A Wizard in Time

It was a dark and stormy night. Ron Weasley sat in his attic bedroom, and shivered. It was a strange night, and a chill was in the air. Ron pulled his covers tightly around him, disturbing the tiny owl curled at the foot of the bed. Luckily, the owl wasn't disturbed overmuch; he had just eaten a large meal, and was napping contentedly. Finally realizing that no sleep was going to come to him, he threw off the blankets. He put on his slippers, avoiding the creaking seventh step, and crept downstairs. He past the twins' bedroom, and they were sound asleep. He went into the kitchen to make himself a sandwich, and was unsurprised to see that Ginny was already awake.

"Tomato is in the crisper," said Ginny sagely. "There's cream cheese in the larder."

She always seemed to know exactly what he wanted. It was uncanny.

"Ginny, how do you know things?"

She shrugged. "I dunno. I just...do."

Suddenly, Errol, the family owl, burst through the window. He was a mess of feathers, and he was so rain-soaked that he was nearly drowned. He shook off, and started preening. Attached to his foot was a letter that had been drenched in the rain. Ron opened it, the ink bleeding badly into the fancy parchment.

"What's it say?" asked Ginny, leaning over in her chair.

"I can't read it. The rain has smeared it all together." So it was. Frustrated, Ron threw the damp paper onto the table, and started slicing the tomato.

Suddenly, the feathers on the back of Errol's head stiffened. The back door blew open, and an odd-looking figure walked in. It was clad in Muggle clothing, and all of it looked thrown together. A rather large parka concealed most of the body. Ron started gripping the knife in his hand tightly, wishing it was his wand.

"It's Mrs. Whatsit," Ginny said matter-of-factly. "Really, you could have scared someone."

The figure removed her hat with difficulty, and unwrapped several layers of scarves. "Sorry, dear," a merry voice replied from under the clothing. "It's urgent, or else I wouldn't have come. It's about your father."

"My father?" asked Ron skeptically. "Ginny, how do you know this person?"

"Oh, she's all right. I met her a few weeks ago, out in the woods."

"Ginny, you know you're not supposed to go out in the woods alone! You could have been hurt."

"I wasn't alone. I brought Percy with me." Ginny stopped to gaze at Ron. She talked about Percy as if he was the family pet, not as if he was their eldest brother still living at home. "Honestly. You can trust Mrs. Whatsit." Ginny turned towards the figure, who had taken off the parka, four sweaters, and a polo shirt. She began to wring out her shirt in the sink. "What's so important that you need to come here, in the dead of night, in a rainstorm?"

"We need to go, children. We need to save your father from It."

Ron looked nervously at Mrs. Whatsit, then turned to Ginny. "What does she mean, Ginny?"

Ginny had gone pale, and looked suddenly small. "Can Mummy go, too?"

Mrs. Whatsit looked pained. "No, Ginny. Your mum is very special, I'm sure. But she has memories of the past that are much too horrible. It would take her, too."

Ginny sighed. "I see," she said forlornly. "Then...who can save him?"

Mrs. Whatsit emptied her galoshes into the kitchen sink. "Only you and Ron have the power for this."

"What is this It you are talking about?" Ron interrupted. Even though Ginny said that Mrs. Whatsit was all right, he wasn't sure he tended to agree. "Why are you saying we have to save our father?"

Mrs. Whatsit put down her boots. "Ron, It is the very force of darkness, the Evil that consumes the soul, and blackens the heart. It is fear."

"What's this rubbish about my father?" he asked, taking a step back.

"I wish the Happy Medium were here," Mrs. Whatsit said softly. "Ron, your father was taken to It because he was following a suspected Death Eater. He was caught, and captured. Now the only thing that can restore him is love."

"Love?" Ron asked, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Ron, the only thing that weakens fear is love. If your father sees someone that loves him, he will weaken It enough to get away."

This new story made Ron's head whirl. His father did work for the Ministry of Magic. If his father was captured, Ron had to rescue him. He looked at Ginny, and suddenly he made up his mind.

"Well, if my dad needs me...I'll go."

"I'm coming, too," said Ginny solemnly.

"No, Ginny. Stay here." With a deep breath, Ron turned to Mrs. Whatsit. "Let's go."

************************************************************************

Mrs. Whatsit brought him through a magical device called a Tesseract. She said that it was very like traveling by Floo Powder. She also told him that there was a dangerous part of the journey where they would be traveling into the Shadow Realm, into the home of It. Ron prepared himself, having traveled by Floo Powder plenty of times. The Tesseract, however, was cold where Floo Powder was warm. It felt as if Ron had been stretched from all angles at once. He felt oddly flat, but not unpleasantly so. Suddenly, he felt as if he had been plunged into ice water. He knew that this must be the edge of the Shadow Realm, and thought happy thoughts.

