A Promise Restored

MapleMountain

Rating: PG13
Genres: Romance, Action & Adventure
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 7
Published: 11/07/2011
Last Updated: 11/02/2012
Status: in_progress

This story is the promised, but much delayed sequel to my much earlier (December 2004-July 2005) story Keeping A Promise.

Chapters

1. Prologue

2. A Promise Rendered

3. A PROMISE REVEALED

4. A Promise Remembered

5. A PROMISE REDACTED

1. Prologue

A Promise Restored

Summary: This story is the long-promised, but much delayed sequel to my much earlier (December 2004-July 2005) story Keeping a Promise. If you haven’t read it already, or if it has been a long time since you read it, I would highly recommend that you do so before starting on this one. If you don’t, I’m certain you will be confused trying to follow along in this story. This shouldn’t be especially critical until the third chapter, though. To help you, I will be providing links to external reference material as needed. Now I’ll wait for you to finish. Portkey’s stats show there are only 261,669 words (in 50+ chapters) for you to read.

(*Jeopardy Think Music plays...and plays...and plays...*)

So, you’re done already? You must be a very fast reader if you can finish it in 3 hours!

DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter and related characters are the property of JK Rowling, various publishing companies, Warner Brothers, etc. I’m not making any money from this. If I were, I’d probably get a newer computer or something.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: First, thanks to my beta and friend, IronChefOR, for agreeing to help me with this story over the last few years. Without him to both bounce ideas against and to get some great ideas from, the story you see here would not have been possible. I don’t know if the final product is “thrilling” and “exciting” enough for him, but I hope it at least ends up being “interesting” enough. (That’s a private joke, BTW.)

Second, my thanks to one of my favorite Portkey authors, romulus lupin, who “led by example” when he began posting Grâce au Malfoys way back in April of 2009. Prior to that posting, I had been considering the idea of writing something new (either a sequel or a new short story) for Portkey, but when I started reading his wonderfully detailed story, the metaphorical wheels started turning in my head, then one thing led to another...and this is the result. I’m sorry it took so long, but I’ve been quite busy with “Real Life” and that tends to take priority over my writing.

Third, I thank those of you who have left reviews on Keeping a Promise or emailed me asking if I was ever going to write a sequel to “repair” the canon timeline as documented in Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows in the same manner I had done in Keeping a Promise for the first five books. Without your encouragement and the influence of a certain muse who will remain nameless for now, I wouldn’t have considered writing this sequel.

Since I’ve been involved in the past as a beta for IronChefOR’s Their Way and my daughter Renaiya880727’s stories, I have intentionally avoided reading most of the post-DH Portkey stories (with the exception of Grâce au Malfoys, and, more recently, Return to Sender) just so I won’t inadvertently pick up anyone else’s ideas or storylines. Any similarity between this story and any other fan fiction on Portkey or elsewhere is, I assure you, PURELY coincidental, although as you’ll see as you read the story, the basic idea is nothing really new. Please read/review and let me know what you think!

Chapter One

Prologue

20 August 2119

Number twelve, Grimmauld Place

“Lily?”

The tall, dark-haired young man took one more step up the ancient staircase, holding his lit wand, looking and listening for any signs of life or possibly a glint of wand light. He had only found the hidden entrance to this stairwell by sheer luck. While most of the household had been unsuccessfully searching for his sister all day, at this moment the early evening light was such that he just happened to notice (maybe it was his Seeker’s eye) a faint partial footprint that seemed to go under the baseboard downstairs in the entryway.

As of now, however, the only sound he heard was his own heart beating in his ears; the stairs were steep and numerous and he hadn’t been keeping up with his Quidditch drills during the summer break.

Raising his voice slightly as he continued to climb, he tried again.

“Lily, where are you? You are up here, right? Is this where you have been hiding all day long for the last week? Now Mum, Dad, Grandma, and Grandmama have all told me to find you and tell you to stop playing around and come down for dinner. It’s nearly 6:30.” All he heard in response was what sounded like a hardbound book being slammed shut.

He continued to climb while he waited, but there was still no answer. Finally, he could hold it in no longer as he finally reached a darkened room at the top of the stairs.

“Lily Minerva Potter! If you don’t come out here this instant, I’m going to go get Mum and Dad and they won’t be too happy with you. Grandma and Aunt Rose have made us a magnificent feast and it’s getting cold.”

At the thought of the wonderful evening feast that awaited him, the boy’s stomach growled loudly and echoed slightly in the apparently empty attic room. This sound was followed by a quickly stifled giggle that seemed to be coming from behind him. As he turned toward the sound and his trained eyes became more accustomed to the dark, the boy could barely make out that the wood grain in the wall behind him had a slight break in it. He followed the break around and recognized what appeared to be the outline of a hidden door.

“Lily! I have you now! Come on out! I’m serious!”

The giggle started up again and quickly expanded into a laugh. “No you’re not. Remember, you’re James. Honestly! I’ll bet Sirius is downstairs at the table begging Grandmama to let him start eating without us.”

“Ha...Ha...Very funny, Lily,” James groaned at the oft-repeated pun on his oldest sibling’s name. “Surely a newly appointed Head Girl such as yourself can come up with something better than that.”

The disembodied voice of his sister seemed to be moving around behind the walls until it was coming from directly in front of him. “Oh, I’m sure I can, James.
And don’t call me Shirley.”

James groaned again as he fell for the old family joke. “Wow. I walked right into that one, didn’t I? What do I owe you this time?” In this branch of the Potter family, Tra tradition dictated that if anyone in the family was heard saying “the word,” the first one to repeat “And don’t call me Shirley,” was able to claim a penance from the guilty party. None of the current Potter generation, at least, really knew why. It was just “tradition.”

He winced as he considered what his punishment would be. Last time she had caught him saying “the word,” he had to let her ride his recently acquired Lightning Bolt 2150 for a whole week – which ended up being the same week he had planned to hold summer Quidditch drills with his teammates. He began to plead with her. “Lily, please don’t borrow my new broom again. I’ve GOT to get used to it AND get back in playing shape before school starts. If I show up to the first practice like I am now, I’m sure they won’t let me be Quidditch Captain anymore.”

“Hmmm...don’t tempt me, James. If you weren’t the Hufflepuff Captain this year, maybe Ravenclaw’s team would have a chance at winning the Cup for the first time since you’ve been on the team.”

“LILY! Please don’t kid about that!” James’ voice sounded a bit panicky even to him. “You’re just being mean now, and Grandmama says the penance can’t be intentionally cruel or harmful.”

“Oh, don’t worry, James. I know the rules. Grandmama taught them to me first, you know. Besides, there’s something else I have in mind this time.” Lily’s voice had continued to move around so James couldn’t get a fix on where she was hiding.

“Lily, come out where I can see you! You’re hiding in the walls somewhere, right?”

“Very good, James. And I mean ‘Good’, as in ‘Good guess, but incorrect’. Which leads directly to what you owe me. I want you to promise to not tell anyone about where and how you found me or what I’m doing up here, okay?”

James, who had been holding his breath waiting to hear his fine, quickly let it out with relief. “Is that all? That’s so much easier than what you usually have me do.” He had paid “the fine” to Lily many more times than she had paid him, and generally it was much steeper. The more James considered this apparent show of mercy from his older sister, the more he smelled a rat.

“Hey...wait a minute...you’re up to something, aren’t you? What did you find up here? Hidden treasure? Galleons? Old house elf heads? Come on, tell me - what is it?”

Lily remained out of James’ sight, but her voice sounded like it was coming from next to his left ear. “Uh-uh...not until you promise.”

“Okay...I promise.”

“Not good enough, James. Say it all and mean it...and stop crossing your fingers.”

Startled by being caught by his unseen sister, James jumped, “How did you know I was... oh, okay...I, James Cedric Potter, solemnly promise that I will not tell anyone where or how I found my sister...”

“...my beautiful, talented, and much smarter sister...” Lily’s voice had a smirk in it now.

James sighed. “...my beautiful, talented, and much smarter sister...”

“...the wonderful and great Lily Minerva Potter, who will always beat you at this game no matter how hard you try.”

James rebelled at this last instruction “HEY...you can’t do that. Grandmama says...”

“Yes, yes, you’re so quick with the ‘Grandmama says...’ whenever I catch you, but not so much the few times you’ve caught me. Okay, skip that last. But finish the promise and then I’ll come out. Actually, you’d better start over. Knowing you you’ll claim the promise isn’t binding since I interrupted you before you finished it.”

James was getting annoyed now. “What is this I’m hearing? Are you accusing me of plotting ahead to twist your words around to get out of a PROMISE? That’s pretty rich, especially coming from you, Miss Smarty-knickers with her ‘…words can be interpreted in so many ways…’ defence. Oh, whatever, Lily. I’m getting hungrier by the moment and arguing with you isn’t going to get us down to the feast any quicker, so here goes.”

James held up his wand and said quickly, “‘I, James Cedric Potter, solemnly promise that I will not tell anyone where or how I found my annoying and swotty big sister or what she’s doing sneaking around without permission here in the attic.”

Now it was Lily’s turn to complain from her hiding place. “Hey, watch it, little brother. I’ll tell Grandmama on YOU if you’re not careful.”

“Yeah, but then you’d have to tell her what you had made me promise, and that would blow your whole secret, now wouldn’t it?” James grinned in the glow of his lit wand tip. “Gotcha, Lily! Now come out here so we can go eat! PLEASE?”

“Pretty quick thinking there, little bro. Are you sure the sorting hat didn’t offer to put you in Ravenclaw? Or were you just not quite up to Rowena’s standards?”

James knew that Lily was just teasing him now out of habit, but he couldn’t resist responding to her challenge. “No, Lily...remember I told you – my first evening at Hogwarts the Sorting Hat made it clear to me that ‘the older Potter girl’ was causing Ravenclaw house more than enough trouble. The hat then decided that a fine, loyal young man with a name like mine belonged in Hufflepuff so the houses would be in balance for a few years.”

“Okay, little bro. You win. But before I come out, you have to close your eyes...”

“Stop kidding around, Lily. I already know where the secret door is. I saw it earlier.” He looked back at the marks he had seen earlier in the wood grain and pointed his wand at the panel. “Come on out! And stop calling me ‘little’ – I’m a good four inches taller than you and you know it!”

The next thing he knew, he felt the tip of her wand in the middle of his back. “Nice try, little bro. You’re really going to have to get your eyes checked if you thought that was the door.” She laughed and reached up to give her brother a hug, which he quickly returned. “James, you’ll never guess what I found up here!” she said excitedly.

“What is it, Lily? What did you find? And how did you find this room anyway?”

“Remember last week when we were playing hide-and-seek with all the cousins at your birthday party? It was the same day my Head Girl badge and our Hogwarts letters came – you have to remember that, right? Well, I was looking for a hiding place and as I was going through the entryway, I thought I heard something scuttling behind the baseboard. When I put my ear up to listen closer, I guess I must have brushed against a lever or something. The next thing I knew, I was in that stairwell. I climbed up just like you must have, and when I got to this room I started looking around. As I was feeling around on the walls searching for a lamp, I noticed my hand disappeared when I touched that wall over there – directly across from that fake door you spotted. I pulled my hand out and it seemed no worse for wear, so I tossed in a pebble I found on the floor. It disappeared too, but I heard it hit something that sounded like glass and bounce on the floor. I had to go investigate this further, and I walked on in with my wand lit and found the most...well, interesting things. You’ll never believe it! Come here, let me show you!”

“Now just a second, Lily! You should know better than to go poking around in a strange dark room, especially in THIS house. I don’t care how long it’s been since...well... you know that bit of the Potter family history as well as I do. Grandmama always warns us not to go sticking our nose in places they don’t belong each time we visit, remember?”

“Yes, James. I know the lecture by heart now. I’ve been hearing it longer than you have, you know. But, that doesn’t matter. It’s perfectly safe. I’ve spent a lot of time up here since then. In fact, I just finished with...oh, never mind. It is funny, though, that you mentioned the Potter family history. Oh, James, you’ve got to come and see.” She grabbed her brother’s wrist tightly and dragged him toward a dark section of the wall.

“Ouch! Okay, Lily...you win. Just let me keep my arm attached to my body! Now what is it that’s so important?”

Lily and James both jumped as they heard an unexpected but familiar voice coming up the stairwell behind them. “Yes, Lily...just what is it that’s so important that you feel it necessary to stick your nose in places without checking first?”

Together, they gulped as they realized who had caught them. “Grandmama Hermione! What are you doing here?

Hermione chuckled dryly as she lit her wand to illuminate the room. “Well, I live here, actually. Or had you forgotten? You, on the other hand, still haven’t answered my question.”

James and Lily looked at each other, then at their quite famous (and still a bit scary, to be honest) great-grandmother.

James cleared his throat carefully to speak. “Erm...well...Grandmama, it was like this... As you know, it was time for dinner a while ago. First Grandma, and then it seems like everyone else in the family asked me to go looking for Lily. After a while, I noticed a partial footprint leading into the wall downstairs, and, well, I’m sure you can figure out the rest. I found her up here and she...well...I promised I wouldn’t say anything more. She caught me saying ‘the word’ again,” he admitted with a sheepish grin.

The aged matriarch of the Potter family nodded, unsmiling, at James (while slipping in a quick wink that only he could see), and then turned her undivided attention to her great-granddaughter. “Lily Minerva Potter!” she said, mock-sternly. “What do you have to say for yourself, young lady? You should know the house rules by now. No one goes into any secret passages they may find in this house without first checking with an adult. You know quite well the allegiances of the original owners of this house. Don’t think for a second that all of the ‘dangerous attributes’ they left here have been eliminated. Your great-grandfather and I left some of them in place on purpose. Keeps you on your toes – like a certain step on that staircase at Hogwarts does, right, Lily?”

Lily blushed until her face was almost as red as her hair as she quickly flashed back in her mind to a particularly embarrassing run-in the previous year with a trick step on one of Hogwarts’ famous moving staircases. She had been returning late one Friday night from the prefect’s bathroom wearing, well, not very much at all, actually—————‑--Peeves had hidden her dressing gown while she was bathing... it was VERY late and she was using the Marauder’s Map to keep an eye out for anyone else in the corridors—when she forgot to jump.

She wasn’t able to get free until the next morning. All night she was stuck between those steps, wearing nothing but a towel... barely big enough to not get in trouble with the Slytherin Head Girl who freed her, but small enough to be very memorable for those who saw her before that... which just so happened to be the entire (and, coincidentally, all-male) Ravenclaw Quidditch team. Which team “just happened” to be walking by on their way to practice—thanks to Peeves’ not-so-subtle hints to the team captain, on whom she “just happened” to have a big crush.

“Grandmama Hermione! How did you know about that? Wait a minute... JAMES! You promised you wouldn’t say a word to anyone!” she accused as her wand pointed threateningly towards her sibling.

James quickly started to declare his innocence, but he was interrupted by Hermione. “Young lady, your brother had nothing to do with it. Never mind about how I know about that, except to say that I still keep in touch with some old friends of mine at school. Now stop changing the subject. Tell me what you were doing up here.”

Lily cleared her throat, took a deep breath, and started her explanation. “Well, it’s like James said just now. It all started at his birthday party back on the 15th when all of us cousins were playing hide-and-seek after the owls delivered everyone’s Hogwarts schedules and my Head Girl badge,” she emphasized with obvious pride, “I was trying to find a very good place to hide from Aunt Rose’s boy—”

“Which one?” James interrupted, half-sarcastically, half-humorously.

“Fred, of course,” Lily replied with a quick grin.

“Takes after his namesake, that one does,” Hermione agreed, amused. “But Lily, you brought that on yourself, you know. You’ve been his favorite cousin ever since you stood up to his older brothers and cousins and stopped them from teasing him last year. Follows you like a shadow, does he?”

“Yes, well, you know, Fred was trying to follow me wherever I went because he said I always find the best hiding places. Anyway, I had just lost him by doubling back in the lower hallway when I thought I heard something scuttling behind the baseboard and when I put my ear up to listen closer, I guess I must have brushed against a lever or something. The next thing I knew, I was in that stairwell...and to make a long story short, I found... well, some very interesting items in a large bookcase.

“Actually, I’m not quite sure just what is going on any more. Grandmama Hermione, would you care to explain to me the meaning of what I found up here? I’m sure you know what I’m talking about, don’t you?” she said as her tone of voice had become more and more accusatory as she took a half-step towards her elder.

Hermione blinked at the conversation’s sudden change in direction and said firmly. “Don’t you take that tone with me, Lily! Just because you’ve been appointed as Head Girl this year doesn’t mean you’re not too old to be civil, especially in my house. I’m the one who is asking the questions here, not you.”

Lily immediately realized just who she was challenging, in her own home no less, and while she was pretty sure her great-grandmother wouldn’t get too upset with her, she didn’t want to find out differently...the hard way. So she took a step back and said, somewhat meekly, “Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry, Grandmama Hermione. It’s just that...well, I’m just really curious...and more than a bit confused...”

As her face softened into a slight smile, Hermione nodded thoughtfully. “Lily, I completely understand. That’s how I felt when I first read those items all those years ago.”

James, who had been quietly observing the rapid ebb and flow of emotions between two strong-willed women, finally raised his hand in exasperation. “Hold on, now! Remember me, James, over here in the corner? Could someone tell me just what you two are going on about, and what did Lily find in a bookcase that got her so upset?”

Lily paused, and then looked at Hermione. “Well, are you going to tell him or do you want me to?” When she realized that Hermione wasn’t going to say anything, she looked at her brother, took a deep breath, and said, “Books. Well, books and two scrolls, actually.”

