Hey everyone... I'm back with the 2nd of the two-parter, Chapter 99!
This is a special chapter for this is the last of the set of chapters set in the "future". This has been an interesting journey writing scenes set in the future, involving our favourite characters. But everything has to come to an end, and this is it for this one...
As for the chapter itself, there will be scenes set in the past, present and future, you will know which is which quite clearly.
Enjoy the ride!
{Present}
"What is he doing?" asked Bellatrix, confused.
"He wishes to be alone, Bella," replied Snape as he walked past her.
Voldemort was sitting on his chair, deep in thought. He had just ordered everyone to leave him alone.
As he closed his eyes, he began to see something, something he had replayed in his head many times before.
{Future}
Lily made sure everything was as it was, leaving no trace behind that she had found Ron's body buried in their garden. Before burying Ron's tomb back where she had found it, Lily made sure to capture everything about Ron, the way he looked, the bruises he sported, the attire he wore, etc. And most importantly, she also found his wand, a different-looking wand than she had seen before in her life, a little longer and it felt different in her hand. Second-guessing herself, Lily took out the wand and kept it to herself.
The following few days, Lily looked and behaved erratically. She could not do anything without panicking about what she had found. Every time John or Jane went to the garden, her heart would beat faster and her body would go cold. Every time the twins came near her or initiated a conversation with her, she would worry that they had found out the truth.
For the initial couple of weeks, Lily battled with herself, wondering if she should tell the twins the truth, that she had found their father, the man who had disappeared all those years ago.
But, what would she tell them? How would she explain how she came across the body?
And then there was the slight uneasiness she felt whenever her brain considered the possibility that Ron's body being buried there might not be a coincidence after all.
What if someone close to Ron was responsible for his death? What if Ron didn't travel through time, but was killed and buried in his own house? How did no one find Ron's body before her? Surely somebody would have thought of it...
As the days went by, Lily became a lot calmer, the fear of being found out reduced and she managed to convince herself to let the truth be. She wouldn't be doing John or Jane any favours by telling them that she had found their father's dead body.
And as she became a lot more calmer, her mind diverted itself back to what she had wanted to do all these years, to go back to her time.
"You just need to do the same thing your predecessor did"
"Find him... and you will know"
The words of the witch in Rameswaram rang in her head.
"I have found him... But, I don't know what to do," wondered Lily. There wasn't anything more she could know about Ron and what he did, how he went back in time if he did, from his body that she had found buried. If anything, she was shocked that his body seemed well preserved.
As days went by, Lily went back to the state of knowing very little about the journey she was on, the journey towards re-discovering time travel.
It was late in the evening when Jane walked into the house, looking a little giddy.
"Hey," remarked John, though he didn't look up at her. Jane quietly sat down beside him. After a moment, John looked up and stared at her curiously. "What's up with you?" he asked.
"I... I cannot... speak..." whispered Jane as she smiled uncontrollably.
"What's got you in this mood?" asked John, laughing. "You have been looking nothing but terrible for the past couple of weeks, ever since your boss was sacked," he added.
"You... are not going to believe... what happened today," began Jane excitedly as she turned to completely face John. "You know how they have been looking for someone to replace Thistlewood Jr..." she continued and stared at John with enthusiastic eyes.
"I don't..." sighed John and came to a jolted halt. "Oh my God! No," he gasped, shocked. "Are you serious?" he asked, smiling wide.
"Yes... yes..." retorted Jane, grinning as she threw herself at John, hugging him. "I got offered the position today..." she remarked.
"I can't believe it... I'm so happy for you," exclaimed John. "You are the Head of the Auror division of the Ministry of Magic?" he retorted, shocked.
"I haven't accepted it yet... but, yes, I am," she replied, beaming.
Hearing the noise coming from the hall, Lily walked in. "What happened?" she asked, smiling.
"You are looking at the new Head of the Auror division of the Ministry of Magic," replied John, proudly.
"What?" gasped Lily. "Congratulations, Jane," wished Lily as she hugged her.
"Thanks, Lily... I can't believe it myself," replied Jane hugging her back.
"I'm so happy for you," beamed Lily. "So, you now directly report to the head of magical law enforcement?" she asked.
"Yes... and he reports directly to Aunt Hermione," replied Jane.
"Wow," gasped Lily.
As the twins started celebrating, Lily's eyes caught sight of them. The happiness in their eyes brought a smile to her face. As she stared at them for a while, her mind took her someplace else. A place she had buried a long time back. With the truth of travelling through time right in her gasp, she found it harder to keep the place buried within her mind. It was her memories from the night Voldemort killed her husband. And in those memories, she saw 2 faces, faces she recognized very well. It was like her mind was trying to shove it down her throat.
Lily went back to her room shortly thereafter. After some time, she walked down to the basement, with her diary. The moment she reached, she sat down on the floor and opened her diary.
"Jane got promoted today, I'm so happy for her," she wrote. "I knew it from the beginning. She is special and she deserves all the good things happening to her," she finished.
After a while, she continued writing. "I got reminded of that night again. I had been suppressing those memories for a while. But today, as I watched John and Jane celebrate, I got reminded of that night," wrote Lily. "The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that the 2 people that had confronted me on that night... that wanted my son... were John and Jane," she continued. "I remember their dress. They were dressed differently. Different to that time, not very different to where I find myself now," she finished.
"Maybe they figure out how to travel through time and decide to save James and Harry from You-know-who," wondered Lily. It's the only explanation that made sense to her.
After a while, as she got tired and sleepy, Lily decided to leave the basement and go back to her room. Her last thoughts were on Ron's diary, which still lay empty beside her. As her eyes fell back to her own diary, she wondered, "I wonder who I'd allow to read my Vanishing Cabinet," she thought. "No one," she answered herself. "James... he might be the only one allowed to read this," she thought. "But I'll never hear the end of it... some of the things I've written here," she chuckled to herself.
Just at that moment, the pages of Ron's diary riffled and some writing appeared on it. The sound of the pages turning caught Lily's attention and the only thing she could do was to stare at it, stunned.
Just at that moment, she realised what had happened. As she looked at her hands, she saw what she was holding, a wand. Not her wand, but Ron's wand.
