Chapter 19: The Story and the Potion

After the incident with the time travelers, Harry found out from Ron, Hermione, and Ginny that "Tom's" sister, cousin, and friends did not change their future. No names and dates had been given. There were suspicions, but no one could prove it. For all they knew, the man who had winked at Harry could have been anyone from Harry himself to his great- grandson. The kids had not given what time period they were from. The only hint was that "Tom" knew Harry. But for all they knew, Harry could have lived as long as Dumbledore.

"I guess their parent told them to never say what time period they were from if they ever went time traveling." Ron observed.

"Smart parents." Ginny said. "Harry, at the party, you had a look after you discovered that the party that was crashed was your grandparents. What was that about?"

Harry got the look back in his eyes again.

"I was thinking." Harry said. "You know how sad Dad got when he thought about my Grandparents?"

"Yeah." Hermione said.

"Remember what we did around this time two years ago?" Harry asked.

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed. "You're not thinking…"

"I am." Harry confirmed.

"Harry, don't you think we've brought back ENOUGH people before adding your Grandparents to the list?" she asked

"Hermione. We've only brought back two people. Besides, I've never met my Grandparents. According to Mum, they were never even told that I was born. They died a few days after. Dad gets depressed just talking about them. Don't you think that seeing their son after all this time would be wonderful for Charles and Elizabeth Potter?"

"Harry." Hermione said. "Don't get me wrong, but we shouldn't mess with the forces of nature like this."

"Yeah." Ron agreed.

Everyone looked at Ron in shock.

"What?" he asked.

"You just agreed with Hermione." Harry told him.

"Well, Haven't you heard of 'The Tale of the Three Brothers'?"

"No." Harry and Hermione said.

"You haven't?" Ron asked in shock

"Well, you've never heard of Trick-or-Treat." Hermione said. "Now we're even."

"It's a story that wizards tell." Ron said. "Everyone has heard of it."

"Basically," Ginny said having more sympathy. "Three brother reach a river where if they had tried to swim across, they'd die. However, they had learned magic and conjured a bridge. After escaping Death, he approaches them and gives them prizes. The eldest received a powerful wand to conquer death, the middle received a Resurrection Stone to recall others from Death, and the third received an invisibility cloak to hide from Death. Well, the eldest was killed when someone crept into his room and slit his throat…"

"And people tell CHILDREN this story?" Hermione interrupted.

"Yes." Ginny said annoyed at being interrupted. "And stole the wand. Anyways, the second who had the stone brought back his old girlfriend with his gift. However, she was not happy because she did not really belong there and suffered. The man was driven mad and committed suicide. Death had conquered both brothers."

"The point of the matter is that you can't conquer Death." Ron said. "The three tried, and they only got killed."

"What happened to the third brother?" Harry asked his girlfriend.

"Death searched for him, but couldn't find him." Ginny said. "It wasn't until he passed the cloak on to his son that Death found him. He had hidden beneath the cloak to hide from Death, because he didn't trust it. When he gave the cloak away, he welcomed Death"

"Some say," Ron said. "That the three items are real."

"Please." Hermione said rolling her eyes.

"The point is….Harry?" Ron said.

Harry had run out of the room to the library. He realized he wasn't going to get his friends' help in this project.

0000

A month had passed. Harry had made the impression that, after careful thought, his friends made sense and that he wasn't going to bring his grandparents back. The truth of the matter was that, under the cover of the invisibility cloak with the aid of the Map, he snuck down to the Chamber of Secrets whenever Myrtle wasn't around her bathroom.

It was finally the day before everyone left for the Christmas Holidays. There was only one step left in the potion. Harry had done everything down to the last letter. It was time for the mistake that would bring his Grandparents back.

Harry tilted his hand and poured the dragon blood into the cauldron.

KABOOM

After Harry cleared the smoke away….

Nothing.

Nobody.

Nowhere.

"Charles? Elizabeth?" Harry asked knowing if he called them "Grandpa" and "Grandma" they'd freak.

Nothing.

Harry looked down at the recipe for the potion and read over it again thinking about what could have gone wrong.

He did everything right.

0000

In Gryffindor's Common Room,

"Where's Harry?" Hermione asked Ron

"He's not in the dorm?" Ron asked her.

"No." Hermione said.

The portrait swung open and Ginny stepped inside.

"Where have you been?" Ron asked his sister.

"Talking to Professor Lupin." Ginny said. "Why?"

"Was Harry with you?" Hermione asked.

"No." Ginny said.

The trio looked at each other.

"I think I know." Ginny added.

0000

The trio ran down the halls to the location Ginny was leading him too.

"I thought we talked sense into him." Hermione said when Ginny walked into Myrtle's bathroom.

Nothing but stalls and the sinks.

"I guess we did." Ron said.

Ginny looked at her brother like he was an idiot. She walked over to the sink with the serpent-like faucet. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and spoke parseltongue.

"When did you learn that?" Ron demanded as the Chamber door opened.

"It was from when Riddle possessed me." Ginny exclaimed ashamed at the secret. "He…he accidentally left some abilities inside of me."

"Sure is dark." Hermione observed as she looked down the tunnel.

"You better go back to the dorm." Ginny said. "Ron, Harry, and I can fly out and you can't."

"Good idea." Hermione said.

"RON, Harry, and you?" Ron repeated.

"Got that right." Ginny said pushing her brother over the opening like he had done to Lockhart.

"AGGHHH!" Ron screamed.

"Look out below!" Ginny yelled as she jumped in after him.

0000

After going through the corridors in the chamber, the two Weasleys found Harry sitting deep in thought as he wandlessly redecorated the Chamber to make it more Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff.

"I don't think Salazar Slytherin would appreciate what you're doing to his secret Chamber." Ginny told her boyfriend.

Harry turned in shock, surprised to see Ginny and Ron in the Chamber.

"How'd you get down here?" Harry asked. "I closed the door behind me."

"You're not the only one with secrets." Ginny told him as she sat down next to him and looked around. "So? Where are they?"

"Something went wrong." Harry explained. "I don't understand. I did everything the same way."

"Well," Ron said joining his sister and best friend. "Maybe because of how old they'd be. I mean, didn't your parents age when Sirius brought them back?"

"Good point." Harry said. "They died when they were twenty-one. When they should up at the Dursley's to pick me up, they looked Remus' age. Maybe a little younger."

"Or maybe they weren't killed by the killing curse." Ginny suggested.

"No. Eye-witnesses said that it was the killing curse." Harry said. "It must be the age. But, they be fifty-nine."

"Maybe they'd have to be younger." Ron suggested. "Like an age limit."

"That would be so sad if the limit was fifty-eight. Then it would have worked last year." Harry said.

TBC

Next time,

Harry then turned to his parents to undo the spell Megan placed on them. However, before he did, he started laughing at them.

"Real cute." James said. "No undo this."

"Hold on." Harry said summoning the camera and taking a picture of his parents in their current state.