Chapter 1: The Expected Task, Unexpectedly Difficult
Dominique
Dominique Weasley had never looked forward to the holidays more than she did in the last remaining minute of her Charms class. Not that their work on memory modification wasn't fascinating; in fact, losing fifteen minutes in class was certainly a plus. The sense to run out the door and never look back seemed to fleet across her thoughts lately. Victoire called it stress over the looming exams.. She thought of re-modeling the acronym to Not Even Worth the Time.
She still had no idea why she was taking Charms at the NEWT level, or any of her other classes for that matter. She decided her future at twelve years old. Spending the day with her Aunt Ginny at the Daily Prophet was just what she needed to break her summer boredom. It also introduced her to the possibility of a career in journalism.
She could imagine making a name for herself as the Daily Prophet's chief editor on human interest pieces. Gossip and a perchance for eavesdropping was Dominique's Uncle Fred-ism.
Aunt Angelina coined the term a couple years back when James and Freddie shattered the glass ceiling in the Slytherin common room. It was lucky that the incident occurred a few days before students returned home on summer break; flooding from the lake above caused extensive water damage (which meant extensive payments to the school for refurbishment as Aunt Ginny reminded James in her howler) Dominique knew this was just another attempt at one up-manship in the ongoing prank war between James and Freddie and Scorpius (and Al, albeit reluctantly). Scorpius did in fact jam porcupine quills into the invisible cushion on James's Firebolt Excelsior before the match between Gryffindor and Slytherin but that was beside the point. Her aunt had noticed that each of the Weasley cousins had inherited some trait or quirk that could be traced back to their late Uncle Fred.
Like when Lily and Hugo tried to go to Hogsmeade in their first year through the secret passage behind the old humped witch or when Molly and Roxy sneaked butterbeers from the kitchens. Even the most law abiding Weasleys weren't immune; Rose once popped a Fainting Fancy to get out of handing in a History of Magic essay and Lucy dropped newts in her ex-boyfriend Carl Sommerfeld's pumpkin juice three weeks ago.
The bell rang.. Dominique snapped out of reminiscing the look on Sommerfeld's face when he realized what he had swallowed. She shoved her books haphazardly in her bag and bolted towards the door. The Hogwarts corridors never looked so inviting. She was practically skipping back to her dorm when she heard them.
"'Arry please. I can 'andle all of zee preparation I zink," said a familiar voice. Dominique tried to hide behind a corner. She was really in no mood to see her mother right at this moment. Unfortunately she had been spotted.
"Dominique! Sweetheart!" Her airy tones in heavily accented French were pleasant, yet Dominique could tell from years of experience when her mother was upset. Right now she seemed stressed.
She was quite right of course. Dominique grudgingly moved toward the end of the hall where her mother was standing with her Uncle Harry. Her mother pulled her in swiftly for a kiss and then let go just as suddenly. Harry grinned, watching as the mother daughter pair exchanged greetings in French. Dominique turned to him.
"Hi Uncle Harry," she said.
"Hey Dom," They hugged. "See you've got your books. On your way to class?"
"Just finished actually." Dominique knew this was her opportunity to glean more information. "So, are you here on Auror business?" she said casually.
Harry seemed amused by the thought but her question seemed to bring her mother back to the topic at hand. "Your uncle has been 'elping me whith zee last minute touches for zee event. He was just about to return to zee Ministry, right 'Arry?" Her smile was warm but Dominique noticed her eyes betray the insincerity. Fortunately her Uncle Harry knew how to take a hint.
"Well I was just passing by to speak to Professor McGonagall and I noticed your mother organizing the snow removal up the drive and thought I'd lend a helping hand," said Harry .
"Speaking of zat, we must tell 'agrid to get rid of zhose 'orrible thestrals. Zee guests should arrive in carriages pulled by snow white 'orses."
Harry frowned. "I can try but I don't know where we'll get so many horses last minute. Maybe we can try decorating the thestrals? Some tinsel in their hair and a bow around their…" He trailed off at the scandalized look Fleur was giving him.
"That was a good suggestion. Maybe as a, er, last resort?" Dominique suggested. It was her way of diffusing her mother.
"I…weell zink about eet," she grimaced. Dominique doubted anything as ridiculous as festive thestrals would be allowed while her mother was in charge of planning. Of course, the funny thing was she wasn't really the one in charge. In fact, the fundraiser was run by Mrs. Warren, a woman who had gone to school around the same time as her Uncle Harry. But since she claimed to be terrible at design, she let Fleur take over. Truthfully, Dominique thought her mother had some seniority in the situation and was able to get her way simply by pulling out the Champion card but Mrs. Warren had more important things to do than decide on the entrees.
