A/N - I do not own Harry Potter any more than I own "Back to the Future". My sincere appreciation goes to the writers of those stories as well as to the writers of the stories in the HP Fandom, dealing with the idea of mixing HP and time travel; that have inspired this story. Big thanks to Katia, my beta. Finally, watch out for the bit about Paradoxes. I've had a lot of people question this in reviews and have altered this chapter specifically to answer those questions.
Chapter 5 - Return to Hogwarts
Another unseasonably beautiful sunlight day greeted them when they apparated to Hogsmeade shrouded in Harry's invisibility cloak, the chill in the air and the frost on the grass the only indications of how late in the season it really was. They had decided that if they simply arrived while invisible they wouldn't have to then find somewhere where it was safe to become so, or risk raising suspicion. That the times were even bleaker than what had yet been felt in their own time was something which had been drummed into them on several occasions since their arrival in the past.
Harry had vaguely recalled Hagrid telling him, back before he started Hogwarts, that they were dark times when people didn't know who to trust but it had never been so apparent as it was when they had visited Diagon Alley or when they had first met his parents. This was important for them to remember because it meant that they had to be doubly careful with everything they did, the slightest infraction could cause too many problems. Harry's anonymity in the past made it much easier for them to move around unnoticed and they could not do anything that might jeopardise that.
Apparating two people while staying under cover of an invisibility that was only really big enough for one was no easy task. The easiest way they had found to achieve it was for Hermione to stand in front of Harry but facing away from him and holding the cloak closed while Harry stood behind her and held on to her. He could see over her shoulder quite easily, especially now that he towered over her by several inches, and since she was standing at the front it was easier if she held the cloak closed.
Harry thought it was quite an exercise in trust on both their parts, she had to trust him enough to apparate without splinching them and he had to trust her to keep the cloak tightly closed around them while he did it. But it worked.
They had done a few practices in the back yard before they left so by the time the apparated into Hogsmeade they had it down pat and their arrival went off without a hitch.
Harry had only used the cloak in such a crowded place a few times before and it did, at times, really test his agility to avoid having people walk into them especially because he had to pull Hermione out of the way in time as well. They did make it to the door of Honeydukes without incident though, but that's when they faced their first real challenge. It wasn't a weekend when the Hogwarts students could visit the town, which was good in a way because it meant fewer crowds, but it was also bad because it meant there weren't as many people visiting the sweet shop. They couldn't just open the door themselves, because that would arouse suspicion but after about ten minutes of waiting, and still no-one looking like they were headed in that direction, Harry started to feel that they might just be waiting there all day.
`Should we use the tunnel in the shrieking shack then?' Harry whispered
Hermione shivered a little, `give it a minute.'
Harry groaned and waited what felt like another hour, but was probably only another ten minutes, before he tried a different track.
`Aren't your arms getting sore?'
Hermione turned her head to face him and almost bumped heads with him, `Stop it, Harry,' she hissed, `you're not helping.'
Harry frowned, it was starting to get very warm under the cloak despite the chill in the air and it wasn't helped by the fact that Hermione seemed to be doing everything she could to raise his blood pressure further. She was a very good friend, and he didn't think of her that way at all, but he was still a red blooded male. Surely there was only so long that any man could stand in such close proximity to a pretty girl like Hermione, and feel it every time she fidgeted a bit, before certain natural reactions started to occur.
He needed movement, he needed action, and he needed something to take his mind off the way Hermione's body moved against his whenever she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. If something didn't happen very soon to divert his attention then Hermione would know all about his, very natural, reaction to having her in his arms like this for so long.
He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he very nearly didn't see the youngish wizard apparate onto the porch in front of them and make his way towards the door of Honeydukes. Hermione digging her elbow into his ribs was what finally got his attention and even then it was very nearly too late by the time he sprang into action and slipped into the store behind the other wizard.
Once they were in the store of course, it was a very simple matter to slip into the basement and go down the trap door. When they made it to the safety of the tunnel under the store Harry couldn't let go of Hermione quickly enough, so desperate was he to get away from her lest his body betray his traitorous thoughts.
