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Standard Disclaimer:

"Mr. Stone?" called Emily King, and she nervously poked her head into the Chamber of Excessive Information, where she found Thorber Stone, seated at a stone desk, writing madly with a self-inking quill, tongue hanging off to one side, and seemingly oblivious to the rest of the world.

What was more concerning was the ridiculous number of pink plot bunnies, full of fangs and hungry for flesh, hopping all around him in a menacing manner.

"This can't be good," said Emily softly, but not softly enough that every plot bunny heard her and turned to look at her in a disconcerting way.

"And then there were four..." said Thorber, still writing feverishly, "...oh yes, yes! This is going to be great! Hey, you! Get in here!"

Thorber grabbed a plot bunny and mashed the snarling pink menace into the scroll he'd been writing on.

"Mr. Stone!" cried Emily, "Why are you utilizing so many insane plot bunnies?!"

"Hmm?" Thorber looked up, noticing Emily for the first time in ages, "Oh, well, I had to, now, didn't I? They just kept appearing around the office of Triage Inc., and you know the big boss doesn't like to leave them just hopping around freely. Why not use them?"

"Oh for Merlin's sake! Because they're dangerous! How many did you shove into the story so far?"

"..." Thorber looked down at the scroll, and gulped, "...perhaps a little more than is strictly advisable."

"How many?!" demanded the tiny redhead.

"...exact figures or ballpark?"

"THORBER!"

"Just under a hundred!"

There was a loud rumbling noise, and everyone, including the still free plot bunnies turned now to look at the table, which was visibly shaking, caused by the scroll. Pink froth and bubbles began to appear on the surface, and then a massive pink rabbit's paw emerged, impossibly larger than the scroll's dimensions would allow, and Thorber finally had the sense to rise and run, just behind a screaming Emily King.

"WE DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER!" yelled Thorber as he pulled the door shut, trapping most of the plot bunnies to either die or become worshippers of the Overlord Plot Bunny that had emerged from the scroll.

Author's Notes: I don't know what I'm doing...this is probably going to be my norm from here on. I've burned out, erased everything, and now I'm starting over. But I have no idea whether this would ever even make it to print, so to speak. So, quite simply, I'm just going to write and see where it goes and how it does. Read, review, enjoy, or whatever you fancy. Thanks to Brutus, Zeem, Griff and Zion, you all know who you are, and you all inspire me in more ways than perhaps you'd ever know. Anyhow, here's the story...

The Convergence Paradox
By Triage
Prologue

There were many realities, or universes, parallels to each other, that existed. Across them all, there were constants in events. Very rarely did these parallel realities ever diverge from the norm. Even more rarely, were there agents of change that traversed across the various realities and effected change against the will of the universe itself.

But now, there was not only one, but three divergents, all converging on one reality. One universe, known colloquially as the Monitor Universe, who was intimately aware of the Multiverse, all tethered together by what the Department of Mysteries called 'The Great Web', had been observing the divergents, and the chaos that was coming because of their destination for just one reality, now known as the Do-Over Universe, and Lucius Malfoy was at a loss for what to do here.

"Easy now, mate," said Ron Weasley, patting Lucius on the shoulder reassuringly, "you're hyperventilating again."

Lucius barely restrained jumping at Ron suddenly speaking up after being quiet for so long. Normally, it would have been Ron's wife, Luna Lovegood-Weasley, being the one to observe the Great Web with him. But with the witch being preoccupied with a situation that arose in the Forbidden Forest concerning her sanctuary for endangered rare magical animals, Ron had come to stand in for her.

Thanks to his being one of the Heroes of Hogwarts, and very briefly being the Boy-Who-Lived due to a swapping of fates to trick Voldemort, Ron had nearly unlimited access to the Department of Mysteries despite the fact he wasn't an official member. Helped that his wife and Lucius Malfoy, a close family friend to the Weasleys, were actually members. In any case, Lucius honestly would have preferred to have Luna's company for something as drastic as the situation now unfolding.

"You do realize the significance of what is happening, don't you, Ronald?" demanded Lucius, "This is the first time we've seen any reality outside of our own that is aware of the Multiverse...or at least, made it obvious that they are aware, and more importantly, they are aware of the Great Web and how everything is interconnected."

Ron shrugged, "We've always reckoned they'd catch on eventually. I mean, we did. We just had a head-start thanks to the Crystal of Lost Dreams, the Dreamworld, and Trelawney actually being able to see beyond our own universe. Also, when are you going to just call me Ron?"

