It was the next day at Greengrass Manor and all was serene. Some sense of order had been restored in the new arrivals life. It would take time to come to terms with all they had endured but life was certainly improving.
To avoid any more confusion with who was who, they had given up with the names and decided on telling each other apart with rings until they got used to each other. There were small differences between them that in time would make all this easier. The Hermione, Daphne, Astoria, Susan, Luna and Seamus from the other world were each gifted a very tasteful gold lion ring each by Dawn and Gareth.
'For being so brave,' Dawn had said to each of them as they accepted the gift thoughtfully. Susan and Luna had arrived earlier to go through to Equilibrium. Even Iris had been astounded at how powerful the trip had proved to be. The new arrivals looked immaculate. What lay underneath would take time to resolve, however. Their eyes still looked haunted. She glanced down at her now white Peverell ring. That might have something to do with it.
They were all sat in the spacious dining room for a scheduled meeting of the Order of the Phoenix. Iris had just arrived back with Severus Snape who looked, like the others, much improved.
He had met with his counterpart and the other Lily. His head was an array of conflicting emotions.
The two Hermione's sat together. The one new to this world could not keep her eyes off the Weasley family. Molly's younger face had been a little off-putting at first but she could feel her magic and her big smile was the same. This Molly had pulled her into the big Molly hug she remembered so fondly. Fred and George. Both together again. Ron sat with Harry and Ginny. A tougher looking Percy who had a filo fax with him was writing a report while they waited. Charlie was back from Romania. He was one of the thousands of Brits who had been called back home from abroad to fight by the Queen. Bill was there. Fleur had stayed back at Weasley Manor to avoid the inevitable with Iris. Hermione had given a quick smile at that. The Tonks family were all here with a relaxed-looking Remus.
A shocked Hermione had been introduced to a much younger Professor McGonagall and hearing the familiar Scottish brogue once more had her on the verge of happy tears again.
She had been very interested in this version of Bella. The differences were as stark as night and day. This Bella was formidable. Hard. But sane. Ish. She had seen the closeness between Iris and this Bella. Sirius was leaning back in his chair with all the casual aloofness that reflected his upbringing. She glanced again at this Ron. Molly was subtly observing this Hermione with interest. Mrs Weasley was a very perceptive woman. Like many of the others at the table, it was becoming more obvious to them that Iris and Hermione were intended for each other.
Their magical bonding shouted it loud and clear. They were simply waiting for the announcement. These things happened. The Order of the Phoenix had not been fussed in the slightest about Albus's private life. Ron had been as much of a gentleman about it all as could be expected. Hermione had been honest with him. They were not suited for the long term. Molly privately thought this was for the best. The Hermione from this world was not like most other Witches. She clearly cared a great deal for her son but she was not traditional in the slightest and Molly knew this would have caused problems further along the road. Clearly, the feelings she had for Iris were stronger. There were far bigger things to worry about for now, however.
This new Hermione though. Her eyes kept finding her son, her Ron, regularly. Molly would look at the way he would glance surreptitiously towards this new Hermione too. His reaction to her physical improvements after Equilibrium had been sterling. Except for the lion ring, the two Hermione's were identical. Only, Iris didn't keep glancing discreetly at this new Hermione as her son did.
Molly would sit back for now. Times were already strange enough as it was.
Neville and his parents had greeted the newcomers with smiles. Draco was on his best behaviour as he greeted the new Greengrass sisters warmly and turned the notch up on his manners. They in return were relieved to be able to use their own traditional rusty Pureblood manners with the blond.
Lavender had been surprised by the changes in Neville. He had been a quiet, nervous kid at school. The runt of the litter. He had become stronger over the years but the contrast between the two Neville's was startling to observe. This Neville was assured. Strong.
She was sat next to Parvati who had arrived at the Manor the night before. It had been the most surreal moment of their young lives meeting these versions of their best friend. They had tiptoed around each other at first. Lavender had gazed at her with an incredulous stare.
Parvati had struggled to think of a common interest. In a lightbulb moment, she mentioned that Cho Chang was shacking up with Cedric Diggory in Equilibrium. The floodgates had opened. The gossip about their Wizarding Worlds continued long into the night and the next morning. Parvati and Lavender were to become each other's therapists.
