WHEN TIME STANDS STILL
Thanks to:
PadfootandProngs91, goddess of darkness3, PrOnGs Da GrEaT, insanechildfanfic, Lil Miss Potter, supernova8610, Amanda, PrincessSkywalkerOrgana, Limegreenlion, gaul1, TheWall and blip-dragon.
silvernightshade: I meant to say this in the last chapter, but I forgot: Check out the official website, it's there.
Japonica: I like thunderstorms, as long as I have a blanket to curl up in and a book to curl up with! ;) Thanks a lot!
From the Silent Planet: Thank you so muck! James and Sirius are a bit over- enthusiastic because they want to do as much as they can before Harry leaves – and they'll soon be proved quite right!
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is one of the rather less funny chapters; if you want to skip I will more than understand. This is also quite a lot of speculation and invention on my part... on with the story!
CHAPTER 18: WHAT WILL AID YOU IN THE FIGHT
"Duelling," Professor Williamson told the class, "is truly fascinating. It is unfortunate that the Statute of Secrecy bans dueling except under extreme circumstances."
"Why, Professor?" Lily asked.
"It is very difficult to control, Miss Evans. Many wizards tend to get carried away while duelling, and could conceivably attract Muggle notice. In the year 1872, for instance, Latona Albekirk and Galahad Malfoy, in the course of a duel over an army of dragons that Albekirk accused Malfoy of creating, somehow sent an Engorgement Charm at a watching giant – this was before the giants were driven out of England. I'm sure you can imagine the effects. Not even Muggles could ignore a hundred-foot-tall giant rampaging through Scotland. It took two months for an Accidental Magic Reversal Squad to return the giant to his former size, and another six months to sort out the ensuing chaos. Practically every wizard who knew enough to Transfigure a matchstick was drafted to perform Memory Charms."
Harry entertained a brief image of one of Hagrid's Blast-Ended Skrewts being hit by an Engorgement Charm. Not good, not good. There wouldn't be a Hogwarts to return to; he might well gat back to his own time to find the whole of Hogsmeade depopulated.
"One of the most interesting aspects of duelling," Professor Williamson continued, "is what can happen when similar wands are forced to duel."
Harry perked up; this sounded like something he needed to hear.
"There are many ways in which wands can be similar – the outer covering, the composition, the length, the power... in very rare cases, the core magical substance of two individual wands is taken from the same creature. Wandmakers are very careful about selling such wands; they try to sell them to wizards and witches who are never likely to duel or even disagree."
Harry could have told Professor Williamson a thing or two about how careful wandmakers were about not giving brother wands to mortal enemies.
"As I said, wandmakers try," Professor Williamson said, as if he had read Harry's mind. "Sometimes it is simply not possible." He looked around the class, as if trying to decide how much to tell them.
"The Ministry guidelines suggest I stop here, and go no further into the matter of brother wands, but in the present situation... you all know that there is a very grave danger threatening our world."
"Voldemort," James said.
"Indeed, Mr Potter. The wizard who calls himself Lord Voldemort. He is not the first dark lord we have seen... the most recent was Grindelwald, who was defeated by Albus Dumbledore, but throughout the history of wizards there have been those who would either purge our world or rule it. Some have sought to do both."
"Purge our world?" Lily asked.
"Of Muggleborns, Miss Evans. That was what Salazar Slytherin himself wished to do. These wizards, who style themselves the dark lords, have shared one trait – power. They all had a great deal of it. It was what made them near- invincible... Take Voldemort himself, for instance. With the exception of Professor Dumbledore, no wizard alive can stand against him and hope to win...
"Perhaps it is sheer coincidence. That I cannot say. But it has always happened – always, beginning with Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor and a few decades ago with Professor Dumbledore and Grindelwald – that the dark wizard, and the wizard or witch he was defeated by, had brother wands."
James stared.
"You mean – always? Every single dark lord?"
"Yes, Mr Potter. Curious, is it not? They always seem to come in pairs – the person who wants to destroy the wizarding world, and the person who must save it."
"But then," Remus said, "who has the twin to Voldemort's wand?"
"A very good question, Mr Lupin. At the moment, the twin to Voldemort's wand lies in a box on a shelf at Ollivander's. Like Voldemort's, it is one of the most powerful wands to have been created in the last century."
Harry tightened his fingers around his wand – why hadn't Professor Dumbledore and Mr Ollivander bothered to tell him all this? As usual, someone he had met only a short time ago knew more about him than he did about himself.
"Anyway," Professor Williamson said, "we were diverted from our subject, which is duelling. When a wand meets its brother, if the two are used at the same time and the spells collide... can anyone tell me what happens?"
Lily's hand was in the air.
"Yes, Miss Evans."