James, who, for some reason, had been expecting to be told of something a little less mundane than books in a bookcase, blurted out, “Books and scrolls? Is that all? So what’s the big deal, sis? You know that Grandmama Hermione has bookcases, books and scrolls EVERYWHERE in this house. She has something of a reputation along those lines, you know. Sort of like yours, Lily,” he said, smiling fondly at his older sister.

“But the books are Muggle books, James. Most of them are about Grandpapa Harry and Grandmama Hermione...and the Weasley's...and the Longbottom's, when they were all at Hogwarts, back when Lord Voldemort was defeated. What’s more, according to the publishing dates on those books, they are all well over 100 years old.”

James looked thoughtful for a moment. “That would mean they were written around the same time that they describe, right? So, why would Muggles be writing books about our world back then? Weren’t the secrecy laws as strict back then, Grandmama? How would a Muggle be able to write books about all that – at least without having their memory modified as soon as the Ministry got wind of it?”

Hermione looked at her progeny with a faint smile as she answered quietly. “Ah, James, as a Muggle author I’m quite familiar with said in his plays, ‘and thereby hangs a tale.’”

Lily’s eyes slowly lit up in recognition. “That’s from that Muggle named Shakespeare, right? I remember studying something about him in Muggle school before I left for Hogwarts. I haven’t heard much about him since – old Muggle playwrights aren’t that popular of a subject for obvious reasons – even in the Muggle Studies classes. But just recently, (she said cautiously as she glanced at Hermione) I read a very interesting reference to another one of his plays - Romeo and Juliet, right?”

Hermione, whose thoughts were currently distracted by the memories of when she first read the books and scrolls Lily had found, sighed in exasperation at the mention of that class. “And that, my dear great-granddaughter, still frustrates me to no end. I’m sure you’ve heard that I’ve tried many times to have Hogwarts improve their Muggle Studies curriculum beyond the mundane aspects of ‘how electricity works’ and ‘what is a rubber duck used for?’ and ...wait...what did you just say about Romeo and Juliet?”

Lily stammered in embarrassment as she recalled a certain very personal scene that she had just read about a few days previous. “Erm...well... I just read the other day about...well, you and Great-grandpa Harry...at Hogwarts...just the two of you...
having a picnic...”

James, who remained clueless about what was going on (since he didn’t remember Shakespeare at all from his time in Muggle school) but was a very observant seeker, immediately noticed a change in Hermione’s expression as Lily started talking. Her mature, slightly wrinkled, yet still striking features softened noticeably in the dim light of the attic. As he watched, he could almost swear that if it were brighter in the room he would see Hermione blushing to match Lily as she was obviously reliving an old memory. “Grandmama”, he said quietly, “what is it? Who is this Shakespeare person, and who are Romeo and Juliet? Are they friends of yours?”

Hermione’s face quickly turned unreadable as she came out of her reverie. In a soft voice she said, “Friends of mine...yes, James, I guess you could say they are friends of mine. In fact, you should think of them as friends of yours, too; since without them, you and your siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents most likely would not be here... at the very least you might not have had a last name of Potter.”

Lily chuckled, “Yeah...if you can believe this, James, we’d probably all be members of Arthur and Molly Weasley’s extended tribe of descendants through either Ronald or Ginevra Weasley from what I gather, right, Grandmama?”

At this, James’ jaw dropped. “WHAT? We’d be directly related to a former Minister for Magic? There are sure a whole lot of kids at Hogwarts now that are related to him. I guess that makes sense - he was the one that had twelve kids, right? I know that Aunt Rose is one of his granddaughters, and two of my teammates are children of his grandsons. Now that I think about it, though, I’d rather be a great-grandson of his sister, who was one of the best witch Seekers to play Quidditch ever in the entire Wizarding World when she was in her prime! I wouldn’t mind that at all, to be honest – she could probably give me a few pointers...” As he noticed Hermione’s unhappy scowl, he quickly dropped that line of conversation and continued asking, “So how could either of those things happened? I’m still waiting for an explanation from SOMEBODY here about what you’re both on about!”

Hermione couldn’t help herself and let out an uncharacteristic giggle. “James, you sound just like your dad when HE found out about the library and its contents back when he was in school. I can still hear him shouting at the top of his voice ‘RONALD WEASLEY?’ he said, ‘YOU MIGHT HAVE MARRIED THE MINISTER FOR MAGIC? AND GRANDPA MIGHT HAVE MARRIED GINEVRA WEASLEY, THE OWNER AND GENERAL MANAGER OF THE HOLYHEAD HARPIES?” And then, it was your older brother Sirius that said almost exactly the same words about 3 years ago.”

At this, Lily began to protest. “WHAT! Dad AND Sirius both know about this room? Why haven't we heard about it before? I want to know where those books and scrolls...”

James, his frustration boiling over, joined in, “WHY THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU STILL GOING ON ABOUT BOOKS AND SCROLLS IN A LIBRARY, LILY? WILL SOMEBODY TELL ME...?”

Hermione stopped trying to stifle her giggles and started to laugh as she held up her hands. “STOP! Enough of this, you two! If you are patient and calm down, everything will be made clear to you soon enough. First, we have to go down and eat that wonderful meal that’s waiting for us. I don’t want anyone else to come up here looking for us and I’m sure they will if we don’t get out of here quickly. I’d really hate to have to make this a major family meeting. But it’s time for the two of you to learn some of the Potter family secrets.”

As if on cue, they heard their mum’s magically amplified voice calling for them from the entryway. JAMES, COME TO DINNER RIGHT NOW, WITH OR WITHOUT YOUR SISTER! IF YOU SEE GRANDMAMA HERMIONE, BRING HER TOO! WE’RE ALL STARVING AND DINNER’S GETTING COLD!”

“See what I mean?” Hermione said with a shrug as she saw the disappointment on the faces of Lily and James. “Don’t worry... I promise I’ll explain everything...well, everything I can explain, that is.”

Tune in next time for our next exciting chapter -

Chapter Two- A Promise Rendered

2. A Promise Rendered

DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter and related characters are the property of JK Rowling, various publishing companies, Warner Brothers, etc. I’m not making any money from this. If I was, I’d probably get a new computer or something.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Thanks for those who have been reading along so far. I know SOMEBODY’S reading it because as an author, I can see the number of page views through Portkey’s Control Panel. Now, if only more of you would actually review and/or comment.... *GRIN*. Come on, don’t be shy...

******

Chapter Two

A Promise Rendered

After eating their fill in the magically-expanded dining hall downstairs, and as soon as they could without appearing rude (as Lily continued to receive numerous congratulations from the extended family who had come to wish her well), James and his sister had quietly excused themselves from the after-dinner family gathering. They slowly worked their way towards the hidden staircase in the entryway, distracted their persistent youngest cousin Fred by reminding him that he hadn’t played Exploding Snap with cousin Sirius yet this evening, and finally activated the secret lever. When they returned to the darkened, apparently empty attic room, they saw Hermione’s illuminated head floating in the air.

“Ah, there you are, children,” she said with a smile. “I was wondering how long it would take you to arrive here after that wonderful feast. Sorry for the theatrics,” she said as she glanced down towards her invisible body, “but before we go any further, there are some formalities I need to attend to. By the way, Lily, since you’ve read some of the items up here without advance permission, it is very important for you to pay attention.”

Hermione cleared her throat and said, “As Matriarch of the Great and Noble House of Potter and Mistress of number twelve, Grimmauld Place, I, Hermione Jane Granger Potter, do hereby declare that what you, Lily Minerva Potter and James Cedric Potter, will learn in this room constitutes official Potter Family and Wizarding World secrets that are bound by all the applicable customs, laws and penalties of the Wizarding World. Do you both promise to keep everything you learn here to yourselves, and to not discuss it with any of your family members outside of this room, even those in your family who already know these secrets?”

Lily and James, who were quite aware of the importance of both Wizarding World Secrets and Family Secrets, raised their wands and nodded in agreement.

As they lowered their wands, Hermione removed the invisibility cloak she was wearing and put it away carefully. Lily noticed that the ornate bookcase she had only discovered by accident behind the magical barrier was now visible, and the room was well-lit. Hermione was now sitting in one of three comfortable chairs that were arranged next to a large table covered with a number of books and two large parchment scrolls, a chilled pitcher of pumpkin juice with three glasses, and some of Hermione’s favorite dessert, pumpkin pie.

“Ah, that’s much better,” Hermione said as she flicked her wand slightly, causing the two unoccupied chairs to slide back from the table. “Please, sit – the three of us will probably be here for a while over the next few days so you might as well get settled.

“Now James, since you’ve not actually seen what Lily found up here, I’m going to show you some very special and quite maddening items and give you both a bit of a Potter family history lesson while I’m at it. Look here on the table. What do you see?”

James’ eyes were immediately drawn to three of the books on the table and he stood up to get a closer look. Each bore a title that he immediately recognized, even though the ones he kept by his bedside at home and at Hogwarts were obviously of more recent vintage… and weren’t printed by an unfamiliar Muggle printing company, besides. The third book, which by contrast to the others was leather bound and quite nicely appointed, also had a very recognizable title but the listed author’s name was strange to him.

“Grandmama Hermione!” he shouted, “Where did Muggles get these books from? Why does this one have a fake seal from the Hogwarts Library? And why does this one have a fake copy of Grandpapa Harry’s signature on it? And who is this Rowling person that is claiming to have written a book of traditional Wizarding tales? I’ve never heard of him.”

“Her, actually.” Hermione corrected. “The person primarily responsible for the publishing of those three books and several others is…well, was, to be precise, a Muggle author named Joanne Rowling, or ‘Jo’ as she preferred. According to our research, the name J.K. Rowling was simply a shortened version of her name that someone asked her to use when they published these books.

“For some reason back that many years ago, the publishers apparently feared that their supposed limited target audience of primarily adolescent boys might be reluctant to buy books written by an obviously female author, and requested that she use two initials instead, and since she didn’t have a middle name, she used ‘K’ in honor of one of her grandmothers whose name was Kathleen.”

With a wry smile, she added, “I understand they ended up being quite wrong on multiple counts with those fears.”

Instead of boring her progeny with additional trivial facts she had discovered during her research, Hermione then pointed to the rest of the hard covered books on the table that bore Ms. Rowling’s name.

He chuckled, “Whoever designed the covers for these books sure didn’t attempt to be consistent in their typesetting for the book titles, now did they? Here Grandpapa’s name is emphasized, but here it’s just part of the title. At least the artwork is nice.”

Lily, who had been sitting patiently while her brother examined the strange books, now stood up and picked up one of the books to get a closer look at it. “Yes, that’s true. I never really paid attention to the cover art. It must have been because it was so dark up here when I was reading them. And sometimes Ms. Rowling’s name is listed first, and sometimes it’s Grandpapa’s. Wonder why that is? And James, why did you even notice such a detail?”

Hermione shook her head in wonder at her great-grandson. “So, James, when you are faced with mysterious books that shouldn’t, according to all the wizarding laws you’ve ever heard your whole life, even exist, and will most likely shake up your entire understanding of your family history, the first thing you notice that the cover design isn’t consistent? Seekers!” she sighed in exasperation. “Harry is still the same way. Always noticing ‘the flaws in the pattern’ as he puts it. Well, at least he’s a wonderful proofreader for anything I write for publication. After I gave him a little training when we were first married, he can always pick up spelling and punctuation errors, style inconsistencies, and changes in the ‘feel’ of something even if he doesn’t have a clue about the subject matter.

“Ah…there I go again, getting off the subject. Let’s just move on…all I’ll say now is that there were other publishers who printed many different editions of these books in many languages with different artwork on the covers. Some publishers were more consistent than others in their titles, at least, but there was a really annoying change introduced by a certain foreign publishing house on one of the titles…”

Hermione stopped mid-sentence. She noticed that James and Lily had both returned to their chairs and their eyes had started to glaze over as she talked. She clapped her hands sharply to wake them out of their stupor. “So, would you like to know how I came to acquire these ‘officially non-existent’ books? Yes, both the very existence of these books and the reasons how they came to be are the major reason why you had to swear not to disclose the ‘Wizarding Secrets’ you’ll see here.

“Interestingly enough, the Ministry aren’t all that fussed about the content of these books being shared with Muggles…well, except for Scamander’s book. That one probably caused the most uproar, especially in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. I remember Newt was LIVID when he found out from me that some Muggles somewhere were reading illegal copies of the 52nd edition of his book, ‘fixed up’ to make it look like it was a copy of Harry’s schoolbook he bought during his first year at Hogwarts. I can still hear him yelling in his office when I showed him the copy that day -

‘I’m well over 100 years old and I’ve NEVER seen such a thing! In one brazen act, a MUGGLE, mind you, STOLE my life’s work and claimed it as her own, which revealed to Muggles the existence of creatures that they’d best not know about, while at the same time implicating that Harry Potter was the source of the leak so he’ll be investigated for violating the International Statute of Secrecy! THE UNMITIGATED GALL! I’ll SEE ABOUT THIS! WHO’S THE IDIOT AT THE DEPARTMENT OF MAGICAL ACCIDENTS AND CATASTROPHES THAT LET THIS GET OUT! CALL THE OBLIVIATORS!’

“Then, when I went to visit Kennilworthy, the first thing he noticed was the Hogwarts Library seal on the front cover. He immediately began to fear for his life – he was very afraid of Madam Pince, the school librarian back then…he didn’t want to be in the area if one of her books was missing. He still had horrible memories of an unfortunate incident that occurred when he was a student at Hogwarts. I assured him it wasn’t really a library copy or else she would have already tracked it down, so he felt much better. After that, his reaction was mostly one of shock that some Muggles knew about not only the history of both Quidditch and Quodpot, but also about how to do a Sloth Grip Roll properly. ‘Muggles should never try that one, that’s for sure,’ he said.”

Hermione was obviously reliving her memories of Newt Scamander and Kennilworthy Whisp from many years ago, so Lily coughed lightly into her hand. “Grandmama…what about the scrolls? You haven’t said anything about the scrolls. Why, for example, can I read the first one, but the second one is magically sealed and I can’t figure out how to open it, much less read it?”

James raised his hand and looked at his sister. “Excuse me…but she also hasn’t said much about these other books, either. I mean, I obviously recognize this set, but these other books are new to me. What do scrolls have to do with it?”

“Enough of this!” Hermione said firmly as she snapped out of her reverie. “If you two would just stop interrupting me and let me get a word in edgewise,” (the two youngsters both rolled their eyes at this unfounded accusation) “I’ll answer your questions. Why don’t you both have a piece of pumpkin pie while I talk? That should keep you quiet, at least.”

James and Lily gladly agreed to this assignment. For, even though pumpkin pie wasn’t anywhere near as popular of a dessert in the United Kingdom as it was in the States, according to family legend Hermione started making the dessert a few years after she married Harry and it had been a family favorite ever since. Lily sat down next to Hermione, with James across the table from them both. By pure coincidence (of course) this meant he was closest to the pie and pumpkin juice.

As they tucked into the dessert, Hermione began her explanation. “I was 22 years of age when I first found out about these books. It was the early evening of December 26th in the year 2001, over three years after the defeat of Lord Voldemort at the Battle of Hogwarts.”

Lily started at the mention of that date and put down her fork. “Grandmama…isn’t that the day you married Grandpapa?”

Hermione smiled happily. “Yes it is. How good of you to remember, Lily! That was the day I married the love of my life…and at the same time, became Matriarch of the Great and Noble House of Potter and Mistress of number twelve, Grimmauld Place. Which is why, after the wedding had been performed that morning, our house elf at the time - his name was Kreacher – I’m sure you’ve seen his grave marker in the garden - came up to me in the kitchen just before the wedding reception was to start and asked me what I wanted to do with the books in the attic library. My reaction was similar to yours earlier, James. I couldn’t figure out why Kreacher was asking about books in a library. Honestly, that’s what’s supposed to be in a library, right? But then I remembered just who used to live in this house and what they were like and I thought I understood why Kreacher might be concerned.

“I said as much to him, and he shook his head and said, in his croaking, bullfrog’s voice, ‘No, Madam Potter. I do not refer to the Black Family library holdings, which are, indeed, full of dark magic and evil spells. Master Potter was quite aware of those books and disposed of them as soon as he could after the Battle of Hogwarts. Master Potter donated the least dangerous ones to the newly rebuilt Restricted Section at Hogwarts to replace some of the books destroyed or damaged during the Battle, and the rest were sent to the Department of Mysteries where access to them is very tightly controlled. I am referring to the Muggle Books that have shown up from time to time in the attic room for over four years now. There are now six of them.’ ”

Hermione continued, “Kreacher showed me the entrance to the very staircase you discovered earlier, and led me to this room. At that time, all that was here were the first four Rowling books, along with the Scamander and Whisp publications. I glanced at them quickly without even reading the covers, thanked Kreacher for telling me about the books, and I promised I would take full responsibility for everything in the room from then on and to not worry about them.”

Lily gasped. “You said…what? And in front of the house elf, too? Oh, Grandmama…”

Hermione sighed. “Yes, well, in my defense, I was somewhat distracted that day. Besides all the things I was doing to get ready for the reception that was starting in a few minutes, I was anxiously anticipating the fruition of my upcoming wedding night and honeymoon plans, to be honest.” That comment resulted in blushes all around, but Hermione immediately resumed her story.

“But, of course, you’re right, Lily. I had momentarily forgotten that, as the Mistress of the House, promises rendered by me to the senior house elf (and vice-versa) are considered binding promises under ancient Wizarding law – not that too many of the blood families ever remember that little detail and they still treat their elves like...” Hermione cut herself off mid-rant, and once again focused her attention on her captive audience. So, ever since that day, I’ve been the one who takes care of these items. I’m also the one who controls access to them. As far as I know, Kreacher, bless his wonderful heart, never even came up here to so much as dust them from then until his dying day.”

