"Aftermath of Tomorrow": Chapter 1 - Dark Present
Before getting on to the main reason for this post, a belated birthday to the star of the show, Harry Potter, who would have turned 28 yesterday! Aaaah, still a young wizard at any rate, right?
Now. The main purpose of the posting. With a new month, I present the beginning of the sequel to "Canadian Intervention". I actually already have the first 4 chapters ready to post, but they will be released gradually. I expect chapter 2 of the story to go up on FanFiction.net later today (but keep in mind, things have to be altered a bit for me to be able to post there... we can't write about real peeps on FF.net.)
Title: Harry Potter and the Aftermath of Tomorrow
Chapter Title: 1. Dark Present
Fandoms: Harry Potter/Chronicles of Narnia/Real People
Pairing: Harry Potter/Frank Iero
Story Rating: PG-13
Chapter Word count: ~2,806
Warning(s): Violence, gore, coarse language
Chapter Summary: Harry manages to defeat Voldemort in 2067, but the world left behind is a nightmare... Harry executes a risky move to return to his past self, and set things right.
LEGAL STUFF
This is a work of fiction. Names, character, places and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or a used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental. This is a work of parody, as defined by the Fair Use Doctrine. Any similarities, without satirical intent, to copyrighted characters, or individuals living or dead, are purely coincidental.
This work has not been endorsed by J.K. Rowling, Raincoast Books, Scholastic Books, Warner Brothers, or any of the other holding copyright or license to the Harry Potter books or movies. No connection is implied or should be inferred.
This work has not been endorsed by the estate of C.S. Lewis, Harper Collins Publishing, Walt Disney, Walden Media, or any other holding copyright or license to the "Chronicles of Narnia" works or movies. No connection is implied or should be inferred.
This is not a commercial work. The authors receive no financial gain from its production or distribution. It is available without charge.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story will for the most part disregard Half Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows (I haven't read DH yet, waiting for the soft-cover version. However, I do have an idea of some things that occurred. At any rate, as said, this story will disregard most of its events). Caution, there may be a little OOC'ness (or maybe a lot, roll with it, Ok?)
Now… with adding a second universe, I must also post a spoiler warning for "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian". It will also involve some characters from the previous book (and one of my all-time favourites), "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe"… and there may be spoilers involved there too. Have I warned you enough? The OOC warning stands here, too.
I will also warn people… there is SLASH in this story (although, if you have already read "Canadian Intervention", you know that already). Yes, boy-on-boy, wand-on-wand, people. IF YOU ARE OFFENDED BY SUCH MATERIAL, CLICK THE 'BACK' BUTTON NOW.
Still with me? Great… without further adieu, I present, "HARRY POTTER AND THE AFTERMATH OF TOMORROW"
1: DARK PRESENT
June 24, 2067 -
Harry Potter stood over the prone figure in the ruined courtyard of what had been Hogwarts. The castle had been reduced to piles of rubble years before, although Harry had used some of the lower areas that were still intact. For now, he held his attention on the man who still referred to himself as Lord Voldemort.
"Well, are you just going to stand there, or are you going to finish what you started, Potter?" said Voldemort. Harry only glared back, his emerald eyes still blazing bright as ever, partially obscured by the tangle of matted greying hair that hung down across his face. In his hand he held a broadsword. It had been a gift from a friend in a land he could never return to. On the hilt was an engraving of a lion. It was rather ironic, considering the house Harry had been sorted into so many years before. The lion on the sword was a symbol of something different.
"This is for Ron and Hermione," said Harry, and plunged the sword into Voldemort's chest, eliciting a grunt from the Dark Lord. He drew it out.
"And this is for Frankie!" Harry snarled, and jabbed it into his chest again, this time without a sound.
