Only Time Will Tell

Chapter 18

Errands, Rivers, And Forgetfulness

"We need to go to the library!" To everyone's astonishment, these words were spoken by Ron, not Hermione.

"As happy as I am that you are finally appreciating the value of the library, Ron, this is not the time." Hermione replied faintly, shocked that Ron wanted to go to the library.

"We need to find out what happened to Harry in this alternate universe of 1996, about his parents, and what Tom did differently this time. There must be hundreds of information about it in the library of You-Know-Who." Ron said swiftly, and Hermione gaped. Ron was right!

"To the library!" Harry commanded, and they headed in the direction of what they hoped would still be the library, concealed by the ever-useful ignoring charm.

As they hurried along the dark and eerie corridors, Ginny watched Harry with a sense of unease. She felt sure that if Harry was dead, he wouldn't be here, but Malfoy had told them that Harry had never even been born. She was not the only one beginning to feel uncomfortable in the alternate universe they had created, for Ron was now looking confusedly down the hall they were heading. The others stopped, not sure what was wrong with him.

"Hey, this isn't the way to the library." Ron said slowly, and the other three looked at him as though he was mad.

"What do you mean?"

"The library isn't on this floor. It's downstairs. We're going the wrong way." Ron replied. Harry stared down the corridor as if trying to remember something. Hermione gasped.

"It is downstairs! I forgot how to get to the library!" She moaned. "We need to hurry, before we forget more about our lives!"

"But Hermione, how would you have forgotten the way to the library? It's not like you wouldn't have gone to the library, even in an alternate universe." Ron asked, but Harry was beginning to understand.

"She wouldn't have ever been to the Hogwarts library before, because she wouldn't have gone to Hogwarts under Voldemort." Harry explained, also explaining why he had felt lost. Dead people don't usually go to the library… he reminded himself.

"Let's talk about it later, we must hurry!" Ginny reminded them, and they set off once again, agreeing on the location of the library.

Upon entering, Hermione doubted if even she would go into this place that was the library of Hogwarts under Voldemort. All of the books seemed to be full of dark magic spells and curses. There were a few students browsing through the pages, but no Madame Pince in sight. Instead of the strict librarian they were accustomed to, a solemn Death Eater maintained silence and order. Speechless at the difference, they stared at the library in awe. Finally, Hermione set off to search for any kind of recent events book. Ginny, Ron, and Harry followed her example.

Harry picked up a large and dusty volume titled "The Dark Lord, The Wizard of the Ages" in thin, silver letters with curling tendrils. Apprehensive, he opened it to a page in the middle and read to himself.

As Pettigrew had informed him, the Dark Lord found the Potters in hiding at their home in Godric's Hollow. Lily Potter was in her ninth month of pregnancy, therefore the Dark Lord had to act immediately in order to prevent his foreseen downfall.

James Potter put up a tremendous fight, aided by Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Pettigrew was also there, and displayed his true allegiance to the Dark Lord by turning his wand against Potter. Black and Lupin were killed quickly by Pettigrew, but Potter was quicker than even the Dark Lord had anticipated. With the type of courage the Dark Lord had always loathed in Gryffindors, Potter fought without hesitation against him.

Throughout the duel, James Potter tried to convince Lily Potter to leave while there was still time. The Dark Lord then struck, and killed him. He then turned to Lily, but did not attempt to kill her. As he had foreseen, he instead stunned her and removed her from Godric's Hollow. He then took measures to prevent the prophecy from being fulfilled.

Harry stared at the page, a new anger towards Peter building up. Not only had he betrayed his parents' hide out, but he had also murdered Sirius and Remus. But other more outstanding differences needed to be deciphered, and he pushed his anger aside for the present. Harry hadn't even been born when his parents had been killed in this scenario, so Voldemort must have found out about the prophecy sooner. He had "taken measures", whatever those had been. Harry flipped to the index and looked up "foreseen downfall" and "prophecy". The passage it led him to was as unsettling as the previous one.

