Pour Liberte
Chapter TwoBy: Travelling Philosopher
Finally Dumbledore spoke. "It is known that you, Miss Granger, and you, Mr. Weasley," he nodded to each of them in turn, "are good friends. Since your first year, I believe?"
Hermione and Ron nodded, both thinking the same thing: What on Earth was this leading to?
"Yes, well…" Dumbledore paused, then continued. "You two have another friend. One who is quite famous in many ways. Mr. Harry Potter – would I be correct, students, in assuming that you know personally a sixteen year old boy by that name?"
There was a short silence. Then Ron broke it.
"Yeah, we know Harry…!" he said.
Dumbledore's eyes seemed to darken. "So you remember…" he mumbled, almost too softly to be heard.
"Sir?" Hermione said.
Dumbledore looked at her.
"Well… er… this doesn't have anything to do with Harry being gone this morning, does it?"
Giving them a resigned look but not answering, Dumbledore strode over to a row of shelves. On the top shelf was a small black box. It was inconspicuous and virtually unnoticeable among so many little silver gadgets and assorted items of interest. As soon as he touched it, Fawkes leaped from his shoulder and flapped back over to his perch in the opposite corner.
Ron and Hermione watched Dumbledore grasp the black box and pull it down. With it, he walked slowly back to them and sat down behind his desk. The box he plunked down in front of him. Ignoring it, he motioned for them to sit down in the vacant chairs in front of his desk. They sat down obediently, and he peered at them from behind his golden half-moon glasses.
"Would you like to know why Mr. Harry Potter is missing today?"
They nodded.
"The simply truth is... that…" Dumbledore leaned back and took a breath. "Mr. Harry Potter, as we know him, does not exist."
Hermione gaped. She stared, dumbfounded, at Dumbledore. Her first and only thought was that the Headmaster had finally lost his mind. He's cracked, Hermione thought sadly, He's off his rocker.
"You don't believe me." Dumbledore stated. He nodded.
"Uh, sir?" Ron finally spoke.
"Yes, Mr. Weasley?"
"Uhh… I saw Harry yesterday. In class…?" Ron looked as though his thoughts were paralleling hers.
Dumbledore nodded again. He stood up and walked purposefully over to his fireplace, in which an orange fire roared. Searching in his robes for a few minutes, he pulled out a handful of glittering powder and threw it into he fire. Ron and Hermione watched apprehensively.
"Remus, come into my office please," Dumbledore addressed the fire.
Hermione's eyes widened. He couldn't mean –
Remus Lupin stepped out of the fire nonchalantly, dusting off his robes. He looked around, spotted Hermione and Ron and waved with a little smile. "You called, Headmaster?"
"Professor!" Ron jumped up.
Hermione stood up next to him.
"Yes, good morning Mr. Weasley," Lupin smiled and turned back to Dumbledore with a slightly confused look.
Dumbledore was stoic. "Professor Lupin," he said quietly, "Would you please be so kind as to describe to us the first year that you arrived here? It was three years ago I believe…"
Lupin looked even more confused, but he obeyed. "Ah, well… it would depend on what you want to know of course. Let's see, I was offered the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. I came, and have been teaching here for three years…" He paused. "I'm not entirely sure as to what it is you want to know, Headmaster."
Dumbledore nodded, and said, "Describe in detail the events that happened on the train ride here in your first year teaching, Remus."
"Ahh…" Lupin looked bewildered. "I slept? What – "
"What about the dementors professor?!" Ron interrupted. "Remember? Dementors came onto the train and attacked our compartment! You gave Harry chocolate! They stopped the train!" He was on the brink of hysteria.
Lupin said gently, "I don't believe you're making yourself quite clear, Mr. Weasley."
"I'm being perfectly clear!" Ron yelled.
Hermione cut in. "Professor, you must remember – in the Whomping Willow? We caught Peter Pettigrew, and rescued Sirius Black, he's innocent, and we found out you're a werewolf – " She stopped at the expression on Lupin's face.
"What do Peter and Black have to do with anything?" he asked Dumbledore, "And what have you been telling them?! How do they know – how do they know I'm a…" he trailed off, looking surprised and confused.
"All will be explained in due time, Remus," Dumbledore said consolingly. "For now, please return to your classes."
And it was final. Lupin, still looking baffled, stepped back into the fire and was gone.
"W-what's wrong with him?" Hermione asked.
"Nothing is wrong with him." Dumbledore stated. "He knows you two simply as students in his class. The events that you remember from your third year never happened; Professor Snape never told the student body that he was a werewolf, and he teaches here still."
"WHAT!" Ron threw his hands up in the air. "You're bloody insane, all of you!"
"Sit down." Dumbledore said firmly, taking a seat behind his desk.
They did. Hermione, though shocked at Ron's behavior, privately agreed with him. Nothing that Dumbledore had said so far had made any sense, and the presence of Lupin was still unexplained.
