Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I make any claim to, the 'Harry Potter' universe. I claim the plot and whatever original characters I choose to create.

A/N: Here's another installment for you. Once again, I'd like to thank all of the people who have been faithfully reviewing this story. My biggest regret is not having the time to respond to them all, but you should know that I read and appreciate every one of them. It seems that with every chapter I write, there are more and more of you who are questioning Jaana's ability to be a good guardian… well, this chapter will add more fuel to that particular fire! ; I try to look at it from her side… she's now the guardian of one of the most important people in the wizarding world, she gave up her job and her private life to help Harry, and she has the constant threat of being discovered hanging over her head… of course she's going to be a bit overprotective at times… wouldn't you be? (Word Count: 3951)

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Chapter 9: Uncovering the Past's Future

Wednesday, November 30th, 1988 8:03 PM

When Harry first began reading the book to her, he had started at the place that he had already made it to. Upon hearing just a few pages of magical techniques and theories… most of which Jaana barely understood herself… she had Harry start again at the beginning. Harry didn't deem to mind reading about his earlier years again, although he did have to pause from time to time when he made it to the more distressing parts that he remembered.

Harry was sitting on the floor before the fireplace with the book he was reading from in his lap. Jaana was sitting in the overstuffed chair watching over the young boy and raptly listening to every word. Over the previous months, Jaana quickly learned that the book, which initially appeared to only have a few hundred hand-written pages, actually contained thousands upon thousands of pages which were magically compressed into the binding.

Jaana also learned that the book was not just a biography of 'The Boy Who Lived,' but a complete chronicle of the future of the wizarding world that was sent back through time by Harry Potter, to Harry Potter. This had caused her more than a few nights of sleeplessness and tears.

There were many parts of the ongoing story where Jaana internally questioned what was actually happening. Harry's early years seemed to be documented accurately… according to Harry himself… except for a few instances. The first major sticking point was Harry's visit to the London Zoo and the encounter where he unintentionally freed the boa constrictor. It certainly gave his cousin a fright, but it supposedly occurred when Harry was ten years old and not six. Virtually everything else was accurate until the day that she met 'The Boy Who Lived.' It took a few weeks of reading, but Jaana eventually heard all about Harry's years at Hogwarts and the misadventures that he and his friends experienced there.

The book had mentioned nothing at all of Jaana so far. She knew enough about Time Magic to realize that the coming events in Harry's life had already been altered… how much so was still to be seen. Given this little fact, she had been warring with herself whether or not to start training Harry in magic… real magic, and not just theory. She knew her best subject during her years at Hogwarts was Charms and not Defense, but that didn't mean she was a slouch, either. She wasn't a Ravenclaw for nothing.

Jaana sat silently, just nursing a glass of Elfin Sugarbrandy while Harry continued to read from the book.

"After Voldemort's second return, we began naming the wars that resulted from his endeavors. What was known as 'The First War' came to be called 'The Rise' instead. Of course, that war had ended the moment I got my scar. With his first return at the end of my forth year at Hogwarts, the battle was called 'The Purity War.' Muggleborns and Half-bloods were persecuted horribly, and the lucky ones were simply treated like slaves or forcibly ejected from the wizarding world… the unlucky ones were killed outright, although the public was never really made aware of that fact during the war. Only afterwards was the public made truly aware of the atrocities that occurred. It was during the Purity War that Voldemort discovered that his horcruxes were being destroyed. Just before the final battle, he created a seventh horcrux and hid it with much more care than his first six. We had all thought that he was finally gone for good… We were wrong."

"It took sixteen years for Voldemort to return to a body with the help of Draco Malfoy. The resulting war was dubbed 'The Purge.' The war started with the destruction of the Hogwarts Express as it was en route to the school, killing all of the children on board, including what I thought were my own children. No one had noticed that there were very few pureblood children on board the train, and those that were on board were considered to be 'blood traitors.' The war escalated with the widespread elimination of muggleborn children who were registered with the ministry and Hogwarts. The magical community didn't seem very concerned until the children of mixed-blood parents started turning up dead. When the Minister for Magic's daughter, who had married into a half-blood family, was found murdered, the wizarding government finally decided to take action… but by then, it was much too late."

"It took seven years for me to track down Voldemort and eliminate him, but by then, the magical society was seriously depleted and people were beginning to panic. The old traditions of forced betrothment and arranged marriages were becoming more commonplace as the months and years passed. Laws were hastily enacted, forcing witches of childbearing years to produce as many offspring as they physically could to make up for the dwindling number of magicals. Inbreeding was soon rampant within the older pureblood families, causing a startling number of birth defects, still-born deliveries, and a staggeringly high number of squib infants."

