Unusual ending 29/32

[herumtreiber]

Title:  Unusual ending 29/32
Chapter: In the hall of the ancient mages - part one
Author:herumtreiber  
Genre: Slash, time travel, romance, adventure
Disclaimer:  I do not own Harry Potter or related characters. Nor do I make any money from the writing of these stories.
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Epilogue compliant? No way!
Chapter length: 2,595 this part
Summary: Old meets new. Harry walks all over Draco's heart, and when he realizes his mistakes he does the unforgivable so Draco takes him back. Time travel. During HBP, disregards Deathly Hallows - that means everyone's alive, except Sirius, but...


Table of contents




Harry finds himself - part two

"What do you mean; Voldemort is going to destroy reality?" Draco walked up to the table the Room had provided and grabbed a glass of firewhiskey. It was only Narcissa's angry glare coming from near the door that made him put it down.

Sirius went to a chair that appeared next to the table and sat down. He looked around at his friends and the students, motioning for Harry to approach him. The Gryffindor, still shell-shocked with developments, approached hesitatingly.

It seemed unreal that his godfather was alive, that he had just talked with - and been hit by - an earlier version of himself, that he didn't have Voldemort's Horcrux in him anymore thanks to Sirius.

Harry tentatively put a hand on his godfather's shoulder, squeezing it gently. Sirius lifted his own and gently patted Harry. "Haven't you lot noticed something odd during the last few months?"

Frowning as if she was sitting exams and had to get her usual perfect marks, Hermione piped up, "Well, apart from the incident with Ron and the other Ron from the future; the Pensieve memories and all that, no." She walked near to the fire and wrapped her arms around herself. "What exactly do you mean, Sirius?"

"Little things that do not add up, but suddenly they do make sense; things you might've seen but others didn't, like the world was shifting around you."

Draco went to his mother; frowning at her son, Narcissa lifted her hand to wipe off ashy smudges from the blond's cheek.

The Slytherin turned to Sirius. "Now that you mention it, there was something with this Room." He motioned to the entrance wall. "Sometimes there's a tapestry of dancing trolls outside; other times not."

Harry sauntered to his lover, touching the spot on his alabaster wrist where Draco was most sensitive. "You're right, Draco. Now there are two ways to enter the Room, but I remembered only one. Could it be the time travel affected me?"

Draco held the Gryffindor's hand, squeezing it tightly. "No, because I recall only one way to enter and I'm not from the future." He pointed towards Sirius. "Those changes Black mentions affect others too. Cho for example. People seem to think she betrayed your group during Umbridge's inquisitorial reign."

Rubbing his knuckles, Ron growled, "She did, the traitor!"

Hermione swatted his arm. "It wasn't Cho, it was Marietta Edgecombe! I remember seeing her suffering the effects of my curse; the letters on her face."

Harry frowned. "Edgecombe doesn't have them anymore. And I recall both Cho and Marietta betraying us."

Remus went to the table and grabbed a glass of butterbeer, taking a sip. "I've seen students harassing both Cho and Marietta. Had to take points off the four Houses several times during past term. What does it all mean, Sirius?"

"The mutt doesn't know! He's making it up." Severus crossed his arms, glaring at his erstwhile antagonist. "I doubt he is that wise."

"This is all tied up with how I saved Harry." Sirius explained, ignoring the glaring Potions Master whilst he lifted his hand and gazed at the ring of the serpent biting its tail. "Harry, you didn't travel back in time."

"But then how…" Harry spluttered.

"He did, I also saw myself…" said Ron, waving his arms.

"Then how do you explain…" Hermione primly lifted her hand as if she was in McGonagall's class.

Sirius raised his arms, silently asking for silence. After a few seconds, he continued, "I'm sure Hermione can tell you the complete theory regarding Time-Turners. It's considered impossible to change the past because it would create paradoxes."

"That's true! It said so in the book I read." Hermione fixed a stern gaze on Harry as if he was guilty of violating universal laws about continuity.

"But then how did I change things? How come none of my friends are dead?" Harry held up his hands to prevent Ron's retort. "Not that I'd ever want that!"

Sirius intertwined his fingers, cracking the knuckles whilst Narcissa shook her head, admonishing him. "That's not good for you, Sirius!"

"Whatever, Narcissa." Sirius paced around the Room, his robes billowing, eerily resembling Snape's.

"After Draco woke me from that slumber, that incorporeal state I was in, he vanished. I was left alone. I don't remember much of that time. It went on, perhaps for minutes or decades." Sirius looked at Draco, who was holding Narcissa's arm.

"I saw a door and opened it. I entered a place, a hall full of crystal spheres. They were stacked on shelves upon shelves, glowing eerily in the sepulchral light. Filling the room." Sirius paused, crossing his arms.

