Author's Notes: I'll say it now, there will be HBP spoilers from here on out… And thanks to angelbaby10105 for your review!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Harry Potter universe; JK Rowling does.

Chapter 4

Fool's Journey

Honora, along with Lithia, Freya, and Jasper, gave each other puzzled looks as they followed Julius Talbot through the forest. They could not imagine why the centaurs would want only them. However, Julius was silent and Honora's grandmother Eleanor looked equally reticent.

Finally they came into a small clearing. In the centre was a flat stone dais, raised several inches above the forest floor. To one side of the dais, a cracked stone pedestal stood, holding up a large and worn-looking book. Morrigan the centaur stepped forward, her white-blonde hair shimmering. Bane was behind her, still scowling.

'Young ones,' she began. 'We centaurs read the stars. One of you has a great destiny.'

Honora started paying keen attention.

'The Dark magic of Voldemort has affected the world, greatly. We see that there is not much time left, for all living creatures on Earth. Death is descending. And yet, a sliver of hope remains. For our long history, we centaurs have been the diviners of the stars. We see what was, and what will be. And now, we see an opportunity.' Morrigan turned to Bane, who continued the speech.

'Next week, there will appear an exceedingly rare planetary alignment,' he said. 'One that will open up a crack in time itself. If we take advantage of this, there could be a way to save our world.' Bane seemed loathe to admit that he did share a planet with human beings.

'A crack in time…' Honora whispered. She started to smile. This was getting interesting.

'We estimate that the crack will open up for a few minutes only. We must be prepared to send someone through it,' Morrigan explained.

Feeling brave, Honora stepped forward. 'Excuse me,' she said. Morrigan nodded as Eleanor Weasley watched her granddaughter with sharp eyes. 'Where does this crack in time lead?'

Morrigan's silver eyes glittered. 'The alignment corresponds with the eleventh of August, of the year 1943.'

Honora stepped back, confused. What good could that do? If it were really to help, the crack should have gone back to Harry Potter's time, in the 1990s, when it all went wrong in the first place.

'Thus,' Bane's deep, scary voice said, 'you must choose among yourselves which of you wants to go.'

Julius elaborated. 'Whoever goes back will be attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,' he said. An involuntary shudder went through the company at the mention of Lord Voldemort's headquarters. 'There is…something else.' He looked reluctant. 'Whoever goes back will be unable to return. This is a one-way journey; only the alignment allows it to be possible in the first place.'

The gravity of the situation began to sink in. 'Does one of us have to go?' Freya asked, sounding hesitant.

'It is our only choice,' replied Morrigan. 'So, yes, it must be one, and only one, of your group. The alignment occurs and the crack appears here, in this clearing, in one week's time. One of you must go.'

Honora thought rapidly. 1943! So long ago! She felt an urge inside her, powerful and uncontrollable. She wanted to go. She wanted to get away from this cold, dying, imprisoned world. She wanted a future for herself. In the past, maybe she could become so powerful as to stop Lord Voldemort before he even started.

Before any of her other friends could claim it, Honora stepped forward. 'I volunteer to go,' she announced. Julius nodded at her. Her grandmother looked unsurprised.

'And the rest of you?' Morrigan asked. 'Is this your decision, to send Honora?'

The others looked at each other silently. 'Well,' began Lithia, 'I don't know…Honora is the best witch, I suppose.'

'No!' said Freya. 'I don't want you to go! First we lose Marlow, now you?'

Honora saw an opening. 'It's—it's because of Marlow that I should go!' she said, putting tears into her voice. 'I want to avenge him, his loss has hurt me so much…I have nothing left here for me,' she finished in a hoarse whisper, attempting to sound heartbroken rather than thrilled.

Only Eleanor noticed the ploy. 'Clever girl,' she whispered to herself, unheard by anyone else.

'It is decided,' Bane growled, apparently fed up. 'Julius, it is up to you to educate her on what she needs to know. I must ask you humans to retreat now.' He turned away.

Honora felt peculiar as she walked away between Julius and her grandmother. All of a sudden, she was leaving her own world forever. Her emotional state kept splitting itself between ecstatic anticipation and dread fear. Most of all, she knew that there was no choice involved; for her, it was the only escape from an unspeakable future.