“What about the other books and these scrolls, then?” James asked quickly, trying to avoid a digression into one of his Grandmama’s favorite causes and lecture topics -S.P.E.W. “You said that there were only six books here when you first found out about them.”

“Patience, James. I’m getting there. So, after we got back from our wonderful honeymoon, well, one thing had led to another, and between our new jobs at the ministry and my expecting our first child – your Great-Uncle Daniel, named after my father – I had completely put those books out of my mind. Then, one day in 2003 – let me think…Dan was six months old, so it would have been June of that year – anyway, Dan had just finished nursing and I was putting him in his crib for a nap when I heard a very loud bang coming from the attic. It woke poor Dan right up! He was not happy and he let me know it! After I got him settled down again, I went upstairs to investigate. And there, on this very table, was the book you see here – the one with the picture of Albus Dumbledore’s phoenix, Fawkes, on it. I thumbed through it and saw that it covered our fifth year at Hogwarts.

“Since Harry was scheduled to be out of town for a few months on an Auror assignment overseas and I was still on extended home leave from my position at the Ministry, I decided then and there to spend the time necessary to get to the bottom of this mystery. Since I was familiar with the content of two of the books, I started reading the other books in order.”

James had to ask an obvious question. “How did you know what order to read them in?”

Lily pretended to slap him on the side of his head. “Well, DUH, James – she was there when those events all happened, right, Grandmama?”

“Yes…well, sort of…in a way.” Hermione winked at them. “Here’s where it starts to get complicated, children.” Hermione waved her wand, and a large magical chalkboard on an easel and colored pieces of chalk appeared across the room from the table. With another wave of the wand, the chalk started drawing a complex series of boxes, lines, curves, and dates, all interconnected, with different colors used to show different relationships. While this was going on, Hermione continued to talk. “Don’t worry about the chalkboard now. It will take a while for that drawing to get finished, and it won’t make any sense to you unless you pay attention to the story.” At this, the easel quickly turned away from them so they wouldn’t be distracted by what the chalk was doing.

“What I found as I read these first five wonderfully written books was that they contained a detailed and extremely accurate account of the experiences of Harry’s early life, followed by when he, Ron, and I first met… - that is, the first first time we met, anyway- on the Hogwarts Express starting way back in the year 1991. They go on through the fifth book, which describes our experiences through July of 1996. In fact, it was probably TOO detailed for one person to write who didn’t have intimate knowledge of not just our lives, but those of many others, both Muggle and Wizard alike.”

Lily was nodding at this. “That’s what I thought when I was reading through them, Grandmama. The original books are written almost as if some omniscient third-party observer was watching and recording Harry’s every thought and move, almost from when he was first born. But not just Harry, either. The author also seems to know what those horrible Muggles…the Dursley’s, right?” Hermione frowned at the mention of that name, then nodded, “well, for example, the author appears to know what they were thinking and doing at least some of the time! How is that even possible?”

“I’ll get to that later, Lily. James, do you have a question?”

“Yes…what did you mean just now by ‘the first first time’?

“Very good, James. I’m glad to know you are listening. I suppose you didn’t know that your great-grandparents are …now brace yourselves… real live, honest-to-goodness, duly registered and regulated, licensed, and monitored, time-travelers.”

By the shocked look on James and Lily’s faces, that omniscient third-party observer would have thought that Hermione had just admitted to her and Harry being the naturally-produced offspring of a hippogriff and a house elf. When it looked like they were going to be permanently frozen in that position, Hermione said sharply, “Close your mouth, please, you two. We are not a codfish.”

Lily recovered enough to sputter, “But…but…Grandmama Hermione…time-traveling is…well, completely illegal, and anyone caught attempting even the simplest, shortest time-travels or even claiming to have traveled in time are basically guaranteed a lifetime stay in Azkaban according to the Decree for the Restriction of Time Travel. And it has been that way for…well, forever, right?”

“Well, not really. Do your great-grandfather and I look like we’ve lived forever? Hmmm… on second thought, don’t answer that. To you, we do look like that, don’t we?”

James almost reflexively nodded in agreement, earning him a withering look from Hermione. “Sorry, Grandmama,” he apologized. “But… yeah…”

“Hmph!” she said, her remaining vanity still a bit hurt by his honesty. “Well, no matter… but I promise you that when Harry and I first did what we did, time-travel, although highly regulated, was not an Azkaban-level offense unless it was done with the intent to harm someone directly. The penalties you mentioned are a direct result of the story you’ll be exposed to in this attic room over the next few days. Speaking of which, let me continue.”

James and Lily nodded and listened attentively as the story had now taken a more interesting turn. Their famous ancestors were...criminals…according to Wizarding law.

Hermione stared at the ceiling for a second as she gathered her thoughts. “Where was I? Oh, yes…now I remember. I read the first five books, and, while I was interested as to how this unknown author knew that much about us, I wasn’t really upset. I realized that because of who we are and what we had done, we were considered famous in the Wizarding world. Unfortunately, that unwanted fame results in a certain loss of privacy, as you both still experience because of your last name. I made the assumption that somehow a Muggle may have heard about the story from indiscreet witches or wizards.

“So, I put them back on the shelf and considered them to be no more than a curiosity for some time afterwards. In fact, when Harry came back home a month after I finished the books, well, he had been gone on assignment for quite a while…and … one thing led to another, and… ahem…nine months later, your Great-Aunt Emma, named after my mother… was born, so I didn’t have time to investigate the books until mid-2005.”

“Let me guess. There was another loud bang in the attic?” James said with a smile.

“Yes, and this time it woke up both children in their nursery. And, just like before, after I calmed them both down I went up to this room. This time, however, there was something different. I saw a large scroll, and sitting on top of it was another one of the books – this time with a picture of a N.E.W.T. level textbook – Advanced Potion-Making by Libatius Borage - on it. But it wasn’t just a picture of an ordinary copy of that book – it was a highly accurate representation of the very book that Harry used during our sixth year. I know that because…” her expression seemed to harden slightly for a second, “well, let’s just say that I was quite familiar with that book.

“Since the new book was on top of the scroll, I started reading it first. The book, as described on the flyleaf, anyway, appeared to me to just be a continuation of the story contained in the first five books. But then as I read the first two chapters of the sixth book, I began to get confused. The material in those chapters consisted exclusively of things that I am sure no one except the participants or their close associates could possibly know about.

“And then, as I started to read on, I noticed right away that the character in this book who was going by the name of Hermione Granger was obviously not me… and by the end of the book, I was certain that a person or persons unknown was interfering with time and was attempting to manipulate events in a way that would result in much heartache.”

“What about the first scroll?” James interrupted.

“Yes…about that first scroll. After I had read a few chapters of the sixth book, I began reading the scroll to see if it would make any more sense to me. Fortunately, I found that the material was something I was very familiar with, even if its existence was just as mysterious. That scroll contained a description of the ‘rest of the story’ as to how Harry and I ended up becoming time-travelers in the first place and what happened the ‘second time around’.

“As I read more, I realized that, after the first six chapters anyway, the person writing the scroll appeared to just be recording a number of corrections and edits to the original five books that showed how and where things changed from the original timeline as a result of our time-traveling. In some places it was almost as if he were taking dictation from someone ‘in the know.’ The scroll also contained some very personal experiences in that ‘alternate reality’ that I am sure that only Harry or I could have known. That first scroll ends with us returning to almost exactly the same point in time we left from in the summer of 1996, right after the end of our fifth year at Hogwarts.”

“So what did you do then, Grandmama?” Lily prompted.

“Well, not anything, really. While it was still a mystery to me how the books came to be in the first place, and why they were obviously published for and by Muggles, they weren’t really anything we would be concerned about. After I had Harry read them to see what he thought about them, we ended up agreeing that the first five books were just an eerily detailed description of our lives in the original timeline, while the scroll described how we both separately traveled back in time and the important differences of what happened to us the second time through, and ended with our return together.

“The sixth book, on the other hand, was what we at first thought of as merely an ‘author’s liberties in writing a semi-fictional account’, or a ‘story inspired by actual events‘ that didn’t match in certain very specific areas with facts that we knew to be true – Harry and I usually referred to it jokingly as a ‘book of lies’. But, we weren’t too fussed about it – we had each other, we had started our careers with the Ministry and we had our children to love, so the rest didn’t really matter.”

James looked puzzled. “So, what’s the big deal, then? I suppose I can understand why the Ministry might want to keep them under wraps because of the secrecy statutes, but why all the ‘Potter Family Secrets’ codswallop if the books weren’t a problem to you or apparently anyone else in the family.”

Lily quickly answered her brother’s question, her voice tightening. “Well, I’d assume things changed with the next book, right, Grandmama?” James saw that his sister’s mood was now becoming more and more agitated, almost angry; but Hermione (who had seen the mood change too) raised her hand to interrupt.

“You are correct, Lily. Please just calm down and let me finish before you say what’s really on your mind.” Hermione smiled reassuringly at her great-granddaughter. “It was two summers later in late July of 2007, soon after the twins - your great-uncle Romulus and your grandfather Remus - were born. But this time, there were some differences - the much louder bang this time was preceded by a few seconds by a horrible, yet very familiar, smell. At first, I thought it was time for both boys to have their nappies changed, but they were both quietly sleeping in my arms…until the bang, that is. Then they needed their nappies, not to mention their sleep suits and my nursing top changed. A word to the wise, you two - never startle recently fed and satiated newborns. Your grandfather especially had quite the talent for evacuating from both ends simultaneously. Actually, I don’t know if he’s ever lost that talent, come to think of it.”

Lily, who had been listening intently to the story to this point, started to gag. “Eww...Grandmama! That’s not really something we need to be reminded about concerning our grandfather, now is it?’ Lily protested, although James was smirking as he observed out loud, “Good old Grandpa Remus – always a laugh at parties. No wonder it took so long for him to find someone who would put up with him enough to marry him.”

Hermione winked again at James and continued. “So, after I cleaned both them and myself up and settled them down for a nap, I climbed the stairs and found another book – the one you see there with the locket on the cover. That’s what changed everything.”

“Why, Grandmama?” James said.

Before Hermione could respond, Lily interrupted. “Because, this last book, especially when it is read in combination with the sixth book, is full of the most horrible misrepresentations and outright lies about our family and other well-respected wizards and witches of any two books I’ve ever seen. It’s as if someone was deliberately trying to break up our family and make a lot of people look bad with these last two publications – especially you, Grandmama. Who would do such a thing? And why would anyone hate you and Grandpapa Harry so much to distort your characters and...well, the story of your life, so much while still telling in great detail about your defeat of Voldemort?”

Hermione’s face turned unreadable as she answered Lily’s question. “It wasn’t just one person, my dear children. It was at least two very evil and very nasty people...well, they were the only ones who were charged and sentenced over it, anyway. There were also others involved, as you’ll see. You’ve probably heard their names, even this many years after the deed was done. The people primarily responsible for the lies, at least, in these last two books were... Dolores Jean Umbridge and Rita Skeeter.”

3. A PROMISE REVEALED

DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter and related characters are the property of JK Rowling, various publishing companies, Warner Brothers, etc. I’m not making any money from this. If I was, I’d probably get a new computer or something.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

{I apologize for the interruption, but at this time if you haven’t taken advantage of my earlier recommendation in the first chapter’s author’s notes, please follow James’ example in this chapter and read, (or at least refresh your memory of) the contents of the first scroll, found
here. At the very least, I’d recommend that you start reading in Chapter 42 Dolores Decloaked and read from there to the end of the story if you want to understand this chapter. Also, there are a number of direct quotes from articles and references you can find on the internet in this chapter. I hope they are not too distracting when you see them, but I didn’t really want to create a bibliography page at the end of the chapter to properly footnote all the references to this material. Let me know in the reviews if you find this too distracting and I’ll be glad to fix it in a repost.}

Chapter Three

A Promise Revealed

Lily (who recognized the names immediately) looked over at her brother, whose eyes were now closed as if he were sleeping. “Come on, little bro - surely you remember them from your History of Magic class?”

James blinked, shrugged his shoulders, and then grinned slyly. “Yes, sis...I vaguely remember them. And don’t call me Shirley.”

“Nice one, James!” Hermione patted her great-grandson on the back. “So, what’s it going to be? What are you going to charge your sister?”

James looked thoughtful for a second, and then lit up as he thought of an appropriate penance. “How about you two let me catch up with a little reading here? From what I’ve seen so far here in the attic, I think until I’ve at least read the books and the scrolls I’m not going to be able to have a clue what you’re talking about. Sis, how long did it take you to read all this stuff? A week? I’ll probably need at least twice that long, right?”

Lily nodded in agreement, but seemed somewhat confused. “But, James...that’s really not much of a penalty to me, is it? There’s got to be more to it than that, right?”

James chuckled. “Hmmm...you’re right, Lily. Let me think.” He looked thoughtful for a second as he tapped his finger on his chin. “Ah, I’ve got it... how about this? While I’m reading, you and Grandmama can’t discuss any more specifics about the contents of the books or the two scrolls? That’ll keep you from learning stuff I don’t know about.”

“HEY! Wait a minute! Grandmama, that’s not fair, is it?” Lily looked incensed as she realized that if this penance was enforced, and knowing how slow of a reader James could be when he was reading for detail, it would be at least a week or two before she would find out what she wanted to know about her family’s mysterious history. With the first of September rapidly approaching, this would never do.

Hermione quickly intervened as she came to the same conclusion. “Actually, Lily, while it might not be fair to you, it is perfectly within the rules of the ‘Shirley’ game. And besides, you were the one that pointed out to him that his original penance wasn’t very stiff. But James, since I’d like to get this task finished before you both leave for Hogwarts, I’d like to propose something to you as an alternative that will make us all happy. How about I help you with your reading? There’s a Speed Reading spell I’m sure you’ve learned at school.”

James blanched noticeably as he thought of his ancient Grandmama aiming a spell at him, even a relatively benign studying spell. He quickly made a lame attempt at an excuse. “Oh, you mean Expedita Lectio? Yeah, well, that one always gives me a bad headache and makes my eyes cross when I’ve used it at Hogwarts.”

Hermione glared at him. She had noticed the lack of color in his face and had a good idea why. “Young man, it would behoove you to remember just whom you are talking to at the moment. I’ll have you know that even though I’m not quite able to perform wandless or wordless charms up to my personal standards anymore; my spells never give headaches... well, unintended headaches, that is. Honestly! Professor Tofty would have had my wand if I couldn’t do a simple charm like that without unpleasant side-effects. Besides, I’ve used it on myself since before I was preparing for my Charms O.W.L. and I’ve never had a problem.”

James looked properly abashed as he apologized. “Sorry, Grandmama. I didn’t mean to imply.... sure, if you can speed things up some for me, well, that would be great.”

Lily still looked very unhappy. “But Grandmama, what about me? Even with Expedita Lectio, it will take a while for James to get caught up. Do you really expect me to just sit around and wait for him to read all the books and the first scroll before I CAN FIND OUT WHAT’S BEEN GOING ON? WILL SOMEONE PLEASE BOTHER TO TELL ME WHAT’S HAPPENING?” and she started to sob loudly.

Hermione’s eyes softened as she suddenly remembered vividly a young, handsome, dark haired young wizard shouting almost those same words at her in this very house, oh so many years ago. She repeated to Lily the same words she had said to Harry back then. “Lily, I’m really sorry!” said Hermione desperately, her eyes also sparkling with tears. “You’re absolutely right, Lily — I’d be furious if it was me!”

Hermione quickly reached over and gave Lily one of the hugs she was still known for. As she patted the child’s back soothingly, she whispered in Lily’s ear, “Shhhh... shhhh.... I know, Lily. It doesn’t make any sense yet, but I hope it will make sense to you when we’re done. It’s difficult to read something that makes everything you think you know about your family and the world you live in suddenly suspect, doesn’t it? Shhhh....it’ll be okay.” She waved her wand and a lace handkerchief appeared next to Lily. “Come on, wipe your eyes and blow your nose and let me explain what I had in mind for us while James is catching up, okay?”

Lily smiled weakly at Hermione as she choked back another sob. She took up the handkerchief and followed Hermione’s instructions, and then as she put the used handkerchief down, Hermione dismissed it to the downstairs laundry room with another wand wave. “Thanks, Grandmama. I’m sorry I yelled at you, but that last book especially really did upset me even more than the sixth one did, and I guess I just lost control.”

Hermione smiled once again at Lily and patted her hand lovingly. “That’s quite all right, my dear. Now, let me explain my plan, okay?” Lily nodded, and Hermione continued. “Since James will be busy for a while, I propose that while he’s reading these next few days, you and I can have a detailed discussion about some N.E.W.T. and higher-level magical theory as it relates to both time and location travel – what it is and how we in the Wizarding world understand it and control it through the use of certain devices. I’m sure this discussion would bore James to death,” (James laughed and nodded emphatically upon hearing this) “so it’s just as well that he will be otherwise occupied. Then, when he finishes the books and the first scroll, we can delve into the mysteries of the second scroll together. Is that acceptable?”

Lily grinned widely as she thought about the opportunity she was being afforded. To have Hermione Granger Potter, Order of Merlin First Class, former Acting Head of the Department of Mysteries and Hogwarts Distinguished Professor for the 21st Century give her one-on-one instruction on a subject that was officially banned in the current Wizarding World bylaws was something she wasn’t willing to turn down. “Yes, Grandmama Hermione, of course I’d love to discuss that with you. But are you sure you won’t get in serious trouble talking to me about it, what with the Decree and all?”

