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Chapter Text

He sat in the circle, exhausted and horrified by the terrible acts he had been forced to perform to get to this point. But it would all be worthwhile if the time gate worked. Harry needed his help and his friendship; above all, Harry needed to survive. The future was a black and awful place, where Voldemort had won and nearly all his friends were dead - including Harry and his closest friends - and his dearest love. He would have never managed the task alone, but Dumbledore had planned for such a horrendous contingency, and imbued his portrait with the knowledge to travel back in time - just once. But once would be enough. Harry would be saved. And so would the world.

With one final burst of will, he activated the gate and fell into the space between the possibilities. The cord of time pulled and yanked him back, and he found himself on a day he remembered quite well indeed.

The plan had worked.

---

She sat atop the tower, cursing herself for the lives she had destroyed to accomplish the impossible. Everyone said it couldn't be done; that changing the past was impossible. Well, she wasn't about to accept common wisdom any longer. Harry was dead, killed years ago by Voldemort. And everyone else she had ever known or cared for was gone. Even her dear beloved, the man she never expected to love. Yes, everyone and everything told her this was impossible - and not only that, wrong.

Well, bugger that. The culmination of a three month intricate ritual was finally coming to a close as the total lunar eclipse was just beginning. And the final words of power left her mouth, never to return, echoing to the moon and beyond. Or more accurately, to the emptiness the moon left behind, a brief space when light fled and darkness crept in. The darkness spread over her, covering the sky, erasing the world from possibility. What she was doing was mass homicide on a planetary scale, and likely far worse - but she couldn't be bothered to care.

And when she opened her eyes, to see a sight so familiar and wondrous she nearly fainted with relief - she knew.

The plan had worked.

---

He waited in the Ministry's most secret room, albeit one where many he had personally known had visited over the years. The Veil of Death fluttered before him, captivating the eye even as it repulsed him. He hated himself, hated everyone he knew. Hated what he had helped bring to fruition. Serving the Dark Lord had never been a good thing - but he had been scared for so long. But now, his parents were dead and his former friends were as good as deceased. And even Harry Bloody Potter was dead - although that had been many years ago. Harry was dead, as were all his annoying friends. And yet, although Harry had been a rival, he was better than the alternative. Far better.

Stealing the old books from the Dark Lord had been a dangerous task - but the rapidly balding man had very little left to lose. It had taken years of planning and arduous labor - and even now he had no idea if it would work. But to hell with it, Harry may have been an arrogant little git, but he should never have died. The Veil was ready for him, the Time-Turners altered and magnified. If he was wrong, he would tear himself and the island apart. If he was right, well, the island still might be ripped asunder. But that he could live with.

With a final goodbye to his dead parents, he activated the artifacts and stepped within the Veil. It would seem like he was falling for all eternity, although in reality it was precisely the amount of time he was erasing. When he landed into his younger self, the surprise that he was no longer falling caused him to stumble and smack his face on a pillar. Well, no matter. He recognized where he was easily enough.

The plan had worked.

---

Far Too Many Time Travelers
Chapter 1: A Bit Odd, Really

---

Harry Potter settled in to the seat in the empty compartment. The Hogwarts Express was finally preparing to leave, and Harry couldn't have been more excited. The concept of learning magic was just about the greatest thing he had ever come across in his life.

The door of the compartment banged open, and a tall, red-headed boy stuck his head in. When he saw Harry, the boy burst into a very happy smile.

Harry felt a bit anxious, wondering if the redhead was about to react to his 'fame'.

"Ah, there you are!" The boy chuckled. "I had forgotten where you were sitting. Wow, it's so bloody fantastic to see you! You look so young!"

Harry frowned, thinking this a comment on his height. "You look young too," he retorted. "Didn't I just see your Mum wiping dirt off your nose?"

The boy laughed, not looking as if he took any offense at all. "Blimey, that's right. I forgot all about that."

"But it just happened," said Harry, slightly confused.

The boy blinked then gasped. "Oh, bloody hell, I almost forgot." He raced and stuck out his hand. "I'm Ron Weasley. Pleased to meet you."

"Um, I'm Harry Potter," Harry accepted the hand, which Ron pumped up and down very energetically.

"Brilliant to meet you," Ron grinned. "Brilliant." He looked around the empty compartment with a huge smile and sighed. "Ah, this is brilliant. Say, you mind if I sit here?"

Harry shook his head, completely disconcerted by the odd behavior. On the other hand, even if this Ron was a bit odd, he was very pleasant. So that was something.

"So, um," Harry started to say, getting back his wits a bit. "Excited for Hogwarts?"

At this, Ron began to laugh in a very infectious manner - Harry had difficulty not joining in, even though he had no idea what was so funny.

"Ah, that's great, Harry, really it is," Ron wiped his eyes. "Oh, I'm excited for Hogwarts all right. Learning magic and all that. Aren't you?"

Harry snickered a bit. "Yeah, but I get the feeling nobody's quite as excited as you."

Ron chuckled. "Yeah, good one, mate. You study the books at all? I never asked the first... well I'm curious anyway."

"Um, yeah, I've read the books, well a lot of them," Harry admitted. "Although I'm really worried I'll be... well, not prepared enough. I might be last in the class."

"No worries, Harry," Ron said. "If anyone's last in the class, it'll be me. I haven't even opened a book yet!" He laughed again, and Harry joined in finally.

"Are you from a magical family?" Harry asked, wondering if that was a factor for Ron's nonchalance.

"I sure am!" Ron beamed. "Bloody brilliant family, they are. Dad works in the Ministry with Muggle stuff, Mum's at home - though with all the kids, can't blame her for that. My older brother Bill works for Gringotts hunting treasure, and the next one Charlie works with dragons. The other three you saw already, Percy's the prefect, and the Twins are Fred and George." Ron smiled and then looked as if he had just remembered something. "Oh, and Ginny's a year below us, so she'll start next year."

Ron waggled his eyebrows. "But I'll be keeping an eye on you about that, eh?"

"Um, sure," replied Harry, having no idea what Ron was talking about. "That sounds great, growing up with a magical family. My parents were magical, but I grew up with my relatives - Muggles."

To Harry's surprise, Ron scowled, as if he somehow already knew the Dursleys.

"Bloody Muggles," Ron cursed. "Remind me to do something about them, will you? Bars and all that nonsense."

"You don't hate Muggles, do you?" Harry asked worriedly.

Ron blinked in surprise. "What? No, of course not. I just can't stand the idea of a bunch of Muggles mistreating you."

"Hey," Harry's eyes narrowed. "How do you know about that?"

"Um, I don't!" Ron answered in a panic. "I mean, I just guessed. Everyone knows you grew up with Muggles, but the way you talk about them... I just guessed."

Harry sighed. "Well, I suppose you're a decent guesser then. The Dursleys were pretty awful, actually."

"Well, well, look who it is."

A familiar blond boy had entered the compartment - Harry remembered him as the rude boy from Madame Malkin's.

"You know," the boy said. "I feel like I should apologize for how I acted earlier. You know how it is, kids trying to impress each other."

Harry frowned. "I suppose," he said slowly.

"I'm Draco Malfoy," the boy stuck out his hand.

"We know who you are!" Ron jumped out of his seat and yelled angrily. "Get your stinking arse out of here, Malfoy!"

"You dare..." Malfoy visibly took a very deep breath. "Listen, I don't even know who you are."

Ron's eye twitched then he suddenly looked very alarmed. "Oh, well, I've heard about your family from my dad."

Malfoy sighed and rubbed his head. "I'm not my bloody father, okay? Are you the exact same person as your father?"

"No," Ron said slowly. "But that doesn't mean I trust you one whit."

"Fine," Malfoy spat. "I don't trust you either!"

"Say, has anyone seen a toad?"

A bushy-haired girl had walked into the compartment with a smile, although suddenly she stopped and looked worried.

"Oh dear," she mumbled almost too soft to hear. "Have I gotten the time wrong?"

"Um, hello," Ron said slowly, staring at the girl.

She looked up and stared back. "Hello, uh, there."

Harry was getting a bit exasperated with the whole business. "Hello, I'm Harry Potter."

The girl shook her head and looked back at Harry. She burst into a brilliant smile and rushed over, grabbing his hand and shaking it vigorously. "Oh, it's great to finally meet you!" She exclaimed. "I'm Hermione Granger - my parents were Muggles, so this is all so very exciting!"

She released Harry's arm and then stepped back, looking chagrined. "I mean, um, I know all about you, of course — I got a few extra books, for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century."

"Very nice to meet you, Hermione Granger," Harry said politely. "I haven't read any of those books. Am I really in them?"

"Yes, but don't worry about it, they're all rubbish," Hermione grinned. "I'm just pleased to meet some new people." She looked at Malfoy and frowned. "Um, who are you?"

Malfoy sneered. "I'm Draco Malfoy," he then bowed. When he had straightened, he looked to have a very ugly expression on his face, as if he had just swallowed something vile.

"Very pleased to meet all of you," Malfoy told them. "I - I hope I see you all in Slytherin." This last bit seemed to have taken a great deal of will to say, and now Malfoy appeared very tired. The blond boy yawned, and then blinked in surprise. "I apologize, but I need to get some rest for now. See you at Hogwarts." Before anyone could reply, Malfoy had practically ran out of the compartment.

"That was odd," Harry mused.

"I don't like him," Ron snarled.

Hermione giggled. "Well, that's not entirely unreasonable, is it? A bit of an unpleasant fellow, wasn't he?'

Harry shrugged. "Sort of. But he did apologize for being a jerk in Diagon Alley, when I met him a month ago."

Hermione's jaw dropped. "He apologized? Is that true R-, um, sir?" she asked Ron.

Ron nodded. "Yup. Oh, and don't call me sir, it seems weird." His ears turned a bright red. "Um, you can just call me Ron. Ron Weasley."

"Pleased to meet you," Hermione replied with a little curtsy, and the two began staring at each other again.

"Say, if you'd like me to find another compartment, that's fine," Harry said, slightly annoyed.

"What? Oh, nonsense!" Hermione shook her head. "No, I'd love a chance to talk with you a bit before we need to change!"

"Um, well, all right," Harry said, sitting back down. Hermione stood there, smiling at him.

"Uh, won't you sit down?" Harry asked her.

Hermione suddenly looked like she was about to cry. "Oh, how nice of you. Yes, of course, how silly of me!" She slid into the seat across Harry.

Ron looked at the seat, and then across to Harry. "Hmm, I think I'll just stand."

"Don't be stupid," Harry told him. "Just sit down! There's plenty of room!"

Ron nodded and sat down, although he made sure to sit as far as possible on the seat away from Hermione.

Harry sighed. He couldn't tell if the two hated each other or had some odd crush, but either way it was massively uncomfortable.

"So, um," Harry started to say haltingly. "Why don't you tell me about yourselves?"

Both began answering at the same time, then looked at each other.

"You go ahead," said Hermione.

"No, I insist," replied Ron.

Harry groaned.

---

As they walked towards the Great Hall, Harry wondered just what was wrong with these new sort-of friends of his.

Hermione and Ron were still acting unbelievably awkwardly around each other, as if they had already met ages ago. And the things Ron sometimes said made absolutely no sense, although at least he had stopped laughing at everything. And Hermione... she alternated between odd musings and what sometimes sounded like material she had memorized from a book. Although from what he had already learned about her, that part wasn't so hard to believe.

And then there was Malfoy, hovering around them, never quite saying anything, but always looking as if he wanted to interject. Ron seemed to completely despise the blond boy, and Harry could tell that Hermione didn't care for him either, although she was better at hiding her distaste.

On the other hand, they all seemed to be pretty friendly to Harry, and that was unusual enough that he was willing to ignore their idiosyncrasies for the time being.

"How do you suppose we get sorted?" Harry asked Ron.

"The Hat," Ron answered flippantly.

Hermione whipped her head towards them. "How did you know that?"

"Um," Ron's eyes bugged out. "Percy told me. I wouldn't stop whining about it."

Malfoy snorted and smirked slightly.

"Shut it, you," Ron told him.

"So, what's the Hat?" Harry asked, pretending that nothing out of place had occurred.

"Oh, I'm sure we'll find out," Hermione said primly. She glared at Ron. "Won't we?"

Ron gulped. "Um, yes. I forgot - I mean, you do love rules, don't you?"

Hermione sighed. "Yes, I suppose so."

Harry decided to tune them out until the whole Sorting business was over. But when Professor McGonagall brought a Hat that actually sang to them...

"A Hat, eh?" Harry looked at Ron. "Did your brother tell you about that part?"

Ron frowned thoughtfully. "Hmm, I'm going to say... uh, no, he just slipped on the Hat part. He refused to say anything else though."

Hermione bit her lip nervously. "You know, it's possible that the Hat can read minds, based on that song. I wonder what it can see."

At this remark, both Ron and Malfoy were suddenly very alarmed.

Harry rolled his eyes. "What's the big deal? What secrets could a bunch of kids possibly have?"

Hermione laughed nervously. "Yes, good point, Harry, yes, very good point."

As the students began to be called up in alphabetical order, Harry's three 'friends' seemed to be getting more and more nervous. Hermione in particular looked as if she was about to faint.

When her name was called, Hermione just stood there.

"Come on then," Harry whispered to her. "Don't worry about it, you'll be fine."

Hermione looked back at him in surprise, then seemed to blink away some tears. She moved as if she was about to hug him, then just patted Harry on the shoulder.

"Thank you, Harry," she said, and walked over to the Hat.

The Hat made an odd noise, like an "Eh?", but then after only a second or so yelled "GRYFFINDOR!"

Ron sighed in relief. "Oh, good. But wait, she's not the one out of..." He stopped talking and looked nervous again.

Eventually Malfoy was called over, looking quite anxious himself. The Hat instantly yelled out "SLYTHERIN!" Malfoy stumbled over the Slytherin table, seeming as if he wasn't quite sure he believed it was over.

Finally it was Harry's turn, and although the room began to erupt in whispers, Harry strode quickly over to the Hat, hoping to see what the big deal was anyway.

After the Hat had been lowered on Harry's head, it began to chuckle. "Hmm... I half expected you to be one... surprised you aren't."

"What's so funny?" Harry asked in annoyance.

"Oh, Mr. Potter, I wish I could tell. I really do. But we don't need to drag this on any farther, now do we? We both know where you belong."

"We do?" Harry asked, not completely sure himself.

"Yes, considering what has already happened twice already. Better be... GRYFFINDOR!" Instantly the Gryffindor table burst into applause and Harry walked over.

"Well done, Harry," Hermione told him. "Nothing to it, right? That was fast! The Hat barely had to think about it, didn't it?"

Harry shrugged. "Yes, I guess."

Very soon it was Ron's turn, and Harry wasn't completely sure what he wanted.

Suddenly the Hat began to laugh out loud, and everyone in the room seemed taken aback. Even the Professors seemed shocked at this behavior.

"Oh, this is rich, it is," the Hat said. "Obviously yet another GRYFFINDOR!"

Ron raced over to the table, and sat next to Harry, looking tremendously relieved but also a bit annoyed.

"Stupid Hat," he said. "Started laughing but wouldn't tell me why."

"Maybe it thought you had a good sense of humor," Harry pointed out. "You did laugh a lot when I first met you."

Ron laughed at that. "Nice one, Harry. You're all right, aren't you?"

Harry shook his head in amusement. "I certainly hope so."

---

One thing Harry Potter knew for sure was that his friends weren't so bad, really - but they were all really quite odd.

They were nice - always helping Harry through the maze-like corridors of Hogwarts when he was getting lost. And yet they always seemed to know more than they should - including what seemed like instinctive abilities to navigate the school when every other first-year was stumbling over hidden stairs and walking in endless circles.

And then there was the classwork.

In their first Charms class, Professor Flitwick, a tiny little wizard, squeaked when he read Harry's name and fell off a pile of books. Instantly Ron and Hermione began to laugh, although they stopped immediately when the Professor glared at them. It was in Transfiguration that Harry began to feel a sense of the two - both managed to perfectly change a match into a needle, but their other actions couldn't have been more different. Hermione sat completely at attention the entire class, whereas Ron actually fell asleep - Professor McGonagall was quite cross until he managed the transfiguration successfully with utter effortlessness.

At which point she seemed a bit pleased and awarded five points each to Gryffindor.

On the other hand, sometimes they acted identically - in their Defense Against the Dark Arts class, both Ron and Hermione seemed about ready to attack poor Professor Quirrell at any moment.

At first Harry though he was misreading the situation, noticing minor aberrations in their behavior. Ron bit his lip and clenched his fist while looking intently at the Professor, while Hermione kept rubbing her wand, her eyes just to the side. Harry decided that they were just focused on the lecture, difficult though it was to understand through all the stuttering, but as the Defense class went on, things got worse. When answering a question, Hermione's words were nothing but polite, but it was almost like she spat them out. And Ron just grunted in response to everything.

"You sure didn't like the Professor," commented Harry after the class.

Ron scowled. "He just seems like bad news, if you ask me."

Hermione nodded. "Yes, I quite agree. He's obviously hiding something."

"If you say so." Harry shrugged.

But the most dramatic day would be Friday, when they attended Potions class with the Slytherins. Harry was wondering if Malfoy would muster the courage to finally talk to him, as he seemed to be unable to speak every time they had passed each other in the halls.

Of course, it turned out that everyone had a bit of advice for him.

"You know, Harry," Hermione told him. "I heard from Hagrid that Professor Snape and your mother were very close friends. You should stop in a few minutes early and ask him about her."

"Do you really think that's a good idea?" Ron asked, looking hardly convinced. "It's obvious he hates everybody."

"I know that!" Hermione replied angrily. "But maybe they could get off on the right foot instead of hating each other. Oh!" She grinned suddenly. "You should tell him you grew up with your relatives. I think he knew them too."

"Um, sure," Harry wasn't quite sure about it, but he agreed, as their advice had been fairly good so far. And as Harry was walking ten minutes early to the Potions classroom, Malfoy finally accosted him with some words of wisdom.

"Listen, Potter," Malfoy said with gritted teeth. "Snape's a cowardly bully, but he'll respect you more if you don't antagonize him. Try to be nice and respectful, would you?"

"I wasn't planning to misbehave, Malfoy," Harry informed his rarely seen acquaintance. "I'm not an idiot."

Malfoy's mouth curled up and he nodded. "See you in class, then."

Professor Snape was quite surprised to see Harry.

"What do you want?" he asked acidly.

"Well, I heard that you were really close friends with my mum," Harry said slowly.

Snape sat upright in surprise, then his eyes narrowed. "Where did you hear that?" he demanded.

"I think first from Hagrid, actually," answered Harry.

"I see," Snape said softly. "Well, that's possible, I suppose."

"I didn't really hear anything about her growing up," Harry went on in a hurry. "My relatives didn't even mention my parents except that they died in a car crash."

"They did what?" Snape's eyes glittered dangerously.

Harry held up his hands quickly. "Wait, I know the truth now. It was Voldemort-" Snape flinched.

"Sorry, You-Know-Who that killed them. Hagrid told me."

"Hmph," Snape grunted. "Hagrid is telling you quite a bit, isn't he?" Then his eyes widened and he breathed in sharply. "Wait a moment. You grew up with relatives, you said? Which relatives? On your father's side?"

Harry shook his head. "No, with my aunt and uncle. Aunt Petunia was my Mum's sister, did you know her too?"

Snape's mouth tightened and he began to look a bit angry. "I did not realize you had been living with that... woman. Did she even tell you anything of Hogwarts at all?"

"No, sir," replied Harry. "They didn't like magic much - actually they pretended it didn't exist until Hagrid showed up."

The Potions Professor rubbed his temples as though he was getting a headache. "I don't have time for this now, Potter. Perhaps I'll have time later to talk about your mother. But for now, take your seat for class - it's only another few minutes in any event."

Harry grinned. "Thank you sir!" It appeared that his friends advice had worked like a charm. He found a desk and happily went to work pulling out his parchment and Potions supplies. Every so often, the Professor would look at him with an odd expression, and then look away.

Well, perhaps it was hard for him to be reminded of his old friend being dead for so many years. Harry missed his parents and he'd never even known them. Professor Snape had actually been friends with them.

Soon enough, the other students trickled in. Hermione practically ran over to grab the seat next to Harry, leaving a very annoyed Ron to share a cauldron with Neville Longbottom. Malfoy took a seat behind them, looking quite exhausted indeed.

When everyone had found seats, Snape began to take roll call - but when he got to Harry's name, he paused.

"Hmm, Harry Potter," he said softly. "Our new... celebrity." At this, Ron and Hermione instantly became obviously infuriated.

For his part, Harry didn't get it, and looked at the Professor with confusion. Snape avoided Harry's look and continued on with the roll. When he finished, he put down the list and looked up at the class with a sort of thoughtful expression.

"This is not a typical class," Snape said in an intense but quiet voice. "You will rarely require your wands, but will instead require more will and concentration than all other classes put together. And it requires you to think on your feet."

He turned to Harry and looked at him carefully. "Mr. Potter - in the boil-curing potion, do you add the porcupine quills before or after removing the potion from the fire?"

"Oh!" Harry blinked, as this sounded quite familiar. "Um, after, I think."

Snape nodded, looking pleased. "Perhaps a slightly more advanced question, then. What would be a good use for Essence of Murtlap?"

Hermione began waving her hand around frantically, and actually moved to block Snape's view of Harry. Not to be outdone, Ron started waving his hand as well.

"What... put your hands down," Snape snapped at them. "When I ask you a question, you will know it!"

"Typical," spat Hermione, then her face froze, looking as if she had meant to say anything.

Professor Snape looked as he did not believe what he had heard. "No speaking unless I call on you. Five points for breaking the rules."

"Well, that makes a lot of sense!" Ron snarled.

"Silence! That will be another ten points from Gryffindor for that little outburst!" He visibly composed himself. "So, Mister Potter?"

"Um, sorry about them," Harry said softly.

The Professor snorted. "It wasn't you that was behaving like an ill-mannered brat. Do you have an answer?"

"I think so," Harry answered. "I don't remember the name of it, but I think murtlap is often used for healing potions."

"Well thought out," Snape replied with a smirk. "I think you have a good handle on the problem so far. One final question, I think. Which one potion requires stewing lacewing flies twenty-one days and picking fluxweed at a full moon?"

"But sir, that's unfair," Hermione hissed angrily. "How could you expect a first year to know about it? Polyjuice is a Restricted potion!"

"And how exactly do you know that, Miss Granger, being a first year yourself?" Snape riposted. "And what did I just say about speaking out of turn? Another ten points for idiocy."

"Oh, will you just leave her alone then?" Ron asked scathingly. "As if you'd act the same way towards one of your precious Slytherins."

Malfoy snorted then looked as if he hadn't meant to do anything.

Snape whirled towards Draco furiously. "Something to add, Mr. Malfoy?"

The young Slytherin student sighed. "Oh, I doubt you'd want to hear it."

"I'm all ears," the Professor said in a warning tone.

"Well, perhaps the Gryffindor idiots have a point, sir," Malfoy said in a surprisingly bitter voice. "Maybe if you weren't so discriminatory towards other houses, Slytherins wouldn't be treated so poorly." He paused and then said, "I've heard things."

"You've heard things?" Snape hissed. "Think I'm afraid to take points from my own house, do you? You are quite wrong on that account, Mister Malfoy, despite what your father may have told you. That will be thirty points from Slytherin for blatant disrespect. And another twenty points from Gryffindor for equally appalling behavior."

"How could you?" Hermione suddenly burst into tears. "It's your fault - it's all your fault!" She buried her face in her hands.

"Are you out of your mind?" The Professor asked with a confused glare. "You're not making any sense! Stop crying this moment!"

"You're just being a bully," Ron growled, standing up and shaking his fist.

Snape's eyes narrowed and he looked quite furious. "Sit down this moment," he said in a quiet, dangerous manner. "This sort of behavior might get you expelled."

"What's wrong?" Malfoy asked sarcastically. "Worried that some children might be getting the best of you? Have to threaten expulsion for every little thing?"

"Enough!" Snape yelled. "Detention! All three of you! And sit down before I throw you out!" After the three sat down, glaring all the while, Snape rubbed his head again.

"As I believe I was saying before," the Professor said in a strained voice. "Mr. Potter, any ideas?"

"Well," Harry said carefully, afraid to say anything after all that. "I think Hermione mentioned Polyjuice Potion, although I don't know what that is."

Snape snorted. "Ah, well, yes that's it exactly. At least you were paying attention." He then turned to the rest of the class and glared. "And why has no one else been taking notes? Does anyone else fancy detention as well?"

The three seemed to realize how badly they had acted, and spent the remainder of the class pretending they hadn't done anything wrong at all. It didn't stop Snape from watching them all murderously.

All in all, Potions wasn't so bad, really.

---

As they all stood outside for their flying lesson, his friends seemed as anxious as ever - well, with the possible exception of Ron, who kept rubbing his hands together and chortling to himself.

"This is gonna be great, Harry," Ron informed him. "Flying's the best."

"Stupid brooms," grumbled Hermione to herself.

Everything went rather smoothly until Neville fell from his broom and had to be taken to the hospital wing. After Madame Hooch and Neville had run off, everyone just stood around waiting.

Ron and Hermione kept looking at Malfoy expectantly, as if they thought he was about to do something dramatic as well.

Finally Malfoy seemed to notice they were looking at him and his jaw dropped.

"Oh, right," he said. "Ah, damn it, what was it that happened again?"

"Say, Malfoy," Ron said cautiously. "Have something there, do you?"

"Actually, no," Malfoy replied grumpily.

Ron frowned. "Are you quite sure?"

"Why, look what it is!" Hermione interjected and pointed to the ground. "It's Neville's Remembrall - he must've dropped it."

Malfoy nodded. "Ah, yes, that stupid thing. Um, blast."

Harry looked between them and then sighed heavily. "Fine, I can take a hint. I'll give it back to him when gets out of the hospital wing." He leaned down and picked up the shiny globe. "You know, it's not exactly the hardest thing to pick something up off the ground."

No one said anything for a few moments.

"Um, is there something going on here?" Parvati asked.

"Whatever do you mean?" Hermione asked airily.

"Say, Harry," Ron brightened. "Fancy a catch?"

"With Neville's thing?" Harry frowned. "No, I wouldn't want to break it. Besides, the teacher told us if we flew without her we'd get expelled."

Ron and Malfoy scoffed at that.

"Nonsense," Ron said with a smirk.

"As if they'd expel the Golden Boy for such a petty offense," Malfoy sneered.

Harry laughed. "The Golden Boy? Haven't heard that one before."

"Well, you know what I mean," Malfoy stammered. "You haven't lost any points yet."

"Just because I don't insult Professors to their faces doesn't make me the Golden Boy," Harry chuckled. "Maybe you lot should watch how you act in class."

"He has a point, Draco," Pansy simpered to the other Slytherin. "You shouldn't be disrespecting Professor Snape like some common Gryffindor."

Hermione and Ron burst into laughter in response.

"What a brilliant insult," Ron crowed.

"She sure put us in our place, didn't she?" Hermione wiped away merry tears from her eyes.

Pansy glared at them. "I expect you are some sort of bad influence on Draco. That's the only explanation."

"Brilliant!" Ron said again. "Well reasoned, Parkinson. All part of our evil plan to make Malfoy even more of a git."

Hermione smacked him. "You needn't be that rude."

"You are all mad," Harry informed them.

"I'm not!" Parvati said in a scandalized tone.

"Well, maybe not you," Harry allowed. "But perhaps that's just because you haven't had the chance to act oddly yet."

"Come on, Harry," Ron motioned to the brooms. "Catch?"

Harry scowled. "No! I don't fancy detention the way you seem to."

"Well, fine then," Ron said with an bizarre look in his eyes. "If that's the way you - Accio Remembrall!" The small globe leaped out of Harry's hands and Ron caught it after a bit of fumbling. "C'mon Harry, if you want it, you gotta follow!"

Ron jumped on a broom and soared up into the air.

"You aren't going to let him show you up like that, are you?" Malfoy asked. "I'm not!" He grabbed another broom and flew up to pace Ron. "Throw it here, Weasley!"

Ron shrugged. "Eh, why not?" He tossed the Remembrall quite hard at Malfoy, who still managed to catch it, although it was a close thing.

"Harry, you aren't going to let them get away with that, are you?" Hermione bugged him.

"If I don't, I suppose you'll join their craziness?" Harry sighed.

"No, I'm rubbish at flying," Hermione said, shaking her head. "But look at them! They'll break it for sure! Neville will be heartbroken."

"Fine!" Harry almost yelled and glared at her. "I hate you guys, you know that?"

Hermione just smiled.

But when Harry jumped into the air, suddenly he became quite a bit less angry. The sensations, the movements that followed his will - it was all marvelous.

"Uh oh," Ron called out with a grin. "Here he comes!"

Malfoy snorted. "Well, Potter - you think you can beat me to it?"

"When I get it back from both of you," Harry said solemnly, albeit with an enormous grin. "We are all landing immediately."

"Confident, aren't you?" Malfoy raised an eyebrow. "Weasley, toss it and let's see who catches it first!"

Ron grinned and threw the Remembrall towards the ground with all his strength.

Malfoy darted after, but Harry followed almost instinctively, managing to accelerate and weave around the Slytherin until he was barely passing him.

"Hardly fair," Malfoy grunted out. "Bloody cheater."

Harry just ignored this and kept his eyes on the falling orb. And barely two feet before the ground, Harry curved and grabbed the Remembrall. He grinned at Malfoy, who had pulled up a bit behind, and lowered himself onto the ground.

Hermione shook her head and sighed. "I'll never get used to that. You looked like you were about to hit the ground!"

"You told me to fly after them," Harry reminded her. "So none of that now."

"Uh oh," Parvati mumbled. "It's McGonagall!"

Sure enough, the Transfiguration Professor was storming over, sputtering incoherently.

She glared up at the still hovering Ron. "Ronald Weasley, get down here this instant!"

McGonagall turned her angry gaze towards Harry and Malfoy. "What is the meaning of this... blatant disregard for safety?"

Malfoy shrugged. "Just a game of catch."

"Excuse me?" Harry whirled. "That's not how it happened."

"They grabbed Neville's Remembrall and started playing with it," Parvati informed their teacher. "And basically forced Harry to come after them to get it back."

"Weasley and Malfoy?" McGonagall seemed quite taken aback. "They goaded Mr. Potter into flying against the rules?"

"Yes!" Pansy spat. "It's ridiculous!"

"And was no one thinking clearly?" McGonagall demanded.

"Harry didn't want to play around," Parvati said with relish. "But Ron and Hermione and Malfoy all were trying to break the rules!"

McGonagall frowned at Hermione. "Miss Granger, is that true?"

"Well," Hermione said slowly. "Sort of."

The Professor sighed and rubbed her head, in a way that Harry felt like copying himself.

"All right, I think each of you will get a detention for breaking school rules," she decided. "Except for you, Mr. Potter. You come with me, right now."

"But..." Harry sputtered.

"Enough!" McGonagall cut him off. "Let's go."

When Harry came back to the Gryffindor table that evening, he glared at his friends.

"Wha izzit?" Ron asked through a mouthful of food.

"I'm the new seeker for the Quidditch team," Harry said angrily.

"That's great!" Hermione beamed.

"Yes, it is!" Parvati squealed. "Did you get detention too?"

Harry shook his head. "No, McGonagall said it was obvious I'd been forced into it - but that I clearly had some talent."

"You do," Hermione agreed with a smile.

Ron sighed. "I wish I could've gotten on the team too."

"You were being a prat out there," Parvati informed him. "You're lucky you lot weren't expelled." Then she gasped. "You don't think Malfoy was made Seeker on the Slytherin team, do you?"

"I hope not," Ron grumbled. "But I wouldn't put past that slimy Snape."

Harry grunted in annoyance and sat down to get some food. "Snape hates all three you equally, I think. Why would he put someone he hated on the team?"

Ron brightened. "That's a good point, Harry."

"Aren't you even annoyed you've gotten two detentions in the first month?"

Hermione shrugged. "Not particularly."

"Yeah," Ron agreed. "It's just detention."

"You're both nutters," Harry grumbled to himself.

As they all walked back to the dorm later that night, Ron suddenly stopped and gasped.

"What now?" Harry groaned.

"Um... nothing," Ron stammered. "Just wondered why Malfoy didn't come over to bug us."

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "That's true. I wonder what he's up to."

"Who cares?" Harry almost yelled. "I wonder what you both are up to."

"Nothing!" Ron yelped.

Hermione shook her head rapidly. "Why would I be up to anything?"

"I think your friends are all crazy," Parvati whispered to Harry.

"Yeah," Harry sighed. "They are." Then he shrugged. "But they're still my friends."

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and its associated properties is owned by JK Rowling and her partners

 

The warrior sat in his battered clothes atop the corpse of the thing that had shattered the world. In the end, it seemed almost anticlimactic to destroy Voldemort after everything he had done to set the planet on fire. It seemed almost... too easy.

But it had not been a simple path to get to that point - the brave and blood-spattered wizard had lost so many friends it scarcely mattered that he had eviscerated so many foes as well. Countless Dark wizards and witches had died by his wand, including some that had brought him enormous relief.

Not one of those deaths could make up for the losses of his closest friends, dead for over a decade. Murdered by the machinations of the now comatose Riddle. If he was honest to himself, he always thought that Riddle would have had some exit strategy - a way to get out if he couldn't win. Although Riddle was so very arrogant, he might never have even thought to use it.

But that didn't mean that Riddle hadn't planned for such a thing. A quick and thorough search of the body revealed an item that sent a chill down his spine. An old artifact, but one of shocking power - modified by Riddle himself, if the warrior had it right. He looked at the devastation around him, the results of a pitched and frenzied battle - so much death. So much suffering.

There was always the possibility that it was a final trap by Riddle, something that would erase all the efforts done to avenge the death of Harry, of Ron, of Hermione... of all his friends. But as he looked down at the very old watch, he realized that it no longer mattered. He wanted a chance to change things for the better. Riddle had first been defeated on a Halloween so long ago, and now his final defeat was on the eve of the holiday nearly thirty years later. It seemed fitting.

It was so simple and easy to use the watch, but as it ticked backwards, it began to crumble into dust. A one-way trip then. Fair enough.

---

As the years had passed and the country healed from the scars of the war, he pretended it didn't bother him. One victory after another, and he fooled himself into thinking it mattered.

A string of World Cup triumphs, and he told himself it made up for the loss so long ago.

But then, after nearly three decades of blind and foolish living, he shattered his arm, and was forced into retirement - he would never be able to play again. After a hundred horrible, drunken nights, a bizarre thought came into his addled mind. If he could somehow go back and win that Quidditch Cup, then everything would somehow work out. He had an obscene amount of money from his many years playing and endorsing products - he had never much cared for spending the money, so it just sat there, building up over time.

Even with all the money a former World Cup star could bring to bear, the search took many years. Until one day he learned of an old shimmering of reality that happened on Hallow's Eve at Stonehenge once every century - and he just was in time to catch it in a year hence. At that precise moment, the eye of a thousand thousand rituals echoed throughout time would collapse on point, theoretically pushing anything in the circle to one point in time. And with a bit of manipulation, the destination could be controlled and determined. That final year of waiting and preparing passed slowly and terribly, but he passed the time planning play after brilliant play, ready to take the Quidditch world of the past by storm.

So when the day arrived, he stepped into the perfectly prepared spell circle in the middle of Stonehenge, more than happy to travel back to where it could all be fixed - probably. And then everything else would just work itself out - more than likely.

---

Poor Harry. The dying boy lay in his arms, a peaceful expression on his face.

"You did your best, truly," he said softly, coughing up blood. But the older boy couldn't help but sob - he had not been able to keep the young Gryffindor alive. And now Voldemort was out there, back again, ready to plunge the world into war.

The older boy's eyes narrowed and suddenly everything became crystal clear. He would avenge Harry's murder and take down Voldemort, whatever the cost. No matter what sacrifices were required. And somehow, someday, he would find a way to settle the score for not protecting Harry.

But it wouldn't be quite that easy. Although his girlfriend and Harry's friends were only too happy to help fight against Voldemort, or Riddle as it was soon learned was the bastard's true name, such efforts were just momentary delays in Riddle's mad attack against all the world.

It would be the turning point on the anniversary of the death of Harry's parents, a bleak and dismal Halloween, as the sad man sat and commiserated with the surviving fighters. Because Hermione, always a great resource and brilliant fighter, had finally had enough. She had a fantastic plan, one that apparently she had been working on for ages. Send someone back in time to save Harry and destroy Riddle. Everyone argued that she be the one to go back, but that was impossible - she was the only one who could trigger the time gate - by the eldritch and horrible sacrifice of her own soul.

So it turned to the now subdued but determined man, as their leader for so many years, to go back and leave everyone behind. He promised them all that his chief priority would be Harry's safety, and then to destroy Riddle. Although he could not take any physical materials with him, Hermione had given him ridiculous amounts of information to memorize about Harry's early life.

Hopefully he could remember it all. Hopefully he could finally settle the anger and hatred he had felt for himself since he had seen Harry die in his arms. Not this time. Harry would live - at all costs.

---

Far Too Many Time Travelers

Chapter 2: I Say, That's Enough of That

---

The next day got off to quite a rousing start when Ron punched Malfoy in the face.

It started innocently enough, of course, with Harry enjoying his breakfast with his crazy friends - and then Harry had received a brand new broom for his Quidditch training. While most of the table enthused and responded enthusiastically, Hermione kept looking over at the Slytherin and glaring at Malfoy, who glared right back at her. Eventually Ron stopped eating long enough to notice and then he stood.

"Malfoy, bee in your bonnet?" He yelled bizarrely across the room. "Something in your eye?"

"Shut your mouth, Weasley!" Malfoy yelled back.

Hermione hissed at Ron. "Sit down, Ronald! What are you doing? You'll get in trouble!" Then a very odd expression appeared on her face, and she looked back and forth between Ron and Malfoy. She frowned and then suddenly gasped.

"What is it?" Harry asked in curiosity.

"That was a mistake," muttered Parvati to him.

"Um, oh did you hear what Malfoy called me?" Hermione said and covered her face with her hands. "Something awful earlier today."

Ron looked over and there was a dark fury in his eyes. "What did that bastard say to you?" He asked in a low and angry voice.

McGonagall appeared suddenly near them. "Mr. Weasley, what is the meaning of this outburst?"

"Nothing," Ron answered with an overly calm tone. "Nothing at all." He sat back down and continued eating, although his eyes never left Malfoy across the Hall.

"I certainly hope not," the Professor told him, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You have quite enough detentions already, I'd imagine." She then strode off dramatically back to the Head Table.

When she was out of earshot, Ron asked, "What did he call you?"

"Oh, I shouldn't repeat it, whatever it was," Hermione said dismissively, and pulled out some parchment. She wrote down something and then quickly folded it up. "I really must be off, I forgot something in my room. See you in class!"

This didn't seem to help Ron's mood, as he continued to brood angrily until they left the Hall and started walking to class. Unfortunately Malfoy then apparently decided to make another appearance. Normally this wouldn't necessarily be so bad, but Draco couldn't seem to stop himself from insulting Ron again.

"Why do you hang around this moron, Potter?" Malfoy asked derisively. "Granger I can understand to some extent - she's a smart one, for a mudblood."

"Is that what you called her?" Ron tightened his fists and glared at the Slytherin.

Malfoy shrugged dismissively. "And if I did?"

And then Ron punched him, before anyone else could react.

"Ron!" Harry gasped and pulled him back. "What did you do that for?"

Malfoy growled and pulled out his wand.

"Wait a minute!" Harry said quickly. "Let's not go crazy here. We don't even know any good spells for cursing yet anyway."

"I suppose that's true, Potter," Malfoy said slowly. "Just tell that to Weasley. Might take a few times to get through that thick skull of his." With a huff, he turned and walked away.

"Hmm," Parvati frowned. "I hate to say it, but if Malfoy really did call Hermione that name, perhaps he had it coming."

Ron turned to her and grinned widely. "Thanks Parvati! Gryffindors forever, right?" He brandished a fist and winked at them.

"What was the name again?" Harry asked. "I didn't quite catch it."

Parvati looked around a bit with a worried expression. "Well, it's a very offensive word. You don't see any professors around, do you?"

"Nope!" Ron said, still smiling like a loon. "Otherwise I'd have probably gotten another detention."

"Very true," muttered Parvati. "Well, Harry, the word Malfoy used was 'mudblood' - it's an awfully cruel thing to call Muggle-borns, so mind you don't repeat it!"

Harry held up his hands. "Don't worry, I won't! Are you sure Malfoy knew what it meant?"

"Oh, he knew all right," Ron said with a scowl. "Probably heard it from Mummy or dear old Dad."

Parvati shrugged apologetically at Harry. "As mad as Ron usually is, he's probably right about that. The Malfoys are pretty big into blood purity."

"I see," Harry replied, thinking about it. There seemed to be layers to magical society he hadn't even considered. "I suppose that Malfoy seems like a jerk, but maybe he doesn't know any better if he was raised that way."

"Giving him an awful lot of credit," Parvati told him with a snicker.

"Too much," Ron growled as Hermione ran up just as they reached the classroom.

"Oh, good!" She exclaimed. "I'm not late. Did I miss anything?"

---

Later in the evening, while most people sat around working on their classwork, Ron just moped about and scribbled little drawings on his parchment.

"So bored..." he moaned.

Hermione glared at him. "If you're so bored you can't help but bother everyone else, you could always find a book in the Library you've yet to read. Or, if you're you, maybe you could write a list of things you need to accomplish."

"Huh." Ron grunted. "That's not such a bad idea. The second one, not the Library one."

"Or you could help Harry with his homework."

"Hey, I'm doing fine," Harry insisted, although this was only mostly true. He had missed some time to work that evening with his Quidditch training earlier, although that bit was actually fun. "Not everyone can be a genius like you two."

Ron laughed loudly. "Yeah, that's me, a genius. Shocking business, innit? Who'd have guessed little Ronnie would already know everything? My Mum'll be so proud." He stopped smiling and then looked quite contemplative. "You know, I should write to her. And Dad, too. Hell, I should write Bill and Charlie too, it's been ages since I've seen them." He got up and hurried out of the common area.

Hermione watched him go with a surprised look on her face, then she smiled slightly and shook her head. "Oh, Ron."

"Oh, Ron, is it?" Harry asked in exasperation. "I don't get you two. It's like you have your own secret genius language or something."

"Something like that," replied Hermione in a very soft voice. "Although I imagine he hasn't realized it yet."

Harry rolled his eyes at the cryptic nonsense, which was quite typical for Hermione or Ron. "As much as you two hate Malfoy, and I will admit he can be a bit of a pain, at least he's not a crazy genius above the rest of us. Sometimes I think he's actually more normal than you two."

"What a thing to say!" Hermione gasped. "Harry James Potter, you take that back!"

"Have you thought that maybe he's the way he is because of his parents?" Harry riposted. "And that perhaps he's trying to be decent, but it's hard for him."

Hermione huffed. "No, I do not." This seemed to end her side of the argument, and Harry didn't really feel like continuing it.

Soon enough, Harry grew too tired to continue working and began to gather up his things.

"Oh, before you go," Hermione said without looking up from her book. "I recently read in the newspaper about a disease that's been going around magical pets. You should tell Neville and Ron to have their little friends checked out by Madam Pomfrey."

"Okay," Harry said, a bit taken aback. "Do you think Hedwig might need to be looked at too?"

Hermione paused and she seemed to be thinking. "Hmm, I don't believe so. I'm pretty sure that the warning was only about mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. Birds should be alright, otherwise they'd have to check the entire Owlery. And in that case, they'd get to Hedwig anyhow." She smiled at him. "Night!"

"Good night" Harry replied in amusement. He wasn't sure how she could manage to still be so chipper so late in the night, but perhaps she was used to it.

When Harry got to his dorm, Ron was in the middle of writing a long note and Neville was reading something in his bed. Seamus was staring out the window while Dean had already fallen asleep.

"Hey Neville, Ron!" Harry said a bit quietly, so as not to disturb Dean. "Hermione told me about a disease that's been spreading for magical pets."

Neville paled. "What?"

Ron looked up from his note in surprise. "Huh?"

"Yeah, so you should get Madam Pomfrey - um, whoever that is - to take a look at Trevor and Scabbers."

"She's the nurse and Matron of the Hospital Wing," Neville explained. "But I didn't know she could heal animals too."

"Scabbers." Ron said this word and then his eyes grew very wide. He sat up straight as he was about to jump out of bed. Then he took a deep breath and visibly calmed himself down. "Um, right. Thanks for the tip, Harry. I'll take him over tomorrow."

He then grinned a very nasty sort of grin and winked at Harry.

But in the scheme of things, this was hardly so unusual behavior coming from Ron, so Harry found it quite easy to ignore it entirely.

---

The next morning Ron got up shockingly early and seemed to be far too good a mood.

"I've got Scabbers all ready to be checked out," he told a still bleary Harry. "Neville, you coming?"

"Er, no, not yet," replied Neville slowly. "I'm not even dressed yet. And what about breakfast? Are you just going to skip it?"

"Hmm," Ron frowned as he considered this new bit of information. "I suppose you're right. I just worry so much about - " at this he held up his rat and made a silly face -"poor widdle Scabbers. Don't want him to be sick, right?"

"Just go after breakfast," Harry said, pulling himself out of bed, but really wanted to go back to sleep. "And don't let them on the table, it'd be gross."

"Well spotted, Harry," Ron shot him a wink. "I suppose you're the genius around here after all, eh?"

Harry just rolled his eyes and shared a glance with Neville, who looked just as confused.

Ron ate his breakfast even faster than normal, and then began to rock back and forth in anticipation. "Come on, Nev! We've gotta take our pets to be checked out!"

"One minute," replied Neville. "I'm almost done."

"What's wrong with your pets?" Parvati asked and then winced. "Why did I ask?" she muttered softly.

"Oh, I'm sure it's nothing serious," Hermione assured her. "Just something the Daily Prophet is advising - something about a new disease that non-owls might be susceptible to." She turned and smiled and Ron and Neville. "I can go with you for moral support, if you're worried about it."

Ron raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Alright," he said slowly. "Couldn't hurt, right?"

Neville got up and picked up a small box where he had been keeping Trevor. He took a quick look inside the air holes. "Good, he's still here. You ready, Ron?"

"Of course!" Ron said, leaping up in excitement. "Harry, are you coming?"

"I wasn't planning on it," Harry replied, a bit taken aback.

Ron leaned over and whispered, "but look at poor Neville. He's so nervous."

Harry tried to casually look at Neville without being obvious, a bit skeptical of Ron's claim. Although it was often true that Neville tended to be nervous - but on the other hand, Ron was nuts.

"And it's a good idea to know where the Hospital Wing is, anyway," Ron pointed out.

"Fine," Harry said finally with a sigh. "I suppose that much is at least somewhat logical."

"You're going too?" Parvati asked, looking quite worried. She grimaced and got up herself. "Very well, I suppose I don't have a choice."

"I'm sure it'll be crowded enough already," Hermione told her calmly.

Parvati looked at her with suspicion. "I don't know what you're planning with Neville or Harry, but I'm coming too."

"Parv!" Lavender Brown gasped with shock.

"I'll be fine," Parvati assured her friend. "Don't worry."

"Besides," she told Harry as they walked to the infirmary. "If you don't get some exposure to some normal people, you might end up like your crazy genius friends."

Harry laughed and then frowned. "I hope not."

"What's going on here?" An older woman that could only be Madam Pomfrey frowned at the various Gryffindors approaching. "Is there some kind of emergency?"

"No, nothing like that," Ron said quickly and then brandished his rat. "I brought Scabbers and Neville brought his toad Trevor to be checked out."

"You can do that, right?" Hermione asked in a slightly worried tone.

Pomfrey made a disapproving sound. "I can," she said after a moment. "But I tend not focus on animals - specifically there are issues with magical animals you should really go to Professor Kettleburn for. But for simple pets as rats or toads, I suppose I can perform a limited review. Is there a particular reason you all came today?"

"There was a rumor of a disease spreading against magical pets," Hermione cut in. "So I passed that information along."

"I hadn't heard anything like that," Pomfrey said with a frown. "But I suppose I can ask the Headmaster to make an announcement about it. We wouldn't want an outbreak after all. And I think I will be speaking to Silvanus - that's Professor Kettleburn - about it to make sure I'm not forgetting something." She looked over at Harry and Parvati. "And you two, why are you here?"

"Moral support," Harry grumbled and then tried to smile at the nurse.

Pomfrey looked like she did not quite believe this, but then she nodded. "Very well, as I don't have anyone else here at the moment, I suppose it's acceptable for now. You are Neville Longbottom, correct?"

Neville nodded and held up his perforated box.

"I make it a point to learn all first years by name and face," the nurse said a bit smugly. "Hand your pet over then." She waved her wand and the box opened. Another quick wave and Trevor was suddenly absolutely still.

"Wow, what was that spell?" Hermione enthused.

"A simple binding spell," Pomfrey explained. "It's entirely painless but we don't want the 'patient' running off, do we?" She performed a few other spells, lighting up the room with various bright colors for several moments. "Hmm, I don't see anything abnormal. Perhaps a bit underfed, but that's easily remedied if you remember to feed him on a regular basis."

"I try, Madam," Neville insisted, looking a bit scared. "But sometimes he disappears for hours or more. I assume he's eating flies or something."

Pomfrey pursed her lips. "Be more careful in the future," she told him sharply. "Toads are easy to overlook, and you wouldn't want anyone to hurt him, would you?"

Neville shook his silently and accepted back his toad.

"Now, for Mister Ronald Weasley, correct? And your pet is a rat?"

Ron nodded and proffered the rat, who seemed quite insensate.

"Hmm," Pomfrey waved her wand in a similar fashion as before, then she frowned. "What's his name?"

"Scabbers!" Ron told her with a grin. "I inherited from Percy, my older brother."

"Yes, yes, I know who he is," the nurse said with a bit of a catch in her throat. "And how old would you say Scabbers is?"

Ron scratched his head. "Hard to say, really. Gotta be at least ten years. Is that odd for rats? I've always assumed he was quite old."

"I think we had better get Silvanus up here to take a look at him," Pomfrey said worriedly. "Something's not right."

"Is he okay?" Ron asked loudly.

Harry looked at him strangely - it was odd, Ron seemed almost... happy that his pet might be ill. Or perhaps it was just additional craziness.

Pomfrey lit up an odd green fire in a nearby brazier. "Silvanus, a word if you are there."

"What is that she's talking into?" Harry asked in a low voice.

"Floo" - this came from every other person at once, so Harry was more than a bit taken aback.

Parvati scowled at them. "Why don't you let me explain it for once?"

Ron held up his hands to fend her off. "Fine, fine. Do what you want."

Hermione rolled her eyes but nodded.

"Floo is the way wizards and witches talk to each other over long distances," explained Parvati brightly, turning away from the others in what seemed quite intentional. "We use a special sort of powder, called Floo Powder naturally, and the hearth or fireplace or whatever has to be connected to the Floo Network."

"The Ministry controls the Network and sets it up," Ron put in, but then stopped speaking when Parvati glared at him.

"Anyway, the Ministry does have a special department to manage Floo connections, adding them to people's houses or business," Parvati continued with another glare at Ron. "You can also use it to travel between two places in a moment if you know the name of the place where you're going. Like The Leaky Cauldron or the Hog's Head, and so on."

"Oh, I get it," Harry said. "It's sort like a mix between telephones - that's a Muggle thing - and something truly magical. I suppose I should've expected a kind of teleporting thing."

"Fellytones, you say?" Ron asked with a grin. "My dad's mad about them. Has no idea how they work, mind you."

Hermione looked a bit annoyed at this. "Ron, they are called telephones. Te-leh-phones. Not feh-lee-tones. It's not that hard."

"I can say it!" Parvati interrupted quickly. "It's telefons! Is that right, Harry?"

"Close," he told her apologetically. "Not telefons, tele-phones."

"Not so easy, is it?" Ron quipped.

"Shut it, Weasley!" Parvati scowled at him.

Then Harry saw a man step out of the fire into the infirmary. He was an older, very scarred man, with a wooden leg and an actual hook for a hand.

"Let me take a look at the creature," the man said.

