DISCLAIMER: THE BOOK BELONGS TO J. I HAVE ONLY BORROWED BOTH CHARACTERS AND PLOTLINE.
Harry
1978, Hogsmaede, 1 month since time travel.
Nearly a month had passed since I'd found myself in the realm of the past and since then I've learnt not to look back but deliberately chose to carve a niche for myself in this world instead until I found my way back home.
At first the ache of separation from my friends and Ginny and the people whom I'd come to love as family was simply much too painful for me to bear. But, as I had as a child living through the mental anguish with the Dursley's, I tried valiantly to dissociate myself from the desolation and loneliness and forged a new life with Aberforth Dumbledore as my new mentor instead.
Aberforth Dumbledore whom I'd taken to calling as 'Ab' on the other hand found an immense pleasure in teaching me how to mix drinks and serve customers as I had proven to be a great source of entertainment for him.
Every time I'd start gagging over the unfamiliar, burning sensation of a particularly strong glass of Fire-whiskey or when I'd just barely managed to summon a jug of mead that inevitably exploded all over the customers startled faces, he'd let out a deep, belly rumbling laugh that would rattle even the cutlery on the bar counter in front him!
Aberforth unlike his brother Albus Dumbledore and Headmaster extraordinaire was seen as nothing but a mere simpleton by most people. They dismissed him as an odd, dubious, slightly eccentric goat herder who very obviously seemed to prefer solitude over any human company.
At first, even I had presumed as much. But one day after having been given the messy job of cleaning up after his five goats in the surprisingly large backyard of the pub which was kept well hidden from the prying eyes of outsiders and after having cursed the man for every kick, head-butt or jab I had received in my rear end for bathing the ungrateful creatures, I finally stumbled upon the real truth about him entirely by accident!
I had been trying to shovel some grain into buckets for the fish eyed little monsters when one of them gleefully spotted a fine opportunity to get me in the buttocks and I literally fell head first into the wall of the shed and was bracing myself for the crash when the slab I'd stepped on briefly suddenly disappeared and I tumbled headlong down a flight of secret stairs!
Rubbing over my aching spots I lit up my wand and picked up my bruised body from where it had landed in a tangle of arms and legs before curiously beginning the exploration of my new surroundings when I suddenly came upon a thick, foreboding door.
After quickly whispering the word Alohamora, the door creaked open and just as I was about to enter the room beyond I found myself being yanked back by one very familiar, work roughened hand that held me just out of bay from the room.
"Wha are ye doin here lad?" Ab's deep voice ricocheted around the damp, dark corridor. "How did yer find yerself in this place?" He pressed on maintaining his firm grip over my shoulders.
"I fell down the stairs when your goat kicked me" I retorted with a hint of anger (I could still feel the aches and pains from the fall!) "It's a natural instinct for me to want to see what you've got here! But if you don't want me to then just say so" I assured him thinking about all the other opportunities I'd get later on to explore the place.
"Yer mus' think I'm stupid" Ab snorted in derision "I know that a young lad like yerself will not be able to stay away from this here place" he sniggered but finally let me go.
"But I can!" I grumbled a little petulantly wondering why anyone ever called him simpleminded when he was a sharp as a goddamn hunting knife!
Sighing and shaking his great head he caught his long white hair in one hand and tied it up using a strip of leather before heading straight towards the mystery door.
"Sure yer don' wanna see wha's in here then, eh laddy?" He asked me with a broad smile that seemed to warm the deep blue in his eyes in a manner that was very unlike Albus Dumbledore's slightly disconcerting twinkle.
"I er…maybe just a little…I mean I er…"
Chuckling he pushed the heavy door open and gestured for me to follow him into the room beyond. What I saw inside nearly wrenched a surprised shout from me but I managed to stop myself in the nick of time.
The walls were plastered with graphic photographs of people whose mangle remains were glowing an eerie green from the dark mark over their heads along with hundreds of newspaper clippings bearing the face of a woman and a familiar looking man I'd seen somewhere or perhaps had learnt about during my studies of the History of Magic and that's when it hit me! I was staring bug eyed at the face of Bartemius Crouch Sr!
The articles were all about how the Ministry had begun the process of another election and the most recurrent faces that were visible on them were those of the strong willed, no-nonsense Millicent Bagnold whom I knew from my books who I knew would go on to win the majority of the votes and who come to rule the Wizarding world with an iron fist but she was currently pitted against Barty Crouch Sr. who I knew from personal experience gave up his position out of guilt from having to protect his wayward son.
