Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything pertaining to this wonderful universe. JK Rowling has that honour, and... add all the legal stuff. I'm not doing this for profit, or I wouldn't still be slaving away at my day job.
Author's Note: Once upon a time, two girls were sitting in a boring philosophy lecture, with nothing as sustenance but a lonely chocolate chip muffin. In their desperation, they challenged each other to write a fic about a pairing of each other's choice, the only important point being that a muffin has to have a crucial part in the story. Sadly the lecture finished before I was done, but I had so much fun with this random thing that I finished it.
Set during PoA, featuring slash and a few odd quirks.
Enjoy!
The Butterfly Effect
Prologue
For quite some time now people have been talking about the butterfly effect, even though it might be argued that most of them have not the slightest idea what they're talking about. It is an intriguing tale based on the chaos theory and to console people that really, it's impossible to predict the weather.
It is said, then, that the almost imperceptible breeze caused by a butterfly's wings can create a thunderstorm many miles away, and it is an easy example to show how even the smallest things can change the universe.
In the Wizarding World, which has never adapted well to modern ideas, only collectors of rare species and the likes of Hermione Granger are interested in butterflies and their wings. If you were to mention the chaos theory to someone in the street, they would just smile knowingly and direct you to the nearest shop of Weasleys' Wizard Weezes (where you will probably find a piece of Chaos on some shelf in the back). Wizards don't seem to have the special mindset Muggle scientists have to question certain things like, say, 'what if the world were cube-shaped?'
What if...
What if, many years ago, a young man called Tom Riddle had been caught opening the Chamber of Secrets?
What if, many years ago, a wizard named Sirius Black had not been so fast in chasing a rat?
But people tend to think on a large scale and fail to examine the ramifications even small changes can have on their lives, rarely pausing to think about what might have been if they had chosen tea instead of coffee one morning.
What if...
What if Dexter Canterbrough hadn't made a mess of the Defence Against the Dark Arts-classroom on the day of the staff meeting?