"Children, this is Professor Kettleburn," Madam Pomfrey told them. "He's the school's leading expert and instructor on magical creatures. You'll get a chance to learn with him if you wish starting in your third year."

"If I haven't retired by then," Kettleburn muttered, looking closely at Scabbers. He waved his wand and looked quite puzzled. "Homenum Revelio." He then gasped suddenly. "Poppy, please get the Headmaster here immediately. This is an Animagus."

The nurse's eyes widened in shock. "Impossible!" She turned to the fire again and called out, "Headmaster, please answer."

After only a few seconds, what appeared to be Professor Dumbledore's head seemed to be in the fire.

Harry almost moved forward to do something before realizing that it was probably quite safe - they'd hardly be using it otherwise.

"Is he okay?" He asked Neville quietly.

Neville nodded. "Yeah, Harry. Floo fire can't hurt you."

"What seems to the problem?" Dumbledore's flaming head asked.

"Potential emergency," Pomfrey told him. "Please come through."

"At once," the Headmaster replied and then came through the fire in much the same way as Kettleburn had. He looked around the room and blinked. "My word, there are quite a few of us here, aren't there?"

Kettleburn grunted, not having moved his eyes from the rat. "Albus, this here rat is an Animagus."

"But it's my pet!" Ron said with alarm.

Dumbledore moved quickly over to the rat and pulled out his own wand. After a few brief silent waves, he looked very surprised and turned to the students. "Children, I must ask you to return to your rooms. We will likely need to contact the Ministry about this."

"I don't get it," Ron whined in what Harry considered quite an overdramatic manner. "How can Scabbers be an Animagus? He's been with the family for years."

"You know," Hermione said slowly. "If Scabbers was really a hidden man or woman in disguise, don't you think Ron has the right to know? After all, the rat has been sleeping in his and Percy's beds for years, right?"

Dumbledore's face darkened and he looked almost angry. "Perhaps you are right, Miss Granger. But if there is a security concern, I would not wish to risk anything in regards to the safety of students. Please, all of you, stand back so I can prepare a bit of protection."

Harry quickly moved back to the nearest wall, and Neville and Parvati followed right after. Hermione joined them after surreptitiously pulling out her wand.

"You too, Mister Weasley," Pomfrey said crossly. "Do as the Headmaster requests."

Ron winced. "Ah, right, sorry." He moved back with the other Gryffindors.

"Silvanus, please place the rat on the floor and step back," instructed Dumbledore. "But keep your wand at the ready."

Kettleburn nodded and complied, slowly placing the rat's cage on the floor and then backed away with his wand pointed at Scabbers.

Dumbledore mumbled some words and waved his wand several times. Instantly a bright circle burst into light around the rat, then faded as though nothing was there. After another minute or so of quick silent spellwork, the Headmaster lowered his wand and moved to stand between the rat and the students.

"Silvanus, if you will, the Homorphus charm."

Harry peered forward around the Headmaster's robes to watch. The rat shuddered and then suddenly grew into the shape of a short, portly man, in very ratty clothes.

Pomfrey gasped. "It cannot be!"

"Stupefy," Dumbledore said quickly and the man collapsed onto the floor. "Well, it seems we will need to contact the Ministry after all." He looked back at Ron and the others. "I am afraid, Mister Weasley, that your pet rat was someone we will need to question extensively. Do not worry, we will be sure to explain everything as much as permitted. But for now, I think it best that you all return to Gryffindor Tower."

"But - " Ron started to say.

"No, no," Dumbledore interrupted him. "You do not need to speak with whoever this might be. If we need your help, Mister Weasley, I will let you know. Understood?"

Ron nodded, but looked a bit grumpy.

As they walked back to the Tower, each one guessing randomly who the man might be, Neville suddenly gasped.

"Oh no! I left Trevor back there!"

Ron laughed and patted Neville on the back. "No worries, Nev. I rather think he'll be okay. You can get him back later."

Neville nodded with a frown.

"You must feel... terribly violated," Hermione said to Ron archly. "I am quite sorry."

"Eh?" Ron looked at her in confusion. "Oh, yes, I see. You're right, I feel awful."

Parvati sighed and made a huffing sound. "You two are just plain awful."

---

Soon after, a great many things suddenly happened all at once, mostly explained to them by McGonagall. It appeared that the man was actually someone named Peter Pettigrew, who had been a friend of Harry's parents, and had been assumed dead, murdered by another of James and Lily's friends. The man, named Sirius Black, had been thrown in the Wizarding prison Azkaban but was now being held in a holding cell for a retrial.

"I cannot believe this nonsense," Hermione spat, throwing down a copy of the daily newspaper. "The Ministry is talking about trying Sirius for attempted murder instead of just murder. Can't they see Pettigrew was the real killer?"

"Why would you say that?" Harry asked her. "I mean, Professor McGonagall told us that it was likely Pettigrew escaped after Sirius cursed him, and was driven mad enough afterwards to hide out as a rat for years. Hardly the actions of a sane fellow."

Ron shuddered. "Still gives me the creeps, though."

Hermione gave him an odd look. "Is that so?"

The redhead looked right back at her. "I'd say it is."

Harry sighed. It appeared that his friends were still completely and utterly out of their minds, as per usual. He wondered if his other crazy friend Malfoy had any insights on this Pettigrew business, or if he was still too angry at Ron to bother. So Harry decided to intercept Draco later that day after one of their classes.

When Malfoy spotted Harry by himself, he looked a bit surprised. "Potter, where are your little annoyances?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "You know, you're not exactly the friendliest sort either."

Malfoy chuckled a bit and grinned. "You've got me there, Potter. Did you want something?"

"Yeah, you know about this stuff with Sirius Black and Pettigrew?" Harry realized he had meant to bring a copy of the newspaper with him for reference but had forgotten. "Did you hear about it?"

"How could I avoid it?" Malfoy made a face. "It's clear what happened, of course. Black went mad after the Dark Lord killed... well, you know."

"My parents?" Harry asked, knowing the answer. "It's okay, you can talk about them. Just don't insult them or anything."

Draco nodded. "Fair enough. So Black was friends with them, and their deaths drove him insane. He went after Pettigrew, because the little rat clearly betrayed the Potters. Once he realized Pettigrew had him beat, he gave up and let the Aurors arrest him."

"That's almost what Hermione said," revealed Harry, a bit surprised they agreed on anything. "But it's hard to believe that. It's so... complicated."

Malfoy huffed. "Well, I suppose Granger is likely the smartest in the year. If hopelessly naive. You should listen to her. And me, of course."

Harry laughed. "Right. Did you hear about me getting on the Quidditch team?"

"Obviously," grunted Malfoy. "I saw the broom as well. Just try not to embarrass the Slytherin team too much if you can help it. Unfortunately Snape won't let me on the team, otherwise you'd have some actual competition."

"Well, perhaps if you were very polite, he might let you," Harry told him with a grin. "But didn't I outrace you once already?"

Malfoy made a rude gesture. "Conversation over, Potter. If I want to be insulted, I'll talk to Professor Snape."

"Fine, fine," laughed Harry. "Later, then."

And for a little while, nothing particularly out of the ordinary occurred. Other than it being a magical school for wizards with a game played on brooms, of course.

---

The night before Halloween, Harry awoke suddenly at the stroke of midnight at the sound of a loud crash of thunder. Through the window, a cascade of odd colors flashed and undulated and then thunder sounded again, almost at a subvocal level. Harry imagined he could almost feel the sound in his bones. He sat up, grabbing his glasses, and peered out the window to see a shockingly violent storm, clouds rolling and electric charges shuddering through the sky over Hogwarts - but no rain. And then the sound of wind grew and grew, a whistling sound that rumbled just at the edges of his hearing, and then it stopped. Without warning, the storm clouds began to collapse and disappear, and within a minute, the sky was clear and beautiful.

It seemed like an unnatural sort of storm, but then again, this was Hogwarts, and Harry supposed that perhaps it was actually normal weather for a magical school. He turned to try to go back to sleep, his nerves still a bit twinged from waking up so suddenly. The other boys seemed not to have even noticed the thunder at all, except possibly for Neville, who was writing something on a piece of paper.

Harry wondered how Neville could see what he was even doing in the minimal light.

Neville looked over at Harry and smiled. "Okay there, Harry? You have your glasses on. Can't sleep?"

"The thunder woke me up," answered Harry in a soft voice as he adjusted his frames. "Why are you up?"

"Couldn't sleep," Neville replied with a shrug. "But sometimes I like to write down my thoughts of the day, but I seem to have forgotten to bring a diary from home. So it's been random pieces of parchment until Gran owls it over."

"That's a nice idea," admitted Harry. "I guess I just write so much already for homework already, I'm not really in the mood to do it again for myself."

Neville nodded in understanding. "Perfectly logical, Harry. How's the work been so far for you? Pretty easy? Potions aside, of course."

"Actually Potions hasn't been so bad, although I know Snape doesn't like you - on the other hand, he utterly hates Ron and Hermione, after that first day. Well, you remember that, obviously. Those two and Draco getting into a shouting match with Snape." Harry shook his head and smiled sadly. "The three idiots just can't avoid getting into trouble."

"Hmm," Neville said, looking over at Ron's sleeping form with a discerning eye. "I see what you mean. What about Quidditch? Looking forward to the game?"

"I'm a bit nervous," Harry said slowly. "Oliver and Professor McGonagall seem to be expecting an awful lot from me, but I've never even played a full game before. Only practice so far."

Neville grinned. "Harry, you're the best flyer in the school, you just don't realize it yet. You'll kick Slytherin's arse, trust me. And that's coming from the worst flyer in school."

Harry laughed a bit too loudly, then put his hand over his mouth to avoid waking anyone else up. He yawned suddenly, feeling a bit tired. "Nice talking to you Neville, but I think I'd better go back to sleep."

"Right," Neville nodded. "See you in the morning."

---

"Let's go, Potter!"

"Wha...?" Harry fumbled for his glasses to see who had woken him up. Oliver Wood, the Quidditch captain, was standing near his bed impatiently tapping his foot.

"Oliver, what time is it?" Harry asked, looking outside to see a still fairly dark sky.

"I dunno, like five thirty or something," Wood said in a hurry. "I've been working for hours to write down some notes. Just get dressed, get your gear, and meet us out on the field in five minutes."

"Five minutes?" Harry gasped in alarm.

"I've already woken the twins and the girls," Oliver told him. "So stop being lazy and get a move on!" With that, the captain left the dorm leaving a still exhausted Harry behind.

"Just two more minutes, Mum," Ron mumbled into his pillow.

Harry sighed and pulled himself out of bed. He still wanted to win the game against Slytherin after all.

Out on the field, Harry was glad to see that the others (excepting Wood, of course) were just as knackered. One of the twins, either Fred or George, Harry wasn't sure which, was still basically asleep on his feet.

"Right!" Oliver shouted, slamming his hand on a large book. "I've come up with a few ingenious maneuvers for our upcoming match." He quickly conjured a large board and began sketching several complicated diagrams, explaining everything in rapid fire speech as he went. Finally he turned back to the team, and asked, "Everyone got it?"

"No," one of the twins said and yawned.

"I did," the other one said. "But I suppose Fred must've left his half of the giant brain we share back in the Tower."

Fred punched his brother on the shoulder, who only laughed loudly (although he did wince a bit).

"It's very complicated, Oliver," Alicia Spinnet said slowly. "I mean, I get... most of it, and I will admit, it's quite clever. I've never seen anything like that before."

"I know!" Oliver grinned and clenched his fist. "Now let's get into the air and get this routine down."

It took nearly three hours, but the team finally managed to complete the Wood's brilliant but insanely convoluted plan. Harry was barely able to move, let alone continue flying, but he could admit that it all seemed like it'd work well indeed.

"We'll have to go through it a few more times this week," Oliver told them with a big grin. "It isn't quite seamless enough."

Everyone groaned.

Oliver scowled at them. "Whinge all you want, but just picture the looks on those bloody Slytherins' faces!"

Groans of mild agreement met this pronouncement.

"Great," Oliver clapped his hands loudly. "Now go eat breakfast. Don't want to lose strength, eh?"

Harry accidentally missed his mouth several times during breakfast due to his twitching muscles, but soon he felt well enough to appreciate the delicious smells of baking pumpkin and spiced cider that wafted through the halls. Ron and Hermione seemed a bit on edge, although with them, who could say if it was truly unusual behavior?

The first class of the day was Charms, and Professor Flitwick told them all with a joyful voice that he thought they might be able to handle a bit of object flying.

Harry ended up paired with Seamus Finnegan, who winked at him.

"Bet yeh're glad to have some time away from nutto one and nutto two, am I right?" he asked with a sly grin.

"You might say that," Harry said with a grin of his own. "Just don't you show off too."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Harry," Seamus told him. "I'm just as rubbish as you."

Harry rolled his eyes. "That might be taking it a bit too far."

Flitwick went over the instructions for the Levitation Charm, being quite clear about the pronunciation and wand movements. "Now get to it!" He said with a big smile.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Ron shouted out, and his feather jumped into the air at the perfect position, steady as a mountain.

Hermione, who was paired with him, scowled and then waved her wand, causing her feather to jump up - although she hadn't actually said anything. They looked at the Professor a bit expectantly.

Flitwick frowned. "I hope you aren't expecting any points for such an ostentatious lack of discipline," he chided them. "And Miss Granger, might I suggest you ensure you can cast the spell first before attempting it silently?"

Ron ducked his head and Hermione's face turned scarlet.

Feeling a bit frustrated at his so-called friends always having it so easy, Harry tried the spell himself. "Wingardium Leviosa!" But nothing happened.

"Oh, Harry, your pronunciation isn't quite right," Hermione told him.

Ron looked over. "And your wand should be doing more of a swish and flick, not a swish and tap."

"Fine!" Harry said in a seething tone. He turned to look at his feather. Seamus had just accidentally set fire to his feather, so Harry had it put it out. It seemed like he was always being the responsible one.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Harry yelled, and his feather jumped up and embedded itself in the ceiling.

Flitwick walked around and chuckled mildly. "An excellent effort, Mister Potter. Just a bit too much force, that's all. You'll get it soon enough, I'm sure. I think five points for coming quite close."

Harry smiled at this unexpected bounty of points.

Ron and Hermione didn't seem to like this particularly. But while Hermione seemed content to stay silent on it, Ron said, "Professor, why didn't we get points?"

"Because, Mister Weasley, there is no place for points-grubbing in my classroom." Flitwick gave the two a fierce look. "Are we clear?"

After the class ended, Harry still felt quite annoyed at the way Ron and Hermione had been behaving and didn't feel like talking to them.

"What's wrong, Harry?" Ron asked in concern.

Hermione bit her lip in worry. "Is it about the Levitation Charm? I'm sure you'll get it."

But before Harry could yell something rude in response, Parvati beat him to it.

"You two have been thoughtless the entire class!" she shouted at them. "To everyone, but especially to poor Harry, who's the only one who can stand you, if you've been keeping track."

Ron scowled at her. "You stay out of this, Parvati! It's none of your business."

"Oh, I think it is," the darkskinned girl said with a sort of righteous fury. Lavender tugged on her arm. "No, let me talk, Lavender. Everyone likes Harry, have you realized that?"

"They do?" Harry asked, quite surprised.

"And they think he's quite nice for letting you get away with your mad nonsense," Parvati continued. "So perhaps you should start thinking about his feelings for a change, and not just how you can be perfect at yet another bloody spell."

Ron frowned and looked a bit embarrassed.

Hermione nodded. "I'm sorry, Harry," she said sadly. "I wasn't trying to humiliate you or anything. I just want you to do well."

Harry sighed heavily. "Yeah, yeah. I know, I know. Just... try, okay? That's all I ask."

As they all sat around for lunch, Parvati seemed to make it a point to ignore Ron and Hermione, although Harry couldn't exactly blame her. And then there was a sudden commotion, so Harry turned to see poor Professor Quirrell racing into the Hall, looking white as a ghost.

"Troll — in the dungeons — thought you ought to know." He then collapsed in a dead faint.

The students began to clamor around in panic, but Professor Dumbledore made a loud banging sound from his wand. "Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!"

They began to quickly line up, and then Ron looked over at Hermione with an odd look. "Is something weird going on?"

"Other than a troll?" Harry asked. "I mean, I assume that's weird enough already, although I suppose I don't actually know if it's normal for Hogwarts."

Hermione snorted. "I think you'd be surprised. But..." Then she looked around and gasped. "Neville! He's missing!"

"What do you mean, missing?" Harry checked the crowd of Gryffindors over a few times, but couldn't spot the often nervous Neville. "Are you sure he isn't somewhere ahead of us?"

"I think he was with us after Charms," Ron said slowly.

"Oh, he was," Hermione agreed. "But where could he be? We should go find him."

"Or..." Harry said slowly, wondering how his friends could be so smart yet so stupid. "Maybe we could tell Percy or a Professor?"

Ron scowled. "Fine, then. Oi, Percy!" He shouted above the din, getting his older brother's attention, who hurried over.

"Ronald, what is it? You need to get to your rooms."

"Neville Longbottom is missing!" Hermione said quickly.

Percy paled. "Are you quite sure? He's not somewhere in the crowd."

"Is there some way you can check where he is?" asked Harry.

After a moment of thought, Percy blinked rapidly and nodded. "Yes, yes, of course. Well thought out, Mister Potter. I have just the spell." He pulled out his wand and placed it on his palm. "Point Me Neville Longbottom." The wand twirled around a bit, before pointing quite definitely back in the direction of the Hall. "Oh dear," Percy said worriedly. "I had better inform the Professors about this. You three get to the Tower immediately. I'll take care of it." He then raced off.

"Great," Harry said in relief. "So that takes care of that."

"I don't know," Hermione frowned. "What if he can't find Neville in time?"

"You're right!" Ron smacked his fist on his palm. "We've gotta find him before the troll does!"

"What?" yelped Harry. "Are you two crazy?" Then he rolled his eyes. "What am I saying? Of course you are."

"No need to be rude, Harry," Hermione told him with a sniff. "We just want to be sure Neville is safe. I don't plan to be in any danger, do you Ron?"

"Nope!" Ron said with a smile and pulled out his wand. "Now let's go get Neville."

The two raced off, and the Harry realized that everyone else had already left for their dormitories. So he had a choice - either go by himself to the Tower and risk the troll finding him, or follow his crazy genius friends on their quest to find and rescue Neville Longbottom, a friendly guy that was neither crazy nor a genius. Well, put that way, Harry supposed he didn't have much of a choice.

As Harry followed after Ron and Hermione, he wondered for a brief moment how they could possibly know where Neville might be. And then he recalled the spell Percy had used.

"Wait, wait a sec!" He called out. The two other Gryffindors halted suddenly and looked back at him. "Maybe we should use that locating spell Percy cast before we just run randomly - or maybe right into the troll."

"The Four-Point spell," Hermione asked. "Hmm, that's not a bad idea, Harry." She placed her wand on her palm. "Point Me Neville Longbottom." The wand twitched and pointed slightly to the right. "Oh dear," she said in concern. "I believe that's the direction of the lavatories near the Charms room."

"But that's nowhere near the dungeons!" Harry protested, but it was no avail, as Ron and Hermione had began to run off again. "How'd you even figure that he was near the lavatory?" Harry grumbled to himself as he managed to run a bit faster to catch up.

As they approached the lavatories in question, a terrible smell wafted towards them and Harry gagged. "What is that?" he asked, pulling his robes around his nose. "Is that the troll?"

Hermione frowned and held her wand aloft. "It's almost too unpleasant, isn't it?"

"Wits about you, Harry," Ron said quickly, brandishing his own wand. "Try not to breath it in too much."

Harry, who could still smell the stench through the robes, glared back. "Why don't you use those genius brains of yours and come up with a way to block the smell?"

"Oh, good idea!" Hermione said with a nod. "The Bubble-Head Charm, of course." She waved her wand and suddenly the smell was gone. "There you are."

"Hmm, I forget how to cast that one," Ron grumbled, scratching his head with his wand.

Hermione rolled her eyes but repeated the spell for him.

"All right, let's be as quiet as possible," advised Hermione. "And if the trolls happens to still be around, we'll distract it and you can run for help."

"Me?" Harry asked in surprise.

"Unless you'd rather fight a troll, Harry?" Hermione gave him a sly smile.

"Fine, fine," grumbled Harry in agreement.

But they spotted the troll right away, as it was laying on the floor near the lavatory. With its head missing.

"That's... that's not normal, right?" Harry felt a bit nauseous at just the sight of the decapitated creature, even with the charm holding awful smells at bay.

"No, it's not, Harry," Ron chuckled, although he seemed a bit confused as well. "I rather think the troll needed his head. Which is right over there, by the way." He pointed across the hall where the troll's ugly face had rolled, a look of surprise on its face. "But what happened? Who killed it?"

"Trolls aren't easy to damage," Hermione told them. "Highly resistant to spells, frightfully strong, and so on."

"Maybe a Professor took care of it," Harry reasoned. "Or someone like Kettleburn; he's an expert, right?"

"Hmph." Hermione didn't look convinced. "Then why leave it here for anyone to stumble across?"

"They did expect students to be safely in the rooms," Harry pointed out to her. "So let's quickly look for Neville and head back. I'd expect Percy or someone else has found him by now."

Hermione cast the Point Me spell again, but the direction was now back in the direction of the Tower. "Huh." She looked up in annoyance. "Perhaps he did make it back okay."

The sound of someone running towards them caused Ron and Hermione to whirl about suddenly, wands at the ready. Normally Harry wouldn't think much of a first year's ability to fend off someone, but these two might pull it off.

A boy in Hufflepuff robes ran around the corner, looking to be about two or three years older than them - he was actually slightly taller than Ron, who was freakishly tall already. He had his own wand out and seemed very confused to see them.

"Cedric Diggory?" Hermione asked in surprise.

"Er, yes," the older boy said. "That's right, actually. And you're Hermione Granger, true?" He smiled brightly at her. "I've heard about you and the Weasley kid - two smartest kids in the first year, right?"

Hermione blushed at this and nodded, while Ron looked simultaneously annoyed and pleased.

"Did you do that to the troll?" Cedric asked in an awed tone.

Harry shook his head. "No, it was like that when we got here. We were just looking for Neville Longbottom, he's a first year like us."

Cedric frowned and nodded. "Yes, right. I overheard one of the prefects mentioning something about a missing Gryffindor boy, and then I saw you three running through the halls. Didn't really have time to alert anyone." He peered at the troll's head and whistled. "Well, whoever killed this thing might be back any moment, so I suggest we get out of here. It it was a Professor, they'd give you a detention for still being here, and it's someone else..."

"Sounds good to me," agreed Harry. It was the first reasonable thing he had heard all day. "What year are you in?" he asked Cedric as they hurried away.

"Third," the Hufflepuff replied and then grinned. "I'm looking forward to the game against Slytherin. I wish I could play, but I'm only on the Reserves."

"Maybe next year?" Hermione asked with a smile.

Cedric shook his head. "Nah, couldn't happen. Gemma Puffett - she's the current Seeker - is only a sixth year, so unless she quits, the team rule is to let members stay on until they graduate."

Ron grimaced. "That seems stupid. What if you have someone better who's younger?"

"Hufflepuff team tradition," Cedric answered with a shrug. "Just the way it goes. Gemma's decent, but I doubt she stands a chance against any of the other Seekers, you included, Harry, from the rumors I've heard."

"What rumors?" asked Harry curiously. Oliver Wood had been quite paranoid about letting anyone watch their practices.

Cedric laughed a bit. "Oh, you had better go," he said suddenly, as they were close to the Gryffindor Tower. "My room is in the other direction."

Hermione looked up at Cedric with a bit of worry in her eyes. "Are you sure you'll be okay getting back?"

"Of course!" Cedric said brightly. "After all, the troll's dead, right? So there's nothing else to worry about."

"I guess," Ron replied slowly, and then Cedric nodded his goodbye and ran off.

"Wait!" Hermione gasped. "What about whoever killed the troll?"

A loud voice startled her, and she almost cast a spell in reply.

"What are you three still doing out here?" It was Percy, looking quite furious. "I told you to get in the dorms."

"We're practically there," Ron scoffed at his older brother. "We just wanted to wait for Neville."

"Neville Longbottom is the Tower, as you'd know if you had been waiting there."

"Really?" Hermione frowned. "But what about the Point Me spell you cast?"

Percy looked at her disapprovingly. "He just got bustled up with the Hufflepuffs, that's all. I escorted him back here, and now you should come with me immediately before I take any points off." He looked at Harry and sighed. "Mister Potter, you really shouldn't let these two drag you all over the place, it isn't safe." Percy shook his head sadly. "And here I thought Ron might be a responsible one for a change, instead of taking after the Twins."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Sure, Percy. I'll be responsible from now on."

"I'm sorry," Harry quickly said to Percy. "Won't happen again."

Percy looked at him carefully. "I hope so, Harry. I really do." Then he smiled. "Well, the good news is that I believe the Professors found the troll. Which means you'll have a chance to finally trounce the Slytherins, eh?"

Harry couldn't help but laugh. Fanatical love of Quidditch was one thing every wizard and witch seemed to have in common, crazy or not. It was sort of comforting. "You've got it, Percy. In fact," he whispered so Ron and Hermione couldn't overhear. "Oliver has a really great plan that will blow everyone away. Just don't tell anyone."

Percy raised an eyebrow and looked quite intrigued. "I won't, Harry. Wood's an excellent Keeper, so I hope he manages to do also well as a Captain."

"Other than waking us up too early for practices, no real complaints," Harry told him with a grin. "I can't wait for the game."

---

There were only a few short days until the game against Slytherin, and Harry's days were filled with so much practice and homework he barely had time to think. Hermione's worries about Cedric's safety had been allayed by him showing up as normal the next morning, sending over a wave and a wink that made her blush and Ron mutter under his breath. As for the troll, Professor Dumbledore had merely said that the staff had found and disposed of the smelly creature, and there was nothing further to be concerned about.

Each Quidditch practice had them going over and over Oliver's carefully determined plays, and it actually seemed like they might pull it off. Oliver was quite happy at their progress, but he still managed to come up with seventeen contingency plans, of which Harry could only consistently remember two.

Finally the day of the big game against Slytherin had arrived, and the captain was literally vibrating in anticipation as they went over their plans at the last minute.

"This is it, boys and girls," he said excitedly. "We are not only going to win - that much is obvious - we are going to dominate them."

"Crush them!" Fred called out.

"Smash them!" George put in.

Katie Bell looked a bit nervous and took a deep breath in and out. "I know we've practiced a lot, but I'm not sure we can pull this off."

Oliver Wood's face became instantly grave and quite serious. "Team, I have played more than a few Quidditch games over the years, and watched countless more. And I can tell you that this group here, this raw talent and skill in this room - well, let's just say that I doubt any team will manage to come close in the next fifty years. The only thing that can stop us is the interference of monsters or demon gods from the pits of Hell. And in that case, we'll probably just tie."

The twins burst into laughter.

"That was truly and utterly the greatest speech you've ever given," Fred said, waving tears of laughter from his eyes. "It's almost like you've developed a sense of humor. And I don't think you've repeated a single thing from last year's speech!"

An eerie light glinted in Oliver's eyes. "We have you two nutjobs, the Beaters that share a brain dedicated to suffering."

"Ha!" George grinned. "I like that."

"And our three superb chasers, with such grace and speed, they might as well be descended from a mighty Phoenix."

The girls all preened at the praise, and Harry wondered what Wood might possibly say about him, someone that had never even played a single game.

"And of course," Oliver said slowly, turning to face the youngest member of the team. "The greatest Seeker in wizarding History."

Harry's jaw dropped in shock.

"Bloody hell, Ollie," Fred said. "Put a little more pressure on him, while you're at it."

"Oh, I'll be proven right soon enough," Wood said dismissively. "And I suppose I'm a decent Keeper. But if you lot do your jobs, I won't have to do a thing other than sit and watch."

"Um..." Harry was suddenly very nervous.

"Remember, Harry," Oliver told him. "The Snitch is worth 150 points, so keep it at bay until we've hit twenty goals. By my calculations, that should keep us comfortably in the lead even if something goes wrong with the next game."

Harry nodded, gripping his broom tightly. "Right. And you'll signal too?"

Oliver grinned widely. "Naturally. Now let's go out there and embarrass some Slytherins!"

They walked out to the pitch to the sound of loud cheers. Harry felt his knees shake a bit and gripped his broom a bit tighter. Oliver seemed to have noticed and moved close to him.

"Harry, I know you're nervous," he said softly, so the others couldn't hear. "But just remember this: that feeling of freedom while you're in the air. The way the wind calls to you and how the ground is a distant memory. Sure, it's Quidditch - but when you're as good as us, you don't need to be nervous."

Harry closed his eyes and nodded, willing the memories to wash over him, relaxing and comforting him. After a moment of contemplation, he opened his eyes and smiled. He was ready.

As Madam Hooch watched warily, a supremely confident Wood stood next to Marcus Flint, the brutish captain of the Slytherin team. "All right then," she said to all of them. "I want a good, clean game. All of you!" With a glance at the two captains again, as if to reassure herself they weren't about to start brawling, she nodded and pulled out a silver whistle. "Mount your brooms!"

Harry eased onto his broom, hardly able to wait a moment longer.

Madam Hooch blew a sharp, loud blast from her whistle and everyone ascended instantly. Each of the Gryffindors immediately fell into their planned formations. Fred and George each darted to opposite sides, tracking down the two Bludgers. Alicia and Angelina flew directly at two of the Slytherin Chasers, each of whom swerved aside instinctively.

"An early aggressive maneuver from the Gryffindor!" The loud voice of Lee Jordan, a friend of the twins, boomed out magically loud through the air. "And Katie immediately has the Quaffle, didn't even see her grab it - and she's already scored! I've never seen such speed. And... wait... Fred or George Weasley just sent one of the Bludgers back at the other twin, can't figure out which, and the other one is returning the favor!"

Harry grinned. He knew what was coming, but he kept an eye out for the Snitch and watched the Slytherin Seeker out of the corner of his vision.

"Wait!" Jordan yelled. "The twins are... passing the Bludgers back and forth. Ooh, and Pucey gets in the way, that's gotta hurt. The Bludger's gone off a bit, but Weasley - one of them - has got it back. What are they even planning? And wait, Alicia and Katie suddenly pair off in some sort of spiral, knocking Baddock nearly off his broom - bet he didn't see that one coming! Oh, and Angelina Johnson, beautiful girl, has the Quaffle - where did she get it? I can't even keep track."

It only got worse from there, as the Chasers scored goal after goal. The Slytherins began to resort to obvious fouls - Higgs, the Slytherin Seeker, even tried to knock Harry off his broom, but Harry turned sharply to avoid him. And then, without warning, his broom suddenly lurched and Harry almost lost his grip. Then it happened again, and again, like the broom was trying to throw him off.

Harry began to panic, grabbing the broom as tightly as possible. He looked around for any help, but everyone seemed too busy - except Wood, who looked over and then suddenly his wand was out. Harry's broom stopped shaking, and he breathed a sigh of relief, assuming Wood had cast some sort of stability spell. But he began to feel a bizarre heat at his back, and Harry turned to see that the Quidditch stands were currently on fire.

Oh. Well, he hadn't expected that.

Harry then saw Wood gesturing at him vehemently, and Harry realized - the signal! He zoomed about, looking for the Snitch - he had unfortunately lost track during the little incident. But a glint of gold that seemed immediately so obvious, Harry wondered how how he had missed it. After brushing past several other players, it was a simple matter to grab the little darting thing out of the air.

He looked back at the stands, which looked to have been extinguished, albeit now quite blackened and smoky. What had happened?

Almost immediately after landing, Professor McGonagall appeared and brought him and Wood to the Headmaster's office, where Snape and Madam Hooch were already waiting. Harry couldn't tell if she was furious, happy, or both.

"So, Harry?" Professor Dumbledore looked over his glasses at him. "What precisely happened out there?"

"I'm not sure," admitted Harry. "My broom started going out of control - almost knocked me off. Then I saw Oliver pull out his wand, I think to stabilize it, and then I realized the stands were on fire."

Snape frowned deeply. "Your so-called captain was the one that raised that fire."

"What?" Harry turned to Oliver in shock. "Is that true?"

"So what if it is?" Wood asked indignantly. "I saw that Harry's broom was being hexed by someone, and that someone had to be in the stands. Someone that was trying to kill him! There were too many people to target just one person, so I had to distract everyone."

"Ridiculous," scoffed Snape. "You could have killed everyone there with such incompetence. I think expulsion is in order at the very least - and certainly an overturning of the Quidditch victory."

"You can't be serious!" Wood's eyes widened in alarm, and he turned to McGonagall. "You can't punish me for trying to save Harry! And besides, there's nothing in the rules against setting fire to the stands."

Professor McGonagall pursed her lips and looked over at Madam Hooch. "Rolanda, is that true?"

"Well..." Madam Hooch winced slightly. "Technically he's right. There was a specific instance..."

"Caerphilly versus Lancashire, 1842," Wood interrupted.

"Yes, that's right," Hooch said, giving him an annoyed look. "One of the audience members in support of Lancashire threw a hex at the Caerphilly Keeper. Some of the others on the team retaliated and... well, riots aside, it was determined that outside interference would not affect the game. It's supposed to be the referee's job to ensure that sort of thing."

"You cannot possibly be serious!" Snape snarled. "This little idiot set the Quidditch stands on fire, and you won't even punish the brat. I never figured you to value victory over human life, Minerva."

McGonagall glared at the Potions professor. "I assure you, he will be punished. But under the circumstances, if he was really trying to save Harry's life... perhaps some leniency may be in order." She turned to the Headmaster. "Albus, what do you think?"

Dumbledore leaned back in his chair. "Well now, do we have any proof that Mister Potter's broom was being attacked?"

"Isn't there some way you can check it magically?" Harry asked desperately. "I'm sure you'd find a problem then."

The Headmaster nodded and smiled. "Yes, indeed we can do that, if you would be willing to let us borrow it for a little while. Severus, do you concur?"

Snape curled his lip and looked unhappy. "I suppose that it is logical enough. But in the meantime, Mister Wood must be kept on probation and his wand held - for safety, of course."

Dumbledore looked over at the Gryffindor Head of House. "Minerva?"

After a moment of looking like she thinking about it, McGonagall nodded. "Very well. Mister Potter, you can return to Gryffindor. But keep your broom here."

"Right, of course," agreed Harry easily with a nod. He was just glad Oliver would get a chance for mercy. "And what should I tell the others about the game?"

McGonagall smirked and looked over at Snape, who snorted and turned to the wall. "I think," she said. "You can tell them Gryffindor took the day."

When Harry arrived at the Gryffindor common room, it seemed as if the entire house was there, all looking at him as he came through the portrait.

"So, Harry?" Fred walked over. "What happened?" He asked this softly enough that others couldn't overhear.

Harry said, "Oliver set the stands on fire on accident, because he was trying to save my life."

"What?" Fred almost shouted this, but then composed himself. "I noticed the fire too, but I didn't realize he had done it - you say he was doing it save you?"

George and the Chaser girls pushed their way through the crowd to come near enough to hear the conversation.

"What did you tell him?" Katie Bell asked.

"That Ollie apparently used the fire to save Harry's life," Fred explained to the team. "But I'm not sure why he was in danger in the first place."

"Something was wrong with my broom," said Harry quickly. "It seemed to be trying to throw me off. Oliver saw but didn't know who was doing it, so he tried to create some sort of distraction."

George chuckled. "He did at that. But.." He frowned and looked serious, an odd look on him. "Is he expelled? Going to Azkaban for it? Snape must want to murder him."

"I turned in my broom so they can check it for proof of hexing." Harry sighed. "And he has to give up his wand while they look into it. But hopefully it'll turn out okay for him."

"And are they going to even try to figure out who attacked you?" Angelina Johnson demanded.

Harry blinked and realized he didn't know the answer. "I guess once they know about the broom, they can investigate."

"I bet it was Snape," Fred said darkly. "Never did get why Dumbledore trusts him."

"I don't think so." Harry shook his head. "If it was Ron or Hermione, who he hates, then maybe... but he was friends with my Mum. I wouldn't say he likes me, but he doesn't want me to die, I'm sure."

"Well, if all that's settled," Alicia Spinnet leaned in close. "Did we still win? You caught the Snitch when the score was 160 points to nothing."

"Was it that much?" Harry asked. "Although I think Oliver wanted me to get the Snitch at two hundred. But he made the signal; probably because of the fire."

Fred snorted. "Yes, undoubtedly."

"Indubitably," George added.

"But..." Harry held their attention for a moment and then grinned. "We still won."

Fred whooped and someone called out from the crowd, "did we win?"

"We won!" Fred shouted and the room burst into cheers and applause.

Before he realized it, Harry had a cup of pumpkin juice pushed into one hand and he was surrounded by people shaking the other one. After nodding politely to too many people, Harry moved to stand near the other first years.

"You were utterly amazing out there!" Parvati told him with a huge smile. "You all were, really. Except for the fire - or I should say, even with the fire."

"Utterly beautiful," Seamus enthused and then took a big gulp of a bottle of something.

"Was anyone hurt?" Harry asked in concern.

"I don't think so," Parvati said with a shrug. "It was more scary and shocking - nobody was paying attention for a few minutes. Although I wasn't sitting near where the fire was, so it's hard to say."

Harry looked around and realized that there seemed to be some people missing.

"Where are Ron and Hermione? I don't see them anywhere."

Parvati scowled. "Oh, who cares? Probably off doing stupid nonsense, as per usual. You really need to stop being friends with those two."

"But..." Harry trailed off and then took a deep breath. "I can't... I can't do that."

"Why not?" Parvati demanded, getting close to him and looked directly in his face.

Harry mumbled something.

Parvati raised an eyebrow and leaned over. "Just whisper it," she said softly.

"They're my first friends," Harry whispered to her. "I can't just stop being friends with them."

Parvati looked at him with surprise. "That can't be right."

"Well, it is," Harry said sullenly. "And I don't feel like getting into it."

"Hmm," Parvati frowned. "I suppose it isn't fair for me to just say you can't have the friends you want. I just think they're bad for you, that's all. And they aren't your only friends. We all are! Like Neville over there!" She gestured to Neville. "Neville, come over here."

"Parvati, you don't have to..." Harry started to say.

"Neville Longbottom," Parvati interrupted loudly. "You should tell Harry what you thought of the game. I'm going to sneak a butterbeer before they're all gone." She walked over to Lavender and said something to her, then they both walked off.

"Um," Neville looked at the ground in an embarrassed manner. "Harry, you were good in the game."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Neville, you don't have to pretend."

Neville looked up at him and frowned. "I'm not pretending. It's just a little odd, being put on the spot like that. I like to think that all of us Gryffindors are friends."

"I guess," Harry said slowly. "I mean, that'd be nice, anyway." He sighed. "I just don't get why Ron and Hermione didn't even bother showing up. Did they think I was still mad? Because I'm starting to be."

"Oh!" Neville suddenly laughed. "No, that's not it at all. Actually, they told me that they wanted to talk to you privately about something when you got back. Even gave me directions to a secret room."

Harry's eyebrows shot up. "Really? A secret room?"

"It's Hogwarts, what do you expect?" Neville grinned and Harry laughed a bit. He was probably quite right.

Neville managed to sneak Harry out of the room without anyone noticing, and they walked through the halls, going up floors until they reached a corridor with many tapestries. Neville looked at each one before finally stopping at a bizarre one of a wizard in a ballet outfit near a bunch of trolls. He nodded and turned to Harry with a smile.

"This is the one," Neville said quietly. "Now I have to walk back and forth three times and the hidden door should appear."

"Kinda complicated." Harry looked at the tapestry and the wall around it. Seemed perfectly normal, for Hogwarts anyhow.

Neville walked forward and back once, twice, and then as he came back a third time, a door appeared suddenly on the wall.

Harry stepped back in surprise. "It worked!"

"Of course it worked, now let's go!" Neville opened the door and held it open.

Harry walked in to see a very odd surprise - Hermione and Ron were tied to chairs, seemingly unconscious. And then he heard the door slam shut.

"What's going on?" Harry whirled to see Neville with his wand out. "What happened to them?"

"Calm down, Harry," said Neville evenly. "I'm going to resuscitate them."

"Do what to them?" Harry asked in confusion.

"Wake them up," explained Neville and held up his wand. "Rennervate. Rennervate."

Instantly the two tied up Gryffindors came awake, looking about in bewilderment.

"What the..?" Ron looked over. "Harry? Neville? Are you here to rescue us? I was attacked by someone."

Hermione tilted her head and looked to be thinking about something. "Which one of you was it then?"

"We didn't attack you!" Harry said angrily. "What a thing to say!"

"Oh no, Harry, it was me," Neville said with a smile.

Harry turned to him in total shock. "But... why?"

Ron snarled. "What's your game, Longbottom?"

"I thought we all needed to just get in one room all of us together."

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Neville waved his wand and two comfortable chairs appeared. He sat in one and gestured to Harry. "Please, Harry, have a seat." He looked over at the other two and gave them a small smile, an odd look in his eyes. "I think it's time we all had a little chat."

Chapter Text

"Haven't you ever wondered just what it might take to change Snape's mind?"-Me to myself

---

Far Too Many Time Travelers
Interlude 1: Seriously, Snape?

Flashback

Severus Snape had been teaching for years, and believed he had a very good sense of what to expect from each student as they were being Sorted. So far, he had almost never been wrong, and when he had, he convinced himself he was right anyhow. This year, he expected it to be quite the same; in fact, he had already predicted several merely based on who they were. Another Weasley? Obvious. Draco? Obvious. Simpering Muggle-borns? Also obvious. And then there was the little royal brat himself, Harry Potter.

Snape was not looking forward to this year.

As the students piled into the Great Hall, he took note of the particular reactions, which were always the same sort. Awe, fear, horror, braggadocio. To be expected. He spotted Potter immediately, of course, looking for all the world like a miniature version of his wretched father. Seeing Potter like that, it was quite easy to pretend that he wasn't remotely related to Lily at all. Palling around with Weasley (predictable), some Muggle-born girl (not quite as predictable, but a reasonable enough assumption), and... Draco? Perhaps, Snape considered, he wasn't getting the full picture from his seat at the table. Although he was usually quite good at this sort of thing-perhaps Lucius had asked Draco to insinuate himself into Potter's good graces? Troubling, if true. And unfortunately, highly plausible.

And Harry Potter, acting like a little conceited brat, while his little friends, Malfoy included, seemed terrified. Abnormally so, actually. But then the girl was Sorted into Gryffindor, and Snape realized she clearly didn't matter (he had entertained a brief parallel to Lily, then immediately discarded it, as this girl was obviously nothing like his childhood friend). Malfoy went into Slytherin, after the Hat acted... very oddly indeed. Snape had never heard the Hat make an audible sound as with the Granger girl.

Then it was Potter's turn, and Snape was surprised to find he wasn't certain what would happen. But then Potter was sent to Gryffindor, and Snape dismissed yet another first year into irrelevance. Not that the Headmaster would see it that way, but Albus wasn't always willing to see reason. And then, the most bizarre thing of all-the Hat had burst into laughter when Sorting the next Weasley monster. Snape was worried for a moment, then furious-surely the Weasley Twins had done something nefarious to the precious Hogwarts artifact. But what exactly, that was the question.

After that, Snape merely gave his usual sort of start of term speech to the Slytherin first years: all of whom were sufficiently impressed and cowed, with the possible exception of Draco, who acted almost as if he'd seen it all before. Snape realized he'd have to make sure Draco didn't think his position as a close family friend would make any difference at all-publicly.

But then things changed...

Potter had shocked him with his questions about Lily-for a moment Snape couldn't think of anything to say. And then the revelation that he had been living with that... awful woman. Well, Snape decided he would need to speak to Albus about that. It seemed that Harry might not be entirely corrupted by a posh upbringing, but who knew what lies Petunia had filled his head with? Snape would have to tread a bit carefully until he had a better idea about it. Perhaps Albus would allow some light Legilimency, merely to determine if Potter was dissembling about anything.

It was clear right away that Harry had some of the curiosity of Lily, although undoubtedly nothing close to her innate skill. Still, he was respectful-perhaps something that Lily's terrible sister had instilled into him. Perhaps the only possibly good idea she may have had.

Then came the utter nonsense from not only Potter's stupid Gryffindor friends, but Draco himself. It was obvious Draco felt entitled to special treatment from his family friend, and that disrespectful behavior was perfectly acceptable. Well, Snape wasn't about to let that go unpunished.

Later in the evening, he summoned Malfoy to his office.

"You have one minute to explain your abhorrent actions today," Severus told the boy.

Draco rolled his eyes quickly in a galling display of misbehavior, then pretended he hadn't done anything at all. "Sir, my father told me-"

"Your father?" Snape interrupted angrily. "Your father is not here, nor does he have any say in what I may do at Hogwarts. I run this House, and I run the Potions classroom. Acting up will not be tolerated, especially not by Slytherin students. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir," said Draco in a tight voice, but his eyes were glinted with unconcealed anger.

Snape was shocked at this-what the hell had Lucius been telling the boy? He decided that Draco's detention would be harsher than he had planned-the little brat needed to learn respect for his superiors.

---

The high staff met once a week for most of the year, with a few rare exceptions. There were monthly meetings with the entire faculty, but for now, Snape was glad that it was a small meeting. Easier to handle.

"Well then, I think the students have been settling in nicely," the Headmaster said with a smile. "Nothing too problematic."

"I wouldn't say that!" Snape snorted. "Need I remind you of the appalling behavior of those three incompetent fools in their first Potions lesson?"

"They weren't all from my House," snapped Minerva angrily.

Snape glared back. "I didn't say they were!"

"But how have they been besides that?" Albus asked in a sincere manner. If you weren't careful, you could be fooled by it.

Filius shook his head and looked a bit sad. "I must say, Miss Granger and Mister Weasley do not seem to have any respect for authority-or the curriculum. Mister Malfoy, though, although he seems in a bad mood much of the time, has not been particularly troublesome."

McGonagall frowned and sat back with her arms crossed. "Those two may be a bit... odd. But they are the best students in my class."

Sprout nodded. "I agree, actually."

"Ridiculous!" Snape said dismissively. "Don't allow yourself to get fooled by their little tricks. They are constantly flitting about, making things worse for better students."

"Students like Harry Potter?" Dumbledore inquired with an annoying twinkle in his eye.

Snape rolled his eyes. "Albus, we don't need to get into that one again. Obviously Potter wasn't pampered as I'd suspected he'd been, but..." He looked around the room-not everyone likely knew the specifics of Harry's upbringing, and Snape wasn't about to change that. "But it doesn't matter. Perhaps it's a reflection of how foolish his friends are acting, but Harry seems practically reasonable in comparison."

As he finished saying this, Snape realized he had accidentally said Harry's first name, and then Albus gave him an insufferably smug smile.

"If you ask me," Snape continued as though he hadn't misspoke. "Potter should stay away from those little malcontents and find more acceptable companions-that Patil girl, for example, or one of the Ravenclaws. Those tend to be a bit less empty-headed."

Flitwick laughed. "I do believe I'll take that as a compliment, Severus."

Snape merely grunted in response.

---

It was not particularly much of a surprise when Minerva decided to put Potter on her Quidditch team-Snape was primarily annoyed that he found it difficult to complain about it. And then Draco had the audacity to insist on getting on the Slytherin team, as if Snape was about to reward his disobedience and cheek.

"You'll put me on if you don't want Potter to demolish the team," Draco said with an arrogant air, seeming for all the world at that moment just like his father.

And then Snape came to the realization that although Quidditch victory was important, it wasn't that important. In a way, by refusing Malfoy's little nonsense, Snape could claim his lack of favoritism, unlike McGonagall.

If she had put on either Weasley or Granger, he'd argue against that relentlessly, but with Harry... it wasn't worth it. Besides, there was a myriad of other concerns to be worried about. The Stone, of course, hidden through several layers of protections. Albus had confided to him that the traps needed to be just difficult enough to not seem a trap, but act more as delays than actual protection. The final trap would be the true snare, a difficult and unexpected idea.

It was also quite clear that Quirrell had gotten into some sort of trouble during his little jaunt to Eastern Europe-perhaps he had a terminal illness and was desperate for the Stone's powers. Or perhaps he wanted it for its monetary possibilities. Either way, he had been acting most bizarrely since the term began. Snape had enough to think about without a bunch of little children running around being stupid.

And then came the little... problem with Peter Pettigrew, who was apparently alive, and Sirius Black, who may have been innocent of betraying the Potters. Even if he was not guilty of that particular crime-about which Snape still had his doubts-there was no question that Black was a raving lunatic with poor impulse control and murderous tendencies. Apparently he had been asking to see Harry-the very idea!

"You must not let Fudge give in to such demands!" Snape had told the Headmaster. "Black is either mentally unstable or intends harm to Potter."

Albus frowned and folded his fingers in thought.

"He might be innocent, Severus!" McGonagall had always been a bit too lenient regarding Black's antics. Her Gryffindor biases overriding her good sense. "And if so, since he is the boy's godfather..."

"Let me see here," replied Snape sarcastically. "Either his addled possibly criminal fool of a godfather or his awful relatives. I'm not sure what's worse!"

Minerva was a bit taken aback at that, and Severus knew she had no good response.

"He is safe at the Dursleys," Albus told them in a serious tone. "Hardly an insignificant point to consider, no matter how unpleasant they may be."

"I have to agree with Severus on this one, Albus!" McGonagall told him with her lips tightly pulled back. "There must be another place he can stay that you can ensure is safe."

Albus made a thoughtful noise. "Perhaps. The blood protection he has with his aunt is quite powerful. It's about the only thing that can guarantee that Voldemort," Snape flinched a bit at this "or his followers cannot get close."

"What about whatever the Potters used?" Minerva asked. "The Fidelius Charm-I admit it isn't something I know much about, but it's supposed to be foolproof."

Dumbledore shook his head. "Unfortunately, it is not so simple. The Charm requires someone capable of casting it and someone to hold the secret. After the death of Lily Potter, I may be the only one who can perform the act-but I am at a loss at who could hold the secret."

"I would!" Minerva insisted. "As would any of the other Heads, I am certain."

Snape nodded, although he knew Albus didn't trust him enough for such a thing. Perhaps a necessity, with the connection he still had to the Dark Lord. An unnecessary security risk to take.

"I will consider it," the Headmaster said in a tone that brooked no further discussion. For now, anyway. "In the meantime, I was hoping you two might accompany me to have a little discussion with Mister Black. I believe I can convince the Minister in a private interrogation to uncover the truth."

"Why bring me along?" Snape snorted derisively. "You both know my feelings on that animal."

Albus nodded and smiled. "Precisely, Severus. I know I can trust you to provide a counterbalance to Minerva in uncovering the truth."

Snape considered this for a moment. It seemed reasonable enough. Merlin knew that given leave, Minerva would probably let Black escape due to her fondness for Gryffindors. Actually, it seemed highly necessary to go as well-the only way to prevent Black from preying on her or Albus' sympathies.

"Very well," Snape said begrudgingly, hiding how much he agreed, even though he had a feeling Albus saw right through him. "But how will you explain it to Fudge?"

"A simple matter," Albus replied with a smile. "Minerva as the Head of Gryffindor House and its defender makes ideal sense, and I will merely... imply that you are his closest surviving friend, hurt by his betrayal."

Snape made a face but nodded. Whatever it took to get a chance to confront Black to his mangy face.

---

Black looked even worse than expected, even though he had undoubtedly been cleaned up by St. Mungo's staff: sunken eyes, darting around in paranoia, constantly twitching his clawlike hands, thin to the point of ghoulishness. He barely looked human at all. But when he looked up to Snape with an utterly confused and then furious expression, Snape couldn't help but feel a bit amused.

"Sirius, might we have a word? I have assured the Minister that we might be quite helpful in uncovering the truth."

Sirius looked back at Dumbledore and clenched and unclenched his hands. "Y-yes, all right, sir. But why is he here?" Black did not even bother to look at Snape when he asked this, and Snape wasn't sure what annoyed him more, the question or the refusal to look at him.

"I have my reasons," Albus said obliquely, finally putting his skill at equivocation to good use. "I suppose you have heard about the discovery of Peter Pettigrew on Hogwarts grounds?"

"Yes, I have," Sirius growled through clenched teeth. "That bloody evil rat... if I'd known he was at Hogwarts, I'd have gotten to him there. Somehow."

