HARRY POTTER AND THE PARADOX OF BEING
by Yih
beta'd by Blackumbrage.
A drabble has been posting regarding Harry's limp on my livejournal (link in profile).
The timeline of The Paradox Series
Everyone's confused about
the timeline so here goes...
1997 Homeworld
1 Harry gets sucked into the mirror.
2 Harry's friends try to get him back, but can't break open the spell yet.
1997 AU
1 Harry arrives in other dimension.
2 Harry attempts to go back but is blocked twice.
3 Harry goes under Poppy's guidance to train as a mediwizard.
1998 Homeworld
1 Harry's friends unlock it but Harry can't come back because Sebastian Biggerstaff is there teaching Advanced, Normal, and Beginner. The students get
into the class through a placement test.
2 Harry selects his two apprentices... Draco and Hermione.
3 Draco and Hermione are Head Boy and Head Girl.
4 Hermione and Ron are dating.
1998 AU
1 Harry attempts to go back and is severely injured. There are no further attempts
for a while.
2 The Triwizard Tournament takes place. Harry wins
it.
3 Hermione and Draco are Head Girl and Head Boy.
4 Harry meets Sahar, Bellatrix's
daughter (Voldemort's daughter).
5 Harry becomes Severus's lover and his apprentice.
6 Harry passes the MEDs.
7 Hermione and Draco get together and are forced apart
by Lucius.
8 Harry attracts the attentions of Signy the Basilisk.
9 Harry fails his Potions Mastery.
1999 Homeworld - 2002 Homeworld
(not telling what happens ;p... read and find out)
1999 AU
1 Harry marries Hermione.
2 Hermione's baby is born... Hana Potter.
3 Sahar saves Remus for
Sirius.
4 Harry passes his Potions Mastery.
5 Harry gets marked with the serpent tattoo.
2000-2005
(read EoE for flashbacks)
2005 AU
1 Harry is visited by future Harry after getting crucio'd
so badly that he was out for several days.
2 Harry gets a limp from Voldemort after refusing
to wed Sahar.
3 Harry eventually marries Sahar after divorcing Hermione
and now has the ability to go back to his homeworld.
4 Harry goes back to his homeworld.
2005 Homeworld
1 Harry arrives back.
2 Harry is snogged PASSIONATELY
by Severus and is told the riddle of the Paradox.
3 Harry goes back 8 years in time to 1999 where he becomes the Mediwizardry Professor.
The Paradox Explained: If Harry changes anything, he changes what he knows will come true from what Future Harry has told him. Consequently, he changes his future. However, since he already knows what will occur--- he erases his future. But since his future self has already warned him of what will happen, he knows what he must do IF HE CAN do it. Since his 'present' body went back further in time than his 'future' self there is no time overlap because he no longer exists in 2003. So when Harry went back in time (of course Severus and Harry don't know this), Harry ERASED all the memories that future Severus have of Harry because Harry no longer was in 2003 and thus 2007 Severus has no idea of a 2003 Harry. Now that Harry's erased his future... what will become of it now...? Will it be worse or better? I.E. The Paradox of Being...
3: The Apprentices (March 27, 2004 to April 2, 2004)
back to the past…
It had been a dreadful mistake to allow Ron into the Advanced level Mediwizardry classes. It had been foolish for him to hope that Ron would see some value in the class and strive to do well in it. He should have known his former best friend better. Harry shook his head as he again had to mark an F on Ron's parchment on the kinetics of empathy. With only a handpicked ten students in his Advanced class, he really should have not gone with favoritism and should have chosen Ginny for his class instead.
She was easily the best student in his Middle levels. He had high hopes for her next year, especially since she would have a better foundation than either Draco or Hermione going into the harder theory based Medimagic. Who would have thought, Harry reflected, that so many of his former friends would have turned out to be so talented in medimagic? Then again, it wasn't the type of magic that was taught to younger students. If anything, medimagic was taught to wizards and witches that had graduated from Hogwarts or other similar type magical schools and doing post-graduate studies.
He was about to pick up another parchment when his basilisk portrait informed him in parseltongue, {You have a visitor.}
{Who is it?} he hissed back politely.
