A/N: Merry Christmas . . . .and a Happy New Year.
Chapter 3: Meet the Blacks
The journey to Ravenbourgh proved to be the most miserable Floo trip Harry had ever taken. It was worse than the time when the Weasley family had introduced the vile method to Harry prior to his second year at Hogwarts. Part of trouble came from having to travel in tandem with Leo Black. The rest of the trouble came from the fact that Leo was slowly navigating the security barriers and wards that seemed to surround Ravenbourgh. Eventually, Harry and Leo burst into a large kitchen from an oversized fireplace.
"I'm glad that's over," Leo said, shaking his head and brushing off his robes as he stood up and waved his arms around. The lights in the kitchen suddenly turned on.
Still feeling miserable, Harry was tempted to stay on the floor, but curiosity managed to convince him to stand up and look around the house that his counterpart and Bellatrix Black owned. The kitchen was a very curious combination of magical and Muggle.
"I'm guessing that I do the cooking around here," Harry said as his eyes fell upon several of his favorite types of frying pans.
"Yes, indeed," Leo said. "You're quite the cook."
He walked over to one of the cupboards and opened it. There were about a dozen key hooks on the inside of the cupboard door. On each hook was an old-fashioned key. Leo selected a key, shut the cupboard, and handed the key he had selected to Harry.
"This is the key to the room you'll live in while you're here. I'll show you the way. Once you've settled in, we can have dinner." Leo said.
"Great," Harry said, accepting the key and following Leo out of the kitchen.
They trekked through both an informal and a formal dining room before entering the main hall of the manor. As they entered each room, Leo waved his hands to get the lights to turn on. The entire manor was a curious combination of glass and relatively pale wood. Based on Harry's experiences at Grimmauld Place, he had expected a décor theme surrounded around darker colors.
In the main hall, Leo pointed to one of the two staircases. "Head on up there, then turn right. Follow the hallway through two sets of double doors. Past the second set of double doors, you will find yourself in the guest wing. I'll tell the house elves to find some extra clothes for you. Toiletries should be in the bathroom. Come find me when you're done."
"Right," Harry said, already headed up the staircase on the right. Leo disappeared and Harry was alone.
At the top of the staircase, Harry turned around and surveyed the front hall of the manor from a nearly two-story height. Much of the walls and roof of the hall were glass, but Harry could not see outside because it was too bright inside and dark outside. Harry followed Leo's directions and found himself in the guest wing. A small number on the key led Harry to a set of doors with an identical number on the lock. Harry moved to unlock the door with his key, but when the key got close to the keyhole, the door seemed to sense it, unlocked itself, and swung open. Blinking, Harry pocketed the key and walked in. He was surprised to find himself looking at a suite of three rooms—a sitting room, bedroom, and bathroom.
It was dark in the rooms. Harry suspected that waving his arms would get the lights to turn on, but he wanted to look out the window. Trying to walk stealthily, Harry made his way across his sitting room without triggering the lights and looked out the bank of windows on the far side of the room. The Ravenbourgh grounds were spacious, but walled. Not far from his window, Harry thought he spied the goal posts of a Quidditch pitch. Some distance beyond the pitch sat a stone wall. Harry squinted at the wall and saw what he thought might be a guard pacing on the walkway atop the wall.
Harry freshened up in his bathroom and then slowly made his way downstairs as he turned the situation over in his mind. The exercise proved frustrating because Harry had no choice but to conclude that he was powerless over his destiny for the moment.
Retracing his steps, Harry found Leo in the informal dining room. The table that had been empty when Harry walked through the room with Leo now was laden with about a dozen large takeout cartons, each bearing the name of some Chinese restaurant on the side. Additionally, there was a small stack of plates and plastic forks available.
"Takeout?" Harry asked, sitting down and helping himself to a plate and shoveling food from the cartons onto it and then taking a fork.
"I don't have enough energy to cook tonight," Leo said as he scooped an extra helping of fried rice onto his plate, "and I can't figure out where my wife is. Hopefully she doesn't come home from wherever she is with dinner, too. Otherwise, we might have to eat two dinners."
Harry and Leo ate in companionable silence for a while. Leo seemed to be deep in thought. Eventually, Harry could not bear it any longer. "So, I thought I saw a Quidditch pitch from my window," Harry said casually, hoping to elicit some sort of response.
Leo pulled himself from his thoughts and grinned. "I thought you might appreciate that view. The other you played Quidditch for the Chudley Cannons as a Seeker after he retired from being Minister of Magic."
Harry gaped.
"Your daughters are decent players, too," Leo added. "When they can be convinced to play, anyway. None of them have ever really settled on a particular position, but I think that they would make excellent Chasers."
"Don't they play at Hogwarts?" Harry asked.
Leo shook his head and sat back in his chair. "They're all in different Hogwarts houses and don't want to play against each other."
"What houses?" Harry asked, intrigued.
"Violet is a Ravenclaw," Leo said. "Ivy is a Slytherin, and Holly is a Hufflepuff."
"No Gryffindors?" Harry asked, sounding disappointed.
Leo shrugged. "They're not quite Gryffindor material. They enjoy being sneaky and clever."
"What about Holly the Hufflepuff?" Harry asked.
Leo finished chewing on some chicken and swallowed. "She loves to be sneaky, but she has a very tender heart."
"I wonder what accounts for the differences," Harry mused as he thought of the Weasley twins, who each had almost identical temperaments.
"I have a few theories," Leo said, "but attempting to get into the minds of the Black triplets is always a risky proposition."
