AN: Hey there! Sorry for the super long wait before updating but I'm now a very busy man. Too much to do, and so little free time. It gets really annoying to not be able to update, I assure you. Because, I, like all of you am waiting for the story to continue. And it will. Like I said before, I'll never abandon my stories, so now worries, even if I'm not updating. Anyway, I'll try to update Black Hole and Inside Out in the weeks that are coming. Until then, I hope you enjoy this one!

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June 27, 1912

The situation is really a messy one. It's really the first time I'm encountering those types of things, and boy, I've seen strange things. *sigh*. Dumbledore once told me something in one of his moments of wisdom, which were few and far between. He is a wise man, but he is also very old, and sometimes his notion of things is different from our own. I digress... He said that sometime in life, you will have to make a choice; between what is easy and what is right. And everyone knows that nothing is ever easy for Harry Potter. So there is no point in saying what choice I choose. You already know it…

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Chapter 5: Beginning

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As an intrigued Elizabeth approached the two redheads, I caught Booker by his shoulder and jerked him back. By reflex his hand moved to his pistol, but after seeing who it was, he relaxed.

"You said 'You again'. Does that mean that you know those two?" I asked urgently.

"Well, I wouldn't go as far as to say that I know them. Though, they were the ones that brought me to Columbia." he answered.

"By a tear?" I asked again, a frown appearing on my face.

"A tear? What tea-... Oh, you mean that tear. No, they brought me to a lighthouse where I used a...well, a flying thing to come here." he continued. "Do you know them?"

"Yes." was my simple answer. "Have they crossed your path after that?"

"Yeah. I saw them a few times. They even sent me a telegram to not choose #77 in the raffle. Bastards were right. It was the winning one. Won me nothing good though..." he mumbled.

"W-What?!" I exclaimed, for the first time losing my cool in front of someone. My eyes widened. They had sent a message advising to not choose a certain number. Why? Did they know the outcome of the raffle because it was a setup? Or, did they know what he would choose and that it would be the winning number?

I don't know why but something told me it was the later. So that meant foreknowledge. And for that there were only a handful of possibilities: either they were seers, or, the more plausible in my opinion, they had already experienced it once, which meant time-travel...

Why and how far they traveled were the main questions.

Suddenly something clicked in my head and I turned toward the older man. "Did they stop you on your way to the Monument Island so that you could flip a coin?" I asked.

"Yes..." he replied slowly, a frown appearing on his face.

"And you choose Tails and won." I continued.

"How did you know?" he said bewildered.

"Just a logic supposition." I answered. "They asked me the same thing." I elaborated at his raised eyebrow.

What could that mean?

"Harry! Mr. DeWitt!" Elizabeth called out of a sudden, waiving her hand in our direction. "Can you help me?" she asked and we rapidly approached them. "I just can't decide which one to take." She continued taking a step to the side to show us what were in the boxes that the Luteces were holding. Necklaces…

"Oh, let him help you" Booker said with a wave toward me. "Know nothin' about jewels." He continued, and I wiped my head toward the man, nearly cracking my neck. What was he insinuating?! An angry frown appeared on my face as I took a step toward him.

"Come on then, Harry! Help me, please!" the girl continued, talking a hold of my hand and dragging me toward the redheads. They were as stoic as ever, and that unnerved me a bit.

"So, the Bird?" Robert began.

"Or, the Cage?" Rosalind finished.

"I'm sure he will choose the Bird." Her brother continued, turning toward her.

"No, nothing beats the Cage." She protested.

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What were they trying to achieve here? Again, they appeared on our path, proposing two choices. The coin, and now this… Heads or Tails? Bird or Cage? To Help or not Help? All Binary compositions… Like Right or Left? Black or White? Yes or No…?

Always Binary choices. Were they trying to show me something? Then it clicked… There was always a third choice…

"Harry?" I heard Elizabeth whisper next to me.

"None." I said finally.

"None?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

"None..?" Rosalind repeated with surprise.

