Harry Potter fidgeted with his robe as Minister Shacklebolt talked to the enormous crowd gathered in Diagon Alley. Although he knew the outcome of what was to happen in the next couple of hours, Harry was still nervous in anticipation. His speech had been well advertised throughout the Wizarding world via radios and word by mouth. As a result, scores and scores of people had gathered in Diagon Alley to see the return of the Boy-Who-Lived. Harry was sure that it was enough to attract the attention of Riddle. With any luck, Riddle would have the fortitude to mount a full-scale attack and Harry could end it sooner rather than later.
Ron had already informed him that there were at least two suspected Death Eaters trying to hide themselves within the crowd. With a multitude of undercover Aurors interspersed within the masses, they were in excellent position to capture the Death Eaters should they need to. The battalion of Aurors under Harry's command were on standby should the situation escalate, but Harry knew that they would be of no use. Everyone but Hermione thought that this operation would be a lure and capture situation. None of them knew that it would be Harry that would be captured instead of an important Death Eater.
Toying with the hem of his robes once more, Harry found himself unable to keep Hermione out of his mind. Last night's impromptu revelation had finally released Harry from the invisible pressure that had been bearing on him. He could not deny that he always harbored the tiniest of feelings towards that bushy-haired girl. While his marriage with Ginny gave him a sufficient excuse to rid Hermione from his mind without feeling guilty, he could not fully dispel her. Her persistence had seemingly attached itself to his personality.
During his rather prolonged stay in the accelerated universe, Harry often thought about his former wife and his current best friends. Thinking back, Harry realized that he often listened and trusted Hermione's personality within him than anybody else's. Over time, Harry realized that he had stopped hearing Ginny's voice entirely. The imprint of Ginny's memory obviously left less of an impression than even Ron's memories. This realization caused so much guilt within Harry that he continued to deny any feelings towards Hermione even after he had returned.
Groaning, Harry sat down on a nearby chair and buried his head in his hands, "What am I doing?"
The revelation of the book had also relieved some of the pressure that had been sitting so insistently on Harry's chest. At the same time, though, it also brought into the forefront the rather sordid ending his life was supposed to have. To Harry, it had never been a question of whether or not he would actually sacrifice himself; he always would. The question burdening Harry was if the Traveler actually told the truth about the contents of the book.
For all Harry knew, the book was all an elaborate trap to deliver Harry into the hands of the now-young Tom Riddle. Bereft of any other information than that which was given to him by McGonagall, Harry had no choice but to trust the Traveler. There was no doubt the Traveler had immense power. That much had been revealed to Harry during his visit. It was just a matter of his true intentions. Harry had no choice but to trust the seemingly all-powerful being.
"Well, well, well, look who we have here," said a familiar voice from behind Harry. Turning around, Harry once again saw his doppelganger counterpart leaning against a wall. The slicked back hair and impressive sneer immediately revealed which personality this character was.
"Don't look too forlorn Potter, you're the one marching to your death," the doppelganger said with a yawn.
"I'm not forlorn," Harry muttered with an eye roll.
The sneering Harry chuckled at the eye roll and leaned his head out to look at the gathered crowd. He whistled in an impressed manner and gave exaggerated thumbs up. This action only served to induce another eye roll from Harry.
"Quite a crowd you've drawn to witness your rather exaggerated demise. I like a big ego," the doppelganger drawled as he paced in front of Harry.
"And here I thought I had gotten rid of you," said Harry while he furiously rubbed his head in an effort to rid of himself of his imaginary counterpart.
"Not yet you haven't!" exclaimed another voice from the shadows. Yet another doppelganger stepped from the shadows. This one had a much more positive flare about him and Harry instantly recognized him as the doppelganger he had dubbed James after his father.
"I would say it's nice to see you too James, but it really isn't," Harry still gave himself a rather wryly grin.
"You can't get rid of quite a handsome creature," James said with a wink.
"And I thought I had a big ego," drawled the other Harry who was currently filing his nails.
"Hey! Wait a minute!," Harry interrupted before James could retort, "I've never seen both of you at the same time!"