"Revelio," she muttered, holding Ron's wand as she pointed it at his diary. The writing in the diary grew brighter. "What?" gasped, Lily, shocked. "How is this possible? Why did it not work earlier?" she wondered. But she was too excited to worry about the powers of the wand she held.
As Lily flicked through the pages of the diary, her eyes grew wider and wider, and everything about Ron became clearer and clearer.
{Present}
He was all alone in the mansion. Every single one of his lackeys had disappeared the moment he had raised his voice a little bit.
The truth was, that Voldemort wanted to be alone. He wanted to ruminate, once again, the events of that night that changed everything. He still remembered that evening and the days that led to it. It had all started a year and a half before the night that changed everything.
It was a cold rainy night when one of his newer death eaters, Severus Snape came running to him.
"My Lord, I need to speak with you," remarked Snape.
"Speak your mind freely, Severus," retorted Voldemort as eyes pierced through Snape.
"A prophecy has been made, My Lord... involving you," began Snape and recited exactly what he had overheard.
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born as the seventh month dies... He will have power the Dark Lord knows not... Trapped with him in an unendless cycle, the Dark Lord will mark him his equal... Everything will be lost... Neither can live while the other survives... And it will begin once again... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches..."
Voldemort got up from his seat furiously. "I am Lord Voldemort... No one has the power to defeat me, alive or to be born," he exclaimed, loudly. "I task you to find out whose child this is and bring them to me, Severus," he remarked.
Snape bowed down to him immediately and walked away. In a few months, Snape had found out the other participant of the prophecy. It was between the Longbottom's kid and the Potter's kid. While he had attempted to switch sides by then, he was still bound to the Dark Lord.
"Severus... which vice of yours shall I punish? The incompetence or the betrayal?" asked Voldemort, in a whispery voice that sent chills down Snape's spine.
"My Lord, I know whose child has been prophecised to stand against you," replied Snape, kneeling.
"You have chosen betrayal then," retorted Voldemort. "Why would you put your trust in Dumbledore, Severus? Have all of us not been nice to you?" he added, sniggering. "Or are you really consumed by your sentiments towards the mudblood?" he exclaimed.
"I'll do anything, My Lord... Please don't hurt Lily... You can kill the baby, the arrogant father, but please don't hurt Lily," begged Snape.
{Future}
Lily stayed up all night reading Ron's diary. It looked like Ron had started recording himself in the diary from the moment John had given it to him. And like herself, Ron had recorded a lot of moments from his life, all leading up to the moment he had travelled back in time. A great chunk of his writing was spent developing a way to travel through time. It was a fascinating read for Lily knew that the journey of invention Ron went through ended with him being successful. Lily was elated to discover the secret to travelling through time.
However, the most fascinating part about the diary wasn't the step-by-step instruction, but the frame of mind Ron had shared while developing it. He had written in great length about John, Jane, Daisy, Harry and many more motivations to sacrifice his entire life to travel through time.
It was hence fitting, that at the end of the diary, most likely written days or maybe even hours before he disappeared, Ron had mentioned Daisy as the only one who could read his diary. He had seemingly put a charm on the diary, on top of what John had already placed. It made it even more bizarre now, that Lily had simply used a "Revealing Charm" on the diary using Ron's wand and it had revealed its secrets to her.
As the night came to a close, Lily had only one thought in her mind. She had to get ready to face Voldemort once again in her life and she would be off to her time.
It took Lily a few days to collect herself and in that time, she battled with herself wondering how she should go about travelling back in time. The problem wasn't replicating the steps Ron had noted down. It was a question of whether she should tell anyone about it. While Lily was comfortable with not telling Remus or Sirius, she felt bad about the possibility of not telling John and Jane about it.
The twins had been with her through thick and thin over the past 5 years, she was still living under their shed. She felt terrible leaving them in the dark. On the other hand, telling them would mean she'd have to explain how she came to know of time travel, Ron's wand and diary.
Finally, she decided that she couldn't do this to John or Jane, she had to tell them that she was leaving them soon, that she was going back to her time. And for a cover story, she turned her attention towards the "hidden secret of the magical world". Lily and John had spent months tracking down and travelling to 7 different places in the world in search of the lost secret, hoping it'd shed light on how to travel through time. Unfortunately, the pieces of evidence and scripts they found were written in a language they couldn't understand. In the end, when Lily and John made their way to Rameswaram for the last piece of the puzzle, the old witch there had refused to tell Lily the secret. Only after much convincing, the witch agreed to help Lily uncover the secret.
Now, the key to uncovering the secret was Lily's hope to create a cover story for her discovery of time travel. After returning home, Lily had kept the secret hunt aside. Now that she had discovered a way to travel through time, the curiosity of the secret captured her once again.
The witch in Rameswaram had given Lily 2 specific things to work with to uncover the secret. One, a page which seemed to have been written in the same language as every other piece of text they had found in the other 6 places. And secondly, the witch had muttered something under her breath and had proceeded to use her wand on Lily. While Lily hadn't felt anything in that moment, the witch had assured her that it'd help her with uncovering the secret.
One evening, Lily went to the basement, with everything she had on the secret, including the page the witch had given her. As Lily sat down on the floor, she glanced at the page and began scanning it with her eyes.
"How could there be texts, manuscripts, paintings and writings on walls created with a language that has never existed in this world?" she wondered. The witch's words replayed in her head.
Lily tried reading the contents of the page, but just like all this time, she couldn't understand head or tail. As she continued scanning the page for a couple of minutes, something fascinating happened. Out of nowhere, Lily saw the alphabets written on the page turn into English, and suddenly the words started to make sense.
Excited, Lily began reading the page, trying to understand what was written.
"Reader, as you stand on the precipice of revelation, know that the danger lies not in the words themselves, but in the transformative power they wield. The unravelling of your reality awaits, a choice that echoes through the corridors of eternity. Choose wisely, for the path beyond this page is both the journey and the destination. And remember, the truth you seek may be the very thing that shatters the illusion you hold dear."
Lily stared at the page, intrigued and read ahead. There remained one final statement at the bottom of the page, inked differently.
"In the dance of illusions, where the fabric of perception weaves a tapestry of deceptive truths, dare you entertain the notion that your world is but a fragile mirage?"