"I…I can't let you take something from those two, Elizabeth." I continued.

"What? Why? Do you know them?" she queried.

"Yes. They are Robert and Rosalind Lutece." I explained.

"Rob-…Wh-…No…" Elizabeth said, suddenly taking a stumbling step back, as fear crossed her face. "Impossible…!" she whispered.

"What is it?!" I asked, worried by her unexpected change of mood.

"Now I remember their faces. I-I saw them on a few pictures... But they are dead! They died in an accident! They are dead!" the girl exclaimed.

"Dead?" Robert repeated. "Are we dead, sister?" he asked abruptly turning toward the ginger haired woman.

"I think that I wouldn't have missed such an important occurrence." Rosalind replied. "What about you?" she asked back.

"Oh, I'm certainly not dead." Robert said, raising his hand to his face, as if to confirm it.

"I suppose you're not." Rosalind agreed. "But this girl affirms otherwise."

"Are you saying that you're taking her world over mine?" the red haired man asked, indignantly.

"Well, maybe she is right." Rosalind explained.

"Or, maybe not." The Luteces said in chorus, a serious edge appearing in their voices.

"Probabl-…"

"Would you stop it?!" I exclaimed, interrupting the man. They were really getting on my nerves.

"No need to raise the level of your voice over the recommended decibel value, Mr. Potter." Rosalind remarked with an offhand gesture.

"Tell me why you are doing all this! Tell me!" I cried out in frustration. The things I discovered with each step I took, only made everything more complicated. They were supposed to be dead, if Elizabeth was telling the truth; but so was I. Since the very beginning I knew that they weren't human. They were...something else. So this revelation wasn't as mind blowing as people could think. Then what were they trying to show me?

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What were they trying to accomplish? They asked for my help, yet they asked DeWitt too. Both of us had to protect Elizabeth, and I had to agree that a second pair of hands could only be benefic, though I still had to see what the man next to me was capable of. The question was: what the Luteces would gain from all this?

They could break the boundaries between dimensions. They could create tears. Travel between worlds. So why in the name of Merlin were they doing all this?

Then, my earlier discussion with Booker came back to me and I frowned even more. They had some sort of foreknowledge. Like Hermione and I in my third year, when we used the Time-Turner to save Sirius… Thinking about my godfather brought back the still healing wound in my withered heart. But I pushed that thought away. I had found him, but he was no longer in my grasp. Still, he was alive and well, and that's all that mattered. That day I accepted my role, and moved on.

Shaking my head I brought my attention to the matter at hand. They had a foreknowledge, but they hadn't used a Time-Turner, of that I was sure. For I knew, despite not being very well versed in the old arcane and runes that alimented the Paradox device, they were two major rules: one, you could only travel back on the timeline you existed, or would exist; and two, only living beings could use the Time-Turner.

And the Luteces didn't meet the second criteria. This meant they were not time travelers...

But they still knew about the future. How? And what had Elizabeth to do with all this?

At that thought my eyes widened. Elizabeth! She was the key! And I was nearly certain to what...

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"Oh, I see that you're starting to understand the rules of this Game." Robert said suddenly with a smirk. "An excellent development, I can assure you."

"A development that brings us closer to our goal, Mr. Potter." Rosalind continued.

"Your goal..." I stated with a grimace. I hated being held in the dark.

"Our." Robert repeated, emphasizing the word. "You'll understand everything in time, Mr. The Man-Who-Hasn't-Died." he finished with a smile.

I narrowed my eyes, but an instant later a loud noise on my left made me turn toward it by reflex. When my head was already halfway in that direction, I realized my error and cursed under my breath. And my assumption was correct, as I rapidly jerked my head back toward the twins, they were already gone...

"What... where are they?" Elizabeth asked looking around.

"They vanished again. Like the last time." Booker stated. Then he turned toward me and raised an eyebrow. "What was all that about?"