The sneering Harry and James glanced at each other incredulously while Harry bewilderedly stared back and forth at them. Sighing, the pompous Harry flipped his hair and addressed the real Harry.
"Look, Potter, it's not like there are any rules for your insanity. You made this situation up, not us," the doppelganger gestured between himself and the benevolent Harry.
"I'm not insane," Harry said.
"You're talking to two replicates of yourself who don't exist to anybody but you. It's a little insane Harry," James said as lightly as he could.
"Okay…fine," Harry relented, "Why did I bring both of you here then?"
"Well isn't it obvious numb skull? You're at a crossroads," said the Harry who was still filing his nails.
"I'm going to call you Dick, if that's alright with your highness," Harry sarcastically dubbed his doppelganger.
"You can call me Jane if you want too, doesn't really matter," said Dick unperturbed.
"You'd be Harry's friend Dick," said a snickering James. Both Harry and Dick looked at him with the utmost serious expression on their faces and at the same time said, "Really?"
"Well I thought it was funny," said a clearly amused James.
"Well it's not and can you just stop being other me's and tell me why I've summoned you both here!" Harry finally stood up and crossed his arms as he glared at the replicates.
"You've summoned us here you twat, you tell me," Dick replied in a bored tone.
"You just told me you're here because I'm at a crossroads!"
"I did?" Dick replied in genuine confusion.
"Yes!"
"Can't really recall it, can you?" Dick asked James. James shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.
"Arggggh!!!" Harry plopped back in his chair with a thunk and buried his head in his hands once again.
"This is hopeless," he muttered.
"Never been more correct," Dick said.
"It's not hopeless," James said.
As soon as they spoke, the puzzle seemed to click in Harry's head. It was as if his turbulent mind had finally come to a slow stop. While his head usually felt like there was a bludger constantly whizzing around within its confines, he found himself oddly settled as he looked up at the two doppelgangers.
"I get it. You," pointing at James, "represent my good side and you," pointing at Dick,"represent my bad side."
"Rather over simplified, but I guess that'll work for your immensely lacking intelligence," replied Dick.
"And I brought you here because I'm confused as of what to do," Harry continued.
"Pretty impressive logic if I do say so myself…which I do," James replied with a snarky grin on his face.
"Because last time I saw you," Harry pointed at Dick,"I tried to commit suicide."
"Which ended up being the solution to all your problems," Dick said.
"But it wasn't! It just so happened that time had finally caught up to me. You've been trying to kill me all this time!"
"Well I wouldn't say kill," Dick looked very offended, "It's just bloody depressing in your mind."
"Maybe that's true. But I probably shouldn't have listened to anything that said to kill myself," Harry pondered.
"I didn't want to say I told you so, but I did," James nodded, agreeing with himself.
"But you never told me so! But this whole time you were keeping me sane and alive. So I should listen to you! What should I do?" Harry continued like a runaway freight train as he gave a monologue to himself.
"Well," James made a show of rolling his shoulders and fluffing his shirt as he prepared his answer, "If it were up to me. I'd send Riddle straight back to the hell he created."
"You're right, that's what I should do," Harry said with a slightly maniacal grin on his face.
"Well, that's what I would do," James pointed both hands at himself.
"But you are me! So that's what I should do," Harry reasoned.
"Logical."
"Bollocks if you ask me. But fine, walk off into your glory of death," Dick mocked.
Looking up at his doppelgangers Harry said, "I think I will."
In the next blink of his eye, James and Dick were gone. Breathing hard from the rush of words that had come from his mouth, Harry sat back down, slightly dazed from realization.
"This is what I meant to do," Harry said to himself, "If I do this, Riddle's gone forever."
Outside, there was a loud uproar and a thunder of claps. The flooring was shaking from the thunder of feet and cries of the crowd. Harry dimly heard Shacklebolt announce his name. A loud clap in the sky indicated that fireworks had been fired up.
"Harry, are you ready?"
"Very much so."
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Hermione Granger buried her head in her hands as she hunched over a mess of books. Kneading her temples, she sighed as she scanned line after line of unhelpful material. Despite her best efforts, Hermione could not find the unique potion which contained the ingredients of the important tip that Ron had found in his Auror notes. At the very least, it might shed some light on Harry's sudden need to sacrifice himself yet again.
