Tempest of Time (Past's Playmate Sequel)
Chapter One
A gentle breeze blew across the lake cooling the drops of sweat on his forehead. He stretched his arms high over his head then bent down to place his palms on the soft grass. Slowly putting his weight onto his hands he lifted both legs into the air coming to rest in a handstand. He held himself in that position for a short time before allowing his body to fluidly flip over with both feet on the ground. His right leg was stretched out behind him, while his left leg was bent at the knee. His left forearm rested lightly on his left knee in the position one would have as if they were holding a shield in front of them. His right arm was thrust forward as if he held a sword ready to strike. He swept his right leg around in an arcing movement as if he were going to knock an enemy off their feet. With a slight spin and twist, he was back on his feet again and in his starting position.
Harry had been out by the lake for the last two hours doing his usual morning workout. He had already had his run and was now just performing the cool down exercises. He had been back in his own time for a full day now. After meeting his parents in Tom's office, they had all sat down to eat together. Nothing of real importance, such as how the time line had changed so drastically, was even mentioned. Harry just simply enjoyed a nice meal with the people he'd never had a chance to know before. After they'd eaten, Tom had shown Harry to his room.
***Flashback***
When they reached the seventh floor, Harry looked at Tom and smirked. "I see my room is still the same."
Tom chuckled and wrapped an arm around Harry's waist. "What do you mean?"
"Gabe and Godric gave me a room on the seventh floor. I'm assuming that's where we're going." Harry glanced at Tom and saw him furrow his brow in confusion.
"Harry, there aren't any rooms on this floor. It's just the fastest way to reach the staff quarters." Tom replied while looking at the gorgeous man walking next to him.
"You were saying?" Harry asked with amusement as they approached a plain wooden door with a silver handle.
"Well, it looks like Hogwarts has recognized her heir then." Tom smiled and poked Harry in the ribs causing him to jump away slightly and swat at his hand.
"Stop that!"
"Why don't you tell me about this room, hmm?" Tom had backed Harry up against the door and reached for the handle. He had every intention of opening it and letting the younger man fall through. It would be quite funny to see Harry, Mr. I'm So Sure Of Myself, fall flat on his arse. But Harry wasn't your average teenager anymore. He smirked at Tom and then laughed outright when the door handle reached out and wrapped around the other man's wrist while opening and jerking him into the room. Harry couldn't stop his laughter as he watched the former Dark Lord, at least from his original time line, fall face first onto the grass green carpet. Harry had slipped just far enough to the right when the door had opened not to fall with him.
"Oh very funny." Tom turned over and grinned up at Harry. He reached a hand up asking for help to his feet. Harry wasn't gullible. He knew what Tom was trying to do, so he simply stepped over him and began to make his way into his room. He didn't get far.
"AHH!" Harry cried out as a strong hand gripped his ankle and tumbled him to the floor next to Tom, who was now laughing. They wrestled around on the floor for a bit before Tom finally pinned the green eyed man below him.
"Is this real grass?" Tom asked in surprise when he planted his hands next to Harry's head.
"I believe so, yes." Harry said huskily while looking up at Tom with heated eyes. He lifted his hips and brushed their groins together making Tom gasp. Suddenly they were no longer on the floor. Tom had stood up and lifted Harry with him. The younger man wrapped his legs around Tom's waist and allowed himself to be carried to the bed.
"I guess you missed me!" Harry said cheekily when Tom tossed him onto the bed before clambering up after him.
"You have no idea."
***End Flashback***
Last night had been fantastic. The only thing missing was Gabe, but Harry had a feeling that his absence would soon be explained. He'd woken up this morning to find that Tom had gone, but there was a note on the pillow next to his own.
Harry,
I hope you slept well. Come to the Great Hall for lunch. After, I will answer your questions as best as I can. Thank you for last night. I've missed you, Love.
TMR
***HPTR***
Harry entered the Great Hall and approached the teacher's table. He saw his mother and fathers sitting there with Tom disguised as Dumbledore. He smirked at the old man before turning to Sirius. Even during dinner last night, Sirius had remained a bit suspicious of Harry. He just couldn't seem to accept that he had a son and no memory of anything after the birth. It was rather confusing really.
While down at the lake, Harry had come to the conclusion that he had somehow caused a rift in time. Like a storm, or tempest. It seemed to be that the common belief that Time is always flowing forward was a myth. From Harry's experience, Time flowed in all directions. When one of those creeks, if you will, meandered away from the main stream, it created a parallel dimension to the original river of Time. This in turn, would create multiple dimensions with various futures, but common pasts of major events, such as his birth would remain the same.
