Chapter 21:

The Chalice

Voldemort appeared back in the mainstream of time to find himself in his lair. Bellatrix looked at him. Wormtail immediately fell to his knees, "My Lord, you have finally returned."

Bellatrix bowed quickly, "Master, we have dire news."

Voldemort eyed the two Death Eaters coldly, "What has happened in my absence?"

Bellatrix replied, "We have been losing the fight against the Aurors, My Lord. They have captured at least thirty of our numbers."

Voldemort sneered, "Is that the best that I can expect of my loyal Death Eaters? All of you are pathetic. However, we will deal with that later. I have a head start on Potter, so we must use it. I need some way to increase my powers. I know there are many artifacts left over from the wars between Morgana and Merlin. I want a team of Death Eaters researching to determine the location of one of these items. Any one of them will be sufficient for me to use to power another transformation. I will need this power to finish Potter."

Wormtail and Bellatrix both bowed again, and then practically fled from the Dark Lord's presence. Unbeknownst to Voldemort or any of the Death Eaters, Remus Lupin was present in the room using one of the invisibility boosters developed by the twins. Upon hearing this information, he ran from the room, and made it beyond the Apparation wards to Apparate back to Hogsmeade and run quickly back to the castle.

He ran up to Dumbledore's office and gasped out the password. Once he entered the room, Dumbledore asked, "What is it, Remus?"

Remus stood there gasping for breath. He finally managed to say, "Voldemort is back."

Dumbledore stood up in shock and anger. "If Voldemort is back and Harry isn't, then we have to assume the worst."

Remus shook his head, "Voldemort said that he had a lead on Harry. Since I don't really understand this whole time travel thing, then I can only assume that means Harry will be returning soon."

Dumbledore smiled, "Then, there is still hope. Harry must have succeeded in stopping him from altering the past."

Remus asked, "Would we even know if the past had been altered?"

Dumbledore shrugged, "I suppose not. However, we must assume that this is the way things are supposed to be. If it isn't, then I am sure Harry will inform us. I will summon the rest of the Order for a meeting. If you would be so kind, go to the Gryffindor common room and get our student members. I believe that Miss Lovegood is there as well."

Remus nodded, "I'll be back shortly."

Remus walked through the corridors to the Gryffindor common room. He gave the password to the Fat Lady and stepped through the portrait hole. Ginny noticed him first, and smiled, "Hey, Remus. What's up?"

Remus smiled, "Order meeting. Let's go."

Ginny immediately asked, "Does this mean that Harry is back?"

Remus shook his head, "No, he isn't back yet."

Ginny sighed, "Oh, well. I could always hope."

Ron put an arm around his younger sister's shoulders, "Don't worry, Ginny. He'll be back. We just have to be patient."

Ginny said dispiritedly, "He's been gone so long, though. He left at the end of September, and its January. He missed Christmas. He's even going to miss Valentine's Day if he doesn't return soon."

Remus chuckled, "I'm sure that he will be back soon. I don't think there exists a force on Earth powerful enough to keep Harry away from you, Ginny."

Ginny blushed. Hermione patted Ginny on the back, "Remus is right, Ginny. Harry will come back to you. Just have faith in him."

Ginny replied, "I do. I'm just tired of waiting."

The group of Order members reached Dumbledore's office to find the other professors already assembled, along with the Weasleys and the Longbottoms. Dumbledore spoke up as they entered, "We are waiting on the Aurors, now."

A few moments later, Kingsley, Dawlish, and Adams popped out of the fire. Dawlish said, "We're here."

Dumbledore sat down behind his desk, "Excellent, now we may begin."

Ron interrupted Dumbledore, "Where are Sturgis, Dedalus, and Hestia?"

Dumbledore smiled, "Excellent question. The three of them are out on assignment, and couldn't be contacted. Now, to the business at hand. Remus, since you are the one that discovered this information, I will let you give them the news."

Remus took a deep breath, "Our worst fears have been realized. Voldemort has returned." There was a collective intake of breath around the room. Remus continued, "His first order of business upon returning was to send his Death Eaters in search of information about some of Merlin and Morgana's lost artifacts. He said that anyone of them would be adequate to power a transformation that would make him as strong as Harry."

