Hello! Well I seem to be able to update every 2 weeks at the moment with relatively short chapters but it is something. At the moment I am slowly building up to the next stage of this fic. I am estimating we maybe have 15 chapters left to go but as I have no idea what the content is from now on I can only make a guess. Knowing the endgame is difficult, especially when I don't know how I am going to get there. Still, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

Twisting Time

Chapter 35

Tuesday 7th April 1992

He had fled back to Albania.

Despite returning to a physical form, Voldemort's plan had ultimately failed. He had been denied the knowledge he required and had been prevented from ripping Black's mind to shreds. He could have remained in Britain but had ultimately decided to leave. His departure would not be for long.

He only had two allies: one he kept with him at all times, and the other remained with his family. For now Lucius Malfoy would keep a low profile. They needed to learn whether Albus Dumbledore would act on the knowledge of Voldemort's return or if he would sit on it to see what would occur next. There was no doubt about it; Dumbledore knew everything about Black's history. Voldemort suspected that Black's friends did too.

Quirrell remained with Voldemort. When Quirrell had been discovered at Hogwart's last year with Voldemort possessing him, Voldemort's intention upon taking control of the body had been to abandon the man and leave him to die, however he had remained useful to him, even when the Dark Lord had left his body. Voldemort had needed allies, something which he sorely lacked at the moment.

If he had succeeded in breaking Black's mind and extracting all the information he required, Voldemort would have summoned other remaining loyal Death Eaters but now was not the time. His plan had failed. Malfoy would act as the front-man, seeking out loyalists to the old ways. Over the following months Voldemort would learn who remained loyal to him or who had abandoned the path he had set out upon all those years ago. And, in time, he would summon them.

For now, he needed to lay low. His return needed to be kept secret until he was ready to move out into the open.

He had learned valuable information from Black however. He knew the Potter boy had been his downfall but Black was fighting against that ever happening, but Voldemort wanted the boy dead. He couldn't attack the boy himself in case he set the same events in motion. No, he would wait and when the opportunity arose, would send someone else to end the boy's life.

The other problem he had was his Horcruxes. He didn't believe Black knew they existed but he wanted to check on them. Who knew what other information Black had been armed with from an alternate future? He had found no evidence that his enemy knew they existed but Black was resourceful and if that was the one piece of information he wanted to keep from the Dark Lord, he would have put all his efforts into shielding that small one corner of his mind with an impenetrable barrier.

Of course if he hadn't known about them then it was likely they did now. The Potter's, Lupin and Dumbledore surviving his trap with the diary had been expected – a necessary sacrifice he had made to ensure Black's capture. His other Horcruxes should remain safe because no one would know how many he had or what they would be. It was the reason why he had kept Nagini out of view just in case. Of course allowing Black to see her would have been interesting as his reaction could have revealed all. An opportunity he had missed.

If he did check on his other Horcruxes, if he found one missing he would want to ensure the safety of all the others. The problem was he did not wish to reveal himself yet. And he had two Horcruxes in places he could not reach.

The cup that had once belonged to Helga Hufflepuff lay safely with the vault of his most loyal servant: Bellatrix Lestrange. Unfortunately she was in Azkaban and unable to enter her vault. He knew as Black was the head of the Black family he would now have access to her vault but he doubted Sirius would ever want to visit the vault of someone he so desperately despised. If Voldemort wanted to check the vault he would have to break Bellatrix out of prison and then take over the Wizarding World before it was even safe to head to Gringotts Bank. He was well aware of the legends surrounding the ancient bank – he was not going to put his own safety at risk by breaking in, nor did he wish to expose himself to the public so soon.

The other Horcrux he could not check upon was the Diadem that had once belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw. Years ago, when he had gone to Hogwarts for a job interview he had known he wouldn't be offered, Voldemort had taken the opportunity to slip into the Room of Hidden Things and deposit the fabled object within its walls. Even if other Hogwarts students found the room, which he doubted, they wouldn't recognise it for what it was. No, for now, secured within Hogwarts, the Diadem would be safe.

Contemplating his Horcruxes had been a good thing. If he did go and check up on the ones hidden in his ancestor's old hovel and found it missing he would want to check on the rest which would lead to his discovery, something Voldemort did not desire as yet. His return was too soon for him to reveal himself widely. He did not have enough supporters yet to justify coming forward.

No.

He decided.

Once he had secured his followers and had more power behind him then he did now, only then would he seek out his Horcruxes.

What remained, were safe.

He was sure of that.

And when he eventually killed Sirius Black, his death would create the final Horcux which Voldemort had sought to create when he had hunted Harry Potter when he was just a baby.

For now he would sit in the shadows and wait.

