Chapter One
"Harry, what are you doing?" Hermione crossed her arms in disapproval, just in case it was breaking the rules to crawl about on your hands and knees in the common room when you were supposed to be at breakfast.
Harry looked up, pushing a lock of his messy black hair out of his face. He had been searching under every chair and table, rearranging the furniture as he did so. It was driving Hermione crazy.
"I am going to kill them," Harry muttered, going back to his search.
"Them? What are you doing?" Hermione repeated.
"Fred and George! They've stolen my trunk, so now I can't do anything… almost everything I own is in that trunk… except my firebolt." Harry shrugged. "I think they've used a shrinking potion on it.
"We have not, have we George?" Fred's outraged voice sounded through the room.
"You!" Harry spun around. There was no one behind him. "Hand back the cloak."
Fred and George pulled off Harry's cloak grinning from ear to ear. "Brilliant, Harry… do you know what we could do with something like this?"
Hermione raised her eyebrows. "Be still, my beating heart. You're going to tear the castle apart, aren't you?"
Harry snatched back the cloak and stuffed it in his pocket. "Where's my trunk?"
George frowned. "We didn't take your trunk… just your cloak. Your trunk is still there…"
Harry crossed his arms. "Want to bet?"
Fred and George looked at each other. "Did we take the trunk? I'm sure we only snitched his cloak." Fred looked puzzled.
George nodded. "Not the trunk. Sorry, Harry, old bean. We have to get down to the lake. Professor Talish is demonstrating time charms down there, and we can't miss it…"
Fred nodded. "Look luck finding your trunk!" Then he and his twin laughed and headed out of the common room.
Harry shook his head. Hermione tugged on his robes. "Come on… we need to get down to the great hall… breakfast is almost over!"
Tap tap tap.
Harry turned. "Hedwig!" he ran to the window and let his owl in. Hedwig hooted and held out her leg.
Hermione and Harry looked at each other and frowned. Then Harry unfolded the parchment. The message wasn't long.
Roses are black,
What do you want to bet,
That some ugly git's trunk,
Is about to get wet?
Happy fishing, Potter.
Harry and Hermione looked at each other. Hermione's mouth was wide open.
"Malfoy!"
* * *
Draco Malfoy smirked as he floated the trunk above the lake. Beside him, Crabbe and Goyle were laughing at the defense against the dark arts teacher, who was showing some Hufflepuff seventh years how to perform time charms was about thirty feet away and hidden by several large plants. Fred and George Weasley had been spotted by the banks, trying to figure out how to best interfere with the spell before the teacher caught them.
"Malfoy!" Harry and Ron landed beside him, dismounting their broomsticks. Harry's firebolt gleamed. "Give it back!"
Draco smiled slightly. "One more step, Potter, and your trunk gets to go swimming! Won't that be fun?" Crabbe and Goyle snickered.
Ron lunged at Draco, knocking him down.
Draco, his concentration broken, broke the levitation charm. Harry's trunk fell into the lake with a splash.
"Why you!" Harry barely managed to pull Ron off Draco before Crabbe and Goyle permanently rearranged his face. "Ron, take my broomstick, go get a teacher."
"And what will you be doing, Potter?" Draco smirked.
Harry shoved by Draco and waded into the lake, shivering slightly. Draco, by the sounds of it, was about to die laughing. Crabbe and Goyle joined in, although Harry wasn't sure if they knew what the joke was about.
It didn't mater… his picture album was in that trunk. Harry dove beneath the water.
Draco wasn't laughing fifteen minutes later, though, when Harry still hadn't surfaced. Ron and Hermione had returned, although they hadn't brought a teacher. "Where is he?" Draco whispered. "He couldn't have drowned… could he?"
Ron, standing beside Malfoy, glared at him. "If anything, ANYTHING, has happened to Harry, you can kiss your…"
"Ron!" Hermione wailed. "This isn't the time! Why hasn't he come up?"
"Maybe because Malfoy has murdered him, that's why!" Ron was too busy watching the surface of the water to beat Draco up.
Draco sneered. "Fine. Believe what you want… I'm off. Come on, Crabbe, Goyle."
Ron shook his head and waded into the lake towards where the trunk had been dropped. By this time every Hufflepuff seventh year had known of Harry's disappearance. Professor Talish had gone for Dumbledore, leaving the students to try and find Harry. Ron had been diving again and again searching for Harry, and afterwards (Hermione almost had to drag him out of the lake; he'd almost half drowned himself searching for Harry) he came back out and collapsed on the ground. "He's not there," he whispered. "Neither is his trunk. They're both gone."
Hermione, who had been crying and trying not to let Ron see her, gave a small sob and raised her head. "You think the mermaids have captured him? Or the giant squid?"
Ron just shook his head. "I don't know… I hate Malfoy! I swear, if Harry's dead, I will never let that slimy git forget it…"
"We have a problem,"
Ron and Hermione spun around.
Dumbledore didn't smile. "Professor Talish was showing the effects of time charms… I have reason to believe that someone has tampered with one of his demonstrations."
Ron's hands clenched into fists. "Malfoy,"
Hermione frowned. "Fred and George."
"So what's happened?" Ron asked.
"He's been transported. To another time." Dumbledore looked at the lake, frowning. "We don't know when."
Hermione and Ron looked at each other, their mouth's open. Hermione shook her head. "This could be very, very bad…"
* * *
Harry had just grabbed his trunk when a jet of white light blinded him. He dropped his trunk in surprise, gasped for air at the surface, then dove back down for his trunk.
Something about the water had changed, though… it wasn't so cold, anymore… on the contrary, it was rather warm. Harry grabbed his trunk, just as one of the grindygollows in the lake clamped onto his leg.
Harry gasped for air… and got water instead. Three more grindygollows clamped onto him. Harry started sinking… then everything went black.
* * *
"Are you alright?"
Harry opened his eyes a bit. His vision was all blurry, and he was shivering and sopping wet. "What happened?"
The kid in front of him laughed and put something in Harry's hand. "Your glasses. I thought you might need them."
Harry took the glasses from the boy, but didn't put them on. "You… you pulled me out, didn't you?"
The boy nodded. Harry sat up and squinted towards the lake. "You'd do the same for me, wouldn't you?"
"What?" Harry shook his head. Who was this kid? "Did you see my trunk?"
"I got that too. And, as long as we're on the subject, James, what were you thinking?! I mean, swimming with your robes on, I can see, but taking your trunk? Is this some new scheme you haven't told us about? I want in on the joke."
Harry blinked. Did this kid just call him James? And, while he was at it, why did his voice suddenly sound so familiar? Harry slowly put on his glasses.
The kid suddenly loomed into clear view. Harry found himself staring into the face of a fifteen year old Sirius Black.
