Round 9: The Trouble with Time Travel

"Well these are all the books I could find on the rise to power and eventual demise of 'You know who.'" Hermione slammed a massive pile of books onto the library table, sending up a small cloud of dust. Ginny was impressed at her upper body strength for being able to lift them all as if it were nothing. "Next I'll find you some recent newspaper articles on his current activities." Hermione offered.

"Thanks Hermione I appreciate your help." Ginny smiled. "I had no idea where to start with all this."

"No problem, but why the sudden interest in the history of the Dark Lord?" Hermione asked curiously as she pulled out a seat at the table and began to organize the pile of tomes into smaller ones categorized by author and publishing date.

"I wanted to be more proactive and find out as much as I can about this world." Ginny explained. She picked up the nearest book and flipped it open. It was a leather bound book entitled the "The Riddle Rein of Terror" and appeared to extensively detail the many atrocities committed by Death Eaters during the height of Voldemort's influence. Skimming over the table of contents, Ginny felt that it all sounded rather trite.

"I think that's a great attitude, and who knows, with your unique perspective and knowledge of the incarnation of Voldemort from your world you may have some valuable insight to offer on the current state of affairs." Hermione encouraged her. Ron had given Hermione a brief and fractured account of the body switching and time travel and she had pieced together the rest of the story on her own.

"That would be great." Ginny sighed. "But I'd settle for just being able to feel a little less lost here."

"Hey, it will get better." Hermione placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a comforting smile. "And if there is anything that I can do to help you, just ask." Ginny smiled back, feeling a little better.

"Actually, since you offered, there was a little research project that I was hoping you would help me with." Hermione's eyes lit up at the mention of research and she immediately chimed in a "Of course"

"Great." Ginny turned her chair to face Hermione and fixed her with a serious expression. "First, have you ever heard of a wizard by the name of Rhombus Dumbledore?" Hermoine met her gaze with a thoughtful look as she gave her reply.

"Before this morning I would have told you no, however I heard a rumor that Dumbledore has a younger brother by that name who was presumed dead many years ago. Interestingly enough this turned out not to be the case and he has recently resurfaced, and he is currently staying at Hogwarts." Hermione neatly surmised. Ginny nodded in confirmation, not the least bit surprised that the rumors regarding Rhombus had spread to the general student body so fast. Even in her universe the portraits of the castle had been horrible gossips and no secret was safe for long at Hogwarts, especially not juicy ones like mysterious long lost brothers returned to life.

"Well the rumors are completely true, and what's more, I've heard some reports that suggest that this brother may not be all that he seems. I wanted to know if you could dig up so more information on him for me."

"Well there's nothing to be found through official channels." Hermione quickly dashed her hopes. "I was curious myself when I heard the news and tried doing some background research but the only mentions I found of Rhombus were a marriage announcement to a Charlotte A. Hopplesnapple in the Wizarding Society papers and a news report in the Daily Prophet after he seemingly leapt to his death. This was followed by an obituary, though they obviously never did find the body." Ginny bit her lip in frustration. That couldn't be the only records that existed of Rhombus' life! Hedwig had seemed so certain that this man had connections to Voldemort, and the more Ginny had thought about it the more suspicious this man's sudden reappearance seemed. There had to be more!

"What about unofficial channels?" Ginny asked out of hand and was startled when a sly smile crept across Hermione's face.

"Well you know I wouldn't know anything about something like that." Hermione said out loud whilst tapping the side of her nose in a conspiratory gesture and winking several times.

"Oh yes, of course." Ginny said quickly. She wasn't sure why Hermione felt the need for secrecy as the library was deserted and there weren't any portraits on the walls, as Madame Prince found them to be "too disruptive". Still she felt that it would be best to play along. Hermione smiled and then stood up from her chair.

"Well, anyway, I'll try asking around. See if anyone else knows anything." Hermione accompanied this proclamation with more comical winking and then headed toward the door. Ginny shook her head, not sure where Hermione intended to look for information, but glad that she had her help. If this Hermione was anything like the one she had known in her own universe, then she would stop at nothing until she uncovered the truth. Turning back to her book she began the tedious task of studying up on the Dark Lord of this universe while she waited for Hermione to return.

