Broken Fate

Chapter Thirteen ~ A New Home

It had stopped raining on Sunday afternoon and for the first half of Monday, but on Monday afternoon, the skies again opened, and it rained until lunctime on Tuesday. The gray clouds mirrored Will's glum feelings. He was no closer to knowing what to do about their new predicament then he had been on Saturday. To add to it, Ron had discovered his Gourl was missing on Monday morning, but everyone he questioned knew nothing of where it had gone. He hadn't thought to question Will, for which Will was grateful, as he knew he was a terrible liar.

And on top of that, word had spread like wildfire through Gryffindor Tower--Ron and Hermione had been caught snogging on a couch in the common room. Will had been witness to it, and had watched in disbelief and elation. His parents were, officially, together. He just couldn't figure out how. In his time, they hadn't gotten together at the end of their Sixth Year. Something had been changed, and he wasn't sure what. Of course, that was probably the reason Ron didn't get too worked up over the Gourl--he was too busy goggling Hermione.

The bottom of Will's robes were soaked by the time he reached the Shrieking Shack on Tuesday evening. He was surprised to see a very agitated Jamie already waiting for him. All thoughts about telling her that Ron and Hermione were together fled his mind. He dropped the invisibility cloak on the ground. "James? What's wrong?"

"Oh, Will, I'm so glad you're here," Jamie said in a tightly-controlled voice. It was the closest to a panicked voice that Will had heard from her in quite a while. "It's Molly..." She seized him by the arm and began to pull him toward the back bedroom.

Fear overwhelmed him. Something had happened to Molly, and it was bad enough to have Jamie this worried. He quickened his pace, pulling out of Jamie's grip in his hurry to reach the bedroom. "Molly? What about her? Is she all right?"

"She's sick, Will...she started getting worse yesterday, and she's really bad today...it's to the point where if you were any longer in coming, I was going to take her to Hogwarts myself. She needs medical attention."

They had reached the bedroom Jamie and Molly had been using. Molly was lying in a little ball, Jamie's robes and an old blanket tucked around her tiny form. Will knelt beside her bed and saw that her freckles stood out on her deathly pale, sweaty face. She was shivering, but when he put a hand on her cheek, he found it burning to the touch.

"Molly?"

Her eyes were closed, and the only answer she gave was a hoarse cough.

Will reached an instant decision. "I'm taking her to the hospital wing at Hogwarts." He had seen Molly sick before, but never like this. He carefully picked her up, robe and blanket still tucked around her. "I'll bring back your robe later."

Jamie twisted her fingers together and followed him down the hall to the entrance hole. "What will you tell them?"

"I'll come up with something," Will said.

Jamie grabbed the invisibility cloak. "Here, you'd best not forget this." She draped it over them, then pulled open the plank of wood covering the entrance.

Will hurried through the tunnel, out past the Whomping Willow, and to the castle. All the while, Molly was limp in his arms, her breathing harsh and raspy in his ear. It sounded like something was rattling in her chest. When he reached the hospital wing, he pulled off the invisibility cloak and tucked it into his robes. He took a deep breath, then pushed open the door to the hospital wing.

Madam Pomfrey immediately came scurrying out of her office. "What is it this..." her voice trailed off when she caught sight of Will and the bundle in his arms. "Mr. Warren! What in the world is going on? Who is this?"

Will carefully laid Molly on the nearest beds. "This is my sister. She's very sick; can you help her?" he asked anxiously.

Madam Pomfrey touched Molly's throat, then pressed her ear against her chest. She moved to grab several instruments, talking as she worked. "I will do my best, Mr. Warren, but what is your sister doing here? She can't be more than--"

"--three," Will sighed. "Please, Madam Pomfrey...I can't explain..."

Madam Pomfrey set a metal instrument against Molly's chest, and several moments later said, "As I suspected. This child has pneumonia."

"You can help her, can't you?"

"Yes, Mr. Warren, I can. Please sit down; you won't do her any good hanging over my shoulder like that."

Will obediently sat on a stool beside Molly's bed. Madam Pomfrey dug a bottle out of a cupboard, measured out some violent green potion, and poured it down Molly's throat. Molly choked and swallowed, and a shiver ran through her body.

"How long will she have to be here?" Will asked.

Madam Pomfrey looked at him disapprovingly. "She will be here as long as she needs to be here," she said sternly. "And I will not release her until I know exactly what is going on. Where are your parents?"

