Chapter Thirty-Eight: Preparing for the Invasion Pt. III

June 18th, 1999 | Hogsmeade, Scotland, Great Britain | Earth-2A

The war in Magical Britain had ended far worse than anyone could have predicted, and it had all started with the death of Harry Potter three years earlier. And yet for the citizens of 'Earth-2', their struggles had begun in the early 1970s with the rise of the Supreme Lord Voldemort. He had been unopposed for years, going on to decimate the feeble forces of the Order of the Phoenix. And after the creation of 'The Prophecy' in 1981, Voldemort later went on to murder the Potters and their one-year-old child named Harry. With the death of the former 'Boy-Who-Lived', it was up to Albus Dumbledore to put an end to Voldemort's reign. But the aging wizard was no longer in his prime and stood no chance against Voldemort and his forces. Dumbledore died on September 1st, 1983, his body being displayed at the front gates of Hogwarts School. Voldemort's new castle.

The Dark Lord destroyed the castle immediately and used the land to construct a brand new palace. The palace was gigantic and could be seen by muggle satellites. Voldemort had taken down the anti-muggle wards after all. He wanted the muggles to see it. To fear it. To fear him. And with his sudden rise to power, the muggles were afraid of him. His reign spread and he soon took over all of Great Britain, murdering Minister Fudge, the Queen, and the muggle Prime Minister in person. Once they were dead, Voldemort took over the muggle and wizarding governments, using them to gain more influence and more followers. Followers he used to launch a crusade across the world. And the worst part? It worked.

In a decade, Voldemort had complete control of the entire globe. There were no countries, there were no borders, nothing but Voldemort's regime. And then the impossible happened. On January 1st, 1996, Voldemort welcomed the new year by revealing the Multiverse. Before anyone could blink, there was a dozen Voldemort's roaming the planet. And by 1998, there were hundreds of Voldmorts leading their own massive armies of Voldemorts. Earth was overrun with death and destruction, and Voldemort continued his terror by spreading it to other Earths.

And after three decades of tyranny, all but a dozen individuals lived to oppose Voldemort. And those dozen witches and wizards were the remnants of the deceased Order of the Phoenix. They resided in the underground cave system beneath the ruins of the Hogs Head diner in Hogsmeade. Their members consisted of Minerva McGonagall, Filius Flitwick, Severus Snape, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, Aberforth Dumbledore, Madam Rosmerta, Dennis Creevey, Astoria Greengrass, and three others. They had been living there for quite some time. Minerva and Filius had run from Hogwarts during the evacuation in '83. Aberforth and Rosmerta had been forced into hiding after the growing Death Eater numbers in the Hogsmeade area. And Severus had been outed as a double agent in '89, being forced on the run after being nearly killed by one of the many Voldemorts running around.

Those who were younger and were born before or during '83 were subjugated to extreme prejudice and were sent into hiding. Hermione Granger - as a muggle-born - was forced on the run alongside her mother and father. But after their deaths in '87, Hermione - age 8 - went into hiding alone. She wandered into the northern regions of Scotland, before stumbling right onto Voldemort's palace. Her first instinct had been to run, but then she spotted a young boy in the forest who was watching her. Calling to her. Despite her better judgment, Hermione went to the boy, who introduced himself as Neville Longbottom. He led her into the ruins of Hogsmeade down to the caves that were dug beneath the Hogs Head. And from then on she became a member of the Order.

Neville Longbottom had been a year old when he too was attacked by Voldemort, who believed him to be a potential 'Chosen One'. Voldemort killed Frank and Alice Longbottom, but fortunately for Neville, he was rescued by Severus Snape. The man took Neville to Hogwarts, where he was raised until the evacuations. Neville joined the others in the caves. Dennis Creevey had merely stumbled across the palace as well. He had been starving, and in his delusional state, he began searching for things to take pictures of. He found the palace and was found taking pictures of the structure by Hermione and Neville in '92. As for Astoria, after the death of her parents in '86, she and her older sister Daphne went on the run. But Daphne didn't make it. They were attacked by a squad of Death Eaters, and while Astoria managed to get away via emergency portkey, Daphne had been left behind with an unknown fate. But Astoria knew what the Death Eaters did to women. Even if they were nine-year-old girls. Her sister was surely dead.

But Astoria was found by Minerva in 1990 in the outskirts of London and was brought back to the caves to be cared for. And since then, the four children became best friends, trusting each other with their lives whenever they went outside of the cave walls. Eventually, Hermione and Neville became engaged, and Hermione became pregnant in early April of 1999. Their daughter would be expected in January of 2000. Astoria and Dennis remained just friends.

