Author's Note: Woot! This is the last chapter of part one. After this, there's an interlude chapter, and that's all I have completed so far. It's going to take a lot longer for me to get all of part two posted, so get yourself a good cup of coffee and a nice jigsaw puzzle ready!
Disclaimer: see prologue.
Chapter Eleven: "Divination"
"Oh my God," said Kali in a hushed whisper. Her pale eyes traveled frantically between her two companions, as if hoping someone might say the whole charade was some elaborate joke. "That's so insane… it… it makes sense." She placed her hand over her mouth in shock. Shane sat in a kind of stunned trance; he hadn't said anything in quite a while.
Thanks to Kris, Elita had successfully found her way to the Ravenclaw common room. She made a mental note to buy her friend a butter beer later.
Elita had been so happy to know that Kali had indeed returned from the past safely, she had hugged her until Kali's respiratory system had been cut off and she turned blue in the face. Kali was spared from a violent choking death only by Shane grabbing Elita and embracing her in turn. Elita was initially surprised by this, Shane wasn't the type of guy she would label touchy-feely, but she wasn't complaining. Shane had seemed to suddenly regain his sense of self, pulled away from his girlfriend's sister, and had cleared his throat rather awkwardly and demanded to know what was going on.
It had taken her and Kali the remainder of the night to explain to Shane where they had been for the past month, but maybe it wouldn't have taken quite so long if Shane hadn't kept on interrupting to ask questions and make comments. But when Elita had gotten to the part where herself and Ste had deduced that Brynn Weasley was the traitor that Kali had foretold of, Shane became uncharacteristically quiet.
"I just can't believe it… Brynn," Kali whispered. "How could he be capable of…? …Remember when we went with the Weasleys and the Potters to the World Cup after second year and I met Brynn for the first time? I had the hugest crush on him…"
"What?" This had apparently snapped Shane out of his trance.
"Oh, get over yourself, lover-boy," Elita groaned. "We have more important matters on our minds at the moment than your macho pride; for instance, how to go about getting the Order to believe that Brynn's the traitor. Damn! They don't even know there's a traitor in the first place. If we had only told them about your prophecy, Kal."
"But would they have believed me?" Kali questioned incredulously.
Shane rubbed the bridge of his nose wearily and closed his eyes for a moment. "Trust me, if the Order knows anything, it's not to take tip-offs for granted. They would have listened."
Kali and Elita exchanged nervous glances. "We didn't really have time to warn them, though," Kali remarked thoughtfully.
"Yeah," Elita agreed. "Kali got her little prophecy—or vision—or premonition—or whatever the hell you want to call it, and we barely had time to mull it over before—whoosh," she made a hand gesture that clearly indicated the two girls were sent into the past. Elita sighed. "And we're too late to warn them now."
"No, we're not!" Shane interjected heatedly. "We'll tell them about Brynn before he makes his move—whatever that is."
"No," Elita moaned dispiritedly. "Ron wrote to Ste telling him that Brynn was missing in action; he just showed me the letter. Whatever Brynn wanted to achieve he obviously already has. I think he might have faked his own kidnapping or something. I read Ron's letter and I got the impression that he thinks Brynn was abducted." She surveyed her comrades cautiously, mentally preparing herself for their inevitable chastisements. "Then I thought 'if only I could go back in time to warn them before Brynn ever went AWOL'… I thought about using the spell I told you about—"
"No!" Shane protested, leaning forward in his blue armchair so that he could look Elita directly in the eye. "You have no idea what that spell is capable of! And frankly, it looks like Dark Magic to me. Some Death Eater, like Brynn—" Elita shuddered involuntarily, Shane continued. "—Could've planted it in your bag and you would just be playing right into his hands if you attempted to work the incantation! Who knows what would happen if you tried! And even if it did take you through time, and that is a big if, you can't just manipulate events to occur the way you want them to! It's not supposed to work that way!"
Elita scoffed and looked Shane over, attempting to appear intimidating. She crossed her arms and pursed her lips in anger. "I thought you were on our side," she said icily.
"You know I am, El," he sighed exasperatedly, like he was dealing with a small, disobedient child. His left elbow rested on the armrest while his right hand rubbed his temples. "But things don't always work the way you want them to! It's a little thing I like to call life. You just have to let events run their course."
"So, you're saying I should sit back and watch?" Elita asked heatedly.
