Chapter 12
Past and Future Collide
"Astute observation, Mr. Potter. A trait that neither yourself nor our mutual friend here attribute to you." Grindelwald's silky voice was the only thing that penetrated the soundless room after masked man's declaration.
Grindelwald seemed to take the romantic revelation of Harry and Emily's relationship remarkably well. He merely chuckled and completely discarded it. As though it did not lower the odds of his plan's success to dwindling amounts.
Though Emily enjoyed the psychological power she had in being the only individual standing in a room of at least two exceptionally powerful wizards, she did relinquish her grip on Harry to walk around the couch and sit next to him.
Languidly stretching her legs over Harry's lap, Emily intentionally impeded Harry's ability to move. This was something Harry found annoying to a degree he didn't expect himself capable of feeling towards Emily.
Does she not comprehend just who we are talking to here?
Harry made an effort to calm himself. Emily wouldn't do this for no reason. She was letting him know that she was in control of the situation. Harry wasn't certain he was confident in allowing a sixteen-year-old girl to dictate the room when one of its occupants was the most powerful dark lord in modern times. Begrudgingly, however, he acknowledged that relationships involved trusting your partner. He would trust Emily here, and if things went south, then they'd clean up the mess together.
"I hope you don't mind my peeping. Harry has a nasty habit of keeping me in the dark about things I should know about. And let me tell you, Gellert," Emily drawled in nonchalance. She seemed to be enjoying her moment in the spotlight. "Hearing that you've 'shit on the floor' was most certainly something Harry needs to share with me."
The masked man made an attempt to stand, though to do what, no one really knew, but Grindelwald wrapped a hand around the man's wrist, keeping him still. The man turned to the side, almost as though he were going to berate the older wizard, but a steely glare from the dark wizard kept his mouth closed.
"Indeed Ms. Riddle. But I can assure you, things are still well within my expectations. Even the revelation of your tryst with Mr. Potter."
Emily scoffed. "Meaning either you have no plans on recruiting me at all, or you have something so damning on Harry that you think I'd be willing to jump ship. I've killed for Harry. And I would do so much more."
Everything dawned on Harry instantly. Emily was right. Grindelwald never had any intention of recruiting Emily at all. Which means he had no purpose for being here. Harry's eyes zeroed in on the masked man.
"Correct once again, Mr. Potter. We are not here for my errand. We are here on one for our mutual friend."
"I really wish you'd stop calling this bloke our mutual friend. You've already made it clear he wants me dead."
Grindelwald nodded solemnly. "Yes. It is regrettable. But in order to garner as much information as I could from him, I needed him cooperative. So, I had to make some unusual concessions. My plans can move forward in the case of your death, Mr. Potter. But they could not move forward without your future's knowledge."
"And what concessions were those?"
"I had to allow him the chance to kill you, of course. Bring the two of you face to face, as it were. And keep him alive long enough for that to be possible. A simple concession. It seems that his journey to this time was not as smooth as yours, you see. Even now he's barely ab-"
"Avada Kedavra!" The flash of green light lit the whole room in a gruesome glow. Everyone was speechless as the silver mask fell from the now dead man's face.
Harry, who'd almost drawn his wand, froze in shock. Grindelwald stared at the assailant in a mixture of amusement and awe.
Emily lowered her wand happy with the result of her actions. "Well, I do believe that concludes your vow with him, right?"
Gellert leaned over to look at the dead man's face expectantly. "It would seem that it does bring my work here to its close. Though really, Emily, that was so anticlimactic. I was rather interested in seeing their duel. I have no doubt that Mr. Potter would have emerged victorious, but an upset would not have been outside the realm of possibility."
Emily shrugged. Clearly the murder of the man had no impact on her. "We'll simply agree to disagree. An upset wouldn't have happened because we both know I'd have interfered."
Gellert Grindelwald nodded and then stood abruptly. "Indeed, you would have. While Mr. Potter's future is invisible to me, your actions are much clearer. I can tell just what you're planning on doing. Well, I have absolutely no interest in fulfilling our vow, Mr. Potter, so I shall take my leave. Ms. Riddle, I'm afraid this means there will never be a place for you within my ranks, though you're welcome to ask me for any assistance you need in the future."
The dark wizard made to leave the entire mess behind him, but Harry did not have the answers he needed. And the dead man in the sitting room wouldn't be telling any tales.
Following Grindelwald out, Harry coughed loudly in an expectant manner. Grindelwald, who considered himself a polite guest turned to look at his pursuer. In fact, he almost seemed happy that Harry had some pressing questions for him.
