Disclaimer: I own none of the things you already know of.
Harry Potter and the Smallest Change.
Chapter 35. Fourth Year, Part 17. 1995.
A few hours later, both Harry and Fleur were released from the Hospital Wing and made their way to the Room of Requirement.
Fleur walked back and forth three times in front of the portrait of the Dancing Trolls as Harry watched, he looked down at the vial filled with a milky white substance in his hand. A door opened in the wall and Fleur entered, with Harry a few steps behind.
As Harry closed the door behind them and pushed the red button to start the time dilation effect, he turned to Fleur.
'We can do this after you see your family, you know?' he asked, and she shook her head.
'No, I think we need to see these memories before we do anything else.' She said, and Harry nodded.
Harry sighed and thought about a Pensieve.
Nothing happened.
He blinked and looked around.
'I guess the room can't create a Pensieve for us.' Harry mused, and Fleur rolled her eyes.
'Can we have a Pensieve please?' Fleur asked, and a pedestal appeared between the two.
On the pedestal was an ancient-looking Pensieve. It looked like a stone bowl covered with arcane glyphs and writings that Harry couldn't read.
He looked up at Fleur, who smirked.
'Did you forget I made the Room this time?' she asked, and Harry laughed.
'I did.' He shook his head with a small smile that faded a moment later.
He unstoppered the vial and poured the milky white memories into the Pensieve. Once inside, the memories swirled as if in a current.
Harry looked up at Fleur, who stared at the memories swirling around in the stone bowl with an expression somewhere between fear and determination.
'Are you ready?' Harry asked, not feeling ready himself.
Fleur nodded and leant forward, she reached out toward the milky substance with a long finger until she disappeared into the Pensieve.
Harry took a steadying breath and followed in behind her.
Harry opened his eyes and found Fleur beside him. They stood in a dilapidated room, battered wooden walls framed grimy windows. The room was small, it held a fireplace, a battered leather couch with tattered, mismatching chairs on either side. Above the fireplace hung a mirror that met the ceiling.
On the battered leather couch sat Fleur Potter in her patched and faded combat attire, the only outfit he'd seen her wear. In her hands, she held a framed picture.
In the mirror's reflection, Harry saw a small kitchenette, barely enough for a food preparation area with no stove, oven, or fridge, nor anything magical to replace them.
On the wall in the kitchen hung an impressive horned head of a deer.
A bench stood against the far wall of the small room that was covered with loose sheets of paper and, sitting atop the paper, lay a wand that Harry knew well.
It was his own reinforced Holly and Phoenix feather wand.
Fleur gripped his hand and Harry turned to her.
'Are we in some kind of shack?' she whispered, and Harry frowned.
'Yeah, though where the shack is located is a mystery.' He said.
Fleur Potter stood. She put the framed picture aside on the couch and moved over to stand in front of the mirror.
'This is the night before I use your Time Turner that you've been working on with your mother since you were a child. I was able to finish it, but it has taken years.' The older Fleur said as she stared at herself in the mirror.
Fleur Potter ran a scarred hand through her silver hair.
Fleur's hand squeezed Harry's tight.
'Oh, my goddess. What could have done that to her? To me?' Fleur breathed as she stared at the scar on Fleur Potter's hand.
Harry squeezed her hand.
Fleur Potter took a deep breath.
'I don't know where to start, or how much to tell you. I don't want to inadvertently cause this horrible future by telling you too much about it. But I can't just sit back and watch as the vestiges of magic leave the world.' She paused and sighed.
Fleur Potter's gaze fell to the fireplace.
'Perhaps I should just start at the beginning. I'll try to give you enough information so you can act, without having too much information to cloud your decisions.' She ran her hands down her face.
The only sign of distress lay in her eyes. Her innate Veela magic couldn't hide the pain in them.
Harry gripped Fleur's hand and lead her across the room to get a better view of the mirror, and the older Fleur's face.
Fleur Potter closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
'Voldemort returned at the end of your fourth year because of a trap created by the Dark Lord. Neville Longbottom, the Boy-Who-Lived, was entered and aided unknowingly throughout the Triwizard Tournament by two Death Eaters, Bartemius Crouch Junior and Bertha Jorkins.' She said.
Harry and Fleur shared a glance.
'That's the same so far.' Harry whispered.
Fleur Potter continued.
'With their aid, Neville Longbottom won the Tournament, but the cup was a trap, and his blood was used to revive Voldemort. Neville died as a result of the ritual to bring Voldemort back.' She said.