"I'm glad you've learned to stay out of our minds," came the voice of one of the triplets as the triplets suddenly wandered into the room.
Harry gaped at them as Leo gave them a frankly suspicious stare. "You three are supposed to be at school."
"We got suspended," Violet said matter-of-factly as she helped herself to a chair at the table. Ivy and Holly also took chairs.
Leo produced a pocket watch from somewhere in his robes. "You were at school for a grand total of an hour and a half!" he exclaimed, looking faintly outraged.
"I know," Ivy said, rolling her eyes. "Professor McGonagall has no sense of humor, let me tell you."
"Well perhaps you should take her seriously when she threatens to suspend you for repeat performances," said a voice unfamiliar to Harry. The owner of the voice walked into the dining room. It was a witch in her mid-thirties. "She told you last year that if you ever pulled the fake Sorting Hat prank again, you would be suspended."
"Now that you mention it, I think I remember her saying that," Ivy said, scratching her chin studiously.
Holly winked at Harry.
"Merlin," Leo muttered to himself. He raised his voice. "How long is the suspension?" he asked the triplets. And then, he turned to the witch. "How did you get involved?"
"McGonagall might have mentioned the length of the suspension, but we weren't listening," Violet said. "When we start getting owls accusing us of reprimanding us for cutting classes, we'll take that as a sign we need to go back."
The witch to whom Harry had not yet been introduced rolled her eyes as she sat down and began helping herself to the food on the table. "Minerva wanted to release them into the care of a responsible adult. However, their parents are out of the country, so she called me in. It worked out fine. Orion forgot to pack some of his textbooks, so I took them with me."
Harry was beginning to look confused.
Leo noticed this. "I'm sorry, Harry," he said. He gestured to the witch. "This is my wife, Rose. She's kind of your sister."
Harry stared at her.
"It is fascinating to make your acquaintance," Rose said, nodding to Harry. "The triplets brought me up to speed on your situation. Getting to know you over the next few weeks should be very interesting. I am slightly concerned, though. Your arrival in this dimension was not . . . foreseen."
"And, Orion, the young wizard Rose just mentioned, is our son," Leo explained, plowing forward over the questions he could already see forming in Harry's eyes. "He's just starting his second year at Hogwarts." Leo frowned at the triplets. "He was hoping to have you three around again this year."
"Don't worry," Ivy said, grinning evilly. "He has nothing to fear."
Leo shook his head and turned to Harry. "I think you would like Orion, but it does not seem likely that you will have the opportunity to meet him."
"Right," Harry said slowly. "If you are my sister, do I have other siblings and parents in this dimension?"
"Yes and yes," Rose said. "You've another sister named Sidra. She is Bellatrix's personal secretary and a real piece of work. And then, there is my younger brother, John. He's nice enough. Easily distracted, though. Then, of course, there are James and Lily Potter."
"Could I meet them?" Harry asked, trying not to sound overly desperate as his mind soared over the possibility that he would be able to meet people just like his parents.
Leo shrugged. "It could probably be arranged. You shouldn't get your heart too set on meeting too many people, though. Bellatrix and Hermione are likely going to want to restrict your contact with this dimension to some degree."
"Right," Harry said distractedly, already imagining his opportunity to meet with the James and Lily Potter of this dimension.
Everybody at the table could sense Harry's yearnings, and an uncomfortable silence settled over them all as Leo and Rose ate and the triplets watched everybody else eat, apparently having already had their dinner at Hogwarts.
A large crash from the direction of the hallway shattered the silence that had descended over the dinner table.
"Tonks is here," one of the triplets announced as the other two snickered.
"I'm going to get you for this!" Tonks yelled.
"You don't even know which of us set up that booby trap," Ivy yelled just as Tonks walked in the room.
"All for one, one for all," Tonks said, sparing the triplets a vindictive glance as she took a seat at the table and began helping herself to the food.
Leo was smiling. "You've come for an opportunity to get involved in the inter-dimensional excitement, I see."
Tonks shrugged. "Why not? The word in the DMLE from the bodyguard division is that Harry and Bellatrix are on the move. They might already be back in the country. And then, just before closing this afternoon, the Chief Unspeakable notified Director Longbottom to put the DMLE on high alert. I thought I'd see what is going to happen, now."
"We don't know anything," Leo said. "Harry and Bellatrix haven't communicated, and we haven't seen them."
"I wonder where they are?" Tonks mused.
~!~!~!~!~!~!
"Mustering support from the Wizengamot for a full scale offensive war will be impossible," Bellatrix said as she and Harry navigated the halls of the Minister's Mansion, making their way to the garage.
After arriving from China, she and Harry had retreated to the expensive London mansion Amelia Bones had bought to serve as the official residence of the Minister of Magic. Since Bellatrix's ascension to the Ministry's highest post, Bellatrix had used the mansion only for hosting visits from Muggle government officials, entertaining foreign dignitaries, and the occasional dinner party where travel to Ravenbourgh would be too inconvenient for the guests.
Since the threat of inter-dimensional conflict had introduced itself, the Aurors had heightened the security around Harry and Bellatrix to the point where there was not enough room in Harry and Bellatrix's London townhouse for Harry, Bellatrix, and their security detail. That left Harry and Bellatrix the option to spend their time in the Minister's Mansion or Ravenbourgh. And, at the moment, neither Harry nor Bellatrix was eager to come face to face with the other Harry Potter, who was staying at Ravenbourgh.
