Well folks, here it is at last. Half of you were asking me to write more in the past, the other half wanted me to get H/Hr back to 1997. Unfortunately I've run out of subject material for 1977. It's really hard to write good chapters when there is absolutely NO conflict happening. So it's time to go back to the future.
And I know this chapter is a little short in the word count, only just over 6k. I'm hoping that now that I have some subject material to write about, and not just spur of the moment stuff, I can hit at least 7.5k words a chapter starting with the next one. Enjoy!
---------------
Chapter 14: The Path Ahead
Harry and Hermione sat in silence for the few minutes while Lily was gone. When she finally returned, the Marauders were hot on her heels.
"Hey," said Harry sighing.
"What's wrong?" asked James. "Lily just came up and told we had to come down here right away."
"Wouldn't even tell us what it was about," chimed in Sirius.
"Well, it's their business to tell you, not mine," huffed Lily.
"So what is it?" asked James. Harry and Hermione exchanged a quick glance before Hermione spoke up.
"Professor Dumbledore came in a few minutes ago to talk to us," she said. "They've found Flamel. We're going home in two weeks."
A silence hung in the air after she said this. The expressions in the room could only be described as crestfallen.
"So, that's it then?" asked James. "You're just going back?" Harry nodded slowly. "Well you know what this means then, right?" The other six people in the room looked at him expectantly.
"What?" asked Harry.
"We need to throw a going away party!" James yelled, to which Harry, Sirius, and Peter shouted their approval.
"How about waiting until Harry gets out of hospital first?" asked Lily. The cheers immediately subsided and were replaced by looks of disappointment.
"Fine," said James. "Hurry up and get better soon then."
"Madam Pomfrey said I should be out of here in a little under a week," Harry said with a sigh. "Maybe I can convince her to let me out a day or so earlier."
"Well good!" said Sirius. "We need to use up that bottle of Firewhiskey we still have!"
"I don't really think it's a good idea for Harry to be drinking so soon after his brain has gone back to its normal size," chastised Hermione.
"Well tell it to bloody hurry up then!" responded Sirius.
"What is all this racket?!" screeched Madam Pomfrey coming out of her office. "You lot, shoo! Lockheart needs to rest if he's going to get better." With dejected groans coming from Lily and the Marauders, they each left after bidding Harry and Hermione goodbye.
"So how am I doing?" Harry asked once they had gone. The nurse gave him a quick examination before shrugging.
"Better," she said. "You might be able to get out of here in five days or so, provided you do nothing strenuous." Harry nodded and Madam Pomfrey went back into her office to do more work.
"Nothing strenuous..." sighed Harry. "I guess this means you're on your own for a little while," he said to Hermione with a smile.
"Oh I'm plenty more than capable of being on my own," she replied with an equally smug grin. "But that'll have to wait, as right now I've got classes, and you've got homework to catch up on." And with that, she gave Harry a quick kiss on the forehead before leaving him there to work.
'I need to stop looking at her arse when she leaves a room,' he thought.
'I heard that,' she retorted back in his head. Chuckling, Harry shook his head and went back to his transfiguration essay.
=====
Five days later, Harry was released from the hospital wing with cheers from the Marauders and Lily, who promptly threw a large party in his honor in the Gryffindor common room.
"Was it really necessary to invite the whole house?" Hermione asked James over the din.
"Of course!" he shouted back. "Harry didn't get to join in on the party after that amazing catch of his, so we figured, 'Let's throw another one!'" Hermione chuckled to herself and sat down on Harry's lap, who was sipping at his firewhiskey after finally chasing off the last of the first and second years who wanted to hear how he caught the snitch for the hundredth time.
"How come you're not enjoying the festivities?" he asked holding up his shot glass.
"You know I don't like drinking much," Hermione said. "There are plenty of other ways for me to get giddy and relaxed at the same time." Harry wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at this, earning a steely glare from Hermione.
'Harry, you are positively incorrigible,' she said silently.
'And you love me for it,' he responded with a grin.
"Hey! Hermione! Why aren't yoo joining in on all de fun?" shouted a drunken Sirius.
"Because I like the contents of my stomach just where they are, thank you," she retorted with a grin. "Besides, alcohol affects my thinking."
"Aww c'mon," he continued to slur. "Everyone knowz that drinking affectsh your liver, not yer brain." At this, Lily walked over to Sirius.
