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Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Star Trek. For that matter, I don't own much of anything except a lot of debt. If I could claim the two series and all their spin-offs, I would. So please don't sic the law demons on me ok?


Chapter 10: Letters From the Past

The envelope unsealed itself and a letter came out of it. Harry opened the letter and began to read. Surprisingly enough, the letter wasn’t from Remus after all.

7 July 1997
Dear Harry,

This is Hermione writing you; you and I are the only ones left who would know the phrase to access the Marauder's map. It took me all of sixth year to figure out those charms. If you're reading this, then Luna was right and I was wrong. You read that correctly; Hermione is admitting that she was wrong about something.

You can stop laughing now. Really, Harry, stop laughing.

Harry chuckled at Hermione's admonishment. It took him a few moments to calm down. Once he did, he continued to read.

Now that that's out of your system, let me explain why I'm writing this letter and how you got it.

When we were in the Department of Mysteries, something happened. You may have figured it out already but just in case you haven't, I'll give you the short explanation.

You were involved in an incident involving the Sands of Time. It is the same substance used in time turners, and is highly magical. Somehow, you were dusted with some unharnessed sand. Personally, I believe that it came from the bell jar that had the Phoenix in it, but I will never be sure. The long and the short of it is this: when you started to channel magic for a spell with the sand on you, it reacted and pulled you out of time.

Unfortunately, we didn't know when you were. Dumbledore believed that you went backwards in time, as the time turners are only able to send people backwards. Neville, Ron, Ginny and I pretty much believed the same. We searched historical records for some indication of when you ended up, but never found anything.

Luna claims that you went forward in time. And since you are now reading this letter, she must have been right. I am sending a copy of this letter to everyone I can think of -- the Weasleys, Dumbledore, Neville, Luna, and all the members of the Order -- so you'll get it no matter who you manage to contact. All of us hope that, whenever you end up, you'll get training to deal with Voldemort once and for all.

Now for the bad news. Apparently that prophecy you had with you says that you're the only one that can kill Voldemort. In addition to that, Dumbledore says that Tom went and created several items called Horcruxes. They are apparently very black magic. I'm not going to go into the details of how they are created, but the end result is that his soul is anchored to Earth and cannot die, unless you destroy the anchors first. Dumbledore believes he has identified all but one. The first one was his diary. You already took care of that one back in our second year. The second was the Slytherin family ring. Dumbledore and Neville went to retrieve that one during our sixth year. Neville was able to prevent the headmaster from being cursed by the protections on it, but lost an arm in the process. That one has also been destroyed.

The third Horcrux was a locket. Ron was killed while attempting to retrieve a decoy. The real locket still hasn't been found but we think it's somewhere inside Sirius' old house. The last anchors are a cup once owned by Helga Hufflepuff, Voldemort's familiar, Nagini, and Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem. Those are the ones we positively identified. Dumbledore claims there is at least one more, but won't tell us what it might be.

We believe that the cup is in one of the death eaters' vaults inside Gringotts, but as of this writing, we can't be sure. Nagini is with Voldemort, and Dumbledore thinks that Diadem is somewhere in Hogwarts itself. We have gone all over the castle and can't find it, but Dumbledore firmly believes it and won't explain why at this time. As much as I respect the Headmaster, he certainly plays his cards close to the vest.

One other person has died since you vanished. Sirius was killed by Bellatrix Lestrange about ten minutes after you vanished. Dumbledore lead a rescue party to save us, and Bellatrix somehow managed to knock Sirius through a stone arch with a veil over it called the Veil of Death. Dumbledore told us it is a gateway to the dead, but one way only. The ministry used it as an execution device for hundreds of years, but as far as anyone knows it's been there for thousands of years. Everyone here wishes that it hadn't happened, but I do feel your loss.

Harry stopped reading. Sirius had been killed trying to rescue him and it felt like a kick in the stomach. He knew that his godfather must have been dead for over two hundred years, but to find out that he went well before his time still hurt a lot.

Now for the last bit of news. Things in England have gone downhill since you left. Some Death Eaters got into Hogwarts at the end of our sixth year somehow, trying to assassinate Dumbledore. He escaped, but by the next September, Voldemort had pretty much taken over and Dumbledore had been sacked, again. I wasn't able to go back for my last year at Hogwarts.

I can see the writing on the wall for Muggleborns like myself, and Half-bloods like Seamus and Hagrid. I've urged as many people to leave as soon as possible but some are going to stay and try to keep under the radar, so to speak. There is a resistance to the Pureblood agenda forming, but I can't stay. If you and Ron were still here, still fighting, then nothing could make me leave. But you're lost somewhere in time, and Ron's dead. You were my brother, and Ron was more. Even though we were complete opposites, I loved him, and now he's gone.

