Slowly We Turn.


Out of all of the ways I thought it would end, I did not think it would be at the hands of Cannibalistic gingerbread men. But, there you go. Amadeus Crouch had not one, but two, three, actually a couple of dozen of them. An entire army.

Of course, if they were really cannibals, they would eat other gingerbread men. Don't think about it too hard.

"Give me the other piece of the torch and no one needs to get hurt," Crouch said. "And I…."

A large bazooka fired through and cracked one of the large gingerbread men to dust. Cringle appeared and fired once again.

"And to think, they recalled these things because they were too dangerous for children," Cringle said while firing the bazooka. "Kids are too soft these days, I swear."

Cringle pumped his gun and fired one more time, cracking the gingerbread man in the chest and causing him to crack. I turned to Astra, Merula, Cassie, and Kara.

"Cover me, I'm going for the throne," I said. "And we're going to end this."

Amadeus poured a small amount of the chemical he liberated from Helena Aranaut on the ground and one of the Gingerbread men turned into a three headed abomination with many teeth. And shifted into a Cerebus which jumped towards us.

"Heel!" Astra yelled.

Elle collared the creature. Kara broke down the gate and I made my way to Cringle's throne. And Cringle and Nicholas followed me, armed with bazookas. They fired at the creatures. I picked up a large candy cane, but the door bursted open and another demonic ginger bread man appeared.

"Ho, ho, ho, motherfucker," Cringle rasped while firing through the gingerbread man.

Amadeus pulled out a comic book and poured onto the pages. A large mech suit appeared and Crouch slipped into it. He started to fire the weapons at me, which I dodged.

"Oh, that's lovely," I said. "Just how much of that stuff did you steal away?"

He blew the throne to smithereens.

"It's not here," Amadeus yelled.

The gingerbread men snatched Cringle.

"Better talk now, Cringle," Amadeus said. "You said it was a throne."

"Right, not that throne," Cringle said. "I hid it in my personal throne…the only problem that damn elf who wanted to be a dentist flushed it, so I don't know where it is."

Deadpool jumped into the scene and used his katana blades to slice through our enemies. A chaotic stream of magic fired through the room, and Amadeus had been forced to bail. Amadeus landed down onto the ground and groaned in agony when Astra grabbed him.

"Protect your master!"

Several demonic looking dragon dinosaurs smashed through the top of the building. Kara had clung to the back of one of them. And she directed one of the dragon dinosaurs into the gingberbread men. It smashed through the creature and caused it to shatter into dust.

I needed to get to the one throne now. Oh, this wasn't going to be pleasant.

"Don't worry, I've come prepared!"

Deadpool pulled out a pair of plungers. I did not want to know. Nicholas appeared and broke open Cringle's personal throne. And we discovered quite the interesting smell.

"What did you eat?" Kara asked Cringle.

"Chilli and lots of it," Cringle said.

"We're not going to discuss this," I said.

"Right," Kara murmured. "I understand."

"Elle, Astra, Cassie, Merula, and Rowena are buying us as much time as possible," Nicholas said. "We have to get the second piece now."

"Kara?"

"Yeah, I see it," Kara said. "So…."

I reached down into the depths of the throne. I'm going to need a good shower after this is all done. But, I had it, the final piece of the Green Flame torch had been submerged in disgusting, putrid waste. It was not funny, not cool, not awesome, and honestly, the things I do to save myself from getting wiped out of existence are a bit much at times.

"It's mine!" Amadeus yelled.

"Actually, it's mine!"

Kaiser returned, with an army of undead elves approaching us.

"Feast on our oppressor!" one of the elves hissed at Cringle.

"That can't be good," Cringle said.

"They are looking at you with murder in their eyes," Luna remarked as she lingered in the background, hopefully out of harm's way.

"Hey, just because I made them work four hundred days a year, while I fucked off to Tahiti, doesn't make me a bad boss!"

Oh, we're doing that Hulk Hogan math, brother.

"I've got it," I said.

I'm going to need a good scouring charm. And a shower. And a trip through the carwash.

"Give me that artifact, you revolting child!" Kaiser hissed.

