A/N) My apologies for not updating yesterday. Document Manager wasn't working for me so couldn't get the chapter up. I tried most of the evening to get it up as well. If I do not update on a Tuesday without forewarning you in the previous chapter that will likely mean this site is not working properly. If that happens I will keep on trying to update until I am able to.

I hope everyone enjoys this chapter!

Twisting Time

Chapter 27

Friday 3rd April 1992

In the wake of Harry's odd behaviour and Sirius' feelings about why he was acting strange, Sirius had decided to try to solve this on his own without any help from anyone else. He had even neglected to inform Professor Dumbledore which probably wasn't a good idea, especially when it involved one of his students. Harry was talking to him again, albeit reluctantly. Though Sirius was certain Harry was in possession of Tom Riddle's diary, he couldn't prove it. Harry had hidden it very well.

And Sirius had searched Gryffindor Tower for it and had even made Harry turn out his pockets one evening, but the diary could not be found.

Harry still kept his distance from his friends though he kept up with his Quidditch practices. When Sirius had observed his practices discreetly, he had observed the young boy as appearing to be his usual, cheerful self. Sirius could only surmise that playing Quidditch was the only way that forced Harry out of the control and influence of the diary. He was so sure it had been planted among Harry's possessions for the boy to find, but what niggled at Sirius was his inability to prevent this from occurring. He had been so sure Ginny Weasley would still be the possessor of the diary. Dumbledore had warned him that may not happen and the Headmaster had been proven correct.

What Sirius still hadn't figured out was how it had come to be in Harry's possession. Where had it come from? How long had Harry had it? The only way Sirius could think of, of discovering if the diary was the source of Harry's change of personality was to corner him at home with his parents.

And James and Lily Potter still did not know of Sirius' suspicions, especially since Harry had been writing letters to his parents and not mentioning that he was distancing himself away from his friends or godfather. To them, they thought everything was normal with their son.

Sirius was not looking forward to that particular conversation.

Standing outside the front door of the Potter's cottage in Godric's Hollow, Sirius rapped his knuckles on the door. It was the evening before Harry was due to return home for the Easter holidays and Sirius had decided now was the time to involve James and Lily. He knew they would be mad at him but he had hoped to solve this without minimal fuss but since he had been unable to locate the diary, he had no choice now but to resort to the aid of his friends.

Lily opened the door and a bright smile adorned her face. "Sirius! We were not expecting you!"

Sirius shrugged. "I need to talk to you and Prongs."

Lily nodded, her happy expression turning serious when she heard the soft and regretful tone of Sirius' voice. She didn't ask him anymore questions but instead led him inside the house. "Jack is already in bed. He's really excited about Harry coming home. He's really missing him."

Sirius bit his lip. This was going to be difficult. "Harry is what I need to talk to you about."

Lily stopped in the hallway, turning to face Sirius. Her green eyes sparkled dangerously. "What is it?"

Sirius took in a deep breath. "Just promise me you won't get mad."

He could feel the magic crackling around her. Never ever get Lily Potter mad.

"Lily?" James stepped into the hall. "What's going on?"

"Sirius has something to say about Harry," stated Lily. She knew something was wrong.

Sirius steeled himself. "Before you get ready to kill me, can we please sit down first?"

James passed him a quizzical expression. "Why would we want to kill you?"

Sirius didn't answer and walked into the living room, choosing to sit down opposite Lily and James, who took the sofa. Sirius' leg began to bounce up and down in nervousness.

Lily folded her arms across her chest, her green eyes piercing into him. There was something about Lily's gaze that made Sirius want to make himself as small as possible. "What is it, Sirius?"

"I haven't found any real proof," began Sirius, "but I believe Harry could be in possession of Tom Riddle's diary." He waited for the explosion.

It never came.

Lily's face had gone white and James' mouth was hanging open in surprise.

"What… do you mean?" managed Lily, the first one of the two to recover.

"He's distanced himself from his friends and me since Christmas. And I've caught him in the bathroom that leads to the Chamber of Secrets. No one uses it and when I asked him about it he mentioned he was friends with Moaning Myrtle…" He shifted in his seat. "But I spoke to her as well and she told me she had never spoken to Harry." He had made sure to talk to the ghost, just to be on the safe side.

