The Change in the Plot
Disclaimer: I have never owned Harry Potter and most likely never will. Harry Potter belongs solely to JK Rowling, and not me.
Author's Note: I know that this is not the most original topic, but I like writing it all the same. Happy Reading!
Harry James Potter was having an extraordinarily odd dream. It had involved him lying face down in front of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. For some unexplainable reason, he sensed that it was August twenty first, nineteen seventy seven. Harry experienced the feeling of flight for a brief while, and then everything went green and slowly faded to black.
Consciousness had slowly come to Harry, blunting his senses as he slowly struggled to awaken. The sheer smell of magic mixed with grass and fresh air hit him as soon as his nose woke up. The smell was confusing. Harry had lived in a flat in Muggle London for about half a year, ever since he had graduated from Hogwarts. It had smelled like gas, pollution, and exhaust, but certainly not magic. It was, for lack of a better word, impossible.
Very few places smelled so strongly of magic. Harry ran a mental list through is befuddled mind. The Ministry of Magic, where he worked as an Auror, had a magical aroma. Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade also smelled of magic. And Hogwarts…..Hogwarts…..Hogwarts had the smell of grass, clean air, and strong, blossoming magic. Confusion and doubt rose inside him. It was just not possible. He was still dreaming. But since when had dreams seemed so real?
Raising his head off the floor, Harry saw a magnificently beautiful pair of oaken doors, and a hauntingly familiar castle. Shock took over as he struggled to his feet. One minute he was sleeping in his bed in London, and now he was off somewhere in Scotland? Was this even possible with magic?
Harry barley had any time to think things over when the doors opened and Professor Albus Dumbledore stepped out.
"Excuse me, young man, but may I inquire as to why you are standing in front of my school?" Dumbledore was calm as always.
Being the reckless Gryffindor he was, Harry said the first thing that entered his mind. "Good morning, Professor, I am here to inquire about the Defence Against the Dark Arts post?"
Hearing that, Dumbledore broke out in a grin. "Well, why didn't you say so earlier? Come on in!" He had seemed genuinely happy to hear that found a teacher, and for Defence, no less.
Harry smiled gratefully, relived that his cover story had worked. Now he had only one thing to worry about. He had no idea how to teach. As he wandered the familiar halls, he couldn't help noticing differences. Hogwarts was still the same old place, but the Fat Lady was in the third-floor corridor, and not guarding the Gryffindor common room. Harry vaguely remembered Percy Weasley telling him that the portrait was 'new'. He hadn't thought much about it back then in his ecstasy in being away from the Durselys and being in a new, magical world, but Harry now wondered what had happened to the old one. He had to remember to ask Percy.
With a pang, he realised that Ron and Hermione's wedding was two weeks away. How would he attend if he was off teaching? Harry supposed he would have to ask for a two-day holiday. And Ginny. She didn't know he was gone. What would she do? Harry was her boyfriend, her confidant, her soul mate. Most likely she would cry. Then she would take out her anger on Harry, once she saw him again. He shuddered inwardly at the very thought.
"We're here!" The sudden sound startled Harry. He had been too absorbed in his thoughts to chat, and hadn't been really thinking about where he was going. Probably just following mental routes or Dumbledore. Flinching, he turned to look at the mighty Headmaster of Hogwarts. His eyes were twinkling merrily, a slight grin on his slightly younger face. "Got you, didn't I?" "Yes, sir." Harry answered honestly. Dumbledore chuckled.
"You're not the only one who gets carried away with his thoughts."
"Glad to know, sir." Harry smiled.
"None of that sir stuff, now," said Dumbledore. "You're looking for a job, not looking for a scholarship, call me Albus."
"Yes, s-Albus."
"Alright. Let's get down to business." Albus led the way up the revolving staircase.
"Sherbet lemon?" Dumbledore looked slightly hopeful, but Harry knew better than to accept Albus' odd Muggle candies. He quickly shook his head no, smiling all the while. For a millisecond, Albus' smile dimmed, but it quickly rebounded to its former radiance. "Now, for your name. You know my name and I do not know yours! That's hardly fair, now is it?" Harry noticed that Dumbledore seemed to have the same cheerful voice when he spoke. "My name?" Harry asked. "Yes, your name," replied Albus, his voice becoming slightly suspicious. Harry chose to answer quickly. He didn't want to give his real name, because he had a slight suspicion that it was nineteen seventy seven, and not nineteen ninety eight. "Harry Paulsen", he quickly answered.
Albus whipped out a sheet of parchment out of his desk drawer and wrote the date and Harry's 'name' along the top.
August Twenty-first, Nineteen seventy-seven Harry Paulsen
Harry snuck a look at the piece of parchment and immediately felt faint. His ridiculous suspicion had been correct. He had been whisked back twenty-one years. But how? Why? Dumbledore's next question brought him back to reality.
"Where did you attend school? I don't remember a Harry Paulsen at Hogwarts, and you don't look like you graduated long ago."
"Correct on both counts." Harry was surprised at how quiet he was. "I am eighteen, and have just graduated from the Salem Academy of Magical Arts. The school isn't very well known, and is in America even though I am British. I have seven OWL equivalents, and five NEWT equivalents."
"Very Good!" Dumbledore beamed at Harry. "Now what about your age? You seem awfully young to be a teacher."
"I assure you, Albus, that I have plenty of experience nonetheless."
"I believe you."
The rest of the questioning passed relatively quickly. "I believe that you are an honest man, here to make an honest living," said Dumbledore. "But if I hear otherwise, or see otherwise, you will be sent to Azkaban before one can say 'Slinky'. We here at Hogwarts are especially wary about death eaters. I hope you are who you say you are. Now why don't you hop over to the staff room and get acquainted with the staff?" Harry stared at Dumbledore in awe. "You mean I got the job?" A slow grin spread across his face. "Congratulations, Professor Paulsen, you've got the job. I trust that you will be a wonderful professor."
Harry stared at the old man like a fool would.
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