Suddenly, it was over. Ron was glad he had brought a cloak with him; he shivered and pulled it tightly around him. He was standing in the center of a gray Muggle city. Too late, Ron realized that he hadn't asked how he would know where to find It. He gulped. Tall buildings stood all around. They were all built out of concrete, metal or mirrored glass. Ron felt an annoying and sickening pulse that underscored everything. People walked in and out of the buildings at the same time, and lights changed at the corners to the same beat. Ron shook off a malaise that had started to settle on himself too readily, and saw that he stood before the tallest building in the structures. He walked in behind a lady.

"I want to see It," he told a man behind the counter.

"Submit a form, please," the man replied.

Ron looked at the form. "NO!" he said, throwing it down. "I need to see It now!"

The man's eyes started to gleam a nasty red color. "Then you had best fill out a form. It is very busy. If you don't, you won't be able to see It. It only sees whom It chooses to see." The man handed him the form again, and his eyes returned to normal. "Now, if you want to see It, fill out the form." The man smiled. It was a sickly thing, and he bared lots of sharp teeth.

Ron filled out the form, fighting off the pulsing rhythm that seemed to consume everything. He finished the form, then the man politely turned around, and fed the form into a little slot. There was a small beeping sound, and the man turned back towards Ron. "Ah. It seems that It will see you after all. Wait here a moment."

The man unlocked a door, and Ron walked after him. He was led down a series of hallways and corridors, and eventually the man stopped before a set of large double doors. He opened them, and smiled graciously.

Within was a round, white chamber. It was completely unfurnished. A slight hum was hanging just below the edge of hearing. There was an odd greenish cast to everything, but there were no visible light fixtures.

-Hello, Ron.- said a voice in his head. -I've been waiting for you. Your father is my guest. Please, I want you to be my guest, too.

Suddenly, the doors closed behind him, and the crack between the doors vanished. A chair appeared out of a slot in the floor, and folded outwards.

"No, thanks," Ron replied, feeling foolish. "I'd rather stand."

The voice in his head chuckled. -You're very smart, aren't you Ron? Your father is smart, too. Would you like to see him?

Ron gulped, and wondered who had spoken was. The voice chuckled again, and suddenly a cylinder slid up from the floor. Inside, was Ron's father, Arthur Weasley, suspended in some kind of fluid. He was naked, and had odd electrodes and wires attached to his body. Without another thought, Ron took out his wand.

"Perfractum!" Ron shouted, and the glass surrounding his father shattered outwards into a thousand pieces. The disembodied voice suddenly yelled maliciously. "FATHER!" screamed Ron.

Arthur Weasley came tumbling to the ground, surrounded by water and broken glass.

Ron ran towards his father, who was laying on the ground. Arthur stirred slightly, and fell into unconsciousness. Before Ron could close the distance, a bright beam of yellow light fell on him. Walls sprang up around him from the floor. He was closed in on all sides. Ron turned around, looking into the odd yellow light. A dais had raised where he had stood just moments before. On the dais was the most repulsive thing Ron had ever seen. It was a huge, living, pulsating brain.

-Well, Ron. We can't have you leaving. We haven't even become acquainted yet.

To Ron's utter revulsion, he realized it was the brain that had been speaking to him. Ron had come face-to-face with It. Ron steeled himself.

"You're wrong! I know you! You are It, the heart of everything black and evil. Confundo!" he said, aiming his wand into the center of It. It began to shiver and shake oddly; Ron managed to climb over the walls around him. He found his father, and leapt to his side. "Dad!" he yelled, trying to wake him.

Arthur roused. "Ron?...How?..."

"Too much to explain now," Ron said quickly, breathing a sigh of relief. "Dad, we have to get out of here!" Ron suspected that the spell would wear off of It quickly. Ron gulped loudly. "Dad, I love you." He held out his wand to his father. His father nodded weakly, but took Ron's hand.

"I love you, son. Appareo!" cried Arthur weakly, and suddenly they were sent into the icy darkness again. Arthur had Apparated into the Shadow Realm. Ron had thought that traveling by Tesseract was scary, but it was a holiday compared to Apparition. He felt himself fading, and thought that he was going to die...

Ron awoke, head aching and body freezing. His hands felt like slabs of marble, and his eyeballs were on fire. He opened his eyes, and he was in the middle of a field. He felt a soft autumn breeze in the air, and smiled up towards the sun. Slowly, he realized it was the field beside his house. He moved his head to look around, and saw that his father was sprawled by his side.

Ron wondered if it had been a dream. Then he noticed that his father was still naked, and clutching his wand. Ron managed to struggle out of his cloak, and cover him. Ron looked towards his house, and wondered how he was ever going to make it the few hundred yards to his door. At that moment, the entire Weasley clan came bursting out the back door, racing out to meet them. Ron knew that they had managed to escape. Love had defeated It. He closed his eyes, and smiled. It was over, and soon he would be with the people he loved the most.