Harry and Fleur glanced at each other again, their faces pale.
'The Wizarding World was a dark place, the misery caused by the loss of the Boy-Who-Lived hindered the British Ministry in their fight against Him, eventually leading to its collapse.' She continued.
Harry and Fleur stared at each other; their eyes wide.
Fleur Potter sighed; a small smile flashed across her face.
'After the Tournament ended, I returned to France with my family, and you came with me. We spent most of that summer preparing for your eventual return to Britain.' She said, and her small smile faded.
'When your fifth year stared, you returned to Hogwarts to find it a different place. Many students were working for the Dark Lord, though out of fear or a true allegiance we never tried to find out.' She sighed; her eyes closed.
Fleur Potter opened her eyes and stared hard at her reflection.
'I returned with you to Britain and got a job at Gringotts to develop my skills in Curse Breaking. My off time I spent with you or your family, helping with the underground war effort as part of the Order of the Phoenix, led by Dumbledore.' She shook her head.
'But you weren't at Hogwarts for long, Voldemort invaded on Halloween, killing Dumbledore and many of the Professors.' She ran her hand through her hair.
Harry squeezed Fleur's hand.
'It all went out of control so quickly. How can we avoid this?' he whispered, and she shook her head.
'I don't know.' Fleur breathed as she stared at her older self in the mirror.
Fleur Potter took another steadying breath.
'The Order turned to you. Before you were born, there was a Prophecy made that stated that either you or Neville would be the one to defeat Voldemort, seeing as Neville was dead, as was their leader Dumbledore, they decided to follow you.' The future Fleur's gaze fell to the fireplace again.
'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies...' she recited and Harry blinked.
Harry turned to Fleur.
'The first part could apply to me, but what about the marking me as his equal part? Neville had the scar.' Harry asked, and Fleur gave the faintest of shrugs.
'It didn't have to be a physical scar. Or even if it was, perhaps he gave you a scar during this second war?' she suggested.
'I suppose.' He shrugged.
'By the end of your fifth year, we fought Voldemort together and defeated him. But we didn't know about six items he created called Horcruxes. These held his spirit on this plane, effectively making him immortal.' Fleur Potter continued, oblivious to Harry and Fleur's whispered discussion.
'We destroyed his body but were unable to find his Horcruxes before his minions created another body for him. It took three more years of war before we destroyed all his Horcruxes and defeated him for good.' She explained.
Harry and Fleur shared a smile.
'At least we now know about these Horcrux things.' Fleur said, and Harry nodded.
'But by then, it was too late. The population of Wizarding Britain had been decimated by years of civil war, but what was even worse was that the muggles had taken notice of the war.' Fleur Potter continued and let out a bitter chuckle.
'Later, you and I decided that if we'd thrown Him through the Veil of Death in the Department of Mysteries, that would finish him for good. His Horcruxes would remain, but they are mere shattered aspects of the man and could be hunted down after the war was won.' She shook her head, regret in her eyes.
Harry and Fleur shared a nod. Now they had a plan to start with.
'Nothing happened in the immediate future, but it would in time.' Fleur Potter paused and gave a heavy sigh.
'After the war, we thought all was well. We married and had three wonderful children. I won't tell you their names because the chances of them being born in your future is nigh on impossible.' She wiped away a tear that slid down her cheek.
'Everyone had lost family in the war. You lost your parents, most of the Order were gone. In fact, after the war, only the neutral families had any sort of political influence. The families on either side of the spectrum had killed the others.' She mused before shaking her head.
'We thought life was returning to normal. Hogwarts reopened and everything seemed to get better. We didn't pay attention to the world at large. We were happy at Potter Manor with our children, and travelling to France to see my parents.' She paused.
Harry and Fleur frowned as they watched the older Fleur's face crumble and blink away tears.
'The one morning, we were in Diagon Alley, shopping for Hogwarts supplies for our eldest child.' She paused, choking up.
Fleur Potter sniffed and wiped her nose with a conjured handkerchief.
'A muggle sniper rifle killed you in broad daylight. It happened in front of our children.' She sobbed and covered her face with her hands.
Fleur Potter took a deep breath and schooled her features, then looked back into the mirror.
'Months later, we caught the man who did it, it was from a kilometre away, an impossible shot for any but the best in the muggle militaries around the world. Nobody heard a thing because it was under a silencing charm.' She explained, ignoring the tears that slid down her face.
