Do I really need to say this again? J K Rowling IS Harry Potter. If you recognise anything that seems remotely familiar from any movie, TV show, book or whatever else, it's probably because it is from them. If you want my 'full' warning, you can check out either 'Dormant Power' or 'Beginning of the End'.
So, I've written a prequel, on with the sequel! Remember, I only wrote this because several reviewers requested me to (gosh, am I nice or what, lol!). Again, only some names are mine (as is the storyline I guess), everything else is not!
Right then, what can I say? First things first; to those of you who are reading this fic for the first time (meaning you haven't read any of my others before), this chapter will give you a run down of events…but I'd suggest (at the very least) reading the timeline of Definitive Year as I am unsure exactly how much influence my previous stories have on this one, but I'd wager it'd be a fair bit.
As those who have read my other stories can all attest to, Remus is my favourite character, and as such, he is accompanying Harry throughout this story. This will get me out of having to write much 'trio talk', lol! I think I should also add 'Warcraft' to my list of ever-growing warnings…since this fic was originally titled 'Harry Potter and the Reign of Chaos'.
Again, as with my others, this story is obviously AU, but I do hope that doesn't put you off from reading it! The first chapter is always a bit of a 'reflection' type thing with my stories, so the majority of it won't be terribly interesting…but don't worry, it'll pick up its pace soon enough! And yes, I shall explain a certain event later on…it actually gets a full chapter.
Oh, and I shall apologise for lying to you all in Dormant and BotE, and doing something in this fic that I said I wouldn't. As for what it is…you shall have to wait to find out!
Also, please note that this fic will be the end of this series. While I might write about Trent's schooling one day, I have no intention of writing anything beyond where this one concludes.
Chapter 1 – The Unscheduled Holiday
It was a beautiful August day at Godric's Hollow. The inside of number 7 was unlike any of the other houses on the street, however. Upstairs, a tiny bat-like creature called Dobby was rushing around, cleaning up the mess that one of the occupants had left. Not that he minded of course; after all, it was one of the jobs Dobby did best.
Several pictures were scattered along the hallway, most showing the four other residents of the house, but a few contained various other people. These pictures were a little different from normal though; the people in them were moving. The surprises didn't only stop there, all the people who lived in this house were wizards or witches. Even then, it wasn't just an ordinary wizarding home either; it was where a messy black-haired man with glasses named Harry Potter called home.
Harry was the Wizarding world's hero, from basically his first birthday onwards. He had defeated Voldemort, escaping with a scar on his forehead, but his parents had been lost. Harry had then been placed with the only relatives he had left; his mother's sister and her family. His life changed drastically after he had turned eleven when he received a letter, asking him to rejoin the Wizarding world at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
He met his best friends there, as well as several enemies. His time at school was one the hardest any student would likely have to face. It all came to a head in his final year, when Voldemort (who had been reborn at the end of Harry's fourth year) had led an assault on the school. Harry, who had been prophesised as being the only one who could stop the Dark Lord, had been in charge of the defence and he had come out victorious in the end.
He spent the next few years playing Quidditch, choosing to end his career after the 2002 World Cup final. Harry had decided earlier that year that he wanted to go back to Hogwarts, and Remus Lupin, the last remaining friend of his parents, had kindly stepped aside from his position as Defence Professor to allow him to do so. Remus still taught at Hogwarts, taking on the subject of Transfiguration after Minerva McGonagall finally elected to stop teaching, concentrating solely on her role as Headmistress instead.
One of his friends, Hermione Granger, also taught at Hogwarts, and had done so since the end of their final year. The battle had cost the life of the Potions Professor, Severus Snape, so Hermione had stepped up to the plate and taken his place. His other best friend, Ronald Weasley, worked at the Ministry, where he held the position as Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports.
Harry was currently downstairs in his home, Marauder's Mansion, rushing frantically around the living room with all sorts of items been carelessly thrown about the room. A red-haired male with freckles stood at the bottom of the stairs, watching the scene in amusement.
"I thought you wanted to leave this morning, Harry."
"Shut up, Ron! I can't find that book of Sirius'!" he snapped back.
"Have you tried Remus' place?"
