Chapter 23: Past, Present, And Future

�It�s Voldemort... isn�t it?�

His voice was calm, resolute. Like that of a martyr who had gained that final moment of clarity just before taking his final breath. It made Ron shudder to see Harry this way, to see his eyes--those clear green eyes that Ron had known so well for more than half his life--show no surprise, no anger, only a deep understanding that seemed to root itself ever further, ever deeper with each second that passed.

An understanding that no one--let alone a mere fifteen year old--should ever have to fathom in his lifetime.

�That�s why you�ve come,� Harry said, in such an eerily stoic manner than Ron actually felt chills rake up his spine. �He�s... going to come after me this time, isn�t he?�

Ron had known this question would be difficult to answer, but he had never expected it to be this hard. Looking Harry directly in the eyes, meeting his unflinching, penetrating gaze--it was already more than Ron could bear. Breaking the news to Harry the first time had nearly killed him before; it just didn�t seem fair that he now had to face the task of having to do it yet again.

But Harry was waiting for his answer, and deep down, Ron knew that he probably deserved one.

�Yes.�

It was all he could manage at the moment; he felt his throat close around the word, though he knew it would be the easy way out to stop there, when there was much more to say. So much more.

Only he hadn�t the first clue where to even begin.

Silence stretched out between them, awkward and impossible to ignore. Until at last, Harry blurted out something that seemed long overdue.

�This is... mad!�

He looked up to see Harry shaking his head, as if trying to expel every last thought he could of out his obviously overwhelmed brain. Ron didn�t exactly know how to interpret any of this at first; was Harry angry, was he amused? Or did he perhaps find the whole thing so fantastically ludicrous that he�d finally gone over the edge after all?

And then Ron saw that familiar smile again--not quite fully-formed, but there nevertheless--tugging at the corners of Harry�s mouth, and in that instant, he knew that he�d finally got his friend back.

�Yeah,� he said, �I reckon you could say that.�

�I mean, no offense,� Harry said, still shaking his head, as if still struggling to vocalize his thoughts, �but this is... well... odd, to say the least. I mean, it�s you, but it�s... not the you that I�m used to, and... this really is mad...�

This time, Ron couldn�t help but chuckle himself, in spite of everything. �You ought to try it from my end some time.� Upon catching Harry�s raised eyebrow, he added swiftly, �On second thoughts, I wouldn�t recommend it.�

After a while, Harry said, �Are you... I mean, you�re obviously not from... my time, are you?�

Ron shook his head. �Not exactly.�

It took several minutes for Harry to respond. For a long time, he simply stared at Ron, as if still trying to take in the details of his face, noting the lines that had settled in over time, the muted brassiness of his red hair, the much taller, much broader frame he�d grown into in adulthood.

He was sure Harry was thinking about all the years in between, that he was forming questions in his mind about what could have happened in the years since, what sorts of things must have shaped Ron into the man who stood before him now.

But instead, Harry asked the question Ron had been dreading the most.

�Why?�

His voice had grown serious again, as it had been before.

�Tell me what this is all about, Ron,� he said. �It must have been something bad for you to come back to help me. Please, I... I think I ought to know... don�t you?�

At length, Ron sighed and forced himself to look Harry in the eyes this time around, steeling himself for what would come next.

�All right,� he said. �I suppose I can�t keep you in the dark forever, and I do have a lot of explaining to do. But first... there�s one more thing you�ve got to see.�

It didn�t make sense.

It just didn�t make any sense. No matter how many times he went over it in his head, turned it upside-down and inside-out and every which way possible, he still couldn�t find an explanation for any of this. But here was evidence--or at least something as close to evidence as he could ever hope to get--staring him right in the face. Black and white. Paper and ink. And yet, one nagging question continued to swirl in his mind.

Why?

�Uncle Harry?�

The sound of Jack�s voice was enough to break his trance. Harry realized with a start that he was still holding the book--gripping it, as a matter of fact--not to mention being watched carefully by Griphook, who was apparently quite anxious for Harry to finish with it. Sensing the goblin�s growing impatience, Harry closed the book at last and shoved it back in his direction.

Griphook eagerly snatched it up and said in monotone, �Is everything in order, then? Have you found what you were looking for?�

Harry could only nod absently. Jack must have sensed that he wasn�t in any hurry to speak, because he took it upon himself to address the goblin himself.

�Er, yes, thank you,� he said. �This will do for now. If I think of anything else, I�ll be sure to let you know.�

Griphook did not seem to take kindly to that last comment; he sneered at Jack before ambling back into the inner offices to return the book.

�Uncle Harry, are you all right?�

Jack was eying him closely, wearing a familiar look of concern that Harry had seen all too often on his father. Harry was half-expecting him to suggest something completely frivolous--a chess game, or a quick game of two-man Quidditch--to distract him; it was something Ron would have surely done in that moment.

