Fan Fiction ❯ Harry Potter and the Hero of Time ❯ Finite Temporum ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter 3-Finite Temporum

Harry Potter was riding home in silence, too willing to let Uncle Vernon continue talking about Grunnings, his drill firm. Voldemort was back, and he, Harry, had been powerless to stop it. Of course, he had no idea that Barty Crouch was behind this, someone he had thought dead. Sirius had said that he would see Harry again very soon, but that did little to reassure the boy. The Dursleys did not talk of Harry's magical talent at their home of 4 Privet Drive.

Harry's musings were interrupted by the wail of a police siren. No, it was not a police siren, but some other sound stranger than that mundane. In a bang, Harry was on the sidewalk next to the feet of some tall man wearing white robes with a hood and cowl. The man took out a willow staff and examined it to make sure it had some power in it. He then raised the staff high above his head and shouted two words.

"Finite Temporum!" With that shout, the staff glowed bright silver and began to spin like a helicopter over his head, radiating silver beams of light in every direction. Harry's watch, which hadn't worked since February the 24th, suddenly ticked and began counting the time as if nothing was wrong.

"Um, excuse me," said Harry, getting to his feet and shaking his head to clear any hallucination. "Who are you, and what did you just do?"

"I am called William, Harry Potter, and no, I am not a Muggle prince. For your information, I stopped time except for a few people selected by fate to help. I have had no end of trouble fighting off dementors to get here, and I'm just now starting to feel like myself again. Now then, we must get going, but I think you'll want your school trunk. Don't worry, because it will be there when we arrive."

"What do you mean, when we arrive? Where are we going?"

"Why, we're going to Hogwarts, just as soon as the others arrive?"

"Hogwarts?! But, why would we need to go there, since term just ended yesterday!"

"Hogwarts, Harry, is even more magical than you suspect. For our purposes, it will be a doorway to a place that needs your help to save it from Voldemort."

"Voldemort?! You mean, he is able to go between worlds at whim, and what about Professor Dumbledore?"

"Professor Dumbledore is going to meet us at Hogwarts. I've sent him an owl explaining that I need his help and I expect to meet him there, along with Hagrid, Professor McGonagall, Professor Lupin, and Sirius Black. Who else would you recommend bringing along?"

"Ron Weasley, his brothers Fred and George, Hermione Granger, and Viktor Krum. The five people I mentioned are good friends of mine and I would like to work with them again."

"Very good choices," said William. He then touched his staff to the ground and divided into four images. One image remained with Harry while the others faded into nonexistence. "Now then, Harry, touch the staff and we will be transported to Hogwarts. The effect is like a Portkey while without the jerk behind the navel." Harry tentatively touched the staff and suddenly felt forced to close his eyes. When he opened his eyes again, he was standing on the Hogwarts grounds.

"There you are, Harry," said Dumbledore, who was standing with the teachers and Hagrid underneath a stand of willow trees. "Come along, please, we have little time to waste."

"Just a moment, Professor," said Harry. "I was told that Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Viktor would be coming on this adventure with us." Just then, William rematerialized with the four young men and one young lady standing around him. His illusionary images had vanished, leaving the one man standing there with his staff glowing faintly.

"Well, that should be everyone we need for our purposes," said the strange man. "Now then, I would suggest you stand back a while." Before William could do anything, Sirius gave Harry a fatherly hug and asked how he was doing. Harry responded and said he was fine and very happy to be back at Hogwarts instead of at the Dursleys.

"Now then, stand back from me, please. I am going to open a transdimensional gate to my home and then we are going to go through. You might be overwhelmed by the shock waves from the opening of the gate. If you feel like a wind is blowing you back, then I would suggest you stand behind Mr. Hagrid. Alzion drefos multion drehg tulinos Elsewhere duthik Terra." With those words, a gale wind began blowing all around the castle, odd, since time had been apparently halted.