Snape muttered, "That isn't good."

Dumbledore shook his head, "No, Severus, it isn't. We must decide what we are going to do to stop Voldemort from getting any of these artifacts."

A voice echoed through the room, "If I'm not mistaken, there is only one still in existence, but I will have to check with Merlin to be for sure."

The entire group of Order members swung their heads back and forth to see where the voice was coming from. They could see no one until Tonks gasped and pointed to the corner of the office where a shimmering light was dancing about. Harry materialized directly into this light, and then it slowly died away. Ginny squealed, "Harry!" She was out of her seat and across the room, throwing herself into his arms before anyone else could move or speak.

Harry wrapped his arms around Ginny, and pressed his lips to hers in a passionate and fiery kiss. He stepped back a moment later and said, "I could get used to greetings like that."

Ginny smiled fiercely, "You better. I plan on giving them to you for years to come."

Harry turned to look at Dumbledore, "Albus, could you show me your memory of the Prophecy?"

Dumbledore seemed startled, "Why, Harry?"

Harry raised a hand to forestall further questions, "Humor me, and I will explain everything."

Dumbledore nodded as he removed his Pensieve from the cabinet behind him. He put his wand tip to the side of his head and drew out the tendril of thought that was his memory of the Prophecy. A tap of the wand to the side of the bowl resulted in an image of Sybyll Trelawney emerging from the bowl. She began to speak, and the words brought tears of joy to Harry's eyes.

THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE DARK LORD APPROACHES … BORN TO THOSE WHO HAVE THRICE DEFIED HIM, BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES … AND THE DARK LORD WILL MARK HIM AS HIS EQUAL, BUT HE WILL HAVE POWER THE DARK LORD KNOWS NOT … AND EITHER MUST DIE AT THE HAND OF THE OTHER FOR NEITHER CAN LIVE WHILE THE OTHER SURVIVES … THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE DARK LORD WILL BE BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES…

Hermione asked, "Harry, why are you crying?"

Harry smiled, "Everything is fixed. It is the way it should be."

Ron said, "I'm confused. What are you talking about?"

Harry took a deep breath, "Everybody, get comfortable. This is going to be a long story. For lack of a better way to explain it, I have been to the past, back to a present that none of you remember, and then back to the past again. Now, I have returned."

Hermione asked, "What do you mean a present we don't remember?"

Harry began to explain, "I'll tell this story from the beginning and all of you should understand. When I left to go to the past, I went to just before the final battle between Albus and Grindelwald. I met all of the Heirs, and went with Hilda and Albus into Grindelwald's castle. There I faced Voldemort and allowed Albus and Hilda to continue after Grindlewald." Harry paused for breath, and Albus interrupted.

"I presume that you performed a Memory Charm on me. That is why I don't remember this occurring."

Harry replied, "Yes, and no. I did perform a Memory Charm on you, but that is not why you can't remember what occurred. I will get to that part of the story soon enough."

Albus chuckled, "Then, I shall strive to be patient."

Harry continued the story, "I defeated Voldemort, while Nicholas and Grandfather led the forces outside the castle to victory. I forced Voldemort to return to the present, and then continued on to make sure everything else went as it should."

Bill asked, "You met your grandfather?"

Charlie asked, "Who's Nicholas?"

Harry smiled, "Yes, I met my grandfather. Nicholas was the Heir of Ravenclaw. The man that created the Sorcerer's Stone."

Remus smiled, "I'm glad you got to meet William, Harry. He was a good man."

Harry smiled and nodded, "I noticed. He and I would have had a lot of fun if he was alive. To continue with the story, After I insured that Albus had defeated Grindelwald, I performed a Memory Charm on him. Then, I returned to the present. Unfortunately, it wasn't the present that I remembered. I'm still not for sure exactly what we altered, but somehow the Prophecy was changed. Since the Prophecy had changed, a great number of things were different when I returned to the present."

Ginny asked, "Was it anything major?"