"Bite me," I said.

"Oh, that's a poor choice of words," Nicholas said. "We're all going to die."

"Give it to me!" Amadeus yelled.

"Oh, for the love of….give me that," I said.

I took the chemical and the comic book before I knocked Amadeus out. I flipped to some large purple guy with a gauntlet made of gems.

"Hey, I know that guy," Deadpool said.

So did I. I poured the chemical on the gauntlet and caused it to appear. Several overlapping shields blocked Kaiser and his army for now.

"Hope this works," Cringle said.

I put the gauntlet on and snapped my fingers. A pulse of magical energy erupted.

"I don't feel so good."

And I may have just destroyed Christmas by dusting every elf in existence. Oh, well, I'll try and put it back later. If I get around to it. Kaiser teleported out of the way of the attack. I doubted he would stay down for long.

"And you just disrupted the integrity of the tower," Cringle said.

A portal opened up and we got out of there. We all landed out of the portal and in the middle of Hogwarts with two pieces of the Green Flame Torch in our hands. Cringle almost fell on his face.

"Damn it, why is it every time you bring friends over, I have to rebuild my entire house, Flamel?"

"Good question," Nicholas said.

Sirius poked his head inside and wrinkled it. Bellatrix joined him. They both recoiled and crinkled their noses.

"What's that stench?" Bellatrix asked.

"That, Trixie, is the smell of victory."

Two down, one to go, and sixty some hours left. The only problem is, I have no idea where the rest of the Green Flame Torch is. And with a little over two days to find it before everything is erased, that's concerning.

So close, and yet so far.


I stood in the shower. Failure had rarely been an option for me. There were times where I snatched victory at the last possible second. Times where I should have died. I should have been destroyed. And yet, I did.

Granted, there were many times where my enemies were so arrogant, that they managed to find a way to snatch their own defeat from the jaws of victory. I tried not to rely on the incompetence of the enemy.

I finished up and Kara stepped inside, along with Astra.

"Is it possible we get the Torch and reset everything?" Kara asked.

"The last year and few months back in time hasn't been all bad," I said. "I've appreciated a few people a lot more than I did. But, I'll be perfectly honest, the future's looking pretty bright."

"Well the Torch can be used for the best of both worlds, if you can tap into its power correctly," Kara said.

And as of right now, I had most of the Torch assembled. It was just missing the most vital component, the flame. I've performed a few scanning spells, and with less than two days to go, I have come to one conclusion.

"It's nowhere on Earth," Kara said.

"It's not," I said. "And that's a huge problem."

I moved out of the room to get dressed. I would have plenty of time to sleep when I was not in danger of being erased from all reality.

Walking downstairs, I noticed Alice Longbottom sitting near the fireplace. She had been under the watchful eye of Bellatrix, who was under the watchful eye of Merula, who was under the watchful eye of Cassie, who was under the watchful eye of Elle. And Neville sat a few feet away.

"Two pieces," Alice said. "You have two pieces."

"And I need the spark," I said.

"I want to help you," Alice said. "I want to make amends for what my family has done in the past. I've seen Rosemary and Ariana and Luna and all of the other victims. We were a part of it."

"You were in on the scheme that got me sent to Azkaban," Bellatrix said.

"You weren't innocent," Alice bit back.

"But, you helped fake your husband's and your double's condition to really poison the well," Bellatrix said.

"Enough,," I said. "You can settle your differences later."

"You want to reset the timeline?" Bellatrix asked. "I've learned enough about what I came to not like it. So what happens to all of us?"

"I'll do the fairest thing I can, with the powers the Green Flame Torch has," I said. "While bringing this timeline back to what it is."

"We still need to find the start point to properly light the spark," Cassie reminded us.

"We have to go back where it all began in the first place," Luna said "All roads have a beginning."

Yes, I agree. I looked out into the world.

"Look out there," Rowena said.

A bright light shone from the Forbidden Forest. Someone was obviously trying to get our attention.

"Of course," Alice said. "What if it had been underneath our noses the entire time?"

"Rowena, Elle, Alice, and I will go out and check," I said. "The rest of you will remain on the grounds, close by."