The Finnegan family sat a little bemused with two Seamus's who appeared to be getting on like a house on fire.
'Ay. It's just great to be able to have some proper lad banter for a change. No offence to these ladies, I love them all, but it's been pretty dull for me,' the Seamus with a gold lion on his finger had explained the reasoning to them all.
Likewise, the two Luna's sat side by side. Both with dreamy expressions on their faces. Pandora and Xenophillus looking quite casual considering the bizarre developments.
A young Amelia and a quiet Susan sat together making polite murmurs to the Grangers. Susan still seemed a little bewildered by the situation but that was to be expected. She looked healthy and she was safe. That was what was important right now.
Kingsley stood to the side watching these developments in deep thought. There was something more at play here. The Peverell ring had guided Iris this far. These new arrivals were not here for sinister reasons. They were not imposters. Equilibrium would have not let them through otherwise. They had valuable knowledge. Nagini being a Horcrux had caused much furore amongst the Order. That Riddle had chosen a living vessel for a Horcrux had not crossed any of their minds. It would need to be planned carefully but eliminating Nagini would be a relatively simple mission in the whole great scheme of things.
'Still, why these people?' Kingsley thought as his brain tried to make sense of it. Why did the ring ensure it was these people Iris brought back?
Severus perhaps made sense. He was a very gifted Wizard. The others didn't make any sense aside from rescuing them for ethical reasons from the Hell they were in. Hermione was smart but they already had her Doppelganger here. Filch and Pomfrey the same. The others were a mixture of abilities. The Greengrass Sisters, Luna and Seamus already existed here on this Earth. None could be called exceptional Witches or Wizards yet. They were too young, too few and lacked the relevant experience to be really effective in a war of this magnitude.
Kingsley had to expect there would be an explanation in the end.
Gabriel and Lucifer entered the room. The new arrivals had taken the presence of this Dark Angel with as much dignity they could muster and simply trembled. After the introductions had been completed with a charming Lucifer they were a little more assured.
The new arrivals couldn't help but stare at the public displays of affection between Bellatrix and the Dark Angel. Most of the others were immune to it now.
The Greengrass family had ensured refreshments were available and they waited for Albus whilst chatting between themselves. It was so civilised and banal that the new arrivals had to pinch themselves again.
Hagrid made his entrance with Fangs as the dog immediately flopped down at Iris's feet as she gave him some fuss. She smiled at Draco who grinned back. They hadn't spoken about the Hermione situation yet together. Iris wasn't sure they even needed to. It was a little awkward. Hermione had told her Draco had been the one to broach the sensitive subject in the first place. Iris had understood. Draco, although a young man with many good qualities, also had a very healthy sense of pride. If he wasn't the numero uno most wanted in his girlfriend's mind then he would see that as unacceptable. Iris felt the unwanted image of Draco and Hermione kissing in her mind and hastily pushed it away. Hermione had made her choice. Iris hoped she wouldn't regret it. Iris couldn't help but think that Draco was, in many ways, better suited to Hermione than she was. Hermione had told her she was certain she wanted Iris. Iris relaxed and rubbed Fang's ears and focused on the meeting.
Albus was the last one in as he sauntered over in a debonair new suit that even Gareth was impressed by.
Albus looked around at the group. His blue eyes twinkling, 'Hello and welcome to you all,' he opened up with, 'I see you have shared the delights of Equilibrium. We thought it best for our new arrivals to meet with you all. Welcome to our Earth. Please, consider it your own home from now on. We shall be creating the relevant paperwork for each of you. We hope you have been settling in.'
There were pleasant murmurs and smiles from around the room.
'Now, for the new arrivals. These people around you are just some of the Order of the Phoenix here. You should recognise many of them from your own world. I thought as a welcoming gesture I would introduce you to our Fawkes,' there was a flash as Fawkes the Phoenix arrived to much excitement in the group. He trilled as the music soothed each of them in the room.
The two Luna's especially looked with wonder at the bird who flew down to both of them and settled down between them as they fussed him in delight.
'Right,' Albus continued, 'We have been able to learn much from this endeavour. One, we cannot be sure what Riddle intended with the mirror but it has backfired on him. Iris is still very much alive and kicking in this world and we have vital knowledge and have increased our numbers to help the resistance. We also have the mirror. It is away from his clutches.'