He had hypothesized that his first jump through Time was part of the original River of Time. Nothing had changed until he met Tom. He believed that Tom was able to remember him after each consecutive jump because he was the mate of a Blood Elf, the first vampire. All through history, as Harry understood it, vampires and elves had remained a constant. He personally believed that they were somehow able to build bridges between the streams and creeks that flowed from the River of Time. It was something he would like to discuss with Gabe someday.
"Hello Sirius," Harry said quietly as he approached. "Do you think you would be willing to join me for a chat sometime after your classes today?" He stared into those silvery blue eyes with hope. Sirius had always been a soft spot for Harry. He'd missed the man terribly. Harry didn't notice the nudge Severus gave him under the table.
"I guess so," Sirius sighed. "What is it you would like to talk about?"
Harry smirked at his father. Then his eyes caught James' and the smirk widened. "Well, Siri, I thought I'd tell you all about my adventures. I could even show some places in the castle that haven't been discovered since the Founders were here."
"Oi!" James exclaimed. "I want to see! Can I join you?" He nearly bouncing in his seat at the prospect of finding out more of the castle's secrets.
"Of course, James. I would love to have you come with us." Harry looked to Severus and asked, "Would you like to come with us, Sev?"
"I will join you, but you will desist with calling me that horrible name. My name is Sev-ER-us!" Severus huffed at the man who was his son. He still wasn't quite sure what to make of that. All he remembered of the boy was a beautiful infant with huge emerald eyes who used to grab his fingers to nom on. He still couldn't figure out why the boy hadn't grown up with him and the others. Not to mention how the child came to be in the first place. It was all mind-blowing honestly.
"Aww, but I like calling you Sev!" Harry pouted to the point where Tom could see Severus just about to give in when Lily spoke up.
"Harry, that's enough," she said with a small smile. "No manipulating your fathers."
"I'm not manipulating!" Harry huffed with a tiny smile at his mother.
"Yes, Love, you are." Harry glared at Tom for putting in his two knuts.
"Nobody asked you." Tom chuckled at Harry's childish pout.
"Come up here and sit with us. You need to eat." Harry did as Tom said and joined his family with the rest of the teachers for lunch.
***HPDM***
Draco sat quietly at the Slytherin table as he watched the conversation that Potter was having with the headmaster and teachers. He had the strangest feeling that he was missing something. Something really important, but just couldn't put his finger on it. His father had written back asking him why he was so interested in the Potter boy. He had no answer. There was just this feeling that something was very wrong here. Nobody could change as much as Potter had in one summer. He also didn't understand why none of the teachers had questioned the changes. Even the Mudblood and Weasel had noticed something was off. Things just felt different.
Draco rubbed his fingers against his temples trying to soothe a sudden headache. Every time he tried to think about the changes in Potter, his head would begin aching fiercely. He didn't understand it, but was determined to find out what was going on.
***HPHGRW***
Ron stared at Harry as he sat with the teachers at the head table. "'Mione, why do you think Harry is ignoring us?"
"I don't know, Ron, but I'm going to find out." Hermione replied determinedly. "I'm going to see if he will talk to me after lunch. It's like he doesn't even remember us."
"Yeah, that's what I was thinking too." Ron sighed, took another bite of his food, and said, "Something happened this summer. When we last saw him, he was skinny and small. Look at him, 'Mione! He's completely different!"
"Oh, I am looking," Hermione sighed softly as her eyes roamed up and down what she could see of Harry's body. The boy had become a man, and he was absolutely stunning! 'I wonder if I could get him to notice me as more than a friend?' she thought to herself.
"Why would you want to do that?!" Ron asked, scandalized. "It's Harry! You're not suppose to drool over your best mates, 'Mione!"
"Oh, as if, Ronald!" Hermione huffed in irritation. "You're just jealous!"
"Jealous?! Of what?!" Ron exclaimed in confusion.
"You're just jealous that I'm looking at Harry and not you!" Hermione stated spitefully.
"Um, 'Mione, no offense, but um-" Ron was blushing and trying desperately to think of a way to tell his best friend that he just didn't see her that way.
"What, Ronald?" Hermione was definitely miffed.
Ron was having second thoughts of saying anything else about it, but he gathered what Gryffindor courage he could, and spouted, "'Mione, I see you as a sister! I don't even like girls in that way!"
Hermione's mouth dropped open, and she turned to see the tips of Ron's ears a bright red.
"You what?" Hermione was totally stunned. She had never guessed that Ron might be gay. She had always suspected that Harry could be, but never Ron.
"If you're gay, then why in the bloody fuck did you ask me out this summer?!" Hermione screeched.
"Umm,'Mione, what are you talking about? I didn't even see you until the train ride back to school?" Ron was looking at her like she'd just said that the giant squid was a forest animal.
