Chapter XXXI - Back on Track
Outside the court room, everything was beautiful at Remus' eyes. The empty walls were beautiful, the people greeting him were beautiful, even Umbridge's grumpy look was beautiful! He felt like singing and dancing but first things first, he thought to himself.
And so he reached Dumbledore as fast as he could.
"Professor Dumbledore!" he said "I just wanted to thank you. I never would have made it without you."
"Yes" said Ellie, next to him "Is there anything we could do?"
"Actually, there is something I would like very much." said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling. "One of those wonderful tees of yours, Ellie."
"Certainly." said Ellie smiling.
"And a word." completed Dumbledore in a more serious tone. "Can we meet at your place in half an hour, Ellie?"
"Sure, we'll be waiting."
And half an hour later the three of them sat quietly in Ellie's little kitchen.
"I still don't know what happened with the break-in charge." she said after a while.
"Remus was obviously cleared." said Dumbledore.
"That's what happened while you were away." explained Remus.
"So that's why it took you so long to call me."
"It was fairly quickly, as a matter of fact." said Dumbledore. "All I had to do was remind some Ministers for Magic that some of us aren't always that good as Apparating and that anyone can make a mistake."
"Words that made Fudge blush to the hears" completed Remus with a smile "and quickly say 'Yes, yes, that can happen.'"
"So you got away of a break-in saying you had Apparated at the wrong place?" asked Ellie amazed.
"Generally, yes" said Dumbledore "Since nothing had been taken from Rita Skeeter's house, it was not difficult to argue."
"But. the photos." said Ellie.
"Oh, the photos were all well guarded in the drawer." said Dumbledore "When Rita Skeeter came to look for them, they were already there."
"Did she take so long to look for them? And who put them back?"
"Severus told me all about what had happened. Once you gave me the photos and I noticed that there was nothing that could incriminate Remus, I decided to restore them to their original place. And with a little help from the Time-Turner, it was eas-"
"A Time-Turner?" said Ellie, almost dropping her cup of tee. "A real Time- Turner? Do they really exist?"
"Yes, Ellie" smiled Dumbledore "at least one of them does. As for the other two the legend speaks about I can only say I have no idea if they still exist."
"I thought it was only a legend." said Ellie amazed.
"Fortunately, that's what most people think." said Remus "I myself thought it was a legend before Professor Dumbledore told me what the defence was going to be like."
"But. how did one of them survive? How were they created?"
"The legend goes" started Dumbledore "that there were three Hour-Glasses created in an incantation and that they were fit in a necklace each, a necklace made with magical stones. Each piece was a unique magical object that enabled the user to recapitulate moments of his life. You would go back one day for each turn of the hour glass and just look at your past, like a spectator. He created one for his son, one for his wife, and one for himself. The creator, whose name did not survive till this date, died some years after his creation, completely unaware of what would become of them. They were kept by his son who used them often to remember his parents. His mother had also died. But an evil wizard, as there always are, hearing about such extraordinary object, managed to steal them and bewitched the stones with such a powerful incantation that it is unbreakable to this day. Instead of just reliving those moments, the wizard made it possible for the person to interact with the past as well. He created the three Time-Turners and wasted no time in using them. He was killed, of course, by himself when he decided to pay a visit to his younger self, who didn't find it remotely funny and destroyed what he thought was a polyjuice effect on one of his enemies. One of the Time-Turners, it is said, was destroyed during their duel. The 2 remaining Time-Turners went to the hands of his mistress. She was as evil has he was, but, surprisingly enough, she didn't try to change anything in her past, and so she never actually used them wrongly. But her newest lover found them a brilliant piece of magic, and tried to go back in time to kill an enemy when he was more vulnerable. He didn't manage, of course, and was killed himself. The Time-Turner he used was rescued by another woman and she quickly understood the power of the object. Wisely enough, after seeing her son being killed by himself, for he too thought it was too tempting, she destroyed the second Time-Turner. The third Time- Turner, it is said, met his end at the hands of another wizard who tried to rescue a dead friend. He didn't succeed and he died in the process. The Time-Turner was broke by the curse that killed him."
