pt. 2
Harry woke slowly, dimly returning to consciousness. Sitting up slowly, he held a hand to his pounding head.
"What a nightmare," he groaned aloud, eyes still closed and blurry.
{("Indeed,")} Agreed a soft, bell-like voice that echoed softly.
Harry jerked and turned towards the sound.
Before the bed sat a small boy all in white. Long white hair, white, or rather-- silver irises, pale skin and lashes. The pale boy was rather effeminate, but somehow Harry knew it was, in truth male.
{("A right mess,"}) the strange youth continued, sipping slowly at a delicate porcelain tea cup. The boy looked ghostly or frozen, and had a doll-like quality in the way he seemed to glow with a rosy hue like the blush of youth.
"Right," Harry agreed, closing his eyes and counting to three before opening them again. The boy remained, seated before his bed in a full-backed and padded arm chair that dwarfed him in size.
{("Do you like lavender?")} He asked conversationally.
Harry blinked, slowly.
"I-I suppose."
The boy nodded, and little gold sparkles bloomed outwards from his form, becoming golden butterflies. A mass of gold butterflies, all trailing sparkles and dust, settled on his lap before twinkling away. In their place was a simple porcelain cup on a tea plate, lavender tea and steam rising just above the gold-lined rim.
"Ah... uh... thanks, I guess," Harry muttered, leaning down as he lifted the cup to his lips. It was warm, soothing, and gently floral. It wet his mouth and calmed his racing mind. Harry sighed deeply afterwards, feeling better.
{("Better, yes?")} the mysterious boy said softly, as though he knew that it would help. Harry supposed it made sense if he had known; after all, he was mostly certain that the boy before him wasn't human.
{("Kronos,")} the boy interrupted with his soft, dream-like voice.
"What?"
{("I am Kronos, but I am also Time,")} the boy repeated in vague tones. {("We've met before.")}
Harry blinked slowly and then nodded. "Yeah, I suppose I have. Though last time was a bit..."
Kronos nodded, sleek white hair swaying with the motion. {("It was,")} he agreed. {("But things have changed, so I am going to give you...")}
He suddenly trailed off, going still and silent. All of his actions were slow, almost sleepy in their quality. Kronos didn't move a muscle or a hair for so long, Harry began to fidget.
"To give me?" He prompted after several minutes had passed.
Gradually and with great difficulty, Kronos blinked, coming back to the situation with a small smile.
{("Yes,")} he agreed once more. {("To give you an update.")}
Harry stared at the other, his expression twisting in confusion.
"Alright," he agreed, feeling like this might take some time, pun unintended. "An update?"
So it was that after several prompts and several more cups of tea, Harry convinced Time to explain himself.
{("Fate has defied Death and started a small rebellion within Our Realm; at the heart of this issue stands you. Because Fate has refused you her Blessings, she made a wager: If her champions are able to defeat you, she or one of the children of Progeny have a chance for the throne of Creation.")}
Harry closed his eyes, trying to absorb the information.
"So... how many champions are there? And is that why she tried to punish me before?"
Time nodded. {("Thantos was very angry with Moirai for that, and made her promise not to further interfere or risk her own forfeit and loss of divinity.")}
Harry traced the edges of the porcelain cup in his lap.
"Is she the reason for the accident?"
Time was silent, simply staring for a long time.
{("I believe she and her rebels had a hand in it, but just before she promised Thantos her obedience,")} Kronos said quietly. {("Death was angry, and He is currently dealing with them.")}
Harry clenched his hands around the smooth cup till his knuckles turned white. "What happened?"
{("Fate planted a seed and incited a plot in one Vernon Dursley: while the two of you were away for the day, shopping, he was making a move to whisk himself and one Dudley Dursley to the safe house he had arranged for with his sister, Marge Dursley.")}
Harry grit his teeth, sucking in a deep breath.
"And then?"
{("There was an automobile accident, a collision on the road as he tried to turn into an underpass. I believe you call this a car crash.")}
The words 'a car crash' echoed in his head, mixing with the memory of Hagrid's angry cries. 'A car crash?! A car crash kill Lily and James Potter?!'
He felt sick.
"Dudley? Vernon?"
{("Vernon Dursley left the world of the living two mortal hours ago; Dudley Dursley is damaged, and suffering great injuries, but alive.")}
Harry's breath came out in a hiss as he deflated. Was it wrong to be happy that Dudley had made it when Vernon was dead? He rather liked Dudley this time around, but didn't have any strong feelings one way or another for his Uncle.
{("The bindings,")} Kronos continued, sounding tired and dreamy.
"What?" Harry felt dazed.
{("The bindings, and the punishments given by Fate,")} Kronos continued, pouring a fifth cup for himself and then for Harry without asking.
{("You are now bound by The Chains of Fate, holding you accountable for your actions in this universe,")} Kronos continued, sipping noisily. {("You will feel the weight of these Chains, shackled to the lives you influence. If the balance shifts, or if you cause destruction in Fate's Domain, you will suffer injury or worse.")}
Kronos tilted his head to one side, staring off.
{("Contrary-wise, this allows you to know who you are directly influencing and connected to. This could be a great boon,")} he continued, slurping once more. Idly he stirred his cup with a gold spoon, banging noisily against the sides. Harry winced.