"It would be foolish to not act quickly to suppress the threat to our dimension, especially where we have evidence that our own dimension will become a target," Harry commented. "We already have that evidence. Hence, you sending our daughters to evaluate the situation."
"I know," Bellatrix snapped as they exited the mansion and found themselves in the garage. Bellatrix's full-sized sedan, manufactured by BMW and upgraded by Weasley Corp, was idling right next to the mansion door, an Auror already at the wheel. Bellatrix scowled at the Auror. "They know perfectly well that you and I can drive," she said.
"It makes them feel better," Harry said, opening the back door and smiling blandly at Bellatrix.
Bellatrix climbed into the car, and Harry shut the door. Once Harry had gone around the back of the car and let himself in on the other side, the Auror floored the gas and zoomed out of the garage.
"Where to, ma'am?" the Auror asked as the car whipped past the mansion's main gates.
Bellatrix looked at Harry. "What do you want to eat?"
"The game has already started," Harry said, glancing at his watch.
Bellatrix rolled her eyes. "Take us to a drive-through. Then to wherever that orange Quidditch team is playing tonight."
"That would be the Chudley Cannons," Harry clarified.
"I know," Bellatrix said as she looked out the window, her thoughts returning to the impending war.
Realizing that Bellatrix needed time to come to terms with destiny, Harry set himself to enjoying the view of London as the car weaved through traffic at a rate of speed that only magic could support. Within ten minutes, the Auror driver had located a drive-through establishment, Harry and Bellatrix had collected an assortment of food, and they were all watching the city and countryside zoom by beneath them as the car flew toward the Quidditch pitch.
A good-sized crowd had gathered for the Quidditch match between the Chudley Cannons and the Holyhead Harpies. A good portion of the crowd was composed of Cannons fans, thanks to the team's recent success with Harry playing on it until the triplets were born. Unfortunately, the team had sunk to mediocrity since Harry had left.
The security detail had already placed itself into strategic positions by the time Harry and Bellatrix handed off some of their spare food to the driver and made their way to the entrance gate of the Quidditch pitch. The event staff looked like they wanted to confiscate the other spare food that Harry was carrying into the stadium, but peremptory scowl from Bellatrix discouraged them. Undisturbed, Harry and Bellatrix made their way to one of the VIP boxes. The only person inside was Hermione. She was standing at the windows, her arms folded.
"Late to a Quidditch game, Harry?" Hermione asked, turning toward the new arrivals, her lips quirking into a smile. "You're beginning to slip."
"I came as quickly as I could," Harry defended, offering Hermione some food as he stared toward the scoreboard. "We're losing."
"Yes, Ron is beside himself," Hermione commented, graciously accepting a takeout container filled with fish and chips. She retreated to an ostentatious dining table toward the back of the box and sat down.
Harry produced a pair of omninoculars and used it to stare toward the Cannons' side of the pitch. There, he spotted Ron Weasley, Head Coach of the Chudley Cannons, jumping up and down as he screamed and gestured at his team. He seemed to be suggesting a specific play formation that might help against the Harpies. Unfortunately, the Cannons were too busy dodging bludgers to pay him any heed.
"If they could get better players, I'm sure he could lead them to a championship," Harry commented as he settled himself down into a comfortable chair and began observing the game, using his own eyes and the omninoculars interchangeably. "I would have thought my successful seasons with them could persuade some good players to follow suit."
"Nobody wants to play for a team with hideous orange colors," Bellatrix said as she sat down at the table and eyed Hermione.
Hermione used the excuse of chewing on her food to avoid commenting on the Cannons. After making some progress on her meal and studiously ignoring Bellatrix's very direct stare, Hermione snapped her fingers and caused a sleek, black attaché case to appear on the table in front of her.
From the attaché, Hermione withdrew a leather portfolio that bore the insignia of the Ministry and of the Department of Mysteries. "Protocol 72 is complete as of today," Hermione said, sliding the portfolio across the table to Bellatrix. "Unfortunately, the fact that there seems to be two Voldemorts in the other dimension suggests that the protocol's chance of success is exponentially reduced. I would be surprised if it could be successfully executed against the other dimension's native Voldemort, let alone both of them so long as they are both present in the same dimension."
Bellatrix took the portfolio, opened it, and began thumbing through the documents. "Surely you could revise the protocol. If you have enough people, you could execute quite a large initiative against both Voldemorts simultaneously."
"Perhaps," Hermione admitted after swallowing a bite of fried fish, "but in my experience, it is difficult to get large groups of reliable people assembled or organized. Then, there is the problem that we simply do not know enough about the alternate dimension. And finally, there is the question of that dimension's Harry Potter."
"What of him?" Bellatrix asked.
Hermione shrugged. "He's too young. He has no training in mental discipline or mind magic. I invaded his mind today without him noticing. By the time he is able to execute his part of the protocol, it would probably be too late to for the protocol to be useful."
"Dimwits," Bellatrix muttered. "All of them dimwits. They should have been preparing the child! Surely the Dumbledore of that dimension knew that Voldemort was not dead." She leapt up from the table and began pacing back and forth violently.
Hermione shrugged and resumed her eating.
"Is there a horcrux in him?" Bellatrix asked, still pacing.
"Yes."
Bellatrix stopped her pacing. "That could be some sort of advantage against the Voldemorts."
"I agree," Hermione responded. "You will soon need to make some decisions about this Harry Potter. Perhaps you should even have an interview with him. He will want to know some answers. I think he wants to go home as soon as possible."
