Liquid

Chapter 1 - Frailness

Ginny Weasley, second in command for the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter's right-hand woman, couldn't remember the last time she smiled, but she was smiling now. She was reading the latest activity reports and for the first time in ten years, she foresaw a possible end of the war. Voldemort was losing power rapidly; his numbers were diminishing and most Death Eaters were either dead or had betrayed him. Fewer actions were taken by his side every day, while the Order, on the other hand, was stronger than ever.

It is time to take a strong action, exploit this momentum, she thought. She collected all the parchments and set off to Harry's chamber to share the good reports and her ideas with him.

This is just the chance he has been looking for. She knew that for a long time, Harry had been searching for a way to finish it off; he couldn't take more deaths. She hurried down the long and dark corridors leading to Harry's chamber in the main base of operations right under the city of Birmingham.

"Halt, who goes there?" the loud, bass voice of the enchanted door asked her as she reached it.

"Ginny Weasley; I need to see Harry," she replied. She felt that something was wrong. Usually the doors didn't sense for new arrivals; this meant that Harry had locked himself in his room and was not willing to let people in.

"Oh, Miss Weasley." The door sounded happy. "I'm sorry, but Harry is unavailable at the moment."

"What do you mean, 'unavailable'? I demand to see him right now!" Ginny let out a frustrated sigh and started to walk around; now wasn't the time for such nonsense. There was a short pause.

"I'm sorry, Miss Weasley, but Harry is unavailable at the moment." The door sighed. "Door, I order you to open!" she barked.

"I'm sorry, Miss Weasley --" Ginny interrupted him.

"Oh shut up, Door." She was about to back out but decided not to give up. She pulled out her wand, said, "Accio axis!" and held out her hand. Seconds later, the big door trembled as the axis connecting the door to the walls flew out of their places and into Ginny's opened palm.

"Now," she said and paused. A loud, metallic sound noted to her that the door was unlocking itself. She waited a few more seconds and it fell backwards, allowing her to pass.

"Who dares interrupt me?" She heard a loud cry and saw Harry turning in his chair to see who had entered his chamber. He was surrounded by parchments and books.

"Oh, Ginny, it is you. I thought the door was a big enough clue that I was busy?" He put the book down on the table and stood up.

"I know, and I'm sorry, Harry. I just think it is important that you read some of these reports," she said and came up to him.

"I think it's time for a big move. I believe we can end this war soon." She smiled to him but her expression changed when he ignored her report.

"I believe--" Harry took her reports and put them aside. "--that I have just figured out a way to defeat Voldemort, once and for all." He smiled and Ginny did the same.

"You know, Ginny --" he walked around his table and poured water from a bottle in to a small cup. "Time --" he paused, "-- is like liquid; one deliberate or unwitting interference can change its texture." He touched the surface of the water and watched the ripples for a few seconds. "I have found what is wrong with our world."

Ginny's expression changed once again; she was now looking very worried.

"And I intend to change it." He paused. "We share a common vision with a great wizard, my ancestor; Godric Gryffindor. In the way of his vision stood a man more evil than we can imagine. If it wasn't for him, Salazar Slytherin, Gryffindor's vision--our vision--of peace, tolerance and co-existence with Muggles would have swept the world and become the only vision! We wouldn't have been in this mess. " He took a short breath. "Slytherin always prevented the spreading of Gryffindor's vision. Instead, he spread the vision of our enemies, a vision that has taken too many lives." He looked at her, seeking her approval.

"Harry, what do you mean?" Ginny looked uneasily at Harry.

Harry smiled. "I'm going to go back in time and kill Salazar Slytherin."

Ginny immediately realized that she had to stop him from making such a crazy move. "And how exactly are you going to do this?" she asked and clutched her wand.

"Yes, that was, indeed, the tricky part; I have done a lot of research, and I found something that I have the basis to believe is real and not a myth. I have read about the existence of Chronomages; wizards who can manipulate time as they please - and I have come to the conclusion that there is one living today." He started looking through his parchments. "Chronomages are very rare--about one in a century or two--but it seems I have the right to fix things, since I have found a file in the Ministry's most secret records about one who could be a Chronomage living today." He handed her a parchment. "I have used a few spells to make the ink visible and to decrypt to codes it was written in." He smiled.

