The Hogwarts Four, [PP I] TimeTravel!Harry + TR/MM = ...

[Alexannah]

Nostalgic Accounts of Professional Pranksters, or The Bumper Book of Don't Do That ...!

I: The Hogwarts Four

Summary: Harry takes a field trip to 1942, and discovers the legendary ‘Terrors’ of the Hogwarts halls: four mischievous girls that not even Albus Dumbledore can control. Wait a moment. Who’s that mystery boy in the mirror?

Rating: M

Warnings: Major Character Death, Other Sensitive Topic

Disclaimer: I don’t own Harry Potter. The ‘chandelier episode’ I borrowed from Minerva McDore’s ‘Into the Lion’s Den’ (with permission) because I loved it too much. The fic was inspired by that one. This fic is for Minerva McDore as thanks for the chandelier episode.


Prologue: Truth or Dare

It is a profitable thing, if one is wise, to seem foolish
- Aeschylus


The Founder’s Room, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, 1942

The school body had dubbed these girls the ‘Hogwarts Four’, in honour of the Founders, as one was from each House. The staff had secretly dubbed them the Four Terrors – not that they would ever admit to the girls what an impact they had on the Professors. If they knew it could be disastrous.

As they came from separate Houses and none really got on well with their housemates, the headmaster Professor Dippet had granted the Four a common room to themselves – although the girls regarded it as a privilege, it was simply because the librarian was sick of chasing them out for being too rowdy.

It was in this common room the four girls sat one Saturday afternoon.

The Founder’s room was decorated in all the House colours, with a portrait of each of them on each wall. It was unusually quiet today. The Founders were getting slightly on edge, waiting for pandemonium to break out.

The first one was sitting straight up, legs crossed, on the chair nearest the fire. There was a tortoiseshell cat curled up on the rug in front of her, a heavy book on her lap and glasses perfectly set in place. A few whisps of black hair were curling free of her long plait, hanging over one shoulder. Her sharp green eyes scanned the page, flickering in annoyance. The reason for them doing that was slouched in a very undignified position the other chair.

“Come on Mina, it’s your turn,” the second girl wheedled.

“Stop it Ro, I’m trying to concentrate!”

A third girl looked up from the floor where she was shuffling the Exploding Snap cards with the fourth and said, “Ro, leave her be if she doesn’t want to.”

“It’s not the same without all of us.” Ro had short, cropped mouse-brown hair, unusually yellow eyes like a hawk, a lean athletic figure, and was the tallest of the group. The girl who had addressed her was the shortest: she was dumpy, with soft brown eyes and red-tinted, dirt-smudged hair that curled slightly around her round face. Her partner, more absorbed in the cards than she, had milky skin with scatterings of freckles, shoulder-length blonde waves and pale blue eyes that were completely focused on the floor.

“Fine, I’ll join in!” Mina snapped, closing her book sharply and making them all start. The moment the anger appeared it evaporated, revealing a mischievous look in her eyes as they fell upon the scattered cards.

“Come on you two, help us put these away!” the smaller girl said, rubbing her nose with her finger.

“We’re coming, Pomona; keep your hair on.” Mina put her book aside and she and Ro crouched on the floor.

Ten minutes later the Four Terrors had packed away the cards and were heavily involved in a new game.

“Your turn, Poppy. Truth or dare?”

The fourth girl chewed her lip seriously before deciding, “Truth.”

Ro rubbed her hands together. “Who’s the best-looking boy in the year?”

“ROLANDA! Do you EVER think of ANYTHING else but boys and Quidditch??”

Poppy and Pomona shared a Look. Out of the four, Mina and Ro were the ones who were at each other’s throats most. Anyone outside the group would say it was because one was Gryffindor and the other was Slytherin. They knew it to be the fact that they were best friends.

Pomona cleared her throat. “Mina, you can’t ask Ro a question till it’s her turn.” Poppy sniggered and the other two glared at her.

“Fine, answer the question then, Poppy. Who’s the best-looking boy in the year?”

It took a minute for Poppy to answer. “That’s a tough one, but … I think Tom Riddle is.”

Ro raised her eyebrows. “Really? I’d have thought he would be more Mina’s type.” Mina glared at her. “You know how she is with dark-haired guys.”

“Rolanda Hooch, you’re going the right way for a Silver Arrow up your -”

“AHEM!” Poppy interrupted. “What is wrong with you two today? Will you just pack it in? Pommie and I would like to get through the afternoon unscathed.”

Mina sighed. “Fine. Who’s turn is it now?”

Fifteen minutes passed, with all four avoiding scratches.

“Mina, truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

“Before you ask her, Ro,” Poppy cut in, “we all know Mina’s crush, so it’s pointless asking her about that.”

“Good point. Okay Mina, describe your dream future – and the name Albus Dumbledore is NOT allowed to appear in it.”

Mina blushed furiously and sent her a death glare before taking a breath.

“Um … I’m not sure, I’ve never really thought about it.” She bit her lip, looking at the floor. “I’d quite like a career in something important – maybe Healing. Or an Auror. Or perhaps teaching.”

“Teaching what?”

Mina shot Rolanda a Look. “Transfiguration, of course. Or Defence if I can’t get that job.”

“What about besides your career?”

“I don’t know … Maybe get married somewhere along the line. But it would have to be with someone special.” The other three exchanged knowing looks. “Maybe children … I don’t know.”

“If you had kids, what would you call them?”

“Oh … I quite like Jasmine for a girl. And … Luke for a boy. And if I had another girl, she’d be Susannah, and if another boy, then Harry.”

“I like those names,” Poppy mused. “If I have kids first I’ll pinch them.”

“You will not.”

“I’ve always thought Mina would have kids first,” Pomona said thoughtfully. “I’m not sure why.”

“I think you will,” said Rolanda, “or Poppy.”

“Ten Galleons on Mina,” Pommie grinned.

“Done!”

“Excuse me?” Mina exclaimed. “Ro!”

“What? Anyway, it’s Poppy’s turn now.”

Mina didn’t speak to Rolanda until her next turn.

“Truth or dare?”

“You know what Ro’s going to ask you, Mina. Go for dare this time.”

