Reality twists 2/39

[herumtreiber]

Title: Reality twists
Chapter: two
Author:herumtreiber 
Genre: Post DH, romance, adventure, time travel
Disclaimer:  I do not own Harry Potter or related characters. Nor do I make any money from the writing of these stories.
Rating: R
Warnings: Sexual content, threesome, noncon
Epilogue compliant? Maybe, who knows?
Chapter length: 3306 words
Beta: None.
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

Prologue

3 days after the Final Battle

The Ministry, after the harrowing fight with Voldemort and the Death Eaters, was dangerously low in funds. They did get considerable money from the war reparations enacted from the most prominent pureblood families who had sympathized with Voldemort, but they wanted more.

They set their sights on the Malfoys. After all, they had the largest assets of the purebloods, and a signal defeat of them would go well towards cementing the reputation of the new Minister of Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt.

So after celebrations cooled down a little, they arrested all the Malfoys and had them moved to high-security cells in the Ministry. They agreed on a work plan and proceeded to charge Lucius with murders galore. They stripped him of his position as Lord Malfoy and arranged for Draco to assume that title.

Next they worked on Draco, knowing from witness accounts how he wanted to protect his family. They hinted that they would allow the Malfoys to go free, if all their assets were willingly turned over to the Ministrys control.

At 11:00 AM, after having done their round of threatening statements and sugar-coated promises, the Ministry representatives prepared to go. One said, Above all, its nice to see you get what you deserve, Draco. Youll soon have less than my family. Percy Weasley opened the door and walked out, muttering to a co-worker Yeah, the wards are secure, only Malfoys are allowed free entrance.

Draco despaired of ever seeing his parents, he would willingly give up the fortune if they would live with him. He despaired of having helped Potter. It really didnt matter to their opinion of him.

Draco heard then a slight pop sound, very similar to the Apparition noise, yet highly unique. He turned and watched a man, having approximately his own height. The man had brown hair and hazel eyes, and smirked like a true Slytherin.

The man said, I know what the Ministry twits offered you, and how tempted you are to accept their hellish offer and forswear the familys fortune willingly.

To entertain you in this hour of need, let me offer a story of the future, of your future.

You accede to their demands and give them full control of the Malfoy assets here and abroad. Malfoy Manor is no longer yours, or any other property. Yet you are glad, hoping that with you and your parents living together, things will settle down.

That doesnt happen. The Ministry reneges on its solemn promise and arrangement, and refuses to release your parents. You are allowed to go free because you were an inexperienced youth, but your parents are sent to Azkaban for life.

The rigors of Azkaban play havoc with their health. Within 8 months of their arrival there, they both died, one after the other.

Meanwhile, you are left destitute, and its only thanks to the kindnesses of true friends that you survived. Due to some obscure law of Voldemorts or whoever, you are forced to take classes on Hogwarts, even though you dont want to.

Needless to say, the school environment is not very friendly. You would have weathered it anyway, but there was a strange rumor running in Slytherin that said you had betrayed Voldemort. As you walked a fine line to avoid precisely this accusation, you are incensed, yet powerless to stop the rumor. Slytherin pranks dog your steps.

Amid this turmoil, amid your schoolmates sneering at you and trying to hex you, to which you must react very carefully, for you have no wand, theres one person who lends a helping hand, apart from your closest friends.

By the way, Ive cast powerful wards that will stop the Ministry from listening in, so everything said here is confidential. Apart from Blaise, Pansy, Daphne and Goyle, a Gryffindor seemingly shows himself to be kind: Harry Potter.

Due to his influence, the attacks abate. He proves to be a source of comfort and someone who can soothe the pain of losing your parents. You talk, really talk, with him and you believe that an understanding is born of this relationship.

The relationship goes from friends to lovers. At first, its everything you could have hoped for, until you invariably notice the put downs, the demeaning comments. He always tops, and what started as sweet and nice soon turns rough and dangerous.

By that time, you had finished at Hogwarts and were trying to find a stable job where someone could look past your history. Unfortunately with little success. You and Harry lived together.