"You took everything from me, Tom," said Harry. "My friends, my partner. But you failed. Because I still have the things you CAN'T take away from me. I have love, I know the value of friendship, and, most importantly, I know what compassion means… and I truly feel sorry for you. I do hope your next great adventure is better than this life has been." Voldemort tried to form words, but his lungs were rapidly filling with fluid, his energy leaving him. Harry sat down on a piece of stone work and waited, while the life slowly bled out of the Dark Lord. No, he wouldn't just walk away, he would watch every second, to be absolutely sure. He had been fooled before, and there would be no fooling this time.
When the body at last went limp, Harry once again drew the sword and brought it down with all his strength, severing the head from the body. It was a messy job, but it was insurance. Finally, he re-sheathed the sword and drew his Elder wand. He so much missed being able to easily cast magic. Even simple charms nowadays took tremendous amounts of energy. It was like he was 5 or 6 years old again, magically speaking, with an undeveloped core. He focused carefully on the body, gesturing with the wand, and said, “Incendio.”
He instantly felt weakened immensely as Voldemort’s body burst into flames. He stumbled away as the stench of burning flesh filled the air. He again sat on the stone, pulling out a restorative draught, something he had great reserves of. Just casting the simplest of spells drained him. Casting something advanced, such as a Patronus, was virtually out of the question. In fact, as far as he knew, the killing curse had not been cast in over 30 years.
Hermione had been the one to understand what was happening. He remembered that discussion quite clearly, nearly twelve years ago. In a nutshell, she said, magic was dying. The earth’s natural energy, or latent magic, had been disturbed and dissipated during the nuclear war that enveloped the planet. Without that latent magical energy around, witches and wizards began to find it harder to cast magic. Now, it was getting near impossible. Even apparating was becoming extremely taxing, which was the next issue on Harry’s agenda.
Harry plopped down in a seat in the common room, completely exhausted.
“Well, is he gone?” Harry looked up to see his mother and father looking down at him from the portrait above the fireplace.
“He’s gone, dad,” answered Harry. “I-I-I killed him. I stood there and watched the life drain out of him.” The distress was evident in his voice.
“Son, you must not feel sorry for him, he did horrible things,” said James.
“But that’s just it, dad, I DO feel sorry for him.”
“And that’s what makes you a better person than he was, Harry,” said Sirius, from his portrait. “The world has a chance to recover…”
“Recover? Bloody hell, there’s nothing to recover FROM, Padfoot! Everything that I had, every SINGLE person I really cared about, GONE!” He produced yet another restorative draught and drained it. “Is Dumbledore around?”
“I think he’s in the portrait in the library, dear,” said Lily.
Coming to an understanding between himself and the former headmaster happened only after the old man had died, ironically so, stepping in front of a killing curse meant for Harry. With that act, he somewhat redeemed himself, and with Minerva’s prodding, Harry added a portrait to the trunk, so that Albus could continue to offer advice.
“And how did Sir Potter make out?” asked Albus. His portrait had been set up above the large computer workstation on the left side of the library.
“Albus, I haven’t been known as that since… since Cair Paravel,” Harry answered, looking down at the sword that was strapped to his side. “I would return there if I could, at least I would still have friends.” He plopped down into the chair at the desk, practically at a loss as to what to do next.
He had finally fulfilled the prophecy, but what was there left to live for? Really and truly, anything that gave him any kind of joy had been ripped away from him. Voldemort had held true to his promise, ensuring that the Boy-Who-Lived was truly left with nothing. Even the world itself was in a shattered state.
What would happen, now that Voldemort was gone? There lay another issue. There had been a ‘coalition’ formed, of former countries who banded together to battle the renegade states and territories that continued to wage war and stop the world from recovering. Forces from Canada, the United States, and Britain formed the initial coalition, with numerous other countries joining over the next few years.
He smiled as he remembered the great fleet of fighting ships that the coalition, or later named United Commonwealth of Nations, had built. They had been truly formidable fighting platforms, which had reigned over the skies and oceans for nearly 20 years. If only they had had those in the beginning… perhaps the horrors that followed would never have happened.
