Times of Trouble

Ariana whistled a little tune to herself as she navigated the well-worn forest path. She knew Ab hated going to drag Albus home every evening, but she really didn’t mind. There was something so peaceful about the evening forest.

And it wasn’t like she was scared to leave her home alone anymore. She’d finished three very successful years at Hogwarts. Her wand was always up her sleeve and she knew enough magic to fend off any muggle attackers long enough to call for help.

Without even thinking about it she reached up her sleeve to make sure her wand was still nestled safely inside its hidden pocket.

She stopped for a moment on the path as she rounded a bend. On the edge of the path sat a small rabbit, nibbling on something. Not wanting to scare it, she froze, watching as its ears twitched around. It looked so innocent and peaceful, but she knew it was ready to run at a moment’s notice. And that it would attack if cornered. Rather like herself.

She snorted at that thought, she wasn’t a rabbit. She was Ariana Dumbledore, head of her class at Hogwarts. She was no rabbit. No, she was a badger, and quite proud of that fact.

The rabbit finished eating and wandered off the path; she continued on her way.

The sun was halfway past the top of the tree line, bathing the field in fire, as she exited the forest.

It only took a moment for her to spot Albus and Grindelwald in the middle of the field, packing up their belongings. She couldn’t help but be impressed, they were usually nowhere near ready to leave when she got there.

She’d barely stepped out of the forest when both of them whipped around, aiming their wands at her. She rolled her eyes and raised her hands up, showing them she was no threat. Really, what did they do all day that left them so jumpy and suspicious?

They lowered their wands and continued packing up once they saw it was her. She lowered her hands and wandered towards them, giving them time to hide all of their ‘important’ papers. What could two recently graduated students have that was so important? She knew she should be curious, but she wasn’t. She’d lost all of her interest in her brother after she’d seen what he was like at Hogwarts, especially when that slimy Gregory Thompson was around. How could he have changed so much?

All she did now was cross her arms and tap her foot, waiting for them to hurry. They weren’t worth talking to.

“I do believe your sister is impatient,” Grindelwald stated.

“It’s one of her many failings.”

Ariana rolled her eyes.

“Dear brother, if you believe impatience to be one of my failings you really should take a look at yourself.”

Albus chuckled as he banished the blanket, “Why, dear sister, if you think I’m impatient then I daresay that you don’t know me at all.”

“And whose fault would that be?”

“Certainly not mine. I haven’t changed.”

Ariana frowned and looked up at her brother, ignoring Grindelwald’s curious looks. “Can you honestly state that you’re the same as you were before you left for Hogwarts? I remember a rather affectionate, playful boy that I looked up to. Now, well, now I see a cold man.”

She could have been mistaken, but it appeared as if pain flashed through his eyes at her words.

“Cold? No, I’m only cold to those that have betrayed me,” he stepped around her and began to head towards the forest path.

That shocked Ariana. He jaw dropped. She watched him walk away, Grindelwald on his heels. Albus said something quietly, she couldn't make it out, but the tone was mocking. She lost it then. It didn't even make sense to her to lose it now. She'd been putting up with her idiotic brother for years, but sometimes all it took was one log on the fire to make seven years’ worth of anger boil over. She ran after him and grabbed his arm, jerking him and making him spin around. Grindelwald practically jumped out of the way. A voice in the back of her mind said he was very smart to stay out of their fight.

“Betrayed? Are you saying I betrayed you?!? You were the one who ignored me after the attack!”

“Ignored you?!? I didn’t ignore you! You left me! You and Ab! You left me for Harry bloody Potter!!!”

She gasped, “You think we left you for Harry Potter!?!?! How could you think that? True, he saved me, but he wasn’t my brother! He wasn’t the one that used to hold me during thunderstorms! Or, or, played games with me! I needed you! You! And you ignored me! Whenever I looked for you I couldn’t find you! And then you left for Hogwarts! And when you came back you were different. You were wrong! And it only got worst! Ab tried hide it from me! He tried to tell me you were just busy, but I knew! I knew it!”

Albus yanked his arm out of her grip, fury etched into his face. His wand was in his hand and pointed at her as he yelled. “Every moment I turned around that summer you were latched onto him like a leech! And when I came back from Hogwarts you ran to greet him! Him! You ignored me! Even after he and his nasty friends left I had to stay away! All you wanted to talk about was him! And if you’d ever see him again! Well, guess what? You won’t ever see him again! Because he lied to you! He isn’t Richie’s half-brother! He’s from the-”

Three cracks sounded behind Albus and a voice screamed, “Avada Kedavra.”

Albus began to turn around, but Ariana was faster than him. She threw herself to the ground, grabbing his wand-arm and pulling him along. The killing curse flew right over their heads. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Gellert, several feet away, summon a shield to deflect to minor curses thrown at him.

