A/N: I'm real sorry about this story… I did with it what I vowed I would never do, and that was to put it aside and start something else. Going back to it after BtEG was real hard, and I had to force myself to sit down in front of it and write… and that's a bad sign :-/ This last chapter is pathetic, but I needed this to end before the whole novel got ruined. Now with my new novel, Message In the Ashes, history would repeat itself. Trust me, the new novel is a hundred times more nicely written than this. I implore you to check it out. Anyway, this is short… the action was rushed and sketchy… what follows is not what I envisioned at all… and the ending is also a pathetic excuse for my impatience to get done. If I never do a remake of this chapter, I encourage you to seek me out and slap me. But for now, IT'S DONE! Timothy is going to take a nice long holiday. Novel 3 is gonna wait a while… but for now, read the ending to novel 2
Chapter Thirteen: Out of Time
Timothy stared at the medieval wizard. He didn't look as frightening as Malfoy, but just the knowledge that Welles held his life in his hands… as well as the lives of everyone in his family made him tremble.
Welles walked over to Patrick and pulled the cage closer to him. Patrick recoiled and sneered at him, making movements with his hands, obviously trying to do magic. Welles only laughed, making Patrick even more angry.
"So much for the Potter family being so powerful! You are helpless against my magic warding curse. Do you realize how simple it is to just eliminate you, and that scrawny little runt over there will simply die out like a flame in the wind?" Welles opened up his hand palm forward at Patrick and he suddenly went rigid and began to scream in pain. Laughing even harder, Welles pushed his hand further into the cage, making Patrick's screams deafening.
Luna was crying profusely, clutching at Timothy's robes and cringing with every painful scream. Timothy couldn't bear to watch, holding his head down low, trying to think of anything he could do. There was a whisper near his ear, and it sent chills down his spine.
"How thrilled the dark lord will be to find your entire lineage erased from history and time. The family wiped out long ago like any other. With your ancestor here childless, the Potter name will die with him. You will be gone, you will never have existed…"
"SHUT UP!" Timothy shouted, lashing out with his hands. Veronica Murtov simply laughed and backed away, looking at him coolly.
"We're never going to get back, are we, Timothy?" Luna whimpered to him. "We're never going to be home again, ever."
She clutched at his arm, and something clicked in Timothy's brain. He couldn't explain it, but before he realized what he was doing, he took the Golden Ax from his belt and gripped it firmly in his hands. Luna looked up at what he was doing with a confused expression, hiccuping. No one else took notice; Welles and Murtov were now torturing Patrick relentlessly. His screams only angered Timothy more, raising the Ax above his head. Luna backed away, and he hit the cage bars with all his strength. Instantly, the Ax went right through the metal as if it weren't there, and it fell apart. Only then did Welles and Murtov notice, and the distraction made their torturing stop, Patrick's screams silencing down to painful whimpering.
"The Ax!" Murtov's eyes were wide with disbelief.
"I thought it was destroyed!" Welles barked, his face red.
Controlled by some unknown knowledge, Timothy jumped from his cage to the invisible platform that Welles and Murtov were standing on. His anger made him look wild, and to his captors, powerful. The Golden Ax seemed to glow from itself, buzzing with power in Timothy's hands.
"Let us go, and I'll let you live." Timothy hoped he would not have to do otherwise. His voice failed him, and it came out as squeak.
Welles was more surprised than anything else, but Murtov almost looked afraid. She stared at the Ax as if it were about to leap on her all on its own.
"You don't know how to use that," she told him sharply. "Your bark is worse than your bite."
Timothy wavered, knowing what she said was true. Only, that something that had clicked in his head knew what it was doing. He knew how to use the Ax, and he knew what it could do. So, he scrounged up what courage he had and forced the words from his mouth.
"If that is so, than why are you so afraid?"
Murtov's eyes narrowed to slits, and Timothy moved to a fighting position that he didn't know he could do. He had never done one before. Welles, the entire time, grew steadily more afraid.
"Kill the ancestor, you fool!" Murtov shouted to him.
"I am not a fool!" Welles countered her, looking abashed. It would appear that the medieval warlock was more concerned with his ego than world domination. Murtov gave him a slight look of exasperation, just enough distraction to let Timothy lunge with the Ax.
He swung with all his might, nearly catching her in the neck before she ducked away. Her face had turned completely white with surprise, and even fear. But she quickly gathered her composure, and was ready for his next blow.