"Okay," she said wobbling slightly. "No more for you." Sirius threw Lily a disgusted look before passing out on the floor. "James! Come over here and clean this up!" she shouted. James walked over laughing and he hoisted Sirius up over his shoulder and carried him up to the dorms.
"THAT is why I don't drink," Hermione said looking at Harry.
"Eventually you will," he responded. "You did drink a little bit the first time they got hold of Firewhiskey."
"Well..." she said. "It really doesn't taste all that bad you know." Harry grinned.
"Hey Harry!" shouted James coming back down the stairs. "How do you like your party?"
"It's great, thanks!" he shouted in response. James nodded and walked off to Lily, who was chuckling at something Remus had said.
"You know, sometimes I wonder how he got to be Head Boy..." said Hermione watching James. Harry shrugged.
"Probably the same way I did," he admitted. "I mean, neither he nor I were prefects, yet we accomplished enough for Dumbledore to make us Head Boys."
"I suppose," said Hermione.
The party finally started to wind down around 1 a.m., at which point the students no longer had the energy to keep making runs to the Room of Requirement for more Ogden's. Each of them came up and bid Harry and Hermione good night in turn, before retiring to their own respective dorms to sleep off the alcohol. Finally, just Harry, Hermione, James, and Lily were left, Peter and Remus having gone to make sure Sirius was doing okay.
"So," said James collapsing into a chair. "Did you enjoy?" Harry nodded.
"Usually I'm not one for parties, but I had a good time tonight," he admitted.
"Me too," said Hermione. "Even if I didn't drink." Lily chuckled at this.
"I don't understand why you refuse so adamantly, Hermione," she said. "I mean look at me. I'm Head Girl and have the best marks in the school. Every once in a while though, you just need to let go and have a good time."
"There are other ways of having a good time," Hermione said, to which James and Lily grimaced.
"Must you always talk about that?" James said shaking his head. Hermione threw her hands up in the air.
"Why does everyone always think that I'm implying that?" she asked no one in particular.
"Because it's more fun that way," Harry said with a grin. Hermione looked at him but said nothing.
"Well listen," said Lily. "It's pretty late, and we're all a little tipsy, so I think I'm going to get some sleep.
"Agreed," said James. "Let's go." With that, James grabbed Lily's hand and the two of them began walking up the stairs to the Head Girl's room.
"Not being very discreet, are you?" asked Harry when they were halfway up the steps, causing the two of them to stop.
"Can't a bloke walk his best girl to her room?" asked James.
"Certainly," replied Harry. "Then I'll assume that when I come up to the dorm in five minutes, I'll find you there?" James and Lily's faces turned red at this.
"I...uh...I will not stand for this trickery!" said James. "C'mon Lily, let's go." She gave a nod and the two of them continued up the stairs. Hermione turned and looked at Harry.
'Your parents may be good wizards, but they're horrible actors,' she said silently.
'Tell me about it. And here I was almost managing to forget what I heard going on in Lily's bathroom the night before the match.' Hermione smiled at this.
'So what can I do to take your mind off it?' she asked seductively. Harry groaned audibly at this.
'Ugh, not tonight. I think all the alcohol has affected me a little,' he said closing his eyes.
"Well that can be fixed," Hermione said out loud grabbing her wand. "Sobrietus." Harry instantly felt his headache dissipate and his vision cleared. Putting her wand away, she stood up. "Head Boy's room again?"
"Yeah," said Harry getting up to follow her. "And let's not bother to ask Lily for permission this time."
=====
Three days later Harry, Hermione, Lily, and the Marauders were all gathered in the Room of Requirement to help Harry out with his animagus skills. The Marauders insisted that Harry became a Marauder properly, and as he was leaving in a just under a week, he needed to get on with it.
"I'm telling you there's no point," said Harry dejectedly after his fifth failed attempt. "I've tried of everything possible."
"Including lion?" asked James. Harry nodded. "Well what haven't we thought of?"
"Let's go over the list one more time," said Sirius with a sigh.
"Wait," said Hermione browsing through the books on the shelves. "Look at this first." She removed an old tome and set it on one of the desks.
"Mythical Creatures?" asked Remus. "But an animagus transformation can only involve ordinary animals."
"Well Harry's not exactly an ordinary wizard, now is he?" Hermione asked. The Marauders looked questioningly at Lily, who crossed her arms.
"Why do I have to be the deciding body for all of you?" she asked wearily.