"I don't know, but I sure as hell will find out…" I grumbled. "They are not our enemies, but neither are they our friends. And until we aren't sure about their motives, we'll have to be wary of them."

"What about Elizabeth saying that they are supposed to be dead?" DeWitt asked again.

"There is a truth in her worlds. The Luteces aren't human, I'm sure of that." I explained.

"So what are they, if not human?"

"Use your imagination Mr. DeWitt. With all the crazy stuff you saw lately, everything is possible."

"Oh…And I really wanted a necklace…" Elizabeth whispered to my left, and I had to stifle a snort. She was really too innocent. And I hoped with all my withered heart that she wouldn't suffer any more than she already had.

I shook my head slowly, and made a sign for Elizabeth to approach and hand me her rose that I had conjured a few minutes ago. After I took the flower, I waved my wand over it and a second later it transformed into a golden intricate necklace with a rose motif. Content with the result, I handed it back to her.

She snatched it from my hand and started to inspect the necklace under every angle. Finally she launched me a beaming smile and attached it to her neck.

"Thank you! It's very beautiful!" she exclaimed.

"I'll buy you a better one in Paris." I said with a small grin, to which she smiled even wider. "But now we have to move." I continued.

With a sign of my hand, I indicated the direction and we started to walk again. After a few minutes we arrived to the gateway that led toward the station, but it was guarded by policemen, which were asking for identification papers before entrance.

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"Damn it." I heard Booker curse beside me. "I don't think that we can pass here. Those policemen would surely recognize one of us. But it's the only way to the gondola." he sighed.

"Don't worry, that's something I can easily fix." I said with a smirk.

"Fix...? You mean with..."

"Yes, Mr. DeWitt."

"Booker. Call me Booker."

"Alright. Then let us..." I began before being interrupted.

"Harry! Harry! This way." Elizabeth said to our right. She was kneeling in front of a door, hidden from the eyes of the crowd in the shadow created by this sunny day.

We approached her as quickly as we could without raising suspicions. And just when I wanted to ask what in Merlin she was doing, the door opened with a small click. I was amazed, and by the look on his face, Booker too.

"Have you just picked a lock?" he asked incredulous. And her smart reply made me grin.

"I've read a lot of books, Mr. DeWitt."

"Of course you have…" I whispered, taking the lead and entering the long corridor. For good measures I turned around and locked the door with magic. If someone was already on our tracks, at least it would slow him down.

We continued to walk then turned left, and instantly I remarked a number of janitors, doormen and so on, wearing white costumes, and the most peculiar, they were all Afro-American.

"Good day, sirs, miss." A doorman said politely.

"Thanks, to you as well." I said back, making his eyes widen. What had I said? Then I raised my eyes and saw I sign on the wall: Toilet, Black only. That's when I remembered when I was.

"That's right; I forgot I'm in the 1920s…" I whispered to myself, but it wasn't quiet enough, for my companions heard me.

"What do you mean by: I'm in the 1920s?" DeWitt inquired instantly.

"Exactly what it means, Booker." I said with a sigh. "I'm not really from around here, as you have remarked."

"Yeah, well, me neither. But that doesn't answer my question."

"No, it doesn't." I launched back with a look that said: Not another word! He seemed to catch on my annoyance and resigned himself. But, alas! Elizabeth wasn't going to leave the matter alone.

"Harry, you asked me to trust you. Then, make me trust you…" she said with an unusually serious face.

I sighed in defeat and waved my hand, launching a Muffliato around us, making our oncoming conversation private.

"When I said that I'm not from around here, I actually meant the time."

"The…the time?" the girl asked, raising a delicate eyebrow.

"Yes. While we are in the 1920s, I'm actually from 2005." I said finally. Their reactions were exactly as I imagined. Surprise, disbelief, apprehension and finally, shock. What else could you think about an apparent time traveler?

"But it's…"

"Magic. Like I said, nothing is impossible with it." Of course, I choose to ignore the Luteces' role in all this. That was a matter for another time.

