Chapter 19:

2nd Time Interlude

The rest of the Christmas holidays passed by quickly amidst all the games and pranks that the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione played. The night before the group of students would have to return to Hogwarts, Harry was struck by a vision through his scar. Voldemort was casting the time travel spell. Harry smiled to himself. It was time to have a little fun. He ran over to Ginny and pulled her into his arms. Then, he bent quickly and planted a feather soft kiss on her lips. "By the time I return, you will not even remember that any of this has happened, Ginny. I still want you to know that I love you very much. Now, I have to go work."

Ginny called after him as he stepped away from her, "Be careful, Harry."

Harry grinned, "Don't worry. I know what I'm doing. Bye."

Then, Harry Apparated to where Voldemort was casting the time travel spell. When Harry appeared the surrounding Death Eaters sprang into action, and a major battle ensued. Killing Curses and Cruciatus Curses filled the air as the Death Eaters attempted to keep Harry from reaching Voldemort. Harry ignored the spells, and repeatedly threw Explosion Hexes into the throng of black robed wizards. Finally, Harry came to just outside the circle where Voldemort was casting the spell. Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange blocked his path. Harry chuckled, "Come now, the two of you don't really think that you can stop me, do you?"

Bellatrix replied scathingly, "We don't have to stop you, Potter. All we have to do is give the Master time to journey back. There he will destroy you and none of this will have ever occurred."

Harry laughed, "Well, you are right about this never having occurred because I am going to return things to the normal flow of time. However, you are wrong about your precious Master destroying me. Little to your knowledge or his, Tom is playing right into my hands."

Lucius asked sharply as he raised his wand, "What are you talking about, Potter?"

Harry replied, "I want him to go back in time. As a matter of fact, I goaded him into doing it. Now, I can go back to where the Prophecy does not bind us, and I can kill him without dying. Then, I can restore whatever it was that he altered, return to the present and live happily ever after. Before I do that, though, there is the little matter of killing the two of you." Harry waved his hand to conjure a sword. Then, in a stab so fast that Bellatrix didn't even see him move, Harry plunged the sword into Lucius' chest. Lucius gurgled once as he slid lifeless off the end of the blade. Harry smiled evilly at Bellatrix, "Interesting way to die, don't you think, Bella. I'm sure that you will enjoy joining Lucius in his fate." Harry reversed the sword and plunged his sword into Bellatrix's chest. Then, Harry turned to Voldemort. The two of them locked eyes for one moment in which Voldemort communicated all the hatred in his being to Harry. Harry merely bowed and smiled. Then, Voldemort was gone, fleeing into the ethers of the past. Harry chuckled to himself, "Let the battle begin." Then, in a flash of light, Harry left the scene with a pile of Death Eaters, both dead and stunned strewn around.

When Harry popped into existence in the past, it was no great surprise to find himself in Godric's Hollow, standing just outside a home bright with light streaming out the window. Harry could see inside, and there were Halloween decorations hung all around the sitting room. Inside, a young couple were sitting in the floor playing with a little child that had to about a year old. Harry smiled from the window down at his parents and himself. Then, he heard a voice behind him, "Potter."

Harry turned around to see the Voldemort from the future standing in the darkened street just behind him. Harry sighed, "I expected you to come here. My question is did you come here to stop yourself from attacking, or did you come here to die killing me?"

Voldemort laughed maniacally, "Neither. I came to watch. Then, after it is all over, I will kill you. A single Avada Kedavra Curse to unlock your power and fulfill the Prophecy. Then, I will simply slice the child's throat and watch you bleed to death."

Harry shook his head, "You know that I will never allow that, Tom."

Voldemort drew his wand, "We shall see. It is time for this to come to an end."

Harry flung his cloak away to free up the movement of his arms, "I suppose it is, Tom. I can't say that I have enjoyed life as your enemy, but it certainly has made things interesting. However, now it is time for you to say goodbye to life, if that is what you can call it." Harry raised his hands and cried out loudly, "Rulers of Magical Essence, I beseech you, Draw us into another realm where this battle may be settled once and for all. Creatus Batale Realmus." Wind began to stir around the two wizards, while it remained calm everywhere else. It was as if the two of them were caught up in miniature tornadoes. As the intensity of the wind grew, Voldemort began looking around him in trepidation, while Harry merely grinned. Then, without warning both of them were sucked up into the air, and they disappeared from the past forever.

The two of them were deposited in a realm that was devoid of any other inhabitants. Voldemort sneered, "Where have you taken us, Potter?"

Harry stretched his arms over his head, and casually popped his neck before answering, "This is kind of like Limbo. The two of us are stuck here until one of us defeats the other in combat. The victor may leave the realm, and the loser will die. It is that simple."