"God, no! Merlin knows sitting back and watching when you're this close to the Order and impending doom could get messy—or fatal—or… fatally messy… But what I'm saying is you don't go back in time to try to change things whenever something doesn't go the way you'd like it to! God, if there's one thing my mother ever taught me it's that. Even if that stupid spell does work—think of the consequences!" he snapped.
"He's right, Elita," said Kali evenly, looking from her boyfriend to her sister. "It's like I said before, there're so many things that could go wrong, so many things you could do that would only make matters worse! Please, don't put yourself in danger, El."
"And odds are, events would turn out just the same," said Shane. It's like what you said about you two going back and confirming the future." Kali seemed to understand, but Elita looked at him quizzically.
"Sorry?" she said, suddenly wishing she too was a Ravenclaw.
He merely shrugged. "It's a paradox, really."
"Yeah," Elita chuckled and said sarcastically. "That really helps me to understand."
"But, thinking that way," he continued thoughtfully, more to himself than anyone, as if he hadn't been interrupted. "If you go back in time and you were meant to, then I suppose it's a good thing—" he was silenced by an angry glare from Kali that clearly meant for him to be quiet. He stood up and cleared his throat, "I'm going to see Dumbledore," he declared importantly. "Perhaps he'll have a solution to all of this mess."
"Nosebleed Nougat," Shane murmured. Thank God, he thought to himself as the gargoyle guarding the Headmaster's office jumped aside. He hadn't been in the office for so long he was afraid the password might have changed. He knocked lightly on the door. He heard an old, but powerful voice answer, "Come in."
"Ah, Shane," Dumbledore said. "I suppose Kali and Elita have returned by now?"
"What—how did you—" Shane knew Dumbledore was a genius, but this was just unnerving. Surely the girls hadn't had time to see the Headmaster yet?
"Your friend, Stephen Weasley, came to me just moments ago, on his way to breakfast I believe, asking my permission to have a little… conference about certain recent happenings with his father, whom he's just written a letter to. And also, your mother," Dumbledore said, "Was kind enough to inform me of several things of which, I admit, I was not aware of before."
Shane looked around the office and, to his shock, noticed his mother sitting in a chair across from Dumbledore's desk. This did not ease Shane's already acute confusion. It was not very often that Shane became confused, and so far he did not like the feeling. "Mum?" he queried.
"I already know," said Hermione softly to her son. "About Brynn, I mean. And I expect Ron and your father have only just found out; Ste wrote a letter to Ron, you see, explaining to him that Brynn had turned traitorous and was passing valuable information to Voldemort and his supporters. They're probably a touch in denial at the moment, especially Ron. Someone will have to tell them the whole story, and sooner rather than later." She looked to Dumbledore. "That's what this little 'conference' is about, right Professor?"
He nodded. "If Ron and Harry have, in fact, already received Stephen's letter," Dumbledore said. "And the information that you have given me is correct, Hermione, which I have no doubt that it is, that leads me to assume that they will be Flooing here shortly."
"I left early, before the post arrived," Hermione informed the old Headmaster, "but I'm almost entirely certain that Ste's letter came today."
"What?" Shane looked from his mother to Dumbledore then back again. "What information? What was it you said about a conference? What do you know about what's going on, Mum?"
She sighed deeply. "Well, obviously I knew the girls went back in time," Hermione answered, sounding tired. "I was there, you know. I met Kali and Elita when I was sixteen. They've obviously changed nothing of the past."
"That's what they figured," Shane muttered.
"Shane," said Dumbledore seriously, "I need you to collect your brother and sister, Kali and Elita, and Stephen and you are all to report to my office as soon as possible. I believe several of you are owed some explanations, and you will receive them shortly."
Shane nodded in bewildered agreement. Before he turned to leave he asked Hermione, very pointedly, "How do you know that Dad and Ron are Flooing over here? Maybe Ste's letter requested Ron, but…" Shane shook his head, at a loss for words, and then continued. "And how could you possibly know that Brynn's the traitor?"
Hermione's face gained a sort of glazed expression, as if she were remembering something. To Shane's immense surprise, she let a small smile escape her lips. "Call it… divination."
"BRYNN'S WHAT?" Harry roared. They were once again at the Order's headquarters. Ron had shown Harry an interesting letter from Ste, his youngest son.
