herumtreiber

Title: Unusual ending - chapter 5
Chapter: five
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: R
Warnings: Sexual content
Epilogue compliant? No way!
Chapter length: 3791 words
Beta: None.
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

Chapter four

February 1st, 1999 – the old timeline

Ron Weasley entered the small flat he and Hermione rented in Woking. He ruffled his red hair and opened the top button of his white shirt, tugging aside his dark blue tie; his superior at the Department of Mysteries insisted on proper clothing, although working in the Time Chamber didn't merit such elegance, in his opinion. Thank Merlin it was Friday.

Ron lay down on the sofa, sighing deeply.

He was clutching tightly the latest Daily Prophet. Heaving a deep sigh, he threw the paper onto the crystal table, where it landed next to Fred's Sneakoscope. The paper crashed against it and the Sneakoscope whirled a little before it calmed down. The front page showed a photo of Harry waving timidly to the crowd after he'd vanquished Voldemort. The headline read:

Ministry of Magic unable to locate any traces of our missing Savior

There were many parchments and folders upon the table; a Quidditch bat lay haphazardly next to Hermione's laptop.

Ron looked towards the ceiling as he tried to avoid shedding tears. It had been two months since Harry mysteriously disappeared. No one knew what had happened to him, and guilt was slowly tearing up Ron's insides.

He'd been so consumed by jealousy and fear that he pushed Harry away when he needed Ron the most, and he convinced Hermione to go along with him – not that she needed much convincing.

Worse, Ron's family had agreed with his views until Charlie came home from Romania - he and the Twins sat down with them and talked sense – after Fred and George conveniently tied them to their chairs - and made them see reason; back when the Twins were whole… when Fred still lived.

Ron grabbed the remote control from the leather chair and idly switched it on, flipping through the channels, not finding anything interesting. He became an avid rugby fan once Hermione explained the rules of the game – which she read in a book or something.

Thinking of his girlfriend, Ron sighed; Hermione wasn't doing any better than him. She'd tried to make contact with her parents in Australia; but they rejected her – claiming they had no daughter. It seemed her spellwork was not as efficient as she thought.

Ron suddenly yawned, he was tired - he hardly slept a full night nowadays. He grabbed one of the Chocolate Frogs that were on the table and he was about to tear up the wrapper and eat it when he remembered that they were Harry´s favorite sweets.

Having lost his appetite, Ron put the frog back on the basket and lay down on the sofa, hugging himself, rocking silently back and forth until sleep came to him.

One hour later, the door was softly opened and a figure skulked into the room. A beam of moonlight reflected off bushy brown hair, which was swept aside by a nervous hand.

Seeing her boyfriend sleeping, Hermione tiptoed into the living room and took the remote from Ron's unresisting hand. Turning to the TV, she switched it off and then put it softly back on the table. She bent down to tousle his red hair, tenderly. She reached across his sleeping form to turn on the lamp.

Hermione shrugged off her coat and put it delicately over the chair. Her job at the Ministry of Magic was very tiring, having to deal with centaurs and giants on a daily basis was exhausting, but something she enjoyed.

She entered the kitchen and went to the cupboard; she selected Crookshanks favorite tuna can from atop a pile which threatened to collapse. Hermione took out her wand and flicked it tiredly to open the can, which she put on the floor.

She sat on the chair next to the fridge and waited for the ginger cat to appear, touching her silver bracelet nervously. Crookshanks wasn't very close to her nowadays; the cat behaved like his owner – thought Hermione guiltily. She'd read the Daily Prophet in the morning.

Thinking about her former best friend, Hermione laid her face upon her stretched hands and cried softly. Why did she leave him alone? Why did she abandon poor Harry when he needed them the most?

Hermione lent to the left and grabbed a tissue which she used to wipe off her face.

Life was not the same without Harry; she sobbed, imagining his goofy smile as he confided something in her which she already knew.

He'd been in a dark mood ever since that fateful day - the ides of March. Hermione suspected why he was so depressed, but she did nothing. Instead, she pretended that everything was all right with the world, and when Harry started going out with Seamus Finnigan and Ron turned on him, she meekly followed along – without thinking about it.

Harry drifted in the world all by himself, alone; having lost the people closest to him – Remus, Tonks, Fred, Malfoy – Ron and her.

Hermione sobbed, and wished that she could go back in time and change things, make everything all right for her best friend – the one she abandoned; but Time Turners didn't reach that far back.

She was distracted by the scratching sounds against the wooden door of the kitchen. She went to the door, and opened it, noticing the creaking sound and making a mental note to buy some lubricant.

Crookshanks strode in. The bandy-legged cat scrunched his seemingly squashed face as he sauntered regally by her - without paying her any attention. He sniffed disdainfully the tuna dish and his pink tongue started lapping it up.

