Format: Novel
Chapters: 6
Word Count: 20,321
Status: WIP

Rating: 15+
Warnings: Strong Language, Contains Slash (Same-Sex Pairing), Scenes of a Mild Sexual Nature, Sensitive Topic/Issue/Theme

Genres: Romance, Action, Angst, Mystery, Drama
Characters: Harry, Dumbledore, James, Lily, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, Snape, Voldemort, Narcissa, Lucius, Peter Pettigrew, M. McGonagall
Pairings: Others

Summary:

It was a potion blunder for all time... And it sent Harry Potter all the way back to 1977, during the time of the Marauders', Lily Evans', Severus Snape's, and Lucius Malfoy's seventh and final year at Hogwarts. What changes are brought about with Harry's presence in the past? Is nothing in the Windswept Time held sacred? Warning- Slash Pairings.

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One: A Potion Blunder for all Time

It was Tuesday, and Harry Potter really hated Tuesday. Hated it with a passion. After breakfast, which was usually a delicious meal of eggs, various pastries, and sausages, he was forced to accompany his fellow seventh year Gryffindors to the dungeons for Double Potions with the Slytherins. Recently Severus Snape, snarky Potions professor, and all around Greasy Git, had taken a real disliking to him, as opposed to the previous years of merely being unable to tolerate anything “reeking” of Potter as he’d once so elegantly put it, because for the last few weeks Harry’s Potions partner was none other than the most feared individual in a Potions classroom, Neville Longbottom, who could botch a potion simply by looking at it crossways.

Harry groaned as he took his seat at his worktable, wondering what in all of his young life he’d ever done to deserve Neville Longbottom as a Potions partner. At least Hermione was usually patient with Neville. It wasn’t that Harry didn’t like Neville. That wasn’t it at all. Neville while unable to remember certain things was a rather decent bloke; he just wasn’t cut out for Potions. How he did well enough on the Potions O.W.L. to actually remain in the class was beyond anyone’s guess, still he was in the class. Harry closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and mentally began to brace himself for the hazard to his all around good health and temperament, as Neville Longbottom scuttled into the classroom, and quickly took his seat next to Harry.

A few moments later the Greasy Git, also known as Professor Snape stalked into the classroom, his long black robes billowing around him dramatically. Harry swallowed thickly as he had a particular nasty feeling that the Potions professor really had it in for him today. Apparently Hermione and Ron had similar notions as they both turned in Harry’s direction and gave him looks of pity, while shaking their heads in sympathy.

Snape took his usual position behind his podium and looked about his classroom, a particularly nasty expression on his face this Tuesday morning. He narrowed his eyes and glared over at the Gryffindors and then raised a black brow and smirked at his Slytherins, before finally straightening up and clearing his throat as he began to speak. “Now, before we begin, I suppose I owe you one final lecture, just to get it through to your small and still developing intellects. First I think I should test your knowledge of the potion we are about to begin making. Can anyone tell me why Thyme is not be used in the making of the Sleeping Draught of Prophetic Dreams?”

Snape looked around the classroom, frowning immediately at the sight of Hermione Granger’s arm being flung about in the air in her desperation to show off her massive intelligence. He rolled his eyes before snapping, “Miss Granger, will you cease and desist that foolish arm waving before you poke someone’s eye out! And Mr. Malfoy, proceed to tell us the answer.”

Draco stood up and looked smug as he explained, “When the herb Thyme is added to the Sleeping Draught of Prophetic Dreams it acts as a catalyst to the Agrimony present in the potion. Agrimony is used to slip away in dreams unnoticed, however when mixed with Thyme it acts as a time travel agent, and as everyone is aware, Time Travel is strictly limited, and Time Travel Potions are banned by the Administration of Potions, under bylaw 9673, sub-indexed 4.”

Hermione rolled her eyes as she sent a glare in the arrogant Slytherin’s direction, and immediately heat flooded her cheeks as Malfoy’s Potions partner, Blaise Zabini, winked at her and blew a kiss in her direction. Ron of course was completely oblivious, and Harry was curious at the interaction he’d witnessed between his friend and the quiet Slytherin, but quickly buried that thought as they were now being directed to bring out their cauldrons and gather the supplies and ingredients for the potion.

Harry would later wonder what on earth had possessed him to allow Neville to get the potion ingredients.

“Don’t worry about setting up the cauldron, Neville. I’ve got it. You just get what we need,” Harry said, as he set up the fire with a quick flick of his wand and, “Incendio.”

Neville looked up to the line of students and found himself behind Goyle and in front of Malfoy. Neville should have known this was a bad place to be, but he was too worried about getting the correct ingredients for the potion. He was determined not to botch this one up. After all it wouldn’t do to have both Professor Snape and Harry Potter yelling at him.

Finally Neville was at the table where the ingredients for the Sleeping Draught of Prophetic Dreams were methodically laid out. Everything that he needed: a bottle of Yellow Rose water, the toenail of a Cornish pixie, bay leaves, hibiscus blossoms, honeysuckle blossoms, lilac blossoms, juniper, fig leaf, laurel, lavender, mugwort, rue, wormwood, vervain, anise, and agrimony.

Once Neville had everything gathered he began to walk back to his worktable where Harry had the cauldron set up, but there was a hand on his shoulder as someone stopped him. “Here, half-wit,” Malfoy said as he handed him a few leaves and sneered. “You forgot to get some of this. It goes in right before the agrimony. Wouldn’t want you to muck up your potion and have it explode on me as I have the misfortune of the worktable behind you.”

Neville swallowed thickly and took the leaves that Malfoy held out to him, unaware of the smirk alighting Malfoy’s face, before scurrying back to his worktable with Harry, who was perusing his Potions textbook. Harry looked up from his book and noticed that Neville was back with everything and looking rather flustered. Harry rolled his eyes and hoped that he could make it through this class unscathed and with his cauldron in tact as he took the bottle of yellow rose water from Neville and poured the sweet smelling liquid into the cauldron, allowing it to come to a boil, while he ground the Cornish pixie toenail into a fine powder in preparation to be added next along with five grams of chopped bay leaves, three cut hibiscus blossoms, seven honeysuckle blossoms, two lilac blossoms, and eight grams of juniper.

Once Harry had added the first few ingredients he prompted Neville to stir the contents of the cauldron, which smelled surprisingly sweet and earthy.

“Now, remember Neville stir it counter clockwise twenty-eight times,” he reminded the boy, and then smiled as Neville nodded and began to stir the potion with a large wooden spoon, counting the number of turns aloud, so that Harry could keep track of how many turns as well.

Harry stopped Neville on the twenty-eighth turn and sucked in a deep breath. The potion was actually a fair shade of pale lilac, which was correct. Harry then added one fig leaf, six grams of laurel, and nine grams of lavender, only to let it simmer for ten minutes as the directions in their textbook stated.

While waiting, he prepared the rest of the ingredients and once finished, his eyes ran over the warning at the top of the page in his textbook:

Warning: Under no circumstances is the herb Thyme to be added to this potion. Thyme in combination with the herb Agrimony would act as a catalyst and make a time traveling potion, which is illegal under the Administration of Potions, bylaw 9673, sub-indexed 4.

A tremor ran up his spine as he read over the warning a couple of times. He shook himself wondering what that had all been about, and then he noticed the accredited name listed below the potion: -As written by Cassandra Baine of Wiltshire, 1783.

Strange, that name seemed familiar to him. He tried to recall where he’d heard of it before, but it simply niggled at his brain. Finally tiring of working his brain to recall the name of some old witch that had probably been dead for a couple of centuries, he returned to his work at hand. Keeping Neville from bungling their potion.

Once the ten minutes had passed Harry looked over the potion and was again pleasantly surprised to find that it was a milky white color, which according to the instructions was, again, correct. Harry couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. He was actually managing to make a potion correctly with Neville Longbottom as a Potions partner.

Deciding that it was safe as the potion ingredients were laid out in the correct order on their work table, and to make it look as though Neville had done more than simply stir their potion, Harry decided to be generous and let Neville add the final ingredients. He watched for a few minutes as Neville began to put in the next ingredients, knowing how everything was laid out, as Harry had cut and measured all of the ingredients in the previous ten minutes.

Neville added ten grams of crushed mugwort, thirteen grams of ground rue, and five pieces of chopped wormwood precisely one and three quarters of a centimeter in length. He then gave the potion three turns clockwise and immediately added the five grams of vervain, followed by eight grams of powdered anise. The he stirred the cauldron’s contents five and a half counter clockwise turns as per the instructions. Harry trusting that Neville could handle adding the final ingredient, the agrimony, failed to notice that Neville had something else in his hands, which he dropped into the cauldron first. When Harry did look up, Neville was adding the agrimony. Harry looked into their cauldron and the first thing he noticed was that it wasn’t a translucent light shade of yellow, but a bubbling, deep, bright red. The second thing he noticed was the noise, as an explosion filled the room and knocked him backwards. There wasn’t a third thing to notice for him, as he was soundly unconscious.

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“Bloody hell!” the Potion Master growled as he took in the wreck that was his classroom. He rolled his eyes as he saw the various students coming out from under their tables, having originally dived under them to avoid the exploding cauldron.

“LONGBOTTOM!” Snape roared. “EXPLAIN YOURSELF NOW!”

Neville was frightfully pale, and looking about him, his eyes wide in shock, before he looked at the angry professor and cowered in fear. It was Granger that brought Potter’s absence to Snape’s attention.

“Where’s Harry?” she asked, her tone filled with worry.

‘Damnable simpleton!’ Snape thought as he looked at the cowering boy before him and then gingerly looked into the still spinning cauldron that the two Gryffindors had been working with. How it had remained intact was a mystery to the man. Suddenly Snape’s cold black eyes widened, and his jaw slackened, much to the shock of most of the students in the room. “You stupid IMBECILE!” Snape raged at the poor cowering Neville Longbottom as he fixed a terrible glare on the poor boy. “Of all the potions you could have brewed correctly it had to be the bloody Windswept Time potion? Everyone clean out your cauldrons now, and I want you out of this classroom in five minutes! Any stragglers will be serving a week’s detention with Filch! MOVE! Longbottom! Don’t even bother cleaning your cauldron,” Snape spat as he pointed to the exit of his classroom. “I want you out NOW!”

Neville gulped as he quickly gathered up his schoolbooks and ran out of the classroom, almost colliding with the heavy oak door in his haste to wrench it open and leave the horrible dungeons behind him.

Hermione looked after Neville and then to the Potions professor before finally she felt brave enough to speak, “Professor, what happened to Harry? Where is he?”

Snape looked at the girl with a sharp look in his sable eyes, as he said rather roughly, “The question, Miss Granger, is not where, but when.”

Hermione exchanged a concerned look with Ron, as they quickly cleaned up their workstation and then hurried out of the Potions classroom before they could get stuck serving detention with Filch for a week. Once they were safely out of the classroom, Ron piped up, “Hermione, what do you think the Greasy Git meant when he said when? And isn’t it amazing that he was so ticked off he forgot to take away house points.”

Hermione swallowed thickly, her toffee colored eyes filling with tears. “This is more important than losing house points! Harry’s gone, Ron. If Neville brewed the Windswept Time potion, then we may not see Harry for a long, long time, if we ever see him again. I don’t know how he could ever be brought back. There’s no telling where in history he could have ended up. Oh, sweet Circe, I hope he’ll be all right.”

“What the bloody hell do you mean, ‘If we ever see him again’? Of course we’ll see him again. I’m sure he can be brought back! I mean Snape will tell Dumbledore and then they’ll work on fixing this. That’s what they do,” Ron said.

Suddenly Hermione’s eyes widened as she looked at her ginger haired friend. “Oh no. If he’s in a different time, he could change things!”

“That wouldn’t be so bad if he strangled You-Know-Who at birth, you know,” Ron replied, and promptly yelped when Hermione smacked him on the back of the head.