“Lestrange!”

The three dark robed figures whipped around and Ariana gasped when she saw Ab and…no…was that really Neville Longbottom? If he was here…

One of the figures threw off their hood, revealing a female with long, black hair. She threw her head back and laughed, “Why, if it isn’t Little Longbottom! Come to let me finish what I started with your parents?”

Longbottom, it had to be Neville.

“What? You plan to torture me into insanity? I don’t think that’s how today will end.”

Ariana carefully pulled out her wand and looked at Albus, he was watching Neville, complete shock on his face.

One of the robed figures laughed and spoke in deep, cruel voice. “Torture into insanity? Now, that’s a lovely idea, but I think you’re misremembering things. We killed your parents.”

Now Neville laughed, “Oh, that’s just lovely. You’re from a different future. Well, that just means none of us will be returning to the place we left. Change the past, you make a new future. Not that that is important at the moment. Since I intend to have a future with all three Dumbledores alive, and I don’t think you do.”

The woman opened her mouth to respond, but the third figure cut her off. “Three Dumbledores? We only care about the girl. The other two aren’t important.”

Those words seemed to shake Albus out of his shock, “What-what do you mean only Ariana is important?”

The third robed figure whipped around, his hood falling off, showing an aristocratic face and long silver hair. Ariana immediately recognized him as a Malfoy, though she’d never met him before.

“Why would we care about you two? Aberforth Dumbledore was nothing but a simple paper-pusher, while Albus Dumbledore died before the Dark Lord was born. They say Grindelwald killed him in a jealous rage.”

“Grindelwald?” Grindelwald whispered.

Malfoy rolled his eyes, “Yes, Grindelwald. Albus Dumbledore’s lover and the inspiration for the Dark Lord when it comes to muggle controlling plans. Really, it was terrible for pureblood rights when he disappeared.”

“Lucius, can we please stop the history lesson? None of them will be leaving this clearing alive after all. They have no need for lessons,” the nasty voiced wizard said.

The woman, Lestrange, let out a hard cruel laugh, and then pointed her wand at Neville, “Avada Kedavra!”

Ariana saw him jump out of the way right before she rolled out of Albus’s way as he aimed a spell at Malfoy. It may’ve been five against three, but she knew she would be little help. Whoever these three were, they were obviously quite skilled. She hadn’t even sat for her O.W.L.S. She did her best to keep her head down and stay behind Albus as he cast spell after spell after Malfoy and the nasty-voiced wizard. She sent a tripping charm at Malfoy as Albus threw up a shield against a cutting curse.

Blood was pounding in her ears as spells flew around them. Grindelwald had somehow moved until he was next to Albus. The two of them cast spells as one. She forgot to stay behind them as she watched in awe. She’d never seen anyone move as magnificently as the two of them did.

“Ariana!” she heard Albus scream.

She looked up in time to see a nasty looking curse heading towards her. Everything began to move in slow motion. She opened her mouth to scream as she threw herself to the side.

But she wasn’t fast enough.

XXX

Albus screamed in rage as his sister fell and blood went everywhere. It took all of his will power to not race over to her, but he knew that would be a mistake. He had to finish these two off first. And he had to do it quickly if he wanted to stop the bleeding.

The Malfoy smiled as he looked at Ariana, “Success, the Dark Lord will reward you well, Dolohov.”

The other wizard, Dolohov, laughed, “Now time to take out the trash.”

Albus saw red, he almost forgot he was a wizard and raced straight at Dolohov. Only a hand on his arm stopped him.

“Al, don’t look behind you. But a black-haired boy just appeared and is pulling your sister into the woods, where two others are waiting. Let’s make sure these two don’t notice. I don’t think they quite realize who we are,” Gellert whispered.

Albus felt an immediate sense of relief. If Neville was here that meant Harry Potter was around, too. Something had to have gone wrong with the time travel, but that was unimportant right now. He didn’t like or trust Harry Potter, but he knew his sister was safe with him.

Time to get revenge.

“I think we should educate them,” Albus said in a loud voice.

Malfoy raised one delicate, nearly invisible eyebrow, “You boys intend to educate us? I fear your education has been dearly lacking. You don’t even know who we are.”

Albus threw back his head and laughed, a bit of insanity leaking into his laughter.

“I know who you are. You two are Death Eaters, followers of Lord Voldemort. And I have it on good authority that in the original timeline, the one Harry Potter came from, that I was the only man he ever feared.”

Dolohov snorted in disbelief, “And who exactly are you?”

Albus grinned, “I’m Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. Though you might want to be more afraid of my friend here.”

“Oh, and who would that be? Grindelwald?” Malfoy asked in a clearly mocking voice.