"Because you're smart enough to be a Marauder, yet you're female," said Sirius.
"Can't argue with that," said Lily with a sigh. "I think it's a good idea. After all, it can't hurt, can it?" Shrugging, Harry opened the book and went straight to the back where the list of mythical creatures was.
"Basilisk, Behemoth, Catoblepas...hey this looks interesting," Harry said leafing through to the front of the book. "The Catoblepas was a creature that looked like a dog crossed with a bull with scales. Believed to be conceived when Persephone became angered at Cerberus, and cursed the dog to bear a pup even though Cerberus was male." There were shudders around the room at this. "Later Hades realised the benefits of Catoblepas in war, and spawned more with the use of hellfire. Eventually the it became a species of its own, and though most were hunted and killed by the early Egyptians, a few still remain in the Middle East today."
"Harry, Catoblepas was the spawn of the Goddess of the Underworld and Fluffy. You really think that's your animagus form?" asked Hermione indignantly.
"Fluffy?" asked Harry.
"You remember, big three-headed dog, guarding a trap door which we all went through in our first year to get the Philosopher's Stone?" Harry's eyes widened.
"THAT'S Cerberus?!" he exclaimed. Hermione nodded. "That explains his temper."
"Enough with the ancient mythology," James said. "Get on with it." Harry went back to the book and leafed through the index.
"Hmmmm..." said Harry opening the book to a page roughly in the middle. "This is curious."
"What is it?" asked Lily coming over.
"The Singa," Hermione quoted from the book. "Believed to be sent by the God of the Batak, taking the shape of a lion. Because only three have been recorded in existence, its omnipotence would indicate above all else, a sense of protection." Sirius shrugged at this.
"Seems simple enough," he said calmly. Hermione snorted.
"Are you joking?" she asked. "The Singa is probably the most powerful creature in existence. Its healing powers rival that of the phoenix's, not to mention the fact that the hide is strong enough to repel a direct Avada Kedavra."
"Well go on then," said James. "Give it a shot." Shrugging, Harry stood up from his seat and walked into the open space of the room. Closing his eyes, his body took the misty form it would before changing into an animal.
'Is it working?' asked Hermione silently, knowing Harry couldn't speak through his mouth right now.
'I'm not sure,' he replied. 'Something's happening, but I can't tell what...'
"Harry you better hurry up and change into a human or an animal, you can't hold that form for long," said Lily. The words weren't even out of her mouth when the transparent form that was Harry began to slowly dissolve into air.
'Harry, hurry up,' said Hermione getting worried.
'I've almost got it,' he said, his face (or what was still left of it) screwed up in concentration.
'Harry turn back,' pleaded Hermione.
'No, I'm nearly there,' he responded.
'Harry!' she screamed into her mind as the mist faded away, only to be replaced by a majestic, bronze-colored lion.
"Bloody hell," said Remus in awe. Indeed, the sight before them was quite impressive. The seven people in the room knew that a lion is no small creature, but the beast before them was quite large. Roughly the size of a small bus, in fact. The Singa that was Harry looked around, dazed, then seemed to realise that he was about a foot taller than everyone else.
"Conjurus," breathed Lily. Immediately a large mirror appeared in front of the great lion, and Harry immediately stumbled backwards over his hind paws. Changing back into a human, he lay on the floor panting.
"You all right?" asked James with an enormous smile on his face.
"Yeah," breathed Harry who was being helped to his feet by Hermione. "Bloody hell, was that me in the mirror?"
"Sure was," said Sirius. "Quite....majestic, if I may say so."
"So...wait a second," Harry said looking at Hermione. "The hide of a Singa can repel Avada Kedavra?"
"Yes, but I wouldn't advise attacking Voldemort in that form," she said, reading his thoughts.
"Why?" he asked.
"Because you can't cast magic while you're like that. And all it would take is a simple 'conjurus' from Voldemort as you're leaping to pounce on him and instead you crash headlong into a brick wall, or something of the like."
"Oh," Harry slumped his shoulders dejectedly.
"Don't worry," Hermione said putting an arm around him. "I'm sure it'll be useful in other ways."
"Yeah," said James. "Now if you don't mind putting the glum feelings aside, we have an initiation to do!"
"That's right!" said Sirius snapping his fingers. "But first he needs a nickname." The Marauders nodded silently and went into deep thought.
"What's going on?" Hermione whispered to Lily.
