Hey guys- sorry this isn't as long as my usual. Consider it more an intermission of sorts, just a little filler. I've just started my job and I'm going to visit a friend for a couple days, so it's going to be a little while before I can update again. It shouldn't set me back too much though- I should post another one before Sunday. Please send me reviews telling me what you think of the story if you add it to your storylist- I really enjoy reading them!
Harry stared at Dumbledore eagerly, scanning the aging wizard's face for any sign of emotion. The wrinkled, but still twinkling, blue eyes skimmed over the text that Harry had brought him.
"I think I see where you are going with this, my boy," Dumbledore said clearly, analyzing the text. "And I believe you may be correct in thinking that this sort of time magic is responsible for depositing you in this era, in this place."
Harry could sense the "but" coming before it was even said. "But…" He trailed off, wishing that the aging wizard would just get to the point.
"But I don't see how we can use this now to send you back to where you belong." Dumbledore sighed and put the book about time magic down, absently neatening his long white beard with his hands. "This magic is capable of sending someone backwards, as it is used in the form of a time turner. It is not possible to send someone forward with it, because forward is not definite."
Harry slouched in his seat, defeated. He too had come up with a similar conclusion, but he had hoped that the headmaster would have come up with something different. "I see," he said, staring at the numerous objects that littered Dumbledore's desk. Remembering his little fit after Sirius's death, he felt a twinge of guilt for his future actions towards the Headmaster. "Well, keep looking then, please. I'm badly needed at home."
"Are you sure that you're meant to return there?" The Headmaster asked curiously, his eyes studying Harry as though the boy were a puzzle to be solved. "If magic and time placed you directly here during this specific point in time, clearly you were meant to serve a purpose. Perhaps you are meant to live the rest of your life, from this point on, here."
"So… would the future me still be born?" Harry asked, confused.
Dumbledore seemed to be pondering the possibility. "I would imagine so, as long as your parents are still kept together," he answered. "I just think maybe your disappearance from the future was meant to be, and perhaps that all that has come to pass in your future has come to pass because of you."
Harry remembered the prophecy and shook his head. "Trust me, from the little I know about fate and destiny, I'm meant to go back to my time." Dumbledore held his gnarled hand up.
"Tell me no more, please. I do not wish to create a change," he said, his light blue eyes serious and focused on Harry's face. "However, I will continue to search for a way to send you back where you belong."
"Thank you Professor." Harry said, his voice breaking slightly. Thought he was still unsure of how determined he was to get home, he knew that it was long past time that he return. The people of his time were in danger, and without him there to defeat Voldemort eventually, the wizarding world would stand no chance. Additionally, he couldn't defeat the dark wizard now, as that would change the entire timeline of things, and so events that were supposed to come to pass would inevitably be altered.
As Harry approached the door Dumbledore mildly added, "Oh, and Harry? Next time you feel the need to speak with me privately regarding your return to the future, do not feel the need to drop an entire case of dungbombs into a cauldron in potions. Professor Slughorn does not appreciate it all that much, regardless of the good reasons."
Harry smiled, keeping his back turned to the aging professor. "Yes Headmaster!" Harry agreed, descending down the staircase. His father and the Marauders had clearly influenced him a little more than he had previously thought, because his immediate decision following the Headmaster's words was to drop the dungbombs somewhere else instead of potions the next time he and Dumbledore needed to exchange a few words.