“No, you dolt! Have you any idea how bad this could be? If he does one thing to alter anything in the past, even so much as squash a spider, it could alter what is his future, and what is our present, right now! That is why Time Potions are strictly prohibited!” Hermione practically wailed. “Harry could alter our society as we know it!”

“Always thought he would change the world some day,” Ron said with a shrug.

“What aren’t you getting Ron? This is serious! Not only is Harry probably in huge danger wherever or whenever he is, but with him being in the past in a time that we don’t know, our lives could be irreparably altered!” Hermione ranted.

Ron sighed and rubbed the back of his head as he said, “So what you’re basically saying is that we’re doomed because Harry squashed a spider?”

Hermione slapped her forehead at Ron’s simplistic nature and stormed off down the corridor, up two flights of stairs, and didn’t stop until she was facing the gargoyle that guarded the entrance to the headmaster’s office before giving the password, “Canary Creams.” She was very grateful to the fact that as Head Girl she was privileged to know the password to the headmaster’s office. She then stepped onto the stairs that rose to the headmaster’s office. Upon reaching the door, she gave a knock, and let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding as she was told to come in by the soft voice of Professor Dumbledore.

He looked up from his desk with a cheery smile on his face, as he held out a dish full of different colored candies wrapped in plastic. “Jolly Rancher, Miss Granger?” he asked. “I find that I’m rather partial to the yellow ones myself.”

She politely declined as she took a seat in one of the comfortable chairs by the headmaster’s desk and then opened her mouth. The incident during Potions came pouring from her lips, and the twinkle in the headmaster’s eyes faded as he realized the graveness of the situation at hand.

“I will see to it, Miss Granger,” Dumbledore said as he stood up after she’d finished her story. “Now I suggest you go to Transfiguration, and don’t worry about being late. I’ll give the excuse to Professor McGonagall regarding your tardiness. Try not to worry. I will do everything in my power to see that Harry is brought safely back to us.”

“Thank you,” Hermione said with a nod, as she gathered her book sack and headed out the door.

When the door closed behind the girl, Albus through a pinch of floo powder into the hearth and then summoned Severus Snape to his office immediately. This was met without complaint, as Severus knew the seriousness of the situation, and decided that recovering Potter before the boy did anything stupid was more important than his free period.

Upon receiving the headmaster’s summons Severus took a deep breath, bracing himself for anything. He threw a pinch of floo powder into his own hearth and was in the headmaster’s office within moments. He brushed the soot from his robes, and shook out his long black hair, before he looked up at Dumbledore.

“Well, Albus, I suppose you’ve heard about Longbottom’s latest blunder in my classroom,” Snape said.

Dumbledore nodded and held out a candy dish to the Potions Master. “Care for a Jolly Rancher, Severus?” At the Potions Master’s withering glance, the old man shrugged and said, “I only thought you might be open to trying the green ones.”

Severus rolled his eyes and stalked further into the room. “Forget about bloody lemon drops or whatever it is you’re eating this week! What are we going to do about recovering Potter?”

“You know there is nothing that can be done. Eventually the potion’s effects will fade, and he will be brought back to this time. You know that as well as I do,” Albus replied.

“Damn it, he was covered in it before he disappeared! And we have no idea where exactly he is in the past! Who knows how long he will be stuck in whatever time he’s in, and it won’t be long before he finds trouble, and alters the world as we know it!” Snape growled.

“Be that as it may, there is still nothing that we can do about it,” Albus Dumbledore replied calmly.

“Then why in bloody hell did you call me to your office?” the irate younger man snarled.

“I thought you needed someone to rant at before your next class began. It wouldn’t do for you to terrify that nice group of Ravenclaw-Hufflepuff first years you have third period, anymore than you already do,” the headmaster answered with a small smile, his twinkle returning as a stream of vulgarities erupted from the dark haired man standing in his office.

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Two: Waking Up Bewildered

With a groan Harry opened his eyes. His vision was only fuzzy for a moment before an oddly familiar face came into focus. Harry’s green eyes widened as he began to scuttle backwards on the floor to get away from his mirror image looming above him. Suddenly there was a pair of hands on his shoulders and he was being helped up. The familiar looking young man giving him a queer look as he proceeded to brush off Harry’s robes.

“And would you mind telling us how you fell from the ceiling to land right in front of us?” the oddly familiar boy asked, and Harry blinked again, it was almost as though he were looking at himself, except the boy’s eyes were different. Hazel instead of green, and the boy he was looking at had a mischievous grin, and more importantly no lightening shaped scar on his forehead.

“Or a nice who you are would do, too,” added a familiar, but youthful voice from Harry’s right, and suddenly Harry’s heart stilled as he turned in that direction.

His eyes widened even more than he thought possible as he stared at the youthful image of his godfather standing before him, looking perfectly healthy and seventeen. Harry swallowed thickly as he reached out a hand, his fingers lightly grazing Sirius Black’s cheek, before he threw his arms about the young man and gave him a tight hug. “Oh Merlin, it’s really you, Sirius. And you’re all right, but how? And where am I? Did I die? Is this what’s beyond the veil?” Harry asked.

“Beyond the veil? Are you sure you’re all right? This is Hogwarts. Perhaps we should see you to the infirmary,” came a slightly shy voice to his left, and Harry recognized him as well, a younger Remus.

“Remus, you’re here too? But you’re not dead,” Harry said.

The werewolf’s honey-gold eyes widened for a moment, and he ran a shaky hand through his wavy light brown hair. “Well I should hope not,” he answered softly, and then looked closely at Harry, smelling him. “And how do you know my name and Sirius’?”

“Come on, Moony, of course I know you, and Padfoot, but I don’t know him, although he seems familiar, and what happened to you two? You look so young,” Harry said.

“We’re seventeen, and the individual you are referring to is James Potter, and I would assume that you would be more familiar with him and Sirius than with me, simply by their reputation. Now let’s get you to the infirmary.”

Harry was gob smacked as he stared at James Potter. “Oh shit! What the hell is going on? What year is this? Is this some kind of joke?” Harry’s voice rose in panic, and several students from other houses gave him strange looks, although two students, a pair of Slytherins, in particular studied the boy in the grasp of the marauders with curiosity. Who was the strange boy that resembled that loathsome Potter?

“It’s 1977,” Sirius answered, and then James added, “You must have had some fall. I think Moony’s right. Time to get you to the infirmary.”

“I’m not going to the soddin’ infirmary. I want to see the headmaster! Right now!” Harry snapped.

“Fine,” James said and then looked the boy up and down. “Do you think we’re somehow related? You look an awfully lot like me.”

Harry had a sudden coughing fit on the way to the gargoyle that led to the headmaster’s office. Just as they reached the gargoyle, the stairwell opened up and a young woman with long straight red hair and bright green eyes stepped into the corridor. She glared at the marauders and then her eyes widened as she looked at the strange boy among them, he looked so much like Potter. It was scary, but his eyes were green, and he had the most peculiar scar.

“Oh, God, there’s two of you?” she said as she looked from James to the green eyed boy.

Her expression softened as she noticed the dark haired boy look at her, his green eyes seeming to mist over behind his glasses, as he reached out a hand to touch her, and she felt a jolt when his fingertips traced lightly down her cheek. “You’re real,” the strange boy said, before he was manhandled onto the stairwell that led to the headmaster’s office. She was tempted to follow them, but thought better of it, and continued on her way to the library instead.

“I don’t know who you think you are, but Lily is spoken for,” James snapped as he glared at Harry.

Harry simply chuckled as his green eyes locked with the hazel eyes of his father. “You have nothing to worry about there. I just never realized she was so pretty before.”

“Just you remember, she’s mine,” James repeated, but Harry had already turned from James to look at Sirius, and it was then that he noticed a flash of emotion flit across his dark blue eyes.

“Bloody hell, Sirius! You had a thing for my dad?” Harry blurted before he could stop himself and all three boys gave him strange looks as the headmaster’s door was thrown open and they were all ushered inside.

Harry looked relieved as he saw the headmaster, a familiar twinkle in those blue eyes, wearing magenta robes, and looking oddly the same as he did in Harry’s own time, though his beard was somewhat shorter by a foot in 1977. “Dumbledore!” Harry said, “You wouldn’t believe how glad I am to see you! You wouldn’t believe what happened to me. You see there was this Potions incident. I told Professor Snape that it was dangerous to pair me with Neville, but he simply never sees reason, and well look at me. Here I am! And where are Hermione and Ron, and is it really 1977?”

“Professor Snape?” James cut in, and then James and Sirius were roaring with laughter, and Remus was quietly chuckling with them.

“Ah, James, Sirius, Remus, I see you’ve found our newest exchange student. He hails from Durmstrang. I believe that he is currently under the guardianship of his aunt, and she has pulled him from Durmstrang to attend his final year here. Now Harry if you would be so kind as to introduce yourself,” Dumbledore said, and Harry could feel the old wizard peering into his mind, and again he felt relieved that he wouldn’t have to spend ages explaining himself to Dumbledore.

Harry nodded taking his cue and then looked at the marauders, his father, James, and then to Sirius and Remus. “I’m sorry about earlier. I guess I really did hit my head. My name is Harry…Granger. They must have set up the coordinates of the portkey wrong as I appeared in midair as you say.”

“Still doesn’t explain how he knew our names,” Sirius muttered.

“Ah, well from what I’ve read of Mr. Granger’s file, he was studying Legimency before he was pulled from Durmstrang. So he probably plucked your names straight from your mind. Now if you three don’t mind, I have some things to discuss with our new student. And you three have class. Oh and I don’t think I need to tell you that there will be an impromptu sorting ceremony tonight at dinner. Now off with you. And do keep out of Mr. Filch’s way, he has enough to do without having to tarry after you three all the time.”

All three boys gave Harry suspicious looks as they left the headmaster’s office. Once they were gone Dumbledore warded the door and his office with a flick of his wand and then turned his attention to the strange boy before him. “Now Mr. Potter, I have gotten the gist of your story from your head, but I would still like a few details made clear to me, if you don’t mind,” the headmaster said and then held out a candy dish to the boy. “Care for a tootsie roll?”

Harry grinned as he reached out and plucked a tootsie roll from the candy dish before unwrapping it, popping it into his mouth, and then telling the headmaster all about the worst Tuesday of his life, and how he came to be at Hogwarts in 1977…

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“My, my, Severus, I wonder who that boy could be. And such a foul mouth. I’m rather curious as to why he was groping that horrible Black as well. Obviously he must have poor taste, to grapple such morality,” a strikingly handsome boy, with straight platinum blond hair falling to his shoulders, said in a clipped aristocratic voice, his grey eyes flashing in curiosity.

His companion rolled his dark eyes as he looked at his handsome friend and snorted. “Please Lucius, you’re one to talk of having a foul mouth, and besides, did you get a good look at him? He looked just like Potter, could have been his twin! Just what this hellhole needs, another soddin’ Potter. Bet he’s a little glory hound just like those prats. I’d like to see them knocked off their bloody moral pedestals.”

“Do I sense animosity?” Lucius tsked, as he smirked knowingly at his scowling friend.

“Damn straight,” Severus replied bluntly in his deep, rich, supple voice.

“Perhaps this replica of Potter isn’t like those bumbling fools. Despite his looks there may reside a more refined and, dare I say, sly cunning? We could do with a new member in our house, one of at least moderate intelligence. There’s something about him Sev. Think on it, he isn’t like them. I can feel it,” Lucius said, his voice so very persuasive. “He’s got ambition, he’s got a little bit of the Dark Arts in him. He’s one of us.”

“We shall see when he is sorted. If he is a new student, there’s no doubt that idiotic excuse for a headmaster will have a sorting ceremony, probably tonight at dinner,” Severus muttered.

“And then perhaps we will be properly introduced to this interesting newcomer,” Lucius said with a raised eyebrow and a devious grin curling his handsome pale lips.

