Disclaimer: I do not own the original canon nor am I making any profit from writing this piece. All works are accredited to their original authors, performers, and producers while this piece is mine. No copyright infringement is intended. I acknowledge that all views and opinions expressed herein are merely my interpretations of the characters and situations found within the original canon and may not reflect the views and opinions of the original author(s), producer(s), and/or other people.
Warnings: This story may contain material that is not suitable for all audiences and may offend some readers. This story is based upon information from the newly published Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in addition to the previously published Harry Potter books.
Dedication: To those would dare to choose the right thing over what is easy. After all, it is our choices which define us.
-= LP =-
The Greater Good
-= LP =-
"Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act." – Deitrich Bonhoeffer
-= LP =-
Draco Malfoy arrived on the street seemingly out of thin air. The revelers did not notice him at all as they meandered in and out of the bars and pubs. Once, he would have sniffed in distain for their antics. However, he had long since grown from the pureblood brat who was his father's son and his recent friendship with a certain Golden Trio had taught him much about the muggles who celebrated before him. He did eye them carefully to assure himself that he had come to the right time to achieve his self-appointed mission. The suits of the men told him little, but the women's dresses said what he need to know.
It was the late 1920s.
A newspaper out of one of the bins beside a brightly lit pub gave him a more precise date. It was December thirty-first, nineteen twenty-six. A quick tempus told him that any moment now, a woman will give birth to a son who she would name after his father and hers. Then her death from blood loss and privation will leave that son in the tender mercies of Wool's Orphanage.
Or at least, that was how it had gone in the future from which he had come.
In that future, many people had died needlessly. Many of them had been muggles, and yes, he had once thought that they didn't matter, but entire families, entire houses, had perished as well, taking their family secrets with them. Far beyond the loss of individuals whom he could name, the loss to Magic and the wizarding world was far worse. He was man enough to admit that the individuals left behind by the dead played some part in his decision to come back here, to this time and to this place, but they were far from the only factor.
The sounds spilling out of the pub changed as his tempus ticked over to midnight. A drunken rendition of Auld Lang Syne filled the air, reminding the man of his mission. It was time to end this, to end the suffering of so many people. He closed his eyes and let the faces of the dead, the better-off dead, and the innocent strangers with family flit past his "Inner Eye". It steeled his resolve which even after all the time spent planning this trip.
Morality lessons from Gryffindors be damned. They never could keep their lessons straight when confronted with a reality which was not a stark contrast between black and white. They preached about forgiveness and second chances—about being better than their enemies—but then they use that same rhetoric to justify terrible acts so long as said acts were by their compatriots. Love excuses all manner of evils. He had once thought that Hufflepuffs were the lowest a wizard could sink, but as much as he valued them as people, the Golden Trio had taught him that such a rank belonged to Gryffindors toing a dead man's line.
Briskly, he took off down the street. The problem with being displaced from time, beyond the obvious, had to be the limitations upon apparation due to changed landmarks. In preparation for this trip, he had spent time studying maps of this section of London from this time period. Hermione had been unsurprisingly helpful in that regard, once he had satiated her desire to know why he needed to know exactly where Wool's Orphanage had been located.
Despite the late hour, the ground level of the orphanage was still well-lit when he arrived. For a moment, he fretted that he was too early. Then it occurred to him, that for a mission like his, the exact time did not matter much. He slipped in the open front gate to approach the front door. A sharp knock brought a harried-looking teenager to the door.
"Good evening," he greeted cordially. For all that he was a snotty little shit as a student, his father had seen that Draco knew how to charm his way with words alone long before he left for Hogwarts. The years navigating a country who hated him because of their side of the Blood Wars had honed those skills to a fine art. The girl blushed at the combination of words and his smile. "May I come in? I am here to help."
"Oh!" the girl exclaimed before ushering him in and then quickly leading him deep into the gloomy building. As they went, the sounds he had learned to associate with a labor room—not a revel—grew louder. The urge which had led him to his profession rose up inside him, warring at the grimness of his reality. He had managed to escape the Blood War without ever taking a life, and had never lost a patient since he had completed his apprenticeship. His stomach twisted itself in knots as it had the time he had foolishly accepted a toffee from George. The girl announcing his presence pulled him from his morose thoughts.
Draco was amazed to see that Merope Gaunt was only attended by the Matron and the teenager who had fetched him. This may be easier than he had originally planned. He had been sure that there would have been a midwife as well. Both women accepted his presence without complaint and with much relief. From the conversation before the Matron sent the girl to fetch more linens, he gathered that they had already sent for a midwife or doctor and had been told that there was none available. Noting that both women were dead on their feet, Draco ordered the Matron to go eat something before she passed out from hunger. The absence of both women gave him an opportunity to assess his patient the best way he knew how.
"No! Please," Merope moaned as she felt the diagnosis charm wash over her. Draco blinked at her uncomprehendingly for a moment before recalling Scarhead mention something about her father and brother beating her. Had they also used magic on her?