"Anything would be better zhan that 'orrible tartan the Headmistress choze." Fleur said the word tartan as though it were equivalent to a blast ended skrewt, Well Dominique thought, I guess they would be equally heinous.
At mention of the headmistress, Dominique remembered why her uncle had come in the first place. Seizing the chance to get the story first hand (rather than from Lily later) she asked, "Uncle Harry, why did you have to speak to Professor McGonagall?"
Harry smiled, glad to turn the conversation away from his error in outdoor design. "We just had to go over the logistics of the ball. You know, make sure everything runs smoothly. Since there will be so many, er, distinguished guests." He was always too modest to mention that he would probably be the most distinguished of them all, even surpassing the Minister of Magic. Fleur seemed to have drifted away from the conversation, her mind seemingly still focused on the rest of today's tasks. Suddenly, she looked startled and as Dominique heard the approaching footsteps and saw the navy cloak turn the corner she knew what had snapped her out of her reverie.
Her Uncle Percy was walking towards them, his pace quick as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Dominique wondered how many more of her relatives would be storming the castle. Didn't they remember that Christmas was in two days? Then she remembered he might have a valid reason to be there too since he was the Head of the Department for International Magical Cooperation. He would be the buffer between Hogwarts and the other two schools invited to attend the ball, Durmstrang and her mother's alma matter Beauxbatons.
Dominique thought it was nice that they would be in attendance, even if the Triwizard Tournament would not be held, the original reason for the Yule Ball. In fact, Uncle Harry had made sure it could never be held again and had only allowed the event to be titled the Yule Ball at Mrs. Warren's request. She thought her mum had said that she had met her briefly during the ball, at the champion's table. Her date, the other Hogwarts champion, was killed a few months later, Dominique remember vaguely. He must be the Cedric Diggory of the Cedric Diggory Youth Quidditch Foundation, the charity Mrs. Warren runs.
"Harry – you must come with me – urgent – disturbance at the Ministry – unnaturally large current of magic –" Uncle Percy sputtered the words out as he reached them. He seemed to have run through all of Hogwarts to find Harry.
"Unnaturally large current of magic? What on earth does that mean?" Harry asked, frowning. Percy took a deep breath than spoke.
"Seems there was a loud blast by the Department of Mysteries. Workers went to investigate and found the hallway was perfectly fine, nothing out of the ordinary. Yet when they scanned the area with their wands they found extremely high levels of magical energy in the vicinity. They have no idea what caused it or why nothing seems damaged. That level of magic, it's never been seen before. There's no telling what it might have done." He then realized that Harry wasn't alone. "Oh hello Fleur, Dominique. Didn't see you there." They exchanged hellos then looked expectantly at Harry, waiting for his decision.
Harry sighed. "I guess I better come with you." He turned to Fleur and Dominique. "Fleur, I'll see you later tonight. Tell Ginny I'm going to be late. Dominique, I will see you in a couple days." He gave her a small smile and then the two men left, leaving Dominique with her mother. Lovely.
Hugo
Dominique, the biggest gossip Hugo had ever met and that included Shannon Finnegan, had just spilled what she had witnessed to him. He was the only Weasley cousin the Gryffindor common room, so naturally he became her confidant. He had been reading Flying With the Cannons for thirty-first time but even a book he practically knew by heart was better than gossip.
Lily always tried to tell him about how she disliked this Ravenclaw girl Stella Burman in her Potions class and how her roommate Jenny Larson's snores sounded like a car engine. Sometimes Hugo wondered how they remained best friends; they were so different, the first huge distinction being their genders. Plus they only became close out of necessity of being the youngest cousins, the forgotten siblings. Then Lily would come into the common room, hand him a cauldron cake (his favorite) and they would discuss the chances for different teams in the upcoming season (They decided that the Winbourne Wasps wouldn't crack the Top 20 and that Puddlemere United had a chance of pulling a spectacular comeback to win it all like they did in '99)
Wishing Lily was here to listen and condense the essentials for him, Hugo just nodded as Dominique finished the story.
"So?"
"Soooo…..what?" Hugo shrugged. Dominique smacked him with his book. He let out a grunt of pain, rubbing his shoulder.
"That kind of hurt you know!"
"What do you think that magical disturbance was?" Obviously Dominique had realized it was better to get directly to the point with Hugo.
"Dunno. But it was the Department of Mysteries, right? Maybe it was them who caused it and they didn't want to tell anyone." Dominique looked thoughtful.