"Priori Incantatem."
"Excellent! Five points to Gryffindor. Yes – Priori Incantatem. The reverse spell effect."
"But – that's no good, is it? Then the wands just keep regurgitating spells," one of the Hufflepuffs said.
"True, Mr Smith. And that is what I wanted to discuss today, because these days there is no knowing who is on our side and who on his; your best friend might betray you and your worst enemy might save your life. Not just Voldemort and his nemesis; any of you might be faced with a brother wand."
"So... what do you do?" Sirius asked.
Professor Williamson sighed.
"There is no spell, Mr Black, for such an eventuality. I cannot tell you what to do – I can only tell you what not to do."
"So..." Harry said slowly, "what should you not do?"
"Unless you know you will lose the duel, never use a Shield Charm, or cast any spell that could possibly collide with one cast by your opponent. Priori Incantatem can turn a duel on its head."
"You mean, we don't do anything?" James asked.
"No. I mean that there is nothing I can tell you to fully prepare you for such an eventuality. I can only ensure that you are not taken completely by surprise."
*~
"Your wand," Remus whispered to Harry as they went to the Great Hall.
"What about it?"
"It's the one Professor Williamson was talking about, isn't it? The twin to Voldemort's?"
Harry shot an alarmed look around the corridor, but Lily was busy telling James off for something, Frank and Alice had already vanished in the direction of the greenhouses, and Sirius was industriously throwing hexes at the chandeliers.
"Yes," Harry murmured. "But don't tell anyone."
"Of course not," Remus said. "It's your father and godfather you have to worry about, not harmless, inoffensive Remus Lupin."
"Never mind," Harry sighed.
"So, have you spoken to Dumbledore again?"
"I went to see him last night. He still doesn't know how I came here or how to send me back."
"You know," Remus said thoughtfully, "someone in your time might have sent you here, hoping you would never return. Do you have any enemies?"
Harry laughed mirthlessly.
"Enemies? Nah, only the odd person who tries to kill me every month or so."
Remus shook his head.
"You have a warped sense of humour. Still, look on the bright side – Dumbledore in your time knows you've vanished."
"How? Dumbledore here said he'd send me back at the instant I left, which means I never vanish at all... but he hasn't found a way yet, so maybe that means he won't and I'll get back later. But until one or the other happens we won't know it has, and time must be passing in the future just like it is here – damn it, only people like Hermione can make sense of Time Travelling."
Remus chuckled.
"The details of that are beyond me, but Harry, Dumbledore will put a Memory Charm on all of us, yes, but who's going to put a Memory Charm on Dumbledore? He probably remembers that you came here. He must've been anticipating this, and I'm sure he's prepared."
Harry felt happier. Remus was right, one of the Dumbledores was bound to find a way out of this mess.
*~
"Flick," Lily said, "and jab – and then..."
"Impedimenta Magus!" Harry said. They had stayed up to practice a complicated charm Lily had discovered that prevented any magical activity.
"Good," Lily murmured. "Now let's see if it's worked." She pointed her wand at a pile of parchment scrolls. "Accio! Accio!"
Nothing happened.
"Accio parchment!"
Still nothing.
"Excellent!" Lily said. "But we can't lift the charm, Harry, because Finite Incantatem won't work either. It'll wear off by morning."
The portrait swung open, and James and Sirius scrambled in.
"What are you two doing?"
"Nothing, Evans, nothing. We just went to the kitchens for a snack – Harry, you do know how to get into the kitchens, don't you?"
Harry nodded.
"Oh, fine, we don't have to show you, then." James yawned widely. "Time for bed... but how about leaving a nice little surprise for the First-Years, Padfoot?"
Sirius grinned.
"Excellent idea."
"Potter, what are you –"
"Nothing serious, Evans. But they've all gone and left their History of Magic essays on the table – very careless, that."
"Potter – don't you dare!"
"C'mon, Evans, Binns won't even notice." James pointed his wand at the stack of scrolls. "Evanesco!"
Nothing happened. James tried again, before frowning and turning to Harry.
"Did you do something to make spells stop working here?"
"Yes, he did!" Sirius said cheerfully. "Look at him grinning."
"Brilliant!" James said. "What did you do?"
"How'd you do it?"
"Can you show us?"
"Just imagine, we can do it in Transfiguration – even McGonagall won't be able to turn a quill into an iguana –"
"She'll be furious!"
Lily made an impatient noise.
"Honestly, you two! I'm going to bed. Night, Harry."
"Well," James said as soon as her footsteps had receded. "C'mon – we can use an empty classroom. I have to learn this spell!"
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In a couple of days I'll post the next chapter and the epilogue together, and then I'm going into quiet retirement for a month. I'll be back in June with something that hopefully has more of a plot than this.
