Harry Potter and The Balm of Time

ladylaughalot

Rating: PG
Genres: Romance, Action & Adventure
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 7
Published: 12/04/2009
Last Updated: 08/12/2010
Status: completed

Dumbledore concocts a cunning plan to travel back in time and destroy Voldemort's Horcruxes. His untimely death prevents him from going so Harry must go in his place, and take the one person whose help he really needs with him.

Chapters

1. Chapter 1 - Going Back

2. Chapter 2 - Getting settled

3. Chapter 3 - Meet the Parents

4. Chapter 4 - Wheels in Motion

5. Chapter 5 - Return to Hogwarts

6. Chapter 6 - Suspiciouns Aroused

7. Chapter 7 - Into the Snake's Den

8. Chapter 8 - Merry Christmas

9. Chapter 9 - Fighting Fire with Fire

10. Chapter 10 - And Baby Makes Three

11. Chapter11 - Busted

12. Chapter 12 - The Swiftest but Slowest of Growths

13. Chapter 13 - Death's cold hand

14. Chapter 14 - History never repeats

15. Chapter 15 - Same, same - but different

16. Chapter 16 - Once More, Into the Breach

17. Chapter 17 - End Game

18. Chapter 18 - A whole new world

1. Chapter 1 - Going Back

A/N - Please be patient with this chapter, the vast majority of it is taken directly from Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince from page 510 onwards. I've tried to weave the first threads of my tale into the last chapters of that one. Anything in italics is the work of JK Rowling; I make no claim to ownership and do not make any money from this. Also, just so you know, this story is already complete and a new chapter will be posted 3 every days. I would like to thank the people who have Beta'd this, Fabian, Newyn & Marcelle.

Time is a brisk wind, for each hour it brings something new... but who can understand and measure its sharp breath, its mystery and its design? ~Paracelsus

Chapter 1 - Going Back

Our Story begins when Harry enters the Headmasters office towards the end of his sixth year at Hogwarts. On his way to the Headmasters office he met with Professor Trelawney and learnt that it was Snape who told Voldemort about the Prophecy. He believes he is going to the Headmasters office so that they can go and find a Horcrux together but there has been a change of plans...

“Dumbledore was standing at the window looking out at the grounds when Harry entered, a long, black travelling cloak in his arms.” A cauldron stood in the centre of the room, blue flames flickering underneath, a bright blue potion bubbled within and steam rose from it in fluffy white clouds

`Well, Harry, I promised that you could come with me but there has been a slight change of plans and I now believe it best if you do not. I still need your help however, if you will oblige me?'

For a moment or two, Harry did not understand; the conversation with Trelawney had driven everything else out of his head and his brain seemed to be moving very slowly.

`Help... you...?'

`If you will oblige me, yes.'

`If I...'

And then Harry remembered why he had been eager to come to Dumbledore's office in the first place.

`What's changed? Aren't we going to look for the Horcruxes then?'

`I believe I have located a Horcrux and I intend to dispose of it, but I am an old man Harry, and as old men are wont to do from time to time, I have been reminiscing,' he gestured to the cauldron, `No doubt you have noticed the potion there, it is called “The Balm of Time” and is the most complex potion ever created. It is the life's work of Professor Snape.'

Harry's anger toward Snape boiled to the surface and he must have made some sign of it without realising because Dumbledore moved away from the window, and looked closely at Harry, a slight crease between his silver eyebrows.

`What has happened to you?'

`Nothing,' lied Harry promptly.

`What has upset you?'

`I'm not upset.'

`Harry you were never a good Occlumens-`

The word was the spark that ignited Harry's fury.

`Snape!' he said, very loudly, and Fawkes gave a soft squark behind them. `Snape's what's happened! He told Voldemort about the prophecy, it was him, he listened outside the door, Trelawney told me!'

Dumbledore's expression did not change, but Harry thought his face whitened under the bluish tint from the light being emitted by the still bubbling cauldron. For a long moment, Dumbledore said nothing.

`When did you find out about this?' he asked at last.

`Just now!' said Harry, who was refraining from yelling with enormous difficulty. And then suddenly he could not stop himself. `AND YOU LET HIM TEACH HERE AND HE TOLD VOLDEMORT TO GO AFTER MY MUM AND DAD!'

Breathing hard as though he were fighting, Harry turned away from Dumbledore, who still had not moved a muscle, and paced up and down the study, rubbing his knuckles in his hand and exercising every last bit of restraint to prevent himself from knocking things over. He wanted to rage and storm at Dumbledore, but he also wanted to help him with the time potion; he wanted to tell him that he was a foolish old man for trusting Snape, but he was terrified that Dumbledore would not let him in on the rest of the plan unless he mastered his anger....

`Harry,' said Dumbledore quietly, `Please listen to me.'

It was difficult to stop his relentless pacing as to refrain from shouting, Harry paused, biting his lip, and looked into Dumbledore's lined face.

`Professor Snape made a terrible -`

`Don't tell me it was a mistake, sir, he was listening at the door!'

`Please let me finish.' Dumbledore waited until Harry had nodded curtly, then went on. `Professor Snape made a terrible mistake. He was still in Lord Voldemort's employ on the night he heard the first half of Professor Trelawney's prophecy. Naturally, he hastened to tell his master what he had heard, for it concerned his master most deeply. But he did not know - he had no possible way of knowing- which boy Voldemort would hunt from then onwards, or that the parents he would destroy in his murderous quest were people that Professor Snape knew, that they were your mother and father -`

Harry let out a yell of mirthless laughter.

`He hated my dad like he hated Sirius! Haven't you noticed Professor, how the people Snape hates tend to end up dead?'

`You have no idea of the remorse Professor Snape felt when he realised how Lord Voldemort had interpreted the prophecy, Harry. I believe it to be the greatest regret of his life and the reason he - `

`But he's a very good Occlumens, isn't he sir?' said Harry, whose voice was shaking with the effort of keeping it steady. `And isn't Voldemort convinced that Snape's on his side, even now? Professor... how can you be sure Snape's on our side?'

Professor Dumbledore smiled, though Harry felt there was very little about the present situation that warranted a smile, and turned towards the cauldron. He gestured towards it grandly, `In this case Harry the proof is in the cauldron, rather than any pudding,' he turned back to Harry, his smile gone and his face serious, `I meant what I said to you before Harry, you have no idea of the remorse Professor Snape felt but it did have an excellent outlet. He has created a way for us, or rather me, to change the past to make the sacrifices that were made worthwhile, to minimise the unnecessary losses that have occurred. I trust Severus Snape completely.'

`Well I don't!' he said, as loudly as before, `He's up to something with Draco Malfoy right now, right under your nose, and you still -`

`We have discussed this, Harry,' said Dumbledore, and now he sounded stern again. `I have told you my views.'

`You're just going to take that potion he's made for you without testing it first or anything it could be a trap, Snape and Malfoy might have decided to - `

`To what?' asked Dumbledore, his eyebrows raised. `What is it that you suspect them of doing precisely?'

`I... I think they are going to try and kill you, sir.'

`Enough,' said Dumbledore. He said it quite calmly, and yet Harry fell silent at once; he knew he had finally crossed some invisible line. `Do you think I would be preparing to take this potion if I was not absolutely certain of its success? Please do not suggest you think me so foolhardy as to place my life in jeopardy at this critical juncture.'

`I didn't -' mumbled Harry, a little abashed, but Dumbledore cut across him.

`I do not wish to discuss the matter any further.'

Harry bit back his retort, scared that he had gone too far, that he had ruined his chance of helping Dumbledore, but then Dumbledore went on, ` Do you wish to help me tonight?'

`Yes,' said Harry at once.

`Very well, then: listen.'

Dumbledore drew himself up to his full height.

`The plan is very simple, this potion, brilliant in its simplicity, changes the nature of apparition to allow the apparator to move through time as well as space. One merely has to have been alive in the time they wish to return to,' Dumbledore smiled at the thought, `One could return to the very moment of their conception, if they wished to know of such a thing.'

He looked at Harry, directly in the eye, his expression more serious than any Harry had ever seen on the old headmasters face.

`I intend to return to the time before your parents died and destroy all of the Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes. I intend to take your father from his home on the night Lord Voldemort met his downfall and when I return to the present Lord Voldemort will either have died many years ago or he will be a mortal and your father will have raised you.'

Harry's mouth opened and closed several times, too many questions raced to leave his mouth at once and they all seemed to get stuck in his throat.

`You can't save my mum?' was the one that finally came loose and slipped out of his mouth with a squeak.

`No Harry I cannot, your mother gave her life to save yours and in doing so her sacrifice would have defeated Lord Voldemort, I feel certain, had he not had the Horcrux's to preserve him. In any event should I be wrong about any of this, should anything happen to me...' Dumbledore's eyes pierced into Harry's soul, `That sacrifice must be our insurance that you survive with all of your current abilities in tact.'

Harry wanted to argue with Dumbledore, he wanted to rail and storm about the unfairness of it all, about how dangerous it was but he didn't, couldn't.

`Do you understand Harry?'

Harry nodded.

`Very good, Then I wish you to go and fetch your Cloak and meet me back here in five minutes time.'

Dumbledore turned back to look out the ... window; the light from the cauldron cast an eerie light against his back. Harry walked quickly from the office and down the spiral staircase. His mind oddly clear all of a sudden. He knew what to do.

Ron and Hermione were sitting together in the common room when he came back. `What does Dumbledore want?' Hermione said at once. `Harry, are you OK?' she added anxiously.

`I'm fine,' said Harry shortly, racing past them. He dashed up the stairs and into his dormitory, where he flung open his trunk and pulled out the Marauder's Map and a pair of balled up socks. Then he sped back down the stairs and into the common room, skidding to a halt where Ron and Hermione sat, looking stunned.

`I haven't got much time,' Harry panted, `Dumbledore thinks I'm getting my Invisibility Cloak. Listen....'

Quickly he told them what was happening. He did not pause either for Hermione's gasps of horror or for Ron's hasty questions; they could work out the finer details for themselves later.

`...so you see what this means?' Harry finished at a gallop. `Dumbledore will be un-contactable tonight, so Malfoy's going to have another clear shot at whatever he's up to. No listen to me!' he hissed angrily, as both Ron and Hermione showed every sign of interrupting. `I know it was Malfoy celebrating in the Room of Requirement. Here -' He shoved the Marauder's Map into Hermione's hand. `You've got to watch him and you've got to watch Snape too. Use anyone else you can rustle up from the DA. Hermione, those contact Galleons will still work right? Dumbledore says he's put extra protection in the school, but if Snape's involved, he'll know what Dumbledore's protection is and how to avoid it - but he won't be expecting you lot to be on the watch will he?'

`Harry -' began Hermione, her eyes huge with fear.

`I haven't got time to argue,' said Harry curtly. `Take this as well-' He thrust the socks into Ron's hands.

`Thanks,' said Ron. `Err- why do I need socks?'

`You need what's wrapped in them, it's the Felix Felicis. Share it between yourselves and Ginny too. Say goodbye to her from me. I'd better go, Dumbledore's waiting -`

`No!' said Hermione, as Ron unwrapped the tiny little bottle of golden potion, looking awestruck. `We don't want it, you take it, give it to Dumbledore he's the one who'll kneed it most.'

`He'll be fine, he's Dumbledore,' said Harry. `I want to know you lot are OK... don't look like that, Hermione, I'll see you later...'

And he was off, hurrying back through the portrait hole towards Dumbledore's office.

Dumbledore was waiting beside the cauldron, he was seated and the blue light cast eerie shadows on his face. He looked up at Harry's entrance and bade him to sit down across from him.

`There are things I need to explain to you Harry, things you must understand before we proceed.'

Harry nodded, his heart was still racing and back and his lungs were burning from exertion from his sprint to Gryffindor tower.

`We are at a critical juncture. At this moment we have here all of the Deathly Hallows, have you heard of the Deathly Hallows Harry?' At the shake of Harry's head Dumbledore continued, `It is an ancient tale about three brothers who beat death in a challenge of wits and were each awarded a prize from him. One of the brothers chose a wand that could never be bested in duel; the other chose a stone that could allow the wearer to circumvent death itself and the last chose a cloak that would make the wearer invisible to deaths stare. `

With those words he lay, his wand down on the desk, `This is that wand,' then he took off the ring that belonged to Salazar Slytherin and laid it too on the desk, `this is that stone.' Then he pointed to the invisibility cloak clutched in Harry's hands, `That is the cloak.'

He took a deep breath and started to pace about the room, `In my youth I was guilty of wishing to posses them all, but I now see that it is not my lot to which that falls.' He turned to face Harry then an odd look on his face, `stand up and raise your wand Harry.'

Harry obeyed.

`Now I'm going to count to three and I want you to disarm me,' he smiled then, a gesture which seemed out of place in the circumstances, `But try not to be too vigorous about it, I am an old man and there is much I still need to do.'

Harry faced his mentor in the odd half light and spoke as gently as possible, `Expelliarmus' the wand flicked out of Dumbledore's hand without any resistance but without affecting the headmaster himself at all. `Well done, Harry' said Dumbledore, retrieving the wand from its position across the room. `Now, have I your permission to use this wand?'

Harry nodded, not understanding at all what had just happened.

`I need you to understand what this means and why I have done this Harry,' said Dumbledore as though instinctively understanding Harry's confusion, `The elder wand Harry is undefeatable in a duel but it will only respond to it's masters commands. A person becomes the master of the elder wand by defeating its current owner. You are now its master so it will only ever work entirely properly for you.'

Dumbledore paused here and looked at Harry whose confusion was written clearly on his face.

As the master of the wand you have commanded it to obey me and it will obey me but it is still not my wand.'

Harry wondered in bewilderment what possible relevance this could all have to the search for the Horcruxes, but Dumbledore's next words explained that.

`If someone defeats me now, they will not become the master of it because in order for that to happen they would need to defeat you, not me. Do you understand?'

Harry shook his head, wishing that Hermione were here to untwist Dumbledore's words and make them intelligible to him.

Dumbledore tried again, `If this was still my wand, and I was defeated in a duel the person who defeated me would become the rightful owner of the wand able to command it at will, now however if I am defeated in a duel that will not happen because you are the master of the wand and whoever defeats me would then need to also defeat you to become the master of the wand.'

Harry was still confused, `But, I disarmed people heaps of times in the DA and I never became the master of their wands.'

Dumbledore smiled, `Other wands are not as this wand is. The wands of your friends chose them and choose them still; their wands will never be your wand no matter how many times you disarm them. But this wand does not choose its master; it is won by its master. In this case you won it by first winning my trust.'

Dumbledore smiled kindly, `there is no-one I trust more, Harry, than yourself. If I fall, though I hope that I shall not, I want my successor to be someone I have chosen, not whoever manages to defeat me. Once more I am using you as my insurance; I hope that one day you may forgive me.'

Harry wanted to say that no forgiveness was needed, that it was an honour he had never expected, that he hoped it would never be necessary or a thousand other word of thanks or praise for his mentor, but he could not. His throat had closed and no words were getting out. Harry's eyes stung and he looked at his hands.

`I shall take all three of the Deathly Hallows with me on this quest, I don't know whether they will serve a purpose or not but I do not believe it is a coincidence that all three of them are here tonight.' Then he clapped his hands, as though to dispel the gloom that had settled around them both like a shroud.

`Now,' said Dumbledore turning once more back to the Cauldron, `your part in this shall be quite simple. You are to be my guardian; you will watch over this Cauldron and allow no-one to touch its contents. Should anyone be able to steal any of this then my entire mission would be in jeopardy and who knows what kind of world I would return to.'

Harry nodded stoically, if there was one thing he could be trusted to do it was to guard Dumbledore's safety with his own life, but he still harboured some doubts as to the safety and effectiveness of the potion. He did not voice these however but simply stood up, crossed his arms, and took a guarding position over the cauldron. Dumbledore must have sensed his hesitancy; his next words betrayed that he had at least considered the possibility of Harry's warning.

`I believe I have thought of everything, in that case there,' said Dumbledore. He seemed to be talking to himself but he indicated to a case that was half hidden behind the cauldron, which Harry had not previously noticed.

`I have sufficient galleons,' he continued, `to purchase the property next door to your parents home and to allow me to live there for at least 12 months. I believe that should be sufficient time, I have numerous reference books, and, most importantly, I have this.'

He held out a small black journal for Harry to see, `this contains all of my theories, some of which we have discussed at length some of which we have not, around what the Horcrux's are and where they might be found. Most importantly this book contains the recipe for creating “The Balm of Time” potion. I will of course be taking some with me but, should anything happen to it I would need the recipe so I could make more and would be able to return.'

Dumbledore gazed into the depths of the cauldron, the light made his eyes seem pure white and the blue tint on his skin gave him the appearance of a ghoul.

`I will conduct a test first.' He said, his voice sounding dry and far away. He conjured two old fob watches and handed one of them to Harry, `you see that these show the same time, I will take a sip of the potion and disapperate one hour into the future. During that time you must not move from the cauldron.' He looked at Harry, his eyes piercing as never before, `Have I your word Harry that you will not move from this spot for any reason?'

Harry nodded but this time it was not sufficient for Dumbledore, `You must give me your word Harry.'

`I give you my word, Professor Dumbledore, I will not move from the side of this cauldron until you return.'

Seeming satisfied Dumbledore nodded, raised a ladle of the potion to his lips, and took a small sip, `In one hour then,' he said, then dropped the ladle back into the cauldron and disappeared from sight.

Harry sighed and sat down; it was going to be a long wait.

With nothing better to do Harry picked up the journal that Dumbledore had left with him and flipped through it. There were six sections, each devoted to a Horcrux and each section titled with Dumbledore's supposition as to what that Horcrux was. There was The Diary, The Locket, The Chalice, The Diadem, The Ring, and The Unknown. The section for the unknown was at least twice as thick as any of the others and had far more theories but came to no conclusions. Harry did notice however that the theories were split some indicated Nagini was the final Horcrux where others tended towards, but stopped just short of, naming himself as the final Horcrux.

Harry ran his fingers over his scar and thought about that idea for a moment. When Voldemort had turned his wand on Harry as a baby he had just committed murder. Also, from what Harry knew of shields, a curse that was successfully deflected should leave its intended victim completely unscathed.

That it hadn't was very strange.

That it left him with a scar that had never fully healed, that reacted to the moods of its creator, and that provided a psychic connection to him was unheard of. As Harry's mind whirled over these facts the distant memory of an awful article once written by Rita Skeeter came back to him. She'd written that experts at St Mungo's had said it wasn't possible. At the time he'd thought she was fabricating the quotes but now he wondered at the possibility of there being some truth in what she had written.

No-one else he'd ever heard of had ever received a scar or any special `transferred' abilities from a curse that didn't work.

Harry had always attributed this to his own lack of knowledge in the area, but if anyone had ever heard of it before wouldn't they have said so? Harry did not doubt for a moment that the topic had been thoroughly researched by Hermione, yet she had never reassured him of it's being normal. Instead she'd always just looked worried whenever he spoke of it.

No matter which direction he turned it over he could not escape the inevitable conclusion that he was indeed a Horcrux and that he had been one ever since the night when Voldemort had attempted to kill him. The words of the prophecy came back to haunt him and suddenly the convoluted wording made sense.

Voldemort could not die, unless Harry died too.

With these unsettling realisations weighing upon him the hour seemed to fly by very quickly.

So deep in thought was he that when Dumbledore popped back into existence it was only when he collapsed in the chair opposite Harry, his face white as a sheet, that Harry realised he was back. On seeing Dumbledore Harry jumped from his seat and rushed over to the old Headmaster.

`Professor! Are you ok?'

Dumbledore smiled at him weakly and showed him the fob watch; it was exactly one hour behind Harry's. The potion had worked... but why did Dumbledore seem so weak? The question was unasked but Dumbledore answered anyway, `I am old, Harry, and weaker than I care to admit. My hand,' he lifted the blackened remains, `is weak, and I am dying. It is why I volunteered myself for this quest. I fear that it is a suicide mission and... Since I am dying anyway ...' his voice trailed off and he tried to sit straighter in his chair, `but I fear now it will be too much for me, even this short jump has weakened me greatly.'

`Are you sure - `began Harry, but Dumbledore cut him off.

`Am I sure that it is not the potion that has done it? Not entirely. Would you be willing, Harry, to ease the mind of an old man? Will you attempt to jump an hour into the future? Then we will know.'

Harry nodded and in one quick step he was beside the cauldron and lifting the ladle, he still did not trust Snape, but they had to know. If there was a chance that he could bring his parents back then it was one he had to take. He lifted the ladle to his lips, took a sip and then apparated, focusing on one hour into the future. For a moment Harry thought it had not worked, everything was still exactly as it had been a moment ago.

`Harry!' cried Dumbledore, though he did not move from his chair, `how do you feel?'

Harry frowned, `I feel fine, sir,' replied Harry, a little confused, `did it work then?'

Dumbledore nodded and smiled weakly thrusting forward the fob watch as he did so. Harry compared the two watches and noted, with some astonishment, that they both now read the same time, casting a time spell on a nearby wall confirmed that now both watches were in fact one hour slow. `Wow! I didn't feel a thing, for a second I thought it hadn't worked.'

`It is as I suspected then,' said Dumbledore a little sadly, `my last great adventure is behind me, and the adventure that lies ahead is for you.'

Harry was astonished, when he'd made the decision that it should be he, and not Professor Dumbledore, that went into the past he had not counted on Dumbledore agreeing with him. It was then he noticed, like a banner, the dark mark that hung in the night sky.

`Sir!' gasped Harry pointing to the mark.

`Yes, Harry, it has been there for some minutes now. I expect the one who cast it will be here any moment. I must ask you to put on your invisibility cloak.'

`But, sir...' began Harry, only to be cut off by Dumbledore once more.

`Do not argue with me Harry, it is my final wish from you. I can ask from you nothing more than you have already so selflessly given.'

Harry wanted to argue, he wanted to say that Dumbledore was not going to die that he would be able to ask many more things in his lifetime, but then he saw Dumbledore stagger to his feet and he knew that it was true. With great reluctance he pulled on his invisibility cloak. No sooner had he done so than the door burst open and somebody erupted through it and shouted: `Expelliarmus!'

Harry's body became instantly rigid and immobile, and he felt himself fall back against the office wall, propped like an unsteady statue, unable to move or speak. He could not understand how it had happened - Expelliarmus was not a freezing charm -

Then, by the light of the potion and the Mark, he saw Dumbledore's wand flying in an arc over the desk and understood... Dumbledore had wordlessly immobilised Harry, and the second he had taken to perform the spell had cost him the chance of defending himself.

Standing against the desk, very white in the face, Dumbledore ...showed no signs of panic or distress. He merely looked ... at his disarmer and said, `Good Evening Draco.'

Malfoy stepped forwards glancing around quickly to check that he and Dumbledore were alone. His eyes fell upon the second chair beside the cauldron.

`Who else is here?'

`A question I might ask you. Or are you acting alone?'

Harry saw Malfoy's pale eyes shift back to Dumbledore in the greenish blue glare of the Mark and the cauldron.

`No,' he said. `I've got back-up. There are Death Eaters here in your school tonight.'

`Well, well,' said Dumbledore, as though Malfoy was showing him an ambitious homework project. `Very good indeed. You found a way to let them in, did you?'

`Yeah,' said Malfoy, who was panting. `Right under your nose and you never realised!'

`Ingenious,' said Dumbledore. `Yet...forgive me... where are they now? You seem unsupported.'

`They met some of your guard. They're having a fight down below. They won't be long... I came on ahead. I - I've got a job to do.'

Well, then, you must get on and do it, my dear boy,' said Dumbledore softly.

There was silence. Harry stood imprisoned within his own invisible, paralysed body, staring at the two of them, his ears straining to hear sounds of the Death Eaters' distant fight, and in front of him, Draco Malfoy did nothing but stare at Albus Dumbledore who, incredibly, smiled.

`Draco, Draco, you are not a killer.'

`How do you know?' said Malfoy at once.

He seemed to realise how childish the words had sounded; Harry saw him flush in the odd light.

`You don't know what I'm capable of,' said Malfoy more forcefully, `you don't know what I've done!'

`Oh, yes I do,' said Dumbledore mildly. `You almost killed Katie Bell and Ronald Weasley. You have been trying, with increasing desperation, to kill me all year. Forgive me, Draco, but they have been feeble attempts ... so feeble, to be honest, that I wonder whether your heart has been really in it...'

`It has been in it!' said Malfoy vehemently. `I've been working hard on it all year and tonight -`

Somewhere in the depths of the castle below Harry heard a muffled yell. Malfoy stiffened and glanced over his shoulder.

`Somebody is putting up a good fight,' said Dumbledore conversationally. `But you were saying... yes, you have managed to introduce Death Eaters into my school which, I admit, I thought impossible... how did you do it?'

But Malfoy said nothing: he was still listening to whatever was happening below and seemed almost as paralysed as Harry was.

`Perhaps you ought to get on with the job alone,' suggested Dumbledore. `What if your back-up has been thwarted by my guard? As you have perhaps realised, there are members of the Order of the Phoenix here tonight, too. And after all, you don't really need any help...I have no wand at the moment... I cannot defend myself.'

Malfoy merely stared at him.

`I see,' said Dumbledore kindly, when Malfoy neither moved nor spoke. `You are afraid to act until they join you.'

`I'm not afraid!' snarled Malfoy, though he still made no move to hurt Dumbledore. `It's you who should be scared!'

`But why? I don't think you will kill me, Draco. Killing is not nearly as easy as the innocent believe... so tell me, while we wait for your friends...how did you smuggle them in here? It seems to have taken you a long time to work out how to do it.'

Malfoy looked as though he was fighting down the urge to shout, or to vomit. He gulped and took several deep breaths, glaring at Dumbledore, his wand pointing directly at the latter's heart. Then, as though he could not help himself, he said, `I had to mend that broken Vanishing Cabinet that no one's used for years. The one Montague got lost in last year.'

`Aaah.'

Dumbledore's sigh was half a groan. He closed his eyes for a moment.

`That was clever... there is a pair, I take it?'

`The other's in Borgin and Burkes,' said Malfoy, `and they make a kind of passage between them. Montague told me that he was stuck in the Hogwarts one, he was trapped in limbo but sometimes he could hear what was going on at the school, and sometimes he could hear what was going on in the shop, as if the Cabinet was travelling between them, but he couldn't make anyone hear him... in the end he managed to Apparate out, even though he'd never passed his test. He nearly died doing it. Everyone thought it was a really good story, but I was the only one who realised what it meant - even Borgin didn't know - I was the one who realised there could be a way into Hogwarts through the Cabinets if I fixed the Broken one.'

`Very good,' murmured Dumbledore. `So the Death Eaters were able to pass from Borgin and Burkes into the school to help you ... a clever plan, a very clever plan... and, as you say, right under my nose...'

`Yeah,' said Malfoy who, bizarrely, seemed to draw courage and comfort from Dumbledore's praise. `Yeah, it was!'

`But there were times,' Dumbledore went on, `weren't there, when you were not sure you would succeed in mending the Cabinet? And you resorted to crude and badly judged measures such as sending me a cursed necklace that was bound to reach the wrong hands... poisoning mead there was only the slightest chance I might drink...'

`Yeah, well, you didn't realise who was behind that stuff, did you?' sneered Malfoy as Dumbledore slid a little down the desk, the strength in his legs apparently fading, and Harry struggled fruitlessly, mutely, against the enchantment binding him.

`As a matter of fact I did,' said Dumbledore. `I was sure it was you.'

`Why didn't you stop me, then?' Malfoy demanded.

`I tried, Draco. Professor Snape has been keeping watch over you on my orders - `

`He hasn't been doing your orders, he promised my mother -`

`Of course that is what he would tell you Draco, but -`

`He's a double-agent, you stupid old man, he isn't working for you, you just think he is!'

`We must agree to differ on that, Draco. It so happens that I trust Professor Snape -`

`Well, you're losing your grip, then!' sneered Malfoy. `He's been offering me plenty of help - wanting all the glory for himself - wanting a bit of the action - “What are you doing? Did you do the necklace, that was stupid, it could have blown everything-“ But I haven't told him what I've been doing in the Room of Requirement, he's going to wake up tomorrow and it'll all be over and he won't be the Dark Lord's favourite any more, he'll be nothing compared to me, nothing!'

`Very gratifying,' said Dumbledore mildly. `We all like appreciation for our own hard work, of course... but you must have had an accomplice, all the same... someone in Hogsmeade, someone who was able to slip Katie the - the- Aaah...'

Dumbledore closed his eyes again and nodded, as though he was about to fall asleep.

`...of course... Rosmerta. How long has she been under the Imperius Curse?'

`Got there at last, have you?' Malfoy taunted.

There was another half yell from below, rather louder than the last. Malfoy looked nervously over his shoulder again, then back at Dumbledore, who went on, `So poor Rosmerta was forced to lurk in her own bathroom and pass that necklace to any Hogwarts student who entered the room unaccompanied? And the poisoned mead... well, naturally, Rosmerta was able to poison it for you before she sent the bottle to Slughorn, believing that it was to be my Christmas present ... yes, very neat... very neat... poor Mr Filch would not, of course, think to check a bottle of Rosmerta's... tell me, how have you been communicating with Rosmerta? I thought we had all methods of communication in and out of the school monitored.'

`Enchanted coins,' said Malfoy, as though he was compelled to keep talking, though his wand hand was shaking badly. `I had one and she had the other and I could send her messages -`

`Isn't that the secret method of communication the group that called themselves Dumbledore's Army used last year?' asked Dumbledore. His voice was light and conversational, but Harry saw him slip an inch lower down the desk as he said it.

`Yeah, I got the idea from them,' said Malfoy, with a twisted smile. `I got the idea of poisoning the mead from the Mudblood Granger, as well, I heard her talking in the library about Filch not recognising potions...'

`Please do not use that offensive word in front of me,' said Dumbledore.

Malfoy gave a harsh laugh.

`You care about me saying “Mudblood” when I'm about to kill you?'

`Yes, I do,' said Dumbledore, and Harry saw his feet slide a little on the floor as he struggled to remain upright. `But as for being about to kill me, Draco, you have had several long minutes now. We are quite alone. I am more defenceless than you can have dreamed of finding me, and still you have not acted...'

Malfoy's mouth contorted involuntarily, as though he had tasted something very bitter.

`Now about tonight,' Dumbledore went on... There was a bang and shouts from below, louder than ever; it sounded as though people were fighting on the actual staircase that led to Dumbledore's office.

`There is little time, one way or another,' said Dumbledore. `So let us discuss your options, Draco.'

`My options!' said Malfoy loudly. `I'm standing here with a wand - I'm about to kill you -`

`My dear boy, let us have no more pretence about that. If you were going to kill me, you would have done it when you first Disarmed me, you would not have stopped for this pleasant chat about ways and means.'

... Malfoy did not speak His mouth was open, his wand hand still trembling. Harry thought he saw it drop by a fraction -

But suddenly footsteps were on the stairs and a second later Malfoy was buffeted out of the way as four people in black robes burst through the door into the office. Still paralysed, his eyes staring unblinkingly, Harry gazed in terror upon four strangers: it seemed the Death Eaters had won the fight below.

A lumpy-looking man with an odd lopsided leer gave a wheezy giggle.

`Dumbledore cornered!' he said, and he turned to a stocky little woman who was ginning eagerly. `Dumbledore wandless, Dumbledore alone! Well done, Draco, well done!'

... Malfoy was showing less resolution than ever. He looked terrified as he stared into Dumbledore's face, which was even paler, and rather lower than usual, as he had slid so far down the desk on which he was leaning.

`He's not long for this world anyway, if you ask me!' said the lopsided man, to the accompaniment of the woman's wheezing giggles. `Look at him- what's happened to you, then, Dumby?'

`Oh, weaker resistance, slower reflexes, Amycus,' said Dumbledore. `Old age, in short... one day, perhaps, it will happen to you... if you are lucky...'

... Harry's heart was hammering so hard it seemed impossible that nobody could hear him standing there, imprisoned by Dumbledore's spell - if only he could move, he could aim a curse from under the cloak -

`Draco, do it, or stand aside so one of us -` screeched the woman, but at that precise moment the door to the office burst open once more and there stood Snape, his wand clutched in his hand as his black eyes swept the scene, from Dumbledore slumped against the desk, to the four Death Eaters, including the... werewolf, and Malfoy.

`We've got a problem, Snape,' said the lumpy Amycus, whose eyes and wand were fixed alike upon Dumbledore, `the boy doesn't seem able -`

But somebody else had spoken Snape's name, quite softly.

`Severus...'

The sound frightened Harry beyond anything he had experienced all evening. For the first time, Dumbledore was pleading.

Snape said nothing, he walked forwards and pushed Malfoy roughly out of the way. The three Death Eaters fell back without a word. Even the werewolf seemed cowed.

Snape gazed for a moment at Dumbledore, and there was revulsion and hatred etched in the harsh lines of his face.

`Severus...please...'

Snape raised his wand and pointed it directly at Dumbledore.

`Avada Kedavra!'

A jet of green light shot from the end of Snape's wand and hit Dumbledore squarely in the chest. Harry's scream of horror never left him; silent and unmoving, he was forced to watch as Dumbledore was blasted into the air; for a split second he seemed to hang suspended beneath the shining skull, and then he fell slowly backwards, like a great rag doll, out of the window and out of sight.

Harry felt as though he, too, were hurtling through space; it had not happened... it could not have happened...

`Out of here, quickly,' Snape said.

He seized Malfoy by the scruff of the neck and forced him through the door ahead of the rest; Greyback and the other death eaters followed, but Snape remained behind. ...Harry suddenly realised he could move again; what was now holding him paralysed against the wall was not magic, but horror and shock. He threw aside the invisibility cloak as Snape, last to leave the Office, was turning to face him.

`Petrificus Totalus'

Snape whispered the spell and Harry froze once more `listen to me carefully because I don't have much time. He was dying anyway and it was his wish that Draco not become a murderer. But you must remember that this is just one of many things that need never have happened. I know that you are thick and emotional but just think for one moment. You have time to change this!' He hissed the words and indicated to the cauldron which had been ignored by all of the previous occupants of the room.

`When I leave here, I will return to the Dark Lord. He is once again using the house of his father as his head quarters. You know what must be done, so do not waste time chasing me. Do what you must and when you have done it, come to the Riddle House and we can finish this tonight.'

Snape looked deep into Harry's eyes, Harry still consumed by horror and shock stared mutely back, paralysed by the spell. Somewhere deep in his heart, he acknowledged the truth of Snape's words, he had witnessed enough tonight to admit that, however grudgingly.

`Good,' with a whirl of his cape Snape fled down the stairs after the other Death Eaters and as the door slammed shut behind him Harry felt the spell release him from it's grasp. Unable to support himself he collapsed onto the floor allowing himself a moment to grieve for his fallen mentor, then remembering Snape's words, he hauled himself to his feet and searched the office until he found the Elder wand. He was grateful now that Dumbledore had taken the time and effort to make him understand why he needed to disarm him. He was the wands master now, not Draco.

He then collected the resurrection stone from the desk where it had lain ignored by the Death Eaters and lastly collected his invisibility cloak from the floor by the door. He picked up the case and the book prepared by Dumbledore and then picked the ladle out of the cauldron, he almost took a sip of the liquid and left without further thought when Dumbledore's words came back to him.

He still thought that this was more than likely a suicide mission but he needed someone to stand guard over the cauldron, just in case. Now that the thought occurred to him others popped to the surface as well, his shock was beginning to wear off and he was thinking clearly again. He would need to take a flask of the potion with him; in the eventuality that he did not die he would want to be able to return. If something happened to the flask of potion, would he be able to brew it once more? There was only one person he knew who he could trust implicitly and who also might have the skill to brew the potion, but that would mean he had to take her with him, then Ron would have to be their guard.

The next question to occur to him was how to get Ron and Hermione without leaving the potion unattended?

Harry paced the office, his mind now whirring again over possibilities, when he caught sight of Fawkes still resting calmly on his perch and suddenly he remembered from his fifth year when Dumbledore had used Fawkes to take him from Hogwarts to Grimmauld place. Harry had no idea if Fawkes would help him or not, but, at that moment it seemed his only option.

`Fawkes,' said Harry, striding over to the bird, `I need your help, will you do me a favour?' The birds beautiful head bobbed once and he trilled, seemingly in agreement. `Can you go and get Ron and Hermione for me?'

Fawkes head bobbed once more before he disappeared in a flash of golden Phoenix fire. Harry returned to pacing and hoped that Fawkes was able to return quickly with his friends.

He needn't have worried though, because a moment later the office light up with golden Phoenix fire once more and suddenly Ron and Hermione were both there, both dishevelled and looking frantic.

`Harry what's happened?'

`Where's Dumbledore?'

Their words bubbled over each other like water in a brook but Harry shushed them into silence with a wave of his hand.

`Listen carefully, I'll explain it all but we don't have much time so I need you to just... listen,' they both nodded and fell silent. `Good,' said Harry, his voice gruff and commanding. Then he told them everything that had happened in the past two and a half hours, `so,' he finished winding up the tale, `Hermione I need you to come with me, and Ron I need you to stay here and guard the cauldron. It's as important a job as any other, nobody can be allowed to touch or otherwise meddle with that potion.'

Hermione opened her mouth, her face mutinous, but Harry spoke over the top of her, `I don't have time for arguments Hermione, this has to be done tonight. We know where Voldemort will be and we know he won't be expecting an attack, if we do this properly we might be able to save the lives of not just Dumbledore but also my parents and countless others as well.'

Harry shoved a hand roughly through his hair, `Just once, I need you to just go with me on this, both of you.'

The look of mutiny fell from Hermione's face and she opened her mouth again, `Ok Harry, should I take a sip of the potion as well or can you side along apparate me?'

`I think you should take a sip too, but I'll hold on to you so we go together. Dumbledore said we could go back to any time, as long as the apparator was alive at the time. He said the furthest we could go back was to the moment of conception, but I don't think I want to be there for that, so we'll go back to the following day.'

Hermione nodded and moved to Harry's side, `Will you be alright here Ron?' Harry asked now looking at the gangly red head, who had gone pale during the telling of Harry's tale.

`Yeah mate, don't worry about me,' he gulped visibly and Harry could tell he was terrified, `I've got your back.' He reached out and the two boys, almost men, shook hands.

Hermione scooped the potion into a flask and then took a sip and passed the flask to Harry. Harry took a sip too and then turned to Ron, `See you in a bit then.' Then he grasped Hermione's hand, did a final check to make sure they had everything, and disapperated to Godric's Hallow, 1979.

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2. Chapter 2 - Getting settled

A/N - ok so this chapter is not as long as the last but it is all my own plot... the characters etc all, of course, belong to Ms Rowling and I would also like to acknowledge that “Back to the Future” was a great source of inspiration for this plot. I know I said in my last that updates would be every three days but I've changed my mind. Also would like to again thank Katia for Beta services.

Chapter 2 - Getting settled

They arrived on the side of a dusty road in the middle of the countryside; low stone walls bordered the road and above them rose hedges partially obscuring the rolling green hills from view. The sun beamed down on them from high in the sky and just up ahead was a homely looking cottage. It was double storied with a thatched roof, rambling roses climbed the walls and in front was a typical cottage garden full of lavender, bluebells and other pretty, fragrant, plants, though Harry did notice though that there was not a Petunia in sight. White net curtains floated in the open windows of the cottage and everything about the place suggested the light homely atmosphere. With a pang Harry realised it should have been the home in which he had grown up.

Harry tore his gaze away from the place that was causing a terrible wave of pain to rise inside of him and looked instead towards the house that sat directly opposite. It was obviously made in the same style but lacked the homely touches that the other house had in such abundance. Its windows gaped like vacant eyes, the gate was sitting off one of its hinges and the garden was a mess of weeds, in short the whole residence showed obvious signs of neglect and abandonment.

The two teens walked over to the empty house and stood in front of it, contemplating the possibilities. Harry had already explained why they should live in such close proximity to his parents and Hermione had agreed with the reasoning, but now faced with the reality of it Harry became consumed with doubts as to the wisdom of this course of action.

`What do you think, Hermione?' asked Harry, trying to maintain his earlier bravado. `Do you think we'll be able to make this our home?'

Hermione looked at him quizzically.

`Yes, I suppose so...'

`It's important of course that our first home as a young married couple, be perfect. I wouldn't want you to be unhappy.' It was the one aspect of the plan that Harry had withheld while briefing Ron and Hermione in Dumbledore's office. If they were going to live in such close proximity to his parents, together and alone, then they would have to pretend that they were a married couple. Anything else would be suspicious.

Hermione nodded in understanding, her eyes going wide with surprise, `Yes, well... of course. Umm... I think it's perfect,' she put on a bright smile, `It needs a bit of work of course, but I couldn't be happier.'

Harry thought he could sense some hesitancy in her voice but otherwise she had accepted his little bombshell with good grace. It was a good thing Ron wasn't with them, thought Harry, or there would probably have been more opposition to the plan.

`Right,' said Harry briskly, now moving to the next part of the plan, `How do you suppose we contact the estate agent?'

Hermione bent to examine the small board, stuck into the ground near the gate, which advertised the property as being for sale. `It looks like we just have to tap the board with our wand and it summons them,' she said at last.

Harry took his wand from the pocket of his robes and strode over to the sign; he purposefully tapped the sign with his wand and then looked around expecting someone to appear.

Nothing happened.

`Should I do it again?' asked Harry frowning at the still empty lane way.

`No,' Hermione was still examining the board, `there's writing appearing here!' Harry bent to look at the board as well, `It say's Mr Ollinender the Estate Agent for this property will be with us shortly.'

`And so I am!' exclaimed a jovial voice from behind them.

The two teens jumped and Hermione nearly fell, but Harry's reflexes saved her from landing in the ditch and he helped her to her feet.

`So sorry to startle you,' said Mr Ollinender, not looking at all contrite, `in these times you can't be too careful. I have to make sure you're genuine buyers and not Dark Wizards or something before I can let you know I'm here.'

Harry took a deep breath and nodded, `Perfectly understandable, we are genuine buyers. Looking at this place in fact if you'd care to show us around it?'

Mr Ollinender nodded enthusiastically, `If I can just get your names please, ever since all these disappearances and such started taking place we've had to step up our security procedures, it's now mandatory before any house showings.'

`Of course,' said Harry smoothly trying to cover his panic, `I'm Har - ' he paused as Hermione dug her elbow into his side, and Harry coughed to cover his false start. Of course he couldn't give his real name; he'd have to thank her later for stopping him from doing something so foolish. `I'm Harvey Porter,' he said making things up on the spot, `and this is my wife Hermi - aah' He broke off feeling foolish and wondering what on earth he could easily change Hermione to.

Thankfully Mr Ollinender didn't seem to notice, `Hermiah, what a beautiful name for a beautiful lady.'

Hermione blushed at the outlandish flattery and gave Harry a funny look, Harry was too relieved at the narrow escape to care that Hermione had now been christened Hermiah for the duration of their time here.

Harry cleared his throat and nodded, `Yes, my wife is very beautiful,' agreed Harry quickly hoping to flatter Hermione out of her annoyance at him.

Hermione only huffed and rolled her eyes.

Mr Ollinender grinned openly at what he saw as the young couple's flirtatious teasing of each other, `Very good, Mr Porter, now if you'll simply touch your wand to the bottom of the parchment there, we'll be able to get started.'

Harry brought forth his wand again and was about to touch the parchment with it when Hermione's hand on his arm stopped him short.

`What properties does the spell have?' she asked her voice suddenly harsh with suspicion.

Mr Ollinender swallowed, suddenly appearing nervous, `Oh well, standard procedure, you know. In these trying times -' he blustered but Hermione cut him off her eyes now blazing with fury.

`Yes, in these trying times we must all be careful. I hope you don't mind if I examine the spell on that parchment before my husband foolishly binds his magic to it, do you?'

The Estate Agent who had shrunk back in the face of Hermione's fury now rose up slightly, looking at her as though he might argue. Harry stepped in now to back her up, `I'm afraid I cannot go against my wife's wishes, Mr Ollinender, either you allow her to examine that spell or we walk away from this property and you loose a valuable commission.'

It was pure bluff, but all they could do was hope that Mr Ollinender wouldn't see that and the commission he would receive from the sale of the house was worth more to him than protecting whatever spell was tied to that parchment. Fear and doubt chased each other across the other man's features and Harry held his breath waiting for his answer, if the spell turned out to be worth more than the commission to this man then they would have to come up with another plan quickly before he left. Mr Ollinender's indecision was clear, Harry heard Hermione whisper something and felt a rush of air as a spell left her wand.

Confusion crossed Mr Ollinender's face for a moment and then cleared, `Excellent,' he said rolling up the parchment and tucking it back into his robes, `now that we have that squared away we can proceed.'

He led the way into the house, with Harry and Hermione bringing up the rear, `Memory charm?' whispered Harry, dying of curiosity to know what she had done.

`NO!' she hissed back in a scandalised tone, `just a mild confundus.'

Harry snorted in amusement, `yes that's so much better,' he whispered back, amused that she thought there was really any difference.

`Well it's certainly better than you just putting your wand to random pieces of parchment, it was bad enough when you tapped that board without letting me examine it properly first.'

Harry was about to reply but their conversation was interrupted by Mr Ollinender who was eager to show them the house and convince them to buy it, he could have no idea that this was merely a formality and he was about to earn the easiest commission of his career.

`Now, I know that the garden appears over-run but appearances can be deceptive. A quick examination of the garden beds will show you that you have there some very valuable and rare magical plants, excellent for potion making and only in need of a little care to get them back to useful state. `

He unlocked the front door then and led them into the front hall of the cottage, ahead of them was a staircase leading to the upper story of the house, to their left was a set of double doors that led to an open room with a bay window, facing the garden, a fireplace sat on the far wall and on the right hand wall was a door leading to another room.