Hermione gulped as she tried her hardest to hold her emotions at bay. Refusing to acknowledge that Harry's sacrifice was the only option, Hermione had refused to attend his grand reveal. Harry had not so much as blinked when she told him that she refused to see him killed in front of her. He simply nodded, gave her a kiss, and walked off into the sunrise.
"That smarmy prick," Hermione muttered as she opened and closed yet another book.
"What am I missing?" she said aloud.
"Perhaps you're not looking in the right place?" a voice offered from behind her.
Whirling around Hermione was surprised and glad to see her old Transfiguration professor. Motioning for Headmistress McGonagall to come over, Hermione pulled out a seat and sat in the adjacent chair.
"I see that you haven't quite found what you're looking for," McGonagall gave the brunette a wry look.
"I've looked all over Headmistress. I just can't quite find anything that's useful to me!" Hermione threw her hands up in the air in mock desperation as she blew a strand of hair out from her face.
"What is it that you are looking for exactly?"
"Some sort of potion that combines all the ingredients we found that one day, remember?" Hermione held up the parchment of ingredients she had written down.
"Yes, yes I quite remember. I'm assuming that the potion is something that involves Harry?" McGonagall inquired.
"You could say that," Hermione thought of the book that foretold Harry's death and shivered.
"Hermione, I've known you and Harry for what it seems to be ages. War has a way of making time insensibly long. During this time, I've gotten to know when you and Harry seem to have a disagreement. I'll never forget the fight you two had when Sirius sent him his Firebolt. Am I correct to assume that you two are disagreeing about something right now?" McGonagall asked her former student with a raised eyebrow.
"I have to help Harry, Headmistress. If I don't do something right now…" Hermione trailed off.
"I thought he was just delivering a speech?" McGonagall looked confused.
"That's what everyone else thinks too."
"Hermione, I don't mean to intrude, but what is going on?"
Hermione recanted the story of their trip to the Traveler and the book that Harry received. Omitting the personal facets of last night's experience, Hermione did her best to explain what was to happen to Harry. With every word Hermione spoke, McGonagall continued to grow paler and paler.
"Are you sure that's what you saw?" McGonagall leaned forward with a grave expression on her face.
"Yes."
Headmistress McGonagall stood up with an agility that did not indicate her old age. Hermione stood up in simple reflex to the sudden movement and stared alarmed at her older companion.
"We must act with quick haste Miss Granger. Follow me," McGonagall swept out of the library without looking back.
"Headmistress! What's going on?" Hermione gathered her materials and raced after her surprisingly quick friend.
"Mr. Potter is not the only one that has visited the Traveler before," McGonagall said as she navigated the changing staircases.
"You mean…you too?" Hermione asked as she took a breather on the moving staircase.
"When I was younger, an event rose that required me to visit the Traveler. We cut a deal. He would…retrieve my sister and I would do something for him in turn," McGonagall momentarily slowed down as she told her story.
"He asked me to fetch an item of great importance to him. The only problem was that it was guarded by one of the three remaining creatures you call the Cerberus."
"They exist?" Hermione asked as she grew more bewildered.
"Yes and they are quite dangerous. Fluffy, if you remember, was simply the benign version of Cerberus. The real Cerberus is quite…powerful," McGonagall turned another corner and Hermione recognized they were heading towards her office.
"I discovered that the Cerberus was seemingly unaware of one type of creature. Funnily enough, cats did not irk the creature, hence my Animagus form," McGonagall continued.
"I'm sorry to interrupt Headmistress but what does this have to do with Harry?"
"It wasn't until you told me what Harry was doing that I realized that one of the materials was the exact thing I retrieved! Three drops of fused dragon blood!" McGonagall quickly moved the gargoyle out of the way and took the steps quickly.
"And the Traveler has been waiting all this time just to use it?" Hermione connected the dots slowly.
"You must understand Hermione; the Traveler has been there for quite a long time. I'm sure a couple of decades were nothing to him."
The pair entered the Headmistress's office and McGonagall motioned for Hermione to take a seat. Never one to wait for the answers to come to her, Hermione stayed standing and followed McGonagall to a back room.