"We will see," Bellatrix said. "What about other options?"
"The wards to protect against dimension travel are coming slowly and are quite limited in the area they can cover," Hermione answered. "Other than that, I think you need to start gathering information. There is no silver bullet that can solve this problem. Not yet, anyway."
"Yes!" Harry shouted. "Yes, yes, yes!"
"And the Cannons score for the first time in five months," Bellatrix sighed.
"Only three months," Harry defended.
"Maybe you could take the time to speak with this alternate Harry Potter, Harry," Hermione suggested, turning her attention to Harry.
"Uh, no, I would rather not," Harry said. "Not yet, anyway."
"Why not?"
"It would just be weird."
"Do you have any suggestions for our interacting with him?" Hermione asked.
"I suppose," Harry said, raising his omninoculars and leaning forward as he peered through them into the sky. "There's the snitch."
"What are your suggestions?" Bellatrix asked.
"Don't tell him lies, don't get his hopes up, and try to be as forthcoming as possible," Harry suggested. "I used to get sulky when people did that to me. Believe me, you don't want him doing stupid stuff out of spite."
"I run the Ministry, not a daycare," Bellatrix snapped.
"Uh-huh," Harry said, not really paying attention. Nobody else had seen the snitch, and the game was continuing, the score at 200-10.
"I think we will send Sirius to the other dimension to start up diplomatic relations with the responsible people in that dimension," Bellatrix said as Hermione nodded.
"Okay," Harry said, straining his neck to watch a play between some of the Cannons' Chasers.
"And then, we will start to strategize as we collect information from the other dimension," Bellatrix continued.
"Good," Harry said, still not paying attention.
"And then," Bellatrix continued, "Harry will take me out to the tea shop of my choosing on Valentine's Day."
"Fine," Harry said as he stared out onto the Quidditch pitch, completely oblivious to what he had agreed.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!
In the Para Bellum dimension . . .
"The Ministry spin doctors are working overtime," Kingsley Shacklebolt announced solemnly. "Nobody can tell the difference between the actual story, the official story, and old drafts of the official story."
"What are they doing to find our daughter?" Mrs. Weasley demanded as she clutched Mr. Weasley's hand anxiously.
Professor Dumbledore, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Alastor Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Tonks, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin were gathered around the table in #12 Grimmauld Place. It was not quite an Order meeting. It was more a gathering of friends and family of Harry and Ginny, who had disappeared.
"They don't want to find your daughter," Sirius said darkly as he poured himself another shot of firewhiskey. "If Fudge cannot safely pronounce Harry to be a dead martyr or villain, she shall have to be Harry's accomplice or the dead body they use to send him to Azkaban."
"Let us try to be positive," Remus said as he joined several of the others present in giving Sirius a disapproving glance.
"Let's look at the bright side," Tonks said with a bit of false cheerfulness. "There are no bodies or traces of bodies."
"Just two mysterious witches who bear a striking resemblance to Bellatrix Lestrange, and probably a third that was not seen by any witnesses," Moody growled as he stared sullenly at the bottle of firewhiskey that Sirius was hogging. "No doubt the same witches who broke Lestrange out of Azkaban."
"Yes, that is proving to be a problem for us," Kingsley informed the group at large. "The Department of Mysteries has concluded that these mysterious witches are connected to the random explosions of arcane magic around the country. Fudge is now looking to connect Harry to the witches and arcane magic and say that he was somehow bypassing the underage magic restrictions."
"To do what?" Mrs. Weasley demanded angrily. "What is Harry's grand plot?"
Everybody shrugged.
"Nobody here thinks that anything the Ministry is saying makes any sense," Mr. Weasley reassured his wife.
"Yes," Professor Dumbledore said, "we need to focus on getting Mr. Potter and Miss Weasley home. Kingsley, please continue to listen for any new developments at the Ministry. If you think it is advisable, see if you can put in good words with the right people at the opportune moment. And of course, you, Arthur. You will be able to drum up sympathy. You, too, Nymphadora."
Tonks arched one of her eyebrows.
"As for what the Order can do, I have a little bit of good news," Dumbledore said in an upbeat tone. "Severus has informed me that it is his opinion that the three witches are not in league with Lord Voldemort and that he, nor any other Death Eater, has seen any indication that Voldemort is holding Harry or Ginny prisoner."
"So, it's back to the three witches, eh?" Moody said. "That is not an awful lot to go off of. We have only Ron, Hermione, and some of the students on the train that saw these witches. Not even that is helpful, though. Nobody has actually interacted with them."
"Not quite," Dumbledore admitted. "The warden at Azkaban interacted with them, apparently."
"And they memory charmed him," Sirius added moodily. "He doesn't know anything.
"We can still learn something from studying the results of the memory charms. Kingsley, Nymphadora, please see what you can learn on that front. And then, there is one other person who has interacted with these witches," Dumbledore said quietly.
"Who?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
"It is my understanding that Harry's cousin, Dudley Dursley, was kidnapped by these witches and put aboard a cargo ship. He might remember something," Dumbledore said.
"I'll investigate that," Moody said.
"I would like to help," Arthur said. "My son, Bill, can also come. He has some special training on curses and other spells."
Moody nodded. "Good, good."
"Isn't there anything else we can do?" Mrs. Weasley pleaded.
Dumbledore shrugged. "Not at present, aside from me pressing Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger for more details."
~!~!~!~!~!~!
In the Delenda Est dimension . . . .