Snape rolled his eyes and snorted.

"Shut it, Snivellus!" Black snarled. "You know nothing!"

"Is there really any point to this?" Snape asked Albus. "He has no idea what he's even saying."

"Calm, Severus," Albus said evenly. "Now, Sirius... I will be asking you a few questions and I expect you to answer honestly. I do not wish to use Veritaserum, but if I must..."

"No, no, I'll answer whatever you need," Black insisted eagerly. "Whatever helps me get closer to seeing Harry."

Snape very nearly said something vicious at this, but managed to hold his tongue.

"Were you the Secret Keeper?" Albus asked in a suspiciously sincere tone.

Sirius sighed and leaned back. "No, I wasn't. Peter was the Secret Keeper-we thought, that is, Lily and James and us, we thought nobody would ever suspect Peter of it. I could run off and take the heat off everyone else. But obviously it didn't work... when I heard the news... that Peter..." His face curled into an ugly snarl. "I confronted him in the street, tried to get some sort of... explanation from the bastard. A few other Aurors were nearby, but it was mostly Muggles. He just yelled something like 'Why did you betray them, Sirius? Lily and James were our friends!'"

Sighing deeply, Sirius rubbed his temples and looked in deep pain. "I was thrown at that. Confused."

"Not in league with him?" Snape asked acidly, which was the question he had been pondering for quite some time.

"No, blast you, Snape, you damned fool!" Sirius yelled furiously at him and leaped up.

"Sirius..." Dumbledore said warningly, raising his hand up.

Black swallowed loudly and scowled at Snape before collapsing back into his chair.

"The Aurors did report you muttering about betraying the Potters," Dumbledore reminded, thankfully. Snape thought that perhaps Black might actually answer this, coming from the Headmaster.

"I wasn't in my right mind," Sirius said, and then glared at Snape to forestall the comment he expected. "But I was sort of thinking that I had betrayed them-not like Wormtail did, obviously, but it had been my idea to change Secret Keepers. Maybe he had been recruited afterwards. Maybe he was just too weak to resist. Or maybe he was dark all along, I don't know."

"Wormtail?" McGonagall pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Is that what you called Pettigrew?"

Sirius nodded. "Because his Animagus form is a rat. Mine's a large dog, and James was a stag."

Suddenly things began to click into place for Snape-Lily's Patronus had been a doe, but was it before or after she had started dating James-the stag? And Snape had a vague memory of more than one large beast when Potter had "saved" his life after Black had originally tried to kill him. Memories first thought to be fragmented due to the circumstances, but perhaps there was more truth than Snape had realized.

"I begin to find myself believing your tale," the Headmaster said slowly. "Severus? Minerva?"

McGonagall breathed in sharply and frowned. "I... believe I do, but I would like to question Pettigrew as well. After that, and perhaps a bit more time at St. Mungo's, we can allow you to meet with Harry."

Sirius smiled excitedly at that, but then his face fell as he glanced over to Snape.

This was it... his chance to cut out the mutt for good. But the only problem was that Snape... wasn't certain. Was Black mentally unbalanced? Assuredly. Had he honestly meant to kill with his little "prank"? Unclear. But was he associated with the Dark Lord? That much... was unlikely. So Snape realized he had only one question left.

"Why did you try to kill me?"

Black blinked in utter surprise, his mouth hanging slack. "Wait a moment," he said. "Are you talking about the incident when James saved your life?"

"Yes," Snape replied through gritted teeth. "When Potter saved me from your own efforts to kill me. Why did you do it? Why did you hate me so much?"

"I..." Sirius stopped talking and looked down at the floor. Then he looked back up, straight in Snape's eyes. "Let me be honest with you, Snape. I wasn't thinking it through at all. I thought you would get scared and run off, maybe wetting yourself or something. But when I told James, laughing about it, he was shocked. Terrified. And then I got scared I had gone too far. James ran off to do something about it, but I was..." at this Sirius looked down again. "Too much of a coward, too filled with anger and hate to do anything about it."

He sighed deeply. "I know you didn't deserve to die. You were just a kid, like us. I can only apologize for that." He smirked slightly. "But don't ask me to apologize for pranking you. It's not like you didn't give back twice as hard."

"I didn't have three others on my side," Snape retorted with a curled lip.

"Just take the bloody compliment, Snape!" Sirius said in exasperation.

"If I may interrupt," the Headmaster said smoothly. "Severus, is your curiosity sated? Do you believe in Sirius' innocence?"

Snape didn't quite want to admit that he did, especially as Sirius would never forget that his freedom had been ensured by Snape. And then he realized... Sirius would never forget. No matter what happened in the future, the fool would owe everything to his old school rival. Perhaps then, Snape could live with Harry-eventually, of course-seeing his godfather.

"Well..." Snape said slowly, drawing out the word deliciously, although it seemed that as usual, Albus had annoyingly already figured out what he had decided. Smiling like that. "I suppose I do."

---

Naturally, it was easy enough to convince Albus that Black would need some "recovery" time before seeing Harry, despite Minerva's wavering at Black's pouting. But there was still the matter of "Wormtail".

"The Minister is still holding Mr. Pettigrew in custody," Albus told them later. "And he is flexing his political muscles a bit-hoping to be the Minister that fixed the mistakes caused by Bagnold. We'll have our day to speak to Peter, but not quite yet."

"He probably hopes to cripple Crouch's reputation too," Snape agreed with a sneer. Politics were such nonsense, as was this squabbling about for minute bits of power. Such games of ridiculous intrigue had always been ever present in the Slytherin House, one of the many reasons Snape had little use for his housemates, and vice versa.

Minerva frowned. "Why do you say that?"

"Crouch was responsible for the arrest and imprisonment of Sirius in Azkaban," Dumbledore explained. "His explicit orders, you see. Although I'm sure he'd say he was merely operating as needed within the bounds of the law. He already suffered a demotion due to that scandal when his son perished in Azkaban."

"Ah, yes," McGonagall said. "I do recall that sad tale. Poor Barty, joining in with the Death Eaters. Clearly over his head."

Snape nodded. "And although Bartemius doesn't care so much about his political reputation any longer, Fudge can't forget that Crouch was once very close to becoming Minister himself."

McGonagall rolled her eyes. "Politics. Such foolishness."

"On that we agree," Snape told her with a small smirk, expecting her to be a bit surprised by the remark. "Albus, on the other hand..."

"We cannot all be pure educators as you two, I'm afraid," Albus said with a insufferable smile.

---

Snape had never liked Halloween, finding the fascination with dark imagery needlessly morbid, and the obsession with harvest iconography to be gaudy at best. But Albus reveled in each and every glowing pumpkin, so there wasn't much point in arguing. Instead, Snape spent the Feast drinking heavily and watching everyone with suspicion. The Weasley twins were chatting about something nefarious, no doubt, although Snape was glad that they had never met or heard of the Marauders. What a horror that would be!

He made a mental note to keep Sirius far away from any Weasleys. As for Harry, he was looking unusually cross and out of sorts, as was the Patil twin from Gryffindor. She kept glaring at Granger and the youngest Weasley, then pretending she wasn't doing anything at all. Clearly the two nitwits had finally crossed the line and shown Potter how awful they were. Well, it was about time. And given Parvati's obvious anger at them, perhaps Harry would finally get it through his head to stop bothering with the two idiots. Snape wondered what exactly had happened, so he decided to casually bring it up with Flitwick-not too much interest, of course.

And then Snape realized that Halloween was the anniversary of Lily's murder. Hmm... perhaps that explained it; Granger and Weasley being typically insensitive and not grasping simple human decency. Poor Harry... Well, at least now he'd have a decent friend, and if Longbottom ever got his head out of his arse in Potions, perhaps he'd be a reasonable alternative as well. Snape took another sip of spiked pumpkin juice and wondered if there was some way to give remedial lessons to Longbottom. Not that Snape would personally do such a waste of time, but perhaps an older student could be... persuaded to help. Really, it was better for everyone. Fewer accidents in Potions would only improve safety.

He'd have to be careful in case Albus found out-no doubt the old man would take it entirely the wrong way.

When Snape realized that Quirrell was oddly missing from the Feast, the Defense Professor appeared suddenly with a panicked, girlish scream. Trolls! The very idea. Snape didn't believe it for a moment. Catching Dumbledore's eye, Snape knew the Headmaster didn't entirely buy the story either, but appearances were important. Albus nodded slightly and Snape returned it-he got the message.

After giving a few hasty instructions to his prefects (Snape was reasonably certain that there wasn't an actual troll in the dungeons, but the other professors would check it out anyhow-his Slytherins would be in no actual harm), Snape stepped back into the shadows and waited impatiently for Quirrell to make his move. At first, Snape was worried that Quirrell might actually legitimately fainted, but as soon as the Hall had cleared, the sneaky oddball slowly got up and raced towards what was almost certainly the third floor corridor.

Snape followed quickly behind, albeit a bit out of sorts-cursing himself for drinking too much and impairing his judgment. Just his luck he'd let the hangover cure in his office. When Snape arrived at the third floor, the door was ajar-well, it wasn't like the simple locking spell would keep any reasonably educated wizard out. It merely a precaution to prevent accidental entry. As he began to open the door, Snape suddenly tripped and fell against the wall, sending the door wide open.

A loud growling shook the floor-the beast was still alive and awake then. And if so, Quirrell had likely not made it past. Snape picked himself up and quickly looked into the room-the trapdoor was still firmly closed, so he slammed the door shut. Perhaps Quirrell had not counted on the dog-so much the better. Snape locked the door again, this time with a significantly more powerful locking spell-why make it too easy, after all?

What nonsense. But then he wondered... could Quirrell have really been telling the truth about the troll? Snape decided to hurry back to check.

But as he hustled towards the dungeons, he spotted Flitwick coming toward him.

Flitwick looked pleased. "Ah, Severus, excellent! You must come at once; Albus said you'd be likely heading towards the dungeons. We found the troll."

Snape suddenly felt slightly nervous. "Was anyone hurt?"

Flitwick shook his head. "No, no, well..." The short man frowned. "Actually the troll is dead. And we don't know who killed it."

"What?" Snape said angrily. "How is that possible?"

"It wasn't in the dungeons, we checked there first," Filius explained. "Albus believed Quirrell must've got it wrong."

Got it wrong... intentionally, more than likely. Delay the search until Quirrell had time to scout out the door. Thankfully he hadn't time to get past the monster. But now Quirrell knew about the dog-an important and dangerous fact.

And Dumbledore probably already realized this, but Snape would tell him anyhow.

"The troll was actually right near the first floor girls' toilets," Flitwick continued. "The one right near my classroom."

Hmm... first floor near the Charms classroom. It was actually conceivable that the troll had simply walked there from the dungeons. But given Quirrell's suspicious behavior, Snape wasn't assuming anything.

"When we finally tracked it down, it was dead-decapitated actually." Flitwick chuckled. "A highly clean kill. Impeccably done. And a troll's skin is quite difficult to penetrate."

Snape grunted. He didn't need to be lectured on obvious facts on trolls. "And there is no evidence of who did it or how?"

Flitwick shook his head. "None."

Only Dumbledore and McGonagall were still near the troll when Snape and Flitwick arrived.

"Oh, there you are Severus," Dumbledore looked up from where had been examining the troll's head. "Pomona went back to check in with her House, and Minerva wanted to check for signs of a golem or artificially conjured troll."

"It's real enough to me," McGonagall said with pursed lips. "Silvanus will be here shortly to check on it. As for me, I too will be ensuring everything is safe with my Gryffindors." She nodded to Snape and Flitwick and walked away.

"I also sent for Hagrid," Dumbledore said with a smile. "But you two will also be useful here-Severus, anything unusually Dark? Filius, can you determine what sort of spell was used?"

Snape rubbed his chin thoughtfully and walked over to the troll's corpse. It was indeed a very clean cut. There weren't many spells that could do something like that-even Sectumsempra would have left other wounds. "There's nothing that seems particularly Dark on first glance," he said. "But I will take a slightly closer look at the head." With a wave of his wand, Snape floated the disgustingly foul thing and rotated it slowly. It was indeed a very clean cut, highly unusual: almost as if no spell had been used at all.

"Hmm," Snape mused, thinking about it. There was something he was missing.

"Why, there's no magical residue at all!" Flitwick exclaimed from near the troll's body. "Perhaps it was cleaned up somehow?"

Albus frowned. "Even the very shortest methods for such a thing would take hours, or would otherwise leave very obvious traces. And although I am not as familiar with some of the Darker rituals to achieve a dampening or cleansing effect, we would certainly notice the traces of the ritual. Severus, do you concur?"

"That sounds accurate, as far as my own knowledge goes," Snape agreed.

There was a panting noise, and they were all instantly at alert. But it was only Kettleburn, hustling as fast as he could with his dearth of limbs. Upon seeing the troll, his mouth practically dropped open. "It is a bloody troll! Really, you should ask the Defense Professor about this."

Snape's lip curled. "Quirinus fainted at just the thought of it. I rather doubt he's up for examining its corpse." Of course, Snape did not mention the rest of the story.

"Well, alright then," grumbled Kettleburn. "Just not my exact area of expertise." He looked closely at the headless body for a minute or so, and then hobbled over to see the floating head. "Severus, you mind holding it in place it so I can see the neckline?"

With a nod, Snape held the head in place while Silvanus took a closer look.

"I can't be completely sure," he said finally. "But if you ask me, someone cut off its head with a blade."

"A blade?" Flitwick blinked in surprise. "Surely no knife or sword is sharp enough to pierce a troll's skin?"

"Enchanted one might." Kettleburn said simply.

"Nobody's bothered to use swords in ages," Snape said thoughtfully. "Not when magic is far more versatile. I can't even think of the last time I've heard of such a thing. Or even where you might find one."

"I can," said Dumbledore with a glint in his eye. "Although as far as I am aware, it has been lost for centuries."

Flitwick was shocked. "You don't mean?"

"Let us proceed to my office at once-although perhaps, Filius, I can ask for your assistance in warding off the area to prevent any accidental discovery of the beast?"

After that had been completed, Albus asked Kettleburn to begin the cleanup effort while the three of them adjourned to the Headmaster's office.

"So what exactly are you two thinking of?" Severus asked.

"I believe that Albus is thinking of the legendary sword of Gryffindor," Filius said. "Which was believed to be hidden somewhere in Hogwarts ages ago."

Albus nodded. "Indeed. But there is another reason I asked us to come." He made a motion to the Sorting Hat. "The Hat, having also belonged to Godric Gryffindor, may also know if the sword has been found."

"You younglings are always so concerned with ancient treasures," the Hat said suddenly with what sounded like a smirk. "Normally I wouldn't be able to tell you much, but I can tell you that the sword can be summoned by any true heir of Gryffindor when the need is great enough."

"I have heard as much," said Albus with a nod. "But we are merely trying to determine if it has been summoned-a troll was killed by what was almost certainly an enchanted blade, you see."

The Hat made a huffing sound. "A troll? Many weapons could perform such an act. They used to be all over the place, back when everyone had a sword. However..."

Snape, who had never been in a conversation with the Hat since he had been Sorted, finally got past his initial apprehension. "Spit it out!"

"Severus Snape, from Slytherin, as I recall. I wonder, did you ever reach the ambitious levels I remember you craving?"

"Assuredly," Snape said quickly with a sneer. "Now you were saying?"

"I am working against my enchantment a bit," the Hat explained. "Trying to figure out how to put this. But I think I have it. The sword of Gryffindor could indeed be used to slay a troll, and easily, if the wielder was skilled enough. It is far more likely it was used than any other blade, based on what I know. As for whether or not someone summoned it... who can say? If it was, I can assure you that they would have been a true Gryffindor."

Severus frowned, not very happy with this response.

"Answers and questions alike," mused Albus. "I suppose it remains an open mystery for now. If the Hat cannot tell us who has the sword and killed the troll, we must endeavor to discover who has it ourselves."

"Although," said Flitwick. "If he or she did kill the troll, they did us quite a favor, keeping the students from harm."

Snape rubbed his forehead. "Or perhaps the sword thief was working with Quirrell."

Albus looked back with an imperceptibly displeased look. Oh, hell.

"Working with Quirrell?" Flitwick asked in shock. "What are you talking about?"

"Filius, please have a seat." Albus pulled out a wand in an extremely quick and fluid motion, waving it about to cast what was likely a privacy charm. "We should be clear about each of our loyalties here before continuing." He glanced at Snape and then sat down himself.

Flitwick looked between the two, his hand on his own wand, clearly already putting things together. He finally nodded and sat down.

Snape was furious at himself for such a verbal slip up, and blamed the alcohol from earlier in the evening. Never again would he drink so much without a hangover cure on hand.

---

After a lengthy discussion about "trust", Flitwick had raised the legitimate issue of whether or not Minerva or Pomona should also be aware of Quirrell's suspicious activity. Albus promised to "consider it", which wasn't exactly ideal, but a decent start. For his part, Snape was mildly pleased that someone who wasn't at an Albus-level mastermind of intrigue was actually in on it. At least he'd have a peer he could talk to-really, he hadn't had that sort of relationship since... well, since Lily. And although Flitwick had actually been Snape's Professor as well, there was a real respect between them.

And unlike Minerva, intelligent and skilled though she was, Flitwick was highly rational. A welcome change of pace from the overly emotional Sprout and McGonagall (although Minerva would never admit it). So Snape was cautiously optimistic.

Of course, soon enough it was time for the first Quidditch match of the year, pitting his own House against the Gryffindors. Sitting out in the stands and watching the players mount their brooms, Snape felt conflicted. Perhaps if Slytherin was ahead and Harry managed to catch a Snitch to end the game, but the point differential still left Slytherin with a win? That seemed like the ideal outcome, but Snape was too realistic to put much faith in such dreams.

But soon Snape became caught in watching one of the most ridiculously lopsided and exciting matches he had ever seen. The Gryffindor team was doing stunt work unlike anything Hogwarts had had in ages. Harry, though, was just floating by himself, clearly waiting for the Snitch. And then, suddenly, his broom lurched, nearly knocking Harry off. Someone was hexing Potter! Snape felt cold suddenly and quickly pulled out his wand to cast a countercurse-unfortunately, whoever was hexing the broom wasn't halting their own efforts just to let Snape stop them.

Unable to pull his eyes away, or he'd lose sight of his target, Snape tried to sense where the curse was coming from. Where was Albus when he was needed? Snape felt a terrible heat all of a sudden and he realized that the bloody stands were on fire! Sparing a quick glance to confirm that Harry was back on his broom, he worked quickly with the other professors to extinguish the flames. It appeared as though no one was seriously hurt, although some students were clearly burned.

McGonagall looked livid and gestured to Snape. "Let's go down."

"What happened?" Snape asked. "I didn't see."

"Oliver Wood is what happened!" Minerva said with a quiet rage. "He set the stands on fire!" She paused and took a deep breath. "At least Harry managed to get the Snitch during the commotion."

"Did he?" Snape mumbled, although the outcome of the game hadn't really been in doubt by that point. He'd need to have words with Flint about the state of the team's abilities. Perhaps Draco should've been put on the team after all?

No, Snape decided, winning the Cup was not worth indulging bad behavior from the only student he had ever known before they came to Hogwarts. Draco needed to learn respect. And he had in fact been getting a bit better-perhaps in a few months, Snape would reconsider his Quidditch request.

Later, when they all spoke in the Headmaster's office, Snape had mixed feelings about the gormless idiot. Wood was blabbering on about protecting Harry-and if Snape thought he had a single iota of guile, it'd be a different story altogether. But although Wood was an idiot, he was a sincere one. So much as it pained him, Snape allowed the Quidditch victory to go through without protest. Potter seemed happy about it anyway.

Things were changing so fast and Snape wasn't sure how he felt about any of it. Harry being more like his mother-well, that was a welcome surprise, certainly. His idiot friends hopefully being cast aside. Draco finally maturing. And even ridiculous Longbottom seemed to somehow be getting marginally less terrible in Potions. He tried to hide it for some reason-very well, in fact, but Snape had noticed. He even approved of the sneakiness.

With all this on his mind, Snape decided to get drunk-although he'd be sure to have the hangover cure ready just in case. But as he approached his room, he saw Quirrell hanging about, leaning against the door. He seemed to be asleep, oddly enough.

"Alright, that's enough," Snape said sharply. "Quirinus, go back to your own room." And then Severus halted as he realized that Quirell's turban was missing and he was entirely tied up in ropes. And more horrifyingly, there was a face on the back of his skull, thankfully also unconscious.

"Ah, damn."

It seemed he'd need that hangover cure after all.

---

The answer to the question was this: 1) Trick him into thinking of Harry purely in terms in Lily and not James and 2) give him other people he legitimately is annoyed by. Thank you for keeping with this story! APPRECIATE IT GUYS AND GALS!

Chapter Text

Eight month necro update!  BTW, this is where things start to change a bit more... rapidly.

You may wish to reread the previous chapters, but if not, here is the summary:

Harry Potter is not a time traveler. But that being said, other people may just be. Ron's acting a bit odd, Hermione's even more of a know-it-all, and Malfoy is almost... polite? So far, Harry's in a weird situation, but at least some of the other Gryffindors, like Parvati and Neville aren't time travelers too, right? Wrong, Neville has showed up and he's decided to confront Hermione and Ron. And what's up with REDACTED?

---

Even a genius could hate life. She could pretend to like life after Hogwarts, but in fact she hated every day and every single second of her existence. Her work was praised and lauded by everyone important in the Ministry and more importantly, the Department of Mysteries, where she helped to unlock the secrets of the universe.

If only she cared about any of it.

It took a few years before she realized the truth, because she saw them one day in the Alley. Harry and his lovely wife and his lovely children, bustling about shopping for the new school term. She was so full of spite and jealousy that her hand was on her wand and half out before she caught herself. And so she finally knew why she hated. But the revelation did not serve to sooth her woes or lessen her sadness; instead she was only utterly and completely depressed and lost. The work lost its meaning and soon she was told to take a "holiday" until she was back up to her former impeccable self.

The idea came when she was drunk off her arse in a pub in the middle of Muggle London. Some crazy story from a Muggle news story about bizarrely impressive advances in their technology, especially considering they were Muggles. Some of it seemed practically like magic. And so she began to wonder: Could it be possible that the Muggles had something useful after all? The Department was frightfully easy to break into, but the ideas were slim, until she recalled the old room of Time Turners. None still remained so many years after Harry and his stupid friends had destroyed them, and yet... If she could go back somehow, further than all theories suggested and magic allowed, could she change the past? Be together with Harry and show him they were meant for each other?

And Ginevra and Hermione and all the other little whores would just have to deal with it. Voldemort would be even easier with her new knowledge and capabilities; she was still no great fighter, but she knew that Riddle had used Horcruxes. It was a secret, but everyone in the Department knew about it. Horcruxes were dangerous, but there were ways around them. And she knew them all.

First there was the critical matter of going back in time. Magic did not hold the secret. But maybe Muggle science did? It was easy enough with mind-altering spells to push things in the Muggle world, manipulate politicians and scientists to pursue the ends she desired. Years passed until the breakthrough was discovered. A single theory, proven and disproven, Muggles first deciding it might work and then years later stating the opposite. But thirty years after the start of her research and forced collaboration with the Muggles, they found out how to travel through time.

A cylinder of unbelievable density, rotating at ludicrous speeds, if long enough could produce an effect of time going in reverse. It couldn't be done except theoretically, even with the final component needed: the cylinder had to be of infinite length. It was impossible; the Muggles could never create a cylinder that was anywhere near long enough to matter. But with magic it was a different story entirely...

It was another ten years before the cylinder was completed in the vastness of space near the Moon, close enough to flee to Earth just in case, but far enough that if she failed, the planet might still survive. Of course, if the time travel worked, bugger the planet. She waited there, protected from the harshness of nothingness with magic, driven nearly mad with her obsession. But this time the madness helped keep her focused on her goal. And so she completed her time travel machine, bent through time and space to rip a hole through reality.

When she stood before the event horizon as it drew closer to overcoming her, floating in the empty black of space, she saw what lay behind the curtain of reality. Time stretched in a way she could never have predicted, and the purity of the magic underlying reality pulsed and began to reach out to her. As she fell the precise amount of time backwards in time she had measured for, she couldn't help but see everything.

And her mind broke under the strain. It was no surprise when they found her that she would not awaken. Yet.

---

He had survived, so he should have been happy. And he tried, he really did. But it was hard for him, despite the happiness of others. Sure, Harry had survived the final battles with Voldemort, as well as a few others of varying levels of relevance. But every single member of the Weasley family had died, save one. They had all perished, even his twin - that one had perhaps hit the hardest of all. And for someone for whom family was life and had always been surrounded by five brothers and a little sister, it wasn't something you could just get over, despite all the "talks" he had in the years following the fall of the Dark Lord.

It helped that Harry needed him, a member of the family which Harry had admitted he considered his own. So the surviving Weasley kept it together for the sake of Harry, who had lost so much, including the girl he loved, and Hermione, who had lost Ron. It broke his heart to see Harry sad, so he did his best, trying to keep Harry smiling. But sometimes it just seemed like there wasn't much point to any of it.

Nothing changed much until one drunken night shared with Hermione where they shared their sorrows and worries for the future. It was a night that neither would forget. He never planned to betray the memory of his younger brother by falling in love with his girlfriend, and Hermione was no scarlet woman either. Harry seemed uncomfortable about it at times, but he said that he wanted them to be happy.

That was actually the worst thing Harry could have ever said.

For the survivor, only his relationship with Hermione kept him sane. They talked for hours about magical theory and endlessly mentioned Ron. Never would let themselves forget. Things kept going in much the same way as the world slowly healed. But the dead were still dead, and nothing could change that. Until one day Hermione retold the story about her third year and traveling to the past. That was the spark. It wasn't Hermione that had the insane idea to change time, but she liked it all the same. Two people working together can often achieve things neither could alone, and thus it was in this case.

In the end, it didn't take very long at all, and they planned to go through the Black Door into the worlds past gone at the time when the stars aligned and the planetary alignment was just right. Hermione had been in charge of half the summoning concepts, always writing her notes and sharing very little until it was absolutely necessary. She seemed to think no one else could handle the final spellwork. The survivor was fine with it, until the night before the Door, Hermione changed her mind. Worried about the possibility of erasing the people who survived, the people they knew. Worried that they would just get lost in the nothingness behind the Door. He tried to convince her, maybe to take Harry along if needed, but Hermione could not be moved.

And time was running out. If they didn't take the Door, it would a year or more before travel might be possible again. And he could not be that patient, not with his family waiting for him. But he couldn't summon the Door alone, not without the research Hermione had performed. The next day as the hours slipped away, the survivor drank himself near to death, despondent and feeling utterly hopeless. Perhaps it was the desperation coupled with the drink that made him do what came next. Or maybe he was only lying to himself.

It was easy enough to steal the notes, because by that point he knew Hermione very well indeed. Most people would have found it gibberish and useless. But for the survivor, despite the haze of alcohol, it clicked everything into place.

The Black Door stood there, waiting for him to pass through, if he had the courage.

Well, was he a Gryffindor or wasn't he?

One thought penetrated the cloud around his mind as he walked through the passageway. He'd probably need to make sure Harry stayed alive too. The kid would need all the help he could get.

---

Far Too Many Time Travelers

Chapter 4: Oh, Very Well!

---

As he slowly sat down, Harry looked between the tied up Ron and Hermione, his crazy friends, and Neville, who until now he had not thought of as crazy at all. But that was clearly just wishful thinking.

"So what's going on?" Harry asked, swallowing back a lump in his throat and hoping no one else noticed his trembling hands. "Why did you attack them, Neville?"

Neville smiled at Harry and leaned back in his own chair. "I had to be careful, Harry. I didn't know what to expect from these two." He then leaned forward and his face became quite serious. "I had to be sure, Harry."

"Oh come off it!" Ron said, rolling his eyes. "You're talking in circles!"

"He's right, Neville," Hermione said in clipped, enunciated tones. "Why don't you just go ahead and tell Harry the truth? Or shall I?"

Neville waved his wand in a casual, yet somehow dismissive manner. "No worries, Hermione. I'm just not used to explaining things. Been keeping to myself for a long time now. But you are right - Harry needs to know the truth, although it's clear neither one of you was going to do anything of the sort."

"I needed time!" Hermione insisted and looked sadly at Harry, although he had no idea what either of them was talking about. "Protecting things, worrying about Occlumency."

"What, you thought someone was going to read your mind?" Neville asked incredulously.

Hermione flicked her eyes to the side and then nodded. "Snape, of course. And Dumbledore."

Neville laughed. "And I thought I was paranoid."

"Hold on," said Ron slowly. "Hold on both of you. Are you... are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Hermione nodded, but didn't look Ron directly, and her eyes seemed a bit wet.

With a chuckle, Neville said, "I am saying that."

"What are you all saying?" Harry hissed, barely holding back a yell.

"Ah, sorry, Harry," Neville told him. "Got a bit lost there. We're time travelers, Harry."

"You are?" Ron asked in surprise.

"I knew it!" Hermione said softly.

For a few seconds Harry didn't say anything. And then he processed what Neville had said.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"We are time travelers, Harry." Neville gestured to the two tied up Gryffindors. "All three of us. Although I actually think Malfoy is one also. And probably at least one other."

"So do I!" Hermione told him with a small grin. "But I had no idea you were also. You hid it so well."

"Yeah, well you three bollocksed quite a bit up, let me tell you," Neville said, rubbing his head. "Luckily it wasn't too bad. Snape seems to hate you, but he's actually fond of Harry. I don't know how you lot managed that, but it's more than I could've done, that's for sure."

Hermione made a scoffing sound. "I wish I had done it all intentionally, but quite a bit was by accident, let me tell you."

"I didn't think I was doing so bad," Ron muttered.

At this, Neville's eyes flashed and he jumped out of his chair. "You knew the troll was coming and just let it wander about! And then you led Harry there like a bunch of children, risking his life for no reason." He took a deep breath, visibly calming down. "Luckily I anticipated your failure," he continued. "So I took care of it."

"Bloody hell, you killed the troll? By cutting off its head?" Ron asked, his jaw hung open. "Neville, that's bloody impressive. Bloody impressive."

"Language, Ron," Hermione said distractedly. "Although he's right. How did you do it?"

"The Sword of Gryffindor," Neville said casually. "We're old pals."

"Ha!" Ron grinned at him. "That's brilliant, Neville."

By this point, Harry had given up trying to follow the conversation at all and just sighed. He was completely and utterly confused.

Hermione looked over at Harry and frowned. "Oh dear, Harry, this must be frightfully odd to hear all at once, isn't it?"

Harry nodded but didn't say anything, not feeling happy about being the only non-whatever in the room.

"Unless..." Ron cocked his head at Harry. "I don't suppose you're a time traveler too, Harry?"

"Don't be an idiot, Ron," Neville said with a laugh. "Harry's just good old Harry. There are enough of us without him getting involved."

"But hold on!" Harry interjected before the conversation could get out of control. "What do you mean you're time travelers? Like, from the future or something?"

Neville closed his eyes and rubbed his face. He took a deep breath and then nodded. "I don't know about these two, Harry, but I am from the future. About ten years from now, or so. Where all of you are dead."

"What?" Ron gaped. "That's impossible. In the future, you guys are the ones who are dead."

"Hermione?" Neville looked at her.

She bit her lip and then nodded. "It appears, somehow, that we are all from different futures. Although I'm not sure how that's possible."

Neville shrugged and twirled his wand around his fingers. "Don't ask me. You were always the brains of the gang. I was more about the practical side of things. Killing Death Eaters and so on."

"If you're from the future, why did you come back?" Harry asked. He scratched his chin. "I guess I could ask all of you that question."

Hermione gave him a very small smile. "My answer is relatively simple, although difficult to speak about." She took a deep breath, barely moving against the ropes that still bound her. "At the end of what should have been our seventh year at Hogwarts Voldemort and his monstrous thugs attacked Hogwarts. He had been resurrected years prior, you see, but I won't get into the specifics." Her eyes narrowed and she looked over at Neville. "He won't be getting the chance again this time around."

"If you're honest as my Hermione, we're agreed," Neville told her.

Ron made a snorting sound. "Of course she's honest. Why wouldn't she be?"

Neville laughed softly and brushed back his hair. "Ron, I am extremely curious to hear your tale when Hermione finishes hers. But until then, let's wait to ask questions until we're all on the same page, eh?"

"That makes sense to me," said Harry. "I'm confused enough already."

"Alright then." Hermione nodded. "So Voldemort had attacked the school, and you, that is, the Harry of the future, went off to face Voldemort for the last time. Harry believed he was the only one that could defeat Riddle."

Neville grunted.

"I believe the notion came from Dumbledore, who had been killed a year prior," Hermione continued.

"What?" Harry gasped. "That's horrible."

"It is," agreed Hermione. "But I don't plan to let that happen again, if Neville ever lets us go that is." She glanced at Neville, who didn't respond in any visible way. "But Dumbledore's plan, whatever it was, had failed. Harry was killed by Voldemort and that was the beginning of the end. We tried to fight back, but morale was... destroyed."

Ron opened his mouth and then closed it with a stricken look on his face.

"Casualties grew worse," Hermione said. "Neville and Ron survived with me for a while, but after only two years, I was essentially alone. Were there still pockets of resistance as the war continued in intensity?" She shrugged. "Naturally. But I had two options. One, attempt to take vengeance on Riddle, which seemed impossible, as he seemed incapable of dying. I tried a few times, but nothing worked. So there was the second option: fix it."

"By going back in time," said Neville with a smirk. "How'd you figure it out?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "It's ridiculously technical, Neville. The details are unimportant. What is important is that I came back to keep Harry safe and alive while also defeating Riddle once and for all."

"So Riddle... is that another name for Voldemort?" Harry asked.

"Oh, sorry, Harry!" Hermione grimaced. "Yes, of course, I expected you to know all about it already just like my… well you understand. Tom Riddle is the real name of Voldemort. His father was a Muggle and his mother was a witch that died shortly after he was born."

"Huh," Harry sat back in his chair, considering this new information. He hadn't realized that Voldemort was an orphan... just like him. It wasn't the sort of thing one liked hearing.

"You're not like him, Harry," said Ron in just above a whisper. When Harry looked over at him in shock, Ron gave him the barest of grins. "I knew the future you pretty well, right?" he said. "You've compared yourself to You-Know-You in my past, so I get the temptation. But you're nothing like him. You're a good person, Harry. You can take my word on that account."

Neville gave Ron a hard look. "And you, Ron? Does that story seem familiar to you?"

Ron sighed and looked down at the floor. "Yeah, 'fraid so. Except of course that in my future, you both had died and I was still alive. Hogwarts was basically destroyed, but I actually was able to hide out in the rubble for a long time. When I found Dumbledore's portrait, he walked me through the contingency plans and how to setup a secret gate through time. I didn't need to understand the theory, just needed to do what needed to be-" He choked on this last word and screwed his eyes open and closed rapidly. "What needed to be done. Bugger, I've been so overwhelmed with life here in the past, I've suppressed everything I've had to do."

"What did you have to do Ron?" Hermione asked, a catch in her voice and a worried look in her eyes.

"I dunno if you've heard of most of it," Ron said in what was nearly a mumble. "But the worst was something called the Xo Xibalba. I - I don't want to talk about it right now."

Hermione paled visibly and she looked over at Neville, who shrugged.

"Clearly sounds off, but I don't know it," he said. "But now that you two have told Harry your horror story from the future, let me tell one that's just a bit... happier. For one reason." He smiled in a way that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Because in mine, Riddle bit it."

---

"Well, that was quite a story," Harry said after Neville had finished, and then sat down, having forgotten he had stood up at some point during the tale.

"If it was anyone else, I wouldn't have believed it," Ron said, looking off at nothing at all.

"Are you sure you didn't get radiation poisoning?" Hermione asked.

"You mean after I traveled back in time?" Neville replied dryly.

Hermione winced. "Yes, well. Good point."

"Now that we're all caught up, I think we should figure out our next move," said Neville. "If you two really are who you say you are, you won't have any issues with a good old fashioned Unbreakable Vow."

Ron grimaced. "Do we have to? Can't you just use Veritaserum on us?"

"That's a potion that makes you tell the truth," Neville said to Harry, who smiled at the answer to a question he hadn't come up with yet. "But no, I don't think so. First of all, I don't have any. Second, I don't even know what it looks like if I wanted to steal it from Snape. Third, there are ways around it."

"Not without wands," Hermione started to say, and then paused and shifted her eyes to the side. "Well, at least for the most part."

Neville grinned. "For most wizards or witches, I'd agree, but powerful ones... there are ways around it. And I'd wager you both know a few."

Ron laughed. "Got me there, Nev. I hadn't thought about it, but I actually do know a few little tricks."

"And this Unbreakable Vow," said Harry. "I guess it's some sort of... unbreakable vow?" As he said this, Harry felt overwhelmingly stupid.

"Don't get bogged down in the details, Harry," Neville told him. "The only important thing is that if you break the vow, you die. Simple enough."

"There are loopholes for Vows, Neville," Hermione said softly.

Neville nodded. "Right, wording and such. I think I've got a decent way to word it. Yeah, and if you can outthink it, break the vow. If you dare." He chuckled. "But since I'm the one with the wand, I'll be the Bonder, and each of you will say the same vow. Agreed?"

Ron nodded, and after a moment, so did Hermione.

It seemed to take very little time to administer the Vow to Hermione and Ron, probably because all parties involved knew what to do. For his part, Harry just tried to figure out the bizarre mess he had landed in. Three different people, first years at that, all claiming to be time travelers from years off in the future. And from the sounds of it, not very pleasant ones. Even Neville's tale, with its triumphant but bittersweet decapitation that sounded violent but exciting, painted the picture of a world gone to Hell. Or whatever the Wizarding equivalent of that was.

So if they were liars, they were absurdly good ones.

Harry wondered if anyone else might have also traveled in time. He ruled himself out, of course. You'd remember something like that – unless Harry really was from the future but had changed his own memory for his own mysterious reasons. Or maybe he was actually Voldemort from the future with a different mysterious reason? Harry shook his head vigorously at that last thought. There was such a thing as too much imagination.

But who were logical candidates? Hopefully not Voldemort, come to think of it, or they'd be in trouble. Harry reviewed the people he actually knew. The other Gryffindors seemed normal, especially Parvati, who was becoming a real friend, shockingly enough. Harry considered that oddity; maybe she was only nice because was also a time traveler and pretending to be his friend for her own mysterious reasons. It was a distressing and depressing idea, so Harry pretended he hadn't considered it and moved on. He didn't really know anyone from outside the Gryffindor House, except for Professor Snape and Draco Malfoy. Snape seemed alright to Harry, certainly more than he was to the other Gryffindors. But then again, he was friends with Harry's Mum, so that made some sense.

And as for Malfoy….

Hmm. Actually, perhaps Draco Malfoy had been a bit odd too. It was hardly the craziest idea Harry had heard even that day, especially after the Quidditch nonsense. Although that brought up another possibility: what about the other team members? All relatively normal, except for Wood, who had absurdly brilliant strategies and had set the stands on fire.

Right. So if Wood wasn't a time traveler, he was just legitimately insane. Harry wasn't sure which one would be worse.

"Harry?" Hermione asked, breaking up his reverie. "Are you okay?"

"Um, yeah," Harry replied, starting to pay attention again. "So… are you done?"

Hermione crossed her arms and looked over at Neville with a mild glare. "I would think so, but Neville hasn't returned our wands yet."

"Yeah, Nev," Ron said, holding out his hand with a wide grin. "Fork 'em over."

Neville laughed. "Great choice of words, Wonnie. I guess I'm satisfied. Hope so, anyway." He reached into his robes and tossed back their wands. "Don't try to Stun me or anything to 'get me back'" he warned them. "I wouldn't care for it."

Ron made a face. "I'm not Ginny, Neville. I wouldn't hold a grudge for no good reason."

Hermione made a muffled snorting sound, then looked like she was shocked the noise had come from her.

Ron glared at her. "Laugh it up, Hermione. If you're anything like…" he stumbled slightly on his words before continuing. "Like my Hermione, you're no better."

"I'm a little better," she replied, sticking up her chin airily.

"Well, okay," Ron accepted with a chuckle.

"So what's our next move?" Neville asked. "Harry should get a say, naturally."

Harry blinked in surprise. "Thanks, but I don't really know. I mean, maybe we should find the other time travelers, if there are any others. And I dunno… isn't there someone trustworthy you can talk to? People you know from your first time through."

Hermione grimaced. "I don't know if there are any adults that fit that category, but as for the other temporally displaced individuals… the evidence seems to point towards Malfoy."

Ron frowned and then clenched a fist. "Of course! No wonder he's been acting so strangely."

"Also Oliver might be one," Harry added. "He didn't set anything on fire when guys were in first year the first time around, right?"

"Huh," Ron grunted. "That'd explain why the team looked so bloody good. Better than I'd remembered, but I thought it was just unclear memories."

"That's excellent reasoning, Harry," said Hermione, tapping her chin with her wand. "I wasn't really paying attention to Quidditch, as it's kind of unimportant."

"What?" Ron and Harry asked simultaneously, in equivalent amounts of horror.

Neville laughed. "I think she means when you compare it to trolls, Voldemort, and the like."

"Oh." Harry chuckled slightly himself. "Yeah, good point."

"I know you're not keen on the idea," said Neville to Hermione. "But I gotta side with Harry on this one. This whole business is just too big and too weird to handle ourselves; we need to bring in Dumbledore."

Harry nodded in agreement. Finally someone talking sense. Dumbledore would know just what to do.

Hermione bit her lip. "But can we trust him?"

Neville held up his hands and rolled his eyes. "Yes?" he said this with a touch of exasperation.

"I say we can," put in Ron. "I talked a lot to his portrait when I was doing my own time spell. Pretty sure we can trust him."

"But what if he tries to Obliviate us?" Hermione asked.

"He won't," said Neville with a shrug. "But if he tries, we run. Agreed?"

They left the room, with Harry pretending he also knew where they were going. It seemed like the time travelers just subconsciously assumed that Harry knew things only his future self would know, and although that was more than logical, Harry was already pretty sick of asking what they were talking about. If it was really important, he'd figure it out eventually.

It didn't take long before the four Gryffindors stood in front of a stone gargoyle - it wasn't much like any office Harry had ever seen.

"Is this it?" He asked.

"The gargoyle guards the entrance," explained Hermione. "But I can't recall the password. Obviously it's some sort of candy, but I never visited the Headmaster in my first year. I don't believe even you did."

"There are ways around it," said Neville slowly. "But I suppose it may be better to be polite and just ask."

Ron snorted. "You guys don't know Dumbledore's catchall password. And here I thought you were supposed to be smarter than me." He turned to the statue before Hermione could reply and said, "Argelfraster."

"What was...?" Harry started to ask, but then the gargoyle jumped aside, revealing a hidden staircase.

"Argelfraster?" Hermione asked with the hint of a smile.

Ron shrugged. "Dumbledore's portrait said he wanted it to be memorable but difficult to guess."

Neville laughed. "Not bad. Last time I just climbed through the window." He then turned away from them and began walking up the stairs, as if to forestall any further response or argument.

Harry hurried behind him, ensuring that at least it wouldn't seem like he was just following the other three. When they came to the top, Harry could see Dumbledore's office (which actually did look like what you'd expect a magical office to look like) although he couldn't see if anyone was there.

"Please, come in," came the recognizable sound of the Headmaster's voice, scratched, resonant, and slightly amused. "I am curious what brings four first years to my office so late in the evening."

Neville just walked forward as Harry stood a moment, startled and a bit afraid to move. Hermione, still holding her wand out, gave him a curious look and gestured forward.

A slap on the back jarred Harry back to his senses.

"Chin up, Harry," Ron whispered in his ear. "We've got your back."

Naturally, Neville seemed annoyed they hadn't come right after, while Dumbledore, sitting behind his desk, merely watched them with a raised eyebrow.

"So what is the purpose of this visit?" Dumbledore asked. "Is there some sort of urgent matter that must be attended to?"

"You might say that," said Neville, sitting on one of the chairs. He twirled his own wand around his fingers. "To start off, you probably have some sort of guess why we're here."

Dumbledore raised a white, bushy eyebrow. "There could be many reasons. Perhaps you are here about today's events, or maybe this is about something to do with Sirius Black?"

"Sirius Black?" Harry blinked, just now remembering the drama with the transforming rat. "Oh yeah, what happened with him?"

"It would appear that Mister Black is innocent," replied the Headmaster. "And instead Peter Pettigrew, posing as Ron's pet rat, was instead the criminal so many years ago."

Ron grunted. "We already knew that."

Hermione punched his shoulder. "Harry didn't!"

Dumbledore frowned. "Well now I must confess I am unsure what is going on."

"Sir, haven't you noticed odd things going on this year?" Neville asked in a relaxed tone.

The Headmaster chuckled, a pleasant, friendly sound. "Naturally. This is Hogwarts, after all, and odd things are our speciality."

Neville nodded. "Sure. And yeah, having a troll attack out of nowhere or Peter Pettigrew hiding out as a rat are odd. But consider." He pointed at Ron and Hermione. "Two students that are far too talented for their age."

"Well, I wouldn't go that far," Hermione sniffed.

"A troll decapitated by the Sword of Gryffindor."

Dumbledore breathed in. "And how do you know about that, Mister Longbottom?"

Neville grinned widely. "It's simple, sir. I'm from the future."

The Headmaster didn't say anything for a few seconds, as he looked between the four of them.

"An odd assertion," he said finally. "But I fail to see the humour."

"It's not a joke, Professor," said Hermione through clenched teeth. "It's quite true. We have traveled through time from the future - many years, in point of fact."

"Oh, all of you is it?" Dumbledore said lightly, although his expression seemed to say he wasn't enjoying the conversation.

"Harry isn't," Ron interjected quickly. "The three of us are."

"I don't suppose you have some sort of proof," Dumbledore said in a reproachful tone. Harry noticed that the Professor was now also holding his wand, although it wasn't clear when that had happened.

Ron smiled. "For one, I knew the catchall password."

"Which is?" Dumbledore prompted.

"Argelfraster," replied the redhead with extreme confidence, and the Headmaster looked very surprised for a moment, and then stroked his beard.

"Well now, there are ways around that," he said. "But that merely proves you know something you should not, not that you are from the future."

"Fine," Ron said vehemently, stepping closer, while Harry saw everyone else clutching their wands tighter. "Here's something that's proof, something your own portrait told me."

"Hmm, quite fascinating," said Dumbledore. "You've piqued my interest, Mister Weasley. What did the portrait say to you?"

Ron grinned, as though it was obvious. "Made me memorize this phrase: 'The answer to the ontological paradox is that metaphysics are subjective'".

Hermione laughed. "That's ludicrous, Ron! That doesn't solve the paradox at all."

But Dumbledore was clearly shocked, his mouth slightly open. And then he smiled, readily and calmly, and his entire posture relaxed..

"On the contrary, Miss Granger," he said. "It answers everything. And it proves Ronald is from the future, although it would take far too long to explain why." Dumbledore looked over at Hermione. "But how is it that you did not know of this if you are also from the future?"

"Ah." Hermione smiled slightly, a wicked sort of glee showering on her face. "Well, sir, we three are from divergent, mutually deterministic futures. So we each came back entirely separately, with three different mechanisms." She gestured at Ron. "From what I gathered, your portrait taught Ron some variant of aperture amplification theory through the corruption of the Xo Xibalba ritual."

Ron's jaw dropped. "You figured that out from just the name of the ritual?"

Dumbledore sighed and looked down. "If that is true, I am sorry you went through such a traumatic circumstance, Mister Weasley."

Ron dropped into a chair and sighed. "Yeah, that's what your portrait always said too. But it was the only way left I could do by myself. Or so you - I mean your portrait said."

"I hadn't even thought of such a dark, difficult procedure," said Hermione, leaning against the wall. "Not that what I did was much better."

"And what was that, if I may ask?" Dumbledore had put down his wand, which seemed promising. For his part, Harry was merely trying to commit everything to memory, to be reviewed later when he had access to a dictionary.

Hermione's mouth quirked up. "I was actually getting to that. You won't like it." She closed and reopened her eyes, taking a deep breath. "I broke the Lunar Compact and forcibly inserted a self-duplicating incantation to sever the probabilistic certainty. Modification of the old Deadman's Loop ritual to trigger the other side of the Moon."

Dumbledore got to his feet suddenly, his face alight with fury.

Harry was so taken aback, he forgot to be terrified. That would come later when he was asleep.

"Miss Granger!" the Headmaster thundered. "Do you realize what you might have done? What you assuredly did to that branch of possibility?"

"I know!" she shouted back, tears in her eyes. "How could I not?" She wiped her face with her robes. "But you were dead. Harry was dead. Ron was dead. And Voldemort..." She dropped her voice to a whisper. "He still lived. So I did what I had to do. That world no longer deserved to exist."

Dumbledore held his angry face for a long moment, and then he sighed, his entire face and body drooping. "But assuredly there must have been innocents and ..."

"Sir, please!" Hermione interrupted. "Would you have done any differently in my position?"

For a long, silent moment, Dumbledore said nothing. And then he sighed deeply and looked very tired. He sat back down and seemed a bit sad. "How old were you?"

Hermione blinked and then smiled slightly. "Twenty-seven."

Dumbledore shook his head. "My word," he said, his voice sounding amazed. "No wonder. You were so young." He chuckled. "Well, you are even younger now." He looked over to Neville. "I shudder to ask what awful technique or violation of reality you utilized, Mister Longbottom."

Neville shrugged. "I just stole an artifact from Riddle's corpse. Seemed obvious how to use it, but I have no idea what it was or where it came from."

"Ah, well, that is a positive development in comparison," the Headmaster said. "So each of you came from a different future to the same past. It would seem that Elzbar's Theory of Convergent Timelines is the valid conclusion after all. Most intriguing. It raises the question: What were the convergent endpoints?"

Hermione grinned and began pacing around Harry's chair.

"I arrived on the first day of the term near the Express; Ron and Malfoy were certainly there, so they must have been displaced at that point, if not earlier."

"Yeah, I came right before the Express," Ron agreed. He looked up at nothing and sighed. "The sight of that beautiful train took my breath away, I don't mind telling you."

"Mister Malfoy?" Dumbledore slowly stroked his beard. "Yes, of course. That would explain some of the aberrances in his behavior as well."

"What about you, Neville?" asked Harry, trying to be an active part of the conversation.

"Halloween," the heavyset boy answered. "I wonder if anyone else showed up at the same time as me. I tried to pick up on any clues, but if there was another one, I didn't notice it."

"Interesting," said Dumbledore. "Perhaps there is something about the day, being that it is a conflux of mystic seasons."

"Oh, right, Halloween derives from Samhain, doesn't it?" Hermione stopped pacing and looked at the Headmaster. "That's a magical holiday too, I remember reading. Hogwarts used to celebrate it."

"Not for many years," he replied with a shake of his head. "Centuries, I would venture. But the magical roots are still relevant, of course. Which could potentially imply further time travelling arrivals during the other confluxes."

"Beltain, right?" Hermione asked eagerly. "And Imbolg!"

"In this case, I believe the transitional spring Equinox and winter Solstice are more likely," the Headmaster said with obvious warmth in his voice and a touch of a scholarly reprimand. "They are more suited to acting as a conflux of time instead of space."

Hermione frowned. "I guess I don't really know much about those."

Ron gasped in an obvious, exaggerated way. "Now I know you aren't the real Hermione!"

She smacked the back of his head and Ron winced.

"Or maybe you are," he grumbled, rubbing the impact area.

"But Professor," Hermione continued, as though nothing had happened. "Why did three of us show up in August? There's no holiday then."

"Sure there is," said Neville. "Lughnasa, of course. But nobody celebrates it anymore. I remember my Gran talking about some people wanting to bring it back."

"Mister Longbottom is quite right," said Dumbledore. "In point of fact, the first day of the school year was tied to Lughnasa. Later on came Muggles copying the timing; the Express, of course came only a hundred or so years ago." He smiled. "Although there was controversy at the time of the use of a 'Muggle' conveyance, Before I was born, of course, but not by that much."

"But sir, that means," Hermione gasped. "That others might just show up at any of the other confluxed holidays."