Ginny read the file; it was almost empty, only containing a name, an address and the words "dangerous powers," when a standard file of the Ministry on a Wizard consisted of at least three pages of exact information. She decided that she wasn't going to let this madness continue. She drew her wand and aimed it at Harry.

"I'm sorry, Harry, but I can't let you continue with this course of action."

She never thought she would raise her wand against Harry.

"Ginny, I'm not going to let you stop me. I will do as I planned. Do you really want me to stop?" He approached her in order to distract her from the fact the he was clutching his wand behind his back.

"If I do this, then everyone who died in the hands of Voldemort-- including your family--will live again." He put his face inches from hers and shifted her wand aside.

"Are you going to stop me from letting your family have a chance to live again?"

A tear rolled down Ginny's cheeks. She couldn't believe that it would ever come to this, but she understood it was the right thing to do; she was willing to sacrifice her loved ones to stop Harry from making a fatal mistake.

"Liondamhain!" Harry cried. A spider's web came out of his wand and wrapped Ginny to the floor. "I'm sorry, Ginny, but this is something I have got to do. Next time we see each other, everything will be different." He left the room as Ginny struggled to escape the web that held her to the floor.

Ginny struggled for a few seconds until and idea hit her. She opened her hand and struggled hard to keep it open.

"Accio!" she screamed and concentrated. It took it a few seconds to come, but it did. A knife she once got as a present from Remus Lupin rested genteelly in her hand now. She cut herself out quickly and left the room. She remembered the address of the man Harry was going to see and she knew Harry was not so far ahead, unless he didn't follow security proceedings. She ran out of the room and headed to the broomstick chamber. The only way to get out of the base was by flying on a broomstick; since Apparation, Floo powder and most magical transportation was traceable, the only way to safely go somewhere was by broom, even if it was to a remote location in order to use another magical means of transportation from there.

When Ginny reached the broomstick chamber she noticed that the guard on duty was gazing in to the sky, and didn't notice her at all.

"Mr. Rasanen," she called, and a few seconds later he came around.

"Hello, Miss Weasley. Are you a part of the secret mission Mr. Potter was out for? Oh, I guess I shouldn't be talking about it, right?" He took a broomstick and handed it to Ginny with a smile.

"Did Harry say anything to you before he went?" she asked as she mounted the broom.

"No, I said that I didn't know of a mission coming out today and he said it was secret and that when he sees me again, everything would be different." He smiled.

"OK. Goodbye, Mr. Rasanen. " She took off on the broom. She figured that she couldn't ride it all the way. Harry would probably shorten his route, so she set off towards Blackpool to take a Portkey.

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After an hour of flying and taking a few Portkeys to different locations, in order to confuse the enemy, Harry Potter finally arrived at his destination; a lonely one-floor house a few minutes ride on a broom from the city of Carron, Scotland. He didn't waste any time here. Seconds after his arrival he threw his broomstick aside and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" He heard the loud slaps of footsteps and a grumpy low voice coming from behind the door.

"Mr. Skylark, I need to speak to you." Harry tried to sound as nice as possible.

"Who are you?" the man behind the door asked again.

"I'm a friend, but if you won't let me in I will have to shout what I know about you from out here. I know exactly what you are!" The door opened wide seconds later and a mad-looking man stood in the doorway.

Darius Skylark was a very tall man, almost one head taller than Harry. His eyes--one blue and one black--had bags under them, and he wielded bristles; to Harry, it seemed as if he hadn't slept well or shaved in a while.

"Come in," the man said slowly.

"So," Harry started as he walked in carefully, "I was right. You are a Chronomage." Darius closed the door and walked with Harry to the living room.

"What do you want from me, Mr. Potter?" he asked and looked at Harry's scar, which was half visible under his hair.

"So, you know who I am, then you know my cause. I need your help."

Darius walked away from Harry when he heard the last part. "You don't know what you speak of. I can't use my powers to help you."

Harry stood up and came to him. "Yes you can. I need you to take me to the past. There is something that needs fixing." Harry turned Darius Skylark to him and looked in his eyes.

"This is mad talk, Potter! You can't! I won't!" Darius barked.

"Mr. Skylark, you don't understand the importance of my mission."

Darius waved his hands in cancellation as he walked away from Harry again. "It doesn't matter. It can't be done; you can never know the outcome of your actions when you go back in time. This is why I am stuck out here, so that crazy fools like you wouldn't find me." Skylark turned away.