Apart from the photos and clippings there were several maps with tiny black dots moving across the parchment not unlike the marauders map and on closer inspection I realized that they bore the names of several members of the Order of the Phoenix itself!
The shelves further inside were well stocked with medicinal potions and herbs out of which several were illegal like the Polyjuice and Veritaserum as well! Turing to face the calm countenance of the supposed 'goat herder' I gave him a hard stare but he remained entirely too passive under my somehow accusatory glare.
"I'm jus' one of the many eyes and ears that work for the Order of the Phoenix" he shrugged as if it weren't a big deal at all but I instantly knew then that he was one of the key players in the first war.
Pointing to some of the photographs that depicted the mangled remains of hundreds of muggle families with children (which were making me feel nauseous and sick to my core) he said in a voice that brooked no leniency whatsoever "Voldmort is a monster that needs ta be stopped, an' fer tha' ta happ'n, every one of us mus' contribute towards his downfall with wha' lil' skills we mighta possessed or we mus' be prepared to face utter annihilation tha' will most certainly follow in our incompetence."
"When you speak of him it's almost as if you do not fear him but more as if you hold him in contempt for his actions" I tried to put my emotions into words and it seemed as if the barkeeper had understood them perfectly.
"Aye" he smiled at me with one of those rare but truly heart-warming smiles. "Aye I do not fear the scoundrel as he is not the first evil tha' I hav' encountered" he shook his head sadly "I hav' witnessed the tyranny of Grindelwald himself but even 'im I did not come fear as much as one other…" he walked towards a cluttered table standing in the middle of the room and picked up a faded photograph of a girl who very much resembled the painting in the bar.
"Between Grindelwald and Voldemort there is a marked difference" he said sounding almost thoughtful. "Grindelwald simply hated everyone for no rhyme or reason whereas Voldemort comes with an undeniable history and a somewha' reason fer his here misery. There are some people I've known in my lifetime who are born into this world who are true sadists and some who become them. In other words, those whose pleasure lies in another's pain and unfortunately Grindelwald was one such black-hearted villain. He felt that muggles only seemed to clutter up an otherwise perfect world and he decided to wrought terrible havoc amongst them to bring them to their untimely deaths but before he could do so he was forced to stop and I'm sure that you are well aware of who stopped him but…"
"Wait" I held up my hands "I know that it was Professor Dumbledore himself who finished him off but what I really want to know is who you've come to fear more than Voldemort or Grindelwald?"
"Ah caught on did ya?" Ab chuckled "Yer a truly bright lad yer know?"
"Well? Go on then" I waited with some impatience "Who is the one you truly fear?"
"I cannot say" Ab slowly placed the framed photo back on the table's surface with infinite care "It is a fear that might be entirely groundless and would only cause panic should it be spread amongst the masses so it is best kept a secret don't ya think?"
"Maybe" I know I sounded unsure of myself but I had spent enough time with the man to know that once he chose not to talk no one on earth would be able to pry his secrets from him!
"The real question here laddy is, what are you going to do with all this information" Ab looked around the room as the tension spiked up just a notch.
"Are ye goin' to join us in our fight or are ye goin' to deflect to side of the enemy or the third option, are ye gonna jus' run?"
"Are those my only choices?" I did not like where this was heading and I knew that my next question needed to be phrased with more care unless I wanted to end up as another goat in ol' Ab's flock.
"What if I did not have to choose?" I asked him very cautiously "What if I chose to remain neutral instead?" I had suddenly come to the realization that in this world I was no savior. I was an ordinary person who had no home to go to and that no one expected anything from me! No way in hell was I going to let this golden opportunity to stay clear out of the war elude me now!
And as always any hope that I may have had was shattered in an instant when Ab burst out laughing and thumped me hard my shoulder with enough force to hammer to me into the ground. "Yer can dream if yer wan'ter lad!" He was now wiping away tears from laughing so hard "The only way to stay neutral in the war is to be dead and you sure as hell don't wanna go tha' way now, do ya?"
"I…dropped out magic school a little after my owls" I continued to hedge "I have yet to learn how to apparate and to learn spells of greater power. How would someone like me be useful?"
"I will teach you all that you need to know" Aberforth realized that I was slowly coming around to his idea and seemed relieved somehow by my decision "So if that is your only fear then will you choose to fight by our side?"
Sighing, I bowed my head in acquiescence. Now, there was simply no way I could continue this peaceful existence I had created for myself and once again I began praying for the day I found the blasted time turner once again.