Disclaimer – I do not own Harry Potter
Chapter 1 – 3 Seconds.
She stood, her blond hair nearly platinum, and pale features off-set with bright emerald green eyes. She was perfect in every mark of the word, except for the clear anguish set upon her features. She was facing a man, his hair slightly long and completely ruffled. Dark rimmed glasses and the same green eyes, only more determined. His face was weathered as though he'd been spending his entire life defending in a battle, and was now about to give up the best thing in his life.
"You knew this was coming, Dad." She was saying to him, a hand moving to his shoulder and a small smile lighting her features. "It'll be all right, I'll come back soon. Then we'll be able to live safely, happily. We'll be able to get Father back,"
"I know that, I know you'll be fine. I just..." He paused, unwilling to end that sentence.
"I know, Dad, but you're not going to lose me, I promise. You won't even notice I'm gone." Her hand was clenched tightly around a small object, something that looked a lot like a portkey.
"If nothing goes wrong," He replied, his pessimism not impressing his daughter as she arched an eyebrow at him.
With a quick step she embraced him, "Daddy, in a minute we'll be going to get Father. Then, we'll kill Alurtuth, and we'll all live happily."
"I believe you. You know the rules though," He told her, squeezing her tight to him.
"No telling you and Father that you are my parents, in case that it wipes me out of existence and disrupts the plan. I'm not allowed to kill Voldemort, since that's kind of your job and will disrupt the prophecy tied to you," she paused, "And get sorted into Slytherin, but make it clear that I'm a brave, courageous, cunning and a devious kind of Slytherin." There was a grin, and Harry Potter nodded in approval at his daughter.
"It's not the end of the world if you're sorted into Gryffindor, but it's possible that when you go to get the influence of Snape, he won't trust you for being who you are." He told her.
"I understand, Daddy, we've went over this a million times. I helped develop the plan, remember?" She grinned, "The Stone will activate again when it's time for me to come home, but it will trap my soul if I don't complete the plan before the end of 7th year,"
"I'm sorry that we don't have more time to test the Stone, Syria, I wish that it didn't have to be that way."
"I know, don't worry about it. It'll work out in the end," Syria gave her dad another hug, holding him close and blinking emerald green eyes quickly to quell the tears that threatened to fall. When she stepped back, she pulled an 11" white ash wood wand from her pocket, then whispered a small glamour spell on herself. Long blond hair changed to dark chestnut brown and her huge green eyes softened into a light blue color. She smiled, "I love you, Dad. See you in a minute."
Holding the key shaped object around her neck outwards, she whispered, "Actavio Portus," before a small portal opened before her, and she walked though. The portal shut behind her, leaving Harry Potter to stare after his only daughter. A heart wrenching feeling traveled through his stomach, before he closed his eyes and started counting the seconds until she could return home.
–
Syria landed heavily and unexpectedly on a thin tree branch that snapped under her weight. 21 years in the past, in the year 1997, she sat on an empty lot of where her parents would build their home. She stood carefully in the dark of the night, a full moon loomed overhead, and she swallowed audibly at the thought of what that would mean. With careful consideration, she took in the surrounding area and began her trek north, to where she hoped the small river would be still running.
The sound of trickling water forced a smile from her lips. Yes, something familiar. This was her home still, it was just a century earlier. She slipped under a low hanging branch and looked at the slow moving currant of her river. Calmed by the sound of flowing water, she closed her eyes and began remembering every detail of the Apparition point outside Hogsmead that she could think of. With a crack that echoed in the otherwise silent night, she disappeared.
Hogsmead, she found, looked much the same as it did in her time. Shops and windows were lit softly, as it was only 9:00pm and most were just closing. Hogwarts seemed ominous behind it, its path lit with candles. Syria sighed and began her trek.
Hiding her wand beneath the sleeve of her sweater, and tucking the key shaped stone that hung around her neck on a silver chain under her shirt, she pulled open the large door to the old school. She was assaulted by the magic of it all, and it brought a smile to her face. Yes, it was familiar and rather beautiful.
Quickly, she cast a Disillusionment Charm on herself, closed the door to the school and began walking towards the Headmistress' Office. On the way there, she had to slip into alcoves to escape the eyes of students, mostly Prefects, knowing that she might not be invisible to everyone's eyes. As she reached McGongall's office, she moved her wand in a slow manner and whispered another soft spell on the gargoyal that allowed her to bypass the password protected room.
With a simple deliberateness, she walked up the winding staircase and into the main room of her office, which found the older woman looking over scattered notes on an otherwise organized desk. Syria sat down in one of the chairs before canceling the Disillusionment Charm, and smiled softly at the tip of the wand pointed at her immediately.