{Professor Snape.}
{You may let him in.}
{Very well, Sebastian,} his basilisk responded, slithering back to the front side of his portrait to swing open the door. {We will have our talk later tonight and you will tell me more about this Signy of yours?}
Harry chuckled and nodded. {Yes, I will tell you more about Signy later tonight, Gulliver.} How some things never changed. It was comforting to know that as well as to have proof that most males were infinitely interested in their female counterparts, no matter if they were a portrait or not. However, there were some males that weren't and that most certainly included Professor Snape.
He didn't want to make a generalization that because his Sev had preferred his own gender that this Severus did as well. He wasn't going to make an assumption, but his gut told him so and his instincts normally weren't wrong. There was something about the way that Severus toyed with him, something about the way that Severus looked at him like he wanted him. But that was preposterous, wasn't it?
Not really, his conscious whispered, when he considered how future Severus had snogged the breath out of him knowing that he was Harry Potter. But it had only been a few months, Severus could hardly be interested in him already. It had taken his Sev years to get to the point where he saw him as anyone eligible for a relationship. On the other hand, this time he wasn't a student and he was older. Moreover, he had a letter of recommendation from future Severus to Albus Dumbledore that gave his impeccable references… and if there was anyone Severus trusted---it was himself.
"Good evening," Severus greeted as he entered into Biggerstaff's personal chambers. "I trust you are well?"
Harry nodded and smiled. "I am well. What brings this visit?" he asked courteously, trying to keep his features reserved as befitted a Professor. But it was hard, damn if Severus didn't look utterly shaggable standing there with his dark robes swirling around him gracefully. "I wouldn't think you'd be one for a social call."
"I am not," Severus responded with open admittance. "But I am starting this new potions project and your assistance would be highly invaluable. You have been helping me on a semi-weekly basis, but this would be long term and it would require quite a commitment that I'm unsure if you are willing to make. I thought it be would best to ask this of you personally rather than to approach you publicly."
"What project?" Harry asked, not thinking he could say no to Severus regardless of how much work it took.
"Well, I've been doing a lot of thinking recently about how you got back here," Severus remarked in a soft voice since not very many people knew that Sebastian Biggerstaff was from the future other than the trusted staff at Hogwarts that were part of the Order of the Phoenix. "And you never mentioned how you got back, but even if time turners evolved that much… it would still be impossible to make that much of a breakthrough that quickly. There had to be something else, and I was hypothesizing a potion."
Damn if the man wasn't brilliant too. There was so much that he admired about Sev, so much that he respected about him. It was such a horrible temptation that everything that he loved most about Sev was in capitulated in Severus too. The more he got to know Severus, the easier and the harder it got to distinguish the two men apart in his mind. All that he loved about Sev came to haunt him, and yet there were differences that separated the two men. There wasn't much, but there was a little.
This Severus was inherently good while his Sev was… more opportunistic in nature. He supposed that it came from having to deal with a ruling Voldemort since his other self had died as an infant. That certainly changed the dynamics of the other world and if the changed atmosphere didn't affect a person, what else would? Even Dumbledore, a wizard he highly respected here had been so warped there that it was impossible to hold any respect for him there.
"Do you know if it was or not?"
Harry wasn't sure how much he could tell Severus without creating an even further paradox. The truth was, future Severus had told him to tell present Severus to make a potion, but that wasn't to take place for a few years down the road. If Severus started earlier, how would that change the timeline from what he had from the future Severus's journal? Oh god, just thinking about it gave him a tremendous headache.
But he supposed it couldn't hurt. "It was a potion."
Severus nodded as if that was the expected answer. "Then you will help me with it?"
"I will," Harry vowed. "I will help you as much as you want."
Severus almost smiled, instead settling for a corner of his mouth tilting upward. "That's good to hear."
Harry leaned back in his chair and studied Severus blatantly, though it was no less blunt than the obvious stare that Severus was dragging through his entire body as if he wasn't fully clothed. It made him feel naked, but he wasn't about to show his discomfort. It wasn't an awful kind of discomfort, it was quite the opposite actually. It was a pleasurable distress and he was so glad he was still wearing his full Professor garb rather than the slacks he normally had on when he was in his quarters as he felt his erection tent up his trousers.