Voldemort assumed a dueling stance, and said, "Let us begin, Potter."

Harry replied easily, "Very well."

Voldemort began the duel by casting an Explosion Hex. Harry allowed the hex to hit him calmly and asked, "Do you still expect that to work? You know you can't harm me with spells that weak."

Voldemort replied angrily, "Then, try this on for size. Engorgis Crucia Prolongis."

Harry quickly dove sideways, "I'm impressed, Tom. I would never have expected you to find out about that spell. I'm even more impressed that you can actually cast it. This seems like it will be a much more interesting fight than I had at first thought."

Voldemort smiled cruelly, "Yes, I had my Death Eaters poring over ancient texts to find anything that might be able to harm you."

Harry snorted, "Pitiful. You can't even do your research. No wonder I am destined to win this battle. You are afraid of a little work."

Voldemort's eyes flared in anger, "How dare you, Potter? It is time for you to die. Avada Kedavra Eternalis."

Harry rolled sideways and conjured two daggers while he was rolling away from the curse. As he come out of the roll, he flung the daggers at Voldemort with pinpoint accuracy. However, Voldemort was ready, and merely waved his wand to erect a shield to block the daggers. By the time that the daggers had fallen to the ground, and the shield had faded away, Harry was standing with a sword in his hand. He smiled, "I'm even more impressed, Tom. Not only did you manage to discover these spells, but you also managed to keep the fact hidden from me. I think that I might have to change my opinion of you."

Voldemort conjured his own sword into his off hand, "Now, we will duel as two masters meeting would. Guard yourself, Potter. I will be your end."

Harry snorted as he assumed a dueling position, "How many times are you going to tell me that? Quite frankly, its beginning to get a little old."

Voldemort didn't answer verbally, he merely charged at Harry. Harry met the charge head on, and crossed swords with the most powerful Dark Lord to date. Then, the duel between the two began in earnest. The sword blows rained back and forth between the two of them so fast that if there had been an audience, few people would have been able to keep up with the action. It was still obvious that Harry was the superior swordsman, but it wasn't by much. However, he finally disarmed Voldemort, but this gave Voldemort an opening to cast a spell. "Engorgis Crucia Prolongis." The curse caught Harry just under his sword arm, and he fell to the ground writhing in pain. Voldemort laughed maniacally as he held Harry under the curse. He released the curse to fire another, "Avada Kedavra Eternalis."

It was too little too late, though. The second that Harry was released from the curse, he rolled to his feet and hurled two Explosion Hexes at Voldemort. They caught him square in the chest and sent him wind milling through the air to land several yards away. He staggered brokenly back to his feet, as Harry stood panting with the effort of overcoming the pain of the curse. The two most powerful wizards in existence stood there staring at each other with a newfound respect apparent in each of them. However, this was overwhelmed by the deep abiding hatred that the two shared for one another. Harry said while taking deep breaths, "You didn't think it was going to be that easy did you? I'm not that easy to kill."

Voldemort said angrily, "Perhaps not, Potter, but I will finish you in the end."

Harry stood up straighter, "We'll see, Tom. We'll see."

Voldemort waved his wand and sent a flurry of Stunning Spells soaring at Harry. Harry merely flicked his hand, "Protego." The Shield Spell deflected all of the curses easily. Harry smiled, "You are wounded a great deal worse than I am, Tom. This battle will go to me."

Voldemort snarled, "The battle isn't over yet, Potter."

Harry said, "Then, perhaps I should end it." Harry then threw out his left hand shouting, "Stupefy." Four Stunning Spells emitted from his finger and zoomed straight at Voldemort. Voldemort blocked the curses easily, but was completely unprepared for Harry to appear behind him and plunge his sword deep into Voldemort's back. Voldemort fell back gagging on his own blood. Harry said calmly, "It is over, Tom. Avada Kedavra Eternalis." The massive jet of green light that erupted from Harry's hand caught Voldemort in the face and knocked him into a flip, where he landed lifeless on the ground. Harry slumped to the ground, exhausted. He sighed, "It's over."

As quickly as the words left his mouth, a rumbling sound began to be heard and the ground began to shake. Harry looked around and said out loud to himself, "What the hell is going on here?"

The entire realm began to disintegrate around him, and a voice cried out loudly, "YOU HAVE DISTURBED TIME ONCE TOO MANY, HARRY POTTER. YOU AND THIS OTHER PATHETIC WRETCH OF A WIZARD WILL FACE THE CONSEQUENCES OF MEDDLING WITH TIME."