Hermione smirked. “Ah...well, you see, since your great-grandfather and I actually were the ones that drafted that decree at the request of the Wizengamot, and since Ronald Weasley was the Minister for Magic when it was approved, we made sure we included a hidden loophole in there. In fact, it’s so hidden that no one who reads the decree can see it...unless they are specifically authorized to read it by one of the Heads of the Great and Noble House of Potter and the Master or Mistress of number twelve, Grimmauld Place. See for yourself.” She reached behind her on a shelf and pulled down what appeared to be a rather nondescript scroll that was sloppily labeled “Care and Feeding of Puffskeins”.

However, as Hermione unrolled it and tapped it with her wand, the title changed to say Decree for the Restriction of Time Travel in very ornate handwriting. Lily’s eyes widened as she read the original signatures and seals of Ronald Bilius Weasley, Order of Merlin, Second Class and Minister for Magic; Harry James Potter, Order of Merlin, First Class and Head of the Auror Division; and Hermione Granger Potter, Order of Merlin, First Class and Acting Head of the Department of Mysteries. All she could muster was a weak “Wow...” as she perused the familiar text, since this decree was required reading for all first year students at Hogwarts.

But then, as she was reading near the end of the document, new words started appearing between two sentences on the parchment until there was a new paragraph written in shining silver ink that had pushed and shoved its way into visibility. She began reading aloud,

“Section 5. Be it also hereafter declared that any and all of the limitations, restrictions, and punishments listed herein in this decree are not, and will never be applied for any reason to the Patriarch or the Matriarch of the Great and Noble House of Potter and the Master or the Mistress of number twelve, Grimmauld Place, along with any persons they may designate now or in the future, forever. These persons must affix their signatures in section 6 below.”

As Lily continued to watch, a series of signatures written in that same silver ink started to appear as Section 6, pushing the subsequent words and paragraphs further down the magically expanding scroll. She recognized the names and signatures of older members of her family – her grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, and older cousins, along with some well-known names in the Wizarding World. Minister Ronald Weasley’s name was noticeable at the top of the list (although at first she would have sworn it said 'Roonil Wazlib' until she blinked her eyes). She also recognized the names of Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood Longbottom, Ginevra Weasley, past and current Chief Warlocks and members of the Wizengamot, and many others.

As she got to the end of the list, there was a separate section containing some unfamiliar Muggle names and signatures that, she realized quickly, must be aliases of some kind – names such as Wendell and Monica Wilkins, Ahorn Berg,
Renaiya880727, IronChefOR, among many others. Before she could ask Hermione about them, another silver paragraph appeared as before. She cleared her throat and continued.

“Section 7 -Unless specifically authorized by the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and the Minister for Magic in a special meeting as described in section 7.5, paragraphs 5 and 7 below , these persons identified in section 6 are still prohibited from participating in or otherwise using time-travel devices, spells, or other means. Only the current Patriarch or the Matriarch of the Great and Noble House of Potter and the Master or the Mistress of number twelve, Grimmauld Place are registered and licensed to utilize these devices and methods and this can be done only under the regulation and active monitoring of the Head of the Department of Mysteries and the Head of the Auror Division or their designees.”

Lily blinked as she thought about what she had just read. “But Grandmama.... doesn’t that mean that...wait a minute...”

Once again, Hermione giggled as if she were much younger. “Well, since we wrote the decree, we wanted to make sure we weren’t ever limited by it. Your grandpapa Harry and I are, as I said earlier, fully registered and regulated, licensed, and monitored, time-travelers. But as you just figured out, I just didn’t mention the fact that we are licensed and authorized to register, regulate and monitor each other whenever the need arises.” She looked quite pleased with herself as she said this.

While Lily was distracted looking once again at the unfamiliar names and signatures at the end of Section 6, James, who had by this time moved his chair over to where he could see the scroll more closely, whispered, “Grandmama, if I may, I have a question. Lily mentioned something about Section 7.5, paragraphs 5 and 7, didn’t she?

Hermione answered back quietly. “Yes, James, you are correct. Is there a problem?”

“Well, this scroll and the decree both stop here, at section 7, even when you count these three “hidden” sections. Where is section 7.5?”

She motioned him over and whispered in his ear. “Oh, don’t worry about that, my dear great-grandson. When you become the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and the Minister for Magic, you’ll get your question answered, but not until then. Besides, it’s all rather boring – meeting arrangements, seating charts, legalese, nothing of real interest to you at the moment.” Then she winked at him so only he could see.

James wasn’t sure he had really understood what his great-grandmother, a self-identified time-traveler, had just said to him in private. He looked to her for some kind of confirmation, but her face had once again turned unreadable and she clapped her hands. “Enough of this. James, you have some reading to get started on. And Lily, you and I need to talk. It looks like my drawing on the chalkboard is complete, so we’ll go over here while James gets to work. But first, you both need to sign the document, and while you’re doing that I’d better send Harry a message to make the necessary excuses for your absence if someone in the family asks after your whereabouts for the next few days.”

Hermione opened a drawer and took out a very old, but still very luxurious eagle feather quill, dipped it in an inkwell that held a shining silver fluid, and handed it to Lily. As first Lily, then James, signed the parchment, Hermione waved her wand. Instantly a silver doe appeared, shook itself, looked at Hermione for a second, and sprang down the staircase. Lily stared at it. “But Grandmama...didn’t the fifth book say that your Patronus was an otter?”

Hermione turned towards Lily. “Yes. It did. And it was, at one time. I promise I’ll explain all that. But until then...” she put her finger on her mouth and pointed towards James. “...you’ll just have to wait. James, are you ready?”

James picked up the first book, one with a picture of a bright red stone on it, and opened it to the first page. At her direction, he also unrolled the first scroll so it would be ready for him to reference when the time came. “Ready, Grandmama” he said, as she waved her wand at him in a complex pattern and said, “Expedita Lectio!”

* * * * *

23 August 2119

Now that James had finished reading the books and the first scroll, and Lily was quite well-versed in some very advanced (and highly restricted) magical theory, it was time for Hermione to get down to business. “So, James, what do you think?” Hermione asked as he closed the last book which was illustrated on the cover with a locket bearing a large green letter ‘S’.

“Well, for one thing, I just can’t imagine why Lily was so upset.” he deadpanned. “I mean, there’s nothing in those last two books especially that might be considered confusing or inconsistent with the first five books, now is there?’

Lily started to respond vociferously until she caught her brother’s eye and realized that he was taking the mickey out on her. “Ha, ha. Very funny, James. Honestly! I would think by now after reading all the things we’ve read, you’d be more concerned about the implications of these books. At least you’ve had your memory refreshed about the identity of Rita Skeeter and Dolores Jean Umbridge, right?”

James still looked a bit puzzled. “Actually, I’m not so sure. From what I can gather, there are almost two different versions of each of those women. The books describe their story one way, but in the scroll they end up experiencing a different fate the second time around. How could these women, either the version described in the scroll OR the books, be involved in the creation of the books...or the scroll? I assume that the scroll chronicles events that happened in a time loop reality, right? One that the ‘alternate’ Albus Dumbledore said would collapse when you left it and returned to your original timeline? So, if the time loop reality collapsed, how could anything that happened there affect anything else?”

Lily, who had been staring intently at the timeline drawings that Hermione had been using to explain time-travel theory to her, started noticing a very large missing piece to the puzzle. “Never mind about that, James,” she said. “Grandmama, I’m still confused. You say that Dolores and Rita were responsible for the lies in the last two books. But you still haven’t explained how all the rest of the books, including the three that the Ministry was most concerned about, came to be published in the Muggle world. From what I gathered, Dolores especially would seem to be more interested in keeping Muggles ignorant of the Wizarding World, so what possible reason would she have for revealing them?”

“Well, James and Lily, the full answer to that question begins with the only explanation that makes sense to your great-grandfather and me after all these years. It begins with this unhappy fact - Albus Dumbledore wasn’t always telling us the whole story. We just don’t know if he was intentionally lying to us to protect himself or if he really didn’t know what would end up happening when we time-traveled and was trying to get me to not focus on the implications. My husband thought the worst – with good reason, as it turned out.”

“So, Great-grandpapa Harry still holds some ill-feelings towards Dumbledore’s doppelgänger, eh?” James said with a snort. “Not that I blame him, really. He really did seem to be quite a meddler according to the scroll, when he should have just left well enough alone.”

Hermione shook her head quickly. “No, James. You weren’t listening carefully. I wasn’t referring to the Dumbledore we knew in the ‘time loop’, as the first scroll described it. I’m referring to what you would call the ‘original’ Albus Dumbledore. You see, he was the one that started this whole dog’s breakfast in the beginning. And from what we’ve been able to piece together, it all started about 130 years ago. We assume that he, for whatever combination of reasons he had at the time, took notice of a certain nice young woman aged about 25 years at the time who just happened to be riding on the same train as he was from Manchester to London one day.”

James, whose eyes were no longer vibrating, spoke up. “I assume this young woman’s name was J. K. Rowling, the one whose name is on all these books? Grandmama Hermione, how do you know all this detail? That was a long time ago.”

“Yes, James, you’re correct.” Hermione said as she stood up and removed a notebook from the bookcase. “And, the reason we know all this detail is partially because of Ms. Rowling herself. Have you ever heard about something the Muggles have used for well over a century now that they still refer to as ‘The World Wide Web’?”

Lily, (a confirmed arachnophobe, although she’d never admit it to her brothers) shuddered. Whenever she heard that term she always imagined a large web, home to millions of hungry acromantulas, which was covering the entire world. She shook her head to clear that picture from her mind before she answered. “Yeah, it’s one of the ways Muggles share information around the world without the use of Wizarding magic. It seems to be pretty ingenious from what little we learned about it in Muggle Studies last year. But what does that have to do with what happened to Ms. Rowling?”

“Well, after she started publishing these books back in the late 1990s, she became more and more famous, which led eventually to her publicists working with her to create what the Muggles refer to as ‘websites’ for her where people can view that information you mentioned. When Harry and I were investigating first-hand what had happened, we came across some of her biography and some other references to her life that talked about how she got started writing. We made copies to document what we found in this notebook. Listen to these quotes from a magical perspective and tell me what this sounds like to you.”

...in 1990, my then boyfriend and I decided to move up to Manchester together. It was after a weekend's flat-hunting, when I was traveling back to London on my own on a crowded train, that the idea for Harry Potter simply fell into my head.

I had been writing almost continuously since the age of six but I had never been so excited about an idea before. To my immense frustration, I didn't have a functioning pen with me, and I was too shy to ask anybody if I could borrow one. I think, now, that this was probably a good thing, because I simply sat and thought, for four (delayed train) hours, and all the details bubbled up in my brain, and this scrawny, black-haired, bespectacled boy who didn't know he was a wizard became more and more real to me. I think that perhaps if I had had to slow down the ideas so that I could capture them on paper I might have stifled some of them (although sometimes I do wonder, idly, how much of what I imagined on that journey I had forgotten by the time I actually got my hands on a pen).

I began to write 'Philosopher's Stone' that very evening,” Hermione then paused for effect as she emphasized the next line, “though those first few pages bear no resemblance at all to anything in the finished book I moved up to Manchester, taking the swelling manuscript with me, which was now growing in all sorts of strange directions, and including ideas for the rest of Harry's career at Hogwarts, not just his first year.”

(
www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/biography.cfm )

Hermione nodded at James and Lily as she saw recognition slowly dawn on their faces. “Interesting, wouldn’t you say?” She turned to a different page in the notebook. “And here’s another one from a different source.”

‘In 1990, while she was on a four-hour-delayed train trip from Manchester to London, the idea for a story of a young boy attending a school of wizardry "came fully formed" into her mind. She told
The Boston Globe that "I really don't know where the idea came from. It started with Harry, then all these characters and situations came flooding into my head."”

(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JK_Rowling )

Hermione continued, “Just to make the evidence even stronger, during an interview she conducted on the 3rd of February, 2000; two questions were about the background of the story. First, we have this question and answer:

Q. How did you come up with Harry Potter?

A. Harry just sort of strolled into my head, on a train journey. He arrived very fully formed. It was as though I was meeting him for the first time.”

“And, later, this one from the same interview:

Q. When you were stuck on the train was there anything that triggered your imagination, and did that incident inspire Book III?

A. I have no idea where the idea came from, it just fell into my head!’ ”

( http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2000/0200-scholastic-chat.htm )

“Finally, in an interview with a news host named Evan Solomon on 13 July 2000, she explained what happened this way:

‘EVAN: This is the legend: that it all came to you at once.

J.K. ROWLING: No, no, no, no, no. No, Harry came to me. Hogwarts came to me, not in its entirety but many of the characters did come in a kind of…rush.

E: Was it like an epiphany?

JK: It kind of was actually, yes, it really was. So, I had this four-hour train journey. It shouldn't have been four hours; it was delayed. And Harry was there. People like Nearly Headless Nick and Peaves, the inhabitants of the castle, were there. Harry's scar was there and I kind of knew how that had happened. It's a very strange thing, but I know I'm not alone in this among writers. It was as though I was given a piece of information and I just had to find out the rest of the information. It wasn't really as though I were inventing it. I was working backwards and working forwards to see what must have happened.’”

“And here's the last clue...well, besides the fact that Peeves’ name is misspelled, that is”, Hermione said with a wink. “Just a few paragraphs later, there is this exchange:

‘E: Are you forever stashing ideas? Writers are forever scribbling and saying 'This is the perfect idea.' Is that your method?

JK: Yeah. I actually had an idea this morning on the train. As I got out of bed this morning, I suddenly thought 'Oh, that's how we could do it in Book Five.' So, yeah, it's wonderful when that happens, when it just comes to you.’”

( http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2000/0700-hottype-solomon.htm,

©CBC 2000, emphasis added.)

Lily was the first to speak. “Grandmama, that sounds to me like someone under the influence of magic at least as recently as 13 July 2000 ...most likely through a series of...” She immediately gasped as the implications became clear. “But...you must be joking...are you saying that Dumbledore...it can’t be... to actually do that to anyone, especially a Muggle...well, he would have been in BIG trouble....”

“Do what, Sis?” James asked innocently. Since he was just getting ready to start his 4th year, he hadn’t been introduced to a certain part of the Defense against the Dark Arts curriculum yet. “Grandmama, what is Lily talking about? What did Dumbledore do that is so bad?”

<Even after all these many years, it never gets easier, does it?> Hermione thought to herself as she took a deep breath before answering. “Well, for starters, it is our considered opinion that Albus Dumbledore, Chief Wizard of the Wizengamot, Order of Merlin First Class, should have most likely spent the last years of his long and distinguished life in Azkaban after using Imperius Curses over a few years’ time on an unsuspecting, innocent, yet very talented Muggle woman named Joanne Rowling.”

Lily sat back in her chair, stunned. “He DIDN’T!”

“You heard Grandmama, Lily. She spoke very clearly.” James teased, as he served himself another piece of pie.

Lily continued, ignoring her brother’s interruption. “But...but...at Hogwarts, all we hear about him is just how great and wonderful of a Wizard and Headmaster he was. And now you’re telling me he should have his wand destroyed by a Fiendfyre curse before being sent to Azkaban?”

“Yes, that’s correct, Lily. He should have received the same sentence handed down against Rita and Dolores at the conclusion of their trial.” Half to herself, Hermione muttered, “Whether he would have ever received that sentence had he lived long enough to face trial is another question altogether.”

“Grandmama,” James interrupted. “I’m getting really confused. Earlier you said that Rita Skeeter and Dolores Jean Umbridge are responsible for these books, but just now you said that a former Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and well-loved Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, caused this to happen by cursing a Muggle. So which is it?”

Hermione shook her head. “I never said that Rita and Dolores were responsible for all the books, now did I? Lily, do you remember exactly what I said earlier? If I recall, you have a very good memory, just like I did when I was your age. It’ll serve you well as Head Girl, that’s for sure”

Lily smiled at the compliment. She enjoyed being compared to her famous ancestor, especially when it was that ancestor making the comparison. “Let me think... ah, yes...you said, “The people primarily responsible for the lies, at least, in these last two books were... Dolores Jean Umbridge and Rita Skeeter” She paused for a moment, deep in thought. “So... that would mean that their influence was only felt in the last two books...which would imply that someone else would have to have been initially responsible for the creation of the first books... and you’re saying this person was Albus Dumbledore?”

“Brilliant, Lily! James, you still look confused by all this.” He nodded since his mouth was full. “Now, it’s time for you to both to hear the rest of the story, including how your great-grandfather and I put it right.”

******

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

In case you were wondering, the Expedita Lectio (or ‘speedy reading’ in Latin according to what I found at Google Translate) spell came from a reference in Chapter 31 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix where it specifically mentions that, during her O.W.L. preparations, “Hermione was rereading Achievement in Charming so fast that her eyes appeared blurred…”

By the way, I was thinking about including Hermione’s detailed explanation to Lily about how Time-Travel Magic works in their world, but....well, you see, your names aren’t recorded on the list. Sorry about that. As the story goes on, I’ll see if I can slip in some tidbits here and there that won’t get me in trouble with a certain decree...or a former Acting Head of the Department of Mysteries.

Ahorn Berg (AKA MapleMountain)

4. A Promise Remembered

DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter and related characters are the property of JK Rowling, various publishing companies, Warner Brothers, etc. I'm not making any money from this. If I was, I'd probably get a newer computer or something.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

I apologize for the long delay in posting the next chapter in this sequel. As to why it took so long to update - I've been busy both at work and on a couple of side projects related to this story arc.