Damn if the man couldn't get him all hot and bothered by just looking at him. And thank god he was sitting down behind his desk. While there was much the robes did hide, there was much that it didn't hide if they were to fall open. He didn't need to have Severus know he was lusting after the man because he was reasonably sure that this Severus was pursuing him… the question was why? It wasn't like the Severus he knew, even in the other world to outright pursue anyone. If anything, the other man had to do the pursuing like he had been forced too.
Then again, circumstances were different here. He wasn't a student anymore and he was well within a reasonable age gap, not like before which had been Sev's main deal before when they had gotten together. And he did have the recommendation from future Severus to present Severus that spoke volumes. To actually get Severus's approval was a huge deal, no matter which Severus it was from what world. Severus was a hard man to impress no matter what.
"I'd better get back to these parchments," Harry murmured, gesturing to the essays that he had yet to grade. It wasn't late, but he was only part of the way through the advanced portions and he still had the middle and beginning classes to grade. It would be well past midnight when he was through and tomorrow he had one of his earliest classes to teach. To think, he'd thought when he was a student that the Professors had it easy…
"Then I'd best leave," Severus remarked throatily,
his eyes trailing up and down Harry's form with such an intensity that it made
Harry want to groan with desire. It was hard to hold the man back, when he
wanted nothing more than to bend his naked ass over a desk and spread his legs
and beg Severus to fuck him hard and long. "Good
night, Sebastian."
"Good night, Severus."
He had not the slightest fucking idea what he was doing, but he wanted Sebastian and he wanted Sebastian badly. It was irrational, how much he wanted to shag the younger man senseless and all night long. It was getting to the point that he didn't care if Sebastian knew how much he wanted him or not, only hoping that if Sebastian knew… he'd give him some kind of signal that would indicate the attentions wouldn't be entirely unacceptable.
Severus ran his long pale fingers through his slightly greasy black hair. Why did he want Sebastian so much? Well, the younger man was beautiful and intelligent enough--- brilliant actually at potions. He could have never imagined being with someone that didn't understand his knowledge and his passion with potions. The fact that Sebastian did and that he was as much of an expert in his chosen field as Severus was made him respect the man all the more. And it certainly only made him more attractive since it went beyond a physical level.
What bothered Severus about the whole seducing business, because he knew if he wanted to seduce Sebastian that he would be able to. It wasn't that he was gorgeous or anything, but he was confident in his skills as a lover and he could be persuasive when he wanted to be. What concerned him the most was that Sebastian always seemed to get more rigid and tense the longer that they were around each other alone. When they were together in a crowd, Sebastian was much more easy going and a lot better company. It seemed like he froze when they were alone. Was it nerves? That was certainly not an unreasonable explanation, but still… why?
Sebastian hardly seemed the bashful type. If anything, Severus thought he'd make a wildly passionate lover. Not that he should be thinking of acquiring a lover in times like these, Severus thought harshly, but why not enjoy the little life that was left? And it was nice not having to worry about if Sebastian was someone sent by Voldemort to test his loyalty or not when he had proof from himself that Sebastian was entirely truthful. If his future self approved, what had his present to disagree with? Nothing.
He sighed and reached for his first potions essay to grade. Why had he assigned the three feet essay on the uses of dragonteeth as in an ingredient in volatile potions? Ah yes, it was to torture the stupid Gryffindors in his class. He growled and grabbed his red ink bottle. He had a feeling that he was desperately going to be needing it. It would be just his rotten luck if he ran out of it before he was done grading. Oh well, his expectations would hardly be disappointed then since he had none for them.
Let's see, whose essay was first? Hermione Granger, at least that should be somewhat of a legible read even if she was far too wordy in her writing than she needed to be. Didn't she understand the merits of a good concise essay? And how many years had he been critiquing her for going over the recommended length and still she didn't listen. The impertinent Gryffindor. But… she was still rather good at potions and that was her saving grace. He knew without reading she'd get an O, her theories were well thought if long winded. He leaned back in his chair and began to read with interest.
The diary said Voldemort was going to attack St. Mungo's tonight. The problem was Harry didn't know if the circumstances had changed or not. There were other, lesser events that future Severus had diligently recorded--- some of which had taken place and others that hadn't. He hadn't thought to intervene in those because though insignificant, if he interfered that could greatly effect the larger events in the future.
He ran his hand violently through his long brown hair and resisted the urge to growl low in his throat. What the bloody hell did he do? He couldn't even guarantee that anything would happen at St. Mungo's and what if it did? The time Voldemort had attacked before had devastated the medimagic community irreparably in Great Britain. If he allowed it to happen this time, it would be just as bad. He had to do something, even if nothing happened. Preparation was better than none.
The only problem with that was if he did so… he put himself in jeopardy of Voldemort focusing even more in on him than he already was. His talents as a mediwizard had already spread and his notorious neutrality also proved quite attractive to the Dark Lord. He knew he wasn't neutral but he maintained the guise if only to keep the Dark Lord from putting him on the blacklist. While Voldemort wasn't as powerful here as he was in the alternate world, if he targeted him--- he would get results.
Ugh… he didn't even want to think about that right now. That problem could be handled later, the fact that Voldemort seemed to want to try to recruit him. There were other problems that he had to deal with, like the problem of St. Mungo's being attacked. Whether it happened or not, he had to do something. And even if it were, there was still going to be damage if there was an attack. More than anything, he realized the importance of taking on apprentices of his own. As the Head Mediwizard from the other world had told him, he was the most combined talent to come along in a long time.
He needed to pass on his knowledge. Who better to do that then Hermione and Draco? He couldn't choose one without the other when they were both strong in different ways. So what choice did he have but to select both of them? He needed to tell them that though. It was about that time of the year when Professors made offers to the graduating 7th years to take them up as apprentices if they were going to take any that was. Not all professors chose apprentices every year, but both McGonagall and Flitwick hadn't taken one in a while and they were both due for one. He would have to make his offer good if he didn't want to lose Draco and Hermione to them… that meant he needed to start working on his offer.
There were certain things that he knew would appeal more to Hermione than to Draco. He actually didn't know what to say to entice Draco into accepting the offer, though he didn't think he had to try very hard to get Draco to accept. Draco seemed quite willing in any instance to take up the apprenticeship even if it went against years of Malfoy lineage tendencies. Whatever the case, it was Hermione that was the black card. Harry simply didn't know what she was going to do. She was so brilliant at everything that he had a feeling that at least three of her professors other than him would make an offer.
But what exactly could he offer to her that they couldn't? Other than learning medimagic… not much. However, he could teach her anything else she wanted to learn as long as it wasn't Transfiguration. He couldn't hold a candle to her in that subject, but in almost everything else he was her rival back there and given that he had 8 years on her here… he should be more knowledgeable than her. It was undoubtedly through knowledge that he would ensnare her.
Let's see, where should he begin?
To (insert name here),
You have demonstrated enormous potential in the Advanced Medimagic class to such a degree that should you decide to further pursue it, it would be my honor to offer you an apprenticeship for the next 12 months at Hogwarts. The following is what would be offered to you should you accept the role as being my apprentice:
You will be prepared to pass the MEDs (Medicial Examining Disasters). You will have unrestricted access to the Restricted Section. You have the option of living in my quarters with me, which will be magically expanded to accommodate you or you may live somewhere else as long as it is within easy commuting distance to Hogwarts. You will not be expected to pay any of the expenses incurred during your stay with me, all that will be provided from my personal account. Finally, should you choose to be my apprentice I will also train you in any other subject matter of your choosing be it the Dark Arts, Defense, Charms, or Potions.Should you decide to accept this offer, all you need to do is stop by my office and discuss the pertinent details of your accommodation and what supplies you feel you will need over the summer to begin the preparations.
Sincerely,
Sebastian Biggerstaff
The Mediwizard of Hogwarts
Author's Note: I'm very tired. I'll respond to your reviews in the next chapter. I've been sick for the past week and my life is a mess. Fallen will be out as soon as I sort through it. LA will probably be delayed to mid May I have no idea. Finals are at the end of April so if I don't get to it before that then I won't start until the end of finals so… that delays me a quite a bit. Sorry guys, my grades are terrible this semester compared to last. I'm taking more and it's harder so I doubled screwed myself.
Do me a favor and review. Thanks.
