The Last Horcrux/Hogwarts/Visit the Library
Taking the time to do something that is actually important, you head to the library. You have a strong sense that before you can really take action to change things in this timeline, you need to understand why things are different, and what effects any changes you make might have.
In your timeline, you possessed the body of one of your followers, rallied your remaining Death Eaters to your cause, and set about recruiting more Death Eaters. You took control of the Ministry of Magic, at first covertly, then openly. You were prepared to attack Hogwarts, and finally put an end to Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter, and anyone standing in your way. Before you could do so however, your Horcruxes were destroyed. Sensing that your enemies were baiting you to attack them, you decided not to attack Hogwarts after all. Before you could come up with another plan of attack though, you were yourself attacked by a large number of enemies. Your last memory was a blinding flash, and then, the Time Turner must have activated, as you woke up, finding yourself in Emily’s body, in Lestrange Manor.
You had never used a Time Turner before, and no you can understand why they are so heavily restricted. Most Time Turners take someone back a few minutes, to an hour at most. They are used to squeeze more time out of the day, rather than the change past actions. Indeed, the key theme of The Avoidance of Paradox: A Primer on Temporal Mechanics is that one simply must not make any changes in one’s own timeline, lest one risks creating a paradox. The most famous example being the thought experiment of travelling back in time and killing one’s own father. When travelling back mere minutes, one could still create a paradox however. Taking the Time Turner from one’s past self for example, making it impossible for one to travel back and therefore impossible to take the Time Turner.
Here, there is disagreement. The Avoidance of Paradox argues that one can make paradoxical changes, and argues against attempting to do so, due to dire magical consequences that are never clearly stated. Others contend that such paradoxes are logically and temporally impossible, but never state how other that arguing the paradoxical is impossible. A third line of argument is set forth in The Many Worlds which argues that when one uses a Time Turner, one travels back to an earlier point in one’s own timeline, only to make different choices, entering a different branch of time, and thus a different future. According to the Many Worlds interpretation, any potential paradoxes are resolved, because the alternate future is simply one of Many Worlds. Thus one could travel back in time to kill one’s own father, because one has travelled from a world in which one was born, and it doesn’t matter if one is not born in this timeline, because one was born in another world.
None of these theories resolve your current predicament though. You have travelled back to 1991, but discovered that things have been different since at least 1980. Bellatrix is not imprisoned in Azkaban for one. And in this timeline, she insists that she was privy to your plan to use the Time Turner, whilst in your own timeline, you had not trusted even her with your ultimate contingency. Somehow, things have changed from a time before you travelled back.
Deciding you need to reacquaint yourself with these seminal texts, you enter the Hogwarts library intent on looking for them. There is a good possibility that they are in the Restricted Section, so it is likely that you will need to return here later, using your Shadow Cloak and your Quietus Boots (once they arrive from the crafter) to take these books for yourself.
You walk into the library as if it belongs to you, and stride toward the section on Temporal Mechanics. There are remarkably few books on the topic, and just as you suspected, the books you are looking for are nowhere to be found. You glance over toward the Restricted Section and it’s locked cast iron gate. It would be a simple matter to enter it, but to do so undetected would be impossible at present. You determine to come back later at night, when you see Irma Pince, the head librarian looking down at your sternly.
“Are you looking for something Miss Lestrange?” The severe witch asks you.
“Yes,” you say, smiling sweetly, “as a matter of fact I am.”
The librarian looks at you for a few moments, neither of you saying anything.
“Are you looking for… anything in particular?” She asks.
You decide to be honest, to discover if any of the books you seek are actually present in the Restricted Section.
“Yes,” you say, looking away for a moment before snapping your eyes back to hers, charging your words the the Legimency necessary to read her mind, “I was wondering if you had a copy of The Avoidance of Paradox?”
Irma has a sudden intake of breath before answering you.
“We do, but that is a highly restricted text, and certainly not for first years…”
“Great,” you interrupt her, “I wonder, do you have a copy of The Many Worlds?”
Irma looks very irritated and uncomfortable.
“If we did have such a restricted book, I wouldn’t be at liberty to say…”
They have a copy.
“Wonderful,” you say, beaming a fake smile at her, “one last question.”
Madam Pince looks quite offended at your line of questioning, talking to her as if she were one of your Squib household staff.
“Tell me Madam Pince,” you command her, pressing into her mind with your Legimency, “DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER RESTRICTED BOOKS ON TEMPORAL MECHANICS?
Her mind lights up; The Path is Predetermined.
“Thank you Irma,” you tell her.
Irma suddenly looks quite angry, “have you? Have you just looked inside my mind child? How dare you? I shall have to report this to…”
You flick your left hand, bringing your wand into your grip, and press your wand firmly against her, to get underneath any magical protection she may have.
“Obliviate,” you say simply, erasing her memory of the last few minutes.
Seeing that your spell has worked, you leave the library and the confused Madam Pince behind.
You will return here later to seize these three books for yourself.
What do you do next?
Lessons:
Plotting and Scheming:
- Visit the Library for books on Temporal Mechanics
- Deal with Marcus and Gemma
- Talk to the Monster in the Mirror
Socialising
- Spend more time with Lily, Lavender and Hermione
- A Romantic Evening with Lily
- A night of naughty lovemaking with Lily
Other Soul Fragment?
Inside Extended Luggage Suite
Books Life Magick of the Celts and ancient Britons, Wiccan Blood Rituals, A Primer of Magickes of Imperial China, The Fragmented Soul, Saucy Tricks for Tricky Sorts, Love Potions, Sexus, Serpentes et Magicae Voluptatis, The Daughters of Hecate, A Secret Guide to Hogwarts, The Oneirocritica, Tom Riddle’s Diary (Horcrux).
Magic Items Sofia Lestrange’s Pensieve, Enchanted Tarot, Guardian Statue, Self-Writing Quill, Wizard’s Chess Set, Mother’s Broomstick, several sets of shirts, skirts and underwear with protection from minor charms, jinxes and hexes.
Other Items Clothes, text books, blankets, towels, food, medicines and various supplies