“Fine … Dare.”

All four girls’ eyes shone with excitement and mischief as Rolanda leaned forward to whisper in Mina’s ear. Her green eyes went suddenly wide.

“You want me to do WHAT???”

“Honestly Mina, it’s not going to do any harm or anything. It’ll just give him a bit of a shock.”

“No way!”

“You said dare; you’ve got to do the dare or a forfeit!”

“What’s the forfeit?”

“Declare your undying love to him in front of the entire school.”

“And drop your robes as you do it!”

“POPPY!”

“Um, you know what? I’ll take the dare. BUT you all have to come with me; I’m not getting into trouble on my own because of something stupid Ro asked me to do!”

“That sounds reasonable,” Pomona said quickly before the two could start a cat-fight. “We’ll come with you, Mina.”

“But she’s got to do it on her own!”

“Yes, yes. C’mon girls, I say we do it right now – I’m hungry and I want dinner.”

“Fine.” All four girls left the common room. Mina was quiet. Normally, Ro’s dares weren’t particularly dangerous, but this one could end up seriously backfiring. A crystal chandelier dropped at that height could kill someone. Although Ro had assured her that they’d make sure no-one was close enough for it to hit them, Mina had a bad feeling.

Her bad feeling turned out correct. Poor Professor Binns.

TBC ...

Review

[Alexannah]

Chapter One: You’re Not German

Harry steadied himself, feeling slightly dizzy. As the swirling lights cleared, he saw he was in the room he had just left – but everyone was gone: Dumbledore, Ron, Hermione, Professor McGonagall, everyone. He shook his head as if trying to rid his ears of water. Had it worked?

A bell rang near him, making him start, signalling the end of classes. He sighed once he realised what it was. He could hear students beginning to make their way up the corridor outside.

He checked his watch – it still read the same time, but the small digital box that said the date now read 15/09/1942.

He’d made it. There was no going back now.

Harry’s hold tightened on his belongings. Dumbledore had advised him not to take a school trunk, as the style had changed quite dramatically over the last few decades. The same could be said for the uniforms, so Harry was dressed in a shirt and trousers that fitted in with the year, and sported a small suitcase that also blended in.

“Right,” he muttered. “To-do list.”

He fished in his pockets and brought out a large sheaf of parchment. Most of it had been written by Dumbledore, though Professor McGonagall had apparently added in her bit. Harry hadn’t looked through it, but he supposed it was a list of things that he would need to learn to fit in with the year. He’d also had to brush up on his history before he came – he’d had a three-hour lecture on the Grindelwald war (which was apparently still running in this time) from Dumbledore, and a brief list of do’s and don’ts regarding revealing future information. The last thing anyone wanted to do was change the future dramatically.

1. Tell Professor Dumbledore who you are and why you’re there. (This part looked very odd to Harry in Dumbledore’s own handwriting.) Do not reveal Tom Riddle’s name. Do not tell him the outcome of the war. Avoid mentioning the war if you can help it. Do not tell him your parents’ names or about the prophecy. Do not mention the Voldemort war(s) at all. Do not tell him anything about future teaching placements at Hogwarts. Do not tell him about sherbet lemons.

“OK,” Harry muttered aloud, “I can do that.”

He waited until he couldn’t hear anyone outside, then slipped out of the door and quietly made his way to the office that to him was Professor McGonagall’s, but now should be Dumbledore’s.

“Right,” he thought, “here goes.”

-----

“Come in.”

Albus heard the door open and close. He held out a hand to stop whoever-it-was from speaking as he finished signing the paper, then looked up, replacing his quill. “What do you …” He trailed off.

He knew all the students by name and was positive he’d never seen this one before. The boy looked around fifteen and was wearing Muggle clothes. He had messy black hair that flopped in his face, deep green eyes Albus had only seen on one person before, and a just-visible mark on his forehead.

“Um … Who are you?”

The boy sat down on the chair next to his desk without invitation. “My name’s Harry, Harry Potter, and I’m from the future.” He spoke quickly, as if doing so would lessen the shock.

“Well.” Albus leaned back in his seat, staring at the boy who, now he thought of it, reminded him of someone he couldn’t place. “I can’t say I’ve heard that one before.”

Harry pulled a Chocolate Frog card from his pocket and dropped it on Albus’ desk. He picked it up. The back had been wiped blank deliberately, but on the front was a picture of himself … an older self. His hair had gone silver and he had many more wrinkles. Albus was pleased, however, to see that his photographic self at least looked just as energetic as himself now.

He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’ve been working too hard.”

A smile curled Harry’s mouth. “You’re not hallucinating, Professor.”

“I’m not? Damn.” Albus rubbed his eyes. “Who are you?”

“I’ve already told you sir, my name’s Harry Potter. But I’m afraid I can’t tell you more than that.”

“If you’re really from the future -”

“I am.”

“- how did you get here?”

Right on queue, Fawkes appeared in a burst of flame and settled on Harry’s knee.

“I think Fawkes has just answered that,” Harry said with a smile, petting the phoenix.

“What are you here for?”

“Not to change anything, if that’s what you mean,” Harry replied. “Merely to gather information. But I can’t tell you what or what for … at risk of changing the future.”

Albus nodded. “I understand. May I ask you how far in the future you come from?”

Harry chewed his lip, before apparently deciding it wouldn’t do too much harm if he said. “Fifty years, give or take.”

Albus let out a low whistle. “Quite a period.” He paused, then added quietly as a thought struck him, “You’re not German.”

Harry stared at him, and suddenly seemed to realise what he meant and laughed. “No, I’m not.”

Questions exploded in Albus’ head and he pushed them away, but a bubble of hope swelled inside him nonetheless. By the look on his face, Harry seemed to be thinking he’d said too much, and Albus forced himself to swallow the subject.

“You wish to stay at Hogwarts, I take it?”

“Yes, sir.”

“May I ask why you came to me, and not the Headmaster? You don’t have to answer,” he added quickly as Harry hesitated, “I was just curious.”