After a night of not sleeping very much, young Harry departed from his assigned rooms in Ravenbourgh as early as he thought reasonable and walked to the same dining room in which dinner had been served the night before. He was horrified to find and older version of Draco Malfoy sitting at the table reading a newspaper, a sour look on his face.
Hoping that there was no acrimony between this dimension's Harry and Draco, Harry helped himself to the contents of some of the breakfast dishes spread out on the sideboard and took a seat at the table wondering if he would be forced to endure a conversation with Draco.
As he ate, Harry tried to pretend Draco was not there, but he could not help stealing a few quick glances at the older version of his nemesis. On the second of these glances, he was shocked to notice that the newspaper Draco was reading was not the Daily Prophet. It was a Muggle newspaper. Must be why he looks so sour, Harry thought to himself.
"Good morning!" came Leo Black's cheerful voice.
Relieved, Harry watched Leo enter the room and head to the sideboard.
Draco offered a grunt in return.
Leo soon sat at the table and briefly engaged Draco in a somewhat one-sided salutary conversation before turning his attention to Harry. "Harry, I had hoped to spend a good portion of today being your tour guide. Unfortunately, Bellatrix has put me on notice that I need to wrap up some of my more complicated projects at work." He paused, and then whispered to Harry conspiratorially. "I think she might be getting ready to give me the sack."
Draco snorted. "Maybe you ought to give her the sack and see how she likes that."
"Perhaps so," Leo said sagely, grinning at Draco. He turned his attention back to Harry. "Unfortunately, that means that I will be embarking on a business trip as soon as I finish breakfast. I had hoped that the triplets might take you into their tender, loving care, but they seem to have disappeared. So, to stop the gap, I have asked Draco to drop you at St. Mungo's. It is on his way to work. You can sit in Ginny's hospital room or lurk about the hospital until Draco picks you up on his way home from work."
"Okay," Harry said, not exactly enthusiastic about going anywhere with Draco or sitting with an unconscious person in a hospital room all day.
From his robes, Leo produced a small pouch that he tossed toward Harry. It landed in front of Harry's plate with a small clink. "That should cover lunch and treats for a few days."
"A few days?" Harry asked, beginning to feel despair.
"Well, just in case," Leo said. "I'm sure Bellatrix or the triplets will start to harass you eventually. Hermione also knows about you. And, you'll see my wife at night, usually. In the meantime, remember to keep a low profile. And, do not wander from the hospital. It was Bellatrix who suggested that you spend your time there."
Harry nodded and began tucking into his food more enthusiastically than he had been before. Something told him that the food he would find at the hospital for lunch would not be nearly as tasty as what was served at Ravenborugh.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!
The journey to St. Mungo's with Draco was not what Harry expected or feared. Instead of Floo, Harry and Draco traveled in a large pickup truck Draco seemed to own. And, instead of awkward conversation or silence, Draco spent the entire time on a Muggle cell phone arguing with various employees who, according to Draco, were completely muddling the construction of an office building Black Corp was building in the midst of London. Harry tuned out the conversations and enjoyed watching the countryside around Ravenbourgh from both the road and the sky, once the truck took flight.
London came into sight, and Draco guided the truck to a street where he landed and began driving the Muggle way. By the time Draco's truck screeched to a halt in front of St. Mungo's, Draco was in high dudgeon and had resolved to drive out to the construction site and give the foreman a piece of his mind and perhaps the tip of his wand. He put the current call on hold long enough to tell Harry how to get into the hospital from the street entrance and that he would probably pick Harry up sometime after five and before six.
Harry watched as Draco peeled off and then made his way into the hospital. Without any trouble, he found Ginny's private ward and let himself in. With disappointment, he noted that she remained unconscious. Harry sat down in a chair next to her bed and began to think.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!
Murmurs of surprise rippled through the children and parents sitting in the children's ward at St. Mungo's as Bellatrix strode in through the one of the doors. The murmurs became clamors of excitement as Harry followed her in and offered everybody a heartwarming smile that, while practiced, was completely genuine.
When Harry had been Minister of Magic, Bellatrix had proposed the idea of hospital visits to help keep Harry's popularity high. Harry had liked the idea. But ironically, he had been unable to find the time for those visits until he had turned over the reins to Minister Bones.
By that time, Harry had become a Quidditch star. As a war hero, ex-Minister of Magic, and athlete, everybody could find something they liked about him. Moreover, the death of Albus Dumbledore had forever settled the question of just who was the most powerful wizard in the world. Additionally, Dumbledore's death had inaugurated Harry as the current generation's "Dumbledore" or "Merlin." It was a pity Harry did not seem overly interested in a teaching career at Hogwarts.
As was his custom, Harry started with the first bed on the left. And, as usual, the hospital staff had placed one of the worst cases in that bed, knowing that person would be guaranteed to feel special if and when Harry came. As Harry accepted a chair and sat next to a little boy who appeared to have had an accident with multiple potions spilling on him, the children in the ward who could walk crowded around. The children who could not leave their beds watched and waited for their turn.
Bellatrix had initially been glad to accompany Harry on these visits, but over the years, the visits had begun to take a toll on her self-esteem. Bellatrix's notoriety paled in comparison to Harry's. Trying not to feel slighted, Bellatrix told herself that she had more important things to worry about and then slipped out of the ward.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!
Young Harry had progressed to holding Ginny's hand in his own while he gently stroked the inside of her wrist and forearm. He had spent much of the day alternating between thinking about Ginny and thinking about what he was going to do next. He had not come up with very many conclusions. He needed to know more. Letting out a small sigh, Harry returned Ginny's hand to where it had been resting on her stomach.
