"So you mean to tell me you're not dead?"
"No," Sirius sighed, "The curse my dearest cousin threw at me wasn't the Killing curse. The resulting blast did force me into the veil, however, which has landed me here," Sirius waved his arms at the sand at his feet.
Harry Potter and Sirius Black were sitting side by side on the edge of a beach looking towards a beautiful ocean. They were far enough away from the tide that they would not get their feet wet but close enough so the sand was slightly muddy. Harry noted without great concern that he did not feel as if the sun were giving off any blaring heat.
"And here is limbo," Harry grumbled.
"Something like that," Sirius smiled at him. Harry gave him a half smile back as he skipped a pebble over the pristine water.
"Oh don't be such a grump. Aren't you glad to see your godfather?"
"I am glad to see Sirius, it just puts a damper on my mood to know that you're still dead," Harry gave him a critical look.
"Shit happens," Sirius said with a cocky grin. Harry simply gave him an incredulous look.
"Why are you dressed like a blooming pirate anyways? You look like a movie Dudley would always watch," Harry waved his arms at the boots on Sirius' feet.
"Well you get to pick what you look like out of here. I always thought I'd be a dashing pirate," Sirius fluffed up the frills of his shirt in an attempt to make Harry laugh. Harry gave just a slight chuckle.
"Whew, good to see you're not a total deadbeat yet," Sirius' grin grew wider.
"You're killing me here Sirius," Harry smirked back.
"There it is!" Sirius and Harry laughed in unison at their rather corny wordplay.
"Good to see you laugh a little Harry. I know from good sources you haven't been doing much of that lately," Sirius grew a little more somber.
"Yes well, Riddle did succeed in killing me did he not? Not much to laugh about back in the world of the living I reckon," Harry skipped another pebble, watching the little ripples form as the rock skimmed the water.
"I suppose not," Sirius relented.
There was a pause in their conversation as they both examined the beautiful landscape in front of them. For Harry, it was hard to believe that he was dead yet again. Yet even in his second death, it seemed as if the powers that be did not want to let him go quietly into the night. Grumbling for the umpteenth time since his short arrival at the beach, Harry picked up another pebble and skipped it along the water. If it wasn't for the fact that he was in limbo, Harry reckoned he could live here forever.
"What are we waiting for again?" Harry asked a quiet Sirius.
"We're waiting for the person who's going to help you save the world again," Sirius stated in a matter that did not allow for any other options. Nonetheless Harry frowned at the statement.
"I don't get it Sirius. Why is this happening? I thought I fulfilled the prophecy when I killed Riddle."
"Yes you did Harry but sometimes things aren't even that easy. Sometimes, other people intervene in our plans," Sirius cryptically said.
"The Traveler," Harry sighed.
"One in the same. Never trust people with great power Harry. The responsibility burdened by such power isn't easy upon everyone."
"How was I supposed to know that? From my point of view, the Traveler seemed to be some omniscient figure that could travel through space and time with relative ease. Last I checked, omniscient beings aren't exactly easy to corrupt," Harry reasoned.
"Very true," Sirius agreed, "But do you not remember the story of the Traveler?"
"I didn't take notes if that's what you're asking," Harry sarcastically replied.
"For all of the great things love can bring us, love can also turn into an unhealthy obsession," Harry looked at Sirius as he spoke with curiosity in his eyes.
"The Traveler loved a woman who, in his eyes, was taken away from him before the appropriate time. Blessed with such extraordinary powers, he was convinced that he could revive her but a terrible price. He kept traveling back in time using his powers but found that no matter what he did, the woman would always die at some point or another. He would save her from a falling branch one day but the next day she would be pushed off the edge of a balcony. No matter what he did, she would always die," Sirius spoke in a clear voice over the breaking waves of the ocean.
"As a solution, he froze her in a medium of time that rendered her, for all intensive purposes, dead. Yet she was not dead…just not living either."
"That's awful. It sounds like Riddle," Harry said in a shocked voice.
"Indeed, the similarities are quite apparent. The powers that be deemed this to be an unforgivable act and sentenced him to an eternity in ferrying the dead from one life to another," Sirius finished the story.
"The powers that be," Harry paused as he weighed his next words, "Is that who we're waiting for?"
"More or less," Sirius shrugged. Although unsatisfied by his godfather's response, Harry did not press the issue.
"So you've just been here this whole time?" Harry asked with a modicum of guilt tinged in his voice.
"Oh Harry, don't be such a drama queen," Sirius grinned at him, "Time isn't something that's easily measured in these lands. For me, the events that have transpired since I went through the veil and now are not as long as you think it would be."
"I see."
