Age of Innocence

~~Chapter Sixteen: Past, Present And Future Rejoined~~

~~Hogwarts School Infirmary, Scotland, UK - Jan. 24th, 1925~~

'When is he going to wake up?' Draco asked pacing the room nervously whilst throwing sideways glances towards the still prone figure of Harry.

'Patience, Malfoy, he'll wake up, at least Snape says he will,' Sirius grumbled.

'And Severus is suddenly the authority on Harry's well being?' Draco replied coldly.

'Look, I don't like this any more than you do, kid, but apparently he does seem to know more than we do about all this. Now we either listen to what Snape says and leave Harry be, or risk waking him and lose him forever. Take you goddamned pick, but I'm for letting him be,' Sirius said.

Draco stared daggers at Sirius then in a heavy half choked sigh he dejectedly nodded his head in agreement. 'This waiting is killing me though, Black. It's been a fucking fortnight to the day since he went into this coma thing, I just want him back!' he said wearily and went over and sat down in a chair next to Harry's bed.

Sirius sighed and walked over and put his hand on Draco's shoulder almost tenderly. 'We all do, kid, believe me. To think that I had him with me all that time and didn't even know him...it still makes me ill,' he sighed.

'I didn't even have him but a day, Black, and already it feels like I've lost everything,' Draco said sadly.

'Both of you shut it won't you? Harry'll be fine, he's a strong lad, and I trust what he told me,' Severus said walking into the infirmary now, a dark scowl on his face.

'For the love of God, Snape, don't fucking sneak up on us like that!' Sirius scowled himself. 'You want me to end up back in that damned bed?'

'Stop being a bastard for a minute, though I know that's difficult for you, Black,' Severus said dryly and walked over to look at Harry. 'He'll be fine, he said to let him stay put, and that's what we're going to do.'

'Why though? What the hell is he doing in there?' Draco demanded.

Severus turned round to face Draco and give him an intense gaze, scrutinising the lad closely. 'He's learning how to fight the darkness, Draco. He's learning who and what he is,' he said quietly.

'What the bloody hell does that mean, Snape? Why do you know so much about what's going on here? Why didn't he pick me for this? I'm his fucking godfather last I checked!' Sirius said angrily.

'Maybe that's exactly why he didn't pick you for this task, Black! You're an over-hyped, trumped up piece of - '

'Enough...please...' a voice said quietly, yet the voice was clearly heard by the three present, though they wondered who it was speaking.

Draco was the first to notice something was definitely different. Making sure he wasn't seeing things he had to look twice at what he was seeing, then his face lit up and he gave out a whoop of joy. 'Harry! You're back!' he yelled.

Harry groaned and shifted slightly, blinking as he opened his eyes. 'Draco...please...no yelling...' he grumbled.

'Oh, right...sorry, Harry. Just so happy to have you back. I thought- ' Draco began hesitantly then saw Severus give him a shake of the head. 'Well never mind what I thought. Just glad to have you back.'

Harry smiled for a moment at Draco then turned to look at Severus, a strange look in his eyes. 'You didn't find him did you, Uncle Severus,' he said softly.

Severus looked at Harry and paled, then his shoulders hunched over and he sighed and shook his head sadly. 'No,' he said in a pained voice.

'I know, Draco was supposed to be there...inside the dreams...but he wasn't,' Harry said without breaking eye contact with Severus. 'The house was empty?'

Severus nodded. 'Yes. Oh, Harry, where is he?' he asked in a voice suspiciously close to tears whilst sitting down heavily in a chair. 'What happened to him?'

'Will someone tell us what the fuck is going on here?' Sirius demanded now whilst looking back and forth between Severus and Harry. 'Are you talking about Moony?'

Harry blinked then turned to look at Sirius with unfocused eyes. 'Padfoot,' he said with a small smile. 'I don't have time to explain things really, you'll just have to trust me right now, and let me do what I have to do,' he said quietly, then turned back to Severus and stared at him intensely again. Closing his eyes he seemed to be concentrating on something, and to everyone's surprise a shimmer of light appeared and formed something.

At first Severus couldn't believe what he was seeing, it couldn't be real. He knew for fact that the item in question had been destroyed, he'd seen it with his own eyes all those years ago. It had been charred beyond redemption, just a smouldering mass of cloth, yet now before his eyes the item had been returned as if it hadn't been but a day since he'd last seen it.

Harry opened his eyes looking a bit drained, but satisfied at what he'd done. Taking the object in his hands he lifted it up to look at, a silly grin on his face. 'Da never did manage to learn how to use that grill...did he, Uncle Severus,' he said with a slight chuckle.

Severus couldn't help it and he laughed and shook his head. 'No, he never did, Harry boy. You remember that eh?' he said with a sad smile.