He was in good company though because it seemed Hermione couldn't get away from him quickly enough either. Briefly he wondered if she really found him that repulsive and even more briefly he wondered if it was because she found the prolonged proximity as uncomfortable as he did for similar reasons to his own.
He didn't have time to dwell on any of this however because, no sooner were they in the tunnel and out from underneath the cloak, than she turned on him.
`What on earth is wrong with you, Harry? After all that time waiting and you nearly got us hit by the door... what on earth were you doing?'
She was still whispering, because they were underneath the floor of Honeydukes, but Harry could tell that if they'd been anywhere else she'd have been yelling.
`I'm sorry, I was bored, I got distracted.'
Hermione huffed and pursed her lips, `You've got to take this seriously Harry, it's very dangerous in the wizarding world right now. We could be killed here and there is no-one to come and back us up.'
`I know.'
`If we'd gotten stuck in that doorway, or I'd dropped the invisibility cloak, or we'd bumped into that wizard we could have ended up dead or in Azkaban'
`I know.'
`I'd just like it if you had a bit more concern for my safety,' she went on, but Harry cut her off. She had just gone too far and now he was livid.
`More concern for your safety?' He asked, incredulously, `Why on earth do you think I'm doing any of this Hermione?' she opened her mouth to respond but he didn't let her, `and don't bring up my parents because I don't even really know them. While yes, I admit, I would love to save them and have them as part of my life, I've had 16 years to get used to the fact that they are dead. And sure there's Ron and Ginny and all of the Weasley's and our other friends, but the thing you just don't seem to get is that if Voldemort regains power it will be you that suffers the most!'
He wasn't yelling but he was getting as close to it as he could while still whispering, `I'll probably be the first one he kills, sure, but you've always known that it's not my safety I put first. You will be systematically hunted and killed like some kind of animal and I can't just stand by and let that happen.'
He took a step closer to her, `So don't tell me to have more concern for your safety because it has always been, and probably will always be, one of my highest priorities.'
With that said he stormed passed her into the tunnel casting a wordless Lumos as he went to light the way.
He was still fuming about Hermione's accusation that he was not as concerned for her safety as he should be and for a little while he felt perfectly justified in everything that he'd said. He'd only gotten about twenty meters though before the doubts started to creep in, he looked behind him to make sure that Hermione had followed him and she was no-where to be seen, he panicked. Without a second thought he ran back up towards the entrance of the tunnel.
Hermione was sitting on the ground only a couple of meters into the tunnel, her knees drawn up to her chest. She wasn't crying but she looked like she'd just stepped on a pygmy puff or something. She looked up at his approach and her lip started to quiver.
`Harry, I'm so sorry... I shouldn't have said that, I've just been so tense and scared ever since we got here and... I know you've always done everything you could to keep me safe.'
Harry knelt down beside her and put a hand on her shoulder, `its ok, Hermione, I think I over-reacted as well... I've been pretty scared of messing something too. I'm sorry I got angry at you.'
Hermione shook her head vigorously, `No, you... didn't ... I shouldn't have...' she broke off as tears started to stream down her cheeks. She brushed them away impatiently and seemed to be trying to stop new tears from falling, `You've just made me realise how much I don't appreciate you sometimes... and now I'm crying all over you as well.'
`It's ok, after Cho you're a walk in the park... but honestly Hermione it's me that doesn't appreciate you sometimes. I mean I basically forced you to agree, on a moment's notice, to a difficult and deadly plan that involves time travel as well as battling evil wizards and possibly changing the past. Then when I get you to the past I dump it on you that we'll be posing as husband and wife, sharing a bed, and staying in the past for the next two years. What do you do? You just, take it all in your stride and keep me from making too many mistakes. And I, great prat that I am, don't even say thank-you.'
Hermione sniffled but smiled at him, `Well, I owe you a quite a few life debts Harry, so I think you deserve it... besides... it'd be no fun if we followed the rules all the time would it. You taught me that in first year, and I've never forgotten it.'
Harry returned her smile and brushed her hair back out of her face.
