Disclaimer: We do not own Harry Potter.
Time is a fickle thing.
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Once upon a time, there lived a man. His name was Augustus Manning, but his friends simply called him "Man."
Now, Man was not very complicated person in the least. He woke, ate, worked, played, and slept. He woke at at dawn every morning, except Saturdays; he ate anything and everything, although Man did admit to having a certain liking towards cherry pie. His one and only job was as a construction worker; he enjoyed playing any type of sport. No, Man was not a complex creature at all, but sometimes, things change, and sometimes, they change for the better.
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He meets her in a pub.
It's an alteration from his normal routine, yes, but after a few drinks he begins to think that maybe he should alter his routine more often. His friends are on all sides, yelling and laughing and watching others dance, their eyes lingering on the ladies.
"Hey, Man," one of his fellow construction workers shouts from a few chairs down. "Could you get me another drink? Just beer is fine."
"Sure," he answers, because of all his faults, Man has always been a fairly kind guy. After getting the drink, he's walking back to his table, when he feels something bump into him from behind and suddenly, John's beer is on the dirty, dark carpet.
Man turns around, to see a woman standing, looking immensely displeased. She has long, black curls that go down to her waist and a very pretty face - big eyes, sharp cheekbones, dark eyelashes. "Watch where you're going," she mutters sourly before pushing past him, and the tone of her voice does not match her looks, not at all.
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That night, Man does not see her again, but a day many weeks after, he does. He's walking to the construction site (his car broke down) when he spots her leaning against a pole by the city bank.
His eyes light up. He rushes over; timidness has never been a quality that Man possessed. "Hi," he says loudly as he approaches her. She looks up. For a moment, he thinks she's forgotten him - he certainly didn't forget her - but then recognition flashes in her brown, almost ebony, eyes.
"What do you want?" she asks irritably.
"I - I never got your name," he says, faltering only a little at the end. She rolls her eyes, pops a great, pink bubble, and mutters, "Sasha." Then she saunters away, swinging her hips as she does so, and even though she's not wearing a tight, glittery dress anymore, it is still too much.
Therefore, he looks away determinedly and continues on the path towards the construction site, pushing all thoughts of Sasha out of his head.
This doesn't work for long.
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Man is sitting in his sawdust-filled work area, gluing down a floor when she comes back. Back into his mind, that is. She's dancing, spinning, twirling and he hopes he isn't drooling. Sasha keeps moving her hips in his daydream, and Man reaches out for another tile of marble to put down - and grabs the wrong size, without even noticing. Not shaken in the least from his trance by the larger than usual tile in his hand, he then glues it down beside one of the regular tiles, and that is that.
Man has made a mistake, a mistake with consequences, like many other men in this world.
And the most life-changing consequence of Man's mistake happens on a bright, sunny August day, decades later, in a different world, where magic is in the air and, yes - men still make mistakes.
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Percy Weasley walks across the library briskly, importantly. He's headed for the check-out desk. All around him, people are whispering and reading and this is where he feels best; after losing Fred, Percy has realized that nothing can be gained by pretending. And so he'd stopped pretending - if he wanted to make a visit to a Muggle library, then, hell, he'd make a visit.
He is so consumed by his thoughts, that he doesn't notice the one tile that is slightly larger than the rest, slowly getting bigger and bigger as he gets closer and closer to it.
Percy trips, directly into the arms of one Audrey Flether.
"Sir!" she exclaims, brown hair flopping wildly as she stumbles back from his weight. "Are you alright?" Percy suddenly lurches up, breathing heavily.
"I'm fine," he says hastily as he fixes his glasses and runs his hand through his hair. "Thank you, er - " He looks at her expectantly.
She smiles. "Audrey. And you are?" After the shock of a young man tumbling into her, the amusement is beginning to kick in.
"Percy," he answers, and seeing her smirk, he adds, "Weasley," as if this Muggle girl knows anything about how famous his family is.
"Well, Percy Weasley, I think you should look where you're going a bit more carefully."
Something has come over him - he sounds like Charlie, flirting with every girl he sees - maybe it's her eyes, a deep green shade, like his favorite sage-colored ink - but whatever has happened, Percy's voice is charming as he asks, "Would you like to help me with that?" and offers her his arm, which she takes happily, if flustered.
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Luna Lovegood wanders along the cobbled sidewalk, daydreaming about Nargles and about what she'll eat for lunch.
The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and in the quaint city of Rome, Luna feels perfectly at home. It is teeming with ancient magic and Wrackspurts and Luna thinks she might want to live here, maybe. It feels like a place that will make a good home; a good place to heal after the war.
She stops at a pizza shop, her favorite one, on the corner of two busy streets, and walks inside. The windows are open and the fresh air floods in, along with the bright sunlight. People are chatting and laughing and the chefs are shouting in Italian and pots and pans are clanking and Luna knows she will never get tired of the sights and smells and sounds and tastes this city has to offer.
She seats herself at an empty table, swatting mindlessly at her neighbor's hair because of a particularly big Wrackspurt that looks like it's trying to bury itself in the man's hair.
"Excuse me? Are you alright, miss?"
Luna looks up and for once, Rome goes silent. All she hears is this odd wooshing sound go past her ears as she stares up at the waiter, who is looking down at her and smiling.
"Are you alright?" He asks again and the world snaps back into focus. Luna blinks, realizing she's staring, and then realizing that she doesn't want to stop looking at him and into his deep blue eyes that remind her of the night sky.
"I'm alright," she finally answers, wondering if the Wrackspurts are finally getting to her because her heart shouldn't be beating this fast.
"My name is Rolf, and I'll be serving you today." His smile is charming her more and more by the minute. He'd probably be more interesting to learn about than a Crumple-Horned Snorkack.
"How about you eat with me instead?" she asks and his eyes widen.
When he comes back with her food later, he is carrying a bowl of pasta for himself too, and he sits down and they begin their first conversation of many.
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His lips are on hers - or is it the other way around? Lucy's really too happy to care who's kissing who, as long as Lysander just keeps working his magic.
"Lucy!" It's Molly's voice. Lysander breaks away, and Lucy pouts. Molly always had to ruin the fun.
"Lucy!" Her voice is louder this time. Lysander throws on his shirt, and Molly opens the door just when Lucy finishes the last button on her blouse.
Normally Molly would have raised an eyebrow, reprimanding her sister for her constant desire to get it on with her boyfriend of six months, but today, her eyes are agitated and her voice is quiet as she says, "Lorcan did it."
Lysander's eyes widen until they look like saucers. Lucy gasps, covering her mouth in shock.
"It couldn't have been him," she mutters repeatedly, shaking her head as the tears begin to fall.
"It couldn't have been him. He couldn't have killed Roxanne. He loved her." Lysander's voice is dead and completely unconvincing.
"He loved her."
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They walk down the stairs silently like a funeral procession. Audrey throws her arms around Lucy, and Percy hugs Molly close to his side, kissing her hair. They are all distraught over the news.
Luna is quietly weeping and Rolf holds her close. This is a double tragedy for her, because apparently, her son has killed his girlfriend, who happened to be her friend's daughter.
The Weasleys leave and Apparate home. Lucy takes one step inside and falls apart, like a burning building.
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a/n: So, this is the first chapter of my and Empress's collab multi-chap for Camp Potter! Reviews would be amazing - and no follows/favorites without reviews, please.