Harry giggled and nodded, then he faced Severus and held out the item. 'I told you when the time was right you'd remember. Since Moony isn't here to do this, now it's up to you. You have to do what he should have, Uncle Severus, you have send Draco and yourself back, he has to remember that day and you have to show him what took place,' he said quietly.

'But, Harry...I'm not Remus. I can't do dreamweaving, you know that,' Severus said hesitantly. 'I can't...'

'You can, just let me guide you,' Harry said.

'What's going on? Send who back where? What's going on?' Sirius said.

'Just be quiet, Black,' Severus muttered. 'Harry knows what he's doing, I trust him.'

'Yeah well I want to know what it is you're talking about, Snape. I trust my godson, I sure as fucking hell don't trust you,' Sirius said.

'Please, Padfoot...don't fight. I wish I had more time to explain things but I don't, but what I can say is that right now Uncle Severus needs to do this,' Harry said.

'Why? At least tell me why, Harry. Why him?' Sirius pleaded.

'It's because he's bound to Lupin, isn't it,' Draco said thoughtfully. 'They share the same soul, same blood, same bonding, so he'll be able to find him inside the dreams, right, Harry?'

Harry looked at Draco and nodded. 'Yes. But first you have to go back too, Draco. If you don't, then I wouldn't have met you, I wouldn't have been able to tell Uncle Severus what I did, and shown him what was to come. He can't find Moony without you first going back.'

'The Mobius Strip theory, of course,' Severus said quietly.

'The what theory?' Sirius said, 'Stop speaking in riddles. What the bloody hell does that mean?'

'It means you dolt that the past was affected by the present, or rather at the time, the future. By somehow sending Draco's energy back into the past, it created the events that were to come. If I'm correct, Harry is the reason that everything that's happened up till now has taken place as it has. It was Harry's friendship with Draco in the past that gave him the energy to use on turning James at the last moment.'

'Wait a minute here. If I go back to then, why don't I just warn them what will happen? Why don't I tell them they're going to die and about everything that has happened till now?' Draco asked in confusion.

'Because you can't alter certain events that weren't meant to be altered. James and Lily had to die, just as Voldemort was meant to die,' Severus said.

'But he's not dead, things got screwed up,' Harry said quietly, his gaze now focused on the ceiling. 'He's out there now, and is using Remus's energy to get to me. He can't fight it much longer, Uncle Severus. He's dying, I feel it.'

'What?' Severus said jumping up from his chair. 'No...no it can't be...he can't die...not now! Oh Merlin, not Remus...take me instead but let him be!'

Harry sighed and turned back to face Severus. 'It's not too late, Uncle Severus. The ones who've trained me tell me that I was always the key. I was the one that altered the past, present and the future. I can change it all...if you'll let me.'

'How? What can you do, Harry? What will happen if you do?' Draco asked worriedly.

Harry shook his head and frowned. 'I don't know, Draco, not all of it. If I do this, there is no guarantee that any of what has happened up till now will happen exactly the same again.'

'You mean...I might not ever see you again?' Draco said hesitantly. 'I might not know who you are, or know that I love you?' he asked in a pained voice.

Harry smiled tenderly at Draco and reached out for Draco's hand, then placed it on top of the little black dragon. 'You will always be my dragon, Draco. You will always know that I am out there...waiting for the day we somehow meet again. We will never be complete without each other, we're a part of each other's souls, just as Uncle Severus and Moony as well as Padfoot and Wormtail share one soul. But there's no guarantee you'll remember me, or any of what has happened. I can't promise that.'

'Why, Harry? Why do all this? For what reason?' Sirius asked.

'Because of Voldemort,' Harry said quietly. 'We both were supposed to die for good that day, but we didn't. I was supposed to destroy him forever...but he escaped somehow so I was also saved so that I could fight him again. Now he's back, the time has come that I have to finish what should have been done years ago. I have to destroy the evil...forever...Padfoot. If I don't he will win.'

'Oh, Harry!' Draco cried. 'Why you? Why do they want you alone to do this? It's not fucking fair!'

Harry smiled and held Draco's hand tightly. 'Life isn't fair, Draco...my dragon. I can't bring back my parents...but I can save everyone else. Don't you see? I'm the only one that can do this, I have to do this. I have to save everyone from an evil worse than your own father. Lucius an angel compared to what Voldemort will do if he uses me to return...and he will, Draco. Using Moony's powers he will, maybe not today or tomorrow, but soon. I can't let him do that.'

'He's right,' Severus said thickly.

'Have you gone daft, Snape? You're saying the entire fate of our world rests in Harry's hands? Are you fucking insane? Harry's a kid, just a kid!' Sirius argued.

'He's a child who knows what he's doing, Black,' Severus said angrily. 'And it's not just our world, but the Muggle world as well. Voldemort will not hesitate to destroy us all, Mage and Muggle alike should he return. If Harry can truly stop that, then I say let him do what he has to do.'

