Long Distance Touch
This Harry Potter story was written for fun. All rights belong to the wonderful lady (JK Rowling) who gave the world Harry Potter to read and enjoy.
Printed Word in letters and newspapers.
{Parsel tongue conversation}
In autumn of 1980, the Death Eaters disappear and soon Lord Voldemort disappears as well along with other despicable wizards and witches–well, they are despicable in the future. In 2044, desperate Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom take refuge in the Chamber of Secrets underneath the ruins of Hogwarts to find some way to prevent their future from happening. ONE SHOT. Suggestive slash. YES, TIME GETS CHANGED.
DisappearancesIt was 28 October 1980, and Bellatrix LeStrange skipped across the floor of the LeStrange manor house – the two surviving house elves hid from her and never appeared in front of the witch after she tortured and killed their brethren. Rudolphus knew his father and mother would have been ashamed to know their daughter-in-law brutalized the house elves, but he no longer cared. The Dark Lord's commands and influence drove every Death Eater into madness and depravity along with him.
"Hurry, Ruddy," Bellatrix called. "We're supposed to go on a raid tonight hunting for the mudbloods and their magical bastards again."
"Yes…" Rudolphus began to reply when he noticed a golden glow appear around his wife. He was unaware of any spell that created a golden glow and Bellatrix laughed hysterically as the light grew brighter and thicker.
"Ruddy, it's some magic that tickles!" Bellatrix called out. "Dumbledore's learned to summon tickling magic!"
However, the magic sealed his wife away from all sounds and Rudolphus LeStrange watched as the golden globe around Bellatrix began to shrink until there was nothing left. Turning now to apparate to the manor where the Dark Lord held court, Rudolphus LeStrange found himself being tickled by the same magic as the golden haze formed around him. Ten minutes later, there was no one in the LeStrange manor except for two suddenly hopeful house elves.
Lord Voldemort (a.k.a. the Dark Lord and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named) frowned and was pleased to see several of his less-enthusiastic Death Eaters visibly flinch. Those followers who did not adore and worship him, he ruled through fear. In moments of clarity, which were few in his fractured mind, the Dark Lord preened that he – Tom Marvolo Riddle – had beaten Dumbledore with more strings of names! What was Albus-Many-Names-Dumbledore opposed to Dark-Lord-Voldemort-He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!
"Rabastan Lestrange! Where are Bellatrix and Rudolphus? You know I despise a late start for a hunt!"
The younger LeStrange brother pushed his way forward and bowed, "My Lord, I have not spoken to either of them today. But I am amazed at their tardiness – Bellatrix is never late for your hunts."
"True…" the Dark Lord's next words were cut off as suddenly a golden haze appeared around the younger LeStrange wizard and a second one around Barty Crouch Jr. simultaneously. Voldemort demanded whoever was invading his audience chamber cease but despite his commands, the golden haze merely thickened until each wizard was fully encased and then the golden balls began to shrink until they popped away.
Continuously casting detection and analysis spells, the Dark Lord was confused because every result of his spell casting simply registered that the golden mist, haze or ball was simply 'magic'; not Dark or Light, just magic.
Turning toward his assembled Death Eaters to provide them with commands, Voldemort fell silent – three more wizards now had the golden mist forming around them. Peter Pettigrew attempted to flee but he could not move beyond the boundary of the mist. Severus Snape began to laugh, much more than the mild tickle of the mist should have created. And Lucius Malfoy attempted to cast spells inside the mist that was quickly thickening and hiding him from sight.
Several low-level Death Eaters apparated away from the ballroom, fearing for their lives from the mist as much as they feared the Dark Lord. Voldemort remained in the room as the three balls shrank down. Before they vanished, Avery offered his home to the Dark Lord as a place to 'regroup' and everyone apparated away from Tom Riddle's muggle manor.
Within Avery's house, the elves hurried to bring refreshments at their master's command, and Voldemort ordered everyone to stand with some distance from each other.
"At the first sign of the mist, immediately move away and keep moving so that it cannot form around you," he commanded. And a moment later, even though they attempted to move, Thomas Mulciber, Evan Rosier, Stanley Goyle, and William Crabbe were caught in the bubbles. Voldemort noticed that the time for the golden bubble to form and solidify was decreasing and he pondered it that meant the magic grew stronger or simply the magic caster was becoming more familiar with the spell.