'With your death, the Hero of the last war, the Wizarding World rallied to fight the muggle menace.' She snarled; her voice full of scorn.
'It took only six months before the British Wizarding community was in hiding once more, under heavy wards to protect themselves from the muggles who had spent the time between Voldemort's war and then, preparing in secret.' She said.
'It was then that we discovered that there was a new Dark Lord as the British Ministry called him, at least until it fell to the muggles.' Fleur Potter wiped the tears from her eyes and those that fell down her cheeks.
'This new Dark Lord was magical, a muggleborn, taught at Hogwarts where even after Voldemort was defeated, the school still was segregated between houses and discrimination was rife.' She ran her scarred hand through her hair.
'The Dark Lord called himself The Revolutionary and modelled his followers after some muggle revolutionaries. When he was at Hogwarts, he was known as Brian Johnson, he came from Exeter. He left the magical world because of the corruption and discrimination present at every level, from entering Hogwarts to finding a job afterward.' She closed her eyes.
'Before Hogwarts, his absentee muggle father abused him and his mother. When his grandmother on his mother's side died, his mother used the inheritance to send Brian to Hogwarts, away from his father.' She opened her eyes.
Harry saw the pain in her eyes, raw, even after so long.
'During Brian's fifth year, his father killed his mother in a drunken rage. In the break that year, they placed Brian in the foster care system, but he used his potions skills and magic to control his new foster family, using them until he returned to Hogwarts.' She explained.
'From what we can tell, he went into the muggle world after Hogwarts and used magic to control a handful of businesses. Then he merged them into one large company that continued to acquire more companies and within a few years he was one of the richest people in the UK, on the muggle side at least.' She frowned.
Fleur Potter turned away from the mirror and walked into the kitchen. She poured herself a glass of water.
Harry turned to Fleur.
'How did everything go so wrong? What can we do to stop all of this?' he asked, and she shook her head.
'I get the feeling that she hasn't even gotten to the worst part yet. She's leading to something I don't think we're ready to hear.' Fleur whispered as she watched her older self collapse on the floor in the kitchen and curl into a ball, sobbing.
Harry watched, and his heart broke at the sight of the defeated future Fleur.
He pulled Fleur into a hug and she clung to him.
'It's okay. None of this has happened yet, we're going to stop it. I made a promise to you, to that Fleur over there in the kitchen.' Harry whispered, and Fleur held him tight.
'I know you did, and I'm going to help you.' She whispered back.
Harry closed his eyes and lost himself in the feeling of Fleur, the smell of her hair and her warmth as she held him close to her.
Harry opened his eyes at the sound of the future Fleur's glass being placed in the sink.
Fleur turned in his embrace to watch her future self move back to stand in front of the mirror again, her face a determined mask.
Fleur Potter took a deep breath.
'With massive finances behind him, Brian gathered all the squibs and disenfranchised muggleborns to him. He sent the squibs into the muggle military to be trained in their advanced ways of war. He hired muggleborns straight out of Hogwarts to work in his businesses that ranged from medicine to military weapons.' Fleur Potter's eyes blazed with contained rage.
'Brian decided to drag the Wizarding World kicking and screaming into the Twenty-First Century. I am skipping a lot here 'Arry, but this memory is just an overview. There will be a few more memories after this one for you to look at.' She paused, her eyes searched the mirror as if to look for him.
'This memory is only to set the scene. I don't know if the time travelling will work, I've only tested it with a single day. But assuming this works and I get these memories to you, please don't ask me about anything you learn from them. These are the worst moments of my life, and I don't intend on living long after giving them to you.' She sighed and her eyes teared up.
'Just the idea of seeing you again, even as a teenager, hurts. I've lost you once, and even the idea of seeing you in the arms of my younger self fills my heart with pain.' She choked.
'I love you; I beg of you. Stop this future from happening, you are my only hope.' She whispered.
Harry groaned as he opened his eyes. He found himself laying on the floor of the Room of Requirement.
'Next time, we enter the Pensieve from the couch or something.' Harry winced as pain shot up his back.
Fleur nodded as she stood and brushed her silver hair out of her face.
'Oui. That was most uncomfortable.' She agreed before she turned to Harry.
'I think we should talk about what we just witnessed before we see more.' Fleur said, and Harry nodded.
'Agreed, but before that. I think we need to eat something and let it all sink in.' he said.
Harry stood and took the Pensieve off the pedestal and put it down on the coffee table in front of a couch that appeared.
'Thanks.' He said, looking up to Fleur with a smile.