"I suppose I shouldn't simply leave my mess for you to clean up without any compensation. I assume you want to know some things?"
Harry snarled at the man. "Yeah, just a few. Who was that?"
Grindelwald shrugged, seeming to take his time in answering. "He gave me a name, but just as you are, his future was invisible to me. So, I don't really know. You're welcome to see if you recognize him."
Harry nodded in understanding. "Why make a vow? Why go through the whole circus? Why not just drop him off here and be done with him?"
"Because I need you to remain neutral, Mr. Potter. I need you and Emily to interfere with the timeline, but not oppose me directly. Your being here disrupts the timeline. And I'm hoping that the threat of my taking Emily away from you keeps you from assisting Albus too heavily."
"Why would it? You know Emily wants to stay with me. What's stopping me from being a thorn in your side?"
Grindelwald stared hard into Harry's eyes. "Because Mr. Potter, you have a secret. A secret you can't allow Emily to know."
Harry scoffed. "You think there is any secret you can tell her that will drive her away from me?"
Grindelwald grabbed Harry's shirt and pulled the younger man roughly into him. "I do, betrayal always drives those we love away from us." The white and black eyes stared into Harry's green gaze and suddenly, Harry found himself sitting on top of Emily inside of Myrtle's bathroom. Strangling her. Crushing her skull.
Harry relived the entire awful scenario before returning to reality to find himself still being apprehended by Grindelwald. Somehow, this man was aware of what had never happened. Some power beyond Harry's comprehension had allowed Gellert Grindelwald to glimpse into the unreal to see a moment only Harry had knowledge of.
"Yes, Mr. Potter. We both know that Emily Riddle will kill for you. And she's even willing to die for you. But how eager is she to be killed by you, Mr. Potter. You'll toe the line I draw, and in return, I stay quiet. You'll take Emily Riddle back to Britain and hide behind Dumbledore's robes. The two of you will go about your lives as your existence here slowly unravels the preordained future."
Gellert dropped Harry quickly as the two men heard Emily approaching them. "I shall resume my search for a power to defeat Albus. Even should I fail, I am confident that your existence here at least evens my odds against him."
Emily once again wrapped her arms around Harry when she was close enough. Signaling to Grindelwald what was hers. Gellert smirked and looked at the girl over Harry's shoulder. "A word of advice, Ms. Riddle."
Harry stayed silent as Emily perked up. "Yes?"
"If I were you, I wouldn't put very much trust in anyone other than Mr. Potter here. Only he is capable of seeing past the darkness in your soul. Others, well, they'd sooner snuff out that darkness and you along with it."
Emily nodded her head shortly, and in moments Harry and Emily were alone. A part of Harry wondered if Grindelwald's final words to Emily were some sort of secret message that only she understood. But he didn't care to question such vague words. Emily would share anything she deemed important.
Harry sighed, turning his body in Emily's hold. Facing the young woman he asked, "Planning on holding me like this for the rest of my life? I'm not running off anywhere."
Emily shrugged. "How am I supposed to know? You keep so many secrets from me."
The mention of secrets was almost enough to take his breath away. Fighting off the urge to vomit, Harry shook his head. "I had no idea the two of them would be showing up today."
At Emily's doubtful look, Harry solemnly held up one hand. "I swear. The two of them were completely unannounced."
Emily frowned but nodded. "Hmm, strange that they'd pick the one day and time that I normally go out. Are you sure we should've let him leave like that? With that creep back there dead, I think we could've cut him down."
Harry shook his head. "We couldn't fight him together, today."
Emily stared at him in confusion before Harry explained. "It's the vow. If you and I are together, I have to allow the two of you to talk without interference. That talk extends until he makes you an offer to join him. He never planned on making that offer. So, we were sort of neutralized against him. We could have gone at him separately, but I doubt either of us can take him out by ourselves. But that part of the vow was only for today."
"So, we kill him next time."
Harry shrugged. "Or we let Albus kill him in the future, like the original timeline unfolded. He'll be dead in a few months, either way. Surprised you're not grilling me about that a little more."
"What, the time travelling thing? No, not really. Why, is that going to be a problem or something?"
"Shouldn't be." Harry shook his head. Tilting his head, Harry gently kissed her forehead. Gently, Harry undid her grip around his body so he could walk back into the closet that held their dead visitor.
"We do have things we should talk about though..." Emily wasn't done with that discussion he realized. Nodding his head to her, he kept walking.
"Of course, but I really need to take care of this mess in here."
Harry and Emily both entered the room and Harry notice that Emily had lain the body on the small coffee table. Of course, the table was too small for a dead man, so only his upper body was on the table, his legs comically dangling off of it, onto the floor. The mask had already fallen off, so Harry got a good look at the man's face.