Timothy wasn't entire aware of what he was doing. All he felt was the weight of the Golden Ax in his hands, the air swooshing by his face as he parried and countered Murtov's defense. Welles stood back, completely dumbstruck. However, his now apparent slow brain then realized that the entire situation would disappear as soon as he killed Patrick. With a sly, knowing grin on his face, he raised his arms and walked to Patrick's cage. Patrick climbed warily to his feet, tears prickling his eyes, but his expression calm and determined to face his fate. Welles laughed, raising his arms high above his head, ready to cast the murderous curse, before a scream stopped him.
It wasn't Timothy or Murtov, nor was it even Patrick, but suddenly, Luna leaped from the opened cage and on top of Welles… screaming shrilly with both fear and anger. It was so shocking, that Timothy and Murtov temporarily forgot that they were fighting and just stood in awe as Luna beat at Welles' head. He screamed in surprise and rage, clawing at the small brunette. However, because of his elaborate medieval clothing, he couldn't get his arms to reach over enough to grab her.
The distraction didn't last long for Murtov, and Timothy was still staring when she pulled out her wand and cast a curse. It hit him square in the chest, knocking him off his feet and flinging him backward to the ground. Not for the first time that day, the wind was knocked out of him again. When he tried to push himself up, he found he couldn't move. Murtov had paralyzed him.
"The Ax is not so useful when you can't use your hands and arms, eh?" Murtov cackled, coming closer to him. He could feel the power flowing from her, malicious and evil. Cringing as best he could with his paralyzed body, Timothy closed his eyes, ready for death to come to him…
… but it never came. There was a sudden POP! And when Timothy finally opened his eyes, there was a very large black snake with very large surprised serpentine eyes staring back at him.
"Ha ha!" Cried Patrick triumphantly. He had somehow escaped from his cage and was standing on top of Lord Welles. Luna was still locked onto his head, beating him senselessly. Timothy blinked, too surprised to react.
"So you're the snake that's been following me and terrorizing Jeff!" He finally said. Patrick flicked his wrist once and instantly Timothy felt his body come to life again.
"This so-called 'Lord Welles' isn't so tough after all, eh?" Patrick practically spat on top of the grandiose wizard fraud. Timothy almost wanted to laugh, but as he began to get up, Murtov the snake got desperate.
Springing like a cord, the huge black reptile leaped on top of Timothy and began to constrict around his neck.
"AHHHH!" Timothy yelped, and in his shock he dropped the Golden Ax. It clanked to the ground, and that's when Welles made his move.
The large wizard leapt upon the vulnerable Ax, wrapping his strong and dangerous hands around the handle. Patrick was stunned into an unmoving stare, watching, while Murtov continued to strangle Timothy's neck. Luna had been thrown upon the floor and was now gasping for air. If Welles used that Ax, who knew what would happen.
Timothy used every last ounce of strength he had to finally pull Murtov off of him, and, using her like a lasso, whipped her out toward Welles in the blink of an eye. Instantly, the Ax was thrown from Welles' hands and Welles himself got a mighty smack in the face by Murtov's snake body.
"Let's get out of here!" Cried Timothy, grabbing the Ax and running over to help Luna get to her feet. Patrick in turn grabbed Timothy, and out of nowhere a doorway appeared. However, when they went through, Patrick ran smack into someone.
"Potter?" It was William Crouch. He looked at all three of them in disbelief.
"M'lord!" Patrick cried. "Quick, we must get out!"
Crouch moved to the side, and without any further explanation, he pushed them presumably toward the exit.
"Get going!" He shouted at them, and only Timothy looked back to see the aging wizard run into where they had been, to face Murtov and Welles.
They had reached the courtyard when an explosion suddenly rocked the foundation.
"What was that?!" Luna shrieked, clutching Timothy's arm.
Patrick's flushed face went instantly white.
"Come on! We don't have much time!"
Together as one, they raced through the barriers of the innermost part of the castle. With Murtov and Welles distracted, the defenses did little to inhibit them. By the time they had reached the last ring, where Timothy had encountered the monoliths that spoke, the castle behind them began to crumble.
"Hurry!" Patrick urged, dragging Timothy behind him. They raced across the ground, everything behind them tumbling to a heap like a giant domino effect. Luna was whimpering, not daring to look back, but Timothy couldn't help but remember that Crouch was still back there. He tried to slow them down, pulling on Patrick's arm, but he wouldn't stop.
"What about Crouch, Patrick! He's still back there! Patrick!"
"He's gone, Timothy…" Patrick gasped, not looking back… his voice husky and raw.
Stunned into silence, all Timothy could do was to run behind him, towing Luna. An enormous wave of dust and debris hit them, and they all began to cough as the dirtied air clogged their lungs and blinded them. Suddenly, they heard a voice shouting from in front of them.