“Well,” Harry seemed to be choosing his words very carefully, “I know you, sir – the future you – and I have reason to trust you with the information.” Albus nodded. “I would rather the Headmaster or anyone else didn’t know where I was from, sir – or my name, for that matter.”

“Understandable,” Albus agreed. “But we will have to have some sort of story for the Headmaster – I doubt he would accept a student with no apparent background or education.”

Harry bent down and opened his suitcase, taking out a sheaf of papers on the top. “I have these, sir. Records of home tutoring and OWL results, all signed and official.”

Albus took them, unable to hide the fact that he was impressed. “These are very good. They are forgeries, I take it?”

“Yes, sir. I attend Hogwarts back in my own time, the only things that are the same are the OWL results. I decided it was best to be honest – actually, you did.”

Albus chuckled as he noted the D for Divination, but then he spotted the mark for Defence and whistled. “Outstanding with Honours? I’m impressed.”

Harry flushed. “Thank you, sir.”

“May I ask how long you think you will be staying? Professor Dippet will want to know that.”

“Probably till the end of the year,” Harry replied. Albus detected a note of sadness in his voice.

“Is there something troubling you?”

Harry sighed. “It’s just my friends, sir. I’m going to miss them.”

Albus smiled at him. “I’m sure you will find some friends here, Mr Potter. We have some very interesting pupils in sixth year – You are a sixth year, correct?”

Harry nodded. “Yes. I’m taking NEWT Defence, Transfiguration, Charms, Herbology and … hopefully Potions.”

“Hopefully? You got Exceeds Expectations.”

“I know – It’s just my previous Potions master would only accept students with Os. I wasn’t sure what the situation here was.”

“I see. Yes, you will be able to do Potions here, Mr Potter.” Harry breathed a sigh of relief. “Now, I think it is time we paid a visit to the Headmaster, don’t you?”

Harry grinned.

TBC ...

Review

[Alexannah]

Chapter Two: Meet the Terrors

2. Don’t worry about Houses. Tom Riddle does not have a grudge against all Gryffindors. Nor do most other Slytherins. The House rivalry is not as it is today.

Harry raised his eyebrows in surprise before pocketing the checklist and following Dumbledore out of the Gryffindor common room. The dormitory looked a lot like it did in fifty years, and Harry wasn’t complaining. It would make him feel more at home. The other boys weren’t exactly unfriendly, but there were four of them already paired as friends, and Harry had a sinking feeling he would be left out all year.

Dumbledore made him jump by putting a hand on his shoulder.

“You will settle in, Mr Evans. Don’t be put off. There are plenty of other students in the school.”

“I know,” Harry mumbled. They were just rounding a corner when a loud, indignant voice with a Scottish accent sounded in front of them. Harry looked up and saw two girls about his age bickering, one with a long dark plait and the other with blonde curls.

“Quidditch is not barbaric! Just because of that little incident in second year with the Bludger -”

Dumbledore coughed. “Ladies?”

Both girls spun round in surprise. “Professor! Sorry, we didn’t realise we were being so loud!”

“Speak for yourself,” spoke up the blonde one. Despite the tone, she had a grin on her face, which made Harry realise that the arguing was apparently in fun.

The first girl glared at her. Harry thought she looked slightly familiar.

“Um, hello,” he announced his presence.

Two pairs of eyes turned on him. The gaze of the dark-haired girl made him feel as though he was being scrutinised.

“Who are you?” the blonde asked curiously. “I haven’t seen you before.” Her eyes flickered to the Muggle clothes and Harry felt rather uncomfortable.

“This is Harry Evans; he’s just transferred,” Dumbledore spoke up. “He’s a sixth year as well. I was rather hoping you two would help him get settled in, show him around …?”

“Of course, Professor!” Both girls sounded enthusiastic about it, though the dark-haired girl didn’t look it. She didn’t look hostile either: just curious.

“Well,” Dumbledore said cheerfully, clapping his hand on Harry’s shoulder, “I shall leave him in your capable hands.” Harry noticed a faint blush crept onto the dark-haired girl’s cheeks at that remark, and was sure Dumbledore didn’t. “I’ll leave you three to it, then.”

“You can trust us, sir,” the blonde said with a grin, saluting.

“I’m sure I can,” Dumbledore said, chuckling. “Just don’t drop any chandeliers on him, will you?”

“Professor!” Both girl sounded scandalised. Dumbledore chuckled and left.

Something stirring in his memory, Harry pulled out his checklist.

3. Watch out for falling chandeliers.

“What’s that?”

Harry hurriedly stuffed the list back into his pocket. “Nothing.”

The blonde girl didn’t seem to have noticed. “Hi Harry, I’m Poppy.” She thrust her hand out at him and he shook it hesitantly, not missing the fact that she was flirting obviously with him. He didn’t realise girls were so open in this time – or was it just this one in particular?

“Um, hi.”

“Knock it off, Pops,” the dark-haired girl said dryly. “Just ignore her, Harry, she flirts with every new boy fourth year or over.”

“I do not!” Poppy exclaimed, but let go of his hand quickly.

“And, you are?” Harry asked his rescuer.

“Mina,” she replied, but before she could say anything else a teacher rounded the corner Dumbledore had just disappeared from.

“Girls! I thought Headmaster Dippet banned you from loitering in the halls?”

Harry gaped. Mina noticed.

“Yes Professor, sorry Professor, won’t happen again Professor, we’ll just go now Professor,” she reeled off quickly, grabbing Harry’s arm and marching him down the hall. When they were out of earshot she leaned in and whispered, “Don’t stare.”

“How did she get rabbit ears?” Harry muttered back.

“She sat in on my Animagus training, and – er – my wand was malfunctioning that day.”

A chuckle from behind them alerted Harry to Poppy following close behind.

“That’s the edited version, anyway.”

“Poppy!”

“What happened?” Harry asked, turning to look at her.

“My wand,” Mina ground out through gritted teeth, “was malfunctioning. That is the end of it.”

“Right, you keep telling yourself, Mina,” Poppy grinned. To Harry she answered, “The rest of the school – and me – thinks Mina cursed her for flirting with -”

“Shut up, Poppy!”

“- Professor Dumbledore,” Poppy finished.

“Poppy!” Mina moaned.