Her training was undertaken immediately, under the supervision of Julius Talbot, as usual. The large book that the centaurs had in the clearing, as it turned out, was an historical account of the Last War.

Julius explained that Honora should read the entire thing, no small task as the book was at least two thousand pages long.

'This is a direct account of the rise of the Dark Lord, as related by Minerva McGonagall, the last headmaster of Hogwarts School. She wrote down everything that happened, from Voldemort's beginnings to the time of her own death at the age of ninety, shortly after the defeat of the Order of the Phoenix. I suggest you study it well.'

Honora did. The story was interesting as well, populated with her own Weasley ancestors and full of high drama. She learned about Harry Potter, and his tragic end. Most interestingly, she read about Voldemort himself: the magical transformations he undertook, his use of Horcruxes to guarantee his own immortality, his school days. This latter was the most important, Honora could see immediately.

Voldemort was born under the name Tom Marvolo Riddle, according to McGonagall. He was a student at Hogwarts itself, beginning in the year 1938. Honora recognised that she would be in that time. Tom Riddle had shown himself bad from an early age. McGonagall took many of her tales from the Pensieve of the great wizard Albus Dumbledore, who remembered many things about Tom Riddle.

Honora learned that Voldemort was the heir of Salazar Slytherin, one of the founders of Hogwarts. He was a half-blood, raised in a Muggle orphanage. This surprised her, and she wondered if he was mistreated there. Perhaps that would explain his hatred of all things Muggle. He had murdered his own father and grandparents in the summer of 1943, directly before the time when Honora should appear from the future.

Other than those basic facts and timeline, however, there was very little about Voldemort's character or day-to-day life. McGonagall had been some years older, and only remembered Voldemort in his school days as a clean-cut, quiet, powerful wizard in Slytherin house.

In addition to McGonagall's book, Honora was briefed on the world history of the time. The Muggles were embroiled in a great war, although it did not compare to the Last War. A Dark wizard came out of Germany named Grindelwald, who seemed to be part of the problem. Julius Talbot suggested they use this as an excuse for her appearance, and Honora laughed with delight at the brilliance of the idea.

'Yes!' she agreed. 'I have been in hiding from Grindelwald because my family opposed him. That's good.' She loved making up stories.

'And it will immediately win the sympathy of Albus Dumbledore, a powerful and good ally to have,' Julius added.

The week passed by exceedingly quickly. Freya grew more morose all the time at the prospect of losing her best friend forever. Jasper tried to comfort her by saying they would name their first-born daughter after Honora. This only made Freya cry all the more.

'It's all right,' Honora assured her. 'This is what I want. I'm excited to go, I want to do my part.' It was true. The world of 1943 was so free compared to her dim existence in 2112. She would have so many things to see and do and become. It was her old dream, come to life, of having limitless opportunity.

The night before the alignment, Eleanor Weasley sat down with her granddaughter in their tent. Both women were subdued; Honora knew she would miss her grandmother most of all.

'Honora. You are growing into an amazing witch. I only wish I could be there to see you reach your full potential.' Eleanor put a hand on Honora's cheek. 'You burn so brightly, dear.'

Honora just looked at her, uncharacteristically sombre.

'There are a few things I must tell you, though. My last words of advice. You may not heed them now, but promise me you will at least remember it.' Honora nodded in affirmation. 'Right. You must not underestimate the seriousness of the situation. I know why you want to do this. You want adventure, and glory, to prove yourself. That is a good thing! But don't let yourself get distracted from your task. Fix the situation with the Dark Lord first, and then become whoever it is you want to become.'

Honora nodded again. She did need to take this thing seriously, even if she was so light-hearted in nature.

'And one more thing. Do not underestimate Voldemort, er, Tom Riddle. He was exceedingly dangerous, even then. If he gets an inkling of what you are about, he will kill you. Do you understand?'

'Yes,' Honora whispered.

'Do what you need to do, but don't act rashly. Keep in mind that you will be in that time, in that world, for the rest of your life. In those days, there were strict laws governing magic. You cannot just 'get rid' of Riddle. You must be cunning about it. Remember he is still considered an innocent by those around him, even if you know better. He is an upstanding student and by McGonagall's account was well-loved by his teachers. Whatever you do to stop him, you must live with.'