Harry snorted, "You better believe it. This is the alternate Prophecy." Harry flicked a finger at Dumbledore's Pensieve sitting on the desk. Yet another image of Sybyll Trelawney rose up out of the bowl, and began to speak.

THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE DARK LORD APPROACHES…BORN TO THOSE WHO HAVE THRICE DEFIED HIM, BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES… AND THE DARK LORD WILL MARK HIM AS HIS EQUAL, BUT HE WILL HAVE POWER THE DARK LORD KNOWS NOT, AND NEITHER OF THEM CAN SURVIVE AND LET THE WORLD LIVE…THE TWO MUST DIE FOR THE WORLD TO SURVIVE… THEY WILL DESTROY ONE ANOTHER OR THE DARK LORD WILL DESTROY THE WORLD… THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE DARK LORD WILL BE BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES…

Everyone in the room gasped as they heard this Prophecy. Ginny shuddered, "Are you telling me that this could have been the Prophecy?"

Harry nodded. Ginny continued, "That would mean you would die whether you won or not."

Harry nodded again, "Which is why in this alternate reality you and I were not together."

Ginny gasped, "I don't even want to imagine that."

Harry sighed, "I had to live it. The first time that I saw you, you ran in the other direction, and Hermione told me to stay away from you."

Hermione stared at Harry open-mouth, "We were mean to you?"

Harry nodded, "You all kept your distance from me because I wanted it that way. The Harry that was created for the parallel universe didn't want anyone to get close to him, because he was afraid of losing people he cared about. So, apparently if he cared about no one, he would have nothing to lose."

Ginny wrapped her arms around Harry and hugged him close, "How horrible. I don't think that I could live without you, Harry."

Harry returned the hug, "You won't have to. I'm not going anywhere."

Albus cleared his throat loudly to break up the moment, "I am sure that the two of you will have plenty of time for that later. For now, the rest of us would like to know how you repaired things from this alternate reality?"

Harry sighed, "I didn't. Voldemort went back in time again. He had succeeded in altering something, but it wasn't enough. In fact, I went to the point of going to him and taunting him about the fact that he failed. So, he prepared, and went back in time to try and destroy me as a baby. I didn't expect him to succeed, but he has discovered the Lost Spells of Morgana and Merlin. Dueling him is no laughing matter anymore."

Snape muttered, "This is bad."

Harry nodded, "We are going to have to be very careful. The next time Voldemort attacks, people are going to die. I don't even know if I will be able to defeat him if he gets the Chalice."

Ginny pecked him on the cheek, "You will. I have faith."

Harry smiled, "On with the story. I followed Voldemort back in time again. This time to that fateful Halloween night. We met, and I challenged him. Then, I drew him into an empty dimension. We dueled. I won. He died. We unbalanced time, and the Forces of Time birthed the Spirit of Time. We were pulled into his realm and the two of us had to fight our way out."

Ron asked, "I'm confused. What is the Spirit of Time?"

Harry cleared his throat, "This is back to the basics, Ron. You know that there are Forces of Nature, right?"

Ron nodded, "Of course."

"Same concept applies to magic. Every sphere of magic is defined and controlled by a force just like the Forces of Nature. The difference between the two of them is that when Forces of Magic are upset, they can manifest themselves as sentient spirits. We upset the balance of time, so it became the Spirit of Time. I'm not going to go into details, but Voldemort and I were forced to work together to escape the Spirit of Time's realm. We did so, and the Spirit of Time fixed it so that it was as if none of it had ever happened."

Hermione tried to gain some clarification, "So what you're saying is that nothing you experience happened?"

Harry waved his hand in a see-sawing gesture, "Yes, and no. It happened, but the only people that can remember that it occurred are Voldemort and I. As far as the rest of you are concerned, it didn't happen."

Remus smiled, "Okay, I think I understand all this."

Harry chuckled, "Good. Now, its my turn to ask questions. What has been going on with the war while I was away?"

Dawlish crowed, "Thanks to the Weasley twins inventions, we were able to track the Death Eaters back to their base. We took thirty-two of them into custody. They are at Azkaban, now. Five were killed. Not to mention several giants and trolls that we eliminated."