On one extraordinary occasion, wizards from the future visited the young Dark Lord in the Chamber of Secrets. One was named Harry Potter, and he dueled with the Dark Lord. By some trickery, Potter knocked the Dark Lord unconscious, and he and the others fled before he awoke. Through careful thought, the Dark Lord realized Harry Potter was to be his downfall in the future, and the only hindrance to his rise to power.

He knew that by knowing the name of his downfall, he could take precautions to prevent what Harry Potter might do to him, as Harry Potter had not been born yet. This knowledge was kept secret by the Dark Lord until unusual news reached his ears, Lily Potter was expecting a baby. Recalling the name Potter, and knowing the baby would surely be Harry, the Dark Lord prepared to kill her before Harry could be born. However, a prophecy made by Sybil Trelawney of him and Harry Potter changed his plans.

If he had killed Lily immediately, the Dark Lord would have ultimately died as well because of complications with his bond to Harry Potter. And had he let her deliver the baby, and then tried to kill it, he would allow his downfall to grow into the man who would ultimately kill him, as the prophecy suggested. Therefore, the Dark Lord kidnapped Lily while she was still pregnant, and she was never seen again. Much speculation arose as to what ever happened to her, but to this day the Dark Lord keeps that information to himself for safety reasons. Many believe that someone else killed her, and that Harry Potter was never born. The Dark Lord neither confirms nor denies these rumors.

The words on the page seemed to suggest that Malfoy was simply going off of a widely accepted rumor, but Harry couldn't think of how the prophecy could have been avoided or how his mother and he had possibly survived. But Voldemort didn't confirm that his mum and him had been killed, he thought hopefully.

"Ron! Hermione! Ginny! I might not be dead after all!" Harry told them, pushing the book in front of their astonished faces to read.

"I don't see how this helps us, Harry." Ron said after much discussion of the information they had found in the library.

"It means that Harry isn't dead. Voldemort never killed him. I think that's pretty helpful." Ginny replied.

"How can we be sure Harry isn't dead?" Ron asked.

"I'm still here, that's how." Harry responded, causing the other three to jump. He hadn't said anything since he had shown them the book, he had been lost in his own thoughts about it.

"Voldemort doesn't even give you credit for time travel in this! He says he had a 'vision', like he was responsible for the outcome!" Hermione said in outrage, which Harry felt was thoroughly beside the point. "And that you beat him through trickery, not by planning! I guess he doesn't want everyone to know he and you switched wands."

Just then, the library door opened and a hooded figure stepped in. Harry watched intently as the person spoke quietly to the Death Eater running the library. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but it was evident that it was important. Harry held up a hand to signal to his friends, and pointed to the two Death Eaters. After a quick nod, the Death Eater overseeing the Library strided swiftly to the door and exited, followed by the second Death Eater. Feeling as though it was time to gather some information about the current situation, Harry motioned for the others to follow, and they hurried after the Death Eaters.

"He said it's your time to run the errand. Go and pack, you must leave at dawn." The second Death Eater told the Library Overseer. Harry and Hermione exchanged puzzled glances, while Ron and Ginny paled in the normal Weasley manner. What sort of errands?

"Do you know-?" The Library Overseer asked, sounding nervous at the prospect of running an errand. Actually, not just an errand, but the errand.

"Of course I do not know, I have never been sent. Those who go never return." The Second Death Eater scolded. "I imagine it is exactly as the Dark Lord says, you will do him one last favor, and then he lets you retire with him comfortably in his palace on Azkaban. Why else would he ask you to pack?"

Harry gaped. The Library Overseer nodded in acceptance! Harry couldn't imagine who would be so thick as to believe that Voldemort had a palace on Azkaban. That one could retire happily there? It was almost laughable, imagining the Dementors relaxing comfortably in some sort of vacation home!

"They say Azkaban is very nice this time of year, you know." The Library Overseer said politely, and the Second Death Eater agreed in almost a genial way. The look on Ron's face at these words, in Hermione's opinion, was priceless.

