~oOo~ BOOK TWO ~oOo~

The Chosen One's Tale...


Chapter 29: A Headmaster's Tale


DAY 0: OCTOBER 31, 1981
GORGON HILL, HOGSMEADE
11:00 PM (Time Warp)

~oO

Harry, Ron and Hermione looked shell-shocked as they stared on at the battered, old face of their Headmaster. The wisp of memory that he had caught was still floating at the tip of his wand as he stared back at them serenely. What was their Headmaster doing in Sirius's memory and why was he looking at them as if he could actually see them?

"Well..." came a voice. "You could begin by greeting an old man for starters?" said Dumbledore with a gentle smile on his face and poured the last wisp of memory into a black, leather-bound diary.

For a second Harry wasn't sure if Dumbledore was really talking to them. Salty tears stained his face as he stared on weakly at the tall, old man. "P-Professor?" he managed to let out. "You... You can... See us?" he asked, completely flabbergasted. "Where are we?" he said, looking around at the moonlit cliff that overlooked Hogsmeade village. "How are you... alive?" he said, tension mounting up like a pressure-cooker inside of him.

Dumbledore briefly surveyed the three of them through his half-moon glasses and chuckled softly before sighing loudly. "Time can be really confusing sometimes, don't you think?" he asked, looking around absentmindedly. "If you were to ask me, Harry, I would call this," he said, gesturing at their odd rendezvous, "as an 'in-between' if you know what I mean... A kind of bend in time where, you get to meet your old Professor in the past or... to put it in other words, I get to meet my students in my future," he said, smiling widely.

Harry, Ron and Hermione simply stared back, obviously not understanding a single word of what Dumbledore was saying.

Noting that this explanation still was not good enough, Dumbledore rubbed his chin and tried again. "Consider this..." he said putting his hands out in front. "You're in the Muggle world and you're taking a trip down a mountain. The road winds and circles around the mountain till you finally reach the bottom. However, sometimes, the roads are paved in such a way that there is a sharp, hairpin bend in its path. Once you've crossed the bend and look out the window of your car, you are side-to-side with another car that's coming behind you on the road you were on before," he said, looking straight into their faces. "It's the same as with Time. That mountain represents time and on that mountain, you are the present," he said, pointing at the 30-something-looking Harry, Ron and Hermione, "and I... am the past," he said. "And we are currently on two ends of the hairpin bend in time and thus, we meet: past to present," he said.

The three of them mutely nodded.

"And, going by the looks on your faces, I must assume a LOT has happened from this moment," he said, gesturing at himself to indicate the 'past', "to where you stand today," he said pointing at them and indicating the 'future'. "And, boy, am glad that I got to meet the descendant and the future heir of Gryffindor, in person..." he added looking directly at Hermione. "Hermione," said Dumbledore, with a serene smile. "Or should it be Julianne..."

"Hermione, Professor," she said, quickly with a shaky voice. "It will always be 'Hermione'," she said, trying hard to keep a straight face. Dumbledore nodded, duly acknowledging her preference. "But Professor, I have a question," she said, looking around at the scenery. "Is it really what I think it is? Are we..."

"Yes Hermione," said Dumbledore, without letting her finish the sentence. A weird feeling crept up inside Harry as realization slowly started to set in. Suddenly, his throat went dry and he felt utterly paralyzed with shock. "Unfortunately, it is what you think it is," Dumbledore continued. His voice dripped with guilt.

Ron looked at Harry for help. He was clearly lost.

But for Harry that was the limit. He couldn't take it anymore. "Are you serious?" he said, ignoring Ron. "You're joking," he said, shaking his head in utter disbelief. "You couldn't... You wouldn't," he said, but as Dumbledore continued to stare helplessly at Harry, all the blood drained from his face. "You knew? You actually knew?!" anger and rage burned through his body.

Ron merely blinked as he looked blankly from Harry to Hermione to Dumbledore. "You actually knew... and yet chose to simply STAND THERE?!" Harry yelled.

"Knew what, Harry?" asked Ron.

"Harry, please hear me out..." started Dumbledore.

"NO!" bellowed Harry, punching his own thigh in frustration. "THEY TRUSTED YOU...!"

