Prologue: A Hero's Sacrifice, A New Prophecy
Remus walked carefully through the aisles at the Department of Mysteries. Voldemort's followers were hiding in every shadow and he could not risk being discovered; everyone's life depended on it. Lupin finally reached the room he was searching for.
As he wiped the sweat from his brow, a metal object glinted in the distance. Adding new hope to the fire that fueled his soul, Remus ran towards the item and fell to his knees in front of it. Around him, thousands of Time Turners continuously shattered and reformed, but this one remained intact. He thanked the Lord for his luck and placed the Time Turner in his pocket.
"You!" shouted a sinister voice, "stand up! Put your hands where I can see them!"
Lupin flinched and cursed as he slowly got to his feet, making sure the Time Turner was safely out of sight. He turned to see Lucius Malfoy pointing his wand maliciously at the Order Warrior.
"Well well well," boasted Malfoy, "I see that one of you is still alive. How fortunate it is that I will be able to tell the Dark Lord that I, his most loyal subject, has rid this earth of the last member of the pathetic Order of the Phoenix."
Ignoring Lucius' taunts, Remus mentally prepared himself for what lay ahead of him. He did the math in his head: 183,960 turns. He sighed knowing that it would take all his concentration to keep focused during the rather difficult experience of time travel. His mind prepared for the journey, he slowly placed his hand in the pocket he placed the Time Turner in.
"Freeze!" sneered Malfoy, thrusting his wand closer to Lupin, "what do you think you are doing?"
"Fear not," said Remus, "I am, unarmed. I simply have a present to pass onto the Dark Lord before you kill me."
"What is it?" asked Lucius anxiously, "let me see it!"
Remus took the Time Tuner out of his pocket and held it in front of him, looking down at it. He hid it in his shadow as he started turning the hourglass, mentally keeping count of his turns. He knew that with such a long trip, it would not start until he hit ten turns.
"It is a Time Turner," said Lupin. One, Two, Three.
"A Time Turner?" sneered Malfoy, "what could the Dark Lord possibly want with a Time Turner?" Four, Five, Six.
"It's not for Voldemort," said Remus smiling. Seven, Eight.
"Then what's the present?" Nine.
"A message: Good Bye." Ten.
Malfoy watched as the man before him disappeared, fading into another dimension.
"Damnit," cursed Malfoy as she he shot a green blast where the man had previously been standing. Several more Death Eaters joined him, their wands at the ready.
"What is it sir?" asked one of the younger Death Eaters.
"Nothing," said Lucius, getting a rather bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Let us remove ourselves from this place." He knew the Dark Lord would punish him severely for his inaction.
Lupin continued to focus on turning the hourglass and keeping track of the count in his head, doing his best to ignore as thousands of hours of events whirled around him. 145, 146, 147. He stood there, turning the Time Turner for what seemed like hours. He didn't know how long he had been traveling back in time, but he knew if he lost focus he would lose his count and the trip would all have been for nothing, for a Time Turner could handle the stress of a jump this far back only once. 183,858; 183,859; 183,960. The spinning around Lupin stopped and he fell to the ground, both mentally and physically exhausted. The Timer Turner fell out of his hand and shattered on the floor. The blackness was creeping in on him, but he fought it knowing that he still had one more thing to do. The former professor forced himself to get to his legs as he limped into the great hall of the Ministry of Magic.
The hall was empty, telling Remus that it was a Sunday and everyone was at home. He grabbed a newspaper from one of the stands, the date confirmed his suspicion: November 25, 1979. He had arrived before Harry was even born. A well of unending joy erupted through his system giving him new strength. The only thing left was to find Dumbledore. With all the energy he could muster, he dragged himself over to the fireplaces. He grabbed a bit of Floo Powder as he collapsed into the fireplace, leaning against its back wall.
"Office of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwart's School for Witchcraft and Wizardry." He threw the Floo powder as he mentally cursed Dumbledore for having such a long name and Floo Address. Instantly he was engulfed by green flames and was sent falling through the system of fireplaces. The adrenaline rush of free-falling was a relief to Remus. Unprepared for the arrival at his destination, he tumbled out of Dumbledore's fireplace and onto the floor. Dumbledore shot up from his chair and ran over to Lupin.
"Remus my old friend," said Dumbledore. "What are you doing here? What happened to you?" He spread Lupin out on the floor and held up his head.
"I…came…ba-" started Lupin, but was immediately stopped by Dumbledore.