Dumbledore nodded. "Indeed. We will need to stay vigilant and perhaps construct some sort of alerting mechanism. I have a few ideas."

"Like an echo trigger starting the night before?" asked Hermione, tracing something in the air.

"Well, that wouldn't really be feasible for everyone in Hogwarts, now would it?" Dumbledore chuckled.

Hermione frowned. "Oh, blast! You're right, of course." Then her face lit up. "But wait, what about..."

"Hold a moment," Ron interrupted. "Before we get to you two talking over our heads any longer, let's focus on what we can all contribute to." He gestured to Harry. "Obviously Harry's here because he's the only other person who knows, and because he deserves to know."

"Oh," Harry was surprised by this remark. "Um, thanks."

"We need to think about who else might be 'visiting'" Ron continued. "Malfoy, obviously. And maybe my brother Percy, he's been acting a bit off. Harry pointed out that Wood's weirder than he ought to be."

"I see," mused Dumbledore. "Yes, quite logical. Oliver certainly seemed to be acting a bit... extreme, I suppose." He smiled. "I believe we should get Mister Malfoy involved, as he has apparently been here as long as Miss Granger and Mister Weasley."

"But we can't trust Draco!" Ron insisted, coming to his feet.

"So you prefer we leave him be?" Dumbledore asked.

Ron grimaced. "Bugger."

"Your language is as bad as my own Ron," said Hermione with a small smile, moving a bit closer to him.

"I'm holding back my worst," Ron told her with a laugh.

Dumbledore had taken this interruption to scribble something down on a piece of parchment. He rolled it up and raised it to the corner. "Fawkes, would you mind taking this to Severus?"

At first Harry thought Dumbledore was talking to a portrait until a haunting, beautiful trill caught his attention. A majestic bird with impossibly red feathers flew over and grabbed the paper, and then vanished with a puff of smoke and a small explosion of flames.

"You know," said Ron with a raise of his eyebrow. "Professor, are you a time traveler?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Only in the normal, forward only sort of way I'm afraid."

In a flash of fire, the beautiful bird reappeared, singing a musical whistle that sent pleasant goose pimples across Harry's skin. The bird hovered for a moment and then flew in front of Neville.

"Hello Fawkes, old boy," Neville said and held out his arm. Fawkes (which apparently was the bird's name) looked at the Gryffindor for a moment before landing on his wrist. Neville scratched it under the back of its right ear and the bird made a very happy sound.

"My word..." Dumbledore sat back with a look of complete surprise on his face. "Well, if there was any doubt of your foreknowledge, that has certainly settled the matter. I suppose you and Fawkes became quite close in your future, then?"

Neville grinned but his eyes had a tinge of sadness. "Phoenixes are hard to kill, sir. We two were a team near the end."

"Wait, that is Fawkes?" Harry asked. "You mean from your story?" He looked over at the seemingly normal bird - sure it was abnormally beautiful for a bird, and yes, now that Harry looked closer, there was certainly something magical about it. And that birdsong had been marvelous and Fawkes had also disappeared and reappeared out of nowhere - that was consistent with Neville's tale. "Ah," Harry said, and leaned back in his chair. "I guess it is Fawkes."

Ron burst into laughter. "Yes, well spotted Harry," he managed after he calmed down.

Severus stormed into the room. "Albus, what is the..." He stopped and looked over at the students, his face changing rapidly from confusion to horror and then to fury. "What is the meaning of this?"

Albus adjusted his spectacles and leaned forward. "Ah, Severus, so glad you could join us. There is something we need to discuss."

---

Later, as Harry collapsed into a comfortable chair in the Gryffindor dorms, he wondered what the others might be working on with the professors. On the one hand, he was intensely curious, but on the other, he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know. Harry just wished that for once in his life he had someone normal to confide in.

"Harry?" A figure came forward, and it took a moment for a very tired Harry to recognize her.

"Parvati, what are you still doing up?"

She frowned and crossed her arms. "I could ask you the same thing! You vanished and then... nothing for ages! And not just you, but Neville too!"

"And Ron and Hermione," Harry added.

Parvati's eyes narrowed. "Oh, I see. What horrid nonsense did they have to do with this?"

Harry sat up and looked carefully at the dark skinned girl. She seemed fairly normal, all things considered. And she couldn't be blamed for being annoyed at the mental time travelers; after all, hearing about the terrible things in the futures they experienced, who'd blame them for being a bit mad?

He looked around the room, but it seemed that they were alone. "Parvati," he said in just above a whisper. "Come here a moment." He put up his fingers to his mouth to indicate silence.

Parvati perked up and she grinned widely, running over and sitting next to him on the floor. "Well then?" she asked with a glint of pleasure in her eyes.

"I'll tell you," said Harry. "But you must absolutely swear to keep it a secret... from everybody!"

Parvati held up a hand and she sat up perfectly straight. "I won't tell a soul!" she promised.

And despite strong temptations, she didn't say a word.

But as it would turn out, someone else did.

---

END OF CHAPTER FOUR - (The Third Conflux Part 1)

---

This chapter didn't quite go as I had planned, but I decided to take an alternative approach to the next one. The next two time travelers aren't even introduced in the primary story yet!

Thanks for hanging in there folks! Next up: More Mysterious Girl!

Chapter Text

The timeline shivered and spun, splintering as a single soul screamed in terror. Realities collapsed and possibilities ended, but the permutations continued unending. And through each and every version, the same name was heard to echo through history as the one that muddled everything up. For good or bad, for death or life, for greed or revenge, just one name started this whole mess.

But honestly, who can blame him? By the end, you'd do the same.

---

Chapter 5 - The Secret Ingredient is Time

(The Third Conflux, Part 2)

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The next day passed seemingly normally for Harry, although his time traveling pals were conspicuously missing except for meals. Harry considered asking them what was going on, but there was the strong possibility they'd respond in a way he couldn't understand and he'd had quite enough of that lately.

Parvati had an extremely suspicious grin on her face since he had seen her at breakfast. With a huge, obvious (at least to Harry) wink she seemed to be saying "Harry, that super awesome secret of yours is safe with me. And boy, you clearly understand the whole mess just like you were a time traveler yourself but without the crazy". Perhaps he was reaching a bit, but he felt he could trust Parvati.

During their next break, they continued wildly speculating about who the next time travelers might be and why they had decided to break the laws of space and time to do it.

"I know it sounds crazy," said Harry. "But what if Snape's been a time traveler the whole time!"

"No, no," said Parvati with a shake of her head. "I really think Dumbledore will be next."

"He said he wasn't one already," Harry pointed out. "Remember?"

Parvati rolled her eyes. "Don't be a prat, Harry. I mean that he'll be replaced by himself from the future. Who else is smart enough? You said it yourself that his portrait helped Ron back in time. And Hermione... well, okay, she's enough of a crazed brain to figure it out."

"You have a point," said Harry. "But I bet it's Hagrid. Oh no, wait! What if it's Ollivander? And he only does it so he knows which wands to pair up with people, and he does it just to be sneaky and never change anything else."

Parvati shivered. "Mister Ollivander gave me the creeps, to be honest. Weird guy, sneaking up on us. None of us noticed! Not even Padma, and she notices everything."

"How is she?" Harry asked. "Have you told her about the time travelers?"

"Harry!" Parvati looked at him aghast. "You know I said I wouldn't tell anyone."

"Oh, true. But she's your sister."

"So you're okay with me telling her about it?"

Harry tapped his chin and thought about it for a moment. "Nah, let's at least wait until things are a bit more settled. You don't know who might be listening in, right? But anyway, after Solstice the Headmaster said we'd probably get someone else. Who that may be even he didn't know."

"I mean it's really anyone's guess," said Parvati. "I never would've expected Neville to be so cool, but I guess he's a super brilliant actor. And Malfoy?" She grimaced. "I'm not happy about that. Are you sure he's not secretly evil?"

"He might be," said Harry. "But Snape and Dumbledore are keeping an eye on him just in case."

Parvati laughed. "That's good. I bet he won't like that!"

Harry chuckled a bit in return. "I bet you're right."

The rest of the day passed uneventfully, and Harry was content to just sit back and pretend things were normal again. He even spent more time than usual on his homework, feeling motivated and a bit chipper.

And then he was interrupted.

"Harry, got a minute?"

Harry looked up to see Neville standing over him.

"What is it?" Harry asked, worrying about the answer.

"Nothing serious," the other boy said. "Just letting you know that Dumbledore doesn't want us staying in the rooms with you because he thinks it's inappropriate. Different mental ages, I suppose. Nothing to me either way, although I'm not happy because I can't protect you as easily. I pushed back on that mark, but Dumbledore insisted." He scowled. "I'll try and convince him later."

"Do you really think I need to be protected?" Harry asked in alarm.

"Well." Neville paused and then sighed. "I suppose you're not in any immediate danger. Quirrell and therefore Voldemort are safe in the Infirmary under an arseload of protective charms, and I don't expect anyone else. I mean Lockhart was an idiot, the basilisk is not a concern right now, Lupin is an ally, but then there's Crouch."

He frowned. "Hmm, I almost forgot about him. Hard to remember everyone. He was dead before the war started, so I didn't think about him. I'll bring him up to Albus."

"I don't know who any of those people are," Harry said in an angry hiss.

"Oh, balls!" Neville winced. "You're right, Harry. I was really just planning out loud. I'll explain all those people soon, I promise. In the mean time, just tell people we're being quarantined."

"What-in-tined?"

"Kept away from the other students because of suspected illness," explained Neville. "And say that Professor Quirrell is also being locked up. I had to wait to tell you until I could sneak away." He grinned. "Their locks aren't as good as they think. But I also had to wait until nobody was listening in."

He leaned closer. "Someone was following you earlier," he whispered. "They're trying to listen right now, but I muffled our voices with a spell."

"Then why are you whispering?" Harry asked.

"To confuse her," said Neville. "She doesn't mean any harm, but I don't like people being nosy like that. It's none of her business."

"Whose business?"

"Older Gryffindor girl. Forget her name, but you wouldn't know her," said Neville. "It doesn't matter, she's a nothing. But I think she might know something. This is why I wish I knew how to Obliviate someone subtly. But all I can do is totally screw up someone's memory, and that wouldn't be fair to a random idiot, even an eavesdropping one."

"And what does Obliviate mean again?" Harry asked. Normally he'd be a bit annoyed, but he got the feeling Neville wasn't trying to be a jerk about knowing things.

"Merlin's balls, Harry, I'm an idiot," said Neville with a grumble. "I keep forgetting you're a first year. Obliviation is a spell to modify someone's memory. The Ministry uses it to convince Muggles they didn't see any magic when they did. Standard procedure for them."

"Ah, that makes sense," said Harry, realizing this answered a question he hadn't even thought of.

"And they use it like a fine chisel, but I'm more like a giant boulder," Neville continued. "So... yeah."

He grinned, slapped Harry a bit hard on the shoulder and disappeared suddenly.

Harry couldn't help but laugh. Neville seemed to be kind of awesome.

---

Everything changed the next day, but Harry didn't even realize it until breakfast.

He had slept in just a bit, feeling like he deserved the break after a Quidditch victory and an absolutely mad revelation about time travelers. So the Hall was mostly full when Harry made his way down to have breakfast. But everyone was in uproar, students chattering loudly and running between tables waving newspapers at each other.

As he walked towards the Gryffindor table, feeling utterly confused, Parvati ran over to him.

"I didn't say anything, Harry! I don't know how it got out!" She was close to tears, it seemed.

"What happened?" Harry asked, and then he realized the entire Hall was staring at him, although they continued to talk louder than before.

Without saying a word, Parvati handed over a copy of The Daily Prophet, which Harry recalled was the wizarding newspaper.

His jaw dropped when he saw the headline.

TIME TRAVELERS AT HOGWARTS!

Dumbledore's Secret Plan Revealed

The Prophet has learned through reliable sources, told to Senior Mysteries reporter Berthas Crumble, that several time travelers have appeared at Hogwarts! These children are a mix of muggleborn and pureblood wizards and witches, each with a secret mission to save Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived.

"Oh no," said Harry with a moan.

Parvati looked miserably back at him.

Our sources have revealed that Dumbledore has been working with at least five time travelers, but possibly more, to track down Death Eaters and Dark wizards that are incensed at the Boy-Who-Lived for defeating You-Know-Who, the worst Dark Lord in centuries. Apparently in a terrifying future, Dumbledore had a secret plan to send back grown wizards and witches to the time when they were mere children if he died. Sadly in this future, the wise but elderly Headmaster was murdered by the vampire king of the giants, so these brave children were sent back to save the Wizarding world!

"Wait a minute," said Harry. "This isn't right. It wasn't Dumbledore's plan at all. And the vampire king? I don't even know who that is. Do you?"

"Well, no," said Parvati. "I didn't read the whole article. Let me see!" She looked over Harry's shoulder and read up to the same point. She frowned and said, "I'm confused Harry. They have some of the details exactly right, but a lot of it seems like it's utter tosh!"

"Uh oh," said Harry. "It says to 'turn to page 14 for the names of the time travelers'. Do we dare?"

"Everyone else will have, so we'd better," said Parvati sensibly.

Harry nodded and turned to the right page. The names listed were the ones he expected. Ron, Hermione, Draco, Neville, and Oliver Wood.

Looking around the Hall, it seemed that many people had also read the article. Draco had clearly already fled, being nowhere to be found, and Ron seemed to be enjoying answering questions. Neville and Hermione were refusing to say anything, which seemed to be good.

Harry looked over to see how Wood was handling it.

From the looks of it, it wasn't well.

"Shut up already!" Oliver yelled at some Ravenclaw. "The Headmaster told me not to talk about how I traveled in time, so I'm not telling you just because you've always wanted to know how."

"Yeah, let the idiot alone!" Fred shouted, blocking Oliver from view. George quickly moved to help.

"Making him miserable is our job," said George with a grin. "And only about Quidditch, which is a good cause."

Hermione walked over to Harry, looking very shaken. "Harry, I'm not sure what happened, but everyone knows we traveled in time! The Prophet is laughably wrong about the details, but it's got a lot right. Did you tell anyone?"

"Only Parvati and she didn't tell anyone."

"I doubt that!" Hermione said with an angry glare at the other girl.

"Oh boil your head Granger!" Parvati said with a matching glare. "I didn't bloody tell anyone! It might've been you, you blasted nutter, and you probably didn't even realize it you're so mental!"

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "You'd better watch your mouth, Patil."

And then a sudden, ludicrously loud shot rang out and the room fell silent.

The Headmaster stood, looking over the students. "I believe that is enough excitement for one morning. I should like to address a few important items of immediate concern. There are clearly those spreading conversations that were private, and regrettably this has led to many misunderstandings. In short, I will tell you the truth as I know it and what I believe you can handle. It is a difficult thing to discuss, that is true." He took off his glasses and wiped them with a handkerchief. "You have all have been lucky, wonderfully so, but lucky nonetheless."

He put back on his spectacles and gestured at the other professors. "Each of us that teaches you has experienced the horrors of war. For some of us, more than once. I myself lived through a time when all seem lost not once, but twice in my own, admittedly lengthy lifetime. It is hard to imagine, I know, when all you know is peace and war is mere stories your parents use to scare and bore you in turn.

"War is not glorious," the Headmaster said. "It is terrible. Our country suffered greatly. Those of you with magical parents know of at least a few lost in this century's wars. And those of you with Muggle heritage had your own losses in your own great war. This... is not something I ever wanted to explain." He took a deep breath and looked from table to table.

"Take everything you know, your friends and family, your possessions, your safety and security. Now imagine all of that is at risk of being lost at a moment's notice. This is beginning to approach how it was for us all during the wars. But I am afraid it gets worse. Each of the time travelers that sit among you has experienced a war in their own future, and each has lost nearly everything. Can you imagine that horrid possibility, that all has already been lost? That everything is hopeless?"

His voice nearly broke there, and Harry was shocked to discover tears in his own eyes. Suddenly each and every horrific story of the time travelers crystallized in his mind. The thought of losing everything, all he knew, was terrifying, and he had only known real friends for a few months. Harry could barely imagine how it must be for those that had lost years of friendship and family.

Looking around, he saw quite a few students similarly affected.

The Headmaster cleared his throat. "I can barely grasp it myself. These young men and women, scarcely old enough to graduate Hogwarts, somehow pulled together an unbelievable amount of courage and will. They each attempted dangerous, improbable magic and risked everything to try again. Each one knew that they would lose their future and their past anew by replacing their past selves."

"Albus," said Professor McGonagall softly.

Dumbledore held up a hand. "Please, Minerva, allow me to finish. The Prophet did accurately state the names of these courageous time travelers, who have lost their futures to try and assist our present. Everything they knew and everything they had is gone except their minds and memories. They gave all else up for the sake of us all. A terrible sacrifice, one that none should ever have to make.

"If you feel you must ask questions, please do not ask them to these travelers out of time. Instead, I request you address such things to myself or your Head of House. Respect their courage and their sacrifice, and respect their privacy. We have already asked these young travelers to live apart from the rest of you, although sharing meals seemed a reasonable compromise. It was not my plan to send these children through time, that I can assure you." His eyes flashed slightly. "In that, I am afraid the Prophet had it quite wrong indeed. Now then, I believe that is all for now. As I said, please address any additional questions to your Head of House. Thank you."

The low hum of hushed conversations instantly filled the rooms and Harry sighed. Hopefully this wouldn't go that badly.

"I didn't tell anyone," said Parvati softly to him. "I promise."

"I believe you," said Harry sincerely. "Really. Someone must've overheard us. Neville did say someone was following me around."

"Who?" Hermione whirled and shouted, "Neville!"

Neville jumped over the table and walked over to them. "What's up, Hermione?"

"How did you do that?" Hermione seemed to be distracted by the show of athleticism. "I mean, no offense, but you don't seem to be in the best of shape."

Neville laughed. "Oh, Hermione, never change! Always trying to figure things out."

"Very true," said Hermione. "But... how did you do it?"

"He's not going to tell you," Harry told her.

"Harry's got it right," said Neville, pointing at the other boy. "But I might tell him at some point."

"Really?" Harry asked in surprise.

"Really?" Hermione and Parvati asked at the same time, and then glared at each other and didn't say anything for a minute.

"Oh, whatever!" Hermione threw up her arms. "I'll figure it eventually. Mark my words, Longbottom!" With that, she walked away.

Neville rolled his eyes. "Sorry, just thought that'd distract her from those pesky questions."

"You heard?" Parvati asked, sounding surprised.

"Yeah," said Neville with a nod. "I'm good at listening. And your conversation seemed important, especially considering Hermione was about to hex you. Didn't want that to happen."

"I can handle her!" Parvati said with indignation.

"No you can't," said Neville. "In fairness, I'm not entirely sure I can either unless I cheat. I caught her by surprise last time, but she knows a frightening amount of scary magic."

"You're making me very worried!" Parvati clasped her hands together and looked nervous. "Neville, do you think she's... mad? I mean for real?"

Neville blinked and then after a long moment, he sighed. "To be honest, I don't know how you could avoid being a little mad after traveling through time, finding yourself in a very different and yet familiar place. Dumbledore gets it, of course, that's why it makes him so sad."

"I almost cried when he gave his speech," said Parvati softly.

Harry nodded, but didn't want to admit to the same thing out loud.

"He wasn't faking those emotions," said Neville. "The man is a genius, so he put it together quick. I came from a pretty awful future, and I know Ron and Hermione did too. Supposedly Malfoy also did, but if I were him, I'd be telling everyone the truth. He won't, of course."

"What do you mean 'the truth'?" Harry asked.

"The truth is that our dear Slytherin friend clearly comes from a future where Voldemort" - he paused for Parvati to shudder - "rules the day and is probably as awful as anyone of us could imagine. Expect it'd be rough for everyone, even for the purebloods. Truth is, ol' Riddle hates everyone, muggles, muggleborns, purebloods, even himself I'd wager."

"Riddle is Voldemort's real name," said Harry to Parvati, glad he could explain something for once.

"Oh, that makes sense," said Parvati. "I guess that other name couldn't be his real one."

Neville nodded. "Yeah, but I bet Malfoy will lie and say Riddle sent him back to help him get resurrected. That'll put him in quite a pickle, as I'm sure he doesn't really want to help at all but may get pressured into it. Although if he actually does try to set Quirrell free, I'm not going to be so easy on him."

Harry suddenly felt drained and not very hungry. "This is all quite annoying, even more than normal."

"Look at the bright side Harry," said Parvati. "At least now there are other people everyone will gossip about." She smiled. "Looks like Ron at the least will be happy to chat to people about it."

"Hey," said Harry and he smiled. "I think you've got a point. Maybe I'll have some breakfast after all."

Neville laughed. "I really missed you, Harry. But don't go turning into Ron on me. I like the bloke, but one is quite enough."

Parvati giggled. "If that."

---

The days passed quickly and without much drama for quite a while. Harry continued to attend classes, albeit without any of the his time traveling friends. He heard rumors about a few reporters trying to get interviews with him and the travelers, but apparently Dumbledore had put a stop to it. Hermione later confided to him that he wasn't letting them leave the school, which she wasn't very happy about, but was willing to abide by for the time being.

Although he saw Hermione and Ron every day at meals and Draco never at all (the rumor was that he refused to leave his room), he never saw any of them in the Gryffindor Tower as per the Headmaster's instructions. Except for Neville, of course, who had become almost blatant in sneaking in to the Tower.

"Hermione could do it too, I'm sure," he told Harry and Parvati, who was the only other one Harry had begun to confide in. "The idea probably hadn't even occurred to her. Ron isn't a total idiot, but I think he's more like a talented adult wizard, which the Hogwarts folk could far more easily outmatch."

Parvati had only slightly softened her views on Hermione and Ron since the discovery of their time travel, but still didn't like them much. Harry suspected that it helped that they didn't share classes any longer. As for Neville, who had only treated him with respect, Parvati seemed to like him despite his time travelling history.

And before Harry realized it, the term was coming to an end, with the winter holidays coming in fast. The Solstice was nearly on them, so Harry was invited to a meeting with the time travelers and the professors in the Headmaster's office.

Draco was slumped in his chair when Harry walked into the room, but when the Slytherin spotted him, Draco gave him a nod. "Potter, you're still you, right?"

"I sure hope so," said Harry.

"At least someone bloody is," Malfoy muttered almost too softly to hear.

"Speak up Draco," said Ron with a grin on his face.

Snape sneered. "I suppose that even an apocalyptic future isn't enough to make a Weasley polite. I'm not sure why I even bother trying."

Ron laughed. "You know, you're beginning to grow on me Snape."

"Like a fungus, I'd imagine," said Snape, but this only made Ron laugh harder. The Professor didn't look too happy with this reaction.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Infants, the both of you." She turned to Dumbledore. "Sir, have you had a chance to look at my proposal for the shift net?"

The Headmaster nodded with a proud smile on his face. "I have indeed. It was close to my own thoughts in the matter, I must say."

Hermione beamed.

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat. "For those us not as versed with temporal mechanics, Albus, perhaps a short explanation may be in order?"

"Oh, it's not that complicated," said Flitwick and he rubbed his hands together in excitement. "I read the proposal as well," he said to Hermione.

She shrugged. "I suppose more minds can only help."

"I did not understand it," said McGonagall. "And I do not believe Severus did either, although I am sure he'll pretend he didn't even read it."

"Why would I read such drivel?" Snape replied.

"As I said," said McGonagall. "You're only convincing yourself, Severus, if that."

"I have a question," said Neville. "As someone who won't get it anyway, do I really need to be here?"

"It is best we are all on the 'same page', as it were," said Dumbledore. "It is easy enough to explain. We have devised a spell that will pay attention to changes in how long the memories are of everyone in the castle. A high level, overarching sort of process. We will instantly be able to discover any anomalies or time traveling persons."

"And if we do?" Neville asked.

"We find and question them," said the Headmaster. "We have been lucky thus far, with none of our brave travelers arriving with nefarious intent."

Malfoy made a nearly incoherent rude noise.

"Nobody's going to tell about you outside this room," Hermione said with exasperation. "Your precious reputation will be intact."

"The story about time traveling got out, didn't it?" Malfoy said with a sneer. "So sorry if I don't just trust your Gryffindor word on it."

"Oh, shut up, will you?" Hermione huffed and folded her arms together.

Ron looked at her with admiration. "Time travel has sure made you cool, Hermione."

"Don't you start," said Hermione, although her face had coloured slightly.

"In any event," said Flitwick with a large smile. "Miss Granger's proposal is sound. It will be an exciting new charm, and that is unusual indeed!"

"Ravenclaws," said Snape with a mutter.

"Who do you think it'll be?" Harry asked, trying to simultaneously stay an active part of the proceedings and also push forward to actually doing something.

"It really is impossible to say," said the Headmaster. "Other than I doubt it will be one of the ones that have already traveled through time."

Hermione gasped. "I didn't even think of that! How could I not think of that?"

"I really do not believe it will be a concern," the Headmaster told her in a calm voice. "The reciprocating nature of the retroactivity inherent in a multiple feedback loop would lend itself to instability and eventual loop corruption."

Flitwick snorted. "That's theoretical at best."

"No, I think he's right," said Hermione, visibly calming down. "Based on my own research, concurrent loops would cause a cascading failure in the feedback."

"Which means what exactly?" McGonagall asked, and Harry was relieved that an adult had raised the question.

"Any further attempts in overwriting an overwritten mind would fail," said Dumbledore. "Due to the nature of how mental energy is transfered back in time."

"Which we don't really need to get into," said Flitwick quickly.

"You most certainly do not," Snape said dryly. "If we have our plan then, I suppose we should get started?"

"What will I do?" Harry asked excitedly. He wasn't happy with the answer.

So Harry just waited impatiently in the Common Room, unable to fall asleep or focus on his homework.

"'Just wait for our updates, Harry'" said Harry in a mimicked tone. "Like I'm useless." He sighed. "I guess I basically am for all I try." He looked at his watch and groaned. "It's a million hours until midnight!" Harry picked up a school book and tried to read just to pass the time.

As the stroke of midnight drew closer and closer, he kept checking the time obsessively. But then the hour came and went and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. No one had come by. Perhaps nobody would travel this time after all? Suddenly Harry felt tired after all, and he decided to rest his eyes. Just for a minute.

At some point later, Harry felt himself shakened awake.

Hermione stood in front of him. "Harry, get up!"

"I'm awake," said Harry in irritation. "What time is it?"

"About four in the morning," said Hermione. "The capture net worked. We caught some people traveling through time!"

Harry sat up, rubbing his eyes. "So where are they?"

"They've got them," said Hermione, and she had a very odd look on her face. "One is Cho Chang. She's in a magical coma of some sort, apparently something went wrong with her trip."

"I don't think I know her," said Harry, scratching his chin and trying to place the name.

"You wouldn't, not yet anyway," Hermione said and then she frowned. "But the other one... that's the real serious one. He's fine, but-" she paused and then looked to be steeling herself. "It's Fred. Fred Weasley."

"Oh?" Harry thought about this and then the terrible realization came screeching to his head. "Oh no."

Hermione nodded, looking close to tears. "How are we going to tell George?"

Harry scowled. "Time travel really sucks sometimes, have I mentioned that?"

---

"Well, isn't this a fine how's your father?" Fred laughed and scratched his head, a nervous look on his face.

"Not your father," muttered George.

Ron leaned forward in his chair to take a better look at Fred. "You do seem a bit... off, I guess."

"That's because you're a traveler of time, Ronnie," said Fred. "As am I."

Percy held his head and groaned. "I don't know how I'm getting to break the news to Mum and Dad. I don't think they're too pleased about Ron already, but two in the family?"

"You sure you're not a time jumper, Perce?" Fred peered at his older brother. "You seem awfully not all buggered in the arse."

"Fred!" Hermione gasped. "Will you please watch your language? There are young people here you haven't yet corrupted."

Fred laughed. "You don't mean you, of course."

"I mean Harry," said Hermione. "I'm not saying you're immature or anything," she told Harry quickly. "Just that you don't need to hear Fred's profanity.

Harry leaned against the wall as he considered. The Room of Requirement, which originally seemed a great idea to clear the air with all concerned, was suddenly feeling a bit cramped.

"Don't hold back on my account," he said finally.

"Nicely said, Harry," said Fred.

"Oh, would you come off it!" George said angrily. "Who do you think you're fooling anyway?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Fred retorted back. "Girly Georgie can't take a joke?"

"Well now I'm offended," said Hermione and she stood next to Fred, glaring up at him. "You think a girl can't handle herself as well as a boy?"

Fred smiled sadly. "Hardly, Hermione. I know you from my own future. Brilliant then, brilliant now, obviously. Smartest person in the room, male, female, or otherwise."

Hermione huffed, but she seemed a bit pleased at the comment.

Ron's eyes narrowed. "What happened in your future anyway, Fred? Why did you come back?"

"Oh, the usual reasons, I'd expect," said Fred with a shrug. "Lost most everyone after the war. Thought about the idea of fixing things the second time around."

"No matter the consequences, is that it?" George asked, his voice getting louder with each word.

Fred winced. "I will admit I was a bit pissed when I activated the Black Door." He paused. "That said, I don't regret it. Not now that I'm here. I couldn't take that, not again."

Hermione gave the out of time twin a thoughtful look. "Were you the only one left?"

"No," said Fred. "You were alive, as was Harry."

"I'd guessed as much," said Hermione. "And your family... I don't think I have to guess on that front, do I?"

Fred looked down at the floor. "As I said, you always were the smartest room in the room."

George got up suddenly and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

"I don't get it," said Ron. "Are you saying... none of us survived?"

"Was it any better in yours?" Fred asked.

Ron shook his head. "It was worse. Much worse. You-Know-Who had won. Hermione had a similar sort of situation."

"Bloody hell," said Fred. "Now I feel like a prat for complaining. At least Harry had defeated You-Know-Who in mine."

"Really?" Harry perked up. Finally, a future where he wasn't horribly killed. That was progress!

"Yeah, you were a great friend, you and Hermione." Fred gave the girl a meaningful look. "Best friends a bloke could have after what I'd lost."

"You haven't lost them here," said Hermione softly. "But I've learned... we've learned, I should clarify, that it's not as simple as just fitting into the past like nothing happened. You're different, we're different. Everyone else is the same."

"Yeah, I've started to pick up on that." Fred sighed and looked sad. "Especially with how George left like that. I have a pretty good idea why he's mad, but what can I say? He's right."

"Right about what?" Harry asked.

Percy crossed his arms. "I have a fair notion, Mister Potter, but I am not sure you should be privy to such family matters."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Percy, that's ridiculous."

"Harry's basically family, at least he was in my future," said Ron angrily.

"Mine too," said Fred with a nod.

For his part, Harry was very surprised to hear this bit of news. He had a strange emotion at it, but he couldn't figure out what precisely he was feeling.

"George is mad because of something very simple," Fred said softly. "I'm not the Fred he knows, not exactly. We lived our entire lives together and then..." He clapped his hands together. "Suddenly we're not sharing the same memories anymore. I should've been more sensitive."

He sighed. "In my future, I lost my George and it destroyed me. Now I've nearly done the same thing."

"You can't say that," said Hermione. "Some of your memories are the same, correct? It's not like you're... you know."

Fred smiled at her but he seemed sad. "Smart and beautiful, eh?"

Hermione huffed. "Oh please!" She said, looking embarrassed but a little pleased.

"Stop hitting on an eleven year old girl, Fred," Ron said with a touch of anger. "Even if you are both mentally adults."

"It doesn't matter," said Fred and he suddenly looked much older. "With everyone else time traveled here, I'm superfluous. Which means I effectively killed this version of Fred for no bloody good reason. No wonder George hates me."

Before anyone could say anything, Fred got up and left the room.

Percy sighed. "Mother isn't going to like hearing about this."

---

The next few days were terribly tense, with Fred attempting several times to speak to his twin but getting ignored every single try. For his part, George stalked the halls in a foul mood and didn't speak at all.

In the evenings, he would sit alone in the Gryffindor Common Room staring at the fire and nothing else. As the time travelers were not allowed in the Common Rooms, this made it easier for him to avoid any questions. But every time Harry passed by, he felt sad and wished he could do or say something to help George.

He wanted to ask Neville for advice, but the other boy had left on some sort of mission for Dumbledore. "I'll send back messages when it's safe," he had said, but so far Neville hadn't managed any. And Harry didn't really feel comfortable talking to Parvati about it, and he certainly didn't want to talk about it with any of the other time travelers.

Finally Harry decided he had to do something for his own peace of mind. One night, very late, after everyone else had gone to bed, he sat on a chair next to George and pulled out a book. "You don't mind if I share the fire?" He asked without looking directly at the twin.

George looked over at Harry and sighed. "Do what you like, but I don't want to talk."

"Neither do I," said Harry, and he meant it. For the moment, he hoped just being there might help George feel less awful. Eventually Harry fell asleep and when he woke up in the morning, he found that someone had put a blanket around him. Since Neville was still gone, this was progress.

A week passed of Harry doing the same thing, just sitting studying or reading near George without saying a word until Harry fell asleep. Both Ron and Hermione had asked about George, but Harry didn't want to say anything. It seemed like breaking a confidence in a way.

As for Percy, he acted like he already knew everything, so Harry didn't bother talking to him.

When Harry sat down to read the next night, he smiled slightly, feeling oddly comfortable just being there. But he nearly fell out his chair when he heard George talk.

"Harry," the Weasley twin said softly. "Just wanted to say thanks for not trying to cheer me up."

"Yeah, no worries," said Harry. "I'm here for you if you need it."

George made an amused sound. "You sound a little too mature for your age. Sure you ain't a bloody time traveler too?"

"Of course not," Harry said, a bit offended despite himself. "But I've always been mature for my age, if I'm honest. I'm not big into the whole talking about stuff thing either, so I get it."

"Right," said George with a snort. "I believe you, as it turns out." He sighed. "I just don't know how to handle this whole... mess. The Fred I grew up with was replaced by this ... imposter."

Harry nodded, trying not to say anything.

"I know he understands," said George, and his face was pained. "But that doesn't mean I can forgive him. Is that awful of me?"

This was not the kind of question Harry was ready to answer, but he decided to give it his best try.

"Fred gets why you feel like that," he said. "It's different for me. I came to Hogwarts without knowing a single person, so meeting versions of Ron or Hermione or whoever that may not be the original ones wasn't a big change for me." He shrugged. "Plus, I didn't have any friends growing up, and my relatives kind of were... well let's just say I wouldn't mind if they were replaced by different people."

George shook his head. "If you're trying to make me feel worse, it's working." He looked down at his hands. "I've lived my whole bloody life nearly joined at the hip with that git, and now the Fred I know... is just gone. Yeah, this one is still Fred, but not the one I know."

He sighed deeply and then groaned. "I know he had a good reason, but I dunno, Harry. I get it up here." George pointed to his head. "But not here." He gestured to his heart. "Does that make any sense?"

Harry didn't say anything for a little while, thinking carefully about it. "I wish I knew what to say," he replied with a slow, soft tone. "It's not something I really ever felt, not really. Since I've come to Hogwarts, I've made real friends. But the closest I came to growing up with someone is my cousin, and we didn't get along. I never had a twin like you. I never even had a brother."

He coughed to clear his throat which had suddenly felt a bit stuffed. "George," he said. "You're lucky that you have a family that you care about and that cares about you."

George looked at the younger boy with wide eyes. "Bloody hell, Harry. Where did that come from?"

"Oh, I don't even know," said Harry and he made a dismissive sound. "But hey, have you tried actually talking to him about how you feel?"

The older Gryffindor said nothing for a few seconds, just looking at Harry in shock. Then George began to laugh. "Damn, Harry, out of the mouths of babes!" He then grinned. "Or something like that."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Very funny."

"I thought so," said George with a smile. "If Fred was..." He stopped smiling. "Well there it is, isn't it? I suppose you're right, Harry. It'll be tough as Dumbledore's pants, but I'll give it a blast, eh?" He got up and then patted Harry on the head. "Thanks, kid."

Harry glared at the taller boy. "Next time I'm just going to tell you to punch each other until you stop being idiots."

George laughed and left the Common Room, leaving Harry alone.

---

Something had happened between the Weasley twins after that, something positive. Although the conversations between George and Fred still seemed tense, they were actually happening. Harry felt glad about that, feeling that he had actually made a difference in a small, but real way.

When he saw, days later, George laugh at something Fred had said, Harry felt a knot of tension release he didn't realize he had. It was weird to him that he cared so much about people he had known for such a short time. Perhaps it was all the reasonableness he never got from the Dursleys all running together at once.

After lunch one day, Hermione confronted him about it.

"Harry, do you know how Fred and George made up?" The lack of understanding something seemed to be causing her physical distress as her eye twitched a bit. "Fred has been in a far better mood lately as well."

"I couldn't say," Harry lied. "But I would guess they just talked it over. They're still brothers after all, right?"

Hermione gave him a curious look. "Well, I can see you aren't telling me everything, but that's alright. I suppose I'm happy they're getting past these difficulties, even if Ron... well, now, I guess I can have my own secrets too?" She gave Harry a small smile.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Sure, Hermione," he said. But after that, he tried to pay attention a bit more to Ron's behavior.

At first Harry wasn't sure, but soon he began to notice a change. Ron seemed to be talking less and less, sometimes picking at his food instead of shoveling it down. There was almost a sadness around him, but he never showed anything overt. Harry almost wanted to say something to help, but he had no idea what to do.

So he did the same thing he had done with George: Just be there. The days slipped past, and soon Harry began to concern himself with the same sorts of things. Doing homework with Parvati, asking Hermione for help secretly so Parvati didn't know about it, and practicing Quidditch without Oliver Wood. All of the games had been suspended, but Harry was okay with this, as he had quite enough excitement already.

A few weeks later at breakfast, Dumbledore stood in front of everyone. "I have an announcement," he said with a smile. "As most of you already know, our own Gryffindor Oliver Wood was one of the time travelers, although he did not come from a particularly terrible place. However, due to his advanced skills and knowledge, it was decided it was unfair for him to continue playing for his team."

McGonagall made a sort of annoyed sound at this remark, while Snape had a smug expression on his face.

"Thankfully," continued the Headmaster. "We have came up with a compromise. Effective the end of this year, Mister Wood will take over the position of Quidditch instructor from Professor Hooch. Rolanda has been meaning to retire for a few years now, but we have never had a decent replacement candidate. With Mister Wood, we have one. Oliver?"

Oliver Wood stood from his seat at the Gryffindor table and Harry started to applaud. Quickly the rest of the team, then the table picked it up. The Hufflepuff and Ravenclaws also clapped for him, although the Slytherins stayed quite silent.

The older boy looked around, clearly moved by the response. He sat back down in a hurry leading to a chorus of laughter.

Afterwards, Oliver went over to Harry. "Listen Harry," he whispered. "I know I'm not technically allowed to play on the team anymore or captain it. And I know for now there won't be any more games this year. But we should talk over the summer so I can prepare you to be the next captain of the team."

Harry's eyes widened. "I can't be the captain! I'm only a first year!"

Oliver scoffed. "Don't be an idiot, Harry. You were a captain in like your fifth or sixth year, or both, I don't recall. I don't see why you can't get a bit of head start on it. If you really want to whinge about it, I can make you co-captains with Angelina if we must. She's capable, I suppose, but she doesn't have your raw talent."

"You're kinda embarrassing me," Harry hissed, hoping no one had heard this conversation.

"You need to learn to take a compliment, Potter," said Oliver with a laugh. "Anyway, don't worry about it for now. We'll talk more on the summer hols." He clapped Harry on the back and walked away.

Harry just shook his head and decided to worry about it later. After all, summer was months away, and a more pressing concern would soon be upon them: the Equinox. The night of the vernal Equinox came with Harry staying up late once more, incredibly stressed and worried, hoping nobody he knew would be replaced by a stranger from the future. But against all the odds, nothing happened.

"If there has been an incident," Dumbledore told them. "It was not at Hogwarts. We can at the very least be certain of that." He later mentioned to Harry that he had been having a few people keeping an eye out for time travelers out in the magical world, but there were so many possible travelers, it was nearly impossible to be sure about it.

So that was that.

Neville had finally sent a few letters about his secret adventures, which were filled with allusions and teasing sentences that Harry and Parvati puzzled over. Harry had originally proposed the idea of asking one of the other time travelers for help figuring out what Neville was up to, but Parvati had been vehemently opposed to the idea.

"Can't we have something that's just ours for once?" She had made a pleading face and then exaggerated it to become so ridiculous Harry couldn't help but laugh and give in to her demands.

Occasionally a new issue of the Prophet would arrive with new crazy ideas about the future, The Secret Plan to Save Harry Potter and similar nonsense, but it seemed that most people in the school were just getting used to having time travelers around. For Harry, it helped that he didn't know them much or at all beforehand, so it was easier for him to manage.

And suddenly, the term was over, exams were completed, and Harry realized he didn't know what was coming next. The thought of returning to the Dursleys was absolutely abhorrent, but he didn't have any place else to go. He didn't mention his concerns to anyone else, although he could tell Hermione and Ron already knew what he was thinking, the gits. Although they were respectful enough not to bother him about it, the gits.

Harry was just beginning to be in a foul mood constantly when he was saved by a note from an owl.

I'll be back tomorrow. Got some plans for the summer for us.

-Neville

The first and only other person he showed the note was Parvati, as per usual.

"What do think he's planning?" Parvati asked, squealing in excitement. "Maybe he's going to take you on an adventure?"

"I'm not that lucky," said Harry sadly but he couldn't help but feel a bit of hopeful anticipation.

The next day, Neville showed up at breakfast, looking in much better shape than he had when he had left. Hermione seemed utterly shocked at the transformation, but Ron was actually happy for a change. He clapped Neville on the back and said, "It's good to see you looking so much more like I bloody remember you, even if you're still a shrimp."

Neville laughed and then met Harry's eyes. He mouthed "the Room" and Harry nodded back.

As soon people dispersed from their meal, Harry raced to the secret Room of Requirement to wait for Neville. The other Gryffindor showed up, a big grin on his face.

"You figure out any of my messages?"

Harry shook his head. "No, we tried, but... no."

Neville nodded. "Had to keep things muddled for security reasons. Dumbledore wanted me to look for evidence of other time travelers, work with some of his old friends, stuff like that."

"Did you find anything? Anyone?"

"Nah," said Neville. "Looked hard, but nothing! I figure I'll look more this summer. And that leads me to my question." He gave Harry a thoughtful look. "Interested in coming along?"

Harry felt his heart jump and he nearly shouted "Of course" but then reality came slamming back and he felt terribly sad. "I can't," he said, hanging his head low. "I gotta go back to my relatives."

Neville scowled. "The hell you do! I didn't know if you were planning to live with Sirius Black, but your magic-hating relatives aren't an option."

"Sirius Black?" Harry looked up, but he was confused by the mention of the man. "I know he's my godfather, but isn't he still like in jail or something?"

"Oh, I don't know," said Neville dismissively. "Ask Dumbledore about that. Anyway, if you want to come, you should come. Ask Dumbledore about that too if you're worried about it. He'll approve it, trust me."

"Really?" Harry thought about it for a bit. "I mean, yeah. Yeah, of course I want to go!" He smiled. "You really think the Professor will be okay with it?"

Neville nodded. "Yup. He trusts me to keep you safe."

Harry considered this, as it was an excellent point. But there was only one possible problem. "I'll have to talk it over with Parvati first," he said. "We've been going over your notes and all. She should at least know about it."

"Hell, she can come too if that's what you want," said Neville. "I'm not worried about her either. She's a good person, and I know you two are friends. Dumbledore has plans for your time traveling friends, but I'm sure Parvati was just planning to have a boring summer holiday. If she wants to come, I'm okay with it."

"But... will her parents be okay with it?"

"I honestly do not care," said Neville with a laugh. "I care what you think, and Dumbledore too now that I think on it. But the worries of the Patil parents are nothing to me."

Harry nodded and slowly began to feel happy. All he needed now to do was convince the Headmaster to let him go off with Neville and Parvati unsupervised for an entire summer. Simple enough.

---

It seemed far too quiet outside of Dumbledore's office, but Harry tried to practice exactly what he was going to say.

Perhaps a blatant lie. "I'll be off to the Dursleys. See you next year!"

Or an even more obvious lie. "I'll be staying here for the summer, don't mind me or look for me!"

Another possibility was to trick him by suggesting something worse. "I've been thinking about the world by myself. What's that, have Neville along for protection? Well sir, if you insist."

The only problem was that Dumbledore wasn't an idiot so he wouldn't fall for any of that.

So Harry sighed and walked up to the Headmaster's office.

Dumbledore seemed happy to see him. "Harry, please come in, have a seat! What is on your mind?"

"Sir, I had a serious question for you. It's about the summer."

"Go on," said the Professor, a twinkle in his eye.

"Why do I really need to go back to the Dursleys? Can't I stay with someone else? Maybe that Sirius Black I keep hearing about?"

Dumbledore sighed. "I am afraid Sirius is still in no condition to keep you safe. There is a very strong protection against Voldemort and his servants at your relatives. Unfortunately, I am at a loss as to where else you could live safely, even if Quirrell is currently contained."

"What if I wasn't anywhere in particular?"

The Headmaster raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Harry took a deep breath. "Neville invited me to come along with him on his summer adventures. He said you'd be okay with it."

Dumbledore seemed surprised for a moment, but then he laughed. "In point of fact, it is an excellent idea. Mister Longbottom is more than capable of keeping an eye on things. He is probably the only one among all of our various time traveling friends I would even trust for such a thing."

"Really? What about Hermione? Or Ron? Or even Fred?"

"Fred does not come from a world at war," explained the Professor. "And Ronald is too out of practice. As for Miss Granger, she is knowledgeable and competent, this is true. But although I would trust her to carry out a few dangerous tasks, which I will be doing, I worry that she may not entirely remember that you are not as capable as she."

"So." Harry smiled. "So I can go? I can go with Neville?"

Dumbledore nodded. "I will have a short talk with Mister Longbottom about some specific items he will need to be aware of, but I believe you will be safe with him."

"I sorta wanted to invite Parvati with me," said Harry before he lost the nerve. "We've become decent friends and Neville said it'd be okay. But I dunno about her parents."

"A valid concern," Dumbledore said. "I highly doubt that they would be okay with their daughter off with two boys gallivanting about the world, despite how supremely capable Mister Longbottom may be. I cannot give you permission to invite her along, but if it happens... well, as long as I do not know about it for absolute certainty. Then I suppose if they do ask me, I can only reply that I have no idea."

Harry laughed. "Okay, sir. First I have to ask her though."

When he brought it up later to Parvati, her face widened in utter shock.

"Parvati, are you okay?" Harry waved a hand in front of her face.

The girl smacked his hand out of the way and giggled. "Prat. I'm just surprised about your idea. Is Neville okay with it?"

"He is," said Neville, appearing out of nowhere and causing the other two to jump back in shock. "You both will have to get a bit tougher while we're out saving the world or whatever."

"Right," Parvati said quickly, getting her wits back. "Neville, I have to say," and she bit her lip, "I really really do want to go. My summer holiday will be utter nothing. But my parents will never allow it."

"You can always ask," said Harry. "And if they say no…"

"We'll break you out," Neville said. "Easy enough."

Parvati looked taken aback. "But… they'll be worried sick!"

"Leave them a note then, it's not like you wouldn't have said what you're doing," said Neville and he groaned. "Do I have to think of everything?"

"There's still something else," said Parvati slowly. "I can't just abandon my sister. Padma would never forgive me for leaving her behind."

"Merlin!" Neville threw up his hands. "Bring her along too then! Why not? Bring your parents also!"

Parvati laughed. "I don't think that's going to happen. But maybe… maybe Padma will be okay with coming?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't really know her, but I'm sure she'll be great fun. She's your sister after all."

"That's sweet, Harry," said the girl. "But I'm actually the fun twin." She grinned.

"Well, if we're breaking you out," said Neville and he smiled back. "I don't see why we can't break Padma out too."

Parvati nodded and ran off to find her sister.

"So what do you have planned for the summer anyway?" Harry asked.

Neville laughed. "Well now Harry, I don't want to ruin the surprise. Besides, a bit of danger is just good fun."

Harry chuckled nervously but reminded himself that a summer of danger with a few friends was better than the doldrums with the Dursleys. In fact, when he put it that way, he couldn't wait to get going.

"So how are we going to break the girls out?"

The other Gryffindor gave Harry an evil smile. "Thought you'd never ask."

Chapter Text

Pre-note: So I'm basically stealing from myself here. Two characters are coming from a different story I wrote, but I'll reveal the specifics at the end. Let's just say in the very unlikely event you've read all of my HP fanfics, you'll know immediately what I'm referring to. Otherwise...

---

YEAR TWO

---

The First Jump

They sat in the room of love and pain, and their pain was love. Harry had died, but he had died well, and the threat of Voldemort was no more.

And yet it was bittersweet, for their love was gone. The two friends and murderers had shared a lover in Harry, and without him, they were lost. Never the smartest or bravest, they still had indomitable wills and furious rage and overwhelming sadness. The ritual was bizarre and sickening in many ways, but they had little choice; every other option they found to travel through time was unfeasible or outside their capabilities.

But a ritual of love and lust? That was possible. It was easy enough to convince people to join their ritualistic orgy, but that's only because they were hiding the truth: they were all about to die. The small death and the large. Energies coursed and flipped and crossed again and again, until their love broke the barrier between future and past.

Their deaths powered the break, and their minds were free, finally free. To meet Harry again, even if they could not save him, at least they would see him once more.

---

The Second Jump

She pretended for as long as she had to pretend. Fooling the thief of her life and murderer of her soul. The Horcrux had been made whole years ago and darkness had swept the land. She played the unwitting servant for a long time, for that is what she was, until she could play the willing servant, which Riddle was only too quick to believe. His own arrogance and confidence in his abilities of seduction, his fears that only she knew that he would find the same fate as the original version.

For years she waited for the opportunity, although it was harder and harder as the years fled. She grew stronger and darker, absorbing all the lessons she was given and the ones they didn't realize they were giving her. When her parents were killed, she swallowed her fear and kept going, for the time was not yet there.

But when Harry was captured, his execution planned, she knew she was out of any time at all. And it was indeed the perfect opportunity, for Riddle had finally left himself vulnerable. He had never destroyed the diary, for he was worried it could kill him instead. Instead he left it whole, keeping himself weak. He told no one, of course.

But she knew. She always knew. And the spell to turn it back, to steal life and time, was never considered wrong, but necessary. As Riddle died again, he cursed her as a traitor, without knowing what she was truly doing. But it was simple enough, for the Horcrux dug a furrow through time. She stole his life as he had stolen hers, but her plan was simple enough.

Stop it all from happening in the first place.

---

The Third Jump

The Unspeakables came to her with a mission of paramount importance, and she was the only one who could pull it off.

In a way, she was flattered, but in another, she was annoyed. They were leaving her alone to dive back in time because she could change her appearance.

"We don't know who the other traveler is," her supervisor told her. "A man or a woman or an elf or goblin, we don't know. We do know that this traveler has gone back to find and kill key members of the government, stealing precious artifacts and ensuring a future of terror. The only consolation is that Harry Potter is probably not a target. Probably."

She rolled her eyes at that. "He's always been a target. We've had to stop at least two hundred time travelers from killing him in the last five years alone."

Her supervisor handed her a folded parchment. "Here is what we know for certain about the traveler's plans. Stay out of the way and don't reveal yourself to anyone. But once you find the traveler, kill them. The Unspeakables then will be able to throw you forward in the timeline if that is what you wish, although I'd expect you wouldn't want that any longer. Our parallel friends have concurred on this point: You are the witch for the job."

She grimaced but agreed. After all, she hadn't failed yet.

"What if there are other time travelers?" She asked. "There has been some unusual activity around the conflux leylines."

But her supervisor just laughed. "Come now," he said. "What are the odds of that?"

---

The Fourth Jump

And then there was the other one.

---

Chapter 6 - Time Boils Over

(The Fourth Conflux)

Harry sighed as he looked at the entrance to Platform 9 and 3/4. Without any exaggeration, it had been the greatest summer of his entire life. He knew the friendships he had made, with the ridiculously competent Neville, the enthusiastic Parvati, and even the nerdy, standoffish Padma would last a lifetime.