"Why would Remus have…oh yeah, he borrowed it last year, didn't he?" Harry replied, his face dawning in realisation.
Ron rolled his eyes and shook his head before taking a double glance at the mantelpiece. "Why do you still have that for?"
"What?" Harry replied before turning and looking at what Ron had seen. A card with 'Happy Birthday' written in a large childish scrawl was sitting proudly atop the mantelpiece. "Oh the card Dobby made me. I guess I don't want to break his heart by chucking it out, that's all."
"Uh huh, you mean that you don't want to face Hermione's wrath if you chuck it out."
Harry gave his friend a large smile. "That too. How long are you here for?"
"About another half an hour. Why, do you need something from the Ministry?" Ron asked.
Harry then retreated into the kitchen and made himself a sandwich. "Not really. I just wondered why you were here."
"Well, I left a scouting report here this morning," Ron said as he followed him and took a seat at the table, "So I figured I'd drop in and pick it up during lunch. I really wish you'd reconsider your retirem…"
"Ron, we've been over this many times. I'm not coming back to play! I don't have anything else to prove to myself."
"I'm aware of that, but even you'd have to admit that our performance at the last cup was a joke."
"Granted, it was a bit of a disaster," Harry agreed. England had been knocked out before reaching the round robin matches for the first time in the history of the World Cup.
"I still can't believe you beat Krum to the snitch on your Firebolt, when he had the new Silver Arrow mach 5," Ron replied, fondly remembering the final.
Harry grinned at him, "I preferred me breaking the record on it in the semi."
"Well, that was a brilliant performance too. Are you sure about…"
Harry sighed and cut in. "Yes Ron, I'm positive. I enjoy teaching at Hogwarts."
"I know you do. How's Neville settling in?" Ron asked, changing the topic. Neville had taken over Professor Sprout's job of Herbology Professor last year.
"Pretty well. You know I'm going to be even busier this year since Hooch is asking me to help her with the flying lessons. I think she's planning on retiring soon."
"I'm not surprised. Remus said that she's been there since he went to Hogwarts!"
"So have Minerva and Filius," Harry reminded him.
"True. Anyway, I might as well go now."
"Thanks Ron, hope you'll drop by tomorrow or Sunday."
"I'll try. I'll see if Ginny can come too."
"Is she still considering changing jobs?" Harry asked. Ginny had been a bit unhappy in the Magical beasts department and was thinking about working her way through the Auror academy.
"Yeah, she is, particularly with elections coming up this year. By the way, why did you transfer both your Gringotts accounts to Australia?"
Harry shrugged. "Better interest rates. Besides, for some odd reason, I find dealing with wizards and witches a little easier than the goblins. Griphook's alright, but the others can be a bit difficult to deal with."
Ron had to admit that Harry made a good point and let out a chuckle. "Fair enough. Anyway, I'll see you later, ok?"
"No worries. Bye Ron."
Ron nodded before disappearing with a 'crack', leaving Harry sitting at the table by himself.
"Well, I guess I should floo over to Remus' and grab that book," he mused out loud.
"You know, you really should write that out properly" Harry told her, pointing at the word 'cclockwise', which Hermione had elected to write instead of 'counter-clockwise'.
"Oh do be quiet, Harry. They're only my draft notes! I'll write them out properly later!" she snapped back.
"Ok, but you need to get some rest, Hermione. You look like you haven't slept since…"
"I know, Harry. It's just that I feel that I have to keep going, that's all," she cut in.
"Still, there's no reason why you can't get some rest. I mean, the term doesn't start for another week."
She sighed. "You're right, you're right. I pretty much ambushed you as soon as you arrived."
"I'll say! I've still got my trunk in my pocket!"
Hermione smiled as he said this. No sooner had Harry walked through the front gates, she had dragged him off to help her with a highly advanced potion that she had been working on for the last five years. Hermione had decided to try to recreate the effects of a timeturner into a potion. Her first attempts had not gone so well, but lately she felt she had, at last, been getting somewhere.
"Just go and get some rest, Hermione. Even if it's only a couple of hours. I can get Remus to help me if I get stuck."