`Now this is the living room, as you can see plenty of room for entertaining or for a growing family to congregate in.' Mr Ollinender smiled at Hermione's blush and led the way into the room, `As you can see, there are solid wood floors throughout which, although they've clearly seen better days, need only a quick spell to return them to their former glory.'

Harry looked down at the dusty wooden boards that creaked under foot and nodded in silent agreement, they would have to get a book on Magical home renovations.

`The fireplace is elegant and well placed, and this little window seat makes an excellent spot from which to enjoy a sunny day.'

Hermione walked over to the window seat and looked out of the bay windows, Harry had a sudden image of her sitting there with Crookshanks curled in her lap while she read in the sunshine. Mr Ollinender seemed oblivious to the musings of the young people and continued extolling the virtues of the property.

`Now through this door we have an informal dinning area, and the kitchen, ` he pushed open the door and led the way through, `The last owners had this room re-fitted so you've got a lovely cast iron wood-fired stove there along with new benches and cupboards that although, again, in want of cleaning and re-painting have seen very little use.' Mr Ollinender gestured grandly around the room as he spoke indicating each point of interest with an expansive wave of his arm, `The door there leads into a sweet little back garden that, though somewhat overgrown, has some beautiful established tree's and shrubs.'

So they toured the entire house in that fashion, the laundry was described as “well equipped” and “sturdy”, the formal dinning room was “gracious” and “spacious” (an unconscious rhyme on Mr Ollinender's part that made Hermione giggle) the den was “comfortable” and “cosy” with “the added convenience of it's own fire place”. His description of the stairs will not be repeated but had Harry trying to contain his laughter and Hermione covering her blush. The rooms upstairs were “nestled cosily amongst the eaves”.

By the end of the tour the two teens could barely control their hysteria but they were, still, no less determined to buy the house which had now been described so fully to them.

`Well, thank you for that excellent and very thorough tour,' said Harry, battling to control his smile, Hermione snorted derisively behind him, `I think,' he glanced at Hermione then, who only nodded in reply, `We would very much like to purchase the house.'

That established they moved on to the contracts and Harry parted with a substantial number of galleons from the collection in his case and then, less than an hour after his arrival, Mr Ollinender left them in a home of their own.

Their next order of business was to furnish the house and several hours were happily employed in finding furniture in Diagon Alley, parting with yet more of their galleons, and obtaining books on Magical renovations. The did not want to become too attached to their life here but, if Harry was correct in his calculations, he was only just starting to grow inside his mother's womb and they would need to stay until the night of his parents murder which was to take place one year and three months after his birth. If they were to be in the past for two years, then it made sense that they should get comfortable.

When they got the beds set up there was an awkward moment as a subject arose that both of them had been thinking about but neither of them had wanted to bring up.

`Hermione,' Harry began scratching the back of his neck in confusion. Hermione glanced at him and frowned, perhaps sensing what he was about to ask her, `I've been thinking about this... we're going to be living here for about the next two years and... If all goes according to plan... we're going to end up being friends with my mum and my dad,' Harry fidgeted trying to explain what he was thinking without offending or upsetting her.

She was facing him now, arms folded across her chest and eyebrows raised, `and... I don't know if you know this but... my dad was supposedly quite a prankster. Anyway, I'm just worried that if we don't... um...'

Finally Hermione took pity on him, `Let me guess, you're worried that if we don't ... share a bed... then your dad will find out and it will look suspicious, but your also worried that if you ask to share a bed with me I'll get the wrong idea... or Ginny will?'

Harry smiled relieved, `something like that, though honestly I think Ginny would understand its Ron I was really worried about.'

Hermione just looked confused, `Why on earth would Ron care?'

Now Harry was the one confused, `Well, because... he and... You... you two... are, you know?' He burst out finally frustrated with her uncharacteristic obtuseness.

Hermione looked stunned and then, she laughed, `You don't really think that, Ron and I are... that there is anything other than friendship between Ron and I... do you?'

`Well, maybe not yet,' muttered Harry defensively, `but I'm not the only one who can see where it's heading.'

Hermione snorted derisively again, `Oh yes and where's that? The insanity ward at St Mungo's? Honestly Harry, Ron and I are more likely to kill each other than we are to become a couple, and I know he feels the same way. We talked about it once when Lavender was being all crazy and jealous.'

`What about the canary's then? What was all that about?'

`I thought you understood that,' she said, clearly exasperated, `everyone knew he was supposed to be going to that Christmas party with me. To be ditched, by someone who is supposed to be my best friend, for Lavender in front of everyone... and he didn't even apologise! He just kept saying that we were only going as friends, as if that makes a difference!' She crossed her arms over her chest, `I still think he got off lightly.'

Harry wasn't entirely sure he believed her but he really didn't want to pursue the topic any longer, `right, well... so you agree with me then, about the sleeping arrangements I mean?'

Hermione took a deep breath, `If you're sure that Ginny would understand?'

`Yeah, I'm sure she would.'

Hermione seemed unconvinced but once the bed was assembled and made they were too tired to debate it any further and fell into bed, and asleep, without another thought on the topic.

The next morning dawned bright and clear, the sun streamed in through the windows without any curtains to block its progress but the two teens were too tired from their 36 hour day to notice and they slept on until midday. When Harry finally woke, with Hermione's bushy hair in his face, he thought that this must be what jet lag felt like. He washed his face and scrubbed his teeth and then wandered down to the kitchen. He set up enough of their newly acquired belongings to make some breakfast and have a place to eat it.

When he was finished cooking he shared the food between two plates, placed a warming charm on Hermione's to keep it warm for when she woke up, and then sat at the newly constructed kitchen table to eat his own breakfast.

A few minutes later Hermione descended the stairs, her hair brushed back into a loose bun and her face freshly washed.

`Morning,' greeted Harry, quickly swallowing his mouthful of food, `I didn't realise you were awake or I'd've come and got you, your breakfast is on the bench.'

`Ooh thanks, Harry,' she went over to the plate on the counter and inhaled deeply, `this looks great! Where did you learn to cook?'

Harry shrugged, `the Dursleys,' he would've thought that'd be obvious.

`Oh, I always thought you said they didn't like you?' said Hermione looking confused.

Harry swallowed another mouthful before responding, `they didn't, and I learnt to cook to avoid being punished when I burnt their breakfast.' Hermione looked aghast so Harry hastened to add, `it's not so bad though, at least I can make an omelette for breakfast without setting fire to the place.'

Hermione looked like she wanted to disagree but she didn't say anything, just picked up her plate and brought it over to the table where she sat at the spare chair and began to eat. After a few minutes of companionable silence, while they ate their breakfast, Hermione spoke again.

`So what's the first order of business then? Do Dumbledore's notes have any plan outlined?'

Harry swallowed his mouthful and shook his head, `Not particularly, I think what we really need to do is get the lay of the land first. We've got plenty of time so there isn't a need to rush, plus I've been thinking about it and we can't get rid of Voldemort as easily as I first thought anyway.'

Hermione frowned, `Why not?'

`Well, I think we have to leave the ring for Dumbledore to destroy. If Dumbledore didn't destroy the ring then he wouldn't have been too weak to travel into the past and if he hadn't been too weak to travel into the past we wouldn't be here in his place.'

Hermione nodded as though she understood, `so you think that if we destroy the ring, we'll create a paradox?'

Harry nodded, `Yeah, I was going to ask you as well,' he paused and took a deep breath, `do you think we should destroy the diary? If we don't it'll still be destroyed by the time we return to the future, so Voldemort will still be mortal there, and we'll spare Ginny a load of grief and nightmares but it'll mean that I won't have freed Dobby and who knows what else we might accidently muck up.'

Hermione looked thoughtful, `I suppose we probably should leave that one alone too, so what does that leave us with then?'

`Well there's still the locket, which Dumbledore thinks is in a cave by the beach where Tom Riddle used to go as a kid, and Hufflepuff's cup, which Dumbledore seems fairly certain is a Horcrux but is unsure where it is. The next one, Dumbledore thinks, is Ravenclaw's Diadem. He doesn't have a lot to support the theory except that some of the history of the Diadem that seems to coincide with some travel that Tom did, or, is going to do.'

Hermione looked terrified but determined, `is that all of them?' she asked.

`No there's one more, Dumbledore wasn't sure what it was but from reading his notes and theories I think he was pretty sure that Voldemort made Nagini into a Horcrux but I don't think he meets the snake til after Halloween next year. If it's not the Snake then I've got a pretty good idea what else it could be.'

`Well, what is it?' asked Hermione her hands over her mouth.

`I think it's me.'

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3. Chapter 3 - Meet the Parents

Disclaimer - I own nothing but the plot and even vast portions of that have been inspired by other works, most notably “Back to the Future” staring the, then adorable, still inspirational Michael J. Fox. Thanks again to my Beta Katia.

Chapter 3 - Meet the Parents

Hermione was still looking at him with a stunned and horrified look on her face, but she hadn't spoken a word since Harry's revelation. She didn't get a chance to, either, at all that day. Just as she started to recover her colour and opened her mouth to ask a question a loud nock echoed through the still largely empty house.

The two teens looked at each other startled and then looked towards the front room where they could see, quite clearly through the open kitchen door, James Potter with his nose pressed against their front window.

`I was right Lil, some people have moved in.'

Harry and Hermione looked at each other in shock; they were completely unprepared to face his parents just yet.

`Quick Harry over here,' she yanked him out of line of sight for the window and hurriedly tapped his glasses with her wand. She then directed her wand at him and twiddled it in a circular motion. He felt his hair grow quickly past his ears and chin til it was brushing his collar. The hair on his face too began to sprout til he was sporting what would be the equivalent of five day growth on a fully grown wizard but what would have taken him months to grow.

`Hermione! What are you doing?' He demanded, pushing her wand away from his face before she did anything else.

`Honestly Harry, I'm changing your appearance. If you face your father with the same haircut and glasses they'll see the resemblance immediately. All I've done is disillusion your glasses, so they can't be seen, grow your hair out and give you a bit of a beard. You still look like your Dad but at least now the resemblance won't be uncanny, and it's all natural so no-one would think you're disguised.'

`Oh' said Harry feeling a bit thick, `Well, we'd better get out there or they'll get suspicious.'

`Honestly Harry, it'd be more suspicious if we weren't at least a little cautious around an unknown witch or wizard. You've got to remember that things now are even more dangerous than they were in our time; people here have been living under the threat of Tom Riddle for years now. Frankly I'm surprised that you're parents have come to see us so quickly.'

`I suppose they want to know straight away whether they need to be wary of their new neighbours or not.'

Hermione shrugged but did not disagree, and the two teens made their way to the front door with exaggerated caution. They reached the door and flung it open, wands drawn, only to be faced by James and Lilly Potter standing in a similar stance. Wands drawn the two witches and wizards faced each other; none of them blinked or drew breath for the longest time. Suddenly a burst of light erupted from James wand but Hermione was quicker throwing out a silent Protego in time to harmlessly deflect the spell.

`A shield spell,' James muttered to Lilly, `I think that means they're ok Lil, what do you think?'

`I said so from the start, this is hardly the sort of house that Death Eaters would live in.'

`Death Eaters look just like everyone else,' Hermione muttered grimly acting the part of a person that does not know who to trust and has just been attacked by a stranger in her own home. Harry privately thought she was doing a brilliant job of acting wary of the two people they knew for certain that they could trust.

James grinned and lowered his wand, `We're no Death Eaters.'

Lilly lowered her wand as well; it was a necessary act of trust. If they were going to be neighbours they were going to have to learn to trust each other, and since James and Lilly had been the first one's to attack they both felt that they should likewise be the one's to heal the breach.

Hermione lowered her wand slowly and hesitantly and Harry copied her movements, he was too overcome by seeing his parents to think of what was the appropriate way to act, so he settled instead for just copying Hermione.

`Well, you can't be too careful I suppose. We won't have to worry about you attacking us again will we?'

James' grin widened, `not unless you attack us first.' He held out his hand, `James Potter, and this is my wife Lilly.'

Harry shook his father's proffered hand and swallowed the lump in his throat, `Harvey Porter and my wife Hermiah.'

`I suggest we all make an oath, so we can get passed the distrust and become good neighbours,' Lilly said sensing the reluctance and hesitancy in Harry as he shook his father's hand but attributing it to a different cause.

`What kind of oath?' asked Hermione, managing to inject a healthy amount of suspicion into her voice.

Lilly raised her wand and intoned seriously, `I swear on my magic to never harm Harvey or Hermiah Porter, nor shall I ever aid or abet any plan to do so and furthermore I swear to do all in my power to thwart any such plans I ever learn of.'

Hermione straightened her shoulders and repeated the spell substituting James and Lilly Potters names. James eyeballed Harry for a moment and Harry did his best to look back at his father with suspicion. Finally James seemed to come to a conclusion and he too repeated the vow, Harry sighed with relief and repeated the vow after all of the others. Once that had been done they all looked at each other soberly until James finally laughed and broke the tension.

`Welcome to the neighbourhood!'

They all smiled at each other, James and Lilly genuinely relieved that they had nothing to fear from their new neighbours and Harry and Hermione glad that they had been able to earn the trust of his parents so quickly.

`Well, come in then and have a cup of tea with us, we were just finishing breakfast.' Hermione invited them warmly

`Thank you, that would be lovely,' replied Lilly smiling graciously.

The Potters entered the house and walked through to the kitchen, after their shopping the day before, there were boxes everywhere and the work that the house needed was glaringly obvious. James looked around as he walked through the living room and into the kitchen.

`Have you got anyone coming to help you get settled,' he asked, still looking around as though making a mental inventory of everything that needed to be done.

`Ah, not exactly,' replied Harry, he ran a hand through his hair trying to think of something to say, but he had forgotten how much longer it was now and was distracted when his hand became tangled in his long unruly hair, `sorry, haven't had a chance to brush this mop yet today. I better go do that quickly.' He shot an apologetic glance at Hermione and almost ran from the room.

`You'll have to excuse my Husband,' he heard Hermione say as he made his way through the living room, `he's not at his best first thing in the morning.'

Once Harry had reached the safety of the bathroom he shut the door and lent against it breathing deeply. The past two days had been very traumatic for him and they weren't getting any easier. He had found out that it was Snape's betrayal that cost his parents their lives, he had watched as Snape had killed Professor Dumbledore only to learn moments later that Snape really was on the right side after all, he had then travelled back through time with Hermione, they had set themselves up as Husband and wife (and shared a bed for the night) and now he was expected to sit and share a cup of tea with his dead parents like nothing was wrong.

Harry lent heavily against the basin and took a couple of deep breaths trying to calm down, he could do this, he had to. If his parents were going to survive they were going to have to learn to trust him and for them to trust him, he had to become their friend. He splashed water on his face and then dried it off with a blast of warm air from his wand. Then looked up at his own reflection but did not recognise the man that looked back at him.

The extra weight that the length gave his hair meant it could not stick up in all directions as it had done when it was short, and now fell in a straight sheet to his shoulders (albeit a tangled sheet) and the “five day growth” gave him a rugged and dangerous look that was only made more pronounced by the scar that was now clearly visible on his forehead through the part in his hair. Remembering the reason for excusing himself Harry found the hair brush Hermione had left in the room from the night before and brushed his hair.

Amazingly enough, Harry found that the action was strangely calming and by the time he was done he felt calm enough to return to the kitchen.

He walked through the living room in the direction of the kitchen and arrived in time to hear the end of their, apparently sad, tale.

Hermione caught sight of him before either James or Lilly did and finished her tale with a flourish, `so, while my family is still alive, unlike poor Harvey who, as I said, is orphaned, they still won't be coming to help as they don't approve of my marrying so early in life.'

Harry sat down and gave Hermione a smile. Lilly and James both glanced at him but did not make a fuss over his entrance.

`My family are Muggles too,' Lilly was saying now sympathetically, `they don't really understand why we wanted to get married so soon after high-school either, but they're Catholic, so I think they'd prefer that to me living in sin at any rate.'

`Well, my parents are Church of England but they've never been particularly ... strict about it. Still I would have thought they'd feel the same as your parents but, apparently not.'

`We couldn't let them stand in the way of true love though, could we love?' asked Harry trying to ease the conversational burden from Hermione's shoulders. She'd been so wonderful ever since they'd got here, keeping him from doing many things that were stupid or suspicious, or both.

James grinned at Harry, glad that the younger man seemed to have finally shaken off whatever had been bothering him since their arrival, `I couldn't agree more Harvey. So Hermiah was saying that you did go to Hogwarts I don't remember seeing you there.'

Harry swallowed bracing himself for the first test, `Well, I think we were in our fifth year when you were finishing up. I remember you and Lilly were head boy and girl I think, weren't you?' Harry was suddenly uncertain, desperately trying to remember what year it was now and what year his parents had graduated. Now that the words were out of his mouth he felt a sudden pang of panic shoot through him, he had no idea how old his parents were at the moment or what year they had graduated high-school.

But James was nodding, `Ok, so that would mean you've only just graduated. Wow, you guys did get married young... not that we can talk I suppose, we were only a year older than you are now when we got married.'

Harry smiled relieved, `Yeah that's right, but we were never prefects or anything, and we were in Hufflepuff, so I'm not surprised you don't remember us from school.'

`You do look familiar though,' Lilly said looking at him speculatively.

Harry laughed trying to ease his own sense of foreboding more than anything else, `Well, I think you did deduct points from me once.'

She frowned and opened her mouth to speak but James beat her too it, `I'm surprised she even recognises you at all then,' then he laughed, `the number of people she deducted points from that year!'

They all laughed and Harry felt some of his tension lift, hopefully now that was established they could avoid further awkwardness.

`Well, since you guys are effectively on your own, perhaps you'd like some help,' said James smiling at them kindly. `Lil's and I did heaps of work to our place when we first moved in. I could show you a great spell for getting the floorboards looking great.'

Lilly was nodding enthusiastically, `Oh absolutely, I know some wonderful spells for the garden Hermiah. We could have it looking beautiful again in no time.'

Hermione frowned and looked at Harry as though trying to decipher his thoughts on the matter, `Oh, we wouldn't want to be a bother...' she hedged uncertainly.

`Don't be silly, it'll be fun.'

`Yeah, get some of your mates over and we'll all have a working bee!' said James getting enthusiastic about the idea.

`Oh well, we were kind of loners at school...' Hermione hedged, again unsure how to respond.

`Yeah we really kept to ourselves; we didn't have loads of friends like I remember you guys having.'

James frowned briefly but then brightened, `oh well, we'll get some of our friends over and we'll have a working bee.'

Hermione opened her mouth again but James spoke first, cutting her off again, `and don't say no Hermiah, friends help each other, so let us help you.' Hermione looked at Harry helplessly and he shrugged.

`Ok, great,' Hermione smiled brightly but Harry saw the panic creeping in at the edges of her eyes, `So what do you think we should do first?'

`We've got some friends coming over today anyway, so we'll go home and wait for them to arrive,' Lilly said brightly, `That'll give you two a chance to decide what you want to work on first, and we'll be back in about an hour or so with the reinforcements and we'll go from there. How does that sound.'

`Great!' said Harry enthusiastically but his enthusiasm was really for the opportunity they'd just been given to have a half hours breathing space. They needed time to get their story straight and prepare to face the people that his parents would be bringing back with them.

`All right, well we'll see you in about an hour then.' James said.

The two Potters bustled towards the door and Harry and Hermione saw them out. They stood smiling at the door way until the Potters had reached the edge of the yard, then they shut the door and the panic that Hermione had been suppressing burst forth.

`Oh, of all the reckless... foolish... why on earth would Dumbledore suggest this Harry? How on earth could he think this would be a good idea? The first rule...' she sputtered turning on him, `What is the first rule of time travel?'

`Um...' Harry racked his brain but could not think of anything.

`YOU MUST NOT BE SEEN! And now... now, we're going to have a party! A PARTY!' she practically screeched at him, `and you just know who's going to be in that party don't you Harry?' she was hysterical and beyond rational thought, but the creeping dread in Harry's brain helped him to answer with a forced sense of calm.

`Remus,'

`Yes, and?

`Sirius,'

`AND?'

`Pettigrew.'

Harry spat the word as though it left a foul taste in his mouth but Hermione didn't notice.

`Yes Pettigrew and we HAVE to treat him normally Harry, we cannot... cannot... allow any sense of spite, anger or distaste to even enter our minds. We have to act as though he is just the friend of our new friends and not betray any kind of bitterness at all.'

`I rather think that will be harder for me than it will for you Hermione.'

`I KNOW! And it will be hard enough for me... Oh, Harry... how are you going to do it?'

Harry shook his head and shrugged in one motion, `I just have to that's all, I just have to keep telling myself that I've never met him before and remind myself that the part he plays is vital... if this is going to work my parents need to trust him to be the secret keeper, and he needs to betray them. We can't do anything that might change that.'

Hermione looked at him and bit her lip, Harry thought she might burst into tears at any moment, but instead she flung her arms around him in a crushing hug.

`Oh, Harry,' she whispered her voice choked with the tears Harry had known she would shed, `I wish I could help somehow...'

`Don't be ridiculous Hermione;' he told her, tightening his grip on her, `you've been amazing ever since we got here. I probably would have blown this a million times already if I hadn't had your help.'

Hermione pulled back from the hug slightly to look him in the eye, `Really?'

Harry nodded, `really,' she hugged him tightly again, `look it'll be ok, surely you've seen that movie “Back to the Future” right?' She nodded her wild hair crashing up and down into his face, he smoothed it back and continued `Well he interacted with his parents heaps in that movie, and changed their lives for the better and nothing disastrous happened.'

Hermione looked at him incredulously, `That's a movie Harry.'

`The point is still valid though, they don't know who we are, and if we're careful they never will. It'll be okay, really.' Hermione nodded, then let go of him and walked briskly to the other side of the room.

`Right, well, we'd better hurry up and get our story straight and then I suppose we'd better put together a list of what we want done around here.' Harry nodded in agreement and motioned for her to continue. `Ok so I told them basically that your parents were Muggles but they died a few years ago in a car accident, I figured since that's what you believed til you were eleven,' she said this with a growl as though still angry with the Dursleys about it, `it wouldn't be hard for you to remember. I also told them that though my parents were alive they were also Muggles who didn't like the idea of us marrying so young and had basically disowned me.'

`Right and I came up with the bit about us being in Hufflepuff a few years behind them. If we're both Muggle-borns in Hufflepuff it shouldn't surprise them too much that we didn't have any friends, with all the pureblood mania that's been around for the last few years.'

`Exactly,' Hermione agreed, `Well done on coming up with that by the way.'

`My part was minute compared to yours.'

`Yes but you had a lot more to deal with emotionally.' She looked at him then and Harry dropped his eyes to the floor not able to withstand her scrutiny, `How are you coping with seeing them?' asked Hermione next, her voice soft.

`Ok I guess,' said Harry, shrugging, `it was a little touch and go there to start with, but I think I'll be ok with it now.'

Hermione nodded her business like demeanour returning, `Right, well I think we've got our story straight now, shall we sit down and make up that list now of chores now?'

Harry nodded, glad to have the difficult part of the conversation over with, `Sure, but let's go and sit down, I never got to finish my breakfast.'

They returned to the kitchen and spent the remainder of their hour alone debating what they needed done to the house first. Hermione was all for unpacking their purchases from the day before and getting the house set up but Harry was adamant that it would arouse suspicion if they did anything other than treat the house as though it would be their home for a good many years to come.

`Besides,' he pointed out reasonably, `Do you really want to spend the next two years living in a house with floors like this?' he asked pointing at the wooden boards which were not just dusty and worn but also swollen and stained in places.

`Alright, fine,' said Hermione, capitulating at last, `You boys can do the floors and then, if there is time, start unpacking a few things. Lilly and I will work on clearing out the garden and maybe washing the windows and whoever is done first can take care of making dinner.'

No sooner had they settled this then there was a loud nock at the door again, `We should really see about getting a door-bell,' Hermione called over her shoulder as she hurried to answer the door. She flung it open and was greeted by a sea of smiling faces.

`James, Lilly... and ... friends,' Hermione said looking flustered at the sight of so many people.

`We heard that you were hosting a work in exchange for food day?' Sirius asked from the back of the group.

Harry nearly did a double take seeing him, the way Harry remembered Sirius was older, worn and far more sedate. This Sirius, young and never having been to Azkaban, reminded Harry of nothing so much as a black haired Ron, light-hearted, funny and thinking only of his stomach. The thought made him grin as he motioned the group inside. Peter Pettigrew was there, he noticed, but amongst so many other people he was small, insignificant and easy to overlook. McGonagall's overheard description from his third year came back to him, and he now understood the full justice of her description.

`Yeah absolutely, a working bee in exchange for dinner and lunch,' He gestured around himself at the rooms that were still empty but for the people, the boxes and the dust, `as you can see there is a fair bit that needs to be done.' A lot of good natured grins resulted from his words, `We were thinking that the first things we wanted to get sorted are the floors and the dust and once that's done we can get started with unpacking.'

They sorted themselves into groups, Sirius volunteered to sort out the wards, which he described as woefully inadequate, Lilly and Hermione went to work in the garden, while Remus and Peter did the rooms downstairs and Harry led James upstairs to get started on the rooms up there. When they got to the top of the stairs James indicated to the one closed door, `Is this your bedroom?' he asked, `cause we should probably do that one first, you'll be glad of it by the end of the day, trust me.'

Harry smiled and nodded, `Sure ok,' but James' hand hesitated on the door knob.

`Ah, do you want to just pop in there quickly first and make sure there's nothing that would offend my delicate sensibilities?'

Harry blushed, he knew there was nothing in the room of the kind James was referring to but, just the same, thought it would probably be a good idea to have a quick look around and make sure there was nothing in there to give away their secret.

`I'll just have a quick look,' Harry mumbled trying to slip past James and into the bedroom, his face on fire.

James just laughed and clapped him on the back, `No need to be embarrassed Harvey, I'm a married man too... I've got a fair idea of what you're getting up to with that pretty wife of yours.'

Harry just about choked on his own tongue, but he tried to play it off, `Yeah, of course...' he stammered extricating himself from the moment of manly bonding and hiding in the room. Once safely behind the closed door, Harry paused, leaning against it for a moment to catch his breath. If he didn't die from embarrassment it would be a miracle, he just hoped James wouldn't want to share details of his own personal life with him.

Recovering his composure, he did a quick whip round on the room and stashed away anything that might be incriminating. He was so focused on hiding things that might reveal they were from the future, or not who they said they were that when Harry finally let his father into the room he realised (primarily from James' loud laughter) that the sheets on the bed were still a tangled mess.

`Good job hiding the evidence there, Harvey!' said James indicating the mussed sheets with much amusement. They were only like that because two people had slept there, they had each left at separate times and neither had bothered to pull the blankets back up. But that was certainly not what it looked like.

Harry's face flamed again, he was never going to be able to look Hermione in the eye again after this but at least he'd been right about them sharing the bed. James was unlikely to have any suspicions after this that he and Hermione were a married couple, and all without them having to kiss or anything. Harry's stomach plunged at the thought, without noticing that it wasn't an unpleasant sensation, and he gulped. James had already moved on and was starting to shrink down the few items in the room to prepare the way to do the floors. Harry pushed the strange sensations and odd thoughts from his mind and focused on the task at hand.

Once the room had been cleared, James set about teaching Harry how to do the floor sanding spell which basically caused a beam of air from the wand to act as a sander.

`Be careful not to point it at anything fleshy though,' James cautioned him sagely, `trust me, it's very painful and leads to a lengthy stay in St Mungo's.'

Harry laughed at this but headed the advice nevertheless. James was amazed though when Harry confessed he could not perform spells wordlessly and spent some time teaching him a trick he knew to make wordless spell casting easy. Within half an hour his father had managed to teach him what Snape hadn't been able to in an entire year, and Harry was casting all sorts of spells wordlessly.

`That's a great trick, where did you learn that?'

James brushed off the compliment, `My dad taught it to me, I'm not really supposed to tell anyone except my kids when they're old enough, but... we have the vow, I can trust you with it can't I?'

Harry nodded, feeling an unexpected hotness behind his eyes, `Of course.'

James nodded satisfied and then the two men started to work.

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4. Chapter 4 - Wheels in Motion

Disclaimer - Anything you recognise is not mine... the characters and many objects, places etc belong to JK Rowling, and much of the plot has been “inspired” by the work of others most notably “Back to the Future” but also many existing fan-fictions that have at once inspired me and left me wanting more from this type of plot arc. Thanks again to my Beta Katia.

Chapter 4 - Wheels in motion

That night as Harry lay in bed he couldn't get James' comments out of his mind, of course they wanted everyone to think they were a married couple but he really hadn't been prepared for the kind of assumptions that would lead to.

Hermione's mind was also working overtime, but on a completely different topic.

`Harry, are you asleep?' asked Hermione, her voice floating out into the darkness.

`No not yet, why... what's on your mind?

`I've been thinking about what you said earlier today, about you being a Horcrux,' Harry didn't respond, so Hermione continued, `Why did you say that?'

`Why else would I say it, Hermione? I've read Dumbledore's notes; it's the only thing that makes sense. I think it was an accident... but I still think it happened.'

Harry could almost feel the worry emanating from Hermione and would have bet every Galleon they had that she was biting her lip.

`Will you let me read the notebook?'

`Sure, but I don't think you'll be able to change my mind on this.'

`We'll work something out, Harry.'

`Sure.'

Seconds ticked by in the darkness before Hermione spoke again.

`You know we've messed up already don't you?'

`We did?'

`Yeah' she sounded depressed but didn't elaborate.

`Want to tell me how?' asked Harry finally.

He heard her sigh and felt her shift her weight in the bed, `we made a vow to your parents to do anything we could to protect them, to do all in our power to thwart any plans we learn of that will harm them. I think that would include what we know about Pettigrew's plans to betray them.'

Harry exhaled a breath he didn't realise he'd been holding, `Is that all?'

`What do you mean “is that all”? Isn't that enough? Harry, if we don't do everything we can to prevent your parents from being harmed as a result of that “plan” we'll loose our magic!'

He felt her weight shift and small puffs of air against his skin when she spoke, she must have rolled over to face him, but Harry remained stubbornly looking at the ceiling.

`Hermione, if I don't do everything I can to prevent my parents being harmed from that plan I'll loose something far more important than magic.'

`But that was the plan, wasn't it, Harry? Isn't that what you said before we came back here? That Dumbledore was going to save your Dad but your Mum still had to make the sacrifice so that you'd survive?'

`That was Dumbledore's plan, besides his main reason for doing that was so that I'd keep all my current abilities as a kind of reserve. Now there is no reserve. Dumbledore is dead and it's all down to me, either I figure out a way to do this or we're sunk.'

He rolled over to face her, no longer able to resist the urge to see her face. It was too dark to see her clearly, but it was enough just to know that he was facing her.

`Besides, do you really think I'd have been able to live with myself if I didn't do everything in my power to change what happens to them?'

Hermione sighed, sending another warm, gentle breeze across Harry's skin, `No, I guess not.'

`Would you really want to be friends with someone who could?'

Harry thought he saw her lips curve in a smile but it was too dark to tell for sure.

`No I wouldn't.'

`So we haven't really committed ourselves to anything other than what we would have done anyway right?'

He heard a faint chuckle of agreement, `I guess,'

`So, it's not the end of the world after all, is it?'

`No, I suppose not.'

Harry felt the bed shift again as Hermione rolled onto her back once more, and Harry followed suit. After a few more minutes of thinking in the quiet darkness he heard Hermione whisper, `Good night, Harry.'

He smiled in response, `Good night, Hermione.'

At the house across the road another couple was having a quiet conversation in the dark before they slept.

`Do you think it was really as foolish as Sirius said, to make those vows with our new neighbours?' asked Lilly, her voice full of concern.

`Well, I guess it could have been, but I think it worked out okay... we haven't promised them anything more than they've promised us and, I don't know why but, for some reason I do trust them.'

`I do too.'

`If I tell you something will you promise not to get too mad at me?'

`I can't promise I won't get mad, James, just tell me what you've done this time.' Lilly sighed heavily, apparently accustomed to this type of thing from her husband.

`Do you remember that trick I taught you, after we got married?'

Lilly giggled, `which one?'

James laughed in response, `Lilly.... I meant the trick for casting non-verbal spells.'

`Oh... that trick... yes I remember. You said it was supposed to stay within the family right? That's why you didn't teach it to me sooner?'

`Yeah... when my Dad taught it to me he said that it could be a real advantage in a battle, being able to cast non-verbally, so I should never teach it to anyone who wasn't family. He was right I suppose, it's saved my neck more times than I care to remember.'

`Did you teach it to someone, James?' asked Lilly, incredulously.

`Yeah, I didn't even realise what I had done till after I'd done it,' he said miserably, `He just seemed so embarrassed about not being able to cast non-verbally, before I knew it I was running him through the finer points. It worked, of course, and he could do anything non-verbally after that. It wasn't till he had mastered it though that I realised what I had done.'

`Oh, James...'

`I know, I know, what an idiot, right?' moaned James, miserably, ` Vow or no vow it was a stupid thing to do, he could teach it to anyone... for all we know he's at Knock-turn Alley right now teaching classes to Death Eaters.'

Lilly sighed, `Well, I really don't think he would.'

There was silence for a few minutes before James responded, `No neither do I, it might be stupid but for some reason I actually do trust the kid.'

Lilly snuggled up into James' side before speaking again, `You know, for all that he does seem familiar, I really don't remember him from Hogwarts.'

`No, neither do I,' James laughed, `but then I was a self absorbed prat for most my time there.'

Lilly laughed as well, `true,' she yawned, `still, I would have thought I'd've remembered meeting someone with the same colour eyes as me.'

James frowned but said nothing, his mind suddenly filled with an image of the young guy they'd only met that day. The more he thought about it the more he realised his wife was right, Harvey's and Lilly's eyes were exactly the same.

`Goodnight Love.' Lilly said her voice muffled and sleepy.

`Goodnight Angel.' He replied.

James did not sleep very well that night, and when he did his vision was haunted by images of green eyes.

The following day Harry again woke before Hermione did and repeated the routine from the previous morning, something told him that it wasn't going to be the routine of just a few days either.

Harry was glad he tended to wake up first; it gave him a chance to get out of bed and get himself ready for the day before Hermione started organising things. It was probably too early to say for sure, but Harry had a feeling they were going to do alright living together. His mouth twisted into a wary grimace when he thought of what it would have been like if it were Ron and Hermione. In spite of himself the thought did make him smile, they'd probably still be out by the fence arguing over whether to tap the sign with a wand or not.

When breakfast was on the table and Hermione had joined him, they started to talk about their next steps.

`I still want to read that Notebook Harry,' Hermione began, `but, for the moment, could you just summarise it for me, so I have an idea of what we're dealing with?'

`Oh, sure,' he took another mouthful of food and swallowed it before continuing, `Basically there are six Horcruxes. First off there's the Diary and the ring, which we agreed we should leave alone right? So that we've changed as little as possible,' Hermione nodded in response so Harry continued, `Good. The ones we were fairly certain of were Slytherins locket, which Dumbledore thinks is in a cave by the ocean and Hufflepuffs cup which could be anywhere. Then there are the two which we aren't so sure about. In his notes Dumbledore was pretty sure that one of those at least was Ravenclaws Diadem, though I've no idea what a Diadem is. His reasons for that are pretty sketchy, basically it comes down to his theory that Voldemort would want to use items owned by the founders of Hogwarts and the fact that Voldemort was known to have once travelled to Albania where the Diadem was last rumoured to be seen.'

`That's not exactly concrete evidence,' interjected Hermione, her brow furrowed.

`I did say it was sketchy, didn't I?' Hermione shrugged so Harry went back to what he was saying, `He doesn't really have any good theories for the last one, he thinks that Voldemort might have used the Nagini, but that wouldn't have been until after October next year,' Harry said alluding to the date on which Voldemort would attempt to kill his parents.

Hermione swallowed her mouthful of food her frown deepening, `So what makes you think you might be one then?'

Harry's mind raced back over all of the evidence he'd seen so clearly back in Dumbledore's office, but he knew that none of it would convince her. There are none so blind as those who will not see.

So he only shrugged and avoided her gaze, `I don't know, Hermione, I think for that one you'll just have to read Dumbledore's notes for yourself and make up your own mind.'

Hermione frowned but nodded, `So if we aren't going to do anything about the Diary or the Ring we'll need to focus on the Locket and the Cup first, since those are the two we know most about. I can also do a bit more research on the Diadem and see what we can find out about it that Dumbledore may not have included in his notes.'

`We also need to find out if Voldemort has Nagini yet, because if he does then we'll be able to get rid of her too,' added Harry.

`Yes, and we'll need to find a way to test you to see if you really are a Horcrux or not.'

Harry stared at Hermione open mouthed, `I thought there was no way you would believe that?'

Hermione shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, `there isn't, I just thought that the sooner we prove it to you the sooner we'll be able to put this ridiculous idea aside and focus on other possibilities.'

Harry laughed, `right, fair enough I suppose.'

`Well it looks as though there will plenty of research for me to do anyway; the only thing I'm really worried about is how we're going to do that... Do we have enough money to go out buying a lot of books?'

Harry shook his head, `Not really, we're probably going to have to live pretty conservatively as it is... I think we paid too much for the house.'

Hermione nodded, `I thought that might be the case, I suppose I could look into using Stonehenge library but we don't exist yet so that might be difficult too.'

`We could always get books from Hogwarts.' Harry suggested

Hermione raised her eyebrows and looked at him sceptically, `Only students and staff can access the library at Hogwarts Harry.'

Harry grinned, `no - only students and staff are supposed to be able to access the library at Hogwarts... but you and I have ways to avoid being seen.'

Hermione closed her eyes, took a deep breath and then spoke, her eyes still closed. `I hope you aren't suggesting what I think you're suggesting, Harry.'

`Come on, Hermione! Where's your sense of adventure?' Harry whined, `we know how to get in without setting off the wards, we won't be seen and, if you have the map, we won't even have to see anybody either.'

Hermione swallowed and opened her eyes again, `We will take the books back, won't we?'

Harry grinned broadly at her, `Of course.'

`I can't believe I'm agreeing to this...'

`Awesome, we should see if we can get the sword of Gryffindor while we're there... Oh and we can check to see if there are any Horcruxes hidden at Hogwarts while we're at it. Dumbledore did say that Tom Riddle loved to hide things in places of significance... what place is more significant than Hogwarts?'

Hermione groaned, `Harry, I thought we were just going to be in and out?'

`We are, we'll...'

`But you're talking about searching the school from top to bottom looking for something that we don't even know for sure is there, then breaking in to the headmasters office, then taking a side trip to the library to get books... that would take hours! Or Days!'

Harry smirked, it didn't happen very often but he really loved it when he'd thought of something that Hermione hadn't. `We won't need to do any of that,' he assured her, `I promise we'll be in and out, there is only one place we'll need to go to get everything we require.'

Hermione's eyes widened in surprise, `Of course... but ... do you really think that will work?' asked Hermione, her voice breathless and her cheeks pink with excitement.

`It's not called the room of requirement for nothing, besides there's only one way to find out.'

Hermione nodded, her curls bouncing enthusiastically causing Harry to smile involuntarily, her hair had so much personality. `It's a good thing I still had the map on me when we left, do you think we should use the tunnel in the Shrieking Shack or the one under Honeydukes?'

Harry smiled in relief, this was going to be a lot easier with her help, `Well, the tunnel from Honeydukes takes us right inside the school, and the place where it comes out is really close to the room of requirement so that would probably be easier, but then we'd have to break into Honeydukes and that would be a lot more risky. What to do you think?'

Hermione bit her lip while she considered the matter, `I like the idea of not having to travel so far once we're in the school, I think it probably does minimise the risk of not being caught, but I don't want to break into Honeydukes either. Do you think, if we take some food and stuff with us, we could sneak into the tunnel during the day when the store is open, using the cloak, and then just camp out in the tunnel til the night?'

`It'd be a pretty boring day,' griped Harry, unable to come up with any other objection to the plan.

`True, but I could read that notebook of Dumbledore's and you could have a look through the other books he packed.'

`I guess,' suddenly the adventure that Harry was planning sounded like a lot less fun, `or we could try apparating into the tunnel? Do you think that would work?'

Hermione looked doubtful, `I guess it could,' Harry felt his spirits rise, `But what if we missed our mark by a bit we could end up splinched under the ground, then we'd have to get the ministry involved to fix it and there would be all sorts of questions about what we were doing under there in the first place... not to mention the fact that the secret of the tunnel would be blown, years before it was supposed to be known about...'

Harry interrupted her there, `alright, I get your point; we'll do it your way.'

She beamed at him, `excellent!'

`So when are we going to do this then?' He asked resigned to his fate.

`What are you doing today?'

`I guess I'm breaking in to Hogwarts.'

Hermione got started clearing away the breakfast dishes while Harry went back up stairs to their bedroom to gather the books and things they would need for their “excursion”. He opened the case and started looking through it, idly thinking as he did so that they should really put Dumbledore's clothes elsewhere. All of the books were at the bottom of the case, Harry rifled through them trying to find something that would keep him occupied during the long day ahead of him when something caught his eye.

There was one book, jammed in amongst thick and dusty old tomes that clearly did not belong there. Firstly it was much smaller, both in thickness and in height, secondly, where all of the other books were faded to the point of being varying shades of grey, this one was a bright new purple. Finally where all of the other books had only their titles to identify them, this book boasted a bright modern picture of witches and wizards playing Quidditch.

Harry immediately forgot everything else he was supposed to be doing, pulled the book from where it had been trapped and sat on the floor to look through it.

`The little book of Quidditch Statistics - For serious Quidditch Fanatics.'

Harry flipped open the cover and noticed a little hand written scrawl `for emergencies only' it read. If Harry had felt any confusion as to how a book on Quidditch Statistics might be useful in an emergency, it didn't last long. It was clearly not a book that would be of any use in the usual type of emergency that Harry faced, but it would be very useful in other types of emergency... particularly, the financial kind.

Put simply the book held the results of every quidditch match ever played, if they ever ran short of money all they'd have to do is find out when the next match was being held and bet on the winner. Harry grinned; it was so typical of Dumbledore to consider something like a book about Quidditch scores to be a useful thing to have in an emergency.

Harry was so engrossed in the book that he didn't hear Hermione's footsteps on the stairs, it wasn't until she opened the door to the bedroom that he realised she was finished in the kitchen at all. Harry jumped in guilty surprise at being caught reading Quidditch Statistics when he was supposed to be looking for useful books.

`What's that?' asked Hermione peering over his shoulder.

`Oh, it's ... um... I found it in there.' Harry said helplessly pointing at the case Dumbledore had packed.

`Is it about Quidditch?' she asked next, sounding confused.

`Well... yeah... it's all results of Quidditch games, how many goals, who scored them ... that kind of thing. I think Dumbledore was planning on using it to place a few bets if he ran out of money.'

`Oh, well that's .... Comforting I suppose. But, honestly Harry, trust you to find the one book in there that's about Quidditch!' she sounded exasperated but she was still smiling and Harry couldn't help but return her smile.

`I guess I was attracted to the bright colours and pretty pictures'

Amazingly Hermione laughed, he had expected her to be cross with him, `Books are really more my thing anyway. Why don't you fix us some food to take along with us and I'll find the books for you to read.'

Harry jumped up, so relieved that she was taking the odious task off his hands that he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. `Your the best Hermione!' he said and sprinted from the room before she could change her mind.

As he barrelled down the steps, happy that he had gotten away with slacking off, he didn't notice that Hermione hadn't respond to his comment any more than he realised he had just kissed her, albeit on the cheek, for the very first time. And he certainly didn't notice the slightly dazed look on Hermione's face as her hand hovered tentatively where his lips had just touched.

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5. Chapter 5 - Return to Hogwarts

A/N - I do not own Harry Potter any more than I own “Back to the Future”. My sincere appreciation goes to the writers of those stories as well as to the writers of the stories in the HP Fandom, dealing with the idea of mixing HP and time travel; that have inspired this story. Big thanks to Katia, my beta. Finally, watch out for the bit about Paradoxes. I've had a lot of people question this in reviews and have altered this chapter specifically to answer those questions.

Chapter 5 - Return to Hogwarts

Another unseasonably beautiful sunlight day greeted them when they apparated to Hogsmeade shrouded in Harry's invisibility cloak, the chill in the air and the frost on the grass the only indications of how late in the season it really was. They had decided that if they simply arrived while invisible they wouldn't have to then find somewhere where it was safe to become so, or risk raising suspicion. That the times were even bleaker than what had yet been felt in their own time was something which had been drummed into them on several occasions since their arrival in the past.

Harry had vaguely recalled Hagrid telling him, back before he started Hogwarts, that they were dark times when people didn't know who to trust but it had never been so apparent as it was when they had visited Diagon Alley or when they had first met his parents. This was important for them to remember because it meant that they had to be doubly careful with everything they did, the slightest infraction could cause too many problems. Harry's anonymity in the past made it much easier for them to move around unnoticed and they could not do anything that might jeopardise that.

Apparating two people while staying under cover of an invisibility that was only really big enough for one was no easy task. The easiest way they had found to achieve it was for Hermione to stand in front of Harry but facing away from him and holding the cloak closed while Harry stood behind her and held on to her. He could see over her shoulder quite easily, especially now that he towered over her by several inches, and since she was standing at the front it was easier if she held the cloak closed.

Harry thought it was quite an exercise in trust on both their parts, she had to trust him enough to apparate without splinching them and he had to trust her to keep the cloak tightly closed around them while he did it. But it worked.

They had done a few practices in the back yard before they left so by the time the apparated into Hogsmeade they had it down pat and their arrival went off without a hitch.

Harry had only used the cloak in such a crowded place a few times before and it did, at times, really test his agility to avoid having people walk into them especially because he had to pull Hermione out of the way in time as well. They did make it to the door of Honeydukes without incident though, but that's when they faced their first real challenge. It wasn't a weekend when the Hogwarts students could visit the town, which was good in a way because it meant fewer crowds, but it was also bad because it meant there weren't as many people visiting the sweet shop. They couldn't just open the door themselves, because that would arouse suspicion but after about ten minutes of waiting, and still no-one looking like they were headed in that direction, Harry started to feel that they might just be waiting there all day.