It felt good. But as wondrous as the holidays had been, the mysterious draw of Hogwarts pulled at him, and Harry felt anxious like he was a first year all over again.

"Merlin's balls, Harry," said Parvati, using a favorite expression of Neville's. "Would you stop standing there like a lump and go to the Platform already? It's getting late and Padma is getting tetchy."

"Shut up, Parvati," Padma snapped. "Although she's quite right, Harry. Get a move on, won't you?"

Harry laughed. "Okay, let's go." But there was something odd going on on the other side. People were queuing up just outside the entrance, and Aurors were doing some sort of check before they let anyone pass to the Express.

"What do you suppose this is all about?" Parvati asked. "Say, look!" She pointed to the side, inside a roped off enclosure.

It was three girls Harry knew to varying levels of familiarity; he recognized Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott as Hufflepuffs from his year, and the other girl looked like a Weasley. Harry felt he had seen her before, but couldn't quite recall her name.

"Hey, guys!" Ron shouted at them. "Come over when you finish getting checked."

"Oh dear," said Parvati quietly. "I have quite a bad feeling about this."

"I think they're checking to see who's a time traveler," said Padma. "You two aren't, right?"

Parvati sniffed and looked down her nose at her twin. "Don't be absurd, Padma. Do I seem like a different, madder version of myself?

Padma shook her head. "No. But who can really predict madness? So do you think I'm right?"

"Who's the redhead?" Harry asked. "I think she's a Weasley."

"She is," said Parvati as they moved forward on the queue. "Ginny, I think is her name. We've seen her before, you know, wizarding stuff."

Harry nodded. "Right. So those three... man, if another Weasley is a time traveler, I can't imagine the rest would be too pleased."

Parvati made a pained face. "Too right, Harry."

"Alright, Harry," said one of the Aurors, a tall, white haired man. "Step forward please."

Naturally, Harry didn't ask how the Auror knew his name or got mad that he called him by his first name. He just wanted to get things over with. He stood next to the Aurors and waited for them to finish their spells.

"He's clean," the Auror said. "You can move along. Next, then!"

Harry waited, slightly nervous, for the Patil twins to pass through. But thankfully it seemed neither one was anything but what they had been, which was quite a relief.

"So let me clue you in," said Ron, who was already next to them, startling Harry a bit. "Dumbledore and the Ministry set up a bunch of things to check for time travelers here and at the Ministry. As you probably figured out, it's Susan, Hannah, and my sister Ginny. Don't think you've met her yet, right?"

Harry shook his head. "No, but are you okay with it? I mean that she's not the same Ginny?"

"Honestly, Harry?" Ron sighed. "It's kinda a relief. Fred and I are kinda on the outs with Mum and Dad, they're not too happy about it all. Mum tries to hide it, but I can tell. I mean it's still us, but it's not us, you know?"

"Yes, Ron, I get it. What about George?"

"He was alright, at least getting there, until Ginny suddenly became one too," said Ron and he frowned. "Then he stormed off to sit by himself, told Fred that he needs to pick a side. I think Fred was a bit happy at first at the idea of being asked, but now he's muddled up. Can't blame him for that."

"I should say not!" Parvati said indignantly. "It's a right proper mess, isn't it? Three more time travelers? Merlin's balls, have they even explained why they came?"

Suddenly Neville appeared next to them and Ron jumped in surprise. Harry and the Patils, however, were used to this sort of thing.

"I talked to them and the Aurors," said Neville. "They ain't telling everything, but it's the same sort of nonsense. 'Saving Harry' and all that rot. Ginny's timeline was utter hell, and apparently the 'Puffs had it not so bad, but pretty bad."

"All that rot, is it?" Harry asked and he laughed. "Neville, you're an arse."

"Finally he gets it!" Neville said with a grin. "Anyway, I'm a bit worried about them all. Ginny has a feeling around her, something... disturbing."

Parvati looked over at the travelers. "Hmm, there is something there, Neville. Hard to figure it out."

"You'll get there," said Neville, smiling proudly. "You've already gotten pretty good at that sort of thing."

She gave him a big smile.

"What about Susan and Hannah?" Harry asked. "They don't seem off, at least to me."

"From over here you wouldn't be able to tell," said Neville and he shook his head. "But they've done some awful things, I can tell you that. Hannah in particular, kind of a surprise to me. I always remembered her as a quiet sort. But they are quite obsessed with you, Harry, so... let's all stick together on the ride over, shall we? Just in case."

"In case of what?" Harry asked in alarm.

"Just so we're all in the same place," Neville said. "Parv and Pad should come too."

Padma glared at him. "You know how much I hate that name, Nev."

Neville laughed. "Yes, but I don't hate that nickname at all. Besides, didn't you hear Harry earlier? I'm an arse, remember?"

Ron and Parvati both laughed, then looked at each other in surprise.

"Sorry," said Ron, and he walked away. Harry started to feel a bit bad.

"Neville, Ron can sit with us, right?"

Neville gave Ron a hard look. "Eh." He shrugged. "Why the hell not? You can catch us up on all the news, right?"

Ron nodded and grinned. "Yeah, actually I have a few things."

After they had all settled in a cabin, Ron sighed and leaned back. "You remember Scrimgeour right?"

Neville nodded. "Of course."

"He's Head of the Aurors," said Harry quickly, trying to show off some of the trivia he had learned over the summer.

"Right," said Ron. "He got attacked over the holidays, but he's being real tightlipped about it. Doesn't want to admit weakness, that's my wager. But his house was wrecked something fierce."

"Hmm," said Neville and he scratched his chin. "Dumbledore asked me to keep an eye on things at the Platform and Harry too. He said he had given you guys stuff to do also."

"Yeah, a few things," said Ron. "Hermione got all the cool missions though. Me, I mainly just did some grunt work for him. But I did hear a few things, here and there. Like Malfoy, he's missing!"

"Missing?" Neville sat up. "That's alarming. What about Quirrell? Is he secure?"

Ron nodded. "Dumbledore hasn't even left Hogwarts while Quirrell's there and out of it. Just to be sure, you know? But apparently Malfoy never showed up at his parents, and he hasn't been seen on the Platform either."

"Well, that's bloody fantastic," grumbled Neville. "I don't like not knowing where he is. He could cause a lot of damage."

"Merlin's balls," exclaimed Parvati, although she seemed to be pushing hard to say it.

Padma rolled her eyes. "Parvati, would you stop trying to im-" But before she could finish, Parvati smacked her hand over her twin's mouth.

"Padma," she said warningly. "Remember our discussion. Some things are just between us."

"Neville," said Harry quickly. "I don't think you've told Parvati and Padma your story from the future."

Neville frowned. "It's not a nice story, Harry. You know that."

"Well, yeah, but you already told me. Don't you think they can handle it?"

"Yes, don't you?" Parvati pouted at Neville.

"Acting childish doesn't exactly make me want to change my mind," Neville said. "But as I know that's just your personality, maybe Harry has a point. Besides, I can always filter out the really graphic bits. Ron, do you remember my story?"

Ron nodded. "Yeah, sure. The beheadings and the bombings and everything. It was intense."

"Right," said Neville. "Well, I didn't tell you quite everything last time. So it all started at the end of things, when Harry was killed by Riddle."

Parvati scowled.

"Go on," said Padma, sounding very interested.

Neville gave Harry an apologetic look. "So that was the breaking point. A bunch of us fled Hogwarts, but that was hardly the end of it. Soon we'd come back."

---

Parvati sighed and shook her head as they walked up to Hogwarts from the carriage. "I can't believe you did that to Bellatrix Lestrange. Not that she didn't deserve it, but... wow!"

Neville looked at his wand intently. "Yeah, well, I haven't decided what to do about her yet this time around. I'm a bit worried about a version of her time travelling from the future, but breaking into Azkaban is tricky, even for me."

They split up when they reached the Hall, Padma heading for the Ravenclaw table and the rest going to Gryffindor. Hermione was sitting at the table already, looking very exhausted.

"Oh, hello there," she said when she noticed them. "Harry, Neville, etc."

Parvati wrinkled her nose and gave Hermione a cross look.

"Nice to see you too," said Ron with a laugh. "Did you do everything you needed to do this summer?"

"I'll fill you in later," Hermione said and yawned. "Too many people around for that now. There's a lot to tell, in point of fact. And wait until you hear the new rules, Neville, you won't be happy."

Neville grimaced. "Dumbledore said that there'd be a few changes, but I didn't hear any specifics."

"So then," said Hermione, turning to Harry and gave him a tired smile. "How was your summer off adventuring with Neville and the Patils?"

"Pretty awesome," Harry replied with a grin. "We learned a lot of cool magic and traveled to some interesting places."

"Secret places," Parvati put in. "The sort we can't really talk about in public either."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Oh dear me, what was I thinking?"

Neville laughed. "Calm down you two. No need to start off that bad the first day, eh?"

"Shh," said Ron as he hushed them. "The firsties are about to get Sorted. Wonder how Ginny'll get in, since she's a traveler like us."

Each student put on the Hat and went to their House, as to be expected, with each table cheering every new entry. Finally they came to the last in the alphabet, coincidentally also Ginny Weasley.

The small redheaded girl walked up and put on the Hat, a look of mild fear clear on her face. It took a few minutes, but finally the Hat called out "Gryffindor!" Ginny was so relieved, she stumbled a bit running over to the Gryffindor table.

Fred grabbed her in a big hug and she burst into tears.

"Stop all that then," said Fred, although he seemed a bit red eyed himself.

"Welcome back," Ron told her and he smiled.

Ginny made a coughing sort of laugh. "Yeah, thanks Ron. Guess you all already did this sort of horrid thing last year, huh?"

"Not at all of us," grumbled George.

Fred clapped him on the shoulder and said, "Chin up, George. Now you're the youngest Weasley in actual years of experience. The baby of the family!"

George chuckled, and then shook his head. "So that means I need to be spoiled like little Ginny used to be? Fair enough, I guess that means I get my own room now?"

Ginny winced. "That's okay with me, George. You can have mine."

"Our brother is just being a pain," said Fred, rolling his eyes. "But he has a point. Maybe Ronnie and I should share a room so George doesn't have to look at me as much."

"Alright, that's enough," said George and he started to get up, until he saw Harry give him a look.

George mumbled something and sat back down. "Never mind, I'm not full yet," he said and bent over his food.

"You're too nice to them," Parvati whispered in Harry's ear.

"I disagree," whispered Neville in his other one, causing Harry to jump back a bit without helping it.

Parvati glared at Neville, clearly hearing what he had said. "Don't encourage them," she hissed.

"And you need to cut them a bit of slack," he said quietly. "You know how hard it's been for them. Folks like Wood excepted, of course."

After they had eaten dessert, the Headmaster stood and made a loud noise, getting everyone's attention.

"Well, now that all you have been fed and watered," he said. "It is time to welcome all of you to Hogwarts. This year is a bit unusual. We have our returning students, of course, as well as our wonderful first years. But as most of you are aware, we have a few students that have returned in a different sort of manner. Professor McGonagall has already explained the relevant details to our first years, so I won't bore everyone with what you already know."

He smiled. "We have three new young time travelers this year, but I won't divulge their names; I am sure you will all know soon enough if you do not already. The important thing is to go over a few important details. First, we will be having a new Defense instructor this year. However, as he is not here yet, I will hold back on that little surprise for now."

"Albus." Professor McGonagall gave the Headmaster a weary look. "No need for the theatrics, he'll be here in short time."

"True enough," Dumbledore said with a chuckle. "Very well. Our new teacher is someone a bit infamous, but I can assure you he has been recently cleared of all charges."

Neville laughed quietly. "Ah ha, I figured as much," he said.

Hermione gave him a curious look. "Who is it?"

"His name is Sirius Black," continued Dumbledore and there was a sudden reaction of whispers and a few gasps.

Dumbledore held up his wand and another loud bang echoed through the Hall. "As I said, Mister Black has been cleared of all charges and has been working with us and the Ministry to become healthy for a few months. This appointment was made with the full support of the Hogwarts Board of Governors and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. If you have additional concerns, bring them up with your Head of House."

At this, there was an interesting reaction at the Head Table, with McGonagall looking a bit proud while Snape looked to be trying not to seem angry, but not quite pulling it off.

"Now for some new rules," said Professor Dumbledore. "Specifically about our time traveling friends. As they are technically underage, the Board of Governors has decided to allow their presence for the time being. Of course, there are rules they must follow, and we will be going over them carefully with each of them. But we have a few things all of you should be aware of.

"First, there are to be no undue fraternization with any traveler and any student, or any other inappropriate sort of relationship. Second, no fighting, duels, or similar chicanery. Third, all travelers will be living in a separate hall, created by our team of skilled Hogwarts Professors." He gave a proud nod at the Head Table.

"As a corollary to that, no traveler may be in a regular student's hall at all. They will also not be sharing classes, but not to worry! We have a few excellent alternatives, chiefly to help them pass their O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. equivalencies. It will be an odd time, that much is certain, but I believe it will be a fascinating one. There has never been a time such as this in the unsealed history of Hogwarts, but I for one am quite excited for the possibilities."

He nodded at the Hall. "Professor McGonagall will go over the remainder of the rules for the rest of you." Dumbledore sat back down and began writing on some parchment while McGonagall explained the typical sort of business.

As they got up to leave, Neville said, "Harry, you've been given a free pass to the time traveler's hall. Right, Hermione?"

Hermione nodded. "That's right. I suppose it only seemed fair."

"What about me?" Parvati asked in near a whine.

"Or your sister?" Harry added and he grinned at her.

Parvati pouted. "Fine, whatever. But seriously, why not?"

"I'll have to clear it with Albus," said Neville, scratching his chin. "He'll probably okay it, but let's just be safe about it. Besides, Harry can always fill you in on anything you missed."

Parvati poked Harry in the shoulder. "He'd better," she said with a laugh.

Harry nodded. "Of course, Parvati. But I want to hear about what happened with Hermione. I'll tell you what I know when it's private later. And we're certainnobody is listening in."

"There's a spell for that," said Hermione. "It's called-"

"Muffliato, we know," Parvati told her quickly with a bit of heat. "Neville taught us this summer. It's right useful."

"Yup," said Neville. "Now, I was thinking... yes?" He said this last part to Ginny Weasley, who was coming over to them.

"Are you guys headed to the traveler's dorm?" She asked. "I don't know the way yet."

"That's right," Ron said and he put an arm around his sister. "Come on, Gin, we weren't going to abandon you, were we?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Not gonna assume anything, Ron. It's been hard for me for a while, and being back here has been both brilliant and terrifying all in one."

"That's a great way to put in," said Ron with a sigh.

"So what happened to you in your future?" Harry asked. "You don't have to explain if you don't want to, but I'm curious."

Ginny gave him a smile, although there was a look of uncertainty in her eyes. "Harry, of course I'll tell you. It's pretty simple. Do you know anything about what happened in your original second year?"

"I told him the basics," said Neville. "Chamber of Secrets. Basilisk. That sort of thing."

"I assume it went pretty well for him, right?"

"Naturally," said Ron and he grinned at Harry. "Our boy here, scarcely more than he is now, killed a basilisk, defeated Riddle's Horcrux, and saved Ginny here."

Harry shivered. Although he had heard a bit of the story from Neville already, the idea of him defeating a great monster was simultaneously thrilling and unnerving.

"That's wonderful to hear," said Ginny sadly. "But in my world, it was not nearly so grand. I was possessed by Riddle's Horcrux through the diary. He was originally going to steal my lifeforce but instead he decided to keep using me as his conduit to the rest of the world. Eventually, he used a different sacrifice of... someone to bring himself into a physical form. It was awful."

She sniffed and rubbed her eyes. "Long story short, I was eventually in my right mind again, but by then Riddle had taken over Hogwarts. He thought my spirit was broken, and he was mostly right. But there was a different reason he kept me around; he was afraid that some of his memories had bled into my mind, or perhaps his magic. He thought that killing me might hurt him in some way, so he kept me alive."

And then Ginny smiled. "Until he screwed up and I killed him. Used his death to travel back in time. And here I am! Replacing my older self, I know, but it was... truly awful where I was. I felt I had no choice."

"We get that," said Ron. "Really. Neville should relate to the whole time traveling after killing Riddle thing. You two are the only ones who've done it."

"Really?" Ginny asked in surprise. "Hermione, you didn't?"

Hermione scowled. "No. Well, I tried. But he kept coming back to life. It was..." She took a deep breath in. "Frustrating."

"Hello there!" It was Hannah Abbott, walking over with Susan Bones. "We just got a bit of a list of rules from Sprout, so we were going to the hall. I'm really curious to talk to other time travelers."

Neville moved slightly in front of Harry and he smiled at Hannah. "Nice to see you, Hannah," he said. "We were good friends in my first time through."

"Yes, in ours too," said Hannah.

"So... both of you came together?" Hermione asked. "How did you manage that?"

Susan turned bright red and Hannah laughed.

"Oh, that's not important," she said. "But we couldn't have expected all of this! More people just like us, coming back to change the past for the better?" She looked over at Harry. "To save those we loved."

Harry raised an eyebrow at that.

"I think it is rather important," said Ginny, her eyes narrowed. "And why both of you, anyway? It's a bit... unusual."

Hannah's face fell, and for a moment, the pleasant smile dropped to show a look of pure hatred. Then she was smiling again. "You know, Weasley, some of these people I'm happy to see again. You, that's a different matter. I'm actually suspicious of you. What lies did you tell them about why you came back?"

Neville put his hand on his wand and moved to block Harry a bit more obviously from where Ginny and Hannah were now standing, each girl glaring at the other.

"I know what you are," said Hannah, her lip curled into a snarl. "A rampant slut of a whore, enthralled to whatever monstrous Dark wizard is whispering in your ear."

"Back off," said Ginny in a growl, her teeth gnashed against each other. "You have no idea what I've been through. What I had to do to survive. Don't assume my bloody world was the same as yours."

Hannah made a scoffing sound. "Once a whore, always a whore."

"Abbott, you're way out of line!" Ron shouted at her. "Back off!"

"Stay out of this, Won-Won," spat Hannah and she pulled out her wand. "I won't warn you again!"

If Harry was asked later about exactly who hexed whom first, he would not really remember. But he would recall exactly what happened next.

Each girl spat angry curses at the other, occasionally hitting, sometimes deflected. Ginny got tagged by something that twisted one leg backwards, but she retaliated with a wave of something that sheared off half of Hannah's hair and left her with half a bruised face.

Ron tried to step in three times, but Ginny gave him glaring, significant looks and he seemed to keep losing his nerve. After nearly three minutes of back and forth, the duel seemed close to a stalemate, when Ginny hissed something that sounded... odd.

Suddenly Neville jumped in front of Hannah and conjured a mirrored shield, causing whatever Ginny had done to harmlessly smash into the floor.

"Ginny!" Neville had a look of actual anger on his face, and Ginny suddenly seemed more than a little nervous. "I don't know the specifics of your future, but do you know what curse you just used?"

"Um." Ginny bit her lip. "Maybe."

"I don't," said Hannah. "But then again, I'm not a Dark witch."

"Enough, Hannah," Neville snapped at the Hufflepuff. "You may not be the only culprit here, but you certainly made things a lot worse." He turned back to Ginny and sighed. "The Dark Bite curse may not be the worst of the lot, that's true, but it's pretty awful, Ginny. How could you think that was okay?"

Ginny looked down at her wand and began to shake. "I... I don't know, Neville!" The redheaded girl began to cry. "I guess I wasn't in my right mind, like I was back with Riddle and all those Death Eaters again."

Ron quickly grabbed his sister in a hug and glared at Neville. "She hasn't had the time to adjust like we have," he said. "All this is new to her. To Hannah and Susan too, I'd wager."

"Um, if I could say something," Susan said softly. "In our world, Ginny was pretty terrible. I think Hannah was just, well, confused, if that makes sense."

Hannah made a disgusted face, but she nodded.

And then Professor McGonagall was there, looking absolutely furious.

"Did you think you'd get away with it?" She asked, seeming like she was barely keeping her temper in check. "You all know the rules!"

"It was me," said Ginny quickly. "Me, Professor. And Hannah, too, I suppose."

"Oh, I am quite aware who was duelling," said McGonagall in a huff. "Do you think we wouldn't think to monitor such behavior in our halls? I think you two had better come with me to the Headmaster's office. We need to decide what to do with you."

Ginny wiped her eyes and gave a nod to Ron, who released her. Hannah seemed unhappy about it, but she nodded.

"Oh, uh, what about me?" Susan asked in a plaintive voice.

"Miss Bones, you are to proceed straight to the travelers' hall," said McGonagall with a stern look. "And stay out of trouble. I'm keeping my eye on you, young lady. In fact, Neville, if you don't mind?"

Neville nodded and grinned. "You can count on me, Professor."

McGonagall nodded. "Finally, something I can legitimately agree with. Come you two, the Headmaster's waiting!"

In silence, the five of them walked to what seemed like just a random hallway on the fourth floor until they reached a small portrait of a very tiny man. Neville tapped on the man's left ear, then his right, then his nose, and then the wall opened.

Susan ran in and looked around, then she fled up a flight of stairs.

"She'll be fine," said Neville, settling into one of the chairs in what was clearly meant to be the common area. "Those stairs lead to a few private rooms."

"I know that," Ron said with annoyance. "I've been staying here, remember?"

Neville raised an eyebrow. "Not everyone has, remember?"

"Ah," Ron nodded and sat down himself. "Fair point. Is Fred here?"

"He said something about talking to George about something," said Hermione and she lit a fire in the nearby fireplace. She sighed and turned back to them.

"Well," said Hermione. "Now that that ugly business is done with, let me tell you what I've been up to this summer holiday. First, of course, I retrieved the Diadem, easy enough as it was here. Next, Sirius and I went out and took care of the Ring. Professor Dumbledore thought it'd help him out to get something useful done, and I quite agree. And if you ask me, it certainly did help him."

Ron laughed. "Okay, Hermione, now take a breath."

"Now we did a bit of reconnaissance," Hermione continued, ignoring the remark. "But unfortunately we couldn't figure out a way to get into the Malfoy manor or Gringotts. As for the diary, we're not entirely sure where it is. I was planning on keeping an eye on Lucius when he went to Diagon Alley with Draco, but they never went there! And Gringotts, well..." She turned to Neville. "I think I may need your help with that part."

Neville grimaced. "I can break into Gringotts, but it'll be hard to do it without causing a lot of damage. In my future, that wasn't exactly a concern, but here? We don't really need to antagonize the goblins if we don't have to."

"But you can do it?" Hermione leaned forward. "I can help with whatever you need."

"That's good," said Neville. "I think between you, me, Albus, Sirius, and maybe Ron, we can grab the Cup from the right vault. Although Ron might be better suited sticking around here to keep an eye on things."

Ron grunted. "Yeah, could be you're right on that, Neville."

"What about me?" Harry asked.

"I think you're not quite ready for Gringotts yet," said Neville after a moment of thinking about it. "Maybe after a few months, but I'm not comfortable yet. Remember the chamber of the lost yeti?"

Harry frowned. "Yeah, okay."

"That sounds intriguing," said Hermione. "Something you all did over the summer?"

"Hadn't you heard?" Ron asked with a big grin on his face. "Neville took Harry and the Patils on a trip 'round the world doing awesome things and just generally being awesome."

"I had heard, well, something like that. But no details."

"And you won't," said Neville with a laugh. "We made a pact, the girls and us. Plus there's still next summer."

"You know," said Ron with a thoughtful look. "If Sirius is really doing better, we should introduce him to Fred and George. I think that might help them, you know, connect better."

Hermione smiled at him. "That's a wonderful idea, Ron!"

"Snape'll hate it," said Neville. "So don't be too obvious about it."

Harry laughed. "Was Professor Snape okay to you two over the holidays?"

Ron shrugged. "He basically didn't interact with me, just kinda ignored me. Fine with me, of course, he's a berk and a git. Clever git though, he did some interesting things to set up the hall here."

"Okay, shall we talk to Professor Dumbledore then?" Hermione asked eagerly.

Neville shook his head. "We'd better wait until at least tomorrow, give them a chance to figure out what to do with Ginny and Hannah."

"Merlin, I hope they don't kick them out," said Ron with a frown. "Ginny really doesn't need it, especially after what she's clearly been though."

Harry yawned. "Well, this has been fun," he said. "But I think I'm going to head back to my own room. Parvati's probably staying up to bug me about what we talked about."

Ron smirked and said, "Good on you, Harry. Planting the seeds."

"Huh?" Harry blinked, confused by the odd statement.

"Oh, honestly," said Hermione with a dramatic rolling of her eyes. "Ron, you are simply awful."

Ron gave a little bow and grinned at her. "Sounds like you know me quite well."

"Ignore them," said Neville. "They just don't understand the concept of friendship between a boy and a girl without constant arguing."

Ron and Hermione glared at him and Neville laughed.

"Right," said Harry. "Night then."

---

Parvati was delightfully scandalized about the duel between Ginny and Hannah, and she was even more delighted when the two were suspended the next morning at breakfast. Consequences for actions, Professor McGonagall explained.

For his part, Harry was still a bit worried about Neville's earlier comment that Hannah and Susan were "obsessed" with him, but Neville didn't seem to want to explain it.

"I don't know the specifics," said Neville while he was spooning porridge into his mouth. "Just a general feeling from them based on what they said during the interrogations back at King's Cross. I'll try to find out more later, okay?"

Ginny and Hannah were of course, nowhere to be found, but Susan was sitting at the Hufflepuff table. Although she was surrounded by others from her house, it was clear that she was quite alone, just by the look on her face.

"So Neville," said Hermione with an intense expression. "When can we speak to the Headmaster?"

Neville groaned. "I'm still eating, Hermione. I do need nutrients to, you know, live and all."

Ron laughed. "You're alright, Longbottom."

Parvati muttered something under her breath.

But Harry was just looking forward to his first Defense class with his godfather. Apparently he wasn't the only one, as he got an owl asking him to come a bit early to the class, signed by Sirius Black.

Neville looked it over and gave Harry a dramatic thumbs up. "Looks fine to me," he said. "Why doesn't Ron walk over with you while Hermione and I deal with our little fun."

"Don't embarrass him," said Parvati to Ron with a hiss. "Stay out of sight."

Ron rolled his eyes but nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

Hermione grinned and rubbed her hands together. "Neville, wait until you hear my idea! All I need is a simple convex obfuscation array and then if you can knock out the primary notification standpoints, Gringotts won't even see us enter!"

"The standpoints?" Neville paused eating and rubbed his chin. "Oh, you mean the things that watch for intruders? The omnipresent eyes and the circling fire of angered imp projections? That's doable. Oh but wait." He frowned. "You just want me to disable them temporarily, not destroy them?"

"Well, if you don't, they'll know," said Hermione with a touch of exasperation.

Neville sighed. "Yeah, okay. Let me think about that then. Maybe Dumbledore will know a way. See you later Harry and Parvati!"

Parvati beamed at him and waved.

"And...?" Ron leaned forward.

"And you can finish my food," said Neville as he got up to leave.

Ron started to say something, and then he shrugged and took Neville's plate.

"Oh, that's vile," whispered Parvati with a disgusted face.

Hermione nodded. "Yes, quite. Well, later all!"

Harry wasn't sure what he expected from his godfather, but Sirius Black seemed far more nervous than even Harry. Sirius was thin, but seemed reasonably healthy; it was clear he had once been a decent looking chap and might someday be one again.

He gave Harry a huge grin and gestured to a chair. "Please, Harry, sit! I just wanted a chance to talk with you before the class starts." He shook his head and sighed. "Gotta tell you, Harry, all this time travel stuff is really insane. There was this girl in my year that claimed her grandmother was a time traveler, but nobody was sure how to take that."

"It's been a bit mad, yes," said Harry with a small smile. "But I've had a decent time of it. Apparently my original time through was a lot more stressful, if you can believe that. You didn't even get freed until my third year."

Sirius shuddered. "I had heard something like that from Dumbledore. It was bad enough, you know, Dementors and all." He looked at Harry. "Do you know?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, Neville taught me the Patronus charm this summer, although I'm a bit pants at it so far. Just the mist part, not the animal thing."

"That's - well, that's quite impressive, Harry. Most adults can't handle that, let alone a second year. I mean, no offense!"

"Well, Neville explained that I'm a bit sensitive to Dementors," said Harry. "So it was a good idea to get a head start on protecting myself. Parvati and Padma practiced too, although neither quite got it either."

Sirius grinned. "My godson, travelling the world with twin girls. And only twelve years old! James would be proud."

Harry felt a sudden hitch in his throat at that, and he nodded. "And Mum?"

"Well," said Sirius and he paused. Then he laughed. "She'd pretend to be mad, but she'd secretly be proud, that's my guess."

"Can you tell me a bit more about them?" Harry asked, almost casually. "This is something the time travelers don't really know about. They were all only babies or kids when my parents were killed. None knew them as kids. I mean, Snape did, but he seems a bit... biased, I guess."

Sirius frowned. "Snape and James never liked each other. He was suspiciously decent during my recovery, although not that decent. Always rubbing my face in his superior potion making or whatever." He shook his head. "Never mind that. Dumbledore said it wasn't good to be negative, bad for the health, eh?"

But then he smiled. "But of course I'll tell you about your parents. It'll have to wait until after class, I think I see some students gathered outside the door trying not to obvious." Sirius then looked away, and then back. "Before I forget, I wanted to ask you something. I'm still a bit addled at times, although I'm doing pretty okay. Do you have your dad's cloak?"

Harry scratched his head. "I'm not sure what you mean."

"I don't like the sound of that," said Sirius with a grumble. "I'll speak to Dumbledore about it."

"Oh, I had something too, before I forget," Harry said and he grinned at his godfather. "Have you met either of the Weasley twins? Fred's the time traveler, George isn't?"

"I haven't," said Sirius and then his eyes widened. "One of them is a traveler and the other isn't? Bloody hell, that can't be easy for them." And then he looked back at Harry. "Hold on, why should I meet them in particular? I'll be teaching the non-traveler anyhow."

"Oh, just a feeling," said Harry. "But actually..." He paused. "I'm not entirely sure why. Ron would know. Can I ask him? I think he's still waiting outside."

Sirius checked the time with his wand and then sighed. "Alright, but let's be quick about it. Minerva would be cross if I didn't teach in my first class."

Harry laughed. "That's true. Hold a moment." He quickly opened the door and gestured to Ron.

"Harry, what's going on?" Parvati said, pushing forward to the front of the crowd of waiting students. "Class should've started already!"

"Parvati, I'll tell you about it in a minute," Harry said. "Ron just needs to explain something to Sirius. Then we can start class."

Parvati glared at Ron, who smiled back and waved.

"Don't be such a prat," whispered Harry to Ron as they walked into the classroom.

"Can't stop being me," said Ron with a shrug. "Hullo, Sirius, nice to see you again."

"Oh you guys met?" Harry asked.

"A bit," said Sirius. "Here and there over the summer. He didn't know I'd be teaching though."

"I had an inkling," said Ron with a grin. "So what do you want to know? A secret from the future?"

"The twins," said Harry. "Why should Sirius meet them again?"

Ron began to laugh. "Why, merely because they are the Marauders' biggest fans!"

Sirius instantly perked up. "Well, these sound like gentlemen of true taste and vigour! I will indeed speak to them as soon as circumstances permit!"

"I don't know what the Marauders are," said Harry. "Sounds vaguely familiar though."

"Don't know?" Sirius said with an exaggerated gasp. "Well, there's no time for it now, Harry. I'll explain later. Maybe with the twins too if we can arrange it. Anyway, let your friends in, we should get started." He grinned. "I have a few decent ideas for the day, I think."

The class ended up being quite fun. Although Sirius had a few nerves at first, he quickly got past that with an impression of Snape that had most of the room laughing. Sirius explained a bit about his plan for the year and even demonstrated a few interesting defensive charms.

"I think Professor Black was brilliant!" Parvati said as they left the classroom. "A bit handsome too, although he's on the skinny side." She grinned widely..

"You thought so too?" Lavender Brown asked, and the two girls giggled.

"Had a good time, did you?" Ron asked as he joined them. "It was boring waiting for you so I took a nap."

"In the hall?" Parvati made a face.

Ron shrugged. "I've slept on worse loads of times. Truth is, ol' Hoggy here is the next best place to home." He patted the wall with a warm smile on his face. "Got through some tough times sleeping on floors here."

Harry suspected he knew how bad it was for Ron based on his tales of the future, but he didn't really want to hear the specifics. "Do you suppose Neville and Hermione spoke to the Headmaster yet?"

"Probably," said Ron with a shrug. "We'll ask at lunch."

---

As it turned out, Harry's time traveling friends had indeed spoken to Dumbledore, although they wouldn't tell him the specifics until that evening. He waited impatiently throughout the day, barely paying attention in the other classes, until lunch finally arrived.

But as Harry raced to the Hall, he grew concerned when he didn't see Neville or Hermione at the table. "Where are they?" Harry asked himself.

"Is something wrong?" Ron walked up behind Harry, having taken a slower pace to the Hall. "What's going on?"

"Hermione isn't here. Neither is Neville. Wait!" Harry looked over at the Head Table in sudden alarm. "The Headmaster isn't either! Ron, where are they?"

"Calm down, Harry," said Ron. "I'm sure they're fine. Probably still talking or whatever."

"Yeah." Harry felt his heartbeat slowly fall back to normal. "Yeah, you're probably right."

It was a bit torturous for Harry to continue waiting, even though he knew there was no point in whinging about it further. But finally, as he was walking to his last class of the day, Neville appeared suddenly nearby.

"Hey," said Neville quietly, and Ron whirled in alarm, wand in his hand.

"Gotta stop doing that mate," Ron said with a frown, putting away his wand. "Disturbing."

"Good instincts, Ron," said Neville and he grinned. "I'll need you to keep an eye on things around here while we're gone. A few of us are heading out to town, if you know what I mean. I expect we'll be back a bit late tonight, but hey, Harry, maybe you should stay in the time travelers' hall this evening just in case?"

"Just in case?" Harry thought that sounded a bit alarming. "So you're going to -"

"Hold it!" Neville put up a hand. "Don't talk about it in public. I'll explain it all tonight when we get back. I already told Fred to hang around with you two also, and to look out for weirdness, like from Susan Bones. Hannah and Ginny are locked up, so no worries there." He paused. "Oh, and I asked, Parvati can be there tonight so you don't get too bored, but she can't be there overnight. Okay?"

Harry nodded. "She'll like that. What about Sirius?"

"He'll be busy," said Neville. "But good thinking." He rubbed his hands together and seemed a bit excited. "It's going to real fun, guys, real fun. See you tonight!"

Of course, Parvati was indeed ecstatic to join in at the Hall, but after the first few minutes of peppering Fred with questions he didn't really answer seriously, she grew bored and started working on homework. That was good for Harry, as he had been having some problems completing his Charms homework.

But after a few hours, despite his efforts, soon Harry felt his eyes start to close. He looked over to see Parvati already asleep and Fred absentmindedly scribbling on some parchment. Ron was nearly falling asleep himself, his head bobbing back up every few seconds.

"What time is it?" Harry asked with a yawn.

"A bit after midnight or so," said Fred with a grunt. "Surprised you're still awake. You can rest, probably a good idea."

"Oh, fine," said Harry, a bit annoyed, but tired enough to agree. He closed his eyes for just a moment, and then he was shaken awake by Ron.

"Harry, they're back," said Ron, and his voice was a bit slurred. "And they brought some fan-bloody-tastic firewhiskey!"

"Bleh?" Harry rubbed his eyes and sat up. Fred and Hermione were each holding a mug of something, and Neville stood nearby not holding anything at all.

Ron took a big sip of his drink and then coughed out a puff of smoke. "Whew, I can't handle this stuff as well as a kid, Harry. You want some?"

"Um, I dunno."

"Ron, he certainly does not!" Hermione said indignantly, although her eyes were slightly glazed. "Don't set such a poor example."

"Oh, piddle," said Ron and he waved his hand dismissively.

Hermione grimaced. "Ron, that's unnecessarily vulgar, even for you."

"I think I meant to say 'piffle'," said Ron after a moment of thought.

"Oh." Hermione laughed. "Well that's not so bad."

"So how did it go?" Harry asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Should we wake up Parvati?"

"If she doesn't sleep through this commotion, I say go for it!" Fred said and drank more from his mug.

"Mixed results, Harry," said Neville and he looked a bit annoyed. "Really, we only have half a reason to celebrate."

"That's why we're drinking just half the bottle," said Hermione and she giggled.

"Hermione, you continue to impress," said Fred and he smacked Ron hard on the back. "Couldn't have said it better myself."

"I had a drink," said Neville. "But just one."

"And then you used a sobering potion," said Hermione with a frown. "Defeats the purpose, doesn't it?"

"I had forty seconds of drunkenness," Neville said and then he laughed. "That's quite enough until Voldemort is dead for good. Anyway, Harry, we had some success but not one hundred percent."

"Uh huh," said Harry and he forced himself to wake up more.

"We did get the Horcrux from Gringotts," Neville said with a sigh. "Set off the alarms a bit when we left because of something we missed."

"Sirius said it would be fine," Hermione said and frowned. "Since he's the effective heir of the vault, he'd be the one hearing about the robbery. Something along the lines of a 'begrudgingly polite but still angry apology' from the goblins without any offer of restitution."

Ron snorted. "Hermione, don't act like you don't perfectly remember what he said."

Hermione's face coloured slightly. "Well."

"So that was a success," Neville continued, not looking at the others but just at Harry. "Unfortunately it wasn't such great news at the Malfoys. The place had been ransacked, and everything was gone. We couldn't figure out if it was someone legitimately robbing them or just trying to make it look like it. It had been that way for weeks though, we know that much."

"And worse," said Hermione suddenly and then stopped talking. She shook her head. "Oh, I can't, Neville tell him!"

"It's bad news," said Neville and he had a very serious look on his face. "All of the Malfoy house elves were killed. Even Dobby."

"What?" Ron sat up. "You didn't tell me that part! Not Dobby!" He sniffed. "I loved that little guy."

"Oh," Harry felt horribly embarrassed. "I, um, don't know who that is."

"Bloody hell," said Neville and he winced. "That was insensitive of me, of course you're right. He was a good bloke in our futures, even saved our lives a few times."

"Saved yours before he bit it," Ron told Harry almost inaudibly, his face in his hands.

"Sorry," said Harry. "It sounds a horrid thing to do. Do you have any idea who did it?"

Neville growled and made a fist. "I wish we did, Harry! So many questions! Where are the Malfoys? Did they run? Were they killed? Who ransacked the estate? We know Riddle is trapped with Quirrell, but it could be..." He swallowed. "Another time traveler. One we don't even know about."

"I doubt it's a student," said Hermione. "But it could be an adult. I mean, there's no real reason why not."

"Hmm," said Harry, thinking about it. His mind went back over the stories Neville had told him and the Patils over the summer, trying to come up with an idea. "Maybe that horrible woman? Umbugle?"

Ron laughed, and wiped his now red eyes. "Thanks Harry, I needed that. And maybe I could use more of this." He took another swig of his drink.

Neville shook his head. "It's possible Umbridge did something, she's certainly awful enough. But this doesn't seem like her sort of move. And nobody's broken out of Azkaban, I checked with a Ministry contact that doesn't realize I'm just a kid."

"Well, maybe it's that guy that switched bodies with his mum," said Harry. "Something Crouch, I think."

There was silence for a few seconds, and then Neville cursed.

"I can't believe I didn't think of that!" He said and pulled out his wand.

Hermione's eyes goggled and she made a horrible noise. "Damn it, Harry, I knew I shouldn't have gotten drunk. Who has the hangover potion?"

"I've got one more," said Neville and he reached into a pouch, pulling out a small vial. He tossed it to Hermione. "Let me get rid of the drunkenness first." He waved his wand and then Hermione closed her eyes in pain.

"That always hurts," she groaned and then drank the potion. Immediately her eyes cleared and her face seemed to lack any pain. "That was fast. You two, get in touch with Snape, he should have more hangover cures. Neville and I will take point and hit the Crouch estate while you two guard things here."

"As usual," Ron said with a bit of a sneer.

"I'm not interested in Harry getting hurt," said Neville. "Are you?"

"No," grumbled Ron. "I'll send a Patronus to bloody Snape for his damned cure."

Neville nodded, and he and Hermione quickly ran from the hall. With an exaggerated sigh, Ron summon a Patronus, what appeared to be a small dog.

"Emergency, Snape, we need hangover cures, two at least," he said, and then the dog ran off through the wall.

Harry shook his head. "I can't wait until I can do that," he said. "It's not an easy spell."

"You're the one that taught me," said Ron with a yawn and he sat up straight. "Bloody good teacher too. But you may just need a bit more experience with spells in general before you get. Hell, you mastered it in third year, which isn't much time from now, relatively speaking."

Fred rolled his eyes. "Ron the great jokester."

His brother looked at him with puzzlement.

"Never mind," grumbled Fred.

The door slammed open, and the two Weasleys winced. Parvati looked up, completely bleary eyed. "Wha?" she mumbled.

"Well?" Professor Snape said, looking decidedly unhappy. "What is this great emergency you woke me up for?"

Ron pointed a wand at his head and muttered something. "Damn," he said, holding his head suddenly. "Sobering charm always hurts. So then." He looked up at Snape. "Let me tell you a little story about a guy named Barty Crouch Jr."

---

Okay, that's all for chapter 6!

FYI, the Susan/Hannah is based on a story I wrote called Who's Polyjuicing Whom, also available on my profile.

Chapter Text

THE FIRST JUMP

The man was bored and frustrated. He considered himself a handsome man, yet all of his dalliances and relationships had fizzled into nothingness like evaporated firewhiskey. For some reason, the world simply did not appreciate him or his worth.

The man was a Gryffindor, through and through, so he was brave, certainly, and capable, assuredly. Yet he knew he was smarter than average, so he put his great intellect to the task of solving this oddness, this mystery of his life of mundanity.

It was an easy solution, for the answer was there all along. Harry Potter had stolen his life. The kid, a year younger, had achieved fame and glory, using his stupid scar to trick his way into the hearts of a nation. The man knew Potter was a mediocre student at best and only a halfway decent athlete.

Why, if it hadn't been for Hermione bolstering him, Potter would likely not have survived his first year, much less graduated. So then the plan was clear: Take back the life Potter stole. But how, that was the trick. Potter was beloved and protected, taking him down would be nigh impossible. If only there was a way to change how it gotten so unfair.

And then it occurred to the man - change the past. It was an idea brilliant in its simplicity. Become the real Chosen One, get Hermione on his side, in more ways than one - it was a perfect plan. The only downside was that he had absolutely no idea how to manage it. After a few weeks of research attempts, he gave up and asked someone for help.

Unfortunately the only idea he got was "maybe the Muggles figured something out, they have movies on that sort of thing." Infiltrating the Muggle world was a bit tricky, but the Gryffindor hero persevered, and after a few false starts, he had an artifact of great power. Sure, it was marked as "unstable" and had no way of powering itself, but the man had an idea.

As more and more magical integration had occurred, the Weasleys had invented a new kind of magical battery, one that powered Muggle devices in a way that worked in Magical environments. So the solution was simple once again, especially for someone of his vim and vigour. Take off the 'Unstable' sign, slap in a Weasley battery, and turn it on.

After all, what could possibly go wrong?

THE SECOND JUMP

They called it the Ship of Seams. It was called a ship that traveled through time, although it was not a ship, nor anything that could bear the weight of a passenger. Instead, it served as a way to send information, for it existed in a fluid timespace alongside the lifetime of itself.

"All aboard," called out the conductor, and the traveler came into the room.

"This is stupid," muttered the agent and he sighed. "Gert, this isn't a train. And I won't even be on the temporal conveyance."

Gert gave him a look. "Use the right name, Agent X."

The agent groaned. "Fine, although I hate that name too. I won't be on the Chrononox, you happy?"

The conductor nodded. "Quite. Can we finish loading all the infomancy aspects?" Gert grinned and finished it herself without waiting for a response, because she was insufferable like that, despite being unfairly competent.

Agent X had a name, but it was intentionally lost in the past for his own protection. His particular assignation wasn't really specific to him exactly, but the name given to each agent in his position. It would be confusing except that the name lasted until the agent was killed, gone, put out, clipped, retired, lost, or erased.

His past self would get the infomantic aspects needed to complete his mission, and then another Agent X would likely take his place in the new continuity. Or not, it was impossible to be certain on that sort of thing. But the agent wasn't an analyst, he was an actor of functionality, with a past to be voluntarily overwritten. It was his choice and his mission and his honour.

He stood with Gert as the countdown slowly reached ignition point. "You think we'll work again in the next space?" He asked the conductor.

Gert gave the agent a smirk or perhaps it was a grin or perhaps it was a snarl. Or perhaps it was no expression at all. Agent X worried that knowing that was an answer he would hate to hear.

And then the Chrononox set sail.

THE THIRD JUMP

The explorer wandered the empty plains and kept her Spotulaters at the ready. After a lifetime of excitement and adventure, she had decided to leave her husband and family (temporarily, she thought, unless she died, of course, which was also a strong possibility she knew, given her advanced age, but then again, she had been through worse, a lot worse in point of fact, and wasn't the fun in life the adventure of it all and really, the old ball and children had only themselves to blame for being on a different adventure while she had slept in and is that unfair considering how much she had had to drink the previous evening, the anniversary evening no less, and yet here she was, abandoned and abandoning, following in her father's footsteps and her mother's smaller footsteps, searching, pondering, hoping, for a sign of something grand, something secret, something hidden, and perhaps something not there at all).

The explorer spotted something out of the corner of existence, and leaned down to get a better look. She adjusted the Spotulaters to their most devious setting, and checked again. Huzzah! And good fortune!

It was indeed the legendary Chronophage, the thing that ate time. And by Merlin's pigtails, it was adorable. She watched, entranced, as the little chronophage gobbled away at the tendrils of time, entranced, she watched, as the little chronophage spat up the tendrils of time.

She felt happy and smiled happily (perhaps, she wondered, would it be so awful, so terrible, so heinous, so illegal to simply wish the little friend a nice hello, a sort of friendly pat on the head, a reminder that hey, some of us wizards and witches weren't the worst sort, that we liked odd things, and if something did happen, why, she had lived a long life after all and what was the worst that could-

---

Far Too Many Time Travelers

Chapter 7: The Death of Continuity

The next day, Harry found he had a very odd headache. But ignoring that and everything from the previous night seemed the prudent course of action, so Harry pretended it all was just fine and waited for the next terrible thing to happen.

At dinner, Neville walked over to Harry, looking surprisingly defeated. "When you're done, we're to have a meeting in the Headmaster's office, Harry." He sighed and then raised an eyebrow, looking Harry over carefully. "Burying all that unpleasantness, eh? I can relate, Harry, but it's not healthy, I know that much."

"I'm not burying anything," Harry retorted without thinking. "And who else will be at this so-called meeting?"

"Harry, really," said Parvati with a shake of her head. She looked completely exhausted, and Harry wondered if he looked the same way.

"Sorry, Parv," Neville told her with an apologetic shrug. "We'll catch you up later, but I need you to do something else for me."

"Oh?" Parvati perked up immediately. "What do you need, Nev?"

"Promise me you'll listen," said Neville in a very serious tone, and he leaned on the table. "Promise me?"

Parvati nodded quickly. "Yes, anything!"

"I need you to go get some sleep," he said and then grinned. "You're knackered."

She scowled and almost said something, before yawning suddenly. Parvati winced. "Bugger."

Harry laughed. "I'm pretty tired myself, Neville. Why not just use a Pepper-Up or something?"

"I think that's a bad idea to rely on, my Hermione used to tell me that. But anyway, Dumbledore will be fine with us telling you more later, I think. Snape will be there, and he's already annoyed I'm going to listen in."

Parvati seemed ready to argue, but then she nodded, conceding the point that she was too tired to stare down Professor Snape.

For his part, Snape didn't seem displeased to see Harry when they arrived in the Headmaster's office. "Potter, you look awful," he said. "I would hope you would get more rest tonight instead of allowing the others to keep you up."

"I don't suppose you'll let me turn in my homework late?" Harry asked with a small smile.

Snape raised an eyebrow and Harry laughed.

"Of course not, sir, I ought not to have assumed otherwise."

"You can turn in my homework late if you need it," said Professor Flitwick, who was in the room with Dumbledore. "After all, it's only fair."

"I am pleased to see such pleasantries," Dumbledore said from his chair in a pleasant voice, although he had a stern expression. "I am also pleased to see all of you here today. There is much I would like to discuss, although not everyone is present that I would prefer."

"If you mean Hermione or Ron, they're out investigating, as you instructed," said Neville. "But that's not what you meant, is it?"

Dumbledore favoured Neville with a small smile and nodded. "Full marks, Master Longbottom. But that is not so important at the moment. I am sure you have all wondered about some of the time travel techniques utilized by the various time travelers and why such magic has been unseen until now."

"Was it suppressed?" Flitwick asked. "Or hidden away?"

"I preface this discussion with an important fact. There is a sealed history of Hogwarts and of magic," the Headmaster said, steepling his hands together. "And there is an unsealed history. I am literally unable to discuss the sealed history, despite my own wishes. Otherwise, I hope to be at least a tad enlightening."

He peered over his glasses at them. "It it said in the old stories that there are only three ways to travel in time, backwards, forwards, and in place. But we modern wizards know this to be false. According to the scholarly literature, there are... How many would you say, Filius?"

Professor Flitwick seemed surprised to be asked, but he smiled as he considered the answer. "I believe the answer is six, Albus. Four known: Physical, metaphysical, mental, and metamental. And two theoretical: Conceptual and metaconceptual. The Time-Turners are used to facilitate physical time travel."

"But how is that possible?" Dumbledore asked. "According to the doublet paradox rule, only one of all things unique can exist in the same timeframe. Wouldn't that violate the paradox?"

Flitwick stroked his small, pointed beard and frowned. "Hmm, actually I'm not sure. Is it a fact that the doublet rule is always enforced or is that up for scholarly debate?"

"Evidence would argue against it, and in the context of what we know in the unsealed histories, the doublet rule seems to always be valid."

Snape made a huffing sound. "Meaning there is sealed history that proves it," he said. "But you cannot say anything to the particulars. Convenient, Albus."

"I know about the Time-Turners," Neville said and he leaned back in his chair. "And I know they work, so how do you explain it? Keep in mind I haven't followed everything you've said."

Harry nodded in agreement, glad that he wasn't the only one out of his depth.

The Headmaster chuckled. "It is actually a bit amusing, the Time-Turners utilize a sort of magical trick, a "prank" if you will on the timeline where it is activated. It generates a pseudo-temporal wrapper with extrapolated energy, originating from the spellwork on the Time-Turner, naturally. That wrapper lasts until the Time-Turner is reactivated, at which point the wrapper collapses, ended in a fully resolved, paradox-free timeline or, if luck isn't with them, utter catastrophe."

Flitwick blinked and then smiled widely. "How fascinating! I must admit, I never spent much time on researching temporal mechanics, so I had no idea that sort of timeline wrapping was even possible.

"Utter catastrophe," repeated Snape. "I note that you didn't mention your fascination with that aspect, Filius. Albus, what in the world did you just say? A 'pseudo-temporal wrapper'? I know the words individually, but it's meaningless."

"I believe I can explain," said Flitwick. "Albus is saying that Time-Turners create a sort of temporary artificial universe where you can physically travel to the past at the same time as other versions of yourself, which is otherwise impossible due to the doublet rule."

Snape tapped his chin. "I see. And the catastrophe?"

"I assume that when the time travel adventure is complete, if the temporary universe contains only one copy of everybody, the universe gets resolved, and no harm done. But if not..." Flitwick shrugged. "Actually I'm not sure on that point. If there's a paradox, that would seem to imply an impossibility."

"Magic and reality will do their best to keep the universe from collapsing on itself," explained the Headmaster. "But that could easily have negative side effects for those caught in the paradox. Effects such as complete erasure from existence, for example."

Neville laughed. "Well, that sounds bad, I get that much."

"Indeed," said Dumbledore with a hint of mirth. "Naturally you and the others have traveled using mental time traveling methods. A far safer way to avoid paradoxes. Metaphysical and metamental would avoid them in theory of course, but that would belie the point."

"What would be an example of those two?" Neville asked.