Confused, Lily kept the page aside and picked up one of the pieces of text she had collected in her travels. Like the page, it seemed to translate itself to her the moment she started reading it.
"Behold the masquerade of reality, where the tangible dissolves into the intangible. The tapestry you cling to is but a puppetry of shadows, dancing to the tune of cosmic deception."
Lily took out another piece of text.
"As you traverse the precipice of awareness, be mindful of the fragility of your convictions. The echoes of reality may distort into dissonant whispers, and the ground beneath your certainties may shift like sand in the cosmic wind."
Aghast, Lily picked up one final piece of text.
"For those who pierce the veil may find themselves ensnared in the paradoxical dance of existence, where the boundaries between sanity and madness blur like ink upon parchment."
Lily's head started to hurt. She had just stumbled into something she didn't fully understand. The words inked in the pages seemed to carry weight that she wasn't ready to bore. This was definitely a bad idea and Lily decided to switch off her brain. She decided to make up something when retelling the twins how she discovered time travel.
Lily went back to her room and slept almost immediately. The following morning, when she woke up, everything from the previous night seemed like a dream, but one that she couldn't forget. She was still in a daze when she walked into the hall.
"Hey, Lily, good morning," greeted Jane.
"Lills, what do you want for breakfast? I'm going to have to leave early today," asked John.
However, Lily didn't respond to either of them. Instead, she sat down on the sofa, while her mind was in a different world.
"Lily," called Jane, curiously. "Wake up, sleepyhead," she chuckled. At that moment, Lily shook her head and stared at the twins.
"Did you say something?" she asked inducing even more chuckles in Jane.
"Bad night, huh?" remarked John.
"Yeah... you could say that," replied Lily.
"Everything alright? You've been a bit dull recently," remarked Jane.
Lily was about to shake her head and shrug it off when her thoughts came to a halt. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to break the news.
After a dramatic silence for a few seconds, Lily spoke up. "Actually," she began and stopped. "I don't know how to say this..." she continued after a few seconds. John and Jane stared at her curiously. "Something happened a few days back," continued Lily. "I don't know how it happened... I'm still trying to understand it all..." she added, intriguing the twins even more. "And I have been having a hard time," she said and gave a pause.
"Oh my God, Lily... will you spill the beans already?" retorted Jane, impatiently.
"I know how to go back to James and Harry... to my time," exclaimed Lily and stared at the twins. The moment the words came out of her mouth, Jane's jaw dropped while John dropped the cup he was holding.
"What? How... what do you mean?" asked John, shocked.
"I think the witch in India did something to me, I mean, she gave me the secret indirectly," replied Lily. "The other night, I was in the basement... I was writing," began Lily after a pause as John and Jane had their fixed on her. "I was wondering how I came here, to this time... trying to remember what happened that night," she added. "And suddenly, it felt like a voice in my head, telling me what I wanted to know," she finished.
The twins stared at each other, confused.
"So, is there a spell?" asked Jane.
"I don't understand... how are you going to travel back?" asked John.
"No, it's not one single spell," replied Lily. "I don't know how to explain it... It's a sequence of steps I have to follow, there are different incantations..." she added. After a pause, she continued, "I know that I can do it... I know that this is it, I can feel it," she remarked.
{Present}
Voldemort continued ruminating in his memories.
Voldemort hated every bit of Dumbledore. If not for him, he could have achieved everything he wanted so much more easily.
Voldemort wanted power. Growing up, he had power over every muggle around him. They couldn't imagine doing the things he could. When he joined Hogwarts, his drive to be powerful, to be superior made him outshine everyone around him. Accolades chased him everywhere he went, with everything he did. Right when he was about to take the leap into gaining power, he found a barrier in front of him, Dumbledore. He had nowhere to go and he loved Hogwarts. So, when Tom Riddle applied for the post of the Defense Against the Dark Arts, he desperately wanted it. Headmaster Dippet rejected him for he was way too young. But Voldemort knew the real reason. He was rejected by Dippet, on the suggestions of Professor Dumbledore. And every time Voldemort applied, post his first rejection, he got rejected. But Voldemort had reasons to thank Dumbledore. If not for him, he wouldn't have dreamt bigger, he wouldn't have had the burning desire to conquer the world around him.
Voldemort had built something big for himself and all of it was about to come crashing down thanks to an unborn child.
The moment Voldemort found out about the Longbottom and the Potter family, he instructed everyone under him to go after both families. But Dumbledore and the band of wizards around him weren't any less. They protected the two families with everything they had. In fact, Voldemort came close to killing Alice Longbottom twice and Lily Potter once.
And then the day arrived. News reached Voldemort's ears that the Longbottom's kid, Neville Longbottom was born and a day later, Potter's kid, Harry Potter was born. Neville was born on 30th July while Harry was born on 31st July. And Voldemort knew who he had to go after.
From the moment Harry was born, he was marked by Voldemort. The Potter family went into a more severe hiding. And as for Voldemort, he was getting more and more impatient.
"Where are they hiding, Severus?" asked Voldemort, in a thunderous voice.
"Only a handful of people know where Lily, Harry and James are hiding, My Lord," replied Snape, trembling. "I suspect they have used the Fidelius charm," he added.
"Fidelius charm," grunted Voldemort angrily. After a moment's pause, "You know the Potters better than most, Severus... Tell me, who do you think is their secret keeper?" he asked.
Voldemort studied Snape's face. There was a hint of tremble, convincing him that Snape knew about the secret keeper. It was just a question of where Snape's loyalties lie.
"Peter Pettigrew would know," replied Snape after a moment. He very well knew that either Sirius or Remus would be the secret keepers, but in an attempt to protect Lily and appease the Dark Lord at the same time, he decided to throw Pettigrew under the bus.
"Peter Pettigrew," chuckled Voldemort. "Bring him to me," he added.
A few months went by, but eventually, Voldemort got his hands on Pettigrew. From the moment he saw him, he knew he could play him like a fiddle. It only took Voldemort a short while to break Pettigrew and when he did, he had the joyous moment of realising that Pettigrew was the secret keeper.
{Future}
John came home from work late in the evening. The moment he walked in, his eyes fell on Lily, sitting at the dinner table.
"Hey," greeted Lily.