“Why, Albus, I do believe we have a smart Death Eater here!”

“Gellert, I do believe you’re right, quite something from what Harry Potter told me.”

“Didn’t you tell me that he said all Death Eaters were, what was that word? Morons?”

“That’s exactly what he said.”

Albus nearly laughed at the infuriated faces of the two Death Eaters. Gellert had never heard about Harry Potter or Death Eaters before this evening, but he knew how to take scraps of information and build something real. Part of why Albus loved him so much.

“Well, then I think we should educate them, for their own good of course.”

Albus smiled evilly, “Of course.”

Malfoy and Dolohov had no idea what was about to hit them.

XXX

Neville stared down at the enraged witch. She was stiff as a board, unable to move a muscle. It amused him greatly that he had taken her down with a jinx her own nephew had helped teach him.

In a roundabout way.

“You know what, Bellatrix?”

She, of course, didn’t respond.

“You may’ve taken my parents from me, you may’ve destroyed my chance for a wonderful childhood, but you can’t destroy my chance for a wonderful adulthood.”

He summoned some ropes and wrapped them around her trapped body. He wasn’t going to risk her getting away.

A few steps away lay Aberforth, knocked out cold from the rock that had exploded and struck him. Neville took a few steps and looked out at the field. Grindelwald and Albus had finished dealing with Malfoy and Dolohov, or so he assumed. Since Malfoy was buried into the ground up to his neck and Dolohov was trussed up like a Christmas goose.

Satisfied, Neville levitated Aberforth and Bellatrix and floated them out into the field.

He almost didn’t see Albus’ reaction, the field had gotten so dark. The blood immediately fled from his face and he shouted, “Ab!” as he raced over to the floating figure of his brother.

“Albus, he’s alright, he’s just unconscious. A rock hit him,” Neville quickly said.

Albus visibly relaxed for a moment before he suddenly gasped, “Ariana!”

He turned and raced into a part of the forest far from the path Neville had been battling on.

“What happened to Ariana?” Neville hadn’t spent much time with the young witch, but he still felt worry in the pit of his stomach. He wanted to run after Albus, but he didn’t want to leave three trapped Death Eaters with only Grindelwald as a guard. That struck him as a very stupid idea.

The blonde young man, Grindelwald looked at him, “Albus’ sister was hit with a cutting curse. A boy with messy black hair pulled her into the forest while we fought those Death Eaters.”

Neville relaxed, feeling suddenly exhausted. Harry had arrived, that meant Hermione and Ron had to be here also. They wouldn’t let anything happen to Ariana.

Grindelwald was studying him, “You just relaxed. Obviously you know the identity of this boy.”

Great, one of the greatest dark wizards of all time could read him like an open book. That likely wasn’t a good thing. “Yes, that had to be Harry Potter, one of my friends. He’s got a saving people thing. He won’t let anything happen to Ariana, he saved her once before already.”

Neville lowered Aberforth and Bellatrix to the ground, before plopping down to the grass himself. Every part of his body ached. He knew he should be checking on Aberforth, but he honestly knew nothing about head injuries and barely had enough energy to sit up straight.

Suddenly Grindelwald sat in front of Neville.

“You will tell me of these two futures. What you know of them. From what I heard it sounds as if I don’t get to keep Albus. I want to fix that. He’s the only one I’ve ever met that can match me in all ways.”

Neville studied Gellert Grindelwald’s face. He knew he should feel intimidated by the older boy. He had just handily defeated Malfoy and Dolohov (with Albus’ help, of course) and in the future Neville he knew he was a terrible man. But, now, well, now he didn’t seem so terrible.

Maybe he still had a choice to make.

And ignorance never helped one make the best decision. He’d learned that the hard way, when he’d tried to stop Harry, Ron, and Hermione from stopping Quirrell during their first year. If they’d only told him why…

He shook his head to clear it. There was no point in dwelling on the past. He could only change the future.

And with that thought he opened his mouth and began to tell of old futures, futures that could no longer come true. As well as a past that would lead somewhere new.

XXX

Hermione wandered out into the Dumbledore’s garden after midnight. It had taken all of her knowledge and Harry’s raw power just to keep Ariana alive long enough for Ron to fetch the Dumbledores.

She’d known, as soon as they discovered Neville gone, that things would be solved that day. She still had mixed feelings about their changing the past. Realistically, she knew that they couldn’t help but change it. This wasn’t a planned time travel, like had occurred during her third year. They couldn’t even have planned for it. That was the danger of traveling over 24 hours back in time. There was no way to know every detail. It just wasn’t possible.

Still, it could’ve been worse.