"Don't worry," she replied in an equally low voice. "They always get like this when they're thinking."
"Aha!" said James looking up. "I've got it! We'll call him Paws."
"Paws?" asked Harry skeptically.
"Well it's the best I can come up with on short notice," said James. "After all, it took us a good month to come up with our nicknames."
"Paws, Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs," said Sirius. "We kind of have the 'P' thing going on there."
"I like it," said Remus. "It's simple, yet eloquent." The other Marauders stared at him in confusion. "It means it has a nice ring to it."
"Ah," said James in understanding. "Well, it's settled then. Paws it is!" He walked over to the Marauder's Map which was on one of the desks (they had brought to ensure privacy), and tapped it with his wand. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." The map revealed itself and Sirius, Remus, and Peter all walked over to it and placed their wands on the map.
"On three then," said Remus. "3!"
"Abeo," chorused the Marauders.
"Ohhh, that's brilliant," said Hermione.
"You like it, then?" asked James.
"I take it you modified a privacy charm so that in order to be able to change the map, all four of you would have to cast the unlocking spell at once?" she asked
"Very astute of you," said Sirius. "Now, we just have to write this here..." Sirius had conjured up a quill and was writing something in a very loopy scrawl. A minute passed where all that could be heard was the slow scratching of the quill, then Sirius stood up and muttered, "Novo."
"Done," James said taking the map and tossing it to Harry. "Like it?" He stared down at the map which now read:
Messrs. Paws, Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs.
Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers
are proud to present
The Marauder's Map
Harry looked at the changed map and was at a loss for words. He thought it strange, how simply changing a piece of parchment could cause such an overflow of emotion, but here he was, unable to speak.
"It's okay, Harry, you don't need to say anything," said James. Harry nodded his gratitude and in a move that surprised even himself, went over and hugged his father.
"Thank you," he said a minute later when he finally regained his voice and pulled away from James. "Thank you for letting me get to know you better."
"Not at all," said James. "It's been our pleasure, and I'm sure Lily's enjoyed it just as much as we have."
"Still, I think I'd like to give you a little something to remember me by," said Harry. He whipped out his wand, and thinking exceptionally hard, muttered, 'Conjurus'.
A painting appeared out of thin air and Harry grabbed it before it hit the ground. He gave it a quick look over to make sure it was to his specifications, then handed it to James.
"From one Marauder to another," he said. James took the painting as Sirius, Remus, and Peter gathered behind him to get a better look. The painting was, in fact, a perfect drawing of the day that Snape had overheard Harry, Hermione, and Lily's conversation and ended up spinning in the air with snowballs zooming at his head.
"Harry, my lad, that was a fine bit of conjuring there," said James with a smile.
"Let's frame it and put it up in the Gryffindor common room," said Sirius, but Lily held up her hand.
"How about you just put it in the dorm and be happy with it there, there's no need to flaunt your tormenting of Snape to the entire house," she said. Sirius looked slightly put out at this, but agreed nonetheless.
"Well come on now," said Hermione. "We've got dinner." The old Marauders nodded and made their way out of the room, followed by Lily. Harry and Hermione stood there in silence for a minute, reminiscing to themselves about what had happened in the past two and a half months, before making their way down to the Great Hall to join everyone else for dinner.
=====
Harry remembered that before the first task in his fourth year, he thought it strange that when one is dreading something, and would give anything to slow down time, it has a disobliging habit of speeding up. This, as Hermione pointed out, was because when one spent so much time concentrating on not thinking about what was to come, all the time in between would be gone and done with by the time that they caught up with their thoughts.
Unfortunately, this was the case for Harry again. It had been six days ago since the 'initiation' into the Marauders, and all of a sudden, he and Hermione were packed, ready to go, and awaiting notice from Dumbledore.
Lily, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter would not hear of them leaving without a proper goodbye, however, and insisted on a farewell feast in the Room of Requirement. So it was with heavy hearts, and empty stomachs, that Harry and Hermione made their way to the seventh floor, dragging all their belongings with them, in case Dumbledore were to summon them during their dinner.
"I still don't know why they need to do this," said Harry as they approached the door. "They've done more than enough already."
"Surely you've realised that they're going to miss us as much as we're going to miss them," Hermione replied. Harry nodded solemly as they reached the door, and without knocking, opened it.
The room was fairly similar to the one that had been used for Hermione's birthday party. It was still a beautiful dining room, but without the streamers and balloons this time. In the center of the room was a circular table on which a large feast stood waiting and ready to be eaten.