"That's the legend I knew. With lesser details." said Ellie.
"But. one of them survived." said Dumbledore. "Nobody knows exactly which one. And no one knows who made the change. Because the currently existing Time-Turner does not allow you to go one day back in time unless you turn it 24 times. Now, each turn is only one hour, instead of one day. I have my suspicions that it was the second Time-Turner who made it till this day, and that the witch that lost her son realised that it probably wouldn't have happened if it only turned back one hour at the time. But this is only my suspicion. The fact that this woman was Rowena Ravenclaw's mother as well, makes me believe that that's the reason the object was hidden in Hogwarts" and he winked.
"And how did you do it?" asked Ellie, still amazed with the story.
"When I saw that there was no harm in returning the photos, I took the Time- Turner and went back just in time to see Remus taking them from the drawer. I waited for him to exit and restored them to their original place. Since neither of you knew about the Time-Turner, there was nothing I could do to help you. But I still managed to warn Severus that I was using it and that it was essential that Ellie was kept out of this."
"But. why couldn't you warn Remus about the Skeeter woman?" asked Ellie.
"Because if he hadn't been caught you wouldn't have come for my help. And if you hadn't come for my help, I couldn't be there, using the Time-Turner. You see how dangerous it is to travel in time? If there is one single thing that you change that can make it impossible for the user of the Time-Turner to be where he is. the user automatically ceases to exist."
"Oh." said Ellie "That is a really dangerous thing."
And they remained in silence for some moments.
"But the thing you wanted to talk to us about." said Remus.
"Yes" said Dumbledore "I wanted to know if you are still interested in registering the Wolfsbane Potion."
"Of course I am, sir!" she said at once "But I don't think they'll let me. For one thing, I'm not in the Confederation anymore, and only Confederation wizards can register. po.tions." Ellie was looking at an owl that had just entered by the window, dropped a letter in her lap and flew away again. She looked at the letter and saw the Confederation of Potion Makers' crest. She quickly looked at Dumbledore.
"Oh" he said, his eyes twinkling in delight "they were quicker than me. I wanted to tell you the good news, but Fudge has just spoiled it for me."
Ellie was still looking at Dumbledore amazed when he said "Well, open it! It's not a Howler, you know?"
She broke the crest, a million emotions taking over her. She missed opening that seal. The last time she had opened one was when she was expelled from the Confederation. She took the letter, read it, looked up at Dumbledore and Remus, read it again, and, still looking puzzled, read it once more.
"What is it, Ellie?" asked Remus, who was getting worried. It looked like the letter had not very good news.
She read it yet again and then gave it to Remus, who took it eagerly. His eyes read the lines, one after the other, and a smiled widened and widened in his face, until he finally finished reading it and jumped to her neck.
"Oh, Ellie! I'm so proud of you!" he said, kissing her repeatedly on the cheek.
"There must be a mistake." said Ellie. But just as she had said it, another owl came flying by the window. He seemed very distressed. He dropped the letter and waited for an answer. Ellie was utterly confused to find the Confederation's crest in this one as well.
She tore it open and read it quickly. Then her jaw dropped.
"You see?" said Remus, delightedly, reading over her shoulder "there's no mistake, you silly girl! The owl just arrived later, that's all!"
Dumbledore, who had picked the first letter said "yes, I think you should have got that one first. It doesn't make much sense to be invited to participate in the Creative Potions Awards if you are not a member of the Confederation. But I believe that that one corrects the mistake." Ellie nodded, blushing suddenly. "Well, what are you waiting for? Sign the form to be a member of the Convention of Potion Makers again. The owl is obviously waiting for you."
Ellie read the second letter once again to make sure she wasn't dreaming.
"Dear E. Wood,
It is with the greatest pleasure that we invite you to register as a member on the Confederation of Potion Makers. It is an honour reachable only by the finest potion makers but we believe your skills qualify you for it.
Hoping to see a lot more work from you in the future, Yours Sincerely,
Warlock Al. Kemest President of the Confederation of Potion Makers Order of Merlin First Class, Honorary Member of the Warlock Convention
PS - Please, fill the attached form and send us back by owl."