Then, a devious smile crept onto Harry's face. It was one Albus had seen far too many times, and it always meant he was hatching some sort of outrageous plan that had no chance in hell in actually working… and yet somehow would work EXACTLY as he planned.
"The Invincible… we left it behind, but it should still be intact," said Harry.
"And why would you want to do that?" asked Cedric, from his portrait. Lily and James had moved into their portrait above the workstation, as had Sirius.
"More like, what if my past self could use it? The mapping technology, not to mention the fact she did have teeth. Remember how we blew up Riddle Manor with the UCS Victory?"
"That's most disturbing, Harry," said Albus. "I need not warn you, you know that already, messing about with time is a dangerous thing to do."
"Yet, what am I to do here? Sit around on my arse, grow old, and die lonely? I said before, there's nothing left for me here. Now, I'm going to do this, with or without your help. I mean, it would be easier WITH."
"One issue, Harry," said Sirius. "How in Merlin's name do you intend on casting a spell powerful enough?"
"I don't think it will matter, Sirius," said Albus, "The spell will most likely take Harry's life."
"What if it fails, sweetheart?" asked Lily.
"Mum, I really don't care. If this kills me, then I get to be with you guys and Frankie again. If I succeed, I have the chance to end things long before they get to this point," answered Harry.
oOo
It took nearly a month of calculations, even with the massive computer system in the trunk. Most of it had come from salvaging pieces from the MCS Victory, after her spectacular crash in 2052. Even Harry was in the dark about exactly what had happened to cause the great ship to crash as she had. Either way, much of the equipment had been salvaged, including her core, and that had been moved into the trunk. Cedric had managed to imprint himself into the computer system shortly thereafter, and proved an incredible team, being able to search out data and information at an incredible speed. If he were successful, Harry would be sure to help Cedric do it again, this time much sooner.
Back to the task at hand, Harry, at last, had the final formula he required printed out on computer paper. He was still able to duplicate a box of paper as needed, although it was still draining. How he longed to be able to cast magic easily again! He stared at the paper, along with the description of his activities nearly 65 years into the past. Beside that, he also had a brief list of things to take care of.
At the top of the list was to deal with the Horcruxes. He already knew about two of them, considering that both were in his possession at the time he would be returning. He also knew that he would need basilisk venom… which meant a trip into the Chamber of Secrets. That was nothing new, since he had used the chamber numerous times over the years, even after the castle had been destroyed. It was in the last few years that the chamber itself had filled with water, making it unusable.
The next item on the list was the UCS Invincible. As he had said to Albus over a month prior, the magical cannon on her underside could bust through just about anything with raw, brute force. There was no ward or protection that could withstand the powerful blue beam that it could unleash. That included the Fidelius charm, as Voldemort had found out.
That led to the next item: the place called Narnia. Or, more specifically, Cair Paravel. They had never attempted to return there, as much as several of the 'trunk group' wanted to. Albus had compared it to the Mirror of Erised, saying that there was no use spending time there, with far more pressing issues awaiting in their own world. Of course, Albus was absolutely right, but that had not stopped Harry from carefully recording the destination from the 'jump' computer, or rather, the computer responsible for teleporting the ship. It appeared as though an extra value had somehow been added to the runic formula used.
Now, he carefully committed that formula to memory; it would be needed when he merged with his past self. Hermione and Luna would be able to help set up the portal. Bloody hell, he badly missed the automated systems the UCS Victory had!
Finally on the list, to deal with Voldemort. Do it as quickly as possible. Once the Horcruxes were all destroyed, of course, but not delay any longer than necessary. One of his actions had resulted in World War Three, which virtually destroyed most population centres on the planet. Of course, that had not happened until 2009, but it was best not to leave anything to chance. He knew the players, he knew the game, why mess around?
The last thing on the list was Frankie. He realized that he had never told him often enough how much the man meant to him. He made a promise to himself that, every day, he would tell Frankie he loved him. More importantly, he wouldn't wait 'until the war was over' to actually propose. There were many times he almost had, but yet, something always seemed to crop up at just that time, drawing their attention away. In the end, he was left with the dog tags he had chosen to be his emergency port key, an empty bed, and only memories. Voldemort had attacked him so viciously that there was nothing left to bury.