Hedwig sat perched completely still in a tall oak tree on the school grounds, her body a pale lump standing out against the dark bark of the tree like a tumorous growth. She was intently watching the window to the room at the top of the tall spire where Rhombus was currently staying. She could occasionally catch a glimpse of the reviled wizard as he moved about his room, but she was too far away to see any details, even with her keen vision. Hedwig dared not get any closer, however, lest she give her position away.

Rhombus was here at Hogwarts for some purpose of his own and until Hedwig found some clue as to what that was she didn't want to let him out of her sight. She bristled with anger as she recalled the day he had cursed her to this form. The man had been cold and pitiless in his punishment when she had refused to help him with his plans of world conquest. Even if no one would believe her, she knew that Rhombus was ruthless and conniving. He surely had his own dark purpose for being here, but whatever his plans she intended to ensure that he didn't succeed. She would stay vigilant and watch him in secret until he showed his hand. She had to ensure that, whatever Rhombus' plot, no harm came to Harry!

Ginny and Hermione were once again meeting in the library, this time in a secluded corner where they could covertly pour over a file full of old and yellowed documents. Hermione had somehow managed to procure Rhombus' personal file from the Ministry of Magic. Upon seeing the almost manic look of triumph in Hermione's eyes when she had produced the information, Ginny had decided that it was best not to ask by what, no doubt illegal, means she had come by such information. She was instead grateful that the girl was willing to help her in her search.

"Well the ministry sure is thorough. Look at all of these school records, they even have all of his attendance sheets!" Hermione said approvingly as she flipped through the sheets. "My, my! He had three tardy marks on his record! He must be a very arrogant person if he feels he can make others wait for him." Hermione said seriously as she made this arbitrary deduction.

"Does it say anything in those school records about him getting into fights? Or maybe about showing an interest in dark or forbidden magicks?" Ginny asked as she tried to glance over Hermione's shoulder at the documents.

"No, nothing about forbidden magicks… he did appear to have a great interest in folklore, though." Hermione offered.

"Oh." Ginny immediately lost interest in the school records and returned her attention to the medical records of the coroner who had examined Rhombus' parents after their rather strange deaths. Apparently Rhombus' father had suffered a very sudden heart attack and his wife followed him soon after from unknown causes. There had been some suspicions about whether or not their deaths were entirely natural but there had been no evidence found to suggest foul play and any further investigations had been subsequently halted. Despite the lack of any evidence to link Rhombus to the deaths Ginny was left feeling cold after reading the report.

"Hmmm, now this is interesting." Hermione piped up. Holding out what appeared to be a hand written letter on a decorative lilac colored scroll. "This was apparently written by a lady living in the village where the Dumbledore family estate and orchard was located. Listen to this." Hermione cleared he throat and then began to recite the contents of the letter which appeared to have been addressed to the lady's friend who had moved away from the village.

My dearest Adelaide,

How I have missed you these past months, why there has been so much going on and I have had no one to discuss things with! You will not believe what has transpired! Just this morning I heard from the maid at the Dumbledore house that Mrs. Charlotte Dumbledore has left her husband! She must have run away in the middle of the night as no one was the wiser til this morning, when the maid went to clean the room and found that the bed hadn't been slept in and her mistress no where to be found. Charlotte must have been in an awful hurry as she left all her things. Everyone says that Charlotte is seeking a divorce because of the dreadful financial straights the family orchard and enchanted cider business has been going through, but personally I suspect that she has run off with that Turner lad who was fired from the orchard earlier this week. I haven't seen hide nor hair of him in days so it's likely they had this all planned out for awhile. You know I always thought that Mrs. Dumbledore possessed loose morals! Of course I can't say much for her husband, my but he has been strange since the deaths of his parents! We barely ever see him in the village anymore and when we do he barely speaks to anyone and behaves quite intolerably. Many of the servants have quit over his erratic behavior. I've heard rumors of strange visitors to the house and stranger still some people have reported spotting eerie lights coming from the orchard. People are starting to say that the he must be conducting illegal rituals out there. Do you suppose that the withering of the orchards is punishment from the earth for his ghastly experiments? Why it's almost too horrible to consider! Of course, despite all this the village girls are all in a tizzy that Rhombus is now single, as he is still quite a handsome man.

