As was Hogwarts tradition, its headmaster, sorry, headmistress, Professor Minerva McGonagall was looking up the names and addresses of the new Hogwarts students.
This list included names of the world's luckiest and most talented witches and wizards names. Professor McGonagall was kept company by the portraits of the previous headmasters and headmistresses, one of them being our favourite professor, Professor Dumbledore.
"Ah! James Potter is going to be starting Hogwarts this year. I hope he is going to be as successful as his father was in school." Prof. McGonagall exclaimed
"Yes, he is starting this year but something tells me that this boy is more like his grandfather than his father" Prof. Dumbledore replied
"Oh no! I am not sure that this school can last through another era of the marauders or the Weasley twins. Their pranks and utter lack of respect is, I sincerely hope, NOT passed in a hereditary manner"
"I rather enjoyed their pranks, always fresh, never a bore. Merlin knows our castle needs livening up! It has been so dismal for so many years. We could always count on the marauders to liven things up!"
"You mean, twenty years?"
The portrait of the previous Headmaster sported a sheepish expression as it shrugged, adding lightly, "You know I was never that great with the count of years, Minerva. Why bother calculating something over which we have no control whatsoever?"
On his reply, Professor McGonagall could barely stop herself from rolling her eyes; it was only the immense respect that she held for the professor that stopped it. However, she did make her disagreement clear, by turning towards the portrait in question and raising one single eyebrow in an expression of disbelief.
Giving another shrug under Professor McGonagall's stern look, Dumbledore decided it was time to change the conversation. It was not his fault; it could be a massively boring job to be a portrait with limited places to visit, and even less limited people to talk to, not your average afterlife sign up. Surveying the 'sleeping' portraits of the other headmasters and headmistresses, he noticed a certain 'headmaster' missing from his portrait.
"Minerva, do you know where Severus is?"
"Somewhere about, I should think so. You knew him better than me. Probably better than anyone." She replied without turning around, pausing only to wave her quill in a vague gesture.
These sort of conversations happened smoothly until Professor McGonagall read a certain name.
"JAMES SIRIUS POTTER YOU COME DOWN AT ONCE! WE NEED TO TALK!" The voice of Ginny Potter, usually in such exasperated tones was the one to wake up the Potter family.
The above mentioned boy was sleeping soundly in his room. Anyone who saw him and his father together could tell that James was indeed his father's son, if only he could be like his father in more than just looks. Ah! The peace that could prevail in the Potter mansion but that's for another time. As I said the mentioned boy was sleeping peacefully but not for long. Hearing his mother's voice, the boy, James, sat up straight in his bed.
"Oh no!" he whispered hoarsely.
"Mum, I can explain."
"Oh yes start, then start now" Ginny Potter had certainly inherited her mothers temper and believe me being on the receiving end of it was not a very pleasant experience.
"How will you explain the purpose of a bucket full of ice cold water hanging in front of your younger sister's bedroom door? How?" The angry woman asked her son.
James checked the time in the wall clock and simply said "For this."
Just as he said these words his younger sister, Lily's, room's door opened and the bucket of water fell on her. Seeing her expression James fell to the floor in peals of laughter.
"MOTHER!" Lily's ear splitting shriek caused many of the house occupants to wake up. Mainly Harry potter and Albus Potter. They both poked their heads out saw the reason for the commotion and went back to sleep, though not before thanking God that they were not the unlucky target of James pranks.
Ginny Potter surveyed the scene before her and let out an exasperated sigh. This boy is so much trouble without his magic; I pity the students of Hogwarts who will have to face him with it!
In another place, not so far away, after a few hours, another prankster was on her way to get started on a prank. This one, quite obviously, was a girl who looked like she was around ten and in fact, was looking for something very hard, though she could not find it.
She seemed to be searching for some sort of a string, seeing as that happened to be the only item she picked up, inspected, discarded, and then repeated the process with another.
"I am in a janitor's closet! A janitor's closet for crying out loud! And all there is in here is mops and brooms! I mean, who uses brooms anyways? Which century is our school from anyways? And overall, there is no string? How does a school function without string? How? I mean-!" The indignant muttering of the girl was cut short by the shrill ringing of the bell.
Pushing her hair out of her eyes, the girl got up and dusted herself, deciding to leave her search for another time. Fate had other plans, because as soon as she turned to exit, the girl tripped and landed flat upon the floor. Sneezing because of the cloud of dust that rose around her, the girl got up and looked around her, her eyes searching for the cursed object that caused her to trip. Her eyes soon brightened as she finally located the object. A thin, transparent string, just the thing she was looking for.
What she failed to notice was, that just the place where the string she needed was resting, previously there was a coarse brown string, the sort people use to tie packages.
"Grounded for a week with house chores! Can you believe it? And just because I dropped a bucket of water on Lily's air filled head! Does that even count for groundation? Of course not! Its just water! It was not going to kill her! What would you have done if you had a sister like her?" An outraged James was describing the play-by-play account about what happened earlier in the day, to his best friend Nick, through floo powder. James, noting that Nick had not said anything during their 'conversation', waited for him to answer so he could continue
Nick, noticing the sudden silence from James' side of the fireplace, looked up from the book he was reading to pass the time as he listened to James' rambling in the background, into James' expectant face.