`Come on,' he held out his hand to help her up off the ground, `lets not sit here all day and argue about whose the bigger prat or who owes who more, you know damn well you've saved my life as many times as I've saved yours. We can do the official tally later.'
Hermione grasped his hand, stood up, and the two teens made their way down the dark tunnel together.
The rest of the day passed pleasantly enough, they talked about plenty of things while they sat in the tunnel passing the time. They talked about spells and Horcruxes, the lunch Harry had packed and whether or not the Room of Requirement would be able to get them what they needed. Harry asked Hermione whether she thought he could convince his dad to go flying with him, Hermione told Harry all about her conversations with Lilly and asked him whether he thought Lilly liked her.
But during all of these conversations, and during the whole course of the day, they did not once broach the topic of the words Harry had so rashly thrown at Hermione in the heat of his anger. Both of them thought of little else but neither one of them, despite being true Gryffindors, could find the courage to broach the topic.
For his part, Harry had surprised himself with the sentiments he'd expressed. Not because he'd said anything that wasn't true but because it was quite the opposite. If anyone had asked him, at any point prior to the exact moment in which the words were flying out of his mouth, he would have told them that he was so bent on destroying Voldemort because he was the only person who could and because it had to be done for all of those little witches and wizards out there who might grow up as orphans if he didn't do something, and for those who would not grow old at all.
The strange thing was, Harry pondered while he was pretending to read one of the heavy books Hermione had brought along for entertainment, that stuff was all true. But thinking back on what he'd said to Hermione he realised it wasn't the whole truth. Even if every witch and wizard just laid down their wands and allowed Voldemort to take over people like Hermione would still be in danger and he just couldn't let that happen.
Hermione was reading her book, but every now and then her mind would wander back to what Harry had said. She wanted to ask him if he really meant it, but couldn't bring herself to speak the words. She didn't believe he would say something he didn't mean, but she also just couldn't quite believe that he had really meant what he'd said.
As the day wore on Hermione started to think more about their conversation the previous evening about saving Lilly and James, she was still worried that anything they tried would have serious repercussions. If they weren't careful they would risk creating a paradox, an unresolvable time loop that could destroy the universe.
It was something her father had teased her about when she'd told her parents about her time turner in third year. He'd written back and jokingly warned her against accidentally killing her past self, because if she did that then she would never go back in time and kill herself so she wouldn't die but then if she didn't die she'd go back in time and accidentally kill herself and it would create time loop would be unresolvable and she'd wind up accidentally destroying the entire universe. He was teasing her and quoting from "Back to the Future" (even going so far as to include the line, "granted that's a worst case scenario") but it was a valid concern.
The death of Harry's parents was no minor matter in their time stream and saving their lives had the potential to change any number of things that could inadvertently create a paradox.
Harry saw her biting her lip, `Is everything ok?'
`No not really, I'm worried that if we save your parents we might be creating a paradox.' She briefly explained to him what a paradox was.
Harry scratched his head and thought for a moment, `but my parents being alive wouldn't automatically stop me from coming back in time, so how could that be a paradox?'
`It could change any number of things that might then in turn stop you from coming back in time.'
Harry shook his head, `I disagree,' Hermione opened her mouth but Harry continued, `if we destroy the diary then Dumbledore never gets the idea about Horcruxes and none of this happens. So we don't destroy the diary. If we destroy the ring then Dumbledore still has this idea but he's well enough to do this himself and none of this happens. Saving my parents, if we can, is different though... things will be different when we get back, sure,' Harry's eyes were unfocused as though he were seeing this possible future being played out on the walls of the tunnel, `I could have brothers and sisters, maybe it's one of them that gets the diary instead of Ginny, maybe Sirius is still alive but none of that would stop this... so it wouldn't be a paradox, it'd just be different to what we know.'
Hermione bit her lip, `What if your parents' being alive helps put Mr Malfoy in Azkaban and he never gives the diary to anyone? That could create a paradox.'
`It'd still get out somehow, either through Draco or his mum. I just think that as long as we don't make it impossible for the time loop to be resolved, by doing something that directly leads to it being unresolvable, then it'll be okay.'