"Sending magic of some sort through time would be metaphysical," Flitwick answered. "Metamental is a bit trickier to explain, but I doubt we'll run into an example. As for the other two..." He shrugged. "They are theoretical for a reason. They are proven on parchment, but not yet in practice."

"So it is said in the unsealed histories of Hogwarts," intoned the Headmaster in an oddly dramatic tone.

"Sir, if I can ask something," Harry interjected, seeing that Snape was annoyed at this comment again. "I was wondering about the ways everyone traveled in time. Neville, Ron, Hermione, Draco, and um, oh right, Fred and Oliver Wood. Oh and Ginny! Oh, and those Hufflepuff girls too."

He frowned. "Sorry, I guess I hadn't even realized how many there were."

"As I recall, Ronald utilized a corruption of the Xo Xibalba ritual," said Dumbledore. "Severus, are you familiar with it?"

Snape grimaced and nodded. "I am. A transcendence ritual, a grim and filthy business. Murder and other atrocities to gain a temporary resistance to magic and infirmity. It was banned two hundred years ago by the IWC, but every so often, a desperate fool or monster attempts it. But I fail to see how it would let someone travel through time."

"Advanced aperture amplification theory, I'm not surprised you aren't familiar with the details," said Dumbledore and then he seemed almost lost in a memory for a moment. "Ah, well, histories are set as they are behind us. I spent some time in my middle years on the theory, but although I figured out how to use the Mayan death ritual to travel through time in theory, the cost was far too high."

He shook his head and then looked sadly at Harry. "Your friend Ronald suffered through some grave horrors if he followed my theoretical path."

Harry sighed and nodded. "He does seem sad much of the time."

Neville rubbed his chin and his eyes narrowed. "So is Ron far gone, sir? If you follow me?"

"I believe not, or at least I hope not. Does he seem as such to you?"

"Not really, sir," said Neville and he relaxed. "Just damaged."

"In what way?" asked Flitwick in a concerned voice.

Snape gave the other Professor a scathing look. "Traumatized, obviously, Filius. Hopefully not irreversibly damaged, naturally."

"What about Hermione?" Harry asked, trying to get past the uncomfortable subject. "Something about the moon?"

"The lunar compact, she said." Neville glanced at the Headmaster. "Never heard of it. Professor Snape? Professor Flitwick?"

After a moment, both teachers shook their heads.

"So don't leave us in suspense, Albus," Flitwick said eagerly. "What is the lunar compact?"

"It is old," the Headmaster replied. "That is all I will say on the matter. I am honestly still horrified at Miss Granger's actions, even a year past hearing on it. And I will hear no more on the matter." This last was said with such odd, sudden vehemence, that Flitwick could only mutely nod his head.

After a few moments, Harry cleared his throat. "Okay sir, that's... that's fine." He breathed in deeply and calmed his nerves. "What about Oliver and the rest?"

"After discussing with him, Mister Malfoy claimed to use chained Time-Turners to manipulate the Veil, but I do not quite believe he understands what he did."

Snape shook his head. "I don't think he does, Albus. He wasn't really able to explain it logically to me." He sighed. "Any word about him, now that we're discussing him?"

Dumbledore looked over at Neville who shook his head. "There is your answer, I am afraid. Now let me see here," he stroked his long beard and smiled. "Mister Wood found an obscure old legend that happened to be true. I had actually never heard of it, so that should tell you something."

"Something at Stonehenge," Flitwick said to Professor Snape. "It's a bit complicated, I'll explain to you later."

Snape nodded, looking unusually intrigued. "I am still shocked that dunderhead managed anything."

"As for the rest, we don't really know how Miss Chang traveled through time, as she is still quite insensatate. And I have looked at a memory of how Neville traveled here, but the artifact was also unfamiliar to me."

Neville grinned. "Glad to have something in common with you, sir."

"I would rather not discuss the specifics of how the other young ladies managed their travel, as it is all quite... disturbing. Perhaps allow me some time to consider the best way to explain, Harry?"

"Okay, sir. I just don't like not knowing what's going on when everyone else does."

Snape smirked. "Why Mister Potter, how positively reasonable of you."

"There is one other that we know of," continued the Headmaster. "Fred Weasley. He told me he used the Black Door to travel through time, but I thought that too was mere legend."

"I've heard of that one," said Flitwick suddenly. "Yes, it's a legend, but not that old. Only a thousand years or so, from around the time of Merlin. The Door that is all doors, the Door that must be never be opened. It was an old Slavic tale, I believe, conflated with the tale of the Starry Road. Or so I thought," he said in realization. "Like many of those old Slavic tales, it was muddled, bizarre, and without any point other than horror."

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, I thought similarly. But the Black Door apparently opens to the worlds gone past, so Fred and his future version of Miss Granger figured out how to measure astral alignment to find the point of discovery." He shook his head. "That reminds me of an old story of my own. A relevant one to our current situation, so I hope you will not mind a small tale?"

Harry was ready to argue against anyone not interested, but thankfully it seemed the others were equally intrigued.

This was the story the Headmaster told:

---

In the old world, it was said, when people still roamed through the world unimpeded, there was one magic and it was all magic. But it was a simple magic, a magic built on music and will, one that that connected all possibilities at once.

Imagine if you will, the young children racing through the fields, a song of life and happiness on their lips. That magic of song and life and love was all the protection they could ever desire. Or imagine the young couple, together and in love, singing as they sailed on the mighty ocean. They would sing songs of the ocean, of the waters, and no storm could ever disturb them.

This magic was beautiful and simple, yet that simplicity was why it was so powerful. The magic of the people, of the land, was their music.

It was a simpler time, that time when all things were possible and the future unwritten. A time when magic itself was a force of creation and everything became what was possible by thought, if only you willed it strong enough.

But there were those who were not satisfied. They wanted more than the music they were born with, the music of the people around them. They wanted to shape their world, alter their surroundings, bring about change. Some wished to create things of beauty, sculptures that were alive in their own way. Still others imagined that all the people in all the land could have a better life by changing that very land. And then there were those who were selfish, who wanted power, who wanted pleasure, who wanted to control and alter their world.

And so these folk began to use their music to create a new kind of magic, a magic of change. And the land and the people were not pleased. But it was too late, things could never be the same as they were. The influence grew and grew until the magic of change was everywhere in the world.

One would think that with their control of the world around them, limited as it may have been, they would have been satisfied. But they were not. They wanted the magic of heaven... and hell.

Imagine if you will the following scene: Magic weavers stand around the mighty canyon, the Black Canyon, in the ancient swamplands. They weave a powerful magic, a powerful music. They use a different magic. Where they would once use the magic, the music, of themselves and of the land, they now use the magic of the Other realms. Can you imagine the songs of Lost Ones or the ones of time lost eternally?

Focus your thoughts on one man, perhaps a human, perhaps an old svarlf or gnome, perhaps even a shadowman. Call him the shepherd, or the seeker, if you prefer. Or call him the fallen. We call him this because his name is lost, lost in the time that all time became one time. In this other time, all possibilities were extant and equally in place, it was will that brought potentiality into reality.

The single wizard or sorcerer standing in the midst of all things at once, a mind focused on breaking apart from the rest of existence. He wanted to break free from the constraints of chaotic possibility to forge an existence of a timeline of purity, of continuity and congruence. This was the secret path that turned all into one.

He succeeded in that mysterious quest, perhaps seen as quixotic otherwise, and thus here we are. Time flows from the past to the future, with nothing in between but the will to change which way you turn.

It is said that the past is gone, and magic is gone, yet we know that much at least, is false. And what happened to that seeker that changed it all? Well, did he ever truly exist? After all this is but a simple story.

---

After Dumbledore finished his story, the room was very quiet. Flitwick seemed confused, as did Neville but Snape... the Slytherin Head of House had an expression that Harry could not decipher, but it seemed almost a combination of horror and disgust.

"I hope you three have a good night," said the Headmaster. "I foresee troubled times in our future, so we could all use the rest."

"I will escort you back to your hall," said Professor Snape, still holding that odd expression on his face. "Filius. Albus."

As they walked back, Harry finally worked up the courage to bring this up. "Sir, if I could ask..."

Snape held up a hand to interrupt. "About that story? And..." he paused and took a deep breath. "Perhaps my reaction to it?"

Harry nodded.

"Well Potter, what do you think that story was about?"

"Honestly sir, I don't really know," said Harry. "It's almost like one of those old myths about how the world was created, but it was told very oddly. I don't get the moral of it, if there is even one at all."

Snape made a huffing sound. "Oh, there is a message, Potter. The Headmaster was explaining in that way of his a secret about the history of time travel and its use in the Magical World. You heard naturally, that he is unable or unwilling to explain certain secrets he knows that would be helpful for us. And again, naturally, for such magic to work on him, it must be exceedingly powerful."

Harry thought about this for a moment. "Meaning that he needs something very convoluted to even hint about he wants us to know."

The Potions Professor nodded and gave Harry an exceedingly small smile. "Very good, Mister Potter. Now that you cottoned on to that insight, what do you think the story was telling us?"

Harry thought about it once it more and then it came to him. He couldn't help but gasp in shock.

"Yes," Snape grumbled. "Quite".

---

It was odd feeling walking to breakfast the next morning, Harry realized. For once he was the one with secret, advanced information that he likely would need to explain. He found that he was enjoying the feeling and thought, perhaps, that it wouldn't hurt anyone to keep the insights from Dumbledore's magical story to himself for a little while longer.

But he was greeted by an annoyingly familiar sight - dismayed people reading The Daily Prophet. "Oh, now what?" Harry grumphed as he looked over Hermione's shoulder.

MUGGLE PM FOUND DEAD

Aurors suspect magical foul play.

For a few seconds, Harry couldn't think of anything to say. "The Prime Minister's dead?" He finally managed to get out.

"It would appear so," said Hermione with a pinched expression. "Give me a minute to read through the whole paper." She quickly began scanning through the articles.

"Obviously I'm no expert on Muggle government," said Ron. "But this is bad news. Can the Muggles handle this sort of disruption?"

"There's some sort of plan I assume," said Harry, still feeling a bit in shock. "I don't recall the word for it, but they have replacements if needed."

"It's called a line of succession, and in point of fact, there is no formal way to do it," said Hermione as she continued to flip through the Prophet. "It's rare that a Prime Minister dies in office, but I believe the accepted practice is for the ruling party to work with the Queen on an interim level. So I assume it's our mysterious temporal interloper?"

Neville frowned. "First the Malfoys are mysteriously gone, their house destroyed, now this? Somebody's doing something, or maybe multiple somebodies. I'm worried there's something else coming up next."

"Is there something specific you're thinking of?" Harry asked.

Hermione scowled suddenly. "Bloody Rita Skeeter. I should be surprised, I really should."

Ron managed a small smile and asked her, "Something she wrote?"

"She is claiming, via her usual tactic of specious reasoning and allegation based gossip mongering, that our missing Draco is to blame for the attack on the PM."

"Well, is that so bad?" Ron shrugged. "Maybe it was him."

"It wasn't him," said Neville. "At least not by choice. I made sure of his intentions, like I did with you two."

"That's not the issue," said Hermione and she shoved the paper over to Ron. "Take a look for yourself. She uses the opportunity to lay the blame at Dumbledore's feet for allowing an 'obvious saboteur from the future' to abuse our trust. Thus making the whole thing about an attack on him yet again."

"But why attack him in the first place?" Harry asked. "If it doesn't really do much more than cause some chaos in the Muggle world, what's the point?"

"There are secrets I suspect the PM knows," said Hermione, scratching her chin. "Some, I believe, about the Magical world. I would wager the Headmaster knows more."

"Gotcha." Neville nodded at her. "I'll confer with him and get back to you all."

But whatever he found out, he didn't see fit to share the specifics with Harry, and despite a few more frantic opinion pieces from Rita Skeeter, it seemed that the Muggle world was convinced the PM was simply the victim of a death due to natural causes. Inside the castle, things were similarly quiet, relatively speaking.

Sirius quickly grew more comfortable with his role as Professor, and had gradually became one of the more popular teachers in the school. After asking Harry's permission, Sirius had spent some time with the various time travelers - to "get a sense of their heads and their bollocks, if you'll pardon my language" he said.

After class one day while Harry ate lunch with Sirius in his room, his godfather explained some of his feelings. "Neville is scary," he said. "But in a good way, reminds me of how James could get in his more brilliant moments."

Harry smiled at the mention of his father. "I know exactly what you mean. He's basically the only one of the lot completely trusted by the Headmaster and McGonagall."

"Yeah, that's not insignificant, either. Minerva especially, she's a hard one when it comes to adults. A soft spot for troublemakers with hearts of golds." He gestured to himself and grinned. "But otherwise it does take serious talent and character to gain her respect. I trust Neville too, he's a good egg."

"What about Ron and Hermione? They were the first ones I met, aside for Malfoy, but he's missing."

Sirius had a fork nearly to his mouth and he paused and put it back down. "Ron and Hermione both have some real mental damage. Recognize the sort, and I expect they don't want to seek help. I get that, naturally. Wouldn't have done it myself except I knew it was the only way to see you."

"I'm glad you did," said Harry. "And don't you feel better?"

Sirius nodded. "I do. But it was difficult work, many months worth. And those two... they know me from their future versions of the world, a guy mostly the same. Positively in both cases. So it's interesting to talk to them as adults in kid bodies, you know?"

"I guess." Harry shrugged. "I don't know them any other way."

"Yeah, that's true. Hermione's over the top smart, as I'm sure you know. Would've given me a flight for my Galleons if we were in the same year. Ron's not at her level, but he has this..." Sirius paused, looking to be struggling for the right words. "This core of strength and will. He pushed through horrible things, did horrible things, and came out of it without losing his mind. Hermione did bad things too, don't get me wrong, but a lot of her actions were more abstract, it seems."

"How do you mean?"

Sirius sighed. "I can't explain it all, made a Vow to keep some things secret. But the ritual Ron did involved very evil acts. Hermione probably killed a lot of people to complete her time traveling spell, but in a way that she'd never have to see. You get what I mean?"

"I think so," said Harry. "What about the others?"

"Susan and Hannah, they're odd ducks. Hannah has this low level of anger all the time, but she isn't opening up about it. It's worrisome, frankly. And Susan is just lost. She isn't enjoying being back in time, not what she expected I'm sure."

"Yeah, alright. What about Fred?"

Sirius gave Harry the biggest smile yet. "The Twins are great people, Harry. We spent hours talking about the mechanics of the Marauder's Map. I haven't forgotten my promise, I'll make you a copy."

Harry grinned at that reminder.

"Snape has not been quiet about how bad I am as an influence." Sirius laughed. "Although he also says that they're a bad influence on me. I will give the man this much, he does seem to care about you in his odd, weird, Snivellus way. Pretends not to, but I'd not believe it otherwise."

Harry rolled his eyes at the immature name but then he sighed. "Yeah, it's a complicated world we're in, Sirius. Time travelers everywhere. I'm worried about it now."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Why just now?"

"I have friends, non-travelers. You, the Patil twins. I wouldn't have minded if the Dursleys were replaced by future versions, but somebody I know? It's..." Harry couldn't finish and frowned.

"Scary?" Sirius offered. "I know what you mean. That's my biggest fear, aside from your safety - is losing you in a different way."

Harry looked up and almost said something, but found he couldn't find the words to speak. His godfather clapped him on the shoulder. "Finish your lunch, Harry. You still have your dessert left."

---

The week leading up to Halloween there was a minor commotion as Professor McGonagall announced that Ginny Weasley had completed her punishment in exile and was now free to mingle openly again. Ginny did indeed seem very contrite, but she was also relaxed and even smiled without pain in her eyes when Harry offered to pass her some pumpkin juice.

"Thanks, Harry," said Ginny and drank down her juice in a manner even Harry could recognize as unusually awkward, gulping like she was dying of thirst, barely two fingers on the mug. "I think the Healers have been pretty helpful," she said after finishing. "I never knew much for that sort of mind Healing business, but they helped Sirius and he insisted it would help me too."

"Sirius did?" Harry blinked in surprise and then he smiled. "Well now, that's good of him. It's really the kind of thing any of you travelers lot could benefit from."

Ron gave Harry a look that seemed to convey annoyance and sadness in equal measure. "I'm not interested in that right now. Got too much else to worry about."

"Agreed," said Hermione without looking up from a parchment she was writing on with her spare hand. "I am far too busy to worry about the fragile state of my mental health."

Parvati, who was sitting next to Harry, turned so that only he could see her face and very exaggeratedly rolled her eyes. Then she turned back around and said, "I'm sure you all know best." Perhaps she had meant this to sound sympathetic, but the notes of disdain and disbelief were easily apparent.

Hermione's face curled up and she took in a deep breath. "You're an adult," she whispered to herself. She looked up at Harry. "I think I need to work on a few things. Trying to work out some miscellanea. You understand."

"Sure," said Harry, assuming she simply was trying to stop herself from arguing with Parvati. It was a tactic Harry approved of. "Enjoy yourself. Parvati, pumpkin juice?"

Parvati gave Harry a confused look as Hermione smirked very slightly. After Hermione left the table, Ginny cleared her throat.

"Parvati, can I ask you question?"

"Um, okay," said Parvati, seeming surprised at the question.

"I know that you and Harry have become pretty good friends, and you aren't one of the time travelers either."

"Certainly not!" Parvati then frowned and her eyes narrowed. "Why are you asking that?"

"The Healer said it would be a good idea to talk to someone with a more objective perspective, but someone I can still relate to. We're both Gryffindor ladies, even if my Hogwarts wasn't so good."

Parvati tapped her chin. "So... you just want to talk or something? About what?"

Ginny shrugged. "I'm not sure. What it's been like for people who aren't mixed up in the whole time travel mess, maybe? Or just more about you, I didn't really know much about you in my version of Hogwarts."

"What about friends your own age? There are certainly Gryffindor girls in your year, although I don't know them so well."

A haunted look came over Ginny's face and then she took a deep breath in and closed her eyes. "Sorry," she said and opened her eyes, looking better. "I didn't have friends my year, other than Luna Lovegood, but she was from before Hogwarts. It was really bad for me, you understand?"

Parvati nodded, a serious look on her face, and then she reached out to touch Ginny's hand. "You know, let me ask Neville if he's okay with it. Neville?"

Neville looked up briefly from the parchment he was scribbling on and took a look at Ginny, who attempted a weird, toothy smile. He made a sound of amusement and then sighed. "Yeah, that's fine. Just don't do anything that'll make me mad."

Ginny's face turned pale but Parvati laughed. "That's all I needed to hear, Nev," she said. "Ginny, let's talk after dinner, okay? I have a little time before I need to revise."

Harry looked over at Neville and raised an eyebrow.

"No need for the theatrics Harry," Neville said with a laugh. "Let Parv have some girl time."

The days before Halloween vanished as the tension began to rise, as somehow the news had gotten out that if time travelers were coming, it'd be then. It seemed to Harry that everyone in the school was keeping a close eye on their neighbor and perhaps, themselves, wondering if they would be the next to be replaced by their future selves.

But that was a notion Harry would not allow himself to consider.

Without asking permission, Harry spent the entire night in the traveler's common room, jittery on seventeen cups of some sort of magical variant on coffee that tasted completely like coffee. He kept looking at his watch and tried to be distracted by Fred and Ron's attempts at distracting him with inane conversations.

Until the sun rose and Harry was surprised.

"I'm still me!" Harry patted himself, the adrenaline shooting up and then fading away. Instantly a wave of exhaustion hit like the Express and he yawned mightily. "I'm tired."

"I figured that out, Harry," said Ron, who yawned in reply. "Oddly enough, I can relate."

Hermione walked into the room and looked at them with an expression that was equal parts frustration and worry. "You stayed up all night?"

"Harry needed the help," Fred told her. "It's called being a food grend." He blinked and shook his head. "Sorry, my tongue got loose there."

Hermione giggled. "Yes, well, alright then. Harry, don't overexert yourself. I'll find out if anyone showed up, okay?"

Harry managed the strength to nod.

"You're a food grend, Hermione," said Ron with a smile and Fred laughed.

Fred winked at his brother. "Good show, old bean."

After Hermione left the room, Harry decided to rest his eyes for a minute only to be shaken violently a second later. "Here now, what's all this then?" He asked angrily, wand already out.

Suddenly he realized his mistake and sighed. "Sorry, I think I was asleep."

Neville laughed. "No worries, Harry. Good reflexes, that's the important part." He stood in the room, with Ron dozing on a nearby chair and Hermione sitting primly on another.

"So Harry," she said. "There was one time traveler that showed up."

Harry took in a deep breath. "Who was it? Not Sirius, right. Or... not P..." He swallowed. "Or one of the people I'm friends with?"

"It was Cormac McLaggen," said Hermione and she rolled her eyes. "That idiot. I don't think you know him, Harry."

"I - um - no, I don't, actually. Wow, what a relief!" Harry actually laughed aloud and then he jumped up and gave Hermione a hug. Thinking on it, he then gave Neville a manly punch in the shoulder. "Good on you two, good on you."

Hermione's mouth perked up and she shook her head. "Among the bad choices, this really was the least bad. I didn't actually get a chance to talk to him yet, so I don't know why he's here. Neville?"

Neville rolled his eyes. "It's a stupid reason, Harry. I almost don't want to say it."

"You... interrogated him or something?"

"Didn't need to, McLaggen's simple to read. Trust me on this one, I know his sort and him specifically." He looked over at Hermione. "I'd tell you to watch out for him being stupid, but I have a feeling you can handle yourself."

Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"Just... don't hurt him too much."

"What precisely do you think he's going to attempt?" Hermione asked with a note of amusement in her voice.

Neville simply smiled and said nothing more on it except: "Lunch, Harry?"

Apparently Harry had slept through breakfast. This was not so bad, but he did worry about Ron.

---

A grumpy Ron leaned over his lunch and hid his obvious food shoveling from onlookers, but the older boy that was clearly Cormac McSomething was all smiles, introducing himself to the table individual by individual.

"Neville Longbottom, pleasure to meet you," he said while offering a hand. Neville looked Cormac in the eye and then very slowly shook his hand with two hands.

Cormac seemed taken aback by this, but he said, "Right, I have a lot of respect for your work as a time traveler, paving the way for others."

He turned to Ginny, who had a look of such vicious disdain and vitriol that Cormac visibly swallowed. Instead of a handshake proffering, he nodded politely. "Miss Weasley, much respect for you as well." He then turned to Parvati, who was sitting next to Harry as per usual. "Miss Patil, rumours are clearly well founded about your loyalty and beauty."

Ron jerked up his head. "Oi! Cormac! She's a second year, in case you haven't remembered that little detail."

"Just being polite Weasley," said Cormac with a small hitch in his voice. "Nothing untoward here, don't you agree Parvati?" He smiled widely at the Patil twin.

A look of what Harry interpreted as what he been calling "Parv's face of social considerations" flashed on her face and then she smiled back. It appeared very sincere, and Cormac seemed appeased. But he clearly didn't see her hands, which were coiled into fists and holding tight on her wand. The juxtaposition made Harry grin.

"And, uh, Harry Potter, of course. Hope you're well."

"Oh, you know how it goes, Cormac. Life, time, Hogwarts. The usual."

Cormac didn't seem to know how to react to this response, so he moved on to Hermione, who had an expression that reminded Harry of a cat for some reason.

"Hermione Granger, pleasure to see you again. We were close friends in my time."

"Is that a fact?" Hermione asked this question quite pleasantly.

"Oh yes," said Cormac with a particularly wide smile. "And I must say how glad I am that you don't have the mind of a twelve year old."

Neville breathed in slightly too loudly, but this only seemed to be noticed by Harry and Parvati. Parvati gave Harry a worried look.

Hermione smiled. "And why is that?"

"Well, you know, I'm sure you know things only an adult woman would know, right?"

"Go on," said Hermione.

"After all," said Cormac, who leaned over Hermione. "I'm sure you..." and then he said something too quiet to hear. Whatever it was, it was bad, as Hermione then punched him so hard he dropped to the floor, completely unconscious.

"Miss Granger!" McGonagall swept over to the them, a familiar expression of fury in her eyes. "Explain yourself!"

Hermione gestured for the Professor to come closer. When McGonagall did, a careful look in her eyes, Hermione whispered something to her.

McGonagall straightened up and then signed. "Oh, very well. I suppose I can't blame you for that one. But don't do it again, it's bad form."

"Fairly noted, Professor," said Hermione. "You are of course, entirely correct."

The Professor made a snorting sound but she had a small smirk. "Prefects! See to the wayward fool, won't you?"

But the rumour spread soon that Cormac had left the castle entirely after waking up.

"If he wasn't so incompetent, I'd be worried," Ron told Harry.

At supper, gossip was still circulating about the incident when Neville suddenly jumped up from his seat. He looked down at a bracelet on his wrist that was glowing a deep red.

"Someone's attacked my Grandmum's house," he said. "Sorry, Harry, I have to go. I'll explain to Dumbledore and he'll make sure it's safe here."

"I'm sorry," said Harry, unable to think of anything else to say.

Neville smiled at him, although he still seemed worried. "You're a good egg, Harry. I'll see you soon." But it wouldn't be soon, not at all.

---

Unfortunately it seemed that Neville's parents, who Harry knew were in a Hospital wing at St. Mungo's, had also suffered a break in although were ultimately safe and unharmed. His grandmother had been seriously hurt by her attacker, although not lethally. So Neville had a lot of figure it out, he told them in follow up owls.

While Neville was off on his investigation, the hours quickly became days and longer. A note from Neville asked Harry to work with the Patil twins on a few advanced pieces of Defense spellwork with Sirius Black, who was happy to help.

"I'm a bit intimidated by his suggestions," Sirius told Harry quietly as they set up the room for their practicing. "Have you lot really mastered the immature Shield Charm variant?"

"We have, actually. Came in handy during some tense times in Iceland."

"Ooh, Iceland!" Parvati ran over. "Remember the hot springs? They were so fun!"

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Hot springs, eh?"

Harry felt his face heat up. "Stop that, Sirius. It's not like that."

Parvati giggled. "Very believable, Harry."

"The hot springs were relaxing until we were attacked by the Ashwinders," said Padma matter-of-factly. "Of course, then they provided an excellent training exercise. That was a different sort of fun."

"Surprised Ashwinders attacked you," said Sirius, scratching his beard. "Usually they avoid people."

"Unless you're on their territory," Harry said with a laugh. "As we found out. Luckily we all had our wands, Neville always said-"

At this, both Patils said at the same time, "A wandless wizard is a headless wizard."

Sirius seemed shocked for a moment and then he began laughing. "That's memorable, I'll grant you that much."

Parvati frowned and sighed. "Hope he's okay. It's probably a trap."

"Of course it's a trap," said Padma. "But as Neville says, 'Being prepared is the best trap of all'."

"Not quite as snappy," said Sirius, shaking his head. "But I like the sentiment. Now then!" He clapped his hands together. "Shall we get started?"

---

A few weeks went by, and then a few more, until the year end holidays were nearly on them, including the one that gave Harry a new set of tension: the Winter Solstice. So far, nobody had figured out how to prevent any time travelers from showing up, and it seemed anyone could be the next target.

The Friday before the Solstice, an owl dropped off a note to Harry when he was walking outside nearly alone (Ron and Hermione were following him for "safety reasons"). The two ran over immediately.

"Hold it Harry, let's check the note for any bad magic." He said something and waved his wand over the note. Hermione did the same thing, and then she repeated the same motion another six times.

"Done yet?" Harry asked tiredly.

Hermione frowned, looking at the note like she didn't believe her eyes. "I don't trust it," she said finally. "But I think it's safe. Ron, you agree?"

Ron nodded. "Yeah, it's tinged with fear and anger, but nothing that seems Dark." He smiled at Harry. "Had to learn this sort of trick back in my future."

Harry unwrapped the note carefully.

Potter-

It's me. I'm in serious trouble here, on the run. Not much time. Parents are not to be trusted. I'll try to be where Hermione hit me our third year on the third day of Yule, three past three in the morning, they should know what that means. If you don't manage, I understand.

-Draco

It seemed that it was precisely the sort of thing that was useful to show the time travelers, so he hadn't it over to them. Ron laughed suddenly. "I forgot about that bit, when you hit him. I assume you know the precise location?"

Hermione nodded and she smiled a bit but then frowned again. "I do recall, and it's the sort of thing not many would know about. But it's not quite something only he would know for certain. Besides, it may not have been Draco at all. And that bit on his parents?"

"Worrisome." Ron said and he handed the note back to Harry. "Guess you can ask Dumbledore about it if you want. Maybe Sirius too."

"At the very least, the timing is interesting," said Hermione. "Tying into the Solstice and all. We'll have to keep our wits about us."

After more talking with a few others, which at this point included the Weasley twins, Sirius, Ginny, Parvati, and (when he could keep it quiet) Snape, a decision was made. Nobody seemed to particularly like the idea of meeting Draco in the middle of the night, but several protective precautions had been suggested and some planned to be implemented.

But all that had to wait anyway until the first day Solstice was there and gone.

Once more, Harry was stressed and worried, although this time he paced the traveler's common room and would not be distracted. Sirius and the Patil twins kept him company, although they fell asleep before Harry finally did, collapsing into the hard stone wall.

The next morning, Harry awoke suddenly with bleary eyes, the sun shining through a window in his face, and he had a simple question.

"Who was changed?"

"Not me," said Sirius as he stretched. He waved a wand at the twins, who both jumped awake, both with wands at the ready. Sirius shook his head. "What did Neville teach you lot?"

"Are you still both... you?"

"What?" Parvati blinked. "Oh, right. Yes, it's still me, thank Merlin. Padma?"

"I am myself still," said Padma and she put down her wand. "It is quite the relief."

The sole traveler in Hogwarts turned out to a young girl named Luna Lovegood. She had quickly started chatting with Ginny, who was surprised if clearly gratified at the attention.

Later on, she sat with a few of them during lunch.

"Luna, tell them how you ended up back here," said Ginny, who seemed to be holding back a grin.

"An accident, naturally," said Luna brightly. "My husband and children lost forever in the future, if it still exists. But I'm sure you all can relate to that, right?"

"Luna," said Ginny again.

"Right, it was an accident. Tactile contact with a temporally phasic XXXX creature. You know me, right?" Luna laughed loudly. "It feels good to laugh. I am still quite sad I'll never see my family again."

Ron quirked up his face at this remark. "Luna, I still don't know how to respond to anything you say."

"'Tactile contact'?" Hermione repeated. "You mean you touched something that had a sort of magical temporal energy? A creature?"

"The legendary Chronophage, of course."

Hermione's eyebrow twitched. "I suppose I should've guessed it was something like that."

"Well anyway, I'm no warrior like you two," she said. "Or Neville, from what I've heard. But I did get seventeen NEWTs and three special commendations from the International Magical Oversight Committee on Fantastic Beasts. I think I'll ask the Headmaster if I can apply for a job here." She turned to Harry. "And I must say Harry, it's quite nice to see you again. This may sound odd-" at this Hermione muffled a snort "-but I am actually glad you aren't a time traveler."

Harry said nothing for a moment, and then he looked around the room. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Parvati, Luna - only one who wasn't a traveler. In a way, it felt special to be different. He exchanged a look with Parvati, who smiled. Harry had the feeling she understood.

"No offense to you lot," said Harry. "But I feel exactly the same way."

---

He waited in the darkness for Malfoy to show up, confident in the knowledge that Ron and Hermione were visibly nearby and others too, not so visibly.

He kept an eye on his watch as the time slowly ticked down to three o'clock in the morning. No Draco. But then, he saw out of the corner of his eye an owl swoop down and drop a box on the ground.

Ron ran over to check the package, running his wand over it a few times. He stood back and nodded at Hermione, and they switched places, making sure to keep Harry between them. After Hermione finished her examination, she nodded over to Harry, who slowly walked over to the package.

Inside the box was a wand.

"I know this wand," said Snape, who had just banished his invisibility and he frowned. "It is the wand of the Dark Lord."

Ron winced and he gave Harry a worried look.

"Oh, bugger," Hermione said.

- End of Chapter 7

---

 

Chapter Text

THE FIRST JUMP

The brothers were a pair, twins if they weren't a year apart. They often would dress similarly and sometimes even their own mother called them by the wrong names. They shared a great deal, and often too much, although they would never admit it. As the War for Hogwarts raged and passed, Harry Potter sacrificed himself for the greater good and the two brothers mourned their perfect hero and saviour.

Pure Gryffindors, filled to the brim with bravery and courage unsurpassed, but lacking either exceptional intelligence or unreasonable cunning. Thus their plan, such as it was, was simple and foolhardy: Resurrect Harry from death to worship at his feet, in all contrariness to what he certainly would've desired.

"Brotherly love" would save Harry, the two decided, although this was a vague and ill-considered idea even for them. After a few years of attempts, with each trying and failing to bring Harry back, neither willing to truly break moral boundaries, the two pondered their quest and their idea overall.

"If only we could fix it all", the two asked each other in words unspoken and spoken too loudly. They shed shared tears as they shared an idea. And the idea opened their hearts to an idea they had never considered and never knew existed.

In the realm of nothing lay the answer of everything. An old tale, an old story, a tale older than forgotten memories. Two brothers of opposition in the ancient world, long since ignored and buried.

"Ahura Mazda, good and wise, brother and twin, at fravaxshyâ nû gûshôdûm nû sraotâ ýaêcâ asnât ýaêcâ dûrât ishathâ nû îm vîspâ." Said one brother perfectly.

"Ahriman, destroyer and deceiver, brother and twin, at fravaxshyâ nû gûshôdûm nû sraotâ ýaêcâ asnât ýaêcâ dûrât ishathâ nû îm vîspâ." Said the other at the same time imperfectly.

Whatever they summoned, if they summoned anything at all, it broke the world around them, and they clung to each other, mirrored hearts, pure light shining in the abyss of the void. The light found them once more in the past they left behind.

THE SECOND JUMP

The great man sighed and drank himself near to death one evening, pondering his failure of a life. A world of darkness and light, life and death, but Harry was gone, having long ago sacrificed himself to save his friends and country. Maybe the world too, the tendrils of You-Know-Who had spread wide, certainly the great man had seen evidence of it himself.

He stumbled across the idea almost accidentally, when a week later he drunkenly poured out his heart to a yawning portrait of Nigellus Black, one of the only surviving relics of the Hogwarts That Was. "Why don't you bloody fix it then?" The old Headmaster's portrait grumbled. At this, the great man paused, confused - what did old Black mean?

At this oddity, paying actual attention instead of ranting incoherently, the portrait proffered an idea to the great man. An old way, beneath the depths of the old school, an old seal never broken and could never be broken, because it existed in all times at once. This was already too much for the great man to comprehend, especially in his inebriated state, but eventually something penetrated and he understood what he had to do.

Later on, beneath the stones and muck, beneath the skeletons and fire, the old path led to the present through the endless fog. The great man stood there, bones aching, skin shivering, muscles quaking, and eyes foggy. How he had gotten there, he could not remember, nor could he recall where the idea had even come from.

But he did remember his purpose, and his quest, which was simple: Go back to the start of the tale and tell it different. Save little Harry and his friends from old Tom and his slaves. The path contracted as he approached, as the air slowed and the sounds grew. His eyes dilated and the light began to twist around him, pushing him back as he pushed forward.

He saw it then, the path between the here and now and then and there, angry and pulsating, grabbing with unseen, furious hands of gold and light. The ground fell away as he stood without standing, nothing to push against, without an anchor in the endless nothing. Somehow the impulse came to him, beneath the terror and confusion, beneath the self-pity and regret. He raised a fist, in all defiance of possibility and probability, a will greater than the path beyond.

Too slowly to be understood, he threw forward his strength at the split between ideas, the crossworlds of possibilities. For a second, then a minute, an hour, two, ten, a day, a month, a year, a decade, a century... his will was indomitable, unstoppable, for he knew in his bones that if he paused for a moment, he would be lost.

For longer than memory, he persisted. Until his great fist, or what it represented beneath it all, shattered the world around him and he was gone into the story he left behind and thought lost forever. Of course, that's a story for you, you can always retell it if you ever remember it.

AND THEN...

The old Director looked up in confusion, utterly baffled by what he was seeing. "The hell...?" And then he shook his head. He'd figure it out later, he decided, after all, there were more important things to do first.

Far Too Many Time Travelers

Chapter 8: A Fancy New Way to Time Travel

Harry sighed as he played catch with his spare Snitch, which seemed easier to catch than ever to the point where he barely had to think about it anymore. The wand of Voldemort had already been confiscated to be "inspected", with Draco's note also captured for a similar reason but that was already a fortnight ago.

Beside him, Parvati chattered about a spell Sirius had been teaching them to her twin, who was unhappy for some reason and kept nearly interrupting. Perhaps if Harry felt that it was normal, he could join in. But something was off, more than usual, which was saying something.

He had hoped Luna would've been an interesting new person to talk to, but instead she had spent all the time since her arrival with boring Ministry appraisals and tests, all so she could be some sort of Professor. Ginny had gone off with her too, so she wasn't really around either. Harry couldn't begrudge her of that, since she had been doing so poorly otherwise.

Harry (and he would regret this later) began to hope that something would please just happen already. Instead of listening to the rest of Parvati and Padma's "discussion", Harry got up and decided to take a bit of a walk around the grounds. He knew very well he was being watched during this time, but he pretended it wasn't bothering him.

At breakfast that weekend, Professor McGonagall stood in front of the school and very simply stated that Hannah Abbott had completed her punishment in isolation and was now permitted to sit with Hufflepuff again. Hannah Abbott then appeared, her face no longer bruised and her hair in a half-cut style. Her head was down, but her expression was clearly sad, lip trembling, possibly contrite.

"I don't care for it, Harry," Parvati said in a whispered, angry tone, her brows pinched and her dark eyes flashing. "Do you trust she's actually learned her lesson? You remember what Neville said, right?"

"Yeah," said Harry, pretty sure he did. "But if McGonagall is okaying it, and you know how she is, Hannah's probably okay. Right?"

Parvati made a sound of disbelief and then said, "I hope you're right, Harry. But if not, I'll hex her hair off all the way this time!"

Harry snickered and rolled his eyes. "Glad you're so protective of me, Parv."

"You shut it, Har," said Parvati with a serious face, although she broke into a giggle nearly immediately.

Hannah made her way to the Hufflepuff table, which was unusually silent, faces filled with concern and confusion. The time traveler's face quivered, and there was something broken there. But then Susan jumped up and embraced her friend, bursting into loud sobs. Hannah knelt her head, silently crying as tears fell down her face.

"Merlin..." Parvati said under her breath.

"Don't forget how it is for these folk," said George. "If this idiot's anything to go on - " at this he pointed to a suddenly grinning Fred - "All them time travelers are broken in the head, Patil, it's just a simple fact."

Hermione seemed about to say something, but Ron put a hand on her shoulder and she bit her lip silently instead.

Parvati scowled. "Not Neville!"

George considered this and tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Mayhaps you're right, but mayhaps it's just that he hides it better than the rest of these blithering incompetents." He gave a withering glance at his twin. "And they all look weird, don't they? Especially this one. Something about that uncanny face."

Fred laughed. "Can't argue with facts, can I?"

As they were finishing up, Hannah and Susan walked over to the table. Instantly, all of the Weasleys (including Percy, oddly enough) and Hermione sat up straight, eyes directly staring daggers at the two 'Puffs.

"Ginny," reminded Parvati to Harry in a whisper, whose wand was also out, but merely in the classic Longbottom style "casual paranoid" stance they had all been drilled in over the summer.

"Ah," said Harry, and he put away his own wand, which he hadn't realized he had drawn. "So Hannah, Susan. What can we do for you?"

"I want to apologize," said Hannah, and she seemed to suddenly realize the implications of all of those Weasley eyes. "To all of you, really. Harry, of course, because I wasn't in my right mind and was treating you like the one I knew in my future - no excuse, really, but I shouldn't have done it. We were so close..." Her head dipped and her eyes watered again. Susan gripped Hannah's arm.

"Never mind that," said Hannah, shaking her head and then looking straight at him. "Harry, I'll be more than happy to tell you my whole story, or any questions you want. Maybe you should clear it with Sprout or McGonagall first. I can tell McGonagall the whole business, then she can tell what's okay to tell you."

"Maybe you should just tell me," said Hermione in an acid tone. "Time traveler to time traveler."

Hannah's mouth tightened and she took a deep breath. "Right, maybe," she said finally. "Of course, I already apologized to Ginny before she left."

"Really?" Ron said in surprise, almost yelling this word.

Hannah smirked a bit at that. "Yeah, Ron, really. You think McGonagall would've let me out without talking it over with Ginny?"

"I suppose that's reasonable," said Hermione, although she still seemed in a mood.

"Well, that's the main bit of it," said Hannah and she sighed. "We royalled muffed it, I will cotton to that right now. I may have - " and then she took an even deep breath. "I-" But then she seemed to be unable to continue.

Susan gave Harry an imploring look, so odd and complex and filled with meaning, he felt like he was simultaneously on fire, horribly embarrassed, and deeply sad. "Harry," Susan said softly in an eerie, intense tone, and Harry felt his nerves twitch and flare. Beside him, Parvati shifted in some way, and Harry could sense something unusual from her too.

"Harry," said Susan again. "Hannah lost her mind, that's what the Healers say. They don't know why, but I do." Her voice was raspy but filled with sadness. "Hannah doesn't even know that I know."

Hannah looked at her friend with shock in her eyes.

"Hannah was dying," said Susan, her voice sounded strangled still but a little stronger than before. "She didn't think I knew, but I knew. She had forgotten about what Polyjuice does to people, because she had forgotten it happened to me first."

The other Hufflepuff girl winced. "You're right, Susan," she said. "I suppose I need to apologize to you too, don't I?"

Susan smiled at her, and she seemed to be completely happy for a moment. "Never," she said.

"Has Ginny forgiven you?" Fred asked, and George nodded in agreement of the question.

"I don't know," said Hannah. "But she did accept my apology anyway. I think we were able to relate, just a little, about being broken. I told her some things about my Ginny... she told me some things about her future. I think we're okay. I think."

"Well, I'm going to reach out to her," said Hermione, and the other Weasleys gave her pleased looks. "If it's all sounding good, I think we can move forward, Hannah."

"Thanks, Hermione," said Hannah in relief. "I really do appreciate it. C'mon then, Susan."

Susan waved goodbye, and the two walked away.

"Enough of that rubbernecking, the rest of you," said George a bit loudly, waving his hands at the other Gryffindors who were now pretending they hadn't been listening. "You've gotten your gossip filled, so that'll be all."

Fred held up his wand with a raised eyebrow at his twin.

"Not necessary," said George and then he looked over the Hall. "This time."

Parvati giggled. "You guys shouldn't threaten to do things if you won't actually do them," she said with a wink.

"I refuse to believe we are that transparent, George," said Fred with a sort of pretentious accent.

"We are not, naturally," said George, matching the voice. "Miss Patil here merely has excellent vision."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, well if anyone wants me, I'll be somewhere else."

"One moment," said Parvati, and she wiped her mouth. "Okay, let's go then."

As they walked through the hallways, Harry turned to Parvati and said, "Are we going somewhere in particular?"

"Yes, Harry, we're going to the Room so we can practice that weird hexing trick Sirius was teaching us." She gave him a look. "I already worked with Padma on it, so you're a bit behind, I'm afraid."

Harry chuckled and smiled at her. "Understood."

---

It was a few weeks later that Harry finally got an owl from Neville.

Harry, I know I've been incommunicado or whatnot, but I've been trying to track down who attacked my grandmum. There's someone or maybe three someones at cross purposes with me though, I can't figure out exactly which. This sort of skullduggery is beyond any of the nonsense I did in my own future, I can tell you that much. I'm possibly thinking of trusting someone else to help me, tell you the details soon. All I know is that someone killed Dobby, someone killed the Muggle PM, someone attacked my grandmother, and those are probably the same people (or more likely, Imperiused people by one person). Anyway, be safe. I've been owling with Sirius about your training, I'm pretty pleased with it.

Send P&P my love and I'll see you as soon as I can.

-N

"Feh," said Harry with annoyance, not entirely sure where the sound had come from. But he decided he needed to do something about it anyway. He would talk to Snape after their next class, his old favorite teacher, because Snape likely knew the latest about everything.

Snape was grumpier than usual, taking off points from nearly everyone except Harry and Parvati, who had become a well oiled Potions machine together by that point due to the painstaking training by Neville, Sirius, and to a lesser extent, Snape himself.

"Terrible, Parkinson, is this what you manage without a time traveler on hand to help you? And this is simply garbage Thomas, it's a shame that Longbottom and Granger leaving due to temporal interference lowered the average intelligence of your house to meaningless levels." Finally he stopped by Harry and Parvati's station, looking over the potion Harry was quite sure was nearly perfect.

"Good," said Snape finally. "But I am sure you know the issue."

"It's not quite perfect," said Parvati. "I think we added the ground miter a touch before the glezarand tongue boiled completely."

"Correct, Miss Patil," said Snape with a nod. "So I assume next time you will not have this problem?"

"Of course not, Professor!" Parvati said and gave Snape her most charming smile, which the professor clearly was pretending he was not affected by. He turned to face the rest of the class and put on his best scowl.

"The rest of you, three feet on what you did wrong before next time. Dismissed."

"Professor's pet," Pansy Parkinson hissed at Parvati.

"It's called being competent, Parkinson," said Parvati in a matter-of-fact tone as she cleaned up her equipment. "Try it sometime, won't you?"

Harry heard Snape cough, and saw him duck his head.

"I'll catch up with you a bit later," Harry said quietly to Parvati as the other students had quickly run out of the classroom. "I need to talk over a few things with the Professor."

Parvati raised an eyebrow but she smiled and nodded. "Okay, but don't stress him out too much. He gets enough of that from all the layabouts and nonsense pretending to be students. Right, Professor?" She said this with a turn of her head, acknowledging that obviously Snape had heard the whole conversation.

"That's enough out of you," said Snape with a scoffing sound. "Get out of here before I assign you three feet too."

"Well, if you did, I'm sure it'd be great, so maybe I'll do it anyway! Thanks, Professor!" She waved at him, and then at Harry before casually strolling away.

Snape shook his head. "That girl will be the death of me."

"Remind you of someone?" Harry asked with a grin.

This caused the professor to pause and think for a moment. "I would have hoped you would have preferred to emulate your mother instead," Snape said.

"I do my best," said Harry with a shrug. "But some people just have that charisma and I'm not one of those people. She's just good with people, and I guess I don't really have the same thing."

"I can relate to that," said Snape in a grumbly voice. "In any event, I don't suppose you were waiting here for that sort of pablum?"

"Not at all, sir. I was hoping we could talk about what's happened. Like with the wand?"

"Ah. Of course." Snape sighed and sat down in his chair, rubbing his brow and looking tired. "I am concerned about the implications of the wand. Albus and I have certainly verified that it is the Dark Lord's wand, but why did Draco send it to you, and thus us?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. A trap? Actual help?"

Snape snorted. "Exactly. Mister Longbottom has sent the Headmaster an owl with his updates, but he has not found Draco or his parents anywhere. It is certainly suspicious, although of whom?" He sighed. "And to think, before all this time travel terror I was merely worried about the Dark Lord returning."

"Isn't that still a concern?" Harry asked. "Where is Quirrell now?"

"He's secured, still," said Snape. "In a protected room under Fidelius, and the wand is in a different room under a different Fidelius." He paused. "You know what that is, correct?"

Harry nodded quickly. "Yes, sir. Neville told me the whole story over last summer holiday. Not how to cast it or anything, he didn't even know that, but how it works and all that."

Snape tapped his chin and looked thoughtful. "Well... good," the Professor said finally. "So I am afraid we are still waiting for the next act of horror or attack, whatever that may be. Trying to prepare for the inevitable moment a time traveler tries to break the Dark Lord out."

Harry couldn't help but shiver at that thought. "Fine, I guess that's good to know where we're at and all. But I did also worry about what Neville was saying too, he talked about multiple people maybe working together... I don't know, he can't say everything in an owl, I guess."

"Owls can be intercepted," said Snape. "Or diverted. Not easily or simply, but if we're talking about someone or multiple someones willing to commit murder... well..." He sighed. "Neville is quite right to be careful about it. Do you know how he gained such knowledge? He was not so forthcoming with us earlier."

"He traveled the world a lot in his future," said Harry, carefully thinking about what to say and what to leave out. "Trying to figure out any way to fight back against Riddle and his immortality. There was... well, anyway, something happened and he found out about it, and thought it was his last chance to take out Riddle. After that, he found some magic watch that sent him back through time."

Snape frowned. "I see. He asked you not to tell the story, is that it?"

"Something like that," said Harry. "But you know, just talking about that watch again, I feel like something's been wrong for a while. Ever since we heard that story from Professor Dumbledore about the Compact."

The Professor raised an eyebrow. "Ah, well Mister Potter, was that story actually about anything at all, or was it just one of the Headmaster's pointless tales of whimsy?"

"Um, well... I thought, well, after the meeting..."

Snape held up a hand. "Yes, yes. I suppose I wished, at some level, that I could forget about it. But we have the same idea, I believe. Whatever the Compact actually is or was, that odd story about time and magic was his way of talking around it."

"Oh," said Harry and he frowned. "I thought he was using a story to tell the actual story of the Compact. That there was some sort of change in how time worked back then and something changed it, maybe that's what the Compact is? And then," Harry said, smiling a bit as another thought came to him. "Maybe it's all related to this crazy time traveling the last two years. Sirius mentioned that's essentially never happened before."

Snape grunted. "Conjecture, Mister Potter. But not a bad theory, nonetheless. If the Compact is indeed about time in some way, as we are theorizing, and your Miss Granger did something about it... well, I don't know what exactly, but there may be some connection there."

"And wasn't it some sort of Moon Compact?" Harry asked. "Having to do with the moon?"

"Lunar, she said," Snape corrected. "But I don't know what that has to do with anything. There is likely a set of magical theories and discoveries about the moon, but the only ones I know of have to do with lycanthrophy - the werewolf disease, in case you weren't already aware."

"Doubt a werewolf has anything to do with it, unless one's out attacking Neville's parents."

"Whatever it is," said Snape with a frown. "I think the important thing is to be on our guard, especially with the next holiday coming up, which the Headmaster has identified to be the vernal Equinox in March."

"But that's just next month!" Harry said in horror.

"Yes, so be careful and tell someone the moment you notice anything out of place."

Harry nodded and sighed. "Okay, Professor." But he couldn't help feeling that he was missing something.

---

Other than Neville's weekly "Still alive, still not dead" messages, not much happened out of the ordinary coming up to March and the Equinox. The still lingering, vaguely disturbing feeling stuck to Harry, different from the typical fear about losing people to time traveling jerks from the future. Or at least it seemed that way.

"I'm afraid he's right," said Hermione to him when Harry asked if she was sure that Dumbledore was sure about the day. "It's one of the temporal confluxes, and Professor Dumbledore pointed me at the right research and his own studies on quantomancy. Hopefully it's not too terribly horrid, right?"

"Phooey," said Harry in a moment of pique and he grumbled as he walked away.

When the day finally arrived, Harry felt like his skin would nearly crawl off, and he barely managed to sit through each class without issue. In fairness though, the teachers (Binns aside) were all in various stages of nervousness themselves. By this point, it was well understood that anyone was in danger of being 'replaced' by their future self, and no one was safe.

The Headmaster had asked all students to sleep for that night only in the Hall, with fluffy, self-heating sleeping bags magically provided. For a while, the students chattered nervously with each other, a low hum of nervous energy. Ron and Fred prowled around the room with their wands out constantly, while Hermione came in every so often to check in.

Parvati was oddly quiet, although she wasn't able to fall asleep either, hugging her twin tightly. Padma, of course, had fallen asleep after only a few minutes, which Harry knew was fairly typical behavior after their summer together. Harry never fell asleep at all, just somehow passing time, until he saw the ceiling begin to lighten just a little.

And then it happened, Hermione appeared suddenly in the Hall, her wand pointed at the Gryffindor students. This had been accomplished neary silently, but Harry's eyes had still been wide open so he caught it.

Colin Creevey sat up from the floor, looking quite confused. "Dennis?" He asked this at a bit too normally a volume, and people around started and woke up at the noise.