"Can someone PLEASE tell me what the BLOODY hell is GOING ON?!" bellowed Ron, finally cracking up. "People really need to start FINISHING their sentences!"

"Ron! We've travelled back in time!" yelled Harry, clapping his hands. "October 31st, 1981: the same day my parents were killed, the same day Isabella died, the same day Voldemort disappeared, the same day ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE! And instead of going out there and helping the Order members, our headmaster has decided to go SIGHT-SEEING!" he bellowed. His voice echoed through the valley and down the cliff.

Ron's face went white as he gaped on looking appalled. Shock settled around them like dust. A light wind blew over their faces and broke the silence that followed that outburst.

Ron looked around at Harry and Hermione and could tell that both of them were currently harbouring not-so-peasant thoughts of Dumbledore at the moment, while Dumbledore stood there looking like a convict in a trial. "What... What time is it, Professor?" he asked, after almost an eternity. "Is it all... way beyond repair? Can any of it be helped?"

"Unfortunately no, Ron," said Dumbledore, sounding slightly shaken at Harry's remark. "Everything's gone... Over... Hagrid's on his way to pick up little Harry even as we speak."

"Why, Professor?" asked Hermione. "It needn't have been this way... Why?"

"Yes, why?" asked Harry, tears streaming down his face. "You could've stopped ALL of it! NONE of this need have happened!" Harry croaked. "Do you even KNOW what Isabella went through on this FUCKING day?! Do you REALIZE what you've done to Sirius?! He will FOREVER be alone while not even KNOWING who Isabella was; not even knowing he has a DAUGHTER! He DIED not knowing ANY OF THIS!" he howled. "And my parents..." he whispered, as fresh set of tears tumbled down his face. "They left me to fight Voldemort all alone... They died for me..." he sobbed, staring into nothingness.

"And it's all because of YOU!" he suddenly yelled, as anger surged through his spine. The feeling of anxiety and helplessness and abandonment was rendering him breathless. "Honestly? I never wondered exactly where you were when my parents died up until now! Not once did I ask myself if you knew it was bound to happen and even if you did, why you hadn't done anything to stop it..."

"Harry, stop it..." begged Ron, grasping Harry's shoulder.

"Turns out," Harry continued, shrugging out of Ron's grip, "you actually DID know what was coming, you actually DID know they couldn't handle it all by themselves and yet... Yet, you chose to not DO anything about it?! Are you honestly this SADISTIC?!" he yelled.

"Harry, don't be an IDIOT!" yelled Ron, while grabbing hold of Harry's shirt.

"Ron, DON'T YOU SEE...?!"

"NOO!" he bellowed, and tightened his grip on Harry's collar. "WHAT IF IT HAD TO BE THIS WAY?!" Ron yelled, glaring into Harry's eyes, silencing him altogether. Ron's voice echoed through the still night as he glared back at Harry. Hermione and Harry were completely dumbfounded. Harry stared back at Ron in shock as he let go of his collar. A tense moment passed as the three men collected themselves.

Ron took in a deep breath and spoke first. "Harry," he said, looking up. "Remember what the prophecy said... It had to be this way, mate..."

"It wasn't easy, Harry," said Dumbledore, looking at him with pained eyes. "It's a curse," he said, bitterly, "to know everything!" he said, nodding his head. "To know what's coming and not being able to do anything about it...! To know that I had to let it all happen while dying inside wondering what each of them were going through every second of every minute... In fact, it is the worst, most painful thing I have ever had to endure in my entire life," he said, as he clasped his hands together to remain calm. "Even more painful than defeating my old friend, Grindelwald, I must say..." he said and looked over at the lush landscape behind him.

A long pause followed Dumbledore's words. Harry still was not convinced and continued to seethe with rage.

"It definitely is one of the biggest drawbacks of knowing everything," continued Dumbledore. "Ron is right, Harry, it had to be this way. I had to let destiny take its own course and prepared myself to live with the consequences... whatever they may be..." he said, and paused for a second. "However... Had you died tonight, Harry, I must say... that would've been the end of me..." he said, in a mere whisper.

Harry's head shot up to see Dumbledore close to tears. Their Headmaster never quite ceased to amaze them, even after all this time.

