Hogwarts, May 2nd
Professor Neville Longbottom stood at the podium with a solemn face, watching the students file into the Great Hall. It was the Second Wizarding War Memorial Day. When the entire hall got quiet, the headmaster took a deep breath and, in a mellow tone, spoke, "As all of you know, this day is marked in history as a victory for those who opposed Lord…Voldemort's regime. That is not to say that it was a victory in all ways. We lost so many in such little time, and thus today, like every year since the year after the Battle of Hogwarts, we shall… take a moment of silence to remember those who died for the Second Wizarding War. Especially that of one of our greatest headmasters, Professor Severus Snape." There were gasps in the audience, hearing the supposed Death Eater's name, but Albus Severus Potter was unfazed. Every speech since the first one he heard three years ago included Snape's name. He was at first confused by the proceedings because even though Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived was his father, he didn't say much about the war because he didn't want to.
Severus Snape… The name always plagued his thoughts in these speeches. The name that was attached to his very own name. Around the Slytherin table, Albus didn't hear much, but the other houses kept muttering 'murderer' and 'dark wizard.' So, why did Professor Longbottom, someone who fought against dark wizards, hold the name in such high esteem? Why did his father name him after this man? It's as if the history from less than twenty years ago was lost…
After a moment of silence, everyone continued with their quiet breakfast and shuffled out of the Great Hall to start their Saturday activities. The students went outside to enjoy the fresh air, but Albus was never an outdoorsy person to begin with, so he left his classmates to recede into the common room.
Even as a fourth year, he felt like he didn't fit in with the others. The Slytherins were far too critical and judgmental of their peers that Albus feared talking to them, and the other houses' members stereotyped him too much for him to spend any effort to change their minds, even if his father was famous. At least he could depend somewhat on Scorpius, but they were steadily growing apart as Albus was more interested in academics than Quidditch.
He just wished there was someone like him, an outsider. Everyone was either trying to be his friend because of his dad, or they had vastly different opinions about the world than him.
It was time to take action, he thought. I am going to go to the courtyard and try to find some new friends. Fourth year isn't too late to make friends, right? He was walking with those thoughts in his head and was too distracted to see a clumsy Hufflepuff walking down the corridor with vial of an odd colored potion. Albus bumped into his hand and the vial tipped over his robes. It distracted him, and he turned to say sorry, but in a futile attempt because the boy had disappeared in a thick fog. Albus fell unconscious onto the floor as an ominous, black cloud covered his entire vision.
Slowly waking up, Albus heard shuffling around the foot of his… bed? The last thing he remembered was collapsing to the floor of the Entrance Hall. He slowly opened his eyes to see a blurry image of the hospital wing. He tried to sit up, but pain shot through him so violently that he was forced to lie back down.
"Don't try to get up yet, dear. A right nasty fall you had," a young woman said. He didn't recognize her, but she was wearing the same robes as Madame Longbottom.
"Do I know you?" Albus asked, furrowing his eyebrows.
"A concussion too…" the woman whispered, shaking her head. "My dear, I am the Matron of the school. You're in the hospital wing."
Albus rolled his eyes. "Of course I know I'm in the hospital wing. I'm not daft. It's just, I've never seen you before. It's always been Madame Longbottom."
"… No Longbottom has ever served as Matron of Hogwarts. I am going to get Professor Dumbledore. You stay put." With that, the young woman ran out of the hospital wing. Professor Dumbledore? He's been dead for more than twenty years. Am I losing my mind? Albus asked himself this question only once and that was when he was hit by a bludger in a Quidditch game by a Slytherin beater. The buffoon hit it towards the stands…
Albus stayed put, as it was the smartest option. A couple of minutes later, the Matron came back with an elderly wizard. His robes were a rather bright shade of purple with star patterns. Usually, Professor Longbottom wore a shirt and trousers.
Well shite, he's alive. Does that mean I'm…time travelling? If that's the case, I cannot reveal my identity lest I rupture the space-time continuum, Albus thought.
"Hello, Mister…"
"My name is Jeremy Reeves," Albus said, trying to keep his voice steady with the lie.
"Mister Reeves… It has come to my attention that you do not know Madame Pomfrey, while all of the students at Hogwarts know the Matron very well, unfortunately." At the statement, the Matron frowned but said nothing.
"Look, I don't attend Hogwarts. Well… I am now, as you can see by my robes. I think I accidentally got issued Slytherin robes instead of plain ones. Uh… I've never seen Madame Pomfrey work here before because I just got here. And, um…" Albus's tone was uneven.
"Mister Reeves, I know you are not telling me the truth. It is okay to reveal yourself to me. I will not harm you." Dumbledore looked at Albus warmly.
Knowing that his lying skills were horrible, Albus decided that it would be in his best interest to tell Professor Dumbledore the truth. "My name is Albus Severus Potter. I am from the year 2022. Currently, I am a fourth year Slytherin at Hogwarts. My father is Harry Potter, and my mother is Ginny Weasley." Madame Pomfrey looked at him with wide eyes. What year was he in? Is he going to see his father while at school?
"You have travelled back in time it seems. The current year in this dimension is 1974." Dumbledore now had a curious look in his eyes, making Albus feel rather uneasy.
"1974… That means my father hasn't been born yet."
"Yes, but your grandfather and grandmother are attending the school. In their fourth year as well. I would advise you to devise a better fake identity and try to distance yourself from your grandparents. It doesn't appear that you need a glamour because oddly, you do not look like either one of your family members."
"Sir, that's good and all, but I want to go back to my time."
"I am afraid I do not know a way to send you back."