"Well they are pretty shady. That sounds like something they might do. Maybe they've discovered some fantastic new spell and they're testing it out…." Dominique was deeply engrossed in her new thoughts, unaware that Hugo wasn't paying attention. He saw the portrait hole open and heard a familiar voice say, "I'll see you later Sofie!" Lily spotted them immediately and plopped down on the armrest of Hugo's chair.
"Oh Lily. I was just telling Hugh I saw your Dad just now." She then launched into the story again. This time Hugo completely tuned it out. He could only think of one thing, the person Lily had been talking to.
He didn't quite know how he felt about Sofia. She was one of Lily's good friends, a dark haired petite Ravenclaw, a little more shy and reserved compared to Lily's domineering, outgoing nature. Since he and Lily were so close, it was natural for him to get to know her, to know that she was the seeker on her house team and how her family had moved to Britain when she was young specifically so she could attend Hogwarts. But he also knew the small things, the slight lisp that came with speaking English as a second language, the way her thick hair looked so hopelessly windswept after a long practice that when she tied it up she always missed the spot by her left ear.
So Hugo guessed he could say they were friends. He guessed he could say that she was the kind of friend he would like to take to the Yule Ball. Lucky for him that third years were allowed to attend at all (because Aunt Ginny had made it a point to say there was very little difference between thirteen and fourteen) Unlucky in that he hadn't asked her yet and the ball was in two days. He had steeled himself, told himself that tonight would be his night. He should make good on that promise.
"Excuse me, I have to er, see Al" It was a lame excuse but Dominique and Lily were hardly paying attention to him anyway. He dashed out of the common room and spotted her on the staircase. He followed her to the fifth floor landing then called our her name.
She spun around and smiled when she saw who it was. "Hey Hugo." Hugo didn't know why he suddenly felt like running back up the steps, forgetting the whole thing. She's my friend, he thought yet he couldn't explain why he felt so anxious.
"Sofia, have you, um, ha-have you got a date to the Yule Ball? You know cause, I thought…..well I thought since we're good, er, mates, we could go together. Like as friends?" His groaned inwardly at his attempt to sound casual that turned him into a blibbering mess. Why he had to keep talking when he would have been safe with the first sentence he would never know. Sofia's smile dropped.
"Oh Hugo, I'd love to. But I already said I'd go with Marty Smith. I'm sorry." She looked genuinely sorry but Hugo was already deflated. Marty Smith was the biggest prat, a forth year Hufflepuff who liked to swing his beater's bat as he walked down the corridors. The more first years he hit, the better. Git.
"Ok, well, that's great. Have a great time with Marty then," Hugo turned around and sped off back up the steps. He heard Sofia call him but he ran until he reached the common room.
"Oi, why do you look like you've just outran an acromantula?" James had joined Lily and Dominique by the fire.
"I'm fine. Just thought I'd take the steps at a jog. And don't talk about acromantulas," Hugo shuddered. Lily raised an eyebrow but Hugo silenced her with a look that clearly said not now. She kept her eyes narrowed but Hugo ignored her as he sat in the chair opposite James.
"So I heard your sister's taking Edgar Davies to the ball," Lily said nonchalantly. Dominique looked up, clearly annoyed that she hadn't heard this piece of gossip first.
"When did she tell you that? You would think she would let me know about that seeing as I am her sister," Dominique pouted.
"Well actually Al just told me at breakfast," Lily shrugged. Dominique looked even more put out.
James butted in, "Al wouldn't have known unless I told him about it and I found out when I heard RJ talking about it to his mates."
"RJ?" Hugo asked.
"Davies' younger brother. They're both idiots," Lily said disdainfully. "Why is she going with him?"
Dominique answered, "Probably because he's good looking. And Teddy hates him. It's really the perfect option isn't it." Lily sighed
"Why did they have to split? They were together for so long, nearly five years. I thought they were going to get married."
"Well all I know is they got into a big row a few months back and that she ended it. But I wouldn't give up hope, Lil. Obviously Edgar is a ploy to make Teddy jealous. Victoire probably thinks he'll beg for her back," Dominique shook her head.
"I just don't understand. Doesn't Victoire still love him?" Hugo asked. Dominique nodded.
Lily piped in, "And I know Teddy's been miserable for weeks. Mum wrote me and told me his hair is brown now. And not the nice kind, the mousy, lanky type." She shot Hugo a quick smile at the last part, which he knew she tacked on for him. He was quite proud of his thick, chestnut hair, probably the only think he had inherited from his mother besides his brown eyes. Everything else from his tall, lanky frame to his large nose and feet, and the smattering of freckles on his cheeks he had gotten from his dad.