Outside the court room, everything was beautiful at Remus' eyes. The empty walls were beautiful, the people greeting him were beautiful, even Umbridge's grumpy look was beautiful! He felt like singing and dancing but first things first, he thought to himself.
And so he reached Dumbledore as fast as he could.
"Professor Dumbledore!" he said "I just wanted to thank you. I never would have made it without you."
"Yes" said Ellie, next to him "Is there anything we could do?"
"Actually, there is something I would like very much." said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling. "One of those wonderful tees of yours, Ellie."
"Certainly." said Ellie smiling.
"And a word." completed Dumbledore in a more serious tone. "Can we meet at your place in half an hour, Ellie?"
"Sure, we'll be waiting."
And half an hour later the three of them sat quietly in Ellie's little kitchen.
"I still don't know what happened with the break-in charge." she said after a while.
"Remus was obviously cleared." said Dumbledore.
"That's what happened while you were away." explained Remus.
"So that's why it took you so long to call me."
"It was fairly quickly, as a matter of fact." said Dumbledore. "All I had to do was remind some Ministers for Magic that some of us aren't always that good as Apparating and that anyone can make a mistake."
"Words that made Fudge blush to the hears" completed Remus with a smile "and quickly say 'Yes, yes, that can happen.'"
"So you got away of a break-in saying you had Apparated at the wrong place?" asked Ellie amazed.
"Generally, yes" said Dumbledore "Since nothing had been taken from Rita Skeeter's house, it was not difficult to argue."
"But. the photos." said Ellie.
"Oh, the photos were all well guarded in the drawer." said Dumbledore "When Rita Skeeter came to look for them, they were already there."
"Did she take so long to look for them? And who put them back?"
"Severus told me all about what had happened. Once you gave me the photos and I noticed that there was nothing that could incriminate Remus, I decided to restore them to their original place. And with a little help from the Time-Turner, it was eas-"
"A Time-Turner?" said Ellie, almost dropping her cup of tee. "A real Time- Turner? Do they really exist?"
"Yes, Ellie" smiled Dumbledore "at least one of them does. As for the other two the legend speaks about I can only say I have no idea if they still exist."
"I thought it was only a legend." said Ellie amazed.
"Fortunately, that's what most people think." said Remus "I myself thought it was a legend before Professor Dumbledore told me what the defence was going to be like."
"But. how did one of them survive? How were they created?"
"The legend goes" started Dumbledore "that there were three Hour-Glasses created in an incantation and that they were fit in a necklace each, a necklace made with magical stones. Each piece was a unique magical object that enabled the user to recapitulate moments of his life. You would go back one day for each turn of the hour glass and just look at your past, like a spectator. He created one for his son, one for his wife, and one for himself. The creator, whose name did not survive till this date, died some years after his creation, completely unaware of what would become of them. They were kept by his son who used them often to remember his parents. His mother had also died. But an evil wizard, as there always are, hearing about such extraordinary object, managed to steal them and bewitched the stones with such a powerful incantation that it is unbreakable to this day. Instead of just reliving those moments, the wizard made it possible for the person to interact with the past as well. He created the three Time-Turners and wasted no time in using them. He was killed, of course, by himself when he decided to pay a visit to his younger self, who didn't find it remotely funny and destroyed what he thought was a polyjuice effect on one of his enemies. One of the Time-Turners, it is said, was destroyed during their duel. The 2 remaining Time-Turners went to the hands of his mistress. She was as evil has he was, but, surprisingly enough, she didn't try to change anything in her past, and so she never actually used them wrongly. But her newest lover found them a brilliant piece of magic, and tried to go back in time to kill an enemy when he was more vulnerable. He didn't manage, of course, and was killed himself. The Time-Turner he used was rescued by another woman and she quickly understood the power of the object. Wisely enough, after seeing her son being killed by himself, for he too thought it was too tempting, she destroyed the second Time-Turner. The third Time- Turner, it is said, met his end at the hands of another wizard who tried to rescue a dead friend. He didn't succeed and he died in the process. The Time-Turner was broke by the curse that killed him."