"This looks strangely familiar," said Harry with a coy smile. James laughed.
"Well, we figured if it was good enough once, it would be good enough a second time," he said with his arm around Lily's waist.
"Well let's get eating," Hermione said. "Dumbledore might call us at any minute." The other six people in the room nodded and they all sat down to begin eating the small feast the house-elves had made for them.
"So, did you guys enjoy your time here?" asked Remus.
"It was wonderful," said Hermione. "In all honesty I wish we could stay here."
"I know," said James. "But in truth, you don't belong here."
"Yeah," Harry said with a sigh. "It's just tough to go back to a world with so much death." Lily (who was sitting next to Harry) put her arm around him comfortingly.
"You know we'll always be there for you," she whispered into his ear.
"As best you can, anyway," he replied in an equally low voice.
For the rest of the meal, the seven of them made pleasant talk, remembering the moments that had made Harry and Hermione's visit special. They'd just had the room clean everything up, when the door opened and in walked none other than Dumbledore, carrying the all-too-familiar Tome.
"Professor?" Hermione asked standing up. "Wha-....why...how come you're here?" Dumbledore chuckled at this.
"Well I figured as you have just finished your dinner, and already have your belongings with you, that we might be able to perform this little spell here, so that everyone could witness it," he replied with a smile. Harry and Hermione nodded, and instantly the room transformed into a simple open space.
"Well then," Harry said facing Lily and the other Marauders. "I guess this is it." Before any of them could react, Lily had flung herself into Harry's arms, sobbing. "Hey..." he said in a soothing voice. "It's not like we'll never see each other again." Lily looked at him questioningly.
"I...I thought that I was dead in your time," she whispered.
"You are," said Harry. "But as a wise man once told me-" he looked at Dumbledore with a smile here. "Death is but the next great adventure." Lily smiled at this and released her grip on Harry, to go over and hug Hermione. Each of the Marauders then came and shook Harry's hand before wishing him a safe journey back, and to think ever-so-highly of them once there. Assuring the group that he would, he saw that Hermione had disengaged herself from Lily and was now waiting for him next to Dumbledore.
"Well then," the headmaster said. "Shall we?" Harry and Hermione nodded and Dumbledore proceeded to draw a large golden circle on the floor. "Step inside this, and make sure you have all your belongings with you inside the circle." The two of them complied, and looked back at the five other teens in the room, who were all wearing sad expressions on their faces. Lily was still crying, and being held up by James, while Sirius, Remus, and Peter all had their arms crossed and looked to be fighting back tears.
"Harry," said James. "A Guide to Advanced Charms, page three-hundred and twenty nine." Harry's brow furrowed in confusion.
"What does that mean?" he asked. James smiled.
"You'll figure it out." Harry shook his head and chuckled before giving them a sad smile.
"Goodbye," he said. He turned to look at the headmaster, and nodded.
"Chronos," said Dumbledore. Immediately the ring around Harry and Hermione began to glow. All of a sudden, the bottom dropped out, and they were falling into oblivion...
'Harry what's going on?' said Hermione in his head.
'No idea...hang on, I think I see something below us-' and with a 'thud' the two of them landed next to all of their belongings in front of a twinkling Dumbledore.
"Ah," he said grinning. "I'm glad to see that you are right on time."
"Professor?" asked Harry looking around at the headmaster's office. "What do you mean?"
"Well, it's impossible for one to memory charm one's own self, so naturally I knew you would be arriving around this time from your adventure into the past," he said with his usual twinkle.
"Professor," said Hermione tentatively. "If you performed memory charms on everyone who knew about us, then how is it Lily and James still stayed together?"
"One of the marvels about magic," he said smiling. "Is that there is absolutely no limit to what one can accomplish. After we rescued Nicolas and got the Tome back, I created a spell in addition to the one that returned you here that would perform the same function as a memory charm, but only delete selectively, instead of everything."
"So what was the result?" asked Harry.
"Your parents believed that they fell in love after the accident on the quidditch pitch that first game," Dumbledore said. "Naturally, I modified it a little bit so that it would be more realistic."
"So you combined Occlumency, Legilimancy, and a Memory Charm all into one spell?" asked Hermione incredulously.
