A/N: And in a change to our scheduled programming, some answers I believe some of you have been asking for. I hope I've managed to answer them as best I can without our duo present, and not given you more questions. In truth, I've probably given myself even more questions to answer, which always makes for a fun day of writing.

We will return to our usual broadcast in the next chapter.

Disclaimer: Still not mine.

Chapter 7: The Head Unspeakable

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore was a busy man.

He was also a happy man, usually.

There were times, however, where he was not happy, and when he was not busy.

These were times when he was usually angry and restless, and that did not make a man that was pleasant to be around.

In fact whenever Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore was in one of his foul moods, it was wise to make yourself disappear.

Quickly.

In all 10 years as Head Unspeakable, he had never needed to leave his Ministry-appointed Sabbatical early. Not once. Not ever.

29th August through to 1st October. Those were the days where each and every Ministry employee – not including the Minister of Magic or most of the Auror department, obviously – were forced to spend time away from the Ministry, to holiday, to have a reprieve from work and refresh their tired minds.

They were forced to do this.

Forced.

So why, in Merlin's name, had the Minister for Magic deemed it acceptable to force him to return to his desk within the Department of Ministries post haste?

The nerve of the man.

Albus hadn't even been on his required holiday for a day before he was being badgered and pestered into returning to his office.

What was it the Minister's letter had said?

Albus,

I'm terribly sorry to do this dear boy, but your presence is requested within the Department of Mysteries as soon as you are able to. A time sensitive matter of the utmost importance has suddenly arrived, and I believe I need your expertise on such matters. I have also requested the presence of Unspeakable Maggie Hornfield from the Time Room, as her expertise would be much appreciated as well.

Your time will be fully reimbursed.

Harold Minchum

Minister for Magic

Time Sensitive Matters his left saggy ball sack. If something had happened within the Time Room, then it was Hornfield's responsibility, and therefore she should be the only one to meet with the Minister for this matter.

It had nothing to do with him. Not really. He didn't work in the Time Room. He didn't even care what they were doing in there. His knowledge of anything within the Time Room was basically non-existent. As long as the Time Line wasn't damaged in any way, and the Laws of Time were strictly adhered to, there was nothing to worry him over.

The letter had appeared to him on the last day of August at an ungodly hour in the morning. It was now the second day of September, and Albus had yet to make his appearance to the Minister.

Sure, he received many owls from him and from Unspeakable Hornfield over the last two days as they enquired about his lack of appearance at the Ministry, but if it was really important, they could show up at his house and force him into the Ministry themselves.

He was Albus Dumbledore. He was Head Unspeakable. He had defeated the Darkest Wizard of all time, Gellert Grindelwald. He was the Leader of the Light and the Leader of the Order of the Phoenix.

He was the Wizarding World's only hope at stopping this Lord Voldemort from decimating their whole magical community.

He would go when he was good and ready, and he was far from that.

An incessant pecking on the front living room window pulled Albus from his thoughts. He looked over from where he was sat on his floral sofa with a cup of camomile tea. He glanced at the clock that hung on his wall. 9.05 am. At least this one was sent during sociable hours. With a lazy flick of his wand, he opened the window and allowed the owl delivering his latest letter from the Minister – as he assumed it was from the Minister – to drop the envelope on the coffee table in front of him before flying out of the window once more.

"Not even waiting for a reply?" He mused aloud to himself, eyeing the offending envelope with disdain. They always waited for a reply. Some owls had waited hours before they took the hint and flew back to the Minister's office.

Curious.

Albus took a long sip from his teacup before he placed it back into its saucer. He could guess the contents of the letter by now, and he wasn't in any rush to read the begging words of a bumbling fool of a Minister of Magic.

Ten minutes had passed and Albus still hasn't torn his eyes from the envelope that dared to take up space on his coffee table. He drank the last of his camomile tea, placed the empty teacup and saucer onto the red and gold coaster in the top right corner of the coffee table, and picked up the envelope.

The envelope was very heavy and not made of the ministry-standard parchment. If he remembered correctly, it was the parchment that the Headmasters of Hogwarts used to send out official documents. He turned the envelope in his hand and stared at the address written on the front in emerald green ink.

Fawkes

Dumbledore Cottage

Godric's Hollow

Newton's Abbott

Devonshire

Now that he had the envelope in his hand, he could feel the magic radiating from it. He wasn't sure how many, but the amount of wards that had been placed on this envelope was enough to make his eyebrows raise in surprise.

