Harry Potter: Another Chance

Disclaimer: 

Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K Rowling.

I own nothing but the original characters I make.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author notes-

Chapter 446: The End could Also be the Beginning

Professor Silverbell took several days to complete all his tests. Once finished, he went to inform Dumbledore of the results.

The excited gnome brought incredible news: the spatial anomalies had completely disappeared, and the walls between realities were stable once more. In fact, they were much stronger now, and Professor Silverbell estimated that no further issues would arise for at least a thousand years.

However, the cause of this stability was likely the unknown number of dimensions that had collided and subsequently disappeared, much like the one Victoria Potter had come from.

After a long conversation with Silverbell, Dumbledore decided to personally visit the two families and deliver the news. He felt he owed them the courtesy of confirming that their children's sacrifice had not been in vain and that they had truly saved everyone.

He first arranged a meeting with the Greengrass family, who received the news with their usual dignity and calm demeanor.

Then, the Headmaster went to Potter Manor.

Since the school year had not yet ended and both parents were busy working, Dumbledore made sure to inform them ahead of time about his visit. Other than James and Lily, the only ones at home were Holly and Victoria.

Dumbledore was sitting in the living room, sipping delicious tea while chatting with James and Lily. They never doubted that Harry was going to succeed, but they were still glad to hear the confirmation from Dumbledore.

Suddenly, he felt something hit his leg. He looked down. "What is this?…"

A small white golem lay on its back. It was evident that it had been moving around before falling over after colliding with his leg.

"Sorry about that," James said. "I told Holly not to let it run around by itself."

"It moves by itself? Fascinating," Dumbledore remarked as he picked up the tiny construct. It was much lighter than expected, and he could easily hold it with one hand. "This looks…" The white golem reminded him of the ones resting beneath Hogwarts.

"Harry and Daphne made that one for Holly," Lily explained.

Dumbledore nodded. That made sense. If Harry and Daphne created it, they must have based its design on the Marble Golems. "A very refined piece of work," he commented, examining the runes engraved on the golem.

He knew that runes had never been Harry's forte. "I assume Daphne wrote the runes?"

"No, actually, it—"

"Wait!" James began to say, but Dumbledore interrupted him, visibly agitated.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked, concerned.

"These runes…" They were the same as those engraved on the real White Marble Golems. He had studied them for years but had never found any reference to them in books. The only conclusion he could draw was that they belonged to an extremely ancient language lost to time.

And now, he was seeing them again...on a child's toy.

"Did Daphne do this?"

"No, I was saying… It wa—"

"Goly Three!" Holly came running into the living room. "There you are!"

She rushed directly for the golem.

"Holly, what did I tell you about letting it run wild? The last time, it began chasing poor Mipsy," James scolded gently.

"I'm sorry…" Holly apologized as she picked up her toy.

"You wanted to know who did the runes? That would be me," Victoria said, appearing behind her.

Dumbledore's gaze shifted from Holly to Victoria. "You did?"

"Yes. Harry made the original rune functions, but they were very sloppy, so I fixed a few of them. Now the golem can run, jump, and even dance. Why are you so interested in it?" Victoria asked, still wary of the old man and refusing to come closer.

Dumbledore pointed at the golem. "The strange runes on the lower part… Where did you learn those?"

"Ah, I know what you mean," Lily interjected. "I also found them peculiar when I first saw them."

Of course, Lily didn't know the reason for Dumbledore's alarm, as she was unaware of how rare those runes were.

"I learned them from a book. How else?" Victoria replied.

"A book? You mean a book from your…"

"Yes," Victoria admitted.

"Is something wrong with those runes?" Lily asked. "I learned them myself, and they're very efficient. I wish I'd had the chance to use them when I was still in school."

"Did you also teach this to Harry?" Dumbledore inquired further.

"I would have, but he wasn't interested in learning a new rune system," Victoria said.

Dumbledore seemed deep in thought, but Victoria added, "I did teach them to Daphne. That girl has a lot of talent for this kind of magic."

Dumbledore gasped. "That's it, then!"

"Albus, what is going on?" James asked.

"Yes, why are you so fixated on those runes?" Lily pressed. She could understand curiosity but could tell this was more than academic interest.

"Do you remember those White Marble Golems used during the battle?" Dumbledore asked.

"Of course we do," James said. How could he forget?

"I also saw them last year, during the werewolf attack," Lily added, glancing at the small golem in her daughter's arms. "Harry and Daphne based that little one on them, I'm sure of it."

"There is more you should know. Those golems are ancient...tremendously so. Even more ancient than the castle itself," Dumbledore revealed.

"More ancient than Hogwarts? How can that be?" James asked.

"You mean they were already there when the Four Founders arrived?" Lily asked.

Dumbledore nodded. "Exactly. The golems and the chamber where they rest were built by someone else, long before the Four Founders existed."

"I didn't know that," Lily said. Like James, she had assumed the golems were creations of the Founders to protect Hogwarts.

"But that's not the strangest part." Dumbledore pointed at the small golem. "Those runes were used as the foundation for their creation. Do you realize what that means?"

"That's not possible…" Lily said, glancing at Victoria. "They wouldn't even exist in our world if…"

"I don't get it. Is this more of that time travel nonsense?" Victoria asked.

"Albus, are you implying that Daphne…" James trailed off, staring at the small golem.

"It's just an idea. The Alpha and the Omega… An end needs a beginning as well," Dumbledore said before turning to Victoria. "Do you remember the name of the book's author? The one where you learned these runes?"

"Of course I do. He was very famous," Victoria replied. "He was known as RuneMaster Tom Marvolo Riddle, and he wrote many books on the subject."

The room fell into silence.