Together, the two sat on the couch and stared into the swirling memories they'd been ejected from.
''Arry, the older me told us a Prophecy about you. Did you know anything about it?' Fleur asked, and Harry shook his head.
'No, I mean, Mum always said that prophecies were a questionable branch of magic, but she admitted that there are real prophecies. I just never thought I'd be told that one was possibly about me.' He shrugged, and she quirked a perfect eyebrow at him.
Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
'From what I know about Prophecy's, it sounded like Neville was the subject of the Prophecy. But when he died and Voldemort returned, the Prophecy was completed.' He said and Fleur blinked at him.
Harry let out a breath and frowned.
'Think about it. From what I remember about the wording, it implied that neither can truly live while the other survives. That they can only die at the hands of the other. So once Voldemort killed Neville in that timeline, the Prophecy was completed.' Harry narrowed his eyes as he stared at the swirling memories in the Pensieve.
'Perhaps that means that Voldemort was vulnerable to people other than Neville.' Harry mused, and Fleur gave the faintest of shrugs.
'I guess that makes sense, sort of. But there's no way to tell for sure.' She said, and Harry nodded.
'Well, we know that in the other timeline, Neville died, Voldemort returned and was later defeated by the two of us. So either the Prophecy was about me all along, not Neville. Or once the Prophecy was completed, Voldemort became vulnerable to anyone.' Harry mused.
'I think that we'll have to find a way to defeat Voldemort, so that when we beat him this time, he can't come back again. We could hunt these Horcruxes?' Harry asked.
Fleur nodded, though a frown marred her face.
'Didn't the future me mention a Veil of Death in your Ministry? Do you know anything about that?' Fleur asked.
Harry shook his head.
Then he frowned.
'Wait.' He muttered and Fleur turned from the memories that swirled in the Pensieve and looked into his eyes.
'What?' she asked.
'In my third year. Sirius told me that Peter Pettigrew was sent through the Veil as punishment for his crimes. So, the thing exists at least.' Harry said.
'Should we tell anyone else about the memories?' Fleur asked as her gaze fell back on the milky substance in the Pensieve.
Harry ran a hand through his hair.
'I feel kind of strange about that idea. If we told Dumbledore, I think he wouldn't agree with what we are planning to do. I haven't had much to do with the man in my time here. But he seems to subtly place Neville in dangerous situations, this Tournament for example.' Harry mused.
Fleur frowned at him for a moment, then groaned.
'That's right, the Stone in your first year, the Basilisk in your second.' She said, and Harry nodded.
'It's hard to believe that Neville naturally gravitated toward those dangers. That they exist in this school leads me to think Dumbledore is either testing Neville, or completely incompetent as a human being.' Harry muttered; Fleur scoffed.
Harry grinned at her.
'Yeah, I don't think that's the case either.' He admitted.
Fleur remained silent for a moment before she turned to look into his eyes.
''Arry? Are you okay?' she asked, and he blinked at her.
'What do you mean?' he asked, and her eyebrows rose.
'You were told that they assassinated you in the future.' She deadpanned, and he sighed.
Harry took her hands in his and lifted them to his lips.
'What bothers me, is that the future me was killed, leaving you and their children alone in what became a future filled with death.' He whispered and kissed her fingers.
'I will not let that future occur. We have hints about the future, hints we can use to prevent it. This Brian Johnson, for example. If he is the one to bring about a magical apocalypse, then we have someone to focus on.' Harry said.
Fleur blinked; the colour drained from her face as she stared with wide eyes into his.
Harry frowned, then it clicked in his head.
'No, no, no. I don't mean to kill him.' He said and Fleur cocked her head.
'That's what it sounded like.' She said with narrowed eyes.
Harry released one of her hands and ran it through his hair.
'I mean that we change the magical world, remove the bigotry, the discrimination and make Hogwarts a welcoming place.' He said, and she quirked a silver eyebrow.
'I know France is at least a little better than the United Kingdom in these areas.' He paused and smiled as she nodded.
'The Potters are a wealthy, powerful House. As are the Delacour's, I have some friends from powerful Houses, so maybe we can use our combined political power to force some genuine change.' Harry suggested, and Fleur frowned.
'What you are suggesting will be a monumental task.' She said, and Harry nodded.
'Of course it will. But if we manage to defeat Voldemort before he really gets going, say in the next year according to the other timeline, we might be able to leverage that act for more political capital.' Harry muttered, lost in his thoughts.