The sender didn't want anyone but himself seeing its contents.

Curiouser.

It was rare when he would receive letters addressed to Fawkes, his Phoenix familiar, let alone to his own home. It was a code name for himself that the members of the Order of the Phoenix would use to send any notes from missions if they had to send him anything before their monthly meetings. But they usually forwent writing letters as sending Messenger Patronuses was the more common practice amongst Order Members.

Less likely to be intercepted by Death Eaters.

There was only one person he knew that would write to him instead of sending a patronus, and only one person who still wrote with emerald ink even though that particular colour had been discontinued by Scrivenshaft's five years prior.

It was with this thought that he tore into the envelope and began to read the letter as quickly as he possibly could.

He needed to know what Minerva McGonagall deemed so important to write to him about.

Albus,

You should know that I wouldn't write to you and ask for your assistance if it wasn't a dire issue. We both haven't got time for any silly frivolities. You may learn of this turn of events when you return to the Department of Mysteries, but I find myself needing the aid of the Order of the Phoenix rather than Head Unspeakable Dumbledore. Though I wouldn't mind his assistance also.

Three weeks ago, two gravely injured teenagers appeared outside the Room of Requirement. Poppy has been healing them in the Hospital Wing until they were able to give answers to our questions. It turns out they had some questions of their own.

Namely, what year it was.

Imagine my surprise to hear of two time travelling teenagers! But that is not all. They had been transported to us from a different universe, one similar to our own. They had almost defeated Lord Voldemort before ancient magics had brought them to our universe to save us. I am sure they will be able to explain their theories better than I can.

We need your assistance. Firstly, the girl is under the impression that they will not be able to go back to their own Universe, and I agree with her. They will need new identities and would need to complete their NEWT examinations with their seventh year students at the end of the school term, or earlier if it can be made agreeable.

Oh, I hadn't mentioned yet, I have hired them as the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professors this year.

Before you say anything, I know what I'm doing. I trust them, they trust me.

The boy is a Potter but is unable to assume his role as the heir of his direct line due to obvious reasons, so we have claimed him to be Charlus and Dorea's boy. They died over the summer, didn't they? If you could use your Phoenix influence as well as Unspeakable connections to make their backstories real, it would be appreciated.

There is much more to discuss with you. If you are agreeable, I can set up a meeting in my office at the end of the school day with the both of them so that you can understand their situation with more clarity.

Bring what you must to ascertain the truth from them.

The boy is a skilled Occlumens, and the girl was the Brightest Witch of her Age. They are powerful, Albus, too powerful.

They knew of you in their world, as their Headmaster.

You need their trust. The world as we know it is at stake.

For the Greater Good

Minerva McGonagall

The letter dropped onto Albus' lap as he stared blankly ahead of him.

Time-travellers.

Not only that, but Universe-Jumpers.

That in itself was unheard of. They hadn't even begun to investigate the Laws of the Universe beyond what they already knew. He wasn't aware that there were other Universes out there that you could travel to and from. Time-travel was still a relatively new concept in the grand scheme of things. There were laws against time-travel, as it had happened before, and they needed to learn from the fatal mistakes made in the past.

There were no such laws when it came to Universal Travel.

In theory, these two teenagers could destroy the entire world and not be held responsible for their actions, because there were no laws telling them to do otherwise.

And what ancient magics were involved?

Albus had a sudden urge to return to the Ministry before his meeting with Minerva and the Universe-Jumpers.

He needed to know exactly what knowledge the Ministry had on Universal travel before he met with them that evening. It didn't do well to turn up and be unprepared for such conversations.

oOoOoOo

Albus needn't have worried so much.

There wasn't one piece of information on Universe travel in the entirety of the Department of Mysteries. The library that the Ministry of Magic had on Level 3 didn't help either.

Nothing like this had happened before. There were no records of Universe travel, only Time-travel.

A sudden thrill rose within him.

He could be the first person to ever document the knowledge of Universe-travel.

He would be even more famous than he was currently.

He could use this to stand for Minister for Magic when Minchum's term ended in two years' time.