Hermione still looked worried so Harry tried even harder to re-assure her, `We have to hope that's true anyway Hermione, no-one knows how time-travel really works anyway and for all we know we've already caused a dozen paradoxes. We just have to do our best to avoid the obvious ones.'
`I suppose but how are we going to do that and save your parents?'
`I don't know yet.'
The day passed quietly after that with both teens were absorbed with their thoughts and long periods of silence were broken only occasionally by periods of idle conversation. When, at last, the hour was late enough for them to venture forth from their hiding spot they did so with great relief.
Harry had been privately dreading having to climb back under the invisibility cloak with Hermione for the past couple of hours. He honestly didn't know what was wrong with him today, he'd spent the entire day feeling tense and on edge because of his best friend and, in his mind, it just wasn't right. He wanted to draw her closer to him and defy the weird tense feelings but he knew that if he tried that it would really only make things worse. So he held her, awkwardly, about the waist trying to stay close enough to keep them both hidden by the cloak and also trying to keep a buffer of air between them.
It was not a particularly successful operation to say the least.
He was so busy concentrating on maintaining a safe distance that he forgot to look where he was going and kept bumping into her whenever she slowed down. He also kept accidently stepping on the back of her feet or moving too far back and nearly pulling the cloak off them altogether. Essentially he was being as annoying as possible and he was amazed that Hermione had yet to snap at him and tell him to stop being ridiculous.
He also wasn't sure whether to be pleased or annoyed with her for not doing that and ended up being confused because he really felt both pleased and annoyed. He also suddenly felt a lot more sympathy for Cho and the mixed up emotions she had when they dated briefly in his fifth year.
They reached the room of requirement, thankfully before Harry's head exploded, and began the obligatory three turns in front of where the door would appear. Now Harry had to focus on something other than how close he was to Hermione and he couldn't have been happier to find a reason to think of something, anything, else.
`We need the sword of Gryffindor, we need any Horcruxes that are hidden in Hogwarts, and we need any books that Hogwarts has that have any information at all about the creation or effects of Horcruxes and how to destroy them.' Harry repeated in his mind like a mantra.
On the third turn they stopped and faced the newly formed door. Harry held his breath as Hermione reached out a hand towards the door knob. She slowly twisted it and pushed the door open. They stepped into the room and closed the door behind them. Then Harry started to breath again.
They took off the invisibility cloak and started to inspect the things the room had provided for them. It was not a big room but they had not really expected it to be, in the centre stood a table and on the table were only five things, three were books, one was the sword of Gryffindor and the last was an ancient discoloured tiara.
Harry immediately and reverently picked up the sword, distracting Hermione momentarily from the books she was packing into the bag.
`I just realised that I never asked why you wanted that? Of course, it's an amazing and important object but... what do we need it for?'
Harry swung it through the air a few times, getting the feel for it, `to be honest I don't know, we were just talking about the things we might need from Hogwarts and I thought, while I was asking for things, I should ask for it. Once the idea occurred to me I couldn't get it out of my head.'
Hermione nodded thoughtfully, `Well I suppose it's not going to hurt to have it,' then she frowned, `unless you end up accidently slicing someone in half swinging it about like that.'
Harry grinned sheepishly, `Sorry.'
`It's a very powerful magical object, Harry, they say that Godric Gryffindor himself enchanted the blade so that no evil could stand against it.'
`Do you think I might be able to kill Tom with it then?'
Hermione shook her head, `I doubt it, I'm sure that he would have thought to protect himself from something as obvious as that. The blade has been in the Headmasters office for centuries and everyone knows that story about it.'
Harry nodded in agreement, `Yeah I guess your right.'
But Hermione did not smile at him in the pleased way she usually did when he bowed to her judgement, instead she was staring at the last item on the table a look of revelation and wonder on her face.
`Of course...' she mumbled, `he wouldn't have... and probably couldn't any way... who would think ... surely...'
Harry was watching her impatiently, waiting for her to let him in on whatever revelation she had just had.
She was biting her lip now caught in indecision and then scooped up the diadem and put it in the bag with everything else, her decision apparently made.