`Should we use the tunnel in the shrieking shack then?' Harry whispered

Hermione shivered a little, `give it a minute.'

Harry groaned and waited what felt like another hour, but was probably only another ten minutes, before he tried a different track.

`Aren't your arms getting sore?'

Hermione turned her head to face him and almost bumped heads with him, `Stop it, Harry,' she hissed, `you're not helping.'

Harry frowned, it was starting to get very warm under the cloak despite the chill in the air and it wasn't helped by the fact that Hermione seemed to be doing everything she could to raise his blood pressure further. She was a very good friend, and he didn't think of her that way at all, but he was still a red blooded male. Surely there was only so long that any man could stand in such close proximity to a pretty girl like Hermione, and feel it every time she fidgeted a bit, before certain natural reactions started to occur.

He needed movement, he needed action, and he needed something to take his mind off the way Hermione's body moved against his whenever she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. If something didn't happen very soon to divert his attention then Hermione would know all about his, very natural, reaction to having her in his arms like this for so long.

He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he very nearly didn't see the youngish wizard apparate onto the porch in front of them and make his way towards the door of Honeydukes. Hermione digging her elbow into his ribs was what finally got his attention and even then it was very nearly too late by the time he sprang into action and slipped into the store behind the other wizard.

Once they were in the store of course, it was a very simple matter to slip into the basement and go down the trap door. When they made it to the safety of the tunnel under the store Harry couldn't let go of Hermione quickly enough, so desperate was he to get away from her lest his body betray his traitorous thoughts.

He was in good company though because it seemed Hermione couldn't get away from him quickly enough either. Briefly he wondered if she really found him that repulsive and even more briefly he wondered if it was because she found the prolonged proximity as uncomfortable as he did for similar reasons to his own.

He didn't have time to dwell on any of this however because, no sooner were they in the tunnel and out from underneath the cloak, than she turned on him.

`What on earth is wrong with you, Harry? After all that time waiting and you nearly got us hit by the door... what on earth were you doing?'

She was still whispering, because they were underneath the floor of Honeydukes, but Harry could tell that if they'd been anywhere else she'd have been yelling.

`I'm sorry, I was bored, I got distracted.'

Hermione huffed and pursed her lips, `You've got to take this seriously Harry, it's very dangerous in the wizarding world right now. We could be killed here and there is no-one to come and back us up.'

`I know.'

`If we'd gotten stuck in that doorway, or I'd dropped the invisibility cloak, or we'd bumped into that wizard we could have ended up dead or in Azkaban'

`I know.'

`I'd just like it if you had a bit more concern for my safety,' she went on, but Harry cut her off. She had just gone too far and now he was livid.

`More concern for your safety?' He asked, incredulously, `Why on earth do you think I'm doing any of this Hermione?' she opened her mouth to respond but he didn't let her, `and don't bring up my parents because I don't even really know them. While yes, I admit, I would love to save them and have them as part of my life, I've had 16 years to get used to the fact that they are dead. And sure there's Ron and Ginny and all of the Weasley's and our other friends, but the thing you just don't seem to get is that if Voldemort regains power it will be you that suffers the most!'

He wasn't yelling but he was getting as close to it as he could while still whispering, `I'll probably be the first one he kills, sure, but you've always known that it's not my safety I put first. You will be systematically hunted and killed like some kind of animal and I can't just stand by and let that happen.'

He took a step closer to her, `So don't tell me to have more concern for your safety because it has always been, and probably will always be, one of my highest priorities.'

With that said he stormed passed her into the tunnel casting a wordless Lumos as he went to light the way.

He was still fuming about Hermione's accusation that he was not as concerned for her safety as he should be and for a little while he felt perfectly justified in everything that he'd said. He'd only gotten about twenty meters though before the doubts started to creep in, he looked behind him to make sure that Hermione had followed him and she was no-where to be seen, he panicked. Without a second thought he ran back up towards the entrance of the tunnel.

Hermione was sitting on the ground only a couple of meters into the tunnel, her knees drawn up to her chest. She wasn't crying but she looked like she'd just stepped on a pygmy puff or something. She looked up at his approach and her lip started to quiver.

`Harry, I'm so sorry... I shouldn't have said that, I've just been so tense and scared ever since we got here and... I know you've always done everything you could to keep me safe.'

Harry knelt down beside her and put a hand on her shoulder, `its ok, Hermione, I think I over-reacted as well... I've been pretty scared of messing something too. I'm sorry I got angry at you.'

Hermione shook her head vigorously, `No, you... didn't ... I shouldn't have...' she broke off as tears started to stream down her cheeks. She brushed them away impatiently and seemed to be trying to stop new tears from falling, `You've just made me realise how much I don't appreciate you sometimes... and now I'm crying all over you as well.'

`It's ok, after Cho you're a walk in the park... but honestly Hermione it's me that doesn't appreciate you sometimes. I mean I basically forced you to agree, on a moment's notice, to a difficult and deadly plan that involves time travel as well as battling evil wizards and possibly changing the past. Then when I get you to the past I dump it on you that we'll be posing as husband and wife, sharing a bed, and staying in the past for the next two years. What do you do? You just, take it all in your stride and keep me from making too many mistakes. And I, great prat that I am, don't even say thank-you.'

Hermione sniffled but smiled at him, `Well, I owe you a quite a few life debts Harry, so I think you deserve it... besides... it'd be no fun if we followed the rules all the time would it. You taught me that in first year, and I've never forgotten it.'

Harry returned her smile and brushed her hair back out of her face.

`Come on,' he held out his hand to help her up off the ground, `lets not sit here all day and argue about whose the bigger prat or who owes who more, you know damn well you've saved my life as many times as I've saved yours. We can do the official tally later.'

Hermione grasped his hand, stood up, and the two teens made their way down the dark tunnel together.

The rest of the day passed pleasantly enough, they talked about plenty of things while they sat in the tunnel passing the time. They talked about spells and Horcruxes, the lunch Harry had packed and whether or not the Room of Requirement would be able to get them what they needed. Harry asked Hermione whether she thought he could convince his dad to go flying with him, Hermione told Harry all about her conversations with Lilly and asked him whether he thought Lilly liked her.

But during all of these conversations, and during the whole course of the day, they did not once broach the topic of the words Harry had so rashly thrown at Hermione in the heat of his anger. Both of them thought of little else but neither one of them, despite being true Gryffindors, could find the courage to broach the topic.

For his part, Harry had surprised himself with the sentiments he'd expressed. Not because he'd said anything that wasn't true but because it was quite the opposite. If anyone had asked him, at any point prior to the exact moment in which the words were flying out of his mouth, he would have told them that he was so bent on destroying Voldemort because he was the only person who could and because it had to be done for all of those little witches and wizards out there who might grow up as orphans if he didn't do something, and for those who would not grow old at all.

The strange thing was, Harry pondered while he was pretending to read one of the heavy books Hermione had brought along for entertainment, that stuff was all true. But thinking back on what he'd said to Hermione he realised it wasn't the whole truth. Even if every witch and wizard just laid down their wands and allowed Voldemort to take over people like Hermione would still be in danger and he just couldn't let that happen.

Hermione was reading her book, but every now and then her mind would wander back to what Harry had said. She wanted to ask him if he really meant it, but couldn't bring herself to speak the words. She didn't believe he would say something he didn't mean, but she also just couldn't quite believe that he had really meant what he'd said.

As the day wore on Hermione started to think more about their conversation the previous evening about saving Lilly and James, she was still worried that anything they tried would have serious repercussions. If they weren't careful they would risk creating a paradox, an unresolvable time loop that could destroy the universe.

It was something her father had teased her about when she'd told her parents about her time turner in third year. He'd written back and jokingly warned her against accidentally killing her past self, because if she did that then she would never go back in time and kill herself so she wouldn't die but then if she didn't die she'd go back in time and accidentally kill herself and it would create time loop would be unresolvable and she'd wind up accidentally destroying the entire universe. He was teasing her and quoting from “Back to the Future” (even going so far as to include the line, “granted that's a worst case scenario”) but it was a valid concern.

The death of Harry's parents was no minor matter in their time stream and saving their lives had the potential to change any number of things that could inadvertently create a paradox.

Harry saw her biting her lip, `Is everything ok?'

`No not really, I'm worried that if we save your parents we might be creating a paradox.' She briefly explained to him what a paradox was.

Harry scratched his head and thought for a moment, `but my parents being alive wouldn't automatically stop me from coming back in time, so how could that be a paradox?'

`It could change any number of things that might then in turn stop you from coming back in time.'

Harry shook his head, `I disagree,' Hermione opened her mouth but Harry continued, `if we destroy the diary then Dumbledore never gets the idea about Horcruxes and none of this happens. So we don't destroy the diary. If we destroy the ring then Dumbledore still has this idea but he's well enough to do this himself and none of this happens. Saving my parents, if we can, is different though... things will be different when we get back, sure,' Harry's eyes were unfocused as though he were seeing this possible future being played out on the walls of the tunnel, `I could have brothers and sisters, maybe it's one of them that gets the diary instead of Ginny, maybe Sirius is still alive but none of that would stop this... so it wouldn't be a paradox, it'd just be different to what we know.'

Hermione bit her lip, `What if your parents' being alive helps put Mr Malfoy in Azkaban and he never gives the diary to anyone? That could create a paradox.'

`It'd still get out somehow, either through Draco or his mum. I just think that as long as we don't make it impossible for the time loop to be resolved, by doing something that directly leads to it being unresolvable, then it'll be okay.'

Hermione still looked worried so Harry tried even harder to re-assure her, `We have to hope that's true anyway Hermione, no-one knows how time-travel really works anyway and for all we know we've already caused a dozen paradoxes. We just have to do our best to avoid the obvious ones.'

`I suppose but how are we going to do that and save your parents?'

`I don't know yet.'

The day passed quietly after that with both teens were absorbed with their thoughts and long periods of silence were broken only occasionally by periods of idle conversation. When, at last, the hour was late enough for them to venture forth from their hiding spot they did so with great relief.

Harry had been privately dreading having to climb back under the invisibility cloak with Hermione for the past couple of hours. He honestly didn't know what was wrong with him today, he'd spent the entire day feeling tense and on edge because of his best friend and, in his mind, it just wasn't right. He wanted to draw her closer to him and defy the weird tense feelings but he knew that if he tried that it would really only make things worse. So he held her, awkwardly, about the waist trying to stay close enough to keep them both hidden by the cloak and also trying to keep a buffer of air between them.

It was not a particularly successful operation to say the least.

He was so busy concentrating on maintaining a safe distance that he forgot to look where he was going and kept bumping into her whenever she slowed down. He also kept accidently stepping on the back of her feet or moving too far back and nearly pulling the cloak off them altogether. Essentially he was being as annoying as possible and he was amazed that Hermione had yet to snap at him and tell him to stop being ridiculous.

He also wasn't sure whether to be pleased or annoyed with her for not doing that and ended up being confused because he really felt both pleased and annoyed. He also suddenly felt a lot more sympathy for Cho and the mixed up emotions she had when they dated briefly in his fifth year.

They reached the room of requirement, thankfully before Harry's head exploded, and began the obligatory three turns in front of where the door would appear. Now Harry had to focus on something other than how close he was to Hermione and he couldn't have been happier to find a reason to think of something, anything, else.

`We need the sword of Gryffindor, we need any Horcruxes that are hidden in Hogwarts, and we need any books that Hogwarts has that have any information at all about the creation or effects of Horcruxes and how to destroy them.' Harry repeated in his mind like a mantra.

On the third turn they stopped and faced the newly formed door. Harry held his breath as Hermione reached out a hand towards the door knob. She slowly twisted it and pushed the door open. They stepped into the room and closed the door behind them. Then Harry started to breath again.

They took off the invisibility cloak and started to inspect the things the room had provided for them. It was not a big room but they had not really expected it to be, in the centre stood a table and on the table were only five things, three were books, one was the sword of Gryffindor and the last was an ancient discoloured tiara.

Harry immediately and reverently picked up the sword, distracting Hermione momentarily from the books she was packing into the bag.

`I just realised that I never asked why you wanted that? Of course, it's an amazing and important object but... what do we need it for?'

Harry swung it through the air a few times, getting the feel for it, `to be honest I don't know, we were just talking about the things we might need from Hogwarts and I thought, while I was asking for things, I should ask for it. Once the idea occurred to me I couldn't get it out of my head.'

Hermione nodded thoughtfully, `Well I suppose it's not going to hurt to have it,' then she frowned, `unless you end up accidently slicing someone in half swinging it about like that.'

Harry grinned sheepishly, `Sorry.'

`It's a very powerful magical object, Harry, they say that Godric Gryffindor himself enchanted the blade so that no evil could stand against it.'

`Do you think I might be able to kill Tom with it then?'

Hermione shook her head, `I doubt it, I'm sure that he would have thought to protect himself from something as obvious as that. The blade has been in the Headmasters office for centuries and everyone knows that story about it.'

Harry nodded in agreement, `Yeah I guess your right.'

But Hermione did not smile at him in the pleased way she usually did when he bowed to her judgement, instead she was staring at the last item on the table a look of revelation and wonder on her face.

`Of course...' she mumbled, `he wouldn't have... and probably couldn't any way... who would think ... surely...'

Harry was watching her impatiently, waiting for her to let him in on whatever revelation she had just had.

She was biting her lip now caught in indecision and then scooped up the diadem and put it in the bag with everything else, her decision apparently made.

`Do you want to tell me what that was all about?'

`I will, but ... not now, later.'

`Right.'

Having got everything they came for, and more easily than either of them would have thought possible, they made their way back through the corridors to the statue of the one-eyed witch. Once they had gone far enough down the tunnel to be outside of Hogwarts grounds they apparated back to the house in Godric's Hollow.

Once inside Hermione begged off explaining herself that night, claiming exhaustion, even though Harry could clearly see she was excited about something, and they went straight to bed.

When Harry woke the following morning and, for the first time since they'd begun posing as a married couple, Hermione was already out of bed. Harry sniffed the air experimentally, wondering if she'd started breakfast, but he was disappointed. He pulled on a t-shirt and padded downstairs barefoot to find out what she was up to. When he saw her seated at the kitchen table surrounded by open books he thought ruefully that he really shouldn't have been surprised.

He was about to ask her what she was up to but no sooner had he opened his mouth than a knock on the door interrupted him. Hermione, who had not looked up on his entering the room, still didn't look up but waved a hand distractedly in the direction of the front door.

`Can you get that please?'

Harry threw her an annoyed glance and stomped off in the direction of the door, he yanked it open only to be greeted by a startled Lilly.

`Good Morning Harvey, did I wake you up?'

Harry smiled at her, unable to help himself in spite of his momentary annoyance with Hermione, `No but I have only just gotten up, what can I do for you?'

`Well, James is having some of the boys over for a bit of a quidditch match today, and one of his friends can't make it so the teams are uneven and we thought that you and Hermiah might like to join us for the day. You can make up the numbers at quidditch and Hermiah could keep me company, what do you think?'

Harry grinned, his black mood now entirely gone, `I'd love to, but I'm not sure about Hermiah,' said Harry, `she's kind of in the middle of something at the moment.' He gestured for Lilly to come inside and then closed the door behind her, `Why don't you ask her though. Would you like a coffee? I was just about to make some.'

`Oh no thank-you, I'll just pop in and ask Hermiah then I'd better head back. I've got four growing boys to feed today.'

Harry laughed as he led the way into the kitchen, `at what age do men stop being “growing boys” then?'

`I'll let you know when it happens... Hi Hermiah, how are you?'

Finally Hermione looked up from her books, she smiled brightly but her eyes had a slightly panicked look about them. Harry wondered for the millionth time what on earth she was trying to figure out that had gotten her so worked up, he didn't dwell on it though and went about the business of making breakfast

`I'm good thanks Lilly, your hosting the quidditch world cup today I hear?'

Lilly laughed, `Yes and all we need are some adoring spectators and caterers, do you want to join us. Harvey said you were busy... my goodness what is all this for?'

Hermione cleared the table with a sweep of her wand, sending the books off to goodness knows where, `Oh just a little project I'm working on, have a seat, stay for coffee.' Hermione urged.

`No, I really can't... I just popped over to see if you two would like to join us today, Harvey said he'll come.'

`Oh, I really can't, I'm sorry, I just... I've just last night started making some headway on my project and I really can't stop just now.'

`Well... if you're sure...'

`Sorry Lilly, another time perhaps?'

`Sure, of course, well I better get back. We'll see you soon Harvey?'

`Yeah I'll just have breakfast and then I'll come over.' Harry called over his shoulder

`Great! By the way, I love the hair cut, it really suits you.'

Lilly called out her goodbyes and left but Harry didn't hear any of it, he wasn't even sure if he responded or not. He was still stuck on her last words which kept re-playing themselves in his brain over and over again. When he finally recovered from his frozen panic enough he looked up at his reflection in the kitchen window near where he stood and his fears where confirmed. At some point during the night his magic had repeated a trick that it had only performed once before in his life. Just like the time when he was in primary school and his aunt had shaved his head completely bald but for his fringe and his magic had grown it back. He must have unconsciously disliked the heat and weight of all that hair so much that he had somehow shrunk it back to its previous length while he slept.

While he had to admit it did suit him a lot better this way it also made him look almost the spitting image of his father.

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6. Chapter 6 - Suspiciouns Aroused

A/N - I don't own any of this...not even the plot really. This story is, rather shamelessly, the amalgamation of several of my favourite plot devices from the fandom. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Sorry there was no Friday night post, I had to amend this chapter to include a Quidditch Game. In the original version I skipped it completely and the chapter began with James' comment to Harry after the game. I just got a few people review saying they were looking forward to it so I couldn't disappoint. Again thanks to Katia, my Beta, for all her help.

Chapter 6 - Suspicions aroused.

It was a frosty grey day, not exactly ideal conditions for quidditch but Harry was not concerned in the slightest. He was going to play a game of quidditch with his dad, Sirius and Remus, as far as he was concerned they could have played in the middle of a thunderstorm and he'd have considered it ideal.

After finishing his breakfast he quickly popped over to Diagon Alley and picked up a broomstick (a shooting star) to play on and then headed over to his parents house. Hermione had re-done the spell to make his hair long again and Harry just hoped that Lilly hadn't mentioned his haircut to anyone, he had a story prepared if she did but he hoped it wouldn't be necessary.

When he got to there he could hear the men in the rear garden talking and laughing so he by-passed the house, just waving at his mum through the window as he walked went, and headed straight out the back.

`I hear you guys need a fourth for quidditch?' He called out as he came around the corner.

Sirius and Remus called out hello but James slapped him on the back when he joined them in the manly version of a hug.

`Right so we're not playing with Bludgers, Lil's has officially banned them after last time,' Remus and Sirius laughed and Harry just looked between them, hoping to be let in on the joke.

Remus started to explain, `Sirius got James a beauty right up the...', but James cut him off.

`I don't think we really need to share that story.'

`Sure we do!' cried Sirius, irrepressible as ever, `I got him right in the bum! It was bloody hilarious!' Sirius roared with laughter and James shoved him, `It wasn't funny.'

Remus was chuckling too but he added in a more subdued tone, `It was a bit but when James actually fell of his broom and went head first into the ground it could have gone very badly.'

Harry was shocked, `You weren't hurt were you?'

`Aside from the obvious brain-damage he was fine!' said Sirius between gasps of laughter.

`Anyway,' said James, having been unable to get Sirius to shut up he was now ignoring him, `We aren't allowed to play with Bludgers anymore, so we're just going to all be Chasers and we'll have one person from each team double as Keeper and the other double as Seeker.'

Remus addressed Harry again, `These games are usually James V Sirius and the winner of the previous game has to have Peter on their team, cause he's the weakest player. Are you any good at Quidditch?'

Harry grinned, `Who won the last game?' he asked rather than answering straight away.

`James did.'

`Alright so let Sirius pick who he wants on his team then, you or me.' Remus gave Harry an appraising look, as though he could tell he was up to something. Harry wanted to be on James team but he didn't want to be too obvious about it. He was fairly certain that given the choice Sirius would pick Remus, thinking that knowing his team mate would be an advantage, and he wasn't disappointed.

After the teams were chosen James approached Harry, a small frown between his brows showing that he was a bit concerned, `So Harvey, what's your strength, Keeping or Seeking?'

`I'll go Seeker,' Harry said without hesitation, `I'm crap at playing keeper, but I'm not a bad Seeker.'

James looked like he wasn't sure he believed him but he agreed anyway, `We score by getting the Quaffle between those two trees over there,' James said pointing across the field behind where Sirius and Remus stood talking. Then he turned and pointed at two trees standing at the opposite end of the field, `and they score by getting the Quaffle through those two trees.'

Harry nodded, `Got it.' The snitch was then released and the players took to the air, as usual as soon as Harry was in the air all his problems dropped away. Lilly came out onto the field and held up the Quaffle.

`Try not to kill each other,' she said and then threw the ball into the air between them.

It had barely left her hands when Harry swooped into a dive and snatched it out of the air then, before anyone else had a chance to react, he streaked off up the field and scored through an undefended goal.

`FUCK!' Sirius swore loudly, `I'm gonna friggen loose again!'

Remus retrieved the Quaffle and had just passed it to Sirius, James streaked off towards the goal and Harry went to head Sirius off when he noticed a flicker of gold in the tree behind Sirius. All thoughts of the Quaffle were forgotten as Harry went into full Seeker mode to pursue the Snitch. He darted into the trees after it, it looped left and right around tree trunks and up and over branches to evade capture but Harry followed it relentlessly.

Finally it gave up on the twists and went straight up the tree trunk. Harry had to pull hard on the broom to follow it up into the sharp steep climb and narrowly avoided hitting the tree directly. Then suddenly it flew over the back of his head and straight back down towards the middle of the paddock. Harry wrenched on the old broom, cursing its lack of responsiveness, and went over backwards to follow it.

Harry flattened himself to his broom and followed the snitch into a steep dive, rolling over in mid-dive so he wasn't hanging upside down. The ground was rushing up to meet him but the snitch kept heading towards it, Harry could vaguely hear James shouting at him to pull up. He was gaining on it though so he didn't pay any attention. He put his feet up on the back of the broom then, mere millimetres from the ground, he reached out and closed his fingers around the Snitch. The back of his knuckles brushed against the frosty grass and Harry pushed down with all his might on the back of his broom with his feet and wrenched the handle upwards.

The broom wasn't responsive enough to avoid the ground entirely and as Harry shot up into the air, the snitch now firmly in his grasp, he had grass stains down the front of his robes. He did a quick victory corkscrew and then took his broom down to land.

`Merlin Harvey!' said James, landing on the grass beside Harry, `I've never seen anyone fly like that before... why on earth aren't you playing professionally?'

Harry grinned but raised an eyebrow at his father, `I think there are more important things to do at the moment than play quidditch James.' Harry wondered a bit at his own gall in saying that to his father, of all people.

But James just nodded his head, `Yeah fair point, still maybe... once it's all over....you could? Actually I'm surprised you weren't on the Hufflepuff house team'

Harry choked and coloured, `Oh... well, I ah... I was, in sixth year. It was after you'd left though.'

By this time Sirius and Remus had landed beside James and they added their praise to his. It had been a fun game, though Harry had found the restrictions of the older broom a little hard to get used to, but mostly he'd just loved having the ability to spend an afternoon flying with James, Remus and Sirius. It had been a great day and a fairly thrilling game but Harry didn't hang around. He was eager to get home to Hermione and find out what had been occupying her mind ever since the night before.

He said goodbye as soon as he was able to and hurried back across the road, but when he got in he realised that he needn't have bothered hurrying. Hermione was still at the kitchen table, and still surrounded by books, but she was not busily reading away. Instead she was slumped over, her cheek resting against the open page of one of her books, sleeping deeply. Harry sighed and realised that she'd once again found a way to buy herself a little time before having to answer his questions.

Resigning himself to having to wait a little longer before getting answers he picked her up and carried her up to bed. He was a little surprised that she didn't stir at all during the trip up the stairs, or when he practically dropped her (by accident) on the bed, but he guessed that she mustn't have actually slept at all the night before and he wasn't far wrong.

Once she was in bed asleep Harry went back to the kitchen and had a lonely dinner.

At the house across the street Lilly peered out the living room window into the rooms of the house across the street. She felt terrible doing it, it was something Petunia did often and Lilly had no desire to be anything like her sister, but she couldn't help herself. There was something very strange about their new neighbours; it wasn't really one thing in particular that had aroused her suspicions but really a combination of things.

Harvey had said that he'd spoken with her at Hogwarts but she had racked her brains, trying to remember all of the kids she'd ever told off as prefect or as Head Girl and she was certain, almost certain, that she had none of them had looked anything like him. Even if he had changed significantly since then she was sure that she would have noticed his eyes at least. She'd spent an awful lot of time in front of the mirror since meeting him and she was confident that his eyes were exactly like her own.

Then there was Hermiah and the project she was apparently working on that was too important to take a break from but which she wouldn't talk about. Lilly had tried to act as though she didn't notice, or think it strange, that the girl had immediately vanished all of her materials about the project as soon as she'd tried to even glance at them. But Lilly had noticed and she had thought it strange.

Then there was the mystery of Harvey's hair.

This morning when she'd gone over there it had been short, it looked good like that and she'd even told him so but when he'd come by later the same day to play quidditch it had been long again. The way he'd reacted to the compliment was odd too; it was like he was afraid of something, and like she'd seen something she shouldn't have.

Lilly heaved a sigh and pushed herself away from the window. The mystery wasn't going to be solved like this, and whatever it was that they were hiding Lilly still felt somehow that she could trust them. She resolved not to say anything to James about it, he was sure to over-react, but she would keep an eye on them any way. She just hoped she didn't come to regret her decision.

The next morning Harry woke to once more find the bed empty, once again he got up, pulled on a t-shirt and trudged down the stairs. This time though, he put an illusion spell on the front windows to make it look like they weren't at home. He was not going to allow this talk to be delayed again; it was already long over-due in his mind.

When he got to the kitchen he stopped in the doorway and lent against the frame, his arms folded over his chest.

`I've decided I'm holding breakfast hostage until you tell me what you've been so frantically researching ever since we got back from Hogwarts.'

`Huh?' asked Hermione, only looking up once he'd stopped talking.

`I'm not making breakfast til you tell me what's going on.'

`Oh,' she seemed distracted, `that's okay, I suppose it's my turn anyway.' She went back to what she was doing.

Harry pulled out his wand and closed her book with a snap, `I've got no problem with making breakfast Hermione, what I want is for you to tell me what has got you so frantically reading every book we have.' He levitated the book out from under her nose and held it above her head, `who knows I might be able to help.'

`You could help by giving me my book back.' Said Hermione from between clenched teeth as she jumped up to try and get the book which immediately moved higher to hover by the ceiling.

Finally she gave up and just pulled out her own wand.

`Hermione, just tell me what's going on... I promise I'll leave you alone.'

Hermione looked at him for a moment then returned her wand to the table and sat down, `fine but don't get too excited.' She warned him waving a finger at him, `I didn't want to say anything until I was sure it would work. You see I got the idea when I was telling you about the legend of Gryffindors sword. As I told you, it's a commonly believed to have been charmed so that no evil could stand against it.'

`Yeah I remember, and I asked if I could use it against Voldemort but you thought it was too obvious and he would have protected himself against it.'

Hermione nodded enthusiastically, `Right, but then I started to wonder if he would have done the same for the Horcruxes. They are some of the darkest magic around so I was fairly sure the sword would work against them if he hadn't but I was really worried about what kind of reaction it could cause.'

Harry interrupted her here, `What do you mean, what reaction?'

`Well I'm worried that the collision of the charm in the sword and the dark magic of the Horcrux will cause an explosion or something. So I started trying to find details about the charm that Gryffindor might have used on it. I've found some good possibilities but nothing, so far, that would indicate any type of dangerous reaction'

Hermione started looking through the books she'd been reading, probably to show him the various spells she'd found, but Harry thought he should stop her before she got to the details of all the ancient and complex charms she had been researching.

`Hermione, I'm not as smart as you, we both know that. Why don't you just summarise it for me?' He asked cutting her off mid-sentence.

She looked a little annoyed but did as he asked, `I think we might be able to safely destroy the Horcrux with the sword.'

Harry couldn't help it, in spite of her previous warning; he was excited, `really? Well why don't we just test it out, I'll go and grab them. Do you think we should do this in the kitchen?'

`And this is why I didn't tell you sooner, Harry, you're great and I love you but you just don't think sometimes. Don't you remember anything at all from this year? Horcruxes are dangerous. Dumbledore lost his hand to one... remember? We can't afford for that to happen to you. We need to be as sure as we can, before we jump in with both feet, that you won't get hurt doing this.'

Harry sat down across from Hermione, his elbows propped on the table and his chin in his hands, `you know I have thought about that and, I don't think he did hurt his hand while trying to destroy the Horcrux.'

Hermione opened her mouth to speak but Harry continued so she closed it again, `I mean think about it. When I was 12 I destroyed a Horcrux by stabbing it with a Basilisks fang, which is not all that different from hitting it with a sword really, and I was completely unscathed. Now either there is something different about me that allowed me to do what Dumbledore couldn't, which would also mean my theory that I'm a Horcrux is probably right, or Dumbledore didn't just destroy the Horcrux.'

`I'm not prepared to even concede the possibility that you might be a Horcrux,' Hermione snapped.

`Fine so he did something different. The damage was to his hand, right? So, maybe he put the ring on?'

Hermione looked thoughtful, `He did say that the stone is one of the Deathly Hallows didn't he, the one that allows a person to call people back from the dead right?'

Harry nodded.

`Well Dumbledore is very old, I bet he's known more than a few people who have died, maybe when he found the ring he was surprised by the fact that the stone was one of the Deathly Hallows. I suppose he might have forgotten himself for a moment and put it on. It would explain why the damage was confined to his hand.'

`There you go, it's all explained!' Harry was practically bouncing in his seat, `So, we'll try it then, with the sword?'

Hermione sighed in resignation and Harry didn't bother to wait for her answer, they both knew that he'd just won the argument. There was no time to dwell on his victory, he dashed up the stairs grabbed the sword and the Diadem and rushed back down to the kitchen.

He laid the Diadem on the table and waited for Hermione to move out of the way. She cleared the books off the table and backed up against the far wall of the kitchen, despite Harry's reassurances that destroying Horcruxes really was very easy she was obviously still worried that it would start shooting curses around or set fire to the place or something.

Harry raised the sword up over his head, ready to strike, and looked over at Hermione.

Their eyes locked and for a moment he knew he saw real fear there, and in that moment clarity stole over his mind and he realised how much she was really risking by being there with him. Hermione broke their eye contact to look back to the Horcrux on the table but the impact of that glance stayed Harry's hand. Every moment they were in the past it wasn't just their lives that were in danger, it was their very existence. She had put it all on the line to help him and now he was cavalierly putting her life in even more, possibly unnecessary danger. Harry lowered the sword

`Hermione,' her frightened gaze moved from the Horcrux on the table to his face, `tell me not to and I won't.'

Hermione closed her eyes and shook her head, `No, you have to. There's nothing else I can find in books, I doubt any one but you and Dumbledore has ever done this anyway and as you said when you did it last time it was fine.' She took a deep breath in and out, as though to calm herself, `I'm sure it will be fine this time too. I just... I'm just scared, that's all. Some Gryffindor I am, hey?'

`Don't be ridiculous, you've got more Gryffindor in your pinkie finger than most of the rest do in their whole bodies.'

Hermione didn't respond, she just smiled.

`Well, no time like the present,' Harry smiled back at her, `or the past, in this case.'

He raised the sword once more, in a high arc over his head, and this time he did not hesitate to bring it down onto the Diadem.

A single pure note of metal against metal filled the air, and the sword quivered in Harry's hands, but the Diadem remained on the table completely in tact.

Harry lowered the sword to his side, picked the Diadem up from the table and turned it over in his hands. Hermione came up beside him and looked it over as well.

`Huh, well I guess that didn't work.'

`Yeah, now I really wish I had told you my theory sooner, I could have saved myself all that time and useless worrying.'

`Not to mention the reading,' agreed Harry with a shudder.

`No, I think the reading had to be done anyway.'

`I suppose.'

They stood there for a moment just looking at the Horcrux, until Hermione finally broke the silence, `So, you were saying something about breakfast?'

Harry nodded and went over to the ice-box, `So what's the deal with you and cooking anyway? I find it hard to believe that there is something Hermione Granger isn't good at.'

`No, it's not that.'

`What is it then, it can't be the thought of handling raw ingredients, not after some of the things we've had to handle in potions.'

`No, that's not it either.'

Harry looked up, pausing in the act of chopping the mushrooms, `Well, you've got me really curious now, what is it then?'

`You promise you won't laugh?'

Harry put the knife down and crossed his arms over his chest, `No.'

`Harry!'

`Alright, fine, I promise not to laugh unless it's really, really, funny. Will that do?'

Hermione huffed, `I suppose,'

`Well?'

`It's because my mother is a feminist who thought it was degrading and sexist that girls were all expected to be taught to cook while boys never were, so she never taught me and I've never had an opportunity or occasion to learn. Mrs Weasley taught me a few things once, but...' she shrugged slightly, `I must admit her attitude seemed to validate everything my mum had said, so I started avoiding her little “lessons”. She never even tried to teach any of her boys to cook and I'm not even her daughter but she thought she had an “obligation” to teach me.'

Harry was still standing with his arms crossed an attitude of disbelief on his face, `are you serious?'

Hermione assumed a somewhat haughty air, `yes'.

`So are you expecting me to cook everything then?'

She had the grace to look a little shamefaced, `well... no, I'm sure it's not hard, I'll just buy some cookbooks.'

Harry just rolled his eyes and went back to chopping the mushrooms. Hermione wanted to tell him off for rolling his eyes at her but decided, since he was cooking her breakfast again, she should probably not tickle the sleeping dragon.

She sat down at the kitchen table and Harry spoke again, `Maybe you should try researching spells that might protect an object from a sword like that? Or you could try researching other destructive spells to see what else we could destroy it with.'

Hermione put the book she'd been reading when Harry had entered the kitchen that morning back on the table, flipped it open and began to read again.

The next few weeks slipped by with surprising ease, Hermione researched destructive spells and occasionally called on Harry to help her test one out and Harry began making plans for reconnaissance missions to find out more about what Voldemort was up to. They saw his parents, Sirius, Remus and Peter occasionally and their company helped to make up for the fact that Ron wasn't with them to lighten the mood.

Though Ron was occasionally missed, it wasn't as much as he would have thought. Not that Harry wanted to devalue his friendship with the red-head in any way just that he and Hermione did get on much better than Harry would have expected in his absence, there was significantly less arguing without Ron around. What surprised Harry more than anything, especially as the weeks tripped by and the prospect of spending two full years in the past did not grow any more onerous, was how much he didn't miss Ginny.

Ginny was his girlfriend after all yet it was only now, weeks after the fact, that he realised if he was at all serious about her it really should have been her he dragged into the past with him to pose as his wife. But pretending to be his wife was only a very small part of what Hermione was doing here and, if he was to be brutally honest, it was the most insignificant part too. Ginny might have thought of using Gryffindors sword to destroy the Diadem, but when that didn't work she probably wouldn't have had any more idea of what to try next than Harry himself did.

Harry knew what had driven him to ask Hermione to join him on this difficult and dangerous task above anyone else and it wasn't just to have a nice warm body to share the bed with.

Harry shook his head; he was definitely getting cabin fever if he was thinking about his best friend's warm body. It was time for him to start getting out of the house and doing what they had come here to do. He had Horcruxes to find and destroy and only a finite amount of time in which to do it, Hermione might be suited to reading and research but he was a man of action. He was going to track down Voldemort and follow him around all day, every day til he found out some more information. His mind was made up; now all he had to do was tell Hermione.

The next day as they again sat at the kitchen table surrounded by books, again, Harry's frustration reached an all time high. Finally he slammed the book he was reading closed and Hermione looked up in surprise.

`I can't do this anymore.'

Hermione propped her chin on her hand, `Well what are you going to do then?'

`I think it's time to get out there and do some reconnaissance, we still need to find out if he's created the Horcrux in Nagini or not and maybe even find out where the cup is.'

Hermione sighed, knowing it was futile to talk him out of it, `Do you want me to come with you?'

Harry shook his head, `Nah, it's probably safer if you don't. Do you know any spells that will make the cloak stick to me though, I wouldn't want to be given away by a simple “Accio Cloak” again.'

`Oh, sure I can do that. But also I want you to take an emergency portkey with you.'

`An emergency Portkey?'

`Yeah, it'll just be like a pin you can attach to your robe but if you touch it, it will bring you straight back here.'

The next few minutes were spent in preparation and finally Harry walked out into the back garden, his cloak spelled to stick to him, his emergency portkey pinned to his chest and a couple of vials of replenishing potion in his pocket. The potion was to help sustain him in case he was gone for a longer period of time than expected.

`Ok, well, I guess that's everything isn't it?' asked Harry.

Hermione had followed him out to the garden to see him off, `I suppose.... except...'

`Except for what?'

She flung her arms around his neck and gave him a crushing hug, her lips pressed firmly against his cheek, `Just be careful, ok Harry? Don't do anything reckless, please.' She pleaded as she clung to him.

Harry returned the hug and the kiss, `I promise, I'll be careful, besides, I've got my emergency portkey. I'll be fine Hermione.'

`OK,' she sniffled and released her grip on him, `come back safely.'

`I will, I'll see you soon, ok?'

She nodded and then, without another word he threw his cloak over himself and disapperated without a sound.

From the front garden of the house across the street James Potter had watched the touching good-bye scene. At first he'd been a bit embarrassed at being able to see such an obviously intimate moment but then he'd realised that the couple had only kissed each other on the cheek and he'd been confused. The confusion had only been compounded by what he'd witnessed a few seconds later when Harvey had thrown the invisibility cloak over his shoulders. There was not a hint of the silvery shimmer in the air that was associated with most invisibility cloaks. The only one he'd ever seen that was so perfect was the one he owned himself, and that was currently with Dumbledore.

The frown on James face deepened, Dumbledore had a lot of nerve lending his cloak to someone without asking. He had half a mind to go directly to Dumbledore and demand to know what he was playing at, but something he couldn't explain caused him to hesitate. He trusted Dumbledore, and without being sure why, he also trusted Harvey. Over the last few weeks he'd gotten to know the young guy quite well, not his past because Harvey didn't like to speak about that, but his personality and his character. In James' mind that was far more important and from what he'd learnt, while Harvey might be up to a million things he'd never speak about, you could bet everything that he had honour and integrity.

It had been weeks since the four of them had made that vow, and neither Harvey's nor Hermiah's magic had shown any signs of even weakening. The other thing he'd noticed is that however often Harvey himself now used wordless spells, Hermiah only used them rarely and only with the simplest magic. He'd asked her about it once, when Harvey was out of the room, and she'd confessed that it wasn't something she'd ever really mastered so she tended not to bother with it.

James knew then that however tempting it might have been for Harvey to do so, he hadn't broken his word to James and he hadn't even shown his wife the secret to wordless magic.

It was that more than anything that had earned James trust and respect. Harvey had made him a promise and he had kept it, to the letter, without a single exception. It was James' belief that if a person could be trusted not to reveal something simple and seemingly harmless, than they could be trusted with anything.

It was on that basis that James made an important decision; he would continue to trust Harvey and Hermiah but he'd keep an eye on them, it would be foolish not to. He wouldn't say anything to Lilly about it though, he was sure she'd just over-react.

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7. Chapter 7 - Into the Snake's Den

A/N - I don't own Harry Potter, or Back to the Future. I'm sorry for the delay in this chapter but I realised that I'd messed up my time line and a few other things here and had to fix it which took a bit longer than expected. Sorry. Big Thanks to my BETA Katia, for helping me sort out a knotty problem with this chapter.

Chapter 7 - Into the Snakes Den

Harry appeared in the old graveyard which had been the scene of what was both one of his worst memories and one of his most vivid. He was already under the cover of the invisibility cloak but one wrong step on a twig or creaking floorboard would be enough to give away his position and he couldn't risk that. Before moving even a step he looked carefully around the area for death eaters and for any other sign of movement, any rat could be Pettigrew and any snake could be a spy of Voldemort's.

Harry wasn't sure if Pettigrew had turned yet or not, but he wasn't about to take any chances. Once he was certain there were no spies around he moved carefully across the graveyard towards the mansion at the top of the hill. He didn't recall having seen it the only other time he'd been here but that must have been because it was dark. Between it's resemblance to the mansion in the memories Dumbledore had shown him and it's proximity to the graveyard which held the bones of Tom Riddle Snr, Harry was sure that it was the Riddle Mansion.

His progress was slow and painstaking but eventually he made his way to the house on the hill. When he got there he made a complete circuit of the house, looking for a way in, but found none. Having no luck with that route he then tried the trick that had worked so well for he and Hermione in Hogsmeade and waited by the front door, hoping to slip in behind someone else.

He waited for hours but eventually concluded that anyone who was entering the house clearly wasn't doing so by means of the front door.

So then he tried peering in through the windows. At first he didn't see much at all, but when it got dark and fires were lit inside it became a little easier. After another few hours of watching people walking past with swishing black cloaks, and trying in vain to see any more from other windows, he finally saw two things that helped, a little. The first one was, from the vantage point of the kitchen window, a group of three death eaters heading up stairs. From this Harry gathered that there must be something happening up there at least.

The second he viewed from what would have been the dining room window. One of the Death Eaters walked into the centre of the room, where Harry could vaguely discern a mark on the floor (Harry thought it was probably the dark mark but he couldn't see it well enough to be sure), then flicked his cloak around himself and popped out of sight.

Around midnight Harry, tired, sore and hungry from a day spent on his feet straining to see through windows and learning almost nothing, carefully made his way back to the graveyard and apparated back home.

When he got there he took the cloak off and made his way into the darkened house.

Hermione had obviously gone to bed already but she had left a little ball of light hovering over a plate of food on the kitchen bench. Harry flicked his wand at the ball of light and sent it spinning into the light fixture in the ceiling. When the room lit up properly Harry picked the plate up off the bench and sat down at the table with it. He inhaled the aroma and smiled, like with everything else when Hermione wanted to do something she did it properly.

After he finished eating, he cleaned the kitchen, turned off the light and trudged up the stairs to bed and sleep.

The next day when he woke Hermione was already up and the house was filled with the delicious smell of a cooked breakfast. Harry grinned, grabbed his t-shirt, and bounded down the stairs to the kitchen.

`Did you make breakfast?' asked Harry, delighted.

Hermione smiled at his enthusiasm, `Yes I did, and I notice you found last nights dinner?'

Harry nodded, `yeah that was great, thanks for doing that.'

Hermione shrugged and put a plate on the table in front of where Harry now sat, `Did you find out anything yesterday? You were gone for a long time.'

`Yeah, I didn't want to leave without learning anything, but I sure didn't learn much.'

Hermione swallowed a mouthful of food, `Why not, was there no-one around?'

Harry shook his head but waited til he'd finished the food in his mouth before speaking again, `There were heaps of people around alright, a regular Death Eater HQ, but there was no way to get in without attracting attention. They all apparate directly in, which even if I could be sure I could do that without making a noise, I don't think I'd be able to anyway cause I think you have to have a Dark Mark.'

`So are you going back today?'

`Well, I don't see the point really, I won't learn anything. All the action seems to happen upstairs and I can't get up there to see any of it and even if I could see it I probably still wouldn't know what was going on because I can't hear anything.'

Hermione looked thoughtful, `I'm sure there must be a way around that... to be honest I think I'd actually feel much better about this knowing that you're not going inside.'

`Well if you can figure out a way, I'm all ears. But I tried every spell I could think off and nothing would even chip the glass on the windows.'

Hermione frowned, `Did you try a rock at all?'

Harry shrugged, `No I didn't, do you think that would work?'

`Well, I'd bet it never occurred to Voldemort either.'

Harry nodded, `would probably be a bit noisy though, wouldn't it?

Hermione pursed her lips, `true... we need to think of a muggle way to make a hole in the glass that won't make any noise.' She thought for a moment before speaking again, `What about a glass cutter?'

`You mean those things that robbers use?'

Hermione nodded excitedly.

Harry thought about the suggestion for a second before responding, `Ok, assuming that works, it still doesn't solve the problem of how I'll be able to get to the second floor or hear what they're saying. A tiny hole in the glass is going to help unless I press my ear up against the window.'

`The plan still needs work,' Hermione admitted, `First of all we needn't worry about it being a second story window, because you can simply fly up.'

`Okay, but would that charm you found to make my cloak stick to me even if I'm hovering in mid-air?'

`We can test it if you like but, yes, it should work.'

Harry grinned at her, `OK now we just have to figure out how I'll be able to hear anything through my little hole in the glass while I'm hovering in mid air on a broomstick under an invisibility cloak.'

The way he'd said it made it sound so ridiculous that they couldn't help but laugh.

`Maybe I can find a charm that will make your ears really big?' Hermione said clutching her sides.

Harry flicked his wand at his ears causing them to grow until they were dripping from his head like Dumbo, `Do you think this will do the trick? I think might make me a little less aerodynamic.'

Between gasps of laughter Hermione pointed her wand at him and said an unfamiliar spell, Harry immediately felt the difference as his ears were now standing up like wings from either side of his head.

`That should help you fly!'

Harry jumped up and raced to the window to look at his reflection in the glass and sure enough his ears now stuck out from the sides of his head like great wings ready for flight. The sight was so ridiculous that Harry started laughing and couldn't stop until he moved away from the window and his reflection.

Even then every time he did stop laughing he would see Hermione laugh and it would get him started again. Hermione tried to stop herself from laughing but every time she did she would see Harry still laughing uncontrollably, his ears flapping about, and she would loose control again. Finally, after Merlin only knows how long, Harry managed to contain himself for long enough to end the spells on his ears and return them to normal.