Honora gulped. She had not even thought about that. She had considered just cursing him into oblivion the moment she saw him, just getting it over and done with. Now, she saw that would not work. A sudden stab of fear went through her, as she contemplated meeting the real Lord Voldemort, young and able and very hostile.

In her head, in front of the mirror, she had rehearsed a confrontation with Voldemort many times. In her fantasies, she was always a powerful white witch, a queen of incomparable power, and made Voldemort fall at her feet. Now, her reality would be taking on the responsibility of defeating the most powerful wizard in history, and saving the entire planet from death and darkness…all as a clueless and under-prepared seventeen year-old.

Eleanor grasped her hand. 'Oh, don't worry, my dear Honora. You will be brilliant. Lately as I've been watching you, I've reassessed my evaluation of which Hogwarts house you could be in – I would say that with the way you wrap the unsuspecting around your little finger, you could easily pass for a Slytherin.'

'Really?' Honora did not know whether to feel proud or insulted. She opted for proud. After all, she could not believe that ambition by itself was not a bad thing. It was from the Crowley side, she knew; the ancient pure-blood family was famous for their ambition and creativity. Most Crowley children had gone to magical school in Egypt, but the few that had ended up in Hogwarts had invariably been Slytherins.

'Be careful, walk slowly at first, and do not make any rash moves,' advised Eleanor. 'It is better to learn your way around first, then you can do what you will do. Although don't wait too long; Tom Riddle will be getting stronger by the day.'

'What will happen to you, grandmother? What will happen here, when I do kill Riddle and change what happens in the past?'

Eleanor sighed. 'This future will be altered,' she admitted. 'I may not exist. Everything will be different. But at this point, we are all willing to sacrifice ourselves for a better future for the whole of the world. Even as we speak, Voldemort's forces are closing in on the Shadow Kingdoms. It seems he has tired of us, finally. There is no other choice.'

'But what if I alter something back in 1943, to make myself not exist here and now?'

'You probably will do that,' Eleanor said. 'I highly doubt you will exist here, if you accomplish your mission. But since you went back to that time, your 1943 self will continue. Julius explained it; the centaurs seem to understand the whole thing even if we humans don't.' She laughed shortly. 'I'm happy for you, Honora. This is a thing worthy of you, of your heritage. What's more, I think you are actually looking forward to it, aren't you?'

'Yes,' Honora confessed. Then she broke into a grin, shaking off her worries. 'I'm going to have fun with this!'

Eleanor smiled. 'Get some sleep, now. Tomorrow is a big day.'

Honora did not sleep much, that last night in 2112, and bolted up from a doze when the first rays of light filtered into the tent. She had many things to remember. She had been taught Apparition that week, learning it 'indecently' quickly, according to Julius. The crack in time would open in 1943, but she would still be in the middle of Siberia. It was most inconvenient. Thus, Honora would have to Apparate herself to a secluded part of a place in London called Hyde Park, then find her way to Diagon Alley.

She still had only her wand and her furs as possessions. She hoped her long white dress would not attract too much attention until she could get some new clothes. The centaurs had given her a large bag full of gold pieces they called Galleons. They told her it should be enough to keep her supplied for the two years she would be a student at Hogwarts.

Honora looked into the mirror in her tent as she gathered her things. Her dark auburn hair fell around her shoulders, looking a bit scraggly after a week of living in the woods. It had a natural wave to it that turned into a tangled mess if she wasn't careful. Dark brows arched over her pale blue eyes. Honora was usually very satisfied with her appearance, to the point of vanity.

It seems unfair that I should be beautiful as well as clever, she thought with a smirk. Then she put a hand over her mouth as she realised how full of herself she could be, and giggled. To fix the problem, she made a weird face at herself in the mirror, scrunching her nose and waggling her tongue between her teeth. The sight made her giggle harder.

'Honora?' Eleanor said, sticking her head in the tent. 'It's time to go. And why are you making faces at yourself?'

Honora turned sheepishly. 'Sorry, Grandmother, I was just, um, psyching myself up.'