"Don't," interrupted Dumbledore, whispering sternly. "You know the rules."
"Has, the prophecy been made? Have you met with Sybill?"
"I have arranged to meet with Sybill Trelawney tomorrow night, we are going out for a drink to discuss her placement here as a teacher next term."
"Don't," said Remus, his energy fading. "Meet…privately."
"Lupin-"
"My pocket," said the traveler, his energy fading. Dumbledore reached into Remus' robe pocket and pulled out a roll of parchment and a picture.
"It will explain everything, but now, I believe my time here has ended."
Without warning, Lupin was sucked into another dimension, right out of Dumbledore's hands. Dumbledore looked at the parchment, rolled it open and began to read.
"Remus John Lupin!" boomed a very disgruntled male voice. Lupin looked around at his surroundings. He was in a council hall of some kind, a bright light shone down on him illuminated the area around him. He was barely able to make out roughly nine 'council-members' that surrounded him.
"We are the Keepers of Time. You are here because you have broken not only one of the highest wizarding laws, but the fundamental rule of use for the Time Turner. You have traveled back in time and revealed future events that are not meant to be shared. The punishment for this crime is death and eradication from all existence. What do you have to say for yourself?"
Lupin took a deep breath. "I plead guilty to all charges," said Lupin professionally. He knew what he had done, and he knew the consequences of his actions. "I had knowledge of the rules regarding time travel and willfully disregarded them with full knowledge of the consequences."
"I do not understand," said a calmer, but equally stern councilwoman. "Then why did you do this?"
"I felt as though I had no choice. As you may know, in my time Voldemort has killed everyone I love and taken control of not only the magical world, but the non-magical one as well. He rules using fear, killing anyone who challenges him, regardless of their allegiance." A tear shed from Remus' face. "As I said before, I accept my punishment. I ask only one thing from this council, that Albus Dumbledore be allowed to keep the parchment and picture I gave him as well as the memories of our encounter."
The members of the council deliberated in hush whispers for a moment before returning their attention to Lupin.
"The council has decided to accept your request. We acknowledge the poor quality of life from the time which you have come from and the betterment which your actions have caused. Albus Dumbledore will keep the parchment and memories from your encounter. Your punishment, however, is irreversible. Do you understand?"
"I do," said Remus.
The light above Lupin got brighter and brighter until he was completely immersed in it. Lupin closed his eyes as his friends flashed before his eyes. And in the flash of bright white light, Remus John Lupin was blinked out of existence.
My Old Friend,
If you are reading this, several things will have happened. The first is I will be gone, existing neither in this world or the next. The second is that those who rule over time will have allowed you to keep this parchment, so please use it wisely.
You are probably wondering why I arrived in your office in such a peculiar fashion. The truth is, I have traveled from the year 2000. My world is a dark and desolate wasteland that is ruled by Lord Voldemort.
Shortly after my arrival to your time, you will meet with Sybill Trelawney for a drink. During that time, she will predict a prophecy that a child will be born with the power to kill Lord Voldemort. Severus Snape will overhear this conversation and report it back to Lord Voldemort. Voldemort will then, with the help of Peter Pettigrew, kill Lily and James Potter and attempt to kill their newborn son Harry. Voldemort will fail and Harry will be marked. Harry will experience a horrible childhood and several dark experiences at Hogwarts. He will face off with Lord Voldemort and he will die, this is a certainty. I held the boy's lifeless body in my own arms. All members of the Order, including yourself, will be killed as well. I escaped only because I was able to transform and hide myself well enough (a fact I am ashamed of).
The secret to Lord Voldemort's powers, as you have most likely figured out, is a series of Horcruxes that Riddle learned to create from Horace Slughorn. We attempted to destory these Horcruxes but were unable to successfully locate and dispose of them before the final battle began. While Harry sacrificed himself and was able to destory the current body Voldemort had, the Death Eaters used his final Horcrux to resurrect him.
Below are several key pieces of information that will help us stop Lord Voldemort once and for all. First is a list of the location and method of destruction for all of Tom Riddle's horcruxes. Second is a list of all of Voldemort's loyal Death Eaters along with a picture of each of the Death Eaters with Voldemort. This picture was taken after he put himself into power. The individuals on this list and in this picture were not forced or enchanted to serve the Dark Lord.
Please use this information to help save Lily, James, Harry, as well as the lives of countless others. If you are able to rid the world of the Horcruxes before it is too late, we might have a better shot at destroying Voldemort.