Oh, they're probably snogging up in Gryffindor Tower, Will thought desperately. "That's...complicated."

Madam Pomfrey sighed. "I'm going to call Professor Dumbledore. Sit down and stay put."

~*~

"Poppy, if you would please give me a moment with William, I would appreciate it."

"But Albus--"

"Please, Poppy."

With a huffy sigh, Madam Pomfrey retreated to her office. Professor Dumbledore came to sit on a chair beside Molly's bed, opposite of Will.

"Professor Dumbledore, I..." Will began, but he wasn't sure what to say.

Dumbledore looked down at Molly. She already had color returning to her cheeks, and her breathing wasn't as raspy. "I hadn't realized you had a sister," Dumbledore said. "When I received your names as potential students at Hogwarts, her name wasn't included, as she is not of proper schooling age yet." He gazed down at Molly. "She's a lovely child. Quite obviously a Weasley. What is her name?"

"Molly," Will said quietly.

Dumbledore looked up, interest in his blue eyes. "Molly," he repeated. "And William. I see. And may I ask what Molly has been doing in these weeks you have been at Hogwarts?"

"She's been staying nearby, with Jamie Potter," Will replied. "Jamie was...well, too recognizable to come to Hogwarts."

"I see," Dumbledore said thoughtfully. "And what are you going to do with young Molly once she is out of the hospital wing?"

Will looked down uncomfortably. "Well...she'll go back to stay with Jamie." Of course, they needed somewhere else for Jamie and Molly to stay. "They're not staying in the best place right now," he admitted.

"I see," Dumbledore said again. "I might be able to help you with that, if you think Ms. Potter would acquiesce to a meeting."

Will wasn't sure what to say. Should he accept help from Dumbledore? "Why do you want to help?" he asked. "I already messed up your undercover plan with Tonks."

"Ah, yes, but you must realize, William. When we had our conversation several days ago, you knew that Nymphadora and I were the only two people who knew she was working as a double agent. I realized immediately that if you thought she was a spy, then in your time, I must not have ever been around to tell otherwise--or if I was around, my word counted for nothing, or perhaps I was unable to communicaite."

Will had, in fact, not realized that Dumbledore would see this, although looking back at it, he knew he should have realized. It was then he made a quick decision--he would tell Dumbledore the reason they had come back. Jamie had wanted to, and he didn't know what Shay would say when he found out Will had told, but he was going to risk it. He didn't know if it would help or if it would harm, but they were going to have to take some risks on this mission, and if this was one of them, so be it. "You died," Will said quietly. "Or rather...you were murdered." He sighed, looking at the ground. "That is what we came back in time to prevent."

Dumbledore studied him a long moment. "I suspected as much. You believed that Nymphadora was responsible for my death."

"Yes, sir." He struggled with how much to tell Dumbledore, and then said, "You were found murdered in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, and Tonks was gone. No one ever knew what happened to her; they just thought she'd killed you and run off with Voldemort. And no one knows how you died. When the Ministry officials took your body away to St. Mungo's to find the cause of death, they never arrived at the hospital. The Ministry officials were found dead in the middle of London, and your body was missing."

"I see," Dumbledore said thoughtfully. He was quiet for a moment, and then he said, "Well, that puts you in a fine position, doesn't it?"

Will looked up into Dumbledore's grave face. "Sir?"

"Well, I can only imagine being in your position. You traveled back in time to reveal Nymphadora as a spy for Voldemort and hoped to prevent her from murdering me, and now you have learned that she was not a spy for Voldemort and did not murder me. If I am correct, you now have no idea who it was that killed me." He was talking in a very calm voice for someone who was discussing his own murder.

Will nodded miserably. "You're correct," he sighed, eyes on the ground again. "And we've changed things in this time already...major things and little things."

"So you now have no idea how events will take place," Dumbledore stated. When Will glanced back up at him, he saw a kind smile on the headmaster's face.

"Or even what events will take place!" Will was strangely relieved to be telling Dumbledore this; just the thought of the wise old teacher knowing that he was clueless as to what to do next relieved some of his anxieties. "We know that in the original timeline, we never returned to this time. But now that we've come back, we've created a whole new timeline, and we have to make sure it doesn't end up going the same way as the original one."

"Your future must have been very dire indeed, to risk coming back, to risk breaking the wizarding laws and meddling with time," Dumbledore said gently.

"You have no idea," Will whispered. "We can't let that future happen, Professor. We can't. And that...that means you have to live."