"Hey," greeted back John in response. After a few moments, he sat down opposite her. "Jane isn't home yet?" he asked.
Lily shook her head in response. After a few seconds, Lily glanced at John and found him staring at her. "What happened?" she asked.
John smiled in response. "You..." he replied. "You dropped a bombshell in the morning," he added.
A couple of minutes of silence lasted between the pair.
"You knew that this is what I wanted... that this day was coming sooner or later," remarked Lily, sombrely.
"I did, I still do," chuckled John in reply. "I didn't realise that you had already figured it all out," he replied.
Lily stared at him but had nothing to say in response.
After a few seconds, John continued. "What's the plan?" he asked.
"Plan?" retorted Lily.
"Yes, what is going to happen now?" asked John.
Lily sighed in response. After a moment, she spoke up, "I'm planning on leaving in a few days," she replied. "And I hope I make it to my time fine," she added. "And then, I'll have to take on You-know-who, protect James and Harry," she finished.
John was about to comment that Lily didn't really seem to have a plan when a sudden thought occurred to him.
"Hold on..." he remarked, confused. "You are not actually thinking of going back to your time on your own, are you?" he asked, shocked.
Lily stared at John, perplexed. "I'm not following you," she replied.
"I'm coming with you, to your time," remarked John, like it was the most obvious statement in the world. "And what about Uncle Sirius, Uncle Remus, Aunt Hermione? Have you told them that you've figured out how to go back in time? They'd want to help you as well," he added, confused.
"No," retorted Lily, instantly. "They cannot know about any of this, I cannot risk it," she added.
"Risk what?" asked John. "Not taking their help is a risk," he added.
"John, please... You cannot tell them anything. I don't trust them," pleaded Lily.
John stared at her, confused by her response. "I don't get it... Why don't you trust them? I remember, long back, when my friend, Elvin informed me about the gravitational anomaly, you stopped us from telling anyone about it," remarked John. "But, I thought that eventually, we'll tell them what we've been up to," he added.
"John..." whispered Lily, almost in tears. "Please..." she added.
John sat opposite her, taken aback. Silence lasted between the pair for a few minutes.
"Fine," sighed John. "But you cannot go back in time alone. I'm coming with," he remarked.
This is exactly what Lily was dreading. She had her hands on her face. "John, you cannot come with me. It's way too dangerous. And this is my fight, you don't need to tag along," she sighed in response.
"Yes, it is way too dangerous. You are going back in time, do you understand that? It's crazy when you think about it. No one has ever done it. We have no idea what will happen, whether it is even possible, and even if we make it back in time, we don't know what we'll be faced with," replied John, strongly. "And that is exactly why you can't do this alone, Lily," he remarked. "This may have been your fight. But you have been here, with us for 5 years now... I have been with you on this journey all this way. Don't push me away at the last moment," he finished.
"Don't ruin your life for me. You were leading a perfect life here before I arrived. Let this be the end of it. Don't make me do this, John," pleaded Lily, but to no avail.
Lily tried and tried, but she couldn't convince John to let her travel her path alone. She had half a mind to do it anyway, to leave the twins behind.
John was adamant that he wanted to go back in time with Lily. It was well over midnight and he lay on the sofa in the hall, wondering the implications of what can and might happen.
He was deep in thought. There were so many elements to this that caused a sleepless night.
Firstly, there was the Voldemort factor. He had grown up listening to stories of the terror Voldemort caused and how he was defeated. Going back in time to save James and Harry involved facing the most powerful dark wizard of all time. And John was certain that he and Lily alone, along with potential help from James and the "Lily of that time" would not be able to defeat Voldemort.
And then there was the time travel element. The very fact that if they were successful in going back in time, it would cause 2 instances of Lily Potter to be present seemed like an incomprehensible occurrence.
"What would happen if they were 2 Lily Potters? Would the Lily Potter of that time disappear? Or would the Lily with him fail to exist in that time?"
The different time travel books he had read, movies and shows he had watched appeared in front of his mind. Somehow, he knew the reality would be very different to anything he could imagine.
He was also contemplating the possibilities involving himself.
"What would happen to me? Lily at least belongs to that time, I don't... Would I be able to exist in a time that occurred before my existence?" wondered John.
As thoughts swirled around in his head, he heard the sound of footsteps and turned around.
"I figured you might be up," sighed Jane as she walked over to him.
"Hey, what are you doing up? I thought you were done for the night," remarked John, surprised.
"I couldn't get any sleep... I was feeling extremely restless," sighed Jane in response as she sat down beside him.
Jane lay her head on top of his shoulder as he continued fighting an internal conflict.
After a few minutes, Jane spoke up. "What are you thinking about?" she asked in a low and whispery tone.
"The potential consequences of going back in time," replied John.
"Whatever they might be... Lily has to face it," remarked Jane. "She has no choice," she added. John remained silent in response. "Did you tell her that you wanted her to stay?" asked Jane. Without waiting for a reply, she continued immediately. "I'm not blaming you, John, for feeling the way you are... but you had to have known that this was bound to happen. I mean, you actively helped Lily get here," she added glancing at him, as she sat up straight.
"I did the opposite," sighed John in response and it was his turn to lay his head on her shoulder, as she started playing with his hair.
After a moment, John continued. "I don't want her to go back to her time. Apart from my selfish reasons, travelling through time is a crazy idea. None of us have any idea what can happen," he remarked. "But, of course, I will never confess this to her. If I can't stop her from going back, the only thing I can do... is to accompany her, to fight the fight alongside her," he added.
Jane sat quietly for a few seconds. "What did she have to say to that?" she asked.
"Lily outright refused... but I think I might have convinced her," sighed John in response.
"So, why are you worrying about the consequences?" asked Jane.
John had a confused expression on his face. He sat up straight and glanced at her. "Should I not worry about the consequences?" he asked.
"How does it matter? We are in unknown territory here, right? So, we can't be sure of anything we do. What's the point of losing sleep then?" remarked Jane.
"And here I thought you were here to change my mind," chuckled John.
The twins sat there in silence for a few more minutes before John spoke up.
"I..." began John but stopped himself.
"What?" retorted Jane.
"Nothing," retorted back John. "I mean, it's not something I want to ask in the middle of the night," he clarified.