Thanks to:
PadfootandProngs91, goddess of darkness3, PrOnGs Da GrEaT, insanechildfanfic, Lil Miss Potter, supernova8610, Amanda, PrincessSkywalkerOrgana, Limegreenlion, gaul1, TheWall and blip-dragon.
silvernightshade: I meant to say this in the last chapter, but I forgot: Check out the official website, it's there.
Japonica: I like thunderstorms, as long as I have a blanket to curl up in and a book to curl up with! ;) Thanks a lot!
From the Silent Planet: Thank you so muck! James and Sirius are a bit over- enthusiastic because they want to do as much as they can before Harry leaves – and they'll soon be proved quite right!
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is one of the rather less funny chapters; if you want to skip I will more than understand. This is also quite a lot of speculation and invention on my part... on with the story!
CHAPTER 18: WHAT WILL AID YOU IN THE FIGHT
"Duelling," Professor Williamson told the class, "is truly fascinating. It is unfortunate that the Statute of Secrecy bans dueling except under extreme circumstances."
"Why, Professor?" Lily asked.
"It is very difficult to control, Miss Evans. Many wizards tend to get carried away while duelling, and could conceivably attract Muggle notice. In the year 1872, for instance, Latona Albekirk and Galahad Malfoy, in the course of a duel over an army of dragons that Albekirk accused Malfoy of creating, somehow sent an Engorgement Charm at a watching giant – this was before the giants were driven out of England. I'm sure you can imagine the effects. Not even Muggles could ignore a hundred-foot-tall giant rampaging through Scotland. It took two months for an Accidental Magic Reversal Squad to return the giant to his former size, and another six months to sort out the ensuing chaos. Practically every wizard who knew enough to Transfigure a matchstick was drafted to perform Memory Charms."
Harry entertained a brief image of one of Hagrid's Blast-Ended Skrewts being hit by an Engorgement Charm. Not good, not good. There wouldn't be a Hogwarts to return to; he might well gat back to his own time to find the whole of Hogsmeade depopulated.
"One of the most interesting aspects of duelling," Professor Williamson continued, "is what can happen when similar wands are forced to duel."
Harry perked up; this sounded like something he needed to hear.
"There are many ways in which wands can be similar – the outer covering, the composition, the length, the power... in very rare cases, the core magical substance of two individual wands is taken from the same creature. Wandmakers are very careful about selling such wands; they try to sell them to wizards and witches who are never likely to duel or even disagree."
Harry could have told Professor Williamson a thing or two about how careful wandmakers were about not giving brother wands to mortal enemies.
"As I said, wandmakers try," Professor Williamson said, as if he had read Harry's mind. "Sometimes it is simply not possible." He looked around the class, as if trying to decide how much to tell them.
"The Ministry guidelines suggest I stop here, and go no further into the matter of brother wands, but in the present situation... you all know that there is a very grave danger threatening our world."
"Voldemort," James said.
"Indeed, Mr Potter. The wizard who calls himself Lord Voldemort. He is not the first dark lord we have seen... the most recent was Grindelwald, who was defeated by Albus Dumbledore, but throughout the history of wizards there have been those who would either purge our world or rule it. Some have sought to do both."
"Purge our world?" Lily asked.
"Of Muggleborns, Miss Evans. That was what Salazar Slytherin himself wished to do. These wizards, who style themselves the dark lords, have shared one trait – power. They all had a great deal of it. It was what made them near- invincible... Take Voldemort himself, for instance. With the exception of Professor Dumbledore, no wizard alive can stand against him and hope to win...
"Perhaps it is sheer coincidence. That I cannot say. But it has always happened – always, beginning with Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor and a few decades ago with Professor Dumbledore and Grindelwald – that the dark wizard, and the wizard or witch he was defeated by, had brother wands."
James stared.
"You mean – always? Every single dark lord?"
"Yes, Mr Potter. Curious, is it not? They always seem to come in pairs – the person who wants to destroy the wizarding world, and the person who must save it."
"But then," Remus said, "who has the twin to Voldemort's wand?"
"A very good question, Mr Lupin. At the moment, the twin to Voldemort's wand lies in a box on a shelf at Ollivander's. Like Voldemort's, it is one of the most powerful wands to have been created in the last century."
Harry tightened his fingers around his wand – why hadn't Professor Dumbledore and Mr Ollivander bothered to tell him all this? As usual, someone he had met only a short time ago knew more about him than he did about himself.
"Anyway," Professor Williamson said, "we were diverted from our subject, which is duelling. When a wand meets its brother, if the two are used at the same time and the spells collide... can anyone tell me what happens?"
Lily's hand was in the air.
"Yes, Miss Evans."
"Priori Incantatem."