"I've been to that place." Draco took two steps towards Sirius. "That's where you took me after Lestrange's dagger hurt me. So you woke up in the Hall of Prophecies, in the Ministry?"

"You're wrong, Draco." Sirius faced his friends with a grave mien, bereft of the playful mirth Remus knew well from their Marauder days.

"Those crystal spheres, they're not prophecies at all. They are doorways into other realities. Using them I could travel within and find any world I wanted, any situation I desired." Sirius pointed towards Severus, waving his hand to include Remus. "There are universes where you two are lovers."

Snape snorted angrily. "Indeed… you are crazy, mutt!"

Sirius smirked craftily. "There are other worlds where we are together, Sev. Come on; admit that it's an intriguing possibility."

Harry leaned to whisper in Draco's ear. "Can you believe it? Sirius and Snape lovers?"

The blond muttered, "Mother tells me stories about their Hogwarts days. It's not as farfetched as it sounds."

Harry shuddered, paying attention to his godfather's words once more.

"… the parchments I read imply there's a -" Sirius held up his arms as if he was studying an invisible scroll.

"Who built that place? Where is it?" Remus interrupted his friend, his amber eyes shining with excitement as he imagined ancient and distant places.

"I'm not sure, Remus. I used a spell to translate the meaning, the essence of the parchments. The signs appeared at times Sanskrit or Chinese, perhaps cuneiform? Who knows? I used the same spell we employed to track people in the Marauder's Map."

Remus nodded, fingering his moustache. "I recall you based it upon Lily's charm work. She provided the key insight." He looked at Harry, smiling wistfully, "Your mother was a superbly gifted witch, Harry. Without her the Map wouldn't have been what it is."

Sirius lifted his gaze towards the ceiling of the Room of Requirement, shaking his head as if dislodge it of memories of the past. He continued telling the story. "There's a window at the far wall of the Hall that is mostly foggy. There were times it would clear and I'd see vast mountainous vistas in the horizon. I thought they were the Himalayas, other days they looked like the photographs of the Andes I saw in Lily's travel books. The view changed as if the place moved."

Sirius fingered his goatee, seemingly deep in contemplation. He murmured, "I think the Hall may be behind the Hindu belief in reincarnation and the purgatory Homer talks about. Gazing at the spheres, people would see their loved ones in different situations..."

"That's all very interesting, Black." Severus frowned at the Marauder, pacing around the fire. "But how is Voldemort going to destroy the world?"

"Those changes you've noted, Harry and Draco? They mean the frontiers between realities are weakening. Doing things in one realm affects neighbouring ones. That's why when you killed the Horcrux in the other Harry, you got rid of the one you had." Sirius leaned against the fireplace, its light making his mane shine and his eyes sparkle.

Harry elbowed Draco sharply. "You see, it wasn't my fault I was so mean."

"Could've told me!" huffed Draco, turning to listen to Black once more.

"- troll tapestry, the fact that people contradict each other about who betrayed you to Umbridge? Confusion will mount as realities collide if we do not stop Voldemort. Chaos will be unleashed upon the worlds, Ragnarok will be at hand." Sirius ruffled his mane, dislodging one curl that fell in front of his eyes whilst Severus observed him intently.

Harry's hand slid into that of his lover, who was shivering. Draco had read old books in the Manor library that hinted at this, tomes as old as the tales of Beedle the bard.

"The Hall of Realities, as I call it, is only accessible through this." Sirius lifted his hand, pointing towards the silver ring. "The Ouroboros, the serpent that eats its tail - the symbol of eternity. This is the key to reaching the Hall, at least I used to think so from the parchments but…"

Severus looked at Remus, exchanging a worried look. It was Moony who continued, "I take it that Voldemort is able to reach the Hall, then."

Sirius went to the table and grabbed a glass of red wine provided by the Room, finally he nodded. "I think he does it through Dark Magic. He was there two times; he used the crystal spheres to travel to other realities and hide his Horcruxes there."

Harry groaned, slapping his forehead. "Don't tell me there are more!"

"I counted nine, Harry. Don't worry, I destroyed the other two," replied Sirius, smiling at his godson.

"I thought that seven was a magical number, that Voldemort would stop there." Remus took out his wand as if he was considering creating a spell to find the Hall.

"Any number is magical, Remus." Sirius finished his drink; holding the glass aloft, he peered at the last of the wine. "Voldemort's careless use of Dark Magic in the Hall of Realities has weakened the barriers between worlds. We have a more acute problem though; the parchments say that there is a prime reality from which the others derive."

Sirius gazed at his godson, who was securely wrapped in the arms of his blond lover. "In that prime reality, you and Ginny are married, Harry."

Draco growled possessively whilst Sirius continued, "And you're married to Astoria Greengrass, Draco."

Harry clutched Draco's arm against his chest, muttering angrily, "Don't even think about it, Dragon!"