"And if you're not back in an hour, we'll know something is up," Astra said.

I had a strange vibe about all of this. However, any clue to get the spark and to prepare the Green Flame Torch was needed. You missed one hundred percent of the shots we did not take.


The Forbidden Forest, I had known why it was aptly named. To be fair, after the Acromantula had been wiped out, it had been a much safer place.

"Something's not right."

Alice screamed suddenly, when a portal opened up above our heads. A figure clad in black jumped down and with a sickening force sliced through Alice.

"The Cloaks sent their regards," the assassin said through a modulated voice. "The real Chosen One will rise to the top and eliminate the false hope."

I beamed the assassin back, as did Rowena and Elle. The spells repelled off of the armor this mysterious assassin had been aware.

"MUM!"

Neville rushed over and noticed his mother on the ground. Luna followed, along with Ariana.

"It's not possible," Ariana said.

"Do what we can to make her comfortable," I said.

Rowena slammed down onto a rune to the ground and trapped our time traveling assassin in the cage.

"You really think this cage will hold me," the assassin said in a modulated voice. "You will pay for what you've stolen from me, Harry Potter."

"Could you be more specific?" I asked the assassin.

The assassin vibrated through and disrupted the Hogwarts wards. And he opened up a portal.

I did something extremely reckless. I grabbed onto the assassin before he passed through, and we all disappeared with a pop.


I've done some insane things. Did this one top the list? Maybe. Maybe not. At this point, I lost track of the really insane things I've done over the years.

We were in a Nexus. A point which existed in no time at all. And I chased our time assassin through the portal.

He blipped out, and I recognized where we were. We were where I saw him stab James Potter before.

"Not so fast!" I yelled.

"Time is running out for you," the assassin chortled. "But, maybe I'll put you out of your misery before you watch everything you know and care about disappear."

"I'm good."

The sword almost skewed me in half. I avoided the attack and created a shield of pure magical energy to bombard him back. I slammed back into the attacker and caused him to crumple down onto the ground.

Only he opened up another portal and I followed him through.

We both landed onto the ground and he threw a dagger at me. I deflected it back and caused the dagger to almost penetrate his armor. I found a weak spot, and now it was time to explode it. I rushed the attacker and fought him.

"I'll finish you and then I'll finish the job I started on James Potter, his friends, and the others to make sure no part of you can hide from being erased," the assassin said.

"Good talk," I said.

He reached for the time device, only to realize that I grabbed it in the scuffle.

"It doesn't matter, I'll kill you where I…."

Three arrows shot at the assassin. I waved my finger and amplified the electrical charge through the arrows. It thus activated the security override in the suit, and locked him out.

I caught glimpses of three familiar faces. Ava Sharpe, Thea Queen, and Nymphadora Tonks. A past version of her. Or a future version of her. Time travel, isn't it a mind fuck sometimes?

"Okay, this is weird," Thea said.

"You're telling me," I said. "So, I'm guessing you're dealing with some guests right now? As in my parents, their friends, and some enemies."

"Pretty much," Tonks said. "Um, you look young."

"That's a long story, but I'm further in the future, and got sent back to the past," I said. "I…"

"No, we don't want to know," Ava said.

"Actually, you really don't want to know," I said. "Hopefully, I fix the timeline."

"You're hurt," Tonks said.

"Just a scratch," I said.

Okay, the time assassin opened up a huge gash in the side of my waist and I was gushing blood, but really, I was alright. And I staggered for a second until I was caught.

"Your body is much younger, you can't handle what your older self could when you were younger," Ava said. "That's what you told me."

"So bring me up to speed with what you're doing as you bring me back to get patched up," I said. "Oh, and you better secure laughing boy. I think there's some failsafe on the mask which prevents you from removing it as well."


So, my future self, who is also my past self, again time travel, is staring at me. I have my hood pulled up over my head. Not for any reason, just because I wanted to be cool and mysterious.

"Lose the cloak. I know it's you."

Why am I in such a bad mood? Oh, I know why. I was relieving those books, because Astra wanted to know about my childhood. The real books, not the versions that Rowling released as novelization for Muggles. Which resembled my life even less when the books went on and Rowling got corrupted by Hollywood.