Another silence lapsed upon the godfather and the godson. Falling into thoughts of the Traveler and Sirius, Harry's eyes glazed over as he lay back on the sand. It was not until he felt Sirius give him an affectionate squeeze on the shoulder that Harry realized his godfather had been staring at him for quite some time.
"I'm proud of you Harry. You did everything right," Sirius said with watery eyes.
"Not everything. Couldn't save everybody," Harry responded dully.
"You can't control who lives and who dies Harry. When their time is up, their time is up," Sirius responded in kind. Sitting up, Harry gave his godfather a curious look that was laced with just a little bit of anger.
"Do you really believe that?"
"I didn't before. But you learn a lot of things when you're finally dead, not that you can have that experience," Sirius winked at him one watery eye.
"I don't believe that."
"It's not in your nature to Harry. You will always, for the rest of your life, try to save as many people as possible. It's what makes you so great," Sirius looked fondly upon him.
"I failed in the end didn't I?" Harry asked bitterly.
"Harry, you failed because someone who can control space and time manipulated a series of events that predated even your parents' births. You're only human Harry, stop beating yourself up because you lose to someone that can control time."
This statement efficiently silenced Harry. Knowing that he had finally gotten through to him, Sirius took his hand off Harry's shoulder and reclined until he was staring up at the azure sky as well. After a few minutes of silence, Harry spoke.
"You didn't do too bad either Sirius," Harry said, a ghost of a smile on his face.
"I like to think so," Sirius replied. Harry simply laughed at his godfather's response.
For the first time it what felt like eons, Harry felt himself relax. His shoulders dropped and he exhaled deeply as if he was ridding himself of all of the negative thoughts in his mind. He felt his diaphragm relax as the knot in his chest finally released. Tears involuntary sprung out of the corner of his eyes, but Harry did not wipe them away.
"Must be nice here," Harry commented.
"It is. I'd like to get a move on if your majesty wouldn't mind though," said a voice from behind Harry and Sirius.
Harry and Sirius awkwardly climbed to their feet and dusted the sand off their shoulders as they turned around to face the voice. When Harry finally gathered his bearings, his mouth dropped at the person in front of him. An absolutely stunning brunette clad in nothing but a bikini stood in front of them. She had the type of effortless beauty that seemed unreal. Harry and Sirius noted that she was incredibly well proportioned.
"Who's she?" Harry whispered to Sirius.
"One of the powers that be," Sirius whispered back without taking his eyes off her beautiful form.
"Powers indeed."
"Great powers," Sirius agreed with a slack jaw.
"Hello Harry. It's nice to finally meet you," the lady gave Harry a genuine smile. Even her voice radiated unmatched beauty.
"Uh…yes," Harry was still momentarily shocked.
"And hello Sirius. You'll be glad to know that your stay here will not go on for much longer," the lady smiled at Sirius as well.
"You can change that though right? A little longer wouldn't hurt," Sirius said with a slightly hopeful look in his eyes. The lady gave a small laugh which caused Harry and Sirius to make simultaneous sighs.
"Oh Sirius, your time here is almost over, your purpose fulfilled. We just have one more thing left on the agenda," the lady gave both of them a look.
"And who are you?" Harry finally brought himself to ask. The lady gave both of them a radiant smile and it took everything in Sirius' willpower to not throw himself at her feet.
"You may call me Fate."
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"So you mean to tell me, this was just a plan the Traveler created so he could be reunited with the girl of his?" Harry asked.
"More or less," Fate answered as she walked the path of the beach, Harry and Sirius in tow.
"Could've just asked me," Harry said, "Would have saved him a lot of trouble."
"It's not that simple Harry," Fate replied.
"When we took away the Traveler's wife, we summoned a powerful wizard that could prevent a being of magnitude such as the Traveler from retrieving his wife. You may have heard of him, Nicolas Flamel."
"Of course," Harry nodded.
"You of course do not know that it was Flamel who apprenticed Dumbledore in the uses of dragon blood, but Flamel knew much more than that. Using an ancient magic so embedded into the earth, Flamel made it near impossible to retrieve the girl. We placed restrictions on the Traveler that did not allow him to do anything that could save the girl. It was up to you wizards and witches to save the girl should you choose," Fate explained.
"So the Traveler can't directly interfere in the life of a person?" Sirius asked.
"Not directly, but should the person seek out the Traveler, it allows him to use some of his powers to influence them. Riddle or Voldemort as you may call him, recognized the advantage of retrieving the girl from the Traveler. He sought out the Traveler during the years after his graduation from Hogwarts and struck a deal that would set into motion a chain of events that eventually lead both of you down this path," Fate kept on walking without sparing a glance behind her. Sirius nudged Harry and pointed at Fate's perfectly sculpted derriere.