"Just be ready to go by 5 a.m. He'll have an early Portkey ready for you from his office." And with that, the second Death Eater nodded and bustled off. Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny watched silently in utter repulsion as the Library Overseer broke into a wide, cruel grin evident even behind his mask. He turned and began to walk with a renewed bounce in his step, and they followed him.

"Are we going to run his errand with him?" Ginny asked after they had followed him to his quarters and had seen him safely into bed for an early night.

"We'd be walking right into Voldemort hands!" Ron exclaimed. "Why can't we just go back to 1943, switch wands,, blast Riddle into pieces, return to the normal and sane 1996, and call it a night?" He asked almost pleadingly.

"First of all, we can absolutely under NO circumstances blast Riddle to pieces in 1943. If switching wands caused this, can you imagine what it would be like if we did that?" Hermione refuted him, but Harry glumly cut her off.

"I can imagine what it would be like- my parents would be alive, Sirius would be alive, Neville's parents would be normal, all those people who are dead wouldn't be dead, I wouldn't have this stupid scar." Harry replied in a hollow voice, saying aloud the thought that had been tormenting him since seeing his father alive and hearing about the possibilities of time travel. Hermione dropped her sharp tone she had berated Ron with, and sighed sympathetically towards him.

"Oh Harry. Don't think on it!" Hermione had worried this might happen, ever since James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus had appeared in the hallway in 1996. Of course Harry would want to prevent it all from happening that way.

"How can I not think on it, Hermione? I should just accept that Sirius is dead, and not do anything to change it? Forget what Voldemort has done to tear apart my life?" Harry laughed bitterly, causing Ron to shift uncomfortably. Ginny placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, and he faintly acknowledged its presence with surprise. "I know I mustn't change the past, but for the first time in my life I met my father, really met him! Not just a memory in a Pensieve, a voice inside my head, a picture in a book, or a description of him from someone who knew him."

"Harry, mate," Ron feebly croaked.

"And what about Sirius? Had any of you ever seen him so full of life? HE WAS SO CAREFREE WITHOUT THE TWELVE YEARS OF AZKABAN BURDENING HIM!" Harry exclaimed, his voice rising with his anger.

"Really, Harry. It's not that we-" Hermione pleaded, but Harry silenced her.

"Or Remus? I saw the biggest difference in Remus! He looked like what a normal, happy person should look like, not tired or sad that HIS TWO BEST FRIENDS ARE DEAD AND THE THIRD HAD BETRAYED THEM!"

"HARRY!" Ginny shouted in order to quiet his ranting. Harry jumped in surprise, but closed his mouth and fell silent. "Just try, please, just-" Ginny felt tears welling up, overcome with emotion. Harry nodded, feeling ashamed for shouting at them all. He knew he couldn't change more than was necessary of the past. What had to happen, had to happen, and he had to accept it.

No one said anything for a moment, and it was a rattling snore from the slumbering death eater that brought them all back to the situation. Ron cleared his throat uneasily before he spoke up. "Did we agree on going back to 1943?"

"But the time elevator is broken!" Ginny reminded them, avoiding eye contact with Harry.

"Ron and I found this river thing, in the woods! Actually, our children told us where it was, but it took us to 1943 last time, so it might do it again!" Hermione told them enthusiastically. Ron turned scarlet, and Harry and Ginny looked at her in shock.

"Did you say 'our children' as in the children of you and Ron?" Harry asked disbelievingly. Hermione turned scarlet as well, though not nearly as vibrant as Ron.

"Funny thing, the future…" Hermione said to no one in particular. Ginny smiled mischievously at her and Ron. Harry's eyebrows raised, causing Hermione and Ron to turn even redder.

"What else did you happen to see in the future?" Ginny asked innocently. Ron opened his mouth to speak, but Hermione cut him off.

"You'll just have to wait and find out, Ginny my dear." Hermione sniffed. After Ginny and Harry exchanged a few more glances at Ron and Hermione, and Ron and Hermione had started to become less red, they left the Death Eater to sleep and headed for the forbidden forest.