Now he began casting more spells to reveal magic and while he learned that several of his Death Eaters used glamours to improve their appearance, none of them were connected to the spells that shrank away four more of his followers.
"Everyone stand still," he commanded. "As soon as these balls leave, I shall cast spells to detect the magic and learn how to protect you."
And true to his word, the moment the four balls vanished with the slight pop, Voldemort cast a wide shield across the room. He stepped beside Avery and asked, "Any tingles in the wards? Any probes of any kind? Owls? Elves? Mice?"
"No, my lord. The wards are perfectly…"
The Dark Lord stared as six golden strings appeared from the ceilings and dropped upon Greg Avery, Paul Selwyn, Robert Travers, Alecto Carrow, Amycus Carrow, and Antonin Dolohov.
"Move!" he commanded, but all six Death Eaters were caught and quickly encased within six golden balls. And as soon as Greg Avery disappeared from view, the wards protecting the manor ejected the Dark Lord and his remaining Death Eaters. Glancing around in the meadow that lay outside the now invisible manor, Voldemort realized there were just three of his inner circle left: Fenrir Greyback the werewolf, Unspeakable Augustus Rookwood, and Ministry Executioner Walden MacNair.
The werewolf sniffed and turned around, anxious to establish a perimeter, while Rookwood and MacNair cast shields and protection spells.
"We need to move," Rookwood said. "We have to make certain that whoever is doing this can't find us."
Voldemort nodded and said, "Disperse. We'll get together tomorrow."
The four wizards apparated away and never saw each other again. The golden mist caught MacNair the moment he landed in his home. Fenrir Greyback vanished in the New Forest, but Augustus Rookwood apparated into the Department of Mysteries where the other Unspeakables watched him become surrounded by the golden light. There were dozens of spells cast around him trying to identify the magic though nothing stopped or identified the spell. The Unspeakables tried to cast stasis spells to halt the progression of the golden ball of light that had enclosed Rookwood. But they were unsuccessful, and the ball vanished.
31 October 1980 dawned cloudy with rain showers in Scotland and Albus Dumbledore sat in his throne in the Great Hall, wondering what had happened to Voldemort and his Death Eaters. The Daily Prophet reported that attacks against muggleborns and blood-traitors had ceased. The Unspeakables were quiet and refused to answer any of Dumbledore's floo calls. The ministry was cautiously joyous with the sudden 'peace' in Magical Britain. Likewise, the members of the Order of the Phoenix were silent and kept their opinions to themselves.
Dumbledore mourned the disappearance of young Severus Snape, the youngest potion master to every be awarded that title, as well as so many young men who were the heads of their family. Snape had proven to be the perfect tool to deliver a part of the prophecy to the lunatic Dark Lord and Dumbledore only had to build the tension within the Dark Lord until he miscalculated and made a fatal error. Now, Severus was gone according to the goblins, as were Malfoy and Avery. Both young men with seats in the Wizengamot that were now in stasis, not to be voted again until the Malfoy infant reached twenty years, and an Avery relative was found.
Few members occupying the light or grey seats in the Wizengamot who were interested in Dumbledore's fears. Lord Potter pulled his son and daughter-in-law from the secret house where Dumbledore had hidden them. James, Lily and their toddler disappeared from the headmaster's gaze. Sirius Black's family was devastated by additional sudden disappearances of so many men and women from their numbers, and his grandfather managed to reconnect with the young wizard and bring him to the Black family manor.
On 6 November 1980, Voldemort reappeared and attacked a group of witches and wizards in Diagon Alley. The Dark Lord had spent more than a week apparating around the globe, never staying in any location for more than an hour. He hid in railroad cars to continually move at night while catching some sleep.
Now convinced that the danger was passed, he returned to England to begin his campaign of terror once again. There were no screams after the first minute as suddenly, the Dark Lord was captured by a golden globe that neutralized his attack. The Daily Prophet photographer present in the alley captured everything on his camera's film and the newspaper would carry the story and different photos for more than a week.
When the golden ball that had been Voldemort vanished, no one in the alley knew what to say or do – several people cried, others laughed and a few danced. Maybe the threat of the Dark Lord was over!
The Ministry was optimistic in their statements to the press – several under secretaries and department heads had vanished from their homes but no one truly missed them. One under-undersecretary, Delores Umbridge, vanished in a ball of golden light as did one ineffective Auror named Cornelius Fudge; both disappearances occurred in full view of the wizards and witches inside the atrium at the ministry on the Monday following the disappearance of the Dark Lord.