James visibly swallowed. "Please tell me you are not saying what I think you are…"

"But if Harry has the diary how did he get it?" asked Lily quietly.

"I don't know but someone must have planted it somewhere where he wouldn't have been suspicious of…" Sirius trailed off, eyes widening as realisation set in. "Christmas."

"What?" asked James.

"You still do the stockings at the end of the bed, don't you?" clarified Sirius, remembering Potter tradition from when he had lived with James as a teenager.

Lily nodded. "We do…"

"What if the diary was planted among his belongings? Among those presents and he didn't think anything of it…" whispered Sirius. It was so simple and yet, ingenious.

"But that means someone would have been in Harry's room…" said Lily.

Sirius shook his head. "Not necessarily. When did you prepare the stockings?"

Lily frowned. "Christmas Eve night after Harry and Jack had gone to bed. Then I charmed them to appear in all of our rooms after five in the morning. But the stockings were downstairs in the living room, under the tree when James and I went to bed…"

"Besides if someone had got into our house, our wards would have alerted us," said James. "There is no way the diary could have been smuggled into Harry's stocking."

But Sirius' mind was working overtime and another thought struck him. "Dobby."

"Huh? Dobby?" James queried.

"Dobby the house elf," replied Sirius slowly. "He's the house elf of Lucius Malfoy… In my original timeline he tried to prevent Harry from going to Hogwarts in his second year because he knew what terrible events would be happening there but he couldn't reveal it. What if Lucius Malfoy had instructed Dobby to put the diary in Harry's stocking? House elf magic can override Wizard magic… He could get through your wards without being noticed. Dobby wouldn't be able to disobey him because Lucius is his Master."

Lily bit her bottom lip, concern written across her features. "Why have you waited until now to tell us about Harry? You've known a while…" Her tone was accusatory.

Sirius flinched. His shoulders slumped. "I should have said something earlier… I was hoping to find the diary and get Harry away from the influence of it before telling you. I should have involved you sooner…"

"We are Harry's parents, Sirius. We do have a right to know what is going on with our child," stated James, harshly.

"I know. And I'm sorry for keeping it from you. I'm here because this is our chance to try and get the diary from Harry," explained Sirius. "If he really does have it."

"Is it possible you are wrong?" Lily asked.

Sirius nodded. "It is. I'm assuming because I have noticed he has been visiting the bathroom where it is located. Each time I've gone to find him, he has already gone. Not into the Chamber but out of the bathroom. I've been using the Marauder's Map." He had long ago told James where it had ended up. "I asked the Weasley twins if I could use it. They've loaned it to me for an extended period… I wish I was wrong, Lily, but why would Harry be visiting the girl's bathroom and secluding himself away from his friends? He's keeping the diary hidden – I've tried to find it but I can't."

"You're out of your depth, aren't you?" suggested James.

"A bit."

"Things have changed too much now so when you cannot predict what will happen you will panic," added Lily.

"I thought it would be simple to get the diary from Harry… I think there is more to him having the diary than we realise. I have a really bad feeling about confronting him about it," explained Sirius.

The two Potters shared concerned looks. "What bad feeling?" asked James quietly.

Sirius shrugged. "I don't know. I can't explain it."

"Can we bring Harry home tonight instead of waiting for tomorrow?" enquired Lily.

Sirius shook his head. "No. It would make him suspicious. He already distrusts me… If we bring him home early he might…" He pulled a face. "Rebel… He could easily disappear within Hogwarts. At least at home, he won't be able to."

Lily sighed, her read hair falling past her shoulders. "I don't like this."

James squeezed her shoulder. "I don't either… but what other choice do we have?"

None of them had considered asking Albus Dumbledore.

Saturday 4th April 1992

Harry returned home late on Saturday night. He was quiet but talking to his parents. Both Lily and James noticed a difference straight away. Though Harry had emerged from the train with his two best friends, he had barely said a word goodbye to them which worried James and Lily. Harry had gone straight to his room after greeting his younger brother.

He didn't seem enthusiastic about being home.