Dumbledore sighed. "I will explain all of this. But I must beg you not to interrupt, as I am sure it will sound very strange and unbelievable to you. It is the truth, however."
Hermione nodded. Ron just scowled and slid deeper into his chair.
"Some fifty-odd years ago, when I taught Transfiguration at this school, there was another professor who taught Charms. Not Professor Flitwick – this man's name was Charles Gray. We were good friends and partners in studying magic; I trusted the man, although most of the staff thought he was somewhat mad.
"In the years I knew him, Charles was obsessed with time travel. It occupied his thoughts day and night; we would spend hours together, talking about the philosophy of it. At the time, you see, the concept of travelling in time was toyed about among many wizards, but none had succeeded doing it. Charles was convinced that he could. He'd go through his classes every day routinely, and then rush off to his office to experiment his ideas, to read, and to dream about creating an object that would send people through time. He'd spend entire nights down there, creating new spells, and digging up ancient ones…
"Finally, he succeeded. I remember the night well – it was during the Halloween feast, and Charles comes running into the Hall like a madman, yelling that he did it. 'I've done it at last! I've done it!' Well, of course, most of the staff thought he had finally cracked. But he had done it."
Dumbledore's eyes returned to the present. He studied them quickly; Pressing his hand into the top of the box, he muttered something that Hermione couldn't hear. It opened with a click. She leaned forward, interested. From the box, Dumbledore gently removed a golden pocketwatch. Hermione gasped. It was beautiful. The edges were intricately laced with gold and specks of silver; tiny rubies dotted it like raindrops. Twelve silver hands shone and pointed to little planets moving around the edge. Looking closer, Hermione could almost see each planet swirl and shine of its own light. A gold cord made it into a necklace; the whole thing looked ancient.
"This," Dumbledore held it gently, "Is a Pour Liberte. Charles Gray created it in the year 1943. It will take the wearer to any point in time twelve years before or after their original starting point, and no further. This, along with the Time-Turner that you have used Miss Granger, was his life's work. There are only two in existence. This is one, and the other one…" he shook his head.
"The other one?" Ron prompted.
"The other one was in the ownership of Mr. Gray when he was killed by Lord Voldemort ten years ago. When he died, his possessions were put into his Gringotts vault and left there, along with the other Pour Liberte. I had assumed that it was safe, but last night…"
"What happened?" Ron said.
"First let me explain something to you," Dumbledore lay the watch cautiously down into the box again. "Charlie and I, as I said, were friends and partners. When he created the Pour Liberte, he knew the dangers of it. He knew very well what would happen if it fell into the wrong hands. We worked together for many years, setting enough enchantments and spells on it to stop the most formidable of foes. Whenever time is altered, even in the tiniest way, two other people will remember things as they were before time was changed. Sometimes these two people are at random, but most often they are not random at all – " He glanced at them, "In that way, accidents were lessened, and when they did happen, there would be two backups who could fix things.
"Ron, Hermione, I will tell you what I know. I know that Lord Voldemort has somehow gotten hold of the other Pour Liberte, and I know that time has been changed – drastically."
"But…" Hermione frowned.
"Yes Miss Granger?"
"If time has been altered, as you are saying, and if Ron and I are the only two who remember, as you are implying, then why do you remember, sir? Why are you telling us this?"
"Ah, well spotted." Dumbledore smiled. "That is an interesting story all by itself. To be brief, however, I shall say this. About a year before Charlie died, he gave me a most unusual gift. It was an enchantment. You see, I will never be affected by anything that happens as a result of that time-watch. I will simply keep on living, remembering two times, both the original and the altered. It is impossible to kill me when you are not in your own time. Convenient, eh?"
Hermione nodded fervently.
Dumbledore smiled ruefully, "Ah, but there is one drawback, and only one. I can never use the Pour Liberte, either one, myself. It seems like such a small price to pay, doesn't it? Yes, that's what I thought. After all, what incentive would I have to travel in time?" He sighed.
"What is this coming to?" Ron slouched even deeper into his chair, "Just what exactly has been changed?"
The Headmaster hesitated, then pulled a heavy leather-bound book over from where it was resting, open, on the edge of his desk. Silently, he slid it across the desk to them.
Hermione glanced over at Ron, who looked just as confused as she felt. They both leaned forward and found what Dumbledore wanted them to read; it was circled in black ink:
……
Harry Potter was from that day forth called "The Boy Who Lived" by the mainstream of witches and wizards. Although his name was known well around the globe, little Harry Potter (who was then just one year old) was sent to live with Muggle relatives. His aunt and uncle were his only living relations, but the reasons behind his living with Muggles are to his day unknown. It might have worked out, but for the night of July 16th.
Baby Harry was no longer a baby, but four years old. Still living with in the Muggle world, and not yet of age to attend wizarding school, which would presumably be Hogwarts. What happened that day of July 16th is still ranked second in the Warlock's Foundation's Top Ten Most Mysterious Unsolved Mysteries. All that is known to the magical world today is that Harry Potter, the boy who survived the deadliest of the three Unforgivable Curses, the Boy who Lived, was gone. He disappeared without a trace.