Harry smiled, "Excellent. Fred, George, I want to thank you for all the hard work that you put into that tracking device."

The twins both shook their heads, "We did the easy part. Remus is the one that got the tracking unit on one of the Death Eaters."

Harry turned to Remus, "So, it seems your spying missions have paid off."

Remus nodded, "Yes, Harry, they have."

Harry walked over and clapped Remus on the back, "It seems that the Marauders will strike again."

Remus sighed, "I'm the only Marauder left, Harry."

Harry grinned, "Not anymore. I have been officially named a Marauder."

Remus raised one eyebrow, and cocked his head to look up at Harry, "By whom?"

Harry shrugged, "By the people most suited to do so. James Potter and Sirius Black."

Remus replied, "Harry, how would they do something like that?"

Harry smiled once more as he thought back to meeting his parents, "Being dead doesn't stop you from communicating with someone in the Spirit of Time's realm. I got to see Mum and Dad and Sirius. I don't think Mum was very happy with them inducting me into the Marauders, though."

Remus laughed, "That's Lily, alright."

Harry paused for a moment, "I guess since I am a Marauder now, I should call you Moony from now on."

Remus nodded, "Yes, I suppose you should. What am I supposed to call you?"

Harry bowed, "Goldenwing, at your service."

Remus smiled, "I presume that Lily named you. James and Sirius didn't have enough sense to come up with that."

Harry nodded, "Of course. My Mum must have been great."

Remus smiled as he reminisced, "Yes, she was."

Harry sighed, "As much as I would love to continue this conversation with you, Moony, Albus and I need to go talk to Merlin about this Chalice."

Snape echoed, "Merlin?"

Ron asked, "What exactly is this Chalice? You've mentioned it twice."

Harry shrugged, "I don't really know much about it. It is called the Chalice of Indestructibility. I know that Morgana created it to be a wellspring of power for her during her battles with Merlin. What powers it actually contains, though, I have no idea. That's why Albus and I need to go speak to Merlin about it. He will be able to tell us more."

Snape finally managed to ask, "Do you plan to go back that far in time?"

Harry shook his head, "No, of course not. I would be gone for over a year to go back in time that far. I know where a portrait of Merlin is. We are going to speak to him that way."

Bill asked in awe, "Have you spoken to him before?"

Harry nodded, "Of course. He is my Great-Grandfather in a manner of speaking."

Molly asked, "In what manner is that, Harry?"

Harry chuckled, "Well, there is a whole lot more than one great attached to it. There are a lot of generations between him and me."

Albus stood up and walked around to stand beside Harry, "I am ready to go when you are, Harry."

Harry nodded, "Alright." He turned to Ginny, "We'll be back in a bit." Then, Albus and Harry disappeared from sight.

They reappeared in the Chamber of Merlin, where his portrait resided. Merlin greeted them instantly, "Harry, my boy, so good to see you. It has been quite some time since you came to visit me."

Harry grinned, "Sorry, Grandfather, but Tom has been keeping me busy."

Merlin nodded from his frame, "I am sure that he has. So, who is this that you have brought with you. He looks familiar."

Harry laughed, "That's probably because he looks like you. This is another of your descendants. He's a Dumbledore."

Merlin clapped his hands together, "Excellent. You must be Albus. Harry has told me so much about you. You remind me a great deal of myself. I am always pleased to meet one of my descendants."

Albus smiled with his customary twinkle present in his eyes, "I am honored to be speaking with you, Merlin. However, Harry and I have come here to discuss very serious matters."

Harry nodded, "True. Grandfather, Tom seeks the Chalice of Indestructibility. I need to know what kind of powers that it will grant him if he obtains it."

Merlin sighed, "I was afraid that something like this would happen. If Tom manages to power a transformation with the Chalice of Indestructibility, it will merge with his body and he will be nearly invincible. The only way to defeat him will be to put his body through so much torture that the Chalice is ejected from his body. Then, you will be able to completely eradicate him."

Harry nodded, "I understand that, but what powers is he going to have?"
Merlin sighed once again, "He will be immune to most spells, just as you are. His powers will probably increase to the point of being able to surmount even your defenses, Harry. Not to mention that he will gain the power to control certain types of dragons."

