Chapter 1: The Family Reunion
Summary: When the next generation is whisked back in time (2022), they open an alternate dimension and find themselves in early March 1998 facing Lord Voldemort's Regime. Before going home, they use the knowledge they have gained about the second wizarding war to help defeat Voldemort and create a better future.
AN1: This chapter functions as an introduction to the characters. Please read my story and offer constructive criticism. I will try to post as often as I can.
Warnings: If you can stomach Deathly Hallows, you can get through this.
Pairings: Most, if not entirely canon (Ron/Hermione, Harry/Ginny, Teddy/Victoire) with possible Rose/Scorpius , hints of James Sirius/Judith Longbottom (OC), and other pairings that have practically no relevance to the plot.
AN2: Characters' Ages –
Teddy Remus Lupin: 23
Victoire Evangeline Weasley: 21
Molly Morganna Weasley and Dominique Appoline Weasley: 19
Fred "Freddie" Lee Weasley and James Sirius Potter: 18
Roxanne "Roxie" Olivia Weasley and Louis Arthur Weasley: 17
Lucy Adrienne Weasley: 16
Albus "Al" Severus Potter, Rose Nymphadora Weasley, and Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy: 15
Lily Luna Potter and Hugo Septimus Weasley: 13
Disclaimer: Harry, his friends, his friend's friends, and all of their children belong to JK Rowling.
Chapter Summary: It's just a Weasley-Potter family reunion like any other.
It started out as any other Weasley-Potter family reunion: cheerful and slightly chaotic. One would think nothing particularly tragic would happen; the weather was practically perfect, the bright blue sky littered with a few puffy clouds and the sun spreading warmth throughout the orchard where the family was gathered. Of course, when the Weasley-Potter children are involved, unpredictable things tend to happen.
Molly Weasley smiled to herself as she allowed herself a moment of rest and paused for a moment in the back doorway leading to the orchard. In her arms she held a heaping plate of treacle tarts and lemon squares for the children (and the adults) to snack on. For a second she watched the scene before her. Her husband, son, Percy, and his wife, Audrey, were sitting at one end of the table in animate discussion and at the other end sat Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione. Lily Luna and Hugo were running up to their parents to show them an interesting creature they had found. Dominique was trying to coax her cousin Molly away from the novel she was reading while Albus, Rose, and Scorpius (invited by Rose and Albus) played a game of exploding snap in the middle of the orchard. The rest of the family was in the side yard engaged in a Quidditch match (she hoped. She shuddered to think what would happen if James and Freddie were without something to do. Honestly, the two were as bad as F-f-fred and George). She was interrupted by someone bumping into her.
"Sorry, Grandmum," said Roxanne. "We're taking a break because Teddy's team needs time to 'plan their strategy.' Honestly, why can't he just admit he lost?"
"Because, little sis," came a voice from behind Roxanne. Freddie had snuck up from behind her. "No one ever admits they lost while the game is still going on and there's at least a 5% chance that they might win. You never know, Victoire might catch the snitch. Ooh, treacle tart." He grabbed one off of the plate.
"This was going on the table outside if you want any more. There's more food in the kitchen if you'd like, and some drinks too. All that Quidditch must make you tired."
"Thanks, Grandmum," said Roxanne and Freddie in unison as she hurried out to the table where Mr. Weasley, Percy, and Audrey were seated.
"Victoire couldn't catch the snitch if she tried. She's more of the keeper type," said Roxanne, continuing the conversation. "Remind me, why is she playing seeker again?"
"Because Teddy is the captain and she batted her eyelashes at him begged him to with that tone in her voice. 'Oh, Teddy, can I be seeker just this once?" mimicked Freddie. "Oh, Teddy, did I ever tell you how your blue hair shines in the sunlight? Did I ever mention how utterly perfect you are?"
Roxanne snickered. "Better keep your voice down. Vic would skin you alive if she heard you talking like that."
