Tides of Time

By Michael Weyer

Part Two: Prescription for Innocence

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Harry felt a bit better as he exited the TARDIS. Rose had gotten the cuts on his face cleaned up a bit and some sort of pill by the Doctor had taken away much of his pain. He followed the Doctor out, his eyes wide as he realized where he was. "We're at Hogwarts!"

"Of course we are!" the Doctor said as he hung by the doorway. "It's where I meant to go."

"Which is why it's so surprising we're here," Rose said in a light tone. Harry got the idea this was some sort of inside joke, given the Doctor's frown at her. Harry was more interested in what was behind the Doctor. It took him a moment to realize that the TARDIS was a large blue box the size of a phone booth with the words "POLICE BOX" written on the top.

"Interesting disguise," he remarked.

The Doctor stared at him before breaking into a wide grin. "Finally!" he said as he moved to give Harry a quick hug. "Finally, finally, FINALLY!" He broke away with the grin present. "Finally, a human who doesn't stare at it with their mouth agape or run around the outside looking for a trapdoor or say it's impossible it can be bigger on the inside than on the outside! Fantastic!"

Harry managed a small smile of his own. "No disrespect, Doctor but putting something big into something small is a fairly common trick in the Wizarding world."

"I suppose." The Doctor moved back into the TARDIS. "All right, Rose, you get Harry down to where he needs to be. I'll be by shortly."

"Hang on, where are you going?" Rose demanded.

"No time to explain!"

"You're a time-traveler!"

"Exactly." The Doctor shut the door and after a few moments, that grinding noise echoed once again. As Harry watched, the TARDIS seemed to fade away before vanishing. He glanced to Rose. "Is he always like that?"

"You mean just goes off on some wild tangents and never takes the time to explain any of it?" Rose nodded with a tired expression. "Quite sadly, yes." She took his hand. "Come on…let's get you some help."

A few moments later, they were entering the large office of Dumbledore and were instantly aware of the eyes on them all. It was a large group with Dumbledore behind his desk flanked by a man Harry recognized as Cornelius Fudge. Madam McGonagall was nearby along with Servus Snape. Mad-Eye Moody was nearby, his one eye widening in surprise. "Harry!" Dumbledore gasped. "My boy, what happened to you?"

"Potter!" Fudge yelled. "You damn well better have an explanation to this!"

"To what?" Harry asked.

"Cedric's dead, Potter," Snape snapped. "Popped out of nowhere in the arena, dead by the killing curse. Needless to say, we have questions."

"You're not the only ones." Everyone looked to the corner where Rita Skeeter stood, her notepad in her hands, her eyes gleaming toward Harry. "This is going to be interesting, I can tell."

"Skeeter, this is a serious matter," Fudge stated. "I would appreciate you giving us time to sort it out."

"The public will want to know the truth about what happened to the Tournament, Minister," Skeeter said. "And I don't think it'd be nice to know the Ministry is hiding something."

"Like that's ever stopped you from printing what you want," Snape muttered under his breath.

Fudge sighed. "Fine, fine, whatever." He turned to Harry. "All right, Potter, out with it. What happened to Cedric?"

Harry took a deep breath. "Voldermort killed him."

There was a loud scratch as Skeeter's pen flew across the pad and out of her hands. She, along with everyone except Rose, stared at Harry in disbelief. "You…what?" Fudge stammered.

Harry nodded and proceeded to tell what he had seen of the resurrection. "He's back. He's alive."

Dumbledore sat down heavily in his chair as Fudge shook his head. "No…no, he can't…he can't be…He can't be back!" He seemed to shake and pointed at Harry. "You're lying! I know you're lying! You…you must have killed Cedric and then came up with this…this idiotic-----"

"Hey, leave off!" Rose said, moving forward. "The kid's been through hell!"

Fudge glared at her. "Who are you?"

"This is Rose, she's a friend," Harry said.

"Well, your 'friend' had best be careful," Fudge snapped. "Or she'll be joining you at Azkaban!"

"There's no reason to think Harry killed Cedric!" Minerva protested.

