Chapter 4: An Altered Past

Ron didn�t lose his nerve often. Not unless certain things were involved, anyway: certain nasty, hairy, eight-legged things, which always seemed to scamper out of dark corners when he least expected them to (no matter how many times he really should have known better and promised himself he�d be prepared next time). And even then, he could honestly say he had done his fair share of confronting the horrid little monsters at various moments in his lifetime, when push really came to shove and he had had little choice in the matter but to face his fears and do what needed to be done.

Just as he had little choice now.

He would have given just about anything right now, however, to be in any other place but here, to do any other thing besides what he was about to do. He didn�t want to have to be the one burdened with bearing the grim news to Harry; he didn�t want there to be any grim news to begin with. But he�d been handed the task, and Hermione was right. Harry had to hear it from him.

It just didn�t seem fair. How much did one person have to be expected to endure in one lifetime? As if his best friend hadn�t already been through a battery of trials and tribulations since before he could even speak; as if he hadn�t had to live his entire life looking over his shoulder, reminded of what had been stolen from him when he was just a baby, haunted by what was yet to come. And now Ron had to deliver another blow on top of it.

Ron had never been known for being a wordsmith (especially not around Hermione), but at that moment he could honestly say he was at a complete loss for words.

Harry looked amused as he stood at the door, either that or befuddled, still waiting for an answer to his question as to why they were here.

�Hi.�

Not much by way of an explanation, but it was all Ron could manage at that point, and it would simply have to do for now.

Way to go, Weasley, he thought, cringing inside. That�ll put him at ease, for sure...

A corner of Harry�s mouth slid up in a rather confused grin. �Er... hi,� he said.

It was then that Hermione must have decided that they weren�t going to get very far if she was going to wait for Ron to fumble around until he found the right words; at last she took matters into her own hands and stepped up to the door.

�Can we come in, Harry?�

�Oh,� he said, � yeah, of course...�

He stepped aside to let them through, his eyes following them as they walked past and headed into the sitting room. There was an obstacle course of boxes in there: dozens of still unopened wedding presents that had taken up temporary residence in the room, waiting be taken to Emily and Colm�s new flat in Muggle London.

�They�ll be writing thank you notes till Christmas,� Ron said absently.

Harry chuckled. �Yes, I s�pose so.�

He shoved some of the bigger boxes out of the way so that Ron and Hermione could maneuver their way to the couch. Ron avoided his eyes, though he could feel the weight of Harry�s stare pressing on him, growing heavier with each second that passed.

�All right,� Harry said at last, �out with it.�

Ron shifted his weight from one foot to the other, then sat down, suddenly feeling as if the walls were closing in on him, with both Harry and Hermione drilling their eyes into his skull. It would only be a matter of seconds now, before one of them broke the awkward silence.

As it turned out, Harry was the first to blink.

�One of you say something, please,� he said. �You�re starting to scare me a little, just sitting there like that. I reckon I�ve never known you two to be quiet for more than five minutes--especially when you�re around each other!�

Ron opened his mouth to let whatever words that may have wanted to come out at that moment make their escape, until movement just behind Harry caught his eye. It was Ginny, who had just walked into the room, looking harried and out of sorts herself, her hair spilling out of a loose ponytail gathered at the base of her neck.

�Oh, I didn�t know you�d be coming over,� she said, in an almost apologetic tone, though there was absolutely nothing to apologize for. If anything, Ron felt even worse, coming over unexpectedly like this and disrupting their Sunday morning--and for a grave reason, at that.

She crossed the room to give them each a kiss on the cheek, but in such a distracted manner that Ron immediately took hold of her hand and turned her towards him.

�You all right, Gin?� he said.

�Yes, fine-�

�What�s the matter?�

�I�m sorry, it�s not that I�m not happy to see you two, honestly,� she said. �I just need to go check on Luke right now... I�ll be back in a bit...�

She slipped out of his grasp and rushed off without another word. Ron watched her until she was out of sight, then turned to Harry.

�What was that all about?�

�Luke�s got a really high fever right now that doesn�t seem to be coming down with fever potion,� Harry said soberly. �We�re a little worried.�

�How high?�

�40 degrees Celsius...�

�40 degrees Celsius!� Hermione exclaimed. �Harry, you need to get him in to see someone straight away!�

�Blimey, Harry, that�s high for an adult, let alone a nine year old-�

�I know that!� Harry snapped. �We�re going to take him in to see Madam Pomfrey in a bit, as soon as Ginny gives him more of the potion... But don�t change the subject!�

�What?�

�The subject,� Harry repeated. �You�ve been avoiding my question ever since you got here, Ron. What the hell is going on? I know that look. I know there�s something you�re not telling me. Now I know we�ve known each other for so long that I can practically read your minds, but help me out here a little, will you?�

Ron turned to Hermione, who simply nodded and said, �Go ahead... we�ve put this off long enough...�

Harry looked from one friend to the other, as if waiting for one of them to say something. Finally, Ron cleared his throat and began the only way he knew how.

�Harry, do you remember how Voldemort died?�

Harry blinked back at him.

�What?? What�re you... what kind of a question is that-�

�Just answer it, please...�

He didn�t seem to be in the mood to play any guessing games, not that Ron could blame him.