Tuesday 21st April 1992

The rest of the Easter holidays passed in a blur. Harry remained with his parents and younger brother trying to recover from the trauma he had gone through at the start of the holidays. He hadn't even contacted his friends as they hadn't finished the term on the best of terms. He had already spoken to his parents about what he could tell them and both Lily and James had decided it was best for Harry to be truthful to them.

James had visited the Longbottom family and, with Dumbledore's permission, revealed the existence of Voldemort and his return. Though Neville hadn't been allowed in for that conversation, his parents had agreed to tell him of the prophecy to prepare him if Voldemort chose to come after him. Despite being eleven, the escalation of events meant they couldn't protect their children forever, especially since Harry had already been involved.

It had been decided Harry, when they returned to Hogwarts, would talk to his friends about what had happened before Easter. Hermione, of course, would have to be filled in with everything on the train as they did not wish to alarm her parents of a potential threat to their daughter's life.

Lily reasoned with experience. She had rarely spoken about the war she had grown up in to her own parents, but when they had heard about it, they had been terrified or the prospect of their daughter being caught up in it. They had even asked her to leave the Wizarding World and make a home for herself in the Muggle world, something which she and James had refused to do. The Magical world was their home and hiding within the Muggle world would not have benefited them at all.

Harry returned to Hogwarts on Tuesday 21st April, the day after Easter Monday. He arrived at the station early, choosing a carriage and waited for his friends to arrive. His parents had to work so had dropped him off at ten, leaving him to wait.

Neville was the first to arrive. He hesitated in the doorway. "Hey."

Harry smiled at him. "Hi. Come and sit down."

Neville moved into the carriage, hauling his trunk in with him. With Harry's help they stored it on the racks above their heads. The slightly older boy sat down opposite Harry. He chewed his bottom lip.

"How was your Easter?" Harry broke the uncomfortable silence. He knew he had been the one to cause fractions in their friendship, so it had to be him to make the concessions.

Neville shrugged. "It was ok. I did the homework we were set."

Harry cringed. He hadn't done his homework either but the Headmaster had exempted him from it due to the traumatising events at the start of the holiday. To be honest he wasn't sure he felt ready to return to Hogwarts but he knew he had to. Sirius had promised him he would be there if Harry had ever need of him and considering his Godfather was a Professor, he knew Sirius wouldn't let him down. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I haven't done the homework. I was exempt."

"I heard…" Neville lowered his gaze.

"I need to wait for Hermione to get here before I say anything. I only want to tell this story twice…" Harry trailed off. He knew Neville would understand. They had been friends for years after all.

They spent the next fifteen minutes before Hermione arrived talking about Quidditch. When she appeared they helped her get her trunk in. The train departed soon after that and Harry waited until his friends had waved their parents goodbye before pulling the blinds down on the carriage doorway.

He didn't want to be disturbed.

A quizzical expression crossed Hermione's face. "Harry?"

"I need to tell you something. Neville already knows a few things… First… I need to apologise for my behaviour last term. I wasn't myself and I know I alienated both of you. I thought I knew better… Do you remember the diary I had?"

Both nodded, staying stock silent.

"It wasn't a present anyone I knew had got me. It had been planted there on the orders of Voldemort."

"What!" Hermione shrieked.

"He was back in this country… The diary belonged to him when he was a teenager. It was enchanted. Tom is Voldemort's birth name. He wanted to use me to get to Sirius," continued Harry. He didn't want to stop now. "Sirius knew something was wrong and he had a suspicion about the diary… At home they confronted me about it but I thought they were threatening Tom so I ran away back to Hogwarts. To a secret chamber Tom had told me about. It was a trap for Sirius…"

"My mum, dad, Remus, Dumbledore and Sirius came to bring me home… I was unconscious by that time as the diary had possessed me and was using me to project itself from the book into a physical form. I'm not sure what exactly happened next but Sirius was taken… He was sent straight to Voldemort himself."

Hermione gasped. "Is he…?" pro

"He's alive."

"Good."

"My mum destroyed the diary. When I woke I was told Sirius had been taken. I'm not sure how to word this but Sirius and I share a magical bond. We don't really know why. It links me to him. We knew where Sirius was but not even Dumbledore could break down the shields. They knew of my bond with Sirius… I wanted to help. So I did but it went… wrong."

Neville frowned. "How wrong?"

"I could use my bond with Sirius to be taken to him and we thought I could take my parents, Remus and Professor Dumbledore too but they were wrong… I ended up with Voldemort."

Hermione nearly shrieked again.

"Voldemort is back. He has a body again. I saw him… But Sirius protected me from being hurt until my parents could get there. They found a loophole in the shields which they exploited. All of us managed to escape. Sirius was hurt but he's recovered now. But Voldemort is back."