"Well. Then I guess I'm not asking for your help." Harry paused. "Imperio!" he cried.

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Ginny Weasley arrived to the house outside of Carron and hoped that Harry wasn't there yet. Her hopes faded when she saw a broomstick on the grass along the pathway. She took a deep breath and tried to come up with a plan. She walked slowly towards the window, trying to make no sound, and peaked in. She saw Harry talking to a tall man.

It's probably Skylark, she thought. The man was walking away from Harry and then something she didn't expect happened.

"Imperio!" Harry cried and Ginny knew she had to intervene.

"Alohomora!" She opened the door and charged the room.

"Stop it, Harry!" she cried, but Harry ignored her.

"Do as I say!" he shouted to Darius Skylark, who tried to fight his control, but couldn't do it anymore. He knew that any second now he would take them both to the past, but when the red-headed woman came storming in to the house, he hoped she could stop him.

The three started to glow in a weird shade of white. Harry felt the glow cover him and it was like his senses were put into overdrive. He felt an unidentifiable sensation and opened his eyes wide, trying to absorb everything. It was like he could see himself going back in time; it seemed to him as he was watching history in fast forward. He didn't feel himself leaving the ground but couldn't feel attached to anything. He didn't want this extreme feeling to stop, but then everything turned black and he felt the hard ground under his feet. The feeling was soon erased from his mind.

The first thing he saw was the early light of sunrise, and he felt the cold morning breeze. He was standing on a hill, facing a deep dark forest. The sun was just beginning to rise and the light was still weak. The air felt so different, so clear, and so fresh; it was like something from another world. Harry looked around and saw that the travel had had a harsh effect on Darius Skylark, who was on the grass and struggling to get up on his feet.

"Don't bother," Harry said, knowing that he still had control over the man. "Sleep." Darius Skylark fell to the grass. Harry gave up control and turned to see that they weren't the only ones there. Ginny Weasley was still amazed by where she was, so she didn't notice Harry until he turned to her.

"I knew I shouldn't have told you about my plan, Ginny." Harry aimed his wand at her. "I'm sorry but I won't let you stop me, not now."

Ginny aimed her wand at him but he was faster.

"Stupefy!" A bolt of red light came out of his wand and hit her in the chest.

Harry didn't want to leave them like this; she was still his friend. He put a repel charm on their bodies to repel any animal or Muggle approaching them.

"Point me!" Harry used the Four-Point spell to find north and he began walking in the direction his wand showed him.

It was not long before Harry got to a road; he began walking alongside it, heading north-east hoping to find anything at all that could help him know a little more about where he was.

Not more than an hour passed before Harry could hear the sound of a horse coming his way. A few seconds later the white horse came into view.

"Hello, stranger," called the rider as his horse stopped close to Harry. "Are you lost?" he asked.

"Yes, my horse got scared of something; he threw me off and ran away." Harry looked in to the riders eyes. He knew there was only one thing to do. "Legilimens!" He whispered. It took him a few seconds, but he found all that he needed to know in the man's mind. He ended his search and saw that the man, who was apparently a wizard, was reaching for his wand.

"Obliviate!" Harry was once again faster.

Harry Apparated to the nearest village, now that he knew what its name was. He left the wizard alone with his horse to figure out why they had stopped.

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Darius Skylark woke up and felt the wet grass underneath him. He took a deep breath and the cold air that entered his lungs made him feel like a new man. Then he remembered what happened. He saw the body of the red-headed woman he took along and started to shake her.

"Wake up!" he cried. He shook her violently for a few seconds, but eventually had to give up as it wasn't working. He stood and started to walk around thinking what to do next, and it hit him.

"Enervate!" he cried and pointed his wand at the girl, who opened her eyes.

Ginny Weasley opened her eyes wide quickly but had no time to adjust, as Darius Skylark leaned over her and shook her.

"Get up, girl." He pulled her up.

"Do you have any idea where he could have gone to?" he asked.

Ginny could hear the urgency in his voice but could not think. She gazed around her, trying to remember what happened.

"Miss? Miss?" he cried and shook her again.

"How long have we been out?" she asked him.

"I don't know." He released her from his clutch.