"Don't be childish... What can you not ask me now?" asked Jane, surprised.
After contemplating his words, John replied, "I want you to come with me," he said. "I know that I'm asking the biggest favour anyone can ask, and I wouldn't take it personally if you choose not to," he added quickly.
"You don't even have to ask me, John... Of course, I'll accompany you, dummy," replied Jane instantly. "I won't let you do something of this magnitude all alone," she added, smiling.
"I can see what you're doing here," chuckled John. "But take this very seriously, please," he added. "Don't say yes to me just because you feel obligated to. Sleep over this decision," he suggested.
"There's nothing to think about, John. You go, I go, it's that simple," replied Jane.
"This is exactly why I didn't want to ask you right now. Both of us are tired and are in no position to make such decisions. Think it over, please," retorted John.
But Jane had nothing to rethink or reconsider, she was steadfast in her decision and she reiterated the same to John the following evening.
So, it was settled. Both John and Jane were going to accompany Lily while she attempted to go back to her time. In the days that followed, the three of them spent hours and hours planning everything to the tee. How they were going was settled, but When would they go? What they were going to do? And every other ifs and buts were discussed and finalised.
And the day arrived.
It was a nice evening. Lily, John and Jane gathered everything they wanted, double-checked their plans and assembled in the garden.
"Lills... we are good to go," remarked John as Jane nodded along with him.
With a heart beating at a million beats per second, Lily walked a few feet ahead of the twins and came to a halt. After a huge sigh, she took out Ron's wand, careful to not let the twins see it.
She had memorised every single word written in Ron's diary, especially the part which detailed how to travel through time.
As her body shivered, Lily pointed the wand in front of her and began muttering under her breath. John and Jane watched her with bated breath as she proceeded ritualistically. She waved her wand around a couple of times and slashed it in front of her a few times.
And then suddenly, she came to a halt. Lily turned around and held out her arm. The twins confidently held on to her and watched Lily turn back. After a moment, Lily quickly twirled her wand and then it happened.
For just an instant, it seemed like everything was still and almost immediately, all of them felt like they were being pulled apart along with a sharp piercing pain in their ears. Almost immediately the feeling of being pulled apart turned to one where they felt a heavy compression similar to what a wet cloth being squeezed dry might feel.
One moment, they were home... the next, they landed on the cold hard street surrounded by darkness. Lily, John and Jane landed on their backside, like falling off a broomstick flying a few feet up from the ground.
The moment they landed, all three got back up to their feet. For the first few seconds, all of them felt extremely disoriented, their heads were spinning, they couldn't see anything beyond a few feet and they were nauseated. John, however, was the first to seemingly recover from the side effects of travelling back in time.
"Here... hold on to me," he instructed and held out his arms. Jane and Lily took the support they got instantly. "Breathe in... and breathe out... Calm yourselves... and breathe," exclaimed John. "Jane, closing your eyes won't help. Look at me, both of you, concentrate on my face," he added after a moment.
It took both of them a couple of minutes to get back to some semblance of normalcy.
"All good?" asked John after a minute, as he glanced at Jane and Lily back and forth. Lily nodded in response and Jane followed suit.
"Damn," sighed John as he fell to his knees. "Have we made it?" he asked.
All three of them looked around, they were definitely not where they had started. It was dark all around, there were very few buildings around. The air seemed to stand still, and there was a slight chill in the environment.
"We are here," remarked Lily, a strange sensation brewing inside her. "Welcome to Godric's Hollow," she added.
John started laughing instantly and Jane joined in after a second.
"I don't believe it," gasped John, happily.
Just at that moment, the expression on Jane's face turned. "John..." she called out, almost whispering. "Something's wrong," she added staring at the house in front of them.
"Are you able to see the house?" asked Lily, shivering a little.
"Yes," replied Jane.
"Oh no," sighed John, nodding at Lily. "The Fidelius charm is already broken," he remarked, remorsefully.
The three of them had arrived at Godric's Hollow, on the 31st of October, 1981, exactly as planned.
"We only have a few minutes," exclaimed Lily and the three of them moved along instantly.
{Past}
Voldemort apparated just outside Godric's Hollow village. A grin appeared on his face the moment his eyes fell on the house the Potters lived in.
The very next instant, he pointed his wand at the house and a jet of white light escaped his wand. The curse hit the roof of the house, blowing it apart into smithereens. Laughing maniacally, he strode forward.
…
"He's here," yelled James at the top of his voice. "Keep Harry close, I'm going to buy you two some time," he added as he hastily moved out of the house.
"James... don't go," exclaimed younger Lily as she took baby Harry into her arms.
"Call for help, Lills... I need to buy us time," remarked James and without waiting another second, he stormed out of the house.
…
"He's here," exclaimed older Lily, glancing at the twins. All three of their attentions were grabbed by the sound of the roof being blown into pieces.
"Come on," exclaimed Jane as she grabbed John's hand. The twins made their way towards the house, from the other side of the street while Lily made her way towards Voldemort.
And right at that moment, her eyes fell on someone she had been longing to meet for all these years.
James came running from the house towards Voldemort. As Lily watched in horror, Voldemort hit James with a curse. James had his shield up instantly.
Lily sprinted at the pair of wizards duelling each other. She pointed her wand at Voldemort red sparks flew out of it.
Voldemort's eyes seemed to have spotted someone running towards him and the moment Lily hit him with a stunner, he waved his wand at her. Lily came to an abrupt halt and fell face-first onto the ground. James' attention seemed to have diverted towards the older Lily as well.
"Lily... what are you doing here?" remarked James, shocked.
Right at that instant, a jet of green light escaped Voldemort's wand and hit James straight in the chest.
As Voldemort's maniacal laughter resumed, older Lily watched James' life sucked out of him as he fell to the ground lifeless.
…
"Come on," squealed Jane as the twins sprinted towards the house. The sounds of the duels happening just a few feet away from them echoed around. The twins dashed inside the house and made their way up the staircase.
Right when John stepped foot on the topmost step, a stunner made its way towards him. Jane, alert as she was, blocked it instantly.
"Lily," exclaimed John.
"Lily," exclaimed Jane as the twins glanced at the younger Lily. Unbeknownst to what was happening in her surroundings, Lily fired a barrage of stunners at the twins, which they blocked readily.