"Hello, Harry," said a voice.
Startled, Harry turned in his chair and spotted Bellatrix Black standing near the window. It seemed that she had entered the hospital ward without him noticing.
"Uh, hi," Harry said, staring at her unabashedly. Bellatrix was wearing immaculate business attire that for the most part would not have been out of place in any magical or Muggle setting. The exceptions that made her stand out were her elegant and expensive high heels and fingernails that sparkled with dark green polish. As Ron would say, she was a stunner, and Harry began to believe that this dimension's Harry might be a lucky wizard.
Bellatrix was staring intently at Harry, her eyes uncomfortably focused on his eyes. "Do I look like her?" she asked nonchalantly.
"W-who?" Harry responded, feeling confused.
"The Bellatrix from your dimension," Bellatrix said.
Harry had seen pictures of the other Bellatrix, and that Bellatrix's crazed eyes had stood out to him. This Bellatrix's eyes were not crazed. They were violet steel, and they were boring into his soul. Going off the eyes, Harry responded. "You don't seem like the same person to me."
"Interesting," Bellatrix said, abruptly breaking eye contact with Harry and then walking to the side of Ginny's bed. She looked down on Ginny. "How is she doing?"
Harry suddenly remembered that Ginny's immediate comfort might depend on Bellatrix approving the use of the Ministry's emergency supply of the potion that could fight the curse with which Voldemort had hit Ginny. "She'll be doing fine as long as the hospital has enough potion to treat her. They said you needed to approve the potions," Harry said.
Bellatrix gave Harry a bemused glance.
"They said they would send a request with her files to you," Harry said lamely.
"Hmm," Bellatrix said noncommittally as she returned to staring at Ginny's unconscious form.
Harry did not think that pushing the issue further would help. Trusting that Leo would not let anything bad happen to Ginny, Harry pursued another subject about which he had been worrying. "Hermione told me that you're the one who decides when to send Ginny and I back to our dimension."
"And?" Bellatrix asked.
"When am I and Ginny going home?" Harry asked. "We need to go back."
"I have not decided," Bellatrix said distantly, her eyes still focused on Ginny.
"Why would you not want to send me home as soon as possible?" Harry asked.
Bellatrix smiled grimly. "Harry, do you love Ginny?" she asked.
"What are you talking about?" Harry asked, confused at the change of subject. "Look, there is a war about to start in my dimension, and I need to be there."
"You need to be there?" Bellatrix questioned, smirking at Harry and turning away from Ginny's beside.
"Yes . . . ," Harry said slowly.
Bellatrix shook her head. "Oh, Harry . . ."
"What?"
"Sometimes I wonder how my husband lived long enough to meet me," Bellatrix answered, turning her back to Harry and walking to the door.
"You can't just control my life and decide what is best for me," Harry said.
Bellatrix answered without turning around. "I can, and I will, and you might even thank me for it one day."
"What about the people from my dimension?" Harry demanded as she opened the door. "Will they ever thank you?"
"Maybe. Maybe not," Bellatrix said before closing the door behind her.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!
"Double, double toil and trouble," Violet whispered menacingly.
"Fire burn," Ivy added.
"And cauldron bubble," Holly finished.
"I've heard you do that one before," Sirius said, leaning back in his chair and stretching his feet while Sidra gave the four of them a disapproving glance from her desk in the anteroom of Bellatrix's office suite.
The triplets glared at Sirius from their perches on the other side of the room.
"No you haven't," Ivy said.
"Oh, yes I have," Sirius fought back.
"When?" Violet demanded.
"Let's see," Sirius said thoughtfully, "it was the Christmas holiday right after your first year at Hogwarts."
Holly was already shaking her head. "No, that was the year we were dressing up in suits of armor and chasing the guests."
"Yes," Ivy agreed. "We would not have tried that gag while dressed up as knights."
"No," Sirius argued back. "I distinctly remember. In fact I'm pretty sure I wrote it down in my diary."
"Rubbish," Violet said. "You don't keep a diary."
"No," Sirius said. "I keep a diary. Seriously."
Ivy and Holly arched their eyebrows as Violet conjured a banana cream pie.
"Do not even start that!" Sidra yelled from her desk.
Suddenly, a pie zoomed across the room and splatted onto Sidra's face. The pie pan was falling to the floor just as Bellatrix opened the door to her office and looked out. Confused, Violet was still holding her banana cream pie and staring at Sidra.
"It was them!" Sirius yelled, pointing at the triplets. "I saw it!"
Ivy and Holly gasped and shot Sirius outraged stares while Violet hurled the pie at Sirius, who ducked, narrowly missing the creamy missile.
Sidra was saying something that was indecipherable because of the amount of pie filling on her face.
Bellatrix shook her head. "All of you—in here. And Sidra, remember constant vigilance."
Soon, the triplets and Sirius were seated in front of Bellatrix's incredibly expensive desk waiting for Bellatrix to bring up the subject that had led her to summon them to her office.
"Sirius," Bellatrix said, "you are about to be the first-ever inter-dimensional ambassador."
"Huh?" Sirius said.
Bellatrix and the triplets quickly explained the inter-dimensional situation. Sirius was quick to catch on.
"So what do I tell the people in that dimension?" Sirius asked once he had come to understanding of how dimension travel worked and what the situation was with the two Lord Voldemorts.