Fleur blinked at him. Then a wide smile blossomed on her face.
'It's sexy when you use your brain.' She purred, and he grinned at her.
Harry took another breath before he looked at the Pensieve.
'Are you ready for another memory?' he asked, and she nodded.
Together, they fell back into memories of the future.
This time, Harry didn't find himself in the dilapidated shack. He and Fleur stood on a muggle street in London in front of a massive ultra-modern skyscraper. It was made of glass and as Harry looked up, the building resembled two graceful flower stalks that intertwined halfway up to create one building.
In the distance, obscured by clouds, the building had a hollow centre with a shining sphere in the middle. At this distance, it appeared to float in the void.
Harry turned to Fleur, who stared past him. He frowned and followed her gaze to see the future Fleur.
She wore the familiar tight black combat robes that he was familiar with, though these weren't nearly as worn and faded as he'd seen in during the Triwizard tasks.
Fleur leant in close to his ear.
'Is that really her?' she whispered.
Harry nodded.
'That's what Crocus looked like.' He said, and Fleur gave the older her an appraising look.
'At least I'll still be attractive after a few children.' She murmured and Harry choked on a laugh.
'Yes, the future you is stunning.' He agreed.
Fleur smiled at him before she gestured toward other people nearby who all wore the same combat outfits as the future Fleur.
'Who are they?' she asked.
Harry looked at the others. They looked out of place in front of the ultra-modern building as muggles in expensive suits walked past without a care.
'Would these be the people she mentioned, the Order of the Phoenix? She said they followed you after Dumbledore and Neville died. Maybe they listened to me after you...' she trailed off and Harry took her hand in his and squeezed it.
Harry pointed out a tall redhead who stared at the future Fleur with a hunger that made Harry want to hit him.
Fleur shivered beside him.
'He looks like a Weasley.' Harry growled and Fleur's lip curled.
'I wish I couldn't see the man. Even in a memory, I can tell what's going through his mind. Disgusting.' She took hold of his arm.
'That man makes me uncomfortable.' Fleur said and Harry nodded, squeezing her hand.
He pointed at a woman with dull black hair, with pink tips.
'See there? Beside the future you? That's my cousin Nym, well, Sirius' cousin Nym. But we don't care about that. You met her before the Ball.' Harry said and Fleur smiled.
'Oui, I remember her. I liked her, though she looks miserable.' Fleur paused and looked around at the assembled wizards and witches.
'In fact, everyone looks exhausted.' She whispered.
Harry looked around the group.
'I don't see anyone in my family, or yours. You don't think?' he asked, and she squeezed his arm tight.
Fleur gave a slow nod.
'The future me said that we lost a lot of people in the war with Voldemort.' Fleur said, and Harry deflated.
'Holly.' He whispered.
''Arry, they're moving.' Fleur said, and Harry looked up to see the group moving with quick strides toward the large glass doors of the building.
Harry and Fleur followed behind the remains of the presumed Order of the Phoenix into the building.
They followed the future Fleur into an elevator and stepped out on floor seventy-nine.
Harry followed behind the group, his senses on high alert, and he drew his wand.
''Arry.' Fleur murmured and Harry blinked, then looked down at his wand.
Harry sighed and tucked it back into its holster. He watched the Order move with practised ease through a wide door with a sign above it that read 'R&D'.
Fleur ran beside him as they followed the Order up a flight of glass stairs until the sound of gunfire exploded all around.
Harry took cover instinctively, dragging Fleur with him.
She quirked an eyebrow at him and stood.
'Sorry.' Harry muttered.
He joined her and together, they strode through the storm of bullets and magic, up the stairs.
They watched as the Order worked together as a well-oiled machine, covering each other with shields while a couple focussed spell fire on their targets.
Harry blinked and realised; they weren't fighting soldiers. They fought an automated turret that spewed bullets at a steady stream toward the Order.
The high-pitched whine of the rotating gun barrels of the turret only stopped when the entire weapons platform exploded from two swift Explosion Hexes fired by the future Fleur.
The Order wasted no time and ran past the smoking turret, then blew a wide hole in a pair of thick steel doors and stepped through.
Harry and Fleur hurried to keep up and once through the doors, Harry gaped at a room that would give him nightmares.
The room was cavernous. He couldn't see any walls to the left or right, only a door about twenty metres in front of them. To either side lay endless cylindrical tanks of bubbling fluid, all lit with a dim green light.
Within each tank floated a human being.