As he thought about things, there were so many issues… so many things to prevent from happening, and so many things to ensure happened second time around. That's where he stopped. He realized he could spend days on end rehashing the events of the past 60 years. That would do nothing to change anything.
"I think I'm ready, Albus," Harry declared, standing. "Merlin, I so much wish Hermione or Luna were here, they were much better at this than I am."
"Indeed they were, Harry. Just take your time," said Albus. Harry began to trace out a series of runes surrounding a large circle that he had drawn on the floor with a piece of chalk. Each one he drew, he could feel a little bit of magic leave him. In fact, he ended up having to stop half-way through and munch on a chocolate bar. He also downed a restorative draught for good measure.
Quickly, he resumed drawing the runes, at last completing the circle about a half-hour later. He had to take another restorative draught before he could continue.
"Good luck, Harry," said Cedric.
"Indeed, good luck, son," said James.
"Safe travels, dear," said Lily.
"Hope it works, pup," said Sirius.
"Best of luck, Harry, although, should this fail, you will only start on the next great adventure, and we'll meet you on the other side," said Albus.
"Thanks, guys," said Harry, steeling himself against the emotions that threatened to overrun him. Now was not the time to get all mushy and misty-eyed. He was far too old for that, after all. He stepped into the circle, then began weaving a complex pattern with the Elder wand (the only wand that now responded with any real strength at all), causing all the runic symbols around the circle to glow blue. At last he cried, "MENS MENTIS PORTUS!" and was swallowed by a tremendous flash of light.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Gonna keep this rather brief, considering the lengthy disclaimer/introduction. I paint a rather desolate picture here, and of course introduce a few things that I will most certainly touch on later in the story. So questions right off about some things, I probably won't answer, as that will spoil the story, right?
Thanks to haushinka_77, who is continuing to be my beta for this story, it is much appreciated.
Anyway, let me know what you think.
Next Chapter: 2 - Present Self, Past Self
Table Of Contents
Now. The main purpose of the posting. With a new month, I present the beginning of the sequel to "Canadian Intervention". I actually already have the first 4 chapters ready to post, but they will be released gradually. I expect chapter 2 of the story to go up on FanFiction.net later today (but keep in mind, things have to be altered a bit for me to be able to post there... we can't write about real peeps on FF.net.)
Title: Harry Potter and the Aftermath of Tomorrow
Chapter Title: 1. Dark Present
Fandoms: Harry Potter/Chronicles of Narnia/Real People
Pairing: Harry Potter/Frank Iero
Story Rating: PG-13
Chapter Word count: ~2,806
Warning(s): Violence, gore, coarse language
Chapter Summary: Harry manages to defeat Voldemort in 2067, but the world left behind is a nightmare... Harry executes a risky move to return to his past self, and set things right.
LEGAL STUFF
This is a work of fiction. Names, character, places and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or a used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental. This is a work of parody, as defined by the Fair Use Doctrine. Any similarities, without satirical intent, to copyrighted characters, or individuals living or dead, are purely coincidental.
This work has not been endorsed by J.K. Rowling, Raincoast Books, Scholastic Books, Warner Brothers, or any of the other holding copyright or license to the Harry Potter books or movies. No connection is implied or should be inferred.
This work has not been endorsed by the estate of C.S. Lewis, Harper Collins Publishing, Walt Disney, Walden Media, or any other holding copyright or license to the "Chronicles of Narnia" works or movies. No connection is implied or should be inferred.
This is not a commercial work. The authors receive no financial gain from its production or distribution. It is available without charge.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story will for the most part disregard Half Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows (I haven't read DH yet, waiting for the soft-cover version. However, I do have an idea of some things that occurred. At any rate, as said, this story will disregard most of its events). Caution, there may be a little OOC'ness (or maybe a lot, roll with it, Ok?)