But instead Jack was quiet, as if going over every option in his head of what he could possibly say right now, and rejecting every single one.

Harry decided it was time to put the young man out of his misery.

�Yeah,� he said. �I reckon I�m just a bit out of practice, that�s all.�

Jack gave him a puzzled look. �What d�you mean?�

�It�s been a while since I�ve been through this... been confronted with someone who�s been plotting to kill me.�

Jack didn�t seem to know whether to laugh or be horrified by Harry�s statement; Harry thought he would help him along by giving him a small smile.

After a while, Jack said quietly, �I can... take care of all of this, Uncle Harry.�

�What?�

�I can take care of all of this myself,� he said. �You won�t have to deal with any of it. Not with confronting Keating, or with anything else. You shouldn�t be running around with me, anyway, trying to play detective--not when you should be taking care of yourself.�

Harry couldn�t help but laugh. �That�s your mum talking.�

Jack groaned. �My mum... Bloody hell, she�d kill me for involving you like this!�

�I haven�t always done what Hermione wanted me to do, you know,� Harry said. �And I reckon I�m too old to change my ways now.�

What Jack said next made him stop in his tracks, however.

�What about Aunt Ginny, then? Don�t you think she just wants you to be safe?�

Harry swallowed hard. The last thing he wanted was to hurt Ginny any further. He�d already squandered away too much time acting like a bastard to her; he didn�t want to undo everything he�d done to make up for it.

�What she wants,� Harry said at last, �is for this to be over. And if Keating did set this all into motion, and he has a way to stop it... then I want to do all I can to make sure he does.�

�Are you sure?� Jack said.

For Harry, the answer was clear.

�If he�s the one who�s helped Voldemort, I need to do this, Jack. I want him to tell me to my face why he�s done this. I think I deserve that much...�

Hermione sprang to the door as soon as Ron unlocked it, grabbing hold of his arm and yanking him inside of the office before he had even had the chance to brace himself. She had hidden reservoirs of strength, his wife; Ron wondered why he couldn�t seem to remember that often enough.

�Where have you been??� she said, as if she�d been waiting until that very moment to let out all the air she�d been holding captive in her lungs. �I�ve been looking all over for you!! There�s something I need to tell you-�

Ron knew at once that she must have seen Harry walk in behind him just now, because she let out a silent gasp and as if by instinct, made a move to reach for the cloak. Not that it would have done much good at that point, of course--something she seemed to realize, because she pulled back her hand and looked up at Ron, her frantic eyes searching his for an explanation.

�Ron, what�s going on-�

�It�s all right, love,� he said, �he knows... I�ve told him...�

�You�ve what?�

It seemed it had taken until that very moment for Harry to finally register what he was seeing in front of him. Ron watched as he edged a bit closer to the two of them, his face a mixture of wonder and curiosity, and--Ron noted--more than a healthy dose of amusement.

For a split-second, Ron flashed back to the day Harry had found out about him and Hermione; it was then that he realized that he felt no less self-conscious at this moment than he had back then.

�Hermione...?�

Ron supposed that was a smile on Harry�s face; he�d seen it often enough--especially this one, in particular, as Harry used it often on him and Hermione in the early days of their courtship--to know what it looked like.

Hermione laughed softly, then, taking her cue from Ron, nodded.

�Hi Harry,� she said. �Bet you�re a bit surprised to see me here.�

�A bit,� he said, as he shifted his gaze back and forth from her to Ron.

This had to be a lot to assimilate, Ron thought. He wouldn�t have been surprised at all if he and Hermione had inadvertently sent Harry over the edge at this point.

�Nice to see you two didn�t end up killing each other after you got together,� Harry suddenly said, grinning at the two of them now. �What do you know, I won the bet after all.�

Hermione narrowed her eyes and immediately looked to Ron, who could only shrug back. Damned if he knew what this was all about.

�Bet?�

Harry tried to tuck away a smile that Ron caught nevertheless.

�Er... nothing you need to concern yourself with,� he said dismissively. �Let�s just say that from the looks of things�--he gestured towards the wedding ring on Hermione�s finger--�I�ll be expecting payment from a certain set of twins in a few years...�

�Why am I not surprised?� Ron muttered into Hermione�s ear. �Fred and George are dead men.�

Hermione laughed, and Ron was about to do so himself, when he noticed that Harry no longer was, and instead was staring hard at the both of them. And just like that, his demeanor had shifted radically once again, his face set, as it had been in Dumbledore�s office.

