Reality twists 36/39

[herumtreiber]

Title: Reality twists 36/39
Chapter: Secrets revealed
Author:herumtreiber 
Genre: Post DH, romance, adventure, time travel
Rating: PG-13
Epilogue compliant? No
Chapter length: ~3,061 words
Disclaimer:  I do not own Harry Potter or related characters, nor do I make any money from writing these stories.
Warnings for the fic: Angst, threesome, violence, noncon, character deaths (not the protagonists)
Summary: Harry/Draco/Daphne. Draco in Azkaban, plus time-travel. Explores the idea of powerful magic pitted against a nuclear bomb and the implications for the world. Noncon - evil Hermione and Ron – Atlantis may appear later on, and another meaning of the Prophecy. How a Time Turner can win a game. Very ecological use of the Fidelius charm; Dementors abound, but...


Table of contents



35. The hidden Horcrux

The weather was somewhat cold and a great storm had been predicted for tomorrow, here in the North Atlantic. The desolate island stood open to the indifferent regard of the world, as it had done since time immemorial, its unknown defenses made it the perfect impregnable fortress.

A figure Apparated in the northern edge of the island, seemingly unaware of the wards that purportedly kept that from happening. The figure was revealed as a thin blond man.

The man walked to the edge of the shore and took a shiny object out of his pocket. He took out his wand, and swishing and flicking elegantly, murmured a spell that moved the shiny bauble 3 miles to open sea and then sunk it to the bottom of the ocean.
The man retreated a few steps to the solidity of the drab island. He looked suspiciously around, and sensing something adrift, said amicably, "You can come out, Iolande. I can sense you! What are you doing here?"

A svelte petite woman appeared out of thin air, and she drawled nonchalantly, "I was visiting one of my patients. What was it that you threw into the ocean, Draco?"
Draco replied, "It's the Mirror of Despair, with a healed Voldemort trapped inside. It will stay down in the depths hopefully for a long time."
Draco continued, "But I have some questions that you may want to answer, Iolande. Like how were you able to destroy Voldemort's sphere when many other capable wizards could not."

"Harry tells me that the Prophecy also says that the Dark Lord would face an opponent that has a power the Dark Lord does not know. What was this power in Deneb's case?"

"Once I tried to interest you in owning a laptop and you said that you abhorred electronic devices. However, the laptop and cell phone I had brought to the meeting just became unusable after being near you."

"I researched your life, and there was nothing unusual, except the fact that you spend a lot of time in Azkaban. It all points toward this accursed island."
"I conclude that you come from somewhere else, maybe you have a higher level of magic that short-circuits the Muggle electronics. It could explain your magical prowess."

Iolande, who had been silent until that point, smirked genuinely interested and clapped once. She said courteously, "Indeed a thorough job, my Lord. You deserve to know the truth. Let's go then to a more hospitable place. The island of Atlantis may be found 10 miles to the north of Azkaban."

Draco was dumbfounded. Had Iolande really said Atlantis? Then he chanced to look at the northern edge of the shore and saw a magical spectacle. It seemed as if a curtain were being opened across the wide expanse of the supposedly open sea. White cliffs slowly materialized, as white as those of Dover, while elsewhere there was the hint of vibrant vegetation, the greens and browns of a healthy forest. There were also signs of human habitation, but they denoted a stark simplicity that Draco had not found anywhere. If anything, it reminded him of ancient Greek houses.

The island seemed enormous, more a continent than a simple isle. Where Azkaban was stark simplicity and contrasting colors, Atlantis sported a cacophony of colors and environments.

Iolande said, "I'll meet you in the house with the white atrium, over there. Then she Apparated away. Not to be outdone, Draco followed her.
He appeared near a simple, yet stately furnished house. Iolande met him and offered him a sweet beverage that tasted somewhat like butterbeer. She started, "You might be aware of the tradition that Atlantis was put under a Fidelius charm. It is mostly true."