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“So you are James Potter and Lily Evans’ son? That’s refreshing. At least I know I won that bet against Minerva,” Albus said with a smile as he looked at the dark haired boy before him, a naturally tanned complexion, a medium height, wiry frame, an exotic boyishly handsome face with bright emerald eyes, a wild mop of unruly black hair, and a lightening bolt scar on his forehead.

“This isn’t a time to joke. I want to know how I can get back to my own time,” Harry snapped as he ran a hand through his thick hair, making it more unruly than it already was.

“There, you see, we have a problem,” the headmaster replied.

“What?” Harry asked.

“Well, you said you were brewing the Sleeping Draught of Prophetic Dreams? Well the only way that potion could have reacted the way it did was if someone added thyme to the potion. That is why you were, shall I say, thrown back in time. The amount of potion you were doused in will determine how long you remain in this time. There is no way to send you forward so to speak. You will simply have to wait for the potions effects to wear off, that is to say if they ever do. Thyme, you see, added to this particular potion, makes the whole thing rather unpredictable. You may very well be stuck in this time, and forced to live from this point onward for the rest of your life. My suggestion is that you simply settle in and get used to living here, in this time,” Dumbledore stated.

Harry’s mouth fell open. Once he recovered from the initial shock he stood up and glared at the headmaster. “What do you mean settle in and get used to living here? What about my friends? They are probably worried sick! And I was practically drenched in that bloody potion! Isn’t there some sort of way to get back? I can’t just stay here. I have to get back to my own time. I have obligations. There’s a prophecy. I have to be there to bring down Lord Voldemort.”

“Harry,” the headmaster spoke kindly. “Right now, that prophecy barely exists. There is a Lord Voldemort here, and what you told me and what I’ve seen in your mind is enough to cause alarm. I can only imagine that he will begin to gain power and a true following this very year. Still there is nothing to be done as far as recovering you to your own time. I suggest that you do not dwell on it, and try not to interfere too much in the case of your parents because if they don’t get together you will never have existed. I also caution you from attempting to change anything in this time, as that would greatly alter the future. Why the fact of you even being here now, has already altered what is to come.”

“Fine,” Harry answered sulkily as he fell back into one of the comfortable chairs facing the headmaster’s desk. “But do I have to go through with the sorting ceremony?”

“Of course,” Dumbledore answered.

Harry groaned and rolled his eyes, wondering where exactly he was going to be sorted as he recalled the sorting hat’s trouble in sorting him when he’d been eleven. He would probably just end up in Gryffindor again, but could he stand living in the same dorm with the younger versions of Sirius and Remus and Peter Pettigrew, who as he recalled had been a Gryffindor. And what about sharing a room with James who was obviously angry with him for having touched Lily earlier?

He wondered what James would have thought of it if he’d known that Harry was seeing his mother for the first time in his life, as far as he could recall, as well as truly seeing James for the first time. Could he stand being a Gryffindor with the marauders? He remembered how in the future he’d thought it would be fun to hang out with the younger, carefree versions of his godfather and his dad and Remus, playing pranks and being boys, but now that it was a possibility? He wasn’t so sure. After all where he came from he hadn’t been some carefree boy, he’d been a young boy with hardly a childhood, who’d had responsibility forced on him at a young age.

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Lily Evans looked up from her book when she heard the scraping of a chair across from her. She sighed as she placed her bookmark between the pages of the book she held in her hands and her emerald eyes met gold. “What is it Remus? If you are here on James behalf, then whatever the question, the answer is still the same. No,” she said bluntly, before she began to open her book up once again.

“Actually, it’s about that new boy. You know the one that touched you before we went up to see the headmaster. Do you know him?” Remus asked.

The girl shook her head, her bright red hair gliding across her back at the gesture. “No. You mean he isn’t one of Potter’s relatives? He wasn’t part of some prank? Then who is he? How did he know me? Why did it look like he was fighting tears?”

“He had tears in his eyes?” The boy across from her leaned back in his chair, his calculating golden eyes drifting to his clasped hands.

“Yes. At least I think so. He looked at me, like he knew me, but had never seen me before. Sort of a look of awe. He seems strange. And when he touched me…”

“Yes,” he prompted her to continue.

“It’s silly really, but he seemed so sad. I just wanted to wrap my arms around him, and tell him things would be okay. Sounds funny, doesn’t it?” she said with a small laugh to shake off the intensity of her previous words.

----------

“How dare he put his filthy hands on her Sirius?!” James continued to rant as he paced across their dorm room.

Sirius rolled his eyes, tired of hearing the tirade about who was touching or talking to Lily Evans at the current moment. “Prongs, I’ve already told you, if you want to talk to the girl, put a stunning spell and a silencing charm on her so that she’ll have no choice but to listen to what you have to say. As for this Harry bloke. I don’t think you have to really worry about him all that much.”

James turned quizzically to his broad shouldered friend. “What makes you say that?”

“Well, for starters,” Sirius began, “Look at the way he grabbed me after Remus and I helped him up. If you asked me he’s the type that goes after blokes. Why else would he have grabbed hold of me like that? There’s a difference between a simple hug or a friendly arm over the shoulder. He grabbed me like he wanted to haul me off to a broom closet!”

James eyes widened. “You mean you think he’s queer, I mean poncy queer?” James asked with a grin crossing his features.

“Wouldn’t surprise me,” Sirius answered with a shrug.

“Now that all that’s finally settled then, I want to hear all about you and the little Ravenclaw,” James said as he sprawled out on his bed and watched as Sirius fell back on his own four-poster.

A smile spread across Sirius’ face as he asked, “Which one? The blond with the big knockers or the brunette with the fantastic legs?”

“Let’s begin with the blond,” James suggested.

Sirius sighed. “Well, there’s not much to tell. She actually wanted to study for the first hour…”

“But you were gone for three,” James said when Sirius trailed off, and his hazel eyes lit up as he noticed the tell-tale sparkle in his friend’s mischievous, dark blue eyes. “You dog!”

“Well, you don’t call me Padfoot for nothing.”

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Three: Sorting the New Student

Albus Dumbledore had just sent off Harry “Granger”, as the boy was calling himself, to the library, which probably meant that the boy was exploring the castle to see how different it was from the Hogwarts of his time. Albus sighed as he popped another tootsie roll in his mouth, and then he winced as the door to his office burst opened and was sharply slammed. Apparently Minerva McGonagall was now aware of Hogwarts’ newest student.

“Albus! Since when have boys simply dropped from the sky and were suddenly admitted as students in this school?” the woman demanded, as Albus looked up, his twinkling eyes meeting her fierce gaze.

“Now, now, Minerva. This boy is rather special. He also deserves the right to a proper education in magic, as he is a very powerful wizard. I have already admitted him, as a seventh year, and he will be sorted tonight at dinner. Do you have a problem with this?” Albus asked.

The woman looked stunned for a moment and then narrowed her eyes at the old headmaster. “How can you be so foolish? He just fell out of thin air, for Merlin’s sake! We have no idea who he really is or where he comes from!” she snapped.

“The question is not where, Min, but when,” Dumbledore added with a small grin.

“Will you quit talking in these silly riddles and tell me what you know?”

“Mr. Granger, as he calls himself, is quite an interesting young man. From what I have learned of him, I will say only this, tonight’s sorting will be rather interesting…”

The woman rolled her eyes and looked heavenward completely infuriated with the headmaster. Albus Dumbledore might have been a powerful wizard, and exceptionally intuitive, but his ability at keeping secrets knew no bounds, and served only to annoy the Transfigurations teacher and Head of Gryffindor House to no end. She wasn’t interested in this strange boy’s potential. She simply wanted to know if he was a threat to the students. What if the boy was connected with the strange group of wizards and witches calling themselves Death Eaters? What if he came to Hogwarts to turn good students to the ways of darkness?

Having had enough of the headmaster’s carefree attitude she stormed out of his office and down the stairs. Once she was in the corridor she began to walk toward her office, and suddenly stopped, her keen sense of hearing picking up on the sound of something fleshy hitting a wall. Her body stiffened as she braced herself to face what she assumed to be another physical row between a Gryffindor and a Slytherin, but was surprised to see the black haired boy, sitting on the floor next to the Charms classroom, his knees drawn up, arms wrapped around his legs, pounding his head backward methodically against the wall.

She looked down at the boy and rolled her eyes. “Mr. Potter, this is becoming quite annoying, and doesn’t that give you a headache boy? If you wish to have a word with Miss Evans, why not simply go up to her…” she stopped in mid-sentence as the boy looked up at her, his eyes flying open behind the glasses, and her breath stilled. ‘This boy was not James Potter, because James Potter did not have those bright green eyes, nor did James have a lightening bolt scar on his forehead,’ she thought before regaining some semblance of control and stating rather bluntly, “You are not Mr. Potter.”

The boy’s expression twisted into one of irony as he looked up at the woman and a snort escaped him. “I’m not the Potter you know now.”

“And just who are you then?” the woman asked with a raised eyebrow, as she looked at the boy, and noticed that he was actually wearing school robes with the Gryffindor colors and crest.

He suddenly stood up, and she almost had to do a double take, hardly believing that the boy standing before her wasn’t James Potter. His green eyes burned fiercely with a worldly intelligence that both overwhelmed and frightened her as she looked into them, and the boy’s bitter laugh sent a chill up her spine. “I’ve taken to being called Harry Granger.”

“Ah, then Mr. Granger, answer me this,” the woman’s voice was brisk. “What are you doing wearing Gryffindor colors when you have yet to be sorted into a house?”

“Well, Professor McGonagall, I’m rather fond of red and gold, I suppose, and besides you wouldn’t believe me any way. You’re far too logical to believe me. At least that is what Hermione would have said. Now I’m going to head on to the library. I have research to do. I guess I’ll see you at dinner. You are the head of Gryffindor House, right?” the boy said with a smirk, before he left the Transfiguration professor gawking in his wake.

Harry hadn’t lied to her either. He was headed toward the library, a grin crossing his face at the thought of Hermione falling into a dead faint at the idea of Harry Potter actually willing to do research, but he would do anything to return to his own friends, his own time. He didn’t think he could stand being in a time where he could see his parents, even get to know them, and not try to prevent the inevitable. He didn’t want a glimpse at something that would leave him wondering what kind of parents they would have been. He was past fantasizing about having parents that cared about him, and tending to his scraped knees and comforting him when he had nightmares. They’d loved him, that much had been proven when they had died to protect him. He didn’t want to have fantasies of what ifs once he got to really know them. He’d almost had that with Sirius, before Sirius had been taken from him, and he really didn’t think he had the strength to survive that again, not with knowing.

Harry pushed open the double doors of the library, and then headed toward the section where all the books on Potions were kept. He threw a glance at the librarian’s desk and noticed that Madam Pince had been the librarian in Hogwarts even in 1977. She looked down her bespectacled nose at the boy, and then returned to her task at hand. She had a lot of cataloguing ahead of her. Harry sensing that he would be overlooked quickened his pace until he reached the section of the library where shelves of upon shelves of potion texts were housed. He groaned, wondering where to even begin looking, when a slight hand fell on his left shoulder.

Within a moment Harry reacted, instinct taking over, as he sensed the unfamiliar presence as a threat. He grabbed the hand and managed to press the owner of the hand against a random wall of shelves, his left arm barred against their throat, with his wand quivering threateningly in his right hand, pointed at the person’s face.

Upon realizing just who it was that he faced, he relaxed, pulling back, allowing his left arm to rest at his side, as he replaced his wand back up his sleeve and ran his right hand through his messy black hair. He felt heat flood his cheeks, as he looked down at his feet and then up at the girl that was frightfully pale, her back still pressed firmly against the bookshelves behind her, only this time it was of her own volition. She swallowed thickly, before regaining her composure and looking curiously at the boy.

“Hello,” she began in a shaky voice and then quickly cleared her throat. “My name is Lily Evans. We sort of met earlier; I’m the Head Girl. I’m sorry, but I don’t know your name, or why you tried to attack me a minute ago…”

“Look, about that, I’m sorry. I’m just tense, and you snuck up on me. I wasn’t expecting it. Where I’m from you have to always be on your toes. Constant vigilance,” he said with a smirk and then introduced himself to the pretty redhead with striking green eyes. “I’m Harry…Harry Granger.”