Hermione had a hand over her mouth. "What does he want?"

"Same as last time. Domination of the wizarding and Muggle worlds," answered Neville.

"The worst thing is he's laying low at the moment," said Harry. "But he's back and he's going to want to win this time. And that means…" He trailed off and Hermione picked up his sentence.

"Sirius has to die…"

Harry nodded. "Right now the wizarding world have no idea he's back but we can't announce it until he makes himself known openly. He's retreated for now… He's already tried to get me. I'm sure he will again."

"But why would he want you? What have you ever done to him?" asked Hermione.

Neville supplied the answer. "Exist."

"What do you mean?"

Harry and Neville exchanged glances. They both knew the other was aware of the existence of the prophecy. Harry nodded his head, giving Neville permission to speak if he wanted to.

Neville sighed. "I think it's a load of rubbish but there was a prophecy made about a boy born at the end of July who had the power to defeat Voldemort. Both Harry and I fit that criteria."

"That's why Voldemort came after me as a baby. I was his target but Sirius got in the way and stopped him from finding me and my family," said Harry.

"How long have you know this?" Hermione looked between them.

"Two weeks."

"A few days," replied Neville.

"What does this mean for you?"

"It just means he could still view either of us as a threat and we have to be ready," explained Neville. "In the summer holidays mum and dad are going to teach me self-defence."

"But that's illegal!"

Harry chuckled. "Most wizard children in magical families use magic throughout the year once they have a wand. I don't and I know Neville's parents do not allow him either but this is special circumstances. If Voldemort came for either of us we would have to defend ourselves even if we died trying. Our parents want us to defend ourselves but we are too young to learn the real useful ones in class."

"And if Voldemort is back, Harry and I have to be advanced. I know I'm not that good at spells but I don't want to die, Hermione. If it means learning over the summer then I'm for it. It will make me a better wizard than I am now!"

"I guess…. And I suppose it is better if you can defend yourselves," she nodded. She looked at Harry, tilting her head to the side. "Harry… Thanks for trusting us."

"I think…" began Harry, "that Neville and I are going to need you, Hermione. No matter what comes."

Since Voldemort's return, Sirius had spent most of the time with the Potter's. A few days before he was due to return to Hogwarts, Sirius took his leave of the family and went to visit his girlfriend, Leanne, whom he hadn't seen or really contacted in the last few weeks. He'd had a lot on his mind. He was lucky she understood.

But now he was with her. And he knew what he had to do.

He wasn't going to break up with her, no. They'd been together for over a year and Leanne's identity still remained a secret from the Wizarding World, which Sirius was quite happy to keep on going as it protected her from Voldemort. He wasn't under the delusion that she would be safe. Far from it, if Voldemort discovered her identity, he would come for her, just to hurt Sirius.

For a while now Sirius had been contemplating talking to Leanne about his past but he wasn't certain how much he should reveal. James had advised him to be truthful to an extent. But how much? He wanted Leanne to be prepared. Voldemort could damage Sirius by announcing Sirius' true identity. If Leanne didn't know in advance, she would feel betrayed and Sirius didn't want to lose her. She was someone new in his life that he had grown incredibly close to. Keeping their relationship low key and focused on the Muggle world was a positive thing.

But how long could they keep it that way? One day soon her identity would be known.

He was pulled from his thoughts as Leanne spoke to him. "Sirius? You seem lost tonight…" She looked at him, her eyes shining with concern.

Sirius sighed. "I need to talk to you… It's complicated… I haven't been exactly truthful with you."

Leanne leaned away from him, watching him warily.

Sirius fidgeted. "I'm now who you think I am. I mean," he shook his head, "I am Sirius Black. Always will be. But… and this may be hard to believe so I'm just going to come out and say it." He took a deep breath and reached for her hands. "I'm from the future."

To be continued...

Please let me know what you think!

I was originally going to include all of Sirius and Leanne's conversation but I think this is a good stopping point. Has Sirius made the right choice? We will see...

Voldemort's decision to not go after his Horcruxes was a difficult choice to make. I thought about this for a long time. I realised that Voldemort would want to check on all of them if he found any missing. And to be able to get to the two he doesn't have easy access to, he would have to attack and reveal himself, something which he isn't ready for yet. Voldemort is in a weaker position. At the moment he doesn't have the support to come out in the open. For his own safety, he's decided he will check on his Horcruxes, but only when he is able to check on all of them at once.

I hope to show more of Harry, Neville and Hermione's friendship in further chapters.

The next chapter will be posted... hopefully soon!

Until then,

the-writer1988