The Potter Timeline
Chapter 20 - Year One Epilogue
September, 1991
The last cars of the Hogwarts Express departed the magical section of King's Cross station. Steam billowing out of the scarlet engine from the front fell back across the rest of the train, obscuring it from view. When the steam dissipated, the train had disappeared from sight and nothing but the British landscape under a late morning sun remained.
Parents and siblings of students who had departed on the train watched the locomotive fade from sight before turning and heading for the magical barrier to exit Platform 9 3/4. Some were cheerful, some were solemn as their children left for another year of school, or their very first. The Express boarding ritual had played out once again.
Near the back, a solitary figure stood, watching the train depart and observing the activity on the platform. With his hands clasped behind his back, the man, sporting the scarlet uniform of a 9 3/4 platform attendant, gazed at the spectacle before him in wonder. Among the students who had left for their very first year was the young, eleven-year-old Harry Potter - the boy the man helped through the barrier and helped load his belongings on board.
The famous youngster looked nervous and yet excited - feelings the attendant himself once held at his own departure for the school many years ago. But seeing the boy up close and talking to him in person drew forth deep emotion in the man. Young Potter had no idea what awaited him at the school. He also had no idea what awaited him on the journey toward his destiny, his...new destiny.
Putting aside these thoughts, the man headed toward the barrier. But before reaching it, he froze as two people approached the magical wall just ahead of him. It was Molly Weasley and her young daughter Ginny. They were oblivious to the man as Molly was absorbed in conversation with her daughter, no doubt consoling the teary-eyed girl because she couldn't join her brothers at Hogwarts for another year.
He gazed at the pair in wonder.
What would become of them?
Indeed, what would become of them all?
The man waited until the Weasleys departed the platform then headed for the barrier himself. Once there, he glanced around, making sure no one noticed as he pulled out his wand. With a whisper, he uttered the words and his uniform changed from scarlet to navy-blue. He then pocketed the wand and moved through the barrier back into the muggle section.
Upon arriving between platforms 9 and 10, the man straightened his uniform and took a deep breath. He clasped his hands behind his back and strolled leisurely along the platform like a proper attendant at his duties. He had to make sure his acting was perfect. Throwing a glance here and there, he noticed a few wizarding families appear from the barrier and head toward the station hall. They were as oblivious to his presence as the muggle travelers on the platforms were to them.
Satisfied no one had noticed his crossing the barrier, the man walked toward the station hall. Once inside, he headed for the loo to his left and upon entering, went to one of the sinks. He stood still momentarily and stared at himself in the mirror.
He did it.
He actually did it.
He just...altered young Harry Potter's future...forever.
The man leaned over and placed his hands on either side of the sink, still gazing at his reflection.
He could have simply watched. He could have stood by and watched history unfold. He could have watched the Weasley family help young Harry through that barrier and watch as the boy's future turned out just as it did before.
But he didn't.
In a crazy, reckless moment, the man had the audacity to step in and alter that history.
Would old man Dumbledore notice? Would he notice something had changed? The venerable wizard could somehow see things ordinary wizards and witches were oblivious to.
Surely the centaurs would. They seemed to dwell beyond time itself.
The man stared at that reflection now in angst.
Why? Why did he do it?
But he knew the answer to that question.
Because of her. He did it...for her.
He didn't care what happened to him. All he cared about was her - that she would be safe and...happy.
It hadn't even been that long for him, but the sorrow was never far from his heart. Merlin, how he missed her!
The man hoped against hope that the words of the traveler were true. That the world young Harry Potter was about to face would indeed be a better one. A better one not simply for him, but for her as well.
At this moment, all seemed in doubt. But it no longer mattered. The deed had been done. All that was left for him was to keep his promise. When he returned, she would be the first one he went to, come what may.
The man stood upright and wiped a few tears from his eyes. He certainly couldn't return looking like this. He poured a little cold water from the tap and splashed it on his face. He then dried it with a towel and once finished, stared once more at the blurred image before him. Reaching into his pocket, the man pulled out the glasses he had stashed there at the beginning of this insane venture. Placing them on his face, his reflection now became sharp and clear.
He pulled the navy-blue attendant's cap from off his head and placed it on the counter. He no longer needed the disguise - not where he was going. The man brushed away the dark hair from his forehead and combed it with his fingers as neatly as possible. He then stared at his reflection in wonder. He stared at that forehead with its...lightning-shaped scar.
It was time.
The purple flames awaited him.
It was time for Harry Potter to face...his new future...