HP/LOTM: Visionary - 434

Chapter 434: Back to the Future, Ron Gets Smacked by a Cat

"Wow, did someone wring you dry? What happened to you?" Lada said bluntly.

"Ahem. Something like that. A very persistent little minx," the Director said, half joking.

"So, what are you really here for?" Arthursi asked.

She was not so easy to fob off. If he had come in person, he had a reason.

"Nothing much. Just thought I would invite you to watch His Awakening," the Director said, making a courteous little gesture.

"We are in," they said together.

Neither dragon hesitated. They grabbed the Director and dove straight into the Sea of Consciousness, gliding toward Byberil village.

"So this is how you travel through the Sea," the Director said from Lada’s back, sounding for all the world like a tourist.

"Aiden never brought you out here?" Lada asked, curious.

"No. He is terribly stingy."

"Do not badmouth him, or I will drop you," Lada said, giving her body a warning shake.

The Director muttered under his breath and wisely shut up.

A moment later, the three of them rose from the Sea and surfaced on the roof of a house in Byberil.

Down below, Remus, following Eleanor’s last wishes, had entered the old Prewett Manor and was carrying a baby out in his arms.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Green light flew at him.

Remus threw himself flat, taking the curse by inches. On the roof, silver threads sprang into being in Lada and Arthursi’s hands.

"Not yet," the Director said, catching both of their wrists.

If they let loose now, the last relic of the Prewetts would be blown to dust.

Arthur stepped out of the dark, stunned Mulciber with a single spell, and took baby Aiden from Remus’ arms.

Lada and Arthursi padded over to the fallen Death Eater. Two sets of dragon claws rested lightly against his throat.

"So this one’s really called Mulciber, is he?" a pleasant teenage voice said from inside Arthursi.

She stiffened.

A transparent phantom peeled itself out of her. Only then did Arthursi realise a little stowaway had been hiding all along on the island of her thoughts.

"Do not look at me like that. It was to keep you safe. Lada has one too," the virtual persona said, jerking its chin at the cat.

A shadow drifted out of Lada as well.

The two phantoms merged into one.

A faintly translucent Aiden floated in front of them.

"Not going to kill him?" Arthursi said. She knew why Aiden had stepped in.

"No. He has had his due in the future. I am more surprised to find Rookwood on that list. I am going to need an explanation for that, my dear Weasley Director," Aiden said, flicking a glance at the man in question.

The Director had his back turned and was whistling at the sky.

"He was going to hit your net sooner or later. No need to shove you into the Thirteenth Protocol’s line of sight too early," he said airily.

That only made the hole in his story bigger.

"Oh? So you even know He exists," Aiden said, lifting a brow.

"I found out just now. Eleanor sent word before she sacrificed herself," the Director said with a sigh, shoulders slumping.

“​No wonder everyone at the Department of Mysteries knows me so well,” Aiden said, easing the mood away from that raw edge. “They were my mother’s colleagues.”

"Enough. You have finished your promotions. Get back to your own era. You want the Thirteenth’s hand reaching into time itself?" the Director said.

The more he talked to Manipulators, the more he gave away. Better to bundle them off.

Aiden was happy enough with the surrender and did not press him.

He turned to Arthursi and Lada. "You can sleep in the Prewett Manor. Fifth floor, the sealed room."

With that reminder, the virtual Aiden faded. The Director’s projection went with him.

Arthursi and Lada slipped back into the Sea of Consciousness and swam toward the manor.

"Rude out-of-towners. Not even a goodbye," the Director said to himself, then Apparated away.

……

1997, Avalon.

Aiden felt the last traces of his virtual selves fade into the past. He lifted his head.

"Oliver. Oliver," he called.

The writer’s will tore through the Sea like a gale.

"For hell’s sake, are you going to bring the whole Department down again?" Oliver said, popping into view and planting a hard kick in the dragon’s side.

He hopped on one foot, clutching his toes.

"Sorry. Need you to fetch someone from the Prewett Manor. I will open the wards for you," Aiden said, cocking his head.

"Having you as a friend is the worst luck I have ever had," Oliver grumbled.

His feet still carried him into the ripples of Apparition.

In Byberil, at the old Prewett Manor, Oliver did as Aiden had told him and opened the iron door at the corner of the fifth floor.

Twin surges of dragon might speared through him. Dreams billowed outward, chewing at reality and pushing aside the rules of the physical world.

"This is not my house. I will not mind if you tear it apart," Oliver said.

He leaned against the doorframe, voice lazy.

The two dreamers inside snapped awake at once. The invading dream collapsed back in on itself.

A lady stepped out, cat in her arms.

"Thank you," Arthursi said.

She vanished with a twist on the spot. Knockturn Alley still needed dealing with.

That left Lada and Oliver staring at one another.

"Coming to find Aiden with me?" Oliver asked.

"No. I need to deal with the people outside for him," Lada said.

She raised a hind leg and scratched behind one ear.

Then she pounced.

Her body blurred to mist and slid straight through the manor’s floor.

Outside, she spotted the target at a glance. A shock of red hair, skulking around the edge of the property.

Ron Weasley.

He lurked by the corner of another house, craning his neck and peering about. Thanks to the Fidelius Charm, he could not fix the manor’s true position.

Lada padded up behind him, steps light and elegant.

"Looking for something, boy?" she said.

Ron jerked so hard he nearly leapt out of his skin.

"Aah!"

He flopped backwards and landed hard. A second later, he felt a small body land on his chest.

"Ron Weasley," Lada said, gazing down at him.

"Lada—"

He got as far as her name before her paw flashed out.

The cat punch hurled him backwards. He rolled across the ground and slammed into the wall.

His head rang, but that was with Lada holding back. If she had not, Ron would already be wandering the misty dreamscapes, keeping his forebears company.