"Oh and there's reason to believe He Who Must Not Be Named has returned?" Fudge yelled. "Come on, Minerva! The boy's always been unstable and----"

"Servus," Dumbledore broke in. "Your arm."

Snape was thrown. He seemed unsure but a steady gaze from the Headmaster caused him to roll up his sleeve. Harry stared at the Dark Mark on his arm and how it seemed to glow. Both Snape and Dumbledore sighed at that as Moody seemed to tense as well. "It is true," Dumbledore whispered. "The Dark Lord has returned."

Fudge shook his head. "No. No, don't start, Albus! He can't be back!"

"Open your eyes, Cornelius!" Dumbledore snapped. "The evidence is there----"

"What evidence?" Fudge sputtered. "The ramblings of a troubled young boy?"

"I saw him!" Harry protested. "I saw all of them! The Death Eaters, Lucius Malfoy there!"

"Lucius…" Skeeter grabbed her pen and wrote fast. "Who else?"

Fudge stared at her. "Don't listen to him!" He reached toward Harry. "That's it, Potter! I'm summoning the Aurors and getting you to Askaban now for questioning!"

"He is a student here, Minister," Dumbledore snapped. "There are rules for this sort of thing."

"Stay out of this, Albus!" Fudge yelled, his eyes wide. Harry was jarred at the man's sudden appearance, his inability to accept the remote possibility Voldemort could be back. "I'm not listening to any more of this about…You Know Who!"

"You mean Voldemort?" Rose asked. As she saw most everyone wince, she rolled her eyes. "Oh, for the love of…it's just a name, people! How are you going to fight him if you can't even say his name? Here, let me do it!" She threw her head back and started to yell. "Voldermort, Voldermort, Voldey, Voldt, VOLDERMORT!"

"Shut up!" Fudge yelled. "I'm not letting some Muggle interfere in this!"

"Hello, everyone!" The Doctor announced as he burst in, his hands in his jacket pockets. "Sorry I'm late!"

"Who the devil are you?" Snape demanded.

"Oh, I'm the Doctor," he said with a smile. "You've already met my assistant, Rose Tyler." She waved at everyone but glared at Fudge. "Now, I highly suspect my young lad here has been having a difficult time explaining the return of old Voldy, right?"

Fudge was shaking by this point. "Sir," he hissed. "I have no idea who you are or how you got here…"

"Of course not," the Doctor said. "Cause if you did, it'd ruin the whole point of my nice entrances." He looked around. "Nice, very nice. Nice to see this place looking so new."

"Excuse me," Dumbledore began calmly. "May I ask just how you managed to get in here without breaking any of our charms?"

"You may," the Doctor said. He turned to Fudge. "Now, then, Minister, as to the whole tale, I do believe I may be able to help you out with getting to the truth of the matter."

"How?" Snape demanded.

Still smiling, the Doctor pulled his hand out of his pocket to produce a small rat, which was squirming in his grasp. Harry's eyes widened as he saw how one of the rat's paws was a dark silver. The Doctor reached into his other pocket to pull out a rod-shaped object. "Now, ladies and gentlemen, I'm no wizard and thank Heavens for that, but I believe that, with only one simple move, I will be able to prove not only the return of He Who You Lot Are Rather Pathetic Not To Just Call By Name but also to correct a long-ago injustice."

Rose leaned in to him. "Doctor…what are you doing?"

"Quiet, Rose, I'm working," he whispered back. He held up his device. "In my hands, a simple sonic screwdriver, usually not much good against magic, to be honest. It can't do spells, it can't warp space but, as you can no doubt gather from its name, it does produce sonic sounds." He held it close to the quivering rat. "Which are just the thing to shake up one's concentration quite nicely…"

He hit a button and a high-pitched sound echoed through the room. Everyone winced but the rat reacted worse, shaking and trying to throw itself back and forth in the Doctor's grasp. He let it ring for five seconds before opening his hand and letting the rat drop to the ground. It shook about, its body seeming to grow, its fur fading away as it took on human features. It finally became a full human, albeit still shaking as he rose to his knees and looked up.

"Good Heavens!" McGonagall gasped. "Peter Pettigrew!"

"Alive and well," the Doctor said. "And with a brand new hand to boot." He cocked his head. "Well, that was a clever play on words."