"Who are you?" McGongall demanded, "And how did you get up into this office without the password. You are not a student at Hogwarts"
"Please calm down, Headmistress," Syria replied, placing her wand on the corner of McGongall's desk and leaning back calmly in her chair. "It was important for me to get here unnoticed, or the staff here would think that Tom had broken into Hogwards ground. I couldn't let that happen, or I would risk a mass disturbance, and that can't happen."
"Who are you?" The elder repeated, not lowering her wand.
"Before you become completely angered with what I'm about to tell you, I ask that you allow me to explain myself fully. A lot of this is going to confuse you," Syria told her, folding her hands into her lap. "My name is Syria Lily Potter, and I was born January 24, 2003. I'm 16 years old, and I've come back in time from the year 2019. Tom is killed in 1998, Harry Potter kills him. The prophecy is fulfilled. However, Tom had another magical heir other than Harry, his name was Alurtuth, and he has the same ideals as Tom did, with nearly twice as much power. There wasn't a prophecy written about him, and there isn't anyone that can stop him."
"I don't believe this, why are you here than?" McGongall still had her wand at the ready, but had sat back down, a sticken expression on her face.
"If I wasn't here right now, you'd die within the next 5 years. You should be thanking me, not pointing that wand at me," Syria replied, a glare narrowed her changed-blue eyes, and slow magical exhaustion made her tone sharper.
"Well, Miss. Potter, how do I know that what you're saying is the truth?" The Headmistress asked, lowering her wand only minutely.
"I won't take Veritaserum, and you won't be able to use Legilimens even if you wanted too. There's no way for you to know, but you have to trust me, because if you don't, then your world is as doomed as my world is. This is the most I can tell you, and I have to know that you won't tell anyone anything either, which is why I laced my words with a spell that will make it impossible for you to tell anything to anyone other than someone that already knows this. As in, myself. I'm sorry," Syria whispered the last part, "But this is how it has to be for right now."
"What has to be done?" Minerva asked her, and Syria smiled.
"I need to be admitted to Hogwarts, and unfortunately, I must be sorted publicly into Slytherin. It should be amusing, as I spent the first 5 years of my schooling life in Gryffindor, albeit without the house rivalries that I understand happen in this time period. I have my transcripts here, and ask to be placed in classes with both the Slytherin and Gryffindor students. I need to gain the trust of both Draco Malfoy, and Harry Potter. With them, I will be able to find Alurtuth. And then I'll kill him with my own wand, and return to my own period in time."
"You should not to be forced to kill an now innocent man," McGongall told her, "You're to young to have to deal with the consequences."
"You forget, Headmistress," Syria said, sharp blue eyes pinning her, "I grew up in a war, and the first time I cast my Dark Arts curse was when I was seven, to kill a man apart of the Ministry that was trying to kill my Father."
"You will be sorted into Slytherin house tomorrow morning in the Great Hall," She replied, standing to see the young woman out, "I can see you will have no trouble being sorted into that house."
"I'm counting on it, Headmistress," Syria grabbed her wand and slipped it back up her sleeve with a devious smile, "I'll see myself out to the infirmary, Madam Poppy shouldn't have a problem with me sleeping there, right?"
She didn't wait for a response, before slipping back down the stairs and out of the office door without a glance backwards. Looking around, she cast another Disillusionment Charm on herself before walking towards the infirmary. She paused on her way towards the hospital wing in front of the Dungeons, knowing that she would be spending a lot of time down there. Then, she glanced backwards, towards Gryffindor Tower and smiled. She had good memories there, and she would miss the friends that she could have made in this house. But it would be easier to forget Blaise Zabini than it would be to forget her aunt Hermione in the end.
Smiling, she made it to the Infirmary and explained that she was a new student and that she needed to sleep there for the night under orders from the Headmistress. She picked a bed in the corner and laid down, the surface uncomfortable next to the bed in her home, but she sighed and pushed away the home sickness. She was tired, and thinking about her parents and home would only delay the sleep that she needed.
Pulling a blanket over her shoulders, she drifted into a low snooze, and then into a much deeper sleep, thankful that she didn't dream of anything horrible.
–
In the year 2019, Harry Potter stood in the same spot is daughter had left him in, agonizingly slow seconds drifting by so slowly that he began to count them, "1...2...3..." he whispered, tapping his fingers against the outside of his thigh, where a silver ring sat on his left ring finger.
–
Chapter End.
Author Notes
Just to clarify, for those who didn't realize, Syria calls Harry "Dad" and her other parent, "Father"
I'll try and update again by the end of the week.
Update: September 14, 2009
Probable Update: Monday, September 21 2009
Yes, hopefully, Chapters will be longer.