"I—I don't know!" Ron spluttered. Harry gaped at his best friend who appeared to be near tears. "Ste—Ste's letter was short," he explained as if Harry hadn't read it for himself. "Something about the Order and Brynn betraying us—but how could that be! And how would Ste know? Even if he had betrayed us—which he didn't—the last person he'd tell is Ste! I mean… it—it's just r—ridiculous," Ron chuckled, very nervously. "Ste asked that I Floo over to Hogwarts, to Dumbledore's office. He said they all needed to explain some things…" he said shakily.
"Well, you're certainly not going alone," said Harry decidedly. "We're going together to see what all this mess is about." In a few quick strides he was at the mantel. He took a handful of powder and doused it over the flames, which were crackling merrily, turning them a shocking emerald green.
Hermione sat tensely in a chair across from Albus Dumbledore's desk. Nothing had been said since her son departed to fetch the other children. Hermione found she couldn't keep her thoughts from wandering.
It was hard for her to believe that soon Hogwarts would have to go on without Dumbledore. He was retiring at the end of the school year. Just the mere thought of it brought tears to her eyes, and she hadn't even attended the school in over twenty-five years! And the man was very old, after all. Sometimes, when she was feeling particularly morbid, she couldn't help but wonder how long the man had left.
She came to her former Headmaster's office a few short days ago when Ron had come to Grimmauld Place, utterly shaken by the abrupt disappearance of his eldest son. But it wasn't abrupt to Hermione. She had been waiting for it for quite some time.
Dumbledore had asked her to come here today, though. She knew it had to do with the Rollins sisters. She had known the two girls since she was sixteen, so had Harry and Ron. The three of them also knew that the twins had special abilities, abilities that normal witches and wizards did not have.
When she first met the girls so many years ago she knew there was something odd about them even before she even had reason to speculate. She, of course, eventually discovered just what it was that was so strange about the sisters. It was odd, Hermione thought, that she thought of the events in her sixth year at Hogwarts nearly a lifetime ago, but for Kali and Elita Rollins it had been only a matter of hours.
Hermione had told Ron when they were sixteen, which was necessary under the… circumstances, and Raleigh had found out too, that couldn't be helped. And obviously, Harry had eventually found out as well. But none of the Order or any of the trio's other friends were ever informed of these of remarkable young ladies. It was simply too dangerous. But after today, it was quite possible everyone would know everything. No, not everything, Hermione told herself. She wouldn't allow that. It was much, much too dangerous. If she let anyone know of events to occur in the future—
"Hermione…" Dumbledore sighed deeply. He was very tired, Hermione could tell. "Please don't blame yourself for what has happened. You of all people know that time-travel is a very risky business, indeed, and I would assume that—"
He was interrupted by a loud banging noise in his fireplace, and two men entering through it, brushing ash and dust off their robes. Harry and Ron both appeared very stricken to see Hermione in Dumbledore's office.
"Ah, gentlemen," Dumbledore said coolly. "Perfect timing. In fact, I believe," he paused for a moment, as if to listen to the air around him. "There are quite a few people waiting outside the door just now to explain things to us. It seems we have a very complicated situation on our hands." He cleared his throat and spoke so that someone outside the door would be able to hear him, "Come in."
The six of them had been standing outside the office door for a while, and they had come to the conclusion that Dumbledore was certainly not talking to himself. Kris had been convinced it was her mother, saying she would know her voice anywhere. Elita guessed that was because Kris vividly remembered all the times her mother had scolded her, which must have been quite often, she decided with a smirk. Ste and Kris seemed determined on hearing what Mrs. Potter and Dumbledore, who seemed to have lowered their voices, were conversing about. Shane stood propped against a wall, arms folded, eyes closed, refusing to say anything to anyone. Meanwhile Elita, who could not hear a thing through the heavy door and seriously doubted that either Kris or Ste could, was bored to tears.
"He said to come in," Ste whispered to them.
"Finally," Elita muttered under her breath. Obediently, Elita, Kris, Ste, Kali, Shane, and Aiden all walked into the elaborately decorated office, Aiden gazing around the room in noticeable awe.
Elita looked around the room. Kris had been right, she thought to herself. Mrs. Potter was seated across from Dumbledore, looking somewhat anxious for a reason Elita did not know. To her great surprise, standing by the fireplace were none other than Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley. When had they gotten here?
The two men seemed like completely different people than they were hours ago. Well, Elita thought, that's not exactly accurate considering the events that had transpired hours ago for Kali and herself, had in fact been years for the three forty-somethings currently inhabiting the headmaster's office.