A smirk crossed the face of Albus Dumbledore. Whoever these Universe-jumpers were, they must be scared and worried about their position in this new world. The only way they wouldn't be thrown into Azkaban would be by Dumbledore's say so. If he told the Aurors that there were laws against Universe travel, despite there not being any, they would be locked away and kissed before you could say Hippogriff.

Really, they owed him for keeping them safe in his Universe and allowing them to create new lives here.

It's only right that they tell him all he needs to know about the universe they left. Everything that would help bring him to the powerful position he rightly deserved.

Yes, they would be so thankful for him that they would help him to become Minister for Magic, give him the means to destroy Lord Voldemort without lifting a finger himself, and make him the most powerful wizard in the universe.

All he needed to do now was to get them to trust him implicitly, and he knew just how to do that.

oOoOoOo

"Ah, Head Unspeakable Dumbledore! Just the fellow I needed to see!"

Albus paused on his walk from the Atrium elevator to the fireplace. He was about to floo to Headmistress McGonagall's office, as it was nearly time for their meeting. A frown marred his face as he turned on his heel to face the Minister for Magic. He watched as the fifty year old walked hurriedly towards him, his deep blue robes billowing behind him. The Minister looked like he had been in his office for the last few days; his robes were wrinkled, he had stubble on his face that looked three days old at the most, and his eyes had heavy purple bags under them.

This issue in the Time Room must have been worse than Albus thought if the usually well-presented Minister looked more like a homeless wizard on the streets of Knockturn Alley.

"Minister." Dumbledore intoned, bowing his head politely.

Curse him for spending too much time in that blasted library. If only he was quicker in there, the Minister wouldn't have been able to catch up to him. He was hoping to wait until after his meeting with McGonagall and the Universe-Jumpers before he contacted Minchum.

Albus paused, vaguely listening as Minchum began to tell him, rather slowly and arduously, about the problem Hornfield had in the Time Room. He said something about the timeline and how some futures weren't so certain anymore.

It reminded him of something that McGonagall had said in her letter.

He had focused so much on them being from a different Universe that he had forgotten that they had come from a different time too.

Could they be the reason the Time Room had been thrown into chaos with the new structure and order of the Time Line?

Albus needed to listen to Minchum again, he decided. The hapless Minister was rambling nonsense about the Laws of Time and how the Time Line had changed without any laws being broken. If he listened and didn't give any information in return, he could have more knowledge about these Universe-Jumpers, which could play them even further into his hands.

"Forgive me, Minister, my mind wandered. Would you please repeat what you just said about the Laws of Time?" Albus asked as politely as he could. Minchum looked alarmed that he needed to repeat himself and found himself stumbling over his words as he tried to remember verbatim what he had just told Dumbledore.

"Yes, yes. It's the curious thing, Head Unspeakable Dumbledore. Unspeakable Hornfield was alerted to interference within the Time Room, to which she naturally responded as quickly as she could. There wasn't anything wrong with the Time Turners they were experimenting with, so it took her a while to figure out what was going on. She perused Unspeakable Nott's desk, he is in charge of keeping an eye on the Balance of Time, nothing was amiss there. Neither was anything amiss at Unspeakable Turnbull's desk, you are aware he keeps records on the Laws of Time and follows any alerts given to breakings of this Law. Nothing. No alarms, no new breakings, nothing."

Albus nodded his head, urging the Minister to give the story quicker.

"Forgive me, Minister, I'm running late with a meeting with Headmistress McGonagall. Something for Careers Advice for the Fifth Years this term."

"Of course, of course. Where was I? Ah, yes. Unspeakable Hornfield spent hours in the Time Room trying to figure out why her alarms were alerting her to disturbances within that room, but she didn't find anything untoward. That is, until she viewed the Time Line." Minchum grew sombre as he remembered the frantic way Unspeakable Hornfield arrived at his own home to tell him about what she had found.

"It's curious, Head Unspeakable Dumbledore. The Time Room had every big event, every big decision, mapped out for the next fifty years. Nothing is ever changed or taken away, as you should know. The Time Line is only ever added to when important people are birthed, and the impact of their lives to the future is added to the Time Line. For instance, Sirius Black and Marlene McKinnon's involvement of You-Know-Who's downfall in 1981."

Albus' eyebrows rose. Despite being the Head Unspeakable, he had no idea what happened within the Time Room. When he stepped down as Headmaster at Hogwarts, he was brought straight in as Head Unspeakable, despite not working as an Unspeakable before. Nobody knew why he had been given the role without experience, but now he wished that he had spent more time learning about all of the different departments within the Department of Mysteries.