"It really wasn't as hard as it seems," said Dumbledore. "Anyway, it's very late, and I daresay that Mr. and Ms. Weasley as still worried sick about you, so I suggest heading back to your common room now. The password is 'Thesmus'." Harry and Hermione nodded and turned to leave, before Harry spoke up.
"Is it the middle of November right now?" he asked.
"Of course," Dumbledore said unfazed. "I didn't think it fair to make you go through the first two and a half months of school all over again once back here."
"So what does everyone believe?" asked Hermione. Dumbledore shrugged.
"The story differs between houses, but it's mostly the same. Everyone who isn't a close friend of yours that I didn't talk to believes that you two went off to fight Voldemort."
"So what do I tell them now that I'm back?" asked Harry.
"I see no reason in telling them the truth, now that you're back here and safe," Dumbledore said. Harry nodded.
"Thank you sir, for everything," he said. The headmaster simply twinkled away and shooed them out of his office with a beaming smile.
Once in the hall outside the office, Harry and Hermione stood and surveyed their surroundings.
'Well,' Hermione said silently. 'We're back.'
'Yeah,' Harry replied. 'Before we go to the tower, can I check something first?'
'Sure, what do you want to check?' Hermione asked.
'You'll see.' Harry levitated his and Hermione's trunks in front of them, so they wouldn't have to keep dragging them all over the place, and a few minutes later found themselves in front of the trophy room.
"What are we doing here?" Hermione whispered.
"Just trust me on this one," Harry replied. He opened the door and peered inside, going over to the left wall and scanning it for something.
"Here it is," he said leafing through a small book he had pulled off the shelf with a smile.
"What is it?" Hermione asked squinting over his shoulder. "Oh this is silly, Lumos!" she said pulling out her wand.
"Well, at least we know that it all wasn't a dream," Harry said pointing to a page in the book. The heading read: 'House Quidditch Rosters, 77-78', and sure enough, the first listing under the Gryffindor section was:
Game 1, Gryffindor vs. Slytherin (Gryffindor d. Slytherin 230-100)
Chasers:
James Potter - 20 pts.
Nymphadora Tonks - 30 pts.
Justin Kielty - 30 pts.
Beaters:
Andreas Muldew
Francis Dolsher
Keeper:
Lily Evans - 0 saves (due to injury)
Seeker:
Harry Lockheart - Catch, 150 pts.
'They record all of this stuff?' asked Hermione silently.
'Yeah...' replied Harry walking over to the trophy case. 'And mine and Lily's names aren't on the plaque, because we quit.'
'I was wondering why I had never seen her name before,' she commented.
'They only give the players who finished the season credit,' he said. 'Or so Ron tells me.
'Hard to believe that all of that happened twenty years ago,' Hermione said as they walked out of the trophy room.
'Yeah...' Harry replied. Since it was around nine in the evening, most of the students were in their respective common rooms, but the few that they crossed on their journey back to Gryffindor Tower paled as if they'd seen a ghost and quickly run off to find someone to shout the news to.
'I give it one hour,' said Harry.
'Nah, give it until breakfast,' Hermione said. 'We don't really have any way of knowing if the entire school knows we're back until then.' Harry chuckled at this and all of a sudden the two of them found themselves in front of the portrait of the fat lady.
"Well dear me!" she exclaimed. "It's good to see the Head Boy and Girl back."
"That's right!" exclaimed Harry with a grin. "I get to tell people off for snogging in public now." Hermione laughed.
"Thesmus," she said and the portrait swung open. "Well, you ready to face the music?" Harry grabbed her hand while carefully balancing the trunks in midair with the wand in his other.
"I think I'm ready as long as I'm with you," he said seriously. Hermione smiled.
"Let's get in there then." The two of them stepped into the common room, trunks floating in front of them.
Although it was already nine, and most of the students should have already been in bed resting for their next day of strenuous classes, the common room was surprisingly full of young teens chatting away animatedly about this and that. All of the conversation abruptly stopped as the portrait swung closed behind Harry and Hermione.
"Neville, your move," said an impatient voice from by the fire. Harry looked over and saw Ron sitting (or as well as ghosts could sit) in front of a chess set, opposite which sat a wide-eyed Neville. "Are you going to move or -" Ron cut himself off upon realising who had entered the room. "HARRY! HERMIONE!" He shouted and flew across the common room (literally) to greet them.
"Hey Ron," said Hermione with a grin.
"How was...where you were?" Ron asked guardedly. Harry smiled.