Rose couldn't help herself as she threw up her hands and yelled out "Ta-da!"

Fudge looked like he'd seen a ghost, which wasn't too far from the truth. Pettigrew was holding his ears, obviously in pain and was barely able to resist when Snape grabbed him and slammed him into a nearby chair. The Potions Master held his wand close as he sneered. "Well, well, Pettigrew. The tides of time have smacked you around quite a bit, I see."

Pettigrew swallowed. "H…hello…I….Minister…I was just…just minding my own business when that man came and…and…"

"Minding your own business?" Dumbledore said as he rose from his chair. "From what, Pettigrew? Making everyone think you were dead for thirteen years?" He glanced to Snape. "Servus. Veritaserum."

Still holding a wand on Pettigrew, Snape reached into his dark cloak and pulled out a vial. Harry wondered why Snape would be carrying a vial of truth potion on him but decided now was not the time to ask. Pettigrew pulled his head back but McGonagall surprised everyone by grabbing him and holding him in tight as Snape forced the potion down his throat.

Rose and the Doctor watched as Pettigrew shook and Dumbledore stepped in. "You are Peter Pettigrew?"

He tried to fight but it was no use. "Yes."

"Who was the secret Keeper for James and Lilly Potter?"

Fudge seemed to snap out of his stupor. "Albus, for Merlin's sake, everyone knows-----"

"I was."

Fudge gaped at Pettigrew. "What…but…Sirius Black…"

"We switched," Pettigrew was forced to admit. "I led the Dark Lord to the Potters. I told him where they were. Sirius…Sirius never would have served Voldemort."

Fudge collapsed onto a chair. "But…but…he did kill…" He stopped as he realized he could hardly accuse Black of murdering a man sitting right before him.

"Did Sirius Black kill those muggles?" Dumbledore pressed.

Pettigrew shook his head. "No…No…I did….I cut my finger off and blew up the gas main and framed Sirius for it all."

Harry glanced to the side and was rewarded with the rare sight of Rita Skeeter at a complete loss. She swallowed and did her best to keep up with the notes as Dumbledore went on. "Is the Dark Lord back?" Pettigrew swallowed and Dumbledore shook him. "Is he back?!"

"YES!" Wormtail yelled. "Yes, he's back and he's going to rid the earth of every one of you pathetic mudblood lovers!"

Dumbledore nodded and backed up, satisfied. Harry however, was looking over toward Moody and saw the man appeared to be far more troubled than the others. He also saw how he kept licking his lips, over and over in a way that seemed so…so…

He moved in quickly toward Wormtail. "Does Voldermort have a spy here at Hogwarts?"

Peter bit his lip and Harry knew he was onto something. He grabbed Wormtail's coat and shook him. "Who put my name in the Goblet? Who?!"

Peter's eyes raked to the side and his hand stretched out. Everyone turned to see him pointing at Moody. The man snarled and held up his staff, taking advantage of their shock. Just as he was opening his mouth, a globe paperweight flew through the air and nailed him squarely on his forehead. With a gasp, he flopped back, holding his head.

Harry turned to see Rose giving a little shrug. "Only child, had to learn a few games early," she explained. The Doctor was giving her a wide grin of approval. Harry glanced over to where Dumbledore was tossing the stunned Moody into a chair. Snape was heading over, waving his wand over his shoulder at Wormtail. Mystical bonds materialized around the traitor, holding him tightly to the chair.

Dumbledore knelt to grab the flask Moody had at his hip and sniffed it. "Polyjuice Potion. Servus." The Potions Master sighed as he pulled out his vial of Veritaserum and helped Dumbledore pour it down the throat of the teacher. Harry was in disbelief. "I…I can't….how could he do this?"

"Alistor Moody wouldn't," Dumbledore said. "But then, he's not Moody. Are you?" he directed at the man.

"No…no…" "Moody" said.

"Reveal yourself!"

The man snarled before his body shook, his hair receding into his head and growing darker. The fake eye seemed to vanish into thin air, leaving behind a young man with thin features that seemed almost snake-like.