The gale wind suddenly ceased, but not before everyone else stood behind Hagrid. A ball of white light suddenly appeared in midair, growing until it outlined a gigantic door. William grabbed the knocker of the door and hit it against the hard ebony surface. With a loud boom, the door opened and William bowed them through. They were suddenly blinded by a white light and seemed to be falling down into a very deep pit.

Meanwhile, in Hyrule, everyone was gathering at the Temple of Time. Princess Zelda had once again used her knowledge to disguise herself as the Sheikah youth named Sheik. The other Sages understood this was needed to keep herself disguised in public from Ganondorf's minions. Malon had brought some Lon-Lon Milk, and Romani had brought some Chateau Romani with her. The two accepted each other as something like cousins, and hoped to attract some of the guards. Shiro, the inconspicuous soldier from Ikana, was trying to get one or the other of them to notice him.

Link was slashing a few of the bushes with the Master Sword, making sure he was not rusty. He had been using a smaller version of the Biggoron's Sword, but the real Master Sword sure felt good in his left hand. Link had every one of his items and weaponry from his adventures except for the Gilded Sword. For some strange reason, that had reverted to the Kokiri Sword the moment he stepped back into Hyrule. Link had changed into the Kokiri Tunic and brought the Goron and Zora tunics with him just in case he needed them. Having ten bottles to store various things in would also come in handy.

Mido was worried for Saria, who he had a crush on. She had been a little depressed when Link moved out of his home in Kokiri Forest and into the castle. Mido wanted Saria to pay attention to him, but knew that he should give Saria a little privacy until she felt ready for a new love. He had been practicing with a Fairy Slingshot for a while and had a Deku Shield and Kokiri Sword ready if needed. Mido was, though he hated to admit it, a little jealous of Link, the man he had once picked on. Mido was an emotional shoulder the Kokiri girls could cry on, not the bully he was seven years earlier.

Darunia was a formidable opponent for any monster on Death Mountain. He and his son could pack powerful punches and could curl around the plains at thirty miles an hour for extended periods. Darunia had had Medigoron forge a duplicate Megaton Hammer so he could have one, like his Sworn Brother. The Gorons had eaten enough rocks from Dodongo's Cavern to fill their stomachs for a while. Darunia was still a little wary of Darmani, but he seemed to be a good, sturdy Goron who knew his business. Link seemed to like Darmani, so Darunia and his son planned to give the guy the benefit of the doubt.

Interrupting all of this philosophical musing, a stranger appeared at the temple doorway in a flash of white light. It was the same man from earlier, dressed as before in white robes with silver trim. An amulet shaped like a Terminian clock hung from his neck, only it was decorated with strange jewels. His hair was shining silver, but he looked to be no older than twenty years, give or take a bit. A man stepped out from behind him, and the Sages gasped, along with Link. That man was Sheik, dressed in his usual costume with his mouth, nose, and right eye masked.

"All right, Zelda," said the Sheikah. "You can remove the disguise now that I'm here, and it will spare everyone else some confusion." There was a small flash of light, and Princess Zelda stood there in a reasonably ordinary dress, not the fancy thing she wore at the wedding an hour earlier. The Terminians all looked a little confused at this sudden turn of events.

"I'll explain things in due course," said the strange man. "Now then, I would suggest you stand back, as things may get a little hectic." After everyone was standing in the Temple gardens, behind the trees, the man took a silver orb out from a fold of his robes. He placed the orb in midair about two feet in front of him and shouted two words into the sky. "Finite Temporum!"

The reaction to the spell was immense. The pigeons and other small birds in the gardens stopped making noise and turned to motionless statues, or so it seemed. The wind stopped blowing through the trees in mid-rustle and the sun stopped in the sky. Princess Zelda widened her eyes in shock as the flow of time ceased all around her.