�Look, don�t take this the wrong way,� he said. �I mean, it�s not that I�m not pleased to see you both or anything, but... you promised you�d tell me the truth about all of this.�

�Yes, I did,� Ron said. �And I will right now, but... you�ve got to promise me one thing, first.�

Harry looked back at him with absolute trust. �All right.�

�What you are about to hear can not go beyond these four walls, Harry,� Ron said. �The more people that know, the more... unnecessarily complicated everything gets.�

�Which means,� Hermione said, �you can�t tell our younger selves any of this... I know they�ll want to know-�

�Especially you.�

Hermione laughed softly. �Especially me. But please, Harry, you can�t. Too many things could go wrong if anyone else found out.�

�I won�t say anything. You have my word.�

Ron exchanged one last look with Hermione, before he sank onto the edge of his desk.

�Well then,� he said, �I suppose I�d better start from the beginning...�

The plump lady sitting at the front desk in the reception area nearly jumped two feet in the air when Jack cleared his throat. The latest issue of Witch Weekly, opened to a two-page spread covering the grand opening of Lavender Finnigan�s new restaurant in Diagon Alley, now lay neglected on the desk as she fixed her eyes upon him, her mouth thinning to a taut line that left no doubt of her displeasure.

�Oh,� she said, voice dripping with contempt, �it�s you again, Mr. Weasley.� She glanced down an the appointment book at her desk, then looked back up and said, �I don�t believe you have an appointment with Mr. Keating.�

�No, I don�t. But I wonder if we might be able to see him, anyway-�

�I think not!� she said shrilly. �Honestly, if I let in everyone who wandered in here without a proper appointment-�

She stopped abruptly, and at first, Harry couldn�t tell why, until he looked up and saw that she was staring right at him, mouth hanging open in a rather obnoxious manner.

�You�re... you�re Harry Potter!�

Harry forced a smile. It always seemed so silly to respond to such a statement, but he went ahead with it anyway.

�Yes.�

Her mouth moved from a taut line to a girlish smile, and she brought her hand up to fluff her hair. �Oh my goodness,� she said, �I didn�t see you there at first, Mr. Potter... Are you with�--she gestured to Jack and didn�t even bother to hide her displeasure--�him?�

Harry caught the pleading look Jack shot him, and slipped him a reassuring nod.

�Yes, I�m here with Mr. Weasley,� he said. �Do you think we might be able to see Mr. Keating for a short while?�

She appeared flustered, unable to decide whether to enforce the rules on Harry as well, or bend them for him.

�Well... he doesn�t like to be disturbed when he�s not scheduled to meet with someone...� She bit her lip and glanced down the hallway, then turned back to Harry and smiled. �I suppose it couldn�t hurt to let him know you�ve come all this way...�

Beside him, Harry heard Jack mutter, �Oh, for God�s sake...� And as soon as the woman was out of earshot, he took the opportunity to hiss, �Let�s see how he reacts to this little surprise visit. I�d like to see him explain this--not to mention the blueprints in his office...�

�Listen to me,� Harry said, �you�ve got to keep control over yourself, do you understand?? This is a high-ranking official, Jack. He could eat you alive if you�re not careful-�

�I wouldn�t care if he were the bloody Minister of Magic, Uncle Harry! If he�s done all this, he has to pay-�

Harry cut him off by laying a hand on his arm--just in time, as the woman had returned.

�I�m sorry, sir,� she said, looking straight at Harry and effectively ignoring Jack once again, �Mr. Keating is indisposed at the moment.�

�Is he now?� Jack said.

�Jack-�

�If you don�t mind, I�d like to see that for myself-�

�Mr. Weasley!! Don�t you dare take another step, or I�ll call the authorities-�

Bloody hell, the famous Weasley temper strikes again, thought Harry, as he chased after Jack. He managed to grab hold of his arm just as Jack burst through Keating�s office, startling the occupant into standing.

�What... What the devil do you think you�re doing in here?� Keating sputtered.

�Looking for answers,� Jack said. �I believe you have the ones I need.�

Keating�s eyes flashed towards Harry�s, then returned to Jack�s and turned cold once again.

�Do I?� he said. �And what, pray tell, could I possibly help you with?� He narrowed his eyes in a taunting manner. �Really, what do they pay you for in the Auror division, if my office has to constantly hold your hand to do anything?�

Harry could feel Jack seething, but prayed he would keep his head and not make things any worse than they already were.

�You know perfectly well what I�m talking about.�

Keating sneered. �Humor me.�

In a move that seemed to take Keating by complete surprise, Jack strode over to his desk and snatched something from the bottom of a stack of books. Harry came closer just as Jack made the motion of tossing whatever that something was back onto the desk, and when he glanced down, he saw that it was the blueprint of Gringotts Bank.

�Would you like to explain that, per chance?� Jack taunted.