"Well, she won't. She's still out in the yard with everyone else and I'm done playing Quidditch for the day. I just came in here to get something to eat, and now I'm off to find James. There's something we want to do."
"And what would that be?" Roxanne was suspicious. She knew that if her brother refused to play Quidditch, he was either seriously ill or up to no good.
"I solemnly swear that we will not cause bodily harm to you or anyone else, Roxie." Roxanne gave a small start and she turned her head to see James' trademark grin. Why did people keep sneaking up on her?
"An oath from you two idiots means next to nothing in my book," she said. "And you said nothing about emotional harm. I remember one of your pranks scarred me for a couple weeks. The sight of Nott in fishnets is still fresh in my mind."
"We're not planning anything that horrifying," Freddie promised.
"Yeah, last time we were here, we found a secret staircase we think leads to the attic. We're just going to see what's up there," James added.
"If we see anything of interest, we'll give 'ya a holler, little sis." Roxanne frowned at both of them.
"You two can explore later. If I go back alone and they notice you're missing, they'll send out a search party. We all know what happens when we leave you two alone. We can all go up together after dinner when the adults are busy with their discussions. I know Louis and Lucy would love to see what's up there. Molly and Rose, too. They have weird fetishes for antiques. And you know how much Teddy loves family history."
James and Freddie considered what Roxanne said. With a glance at each other, James spoke. Deal, Roxie. You know you couldn't win without me on your team, anyways."
"Whatever you say, Potter," said Roxanne.
"You're going down Potter, sis," Freddie said. "The game should be starting back up soon." The three made their way back to where their uncles, aunts, and cousins were waiting.
Dominique was trying to get her best friend, Molly, to put down her book and join her in watching Quidditch. "As soon as I finish this chapter, Dominique," she said. "It just became rather interesting. I wouldn't want to spoil the story for you, but seeing as you'll probably never read it, I just reached the part where the main character is about to be forced to burn down his own house."
"What's the book called?" asked Dominique with mild interest.
"Fahrenheit 451. It's a muggle book about a society in which books are outlawed and people sit around all day watching the telly." Dominique nodded in understanding, having been to Molly's house enough times to know what a telly was.
"So, why're books outlawed?"
"Well, it originally started because some books were too controversial. Of course, as the world's population grew, so did the number of minorities and so some books were considered offensive to others. The media became watered down and people wanted things flashier and books and other media were written to accommodate that. Firemen, those are the people who burn the books, came about to burn the offensive material and be the official prosecutors and keep everything 'equal.' That's essentially one of the major themes of the novel. Is it better to be given freedom of speech in what you say and write? Or is censorship necessary to protect people?"
Dominique let out an exaggerated yawn. "And the shortened version of that would be?" she asked innocently. Molly occasionally spiraled into lengthy rants, typically about the book of the week, a subject she could be very passionate about.
"People hated controversy," replied Molly, a slight smile on her face.
"Well, you know what I hate? Just sitting around reading on a day such as this. It's the Weasley-Potter family reunion, Molly! Get off your arse and socialize, already! We can watch the Quidditch match with almost everyone else, we can eat, or we can talk to people like your dad over there." She pointed to where Percy was sitting with Audrey and Mr. Weasley. "Doesn't he and your mom like ancient Muggle literature, too?"
Molly looked slightly offended. "This book isn't that old. The copyright is 1953, so yes, it is around seventy years old, but in comparison to some other books, it's rather new."
"Listen, Missy, I am a certified hit-witch now and I should write you up for being so anti-social. You can finish your book later." She pulled Molly to her feet and the two young women headed over to the plate of treacle tarts and lemon squares.
Hugo Weasley sat next to Lily Potter on the little dock overlooking the small lake, both soaking their feet and watching the brightly colored fish swim by. They sat in silence for a few minutes, both absorbed in their own thoughts. Hugo was thinking strategy. He was planning on racing Lily back to the house and was running through all the possible ways he could beat his slightly younger but also slightly faster cousin back to the Burrow. He glanced over his shoulder, examining all the possible routes he could take. He knew that the shortest distance between any two points is a straight line, but the straightest path was also covered with plenty of rocks to trip over.