For the second time in ten minutes, both Skeeter and McGonagall gasped in surprise. "It can't be!" Minerva said. "Barty Crouch Jr!"

The Doctor turned to Rose. "I just love how everyone calls everyone else by their full names around here. You don't see that sort of courtesy nowadays."

"But…" Fudge stammered. "How?" The Minster's face had gone pale and Rose was honestly afraid the man was about to suffer a stroke.

"My mother," Crouch hissed. "She saw me in Azkaban…she was dying…used the Juice to switch places…buried under my name, the foolish woman…"

"Here!" Rose cried out. "Don't be insulting your mother like that!"

"Rose, the man killed his own father," the Doctor said. " I don't think parental bonds are too big with him."

"You…killed your father?" Dumbledore asked.

Crouch sneered. "He realized who I was. Actually tried to talk me out of my appointed task. So I did what I should have done to him years ago."

"Where's the real Moody?" Dumbledore demanded.

Crouch spat at him. "My case…shrunken down…still alive in case I needed him to use to take the fall after I killed Potter."

"Then the Dark Lord has returned," Dumbledore said.

Crouch grinned. "Yes….he's back now. And there's nothing you can do to stop him."

"We shall see about that, Crouch," Dumbledore said as he rose. He turned to face Fudge. "Cornelius….I believe you have some matters to attend to."

"Matters?" Fudge appeared dazed.

"Yes, Cornelius," Dumbledore said, trying to be gentle. "Matter one…."

"I'm sorry, Professor," Harry interrupted. "But the first matter should be giving a full pardon to Sirius! He's innocent, you just heard it!"

Snape snorted. "Innocent? Black? Please, even before that…"

"Servus, not now," Dumbledore said. "I agree with Harry, Minister, Black must be exonerated. Second, you must prepare for the coming of the Dark Lord once more and that includes ensuring his Death Eaters are quickly found and arrested."

"But…" Fudge stammered. "But…I….I can't just…the Dementors…"

"Cornelius!" Dumbledore snapped which seemed to bring the man around. "You must do this! Every moment we delay is another moment the Dark Lord reassembles his power."

Fudge shook his head. "But…the panic…we can't just…we can't…."

Skeeter was getting a cramp in her hands from her writing. "Am I to understand, Minister," she spoke up. "That you are not capable of handling the return of You Know Who?"

For the first time, Harry was glad to hear Skeeter's voice as the man blanched at her question. "I…I…" He swallowed and brought himself up. "I need to contact the Ministry at once. We…we'll need to bring these two there."

"Get to it," Dumbledore said. "Time is pressing." Fudge started to walk out, his face still in utter shock. Skeeter smiled at Harry and nodded. "Well, Potter, I have to thank you for the story of a lifetime. I'll be sure to give you all credit for it."

"No need to bother on our account," Snape darkly muttered.

Harry watched her go and looked around. "Wait…the Doctor…and Rose. Where'd they go?"

Everyone else frowned and looked around. "I didn't see them leave," Dumbledore said. "But then, I was not aware of their arrival either."

"I wanted to thank them," Harry whispered. "For how they helped me."

Dumbledore smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. "From what little I could tell, this…Doctor knows your gratitude." He began to pull Harry away. "Come on…we can tend to your wounds. Then I believe we have a message for your godfather." Harry felt a smile come to his lips for the first time that night as the Headmaster brought him along.

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"Now that was a good day," the Doctor beamed as he started the TARDIS off again. "An innocent man cleared, the magic world alerted to the evil growing and a young man's life made a little happier." He grinned wide. "I need more days like this."

"Sure we did the right thing?" Rose asked. "I mean, it does seem like we're messing in history here."

"Maybe," the Doctor said. "But things are different with time now and I do believe I've saved quite a few lives this way so it balances out."

Rose shrugged. "You're the Time Lord." She crossed her arms. "I would have liked to at least said goodbye to Harry."

The Doctor smiled to her. "Well, you never know. We might see him again soon enough. Time will tell." He stared up at the TARDIS as it took them away.

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Sounds like a happy ending? Perhaps. But consider that even the Doctor doesn't know everything about time…and that sometimes the easy way isn't the right way. Read on and you'll see.