You knew that Harry still saw her, and that knowledge hurt like a knife. You consoled yourself with the idea that he came back to you. One Sunday Harry proclaimed that he would love you till the end of Time. The next Monday, you saw in the front page of the Prophet the announcement of the nuptials of the Boy Who Lived and his sweetheart, Ginny Weasley.

You were irate, and went to spend some days with Pansy. You wanted some revenge, but you knew from bitter experience that if you attacked Potter directly you would lose. When things turned rough and dangerous, that meant that Potter was not above raping you, when you did not put out like he wanted to. You defended yourself valiantly, but inevitably lost.

That was not a reflection on your magical prowess, considering that you are under a spell that binds more than half of your innate magic. Do you trust me to reverse the spell?

Draco briefly considered things. He had a hunch the stranger spoke the truth, and it would be nice to see what he could do. He nodded.

The man intoned, Catenas nula adding swishes and turns like crazy. There was a brief burst of wind that ruffled some pages on the center table, there were also a few bars of the Phoenix song, and the scent of roses lying dormant under the cruel tyranny of Winter.

Draco felt the rush of power, and was convinced the man knew much more than he let on.

The stranger continued, Of course, you might want to know who cursed you and when.

When you were one year and a half, Dumbledore was allowed in the room with you, unsupervised. Dumbles sensed your great power and thought, given your probable allegiances, that you would be a danger for his weapon Potter. He wanted someone who Potter would easily trounce, not the opposite. So he cast the spell.

As things would turn out, a portrait saw him and heard the words of the spell. Years later, you were 9 years old, the portrait finally told you what he saw. Of course you were concerned, and like a little pureblood should do, you went to consult someone who would explain it to you.

But then you were Obliviated of this memory.

Draco asked, Dumbledore?

No, your father! He knew when he left you with Dumbles that he would bind your powers. When you asked him for help, he thought nothing of messing up your mind, as long as he could pretend everything was all right. He obliviated you, moved the portrait, and everything continued as it should be.

You must not trust Lucius! The Ministry, Hogwarts, Potter, your parents, you must play them against each other. Only you can decide.

The Ministry is in a war against the Malfoys because of the actions of your father. He was Voldemorts willing accomplice for years, he blackened the Malfoy name. Worse, he failed at being bad so blatantly, that you were compelled and coerced to follow the Dark Twits steps to save him and your mother.

You must make it so he can not hurt you any more, Draco!

Draco asked, Will you trust my judgment on this?

On this I will trust you, Draco.

But there is another reason why you cant beat Potter. It was not only because half your powers were unavailable, if that were so, you would have won once in a while, due to the law of averages. But you never won.

When the Founders started Hogwarts, that was a time of incessant war. They were worried that all their efforts would be for naught if some petty warlord conquered Hogwarts. So they decided to use their magic to invoke a ritual to protect Hogwarts even after their death. Godric convinced them to invest this protective magic not on Hogwarts itself, but on one of their heirs, namely his.

The Ritual proceeded and a Protection Charm was enacted, which would protect the heir of Gryffindor. Because the four Founders acted in concert, the Charm was very powerful unto perpetuity; and it worked: warlords might try to take Hogwarts, the King might try, but they all failed.

Time went on. The Founders had left strict instructions that the Charm should not be applied again, but things were working out so well for the Gryffindors, that they decided they wanted more of it. 240 years later the Charm was reapplied for the second time. In the years since then, it was done again three times. The last by Dumbledore, applying another layer of the Charm to Harry Potter, shortly before his first encounter with Voldemort.

Because the Charm concentrates so much primal intent and will, it is very powerful, so much that it subtly warps the world around it, to benefit the Gryffindor heirs. If you look at a list of the main European countries in 1000 AD, you will note that England has decidedly fewer people and resources than the others, mighty France, and Germany and Spain, yet England consistently remained the leading nation, even when you least expected it to. So many times faced England annihilation from outside: Armada Invencible, Louis XIV, Napoleon, Kaiser, Hitler, USSR . It always won decisively. The Charm was acting; it had spread from what it originally was to shape a world in which the heirs would thrive.

