Shattering Timelines

Harry sat silently in his bed with the curtains drawn around him, nursing a hot chocolate. He picked at the worn blanket that hung around his shoulders and tried to ignore the fact the empty room, but it was very hard to do when the silence felt stifling. He was tempted to hum or talk to Kali but there was something about the quiet that filled the room that made him feel like it shouldn’t be disturbed. Harry tugged the blanket tighter around him, trying to get rid of that god-awful feeling. It didn't matter that it was September. He needed the comfort and the hot chocolate and worn blanket helped with that.

The reason he even needed the comfort in the first place was because of what he had done yesterday. Just thinking about it made his stomach turn. Harry should never have obliviated the Marauders. It was a mistake, and he knew it. They would never trust him if they ever found out what he did to them. Unbidden, his mind wandered to that night.

"Obliviate!"

The trio's eyes immediately became glassy and unfocused. They wouldn't remember this meeting they had had with Harry nor would they remember the research they had done on him. Harry delved deeper into their memories and put a slight haze over their memories of that fateful defense class. They would remember he had cast five patronuses but they wouldn't remember what the patronuses were and Harry's conversation with them. He made the charm extra strong on the memories of him calling the patronuses by their names, effectively whipping the Marauders’ minds of those memories. He would forever regret what he did next.

"Imperio!"

Harry's stomach turned uneasily as three of the people he admired most faces became completely blank and vacant. A look he had hoped he would never see on their faces and a look he had put there.

Harry took a shuddering breath and began, "You were thinking of a new prank in your dorm before you went down to the kitchen to get something to eat. Peter saw a girl he liked so you left him talking to her but not before messing with him for a bit. You will continue back to your dorm and go back to planning your new prank, but you will never remember this conversation or the fact that you ran into me. Leave. Now."
The only person he hadn’t had a problem with cursing was Peter. He had taken a sadistic delight in making him think he was in love with Courtney Parker, a snobby halfblood that absolutely hated Peter.

The others, though, he shouldn’t have cursed. They were his family. He knew now that he should never have done it. It was stupid and selfish and inconsiderate. He had come back in order to save and protect them, but instead he had not only obliviated them but he also used an Unforgivable Curse on them.
Harry felt sick to his stomach, and even the smell of the hot chocolate that he had been previously enjoying made him want to vomit. Remus was the one that introduced him to hot chocolate. It had been after Sirius- Harry's thought cut off suddenly. Harry took a deep breath. He needed to get over this. After Sirius died, Harry forced himself to think, Remus had tried to comfort him the best he could. That had been the first time he had had hot chocolate.
Now it felt as if he was betraying Remus. All Harry could think of was the harsh look on Remus' face when they had confronted him melt into a dreamy, vacancy that Harry had hoped to never see on his face. He didn’t know which he hated more, the half suspicious half furious look or the vacant look that Harry had seen on too many people over the past few years.

Suddenly feeling too hot, Harry set down the mug and threw off the blanket before carefully folding it back up again. It was extremely precious to him even though he wasn’t exactly sure who it had first belonged to. The blanket was a rich red, a color that reminded Harry of wine or blood, with a large golden crest of a lion roaring on its hind legs. He had found it in Sirius’ old room at Grimmauld Place when he had been cleaning up the place, but Harry didn’t know for sure if it had been his or not. After all, the blanket was clearly muggle made since the blanket still had a ragged, fading tag on it and the crest was just a generic crest and not the true Gryffindor crest. Although Harry had found the small treasure in his godfather’s house, Harry doubted this teenage version of Sirius would want a muggle blanket even if he had many muggle clothes.

Harry lovingly traced a random doodle of a broomstick on the blanket. The main reason Harry doubted it was Sirius’ to begin with was the fact that all the Marauders and Lily had written their names as well as many doodles in ink on the blanket. There was even a heart drawn on it that had JP+LE written in it. (There was also a Mrs. Lily Violet Evans Potter written on it but the words had been scratched out, making it barely legible) The blanket may have first belonged to Remus or (as much as he hated it) Peter since they were both halfbloods and had access to the muggle world. It could have even belonged to Lily, but it was doubtful since the majority of the writing came from the Marauders.

Harry carefully packed away his blanket into one of the many compartments in his trunk, making sure to lock and ward it so that the Marauders wouldn’t be able to get in it. A string of curses left his lips when he glanced down at his watch and saw what time it was. Harry snagged his shoes and hurriedly put them on as he ran out the door and through the common room. He was supposed to have met Theodosia ten minutes ago to start their healing session. It was only the first day, and he was already late.

Harry ran up the steps two at a time, dodging a few gawking students. In less than a minute, he had made it to the seventh floor. Harry quickly began to walk down the corridor, but just as he was about to turn the corner to where he was supposed to meet Theodosia he heard voices.

