The Blackthorns

*~*~* Gringotts, October 31, 1973 *~*~*

Harry and Hermoine sat on their trunks trying to entertain a fussy, tired Teddy. Rognar finished reading his letter. "You're supposed to have a message for me."

"A warning really," Harry said. "At some point in the future and I'm not sure when just between now and Halloween 1981, Bellatrix LeStrange will bring a horocrux, I think you called it a corrupted soul shard, and store it in her vault. It tainted everything in the vault with its miasma, including the stone of the vault itself. It was beginning to corrupt the guards."

Rognar nodded. He had written the warning to himself and the boy had agreed with what had been said. These two were firmly aligned with what is quaintly called "the Light" by wizards. But they are both aware of how to fight evil and not just darkness. The letter had suggested that Blackthorn was ideal.

"I believe a library of memories was sent with you. May I view them?"

"Yes," Harry nodded soberly and he opened one of the three trunks and disappeared momentarily before returning with a box. He opened it and began pulling out tray after tray of memory vials. "They are charmed to show in chronological order and return to their proper containers."

"Some of them aren't very nice," Hermoine warned gently as she bounced Teddy on her knee. She looked up at him with haunted eyes. "Fair warning."

"Thank you, miss...," he trailed off realizing he hadn't gotten their names.

"Oh, I'm sorry! How rude of us. Of course, you don't know who we are! We haven't even been born yet!" Hermoine blushed. "I'm Hermione, this little man is Teddy."

"And I'm Harry Potter."

"You have a beautiful family. I congratulate you, but how bad was it that you brought your young wife and child this far into the past?"

Harry barked a laugh and then looked sadly at Rognar. "Hermoine is my blood adopted sister. Teddy is my godson. We're all orphans in some form or another."

Rognar blinked. Blood adoption. Apparently, this is what made him think of that solution in the future. Then the comment filtered through his racing brain. All three of them were alone.

"Teddy is more my son than my godson. You were supposed to include instructions for a way for me to do that."

"I did," Rognar nodded. Harry took a deep breath and visibly relaxed.

"Bolgrod, please see our visitors and their trunks to a private room. Golda, find me a pensieve and Borgrad," Rognar issued commands picking up one of the vials. It was marked "the cupboard".

*~*~*~*

Rognar emerged from the memories shaken and pale. The things he had seen made him furious, terrified, and heartbroken in turns. Abuse and abandonment. Love and loss.

He now understood the plea of his future self. De-aging them would allow them precious time in peace to recover. The sight of Hogwarts castle in virtual ruins...the feel of the soul shard calling out. He watched it as an outsider. Those two had participated in all of it in some form or fashion.

He had to get Evan on board with this. He checked the time. Hopefully, he hadn't gotten tired of waiting and left.

*~*~*~*

He hadn't left. And by some extraordinary stroke of good fortune, his Quinn was with him. Perhaps before All Saints Day, it could all be cleared up. Rognar was waiting for Quinn and Evan to come out of the memories.

When they did, Evan Blackthorn was the personification of righteous fury. His fists clenched repeatedly and his queer aqua-colored eyes practically glowed with power. Quinn broke into great, wracking, body-shaking sobs. Evan got enough control at that to comfort her.