Chapter 6 - The Leaky Cauldron
(A/N- I am indebted to the creators of the floor plans of Privet Drive located at http://www.hp-lexicon.org/atlas/britain/atlas-b-privet.html as a valuable guide in keeping my story consistent.)
"Thank you, Tom, for watching my trunk when I went to Gringotts and the Owl Post office, and for taking it up to my room," Harmony said pleasantly to the old bartender at the Leaky Cauldron. Here's a little something for your trouble." His eyes lit up as she handed him a Galleon out of the money she had just retrieved from the Headmaster's personal vault.
"Oh, Miss Puckle, I couldn't…it was my pleasure to be of service to such a fine looking young witch as yourself," he said with a toothless grin. "'Sides, I never get more than a few Sickles from anyone for haulin' trunks. You are much too gen'rous. Save your money! I'm sure you'll need it for your stay at Hogwarts to hold you until you get your first pay. Oh, don't worry, Miss. I have a feeling you'll get the job. Filius and Albus will be lucky to have you on staff."
"Tom, I must insist. I have always felt that the Wizarding World treats service people and others like you very poorly, and I'm just doing my part to try to make some changes. I just hope you're right about the position. But, somehow, I just know that I'll be hired! I've felt good about it ever since I heard about the opportunity from someone who has connections there. Hogwarts' reputation is quite well established, even across the Atlantic, so I went to rather desperate lengths to get here and apply." <And that's putting it mildly!> Hermione thought to herself. I just hope Headmaster Dumbledore accepts my references and letter of recommendation. Tom, what can you tell me about him? Is he as powerful as everyone says?"
Tom's eyes lit up as he said, "Oh, yes, Miss! You're young enough that you don't remember back in the old days, when G…ggg… Grindelwald was in power. Sorry, Miss, even now it is hard for me to say his full name! Now that he has been defeated these many years, I still remember the terror of that time. It was horrible how much the Muggles were affected by what he was doing, even though they thought it was those fellows, 'Hister' and 'Moosie' something, and some emperor bloke overseas, wasn't it, that was behind that big war of theirs. What did they call it, the excess powers of World War 3 or 4 or something…?"
The Muggle history student in her had to chuckle as she realized how separated the Wizarding and Muggle worlds really were. To have World War II, and the Axis of Hitler, Mussolini, and Hirohito mis-remembered, even forgotten, by a member of the Wizarding world who was there at the time was very telling. <Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.> Hermione thought to herself, as she remembered the quote from George Santayana. <That's another thing I'd like to change. The Wizarding World has many things it could learn from and teach Muggles, even without violating the Secrecy laws. I wonder if this is part of why Voldemort was able to get established again so easily. Wizards may have thought that Grindelwald was more of a threat to Muggles, so they didn't consider that they were affected, too. Then, when Voldemort came along, they may have thought that they were safe, because he was mainly going after Muggles and Muggle-borns, so everyone else would just have to lay low for a while until things settled down.> She paused, as she realized that Tom was still talking while she had been thinking.
"-so Albus tracked them down and defeated old Grindy and his followers. Back in 1945, it was. I remember it like it was yesterday. It took two attacks, but finally they all were destroyed. Muggles were told that it was some kind of new weapon that had killed all those people over there, but actually the Muggles were killed by a very nasty dark curse that was tied to Grindy. When Dumbledore attacked, first Grindy's right hand witch and her group, and then, a few days later, Grindy himself, the curse they had bound to their life force was released. Albus couldn't find a way to stop it, although he tried so hard to come up with another way in those few days between the two attacks. Caused quite the big flashes, di'n't it! I know Albus blamed himself for all those Muggle deaths for years afterwards, but considering how many had died already and how many more would have died if Grindy hadn't been stopped, eventually he figger'd what he done was necessary. Sometimes you have to make unpleasant decisions to bring about a greater good, eh, Miss? And now, since You-Know-Who's disappeared these 10 years, t'ings are sure a lot nicer in the world, wouldn't you say, Miss? Why, jus' a month or so ago, c'n you believe who was in this very place? HARRY POTTER, tha's who! He's starting Hogwarts this year! Surely even you Canadians know of him, I'd wager! The Savior of the Wizarding World - you know, The Boy Who Lived! I even got to shake his hand! Didn't wash my hand for a w…come to think of it, I haven't washed it yet. But, I don' wash much as a rule..." Tom began muttering to himself, obviously off in his own memories.