Whilst Harry was in his room, James contacted Sirius who flooed over to their house whilst Remus arrived to look after Jack, as they couldn't leave him on his own. Remus had been informed about the chance of Harry having the diary Horcrux was high however he took it calmly and agreed to help James and Lily any way he could, even if it meant babysitting Jack whilst James, Lily and Sirius tried to talk to Harry.

Sirius stayed downstairs whilst James and Lily went to Harry's room, both parents feeling nervous about what they could do to help their son.

Lily knocked on the door and pushed the door open.

Harry was lying on his bed, arms behind his head, looking up at the ceiling. "Hi," he said, in a monotone voice.

"How are you, Harry?" asked Lily, sitting beside her son on the edge of the bed.

"I'm fine."

"How was your term?" queried James.

"Fine," replied Harry again. He sat up, his green eyes watching his parents. "What's this about? I can't have done anything wrong. I've only just got back!"

James and Lily exchanged glances. How could they go about this? Harry was unnaturally suspicious, something he had never really been. He had always been happy and carefree. And he had never questioned his parents like this either.

"There is nothing to worry about, Harry," said Lily gently. "Sirius has been worried about you."

Harry frowned, but they couldn't dismiss the flash they had seen in his eyes. "He's been hassling me! Trying to find out what I've been doing!"

"He says you've been going to the second floor bathroom. The girls bathroom," said James quietly, trying not to anger his son.

"So? It's not against the rules is it?" replied Harry. "I was never told not to visit that bathroom! It's not even used anyway!" The young boy folded his arms across his chest. "I don't get what Sirius' problem is! He keeps thinking I'm up to something shifty when all I'm doing is being with my friend!"

"Who is your friend?" enquired Lily.

"Mum… dad… It's not what you think it is," sighed Harry. "Sirius is just being paranoid."

James shared a glance with Lily. "Then why don't you tell him the truth instead of hiding it from him?"

Harry glared. "Because its none of his business! He thinks he can just go through all my stuff, just because he's a Professor! He doesn't even teach me!"

This wasn't their Harry. They could see how he was being influenced. He wasn't under the influence of it now but they were witnessing how much their son had changed in the space of a few months since Christmas when he had last been home.

James sighed. "Where is it, Harry?"

"Where's what?" the boy stubbornly asked.

"The diary. The diary that was in your stocking. The diary that none of us in this house gave you," continued Lily.

Harry spoke quietly, his voice dangerously low. "You're not getting it because you will hurt my friend!"

"Harry," began James urgently, "it was placed there without our consent! None of us were responsible for giving it to you! We don't want you to have it!"

Harry leapt from the bed, pushing past his parents, towards his window: the window that was open. "No! You can't! He's helped me so much!"

Lily shook her head. "What the diary is doing is excluding you from your friends and the people that love and care about you!"

Harry stepped back. "No! You're wrong! It's helping me become a better wizard!"

James sighed and stepped forward, reaching for his son. "Harry… If you feel that strongly about it, if you feel that it is helping you, why can't you trust us with it? We are your parents? We love you and want what is best for you. If this diary is a good thing then you won't mind letting us see it, will you?"

Harry swallowed. His green eyes moved from face to face. "No. I'm sorry but please do not ask this of me!"

Their son was saying no to them which stunned both James and Lily. Harry had always been well-behaved and compliant but now…

"Harry." James stared at his son in dismay. "You can't stop us."

Harry backed away further from them and towards his window. One hand was fiddling with something up his shirt and they realised he had been hiding it underneath his clothes as a way of keeping it safe from harm and discovery.

Lily stepped forward, reaching out to her son. "Harry. Please. We want to help you."

"No, you don't. It's exactly what Tom said if I told you about him! You want to hurt him and me! He's my friend!" yelled Harry.

And then Sirius ran into the room. "Harry! Don't do this!"

Harry's green eyes sought his. "I thought you all trusted me. But Tom's right. I can only trust him." And Harry leapt out of his window, grabbing onto the tree branch and swinging himself down.

Lily rushed to the window. "HARRY! Come back!"

Sirius swore behind them and ran out the room.

"Lily!" James grabbed her hand. "Come on. We have to get after him before he disappears!"