"My name is Alzeroth," said the man. "Now then, one more spell will get us to where we need to be. I will explain the effects of the time-stopping spell I just cast when we get there and meet with the others already there. If transdimensional travel knocks you unconscious, the effects are only temporary and you will awaken within moments after being knocked out. Alzion drefos multion drehg tulinos Elsewhere duthik Hyrule." A great door of white light appeared in the place of the Temple door and sucked everyone in like a whirlpool.

"What in Din's name is going on, Brother," shouted Darunia as he rose from the ground, clutching his son tight to his broad chest.

"I've no idea," Link shouted back as he flew towards the portal. "Here we go!" With that, the whole party flew into the shimmering doorway and fell into an unconscious state.

Link woke up moments later with his head on a soft carpet. He shook it to relieve grogginess and shut his eyes until he felt well enough to stand up.

"Are you there, Navi," said the Hylian as he stood up.

"I'm here, Link," confirmed the fairy, flying out of the hat to hover near his shoulder. "I don't know where we are, but that Alzeroth character might. Let's see if we can find him or anyone we know for that matter."

"Good idea," said Link as he rummaged through his magical bag for flint and steel. He saw a bundle of torches along one wall and lit one of them with his equipment. The illumination provided revealed Darunia and his son, already looking for ways out of the chamber. Gorons lived underground and, while they preferred the light of torches or braziers, they could see quite well in pitch-black conditions. Link tossed them a couple of torches and went off to the right through a new passage. He found Anju, Kafei, the Deku kid, Darmani, and Mikau inside.

"What hit me," said Kafei as Link shook him awake, and then Mikau, Anju, and the Deku.

"I'm not sure, Kafei," Link admitted. "I only just woke up myself a moment ago. Gorons seem to recover from comas quickly, and I don't know where the others are." Kafei grabbed a couple torches, lit them, and passed one to Darmani and the other to Anju. Mikau and the Deku stood away from the fire and refused the torches they were offered. Zora and Deku Scrubs were especially vulnerable to fire, and they had good reason to refuse the torches.

After a few more minutes of exploration, Link had found everyone and mapped out the chambers they were in. It appeared to be some sort of wine cellar, like the one underneath Hyrule Castle. Everyone dusted themselves off and stretched to make sure their limbs were still functional. No weapons had been stolen, and the Gerudo scimitars Nabooru bore were sharpened and polished.

"Let's get this over with," said Link. "I just want to make sure Ganondorf stays in the Evil Realm for good this time." The door suddenly creaked open and the party ran up into a vast garden full of flowers and plants of all types. A few hundred yards to the right, there were orchards of apple trees, and vineyards and such beyond that. To the left, a vast citadel of marble and similar rock rose into the air until it vanished into the clouds above them. It had an opalescent glow about it, as if it were blessed by a very powerful cleric of good deities.

"Ah, there you are," said Alzeroth, dashing out from the gates of the tower. "I had meant to bring you to the entrance hall with that doorway spell, but there appears to be no harm done."

"Where on Hyrule are we," Link asked, a trifle irritated.

"You're not," said the strange man curtly. "Now, if you will please follow me, I will be happy to explain the situation." So saying, Alzeroth summoned a walking stick from thin air and strode slowly back toward the tower. Link and his party did not know what else to do, so they walked after their host. They soon found themselves in front of a huge door of wrought metal, decorated with gold and silver. Alzeroth pulled a giant knocker from the door and then the door itself swung inward to reveal a brightly lit entrance hall.

"Go on in, everybody. I'll be inside presently." Alzeroth pulled both doors open wide and bowed everyone in rather like a butler. They entered the tower and found themselves in a situation none of them expected to occur.

Note: For the previous chapter, you're probably wondering how come Navi could affect the Master Sword with her magic. The Master Sword is the Blade of Evil's Bane. Now Navi may be annoying as heck, but she isn't evil. And in my stories, Navi's kinder, gentler, and less annoying to begin with. For this chapter, once my Elsewhere series is up, you'll learn some things about Alzeroth you didn't know before.