Tom's mention of Voldemort's supposed defeat and Harry brought a strange look to her eyes and forcefully reminded her where and WHEN she was. <If only it were true that Voldemort was gone!> Hermione mused to herself. <Poor Harry! I know he hates being thought of that way. He just wants to be Harry Potter, and he can't! But, if I can help it, we'll be done with this whole thing before I'm finished here!> she resolved once again to herself.
Tom left her small room, muttering and cackling softly to himself about the Galleon he clutched in his hands as he left. Hermione went over to the warmly crackling fireplace and spoke distinctly. "Harmony June Puckle, renting room 12 at the Leaky Cauldron for the night," as she had been instructed so as to let the Floo Network know where she could be reached. "Now, I just have to wait for word from Hogwarts. I just hope it's soon!" she said out loud, as she looked in the mirror to check her new appearance. She had scarcely done so when she heard a small 'pop' coming from the fireplace. In the flames, she saw a slightly younger, less worried-looking version of a very familiar face, smiling at her.
"Miss …er…Puckle, I presume?" Headmaster Dumbledore said. "I assume you have just registered with the Floo Network. I've been trying to get through ever since I read your…shall we say, interesting letter of recommendation and reference. I must admit, I was not expecting to have a candidate for the assistant charms opening with such 'personal' references!" he chuckled. "May I come all the way to your room, my dear? Are you able to receive visitors?"
"Surely, sir." Hermione said, relief washing over her at the sight and sound of her former Headmaster, hopefully soon to be employer. She backed away from the opening to allow him plenty of space to enter. As his form appeared in the fireplace in a swirl of flame, ash, and smoke, she could no longer control herself. "You can't possibly imagine how GOOD it is to see you, sir. I have been so worried that you would not believe my story when you read it; much less do anything else for me! Oh, Headmaster, do you think it will work? What can we do to protect Harry? Can you explain to me just exactly what is going on? I'm still not quite sure of all the facts myself and I really think I need to…"
"Miss Puckle, please calm down." Albus said, kindly as ever as he entered the room, carrying a large package. "Rest assured that there is no way I could NOT believe you after receiving the message you sent me. My future self has made certain of that. He included information that only I…we…he…Oh, bother! I'm seeing that the English language is not up to the task of describing time travel! Anyway, the message you sent served as its own validation, so I assure you that your story, although fanciful at first glance, is quite believable to me. And, having a few minutes to consider what I gathered about your plan, I understand why I came up with it in the future under the circumstances, and that I will do my best to help you in your mission to protect young Mr. Potter while he is with us at Hogwarts. But first, I need to ask for your cooperation. To speed things up, and at the suggestion of my future self in the letter, I have brought along my Pensieve to understand what has…will…oh, never mind!...happen to you in your future time line. For this to be effective, I will need to have your assistance in removing certain memories from your mind, reviewing them in the Pensieve, and then returning them to you. I will not do this unless you agree to it, and you will have complete control over which memories we review if there are certain embarrassing scenes you would prefer that I not see. However, if you would like me to 'explain what is going on', I think this is the best way to do so."
Hermione readily agreed, and for the next few hours, they reviewed the past 5 plus years of her life at Hogwarts, particularly focusing on her interactions with Harry over the years. She found, as time went on, that she was both more and less comfortable with having her memories on display to him. She was careful to filter out personal, embarrassing moments related to typical 'girl's night' activities and discussions, especially the ones where Harry's name was mentioned, but the reason for her discomfiture was something else. Since she could be a detached observer while reviewing her thoughts in the Pensieve, it became obvious, even to her, just how much Harry meant to her and how much her feelings had grown over time. <I really do love him…> she thought. <And now, Professor Dumbledore knows it, too! What will he think about one of his faculty members being hopelessly in love with a first-year student? Will that keep him from offering me the position? Might as well face the music right off>.
"Sir, with what you have just seen, will you still take me on as an assistant professor of Charms? From what I understand of the position, one of my responsibilities will be to work with first-year Muggle-borns and students who have no real exposure to magic until they received their letters, and help get them caught up. As such, I assume I will be working closely with both Harry and …my…myself, too, I suppose. I see what you mean, sir, about the language problem!" she grinned, continuing. "- and you know how I feel about him. Will this be a problem from your view, sir?" she asked, with a hint of pleading in her voice. The success of the whole operation rested on his answer.
