Mirror of Fate - Pilot (Patreon)

NOTE:This is an expansion on the first Scenes From the Veil scene. I thought it would be fun to do a pilot episode.

1.

The alarm in the room blared for a moment before it was ripped from the wall. It was torn to shred before it could reach the black marble floor. Twisting veins of silver spiraled around the chamber leading to the raised platform in the center on which the Veil stood. In front of it, stood a new arrival. It looked as though the Veil clung to the person making it so only their outline could be seen due to the ripples caused by their passage. After a moment, the edges smoothed and the shape was gone. If not for the alarm, it would have been considered a hallucination.

A group of people in gray cloaks rushed into the room with their wands drawn. A barrage of spells blanketed the chamber as the desperately searched for whatever had come through the Veil. The barest hint of magic drifted around where the alarm had been while the remains appeared completely void of any sort of tampering.

Harry strolled through the chamber, carefully avoiding the Unspeakables. He didn't want to stop for a chat right now. The option to come back later was there. He made his way through the Ministry with little issue. The Deathly Hallows had integrated with his magic, meaning he could use their abilities without manifesting them. He could become completely invisible with a thought. In that form he was impossible to detect. Wards, spells, and even the natural abilities of magical creatures were useless. The Resurrection Stone allowed him to summon, control, and banish ghosts. He could also see those who were close to death or terminally ill. Integrating the Elder Wand had greatly increased his magical power, knowledge, and he no longer needed a wand.

The décor around the Ministry didn't provide any helpful details. It looked almost the same in every place he had visited. He had served his time as 'Master of Death' which was actually more of an 'Avatar of Death' where he moved through worlds following the orders of Death. His length of service was equal to his lifespan. Being a wizard, it resulted in two-hundred and thirty-eight years. Of course, there was a catch. Time only counted when he was on assignment. Sometimes it was as short as an hour, while others it was a few years. His time as Avatar of Death had earned ownership of the Hallows. This was his first stop of his own accord. He had no idea how much time had passed in his original dimension. Not that he had a reason to return. Harry had died shortly after his first great, great grandchild was born, at that time he was the last of his generation.

He spotted a discarded Daily Prophet on a bench in the lobby and snagged it as he passed. It was two days before Voldemort would attack his parents, as he had planned, but there was no mention of war. He knew the Prophet could be bought, they weren't the best source for the truth. Still, they wouldn't overlook profit by sensationalizing an already terrible situation.

"Hm," Harry muttered.

There wasn't a single mention of Death Eaters, Dark Lords, or any sort of conflict. If anything, it was a slow news day. The headline regarded the new coach of the Chudley Cannons getting caught in a gambling ring. He read through the entire thing twice just to be sure. Even the obituaries were rather scarce. This was not a newspaper from the middle of a war.

Harry stood and apparated to Diagon Alley. A new set of alarms kicked off as he broke through the wards protecting the Ministry from unauthorized travel. They remained intact since he wasn't there to hear them.

He appeared in a tidy corner next to Zonko's. It usually had enough foot traffic to cover his arrival and noisy enough for sound to get lost in the deluge. The scene that greeted him further cemented the idea that they weren't at war. Happy families filled the street. Something was bothering him. He scanned the crowd trying to figure out what it was. It finally hit him after his third sweep. There were too many people. The war had thinned the population, without the fighting there would obviously be more people, but there were way too many the answer to simply be peace time.

Harry counted no less than ten easily identifiable families, each with at least three children. He even spotted the platinum blond of Lucius Malfoy walking beside a very pregnant Narcissa who was holding the hand of a little girl with matching hair.

His jaw dropped as he recognized the couple that strolled near them. Severus Snape had a little boy, no older than three, riding on his shoulders. Judging by the hooked nose, the child was Snape's son. The woman that walked with him was one Harry didn't recognize, but she was pregnant as well.

He had traveled across many universes in his time serving Death. A happy Severus Snape wasn't impossible, but this was the first time he could remember seeing the man have offspring with a willing partner.

His anger toward the man had cooled over the years. He didn't respect or like the man, but he didn't want to kill him on sight anymore. Therapy had helped with that. Colin was a genius for introducing the magical world to mental health.

Harry let himself become visible again. A couple of kids saw him and gasped. He smiled at them as he walked by. There were three places he could go to get the information he needed. Hogwarts to speak with Dumbledore, the man had people everywhere, Gringotts for an Information Broker, incredibly expensive and worth every knut, or The Leaky Cauldron, people loved to talk.

His feet came to an abrupt halt when he arrived at the entry to Leaky. It wasn't closed, in fact, it was a simple gate that opened to a nicely maintained park rather than the back alley of a pub. To his further confusion, he saw a witch flag down a taxi, shrink her shopping, and then head off.