As I was reviewing all my old files for Keeping A Promise and getting them "FFN Ready" to match their posting rules as I posted this story at Fanfiction.net recently, I noticed quite a few minor grammatical, punctuation, formatting, and capitalization errors and inconsistencies in that story.

Since in my "Real life" I do Software Quality Assurance (including checking for those very items) it really annoyed me that I had so many errors in my own work. So, to make a long story short, I started working on cleaning up these errors in KAP with the goal of updating the story on FFN.

And, while I was at it, I decided to go "all out" and make the resulting file have the "look and feel" of the US Scholastic edition hardbacks - including chapter illustrations for each chapter, etc. and making it into a PDF. I'm just finishing that project up, and then, if possible, I will attempt to do a refresh of each KAP chapter here on Portkey to match the latest typo corrections, etc. I made during the project. Finally, as you can see with this post, I'm also updating this sequel on Portkey as I'm doing that. So, stay tuned!

Many thanks to Steve Vander Ark and his staff for their wonderful research that is fortunately still available at www.hp-lexicon.org. In this chapter I used some of the timelines there such as this one: http://www.hplex.info/timelines/essays/timeline_potters.html/ along with other articles that are quoted and referenced in this chapter.

Chapter Four

A Promise Remembered

Now that she had the undivided attention of her progeny, Hermione took a deep breath and began her story. “I suppose it all started, chronologically at least, when I started reading a series of French comic books about the Gauls and the Romans starting when I was about six years of age. If you recall, my maternal grandfather and his family all lived in France until my mum went to dentistry school in England and met my dad. I spent lots of holidays in France with my cousins when I was younger, and I read their comic books while I was there.

“One of the main characters in the series was a big, strong guy with bright red hair who was also famous for his voracious appetite. For some reason I really fancied him, especially since he was so good at beating up the mean Romans who were picking on my Gaulish ancestors. At least that's how it looked to a young girl on holiday in France in the late 1980s.

“Then, as I got older, I also came to realize a sad truth. Lily, you especially may not believe this now, but in England back then people with red hair like you, your aunt Rose, and the rest of the Weasley family were referred to as `gingers' and were the subject of ridicule, teasing, and outright discrimination. Even Prince Harry of Wales, who was born third in line to the British throne when I was a very young girl, admitted as he got older that he was bullied on occasion because of his ginger hair. More than one famous woman publicly stated that they would never date a `ginger', even if he was a prince. I, however, always fancied Prince Harry too, even though I was almost exactly 5 years older than he was. I always felt sorry and somewhat possessive of him.” She half-whispered, “Don't tell my husband, but thanks to my father I even had a `Property of Prince Harry' shirt at one time in my life,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“Eventually, it got to the point where anyone else I met who had red hair was automatically someone I wanted to make my friend, especially ones who were being teased or looked like they had a rough life. You know me, always looking out for the underdog.”

James looked at his sister and rolled his eyes as he coughed into his hand something that sounded like “house elves” and she giggled in return, drawing a stern look from Hermione.

Lily looked puzzled, though. “Grandmama, so what does a young girl's obsess...erm ...interest in people with red hair have to do with the books?”

“Be patient, young lady. I'm getting there. Besides, you can probably figure out what happened my first day on the train to Hogwarts. You recently read the first book, right?”

Lily stared off into space for a moment, recalling what she had just read a few days earlier. Before she could say anything, James blurted out, “Let me guess... you fell in love with Ronald Weasley on the train that day, didn't you?”

Lily gasped as she recalled what she had read about their first meeting on the train that day and looked quickly at her great-grandmother, hoping for an outright denial... but it didn't come.

Hermione blinked her eyes and was once again caught up in a memory. Finally, with a embarrassed grin on her face, she said “Well, not exactly THAT day, but let's say it didn't take long for me to get a massive crush on him after meeting him. I mean, honestly... here, in the form of Ronald Bilius Weasley, was nearly everything that I had fancied up to that point - while I admit he wasn't anywhere near as strong as Obelix, he was a red-haired, tall, thin, and gangling boy wizard with freckles, big hands and feet, and a long nose...who, as I found out at the feast later that evening, was also a voracious eater with atrocious table manners.

“Ah, I was smitten... but I was also very shy about such things so I didn't let on. Later, it became obvious as I got to know him that he was insecure and aware of his lack of status in the Wizarding world, mostly because he was Harry's friend.”

“Yeah, what about Grandpapa? What did you think about him back then?” Lily asked.

“To tell you the truth, not much at first. I knew quite well who he was, of course, when I first laid eyes on him - I had read all about him in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century well before we met, you know. Since I knew I'd probably be meeting him at school, I promised myself that I would NOT be a `fan girl' and fall all over him like, I assumed, the other girls would do when they met him.

“Besides,” she said quietly, “he wasn't all that much to look at when I first met him. Unruly black hair, ill-fitting clothes, worn-out trainers... no, I was definitely not interested in him romantically...and, to tell you the truth, I was a bit scared of him. The fact that he, as an infant, had defeated the most evil wizard of our time and no one had figured out exactly how that happened was rather disconcerting if you think about it. So, obviously, there were rumors going around back then that he must have been evil, too.

“However, after a couple of well-documented incidents that happened that first year at Hogwarts I was very glad that he was one of my best friends, and I knew from then on that he was a great wizard and that I would do anything to protect him or to help him, but I still didn't fancy him.”

Now it was James' turn to be puzzled. “But Grandmama, from what I just read in the books, it looks to me like you didn't ever really LIKE Minister Weasley, either. You and he were always fighting or arguing about something. I'd be willing to bet that if I picked up any of, let's say, oh, these first five books, randomly opened it to a page where you and he were mentioned as having a conversation, then most of the time it would describe a fight between you or mention how upset you were with what he was doing or saying at the time.”

It was Lily who responded first, grinning as she spoke. “Silly little brother, don't you know ANYTHING about puppy love and young girls? The fights were a way for you to flirt with him to get him to notice you, weren't they? And, the expressions of disgust were because you were hoping that he would listen to you and maybe learn some manners and tact. You were trying to fix him, weren't you, Grandmama?”

Hermione nodded. “Guilty as charged. Remember, this first time I was both infatuated with him and an immature little girl, and Ron, well, Ron was...”

“Clueless?” Lilly suggested.

“Clueless.” Hermione agreed. “Still is, to be honest with you. I don't know how Lavender puts up with him even now. Even though she's not always the sharpest knife in the drawer herself, I'm sure there have been many days when she wants to beat her dear `Won-Won' over the head with a stick to get him to recognize something that's staring him in the face. But, they had twelve children together, so I guess they must have found something they both liked in each other that kept them together all these years.”

She blushed as she realized how that last sentence must have sounded. “Erm... well... that didn't come out right... but you know what I mean.” James and Lily both snickered in their hands.

“Now where was I?” Hermione said. “Oh, yes... falling in love with Ron pretty much at first sight and trying to get him to just notice me. I was quite the pathetic thing, wasn't I?”

“Well, yeah,” James said, grinning at Hermione, “but what does a case of puppy love between Hogwarts students have to do with Albus Dumbledore hexing a Muggle?”

“Patience, James. I'm getting there. Well, as you recall from the books you read, we went on that way for a few years. Over that time I had grown up some, and so had Harry, while Ron and I had our ups and, mostly, downs, over things as silly as Crookshanks chasing what he thought was his family's pet rat. Even though he hurt me emotionally many times I still held out some hope that one day he'd notice me as more than just a bushy-haired boffin who let him copy her homework assignments from time to time when he was desperate.

“But then, during our original fourth year, things started to really come between us. First, I was quite upset with Ron when he basically abandoned Harry after the incident with the Goblet of Fire when his jealousy and greed got the better of him, and I was even more upset with Ron when he wouldn't even ask me to the Yule Ball until nearly the last minute. And even then he managed to both insult me and hurt me significantly in the process.” Lily saw a flash of sadness in Hermione's eyes.

“Yet, somehow, we still managed to stick together as friends. Honestly, looking back on that time, if Harry hadn't been there to keep us both apart and together during our first four years together, I'm sure we would have gone our separate ways by the end of that year. Looking back on those days, I also realized that Ron was starting to show some interest, albeit in a very juvenile way, in Lavender even then.”

Lily grimaced. “Oh, yes...the fourth year book mentioned that he asked her if he could `look at Uranus', if I recall. It's neither original or witty, to say the least,” she said dryly.

Hermione chuckled and nodded in agreement, then said, “As it was, when I said good-bye to Harry at Kings Cross that year, I drummed up the courage to do something I had never done before with Ron or Viktor Krum or anyone else, no matter what others may have written about me. I gave Harry a kiss on the cheek. I justified it to myself by reminding myself that he had just experienced something horrible and he needed something to cheer him up, which was all true. But I also was slowly starting to realize that I had enjoyed my time with Harry that year more than with anyone else. As we walked and talked together, I really started to get to know him as a person...and a friend.

“Even then, though, if you had asked me directly who I fancied at that time, I would have still said Ron would be the one for me. Which is why, when Harry taught Dumbledore's Army the Patronus charm during fifth year the first time around, my Patronus was an otter, a member of the weasel family, and not the doe it is now.”

“But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's see... oh, yes... it was the summer before our first fifth year when I started noticing something wasn't quite right with Albus. Some of the decisions he was making, especially with regards to Harry's health and well-being, were really making me question his sanity, not to mention his true feelings about Harry. Remember, Harry had just witnessed the return of Voldemort AND the death of a classmate, and in response, Albus deliberately isolated him by banishing him to the Dursley's.”

Her aging voice began to sound more agitated as she continued. “In the previous summers, Ron and I had always sent him birthday packages and letters on our own, but this year he actually forbade us from having any contact with him without his permission. Not only that, we could only send messages after Albus reviewed and censored them heavily. As you recall from your reading, resulted in such useless scribbles as `We can't say much about you-know-what, obviously. . . .' `We've been told not to say anything important in case our letters go astray. . . .' `We're quite busy but I can't give you details here. . . .' `There's a fair amount going on, we'll tell you everything when we see you. . . .'

“The uncertainties and perceived lack of support from his closest friends after Cedric was killed nearly drove Harry completely barmy. By the time I was finally able to talk to him downstairs in this very house right before the start of school that year, his personality was almost unrecognizable, all thanks to Albus's self-enforced sentence of solitary confinement.”

Hermione almost spat these last words out. It was obvious that the years had not softened her resentment over Harry's blatant mistreatment and abuse during the summer before their fifth year. Then she smiled wistfully and said, “As I saw how unfairly he was being treated, and how unconcerned and clueless Ron was about how his supposed best mate was being treated by Albus, well, I think that was what moved me even further along the path of falling in love with him. I just didn't admit it to myself yet…that didn't happen until I returned home at the end of fifth year as you read in the first part of the first scroll.”

Lily interrupted. “But Grandmama, didn't Grandpapa Harry have to stay at the Dursley's all summer to refresh the ancient magic that was protecting him? That's what Albus said all along, wasn't it?”

“Well, sort of. Actually, Harry and I came to realize that that wasn't quite the truth, either. Do either of you remember exactly what Albus said to Harry? No? Well, word for word, he said, `While you can still call home the place where your mother's blood dwells, there you cannot be touched or harmed by Voldemort. He shed her blood, but it lives on in you and her sister. Her blood became your refuge. You need return there only once a year, but as long as you can still call it home, there he cannot hurt you.'”

Lily's eyes widened as she realized the truth. “So, all he had to do was return to a place he could call home, once each summer to remain protected?”

“Right in one, Lily! To be safe, we think that he would have had to spend at least one night there each year, but surely nothing more than that, and possibly not even that much. You see, each year after his eleventh birthday his permanent address on file at Hogwarts and with the Ministry was at that house, and he never took all of his belongings with him each year so he had a permanent `presence' there, indicating to all and sundry that that address was where he called home.. at least until the end of our first fifth year.”

“Then, why did Albus make him stay there so long each summer? According to the books, he was always mistreated there, and he was always isolated from...”

Hermione finished Lily's thought. “...from everyone and everything that would be of help and comfort to him. His birthright as a wizard, his friends, ties to his family heritage and property, everything. The answer to that question, my dear great-granddaughter, is part of the key to this whole story. And, as with many things that end up being earth-shaking, it all started out with an event so mundane, so commonplace that it's generally not worth noting. Just as happened to Harry and Ron on the Hogwarts Express going to school their first year, two young men, both with promising lives as wizards ahead of them, were introduced one summer many years previous and quickly became great friends.”

James quickly blurted out, with noticeable pain in his voice “Gellert Grindelwald and Albus Dumbledore, right? So, that whole story in the last book was true, then? I was honestly hoping that...”

Hermione smiled sadly at him as she finished his sentence for him, “...that a `hero of the Wizarding World' wasn't also a very close friend to a Dark Lord? Believe me, I understand. Can you imagine what a shock it was to us at the time when we first heard about it? Harry especially took it hard at the time, and at first he wanted to dismiss it completely, especially considering the source of the information. But, unfortunately, that part of Rita's book can be thought of as true, depending on... well, you'll find out more about that later. However, that isn't the worst of it. In fact, Rita never even touched on the worst part of that story. I don't know if she didn't know about it, or if she was saving it for her next tell-all book after she got out of Azkaban, but...” Hermione's tone and countenance both turned darker as she continued to speak. “...but... Albus' story gets worse. Much worse.”

She paused, and looked with sadness at the children. “James and Lily, are you sure you really want to know the rest of the story, even if it will most likely completely change how you feel about a number of famous people you may consider heroes, including Albus Dumbledore...and most likely, your great-grandparents? You may end up finding that Harry and I are not all that innocent in this whole affair, either. So, how about it? Would you rather stop here or do you want the whole truth... the truth from our perspective, anyway?”

James and Lily both were taken aback by Hermione's grim statements and the stern look on her face. They looked at each other for a second, looked back at Hermione, and then nodded slowly. “Yes, Grandmama... we want the truth.”

Hermione smiled slightly, but Lily noticed the smile did not reach her eyes as she muttered quietly, “Sometimes I'm not sure I want to know the truth...even after all these times I've repeated the story,” as once again she gazed off into space, her eyes unfocused once more.

After a slight pause, she shuddered slightly, blinked, and turned to her audience with a determined sigh. “Well, so be it. As someone once said, `Once more into the breach, my friends.' Do you recall the letter from Albus to Gellert that Rita quoted in that book? Here, let me find it for you. James, could you hand me the seventh year book? Yes, the one with the large locket on the cover... that's the one.”

James picked up the book that he had just finished reading not that long ago and handed it carefully to Hermione as he thought for a moment. “You're talking about that `greater good' letter, right?”

“Mmmhmmm” she muttered as she started thumbing through the pages. “If I recall...let me see...it should be about half way through the book... ah... here we go. Lily, would you be a dear and read it out loud for us? My eyes are not what they used to be.” she said as she handed over the book.

Lily cleared her throat and began to read.

“Gellert —

Your point about Wizard dominance being FOR THE MUGGLES' OWN GOOD — this, I think, is the crucial point. Yes, we have been given power and yes, that power gives us the right to rule, but it also gives us responsibilities over the ruled. We must stress this point, it will be the foundation stone upon which we build. Where we are opposed, as we surely will be, this must be the basis of all our counterarguments. We seize control FOR THE GREATER GOOD. And from this it follows that where we meet resistance, we must use only the force that is necessary and no more. (This was your mistake at Durmstrang! But I do not complain, because if you had not been expelled, we would never have met.)

Albus.”

Lily put down the book while the weight of those words hung in the still air in the attic room. Finally, she cleared her throat and asked, somewhat plaintively, “Grandmama, he really didn't feel that way, did he? I mean, later on in life? Please tell me that this letter was just the ravings of a powerful, but immature young wizard who didn't know better, right? I mean, even Grandpapa Harry's father, James, was pretty rough around the edges when he was that age. He ended up turning out all right, didn't he, little brother?”

James, who was always proud when anyone spoke well of his famous namesake, smiled broadly. “Yeah, and I doubt even James at his worst would have considered something this.... well, AWFUL, right? I mean, Albus is seriously advocating the use of force to `seize control' over Muggles! And he claims it is `for their own good'? What was he thinking?”

Hermione sighed once again. “James, that's pretty much what I thought..., at first. But, as we've found out more and more about this wizard that we knew as Professor Albus Dumbledore, a slightly barmy old headmaster, we've learned that not only was this letter a 100% accurate summary of his deeply held beliefs even after he defeated Grindelwald, it also drove him, when the time was right, to act accordingly. Now let me continue... it won't be any easier.”

Lily, who looked like she was about ready to make another comment, saw that Hermione was not interested in any more interruptions and nodded.

Hermione continued, “So, as I was saying... Albus, even after he had to delay his plans due to Grindelwald's overzealousness, continued to look for ways to implement his plan to `take care' of all the Muggles, whether they wanted it or not. He was always on the lookout for new allies in his quest... which, by the way, is a big reason he later went to visit a London orphanage in the year 1938, where he made the acquaintance of one Tom Marvolo Riddle. Albus had sensed that Tom was destined to be a powerful wizard, but soon after he got him under his wing at Hogwarts he could also tell that, because of his extreme hatred for all things Muggle, Tom would never agree to the basic premise of Albus' plan - that Wizards would be the rightful, yet benevolent, rulers over the Muggles. Tom, of course, would only want to have that power over Muggles if he could use it to abuse them and torture them for what they did to his mother and to him.