While Hugo mulled that over, Lily was looking at the small frog in her hands. She had showed it to her parents, uncle, and aunt, but they seemed uninterested in the creature. Lily loved practically all animals, big and small, and her new favorite class was Care of Magical Creatures. Hagrid always showed such interesting creatures during class and sometimes she, Hugo, and Joey Wood, another one of her friends, stayed after class so they could see more fascinating creatures. The frog looked at her and blinked with its overly-large eyes. "I think we should call him Lightning," she said, breaking the silence. "I mean, he looks like a 'Lightning,' doesn't he, Hugo?"
"What?" said Hugo, bringing his attention back to her. "I mean, sure, but what makes you think it's a boy?"
"I don't know; he just looks like one. Think Dad'll let me keep him?"
"I dunno, you already have Hera," Hugo responded. Hera was Lily's eastern screech owl. "You think Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny will remember to feed him? Remember what happened to that mouse you found? You went to Hogwarts and came back to find his rotting carcass in his cage. I don't even want to imagine what dead frog smells like."
Lily sighed. "You're right." She set "Lightning" down on the pier, where he immediately jumped off and splashed into the water. "Bye, Lightning. Guess I'll never own more than a screech owl."
"Cheer up, Lily. There's always's Hagrid's pets."
"Yeah, but I can't sneak a hippogriff up to my dormitory and feed it. And I don't care much for flobberworms anyways," said Lily.
"Oh well," said Hugo. He kicked his foot in the water, splashing everything within a five-foot radius. "Wanna race me back to the Burrow? We could annoy Rose, Al, and Scorpion."
Lily's face lit up. "Sure, nothing better than annoying one of my brothers. They're playing exploding snap or something, remember? I have no idea where James is anyways. Probably off playing Quidditch or pulling a prank on Rose, Roxanne, or Dominique or using Uncle George's products. I just hope Rose and Scorpion aren't snogging or anything. From the look in their eyes, I can tell they want to."
"Nah, they wouldn't do that in front of Al. Besides, I don't think they even realize how they feel about each other, even being the brilliant Ravenclaws they are," said Hugo.
"I doubt Albus even knows they like each other. They could be snogging in front of him, I doubt he'd notice. So, winner gets the loser's dessert? You're on, Gryffie."
"You're about to lose, 'Puff." They got to their feet and counted down.
"Three, two, one, GO!" They shouted in unison and began to sprint. Lily ran in a straight line, but her speed was slowed somewhat as she made sure not to trip over any rocks. Hugo ran around the rocky areas at full speed. When each of them reached the orchard they were out of breath. Hugo won.
Having at least a small Quidditch match was practically mandatory at all Weasley-Potter reunions. Luckily, the family was large enough to form two complete teams, even with the adults sitting on the sidelines. When the kids were younger, the game was played solely for the enjoyment of playing, but as the children blossomed so did their desire for competition. No matter what, there was always something memorable about each game, such as the year Teddy suggested a kids against the adults match and the kids won (the adults would later say they were going easy on the kids) or the following year in which the snitch traveled outside the Burrow's grounds and George and Bill had to retrieve it before any muggles asked why a golden ball with wings was flying around Ottery St. Catchpole.
The most memorable thing anyone could say about this year's game was that the team captained by Teddy was losing spectacularly, but he refused to admit defeat. "You sure you don't want me to play seeker, Vic?" he asked as he caught a glimpse of a golden flicker a few feet away.
Victoire was scanning the air determinately for the snitch. "I'm sure Teddy," she said in exasperation. "It's almost like you don't believe I can catch it. I know it's my first try as seeker, but like Dad says, 'you never know unless you try.'"
"You tell him, sweetheart!" shouted a voice from below. Victoire tried not to roll her eyes at her father's comment.