"So, if you're from the future…how it is in the future? Tell us! What has changed?" Elizabeth asked excitedly.

"Not as much I you think."

"What do you mean?"

"Human nature is always human nature, despite how you look at it. Nothing has changed." I said with finality. The smile on her face slowly faded away.

"But, if you know the future, you can change it for the better, no?" she asked.

"No…"

"Why not?!" she exclaimed, a furious glare marring her beautiful face.

"Because, I'm not from this world."

"What..?!" Booker asked suddenly. "An…alien?"

"No." I said with a snort. "I'm not from this reality." I continued. It was easy to see that they were lost, DeWitt more so than Elizabeth.

"Like the rose!" she exclaimed, her eyes widening.

"What rose?" I asked, at a loss of words.

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Abruptly she hugged herself and turned away from us. Something was amiss, I could feel it. She was hesitating to reveal it. But nonetheless, she spoke. "When I was little, I could create tears. Not only open them, but create them and go whenever I wished. Worlds that were different from our own. Places that shouldn't exist. I had the power to…go there. But not anymore." She finished. And with every statement my eyes grew in size. "So, I believe you, Harry." A gave her a small grateful nod. No words from my part were needed to show my appreciation.

After a few more moments of standing there and thinking about what was revealed, we finally continued our march to the gondola. On our way, we passed a number of mechanical theaters about some 'Duke and Dimwit'. Elizabeth explained that they were actually educational characters for children. But after hearing one of them myself, I came to the conclusion that it was propaganda in its purest forms. Formatting children since their young age to become what the government wanted them to become. And by government I meant Comstock.

As we were finally arriving to our destination, a young woman interpolated us.

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"Annabelle?" she asked turning toward Elizabeth. Instantaneously my senses prickled.

"Excuse me?" was the girl's answer.

"Annabelle, it's me Esther." The woman continued.

"Oh, heu, no it's not Annabelle." Elizabeth said, a small frown appearing on her face.

"Are you sure?"

"My name is Elizabeth."

"Elizabeth. Isn't that a lovely name?" the woman stated matter-of-factly. And that's when the tingling was too much, and I acted.

"Esther!" I called back, and the moment her gaze met mine, I was in her head. I saw an ambush prepared to kill the false shepherd and bring Elizabeth back to the Prophet. Professionals trained to kill. I couldn't allow that.

"Yes?" she asked, oblivious to my intrusion. A slight contraction of her lips, nearly imperceptible to the untrained eye, showed her anxiety. A wave of my hand, and she was under my control.

"Is there another way to the gondola?" I asked, an edge of seriousness entering my voice.

"Yes." Was her simple answer.

"What is going on?" Booker inquired, his hand sliding to the pistol on his belt.

"There is an ambush at the ticket parlor ahead, to kill you and take Elizabeth back." I explained. "And Esther is one of them."

"What? How do you know that?"

I touched the side of my head with my finger, to answer that question. "Esther, show us the way." I continued. With a nod, the woman led us away. After a few minutes, we arrived in a small room, with many aeration conducts on the walls that could easily fit a lying adult.

"The conducts lead to the gondola." She said monotonously. I nodded and with another wave of my hand I ripped the grid from its hinges. "Booker, you go first, then Elizabeth. I will cover our tracks." I said. With a nod, the ex-soldier entered the opening and started to crawl forward. Launching me a questioning glance, Elizabeth went to follow him, but I stopped her.

"What?" she asked, a frown appearing on her face. To answer her question, I undid the knot that maintained my cloak, and covered her with it. "What is it?"

"Take this cloak. It has magical properties. It makes you invisible." I explained.

"Invisible?!"

"Yes. When you close the cloak around you, you can't be seen." And to show her, I took the front of the cloak and tightened it around her fragile body. Instantly her body disappeared, leaving only hear head visible.

"Incredible!"

"Use it if you're in danger and we're not around." I said. "Better be ready than sorry."