Eleanor shook her head and turned away so that Honora could not see the expression of pain on her face. She was going to miss her crazy granddaughter, that was certain. The girl could light up a room, not just with her beauty but her spirited sense of fun. Eleanor could see much of the Weasleys in her, that irrepressible spirit. She could also see the Crowleys, the ancient pure-blood line creating a thirst for power. It was a volatile combination in a barely seventeen-year old girl.

Outside her tent, Honora said goodbye to her friends. They were more like family; they were the only people she had ever known. The remaining citizens of Polaris gathered around her to wish her luck and say goodbye. Honora even felt herself tearing up a little at the prospect of leaving them. Just because she was excited to go did not mean she would not miss her childhood home and all its kind residents.

Freya clung to her, sobbing, and Jasper gave her a warm hug as well. Honora was nearly crushed to death by Lithia, who then slapped her hard on the back in a gesture of solidarity.

'Promise me you all will be careful, be safe, and remember me,' Honora said to her friends.

'We will,' Jasper said, clasping Freya's hand. 'You'll always be in our hearts, Honora.'

'We could never forget you,' Freya added. 'You'll be wonderful, back in 1943. I know it,' she ground her chin confidently, even though she was crying.

'Okay, well, I have to go,' Honora said. She blew a kiss to the crowd as she walked away with her grandmother toward the centaur's clearing. Looking back, she saw faint stirrings of hope in an otherwise hopeless group of people. They were last ones, the only free people left, and Honora felt a deep, cold apprehension for the world in general. Life really was ending, for everyone. Suddenly she felt the weight on her shoulders for the first time. If she did not succeed, chances were all these people, and everyone elsein the Shadow Kingdoms, would be hunted down and killed. It would be the end of all things.

Through the bland pine forest she walked with Eleanor. They reached the clearing too soon, and found a large group of centaurs standing around in a circle. The strange beasts parted for them, and Honora did her best to put on a brave face.

'Is she ready?' Bane growled to Julius Talbot.

'Yes, she is ready,' he answered in the affirmative.

'The alignment will begin in ten minutes,' Morrigan announced. 'Honora, Eleanor, you may wish to say goodbye.'

This was the hardest of all. Eleanor Weasley-Demetrius was the only parent Honora had ever known. They hugged and kissed and soon tears were streaming down both of their cheeks.

Eleanor pressed something into Honora's hand. She looked at it: it was a large, heavy seashell-shaped gold locket. Clicking it open, Honora saw a detailed, beautiful family tree glowing inside, with faces of her family smiling up at her. Her parents, Adaire and Felix; and their ancestors, back to the Weasleys on her mother's side and the Crowleys on her father's.

'Whenever you lose heart, think of us,' Eleanor whispered. 'Think of your family. And all of those who might not be lost when you succeed in your task.' With bony hands she pressed the locket shut and closed Honora's hands around it. 'I love you, darling granddaughter.'

'I love you, too, Grandmother,' Honora said, not quite able to keep a sob out of her voice.

'It has started,' Bane interrupted. 'Look.' He pointed at the centre of the clearing. Directly above the raised stone, a bright white crack was opening up. It glowed with unimaginable brilliance, filling the clearing with white-purple light. A strange, thrumming sound filled the air, like growling rapids in a river, or teeth gnashing together. It felt unnatural, disconcerting. 'Step up, girl,' Bane ordered her.

Honora walked towards it, hesitantly. She shook hands with Julius, who whispered 'Good luck, Honora.' She glanced at Morrigan, the only centaur with a good attitude.

Morrigan looked back at her. 'Don't worry, child. You will only die for an instant.'

'Only WHAT?' Honora burst. 'Die?'

'Was it not explained to you?'

Honora shook her head furiously.

'Oh, dear. Well, when you step through the crack, your body will be destroyed. We are not sure what happens in the meantime, but we do know that on the other side, your body and everything on your person will be reassembled. Don't worry. It's like Apparition, just a bit…different.'

'Great,' Honora muttered. 'Well, here goes nothing.' She stepped toward the light, which had now increased to a door-sized portal. She glanced at her grandmother and Julius, who each waved at her. She smiled weakly. Not wanting to lose her nerve, she stepped forward.

'Now!' Bane fairly shouted the order, 'Now! Before it closes!'

Honora took a deep breath and stepped into the light.