"Patrick! Patrick Potter! Are you there?"
It was Ocarina. She suddenly loomed into view, and Patrick immediately embraced her.
"We have to get away!" He gasped, now tugging Ocarina back to where she had came from. Timothy got a firmer grip around Luna's hand and they ran behind them.
By the time the air cleared and they could breathe easier, they had reached the top of a hill… where Witch Winter was waiting. She looked perturbed, as if they were all late for an appointment and had kept her waiting. When all of them had caught their breaths, they looked back at the ruin that was the castle.
"I never expected that he would ever…" Patrick trailed off, covering his face with his hands. Ocarina hugged him in comfort, and Timothy frowned as he stared at the smoldering rubble.
"It looks like we won't be able to go home, with Murtov finally gone." He said more to himself, but everyone heard him. Luna let out a single sob, and she buried her face into Timothy's shoulder. He didn't shrug her off, for once.
"Of course you're going home," Witch Winter suddenly grumbled. "I can still do magic, you know."
All of them turned to the old witch at once with blank faces. However, Luna immediately became hopeful.
"Can you send us home?" She asked eagerly.
"Of course." The witch shrugged nonchalantly.
Timothy, however, suddenly became angry.
"You mean all this time we've been here and you could've sent us home before? Why didn't you say something earlier?"
"Because then you would never have found that ax," She pointed to the Golden Ax Timothy held. "Because that's the next step in your quest. The last one is in your own time."
Timothy stared at the Ax, then looked at Luna.
"Then how do we get home?" He asked Witch Winter.
She pulled out, to Timothy's shock, an old looking Time Turner. Slipping it carefully over both his head and Luna, Witch Winter began to turn it over many times.
"Timothy…" Patrick looked at him solemnly. "Good luck."
"Good bye, Patrick." Timothy replied, before suddenly Witch Winter let the Time Turner go, and the world around him began to swirl violently. He felt Luna grab his arm so hard he thought she would sever it, until after what seemed like forever, she let go and the spinning abruptly stopped.
"There they are!"
Timothy was so dizzy from the jump in time that he couldn't make out where they were. Voices started shouting everywhere, and someone else grabbed him tightly. This cleared his vision, and the image of his father's face swam into view.
"Dad?" He squinted hard.
"Timothy! My God! Where have you been? Oh, thank God you're alright!" His father had picked him up and was rocking him back and forth as if he were five years old again.
The full force of the knowledge that he was back home startled Timothy into tears. He let go of the Golden Ax that he had slipped under his belt and hugged his father back. Another voice and another pair of arms took him from his father, and his mother was now bawling over him.
"Oh, my poor little boy!" She cried, kissing him, smoothing out his hair, and kissing him again. "You're home, you're home, you're home…"
Timothy merely buried his face into his mother's neck and let her fuss over him. The relief was overpowering, and for the first time in a while he wanted nothing more than his parents to hold him.
Where Luna was, he wasn't sure. He only got a glimpse that he was back in the library, where nearly half of the Hogwarts staff was buzzing about. A group of Ministry officials were there as well. His great-uncle, Sirius Black, was also there. He was now comforting his father, as they stood over him and his mother.
Timothy's mother pulled him away for a moment to look over him more carefully; she nearly burst out into tears again at his healing cuts and bruises.
"Oh, my poor baby, look at you! How… what… do you feel alright? Oh, tell me what happened! You don't have to worry, mommy and daddy are here."
Normally Timothy would blush and get angry for his mother making such a scene, acting as if he were an infant. Yet, he was just so relieved, that he simply nodded and sniffed back his loose tears.
Headmaster Eian Dumbledore had suddenly appeared, and was now politely helping his mother to her feet. Timothy's father then took a hold of him again, and his great-uncle took the opportunity to embrace him.
"I'm so glad you're OK, Timothy. We were all so worried… we had no idea what happened… where you were…"
"If you don't mind me intruding, I believe young Timothy should have Mrs. Hall have a look at him, then later we can look for answers."
Immediate responses of agreement rang out, and his father's firm and reassuring hand guided Timothy out of the library and to the hospital wing. His mother held his hand the entire time, even while Mrs. Hall gave him a thorough examination. He wasn't sure, but Timothy thought he heard Darian and John pleading to come and see him from Mrs. Hall's locked office.
"He's exhausted. Sleep is all he needs. Those wounds are healing nicely on their own. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he's had them treated already." Mrs. Hall gave him a goblet of foul smelling potion.
"I'm alright, really… I feel fine." Timothy protested, making a face at the goblet.
"Drink it." His mother said firmly; Timothy knew the tone she used was not to be argued against.
