CHAPTER 123: Hole

Two days had been enough to work out their trajectory within the black hole, subject to only minor correction given its observed diameter. It would take longer though to work exactly how far away they were and therefore its diameter, but that couldn't really be helped. A smaller black hole would simply be too dangerous to try this.

It was bright inside the starship. They had neglected covers for the windows, and had overlooked the density of stars near the center of the Milky Way. There were thousands of them that outshown Venus on a good night, and tens of thousands that outshown Jupiter. The phoenix's fire was outshown by the light pouring in through the windows, which in a way was a good thing as they were looking out the windows looking for the black hole in the center of the galaxy.

"There, you see it? That distortion?" Michael had spotted the galactic black hole first. It was about a fifty-fifty chance between him and the astronaut anyway as none of the others had any idea what the thing they were looking for would look like.

Then again, maybe Hermoine would have, but she was spending all her time looking out the window in awe with none left to actually look for anything in particular. The same Hermione who watched the starship be constructed rather than the earth was too busy looking out the window in awe to spot what she was supposed to be looking for.

It didn't take long at warp to get really close.

They took a "parabolic" trajectory diving down into the black hole with a sixty degrees "north" (relative to which side was up from their ship) approach to avoid both the accretion disk and the relativistic jets. As they crossed the horizon Michael noted the time on his watch and Minerva rotated the ship to point nose out. The seconds passed exceedingly slowly. Nobody spoke. They all knew the timing had to be right within a second or they would arrive at earth at the wrong time or not at all. The joints creaked from the strain caused by the tidal forces, but they held. Hermoine seemed to be tensing up. In fact they all were, but it was most noticeable in her. Finally Michael said "Now" and Alastor Moody immediately applied his wand and they began to climb slowly out of the black hole.

It should have been met with greater fanfare. Defying time and making a mockery of physics and astronomy should have been met with something other than nothing at all. In fact they all knew their defiance of physics had began two days ago when they departed earth and left its light behind them. But now their defiance was complete, for they were in their own past light cone. Casuality was now looped. First order logic had given way to second order logic. Yet everything appeared the same.

"Now," Minerva McGonagall said, "Mad-Eye, you said you knew how to get back from here. I've got to see how this works. I might regret it afterwords but let's see this magic, and I really hope it isn't one of Harry's tricks again."

"Expecto Patronum." Moonlight riveled the sunlight of the phoenix. "Patronous, do you know the patronous of Emmiline Vance? When it appears again lead us that way." This was in fact an incredibly stupid trick, one of those things you would think really shouldn't work at all. In fact his patronous could not possibly perceive that of Emmiline Vance because it did not yet exist within the past light cone of their present location, but somehow it knew from past experience where her patronous would be well enough to follow the directive it had been given anyway. His patronous moved to the front of the ship and a little to the left side and down. Minerva rotated the ship to line up, and they were off again.

Two days and two more rounds of bezors later they were approaching Earth. At this time Minerva sat watching a Quiddich match at the same time she sat in the now comfortable zero gee looking down on the blue marble in renewed wonder. Hope and awe filled her, for the world was beautiful and they were going to save it.

"Now remember, we must be very careful", Alastor spoke. "We cannot communicate with each other by patronous as they will go to our other selves and cause paradoxes. The "protections" offered by the the time turners are not in effect. I have a portkey to Hogsmede that will take us within range, and someone needs to stay here with the ship."

Michael knew what that meant. The time turners had some elementry protections built-in to them; if the plan of action would irreversably cause a paradox at object-level, time travel would be blocked. On the other hand, physics knew nothing of object level. If there was no paradox at billiard-ball level but catastraphic destruction at object-level it would be allowed.

"Begging your pardon," Hermoine Replied, "but I can receive a patronous for the next hour or so. I'm still dead remember?"

"Good, you're staying. If we don't answer use your emergency portkey to get yourself and the astronaut to safety."

Before Alastor Moody could use his portkey there was fire. Too fast, Minerva had not come with them. They stood, not at Hogsmede but in a grassy field, not too far from a small scattered graveyard. The sky was darkening rather alarmingly far for this time of year. Michael checked his watch, then realized that oops it's not on anything like local time. More fire. They were across from the clock tower. Michael synchronized his watch to London time and then there was yet more fire. The phoenix seemed inexhaustable.

Michael had a brilliant idea. "Alastor Moody, can you hit me and this phoenix with dissolution? I suspect the Dark Lord has a way of detecting approaching wizards but I'm no wizard and he should miss me, and if none of the others can spot me I can get really close."

"Phoenix, pay attention. You are going to sit on my shoulder and I am going to walk in there under cover of night and dissolution right up to my son, and when we get there you are to take us out of there. We are prevented by paradox from succeeding by direct attack, but there is no reason we cannot get my son out now and deal with them later. I must stand and wait, for once Hermoine is raised from the dead and my son sends a message calling for help I may act but not before. But no later than he sends that message we shall act upon it and save him."

"Caw?" Phoenixes didn't understand delay, nor paradoxes, but the boldness in his mind was akin to the fury of battle and the plan seemed to it more daring than a direct assault. While its selection showed neither fear nor evil nor delay it would not turn back from the task that its selection had called it for, and when it had succeeded the phoenix would make its selection its master. And this phoenix had already learned that delay was sometimes necessary.

Alastor Moody spoke. "Be careful, dissolution isn't anywhere near infallible against Voldermort. There's a cloak in Harry's pouch if he hasn't gotten to it himself yet. It will hide you better if you can get it. Dissolution. Quietus. Silenco."

Alastor Moody was being typically paranoid.

Three figures approached a graveyard of scattered graves. Two of them approached together, and one of them held a wand. They proceeded to the center of the graveyard. The third approached alone, unmarked by either of the other two approached only part way into the graves and hid behind a tombstone.

From there he heard muffled sounds through the garbling effect of sounds coming into a quietus cast specifically to keep sounds from coming out. Sometimes he could understand the words, and the words were omnious.

"... shall raise my own ..." "Fal. Tor. Pan." Michael choked at that one. "Death..." "Expecto PATRONUM!" Michael looked up at that and moved closer only to change his mind when he saw the troll appear. The phoenix wavered. "Not time. My watch says there's forty minutes left before the message is sent."

"... stay well back, this ritual is darker than the last ..." Gunshots "That was absolutely predictable..." A large number of pops. Michael knew the sound and what it meant and didn't bother to count. He didn't really want to know.

Then he saw opportunity. They all were minding Harry, and none of them were minding the altar where Hermoine lay nor the pouch beside it, nor all the junk piled up either. He helped himself to the True Cloak of Invisibility and put it on.

"Crucio" screaming "... Avada Kedavra! Avada Kedavra!"

"... Useless the lot of you ..."

Michael began walking. Unfortunately the death eaters had set up largely between him and his son so he had to walk the long way around.

"... Recast ..." "...Stun him..."

Michael broke into a run. He saw Harry Potter go down and dived upon him, and there was fire. Lord Voldermort saw Harry Potter enveloped in a brilliant glow and disappear right before his eyes.

AN: If there were no phoenix for Michael, they would have used a portkey. This is a valid solution to the final exam by cavalry coming over the hill caused by Harry.