“Well, about startling you, I didn’t mean to, you know,” she said shyly, and then Harry’s eyes widened, as he noticed the girl’s face flush faintly as she avoided his glance.

Was his mum trying to hit on him or something? Usually he was pretty thick when it came to girls, but he noticed the shy way his mum was acting, and recognized it as the way Ginny Weasley used to get around him. He sighed, figuring he’d better nip it in the bud before things could go out of hand.

“Uh, look…Lily, not to sound odd or anything, but I’m not your type, believe me,” Harry said, and then turned away from her and began to peruse the shelf, looking for a title to pop out at him.

Of course with him being unfamiliar with his parents, he didn’t realize the mistake he’d just made, before he felt a finger poking him sharply in the shoulder. When he stood up to his full height and turned around, imposing over his mother’s slight frame by nearly half a foot, he winced, realizing much to his horror, that he’d said something horribly wrong, because she looked indignant, and he remembered the rants that Hermione could start in on when she became indignant.

“Now you look here, Granger, I don’t give a damn who you think you are! I didn’t come over here to swoon over what you must arrogantly think is such a lovely male body. I only thought I would introduce myself and ask if you needed help finding something. But if you are this whole, holier than thou git like James Potter then you can…” Lily couldn’t finish, as Harry cut in, angry at the idea that she’d had the audacity to call him arrogant.

“Now wait a tick, I am not arrogant. You’ve got the wrong soddin’ idea, and I’m nothing like James Potter! To be honest, I’m not all that great looking, and you would have a better shot at dating Potter anyway, as he actually fancies girls!” Harry snapped, and immediately regretted it as he saw the girl’s expression of indignation falter, and then her eyes widened as she tried to stammer out an apology.

“Oh…God, I’m…s…sorry. I didn’t realize. You mean you… You like blokes?” she asked.

Harry rolled his eyes and then using his left hand rubbed at his temple, as he was beginning to get a massive headache from all of this, whatever it was. He seemed to remember it being a lot easier coming out to his best friends with the fact that he preferred boys to girls. He could hardly believe that he was actually telling his seventeen-year-old mother that he was gay.

“Yes, I like blokes,” he replied, and then added in a tone laced with sarcasm, “Is there anything else you would like to know?”

“Well, I suppose asking you if you’ve been involved romantically with anyone would seem a bit inappropriate as we’ve only just met. I’ve never actually met a boy that fancied other boys before,” she said in awe.

Harry shook his head as he looked at her, his green eyes locking with hers, and he chuckled. “Yes you have. Look at Remus for instance. He’s definitely into guys. From what I recall I think he once had a crush on Snape, and from what I’ve noticed about Sirius, well… He has a thing for d…James.”

Lily’s mouth fell open at what Harry had just revealed to her. “You can’t be serious? Sirius Black having a thing for James? That’s ridiculous. Everyone knows that Sirius has dated nearly every single sixth and seventh year girl from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw, with the exception of his cousin and me, of course. There is absolutely no way Sirius fancies boys. And Remus with Severus? You are out of your head. No Gryffindor has ever dated a Slytherin. And besides Remus dated Amelia Everheart from Hufflepuff for nearly six months, of course they broke it off a few weeks ago, but that doesn’t mean that he fancies boys.”

“Oh believe me, a gay boy can date a girl,” Harry said, and a grin played across his mouth as he recalled his brief dating experiences with Cho Chang, Ginny Weasley, Lavender Brown, Padma Patil, and Luna Lovegood. “You might actually be surprised at how easy a gay boy can get on with girls.”

“You’re havin’ me on,” Lily said, and smiled at the boy before her, feeling a strange sort of bond between them.

“No, I’m not… Before I began dating Blaise, which was a horribly brief disaster as the bastard only used me to get to my best friend Hermione, I had dated five girls. It was quite a shock to my friends when I came out,” he replied calmly with a shrug.

“But what about your mum and dad? What did they have to say about it?” she asked.

“Nothing,” he answered soberly. “My parents died when I was a year old.”

“Oh,” Lily gasped, her eyes widening, as she looked at him, wondering what kind of life he’d had to endure to make him such an alert and emotionally cut off individual. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. You didn’t kill them.”

“Still,” she spoke softly. “It must have been difficult growing up without parents.”

“You’ve no idea,” Harry said with a sigh. “I grew up with words like freak and nuisance and bothersome boy tossed about instead of my name. I spent most of my childhood locked in a cupboard under the stairs, when I wasn’t doing chores and being beaten and ridiculed by my cousin. Muggles can be cruel at times.”

Harry’s eyes widened as he realized what he’d just admitted aloud. What was he thinking? Spilling all of his childhood horrors to his own mother? He noticed the wash of emotions in her eyes, were her eyes always so expressive of her emotions?

“I don’t want your pity,” he snapped.

“Would you accept compassion and friendship instead?” she asked, and then blushed.

Harry looked at her, his expression softening, his heart melting as he realized that he couldn’t simply turn away and ignore the fiery personality that was his mum. With a heavy sigh he tilted his head to the left and a smile spread across his face. “All right, Lily. I could do with a friend about now.”

They continued to chatter, Harry getting to know his mum in ways he’d never imagined. He never thought that he’d picked up so many habits from her, like the way she tapped her quill on the table when she was nervous, or the way she worried her lips with her teeth when she was deep in thought. He watched her as he began to read through a passage in one of the large tomes of Potions they had gotten from the library’s shelves, as she’d volunteered to help him in his research, whatever it was. He noticed her lips move as her eyes ran over sentence after sentence, and he smiled, as a flood of emotions tore through him. Maybe getting to know his parents wouldn’t be so difficult, although when it was time for him to leave them again… No, he would save that thought for another day, because for once, Tuesday was turning into a perfect day for him, however roughly it had begun…

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Harry suddenly straightened in his chair, lifting his hands above his head as he slowly stretched and moaned, his aching muscles finding sweet release from the pressure of remaining in one position for too long. Lily looked up from her reading and her eyes widened noticing how he looked as he stretched. She didn’t know why he thought he wasn’t good looking. He was a very attractive boy, much like James, but where James was an arrogant nuisance, this boy was solemn, and while odd, he seemed decent enough.

She was just tilting her head back down to her book when she heard hurried footsteps approaching, and groaned when she heard a very familiar gasp. “James? I just left you in the common room with Sirius…” Remus said, but his eyes widened when the boy turned and he was met with the features of one of his best friends with two differences, green eyes and a scar.

“Hello Remus,” Harry said, and Lily noticed a glint of mischief in the boy’s green eyes.

“Lily, what are you doing here with him?” Remus asked, and looked back and forth between Harry and Lily.

She sighed. “I was helping him with some research. Why? Am I not allowed to make friends? And will you please clarify to James Potter that I am not nor have I ever been his property?”

“You really should just talk to him, Lily. And I came here to tell you that it’s time for dinner,” Remus replied and then ran his eyes cautiously over Harry.

Harry rolled his eyes and stood up, once again stretching. “Bugger, the bad thing about the library is all the kinks I get in my bloody neck,” he said with a groan, and then he ran his hand through his hair and looked at Remus who was ogling him. “What? Look, I know you fancy boys, but I know I’m not your type. Bet you go for the overly intelligent, snarky types. It’s perfectly all right you know. You should be honest with your friends about it though. They have a right to know.”

Remus was reduced to gaping at the boy, before he began to splutter, “Wha… But how did you?”

Lily looked floored. “You mean it’s true?” she shot at Remus.

The shy boy, blushed faintly, and he looked down at the floor, his light brown hair falling about his face as he tried to hide his golden eyes. “Remus! Why didn’t you just tell me?”

“Sorry to cut in and all, but dinner is sounding pretty good right now. I haven’t eaten since breakfast, which feels like twenty years ago,” Harry spoke up, before things got too awkward between Remus and his mum.

Remus looked up at him gratefully and then Harry began to lead the way to Great Hall. Remus and Lily exchanged a look, wondering how Harry knew his way around the school so well, as he’d only just arrived that very day. Catching up to him Remus asked, “How do you know where you’re going?”

Harry chuckled. “I have a lot of secrets Mr. Moony.”

Lily’s eyes narrowed at the strange boy, wondering how he knew about Remus’ nickname among the marauders. How could a stranger know so much about them? Upon reaching the double doors, Harry slipped in and was followed by Lily and Remus. They were the last students to arrive for dinner, and found themselves under the scrutiny of everyone present in Great Hall. Harry looked up at the staff table, and smiled as he noticed a rather large familiar face. Hagrid was sitting at the end of the table, and was looking curiously at Harry. Harry couldn’t help the grin that spread wide on his face, and most of the staff at the table winced, as they were reminded of James Potter, and this boy looked almost exactly like him.

James of course had stood up upon seeing his doppelganger enter Great Hall with one of his best friends and Lily Evans, and was approaching the motley group, Sirius Black by his side. James narrowed his eyes at Harry for a moment and then shook his head. It was hard to confront someone that looked like your own reflection, so instead he turned to Lily, and something strange happened. His eyes locked with hers and he noticed how she was looking at him.

“James,” she spoke quietly. “I think we should talk.”

James looked gob smacked, Sirius looked stunned, and Remus looked smug, and before anything else could happen, Albus Dumbledore stood up and addressed everyone present.

“Ah, Misters Black, Potter, and Lupin, and Miss Evans, if you would take your seats so that we might begin. Mr. Granger if you would. Please come forward. Harry took a deep breath as he approached the staff table, and noticed the dusty old hat sitting atop the stool, but the hat wasn’t singing, in fact it looked kind of cranky from being brought out so late in the year.

Harry quickly cleared his mind as he took a step onto the raised floor where the staff table was. Professor McGonagall was standing by the stool and took the sorting hat, as Harry sat down, and looked around, all eyes were locked on him.

“Now, to see to your sorting Mr. Granger,” McGonagall said and dropped the hat on his head, but this time instead of falling over his face it just stayed on top of his head. He groaned as he heard the hat speak in his mind.

“Ah, a boy with secrets. Someone brave, but what’s this? Cunning as well? I see great things ahead of you, Mr. Potter, great things indeed. There is a desire to do well, to succeed, and you can be ruthless in doing what needs to be done, and you’re rather knowledgeable in magic already…” the hat trailed off in his mind and suddenly shouted for all of Great Hall to hear, “Slytherin!”

Harry’s eyes widened and he visibly paled as he looked toward the cheering Slytherin table, his eyes falling on two familiar faces. One a pale face with piercing dark eyes, a large hook nose, and long black hair, the expression on that face dour, and his black eyes fixed on Harry, and the other face, also watching him with interest, belonged to a fair skinned boy, with sharp grey eyes and platinum blond hair. Harry swallowed thickly, wondering how he’d ended up in the serpent’s den…

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Four: Adjusting to Slytherin and Making New Acquaintances

As he took the hat off of his head, he handed it to Professor McGonagall and hazarded a look toward the Gryffindor table, where he noticed both Lily and Remus’ stunned expressions. Taking a deep breath he began to walk toward the cheering Slytherin table, noticing how Lucius was leaning toward Snape and whispering something to him. Harry raised an eyebrow, and then shrugging and figuring that despite how nasty they had always been to him, they were the only Slytherins that he knew and headed in their direction. With a quick glare at the girl sitting beside him, Lucius cleared a space for the newcomer and smirked up at Harry as the boy took a seat beside him.

“Welcome to Slytherin,” Lucius said, his eyes roving over Harry in a calculating way.

Harry returned the smirk. “Go get stuffed Malfoy.”

Lucius looked positively scandalized and a snort came from the other side of Lucius as the black haired, dark eyed boy that was Snape looked around Lucius and raised a sardonic eyebrow at Harry. “Well, Granger, aren’t you just brilliant at making friends?”