“Albus kept focused on his plan, though, dealing with Tom over the years, trying to keep a close eye on him as much as possible when they were at Hogwarts, but realizing that he was also a danger to the master plan. Eventually, things came to a head in the form of a prophecy about a young boy before he was born, which led to the death of his parents at the hands of Lord Voldemort on Halloween night of 1981. That part of the story you are both quite familiar with, of course, even before you read that first Muggle book. However, that book doesn't say what had been going through Dumbledore's head ever since he learned of Harry's miraculous survival.”

James noticed Hermione's jaw muscles tightening involuntarily as she began her next sentence. “Basically... Dumbledore had a brainwave and decided then and there to use the recently orphaned Harry... as a type of cat's-paw.”

“A... what?” James said blankly. “What is that? Some type of charm? A potion ingredient?”

Lily shook her head. “No, James - a cat's paw is...well, it's a rather old term for a stooge... a chump... a tool... basically it's a poor sap who is set up to do something that someone else wants to accomplish but they don't want to get their hands dirty personally. So, you're saying that Albus set up Harry this way? How?”

Hermione looked as if she were eating a lemon as she responded. “Albus' quick flash of `brilliance' was that Harry, now without any living blood ties to the Wizarding world, would allow him to finally implement his plan. He guessed correctly that Harry, the `boy who lived' would always be a hero in the Wizarding World, well, except among the Death Eaters, that is. But, Albus wanted the Muggles to feel the same way about Harry. He decided that when the time came, Harry would become an emissary to the Muggles, with Albus calling the shots from behind the scenes, at least at first. Then, as they accepted the new arrangement, Albus would step forward and reveal himself as the true power behind Harry, allowing him to rule over both worlds...all for the greater good.”

“Bu... bu... but... ” James sputtered in frustration. “The Ministry would never allow that, would they? Didn't someone try to stop him? The poor kid had just lost his parents in a very violent and obvious manner - didn't any wizard in the area try to at least protect Harry when all this was happening?”

Hermione's formerly tightened face immediately relaxed into a happier expression. “Yes... there was someone... Harry's first and fondest, always faithful, wonderful friend. You read the book... you know who it is, of course.”

“Hagrid? But wasn't he one of Dumbledore's greatest supporters? In the books, wasn't he always saying how great a man Albus was? In fact, wasn't he the one that handed Harry to Albus the night he went to live with the Dursley's? Some friend he was!”

“Yes, all that is basically true. Remember, though, that while Hagrid was loyal to Albus for his own very good reasons, he was just as fiercely loyal to Harry from the moment he first laid eyes on him. And, Harry loved him like a father...well, more like a VERY big, very hairy uncle, but you know what I mean. Some of Harry's earliest happy memories were of Hagrid taking him away on Sirius' flying motorbike.

“You see, Hagrid sensed right away that Harry was in danger - he just didn't know exactly who from until much, much later. So, when Albus directed Hagrid to rescue the child from the ruins of the Potter home, Hagrid was more than willing. If only he had known the truth back then and, instead of respecting Albus' request, he had just taken Harry and the bike right back to his godfather Sirius, well, let's just say we wouldn't be having this conversation and a lot of people's lives would have been changed - for better or for worse.”

James interjected. “So, what happened then? Albus had this idea to have Harry serve as some kind of puppet emissary and placed him among Muggles to raise him. What does all this have to do with the books and Ms. Rowling?”

Lily, who had been quite pensive for some time, finally seemed to come to a conclusion as she heard James ask his question. “Now...wait a minute...now that I think about it, there's something that has been bothering me all along. How come no one at Hogwarts has ever made mention of this Rowling person before? I would think that someone with her kind of published knowledge of the Wizarding world should at least be referenced in our Muggle Studies classes, right? At least as a warning of what can happen if the Secrecy laws are violated? But, until I saw these books, I've never read or heard a thing about her…or these books. You say they are Muggle published books, and Grandmama, you know I've loved reading Muggle books since I was little, but now that I think about it, I don't recognize the name of this publisher... Bloomsbury... never even heard of it.”

“Ah... so you are finally starting to catch on, are you? Hermione chuckled. “I didn't think it would take you long to start seeing the inconsistencies. Well, that's what happens when people start messing with timelines... paradoxes are a natural result. Come on... you've also read the first scroll. What other `elephant in the room' can you point out? We've just been talking about him.”

James surprised everyone (including himself) by answering first. “Wait a minute... you're right, the first scroll does mention Grindelwald, too... but he definitely wasn't a childhood friend of Dumbledore. He was involved with.... let me think... yeah, there was something about the `excess powers'.... ah...here it is.” James had picked up the unsealed scroll and skimmed through it looking for a section near the beginning. “Ah... here it is. It's when you first went to the Leaky Cauldron after you had changed into Harmony and you were talking to Tom, the innkeeper. Would you like me to read it?” Hermione, who was trying to cover an inadvertent yawn, nodded and he began.

“Tom's eyes lit up as he said, “Oh, yes, Miss! You're young enough that you don't remember back in the old days, when G…ggg… Grindelwald was in power. Sorry, Miss, even now it is hard for me to say his full name! Now that he has been defeated these many years, I still remember the terror of that time. It was horrible how much the Muggles were affected by what he was doing, even though they thought it was those fellows, `Hister' and `Moosie' something, and some emperor bloke overseas, wasn't it, that was behind that big war of theirs. What did they call it, the excess powers of World War 3 or 4 or something…?”

The Muggle history student in her had to chuckle as she realized how separated the Wizarding and Muggle worlds really were. To have World War II, and the Axis of Hitler, Mussolini, and Hirohito mis-remembered, even forgotten, by a member of the Wizarding world who was there at the time was very telling. <Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.> Hermione thought to herself, as she remembered the quote from George Santayana. <That's another thing I'd like to change. The Wizarding World has many things it could learn from and teach Muggles, even without violating the Secrecy laws. I wonder if this is part of why Voldemort was able to get established again so easily. Wizards may have thought that Grindelwald was more of a threat to Muggles, so they didn't consider that they were affected, too. Then, when Voldemort came along, they may have thought that they were safe, because he was mainly going after Muggles and Muggle-borns, so everyone else would just have to lay low for a while until things settled down.> She paused, as she realized that Tom was still talking while she had been thinking.

“-so Albus tracked them down and defeated old Grindy and his followers. Back in 1945, it was. I remember it like it was yesterday. It took two attacks, but finally they all were destroyed. Muggles were told that it was some kind of new weapon that had killed all those people over there, but actually the Muggles were killed by a very nasty dark curse that was tied to Grindy. When Dumbledore attacked, first Grindy's right hand witch and her group, and then, a few days later, Grindy himself, the curse they had bound to their life force was released. Albus couldn't find a way to stop it, although he tried so hard to come up with another way in those few days between the two attacks. Caused quite the big flashes, di'n't it! I know Albus blamed himself for all those Muggle deaths for years afterwards, but considering how many had died already and how many more would have died if Grindy hadn't been stopped, eventually he figger'd what he done was necessary. Sometimes you have to make unpleasant decisions to bring about a greater good, eh, Miss?”

“Thank you, James. Now would you please read the note at the bottom of that section?”

He searched the scroll for a second, and then began reading aloud again.

“If you want to speculate on just who Grindelwald could represent historically, here's a possible candidate… Note that he was accused of being a `half-blood' himself…and was considered a very efficient killer, being charged by Eichmann with organizing the details of the `Final Solution.'. The only problem would be that Heydrich was assassinated in 1942, not the 1945 date listed for Grindelwald. Hmmm…maybe he moved on to take another identity by that time?”

After a short pause, Lily said quietly, “Well... whoever that Heydrich person is, that's definitely not describing the same person as Rita wrote about in the last book. And neither one of them is a completely accurate description of the Voldemort that we learned about in our History of Magic class.”

“You're right, Lily. Nor is either one necessarily the same person that Ms. Rowling was first writing about when she started the series. As the series of books became popular, she was invited to participate in a number of interviews with members of the Muggle press, fans, and television hosts, among others. During our travels, Harry and I came across a particularly helpful Muggle website in our research that, unknowingly, documented this discrepancy. I'm sure the person who recorded this information never realized just how important his careful documentation would be to us. Anyway, here's the reference article that talks about Grindelwald. Remember, this was after the seventh book was published.

Deathdate: 1998; killed while in Nurmengard Prison by Voldemort (DH23). Grindelwald's fate in Deathly Hallows directly contradicts a statement by J.K. Rowling in 2005 that Grindelwald died in 1945.

Hermione continued, “We checked the reference he quoted, and found that it was a transcript of an interview that Ms. Rowling had participated in around two years before that seventh book was originally published:

JKR: I'm going to tell you as much as I told someone earlier who asked me. You know Owen who won the [UK television] competition to interview me? He asked about Grindelwald [pronounced "Grindelvald" HMM…]. He said, “Is it coincidence that he died in 1945,” and I said no. It amuses me to make allusions to things that were happening in the Muggle world, so my feeling would be that while there's a global Muggle war going on, there's also a global Wizarding war going on.

ES: Does he have any connection to --

JKR: I have no comment to make on that subject.

[Laughter.]

MA: Do they feed each other, the Muggle and Wizarding wars?

JKR: Yeah, I think so. Yeah. Mm.

MA: You've gone very quiet.

[All laugh; JKR maniacally.]

MA: We like when you get very quiet, it means —

ES: You're clearly hiding something.”

Both teens leaned back in their chairs, clearly confused. James spoke first. “But what does all that mean, Grandmama? How can Grindelwald's character and background as described by Ms. Rowling change so much between 2005 and 2007? According to Ms. Rowling herself, these two people with the same name have different personalities, descriptions, and death dates? In fact, why are there seemingly two different descriptions, histories, and futures of a lot of the people in the books and the first scroll - especially you, Grandmama? Why are you described as changing personalities to the point you're a completely different person - with even a different middle name - after the fifth book? Why are these books written by an author and published by a Muggle publishing company that Lily hasn't heard of, especially if it did as well financially as you said this one did?”

Hermione yawned again sleepily and it struck James immediately as to how exhausted and drained she looked. Instead of answering the question herself, she deferred to her great-granddaughter. “Lily, you remember the diagrams I showed you earlier. Do you think you can answer your brother's questions?”

“Erm...well...yeah... but I'm afraid he'll want to call for a healer from St. Mungo's after he hears my theory.”

Hermione unexpectedly burst out laughing. “Oh, never mind about that, dear. Harry and I have already gone the rounds with the senior staff there on this subject to the point that their official policy is to never discuss anything except medical treatments with any of the Potter family. They've determined that it's better for everyone that way. A Muggle author named Arthur Conan Doyle once said. `Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.' Go on Lily - tell him your theory.”

Lily nodded, looked into Hermione's eyes in a last-second attempt to gather some strength, took a deep breath and said, “As far as I can tell, James, the only theory that eliminates all the `impossibles', as Grandmama reminded me just now, is that these books are `not from around here'. They must have come from different reality - well, you could call it a timeline, I suppose - than the one we live in now.”

The next sound that was heard in the attic was James' chair (not to mention James' head) hitting first the bookshelf, then the floor, very hard.

“James! James...are you all right?” James thought that Lily's voice had a slightly panicked tone to it as he tried to clear the stars out of his head.

“I'm fine, Sis... just a bump, that's all.” he said as he stood up quickly and righted his chair. “I suppose it's my own fault - I've experienced that enough times at Hogwarts to know that it's not a good idea to lean back in a chair during a lecture. But you must admit, what you just said is pretty startling. Grandmama, is what Lily said...true? And I still don't understand why the Wizarding world doesn't know about all this.”

“Paraphrasing what someone said `a long time ago', `what Lily told you was true... from a certain point of view.'”

James repeated the obvious correct response, though he didn't know it. “A certain point of view?”

Hermione continued the quote she had heard many times from when she was a young girl. “James, you're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.” Since it was obvious by their blank stares that neither of her great-grandchildren had any idea of what she was talking about, she continued answering James' question. “Over time, we've found that the best way to `keep the peace' and let everyone in both the Wizarding and Muggle worlds live their lives as happily as possible is to, well... it's best to keep them as ignorant as possible of certain truths.”

Next, it was Lily's turn to bring an old memory back to Hermione as she unknowingly quoted familiar dialogue. “Why the big secret? People are smart. They can handle it.”

Hermione thoughts had turned immediately to a scene from another old movie favorite. <Must have come from all that time I spent with Harry catching up on all those old Muggle movies we missed while we were on the run back in our seventh year. Those were our first dates after the Battle of Hogwarts.....> Then, she responded in the only way she could with that lead-in. “No, Lily and James. As you grow older, you'll realize that a person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it. Seventeen hundred years ago everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Seven hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was flat, and seven minutes ago, you knew that there were no such things as alternative timelines. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow.”

She yawned widely again, then glanced at the large clock in the corner and said “Speaking of that, I think you two children are getting tired, so I think it's a good time for you to take a bit of a break. You've heard a lot of things here so far that are shaking up your view of the world. I think it's a good time for you to go downstairs, grab a bite to eat, maybe take a quick nap or play a game of Exploding Snap with Fred, and then we can meet back here in a few hours after supper and I'll try to answer some more of your questions. Just remember to not talk about anything you've read or seen up there with any of the family while you're downstairs. In fact, it's probably best if you just put it out of your mind completely for a while. Does that sound okay to you?”

James and Lily nodded and went downstairs, each lost in their own thoughts.

Author's Notes: Dumbledore's “Greater Good” letter in this chapter is from “The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore”, in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, page 357, Scholastic, Inc.© 2007)

JKR's full interview that includes the information about Grindelwald was originally available at http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2005/0705-tlc_mugglenet-anelli-3.htm, but sometimes when I have checked the link the server has been down. I assure you that this is an accurate quote, though.

Document created with wvWare/wvWare version 1.2.7

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5. A PROMISE REDACTED

DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter and related characters are the property of JK Rowling, various publishing companies, Warner Brothers, etc. I’m not making any money from this. If I was, I’d probably get a new computer or something.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Since it has been a while since I posted an update, I thought it would be better if I just go ahead and post this next chapter too. Hope you enjoy it!

Chapter Five

A Promise Redacted

James and Lily both took their great-grandmother’s suggestions seriously and had taken their mind off of what they had been doing by having a normal meal with their remaining relatives, followed up with a refreshing nap. They couldn’t help noticing once again how exhausted their Grandmama looked by the time she left the table. Lily was going to ask her if she was feeling okay, but then Fred challenged the two of them to an exciting game of Exploding Snap before they went to their respective rooms.

When they finally awoke from their nap, they were able to duck out into the hallway and go through the secret passageway. As they silently climbed the hidden staircase together, they shared a quick eyeroll and a shrug of the shoulders as if to say, “Here we go again!”

As they reached the once-again darkened attic room at the top of the stairs, by their wand light they saw that the chairs, table, books and scrolls were all as they had left them earlier that day, and that there was a fresh pitcher of pumpkin juice with clean glassware, dessert plates, and silverware already set out in preparation for the evening’s studies. James was also excited to detect a slight lemony scent coming from a covered silver platter. However, they were disappointed to see that Hermione was not there yet.

Taking advantage of the unexpected privacy, James and Lily spoke almost in unison. “So, James...” “So, Lily...” followed by a laughing “You go first...” “No, Sis, you can go ahead.”

Lily smiled as she pulled her chair up to the table. “So... James...what do you think?”

James sat down heavily and took his head in his hands. “I...I’m not sure, Sis. At first it was just so hard for me to get my head wrapped around this whole time-travel idea, and then you had to throw in this concept of ‘different realities’ and then things really stopped making sense, at least to me.”

He sighed, and then continued. “How about you? Did anything that Grandmama told you when I was catching up on my reading make it any easier for you to understand? I mean, there are so many different inconsistencies and ‘little things’ that bother me already with what she’s told us. In fact, I still have some concerns about certain aspects of all this background she’s been sharing with us –some details just don’t seem to make any sense. I've been struggling with figuring out a way to express those concerns to Grandmama without offending her or challenging her, but I haven’t been able to yet.”

Lily nodded her head in sympathy. “Believe me, James, even now that I’ve read all this material, then listened carefully to Grandmama using the drawings to explain what she was talking about, there are times when I still think that it doesn't make any sense. But I keep on listening to her...and it starts fitting together in my mind so it makes a little sense - at least in my mind. I’m sure it is worse for you, since you haven’t had the diagrams explained to you.”

James smiled in relief. “Thanks, Sis - that makes me feel better. Up until now, I’ve been a bit jealous of the fact that you got that extra session with her while I was reading. But now that you said that I guess it probably wouldn’t make any difference. If you as a Head Girl and top of the Ravenclaw class on all your O.W.Ls didn’t really gain any insights from that timeline, I’m sure I would be completely lost from the first diagram.”

From the shadows of the darkened attic, a familiar, yet unexpected voice broke in. “James, don’t sell yourself short. I lived through all of this and sometimes I’m still not sure I believe all of it... or really understand those infernally complex drawings.”

“Grandpapa Harry!” they both exclaimed happily. “What are you doing here?”

As he waved his wand to bring up the lights in the room, he responded in the same way Hermione had to the same query a few days earlier. “Well, I live here, actually. Or had you forgotten?” He reached out his arms and they quickly went over to give and get a big hug from their well-loved (and still famous) ancestor.

As they all returned to the table, Lily asked Harry, “Where’s Grandmama?”

James caught a quick flash of concern and… guilt cross Harry’s face as he said, “She’s... resting. You two youngsters probably don’t realize how tiring and draining, not to mention difficult, this is for her to go through time and time again with each of her posterity when they are old enough to listen to this bit of family history. She’s not getting any younger, you know,” he said testily.