It didn't take long after that for the two teens to return to a semblance at least of their formerly serious conversation.

`Seriously now,' said Harry at last, their laughter of moments earlier still evident in his voice, `how am I going to hear through a very small hole in the glass while floating in mid air on a broomstick and hiding under an invisibility cloak.'

`I don't know, but it does makes me wish that Fred and George were here. We could certainly use an extendable ear right now,' she looked at Harry hopefully, `I don't suppose you had any with you when we left the future, did you?'

Harry shook his head sadly, `no, I didn't, would you be able to figure out how to make them?'

Hermione thought about it for a moment, `I'm sure I could but it would be a challenge and who knows how long it would take, besides, I'm still working on finding a way to destroy that Diadem.'

`Yeah... so what else can we do?'

Hermione stayed quiet for a while, `well, do you think Ron would have any extendable ears on him?'

Harry shrugged, `probably, he was always carrying some of their stuff around with him. Not that it does us any good, cause he's not here is he.'

`No, he's not here, but we know exactly where and when he is. It would be easy enough to see him and ask him.'

Harry frowned, `Are you sure that's a good idea?'

`Well, we wouldn't want to pop back every time we needed something.'

`Right, cause we don't want too much time to pass in the future.'

Hermione nodded, `But I think for this....' she trailed off and finally added with a shrug, `it's not like we've any other immediate option.' Harry nodded and Hermione continued, `ok, so I'll go into the local town and buy a glass cutter, and you pay Ron a visit.'

Harry was a little surprised that she didn't want to take the opportunity of seeing Ron but made no objection to the plan. As much as she'd told him there was nothing between her and Ron he hadn't really believed her. He was sure there had to be more to their fighting and bickering over the years than she was admitting to. But the way she'd now casually overlooked an opportunity to see Ron was something he hadn't expected.

She hadn't made any indication that she was interested in seeing Ron for a few minutes on her own and he really began to see that she had been telling the truth. He still wasn't convinced that Ron didn't feel anything towards Hermione but Harry now knew that if he did his feelings were unrequited. Exactly why he cared so much, Harry couldn't say, he only knew that he did.

Hermione left for her walk into town and Harry headed up-stairs to get their flask of the time potion. He uncorked it, took a sip and then, focusing very hard on the minute after they'd left, he apparated through time once more.

`Ron!' said Harry happily seeing his red haired friend in, for him at least, the first time in months.

`Blimey Harry, that was quick!' said Ron, jumping back up out of the chair he'd probably only just sat down in.

Harry grinned, `I've been gone months actually.'

Ron grinned back at him, then frowned, `Where's Hermione?'

`Oh, she's still there, we're actually not done just yet... though things are going well so far.'

`Right, yeah... hey when you do finish and you get back I won't know what has changed, will I? It'll all be normal to me.' Ron laughed at his own joke for a second but stopped quickly, `Hey, if you're not done yet then why are you back here?'

Harry smiled, he really had missed his funny and slightly unpredictable friend, `I can only stay a few seconds, and I just need to know if you have any extendable ears on you?'

Ron immediately began to empty his pockets onto the floor and all sorts of things were in the mix. There was a packet of the instant holes, some Peruvian instant darkness powder, a couple of chocolate frogs, some Bertie Botts every flavour beans, some bits of lint, and finally a couple of extendable ears.

`Here you go,' said Ron handing over the ears, Harry took them but was distracted by the other items Ron had taken out of his pockets.

`Hey do you reckon I could take that stuff too?' asked Harry pointing to the other things that had come out of Ron's pockets.

Ron looked at the pile and frowned but Harry immediately understood his consternation, `except for the candy, of course you can keep that.'

Ron's face brightened immediately, `sure of course you can mate,' he picked up the rest of the things from the floor and, with the exception of the candy which went back into his pockets, he handed it all over to Harry.

Harry smiled at his friend, `Thanks heaps Ron, anyway I better get back.'

Ron nodded, `Have fun with Hermione.'

Harry paused for a moment before heading back to the past and looked at his friend thoughtfully, he didn't have time for a heart to heart but he thought he could get away with one quick question.

`Can I ask you something?'

`Course, what do you need?'

`I just want to know what the deal was in fourth year, you know when you went off at Hermione for going to the ball with Krum?'

Ron looked confused, `Why on earth are you bringing that up now?'

`I just...' Harry hesitated for a moment before deciding what to say, `Hermione and I were talking about it the other day and we disagreed about it. I won't tell her if you don't want me to.'

`I don't care if you do or not, I thought I was pretty clear about what my problem was... I thought he was using her to help him win the tournament, either with the tasks or so he could sabotage you.'

Harry frowned, `You weren't just jealous cause she'd gone with him and not you?'

`No, come on Harry you should know me by now... I always say exactly what I'm thinking, no matter how stupid it is.'

Harry laughed, `Yeah, I guess. Well I better go, I'll see you soon.'

Ron just nodded as he watched Harry apparate out of sight.

There was too much else going on for Harry to dwell on his conversation with Ron for long though. As soon as Hermione returned he was off to the Riddle Mansion once more to spend the first day of many listening in on the conversations of Death Eaters.

The days and weeks dragged by as Harry watched and listened to everything that happened in the old mansion. He often felt really frustrated that he wasn't able to interfere more in the carnage Voldemort was planning but he couldn't risk blowing their cover, however much he might have been tempted. He had to continually remind himself that the people who were “about” to die had really already died a long time ago and that there was far too much at stake to risk blowing his cover to try and stop something from happening when it had actually already happened.

After the first few weeks Harry started taking along books to read, mostly defence against the dark arts books, to keep him occupied and to distract him from hearing too many of the horrible things the death eaters were talking about. Their conversations became background noise, like having the radio on while you're studying, he still heard everything they said but he wasn't as focused on the details.

Studying the defence books had another advantage, aside from the distraction. After being so active for most of his life Harry was really noticing the difference physically now that so much time was spent just sitting and listening. He'd worked out the hours when there was the most activity and only spent those times listening at the window and his time spent at home he used to train.

The extra physical exertion really helped him to work of the extra tension he felt. The tension wasn't just from spending large chunks of his time listening to the depravity of death eaters either. The increasing and constant physical closeness of Hermione was taking its tole too. Doing anything about it was out of the question entirely, as he reminded himself daily, though it had been months since he'd seen her, for Ginny they had not been separated at all and he was still her boyfriend.

So he pushed all the confusion to the back of his mind. But trying to ignore it was getting more and more difficult and he needed the physical exertion the training gave him to work it off. Some times the training did more harm than good though, particularly when Hermione joined him.

Still, even with the extra training and the distraction of the books, hearing those conversations was a constant strain on him. As the months began to pass he became really desperate that something would happen or be said soon to give him a clue so that he could just stop listening to everything they had planned. He was even starting to consider putting the imperious curse on one of the Death Eaters and having him ask about Horcruxes, just so he could get his answers and get out of there, but Hermione had been horrified by the idea.

`What is the point, Harry, of trying to stop him if we are no better than he is?' she'd asked, furious that he'd even thought of something like that.

`I just don't want to have to listen to them any more Hermione,' he'd whined, `you've got no idea, they sit around talking about how many people they've tortured or killed that day and... They brag about it! Its like they're talking about how well their quidditch team is doing this year, it's awful.'

She'd softened towards him then, putting her arms around him and drawing him close for a hug, `Oh Harry, it's ok... I'm sure someone will say something soon, I'm sure this can't possibly last that much longer.'

Harry hadn't agreed, but he'd allowed her to keep hugging him anyway, it had been really nice to have someone comfort him like that. As much as the physical closeness did, in some ways contribute towards his increasing tension, he had to admit to how comfortable and right it felt to hold her like that. Not that they'd ever been physically uncomfortable with each other, but after having spent a few months living together and sharing a bed (which they'd continued to do despite the fact that no-one ever went up to their bedroom now but them) it had gone to another level entirely. Just that morning he'd woken up to find Hermione draped across his chest with her hair spilling across his face and it hadn't bothered him at all. It had actually been quite nice, he loved the smell of her shampoo so even the fact that her hair was in his face didn't annoy him at all. It wasn't the first time he'd woken to find he was intimately entwined with her either.

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he almost missed a very important conversation; luckily the phrase “manky old diary” caught his attention. Harry quickly recognised the speaker as Lucius Malfoy and sat up straighter on his broom, now paying strict attention to every word that was said.

`I would not be so quick to label a personal possession of the Dark Lord in such a disrespectful manner if I were you Bella,' he sneered, `for all that the Dark Lord has given you the cup of Hufflepuff, do not forget that he gifted me with one of his very own personal possessions. I think that makes it clear which of us is the more greatly favoured.'

Bellatrix twisted away and flipped her hair over her shoulder, `Well personal possession it may be, to my mind what he has given me is both a personal possession of his own to safeguard and a priceless relic, whereas his gift to you cannot lay that claim.'

Lucius coolly raised one eyebrow, `I'm disappointed to think that you do not consider the personal possession of the greatest dark lord this world has ever seen to be a priceless relic Bellatrix, and perhaps you are correct, it is not yet. But one day it shall be and then it will outshine all of the possessions of all of the founders.'

A cold look of contempt settled on Bellatrix face but Harry could see that she dared not argue any further for fear of loosing that favour which she had apparently only recently gained. She forced a smile onto her face, `Quite true I am sure, Lucius, indeed I count myself very lucky to have in my possession anything which belongs to the Dark Lord at all. I trust you are keeping yours quite safe?'

`Of course, you know of our hiding place in the dining room under the table, and yourself?'

`I too keep mine with my other valuables, a place that is safer than any other in the Wizarding world but, of course, I have also added extra... special protections that only I can remove.'

Harry listened more closely still as though afraid the information might slip past him if his concentration wavered for even a moment. The thought briefly flittered through his mind, perhaps after all this time he was finally starting to get lucky.

`Oh yes, and what nefarious punishment do you have in mind for those foolish enough to try and take it from you.' Lucius had a feral glint in his eye that Harry had seen countless times recently, he knew Lucius was eager for details not because he had any intention of trying to steal the locket himself but purely because he took delight in the cruelty and depravity of it.

Bellatrix flipped her head back again and laughed, `I'll not give up my secrets that easily, my cunning friend.' She leaned closer with the same feral glint in her eyes that Harry had grown so used to, `But if you would like some entertainment of that nature, I have the most delicious story for you...'

Harry had heard enough of that kind of story to last him a lifetime. He yanked his extendable ear from the little hole he'd cut in the window pane and sped of towards the graveyard, as soon as he got there he twirled mid-air on his broom and apparated back home, eager to tell Hermione what he'd learnt.

He jumped off his broom and whipped off the cloak in the same movement as he ran towards the house and when he got there he flung open the kitchen door causing Hermione, who was seated at the table surrounded by books, to jump in fright. She took one look at his face and was instantly on her feet.

`I got it!' called Harry excitedly as he ran towards her. She opened her arms and he ran straight into them picking her up and spinning her around. He laughed and hugged her to him before setting her back on her feet. Hermione was dizzy and flushed from her spin through the air but she was still coherent enough to ask, `What did you get?'

`Information, my beautiful girl, INFORMATION! Finally! I just can't believe it, all that time just sitting there listening to them plan these awful things and not being able to do ANYTHING and today they finally talked about what we need to know.'

`So!?' demanded Hermione impatiently sitting back at the table, `What did they say?'

Harry sat down across from her, `it was Bellatrix Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy talking, and she said something about her gift being better because it was a priceless artefact and his was just a manky old diary.' Hermione frowned but nodded, so Harry continued his tale.

`So immediately I figure they are talking about that old school diary of Voldemort's that he gave to Malfoy, which was that Horcrux I destroyed in second year.'

`Right, of course!' Hermione interjected starting to catch Harry's excitement.

`They argued for a bit about whose was the most valuable and Malfoy made some comment about how one day ole Snake pants' stuff will be more valuable than all of the belongings of the founders combined.'

`That means Dumbledore was right Harry, it has to be something that belongs to one of the founders.'

Harry nodded vigorously in agreement, `Yeah, exactly. Then, and this is the really lucky part, she asked him where he kept his and he mentioned that secret panel under the dinning room floor that Ron and I learnt about in second year and then he asked her where she kept hers and she said she keeps it with all of her other valuables in the safest place in the magical world but she's also added special protections of her own.'

Hermione shivered, `That almost certainly means she's put something really vicious on it to protect it, did she give any clue as to what spells she'd used? I can't imagine that Lucius wasn't dying to know.'

Harry swallowed the lump in his throat, `He sure was but she wasn't giving up anything, the only thing she did say was that she's the only one who can remove it.' Harry sighed, his feelings of elation leaving him in a rush, `Seems like one step forward and two back at the moment, we know who has it, but I've no idea where it is or how to get it.'

Hermione snorted, `Well, I think it's pretty obvious that it's at Gringotts, I mean where else would a witch describe as the safest place in the magical world and a place that she keeps all of her valuables? Besides, Gringotts also fits with Dumbledore's theory that he wants to hide them in places of significance.'

Harry blushed, `You're right, of course, it seems obvious really now that you've said it. But that still doesn't help me figure out how to get my hands on it.'

`Couldn't you just wait outside the bank for her to go in? The death eaters are practically in charge at the moment don't forget, so she won't be trying to hide. Then you could just follow her down to her vault, wait for her to remove the protections and then steal it while she's not looking.'

Harry was slowly nodding while he ran through all aspects of her plan in his mind. Like most of Hermione's plans it had a lot of different parts and a lot of things that could potentially go wrong but, again like most of her plans, it was almost certain to work.

`Yeah, and I could stay on my broom under my cloak so no-one will see me or bump into me by accident.'

Hermione nodded, pleased that he'd accepted the plan so easily. Then Harry groaned, `and just when I thought I was done with surveillance!'

Hermione grinned, `Well, I've got some exciting news as well that might cheer you up.'

`Really?'

`Yes,' Hermione's smile was almost smug, `your parents have invited us to spend Christmas day with them!'

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8. Chapter 8 - Merry Christmas

A/N - I don't own Harry Potter, or Back to the Future. I'm not making any money from this. I try not to think about it, it eases the pain. Speaking of which this is just a bit of fluff, it was not in the original draft of the story and I wish I hadn't decided to write it. This chapter is the reason my time line got all stuffed up and the reason there was a delay in the posting of this chapter and chapter 7. Next chapter should be up in better time. Thanks to my Beta's Katia and Ragavendran.

Chapter 8 - Merry Christmas

Over the next few weeks Hermione and Lilly seemed to become obsessed with all things Christmas, and Harry felt that their living room became a shrine to the beauty of tinsel and mistletoe. The tinsel was harmless enough but Harry avoided the mistletoe as though it really were full of Nargles. Things were getting difficult enough between he and Hermione, they didn't need any mistletoe induced kisses to make it even more uncomfortable.

About a week before Christmas Harry and James went to pick out Christmas trees, the task would have been made much easier by magic but the place they bought them was run by muggles so they had to do it the hard way.

`Is there a reason,' Harry asked through gritted teeth as he struggled with the handsaw, `why we can't get a little help with this.'

James pushed Harry aside and took over for a bit, `Muggles like to see you sweat, Harvey, you should know that.'

They took turns hacking at the tree with the hand saw, both cheating just a little when they thought the other wasn't paying attention. After an hour of hard work they had two trees which they then dragged back to the old Ford Utility they had hired just for the occasion.

When they got back to the house James helped Harry drag his Christmas tree inside first and when they got it there they found Lilly and Hermione seated on the sofa in front of the fireplace with mugs of hot chocolate. Harry smiled and warmth flooded through him as though he were the one drinking the hot chocolate.

`Hey, where are ours?' asked James shaking his hair like a dog and showering the two ladies with snow.

`Yours are on the bench in the kitchen,' Lilly replied succinctly not moving from her cosy spot on the sofa. Harry went and got the two drinks, returned to the lounge and handed one to his Dad. James had squeezed onto the sofa beside Lilly and now had one arm around her; Harry sat down beside Hermione and copied his fathers pose. He had started imitating his Dad's behaviour towards his Mum after Sirius had once remarked that Harry and Hermione acted like they'd been married for 50 years and not just one. So far it seemed to be working but it had made things a bit more awkward between the two of them to start with but they'd become more accustomed to it after a few weeks and now it was almost second nature.

`Don't you think so Harvey?' asked Hermione, shaking Harry from his reverie.

`I'm sorry, what?'

James laughed but Hermione just repeated herself, `I was just saying that James and Lilly should stay for dinner and help us decorate the tree.'

`Yeah I've got a huge pot full of stew that's been simmering all day, it should be ready to go soon and there is plenty for four.'

James looked a bit shocked, `That delicious smell is something you cooked?'

Harry nodded but it was Hermione who answered, `Harvey does most of the cooking, I can hold my own if I've got a recipe in front of me but he's got a real knack for it. Doesn't even use a recipe usually, just puts a dash of this and a pinch of that; he's very handy to have around.'

`Wow, all this and handsome too... you really got yourself a good husband there Hermiah!' said Lilly jokingly.

`Hey!' exclaimed James in mock protest, `What about me?'

Lilly winked at him, `I think I still got the better one of course, though the cooking thing nearly won it for him.'

They all laughed at that and the conversation moved along to the tree decorations. They decided to use a combination of Muggle and Magical decorations. James and Harry were in charge of the muggle decorations, which consisted of stringing up some popcorn, while Hermione and Lilly took care of the Magical decorations. But no sooner had the two men sat down with their bowls of popcorn to thread on string than they got into a popcorn fight.

It started innocently enough, Harry dropped a piece of popcorn in his lap and tried to flick it back into the bowl but he flicked it too hard and it hit James right in the face.

`Sorry, I didn't mean it; I meant to flick it into the bowl.'

`Yeah right,' said James, his tone clearly sceptical. He looked down at his own bowl of popcorn and then, quite deliberately, scooped up a handful of it and threw it into Harry's face.

Harry stared at his Dad in shock for a second before scooping two handfuls of popcorn out of his bowl, `that's it. This means war!'

James jumped up and ducked behind the couch, narrowly avoiding the most of the popcorn. He then picked up his wand and aimed it at his bowl, sending a shower of the stuff raining down on Harry. Harry grabbed his wand and pounced on James, he managed to grab him by the collar of his shirt and directing his wand he conjured a stream of popcorn straight down James' back.

James rounded on Harry to retaliate when suddenly both men were completely paralysed, `that's enough, you've gotten popcorn everywhere but the tree!' said Hermione her wand still directed at them, `If you do it again I'll keep you like that all night.'

After a few minutes she released them from the spell and they went back to threading popcorn on strings.

`Harvey, you've got popcorn in your hair,' said James after a minute, doing a very poor job of concealing his laughter.

Harry ruffled his hands through his hair, trying to dislodge it, `Yeah, well you've got it all down your back.'

James laughed openly, `I sure do, you prick!'

By the time they walked Lilly and James to the door it was quite late and Harry was so relaxed that he forgot to maintain his constant vigilance with the mistletoe. Unfortunately for Harry's peace of mind James was more vigilant and pointed it out as soon as the young couple stepped underneath.

`Oh no, Harvey, what a shame... now you'll have to give your lovely wife a kiss!' James slapped a hand to one cheek in feigned horror.

Harry laughed to hide his discomfort, `Oh no... How will I cope?' and then before James could respond, or Hermione could run away, he grabbed her about the waist, dipped her backwards dramatically and then gave her a gentle little peck on the lips.

James and Lilly both laughed at the display, `I hope that's not how he kisses you all the time!' James joked as they walked out the door.

`God no... He hardly ever dips me backwards like that,' replied Hermione, as soon as the door was shut though she leaned against it with a sigh, `that was a bit of a close call, wasn't it?'

`Yeah, though I still don't understand why you had to put mistletoe up in the first place.'

Hermione coloured slightly, `I thought it would look weird if we didn't, we are supposed to be newly weds.'

Harry shrugged in agreement, he supposed she was right. Anyway he had a similar dilemma recently over what to get her for Christmas. Ordinarily Harry would usually get her a book of some description, the only trouble with that was remembering which ones she already had, but this year he felt he should get her something better. Of course it would be expected that as a newly wed husband he would get his wife something nice for Christmas but he also just wanted to do it for her sake. In the past couple of months Hermione had been amazing and he really felt that she deserved a more thoughtful gift than he usually gave her.

The remaining weeks to Christmas sped by and Harry continued to divide his time between watching Gringotts, training and fretting over what to get Hermione for Christmas. Finally on Christmas Eve he made a few purchases and spent the remaining hours till Christmas day still fretting over their suitability.

On Christmas day they woke to a thick blanket of fog shrouding a snow covered ground.

`It looks like we're actually living inside a cloud, with all this white, doesn't it?' asked Harry peering out the window.

Hermione came to stand beside him, Harry instinctively wrapped an arm around her, and they looked at the white world beyond their windowsill together, `It's amazing, I can't even see your parents' house from here.'

`I guess we'll floo over then, we wouldn't want to get lost in the fog.'

Hermione laughed, `No... So, can we open presents now?'

They ran down the stairs together and sat in front of the tree. It was how a Christmas morning should be Harry thought as he watched Hermione search amongst the presents for the ones that had her name on them. Harry had never had a Christmas morning like this one before. At Hogwarts each person's presents were piled at the foot of their bed, not under a tree, and at the Dursleys none of the presents under the tree were ever for him.

`Ooh, what's this one, Harry?' Hermione asked, emerging from under the tree with the smallest box.

Harry grinned, she obviously could already tell it was jewellery, surely nothing else made a girls eye's sparkle like that, `Why don't you open it and find out?'

Hermione grinned and without waiting a second longer she pulled off the ribbon and tore open the paper to revel the small black jewellers' box. She looked up at him, her eyes still shining, `Oh Harry, you shouldn't have...'

Harry laughed out loud, `right, so you want me to take it back then do you?'

Hermione blushed faintly, `no...'

`Don't be silly, Hermione, it's not like we need to worry about the money... besides I wanted to get you something nice as a sort of, thank you, for everything you've done to help me over the last few months.'

Hermione threw her arms around him, `Thank you,' she whispered.

`You haven't even opened it yet.'

`I know, but I know I'll love it.'

She pulled away from him and opened the box, inside was a diamond solitaire pendant and matching earrings.

`Oh Harry, I feel terrible, I didn't get you anything even close to as nice as this!'

`I'm sure I'll love whatever you got me.'

Hermione still looked worried but she pulled a couple of boxes out from under the tree.

`Are these all for me?' asked Harry incredulously

Hermione nodded, `there was only one thing I could think of that you didn't have but that you could really use, it seems horribly practical now but...I hope you like it.'

Harry looked at her oddly, she'd referred to it as one thing but there were a veritable mountain of boxes in front of him. She didn't look as though she planned on explaining any further though so he grabbed the topmost package, tore off the paper and opened the box, inside were a pair of black leather lace up boots with yellow stitching around the soles. Harry looked at the box, which confirmed his suspicions.

`You got me Doc Martens?'

`Well, I got you a new wardrobe, I know you bought a few things when we first got here but I've thought you needed new clothes for years so... I bought you some things that you can take back with you, and wear in the muggle world.'

Harry grabbed the next box and ripped into it, inside were a new pair of trainers. The next box yielded two pairs of Levi's jeans, then came the t-shirts, a few dress shirts, a couple of woollen jumpers and finally a black suede bomber jacket.

`This is great, Hermione!' said Harry pulling on the jacket, `How did you know what size I was?'

Hermione shrugged, `I didn't but, well, I know how big you are... roughly... so I guessed; I figured we could always alter them if necessary.'

Harry grinned, `One of the benefits of magic.'

After they opened their respective presents they had a leisurely breakfast of waffles and then got ready to go to Harry's parents' house. Harry was ready before Hermione, dressed entirely in his new clothes, and was packing up their gifts for everyone while she finished up getting ready. He was half buried under the tree, collecting the presents that had been pushed back there, and didn't realise Hermione had entered the room until she spoke.

`You know Harry, I've been thinking.'

`That's not unusual.' He responded cheekily extricating himself from the tree with some difficulty.

`No, but I was thinking that, although your mum is only two months pregnant she might announce it today.'

Harry sat up and looked at her but as soon as he did his head was wiped clean of thoughts, `You look great Hermione!' he said, the words flying out of his mouth before they'd even registered in his brain.

Hermione smiled happily, `Do you really think so?'

Harry nodded, she was wearing a relatively simple outfit of black boots, a slim black skirt and a v-neck green wool jumper but she'd pulled her hair back into a bun and obviously used some Sleekeasy's to smooth it back with the exception of a few curls hung loose and curled attractively around her face. She wore minimal make-up, only enough to highlight her beautiful eyes, and the diamonds Harry bought for her adorned her ears and throat. The overall effect was simple and understated beauty.

The two teens smiled at each other for a few minutes before Hermione cleared her throat and broke their eye contact.

`Well anyway, as I was saying, I think your mum might announce her pregnancy tonight, so you should be prepared.'

Harry nodded, `Ok, I'll practice my surprised face.'

They floo'd over to the Potter house, which was a riot of Christmas decorations, and as soon as they stepped out of the fire place they walked directly into one of Sirius' pranks, an innocuous looking piece of mistletoe which held its captives in place until they had kissed.

Harry glared at Sirius, who held up his hands in protest, `What? It's not like you've never kissed her before! It has to be a good one too, Harvey, the vicious plant won't let you go unless there's tongue involved.

`Remind me to take that down before my parents arrive.' James whispered to Lilly.

Harry was surprised that his father's parents were expected today; he'd never learnt anything about them and had always assumed that they had died long ago.

Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself up against him, Harry looked at her in surprise.

`It's got to be a good one remember, may as well get into the spirit of it!'

Harry dropped the bag of presents he was holding; perhaps this would be a good opportunity to vent some of the frustrations he'd been feeling recently. Hermione looked at him, a clear challenge in her eyes, so Harry wrapped his arms around her and claimed her mouth with his. Their lips fused and their tongues met, Hermione groaned and pressed herself more firmly against him. He could feel every inch of her from knees to breasts and it was all he could do to stop himself from pinning her against the wall and grinding himself against her.

`Maybe we should turn a hose on them?' was the dry humorous comment of Remus Lupin which finally broke them apart.

Harry laughed, `That's ok, we can control ourselves without the hose.'

`Really?' Sirius asked, one eyebrow raised, `I think I understand now why you two don't kiss in public.'

Everyone laughed and the little scene was forgotten, except by the two who had principally participated in it. Harry thought that his frustrations were only going to be increased after their little incident but Hermione's thoughts on the matter were a mystery. Immediately after the kiss she'd been just as flustered as he but now that she'd recovered from that she just went on as though nothing had happened.

She helped Lilly set the table, and laughed at all the jokes that went around and generally just acted as though nothing really significant had happened. Harry supposed that was how he should act as well, or people would think he was being weird, but he was amazed by her skill as an actress and a little disappointed that his kiss hadn't affected her more. He supposed he should be glad really, he was still Ginny's boyfriend after all and it really wouldn't do to have Hermione getting attached to him in that way.

He was distracted from the unpleasantness of that thought by the arrival of his grand-parents. His Grandfather, a silver haired version of James with blue eyes, shook Harry's hand with a vigour that made Harry think he must have been in the military. His Grandmother was a complete contrast. Where her husband was tall and strong, the colour of his hair the only indicator of his age, she was the typical English Grandmother. Her hair was pulled to the top of her head in a neat silver bun, her sparkling hazel eyes were wrinkled at the corners and she'd even brought a bag of knitting with her.

`Now Lilly, dear, let me take a look at you... hmmm... are we to have an announcement today?' asked the wily old lady

`Well, I was going to wait until we were all seated around the table... but now that you ask...' she looked at James who came up and put his arm protectively around his wife.

`Everyone, I'd like to inform you all that we very shortly expect an addition to our little family.'

`Are you buying a pet, Prongsy?' Called Sirius

`If those in the peanut gallery could keep quiet,' boomed the Senior Mr Potter, `I believe my boy is trying to make an announcement.'

`We're having a baby.' Said James his face almost splitting in half, his grin was so wide.

Harry joined everyone in congratulating his parents but he did so in a daze. He knew his mother was pregnant, he'd known it since he'd arrived, so he'd underestimated the impact that seeing his father make the announcement would have on him. He hadn't expected it to affect him at all, but he couldn't have been more wrong. He couldn't get the image of his father's happy expression out of his mind, and to know that very soon it was all supposed to end, was something he just couldn't quite fathom.

The meal was a happy, noisy, joyous success. The food was delicious and everyone was in great spirits. Harry did not join in on the joking and talking but instead sat back and took it all in. He wanted to fix everyone in his mind, just as they were now. Before Voldemort ruined all of them, each and every one of them here had been destroyed by Voldemort in one way or another and as happy as the occasion was Harry felt a renewed sense of determination more than anything else. He absolutely could not allow it to happen again, and he knew that he would do anything necessary to prevent it.

After the meal was over, they all lolled in chairs around the tree for the handing out of presents. James sat in the chair closest to the tree with a Santa hat perched on his unruly hair, and called out each person's name. After about five presents were handed out it was finally Harry's turn to receive something.

`This is for both of you,' James said indicating to Hermione, `From Lil's and I, it's for your house... anyway, we hope you like it.'

Harry took the box from his father with a lump in his throat, `I'm sure we'll love it.'

He sat next to Hermione and tore the wrapping off the box, it was a wooden mantle clock. Harry grinned and showed it to Hermione.

Hermione smiled and murmured in Harry's ear `How appropriate, we've been given the gift of time.'

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9. Chapter 9 - Fighting Fire with Fire

A/N - I don't own Harry Potter or Back to the Future. I also respectfully acknowledge the authors of the many HP time-travel story's, both complete and incomplete, who have all inspired this story in one way or another. May your muses ever smile upon you. Also please note that I've skipped over large chunks of time in which nothing of particular importance takes place. Special thank you to My Beta's Katia, Ragavendran & Dementor149 for all of their help with this chapter.

Chapter 9 - Fighting Fire with Fire

Over the next few days Harry decided that the kiss he and Hermione shared under the mistletoe should be officially dubbed “it which shall not be named”. That night when they returned home they both went to bed as usual and the next morning Hermione got up early and took down all the Christmas decorations. Aside from her prompt removal of mistletoe from their home she didn't acknowledge the incident in any way. Harry even wondered sometimes whether it had really happened at all or not. If it weren't for the continuing tension between the two of them, which they both seemed determined to ignore, he would have seriously begun to consider the possibility that it was all a figment of his over-active imagination.

Slowly things did return to normal between them, and Harry expected he would eventually have stopped noticing every time anything got even close to her lips. But then there was Valentine's Day.

Harry figured since they were supposed to be newly weds he would buy her a bunch of roses, just in case anyone asked. Hermione was sitting in the window seat in the lounge reading, it had become her favourite place to read as Harry had suspected it would. When he walked into the lounge through the kitchen door she looked up and her face lit up when she saw the roses.

`Oh Harry! They're beautiful, did you buy them for me?' she asked, jumping up and taking the flowers from him.

Harry nodded, `Yeah, I thought… you know since it's Valentines day… we are supposed to be newly weds.'

Hermione stiffened and Harry suddenly got the impression that he'd said entirely the wrong thing.

`That's ok as a Valentine's present, isn't it?'

Hermione smiled at him again but it somehow didn't seem as genuine as it had before, `Of course Harry, it's fine. It's exactly what a newly married man should buy for his wife. I'll just go and put these in some water.'

She walked away from him and Harry was left with the distinct feeling that he had done the wrong thing and upset her. He'd thought she'd be happy with him for remembering his part so well but, if he didn't know better, he would have sworn that she was upset with him instead. He couldn't think of any real way to make up to her, for whatever it was that he'd done wrong, so he started buying her little presents. He tried not to make a big deal about it just putting the box on the seat next to her before heading upstairs to take a shower. When he came back she was staring at it suspiciously.

`What's this for?'

Harry felt his face go uncomfortably hot, it was a bracelet with a little book charm on it, `It's for you.'

She looked at him, `I know that, but why?'

Harry shrugged and looked at his feet, `I just saw it and thought you'd like it.'

She smiled at him then, a proper smile that lit up her eyes and Harry realised it was the first time she'd really smiled at him since Christmas.

`Well thank you Harry, that's very sweet,' then she stood on tiptoe and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

After that things mostly returned to normal. The first few months of the New Year continued to pass rapidly. Harry went to Gringotts every day to keep watch for Bellatrix Lestrange. Hermione spent her days researching methods to destroy Horcruxes, advanced fighting techniques, and the most common of house-hold spells. She even found a spell that he could use on Voldemort, it was a spell that had originally been used as punishment for wizards who'd committed the worst crimes, before Azkaban had been set up, and was designed to strip them of their magic. Hermione thought that it would be best if Harry didn't have to intentionally murder anyone, even Voldemort, and that the spell would probably kill Voldemort anyway since it was only his magic that was keeping him alive. Except for that breakthrough life went by without anything of particular importance taking place.

Of an evening Harry would return home and the two of them would go for a jog into the nearby muggle town and back and then Hermione would teach Harry any new spells she'd found that day. It was a quiet routine that they made for themselves and it fit Harry like a comfortable old shoe. If it weren't for the tedium of his days outside the bank, he would have been very happy with their lives. They continued to spend time with his parents and their friends, something which was both fun and a little painful, and they did their best to ignore the deaths and disappearances which were going on in the wider wizarding community.

Bellatrix Lestrange was obviously far too busy wreaking havoc in the world to bother visiting her vault and so it was already mid-June before they had their next breakthrough.

Harry returned home one evening and, as usual, when he walked in through the back door he found Hermione sitting at the kitchen table surrounded by books. Only this time when he entered the house she jumped up immediately to greet him.

`Oh, Harry,' she gushed enthusiastically, throwing herself at him in a big hug, `I've finally done it! I've found a way to destroy the Horcrux.'

Harry tightened his arms around her instinctively but when he heard her news he pulled back slightly to look her in the face.

`Are you serious?'

`Yes, absolutely!' Her eyes shone with excitement, `I learned the spell ages ago, but I didn't want to test it because it's so uncontrollable, but I figured out a solution! It took me all day to build it... come and see.' Without further ado she dragged him back out into the rear yard.

It turned out that Hermione had been quite busy since discovering a way of destroying the Horcrux, and she happily showed Harry the fruits of her labour. In the rear garden, behind the disused broom shed, she had constructed what looked like an old fashioned boiler. It was as big as the broom shed in height and width and looked as though it had been constructed out of about fifty different cast iron stoves.

When they stood before it Harry didn't quite know what to say, `Wow,' he said at last, `I'm not surprised it took you all day.'

Hermione nodded happily, `it was a big project.'

Harry nodded still slightly dumbfounded, `right... and where did you find all the materials to build it with?'

Hermione didn't seem to notice that Harry had no idea what he was looking at and just answered his questions enthusiastically, `Well, I found it all right here at the house, the broom shed had one of those old cast iron stoves, a cast iron tub and a cast iron laundry sink, I assume from when the previous owners renovated, and I found this wonderful little spell that acts like a welding torch and I was able to cut them into pieces and re-join them.'

Harry smiled, pleased that his guess about what the object was made from had been so close to the mark, `So... um.... how does it work then?'

`Well, it doesn't actually do anything, it's just the only thing I could come up with to make the spell safe.'

`Ok, so, what's the spell then?'

`Well, have you ever heard of Fiendfyre?' she asked, her eyes shining happily.

Harry shook his head, `I don't think so.'

`Well, it's a really vicious and uncontrollable form of fire spell and you have to be extremely good at controlling the focus and direction of your magic to have any hope of controlling it. It's not really about whether you're powerful or not, but rather how much control you have.'

`Right, that's always been a weakness of mine.'

`Don't worry I wouldn't want to try it either, which is why I've come up with this!' She gestured grandly at the boiler, thing.

`Ok, so, how does that help?'

`Well I thought that rather than trying to control the spell we could just contain it. The plan is, we toss the Horcrux inside, fire off the spell and slam down the lid.' She beamed at him and Harry beamed back.

`Hermione, that is brilliant!'

`Thank you. So, shall we test it?'

Harry's response was simple; he raised his wand and yelled, `Accio Diadem.'

A few seconds later the offending article was sailing through the air towards them and Harry caught it easily. That done they clambered to the top of the stove-like creation and threw it inside.

`Ok, so as soon as the spell leaves my wand you have to be ready to slam the lid shut, ok?'

`Right and you're sure this container will hold?'

`Well... yes, yes I'm sure.'

`Hermione?'

`Well, it can't be tested first so I can't be completely certain until it's been used, but I'm as sure as I can be without having been able to test it.'

`Ok then, when you're ready.'

Hermione grinned at him and threw the Diadem into the cast iron construction; it landed on its side with a clang and rolled around the bottom for a second before finally coming to a rest on its top.

Hermione sighed, `It's quite symbolic really, isn't it?'

Harry frowned, `what is?'

`This.' She said gesturing at the ancient tiara, `That Diadem is a priceless historical relic and now it's been so badly twisted by Voldemort that it has to be destroyed.'

Harry nodded, `yeah, but we are sure there's no other way aren't we?' Hermione only nodded in answer, `Well,' Harry continued, `whenever you're ready.'

Hermione took a deep breath and raised her wand, `ok, on three then.... one, two... three'

As soon as the spell left her wand Harry flicked his wand at the lid to close it then sealed it with a couple of different spells just for good measure. They couldn't stay up on top of the boiler for long because it soon got too hot, as the fire inside raged out of control. Finally, after about a minute of sustained roaring (which Harry privately thought would have been long enough to flatten Hogsmeade), the noise faded and the spell seemed to have run its course.

Harry cautiously touched the side of the boiler but quickly pulled his hand away, `it's still hot.'

`We'll have to wait a while before we can check but, Harry, I think... no, I'm sure it's worked. I never doubted that the spell could destroy it,' her eyes sparkled in excitement, `my only concern was whether the boiler would hold or not!'

`So that means...... it worked?' Harry asked in a whisper

Hermione smiled and nodded, `it worked.'

`Woo Hoo! We did it! Hermione, you beautiful, wonderful girl! You did it!' After months, where they seemed to make no progress at all, in a single day they'd had a really significant breakthrough and Harry couldn't contain his excitement, he picked her up and spun her around.

`Well, whatever it was that you did, it must be pretty exciting.' Lilly commented dryly.

Harry quickly put Hermione back on her feet and the two teens blushed at Lilly's sudden appearance, `Yeah, well, I suppose it is.'

`So what did you do that's so exciting?' asked Lilly, her curiosity evident.

`Err, we ... err,' Harry looked at Hermione for some help; Hermione returned his panicked look but managed a smile. She gestured behind them at the cast iron construction, `Err, we got the furnace working.'

Harry looked at her incredulously, he'd always thought she was a really bad liar (especially after the fiasco in Borgin and Bourke's at the start of their previous school year) but every now and then she came up with something good.

`Yeah,' Harry agreed quickly, `it's been broken for the last few weeks and it still gets really cold at night; we've been near freezing to death.'

Lilly smiled, apparently believing their lie, `Well that's good,' she agreed, laying a hand on her swollen belly.

Harry had managed to avoid seeing too much of his mother the last month or so, ever since she'd really started to show the signs of her pregnancy, though even before that he'd tended to try not to notice it. At first the idea of his own birth had seemed like an awful thing for his parents to be happy about, because his birth and their deaths were too closely entwined in his mind. But gradually he came to accept that they knew nothing about it and were only happy to be extending their family, which was something he wouldn't want to deny them. Now the signs of growing life, his growing life, only made him feel extremely uncomfortable. He was growing inside of her and seeing it was very strange. Her baby belly had grown so large that it was impossible to ignore, especially when she laid her hand on it in such a protective way.

`Wow, you've really gotten big,' the words slipped out before he really thought about it, `Oh, I'm sorry... I didn't mean to say that.'

Lilly laughed, `it's ok Harvey, I have gotten big,' she sighed, `I feel like I'm about ready to burst actually, still, not long now.'

With a start Harry realised that his birthday was indeed fast approaching.

`I'm sorry to just barge into your yard like this,' Lilly continued not noticing Harry's surprise, `but I wanted to invite you to dinner. We thought we should have one last dinner party before our new family member arrives.'

Harry swallowed a lump in his throat and tried to act normal, `Of course, that'd ... that'd be great, don't you think, err, Hermiah.'

`We'd love to come, Lilly, what time would you like us to arrive? Is there anything you'd like us to bring?'

`Well actually, I was hoping to ask a favour,' She looked slightly sheepish but continued, `There are some things I can't do and I was hoping that, Hermiah, you could help me get everything ready.' She blushed, `James tries to help but...'

`It's ok, he's a man... he doesn't really get it.'

`No he doesn't,' Lilly agreed, laughing, `You can come too, of course, Harvey and keep James company.'

The one thing Harry had really loved about being in the past was the opportunities it had afforded him to hang out with his Dad, `sure, that'd be great.'

Harry and his dad spent most of their time working on James motorcycle, Harry had known about Sirius having a motor bike ever since his third year but he'd never known that James had one too. From their position in the backyard Harry could see Hermione and Lilly through the kitchen window, `they look like they're having fun,' Harry said nodding towards the two women.

`Yeah, Lil's doesn't have a lot of close female friends. I think she's really loved having you and Hermiah living just across the street.'

It was a casual comment but it was one that surprised Harry, `really, I always had the impression she was quite popular.'

James snorted, `not with other women, brains and beauty combined are her curse... it's a rare girl, or woman that can be friends with Lils without getting jealous.' He looked at Harry and grinned, `I suppose Hermiah doesn't have any problem though because she's similarly afflicted.'

Harry stared blankly at James for a second before he got it, `Oh, you mean because she's beautiful and intelligent too?'

James laughed out loud, `don't sound so surprised! This is your wife we're talking about.'

Harry blushed and tried to cover, `Oh, of course I know that ... she just, wasn't considered pretty at school, I guess...' Harry struggled for what to say.

`You always thought her beauty was only in the eye of the beholder?'

Harry breathed a sigh of relief, `Yeah, I thought it was only really me that saw it.'

James clapped him on the back, getting grease on his robes, `Well, I can see it too... she's a good looking woman.' James picked up another part from the motorcycle cleaning it with his wand and turning it over in his hands, `but that's not the most important thing anyway, is it? If Lilly was just a pretty face, I'd have gotten bored with her years ago.'

Harry nodded, `that's true.'

`It's like this bike,' James held up the part in his hands to show Harry a hairline crack which he fixed easily with his wand, `Lilly doesn't like me riding it, but if I got rid of it for her she knows that Sirius would never let me live it down, so every time I get it fixed she comes out here and sabotages it in new and interesting ways.' He smiled, `she pretends she's sorry that my bike is always broken, and I pretend it annoys me, and we both pretend that she doesn't have anything to do with it.'

Harry just looked at his father in amazement, `you don't mind that she keeps breaking it?'

James shook his head, `Nope, eventually I'll be able to get rid of it and Sirius won't have any reason to give me hell about it and in the meantime I get to hide out here and play with it whenever I want to without her getting mad at me.'

`That is brilliant,' agreed Harry.

`Well, life is definitely more interesting when you're married to an intelligent witch but then, you know that.'

Harry nodded, `true, no-one could dispute Hermiah's intelligence... she is amazing, the smartest witch I've ever met.'

`Surprising really that she wasn't put in Ravenclaw.'

`I always thought so too, but I guess her, err, loyalty is even more pronounced than her intelligence.'

They looked up then at the sound of tapping on glass; the ladies were beckoning them from the kitchen. Harry and James stood up, `Well Harvey, it seems our lovely and intelligent wives require our presence.'

`And who are we to deny them?' Harry agreed standing up.

`Who indeed.' Together the two men made their way inside to where Hermione and Lilly were waiting for them.

`We need independent opinions.' Lilly announced as they entered the kitchen.

`On what my love?' James asked, wrapping his arms around his wife. Harry looked at Hermione who came to his side and wrapped her hands around his arm.

`Lilly thinks I should use a spell on my hair to control it more.' Said Hermione

`Oh,' Harry frowned and put his arm around her shoulders, they'd been playing the role for so long now that there were times when he forgot that she wasn't his wife, `What's wrong with it the way it is?'

Hermione shrugged, `it's not that there is anything wrong with it,' objected Lilly, `I just know a spell, that is very quick and easy, which could show off how beautiful her hair really is... take a bit of the frizz out, that's all.'

`Why don't you show us how it looks, Hermiah?' James suggested, `we can't really tell you our honest opinion unless we know what it looks like.'

Hermione pointed her wand at her head and then pulled it away in a corkscrew type motion `Redomois'. Her hair was still full of body and curl but it seemed thicker and shinier, like it had been smoothed together a bit and it was easier to see its beautiful honey, caramel colour.

`Doesn't it look great?' Lilly asked

`It sure does, hey Harvey?'

Harry looked at Hermione's face, wondering what the right response was; she was biting her lip as though waiting for a verdict.

`You do look great, but then, I thought you looked great without the spell too. It's up to you, it's not like you have to use it all the time but it's good to know if you feel like it.'

Hermione smiled, `true, I think I will leave it like this tonight at least though. I'm going to go and have a look in the mirror.' She kissed Harry on the cheek and ran from the room.

The rest of the evening passed very pleasantly, Remus, Sirius and Peter were all there. Harry had gotten used to Peter by now and usually the smaller man's presence didn't bother him. But tonight, with his birthday fast approaching and Lilly clearly showing the signs of the advanced stages of pregnancy, Harry couldn't understand how the man could have the gall to sit there and eat dinner with them all.

As they returned home that night, Harry was barely able to contain himself, `Now that we know how to destroy the Horcruxes, I think we should go and get that Locket.'

Hermione laced her arm through Harry's `Do you want to go and do a reconnaissance mission and see what's protecting it?' she asked

`Yeah?' asked Harry, his surprise now overpowering his former anger.

`Well, you want to go soon and we can't go during the day tomorrow because you'll be staking out Gringotts so if we're going to go at night anyway,' she shrugged, `There's no time like the present.'