Then there was the first reappearance of someone who had vanished.
Approximately Fifty Years in the FutureIn the chamber of secrets, hidden underneath the ruins of Hogwarts, Neville Longbottom turned to Harry Potter and asked, "Who's next?"
The two middle-aged wizards laughed and turned to their bucket list and picked a name – Narcissa Malfoy.
"We're done with the bad guys?" asked Harry.
Neville nodded, "The old, grown, obvious bad guys. Narcissa Malfoy was always on the fence, and this gave her the opportunity to fall down on one side or the other. With Draco just a baby, this gives him the chance to grow up neutral."
"He'll still be a snob," Harry replied, and Neville laughed before reaching over to hug the other wizard with one arm.
"We know we can't change personalities too much with the 'Long Distance Touch', but we are changing circumstances."
"Think we'll still be together?" asked Harry and Neville looked away.
"We found each other late – after wives killed our hearts and left us for dead. I hope we'd find each other no matter what or where," the taller grey-haired man replied softly.
To change the subject, Harry suggested, "We could see if there are any changes above ground."
"And hope the muggle satellites don't see us?" Harry scoffed. "Let's finish our work before we poke our heads out."
When news came from Gringotts that her husband was dead, Narcissa Malfoy nee Black feared the other Death Eaters would force her to submit to them and torture her infant son. She had no illusions that her sister would gleefully dash infant Draco's skull against the wall to entertain 'her' lord. Narcissa hoped to reach her grandfather, Lord Black and receive sanctuary for her son and herself behind the powerful wards that guarded the family manor.
With Draco in her arms, she waited for a reply from the letter she'd sent to her grandfather. When she felt the golden haze, it had already surrounded her, and she paused before panicking – Draco slept peacefully as the gold solidified around her.
The elves returned to Malfoy Manor with a portkey for Narcissa but when they saw their mistress disappear in the golden ball, they returned to Lord Black. Arturus Black summoned his remaining relatives to the manor and at the urging of his grandson, returned Andromeda to the family. She and her husband arrived with their young daughter who was an active metamorphic witch at six years.
When the DMLE searched Malfoy Manor and made inquiries as to the location of Mrs. Malfoy, Lord Black reported that his granddaughter and her infant son were alive and apparently well according to documents on file at Gringotts.
Two days later, a golden pinpoint appeared in the entry hall of Black Manor, and it grew to be human size before fading away and leaving Narcissa Black and her infant son laying on the floor. Late in the day, an Auror was summoned – Amelia Bones and Alastor Moody appeared through the floo, and they carefully interviewed the 'widow' under the watchful eye of Lord Black, Heir Sirius Black and Andromeda Tonks who stood protectively over her sister and nephew the entire length of the interview. The former Mrs. Malfoy reported that she had no memory of the passage of time while in the golden bubble but understood that she had been missing for three days.
Surprisingly, it was Albus Dumbledore who insisted that there must be something evil and dark at work in the reappearance of Narcissa Black. Lord Black ignored the headmaster though he publicly made inquiries as to the location of other schools for the next generation of Blacks to attend. When Lord Potter provided his Wizengamot opponent with the names of the three schools his son and daughter-in-law were considering for their small son, there was much yelling and screaming in the Wizengamot chamber.
How It Came AboutIt was late in 2044, and the New Witch Hunts in Britain had killed or driven all magical peoples into hiding in the last ten years. Muggleborns tired of being the bootheel of the magical world in Britain turned on the Ministry for Magic in 2034 and revealed several purebloods on the internet. Obliviators were completely ineffective, and the ICW withdrew all recognition with Britain, just before the muggles broke into Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, Saint Mungo's, and the Ministry underneath London. A well-placed charge buried under the north bank of the Thames opened the ministry to the river's waters and within four hours, the underground ministry was flooded with a huge loss of life. Thugs and gangs hunted the wizards and witches though they learned to leave the goblins alone. Outside Britain, the magical peoples all went into hiding though many intelligent wizards and witches felt the eyes of the muggles follow them on the street.