This caused a black market to develop, dealing in kidnapped magical babies that were procured for the British purebloods who could afford them, and also young witches that had been siezed from foreign countries and sold into sex slavery to the older pureblood families. The person who profited most from the black market commerce was none other than Draco Malfoy. He was the one who controlled the trade while hidden behind the scenes, as it was his family's money that created and fueled this horrendous new facet of the wizarding economy… and virtually all of the profit was going into magical research to find a way to return Voldemort's wandering soul to a body."

"The degrading lives that witches were forced to live ultimately led to a serious divide between witches and wizards… that divide was capitalized upon with Voldemort's next return. Again, Draco Malfoy was instrumental in bringing the Dark Lord back to the world… this time in a woman's body."

"The female Voldemort stirred up the already boiling pot, setting witches against wizards and starting the 'War of the Sexes.' The witches initially had the advantage, as the wizards were reluctant to attack the ones who would bear their heirs. The witches, led by the Dark Lady, had no such moral reservations. The War of the Sexes was the shortest war, lasting only a year, but during that time the magical population was nearly destroyed. By the time the Dark Lady was defeated, the British magical population numbered in the low thousands. It was also near the end of this war where the muggles became fully aware of the existence of the wizarding world with the murder of the Prime Minister and the Royal Family by a rogue group of witches."

The tensions between magicals and the muggles rapidly deteriorated into open hostility when Voldemort returned next. 'The Muggle War' had begun almost as soon as the 'War of the Sexes' had ended. This would become the longest war of them all, lasting almost fifty years. The wars quickly spread to nearly every country in the world as the muggles became increasingly distrustful of the magicals. Voldemort thought to use the muggles against themselves, creating discord between the European muggle governments. Intermittent wars flared between muggle Britain and the rest of Europe. Literally millions of lives were lost on all sides, not to mention the complete destruction of many historical sites throughout the world."

"The war finally ended when Voldemort's stronghold on the island of Skara Brae was attacked by the desperate muggles. They used a small device called a Californium Tactical Phase Bomb delivered by a satellite launched by the North American Consolidated City-States. Voldemort, along with the entire island and a large hunk of the mainland, was summarily vaporized. This was the only time that I hadn't personally put an end to the reborn Dark Lord's life."

"Over thirty years of peace ensued, with the muggles believing that all of the magicals were dead, and the relatively few magicals that remained in the world weren't too keen on taking on the muggles again, especially when they found out what kind of weaponry the muggles would use if they were pressed hard enough. The peace was shattered when Voldemort managed to return again, this time remaining hidden and secretly infiltrating the African Union's Space Operations Center. The satellite-borne assault lasted less than two hours, but the destruction caused by the space-based mass-driver weaponry left much of the world covered in glassy, smoking craters. The satellites were eventually destroyed by the Koreans when they dispatched one of their Corvette-class space interceptors from their space station to destroy the weapons, but the damage was already done."

With the complete destruction of the world's Ministries and the muggle government centers, it was a simple task for Voldemort to recruit an army out of the remaining magicals. This war was simply known as 'The Winter,' as the climate changes caused by the massive amounts of dust in the atmosphere…"

"That's enough for tonight, Harry," said Jaana as she rubbed her temples, "It's getting late, and I still have to set your lessons up for tomorrow."

Harry nodded, carefully closed the book, and stood up from the floor, saying tiredly, "Good night."

Harry gave Jaana a hug and she kissed him lightly on the cheek. As Harry walked to the door he glanced back at Jaana, who simply nodded and gave him a rather unsure smile. He closed the door to the den and stood outside for a few moments, thinking about what he had just read. He was about to turn around and re-enter the den to ask Jaana a question when he heard a muffled sob through the closed door.

She was crying again.

Harry silently cracked the door open just in time to see Jaana standing at the wet bar. He could see the tears rolling down her face as her shaking hands tried to refill her glass of sugarbrandy. By the time she had managed to fill the glass, there was nearly as much brandy on the bar as there was in the glass. Jaana held up the nearly empty bottle up to the light, shrugged her shoulders, and then raised the trembling bottle to her lips where she proceeded to drain the last dregs from it.

Harry sighed and quietly closed the door again. He hung his head and stepped towards the stairs that led to the second floor of the manor and his bed that was awaiting him there. He'd just have to wait until morning to ask her what 'forced betrothals' and 'arranged marriages' were about.

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Saturday, December 24th, 1988 10:33 PM

A brisk wind swept along the street and caused the figure walking along the dark sidewalk to bundle his heavy coat more tightly around him. When the figure stepped into the halo of a streetlamp, the small, brightly coloured package he was carrying could easily be seen tucked under his arm. The young boy would glance at the numbers on the gates of each of the large houses that he passed. All of the houses along the street were widely spaced, and each had nearly identical, tall wrought-iron fences surrounding their spacious yards.