“Dumbledore?” Harry said quizzically, looking back at Mina with one eyebrow raised.

“Well, it’s not like you won’t hear it from the rest of the school,” Mina muttered, looking down at the ground.

“Mina’s got a little crush,” Poppy said, moving out of arm reach.

Mina glared at her and changed the subject. “So Harry, where’ve you transferred from?”

“Well, transferred is not really the right word. I was tutored at home.”

“Why did you come here?”

He shrugged. “I fancied a change, and heard it was the best wizarding school in the world.”

“What’s your favourite subject?” Mina quizzed.

“Defence against the Dark Arts, and Quidditch.”

“Really? What position do you play?”

He grinned. “Seeker.”

“Mina’s a Gryffindor Beater,” Poppy interrupted. “Are you good?”

“I’ve been told I am.” Harry thought it best to avoid mentioning he was the youngest House Seeker in a century – Not only would it be technically incorrect now, but it might make Poppy even more keen than she appeared to be.

They arrived in the Entrance Hall. It was almost completely devoid of students. The crystal chandelier that Harry knew to be hanging from the ceiling in present day – the same one he’d caught Professor McGonagall encouraging Peeves to unscrew – was being re-hung. It looked like it had recently been broken and repaired.

“Can we go somewhere?” Mina asked, looking up at the chandelier with what looked like a guilty look on her face. “I don’t want another detention for loitering.”

“Or murder,” Poppy muttered. Mina kicked her in the shin.

“Ouch!”

“So, shall we give you the grand tour?” Mina directed at Harry.

“Actually, Dumbledore’s already pretty much shown me where everything is,” he replied, thinking that he really didn’t want a tour of a school he already knew pretty well, thanks to the Marauders’ Map – which was sitting in his bag in Gryffindor Tower.

“He can’t have shown you everything, but okay, we’ll leave the boring stuff for later. Where do you want to go now?”

Poppy interrupted. “Mina, we’ve got a Transfiguration assignment due Monday. We should get started.”

“I don’t mind going to the library.” Harry had had an exhausting day and he didn’t fancy the common room. Besides, they’d just spent about ten minutes walking away from it.

The library was agreed and the three of them hurried off. Mina in particular seemed to be eager to get away from the chandelier.

The atmosphere in the library was a much more relaxed one than Harry had experienced back in Gryffindor Tower. Poppy sat quickly down at a table for four before the group of Hufflepuffs that had been making their way towards it. They glared at her and turned to a different one, and Mina and Harry sat down and Harry pulled out his checklist.

4. Don’t stare at her ears.

He grinned to himself and pocketed the list again. Poppy was scribbling on her essay, tongue between her teeth. After a moment or two Harry suddenly realised he was watching her, and quickly looked away before she caught him. His eyes fell on Mina.

He was positive he’d seen her before. Her eyes, now they were close, he saw were a deep grass green, and she wore glasses like he did. Her brows were furrowed in concentration, but instead of focusing on an essay, she appeared to be doodling patterns on a scrap piece of parchment.

“Have you done your assignment, then?” he asked her.

“Nope.”

Poppy looked up. “Mina, don’t try it again.”

“Try what?”

“So soon after the Binns incident? You’ll end up expelled if you keep landing yourself in detention.”

“Professor Dumbledore,” Mina said, shooting Poppy a frown, “wouldn’t expel me.”

“’Course he wouldn’t, everyone knows you’re his favourite. But Dippet might. You do remember the chandelier-dropping is on all of our permanent records?”

“Poppy,” Mina said in exasperation, “when Ro isn’t around you are twice as bad as she is. Shut up about the incident, please.”

“Who’s Ro?” Harry asked to change the subject.

“Short for Rolanda. She’s Mina’s best friend, and the Slytherin Quidditch captain. And is that Tom Riddle over there again?”

Harry turned around so fast he got a crick in his neck. His breath caught in his throat as he spotted a boy his age, pale, with dark hair that fell in his eyes and grey eyes (Harry couldn’t make out the colour from that distance, but he could paint it in his mind’s eye) that seemed to be absorbed in a book, but kept flickering over to their table.

“Don’t look!” Mina hissed at him. Harry quickly looked away from Riddle and back to Mina, who was determinedly staring at her doodles, but her eyes were unfocused. “Is he looking at me?” she muttered out of the corner of her mouth.

Uh-oh. Harry could see what was coming. Dumbledore himself had pointed out that Riddle had been a handsome boy at school, but Harry had never pictured girls liking him. Now he thought about it, he ought to have foreseen it. He knew he couldn’t meddle with the past, but at that moment he felt it was his moral obligation to stop any girl regretting getting involved with Lord Voldemort.

“No,” he said firmly in answer to her question.

Poppy stared at him, confused. “What are you talking about? Yes he is!”

Mina took a deep breath and quickly glanced over at Riddle’s table, appearing to be looking somewhere to the left of him but her eyes flickered in his direction before she turned back.

“That’s the third time this week,” Poppy muttered.

“I thought you liked Dumbledore?” Harry murmured.

“I do,” Mina admitted, blushing slightly, “but I can like two boys at once, can’t I?”

“Professor Dumbledore is hardly a boy,” Poppy giggled, stuffing her fingers in her mouth.

“You know what I mean,” Mina snapped.

“Watch out, he’s coming over!” Poppy whispered. Harry tensed.

“Afternoon,” he greeted them.

Mina turned round to face him. “Hello, Tom.”

He smiled openly at her. It was a pleasant smile, but Harry firmly disliked the look in his eyes.

“You’re not doing your essay?”

“I, uh, I’m saving it for tomorrow.”

Harry looked back and forth between Mina and Riddle. The latter wasn’t taking any notice of him or Poppy, but Mina’s eyes kept darting in his direction.

“Then you won’t mind taking a walk with me,” he said. “I was just going to go around the lake, to clear my head a bit. Do you want to join me?”

“I, um …” Mina glanced back at her companions. Harry was fighting the urge to punch Tom Riddle in the face, but Poppy was giving Mina encouraging glances.

“All right,” she agreed.