In the first year, all hidden locations fell to the muggles except for Hogwarts, where the wards were strong enough to resist the muggle weapons at first. Muggleborn working with MI-5, the Royal Army and Airforce, used satellites to locate every home under the Fidelius or simple notice-me-not charms. Each location was revealed and stormed. Stripped of their magical wands, most wizards and witches were powerless when shoved into prison camps that sprang up around Britain. Sponsorship and loyalty oaths were required for everyone who wanted to step outside the camp. And all children were taken from their parents to be adopted or raised in 'homes' to be loyal British citizens.
There were never any resistance groups – Dumbledore's education standards for the last fifty years prevented little if any creative or original thought among the magical citizens in Britain. But eventually Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom grew concerned when the government decided to gas the goblins and wipe them out.
No argument they could make with the commission could prevent the attack that left the caverns beneath Gringotts deserted and collapsing. The vaults of the magical families were buried under tonnes of stone and more river water from the Thames, leaving Potter, and Longbottom along with every other ancient and noble family knutless. The commission declined to consider any repayments or ideas of allowing magical citizens to launch recovery operations.
This development led to Harry and Neville going on the run. Each of them was divorced – Ginny chose to leave Harry as soon as Lily entered Hogwarts, so they'd been divorced for a number of years. Hannah left Neville the year before the 'reveal', she was tired of competing with her husband's plants, greenhouses, and classes at Hogwarts.
As the last deputy headmaster of Hogwarts, Neville knew of several secret entrances and exits from the castle and Harry was able to get them into the Chamber of Secrets. The castle came under effective bombardment about a month after the two men arrived in the sanctuary. They learned from a few owls that made it through the blockade that the muggles had turned on their allies – muggleborns, half-bloods and purebloods were slaughtered by the military throughout Great Britain.
As the turrets, towers, and roofing at Hogwarts collapsed, the elves moved the portraits and supplies into the chamber of secrets, where Neville silenced the portraits of the former headmasters who were full of useless device, and Harry positioned the portrait of Albus Dumbledore at the bottom of the toilet hole – Neville snickered every time that either of them went to use the facility.
"You know nothing is actually hitting the portrait, right?" Neville reminded Harry. "The charms send it to the bottom of the ocean."
"Maybe… maybe not. But I know Dumbledore's portrait only has daylight while I am doing my business on top of his head."
"You are weird, Potter," Neville said with a grin and shake of his head.
"Thank you, Longbottom."
The two wizards catalogued all the artifacts from the ruined school above. There had been one hundred and forty-seven headmasters and headmistresses since the founders with Dumbledore, Snape and McGonagall being the last three. When Minerva's portrait woke up, she had no memories since the day Hogwarts closed the previous June. When threatened with joining Dumbledore in the latrine, Snape provided a list of all the known and unknown Death Eaters.
Then using Dumbledore's old, funny wand, Harry began experimenting with throwing spells through time. To increase his power, he wore his cloak of invisibility and the ring that made everyone uncomfortable; then he began to succeed with his spells.
"Potter, time does not work in that manner," Snape sneered. "You are an imbecile!"
"Sorry Professor, it doesn't matter how much you sweet talk me, I'm not going to get naked for you."
"WHAT!" screeched the potions master. "YOU… I WOULD NEVER…"
Neville casually cast a petrification spell at Snape, freezing him at the moment he was the most purple in the face, with his mouth open and shouting.
"Damn, Longbottom, that was a good shot!"
"Liked that, huh?"
"Yes," quipped Harry.
"How about you get naked for me then?" Neville suggested. Harry stared open mouthed for a moment before he grinned and reached for his buttons.
As they ate breakfast one morning, Neville asked, "What is you want to accomplish with your spell moving through time?"
"Our world is ending – the muggles will never let the magical peoples disappear again, so we'll all end up dead or test monkeys in some laboratory," Harry told Neville. "Theory says that I can't 'change' the past, but I can make certain some people get what's coming to them."
"Revenge?" asked Neville, not comfortable with the notion of asking magic for revenge.
Waving the funny-looking wand that had once been Dumbledore's, Harry shook his head and said, "No, not revenge, but justice. I want to cast magic back through time and hit certain people and let them face judgment while living."
"The funny wand has a lot of power," Neville agreed. "You don't ever get tired when you use it."
"And the ring and the cloak of invisibility," Harry said offering up two other artifacts. "These three are powerful objects and… and I think it'll work better if you help me. Stand with me while I am casting my 'Long Distance Touch' spell."
With their new intimacy, contact between the two wizards did improve their casting.