Seeing her cat behave so, Hermione was engulfed by seething rage against him and the world – why did everything have to be so hard for her? Why couldn't her cat, her parents – and Harry – behave logically for once?

She stabbed her wand angrily towards the fridge and accio'd the piece of paper with the telephone number of the pizzeria which was stuck to the fridge. Hermione sighed as she took out her cell phone from her bag and prepared to order a pizza – she was too discouraged to prepare food nowadays; and anyway, Ron often compared her cooking to Molly's – unfavorably.

If only Harry were here, he could have put Ron in his place with a joke or a glare. Hermione had started the call when there was a knocking sound on the door.

She put the phone on the table and hurried to the entrance while the bell kept ringing, waking up her boyfriend.

Ron looked around blearily, saying, "Wha…" as Hermione reached the door and opened it.

She saw an old man with white hair; his eyes were hidden by dark glasses. He wore a severe black robe, and was taller than her. The man had a weather-beaten face and right now was frowning at her. He said, "May I come in, Grang… I mean Hermione?"

She reluctantly opened the door and the man sauntered into the apartment. He sat on the big leather chair that was Ron's favorite.

Ron glared at the stranger until the man spoke, "Don't you miss Harry?"

"Who are you and what you want?" replied Ron in an aggravated tone.

The man put the tips of his long fingers together and looked at them thoughtfully, "You may call me Antares, and as for what I want….. I come to fulfill your wishes."

Hermione frowned; she remembered her Astronomy lessons very well. Antares was the name of a star in some constellation with an awful name… something that the pureblood wizards would name their children after. She was so busy thinking about his name that she didn't notice the Sneakoscope whizzing for a few seconds.

Ron yawned and didn't see Antares moving his hand inside his robes. He replied, "We don't need you, old man!"

Crookshanks came into the living room with his tail held high, his bandy-legged gait imperious as always. Hermione glared when the traitorous cat jumped on the lap of the strange old man, and began to purr loudly. Antares petted the ginger cat, who purred like a small motor.

"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted" - continued the man, and Hermione could swear that the man was glaring behind his glasses – "I'm here to help you."

Antares waved his hands grandiosely, "You've made an awful mistake, and I'll help you correct it!"

Hermione noticed the strange silver ring that the man wore on the index finger of his right hand; peering closely, she noticed it was a snake eating its tail. Its eyes were two small emeralds.

She knew it was the Ouroboros - the snake eating itself formed an unbroken circle, the symbol of eternity and rebirth.

"….. know why you betrayed Harry," said the man.

Hermione coughed and blushed, "Could you repeat that, sir?"

Antares stopped petting Crookshanks and replied slowly, "Before I help you, I want to know the reason you left Harry alone." The man turned to look at Ron.

Crookshanks saw the reflection of a car's taillight moving on the window; he jumped out of the man's lap, and his wand fell to the floor. The old man hurriedly bent down to pick it and his glasses slipped down his nose. When he looked up at her, Hermione saw that the man had striking grey eyes.

She was distracted by the sound of Ron's voice, replying heatedly, "None of your business!"

Ron looked nervously at his girlfriend.

"On the contrary, it is my business, entirely so – "replied the man and pointed with his right hand towards Hermione, "and don't you think your girlfriend deserves to know the reason too?"

Ron stood up from the sofa and walked slowly to the window, peering at the full moon. He stayed there for a while. Then he turned around and looked intently at Hermione.

"I guess you're right," said he with a defeated sigh.

Ron returned to the sofa and sat down. "When I was ten years old, my parents left to visit the twins at Hogwarts, they'd done some prank or other…." he started playing with a loose thread from the cushion. Without looking up, he continued, "Bill and Charlie were out of the country. They left Ginny with Aunt Muriel and me…. they left me with Blaise….."

Hermione gasped, and Ron turned to her and explained, "Blaise was a friend of mine, because his family was neutral in the war…. They were among the few purebloods that were our friends." Ron looked pleadingly at Hermione, "Could I have some Firewhiskey, please?"

Hermione turned to Antares, who nodded, and she said wearily, "I'll get you some." She took out her wand and swished it muttering, 'Accio bottle.' The lamplight illuminated briefly her silver bracelet, and she was too engrossed to notice the startled sound the old man made.

Ron caught the bottle before it crashed against her laptop; he took two glasses that were on the table and poured drinks for himself and the old man. He pushed one towards the man and took a gulp from his own.

"Anyway, Blaise and I were doing fine until Avernius Flint came to visit" – Ron gazed earnestly at Hermione – "he was 20 years old. During the night, he came to my room and…. and he…"

Unable to continue, Ron put the glass back on the table and hid his face on his hands. She went to him and knelt down beside him. She gently took his hands off his face and gazed at him.