Some tanks held only a foetus, while others held a naked elderly person and everything in between. Every tank was filled with wires connecting the people's heads to something hidden above the glass of the tank, which went up into the darkened ceiling.
Fleur gasped and covered her mouth with a hand.
But the Order didn't stop, they kept running through the nightmarish room.
Harry gripped Fleur's hand and dragged her along with him.
'Come on Fleur, let's get out of this horrible place.' He muttered, and she nodded.
They followed the Order into the next room where the walls were covered in computer screens.
Each screen showed data Harry didn't understand. Some screens showed graphs and scrolling blocks of computer code, along with chunks of what he recognised as a form of mathematics.
'This is a research laboratory. I can recognise some of this, over there.' Harry pointed at a screen that showed runes.
'This is referring to imbuing magic into a non-magical object.' He muttered and moved up a few stairs into a connected glass walled room.
In the connected room lay a body.
Harry stared at the naked and very dead body; half covered by a white sheet.
'They're trying to give muggles magic.' Fleur breathed beside him.
Harry nodded, then pointed at a nearby screen.
'Read that.' He said and reached out to touch the body, and his hand passed through it.
Fleur moved over to read the screen and gasped before she turned to Harry.
'This log says that the virus has removed ninety percent of all magical beings, globally.' She breathed.
'What virus?' Harry asked.
A moment later, the scene around the two shifted.
Harry held his head in his hands and groaned.
'We should probably keep up with the Order, that shift was uncomfortable.' He muttered.
Fleur nodded, also holding her head.
'Can we pause memories?' Fleur asked, and Harry shrugged.
Harry looked up and examined the room they were now in.
It was another laboratory.
Screens covered the walls and displayed more unfamiliar data. The remnants of the Order all huddled around a computer station where the future Fleur stood, trying to gain access.
A moment later, a door on the far side of the room burst open.
Like an army of ants, red armoured soldiers flooded into the room, their guns blazing.
No calls for surrender, they shot to kill.
Within moments, an Order member fell to the floor with a scream, the woman clutched her leg before the back of her head exploded, spraying red chunks across the floor behind her.
The door the Order had probably used to enter the room burst open and more red armoured soldiers rushed into the room, catching the Order in a crossfire.
The Order's shields protected them from the bullets, but every few seconds, another shield collapsed under the strain of sustained gunfire. Within moments, the shields were quickly reenforced by another Order member, but the rate at which the shields were being overwhelmed worried Harry.
'Anti-apparition wards are up.' Called one of the Order members.
'Anti-Portkey wards are up too.' Called the red head who Harry was sure was a Weasley.
Future Fleur swore and looked up from the computer to throw an Ardenti Lux beam at a soldier, only for it to bounce off the glossy red armour.
Harry and Fleur shared a glance.
They watched as more and more magically resistant soldiers burst into the room.
These bore different guns, though.
Where the first soldiers used weapons like Harry had seen in action movies he'd watched with his father and Sirius. These looked more like weapons from the Science Fiction movies he'd watched with his mother.
The new guns were sleek, white, and held an inner red light that matched their glossy armour.
These new soldiers fired single shots into the Order, each shot penetrated the Order's shields with ease, cutting them down in moments.
The first to fall was the probably-a-Weasley, red head. Within moments, the rest of the Order were cut down without mercy.
Nym turned to the future Fleur.
'Fleur, run, it's time for Plan B.' she screamed before a ragged hole opened in her chest and she dropped to the ground, a pool of blood spread out beneath her.
Harry stared at Nym's still form. Tears ran down his face but looked up as he saw the future Fleur pull out a silver charm from around her neck. It was shaped like a Fleur-de-Lys.
With a deafening crack, the Portkey broke through the wards and dragged her away from the dead Order members.
Harry and Fleur shifted into the ruined remains of Potter Manor, destroyed by powerful explosions some time before.
Harry gaped at the ruins of his home. Fleur held his hand and drew his attention to the future Fleur who collapsed to the rubble strewn floor and cried.
Once more, they were ejected from the Pensieve onto the couch and Harry pulled Fleur into an embrace, as much for her as for himself.
Fleur burrowed into his embrace for a few minutes until they both wrapped their heads around what they'd seen.
Fleur released him and stood from the couch. She paced back and forth in front of the fireplace, which the room provided.
'What was that building, and why did the remnants of the Order attack it?' she asked, without stopping her pacing.
Harry rubbed his eyes and shrugged.
'I guess by the context of the memory and the one before it, that building may have been the Headquarters of this Brian Johnson guy?' Harry suggested.