Harry groaned, "Oh, that's all I need. To have dragons assaulting Hogwarts. The final battle between he and I is going to be bad."

Merlin nodded, "Yes, Harry, it is going to be very bad. I'm afraid."

Albus laid a hand on Harry's shoulder, "Don't worry, Harry. The Order will be right at your side when that day comes."

Harry shook his head, "That's what I'm afraid of. Whoever is at my side that day, most likely won't live to see the next."

Merlin nodded, "That is a risk anyone who champions the Light faces, Harry. It is their choice to fight."

Harry nodded, "I know. I still don't have to like it, though."

Merlin smiled, "No one is asking you to. I don't like it either."

Albus said, "Neither do I."

A/N: As distasteful as it is to me, too many hours at work is making it too difficult to maintain three chapters a week. I will be changing my posting schedule to two chapters a week. I will continue to post on Sunday morning, and the other post will be on Wednesday. My apologies to everyone for the slowdown in posting, but I just can't keep it up.

Immortalwizardelf-fan: I figured he needed something for going through all that mess. Thanks for the review.

Cicatriz: I had a really long day at work when I came home to read your review, and the laziness comment irritated me. Sorry for being snappy with you. I appreciate all of my readers. Thanks for the review.

Sambow24: Thanks for the review.

Lourdes: I can't say that I ever watched Hercules. Thanks for the review.

Volleypickle16: Thanks for the review.

Croneus: They showed up when I posted. I don't know. Thanks for the review.

Post-Scriptum: Harry said that when he was under the constraints of the altered prophecy. Once they went back in time, it was possible for him to defeat Voldemort without dying. Makes it a whole new ballgame. Thanks for the review.

Athenakitty: Harry will eventually get Voldemort. Thanks for the review.

Jaws2: We will definitely be getting around to some more H/G. Thanks for the review.

Maclir: Thanks for the review.

HermioneGreen: Voldemort is going to become more powerful, so everything isn't so clear. Thanks for the review.

Saeten: I'll keep putting the chapters out, then. Thanks for the review.

Luna wolf: Thanks for the review.

Maria: No, I meant to say I resemble that. It's a play on words. Lily had accused them of something that was true. So, instead of saying he resented it, he said he resembled it, because he did. I use it all the time, so I thought it was a nice touch to have James do it, because it fits with my perception of what his character would have been like. Thanks for the review.

Warmaster ed: Thanks for the review.

Dragonclawz: Yes, he will "dub" the others, but it will be after he defeats Voldemort. Thanks for the review.

Croberts: It's always fun to force two people who hate each other to work together. Thanks for the review.

Goddess of war and wisdom: Thanks for the review.

Froggyy1: I still can't believe they thought I was a girl. shudders Thanks for the review.

Sillypaulie: It will be awhile, yet. Thanks for the review.

Tempest Dragon: Thanks for the review.

Aalikane: I can still take him. My power is as limitless as my imagination, which is without bound. Thanks for the review.

Lucugirl07: I liked having him talk to his parents. Thanks for the review.

US HP FAN: The Spirit of Time didn't send them back. He released them. They returned under their own power. He had to tell Harry it was time to go, since the realm was created for Harry and Voldemort, and they had overcome their trials, the realm would have begun breaking down. Thanks for the review.

Cur03: Yes, everything will be as normal as it gets. Thanks for the review.

HP-wannabe69: Nobody's dead. Thanks for the review.

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Liz: I'm sure my Beta appreciates the compliment. Thanks for the review.

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Harryp123: Thanks for the review.

Blumoon52292: Well, continue rotting your brain. Thanks for the review.

Laen: Not necessarily. Thanks for the review.

Headmaster Cromwell: If I have time. Thanks for the review.

HappySnakesRule: I look forward to it. Thanks for the review.

Fireboy: I thought it was good reward. Thanks for the review.

RLupin1003: Thanks for the review.

Mad Scientist II: Thanks for the review.

Silver warrior: No, the final fight is several chapters away. Thanks for the review.

Hgfics: Thanks for the review.