"Just checking if anything is wrong," he soothed, before he could think beyond the habitual words of the Healer he had been in his future. The spell told him much that he was sure that no one had ever known about the woman who had given birth to the Dark Lord which legend said was the worst one of modern times. Knowing that he had only limited time to do what he needed to do, he pocketed the scroll the charm had created after his quick glance before pulling a vial from the bandolier beneath his suit jacket. No sign of the hesitation which had plagued him off and on all evening—and if he was honest, since he first seriously began considering the idea of killing the Dark Lord before he became an issue—he switched the contents of the vial with the contents of the unborn baby's stomach. He then pocketed the vial. It was done. Now all that remained was to finish the charade.
It was barely an hour later that Merope delivered her child. The only sounds which followed the final groaning scream of effort from Merope was harsh and labored breathing. The Matron made quick worth of clearing mucus from the babe's mouth and nose, but still the babe did not cry. With expert hands, she gave the infant a sharp spank upon his butt. Still there was no cry. Draco busily tried to stem the flow of blood from the mother's ripped perineum as well as he was able without the use of magic.
"Please," Merope begged, only half aware of what was happening. "Please let me hold him." Already, she was beginning to turn gray from the loss of blood. Her eyelids drooped to half-mast as if she was too exhausted to open them fully. Draco didn't need a charm to tell him that she was dying. He nodded to the Matron in permission. She swaddled the tiny, gray body before placing the bundle on Merope's chest. The witch managed to raise a single hand to stroke the exposed face. "My son; my little Tom." She relaxed back on the bed. "Now we go together, Tom." Her half-open eyes met Draco's for a moment and recognition sparked before the exhaustion won, forcing her eyes shut. She breathed out a whispered "thank you" on her last breath. Then she was as still as her child.
"Poor child," the Matron murmured into the silence. "All those hours of labor for a stillbirth. I don't even know her name."
"Merope," Draco answered, causing the Matron to look at him in confusion. "Her name was Merope Riddle nee Gaunt of Little Hangleton, Hertfordshire." Outside Big Ben began to toll the hour, announcing the New Year at the same time. It was the beginning of a new world as well—a world without Tom Marvolo Riddle.
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As he had expected, the world he had returned to was different from the one he had left. Tom Riddle had been allowed to influence wizarding society unchecked for thirty years before he escalated to violence. The man had been a cancer, a slow poison killing the magical world. Without that poison, the world was different. It took some adjustments to settle into the world which he had created by removing the tumor before it could grow.
He had expected there to be more people—more strangers. Less people died; less Houses destroyed for minor slights. He had not calculated the ripple effect of those people surviving.
Myrtle Warren became a teacher. In fact, she started a special private school which taught basic education skills to magical children, regardless of their blood status. Charlus Potter provided the financial backing she needed along with the political power. Surprisingly, Abraxas Malfoy also was involved. The combination of Malfoy and Potter working together pushed through a bill which required the families of muggleborns to be contacted at the first bout of accidental magic and then monitored for care.
Myrtle's school was originally just for those newly-discovered magical children, but many of the poorer magical families quickly saw the benefit of formal schooling for their youngsters, in preparation for Hogwarts or other magical institutions. Previously, only the wealthier families could afford tutoring for their children, and since money tended to be handed down, the longer a family existed in the magical world, the wealthier they became. It had been a vicious cycle. One primary school started by a muggleborn witch disrupted the cycle. Soon all magicals received a hybrid education as children—muggle maths making Arithmancy easier to understand; foreign languages helping with Runes and encouraging students to learn the languages of other magical races; history was taught on a global scale rather than just one section of biased history. The parents, both muggle and magical, were encouraged to become involved in the learning process—and when their children went onto Hogwarts, they stayed involved, much to the annoyance of Albus Dumbledore, who once again took over from Dippet.
Despite Dumbledore's protests of tradition for tradition's sake, the curricula of Hogwarts was forced to adapt to the new kind of student she was receiving. Since the students came in better prepared for academia, the pace could be accelerated in certain areas, allowing for new topics to be broached earlier than they had been. With more parents involved, less things went unchecked, such as House rivalry escalated to violent bullying and blatant favoritism. Without a curse on the Defense position, there was consistent teaching for the subject which allowed for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to not have a shortage of qualified applicants, even for the coveted Auror and Hit Wizard sub-departments. With most children receiving a hybrid education prior to Hogwarts, Muggle Studies was not allowed to become outdated. While not exorcised, Binns was no longer allowed to teach History of Magic once it was discovered that he taught only a single point of view and only a few topics. New subjects were also added to the curricula—the Arts and the muggle subjects necessary to complete the standards for attending college and university to name a few.