Lily nodded numbly, hardly daring to believe that their son had done this. She knew deep down Harry was being manipulated and controlled by someone else and it hurt her that she had been unable to prevent this. She couldn't hate Sirius for not telling them but he should have told them… And perhaps it would have been to deal with this at Hogwarts, the one place where Harry wouldn't be able to hide so easily from them.

"Lily?" begged James.

"James… He's going to Hogwarts…" she whispered, clutching onto his arm tightly.

"How do you know?" breathed James.

Lily swallowed. "Because that is where the diary originated from… The diary was meant to be used as a weapon against Muggle-borns… Has Harry been in the Chamber? Does the Tom Riddle of the diary know his Basilisk is dead? James… Sirius felt uneasy about this… We don't know where Voldemort is or where he is gone…"

"Lily? Where are you going with this?" breathed James, concern filling his voice. He was desperate to follow his son.

Green eyes beseeched him. "I think this is a trap for Sirius, and Harry is just collateral damage."

They arrived at Hogwarts through the Headmaster's Floo, having alerted him to the problem they had. Sirius had chased after Harry, only to see him disappear by using a Portkey which he had stashed under his robes. Where he had got a Portkey from neither of them knew, however all three of them had the inclination to believe that this was a trap for Sirius. He had been meant to see Harry disappear and follow him.

Portkeys didn't work in Hogwarts, unless made by the Headmaster himself. Harry had appeared outside the school wards and had been let back into the school, claiming that he had decided to return for Easter. Lily and James had been leaving Godric's Hollow when Professor Dumbledore had called them about Harry's location. All of them had been surprised Harry had allowed himself to be caught so easily but when they arrived in the office, Harry was not there.

Professor McGonagall, who had been the one to find Harry at the gates, had sent him back to Gryffindor Tower however Harry had not remained there, easily slipping out of the Tower underneath his Invisibility Cloak.

The Marauder's Map showed Harry's location plainly.

Moaning Myrtle's bathroom on the second floor. He seemed to be just standing there.

"Harry has the diary?" asked Dumbledore.

Sirius nodded. "He does. I suspected it but didn't tell you about it. I think he received it for Christmas. Instead of targeting Ginny Weasley to discredit Arthur, Lucius has chosen Harry instead." He sighed. This was messy. He felt worried. This wasn't supposed to happen. "But Lily…"

The red-haired beauty nodded. "Harry was targeted deliberately. We don't know where Voldemort is, do we? He hasn't returned to Albania."

Dumbledore shook his head, his beard swaying from side to side. "No, he hasn't, and that is worrying."

"Voldemort knows you are from an alternate future." Lily pointed out, looking at Sirius.

"I know." Sirius pulled a face, glancing at Remus.

Though he had been caring for Jack, they had brought the youngest Potter child with them and had left him in the care of McGonagall, leaving Remus the chance to help James and Lily rescue their son. Remus frowned. "You shouldn't go to the Chamber, Sirius. If Lily is right and Voldemort is involved with the diary then we can't risk losing you."

Sirius bit his lip. He knew they were right but he shook his head. "I can't. I have to fix things with Harry. And if the Voldemort Horcrux has taken shape… I need to be there. I have to be."

"But we know how to destroy Horcruxes…" James looked at his friend. "You know Lily has good intuition. If this is a trap, you can't fall into it. This isn't a scenario that happened originally. You can't just walk into it, expecting to know what is going to happen."

Sirius shuddered. "I know. But I'll be with you. You won't let me fall into a trap."

Remus put his head in his hands. "There is no stopping you, is there?"

Sirius didn't feel like grinning.

By the time they reached the bathroom, Harry had already opened the Chamber.

"This isn't good," swallowed Sirius. "Riddle is talking through Harry if he's opened the Chamber." Unease crept into his stomach. He was glad Dumbledore was with them. Lily had insisted he come.

"And he probably knows his pet snake is dead…" muttered James.

"We need to be careful," said Dumbledore. "If this is a trap…" He trailed off. Everyone knew what they had to be weary of.

Sirius had been instructed to stay out of the way, something which he had refused to comply with. He would be the one Riddle would want to speak to, just like how the Riddle of the diary in his old timeline had been interested in Harry.