{("I will give you a cut of my hair,")} Kronos announced, brushing a nail against his long silver-y white hair and slicing the length. The locks of hair trembled before reforming into a long silk white ribbon.
{("The Veil of Time allows you to see things you could not before,")} Kronos instructed, passing the silken ribbon to Harry, who clutched it loosely in his palm. {("Time sees everything, a silent spectator to all the world so this should prove useful. And should you have need me, seek out the Clock Tower and I shall find you.")}
Harry glanced at the ribbon, then back at the primordial being.
"Thank you, I... I don't know what to say," he mumbled. Why was this diety being so helpful?
{("Say nothing,")} Kronos instructed, clapping his hands. Gold butterflies began to form, sparkling dust while spreading and building, so many butterflies fluttering about that the noise of their wings was almost deafening. The mass of gold just kept expanding, swallowing the room behind a wave of gold. {("Beware the other punishment, Harry Potter. Beware your past,")} came the final, faint words of Kronos.
"My past? What do you---"
Before Harry could finish the question, he was swallowed up beneath a moving wall of gold and the sound of wings.
"--do you mean?!" Harry shouted, sitting up in a bed in the hospital wing of Hogwarts. His heart was pounding, and he looked around in confusion.
In his closed fist there was a white, silk ribbon clutched tightly to his chest.
A voice began to speak, quietly to his left. The candlelight cast long shadows and set a somber mood.
"You know, I used to wonder what this place was like, and how it felt to walk these halls," Petunia whispered softly.
She was sitting beside the bed in which a chubby blond boy lay, still and quiet as though sleeping.
"I even wrote to the Headmaster, asking for a visit to the magical castle of Hogwarts," she continued, starting to cry at the end. "Look, Dudders! Dreams do come true. If I can make it, then you can, too. Just hold on, my precious baby, just hold on."
But Dudley was still and unresponsive on the bed. A medi-spell alert with his vitals chirped noisily beside the bed. Steady, but without change.
Harry was quiet as the adults bustled about, checking him out and trying to fill him in on the situation.
Vernon had planned to leave his wife, left a note, and took Dudley in hand. He wasn't going to put up with some 'unnatural' ideas in his house, and without Petunia's support, he gave up. It was a terrible mess, a brutal four car collision. It was honestly coincidence, an accident.
Dudley had only survived out of luck and the security of his lap belt, keeping him from being hurled from the vehicle (though he had hit his head on the windshield, and his lap belt had broken several ribs.) It was still a miracle, the amount of injuries suffered compared to the state of the vehicle.
Dudley was being cared for by Madame Pomfrey, and both Petunia and Harry were invited to stay for the rest of the summer. Petunia had managed, but was restless without anything to clean or do (The house elves did not take kindly to her offers to help).
She had then volunteered at the Hog's Head until Abeforth had hired her on part time. Both Dumbledore brothers had a soft spot for tragic women, and caved easily to her. The local Wizarding mail shop also hired her for the evening hours three nights a week. It kept her busy.
Harry's birthday was passed over, though several Professors brought him a cake, and Hagrid, Dumbledore, and Petunia sang 'happy birthday'. In the end, Harry didn't feel much like leaving the hospital wing, let alone eating cake.
Harry hadn't seen many of the professors, and he didn't try venturing often. Occasionally he snuck in the prefect's bath, but there was little harm there.
He hadn't run into Filch or Snape and wondered a bit about that, but didn't seek them out. Snape only lived at the castle during the school year, so Harry ventured that he was at Spinners End.
His first encounter with the bath had been a surprise. Harry worked hard to take his potions consistently, and he never missed a dose. However, new additions had been added to this body, and he didn't think they were from the original owner. Just to try and test this theory, he had waited before the last minute in front of the mirror for his form to change and revert.
Sure enough, bright as day, it was the same on his true body, if a bit more prominent. Circles of thorns curled around his upper arms, hugging his biceps, then mirrored below on both wrists. His chest had a large band around it mid-rib, and both his legs and ankles sported matching bands.
There were six bands in total: two on each arm and leg, his chest, and finally his throat; like a morbid or garish gothic collar.
These thorned, dark red bands looked faded, but were highly sensitive. To test a theory, Harry had tried multiple things. But it was only when he tied the white silk ribbon over his eyes, the ribbon he had woken up holding, the ribbon from Time-- that he saw results.
His Aunt Petunia had a simple pewter chain running from the red band on his left wrist. The chain connected them and faded into her chest, and Harry was troubled at it's appearance. Though it clinked noisily when he touched it, Petunia didn't react.
Dudley held a similar, if slightly smaller chain also leading to his left hand, but he had yet to find any others.
McGonagall had arrived and took him back to the Alley late in August, and he was again picking his faithful wand. If Professor McGonagall had been surprised, she didn't show it, stiff-lipped and straight-backed.
After a few fittings, Harry even managed to order some new clothes and robes for himself and his Aunt. Petunia had initially protested, but Harry insisted that it would help her fit in with her jobs. In the end she relented, but promised to pay for a gift at a later time.
Harry was not worried, and told her to save the money for the small cottage she wanted to rent in Hogsmeade.
Things were different, and decidedly tense emotionally, but Harry had hope for a normal start to the school year. Well, as normal as one could get when your name was Harry Potter.