Speaking of handsome men, Mr. Poodersmitt has grown the most hideous moustache and I must tell you, Addie, that it has quite ruined his gorgeous face! At least now I don't feel quite so bad about his marrying that tramp, Pearl Snares. She has gotten quite fat, my dear. I used to think them quite ill suited, but now I think it is a fitting match….

"The rest of the letter goes on like that." Hermione finished.

"I knew there was something up with him!' Ginny crowed. "Dark experiments in the orchard? That's sinister stuff! By the sounds of it he probably offed his wife, too!"

"I don't know if we can conclude that based solely on this letter." Hermione interjected. "Small town gossip can get quite wild and might have little to no basis in fact. I will say that his wife running off without taking any of her things is quite suspicious. Some one else must have thought so, too, as there's some paperwork here stating that they were unable to find his estranged wife to settle his accounts after he was presumed dead. No one in the village knew where she went and this letter was the only hint of what might have happened. Looks like the Ministry assumed that Charlotte changed her name in order to start her new life with her lover."

"That or he killed her." Ginny stated doggedly, unwilling to give up on her theory.

"Why are you so sure that he is a criminal?" Hermione asked curiously.

"It's mostly just a feeling I have." Ginny had a hard time explaining her intuition, but she strongly believed that Rhombus was trouble. On some level he reminded her of the dark wizards of her own world. "Also I heard some interesting things about his past." Ginny quickly explained how Hedwig had accused Rhombus of having ties to families who had supported Voldemort, and that he had cursed her to her current owl body.

"Then was Hedwig originally a human?" Hermione marveled eyes wide as Ginny finished bringing her up to speed.

"I guess." Ginny said slowly, honestly having not given it much thought before now.

"It is more likely that she is a Strigiforma." a sleepy sounding voice suddenly pipped up from a nearby pile of books that they had previously ignored when they'd settled on this spot for their private conference. Hermione yelped as a form started to emerge from a gap in the heap, and Ginny instinctively pulled out her wand, holding it at the ready in case this intruder proved to be a threat. The blonde girl that emerged rubbing her tired blue eyes and yawning, however, was no other than Luna Lovegood. Ginny and Hermione immediately relaxed. They wouldn't be getting in trouble for illegally snooping through someone's private government file. After all, no one paid any attention to anything Luna said. No longer frightened, Hermione quickly switched to a state of indignation and fixed Luna with a steely glare.

"What are you talking about? And what on earth were you doing under there?" she demanded

"I was napping. The library is always nice and quiet and sleeping surrounded by books allows me to absorb the vestiges of the personal energy left behind by all the hundreds of students that have communed with the sources of knowledge over the years." Luna said matter of factually. "I was having quite a nice dream too before your conversation woke me up. It all sounds very interesting, especially this Hedwig. I believe that she must be one of the ancient shape-shifting owls known as the Strigiforma. They are a very reclusive and powerful race that few wizards have had the privilege of meeting. My grandfather was an anthropologist of magical societies, who devoted most of his career to the study of Strigiforma culture and traditions. He traveled to the countryside of Estickshire, not far from where Dumblsdore's home village is located as a matter of fact, and spent years living in the woods looking for the owl people so that he could study them. It was two years before he found them and it took another two for him to gain their trust and be allowed to observe their way. He wrote a fascinating memoir about his times there."

"Really." Hermione rolled her eyes. "And why haven't I ever heard of this book or of the Strigiforma for that matter?"