Dumbledore went down into the Chamber first, followed by James and Sirius and finally Remus and Lily. Harry wasn't in the first part of the Chamber, suggesting he was waiting for them further in.

"Yeah… He definitely knows his snake is dead," whispered James. "I hate being back here. Last time we were here…" He glanced at Sirius.

"I got petrified, I know. Prongs…" Sirius shook his head. "I'll be fine. Nothing will happen. We will get Harry back."

James chewed his bottom lip, gripping Lily's hand with his own. "I hope you're right."

They moved deeper into the cavern, coming closer to the main chamber where they had fought the Basilisk previously.

Dumbledore turned to face them all in the dark, his face grave. "I feel it is prudent to warn you all that Portkeys and Apparition will work this far down. The magical field protecting the school from outside interference does not extend this far down."

"Can't you change it?" whispered Lily, brushing a loose strand of red hair out of her eyes.

The Headmaster shook his head. "No, I cannot. Not without tapping into the other wards and exposing Hogwart's castle to outsiders. And it would take me a while to re-establish the wards. It is something I can only attempt during the summer holidays when no student is on the grounds. We must be vigilant not to touch anything."

Sirius' hand gripped his wand as they began to edge forward once more. He felt nervous, almost sick to the stomach.

As they entered the main chamber they saw Harry standing by the statue of Salazar Slytherin. He was standing still, like a zombie, his face pale and his eyes unfocused. One hand was clenched in a fist and the other was not. Next to him was a shadowy figure who looked just sixteen years old. The boy had dark wavy hair but pale eyes and his expression was one of victory.

They crossed the distance between them, stopping a few metres in front of Harry and the strange boy. But the boy wasn't a stranger: they knew who he grew up to be.

Dumbledore spoke first. "Tom Marvolo Riddle. I know what you are. Let Harry go."

The boy laughed, a harsh sound echoed around the cavern walls. "I think not. This boy is giving me life. A chance to step free from the diary once and for all."

"Don't!" Sirius stepped forward. "Don't hurt him! Harry has done nothing to you!"

Riddle laughed again. "No, he hasn't, but you have, Sirius Black."

Sirius flinched. Shit. Something is very wrong. But he couldn't place what.

"Harry Potter has been very useful in getting you to come to me," smiled Riddle. "And now he will provide me with life."

"NO!" Lily cried, horrified at the thought of her son dying so Riddle could live.

"Padfoot…" whispered James, worry in his voice, even as his hazel eyes remained focused on his son.

"What are you after?" asked Remus.

Riddle pointed straight at Sirius. "Black, of course."

"You're not going to get me!" snarled Sirius, brandishing his wand in front of him. "Let my godson go, NOW!"

"Gladly." And Riddle pushed the young boy out towards Sirius.

Harry's body fell forward. Sirius reached out to catch him, even as Lily stretched out for her son…

Sirius moved out of the way so Lily could catch her son, but his hand grasped Harry's closed fist as he fell forward. They pulled the young boy back with them, his body limp and unresponsive.

"Harry? Please talk to me!" Lily stared into her son's face as she laid him on the floor. He did not respond to her call. His eyes were now closed.

Dumbledore and Remus shielded them, their wands raised towards the manifestation of Tom Riddle. James knelt down beside Lily, brushing a hand over his son's face.

Sirius glanced down at the clenched fist of Harry's right hand. "He's limp so why is his fist clenched?" He reached out and opened Harry's fingers above his palm. Something dropped into his own hand. "Huh?"

In Harry's hand had been a small stone which now rested in Sirius's palm.

Sirius held it up between two fingers. "Why was he clenching a stone?"

He saw James look sharply up at what he was holding, eyes suddenly widening in horror. "Padfoot! NO!"

He felt something tug on his whole body. "Wha…?"

And then he left the Chamber of Secrets behind.

To be continued...

Please let me know what you think!

Oops... Sirius has probably landed himself in deep water... What did people think about how Harry received the diary? There will be more explanation in the next chapter. The next few chapters are quite important so expect questions to be answered and new questions to be added...

Thank you for all the support so far!

The next chapter will be posted next Tuesday!

Until then,

the-writer1988