"I don't know him." It was disappointing, to say the least. The man had sandy blond hair and a thin face. Dark brown eyes and a rather weak chin. Though it was more pronounced in death. Harry wagered the man to be in his mid-thirties. Going to the man's arm, Harry rolled up the sleeve of the man's shirt to find a fading Dark Mark.
"He was one of yours." Harry muttered to himself. Emily picked up on his words but made no comment on it. "But I couldn't even tell you the bloke's name. Complete mystery to me, but he knew just enough to interest Gellert."
Waving his wand, Harry vanished the body. It was at this moment, that Harry was hit by the feeling of dark magic. It was more than the remnants of the killing curse. Harry turned his head to look at Emily, who was looking at him with a smile. Her face was paler, the bones in her cheeks just a hair more visible. She looked... a little less human.
Harry wondered just how he should broach her creation of a second horcrux. He doubted the process was finished. She'd only been left alone in the room for a matter of minutes while he and Grindelwald had been engaged out in the hallway. Harry had been immersed in a vision of his past, and Harry was pretty certain Grindelwald had been with him along for the ride. So neither man would have sensed Emily's deeds in the other room.
But the damaged part of her soul couldn't remain inside of her body. She had to have stored it somewhere. Approaching her, Harry kissed Emily deeply. She eagerly fell into his arms as he gently ran his hand along her body. Searching subtly for her soul fragment. He had no idea into what temporary vessel she'd placed her fragment into, but she had to have it on her. It was too unstable to be elsewhere.
But Emily grabbed him tightly and with a twist, the two were in bed. Emily wasted no time in tearing their clothes off. Harry hadn't expected her to jump him so quickly. She should have been more focused on the horcrux. It wouldn't last long inside a temporary vessel.
Harry gave into Emily. Clearly, he was jumping to conclusions. The perceptions he'd made of Emily were barely even noticeable. Perhaps it was all in his head. Their impromptu visit had him on edge. Grindelwald had gotten into his head again. Emily was someone he could trust. Repeating that mantra in his head, Harry fell into step with Emily's actions. Looking into her eyes, he calmed down. Her eyes were the same dim red they always looked like whenever they made love. She wasn't losing herself. She hadn't thrown away any more of her humanity yet.
Thoroughly convinced that his earlier thoughts had been merely paranoia, Harry indulged Emily's libido to its fullest extent. Afterwards, Emily made no move to sneak off and deal with any nefarious goals, further cementing Harry's peace of mind. The hour was late enough and the two fell asleep.
The next morning, Harry woke to find Emily cuddled next to him, gazing at him softly.
"I was wondering if you had planned to let me starve this morning."
Harry smirked at her, "You're capable of cooking, Emily. You may not be proficient at it, but a bowl of cereal is not beyond your abilities."
Pouting, Emily shook her head. "I don't want a cold breakfast, Harry. I want something hot." Kissing him gently she continued, "And since I can't eat you, well not enough of you, I'm afraid you'll have to get to work." Harry had nothing to say but did wonder why she hadn't woken him earlier. She was never really one to be shy about her appetite. Perhaps the warm bed had been too alluring.
Pinching his side in a cute, but painful manner, Emily left to shower. Harry noticed a slight limp in her step and wondered if she'd slept in an awkward position. Harry frowned, looking to his side where her fingers had cut into his flesh. The small river of blood trailed down to stain the sheets. Grindelwald's words came, unbidden into Harry's mind.
"You can't fix her."
Harry had responded that the girl did not need fixing. Which was something Harry earnestly believed. But that didn't mean there was nothing wrong with Emily Riddle. Though those problems weren't just mental ones either. She was definitely a bit off this morning. Still, though Harry was willing to indulge her to the best of his ability, that didn't mean her issues would not cause her strife in the future.
Sighing, Harry went to make breakfast. Hot cakes were something Emily enjoyed. Grabbing the ingredients from various cupboards, Harry began his first task of the day.
But its less the fact that Emily's broken. It's more like she's just not normal. And you can't make the abnormal into normal.
Harry began frying the hot cakes without much mental participation. Instead, he thought about how Emily would best reintegrate into Hogwarts after this summer. And what would be a good place for him.
There's no keeper of keys yet, and there won't be one now that Hagrid won't be framed for Myrtle's murder. I can always ask Dumbledore about that. If Albus sticks to my timeline, he'll kick Grindelwald's teeth in on October fourteenth. Just two weeks after term begins.