"However, I must tell you of the environment that led to this decision. In those times, the wielders of magic were very powerful, more so than the Muggles, and they could easily overpower and subdue them. Many leaders and peoples argued for this kind of action, to overtake the world, and enslave and destroy those who could not defend themselves. Another faction wanted to try peace, to allow the wielders of magic to work and live among the Muggles and help them. Those two factions had the majority of the support of the Council and the People. A small, decisive group wanted to isolate the wielders of magic and let each one of them, the magic users and the Muggle, develop separate civilizations."

"Judging from your words during the battle with Voldemort, you view the Dementors with pity and you think they were dealt a harsh fate. It is right that you think so, yet there is also a lot more to the story. The Healers of Souls originally wanted to Heal every human on Earth, if needed they wanted to enforce the Healing of everybody. In a suave way, they were actively undermining the free will of the world. The Prince of Atlantis judged against the Healers, and forbade them to Heal indiscriminately."

"Thereupon, the Healers acted as spies for the faction that wanted dominion. Things soon got completely heated. It was something infinitely worse than the Pureblood-Muggleborn fights you are familiar with. Each faction had the power to literally destroy mankind. Realizing this, eventually they brokered an accord. The Prince was enraged when he learned of the Healers' betrayal. He cursed them to become the opposite of what they were. He knew that if left unchecked, they would still try to enforce their will on the world and everybody would have to toe the line or suffer a Healing Kiss."

"The accord they hammered was to isolate the strongest magic users in the Prince's island in the middle of the ocean, cast a charm that has the properties of Fidelius, and allow each society to flourish as they would."

"So the Dementors first appeared on the scene. The Dementors, by the strictures of the curse, have to endure in that form until the Prince or a descendant forgives them. They congregated haphazardly on an island to the South of Atlantis. There was a conflict between the Dark magic under which the Dementors labor and the conditions for the Fidelius charm, so the end result was that Azkaban became visible for the outside world."

"The two societies developed independently for the next 2,000 years. Atlantis learned more about magic, we became somewhat more powerful, with some drawbacks, for example, electrical things don't work right around us, as you have learned. The outside world also developed accordingly. The magical users were not very strong compared to the Muggles, and were forced to tolerate them and hide from them. Things seemed to be working out OK."

"Yet Atlantis allowed free transit to its citizens. Four young people left the island and went to another island, in far Scotland . They took it upon themselves to invigorate the Wizarding World, which they considered an effete and weak place. They wanted to have their cake and eat it too. They wanted to allow everyone to learn magic who could, they also wanted the Muggles to remain blissfully unaware of what happened in their midst."

"The four Founders of Hogwarts, having entered the road to perdition, hastily decided they wanted to ensure the continuity of their school. To make sure of that, they cast a Protection Charm, using the knowledge they had learned in Atlantis, to protect the heir of one of them. They were so shortsighted as to ignore the consequences of their actions."

"Unfortunately, no matter how strong Atlantis is, we could not break that Protection Charm. It had to be broken from the inside, the way you did."

"After we became aware of the activities of our erstwhile compatriots, it was decided to send a person to try and rectify their mistakes. One of your ancestors was sent to Scotland , as blond and grey-eyed as the rest of you. When Godric Gryffindor met him and learned about his mission, he tauntingly called him Mal-foi, Bad Faith. In a contrary mood, your ancestor decided to make it his family name: he'd be known as Elsen Malfoy. He joked that all of them would be saved by Bad Faith."
"I'm pleased to say that your many times grandfather was right, and you have saved us!"

"Elsen knew that if the four Founders remained together, they'd be a walking time bomb, so he decided to set them apart. He managed to change Salazar's opinions somewhat, to the point where he disagreed strongly with Godric and left Hogwarts. He was immediately painted with a bigoted brush as an elitist and snob, when all he wanted was to protect the secret of the wizards, restricting access to Hogwarts. Your ancestor then set to further undermine the Founders. Eventually he finessed plans to buy the entirety of Hogwarts. He also finished the construction of the Chamber of Secrets."