"I see you Sirius."
Sirius grinned rather cheekily while Harry coughed violently in embarrassment. Harry jabbed Sirius in the ribs and gave him a "Be serious, she's explaining our whole life" look.
"I've already heard this story," Sirius said.
"Oh."
"Anyways Harry, retrieving the Traveler's wife required tasks so dark and so arduous that Flamel thought no one would possibly ever do it. Of course, there is that saying 'never say never.' The Traveler manipulated various people in order to retrieve precious items for a potion that would eventually be used to bring Riddle back to life. At the same time, Riddle had left instructions to a few of his followers in case he was to die at your hands. Of course, I always knew what was going to happen," Fate gave a slightly smug smile before stopping suddenly and facing Harry with a somber look.
"Unfortunately, the potion the Traveler made was given to you when you took a drink while you were eating with your friends on that day you were warped from time. The Traveler has already explained the side effects of this potion to you without you really knowing it. What you did not know is that the potion also allowed the split of your internal personality. Since you gained a slight imprint of Riddle's soul when you killed him, it eventually fractioned as you approached insanity and allowed Riddle to re-enter the land of the living with a little help from the Traveler," Fate gave Harry a grave look.
"Remember the cases you were dealing with when you were an Auror right before you disappeared?" Fate asked.
Harry wracked his brain as he fought to remember events that seemed so inconsequential now. He furrowed his eyebrows as he struggled to bring certain memories to the surface of his mind. Harry finally settled on one that brought back a rush of memories.
"The twenty-three year old Seeker! Died of a sudden heart attack!" Harry exclaimed, "And the six other deaths! That was all connected wasn't it?"
"Six deaths required to brew the essence of souls. One for every year ahead of time," Fate said.
"That was Umbridge? Malfoy?" Harry asked. Fate nodded. Harry could only shake his head in rampant disbelief. Sirius patted him on the back to try to console his godson.
"It was at this point that we felt the Traveler had gone too far. His interference reached a level which altered the destinies of all the lives of the world," Fate continued.
"Um, not to sound rude, but who's 'we'?" Harry asked tentatively. Fate smiled at him and responded in kind.
"The powers that be Harry. Those of us who determine the on goings of your life."
"If you're so powerful why can't you just stop Malfoy and Umbridge from doing what they did? I mean you did determine that the Traveler had gone too far," Harry asked the obvious question.
"The same reason the Traveler can not directly interfere using his powers. We can't directly affect your lives either," Fate smiled kindly upon Harry. Harry shook his head at the damned rules. He would never quite understand how destinies and prophecies worked.
"So I get another chance…again?" Harry asked. Fate turned around and gave Harry what he deemed to be a sympathetic look.
"Not exactly Harry," Fate gave him a sad smile, "As of now, Voldemort is in possession of the Elder Wand and is positioned at the edge of Hogwarts, preparing his attack. No matter what you do, he will likely succeed. If that is the case, everyone in Hogwarts will die."
Harry's face grew grim and he felt Sirius's hand on his shoulder. Harry knew that Hermione was likely still in the castle.
"Can't you just undo it? There has to be something you can do," Harry implored.
"The damage is irreversible in this line. There is nothing we can do about them this way," Fate monotonously replied.
"Then why am I even here? This isn't a second chance! This is me asking to watch all my friends die before me!" Harry raged. He tried to pull away but Sirius's grip was tight on his shoulder.
"LET GO OF ME SIRIUS!" Harry yelled at his godfather.
"You haven't heard her other option yet Harry," said an uncharacteristically solemn Sirius. Harry breathed hard through his nose, glaring at the two people standing him on the pristine beach.
"What's the other option," snarled Harry.
"We have the ability to use the Traveler to - manipulate - previous events," the Fate paused as she spoke, "But in order to do so; it requires the unraveling of one timeline and starting another. It is imperative that we rid of both you and Voldemort's magic."
"Rid my magic?" Harry asked with a manic look in his eyes.
"It is the only way my boy. In every age, there is a thesis and an anti-thesis. A squib named Sir Isaac Newton recognized this fact. Another squib, Karl Max, also contained a similar idea. In your age, the two reactionary forces were you and Voldemort. In order to right the world, the only way to do so is to set back time to a certain point and rid all traces of Voldemort and you," Fate explained.
Harry paused, soaking in the information. His heart was sinking to the crushing depths of his soul. One option killed everyone who he loved but at least gave him the option of achieving revenge. The other option let everyone live but killed himself. Deep inside his heart, Harry already knew the choice he had to make. The tightening in his chest returned as he felt the familiar sting of salty tears that had not fallen in quite a while. Still, he could not help it as he faced the simple vanishing of his existence. A flash of memories flew by in Harry's mind.