James shuddered, "I can't imagine Teddy with a natural hair color. It's just too strange." They all nodded in agreement.
"So who will Teddy go with?" Lily wondered allowed. James shrugged. "Who are you all going with?"
"Steven Mars," Dominique sighed. Lily gave her a look and she elaborated, "He's a nice bloke but he's no Robbie Wood." Her eyes glazed over and Hugo stifled the urge to gag. Robbie was a nice guy, good Quidditch player but he wasn't as handsome as the girls who fainted at his feet made him out to me. Then again, Hugo wouldn't really understand what constituted handsome.
Lily looked dreamy at the thought and then pulled herself back. "I'm going with Lorcan." Hugo raised an eyebrow.
Lily became defensive, "He's our friend Hugo. Plus Lucy said she'd go with Lysander. We could be the four Ls" Lily seemed delighted by this coincidental alliteration. James frowned.
"Wasn't this the boy who tried to convince you that your broom was made out of bowtruckle babies?"
"Well he is a bit – eccentric" Hugo snorted and Lily aimed a kick at his leg, missing his shin by inches. "But he's sweet."
"I guess that's better than that git McLaggen," James said. Or Smith, Hugo thought.
"My brother approving my date? What happened to "I'll kill any bloke who gets within ten feet of my sister"?" Lily teased.
James grinned, "Lilypad, I trust you enough to make good choices in men." Lily looked at him, disbelief etched in every line of her face. "Well 10% of the time," he added.
"James have you got a date?" Dominique asked.
"I'm thinking I might go stag. Really go true to my Potter roots, right?" James grinned and Lily and Dominique groaned.
"You know Al was thinking that too. Of course that was before Alice asked him," Lily said. At this, James' smile vanished. Hugo knew he hated being upstaged by Al in anything, especially when it came to women. James thought himself an expert at sixteen although, to Hugo's knowledge, he'd never had a serious girlfriend.
"She asked him?" He looked shocked. Lily nodded.
"Yeah I guess she fancies him as much as she hates you, James," Lily teased. James didn't seem to notice the jab. Hugo chuckled at his expense. Just then, he saw a group of girls emerge from the girls' dormitories. Shannon Finnegan was in the center as always, surrounded by her girl posse. He saw a new opportunity.
"Oi, Shannon!" He immediately regretted that. James snapped out of his funk and shot him an evil sort of grin. Lily and Dom pretended to be casual but he could sense they were planning to eavesdrop on this entire exchange. Shannon's friends giggled like mad. Sensing he better do the thing properly he walked over to her.
"Want to go to the ball with me?" It was frank, honest and his last chance. Shannon pondered it for a moment. Her long fringe covered her face, making it inscrutable. Hugo waited, somewhat desperate but not nearly as nervous as he had been with Sofia.
"Alright," With that she left, her friends trailing behind her. He could hear them burst into excited conversation outside the common room before the portrait hole was shut. Good to know he wasn't completely terrible with the ladies.
Scorpius
They had baked cod for dinner that night, Scorpius' favorite. Surely it was a sign to him that good things were coming his way. Rose always told him that was ridiculous, that food wasn't a harbinger of good omens. Scorpius had to disagree. He had met her at the food trolley on his first train ride to Hogwarts. They bonded over licorice wands and the next thing he knew he was sitting with her and Al, his two best friends at school.
Surprising how they managed to stay friends, even when Rose went to Ravenclaw and he and Al ended up in Slytherin. Even more surprising was finding himself getting along with all of the Weasley Potter clan. Al couldn't even believe how well he got along with his brother. Their prank wars were starting to become the thing of legend and yet they were never malicious or cruel. Except that time Scorpius dyed James' hair platinum blonde. Apparently being friends with a Malfoy was acceptable but looking like one was not.
Al found Scorpius sitting by himself, reading A History of Magic and digging into his third piece of cod.
"You're pathetic, you know that? Worse than Rosie," Al scoffed as he spotted the book. Scorpius grinned.
"This is just a bit of light reading. Waiting for you isn't all that fun you know."
Al sighed, "Sorry Scor, I got caught up talking to Louis. He was quizzing me on remembering drafts."
"Potter, the OWLs are months away!" Scorpius said, highly exasperated.
"I can't be a healer if I don't get a good mark in Potions," Al reminded him. Scorpius had nothing to add to that. He still had no idea what he wanted to do with his life. Al had it all figured out on that first train ride. And he's been pushing himself for years to prepare. Rose and Al were neck in neck for top of the class. Scorpius was highly amused watching them go at it.
"Pass me the buttered peas. I'm starving," Al said and Scorpius complied. They ate and were on their way back downstairs when they saw Rose and Roxanne chatting in the entrance hall. Scorpius made a beeline towards her.