“Only as good as you, Snape,” Harry returned sarcastically, and then he noticed something flicker in Snape’s black eyes.

“How do you know our names?”

Harry snorted. “You can’t get my secrets out of me that easy. Now Luci, care to pass me the mince pie?”

Lucius turned a dark look to the boy, as he grabbed the pie and shoved it at Harry. “I don’t know who the bloody hell you think you are, Granger, but no one calls me Luci. You either call me Lucius or Malfoy, but never refer to me so disrespectfully again. Stupid git, don’t you have any idea who I am?”

“A very rich prat who has had everything handed to him on a silver tea server, now if you don’t mind, I’m starving,” Harry replied before he reached for some mashed potatoes, and various other items of food.

Lucius was infuriated and Snape was trembling from his suppressed chuckles. Granger might have looked like Potter, but he was no Potter, and he had balls. To talk to Lucius Malfoy like that? It was enough to brighten even Severus Snape’s sour mood.

When the meal came to an end and they were headed back toward the dungeons, Snape fell into step with Lucius who was sulking and walking directly behind Granger. A dark glint suddenly flickered within the depths of Lucius’ grey eyes as he raised his wand at the new boy, prepared to teach the boy why no one messed with a Malfoy, but before Lucius could even come up with a good hex, Harry had stiffened, turned around, his wand at the ready and muttered something. Suddenly a bang filled the corridor and Lucius Malfoy was nowhere to be seen. Instead, where Lucius had been standing was a bewildered snow-white ferret, chittering angrily.

Snape’s eyes widened as he looked from the ferret to Granger and said, “Bloody hell! What did you do to him?”

Several other Slytherins stopped and their interest was peaked as they noticed the action that was going on around the newcomer and Snape. They also noted Lucius’ absence and the appearance of a white ferret.

Harry ignored Snape, and gingerly picked up the ferret, and the ferret gave him a frightened look as it trembled in the boy’s hand and tried to squirm, but Harry held it firmly in his hand as he looked it straight into it’s very human grey eyes. “Now Lucius, this is a warning. If you draw your wand on me again, I will leave you in this form. And if you even think of biting me I’ll let you stay like this until morning. Is that clear?”

The ferret gave a quick little nod, and Harry put him down gently on the floor and stepping back, pointed his wand at the animal and said, “Finite Incantatum.”

Within a moment a very stunned Lucius was standing next to Severus, looking around in bewilderment, and then his eyes fell on Harry and he swallowed reflexively. “How in the bloody hell did you do that?” the blond demanded.

Harry gave a snort of laughter as he shook his head. “I’ve known that spell since my fourth year. Never thought I’d put it to practical use though. And you might want to think twice before drawing on me behind my back ever again. I have more than simple transfiguration spells up my sleeve.”

Lucius seeing in this strange boy a very powerful ally, decided to swallow his dignity for once and extend a hand of friendship, actually intending it as a gesture of impending loyalty and honesty. “Very well Granger. You’ve bested me, and seeing as to how you look as though you need a friend or two…” here Lucius faltered, not sure how to continue.

Harry nearly burst out laughing as he realized what Lucius was offering him. “Fine, friends then. Seeing as to how the Gryffindors will be shunning me I may as well take friends where I can find them.”

“You actually want to be friends with those silly moral idiots?” Lucius said with a wrinkle of his nose. “You have absolutely no taste in friends at all.”

Harry smirked. “Well I would have to agree with you there.”

Snape, picking up on what Harry was hinting at, grinned slyly at Lucius who was turning a faint tint of pink in his growing anger. Before Lucius could make himself out as even more of a fool, Snape spoke up, “Granger, I’d be willing to extend the hand of friendship, on the grounds that you are intelligent enough to hold your own in a decent conversation, more so than these innumerous bunch of dunderheads surrounding us, and under the condition that you call me Severus.”

“Done,” Harry said, and extended his hand to shake Snape’s hand and then Lucius Malfoy’s. He couldn’t resist chuckling at the fact that he’d just befriended the father of one of his biggest school rivals and his most hated professor.

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A sigh escaped her parted rosy lips as she looked at one of her best friends. She smiled at the boy with his light brown wavy hair and golden eyes, and then shook her head, going over the events of the day in her mind.

Harry Granger was a strange boy, and she’d never met anyone like him. He didn’t really act like a boy at all, but a weathered man who’d only known trouble all of his life. What really struck her as odd was that while he seemed to be a closed off person he’d talked with her so openly, in perfect trust, as though he knew he could confess all of his secrets to her, and while she wouldn’t understand or even agree with his actions, she would listen and would never tell anyone else. The other odd thing was, that she felt protective of him, though he was obviously capable of protecting himself as she’d learned earlier, still he was so sad.

She was startled from her reverie by a soft deep voice, and she looked up, her green eyes meeting gold. “Sorry, Remus, what was that?”

“That Granger bloke, you and him seemed to be getting on pretty well as I recall when I found you two in the library. What were you two doing?”

“Well,” Lily began and cleared her throat. “He wanted to know about the Sleeping Draught of Prophetic Dreams. He mentioned something about Thyme and I told him that Thyme wasn’t an ingredient in the potion. He then mentioned something about a time traveling potion. He’s rather odd, if you ask me, but he’s not bad. I didn’t expect him to get sorted into Slytherin. I was actually hoping he got into Gryffindor.”

“You don’t fancy him, do you?” Remus asked.

Lily snorted. “It wouldn’t matter if I did Remmy, he couldn’t fancy me. He likes boys.”

Remus’ gold eyes widened. “That explains how he knew about me then.”

“I feel so strange when I’m around him. I only just met him, but I swear it feels like I’ve known him for ages. I don’t know why, but I feel like I should care for him, love him. He’s so full of sadness, and all I can think about is giving him a hug and comforting him. I want to protect him,” Lily said.

“Who are you talking about?” James Potter cut into the conversation.

Lily rolled her eyes. “Haven’t you ever heard of minding your own business?”

“You said we should talk…” James replied, and Lily looked up and noticed Sirius standing behind James, and she took careful note of his blue eyes, and saw pain there. Her throat tightened as she realized that Harry might have been right about Sirius’ feelings toward James.

“So,” Sirius piped up, feeling that he should start the ball rolling again. “Who were you talking about, before we joined the conversation?”

“Harry Granger…” Lily replied and was cut off by a snort from James.

“Oh come on Lily! The git just showed up today, and he got sorted into Slytherin! You see him for the first time and go all moony-eyed for him?” James snapped.

“It isn’t like that at all, James Potter. That boy has sadness buried so deep in him that I bet he’s scarcely known any kind of happiness. He’s so twisted and alone inside himself. And he’s afraid to allow himself to feel. He knows darkness, and he’s had to face it so many times that an unexpected touch is enough to make him throw you against a wall, his arm at your throat and his wand at the ready. I want to know what happened to him, and I want to make it up to him,” she whispered and a sob broke from her throat, and something caused the blood in James Potter’s veins to grow cold.

“Oh, Merlin,” he said as he knelt before her and wrapped his arms around her, she buried her head in his shoulder, and he gently rubbed up and down her back.

“Why do I feel responsible for the way he is, James? Why do I feel like I failed him when I only just met him? Please, can you answer me?” she whispered shakily.

James swallowed thickly, wondering where this flood of emotions was coming from. “I wish I knew, but all I see when I look at him, is pieces of myself, and…”

“And?” she prompted quietly her red-rimmed emerald eyes looking up at him.

“He has your eyes,” James replied in awe, before he tilted his head toward the girl and captured her lips in a gentle kiss. Remus and Sirius simply exchanged a look, Remus noticing a pained look in his friend’s eyes, before they left James and Lily to discover what had been a long time in coming.

Remus and Sirius found themselves in the seventh year boy’s dormitory, they were alone, as James and Lily were off in a dark corner of the common room, coming to terms with something that had been building for ages, and Peter Pettigrew and Frank Longbottom were downstairs in the common room playing a round of Wizard Chess. Sirius flopped back on his bed and wondered when he’d fallen for his best friend, hardly believing that seeing James and Lily finally coming together could rip him apart.

“Padfoot?” Remus began hesitantly, and this was enough to distract Sirius from his own inner musings.

“Yes, Moony?” Sirius replied.

“There’s something I need to tell you, and you’re probably not going to like it,” Remus said.

Sirius sat up and looked over at his friend, noticing the weary expression his friend wore, but this expression wasn’t one from the cycle of the full moon, this was from some sort of inner struggle. “What is it Remus? You could tell me anything.”

“Can I?”

“Of course.”

“Very well,” Remus stated and deciding to go with the blunt approach he took a deep breath, and then let it out as he said, “I like boys, Sirius. I always have.”

Sirius’ mouth fell open as he looked at his best friend, waiting for the punch line, but it never came. Finally Sirius closed his mouth, and ran this new bit of information through his mind and then shook his head for a moment. “Funny, I’ve only just started liking boys,” Sirius replied, and this time it was Remus’ turn to look gob smacked.

----------

“So tell us Harry, how did you know that spell? And what other spells do you know? You do know that as our friend, you are obligated to share your knowledge with us,” Lucius said, his rich, deep, aristocratic voice teasing with just a hint of seriousness.

“I know a lot of spells. I’ve had to learn a lot over the years. My specialty is Defense Against the Dark Arts, but to defend yourself properly you have to know about the Dark Magic as well, so I’ve dabbled. I could cast a full Patronus since my third year, and I’m lucky as hell. I’m fairly knowledgeable with hexes, and I can cast the Unforgivables with ease. What more do you want to know?” Harry said, but his voice held no boasting air, he was merely stating facts.

Severus narrowed his eyes as he looked down his hooked nose at the boy. “Why do you know so much, and who taught you all of it? Why are you so bloody skittish? You’re more paranoid than I am, and I have Black and Potter always trying to have a go at me.”

“One day Potter and Black will regret all they’ve ever done to you, Severus. I promise. As for me being skittish, let’s just say that having someone try to kill you since you were a year old is enough to make anyone more wary and alert. I can just sense when a wand is pointed at my back. Except… Well today someone snuck up on me, my m… Lily Evans. I nearly hexed her. I know I scared her out of her wits.”

“Who would want to kill you?” Lucius asked, his curiosity evident in his expressive grey eyes.

“You’re better off not knowing, trust me,” Harry answered.

“I think we should know, as we’re your friends and have probably become likely targets because of our association with you,” Severus said.

“He won’t know me here. Trust me. And he wouldn’t harm either of you, in fact he’s more likely to recruit you,” Harry replied with a snort.

“Recruit us for what?” Lucius asked as he glanced at his perfectly manicured nails.

“Nothing, it’s not important. Why don’t we quit talking about me? I’m really not all that interesting, and I’d rather hear about the two of you. Oh and Severus, about that thing that happened last week. Remus had nothing to do with them hanging you upside down from that tree,” Harry said.

Severus’ sable eyes widened as Lucius’ eyes narrowed and Lucius spoke in clipped tones, “Quite the contrary Harry, I find you very interesting, and how could you have possibly known what those stupid Gryffindor prats did to Severus?”

“Some secrets are better left unknown. Besides haven’t you ever heard that a secret is only kept when one person knows it?” Harry retorted.

“Touché,” Lucius replied, and Snape just looked at Harry in indignation and with marginal respect, wanting to know how Granger knew about his humiliation of only a week ago.

“Now Severus, tell me what’s been going on between you and Remus,” Harry suggested, and this caught Lucius off guard as he looked at the dark haired, dark eyed boy in mild shock.

Severus swallowed thickly and tugged at his collar with his long nimble fingers, before he closed his eyes and spoke, “We’ve been meeting in the back gardens just across from the Quidditch Pitch at around two in the morning for the past few weeks. We thought that the chances of getting caught in the garden was less than getting caught in the Transfiguration classroom, now how in the bloody hell do you know about that?”

Harry simply smirked and Lucius couldn’t help himself as he said, “Bloody hell, Severus! He’s a Gryffindor, and…and…a…boy!”

“Neither fact has escaped my knowledge Lucius. I’m fully aware of what Lupin is,” Snape retorted.

“But… Then that means you fancy b...blokes,” Lucius stuttered out rather gracelessly.

Here Harry chuckled and added, “He’s not the only one Luci.”

“I told you not to call me that…” Lucius snapped and then his grey eyes widened as he realized what Harry was implying, and wondered what the limits were concerning how many times a Malfoy could be shocked in a single day. Sometimes things were too overwhelming, even for him.

“You know it’s not all that uncommon. There are a lot of homosexuals in the world. Some are more blatant than others. In fact a lot of heterosexuals sometimes have homosexual urges, but that doesn’t mean they always follow through on them,” Harry said with a shrug.

Lucius shuddered as he couldn’t resist the urge to ask, “But doesn’t it hurt, not to mention the issues with pride, to take it up the arse?”

Both Harry and Severus choked at the question before Harry was roaring with laughter, and suddenly stopped when he heard a sharp bark of deep rumbling laughter erupting from Severus Snape. Harry was surprised by the pleasant sound coming from Severus and had to do a double take as he saw the dark haired boy quivering with laughter. Severus didn’t look so horrible with a smile on his face and laughter on his lips. He actually looked kind of handsome in the throws of good humor. Within a few moments Lucius was adding his aristocratic chuckle to Snape’s deep rumble, and Harry couldn’t resist joining them, as laughter really is a highly contagious thing. Harry was honestly shocked to be confronted with the fact that Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy were indeed human after all and then Lucius had to brighten the moment even more…

“You know, Granger, just because we’re friends and have shared a laugh or two, still doesn’t mean you can change me into a ferret any time you want! I simply couldn’t stand for it. As a Malfoy, I have a reputation to maintain, and being transfigured into furry little rodents is certainly something lacking in decorum.”

“And again I say, Malfoy, get stuffed,” and with that they continued to laugh as they began to dress for bed, and Harry noticed a trunk with the initials “H.G.” monogrammed on it, at the foot of the bed between Lucius and Severus’ four-posters. Harry opened the trunk and found an assortment of school supplies, textbooks, and a school bag, all rather small due to a shrinking charm. He took them out and changed them back to their normal size and then he noticed the array of clothes in his trunk. He pulled out seven sets of school robes with the Slytherin crest on them, seven green and silver ties, as well as ten pairs of black trousers, eight white oxford shirts, a couple of green t-shirts, seven grey vests with green trim around the neck line, nine pairs of black socks, one pair of green socks, a couple of pairs of silky green pajamas, a pair of nice new black leather boots, and a folded piece of parchment.

Harry quickly opened the parchment and read the note written upon it in a round hand:

Harry,

I hope you find these clothes fitting, and your time here well spent. Remember that to alter anything here is to greatly alter the things to come. Follow your heart, and whatever your decisions, remember that free will is the most powerful thing anyone, wizard and muggle alike, can possess. Be wise and choose always with your heart.

Albus Dumbledore

Harry laid out a pair of the pajamas on the bed, and put all of his things back into his trunk with the exception of his school things, which he packed into his new schoolbag and set next to his trunk. He then pulled off his school robes and unbuttoned his shirt, before he took of his shoes, his socks, and his trousers, then he put on the pajama bottoms, not once feeling a bit self conscious, until he heard the gasp as he began to pull on the silky pajama top.

“Bloody hell, what happened to your back?” Lucius asked as he stepped closer to the boy for a good look. Harry sucked in a deep breath, before he slipped his arm through the other sleeve of the pajama top and hastily buttoned it up.

“Last year I was abducted. I was held captive for two weeks. Obviously my abductors were not friendly, as they left me with a reminder of my time spent with them. Not only were they fond of the Cruciatus curse, but they also enjoyed brandishing a whip among other things. I’d really rather not talk about it,” Harry answered stiffly.

“Well at least tell us how you got away,” Severus asked, his own curiosity peaked.

Harry smirked. “Well, one of my abductors made the mistake of casting the Imperius curse on me and untied me. I guess he didn’t know I could throw that curse off. It gave me just enough time to take his wand and get away. I don’t remember much afterward, only that I woke up in the infirmary with Hermione and Ron worried sick.”

“Hermione and Ron?” Lucius questioned.

“Yeah,” Harry said, a far off look in his eyes. “They’re the friends, no, the family, I left behind.”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Six: Mishap in Care of Magical Creatures

A week had passed since the night of the meeting with the marauders, and Harry was brooding. He’d been in a dark mood ever since that night, and Lucius and Severus were wary around him, unwilling to test how his mood would swing. Harry for the most part had been unusually quiet, even for him. Of course Lucius and Severus were curious about Harry’s outbursts in regards to the Gryffindors, and both of them knew that Harry was hiding something, but whatever it was, he wasn’t ready to share it just yet.

Lucius was still sulky over having been slammed into a wall for calling Lily a mudblood, but that action on Harry’s part had caused some changes in the often-snobbish boy. Lucius had taken the time to reflect on himself, and much to his horror had realized just how close to his father he was becoming. With that in mind he determined to change, not enough to give McGonagall an apoplexy, but just enough to maintain his reputation and keep him separate from his father.

Severus, was by the far, the one that had changed the least, although he was most curious about Remus’ sudden distance whenever they met. Severus was also noticing how Remus was growing more nervous with each passing day, and was avoiding touching Severus, and that of course made the Slytherin frustrated and annoyed.

The marauders of course thought that the newest Slytherin in the fold was madder than the average hatter, and was hiding something. Having come to those conclusions, they were determined to find out what lay hidden inside Harry Granger. And so it was on Friday, that things began to shift in a darker direction.

The pull of the moon was growing heavy on Remus as the full moon was the very next night, and he’d had to tell Severus that he couldn’t meet him. Then of course there was Care of Magical Creatures…

----------

Harry sighed as he took another bite from his toast and washed it down with a few sips of orange juice from his goblet. He then turned the page of the potions text he was reading, and made a quick addition to his notes concerning “The Sleeping Draught of Prophetic Dreams”. He was still no closer to finding a way back to his own time, but he could brew the potion successfully with his eyes closed at that point.

“Bloody hell, you’re always stuck in a potions book. You’re almost as bad as Sev, Harry. Do you want to be a Potions Master as well?” Lucius asked.

Green eyes looked up startled at the question, and he nearly spit up some of his orange juice, before quickly composing himself. “Me, a Potions Master? That’s a good one. I hate the subject, but something happened in my last Potions class at my old school, and I have to find out how and why. It’s really important that I find out,” Harry replied.

“Well, why not ask me?” Severus cut in from Harry’s right.

Harry took a deep breath. “It’s not that simple. Look, this is just something that I have to do on my own… I wish Hermione were here. She always liked hitting the books. And Ron, he’d have me on the Quidditch pitch so fast because Hermione would do all the research.”

“There you go, talking about those friends again,” Lucius said with a shake of his head. “Honestly, this Hermione sounds like a Ravenclaw, and Ron, he would probably be a Gryffindor.”

“Hermione isn’t all books and cleverness. She’s as bossy as they come. Believe me, she’d be a Gryffindor,” Harry said with a whimsy smile.

“Sure you don’t fancy girls?” Severus asked slyly.

Harry snorted. “No. It’s not like that at all. Hermione has Blaise, and Ron has Lavender.”

“And who did you have after Blaise dropped you? Now he sounds like a Slytherin,” Lucius said.

“Yeah, he is. And after him there was no one,” Harry replied.

“Right. You poor unfortunate git. We’ll just have to find you a good shag. Is there anyone in particular that you’re interested in, and please keep in mind that while I am your friend, I am wholly off limits,” Lucius said.

Harry shook his head and then sighed as he realized it was time for first period. “We’ll talk more about this later. Right now we need to get to Care of Magical Creatures before we’re late.”

----------

Remus rolled his honey colored eyes as he noticed Sirius rubbing his black eye once again, although it had faded considerably over the last week.

“You know, this is what happens when you throw your temper around without so much as a second thought,” Remus said.

Sirius’ eyes widened as he turned to his friend, an incredulous expression on his face. “You would take up for that Slytherin? You’ve seen his animal form. He’s a dark wizard, and look at his friends! Snivellus and Malfoy! There’s no good in the prat, and not only did he hit me, but remember what he did to Peter? He was in the infirmary for two bloody days!”

“And he saved James,” Remus countered. “You can’t forget that he saved James.”

“Oy, is he on about Granger again?” James said as he caught up to them, leaving Lily to chat with a few girls.

“Something just isn’t right about him. I’m telling you, he’s got dark wizard all over him, and he’s obviously mental. What was that he was saying about us owing him and me in Azkaban? Please, and he hasn’t known any of us long enough to look up to us!” Sirius snapped.

James sighed. “He’s odd, I’ll admit, but he knows so much about us, and so far he’s kept quiet. I think we can trust him.”

Remus quickly agreed with James, and then began to slow down his pace, leaving James and Sirius to go on with their argument while he sought after Severus to tell him that he couldn’t meet with him for the next couple of nights.

He spotted Severus, as well as Malfoy and Granger, and sighed as he paused and wondered why he would submit himself to the scrutiny of Malfoy, just so he could talk to Severus. The three Slytherins were soon upon him and then Remus fell into step with them, sidling up to Severus.

“Subtlety is truly lost on you Gryffindors,” Lucius said as he turned to look at Remus.

Remus swallowed thickly and then said, “Sev…Snape, I…”

“We already know about him and you. There aren’t too many secrets kept between us,” Lucius said.

Remus’ eyes widened. “You told them?” he asked Severus.

Severus shook his head. “Granger.”

“Oh,” Remus said and then glanced at Harry, before taking a deep breath, and added. “I can’t meet with you for a couple of nights. I have a project to work on and I just can’t.”

“You’re always ahead in your schoolwork,” Severus hissed, and then he saw something in Remus’ eyes. “You’re lying to me. Just tell me the bloody truth. You’ve been distant ever since that night in the Potions classroom. What the hell is wrong?”

“It’s not you, Severus, I swear. I just, I can’t tell you, and I don’t want to hurt you. Please trust me,” Remus pleaded and his cheeks grew warm at having admitted something so personal in front of Harry Granger and Lucius Malfoy.

“Sev, let him have this secret. Trust me, he adores you. He’ll tell you when he’s ready, but not yet,” Harry said, and then gave Remus a small smile. “Just don’t keep the secret much longer, Moony.”

Remus’ golden eyes widened as he looked at the boy that looked so much like James Potter, and smiled shyly. “Thanks. I don’t know why you’re keeping our secrets, but I’m grateful that you are.”

Remus then began to jog off toward James and Sirius who had been watching the exchange between their friend and the Slytherins for some time. However before James or Sirius could question their friend on what he’d been doing talking to Slytherins, class began.

----------

“Good day to you all,” said Professor Grubblyplank as she looked at her class of Slytherins and Gryffindors, wondering what on earth she had done to deserve such a lot, on a day of substituting for Professor Kettleburn.

Sighing she gave a little whistle and a strange looking creature of magenta coloring came out from the edges of the Forbidden forest, scampering up to the professor. It had feet like a rabbit, and when it came to a stop by the professor everyone got a good look at it. Its tail was long and fluffy, reminding Harry strongly of Hermione’s ginger cat Crookshanks. It stood on it’s back legs, it’s arms somewhat long, but it had hands, similar to monkeys and not so far off from humans, its fingers were long. Its face resembled that of a fox, with a long narrow snout, but instead of pointed ears, the creature’s ears were rather large and round. All in all, it was odd looking, but kind of cute. And Harry recognized it immediately for what it was, a Kerfloffle.

Harry looked from the strange little creature, no larger than a small dog, and then to Remus. He wondered if Remus even knew the danger he was in because of this creature. The Kerfloffle was usually a gentle creature, but became wholly hostile when around a werewolf, what was worse was that the little creature’s bite was highly venomous, usually resulting in death for a werewolf.