He had no idea he could see the future mapped out in front of him, without seeing a Seer.

He didn't know that Sirius and Marlene, currently Seventh Year Gryffindors at Hogwarts, were instrumental in the downfall of Voldemort. If he had known, he would have tried harder to get them in his favour for the Greater Good.

Would it tell him if the were other people instrumental in his downfall?

Would it tell him when he eventually becomes Minister for Magic?

"If I'm honest with you, Minister, I had no idea that the Time Line told us so much of our futures." Albus admitted to Minchum.

"No, I didn't either. But I suppose that's why such a thing is holed away in the Department of Mysteries. Much like the Hall of Prophecy." Minchum's eyebrows draw together as he's pulled deep in thought. "I wonder if any prophecies have changed due to this."

"Due to what, Minister?" Albus quickly grew irritated again. He peered at the slender wristwatch on his left wrist and tapped his right foot impatiently. He was late now, and Minchum hadn't given him any more information on the Universe-Jumpers.

"Hmm? Oh. I hadn't told you yet." Minchum tutted to himself and pulled a piece of worn parchment from his trouser pocket. "Unspeakable Hornfield wrote this the other day after discovering the Time Line in disarray."

"Disarray? How is that possible? The Time Line is fixed. There are Laws about causing chaos to the Time Line."

"That's the thing, Head Unspeakable Dumbledore." Minchum met Albus' gaze head on. He might show fear in his dark eyes but didn't let it show in his posture. "As of now, there is no mention of Sirius Black or Marlene McKinnon on the Time Line. Everything that had been plotted to do with You-Know-Who has been erased. It's like Time has had a complete reset in regard to their personal timelines. It's been changed and manipulated without any Laws of Time being broken. Unspeakable Hornfield said that whatever has interfered with Time has done so using Ancient Magics, that's the only way that the Laws of Time could be broken and the Time Line be destroyed without anyone actually breaking them both."

Albus froze, yet again reminded of something McGonagall had told him in her letter.

They had almost defeated Lord Voldemort before ancient magics had brought them to our universe to save us

These Universe-Jumpers had broken their Laws of Time, broken the Time Line, to do what? Save the Universe that Albus called his own?

Would they be the ones to defeat Lord Voldemort instead of Sirius Black and Marlene McKinnon?

Is the Time Line unwritten due to them not properly being part of this Universe?

If Albus were to give them their lives here, would the Time Line write itself again, so he knows how he can use the two of them to defeat Lord Voldemort?

Albus knew what he had to do. He had planned to let the two Universe-Jumpers beg for him to write them into this Universe, make them wait for it and earn the right to be here. But he needed them on his side far quicker than that.

It now made sense as to why Albus had a sudden urge to come to the Ministry before he visited McGonagall. He needed this conversation with Minchum, to know exactly how to manipulate these Universe-Jumpers. He needed the Minister's permission to break several laws, especially as the Time Line needed fixing without much fanfare. If he could get his permission to write these to Universe-Jumpers into their world without any questions, Albus considered this mission to the Ministry a massive success.

"Minister, I believe I know how to fix the Time Line and to get everything back on track." Albus said to him, clasping his hands together. "But I need something very important from you."

"Yes, Head Unspeakable Dumbledore, anything." Minchum told him eagerly. He too, wanted everything about the Time Line fixed. He needed to stop this panic before the public found out. Who knows how catastrophic it could be.

"I need to be able to do what I need without punishment of Azkaban. I need immunity, as it were, for I would need to break several laws so that our Time Line can become balanced once more." Albus peered down at him through his half-moon spectacles. "And I need you to not question anything that needs to be done."

"Done, Head Unspeakable Dumbledore. No questions, no interference. Do what you need to do before anything else becomes unstuck and our world crumbles."

Albus smirked to himself and turned once again on his heel.

If these Universe-Jumpers needed everyone to believe that the boy was the son of Charlus and Dorea Potter, he would make that happen.

Then they would be firmly cemented into this Universe, and he can follow their progress of defeating Lord Voldemort on the Time Line.

He still didn't know how they were able to destroy their Time Line, but he was excited to find out.

First stop, however, was to Headmistress McGonagall's office and draw up the paperwork needed to give life to these Universe-Jumpers.