"…yeah I met him last summer when we went to Paris. He goes to Beauxbatons…" Rose was saying excitedly to Roxanne.
"You're so lucky Rose, I'd love to go with a handsome foreign boy. Does he have a brother?" The girls laughed. Scorpius felt his stomach drop.
"Oh hey Al, Scorpius" Rose turned to him, beaming. He couldn't believe he had waited this long. He felt like such a fool. He thought maybe because they were best mates, it would be easy. She would have preferred to go with him than with one of her cousins, right? Scorpius knew that none of the fifth year boys had asked her but he hadn't counted on an outsider. Damn the French, he cursed silently.
"So you're going with a boy from Beauxbatons?" Al asked genially and Rose nodded.
"Alice told me you were going with her." Al smiled. "She also told me she had to ask you. You're such a prat, you were ready to ask her last week." His grin vanished. Scorpius and Roxanne laughed.
"Well, at least we're going together, that's all that matters now, right?" Al said and Rose rolled her eyes.
She turned to Scorpius, "Who are you going with Scor?" Trying not to be distracted by the warm feeling in his stomach at her saying his name, he quickly thought of someone.
"I'm er, going with…Roxanne!" He looked over to Roxanne who looked shocked to learn this. Al and Rose looked at them curiously. Roxanne recovered.
"Oh yeah, we, um, decided to go together," She said in a light tone. Al and Rose didn't notice her eyes were shooting daggers at Scorpius. Scorpius mouthed a thank you.
"Well I'd better go back to the library," Al said. Scorpius groaned.
"I'll come with," Rose added and they walked up the staircase and out of sight. Roxanne turned on him.
"What the hell was that Malfoy?" she frowned, her hands on her hip.
"Thank you so much Roxanne. I just couldn't let them know I still didn't have a date," Scorpius admitted truthfully. Roxanne sighed.
"You're just lucky I didn't have one either. I was getting quite desperate myself," she smiled. "I'm wearing turquoise. Plan accordingly." And with that she headed to the Hufflepuff common room.
Scorpius didn't notice his heart had just stopped racing. He felt as if his nerves had been pumping at break neck speed. It's a good thing he had his mother, he thought suddenly. His dad hadn't been too keen on his alliance with the Weasley's but miraculously he allowed it. It helped that his Grandmother had reconciled a few years back with her sister, Teddy's Grandmum. His mother loved to dote on Teddy. Although her thick, dark hair and imposing stature didn't convey it, she was extremely maternal. She was so pleased when Al told her she liked her treacle fudge that she sent him a near stone of it for Christmas. The package had to be lifted by five owls.
Yes, his father approved only because his mother had taken a liking to Teddy and Al. She hadn't really seen much of Rose but Scorpius knew she would take to her like he did. She could be the daughter she never had. Or the daughter-in-law.
Sometimes Scorpius' mind wandered to this place, and he couldn't imagine how it got there. All he knew was that he could be thinking of anything, Quidditch, hippogriffs, the bar maid at the Three Broomsticks and inevitably it would lead back to Rose. I wonder if Rose could have made a save like that. Rose loves animals, maybe I should get her this hippogriff for Christmas. The bar maid has blue eyes but their not ocean blue. Not like Rose's.
He knew he needed help. Unfortunately he felt he couldn't confide in anyone. His two best friends were the object of his affection and her overprotective cousin. He could try talking to Damon Wilcox, a boy in their dormitory, but he was way too much of a liability. If he wanted the whole school to know, he would tell Damon first.
As he reopened A History of Magic on an armchair by the fire, he paused at he favorite page. Ronald and Hermione Weasley, war heroes, with their children Rose, 7, and Hugo, 5. Rose's parents were smiling and waving up, while Hugo pouted in the corner, like he usually did. Rose was trying to cheer him up. She held up a teddy bear she had been photographed with and made it dance around Hugo's spot on the floor. He cracked a grin as it did a tap dance number. Scorpius knew Rose disliked the picture, the fact that her face was in there for all to see. She felt her parents should have been in it alone. They were the war heroes, not her and Hugo. Besides seven was when her hair resembled a wide tailed broom, it was unflattering. Scorpius couldn't disagree with her more. It was the most beautiful picture he had ever seen.
A/N – Going to try to turn a clichéd story on its head. Give it some depth and plot rather than just, "Oh no, we're in the past! We're your children, surprise!" I'm going to give all of the time travelers a section eventually, so I can sketch them out and you can get to know them (or at least my rendering of them) I'll try to update every other day or at least once a week. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated!