Thank. You. So. Much. Endless thank yous…
Oh, and now! I think I haven't called Lily and Annabeth much these times. Annabeth!
What? I'm busy here, you know! Tartarus isn't a relaxation place!
Come on, just say my disclaimer!
BlackLily17 does not own Harry Potter, nor me.
Off to the story we gooooo!
Chapter 10: Leonard Laurent
That night, the air was full of tension.
"No, this is an Order meeting, certainly not for kids!" Mrs. Weasley declared, as an air of finality hung around her.
"We're not kids." Hugo mumbled incoherently.
"Molly, let them be." Sirius waved around lazily.
"Why?" Molly challenged in return, her hands on her waist. Rose decided to speak up. "It basically involves all of us, Gran. Uncle Fred and Uncle George are seventeen now. Besides, they're our—erm, future parents."
"Besides, knowing Prongs, he would tell them everything anyway." Hailey added. James shrugged, which was basically a confirmation for the gesture itself. Mrs. Weasley fumed, but did not speak any further.
After dinner, they were all gathered in the living room. The adults conjured some more couches, beanbags, and stools for everyone to sit. Hailey sat in between Rose and Scorpius, with Al sitting beside Scorpius. Beside him were Lily and Hugo, both on different beanbags, and then there was Louis, Teddy, James, Fred & George, Ron, Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Arthur, Molly, Remus, Sirius, Tonks, Kingsley, Snape, and then Dumbledore. They were all arranged into some sort of an irregular circle. The kids were vaguely reminded of story time back in the days.
Teddy, Hailey and Scorpius were scolded ("If you've been caught!") but was being thanked to because they were able to get the book. It was okay with the future Draco, but not really with the future Astoria. Right now, they are about to read the book, with Louis as the translator.
The worn- out book has a blank cover colored black, with thin yellowing pages so fragile that with one move, it will be ripped off. The book was only thin, written by handwriting by Merlin himself.
Louis took it from Molly gingerly, careful not to damage it.
He placed it on his lap and cleared his throat, looked at everyone, and then back at the book.
"I am Merlin. People assume that I am great, wise, and clever."
"No, duh." James mumbled. Teddy nudged him to keep quiet.
"I suppose learning from my experiences and from others' made me as such. Ever since I assisted King Arthur towards his throne, I became quite popular. But I do not like popularity that much."
"Why?" Ron suddenly asked. Harry sent him a look, which kept him quiet.
"They tend to get in my head. I do not want them to get in my head."
"Oh."
"Just like what happened recently. I have discovered a certain piece enveloped with ancient magic. It is in fact so ancient, that my body tingles whenever I heard of it. With this time so fruitful and fresh with magic, a little would make one's hair stand. A lot would make one shake in coldness. In theory, I believe it existed back when the world was bright and new. It is something no muggle or wizard should ever discover: The Mirror of Time."
Breaths were hitched.
"I have never held such a thing in my life. Encountering a lunatic, however, helped me towards its discovery."
"Some people regarded as mad are quite brilliant." Hailey mused aloud.
"Stop interrupting me!" Louis exclaimed. Hailey grinned at him sheepishly.
"This man's name is Leonard Laurent. Leonard Laurent is still a young man, who lived for only thirty two years of his time, but a very gifted child. I encountered him on a journey once, and he is indeed very willing to tell his story for those willing to listen. Despite his unclean appearance and unpleasant smell, I decided to stay with him."
"Did he just say that this Leonard guy is dirty and stinky?" Lily asked, a hint of smile on her face.
"I believe so, Ms. Potter." Dumbledore answered, his eyes twinkling as usual.
"This man, although young, unpleasant, poor, and often regarded as a lunatic, had a fascinating experience that held the truth behind his blind blue eyes. This is a story of unintentional love, a magical experience, and a mistake greatly punished. This is the story of Leonard Laurent."
"How can love be unintentional?" Ginny asked with confusion etched on her face.
"When they did not mean to fall in love?" Remus answered in a form of a question, also confused.
"Love is full of surprises. It's always unintentional." Hailey muttered, rolling her eyes.
"That's the prologue!" Louis announced, lifting the page.
"It was a bright morning. Young Leonard was resting under the shade of a tree, a bread half- bitten on his right hand. It was his resting time; a time allotted for relaxation after gruesome hours of training. Leonard belongs to a rich and noble family, and so he is trained to serve in the king's court. A gust of wind that breezed past him took the young man by surprise, for in his midst, an old man appeared out of nowhere."
"Leonard Laurent: muggle or magical?" Al asked.
"I'd say muggle." Fred said, staring at the book scrunitizingly.
"What? I'd say magical!" George gasped, staring at Fred as if he has seen him for the first time.
"Bet on it?" the former challenged, holding out his hand.
"How much?"
"A galleon."
"Deal!"
Mrs. Weasley looked at them reprovingly.
"What if you never knew?" Rose asked. Fred and George turned to her. "What?"