"Don't come near me," exclaimed Lily, angrily, as a stream of tears poured down her. She was holding Harry on one arm, while she had her wand pointed at the twins.
"We don't have time... come on, we need to leave," retorted John, hastily as he put down his wand and tried to walk towards her.
But Lily was having none of that and fired another set of stunners at her intruders. Jane, who had her wand up shielded herself and John from all of them. Slowly and steadily, the twins made their way closer and closer to younger Lily.
Right at that moment, the room was suddenly filled with the painful screams of a young woman. John and Jane stared at each other while younger Lily seemed unmoved. She had the look of a woman who had accepted her fate.
"Go," yelled Jane at John and turned her glance back at younger Lily.
…
Last time, older Lily didn't have to watch her husband die. She didn't even know truly if he had died or not, she had only assumed their fate. But, this time, after all these years, to revisit her past and fail to save her husband destroyed her. Suddenly, everything seemed to have come to a standstill. Even Voldemort's loud and triumphant laughter seemed faint in her ears. And uncontrollably, a loud scream full of pain and anguish escaped her mouth.
Voldemort, caring very little about what the woman lying a few feet away from him was doing or feeling turned towards the house. His main mission of the evening was yet to be complete. Killing James Potter, the man who had defied him many times in the past couple of years was just the wrapper on the gift Voldemort planned on gifting himself. Baby Harry Potter, the apparent threat to him, was inside, waiting to die at his hands.
However, just as Voldemort turned his back on older Lily, he felt a spell hit him in the back and he got pushed forward a little.
"Ugh," sighed Voldemort and turned around to face his assailant.
Older Lily stared at him, her face redder than her hair. Voldemort grinned as he saw her face.
"Are you going to stop me from killing your son, mudblood?" he sniggered.
Angrily, Lily lashed out her wand at him, dealing a barrage of blows at him. Frustratingly, everything she threw at him, Voldemort faced them face first, with a cunning laughter on his face.
Lily's attacks at Voldemort only lasted a few seconds before he turned the tables. Enjoying himself, he toyed with her, stretching her limits of endurance and skill to the extreme. Lily defied him defiantly, defending herself with equal intensity.
Voldemort had Lily at the brim of being depleted when he heard footsteps behind him. Almost instantly, something hit him from behind and he got pushed forward.
John arrived from upstairs and brought with him the backup older Lily needed at that moment. Lily took in a few deep breaths in whatever small break she had gotten.
Voldemort turned around to face John, a look of disgust on his face. John began a sequence of attacks targeted at Voldemort as he moved closer to Lily. Soon, Lily was up on her feet and the pair took on the Dark Lord.
John's arrival into the field angered Voldemort immensely and it only made things worse for them. Soon, he started to flex his magical muscles, breathing literal fire from his wand, conjuring snake-like creatures and such.
In one such sequence of duelling, Voldemort slashed his wand at the pair of them, causing a gash on John's torso and also managing to throw Lily's wand out of her hand. John yelped in pain instantly.
…
"We are not with Voldemort... We are here to save you and Harry," said Jane, cautiously as she had her wand pointed at younger Lily.
The 2 women watched each other carefully, wondering what the other was thinking and planning on doing next.
"Leave... apparate out of here... go somewhere safe," exclaimed Jane, impatiently. But Lily didn't seem like listening.
The sounds of John and older Lily duelling Voldemort reached their ears. Every time they got hit, every grunt or shriek raised panic inside Jane.
She was losing every bit of patience she had inside her and was about to make a definitive move on younger Lily when her counterpart did something unthinkable.
Lily moved her wand away from Jane and instead, pointed it at the window behind her. The window shattered instantly and Lily, holding baby Harry, jumped out of the window.
"Lily," shrieked Jane, shocked as she ran towards the window and dove out of it. Lily, had managed to land Harry onto the ground safely, but in the process got hurt herself, a small price paid to save her son, she thought. Jane landed on the grassy ground in a much safer fashion.
Right at that moment, the anguish-filled scream of John, wincing in pain, reached their ears.
…
John fell to his knees, wincing in pain. The sudden loss of her wand left older Lily a bit dazed. Voldemort had his triumphant laughter back on his face and he was about to raise his wand and finish the two of them off when he felt yet another blow to his back, this one more potent than any before.
Jane sprinted towards her brother and older Lily and slashed her wand at Voldemort. Instantly, Voldemort felt a piercing pain in his back.
Voldemort turned around, angry and wounded and a jet of green light escaped his wand and made its way towards Jane. However, she seemed ready for it and instantly, a rubble of rocks lying nearby transfigured into a statue and felt the brunt of the killing curse.
It was Jane's turn and every time she fired a curse at Voldemort, she put everything she had into it, inducing him to take defensive actions immediately. Jane's attacks felt much more potent than he had initially anticipated.
Older Lily who had been taking a few deep breaths watching the action between Jane and Voldemort unfold realised that she had another wand with her, Ron's wand. Instantly, she pulled out her wand and hit Voldemort with a stunner.
Something had changed, the air around them seemed to have shifted in their favour.
The moment older Lily hit him with the stunner, Voldemort felt his whole body go rigid for a moment. Lily stared at him and then at the wand she was holding. For the first time that night, her attack on Voldemort seemed to have caused a meaningful impact.
Taking the opportunity, Jane fired a barrage of stunners at Voldemort, keeping him down on the ground.
"Go to Harry," exclaimed older Lily, glancing at John.
…
Hurting from his injury, he had just managed to get back to his feet. The moment he heard Lily's voice, he began jogging and made his way towards younger Lily.
Younger Lily was lying on the ground, John wasn't sure if she was conscious or not. But, baby Harry lay beside her, completely unharmed, smiling even. Instantly, John took Lily's wand, lying beside her and the following moment, he picked up Harry and made his way inside the house.
Second-guessing himself, he left Harry on the sofa and came back out for younger Lily. The moment he came near her, she seemed to regain consciousness. Younger Lily woke up and looked around for Harry, but he was nowhere to be found.
"Harry," exclaimed younger Lily, desperately. "Harry," she sobbed and looked around.
…
With every hit he took from Jane and older Lily's wands, he felt pain surging through him. But the anger he felt was so much more vicious.