"Victoire's right, Teddy," said James, zooming up to the both of them on his Nimbus 3000. "You never know until you fail. Don't worry, Vic. Lucy'll catch the snitch soon enough and put you both out of your misery."
"Shut it, Potter," Teddy and Victoire said in unison.
"Hey, James!" shouted Angelina, who was being chased by the other chaser from Teddy's team, Freddie. With so many people who didn't want to play, each team had one seeker, two chasers, one keeper, and a beater. Louis hit a bludger in Freddie's direction, but it was deflected by George.
"You shouldn't try to hit a man's son in front of him," he said, smiling. Meanwhile, Angelina threw the quaffle to James, but with James distracted, Teddy caught the ball with ease and flew to the other side of the yard, where Roxanne was waiting, tensed and ready to defend her hoops.
Everybody chased after Teddy except Victoire, who was muttering curses under her breath. "Of course I can catch it," she muttered. "Why does every single bloody person think I can't catch it?"
"Are you doing all right zere, Victoire?" shouted Fleur, who was guarding the other goal. She had recently learned how to play Quidditch and found it "charmate." She learned that her best position was keeper, though even then she was a beginner.
"I'm all right, Mum!" Victoire shouted back. Focus, Vic, she thought. She looked around and saw Lucy, who right now was the embodiment of focus. Her hazel eyes narrowed as they scanned the yard for any sign of the elusive snitch. As soon as she caught sight of even the faintest flicker of gold, she would lean forward on her battered racing broom and take off, brown hair trailing behind her. Victoire realized that now was one of those times. Lucy was reaching in midair, arm outstretched. Victoire sped after her, willing the broom to go faster than ever. She was reaching… reaching….
Down below, Bill watched the game with Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Ginny, who had come to see how the game was going. "How's it going, Bill?" asked Ron. "From the looks of it, I'd say your daughter's just about to kill Harry's son."
"He probably deserves it," added Ginny. "The look on his face… it's the same look F-Fred and George had when they were his age."
"Now Ginny," said Harry. "Fred and George weren't quite that bad." He put an arm around his wife.
"You didn't have to grow up with them," Ginny replied.
"Ginny's right, Harry," said Bill. "And Ron, James' team is winning 100 to 30. Not even close. Much as I hate to say it, there's no way in hell my daughter and Fleur's team is going to win. I'm surprised Lucy hasn't caught the snitch yet."
"Doesn't catching the snitch give the team an extra 150 points?" inquired Hermione as Teddy caught the quaffle and soared to the other end of the yard.
"Yes, but this is Victoire's first time playing," explained Bill. "Maybe if she had more practice, but I can't see her beating Lucy. Remember when she made seeker and Percy boasted about it for over a week?"
Ron let out a cough that sounded distinctly like 'prat' and Hermione slapped him lightly on his arm. "I don't see the point of the other players, then. If the snitch gives a team 150 points when they only have zero, if the other side has 140 points and the other seeker catches it, that team lost."
"I agree with you, Hermione. The seeker really is the most important position on the Quidditch field," said Harry, who was subsequently slapped playfully by Ginny.
Ron stood slack-jawed, and then he spoke. "Unimportant, Hermione!? Unimportant?! Remember the World Cup? Ireland won, but Krum got the snitch!"
"That was a rare occurrence, Ron," said Hermione. "I meant usually the other players have no effect on a game."
Ron opened his mouth to speak, but Bill said, "Oi! Stop arguing and look! I think Lucy spotted the snitch!" Sure enough, Lucy Weasley had indeed spotted the snitch. She raced after it, arm outstretched. Victoire had noticed what she was doing, but it was too late. As Victoire reached out for the golden ball her head was turned away from it as though she was afraid to catch it.
Lucy caught the golden snitch and held it above her head in triumph. "Oi, everyone! I got the snitch!" Her team cheered as they descended to the ground. The losers followed, their shoulders slumped slightly. Victoire had the saddest expression of them all until Teddy twirled her in the air and kissed her. She pulled him down and they fell into the grass, laughing.