The teenagers whom Kali and Elita had met were like alter egos of the men standing before them. These grown men, respectable, talented wizards, were Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley. But the boys she and her sister had recently become acquainted with; funny, carefree, Quidditch-playing sixteen-year-olds with nothing but girls and racing brooms on their minds were Harry and Ron. But no, the more Elita thought about it the more she had trouble distinguishing Harry from Mr. Potter. The adult Mr. Potter seemed remarkably similar to the sixteen-year-old Harry, albeit taller and more aged.
Hermione, of course, had aged as well. She retained her sense of caution, but seemed softer and less intense than she has as a teenaged girl.
Ron, however, was noticeably different. He had grown up. He still retained many of his sixteen-year-old mannerisms, Elita noticed, but he was more of an adult now.
But Harry… why wasn't their much of a difference between adult Harry and sixteen-year-old Harry? Elita shuddered inwardly as she realized it was not because Harry hadn't grown up like his friend Ron, but because he had already been an adult at sixteen. Elita tried to imagine what she would have done in Harry's situation, the weight of the world on her shoulders. She would have cracked under the pressure, she realized, who wouldn't have? Harry wouldn't have, she answered herself. Harry came out of it, not exactly unscathed, but virtually intact. Elita's heart swelled in sympathy for this man, who, before the school year began, she had known only as The Famous Harry Potter and her Friend's Father. She felt like she personally knew this man now… knew him like he was her friend. And the concern of a friend overcame Elita as she pondered the question, has Harry Potter ever actually gotten to be a child? Has he ever had the luxury of being carefree and innocent like his peers once had? It was a chilling thought, because Elita knew the answer.
Harry Potter tried to be strong and brave because it was what the world needed. And a selfless person like Harry Potter would not stop to consider his own needs when others needed him. Elita was either impressed or appalled by that quality, to distinguish exactly which would be virtually impossible, she knew. She was abruptly ripped from her reverie by the old, tired voice of her headmaster.
"I believe," Dumbledore began. "That there are quite a few people here today who are owed some explanations. Who would care to start?"
Kris cleared her throat. "Erm—Professor? What exactly are we all doing here? All of a sudden Kali and Elita are back. I don't understand what happened and Shane's conveniently neglected to tell us anything about why we're here," she glared angrily at her twin brother. "And… what do you mean 'explanations'?" She finished lamely.
"Well," Dumbledore said, quite calmly. "You, your brothers, and Stephen are here on account of your parents, whom I trust, believe you are all mature enough to know the truth about what is going on," he glanced over to the adults and Hermione inclined her head slightly, Ron and Harry simply stood rooted in their places, looking utterly bewildered. "As I understand it, today is the day all of you find out exactly what is going on." Kris and Aiden exchanged equally mystified glances. "Kali and Elita are here, however, to do the explaining. To some of you more than others… but I must ask you to be cautious and aware, very aware, of what you say. And I also ask," he added, with a sidelong glance at Hermione, "That not everything be revealed today, some things aren't meant to be known, not yet, at least. We just need the relevant information pertaining to how these two young ladies," he gestured toward Kali and Elita, "Know that Brynn Weasley has betrayed us…" Hermione nodded silently. Aiden blanched, Kris gasped, Ron grimaced, Harry scoffed, but everyone else remained quite calm.
"What!" Kris screeched.
"Kris," Hermione said in a steely voice. "Let them explain. I know that it's a lot to take in, but you have to trust me. Trust everyone here."
"I'm afraid it's true." Dumbledore sighed wearily and suddenly looked very, very old. "Brynn has betrayed the Order of the Phoenix to Lord Voldemort. But exactly what information he has divulged is not yet known to me."
"Come on!" Kris yelled. Hermione, who would usually have objected to her daughter behaving in this manner, said nothing. "If I can't trust Brynn," Kris continued. "I might as well not trust anyone! I can't believe everyone's going along with this! Brynn's like a big brother to me and you lot are all saying he's… he's…" she glanced wildly around the room, desperate for some support. "Dad?" she looked abruptly to her father. "Do you believe this rubbish?"
Harry faltered for a moment and looked at his daughter lovingly. "I'm not sure what to believe, love. But… I think it'd be best if we listened to what everyone had to say before we make any final decisions."
The room was quiet for what seemed like eternity. The tension was almost unbearable to Elita. All eyes were focused on Kris.
Kris took a deep breath, as if mentally preparing herself for what she was about to do. She looked Dumbledore straight in the eye, and although reluctantly, grudgingly, and in an annoyed fashion… she nodded.