Dumbledore folded his hands on his lap and studied Will over his spectacles.

"I know that...that we don't know what's going to happen now," Will continued. "But...if it's all right...we'd still like to stay here."

"Why wouldn't you stay here?" Dumbledore asked curiously.

"Because...like you said, we're meddling in time. What if we mess something up terribly?"

"And as you said, William--you've already changed your future. You're here, in this time, and you should know one of the fundamental rules of time-travel--it is impossible to travel into the future. Why is that?"

"Because there are different possibilities," Will replied instantly. "You can't travel into the future because..." His eyes widened as the truth of the words really struck home. "Because the future isn't written."

"Exactly. Every little thing that anyone does changes the future, shapes it. Yes, in this new timeline that you have created, I might still die, but I have a better chance of preventing it because I know of it. You may have glimpses of the future, Mr. Weasley, but you can no longer say that you know the future. You no longer know which events might still happen, or will not happen because of your presence here. You will always have your past--the time you grew up in--but what will really be shaped is yet to be determined. You, and Seamus Longbottom, and Jamie Potter, and your sister--you're part of this time now. You are going to have to make choices the rest of your lives, and your choices are going to shape the future." Dumbledore smiled again. "You are now in the same place as all of the rest of us--doing our best to make our way in this world, and trying to make it a world worth living in." He leaned back in his chair. "Now, then. Do you think Ms. Potter would agree to a meeting?"

~*~

Jamie was thrilled with the idea of leaving the Shrieking Shack and meeting with Dumbledore. She and Will shared the invisibility cloak until they were just outside the hospital wing, and then Will slipped out from under it and opened the door. He was surprised to see that Professor McGonagall had arrived, and was standing at the end of Molly's bed, talking to Dumbledore. Madam Pomfrey was spooning more green liquid down Molly's throat.

Shay was also there, as Will had requested. He was sitting on the end of Molly's bed and looking decidedly perturbed, and more than a little confused.

When Dumbledore saw Will, he said, "Poppy, if you would please excuse us for another moment..."

"Albus, I--" Seeing the look on Dumbledore's face, Madam Pomfrey heaved a huge sigh. "Honestly!" she grumbled, retreating once more to her office. "Is this my hospital or not? How can I be expected to take care of patients when I'm constantly shuttled into my office?" Still grumbling, she shut the office door a bit harder than necessary.

When she was gone, Dumbledore stood to his feet and said, "You may take that off now, Ms. Potter."

Startled, Shay said, "What?"

Jamie pulled off the invisibility cloak. Professor McGonagall gave a startled gasp, and Dumbledore's eyebrows rose. "Ah. I see what William meant when he said you were too recognizable to come to Hogwarts," he said.

"Jamie, what are you doing?" Shay hissed. "Will? Would someone please tell me what's going on?"

Professor McGonagall shook her head. "There can be no mistaking it now," she told Professor Dumbledore. "You are Harry Potter's child," she stated, looking at Jamie. "And you--" she nodded at Will. "Are Ronald Weasley's and Hermione Granger's."

Will blinked. "Um..." He and Jamie exchanged glances, and then they both nodded.

McGonagall studied Shay for a moment. "I assume your father was Neville Longbottom, though you don't look a thing like him."

Shay stared at her, then at Will and Jamie in disbelief. "Um, hello? I'm still waiting for an answer!"

An amused smile played on the corners of Dumbledore's mouth, but he simply said, "Yes, Mr. Longbottom. I have a proposition for Ms. Potter and your young friend Molly."

"Oh, really?" Shay said skeptically.

Jamie tilted her head sideways. "And what's that?"

"I would like to offer you and little Molly Weasley a place to stay while William and Seamus attend Hogwarts. I would very much like to have you at Hogwarts, but I'm afraid too many questions would be raised at this point, unless you were in disguise."

Jamie nodded her agreement. "Voldemort has too many eyes at Hogwarts," she stated. "Until we know things are safe, I'm afraid I'll have to sit it out."

"There is currently a member of the Order who is visiting Hogwarts, but will soon be returning to the Order's headquarters. With your agreement, I would like to ask him to accompany you to Arthur and Molly Weasley. I believe they would be very happy to take you in. They are currently at the Burrow, though they sometimes travel to the Order's headquarters. Molly mainly holds down the fort, and I'm sure she would be thrilled to watch over the two of you."

