All the Time in the World

Chapter Twenty One

Harry was feeling uncomfortable. Although Tom Riddle had his face pressed against the compartment window and he was ostensibly ignoring them, Harry was keenly aware that he was scrutinizing them. He kept his face averted. Tom Riddle was likely born with Legilimency powers. Harry did not want him to read his mind and know the truth.

He, Ron and Hermione were as ready as they could be for this mission. Harry did not want to think of it as an adventure or even a quest. It was a mission. For, Dumbledore had made it very plain that their chances of success were negligible. It had taken a few months to persuade him. And even then, he had reservations.

"Time travel is not to be trifled with," he had told them. "And no one understands its precise nature as yet. Those who know will agree that the chances of time travel causing any significant impact on time is miniscule. Time is like a river and a pebble thrown in the current, does not change its course. However, you are determined to do this and the best I can do is to help so that you will come back safely."

Professor Dumbledore had given them a letter to be given to his younger self before start of term. The Dumbledore of the past had arranged for them to be admitted into Hogwarts as fifth years. The story was to be that Harry was homeschooled by his parents, who were now dead and Dumbledore was one of his trustees who decided Harry should attend Hogwarts. Both Ron and Hermione were his neighbours and friends and though their parents preferred to homeschool them, they did not want to deprive Harry of his friends during this difficult time. They were all using their real names since the chances of anyone recognizing them this far back in the past were negligible. Apart from darkening Ron's hair to a darker, almost auburn shade, their appearances too were left unchanged.

"There might be Weasleys and Potters at school, but they might not connect you with them. Even if they do, just hedge. There are so many branches in both families that all of them might not know one another."
Dumbledore had told them.

He had also told them it would be impossible for them to be sixth years since without completing OWLs, they could not make it to NEWT year. "Better be in OWL year. It will not be a repetition of what you learned earlier. For one thing, non-verbal spells in Defence against the Dark Arts started in OWL year then. Potions and DADA were more advanced in those days. After Voldemort's rise and fall, the Ministry had reservations about fifth years who were yet to pass their OWLs learning advanced Defensive spells and Potions. Most were removed from the curriculum and the remaining were moved to NEWT classes."

That, at least, was a relief, thought Harry. That they would learn some proper DADA for a change.

They all decided that they were to be residents of Ottery St. Catchpole since Ron was familiar with the history of the place though his parents had been staying there only after their marriage. There had been no Weasleys living there before that. So, the chances of anyone connecting them with the Weasley or Potter pureblood families were remote. And there were no Grangers of note among the old wizarding families.

Since their mission was related to Voldemort, Hermione was pretending to be a half-blood instead of a muggle-born. Of course, Harry thought, the Voldemort they knew might not have differentiated much between the two, but this boy sitting in front of them might. If not, they might as well pack up and leave. Harry was not ready to put his best friend in danger, not for a promise given to a ghost, not for his own selfish reasons for wanting to stop Tom Riddle from becoming Lord Voldemort.

The boy in front of him was different from the memories Harry had of him. The Tom Riddle Harry remembered was the inmate of an orphanage and it showed. The boy sitting in front of them was obviously used to money. He had a Prefect's badge pinned on to the front of robes that were evidently new and expensive. Harry wondered if he would have to deal with someone who combined Malfoy with Voldemort. It was not an enticing combination. The plan was becoming less and less appealing to Harry, the longer they sat in that compartment with the younger boy.

At least, thought he, Tom Riddle in this timeline was younger to them. Dumbledore had examined the device and had told them that it appeared to be configured to take them back to the time just before term started for Riddle's fifth year.

"That was the year he opened the Chamber of Secrets!" Harry had exclaimed.

"And committed his first murder by killing Myrtle," Dumbledore had said gravely. "Whoever sent Merope here with the device was hoping that we would be able to stop it. And thereby, stop him from becoming Voldemort."

"But don't you think we can, Professor?" Hermione had asked, worried.

"The nature of time, Miss Granger, is beyond our understanding. If changing the past and by extension the present, were as simple as using a time turner or the Transtemporal, why has it never succeeded? No, Miss Granger, I have to be honest here. I do not trust this endeavour will be fruitful. But you three have to try this, if only to learn a lesson the hard way."

We will succeed, thought Harry. We have to. There was no other alternative.