"He… molested you?" said Hermione tentatively. Ron nodded and then sobbed; Hermione stood up awkwardly and sat down next to him, hugging him fiercely and patting his red hair.

"Everything's going to be alright," said Hermione softly.

She gazed at Ron and said, "So that's why you hate Slytherins so much…"

"… and were so against Harry's choice," ended the man.

"You should've told me, Ron - I would've found something in the self-help books, I… I could've helped you."

Hermione broke down crying too, "And we would've stood behind Harry."

"You mustn't judge…."- continued Hermione between sobs- "not all people… are like that."

Ron hid his face in Hermione's hair and breathed in her wonderful strawberry scent, calming him down a bit. Hermione continued, "But now's too late… too late for Harry."

Antares spoke loudly, "Perhaps it's not too late for you all."

Hermione turned her teary face to him; the man pushed up the rim of his glasses with his pinky finger and then took off his ring with a flourish, putting it on the table.

He pushed it towards Ron and continued calmly, "This is what you'll do…." – and the corners of his mouth twitched briefly, as if attempting to form a smirk.

March 15th, 1997 - new timeline

Ron crouched behind the pillar, his back touching the rough-hewn stone. He was near the room where Nearly Headless Nick's Deathday party took place. He was waiting for Harry to leave the classroom, following the old geezer's instructions.

When Harry left, wiping a tear off his cheek, Ron cautiously looked around both sides of the passage, he gingerly walked to the door and opened it.

He gazed around the room. He'd clearly heard the sound of the glass windows breaking, but they seemed to be ok; he snorted, the greasy git insisted on having windows in the Dungeons. He found the chair with the green upholstery that the old man had told him about. He took out his wand from the pocket of his robe and he swished it carefully saying, Finite incantatem.

The chair turned into Harry's unmoving body; Ron crouched down and touched him tenderly.

He choked back a sob, and mindful of the old man's commands, he took out the weird silver ring from his left pocket and put it on Harry's hand. He softly closed the unresisting hand around the ring and muttered the password for the Portkey, 'Osiris.'

Harry's body shimmered and disappeared in a flash of bright light.

Feeling devastated after seeing Harry's lifeless body, Ron needed something to distract himself from the pain of watching his best friend – whom he treated so cruelly – laying on the floor like this. He opened the door and peered outside; finding his way free, he took the stairs and finally made it to the room where Harry and he discovered the Mirror of Erised.

He opened the door, somehow hoping to find the Mirror and catch a glimpse of Harry, Hermione and him battling foes like they always did, together – always together. But when he walked inside the room, he found it empty.

He plopped down on a chair and conjured himself some Firewhiskey

Eight days later

Ron walked aimlessly around, trying to find his younger self and beat some sense into himself, when he found Harry, who was sauntering along a corridor. Feeling relieved - and guilty - Ron walked up to him and hugged him fiercely, apologizing as best he could, given his slightly tipsy state.

Harry was not very friendly and deep inside, Ron agreed with him.

He gazed forlornly at Harry's back as the Seeker walked along the corridor, wobbling a bit; he muttered something about a hedgehog. Ron took a few shuffling steps to the left and he found himself face to face – with himself. Younger Ron hitched his bag and asked aggressively, "Who are you?"

Ron replied, "Doesn't matter! What's important is that…." He took two steps towards himself and waved his fist menacingly, "what matters is that you treat Harry right!"

Ron(1) said snidely, "The fool's a pouf… and he lets the slimy Malfoy shag him!"

Older Ron had had enough of his younger self, he directed his fist towards his smug face but he was a bit drunk and his younger self had time enough to move aside. Ron(2) fell clumsily to the floor and his younger self laughed uproariously.

Ron stood up slowly, glaring at himself. He took out three memory vials from the pocket of his robes. These were memories that Hermione insisted he should carry in case he found their younger versions.

He grabbed young Ron's hand and opened it forcefully. He put the vials on his hand and growled, "Watch this carefully, git! Just in case, have Mione watch them too!" He stood up and walked away, sneering at his younger self.

"And be a good friend of Harry! He needs it!" – shouted Ron(2) as he disappeared down the corridor, leaving his younger self shaking his head and wondering if he'd had enough food lately and this was an hallucination.

Ron walked until he reached the statue of the humpbacked witch and plopped down to the floor, hidden by the statue. He still had to get something from Mione that the old geezer insisted was important.

He gingerly held his head – he shouldn't have drunk all that Firewhiskey from George and Fred's secret stash. He was starting to doze off when a voice startled him.

"Wotcher, Ron!"

Startled, Ron looked up and incredulously watched the figure of a slender witch peering intently at him. Her hair was bright purple and she was making tsking sounds at him. She took out her wand and moved it with a sweeping motion saying, "Scourgify!"