Now… with adding a second universe, I must also post a spoiler warning for "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian". It will also involve some characters from the previous book (and one of my all-time favourites), "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe"… and there may be spoilers involved there too. Have I warned you enough? The OOC warning stands here, too.
I will also warn people… there is SLASH in this story (although, if you have already read "Canadian Intervention", you know that already). Yes, boy-on-boy, wand-on-wand, people. IF YOU ARE OFFENDED BY SUCH MATERIAL, CLICK THE 'BACK' BUTTON NOW.
Still with me? Great… without further adieu, I present, "HARRY POTTER AND THE AFTERMATH OF TOMORROW"
1: DARK PRESENT
June 24, 2067 -
Harry Potter stood over the prone figure in the ruined courtyard of what had been Hogwarts. The castle had been reduced to piles of rubble years before, although Harry had used some of the lower areas that were still intact. For now, he held his attention on the man who still referred to himself as Lord Voldemort.
"Well, are you just going to stand there, or are you going to finish what you started, Potter?" said Voldemort. Harry only glared back, his emerald eyes still blazing bright as ever, partially obscured by the tangle of matted greying hair that hung down across his face. In his hand he held a broadsword. It had been a gift from a friend in a land he could never return to. On the hilt was an engraving of a lion. It was rather ironic, considering the house Harry had been sorted into so many years before. The lion on the sword was a symbol of something different.
"This is for Ron and Hermione," said Harry, and plunged the sword into Voldemort's chest, eliciting a grunt from the Dark Lord. He drew it out.
"And this is for Frankie!" Harry snarled, and jabbed it into his chest again, this time without a sound.
"You took everything from me, Tom," said Harry. "My friends, my partner. But you failed. Because I still have the things you CAN'T take away from me. I have love, I know the value of friendship, and, most importantly, I know what compassion means… and I truly feel sorry for you. I do hope your next great adventure is better than this life has been." Voldemort tried to form words, but his lungs were rapidly filling with fluid, his energy leaving him. Harry sat down on a piece of stone work and waited, while the life slowly bled out of the Dark Lord. No, he wouldn't just walk away, he would watch every second, to be absolutely sure. He had been fooled before, and there would be no fooling this time.
When the body at last went limp, Harry once again drew the sword and brought it down with all his strength, severing the head from the body. It was a messy job, but it was insurance. Finally, he re-sheathed the sword and drew his Elder wand. He so much missed being able to easily cast magic. Even simple charms nowadays took tremendous amounts of energy. It was like he was 5 or 6 years old again, magically speaking, with an undeveloped core. He focused carefully on the body, gesturing with the wand, and said, “Incendio.”
He instantly felt weakened immensely as Voldemort’s body burst into flames. He stumbled away as the stench of burning flesh filled the air. He again sat on the stone, pulling out a restorative draught, something he had great reserves of. Just casting the simplest of spells drained him. Casting something advanced, such as a Patronus, was virtually out of the question. In fact, as far as he knew, the killing curse had not been cast in over 30 years.
Hermione had been the one to understand what was happening. He remembered that discussion quite clearly, nearly twelve years ago. In a nutshell, she said, magic was dying. The earth’s natural energy, or latent magic, had been disturbed and dissipated during the nuclear war that enveloped the planet. Without that latent magical energy around, witches and wizards began to find it harder to cast magic. Now, it was getting near impossible. Even apparating was becoming extremely taxing, which was the next issue on Harry’s agenda.
Harry plopped down in a seat in the common room, completely exhausted.
“Well, is he gone?” Harry looked up to see his mother and father looking down at him from the portrait above the fireplace.
“He’s gone, dad,” answered Harry. “I-I-I killed him. I stood there and watched the life drain out of him.” The distress was evident in his voice.
“Son, you must not feel sorry for him, he did horrible things,” said James.
“But that’s just it, dad, I DO feel sorry for him.”