Voldemort got up from where he had been lying dead a moment before and said, "What the hell is going on, Potter?"

Harry said with trepidation and truth be told a little fear apparent in his voice, "The Spirit of Time has been awakened, and to say the least, he's pissed."

A/N: Next chapter is in the Spirit of Time's realm. I hope you enjoy. Thanks goes out to all my readers.

Gilly Loves Smut: That was one of the main reasons that I liked the alternate timeline idea. Thanks for the review.

Athena kitty: The original Ginny will be given a phoenix by Harry when he gets back. Thanks for the review.

Sleeping till Midnight: There are explanations forthcoming in the story. If you are still confused after that, feel free to e-mail me and I will answer any questions you have. Thanks for the review.

Potter and the Weasley: Obviously not really. Thanks for the review.

Expecto Patronum: Yes, time travel does offer a lot of unique possibilities. Thanks for the review.

Lil Ole Me 97: Yeah, I'm ready to get on with some Voldemort bashing. Thanks for the review.

Dragonstorm316: I know, but the average 16 year old would have real trouble looking at things that way. Especially when the guy has been being an ass for awhile. Thanks for the review.

Hp-wannabe69: He's headed back there soon. Thanks for the review.

Dustin-Coons: After he deals with the Spirit of Time, its back to the original timeline. Thanks for the review.

Tempest Dragon: Thanks for the review.

Goddess of war and wisdom: Thanks for the review.

Katepotter13: Thanks for the review.

Minority: Don't expect any of the old characters to come back to life. Thanks for the review.

Laen: everything will be fine when he gets back to the original timeline. Thanks for the review.

Lourdes: Thanks for the review.

Lucugirl07: There are many that agree with you. Thanks for the review.

Sambow24: Thanks for the review.

Aalikane: LOL. Since I'm the writer, and I control the actions of all the characters, I still think that I could take Voldemort. Thanks for the review.

Volleypickle16: Thanks for the review.

MuggleNet17: I understood what you meant, and there will be some more Harry/Ginny fluff when we get back to the other timeline. Thanks for the review.

Tabone: Excellent research. However, the term hasn't been used in decades, so I somehow doubt your teachers would have heard of it unless they are ancient. I read it in a textbook from the twenties. I used it because I felt that the wizarding world's knowledge of Chemistry and Physics should be behind the Muggle world. You are correct about it not applying to metals, but I didn't expect anyone to catch that considering I doubted anyone would even recognize the term. In short, you have caught me in error, but it was mostly intentional. As to your prophecy question, that is debatable. I'm going to go with the argument that while they are in this timeline, they must abide by its rules, and the altered prophecy is one of its rules. Thanks for the review.

Hunta: I'm glad things are being made clear. Thanks for the review.

Destiny Violet: That time has arrived. Thanks for the review.

Kat-girl1989: There won't be a full length novel after Hogwarts, but I have planned some shorter stuff. Thanks for the review.

Blip-dragon: Thanks for the review.

Keldore: It was just intended to be a cute present for Ginny, since she likes his phoenix form so much. Thanks for the review.

US HP FAN: Sirius didn't have anything to do with why the timeline was altered. Just the presence of Harry and Voldemort in the past warped the magical signature of time. That is what caused the problem. Thanks for the review.

Lunawolf: Thanks for the review.

Yugioh/Potter/Pokemon fanatic: Yes, Voldemort is going to remember everything. Thanks for the review.

Maclir: He's going to try now. Thanks for the review.

RLupin1003: Its not really his solution, but you'll see. Thanks for the review.

Fireboy: Yes, it does make for some interesting conversations. Thanks for the review.

Silver Warrior: No, time was actually altered to create this alternate timeline, but when time is altered back, the original timeline will return to being. He will have to give the phoenix to her again. Thanks for the review.

Liz: Not within the confines of the story. I wanted each reader to decide what they think did it, but I actually answered it in one of my review answers. Thanks for the review.

HappySnakesRule: Its not terribly important to the story, but it does come in handy. Thanks for the review.

Cur03: That seems to be the general consensus. Thanks for the review.

Retribution: He intends to do just that. Thanks for the review.

James Potter's Lily Flowers: You know the answer to that question already. Thanks for the review, sweetheart.

Hermione Green: They got on with it. Thanks for the review.

HPGWFAN: Won't work. If his mother doesn't die, then he doesn't gain the protection from her death, and Voldemort kills him when he's still young regardless of Dumbledore protecting him, because the protection at the Dursleys wouldn't work, and Voldemort wouldn't be killed by the rebounding Killing Curse. Thanks for the review.

KirbyChirby: Yes, he's going to give them the same presents. Thanks for the review.