"You picked a muggle name I suppose?" observed Neville who then asked, "Who do you want to hit with this spell you're making?"
Grinning Harry asked his own question, "Voldemort and his Death Eaters and more importantly, when do we hit them?"
Without hesitating Neville replied, "Can we aim for the week before our parents were taken from us? It's selfish, but I'd give up a lot to not grow up with just Gran in the house."
Harry nodded, "If I can avoid the Dursleys for my entire life, I would be grateful to my future self from fifty years in the past."
The two wizards made their list beginning with the three LeStrange family members and Barty Crouch, Jr. They were the four who attacked the Longbottom family. Then they listed Peter Pettigrew, Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy, and of course Tom Riddle.
"So, in addition to these first seven Death Munchers, and Tom Riddle, we will reach out and touch Greg Avery, Thomas Mulciber, Evan Rosier, Stanley Goyle, William Crabbe, Paul Selwyn, and Robert Travers. Alecto Carrow, Amycus Carrow, Antonin Dolohov, and Fenrir Greyback," stated Harry as he read from a list of names he'd written down.
Neville said, "Add two others that we know of Augustus Rookwood, and Walden MacNair."
"Oh, don't forget good old Cornelius Fudge, and Delores Umbridge," Harry reminded Neville as he quickly wrote down all the names.
"How about Draco's mum? Narcissa Malfoy? That woman still sneers at everyone."
After writing down Narcissa Malfoy, Harry turned pensive and asked, "What if we reach back and touch some of the 'good' ones just to see how good they are?"
Neville was intrigued and stepped closer before he asked, "Who do you have in mind?"
"McGonagall, Dumbledore, Molly Weasley, your grandmother."
After a long moment to consider the suggestion, Neville nodded. "But after we touch them, we have to wait and let time catch up with us before we try anything else."
"We're playing with time, Nev. There's no telling how hard the kick in the nuts we get will be."
The next morning, after wrapping themselves in the invisibility cloak, slipping the ring on Harry's left hand that was wrapped in Neville's left hand, and both of them holding the wand in their right hands, they sent the first spells backwards to give the 'long distance touch' to Bellatrix, Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange and Barty Crouch, Jr. on 28 October 1981. As the morning and afternoon passed, the two wizards worked their way through the rest of the inner circle of Death Eaters, including Peter Pettigrew, Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy, Greg Avery, Thomas Mulciber, Evan Rosier, Stanley Goyle, William Crabbe, Paul Selwyn, and Robert Travers. They kept casting the spell to touch Alecto Carrow, Amycus Carrow, Antonin Dolohov, Fenrir Greyback, Augustus Rookwood, and Walden MacNair.
It was late in the afternoon when they stopped, and Neville wondered at the passage of time that would be required for the spells to reach back to the autumn of 1981 from 2044.
"It could take forty years or be instantaneous," Neville told Harry.
"I'm tired," Harry said as he slipped to the floor followed by Neville who had been propping the other wizard up. House elves conjured beds and blankets to wrap around their wizards who were changing history.
It was almost thirty-six hours before they awoke, but once they showered, and checked each other's magical core, they sat to eat breakfast before setting to work again.
"I remember something different now," Neville told Harry who said nothing with his mouth full of buttered toast but motioned for the other wizard to continue.
"It was October 1980 when the Death Eaters disappeared. All the members of the Dark Lord's inner circle vanished in just one day."
Harry laughed and said, "Our aim was off by an entire year. But what I remember… it's fading… but the fall of 1980 and all of 1981, there were more magical families killed than in the ten years before. The Dark Wanker was truly insane and making a play to take over England that year. The prophecy Dumbledore – Dumblesquat – sent to Voldeshorts drove him mad looking for our families."
Finishing breakfast, the two wizards set to work again, as Neville stood with his chest pressed against Harry's back and the cloak of Invisibility thrown over their heads. Working as a team, Neville following Harry's every movement, doubling the magic in the casting. Now they reached back to touch the Dark Lord himself as well as another dozen previously unknown Death Eaters, and two particularly horrible people – Cornelius Fudge and Delores Umbridge. Between casting spells, the elves made the two wizards eat and drink as they went about their work. At the end of the day, they touched Narcissa Malfoy.
Again, they dropped into a deep sleep and were wrapped in blankets on a conjured bed.