`Well, when you put it like that... we'll have to fly though, cause I've never been there except in a memory and I wouldn't trust that when Apparating.'

`Oh,' Hermione frowned, `but we've only got the one broom.'

Harry looked at Hermione with one eyebrow raised, `you're small enough for us to ride on the same broom and you know it... didn't I pay you enough compliments tonight, my darling wife?'

It was a running joke they'd had ever since Christmas when Lilly had found out that Harry did most of the cooking and had commented on what a good husband he was.

Hermione laughed, `You were a very good Husband tonight, especially with the comments about my hair... that was really going above and beyond the call of duty.'

They were at the house now and organising themselves for their trip diverted their attention, before too long they were away. They flew through the night towards the cave at the beach with Harry in front, Hermione behind and shrouded in the invisibility cloak. They were warm under the cloak together, despite the cool night air, but it was impossible to talk so the miles sped by in silence. As they grew closer Harry began to use the point me spell to confirm he was going in the right direction, the coast along here was all jagged cliffs and crashing waves that looked particularly ominous in the dark of night.

`Harry, I think we should land here' Hermione yelled over the whistling of the wind.

He pointed the broom downwards and began to descend; when they landed he pulled off the invisibility cloak. `None of this looks familiar Hermione; I don't know how we're going to find the cave.'

`Well I was actually thinking about that earlier today after I finished making the boiler, I was researching it when you got back this afternoon. There is a spell that's sort of like the `point me' spell I taught you but it's for finding things you've misplaced or if you don't know where they are, it's a fairly common spell that is mostly used by older people whose memories are failing.'

`And you think it'll help us find the Horcrux?'

`Well, I don't see why not. We know what we're looking for, we know it's around here somewhere... and I'm sure Voldemort, in all his arrogance would never have thought to protect it from such a simple spell.'

`Well, I guess it couldn't hurt to try it,' said Harry, shrugging, `What's the incantation?'

Hermione laid her wand flat on her hand, said `Laxus' and immediately the wand changed direction to point out to sea.

`Great' muttered Harry, `it looks like we'll be getting wet, pity we don't have any gillyweed.'

`We'll be fine; we'll just use that Bubble Head charm. Oh, and use a warming spell too, the water looks icy.'

Harry nodded and cast the spells on himself as Hermione did the same and then they jumped into the water. Harry was immediately glad he'd used the warming spell; he couldn't imagine how cold the water would have been without it.

Hermione led the way, using the Laxus spell and Harry stayed right by her side, lighting the way with his wand. Finally after what seemed an age, they approached another cliff and as they swam closer Harry could see a three foot wide crack in it. The water continued inside the cliff and Hermione's wand told them that's where they needed to go. They swam deeper into the cliff, with every foot they progressed, Harry became gladder that his time spent locked in the cupboard under the stairs as a child hadn't left him with any claustrophobia.

Harry was just beginning to think that Hermione's spell was actually designed to torment people by sending them on wild goose chases when the cavern they were swimming through abruptly opened up into a large cave with a ledge of rock forming a floor at one end. They clambered out of the water, happy to be on dry land again and cast drying charms on themselves.

That done they looked around the chamber they had found.

`Are you sure that spell is really designed to find lost things? It's not secretly a prank spell to send people balmy looking for things is it?'

`No Harry, I tested it a few times, it does work. Besides it was in a book I borrowed from your mum and she, apparently, uses it all the time.'

`Well, it must be transfigured into a rock or something because I can't see anything else down here.'

Hermione cast the spell again and it pointed directly, and unerringly, at the back wall of the cave. The two teens walked closer to the wall to inspect it more carefully. It looked like slate, and all Harry could see were the natural fissures in the rock but when he said as much to Hermione she shook her head still looking closely at the wall.

`No, I don't think they are...natural I mean, these lines ... they look almost like,' she shook her head again, `but it would have taken so long!' She said looking at the wall which was covered in the fine spidery cracks and creases. She ran her hand over the wall, `it's actually marked into the rock, but Harry have you ever seen such a pattern of cracks and fissures in a real rock?'

Harry shrugged, `I don't know, I suppose so... I haven't really ever studied rocks before.'

`Well, neither have I but... I recognise this.... it's.... Harry, I think these are runes. Look at this.' She grabbed his hand and ran his finger very slowly over one of the peculiar patterns which, he now saw, was quite a distinct shape that you wouldn't expect from natural formations.

`Wow.' Hermione nodded, `and these must be all runes then, are they?'

Hermione nodded again, `Harry, I don't know how we're going to get passed this... even if I came back and wrote all of these symbols down, which on its own would probably take several days, it would take me years to decipher this.'

`Maybe if you just read a little part of it we might be able to fill in the blanks a bit? How much of it do you understand?'

Hermione looked at the wall again, `well, I guess I do know a lot of it... probably not the most important, but...' she broke off mid-sentence, her brow furrowed in confusion, `That doesn't make any sense.'

`What doesn't?' Harry, who had never studied runes and didn't understand them in the slightest, was completely at a loss.

`Well, none of it really, individually it's all fine but when you put it together it's all gibberish.'

Harry didn't need to tell her he didn't understand what she meant, it was written all over his face.

`It's like, if you were reading a book,' Harry grinned at her choice of example, `and each of the words individually make sense but then as a sentence it didn't, or more like each sentence on it's own was fine, but none of them seemed to fit together. That's what this is like, one sentence is about... I don't know, cake or something, and the next is about the floor. There's no relationship between any of it.'

Harry nodded, `Ok, I think I get what you're saying.'

`What I don't understand, is why he would go to the trouble of etching in all those runes, so fine that they look like cracks in the rock at first, if none of it meant anything?'

`Maybe that was the point,' suggested Harry, `Maybe it was so anyone who came here looking for the Horcrux would write down a whole bunch of gibberish and then spend years translating it, probably over and over thinking it was their fault it didn't make sense, to stop them from seeing the real puzzle.'

Hermione looked impressed, `that's pretty clever, Harry.'

`What would be clever is figuring out what the real puzzle is.' He answered.

She nodded, `true.... any ideas?'

`I've already had my brilliant idea for the night, you're due for at least ten more though... what do you think?' asked Harry.

Hermione looked at the wall considering the possibilities, `Well, if the bluff is really complex maybe that means the real ward is actually quite simple.'

`Makes sense,' agreed Harry.

`Well the simplest wards are blood wards...' she pulled her wand across the palm of her hand, cutting open the skin.

`Hermione!' Harry protested, when he saw her blood, `what did you do that for?'

`Well we can't use your blood; we've got to keep your cover, besides it's just a little scratch.'

Harry would have disagreed but it seemed pointless now that she'd already done it and she was already turned away from him and pressing her bloody palm up against the wall. As soon as the blood touched the stone of the wall it simply vanished revealing the way into a much larger cavern. Hermione healed the cut on her hand and Harry led the way cautiously into the other chamber. The darkness within was so intense that it seemed to swallow the light from their wands entirely leaving them almost completely blind. Harry could hear the dripping of water and could still feel the stone underneath his feet but after only a little way the darkness became so unnerving that he came to a stop.

`Hermione?' he whispered, sensing her presence just behind him but wanting to be sure it was her.

`Yes?'

`Can you see anything?'

`Just you,' she responded, `and something over there, I think.'

Harry's eyes followed the path her arm made, but it was impossible to see anything beyond their own small circle of light.

`I think we should turn our wand lights off,' she whispered next.

`What? Are you crazy? We'd never find our way out.'

`No, we'll see better,' she insisted, `it's like at night when you're inside and all the lights are on and you can't see past the window sill, but if you turn the light off you can see across the street and into the neighbours garden.'

Harry took a deep breath to steel himself for what he was about to do and then whispered `Nox', he heard Hermione do the same behind him and for a few seconds it was like he had gone blind. The darkness was so absolute he could not see his own hand in front of his face. Then as his eyes adjusted to the lack of light he realised that Hermione was right, he could see everything more clearly. Sure enough in the place Hermione had pointed before there was something unusual.

It looked like they were walking on a narrow ledge beside a deep pool or underground lake, and in the middle of the lake there was an odd, dim green light. Harry looked more closely at the water and wondered if they were going to have to swim. Suddenly, he thought he saw something moving under the water, something ghostly pale and thoroughly creepy.

`I don't want to go in that water,' said Hermione, echoing Harry's own thoughts.

`Neither do I,' he confessed, `I don't suppose you know any spells to make a person walk on water do you?'

Hermione chuckled, `Sorry, no,' then she tapped on his arm and pointed further along the ledge where they now stood, `I don't suppose you know how to row, do you?'

She was pointing at a little wooden row boat that sat innocently tethered to the shore line. They got into the boat and Harry rowed them towards the island in the middle of the lake. As they got closer and the green light became brighter Harry realised what was in the water beneath them, inferi, hordes of them. Hermione hadn't seemed to notice.

`It looks as though it's fairly safe to come and go,' Hermione was saying, `I suppose there must be protections in place to stop anyone from actually leaving with the locket though.'

`Like inferi?' Harry pointed and Hermione suddenly realised what was in the water.

`There are hundreds of them,' she gasped, horrified.

Harry nodded, `at least.'

`Do you remember how to defeat them?' she asked, panicked.

`Yeah, fire, I suppose at least we know a good strong fire spell... even if it is a horribly dangerous and uncontrollable one.'

Hermione tried to smile, but looked as though she might be sick. `This is just reconnaissance, right? So we can see what we're up against and come up with a plan?'

`Of course, we've got plenty of time, there's still over a year before we need to be ready.'

Hermione nodded, looking a little better. They reached the island and got out of the boat, Harry thought it was a little anti-climatic. The light was emanating from a stone basin set upon a smooth piece of granite. It was filled with a strange liquid which seemed to be the source of the light.

They peered in but saw only their own reflections. Hermione raised her wand cautiously but then after a second she lowered it again.

`What do you think?' asked Harry, his voice still lowered to a whisper.

`I think I'm going to have to take a sip of it.' Whatever Harry had expected her to say, it had not been that.

`What? Why?'

`Because, I'm worried that if I try and cast any spells on it, it will wake them up,' she said pointing back towards the water.

`Oh... yeah.'

`I think this is poison of some kind, and I think the only way to get it out of there that won't wake up the bodies in the lake, is to drink it.'

Harry took a few deep breaths, anxious not to loose his cool in such a perilous situation, `If you think it's poison, isn't it... a bit mad... to drink it?'

Hermione shook her head, `I'll only take a sip, just enough to see what it does, not enough to kill. If I know what it looks like, and what it does then I can hopefully figure out what it is... and if I can do that, then I should be able to work out the antidote.'

`And if you can't?'

Hermione shrugged, `I think I really have to, whether I take a sip or not.'

As usual her logic was flawless, `let me take it then, why does it have to be you?'

Hermione smiled, `because, despite your results last year, I am better at potions than you are and if one of us is going to figure out what this is then it's going to be me.'

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10. Chapter 10 - And Baby Makes Three

A/N - I don't own Harry Potter or Back to the Future (even though most of the similarities to that great movie aren't readily apparent at the moment) I hope you guys enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Also there may be a slight delay in the posting of chapters 11, 12 & 13 because I'm doing a fairly substantial re-write of those three chapters. The delay shouldn't be too long and chapters after that are remaining 99% as they are now and should be posted fairly quickly after that. Big Thanks to my Beta's Katia, Ragavendran & Dementor149.

Chapter 10 - And Baby Makes Three

The next few weeks passed in a blur. Harry wasn't getting much sleep because Hermione, who still hadn't found an antidote, was thrashing about in her sleep with nightmares. He'd tried helping her find a solution but each time he did she grew increasingly irritable with him and pushed him away. He thought the moodiness might have been a result of the potion messing with her head, but after she pulled her wand on him he couldn't really push it any further.

So each day passed in a bit of a blur as he sat above the entrance to Gringotts bank on his broomstick and shrouded in his invisibility cloak. For all he knew of what happened, Bellatrix could have come and gone a dozen times in a conga line of death eaters and levitating muggles in the air and he wouldn't have noticed unless one of the levitated muggles had knocked him off his broom. He was fairly certain none of that had happened, but he was so tired and distracted that it was a possibility.

Finally it was the day before his birthday and he was distracted even further by the constant thought that his mum might go into labour at any moment. His aunt had never told him even the most basic facts about his parents so he had no idea what time of the day he'd been born, or how long his mum had been in labour before hand. It seemed a little odd to be so worried about an event that had long since passed relatively uneventfully, but he couldn't help himself.

The birth of this baby, of himself, was just incomprehensible to him. He was going to be able to see how much his parents had loved him, to see how much he had really lost. It wasn't something that he'd ever thought he would see and he'd pushed it to the back of his mind and tried to pretend that it didn't make a difference. But he knew that it did and he knew that seeing this was going to kill him.

He looked at his watch, it was half past five, Gringotts had been closed for half an hour and he hadn't realised. Not wanting to risk the noise of apparition, Harry flew out to the busy muggle street and apparated in mid-air on his broom, hoping the noise would be written off as the sound of a car back-firing.

He got home and entered the kitchen, `I'm home,' he announced, but Hermione didn't look up, `How's the research going, found anything?'

She shook her head, `Not yet, I'm feeling very strange though, and jittery. But I can't decide if that's an effect of the potion or just my own nerves. Do you think I seem a bit, highly strung today?'

She said all of this so fast that Harry's head spun, `You do seem a little hyper,' he said, `you haven't been drinking lots of coffee have you?' he asked looking at the cup in front of her.

`I have had a few cups, do you think that's what it is. I thought it might have been a symptom. I think I might have to go back to the cave and have some more of that potion, I don't think I had enough for it to do anything.'

`Hermione, no.' Harry tried to make his voice commanding but it still sounded like a plea, `don't have any more of that potion, it's poison remember? For all we know it could be doing something you can't feel, and you've been having nightmares ever since you had it, don't forget that.'

Hermione sighed, `I suppose you're right, I just don't feel like I can think lately for some reason. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, Sirius dropped by before... he was pretty excited but I didn't really understand what he was talking about, he said something about having a Buck night for your Dad.'

Harry frowned, `that doesn't make sense, isn't that something you do before you get married?'

Hermione shrugged, `I did say that I didn't understand what he was talking about... anyway, he said they'd be at the pub.'

`The pub?' asked Harry, `Do you think he meant the Leaky Cauldron?'

`I doubt it, it's not exactly safe to get drunk there at the moment, and I'm certain that was part of his plan.'

`Right, so....?'

`My guess would be the local one.'

`You'll be ok here on your own tonight?'

Hermione smiled, `Your not actually my husband Harry, you don't have to ask my permission to go out. Besides I'm going to keep Lilly company, with your birthday tomorrow she could go into labour at any time.'

`Good idea, alright, well... I guess I'll... see you later.'

Hermione stood up and kissed him on the cheek, `Have fun, dear.'

Harry shook his head, laughed and left the house. It was a bit of a walk into the local town but it helped Harry to clear his head, he was a bit worried that he and Hermione were taking this whole private joke of “being married” a bit too far. He had no problem with her teasingly giving him a kiss goodbye on the cheek and calling him dear, and taken on its own it was innocent, but it wasn't on its own it was one of many incidents.

Harry really doubted that Ginny would understand that he and Hermione “had to” share a bed, or hold hands in public, or that Harry occasionally had to put his arm around her. Or any one of the million and one, perfectly innocent, things they'd had to do to maintain their cover. He'd tried to justify it, so far their cover had worked brilliantly, and they'd managed to fly under Voldemort's radar. He still didn't think Ginny would buy it though, especially not if she guessed that over the last couple of months sharing a bed with Hermione had become a bit more than just comfortable. It had become so comfortable that Harry was starting to find it, a little, uncomfortable. Particularly when he woke up in the morning and she was draped all over him, something that happened almost everyday.

Harry was fairly sure that if he'd had time to say good-bye to Ginny he would have broken up with her before he'd left the future. She probably would have done the honours herself if he'd told her that he was planning on travelling back in time for two years and that he was only taking Hermione with him and that they were going to pretend to be married. In fact Harry was pretty sure that if he'd told Ginny that before he'd left he probably wouldn't have been alive long enough to leave.

Harry pushed the thoughts of Hermione and Ginny out of his mind as he pushed open the door to the muggle pub in the centre of the town, he wasn't getting anywhere with it anyway.

As soon as he entered the room he saw them, they were in a corner booth but there were only three other people in the bar and those three people were quietly nursing their beers. James, Sirius, Remus and Peter were falling all over the table and each other; all of them talking at the top of their voices.

`Hey, you lot, what's going on?' asked Harry as he approached their table.

`Harvey!' chorused the voices of the other four men, `Have a seat!', `Grab a pint!', `Barman, another pint for our friend!' They yelled over the top of each other as Peter moved over to make room for Harry to join them.

Harry sat down and a pint of beer was put in front of him, he grinned, if nothing else changed he would always be able to look back on having a beer with his dad. `Cheers!' he said, raising his glass.

`So,' he said when he'd taken a sip, `What's going on here?'

Sirius cleared his throat, `We thought that, on the eve of one of our own becoming a father, we would have one last Hurrah to our carefree, childless days.'

`That's right,' James interjected, nodding sagely, `very soon it'll be all about bottles and babysitters and worrying about the sprog.'

`I'll probably never meet a girl who'll have me,' Remus added, over the good-natured jeers of his friends, `But Sirius and Jane are probably going to get married,' again Remus had to raise his voice over the loud comments of his friends, `and Peter will probably find someone...'

`Eventually!' James called out loud enough to interrupt,

`Yes,' Remus agreed, `Peter will probably find someone, eventually, to settle down with.' Remus then raised his glass, `Tonight, marks the beginning of the end ... of our days as carefree young men.'

`Boo!' Sirius called, as though he was at a quidditch match and disagreed with a call made by the referee, Peter booed as well but James didn't join in, instead he raised his glass and continued the toast that Remus had started.

`From this night forth, we will be responsible role models,' he burped loudly and continued, `with a young buck to care for and look after.'

Sirius had stopped booing and raised his glass, `a young buck to guide and mould, in the proud tradition of the marauders.'

Harry was touched by their words and couldn't help but raise his glass and add, `to watch over and protect.' Remus, Sirius and James all grinned at him and then as one they turned to Peter.

Peter grinned nervously under their combined stares and Harry felt something heavy drop into his stomach, Peter had changed sides, he was almost certain of it. `Cheers!' Peter squeaked, raising his glass. It was nothing like the warm words of everyone else but the others seemed to accept it, they raised their glasses higher and all chorused `Cheers!', Harry joining in a little half-heartedly, and then they downed their drinks.

While new drinks were being poured Sirius turned to Remus, `Who says that Jane and I will probably get married anyway? I've made no such allusions!'

`Aw, come on Sirius... we're not blind mate!' laughed James.

`I dunno what you're talking about,' said Sirius, slurring slightly, `I don't think she even loves me... gone off to bloody Australia for a month... without me. For all I know she could be shagging every bloke in sight.'

Remus took another sip of his drink, `Sirius, do you honestly think Jane would cheat on you?' but James shook his head, `it's not cheating if you're in another country, Moony, you know the rules.'

Remus snorted, `Please, as if any of us really believes the rules.'

`Hey!' Peter interjected, `You guys all told me it wasn't cheating when I picked up that girl while I was dating Michelle, because Michelle was overseas at the time.'

The other three dissolved into laughter, and Harry couldn't help but laugh along with them, their laughter was contagious and the beer was starting to affect him.

`Well, we all saw how well that worked out!' said James still laughing, `But I still say you didn't cheat on her... when the cats away, the mice will play.'

`That's right, if she didn't want you to be with other girls she shouldn't have gone overseas for so long without you.' Sirius added, `All the girls know the rules.'

`Is there more than one then?' Asked Harry, curious as to what the others might be.

The question earned him another round of laughter and much clanking of glasses. `Harvey, my dear boy, let us educate you on the rules,' said Moony, in a way that made Harry feel he was back in a third year defence against the dark arts class.

`Now we've already covered that, its not cheating if she's overseas. The reason being that if she's gone to another country what you do while she's away doesn't count.'

`Then there is the extension of that rule,' added Sirius, with a hiccup, `It's not cheating if she's in a different post-code ... same reason.'

Peter laughed and added his own version, `It's also not cheating if you're on a broom stick, because what happens in the air stays in the air!' All five of them cracked up after that one, and Harry realised that at some point he'd finished his beer, so he poured himself another one from the jug on the table while the other four continued to expound on the rules.

`It's not cheating if you're with two different witches at once,' contributed James, `because they cancel each other out.'

Harry looked at his dad, horrified, `You'd never do that to Lilly though, would you?'

`That's different entirely,' said Sirius sagely, `he's a married man, he's not allowed to touch another woman under any circumstances, just like you're not allowed to touch any girl but Hermiah.'

Harry grinned relieved that his father didn't think these rules applied to him and amused that according to these four he was only allowed to touch Hermione. The reality was that he wasn't supposed to touch Hermione at all, though he had to admit that the line had become increasingly blurred since they'd been in the past. `Of course, I'm sorry... please continue to educate me.' Harry said contritely.

Sirius leaned over and whispered, `It's not cheating if you use polyjuice potion to turn into someone else because the person you become isn't dating anyone.' All five men hooted with laughter and the list of rules continued.

`It's not cheating if you use polyjuice to turn your girlfriend into a guy for a bit and then go with another girl cause you don't date blokes!'

`That's disgusting Wormtail!'

`It's not cheating if you do it under an invisibility cloak cause if it can't be seen, did it really happen?' added Moony

`Remind me never to lend you my invisibility cloak again!' interjected James, laughing hysterically.

`It's not cheating if the girl you're with is under an invisibility cloak, because if you can't see the witch you couldn't have been with her.' Said Sirius

`Or you either, you old dog!'

`It's not cheating if you use an aging potion to make yourself younger first cause when you were that age you weren't dating your girlfriend.' Was Peters next contribution

`You guys have thought about this way too much!' Harry added, reaching for the pitcher to pour himself another drink. When he picked it up he saw that it was empty, `Barman, another pitcher here please!'

When the barman had come and gone, James leaned in across the table, `I thought of another one. It's not cheating if you use a time turner to go back in time to before you were together cause back then you weren't dating each other yet!'

The laughter began again, Sirius was next, `it's not cheating if your mate memory charms you after cause if you don't remember it, did it really happen?'

Harry laughed along with the rest of them and then, maybe because the beer had lowered his guard, or maybe because he'd been thinking about it right before he'd arrived that night but he opened his mouth and asked a question that he should have kept to himself.

`So if you go back in time to before your girlfriend was born that wouldn't be cheating either, would it?'

The other four men laughed as though he'd just told the best joke they'd heard all night, `Of course not!' James practically yelled.

`How can you be unfaithful to someone who hasn't even been born yet?' was Sirius response.

`Besides,' added Moony, `If you went that far back in time you could accidently stop her from being born, how can you cheat on someone who might never exist?'

They all laughed again and then the conversation moved on naturally to other topics, but as much as they'd all been joking they'd given Harry a lot to think about. He was basically in the process of trying to change one of the fundamental experiences of his life, if he'd had his parents around while he was growing up would it have made him very different to what he was now? If it did, as he rather suspected it would, would he still have dated Ginny at all?

He couldn't dwell on it too much though; the Marauders were noisy and boisterous and demanded his attention. They kept filling his glass with beer too and that was making it hard to concentrate as well. By the time Hermione came to collect them all at three in the morning, to tell them that Lilly had gone into labour and was now at St Mungo's, they were all well and truly plastered. They had been singing rude songs about witches riding broomsticks for at least the past hour.

Hermione sobered them all up with a quick wave of her wand and they all apparated to St Mungo's to wait through the rest of the night in solidarity with James, who was looking frantic and couldn't stop pacing.

By five in the morning they were all starting to feel the effects of the long night without sleep when little baby Harry was brought into the world. Harry had been worrying, secretly in the back of his mind, for months about the weirdness of possibly having to hold himself, but when James put the baby into his arms it didn't feel weird. Instead he just felt a surge of fierce protectiveness and he found himself whispering a promise to the sleeping infant, `Don't worry, I'll make sure you have a better life than I did. I'll do everything I can, it won't happen again. I promise.'

Hermione was standing beside him and put a hand on his shoulder, offering silent comfort and support. Harry smiled at her and passed her the sleeping infant. The look on her face was unreadable but Harry didn't need to see the silent tears that slipped down her cheeks to know the heartbreaking sadness she felt for the little guy and the things that lay ahead for him if they didn't do something.

That morning as they lay in bed, trying to get a few hours sleep he heard her whisper her own promise to him.

`I won't let it happen either, Harry, anything I can do... to stop it from happening... I will, I promise.'

Harry rolled towards her, their faces only inches apart, `I know you will, Hermione.'

She seemed surprised to see him awake but she didn't pull away from their suddenly close proximity, instead she leaned closer and kissed him gently on the cheek, `I know but I needed to say it anyway, more for myself than for you.'

He nodded, and returned her kiss on the cheek, `I know, you never need to say anything for me.'

Hermione smiled and Harry, suddenly feeling slightly afraid of the intimacy of the situation smiled back and then rolled away, `Goodnight, Hermione.'

`Goodnight, Harry.'

That night, when Hermione had her nightmare, she clung to Harry and whimpered. He tried to calm her down as much as he tried to wake her up but he was unsuccessful in both. When Hermione did finally wake at about lunchtime she was embarrassed at how tightly she was gripping him but didn't remember having dreamt at all. It started a trend though, and soon every night she was crying out in her sleep and clinging to Harry as though he was about to fall off a cliff. It was the first night of many and though Harry found it easier to sleep through than her previous thrashing about, he did start to get really worried. After about a week he decided that they had to talk about it.

`Look, it's not that I mind you clinging to me while you sleep.' Harry blushed at how bad that sounded, `I mean pretty much since our first week of sharing a bed I've woken up to find you draped all over me.' His blush intensified, he was not making this any better, `what I mean is, it's just concerning me that you're having such bad nightmares every night now... I'm worried; I think it's because of that potion. Aren't you any closer to figuring out what it is?'

They were in their kitchen eating breakfast together, before Harry headed off to the bank for the day. They had joked that it was like he had a nine-to-five job now, because he only had to stake out the bank during business hours. It had been weeks now since she'd taken a sip of that potion and it seemed she was no closer to finding anything. Harry had to place several large bets on quidditch matches to help their finances keep pace with the number of books Hermione bought but still she didn't find anything that could help.

`It's okay, Harry; I'm not going to die from nightmares, unless you decide to kill me so you can get a decent nights sleep.'

`Don't be silly, I'm just worried that's all.'

`You're a good husband, Harry, but...'

`Don't turn this into a joke Hermione,' he interjected angrily, `Every night your nightmares get worse and every day the symptoms from that potion get worse. It's not funny that the effects of this potion get worse every day, even though it should be working the other way. I know enough about potions to know that their effects are supposed to decrease over time... not increase. Have you tried the Bezoar?'

`No,' Hermione admitted shamefacedly, `it seems like cheating, and,' she held up a hand to silence Harry's objection, `it seems dangerous to try a remedy when you don't know what the problem is. For all we know a Bezoar could make it worse.'

Harry did not agree but he couldn't fault her logic, `fine, how about we go to Hogwarts again then and see if we can get the Half-Blood Prince's potion book, maybe there'll be something in there?'

Hermione pursed her lips, `Fine, but if I do this, you have to leave me alone and stop bugging me about whether or not I've found a solution.'

`I'm not bugging you...'

`Promise me.'

Harry folded his arms across his chest, he didn't want to give up the right to bug her about it but he could see that there was no way he would get her to even consider looking at the Prince's book unless he did.

`Fine,' he snapped, `I promise to stop bugging you about it, but you have to promise you'll actually read the book.'

Hermione raised her right hand and swore, `I promise I'll read the Prince's potion book'

Harry spent that day at the bank seething, he couldn't believe the condition she'd put on using the book. If she didn't want him to care about her then maybe she should stop being so... Harry couldn't find the word to express what she was that made him care about her so much. He was too angry, he told himself, it was her fault he cared about her as much as he did and he couldn't just turn it off. A promise was a promise though, he thought bitterly, so until she found the antidote he would just have to bite his tongue.

That night when he got home he found Hermione curled up on the sofa in the living room reading his old potion book. She had been to Hogwarts without him; she must have just used the map to avoid being seen. He couldn't believe she'd taken such a risk, after all her talk about him having to lay low and not blow their cover.

After a day spent on his broom fuming, and now returning home to this... betrayal, he couldn't stay there. He just needed to get away from it all for a bit and pretend, for a moment, that everything was normal and ok. Hermione hadn't looked up when he walked in and she didn't look up when he walked out either. She knew this was hard on him but it was hard on her too, she didn't want to admit how scared she was. He had been right that morning when he'd said that her symptoms shouldn't be getting worse and she was more scared about what that meant than she cared to admit. There was also the fact that she'd been experiencing a lot of symptoms that she hadn't even told him about, but none of it had helped her to pinpoint what the potion in the basin had been. Hermione was terrified that she would never be able to.

Harry walked across the road trying to leave his bad mood behind him as he made his way to his parent's house. Hopefully they wouldn't mind him dropping in like this and maybe they would even invite him to stay for dinner.

James answered the door with the baby in his arms. Harry tried not to think of the baby as himself. James and Lilly obviously loved their baby very much and their love translated into every one of their actions. Seeing it only made the memories of the rest of his upbringing harder to bear. James took one look at Harry and motioned him into the room, `Lil! Set another place at the table, Harvey's staying for tea.'

`How did you know...' but Harry didn't get to finish his question because James interrupted him, `Come on, Harvey, I've been married long enough to know that look. I get it too whenever Lil's and I have a fight. So what happened?'

Harry sighed and shook his head, `It's probably really stupid,'

James just nodded, `it usually is.'

Harry's mind was racing as he tried to come up with a plausible story that stayed as close to the truth as possible, `We found this potion, and we weren't sure what it was, but rather than just getting rid of it Hermiah decides that she has to know what it is first and thinks the best way to find out is to take just a little sip.'

`What? Is she crazy? It could have killed her.'

`That's what I said, but she said there were very few potions that could kill a person just from one sip. She was sure she'd be able to figure out what it was and come up with the antidote... but she can't figure it out and she's started having nightmares... and... Now she's getting angry at me for badgering her about it...' Harry broke off his story, amazed to find that he was near to tears.

James put the baby down in it's crib and came over to Harry to put an arm around him, `Hey, I'm sure she will figure it out before it does any lasting damage. You could even ask Lilly for help, she's a real wiz with potions. Slughorn said he was the best he'd seen in all his years as a teacher.'

Harry raised his chin, `You really think she'd be able to help.'

`It can't hurt to ask.'

So while they were seated around the kitchen table eating dinner Harry outlined the problem to Lilly being careful to stick to the story he'd fed to James. She looked more suspicious, as though she wanted to know where they had found this potion or why it was so important to know what it did that Hermione had risked her health for it but thankfully she didn't. When Harry had finished his story she sat silently for a moment deep in thought.

`What antidotes has she tried?'

`None so far, she's worried that if she tries an antidote that doesn't work it might make things worse, or it might change the potion so that it makes it harder to cure.'

Lilly frowned, `That doesn't make sense, antidotes don't work like that. I would have thought Hermiah would know that.'

`Really?' Harry was amazed

`Yes, but maybe the potion works in such a way as it prevents the person whose drunk it from thinking straight? You said it was giving her nightmares and effecting her emotions... so maybe it affects the cognitive ability. If it's making her paranoid then it would be reasonable for her to think a cure would make it worse.'

`I'm not much of a potion maker, I didn't know that. I wonder if she'd even believe me if I told her.' Now that Hermione's mental state had been called into question Harry didn't know how to approach her.

`I'd try a Bezoar first, you could just stuff it in her mouth while she's sleeping or something, and it should at least help. Maybe if she can think a bit more clearly at least then she'll realise what you're saying is true and try other antidotes.' Harry liked the idea and before he left that night Lilly gave him a Bezoar to feed to Hermione.

When he got home his opportunity presented itself immediately. She was lying on the couch, still curled in a ball and clutching the book to her chest but now she was clearly asleep. Harry sat down next to her gingerly. Sensing his presence Hermione woke up. Harry smiled gently at her and nodded his head toward the stairs. Hermione's answering smile was broken by a sudden yawn. Reacting instantly, he stuffed the Bezoar in and held his had over her mouth, while pinning her down with the other.

She started to struggle immediately; Harry was forced to use his entire body weight to keep her from throwing him off. After a few minutes struggle, she swallowed the Bezoar and no sooner had she done so then she went stiff as a board.

Harry moved off her, looked into her blank staring eyes, and started to panic. He should never have questioned her, if she thought the Bezoar might be dangerous he should have known she would more than likely be right.

`Hermione?' He called her name and tried to gather her up in his arms. He pleaded with her, he shook her, he held her close, but nothing seemed to work. Then, after a few minutes of absolute mindless panic he heard something. It started as a low whine coming from deep in her chest, gradually it grew louder and louder until it was a scream, but it wasn't her screaming. The noise didn't seem to be coming from her at all but rather from something deep inside of her, and it made the hair on the back of Harry's neck stand on end. When the scream ended her breathing returned to normal, and she seemed to be fast asleep.

Harry prayed to all of the gods he could think of that she was really just sleeping, and not in a coma or anything. He carried her up to bed and, for the first time, he held her while she slept.

She didn't have any nightmares that night and when he woke up the next morning he was greeted by a tearful Hermione who clung to him and wept tears of relief on his shoulder.

`So how do you feel?' asked Harry gently after she seemed to have calmed down.

Hermione looked up at him, her eyes were red and swollen from crying and her hair was a mess but Harry thought that she looked better than she had since she'd taken the potion.

`I don't think the Bezoar is a complete cure, I still feel weird but I also feel much better. Its been so hard to stay focused and I felt like everything was out to get me. I still feel a bit ... unsettled, but, I can think again. Thank you, Harry. I don't know what I'd do without you.'

`You'd probably be living a happy, danger-free life.'

`I'd probably be living a very boring life.'

`So I guess it's back to the drawing board for a cure to this poison then?'

`Yes, but I think we also need to start working on other things as well, like finding a way to confirm if you are a Horcrux or not.'

`I thought you'd forgotten about that.'

`Of course not, I'm still determined to prove you wrong on that, but we also need to start planning a strategy to go after Voldemort when we get back to the future.'

`Yeah,' Harry ran a hand through his hair, `I guess at least we'll know where he'll be, and I've got that spell to use on him but we're going to need more than that... I can't just knock on the front door. There's so much we need to get done!'

`That's not all either; we still have to figure out a way of saving your parents without completely ruining everything.'

`Do you think there is a way?' asked Harry, his heart in his throat. What he'd said to Hermione all those months ago about having made peace with losing his parents had been only barely true when he'd said it and was now absolutely false. The more he got to know them, and the more he saw them with himself as a baby, the more he couldn't bare the thought of returning to a future in which they were dead. Vow or no vow, he had to figure out a way to save them before it was too late.

All of this passed between them as she looked into his eyes, `I honestly don't know, Harry, but if there is... I promise we will find it.'

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11. Chapter11 - Busted

A/N - I don't own Harry Potter, I don't own "Back to the Future", and I also don't make any money from this. Thanks again to my wonderful Beta's Katia, Ragavendran and Dementor149.

Chapter 11 - Busted.

Lilly shifted the baby in her arms and knocked on the front door; Harry squirmed a little and then fell asleep again. Lilly smiled happily as she waited for someone to answer the door, he was such a good baby. He was only a few months old but he was already sleeping through the night and the signs of his intelligence were obvious already. He was already trying to roll over, even though all her books told her he was too little for that, and she was sure he would succeed very soon.

Hermione opened the front door and found Lilly, with Baby Harry in her arms, on the front step.

`Hi Lilly,' said Hermione, opening the door wider, `What can I do for you?'

`Well actually, I'm here to volunteer my services... I heard you were having some trouble brewing an antidote?'

Hermione shook her head; she should have known that Harry wouldn't come up with the idea for the Bezoar by himself.

`Yeah, I could use a hand.'

Lilly came in and Hermione quickly described what the poison had looked like and what its effects were.

`Does it sound at all familiar to you?' she asked once she'd finished her description.

Lilly shook her head, `Honestly, it doesn't... and I'm a trained Healer so I am familiar with most poisons. Do you still have any of it? We could do some tests on it to find out more.'

`Well, no, I don't.' Lilly looked amazed, as though wondering what on earth could have possessed the girl to throw it away after drinking some, so Hermione quickly hurried on making up a story as she went, `Well, I'm sure Harvey told you that I haven't been thinking clearly lately. I was actually convinced that a Bezoar might make things worse, I was having nightmares and paranoid and... Well I thought that the fumes from the potion were making it worse so I got rid of it.'

Lilly didn't know what to say, `Well...' she shrugged, `that's certainly going to make things a lot harder.'

Hermione nodded, `I've been thinking much more clearly since I had the Bezoar though, and I'm almost certain that the potion I drank must have been a new design. Whoever put it there must have come up with it themselves. So I think that the only way to find a solution is to try and re-create it first.'

Lilly smiled, `Ok, that sounds like a good idea. The first thing we need to know is what the potion was for.'

`The only thing I can think of is that it was designed specifically to cause intense physical and mental pain.' Hermione was thinking on her feet again, trying to come up with a plausible explanation. `It was in a bottle for headache potion, but when I poured it out into a glass... well it wasn't any headache potion I recognised. That's why Harvey didn't want me to take it. I thought he was being paranoid.'

Lilly put her hand reassuringly on Hermione's, `It's ok, we'll figure it out. Now show me where I can set Harry down and then we'll have a look at what you've got so far.'

The two ladies worked together very well but their results were mixed. Their first few tries did produce a potion that seemed to Hermione to be quite close in look to what the potion in the cave had been, but didn't have the reflective quality or produce the light that she remembered to emanate from the basin. Then, as the weeks passed and their attempts progressed their results grew less and less like what they were aiming for. Baby Harry was very well behaved, mostly he amused himself with his mobile of snitches and Quaffles, Hermione thought he was adorable and was often distracted by him.

It was late November before they had a breakthrough, and it happened quite by accident. Hermione was chopping some fluxweed for their latest attempt and she slipped and cut herself. Blood dripped from her hand and before it could be healed some of it landed in the cauldron.

`Are you okay, Hermiah?' asked Lilly.

But Hermione wasn't listening; she was staring at the cauldron. Or more specifically, she was staring at the potion inside of it which had turned exactly the right shade of reflective green and now seemed to glow.

Following her gaze Lilly saw the change in the potion, `Oh my goodness, Hermiah... is that it? Is that what it's supposed to look like?'

Hermione nodded excitedly and, after a short celebratory dance around the kitchen, they got started on brewing their antidote. Now that they knew what was in the poison it was a simple enough process and before the day was over the antidote was brewing.

Harry was having no such progress, he shifted uncomfortably on his broom, he really needed to look into better cushioning charms, his butt was killing him. He had thought that over the past few months Bellatrix Lestrange would have gone to her vault at least once, but he was wrong. She had either been sending someone else or she just didn't need much money to live on. Harry thought it was probably the former rather than the latter.

If this kept up then he would never be able to follow her down to her vault and, hopefully, get a moment in which he could steal the cup without her noticing. Harry was the first to acknowledge that a large part of all his success so far had been luck, the only other time that had really worried him was when Hermione had asked him to teach the DA. You can't teach someone to be lucky after all.

It worried him again now though because weeks had turned into months, another Christmas was fast approaching and their time grew shorter. He'd loved being able to spend this time getting to know his parents and befriend them but, for him at least, it was more than that. He'd had a chance to see what Lilly would have been like as a mother to him, what James had been like as father. He'd had a chance to see what they'd all been like as a family and it wasn't something he could cope with leaving in the distant past.

He often wondered what he would be like now if his parents had been around to raise him through his childhood or if they had been there to guide him through some of the more difficult things he'd gone through as a teen. His time spent with them in the past had been fantastic and he really felt he was a different person already. He'd learnt so much from them, his father in particular, about what made love special and different from just fancying a girl. The longer he spent with Hermione the more he began to see the wisdom of his father's words. If she was just a pretty face he would have gotten bored months ago.

There was no doubt that she'd helped him to become a better wizard magically, with all the training he and Hermione had done he could probably have passed his NEWTS with ease if he took them tomorrow. But the time he'd spent with her wasn't just good for him academically and it was something he was really struggling to come to terms with. She was good for him in more ways than he'd ever thought possible, whenever he thought about going back to the future he began to see it as an end to what they now shared.

Sometimes he even thought about those stupid “it's not cheating rules”, obviously it had been a joke but there had been a glimmer of truth there. For all he knew by saving his parents lives he would change himself and maybe he would change in a way that Ginny wouldn't like him any more, or he wouldn't like her. For all he knew he'd get back to the future to find that nothing was the same, he could be best friends with Neville and not Ron. He still felt that none of that made it right for him to cheat on Ginny, but he somehow felt that he was being unfaithful to both girls, that Hermione deserved his fidelity as much, or more, than Ginny did.

Spending months just sitting on a broom watching gave him plenty of time to think and mostly he spent it worrying. He worried that he wouldn't be able to save his parents, he worried that the vow would strip of his magic and the whole wizarding world would be taken over by Voldemort. Mostly he worried that it wasn't the right thing to do, meddle with time the way he was, but at the same time he knew he would never be able to not try and change things. Whoever he might become later, he knew that it was who he was now.

Tied up in these tangled thoughts as he was, Harry almost didn't notice Bellatrix Lestrange apparate onto the front steps of Gringotts bank. The only reason he did notice her was because the way she walked and flipped her long black hair around was designed to attract the attention of men and at first Harry didn't realise who he was looking at. It was only when she did another flip of her hair and he saw her face that he did realise and then he sprang into action.

After all so long being inactive it felt good to finally be doing something constructive again, he swooped down behind Bellatrix and followed her about a foot behind and a foot above. He was close enough to see everything she did and close enough to hear everything she said, but still far enough away that she wouldn't accidentally bump into him if he turned around suddenly.

She strode into the bank without a care in the world, she may as well have carried around a flashing neon sign that announced her name and had a picture of a dark mark on it. Harry saw the way that anyone who came close to her only did so inadvertently and when they realised who they were close to they shrank back in fear.

She was almost as feared as Voldemort himself and it showed in the way everyone reacted to her. Once inside the bank Harry noticed with a hint of glee that the goblins bowed to no-one. When she approached the counter of the bank the goblin there held up his hand to indicate that she needed to wait for him to finish counting the pile of Knuts in front of him. When he was done he motioned her forward.

`How can I help you today?'

`I need to check on my vault.'

The goblins eyes flicked up over her shoulder to where Harry hovered in mid-air underneath his invisibility cloak. Harry was sure that Hermione's spell prevented the cloak from slipping and giving away his position, so he could only think that the goblin could some-how sense his thoughts. He immediately tried to think of nothing at all, and when that didn't work he focused on thinking about empty air. It seemed to work because the goblin looked back at Bellatrix.

`You have your key?'

She flipped her hair impatiently and drew the key out from the pocket of her robes, `Of course'

The goblin nodded and led her towards the carts, Bellatrix and the goblin both climbed in and Harry hovered near by ready to fly like his life depended on it. He had never thought that his quidditch skills in chasing the snitch would be useful in the fight against Voldemort but it looked like they were about to be. When the cart took off Harry's suspicions were proven right. In all the quidditch games he'd been in he'd never flown like this before but thankfully he had in some of the torturous practices Wood had put him through.

He weaved between lines of track, curved around loops and swooped down steep inclines. He'd known that the carts moved fast but it wasn't until he followed one while on a broom that he really had any appreciation of it. Finally they reached her vault, right near the end of the track and Bellatrix climbed out. The goblin made to follow her but she cautioned him back with a finger.

`If you don't want to be flayed alive I suggest you stay here goblin.'

The goblin hesitated, as though he wanted to follow her purely for the pleasure of disobeying her order, then he looked to where Harry was floating and stayed in the cart. Harry looked at the Goblin and wondered, was it possible that he knew Harry was there? The Goblin was now looking away and Harry knew he would not get an answer to his question so he simply followed Bellatrix to her vault.

She unlocked it with the key and then performed a series of complex charms to remove whatever protections she had on the vault. Harry paid close attention to her wand movements and the words she used, if he was careful he'd have to be able to re-create what he'd seen. Once that was done she walked inside, again accompanied by Harry.

While she was sorting through piles of parchment, probably looking for the instructions to performing some obscure form of evil, Harry took the opportunity to silently summon her key from her pocket. It wiggled a little on the way out and for a moment Harry's heart stopped, terrified that he'd be caught out, but Bellatrix didn't seem to notice. As soon as the key was in his hand he silently duplicated it and sent the duplicate back to her pocket, he wanted to keep the original just in case.

Just as the key was about to enter her pocket, Bellatrix stood up, a scroll in one hand, and the key dropped to the floor with a clang. Bellatrix immediately looked down and saw her vault key gleaming innocently on the floor. She stowed the scroll in the pocket of her robes and bent down to pick up her key.

`That's odd,' she looked around her vault, a menacing glint in her eyes, and suddenly she roared, `Accio Invisibility cloak!'

Harry felt his cloak twitch but remain in place, he didn't dare breathe a sigh of relief in case she heard it, but he did silently thank Merlin that Hermione had come up with that spell for him.

Bellatrix still looked suspicious but seemed a bit relieved. Then, at last, she turned to the goblet.

Again she raised her wand over it, `Dolens Nex', a swirl of vicious green light wrapped its way around the object and back up into her wand. When it had completely dissipated she picked it up and examined it. Harry wasn't paying attention to that though; he now had all but one thing that he needed. He was going to pluck a hair from her head and when he did that he had to be ready to fly or she would catch him.

He took a deep breath to calm himself for what he was about to do, it was stupid and reckless, she'd probably change all of her protections, but he couldn't see another alternative. He was right behind her now, steadying himself for what was probably the most reckless thing he'd ever done. But he was too close, she shivered and spun around. Harry shot back up to the ceiling.