Hermione's mouth dropped open. She just stared at Ron. What was he talking about? They had spent the summer together at the Burrow. She'd even given him her virginity!
"Close your mouth, 'Mione," Ron whispered, "Harry's looking this way. You don't want him to see you looking like a fish do you?"
Hermione's mouth snapped shut instantly as she looked up and saw that Harry was, in fact, looking at them. She gave a small smile, and he returned it with a disinterested look before his eyes moved to the Slytherin table. Something was really wrong here. Harry would never ignore his friends like that before. She had to find out what had happened. It was something big, and Hermione refused to let it go until she found out the truth.
***HP***
Harry let his eyes roam over the house tables and the students seated at them. He'd been watching Ron and Hermione and could almost feel their confusion. He hadn't made an attempt to speak with them at all, and he was unsure if he even wanted to anymore. He'd missed them after his first jump, but so much had changed while he was gone. He had changed. Apparently, Ron had just said something to set Hermione off because the girl was gaping like an idiot. Harry smirked at Ron for being able to get that flabbergasted look on Hermione's face. It was rather amusing. When her eyes met his own, he gave a disinterested smile and turned his attention to the Slytherin table. 'Malfoy was rather pretty, wasn't he?'
Harry could just imagine what the boy would look like with his face flushed and eyes lit with desire. He could see how Draco would throw his head back in ecstasy, silver eyes flashing. Harry licked his lips as he watched the Malfoy heir. Oh yes, he'd like to run his tongue across those perfect bow shaped lips, wrap his hands in that silky fall of silver hair, and-. Harry's thoughts cut off abruptly when he noticed said boy staring back at him with that exact same flushed face that Harry had been imagining. Harry swallowed hard and looked away.
"Harry, what are you staring at?" Lily asked slyly. She'd seen where her son's eyes had landed. The Malfoy boy was rather gorgeous. Just like his father. Lily had always wished that she could have had a go with Lucius Malfoy, but Narcissa would have cursed her to Hell and back again if she'd so much as looked at him for too long. Besides, Lily really was perfectly happy with her men. Even if Sirius and Severus could be a bit rough at times. At least James always made up for it with his sweetness.
"Oh, nothing, Mum." Harry answered quickly. "Just looking around and trying to see what else has changed."
"Have you noticed anything in particular?" Lily asked with a glint in her eye. "Such as the Malfoy boy? Has he changed since you knew him before?"
Harry just barely managed to keep his surprise off his face. He hadn't realized that he'd been so obvious with his study of Malfoy. "He looks a bit older, but that's about it. Actually," Harry's gaze traveled the room again before landing back on his mother's curious face, "All of the students look a bit older. That's odd."
"Hmm, that is strange," Severus said from Harry's other side. Harry hadn't even noticed the man had been paying attention to his and Lily's conservation.
Lily got that I-Have-An-Idea look on her face and smiled at Harry. "How old were you when you started Hogwarts in your original time?"
Harry cocked a brow at her and answered, "Eleven. The same as everyone else."
"Ah, that is where you are mistaken." Severus replied. "Hogwarts is a secondary school now. Has been since 1980. Students must have completed a primary wizarding school before attending."
"Primary wizarding school?" Harry was surprised. He'd never heard of such a thing.
"Yes," Lily answered, "it's for age five, when most magical children start exhibiting accidental magic, through age thirteen, when they are able to grasp the concept of total control."
"That's-" Harry cut himself off and leaned over Severus to see Tom. "This was your idea wasn't it?"
Tom smiled softly at Harry and replied, "Of course it was. It's necessary to train magical children from an early age to prevent the muggles from discovering our world."
"This primary school includes muggleborns and halfbloods and orphans?" Harry asked in a rush. He was simply amazed at such an idea.
"Yes, it does." Tom answered with a nod. "Blood status doesn't matter anyway. We all know that halfbloods, and occasionally muggleborns, tend to be quite powerful. It simply made sense to begin training that power from the time it begins to manifest."
"It's brilliant!" Harry exclaimed in awe. If things had been done that way during his own original timeline, his entire life would have been different. Cocking his head to the side, a sudden thought came to Harry. "Why is it that I have no memories from this particular time?"
"Ah, well, you see-" Tom began before James interrupted.
"That's something I would like to know as well. Why are there no memories of him for any of us after his birth?"
"I think I know the answer to that." Harry's head whipped around so fast his neck cracked. He jumped from his seat and vaulted the table before anyone could say anything.
Running at the man who had just entered the Great Hall, Harry jumped at him wrapping his arms around his neck and his legs around his waist.
"Gabe!"