"Because in the end grandpappy decided that it was in the Strigiforma people's best interest that he never publish his work. You see, he discovered that they possessed a great deal of magical power and a rich tradition of fascinating spells and rituals that he felt could be very dangerous if the wrong people were ever to know about it. I read a copy of his book when I was younger and I must say that I agree with his decision."

"Rubbish." Hermione snorted quietly to herself but Ginny beamed at Luna.

"Do you still have a copy of this book Luna? I think that this may give us a clue as to why Hedwig was cursed! Maybe we'll get some insight into Rhombus as well!" Luna smiled back at her.

"My dad should have it back at home. I'll write him right away and asked him to send it."

"Thank you!" Ginny said enthusiastically. All of this research had been excruciating but it looked like it might actually pay off with some useful information.

Headmaster Dumbldore whistled contentedly to himself as he exited the men's washroom and started back towards his office.

"Good evening Headmaster." Snape suddenly stepped out from behind a statue of a dancing bear and planted himself directly in Dumbledore's path. "You're a hard man to get a hold of these days. I stopped by your office at least five times looking to speak with you and every time those gargoyles turned me away saying your schedule was 'too full to allow for any interruptions'." Snape made no effort to hide his annoyance at the Headmaster's obvious attempts to avoid him as he spoke. He had given up on the direct approach and had instead resorted to ambushing Dumbledore when the Headmaster left his study to use the lou. For his part Dumbledore took Snape's sudden appearance and venomous remarks in stride.

"Ah yes hello Severus, or should I say Selena? I'm glad to see that you have so thoroughly embraced your new life as a woman; however I'm afraid I am much too busy to chat. I have a long lost brother to catch up with and parent teacher conferences are coming up, you know." Albus made an attempt to brush past him, but Snape quickly fell into stride beside the headmaster, not about to let him get away now that he'd finally cornered the cagey old man.

"I quite understand, why don't I walk you back to your office and we can talk on the way? There are a few students I am concerned about and I wanted to discuss them with you."

"Certainly." Dumbldore declared as he power walked down the hallway. "What exactly has been troubling you?"

"Well, it's Miss Wysteria Wicklebot sir. She's a first year in my introductory potions class and she's quite the Hermione Granger wanna-be I am disgusted to say. It's sickening what a little know-it-all she thinks she is, always interrupting, and she doesn't even know a thing about potions!"

"I see. Well we were all young once." Dumbledore said airily.

"Quite, but that isn't what concerns me. Miss Wicklebot collapsed from exhaustion the other day. When I examined her course load I realized that she was trying to take both the first and second year course load at once and was enrolled in 20 classes, most of which fell in conflicting time slots. When I questioned her about it she showed me this!" Snape stepped out in front of the Headmaster and thrust out his fist which clutched a fine chain at the end of which dangled a whole and functional time turner.

"Ah." Dumbledore winced slightly as he glanced at the sparkling device.

"You know I thought it a little too convenient that the Ministry had apparently outlawed time travel right when you had decided to violate time laws and travel back in time and save Miss Weasley." Snape said coldly. "However I was too distraught at the time to question you. I was so upset that I didn't give much thought to your blathering explanation of Alternate World Theory either. That is, until Miss Weasley explained to me that she was having troubles adapting due to the fact that the reality she had known up until now is in a state of all-out war with the Dark Lord, and has been drastically different from our own world since before she was even born."

"Yes it's quite fascinating. Some innocuous choice as seemingly insignificant as 'what to have for breakfast?' could have been the catalyst that set that world down such a totally different path from our own." Dumbledore rambled. "All of the choices we make can have far-reaching consequences of which we are entirely unaware."

"Enough!" Snape suddenly snapped. "You lied to me! You said that you traveled back in time and brought Miss Weasley here so that it would be impossible for her to have her body switched with Hedwig. You stated that the fact that the switch was not undone, and that I remained trapped in this form was due to the existence of alternate realities and that you were prevented from trying to make any further changes due to the fact that all time turners were outlawed and destroyed by the Ministry! But none of that actually happened did it?" Snape didn't wait for Dumbledore to reply and continued his accusatory rant.