“Great,” Tom smiled at her, waiting as she packed her things away. He held out his arm for her as she stood up and she took it. “Ready to go, McGonagall?”

“It’s Mina,” she said firmly.

“Mina, then.”

“Have fun!” Poppy said flirtatiously. “Don’t break too many school rules!”

“Poppy!” Mina hissed. “See you later, you two.” She practically pulled Riddle out of the library with her.

Harry stared after Mina in surprise, then pulled out his checklist again. The fifth instruction was not in Dumbledore’s handwriting.

5. Don’t call me Minerva.

TBC ...

Review

[Alexannah]

Chapter Three: Nice Pyjamas

Harry was sitting up in bed. The other boys in the dormitory were sound asleep, but he couldn’t join them. He had to make something clear to himself.

He inked his quill, straightened his parchment and continued writing steadily on it. Next to him lay his checklist. The first five instructions had been either ticked or crossed out, and a new one had been added in between five and six in Harry’s own handwriting:

5 ˝: Write lines. 100 times: “I am here to gather information about Tom Riddle, not to interfere in Minerva McGonagall’s love life, no matter if she’s dating the Devil Incarnate in disguise.”

“This,” he muttered aloud, “is not going to work.”

He scrunched up the parchment with the first side of lines on and tossed it into the furnace in the centre of the room, heavily crossed out the instruction he’d only written half an hour ago and tucked away his checklist and the map under a loose floorboard before blowing out his candle.

-----

Harry didn’t sleep well. He’d cast silencing charms around his bed so as not to wake anyone with his now very regular nightmares. Unlike every night since the Ministry battle, however, Harry’s nightmares didn’t involve Voldemort – at least not directly.

-----

After he’d had time to stew after his fifth year during the first two weeks of the holidays, he’d grudgingly sent a letter to Professor Snape apologising for looking in his Pensieve, being insolent in lessons and asking if they could start again and try and get on for the sake of the wizarding world. He had been prepared for some snarky reply, but instead his apology was (reluctantly) accepted and they had begun lessons again once Harry was back at school.

Although the two attempted to get along marginally, Harry was still no better at the bleeding subject. Snape proved to be a better teacher than last year – he did at least explain a little more what he meant, and didn’t snap (well, not as much) when Harry did something wrong. But Harry just could not get it.

“Legilimens!” Snape shouted through gritted teeth.

Aunt Petunia breaking open eggs to find parchment envelopes rolled up inside … a strangely familiar tabby cat dodging Dudley and his gang on their bikes outside Mrs Figg’s … ducking a soapy saucepan on his twelfth birthday … pulling Godric Gryffindor’s sword out of the Hat … Professor Trelawney almost dropping Harry’s teacup in first Divination class …

“How did it go?”

“It was a bloody disaster,” Harry groaned, dropping into a seat in the common room. His friends cast him sympathetic looks. “I might as well wave a big sign above my head saying, ‘Over here Voldie; come and infiltrate my mind!’”

Ron snorted with laughter and Hermione glared at them both. “It’s not funny. Harry, you just need to -”

“Try harder?” he snapped at her. “I’m trying as hard as I can, Hermione! My head feels like it’s going to bloody burst if I try any harder! Thanks for the advice, but it’s useless.” He stood up before anyone could reply. “I’m going to bed.”

The other two sighed as he stormed up the dormitory stairs.

“Well done, Hermione,” Ron said quietly. “I’d better go after him.”

Harry was throwing his books angrily into his truck when Ron appeared in the doorway.

“What?”

“Hermione says she’s sorry and she didn’t mean it like that.”

“Right.”

One of the heavier books slipped from Harry’s grasp and landed on his foot. “OUCH!”

He flopped back on the bed, nursing his toe, as Ron bent to pick up the tome.

“The Art of Time-Travel and it’s Risks and Consequences Over the Centuries?” he quizzed as he looked at the title.

“Don’t tell Hermione; she’d have my head.”

“This may seem a stupid question, but why are you reading about time travel?”

Harry pulled his pyjama top on. “I was talking to Dumbledore the other day: despite the fact that I’ve faced Voldemort -” (Ron shuddered) “- All right, Riddle – several times now, it’s occurred to me that I actually know nothing about him at all.”

“Where does time travel come into this?” Ron asked, baffled.

“Well, to be able to defeat him, I need to know him – his strengths and weaknesses, and use it against him. The thing is, I can hardly just saunter up to him at the next Death Eater meeting and start asking him questions. I’ll be dead before I could get the first one out of my mouth.”

“You’re not answering the question.”

“Yes I am.” Harry shut his trunk and turned to Ron. “Look, I’ve already talked it over with Dumbledore – if I was to go back fifty-whatever years, and attend Hogwarts as a regular student for a year with Riddle there, not only would it give me a chance to possibly get to know him a bit without danger of dying, but I’d also get a year free of whisperings about the famous Harry Potter in the corridors. Really, who could pass that up?” he said, grinning.

“Yeah, but …” Ron turned the book over in his hands, questions exploding in his head. “What about your NEWTs?”

“I can do them there. Under a false name, obviously, but we can sort out the records when I return.”

“That’s the other thing. If you’re in the 1940s for a year, would you miss out on a year here?”

“Well … yeah.”

“But … what about me and Hermione? You can’t just vanish off the face of the earth for a year, Harry. And what about the press and the Ministry – and – and You-Know-Who? Someone will notice you’re gone.”

“Dumbledore’s said he’ll think up a cover story – say I’m temporarily transferring to a different school or something. And I can use the same excuse there, that I’m a transfer student. No-one will be any the wiser.”

“But Harry, what about me and Hermione?” Ron repeated. “We’re your best friends, you can’t just vanish on us!”

“I’ll be back, Ron,” Harry assured him, feeling rather uncomfortable. “As long as nothing goes wrong, I’ll be back in a year.”

“YEAH, A YEAR! HAVE YOU ACTUALLY STOPPED TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE’D FEEL ABOUT YOU VANISHING FOR A WHOLE YEAR, HARRY? NO! THIS IS ABOUT YOURSELF; IT’S ALWAYS ABOUT YOURSELF!”

-----

Mina awoke suddenly, unsure what had disturbed her. All she knew was that she had to get up.