"Right," said Dumbledore, businesslike once more. "I'm afraid I don't know this tale quite as well as some people in the room. So a volunteer to begin…" he trailed off.
"I'll start, but I'll have to do some background explaining, I suppose." Kali volunteered. Elita noticed Kris and Aiden exchange questioning looks once again. Kali took a deep breath and surveyed everyone in the room. It looked like the girl was preparing to give an award-winning speech. "Ever since I was very young, I've had… unnaturally good instincts, you might say. I'd… know about things… before they'd happen. Obviously, since I'm Muggle-born, my parents didn't think anything of it, they didn't know to. I first really knew something was off one day in primary school. An old grade-school rival of mine, Bree, tried to play a little trick on me one day. She put glue in my seat the last day before summer holidays. I walked into class, but for some reason… I knew I shouldn't sit in the seat she'd put glue in—the seat I'd sat in the entire year. It was an odd feeling, but knowing, even then, that me gut instincts almost always were in my favor—I picked another seat. It was really brilliant because she was the last one in class and she had to sit—oh, never mind, I'm getting off track.
"And then Elita and I received out Hogwarts letters. It was around that time she told me that odd things were happening to her as well. She told me that at first it was like getting awful cases of déjà vu, but then she realized it wasn't déjà vu at all. She was going back in time. But back then, it was only for minutes."
"Wha—" Kris began to interrupt, but Hermione held up a hand to silence her.
"Yes," Elita cut in. "I would, oh say… walk out of a room, and then all of a sudden I would be back in that room again, like I had been minutes earlier, but not like I'd Apparated or anything, just sort of like a few minutes repeated themselves. I'm sorry; it's very difficult to explain to someone who hasn't experienced it."
"We didn't tell anyone about our… gifts," continued Kali. "I warned Elita to be very cautious. She appeared to have no control over her power." She sighed. "When we got to Hogwarts in our first year, I told you, Professor Dumbledore," she said looking towards the old man, "about our… abilities."
"Mine too?" Elita asked, perplexed. "You never told me you did that."
"Anyway," her sister continued, ignoring Elita. "He seemed not at all surprised when I told him about us, which I didn't give much thought to at the time, I figured he had seen much stranger things than two eleven-year-old girls with semi-rare powers. He told me that there hadn't been a true Seer, which I found out I was, at Hogwarts in quite some time. He also told me, quite frankly, that he had never before heard of a case like Elita's. 'But anything is possible, especially in the Wizarding World,' he said, I noticed he sounded a touch more worried as he said this, but I didn't comment."
"It was in second year when I went back in time longer than a period of a few minutes," Elita said. "I went several years back in time that day and I had never been more scared in my life. I didn't know what to do! I found a bathroom and cried for about three hours before all of a sudden, I was back home in my own time! I didn't understand what was going on or why on earth it was happening to me. It was truly frightening. But, over time, I slowly gained more control over my… abstract power. I learned how to go back in time by force of will, but I could only go back a few minutes, which didn't exactly come in handy. If it was five o'clock I could maybe go back to four fifty-five. Whoopie," she added sarcastically. "I also learned that I was able to take people with me. Kali had the misfortune of being my guinea pig. Remember, Kal?" she asked with a sidelong glance to her sibling. "When we were late to Charms class that one day." She took her eyes off Kali and began to speak to the entire room once more. "I went back a few minutes and accidentally took her with me."
"That was pretty frightening, I'll tell you. Going back in time's a real rush. But anyway, a few weeks after that incident," said Kali. "I Saw something."
"This was in our second year, as we said," Elita interrupted. "Before Kris and Ste were on the Gryffindor team. If you'll recall, we were ruddy awful with the exception of Eve. It was our match against Slytherin and Eve Longbottom, who was Seeker at the time, was really good and, I might add, our only shot at winning the Cup."
"Elita—" Shane interjected. "I know you love Quidditch, but are you sure that this is relevant?"
"Patience is a virtue, Shane," Elita chastised gently. "I'm getting there. Tension had been mounting for a while and we would do just about anything to make sure Gryffindor won this match."
