A Paradox In Time

Placing Anchors

October 10th, 1981

"So let me get this right in my head, before I ask you to explain to me again," Sirius Black began, placing his coffee cup down with exasperated movements. He rubbed his temples and scowled at James again. "You're trying to tell me that you saw something in a time memory, a vision of the future?"

"Yes," James Potter confirmed.

"And the memory came from some witch who arrived here from the future?" Sirius went on.

"Again, yes," James nodded

"A future where that little boy," Sirius continued, pointing at baby Harry who, at that moment, was zooming up and down the living room on his toy broom, "Where your son ... married a Weasley girl?"

"Sort of correct," James grinned. "The witch from the future claimed to be Harry's wife. But her reality was being altered to the become the future you just described. She was trying to work out what was happening, to save herself, her marriage, Harry and their children."

"Okay. Now, far be it from me to be the voice of reason and point out the bleedin' obvious," Sirius twittered. "But ... you know that's impossible, don't you? A Weasley girl? You're having me on!"

"I'm being serious," James argued back. "This is my serious face."

He made an exaggerated sort of grimace to demonstrate his point.

"Well, this is my Sirius face," Sirius smirked. "And I'm asking if you've finally lost your mind? Your son cannot marry a Weasley girl!"

"Ah! At last! Something we agree on!" James hooted.

At that moment Harry seemed to agree, too. Or, at least, he made some grunting noises from the top end of the room.

"Urgh! Urgh! No, no! Dada! Harry stuck! Help!"

James looked over fondly, for Harry had gotten himself jammed in the corner of the room. His toy broom was knocking incessantly against the walls, with Harry unable to turn to freedom. James got up and trotted over, setting Harry facing back down the room again.

"There you go, son," James hummed. "Go for it!"

"Weeeeee!" Harry cried, as he zoomed off towards the giant skeleton in the other corner of the living room.

"We might agree," Sirius went on. "But the reasons are very different. Harry can't marry a Weasley girl, not because there's anything wrong with the family ... but more that they can't have daughters. They aren't allowed them. You know the story."

"Yes, yes, we all sat through Binns' lecture at Hogwarts," James replied dismissively. "Gellert Grindelwald promised all families who supported his conquest attempt that they would be rewarded by prominence in his new Britain, that they would be leaders in a future of the Greater Good. A very dark future as he promised. That was until this gentleman handed old Gellert his behind on a silver platter."

Dumbledore smiled benignly and placed his cup of Earl Grey down onto its saucer with a little clink. "I do not believe it is written on my Chocolate Frog card in quite the same way. And I consider achieving Frog immortality to be one of my crowning achievements. So, let us stick to the facts."

"The facts being that you defeated Grindelwald before he was able to cross the English Channel," James went on, tipping his own teacup in a gesture of respectful salute. "And then the families who were waiting to welcome him were rightly and summarily punished, the Weasleys chief amongst them."