Chapter 47 - The Department of Mysteries
(A/N - Two follow-ups from the last chapter. First, a few people wanted to know what happened to Snape because of my comment that this time around, Harry didn't have "Snape to antagonize him." What I meant was that this time around, Harry didn't have to take Occlumency lessons because he could remember them from last time. Sorry if that wasn't clear.
Second, some reviewers wondered why Grawp was so much better with English this time around. Well, as I explained in a few replies, I was thinking that with no Dolores around to upset Hagrid, he would have more time to spend with his "Grawpy"…and that would lead to quicker progress towards the nicer Grawp JKR has mentioned will be in HBP. "By the next book, Grawp is a little bit more controllable. I think you got a clue to that at the end of Phoenix, because Grawp was starting to speak and to be a little bit more amenable to human contact." - J K Rowling at the Edinburgh Book Festival 15 Aug 2004.
Please remember this is an alternate timeline, so some of Tom Riddle's thinking may be a little OOC from what you expect.)
"WORMTAIL! Why is it that you are never around when I need you?
"S…sorry, master…I was…"
"What have I told you about your pitiful excuses? Never mind, I will deal with that later. Now, could you go over once again what Rookwood said about removing the prophecy? I think I may have discovered a way to obtain it, finally, WITHOUT Harry Potter's help."
"Let me see…here's the notes from that meeting, master….hmmm…here it is! Rookwood's exact words are, "The only people who are permitted to retrieve a prophecy from the Department of Mysteries are those about whom it was made."
"That is what I remembered, too…well, as I suspected, there is only one solution left since we have been unsuccessful at luring Mr. Potter to the Department. I would have preferred to have him do the retrieving for me, but it appears that I will have to recover the prophecy myself. I am one of the people included in the engraving, so I can do so safely."
"But, my Lord - what about all the Aurors? What about all the people at the ministry who seek your destruction?"
"Do you HONESTLY think that I cannot take care of a few measly Aurors and Ministry personnel? Remember, I am the greatest wizard of the age! Yes, it will be more difficult and risky this way, but I have no choice. Now, hold out your arm - I need to summon my supporters!"
*****
"Are you sure, Poppy? Nothing more can be done?"
"Yes…after reviewing the data I obtained from my last check, there is no doubt in my mind, sir. You must act soon - preferably today, or else it may be too late. We knew all along this was likely to happen. The potions and spells we have been using these last few weeks have become less and less effective."
"Does she know?"
"Of course…she's the one that asked me to verify her diagnosis based on her observations. Quite the clever witch, that one…"
****
"Harry…Hermione…Harmony…it is time." Albus Dumbledore said as he addressed the younger group of visitors in his office. Minerva's face went ashen and she gasped as she heard his words, but then she nodded sadly, as did Madam Pomfrey.
"Time? Time for what, sir?" Harry asked with a puzzled look on his face.
Harmony, who, Harry finally noticed, wasn't looking her normal self, was the first to speak. "Harry…look at what day it is…Remember what happened last time? It's Thursday, you know…at the end of term."
Harry's eyes grew wide as he remembered that fateful day in the original timeline. "Tonight is the night that…Sirius died…and Hermione was nearly killed. Well, obviously that's not going to happen this time, is it? I mean, we all know what the prophecy says, so there's no reason to recover it this time…and it's perfectly safe. Now all we have to do is stay away from the Ministry tonight and tomorrow, and nothing bad will happen to any of us! Doesn't seem too hard, now does it?"
"Actually, Mr. Potter, I have brought you all here to transport you to the Department this very hour."
"WHAT?" Harry shouted in amazement. "Begging your pardon, sir, but that has GOT to be the wildest idea I've heard around here. The further away from London I am tonight, the better…that's what I think! Why would we even consider going today, when we know what happened last time?"
And then, he heard something he wasn't expecting…from someone he didn't expect. "Because I am dying, Harry…"
"Dying? Harmony…what do you mean? You can't be dying! I don't believe you!" Harry said firmly, but immediately he could feel inside that he was being told the truth…especially when he remembered a conversation from the beginning of fifth year.
Harmony grinned, and turned to Madam Pomfrey. "How about it, Poppy - you explained it quite well to me last year, do you care to give it another go?"