Your Loyal Friend Forever,
Remus John Lupin
Dumbledore read the letter several times over, making sure that what he thought he read was truly there. 'How foolishly brave it was for Remus to do such a thing,' Dumbledore thought to himself.
"Minerva!" yelled Dumbledore. As if waiting just outside, Minerva McGonagall burst through Dumbledore's office.
"What is it Albus?"
"Send news for the Order to meet me here as soon as possible. Get Minister Fudge here immediately as well. Also, alert Sybill Trelawney and tell her to meet me here for her interview." McGonagall nodded and headed out the door. Dumbledore took one final look at the list of names that Remus had listed as well as a picture of a large group of Death Eaters surrounding Voldemort. He sighed and began to make preparations.
Several minutes later, Cornelius Fudge appeared in Dumbledore's fireplace.
"What is so important," asked Fudge cynically, "that I was made to travel all the way here during a time such as this? Do you not know that You-Know-Who is still on the loose?"
"I know Minister," said Dumblodore calmly, "that is why I have brought you here." Dumbledore grabbed the list of names and picture off his desk. "I have here a list of names of confirmed Death Eaters who are serving Voldemort on their own free will," he said as he handed the list to Fudge.
Fudge quietly read the names to himself as his eyes widened. "How do I know these names are accurate and not just some vendetta you have concocted?"
Without saying anything, Dumbledore handed the picture to the minister. "As you know Cornelius, it is impossible for a wizard to create false images such as that one."
"How…h-how di-did you g-get th-this?" stuttered Fudge, his hand shaking violently.
"A friend gave it to me," said Dumbledore simply. "A friend that wishes to remain anonymous," he added, predicting Fudge's next question.
"This still isn't enough evidence to charge these people," said Fudge solemnly.
"No," said Dumbledore, "it is not. It is enough however, to bring them in for questioning with the use if Veritaserum."
Realizing Dumbledore was right, Fudge looked at the list again. "How did you get these names Dumbledore? Malfoy, Pettigrew, Lestrange, Barty Crouch Jr!?!"
"My friend sacrificed his life to get you these names Cornelius," responded Dumbledore. "I would simply ask that you not allow his death to be in vain."
"I will get the Auror's on this immediately." Fudge went back to the fireplace and Floo-ed back to the Ministry. A short time later, the members of the Order of the Phoenix entered the room.
"Albus, it is almost dinner time! What should I tell the students and staff?"
"Tell them I am feeling ill and will be back tomorrow." Minerva nodded and left the room. In front of Dumbledore stood the original Order of the Phoenix. "My friends, today we have made a giant step forward in defeating Voldemort. We now have the location of each of Voldemort's Horcruxes," said Dumbledore with a smile.
"How did you find them?" asked Alice Longbottom as an excited lull murmur swept over the Order.
"It makes no difference now," interrupted Moody. "We know where they are, so lets go get 'em!"
"Indeed Alastor. There are six in total and some of them will be very difficult to get to. I however have the utmost faith that you will be able to find them and dispose of them. Our best chance to get the difficult ones is when Voldemort's ranks are scattered trying to avoid capture. I will send an owl to each of you regarding your mission shortly. In the mean time however, I don't have to remind you to keep absolutely quite about this. Tell no one, even your most trusted friends."
The Order nodded and began to disperse out the door. Dumbledore returned to his desk and read over the letter and list of Horcruxes again. A flutter of excitement escaped from Dumbledore's heart. Never in his life could he have imagined such a momentous breakthrough.
"Thank you Remus," he said to himself. "You memory will never be forgotten."
The following evening after meeting with Sybill Trelawney, Dumbledore sat behind his large wooden desk mentall running through the events that had just occurred. The Headmaster went over to the cauldron sitting in the corner of the office. Looking down into the swirling blue light, he put his want to his temple and pulled out a white whisp. It fell into the pool of memories as Trelawney's face appeared and repeated the prophecy she had just delivered:
The only ones
Brought together by death
Four with the powers to unite the two worlds
Will bind together and banish the darkness that lingers in this world
Eradicating the four walls, their destinies will intertwine…
A/N: I know it wasn't all that exciting, but I promise the next few chapters will be! I want to thank Shadow ShiningHeart for being my awesome beta! Reviews, Challenges and Criticism often help me get chapters out faster, so please review with your thoughts!