Personal Author's Note: Hello everyone! I'd like to let everyone know that I'm having a really (and I mean seriously) bad time coming up with a decent plot development in the Harry Potter fandom. Though, honestly, it includes even the Avengers fandom. I've been writing in bits and pieces and I'm not able to tell which way my story would even lean towards, and it makes me miserable. On top of this, my health and RL issues in the past few months leading up to now have fatigued me to the point that I can't really see myself writing as much as I used to.

With that said, I probably will continue writing for the QL finals, but I will be trying my best to write a massive amount out of my own free will (rather than using challenges) and upload them when I'm comfortable with returning to my post as a proud writer. Yes, it might seem like the easy way out, and I'm really sorry but I'd rather you read something that you'll enjoy than to read something that I've barely put an effort into.

Thank you all for being such dedicated readers, and I hope that I am able to bring smiles upon your faces once more in the near future!

Author's Note: I would like to dedicate this to Cel. You've been a wonderful friend and a greater sister, and I can't help but thank the Gods every single day for having such a lovely little sister in you :) I hope you're not disappointed by this, but if you are, let's talk about ways to improve it, yeah? (By the way, look at the numbers of the time jumps ;P)

I had to use the time travel idea used in The Time Traveller's Wife, a story that I have neither read nor watched, so forgive me for any misconceptions. The other additions (as in her sensory reactions and her aversion to the smell of nail polish) are my own personal embellishments to be more descriptive, and I actually am quite proud of the way it turned out.

On the other hand, I'd like to warn for slight mentions of nudity and character death. The terms "Amma" and "Appa" are the equivalent of "Mother" and "Father" in most of the Indian subcontinent, so I used that here as well. The first interaction takes place right after Theo's mother dies, the second interaction takes place during the battle of Hogwarts, and the third when they are both in Hogwarts. It IS out of order, so please keep that in mind.

Please read and review if you have anything to say!

Title/Link: Finding Home

Team: Kenmare Kestrels

Position: Beater 2

Extension Used: Yes

Season 6, Finals, Round 1: The Time Traveller's Wife — Audrey Niggenegger

Optional Prompts: (emotion) gratitude, (dialogue) "What, have you changed your mind now?", (object) Nail Varnish/Polish, (song) Alone Sometimes — The Mowgli's, (quote) 'It's time to say goodbye, but I think goodbyes are sad and I'd much rather say hello. Hello to a new adventure.' — Ernie Harwell

Finding Home by ValkyrieAce

It always starts with the smell of nail polish.

The nauseatingly pungent smell of the bright neon green nail polish that you had sneaked out of your mother's vanity table overwhelms you. It tickles your nose with every inhale, and you can almost taste a sliver of the thick, viscous liquid as the stench trickles down your throat, lingering in your lungs unpleasantly.

When it first started, you and your twin sister were ecstatic to have the opportunity to indulge in some of the more fashionable trends of the era. You'd only gotten to four of her fingers before the smell of it overtook you.

Not even a second sooner, the happiness in your sister's eyes fade into a panicked combination of fear and worry. Her hands reach out to grab your surprisingly translucent ones, and you can barely feel the touch; only an iciness runs through you. You see her mouth move rapidly as if she's speaking, but all you hear is a shrill pitch. You notice your vision starting to fade slowly, creeping upon your iris as the edges fill with moving shadows creased with a blue shimmer.

"What's happening?!" You call out loudly.

The last thing you see is your parents entering your bedroom, and the scene of your mother crumpling to the floor in tatters, tears falling over her cheeks hotly as she tries to hug you to her… The utter sadness in your mother's expression would forever haunt your dreams.

And then there was a loud pop.

It took ninety-eight time jumps since then for you to feel the same joy as you did with Parvati.

Time Jump #1

You awoke to your senses tingling, heightened by your body's attempt to recover.

"Amma? Appa?" You ask shakily, desperate to hear their voices.

It was dark outside, but you could hear the birds begin to wake up, chirping along to the sounds of nature. You could smell the trunk of the tree behind you, and the breeze carried with it an unmistakable scent of the rain and grass. You were laying on something that was damp and itchy, and your skin began to feel the irritation set in; it was in this moment that you realise you weren't clothed at all.

You know now that you aren't home.

Shoving the embarrassment of your immodest state aside, you pushed off from the arch of the tree and began to run in a random direction. you ran and ran, hoping –praying, really– that it would lead you back, to the safety of your parents and the loving embrace of your family. You ignored the sharp pains that spread through your sides, choosing instead to grasp onto the joy on your sister's face.

You could have been running through the forest for hours on adrenaline, or it could have been mere seconds. But the sun was up and the breeze was warmer and it barely mattered. All you needed was to go home.

And it was what you would have done too, had you not collided with another form. The collapse wasn't elegant in the slightest, and you couldn't help but feel exhausted as you lay sprawled against the cool grass, the adrenaline leaving your veins as fast as a bucket of ice-cold water would wake you.

The form next to you stands with their back facing you, and you realise then that you're completely naked in front of a boy. You shriek and attempt to cover yourself, and the boy jumps in shock before he begins to turn.

"Don't turn around!" You yell indignantly.

"Why?" he asks. You can hear in his tone of voice that he hasn't noticed your state yet, and you sigh in relief.

"I… I haven't gotten any clothes on..." You mumble, looking away in shame and holding back tears of mortification. Then, he asks a peculiar thing:

"Tell me your name."