There was a noise behind her and Hermione whipped around, her wand in her hand. She slowly lowered it when she saw Gellert Grindelwald, Albus Dumbledore’s lover. That was something for her to wrap her mind around. She’d never pictured the Headmaster with anyone. But she supposed her professors were humans who loved and lost. Maybe this Albus wouldn’t have to defeat his ex-lover in a duel to save all of Europe.

Or maybe he would. She couldn’t say anymore.

“Can I help you?”

He shrugged, “Possibly, I merely want to confirm something.”

“What’s that?”

“This.”

He held up a small coin. Hermione frowned and reached out to take it. It took her a moment, it had been over a year since she last saw it, but she knew her work. She knew the pattern her magic left.

“You were the boy that saved me in Poland,” she said in wonder, looking up at him.

He smiled, “I thought it was you. All the talk of time travel, an eleven year old doing complicated transfigurations and some bushy hair helped me figure out the mystery.”

Ah, yes, she remembered Neville telling Harry that he had told Grindelwald many things, giving him a chance to make the right choice.

“How did you go dark if you were once nice enough to rescue an unknown girl?”

“That’s the million galleon question, isn’t it? I think I let my ideas take me too far, too fast. I’m a powerful wizard. I know that. Only Albus, and possibly Ariana, are as filled with raw power as I am. Combine that with a thirst for knowledge and the rare wizard ability to use logic, and I think I became corrupted.”

Hermione nodded, “Power can cause corruption.”

“As can a lack of knowledge. Albus is watching over his siblings, or I think he would be here with me right now. I know you’re a muggleborn, and I have a few questions for you. Questions I should have thought to ask a muggleborn long ago, rather than make assumptions.”

Hermione studied this proud young man’s face. “What sort of questions?”

He reached into his robes and pulled out a rolled piece of parchment, looking a little embarrassed. Hermione silently unrolled the parchment and began to read.

When she was finished she looked up at him. He'd been watching her quietly the entire time. "I'll answer these, but I think you should go talk to all of the boys. Neville knows a lot, but not the entire story."

"I'll do that. Thank you," he gave her a small bow and spun on his heels. She watched him walk back into the house. She'd tried so hard to avoid changing the past, but it appeared that she had changed it long before she met up with Neville or Harry. She knew, from reading, that Grindelwald had been expelled from Durmstrang in her original timeline. But this Grindelwald, Albus had said earlier, came to Godric's Hollow after he graduated from Durmstrang.

"How could I leave such a strong impression on such an amazing wizard?"

"I would say that was fairly obvious."

Hermione jumped off of the bench and whipped around, her wand out before it even registered on her that she knew that voice.

"Ron! Don't DO that!"

Ron chuckled, leaning back against the garden wall. "Not my fault you didn't see me walk out."

She glared at him, clutching the list of questions tightly in her hands. He didn't even squirm under her glare, not like the Ron she'd always known. This Ron, the Ron from the Evil Albus timeline, didn't seem intimidated by her at all.

"What did you mean it was fairly obvious?"

He shrugged, "I meant that it should be obvious why he remembered you. You certainly made an impression on me the first time we met. I think you called me an idiot."

She blushed, "I don't think I used those exact words. In your timeline, or mine."

"Maybe not, but you certainly got that message across."

"I disagree, but that's beside the point. Me calling you an idiot has nothing to do with making an impression."

He pushed himself off of the wall and walked over to her. Until they were standing with only the bench separating them. "Hermione, the words don't really matter. What matters is the meaning behind the words. And it's that meaning that makes an impression. You and Harry, the two of you, you mean every word you say. You two have a passion that anyone can see. And it comes across, it makes an impression on everyone you meet."

She tilted her head and studied him in puzzlement, "When did you get so insightful. I don't remember the Ron I knew acting like this.

He shrugged, "I don't know how the Ron you knew acted, and, honestly, I never really talked like this to the Hermione I knew either. Doesn't mean I didn't think it though."

"Why are you speaking now?"

"I suppose all this airing of secrets and spreading of information is getting to me."

She looked up at him. She hadn't really spent any time alone with this Ron, but now, that she had a moment, she could see the differences. There was something about this Ron that made him feel a little more mature and sure of himself. She rather liked that. She'd miss her old, immature friend. But she supposed everyone had to grow up sometime.

"Ah, then will you help me spread some information?" She waved the paper Grindelwald had given her at him.

He took it and read it over, she found herself staring in wonder at the little wrinkle that formed between his eyebrows as he read. She'd never noticed it before.

"I don't think we'll be getting much sleep tonight. Since I assume you want to finish this quickly."

She smiled, "You do know me well."

He chuckled, "Maybe."

An hour later they were ensconced in the study in front of the fireplace, working together to answer all the questions they'd been given.

Hopefully some good would come of it.