Albus smiled at the new arrivals.
'Two. We have learnt that Riddle may have used his snake as a vessel for one of his unpleasant toys. This will be a mission that Severus, Kingsley and I shall be undertaking. We shall need stealth to complete this particular mission so we shall only need three.'
Kingsley took a step forward and nodded as they clapped him in support.
Albus continued, 'Now, the implications of the divergence between both our worlds are, we suspect, the missing Peverell ring from the other planet. It is part of the Deathly Hallows. These are not items crafted on our plane of existence by mortals. We suspect to protect itself from Riddle's putrid dark magic all the rings power has returned to their source. It explains why this ring can wield such power. The other planet is two months behind ours. It would explain why neither their world's Riddle nor Dumbledore could find the ring. It had already left that universe. Our planet appears to be the beginning and the end planet. The multiple universe theory appears to apply to the wheels within wheels ideology. We unfortunately cannot be sure. This seems to be the most logical explanation of my counterpart's inability to locate the ring which caused the ripple effect and the differences in both our worlds.
There were murmurs all around to this as various eyes glanced towards the ring on Iris's fingers.
'Only Iris can wear the ring here. Even her own mother was unable to. This would suggest Iris has been chosen to wield this power. The good news is so far the ring has been aiding us with both black and white magic from the source of all magic to protect us. The ring's enemy is also Riddle,' Albus told the room.
Lucifer stepped forward at this point as those not used to him had frozen faces.
'I have spent much time with Albus and Gabriel, pouring over the images from infinity. I have spoken to Gellert Grindelwald personally in his new home and, although his memory is blotchy from memory charms I was able to discern Riddle's concerns about his anchors and tiny snippets of equations for dimensional travel. This relates to his time travel of course and we can assume the mirrors. I suspect that these mirrors may have an alternative purpose to housing Horcruxes. I don't believe now that the mirror was intended for Iris. To our knowledge, Riddle is not aware Iris can travel in the Astral plane. I have considered Riddle's pursuit of immortality. He has moved forward in time. He knows the future. Clearly, it is not the future he envisaged. To stoop to interfering with the timeline is desperation. This has given me great hope that we have or are about to destroy all his Horcruxes making him mortal once more. After meeting with Riddle's butchered soul in limbo I suspect there is not much more of his soul on Earth. His other self seems to be almost fully merged.'
There were more murmurs at this. Iris felt her heart beat a little faster at these frank statements.
Lucifer continued, 'After much discussion, I have concluded that these images from infinity have been interpreted incorrectly. Like you, I assumed these mirrors to be protections for Horcruxes. That was the logical interpretation. Dimensional travel should be blocked for most of us. We ourselves know very little of it. Even Origin only has theories. It is of a higher power than us. Very few but the most trusted are allowed to do this. It is the universal law. It speaks highly of your characters the portal allowed you through. I don't understand how RIddle accomplished this.'
Lucifer spoke this gently to the new arrivals who blushed a little at this praise from the Dark Angel. Kingsley felt the penny drop.
The newly arrived Hermione was staring at Lucifer in dumb fascination.
Lucifer continued, 'I believe you cannot split your soul more than seven times. No one has ever tried in all of history to do what he has done. Seven is the most important magical number. I think he tried and failed to create more. I don't think he is aware of Harry's soul piece. The mirrors are simply protections for the portals in various locations around the globe. I suspect that they are Riddle's, 'get out of jail free' cards.'
There were some murmurings.
Lucifer continued, 'Wherever he is in the world he will be close enough to apparate to one if he needs to. He will know how to apparate to the exact location as he has been there before. If he can flee to another world he can start again. Gellert and Riddle together may have had the talent to ensure Tom's safe passage through a dimensional portal. The fact Riddle is not an actual mortal anymore may mean he can survive the trip to an alternate universe. His failsafe escape from death. I suspect his plan would be to either ally with or possess one of his counterparts on arrival like he did Iris.'
Iris nodded. This made sense. Lucifer addressed them again.