Dumbledore knew the Charm was getting dangerous, but he made the choice of eliminating Voldemort, even if there was a strong likelihood of major damage coming to the world.

When baby Potter met Voldemort, it was the Charm who repelled the Avada Kedavra and flung it to the Dark Twit. Dumbledore liked to expound on love, but that doesnt explain why millions of women had died for their children, and yet, the children perished. Many witches, both pureblood and muggleborn, have tried to sacrifice themselves for their offspring, and always the children died too.

It was the Charm which burnt Quirrell, it sent the phoenix with the Sorting Hat to the Chamber of Secrets so Potter could win. The Charm allowed him to escape Voldemorts clutches during the Tri-Wizard Tournament, even though there was no logical reason to explain his miraculous departure. Potter presumed he knew wandlore, and his explanation about why the Elder Wand had chosen him as Master was hodge-podge at best, but the Charm ensured that the Elder wand would recognize him as Master. Yet the fact is that you remain the Elder Wands true Master.

But lets get back on track with your relationship to Potter. You were incensed at his duplicity, marrying the Weaselette while having you on the side. You also knew you could not vanquish him on a heads-on collision. You decided to use your extensive memory of curses and ensure that he would leave you alone.

There is a hierarchy of magic. Some spells, given their provenance, are so much more solid and stable than they should be. Revenge is one of the deeper, more willful emotions. Every time that it is used to power a spell, it strengthens the command.

On that Thursday, you appeared at Potters flat and you cast a Banishment spell. The terms of the spell were: Potter could not see you or talk about you for the next 17 years, a year for each month of the relationship. You packed all your things and left the flat.

Of course Potter tried to break the spell, but the terms of the banishment ensured that it would be obeyed, and the revenge magic was able to withstand his power. Hed just Apparate and hed immediately be whisked away in rainbow-colored light.

Life went on. You went abroad and eventually settled down in Italy . While there you met a former housemate of yours who managed to ignite a deep satisfaction at making her laugh, at watching the shadows play with her fair hair. The shackles of your parents deaths diminished a lot. Eventually you realized you wanted to spend the rest of your life with this pureblood witch, and you married Daphne Greengrass.

Soon you were blessed with the arrival of your son, Scorpius Malfoy. He was so tiny and so full of life. You promised yourself to always look out for him and protect him as much as you could.

The next few years were uneventful, but full of laughter and love. I have here something that will show you that not all events in your life had been sad and tragic, that life still remained, still flowed around you.

The man took out a worn Wizarding photo and handed it to Draco.

Draco saw an older version of himself, with a very beautiful Daphne sitting across from him and a small boy, who looked exactly like him at that age, between them. He noticed their looks of love, and knew that he was looking at the last Malfoys. The boy looked at photo!Draco with the kind of admiration Draco had used with Lucius, the difference was that photo!Draco looked back at the boy with pride, and love, and care.

Draco being Draco, he immediately asked Whats with the hair?

The man chuckled and answered, Id forgotten how impatient you can be! That is a secondary effect of a potion that Potter shoved down your throat, while Weasley held your arms. Apparently George Weasley had developed it to turn someone into a Veela in heat. Potter thought it was an interesting option and offered your services. The potion worked in some areas, and as a complication, you lost hair.

To continue, the 17 years went past, and soon the time came for Scorpius to go to Hogwarts. You toyed with the idea of sending him elsewhere, but Potter had sent you a message dissuading you from it. He threatened to launch a Wizengamot inquiry into yours affairs, which you took to mean he would send you to Azkaban.

In Kings Cross, you saw Potter for the first time in 17 years. You held his gaze and nodded, he nodded back. Soon Scorpius was on the train, and you went back. Still, an important event occurred: Potter transferred his obsession from you to your son. He didnt try to approach you again. He was set on taming your son.

Why do you think the Ministry is so intent now on getting your Estate? They could institute taxes or contributions, yet they feel they have the political backing to attempt this. That is because they do: Potter is behind them. Hes spoken and convinced them to try this route.