"Certainly, my dear!" the healer replied happily. "First, a bit of background on the nature of time. Time can be considered to be like a large piece of flexible steel. Meddling of the nature we are talking about can bend that steel out of its natural shape. If the bending force is removed quickly, the steel will tend to restore itself to the way it was. Since we talked last, Harmony, Albus and I have had a few interesting discussions on what must have happened, and we have come up with the following sequence of events. When first, Harry, then Hermione came back in time as Harmony; this created a time loop - an alternate reality, if you will, from the original time line. And, before you ask, Miss Granger, don't even start trying to analyze the implications of that statement - that way lies madness. We have to go on the assumption that the time loop that was originally created with Harry's forced travel IS the same one that Harmony came into, and her intervention during first year to save your life was the key to disrupting Tom Riddle's original plan. (Harry was surprised to notice that Poppy had no problem referring to Voldemort by his "Muggle" name.) As far as we can tell, Hermione's death at the hands of a troll during the first year of the time loop was the key reason that Harry turned completely dark. We can only assume without her influence, he was easily seduced by Tom's supporters and joined forces with him, possibly as early as his second year when he met a fully restored Riddle in the Chamber of Secrets after the death of Ginny Weasley. Her death, along with Miss Granger's the year before, would have most certainly resulted in Albus's dismissal as Headmaster,, the closing of Hogwarts, and eventually the deaths of many wizards and witches, both Muggle-born and pureblood alike. From Harmony's report of what her neighborhood was like at the time she left, apparently within 3 years the battle had spread to the Muggle world.
"Well, that's all interesting theory and background," Harry said impatiently, "but what does that have to do with the solution to the 'two Hermione' problem?"
Poppy grinned knowingly. "Well, the thing is, Harry, Hermione…the problem you describe doesn't exist, now does it? And, if you think about it, you have already seen how this will work out. Remember, you've both experienced this already."
Anyone looking at Hermione could almost hear the gears turning in her head as she contemplated this surprising statement. Then, slowly, a grin came across her face…"Of course…third year, when we went back to rescue Buckbeak and Sirius. Remember, Harry, when we time-turned, we SAW ourselves…there was, effectively, TWO of each of us for that time…well, of you, anyway. There was actually THREE of me whenever I used the time turner that year, weren't there? Wow…that's confusing, even for me."
Minerva smiled and said, "I have found over the years that perhaps a picture would help…" as she waved her wand, causing a blackboard and chalk to appear. Using her wand expertly, Minerva used the chalk to sketched out a series of loops and parallel lines representing the events of the evening of 9 June during their third year, showing how both Harry and Hermione appeared to be two people to an outside observer, but were actually the same person at different points in their life-continuum. "Do you follow that, Hermione?"
"Yes, Professor, that makes sense."
"Well, then, just think of this drawing representing many years instead of a few hours and you get the general picture of how both you AND Harmony are really only one person…albeit with a LOT of extra hours under your belt. Of course, this can have some long-range health effects on the person involved, especially if there is a soul-bond involved, but we can worry about that when the time comes.
"Now, let's talk about Harry," she continued. "The difference with him is that the time reverser chamber that sent him here adds a different aspect to time travel. As some of you may remember from the hummingbird display in the Department of Mysteries it actually regresses the subject's physical body back to an earlier point in the continuum without creating another one of him. Normally, this would result in Harry retaining his memories. Bellatrix was supposed to compensate for this by using a mind-wipe (one that was more powerful even than the one Harmony used on Lockhart a few years ago) before she sent Harry back to start the time-loop with the chamber's time-turner capabilities. However, from Harmony's testimony, it appears that she was unable to keep from using multiple Cruciatus Curses on Harry. (He nodded wryly as he, too, remembered the pain from those spells.) To make a long story short, this is why Harry has been having memory flashes these many years - the mind-wipe never took full effect. So, the result of all of this," she said quickly as she realized Harry's eyes were starting to glaze over, "is that we have only one Hermione Granger here now - the two of you only differ by where you are at on your life continuum," she said as she pointed to the chart, "and a time-regressed Harry with a lot of extra memories resulting from two 'trips' through his time at Hogwarts. Another fact you may pick up from this, related to your concerns about your relationship with Hermione, is that there really is no problem. When you were… well, snogging Miss Puckle just now, you were in all actuality just kissing Hermione - at a different part of her life. Of course, I realize it is not that simple when it comes to everyone's emotions, but…"
"Once again, this is all fascinating, I'm sure," Harry cut her off as he rolled his eyes, "but what are we to DO about it? Sorry, but I still see TWO Hermione's in front of me. While I realize that I should probably just keep my mouth shut and thank my lucky stars when I consider the possibilities," he said with a sly wink as he pretended to duck the glares coming from two sets of perfectly matched brown eyes, "I would only like there to be one version of Hermione Granger's physical form with me, back in the original timeline Is this possible?"