He lifted the cover off the platter, revealing his favorite dessert. “All you need to know is that she made you this wonderful treacle tart while you were napping, and I’m to carry on in her place this evening, if that’s okay with you.” They quickly nodded, as they looked forward to any time they could spend with their great-grandfather Harry. Even though he was “officially” retired, he still maintained a busy schedule consulting both at the Ministry and at Hogwarts.

“Now, if it makes you both feel better,” he continued, as he served everyone some treacle tart with clotted cream and poured the pumpkin juice, “I’ll tell you my opinion about your concerns. Personally I think it all comes down to the inherent ‘incomprehensibility’ of trying to describe a time travel experience adequately using the written or spoken word. It's partly a result of what Muggles call the
Grandfather paradox, and it’s partly the ‘WHAT???’ factor that requires a suspension of disbelief to ignore whatever the concerns are in any discussion that involves time-travel.

“But, the only thing that matters, at least from my standpoint, is that what you have heard and what you will hear and read in the future from your great-grandmother is the honest, complete, unadulterated truth, as far as we can remember – even the parts of the story that don’t seem to have anything to do with the main story and probably don’t really matter one way or another. We may have forgotten a few details over the years, but all you really need to remember is that I...well, we, lived through it. We’ve born testimony to that effect before the Wizengamot during Dolores and Rita’s trial in Courtroom Ten as to the truthfulness of this story as we both lived it”, he said emphatically, “whether or not it makes a lot of sense to people who haven’t experienced what we went through.”

James and Lily both put down their forkfuls of tart and their eyes widened at the mention of the Wizengamot. Lily asked quickly, “When did that happen, Grandpapa? Is there a record of your testimony at the Ministry available for review?”

“Hmm... well... about that. It’s difficult to answer your question with anything other than ‘yes...and no.’ You see, as with any testimony before the Wizarding Council, there was a complete and very accurate record made at the time. However, due to the nature of the testimony and the possible effect of that testimony on both the Wizarding and Muggle worlds... well, the testimony is, as the Ministry records will show if you know where to look, ‘...no longer available for public access.’”

“No longer available?” James asked. “Does that mean it was destroyed or what?”

“Or what.” Harry replied impishly as his eyes flicked almost imperceptibly to the bookcase. “Let’s just say it is safe from prying eyes and leave it at that. Besides that, the time travel portions of our testimony at the trial that the Ministry did allow to be accessed for a short time was so heavily censored - redacted, in lawyer-speak - that it was almost useless to anyone who would try to read it.

“Many of these parchment scrolls, by the time the censors got through with them, that is, appeared to be blank. If you ignored the warnings and tried to use any kind of a revealing spell on them to remove the redaction spell you were covered with permanent spattergroit spots from head to toe. That was Hermione’s handiwork, actually,” he said with obvious pride. “She figured if they were going to redact the documents, she wanted it done right so she volunteered her services.”

Lily’s scowled. “More secrecy, then? As I asked Grandmama earlier, ‘Why the big secret?’ I know she doesn’t think most wizards could handle it as a group, but here we are, two Hogwarts students hearing the whole story, and we haven’t gone batty yet.”

Harry chuckled humorlessly. “Give it time, my dear. Give it time. Don’t be so sure you won’t. You haven’t heard the whole story yet.” He glanced at the large clock in the corner of the attic and said, “In fact, we’d better stop chatting so I can get this done before... oh, never mind about that.”

His face lit up in a grin as he began to fire off a series of strange questions. “First, if I could have your attention while we go over the safety procedures. Please keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times, and if at any point you become disoriented, there's nothin' we can do about it. Have you removed all of your jewelry? Are you allergic to shellfish? Have you turned off all of your electronic devices? Have you buckled your seatbelts and made sure that your seat backs and tray tables are in their upright and locked positions? Have you reviewed the safety instructions in the pocket in front of you? Always remember that in the event of a water landing, your seat cushion can serve as a flotation device! Please take note of where the nearest exit is located... it may be behind you! Are you both ready to go?”

Both James and Lily, who had no idea what their great-grandfather was going on about (and wondered if today was the day he started going senile), smiled weakly and said, “Sure, Grandpapa....whatever you say. We’re ready when you are.”

Harry, who obviously knew that the youngsters wouldn’t understand his references to Muggle airplane travel restrictions in the late 20th and early 21st century, mixed in with a few lines from a Muggle movie he remembered seeing with Hermione the summer after they were married, chuckled internally. <Got to keep my reputation as a barmy old codger up somehow. But it’s still sad that kids these days don’t understand my sense of humor.> He then smiled at them and said, “Okay! Let's make it happen, Cap'n! What do you want to know about first?”

Lily spoke up first. “Well, Grandmama had mentioned something about Dumbledore using you as a ‘cat’s paw’. Could you tell us about that? I mean, based on how he’s described at the end of the first scroll, he doesn’t seem to be all that bad of a person, right? You were at least acting civilly towards him.”

James noticed Harry’s neck muscles tightening quickly as his eyes focused on a far off memory. “Ah... yes. Albus Dumbledore. I wasn’t sure if Hermione was that far along in the story or not. Well, that is as good a place as any, I suppose. Now pay attention, you too. I may repeat some things that Hermione has already mentioned, but that’s okay,” he said as he closed his eyes and sat back in his chair for a moment, apparently gathering his strength. Then he started to speak in a quiet, yet clear voice.

“First, the only reason I ‘acted civilly’ with Albus after my future wife rescued me at the end of the first scroll was at her request. The more I was around either Dumbledore in either timeline, the more of a bad feeling I had about him, even before we found out that it was part of Dumbledore’s master plan to take over the Muggles and ‘protect’ them. If either of us had known about that then, well, let’s just say you wouldn’t have used the term ‘civil’ to describe our actions towards him.

“There were just a few minor problems he had to figure out a way to overcome – the first of which was the International Statute of Secrecy, not to mention any number of other major wizarding laws and ordinances he would have to ignore or actively violate to accomplish his goals. But he figured out early on that he needed an emissary – someone who would be a bridge between the Wizarding and Muggle worlds, and then he needed a way to ‘introduce’ this emissary to the Muggles in such a way that they would accept him openly, thereby eventually leading to their acceptance of Wizards in general, and finally Dumbledore specifically as the ‘benevolent, yet powerful’ Wizard who would help them if they would only accept his control over them ‘for the Muggles’ own good.’” He snorted derisively.

“To make a long, boring story much shorter, as part of his investigations and research into time travel in the Department of Mysteries over the years he came across evidence of the existence of an extremely large number of parallel universes that were very similar to the one he lived in, along with an unimaginably large number of other universes that were populated with many combinations of different environments, creatures, peoples, and other things that you wouldn’t think of in your dizziest daydreams.

“After more experimental work with certain magical instruments that he ‘borrowed’ and kept with him in the Headmaster’s office from then on, he was finally able to find a way to first, identify, and then, travel at will between these different universes – at least the ones that had an environment that was safe for both Wizard Folk and Muggles to live in. Then, he began to observe the similarities between them, and, most importantly, the differences.”

“Differences? Like what, Grandpapa?” Lily asked.

“The only difference he was interested in was the presence or absence of representatives of the true Wizarding race living in the same world as Muggles.” Harry responded. “But, even in worlds that were populated with Muggles that followed
parallel development paths, there were differences in some of the finer details of their respective world histories – some of which were more important than others, but they were still different. Eventually he discovered an alternate reality that contained almost an exact duplicate of his world, except there weren’t any true Wizards, dragons, hippogriffs, elves, goblins, centaurs, or anything magical as we know it there – just Muggles.

“What made this reality ideal for his purposes, though, was the fact that for some reason the Muggles there had a lot of legends, fairy tales, and other stories about wizards, dragons, hippogriffs, elves, goblins, centaurs, and magic, along with some misguided folks who described themselves as witches or wizards or ‘magic users’ over that world’s history. But, if you were to meet one you’d realize right away that they were at most pretenders meddling in things they should have left alone – they were never part of the true Wizarding race. You can tell that they are fakes right away - they age at the same rate as the other humans in their world, not half as fast after ‘coming of age’ as our race does compared to Muggles.”

Harry took a drink of juice and continued. “This, he realized, was exactly the reality he was looking for – a world where, if his plans went awry, there wouldn’t actually be a violation of the various statutes – he reasoned that if there weren’t actually any true Wizards in that world to expose to the Muggles, there couldn’t be any harm done. He also guessed, correctly, I might add, that the whole story would originally be explained away as a ‘work of fiction’ by the general populace, and anyone who actually believed it to be true would be considered somewhat immature or uneducated.”

Lily thought for a moment, then asked another question. “But what does this alternate reality have to do with you? You weren’t there – you and Grandmama were part of the reality where Albus came from, right?”

“Lily, let’s just say you’re getting ahead of the story. But you’re correct in one idea, at least – I wasn’t part of that world...yet. That wasn’t true for much longer. Hermione already told you about Ms. Rowling’s ‘interesting’ experience, I take it?”

“Yes... she told us that it appears that Dumbledore used multiple Imperius curses on her over an unknown period to influence the writing of the first books, but that was about all she said before we got off on other subjects. Is there more to it that you can tell us?”

“Yes. Yes there is,” Harry replied. “You’ve probably already figured out that Ms. Rowling lived in the ‘non-magical’ alternate reality Albus discovered, right?”

James looked puzzled for a second, but then the light dawned and he nodded.

“Good... if you can accept that, you’re well on your way to understanding the rest of the story. So, anyway, soon after my fourth year at Hogwarts, during the time when I was having my horrible summer isolated at the Dursley’s right after Cedric died during the Triwizard Tournament, Albus implemented this part of his plan. He had observed Ms. Rowling at a distance during other visits to different times in her reality and had determined that, while she wasn’t an author of anything more than a few amateur writing attempts, she was a ‘kindred spirit’ with an open, yet detail-driven, mind. In fact, she reminded him in many ways of your Grandmama.

“So, one day he traveled back to the year 1990 in her reality and found her on a crowded train traveling from Manchester to London. Then he most likely used one or more Imperius Curses on her over the next year or so to give her ‘fully formed’ ideas for the first five books about me and my adventures to that point. Eventually he also gave her the concepts behind Quidditch and the magical creatures we know from this world, all as a kind of ‘proof of concept’ test on an unsuspecting world of Muggles to see how they would accept the idea of true Wizards and our genetic abilities to perform magic. If it were successful, then his idea was to use the results of his experiment to petition the Ministry to also try it in his reality.”

Lily looked quite thoughtful, and then spoke up. “Ah... that explains why the first five books are reasonably accurate representations of that part of your life the first time through. It also explains why Dumbledore comes off as a benevolent hero type in all of them. I’m curious, though - how did he know all those details to give to Ms. Rowling? What did he do, have spies recording your every move since you were born?”

“Right in one, Lily! And not just spies. He had other methods, too. Remember the Pensieve? Well, apparently there were nights when I was asleep in my dorm room at Hogwarts or at the Dursley’s that he was 'borrowing without permission' my memories and thoughts, along with the thoughts and memories of quite a few others, including Hermione’s and the Dursley’s, by the way.

“Of course, he knew that if he was ever caught doing any of this to Muggles or Wizards, especially students in his care, he would have been sent to Azkaban immediately – that is, if he would have lived long enough to stand trial – angry parents, you know. But, he was confident in his ability to avoid others because of a certain cloak that he had stolen from the Godric’s Hollow house the night my parents died.”

Harry’s voice became tenser as he continued. “By the way, I discovered later that even after he returned the cloak to me as a Christmas present, he apparently ‘borrowed’ it from my trunk whenever he felt the situation warranted. Dumbledore also had the house elves to help him when needed, along with a detailed knowledge of all the hidden passageways and shortcuts at Hogwarts and the surrounding area, even ones that weren’t on the Marauder’s Map. I dare say he likely knew even more about the inner workings of the castle than my father and his friends ever did. But, even the best laid plans can hit a snag. He was caught.”

James, who had perked up at the mention of the Marauder’s Map that had been handed down to him by Lily on his most recent birthday, asked quickly, “By whom?”

“Well, luckily for Albus, it was by probably the one person who wouldn’t immediately turn him in to the Ministry... at least without trying to cut a deal. Albus was first caught by none other than Arthur Weasley... Ron and Ginny’s dad.

“One night, Arthur came home to the Burrow after a late shift at the Ministry. As he was heading up the stairs, he heard a strange noise coming from Ginny’s room. Assuming it was just the twins pulling another prank on their little sister, Arthur wanted to catch them in the act. So, he pulled his wand out and yelled ’Petrificus Totalus‘ as he burst through the door, only to see Albus Dumbledore in what looked like a very compromising position in the bedroom, well, actually, in the bed of one of his young female students.

“Not only that, because she had a small bed in a low-ceilinged room, he was actually straddling her in bed so he could get in the correct position with his wand to extract her memories. Of course, since Albus always kept a shield charm around him to protect him from this very circumstance, Arthur’s curse bounced harmlessly off of the headmaster... and completely froze poor Ginny in her bed until the morning.”

Lily looked shocked. “Then what happened?”

Harry chuckled. “Well, as you can imagine, Arthur was at first taken aback, but his fatherly instincts quickly kicked in and he was, to say the least, quite angry.”

“I’ll bet he was! I can imagine what my dad would do if he caught an old wizard straddling me in MY bed late one night!”

“Yes, but of course, Arthur, although a capable wizard, was no match for Albus when it came to spell work. After a short and extremely one-sided battle, Arthur found himself tied up and gagged with magical bindings in the kitchen of the Burrow, even angrier than before, but also fearing for his life.

Fortunately, Albus was in a good mood, and was able to calm Arthur down to the point where he could remove the gag. After that, Arthur’s first words that are repeatable in mixed company were “You bleepin’ piece of dragon bleep! What the bleep were you doing in bed with my daughter?” That yell, by the way, was loud enough to wake Molly. As she came downstairs to investigate, soon she found herself bound and gagged in the chair next to her husband.”

Harry continued. “Albus, who was nothing but direct when he knew he had the upper hand, told them both exactly what he was doing – he was extracting some of Ginny’s memories... and her fantasies... about me. Remember, this was after I had saved her life in the Chamber of Secrets and she was still a young, impressionable girl with a big crush on her rescuer. The fact that I was also a famous wizard that she had heard about ever since she was a toddler just made her crush worse.

“Albus then gave the Weasleys a magical oath that he had no evil or lecherous intent of any kind towards their daughter. In fact, Albus was willing to cut a deal in exchange for their silence. You see, before he had been in Ginny’s room that evening, he had paid a visit to Ron and had already extracted his most recent memories about me...and more of his private thoughts about a certain bushy headed witch.”

“Let me guess... Grandmama Hermione?” Lily asked. “So... does this mean Ron wasn’t as clueless as she told us? Did he have romantic feelings about her.”

“Erm... well... in a word, no.” Harry sounded a bit uncomfortable. “Remember, Ron was a teenage wizard, growing up as the youngest son in a house full of older male wizards...all of whom had been or were teenage wizards themselves...with a common tendency to brag about their experiences and conquests, some of which might have been real, but they were mostly imagined. Let’s just say that as we reviewed the evidence for the trial, we found out that Ron’s detailed thoughts and fantasies - that he repeatedly denied having, by the way - about Hermione at that time were not at all what you’d call ‘romantic’ and leave it at that. I’ll spare you the sordid details.”

James, who was just getting to the age where those kind of thoughts were becoming part of his nightly dreaming, and had already experienced that ‘locker room talk’ from the older boys on the Hufflepuff team after Quidditch practice, shouted “EWWW! Not with Grandmama! That’s disgusting!”

Harry nodded emphatically and said “If you only knew how right you were, James. But let’s move on with the story. Since Dumbledore was quite familiar with Arthur’s ‘mixed blood is better’ beliefs, and since both Molly and Arthur were already quite aware of how powerful of a witch Hermione was, Albus explained to them what his plans were and then offered them the ideal resolution. If they would promise not to spill the beans to the Ministry, Albus would arrange it so that Ron would marry Hermione, and I would be wed to Ginny.”

“I’m assuming you or Grandmama’s feelings weren’t considered?” Lily said, wryly.

Harry snorted loudly. “That’s a fair assumption. While I always liked Ginny as a friend since she was the sister of my first ‘best mate’ at school, and it is true that I literally risked my life to save hers on more than one occasion, I never really felt that way about her. Now, Hermione, on the other hand...well, I know at one time she did have romantic feelings for Ron. If she had had to choose between us, hey, you never know...” Harry’s voice trailed off sadly.

James patted him on the arm. “Don’t worry. She told us all about it, Grandpapa. It was all just a childhood crush because of her obs...interest in red-haired gluttons.”

“Of course. I already knew that.” he said quickly, but they noticed that Harry’s spirits improved considerably.

Lily pressed on. “But why would Albus make a promise like that to Arthur? Didn’t he make any consideration of your feelings? I know I would HATE to have anyone else make that decision for me!”

“Actually, it’s not really all that bad on his part. And by that I mean back then Albus wasn’t concerned in the least about either one of us and our future marriage prospects, because that assumed that we would even survive his plan in the first place All that mattered to him was my defeating Voldemort according to the prophecy. So, if he had to promise our betrothals to Ron and Ginny to keep from being exposed, so be it.

“You see, Dumbledore, after he decided on his master plan, had no qualms in doing whatever he felt best at the time to accomplish it. This included keeping me isolated and dependent on him for companionship, guidance, and support. He knew this was the best way to keep very close tabs on me – he wasn’t about to trust his fate and the fate of the Wizarding and Muggle worlds (in his mind, anyway) to chance. It was, you see, all ‘for the greater good,’” Harry said, again with obvious disgust.