"Great," he said. "It was nice to see my folks in real life." There were murmurs of confusion around the room at this. "And I wasn't off fighting Voldemort, I was in 1977," he said to the rest of the room.
"Ron, maybe you, Harry, and I could all go and have a chat somewhere tomorrow, it'd be nice to be able to talk to you without everyone fawning over us," Hermione whispered to the ghost. Ron nodded.
"Well it's great to have you two back. Having Malfoy as Head Boy in your absence was bloody unbearable," he said.
"What?!" shouted Harry. The group that had assembled behind Ron nodded. "Who was Head Girl?"
"Some Ravenclaw," Ron said. "I don't really know who she is." Harry nodded.
"We're really tired, so we'll head up to bed," Hermione said, to which there were groans from the students who were clearly expecting some kind of story.
"Well I'm going to get back to my chess game with Neville, I'll see you guys tomorrow then?"
"Sure thing," said Hermione. Ron floated back over to where Neville was still staring open mouthed and resumed playing.
"It's great to have you back," said Ginny as Harry and Hermione pushed their way through the crowd with their floating trunks.
"Thanks Gin," he said. "We'll let you in on everything tomorrow." Ginny nodded and Harry and Hermione finished squeezing their way through the crowd to the Head Boy and Girl's rooms.
'We should each go in our respective rooms first,' Hermione said silently. 'It's best not to get more rumors than necessary started.'
'Who says they'd be rumors?' asked Harry with a grin. Hermione shook her head and walked into the Head Girl's room. Smiling, Harry followed suit and entered the Head Boy's room. It was just like it had been in the past. The walls were still Gryffindor red, though a little faded. There was still a large, king-sized four poster and a fireplace across from the bed. The shelves were still lined with books, and it was these that Harry busied himself with while waiting for Hermione to come through the door connecting the two rooms.
"Hmmm, most of these are in the library..." he muttered to himself before noticing a book that appeared to be on the wrong shelf. Harry's eyes widened as he read, 'A Guide to Advanced Charms' and quickly turned to page 329. A folded piece of parchment fell out of the book and he quickly picked it up and unfolded it, only to find that it was blank.
"Hey," Hermione said coming through the door. "What's that?"
"You remember what James said right before we left?" Harry asked. Hermione nodded. "Well this was in page three twenty-nine, but it's blank." He handed the parchment to Hermione and she examined it quickly before giving a large smile.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," she said tapping it with her wand. Immediately a letter appeared on the parchment, which she handed back to Harry.
"You're too brilliant for your own good," he said smiling.
"It wasn't that hard," she said. "The password would've HAD to be something you already knew." Shrugging, Harry began to read the letter aloud.
Harry and Hermione,
If what you've told us is true, then when you actually read this we'll have been dead for nearly 16 years. We wanted to give this letter to you before you left, but James wanted to hide it in the Head Boy's room, to give you a bit of a challenge for when you returned. We want to thank you for helping us find what you two so greatly embody. Whatever happens in the future, you should know that we'll both be looking down on you with smiles, and that we'll do our best to try and protect you no matter what happens. May you both live long, happy lives.
Yours from eternity,
James and Lily
Both Harry and Hermione wiped tears from their eyes as he finished reading it. Harry folded up the letter neatly and put it on the bedside table.
"I really miss them," he said.
"Me too," Hermione responded. "They're not even part of my family and I still feel like I've lost someone very close." Harry put his arm around the girl next to him.
"Well assuming all goes well they will be a part of your family someday," he said smiling. The two of them laid down on the bed, and Hermione put her head on Harry's chest.
"You know, part of me wishes that we could go back," she said sadly.
"Yeah," said Harry. "But we have important things to take care of. I still owe Ron someone's wand."
"And I'm sure you'll get it," Hermione said before the two of them drifted off to sleep.
---------------
Two quick notes, first the issue of the Catoblepas and Sagin. Not true. I made it up for this story. If any of you wants the REAL low down on those creatures, visit Encyclopedia Mythica, the bestiary section.
Second, I know I didn't come right out and say that everyone who knew the truth about Harry and Hermione was memory charmed, but they were. So no, 'Hey does McGonagal remember about them?'.
Well there it is. They're back in the future, and now we can get some good old fashioned conflict going. Most of the questions will be answered next chapter, so no worries there. This being chapter fourteen, I'm estimating there will be another 7 or 8 chapters left. You can expect an update at the usual time next week. Until then, au revoir.