Fleur looked at him.
'They seemed to have advanced weapons, like the automatic turrets and the armour that those soldiers wore, not to mention those glowing white guns that cut straight through the magic shields.' Harry added, and Fleur nodded.
'We saw the laboratories; the people vats and all of that data on those screens. It's clear those people were performing some questionable research that I doubt the muggles would approve of.' Fleur said.
Harry sighed.
'Most of what I saw in those laboratories was way over my head. But did you get a chance to see anything more about that virus they mentioned?' he asked, and Fleur froze.
'Without going back in, I don't think so. I believe it said ninety percent. Do you think it was some sort of artificial disease they spread around the world? Why?' she asked.
Harry ran his hands through his hair and growled.
'There's too much we don't know.' He admitted.
The two remained in silence for a minute before Fleur pulled her amulet out from under her shirt.
'What did she have around her neck, the Fleur-de-Lys? Didn't one of the Order members say there were anti-Portkey wards?' she asked, and Harry frowned at the fireplace and the flames that danced in his vision.
'Maybe it was an overpowered one? Or specifically designed to tear through standard Portkey wards? I've been playing with a design that would work through Hogwarts' wards.' He mused, and Fleur smiled down at him.
She sat down on the couch beside him and kissed his nose.
'You always have a surprise up your sleeve.' She grinned and Harry shook his head, a bitter smile on his lips.
'Not always, at least I won't in the future.' He muttered.
Fleur held his hand in hers and raised it to her lips.
She kissed each finger, one by one.
'We won't be letting this future happen. We will learn everything we can from these memories and create a better future.' She whispered.
Harry couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face and leaned forward to kiss Fleur's lips softly.
He pulled away, and they pressed their foreheads together. Both closed their eyes and basked in the others presence.
After a few minutes Fleur pulled back, cupping Harry's face with her hands.
'Do we want to go back into the memories?' she asked, and Harry nodded.
'Let's go.' Harry said and together, they re-entered the Pensieve.
Harry looked around to see they were in the dilapidated shack again.
The future Fleur wasn't standing in front of the mirror like the last time.
Harry noticed that most of the room was filled with tables that didn't match the rustic décor of the room, they looked brand new. Each of the tables held enough sheets of paper to cover them entirely.
He noted that his wand, or rather, the future Harry's wand still sat on the same desk on the far side of the room while the future Fleur sat hunched over the only desk without paper on it, working on something.
'You think all these tables are conjured?' Fleur asked and Harry nodded.
Fleur moved forward and peered down at the sheets of paper covering the table nearest to her.
Harry walked over to the future Fleur and peered over her shoulder. His eyes widened as he saw what she was working on.
Dozens of tiny golden pieces of metal littered the table.
Harry turned to Fleur who spun toward him at the same instant, pointing at the paper on the table.
'Time Turner.' They both shouted.
Harry blinked, mirrored by Fleur before both grinned.
Harry walked over to Fleur and peered at the sheets of paper she pointed at. He frowned at the handwritten text.
'These pages look like they're from my notebook.' He muttered, then stood and sighed.
'It looks like the future you took my research to the next level. There's almost as much stuff here in your handwriting as there is in mine.' Harry said and Fleur nodded.
She tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear.
'It worked.' She said and Harry gave a soft chuckle.
'Yeah, but this time, we won't have to use it.' He said and Fleur smiled before she took his hand in hers.
Fleur rested her head on his shoulder for a few seconds before she released him. She walked over to stand in front of the window.
Harry hesitated, but gave her some space. He moved over to the seated future Fleur, who sat hunched over the Time Turner, assembling it by hand, one tiny piece at a time.
Her bloodshot eyes focussed on the tiny golden metal pieces with an intensity that sent a shiver down his spine.
''Arry.' The future Fleur whispered.
Harry stared as she continued to whisper his name as she worked, like a mantra.
''Arry.' His Fleur whispered and Harry turned to her and moved to stand beside her at the window.
He looked out the window, and he saw thick pine trees surrounded the shack. Sitting at the tree line about ten metres from the shack, were four graves in a line.
Harry took Fleur's hand.
'In this timeline, they had three children.' He whispered.
His heart broke to see a tear slide down her cheek.
Harry pulled her into a hug, turning her away from the sight and tightened his grip around her, uncaring of the tears that slid down his own cheeks.
The future Fleur leapt up from her table and screamed.
