Well, Lord Voldermort came back during my third year - Harry and Hermione's fourth.

You ended up leaving the school at the end of the year. Since then, Remus Lupin, Alastair Moody who was really Barty Crouch Jnr using Polyjuice potion, Dolores Umbridge and Professor Snape have all taken up the Defence Against The Dark Arts position.

And just before I came through the Rift - Professor Dumbledore was killed.



I'm afraid I don't know much about that one. I'm a Quibbler reader, really.

[Gilderoy spends about five minutes staring at Luna's reply.]



I see.

Thank you, Luna.

Who killed Dumbledore?

[Tact? What is that? The narration is terribly sorry, Gilderoy. :x]



That's quite alright.



Professor Snape did.

Death Eaters got into Hogwarts and the was a battle up by the Astronomy Tower.

[He's just going to sputter at his journal, now.]

Good lord. Snape? Are you sure?

Oh, yes.

Harry saw it happen.

[Gilderoy had his suspicions about Snape, but he never suspected that he was a Death Eater.

Then again, he's not really that shocked. He just had SO MANY QUESTIONS.]

Then how could he have possibly I'll ask Harry about it later, then.

It was more complicated than that, Luna.

I didn't want to tell you about anything in the future unless it was necessary or unless you wanted to know, but you should know that it wasn't what it looked like. There was more to it.

Snape was one of the good guys. Maybe the best of all of us. Certainly the bravest man I've ever known.

Oh, I'm sorry Harry.

I don't really know that much about what's happened.


That's alright. Like I said, don't feel like you need to at all - I'm perfectly fine not knowing at all.

I must say I'm a little surprised. Professor Snape always appeared to me as a very complicated man, but I didn't expect that.

Nothing to be sorry about.

It isn't very easy for me to talk about any of it, but I do want everyone to know the truth about that much at least.


Very, very complicated, Luna. I didn't expect it either.

I am from the farthest in the time line of our universe. I believe. May 2nd 1998. It's the day that I fell from our universe into Chicago.

Are you certain you want to hear everything here?

Are you certain you want to hear about it at all


If it's easier to hear it over text, I understand as well. There's quite a bit, and it isn't very good.

Edited 2011-08-07 12:01 pm (UTC)

If you'd rather we speak in person, that's fine. Wouldn't want your hand to cramp up from all that writing! And yes, I'm certain. Surely it can't all be bad?

It's really a matter of what you prefer. You're the one that will have the bombshells dropped on him. I've lived it already so there are no surprises for me.

You'd be surprised.

Why don't you just write me a long note?

[Gilderoy isn't a big fan of taking bad news face-to-face, and judging from what Luna's told him so far, he imagines Harry's version of events won't be much better.]

Consider it a homework assignment.

Right then. Voldemort first.

Voldemort came back my 4th year. There was a Triwizard Tournament held at Hogwarts that year, and Voldemort used me to come back. He killed Cedric Diggory in the process.

At the end of my 6th year, Dumbledore began to tell me about the horcruxes and how they were pieces of Voldemort's soul that he'd put into objects around the world so that he could live. Those pieces had to be found, but Snape killed Dumbledore. It wasn't until much later that I learned that Dumbledore had asked him to. He'd been poisoned, and it would kill him within the year as it was and Draco Malfoy had been ordered to kill him.

Dumbledore didn't want that to happen so he asked Snape to do so. It would give him the perfect opportunity to get back into Voldemort's good graces, assure his 'loyalties' and allow him to help me at the same time in his own way.

Within this time, Voldemort took over the Ministry of Magic. Cornelius Fudge was killed at some point. There were Deatheaters everywhere. People were forced to prove their heritage, to prove they were purebloods, and if they couldn't, they were killed. There was no safe place. Deatheaters were at Hogwarts, and they lived quite a militaristic existence there from what I've heard but I wasn't there at Hogwarts until the end of that year.

The entirety of my 7th year, it was spent searching for the horcruxes with Hermione and Ron. Mad Eye Moody died. Hedwig and Do- We found most of them, and one of the remaining ones was at Hogwarts. Snape was headmaster there, and I still didn't know what he'd done and why. Voldemort followed us there and brought an army of Death Eaters with him.

A battle ensued. We found one more horcrux and destroyed it. Snape-- He was killed by Voldemort. I learned Nagini- Voldmort's snake was a horcrux, and we went to destroy Nagini. Snape died there but not before he gave me the memories that showed me what happened with Dumbledore and the fact that there was another horcrux that he hadn't intended on creating.

I was going to meet Voldemort in the woods when I fell through before I could reach him so I don't know what happens. I don't know if we win. I hope being a universe away means he can't still live because I'm alive.

A lot of people died. Fred, Colin, Remus- I don't know that you know any of them and I don't know for certain if anyone else died that I didn't see. Most of the staff, I saw still living. Mcgonagall, Flitwick, Slughorn, Sprout, Trelawney, and they were all alive that I last saw.

