we doing this in the Forest, instead of somewhere in the castle or in Hosgmeade?" Harry asked.
"I have a few reasons, Harry," Dumbledore responded. "First, this process will be instantaneous. You will quickly appear in the other world, and it is my understanding that you will appear in the space of that universe that corresponds to the space in this universe. Thus, if you depart from the Forbidden Forest, you will end up in the Forbidden Forest (or whatever is in the place of the Forbidden Forest) in that universe. If you depart from the Great Hall in this universe, you will end up in the Great Hall of that Universe. If there even is a Hogwarts there, it would be quite a shock for three students to suddenly appear. The Forbidden Forest provides a secluded, relatively unchanging spot. You should be able to enter the universe undetected."
"Ah, here we are," Dumbledore said, arriving at a clearing in the path. "This should be a suitable part from which to depart. Now, I must give you a few instructions. First, Miss Granger, I am taken to understand from Professor McGonagall that you are capable of performing fairly strong glamour spells?"
"Yes sir," she responded. "They're not overly complex, but I think I should be able to hide basic identities."
"Good. When you reach this universe, that should be your first priority. You don't want to run the risk of meeting up with someone that recognizes you and mistakes you for your identities in the other world. Finally, when you arrive there, I believe the wisest course of action is to find the version of me that exists in this world. When you find him, present him with this." He took an envelope out of his robes. "This contains a letter I have written, signed and sealed with my personal crest. If this other Dumbledore shares my interest in Darius, then he will be able to aid you in your quest, and provide you with necessary information."
"Have I left anything out?" he said, more to himself then to the trio. "Oh yes, good luck to all of you. The service you are providing the entire wizarding world is enormous. I wish you all the best." With that, he took a scroll from his robes, and promptly began to read in a language unfamiliar to Harry. When he was finished, he slashed his wand, and suddenly the trio disappeared.