'And I say you're insane! I won't allow this!' Sirius replied.

'You don't have the choice in this, Sirius,' Peter said sharply as he now walked into the room. 'I heard enough to know that Harry's right. Lucius is tolerable compared to the terror that Voldemort would bring if released again. I'm with Snape, let Harry do what he has to do.'

'But, Peter...' Sirius began then looked at the determined look on his lover's face and he sighed. Turning back to Harry he asked, 'What...how much...do you think will change?'

'I don't know, Padfoot, I wish I did. Even those in the dreamworld tell me they can't say for sure what will or won't happen. The only thing that is a constant in every scenario however is that Voldemort grows stronger, and unless I do this...' Harry said trailing off.

'We're all going to lose,' Severus finished out heavily. Looking at the others in the room slowly he said, 'Are we in agreement on this then?'

Everyone else in the room nodded slowly, each with a sigh. 'If this is what has to be done, then let's do it,' Peter said firmly.

Draco turned to Harry and gazed down at him with a very loving expression. 'I'll find you again, Harry. Somehow, some way...I will find you again.'

Harry smiled up at Draco tenderly. 'I know you will, Draco, somehow I know you will,' he said softly. Holding out the little black dragon now he said, 'Hold onto him for me won't you?'

Draco took the dragon and held onto it tightly. 'I'm you're dragon huh?'

'Always my dragon,' Harry half whispered, then turned to look at Severus. 'I need you to hold Draco's hand now, whilst he's holding mine. Then both of you close your eyes and I'll do the rest.'

'Harry?' Peter asked suddenly as he went over to stand next to Sirius, taking his lover's hand in his own.

'Yeah, Wormtail?' Harry asked.

'Will...will I still...will Sirius and I still love each other?' Peter asked curiously.

Harry smiled sadly. 'I really can't answer that, Wormtail, I wish I could, but I can't. I'll hope you will though.'

'So will I, Harry, so will I,' Peter said softly and put his arms round Sirius. 'I do love you, Sirius Black.'

'I love you too, Peter Pettigrew, always will,' Sirius said with a smile then gently brushed Peter's lips with his own. Turning back to Harry he said, 'Good luck, Harry. Someday we'll meet again I hope.'

'I have a feeling we will, Padfoot,' Harry said with a secretive grin. 'Sooner than you think actually.' Turning to Severus and Draco he said, 'Are you ready?'

Severus and Draco looked at each other, both hoping this was really for the best, then nodded. 'We're ready, Harry. Do what you have to do,' Severus said quietly, then closed his eyes, Draco doing the same.