"Wait, wait, wait." Shay held up his hands. "We can't have people knowing we're from the future. What if..." he trailed off, not quite sure where to go with the 'what if.'

"Allow me to reiterate what I was telling your young friend William earlier," Dumbledore said. He proceeded to tell Shay and Jamie the same thing he had told Will about the future not being written, and how people were going to find out about them sooner or later.

Shay crossed his arms. "Yes, but what about Voldemort? It may be true that the future has changed--it may be true that we can tell others who we are, but we still have to be careful. If Voldemort learns who we are...well, he won't know that the future has changed. He won't know that we can't tell him anything for certain. Who knows what he--or one of his lackeys--might try to do to get information from us?"

Will realized where he was going with this, and nodded. "Our information might not be certain, but they could still learn things from us that would help their cause. We know several spells from the future that they don't have now, and it could cause a lot of damage."

"I understand this, and I understand that caution is called for. Right now, there are only two of us who know you are from the future--myself, and Professor McGonagall. There is a member of the Order who works in the Regulation and Control of Time-Travel who was alerted to the unauthorized use of a Time-Turner, but he doesn't know who you are." Dumbledore studied them thoughtfully. "I will tell you this: if you are to remain in this time for the rest of your lives, people are going to find out. It can be kept quiet, but eventually, some people will know.

"Now, if Jamie and Molly agree to go stay with Arthur and Molly, they will have to be told that you are from the future--Ms. Potter's resemblance to Harry, and young Molly's resemblance to the Weasley children is quite obvious. It will be up to you, however, to decide how much you want to tell them." Dumbledore smiled kindly. To Shay, who still looked very suspicious of the whole idea, he said, "We will do our best to keep your identities safe."

Will sighed. "What about our parents?"

"What about them?" McGonagall asked.

"Well...if Jamie and Molly go to stay with our grandparents, won't our parents find out about it?"

"There is a great probability of it," Dumbledore replied. "But that is sure to happen eventually anyway. Or did you believe you could live out the remainder of your lives here without your parents ever learning who you are?"

Will, Jamie, and Shay exchanged glances. "Well...we...yes. We know that things will change...we know that we might not be born in this time, but...well, we didn't want to mess up their relationships if we could help it," Will sighed, feeling this explanation was quite lame.

"I understand that," Dumbledore said gently. "It is every child's dream to know that their parents are together. And you might have succeeded in this, if you never came to Hogwarts, or if you came to Hogwarts for a short time and disappeared. But surely you must realize that if you stay here, whether you tell them or not, your parents will put the pieces together. Your mother especially--" he smiled at Will "--has a knack for putting mysteries together." His eyes fell on Jamie and Shay. "I'm curious, though--who were your mothers?"

Shay's eyes narrowed, and he shook his head. "She doesn't go to Hogwarts," was all he said.

Jamie looked at Shay for a moment, and then at Dumbledore. "My mum was Ginny Potter...well, Weasley, in this time."

McGonagall's eyebrows rose, but Dumbledore merely smiled. "I see. Well, then, I very seriously doubt that Arthur and Molly Weasley will turn down the chance to take in two of their grandchildren." He tilted his head slightly. "We will not, of course, tell your parents who you really are. That is something that you will have to do in your own time--when you are ready to do it. Or perhaps when they are ready to see it. Now, Ms. Potter--do you agree to staying with Arthur and Molly Weasley?"

Jamie met first Shay's eyes, then Will's, and slowly nodded. "Yes...yes, I will."

Will looked down at his sleeping sister. He felt oddly like he was sending away part of himself. They had never been separated for longer than a few days. I know she'll be safe there. And warmer, and she'll be loved, and taken care of...and Jamie will be with her. It will be good for Jamie, too.

"All right, then. Ms. Potter, if you would please put on that wonderful cloak and follow me, we'll contact the Weasleys and explain things to them. Mr. Longbottom, I think it would be best if you head back to your dormitory for now. Minerva, if you would be so kind as to ask Lupin to meet me in my office..."

Jamie was busy donning her invisibility cloak and didn't hear Dumbledore's request to Professor McGonagall, who nodded, gliding from the hospital wing. Shay muttered, "We'll talk later," to Will, and left as well. Before Dumbledore and Jamie left, the headmaster knocked on Madam Pomfrey's office. The door swung open, revealing a disgruntled Madam Pomfrey. "I'm leaving your patient in your capable hands," he told her. "Her brother may stay with her tonight, if he wishes, and I will be here in the morning to check on her."