Lucius smirked, "But I do so enjoy making you flinch, Ronald."

"All right, Lucy." Ron smirked back, earning him a scowl from the older man.

"Your droll wit notwithstanding," said Lucius, "this...convergence, is alarming. Until now, we've only observed realities that operated within their own constraints, and now, suddenly, there is one multiverse traveler who has already invaded twelve different realities, and is currently headed for a thirteenth, pursued by an entire group from the seventh reality, and this group is clearly aware of the Great Web and its delicate balance."

"And everything that happens to the Great Web affects ours the strongest, because we're literally in the very centre." Concluded Ron.

"Precisely, my young friend." Lucius nodded, and watched the Prime Divergent making a journey to the Do-Over Universe, where two different Divergents from nearby universes were also making a transition, "the Department of Mysteries have no protocols or establishments for this. We're literally making it up as we go along, so do try and put that brilliant strategic mind of yours to good use for once instead of worrying about your precious Chudley Cannons, hmm?"

"Hey, don't knock on the Cannons, you hear?" Ron warned playfully, and then peered intently at the Great Web.

Right in the centre of the web, the brightest orb of light marked the Monitor Universe. The Web looked like a rather haphazard spider web that was circular in shape. It looked almost like a spiral galaxy that was in constant motion, except every orb of light was not a star, but a universe, and presently, the Divergents and the pursuers were from the easternmost edge of the Web. Though it wasn't obvious yet, the Divergent that had hit twelve different realities was effecting changes and ripples across the threads of the Great Web, and the Monitor Universe was beginning to feel the effects.

Reddish-orange tints marked the path of the Prime Divergent along the threads of the Web through various realities. This was not anything anyone from the Monitor Universe had wrought on the Great Web, and the likely theory was the Web itself was…wounded somehow. The Prime Divergent had been causing changes in each reality visited, altering fates, even subverting destinies of those places, especially that of the Boy/Girl-Who-Lived, and even more importantly, Voldemort's.

"So what's the call?" asked Ron, "You said the DoM has no rulebook and is depending on you to make one up?"

"Quite," replied Lucius, "I would like to have as many of the Heroes on this if possible, but really, they're all dealing with various problems resulting from this Prime Divergent's journey. It's all occurring at the edge of the Web, but if we're feeling the effects now, can you imagine what would happen when that red line gets closer to us?"

Lucius guessed that Ron was thinking of his children, and the young man shuddered, "Yeah, won't be good. So, you thinkin' direct intervention?"

"A little observation is warranted. The pursuers are clearly having the same concerns as we are, yet I'm not entirely certain of their moral stance."

"Don't reckon them informing every universe they come across about the Multiverse and Great Web is possibly too great an idea either," said Ron, "if I'm seeing this right, some of them are almost going to war over its existence."

"Exactly," Lucius nodded, "and the chaos is not helping the…wound, I suppose...of the Great Web."

"Makes you think, don't it?" said Ron, crossing his arms, "Do we have the right to police the multiverse, or we just keep watch?"

"I'm personally of the mind we're better off just observing and looking after our own universe, which is an impossible enough job of its own," said Lucius, "but in this case, we may have no choice. The Prime Divergent is causing far too many ripples that cannot be ignored."

Ron nodded in agreement.

"So, while normally your wife would be taking the lead on this, with all our friends doing their best to keep our universe intact, it's up to you and I to see that this Prime Divergent does not continue to rampage across realities."

Lucius began to move his hands in intricate weaves, and a portal appeared before him. "Best we see what the pursuers are like up close first, I think."

"No, hang on, mate," said Ron, "I think we should look at the Prime Divergent first, and the Divergents. We don't even know much about them."

Lucius looked thoughtfully at Ron, then nodded, altering the portal weaves, "You're the master strategist, Ronald, I'll follow your recommendations on this."

"Hard to imagine that there's so many variant realities, and of them all, only Harry or Voldemort ever sees gender changes most times." said Ron with a small chuckle, "I wonder what these Divergents would be."

"Do not remind me," muttered Lucius, "I actually saw a universe that had a female me."

Ron did not press for details, but he did laugh at the thought, earning a deeper scowl from Lucius, and Ron said, "Well you mentioned it! I wouldn't have known otherwise!"