Professor Grubblyplank was lecturing on the little creature, talking about how it was used to hunt down rogue werewolves, when suddenly its little nose went into the air and its head slowly swiveled toward Remus. Its tail went bushy, and something changed about the little thing. It didn’t look friendly or gentle as its bright golden eyes locked on Remus. Remus’ eyes had widened and then the creature was running at a very fast speed toward the quiet Gryffindor.

Harry didn’t have time to think as he shifted into his animagus form and launched himself at the little creature. Opening his mouth, his jaws unhinging as he caught it in his mouth, the little thing struggling in his mouth, trying to escape so it could get to Remus. The Slytherins and Gryffindors were shocked, most of the girls screaming, Lily of course was just watching with wide eyes. Harry the large python was lashing around as the little creature began to bite him, but still he refused to open his mouth.

Finally it was James that came to his senses and realized that the creature had been going for Remus. He gave Sirius a smack on the arm and then the two boys grabbed a very shaken Remus and dragged him back to the castle. Once Remus was a safe distance away, Harry spit the Kerfloffle out of his mouth and it went rolling and tumbling a few feet across the ground as Harry shifted back into his human form and promptly collapsed into unconsciousness, as it had bitten him countless times before he’d spit it out.

----------

A groan escaped his lips as his eyes slowly fluttered open, and a blurry face framed with platinum blond hair came into his line of vision. Harry sucked in a deep breath of air, and reached out blindly for his glasses before they were placed in his hand. Harry blinked owlishly, before a strange expression stretched across his face. His brow furrowed and then he spat, “Malfoy? What are you doing here? Where are Hermione and Ron? You hex them too? Come to cart me off to your father’s master?”

“What are you talking about, Harry?” Lucius asked and shot a questioning glance toward Severus, before Harry’s arms came around Lucius, the dark haired boy’s hands tangling in his platinum hair, before he was jerked down into a heated kissed, the dark haired boy’s tongue sweeping across his lips, before stunned, Lucius opened his mouth and Harry’s tongue dipped inside his mouth, trying to coax the boy into kissing him back. Lucius was frozen in shock, and finally Harry pulled back, a confused expression on his face. “Draco, the last time you were the one that kissed me. Funny, you taste different.”

“Draco? Who the bloody hell is Draco, and why in the hell did you molest my lips with your savage mouth?!” Lucius growled.

Harry’s eyes widened as his memories came flooding back, and then he sat up and scooted back toward the head of the bed, drawing his knees up, his arms wrapped around his legs, as he let his forehead fall forward on his knees. “Oh my God, I just kissed Lucius bloody Malfoy.”

Slowly Harry lifted his head and looked around the room, noticing Severus, a still stunned Lucius, and also three Gryffindors, James, Sirius, and Remus. Harry looked at the three Gryffindors, and closing his eyes sighed, before he turned to Severus and Lucius and said, “Lucius, one day I’ll explain that to you. For now, just know that I never meant for that to happen. Could you two leave us? I have some things to discuss with the Gryffindor trio here. And don’t listen in or I won’t hesitate to obliviate your memories. As it is, I may just have to obliviate mine.”

“You were the one trying to snog me senseless!” Lucius snapped, and then he stormed out of the infirmary, with Severus rolling his eyes and taking off after the irate Malfoy.

Harry then beckoned the three marauders closer to his bedside before he asked for James’ wand and cast a sound barrier around the three of them so that no one else could hear what they were discussing. James’ eyes widened at the fact that Harry could use his wand. Harry simply shrugged and looked at the three of them. Remus was looking at him carefully, trying to figure him out, while James’ gaze was simply full of curiosity. Sirius was looking decidedly ill at having witnessed someone snogging a Malfoy.

It was Remus that spoke first.

“Why did you do it? Why did you expose what you are to…save me?”

Harry smiled at the boy and then said, “Just returning the favor. There was a time when you would have done the same for me. Besides, you’ll be needed in the time to come, believe me, you’re important, all of you are important.”

“Why do you talk like you know us? You’ve only been here for a few weeks,” James pointed out.

“I know you three better than almost anyone here. I guess I know Snape pretty well too, and I finally understand him now. Just leave off him, okay. Remus adores him, and I won’t let your stupid pranks turn him toward darkness. Not when I know what it would cost him. To be honest the only real surprise I’ve faced is dealing with Lucius. I never would have thought he was human. He’s actually not so bad,” Harry said with a shrug.

“Who the bloody hell are you? How do you know us?” Sirius growled and drew nearer to the bed, anger evident on his face and in his voice, but Harry didn’t even flinch.

Harry shook his head. “I’m someone you’ll meet again in a couple of years. I know you because from that point onward you, all of you shape my life, you and a madman turn me into what I become. You shape my fate, and you give me a destiny that will more than likely kill me.”

“Are you some kind of seer?” Sirius asked, his voice dripping with disbelief and disdain.

“No, but I know more about what is to come than anyone else here,” Harry growled back. “You never forget what you live through!”

Sirius rolled his eyes. “And just what have you lived through?”

“A war that is building just now. I was a year old when my parents were killed by Lord Voldemort. I never knew I was a wizard until I was eleven and started attending school here. I had a horrible childhood with muggles that always called me a freak or worse because of things I couldn’t explain. And once I was at school I had fame heaped on me because of my scar, the little lightening bolt on my forehead. I wasn’t a hero! My mother jumped in front of me to shield me from the killing curse. When it was cast on me it was rebounded onto the wizard that cast it. There has been an attempt on my life ever since my first year of school, and in my fourth year the Dark Lord was resurrected because of my blood, and his most ‘loyal’ follower’s sacrifice. I lost everyone that was important to me, even before I ever got to know them.

“I once had a tie to my parents, he was a great man, but he only taught Defense Against the Dark Arts for a year because after that he thought he was a danger to the students, because of what he was. I also had a godfather, a wonderful man that escaped a wizarding prison after twelve years of being imprisoned. We were almost a family, but a rat ruined it for us. He was almost free, and then a couple of years later he died too. I’ve lost so much in a war that I’m forced to fight in. I’m known as a wizard messiah because of a stupid divination teacher who predicts that I will die almost everyday of class that she teaches me. Gods is Trelawney a fraud. One prophecy and she remains a teacher at this bloody school with a ten year!”

Sirius snorted. “Lord Voldemort? Isn’t he that bloke leading those Death Eaters? He’s not all that organized. The aurors are bound to catch him sooner or later. I really don’t see what all of the fuss is about.”

“Sirius!” Remus hissed, and then the soft-spoken boy looked at Harry with wide golden eyes and asked, “Harry, where do you come from? Who are you really?”

Harry sighed as he dug into his pockets and took out an old piece of parchment. He handed the parchment to Remus and closed his eyes as he said, “You know what this is. When you’re up in James’ room activate it, and look for me. I’ll still be in the infirmary. The map won’t lie.”

Harry then held out his hand for James’ wand again, and with a swish and flick, the sound barrier around them fell. He then gave the wand back to his father, and turned away from the three Gryffindors. The three boys took that as their cue to leave the strange boy.

----------

James locked and warded the door to his private room. He was glad that being Head Boy had its benefits although he hardly ever stayed in the room, as he’d grown so used to sharing a dorm with Sirius, Remus, and Peter. James turned to look at his friends and then spoke the obvious question.

“Where did he get our map? And why does it look so old?”

Remus shrugged before he tapped it with his wand and said, “I solemnly swear that I’m up to no good.”

Remus looked at the map that suddenly appeared on the parchment and his breath caught in his throat.

“Bloody hell,” Sirius bit out in shock and then James came over to see what they were looking at and his hazel eyes widened behind his glasses.

The name of the student in the infirmary was not Harry Granger, but Harry James Potter. Remus looked up from the map, giving it a tap with his wand to deactivate it and looked at his two friends.

“I think I know where Harry comes from,” he said softly. “He’s from the future. That’s how he knows us. It has to be. He’s a Potter, that explains why he looks so much like you James. He’s probably your kid brother or something. You know someone that hasn’t been born yet.”

James swallowed thickly and shook his head before he looked up from the now blank piece of parchment. “He’s not my brother. He couldn’t be. Neither of my parents have green eyes. You’ve seen him. He has Lily’s eyes. He’s not my brother…he’s my son. Oh Merlin, I died for him and Lily, and she died for him. We left him alone in the world. Gods, I’m a monster. How could I die and leave them behind? Look at what he’s become because of me.”

“It’s not your fault James. You’re only seventeen. You died so he could live. He said as much,” Remus said gently as he put his hand over his friend’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “He is the way he is because he survived. That’s what you died for.”

Sirius looked up at his two friends and shook his head. “This isn’t true. It can’t be. It’s some kind of Slytherin trick. Look, this can’t be our map. Ours is locked in Filch’s office.”

“Look at how old it is! It must be at least twenty years old. It could very well be our map!” Remus snapped.

“Then,” James said and looked from his two friends, a solemn light shining in his once carefree eyes. “That means that I have at best, three to four years left to live, before Voldemort kills me and Lily. I don’t want her to die. I have to tell her I can’t see her anymore.”

“No,” Remus said, and his golden eyes locked with James. “If you didn’t see her anymore then Harry would never be born. He’s obviously needed in the future. You just have to let things run their course. Just continue to see Lily and see how it goes. Forget what you know, and for Merlin’s sake don’t tell her or anyone. No one can know about this. We aren’t even sure of how much his being here has already altered what is to come.”

Sirius looked incredulously at his two friends. “Have the pair of you gone round the bend? You’re going to believe a Slytherin? You’ve seen his animagus form. He’s a dark wizard! He can’t be trusted!”

“He’s saved our lives so far! And how do you explain how he knows so much about us?” James snapped as he glared at his best friend, hazel eyes locking with blue.

Sirius looked toward the floor a blush rising to his cheeks, as he realized that he couldn’t come up with any other explanation, but then a light flickered in his eyes. The full moon was tomorrow, and he could at least take care of part of the problem. Harry seemed entirely too attached to his little friends, and Remus was obviously being corrupted by the Slytherin’s influence. Maybe there was a way to warn Harry away and give Snivellus a good scare…

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Seven: Harry’s Warning to Severus

James Potter sighed as he wrapped the invisibility cloak more tightly around him and watched the boy that looked so much like him tossing and turning on the bed. He wanted to reach out and touch the boy, sweep his wild hair back from his forehead, make sure the vision of his future son was real. He closed his eyes and lifted his head skyward, tears escaping the corners of his eyes as he opened them again. He was only seventeen years old, how could he deal with this knowledge? Then he turned to the boy, obviously weary beyond his own seventeen years and wondered how he’d been strong enough to survive all that he’d lived through.

The boy hidden in the invisibility cloak was startled as Harry violently sat up, gasping for breath and looking toward the infirmary window, as he snatched his glasses from the bedside table. The boy’s green eyes widened behind his glasses and he said, “Oh Gods, Severus…”

Harry got out of the bed and noticing his clothing laying folded on the bed next to his, quickly began to dress, and then his attention was drawn to the seemingly empty chair pulled next to his bed. He sucked in a huge breath and looked skyward for guidance as he swore heavily, knowing who it was sitting in that chair in an invisibility cloak, the same cloak he’d used to sneak into the infirmary countless times to watch over Hermione or Ron whenever they were sick or hurt. The same cloak he’d used on countless adventures.

“I know you’re there,” Harry said and then sighed. “Now isn’t a good time for questions, and I’m sure you have more than a few. Sirius is going to do something stupid, and Remus and Severus will be paying for it with the rest of their lives. Neither of them deserves it. I’m going to try and head off Severus. He needs to be warned. I want you there tonight near the Whomping Willow, incase my warning doesn’t work. Will you do this for me?”

James cocked his head at the boy, as he removed the cloak, stood up, and said, “Anything to spare Remus, but tell me… Are you really my…son?”

Harry grinned wryly as he replied, “Not exactly what you had in mind, now am I, Dad?”