"That's the legend I knew. With lesser details." said Ellie.
"But. one of them survived." said Dumbledore. "Nobody knows exactly which one. And no one knows who made the change. Because the currently existing Time-Turner does not allow you to go one day back in time unless you turn it 24 times. Now, each turn is only one hour, instead of one day. I have my suspicions that it was the second Time-Turner who made it till this day, and that the witch that lost her son realised that it probably wouldn't have happened if it only turned back one hour at the time. But this is only my suspicion. The fact that this woman was Rowena Ravenclaw's mother as well, makes me believe that that's the reason the object was hidden in Hogwarts" and he winked.
"And how did you do it?" asked Ellie, still amazed with the story.
"When I saw that there was no harm in returning the photos, I took the Time- Turner and went back just in time to see Remus taking them from the drawer. I waited for him to exit and restored them to their original place. Since neither of you knew about the Time-Turner, there was nothing I could do to help you. But I still managed to warn Severus that I was using it and that it was essential that Ellie was kept out of this."
"But. why couldn't you warn Remus about the Skeeter woman?" asked Ellie.
"Because if he hadn't been caught you wouldn't have come for my help. And if you hadn't come for my help, I couldn't be there, using the Time-Turner. You see how dangerous it is to travel in time? If there is one single thing that you change that can make it impossible for the user of the Time-Turner to be where he is. the user automatically ceases to exist."
"Oh." said Ellie "That is a really dangerous thing."
And they remained in silence for some moments.
"But the thing you wanted to talk to us about." said Remus.
"Yes" said Dumbledore "I wanted to know if you are still interested in registering the Wolfsbane Potion."
"Of course I am, sir!" she said at once "But I don't think they'll let me. For one thing, I'm not in the Confederation anymore, and only Confederation wizards can register. po.tions." Ellie was looking at an owl that had just entered by the window, dropped a letter in her lap and flew away again. She looked at the letter and saw the Confederation of Potion Makers' crest. She quickly looked at Dumbledore.
"Oh" he said, his eyes twinkling in delight "they were quicker than me. I wanted to tell you the good news, but Fudge has just spoiled it for me."
Ellie was still looking at Dumbledore amazed when he said "Well, open it! It's not a Howler, you know?"
She broke the crest, a million emotions taking over her. She missed opening that seal. The last time she had opened one was when she was expelled from the Confederation. She took the letter, read it, looked up at Dumbledore and Remus, read it again, and, still looking puzzled, read it once more.
"What is it, Ellie?" asked Remus, who was getting worried. It looked like the letter had not very good news.
She read it yet again and then gave it to Remus, who took it eagerly. His eyes read the lines, one after the other, and a smiled widened and widened in his face, until he finally finished reading it and jumped to her neck.
"Oh, Ellie! I'm so proud of you!" he said, kissing her repeatedly on the cheek.
"There must be a mistake." said Ellie. But just as she had said it, another owl came flying by the window. He seemed very distressed. He dropped the letter and waited for an answer. Ellie was utterly confused to find the Confederation's crest in this one as well.
She tore it open and read it quickly. Then her jaw dropped.
"You see?" said Remus, delightedly, reading over her shoulder "there's no mistake, you silly girl! The owl just arrived later, that's all!"
Dumbledore, who had picked the first letter said "yes, I think you should have got that one first. It doesn't make much sense to be invited to participate in the Creative Potions Awards if you are not a member of the Confederation. But I believe that that one corrects the mistake." Ellie nodded, blushing suddenly. "Well, what are you waiting for? Sign the form to be a member of the Convention of Potion Makers again. The owl is obviously waiting for you."
Ellie read the second letter once again to make sure she wasn't dreaming.
"Dear E. Wood,
It is with the greatest pleasure that we invite you to register as a member on the Confederation of Potion Makers. It is an honour reachable only by the finest potion makers but we believe your skills qualify you for it.
Hoping to see a lot more work from you in the future, Yours Sincerely,
Warlock Al. Kemest President of the Confederation of Potion Makers Order of Merlin First Class, Honorary Member of the Warlock Convention
PS - Please, fill the attached form and send us back by owl."