"We're going to meet your female self some day, Ronald, and I hope she has better taste in colours than orange."

"You need some orange juice," said Ron as he stepped into the portal and disappeared, right behind Lucius.

~ O ~

Somewhere out in the desert, on Earth, it was the middle of the night, and a great moon illuminated the lonely region. The nearest inhabited place was many miles away, and only the nocturnal creatures were out and about. Even then, it was quiet.

Had anybody been there, they would have heard the crackling noise of electrical arcs straight away. Just a meter off the ground, the air rippled, and more arcs of lightning appeared, crackling and filling the air with ozone, and took on a large circular pattern. A young woman in tattered leather clothing launched out of the rippling air and landed with a soft yelp.

She had landed face first into the sand, and lay there, sprawled out. Slowly, she placed her right hand first on the ground, then her left, and pushed herself up, drawing in a breath. She had long dark brown hair, almost black, that she wore in a hastily tied bun, and light green eyes. Her eyebrows were a little thick, and her lips full. She had a small nose and a strong jawline. By most accounts, she was certainly beautiful, but there was an intensity to her that would make anyone look twice not for her appearance, but the air and feeling she gave.

There were small pink petal flowers stuck haphazardly in her hair.

Finally getting to her feet, she turned around to gaze at the still shimmering air that occasionally had electrical arcs crackling, and moved her hands in intricate gestures, muttering incomprehensible words to herself, then she seemingly closed the portal from which she'd emerged.

"Well, that's taken care of," said the woman to herself, "now, where am I…"

She frowned up at the sky, then started pointing at the stars, seemingly at random.

"Interesting, there's some stars here I've never seen before in any other place."

After a moment's thought, she shrugged and said, "I suppose I'll just have to use the old fashioned way."

She closed her eyes, then twisted on the spot and vanished with a soft pop.

A few minutes passed before Lucius and Ron shimmered into view.

"Did you see that, Lucius?" asked Ron, "She didn't use a wand."

"I could not help but notice, Ronald." replied Lucius, "This Prime Divergent is potentially as powerful as we are."

"So who do you reckon she is?" Ron inquired, "I wanna say, probably a female Harry, but..."

"...but we can assume nothing, these days," finished Lucius, "it could just as easily be a female Neville Longbottom, or even an alternate Bellatrix for all we know."

"Or someone we don't know at all." said Ron. "Maybe someone not even from any timeline of ours."

"Always a distinct possibility, but we at least know she's English, like us. That accent is unmistakably London."

"What if in her world, Hungarians speak with British accents?" asked Ron with a smirk.

"Let's just work on what we can figure out, shall we?" suggest Lucius, sighing. "We'd best catch up to her. By now, she's likely garnered whatever information she's looking for."

"Yeah. Wow...I just realised how far she's apparated. We're in the Gobi Desert!"

~ O ~

Elsewhere, the woman was confidently stalking a haggard wizard in black robes and a shattered white mask, who frantically hurled curses and hexes with a wand. She simply swatted them aside or blocked them with her bare right hand. While he ran, she walked, her high heeled leather boots loudly clicking on the stone pavement road winding through a quiet Knockturn Alley. She gazed to one side, away from the her prey, frowning a moment, then turned back to him.

"Leave me be, ye bitch!" yelled the wizard.

The woman smiled and simply continued her unhurried pursuit. When he tried to apparate, he yelled and collapsed clumsily to the floor. The anti-apparition wards she'd set up ahead of time ensured he had nowhere to go, and now that he'd collapsed, she was suddenly on him, moving through the air in a form of seeming short-ranged teleportation, because she'd been fifty feet away from him, but now she was right on top of him, stiletto heel pressed against his throat.

"No, no!" cried the wizard.

"What year is it?" asked the woman.

"What?"

"I said. What. Year. Is. It?"

"N-nineteen, ninety-one. Why?"

The woman frowned, and looked away from the man, "Huh, why is it I always end up in nineteen ninety-one? What's so special about this year?"

She glanced back down and with a flick of her wrist, the man's wand flew out of his hand, as if she only just noticed that he was still armed. That amused her. He actually had her at a disadvantage, but he was so flustered, that he didn't even think to try anything while he had the chance.

Her eyes took on a dangerous glint and she leaned closer, but never took her foot off his neck, "All right, dearie, now I want to know everything you know about your former master, you know who I am talking about."

"V-Voldemo-th-the Dark Lord?" The man was incredulous, "He been dead years, woman, where ye been all this time?!"