"Albus, I have a great many questions--"

"They will have to wait, I'm afraid, Poppy. When will young Molly be ready to leave the hospital wing?"

Madam Pomfrey sighed. "Probably by tomorrow afternoon, but I would really feel more comfortable if she stayed a bit longer."

"Thank you, Poppy." Dumbledore left the hospital wing, holding the door open until he was certain Jamie was through it.

So many things, Will thought. So many things that we didn't want to happen are happening...but maybe...maybe it will be a good thing... The thought of his grandparents finding out who his identity was terrifying to him--he, Shay, and Jamie had drilled into themselves for so long that no one from this time could learn who they were. That, however, had been under the assumption that they would come in, fix everything quickly, and disappear from the wizarding world.

They should have known it wouldn't be that easy.

It seemed ironic that just two days ago, Shay had been saying that they didn't need the whole world to know that they were from the future, and that they didn't want to change everything. They had changed everything, or at least the possibility of everything.

Even more terrifying was the thought of his parents learning who he was. How awkward would that be for them? True, it didn't really matter to his life now if he was born in this time...but what if his parents learned who he was, and were so weirded out by it that they never broke up? They had just started dating, after all. The thought that he could be the cause of his parents' staying apart was unbearable to him. Dumbledore had been right. It was every child's dream to know that their parents were together.

Ease up, Will...Ron and Hermione don't know who you are yet. You have some time before you have to climb into that boat.

~*~

Jamie stood nervously in Dumbledore's office. She was torn between several different emotions--excited that she was finally going to be out of the Shrieking Shack, nervous about what her grandparents were going to say, or even think, and amusement at seeing Dumbledore kneeling on the ground with his head thrust in the fire.

It was several long minutes before Dumbledore pulled his head back out of the fire and stood up. "I spoke with Molly, and she said she and Arthur will be more than happy to have you and young Molly come stay with them."

Jamie swallowed. I'm really going to get to live with them! "Thank you," she said quietly. "If...if you don't mind, I'm going to go back to the place Molly and I have been staying and get our things together."

"I don't mind at all. When you're finished--" Dumbledore was cut off when a knock sounded on his door. "One moment, Ms. Potter." Stepping over to the door, he opened it and smiled. "Ah, Remus. Please, come in."

Jamie's breath caught in her throat, and her eyes widened as Remus Lupin stepped into the office. He was a lot younger than Jamie remembered him, and he didn't look like he shouldered nearly as much weight in this time as he had in the future. His hair was less gray, and there weren't as many lines on his face, but it was still, without a doubt, Remus Lupin.

Jamie resisted the urge to burst into tears and throw herself at the poor man. He doesn't know you. He doesn't remember...

He may not have known her, but when his eyes landed on her, they widened in shock. Jamie could hear his sharp intake of breath. "Dumbledore...who...who is this?"

Dumbledore motioned Jamie forward, but she felt as if her feet were locked to the floor, and she had to force them to move. "Remus, I would like you to meet Harry's daughter, Jamie Potter. Jamie, this is--"

"Remus Lupin. I know." To her horror, Jamie felt tears sliding down her cheeks, and she quickly wiped them away.

Remus looked flabbergasted. "Harry's daughter? Dumbledore, what on--"

"She is from the future, Remus. I need you to accompany her and another child to Arthur and Molly tomorrow, if you would."

Remus nodded numbly. "Of course...but...the future?"

"It's quite a long story, and one of which I only know little bits. I will let Jamie tell it to you, if she so wishes. Right now, though, I believe she has some belongings to collect."

Jamie jumped. "Oh...right..."

"When you have collected them, Minerva will meet you in the entrance hall and give you somewhere to sleep tonight," Dumbledore told her.

"Thank you," Jamie said quietly. She finally peeled her eyes away from Remus and hurried out the door to Dumbledore's office, afraid if she stayed there any longer she really was going to break down. Once outside, she closed her eyes and leaned against the door. You can do this, Jamie. You can do this.

She pushed herself away from the door and made her way downstairs. Now if she could just find her way out of the castle without getting too lost...

As she made her way through the castle, taking wrong turns and backtracking, she thought she sensed someone following her, but when she turned to look, there was no one there. She figured she was just so rattled from seeing Remus. The further away from Dumbledore's office she got, the calmer she felt.

Out of all the people Dumbledore would choose to take Molly and I to the Weasleys, it would be him, she thought ruefully.