"Time went on, and the school was established and grew. The Founders eventually died, along with Elsen. Generations of wizards were educated at Hogwarts, including Muggleborns. They of course told their families about magic, and the knowledge became widespread."

"Soon the suspicious Muggles could no longer turn a blind eye towards the reports of magic use. They sought to quell the mass hysteria by apprehending and killing suspected wizards and witches. Approximately 80 per cent of the victims were Muggles, the rest were wizards. The carnage was great, and it was continued for centuries."

"The esteemed powers-that-be in Hogwarts didn't note the serious situation and it was business as usual in the naïve school."
"Eventually the only succor came with the discovery of America and the outpouring of energy and resources to that continent. For the Europeans, the siren call of an Atlantic voyage was maddening, and we might have something to do with it. The Mesoamericans dreamed of plumed serpents and blonde gods, which could be substituted for our dragons and people."

"You ask, what is Deneb's power that the Dark Lord didn't know of it?"
"Really simple. After the Prince so long ago decided to curse the Healers, he threw himself wholeheartedly into the affairs of the people. He became a doer, traveling to wherever he was needed. His descendants obeyed the same impulses. When the meddlesome Founders wreaked their havoc in Europe, a descendant of the Prince went to deal with them. His name was Elsen."

"So you see, your family is descended from the Prince. You could suspend the curse of the Dementors if you wanted to, you could reinstate it again. The family has magic that can protect against Killing Curses, and most assuredly the Dark Lord did not know this."

"During the battle, you spoke to the Dementors, and they seemed to listen. They never condescend to hear a mortal, but they sensed the magic of the family in you. They recognized some of the qualities of their Prince, the one they betrayed so long ago, and that gave them pause and made them consider what you said."

Draco asked, "What about you? Were you sent to spy on us?"
Iolande answered seriously, "Of course not! I am an agent of Atlantis, I work with the wizards. As such, I frequently come back here and so I must have the pretext of being in Azkaban performing examinations. I was asked to care for Narcissa and try to make her pregnancy bearable. You saw what happened. No matter what you think, I'm just a normal girl, and I don't have more magic than you or Harry."

"While caring for Narcissa, I met the most wonderful man and fell in love with him. You know him very well, as he is your godfather. Severus knows about my Atlantean affiliations. I intend to marry him soon, if he'll have me."
Draco smirked, thinking of Severus' face when Iolande proposed to him. It would make a great photo.

Draco asked, "So what now?"
Iolande answered, spreading her arms wide to indicate the whole landscape, "This is your land. You have a place to stay here if you want. It will always wait for you."

"Your life is your own to live. Atlantis is too small to affect decisively the outside world. Our influence is mostly by example and convincing others. I can imagine that if you were somewhat apprehended and sent to Azkaban, we might not learn about this until later, perhaps when it was too late to do something."

HRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRH

In far away London, a man scavenged for food outside the restaurants. His name was Vernon. After being unceremoniously thrown out of Privet Drive, unable to drive his cars, he'd gone to his job one Monday and learned that he had been summarily fired. It seemed the new owner, a Mr. Malfoy, disliked him intensely.

After pawning his watch and living off the proceeds for some days, his money ran out. The jobs he took he lost in hours due to his temper. His wife had to go to a homeless shelter with his son.

Later he learned that his son had beaten another child badly. The victim had been taken to intensive care, and his son was duly put in juvenile prison. There he appeared to elicit the attentions of the corrupt wardens, who made sure that every outburst he had was duly paid in blows.

The corpulent man was walking toward the wharves when he suddenly felt the extreme urge to turn back and run. The command was relentless and he was forced to obey. When he was far away, there was a sound of Apparition and Harry appeared in the street where Vernon had lingered before, ready to go to his Atelier.

HRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRHRH

Draco spent an exciting day in Atlantis. There was no coincidence that his ancestor's book dealt with the Atlantis myths. He also learned the reason that many spells were in Latin. Apparently a nucleus of dedicated magical wielder activists had stayed behind and taken refuge in the hills of Tuscany and the Alps, eventually forming part of the budding Latin empire. They contributed mightily to the development of magic and charted its territory with the words they were used to.

When it was dusk, however, he realized he had to get back or face the ire of Daphne and Harry. Iolande sensed his turmoil and offered, "You can come back any time, Draco. You know where the island is and you can Apparate to it. Go with your mates and say hello to Severus!"

Draco waved goodbye to Iolande and Apparated to Malfoy Manor. He managed to appear at exactly the wrong moment, however, as Antares had launched a deathly projectile of mashed potatoes toward Deneb. Said weapon reached Draco's face.
His family laughed like loonies – thought Draco sulkily. He managed to contain his rightful anger, especially considering the mean-looking plushie bodyguards of the griffin and the dragon.

Daphne laughed and muttered "Accio my camera!" However, nothing came up. Daphne was intrigued and miffed, apparently her photo equipment had been used by other people without adequate compensation. The blonde Slytherin would surely look into it.
Eventually Daphne directed a Scourgify to Draco's face, and she passed him a plate loaded with his favorite food. Draco mused that it was highly profitable to have such a delightful mate as Daphne – still Draco made sure that his face didn't register his inner glee, as he didn't fancy being smacked upside the head by said blonde.

Draco told them an edited version of his day. He would tell the truth only to his mates, at first.

Harry related his interesting day at the Atelier. He had been swamped with commissions and he had to choose the best ones. Already he had consented to painting pictures for the Wizard Museum of Arts, the Ministry and Hogwarts.

Narcissa, Lucius and Andromeda were seemingly conspiring, murmuring words to each other which were undistinguishable to the others. Harry talked animatedly with Daphne about the conditions of their Canadian home. He was especially keen to know about the state of the garden. Draco reminded him that they had hired a renowned tree care company to care for the garden which was Draco's pride.

Andromeda left with Antares and Deneb, and Harry led Daphne away, sensing that the Malfoys wanted to discuss something.
Draco had the House elves serving them Cognac. He was sipping his slowly, savoring the flavor, when Narcissa said suddenly, "I want you to chain your father's powers!"

Draco choked on the Cognac he had been drinking. He sputtered and stuttered, "Mo-Mother, what do you mean? You want Lucius to be deprived of his powers?"
Narcissa answered resolutely, "We've analyzed this thing from many angles. Consider this: Is it really a coincidence that just after you bound your father's power, we were able to conceive? Before, we tried everything and nothing worked. It appeared that the Dark Magic residue was there."

"If so, then why were we able to conceive when Lucius was bound? I think it was a curse of the accursed Dark Twit to limit the offspring of his followers. If we all had only one son or daughter, we would be easier to control. Unfortunately, the git was proved to be right."

"But now I have Ant and Deneb, and we want to try for a daughter. Will you do this for us, Draco?"
Draco turned to Lucius and asked, "How do you feel about this, Lucius?"

Lucius answered calmly, "I think it will work. I had become used to the diminished powers. Knowing that I'm doing this to have another son or daughter, defying the Dark Lord, it will make it all right."
Draco considered, and decided. He took out the Elder wand and pointed it toward Lucius, he swished and intoned, "Catenas sesenta!" The spell hit Lucius and he sat down, a little dizzily.

Narcissa sauntered over to them and said to Draco, "I understand that soon Iolande will marry Severus. We talked about this, and I'm pretty sure that you will have to bind Sev's power too."
Draco inwardly shuddered at the thought of binding his godfather's powers. But he wanted to see a child of the Headmaster and the Healer.

Narcissa added sternly, "And we will pick out the name this time, Draco!"
Draco simply nodded while thinking privately that there was not a chance in hell that he would stay out of that decision. He had the perfect name for a sister!

37. Enter Scorpius