He took a moment to focus and the very next, he swung his empty hand at Lily. An invisible force, like a gust of wind, hit Lily from the side and she got swatted away to hit the wall. Voldemort got up angrily and lashed out with his arms at Jane. Like older Lily, Jane felt an invisible force hit her right on her ribs and she fell to the other side, with a thud. That was the moment Jane realised how severely she had underestimated Voldemort.
Voldemort pointed his wand at Jane and instantly, she found herself levitating. Voldemort slashed his wand and Jane flew from one side of him to the other and hit the wall, right beside where older Lily lay.
Jane whimpered in pain and right at that moment, John scampered towards them.
Fearing for their lives, John yelled, "Leave them alone!" and pointed his wand at Voldemort. However, before he could do anything, Voldemort slashed his wand at him and he felt the same force and landed right beside where Jane lay.
Voldemort howled angrily and turned his attention towards a seemingly clueless and disoriented younger Lily. The moment his eyes fell on her, he felt something inside him, a thought that didn't make any sense.
However, dismissing everything, he stormed ahead.
…
Older Lily watched everything she had dreamt of, all these years, crumble right in front of her. At the same time, fragments of memories flashed in front of her. Summoning every little bit of energy and will she had left, older Lily got up and sprinted at Voldemort.
Jane and John watched her go after him and summoned everything they had in them and got up to their feet, battered, bruised and on the verge of breaking apart.
Older Lily pointed the wand she held, Ron's wand at Voldemort and fired yet another stunner at him. However, unlike the previous times, this one didn't seem to affect Voldemort much.
It was like a sudden realisation hit her. Something told her that she was fighting a lost battle. In a swift motion, she did the only thing that came to her head. She had tried and failed to save James. The least she could do was save her younger self and enable her to correct her failures.
As Voldemort stormed at younger Lily, anger brimming inside him, something happened that made him jerk to a halt.
As he watched, right in front of his eyes, younger Lily disappeared, her disappearance followed within milliseconds by a booming cracking sound.
Jane and John came running after older Lily. However, the moment they heard the cracking sound, they came to a halt.
"Lily," exclaimed John, dazed, and operating on adrenaline.
…
It all happened within a second.
Outraged and bewildered by the disappearance of younger Lily, Voldemort turned his attention towards older Lily and slashed his wand at her.
As the twins came to a halt, consumed with anger, Jane yelled, "You are going to pay for this", pointed her wand at Voldemort and cried out, "Procidat...".
But before she could finish her incantation, another booming cracking sound engulfed the environment.
Older Lily, now, had the wand pointed at John and Jane, the two people she cared for the most, besides James and Harry.
As Voldemort's curse tore through older Lily's body, he watched John and Jane disappear right in front of him. He stood dumbfounded by the disappearance of younger Lily and the Weasley twins.
Right at that moment, older Lily wailed, "No!", a mixture of the pain caused by the lacerations and the blunder she had just committed, in her voice.
…
The last few minutes, from the moment he had arrived outside Godric's Hollow, till now, seemed like a daze. Even a man of his stature seemed rattled by everything that had happened.
However, Voldemort's mission wasn't finished. He had come here to end the prophecy before it could even take shape.
Voldemort finally took his steps towards Harry Potter.
{Present}
Voldemort paced around, replaying his memories inside his head, memories from the wretched night that poured cold icy water on his dreams, that caused him excruciating pain.
He remembered every single moment from that night like it had happened the previous day. He remembered walking into the house, leaving the bleeding mudblood behind. As he entered the house, his eyes immediately fell on the baby he had been after for months.
As he pointed his wand at the baby, he heard footsteps behind him. Footsteps of a mother who wasn't going to give up till her last breath.
The last thing Voldemort remembered was the sound of her footsteps. The moment he heard her footsteps, he cried, "Avada Kedavra," his wand pointing towards the baby. He remembered feeling a searing pain surge through his body, ripping apart every cell.
Voldemort visibly shivered every so slightly at the thought of the pain.
It was some kind of ancient magic, something he did not recognize. His spell had backfired on him. Lily had somehow tricked him, instead of his curse hitting Harry Potter, it backfired on him and at Lily. Lily collapsed right then and there. If not for the Horcruxes Voldemort had created, his state would have been the same.
Voldemort paced the room as many questions from that night remained unanswered. But, there was a puzzle in front of him and he had all the pieces to solve it.
The moment he returned to Hogwarts, formless and without a body a few years back, when Harry was in his first year, his eyes fell on a young boy, a young boy who looked eerily similar to the man he had fought all those years back, at Godric's Hollow, something clicked inside him.
The moment Voldemort laid his eyes on Jane, the Hogwarts professor who had been charged with opening the Chamber of Secrets, he saw a witch looking exactly the same as she did a decade earlier. And the pieces started to arrange themselves.
Every time he replayed that wretched night inside his head, the moment his eyes fell on 2 sets of Lily Potter, right in front of him, he realised that there was a game being played around him that he had to understand and break if he had to get what he wanted.
And right at that moment, Voldemort wanted nothing more than to find Jane and kill her. Harry Potter was no longer his primary focus.
{Future}
It was the 2nd time that day that someone had inquired Hermione, the Minister of Magic, about the absence of John and Jane. It had never happened before that neither of the twins showed up to work, without informing anyone about it.
That evening, Hermione grew a little worried for it had been 3 days since anyone had last seen John or Jane in the Ministry. She decided to call and check in with them. As it turned out, neither of them picked up her call, again, something that rarely ever happened.
So, Hermione decided to pay them a visit.
The moment Hermione reached their house, her eyes fell on the open door. Intrigued, she walked in. However, the moment Hermione stepped inside the house, she felt a strange sensation and took out her wand instantly.
"Jane," she called out. "John," she called out after a moment. But there was no response. "Lily, are you home?" called out Hermione, but once again, no response.
As her heart started to beat faster, Hermione twirled her wand around muttering, "Revelio".
Instantly, she realised someone hiding in the adjacent room.
"Come out, whoever you are... You will not get another warning," exclaimed Hermione, loudly, pointing her wand in the same direction.
There was a pin-drop silence for a few seconds.
"I can see you hiding," exclaimed Hermione.