`Do you want to tell me what that was all about?'
`I will, but ... not now, later.'
`Right.'
Having got everything they came for, and more easily than either of them would have thought possible, they made their way back through the corridors to the statue of the one-eyed witch. Once they had gone far enough down the tunnel to be outside of Hogwarts grounds they apparated back to the house in Godric's Hollow.
Once inside Hermione begged off explaining herself that night, claiming exhaustion, even though Harry could clearly see she was excited about something, and they went straight to bed.
When Harry woke the following morning and, for the first time since they'd begun posing as a married couple, Hermione was already out of bed. Harry sniffed the air experimentally, wondering if she'd started breakfast, but he was disappointed. He pulled on a t-shirt and padded downstairs barefoot to find out what she was up to. When he saw her seated at the kitchen table surrounded by open books he thought ruefully that he really shouldn't have been surprised.
He was about to ask her what she was up to but no sooner had he opened his mouth than a knock on the door interrupted him. Hermione, who had not looked up on his entering the room, still didn't look up but waved a hand distractedly in the direction of the front door.
`Can you get that please?'
Harry threw her an annoyed glance and stomped off in the direction of the door, he yanked it open only to be greeted by a startled Lilly.
`Good Morning Harvey, did I wake you up?'
Harry smiled at her, unable to help himself in spite of his momentary annoyance with Hermione, `No but I have only just gotten up, what can I do for you?'
`Well, James is having some of the boys over for a bit of a quidditch match today, and one of his friends can't make it so the teams are uneven and we thought that you and Hermiah might like to join us for the day. You can make up the numbers at quidditch and Hermiah could keep me company, what do you think?'
Harry grinned, his black mood now entirely gone, `I'd love to, but I'm not sure about Hermiah,' said Harry, `she's kind of in the middle of something at the moment.' He gestured for Lilly to come inside and then closed the door behind her, `Why don't you ask her though. Would you like a coffee? I was just about to make some.'
`Oh no thank-you, I'll just pop in and ask Hermiah then I'd better head back. I've got four growing boys to feed today.'
Harry laughed as he led the way into the kitchen, `at what age do men stop being "growing boys" then?'
`I'll let you know when it happens... Hi Hermiah, how are you?'
Finally Hermione looked up from her books, she smiled brightly but her eyes had a slightly panicked look about them. Harry wondered for the millionth time what on earth she was trying to figure out that had gotten her so worked up, he didn't dwell on it though and went about the business of making breakfast
`I'm good thanks Lilly, your hosting the quidditch world cup today I hear?'
Lilly laughed, `Yes and all we need are some adoring spectators and caterers, do you want to join us. Harvey said you were busy... my goodness what is all this for?'
Hermione cleared the table with a sweep of her wand, sending the books off to goodness knows where, `Oh just a little project I'm working on, have a seat, stay for coffee.' Hermione urged.
`No, I really can't... I just popped over to see if you two would like to join us today, Harvey said he'll come.'
`Oh, I really can't, I'm sorry, I just... I've just last night started making some headway on my project and I really can't stop just now.'
`Well... if you're sure...'
`Sorry Lilly, another time perhaps?'
`Sure, of course, well I better get back. We'll see you soon Harvey?'
`Yeah I'll just have breakfast and then I'll come over.' Harry called over his shoulder
`Great! By the way, I love the hair cut, it really suits you.'
Lilly called out her goodbyes and left but Harry didn't hear any of it, he wasn't even sure if he responded or not. He was still stuck on her last words which kept re-playing themselves in his brain over and over again. When he finally recovered from his frozen panic enough he looked up at his reflection in the kitchen window near where he stood and his fears where confirmed. At some point during the night his magic had repeated a trick that it had only performed once before in his life. Just like the time when he was in primary school and his aunt had shaved his head completely bald but for his fringe and his magic had grown it back. He must have unconsciously disliked the heat and weight of all that hair so much that he had somehow shrunk it back to its previous length while he slept.
While he had to admit it did suit him a lot better this way it also made him look almost the spitting image of his father.
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