Bellatrix shrugged. "Mostly nothing. Say that Harry and Ginny are doing great. Intimidate them a little, but make them believe that we will work with them. The triplets will go with you. You will all be gathering information and opening the channel of communication. See if you can tap into their spies. The triplets have their own to-do list."
"Wait," Sirius said, "who is in charge of this expedition?"
"None of you are the other one's boss," Bellatrix said. "Send me reports through the triplets. I will send you marching orders if I think it is necessary."
"Aye, aye, Captain!" Sirius said, standing and saluting.
"Not so fast, I have more instructions for all of you," Bellatrix said.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!
It did not take Sirius long to pack, seeing as he had not had a chance to unpack after coming home from the United States. But, he did take some time to gather extra items and write his son and grandson letters and owl them before leaving.
Sirius met the triplets in the garage at Ravenbourgh several hours later. "Why are we here?" he asked. "I thought we would have to go to the Department of Mysteries or something like that for inter-dimensional travel."
"No, we got the inter-dimensional Rubik's cubes right here," Violet said.
"We're thinking that our mother has a good collection of 'last year's' cars," Ivy said.
"She won't miss one," Holly added.
"I love you guys," Sirius said, beaming at them for a moment before walking around the garage and looking at Bellatrix's collection of BMWs. "We will be able to impress the socks right off those people in the other dimension. Have all these cars been enchanted by Weasley Corp?" Sirius asked.
"Yes," Violet answered, "but some of them have suffered damage."
"Daddy isn't a very good driver," Ivy explained.
"And that one was her first car," Holly said, pointing to a BMW in the far corner of the garage. "It has sentimental value. So, we shouldn't take that."
Eventually, the four of them settled on a model that had only the most minor of wear and tear and was not too new to invite comment from Muggles in the other dimension who might notice a car model that did not yet exist. They all piled into the car, Sirius and Violet in the front, Ivy and Holly in the back.
Violet found the key above the sun visor, inserted it into the ignition and turned it as Ivy reached from the backseat to hang the Rubik's cubes on the rearview mirror. The engine roared to life, and Violet guided the car from its parking place to one of the long tunnels that would allow the car to exit the garage faraway from Ravenbourgh. After a few minutes of speeding through the tunnel, the car emerged into the bright afternoon and took flight. As soon as the car was cruising above the trees, it disappeared with a large burst of arcane magic.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!
In the Para Bellum dimension . . .
Tonks looked up and down the street, squinting suspiciously at every single person in sight. Somebody tapped her on the shoulder, and she spun around. "It's just me," Remus Lupin murmured quietly. "What is happening?"
"The Ministry detected some arcane magic on this street," Tonks said. "They've sent out a squad to investigate. Kingsley and I are thinking that it might be helpful if the Order investigated, too. We might find those witches or Harry. . . ,"
Remus held up his hand. "I got you. I'll explain to anybody else who shows. You keep looking."
"Right," Tonks nodded as Remus melted into the crowd. She returned to surveying the people on the street, searching for anybody who looked like the three witches for whom the Order had been searching or anybody magical in general.
Tonks was eyeing a couple of schoolgirls suspiciously when an expensive, black BMW pulled up to the curb next to her. The tinted window rolled down to reveal a distinguished looking middle-aged gentleman sitting in the passenger seat. Beyond him, Tonks could see a big pair of red, fuzzy dice hanging from the rearview mirror, but she could not see the driver.
"Excuse me, miss," he called in a slightly American accent.
"Who, me?" Tonks asked.
"Sure," he said, grinning at her. "Would you like some candy?" he asked in a highly suggestive voice as he wagged his eyebrows at her.
"Get out of here, you pervert!" Tonks snapped, turning her back on the BMW. She hear d it pull away from the curb and zoom down the street. "Bloody Americans, she muttered.
She continued searching for another hour, remaining behind even after the Ministry officials left, but could find nobody that seemed suspicious to her. Eventually, she met a couple of the other Order members who had responded to the call. They proceeded to a Muggle pub to discuss their observations.
"Did anybody see anything?" Moody asked, taking charge of the meeting as his magical eye rolled around and surveyed Tonks, Kingsley, Lupin, and a couple of others.
"Just some pervert in a black BMW," Tonks grumbled.
"What do you mean a black BMW?" Moody demanded, suddenly looking very angry.
"This wanker in a black BMW pulled up and asked me if I wanted some candy," Tonks told them.
"Did that wanker bear a vague resemblance to Sirius Black?" Moody asked quietly.
Tonks thought back to the incident. "Actually, yes."
Moody sighed. "He asked me if I had any Grey Poupon." He cursed and pounded his fist on the table. "Did anybody else see the black BMW?"
"This is embarrassing," Lupin said. "The guy in the BMW asked me if I knew where Charing Cross Road was."
Everybody groaned.
"Yes, I didn't realize I was on Charing Cross Road until I asked some Muggle," Remus sighed.
"It could just be some Muggle prankster," Kingsley said.
Moody shook his head. "No, this was the three witches for sure. These are the same type of immature pranks they spent the summer pulling on the Dursleys.
"Those witches," Tonks said.
~!~!~!~!~!~!
Nightfall found Ron and Hermione trudging Gryffindor Tower back from the library. Hermione had feverishly done her own homework. Ron had made a half-hearted attempt to do his, but had mostly come along to keep Hermione company.
"Not even Hedwig knows where Harry is," Hermione mumbled dejectedly. "If the owl doesn't know, then that's really bad."
