Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize. It's all JKR's. But anything else is mine.

Airport in Maine, September 1, 2047

Ella had been very interested in how Muggle's flew. Not anymore. The plane ride had been jarring, and nothing like riding on a broom. She decided to forgo it on the trip back. She made her way through the busy airport, playing a bit of a game by "guessing" who were witches or wizards. It wasn't terribly hard, as she could clearly tell who was able to use magic, and who wasn't. Eventually she made her way to a taxi. Once they were on their way to her destination, she pulled out a notebook and stared at the contents. The taxi driver gave up on conversation after five minutes of silence from her. She could feel his occasional glances though. He was probably wondering why a fourteen year old would be traveling by herself, especially in these dangerous time. Ella would have no answer for him, especially since he was a Muggle.

After a few hours, they arrived at a long driveway that meandered through trees and hid the house from view. They were in the middle of nowhere in Upper Maine.

"Here is fine." Ella spoke as the man prepared to pull in. He shrugged, and accepted the money she gave him. Ella tightened her grip on her satchel, and made her way up the long driveway. It was a nice walk, however. The sun was up, and though it wasn't very warm, it still brightened up her walk. Soon enough, she came upon a small cottage tucked back in the woods. Steeling herself for what she would see, she rapped smartly on the wooden door.

A man with silver streaked hair wrenched the door open angrily. His eyes were red and bleary, and he reeked of alcohol. His green eyes watched her carefully. Both he and she knew no Muggle would be able to see this house.

"How'd you find me?" His words were slightly slurred, and his tone accusing.

"I knew where to look." Her tone was curt, and her posture was disapproving.

"Look, if you want an interview, I am not in the mood, so if you'll just leave-" He had started to slam the door, but Ella waved a hand and the door swung wide open. He stood back in astonishment, probably at the fact that she used soundless and wandless magic. But she took it as an invitation inside. It was a mess. The smell of beer and body odor permeated the room, while bottles and half eaten pizzas were strewn across every imaginable surface. The drapes were shut tight, and no light was streaming in.

Ella took one look and waved her wand. All the trash was instantly banished, all the furniture straightened, and the drapes flew open as well as the windows.

"Bloody hell, who are you? You can't just come in here and do as you please! I'm Harry bloody Potter!" Harry was shoving a hand through his already messed up hair. It was clear he hadn't showered in ages.

Ella rolled her eyes. She primly sat on a newly cleaned armchair. "Clearly. Now, if you please?" She waved her hand at the opposite armchair. He huffed and sat down. As he ran a hand through his hair again, and then patted it down she caught a glimpse of several scars on his wrists. Her heart felt heavy. Harry had to have known that Muggle ways of suicide wouldn't work on him.

"My name is Ella Sinclair. I am a Mora Malefica, or a Time Witch." As she said the words, she waved a hand in a circle. A bird flying past the window froze in midair. It was really the only indicator she had stopped Time around them. Well, except for the clock on the wall that had stopped ticking. Harry stared at the bird and the clock for a moment, then turned to her.

"Those are supposed to be extremely rare, like once every five hundred years rare." Harry's tone was clearly disbelieving and a bit accusing.

Ella raised an eyebrow, and Harry felt slightly ashamed. "Yes, but I assure you, I am telling the truth." She summoned a glass from the kitchen and silently filled it with water. She took a sip and looked at her impolite host.

"Er, would you like something to drink?" Harry's face was red, and his tone sarcastic.

"Yes please, and thank you." Ella shook her head at him. He just glared back.

"So, what? You're here from the future and want to know my story?" Harry continued to be difficult, just because he was used to isolation and didn't like it to be disturbed.

"Something like that. History books can only tell me so much." Ella didn't regret lying. She intended to change this man's future, and she could only do that if he told her what to change. He would never remember her after she started changing history.

Harry sighed, resigned. "Fine, what do you wish to know?"

For the next five hours, Ella pulled information from Harry's past. He told her all about his school years, how he was constantly in danger every year. He told her about Voldemort coming back, about Cedric Diggory's death. He told her about seeing Dumbledore die at the hands of Snape, about camping in the woods his entire seventh year. He told her about escaping Gringott's on a dragon, how Griphook had betrayed them. He spoke of the Final Battle like it had happened yesterday instead of fifty years ago.

"The next twenty years were fairly happy for Ginny and I. She went pro in Quidditch for a few years while I was an Auror. It wasn't my favorite work, but at least I was doing something. Then Ginny got pregnant, and retired. She stayed home with the kids, and I continued to work as an Auror. I never was one for politics, but as soon as I was offered the Head of the DMLE position, I took it. At least I was at a desk job and could bulk up the Auror department. It helped that my father in law was the Minister of Magic. It all started falling apart when Lily started at Hogwarts. Instead of growing closer with the kids gone, we grew farther apart. We didn't fight, we just… fell apart. It was awful. And then-" Harry stopped speaking and scrubbed his hands across his face.

"Ginny took all the kids to Diagon Alley the summer before James' fifth year. A Death Eater that had been in hiding all that time saw his bloody chance and took it. There was barely anything left of her and the kids for me to identify. I quit my job a week later and moved over here to the States. Fewer people over here know of Harry Potter. I quite like that."

Ella had just sat there through the entire thing, quietly asking questions. She let Harry collect himself before saying one more thing.

"And now there's a new Dark Lord on the rise." Harry looked up at her, and the despair in his eyes took her breath away and left her chest hurting as she spoke the words.

"Yeah." He said roughly. "And the wizarding world will look once again to sodding Harry Potter, the Chosen One. I haven't quite figured out what I'm going to do about that. Probably be the bloody Gryffindor and try to stop him. What else is there?" He was nearly sobbing by now. Ella clenched her teeth. She was stuck in this place for another year, and she mentally cursed both Time and Fate for sending her there. She didn't need to see this.

Ella quietly snuck out of the house. She couldn't do anything. Not a single blasted thing. That poor man in there would have to live through another year of hell before she could do anything. If he survives that long, her thoughts added.

Then she straightened up in resolve. There was something she could do, she could do what she came to do. She would find out every single bloody thing about this time period so she could make damn sure this didn't happen again. And she could keep that man in there company. Merlin knows he needed someone to take care of him.

With one last glance at the house framed in the last rays of the sun, Ella whispered a promise right before she turned on her heel and apparated.

"I'll be back, Harry Potter. You won't go through life alone, not while I'm here." She didn't see the soft blue light that swirled around the spot where she had been. She had just made a magical oath, and she would keep it. Whether she wanted to or not.

oooOooo