After a few more seconds of silence, came a voice in reply. "There are a lot of people who know where I'm. If anything happens to me, you will be in trouble," said the voice, of a man, a little trembling.
"Who are you? What are you doing in this house?" retorted Hermione, angrily.
"I could ask you the same," replied the man. His voice seemed to indicate that he was much older than the twins, possibly as old as Hermione was.
"I own this house, you are trespassing," exclaimed Hermione. And just as she replied, she waved her wand and the wall separating the two of them crumbled into a pile of dirt.
"What the..." shrieked the man as he ran to take cover. "You are lying, this house belongs to my friend," shuddered the man after a moment. "If you don't leave, I'll call the authorities," he added.
"Your friend?" muttered Hermione, under her breath. "Who are you? Are you John's friend?" asked Hermione, confused. "Don't lie to me... You are better off not lying to me. Otherwise, there'll be serious consequences," she added.
"Who are you?" exclaimed the man after a moment's silence. "How do you know John?" he added.
"I'm related to him..." replied Hermione. "Enough of this chitchat... Come out of your hiding, or I'll have to take you to the Ministry of Magic for further questioning," she exclaimed.
After a few seconds of silence, the man came out, with his hands in the air. "Don't hurt me," he remarked, looking worried and guilty.
Instantly, a curse shot through Hermione's wand and bound his hands.
"What?" gasped the man, shocked. Hermione walked over to him, with her wand pointed at him.
"Who are you? What is your name? What are you doing in this house? And where are John and Jane Weasley?" asked Hermione, threateningly.
The man stared at Hermione for a few seconds. "My name is Elvin Oswald," replied the man.
"You are a muggle?" asked Hermione.
"I can't perform magic if that's what you are asking," replied Elvin. "I came here looking for John, he hasn't been picking up my calls for the last few days," he added. "Who are you?" he asked, after a moment.
"I am Hermione Granger, Minister of Magic," replied Hermione.
"Minister?" retorted Elvin, stunned. "You are the Minister?" he asked. "I know about you, John's told me about you," he added, sounding a little more relieved.
"What were you doing inside the house?" asked Hermione.
Elvin Oswald went silent for a few seconds. And then he replied, "I shouldn't have let myself inside the house. But I only did it because I was worried," he said. "I have been trying to get in touch with John for the past few days. I came by this house yesterday and the day before, but no one answered," he added.
"So, you decided to break in?" retorted Hermione, angrily.
"I... uh... no... I mean, I... am sorry... I shouldn't have, but I had something really important to tell him," replied Elvin.
"What did you have to tell him?" retorted Hermione, instantly.
"I... uh... am not sure..." mumbled Elvin.
"You either tell me, or I'm charging you with breaking and entering, I have the confession I need. Good luck getting out of prison," exclaimed Hermione.
"What? No, please don't do that," begged Elvin. "It happened a few months back," began Elvin. "John had asked me to check some old readings I had, to look for any kind of an anomaly. I'm an astrophysicist," remarked Elvin and gave a pause, seemingly contemplating his next words. "And a few months back, I did find something strange, a gravitational anomaly," he continued. "I told John about it and he asked me to keep looking, to find out if it had ever happened before," he finished.
Hermione nodded at him. "Continue," she remarked.
"I wanted to tell John that it happened again and that I had found one other instance of it happening," said Elvin.
"What kind of an anomaly was this? And when all have you observed it?" asked Hermione.
"27th June, 2022... This was the first one I found. This is something I had never seen before. Basically, for just a few milliseconds, the recorded gravitational force was much, much higher than recorded history," replied Elvin. Hermione stared at him, and he continued. "Okay... Imagine it like this... If any object were to be placed in that gravitational field, it'd rip the object apart, doesn't matter what that object is. The hardest substance on Earth would have gotten crushed and disintegrated under so much force," he explained.
Hermione started to think about something when Elvin continued. "So, 27th June 2022 was the first one I ever found. A couple of days back, I found out that it had happened a couple of years prior, on 1st March 2020," he remarked. "And before I could tell John about it, I recorded the anomaly occurring live, just a few days back, on 2nd August 2027, at 5:32 PM," he added.
After giving a pause, Elvin continued speaking, but Hermione's mind was on something else. The dates, they reminded Hermione of something.
"... fascinating since the same anomaly was observed in 7 other places. Apart from here, it was in France, Egypt, Brazil, China, Cambodia, Malaysia and India," finished Elvin and stared at Hermione.
After a moment, Hermione spoke up. "What... what date did you say again?" she asked, her voice a little croaked.
"1st March 2020... or are you asking about the first one? 27th June 2022," replied Elvin.
Hermione turned her back on him and closed her eyes. "1st March... that was the day Ron disappeared," she thought to herself. "27th June 2022 was the day Lily arrived here," she wondered. And just then, Elvin's last phrase struck here.
"Did you say that you recorded it again a few days back?" asked Hermione, turning back around.
"Yes," replied Elvin.
"These are the only 3 instances you have found till now?" asked Hermione.
"I am working on getting more data. Do you know how difficult it is to get recorded data from decades back?" retorted Elvin, annoyed.
"Find out more... and let me know," remarked Hermione. "And don't open your mouth to anyone about this... Understood?" she added.
"Why? Where is John?" asked Elvin.
"I don't know where he is, Mr Oswald. But I assure you, if God forbid, John and Jane are missing, you don't want to be a part of the investigation. Leave this house now and never come back. Keep your research to yourself, bury it if you want. If you are going to keep digging, then keep me posted, got it?" replied Hermione as she waved her wand at him. The very instant, the bind on Elvin's hands disappeared.
"They are missing? What... what happened to them?" asked Elvin.
"I'm afraid, I can't comment on it," replied Hermione. Deep down, Hermione had realised what had happened. Even after all these years of knowing the truth, she remained oblivious to parts of it. And something told her, that John and Jane, along with Lily, had travelled back in time, to weave their future into the fabric of time.
There are so many things going through my mind right now, so many questions, so many things I want to know from my readers. Please do leave your thoughts about the chapter and the story till now. A long time back, I remember people intrigued and excited to have Lily in this story, hope you have enjoyed the ride.
PS - The next chapter is in the works. Stay tuned, Ciao!