Harry was quite taken by surprise when James threw his arms around him in a crushing hug, and said, “I’m sorry I left you and your mum behind. I’ll do my best to see that it’s different this go around. No one deserves what you went through. You’ll never know how truly sorry I am…”

“It’s all right, you know,” Harry managed to wheeze once James’ grip loosened a bit. “I forgave you a long time ago. You must have really loved me to die for me. Once I knew the truth I understood. You did for me what I would do for anyone else. I just never got the chance to thank you for it. Sirius of course just dove right into the situation and… Well, I still haven’t come ‘round to forgiving him yet. We were so close to having a family. That’s really all I’ve ever wanted… I kind of have that with Lucius and Severus, although I never thought I’d ever say that. It’s like what I have with Ron and Hermione.”

“So shall we call a truce, and I want to hear everything you have to say about Peter. I’ll believe whatever you tell me. He did betray us didn’t he? He destroyed my family, and hurt you?”

Harry nodded. “He did a lot of things, but right now we have to try and fix what Sirius has done. It’s just after twilight. We only have a couple of hours before the moon is out, and Severus finds out about Remus the hard way. If we prevent this I’m going to get those two in a room and not let them out till Remus confesses or the next full moon comes around, whichever comes first.”

“All right, but tell me what you were dreaming about when I came in?” James asked.

“I fell into Severus’ pensieve when I was fifteen, and I saw many of the things you’d done to him over the years. I’d heard about what happened that night with Severus discovering Remus, but I actually saw it in the pensieve and at the time I didn’t understand Severus’ reactions. Now I know why he became what he did. He saw the man he loved turn into a monster and then turn on him. That’s enough to make someone think that darkness with the promise of knowledge is acceptable. I can’t lose them to the mark.”

“You won’t,” James said. “I owe you that much. Although we should talk about your choice in friends, Harry. Honestly, Slytherins?”

Harry rolled his eyes. “I know what you mean. Lucius’ son and me have always been rivals, and I’ve never been overly fond of the adult Lucius, but he’s seen the error of his ways, and while he’s still a right sod most of the time, he’s not so bad.”

“Fine, but I think that undying friendship with a Malfoy is stretching things.”

“Who said he had to be your friend?”

“Fine, now got a plan for keeping Snape away from the Whomping Willow?”

“I’ll try to head him off, you’re just the back up.”

“Done.”

“Hopefully it won’t come to the back up, although… Maybe we should let Sirius think he got away with it, give him a little scare, and act as though Severus were critically wounded.”

James’ eyes widened and then he shook his head. “I can see how you got put into Slytherin. Just another thing for us to talk over.”

Harry rolled his eyes and shook his head at James before giving a sly grin and leaving the infirmary to head toward the dungeons, in hopes of preventing something catastrophic in the lives of two men he’d learned to greatly admire. He found himself wondering how the future would be once he’d returned, how things might be different with all of the little things he was changing in the now. He only hoped it really was better…

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Lucius looked up when someone suddenly ran into the Slytherin common room, they were doubled over, their black hair a complete mess, and breathing hard. Eventually they looked up and Lucius’ grey eyes locked with Harry’s green. Lucius’ brow rose neatly in curiosity as he stood up and headed toward Harry, but Harry shook his head.

“No time for explanations. Where’s Severus?” Harry spoke sharply.

Lucius rolled his eyes. “Off to meet with Lupin. He got a note by owl only a few minutes ago. Why? Something wrong?”

“What? Did he say where he would be going?” Harry asked, his tone somewhat panicked.

Lucius shook his head. “Bugger, he’s going to the Whomping Willow already,” Harry said and then turned to Lucius. “You are to stay here. If he comes back you keep him here no matter what. Hex him if you have to. Understood?”

“Now, wait a minute. I’m going with you. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’ve known Severus a lot longer than you have,” Lucius said.

“How long you’ve known him doesn’t matter. Don’t think I won’t hex you to keep you here, Lucius. I can’t worry about the both of you. Now stay here,” Harry snapped.

Lucius narrowed his grey eyes as he sulkily answered, “Fine,” then he tilted his head, looked at the boy, and continued, “And why aren’t you at the infirmary? I thought you were supposed to stay the night for observation.”

“Observation got cut short,” Harry replied nonchalantly and then turned around and left the common room. Lucius shook his head, wondering what was going on with the boy. There was obviously something highly unstable about him. If he didn’t know any better he’d say the boy was a Potter, what with the way he looked and acted sometimes, but no Potter would ever be sorted into Slytherin.

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James was pacing in the common room, wondering whether he should just go and confront Sirius or go with Harry’s plan. James had never been back up before. Usually he came up with the schemes. He couldn’t help the grin that played across his lips at one of the traits he’d passed on to Harry. The absolute madness of the boy had to come from Lily’s side of the family…

James was cut short in his pacing and reverie as he heard a commotion coming from just beyond the entrance to Gryffindor tower. His eyes widened behind his glasses as he realized that someone was actually cursing out the portrait of the fat lady, demanding access to Gryffindor Tower. Deciding that the poor portrait had endured enough of the foul language being flung her way, James went out of the portrait hole, the portrait swinging aside to reveal Harry and Severus Snape. James had to blink as he laid eyes on Snape, or more importantly Harry’s hand securely holding Snape’s collar and shaking the boy.

Harry looked up, his green eyes meeting James’. “Looks like I’ve headed the git off, now care to help me get him to your room, so that we can talk some sense into him and tell him that Remus didn’t send him that bloody note?”

“Where did you find him?” James asked as he noticed that both of them looked as though they’d been tossed about in mud.

Severus was beginning to regain the use of his legs as Harry had only used a temporary version of the stunning charm, as the full version would have disoriented the boy. Harry gave him a firm shake and then sent a glare in James’ direction. “We’ll talk specifics up in your room. If anyone questions why we are here, say it’s Head Boy business or something. Just get us the hell out of the corridor and to somewhere with some privacy where I can hold this bloody prat down if I have to. Bloody hell, Sev, I will deck you if I have to!”

James sighed before he said the password and the portrait swung open, James entering first, followed by Severus who was obviously being led by a very irate Harry. When Harry got his hands on Sirius… Well now that was something to savor thinking on…

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“This is a load of shite! You’ve having me on, and Remus is going to be out of his mind that I’ve missed our rendezvous! If I hurry now I’ll only be a few minutes late!” Severus ranted as he glared at the two boys that looked nearly identical. James was rolling his eyes as he lounged on his bed, and Harry was sitting in one of the crimson chairs in the room, the two chairs turned to face the bed rather than the fireplace. Harry looked as though he could spring into action at any moment if Severus dared try to leave the room.

Harry finally having enough of his friend’s ranting turned to James and then looked Severus dead in the eye. “Dammit Sev, I’m sorry you had to find out like this. What we’ve been telling you about Sirius sending that soddin’ note is true, but there is something that we’ve been trying to keep from you…”

“Harry! You can’t!” James cut in, but Harry shot him a glare and then continued, “When Remus was four years old there was an incident. He was attacked and suffered an injury. The injury healed with little trouble, in fact, considering the magnitude of the injury, the fact that there was no scarring is nothing short of miraculous…”

“What has that got to do with now? That was what? Over thirteen years ago?” Severus replied in exasperation.

Taking a deep breath, Harry exchanged a quick glance with James, who was looking decidedly ill at what he knew Harry was about to reveal. Knowing what needed to be said, Harry took the plunge. “It was a werewolf. Remus has been suffering from Lycanthropy ever since. His injury healed, but the damage was done. That’s why the Whomping Willow was planted the year you all started Hogwarts, and that’s why the Shrieking Shack is supposedly haunted. Remus transforms in the shack and stays there every full moon. He’s distant because he’s afraid you won’t want him if you know the truth.”

Severus narrowed his eyes at Harry. “Well, if all this nonsense is true, then why would Black risk Remus’ friendship to stage this? To have me find out about Remus by stumbling across him in wolf form, not to mention how I could more than likely be physically harmed in the process?”

“Because he doesn’t think things through. He just goes ahead with things, the consequences be damned until he royally fucks up,” James said as he ran a hand through his untamed hair.

Harry snorted and looked at his father in surprise. “Well said, James, well said. He was the same way with Bellatrix. He just leapt first and… Well you can guess the rest.”

“Yes,” James said with a nod, “I probably can, kiddo.”

Severus looked between the two boys and shook his head, before he settled his gaze on Harry and asked, “Since when have the two of you become friends?”

“Well, since he saved my neck,” James said.

Severus’ brow lifted. “Bollocks.”

“The stupid prat was watching over me in the infirmary. He didn’t know that I knew about his invisibility cloak until I told him to reveal himself,” Harry answered with a shrug.

“Now wait a tick,” Sev said and stood up, his black eyes focusing on James. “You have a bloody invisibility cloak? Ah hell, now that explains some things.”

“Sev, we’ve got a plan to get Sirius. Hopefully it will at least make him think future plans through before jumping headfirst into things, but before we can go through on it, I want to know how you feel about Remus. Can you handle this? If you can’t you tell me now, because he doesn’t deserve the hurt of you rejecting him for what he is.”

Severus looked at Harry and closed his eyes before he spoke in a voice barely above a whisper. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t give a damn about him being a werewolf. I love him. Now let’s get tonight over with so that I can be up early enough to get a good start on a potion that will take over two weeks to prepare.”

Harry grinned. “So you’re going to go the Potions route to becoming an Animagus? Well that is the less painful method. Learning through transfiguration is tricky and very painful in the beginning. You’ll be brewing enough for Lucius as well I assume? First you should do a potion that will reveal your inner animal. Lucius of course will more than likely end up as a ferret. That’s what Draco became as I recall.”

“Who is this Draco you keep mentioning around Lucius?” Sev asked curiously.

Harry chuckled. “He’s someone that you will one day have the displeasure of meeting. And surprisingly he will be the one boy that Lucius will fall head over heels for…”

Severus nearly choked. “Lucius? He’s as straight as Black.”

“Not quite,” Harry said. “Lucius is indeed straight, but I wouldn’t say as much for Sirius…”

Here James did indeed choke and looked at Harry. “What?” he managed to wheeze.

“He’s gone and fallen for you, but he won’t say anything to you because you’re so over the moon for Lily. For my sake, please stick with Lily.”

“You’ve no problems there, but Sirius with a man?”

Severus just looked between his strange friend and the Gryffindor. “Enough with the prattle, what’s the soddin’ plan?”

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Holding the large stick before him, Severus laid down on the ground, stretching his arm forward to push the knot on the tree with the stick to keep it from knocking him senseless. Just as he deactivated the tree a rather large hole appeared just at the base of it, next to the knot. Severus was about to enter the hole when he was knocked aside and he rolled across the ground and away from the opening just as the tree sprang back into life. He heard a strange crunching sound followed by a horrible cry of pain. Turning to his left Severus saw James Potter sprawled on the ground, his left hand clutching his limp right arm. Severus winced at the expression of pain on the boy’s face, before he moved quickly, grabbing the boy by his robes and again wincing as the boy cried out in agony as Severus pulled him out of range of the enraged tree.

Panting, Severus looked at the injured James Potter, and actually felt sympathy for him. James groaned as he clutched at his arm and then looked at the Slytherin that was kneeling beside him. Severus helped him to sit up and then said, “I think, perhaps, that we should get you to the hospital wing.”

Gritting his teeth, James replied, “For once I won’t argue with you.”

“Does this mean that you’ve just agreed with a Slytherin?” Severus asked with a smirk as he helped the injured boy get to his feet.

James rolled his eyes before he cried out again as his injured arm was shifted. “Don’t let it go to your head. Now about the infirmary?”

Snape rolled his eyes. “Only looks like a broken arm. It could have been much worse.”

James glared at the boy. “Well then, let’s go back and see how you like being attacked by a bloody tree!” he snapped.

Severus snorted and slowed his pace to stay by James’ side as the two of them headed toward the castle and ultimately the hospital wing, where Severus’ acting would be put to the test. All for the benefit of one stubborn Gryffindor…