"But then I got the vision I was talking about earlier," Kali said. "It was Eve. She was going to be late for Defense Against the Dark Arts so she was running down the stairs and fell, which caused her to break her arm. It was nothing serious, but she wouldn't have been able to play in the game, and there was no reserve Seeker, so Gryffindor would've had to forfeit. I had just seen Eve a few minutes before I got my vision, and she had been on her way to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Class was due to start in a few moments, so my vision would have had to have been five minutes from taking place at the most. In second year Ravenclaw and Gryffindor had Transfiguration together so Elita and I were at on our way there—"
"And since Eve was going to Defense Against the Dark Arts she was on the opposite end of the castle! But we had to do something! No way on God's green earth were we going to hand over the Cup to Slytherin!" Elita exclaimed. "We would've risked being late, only McGonagall had sworn she would take fifty points from each of us if we—heh, I mean, I—was tardy one more time. And we probably wouldn't have made it in time to stop Eve from falling anyway."
"And then it happened," Kali said cryptically.
"We went back in time about five or ten minutes, enough to stop Eve from falling down the stairs. The event itself was nothing spectacular, I've gone back that far before, but it was what caused it. I hadn't even tried to go back in time, but it still wasn't like I did it on accident either… it was just like a reflex. Like dodging a bludger before it has time to register what you're doing."
"That was when we realized that her time-traveling abilities seem to react to my visions. It happened a few times after that too, but like I said, they were just visions, little things."
"On one of our little adventures, though. I was caught." Elita looked at Ste. "I was really lucky it was Ste, I don't know what would've happened if it had been someone else. Time-travel is very risky. I knew very well that it was incredibly dangerous to be meddling with it. Many people believe that things like time-turners should be outlawed totally. So, if someone found out about my power… what I could do… Merlin only knows what would become of me. Luckily, Ste would never dream of telling anyone. And I hope all of you feel the same way," she said as she surveyed the room.
"Well, anyway, a few weeks ago, I got something a little more than a vision," said Kali.
"It was a real prediction—a prophecy, I mean. I wrote what she said down for later, and lucky I did too, I didn't know Seers couldn't remember predictions they'd made! This prophecy, it said there was a traitor in out midst. 'He's close to the ones he holds dear, but holds them far away.' That part was a little cryptic. It mentioned he's flamed-haired and older than the receiver of the prophecy, which would be Kali. We…" Kali looked at Harry, Ron, and Hermione rather guiltily. "Rather assumed it was Ron. But can you blame us? Who else could it have been?"
"And then the same thing happened as it did on that day with Eve Longbottom, or that's what we thought," Kali said. "We were sent back in time. We were sent to you three's," she gestured at Harry, Ron, and Hermione, "sixth year a Hogwarts." There was a stunned silence on Kris and Aiden's part. "We were very confused. We didn't know what we were there for or how we were supposed to stop Ron from turning traitor!"
"I was scared to death my powers weren't working correctly," Elita said softly. "I was afraid I'd stranded us there. I'd never been in a different time for so long!"
"And to top it all off," said Kali, "We weren't sure what we were supposed to do! "How were we supposed to stop Ron from betraying the Potters—?"
At this point Ron made like he was going to interrupt, but clearly thought better of it.
"We also noticed," Kali continued, a little smugly. "That our 'traitorous' friend had a crush on Hermione, er—Mrs. Potter," she added hastily. "But she was 'Hermione' to us then," she said apologetically.
Hermione looked over to Ron, her eyebrows raised, but said nothing.
"We didn't want to see it go down like that," said Kali. "We knew Hermione and Harry would end up together, sometime soon, and we knew Ron would get jealous."
"Unless," said Elita, "we could find someone to get his mind off Hermione. And who better to do that than his future wife? Enter Raleigh. We, or Kali, actually, introduced them to each other, more or less."
"But," said Kali, a definite somber note in her voice. "What we didn't realize was that we weren't in the past to change the future, we were there to confirm it. I've recently discovered that prophecies are very different from visions."
"What?" Kris snapped. "What are you talking about? How were you two confirming the future?" She, along with her younger brother, appeared genuinely confused.
"Well, they sure didn't change anything," said Harry. "Otherwise we wouldn't remember you two from our sixth year. Everyone thought you'd died or disappeared. But we—"
He was interrupted by his daughter. "I still don't understand about the traitor. I'd like to assume that Ron's not it, because if he is, he is standing at an uncomfortably close proximity to my father under the circumstances." Kris stated. "Not to mention he could kill us all at any given mom—"
"Let's think," Elita said exasperatedly. "We've all been friends for a long while, right? I can think of a redhead who's very close to the Potters, older than us, and who isn't Ron, er—Mr. Weasley. This same redhead would benefit greatly from Ron meeting Raleigh, because without Ron meeting Raleigh, he would've never been born."