“So, what happened?” James asked. “Seems like his plan was working pretty well and he was taking care of any unexpected problems.”

“You’re right, James. Everything was going according to plan until Voldemort interfered by inadvertently sending me back to a different parallel universe - one that included Wizards, by the way - when I returned to the Dursley’s after our first fifth year. Of course, Tom Riddle had done some time-travel research over the years in his desire to become immortal and had come to similar conclusions as Albus. While Tom was actually trying to send me back in time to my own past in the same timeline, he either miscalculated or his ‘aim’ was affected by Bellatrix’s unauthorized use of magic on me- not that it really matters, of course.”

Harry stopped, took another bite of tart, closed his eyes, smiled, and then continued. “But this is why Dumbledore had to send Hermione as Harmony back to fetch me back. All of this is recorded in the first scroll, as you know. By the way, he gave her the very same time turner he had used to visit Ms. Rowling earlier. His various time-travel tracking instruments had already indicated to him that I had been sent back to an alternative universe he wasn’t that familiar with – in fact, he thought it was entirely possible that Tom had actually created a new reality by the act of sending me there.

“They also recorded the appropriate time and space coordinates he would have to enter in the time turner so Hermione could find me. From his standpoint, the only thing that mattered was that Voldemort was interfering with his master plan, so he had to quickly come up with a new plan. He was willing to sacrifice Hermione, if need be, to put it right again and return me to our reality. When Hermione/Harmony returned with me, the fact that she was alive was a bonus – it only meant that he could keep all his promises to the Weasleys.

“However, there was something that Albus hadn’t been expecting – when Hermione/Harmony returned after successfully rescuing me, instead of Tom’s alternative reality’s time bubble ‘bursting’ as he hoped, it somehow became at least partially merged with his reality – he soon found out that to everyone outside Hermione’s parent’s house, history had changed to become a mix of alternate timeline historical facts and most of what happened before the timeline meddling as being what had happened all along. Dumbledore figured that the two universes were close enough together in energy state that when Harry and Hermione/Harmony returned, a resonant effect of some kind resulted in a merger between the two related universes.”

Lily raised her hand timidly. “Grandpapa, why do you keep on referring to Grandmama as ‘Hermione/Harmony’?

Harry smiled. “Well, you see, she is a big reason why there was a resonant effect. Remember, the Hermione that came back with me wasn’t exactly the same person that had been sent back to find me in the first place.” Now it was Lily’s turn to look confused for a bit, but then she finally nodded in acceptance as Harry explained further.

“This Hermione was originally a young Muggle-born girl in that alternative universe where Voldemort sent me. She met someone she knew at first as Assistant Professor Harmony June Puckle, who was actually the Hermione from Albus’s reality.”

Harry paused for a few seconds and glanced at Hermione’s timeline drawing as if to check his facts, then continued. “When the time chamber device in the Department of Mysteries recombined Hermione and Harmony into one physical body in an attempt to save their lives, it had the added effect of at least partially merging the two timelines themselves... or at least caused a crossover effect that affected Dumbledore’s reality. We’re still not sure exactly as to the fine details – all we can identify are the effects. Hermione may tell you more about that when she continues with her part of the story tomorrow.”

“So,” James said thoughtfully, “that would mean that possibly somewhere there are possible ‘realities’ where things worked out differently and either you or Grandmama died, or Dumbledore wasn’t so manipulative, or you actually did fall in love with Ginny Weasley?” Harry made a sour face at James’ last example, but then he nodded his agreement. “Yes, James... all of the above, actually... along with many other equally strange scenarios.”

James began to get excited as he thought it through. “But that would mean that there could be worlds where Voldemort...” He stopped as he realized what he was about to say.

Harry completed his sentence for him. “...defeated and destroyed the Muggles, and much of that Wizarding world, completely – well, at least in those realities.” He looked with pride at his great-grandson and said, “By the way, James, don’t ever feel inadequate when it comes to your intelligence, especially compared to your sister. You figured that side-effect out a lot faster than most of the Wizengamot did when they first heard the story. Good on you!”

James beamed at the compliment as Lily smiled at him. “See, James... what have I been trying to tell you all along? I think you’d make a great Ravenclaw.”

Harry continued. “But, rest assured, James. Hermione and I have never been able to confirm that scenario happening in all our investigations into many universes over the years. Remember, we are authorized time-travelers. We weren’t authorized by the Wizengamot to time-travel just to give us lots of exotic vacation destinations to choose from,” he said, smiling at some private memories, then continued.

“They also correctly assumed that Voldemort, if he existed in another timeline, was still a potential threat to find his way to our timeline. So, for all these years we’ve been authorized to continue to look for him and report back if we find any reality where he still exists. Apparently, good triumphs over evil in the long run most of the time. And in the very few instances where Voldemort did win, well, let’s just say that fortunately for the other timelines, he was too distracted by enjoying the spoils of his victory to consider seeking conquest elsewhere. Besides, there are efforts underway in many of those timelines to rectify the situationBut, let’s get back to the part of the story that most directly affects you, okay?”

Harry took a deep swig of pumpkin juice and continued. “Not only that, but Dumbledore found that he had at least three major problems resulting from the time-travel of Hermione/Harmony and Harry.

“The first problem happened soon after our return. Arthur and Molly Weasley met up with us in Diagon Alley when we were shopping for our sixth-year supplies. They immediately felt our new and extremely strong soul-bond – happily married couples can be very sensitive to another couple’s soul bond, and, no matter what people may say about them, they were always a happy couple. Anyway, they both realized that the scenario they had been counting on had irrevocably changed, though they didn’t know why. They knew that I would end up marrying Hermione if we survived, while Ron and Ginny would be cut out of the previously agreed-to deal.

“The second problem occurred the day after our meet-up in Diagon Alley, Arthur was at the Leaky Cauldron, drowning his sorrows over losing a chance for his two youngest to marry non-purebloods. Rita Skeeter, who was lurking around at the pub looking for additional material for the exposé she was writing about Albus, overheard just enough of his firewhiskey-driven threats to expose Albus’s actions to the Wizengamot for her to want to investigate further. She was desperate to get revenge on Hermione specifically for the events that had occurred to her in the alternate timeline because of Hermione and Harmony’s intervention.

“So, with the help of a few drops of stolen Veritaserum in Albus’s next pint, she got quite a story. Unfortunately for her though, she was seen drugging him by Tom the bartender and she spent the next few years in Azkaban after they confirmed what she had done. Stealing Veritaserum and using it on another person without legal authorization from a member of the Ministry was (and still is) a major offense– even if Severus Snape was from time to time known to threaten his students with that very worrisome possibility.”

“Finally, to make this long story shorter, let’s just say that all of this timeline meddling had also changed the course of many events in this timeline and completely messed up Albus’s original plans. This resulted in his unplanned death at the end of our sixth year, followed by Voldemort’s defeat in our seventh year as documented in Ms. Rowling’s book...just not exactly the way it is documented in her books.” Harry stopped talking as he waited for the inevitable 'obvious question’. He didn’t have to wait long.

“But...wait a minute.” Lily interrupted. “What about those last two books? Obviously Dumbledore didn’t go back again and ‘Imperius’ her again, did he? How did Ms. Rowling know enough to write those last two books if he was dead?”

“Well, those books mostly started out as her idea. First, though, I want you to take a look at the publishing dates on those books. You’ll see that there is an interesting pattern there. The first four ‘full year’ books, plus Quidditch Through The Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, were all published in her reality in less than four years – which makes sense, since, at her own admission, she had just been writing down what Albus had imprinted so deeply in her mind over that time. But then you’ll see there is a big gap of over two years before the fifth year book is published, followed by another two year gap between the fifth and sixth year books and the sixth and seventh year books. Then, just a short while after her version of our seventh year was published, her publishing house released the handsomely bound volume of The Tales of Beedle the Bard that you see here.”

“So it took her longer to release the last few books.” James sounded confused as he interrupted. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“I’m getting to that, young man.” Harry said. “As far as we can tell, after Jo released the fourth book to critical acclaim in July of 2000, she began to get worried as she worked on transcribing her knowledge of the fifth year events. Since she obviously knew she was no longer in possession of the knowledge necessary to guide her through writing the events of the sixth and seventh year, she began to deliberately delay things. We assume she was just hoping to catch lightning in a jar one more time, or maybe she was starting to panic and didn’t know what she was going to do after the fifth book was published. So, she started making reasonable excuses to her publisher, and, in late 2001 she also took another big personal step to help explain her delays to her many fans.”

“What did she do?” asked Lily.

“She did the same thing that Hermione and I did...on the same day, coincidentally enough. She got married.”

“Let me get this straight.” James interrupted. “You’re saying that Jo Rowling got married on the 26th of December, 2001, in her reality?”

“Yes, that’s right. In fact, here’s a picture we found of her and her second husband, Dr. Neil Murray, together soon after they got married. We came across it during our investigation. Do you notice anything interesting?” Harry said with a grin.

Lily immediately saw the resemblance. “Why... Grandpapa...he looks a lot like you... well, how you were described as looking when you were younger, anyway. Glasses, unruly dark hair...nice smile, and, I must say, very handsome in a boyish sort of way.”

Harry smiled. “Why, thank you, Lily. I don’t know if it’s my bald head or my wrinkly skin, but I don’t get told that much anymore. But apparently, Jo agreed with you... and ended up marrying.... well, me. At least a reasonable facsimile, that is. But there is one more thing. Guess who Ms. Rowling said she ‘modeled’ Hermione after in the books?”

It was James’ turn. “Let me guess... she modeled Grandmama after herself.”

“Yes. On her website, she came out and said that Hermione resembles her at a younger age, with her insecurity and fear of failure. Other quotes from different interviews she conducted go in to more detail about how much she related to Hermione’s character and personality, including her obsess... interest in the poor and downtrodden, as she was writing the novels. That affinity for Hermione may have been what attracted Albus to her in the first place – he could sense the similarities between Jo and the Hermione he knew from his world-line. So, in her own life at least, Jo finally ‘got the story right’ and ‘Harry’ married ‘Hermione’. Just as it should have been all along.” he said with obvious satisfaction.

He continued, smiling broadly, “And, to make things even more interesting, we also found that she had been previously married to someone with whom she quarreled frequently and finally divorced after a ‘stormy’ two years. Remind you of anyone?”

“Minister Weasley?” James said, incredulously. So, let me get this straight. In her own life, ‘Hermione’ tried a marriage to ‘Ron’, and it didn’t work out. Why am I not surprised?”

“How did she get it so WRONG, then, in the last two books?” Lily asked, visibly agitated. “It just doesn’t make sense. And reading that last part of the seventh book the other day made me so mad I slammed the book shut…and I never treat books that way. When ‘Ron’ is almost bragging to ‘Harry’ about cheating on his Muggle driving exam by Confunding the poor Muggle examiner, and then lying to his wife, ‘Hermione’,” she shuddered involuntarily as she said that, “about it, I just knew there was something very wrong. Who would write such garbage when she obviously knew from her own experience that someone like her and someone like Ron would never get along in a marriage?”

“In answer to your question, it wasn’t all Ms. Rowling’s fault. Hermione already told you who was responsible for the lies of the sixth and seventh books, didn’t she?”

“All she told us was that Dolores Umbridge and Rita Skeeter were involved.”

“Then that, my dear, is the rest of what we’ll talk about tonight. But first, let’s stretch our legs a bit.” He waved his wand and a previously hidden doorway opened up. “The toilet’s down the hall and to your left. We had to add that after the first few times we had this conversation with our children.” Meet you back here in, oh, let’s say, half an hour?”

*********

After returning from their break and refilling their plates with some more of the delicious treacle tart, Harry continued the story.

“During our research associated with our time-traveling assignments, we found that a few years after the true events of our sixth and seventh years occurred as recorded in the second scroll, Dolores Umbridge was finally released from St. Mungo’s. Do you remember what had happened to her
in the first scroll?”

James laughed. “Ah... yes.
The repeating Muggle-disease sequence. That was brilliant!”

“Yes. Yes it was.” Harry nodded and smiled broadly at the memory.

“Well, after fighting for years the very idea of using a Muggle cure to heal her, eventually she agreed to be healed from Hermione’s Muggle-disease sequence by a simple course of Muggle anti-viral drugs to break the cycle. Umbridge, while cured from the disease, was by this time, quite crazed by her thoughts of revenge against us – the ‘last straw’ being the fact that the Daily Prophet had regularly included stories since 26 December 2001 about how happily married we were. Then, soon after our wedding and for the next few years, they started describing our obvious desire and ability to produce more non-pureblood offspring. However, that old hag was somehow able to control the outside signs of her insanity well enough that she was able to return to working at the ministry – and ended up pulling strings to allow her to work in the Department of Mysteries.

“You see, soon after her release from hospital, she had a chance run-in with Rita Skeeter - who had just been released from serving her term at Azkaban - at the Boar’s Head Inn. For some reason, over drinks, I suppose, they began to commiserate about their lot in life. They soon found they had common enemies – both the two of us and to some extent, Dumbledore. After hearing the results of Rita’s years-earlier investigation and Veritaserum aided interrogation of Arthur, Umbridge started an investigation herself. As a result, she realized she needed to have access to certain books and equipment she knew to be in the Department of Mysteries that had been removed from Dumbledore’s office after his death in accordance with his will. So, by sometime in 2004 she had not only found additional evidence of Dumbledore’s ‘greater good’ experiment and his plans to take over the Muggle world, but she had also learned how to travel to other timelines and universes using Dumbledore’s instruments along with a time-turner she had ‘borrowed’ from the Department and modified according to his detailed instructions.

Lily interrupted. “Why didn’t she just use Dumbledore’s time-turner? The one that he used to send ‘Harmony’ back in the first place.”

Harry put his finger up to his lips. “Hold that thought, Lily. You’ll find out about that later, I promise. Good catch, by the way.” He winked at her and then continued.

“Based on Albus’ records and observations about how events in one timeline seemed to affect the other related timelines, Umbridge thought that if she went back and corrupted the new timeline by traveling once again to Ms. Rowling’s 2004 reality to put her version of our sixth and seventh year experiences in Ms. Rowling’s mind as she was starting the last two books, it would end up ruining our life together in any number of related timelines. Since she didn’t have skills as a writer of fiction that would on the surface at least seem reasonable, she turned to Rita Skeeter, who had extensive experience in writing that kind of material – especially the invented details of the fictional romance between myself and Ginny.”

“As a side note,” Harry resumed, “we found that Rita also had developed an abnormal interest in the Muggles’ use of Tarot cards in an attempt to predict the future. So, especially in the sixth book she incorporated that interest into the story in the form of Professor Trelawney. Hermione and I both knew our Professor Trelawney well enough to know that even she would not stoop so low as to use Muggle Tarot cards to help her make a prophecy, no matter how desperate she might have been. That, by the way, was one of the many things Hermione and I noticed as being completely wrong when we first read that book.”

“But Grandpapa,” James asked, “Why would Umbridge go to so much trouble to do all this? What benefit does she get out of continuing Albus’ plan, even indirectly, by helping Ms. Rowling complete her series of books?”

“That’s a very good question, James. We wondered the same thing... until her trial, that is. During the trial, after a review of Dolores’ detailed personal journal, apparently she relished the idea of being able to live in a reality where Hermione and I were doomed to be miserable for the rest of our lives – which would be any reality where we were married to someone else. With Albus now dead, there was nothing to stop her and Rita from doing the same thing he had done – just for a different reason.

“You see, Dolores and Rita wanted their revenge on us if possible, or at least on the Harry and Hermione in the reality they were now living in. They figured that an obvious way to at least make their Harry and Hermione miserable (while holding out hope that it might even affect Hermione and me in this reality too )was by changing things there to force Harry to marry Ginny and Hermione to marry Ron and bear his children.” Harry shuddered visibly as he said this last sentence.

“Fortunately, we were able to stop that from happening. Hermione will tell you that part of the story tomorrow. But now,” he said, looking at the clock, “it is getting really late and I need to see how... well, I need to check on a few things downstairs. And, from the looks of it, you need to get to bed.”

Lily and James both yawned in unison then laughed. “I suppose we are getting tired.” Lily said, yawning once again.

James nodded and said “Thanks, Grandpapa, for talking to us tonight. It helped a lot.”

“By the way”, Harry said as he turned out the lights behind them and they descended the staircase together. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention to your Grandmama that I was here talking to you about this subject this evening. You see, I ...sort of helped her get to sleep... well, without her explicit permission.” He winked at James and Lily conspiratorially.

Lily feigned an appalled look. “What did you do, Grandpapa? Spike her pumpkin juice with sleeping draught?”

Startled, Harry peered quickly into Lily’s eyes. “You haven’t studied Legilimency. How did you guess?

“Because it’s what I would have done in your shoes.” she said simply. “James and I both noticed how tired Grandmama was today, so we’re glad you did what you did. Your secret is safe with us. Tomorrow morning when we come up here after breakfast we’ll just ask her questions about how she figured this all out and how you both ‘put it right’ as she said, and that should keep her from suspecting that you’ve been up here too. Besides, this way we got to spend time with you and hear your viewpoint on this whole thing, so it’s been a wonderful experience, right, James?”

James smiled broadly. “Yes, Grandpapa. Since I trust both you and Grandmama and believe you’re both telling the truth, and now that I’ve heard your side of the story too, I’ve decided that I’m not going to worry too much about the little inconsistencies and the ‘concerns’ I have about the details of this story. I guess it’s just going to be one of those things that you have to take with a little bit of faith.”