“Well, would you look who it is,” a voice that reminded Harry of Malfoy when he was younger drawled, “If it isn’t little Theodosia BelleRose. What are you doing skulking around up here? Shouldn’t you be down in the dungeons with the rest of your pathetic house?”

“My house is not pathetic!” Theodosia growled at the offending person, “Just because I’m not in Slytherin doesn’t make me pathetic!”

“That's exactly what it makes you. You have shamed your family,” the voice drawled, “You are a BelleRose yet you ended up in Hufflepuff. That means you were too weak to get into Slytherin like the rest of your family.”

“Most of my family are dead because they followed your master and all of them were Slytherins. So it looks like being in Hufflepuff saved my ass!”

There was a loud thud and a squawk of protest. Harry tensed, prepared to intervene at a moment's notice. “I’d be careful how you speak about our lord,” the voice said dangerously.

There was a slight pause before Theodosia sighed. “Why are you even here? I’ve seen you following me for the past few days. Why?”

“I’ve actually come to talk to you about our lord,” the voice said losing it’s dark tone and going back to its original tone. Harry cocked his head at the sudden shift.

“Your lord,” Theodosia muttered, “Not ours.”

“No. Ours. Our lord has decided you still have potential. I don’t see it, but the Dark Lord always has his reasons and he is always right. He thinks you can still be saved, and he is offering you redemption. All you have to do is join us. Join our cause.”

There was a sharp intake of breath. Evidently she had not been expecting this. “Why?” she stuttered, “Why me? After all, you said so yourself that I’m just a pathetic Hufflepuff. He doesn’t need me!”

“The  Dark Lord has his reasons, and you would do well not to question them,” the voice growled before continuing, “And we are always needing more people to join our cause. It helps that you’re not just any person. You’re a BelleRose. Your family used to be the epitome of the pureblood society. A true dark family, not like what these pathetic light families claim are dark now. Even the Blacks respected your family and your power.”

“We’re not like that anymore!” Theodosia snarled, “That darkness you treasure so much has destroyed my family!”

“But you can save it! You can save your family and all you have to do is say yes. Give in to the Dark Lord. Give into the darkness.”

“What if I say no?” Theodosia asked somewhat breathlessly.  

The man’s voice turned to stone. “Then there will be consequences.”

“What consequences? I’ve already lost everything.”

The man’s voice turned to stone and got eerily quiet. Harry leaned forward as far as he could to listen without being seen. “You may think you’ve lost everything but you haven’t. You’re family maybe in shatters, but wouldn’t it be worse if they let’s say mysteriously disappeared? What about your little sister? Bad things happen when naive little girls enter the big, bad world.”

“Fuck you!” Theodosia choked off.

“And what about your little boy toy?” the man said with a little chuckle.

“Boy toy? What the fuck are you talking about?”

Harry could practically hear the Death Eater rolling his eyes. “Please. We all know about your little tryst with that pathetic excuse of a pureblood.”

“Oh. Him. You can do whatever you want with him. I don’t care if you torture him or not! Hell, I’ll even help you!” Theodosia tried to sound convincing but she was too tense. Harry knew she wasn’t telling the truth, and so did the Death Eater.

“Now, now, now. I think we both know you’re lying. A lot of bad things will happen to him if you do anything stupid. He may be a pureblood, but he’s weak, nothing like the rest of his family. He’s expendable.”

“You wouldn’t dare do anything to one of your own.”

“That’s not how it works. The Dark Lord can do anything to anyone. Even your precious little pet. Can you imagine his expression? When he finds out the reason he’s being tortured is because you didn’t join us? He’ll be devastated.”

“His parents-”

“Will never know the truth. They’ll think their precious little son was tortured, killed, even violated by those filthy muggles. It’ll cause a riot among the purebloods, thinking that one of our own was killed by such filth. The movement will grow, but no one will know what truly happened,” there was a pause before the Death Eater whispered, “Except for your poor little boy toy. He’ll know exactly why he’s being tortured. His last thoughts will be cursing the day he met you. He’ll grow to hate you, to curse your name. We’ll break him body, mind, and soul until there’s nothingleft. And then we’ll kill him.”

Theodosia sobbed. “You wouldn’t!”

“Don’t worry, Theodosia. You’ll still have his heart. Only it will be a bit bloodier on your pillow than in his body.”

A hysterical sob escaped Theodosia’s lips. Quiet footsteps made their way down the hall away from the sobbing girl and Harry’s hiding spot. “Decide wisely, BelleRose. I would hate for you to have to explain to his parents how you ended up with his heart.”

Harry listened as the Death Eater walked away. He listened silently as the situation finally hit Theodosia. Furious shrieks filled the air, and Harry hurriedly put up silencing charms so that the noise wouldn’t attract anyone. The shrieks subsided into hiccuping sobs. “Why? Why me?” she whispered to herself.