To conclude this, my parents and I are moving to Australia and I'm not coming back to the land of my birth until either you come back to take up the fight, or the current regime is toppled and I can walk down the street without worrying about being killed for what I am.

Live your life to the fullest and find someone special to spend it with.

Love,
Hermione Jane Granger

P.S. If Voldemort is still around, kill that Bloody Wanker for all of us.

Harry quietly refolded the letter and placed it back in the envelope. The envelope resealed itself and the script rearranged back to the original question.

"I'm so sorry Harry," Hui whispered. She had been reading Hermione's letter with Harry and realized that for him these people had been alive just a few years ago and he knew them personally.

"No, it's okay. I made my peace about my friends a while back. Finding out how Sirius died hurts, but I know that he probably went smiling, thinking he was going to save me. That was Sirius: Act first, think later. It's funny, this letter explains what happened to my closest friends, but doesn't really say what happened later. I guess Hermione wasn't able to go back after she left. It would explain the photo I saw of her a few years ago, graduating from a university in Australia. Oh well, dwelling on the past isn't going to help now, I'm going to take her up on last request. If for nothing else, should they be able to look in on me from heaven, I'm not going to take the chance on getting haunted by them for not living my life. Now, let's see about this other envelope."

Harry gently placed the first envelope back in the book and took out the second. Like the first, it too had a question.

Did you read the first letter?

Harry looked at the question for a moment and then answered "Yes."

Just like the first letter, the script reformed itself to ask a second question.

Where are the Crumple-horned Snorkacks found?

Harry snickered at that question. He looked at Hui. "This letter has got to be from your grandmum. Only she would ask a question like that."

Harry turned his attention back to the letter and stated clearly. "Sweden."

What he didn't expect was a third question to form.

What color is your shirt?

Hui and Harry looked at the letter then each other. "What color is my shirt? What sort of question is that?" they both asked at the same time.

Harry thought for a moment and then voiced a suspicion that he had held about Luna.

"Hui, I'm going out on a limb here so bear with me. When I knew Luna, she was always an odd duck. Not in a bad way, mind you, but it was almost like she was experiencing reality differently. Now, back when I was going to Hogwarts, the Divination teacher was a loon that always kept predicting my death. Personally, I always thought she was on something, but as far as I know she only had two real predictions. So my views on the subject are colored. But what if Luna really was a seer? Could she have seen this? I'm going take a chance and guess that she did have some sort of vision and saw us here, today. Here goes nothing."

Harry refocused his attention to the envelope. Both of them were wearing their cadet uniforms which had gray tunics and black pants. Harry answered the question carefully. "Gray."

The envelope unsealed itself and Harry carefully extracted the letter.

5 August 2070

Dear Harry,

Hi Harry, how are things going there? This is Luna, if you haven't guessed. The wrackspurts asked me to write you now and, well, you know me. If they ask, I'll do it. Is one of my great granddaughters next to you? I think she was when you opened this. If she's not, go get her; I've got something to ask her. I'll wait for a moment while you go get her.

Hi great granddaughter! This is your nutty great-grandmum. I've got a question for you. Are you looking after Harry? You should be. Make sure he eats enough and keeps out of trouble. Make sure if he gets hurt, he goes and sees a healer. He can be stubborn that way. Is he getting moody again? If he's being a sourpuss again, tell him that the Nargles are coming to get him, then pinch his cute butt. Before you say anything, just look at his butt and start blushing. I'm 89, I can say these things and no one's going to stop me now.

Hui was blushing at Luna's written antics while Harry was snickering at Hui's expense and at Luna just being Luna.

Okay you two, I need to be focused here for a moment. Oh, who am I kidding, when have I ever been focused? Go ahead and laugh Harry, it's okay and you need to laugh more. You're so handsome when you do.

I'm sure that you know what has happened by now, so I'm not going to go sic the nebelwoofers on you about that. In case you’re wondering, Hermione somehow figured out the charms on some map she had and this password thing was one of them. Pretty cool but she needs to get out and relax more. What you do need to know is this: the Bumblebee's sting clipped Quetzalcoatls' wings. Heliopath nests took care of all but three of the pins. To get to the serpent's son, remember your childhood protection, find the plaque and touch the Bumblebee's wings. He'll get you to the arena. You can trust this with your life, because the fanged one helped.

All right you two, I need to go get your great grandfather out of trouble. He's wrestling jackalopes without Cheese-whiz again.

Now don't forget, you both look better in black and maroon. Harry, don't get mad at her, she had your best interests at heart and trust the Hornswaggler, he'll never tell.

