James Potter and the Radical Revivalists

Chapter Fourteen

James had just suggested that they sit down at one of the desks, when Lyra came bustling over to them with an armful of books. She slammed them down on the table, which earned her a glare from Madam Pince, and shoved the top one in front of James and Alex.

“Look!” she said, pointing to the title. “Time-Traveling Magic, by F.A.E.”

“Time travel?” Alex asked skeptically. “You don’t think F.A.E time traveled to give James that letter, do you?” Lyra squinted at Alex, and then rolled her eyes.

“Actually, no. It’s not the title of the book that caught my eye, or the fact that it’s by F.A.E. Look at this-” Lyra sighed, as she opened the book hastily and searched for a page. She stopped turning at page five-hundred and sixty-two, which contained rather small print, and a large picture of a simple box, with funny letters on the top: the same one that James had found in the Room of Requirement in his third year that had held the letter from F.A.E.

James pulled the book towards him, and began reading aloud, but only so Alex and Lyra could hear.

“ ‘Although the subject of Time Travel is not an easy one for most magical folk to grasp, or even consider, Time Travel is one of the most talked about among magical scholars. Even in the Muggle world, Time Travel is always searched for. Here, in the wizarding world, traveling through time has been proven possible.

With the aid of a Time Turner, both the rarest and most useful, one may turn the device and go back in time for how even long, before their time runs out. Although this is the most useful, it is also one of the most dangerous, since wizards and witches alike seek to change their past, or another’s. 

Another form that has not even been spoken of until now is the use of sending objects into either the future or past. Although sending creatures or people is dangerous and out of the question, objects (such as trinkets, symbolic item, etc.) have made it through the ages perfectly. 

There are various spells to use when attempting to perform this second method, although the most common is ‘Portandum Ante’ for sending items to the future, or (if sending to the past), one replaces ‘ante’ with ‘retro’. Concentration is the key to success, and-’ ” 

Here, James stopped reading abruptly. Lyra seemed satisfied, and closed the book and took it from James. 

“See what I mean?” she smirked.

“Very well, you’ve made your point,” Alex grumbled. “Sure, that’s on the top of the box James found, but what does it have to do with us?”

“Don’t you see?” James said suddenly, turning to face his friends. “F.A.E used this…method to send me the letter in the box. Whoever F.A.E is, they couldn’t come in person because the spell was too tricky and dangerous, so instead, they sent a letter. How they knew everything that was going on then, in third year- I don’t know. But at least we know how I got the letter.”

Alex stared at James in disbelief, but Lyra continued.

“Exactly. And I bet F.A.E. knew what was happening because of a Time Turner,” she said.

Alex shook his head, and gestured to the other books.

“I think you’re both mad. And what are these others for, then?” he said.

“In every book,” Lyra grumbled, opening a page of each book (which all happened to be about time) there was at least one paragraph in each book that said something about a ‘key to success’. 

“Well, that’s a coincidence,” Alex sighed, obviously bored.

“What you’re both missing,” Lyra continued, now frustrated with Alex’s bad mood, “is that in none of these books is F.A.E’s full name. It’s always an abbreviation. So we don’t know anything about the author.”