And so you do. Without another word, he quickly walks toward the sound of your voice and drops the jacket he'd been wearing on your head. Your voice dwindles into silence and you put the jacket on hurriedly, the panic and embarrassment easing into a softer sense of thankfulness.

"Thank you, err… and you are?" You ask calmly, trying not to be rude or offensive to the boy who had helped.

He turns around and your eyes widen. You notice his eyes first; bloodshot and puffy, as though he had been crying too. You also notice the deep blue of his eyes and the chestnut brown of his hair, and you think he's gorgeous. Most of all, though, you think he looks really sad and it makes you want to console him somehow.

"My name is Theodore Nott."

He smiles softly, just as his eyes radiate pain and sadness. Against the light of the sun, he looks angelic and it takes your breath away. So much so that you don't smell the telltale stench of nail polish.

"It's very nice to meet you, Padma."

Time Jump #9

There was nothing in the world that was scarier than jumping straight into the midst of war. And that's just what you'd managed to do.

There are both children and men in masks, fighting each other in a battle of magical prowess. Spells of all colours flash past you, some reflecting back to harm some other unsuspecting victim and others being absorbed into the foundation of the gigantic castle in front of you. The castle was already a quarter way into being demolished entirely, and its pain evoked a sense of despair in you. But you remember your resolve.

You have to find a way home.

You dodge as many of the spells as you can on your way to the castle, your lithe body moving in a near fatal dance, but an errant spell catches your shoulder, and you are flung backwards into a pile of rubble.

You get up and crawl behind a large slab of concrete to recover from the drain in adrenaline. Once there, though, you notice a fallen soldier; a girl with blood marring what was once a beautiful face, her skin pale and her body unmoving, and you know her to be dead.

You want to weep in the unfairness, for the world in which a fellow human justifies killing their kind.

You crawl towards her and close her lifeless eyes, sending a prayer to God for her safe passage to Heaven. In the midst of your prayer, however, you are brought back into reality as a spell shoots your way. You gather all your energy just to stand and face your enemy, but you launch yourself at him, disregarding every instinct in your body that told you to flee.

You know that Theo will show up some time soon, as he had for the last eight jumps. And she isn't shocked when he does, though he only appears after he had petrified the lone masked man.

He turns to you and smiles, and it takes you in awe. The way he uses his smile to save others was a power unparalleled by no one else, and you blink back tears as you return the smile shakily.

He walks towards you, possibly to greet you, but most probably to get you to safety, when the scent of nail polish returns. Theo's eyes widening only confirms your state. You run toward him as your senses begin to fade out of existence,

You see the spell coming for him off the corner of your eye and yell out a warning, before your senses shut down with a loud pop.

It was then that you realised you had fallen in love with Theodore Nott.

Time Jump #28

Wherever you were, you were sure it would be the weirdest jump yet.

When you landed, if that was even the correct term to use, you were stark naked in a kitchen. And where there were kitchens in the magical world, there were elves. This you knew from your parents, who had made it their mission to instill the benefits of both the magical and the Muggle world into their children.

After being given clothes, she wandered through the hallways. It was gigantic, but felt familiar. The beauty of the castle was in the architecture and the ambience. You could feel the innately sentient magic of Lady Hogwarts working in each and every nook and cranny. In no time, your feet had taken you to a pair of large doors.

You could hear students laughing and chatting, the undertone of a satisfied hum running through the castle passionately. You turned to leave, unable to bear the idea of putting a stop to the laughter after seeing the fate of the castle itself.

A few steps out of the immediate vicinity of the doors, you stop as a familiar voice enters your field of hearing, the sound of his laughter echoing through the halls. You jump behind an alcove and sink to your knees, your heart thumping loudly at the idea of seeing him. You ache to go after him, but you see that he is safe and he is happy.

And that's really all you need to know as you find your way home.

You don't hear the footsteps get louder, or the laughter quiet to a dull roar of the excitement behind the doors.

"What, have you changed your mind now?" he asks, and you jump as you turn to him.

"I thought friends greeted other friends when they meet after a particularly long time," he continues, his smile cheeky. It makes your cheeks redden and your eyes shift guiltily.

"I haven't changed my mind, no… I'm still looking to go home..." You mutter, and you watch as Theo's eyes darken before you are pulled comfortably against him.

"Padma, you'll always have a home with me," he whispers gently, his arms tightening around her.

And as he hugs you, you feel the dam of grief and pain break as the tears you've held back pour down your face in ugly, messy drops. Theo holds you and rubs your back as you recover, and the two of you talk behind that alcove until late into the night.

You'd only just fallen asleep against each other when you whisked out in a bright shimmer of blue.

You travel through time, with no control of when you jump or where. Yet, the all the jumps converged with one constant. Theodore Nott.

You approached him time and time again, gotten married, and lived a life filled with blank spaces and looked for a way home together. It was difficult and often frustrating, but you'd both survived. And when Death came for his last breath, Theo gave it without regret and you with gratitude for Death having personally chaperoned your clumsy husband to the gates of Heaven.

There were times, you knew, when it was okay to be alone. The time to cherish the memories of your loved ones are one of them.

Though it wasn't as it began, you did find your home with Theo.

And isn't that all you really wanted?

Fin

Word Count: 1,854

Additional Prompts:

The Golden Snitch - Through the Universe - (character) 118. Oblateness — Lavender Brown

The Golden Snitch - Ollivander's Wand Shop - 12-13 inch: Write about a Ravenclaw character.