"Well, it's around Merlin's time. Wizards and muggles co- exist in the same world. They're equal. What if it's not mentioned?"
Fred & George glanced at each other. But before they could speak, Arthur spoke up. "Then their money goes to their mother."
The twins groaned.
"The man appeared to have a trimmed beard, a plump body, and ancient wise eyes that held a million secrets. He appeared to be panting, as if he was chased by something or someone he feared.
'Good day, sir. Have you appeared to lose your way?' Leonard asked politely.
'No, my kind sir. I came to give you a proposal, and a secret.'"
"He's actually giving a secret to a man he barely knew?" Sirius asked incredulously.
"Perhaps, Black, we should continue and finish the story first." Snape sneered. Sirius' jaw clenched.
"'A secret, sir? But you barely know who I am!' replied the flabbergasted Leonard."
Sirius smiled smugly.
"Deep inside, though, he felt a tweak of curiosity in his heart. The old man handed him a locket, circular, and clasped on a sliver chain.
'This,' the old man stated 'is the Mirror of Time. You humans, I believe, are quite of the rebellious race. You are curious even in the littlest things. Forbidding your kind of something will only urge you to disobey. So, I will explain what the locket does.'
The man spoke like he wasn't a human himself, which made Leonard amused and bewildered. He let the old man carry on.
'The Mirror of Time lets one travel between timelines. It is created by everything new in this world, back to the time this world was just born. Something was taken away from everything, and placed in that mirror. It is bounded by Time, Fate, and Death, the three most powerful Forces the universe has. The mirror is dangerous, and only to be used in times of extremities and times of mortal peril. When opened, the person enters the Time Vortex; a gap between universes that has no specific space or time. It is a place of deep nothingness, entiwined by the faded colors of the past, the bright colors of the present, and the promising colors of the future. One who is stuck in such a place would vanish from the face of the entire universe, and he may not be able to come back.'"
"I don't get it. Nosebleed…" Hugo muttered.
The rest of the kids also looked blank.
"I was thrown off track. Can someone explain it, with fewer words, and more concise?"
They all turned to Dumbledore, who smiled gently. "I believe what he was saying is the origin of the Mirror of Time and how someone uses it by entering the Time Vortex; a magical place which is dangerous and powerful at the same time."
"That's more like it." James grinned, running a hand through his air.
"Meaning, if I get lost in that vortex, I will simply vanish in all worlds, and in all times?" Hailey asked. "No one would ever remember me?"
Dumbledore nodded in confirmation. Silence.
"'The Creator assigned Father Time to be the one held responsible for the Mirror. It made Fate and Death jealous, for they had been co- creators of the Mirror too. But their complaints were unheeded. And so, they created something completely their own: the sister of the mirror, the Compass of Destiny.'"
"What the heck? There's another one?" Louis muttered, his head already throbbing by the instant translations.
"'Unlike the Mirror, though, the Compass of Destiny does not travel between timelines; it manipulates one's wishes of what will happen to them, or may inverse his past to make his life a better version of the present, and such the future. Using that Compass, one can live multiple lives. It is, however, as equally dangerous and powerful as the Mirror of Time.'
Leonard took time in processing all he had heard."
"I'm surprised he can understand them all." Tonks grumbled.
"It turns out that there are more."
Groans from almost everyone.
"'The Compass is not held neither by Fate nor Death but hosted in a place secluded with ancient magic. I myself do not know where it is, but it is guarded by different creatures—creatures that I am not familiar with. Together, the Mirror and the Compass makes one the full manipulator of the universe—of all universes. It is either that, or a wish may be grant.'"
"So, in short, we need to find this Compass thing- y?" Hailey asked.
"It may seem so, Ms. Malfoy. But for now, let us read the whole story first. We might miss some vitally important points." Dumbledore replied.
"Power or a wish. A sole manipulator. A wish grant. Wouldn't the person just wish power?" Scorpius asked.
"Not really. If that person thinks that his wish outweighs power, then he would choose wish." Hermione told him.
"It's only a little more until I finish the chapter. Can we at least take a break after this? My head might burst." Louis spoke up, rubbing his temples. Mrs. Weasley smiled at him. "Of course, dear."
"Leonard's head spun. Eternal power. A wish. Who wouldn't want that? 'Why are you, then, entrusting me with this?'
'Because, my dear Leonard, you are the guardian I am assigning to protect this locket at all costs. Do not make the mistake of opening the locket. Never make the mistake of using it. Power may be wonderful, but it is also destructive.'
Then, with a gust of wind blown, the man vanished. Leonard was left alone, with the locket in his hands, wondering how the man knew his name.
Oh, how unfortunate, Leonard's fate is."
"Done!" Louis announced semi- happily, grinning tiredly.
"Let's take a break. And then we read the next chapter tomorrow."
What do you think? I don't know how to speak Old English, so let's all imagine it is in old English.
Happy Fanficcing!