Hermione currently stood within the cave system, carefully brewing a Wiggenweld Potion for Dennis, who had gotten splinched the day before. While they had healed the wound the night before, Dennis still complained of pain and was still bleeding from a small wound in his left arm. So that alongside a pepper-up potion and blood-replenishing potion would make the young man good as new. She stood in the potions lab of the caves alongside Neville, who stood beside her brewing the blood-replenishing potion. "Did you hear about You-Know-Who's latest movements?" Neville asked, silently stirring the liquid. When Hermione shook her head, he continued. "He used the Veil again a few six months back. He sent a massive fleet of Death Eaters and vessels through to an uncharted Earth. But hear this. The First Invasion Fleet wasn't enough. He sent a second fleet two months ago,"

"Two? No Earth has ever put up a fight past the first. One fleet is usually enough for him,"

"I know. But wherever this Earth is, it's putting up a fight. So much so that he launched a third invasion fleet last night. They were sent through the Veil. It had twice as many forces," Nevile explained. Hermione was dumbfounded. Three Invasion Fleets? That was unheard of. Wherever Voldemort was invading, the people there were either very resilient or they were powerful. Whether that be through sheer numbers, pure strength, or evolution she wasn't sure. Neville smiled. "I was thinking...if this Earth is gone. And that Earth can put such a fight against You-Know-Who that he allocates so many forces, then maybe we should go there. Offer help. We've been inside the palace before. We know his plans and his movements. We can help them fight back. And maybe they'll offer us sanctuary,"

"Neville..." Hermione spoke.

"C'mon, Hermione. We're dying down here. Dennis hurts himself every five days. Minerva, Filius, and Aberforth are getting older. And Severus isn't faring well either. What if we leave? Put it all behind us and run away? We can help the people on the other Earth. We can help ourselves. And...we can help Rose," Neville told her. Hermione spun towards him, anger in her eyes. But Neville didn't back down. He stood his ground. "She'll be with us soon. And I...I don't want our daughter to live like us. To live in here," He motioned to the cave walls around him. "We can find a new home for her. Somewhere safe,"

"We're safe here," Hermione countered.

Neville rolled his eyes. "At You-Know-Who's doorstep? We're less than a mile from the Palace. We're far from safe. The only reason they haven't found us is that You-Know-Who forgot about Hogsmeade. He thinks it's nothing but ruins. But sooner or later he'll come back or one of the other Dark Lords will. We've gotten lucky so far, Hermione. We won't stay lucky,"

Hermione turned back to her potion, still furious. "We can't just leave either. You-Know-Who has the Veils under lock and key at all times. Even if we managed to get to one of the originals in the forest, we won't make it far,"

"But we can still try," said Neville. "If we can get into the forest, it's a two-mile walk to the Second Veil. From there we can take out the guards and go through. They're all set to the new Earth seeing as that's where the new invasion is taking place, so we can just go through right to the new Earth,"

"And into the enemy lines of the invasion force? Yeah, no thank you. I'm not going to commit suicide by jumping right into the hands of -" BOOM! Neville and Hermione spun around at the speed of sound, their wands raised to fight off any attackers that had made their way into the caves. But instead of Voldemort or Death Eaters, the couple was met with something else entirely. Armored soldiers. Sixteen of them. All standing on the opposite side of the room huddled together against the wall. And they were intimidating. The tallest one at the front of the group stood at 7' 1". And they were all carrying weapons. Lots of weapons. They all carried large rifles in their hands, there were two rifles on each of their backs, two side arms on each of their thighs, a knife on their belts or chest, and belts full of equipment and gadgets. These soldiers were deadly. But despite how their weapons were raised, they seemed lost. Confused. But still ready for a fight. Just like Hermione and Neville.

The tallest one at the front suddenly lowered his weapon, holding up his left hand to tell the others to stand down. They did so, lowering their weapons towards the ground. He spoke in an odd voice. "Hermione,"

Hermione frowned. "You...know me?"

He replied instantly. "No. Not you. A different Hermione,"

"A doppelganger," Hermione concluded.

"My wife," The stranger told them.

"Neville?"

"What? No," Placing the automatic rifle he held in his hand on his back alongside the other two rifles, the man reached up to grab his helmet. He turned it counter-clockwise, creating a puff of steam, before pulling it off his head. He was older than them. Somewhere in his later twenties or early thirties. He had bright green eyes and cut-down black hair. He was quite handsome, but Hermione couldn't see herself marrying him. "My name's Harry Potter. I come from the universe Supreme Lord...You-Know-Who is invading," Hermione was impressed. He knew about the taboo on the name Voldemort. He'd done his research.

"Wait, you're the Harry Potter? Our Harry Potter died in '81," Neville spoke.

"I know. The protective curse didn't work this time around," Harry replied.

"This time around?" asked Hermione.

"I'm from this world originally. But I fell through the Veil of Death to another universe. You-Know-Who then rose to power and used time travel to go back in time to create a new timeline. He made it so that I never killed him that night. He rose to power and became a Multiversal tyrant. But he chose to attack my new home. A very big mistake," Harry explained. "I came to finish him off for good. Set things right,"

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "Set things right...like reset the timeline,"

"Yes. I'm sorry, but this timeline is an abomination created by You-Know-Who and his tyranny. If I want to protect my world and hundreds of others, I need to stop this timeline from ever existing," Harry told her.