The boy suddenly stopped in front of a set of massive gates. From within his pocket, he pulled a page torn from a Maidstone telephone directory. He glanced at the page, then up to the number on the front pillar. The boy nodded to himself as he shoved the paper back into his pocket. He carefully looked up and down the deserted street as he ducked into the shadows away from the lamp posts lining the street. All of the windows in the house at 1173 Arcacia Road were dark, except for one window that seemed to shimmer in red, green, and gold from the Christmas tree that could just barely be seen through the white lace curtains.

He let out a nervous sigh as he sat down on the frosty sidewalk. A look of peace washed over his face for a few moments before he silently winked out of sight, reappearing a moment later sitting in the shadowed bushes that were located just before the window where the twinkling lights were. He remained still for a few moments, straining his ears to detect any sounds from within the house. When he was reasonably sure that everyone in the house was asleep, he cautiously stood up and peeked into the window.

He found himself smiling as he looked into the comfortable parlor that was cheerily decorated for the Christmas season. Holly boughs were strung along the walls surrounding the mantle of a large fireplace, tied in place by festive red ribbons. In the far corner of the room, just beyond the large, brown leather couch that was positioned in front of the fireplace, stood a tall Christmas tree, adorned with shimmering garland, tiny silver bells and glass bulbs, and a vast array of twinkling, multi-coloured lights that stretched from it's base all the way up to the lighted silver star at the very top.

He could just see the vast assortment of gaily wrapped packages that were nestled beneath the tree. The boy couldn't help but to think how jealous his cousin would be if he saw that the child of this particular house had nearly twice as many presents as he usually received for Christmas. Of course, he couldn't help feeling his own slight pang of jealousy… in all of his past Christmases with the Dursleys, he had never once received any presents at all.

He quickly shook off those thoughts and concentrated on the task at hand. He had his own presents this year… and wanted to make sure he got those presents by being back in his bed before he was discovered.

He relaxed himself again as he focused on an open area of the floor beside the tree. An instant later, he was standing inside of the warm room right next to the sofa. He took the package from under his arm and looked at the tag that was affixed to the ribbon, 'Happy Christmas, Hermione – From Harry.'

He carefully laid the fragile gift amongst the other presents under the tree.

"Happy Christmas," he softly said with a smile, but the smile instantly dropped from his face when he heard a sleepy voice from behind him say, "What? Huh?"

Harry spun around in a panic. There on the sofa, wrapped in a thick down comforter, was a young girl, her wide, terrified brown eyes staring into his. For the briefest instant, he wondered who this cute girl was, and it took a heartbeat for him to realize it, but the girl laying there had to be Hermione… without the monstrosity that was her retainer. The difference in her appearance was astounding. He opened his mouth to speak, but he heard her draw in a quick, deep breath. He knew what was coming next.

Sure enough, a loud, piercing scream echoed throughout the room, which was immediately followed by a vociferous cry of, "Burglar! Burglar in the house!"

Harry heard the sound of feet hitting the floor in the rooms above.

"No, no, no… you don't understand!" he tried to explain frantically, but was cut off by another shrill scream from the terrified girl.

Panic gripped Harry's chest. He had to get out of there quickly, but when he tried to Shift himself, he found that he was much too scared to even hope to do it properly. There was only one thing to do… try to purposefully Apparate… something he had never successfully done before.

'Destination… determination… deliberation…' he chanted to himself while picturing his bedroom in his mind. The first attempt was a total failure, only making him seem to be trying to dance as he spun awkwardly on the spot. He heard a set of heavy footsteps bounding down some nearby stairs, greatly adding to the panic he was already feeling. He could feel the wetness building under his eyelids as he closed them tightly and concentrated.

'Destination… determination… deliberation…'

Harry didn't get to see the sudden look of recognition that washed across the girl's face.

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An earsplitting crack resounded throughout the room, sounding like a gunshot to the young girl on the sofa, causing her to jump and fall from the couch in alarm. She desperately untangled herself from the large comforter just as her father entered the room carrying a golf club.

"Where ith the blighter!" said Mr. Granger angrily as his eyes searched the room. Seeing no one other than his daughter, he rushed over to her, picked her up from the floor and hugged her tightly. He was about to ask again when he noticed the strange look on his daughter's face. She didn't appear scared… she seemed… happy?

"He was here…" said Hermione breathlessly as her eyes scanned the room, "that boy, Harry… I think he left something under the tree…"

"Where ith he? How did he get in here?"

"I… I don't know… I just woke up and saw him next to the tree… then I fell off the couch… and then he was just… gone… and that noise…"

Hermione walked to the tree and looked amongst the packages there. It was easy to spot the new addition… she had been anxiously studying the packages for days. She carefully lifted the present and read the card.