Edited 2011-08-08 04:54 am (UTC)

Now for you. For the record, I am sorry about everything that happened. We may have not gotten along all that well. I may have found out the truth about your books and the fact that they're based on lies, I wouldn't

I didn't want this. I wouldn't have wanted this, and I'm very, very sorry that it turned out the way that it did. [fwah yeah, has to pause before he can work through this part.]

You don't write another book.

We found out the truth. Ron and I. We found out what it is that allowed you to write those books and that you'd stolen the stories from other people, forcing them to forget before claiming them for your own. We found out the truth, and you tried to use the memory charm on us so we'd forget like all those other people

However, you picked up Ron's wand. Ron's wand which was broken at the time. The spell backfired on you, and it made you forget everything. It wasn’t reversible. When I last saw you, it was in my 5th year. You were at St. Mungo’s Hospital, and you’d just gotten the hang of cursive.

I’m sorry.

[It takes hours for Gilderoy to come up with a coherent, calm, steadily-written response.]

I appreciate your honesty, Harry. Thank you.

I'm so sorry for your losses everything. For all that you and everyone else had to go through. And I'm sorry that I wasn't there to hel I'm sorry I tried to take your memories.

It's rather ironic, that ending. Don't you think?

I don't want to try to explain myself. Not right now, anyway. Someday, maybe we can sit down and chat, and you can hear a bit about the real me. I may as well, right? There's really no sense in pretending when the only people who know me here are the ones who know everything.

But—

I always thought Sever Professor Snape was a good man. A bit dark and off-putting at the best of times, but essentially good. I'm happy to hear that he helped. And I'm, admittedly, more than a little upset about Dumbledore. He gave me a chance that I shouldn't have had. I'm not sure I'll ever understand why.

I'm sure, in the end, you would have won. It wouldn't have been right, to do all you did and survive, only to lose in the end. The world put its faith in you, Harry. I knew that the moment I heard you existed.

Some of the people you mentioned I knew from my own years at Hogwarts. I can't tell you how relieved I am to hear that some of them survived. The Trelawney you mentioned—was it Sybill?

And please, don't be sorry.

I won't lie to anyone about the future. Even though I know the truth doesn't help.

It's alright. [It isn't at all. It isn't alright what everyone went through. It isn't alright what happened, but it's all he can think of to say.] It was years ago but thank you for saying it.

Rather horrible ending.

[Slightest of pauses.] I would like that. Someday. There's no need to pretend at all. I know this wasn't easy to take, but maybe you'll have the chance to change things here.

So it doesn't end up like

He was. Professor Snape was the- maybe the best of all of us. Dumbledore has a way of seeing inside of someone and knowing when there's something good and strong to believe in. He must have seen something in you. Even if you didn't see it yourself. He's done that to me many times before

I hope you're right. With me gone, there only would have been the snake left and then it'd have just been Voldemort.

There could have been more losses, but everyone gathered together to fight back. It was good to see. Yes, it was Sybill Trelawney. She taught Divination my third year.

[And he doesn't know what to say to that because he is sorry. He is sorry for the way that it turned out. He is sorry for all the people that died. It's that perpetual feeling.]

Edited 2011-08-09 10:00 am (UTC)

[Gilderoy simply nods at the first half of Harry's reply. He doesn't know what else to say about the matter, so he'll just let it go for now.]

Well.

I'm glad to hear that she—and the other survivors—survived.

Thank you again for the information, Harry. I think we ought to end this here, yes? Wouldn't want either of us to get overwhelmed, and "turning into a peacock" isn't on my to-do list for the day.

Yes, we should.

If you find you have any questions, let me know.

Harry is further along in all of our timelines. He relayed to me much of what happens in our last year at Hogwarts, most of which we didn't actually partake in. Professor Snape became the Headmaster. The absence of Harry and myself involved the search of Voldemort's horcruxes in our attempt to defeat him. There were very dark times.

As Luna said, there was staff change yearly for teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts.

If after you speak with Harry you have any lingering questions, I would answer them to the best of my abilities.

[A pause.] I'm terribly sorry, Professor.

Edited 2011-08-08 01:23 am (UTC)

Sorry? I think if either of us should be sorry, it's probably me.

[It's okay, Hermione. Gilderoy is also surprised at how quickly that came out.]

For all you went through, I mean. I think it's a bit lucky that I missed it all, don't you?

[His reply hits her hard.]

The deaths and the sacrifices, they weren't for nothing. We stood for something. I wouldn't know to call it luck, sir, save to say I am relieved you are alive and here instead.

And that we have met.

[Regardless of his trangressions and the crush of a very young girl once upon a time, Hermione does mean that.]

Edited 2011-08-08 05:19 am (UTC)

[...that was unexpected. His reply comes after he's written back to Harry.]

I didn't think I truly understood how dark those times were until I read Harry's note. I'm glad he had you as a friend, to help him get through it. And I'm glad you have each other here now.

If I had to pick any ex-students to get stuck in an alternate universe with, it'd be you lot.

[Shh, it's totally a compliment.]

I am the one glad to have had him at my side.

[DAWWWWWWWW /draws hearts around him]

Thank you, Professor.

Now to see what awaits us in this world.

So far, it's all feathers and fur and odd heartbeats.

I daresay Chicago is living up to everything I've heard...