"I was quite like you when I was your age," McGonagall gave Hermione a fond glance before she resumed her search, "I had to find out what the dragon's blood was for."
After a few moments tossing down several books from a bookcase, McGonagall finally found an old, battered looking diary.
"I found just one potion that could use three drops of fused dragon blood. At the time, it didn't have any relevance to me whatsoever but I copied it down anyways. I knew there was something odd about the Traveler's request," McGonagall flipped the pages of her old diary and finally found the page she was looking for. As soon as she started reading, McGonagall's face paled considerably.
"Professor? What is it?" Hermione's hands fidgeted at her side as she desperately wanted to read McGonagall's notes. With her mouth slightly ajar from surprise, McGonagall slowly handed the diary to Hermione. Feeling more than at touch of impatience, Hermione snatched the diary from the Professor's hands and started reading it.
"Professor? This is a potion to remove an essence of a soul. Why would the Traveler want to remove Harry's soul?" Hermione stared at the Headmistress.
"Not Harry's soul."
"That can't possibly be!" Hermione's eyes were wide and her grip tight on the diary, imploring the Headmistress to rebuke her.
"What else can it possibly be?"
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The thunderous roar that greeted Harry shook the ground beneath him. Banner of various mottos billowed high above the crowd. The sky glittered from sizzling fireworks, lighting up the already bright afternoon to near nuclear levels. Harry shielded his eyes as he approached the podium, giving a little wave to the crowd. Chants of 'Potter' reverberated through Diagon Alley and did not quell when Harry reached the podium. Squinting at the crowd, Harry could make out several kids who had adorned lightning bolt temporary tattoos. Once or twice, Harry blushed from the sight of the bare breasts that greeted him.
"Hello!"
Harry's greeting was unheard over the dim roar of the crowd, even with the effects of a Sonorus. If anything, the crowd had reached a fevered pitch and the wails of men, women, and children were quickly making Harry deaf.
"HELLO!" Harry tried a little louder. This time, the crowd heard their savior speak and roared in approval, another round of fireworks bursting in the sky. After a few more minutes of Harry insisting that the crowd be quiet, the decibel level was finally low enough for Harry to speak properly.
"Thank you all for coming today," Harry started.
"Thank you for returning!" called out a nameless voice. The crowd roared in approval and a rousing chorus of 'Potter the Savior' started up from the belly of the crowd. It took another couple of minutes before a hush fell over the crowd again.
"Anyways…" Harry launched into his prepared speech, stopping every couple of minutes because of the repeated applause. All the while, Harry scanned the crowd for any indications of possible Death Eaters. Twice he thought he caught the eye of a familiar, devilish face, but he was mistaken each time. As Harry ended his speech to numerous catcalls and more blistering fireworks whistling overhead, he moved on to the question and answer portion of the press conference.
"Mr. Potter, is it true that the Ministry is covering for you in the case of Miss Ginny Weasley's death?" asked an oddly familiar voice. There was a gasp as all heads swiveled to peek and crane at such a forward question. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry could see Shacklebolt motioning to some of his Aurors.
"I had nothing to do with that!" Harry answered as he tried to find the voice in the crowd.
"Is it not true then that you are in fact behind the recent rash of Dark activity?" asked the same voice. Eventually, Harry could finally see who the provoker was.
"No, Rita, I've not been here so it couldn't possibly be me," Harry replied coldly as he glared at his nemesis.
"Then isn't it curious that you refuse to answer where exactly you have been?" the crowd parted for Rita Skeeter, clad in an ugly brown dress, Quick-Quill in full action. There was a wide circle around her as the onlookers ogled at her boldness.
"It's not something I can quite disclose right now. Perhaps you'd like to create an alibi for me? You are quite imaginative," Harry sneered. The crowd gave a nervous chuckle at Harry's retort, their eyes flickering back and forth from Rita to Harry.
"I think I'll just ask one of your friends Mister Potter. A Miss Granger maybe?" Rita grinned devilishly as she twirled her wand by her ear.
"What did you say?" Harry glowered as he stepped from behind the podium to confront Rita.