"Like you said before, in a fatalistic universe with only one possible future, Ginny Weasley can't ever be saved through time travel without creating a time paradox. After all, you would never travel back in time to save her if she had never died. Luckily, as you explained, the existence of alternate realities solves this problem. When Ginny Weasley is taken from the past into the future this would create a branching point for a new reality, one where instead of dying Ginny disappears one day. This reality would exist in tandem with our own reality, leaving our own timeline where Miss Weasley died intact." Snape finished his summary of the explanation that Dumbledore had given him days ago and took a deep breath. It did little to calm his rage and he fixed the headmaster with an accusatory glare.

"What you neglected to mention in your explanation is that if you had actually traveled back in time to retrieve Miss Weasley, then you would have created the alternate reality where Ginny suddenly disappears at the exact moment when you brought her back here. This would mean that, up until the point that the Ginny Weasley you brought back disappeared, she would have had all of the exact same experiences and memories as the original Ginny Weasley. She wouldn't have experienced the body switch, and depending on how far back in time you traveled to retrieve her, she might be missing a few days or weeks of experiences, but other than that she would be the same as the Ginny that died.

"Given that the Miss Weasley currently living among us has led a completely different life from the Ginny that we knew, and that time turners appear to still be legal and available to the public, I have to conclude that everything you told me was a lie. You never attempted to travel back in time to save Miss Weasley or my body. Admit it!" Snape panted as he finished his long and angry tirade.

Dumbledore stared at him with a carefully neutral expression and calmly replied, "Brilliant deduction. You are, of course, correct. I never tried to travel back along our timeline to save Miss Weasley. There are some things that one simply does not fuck with, and death is one of them. However the situation did provide me with a cover that allowed me to travel to a completely different reality from our own and bring back Miss Weasley with no one suspecting a thing." Snape gaped at the Headmaster's easy admission of this huge deception.

"But why? What does that accomplish?"

Author's Aside

Blonde One: So for those of you who are concerned that I just undid Tomato Face's Time Travel card with this update, thus breaking the rules of the game, have no fear. The two of us discussed and agreed upon this plot development once it became clear that her inclusion of the 'Badass Universe' made no sense.

Tomato Face: Excuse me! You're the one who wasn't making sense when you made it so that the new Ginny had never loved Harry!

Blonde One: Hey, you never said how far back in time Dumbledore traveled! If Ginny's feelings for Harry had been recent, then the Ginny that was brought back could have never developed them!

Tomato Face: But it's pretty much canon that - whatever! Can't you just admit that we both messed up?

Blonde One: … Fine! You know, this is why I said that time travel ruins everything. It's too damn complicated!

Tomato Face: Normally I'd retort with, "You mean too damn awesome!" but even MY head's spinning a bit - and I'm one of the two writing this thing! I do feel a little sorry for the readers, though. I'll bet they're happy that there was no time travel to worry about after all, and that this Ginny is just from the alternate Basass Universe! *starry eyes* I wish everyone was from the Badass Universe. You'll never get me to swear off time travel, though. It's too much fun.

Blonde One: *under her breath* Sadist.

Tomato Face: What?

Blonde One: So, are you playing a card?

Tomato Face: I'm sorry to say this, but no.

Blonde One: You don't win by holding onto your cards - we've been through this!

Tomato Face: My last card has limits! Using it is really hard. If I don't wait for the right time, it won't make any sense!

Blonde One: Dammit, I really want to know what your last card is!

Tomato Face: *sigh* I wish I had a different one, because I'm assuming we want to end this story sometime soon...

Blonde One: Well, beggars can't be choosers! I guess we'll just have to wait and see how this develops, then.

Tomato Face: Given that I'm writing it...probably not well.

Blonde One: *laughs* You said it, not me!

Tomato Face: D'oh!

Why did Dumbledore bring Badass Ginny to replace normal Ginny? What is Rhombus up to? What secret powers does Hedwig possess? Can Tomato Face come up with a satisfactory answer to any of these questions? Stay tuned to find out!