"It was him, see? It says, 'From Harry.'"

Hermione looked the package over carefully while her father was checking the windows for any signs of forced entry.

Mrs. Granger appeared in the doorway saying, "The police are on their way… What happened? I thought I heard a gunshot!"

"I don't know what the noise was, but it wasn't a gun," replied Hermione, "It was that boy, Harry. He was here, and he left this for me."

"I don't know how he got in… or how he got by me to get out… I'm going to check the retht of the houthe…" said Mr. Granger as he glanced out the window at the flashing red lights in front of the gate to the property, "and talk to the polithe… it'th good to know that they can get here tho quickly."

As her father left the room, Hermione held the package out towards her mother and nervously asked, "Can you… can you open this for me?"

Mrs. Granger sat heavily on the sofa, trying to get her heart-rate under control. She looked to her daughter and said, "There was nothing wrong with his last present to you… why don't you open this one yourself?"

Hermione gave the gift an unsure glance before she closed her eyes and nodded resolutely. She cautiously untied the bright ribbon and meticulously unfolded each seam of the wrapping paper, being careful not to tear it. Beneath the paper was a plain, white cardboard box.

Inside was a delicate cherry wood box with a lid that had a wide crystal pane set into it, appearing to be a very expensive looking jewelry box. There were small, elegant symbols etched along the edges of the glass and inlaid with a very fine golden thread, creating a graceful border where it was set into the wooden lid. She could see through the rose-tinted glass that the interior of the box appeared to glow with a soft, pink light, but she couldn't tell exactly where the illumination was coming from.

When she lifted the lid, she couldn't stop the gasp of surprise that escaped her as a light, tinkling melody began playing, and within the glass of the lid, a small, translucent figure that looked something like a tiny winged fairy began flitting and dancing around in time with the music. It was almost like watching a small television screen, but neither she nor her mother could figure out how the image was displayed within the crystal portion of the lid. Upon closer inspection of the box, they couldn't even find where the batteries were stored, and there didn't seem to be any instructions either.

Before she knew it, Hermione found that she was replaying some of her happiest memories in her mind as she listened to the haunting, melodic tune that the box was playing. She looked at her mother, only to find that she was staring dreamily across the room and wearing a rather silly grin.

Several minutes passed before Hermione realized that she had been standing there motionless while listening to the music from the box. She carefully closed the lid, halting the tune and causing the illuminated dancing fairy to disappear. Both her and her mother blinked a few times as they each came out of their vivid but pleasant daydreams.

"It's beautiful…" whispered Hermione.

"What a wonderful gift," said Mrs. Granger softly, "I wonder where he got such a thing?"

Hermione picked up the small card that was attached to the gift and flipped it over, but the only writing on it was 'Happy Christmas, Hermione – From Harry.'

"I've checked all of the doorth and windowth… they're all locked from the inthide, and the alarm is thtill active," said Mr. Granger as he entered the room, "I've thent the polithe away, but they thaid they'll thet an extra patrol in thith neighborhood… what'th that you have there, Punkin?"

"That boy left this here for me," replied Hermione as she opened the lid to the box again, "It's a music box."

The same light, cheery tune began playing again and the three Grangers stood transfixed as they listened.

None of the muggles in the room noticed the two Disillusioned wizards who were watching them from the doorway, nor did they hear the whispered incantation that gently put them to sleep.

"Well, technically, this is a magical household… the girl's a witch," said one of the wizards, a rather large black man with a bald head and a thick, golden hoop earring as he cancelled the spell on himself.

"She hasn't even got her Hogwarts letter yet… she doesn't even know she's a witch," said the other wizard, a stocky, older man with short, sandy brown hair, widely spaced brown eyes, and a deeply lined face.

"Still, she is a witch," said the larger wizard.

"Well, it's clear that she wasn't the one Apparating… the only question is whether to leave that magical artifact in their possession."

"You know the law as well as I do…"

The older wizard nodded and said, "So we take it and Obliviate them?"

"…but to take a Christmas present away from a little girl… it just wouldn't feel right," said the large, black wizard as he approached the sleeping family. He reached down and took the still-playing music box out of the young witch's hands. He turned it over while drawing out his wand. With a well thought spell, he made the box appear as if it had a small battery compartment, complete with, what he hoped could pass for, a pair of cells within it.

"This'll be enough to fool them… as long as they don't look too closely at it," said the larger man as he placed the box back into Hermione's hands and levitated the sleeping residents onto the sofa, "Let's get going, we still have to locate the destination of that Apparition."

A moment later, the two wizards were gone, leaving the Grangers to wake up a few minutes later, none the wiser the wizards' little visit.

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