Harry sighed. Things weren't exactly set in stone. Though he could count on their return to Hogwarts for Emily's sixth year. He'd told Emily that he'd acquired a certain amount of leverage to get her back in, and he had meant it. Not only did he have Hufflepuff's cup as well as Ravenclaw's diadem, but he also knew the secret of Gryffindor's sword. If these three things couldn't guarantee his and Emily's entry into the school, then he would pull out his trump card. He would offer to destroy the Chamber of Secrets. Make it so that no heir of Slytherin could ever access it in the future.
Headmaster Dippet may not be happy with Emily Riddle, but he'd be willing to let things slide for a guarantee that Slytherin's chamber would be destroyed. While a student's death was tragic, it was still accidental. There was a certain room for forgiveness for accidents that did not exist for intentional acts. It also helped that Myrtle was a muggle-born. Despite Dippet's tolerant views, it was no secret that muggle-borns were valued less than purebloods or halfbloods.
Putting the fresh cakes onto a plate for Emily, Harry started beating a bowl of eggs while checking to see if the sausages had thawed sufficiently. They had not.
Harry wished he could remember what year Albus had taken over the headmaster's position. He knew it was shortly after the defeat of Grindelwald, but that didn't tell him if Dippet stepped down immediately after Grindelwald's fall or it was the next school year.
Putting the eggs into the magically cleaned frying pan, Harry began scrambling them. With his wand, he summoned a third of a block of cheese from the refrigerator and started shredding it into the pan. Emily liked her eggs with cheese. Harry preferred them scrambled in either bacon or sausage grease. But the sausages weren't ready yet, so cheese would have to do.
Returning to his thoughts on the future, Harry decided they should return to Britain as soon as possible. Though Harry was resolute in keeping his interactions with Albus to a minimum. At least until school started back up. Harry would offer his assistance there and hopefully find some position nearby. He would keep a low profile until it was time for Albus to fight Gellert. There was no point in staying neutral at that point. Harry would take a stand with Albus and make certain things wrapped up in a way that were beneficial to him. After all, Harry had an Elder Wand. He, at the very least, wouldn't be a hindrance.
Finishing the eggs and placing them on a separate plate than the cakes, Harry once again checked the sausages. Almost there. Walking back to the bathroom, Harry cast a charm on the door that would alert him when Emily turned the water off. She must have been a bit sore if she was showering for this long.
Though he was rushing things, Harry had little faith that what he was about to do would bear him any results. Going into the closet that had recently seen a death, Harry place the Gaunt family ring on his finger and turned it three times. In the past, the resurrection stone had only ever worked when he was thinking about the person he was summoning. A person he had a strong connection to like his parents, Sirius, Ginny and Cedric, for instance.
Trying to summon some random bloke he'd never met was a long shot. But it was a shot Harry felt he should take. Returning to the site of the man's death would increase the odds of his success. Or at least, that was what Harry was hoping for. Albus had told him that the stone did not actually bring souls back, merely impressions of the person, similar to magical portraits. But an impression could give him better information. Therefore, Harry figured he may as well make the attempt.
On the third turn, a smokey form came from the ring. Normally, this form solidified into a person, but in the present, it remained obscure. But it was not silent.
"Potter, you bastard."
"Hello. Mind if I ask your name?"
"I do."
Harry frowned. Belligerent, but the ring forced compliance to a certain degree.
"What is your name?"
"Artruis Belbey."
"Artruis, I wish I could say it was a pleasure meeting you, but you died before we could really speak much. Anyway, what did you tell Grindelwald?"
"I told him what everyone else in our timeline knows. Everything that we knew about Harry Potter. I told him of a dark lord whose power dwarfed his own. And I told him that it was my deepest desire to kill you before you could return to the present and harm the dark lord any further."
"Further? What do you mean?"
The smoke constricted suddenly before spreading back out. The movement looked unusual, and Harry wondered just how long the ring could maintain this vague connection.
"The dark lord burned with you, Potter. Her spell rebounded on herself, the both of you were set aflame. She was alive, but only because I intervene and put your body out."
"Was I dead?"
"I don't know, I was pulled through time before I could do anything else. All I know is my lord survived the flames after I doused them."
"You seem to think I can return to that time. Why would you think that?"
"I didn't realize that you planned on romancing the dark lord in this time. But she will see through you, Potter. The Dark Lord is too cunning. You won't keep her by your side forever. She will break free of you and destroy you. You will have no choice but to escape back to your own time eventually."
Harry ignored the man's boasting. He clearly had no idea about who the real Emily Riddle was. He only knew the Dark Lord, Voldemort. Therefore, his raving fanaticism could be ignored.