"I said…Expelliarmus!" Rita's aim was dead and true and hit Harry squarely in the hand. His wand flickered into the air as the crowd gasped at the turn of events.
"Accio Hary's wand!" Shacklebolt roared. The wand immediately turned in mid-air and flew towards Shacklebolt, who collected it neatly. Harry gave Shacklebolt a thankful look before turning his head to find Rita. Only, Rita was no longer there.
"Portkey trace," Shacklebolt muttered in Harry's ears as he pulled the younger man to his feet. A group of Aurors had raced onto the stage and blocked the crowd's view of Harry. Grasping Harry's arm tightly, Shacklebolt pulled him off the stage and into the back room.
"That must have been a warning signal. You've done your job Harry, let's get you to the Portkey and we can - " Shacklebolt could not finish his sentence as a loud explosion rocked the stage.
BOOM! BOOM!
The percussion waves knocked the pair of them off their feet, Harry's already deafening ears being more affected. For a moment, Harry could only blink rapidly as he tried to fight the pain quickly gathering in his head. Rolling over, Harry slowly got to his feet, the ash threatening to bring him to his knees again.
"Shacklebolt!" Harry yelled over the dim roar of the panicked crowd.
"I'm here Harry!" boomed the older man.
As Harry stumbled to Shacklebolt, he caught a flash of lights from outside the crowd. Flashes of red and green were alight in the sky, but Harry suspected that they were not the fireworks that had been released earlier.
"They're coming Harry!" Shacklebolt yelled over the shouts of jinxes and curses.
"My wand," Harry coughed, holding out his hand for his wand.
"Don't worry Harry, we can hold them off for a few moments while the Aurors collect themselves. This certainly wasn't a tactic we were prepared for," Shacklebolt positioned himself near the door as he waited for incoming assailants.
"Shacklebolt, I'm sorry," Harry said with a forlorn face as he now know how Dumbledore had felt all those years ago.
"For what Harry?" asked a confused Minister.
"Petrificus Totalus," Harry waved his wand at Shacklebolt and the former Auror was caught surprised and snapped like a board to the ground. Moving Shacklebolt to a safe location, Harry simply sat back in his chair and waited for the Death Eaters.
"I'm sorry, sir, but this is the way it has to be done," Harry muttered at the corner where Shacklebolt glared at him.
The yells and shouts grew closer and closer until Harry could almost feel the spells sizzling outside the drapes. Finally, a masked Death Eater whipped the drapes away and spotted Harry sitting in the chair. The Death Eater froze in surprise; no doubt that Harry was not even defending himself. Harry resolutely glared at the Death Eater but did not raise his wand.
"Catch Potter," the Death Eater threw an object at Harry and Harry reflexively responded. As his fingers closed around the Snitch, Harry felt the familiar tug at his naval.
Clever Tom.
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Harry felt himself fall onto pebbled rocks, the sharp stinging in his hands indicating that he had more than a scratch. Groaning Harry turned on his back to see a young Tom Riddle smirking at him.
"I can't tell you how utterly proud I feel right now Harry. I just can't help myself," Riddle grinned as he knelt down to slap Harry in the face lightly.
"I can't even pretend to hold it back, I just feel like giving a monologue," Riddle gave an honest grin as he stared at a grim looking Harry.
"It's that feeling you get when you've thought of every single facet of your plan. I didn't quite realize how ignorant I was before," Riddle said.
"I doubt that much has changed," Harry muttered.
"And the former me would have laughed in your face and said that I've thought of everything. But I've realized the error of my ways now," said a completely lucid Riddle.
"How completely oblivious I was to the single-mindedly devotion to defeating you. I did not even bother to think about all the options and possibilities that I could have explored. I was so convinced of my imminent victory that I did not bother looking into all the loopholes that could have defeated me. That last trick of yours was marvelous," Riddle was no longer looking at Harry but staring out into the sky.
It was in this moment that Harry realized he was at the same small lake where he had first encountered his doppelgangers. His heart pumped just a bit quicker at the realization that Riddle and all of his Death Eaters were quite close to Hogwarts.
"Which reminds me…Rita!" Riddle yelled.
