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Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 213: The Real Source of the Anomaly
"Albus Dumbledore likes to wear pink panties," Harry proclaimed.
"That is incorr-" The gargoyle was interrupted when the mechanism activated, revealing the familiar set of stairs.
He quickly spotted the Headmaster sitting behind his desk with a deep frown on his face.
"You are aware that I can hear what people say to the gargoyle, right?"
"Do you?" He knew that.
"I didn't mean to be rude; it was just some rumor I heard recently and was wondering…"
"That was very childish," the Headmaster admonished him.
"I would not have to do that if you just let me Apparate into your office," Harry told him.
"Out of the question…I could be in the middle of a meeting with someone. How do you expect me to explain that one of my students can use Apparition inside the castle?"
"Fine…" He admitted he had a point.
"What did you call me for? I was… erm… I was resting in my room."
"I noticed a commotion at the lake just moments ago," Dumbledore gave him a knowing look.
"I know nothing about that…" Harry averted his eyes away.
"I also saw a large fire in the distance," the Headmaster added.
"Or that."
"The school is nearly empty, but I hope you are more mindful during your… 'practices.' I trust you didn't break anything at least."
"So… can we get to the point? I would like to get some rest," said Harry, trying to change the topic.
"I thought you were already resting," Dumbledore said with a coy smile.
"Please, sit down. I have news from Professor Silverbell. He has finished analyzing all the convergence points, or at least the most important ones."
"And… did he find anything interesting?" Harry asked.
"He did. The Professor was able to learn the point in time when the 'anomaly' entered our timeline and started causing all the problems. With this information, we may be able to narrow down the possible cause and find it. The time of entrance was tw-"
"Two years and six months ago…" Harry interrupted the Headmaster.
This one gave Harry an intense look.
"That is correct… how did you know?"
"Because that is how much time has passed since I woke up in this timeline."
"So you knew," Dumbledore stated in a calm manner.
"I wasn't completely sure, but you just confirmed my suspicions. And by your lack of reaction… you also knew."
Dumbledore sighed.
"When Professor Silverbell mentioned to me the time of the entry of this anomaly… I did notice it was very close to the day you told me you woke up in this body… I was very troubled, thinking about how to tell you this…"
"Makes sense, right? You said it yourself. The way I entered into this timeline was most unusual. You said that it was not how time travel worked."
"And it isn't… what you did was not time travel… that is for sure. You died in one reality and awoke in a different one. I have gone through hundreds of books since we spoke for the first time, and I have yet to find another case with any resemblance to what occurred to you. It should not have been possible," Dumbledore said.
"No, it shouldn't. And it seems like The Universe agrees with that sentiment..." Harry commented.
"There are still many things we don't know. We should not jump to quick conclusions, Harry."
"But it is very simple, Professor. If I am 'removed'... everything will go back to normal."
Dumbledore frowned.
"I don't think it's that simple. Even the Professor admitted not to know if removing the anomaly would even solve the problem."
"Yes, well… in that scenario, we are all doomed no matter what."
"He also told me that our timeline is still somewhat stable. We aren't at risk of complete collapse yet. We have at least a few more years. He has not given up yet, and neither should we. We may find another solution. A better one…"
"Calm down, Professor. I wasn't planning on leaving so soon," Harry said.
"And I still have a Dark Lord to deal with." Even if he could solve the dimensional collapse problem, if he left now, the ones that he cared about would be doomed to die the moment Voldemort decided to return.
Neville was most definitely not up to the task, and neither was Dumbledore.
He knew this was a selfish motive. In the grand scheme of things, Voldemort was just a threat to part of the population of Magical England.
If he ever got more ambitious than that… there were many monsters out there who could put him back in his place. Harry was just doing this for the safety of his family and friends while putting the rest of the world in danger.
The him of the past would never do that…
"I am glad to hear that," Dumbledore smiled.
"Oh… before I forget. There was one more thing I had for you."
He reached into a drawer and pulled out an old wand.
Harry immediately recognized it.
"Of course…it has completely lost its power. You could say it's nothing more than a stick now… you can take it."
Harry picked up the Elder Wand. Like the Headmaster said, he could not feel any magic within the wand.
He did, however… feel a faint connection with it.
He stored the old wand inside his robes and stood up.
"If there is nothing more… I will take my leave."
Dumbledore nodded.
"If anything comes up, I will let you know."
'With this… I have once more reunited the Three Hallows. It is time I pay another visit to Mister Lovegood.'
Before leaving the office, he turned around and glanced at the Headmaster.
"I'm going to leave the school grounds for a day or two."
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