Let's not even discuss that one play.

Although, I don't remember meeting my past self.

Well, this timeline is utterly fucked.

Yeah, for all I know, my meddling might have caused a champion wrestler to go insane at a media event and cause all kinds of drama and chaos, which leads to be a man being bitten. But, at least the muffins are good.

"It's me," I agreed.

"I figured," older me said to current me.

I wondered how much I should tell him about the fact that the timeline may be trying to erase all versions of Harry Potter. I decided to give him a basic explanation.

"So, you have to get this Green Flame Torch thing?" he asked me.

"It's the only way to stabilize the timeline," I told him. "I messed it up partially because I didn't take too kindly to being sent back to my younger body."

He looked at me and nodded. To be fair, that would drive anyone insane. And then for a second, I flickered out of reality.

"The timeline's trying to get you," he summarized.

"I've got forty hours left to live," I remarked. "Time is running out."

Actually significantly less than that, by the time I got back.

"This is the same assassin who attacked James Potter," Sara Lance, hey Sara, said in the background. "And his weapon matches up with the strange energy signature we got off of his wounds."

"We still got to find the people behind this," the other me said to them. "We just got the small minnow. Still get the big fish."

Dare I explain about the Cloaks? Oh, I wouldn't worry about it. Besides I think I can feel everyone freaking out.

"Keep them secure for now, until you can get information out of him," I told them. "Hopefully, this situation settles itself."

"And if it doesn't?"

"None of us will remember having this conversation. And we have bigger problems."

And with that I took the time jumping device I took from the mysterious assassin and I was off. I landed back at Hogwarts just seconds after I left.

"Where were you?" Kara asked me.

"You wouldn't believe it."

"Well, you've got about ten hours, so hopefully you have a lead on the cloak," Astra said.

Really,that much time passed? I like to cut it close, actually I don't, but I do have a really nasty habit of cutting it close.

The sounds of fighting from the Forest caught my attention. Astra, Kara, and I bolted into the forest. We saw the carnage before us.

Centaurs, dead centaurs everywhere. Well, that's not good.

Ariana, Rosemary, Elle, and Rowena popped behind us.

"No one else can get through," Rosemary said. "We're all stuck."

"That's not good," Rowena said.

"Who did this to you?" I asked them.

"You did," the centaur said while gurgling out blood. "It was you, Harry Potter."

That didn't make any sense. However, I noticed something else. Another body on the ground, just barely moving. And a cauldron smoking next to a portal. Which had been left open.

"Harry Potter."

Nocturna poked her head out from behind the tree. I caught her eye.

"Deception, things are not all of what they seem," Nocturna said. "They are after the flame."

"We've got the torch, they can't use the flame without the torch," Elle said.

"Maybe, maybe not," Ariana said.

The ground sparked underneath us and I shuddered when bending down. That portal was not unlike the one Astra, Elle, and I entered last Christmas. Where we found Kara, Rosemary, and my mother, although Lily could not return at the time. Until the Horcrux was purged.

I'll forgive you for not remembering it. Loads of batshit shit happened between now and then.

We had the means to get to her and with a little under nine hours yet.

"You have to hurry, Harry Potter."

"Yes, Potter, hurry."

I kicked over the body and it was a severely poisoned Severus Snape. There was no saving him.

"They took Longbottom down there," Snape managed. "Their plan…their masterplan…the elves."

Snape's throat swelled. And he died in one of the most painful ways possible.

Well, sucks to be him.

"This could be another trap," Astra said.

"Likely," I said. "Well, here we go."

I had a feeling we were close to reaching the end. One way or another. I jumped down, and Astra, Kara, Elle, Rosemary, and Ariana all followed me.

"Good luck, Harry Potter."

I heard the portal seal behind us. Which meant there was no way for us to escape.

Of course, with the Green Flame Torch, that wouldn't be a problem. Would it?

Don't everyone scramble to answer at once now.

Nine hours, thirty-nine minutes, and twelve seconds. Tick tock, tick tock.

To Be Continued.