Harry nodded then lay back against the pillows, holding Draco's hand tightly, his eyes closed. Whispering words under his breath he didn't see the room start to slowly melt away as if a giant eraser was removing the colours, then the images itself. Neither of the three saw new images reeling round them, although they did hear the sounds of voices. They heard the voices of their friends, families, and of people that were long gone from the face of the earth. The voices of a younger Severus, Remus, Peter and Sirius, as well as of James and Lily. They were voices from a happier time in which there was still laughter and peace. Then the echoing voices stopped, and as they did so the three of them remembered no more.

~~~~

'You've done very well, Harry.'

'Did I? Have I fixed what you asked me to do?'

'You have done enough. Now it is up to us to do the rest.'

'Will they know? Will they remember any of it?'

A woman shook her head sadly and glanced down at the young lad in front of her. 'They will remember only what should have been remembered. Not the false memories that they have lived till now.'

'Which means they won't remember me,' Harry said dejectedly.

'Time is a funny thing, Harry James Potter. When the time is right, what needs to be remembered will be,' a second woman said with a smile.

'Will I remember any of them? Of what took place up till now?' Harry asked thoughtfully.

'You will remember only what needs to be, no more nor less,' a third woman said.

'You know, you three are really confusing,' Harry muttered. 'What was it all for if no one will know anything happened? What can really be changed by it?'

'Much will be changed, and yet much will remain the same,' the first woman said.

'Well that answered a lot,' Harry said rolling his eyes. 'In other words, you three don't even know, do you,' he said accusingly. 'What if I did all of this for nothing?'

'Do not doubt yourself, young Harry. We are the guardians of Past, Present and Future, but even we cannot predict everything,' the first woman said.

'What we can tell you is that it wasn't all for nothing, Harry,' the second woman said firmly.

'Can you promise me that? Can you say for sure that I did the right thing?' Harry pleaded.

The guardians of Past, Present and Future looked at Harry and smiled. 'We can promise you that you have done the right thing, Harry. You will be returned to the moment in which the Fates decreed you should have died, where we intervened and saved you.'

'Why didn't you just let me die then? Why save me if you were going to mess with everything?' Harry asked.

'Because we knew the time would come when you would be needed to alter things again. We alone knew that the past, present and future would once again become aligned and at that moment you then could fix what should have never been.. You were the key to doing that, so we saved you.'

'So you let me suffer and go through all this because I'm a key? Because you three messed up?' Harry said angrily.

The first woman chuckled. 'We never intended to let things get this far, unfortunately they did. By then it was too late to stop what we had neglected to fix.'

'So you saved me to fix your stupid mistakes, that's just bloody great,' Harry muttered. 'Meanwhile I'm going back to the past and who knows what could happen now. What if I never meet Draco again? What if this time someone dies that shouldn't? What if I still can't stop Voldemort? What if my parents...' Harry began, then sank to his knees in pain. 'I still can't save them...can I.'

The three woman in white shook their heads sadly. 'No, young Harry, you cannot. That was meant to be, and even we cannot alter that. We can only alter what should not have been.'

'Then what is that shouldn't have been huh? Draco and me? Uncle Severus and Moony? Padfoot and Wormtail? What is it that you really want me to fix? ' Harry yelled angrily.

'Time, Harry. You need to fix time,' the first woman said softly.

'And how in the hell am I supposed to do that?' Harry demanded.

'You have already begun to do that, Harry,' the second woman said with a smile.

'How?' Harry asked puzzled.

'By being here now,' the first woman said.

'Stop talking to me in damned riddles! Tell me exactly what you want!' Harry demanded.

The three woman chuckled and smiled again at Harry, as if sharing in some secret that only they knew. 'You don't need to know the whys and whatfors, Harry James Potter, not anymore. What you do need to know is that soon you will rest, and when you wake again, you will already have fixed what needed to be.'

'Great, just great, I do all this and you won't even tell me what it is I've done. That's gratitude for you,' Harry muttered.

The women came over and surrounded Harry, placing their hands on his shoulders, enveloping him with a white, angelic glow. 'You have saved them all, Harry, that is all you really need to know. Sleep now, we will take care of the rest,' they said in one voice, and in just a moment's time Harry was indeed sound asleep on top of a feathery cloud-like bed.

'It is done then,' the keeper of the Past said.

'I wish we hadn't had to use the boy,' the keep of the Present said sadly.

'You know that it had to be him and no other, sister. He was the it stared with, he was the only one that could have fixed it,' the keeper of the Future said firmly.

'He is a child, he didn't even know what he'd done so long ago,' the Present argued.

'It wasn't for him to know everything, he knows too much as it is. He corrected our mistakes, that's enough,' the Future said.

'Mistakes we never should have made, sisters,' the Past said wearily.

'He contributed to that don't forget, by pulling the future Draco Malfoy into the past before he was supposed to,' the Future argued.

'You should have stopped the child then,' the Present said sharply.

'He did it before even I could stop him, sister,' the Future said huffily. 'What does it matter now? He fixed things, now the time line is back where it belongs.'

'Is it though? One has to wonder...' the Present said thoughtfully.

'All is as all should be now, sisters. The child has healed the rifts, what happens next is up to him and him alone. Let him dream of the life he should have had,' the Past said whilst looking down at boy who was now merely a year or so old, instead of the teenager he had been only moments before.

'Yes, sister is right. Let him finish dreaming, then we shall return him to the moment in which we saved him from the Fates,' the Future agreed.

'They will take him this time,' the Past said sharply.

'Maybe, maybe not. Remember, now they will receive the soul they should have the first time,' the Present said.

'Do you truly think they will be satisfied with only one instead of both?' the Future said.

'We will just have to make sure they will be, sisters,' the Present said firmly. 'Let us go now and make the preparations to send him back. I am sure that the Fates will heed us and let the child be now.'

'A bit overconfident are we, sister?' the Past chuckled. 'If I didn't know better, I'd say you were becoming attached to the mortal boy.'

The Present shrugged and looked down tenderly at the young lad. 'He's rather cute for a mortal though isn't he? He's suffered so much, sisters, and mostly because of us. I suppose I feel for him because of that. He didn't have to do what we asked of him, but he did anyway, why shouldn't he be given a second chance to have the life he should have had?'

'Hmph, you're becoming soft in your old age, sister,' the Future said airily.

'I think after 20,000 years I'm entitled to a little softness, sister,' the Present said with a smug grin.

'Let us depart for now, sisters. We have much work to do yet if we are going to convince the Fates to leave him be hmm? Let him sleep and dream of his new life, and then we shall know where to put him,' the Past said softly.

The three white clad figures turned into mist and floated away from the young boy, each hoping that everything would turn out all right in the end. Somehow though, they were almost positive it would, because one thing they all knew was that Harry James Potter was a special child indeed, and he deserved the happiness that had been denied to him for so very long.