"He's not here," said Hermione with an intense look on her face, her wand now glowing bright red. "He traveled with you through time, is that it?" She nodded quickly to the side, keeping her eyes on Colin, and Harry spotted Fred Weasley nodding back. The time traveling twin sent out a Patronus, a sleek hyena, which galloped and jumped through the walls.

"Why don't you come with us, Colin?" Hermione said with a pleasant voice that was odd at the sight with her not-at-all happy face. "We'll make sure your brother is safe, and it will all be well."

"But... I mean," Colin sputtered and he looked alarmed. "I'm here for Harry, is he-?"

"Colin." Hermione's voice was sharp, and many more people now had awoken at the sound. "Don't worry about Harry, he is quite safe, and trying to get some sleep. Let's go, alright?" And then she smiled, finally, but her eyes didn't quite seem to get there. Colin nodded and got up slowly, walking weirdly, like stuck in the wrong body, as he walked away with Hermione right behind him.

"Bloody hell," said Harry and he looked over at Parvati, who seemed just as waylaid. "You still you, Parv?"

Parvati nodded. "Likewise?"

"Yes, thank Merlin," said Harry, and then he yawned. And fell asleep.

---

The next day Ron woke Harry up by poking him.

"Hey! Oh." Harry looked up blearily. "What time is it?"

"Late breakfast time," said Ron with a laugh. "Professors thought it best to let everyone sleep in a bit while us time travelers and regular adults took care of things. Figured I should let you know straight away who came back in time, right?"

"I saw Colin Creevey leave last night, or maybe early morning," Harry said. "And he mentioned his brother, but I haven't met him. Was there someone else?"

"Yeah. They managed to track down Dennis, he's here somewhere. Merlin, he's tinier than I remembered!" Ron laughed again. "Sorry, you wouldn't get that joke. Anyway, the other guy is Hagrid - you know him, of course?"

"I know him," said Harry and he rubbed his eyes. "Not well, mind you. But he's the one that came to the Dursleys and took me to Diagon Alley. Haven't really seen him much since then, to be honest."

"Ah, well, oops," said Ron with a shrug. "Hagrid's great, naturally, but he had more of a role in the original version of our time at Hogwarts. The 'responsible' folk - " he put this in finger quotes - "have been interrogating him and the Creeveys about how they came back and why. From what I heard, it's the usual palaver, saving Harry and all that. That's how it goes by now, innit?"

"Yeah, it is," said Harry and he sat up, waking up more fully. "Parv. Parvati." He hissed a bit louder, but she continued to sleep soundly.

"Uh, she can't hear you Harry," said Ron with an apologetic look on his face. "Privacy charm. You can't tell her the whole business later, but there's still all the other students around, right?"

Harry looked about and confirmed that Ron was quite right. "No worries," he said. "I'll do just that."

After everyone had woken up and cleared away, and there was some privacy, Harry told the twins the summary of what Ron had told him.

"I don't know much about Hagrid, either, other than I know he's been here forever, right Padma?"

Padma nodded. "Yes, he was the gamekeeper when our parents were students. I only met him one time, when he escorted all of the first years to Hogwarts on our first day."

"Yeah, he also picked me up from the Dursleys" - at this Parvati grimaced, as she knew all about them by this point - "and took me around Diagon Alley to get my wand and stuff."

"You have told us this story already," said Padma. "Over the summer."

Parvati rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I know I've seen that Creevey boy around among the Gryffindor firsties, but that's all I know. What else do we know?"

Harry shrugged. "He wanted to take my photograph at the start of the year, and I let him. After that, I think Ron or Fred got him to stop bothering me."

"Maybe he was your number one fan in the future and just wanted to come back and see what you were like as a student," said Parvati with a laugh.

"That'd be just great, wouldn't it?" Harry said and frowned. For some reason the idea felt unusually reasonable. "Let me talk to Sirius, he always knows how to calm things down."

"I mean..." Parvati giggled. "Sure, Harry, whatever you say."

Sirius ended up having only a little more information than they already knew. "I assume they'll fill me in on everything later," he told Harry over lunch in his classroom. "Or ask if they need something. I have decent knowledge about a lot of spells, particularly destructive or transformative charms, but anything with weird, advanced time travel?"

He shrugged. "Really never was my sort of thing. Too Ravenclaw for my tastes. I think Hermione is the smartest of our time traveling friends, plus apparently she'd done a lot of research on the subject in her future. With her, Flitwick, and Dumbledore asking the questions, and even Snape on hand with his sinister face, I don't really need to be making it more of a crowd."

"Yeah, I suppose," said Harry with a sigh.

"Don't frown, Harry," said Sirius and he grinned. "You have plenty of other things to distract yourself with. We have our delightful training with your twin girlfriends-" Harry glared at him and Sirius laughed before continuing "-and you have your normal schoolwork. Plus you're a fair hand on a broom. Won all your Quidditch matches this year, haven't you?"

"Eh, Quidditch isn't much fun anymore," Harry said and he picked at his food. "It's too easy."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Because Wood trained you lot too well, right?"

"I mean..." Harry paused, but he knew he could trust Sirius about it. "Yes, he did. And still sneaks me strategies and all, but he's a fair ref. Maybe it's all of his training plus Neville's and yours, but Quidditch is kinda boring now. I wait for us to score enough points, then I grab the Snitch easily."

Sirius sighed and shook his head. "I'd say we should get a professional scout here to watch you, but I suspect they already are chomping at the bit to hire any of the Gryff team. And you're about four years too early to play professionally, at least in England. I think some other countries will let on players younger, but I think it's neither particularly fair nor safe."

"Hmm." Harry tapped his chin. "Maybe I can leak some strategies to the other House teams. Wood wouldn't like it if he cottoned on, but at least we'd be challenged again."

"Harry!" Sirius made a dramatic gasping sound. "But what of the House Cup!"

"Do you actually care about the House Cup, Sirius? Or points for that matter?"

"Got me there," said Sirius with a laugh. "I have some House pride, that's all. Prefer Gryffindor to win and all, but I suppose considering everything else going on, it's not really so important." He leaned back and got a wistful look on his face. "Your dad wouldn't like hearing that from me, he was almost as bad a points grubber as Remus. I mainly cheered for James."

And then he grinned. "And maybe to take a gander at Cynthia Carter. Fit bird, average Chaser, but her older brother was the captain so there you are."

"You're truly a great influence, Sirius," said Harry with a laugh, feeling a lot better than he had that morning. "Thanks."

The following evening, Fred let Harry know that he was wanted after supper in the Headmaster's office. "I'd say you could come, Parvati," he said in a low voice so only the three of them could hear him. "But there's not enough room in the office right now. Harry will tell you everything later, and hopefully it won't take too long."

Parvati's eyes narrowed. "Not a particularly great explanation, Weasley. Will you even be there?"

"Only to escort him there and back. Waiting outside, I am, as per my 'orders'." He rolled his eyes. "I mean, listen, it's just to assuage these time travelers. They've been a bit tetchy with all of the interrogations, and it's thought that seeing Harry will help them fall in line."

"It's a bit unfair you keep leaving her out," said Harry. "Especially because you know I'm not going to keep any secrets from her." There was a nagging feeling Harry had forgotten something after he said that, but he shook his head and let it go.

Fred held up his hands. "I tend to agree with you. It's the same with me and George, after all. I think it's really just to minimize exposure to these new timesies folks. It's nothing personal, I'm sure. Hermione will be there, plus Dumbledore and Flitwick, so it's really a fairly small crowd."

"I suppose," said Parvati with an annoyed tone, crossing her arms. "But Professor Black shall be getting an earful from me on the matter!"

"It's not Professor Padfoot's problem," said Fred with a quick grin. "Not his idea, right?"

"Exactly," said Parvati with a wry smile and she winked. "So he's likely to agree with me about it entirely."

"Too clever for your own good girl," Fred said and he chuckled. "Glad you're on our side. Harry, you ready?"

The Headmaster's office had the exact people Fred had mentioned; Hermione pacing in one corner, Professor Flitwick sitting on a small chair nearby, and Colin Creevy and what had to be his younger brother (who was shockingly even smaller) on the same lounge chair. Professor Dumbledore waved in greeting and gestured Harry to the only free chair.

"Hullo, Harry," said the smaller Creevey with a huge smile. "Nice to meet you, as I understand it, right?"

"Yes, naturally," said Harry with a sigh. "Harry Potter, pleasure."

"His name is Dennis, Harry," said Colin quickly. "Um, it really is you, isn't it?"

"If it's not, someone's been playing an awful trick on me."

Hermione snickered. "Don't tease the boys, Harry. They might believe you," she said. "We're here to keep things peaceful. You probably guessed that the Creevey brothers came back in time to help you out."

"I did," said Harry. "Appreciate the effort, lads," he told them with a smile, hoping it looked sincere. "But as I'm sure you've found out, I'm all good here. Safe as a Snitch."

Flitwick chuckled. "Only you might say that, Mister Potter, given your prodigious winning record."

"Colin, why don't you explain to Harry what you did to travel back in time?" Hermione's voice was strained as she asked, although she had a light expression on her face.

"It was brotherly love," piped up Dennis excitedly. "Colin and I are brothers, that's how we did it."

"Eh, not sure I follow," said Harry. "How did you handle that?"

"We found this old story, we learned it in our hearts," said Colin and he closed his eyes, a calm smile on his face. "These two old brothers from the old stories. One was called Ahriman."

"The other was called something else," said Dennis. "But I don't recall his name."

"I know what they're talking about, Harry," said Hermione with a sigh. "Remember, I looked at many pathways to travel through time before I pursued the one I ultimately chose."

"I too, am familiar with these brothers," said Dumbledore. "Old tales, primarily. The Zoroastrian occultists were an enemy written about by the Founders as ancient enemies to their mentors. But the specific incantation these two young men utilized, well..." He smiled and nodded his head. "It is somewhat outside my own knowledge."

Hermione shook her head and frowned. "It doesn't make sense to me. I recognize the ritual they used, a summoning ritual, not a time traveling one. Point and antipode. Here and there. Everything and nothing. Very apocalyptic language, not the sort of business I cared about."

"I don't really follow," said Harry again. "Am I meant to?"

"I never got it either," confided Dennis in a loud whisper. "I don't think Colin did either."

"We just had the idea, really," said Colin and he had a mildly scared expression on his face as he glanced back at Hermione. "I dunno where it came from, honestly! Just an old story about brothers."

"Hmm. That is suspicious," said Harry, although he wasn't sure precisely how.

"I tend to agree with you, Harry." Hermione said with a small smile. "'Brotherly love'? You see what I have to deal with here?"

"But it really was brotherly love," said Dennis as he stretched his head back to try and see Hermione, nearly falling off the chair.

"Peace, Mister Creevy," said the Headmaster, holding up a hand. "We believe you. Now that you have seen Harry and understand he is perfectly safe, will you agree to meet with the Ministry officials?"

"Do you think that's okay, Harry?" Colin asked him, his lip quivering slightly.

Harry glanced at Hermione, who made a small nod. "I think it's perfectly grand," said Harry with another faked smile. "Naturally, I'm savvy as a Snitch" -Flitwick hid a smile, and Harry continued, gratified- "that you two have made it all the way back. But the Ministry has been dealing with all the time travelers for over a year now, and it's not like you're going to go back and take classes again."

"I wouldn't want that," said Dennis and he laughed.

"The Ministry will provide the opportunity to study and take your O.W.L.s and even N.E.W.T.s, if you so desire," Dumbledore said with a smile and leaned back in his chair. "Doesn't that sound better than sitting through all of your classes a second time around?"

"Yeah, I guess so," said Colin and he sighed. "We really just wanted to help." He looked over at Harry. "You sacrificed yourself to save everybody, Harry. We didn't want you to have to do that again, even if we never really figured out to stop it."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," said Harry and he ignored a small itch on the back of his head. "We've got a lot of help, don't we?"

The two brothers seemed to accept this and after a few more handshakes, they agreed to meet with the Ministry.

After the two left, Hermione mumbled, "Two down, one to go. I don't know if I much care for leaving those alone."

"Fred Weasley will handle it, I am sure," said Dumbledore. "Harry, would you mind terribly waiting to talk to Hagrid as well?"

Of course, Harry could see no particular reason to object.

When Hagrid squeezed on the now slightly enlarged chair, Harry noticed his eyes looked a bit red.

"Yeh a'right there, Harry?" The large man asked. "All this time nonsense been confusin' me, yeh reckon yeh've got it all down?"

"Not even a little," said Harry with a laugh. "That's really more of the job of the other three people here."

"Yeah, I know I've made a mess o' things here." Hagrid looked miserably at the Headmaster. "Perfessor, yeh know..."

"Hagrid," Dumbledore interjected in a firm voice. "We don't need to go down that road again. As you can see, Harry Potter is here, hale and healthy and in one piece."

"Yeah, I can see 'im, I'm not blind," said Hagrid and he pulled out a handkerchief. He then blew his nose with a fairly loud blast. "The whole's day been a bit o' a blur, I have to say."

"Hagrid, now that you feel a bit more... calm, shall we say," said Hermione. "Can you try again to explain how you came back in time?"

"I'm curious too," said Harry with a smile, trying to help out. "The Creeveys used the power of brotherly love." Hermione rolled her eyes, and Harry continued, "Hermione used a terrible secret, Ron did something with the Aztecs-" Hermione mouthed "Mayans" very clearly -"or Mayans, sorry, and Neville found a magical watch. How'd you manage it?"

Hagrid scratched his head and sighed deeply. "Well, I suppose yeh deserve to know, eh? It weren't great for me, whole world gone to bits and all that. I was here and maybe I'd had a touch o' somethin' to drink, so some of it's not clear in me noggin'. But I remember ol' Phineas telling me about some way to fix things. Somethin' underneath Hogwarts itself."

He shook his head. "After that, I don't know what happened. Punched somethin', I think. Got back that way."

"Punched..." Hermione trailed off and looked confused.

"Phineas," the Headmaster said towards the wall. "Does this sound familiar to you?"

A portrait on the wall (and Harry realized of course that was whom Dumbledore was taking to) scoffed and sneered. "Yes, naturally, Albus," the portrait said. "But I refuse to believe this oafish brute managed to survive getting there, let alone back again."

"No need to be rude," said Flitwick with a shocked expression. "Hagrid is a wizard like the rest of us."

"I am afraid that Phineas, a Headmaster a bit before my tenure, had a bit of a pureblooded bent to his philosophy," Dumbledore said to Harry. "He was a brilliant man, but a complicated one."

The portrait scoffed again. "Gilding the lily, aren't we? Listen to me child, your genius Headmaster thinks he knows a great deal, and perhaps he does. But there was knowledge I sealed away that even a future Headmaster could never unseal, not even your precious 'enlightened' Dumbledore."

"Fair enough," said Harry, not really feeling the need to be offended by someone that had died decades before he was even born. "So how did Hagrid manage it then?"

"I suspect his mind was addled by something, perhaps a particularly strong potable," said the portrait with a dark laugh. "The story of Hogwarts cannot be changed, not by will alone, nor by..." He shuddered. "Punching it, whatever that means."

"Huh," said Hermione and she did not look pleased. "It's almost like you're saying Hagrid punched his way back through time."

"I most certainly am not, child!" The portrait of Phineas looked highly offended. "Do not deign to put your mistaken theories upon me!"

"Yeah, Hermione, I think yeh're right!" Hagrid grinned suddenly. "Yeah, I remember that a bit better now. Punchin' me way back through time, that's how I did it. Thank yeh, I shoulda known yeh'd figure it out. Smartest one in the room, I always said that."

Based on her face, Hermione seemed like she didn't know whether to be annoyed or flattered. It was sort of a comical expression. Then she sighed and turned to Harry. "You see what I have to deal with? Brotherly love and punching through time?" She shook her head. "Professor Flitwick, you understand what I'm saying, don't you?"

"I do," said Flitwick and he chuckled. "Offends your scholarly mindset, doesn't it? How positively Ravenclaw of you. But when you get to be my age, you realize that magic doesn't always make sense."

"Ridiculous," said Phineas but Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.

"A fair point," he said. "Miss Granger, I am sure that there is some logic to it, but magic sometimes defies the typical logic, does it not?"

"Well... I can't argue with you there," said Hermione and she laughed once, a bit harshly.

"Neither can I," said Harry with a grumble.

Hermione sighed. "I miss the simple nonsense of Neville's watch."

---

As neither the Creeveys nor Hagrid had been much involved in Harry's day to day life, not much changed over the next weeks due to their absence. Harry had slipped a few of Wood's first set of strategies to the Hufflepuff reserve Seeker Cedric Diggory, whom he had recalled being a decent sort from the troll incident.

"I know someone on the Ravenclaw team that'll keep things mum," he had told Harry with a grin. "Hard to believe you're doing this just for better competition. Shall I try for Slytherin too?"

Of course, that would be going too far, so Harry mildly told him not to bother. After that, the next few games were a bit closer, and Harry felt like he was actually enjoying himself at Quidditch again.

As end-of-term exams were approaching, Harry was studying quietly with the Patil twins in the library when Hermione came over to them. "Hello you lot," she said with a smile. "Harry, Parvati, Padma." She paused and her smile widened. "Etcetera."

Parvati made a sort of snorting laugh. "If that's an apology, I accept."

"Let's assume it's that," said Hermione. "Just wanted to give you a bit of an update. Hannah finally told Professor McGonagall and me the particulars of her future and how they came back in time. The Professor was horrified and told me I wasn't to tell you any of it."

"That's ridiculous," said Parvati in a hiss. "We can handle it."

Hemione made a wavy motion with her hand. "Eh, I'm not so sure. It is quite a bit more salacious than I expected, to be honest. I say we give it a few months, maybe next term we can revisit it with the Professor. I know you're frightfully mature for your age given everything, but I don't think this story quite needs to be told just yet."

"For my part," said Padma without looking up from her book. "I do not care about it."

"Thank you for that, Padma," said Hermione and she laughed softly. "Honestly, I will tell you as soon as either Professor McGonagall approves it or I think you're okay to hear it. But I didn't want to leave it a complete mystery either, I didn't think that'd be fair."

"I don't suppose there's anything you can tell us about anything at all?" Harry gave Hermione his most serious pleading face. "Neville? Draco? The Creeveys or Hagrid?"

Hermione nodded and smiled. "Oh, well I can tell what I know about those! Neville's still out, and he said he'll be sending you an owl soon before the term is over. I have no idea what's he's doing, as he hasn't told me about it. Nobody knows where Malfoy is, and the Creeveys are studying for their O. back home. Since they are technically both underage and overage, the Ministry is allowing them to use magic."

"And... Hagrid?" Harry prompted.

"He's back as gamekeeper," said Hermione with a shrug. "Still with no notion of how he got here, which frustrates me to no end, I don't mind telling you. But he's happy just to be useful again in his old job, and he admitted he was glad that there were other people helping out to stop Riddle."

Harry sighed. "Yeah, okay. I get it. Stuck here without knowledge."

"I"ve told you everything I can, Harry," said Hermione with a frown. "Really."

"I know," Harry said and he gestured to his book. "Thank you. Now, we do have to get back to studying, so unless you want to help...?"

Parvati looked at Hermione with sudden interest.

"If you have any questions, let me know, I suppose," said Hermione with a small smile. "I'm always here." She waved and walked away from them.

"Padma, that was a pretty good lie," said Parvati. "I almost didn't pick up on it."

"She has gotten a bit better than she was last year, hasn't she?" Harry said with a sly grin. "Not to worry, Padma, I'll make sure you know the mysterious story of Hannah and Susan when I do."

"Thank you," said Padma while still not looking up. "It is easier to lie when I am not looking people in their eyes, I have noticed." She then raised her eyes to match Harry's. "It is difficult to lie to you or Parvati, but I will continue to try."

Parvati rolled her eyes. "Something to try over the summer holiday, right?" She looked over at Harry and frowned. "Actually, what are we doing for summer anyway? Neville's still not back."

"I don't know," Harry admitted. "Let's wait until his owl and deal with it then."

---

Neville's owl arrived the day before the last set of exams.

Hey HP, how's the twin girlfriends (Sirius told me that it annoys you to hear that, sorry couldn't resist)? You're probably wondering about the summer and all that. Unfortunately I'm really not going to be able to do anything this holiday, but I've been talking with Sirius and Dumbledore about an alternative.

If you're okay, Sirius was interested in traveling with you and the girls. He's technically an adult, after all, and Dumbledore eventually seemed to be okay with it as long as you don't stop moving like we played it. Maybe I'll even be able to meet up with you at some point, although I don't know for sure. Honestly, we can use the same excuse we did last year with the Patil parents, no reason not to. There's a lot of things you guys can do, and maybe you can finally visit one of those islands like you were always pestering me about.

Obviously it's up to you, but I can't take you this time no matter how much I'd like to. Let me know either way.

-Nev

Harry sighed as he looked over at Parvati, who was biting her lip. After thinking for a moment, he handed the letter over to her. Parvati read it quickly and frowned.

"Well, it's not the news I'd hoped for," she said. "But it's not all bad." She stood up and gestured to Harry. "Let's go ask Padma what she thinks."

Padma was already walking over to them, so they ended up moving over to a secluded corner of the Hall. The Ravenclaw twin seemed a bit surprised in her muted way, but then she smiled very slightly.

"I think it will be fun with the three of us out on a learning expedition," she said to them. "And Neville is practically an adult anyway, is he not, while Professor Black is quite immature? It would seem a decent balance."

Harry and Parvati laughed.

"I hadn't thought of it that way," said Harry with a grin. "It's a fair point, Padma. Okay, shall we ask the good Professor to join our little discussion?" Harry didn't wait for an answer and made sure Sirius (who was glancing their way already) could see them gesturing.

With a wide smile, Sirius moved past Snape (who had a deeper scowl than usual) and walked over to them. "So I assume you've gotten Neville's plan? We've been talking about it here and there for a while. Took a while to convince Dumbledore that I was stable enough to keep you lot safe. Snape was no help there, but since he wasn't willing to travel with us, he eventually backed down."

"He does have a lot to deal with," said Harry, rolling his eyes at yet another reminder of their childish rivalry. "But I think the ladies are interested, and I know there's no way I'm going back to the Dursleys."

Parvati scowled. "Certainly not! Professor Black-"

Sirius held up a hand. "You can call me 'Sirius' when it's just us, remember?"

"We're still technically in school," Parvati responded with a charming smile. "And Padma keeps whinging about me not using your 'proper' title."

"It's not 'whinging' if it's valid criticism," said Padma and she crossed her arms with a small indication of annoyance on her face.

"Anyway, as I was trying to say, Professor Sirius-"

Sirius laughed at that.

"-is that Harry under no uncertain terms shall be going back with his dreadful relatives. No offense, Harry."

"None taken," said Harry with a laugh. "I've called them far worse."

"Fab," said Sirius happily, rubbing together his hands in excitement. "Then I shall simply wish you good luck on your exams, and we shall talk after."

Harry felt that his exams were even easier than usual, with even History feeling reasonable with all of his stories from the crazy times they had with the outcast Goblins in Peru. As he was leaving the Potions room, Snape tapped his forehead so Harry stopped and waited until everyone else had left.

"I have heard that you shall be out 'traveling the world'-" he said this with great disdain "-with Sirius Black. He seems to mostly have recovered from his time in Azkaban, but he does not have the best judgment."

"I can't really argue with you there," Harry admitted. "But he'll keep us safe at any cost, I'm sure. Do you want me to send you regular owls or something?"

Snape smiled slightly. "Yes, that is precisely right. I am glad you are still thinking straight despite Black's best efforts."

Harry managed not to roll his eyes this time. "Thank you for the compliment, obviously coming from you I know it's significant. Let's agree to a few secret emergency terms, okay? I assume you approve?"

"Naturally," Snape said, and they quickly went over a few ideas for trouble or needing to meet in a particular place.

"I am still a bit loath to see you off," said Snape. "But I suppose the best I can do is ask you to keep your head and try to avoid anything foolish."

"You'll get the full report as soon as I get back," Harry told him with a grin. "Have a great summer otherwise, Professor!"

Later, as he stood with Sirius outside the gates, all of his things packed up and ready to go, he looked back at Hogwarts and sighed.

Sirius sighed too in response. "She's beautiful, ain't she? The fittest bird around."

Harry snorted. "Thanks for the mature words of wisdom, Sirius. I think perhaps I won't be telling Snape about that particular thought."

"You're learning," said Sirius with a wink. "Come on, let's go. The world is waiting, and I can't wait to show it to you."

-End of Chapter 8

---

POST MEDIAS RES:

A bit of commentary, more than I usually write. There are no spoilers here, just some notes and thoughts. Just something to help make up for the enormous amount of time since the last update.

Something that might have become clear is the nature of the chapter structures here, with the first sections about the time travelers in one particular style and the later part just a normal style continuation. They are intentionally more moribund and "serious" openings to juxtapose the seemingly humorous content later, and commentating on the many vague and varied time travel methods in all of those fanfics.

Very intentionally vague on the people in question, even if it should be fairly obvious with a close read. Initially vague, later slightly less so... some remaining that way intentionally. Initially when I wrote that first chapter, it was only meant as a fun one shot for a writing contest, but later as I came up with an actual plot, I rewrote the first chapter and from that point forward, the mechanics of each time travel were pre-considered.

Is it a coincidence that Parvati and Harry are such good friends in two of my ongoing stories? Actually, yes. I had some overarching thoughts for Mysterious Girl when I started it, but it took me a chapter or two to figure out my meta-narrative, and a few more after that to actually figure out the entire plotline. By then, I had Harry and Parvati already as friends, so I just continued on from there. Yes, part of it is that I'm a flagrant Parvati fan and I'm happy to write more of her, but honestly I'm essentially a fan of the whole gang.

I will admit that I had some immature, unfairly considered perspectives on Ginny when I was younger, mainly because I didn't get her character, and I thought Harry "deserved" someone better, whatever that means. Now, I get it and I kinda love writing Ginny in a fully complex way.

On another note, I know I'm being a bit of a tease with regards to what happened to Neville in his future and what is happening now. Suffice it to say, I'm not making it up as I go, honest! I think I have a pretty weird, cool idea that I do want to reveal at some point, just have to figure out the best way to integrate the story. Otherwise, Neville and everyone other than Harry are off on their own adventures, and Harry is the main POV.

I did have Snape with his own biased POV chapter, and soon enough I'll add another one from someone who's been in the background of things. I think it'll be easy enough to guess who it is in about three paragraphs.

HP fanfiction has been around for a long long time, and I've read an unreasonably large amount of it. But after a while of frankly being infected by poor characterization, I went on a "cleanse" and reread the original books. It was like drinking water again after being thirsty for years without knowing I was dehydrated. Luna was a delightful oddball, but she wasn't an Oracle or insane. Fred and George were hilarious and darkly interesting, but they didn't have banal "twinspeak". And Ron was an arsehole, but he was our arsehole.

So yeah, I still like doing this stuff.

The only difficulty is that although I have the super-plot all figured out, all the major beats written out and outlined, sometimes getting those pesky "in betweens" are harder than you'd think. But I'm still bloody working on it.

Next time, it'll either be Tentatively, Tonks or They Called it Our Future. It sort of depends on how the outline comes out. If the Tonks chapter doesn't come next, I'll have it a bit later.

It may be interesting to see a behind the scenes thing. The first 7500 words came from these notes:

EQUINOX (Mar)

COLIN and DENNIS CREEVEY use the power of BROTHERLY LOVE

RUBEUS HAGRID builds his strength for seven centuries until he literally PUNCHES THROUGH TIME.

Later, HANNAH returns accompanied by SUSAN, but PARVATI is annoyed to see them.

HARRY talks to SNAPE about the wand, the Compact, their theories, RIDDLE, what to do next, BLACK, etc, mentions a bit about Neville traveling the world and something REDACTED

After HAGRID and the CREEVEYS arrive, HERMIONE interrogates them about their technique with HARRY, SNAPE, and BLACK in DUMBLEDORE'S office

HAGRID doesn't entirely recall the specifics, but PHINEAS recognizes the concept but refuses to explain, nor will acknowledge that HAGRID could've possibly managed it. DUMBLEDORE doesn't know about it, whatever it is.

The CREEVEYS explain it, and although HERMIONE recognizes the Zoroastrian ritual from her own research, it's "A summoning ritual, not a time traveling one. Point and antipode. Here and there. Everything and nothing. Very apocalyptic language, not the sort of business I cared about."

HERMIONE eventually is quite annoyed that one is "punched through the time" and the other is "brotherly love." Offends her scholarly mindset.

See what I have to deal with, colin hopes HARRY won't sacrifice himself, hope it won't come to that

wood - more of this

Neville is still away

(it's actually a feint, it was REDACTED)

REDACTED is secret Assassin

| end of year

Harry and Sirius take the girls (Neville is still away)

Sometimes that's as good as I can manage. Cheers!

Next up: A new chapter of GWL.

-J

Chapter Text

THE FIRST JUMP

In the days of Hogwarts she had been known for little other than heartbreak and poor romantic choices, but even for that she was not nearly known at all. All the while her more gregarious and charismatic sibling charmed the world and even the legendary Saviour Potter. At first it seemed a future of endless drudgery in meaningless research in a pointless Ministry department was her entire destiny.

But it was less than a month into her new dull vocation that she recalled a few positive memories in a moment of apathetic sighing. When they had all been in the "DA" and studied spells, charms, hexes and defensive spells, she had actually felt some semblance of being alive. Of being happy.

She had fought against You-Know-Who and his minions in the Battle for Hogwarts, but the idea of fighting for a living had never occurred to her. After all, she was hardly a Gryffindor by any measure of the idea. But her decent skills learned through clandestine clubs and actual life and death fighting gave her a fair chance above many other candidates.

She eschewed the particular idea of the Aurors, as it felt too boring, although she could not say why. Instead, she was top of her incoming class of Hit Wizards and Witches, and in her spare time, she pursued what she realized was her true passion: Duelling. She lost her first tournament, and quite badly, but it gave her something that was new and thrilling: A drive to win.

The next tournament she came in second in the European finals, and then the next year she had won the whole thing. By the age of twenty-nine, she was the top duellist in the world - but when you have achieved such heights, what else is there to win?

She had gotten exposure to many of the shadier parts of the wizarding world during her tournament adventures, including more than one case of violently defending herself in dark corners of ramshackle cities and forgotten towns. The idea came to her almost by accident, and it was so perfect that she was furious with herself for missing it so far.

By the time she had turned thirty-five, the former Hit Witch was the most well-known bounty hunter and mercenary in the world, and widely considered to be the most dangerous woman alive. For a while, the challenge and the chase was sufficient to keep her interest. Until she turned fifty.

Not any less dangerous nor any less powerful, she had been forced to lower her prices because her reputation had otherwise made her too expensive to hire by that point. She had teamed occasionally with other mercenaries, police, and armies throughout the years, and had even worked with some of the Ministry Aurors (including Saviour Potter himself). But she preferred to be alone, to trust only herself as the one who could defeat anyone.

In a future of peace and prosperity, a bounty hunter nearing wizarding middle age wasn't in quite the estimable place she had once been. She craved a new challenge, a new idea, a new world of enemies. At times she scanned the night sky, wondering if there was another world out there with new foes to defeat. For a few years, she studied odder and more obscure magics than she had ever bothered with as she searched for the possibility of life elsewhere.

But as it happens, plans change. For in her study of the higher astromantic mysteries, she found something else - an anomaly perhaps, or perhaps the nature of space and time as it had always existed. In the higher dimensions it was said that time was bent by great forces, but there was no greater force than magic.

Suddenly a new challenge came to the bounty hunter's mind - the war of the past, the one she had barely survived as a schoolgirl. Going back would be a great challenge, even for one of her mental gifts, but winning the day might be even more so. Alone for so long, she barely considered that she might be missed by her surviving family, none of whom she had seen for a decade.

It was considered, briefly, and then discarded of little importance. After all in the past, she could reconnect with her family and become the new Saviour of the world. Nothing against Potter who had done alright, all things considered, but even he'd agree that far too many people had died along the way. It was a challenge she made to herself, and one that she accepted.

So she passed through the anomaly as space and time bent, wondering about her future and feeling happy for the first time in years.

THE SECOND JUMP

Voldemort was on the run.

Harry Potter and his allies had done a very good job in fighting the war against the Death Eaters - too good, almost supernaturally so. It might have been suspicious if Riddle had the time to think about it further. The Dark Lord fled with his most loyal followers, as they slipped between places and hid in shadows.

Some of those followers dropped during the flight, some due to their own loss of loyalty, some due to death (both untimely and timely). And others that were caught by authorities along the way. A year later, and the Dark Lord had a small, viciously loyal cadre of followers that he had overwhelmed with mental intrusions and psychological attacks - mostly the children of the Death Eaters that he had discarded along the way, as he had discovered the youthful could be far more potent than the adults that often lost their nerve.

Although he never said this to his followers, the Dark Lord knew his days were truly numbered, but that was no reason to give up, not exactly. He had long suspected that the luck of Potter and his foes had been due to some trickery outside his understanding, with knowledge they should never have known and predictive capabilities that ought to have been impossible. Eventually an idea came to him, at first seeming out of the realm of thought, but he became more and more certain over time - and it was that, in fact, time. He was certain that Potter (or perhaps Dumbledore or one of his cronies) had travelled through time. It was impossible, therefore, to overwrite that which had already been overwritten, unless you could go back further still.

At first, he plotted to send himself back through time, until he realized that his soul could not withstand it - his tactic to gain immortality had rendered his soul too unstable to suffer the travails of temporal travel. So he came up with a different tactic, a competition among his followers to prevent the cheating that Potter had done, to reaffirm fairness.

His thralls fought horribly with each other for the honour, which pleased Riddle greatly. But even he was surprised when the unassuming daughter of one his own lesser followers won out, ecstatic in her bloody triumph to serve her perfect leader. He threw secrets in her mind, plots and spells she would never understand, but his past self would find it with ease.

His patsy and minion did not know the precise techniques used to return through time, nor did she need to know. Although the Dark Lord knew that perhaps his future would be gone when the girl disappeared back into the past, he took comfort and solace that the world would become a better place, where he was in charge. Without any pesky Potters to plague him any longer.

A STUTTER IN THE FABRIC... THE THIRD JUMP

Volotredi was on the run.

Harriet Potter and her allies had done a very good job in fighting the war against the Death Eaters - too good, almost supernaturally so. It might have been suspicious if Riddle had the time to think about it further. The Dark Lady fled with her most loyal followers, as they slipped between places and hid in shadows.

Eventually she plotted, in an idea that seemed to come from magic itself, to change the past, with trickery most horrid and terror most foul. The Dark Lady initially planned to send just one of her followers back, but after an all-out fight for the honour of service, two had remained standing. Two dear friends, loyal to the House of Slytherin and the Heir - they were about to nearly kill each other when Riddle interrupted them, delighting in the knowledge that they would've managed it otherwise.

It was enough to know that their loyalty was still with the Dark Lady. A plan to grant her past self unlimited power was forged, with alliances too terrible to be spoken aloud. And the two girls were sent back into a past that may never have been, to create a future that ought to be, paradoxes be damned.

AND FINALLY...

The Department was in an uproar. The impossibility-absorbing crumple zones had nearly failed, and a dozen paradox alarms had been heard simultaneously in multiple instances at once. The parallel Branch Leaders met in the space between spaces to plan for what must come next to save reality itself.

---

Far Too Many Time Travelers

Chapter 9: They Called it The Future

"C'mon you kids, stop lollygagging and get your bits up!"

Harry glared at his godfather. "Sirius, I'm not even entirely sure how that's inappropriate but I know it is." They continued the walk from the Forbidden Forest to Hogsmeade, as they finished off their final day of the summer "training".

Sirius laughed and then he shrugged comically. "Perhaps you have a dirty mind, kid. Not that I have a problem with that."

Parvati giggled and then pinched Harry in the arm.

"Parvati, I'm trying to be... well, you know." Harry frowned and looked over at Sirius who was grinning widely.

"Were you preparing for another name pun, Mister Black?" Padma asked. "I do quite enjoy them."

"You're the only one," said Sirius with a laugh. "Other than me, anyway. Suppose that's why you're my favourite, Padma."

Harry rolled his eyes very obviously and Parvati pouted.

"Don't let him get under your skin," Harry said to Parvati. "You know how Sirius is. Never serious."

Padma looked at Harry with surprise. "That was unusually well done, Potter."

"Thanks, I think," said Harry and then he sighed. "I can't believe the summer is already over. Hogwarts is in just a fortnight and then what? More people time traveling to ruin things."

Both of the Patil twins scowled identically, a mirroring that was quite unusual for them.

"Thanks for reminding us of that," said Parvati and she looked over at Sirius. "Sirius, isn't there anything we can do to protect ourselves?"

Sirius' face fell and he shook his head. "Nothing that we know of, at least not now. I know several of our brainy types have been considering the problem, but my latest correspondence with Dumbledore was not too promising. They have improved detection spells all over Britain, and in particular Hogwarts and King's Cross. Albus is certain that no one will be able to time travel without being noticed in this country at least, and at Hogwarts or King's Cross they'll be able to identify any travellers immediately."

"But the next conflux is coming, isn't it?" Harry asked with concern. "It always happens on the first day of term, right?"

"I believe that's how it works," agreed Sirius. "Although admittedly much of that particular magic is over my head. If... well..." Sirius swallowed and looked over his charges. "If I do lose myself to a future version and lose my memories of our time together, just know how proud I am of the three of you."

Harry smiled, feeling a bit of moisture in his eyes which he blinked away.

Parvati sniffed and seemed about to cry and Padma nodded gravely.

"I have greatly appreciated your tutelage," the Ravenclaw girl said. "I also hope none of us lose ourselves in the upcoming troubles, but I have also gained so much." She looked over at Harry. "I believe I have even made friends."

Harry laughed and wiped his nose. "Yes, you have Padma, at least on my part. Sometimes you can drive me a bit spare, but only in a good way, like Sirius and his terrible puns."

Parvati made an odd squeaking giggle, and then she rubbed her eyes. "Merlin, this is way more serious - don't, Professor - a conversation than we usually have. You know, I've been worried about losing someone to a future time traveller for a long time now." She smiled at the others with watery eyes. "And as wonderful a time I've had with you all this year, and with Neville last summer, I'm more worried than ever."

"If it happens, the rest of us will do our best to fill in the blanks for the traveller," said Sirius. "We all know we can trust each other, don't we? Unless there's a very good reason otherwise, I think we really ought to try. Even if it's me." And then he smiled, although his eyes didn't quite match it. "I'm sure if I did travel back through time, it'd only be to help out Harry or take revenge on Pettigrew."

"So half a good reason then," said Harry with a bit of snark.

"I'm sure Padma or I would have a similar reason," said Parvati with a smile at Harry. "You heard Neville telling the story about us, we were in your Defence Club and fought against Riddle."

"I honestly have no idea why I might try to travel back in time," said Padma with a frown. "But if I do, I ask that you also give me the benefit of the doubt."

"Right." Harry summoned some strength and grinned in a way that showed his teeth. "As for me, I can't even fathom why I might screw with time and change things, there's too many possibilities. But as long as the future me isn't a prat or something, give him a chance too, please."

"You won't be replaced, Harry," said Parvati with a serious tone. "I won't allow it."

Although he knew this was pure bluster, it still made Harry feel better to hear it.

"Will we see you at Diagon next week?" Padma asked Harry. "We still need to make our purchases for the year, and our parents will want to accompany us on that task."

Harry looked over at Sirius who shrugged.

"Up to you, Harry. Someone will be going with you for security, and likely some other people you don't see too. That first chap might as well be me, and maybe I can spoil you a touch."

"That'd be quite a new experience," Harry said in a teasing tone. "I can't even imagine what that's like."

"Our parents won't spoil us at all," said Parvati with a frown. "It's really quite awful of them. I suppose we'll have to make due with whatever you manage, Professor."

"Will you be returning this year as an instructor?" Padma asked before Sirius could respond to that. "I worry about another subpar Defence teacher."

"As far as I know, I ought to be," said Sirius with a grin. "Since our future friends were able to break the Defence curse, nothing's stopping me. Although maybe I shouldn't talk too much on it out loud, just in case they muffed up."

"Have you prepared a curriculum?" Padma had an almost worried look on her face. "I have not seen you do so over the summer."

Sirius chuckled. "I really can do things much the same as last year," he said. "Remus helped me put together a pretty good one back then, and Hermione offered all sorts of 'suggestions', some of which I actually used. After our little adventures this past summer, I have a few more ideas to include in the lessons, at least for the older students. But c'mon, Padma, are you really concerned about Defence classes anymore?"

"Well, I suppose not," she said after a pause. "And I imagine I'll pass any exam with relative ease. Hopefully that is true for you too Parvati."

Parvati rolled her eyes. "The practical, anyway. One thing over summer I didn't miss is writing long essays."

"Although I did enjoy the madcap nature of the summer," said Harry and he stretched with a yawn. "There's something a bit relaxing about a normal set of classes and homework. Revising up late with the fire in the Common Room or the echoes in the Library stacks. What I'm not looking forward is the inevitable new drama when new stupid time people show up."

"I know that Hagrid just went back to his normal job," said Parvati and she yawned in response to Harry's yawn. "Have we heard anything about those two brothers?"

"The Creeveys?" Sirius asked and he shrugged. "I think they just took their O.W.L.s or N.E.W.T.s over the summer, but unlike our other future friends, I don't think they're really going to be much involved in anything."

"Probably a relief to them," said Harry in a mutter. "Wish I could do that."

Sirius winked at him. "Now, Harry," he said in a teasing tone. "Wouldn't that be a boring life?"

"I could do with a touch of boring," Harry retorted.

"As could I," said Padma. "More than a touch on my part."

"Hmm." Parvati made a thoughtful noise and seemed to be conflicted about it. "Well, I like the adventure around the world part and all that. But all this time travel is honestly just annoying."

"You know Sirius, if this was the original version of events," said Harry with a grin. "You'd be on the run from Azkaban, half-starved, mostly mad, and with an awful beard. So small favours, eh?"

"I don't mind that change, Harry, not at all," said Sirius with a big smile. "And considering that bloody rat is still stuck with the Dementors, I say so much the better. We still have enough to deal with as it is."

Harry sighed. "Yeah, that's true. I don't suppose Neville's told you something he hasn't told me?"

Sirius shook his head. "I think he might be telling you more, to be honest. I think, although he hasn't outright said it, that he's on a merry chase but his target is staying one step ahead. At least we got to see him last month in Norway."

"He looked great," said Parvati with enthusiasm. "Didn't he look great Padma?"

"Yes," said Padma without any enthusiasm at all. "Far more handsome than he used to be."

Sirius laughed. "Padma, I think you really are my favourite." He poked Harry in the shoulder. "Why aren't they calling you handsome, Harry?"

Harry's face flushed and he scowled at his godfather. He suspected Sirius was more aware than he let on about some of the supposedly secret conversations he'd had with the girls over the summer. "What happens in Olympus stays in Olympus, remember?"

"Ouch," said Sirius, holding a hand to his heart. "Don't let Snape hear you say that, he'll know you learned it from me."

Harry laughed. "That's fair."

Parvati winked at Harry. "I thought you didn't want to talk about Olympus."

"I don't, and Padma, that includes you!" Harry said this quickly as he saw her about to interject.

Padma closed her mouth and then nodded. "Very well, I can keep our secrets. Although I suspect Professor Black knows more than he pretends to."

Sirius laughed and then his expression hardened suddenly. He held up a hand and instantly the three of them snapped to attention with their wands out.

"Ah, never mind, it's just a student I recognize," he said, and then Harry saw Cedric Diggory walk towards them from Hogsmeade.

"Hey, you lot!" The Hufflepuff boy waved at them with a big smile on his face. "What are you doing all the way out here? Everyone assumed that you were off learning 'important' magic, Harry."

Parvati bristled and glared at him. "Harry's not the only one learning important magic, Diggory."

Cedric held up a hand. "Apologies, Patil. Naturally everyone knows that you and Harry are friends, I shouldn't be surprised you're learning with him."

Padma gave Diggory an odd look and then she whispered something to Parvati, who actually giggled.

"Padma, I'm glad you didn't ask that out loud," Parvati said with a saucy grin. "Anyway, nice to see you Mister Diggory. But Padma and I are about to head home, so maybe you can walk us to the Hogsmeade Floo?"

"Um, of course I can," said Cedric, an uncertain look on his face. He looked over at Harry and Sirius. "If that's not a problem."

"Actually that'd be helpful," said Sirius. "Harry and I have to take care of a few things. And if it turns out you're a Death Eater in disguise, the twins will probably just kill you."

Cedric almost laughed, but then he saw Parvati nodding with a huge grin and Padma nodding exactly once with a very cool face.

"Okay, well, I'm not afraid of a powerful woman - or two for that matter," said Cedric with a chuckle. "I'm a Hufflepuff after all, we're sort of known for them. Maybe you can tell me about some of these important magics along the way?"

"No we won't," said Parvati sunnily and she and Padma walked next to Cedric. "But I think Padma has some embarrassing questions for you."

Cedric glanced back at Harry who just grinned back. Then the Hufflepuff boy shrugged and said, "Perhaps I'll have some embarrassing answers, then. Harry, Professor Black, good day to you both."

After he and the twins were out of sight, Harry and Sirius exchanged glances and started to laugh.

"I'm surprised you let your girlfriends off with such a handsome young lad," said Sirius with a teasing tone. "Not that you seem worried."

"I think you know exactly why I'm laughing," said Harry with a bit of a chuckle. "But if you don't hear it from me explicitly, no one can accuse you of anything."

Sirius pretended to wipe a tear from his eye. "You've matured into such a wonderful little scamp, Harry," he said. "I know I said that Padma was my favourite, but you're really my favourite."

"Yeah, yeah, of course I am," said Harry dismissively. "Now that the twins will have their parents handled, let's go check in at Hogwarts."

The castle had a surprisingly energetic feeling as they moved closer, besides the few random Aurors walking about, all giving the same sort of respectful nods to Harry and Sirius. They passed near Hagrid, who gave them a bellowing shout of welcome, which caused Harry's wand hand to twitch a little reflexively.

"Great summer, weren't it?" Hagrid as he walked over to greet them "Sirius, Harry, yeh two heard about the great news?"

"There's great news?" Harry looked over at Sirius who grinned.

"News to me, Harry."

Hagrid chuckled and he looked happier than Harry had ever seen him, which admittedly wasn't a vast amount of time. "Yeh two remember lil' Luna Lovegood, right? Well, she plumb went and impressed the smart blokes at the Board and she's gonna be teachin' me fav'rit subject!"

"Oh, you mean Magical Creatures?" Harry blinked a bit in surprise. "I thought for some reason you wanted to do that."

"Yeah, Harry, I did for a while," said Hagrid with a smile. "But Luna said she'd need me help with the class, her 'assistant' professor, can you imagine?" He shook his head. "Me first time around, I did try teachin', but it's a bit tricky without a wand. Got into some trouble, have to admit. Luna knows her work, in 'er mind she's as old as I am and she was all o'er the world with her husband. It was Rolf Scamander, did yeh know that? Grandson of ol' Newt himself."

"Uh, I didn't," said Harry. "But I know who Newt Scamander is, and his book was quite helpful when we travelled with Neville and Sirius."

"Luna is pretty young," said Sirius with a thoughtful tone. "Physically, anyway. But since she's got her adult mind and skill with a wand, her and you, Hagrid, that's probably the best bet at keeping everyone's limbs still on."

Hagrid laughed loudly. "Yeh still got that great sense o' humour, Sirius. Yeah, me and Luna been talkin' about our..." He then frowned. "Can't quite recall the word."

"It's 'curriculum', Assistant Professor Hagrid," came the voice of Luna, who was still quite short, although her hair was up in a very compact, adult like bun. "Harry, Mister Black, how nice to see you both. Can you believe I'm the only time traveller who came by accident? Perhaps that's why I prefer to work as a professor instead of worrying about saving everyone from Voldemort."

Hagrid winced and he shook his head. "Sorry, shouldn' still be scared o' that word, but I lived through some bad times with spells on that bugger's fake name."

"You could call him Tom or Riddle, if you prefer," said Harry. "Since that's his real name."

"Tom weren't much better when I knew 'im," Hagrid said with a sigh. "But I know he'd hate me sayin' that Muggle name, so maybe I ought to try it just to stick it in his ugly face."

"Speaking of which," said Sirius. "Is Quirrell still under protection?"

Luna nodded. "Yes, he is. The Headmaster has been quite careful about it, I believe he is under a Fidelius although I don't know who the Secret Keeper is. Harry, you do know about that Charm, correct?"

"Yes, yes," said Harry with a bit of exasperation. "For a while now."

Luna gave him a beaming smile. "It's so wonderful to see you happy and well-informed, Harry. I'm sure Professor Snape wouldn't like to hear it, but it looks like Mister Black has been a good influence on you."

Sirius laughed and said, "Severus certainly won't agree."

"It's a mixed influence," said Harry with a kind of teasing look at his godfather. "But that's all good to hear, Luna, thanks. Although I suppose I should be calling you Professor Lovegood now?"

"That can wait until the start of the term," Luna said pleasantly. "That's why I haven't called Mister Black a professor yet either."

"This is all good news, as it turns out," said Sirius. "But we have to check in with some folk in the castle, so we'll see you later."

When Sirius and Harry arrived in the Hall, they saw Flitwick waving his wand as he moved about the room, while Ron sat alone on a bench with a mug in his hand.

"Ah, hello you two," Flitwick said with a smile. "Don't mind me, I'm just reinforcing a few key charms to handle some of our expected temporal invaders. I've attempted to set things up so that it will at least become immediately apparent if I'm one of those who is affected."

"Hope it's not you," said Harry with a sigh. "Rather it not be anyone, honestly. No offense, Ron."

Ron laughed, although it was a harsh sound. Then he took a sip of his drink and grimaced. "This isn't really working to improve my mood."

"Depressants are called such for a reason, Mister Weasley," said Flitwick in a chiding tone.

"Oh, is that some sort of fancy alcohol?" Sirius asked with a grin. "I may have introduced Harry and the girls-"

Flitwick cleared his throat loudly and made a sort of humming sound. "Ah, apologies," he then said. "I didn't hear whatever you might've said about taking some underage students unrelated to you around the world and giving them exotic alcoholic drinks."

Sirius laughed. "Right you are, Filius, didn't say anything of the sort. What I was going to say is that I introduced Harry to some interesting girls and gents, including a few brewer types."

Ron snorted. "Sure, Sirius. Whatever you say." Then he sighed and Harry noticed that Ron looked far older than he should've.

"You okay Ron?" Harry asked.

"Honestly? Not really," said Ron and he waved at Flitwick's frown. "Don't try to change my mind Professor. It's not been great for me, I feel utterly useless."

"You are hardly that," said Flitwick with a concerned look on his face.

"I'm not a genius like Hermione or even Fred for that matter. I can't even kick arse as good as Neville, and it's not like I can even be a new professor like Luna. She was always smarter than me anyhow. So what am I even good for?"

"Kid, you're selling yourself short," said Sirius firmly. "You came back to help Harry, through awful times - I remember the story you told me."

"It was even worse than what I let on," said Ron sadly. "But I didn't even want to think about all of the specifics. Been mostly alone this summer, a lot of time to think by myself. Don't much care for what I've thinking about."

"Ron, have you tried seeing one of those Mind Healers?" Harry asked carefully. "They were great for Sirius, even he'd admit that."

"I would," said Sirius with a nod. "And I was in a much worse state than you, Ron, let's be honest."

"I thought about it," said Ron in a mutter. "But I don't think there's any point. Sorry, I'm being a real downer, aren't I? I'm sure you two have better things to do then listen to me go on, so I'll find somewhere else to mope about. Hope you had a good summer, Harry."

"I did, thanks," said Harry. "Ron..."

"I'll see you at the Express," said Ron with a wave of his hand. "Or when you're back here. Depends if I'm sober or not." And without waiting for a response, he walked out of the Hall.

Flitwick sighed. "I believe all of our time traveling friends have suffered in one way or another, but Mister Weasley has had one of the worst times, in my opinion. Albus does not believe we should force them to see Mind Healers now that we know their intentions, but I'm at a loss about what else we might do to help him."

"Filius, I don't think you need to be putting all that on Harry," said Sirius with a frown. "He's been a great friend to Ron, as best as any of us can in this mad situation."