Harry waited a few moments for her to calm down, knowing she wouldn’t want to be seen in  the middle of an emotional breakdown. He waited until her sobs had turned into quiet hiccups before stepping around the corner.

Theodosia was curled up on the ground, head hung low. Harry carefully walked over to her, making sure she could hear him and didn’t think he was sneaking up on her. Theodosia’s head shot up, and she quickly wiped her eyes.

“He-hey, Hadrian! It’s s-so great to see you! I was afraid you weren’t going to come.”

Hadrian carefully knelt down beside her. “You okay, Theo?”

“Of course! I’m j-just peachy! Why wouldn’t I be?” She said trying to cover up the fact she had been crying.

Harry nervously fiddled with his hands. He hoped what he was about to say didn’t come up to bite him in the ass. “Um, listen, Theodosia. I heard what that guy said to you.”

Her eyes widen and she giggled nervously. “W-what do you mean?”

“I heard that guy threatening you and your family. I just want you to know you don’t have to join him! There are ways to protect your family-”

Theodosia quickly stood up and smoothed out her uniform. “I appreciate the fact that you want to help Hadrian, but I can handle it. Okay?”

Harry winced recognizing that tone of voice. No matter what he would say Theodosia wouldn’t let him help. “Just know I’m here if you need anything.”

Theodosia mumbled something before shaking her head and smiling a fake smile. “So, where are we going to practise?”

Harry forced grinned and stood up. If she wanted to ignore the situation then he would let her. For now. “Don’t worry, you’re going to love it!”

He grabbed her hand and drug her towards the section of wall the Room of Requirement was. “Watch this!”

He began to pace back and forth in front of the wall. We need a place where we can safely practise healing-

“What are you doing?”

Harry hushed her and went back to pacing. We need a place where we can safely practise healing. We need a place where we can safely practise healing. Harry watched Theodosia as she stared in awe as lines etched themselves into the wall forming an intricate design on the large doors. “What...what is this?”

“This is the Room of Requirements,” Harry said as she dramatically opened the door.

Theodosia gasped as she entered the room. Books on healing lined three of the four walls while the fourth wall had shelves and shelves of potions that Harry knew could probably heal almost any ailment. There was a basket of bandages, gauze, and tape by each of the couches and chairs that surrounded the fire. There was even a hospital bed that looked like it belonged in Madame Pomfrey’s hospital wing. Beside the bed was a table that had a small sewing kit and what Harry thought was a few numbing potions.

“This is amazing,” Theodosia exclaimed. She began to scan the shelves of books before she snatched one up. “It even has muggle healing methods! Hadrian, this is amazing! How did you ever find this place?”

Harry shrugged sheepishly. “Ahh, you know, exploring and all that.”

“How do you keep finding these places? First the kitchens, now this! I’ve been going here for years and have never found these places, yet you’ve only been here a week and you have. It’s just not fair!”

“What can I say? I just have a knack for finding things.”

Theodosia pouted. “You should have been a Hufflepuff.”

Harry laughed. “I’ve been told I should have been sorted into many different houses, but I have never been told I should have been sorted into Hufflepuff.”

“Well, you should’ve been,” Theodosia grumbled.

Harry clapped his hands and bounced slightly on his heels. “So what exactly do you know? How far have you gotten into magical healing? Have you learned any muggle remedies at all?”

“Well, I haven’t gotten very far in magical healing. It’s a hard subject to self-teach, you know? And I never even thought about learning muggle healing so I don’t know anything about it.”

Harry nodded slowly and began to plan out what he was going to teach her for the next few meetings. “Okay, so first you need to learn how to create bandages. Have you already learned that?” Theodosia shook her head. “This is how you do it then…” Harry went on to explain the spell and how to perform it, his mind not fully on the task at hand. He couldn’t help it. He couldn’t stop worrying about the conversation he had heard earlier.

Harry hadn’t realized Theodosia was a pureblood. In fact, he hadn’t recognized the BelleRose name at all. Nobody from his time had the BelleRose name nor did anybody speak of the BelleRose family. Harry was beginning to worry about his newly acquired friend. Even if she had changed her maiden name if she got married, the BelleRose name wouldn’t have been lost. All the purebloods kept track of their family tree almost religiously. The fact that he hadn’t even heard of the BelleRose family was worrying, especially when it sounded like they had been a very influential family even more so than the Malfoys. Harry didn’t want to think about why that might be.

It didn’t help that he was also worried about the entire conversation Theodosia had had with the mysterious Death Eater. She and her loved ones were being threatened because she didn’t want to join Voldemort, and Harry wasn’t sure how he could help without her letting him. She seemed determined to do this on her own and Harry knew how this would end. After all, he had seen Draco try to do the same thing only to eventually crumble to the Dark Lord’s will. Harry just hoped she would let him help eventually, in the meantime he would teach her what he knew about healing and hope she would never have to use any of it.