The sun dawned bright and chilly on the morning of 14 July, shining through the barred windows of Azkaban Prison. Once, about seventeen years ago, the cold, dank cells had been filled with the most formidable Dark Wizards and Witches ever known. Today, however, it was filled with Muggles and witches and wizards who had crossed Lord Voldemort.

In the coldest, mustiest cell in the prison, where our story starts, three teenage girls slept in their cots, all nervously, subconsciously, anticipating the day ahead.

The first girl seemed more at-ease than her comrades. Indeed, her long hair fluttered over her face as she dreamed. Perhaps because she knew her "crime" was not as "serious" as her cell mates'. She was merely witness to a crime; Voldemort had given her six months in Azkaban to think over what she'd done wrong by being near Hogwarts, which now served as Voldemort's lair. This girl's name was Mabeline Cohen.

The next girl tossed about fretfully, as though she knew that at any moment, she could be taken to Voldemort's chambers and disappear forever. In fact, this was a very real fear. She'd been involved in an uprising three years ago and given twenty years in Azkaban. She did seem rather excited though, perhaps because her eighteenth birthday was in two days. This rebellious teen's name was Shannon Schruben.

The third girl was the most peculiar of all. She'd never technically done anything. Voldemort had taken her from her cradle when she was barely a year old. Her crime was her family. Anyone who merely glanced at her flowing red hair and bright, bottle-green eyes would know to which witch and wizard she belonged. This girl's name was Alyssa Potter.

Seventeen years ago, Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort fought for the last time. It was a long, bloody battle which, of course, ended in the execution of Alyssa's father. Her mother, Ginny Weasley, eight months pregnant, fled. A year later, Voldemort's spies found the young mother. Ginny was killed and her daughter was taken away to live a life sentence in Azkaban. Prison life was all she'd ever known, which was why she woke a minute before the guards came to wake the three imprisoned witches.

"Up!" came the harsh, angry female command. "Up, you miserable wenches. Eventful day ahead for you three. You lot get to cook the Dark Lord's feast." Bellatrix Lestrange rattled the bars of their cell. "Be good and you'll get the scraps."

"I hate her," Shannon snapped bitterly as she put on the cleanest pair of her servants robes. She watched Mabeline sort out her long flaxen hair with more disdain than usual. "We should steal her wand and –"

"Get the Cruciatus Curse? No thanks, Shannon." Alyssa snapped her fingers and the three cots began arranging themselves neatly. Shannon, who usually reserved jealous glares for Alyssa's aptitude at wandless magic, cast her an excited glance.

"Lyss!" she exclaimed, jumping up. "That's it!"

"What's it?" Mabeline asked, bored.

"Why hadn't I thought of it before?! D'you think, with all of our combined magic, we could escape?"

"Maybe… but they'd catch us immediately," Alyssa frowned, eager to avoid one of Shannon's crazy schemes.

"Not if we went back in time."

Mabeline burst out laughing. "Shannon! Have you lost your fucking mind?! That's impossible!"

Shannon turned sharply, her black hair whipping around and catching her in the face. "No it's not," she said, flipping her hair over her shoulder and trying to ignore the stinging pain in her left eye. "She's Harry Potter's daughter! That alone should be enough to draw us through time to him. We should go back to when he was our age. That way we could help him defeat Voldemort." Her dark blue eyes shone with a mysterious, determined glint.

Alyssa stared hard at Shannon's determined face, then she glanced down at her right forearm. There, poking out from under the filthy grey sleeve of the robe, was a lightning bolt tattooed into her skin. In that instant, she made up her mind. Perhaps it was her anger at being branded with her father's mark as an infant, or the burning desire to meet her parents, but she thought that it was the most brilliant thing that had come out of Shannon's mouth in their three years of being cell mates and two years of being best friends. "Let's do it."

Mabeline was less than pleased. "You're mad, the both of you."

"Come on, before that bitch comes back."

Mabeline stamped her foot, determined not to go through with it. She'd only been there three months, but already she had become close with the two. "Listen to me! It won't work! You're just –"

Alyssa glared, he eyes brighter than ever. "Listen, May, you're one of my best friends, and I'd never do something dangerous without valid reason. But you get out in three months. I have to stay in this shithole forever. You and Shannon both have family to go back to. I've got no one. And even when you get out, you'll never be truly free. You know as well as I do that as long as Voldemort's in power nobody is. If we do this, we'll have an opportunity to study at Hogwarts. Don't you get it? By going back, we could change everything. Please, May, I won't do this without you."

Mabeline considered for a moment, then smiled. "I still reckon you two are completely fuckin' mental. But if you send me to the 1500's, I'll murder you." The trio exchanged grins.

"Let's write the incantation." Shannon practically skipped over to grab a quill and a bit of leftover napkin from last night's dinner. It was the celebration festival of Voldemort's triumph over Harry Potter, it would be days before they were missed. Five minutes later, they'd managed a shaky but effective spell.

"See you on the other side, girls," Alyssa said to her friends, the only ones she'd ever known, shaking slightly. Neither of the other two could tell, they were trembling as well. They glanced at each other, closed their eyes, and began chanting:

"We want to change the outcome of the war

Bring the past alive once more

So we witches three may right this wrong

And to this horrible present we can say 'so long.'"