"Brynn," said Aiden, in a barely audible whisper.
"Bingo," Elita confirmed.
"NO!" Ron bellowed abruptly. Everyone turned to face him. "Brynn—Brynn would never—"
"It's true," said Hermione quietly, but firmly. She was still sitting in her chair across from the headmaster's desk. Elita took into consideration how ashen-faced she was. The room watched as a silent tear made its way down Hermione's cheek.
"HOW?" Ron screamed. "HOW THE HELL COULD YOU KNOW THAT?"
"I can't tell you, Ron," Hermione replied, trying to keep her voice level, but it was coming dangerously close to breaking. The rest of the room continued to watch silently. "Not here… not with the children… But I know it's true. I'm sorry, Ron. I'm so sorry."
"Elita," Ste said timidly, as if afraid he shouldn't speak. "You've forgotten to tell them something. About the incantation."
Elita sighed deeply. She was halfway hoping Ste would forget about that. Kris groaned. "There's more?"
"What incantation?" asked Aiden seriously.
"A few nights ago, actually it was years ago considering it was while we were still in the past, I found this small piece of parchment in my bag," Elita explained, avoiding, for some reason of which she wasn't quite sure, mentioning the notebook. She had never told Ste about it, either. So, who was to know the difference? She continued, "There was an incantation written on it. In my own handwriting, explaining that it was used for time travel and requires great concentration and an advanced state of mind. Funny thing is, I don't remember writing anything of the sort. Ste, do you still have it?"
Ste nodded wordlessly, extracted the parchment from his pocket, and handed it to Elita, who showed it to everyone.
"I've never seen a spell like that," said Aiden. "It looks like—"
"Dark magic?" Ste offered. "That's what we thought too."
"And I don't have to say it myself. Someone else can. I can be sent to anytime by someone else. Anyone else who has the concentration to do it. But that's pretty much all I know." She folded the piece of parchment and placed it back in her pocket. She wasn't sure if Dumbledore had seen her, but if he had, he didn't object.
There was a moment of silence before the old Headmaster said. "Well, I think all the students have heard what they needed to hear. I'll be seeing you all this evening at dinner."
The six exited the beautifully decorated office, Kris and Aiden looking rather dazed.
They didn't even notice when Elita slipped away from the group.
Why was this happening? To her? Why did she have this power? What was so special about her? Questions she had asked herself countless times before were now beginning to resurface in her mind's eye. She was unpleasantly jolted out of her thoughts by a hand on her shoulder. Startled, she spun around. It was Hermione.
"M—Mrs. Potter! You scared me!" she said lamely.
"I'm sorry, Elita," she apologized. "But there's something I must tell you and it can't wait." By the tone of urgency in her voice, Elita had enough sense to shut up and listen. She waited for her friends' mother to continue. "You must go back."
Elita thought she'd misheard. "S—sorry?"
"That incantation you showed us earlier, it's not a setup or a trick. It works. But it is Dark Magic. If the Ministry knew about it, which I'm positive they don't, I'm sure it would be outlawed. You see, you're not the only one it can affect."
Elita was stunned by this life-changing revelation. "S—so," she said, not recognizing the sound of her own voice. "You're telling me th—that that spell…"
"Can affect anyone, yes. If I were to say the incantation with enough skill and concentration while thinking of a certain time I would, most certainly, end up there."
Reality dawned on Elita like a slap in the face. "So—so you're telling me—everything Kali and Shane have told me is true? That I—I'm being manipulated?"
"Yes," replied Hermione calmly.
"B—but why?"
Hermione sighed deeply. "I'm afraid I can't tell you exactly. It has a lot to do with your sister—and how she's a Seer. I believe whoever is manipulating you is an extremely talented Legimens. He seems to have reached new heights in the study of Legimancy. I believe whoever is doing this to you has been implanting false visions of the future into your sister's mind. But I don't believe it's been going on for very long. Maybe a year at the most."
"W—what are you saying?"
"I believe that whoever is doing this to you is in such an advanced state of mind and Legimancy, he is not only able to implant visions into Kali's mind, but is able to actually work through time to do so. I believe he used this method in combination with several advanced memory and memory replacement charms. If the situation wasn't so dire I believe I would find it quite fascinating."
"So, you're telling me," said Elita, now somewhat miffed by Hermione's fascination with her freaky situation. "That all the times I've gone back in time have never actually happened. They're just mere bi-products of some psychopath's attempt to get me to hand-deliver his right-hand-man to him?"