“And that’s what makes you a better person than he was, Harry,” said Sirius, from his portrait. “The world has a chance to recover…”
“Recover? Bloody hell, there’s nothing to recover FROM, Padfoot! Everything that I had, every SINGLE person I really cared about, GONE!” He produced yet another restorative draught and drained it. “Is Dumbledore around?”
“I think he’s in the portrait in the library, dear,” said Lily.
Coming to an understanding between himself and the former headmaster happened only after the old man had died, ironically so, stepping in front of a killing curse meant for Harry. With that act, he somewhat redeemed himself, and with Minerva’s prodding, Harry added a portrait to the trunk, so that Albus could continue to offer advice.
“And how did Sir Potter make out?” asked Albus. His portrait had been set up above the large computer workstation on the left side of the library.
“Albus, I haven’t been known as that since… since Cair Paravel,” Harry answered, looking down at the sword that was strapped to his side. “I would return there if I could, at least I would still have friends.” He plopped down into the chair at the desk, practically at a loss as to what to do next.
He had finally fulfilled the prophecy, but what was there left to live for? Really and truly, anything that gave him any kind of joy had been ripped away from him. Voldemort had held true to his promise, ensuring that the Boy-Who-Lived was truly left with nothing. Even the world itself was in a shattered state.
What would happen, now that Voldemort was gone? There lay another issue. There had been a ‘coalition’ formed, of former countries who banded together to battle the renegade states and territories that continued to wage war and stop the world from recovering. Forces from Canada, the United States, and Britain formed the initial coalition, with numerous other countries joining over the next few years.
He smiled as he remembered the great fleet of fighting ships that the coalition, or later named United Commonwealth of Nations, had built. They had been truly formidable fighting platforms, which had reigned over the skies and oceans for nearly 20 years. If only they had had those in the beginning… perhaps the horrors that followed would never have happened.
Then, a devious smile crept onto Harry's face. It was one Albus had seen far too many times, and it always meant he was hatching some sort of outrageous plan that had no chance in hell in actually working… and yet somehow would work EXACTLY as he planned.
"The Invincible… we left it behind, but it should still be intact," said Harry.
"And why would you want to do that?" asked Cedric, from his portrait. Lily and James had moved into their portrait above the workstation, as had Sirius.
"More like, what if my past self could use it? The mapping technology, not to mention the fact she did have teeth. Remember how we blew up Riddle Manor with the UCS Victory?"
"That's most disturbing, Harry," said Albus. "I need not warn you, you know that already, messing about with time is a dangerous thing to do."
"Yet, what am I to do here? Sit around on my arse, grow old, and die lonely? I said before, there's nothing left for me here. Now, I'm going to do this, with or without your help. I mean, it would be easier WITH."
"One issue, Harry," said Sirius. "How in Merlin's name do you intend on casting a spell powerful enough?"
"I don't think it will matter, Sirius," said Albus, "The spell will most likely take Harry's life."
"What if it fails, sweetheart?" asked Lily.
"Mum, I really don't care. If this kills me, then I get to be with you guys and Frankie again. If I succeed, I have the chance to end things long before they get to this point," answered Harry.
oOo
It took nearly a month of calculations, even with the massive computer system in the trunk. Most of it had come from salvaging pieces from the MCS Victory, after her spectacular crash in 2052. Even Harry was in the dark about exactly what had happened to cause the great ship to crash as she had. Either way, much of the equipment had been salvaged, including her core, and that had been moved into the trunk. Cedric had managed to imprint himself into the computer system shortly thereafter, and proved an incredible team, being able to search out data and information at an incredible speed. If he were successful, Harry would be sure to help Cedric do it again, this time much sooner.
Back to the task at hand, Harry, at last, had the final formula he required printed out on computer paper. He was still able to duplicate a box of paper as needed, although it was still draining. How he longed to be able to cast magic easily again! He stared at the paper, along with the description of his activities nearly 65 years into the past. Beside that, he also had a brief list of things to take care of.