For a minute, Alyssa thought it hadn't worked; her heart sank. She'd been so ready to meet her father, to see him and her mother together. Granted she'd known he wouldn't recognize her as his little girl, but she still wanted –

Suddenly, the wind picked up. Crouching together, the three girls felt themselves being lifted by a cushion of air. The roar began soft, then gradually grew to a cacophony. All three girls tried not to flinch, afraid it would break the spell.

Hurtling through time was an odd sensation. Alyssa swore she saw glimpses of her past, but then quickly refocused her mind on their destination. The whirlwinds began to subside and then, with an unpleasant bump, the three girls landed in a circular office.

Mabeline, her face still pressed into the plushy rug on which she'd landed, groaned, "Did it work?" A woman's terrified scream a moment later told her it had, indeed, been successful.

"Who…. Explain yourselves!" Alyssa took one look at this woman and immediately jumped to her feet. She wore a set of flowing crimson robes; clearly she was important. She looked stern, her thin mouth wide open in shock. Her black hair, flecked with grey, was pulled into a tight bun.

"Well, um, we've… we're kind of from the future…" Greeeeeeat Alyssa, just make a foolish opening. She probably thinks you're a moron now.

"Clearly, you're ev –"

"I do not believe that three seventeen-year-old witches are evil," said a serene voice from close to the ceiling. The girls looked up and gasped at a portrait of a very old wizard hanging above the stern witch's desk. "Forgive Minerva, you ladies are such peculiar visitors. I'm –"

"You're Albus Dumbledore!" Alyssa breathed, hardly daring to believe the words that flowed so instinctively from her own mouth. The wizard's painted eyes twinkled at her.

"Correct, Alyssa." He smiled at the shock on her face. "Yes my dear, I know who you are. Of course, Minerva should know you as well, one look at you should tell anyone you're your mother's daughter." The witch he called Minerva gasped.

"Y-You're Ginny Weasley's daughter!" she whispered, her look of shock intensifying. "But you have his eyes…. Good Lord, you're Harry Potter's daughter! I'm Professor McGonagall, it's an honor…"

"I'm Alyssa Potter, and this is Shannon Schruben and Mabeline Cohen," Alyssa introduced her friends.

"Schruben, eh?" Professor McGonagall asked, smiling. "Yes, I knew your father. Brilliant at Transfiguration, graduated a year above Miss Potter's father. Talented mind, very talented. But Cohen…"

"My father was from America. He married my mum here. Cho Chang," she answered to the professor's questioning stare.

"So, back to why we're here," Alyssa interrupted, hoping she didn't sound rude but feeling a great sense of urgency to return to their original topic. It was as though she feared that unless she explained quickly, she would be pulled back through time to her dungeon cell forever.

"You've come to see if you can change your present by helping our Mr Potter vanquish Lord Voldemort. However, I don't know if your plan will work." Dumbledore said gravely, his eyes losing their twinkle. Alyssa's heart dropped.

Professor McGonagall pondered the situation for a moment, then she smiled. The effect on her features was rather alarming, Alyssa thought. Her thin lips did not look accustomed to the action. "Of course. If you girls go back and save Albus, things might work! All you'd have to do would be to stop Mr Malfoy from using that Vanishing Cabinet to get Death Eaters into the school. With Albus still alive, Harry stands a fighting chance."

"Professor –"

"It's perfect!" Mabeline yelled excitedly. Shannon, who'd been unusually quiet up until this point, suddenly spoke in a shaky voice,

"Professor, May, it wasn't Malfoy who killed Professor Dumbledore. It was that slimy bas– I mean, Snape. If we go back, you'll have to sack him for anything to work, Professor Dumbledore. But if you do that, he'll go back to Voldemort and help him kill you anyway."

"Minerva, write a note. The past me will not believe you unless I have proof. Quickly."

"How will you –"

"Trust me, Miss Schruben. I will know what to do with Severus. Now, go!" The harsh edge of his voice pushed Alyssa to grasp hands with Mabeline and Shannon. Professor handed them each something that looked like an odd, distorted Time-Turner.

"Professor, Time-Turners –" Mabeline was swiftly interrupted by Professor McGonagall.

"These are not simple Time-Turners, Miss Cohen. These have a special charm placed upon them to allow the user to transport themselves through time for up to one year at a time. However, you will only need to go back about four months. Once there, do the deed and stay. We don't need you hurtling through time too much. Especially since you'll have to work with Miss Potter's father and it would be too suspicious if you disappeared and suddenly reappeared the next term. Do not give your true origins away. This could greatly affect his judgment. And if You-Know-Who found out… I shudder to think of the consequences. I believe you three will be in the same House you are in in your time."

"Professor, there is no Hogwarts in our time," Alyssa told her, correctly predicting professor's reaction: shock, sorrow, and anger.

"You best include that too, Minerva. My, this is turning out to be quite an adventure. Now, quick, before anyone changes their mind." Professor McGonagall handed them the parchment scroll and stood back. Each girl put on their enhanced Time-Turners and gave them four turns. They watched time fly by until they were standing in the very same office they'd just left, only now, Albus Dumbledore was alive, well, and absolutely shocked.

Somehow, Alyssa knew they were in for a very long year and a half…

"Professor, I am Alyssa Potter. This is Mabeline Cohen and Shannon Schruben. Professor McGonagall wrote you this explanation…"