�Of course, I remember,� Harry said. �I fought him. In that final battle in the war. Our wands tangled, and then I did the only thing that I thought might stop him for good. I... used the unforgivable curse...� He sank slowly down onto the couch. �They had me tried, and you helped me win an acquittal... Ron, I don�t understand why you�re asking me any of this, you know what happened-�

�Harry, what if I told you that�s not how it really happened?� Ron said. �Or at least... not how I remember it happening?�

�What?�

Ron let out a heavy exhale, then sat back down. He felt Hermione slip her arm through his, in a silent gesture of support, and he took her hand and squeezed it in response. Then he pushed up his sleeve to expose his forearm and held it up in front of Harry.

�Here,� he said, �tell me what you see...�

Harry furrowed his brow and leaned in close.

�Nothing.�

�Look closer.�

�Ron, what-�

�Just look.�

Harry leaned in again and squinted, and at length he said, �There�s a scar on your arm...�

�Yes.�

�A very faint one.� He shook his head. �I don�t remember you having it...�

�It�s from a mark I was given once,� Ron said quietly.

�What are you on about?�

Ron looked at him intently, watching as a myriad of confusion played on his face. And then, he spoke again.

�It�s where the Voldemort burned the Dark Mark on my arm, Harry.�

Harry didn�t react at first, as if the words hadn�t yet hit him with the impact Ron knew they would. Then slowly, his eyes filled with bewilderment.

�This is some kind of a joke, right?� he said. His mouth was twisted in a smile, but he wasn�t laughing. Not at all.

�Harry-�

�Look, my son is sick right now. I�ve got far more urgent matters to take care of, and I�m not really in the mood to play into one of your jokes-�

�Harry, listen to him,� Hermione said.

�Listen to what?? He�s talking rubbish-�

�For God�s sake, Harry, this isn�t a joke!�

Both of them were standing now, Harry looking straight into Ron�s eyes with such an intensity that Ron felt as if he could burn a hole through him.

�All right,� he said, �so this isn�t a joke. What the hell is it, then?�

�Just please listen-�

�Ron, you�re telling me you have the Dark Mark on your arm! You�re telling me things I remember happening didn�t actually happen that way... How exactly am I to react to all of this?�

Ron took his eyes away from him, then sighed.

�Twenty-two years ago, I arrested Snape-�

He heard Harry let out an incredulous laugh. �Snape? Blimey, now you�re going to tell me Snape figures into this?�

�Would you shut up and listen to me for a minute, Harry?�

Harry fell silent, his eyes still filled with disbelief.

�Snape wasn�t Voldemort�s spy, Harry. He was ours. He never betrayed Dumbledore--he was helping him-�

�By betraying him?�

�By betraying Voldemort.�

Harry shook his head. �What?�

�When he disappeared in our fifth year... it wasn�t because he had joined the dark side again. He was a member of a secret organization that Dumbledore had put together, called the Order of the Phoenix. He had taken a vow to protect the wizarding world from Voldemort, and he kept Voldemort at bay for years-�

�Then he didn�t do his job,� Harry said bitterly. �I was there, remember?? I was in the war--we all were! How can you stand there and tell me that Snape was protecting us?�

�Because there wasn�t a war, Harry. At least not in the true history.�

�That�s the second time you�ve said that what I�m remembering isn�t what really happened,� Harry said. �What are you talking about??�

�Listen to me, all right? Just listen. What I�m about to tell you is going to sound crazy, and you�re probably going to think I�ve fallen off my rocker, but it�s the truth, I swear it...�

�What? What�s the truth?�

�Snape recruited me twenty-two years ago. After I tried to arrest him for treason, he told me the truth, and he offered me the chance of a lifetime. He gave me the chance to destroy Voldemort once and for all--from the inside.�

Harry�s eyes glazed over as he listened to Ron.

�I took it. I took it, and I didn�t tell anyone. I made Voldemort believe that I had joined him, that I was ready to betray you. And I was going to lead the Ministry to his hiding place, so he could finally be found, only... something went wrong...� Ron paused, hoping against hope he would see some sort of recognition in Harry, some sort of sign that the memories hadn�t yet been extinguished from him. �You found out about it, Harry. You tried to get me out, but Voldemort learnt everything, and he tried to kill us.�

Harry was just shaking his head now. There were no words coming out of him.

�You and I tried to fight him, but he hurt both of us. And Snape...�

Harry looked up. At last, Ron saw a glimmer of comprehension.

�Snape helped us. We brought Voldemort down with Snape�s help...�

�The Avada Kedavra curse...�

Ron nodded.

�Yes, Harry, the Avada Kedavra curse... Snape died that day. He had intercepted Voldemort�s curse, the one that was meant for you, and he died helping us.�

Harry ran his hands through his hair, and for a long time he was quiet, until finally, he said, �Why don�t I remember any of this?�

�Because... because someone�s tampered with the past.�

�What??�

�Someone�s stolen a time-turner, Harry,� Ron said. �I don�t know who and I don�t know how, but this person got hold of a time-turner and went back in time to change history so that Snape died before that day--so that no one would be trying to hold Voldemort back and stop him going after you.�

�Then all of it... everything I remember... is what�s been altered?�

Quietly, Ron said, �Yes.�

�And if Voldemort does succeed in coming after me, that means...�

Ron swallowed hard. He didn�t want to have to say the words out loud.

�It means I will not have lived past fifth year.�

�If it remains altered... yes...�

Suddenly, an understanding dawned in Harry�s eyes, and along them came a certain anguish, as the realization hit. He looked towards the stairs that led up to where Luke was, and there was Ginny, stunned and silent, watching the entire scene unfold.

�Then that means... my children will cease to exist as well.