Roxanne, Lucy, and Louis handed the quaffle, snitch, and bludger to Bill, who placed them in a box by his feet. James high-fived Ginny and Harry and Fleur ran up to Bill. The family made their way back to the front of the house, Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione leading the way, James and Freddie with slightly mischievious grins on their faces, Roxanne and Louis engaged in conversation, Teddy and Victoire holding hands, and Lucy trailing behind with Bill, trying to keep the smug grin off her face.
While the Quidditch match was going on, Albus, Rose, and Scorpius sat in the grass, chatting. Rose had won the game of exploding snap, although all three friends were missing portions of their eyebrows. "My grandparents came over last weekend," Scorpius said. Rose and Albus exchanged a look. They knew how much he loathed his grandfather.
"Don't let him bother you, Scorp," Albus said.
Scorpius raised an eyebrow at that. "Oh, I didn't. He said, 'Little Scorpius, you're not still hanging around with the Potter copy and the blood traitor b–ch are you? I must speak to Draco about the people he lets his son hang around with.'" Despite the insults to them, Rose and Albus laughed at Scorpius' imitation of Lucius Malfoy's drawl. "I replied, 'of course I am, Grandfather, or would you prefer it if I hung around the children of Death Eaters, leading to more whispers about our family's true loyalty? Besides, Rose and I plan to settle down someday and live with the muggles, teaching our children muggle customs…'"
"You told them we were in a relationship?" hissed Rose, a light blush rising to her cheeks. "We aren't. And if that sort of remark got back to my dad, he'd skin you alive!"
"Relax, Rose, I doubt he'd tell anyone what I've said. I could have said I planned to marry Albus here – " Albus made a face "– but I don't think he'd believe it if I said I was a poof."
Rose's face was growing redder and Albus laughed. "So back to the story. Did your grandfather castrate you?"
"He looked like he wanted to, but Grandmum stepped in and saved me. She gave me a big hug and said, 'Scorpius, how are you?' Grandfather didn't speak to me for the rest of the evening, though."
"Blimey, Scorp, you are going to get yourself castrated someday. Or disowned," observed Rose.
"I'm planning on it, Rosie. Then we can settle down in a little cottage by some muggles and…"
Rose had pulled out her wand. "One more word, Malfoy, and I'll castrate you before your grandfather even gets a chance."
"Now, now, Rosie," teased Scorpius. We wouldn't want to get in trouble for use of underage sorcery, now would we?"
"Stupid wizarding law," grumbled Rose. "There are other ways to torture you."
"You can always talk to Uncle George," said Albus. "He'd be thrilled to give you something from his shop if it meant harming a Malfoy."
"Who's planning to hurt Scorpion?" asked Hugo who was standing behind Rose. He sounded a little winded. Beside him stood Lily, who was craning over Albus' head like a bird.
"Bugger off, little bro," mumbled Rose.
"Rose was planning to harm Scorpius," answered Albus. "He said something to his grandfather about them dating."
"So they finally are dating, then?" said Lily. "About time, too, I was sick of seeing Scorpion and Rose making eyes at each other when they think no one's looking. Believe me, they are looking. And they are very disturbed."
"We are not dating!" shouted Rose and Scorpius, though Rose's voice was louder.
"Honestly," said Rose. "You are such idiots, the lot of you. Except you, Al."
"I can't be too stupid if I'm in Ravenclaw," replied Scorpius. "And I'm becoming a bit suspicious of you, Rosie. They say that the more someone denies their feelings, the more they're lying."
"You were almost as loud as me, you prat!" Scorpius had no response to that.
At that moment, the people who were playing Quidditch returned and Mrs. Weasley stuck her head outside of the doorway. "Is everyone ready for dinner?" she asked. No one really noticed except Louis, but Roxanne, James, and Freddie shared a look.
AN: Was it good? The most awful thing you have ever read? Reviews help me improve :)