Either they were lax about magic in public, or the world already knew about it. The Muggle in the park weren't wearing chains. They looked healthy. A couple even had witches or wizards sitting among them.

He sharply turned around and marched over to the bookstore. The history section was right where it was in every world. One title jumped out to him: Becoming the Greater Good by Ariana Dumbledore. It was an auto-biography and covered her early life, her efforts with her brothers and Gellert Grindelwald to understand how make the world better for both magical and mundane people. The group had gathered like-minded people and became a force of positive change. They introduced magic to the mundane world during their campaign to end the Second World War. The lives they saved alone bought plenty of goodwill to their cause. Their further progress in improving living conditions around the world cemented them as a leading force.

Harry put the book back on the shelf. He would need to remember this world for another time. There were other universes that could use his help. He disappeared from the shop and reappeared in the Death Chamber. Harry gave the stunned Unspeakables a nice wave as he stepped through the Veil.

~

The liminal space on the other side of the Veil was a mirrored version of the Death Chamber in the Ministry. There were no doors, windows, or points of entry except for the Veil. It was a waypoint between worlds that existed outside of time and space. Unfortunately, Harry couldn't bring anything, or anyone, through the Veil with him. Death had given him this room as a going away present. He wasn't the only Avatar of Death, this wasn't the only chamber, but this one was his.

He had to agree to certain rules for it to function. While working for Death, time held no meaning. He could move along the timeline of a world without an issue, fixing things as they arose. His job usually came down to making sure the right people died, which was a lot more complicated than it sounded.

This arch did not travel through time, only dimensions. The timeline was set once he connected to the world. Time would pass as usual from the moment he stepped through. If he stayed away for three days, then the same amount of time would pass. With enough power, he could freeze the connection meaning the world would pause until he returned, but that was a goal for another day.

Right now, he had a dog to catch.

~

Harry's world slowed as the spell hit Sirius. He watched as his godfather, his chance at a somewhat normal life, and his rescue from the Dursleys stumbled toward that strange archway. Harry had no real clue what the veil was, but it was in the Death Room, so it couldn't be good.

Everyone in the room paused as a hand shot out of the Veil to steady Sirius. The wizard got both feet on the ground as, what could only be described as an older Harry stepped out. He was a few inches taller, broader in the shoulders while retaining a lither build further enhanced by the long black leather coat he wore. Harry instantly recognized the source from his nightmares. Basilisk scales had a slight green shimmer to them.

Older Harry scanned the room. "Bellatrix! Always a great test subject."

The Older Harry raised a gnarled wand and shot off a spell so fast it was barely visible. Bellatrix was struck in the center of her chest. She looked down when it didn't seem to have any sort of effect on her. The confusion on her face was replaced once more by the crazed murderous visage she usually wore.

"That answers that," Older Harry stated.

Another spell shot out, knocking her off her feet and sending her skidding along the floor. That seemed to kick the action back into action. Older Harry was a humanoid hurricane, the remaining Death Eaters quickly joined Bellatrix unmoving on the floor. No words were spoken the entire time, which made it hard to tell if they were still alive.

"Excuse me for a moment," Older Harry said.

Harry and the others watched as the new arrival strolled out of the room.

"Um," Harry looked around the room. "What just happened?"

"I think…" Sirius answered. "I think you just stepped out of the veil."

"Are they alive?" Harry asked.

Hermione touched the closest Death Eater with the tip of her shoe. She took a step closer for a better look.

"No," she shook her head.

"Are we sure that was me?" Harry asked. "That wasn't my wand."

A scream ripped through the Ministry of Magic. Harry dropped to his knees as a black cloud erupted from the scar on his forehead. Seven streaks of similar thick smoke emerged from the walls, directly into the Veil.

"Harry!" More than one voice yelled.

He felt people around him. The usual tight hug from Hermione, a firm hand on his shoulder from Sirius, and he was pretty sure it was Luna that was making sure his shoes were tied.

"I'm all right," he said as his vision stopped spinning. "I'm all right." He paused. "I feel great."

Harry straightened his posture. He ran a finger along the scar on his forehead. For the first time in his life, it didn't hurt. There was a slight ash-like residue on his finger. No blood.

"That worked better than expected," Older Harry said as he entered the room once more.

Dumbledore walked in a step behind. Harry had never seen the Headmaster look confused; it was almost enough for a few of the group to panic. They watched as the wizard strolled over to the Veil.

"Oh," he paused. "Hermione, look into spell-theory. The Unspeakables will love to have you." He stopped. "Don't marry Ron. I love you both, but you're not good together."

Older Harry waved at the group, then stepped into the Veil.

"Why would I marry Ron?" Hermione whispered as her cheeks turned bright red.