The feeling passed before she reached the door. She shook her head and made her way back to her bed. It was probably nothing.

-----

Harry awoke early the next day, but kept his head buried in his pillow for a good half an hour before moving to scrub the half-dried tears off his face and get out of bed. The other Gryffindor boys were still not up, so he made full use of the bathroom and then went down to the common room.

“You’re up early,” he addressed the back of a familiar head.

There was a yelp and Mina jumped to her feet. Her hair was loose, falling all over her shoulders, and she was still in her pyjamas.

“Oops – Sorry.”

“It’s all right,” she said, once she’d caught her breath. “You’re up early too.”

He shrugged. “I didn’t sleep too well. Nice pyjamas.”

“Oh,” she grinned sheepishly, staring down at the strawberry pattern. “They’re my favourites.”

The conversation was getting awkward, so Harry cast around quickly for a change of subject.

“Um, what class do you have first?”

“Potions. Oh! You’ll want to be shown where the classes are, won’t you? Are you doing Potions too?”

He nodded. “I think I could find the dungeons on my own, but I’m not sure which one …”

“Dungeon Five,” Mina informed him. “Don’t worry, I’ll take you there after breakfast. Poppy’s the only other one who does Potions – she wants to be a Healer – but Ro and Pommie don’t.”

“What’s Poppy’s surname?” Harry asked curiously.

“Pomfrey,” Mina replied, proving his suspicions correct. “And I’m Mina McGonagall – [/i]Don’t[/i] call me Minerva – Ro is Rolanda Hooch, and Pommie is Pomona Sprout. Happy now?”

“Yes,” Harry replied, slightly dazed. He wasn’t sure if it was the fact that he seemed to have befriended – maybe – a bunch of his future teachers (which were funnily enough all in the same year), or the fact that Madam Pomfrey had actually hit on him. The second thought was slightly disturbing.

“Anyway, I think I’d better go and get dressed. The others will be down in a while. See you at breakfast?”

“Okay,” Harry agreed, and she left.

Harry sat down in an armchair, deep in thought. The whole situation seemed very surreal. It wasn’t just the fact that he was surrounded by his teachers who were all the same age as him – it wasn’t even Poppy flirting – but Mina.

Harry had lived his entire childhood longing for a parental figure, someone he could call his own, but it had never happened. Then he had arrived at Hogwarts, and even then while he didn’t have anyone who he could call his own, he still figured later on that he seemed to have become inexplicably attached to certain teachers without even noticing.

He hadn’t realised how much Dumbledore had come to mean to him until the man appeared to have abandoned and ignored him, hurting him more than he cared to admit. But the person Harry cared about most at Hogwarts, he hadn’t realised he did until she wasn’t there anymore.

Despite trying to fight against it, Professor McGonagall had become like a mother figure to Harry, and seeing her now at the same age as him was as emotionally draining as it was bizarre. He knew that she thought of him in a slightly different way to the rest of her pupils, which had been confirmed after the Order meeting in the summer when she’d hugged him after he’d apologised for his behaviour last year and whispered that had she been in his position she would have probably cursed Umbridge into pieces, and apologised herself for being a hypocrite. But now, he wasn’t even sure if she liked him as a friend. She’d only known him a few hours, and while she’d been friendly, she hadn’t been over-friendly.

Harry had only been in 1942 for one day, but he already missed his friends and wished he could have left them on better terms. He also missed the old Professor McGonagall more than he thought was healthy. But at least he could forget about his friends during the day. Mina was a living reminder of his Head of House – literally.

Trying to distract himself, Harry pulled out his checklist and read down the rest of the instructions on the first page.

6: Buy dress robes

Dress robes? Was there going to be a Yule Ball? Great, who was he supposed to go with? Definitely not Poppy! Wait, what money did he have? Did he remember to pack some?

7: Enjoy Potions. The teacher is fair.

Harry snorted with laughter. This one had been written in Professor McGonagall’s hand: it implied a continuation that went “whereas Snape is not”.

8: Try and pair with Tom Riddle in Potions. It would make a good ice-breaker. Be polite and neutral. Do not act coldly.

As if he needed telling. Although, after yesterday, Harry was inclined to act very coldly to Riddle just for looking at Mina.

9: Make sure everything that could be identified as from the future is well hidden during the day

Check. Harry thought the instructions were in a strange order. It sounded as if Dumbledore had just written them down as he thought of them.

10: This is the most important instruction of all: Don’t stop the first date.

Harry rubbed his eyes and re-read the instruction. It had to be about Mina and Tom Riddle – who else would it be about?

He double-checked – Yes, it was definitely Dumbledore’s handwriting. So Dumbledore knew about Mina and Tom. And he’d sent Harry back into the middle of it??? Why???

It said first date, not “Don’t stop them seeing each other”. Did that mean that there would only be one date? Or did that mean that something would happen on the first date, that if Harry stopped occurring, would change history? Perhaps dramatically?

And if something would happen … What? Harry had solemnly swore to Dumbledore he would not change history, but this went against all his moral rules, not to mention his conscience. How did Dumbledore expect him to sit by and watch whatever it was that would unfold, unfold without doing anything to stop it?

Harry groaned and banged his head on the table. Now he knew why the Ministry was so against time-travelling – it was all too easy to say “I won’t meddle” and then be sorely tempted. Although, Harry considered that most people were tempted for their own selfish reasons. He was tempted for the good of a person he cared about. Did that make him better or not?

“I solemnly declare my loyalty to Albus Dumbledore,” he whispered.

He waited. Nothing. He tried to push away his confusion and resentment about the situation Dumbledore had put him in and tried to think back to the end of the year, when he’d hated himself for being so bitter, and tried again.

A flash of golden-scarlet fire made him jump, knocking his checklist to the ground.

“Fawkes!”

The phoenix chirruped at him before settling on his knee, rubbing his head against Harry’s hand in welcome. Harry stroked the beautiful plumage, feeling instantly more relaxed.

“What’s this?” Harry spotted a scroll that had been dropped on the table. “Did you bring this?”

Fawkes blinked in apparent confirmation.