"What did your experience traveling through time feel like. Gellert said you didn't fare as well as I did."
The shroud shuddered again, and Harry knew the connection was fading. "My body was ravaged by the temporal magic. I dragged myself out of Hogwarts while you were focused on killing the young Dark Lord. Had I realized who she was at the time, I'd have tried to help, but she looks so different from her future appearance. I fled, found passage to France, but by that time, my death was upon me. The Vollstrecker found me and brought me to Grindelwald. He told me he would trade me time, a necessity to realize my ambitions, for information. I gladly told him what I knew."
"The silver mask he gave me was a powerful magical artifact said to have been worn by Jeanne d'Arc. The English apparently put the mask on her to cover her face before burning her at the stake. She was a muggle, but the mask was imbued with incredible power after her death. It was recovered by the French in the late sixteenth century. So long as it is being worn, the wearer is protected by a powerful force. Though it seems that even that force could not stop the killing curse. It did keep my broken and dying body alive once I put it on, however."
A powerful artifact but not magical. Harry would not be the type of person to claim to be knowledgeable of all the powerful forces in the world, but he'd never heard of something like this before. The mask could be dangerous.
"Does the mask have any other sort of enchantments, er, powers that you know of?"
"Many, though none were available to me. In my state, I could only access its final power. It was all the mask could do to keep me alive, such was the closeness of death to my door. The mask's power was immense and even Gellert Grindelwald was reluctant about letting me use it."
"Why did he not use it himself?" The smokey essence was beginning to fade and Harry feared that this may be his final question.
"Because the mask has a terrible price. One that Grindelwald was not willing to pay. While it may grant power unknown to its wearer, it devours their immortal soul. It's a painful existence, even I was horribly afflicted near my end after merely two months."
"Can it kill its wearer?" The essence was only a third of its original size and vanishing visibly.
"No, but it will weaken them over time, until the mask must be worn to stay alive. Then the wearer is reduced to a shell of themselves."
Harry was out of time, but he had many questions about the mask left. The impression of the man's soul was almost gone, and Harry realized that perhaps the mask's curse was devouring even this man's faux presence.
"Beware the mask, Potter. It consumes everyone who wears it, even the damned."
With those final words, the remnants of the dead man were gone. Frantically, Harry moved about the room, looking for the mask that had fallen from the man. He pondered if Gellert had taken the ornate silver decoration with him, but Harry remembered the thing lying on the floor as the dark wizard had left.
Exiting the room, Harry vanished it contents and canceled its charms, leaving it to resume its state as a tiny closet. But still there was no mask. Someone had to have taken it, and it wasn't Harry or Grindelwald.
With a sinking feeling, Harry remembered Emily's face from the night before. And the dark magic that he could feel in the room.
No. Please tell me she didn't use that damned mask to make a horcrux.
Running through the house, Harry started banging on the bathroom door, but received no answer. Perhaps the shower was too loud. Opening the door, Harry shouted.
"Emily, where is it? The mask? Where did you put it?"
There was still no answer from behind the shower curtain and Harry felt dread welling up in his chest. Opening the curtain, he saw Emily's nude body collapsed down on the ceramic tub. Well, almost nude. Because, hiding her delicate face, now sat a silver, rose adorned mask.
Cursing, Harry knew that this was all part of Grindelwald's plans. Because this was something Harry couldn't deal with on his own. He'd have to return to Britain now. And he would have to go to Albus immediately. All of it was simply a part of the dark wizard's plans to have Harry's existence slowly break down his preordained fate.
"That bastard." Clothing Emily as quickly as he could, Harry packed a trunk of all their essentials. Coming back to France was not going to happen in the future. Grindelwald could certainly not be trusted to any degree.
Shrinking the trunk and placing it inside a pocket of his robes, Harry, as gently as he could, hoisted Emily's limp body on his back. This was most certainly not a safe method of travel in regard to apparition. But hopefully with that mask on her face, Emily was unlikely to be injured. With a turn and a quick pop, Harry made the long-distance apparition in one go. It took everything he had, but he knew he could at least make it to their destination. Albus could take over at that point.
Upon his arrival, Harry found himself sinking to his knees. He fought valiantly against the dark circles going in and out of his vision. He couldn't succumb just yet. Shaking his head gently, Harry made an attempt to pick himself up, but with Emily's added weight, he found himself stuck. Out of magic and out of energy in general, Harry wondered if he was about to collapse on the street with a young girl on his back.
"Welcome to Godric's Hollow, Emily." And with those softly muttered words, Harry's world went black.