At the top of the list was to deal with the Horcruxes. He already knew about two of them, considering that both were in his possession at the time he would be returning. He also knew that he would need basilisk venom… which meant a trip into the Chamber of Secrets. That was nothing new, since he had used the chamber numerous times over the years, even after the castle had been destroyed. It was in the last few years that the chamber itself had filled with water, making it unusable.
The next item on the list was the UCS Invincible. As he had said to Albus over a month prior, the magical cannon on her underside could bust through just about anything with raw, brute force. There was no ward or protection that could withstand the powerful blue beam that it could unleash. That included the Fidelius charm, as Voldemort had found out.
That led to the next item: the place called Narnia. Or, more specifically, Cair Paravel. They had never attempted to return there, as much as several of the 'trunk group' wanted to. Albus had compared it to the Mirror of Erised, saying that there was no use spending time there, with far more pressing issues awaiting in their own world. Of course, Albus was absolutely right, but that had not stopped Harry from carefully recording the destination from the 'jump' computer, or rather, the computer responsible for teleporting the ship. It appeared as though an extra value had somehow been added to the runic formula used.
Now, he carefully committed that formula to memory; it would be needed when he merged with his past self. Hermione and Luna would be able to help set up the portal. Bloody hell, he badly missed the automated systems the UCS Victory had!
Finally on the list, to deal with Voldemort. Do it as quickly as possible. Once the Horcruxes were all destroyed, of course, but not delay any longer than necessary. One of his actions had resulted in World War Three, which virtually destroyed most population centres on the planet. Of course, that had not happened until 2009, but it was best not to leave anything to chance. He knew the players, he knew the game, why mess around?
The last thing on the list was Frankie. He realized that he had never told him often enough how much the man meant to him. He made a promise to himself that, every day, he would tell Frankie he loved him. More importantly, he wouldn't wait 'until the war was over' to actually propose. There were many times he almost had, but yet, something always seemed to crop up at just that time, drawing their attention away. In the end, he was left with the dog tags he had chosen to be his emergency port key, an empty bed, and only memories. Voldemort had attacked him so viciously that there was nothing left to bury.
As he thought about things, there were so many issues… so many things to prevent from happening, and so many things to ensure happened second time around. That's where he stopped. He realized he could spend days on end rehashing the events of the past 60 years. That would do nothing to change anything.
"I think I'm ready, Albus," Harry declared, standing. "Merlin, I so much wish Hermione or Luna were here, they were much better at this than I am."
"Indeed they were, Harry. Just take your time," said Albus. Harry began to trace out a series of runes surrounding a large circle that he had drawn on the floor with a piece of chalk. Each one he drew, he could feel a little bit of magic leave him. In fact, he ended up having to stop half-way through and munch on a chocolate bar. He also downed a restorative draught for good measure.
Quickly, he resumed drawing the runes, at last completing the circle about a half-hour later. He had to take another restorative draught before he could continue.
"Good luck, Harry," said Cedric.
"Indeed, good luck, son," said James.
"Safe travels, dear," said Lily.
"Hope it works, pup," said Sirius.
"Best of luck, Harry, although, should this fail, you will only start on the next great adventure, and we'll meet you on the other side," said Albus.
"Thanks, guys," said Harry, steeling himself against the emotions that threatened to overrun him. Now was not the time to get all mushy and misty-eyed. He was far too old for that, after all. He stepped into the circle, then began weaving a complex pattern with the Elder wand (the only wand that now responded with any real strength at all), causing all the runic symbols around the circle to glow blue. At last he cried, "MENS MENTIS PORTUS!" and was swallowed by a tremendous flash of light.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Gonna keep this rather brief, considering the lengthy disclaimer/introduction. I paint a rather desolate picture here, and of course introduce a few things that I will most certainly touch on later in the story. So questions right off about some things, I probably won't answer, as that will spoil the story, right?
Thanks to haushinka_77, who is continuing to be my beta for this story, it is much appreciated.
Anyway, let me know what you think.
Next Chapter: 2 - Present Self, Past Self
Table Of Contents