In Hogwarts, Potter used the services of Nott to let him know your moods and secrets. It was Harry who started the rumors about you betraying Voldemort, because he wanted you distracted, friendless and passive when he offered his services as a shining knight.

In your different jobs, when there came time for a performance review, Potter was invariably present to ensure that you did not advance, that you merely survived.

So it should come as no surprise to learn that two months after Kings Cross, you were arrested by Aurors on charges of conspiring to resurrect the Death Eaters, and using forbidden potions to try to attain the power of the Veela. Potter had planted the barbs, accusations and half-truths very cunningly, and you didnt stand a chance. You were convicted to life in Azkaban.

Daphne wrote to you later that month that someone was keen on adopting Scorpius, spouting nonsense about how your son would be raised better apart from all the Dark influence. The lucky couple was Ron Weasley and Hermione Weasley.

Daphne was able to stall them for a short time, but eventually, who could resist when the poster couple for the Light makes such a wish?

They took Scorpius, and made him change his name to Robert Weasley. During Christmas vacation, though, they sought to break him. They raped him. How can you be so sure? Because they sent you a Pensieve to your cell in Azkaban containing the memory of the rape. They wanted to lord it over you, they wanted to psychologically torture you, and by Merlin, they did!

Two hellish days later, you received some newspaper cuttings detailing the search for the adopted son of Ron Weasley, where later it was found out that your son had fallen into a deep ravine and died. You felt despair, guilt, among the maelstrom of emotions was gladness that they would not abuse Scorpius any more. Most of all, you felt as if you didnt belong among the living anymore. You wanted out.

The depth of your sadness was so enormous, that you were able to reconfigure your magic, and were able to throw off the shackles that bound your power. You felt alive, magnificently so, and that made the glaring death of your son so much more painful. If only you could have had this power before. If only the future would be known.

In the wake of your powers, you decided to exit this weary world. The wards prevented the use of magic or Muggle means to kill oneself, but then you remembered the Dementors. After opening the door and summoning a Dementor, it glided towards you.

You noticed its outer appearance, and were not duly impressed. You knew that the harshest, cruelest beings may look angelic, and you know that appearances can be deceiving. You hurried to Kiss it and be free of the pain.

Its laughable what they dont teach you at Hogwarts. For example, that no matter how powerful a curse or spell is, there is invariably one escape clause in the conditions of the spell. The Dementors are a cursed species, they incurred the wrath of a demigod, avatar or irate Dark Lord and were cursed. Originally they were Healers of Souls, anyone who suffered from deep behavioral problems could come to them, be Kissed and restored to what they were. They created happy moments.

The curse condemned them to attack what they held as the most important thing, the Soul; they were also cursed with a fearsome exterior. Whenever they approach, they call back bad moments.

The Dementors Kiss will invariably result in the loss of the Soul. Unless it is the Dementor who is being Kissed, and the person Kissing it has such Soul problems that can only be solved by a Healer, only then will the Kiss result in the Healing of the soul, and the Dementor will be free of the curse. This, and another factor, directed the Healing of your soul.

When the former Dementor finished, your grief, though strong, was manageable. You also had eidetic memory, total recall, and were able to connect seemingly isolated data points. You felt a strong hunch to go to the office of the Warden of Azkaban.

Once you were there, you knew why you were called. There was a portrait of a calm, wise Dumbledore. It was a pleasure to break him, and then steal his memories using the Legilimens maxima spell. Given that it was a portrait the memories were manageable enough. In the picture there was his wand, which you transmogrified into the real Elder wand. Interestingly enough, there was also a time-turner in the office.

You felt called, compelled to come to a specific point in time and space, and use this moment as a fulcrum in order to move the world. You felt inspired to change the past.

The man passed his wand in front of him and cancelled the glamour charm. The hair brightened into sunburst, and also thinned out. The eyes turned a stormy, cold grey. The features turned into the chiseled face of Draco Malfoy.

2. First twist - 2