Avalon ProjectsThis time, Neville and Harry slept for another thirty-six hours, and when they awoke, they stumbled into the bath to shower, shave and then dress in clean robes. After a huge breakfast, they debated briefly if they should look 'above' for any changes but decided to continue with their work.
"What do you think the spell is doing to the wizards and witches we hit?"
Harry thought one moment before he explained, "We are pumping up their affinity to natural magic; think of it as standing on the top step and whistling for Mother Magic to turn around and see us pointing at a particular wizard or witch for a closer look."
Neville nodded and said, "And on our heads too! But with the world outside gone crazy, maybe Her judgement would be better."
As they approached their work area, walking passed the portraits of the former headmasters and headmistresses of Hogwarts, Neville pulled on Harry's arm to stop him for a moment.
"What?" asked Harry.
"There used to be another portrait here," Neville insisted. "Someone between Dumblesnot and McGonagall."
The two wizards never spoke of the former headmaster with any respect in their tones. During a Hogsmeade weekend in their fourth year, Dumbledore appeared on the street and attempted to kidnap Harry. Seeing the old man grab 'his' Harry, Neville physically tackled the old wizard before Harry joined in. They broke his nose, ripped out a portion of his beard, and stole his funny wand.
The Aurors arrived in time to rescue Dumbledore from dismemberment but only just. Neville Longbottom had been in a rage and spit pellets of fire that set the former headmaster's robes on fire three separate times. (As his reward for beating up Dumblesnot so completely, Harry snogged with Neville for almost an hour that evening.)
At his trial before the Wizengamot, Dumbledore attempted to explain his actions away by claiming that Heir Potter was possessed by the spirit of the Dark Lord Voldemort. Lord Potter rose and demanded how such a thing could have occurred with his grandson.
Dumbledore explained, "On Halloween 1981, Tom Riddle attempted to kill your son and daughter-in-law. He performed a ritual and split his soul…"
"Yes, we know about the soul jars. The Unspeakables destroyed all of them the spring after Dark Lord Tom Riddle disappeared," Barty Crouch, Sr., the minister for Magic replied. "You are rambling into nonsense Dumbledore."
Lord Potter laughed and replied, "The only things that possess my oldest grandson are his obsessions with potions and Neville Longbottom."
There were scattered laughs in the chamber as the Potter boy's progress with potions was remarkable and well-known, as was the Longbottom boy's green thumb to grow the potent potion ingredients that Potter needed. The unusual devotion the two boys showed for each other from an early age was still a private family matter.
Dumbledore had been convicted of attempted kidnapping and attempted line theft. Lord Potter had no mercy on the old man who threatened their grandson, and Lord Longbottom joined in the demand for the maximum punishment for the wizard who laid hands on Hier Longbottom. The two lords insisted on the kiss with Dumbledore's soulless corpse being thrown through the veil of death afterwards.
Hogwarts insisted that the portrait of the former headmaster join the others in the office of the current headmaster and Dumbledore's portrait remained unpopular with Headmistress McGonagall during her tenure. Today, the portrait of Albus Dumbledore struggled in his sleep – until Harry used parsel tongue to make the headmaster sleep in his portrait frame, the former headmaster had tried to interfere with each and every one of their plans to change time while in the Chamber of Secrets.
And Harry thought he remembered placing the portrait of Albus in the latrine, but he felt that Hogwarts didn't approve of such actions now. He smiled when he realized that this meant the castle might be intact above them instead of in ruins.
"I can't imagine who it was," Harry replied. "When we were in our third year and that nincompoop tried to bring back the Tri-Wizard Tournament for our fourth year, your mother and mine pitched a fit with the other governors about his crazy ideas. 'Dark Lords Run Rampant' was his motto. He was forced out of the castle after exams and never allowed to return. Professor McGonagall moved faster than the snitch in a ten-hour quidditch match that summer before our fourth year to make changes and turn Hogwarts around."
By mutual agreement, they did not speak of the kidnapping attempt that next year – it was the first time that Neville or Harry had really been frightened. Fortunately, their fourth year was dominated by the marvellous news that Edgar Bones, Fabian Prewitt, and Lily Potter had solved the equations to open the gateways to Avalon, (using Muggle calculators and computers). It would be five more years before the first explorers stepped through to Avalon and find that it was an almost replica of Earth with the same land masses, fauna and flora. The two boys asking for a betrothal agreement at Christmas that year was an afterthought for the two families celebrating the breakthrough by the two wizards and Lily.