She was scanning the surrounds again, her eyes menacing, `Accio Invisibility cloak!' she roared again. Again nothing happened. She scowled, Harry could tell she was not convinced by the lack of success her spell had. She put the cup down and stormed over to the door.

Harry took his opportunity, and quickly pulled a galleon from his pocket. Using the same spell he'd duplicated her key with he duplicated the cup.

`Goblin!' Bellatrix was yelling from the open door of her vault, `I thought I told you to stay in the cart.'

Harry flew swiftly and silently down to the now unprotected cup and switched them over.

`I have stayed here Mrs Lestrange.'

She huffed and twirled around, once more facing the inside of her vault. Harry once more flew up to the ceiling of the vault, now that he had the Horcrux in his pocket he was eager to stay out of her way. She stalked back over to the plinth and picked up the cup. Harry never found out whether she realised it wasn't the true cup or not because as soon as she was away from the door he flew out of the room as fast as his broom could take him. Then he followed the track back up through the bowels of Gringotts and back up into Diagon Alley. Once in the open air, he took off over the roof tops into Muggle London, and when he had reached the relative safety of the Muggle streets he did a quick pirouette on his broom and apparated home.

As soon as he got there he jumped off his broom and pulled off the cloak ready to run into the house and show Hermione his prize but he didn't get that far, in fact he didn't even break out into the run he had planned at all. In his excitement over the acquisition of the last Horcrux he had failed to even look around the garden, much less carefully check to make sure he couldn't be seen as he usually did when he arrived home, and he didn't notice that Hermione was in the garden working and that James was standing right next to her.

They both stared at him with open mouths, `Err, Hi,' Harry said trying to switch from excited to casual as quickly as possible.

`Did you just apparate while on a broomstick and under an invisibility cloak?' asked James incredulously

`Um,' Harry cast about in his mind for another explanation of how he'd just appeared in mid air while jumping off a broomstick and came up blank, `Yeah, I did'

`Did you know it's supposed to be impossible to apparate while on a broomstick?' asked James next.

`No... Good thing I didn't or I probably would never have tried it,' answered Harry as nonchalantly as possible. His mind was racing, he knew what James would ask him next and he only hoped that he didn't want to take a closer look at the cloak.

James nodded, `So, why were you Apparating while on a broom and under an invisibility cloak then?'

Harry shrugged and tried to be casual, `Well... I... `

`It was my idea,' blurted Hermione, looking panicked, `I get so worried about him when he goes out... there are so many dangerous people around ... `

James looked between them with one eyebrow raised. He was clearly suspicious, and Harry didn't blame him one bit, but he let it slide, `fair enough, well I just came by to make sure you and Hermiah would be spending Christmas with us again this year.'

Harry nodded, `Yeah absolutely. We'd love to.'

`Well, I better be going then. I'll see you later.'

Harry and Hermione said their goodbyes and when he was gone at last they both breathed a sigh of relief. Hermione checked to see if James was out of earshot and then turned to Harry with a scowl on her face. Harry knew he was about to get a telling off for his carelessness, so he cut her off.

`I got it,' he blurted quickly before she could launch into a well deserved tirade.

His tactic worked and Hermione's mouth, which she had opened to tell him off, now gaped open.

`Oh, my goodness, Harry, that's fabulous!' she exclaimed bouncing into his arms for a hug.

Harry nearly told her that it was why he'd been so careless but he didn't want to turn the conversation back there and swallowed the words just in time, substituting them instead with `do you want to go and destroy it now?'

`Yes! Of course!' and she half dragged, half led Harry to the home made boiler she'd constructed for just that purpose.

`Hermione slow down, you're going to pull my arm out of my socket.'

From his hiding place James watched the exchange curiously, he knew they were up to something and he wanted to know what. He was sure it wasn't something that was in anyway going to be dangerous to either he or Lilly, there was nothing wrong with the magic of either of the two people he was watching. He had to think of them that way now because clearly their names were not Harvey and Hermiah.

He watched as the two teens made their way over to the furnace, which he suddenly realised he'd never seen in use, and climbed up on top of it.

`Maybe we shouldn't sit on top of it this time,' the girl said when they got to the top, `Remember how hot it got last time.'

The young man nodded, `I'll get my broom.'

The girl looked nervous, `I don't know Harry, do you think this will be safe to do from a broomstick?'

The boy looked incredulous, `Hermione, I was the youngest seeker in a century and apparently it's impossible to apparate from a broomstick, but I've been doing it everyday for about a year now. I think we'll be safe to just cast a couple of spells.'

`All right,' she waved a finger threateningly in his face, `but if you drop me Harry James Potter I will be very angry with you.'

James froze, his first thought was that it couldn't be true but the next was that he was stupid not to have seen it sooner. He had Lilly's eyes, his name “Harvey Porter” was so close to what they'd named their son and Harvey always seemed so uncomfortable around their baby. Then there was the odd way that he and Lilly had trusted him so completely, so quickly, despite so many things that should have aroused their suspicions. He was so deep in thought that he nearly missed what the pair was saying next.

`Voldemort really does have a lot to answer for doesn't he,' the girl, Hermione, was saying now, `that's two priceless artefacts we've had to destroy now because of him.' She was holding cup but they were too far away from him for James to see it clearly.

`I think he's destroyed some things far more priceless than Hufflepuff's cup, Ravenclaw's diadem or Slytherins locket.'

The girl instantly looked contrite, `I know Harry but we'll think of a way to fix that, I know we will.'

`He didn't just kill my parents Hermione.'

Again James was stunned, Voldemort had killed them? How had Harry survived? Did it have something to do with that odd scar on his forehead? How much longer did he have left? He was tempted to run straight home and spend however much life he had left kissing his wife and holding his son but he knew that he needed to stay and learn as much as he could. The topic of conversation had moved on however and now the two teens were on Harry's broomstick hovering just over the old boiler.

The girl threw the cup into the boiler with a loud clang and pointed her wand at the lid, `Ready?'

Harry nodded his wand also pointed at the lid. The girl fired off her spell `Hostilis Incendia!' and a second later his son fired off a second, different spell silently. A roar of flames filled the old boiler but they were visible for only a second before the second spell slammed the lid shut. The roaring of the flames could be heard for a few more seconds and then, just as suddenly as it had started, the noise died away.

`Well that's two down and two to go.' Harry said looking pointedly at Hermione.

`Only if you're referring to the locket and Nagini,' countered Hermione, James got the impression this was something the young couple had discussed before on several occasions.

`You know that I'm not.'

`Well you're wrong then, the only one left is the locket and we agreed to leave that til the last minute so there isn't anything we can do about it now.'

`When did you get so sure of that?' asked Harry, grabbing hold of her arm.

She stepped closer to him, `I found a spell that will tell us for sure.'

`You did?'

She nodded

`Have I ever told you that you are as brilliant as you are beautiful?' asked Harry looking at her in awe.

`Are you calling me stupid?' she asked grinning slightly

Harry raised an eyebrow, `You know I'm not.'

`Well, I thought I was being stupid for even considering looking at this particular book, but sometimes you find a useful spell in the oddest places... it was in a book on divination.'

`I'm amazed that you even considered it,' replied Harry.

`So was I really, but it makes sense, what we need to do is read your soul and eventually I realised that would be considered a branch of divination. I thought it might be worth at least looking into.' She shrugged, `as it turns out I was right.'

`As usual.'

`This spell is quite silly really; basically it's like a horoscope for your soul. You cast it on a person; it reads their soul and turns a band of light around their body particular colour. The colour it turns is supposed to tell you all about their unique soul identity. It seems ridiculous to me, but, I thought that if any two people are going to have different soul colours it would be you and Voldemort, right?'

`I should hope so.'

`Right, so if I cast this spell on you and it works and gives me only one colour then you're not a Horcrux,'

`Or it's a crummy spell.'

`Or it's a crummy spell,' Hermione agreed.

`And if I am a Horcrux?' He asked

`If you are a Horcrux, well...I'm not sure but it should do something weird. It may not work at all, or it may give us two different colours. The only way I would accept it as a conclusive result either way is if you get one single solid colour or if you get two single solid colours, anything else and I would keep looking for another spell.'

`Alright, shall we do this then?'

James was waiting for the result with bated breath, he didn't know what a Horcrux was but if it had something to do with Voldemort's soul being inside his son then it had to be bad and he wanted to know about it. Unfortunately his curiosity was not satisfied straight away.

`We should go inside first, we wouldn't want our neighbours to inadvertently see this from their window or something, and we shouldn't have even discussed this out here. I don't know what's gotten into us; we're being very careless today.'

Harry nodded and followed Hermione into the house leaving James in the garden unable to hear the rest of their conversation. He might not be able to hear what they said but he could still see what they did. He stole quietly and carefully up to the nearest window and peaked inside, still hidden by his disillusionment charm. He watched the girl point her wand at the young man who was apparently his son and saw as two distinct bands of colour appeared around him one red, over his heart, and the other black over his head. James didn't need to hide his cry of dismay; it was covered by Hermione's similar much louder cry as she flung herself into Harry's arms.

James couldn't watch any longer, he walked home in a daze, shocked at what he had learnt in the past half hour. When he got inside Lilly was sitting on the living room floor playing with their son. Seeing them like that together was more than James could take, he sat down on the floor, gathered them both in his arms and tried not to cry.

`James,' said Lilly sounding alarmed, `What on earth is the matter?'

`Lilly, do you know what a Horcrux is?'

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12. Chapter 12 - The Swiftest but Slowest of Growths

A/N - We still have some way to go yet on our journey together. I don't own Harry Potter or Back to the Future and I make no money from any of this. You guys are going to hate me after reading this!

Thanks again to Katia, Dementor49 & Ragavendran

Chapter 12 - The swiftest but slowest of growths

Lilly looked surprised but answered the question, `All I know for sure is that it's really dark magic. I think it has something to do with splitting your soul and putting a piece of it in something else... but I'm not certain, why? James, what's wrong?'

James told her everything, he couldn't have kept it to himself (even though he thought he probably should) and she just listened in stunned silence. When he was done Lilly's first response, after she had recovered from her shock, was not at all what he would have expected.

`Do you think he wears his hair like that all the time, or would it just be to hide his resemblance to you?'

James gaped at her, `I can't believe that I tell you we're going to die, our son grows up an orphan, and is a Horcrux, and your first question is about his hair?'

Lilly's face crumpled in agony, `I'm sorry... I couldn't... I guess it's just shock. But, Oh James, what do you want me to say? I just want to curl into a little ball and cry... do you think there is anything we can do?'

`I don't know. Should we do anything if we could? Harry and Hermione obviously know what happens to us and maybe, with that knowledge, they'll be able to stop it or change it somehow...'

James trailed off but Lilly picked up the rest of his sentence, `But if we change something then what they know won't be true and it might make things worse.'

`It could...' James hugged his young son to his chest. Baby Harry was very loving and threw his arms around his father's neck in delight, returning the hug with all his babyish strength. `It just breaks my heart... this little guy might grow up alone.'

Tears welled in Lilly's eyes and she wrapped her husband and son in her embrace, `How do you think it happens? Do you think one of our friends kills us?'

James shook his head, `No, I think Voldemort does... something about the way they were talking, I just think... it has to be that.'

Lilly nodded, `Dumbledore warned us that we might have to go into hiding... we have been talking about the Fidelius charm should we do that?'

`I don't know... do you think we would have done it if we didn't know about all of this?'

Lilly looked like she was about to cry again so James rushed to re-assure her, `You know what, it doesn't matter, we don't have to figure this out now... in fact it's probably best if we don't. We wouldn't have talked about this today otherwise. We were supposed to go and see Dumbledore in the New Year and talk about our options then, so we'll just stick with that plan.'

Lilly nodded and James shifted their positions so that now his arm was around her again, `We'll just try not to take this information into consideration when we make our decisions... that's all we can do and in the meantime, we'll enjoy what time we have with our son.'

`The older one and the younger one,' added Lilly.

James nodded, `Yeah,' then in attempt to lighten the mood he added, `so, now that's decided, what should we get him for Christmas?'

Harry and Hermione had a very rough night. Ever since the incident with the poison they had stopped pretending that they didn't hold each other through the night, but on this night they slept on opposite sides of the bed, not touching at all for the first time in months, and neither one of them slept well.

When Hermione got out of bed at about 4am Harry just watched her go, but then after a minute of lying on his back and just staring at the ceiling he got up too. He grabbed his t-shirt from the floor and pulled it over his head as he made his way down the stairs. When he got to the kitchen he just stood in the doorway, arms folded across his chest and leaning against the door frame, watching her as she busied herself making breakfast.

`So what's going on Hermione?'

She looked up in surprise, `What do you mean? I'm making breakfast.'

`No I mean between us... are you scared that I'm going to suddenly go on a killing spree or something?'

She put down the pot she was holding with a clang and leaned against the bench, her shoulders drooping, `Of course not.'

`Then why have you been treating me like a stranger? Surely you weren't that convinced that I wasn't a Horcrux, were you?'

`I didn't let myself consider any other possibility... Harry,' she sobbed his name and he immediately went to her and put his arms around her. She turned towards him and buried her face in his broad chest, `what are we going to do? How are you going to survive this?'

`We'll think of something... its ok, we've still got ages til Halloween, we'll think of something.'

Her grip on him tightened and she raised her tear-stained face to his, `I don't think I could bear it... how can you be so calm?'

Harry shrugged, `I've gotten used to the idea, and I'm pretty confident that if we focus on it, we'll be able to figure out a way to get this thing out of my head.'

Hermione smiled weakly up at him, `Well I'll do my best, but you better get me something nice for Christmas.'

He laughed but continued to hold her close and stroke her hair, 'I will, don't worry,' but for some inexplicable reason his chest ached with loss.

Over the remaining weeks until Christmas they spent their time evenly divided between trying to plan a way to save his parents and trying to figure out a way to remove the Horcrux from Harry's head which didn't result in his death. Unfortunately neither problem was the kind which had a solution readily available in a book. Harry didn't think it was even something which would be in an obscure book. He thought the solution would have to be one which they invented themselves, but Hermione refused to give up on her research even though they weren't getting anywhere.

When Christmas day came Harry woke up early. Hermione was snuggled into his side, as usual, and for a moment he just lay there and looked at her. The ache which he had first felt the morning after discovering he was a Horcrux had not abated in the few weeks that had passed since. If anything it seemed to get more intense and painful every day. Sometimes he'd forget about the ache for a moment, if something funny happened and they were laughing but then as soon as he stopped laughing the ache would return, more intense than before.

At this moment, lying in bed on Christmas morning with Hermione snuggled up to his side, the ache was so intense it felt like something had actually been ripped from his chest. It was as though he'd lost something incredibly important. It was a strange sensation because he knew, intellectually, that he hadn't lost anything at all. He had more now than he'd ever had before in his life, and he couldn't explain why, but he felt like it was all about to be taken away.

Harry pushed aside his tangled thoughts and nudged Hermione.

`Hey, wake up. It's Christmas; don't you want to see what I got you?'

Hermione's eyes opened and she stretched and yawned, then snuggled back into his chest and closed her eyes again.

`It can't be better than this, surely?'

Harry laughed, it was a good thing he'd waited a while before waking her up or she probably would have felt very differently, `Well, I don't know... I was pretty proud of myself with this gift.'

Hermione cracked an eye open and looked at him, `hmm...'

The ache in Harry's chest intensified, but he smiled bravely through the pain, `Come on, I promise you'll love it.'

Without waiting for a response Harry flipped back the covers, Hermione shrank away from the cold and Harry got out of bed. He collected his t-shirt from the floor and pulled it over his head, then turned back to where Hermione was still lying. She had an odd expression on her face but he ignored that in favour of grabbing her by the ankle and dragging her towards the edge of the bed.

Hermione squealed and sat up, `Alright, I'm up!'

It had taken him a long time to find Hermione's present, in the end he'd had to resort to a disguise to venture into Knockturn Alley for it, but it had been worth it.

`Oh my god, Harry! A pensieve? I can't believe you did this... and there's a memory in it too.'

Harry shrugged, `It was the strangest thing, but I remembered Aunt Petunia saying that it was bad luck to give someone a purse without money in it and I couldn't shake the feeling that giving someone a pensieve without a memory was just as bad.'

`Which memory did you give me?' she asked next.

`I couldn't decide, most of my good memories have you in them any way... so in the end I just went with one of my favourites. I gave you my memory of the day we became friends.'

`Oh Harry,' she reached over and wrapped him in a hug, `That's so sweet. I can't believe it... and I thought this year I'd be giving you the better present!' she tried to look as though she was annoyed but Harry didn't buy it for a second.

`I can take it back if you like, and get you something crap...'

She laughed and her faux-annoyance dissolved, `you better not.'

`So come on, where's mine then?'

`Oh, of course!' Hermione jumped up, grabbed his hand and all but dragged him out to the backyard.

Harry allowed himself to be dragged along in her wake and was just about to say, “So where is it then?” when she propelled him out the back door and suddenly it was there, right in front of him in all its shiny, black, and chrome glory.

She had bought him a motorbike.

For a moment Harry just stood and stared at it, utterly speechless, `I can't believe you did this.'

His shock was palpable as he approached the gleaming machine and reverently ran his hand over its seat and tank. `This is just amazing but it's so...' he struggled to find the right words, `I can't believe you'd do something so...'

Hermione giggled, `I know, stupid, reckless... fantastic?' she said the last somewhat hopefully.

`All of it but... especially fantastic, Hermione, this is awesome.'

Her smile brightened, `I know it's going to be a pain to try and take back with us but your dad wanted to get rid of it... and he was so sure you'd like it. He promised that he'd finally got all the bugs worked out and said there was no way you'd have any of the problems he'd had.'

Harry grinned, `No, I hope not. This was my dad's then, was it?' Harry had only ever seen his dad's bike in pieces so hadn't recognised it.

`So you like it then?'

`Hermione, I love it.'

The rest of the day passed very happily, much the same as the previous Christmas had. Sirius' prank that year did not involve any mistletoe; this year it was cookies that were charmed to turn everyone who ate one into Santa with the traditional costume, for five minutes. James thought they were hilarious and made sure that he was Santa for the entire time he was giving out the Christmas gifts, even though Sirius insisted on sitting on his lap to receive his gift.

Lilly and James had brought Harry and Hermione presents that were just for each of them, rather than a combined present as they had last year, and Harry's was a leather motor bike Jacket with “Marauder” embroidered in red on the back. It was such a fun day that Harry almost forgot about the ache in his chest, except in the odd moments when it came back painfully.

Their holiday did not last long and by Boxing Day they were back to work. Harry had all but given up on the idea of finding a solution to their problem in a book. It was too specific, too unusual, surely, for anyone to have written anything about it. So instead he continued his training regime, expanding it to include weights as well as the jogging and intensive spell casting, Hermione joined him for a few hours each afternoon but mostly he was on his own. Occasionally he would get an idea and run inside to get Hermione's opinion; usually she would dismiss it out of hand. Sometimes he did hit on something that she would look into a little further before telling him it wouldn't work.

As time continued to tick relentlessly by Harry couldn't help but begin to feel more despondent. He knew now what the ache in his chest was, his time was running out and there was no amount of luck or sheer audacity that would help him this time.

By the time Valentine's Day came around again Harry was feeling so trapped by everything that he decided it was a good excuse to get out of the house, and take Hermione with him. Hermione was sitting in the window seat in the living room (her favourite place to sit and read) when Harry strode into the room. He was already wearing the leather jacket his parents had given him for Christmas with his jeans and docs in preparation for the ride. Hermione heard his entrance and looked up.

`Are you going somewhere?'

`We are. It's Valentine's Day and … I thought … you might like to go out for dinner or something? Maybe see a movie?' He'd started out so sure of what he was doing, and so determined, but somehow standing in front of her he felt unsure of himself again.

Hermione looked at him, `Ok, shall we go to dinner or a movie first?'

`Whichever you like,' Harry said, relieved.

`I'll just go and get changed then.'

They ended up seeing the movie first, a stupid comedy with Goldie Hawn in it called “Private Benjamin” which had just been released. A stupid comedy, Harry realised as they left the theatre, had been exactly what he needed. It was something that he could just laugh at and forget his troubles for a moment. Unfortunately, that is how long his troubles were forgotten. No sooner had they left the theatre, and he was walking hand in hand with Hermione down the street to a nearby restaurant, then the ache in his chest returned in full measure.

It stayed with him too, all through dinner. The restaurant was a cosy little Italian place with good food and even better wine, though Harry only had one glass. It had been decorated for Valentine 's Day with candles on each of the tables. Ordinarily Harry would have loved it, it wasn't overtly romantic in the cheesy way that Madam Puddifoot's had been, but had instead a warm, gentle romantic ambiance.

But tonight he couldn't enjoy it.

Every time he looked across the table to Hermione the feeling would return, stronger and more painful than before. He couldn't understand why, she looked great tonight. She'd used the spell on her hair so its beautiful honey highlights glowed in the soft candle light, her eyes sparkled and her smile was radiant.

Harry really could almost kick himself for how long it had taken him to see her beauty but, he thought, Hermione had the kind of beauty only really seen by someone who was looking for it. She wasn't the kind of girl that random men would crane their necks to look at when she walked past. It wasn't until you spoke to her that you could see how remarkable she really was. Her eyes were especially beautiful when she talked about something that really interested her, they would flash and sparkle and enchant anyone looking into them.

She was talking but Harry didn't hear a word she was saying, all he could see was her smile and the way her eyes were lit up. In her own way she was far more beautiful than any other girl he'd ever met. All those months ago his dad had told him how beautiful Hermione was and at the time he'd agreed, but it wasn't until this very moment that he really saw it himself.

The ache in his chest intensified and suddenly all of the pieces clicked into place in his mind. He loved her. He loved her and he couldn't have her. It wasn't because of Ron, or Ginny, or any other stupid reason like that. It was because of him and his own stupid fate. He was a Horcrux and, unless there was a miracle, he had to die.

That was when the solution to the problem occurred to him and Harry knew immediately that it would work. It was too simple and too heartbreaking not to. As long as he had to die anyway, his death may as well mean something. A life had to be sacrificed so that the killing curse cast on him as a baby would re-bound upon its originator, and as long as that was the case, it may as well be his life.

That's why he could never tell Hermione how he felt. He couldn't burden her with that, not while knowing that he had only a few months to live. She'd already given him so much, had already done so much for him, he couldn't ask for that as well.

Hermione noticed straight away that something was wrong, `Are you okay, Harry?' she asked snapping him out of his thoughts.

`I'm fine; I'm just... a bit tired. Do you mind if we go?'

`No, of course not,' she collected her coat and Harry paid the bill. Within minutes they were back on his bike and speeding back down the dark country lanes towards their house.

Harry thought he'd fooled her but he should have known better. She had merely accepted that whatever was bothering him couldn't be discussed in the middle of a busy muggle restaurant but as soon as they walked in the door to their house Hermione rounded on him.

`Ok, Harry, what's going on? Why did you suddenly look like someone had killed your puppy back there?'

Harry took a deep breath, to try and prepare himself (if that was possible) to tell Hermione the conclusion that he'd come to.

`I have to let Voldemort kill me.'

Hermione frowned, `What are you talking about? Why would you do that?'

`Hermione, I'm a Horcrux... they only way to kill Voldemort is for me to die as well.'

`That is crazy, Harry, we don't know that for sure... there has to be another way.'

`There isn't, and we both know it.'

`We don't know it at all, and even if it were true... maybe we could do it in a controlled way, and bring you back?' she was pleading with him now so he stepped closer and put his arms around her, unable to resist the urge to comfort her.

`It wouldn't work; if it brings me back... it'd bring it back too. So if I have to die, I may as well make it mean something.'

Hermione punched her fist futilely into his chest, `I don't understand, how it could mean something other than that you'd be dead?'

`I would've thought it was obvious.' He said looking down at her, `it was my mother's love that saved me last time,' he shrugged, `this time it will be my love that saves my entire family. If it gives me a childhood with my family then, I think it's worth it.'

Hermione pushed him away roughly, `Don't be so quick to go and kill yourself, you don't even know if that will work and if it doesn't you'll create a paradox. Even if it does work you might create a paradox.'

She was angry; Harry didn't need to be a seer to see that. She shoved past him into the lounge and sat on the sofa, her knees pulled up to her chest.

`How would it create a paradox, even if it does work?' asked Harry trying to reason with her.

`Well, if you grew up with your parents instead of your aunt and uncle would you still be willing to sacrifice yourself to save them?'

`Of course I would, you don't think it would change me so much that I wouldn't value their lives, do you? If anything it would probably make me want to save them even more, because I'd have an even better understanding of what I'd lose.'

`What about your Horcrux then? Maybe the only reason it was created was because Voldemort had just slaughtered an entire innocent family? If he only kills you it might not be enough for him to accidentally create a Horcrux in you.'

`I'd still stand in front of a killing curse for them, Horcrux or no.'

`But what about Ginny?' Hermione finally asked in desperation

`What about her?' Harry could hardly believe Hermione was going to try and use Ginny as a reason to not save his family.

`If the baby across the street doesn't become a Horcrux then you wouldn't have been able to save Ginny in our second year and who knows what might have happened to her.'

Harry sighed, `So you do the spell on baby me after Voldemort is taken out and if I'm not a Horcrux you go find where the diary is and destroy it before anything happens. Why are you so set against this Hermione? Don't you want me to have my parents around while I'm growing up?'

`Of course I do! How could you even say that? I just, oh Harry, I just want you to have a life after this as well. Can't we at least try and find a way to keep you alive too?'

Harry moved towards her, sensing that she would welcome his presence again, `Of course we can, I just think you should prepare yourself for the possibility that there might not be another way.'

`You can prepare yourself for that all you like,' she said, snuggling back into his embrace once more, `I'm going to fight it with everything I've got.'

Harry hoped that she would be able to find some way around this mess but, honestly, he didn't believe he had a shot. It was what the prophecy said after all, he was the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord and neither of them could live.

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13. Chapter 13 - Death's cold hand

A/N - Another rather major re-write has resulted in this chapter. I still don't own Harry Potter or Back to the Future and, much as it pains me to admit it, I don't make any money from all the time and effort I put into this. Thank you again to my wonderful Beta's Katia, Dementor149 & Ragavendran.

Chapter 13 - Death's Cold Hand

Harry had always known that Hermione loved to read but after their discussion on Valentine's Day she threw herself into it like never before. He knew what she was looking for and he certainly hoped she found it but, for the first time, he had no faith at all that Hermione would find the answers she sought. He knew that she could read every book that had ever been written about magic and she would still never find the answer to this particular riddle there.

She seemed to at least realise that she wasn't going to find the solution in any book sold by Flourish and Blots but her solution to that problem was not one that Harry was comfortable with. She spent March brewing a huge cauldron of Polyjuice potion and then, when it was ready, used it to disguise herself and venture into Knockturn Alley to buy rarer and more specialised books.

Harry still thought it was a waste of time. He was the only person to have ever survived a killing curse after all, so there couldn't possibly be any books that would help.

But none of this activity was a sufficient distraction for him because the ache in his chest was now a constant companion. It was there every moment that he spent with Hermione and it was there in every moment he spent with his parents. As he watched himself grow up, which was an odd enough experience on its own, he couldn't help but feel it then too. He tried to remind himself what a blessing this time in the past was, that he was getting to experience fully things he would barely remember otherwise, but it didn't help. The ache in his chest only deepened day by day, and the love he now realised he had for Hermione, a love that he could never let her know existed, was only part of it.

Not telling Hermione how he felt was a constant battle that he waged within himself every day. He was almost certain that if he wanted to he could make her love him, but with his own death hanging over his head there was no way he could do that to her. For her to lose a best friend would hurt her enough, but to lose him if she really loved him would be the worst thing he could do to her. So he suffered in silence.

Even with the emotional war raging inside him he did still try to help her with her research. He still thought it was completely useless but since she asked for his help he tried. He wasn't much help though, more often than not he found himself staring off into space and completely ignoring the book in front of him. As he stared into space he would daydream about the impossible. He imagined crazy scenarios in which he returned to the future, or woke up in the hospital wing, and his parents were there. Of course they would be older but it would still be them, and Hermione would be sitting on the bed beside him, holding his hand.

The only thing that prevented him from losing himself completely in these daydreams of an impossible happy ever after was the thought of Voldemort still being at large. Even if, by some miracle of magic, he was able to survive Halloween he would still have to deal with Voldemort when he returned to the future. Harry and Hermione had not given up on their training regime (and now that Harry had realised he was in love with her he couldn't believe he'd ever been able to ignore how amazing Hermione looked in her workout gear) but Harry felt that it wasn't enough. So instead of half-heartedly helping Hermione with her research he started to plan for what would come after.

It was the only thing he could do to stay sane.

He was worried that Hermione was going to be mad at him so he didn't mention it right away but, as usual, there came a point where he needed her help.

`Hey, Hermione,' said Harry one day, interrupting her from her reading. She looked up and Harry took that as his cue to continue, `You've still got some of that Polyjuice potion left, haven't you?'

She looked at him suspiciously, `Yes, why?'

`Well I was thinking about what we're going to do when we get back to the future -`

Hermione interrupted him, `I thought you were convinced you were going to die.'

Harry shrugged, he didn't want to admit the truth (that he still was convinced of that but needed something to take his mind off it) but he had to tell her something, `Well I thought it wouldn't hurt to have a plan for after, just in case.'

Hermione smiled, `Okay, so what were you thinking?'

`Well I was thinking that we'd really need to attack the Riddle mansion in force. It'll probably just be Voldemort and his Death Eaters there, so we'll have an advantage in that respect. But he'll probably have all of his Death Eaters there, to show off when Dumbledore is killed.'

Hermione nodded, `That certainly sounds like what he would do.'

`Right so even if we take all of the Order of Phoenix members who are at Hogwarts that night with us we'll still probably be out-numbered, so we'll need to have a strategy for the way we do this.'

Hermione frowned, `That all makes sense, Harry, but I don't understand how any of this relates to Polyjuice Potion at all. Did you want to disguise Order Members as Death Eaters? Because I don't think I have enough potion left for that, though I could always brew more.'

Harry shook his head, `No, nothing like that. I want to go to shire council and get the plans to the house. I thought, if I could use some polyjuice potion to disguise myself as someone who works there it'd be easier.'

Hermione frowned, `You're really going to plan this properly, aren't you?'

`Yeah, why?'

She shrugged, `it's just not something you'd usually do, that's all.'

Harry couldn't deny the truth of that but as the weeks passed, and his plans grew more detailed, he became really glad that he had done things differently this time. Not only did it give him some relief from the constant ache in his chest but it also became a point of pride. If he survived this encounter with Riddle on Halloween he wanted to make certain he, and everyone with him, survived the next time too.

He came up with all kinds of ideas to test, some which failed miserably and were dismissed immediately, and some which were brilliant. One of his best (if he did say so himself) was the idea to cut down the boiler Hermione had made and turn the material into shields. She'd already infused the metal with some pretty potent protective magic, which would repel even some of the most vicious curses. The extra benefit was that as a physical object a shield could also deflect the killing curse. He'd been thinking about Voldemort's duel with Dumbledore when he'd remembered the way Dumbledore had animated the statue as a defence and the idea for shields had sprung from that.

It wasn't the only idea that he pinched from either Hermione or Dumbledore, but most of his ideas came from watching Muggle war movies. He particularly liked the ones that featured and invasion of a fortress or castle. Some of the ideas he got from these movies were ridiculous (like swinging in through the windows on ropes) but others had a lot more merit, mostly though he liked the escapism that watching them provided.

All the training and planning served as a distraction, but time marched on regardless and soon Halloween was only a few days away. Harry knew that, finally, the time of reckoning was upon them. He couldn't wait any longer for another solution to present itself. They would have to move ahead with his plan.

`James, could I have a word?'

James was in his shed fixing an old bicycle and looked up to see Harry standing in the doorway.

`Sure mate, come on in. What's on your mind?'

Harry sat down next to his father and began a speech that he'd been rehearsing for some time, `Hermiah is pregnant.'

James dropped the part he was holding and his mouth dropped open in shock, `Seriously?' He asked, incredulous.

Harry nodded trying to play the part of a soon to be father, `Yeah, and well... I'm not really prepared to be a dad.'

James eyes almost bugged out of his head, he wasn't ready to be a grandfather either, `Well... there are other options... I wouldn't be the person to ask about that but, I know they exist.'

Harry shook his head, a bit surprised that his dad would say that, `No... That's not... the reason I'm telling you this is, I was wondering if Hermiah and I might be able to baby sit one night soon. Maybe this Saturday? You and Lilly could go on a date and we could look after baby Harry for the night. Just to give us an idea of what to expect.'

James breathed a sigh of relief, he was now almost certain that this pregnancy thing was just an excuse for Harry and Hermione to get them out of the house this Saturday, but then another thought occurred to him and he realised it was too soon to feel relief.

`You know what's after us, don't you?'

Harry nodded, `I won't let anything happen to that baby, I promise.'

James looked Harry directly in the eye, `I don't want anything to happen to my son, I'd rather die myself.'

Harry looked at the ground, if he didn't know better he would have thought James was talking about him and not the baby playing innocently inside, `I'll take an oath not to let anything happen to that little boy, if you want me too.'

James frowned, Harry seemed to be avoiding giving a promise that nothing would happen to his son (which of course included the grown up version sitting in front of him) and was confining his promises to the baby inside. He didn't like it.

`I'll have to talk to Lilly first, she's been really nervous lately.'

Harry nodded, `Yeah, well... let me know.'

After Harry had left James broached the subject with Lilly, she was in the kitchen making dinner while the baby Harry crawled around in his play pen in what used to be their dining room. He told her everything that Harry had said and his own suppositions and finally finished with, `So what do you think?'

`Do you really think he would do anything to endanger himself?' asked Lilly her brow furrowed in concern.

James let out a bark of laughter, `this is my son we're talking about, and even if he wasn't raised by me he's clearly got enough of my genetic material for that. Yes, I think there is a very good chance he would endanger himself... especially if he thought it would save us.'

Lilly pursed her lips, `but would Hermiah, sorry Hermione, let him? She'll be here with him won't she? Maybe he just didn't want to make the promise because he knows that there is a chance that what they have planned won't work.'

`Should we take that chance though?' James rubbed a hand across his face, `Are we horrible parents if we let him put himself in danger to save us? Isn't that incredibly selfish of us?'

`Isn't it even more selfish of us if we don't at least give him the chance... think about how much he's sacrificed for this... he's been living in the past for two years now all so he can try to get rid of Voldemort and save us. Aren't we being selfish if we stand in his way?'

`So you think we should let him then?' asked James, incredulous.

Lilly sighed, `We agreed that we would act as though we didn't know what was really going on, we agreed that Harry and Hermione know what happens to us better than we could and the best thing we can do is try not to change anything ourselves. So far we've stuck with that.'

James nodded, `I know, I just... I can't face the idea of leaving them here to face our destiny.'

`I think it's pretty simple really. We either trust our son to do the right thing, and maybe everything will be okay, or we don't and we definitely die.'

When she put it like that James realised that they really didn't have a choice so the following day he went across the road and told Harry that he and Lilly would love to let them babysit while they went out for an evening. As soon as James had left Harry told Hermione what he'd done.

`So you're going to go ahead, and maybe ruin everything? We've got no plan, Harry!'

`Yes, we do. Just because you don't like the plan doesn't mean it doesn't exist.'

`And you don't care about any of my objections, you don't care about the fact that I don't...' but Harry cut her off.

He grabbed her by the shoulders, `don't accuse me of not caring, Hermione, but what other choice do we have? If we do nothing, I lose my parents and we both lose our magic. If that happens we're all screwed. We have to do something, so in the absence of any other plans this is what we'll go on with.'

Hermione looked like she was about to cry. She shrugged his hands off her shoulders and turned away from him.

`Well, I've still got a few days, I may still come up with something else. Excuse me,' and she flounced from the room.

Harry fell onto the sofa, emotionally drained. He had a feeling then that the next few days were not going to be easy and he was right. Hermione all but worked herself to an untimely death with the amount of reading she was doing and she wouldn't even look at Harry let alone talk to him. She hardly slept and when she did it was at the kitchen table surrounded by books and not in the bed. Harry let her go for a few days but the day before Halloween he decided that enough was enough and spiked her tea with a sleeping potion. She'd be angry at him, but Harry thought it probably wasn't possible for her to be any angrier with him than she already was so he decided that he didn't care. Besides he needed her rested and alert for their final mission that night, they were going back to the cave.

When Hermione woke up in bed she worked out pretty quickly what had happened and stormed down stairs to yell at Harry for drugging her, but she didn't get far.

`Don't even try it, Hermione,' said Harry as soon as she entered the room, `You needed to sleep, and I couldn't have you falling asleep on me while we had a horde of inferi chasing us.'

Hermione was still angry but she was rational enough to admit the truth of that, `Are we going to apparate there?'

Harry nodded, `I think there's probably an anti-apparition ward on the cave itself but we'll apparate to the nearest cliff, if we take the broom we'll probably be able to avoid getting wet... especially now that we know where we're going.'

They waited until nightfall, apparated to the cliff over the cave, and flew down the face of the cliff to the small cave. Harry was right, there was enough clearance between the cave roof and the water to allow them to fly through the cave to the stone landing and avoid getting wet. When they reached the landing, however, they decided to leave the broom where it was. They knew that Voldemort had left a boat inside the cavern and they weren't sure if travelling across the water by another method would wake the inferi or not but they didn't want to risk it.

Hermione again cut her hand to open the entrance before Harry could stop her and then they were once more in the terrifying pitch blackness of the inner cavern. Harry felt more confident than he had last time but was also more nervous, they knew what was waiting for them but the idea of facing it was still the stuff of nightmares.

Neither of them spoke until they were on the island and facing the stone basin, Hermione conjured her cup and moved forward but Harry put out his hand to stop her.

`I just want to try something else first.'

Hermione looked confused until Harry pulled the packet of portable holes from his pocket that he'd nicked from Ron over a year and a half ago.

`It's a nice idea Harry, but I think you'll find that basin is covered with the Impervius charm.'

`Can't hurt to try though, can it?'

Hermione nodded sadly, `Actually I think it might, I think any type of spell work on that basin will wake up the guards in the water.'

Harry sighed in frustration and stuffed the holes back in his pocket, then tried a different track, `We can do this together, we brought more than enough antidote ... but I'll go first and when I can't take any more, pour some down my throat and then you can go.'

`No, Harry, this is something I have to do; besides one of us has to be fit enough to get the other out of here and you're stronger than I am. I doubt we'll have to lift that locket very far out of the basin before those things in the water wake up.'

Harry wanted to argue with her but knew he couldn't so instead he watched helplessly as she lowered the goblet into the potion. When she brought it out it was full to the brim but she downed it in one shot and plunged it straight back in again. Her eyes were closed tight and she looked like she was in pain. Whatever that potion had done to her after taking one sip Harry could see it would be nothing to what she was going through now. She drank the second full goblet and stopped for a moment to drink some of the antidote then plunged the goblet straight back into the basin for more.

She was shaking now and Harry was tempted to run forward and force her to drink more of the antidote but he was paralysed in horror and utterly helpless.

With each goblet she drank he saw her get weaker and her pain grew, every now and then she'd stop to drink more of the antidote but she seemed to keep going by sheer willpower alone. He was glad she had the strength for it because he didn't. There was no way he would have been able to keep pouring the potion into her mouth if she hadn't been able to.

Hermione was now lying across the top of the basin to prop herself up, she was drinking much more slowly now and her sips on the antidote were becoming more frequent. Harry though he couldn't stand to watch but he couldn't turn away either. She was crying now.

`Harry...' she pleaded, `Harry, please...'

He rushed to her side, unable to take it anymore, `Come on Hermione, you've done enough,' he pulled her off the basin and lay her down on the ground. She was moaning and shivering, clutching at him and crying his name.

`Sshh,' he whispered, holding her in his arms and rocking back and forth, `its okay, I'm here.' There was still one goblet full of the poison left but there was no way he could feed it to her. He forced her to drink all but a couple of sips of the antidote; hopefully what was left would be enough for him.

When Hermione swallowed the antidote she went stiff as a board. Harry waited for the scream that had come last time but it wouldn't come. He waited and waited, his dismay mounting rapidly as she lay with her back arched, her eyes and mouth wide in a perpetual, silent scream of terror. After a few minutes Harry poured a tiny bit more antidote into her mouth, he only had one sip left now and he would need that when they got home.

Hermione's words from earlier came back to haunt him, they did need him to be okay by the following night or it would all be in vain but how could he leave her like this? They didn't have any more Bezoars, it had never even occurred to Harry, prior to this moment, that they might need more when they had an antidote.

He was almost ready to give her the last sip when he finally heard it, that dreadful but welcome, whining, hollow scream coming from deep inside her chest. It was an awful, terrifying noise but the sound of it filled Harry with relief. His relief was short lived when he saw the water around them begin to churn, the noise she was making was waking the inferi and their time had run out.

Harry grabbed the goblet and swallowed the last of the potion in one mouthful; the pain that rushed through him was so intense it nearly brought him to his knees. After a second it abated somewhat and Harry was able to grab the locket.

The inferi in the lake were all rising now and Harry knew he had only seconds before they were upon him. He raced back to Hermione and gathered her in his arms, trying to ignore the awful screaming noise she was still making and the burning in his own body.

He had her in his arms and stood up but when he turned towards the boat he saw that his path was now completely blocked by inferi. They were surrounded on all sides with no way out.

The closest of them reached out with pale slimy hands as the others shuffled closer and Harry, without thinking, shoved the locket at it. It stupidly grasped at him but found only a locket in its hands. In the split second that it looked down at the locket, time seemed to stand still and before he knew what he was doing Harry had pulled out his wand and screamed the first spell that came to his mind.

`Hostilis Incendia!'

Harry watched in horror as the spell leapt from his wand and roared through the inferi surrounding them destroying not just the locket but everything else in its path as well. The Fiendfyre turned back towards where he stood still holding Hermione. He looked down at her in dismay, he had failed and they were about to die. But when he looked down what he saw was the emergency portkey that she had pinned to his robes nearly two years ago. Quickly he touched his wand to the pin and felt the familiar jerk behind his navel pulling him and Hermione home to safety.

They landed in the living room.

Harry put her on the sofa and then took out the last of the potion. He didn't want to take it, for some reason it seemed like the worst kind of poison, but he knew he had to. He thought of his parents and what would happen to them if he wasn't over this by the following night. From that thought he was able to summon his last remaining reserve of strength to drink the last sip of antidote, and then he collapsed.

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14. Chapter 14 - History never repeats

A/N - As usual I acknowledge that I do not own Harry Potter or Back to the Future. Now the chapter you've all been waiting for... especially me. Expect everything. Thank you again to my Beta's Katia, Dementor149 & Ragavendran.

“Harry... you and Lord Voldemort have journeyed together into realms of magic unknown and untested.” Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pg. 569.

Chapter 14 - History never repeats

When Harry woke next he was still on the floor where he'd collapsed and his neck hurt from sleeping at an odd angle. Hermione was still on the couch sleeping peacefully but Harry expected that was because she'd had more of the potion than he had and so would take longer to recover. He carried her up to bed and pulled the covers over her. His head was still pounding so he went to the bathroom, drank a pain killing potion and splashed some water on his face.

After a few minutes he felt a bit more human and a lot hungrier, so he went down to the kitchen to make breakfast. Sitting at the kitchen table Harry ate in silent solitude, he could hear the ticking of the mantle clock that had been a present from Lily and James their first Christmas and his thoughts focused around that.

At some point in the past two years this house had really become home for him and he loved it here. Everything they had done was a logical part of being undercover long-term, they had set the house up to look like a home because it would have been strange if they'd done otherwise. But having done that, and then lived in it for two years, Harry had grown to really love the little house.

He looked around the bright cheery kitchen with a sad smile on his face; there were touches of his mother and Hermione everywhere. The simple net curtains that hung on the kitchen window had been sewn for them by Lilly and the purple geranium had been potted and placed on the sill by Hermione.

Harry pushed aside his empty plate, sent it to the sink with a careless flick of his wand and then headed into the lounge room. Hermione and his mother had spent hours doing this room as well, except for the bookshelves that had been a project Harry and his Dad had done together.

Harry took a deep breath and tried to stem the flood of melancholy rising inside of him but everywhere he looked he saw phantoms of the past two years playing out the happy memories he had made here. Even staring at an empty corner of the room didn't help; it was where they had placed their Christmas tree. And all the while the mantle clock, gifted to them by Lily and James, continued to tick and remind Harry that their time was almost up.

He wished Hermione would wake up and distract him from his thoughts; he'd been so good at suppressing these things, over the past twelve months especially. Ever since little Harry had been born he'd been fighting against feeling jealous towards that little tot. If all went according to plan that little boy would get the life that he had always wanted but had never had, he would only have it for 16 years but it was still more than Harry had.

Harry swallowed the lump in his throat and sat down in the window seat that always made him think of Hermione. He didn't regret anything and he wouldn't change it. He would sacrifice himself a million times over to save his family; he just wished that he could somehow save himself too.

He pulled his knees up to his chest and stared out the window, he'd had a small taste of what it really meant to be part of a family and he should be grateful for that. He'd been practically adopted by the Weasleys during his teens and now he'd had some time with his parents too. He had two Christmases worth of memories with them that he didn't have before and thought he would never get. He and his Dad had done all kinds of things together, they'd played Quidditch and been out drinking, and they'd even worked on his Dad's motor bike and talked about girls. Really, Harry thought morosely, he had been very lucky.

Harry stood up, unable to sit still with these thoughts any longer, and made his way back up-stairs to the bedroom he'd shared with Hermione for the past two years. Living with her, as her husband, had been easier than Harry had ever dreamed possible and falling in love with her had been even easier. They'd had their share of arguments but it was never over petty things, the only times they'd really argued was in life or death situations where each of them was only trying to stop the other from getting killed.