"We won't leave you." His father assured him, nudging the goblet for him to drink.
He gave the room one last look before he drank, noting that Professor Peacecraft was smiling at him kindly, while Professor Dumbledore was speaking to her quietly while she nodded her response. Timothy swallowed the entire goblet, much to his distaste, and immediately felt drowsy. His parents helped him settle in bed, and he closed his eyes as not only his mother sat next to him… but Professor Peacecraft as well. Then everything went black.
It turned out that Timothy did not have to explain himself when he woke up. Nearly a day later, he awoke to find his mother stroking his hair tenderly and his father holding his sister, Kalina, on his lap as they looked out the hospital wing window. Everyone else was gone.
"Shh…" his mother cooed when he tried to explain what happened. "We know what happened."
"How?" Timothy asked.
"While you were asleep, Professor Peacecraft was able to see your memories." When Timothy looked alarmed, she laughed. "Only the recent events, honey, don't worry. She didn't see anything personal."
But he was still worried. If Professor Peacecraft knew about the Golden Ax, then surely she would have told his parents.
"Where are my clothes?" He asked, realizing that the Ax had been under his belt.
"They're in your dorm. I had your father bring down some of your pajamas. Why?" She frowned at his worried expression.
"There was something… I'm afraid I'll loose it."
His mother studied him a moment, before realization suddenly crossed her face. "Oh, you mean that ax."
Timothy froze.
"Yes. Where is it?"
"Professor Peacecraft said she would keep it for you, because it was something your ancestor gave you?" She explained, obviously she wasn't aware of the ax's significance. Timothy relaxed. "You just rest now. Your father and I have decided to let you finish the year, so you can go back to classes in a few days."
Relieved, Timothy allowed himself to fall back asleep.
Darian and John were especially keen to know every last detail. Luna, who had recuperated in the hospital wing along with Timothy, was also drilled for every last detail. After all that had happened, Timothy wasn't as vain toward her as before, and didn't mind her around as much.
The year finished without further interruption. Timothy's parents were constantly visiting, however, to make sure things were alright. He was surprised they were letting him go home on the Hogwarts Express when the term ended.
"This year sure went by fast." Darian sighed, sitting down in their compartment on the train.
"Yeah, time flies when you travel through it." Timothy muttered, placing his trunk in storage and sat down next to him.
John was his normal, quiet self, watching the people get on the train with a wistful expression. There was a quiet knock on the compartment door, and they looked up to see Luna in the doorway.
"Ehem… er… do you think I could share the compartment with you guys?" She asked timidly.
Darian looked about ready to come back with a sharp remark, before Timothy spoke before him.
"I guess so, sure."
Both Darian and John looked at him in shock as Luna pulled her trunk in and sat down across from them. There was a few minutes awkward silence, before John broke it uncertainly.
"So, er… where's the Golden Ax?"
"In my trunk." Timothy said with an obvious tone.
"No, John, he ate it." Darian rolled his eyes.
"You can't swallow an ax." Luna looked at him blatantly.
He stared at her a moment, his brows furrowed sarcastically.
"No, really. Please."
"Alright, alright already! Settle down, Darian, before you hurt yourself." Timothy shoved him playfully.
John let out a snort and Luna snickered, while Darian glared at Timothy.
"Fine then, all-mighty Ax Man!"
He leapt at him, but only found himself on the floor of the compartment as the train lurched as it began to move. Everyone flat out laughed that time, and, completely red with embarrassment, Darian calmed down.
"So, what can we expect next year?" John asked, toward the end of the trip.
"Who knows." Timothy shrugged.
"Lumberjack classes?" Darian grinned.
"You wish." Luna remarked at him.
"Watch it, Thumblelina." He growled.
"Children…" John warned.
"All I can say is that I haven't seen the worst of it yet. Next year is gonna be tough." Timothy sighed.
"You won't go through it alone." John smiled.
"Yeah, I wanna go through time too!" Darian bounced up and down.
"You can count me in." Luna grinned sheepishly.
Timothy regarded her a moment, before smiling at his friends as they looked at him for his response.
"As long as you don't kiss me."
The last step has yet to be reached…
A/N: Oh, Lord! I'm so, so, sorry… I'm most likely more disappointed than you are… but man! I am sooo going to slap whoever came up with the idea of college- for that's a factor. Not like the terrorism helped either. Well, I won't blame you for wanting to kill me… but until you decide which method to use for my demise, I ask that you click over to Message In the Ashes and see the other cause of why this chapter reeks. Even if you don't like the story, it's better written! ::makes puppy eyes:: Novel 3 won't be out for a long time… but, I suspect that it will definitely be written.
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