The reformed British Ministry led the move to Avalon with magical creatures migrating naturally and peoples immigrating over the next twenty years.
"Okay, who is on the list today?"
"Funny, you should have mentioned Dumblesquat," Harry laughed. "He is the only name on our list."
Neville frowned, "I thought we had three others – McGonagall, some Weasley and for some reason, my grandmother."
"McGonagall was great once Dumblesquat was gone. And I don't know about your Gran. But I told you we should have used your Gran's name as Dorea's middle name," Harry said leaning close to his husband. "She only calmed down about us after we started having the girls."
Neville's mouth twisted up in a smirk and said, "My mother still doesn't like that we stopped after four boys and three girls. She enjoys her grandchildren."
"Well, my mom is still aggravated that we only used surrogates with Gringotts."
Neville snorted and said, "And have you noticed how both dads run out of the room and apparate away when we tease about having another kid."
Harry grinned, "I should never have invented or told the moms about the potion to let the man carry the baby instead of his wife, but letting a couple take turns only seemed fair."
"Hehehe…," Neville giggled. "Remember that time we saw Draco and Lavendar Black at the New Ministry Reception at Yule? He was huge and miserable. His mother was thrilled because that would give her eight grandchildren."
"And Draco promised me that once he was in duelling condition again, he would make me regret being a potions master," Harry replied. "Never heard from him though Sirius sent me thank-you cards for a month. Fatherhood calmed Draco down more than anything else."
"Can you think of any reason why we would have a Weasley on our list?" Neville asked.
Harry shook his head and said, "The twins were two years ahead of us and in Gryffindor. We had little to do with them in Hufflepuff. There are older sons, but I don't know them."
"What about… was it Donald and Cherry?"
"You mean the two youngest ones?" Harry asked. "We never interacted with them at all – I don't remember the sister's name or anything about her except she married some seeker and travels around the Avalon touring circuit with him."
"And Donald, whatever happened to him?"
Stopping and turning around, Harry Potter reached up and grabbed his husband's ear before asking, "Neville Longbottom, do I need to dye my hair red so you can act out a fantasy or something?"
There were stinging hexes cast and then a few hugs, laughs and kisses before the couple set to work, using the invisibility cloak, the ring and wand to unite their magic once again before reaching back in time to give Albus Brian Percival Wulfric Dumbledore the 'Long Distance Touch'.
DumbledoreIt was the summer of 1981, and Albus Dumbledore was uncertain where his next move should take him and his minions. The whole game board was spilled on the floor – last fall Riddle had vanished in front of a hundred witnesses with photographs. The ministry practically jumped with joy and immediately refused to listen to Dumbledore's warnings. Without any Death Eaters lined up on the board, his own pawns were restless and unwilling to march to his tune any longer.
Worse, James Potter took his wife and the child of prophecy out of Dumbledore's reach. Potter Manor had substantially improved wards and he'd lost two dependable minions attempting to breach them. Luda Bagman and Elphias Dodge had been fried by Charlus Potter's wards with spectacular fireworks while Dumbledore apparated away.
As he walked along the halls of Hogwarts one evening, distracted by his thoughts, he failed to notice the hazy golden light until he was fully surrounded. He called to Fawkes, but the phoenix did not appear. The golden light took him away and he knew nothing for a time. When he awoke, Dumbledore lay in his bed but jumped up quickly, pulled his wand from under his pillow and cast the tempus spell.
It was the next morning… not three days like the Malfoy bint experienced.
'I wonder if she lied?' Dumbledore wondered and went to shower and start his day. 'It was a dream. Nothing more than a nightmare.'
After he dressed and descended the stairs from his office, his thoughts repeated from the previous day, 'But I face the same problems as yesterday… No Dark Lord and just my school to operate. The child of prophecy is out of my reach for ten more years. But time passes quickly. 1991 will arrive quickly.'
'And I can pull Tom out of hiding with some tempting treats here in the castle…' he grinned imaging a faux philosopher's stone, and perhaps the tri-wizard tournament to test the child of prophecy in the future.
'Well, no matter. I can wait a few years before beginning to put my plans in place. Nothing from the future can touch me from that great a distance.'