A flash of green light, a woman screaming in the background, a little boy running away from a group of larger boys, an owl soaring through the window dropping off a letter. The tell tale rocking of a boat as it rowed out to an island. A larger bearded man burst through and brandished a slightly broken umbrella.
A small redheaded boy offered a thin black haired boy the seat across from him, a bushy haired buck-tooth girl trying to find a toad, a blond boy offering a hand of friendship, a large troll trying to fight three little children, an animated cheese piece hurling the red head into the air, and the bushy haired girl hugging the scrawny boy with green eyes and whispering into his ear, "You're a great wizard."
An odd looking creature warning the scrawny boy to not return to Hogwarts, a bushy haired girl lying frozen on a bed, a giant snake-like creature battling with just a tiny little boy again, the little scrawny boy stabbing a book with a tooth, a dark hooded creature approaching a train compartment, a werewolf, a large dog, and a rat all swirled into one medley of images.
A mess of tents collected together, a goblet spitting out a piece of parchment into the sky, a black-haired teenage boy soaring through the sky with a dragon hot on his tail, an Asian girl smiling at the boy with spectacles, four bodies floating in the water, the bright lights of an enormous hallway lit with trees of snow and ice, a large maze and a grisly voice whispering, "Kill the spare."
The now grown up brunette crunched the still scrawny black-haired boy in a suffocating hug, the tall, redhead smiling at the boy and patting him on the shoulder, an older gentleman placing a hand on the scarred boy and nodding at him, the older gentleman arching his back as he fell through a veil, an extremely old bearded man gazing at the torn boy as he threw various trinkets to and fro.
A redheaded girl smiling up at the boy with glasses, the tall redheaded boy giving the boy with glasses a high five as they flew around on brooms, the oldest wizard of all ages falling over the balcony of a tall tower, the redheaded boy arguing with the other two teenagers and exiting a tent, the brunette and the boy with glasses holding hands in front of a grave, a battle with a snake and a swim in a lake, the redheaded boy stabbing a locket with a sword, a magical dragon soaring through the air with the three teenagers on his back, the black haired boy solemnly walking through a forest, the black haired boy standing against an evil force with a confident look.
Finally, one image stood alone in Harry's head. The three teenagers had grown into three adults and stood at the edge of a lake arm in arm, the black-haired boy in between the other two. The black-haired boy leaned over and kissed the head of the brunette while the tall redhead laughed and patted him on the back.
"I'll do it," Harry said quietly, "Them for me."
"Excellent," Fate said chirpily, "I was hoping you would make that choice."
Stepping to the water, Fate held her hand out and spoke with a clear, magnetic voice, "Traveler!"
At once, a ring of fire seemed to open up in the middle of the water, sucking in the swirling blues of the ocean. Faster and faster the ring of fire spun until Harry recognized the familiar visage of the Traveler. The frightfully angry Traveler was rising from the middle of the ring until his feet cleared the ocean itself. At once, Fate swung her hand and the ring of fire disappeared. Instead of dropping into the water, the Traveler simply floated until he was on land.
"Undo," Fate said in the same clear voice. The Traveler snarled as he looked at Harry and Sirius and waved his arm. Slightly confused, Harry watched as the sea parted and watched as a large city stopped moving. The image in the water zoomed in until it focused on a single street, the street outside the Ministry of Magic. Harry watched in amazement as everyone started moving in rapid rewind, as if they were inside a movie constantly going backwards. The sun rose and dipped in the background as millions of people fluttered back and forth across the street. Finally, the image stopped.
"Tom Riddle," Fate spoke in her regal tone.
The sea parted in a ring of fire again as Harry watched the familiar face of Tom Riddle emerge into view. At first, Riddle looked confused as he rose from the sea until he spotted Harry. Snarling, Riddle moved his wand with deadly precision and aimed right at Harry's heart. Speaking the incantation to kill, they were both surprised as nothing happened. Instead, Riddle floated in the air in a similar manner to the Traveler and landed on the sand yet again. He looked slightly perturbed as he stared back and forth at the various characters on the beach. He opened his mouth to speak.
"What is the meaning -," Riddle did not finish his sentence as Fate calmly waved her bronzed arm. Riddle seemed to vanish into thin air, his clothes crumpling where his foot once stood.
"Goodbye Bob," Fate waved her arm and instead of vanishing like Riddle did, the Traveler was swallowed into the sand, a slight look of surprise in his face. Harry turned to Fate with a wondering look. She simply smiled back at him.