“Okay, let’s see what your master has to say,” Harry murmured, reaching for the scroll.

Dear Harry,

I gave this to Fawkes to bring to you the first time you called him. I hope you’re settling or have settled in well and have been using your checklist.

Remember you can always contact me by Fawkes if you need to.

Prof. Albus Dumbledore

“Yeah, I need to,” Harry muttered, grabbing a quill. On the back of the note he scribbled:

Dear Professor Dumbledore,

I’m writing to enquire after instruction #10. I assume you mean Professor McGonagall’s first date with Tom Riddle?

Will it only be one date? What is going to happen? I feel I should note, Professor, that I feel I deserve a very good reason for not interfering. Professor McGonagall has been an important part of my life since I began at Hogwarts and, whatever time or age, I can’t stand back and watch her get hurt. This is Lord Voldemort we are talking about.

I also wish I had been informed of this before I arrived – it was enough of a surprise to find Riddle is/was actually interested in girls at all. That was something you neglected to mention before. I could have made an idiot of myself and nearly did.

Harry Potter

That, he decided, would do the trick. In the meantime … he would cross his fingers, and be careful.

TBC ...

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[Alexannah]

Chapter Four: Sleep Pretty Baby

Mina was only half paying attention to what she was doing as she pulled a comb through her hair. Ever since Harry had arrived, she hadn’t thought about anything else. He was so strange: quiet, but with a sense of humour, and there was something in his eyes that unsettled her. They were green, like hers, but filled with some sort of sadness she couldn’t describe. She couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to him that had caused it. Why had he really come to Hogwarts? Maybe he had trouble at home?

She hadn’t been particularly friendly to him so far, and made a resolution to try more. If he had trouble at home, maybe she could relate to it – relate to him. There was something about him that made her want to know more about him, and the best way to find out was to be friends. Maybe she should take him to the Founder’s room …

“I’ll have to talk it over with the others,” she murmured to herself. “It’s their room too.”

She and Poppy had introduced him to Pomona and Rolanda the previous evening after she’d returned from her walk with Tom. The three of them seemed to get on fairly well – after hearing Harry was interested in Quidditch, Ro immediately began to quiz him on it. Although he’d declared himself a fanatic, he hadn’t seemed so keen on talking about the last World Cup. Mina considered that for a moment before shrugging it off.

Harry had seemed somehow different that evening – as if something was on his mind. Mina thought about that too before sighing.

I’ve only known him a day and he has a right to secrets, she scolded herself. Just be his friend and if there’s something up he will tell you in his own time.

She finished her plait and went back down the stairs. As Harry, sitting on her favourite chair by the fie, came into view, she was sure she saw something flash in mid-air.

“Are you talking to someone?”

Harry started and she felt guilty for making him do it, even though he’d done the same thing earlier. “No.”

“I thought I heard a voice … Never mind. Ready to go to breakfast?”

“Yeah,” he agreed, jumping up. Mina saw him stuff something into his pocket but pretended not to notice.

-----

Breakfast was uneventful, considering most of the students weren’t there yet. Harry and Mina were the only Gryffindors. Harry was still quiet, meditating on the information he hoped he would shortly receiving, and Mina was quiet too, apparently also deep in thought. Neither of them spoke until they were just leaving the table for Potions, when Mina broke the silence.

“Harry, I know you haven’t been here very long yet, but have you made any friends?”

Harry blinked, taken aback by the odd question. “Er … I hope so,” he said half-jokingly, looking her in the eye. “Why do you ask?”

She smiled. “Just that my friends and I have our own private common room and I was wondering if you’d like to see it later.”

“I’d love to – How come you get your own room?” Harry asked curiously.

“The librarian got tired of us.”

Harry chuckled. “Yeah, I’d like to. If that’s okay with your friends, that is.”

“It will be,” Mina assured him. “Potions then?”

Harry spent the next twenty minutes being shown the route to a classroom he’d been in hundreds of times and was pretending not to have laid eyes on before. Mina took him through the route carefully, apparently making sure he’d remember next time.

Finally, he thought, as they came to a halt outside the door.

The lesson went a lot better than any of Snape’s classes. Poppy sidled up to Harry and bagged him for a partner while Mina joined Tom Riddle. That was where Poppy’s flirtation ended: after they started she barely spoke, concentrating hard on her potion.

Professor Clarkson was a much better teacher than Snape – at least, he was fair, helpful and encouraging. Harry could have done a lot better in the class, but he was distracted watching Mina and Tom out of the corner of his eye and accidentally added an ingredient too soon.

“Oops!” Clarkson said, clearing the botched potion with his wand. “Better luck next time, Mr Evans. However, you got everything perfect up until then, so five points to Gryffindor and an A.”

Riddle and Poppy both turned out perfect potions; Mina only just missed an O, getting an E instead, but she seemed happy about it as they left for Transfiguration.

“I’m always a bit lower than my usual standard in the first class back,” she said cheerfully. “And Tom didn’t help, he kept making me laugh when I was trying to do something delicate. Idiot,” she added fondly.

Harry was not in a good mood as they sat down in Transfiguration.

He had expected the lesson to be interesting, considering not only was Dumbledore teaching it, but a Dumbledore fifty years younger (give or take). For the first time since that morning he managed to temporarily forget Tom, Mina and whatever it was the future Dumbledore was withholding from him, and enjoy the lesson.

Dumbledore’s announcement at the beginning of the lesson both surprised him, made him mentally groan and explained one of the items on the checklist: there was to be a Halloween Ball.

Looking around the class, he saw that all the girls – especially Mina, who was next to him – looked thrilled, but the boys, while not appearing enthusiastic, didn’t look like they were dreading it.

How times change, Harry thought.

-----

“So, any ideas about the Ball?” Poppy asked.

“Er, like what?”

“Who you’re taking,” she said suggestively.

“Poppy, I’ve only been here a day.”

“I know, and already you’ve made four friends, all female, any one of which you could take – well, except Mina, she’ll probably be going with Tom.”

Harry stifled the instinctual growl at the name.

“Well … I don’t know. Halloween is ages away yet – I think I’ll just wait and get to know a few people better first before I ask someone.”