Headmaster Dumbledore was disturbed over the next several years as more and more people questioned his every decision. The Board of Governors forced him to reinstate multiple classes that had been missing from the curriculum and introduced new ones. The Wizengamot retired him from active membership and voted to monitor the Hogwarts budget very closely. The headmaster's wardrobe and summer vacations were no longer funded by the school's budget. Eventually, he forgot about the experience with the golden bubble until in 1993, he overstepped and attempted to force the school's participation in the defunct Tri-Wizard Tournament. No other school gave any indication of interest in participating and worse, Lady Alice Longbottom and Lady Lily Potter both exploded in the Governor's meetings for the entire spring and forced his retirement.
Thrown out of 'his' castle, Dumbledore plotted and waited until the school had a Hogsmeade weekend the next autumn. His plan was to kidnap the Potter boy and prove the child was possessed by the spirit of Tom Riddle. Then the Wizengamot would vote him back into power and he would resume his position as Headmaster of Hogwarts.
However, nothing prepared Dumbledore for the physical violence that the Longbottom hooligan and the Potter thug inflicted on him in the street of Hogsmeade. They tackled him, threw him to the cobblestones, broke his nose, and worse, stole his wand. The Longbottom boy revealed some creature ancestry by spitting fire and burning holes in his bright green robes. The Potter boy ripped away part of his beard and stood there with the elder wand in his hand, his eyes glittering with power as the Aurors placed power suppression cuffs on Albus and apparated with him.
Standing before the Wizengamot just two weeks after the announcement of the Avalon formula being solved – by Lily Potter, Edgar Bones, and Fabian Prewitt – meant Dumbledore's explanation was met with nothing but scorn. Charlus Potter and Frank Longbottom both demanded that Dumbledore be kissed, and the sentence was carried out in the Wizengamot chamber. In the final line of his later infamous biography, the author noted that Albus Dumbledore was the last wizard to be kissed in Old Britain. As the gateway to Avalon fried all the Dementors when they attempted to flee to the new world, he was also the last wizard ever to receive the Dementor's kiss.
A Moment of QuietWhen their work was done that day, Headmaster Harry Potter-Longbottom and Herbology Professor Neville Longbottom-Potter ordered the house elves to return the portraits of former headmasters and headmistresses to the proper walls of Hogwarts castle and they walked up the four hundred and thirty-nine steps to the foyer for the Chamber of Secrets.
"I keep telling you to ask for an elevator or an escalator!" Neville insisted. "But at least you converted the girl's loo into proper reception room."
"I spoil you with too many visits to muggle world," Harry replied. "Our version of Harrods in New London is just as nice."
"Maybe in another fifty years but right now, only two floors of goods don't compare to the original in Old London," Neville complained.
The two wizards stepped into a Hogwarts where the house elves were busy cleaning the floors and walls. Everyone was away on vacation or at camp – their youngest was twenty years old and working on a mastery in charms with goblins in the Andes along the west coast of the wilderness continent of South America. Silver and gold were cheap commodities on this world without other humans having mined the ores for centuries.
Leading Neville to the main door, the two wizards continued down the paths to the Blue Lake that lay along one side of Hogwarts. It was summer and the bright green grass and slightly bluer sky were beautiful. They were seated on a comfortable bench watching the giant squid rise up from the lake and splash about for a time.
"That was a powerful feat of magic when Hogwarts decided to move, wasn't it? She took the forbidden forest with her and most of Hogsmeade to the same spot in Scotland… or what would have been Scotland…"
"But she got rid of the spiders," Harry reminded Neville. Then he reached an arm around Neville's shoulder and asked, "What's the latest discussion about Avalon? Is the spectrum of light different because of a shift in the sun that makes the grass greener or is it the composition of the soil that causes the difference?"
"We've only been here for fifteen years," Neville replied. "They'll debate that hypothesis for another hundred years."
"And what of the phenomenon of 'rebuilding' everything? The first thing wizards from Old Britain did was construct another Stonehenge. And then they built New London complete with the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. The drawbridge works but we don't have any tall ships."
"Yet! Someone will construct the tall ships, you just wait," Neville replied.
"What shall we do for supper? Should we use a portal and visit Old Paris tonight?"
"New Paris will do just fine!" Neville insisted. "They will open the New Louvre Museum soon and we can visit the portraits you enjoy so much."
ContentsDisappearances 1
Approximately Fifty Years in the Future 5
How It Came About 6
Avalon Projects 11
Dumbledore 15
A Moment of Quiet 16
Contents 18