Chapter Thirty-three

Author notes

Okay, so I'm probably not going to keep responding to the reviews except to say thanks because it takes away from the time I have to work on my story. Besides, people keep telling me over and over again that this should be a parody when it's not even funny and I still think people are not themselves (like the person who tried to pretend they were Mrs. Shekspir, except that's not her real name. She told me not to use her real name on the internet and since she had a book of Shakespeare in Russian I picked that. Just like I picked my author name to not be my real name. Like I'm supposed to believe that she came and reviewed when she could tell me in person. Like I'm supposed to believe she's not busy giving birth, oh, today or tomorrow). Actually, my favorite story is Watership Down by the way. Oh, and risti, I'm so so sorry I spelled your name wrong before! I didn't mean to. I'm usually such a good speller. Hi to Jessica and Kalynn (not their real names, either)!

The ghostly yellow glowball came closer and closer. Araminta had been sitting funny and her back legs were asleep. She swished her tail and tried to stand, but she could only drag herself forward and forward was a direction she really didn't want to go in because she wasn't sure what the glowball was going to turn out to be. It could be really dangerous!

Araminta whinnied a sad, scared sort of whinny and finally the glowball came into the clearing. She started to shiver in fear, and then she stopped right away. After all, she was Gryffindor. She stood up to meet the ghost head-on.

A man and a woman stepped out of the yellow glow. They were both very tall, they both had pointed ears, and they both were carrying a bow and arrows. "Transform. Do not be afraid, youngling."

Araminta shook off her unicorn form and rubbed the circulation back into her legs. "Who are you?" she asked, amazed.

"We are Elves of Middle Earth," they said together. "We are here to deliver a prophecy."

Araminta counted quickly on her fingers. "I know! I know! You're here to deliver the prophecy about my fathers' foretold love!"

The elves looked at each other. "We sense that you are a time-traveler, as we are. We have come back in time to repair a rift. Tell us, what is this prophecy that you know?"

"Well," said Araminta, "Daddy Harry said that he was waiting outside of Dumbledore's office and that he heard 'Potter will find true happiness in the arms of a Malfoy.' He knew right away that he needed Daddy Draco to be happy. Then, some elves came out. You must be those elves!" She squealed and clapped her hands together in delight. "It's soooo romantic!"

The female elf sighed gently and took Araminta's hand. "That is the problem. It has been a plague on Harry Potter that he is to be the victim of misheard prophecies. It is no accident that you are here, Araminta Malfoy-Potter. We spoke with Dumbledore and arranged for him to give you a Time-Turner in the hope that we could convince you to come back in time, though we find that you've come back remarkably well on your own. The future you know is not correct."

The male elf snorted. "Harry Potter was always one for taking fate into his own hands, rather than letting it happen."

The female elf nodded. "We only provide prophecies for our own. Several human generations ago, an elf fell in love with a witch. He had no great love for humans, and trained his family in his beliefs. Now, a half-breed of ours sits in the school, unsure of his place in this world, and without outside influence, he might fail to find his true love." She gave Araminta a grave look. "And you might fail to be born. And the prophecy will not come true."

Araminta was puzzled and afraid. "I don't understand."

The male elf took his turn to speak. "Time travel is a tricksy business. We've arrived here too late to stop ourselves from giving Dumbledore the prophecy." He closed his eyes as if he heard something only he could hear. "Even now, Harry Potter hears his future told and searches the castle for his one true love. Even now, your mother weeps in her room because she saw you kissing Draco Malfoy this afternoon at the very time she chose to make up with him, and even now she is not carrying the child she should be."

"Hold on," said Araminta. "Do you mean to say that Daddy Draco and Daddy Harry aren't my real parents? That they're not my fathers?"

The elves shook their heads. "Yes, and no. You have a true mother, Araminta, and she is so pure-hearted that she could not bear to stand in the way of a foretold love, so she stepped aside. She has tried to stay nearby the ones she loves, though, all these years."

Araminta knew who it was right away. "Aunt Hermione is really my mother." She thought she was going to be sick.

"Yes," said the female elf. "And Draco Malfoy is your father. However, they will not be your parents unless you help them to love one another all over again. If you do not succeed, you yourself will fade into the mists of time. We cannot help you anymore. We have already overstepped our boundaries and can alter the course of time no more. Araminta, you must save yourself." They turned to go.

"Wait!" said Araminta, running after them. "But what about the prophecy? The part that says ''Potter will find true happiness in the arms of a Malfoy'?"

The elves looked at her with pity. "Dear child of our line, can you not imagine who that Malfoy might be?" Then, they disappeared in a glowing, misty haze.

"Oh Merlin, it's me," Araminta whispered to herself.