This is one of the most famous, if not the most interesting, mysteries of all time. The Muggles, of course, were questioned extensively, as was every resident of the street where he was seen last. All that could be obtained, however was the following: On that day, the Muggle relatives left the house for the afternoon, dropping little Harry off at a neighbor's house. This neighbor, incidentally, was Mrs. Arabella Figg, a very distinguished witch and ex-Auror. It is unknown whether the Muggles were aware of the fact that she was a witch. Around 2:30 p.m., Mrs. Figg left the house to visit the local Muggle grocery store for some cat food. When she returned, Harry Potter was missing.
"I never would've left him if I'd known," she sobbed to the reporters after calling Magical Law Enforcement immediately. She was nearly hysterical. "I searched and searched… You witless boys better find him! I mean it!" She then proceeded to hex everyone in sight, putting some extremely interesting curses on a few men that will remain unnamed. As it turned out, it took almost an hour to calm the woman down; when they managed it, on the other hand, the former Auror provided invaluable help to the teams. After Mrs. Figg's awful telephone call that report Harry's disappearance, the entire area for miles around was, within minutes, swarming with everyone from Ministry officials to Unspeakables.
Unfortunately, the boy who defeated You-Know-Who was never found. The search continued for almost five years, spreading over every continent on the Earth and making huge headlines on the front page of every newspaper in Europe. Now, nearly 8 years after the assumed death of young Harry Potter, the publicity surrounding his disappearance has died down, and search parties have long since been called off. Still, any person with information of the whereabouts of Harry Potter is advised to contact the Ministry of Magic immediately.
……
Hermione was silent for a long time. Her mind raced. How could this be happening? What… what… Her thoughts wouldn't make sense. She simply stared at the page, reading it over and over again. Nothing was clear. How could Harry have disappeared eight years ago? She saw him yesterday!"This book was published four years ago," Dumbledore gave them a piercing look. "Which means that Harry disappeared precisely 11 ½ years ago."
Hermione could only nod dumbly.
"You see?" said Dumbledore, "If Professor Lupin had seen Harry today, he probably would've thought it was James. Nothing that you remember that was caused by Harry ever happened."
"I saw him yesterday," Ron croaked. "He slept in the bed next to me… He was so glad to be back to Hogwarts… I saw him yesterday!"
"Exactly." Dumbledore said. "That is why I think – I know – that Lord Voldemort obtained one of the two Pour Liberte, traveled back in time, and killed Harry. Or kidnapped him," he added thoughtfully.
"And… we're the two who remember things as they should be?" Hermione said.
"Yes," said Dumbledore.
"And what are we supposed to do about it?" Ron growled, "He'll just stay like that, missing, forever – "
"Ah, Ron, but you can do something about it. You and Miss Granger. That is where this," he rested a hand on the black box still sitting in front of them, "comes in."
"The other Pour Liberte thing…" Hermione muttered.
"Yes."
"Wait just one minute!" Ron leapt to his feet in a sudden burst of understanding. "You can't mean – that is… You must be out of your mind!"
"On the contrary, I am completely within my mind, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore said calmly.
"No way! You cannot be trying to say that you want to send us – us – back in time to change it!?" Ron yelled.
Dumbledore sighed. "My dear boy, please try to understand the situation. Where we stand, Harry Potter is most likely dead, and Voldemort is again rising to power. The wizarding world is in chaos. The Dark Lord is again gaining control, having defeated his greatest enemy – a four-year-old boy. And it worked perfectly. Not a single person capable of saving Harry would believe me if I told them what happened last night. You must realize – this world, where Harry Potter died 12 years ago, this is their world. You two are the only ones I have. I only wish I could send myself."
Ron stared at him. After a moment, he sat down and put his head in his hands, moaning.
Herself, Hermione felt like crying. Poor Harry, he had no chance to fight, he was just gone. The strangest thing about it was that she remembered very clearly seeing him just last night. They'd gone to the feast, the three of them, and walked back to Gryffindor Tower, positively stuffed. She'd decided to go to bed early and left the common room to her last sight of Harry – they waved and Harry had said 'G'night Hermione'. Just like that. And he was gone. Hermione strengthened her resolve.
"We have to, Ron." she said softly. "There is no decision – we're going."
Ron stared at her for a moment and slowly nodded.
A/N: J.K. Rowling is married! I know that millions of fans worldwide will join me in wishing her and her husband a long and prosperous time together! CONGRATULATIONS! *is in tears* Ah, this is so cool! Who thinks this is cause for a party? I think so! Okay, anyways… um, chapter three'll be up sometime soon… I'm starting to like this story, how bout you? Have a day,
~Travelling Philosopher~
Disclaimer: I don't own any of this, JKR rules the world… *bows deeply*