Ron, having been raised in a magical household knew this better than anybody. Owls were notorious for their ability to find people, particularly their owners. He still tried to maintain an optimistic attitude. "Those witches probably know how to keep themselves hidden," he said.
"Maybe," Hermione said as they reached the moving staircases.
They stepped onto one that was just barely beginning to move toward the a corridor that led to Gryffindor Tower. Abruptly, the staircase began moving the other way.
"What the bloody hell," Ron grumbled. "I've never seen a staircase suddenly go the other way."
Hermione shrugged. "Welcome to Hogwarts. We can still get to Gryffindor Tower this way."
"I know that," Ron shot back.
They reached the landing to which they had been redirected and were soon walking down a dark hallway. As they approached a three-way intersection of the halls, a dark haired witch abruptly materialized before them, blocking the passageway.
Hermione gasped and whirled around to see yet another witch materialize, and then another, effectively surrounding her and Ron.
"You!" Ron yelled.
"Us!" one of the witches admitted, grinning widely.
"How did you change the path of that moving staircase?" Hermione demanded.
"That is actually a very difficult trick to pull off," one of the witches said.
"You'd have to pay us a lot of money before we revealed that little trade secret," another of the witches informed Ron and Hermione.
"Where's Harry?" Ron demanded. "And where's my sister?"
"Where we left them," one of the witches said sagely.
"That's only partially true," another of the witches confessed. "We sent Ginny to the hospital, where we assume she still is. We saw Harry last night, but haven't been tracking his movements since."
"What happened to Ginny?" Ron asked. "Is she all right?"
"I wouldn't be so bold as to say she is all right," one of the witches said, "but I think she'll pull through. She jumped between Harry and the Dark Lord and got walloped with a first-rate Dark curse."
"Are you Death Eaters?" Hermione demanded.
"No," one of the witches answered, "but we fully intend to try eating one of these Death Eaters for breakfast one of these days."
"Okay, now tell me exactly where Harry and Ginny are," Hermione said from behind gritted teeth.
"You're going to love it," one of the witches said. "In fact, you'll find it fascinating."
"Where?" Hermione yelled. "Tell me now!"
"They are in a parallel dimension!" one of the witches proclaimed theatrically. "The same dimension we normally live in, in fact."
Hermione's mouth dropped open.
"Bollocks!" Ron said.
"No, Ron," Hermione said excitedly, "some of the most brilliant wizards and witches in history have theorized about parallel dimensions. It makes sense!"
"It's more likely that Harry and Ginny are dead than that they are in a parallel dimension," Ron scoffed.
"No, think about it!" Hermione said. "Harry and Ginny completely disappeared. The use of arcane magic. The fact that these witches are not associated with You-Know-Who, everything. It's possible!"
The witches were nodding eagerly as they watched Ron and Hermione argue back and forth.
Hermione turned to the witches. "How did you travel here?"
"We used a magical Rubik's cube that the Hermione of our dimension made," one of the witches responded.
"Really?" Hermione asked sounding as if her greatest dreams had suddenly come true. "Me?"
"Yes. In our dimension, you are the second most brilliant witch in the world."
"What do you mean second?" Ron cut in, sounding outraged. "Who is smarter than Hermione?"
The witch that answered was buffing her fingernails on her robes. "That would be our mother, of course."
"Oh, please," Ron said, rolling his eyes. "Could your mother even make a magical thingy to travel between dimensions?"
"We're sure she could if she tried."
Hermione smiled. "Then why hasn't she tried?"
"She's too busy being the Minister of Magic," one of the witches said. "This brings us to the purpose of our visit. In light of the inter-dimensional war that is about to erupt, our mother thought it wise to send an ambassador to your dimension to feed various lies, propaganda, and platitudes to anybody who will listen to him."
Another of the witches produced a fancy-looking roll of parchment from her robes. "Here is the formal letter of introduction. Perhaps you could pass it on to that guy who's in charge of this school. Or the local Minister of Magic, if you prefer."
Hermione accepted the roll of parchment. "Who is the ambassador?"
"The Sirius Black of our dimension," one of the witches said.
"That's going to be a problem," Ron said. "Our Sirius Black got wrongfully convicted for murder, escaped form Azkaban a few years back, and is now a fugitive. If your Sirius Black shows his face around here, he'll get arrested and sent back to Azkaban. If your mother was so smart, she would have thought of that."
The witches did not appear amused by Ron's barb. "Well," one of the witches responded, "our mother is so powerful and important that small details like that are irrelevant to her."
"Yeah, well it's going to hold up her ambassador, isn't it?" Ron said snidely.
"Oh please," one of the witches scoffed. "Solving your Sirius Black's fugitive problem is going to be incredibly easy."
"Piece of cake," one of the other witches said, nodding.
"Really?" Hermione asked doubtfully. "Professor Dumbledore has been working on it for years and hasn't made progress."
"What time is it?" one of the witches asked.
"It's five minutes before curfew," Hermione.
The three witches looked at each other and then huddled, talking to each other in quiet whispers. The huddle broke and one of the witches addressed Hermione. "All right, we think we can get Sirius Black exonerated by tomorrow afternoon sometime and then our Sirius Black will approach Dumbledore or whoever you give the letter of introduction to. Tomorrow morning's Daily Prophet will be your best evidence that we're making progress."
"What are you going to do?" Ron asked curiously.
"Something astoundingly amazing and brilliant," one of the witches replied before all three of them abruptly disappeared.