"Thank you." After a nod from my part, she entered the opening, leaving me alone with the woman.

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Finally I turned toward Esther. Understanding what I wanted, she took her pistol in hand and left the room, closing the door behind her. I knew it was inhuman, but after taking part in so many wars, I realized that victory was all that mattered. After a few minutes of crawling in the enclosed space, I heard a gunshot, followed by a scream, and then six other gunshots until silence took over again. Closing my eyes I sighed again. All this was really starting to tire me. The constant war and conflict, despite the exhilarating feeling that was brought by the fight for your life, was becoming too much. It was so ironic that by trying to stop wars, I was just postponing for another time and place, and universe and whatever...

Finally I jumped from the conduct and stood beside my two companions.

"Where is Esther?" Elizabeth asked looking around. Oh, Elizabeth and her innocent heart…

"I sent her back, to buy us time." I answered. "Let's go, we need to move." I continued, walking toward the gondola. After we entered, Booker activated the handle and the car started to move on the suspended sky railway.

"In a few minutes we will be at the bay; and after we take hold of the First Lady Airship, all left would be to fly to Paris." Booker said, a small grin appearing on his face.

"I sure hope so." I whispered. But I knew that nothing could ever be easy for one Harry James Potter. I didn't say that aloud, of course. But I was right nonetheless… For, suddenly the gondola violently wobbled to the side, as if punched, followed by a piercing unholy shriek.

"Damn it!" I cursed, as DeWitt took his pistol in hand, frantically looking around.

"No…" I hear Elizabeth's intake of breath. "No!" she cried out, her eyes growing in size with every second. "He…he is back!"

"Calm down Elizabeth!" I ordered, as the gondola shook again. "Shit! Booker, try to calm her down. I'm going outside!" And without waiting for an answer from his part, I vanished one of the windows and jumped out of the car. Twirling in the air, I apparated on the gondola's roof.

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I saw the cursed bird fly toward us at great speed, surely trying to rip the sky-line to shreds. But I would have none of it. With a slash of my wand, I launched a Reducto, but the damned bird barrel rolled and escaped my spell. When it was only a dozen yards away, I blasted it to my left with a flourish. Losing its control over the trajectory, it slammed in the wall with force.

"Calm down, Elizabeth!" I heard Booker exclaim below, trying to appease the hysterical girl. "Harry will kill it!"

"No! Y-you can't kill it! He will take me back!"

"Booker!" I cried out.

"I'm trying!" was his reply.

The Songbird emerged from the crumbled wall and launched itself again toward us. I noticed that he had some sort of stiches over the wound that I had inflicted to him in our last encounter. With another screech he approached, and with another spell I sent him fly away. The beast just refused to die.

"Elizabeth! Stop it! Harry!" Booker called me.

"No. I will not let him take me back! NO!" Elizabeth screamed, and my eyes widened as I felt an overload of energy below me.

"Harr-…" was what I heard, before silence met my ears. With dread, I apparated inside the gondola to see…nothing. They were gone! They had disappeared! Elizabeth must have opened a tear in her panic. Damn it!

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A screech resounded in the distance, and a snarl deformed my face, as I furiously apparated back to the roof of the car. The Songbird was hovering a distance from me.

"You son of a bitch!" I screamed at it. "It's your fault that they disappeared!" I continued with anger. "I'll make you pay!" I exclaimed waving the Elder Wand in an intricate movement. "Try to survive this!" I screamed again, launching the most powerful Fiendfyre I ever used. A gigantic screaming fire dragon escaped my wand and launched itself toward the bird. The beast stood no chance against my fury, and the dragon devoured it in mere seconds, leaving only ashes in its wake.

My breath was ragged, my hand trembled, and most of all, I was angry beyond measure. For I knew that the chance of opening a tear toward the exact same world that my companions disappeared to, was near to zero, to not say inexistent.

I let escape a scream of anger and crumbled to my knees. What was I supposed to do now?

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Review guys!

Daistaf