A Death Eater-clad Rita stepped out from the circle surrounding Harry and Riddle. Bowing her head, Rita kneeled at the feet of Riddle. Turning around, Riddle winked at Harry as he twirled the Elder Wand in his fingers. Riddle quickly casted a quick disarming jinx on Rita. Harry's eyes widened as he realized the implications of Riddle's actions. Riddle caught this movement and smiled at the black-haired boy.
"I know! How could I overlook such a simple loophole? Sometimes, in this past couple of years, I've just laughed at the stupidity of my actions. Let's test this thing before I talk a little more now," Riddle mocked himself.
"Come on Harry; hit me with your best disarming spell!" Riddle lazily held the Elder Wand in his hand.
"No Riddle," Harry dropped his wand. Riddle quickly summoned Harry's wand and snapped it on his knee. Harry made a choking sound as he saw his wand snap yet again.
"No precautions you see? I know I can curse you when you're defenseless, but I have to make sure," Riddle reasoned in a calm fashion, "Since I'm the proper owner of the Elder Wand now, let me see how it finally feels."
Riddle pointed his wand at Harry.
This is it.
Harry clenched his hands into fists, breathing hard through his nose. Whilst before he had faced Riddle with effervescent calm, Harry was suddenly nervous as he stared at the tip of the Elder Wand.
"Avada Kedavra!"
Harry braced himself for the jet green light. Even behind closed eyelids, Harry could see the glow of the Killing curse. After a few moments though, Harry had the distinct feeling that he was still alive. Opening his eyes, Harry could see the unmoving body of Rita Skeeter lying on the ground. Riddle was standing above her with a triumphant expression his face.
"It feels marvelous," Riddle looked at his hands with a maniacal expression on his face. Exhaling he turned to Harry and gestured at Rita, "Can't have any loose ends, especially one as rebellious as her."
"Oh Harry," Riddle smiled at him as he approached him again, "The one thing I did take into account during my rather - impervious state was the belief that I was inconceivably defeated. Did you know that when you cast the Killing curse an imprint of the person you killed is left on your body?"
"It's how you create a Horcux. The soul of the body has to travel somewhere. It's why that foolish Ministry deemed it 'Unforgivable.' Can you imagine walking around with all those souls in yours? Even I couldn't do that," Riddle shook his head as he paced before Harry.
"But I knew something of…love Potter. Even before you killed me…the first time, I knew how I could use it against others; particularly our mutual friend, the Traveler. He obsessed over that woman of his. Without explaining it to you in great detail, sufficient to say I found her. A certain set of rules did not allow the Traveler to simply get her so I created a back-up plan. Probably my only useful plan during my first reign," Riddle did not look like he even noticed Harry was there now.
"I'd explain more but something I learned is that when I monologue too long, it gives you a chance to do something incredibly stupid and with great stupidity comes a sheer amount of luck. So let's just say that book of yours isn't exactly the end all of all things," Riddle grinned as he revealed his trump card.
Harry's eyes widened a fraction, but Riddle did not pause. A flash of green indicated that the Killing curse had been cast. In the blank of an eye, the whole world disappeared in front of Harry.
After a few moments, Harry opened his eyes to find himself staring directly into the sun. Laying his hand on the ground to push himself up, Harry felt the soft, grainy feeling indicating sand. Looking around, Harry was befuddled to realize that he was on a beach.
"First a train station now this," Harry muttered, still angry from Riddle's revelation.
Looking into the distance, Harry spotted a fleet of rowboats in the distance. Shielding his eyes from the sun, Harry waved his arm at the specks in the distance.
"They can't see you Harry!" called out a voice from behind him.
Whirling around Harry could only drop his jaw at the sight before him. Out from the jungle bracing the beach was a grinning Sirius Black. Clad in what looked to be leather boots, leather trousers, and a sparse white shirt, Sirius looked quite happy to see his godson.
"Sirius?!?" Harry bewilderedly asked.
"I suppose there's a lot I have to explain," said a grinning Sirius Black.
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Thank you for all of your great reviews! Your thoughts are always appreciated and I'm glad for all of that have stuck through the long pauses and delays in the story. Only one more chapter left!