"Miss Puckle, or, should I say, Hermione, I am confident that you will be able to remain on task during your assignment here.. Remember, the young child you will be seeing tomorrow is not yet the charming young man he has…will… grow into as we have just seen from your memories. You may find that he won't be quite as loveable, at least in a romantic way, as you may think. And, having read the description of what will happen as a result of Tom's little power trip through time, I hope that you won't have reason to forget that you DO love him, even when things may go differently than they did the first time around. Just focus on your teaching assignments, and I dare say that things will proceed normally. I am more concerned, however, as is my future self, about your younger incarnation. After thinking about our trip through your memories just now, I have a feeling that young Miss Hermione Jane Granger, not quite 12 years old as she arrives at Hogwarts tomorrow evening, will have a much rougher and lonelier go of it this time around if my suspicions hold true. So, you must focus on keeping her not only happy and out of the library from time to time, but alive! Ah...I see; you are starting to understand my concerns!" he said, as a recently reviewed scene of a troll in a bathroom came to her mind.
"Professor, do you really think that, whatever Voldemort has planned for Harry in this timeline, it will keep him from convincing Ron to help save me this coming Halloween?", Hermione said with fear visible on her face. "That would mean…somehow…that he will start early to change Harry's nature. How do you suppose…?"
"Miss Puckle, I assure you that any supposition at this time is premature. All we can do is observe Harry as closely as we can, monitor certain key events that happen and review them against your memories of what should happen, and do our best to keep the two time lines the same without making things worse. For example, I will have to change my plans concerning a small package that Hagrid has retrieved for me… I'll have to take care of the details later. With the credentials and recommendations you have provided, I am certain that your talents will be an asset to our efforts. As you know, I will also be bringing Minerva into our confidence also. Her skills and abilities, not to mention her position at Hogwarts, will also be critical for us to have on our side."
Hermione relaxed. "Oh, thank you, Professor Dumbledore. I am beginning to have a little hope, now. While I don't understand all that is happening, I am confident that the three of us will be able to thwart Voldemort, and maybe even keep me alive while we are doing it!"
"There are a few matters I need to discuss with you, Miss Puckle. First, in case you were wondering, I am confident that I will be able to refer to you properly. Since I only know of Miss Granger as a student on a list of first-year students starting tomorrow, I am certain that I will be able to always refer to you in this form as Miss Puckle. But, there is something that you will have to be careful of when you are with other wizards and witches, not to mention students. Just now, you referred to Tom as Voldemort. While I already have a reputation as a 'barmy old codger' in some circles, partially because I insist on using his adopted name instead of that 'Dark Lord' and 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named' nonsense, I don't think it would be wise for you to get that reputation. While I am happy that you refer to him in this manner, I ask that you refrain from doing so. It might make some people suspicious. I wish more of us were as comfortable with that name as you are. As I always say, 'Fear of a name-"
"-increases fear of the thing itself." Hermione finished, smiling. "Yes, Headmaster. There are a small number of us in the future that share your feelings. However, as I explained to my parents before I left, only you, Remus Lupin, Harry, and I say it regularly even now."
"Well, that brings me to my next concerns. Miss Puckle, we need to decide how you will address me. I know that you tend to refer to me as Headmaster, but you have used my Professor title, also. Since you, as Miss Puckle, have never known of me as your Professor, please, in public settings, at least, refer to me as Headmaster, as is appropriate with members of my staff. In private, you can feel free to refer to me by my first name, since you are, technically, an adult in your present form. I may refer to you as Hermione from time to time also. Finally, need I remind you that you must be careful about accidentally letting slip references to historical events that you remember, but haven't happened yet? You just now mentioned Remus, and from what we just saw in your mind, I understand that he will be teaching DADA during Harry's third year in your timeline. But, as Miss Puckle, you don't know this, and you surely won't know anything else about him when you do finally meet." Please focus on remembering your unique situation, even to the point of not speaking casually without carefully considering what you might be revealing to others."
Hermione nodded, as she realized how easy it would be to say something in passing that would be inappropriate to the time line. "Thanks for the reminders, sir. I'll do my best, and if I do slip, I hope I will be able to think fast enough to come up with a reasonable explanation. Prevarication and misdirection have never been strong suits of mine, however. When I say something I shouldn't have, I have real trouble covering up for it. I remember two occasions during fifth year, once when I wasn't thinking of Ron's feelings when I thought Harry was prefect, and once when I unknowingly insulted Miss Lovegood's father's publication, I was very flustered both times and couldn't recover gracefully."
"Yes, well, we all have to learn new skills from time to time, don't we?" he said with a wry chuckle. "Miss Puckle, in all seriousness, I do have one question that I must ask. It relates to the scenes from your third year that we saw just now. Am I to understand that young Sirius Black will escape from Azkaban Prison and, with you and Harry helping, get away from those who would have him destroyed? I must admit that I could scarcely believe what my eyes were seeing. Sirius is innocent, I presume? Please tell me more about it."