Harry stood in the doorway and watched Hermione sleep. She'd been brilliant; he would never have been able to do any of this if it weren't for her. Thank you seemed such inadequate little words to express how much it meant to him. Not just for everything she did either, though Merlin knew he owed her thanks enough for that, but mostly just for being there with him and for him whenever he needed her. There had been many times, over the last few months in particular, when Harry tried to imagine Ginny helping him in the ways that Hermione had. But he just couldn't do it.

Thinking of Ginny at all in that context felt like a betrayal of Hermione. He'd even thought a few times of the possibility that he might survive tonight's ordeal and what might happen next and, even if he hadn't realised his true feelings for Hermione, he just couldn't picture himself being able to go back and take up with Ginny again like nothing had happened. He couldn't ignore how much Hermione meant to him anymore and, while thinking like that was technically a betrayal of Ginny, it felt as though thinking of Ginny in Hermione's place was the true betrayal.

`I can't decide if it's cute or creepy that you're watching me while I sleep,' said Hermione, her voice bringing Harry back to reality.

He grinned, `It's creepy, definitely. I was thinking about kidnapping you and running away.'

Hermione sat up in the bed and returned his grin with a sleepy smile, `Haven't we already done that?'

Harry laughed, `Yeah, I guess we have.'

She yawned, `What time is it? I'm starving!'

Harry cast the time spell on the wall, `It's 2 o'clock in the afternoon, and there's a plate of breakfast for you on the bench in the kitchen.'

The day passed in relative quiet, both Harry and Hermione were too absorbed in their thoughts for conversation and when the sun started to set they made their way across the street, as ready as they could be for the confrontation that evening.

Hermione played with baby Harry as darkness descended and Harry sat on the couch trying to ignore the familial scene and the ticking of the clock that brought his almost certain demise ever closer. Part of him was ready for this but another part just wanted to run screaming into the night.

He went to the bathroom and just stood staring at himself in the mirror, he had gotten used to the way he looked with long hair and a short beard but if he was going to die tonight he wanted to do it as himself. Working briskly he removed the spell from his glasses that made them invisible, he shaved his beard off and he cut his hair. When he recognised his reflection as himself again, instead of Harvey Porter, he walked quickly out of the room without a backwards glance. Hermione glanced up but didn't say anything and Harry returned to his station on the couch.

At eight o'clock Hermione abruptly stood up, the baby was fast asleep in her arms but Harry hadn't noticed that they had stopped playing.

`We'll need to put the little one to bed, Voldemort will be here soon and we'll need to get ready.'

Harry nodded and followed her out of the room and up the stairs and not until the baby was in his cot did Harry speak again.

`You should go now, Hermione, I really appreciate you staying with me all this time but... I don't want you to get hurt.'

`I'm not going anywhere Harry James Potter.' She turned on him now her eyes fierce.

`What?'

`You heard me! I've been thinking about this and it won't work. You can't give your life to save your life... it just doesn't add up.' She was still whispering, so as not to wake the baby but her voice was hard.

`I'm not giving my life to save my life,' growled Harry, furious that she was going to argue with him about this now, `I'm giving my life to save my whole family.'

`Yes, Harry, and that's very noble of you but it still won't work. Your death won't give that baby the protection he needs to survive Voldemort's curse and if that baby dies then you'll die before you even get here and we'll have a time paradox. Do you know what a time paradox is?'

`Yes I know what a time paradox is I've seen “Back to the Future”, remember, it's one of those things that will destroy the universe.'

`Exactly and I think that's worse than anything else that might happen.'

`So what exactly do you suggest I do Hermione, don't you think it's a bit late now to bring this up? We're out of time and we're out of options.' Harry was very conscious of the baby sleeping only a few feet away, but he was having real difficulty preventing himself from yelling.

Hermione took a deep breath and put her hands on her hips, `There is another option.'

`Oh yeah, and what's that?' asked Harry.

`I'll do it, you go, I'll stay here and... I'll do it.'

Harry felt like he'd been punched in the stomach, `No... No way! Hermione, you can't! You have to go... you... you can't do this!'

`Yes I can, if you think for even a moment that I don't love you enough... then you don't even know me at all.'

Harry felt winded, he couldn't breathe, `I...' he gasped and Hermione cut him off, `You can either leave willingly or I can put you under Petrificus Totalus under your invisibility cloak, it's up to you.'

Harry felt fire race through his veins, he couldn't let that happen, he would never be so helpless again, `You will not!' he roared, the baby whimpered but didn't wake and Harry dropped his voice to a furious whisper, `I'm never going to stand by and watch helpless as someone I love dies ever again. You are not going to do this Hermione... if the universe explodes then so be it, but I will not let you sacrifice yourself for me.'

They stood toe to toe as seconds that felt like hours raced by until Harry finally spoke again, `I will put you under the Imperius curse if I have to but you will go, now, while you still can. Voldemort will be here at any moment.'

Hermione blinked and took a step back, tears rolled unchecked down her face and for a moment, just a moment, Harry thought she was going to leave. But then she looked up at him and that fierce determination was in her eyes and he knew that she wasn't. Anything he said wasn't going to make the slightest bit of difference, she wasn't going anywhere and her next words confirmed it.

`I can't, I can't just go and leave you here alone, Harry,' she smiled then, a little sad smile that only touched the corners of her mouth and didn't make it anywhere near her eyes, `What kind of wife would I be if I did that.'

`You're a great wife, the best any man could hope for. Please just go.'

Tears streamed down her face and she moved to stand in front of the door to the baby's room, `No, if you're going to put the Imperius curse on me then I suggest you do it quickly because I'm not moving... and... I think he's here.'

Harry rushed to the window and looked out but the street was dark and deserted, he turned back to tell her that there was no sign of anyone in the street but he never got the chance. The door was blasted off its hinges, it caught Hermione in the back throwing her into a wall, and Lord Voldemort stepped into the room.

Harry drew himself up to his full height and strode forward to meet him putting himself between Voldemort and the cot where baby Harry lay still sleeping. It took every ounce of willpower Harry had not to reach for his wand and blast the foul creature into oblivion.

`I know why you're here, but take me instead... leave the baby and kill me.'

Voldemort shook his head, he seemed amused, `James Potter, there is nothing that can save you or your son.'

Harry was startled for a moment at being mistaken for his father but in a split second decided to use it to his advantage, `Don't kill the baby, take me instead... please.'

Harry gripped the edge of the cot tightly with both hands to keep himself for going for his wand as Voldemort laughed in his face.

`Why does it have to be either one or the other, James? I think I'll just kill you both.' He raised his wand and screamed, `Avada Kedavra.'

A jet of green light rushed at Harry's head and, for a second, he knew no more.

When Harry next opened his eyes he was standing in the middle of nothing. Everything around him was grey and for a moment he was reminded of that first Christmas with Hermione, only on that occasion everything was white. Then he saw another figure, standing about twenty paces away and shrouded in black.

`Am I dead?' he asked, his voice echoed inside his head.

The figure did not respond to this question but instead asked one of its own, it's voice booming and horrible. `Does the master of my Hallows stand before me?'

`Yes,' replied Harry, trying to keep the fear from his voice, `though I suppose Voldemort is now the master of the wand.'

`He is not. He only killed you, he did not disarm you or defeat you in a duel.'

Harry did not know how to respond to this so he stayed silent.

`Did you wish to die?' the sepulchral voice asked next.

`It was necessary.'

`But you did not wish it?' the voice was now almost hissing.

`No.' Harry didn't understand the point of these questions but felt it wise to answer them as honestly as he could anyway.

`I shall make a bargain with you then, Master of the Hallows, I shall return you to your body and your body to life.'

`What do you want in return?'

`I want my Hallows returned to me.'

Harry almost agreed immediately but, as sometimes happened, his mouth had different ideas to his brain. `You can have the stone now and the others on my death.'

`You may not be master of the wand on your death.'

`So disarm me now, and just give me permission to use it until then.'

Death was silent for a moment before speaking again, `I accept your proposal, but that one must stay.' He extended a hand, his long skeletal fingers pointing to Harry's leg.

Harry looked down and saw, for the first time, a small, timid thing clutching to the leg of his trousers. This time his mouth and his mind were in complete agreement, `I'll be glad to be rid of it.'

Harry blinked and opened his eyes a crack, it seemed like only a few seconds had passed because now Voldemort was standing over the crib with his wand already drawn on the baby inside. He noticed that the ring was gone from his finger and wondered if his brush with death had been sufficient to form the necessary protection. But wonder was all he could do; it was too late for anything else now. Harry closed his eyes tight and prayed that his sacrifice had been enough, as Voldemort screamed those fatal words for the second time that night.

`Avada Kedavra.'

Harry opened one eye just in time to see the spell shoot into the crib and, miraculously, rebound upon its caster. The spell rushed through Voldemort's body, tore his soul free and swept it from the room, Voldemort's body fell to the floor with a thump leaving a mere wisp of soul fragment behind. For a moment the fragment hovered, like a feather in the air after the swift passing of a bird, but then it drifted gently downwards into the crib and entered the fresh cut on the infant's forehead.

Harry crawled over the debris on the floor towards Hermione. She was pale and cold; a trail of blood had trickled from her hairline down the side of her face. He pulled her into his arms and cradled her against his chest. In the last five minutes he'd gained more than he'd ever dared to hope for but he still felt as if he'd lost even more. He'd been more than willing to trade his own life for the life he could have had but he'd never, ever wanted to trade Hermione's.

`Please, Hermione, please,' he whispered rocking back and forth, `please don't be dead.'

The baby in the crib started to cry and scream but Harry was only vaguely aware of it. Nothing penetrated, in his world now nothing existed except for the sound of screaming and Hermione's still body in his arms. The moments wore on as desperation and desire warred within him. Was there some way he could call Death back, and bargain for Hermione's life?

He lay beside her on the ground, littered with the debris from the exploded door, and began to pray. Harry had never been to church and had never been particularly religious. After he'd entered the Wizarding world he'd taken up the habit of most wizards and referred to Merlin the way most muggles would refer to God. But now, in this moment of absolute direst need, he had to apply to the highest power he knew. So he prayed heartily prayed fervently to God.

He lay, holding her to his chest while the world dissolved around him, and gradually his shock began to wear off and he became aware of the feel of Hermione's heart beating in time with his own.

The relief that rushed through him was so powerful it made him dizzy.

He sat up and with gentle care he pulled her up into his lap and held her. He impatiently brushed the tears from his face and the tenderly caressed her cheek, `Hermione?' he said her name softly, his former panic now completely gone.

Her eyelids fluttered and Harry's heart almost stopped beating, `Hermione, are you okay?' he asked gently.

She opened her eyes and looked at him, `Harry?'

`Yeah, it's me.'

`What happened?' She looked confused for a moment and then looked around wildly, `where is he? Did everything... is everything okay?'

`Everything is great.'

She looked at him then, her eyes wide, and sat up slightly. Harry didn't loosen his grip on her at all but she didn't try to move away. Instead one hand came up to lightly touch his cheek, `and you're okay?'

`I've never been better.' Harry swallowed and his gaze dropped to her lips. Now there was nothing standing in his way, he had survived and the future was stretched out before him, shining and perfect, and she was the only one he really wanted to share it with. He loved her and he was going to kiss her. He looked back up to her eyes and saw something in their depths that had him leaning in to kiss her without another thought.

Their lips met in the sweetest of feather light touches, Hermione gasped and her lips parted beneath his. Harry didn't need any further invitation to deepen the kiss, his tongue slipped inside her mouth and moved against hers. Her hands slid up his chest and curled around the back of his neck, her fingers twining in his hair and dragging him even closer. Harry's fingers slid under the hem of her jumper and gently caressed the soft skin of her back. Hermione groaned in response her hands now clutched at his shoulders as the passion of their kiss intensified.

`Oh my god, what's happened?'

They broke apart guiltily and looked up at where the door had once been and where Lilly and James now stood with identical looks of shock and horror on their faces. James clambered over the rubble of the door and made his way to the crib, only sparing the corpse of Voldemort a passing glance.

`He's okay Lilly,' he called back to his wife, `he's fast asleep... he's got a cut on his head but aside from that he's just fine.'

Having re-assured himself of the baby's safety he turned to face his son, and took in his altered appearance. Harry stood to face his father as himself for the first time.

`So is this what you normally look like then?' asked James.

Harry was surprised at the comment but recovered quickly, `When did you figure it out?' he asked.

`That day when you apparated into the yard on your broomstick, I stuck around and listened to your conversation. I take it Hermione's not actually pregnant then and this was all part of some plan of yours?'

Harry and Hermione both blushed but Harry nodded so James continued, `Well Lilly, I guess you can be happy to know that our son doesn't usually have long hair.'

Harry looked over at his mum who was now standing by the crib, `That is a relief.' She agreed.

`It was the first thing she asked me, when I told her that you were our son, but I can tell you I've got more questions than you can shake a broomstick at.'

Harry looked at Hermione for guidance, they'd obviously worked out a few things but he wasn't sure how much more he should tell them. Thankfully Hermione stepped in to fill the breach, `I don't know that anything we tell you about the future will still be true anyway, Mr Potter. We've just changed something fairly dramatic now and this will probably change everything else.'

Lilly came to stand beside James and he put his arm around her, `We were supposed to die tonight, weren't we?' she asked.

Harry just nodded, `There's a prophecy that predicts that I'm the only one who can defeat Voldemort, Snape heard part of it and told him about it. But when Voldemort killed you, mum, Snape spent the rest of his life trying to find a way to undo the past. Eventually he came up with this potion that allows a person to apparate through time as well as space and ... well... here I am.'

`Snape invented the potion that saved us?' asked James incredulously

Harry nodded, `though he only did it because Mum died, I suppose someone else will have to invent it now, or convince him that he still needs to.'

Lilly nodded, `I think I could convince him, and if I can't,' she shrugged, `I'm better at potions than Severus is anyway... if he can do it than I'm sure I can.'

James tightened his arms around his wife and kissed the top of her head then addressed his son again, `I suppose you two will be leaving now, will you?'

Harry nodded tightening his own embrace on Hermione, `I think we have to, before we actually do create a Paradox.'

`So does that mean it's all over now?' asked Lilly tearfully.

Harry shook his head, `No, it's not over. Voldemort himself still exists, though of course don't tell anyone else that, but even aside from that his Death Eaters are still out there and they won't go down without a fight. Just be careful, okay?'

`What should we tell everyone... about what happened here tonight?'

Hermione was the one to answer that question, `Tell them that we died. You got home, found us dead, Voldemort dead, and Harry still alive with the scar on his forehead. Aside from that you don't know anything.'

`When are you going back then?' asked James

`Soon,'

James only nodded not knowing what to say, but Harry saved him the trouble.

`I just want you to know, the past two years have probably been the best of my life and... Well... I'm just really glad that they won't be the best of his life.'

Lilly couldn't contain herself any longer and flung her arms around the young man who stood before her. `I'm so proud of you!' she told him tearfully

Hermione stepped aside to allow the mother to embrace her son and James joined the embrace a second later.

`Me too, no one could ask for a better son.'

Tears welled in Harry's eyes and there was no preventing them from cascading down his cheeks, `You've got no idea how much that means to me.'

`We love you, Harry, very much,' said James, his voice gruff with un-shed tears.

`I know. I love you too.'

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15. Chapter 15 - Same, same - but different

A/N - I don't own Harry Potter or “Back to the Future” and I'm not making any money from this. If you watch the very end of the first “Back to the Future” movie and compare it to the beginning of that same movie then you will understand (hopefully) how time travel works in this story. I make this point because I'm almost certain I will get some rather critical reviews about that for this chapter. If you have any questions... please ask Steven Spielberg... Also the “nature versus nurture” debate still does not have a conclusive answer so it's entirely possible that “new Harry” would still be essentially the same as “old Harry”. I'm letting you know my position on this now in an effort to avoid getting into any debates about the ways in which “new Harry” and “old Harry” would be different. Thank you as always to the wonderful Katia, Dementor149 & Ragavendran for their work on this chapter.

Chapter 15 - Same, Same... But Different.

`What do you think, Harry, should we take this?' Hermione was standing by the kitchen window holding the potted purple geranium that had graced its sill for the past twelve months.

`If you've got somewhere to put it, sure.' He responded.

Harry was going through the fridge and getting rid of all the food. Hermione had decided that they really did need to tie up all their loose ends in the past before leaving and Harry had agreed with her. His parents had agreed to make sure that no-one went near their house that day, so they had plenty of time to prepare themselves to leave. Harry was glad for the time they had to get used to the idea because, while he was thrilled that their plan had worked, he was finding it hard to say goodbye the life that they had made here.

`It seems stupid to take it but, I feel like I don't want to leave anything behind.'

Harry stopped what he was doing and looked at her, `Do you feel like you're loosing something really important?'

Hermione nodded a little sadly, `It's weird, we got everything that we came for...'

Harry went over to her and put his arms around her, `and even some things that we didn't know we wanted.'

Hermione laughed and playfully swatted him in the chest, `speak for yourself Mr Potter, I've always known what I wanted.'

`Really?' Harry had never known her to lie but he still couldn't quite believe it.

Hermione shrugged, `I don't like to boast, but I am fairly smart.'

Harry laughed, `I'd noticed that.'

`You know, I've been thinking, perhaps instead of taking any of this stuff with us we should just shrink it and store it under the house or somewhere. Then if we ever want it we can just come and get it.'

Harry nodded impressed, `That's a great idea.'

Harry finished cleaning out the fridge while Hermione put all of their clothes and personal possessions into the trunk that Dumbledore had packed so long ago. When that was done the two of them went from room to room shrinking down everything else and put it all inside the broom shed in the back garden.

Harry stood in their now empty living room and thought back to the time line they had left and wondered what waited for them in the time line they would return to. How much would change because his parents were now alive? Would he return to the future to find that he was universally hated as a spoiled git? Harry was nervous about the prospect but still eager to find out.

`Harry,' said Hermione thoughtfully, coming up behind him and putting her arms around his waist, `Did you ever think we'd succeed? You know, that we'd be able to save your parents and live to tell the tale?'

`No' replied Harry honestly.

`Neither did I, not really,' said Hermione with equal candour. `But now that we have, does it... does it make you feel as though you could accomplish just about anything?'

Harry shrugged, `I haven't really looked at it in that way, but, I suppose so... why? What impossible task did you want to accomplish next?'

Hermione laughed, `Well I was thinking... that perhaps we could save Dumbledore too?' Harry turned around in her arms so that they were now facing each other and looked at her incredulously. Seeing his expression she hurried on, ` Of course, it'd have to look exactly the way you remember it, or your other self mightn't leave, but there might be a way that we could make it look like he was hit with that killing curse, without him actually being hit.'

Harry shook his head sadly, `It wouldn't save him though Hermione, Dumbledore was dying anyway, he told me so himself. He said the curse that destroyed his hand had only left him with a year to live and his time was up.'

Hermione deflated at this news, `Well, I guess there's no point then.'

But Harry's mind was still working, still considering possibilities and remembering everything that had happened that night, including Snape's parting words to him. `That may not be true... Maybe Dumbledore will still die, but maybe, we can prevent Snape from having to kill him.'

Hermione looked up at him hopefully, `really?'

`Sure, I mean Snape gave me the chance to save my parents, this is the least I can do for him in return, right?'

Hermione nodded enthusiastically.

`So, what was the plan?' asked Harry.

`Well, Voldemort never meant to turn you into a Horcrux, right?' Harry nodded and Hermione continued, `So if he only thought he had six he probably still turned Nagini into a Horcrux, as soon as he could, so we still need to kill her. If we go back a few hours early...' she trailed off but Harry took over.

`We could go to the Riddle mansion and steal her. But we'd have to get her in front of the curse and get Dumbledore out of that office at exactly the right time... and even if it all worked like clockwork you don't think I'll notice that the curse doesn't actually hit him but something a few inches in front of him?'

Hermione looked a bit worried now, `I did think of that... it's a shame you were with him that whole time otherwise we could have told him what was going to happen and asked him to hide the snake inside his robes.'

Harry stared off into space for a moment before responding, `I wasn't though.'

`You weren't what?'

`I wasn't with him the whole time; I was gone for an hour. I tested the potion, remember? Dumbledore is going to be alone in his office for a whole hour, right before all of this happens.'

Hermione grinned, `Well, we've got our window of opportunity then.'

`There's still a lot that can go wrong.'

Hermione rolled her eyes but stood on tiptoe to kiss him, `isn't there always?'

Harry grinned and returned her kiss, `true,' he kissed her again more deeply this time, `you know, as soon as we leave here we're going to be pretty busy for a while,' he said breathlessly between kisses.

Hermione only moaned in response and Harry began to kiss his way down her neck.

`So, how soon did you want to leave?' he asked.

`Oh, I think we could spare a little time here.'

`Good,' then without another word Harry picked her up and walked over to the window seat where he sat down and placed her on his lap. Hermione grinned against his lips; she loved this new dimension to their relationship. There was no doubt in her mind that they had both achieved their dreams during this adventure into the past.

About an hour later the two teens at last felt ready to return to the future. Their trunk was shrunken down and sitting in Hermione's pocket, and they had the invisibility cloak out ready to go.

`So what time should we go back to?' asked Harry as he took a sip of time potion from the flask before handing it to Hermione.

She took a sip as well and swallowed before answering, `Make it nine am? Then we've got all day to get Nagini, I'm sure she'll leave the house at some point.'

Harry nodded, `Yeah, Voldemort did use her as a lookout occasionally.'

With this agreed they gripped hands and together they apparated back to the future.

They'd chosen to apparate into the Shrieking Shack, Harry's broom had been destroyed at the cave when he'd used the Fiendfyre on the inferi so they needed to get his Firebolt. They chose their moment carefully, for when they knew everyone would be in class, and stayed hidden under the invisibility cloak to avoid running into any teachers or ghosts. As soon as they retrieved the broom and made it back outside the school boundary they mounted Harry's broom, donned the invisibility cloak, and took off for the Riddle Mansion. Harry would have apparated them there but he wasn't sure he should risk side-along apparition from a broomstick; it would definitely mess up their plans if he were to accidentally splinch them. So instead they flew all the way to Little Hangleton under cover of Harry's cloak.

When they arrived they didn't touch down, or approach the mansion. They both considered it extremely likely that Voldemort had upgraded his wards significantly since 1980 and had no desire to give themselves away by triggering any of them accidentally. So instead they flew slowly and silently around the edge of the garden and the graveyard, watching for any sign of movement.

It had taken the better part of the day to fly from Hogwarts to The Riddle Mansion. Harry did some quick calculations and realised that even though they had only just arrived, they really didn't have long at all to search for the Snake before they needed to head back. Harry supposed that they could apparate from the nearby town, or make a Portkey, if the got desperate but he didn't want to do anything that could be detected by the ministry (or Voldemort's spies within the ministry) so he was really hoping it wouldn't be necessary.

`What time do we have to be back at the school?' Hermione whispered, her thoughts obviously running along the same paths as his.

`Well, Dumbledore is going to be alone in his office for an hour from ten past eight, and we want to have as much time to convince Dumbledore as possible, so we'll want to get there around that time.'

`Do we have any more Balm of Time left?' she asked next.

Harry fished the flask from the pocket of his robes and shook it, `We've only got a sip left.'

They both remained silent for a moment while they considered this and it was Harry who broke the silence.

`I don't suppose that spell we used to locate the locket would work on a snake, would it?'

He could almost feel Hermione thinking, `No, the spell is for locating objects not living beings.' She paused for a moment and now Harry had the strangest sensation that she had an idea.

`What are you thinking?'

`Oh,' she seemed startled by the question but answered anyway, `I was just thinking that there was another spell in that same book for finding people, it was supposed to be used by mothers if their children run off in a crowded mall but the author also noted it was handy for finding pets when they go missing.'

`I couldn't hurt to try, right?' Harry asked hopefully.

`I suppose not.'

Hermione cast the spell and Harry followed the direction that her wand pointed and sure enough, with the help of the spell, they were finally able to spot Nagini curled on top of a rock in the bright sunlight. Slowly Harry drew his wand from his pocket, careful not to make any sudden noises or movements that might alert the snake to their presence, and then taking careful aim he stunned it. Hermione murmured the summoning charm and as soon as the snake was underneath the invisibility cloak they were off, soaring through the sky back towards Hogwarts.

Harry flew as fast as he could but the journey was still a long one and by the time they reached Hogsmeade it had been fully dark for some time. They hurried through the tunnel from the shrieking shack and, donning the invisibility cloak first, they emerged breathless from underneath the whomping willow. Harry glanced at his watch it was five past eight, they would make it in time but only barely. They didn't have time to go through the school and possibly get delayed by a teacher or another student so they mounted the broom again and reached the open window of Dumbledore's office just in time to hear the tail end of the conversation.

`...has done it?' they heard Dumbledore ask the other Harry, `Not entirely. Would you be willing, Harry, to ease the mind of an old man? Will you attempt to jump an hour into the future? Then we will know.'

The other Harry nodded and, as they watched from their perch outside the window, he stepped up beside the cauldron, lifted the ladle to his lips, took a sip and then apparated. As soon as the other Harry had disappeared from sight they swooped into the room and Harry ripped off the invisibility cloak.

Dumbledore nearly fell out of his chair in shock, `Harry, how did you...'

But Harry did not give him time to ask any questions, `I'm not the Harry that just apparated sir, I've already been back to the past and accomplished our mission and more. I'm two years older than the boy who just left your room. I know we have an hour before the other me gets back and I need you to listen very carefully to what we are about to tell you.'

Dumbledore's eyes widened in surprise but he did not interrupt.

`I know that in this time line there are many things that are different from the time line I left but the fundamentals cannot change, what sent me back to the past, rather than you, cannot change.'

`We do not know this to be true Harry... many things may be different this time around.'

`Many things are different sir, and I'm here to make sure that this is one of them.'

`But what are you here to change?'

`I'm here to change the way you die, sir.'

Dumbledore gapped at him in astonishment, `Harry... I don't understand.'

It was something that Harry had never expected the Headmaster to say and it stunned him into silence. Thankfully Hermione was there to fill the gap.

`Sir, Professor Snape is going to cast `Avada Kedavra' at you tonight. We know this will happen, and we know that, unless you trust us, you will die tonight and Professor Snape will be your murderer. We've got a plan to change this but you have to let us help.'

Dumbledore gapped at Hermione, `But, that was the plan... Professor Snape was meant to kill me.'

`He doesn't want to be your murderer, sir, and I owe it to him to make it so he doesn't have to be... if I can.'

Dumbledore looked back and forth between the two teens, the extra two years of life that they had experienced were written all over them and while this was not the Harry he knew it was also still Harry and there was no-one he trusted more.

`What is your plan then m'boy?'

Hermione laid the still stunned snake on the floor and proceeded to curl it up into a round flat disk, she then pointed her wand at it again and this time she petrified it before then handing it to Harry. Harry held the snake in front of Dumbledore's chest; it was big enough to shield it completely.

`I want you to put this down the front of your robes.'

Dumbledore gulped, `Is that Nagini?' Harry didn't answer; he only nodded and held the snake out for Dumbledore again.

`Are you certain that this is necessary?'

`It's not going to do you any harm if it's not.'

Dumbledore nodded, `very well then but please, turn away... give an old man some privacy.'

`Of course, sir,' Harry and Hermione grinned at each other as they turned away.

`Dumbledore must trust you an awful lot Harry,' Hermione whispered.

`Well, in the last time line he told me that there was no-one he trusted more... at least it doesn't look like that has changed, whatever else might have.'

Behind them they could hear Dumbledore rustling with his robes but they ignored it and Hermione reached over and squeezed his hand.

`Whatever else might have changed, you know that we haven't.'

Harry raised her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it, `and I never want us to either.'

`Ah, young love. It warms an old man's heart to see that your time in the past has not changed your relationship with Ms Granger, Harry.'

Harry and Hermione turned to look at the old man in surprise; he was once more seated, his robes seemingly undisturbed.

`Sir, can I... it may seem an odd question but... are Hermione and I dating? In this time line, I mean.'

Dumbledore looked surprised, `Why, you have been for some time. Do you mean to say you weren't, in your original time line?'

`No, we only got together after we went to the past.'

`What an odd thing to change... in any event I suppose it will be easy enough for you to discover the details at some future moment. I believe now we must focus on the matter in hand. What should I expect?'

Harry nodded and got back to business, `right. Very soon, the dark mark will be cast and will appear right outside your office window. The other me will return shortly thereafter and you will order me to put on my invisibility cloak. Draco Malfoy will come through alone, at first, and he will disarm you. You must not try to stop him, just make sure that the other me is petrified or it will ruin everything.'

Dumbledore nodded, `I see, but you said it was Professor Snape who kills me, am I to gather then that young Mr Malfoy does not?'

`That's right, just keep him talking. Ask him all about how he managed to get the Death Eaters into the school and praise him as though you're proud of him, he won't have the heart to do it. After a bit the other Death Eaters will arrive and then, lastly, Snape will. You'll have time for a little chat with the other Death Eaters first but they won't have the guts to kill you either. When Snape arrives, plead with him.'

Dumbledore took a deep breath, as though to steady his nerves and Harry reflected quickly that it felt very odd to be telling Dumbledore what to do.

`When the curse hits you, you will fly out the window and it will probably hurt. But, don't worry I'll be out there on my broom and I will catch you. Then Hermione and I will take you to the hospital wing before heading back up to your office to let Ron know that we're back.'

`It sounds a very thorough plan, Harry.'

Harry grinned in response to this praise from his mentor.

`Unfortunately,' continued Dumbledore, `we don't have the luxury of any further time for discussion, I believe the time is now nigh to put your excellent plan into place.' Dumbledore pointed out the window and there, hanging like a ghoulish banner in the night sky, was the dark mark.

Harry and Hermione quickly mounted the broom, threw the invisibility cloak over themselves and flew out the window. Their departure took place precisely on time as, no sooner had they cleared the window ledge, then the other Harry popped back into existence. Harry took in the scene and then frowned.

`Does Dumbledore look sicker now than he did a minute ago?' whispered Harry.

Hermione nodded, `Do you think it's the Horcrux that's doing it?' she whispered back.

Harry shrugged, neither of them had ever kept one of the nasty things on their person for any length of time and so had no idea of what the effects might be, `I hope not.'

They watched the scene before them play out and Harry was surprised by how very little of it changed. Draco expressed himself exactly the way Harry remembered, though he didn't think it was necessarily a good thing that Draco Malfoy was exactly the same as in the previous time stream.

`How long does this go on for?' Hermione asked, `of course this is all very interesting, but, I'm getting tired of being on this broom.'

Harry nodded, `We've got a bit of time yet, I should set you down anyway, I'll have to catch Dumbledore in a bit and I don't think this broom will cope with three passengers.' Harry then descended to the base of the tower and set her down there out of sight before resuming his position outside the tower window. The other Death Eaters had now entered the room and were taunting Dumbledore, who continued to get weaker and slide further down the desk. Harry watched it all guiltily; he'd thought their plan would save the Headmaster but what if it actually caused his demise?

Then Snape entered and the scene changed again, now Dumbledore was pleading and the pleading seemed entirely too genuine. Harry hoped, with every fibre of his being, that Dumbledore was only a very good actor and not genuinely in trouble there. Harry didn't think he could live with himself if Dumbledore died as a result of his own misguided attempts to save him.

Then, just as Harry remembered it, Snape raised his wand and pointed it directly at Dumbledore.

`Avada Kedavra!'

A jet of green light shot from the end of Snape's wand and hit Dumbledore squarely in the chest. Dumbledore was blasted into the air and for a split second he seemed to hang suspended beneath the shining skull, and then he fell slowly backwards, like a great rag doll, out of the window.

As soon as Dumbledore was out of the window, Harry sprang into action and dived after him. His invisibility cloak flapped behind him but Harry did not care. His every thought, his every fibre, was directed towards one goal. He had to catch Dumbledore. Like a giant bird of prey he swooped after his quarry, and caught him mere meters from the ground, pulling up just in time to avoid impact with the earth.

Harry flew over to where Hermione stood in the shadow of the tower. She hurried over and helped him lay Dumbledore on the ground.

`Is he okay?' she asked Harry first, then she anxiously peered into Dumbledore's face. `Professor, are you okay?'

The Professor groaned and pulled the now limp snake out through the neckline of his robes, `I will not say that I am perfectly well, Ms Granger, because that would be a horrendous lie. But I am, without a doubt, better than I might otherwise have been.'

The Headmaster then collapsed, unconscious, in Harry's arms.

Harry looked at Hermione in shock, `We have to get him to the hospital wing. Do you think the Death Eaters are out of the castle yet?'

Hermione walked to the edge of the tower and looked around it to the front doors, they flew open with a bang and the Death Eaters came sprinting out, heading across the lawns towards the gate not sparing a glance back.

Harry gathered the headmaster in his arms and headed towards the hospital wing, he really hoped that Madame Pomfrey would be able to help the Professor. Thankfully it seemed that all the order members who had been fighting were still on the upper levels near Dumbledore's office because they made it all the way to the hospital wing without being stopped. They deposited the Headmaster onto one of the beds and left him in the fussing care of Madame Pomfrey. She let them go easily enough, being too concerned about the Headmaster to worry about them. Harry hoped his luck would hold and they'd be able to avoid everyone on the way back as well. They planned to fly up once they got outside and avoid most people that way. He knew they would have to confront the future that they had created soon but he was hoping they'd at least be able to talk to Ron first and have an idea of what they were facing first.

But it was not to be.

They made it as far as the entrance hall before he thought he heard a young girl calling his name. He stopped and listened, he heard it again, louder this time.

`Ponger!'

Harry looked at Hermione, `Ponger?' he asked.

`It means smelly' Hermione offered helpfully.

Harry half turned and saw a young girl with dark red hair at the far end of the hall hurrying towards them, `She can't be calling me, can she?'

Hermione shrugged, `anything's possible.'

`Come on, she must have me confused with someone else.' Harry took Hermione's hand and turned away again, Hermione looked sceptical but allowed herself to be led away. The young girl was undeterred and continued to hurry after them and call out.

`Pongs!'

Harry and Hermione kept walking.

`Harry!'

They stopped abruptly in their tracks and turned to face the young girl who was now only a few yards away and breathing heavily.

`Why didn't you stop!' she demanded.

Harry looked at the young girl, amazed, he'd never seen her before in his life and most kids her age at Hogwarts were terrified of him.

`Where you calling to me?' He asked incredulously.

`Well, der! Who else do you know called Pongs?'

`No-one, I didn't even know I was called Pongs.'

`Don't be stupid,' the young girl admonished, `it's been your nickname ever since you got gastro when you were five years old. I might have been only a baby at the time, but Uncle Sirius is always telling that story. Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about just `cause your girlfriend is here.'

Harry swallowed, this girl clearly knew him quite well, perhaps in this time-line Professor Lupin had married and she was his daughter. He'd have to pump Ron for information as soon as he saw the red-head, in the mean-time he had to get away from this girl as quickly as possible.

`Was there something you wanted?'

`I want to know what you're up to!' she demanded stamping her foot, `You never let me in on the fun stuff, I want to know why there are two of you on my map!' she pulled out a piece of parchment. The parchment wasn't old, so it clearly wasn't the original, but aside from that it was a perfect copy of the Marauders map. Harry moved to snatch it from her but she yanked it out of his grasp.

`Where did you get that?' He demanded, but the little girl was not cowed by his temper.

`It's not yours stupid, it's the copy that Dad, Uncle Lupin and Uncle Sirius made for me! As if I'd bother stealing your crummy old map when I've got my own new one that was made especially for me.'

Harry's heart sang at the implication that Sirius was still alive even as his panic at her other implication began to set in. He tried to breathe deeply and calm himself. She was his sister, she had to be.

`What were you trying to show us?' asked Hermione, clearly seeing Harry's distress.

The young girl brought forth her map again, this time watching Harry carefully as though he might make another grab for it. Harry studied it intently and noted several things very quickly. Firstly, none of the secret passages into Hogsmeade were marked on this map. Secondly, there were still currently two dots marked Harry Potter in the castle, and finally (and most importantly) the young girl in front of him was named Jasmine Potter.

Jasmine pointed to the dots in Dumbledore's office labelled Harry Potter and Hermione Granger and then to the dots showing that they were also now in the entrance hall.

`How can you be in two places at once?'

Harry rubbed his forehead and tried to calmly address his sister, `Jasmine, I really don't have time for this...'

`What have I done wrong now?' asked Jasmine, now looking distraught.

Harry shook his head in bewilderment, `What?'

`You only call me Jasmine when your really angry at me, what did I do wrong? I was only trying to help. I heard you, when you came into the common room earlier... I heard you tell Ron and Hermione what to do. I thought I could help too, since I've got a map as well... But you never... You never want me too.'

The little thing looked like she was near tears and Harry, desperate to get moving again and desperate not to make his little sister cry the first time he met her, reached out and touched her shoulder.

`I'm sorry, Jazz,' He said using a shorter version of her name hopefully, `I'm not angry, I swear... it's just been a really rough day and ... I promise I'll explain everything later. Okay?'

She nodded and began to shuffle away, she still looked so downcast that Harry couldn't resist calling out to her.

`Hey, Jazz!'

She stopped and looked back at him.

`When I graduate you can have my map, okay? It's got some secret tunnels into Hogsmeade on it that yours doesn't'

She smiled brightly, `Thanks, Pongs!'

`Please don't call me that!' But she paid him no attention and just skipped away.

Harry turned back to Hermione; feeling giddily happy, with a massive grin on his face, `Come on,' he said taking her by the hand, `let's go save the world.'

-->

16. Chapter 16 - Once More, Into the Breach

A/N - Another re-write for me creates another extra chapter for you, even so we do creep ever closer to the end..... I don't own Harry Potter or Back to the Future. I don't make any money from this. Much as it pains me to admit that. Also I acknowledge that not all aspects of Harry's plan were revealed in previous chapters, this was done deliberately to keep at least a small amount of mystery and suspense around what they would do. As always, a HUGE thank you to my BETA's Katia, Dementor149 and Ragavendran.

Chapter 16 - Once more, into the breach

They arrived back outside Dumbledore's office window just in time to see the other Harry and the other Hermione disapperate into the past, but still Harry hesitated.

`What are we waiting for?' asked Hermione in a stage whisper.

`I come back, remember... to get the extendable ears.'

`Right.'

A few seconds later Harry popped into existence again inside the Headmaster's office. They watched as Ron handed over the extendable ears and then as soon as Harry popped out again they swooped into the office and removed the invisibility cloak.

`Bloody Hell, Harry! Have you been hiding in here?'

Harry grinned, `Hey, Ron... you've got no idea how good it is to see you, Mate.'

`I just saw you a few seconds ago.' Ron appraised him, `Though I gotta say, you sure don't look the same.'

Harry laughed, `What can I say?' he shrugged, `I've been working out.'

`I can see that, how long have you two been gone?'

Hermione responded, `It's been two years since we've seen you.'

`Blimey, Really?'

Harry nodded, `Well, not a full two years for me... but nearly.'

`Merlin! So did you do it then? Did you manage to get all the Horcruxes?'

`I managed a lot more than that, Mate, my parents are alive right?'

Ron frowned, `Of course they are, why, weren't they before?'

Harry shook his head, `Nope, they died when I was just over a year old.'

Ron's eyes almost bugged out of his head, `So... Merlin... I don't even know what to say mate... How weird is that going to be?'

Harry nodded his head in complete agreement, `I know. I just met my sister for the first time.'

`Jazzy?'

`Yeah, I didn't even know what her name was until I saw it on the Marauder's map!'

Ron laughed, `You didn't call her Jasmine did you?' Harry nodded and this time Ron roared with laughter, `In the whole time I've known you, you've only ever called her that once and it was after she broke your Nimbus 2000!'

`She broke my Nimbus?' Harry asked, confused.

`Well there wouldn't have been any Dementors because Sirius probably never went to Azkaban, much less escaped from it. Since you've got your Firebolt I guess your first broom would have to have been broken somehow.' Hermione explained reasonably.

`Right,' Harry turned back to Ron, `What about second year, did we save Ginny from the Heir of Slytherin, and the stone in first?'

Ron smiled, `Yeah that all happened.'

Harry questioned him further, determined to know at least the bare facts about his history before he encountered others, `Was I still in the Tri-Wizard tournament in fourth year? Is that when Voldemort came back?'

Ron nodded, prompting Harry to ask with equal parts dread and hope, `and, Cedric, did he die?'

Ron just nodded again, then frowned, `Wait a minute... Sirius went to Azkaban?' Ron asked.

`Yes,' Hermione added, growing impatient, `it's a very interesting story, but right now we need to get organised, we're going after Voldemort tonight.'

Ron looked from Harry to Hermione and then back again, `So did you two come up with a plan in the two years you were away or are we just going to do what we usually do and wing it?'

Harry laughed, `We do have a plan, but the first thing we need to do is gather everyone together.'

Harry gave Ron the Marauder's Map, `I need you to find everyone and get them up here as soon as possible, ask other people to help you if you like but make sure anyone who should be here is in five minutes. Hermione and I will organise everything.'

Ron nodded and took off. When he was gone Harry and Hermione started work, the first thing Harry did was put the rest of the potion into his flask and banish the cauldron. He felt a bit stupid for not thinking of this before, but on a balance he thought it was probably a good thing Ron had stayed behind. He needed someone he could trust to ask questions about things he should already know.

Having got rid of the cauldron, the chairs, and pushed Dumbledore's desk to the back of the room Harry and Hermione then set up the things they would need. The first was the enlarged map of the Riddle Mansion that they'd obtained from the Muggle shire council. The second were the portkey pins Harry had created. The third was the stack of shields he'd made from the boiler they'd used to contain the Fiendfyre spell. Lastly was Hermione's Pensieve empty but for a single memory set down especially for this night.

They'd just finished getting all of this organised when people started coming into the room, the first was Charlie Weasley.

`Hey Harry, what's all this?'

`Hey Charlie, I'll explain in a second when everyone else gets here.'

Others started filtering in, mostly they were Weasley's to start with (though Harry noticed Ginny's absence) but there were also a few familiar faces that he'd both been hoping to see and dreading he wouldn't see.

`Sirius! Mum! Dad!' cried Harry happily when they entered the room.

`Hey Mate,' his Dad replied, patting him on the back, `What's all this?'

Harry couldn't stop the grin that was now plastered over his face, he'd never admitted it to Hermione but he'd been terrified that something else would happen to them and he'd return to the future only to find that he was still an orphan. The conversation with his sister had gone a long way towards allaying those fears but it wasn't until he saw them that he felt really happy.

They both looked great, older of course, but great. The resemblance between himself and his father was still very pronounced but now that they weren't so close to the same age it was no longer uncanny. His mother was still beautiful but age had given her a more matronly look, she reached out and squeezed his hand.

`How are you?' she whispered

`I'm great,' Harry replied sincerely.

While he'd been distracted a few other people had filed in until the office was starting to feel quite squashed. Harry looked around and started to feel the first twinges of fear, he only knew about three quarters of the people assembled but they were all watching him as though waiting for him to speak. Harry quickly found Ron and pulled him aside.

`Mate, do I trust all of these people?' Ron looked at him like he was mad so Harry elaborated, `I don't know all of them so I have to ask you, before I left tonight did I trust all of these people.'

Finally Ron got it, `This is like the Jazzy thing then, right?'

Harry nodded, `Yeah exactly, I don't know some of them at all.'

Ron looked around the room as though considering the question, `Yeah, mate, you trust them all. Which one's don't you know?'

Harry pointed first to two women standing near Sirius and Remus, both women were around his mother's age but he was confident he'd never seen them before in his life.

`Well I suppose that makes sense,' Ron commented, `If the Sirius you knew was in Azkaban he'd never have married. The blonde is his wife, you usually call her Aunty Lyra, and the brunette is Professor Lupin's wife she's pretty strict with you but you still call her Aunty Sabine.'

Harry was amazed that both Sirius & Remus were married in this time-line and briefly considered asking if they had any kids before deciding it was a conversation for another time and moved on to the next lot of people he didn't know.

`What about those two standing with Neville over there?' asked Harry trying not to point.

The two people he was talking about did seem vaguely familiar, in the same way that Bill and Charlie Weasley had the first time he'd met them. He had the feeling he knew them, even though he really knew that he didn't.

`They're his parents, Frank and Alice Longbottom, but we never call them anything except for Mr and Mrs Longbottom.'

Harry nodded, realising now why he'd recognised them. They certainly looked different from the last time he'd seen them, he wasn't sure how the changed time line had spared them from their previous fate but he was glad that it had.

Harry clapped his friend on the back, `Great, thanks,' then turned to address the assembled crowd.

`Voldemort thinks he's had a significant victory tonight!' His voice boomed out over the suddenly silent crowd, `He thinks that his greatest obstacle has been removed, he believes that Albus Dumbledore is dead.' The crowd gasped in shock but waited, breathless and expectant to hear what Harry would say next.

`Voldemort couldn't be more wrong!'

They now broke out in whispered conversations as they digested the news; Harry gave them a few seconds to get it out of their systems before continuing.

`Not only is Voldemort more vulnerable tonight than he has ever been before, but we are coming after him and we are going to take him down.' The hissed conversations again broke out but this time Harry held up his hands asking for silence. `Anyone who feels that this mission is too dangerous for them or anyone who thinks they aren't up to it, I'm going to ask that you leave now. I don't want to jeopardise this mission by having anyone who doesn't need to knowing the details of what we're about to do.'

The crowd was completely silent and not a single person moved even an inch, Harry smiled and continued.

`Right, now that we've got that sorted I'll fill you in on what we'll be doing. First off, I want everyone to take a shield and then take one of the blue pins, to go on your robes, and a handful of the red pins to go in your pockets.'

There was a small commotion as people surged forward to outfit themselves as directed, after a few minutes and a bit of co-operation from everyone concerned they were all properly outfitted.