With the improvements to education came the advancements. Where the magical advancement had begun to slow, the infusion of muggle understanding of things like Physics, Chemistry, and Biology gave the subjects new life. Potions worked—and tasted —better; Spells could do more with less magic. A certain muggleborn witch had figured out how to combine her three masteries (Charms, Potions, and Runes) to change the curse of Lycanthropy so that it did not steal the werewolf's health and mind. It was not a cure, and it could still be passed along, but it was a good start which removed many of the barriers for werewolves in magical society. An enterprising pureblood with a fascination of muggle technology had solved the issue of electricity malfunctioning around magic, which opened a whole new market in the magical world long before things like computers and cell phones became popular in the muggle world.
The most shocking differences were among the people of his generation, perhaps because he had known them better. Raised by two Aurors instead of a bitter grandmother, Neville did not get Sorted into Gryffindor. Instead, he had become a Hufflepuff. His relationship with Hannah Abbott was just as strong as ever but they had included Hannah's best friend Susan Bones in their bonding. Neville had never gone into the Auror department, focusing instead on his Herbology mastery along with a doctorate in Botany. He still took over as both Herbology professor and Head of Hufflepuff after Professor Sprout had retired. Likewise Hannah had taken over the Leaky Cauldron from her multi-great uncle Tom, which Susan helped when their many children were at school. Blaise Zabini had managed to court and marry Padma Patil and together became the Powerhouse Couple at the Ministry, where Padma was a rising star in the Department of Magical Education and Blaise was the representative to the International Confederacy of Wizards.
But it was what had been the Golden Trio which had changed the most.
Raised by a loving family, many of who had rose to prominence in their fields, Harry never became friends with Ron, whose jealous and lazy nature seemed to be something innate and did not change any from the original timeline. Being the oldest of five siblings and even more Marauder-cousins, Harry didn't long to be a part of a large family, even when the youngest Weasley declared her love for him in her first year at Hogwarts and took every opportunity to pursue him, just as his father had done to his mother. While the Marauders all chuckled, fondly remembering a younger James, Lily and his godfather Severus sympathized with Harry's annoyance with the Weasley daughter. Instead of ending up with Ginny Weasley, Harry courted and claimed a certain blonde Ravenclaw with all the finesse of a Gryffindor-raised Slytherin. The two were only rarely in the UK anymore, now that all three of their children were at Hogwarts most of the year. Instead, they traveled the world in search of new creatures and beings. Between the two of them, Luna and Harry had reconnected the physical realm with both fey Courts as well as several independent pockets of magical realms. They still had not found any snorlacks, crumple-horned or otherwise, but they had a lot of evidence suggesting their existence.
Ron had gone on to become a Keeper for the Chudley Cannons. It had not improved their chances of advancing in the League any, but he was still a marked improvement over their last Keeper. He had a brief relationship with Lavender Brown before she dumped him in a spectacular fashion after finding out he had affair while traveling with the team. It was a bit of a shock when the Daily Prophet had announced their wedding a month and a half later. The shock and confusion lasted only until the announcement of the birth of Edward Rowen Weasley-Brown barely five months later. Within a year, Ginny had her own rushed wedding followed by an early birth, only to Seamus Finnegan. The pair lived in his native Ireland, but Ginny (plus the growing gaggle of children) were frequently at the Burrow as both had fiery tempers.
Hermione had not joined the Ministry right out of Hogwarts. Instead, she went onto university where she studied sociology and political science, eventually getting a Masters' in both subjects. Then she became an intern with the Wizengamot. Some of her ideas would have been impossible to implement completely in the old timeline, but without Voldemort pushing the supremacist view point for decades and several generations of children learning about equality and human rights, she was more successful than she would have been. It wasn't Minister of Magic, but as a high-ranking councilwitch in the Wizengamot, she had gotten more effective legislation passed than she had previously. There was even talk of her becoming the next Chief Warlock once Dumbledore finally decided to retire, or died which many thought was more likely to happen at this point. She never married, but she had a long-term relationship with Victor Krum that had resulted in three children (a daughter followed by a set of twin boys). Victor had retired from playing Quidditch professionally and now taught the sport (along with other physical education) at the school which Myrtle Warren had started. While the pair did occasionally catch flack for their unconventional arrangement, both were more than happen with their domestic partnership and saw no reason to file for a piece of paper to appease the world.
It was in the boundaries of Malfoy Manor where Draco found the best result from his single murder. His beloved Astoria lived, hale and hardy. Instead of a single son bought with her life, they had three wonderful children and a strong marriage unmarred by deep sorrow and shame. The advancements in Healing magic brought about by Lily Potter nee Evans healed more than just werewolves. It had created a way to lessen the impact of the blood curse in the Greengrass family.
No one but Draco remembered the darkness of the Blood Wars. Though he never touched the specially-created Time Turner again, he had no regrets about what he had done. Instead of just talking about doing what was right, he had done it. It had been a black mark on his record as a Healer, but as every Healer knows, sometimes you had to cut out a bit of flesh to preserve the whole.
After all, that would be for the Greater Good.