Harry watched as she plucked the half-assembled Time Turner off the table and threw it at the wall where it burst apart.
'Damn it, why?' she sobbed as she fell to her knees, tears sliding down her face.
The future Fleur cried into her hands which covered her face, her shoulders heaved as she fought her tears.
'Why did this have to happen? What did we do wrong?' she muttered.
Harry and Fleur watched her sit in silence for a minute before she stood and walked over to stare into the mirror above the fireplace.
Fleur Potter wiped away her tears on her sleeve before she steeled herself.
'Three days ago, the last members of the Order of the Phoenix accompanied me on an attack on the Dark Lord's Headquarters. The building is his base of operations in Europe, and it is where most of his research takes place.' The older Fleur paused and rubbed her face with her hands.
'My friend Nym got us information on how to get into the building and what it contained. I wish that I'd kept her away from that fight. Then I would at least have someone to talk to.' She trailed off.
Harry's heart broke at seeing the look of utter defeat on her face.
Fleur Potter shook her head, her silver blonde hair splaying out behind her.
'It was in that building that the virus originated. The Dark Lord created it to target the gene in our bodies that allows us to use magic and it kills anyone with that gene.' She explained.
'The gene is present in all magical creatures, House-Elves, Dragons, Veela, Goblins, Wizards, everything magical has this gene, even the plants.' The future Fleur said and turned away from the mirror.
She took a few steps toward the window, toward the graves outside. But she stopped and moved back to the mirror.
'They spread the virus around the world in days, and soon after that, everything magical died. Except for the followers of the Dark Lord, he gave them an immunity to it.' She sat down on the couch and looked up at the ceiling for a minute.
A weak smile crossed her face for a moment before it disappeared.
'Nym spirited away just enough of the inoculation for the Order, but none of us could replicate it. Oh, how I wish your mother had survived the war against Voldemort. She was brilliant and she probably would have been able to understand the documents Nym stole.' Fleur Potter said.
'Anyone with a muggle background was on the other side of this war. Honestly, I can't even blame most of the muggleborns for rebelling against the Wizarding World.' She sighed.
Harry and Fleur shared a glance before the future Fleur stood and glared at the mirror.
'I do however blame them for destroying the world I love and murdering my family.' She snarled and paced back and forth in front of the mirror.
'I am the last living magical that I know of, at least that isn't on the Dark Lord's side. Everyone else is dead.' She said and stopped.
The future Fleur bowed her head, her eyes closed.
Harry and Fleur stared at the broken woman, Harry felt tears fall down his cheeks and saw the same on Fleur's.
Fleur Potter opened her eyes and met her own gaze in the mirror.
'I am going to finish the project you started as a child 'Arry, back when we were just friends. I will complete your design for a true Time Turner and use it to go back to the past and change this world for the better.' She said, her eyes blazing.
'This time, you won't die. Our children won't die.' She declared.
The future Fleur sighed and looked away from the mirror and over to the pile of tiny golden pieces of metal in the corner where she'd thrown them earlier.
'I haven't decided how far back I will go, or what I'll do when I get there. But it's going to be a one-way trip, I don't know how long I can stand this solitude.' She admitted and sat down on the couch.
'I just want you back.' She sobbed, her head in her hands.
Harry blinked, still not used to the disorientation after being ejected from the Pensieve as the memory ended.
Beside him, Fleur recovered faster, and she paced back and forth.
Harry stared at the flames that danced in the fireplace as his mind struggled to wrap itself around the memories they'd seen.
He tore his gaze from the fire and looked up at Fleur.
'We will change the future. We won't rest after defeating Voldemort, not this time. This time we'll keep going and fix this broken world before it all collapses.' He said and Fleur paused, her gaze locked on his.
'But do you think, maybe if we act on this, we could trigger this future? How can we know we are taking the right path?' Fleur asked and Harry ran a hand through his hair.
'The future you mentioned nothing about previous attempts to avert the timeline. So, her coming back in time didn't happen in her timeline. Which makes me think that we have a chance to create a new future.' He said, and she frowned.
Harry rubbed the bridge of his nose and groaned.
'I don't know whether her coming back in time to change it will erase her future, or if it will now be an alternate timeline kind of thing. I think we need to do some research over the summer on different time travel theories.' Harry said and Fleur nodded.
'Oui, but before we leave, we should check if there are any more memories to go through. We need all the information we can get if we're going to avert this future.' Fleur suggested and Harry nodded.
There were no new memories, and the two spent the next few hours re-watching the others and making plans.