And with that, they settled in for a nice, long conversation, just a headmaster and his newest staff member. If anyone would have listened in, the story they would have heard would be unthinkable. Fortunately, they were able to talk undisturbed until Dumbledore noticed the clock.
"Miss Puckle, I expect my staff to be on board the Hogwarts Express before 10:00 AM tomorrow to assist with any early arrivals. I will also need to make the necessary introductions with regards to our new assistant. Based on the lateness of the hour, I recommend you get some rest in preparation." He walked over to the fireplace, and, as he was reaching for the Floo powder, he said, "Never fear, Hermione. I am confident that we have a great opportunity here to right some wrongs that may be in the offing. Tom was always an overconfident student, and now that I am aware of his plans to a certain degree, we have so much the advantage over him." He threw the powder in the flames, said good-bye to Hermione, and stated clearly "Headmaster's office" as he disappeared in a swirl and flash of green.
Hermione waved as he was leaving, and then retired to her bed. "Tomorrow will be quite a day" she thought sleepily, and she drifted off to sleep.
*********
Harry woke at five o'clock the next morning, slightly disoriented with a nagging headache. He also noticed that his scar was tingling slightly, not painfully in any way, but it just felt different. In all of his years of memories related to his scar, he had never felt anything like this before. <Wha…what am I doing back here again? I am certain I went to sleep last night in the upstairs bedroom. Why would I want to come back to the cupboard? Wait a minute; I'm going to Hogwarts today! Where are my clothes? Where's Hedwig? Oh, yeah, I guess they'd be upstairs, wouldn't they? Strange, my being down here and all. I must have been sleepwalking last night and forgot where I slept. Oh, well, I'd better get going!>
He quietly opened the door to the cupboard, easing out into the darkened hallway and turning immediately to go up the stairs. His headache was still bothering him, and he had a nagging feeling that he had forgotten something important. <Must be getting too excited about today if I'm sleepwalking like that. I better be careful, or else Uncle Vernon may not take me to the station this morning.> He carefully stepped over the squeaky stair so he wouldn't wake his aunt and uncle.
Just as he thought he was going to make it, he heard a bellow from the door adjacent to his. "BOY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT OF BED AT THIS UNGODLY HOUR! GET BACK IN YOUR ROOM NOW! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN, ANYWAY?"
Harry mumbled something about having a headache and needing some water to go along with his aspirin. Not hearing a response to this, he closed the door to his room. <That was close! I just wish I knew WHY I was down there, anyway…well, no matter, I'm wide awake now. Better check my list and finish packing for school. Maybe that will help me remember what I keep on thinking I'm forgetting.>
As he started to work, though checking his Hogwarts list and making sure Hedwig was secure in her cage, his increasing excitement started getting the better of him as he realized that he was actually leaving this house to learn how to be a Wizard! Each day since Hagrid had found him on his birthday, he could scarcely believe what had happened. Ever since that day, he had regularly checked the ticket from Hagrid each day to make sure it was still there, and that it still said Platform 9 3/4 on it. <Uncle Vernon sure laughed at me last night when he saw that on the ticket…strange, why does last night seem so long ago? If I didn't know better, I'd almost think it's been a very long time since I went to bed. I have really got to get a grip!> he told himself, as he continued to pace the floor waiting for the Dursleys to get up.
Events moved pretty rapidly from then on, though, and before he knew it, he was almost at Hogwarts. He had already met an entire family of wizards, the Weasley's, got to know one of their boys, Ron, learned about Every Flavor Beans and Chocolate Frogs; met a few of the other students, including one girl that seemed rather bossy (Ron didn't seem to like her at all); almost got in a fight with some other boys until Ron's rat bit one on the finger, and had just finished getting his robes on when the train came to a stop. He heard Hagrid's voice calling for the first year students to come over to him, and he was happy to hear Hagrid still remembered his name.
He got into a boat with the bossy girl, <Hermione, right? Now, why is that name so familiar? I don't remember going to school in Surrey with any girls named Hermione!>, the toadless boy <…Neville- he seems like a nice bloke, maybe he'll end up being my best friend or something…>, and Ron, and before he knew it, they were walking up the stairs to the castle.
(A/N - If you want to speculate on just who Grindelwald could represent historically, here's a possible candidate… http://www.deathcamps.org/reinhard/heydrich.html. Note that he was accused of being a "half-blood" himself…and was considered a very efficient killer, being charged by Eichmann with organizing the details of the "Final Solution.". The only problem would be that Heydrich was assasinated in 1942, not the 1945 date listed for Grindelwald. Hmmm…maybe he moved on to take another identity by that time?)