'The diadem, the bracelet and the fragment piece in Harry were successfully destroyed on the other planet. The diary, Nagini, the cup and the locket remain in that world. This outcome could be different on other alternate Earth's. I imagine that Riddle will have secured the remaining pieces much more heavily. We cannot know about the other universes. We are going with the circle theory but there are variables. The portals will all need to be searched to make sure. We have discovered one is a portal so far. We need to be certain the others are the same. Nagini may not be a Horcrux on this Earth. We cannot leave anything to chance. All the mirrors need to be searched. A team shall be going to each location to retrieve these mirrors and we shall put them together at Hogwarts and away from Riddle's reach. This was the destination Riddle chose. It is a place that has always been important to him. We can assume the choice of the locations of the mirrors is simply to keep them secure.'
All those present looked around at each other stunned by this news.
Gabriel spoke then. 'What we do know now is that it is not the Astral plane behind those mirrors. We know Iris can take people through the portals to what will either be an alternate Hogwarts or potentially illusions and obstacles that are protecting a Horcrux. Iris must not go alone next time. I was quite amazed that you managed to get everyone back unscathed actually. The risk of lethal crossfire was enormous.'
Luna spoke in her airy way, 'Iris had decapitated and bludgeoned the entire faculty except for Professor Snape before we could even blink, Mr Angel Gabriel. Those dreadful students that remained had begun panicking when Barty had been sliced down the middle. They weren't focused on us.'
Iris spoke a little apologetic, 'In my defence, I thought they were all holograms. I didn't know they were real. I would have approached the situation differently if I had known I was putting them in danger.'
'Precisely,' Gabriel said, 'Your actions, if there is a next time, will be very different. Also, you cannot predict who will be friend and foe in another world.'
'Do you really think our counterparts could be that much different in another universe?' Harry spoke up. He had been listening intently to all of this.
Both Hermione's looked at Iris, 'Yes,' they said in unison.
'It's the butterfly effect. If Tom makes one slightly different decision it could change everything,' Albus said to them all, 'Sometime in 1943, when he was seventeen, Riddle used a gold bracelet in the other universe to replace the ring. We cannot know how he acquired it. Theft perhaps. He was never above using murder to obtain what he wanted. One person's actions can affect everyone both directly and indirectly. If in the next universe he decides to acquire a more desirable item using more force, then that could change everything. Tom may have slipped up. He may have been caught. He was young and inexperienced. Considered an adult however in the magical world. He could be rotting in a cell in their Azkaban before he learnt all his extensive magical knowledge. He could have been given a Dementor's kiss. He may not have met your grandmother, Iris. Your mother would not have been born.'
Harry felt his mind consider the implications of this.
Albus looked around the room, 'Tom would not have been there to corrupt completely his followers. Another Dark Lord could have taken his place. We do not know how many challengers he had in his early rise to power. The ripple effect of one action could change everything. The infinite implications of one action over fifty or so years. He could have decided on murdering someone who would prove vital in the future timeline. Your grandmother, Harry. Dorea Black. Wealthy. Connected. She had some very valuable Slytherin items in her collection. Riddle made it his business to know who owned what. He is obsessed with the founder's trinkets.'
The group looked on in silence as their minds followed the pattern Albus was suggesting.
Albus looked at Harry with a sombre look, 'Your father would not have been born. Lily would not have married him. You would not exist in that world. Neville would have been targeted instead. Can you imagine the ramifications of that sort of deviation from our timeline that would entail? All those small everyday incidents over decades that we none of us pay much attention to. Consider all that James and Dorea would have done in their lives. All the other lives they affected. All the lives of those people affected. Have you heard of the theory of Six degrees of Separation?' some people nodded, 'It is that all the people in this world are six or fewer connections to each other. All that would be gone instantly.'
'Can you understand now how careful we will need to be? Stealth will be vital,' Albus said to each of them, 'We just need to be sure the portals are not in fact illusions protecting a Horcrux. Then we retreat.'
The group was hushed now as they considered all of this.
Albus turned to Iris, 'This will be a long few days for you. We will be retrieving the portals as quickly as possible. We don't know how often Riddle checks them. I have everything prepared now. Bella, Sirius, Kingsley and Tonks will be with us. Remember it is just retrieval for now. We need these portals away from Riddle. The damage he has done to this world is dire enough. We cannot have him escaping to another world. This needs to end.'
Iris nodded. She felt a little queasy at the long road ahead but it was necessary. She felt a little lighter knowing she wouldn't be alone the next time she went into one of those portals.