"Excellent! Five points to Gryffindor. Yes – Priori Incantatem. The reverse spell effect."
"But – that's no good, is it? Then the wands just keep regurgitating spells," one of the Hufflepuffs said.
"True, Mr Smith. And that is what I wanted to discuss today, because these days there is no knowing who is on our side and who on his; your best friend might betray you and your worst enemy might save your life. Not just Voldemort and his nemesis; any of you might be faced with a brother wand."
"So... what do you do?" Sirius asked.
Professor Williamson sighed.
"There is no spell, Mr Black, for such an eventuality. I cannot tell you what to do – I can only tell you what not to do."
"So..." Harry said slowly, "what should you not do?"
"Unless you know you will lose the duel, never use a Shield Charm, or cast any spell that could possibly collide with one cast by your opponent. Priori Incantatem can turn a duel on its head."
"You mean, we don't do anything?" James asked.
"No. I mean that there is nothing I can tell you to fully prepare you for such an eventuality. I can only ensure that you are not taken completely by surprise."
*~
"Your wand," Remus whispered to Harry as they went to the Great Hall.
"What about it?"
"It's the one Professor Williamson was talking about, isn't it? The twin to Voldemort's?"
Harry shot an alarmed look around the corridor, but Lily was busy telling James off for something, Frank and Alice had already vanished in the direction of the greenhouses, and Sirius was industriously throwing hexes at the chandeliers.
"Yes," Harry murmured. "But don't tell anyone."
"Of course not," Remus said. "It's your father and godfather you have to worry about, not harmless, inoffensive Remus Lupin."
"Never mind," Harry sighed.
"So, have you spoken to Dumbledore again?"
"I went to see him last night. He still doesn't know how I came here or how to send me back."
"You know," Remus said thoughtfully, "someone in your time might have sent you here, hoping you would never return. Do you have any enemies?"
Harry laughed mirthlessly.
"Enemies? Nah, only the odd person who tries to kill me every month or so."
Remus shook his head.
"You have a warped sense of humour. Still, look on the bright side – Dumbledore in your time knows you've vanished."
"How? Dumbledore here said he'd send me back at the instant I left, which means I never vanish at all... but he hasn't found a way yet, so maybe that means he won't and I'll get back later. But until one or the other happens we won't know it has, and time must be passing in the future just like it is here – damn it, only people like Hermione can make sense of Time Travelling."
Remus chuckled.
"The details of that are beyond me, but Harry, Dumbledore will put a Memory Charm on all of us, yes, but who's going to put a Memory Charm on Dumbledore? He probably remembers that you came here. He must've been anticipating this, and I'm sure he's prepared."
Harry felt happier. Remus was right, one of the Dumbledores was bound to find a way out of this mess.
*~
"Flick," Lily said, "and jab – and then..."
"Impedimenta Magus!" Harry said. They had stayed up to practice a complicated charm Lily had discovered that prevented any magical activity.
"Good," Lily murmured. "Now let's see if it's worked." She pointed her wand at a pile of parchment scrolls. "Accio! Accio!"
Nothing happened.
"Accio parchment!"
Still nothing.
"Excellent!" Lily said. "But we can't lift the charm, Harry, because Finite Incantatem won't work either. It'll wear off by morning."
The portrait swung open, and James and Sirius scrambled in.
"What are you two doing?"
"Nothing, Evans, nothing. We just went to the kitchens for a snack – Harry, you do know how to get into the kitchens, don't you?"
Harry nodded.
"Oh, fine, we don't have to show you, then." James yawned widely. "Time for bed... but how about leaving a nice little surprise for the First-Years, Padfoot?"
Sirius grinned.
"Excellent idea."
"Potter, what are you –"
"Nothing serious, Evans. But they've all gone and left their History of Magic essays on the table – very careless, that."
"Potter – don't you dare!"
"C'mon, Evans, Binns won't even notice." James pointed his wand at the stack of scrolls. "Evanesco!"
Nothing happened. James tried again, before frowning and turning to Harry.
"Did you do something to make spells stop working here?"
"Yes, he did!" Sirius said cheerfully. "Look at him grinning."
"Brilliant!" James said. "What did you do?"
"How'd you do it?"
"Can you show us?"
"Just imagine, we can do it in Transfiguration – even McGonagall won't be able to turn a quill into an iguana –"
"She'll be furious!"
Lily made an impatient noise.
"Honestly, you two! I'm going to bed. Night, Harry."
"Well," James said as soon as her footsteps had receded. "C'mon – we can use an empty classroom. I have to learn this spell!"
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In a couple of days I'll post the next chapter and the epilogue together, and then I'm going into quiet retirement for a month. I'll be back in June with something that hopefully has more of a plot than this.