Great-Granddaughter, it'll happen when you least expect it so don't worry, you'll be very happy.

I'll talk to you two later.

Luna

Harry reached for the PADD that was stuck to his belt. He took it out and began to copy the information that was in Luna's letter.

"Harry, why are you copying that down? We can take the letter with us," asked Hui.

Harry kept writing and responded "No, we can't. This needs to stay with the book. It's part of your family legacy. Now, based on the tone and how I remember Luna, it's pretty clear that I was right: she was a seer. I'm guessing that she saw multiple realities or futures -- hell, maybe even dimensions -- while existing in ours. It looks like she was able to develop some semblance of control of the ability. Some of this is pretty obvious, but other parts are going to take time to figure out. Like this last part. I have no clue as to what she's going on about. Maroon and black? Who is she talking about? Trust the Hornswaggler? It's stuff like that we need time to figure out. I'm assuming some sorts of predictions, but about what? If we can figure out what she's referring to, we'll be prepared for the events when they occur."

"Well, okay. I can see your point. I don't necessarily agree with not taking the letter. But I can understand why you say it needs to stay with the book."

Hui looked at her watch and whistled. "Damn, it's lunchtime. I wasn't expecting to spend this much time here today. You want to have lunch here?"

Harry nodded while finishing off his transcription. He refolded the letter and placed it back in the envelope. Just like the first letter, it resealed itself and the question reset.

During lunch Harry spent some time chatting with Hui's grandfather. He was quite the joker, reminding Harry nostalgically of Sirius at times. After laughing at yet another off-color joke, Harry shook his head. "Mickey, you sure aren't what I would have expected."

"How so?" the older man asked curiously.

"Well, I always thought a Chinese grandfather would be...you know, all mystical and wise beyond understanding."

Mickey blinked, a surprised look on his face, and burst out laughing.

"Jesus, Harry, after all we dumped in your lap and you go and say that. I love it, I need the laughter. Well, just between you and me, you've been watching too many old movies. It's all an act for the tourists and holo crews. That 'Confucius says' crap is a line of tripe. Most people haven't read Confucius. I sure as hell didn't. But if you really think about it, we're just giving you some common sense advice that's been made up to sound mystical. Next time you see some old Chinese guy trying the mystical wise man act, tell the old fartknocker to lay off the BS and just say what he means." Mickey moved off to another customer's table, still chortling with mirth.

After lunch, Harry and Hui headed back to towards the Academy. Neither one wanted to sign back in from pass just yet, but felt it would be best to be heading back that way. Walking along the waterfront, Harry was admiring the houses built along the shoreline as well as the small boats that were tied up along in the various marinas along their route.

After admiring a particularly old yet new-looking home, Harry said "You know, it's funny. Back when wizards and witches first started trying to keep themselves separate, it made sense. They were afraid that "normal" people, Muggles, were still in the dark ages and would either be hunting them down with torches and pitchforks or be clamoring for them to use magic to fix all the worlds problems. Looking back, I can understand that mindset to a point, but if the idiots in charge back in my time had opened their eyes and tried to integrate with the Muggle world, I don't think all the destruction would have happened. Even if Col. Green couldn't have been stopped, I wonder if the wizarding world would have been able to keep the planet from falling as far as it did."

"Introspection, Harry? You don't seem the type. You're more of a 'charge into places where angels fear to tread' type of person, as far as I can tell." said Hui after thinking a moment about Harry's statement.

"Yeah, I am to a certain extent. Hermione called it my "people saving thing." I'm just applying some of what we've been going over in Poli-Sci to what I know happened to wizarding society. One day we're going to be out in the fleet, and being able to think about a problem first before leaping in with both feet may not be a half-bad thing." said Harry.

"Harry, you might want to talk with Professor Manz about it. Remember, he did a bunch of work regarding advanced societies interfering with more primitive ones. If I remember correctly, he's also on the prime directive commission. He's probably the best one for coming up with a logical solution to what could have been."

"You're right. I'll go set up an appointment to ask him about that type of scenario."

The two of them continued to walk along the waterfront. As the sun began to dip towards the horizon, they finally realized the time and caught a taxi back to the Academy.

Once they signed back into the company, Hui looked at Harry and said "Potter, I had a good time on pass. We should do it again sometime."

Harry blinked a few times before responding. "You know, when you're right, you're right Johansson. We probably should one of these days. I'd like to see more of the city. Well, see you later."

Hui moved off but looked over her shoulder at Harry heading up the stairs to his room. She smiled and muttered to herself , "Grandma was right, he does have a cute butt."