Poppy seemed disappointed. “Oh, well. Good idea. I’ll be waiting,” she winked.

“Guess what!”

Harry and Poppy turned to greet Mina rushing towards them, a huge grin on her face.

“Professor Dumbledore just presented you with a diamond ring and declared his undying devotion to you?”

“Uh, no, not quite that good,” Mina joked. “Tom just asked me to the Ball.”

-----

Harry -

You gave me your word you would not meddle with history. If you cannot keep to it then I shall have to order Fawkes to bring you back. This is a very sensitive mission and I trust you to treat it as such.

I understand how you feel but you must trust me when I say that some things in history should not be changed. I am afraid that until such time as the date is over – by which time you may be aware of it already – I cannot tell you what the consequences of that date were and how they affected history. Remember, that goodness can arise from even the darkest of situations, just as the phoenix rises from the ashes.

I know my saying this may not be enough, especially as I cannot give you the answers you wanted. But Professor McGonagall has enclosed her point of view. Please take it from her if you cannot from me.

AD

Harry sighed. He didn’t want to change history. But neither did he want to see Mina hurt, and she would be if he let this happen.

Dear Harry,

I saw what you wrote to Professor Dumbledore and I’m touched that you care enough to say such things, but trust me when I tell you to leave it alone. Yes, the experience hurt me, but I realised soon after it that more good came out of it than bad and I would not change what happened for the world. You may think you would be doing me a favour by changing this but you would not be.

Please, don’t step in between myself and Tom Riddle. Later you will understand.

Minerva McGonagall

Harry rubbed his eyes. Here it was, instruction from Mina herself – sort of – not to meddle.

Now what? He just stood back and let his favourite Professor – and a friend, more or less – date a future Dark Lord?

I’m going to have to, he thought miserably. She’ll never forgive me if I changed whatever it was. Unless she doesn’t remember when I get back, which will be worse. I can’t change anything.

He sighed. I can’t believe I’m doing this.

He stuffed Dumbledore’s response in his pocket, and carefully folded Professor McGonagall’s before tucking it out of sight.

-----

The rest of the day passed fairly uneventfully. Rolanda insisted on dragging Harry and the other girls over to the Slytherin table for lunch. Harry was nervous about being so close to Riddle; he reached up to flatten his fringe over his scar, only to realise with surprise that it already was.

The Slytherins weren’t in the least bit hostile. At first Tom and Mina made conversation while Harry brooded, then Riddle started speaking to him.

“Evans, isn’t it?” Harry nodded, unsure what to expect. “Are you Mina’s cousin or something?”

“What?” He looked sideways at Mina, who shrugged at him with a mouthful. “No, why?”

“Oh,” Riddle said. “Sorry. You just look a bit like her, that’s all.”

Mina swallowed. “It’s hardly likely I’d have any wizarding cousins I don’t know about, unless one of my parents was secretly a wizard after all.”

So Mina’s Muggleborn, Harry mentally noted. He frowned slightly as Tom didn’t react. So he knew she was. Yet he’d asked her to the Ball? Riddle looked to be a lot more interesting than Harry had expected.

-----

Mina awoke suddenly. It was still dark, but something was telling her to get up. She slid out of bed and grabbed her dressing-gown; then, holding a candle aloft, left the dormitory quietly.

She let her instincts guide her, and blinked in surprise when she found herself outside the sixth-year boys’ dormitories. There was no sound coming from behind the door except their gentle breathing, but she knew, inexplicably, something wasn’t right. The door squeaked slightly as she pushed it open, and she held her breath, but it didn’t seem to disturb anyone.

All five boys seemed to be sound asleep. Most of the their bed curtains were at least partly open except Harry’s. Warning bells rung in Mina’s head. Listening carefully, she discerned that she couldn’t hear anything from behind them. Maybe he’d sneaked out? She grasped the curtains with one hand and pulled them open.

Mina jumped and the silencing charm around the bed broke. Harry was thrashing around and gasping, evidently in a nightmare. Mina placed the candle on the bedside table, reached out and shook him. He sat up suddenly at the touch, shaking.

“Professor?” he gasped.

“Professor?” she repeated, confused. “No, Harry; it’s me – Mina, remember? Shh, it’s all right.”

He was trembling violently, evidently still half-asleep; the covers were all twisted, and his forehead was covered in sweat. He was still breathing hard and whimpering slightly. Mina reached out and grasped his shoulder, wiping the sweat off his forehead with her other hand.

“M-Mina?”

“Yes, it’s me. Shh,” she said soothingly, sitting down on his bed and stroking his hair.

“Mina – bad dream -”

“Obviously. Are you okay?”

He stayed as he was for several moments, still breathing heavily as if he’d been running. “Yeah.” He swallowed hard, still shaking, and wiped his forehead. Mina caught a glimpse of the lightning-bolt scar. “Er … what are you doing here?”

“I don’t know,” Mina admitted. “I just felt like I was being … I don’t know, called, I guess. It was creepy.”

“Are you psychic?”

“Pur-lease,” Mina snorted. Harry chuckled.

The clock chimed one.

“You’d better get back to your dormitory,” Harry muttered. “You don’t want to be found in here in the middle of the night.”

“No, I suppose I don’t. Go back to sleep, Harry.”

“’Kay,” he murmured obediently, and slowly laid back down and closed his eyes. Mina pulled the covers up over him, smoothed them out, and blew out the candle.

“Good night, Harry … don’t let the bed bugs bite.”

“Night.”

Mina re-cast the silencing charm around the bed for him and brushed his fringe out of his forehead, looking curiously at the scar, and began humming a lullaby her mother used to sing to her. As Harry drifted off to sleep, she sang the words softly.

Golden slumbers kiss your eyes,
Smiles await you when you rise.
Sleep,
Pretty baby,
Do not cry,
And I'll sing you a lullaby

Care you know not,
Therefore sleep,
While I o’er you watch do keep.
Sleep,
Pretty darling,
Do not cry,
And I will sing a lullaby

TBC ...

Additional Disclaimer: I did not write the song. It's called "Golden Slumbers" and I found it on a site of lullabies.

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