A war of emotions broke out in Harry's head. He didn't know what to think anymore. How come, all of a sudden, NOTHING is simply either black or white? After listening to Dumbledore, all of a sudden, Harry's definitions of "right" weren't really right after all. Had it been Harry in Dumbledore's shoes and if it really had been he who was faced with a situation of this sort where people's lives were at stake, where little children's lives were in danger, he was sure that he would've caved ... Harry wasn't so sure if he would have gone with the decision of not doing anything about it as Dumbledore had.

From past experiences, Harry knew he was SO NOT the type to sit back and watch the worst pan out in front of his eyes while sincerely hoping he was doing the right thing. That second, he realized just HOW much courage and conviction one must possess to achieve what Dumbledore had up until this second. Back when Harry was seventeen, if Dumbledore's plan of letting Harry die at the hands of Voldemort, in a hope to destroy him once and for all, was unthinkable, this was beyond ANYTHING Harry could ever imagine.

"That diary in your hand, Professor," said Harry. "How... How did I get it? How did I find it out of nowhere? Is it really Sirius's diary...?"

"Yes Harry, it is Sirius's diary... Well, most part of it at least," he said. "I stole his diary the year he graduated out of Hogwarts, for I knew, I may need it for later. Ever since his graduation, I have been observing every Order member and started compiling this diary with all the important memories that the three of you would require to understand all that had happened in the past," he said. "In 2 hours from now, Harry, I will be putting you in the care of your aunt, Petunia..."

Harry pictured himself crying alone in the dark waiting to be picked up by a massive half-giant. A sharp sense of loneliness hit him as he imagined lying all alone in front of Aunt Petunia's house with nothing but a letter explaining his presence there.

"And as I wrap you up in the blanket, I will be stowing this diary in the folds, Harry," continued Dumbledore. "This diary is a time capsule, Harry. A time capsule, in the magical world, is an object that will travel with the rightful owner every second of every day of their lives until its scheduled date of opening. As soon as the time runs out, the object will appear in front of its owner. As for this diary, it appeared in front of you exactly forty years since 1976, so that you will fulfill the prophecy," he concluded and looked around at the trio.

"So what now, Professor...?" asked Ron. "Why are we here? Now that we've travelled back in time and all... What do we do?"

"That depends on what you and Hermione decide to do, Ron," he said, with a slight smile.

"Huh?" said Hermione, looking confused. "Us?" she asked, looking around at Ron who looked just as befuddled as she did. "About what? What would we have to do about anything?" she asked slowly. Suddenly, her eyes flew open. She covered her mouth in shock. "The curse..." she whispered. "It... It... continues? That's preposterous! How, professor? I... I don't quite understand..."

"Four decades hence, the fruits be borne," Dumbledore simply said. "The change of fate with a whip of time... Daughter of love, sacrifice and thorn," he said, pointing at Hermione. "Seven times doth the clock chime," he said, this time pointing at the Time-Turner around her neck.

"The Ministry's plan to assassinate Isabella, in order to lift the curse didn't quite work as it should have, Hermione," he continued. "They didn't destroy her entirely because she left a piece of her behind... You..." he said, looking at Hermione. "You see, nobody, apart from the Order members were even aware of your birth... No one knew that an heir of the curse had already been born... In your world, Hermione, it's been exactly four decades since your parents, Sirius and Isabella, were magically bonded, and now, the time is perfect for a possible twist in history..." he said, with a slight smile.

"Talking about time and destiny though, Merlin was I lucky, tonight," he continued on, wiping his forehead. "Especially after all that took place, I was positive I was going to lose two children tonight," he said. Harry and Hermione exchanged glances with one and another. "You see, Hermione, time is one thing while destiny is another.

"When Remus learnt of Peter's betrayal and visited Claiborne to alert the Order members, my world came crashing in on me. I truly panicked because I was positive of the fact that, after tonight, there won't necessarily be an heir to fulfill the prophecy. But my patience paid off..." he said. "I didn't quite expect Isabella to just happen to have a Felix Felicis in her pocket tonight that Sirius had concocted out as a Christmas present for her years ago and, I sure as hell did not expect her to send Hagrid after you as a mere 'check-point'... It may have seemed as an almost insignificant ripple in time when Sirius gave the potion to her in the train that day but that insignificant act was what has saved your life tonight, my dear... That was when my faith in the Greater Plan was restored... That was what helped me to stick by my decision and watch it all burn to the ground, Hermione," he said, sounding beat and relieved at the same time.