Ron's stubble disappeared and his appearance was quite a bit tidier, though now his red hair was sticking out every which way. The witch reached her hand and attempted to straighten his hair.

"My mums is way better at this," muttered Tonks to herself, and then she added, "Anyway, you look like Harry now."

Ron flinched when Tonks continued, "Have to go and meet Remus, see ya!"

Tonks walked away with a light step, until she stumbled over someone's book that was lying on the stone floor.

Ron was very pale, as if he had seen a ghost; which in a sense, he had. Tonks was dead in his time, but here – she was very much alive. He settled down to wait for Hermione, and he didn't wait overly long.

She appeared ten minutes later, clutching her bag to her chest and muttering angrily to herself, "Have to find out how Harry does it!" Seeing Ron, she essayed a smile but then, remembering his absence from class, she said angrily, "Where were you, Ron?

"You missed the class! Don't think I'm always going to lend you my notes!" huffed Hermione.

"Anyway, I have to find out why Harry's spells are suddenly so powerful!" continued the bushy-haired witch.

"His hedgehog was perfect! And mine was a bit… off."

Ron wondered why everyone was so interested in the prickly animals, in his time it wasn't so.

"And that book he keeps doodling on" – continued the irate witch – "I think it's McGonagall's old book!"

Hermione lifted her bag and glared at it, "No doubt the Professor wrote all kind of tips on the book, and now Harry's reading them!"

She sniffed and said, "I smell Firewhiskey – I bet Mr. Filch found the Twins' secret stash and has been drinking from it."

She huffed, "Probably gives some to Mrs. Norris – the poor cat!" Hermione paced back and forth, "I have to find a way to steal Harry's book and look at those doodles! Then I'll catch up with him."

Ron interrupted Hermione's tirade, "Mione, could you lend me your… bracelet?" She looked at him suspiciously. She lifted her left arm and pointed towards the silver bracelet with her bag, "This one?

"After I fought with Kreacher when we found it at Grimmauld Place?" she said, and then muttered under her breath, "That nasty, old…"

Ron held up his hand to stop her, "I'll send it to Mom, she wants to give something special to Ginny for her birthday, and I thought…" he continued while he scoffed his shoes on the floor, "that she might find something like it.

"I'll give it back, promise," ended Ron, knowing that he wouldn't; that the younger Ron would have to deal with an irate Mione – hoping she would sock that git in the mouth, just like she did with Malfoy.

Hermione sighed, "Ok, Ron – just this once."

Ron held her bag while she took off the bracelet. After she gave the piece of jewelry to him, she hurriedly grabbed her bag and headed towards the stairs, "Have to go now, see you later, Ron."

Just before she turned the corner, she called back, "And do something with your hair, for Merlin's sake!"

Ron held up the bracelet, peering intently at it, noting that it was fashioned like a snake eating its tail.

Grimacing disgustedly, he put it in his pocket; he couldn't imagine what the old geezer wanted with it. Ron made his way to the Room of Requirement, where he would return to the future.

He was walking along a corridor on the fourth floor – mindful of the old geezer's advice to stay unseen - when he heard a voice he knew well.

"Really, Draco – why do we have to go the Library now? Can't you ask Harry – he seems to know all the answers already," whined Pansy Parkinson.

"I'm not going to ask him about this - forget it, Pansy," drawled Draco.

"Besides, he already tried to grab Harry's homework, but the hedgehog pricked him," added mockingly Blaise Zabini, and the Slytherins laughed.

Ron rolled his eyes, wondering about everyone's obsession with this animal, when the three students rounded the corner. Pansy saw him and bit out, "Talking about hedgehogs, here's a red one – though he is not as cute as Harry's."

She tugged a strand of her bronze-colored hair behind her ear, and Ron made the mental note to lay off the Firewhiskey – he could've sworn she was a brunette before. When he saw Malfoy brandishing his wand, Ron took out his own and prepared to defend himself against the Slytherins.

But he was too late, Malfoy swished his wand and Ron felt a sticky sensation, like something was crawling on his head.

He spluttered, "What have you done?"

"Relax, Weasley, I've only straightened your ginger hair," drawled Draco.

Blaise nodded to Ron, and then he turned to Pansy and winked at her, "Yeah, it's the same spell he uses for his hair."

Draco glared at his friend, "If you continue, I'll tell Pansy what you told me, Blaise."

He tugged his companions along and they took several steps away from Ron. The blond turned his head to look at Ron and sneered, "Besides, you looked like an enraged porcupine – and lay off drinking, it makes your face splotchy."

Ron noticed that Malfoy wobbled a bit, just like Harry. Sighing, he walked unsteadily towards the Room of Requirement – and the future.

Chapter six