~

Harry had a smile on his face as he stepped out of the Veil. He saved Sirius and gave some important advice to Hermione. Honestly, those two were so much better as friends. A kiss or two brought on by high-stress events was not something to take as a sign to start a long term relationship.

"Are you my dad?" A tiny voice asked.

Harry looked down to see a small boy sitting on the floor in front of him. The boy was obviously him from the first year. He looked over his shoulder to see that it wasn't the Veil that he had stepped through, but the Mirror of Erised.

"Huh," Harry vocalized. "That wasn't part of the plan."

The scene in the mirror shifted. Instead of showing his greatest desire, it showed his former boss, Death, and her sister, Fate. The two were having lunch at café somewhere in the multi-verse. Fate blew him a kiss, Death blushed. He took a step toward the mirror and hit his face on the glass. Fate giggled.

"You're mine now," Fate's voice sounded like a whisper in his ear. "Have fun."

Death shrugged. The scene vanished, replaced by his reflection.

Harry turned to face the younger version of him, "no, I'm not your father."

"But… I just saw them, my parents, then you walked out," young Harry argued. "You look just like him. You have to be." The boy was starting to cry now. "You're here to save me."

Harry knelt down in front of the boy, "I'm not your dad, but I'm not going to leave you alone."

"You aren't?" The boy wiped the tears from his face.

Harry held up a hand. He pointed to the corner and Dumbledore appeared as his spell was forcefully removed.

"Which Albus are you?" Harry growled as he stalked over to the Headmaster. "A mentally addled fool, evil mastermind, self-important strategist, or a fool?"

"Pardon?" Dumbledore asked.

The Headmaster subtly summon his wand. His speed belied his age. The Elder Wand snapped up, pointed straight at Harry. A stunner followed by binding spell rocketed across the room. The two spells hit center-mass. With a normal wand Dumbledore could probably punch through the basilisk skin coat. Using the Elder Wand should be able to knock a dragon for a loop. Instead, the spells fizzled out on contact.

Harry grabbed the old man by the collar of his garish robes and dove into his mind. He saw Dumbledore placing a warming spell on baby Harry as he set the baby on the steps. Another flash forward, the Headmaster transferred the wards and altered the function. Jump forward to his office, chime after chime of Death Eaters being frozen as they tried to cross the wards. Meetings of the Mot, Malfoy and his ilk campaign to get custody of Harry. Dumbledore pouring over books trying to figure out how to remove the horcrux without killing Harry. The Headmaster explaining to McGonagall that Harry living in a magical rich area would feed power into the horcrux.

"Overworked with good intentions," Harry let the old man go. "I'll do you a favor."

Harry walked over to the boy. He placed his palm on the boy's forehead.

"Brace yourself," he gave what he hoped would be a gentle smile.

The boy nodded.

Harry closed his hand into a fist, grabbed a wisp of the horcrux, and yanked it out of the scar. Young Harry screamed as a glob of swirling concentrated evil was finally disconnected. The older version of Harry solidified the horcrux. An unearthly scream echoed through the halls as six other tendrils of darkness hit the orb, increasing the size from a grape to a billiard ball. The specter of Voldemort joined the orb then crushed it.

"Voldemort, gone," Harry said locking eyes with Dumbledore. "Talk to the Tonks'. Andromeda would love to have Harry as part of the family."

The mirror flickered, changing the glass to the Veil.

"I'll check back in on you," Harry helped the boy to his feet. "One piece of advice, next year look for a girl named Luna Lovegood. She needs friends."

Harry stepped through the Veil. He paused; this was not the alternate chamber. Death and Fate still sat at the table. Like all primordial beings their true form was something beyond human comprehension. They did have some favorite mortal identities they liked to wear. Death was partial to a blonde girl that looked to be in her twenties and wore a lot of pastels. Fate preferred regal, older women and designer clothing.

"Sit," Fate motioned to an open chair.

Harry didn't say anything but took the open chair.

"Don't pout," Fate placed a hand on his knee.

"We had an agreement," Harry said softly. "I completed my side of things."

"You had an agreement with my sister, not me," Fate corrected.

Harry narrowed his eyes at the primordial concept in human form, "why would I have anything to do with you?"

Fate let out a tinkling giggle, "oh, I see why she likes you so much."

Death blushed.

"You are just as much my Avatar as Death," Fate explained. "Think of your life, Harry. What part of your life was not influenced by fate?"

Harry closed his eyes, forcing himself not to sigh. This woman was not a woman; she could erase his very being with a thought. There was only so far her amusement would allow for so much pushback.

Fate slid a pocket-size version of the Mirror of Erised over to Harry, "here you go."

"What do I do with this?" Harry asked.

Fate smiled at him, "you'll figure it out."