"I'm happy to help him, Sirius," said Harry, glaring at his godfather. "He came back to make things better and save people's lives, including mine. And he had to do some truly awful things to get here, as you well know."

Sirius' face darkened. "I know better than you, kid. Honestly, Ron really does need some professional help or things are going to go badly for him. Don't stress yourself out about it, okay Harry?"

Harry shrugged, but he couldn't help but still feel a bit guilty for Ron's deterioration since so much of the time traveling was about saving Harry.

"We actually need to check in with a few people," said Sirius. "Dumbledore, of course. But we also have a few things to discuss with Hermione and McGonagall. Are they all here?"

Flitwick nodded. "Yes, indeed. McGonagall is in her office, as per usual, and I believe Miss Granger is there as well. As for the Headmaster, I assume he is also in his own office, although it is difficult to keep track of that man sometimes."

"Got it," said Sirius with a nod. "In that case, Filius, we'll see you later."

"Of course," said Flitwick and he nodded to Harry. "Have a good day, Mister Potter, and stay safe. You look well."

"Thanks," said Harry with a grin and he nodded back. When they arrived at McGonagall's office, Hermione was indeed there along with Professor Snape.

When Snape spotted Sirius, he instantly sneered. "I am frankly shocked you didn't accidentally die or lose Harry this summer," he said with an acid tone, although Harry thought there was a touch of relief there too.

"I didn't lose the twins either," said Sirius with a laugh. "We sent them off with Cedric Diggory to be escorted back to their home Floo."

McGonagall cleared her throat loudly. "Mister Black, might I remind you that it is assuredly not permitted for a standing Hogwarts professor to take two underage girls on a trip around the world?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Professor, honestly, do you think you'll be dosed with Veritaserum or interrogated? I suspect the Patils' parents are aware that they weren't present."

"I would prefer not to be forced to lie to a parent," said McGonagall with a harsh tone. "Unlike some people in this room."

"The right sort of lies are simply an alternate form of truth," said Snape with a smirk. "Any self-respecting Slytherin parent would understand that, unlike your guileless Gryffindors."

Sirius laughed. "You know, I actually think similarly on that particular subject." He grinned at Snape. "Although I know you don't care for me agreeing with you."

"Endeavour not to in the future, Black," said Snape in a cool voice. Harry suspected that he was probably laughing on the inside, since he never laughed on the outside.

"Why was Cedric nearby?" Hermione asked with a frown. "He doesn't live anywhere near here."

"I know he's a handsome lad, Hermione, but I think you're a bit old for him, aren't you?" Sirius winked at her and tapped his temple. "At least up here, eh? Robbing the cradle."

Hermione's face reddened a bit and she crossed her arms, looking at Sirius with an annoyed expression. "I don't fancy Cedric, alright? He's not even of age, and anyhow romance is pointless until we figure out this time travel nonsense."

"It is always pointless," said Snape with a snort.

McGonagall rolled her eyes and took in a deep breath. "With the way you three go back and forth, it's a wonder Harry has turned out reasonable at all."

Harry laughed. "Thanks, Professor," he said. "I actually do consider myself the reasonable one among certain groups. Usually I just try to think of what you'd do."

McGonagall smiled at him but Sirius elbowed Harry and whispered loudly, "Kiss-arse."

"Oh, that is enough already, Sirius," said McGonagall in an annoyed tone. "I assume you two aren't here simply to irritate me?"

"No, sorry, Minerva," said Sirius, not looking even remotely sorry. "Actually I was hoping you could tell us if there was anything new to know about the upcoming troubles. I know we need to have a meeting about the upcoming year, and Harry will need someone around for protection."

"I believe Severus will be free enough," said McGonagall with a glance over at the Potions Professor. "And if Harry is staying here until the term begins, we should be able to keep things sufficiently safe."

Snape grimaced. "If I must," he said.

"Look at it this way, Professor," said Harry with a grin. "It'll give you the time to reverse any damage done by Sirius to me over the summer holiday."

"An impossible task," said Snape with a sneer although Harry could tell he was already planning how to manage it.

"Well, good," said McGonagall with a nod. "Or perhaps Mister Potter will lend some of his maturity to the rest of you miscreants. In any event, to answer your first question Sirius, we do not have any solid predictions about the upcoming potential time travellers. The Department of Mysteries has put their Divinators on it, but that's already such a woolly magic, I'm not surprised they barely learned anything."

"All we know is that we expect 'one and one, one over one, one once begun'," said Hermione with a frown. "My interpretation of that is we'll have at least two people, likely some sort of linked pair, plus one other, also part of a different sort of linked pair. The other part I think is a bit more shaky, but it might have to do with a different sort of alternate worlds theory altogether. Professor Dumbledore says that it may be difficult to truly know for certain until it's too late, but that's Divination for you."

McGonagall grimaced. "Precisely so."

"Miss Granger, you and the Headmaster are the only ones capable of parsing such nonsense," said Snape with a frown. "Something wrong with your heads, I suppose, but they do say genius and insanity are close pairs after all."

"Hey, Hermione, did you hear that?" Sirius said to Hermione in a teasing tone. "Snape called you a genius. Couldn't have been easy for him."

"He also called me insane, so maybe we can move on," said Hermione with a roll of her eyes.

"Are you all quite done?" McGonagall said, her voice starting to rise in volume. "Sirius, we do have to have our meeting."

"Alright, yes," said Sirius. "Harry and I just need to check in with Dumbledore, and then I can get him settled here in his room. Snape, are you handling that preparation?"

"I will do it myself, of course," said Snape coldly. "Since no one else would manage it as well."

"Wonderful," said McGonagall. "Then you three, please leave, I have work to do. Not you, Miss Granger, we still have a few things to review."

"Yes, ma'am," said Hermione and she conjured a chair and sat down with a sigh.

When the three of them walked out of the office, Snape turned to Harry with a frown.

"Potter, once you are finally free of any unnecessary hangers-on, have yourself brought to my office. I am certain that by then I will have your living arrangements resolved entirely."

"So is it a room in Hogwarts or something? Or in Hogsmeade or somewhere else?"

Snape glanced quickly at Black and then back to Harry. "It is not prudent to mention the specifics aloud, I am afraid, not with those around that are quite... untrustworthy."

Sirius made a loud snorted sound. "Why, Snape, I do ever so wonder what you might be talking about."

Harry restrained himself from rolling his eyes and nodded. "Very well, Professor. I'll have Sirius walk me to your office once he has to get ready for his meeting."

"I am pleased you are not complaining about the needed security precautions," said Snape, although his voice did not sound any more pleased than normal. "Most children your age would protest the lack of 'freedom'." At this last word Snape sneered.

"I had plenty of that over the summer holiday," said Harry. "Even if it was still under relatively safe conditions. I don't know why, but I actually feel less safe at Hogwarts then away from it. Can't entirely explain it."

"I think I understand," said Snape in a grumble. "Too well. Do not tarry long, I will see you later." And he walked off with his voluminous robes billowing behind him.

"What a ridiculous berk," Sirius said while not hiding his own eye roll. "At least he's on our side, or yours anyway."

Harry bit his lip to stop from laughing. He wasn't used to holding back his responses around Sirius, but with Snape around it wouldn't do to antagonize him. "Let's go see the Headmaster, Sirius, before Snape gets a chance to overhear you."

They found Dumbledore in his office, where he was writing furiously on a parchment. A pile of ink-stained parchments were stacked next to him on his desk, and then he finally looked up at them.

"Ah, you are returned! Excellent, excellent, please have a seat. I am sure you two will need it after your travels." He waved his wand and two comfortable chairs blipped into existence.

"What are you writing, Albus?" Sirius asked, and Harry gave his godfather a thankful look for asking the question he was too polite to ask himself.

"Oh, nothing too serious," said Dumbledore with a smile. "I have been collecting the assembled tales of our various time travellers and attempting to combine them in some semblance of the original story of our timeline. Most of the stories have had great similarities, although some diverge significantly."

"Yeah, well we knew that much," said Sirius with a sigh. "Some in pretty mad ways, like old Neville."

Dumbledore shook his head and looked sad. "Yes, that is one of the more distressing ones of the future possible timelines. It is also troubling that I can easily see how it might come to pass if things go terribly wrong."

"But no reason to get all depressed, right?" Sirius said, forcing a grin on his face. "I mean, I'm sure what you've written is an interesting story. Planning on publishing it?"

The Headmaster gave Sirius a surprised look and then stroked his beard thoughtfully. "That is quite an intriguing notion, Sirius, I must say. If we all survive the next few years, perhaps it might be useful to publish the story as a book, or a few of them if the material warrants it."

"What would you call it though?" Sirius nudged Harry with his elbow. "Probably something like 'Harry Potter and his Various Misadventures' or 'The Adventures of the Amazing Hero Harry Potter'." At Harry's glare, Sirius burst into laughter.

"I don't care for that book title, Sirius," said Harry in annoyance. "Maybe leave me out of it."

"Well, we certainly will not publish anything with your gainsay," said Dumbledore in a calming tone. "I would not wish to impose on your wishes for privacy."

Harry paused and thought for a moment. "You could call it 'The Hogwarts Adventures' instead," he said. "And just change the names of me and the other students to something else."

Dumbledore chuckled. "Not to worry, Mister Potter. These scribblings are barely in any semblance of a logical story, they are far distant from any legitimate published work." He leaned forward and steepled his fingers together. "Now then, I suppose we ought to catch up before the start of the term, shall we?"

"Yes, sir," said Harry. "You probably knew that we met with Neville when we were visiting Trollheiman, since he said no wizard or witch in their right mind would go there intentionally."

"I did," said Dumbledore. "And you do not need to add in any additional details of that meeting, I believe Mister Longbottom shared everything relevant to me already. I believe the more useful question is about the upcoming temporal conflux, is it not? I assume we are all worried about the possibility of losing ourselves to a future person."

Sirius scowled. "Albus, isn't there some way to block it? Maybe old Croaker or somebody from the Department of Mysteries has an idea."

Dumbledore looked over at Sirius and then at Harry. "I will answer, but you must both promise never to share this information with anyone. Not any friend, nor relative, nor even myself if I am changed by a future Albus Dumbledore."

"It's that serious?" Sirius asked with his face paling. Then he shook his head and said, "I mean it's that me?"

Harry laughed. "That was bloody awful, Sirius. Oh, sorry, forgive the language Professor."

"Nothing to forgive, my boy," said the Headmaster. "But I would like to ask you both for your solemn word that you will not tell another soul. You have taught Harry basic Occlumency, correct?"

Sirius nodded. "It might not be good enough for someone like Riddle, but otherwise he can hide in his mind."

"I give my word," said Harry quickly. "I won't even tell the twins." He felt slightly guilty about the idea, but he also felt excited about the idea of a secret all his own.

"I suppose I do as well," said Sirius. "Yes, I give my word I won't tell anyone else, not even Remus or Minerva. Do either of them know?"

"No, no one in Hogwarts besides myself knows," said Dumbledore with a shake of his head. "Not even the ever surprising Miss Granger. For you see, there is a secret group within the Ministry that specifically works with time travel and keeping the timeline consistent. They have a way to protect themselves from such interference as we have faced, but it requires a sacrifice of their own - they must remove themselves from the normal flow of time."

The Headmaster shrugged. "So for cases of absolute catastrophe, such a situation is helpful, but for normal men such as us three, it is sadly useless. After all, we still live with a future that we can affect, and they cannot."

"Grouping anyone as 'normal' with you is a bit ridiculous, Albus," said Sirius with a snort. "I feel like I mostly understand what you're getting at, I think. So the simple answer is that there's no way to protect ourselves from people time traveling over us unless we are not in the normal flow of time, whatever that means."

"I suppose that is mostly true," said Dumbledore and he tapped his desk with his right hand. "But it is theoretically possible to block some of the rituals that have been already used. I am certain I could prevent another from utilizing Ronald Weasley's horrible method, for example, but then there are others we barely understand."

He looked over at them. "Mister Longbottom used an artefact he lifted from Riddle, so he has no idea of how it worked. And even if we completely understood the rest of them, which is unfortunately not the case, have you not noticed that each time traveling instance is entirely unique?"

"Um, are they?" Sirius turned to Harry. "Kid, you've been dealing with this from the start, are they all different."

Harry frowned. "Um, let me think. Ron, Hermione, Neville, yeah those were all different. I don't know what Malfoy did, nor what Wood did. I guess that at least from the people I heard about it's all different. I mean it got pretty absurd, Hagrid punched his way through time!"

Sirius laughed. "Right, Hermione was ranting about that to us Professors. So what does it all mean, Albus? I mean, I do understand that if you can't predict how they're time traveling, you can't block it, but why are they all unique?"

"Ah, and here we have come to another limit of my understanding, I am afraid," said Dumbledore, holding out his hands. "None of my research has been helpful, not even the research I cannot talk about. There are secrets I cannot speak of, naturally, and even those that I can, but I can tell you that nothing quite explained it all."

"Well, that's bloody great," said Sirius and he slumped in his chair. "Albus, if Harry gets replaced I'm blaming you. And Harry, if the Headmaster gets replaced I'm also blaming him."

Harry laughed. "And who will you blame if you get replaced?"

"Snape," said Sirius immediately. "And naturally you can blame me if he gets replaced. I won't have meant to do it, but you never know."

"Speaking of Slytherins," said Harry. "Anything new about Malfoy? Draco, I mean, not either of his parents. Um." Harry paused, unable to recall their names

"Lucius and Narcissa," added Sirius with a wink. "I expect something nefarious from one or both of them since we never found any hide or hair of them out there. My suspicion is that either one of them is dead or both or perhaps Imperiused or maybe..." Then he frowned. "Well, honestly there are too many possibilities to settle on just one. Albus, heard anything?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "I am afraid not. If it is any consolation, I have not heard of any activity that might be related to Tom Riddle either. That said, the diary is the sole Horcrux we have yet to account for, which is still troublesome indeed. I would not think that it would be able to create another one, but alas, this delves into far more Dark magic then I am familiar with."

Sirius grimaced. "Meaning maybe I am more cause of the whole Black family reputation? Wish I knew about them, which is the first time I've ever said such a thing, but I suspect I know even less about Horcruxes than you. I don't suppose there are any experts out there you could ask?"

A pause, and the Headmaster sighed. "There is one, but I dread the notion. And it would be very unsafe to leave Hogwarts while students are here, so my time is short if I wish to ask before they arrive. Ah, well, no time like the present, is there?" He stood up and nodded once to Sirius and Harry.

"Wait, are you leaving already?" Sirius asked. "Who is it?"

"If I find my answers, I will tell you," said Dumbledore. "I admit, I am not looking forward to it. And I do not care for the idea of bringing along anyone else that might become at risk. If something truly becomes amiss, Fawkes will know what to do."

"Not very satisfying an answer, Albus," Sirius said with a bit of a chiding tone. "Aren't you supposed to be setting a better example for young Harry?"

"If you ask Snape, I've already been corrupted by you, Sirius," said Harry teasingly. "I think Professor Dumbledore is a fine example."

Sirius chuckled. "I admire your ability to balance your inner Marauder with your impressive sycophancy. Meaning you both kick and kiss arse to dumb it down for you."

"Well, Harry, I appreciate your words in any event," said Dumbledore kindly. "But now I must ask you to carry on with the rest of your schedule as I hope to return before tomorrow."

"Good luck, Professor," said Harry as they walked out of the office. He caught a glimpse of a thankful nod before Sirius elbowed him in the side.

"You really are like James and Lily at the same time," said Sirius with a huge grin. "I never would've thought it possible. Harry, you'll bury us all."

"I'd rather not bury any of you," said Harry in annoyance. "Let's go find Snape before he tracks you down. Or McGonagall, I don't want to see that fight either. Would hurt my impression of you to see you with your arse kicked."

Sirius laughed and ruffled Harry's hair, which he knew Harry hated. "Good luck with Snape," Sirius said. "You'll need it."

---

But as it turned out, Harry quite enjoyed his time with Snape, who mostly spent their time together working quietly. The change in pace from the hectic summer was quite pleasant, and Harry found himself reading a bit for actual pleasure. Occasionally Snape would quiz Harry about something in Defence, and every afternoon he drilled him in more advanced Potions techniques.

Snape was a harsh taskmaster in many ways, but his knowledge of Potions was second to none. The only issue was Snape's overly frequent insults at Sirius' expense. Harry was hardly offended by the jibes, his problem was suppressing his laughter which he doubted Snape would've appreciated. Snape probably didn't realize how often Harry and the twins had teased Sirius in far harsher ways over the summer.

While he prepared for the new term, Sirius made sure to spend each meal with Harry, as he was too busy otherwise (although this was also a time for him and Snape to practice innovative new insults at each other while McGonagall glared at them). Occasionally he'd talk with one of the various time travellers that showed up, although Ron continued to avoid everyone. And the Headmaster was still absent doing whatever he was doing, so it was entirely a mystery how well that was going.

The only break in routine was the excursion to Diagon Alley, which was absurdly quick due to security concerns, although Harry at the least did manage to exchange a few pleasantries with his friends. And before Harry knew it, the start of the new school year had arrived.

And with it some highly annoying news from Sirius while they ate lunch near the Lake.

"Kid, I know you won't want to hear this," said Sirius the day before the Express was set to depart from King's Cross. He had brought Harry a very expensive set of quills as an obvious bribe, but on seeing them Harry was immediately suspicious so Sirius had come clean. "But I'm afraid we're gonna have to hold up here. It's simply too risky for you to be on the train the whole time, what with the potential new time travellers. At least here in Hogwarts any new arrival, short of Dumbledore himself I suppose, will be contained."

Harry scowled but he couldn't really think of a valid counterargument. "I'm not happy about missing time with my friends," he said. "But I suppose McGonagall won't accept that as a good excuse. Or was it Dumbledore's orders? I still don't know what happened to him."

"An excellent question, my boy," said the voice of the Headmaster, and both Harry and Sirius jumped up in surprise.

"Albus, were you hiding somewhere waiting for one of us to mention your name?" Sirius asked with a suspicious look in his eyes.

Dumbledore chuckled and shrugged. "Why, who can say? The good news is that I have learned a great deal more about our little problem with the missing piece of Tom. I spent some time with an old acquaintance, which was quite trying, I do not mind admitting. But I have a few new notions to try, and I suspect Severus will be interested in some of them."

"He does have a solid grasp of the Dark Arts," said Sirius in a mutter. "Creepy bugger. So who was this mysterious friend of yours?"

"I had better not utter the name aloud," said Dumbledore with a frown. "There are some potential dangers if I do. But instead, might I suggest you each enjoy a delightful Chocolate Frog? Did you know that I'm on one of those wonderful cards? Although I do wonder how out of date it is these days. Well then, gentlemen, enjoy your last free day." He nodded once to each of them and walked towards the castle.

"I don't really remember what's on his card," said Harry with a frown. "I think there was something about it with Nicolas Flamel in the original timeline from what Neville told me, but he didn't mention any specifics on the card itself." Then he looked up at his godfather. "Wait, is that it? Is it Flamel?"

"It's not a bad guess," said Sirius and he looked a bit worried. "But there's another bloke mentioned on that card, Harry. The man that Dumbledore once considered a friend before he became an enemy."

"Oh," said Harry as he began to feel a little worried himself. "Um, is there any way to confirm that Grindelwald is still locked up?"

"I'll make inquiries," said Sirius with a nod. "But in the meantime, let's plan something fun for tomorrow while we deal with the expected horror of new time travellers. Something to distract us. Maybe some duelling practice?"

Harry grumbled to himself but then nodded. "Alright, Sirius, I guess that does sound fun. And don't just let me win this time."

"No promises, Harry," said Sirius with a laugh but his face looked relieved. "But at least we'll all be together again tomorrow, eh?"

But for some reason that word 'tomorrow' lingered on the air ominously, and Harry couldn't shake the feeling that it was all about to go terribly.

---

The next day Harry awoke in a start and checked himself repeatedly to verify he was still himself. Then he remembered that many of the time travellers were more likely to arrive when the Express was bound to leave for some overly complicated reason Hermione had not been able to adequately explain to him.

So up until they received word that the Express had left, just after eleven, Harry kept his eyes on the Hogwarts professors (Hermione and Fred were at the Express to escort the students safely back) as they all waited in the Great Hall. After the clock had ticked forward after eleven, Harry let out a breath of relief.

"We're all ourselves, right?" He asked the remaining people.

"Thank Merlin, I am," said Sirius. "I didn't hear any alarms, right?"

"Indeed not," said Dumbledore. "But I am afraid I must Floo the Ministry to discover if any of the students was affected. Minerva, can you attend with me?"

McGonagall nodded, but before she walked off, she stopped at Harry and patted him on the shoulder. "It'll be alright, Harry," she said in a hair above a whisper. "Even if things go wrong, we'll get through it, you mark my words." Then she gave him a smile and walked off.

"You know, Sev," said Sirius with a very annoying grin. "I think I'm actually pleased you're still you. Dare I hold my breath that you feel the same way?"

"The devil I know, is it?" Snape said with a mutter. "I suppose you could be even worse, although it is difficult to fathom."

Harry couldn't help it and laughed. "Sorry," he said, quickly calming down. He almost said something about the two of them being more alike than they realized, but thought better of it quickly. "For my part," he said instead. "I'm just beyond relieved that you two are the same great professors I already know."

Snape's lip quirked up and he rolled his eyes.

"You're a good egg, Harry," said Sirius and he punched Harry mildly in the shoulder. "I think your parents would be proud of you. Certainly Lily would approve of your polite attitude, I'm sure you can agree with at least Severus?"

Snape grimaced, as clearly the idea of agreeing with Sirius in any way deeply pained him. "Yes, in this one, tiny, miniscule way you are correct," he said finally. "Lily would be proud, rightfully so, and her..." Then he stopped talking and shook his head. "I am not letting you start another argument with me, Black, much as you would enjoy it. We have too much to do before the students arrive."

Sirius smirked but nodded. "Fair enough, Snape. Harry and I will keep an eye on things in here until you get back."

After Snape had left and Harry and Sirius were alone in the suddenly very empty Hall, Harry sighed deeply. "I'm really worried, Sirius. What if... what if...?"

Sirius squeezed Harry's arm and then gave him half a hug on his side. "If they are, we'll deal with it. I'm here, you're here, we've got that at least don't we?"

Harry nodded, blinking away moisture from his eyes. He was being ridiculous, Harry thought, he had no reason to suspect anything bad yet. But he couldn't shake the stress in his soul.

Finally, after far too long a wait, and neither McGonagall nor Dumbledore saying anything about any possible time travellers, it was time for the students to arrive. The Hall's giant doors swung open as the students streamed in, almost as if everything was normal. Sirius squeezed Harry's shoulder and went to his place at the Head Table.

Harry strained to look over the crowd for a familiar face, and he spotted Ron slowly through the students, a melancholy expression on his face. He walked over to Harry and sighed. "I'm here for you, Harry," he said and a chill ran down Harry's spine.

"Harry!" A figure ran out of the dispersing group, and Harry rapidly felt two things in quick succession - first, absolute, wondrous, and magnificent relief at Parvati's familiar face running towards him. But then, when he noticed her tears, the relief was replaced by a chattering, maddening horror.

He ran to meet her and grabbed her in a hug, and Parvati instantly started sobbing into his robes. He patted her on the back and made soothing noises, trying to calm himself down as well. "What happened, Parv?"

Parvati took a gulping swallow that seemed loud enough to break the sky, and she moved back a little to look Harry in the face, although she didn't let go of him. "Well, first, three Slytherins apparently came back. When they tried to interrogate them, one of them booked it before anyone could stop her. It was that stupid bint, Pansy Parkinson, except worse than normal because why would she run if she wasn't up to no good?"

"And the other two?"

"Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis," said Parvati and she made a face. "The Aurors said they had some Dark magic on them, or at least that's what Fred told me. Oh, there he is. And..." Parvati stopped talking and held Harry's robes tighter.

Fred walked towards them, escorting a very stricken Padma Patil. Her face was so completely expressive, with an emotional fear that Harry had never seen, that it deeply unsettled him.

"Um, hello," said Padma. "So, uh, Harry, I have heard that we were apparently quite close in this timeline, is that so?'

Suddenly Harry thought of the nerdy, off-putting, but oddly kind Padma he had grown so close with over the summer and his sadness was quickly overrun with anger. "Yes, the Padma you bloody overwrote and practically murdered was a brilliant friend, thank you very much."

"Harry, don't!" Parvati said in a shriek. "I can't take it."

Padma winced. "I, well, I admit that perhaps I didn't fully consider the full implications of traveling back in time. But in fairness, I thought I would only be overwriting the version of myself I knew, a friendless, mostly alone outcast that nobody would care if she changed suddenly."

"I'd care!" Parvati spat, her face now as raging as Harry's. "And I refuse to imagine for even a moment the future version of me didn't care either. Well? Did she?"

Padma made a strained face and sighed. "She did. You are right. I... I am sorry."

After that, Parvati started crying again and turned back to Harry.

"So what's the great reason, anyway?" Harry asked, unable to hide the fury in his voice. "Coming to stop Riddle or something like that? Or something far less noble?"

"It was that, but not truly noble, not really," said Padma and she hung her head, an expression on her face that Harry recognized as embarrassment, despite how she tried to hide it. Oddly enough, this attempt to hold back her emotions made her seem a bit more like the Padma he knew. "Harry, do you think we can talk about it?"

"Padma, we're going to need some time, okay?"

Padma nodded, looking very uncomfortable. "Of course, I will..." Her voice trailed off as she noticed Ron standing nearby. "Ronald? Are you a time traveller also? Your face is oddly old."

Ron snorted. "Yeah, thanks Padma, like I hadn't noticed already. But right, I'm a bloody time traveller too. My past timeline was more like yours, most likely, based on how you described yourself."

"Oh was it?" Padma's eyes flashed and she stalked over to Ron, and despite how Ron had more than a foot on her, Padma was coming off far more dangerous. "You hurt me at the Ball, Ronald, was that you in your timeline too?"

"Um, yes, it was," said Ron as he ducked his head.

Then Padma slapped him hard enough that the entire Hall stopped talking and stared at them.

"Oi, Patil, watch it," said Fred. "Not to say Ronnie didn't entirely deserve it, but he's also been through a lot. And you're both adults mentally, remember? So try to act mature, okay?"

"I did deserve it," said Ron with a chuckle as he rubbed his cheek. "I was an utter prat back then, Padma, I can guarantee you've remembered it just fine. During my timeline, things went quite bad, so I had a lot of time to hole up here and think about all my mistakes. And I made a lot of them, and I always thought that the worst, besides the ones that directly led to my friends getting killed, was mistreating you at the Ball. I was a stupid teenager overflowing with hormones and I never apologized. So here I am, saying that I'm sorry about it."

He sighed. "Of course, I don't expect you to just forgive me for anything, I'm not-" And then Padma kissed him.

Parvati made a gagging sound. "Padma, gross! He's an adult in his head! Wait, you both are!"

And suddenly a spell sped out of nowhere and struck Padma on the cheek, causing her to fall back from her sudden snogging. "What the... who did that?"

"You heard your far more reasonable twin," said Hermione, emerging from nowhere with a very unpleasant look on her face. "Don't cross a line you shouldn't cross."

Padma's eyes narrowed. "Watch the jealousy, Granger. You're just the same as the Granger I remember, I saw you lording over people on the Express."

"Jealousy?" Hermione growled out. "Lording over? You're nothing like the Padma I knew, not at all, she would never stoop to paedophilia."

"Don't you bloody call me that!" Padma hissed, her wand out and pointed back at Hermione. "You don't want to try me, Granger, I've cleaned my wand with better than you."

Hermione's face settled into an eerie, hard expression that seemed as if she was about to hurt someone.

"We need to get everyone out of there," said Harry in a whisper to Parvati, who was looking at Hermione and Padma in confusion. "Parv! Quickly, we need to evacuate the Hall now."

Parvati glanced back at her sister and seemed to realize the same thing Harry had. She looked over to catch Cedric Diggory's eye who immediately also clearly understood the situation.

"Harry, why are you saying that?" Fred asked with an odd note of fear.

And then the first spell went off, Padma trying to finish it early with a silent knockout spell, but Hermione batted it aside without a moment's thought. She returned fire back with a burst of air that knocked everyone back a few paces, except for Padma, who had quickly thrown up a wall of the stone from the floor, then banished it back against Hermione.

After that, they both stopped playing around. As the spell volleys began to knock chairs into knots and set fire to the walls, Fred pushed Harry behind him. Ron seemed to try to intercede, but a dodged spell by Padma hit him instead and he fell back unconscious, hitting the ground with a thud.

Harry looked around to see that the students were rushing to flee the Hall - thankfully the first years hadn't yet shown up, as they'd have no notion where to go. The idea of fleeing didn't seem like such a bad idea, but both of the combatants were now moving about so quickly, in ways both recognizable (Hermione using an image duplication spell to throw up different versions of herself) and unexpected (Padma turning herself into smoke and then reincorporating nearby) that Harry couldn't spot any easy place to move to safely, being so close to the two of them.

Hermione seemed to have entirely lost her capability to notice collateral damage and one of her spells was a bolt of lightning that arced across Padma's hastily raised shield and sliced into the ceiling, causing stones to fall to the ground.

This seemed finally time enough to get help, as Flitwick was back in the Hall and tried to disarm both witches at the same time. But there was something off about both of them, they had entered some sort of traumatic fugue state and instead both focused their attacks on Flitwick. Perhaps he could've managed against one of them (it was well known of his duelling skill after all), but he was quickly overwhelmed by a barrage from multiple angles until an electrical shock of something knocked him down.

Then it was Snape's turn to reappear in the Hall, and Harry took this opportunity to pull at Fred's arm, who seemed to be frozen in place.

"Oh -' Fred turned and cursed loudly. "Right, Harry, let's get out of here." They started to run away from the sounds of the duel until a loud explosion above them knocked both of them down. Harry saw a piece of the ceiling come towards them and frantically waved his wand at it, thankfully causing it to banish aside. But then he saw an oddness as the illusion of the Hogwarts ceiling seemed to mix with the curses flung from both combatants and deep cracks began to appear in the illusion, green and blue and glowing with something Harry couldn't identify.

Another shaking of the floor, and Harry spared a glance to see that Snape had been knocked into a wall. He was clearly still conscious but he had lost his wand and was visibly wounded.

"Harry, look out!" Fred shouted out and Harry pulled out his wand to see a large stone plummeting towards them, crackling with the glowing cracks of energy. He tried to Banish it at the same time Fred did the same, but it seemed to have no effect.

But before the stone could hit them, something jumped into the air in front of them and Harry saw Neville swing his sword - but somehow this worked, as the stone immediately broke into mist and smoke. Neville then landed on the ground with a sound that was so loud it must've been intentional - and indeed, it worked, as both Padma and Hermione now looked towards him with their manic faces aglow in their battle fugue.

Harry was terrified and unable to move, his breathing coming faster and faster still as his heart pounded against his chest. But Neville seemed to have a plan in mind, focusing solely on Padma, coming straight towards her, somehow catching and absorbing every curse, every hex, every spell from her with the Sword. Her eyes widened as he was right next to her, and she threw up another shield - but for naught, as the Sword burst through it and he simply tapped her on the head. Without another sound, she fell stunned to the ground.

Then Neville quickly looked over Harry and he glanced down, then threw himself on the floor. They had drilled this so many times, Harry barely had to think it through, and he grabbed Fred and forced them both onto the broken stones of the floor.

Half a second later it happened, and Harry would never forget it, even if he could never understand it. It was a syllable that seemed more than sound, scraping the inside of his head and knocking his mind for a loop, a word from Beyond everything reasonable and decipherable. Whatever it was, it was gone after a moment, lingering in the air like the screams of a thousand tortured souls that had lost their tongues.

But it had also knocked Hermione unconscious and the cause then became apparent as Dumbledore walked past them, with an air of power about him unlike Harry had ever seen before. Fred gasped so Harry suspected he felt the same way.

"Ah, Mister Longbottom, are you uninjured?"

Neville got to his feet and nodded. "Yes, but Flitwick and Snape are hurt. Ron seems okay, just Stunned. I think everyone got out of the Hall okay. I was outside with the two Slytherin girls, but I had to leave them with the Aurors when I noticed what was happening. I had Hagrid and Luna keep the first years moving back towards Hogsmeade before I sent you the Patronus."

Dumbledore gave Neville a solemn nod back. "It was a fair plan, Mister Longbottom. I do not suppose you recognized the manner of spell I used?"

Neville made a sort of harsh laughing sound. "The manner, yeah, although not the specifics. I had to... handle something that spoke the Unlearned language once. Had some people helping me out on the mumbo jumbo side of things, naturally."

"Neville, when did you get back?" Harry managed to ask, feeling his pulse start to come back to normal.

"When Albus sent me a message about Parkinson running away, I realized I had to be here to keep an eye on things. Of course I never thought about Padma going off like that - I mean I could tell her future version was a hardened sort but she didn't seem about to explode. Unlike, unfortunately, Hermione where I've worried she might lose it for years."

He sighed deeply. "Harry, I'm really glad you and Parvati are still the same, but I feel awfully that we lost our Padma. Are you holding up okay about it?"

"Yes," said Harry in a complete lie, but he was also trying not to think about it. "So did Parvati get the students out okay?"

"Yes, she did, Mister Potter," said McGonagall, who was gingerly making her way over to them. "I was quite impressed by her quick thinking, actually. Oh dear, Severus, can you hear me?"

Snape grunted and glared at her, his eyes bloodshot as he held an injured arm in his other one. "Minerva, spare me your tender platitudes and get me some help. And check on Filius, I only saw him get knocked out when I was coming back to the Hall."

"And check on Padma," said Harry quickly. "Even if she went mad, I wouldn't want... I mean..."

"Don't worry, Harry," said Neville with a sad smile. "She's just knocked out. Naturally I knew she wasn't our Padma, because ours would never have fallen for my little trick. I just utilized the Sword of Gryffindor's penchant for absorbing any magic thrown at it, then I glazed it at the end with a bit of a Stunning spell to make sure that was the only thing that hit her."

"Oh okay," said Harry, sort of remembering this little detail about the Sword. "And Hermione, what happened to her? What was the spell you used, sir?"

"Kid!" Sirius ran over to Harry and grabbed him in a hug. "I couldn't get to you, too many people were in the way. Students, if you can imagine it. Parv is okay, don't worry about it. She's helping people around, a born leader that one."

Harry breathed out. "Right, right, good. Professor McGonagall implied that too, but I'm glad to hear it verified. Neville was able to knock out Padma and Professor Dumbledore used a forbidden spell to do the same thing to Hermione."

Neville laughed and Dumbledore chuckled.

"What? A forbidden... Mister Potter, what on Earth are you talking about?"

Snape smirked at her. "He's simply paying attention, Minerva."

McGonagall looked in frustration over at Dumbledore, who just smiled and inclined his head.

"I am afraid Harry is quite right, Minerva," said Dumbledore pleasantly before adjusting the glasses that had slid down his nose. "And naturally, as the spell is Forbidden, I am afraid I cannot speak further on it."

"I can," said Neville with a grin towards McGonagall. "If you'd like to hear a bit about it in private later, ma'am."

McGonagall gave Neville a stern look for a few moments before nodding. "Very good, I accept. It is good to see an actual mature person back here for a change, normally Harry and I are the only ones."

Sirius laughed, a bit manically. "Minnie, why I do believe that was an actual joke! I didn't think you had it in you."

She whirled to face him, fury in her eyes. "Sirius Arcturus Orion Black, you are never to use that... that nickname ever again, do you understand me?"

Sirius held up his hands. "Right, right, sorry, just caught up in the moment, stress and all that. I know we have a lot of work and clean-up to do. Shall we collect the two duellists' wands and revive them?"

"Let me revive Filius first," said Dumbledore. "He does not appear to be wounded in any significant fashion." He waved his wand and Flitwick instantly began to stir.

Flitwick got to his feet slowly and looked around. "Oh my, this is quite bad. But is... oh, Severus, are you terribly wounded?"

"I cannot stand at the moment, so I suppose it depends on how you define it," replied Snape with an acid tone.

"Right, can someone help the Professor please?" Harry asked in an impatient tone. "I'd do it, but I really only learned field Healing magic." Snape gave him an angry nod that would have looked grateful from anyone else.

"I'll take a look," said Flitwick, and he walked stiffly over to the Potions Professor.

"Mister Longbottom, do you have their wands?" The Headmaster asked and Neville nodded.

Dumbledore walked over to where Hermione had dropped and looked down at her with a careful look in his eyes. "In that case, would you please carefully revive Miss Patil? Once we can be assured she is stable, I will do the same for Miss Granger."

Padma slowly got to her feet and looked around the room. "Oh dear," she said softly and then looked at Neville. "You defeated me, Longbottom."

Neville rolled his eyes. "Yah hear that, Harry? Patil here calls me 'Longbottom' like we're bloody strangers."

"I heard," said Harry, trying to keep his temper in check. "But the real Padma did ask that if she gets replaced, we give her the benefit of the doubt."

Padma looked surprised at that, as did Neville, but Sirius nodded.

"Yeah, that's what we all said," said Sirius and he looked carefully at Padma. "So then, shall we still bother or is it too late after you've wrecked the Great Hall?"

Padma winced and looked to the ground. "It was... not my intention to hurt anyone, not really. I suppose I was not quite in my right mind."

"I wonder if there's something inherently traumatic about the act of time travel itself," said Neville with a thoughtful expression. "I mean Ginny and Hannah were at wands too, neither were in their right minds either."

"I thank you for that consideration," said Padma with a sort of intense look at Neville. "I can call you 'Neville' if you would prefer that."

Neville shrugged and grinned. "I suppose I would at that. But that won't be enough to get your wand back, Padma, at least until we can be sure you can be trusted with it."

Padma sighed and nodded. "A fair conclusion, I cannot argue against it."

"She does still seem a lot like our Padma," muttered Harry to Sirius. "I suppose some things are just part of her personality."

Sirius gripped Harry's shoulder and gave him a sad smile.

Professor Flitwick walked over to Padma, while behind him Snape leaned against the wall while glaring balefully at the Ravenclaw girl.

"I don't suppose you came from a particularly awful future, Miss Patil?" Flitwick adjusted his spectacles, which had somehow remained intact. "I only am familiar with the version we had here, where you were quite a talented student, much of it due to Professor Black and Mister Longbottom's instructions during the... off-hours, if you will."

Padma looked over at Sirius with a sharp look. "Professor Black? You are a professor at Hogwarts? Of what, the Dark Arts?"

"Um, Defence Against them, rather," said Sirius with a chuckle. "I'm not quite as well versed with the actual Dark Arts as my mate Sevvie over there."

Snape rolled his eyes so hard it looked painful.

Padma looked between them in confusion. "Was that a jest? It is difficult to tell."

"I can't believe I have to retrain Padma in my sense of humour," said Sirius in an exaggerated whining tone.

"Or lack thereof," said Harry teasingly and nodded to Professor Snape. "Right, sir?"

Snape snorted but he appeared slightly less annoyed.

Sirius clucked his tongue. "It took ages, Harry. I don't think I have the patience to try again."

"Typical for you to run out of patience," said Harry and he elbowed Sirius. "Eh?"

"Are you simply attempting to curry favour with Severus with those mild jibes?" Professor McGonagall asked with a small smile. "I thought you better than that, Mister Potter."

"Normally I would be, ma'am, but I thought maybe he deserved to hear someone else insult Sirius while he recovers."

Sirius laughed. "You're too much kid."

Harry grinned at Sirius but he felt immediately sad when he noticed Padma looking at him. Her face had shockingly turned morose and strained, almost as if she had become as expressive as her twin.

"I am very sorry, Harry," she said. "And I would wish to express such to Parvati, but I cannot imagine my sister will wish to see me anytime soon given my actions, so please, if you will, tell her I am forever sorry for my failures."

Harry made a face at this little speech. This future version of Padma seemed fairly decent at expressing herself, although it didn't make Harry feel much better about losing his version of her.

He then saw Hermione sit up, blinking blearily as she looked around the room and then she grimaced. "Oh dear, I think I've made a terrible mess of things." She closed her eyes and pinched her brow, her face tightened for a moment before she opened them again. "I am very sorry, I don't quite know what came over me."

"I must also apologize to you too, Granger," said Padma. "I know exactly what came over me, a battle fugue state that has saved my life a thousand times and more, but it was wholly inappropriate in these circumstances. Perhaps you had your own similar state?"

Hermione seemed to be surprised at this comment. "I don't know about that," she said. "I mean... maybe." Then she turned to Professor Dumbledore. "Sir, what was that spell you used on me? I didn't recognize it."

"It's a sub-utterance, one of the old Forbidden expressions," said Neville. "I only tell you instead of him because Albus isn't going to be able to tell you anything better than that. Restrictions of his job as the Headmaster."

"I didn't realize anyone alive knew any of them," said Hermione and she gave Dumbledore a worried look. "But everything I found out about them was that they should never be said aloud."

"It was a small sacrifice," said Dumbledore with a sharp look down from his glasses. "One I was willing to make as it only affected me and no others. And it was such a small expression, as Neville put it cleverly, that the aftermath was quite contained. I am afraid I felt the need to immediately pierce any shielding or trickery you possessed due to the destruction you were causing to the school."

Hermione scowled. "You're really putting that on me, losing control on a duel? After your own history?"

A gasp came from the ground, where Ron had clearly managed to awaken. "Hermione, that's a terrible thing to say, you know what happened to him!"

Dumbledore shook his head and looked sad. "Ah, I am unsurprised you know of my greatest failure, but I supposed I had hoped you would've used such foreknowledge to prevent a similar tragedy at your own hands."

Hermione looked down and gave a sharp, ugly laugh. "Of course, well said, Headmaster. Naturally you also win in this little war of words too."

"Not my intention, not at all, Miss Granger," said Dumbledore with a sigh. "We have enough battles left to fight with foes that none should be between friends, physical, verbal, or otherwise. But we still have much to do to recover from this terrible mess."

The door to the Hall swung open, and Harry saw Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis being escorted at wandpoint from two Aurors, one on the younger side, but the other heavily scarred and with an obviously magical false eye.

"Sirius," Harry whispered to his godfather. "Is that the famous Auror you told me about?"

Sirius grinned and nodded. "Oi there, Mad-Eye Moody, glad you could make it to the party."

Moody grunted. "We only just got word about things settling down in here. I need to get Snape's help in interrogating these two."

"You're being ridiculous," said Tracey angrily. "We aren't dangerous or anything, we're here for the same reason as the other time travellers, to help!"

"How were we supposed to know a million fools had managed already?" Daphne said with a scoff, her eyes cold. "You don't need to keep us like prisoners."

"And what about your little Slytherin friend Parkinson?" Moody asked acerbically. "She ran off on us, aren't you furious at her betrayal?"

"She didn't come back with us," said Tracey with gritted teeth. "Obviously she's the one you really ought to be worrying about. Why would she have fled otherwise?"

"Hah!" Moody barked out an angry laugh. "Maybe so, maybe you just couldn't manage it yourselves. We'll see. Where is Severus anyway?"

"I am here," said Snape with a cold tone, and he had finally managed to come to his feet. "But I am in no state to manage any interrogations at the moment. Take these two to a secure location in the meantime and keep their wands elsewhere."

"Professor," said Tracey with a gasp. "You can't really think we're not trustworthy, not to you."

"As Moody said, we will see," said Snape evenly. "The marks of Dark magic are evident on you, and such must be explained thoroughly."

"Whatever," said Daphne with crossed arms. "Let's get it over with already."

After they had left, Harry asked, "What now? Should I be helping with anything?"

"No, you've done more than enough, Mister Potter," said Professor McGonagall. "It is more important that you stay safe for the moment. Neville, Sirius, by your leave?"

"Of course, ma'am," said Neville with a nod of his head. "And we'll talk later about that Forbidden stuff. Come on, Harry, I think we both could use a good sit, and those chairs in the time traveller's common room are quite comfortable."

"They are," said Sirius with a laugh. "Let's go then, we can catch you up on everything."

Later, Parvati joined them briefly. "Harry, for now, I can't really be around Padma," she said. "But... if you want to try, I won't be cross or anything. Actually, I think it's not a bad idea to try if you want to, I just can't right now."

"Yeah, I'll try," said Harry. "But I can't imagine I'll have much to say either."

Parvati smiled sadly and gave Harry a hug before leaving the room.

"Kid, sorry about your girlfriend," said Sirius. "Now you're left with just one, James would be furious I let it happen."

Neville laughed. "Maybe so, but probably Harry's mum wouldn't be too annoyed that he's down to just one."

Harry rolled his eyes, but he also considered the thought that perhaps they were both right.

---

The two Slytherin girls were not seen as the term began in earnest, although Padma had been cleared to be trustworthy fairly quickly. Although she had explicitly agreed to the same rules the other time travellers had agreed to, Parvati still avoided her twin, the heartbreak too much for her.

Harry was hurting from it too, even though he didn't really want to admit it, but he was willing to at the very least be in the same room as Padma. Even if he didn't want to engage her in any conversation of any kind. But it turned out that it wouldn't really be necessary.

The first time Padma showed up in the time traveller's hall, Harry was simply reading and working on his homework. Ron and Fred had taken up playing chess and trying to trick each other into losing, which was Fred's way of being more likely to win, although Ginny would occasionally try playing (even if she would always inevitably and angrily lose). But the three of the Weasleys, even Ron, were in far better moods than they had been even a month earlier.

The Hufflepuff girls, Susan and Hannah, had seemed to be in far more reasonable spirits too.

"It was a really healing summer holiday," Hannah told Harry when he mentioned it. "Those Mind Healers are honestly life savers. Did you know that Ginny took a short holiday with us to the continent? She'd never been."

"These two murderin' crazies are actually a lot of fun," Ginny added with a sort of savage smirk on her face. "We didn't kill anyone on our trip, Harry, don't worry."

"Neither did we," said Harry with a grin. "Except maybe Padma, but since she doesn't remember, I can just say she did all the bad things Parvati and I avoided."

The three girls laughed at that, even Susan in her more muted manner.

"You've changed, Harry," Susan said softly and then she smiled. "But in a wonderful way, you're even cooler than the Harry I knew."

Harry felt a bit embarrassed at the compliment, so he just ducked his head and returned to work.

But he didn't really feel like even mentioning Padma while she was in the room, so when she did finally show up, he kept silent.

Thankfully, Padma only spared him with a short, polite nod before confronting the ever vigilant Neville, who had suspended his investigations while there was still immediate danger at Hogwarts.

"Neville, you defeated me when my mind was lost," she said to him with a bit of a fiery look in her eyes. "And I was the most dangerous person in my timeline. We are the same physical age here, so I can ignore that sort of difference. Was it that difficult in your own future?"

Neville gave her an even look before nodding. "It was worse than most, Padma. And you shouldn't discount physical differences at all. I've had more than a year to get used to and slightly improve this past physical version of me, but you were stepping into someone that wasn't even your own past."

"I don't really understand how that makes logical sense," Padma admitted. "Even if the timelines were mutually divergent, as Granger told me, wouldn't my past memory be consistent with others of the same pre-temporal shift?"

Neville shrugged. "Don't ask me, I don't really understand it myself. I'm not sure Hermione or even Albus completely get it either."

"If they do not, what hope do I have?" Padma asked in a mutter. Then she looked up and met Neville's eyes. "Perhaps I cannot learn or master such esoterica, but I can still learn from you. Are you willing to train me?"

"Hmm." Neville rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well, it's actually not the worst idea. We could use all the help we can get, now that we know for sure the baddies are also coming back in time. I mean, I need to keep an eye on things for now, but when I have more freedom I think it's not a bad notion. In the meantime, why don't we talk about some of your history? I'll hide the sound so we can't be overheard."

Padma looked around the room. "Do you not trust the others?"

"I trust them fine," said Neville. "But Harry's studying and we've bothered him enough already."

Harry made an amused snorting sound while he continued to look down at his half-written homework. Neville really did understand him.

And so it went for a little while, and things were fairly normal, as normal as anything could be at Hogwarts. Harry split his time between the time traveller's common room and the Gryffindor one, since Parvati only stayed there to avoid her sister. Even though, as he told her, Padma was entirely too busy with Neville to even notice them.

Unreasonably, things went shockingly well for a while, even if Daphne and Tracey were still not permitted to go anywhere. They had requested something called "Slytherin sanctuary" which Snape was forced to provide them - they could stay in the castle even if they didn't have access to their wands.

The entire situation had Neville barely sleeping, and he constantly followed Harry everywhere, even (unfortunately) to the washroom.

"Basilisk came from the pipes, Harry," the bleary eyed Neville said, refusing to back down. "Can't take any chances."

But despite the annoyance, several things were going fairly decently. The pair of Professors Luna Lovegood and Hagrid proved to be extremely successful, and popular enough that students began dropping other electives to switch over. It didn't hurt when Hagrid accidentally slipped that the future Luna had been married to Newt Scamander's grandson, leading to the elderly man himself showing up and telling a series of improbable tales of his own adventures.

Naturally Harry knew it could never last, and waited with horrible worry for Halloween where he knew he would be replaced. But shockingly again, the day came and went without any new travellers noted.

The day after Halloween seemed to be going alright, when Sirius appeared at lunch suddenly.

"Neville, something's gone wrong," he said. "I need to take Harry to the Headmaster's office."

"Is it really you?" Neville asked with narrowed eyes.

Sirius rolled his eyes. He leaned over and whispered something to Neville who nodded.

"Yeah, only you would say something that stupid," said Neville. "I suppose you want me to stay here to keep an eye on things?"

"Yes, thank you, Neville," said Sirius. "You can't be everywhere at once, and Harry will be safe with me."

Neville's fingers shifted on his wand for a few moments but then he sighed. "Alright then, let me know when you know something."

"I don't know what exactly happened," said Sirius as he hurried with Harry through the hallways of Hogwarts. "But Moody is in a real state and Albus insisted we gather in his office."

When they arrived, it was a worrying collection of people, Moody, Hermione, and Professor Dumbledore - mainly it was worrying for all the people that weren't there.

"Ah, very good," said Dumbledore with a nod at them. "Now that they are here, what have you discovered about the incident?"

"The sanctuary room was broken," said Moody in a growl. "It knocked Snape out completely, classic Slytherin nonsense. I expect old Salazar himself put that little spell into place, did you even know about it Albus?"

"I knew of it, of course," said Dumbledore in a calming tone. "But I also knew it has not been invoked in over seven hundred years. Is that not so, Phineas?"

The portrait of Phineas Nigellus Black made a snorting sound but then said, "Yes, Albus, it was never meant for the modern era. A relic of darker times long past."

"Maybe instead of complaining about Snape, which I know Sirius adores hearing," said Hermione angrily. "You tell us what happened?"

Moody rolled his eyes and turned to face Dumbledore directly.

"Those two Slytherins are gone, Albus, I've told you a thousand times that the Fidelius is flawed," said Moody with a glare at the Headmaster.

"That is assuredly not good news," said Dumbledore. "But what does that... oh, dear me, Alastor, are you saying that one of the Secrets has been breached?"

"Not directly, but someone knew how to chip away at it," said Moody and he then shifted his glare to Hermione. "I suspect it was your time traveling girl here who destabilized the castle grounds enough during her temper tantrum."

Hermione's face reddened and she clenched her fists.

"Enough, Moody," said Sirius sharply. "That's not helping anything. So what did we lose? The wand or the man?"

"It's Quirrell," said Moody and his face was furious. "He's gone." And then he sighed. "But at least the wand is still secure. For now."

"Now what?" Harry asked, feeling a chill go down his spine. "Don't we need to-?"

But he was interrupted by Madam Pomfrey appearing suddenly in the Floo. "Albus, come quickly!"

"My dear Madam Pomfrey, we have quite an emergency on our hands already," said Dumbledore. "What could possibly be the matter?"

"It's Miss Chang," said Madam Pomfrey and she seemed quite alarmed. "She's woken up and-" And then her face vanished from the flames. Which was honestly even more alarming.

Sirius clapped Harry on the shoulder. "Well, kid, when it rains it pours, right? Don't worry, somehow we'll figure it all out."

"Damn it," said Harry to himself in a grumble. "This has been the worst year yet. And it's only bloody November."

-End of Chapter 9

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