Poppy took up the lecture at this point. "Well, of course it is…do you think that a situation like this has never happened before? Healers have had to deal with this paradox for as long as wizard-kind has known about the time-reverser effect and the time-turner effect. That's why I was able to explain it to you so well. Although I must admit, this is the longest, most complicated time-loop I've ever heard of. Unfortunately, the solution that exists is of no use to you at present. The 'three' of you need to wait until nearer the subjective time when this all started to attempt to restore things the way you desire. At the proper time and place, Albus will let you know exactly what you need to do and where you need to go. Listen to him then, and just trust us, all of you. It will work out for the best…you'll see.
"Are you sure about that, Poppy?" Harry said, scratching his head after Pomfrey finished her explanation. "I'd ask you to run that by me one more time, but I doubt that it would do much good."
"You…you're dying?" Harry couldn't believe what Harmony had just said. "Why? Is there anything I can do about it?"
"Sadly to say, Harry - and please don't take this badly, but you are at least partially the cause of it." Poppy said. "Harmony, you could repeat to him what we discussed when I first examined you in Hogsmeade at the beginning of his fourth year."
"Yes, that's best…Harry, here's the problem in a nutshell." And then she showed him her memories from the examination. <It's simple…you're still deeply in love with Harry Potter, and since you can't do anything about it, it's literally tearing you apart.>
"But…but we HAVE done something about it…at Christmas, remember?" Hermione said tearfully. "That's one of the reasons I gave Harmony the present I did- I've read about soul-bonds, of course, as soon as I found out they existed, and I knew that if they are interfered with, it can cause great harm to everyone involved. I figured out that Harmony has been deliberately suppressing the bond for many years now - with a few notable exceptions, so I knew she needed some time alone with Harry."
Albus smiled kindly at Hermione. "And, my dear, that is the main reason why we didn't have this conversation much earlier in the year. Don't fret, Hermione - your sacrifice that night did nothing but help Harmony's situation."
Poppy interrupted, "But, even with all that we have done, we have finally reached the limits of what can be done for her. The three of you need to travel with the Headmaster to the Department of Mysteries. As I said earlier, he'll tell you what to do when you get there."
"But, for us to get there," Albus said as he rose from his chair, "we will first have to leave here. Harmony and Harry, normally I would suggest that we take the thestrals as you did last time you made this journey, but with Miss Puckle's rapidly deteriorating condition, I would prefer that we use a portkey." He held up a large parchment scroll which was labeled "Ministry of Magic" as he said, "Here, everyone grab on to a corner. This will take us directly to the Ministry's street entrance."
***
As they descended to the Atrium, Harry's memories of a previous trip to the Ministry started to play in his mind. This was even truer when they stopped moving and the door to the telephone box opened up. "Headmaster…why is there no one on duty today? Shouldn't a guard be present at the security desk, at least? As someone once said, I'm getting a bad feeling about this…"
"You are correct, Harry. There should always be a guard on duty. So, I recommend we follow Alastair's motto - Constant Vigilance! Wands out, then…and be ready for anything. Harmony, are you still with us? Do you need to rest a moment?"
"No, sir…I'll be fine for now…but it is best if we keep moving." She slumped tiredly between Hermione and Harry who were now taking on most of her weight as they walked.
It didn't take them too long to travel to the lift, which they rode down to the 9th floor and the Department of Mysteries. As they started to walk down the poorly-lit, bare corridor towards a plain black door, they heard a snake-like voice that would forever be part of Harry's nightmares.
"Well, well…Mr. Potter…and Albus, too…with a few friends of yours for good measure! What a pleasant surprise! And I thought I was going to have to do this all myself. Lucius, Bellatrix, Antonin, surely between the three of you, you can take care of the two mudbloods…I'll handle the headmaster myself…and then we'll take Mr. Potter down to the prophecy room. I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't already know the way!"
"Not this time, Tom Riddle!" Harry yelled as he dragged Harmony back up the corridor and behind a desk while Albus protected Hermione as she found shelter by the lift. Almost immediately, the room was soon filled with bright flashes of color as the two sides began to exchange spells in the narrow space.
"Watch out, Harmony!" Hermione yelled from across the way as a bright purple spell flew close by her ear. "That was close…I've never seen a curse like that before."