"There are always others that can ferry the dead to the next adventure Harry. It's time for yours," she said with a motherly smile.
Harry nodded and quickly turned around and hugged Sirius fiercely. Caught slightly off guard, Sirius swayed slightly before slowly placing his arms around his godson. They held on as if they were in the middle of a hurricane, neither of them crying.
"Why are you here anyways?" Harry said as he pulled away, "Fat use you were."
"I was just here in case you had a change of heart. But I knew you didn't. I just wanted to see you before I depart as well," Sirius smiled at the boy who had become so much like his father and mother. Harry simply shook his head at the only person he could call family in his whole life.
"Goodbye Sirius," Harry said with a sad smile.
"Goodbye son," Sirius replied. Harry smiled and patted him on the shoulder before turning around to face Fate.
"I am ready."
Fate waved her arm without pretense and Harry Potter seemed to vanish into thin air as well. Sirius watched as the boy who seemed like a son to him disappeared forever. Walking up to Fate, Sirius gave her a wry smile.
"What happens now?" he asked.
"Everyone's memories have been reset with no recollection of Harry or Riddle. A new reactionary force has been born with its counter in conception as well," Fate replied.
"But Harry did not exactly understand what I said before I vanished him. I told him he had to be rid of his magic, not to be rid of him," Fate said with a smile.
"You sly dog," Sirius replied with a growing grin.
"Although he'll have no recollection of any of these past events, Harry's Potter soul lives on down there," Fate said as she waved her arm yet again and observed a scene on Earth.
---______________________________________---
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A slightly attractive brunette was walking down the street with an odd looking pen in her hand as she scribbled on a notebook. Strapped to her wrist was a long, thin piece of wand commonly known as wand among those of magical descent. Frowning, the woman took the wand from her wrist and tucked it into the pockets of her jacket as she entered a store.
The tinkling of the entrance bell alerted a dark-haired boy no more than two decades old with brilliant, green eyes. He was sitting on a chair behind the counter watching television but stood up as soon as the brunette girl walked in. Smiling charmingly at her, he spoke.
"Hi Miss, how may I help you?" he asked with a beaming smile. He noticed the girl blush ever so slightly before collecting herself and asking him politely.
"I was wondering if you have any antique photo albums. A close friend of mines is getting married to a school friend and I wanted something that would remind them of their lives," she said with strict authority.
"I may have just the one," the green eyed boy smiled at her as he led her to the upper section of the store. Turning a corner, the boy grabbed an old looking photo album and handed it to her. From her reaction, he knew he was correctly on point with his decision.
"Read your mind did I?" he asked cheekily.
"Why I think you did," she murmured as she traced the outline of the photo album. The boy smiled at her response and decided to take a gamble.
"This may be very forward of me, but I was wondering if you'd like to join me for my lunch break," he asked in one breathe. The girl smiled coyly at him and pondered the question for a moment.
"This is very unlike me, but yes," she laughed.
"Brilliant," the black-haired boy grinned.
"Hermione," the girl said as she stuck out her hand for him to shake, slightly entranced by his lovely green eyes.
"Hermione you say? Beautiful name…"
"My name is Harry Potter."
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Extended Author Notes:
-Some of the things that went on forever unexplained since the first couple of chapters and the mysteries surrounding Harry's disappearance are hopefully explained in full detail finally. The mysterious solved include but are not limited to: Harry's early Auror work, some of the books he read, some of the conversations he had while he was unintentionally working for the Traveler, several strange occurrences and apparitions in the altered time, and others.
Whew, finally. It actually took me two years to write this underwhelming story? ;-). I'm one lazy SOB. I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed on Portkey and FF.net. Each and every one of your reviews only encouraged me to write better. As some of you can probably tell, this was my first extended work and while I had originally finished this story a lot earlier, it underwent several re-writes as I grew uncomfortable with the original ending. I know a lot of people might not be happy with how the story ended but after several nights of tearing my hair out, I settled on this ending.
Originally I had intended for Harry to die and take Voldemort with him, but I really deemed it too dark for its own good and seemed very cheap considering Harry's sacrifices to bring him that far. In the end, I wasn't malevolent enough to kill our Hero without giving him another chance of life. I settled on this ending instead. Hopefully you guys don't kill me!
Again, I'd like to thank everyone that read this story; it gives me a great sense of accomplishment to write something that entertains good people such as yourselves.
Please feel free to leave any sort of review (you can flame on if you feel so inclinedJ) and any question or something that might not have been clear to you as I've been told over and over that sometimes the plot gets too complicated at points. Thank you, thank you again!