"This is not good! He could have killed him already! He could have already changed the future." Ginny turned around and looked at the sky, trying to think of something.

"No he didn't. If he had, we wouldn't have been here. You see, a change so far in the past would touch all of our lives, thus if something had changed we would not have been here. What is your name? And who is he trying to kill?" Darius calmed down and spoke slowly.

"I'm Ginny Weasley, and Harry is trying to kill Salazar Slytherin," she replied.

"Then we need to find them and protect him. I'm not strong enough to Apparate; coming here took a lot out of me, but you can take us both and Apparate us to Hogsmeade. He is probably there." He grabbed her shoulders, hoping she would Apparate them out of there.

"No, it won't work, since the village isn't called Hogsmeade yet. It was named Hogsmeade only a few years after Hogwarts started to work; I assume we are still before that time?" Darius sighed and nodded, confirming Ginny's fears.

"I knew Hogsmeade's early name once, I just can't seem to remember," Ginny said.

"Then think, Miss Weasley!" Darius barked.

"I think I've got it!" Ginny cried and took Darius's hand. With a loud pop they Apparated out.

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"I'm telling you Salazar, you cannot limit education!" Godric Gryffindor was holding the plans over Hogwarts. "The wizard's mind will always seek to expand." Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin were in the middle of their daily discussion over the admittance of Muggle born wizards into the school they were planning. Godric passed his hand through his beard as Salazar pointed at a few things in the map. The two were planning what part of the castle they would build today.

"Muggle borns," Salazar said, "do not have a wizard's mind. They may have our abilities but they will never be able to compare to us." Salazar looked deep into his colleague's eyes as he spoke slowly of one of the subjects which he held high attitude to.

"Salazar Slytherin!" A loud voice cried for Slytherin from the woods, and the two jumped. They drew their wands and aimed them at the sound's source.

A few seconds later the source of the call came in to view.

"Stop right there!" Slytherin tried to stop the upcoming stranger, but Harry Potter wasn't about to give up.

"Expelliarmus!" he shouted and Slytherin was knocked back into the wall of the storage cabin containing all the materials for building.

"Iolar!" Gryffindor was quick to respond and an eagle came out of the tip of his wand. The eagle grabbed Slytherin's wand before Harry could get it and returned it to its owner.

"Confundo!" Gryffindor tried to confuse his unknown rival, but he was able to dodge this attack.

"I do not want to fight you, Gryffindor. I want him." Harry pointed at Slytherin who stood back on his feet with his wand now.

"Dibir!" Slytherin cried and a log from the cabin behind him flew in Harry's direction.

Harry Apparated a few meters to the left and the log missed him completely.

"I'm doing this for the best, Gryffindor!" Harry used the Summoning charm and another log from the cabin flew out, but this time it hit Slytherin in the back and knocked him to the floor.

"Taking a life is never for the best!" Godric thought he might be able to negotiate the attacker to cease fire.

Harry wanted to end this now. He aimed his wand at Slytherin and prepared to make the final blow, but the loud pop of Apparation stopped him.

"Harry, Stop it!" Ginny Weasley cried as she and Darius Skylark appeared in front of him.

Godric Gryffindor stood confused at this latest event; he let his guard down a bit and didn't aim his wand at the attacker anymore.

"Get back," Ginny whispered into Darius Skylark's ear and aimed her wand at Harry.

"This will not go any further," she said.

"You're right." Harry paused. Ginny raised her eyebrows.

"Tead!" he cried and magical ropes came out of his wand and bound Ginny firmly.

"Dibir!" Harry tossed her aside carefully and came face to face with Salazar Slytherin who was able to stand up. Darius Skylark knew they had failed; he knew he had one chance to survive, but he would not leave Ginny to die.

"Goodbye." Harry aimed his wand at Slytherin, and Gryffindor finally came to as Darius Skylark grabbed the tied up Ginny Weasley and used his last beats of power to try and take them away from here. For the second time in a few hours, Ginny Weasley felt the strange sensation she could not identify.

"Avada Kedavra!" Harry cried and a green bolt came out of his wand, but it wasn't Slytherin it hit. The one to take the green bolt of the killing curse was Godric Gryffindor who jumped in its path to save his friends life.

The lifeless body of Godric Gryffindor fell into Salazar Slytherin's hands as he witnessed the unknown assassin vanishing.