`The shields are made from cast iron and reinforced with every strengthening spell known to Wizards, they will protect you from pretty much anything that can be thrown at them. Most importantly, as long as you get the shield between you and the beam of the spell, they will protect you from the killing curse as well. Just be careful because the spell will rebound so make sure your holding your shield straight so it will re-bound back on the caster instead of into any of our friends.'

Harry looked at each person carefully then to make sure they all understood, he didn't want anyone to die (if possible). He'd spent too long planning this invasion for it to be messed up by deflected spells.

`The pins you've got are Portkeys, the blue one pinned to your robes will take you to the Hospital wing here at Hogwarts as soon as you touch your wand to it. The red ones are for use on fallen Death Eaters; if you pin it on them and touch your wand to it they will be instantly taken to a secure room. Make sure you do this with any fallen Death Eaters, unless they're dead. We don't want them getting back up and coming at us from behind.'

Harry then moved stepped aside so they could also see the map behind him clearly.

`This is the floor plan of the building where Voldemort is hiding out,' using his wand as a pointer he indicated the room on the upper floor where Voldemort had held court back in 1979, `This is the room where Voldemort and the majority of his death eaters will most likely be, remember they think they've had a significant victory tonight and their guard will be down. We're going to use that against them.'

Some of the people present looked shocked at the detailed nature of the information Harry was presenting but most of them were leaning forward, listening eagerly.

`The apparition point is here, it is the only point in the building which the Death Eaters can apparate to or from' Harry said now pointing to the dining room, `so we have to keep our guard up in that room at all times, just in case more of them pop in or some of them try to escape. This is also important to remember because if there are any Death Eaters on the ground floor when we get there, they will most likely be in that room.'

`Are we going to apparate there?' Mr Longbottom asked.

`We'll be apparating nearby, but not inside the house itself. You'd need a Dark Mark to be able to do that and even then you can only go apparate to or from that one point, so it'd be too dangerous. We know that he's got wards set up to prevent anyone from Portkeying in and I expect that by now he'd have wards set up to alert him if anyone flies in on a broom. We think we'll be most likely to get past the wards if we walk in on foot and avoid using any magic at all until we're ready to attack.'

Several people nodded, but Harry noticed his father smirk when he'd said, “by now” but Harry pushed that observation aside. He'd definitely have to have a long talk with his dad very soon, but now was not the right time for it.

`There will be two squads, one around the back and the other at the front, on my signal we'll kick open the doors. Again don't use magic, do it with your foot or something, Voldemort relies solely on Muggle repelling charms to keep the Muggles away and doesn't seem to expect Wizards to ever use Muggle methods. If our intelligence is faulty and that doesn't work smash one of the windows instead.'

Some uneasy looks returned on Harry's admission that some of their intelligence may be faulty but he ignored it and ploughed on regardless.

`Once you're in you'll have to work quickly, have a good look at this map, we'll need to clear all of the rooms on the ground floor as quickly as possible and then take up positions here,' he used his wand as a pointer again to indicate doorways into the corridor that led to the stairs, `don't forget to have a couple of people watching that apparition point just in case, but this part is the most important. If we can get the ground floor cleared quickly enough and get set up here soon enough we'll be there in time to catch the Death Eaters as they come down the stairs to find out what the noise is.'

Harry looked at them all, `If we can do that then we've won, it'll be like shooting ducks in a barrel.'

Mr Longbottom spoke up again, `You don't think they'll figure out that we're down there pretty quickly and take up position at the top of the stairs instead?'

`Mr Longbottom, I expect that Voldemort will only send a few of his Death Eaters down at first, if we wait until they are at the bottom of the stairs before we attack then it should give us time to get rid of them before he sends more out to find out what happened to the first lot. The next lot will be more on their guard, of course, but they'll still have to come down the stairs Don't forget, Death Eaters are arrogant, they think they are invincible and they won't be expecting the shields. We have to use everything we can to our advantage.'

Mr Longbottom nodded, `and how many of them are we expecting?' he asked next.

`Voldemort has an unknown number of spies and sympathisers but his inner circle consists of about 20 to 30 Death Eaters, they are the ones we'll be facing tonight. This is like the head of the snake, if we chop this off the body will die. We might be outnumbered but we'll have the tactical and defensive advantage not to mention the element of surprise on our side.'

There were murmurs of agreement around the room so Harry moved to the next phase of his plan, gesturing to the Pensieve behind him with the single memory in it.

`In the Pensieve I've stored a memory of the place we'll be apparating to, so I need you to all form a line and view it so that we can get going.'

`When did you get so bloody pushy, Pongs?' asked Sirius, grumbling as he moved into line with the rest.

Harry ignored the question in favour of focusing on the more important things, `Remind me to have a word to you later about that nick-name, too.'

Sirius just whistled and pretended he hadn't heard, but his wife, Lyra, put a hand on Harry's shoulder. `Don't worry about it Harry, the only people who are immature enough to call you that are Jazzy and your Uncle Sirius. Jazzy is a twelve year old girl, I don't know what your Uncle's excuse is.'

Harry smiled at her, finding it much easier than he'd expected to act as though he knew her, `Thanks, Aunt Lyra, I'll still be carrying out my revenge though.'

She laughed, `Again?' Harry wondered what he'd done previously but knew that now was not the time to ask, so he just smiled again in response and they moved down the line towards the Pensieve.

When everyone had viewed the memory Harry brought out his flask with the remainder of the time potion, `This potion was given to me by Professor Dumbledore, one sip will allow you to apparate out of Hogwarts but it's one sip, one trip so don't try apparating back, use your Portkeys if you need to. We're apparating to the graveyard you saw in the Pensieve, when we're all there we'll split into our teams and go from there.'

Harry took his sip first then passed it to Hermione, who in turn passed it to Ron, who then passed it to Neville. Once the teens had all taken their sips of potion it was passed onto the adults. Harry saw a look of mutiny on his father's face, along with a matching one on Mr Longbottom's, and had the distinct feeling that if he had passed the potion on to the adults first he wouldn't have been going anywhere that night.

Once the potion had made its way around the room Harry put the stopper back in and returned the flask to his pocket before addressing the crowd again.

`Right, now we just need to divide into teams—' Harry began, but he was cut off by Mrs Weasley.

`And I suppose you think the four of you will all be on one team, and going in through the front door? Honestly, Lilly' she said now addressing Harry's mum, `it's bad enough that you let your son run wild, but for him to endanger our children as well.'

`Molly, I hardly think--' Lilly began

`I know that you hardly think but surely you can see -', but this time it was Mrs Weasley who was interrupted by James.

`Molly we've been friends for a lot of years, but I will not allow you to stand here and insult my wife and son. If you want to keep a short leash on your children, and pretend that none of this affects them -'

`Just because I want to prevent my son from being killed--' Molly began to shriek

The adults continued to yell at each other while Harry looked on in amazement, `What on earth is going on?' He whispered to Ron, as the debate raged around them.

Ron shrugged, `Well I don't know about the time line that you came from but, my mum has always kind of thought you were a bad influence on me.'

`What?' Harry sputtered.

`Well, I guess she's got a good reason, when we were kids the three of us were always getting into some mischief or another.'

`The three of us?' Harry queried.

`Yeah,' Ron looked at him expectantly, `You, me, and Neville. The three of us have been best friends since we were about three.' Seeing Harry's blank and surprised look Ron continued, `Anyway, you're Dad always thought our pranks were funny and you never got in any real trouble for it so whenever we got busted you took the wrap for it. My Mum thinks you're a bad influence.'

Harry nodded, `Right, that's quite weird really because your mum used to love me.'

Ron snorted, `I find that hard to imagine.'

The adults were still arguing but Harry decided they'd delayed for long enough.

`That's enough!' He boomed, `I don't know what you think is happening here, Molly, but this is my show, not yours. You were given an out at the very beginning and you didn't take it, for yourself or your son. This is not some prank I've planned; this is an extremely important and sensitive mission and I'll be damned if I leave behind someone who knows the details and could compromise the entire thing.'

Molly was still looking mutinous so Harry continued, using the most authoritative tone he could muster, `If you think I don't take this seriously think about how long it would have taken to gather the intelligence necessary for these plans, think about how long it would have taken to make all those Portkey's and all of those shields. This is not something I've done lightly and Ron and Neville have helped Hermione and I plan it all.' Though the last part of the statement wasn't strictly true Harry didn't feel it was really a lie either, and if a lie was necessary to get his friends help on this then he considered it a small price to pay.

`I just don't think you realise how badly someone could get hurt.' She said, her voice now small.

`You don't think I realise that someone could die? Or that if someone is held under the Cruciatus curse for long enough then they can be driven insane? Or that people can lose limbs or worse? Because I do. I realise all of that. You obviously see everything I've done since I've been at Hogwarts as a series of pranks but I can tell you now that facing Voldemort when he was sticking out the back of my teachers head, was not fun. Neither was having to fight a twenty foot Basilisk when I was twelve, to save your daughter.'

The room was so silent that a pin could have been heard to drop.

`I don't mean to put to fine a point on it, Molly, because I've got a lot of respect for you. But I know that if you think about it you'll realise that by the time we were thirteen, we'd faced Voldemort more times than you had in your entire life. So I don't think I'm the one who doesn't understand what we're about to face.'

`I see,' Mrs Weasley replied coldly, `and I suppose this is nothing like the half-baked idea you came up with last year that almost got the four of you killed?'

Harry had no idea what she was talking about and her new attitude towards him was really starting to get irritating, `Well, you know the details of both plans as well as I do, what do you think? Is this plan half-baked?'

Unexpectedly it was Mr Longbottom who answered, `The lad is right, Molly. I didn't like that stunt they pulled last year any more than you did but this is an entirely different matter. Not only is it well thought out but it's got a very real chance of being successful. Besides if they've planned it, they've got a right to participate in it.'

Molly's lips thinned but Mr Longbottom kept talking, `We won't have all four of them on one team anyway. We'll have Neville and Ron with the four of us,' he said indicating himself, Mrs Longbottom and Mr Weasley, `Charlie, Kingsley, Tonks and Filius, while Harry and Hermione can go with Lilly, James, Sirius, Lyra, Remus, Sabine, Hagrid, and Minerva.'

Harry was a little miffed at his plans being completely taken over but was grateful for the support so he kept his mouth shut and just nodded.

Mr Longbottom looked at Harry and gave him a small smile, `Well lets get going then, Harry, will your team take the front?'

Harry nodded again, `Yes, Mr Longbottom.'

The room began to empty as people started to disapperate, Harry grabbed Ron's arm and held him back for a moment. Ron looked at him quizzically but Harry waited till the room was empty before asking the question he'd been secretly dying to have answered since they'd entered this new time stream.

`Ron, I know now is not a great time for this but, I've got to know, did I ever date Ginny?'

Ron let out a sharp snort of laughter before quickly clapping a hand over his mouth, `Your joking, right?' He asked, obviously holding back more laughter.

Harry shook his head, `I'll take that as a no?'

Ron started to giggle uncontrollably, `That's a definite no, Mate, you've always thought she was a spoiled brat! Are you telling me that there exists a universe in which you not only like her but where you actually dated her?'

Harry shrugged, `There isn't anymore.'

All of Harry's other questions had to be put on hold, it was time to face Voldemort again and Harry was determined that this would be the last time.

A/N - Just wanted to make a note here about apparition, a pre-emptive strike if you will. As I reminded reviewers after chapter 1, the Balm of Time potion “changes the nature of apparition” and the fact that they are apparating through time as well as space means they can get past the Hogwarts anti-apparition wards. Even though the time they are apparating to is “now” this is still true.

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17. Chapter 17 - End Game

A/N - This chapter earns the award for the most procrastinated over chapter ever in the history of everything. Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating. I don't own HP or “Back to the Future”. A huge than you to my BETA's Katia, Dementor149 & Ragavendran.

Chapter 17 - End Game

He sat in his chair facing the fire, watching the flame flicker and dance and trying not to smile too widely. Everything had gone perfectly, better than perfectly in fact. The results of his latest plan had exceeded all of his ambitions and that was not something which happened easily or often. He steepled his fingers against his face in an attempt to hide a smile which continued to grow, being the worlds most powerful Occlumens he was (for the first time in years) having difficulty schooling his features.

Albus Dumbledore was dead, and though it had been achieved through his machinations it had not been undertaken as he had directed. Prior to this night he thought that at best he would get only one thing from this plan, either it would succeed in bringing about the death of Albus Dumbledore or it would fail and provide him with an excuse for the torture and execution of Draco Malfoy.

The Lord Voldemort was rarely surprised and even more rarely pleased but this night was one of those occasions. When the boy had contacted him requesting back up from other Death Eaters he had known that this night would yield results for him at last, finally he would be able to punish the boy at his leisure or he would be able to celebrate the downfall of the Muggle loving fool. He had not suspected that he would be able to do both.

He swung away from the fire, having at last mastered his joy, and faced his assembled Death Eaters. They were insane ghouls every last one of them, but they were as necessary to his plans as was the eventual demise of Harry Potter.

`It appears then, Draco,' he began, his voice high, cold and commanding as befitted a Dark Lord, `That you have both succeeded in your mission, and yet failed at the same time.'

The boy looked up in alarm, clearly Draco had been practicing Occlumency yet his mind control was not sufficient to prevent the most powerful Dark Lord in centuries from easily seeing his thoughts.

`I see that you thought you would be rewarded! Well, perhaps you shall in time, when you have shown yourself worthy of the Dark Mark which I have so graciously bestowed upon you.'

For a moment none of the assembled Death Eaters moved even an inch but then with a petrified shriek Narcissa Malfoy flung herself on the ground at his feet.

`Please, my Lord, please, spare my son.'

Now he allowed himself a cruel smile, he did so enjoy it when a woman grovelled at his feet and begged. He reached down and pulled off the Death Eater mask which covered her face, then grabbed her by her long blonde hair and pulled her to her feet.

`You are a disgrace to the name Death Eater!' He spat the words into her snivelling face, `you care more for your pathetic offspring than you do for the will of your lord.'

She was crying, her eyes red and her face ugly and blotchy but she did not deny the accusation. Her lack of response to the charges he had levelled against her was infuriating.

`You disgust me,' He spat at her and then threw her at the crowd of assembled Death Eaters, they parted like the Red Sea and she landed on the hard wood floor. But she was not his concern for the moment; he was far more interested in ensuring her son met with the proper punishment. He fingered his wand lovingly as he thought about the delicious torment he was about to dish out.

He pointed it idly at his victim, `Crucio!'

The boy's cries filled the room and he delighted in the sound of the young man's torment, his cries had the same adolescent quality to them as the young Harry Potter and were therefore most delightful to him. He lifted the spell and watched as Draco panted trying to catch his breath. Bella had told him how she had sent people insane using this spell and he wondered if a little insanity was just what the young Mr Malfoy needed. The Death Eaters watched as he paced in front of the prostrate boy, Narcissa had regained her feet but did not dare to intervene again. It was in that moment of stillness, everyone waiting and watching that a sharp piercing noise rent the air.

Vaguely Voldemort noticed his Death Eaters began to whisper frantically, but he paid them no mind. Nor did he pay any further attention to the young man lying at his feet; his full attention now was turned to listening, his mind working quickly over the possibilities of what the noise could be. Only seconds passed before the crashing sound of splintering wood filled the air.

`My Lord,' began one of his Death Eaters, `Are we under attack?'

`Ridiculous!' He snapped immediately, and it was ridiculous. Who would possibly know where to find him, who would dare? But no sooner had the word exited his mouth than muffled footfalls could be heard below.

`Avery, McNair,' He snapped, addressing two of his most faithful and competent Death Eaters, `Take Crabbe, Goyle and Gibbon and deal with this ... situation.'

The five Death Eaters looked at each other uneasily but hastened to obey their master's order. The other Death Eaters looked no easier about the orders given but none made any move to gainsay him, just as it should be, he thought with satisfaction. The blood of Salazar Slytherin flowed through his veins, however noble or ancient the families of these assembled wizards were his heritage was by far the greatest. It was only right that they should bow to his superior judgement. He turned back to the prostrate boy on the floor, he was confident that whatever they might find below his five Death Eaters would dispatch it easily enough, it was time for him to return to the task at hand.

`Now, Draco, I don't like to punish you,' he began, his voice soft and silky, from down below he heard his Death Eaters casting curses and smiled, `I want to see you fulfil your potential and become one of the greatest and most feared Death Eaters of all time.'

The sound of the curses faded, and no further sound came from below the stairs. Confident that their victory was secure he continued with his speech.

`But we cannot have a Death Eater who is afraid to kill, so I have no choice but to ensure that however much you fear killing... you fear me more.' He raised his wand and was about to cast the curse again when it suddenly occurred to him that no noise had come from below the stairs for some minutes and none of his five Death Eaters had returned.

He frowned and looked at his other assembled followers, `Dolohov,' he snapped addressing one of the more competent of the crowd, `Find out what is keeping Avery and McNair.'

Voldemort was not particularly concerned about the other three Death Eaters he had sent, Gibbon was a mediocre wizard at best and Crabbe and Goyle were downright incompetent. He looked back to the blonde haired youth on the floor before him.

`Now, where was I?' he tapped his wand to his chin as though considering the matter, `Ah, yes, that's right.' He raised his wand and pointed it, `I want you to fear me more. Crucio!'

Once more the pain-filled screams of the young main resounded in his ears delightfully, but he only enjoyed them for a few seconds before he was once more interrupted, this time by Dolohov rushing back into the room.

`My Lord,' the fool panted, `they are no-where to be seen!'

The other Death Eaters began to babble excitedly, their noise buzzed irritatingly through his head, `Did you conduct a thorough search of the premises?' He snapped irritably, his night had begun so well.

Dolohov's eyes seemed to bug out from his head, `No, My Lord, I thought it unwise to go alone into an area where five Death Eaters have already disappeared.'

The buzzing from the other Death Eaters intensified as they realised that to all intents and purposes Dolohov had just called his Lord “unwise”. Voldemort stared into the man's enfeebled brain, he considered himself well within his rights to kill the fool where he stood for such insolence and yet a small part of him could acknowledge the truth of his words. He turned away from the crowd and back towards his fire which was still flickering in its grate and considered the possibilities.

`There is only one person, surely, who is both foolish enough and arrogant enough to mount such an attack against me.' The noise of the Death Eaters abated as they realised what their Master was saying, `this must be the work of Potter!' he growled the name; he wished he could grind the insignificant bug into dust. The child was an irritating fly and it was beyond time that this particular fly was squashed.

He turned back to his Death Eaters so quickly that his cloak swished around him, `Death Eaters, get down there and destroy them for their insolence. Do not take the stairs.'

The Death Eaters marched out of the room, each of them with a determined set to their shoulders.

`Severus, I want you and Dolohov to stay behind with me.'

Draco was picking himself up of the floor and preparing to leave the room, but Voldemort stopped him.

`Draco, if you ever want to become a truly feared Death Eater now is your moment to prove it to me. I want you to bring me the head of Harry James Potter.'

Draco paled and gulped but nodded, `Good boy then,' Voldemort said now, thoroughly pleased with his own cunning, `off you go.' A confrontation with Potter was exactly what the child needed. Potter wouldn't hesitate like the old fool had, Draco would either kill Potter or be captured by him and either way he would cease to be another problem.

Draco scampered out into the hall as fast as he could, before The Dark Lord could change his mind. He had thought, or rather hoped, that after what he'd accomplished tonight he would be one of the Dark Lords most favoured, but instead he had returned here in disgrace. He knew that he wouldn't be killed for his failure, since it wasn't absolute and he had succeeded in bringing about the death of Albus Dumbledore. Draco swallowed the bitterness that rose in his throat with that thought; it was his fault that Professor Dumbledore was dead there was no getting around it. Even if he hadn't cast the curse himself he had made it possible and that act alone was enough to seal his fate. The only thing that could make his fate bearable was to win favour with the Dark Lord.

Draco raised his head high and squared his shoulders, his resolution made; he would fulfil his potential and become one of the most feared Death Eaters of all time. He would present his master with the head of Harry Potter.

He took a few steps away from the closed door at his back and almost fell into the hole in the floor; obviously this was the solution that the other Death Eaters had found to getting around the stairs. They had simply blasted a hole in the floor and dropped down to the lower level that way. Draco looked into the hole. Plaster dust filled the air only broken by spell fire slicing through at random intervals. Through the haze he could see at least ten people duelling with each other and, if the spell fire was any indication, there were far more beyond the range of his sight.

It seemed that, by now, taking the stairs might be safer than following the way the other Death Eaters had gone. He skirted cautiously around the hole in the floor and made it to the top of the stairs but what he saw next made all rational thought flee his mind.

In the hall, near the foot of the stairs, lay his father. He was sprawled face down with one of his arms was bent at an odd angle beneath him. Aside from his father the hall was empty so Draco jogged down the steps towards the elder Malfoy. He had only made it down the top few when Harry Potter skidded into the hallway on his knees. Potter slapped something unceremoniously onto the unconscious man's back and then Draco's father was whisked from view. Potter stood up and looked ready to re-join the battle raging in the other room. Draco saw red; he let out a howl of rage and launched himself down the last remaining stairs towards his enemy.

Harry looked up just in time to see Malfoy rushing towards him and had just enough time to send the first spell he could think of at Draco's feet. It was only a trip jinx, but after what Harry remembered happening just that night between Malfoy and Dumbledore in the Headmasters office he wanted to give Malfoy a chance at least. His aim was true and the spell hit Draco's feet causing him to go flying face first into the floor.

`Malfoy, you don't have to...' Harry began, but he didn't get a chance to finish, Malfoy aimed a killing curse at him.

The spell struck Harry's shield and re-bounded off into a wall, `Stuff this!' Harry said. All thoughts of giving Malfoy a second chance now fled his mind. Whatever misgivings Malfoy had about killing the headmaster obviously didn't apply to him and Harry wasn't about to give him another chance. He fired off a disarming spell without another thought. The spell hit Draco as he was pushing himself up off the floor; it caught him right in the chest and flipped him up into the air. He landed at the top of the stairs with a resounding thud, his head cracked against the floor.

Harry rushed up the stairs trying to be quick as well as quiet. Voldemort was still up here with Merlin only knew how many Death Eaters; he would have to quickly get rid of Draco and then return to the rest of the group still fighting Death Eaters downstairs. He slapped the Portkey on Malfoy's robes and sent him off with his father. He half turned ready to head back when the flickering of firelight caught his eye. The door to the room was open and the opportunity to gather information was too overwhelming to resist. He skirted his way around the hole in the floor and with extreme caution he approached the door, but something made him pause only a few feet from the door. If there were multiple Death Eaters still inside, as well as Voldemort, it wouldn't do for him to be caught out here.

He peered into the hole in the floor, plaster dust still clouded the air and spell fire in the room below was thick. The hole in the floor was obviously not a safe escape route. He looked at the Portkey on his robes but dismissed that idea just as quickly; he didn't want to go back to Hogwarts until this was all over so using the Portkey as an escape route was not an option either. He could hear voices in the room and he longed to move closer, but he didn't dare, not until he could think of a way to move through the wards...

Harry nearly slapped himself on the forehead. It was so simple, he didn't know why he hadn't thought of it sooner. He quickly took the flask from his pocket, unscrewed the lid and took a sip before returning it to the pocket of his robes. Now if he was caught and outnumbered he could just apparate and return to the others.

He crept closer to the door inching it open slightly and peering inside.

`It strikes me as odd that a place which has been so long a secret should be discovered tonight, of all nights.'

It was Voldemort speaking, Harry could see only Snape and one other Death Eater within, he thought he could count on Snape to back him up but Harry was not keen to test the theory.

`My Lord I assure you...' Snape began, but he was cut off by the other Death Eater.

`Your assurances mean little around here, Severus,' the Death Eater sneered, `and I'm sure that an accomplished Legilemens like yourself knows exactly what I'm talking about.'

Snape whipped around to face the other Death Eater, `your puerile attack means little to me, Dolohov, if you cannot possess sufficient conviction to even give voice to your thoughts. Need I remind you of what I have accomplished tonight? I was responsible for the Death of Albus Dumbledore.'

`Do not remind us all of your failures, you did not secure the wand for me as I requested!' Voldemort snapped

`I could not my Lord, I have already explained...'

The other Death Eater intercepted again, `Yes, Severus, always quick with an explanation, aren't you?' He raised his wand but Snape was quicker. His curse hit Dolohov in the chest before he had a chance to even fire off a spell.

Time seemed to slow down to Harry, as Snape had turned to face his assailant on one side, and shot a spell in that direction he was forced to turn his back on another enemy. He failed to see Voldemort raise his wand preparing to strike.

Harry only had a split second to decide what to do, but it was all he needed. He had seen enough, whether Snape was with him or not was now irrelevant. Voldemort was alone but for one man, of questionable loyalty, and this might be the best opportunity that Harry ever got. Without another thought he flung himself into the room, with one arm he thrust his shield between Snape and the deadly curse and with the other he pushed Snape aside.

The Potions master hit the wall with a resounding thud but Harry could not spare him a glance, he had revealed himself to Voldemort and now it was time to end it. He steadied himself on his feet, his shield and his wand both held ready.

`Well, if it isn't Harry Potter, I had a feeling you were behind this latest piece of arrogance.'

Harry scoffed at Voldemort calling him arrogant, `That's a bit rich, isn't it? For you to accuse anyone of arrogance when you're so full of it yourself.'

Voldemort smiled and the expression caused a shiver to go down Harry's spine, seeing Voldemort smile was truly a horrific sight and one he hoped never to see again after tonight.

`Ah, Harry, you are so young... it really is almost a pity that you are about to die.'

Voldemort shot a killing curse at him but Harry deflected easily with his shield, the deflected spell hit the ceiling causing some plaster to fall away.

`You've been telling me that since I was a year old, and I'm not dead yet.' Harry stated confidently, firing his own spell in return. It was Aufero Veneficus, the spell which Hermione had found to strip Voldemort of his magic, if only Harry could hit him with it.

Voldemort laughed at him, `Is that the best you can do, Harry? Why it's possible that you are even more incompetent than Draco, did you know that I ordered him to bring me your head?'

`No, but then I didn't get much chance to talk to him before I sent him off to Azkaban with his father.'

Voldemort frowned at this news, `I'm surprised you have accomplished so much, especially considering that all of your previous success has been purely down to luck.'

Now it was Harry's turn to laugh, `Luck was it? You are more ignorant than you have any idea of, you can't even imagine the power I have behind me that has gotten me here today.'

`Tsk, tsk, Harry, I thought you weren't conceited.' Voldemort chided him and sent another killing curse sizzling through the air. It was cast so quickly that Harry almost didn't get his shield up in time. The spell caught the edge of the shield and sent it spinning off out the window.

Harry returned spell fire but again it was easily deflected, `I'm not talking about my power, you think for a moment that I don't realise I couldn't have done any of the things I have done without the help of the people who love me?'

`Ah I see, you really have swallowed the entire cauldron full of Albus Dumbledore's lies haven't you? The much vaunted power of love, well, enlighten me dear boy, what has the power of love ever really given you?'

Harry grinned, but it was a malicious grin which felt odd and foreign to him, `I could talk until I was blue in the face and it wouldn't help to enlighten you. Some people are beyond reach, though I hesitate in calling you a person.'

Voldemort's nostrils flared in irritation. He brandished his wand like a lasso and the floor beneath Harry's feet began to boil and bubble. Heat radiated up through his sneakers but Harry quickly levitated himself off the ground before shooting his spell at Voldemort once more, he hoped that Voldemort might be distracted enough to not block it in time but it was not to be.

He laughed and flicked the spell away as though it were nothing more than a fly, `You honestly think you are a match for me? You could train for the next twenty years and still not be my match.'

He cast the killing curse again and this time Harry dodged it. The spell hit the wall behind him and the resulting blast filled the room with plaster dust. `You honestly think I'm not your match?' Harry called back, firing off his spell once more, `You marked me as your equal! Or didn't you know that's what the prophecy said?' He fired off the spell again, five times in rapid succession.

Voldemort's only response was to flick them all aside and laugh, `There is not a spell you could throw at me that I could not block or dodge,' he flicked his wand again and Harry suddenly found himself upside down, `You on the other hand are now completely at my mercy.'

Harry struggled for a moment against the invisible bonds that held him and watched helpless as Voldemort raised his wand one final time, `There will be no more running from your fate Harry Potter, you can't get away from me now. It's time for you to die.'

Harry felt like something exploded in his brain, when Voldemort said the word time he suddenly remembered the precaution he'd taken before approaching the room. Harry closed his eyes and focused very hard, trying to ignore the beam of green light erupting from Voldemort's wand, he apparated through time and space once more. When he opened his eyes he was standing behind Voldemort. He raised his wand and pressed it against his enemy's skull and for the first time in months he spoke a spell aloud, so that there could be no mistake of his intent.

`Aufero Veneficus!' he cried.

Voldemort had no time for anything his eyes widened in horror at the same moment as the spell hit his head. It ripped through his mind and down his body like a tidal wave and when it reached his feet it exploded like an atomic bomb.

A wave of pure energy swept out from his body and threw everything out of its path, the windows shattered, and the walls were blown apart. Harry was thrown backwards into the fireplace and hit his head on the bricks. He blacked out for a moment and when he came too there was a terrible groaning noise as the roof began to fall in on top of him.

Bricks, chunks of plaster and beams of wood began to fall on top of him and all around him. Harry heard something crack as a large chunk of ceiling and roof fell on top of his legs and pain seared through him. One of his legs, at least, was definitely broken. Through the pain he realised that even if he could walk there was no way he would get out of here under his own power.

Another chunk of ceiling fell and Harry began to lose consciousness again, he had to get out of there and quickly. If he didn't get out before the roof came down there was no doubt in his mind that he would die in the rubble. He pulled his arm out from under the debris that was already half covering him and moved to touch it to his emergency Portkey.

Another loud groan came from the house and the chimney started to collapse. Bricks rained down on top of him and Harry lost consciousness.

He didn't realise that the rubble pushed his hand, which still held his wand, onto the emergency Portkey which was still pinned to his chest, he didn't feel the jerk behind his navel when the Portkey whisked him away and he was not aware of it when he arrived safely back in the Hogwarts Hospital wing.

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18. Chapter 18 - A whole new world

A/N - This is it... the final Chapter. I still don't own Harry Potter or Back to the Future. I'm still not making any money from this. All of the hard work I've put into this story has been purely for my own enjoyment and of course for yours too. Thank you again to my BETA's Katia, Dementor149 & Ragavendran, your advice and assistance has been invaluable. Sorry this took so long.

Chapter 18 - A whole new world.

Harry returned to consciousness slowly, all around him was grey and quiet and, for just a moment, he thought he might have died again. The thought only lasted a moment though, because as soon as he tried to sit up he knew that he wasn't dead. His head throbbed painfully and there was something, or rather someone, warm and soft draped over his chest.

His arms were heavy, as though they were moving through water rather than air, but with some effort he was able to raise them enough to touch the person lying across his chest. He felt warm skin and soft hair and he knew immediately that it had to be Hermione. He had not entertained any real doubt that that it was her, but after two years of sharing a bed with her there was no mistaking the feel of her soft skin and even softer hair.

At the touch of his hand she was immediately awake, he still couldn't see her but he felt the absence of her warmth when she sat up and the small amount of weight that had been resting on his chest lifted.

`He's awake!' He heard her say, then in more hushed gentle tones she addressed him, `Harry, can you hear me?'

He tried to nod but his head and neck ached too much, he tried to speak but his throat seemed to have closed up. He felt Hermione's hand in his, warm, soft and comforting.

`It's alright, Harry, just squeeze my hand if you can hear me.'

With infinite effort he closed his fingers on hers and was rewarded with a soft kiss to the cheek. Harry was sure that if he could smile, he was.

He heard her voice again, now clearly talking to someone else, `Do you think he's going to be okay, Madame Pomfrey?'

He didn't get a chance to hear the response though because he had already faded from consciousness again.

When Harry next woke he felt much more himself, his head was clear and his arms didn't feel anywhere near as much like lead. He opened his eyes but, as usual, his vision was blurred. He reached out beside the bed and found his glasses. When he had them on he discovered that he was in the Hogwarts hospital wing, again. Harry smiled, he was happier to be there than he would have ever thought possible. Hermione was seated in the chair next to his bed, her cheek rested on the corner of his pillow and she was breathing deeply, fast asleep.

Harry smiled and stroked her hair from her face, it was a move that he'd used countless times in the past two years but on this occasion it felt more special and intimate than it ever had before. Hermione stirred at his touch and opened her eyes, when she saw him a smile lit up her face and she looked so beautiful that she absolutely took Harry's breath away.

`You are so beautiful,' he whispered.

He felt so overpowered by emotion that whisper was all he could do, he loved her so much and felt so grateful that they were both here and both still alive. With that thought occurred others as Harry realized that he had no idea if any one else had made it out of the house alive.

`Is everyone else...' Harry couldn't finish his question, but he didn't need to, Hermione's eyes dropped to the floor and that told him everything he needed to know.

He knew that someone had died.

He had tried so hard to make his plans foolproof but even with all his efforts part of him had known that some would not make it.

`Who?' he asked, dreading the answer even as he asked the question.

Hermione met his eyes again, `We lost Tonks and Mad-Eye to killing curses.'

Harry swore, `What happened to their shields?'

`It was the heat of battle, Harry, they were hit in the back and we don't even know where the curses came from.'

Harry nodded, `but, everyone else is all right?'

Hermione looked down at the floor again and shook her head, Harry held his breath while he waited for her to speak, `Snape and Charlie Weasley were both caught in the house when it collapsed, they only found the bodies yesterday.'

Harry rubbed a hand across his face, `I had no idea the spell could do that, there was nothing in our research to suggest it was even possible...' he trailed off unable to continue. Harry couldn't pretend he would miss Snape but, considering everything he owed to the man, he did wish that he hadn't died. Charlie's death was much harder to deal with, Harry hadn't known him very well but he still felt the loss keenly. Charlie was Ron's brother and as far as he was concerned a brother of Ron's was a brother of his.

`I know, Harry, and everyone else does too. You've been out for a few days and I've had plenty of time to talk to them about it, they all know that there was no way we could have known what would happen. Besides those emergency Portkeys saved several people and the shields saved all of us at least ten times each.'

Harry nodded again, `There were more, weren't there? More deaths, I mean... who else died, Hermione?'

She looked into his eyes as though trying to judge whether he really could take the news she was about to give him.

`Hagrid,' she said finally.

Harry buried his face in his hands and tried to stem the flow of tears; Hermione put her arms around him and held him. For a few moments no words were spoken between them.

When Harry finally looked up they both had eyes rimmed red with tears, `he was my first friend' Harry choked out.

`I know, Harry,' she said softly, she paused for a moment and then added, `But I think he would have been happy for you, if he'd known.'

Harry nodded, he knew she was right, the Hagrid he had known, not to mention Charlie, Kingsley, Tonks, and Moody would have all been thrilled that Harry had his family returned to him. It didn't change the fact that he would miss them, Hagrid especially, and wish that things could be different.

Hermione offered him a slight smile, `I know it doesn't make it any easier.'

They lapsed into silence again for a moment, until Hermione squeezed his hand.

`I promised your parents I'd send them a note as soon as you woke up. They couldn't stay and wait themselves because,' Hermione paused and grinned, `well, I'll let them tell you that. Anyway, do you mind if I quickly run to the owlery?'

Harry shook his head, `Of course not, I'd love to see my parents.'

Hermione smiled at him again and, with a final quick squeeze of his hand, she left the room.

When the door closed behind her, Harry now had time to think of the bad news she'd given him. He knew that his action in taking down Voldemort so efficiently had probably saved tens or even hundreds of lives. He also knew that the shields and the Portkeys, not to mention the detailed plans that he'd drawn up, had saved the lives of many of the people who had gone with him not to mention saving his own life. Yet somehow none of that could even reduce the sting of loss he felt at the news of those of his friends who had died.

They had all been not just his friends but the friends of a great many other people that he probably didn't even know and he grieved for them too. Intellectually he knew that he was not responsible for their deaths but he still felt that he was, it wasn't rational but it was how he felt. Sitting alone in the hospital wing Harry allowed himself to wallow in his grief for a few minutes and let his mind replay all of the good times he'd shared with each of his fallen friends. He did dwell primarily on Hagrid but, since he'd spent by far the most time with his large friend than he had with any of the others so he thought that was natural.

He hadn't been alone long however before the door to the infirmary opened again. Harry quickly collected himself and looked over towards the door. He had expected to see Hermione returned from the owlery but was surprised to see his little sister Jazzy timidly entering the room. The words "his little sister" echoed in his brain, it was only the second time he'd even seen her and he was still getting used to the idea that he had a little sister at all. She came up and stood by his bed as he just stared blankly at her until the silence was broken by her speaking.

`Hermione said you were awake.'

Harry snapped out of his stupor, she must have thought he was brain damaged with the way he'd just stared at her so he spoke quickly to assure her that he was okay.

`Yeah, just woke up not even half an hour ago.'

Jazzy nodded, `I was so worried about you,' she looked on the verge of tears and paused before adding quietly, `Hermione said she told you about Charlie.'

With a start it suddenly occurred to Harry that, having known Ron since he was three he must have known Charlie just as long and far from being virtual strangers they were probably quite close. Harry only nodded in response and to his very great surprise Jazzy flung herself at his neck in a violent hug.

`Don't ever do anything like that again!' she demanded bawling all over him.

Harry put his arms around her and hugged her back a bit awkwardly. He wasn't used to this level of emotional concern about his well being from anyone but Hermione, but he was beginning to suspect that with parents still alive and at least one younger sibling he would have to get used to it very quickly.

Jazzy pulled back and glared at him ferociously, `you won't do anything like that again, will you?' She demanded.

'I won't, I promise.'

This reassurance seemed to be good enough for Jazzy because she tightened her grip on Harry's neck and buried her face in his chest once more. As he held her there, his initial awkwardness began to give way to an ease and comfort he had not expected and a small kernel of warmth burrowed its way into his heart. His grief remained, like a constant dull ache, but the longer he held his little sister the more reasons he found to be happy and look forward in a positive way.

He and Hermione had done the seemingly impossible, they had travelled through time, destroyed the Horcruxes, saved his parents and both lived to tell the tale. It wasn't just he and his parents who had benefited from the adventure either. Neville had grown up not with the severe Grandmother, in whose eyes he was never quite good enough, but rather with parents who loved and supported him. Neville's parents had been spared from a lifetime of insanity, Sirius hadn't died or spent thirteen years in Azkaban, Lupin had never been left alone and friendless and the small quivering girl in his arms had been given life where none had existed before.

Harry took a deep breath and tightened his arms around his little sister. His eyes filled with un-shed tears and the tiny kernel of happiness that had wormed its way into his heart unfurled and grew. He'd barely known her an hour but he already adored his little sister (his mind stilled reeled in wonder over even being able to call anyone that), he stroked her soft hair absently.

'Shhh,' he whispered to her as her sobbing continued unabated, 'it's going to be okay,' he whispered.

A feeling of wonder settled over him and he repeated the words in a daze, 'everything will be okay.'

For the first time in his life Harry knew that it was really true, nothing could change it now, the fight was over and everything really was going to be okay.

The last few weeks of the semester flew by, there were still the usual classes to attend and exams to sit but Harry and Hermione had other things to worry about as well. The testimonies that they had to give in the trials of various Death Eaters, including the Malfoy's, took a lot longer than Harry would have thought possible. The trials went smoothly, despite being a bit of a media circus, and they provided good contrast to the funerals. The six funerals were all held on different days culminating with Charlie's.

Ron had been at home with his parents and the rest of his family for a week following the Death of his brother. Harry wished that he could have been there for his friend but he also knew that it wasn't his place.

The first week back at Hogwarts was the most difficult, with all of the funerals and the trials on top of their regular classes they also had to try not to speak to anyone too much. Without Ron there to help them out of difficult situations they lived in constant fear of saying the wrong thing. But for Harry the hardest part of it all was not being able to crawl into bed beside Hermione at the end of each day. He hadn't realised how much comfort he got from just being able to hold her while he slept until he was no longer able to do it. They had only been back for a few days before they both agreed that they would move in together as soon as they finished Hogwarts. Until then there wasn't much they could do except try to get used to sleeping alone again.

The few short weeks they spent at school after returning from the past were the most surreal of Harry's life. Everything was the same and yet, in the most unexpected ways, it was completely different as well. Truthfully, he'd never been so happy to leave Hogwarts in his life as he was on the day that term finally ended for the year. But he'd never had a home to go back to before either.

The house was very much as he remembered it and Harry didn't even try to stop himself from grinning madly as he dragged his trunk upstairs to his bedroom. He pushed the door open with his foot and hauled his trunk into the room, dumping it at the foot of his bed with a thump. The room glowed with the warmth of the afternoon sun and Harry stopped for a moment to look around and take it all in.

On the surface this bedroom was much like his room at the Dursleys had been. A single bed stood along the wall opposite the door with a window above it, the foot of the bed faced a desk and the closet stood next to it. To Harry however the similarities were superficial but the differences were as distinct as they were significant. There was no trace of any bars having ever been on this window, there were no locks on the outside of the door and certainly no cat flap in the bottom. Instead Quidditch posters of Puddlemere United and Gryffindor pennants adorned the walls. The Tri-Wizard cup stood gleaming on the bookcase and performed the job of a bookend for various magical books ranging the light hearted, like Quidditch and pranking, to the more serious books on Defence or text books from previous years. It was the bedroom he'd always dreamed of.

Harry flopped down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling, he could see the faint outline of glow zone stars and the sight caused him to smile. Dudley had gotten glow zone stars in his bedroom for his ninth birthday and Harry had always been so jealous of them. He idly wondered how old he'd been when they'd been put up on his walls.

The sun was streaming in through the window and Harry closed his eyes to enjoy the warmth of it on his skin and savour the feeling of being at home for the first time in his life. He could hear the noise of his family down stairs. Jazzy was in the kitchen talking to their mother while she prepared them all something to eat. His four year old brother Jake (the reason his parents hadn't been able to stay at the school to wait for him to wake up) was zooming around the living room pretending to be a Quidditch player complete with commentary and loudly approving fans.

A smile played across Harry's lips, it was so good to finally be home.

A board creaked in the hall floor outside his bedroom and Harry sat up, alert and wand at the ready but then felt extremely foolish when he saw it was only his Dad. Harry smiled at him and put away his wand away, he still wasn't used to not having his life in danger.

'Hey sport, how's it going?' James asked sitting down on the edge of the bed next to Harry.

Harry smiled and nodded, 'Yeah, I'm doing okay.'

It was probably the simplification of the century, given everything that he'd gone through and everything he felt at that moment, but James nodded as though he understood all of the thoughts that Harry had left unspoken.

'I don't imagine these past few weeks have been easy for you.'

Harry nodded ruefully, 'Well in some ways yes and in others.... no, not at all.'

James lips twitched in a small smile, 'You know, I.... ' he trailed off as though unsure of himself and Harry, who knew his father well enough from their time spent together in the past to know how uncharacteristic this was in him, looked at him curiously.

James coughed and tried again, 'I know you aren't the young man that grew up in this bedroom, I knew it as soon as I saw you that night in Dumbledore's office.' Harry gaped at his father but James only smiled at him and continued, 'I don't think anyone but your mum and I could tell the difference,' he laughed then, 'though Jazzy did mention in a couple of her letters that you've been acting a bit weird lately.'

'You're not disappointed are you?' Harry couldn't stop himself from asking, 'to have me rather than him, I mean.'

James laughed again, 'There is no you and him. You are him. You are my son and I've always been very proud of you.' James lay an arm across his son's shoulders reassuringly, 'The only reason I brought it up,' he continued, 'is because I wanted you to know about the pensieve.'

Harry looked at his father confused, 'The pensieve?' he asked.

James nodded, 'Your mum and I knew this would happen eventually, well, we suspected it would anyway... we weren't completely sure how this would work.' James shook his head as though this was all irrelevant now, 'the point is we decided to prepare for this, just in case we needed to, so for your eighth birthday we bought you a pensieve and I taught you the spell to store your memories there.' James smiled at the memory, 'I was so proud of how quickly you picked up that spell, of course you had to borrow a wand till you turned eleven.' He laughed out loud and rumpled Harry's hair, 'and you've never let anyone look in it, but.... I know it's hidden in a "secret" compartment at the bottom of your trunk and I know that the password is three taps of your wand.'

James laughed at Harry's shocked expression, 'Don't look at me like that!' he exclaimed, ruffling his son's hair again, 'I've never looked in it, I just had to know where it was and how to get to it! If I hadn't how else would you be able to use it now?'

Harry conceded the point with a nod, 'Fair enough'

James stood up and scruffed Harry's hair again, a gesture which at first had delighted Harry but now was getting a little annoying. Harry ducked his head away and James laughed, 'anyway, I'll leave you to it. I expect you want to get started exploring that pensieve of yours.'

Harry grinned, 'Thanks, Dad.'

James smiled at his son, 'No problem.'

His father had only been out the door a second but Harry was already on his knees in front of the trunk digging through his Hogwarts gear searching for the hidden compartment. He had to completely empty the trunk before he found it and as promised it clicked open with three taps of his wand. Harry picked it out, placed it reverently on his desk, and then just stood and stared at it. He almost couldn't wait to get started but at the same time something made him hesitate.

'You've only been home ten minutes and already you've made a mess of your room' a familiar voice scolded him teasingly from the doorway.

Harry turned and grinned at Hermione, 'My parents bought me a pensieve,' he said, instead of "Hello"

Hermione nodded, 'That was nice of them.'

Harry's grin broadened, it was so rare that Hermione didn't understand something immediately, 'No, they bought me a pensieve for my eighth birthday.'

Hermione's mouth formed an "OH" of surprise.

'Want to go for a walk down memory lane?' asked Harry teasingly.

Hermione nodded enthusiastically. He held out his hand and she clasped it with her own as she came to stand beside him. Harry gazed down at her as she looked up at him. Then they went into their next adventure the same way they'd gone into all of their previous ones, together.

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