"I'm sorry, professor, but I still don't get it," said Ron. "Exactly what are we to do and what are we to decide upon?"

"Good question, Ron," he said. "Because Gryffindor continues to have an heir," he said, nodding at Hermione, "the curse lives on... What repercussions it is bound to have, I still do not know. However, from what I see, you two have two options in front of you. One, accept this to be your life and return to your present to lead the lives you were destined to have in that universe. Hugo, Rose, The Burrow... All of it.

"The other, however, is to go back in time, and change the history as we know it... Give Sirius and Isabella another chance at life?" he said. "Break the curse...? End the successive progression of Dark Magic...? Give Harry a mother and father...?" looking directly into Hermione's face.

Hermione had gone completely white in the face as she stared back at the headmaster.

"No, Professor," she said, shaking her head. "Why, that's... IMPOSSIBLE!" she said, stepping away from him as if she half expected him to attack her. "My children!" she said, as a slow tear trickled down her face. "I couldn't possibly even think of a life without Rose and Hugo!" she said, looking desperately around at Ron for help. "For better or for worse, I could not ever want a life without them!" she shrieked.

"Hermione..." said Ron, staring helplessly at her.

"No, Ron! Do NOT talk me into this!" she yelled and turned to Dumbledore. "Professor, PLEASE, I can't... But..." she paused and looked up puzzled. "Professor..." she said, looking up. " I don't understand... Both Sirius and Isabella are dead. Doesn't the curse die with them...?"

Dumbledore nodded lightly. "That is true, Hermione, except... Only one of them is technically dead," he said, making their heads turn.

Sirius? thought Harry. A sudden rush of hope and happiness shot up through Harry as he waited with bated breath for Dumbledore to go on.

"Sirius, well... Let's just say, his is a tale I've been waiting to tell someone about since... Forever..." he said, and sighed. "Your father, Hermione, is not, in reality, dead. He continues to be 'in-between'; trapped, imprisoned. When Sirius falls through the veil more than 15 years from now, he does not really die; he's trapped somewhere between life and death. As long as he's not dead, Hermione, the curse never really gets lifted.

"Sirius Black..." said Dumbledore, and shook his head in wonderment. "If Severus is rare, Sirius is rarer, I must say. To be imprisoned for most part of his life, whether alive or otherwise, and yet be able to hold on to that undying spirit of setting everyone else free is something I can just not fathom... Sirius, truly, is the real hero... Tonight, his world ended when his friends and Isabella died. And now, as he is being escorted by Ministry officials, he's willing to gladly spend the rest of his life being imprisoned for something he never did.

"And, just when he was at the brink having a normal life with his godson and daughter, his life would take a turn for the worse as he falls through the veil. No one, and I mean NO ONE, should have to live a life filled with such misfortune and hurt. I do not know what prompted Sirius to maintain a diary but come to think of it, had it not been for Sirius's diary, NONE of this would've been possible."

"And to think I never got to know him as my father..." sniffed Hermione.

"You still can if you want, Hermione," he said, patting her head. "Time can change everything... Time is everything.

"Oh and..." he paused, pointing at the Time Turner around her neck. "That belongs to your mother. That is the heirloom of Gryffindor," he said, walking towards her and waving his wand across it. The Time Turner immediately started to melt and remold itself a golden pocket clock and new words appeared along the rim which read:

~oO GATHER YE ROSEBUDS WHILE YE MAY, TRUE HEIR TO THE THRONE NEED ONLY PRAY Oo~
Godric Gryffindor

Hermione looked up, thoroughly confused. "But, professor, this was the Time Turner I received from the Ministry after writing to them a dozen times in my third year..."

"Yes, you did, my dear. And on my part, I took that as an opportunity to return Gryffindor's heirloom back to the heir, where it's supposed to belong," he said, with a slight smile on his face. "Use the time well, my dear," he smiled.