Hermione looked at him gratefully before accepting his offer. She headed off towards her bedroom, leaving Harry to continue to assemble the incredibly long list of ingredients. He was so absorbed in it, that he all but jumped when a hand was placed on his shoulder.
Harry whirled around and met a highly amused Remus.
"Am I interrupting?" he politely asked.
Harry glared before he slowly smiled back. "Not at all. How's married life treating you?"
"Pretty good" Remus replied. He had married a witch by the name of Bernadine Whittaker a little over two months ago, just as the holidays began. She had been two years younger than Remus, and they had met briefly during his final year. They had been together for the past three years, and both had decided it was time to take their relationship to the next level.
"That's wonderful to hear. Could you help me with this please?"
Remus arched an eyebrow, and Harry had to chuckle. "Don't worry, Remus. Despite your rather latent Potions skills," Harry then ignored Remus' growl, "even you should be able to follow Hermione's instructions. All you have to do is stir after I've added the final mandrake skin."
Remus reluctantly agreed, and quickly skimmed over the instructions while Harry finished crushing the mandrake skins. Hermione had been very specific in her instructions, and had repeatedly told Harry that everything had to be done absolutely perfectly or the whole potion would be useless. Harry had even wondered whether or not Severus' spirit had somehow been transferred over to her, such was her dedication to Potions. In fact, Hermione had quickly become one of the most talented Potion Masters since her predecessor.
The current potion they were working on was to take the drinker back half an hour in time. To achieve this, the potion would have to be stirred exactly thirty times, one for each minute. Harry added the skins and Remus made sure he stirred exactly how Hermione's instructions said; slowly and evenly. He stopped after carefully counting out thirty rotations and they both watched intently as the potion changed from its previous thick purple state, to a much thinner pink texture.
Harry scooped out a spoonful and carefully poured it into a goblet before looking at Remus.
"Do you want the honours?"
"How about we both take it? We've got more than enough for two people," he suggested.
Harry agreed and filled another goblet before sliding it over to Remus who sniffed it cautiously.
"It doesn't smell too bad," he mused.
"I know, kind of minty isn't it?" Harry added.
They both then raised their goblets before gulping it down as quickly as possible, for they both knew that Potions could taste far worse than they smelt.
No sooner had they done this, both of them felt the room begin to spin. Harry experienced a similar sensation to when he and Hermione had used her timeturner in his third year. The only difference was that this appeared to be taking far longer than then, and everything appeared to be happening at a significantly increased pace. It was too much for Harry, who quickly blacked out with Remus soon following suit.
Hermione groaned as she slowly got up and made her way into her private lab were she was quite perplexed to find it empty.
'Maybe Harry left to unpack. Odd though that he didn't store it first,' she thought as she inspected the potion sitting on the bench.
Her look of curiosity was soon replaced by one of shock. The potion should have been a deep blue colour, not pink like the one in the cauldron.
'Oh well, I'd better store this before it goes off. Besides, he couldn't have gone…'
Her thoughts were broken when she spotted an error in her list. Her eyes widened as she did some quick calculations and discovered what must have happened. If she was right, and, more often than not, she was, Harry had travelled thirty years instead of thirty minutes.
As Harry blinked open his eyes, he found Remus doing the same thing
"Merlin, I didn't expect it to be like that," he exclaimed, looking over at Remus who was now rubbing the back of his head.
"I'll say," Remus answered before looking around his surroundings. "Harry, that potion doesn't change your location as well, does it?"
"No, just the time. But that doesn't explain why the room is empty," he replied, looking around the bare room himself.
"I was just thinking that. Let's see if it worked then," Remus said before withdrawing his wand. "Tempus calendus."
A gold mist shot from his wand which soon formed into the time and date: 10:43pm, August 24, 2037.
"How can that be?'! It was supposed to take us back half an hour, not forward thirty ruddy years!"
"I…I don't know, Harry," Remus said, looking completely baffled.
"I can explain that," a voice from behind them announced.
They both turned and came face-to-face with a middle-aged woman with honeycomb eyes.
"After all, I was the one who created it," she added, smiling at them.
Realisation soon dawned on Harry who stared, while Remus also quickly figured out what was going on.
"Hermione?" he asked.
The woman smiled again and nodded.