Sirius directed his gaze to Severus and then Remus as his face became sombre. "You two are dead, just like Fred and Tonks."

"Never thought I would survive the Dark Lord." Severus said defiantly. Remus approached the dour Potions Master and clapped his shoulder. "Neither did I, Severus, and we're not out of the woods yet."

"I don't agree with those parchments of the ancient kings and mages that built the Hall. To me all realities are equal; none is privileged enough to be called the prime one." Sirius twirled the glass stem on his fingers, finally putting the glass on the table.

"However, the sphere that contains that reality is powerful. If Voldemort gets it…"

Remus finished his friend's sentence, "... we'd be finished!"

Hermione worried her lip just as her mind struggled with the new information. Sirius' words had opened vast avenues of research she wanted to undertake. However she still had doubts about one thing.

"I figured out that message you told us, about the curious incident of the cat at night?" Hermione tugged nervously the hem of her sweater.

Sirius wrapped an arm around Remus, smiling lazily at Moony. "What do you think it meant, Hermione?"

"Well, Sherlock Holmes pointed out that the fact that the dog did not bark at night meant the thief was someone known to it."

"And?"

"Obviously Crookshanks' behaviour towards you in your disguise as the old man meant that he knew you from before." Hermione said exasperatedly, "Since Crookshanks appears to like Draco, I thought the old man was him!"

Draco snickered softly until Harry elbowed him sharply. The blond huffed and took a step back, glaring at his lover.

Sirius clapped his hands. "Bravo! Well done, Hermione. Though that is not precisely what I meant. In fact, I really wanted to distract you; didn't want you to find out the truth too soon but I provided you an important-"

At that moment the door to the Room opened. Sirius stopped speaking as a slim girl entered, wearing her Ravenclaw tie loosely wrapped around her elbow. She was cupping her hands, holding a small mammal which Harry recognized with a pang of guilt as his hedgehog, Hector.

"Hello, Sirius! I see you finally listened to me and decided to come clean with Harry," said Luna dreamily as she lifted up the hedgehog and petted its nose whilst the mammal sniffed.

"It was hard; the two Harrys almost knocked me down!"

"I didn't," retorted Harry indignantly as Hermione said tentatively, "Wait, you knew Sirius was around? Why didn't you tell us?"

"Sirius asked me to keep the secret." Luna put the hedgehog in the pocket of her robe as she smiled secretively. "Harry, I come because Hector has made friends with a glumblehocker."

"A what?" Harry blinked owlishly.

Luna waved her arm. "They like to eat chocolate while people don't pay attention, that's why it seems to disappear so rapidly. They can be a nuisance sometimes but they're cute!"

"Hector is friends with them?"

"Yes. The thing is… he might pick up bad habits." Luna frowned fiercely, crossing her arms. "Your chocolate might start vanishing, so I want to make sure if it's ok if they're friendly?"

"Sure, Luna. Whatever you decide." Harry smiled at the snowy-haired girl who always managed to lift up his spirits, even when things seemed at their darkest.

"Fine. See you around. Bye Sirius." Luna skipped gaily towards the door, squinting at the blond. "Draco, don't scowl so much, you might attract scharfbaggers." Harry noted idly that Luna was wearing brightly coloured flip-flops.

Hermione crossed her arms, huffing. "I like Luna, but she is quite crazy, inventing those animals!"

Sirius waved a finger at the enraged Gryffindor girl. "I wouldn't say so, Hermione. In fact, those animals that Luna talks about? They exist in different realities."

Ron and Draco said simultaneously, "They do?"

The two turned to glare at Harry when he snickered at their synchronization.

"Indeed. Once I had to escape an enraged snorkack. Wasn't easy, let me tell you." Sirius gazed at the farthest wall of the Room as if he was seeing distant vistas of quite different worlds. "The beasts Luna talks about? They sometimes cross into our world when the frontiers between realities are at their weakest, like at Samhain or Beltane. Luna has a rare gift, she can see into realms hidden to most people. That's why she knew I was around. She helped me with my plots."

"That might be fine. But you haven't answered my question. What did you mean with the cat?" Hermione glared at Sirius, her arms akimbo.

"Crookshanks' appearance is another symptom of the crumbling walls between realities. You see, Hermione - that wasn't exactly your Crookshanks. The cat came from a neighbouring world; one in which Hagrid was evil and Draco was very good friends with the half-Kneazle."

Hermione lifted her index finger to her lips, musing aloud, "So that's why he appeared and disappeared so easily. I didn't know how he made it to Voldemort's castle. I thought someone took him there."

Sirius rubbed his hands, smiling in the gleeful way that made both Severus and Remus shiver with apprehension. "The moment has come to make our plans. We need to vanquish Voldemort for good and stop the collapse of the realms."

In the hall of the ancient mages - part two