"You do realize that groundation is no word?" Nick asked as he rolled his eyes.
James' eyebrows shot up in disbelief, and he asked, "Is that all you are going to say?" Seeing Nick nod, he narrowed his eyes as he muttered, "I knew I should have contacted Fred! You are absolutely no use!'
"Excuse me! I am the one who-" Fred was cut sort as he sighted someone behind James. "Oh, hello Mrs. Potter! I was just about to say bye to James, because I have to help my mother in the…the….garden! Yes, garden! Bye James!"
But James paid no attention to his friend, his attention captured by his mother, who was tapping her foot, waiting for an explanation.
"I will… just…just go and continue….my chore." He muttered feebly as he crossed his mother and went back his task of cleaning the basement.
Ginny Potter rolled her eyes and went back to cutting the vegetables for today's lunch, swearing that the boy added more grey hairs on her head than she could ever count.
"ALEXANDRIA ELIZABETH NATTER! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOUR BRAIN? ARE YOU DEMENTED?" currently Mrs Natter was staring exasperatedly at her soon to turn eleven daughter Alexandria Natter.
"Mum stop calling me Alexandria, at least at school"
"But sweetheart –"
"And sweetheart too"
"You have such a pretty name. Alexandria: the defender of men. It's just the sort of name you would like."
"It's not the meaning; it's the pronunciation I hate. It sounds so girly and is long"
"Now that we have finished your unsuccessful attempt at changing the subject "Alex grins sheepishly. "Let us come back to the matter at hand. Tell me, what you were trying to prove by tripping your maths teacher"
Earlier during the day, about 2 hours ago, Alexandria had tripped her Maths teacher. How? You ask. Simple she sits on the front row, next to the door. Across the door, she fixed a transparent, thin string (the very one she was almost put into detention as she searched for it) with its end reaching in her hand. As her maths teacher reached the door she pulled the string and behold, he fell flat on his face. Total injuries: to his pride and a broken nose. No prizes for guessing, she did end up in her principal's office.
"Mum, it was a strong political statement."
"Pray tell me on what?"
"On the fact that I hate maths and my teach sucks"
"You are grounded for 2 weeks"
"I already have detention for 2 weeks is it fair that I get grounded 2 weeks too"
"Don't argue; or I will double the punishment"
"But-"
"Don't push me!"
"Mum! My birthdays in a week!"
"Four weeks"
"No! I know for a fact that my birthday happens to be next week!"
"I meant you are grounded for four weeks." Mrs. Natter explained as she got into the car.
The rest of the way Alex didn't even look at her mother.
"But Dumbledore, she was dead"
"Open the sealed cupboard, Minerva it's explained in a letter lying there"
For a minute Prof. McGonagall stood staring at Dumbledore's portrait and for a good reason too. The "sealed" cupboard, as it was known as was a cupboard Prof. Dumbledore had stopped her from opening and naturally she didn't question his decision . After giving one weird look towards her predecessor and mentor she went and opened the cupboard. Inside it, she found a pouch full of galleons and a letter.
Dear professor (whichever headmaster/mistress of Hogwarts may be reading this),
This letter is regarding our daughter. I am not sure if you know but our daughter is thought to be dead by everyone that however isn't the case. She is very much alive (I hope) just in another time frame. I dint want my daughter to live in the world as it was. Terror was everywhere , I can only hope that she doesn't have to face whatever harry had to face in his school year. I couldn't let that happen to her so I sent her about 35 years in the future. I just hope she will not ever see the life we had to see. If you are wondering why I have sent a pouch full of coins for her, its so you can buy a pet for her, anything she likes. I have a feeling that it should be more than enough, though my...'source'...is not very reliable. I hope she lives a happy life and if she doesn't know the truth about her parents please don't tell her. I don't want the shadows of her past to mar her future, we are probably dead anyways so what good will come out of telling her? Her name, by the way is Alexandria Elizabeth Black. I trust you will find her. Thank you
Yours truly,
Erestrya Black
P.S Sirius doesn't know this, so please don't let him know about this , ever.
Prof. McGonagall closed her eyes as she remembered that year. Shortly after the supposed death of her daughter Erestrya had been killed, she remembered how Sirius was never the same after the loss of his "Queen" and "princess". How he then devoted his entire time towards Harry.
"You know what you have to do, right?" this time it was not Prof. Dumbledore's voice that broke through her thoughts. It was Phineas Nigellus Black.
"Phineas I know she is the last living Black but that doesn't mean we have to tell her the complete truth about her existence. Don't you think that knowing she isn't who she thinks she is and that she has magical powers will be too much for her that now we tell her this isn't her time also." Dumbledore asked.
"What do you think I should do? Should I meet her? Or send a letter to her guardian? Which...according to this list is Mr. and Mrs. Natter." Prof. McGonagall asked her forever guide, Prof. Dumbledore.
"You know what we do, a letter and then if that doesn't work, we send an envoy."
Yes! I Happen to finally start on the noble cause of editing! Please review and tell me if it is better now, or was it better before? See, I figured out that I rushed into the main plot too quickly. So now I hope to write a story better than the one I am editing!