<Be grateful for small favors, Hermione…the last time I got hit by that spell, I was very lucky to come out alive.> Harmony said through the bond. <Harry, I have an idea…can you see where Dolohov is? He must have seen me just now! I just wish I could distract…>
Harry interrupted, <Hermione, you're next to Dumbledore, right? Could you ask him if he has any ideas as to how we're going to get out of here?>
<Hang on…I'll ask> There was a long pause, and then <Yes, Harry, he does…but for it to work, we all need to be together. You're going to have to figure out some way to get Harmony over to us, and then he says we will be able to continue our journey to the Time Room. Harmony, do you think you can make it across the hall?>
<No time like the present to find out!> But, with Harry's "NO!" sounding loudly in her ears, she was hit squarely in the chest by three different purple- hued spells as soon as she stood up. At the sight of her older form being cut down, Hermione shrieked, revealing her location. Immediately, she was hit by a single, powerful curse. Harry grabbed Harmony's robes instinctively and dragged her towards Albus's location while casting a series of shield charms that he had learned during his DADA training that year. When he got there, he saw the Headmaster perform an intricate wand movement, and a shimmering shield formed in the passageway, effectively blocking off the Death Eater team from further attacks. As he stopped to catch his breath from the effort of dragging his charms professor, he saw the headmaster kneeling over Hermione's limp form.
After determining that Hermione still had a weak but steady pulse even though she was unconscious, he next knelt by Harmony's nearly lifeless body and could barely detect a random beat every now and then. Then Harry heard Albus say in a quiet, sad voice, "Harry…we must take Harmony and Hermione to the time room while the shield charms I placed on the hallway continue to hold. Quickly now!" Albus said, as he headed towards the black door after casting a levitation charm on Miss Puckle while Harry did the same for Hermione.
As they traveled through the circular room towards the Time Room, (Albus, of course, knew which of the twelve doors to take already) Harry's rage boiled over. "WHY? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT THIS COULD HAPPEN? WHY ARE BOTH HARMONY AND HERMIONE DYING? IT NEVER HAPPENED THIS WAY LAST TIME!
Dumbledore opened the door to the time room and answered quietly, "Harry, please calm down…my ears are quite functional, thank you. I hope you don't mind, but I prefer we complete some pressing tasks first, and then there will be time to answer your questions after this process is finished. As they maneuvered the two young women into the room and Dumbledore sealed the door behind them with a wave of his hand, he continued to speak. "Please, Harry, do what I ask right now without question and I promise you things will work out in the end. See that rope over there? You need to start pulling on it as fast as you can." As Harry automatically reached toward his pocket, Albus held up his hand. "No, don't use your wand, Harry - this is a time chamber and sometimes simple wand spells by less-experienced wizards can cause ripples in time that cause unforeseen consequences. This is a very sensitive procedure with little variance allowed." Harry grabbed the rope (which, he saw, was attached to a complicated lifting mechanism with numerous pulleys) and started pulling, slowly at first, but with increasing speed as he warmed to the task. He saw a large granite lid, engraved with unfamiliar runes and other symbols, starting to rise from the marble slab in the center of the room. <Hmmm…I don't remember seeing that in here last time I was here. Maybe it only appears when it is needed.>
Albus continued to give instructions. "Very good, Harry - just a little bit more…good. Tie it off there and help me get our subjects situated on the device."
As he levitated first Harmony, then Hermione on to the slab, their bodies aligned as close as possible with Harry's assistance, Albus could sense Harry's unvoiced query. "Patience, Harry…in a moment, either we will have all the time in the world to talk, or else it won't matter much what we say. First, I'll take their wands and put them in this compartment - if this works out, in a few minutes there should only be one of them. Now, I need you to release the rope and lower the lid back down…quickly, but carefully. If the device were to be damaged now, all would be lost."
As the lid settled into a tight groove in the otherwise smooth top, Harry noticed a series of brass latches that were obviously meant to secure the …well, sarcophagus was the only word that came to mind. "Headmaster, I assume I need to seal these?"
"Yes, that's correct…but be ready - when the last one is engaged, the joining process will start immediately. Here, I'll work on this side and the foot of the lid, and you can do the other side and the head."
As Harry bent to his task, he came face to face with a rune he did recognize…because he saw it every time he looked in a mirror. "Sir…why is my curse-scar engraved here?"
"Harry, didn't Hermione ever tell you anything about what your scar-rune represents? I'm sure she recognized it soon after she started taking Ancient Runes." Albus said with a smile while he continued to work.