She pressed the sharp end of her stiletto heel against his neck a bit more firmly, "I ask the questions. Now, he's a man, here, eh? Okay, who're his allies, former or otherwise?"

"Wh-what? I dunno, been so long, most're in prison or dead. Or just...wait, why do you wanna kno-AAAARGH!"

The woman flicked her wrist again, and suddenly the man's left arm twisted in its socket and snapped loudly, "I told you, I ask the questions."

Sighing, she took her foot off him and moved her hand in a gesture, as if beckoning him to follow her, but he rose into the air, choking slightly, as if an invisible hand was lifting him by the throat. "How comfortable your condition is going to be from here on depends on how perceptive you are. So, tell me about your former allies, dead or otherwise."

An hour, and a few more broken bones later, the whimpering, quivering former death eater had told her everything she wanted to know, that he knew of. He wasn't one of the elite or particularly old. He'd just fancied having a bit of fun with a muggle woman he'd kidnapped and brought to Knockturn, relive a bit of the glory days, but the dark-haired lady with flowers in her hair had been waiting for him, where she'd managed to transport the Muggle woman back to wherever she'd come from, whilst attacking the man and getting him so frightened he hadn't tried to apparate right away.

"Well, I thank you, Mr. Selwyn, for all your help today," said the woman, "as a reward, I'm going to allow you the freedom to ask me a question. Anything, but only one question, then I will let you go."

She watched him expectantly, and he gave her an amazed look, but his eyes were filled with hope.

"Wh-who are you?" he rasped. His voice was hoarse after an hour of painful interrogation and screaming from all the bone-breaking and flesh-rending she'd inflicted on him every time he'd denied answering her or asked his own questions.

She smirked, "Not a surprising question given all that's transpired, but you're going to regret asking that."

She walked up to him, drawing out a black steel dagger with a wavy-blade, "I'm Azalea. But I suppose I should start going by a different name now, given the lot that's been dogging my trail for the last five jumps."

Selwyn couldn't help himself, and he exclaimed, "What?"

She said nothing, but had a firm look on her face as she stuck the dagger into his belly and twisted.

He gurgled and cried, as she dropped him to the ground, her gaze cold and uncaring.

"Y-you p-promised…to let me go…!" he protested weakly as he lay dying.

"I did," said Azalea, smiling, "and I am letting you go...straight to hell."

She turned and left him in the middle of the alley, vanishing from sight. She had all the information she needed.

Lucius and Ron shimmered into view once more, shortly after Selwyn gasped his last breath. They gazed wistfully at the former Death Eater, as the blood pooled around his body.

"You know what the saddest part is?" asked Lucius, "It's going to take between two to three days before his body is cleaned off the floor, but any valuables on him will definitely be stripped off first in the next few minutes."

"Yeah," said Ron, still staring at the body, "so we have a name, but no last name, so we still have no idea who she is."

"Indeed, Mr. Weasley, indeed." Lucius nodded, "She's a very cautious woman, this Azalea...I could have sworn she was briefly aware of our presence when we arrived."

"Yeah, I saw that too." Ron frowned, "Y'know, I don't think she's a female Harry."

"Oh? What makes you so sure?"

The red haired man shrugged, "By and large, regardless of their gender, Harry tends to have really lousy eyesight. He's almost always got glasses."

"Somewhat true, but not always." said Lucius, "If you recall, the universe with the red-haired female Harry, Hydra? She never ever wore glasses."

"Wasn't she also the one who had her horcrux scar...somewhere different?"

"The very same one, but my point remains, bad eyesight is not always a dismissing factor. This Azalea could well be a female Harry, with good eyesight. We will need more information."

"Right, but are we going to just follow her every minute of every day?" asked Ron.

"That would not be ideal," said Lucius, "and besides, we have our own lives and reality to look after. I suggest we jump forward a few months the next time we return. And this time we look into her pursuers, and follow up on the other two Divergents we know are headed here too."

"Okay, sounds good. Hey, you going to join us for dinner tomorrow?"

"I would not dare miss your mother's cooking, Ronald. Of course I'll be there."

"Brilliant. Let's get back."

The two wizards vanished, and shortly after, hags, and shady looking folk poured out from the shadows to bend over the body of Selwyn.

AN: Thoughts, reactions, Dudley's sweaty and used boxing glove, or feedback, pretty please?