"We're expecting a daughter," Neville told him. Harry's eyes widened, and Hermione grinned. Yes. Take that man in the armor. You wouldn't erase the daughter of your wife's doppelganger from existence...would you? It turns out he would. Harry's eyes returned to normal, and his face steeled into an almost emotionless expression. Occlumency. He was reigning in his emotions. Screw you, Harry Potter. "I'm sorry to hear that. But that doesn't stop my goal. I'm going to kill the You-Know-Who of the past, erasing this timeline from existence. If that means erasing you and your daughter from existing... then I'm sorry. But it won't stop me,"

"You...you bastard. Do you think you can come in here and threaten us like this? Threaten our home? Our baby?" Hermione asked, storming up to the armored man. She wasn't intimidated anymore. "Would you erase your Hermione from existence? Your home? Your child? Would you?"

Harry didn't hesitate. "I would. Yes. If it meant saving four hundred worlds and trillions of people? I would kill even myself in a heartbeat," Hermione narrowed her eyes. And then she slapped him. Neville stepped forward to stop her but he wasn't quick enough. Her hand slammed into Harry's cheek so hard his skin turned red. But he didn't flinch. He didn't even react. Harry just took it and continued to peer down at her, his face now filled with emotion. And despite Hermione's anger, she began to sob. Harry reached for her but decided not to. Neville approached, wrapping his arm around Hermione as she cried into his shoulder. Neville sighed. "We can't stop you, can we?" Harry shook his head. "Then...can we join you?"

Hermione's head flew off of Neville's shoulder. She was glaring at him now. Harry raised an eyebrow. Neville explained. "The Order is in shambles. We're on the verge of collapsing again. And our daughter is coming. If you're going to reset everything...let us come with you. Let us live in the new world you create,"

"That's asking a lot from me," Harry told him.

"If you're from here, that means you know us. And you know Hermione. And what is there to lose?"

"Everything," Neville didn't know what to say to that. "Besides, I don't know anyone here. Events have changed so drastically from my death in '81 that you all are so different from the Hermione and Neville I knew before," Neville sighed. Of course, he should have known that. But he assumed that Harry would have a shred of a conscience. But the man-made of armor seemed unable to feel anything through his Occlumency shields. But it seemed the armored soldiers behind him had something to say. A female soldier reached forward, grabbing Harry by the arm. The two exchanged a silent conversation with each other before Harry gave her a nod. The man turned back to Hermione and Neville and took a deep breath. "We can take you with us. But only you two. Hermione will be hard enough as it is,"

"Why is that?" Hermione asked, clearly offended.

"Because I use this-" Harry motioned to a medallion on the chest of his armor. A medallion that hadn't been there before. "-by seeing and manipulating the souls of others. I pull their souls and their bodies through another dimension, using it to go through space, time, and other universes. That's how we got here,"

"The baby," Hermione realized.

"I'll have to not only focus on your soul and body but another soul and body within your own. I've never done that before, and I'll have to concentrate just as hard to pull the two of you through. Yet alone Neville,"

"Then just the two of us," Hermione decided.

"And Astoria," Neville reminded. Hermione gave him a nod in agreement.

"Greengrass?"

"Yes. She's here with us and the others. She doesn't belong here,"

Harry frowned. "Who else is here?"

"That's not important," Hermione replied. "Do we have a deal? Myself, Neville, Astoria, and the baby,"

Harry exchanged a glance with the woman from before, before nodding. "Deal. Go get her,"

"Now?"

"Now,"

Neville quickly left the room, heading for the bunks to find Astoria. Hermione left as well, going to pack the few belongings that belonged to her and Neville. Meanwhile, Harry Potter stood in the potions lab, contemplating his latest decision. He wasn't sure how he was going to do it, but he now had to transport himself, nineteen people and an AI through the Outside and back Inside. He had barely been able to do it with the sixteen people - and one AI - there, but now he was adding four people. One of which was an unborn and barely developed fetus. But Harry trusted Eleven and her decision to invite them along, even if he thought it was a bit dumb. He didn't know how timelines affected people. If he erased this timeline what would happen to Astoria, Hermione, Neville, and their unborn child? Would they be erased? Or would they become anomalies? Walking ghosts of a non-existent world.

"Sir. Can you handle bringing twenty people Out and In?" asked Reyes, stepping forward in his MJOLNIR armor.

"I should be fine," Harry replied. "It'll just take a bit more strength than normal,"

"We're ready," Hermione and Neville had returned very quickly, accompanied by a seventeen-year-old Astoria Greengrass. Harry smiled and extended his arm. Hermione took it hesitantly, and Harry closed his eyes. He focused on Hermione, Neville, Astoria, and the unborn baby in Hermione's abdomen. He memorized their philotic patterns, committing them to memory before grabbing them with his own. Harry formed a philotic twining with each of them, before focusing on the nineteen connections around him. Making sure to keep Athena's connection in there, Harry focused on October 30th, 1981. The night Voldemort changed everything by going back in time. In a flash of bright blue light and an odd explosion, Harry and the others were gone.