"No…I didn't even realize it was a rune, to be honest. I just thought it was a lightning bolt."
"Harry, your so-called lightning bolt is a representation of the ancient rune called Sôwilô, or sometimes Sigel. It symbolizes the sun's energy as well as life's energy and, in turn, health. Speaking about health, it denotes that healing is most certainly on the way. This rune, furthermore, stands for great power and success, especially if you are involved in a very demanding project. Unfortunately, some of Grindelwald's more vicious associates also used this rune as their unit insignia during the 1930's and 40's, but that is no longer important. It also has something to do with success in relationships…never mind. Are you almost done, Harry? Good…don't latch the last one until I have left the room and you have covered your eyes with your free arm. I have a feeling you'd rather have some privacy in the next few minutes, one way or the other. I promise - I will be waiting right outside. See you in a while, Harry…" he said quietly as he exited the chamber. As he started to close the door behind him, he said, "Now, Harry! Engage that final latch!"
As a dazzling flash of light slowly dissipated in the time room, Harry blinked rapidly until he could once again see his surroundings. Cautiously, not quite sure what he was about to see, he quickly went around the lid and unfastened the latches on the device. As he started to lift the massive lid once more, in his mind he heard the voice that he feared he would never hear again, saying those words she had used before. < Took you long enough, Potter…>
He almost released the rope in relief at that wonderful presence in his head, but caught it before the lid had dropped. "Hang on, Harmony…I'll get you out in a second.
There was a pause, then Hermione's lecture mode voice came out, sounding a bit exasperated. "Harmony? Er…Harry, why did you call me that? Weren't you paying attention to Madam Pomfrey's lecture? Harmony's not here any more…well, she is…I suppose…because she's me! Well, anyway…we're back together…and we're alive!"
By this time, the cover had lifted far enough that he could begin to see her form. "Erm…'Mione? Why am I seeing so much…skin?" he said nervously as he stopped pulling on the rope.
"Well, silly - you really didn't expect us to be able to rejoin through our clothes, did you? I suppose this device takes care of that as part of the process and removes any non-human material from the conversion chamber, including all of my clothes. Wouldn't want to have my jumper or Harmony's knickers permanently attached to my body, now would you? Besides, if I remember right, you've already seen this much of me - remember, in the infirmary at Hogwarts fourth year? Like I said then, it really doesn't bother me under the circumstances." As she felt Harry's reaction to that memory, she apologized quickly. "Sorry, didn't mean to embarrass you. Where's my wand? Do you see something around that I can transfigure into a robe for now?"
Harry looked around and was relieved to find a regular bathrobe hanging off of a nearby hook. "Here you go; Hermione…looks like someone already thought about this very thing. Besides, the headmaster told me not to use magic here, anyway." He passed the robe in to her, and as their hands touched briefly, a wonderful, joyous feeling surged in his chest.
"Thanks for the robe…and yes, I can see where magic might act strangely in here." Hermione said. There was a pause and the sounds of movement coming from under the lid, and then she continued "Okay, Harry! I'm decent. Now can you PLEASE get me out of here? I've got something I just have to do."
Harry started pulling on the rope rapidly until there was barely enough clearance for his girlfriend to scoot out from under the lid and over to the edge of the large marble slab. "Help me down, Harry!" Hermione said impatiently, holding out her arms.
"Yes, ma'am!" Harry quickly placed his hands on her waist as she put her hands on his shoulders. As he swung her to the ground, he said, worriedly, "Are you sure you're okay? You were nearly dead, you know. Do you want me to call Albus in here? Or, he can call Madam…"
His next words were cut off by her index finger placed gently on his lips. "Oh, just shut up and kiss me, Harry!"
(A/N - if you want an idea of what Minerva's sketch of the timeline looked like, go to HP-Lexicon.org, click on the POA book cover, and then the visual timeline of the time travel episode. This graphic, by the way, was one of the things that got the plot bunny started in my head. I just thought <What if the Harry/Hermione loop covered more time than just a few hours?>
Also, I borrowed Albus's description of the Sôwilô rune from the website at http://imlive.com/qa/cm/Mysticism/runes__sowilo_videochat__sowilo_advice.html.
Anyway, there's a few more chapters to go to see the final outcome of all this. And, I hope that you weren't TOO disappointed by the resolution. Some may think I cheated by using the old deus ex machina solution, but hey, it worked for the Greeks!)