Harry was very eager to get outside. After what he had seen of Hogwarts under Voldemort, even being at Number 4 Privet Drive sounded quite appealing. After they had opened the oak doors and stepped into the night that had fallen, they were much relieved to see that Voldemort had been unable to change much of the geographical aspects surrounding the castle. The Forbidden Forest was just as dark and looming as it always had been, though Harry wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing at this time of night without Hagrid nearby.

"It's not far in, we can follow the path." Hermione stated tentatively. No one made any further movements into the Forest. Sighing with resignation, Harry led the group again, who followed him eagerly with relief they were not the ones going in first.

Their feet crunched as they padded over the dried leaves on the path. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all had their wands lit, but Harry couldn't even bring himself to touch Riddle's wand, let alone use it if it wasn't necessary. After a half an hour or so, a large precipice came into view along the right of the path. Hermione and Ron exchanged worried glances. The river should be here, but all that was there was the precipice.

"Well? How does it work?" Ginny asked expectantly. Hermione cleared her throat nervously. Ron stared at his shoes.

"It doesn't look like the river is here anymore." Ron mumbled to everyone's dismay.

"I think it just takes time to recharge. It was a colossal tidal wave that took us last time. Maybe it needs awhile to accumulate again?" Hermione suggested. Harry checked his watch, as though waiting impatiently for the river to flow again. His watch read 11:34.

"Are we just going to wait here then?" Harry asked.

"Who knows how long it will take for the river to refill? We can't hang around here waiting!" Hermione said tersely. "But it shouldn't need to recharge, as we used it in the future, not the past…"

"Then lets accompany our friend from the library and find out more about this twisted place." Harry announced. The other three looked at him as though he was insane. "What? Got something better to do here?"

And with that, he set off for the castle again. Ginny, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other faintly. Harry was angry about not being able to change the past, and not being able to get back to the normal but still sad 1996 hadn't improved his mood. They knew he would not be dissuaded. Hermione turned to Ron to comment about this, but for a split second she had no idea who he was. It took her a moment to place him, and she was very shaken up. First the library, and now Ron… what would she be forgetting next. Ron gave her a questioning look, as Hermione had been staring at him for some time, now.

"We better go with him." Ginny said simply, holding her wand high to scatter her wand light farther in attempts to see Harry. Ron groaned, but Hermione took him by the arm and followed Ginny insistently.

"If we ever get back to our own time with our normal lives, I am going to kill Remus for starting the Marauders on this time travel thing and getting us into this mess!" Ron huffed. Hermione nodded absentmindedly, letting Ron vent his frustration. "First the future, then the past, now the present, and we still have to go back to the past in order to get to the present!"

"That's nice, Ron." Hermione told him, trying to keep sight of Ginny's wand light ahead.

"One of the first lessons we'll teach Annie and Charlie is NEVER TO MESS WITH TIME." Ron continued. "And Sirius, too. Do you think we'll have other children?"

"Honestly, Ron, I haven't the faintest idea. Like I told Ginny, we'll find out in time." Hermione smiled at him, and Ron smiled back. All in good time…

The Death Eater rose promptly at 4:30 the next morning and gathered his belongings. He seemed well rested and excited with anticipation for the errand to come. The feelings could not have been more contrary to those of Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny. None of them had gotten much rest, each troubled with their own demons. And none of them were looking forward to visiting Voldemort on Azkaban, but Harry was set on seeing it through.

When all of his belongings were packed, the Death Eater levitated his luggage, and set off. Following at a safe distance, they approached what had once been Dumbledore's office in what seemed like a lifetime ago. Harry couldn't repress the snarl that crossed his face, thinking of Voldemort all cozy in the beautiful, circular office that seemed only fit and rightful for Dumbledore.

Up the circular steps the Death Eater and Harry and his friends went, and onto the landing they stepped. Before the Death Eater had finished raising his hand to knock on the door, the low hiss of a voice they had all come to loathe and fear said from within, "Enter!"

The Death Eater opened the door, and they entered.