Hermione smiled nervously. "In… a manner of speaking." She hastily added, "It's not nearly as simple as that, though. Legimancy is widely considered the most complex, most difficult, most obscure branch of magic. This is because the concepts of the study are so hard for the human mind to comprehend, you see? As to why he implanted the memories of the two of you going back in time to do small things, like stop Eve Longbottom's arm from breaking, was, I think, to give the two of you the false sense that there was some greater good at work. He wanted to lure you into his trap. And, he was extremely lucky that the two of you were Muggle-born, otherwise I think your suspicions would have aroused at a much earlier date than this. But, I'm positive that the prophecy your sister made and the fact that the two of you have just skipped twenty-five years through time actually happened. It had to have happened for Voldemort—if indeed he is the perpetrator—to get what he wanted. Brynn."
"Because Ron and Raleigh had to have us introduce them so they would get together. And they obviously had to get together to have Brynn," Elita said, dazed.
"Exactly!" said Hermione, obviously thrilled that Elita had caught on.
"But why me?" Elita asked desperately. "Why some nameless, faceless Muggle-born when he could have chosen some respectable pureblood who would have gone back in time willingly?"
Hermione closed her eyes for a moment, and then regained composure. "Your sister, Elita. She's a true Seer. So, if my hypothesis is correct, the instances you went back in time to change something, like Eve Longbottom's broken arm for example, you really didn't change anything, do you understand? It was never destined for Eve to break her arm, it was destined for you to stop her from doing so."
It was like all of a sudden Elita woke up from a dream and saw everything from an entirely new, and clear, perspective. "Voldemort! It's him who's doing this to us, I know it!"
Hermione hesitated for a moment. "I'm not going to lie to you, Elita—that is a very distinct possibility."
Elita felt numb. For some reason, she couldn't make herself react to the news she'd just heard. She wasn't panicked or scared or angry, she was just… blank. "Kali and I helped Ron and Raleigh get together. If it hadn't been for Kali saying he wasn't seeing anyone… then they never would've dated and… Brynn never would have been born…"
"Yes," Hermione said sadly. "I'm sure Brynn has been an incredibly useful spy. We've always told him everything—never doubted his trust. I'm sure his being means a great deal to Voldemort."
Elita paused for a moment, her brain swamped with new—and terrifying—information. "So it's virtually impossible to change the past?" she asked Hermione, suddenly thinking everything she had believed for years was wrong.
"Erm—" Hermione seemed to not quite know how to respond to this. "Yes—er, no. Well, I think we'll just go with yes for now, but do remember, it isn't always that cut and dry."
At the time, Elita wasn't quite sure what she meant, but she nodded to show her understanding anyway.
"Like I was saying, you need to go back."
"But why?" Elita demanded, still not understanding.
"Because. Oh, it's hard to explain." Hermione looked to the ceiling, as if the answer would be written there for her. "Our sixth year counterparts need a little reminding that we can't change the past."
Elita had the distinct suspicion that Hermione was deliberately not telling her everything, but she didn't object to this explanation, seeing as her brain was already swarming enough as it was.
"All you have to do is concentrate on the date you're going back to. December 4th, 1996, 3:00 in the afternoon. It's been a while since you've disappeared and Dumbledore has told the school that you've moved back to France. Go to the lake, and you'll find Ron, Raleigh, and myself reading the Wednesday addition of the Daily Prophet. It is very important that you go back to this precise moment, do you understand?" Elita nodded, Hermione continued. "Pull me aside and tell me the gist of everything I've just told you. Tell me that you know an incantation that will allow people to travel through time. Just tell me that giving me that information is what you're supposed to do and I'll understand."
Elita didn't dare question her; she thought her mind would explode from the pressure. Later she would ask herself why she trusted Hermione. She would wonder how Hermione came about all of this information when not even Dumbledore himself had brought it to her attention before. She would ask herself why she wasn't at all suspicious after someone seemingly as trustworthy as Hermione turned traitorous. She believed it was because she wanted so badly to think that there was still good in the world, that there were still people on her side and willing to help her, that she hadn't given Hermione's advice a second thought.
"Go now," Hermione instructed.
Elita closed her eyes and concentrated on December 4th, 1996 3:00 P.M. "Sigulus Alius," she muttered, her right hand holding her wand in her robe pocket. She felt a familiar sinking sensation as the world disappeared around her…