But Keating appeared utterly unaffected. �The blueprint?� he said, then he laughed. �Perhaps you�d like to see the others?�

He backed away a little and opened the bottom drawer on his desk, reaching in, then pulling out a few more scrolls of paper, tossing them onto the desk one by one.

�The Cairo branch,� he said, seeming to take much delight in Jack�s puzzled look. �The Paris branch. The Athens Branch...� He hurled one final scroll onto the desk. �The Roman branch.�

Jack looked down at the scrolls, reaching down to touch one, as if to confirm their validity.

�Now, was there something you wanted to ask me?�

When Jack didn�t answer, Keating seemed to take it as a sign to continue.

�Perhaps you�ve forgotten what we do around here, Mr. Weasley,� he said. �Well, allow me to remind you. This is the Improper Use of Magic Office, and we are charged with ensuring that all magical citizens stay within the bounds of our laws.� He leaned in, as if to emphasize his point. �That includes ensuring that Gringotts is safe at all times.�

Harry watched Jack carefully. He seemed ready to lash out at any minute now, his face showing the strain of having to hold his tongue.

But apparently Keating was just waiting to level the final blow.

�Did you come here to tell me more about your thief, Mr. Weasley?� he said. �Because I�m afraid you�re a little too late now.�

Jack looked back at him in bewilderment, then turned back to Harry.

�What??�

�The case is closed, Mr. Weasley,� Keating said. �Herbert Crane has confessed to stashing away the time-turner that was unaccounted for, just as I had been insisting he had done all along, and it is now in the evidence room where it belongs.�

Blood was throbbing in Harry�s ears. None of this was making any sense. None of this was fitting at all. It couldn�t be true...

Could it?

�There was never a theft. And I do believe you no longer have any reason to be in my office.�

�I�m beginning to think I never should have asked...�

Ron caught Hermione�s eye and let out a laugh as Harry sat, thunderstruck, shaking his head.

�I�m more confused now than I was before you ever told me anything.�

Ron snorted. �Believe me, mate,� he said, �it�s even more confusing when you�re trying to distinguish between all the different versions of memories you have running around in your head.�

Harry looked at him in earnest.

�How do you?�

�Well, dumping them all in a pensieve before any of this certainly helped,� Ron said. �Having Hermione here, remembering things, helps too. But honestly... there are times when I think I�ll go mad trying to sort it all out. All I have to go by is remembering you. Remembering you as an adult. Remembering that you have a family-�

He felt Hermione close her hand around his arm to stop him revealing any more, and he cut himself off at once.

�A family?� Harry said. �I�ve... got a family?�

Ron nodded.

�Have I got a wife?�

Hermione was giving Ron a look of warning, but he didn�t think there would be any harm in answering Harry�s question at least partially.

�Yeah,� he said. �And children. Who all love you very, very much and want to make sure you stick around.�

Harry�s mouth formed a tentative smile, and Ron heard him breathe out a silent, �Wow...�

Ron wanted to give him time to absorb all of this, but he also knew the matter at hand was too urgent to ignore.

�Harry, look,� he said, �there�s... something important I need to ask you. This isn�t going to be easy, but I don�t know who else I can ask.�

�What is it?�

�That night... when you saw Voldemort come back to life...�

Harry flinched noticeably, and inside, Ron cursed himself for having to make him relive this nightmare all over again.

�I�ve never heard you say his name before,� Harry said quietly.

Ron smiled. �There are a lot of things I�ve learnt to do over the years,� he said.

�What did you want to know?�

�What do you remember? About his followers? Those Death Eaters he called, one by one--do you remember their names?�

�Some of them,� Harry said. �Why?�

�Because,� Ron said, �two of them are after me as well. They know I�m here, and they�ve told Voldemort. I only heard their first names, so I don�t know who they are--I don�t remember every single one of the names of the Death Eaters we never caught, but I know I�d know them if I heard them... It was a man and a woman... Do you remember any couples?�

�There were a few... Voldemort never called any of them by their first names, though-�

�That�s all right. But do you remember their last names?�

Harry nodded. �There were the Macnairs, of course,� he said, �the Notts...�

�Captured,� Ron said. �They caught all of them in my first year as an Auror.�

�There was one another couple there... They weren�t a couple, though--I could have sworn he�d called her his sister...�

Ron�s heart gave a leap. �Who?�

�I think... I think the man�s name was Avery...�

Oh my God... Of course...

�Avery... Clive Avery?�

�I... I don�t know, I never heard his first name...�

Ron�s lungs felt as if they would burst at any moment. He was aware of Hermione reaching out to touch his back, and he turned to face her, forcing himself to get the words out.

�That�s it...�

�What�s it, Ron?�

�I think I know who�s behind all of this...�

To be continued...