A/N-Thank you so much to TRLO004 and oiche ghealai for your reviews.
Chapter 2: Elle Evans
A numbing panic reverberated through her body and all the air was sucked from her lungs.
She was faintly aware that her mouth was wide open in shock as she gaped at the long-dead wizard.
"No. ..No. ..I-I-Where? How?" Lily sputtered in confusion, sitting bolt upright and staring at the silver-haired man in unabashed shock and terror. She had the distinct feeling that she was being x-rayed as she gazed into his sparkling blue eyes.
"My dear, please breathe. We have all the time in the world." he said with a strange smile, his eyes not leaving her.
At his words, Lily closed her eyes and sank back into the pillows, trying to arrange her thoughts. Trying to silence the mental screaming of obscenities so colourful they would make her Uncle Ron blush. Her last memories were coming back to her, along with a deep abiding horror. The time-turner crashed to the ground in her mind and everything became clear. Horrifyingly clear. But she prayed against hope that a deceased wizard was not truly sitting next to her. She forced herself to open her eyes once again.
Her wish did not come true. Indeed, Albus Dumbledore was still staring at her expectantly. She opened her mouth twice before forcing out the words.
"Sir, there has been an accident. I-I shouldn't be here. Where-what…what year is this?" she spluttered, barely coherent.
A look of utmost comprehension graced the features of the silver-bearded man. He nodded to himself, arranging his face in a calm manner.
"Ah, that would explain a great deal. It is the year 1980, my dear. November the 14h at approximately ten-fifty-five at night to be exact."
Lily felt vomit rise in her throat. was stunned. This had to be a dream. At very, very horrifyingly the worst she would have expected to at least be in the 1990s…her father was born in 1980. Her mother…
"Oh my-Oh no-Oh sweet Merlin no." she said, shaking her head in her hands. The reality of the situation was being made plain by the continued presence of Albus Dumbledore.
"I see this comes as a great shock to you, my dear. A reasonable deduction is then that you should not be here. This time is not your own." the man said in a calm voice. The calmness in his voice did nothing to soothe her nerves.
"No. No, I definitely should not be here." she whispered. The Headmaster nodded and there was a silence, wherein he continued to study Lily.
"I cannot help but notice that you look extraordinarily like a former student of mine. A Miss Lily Evans, now Mrs. Potter. The eyes are different and your hair, I see, but you are undeniably related." Lily nodded, her stomach churning at the mention of her namesake "May I ask how you are related?"
"I-she-Sir, she's my grandmother."
Dumbledore looked distinctly startled. A silence settled in as both tossed the information and its implications around in their minds.
"It seems, my dear, that you are from further away than I imagined, Miss Potter. I had thought she would be your mother as you look so much like her. Except for the eyes, you have James's eyes." said Dumbledore scrutinizing her face. Lily felt her face and ears burn a flaming red as only a Weasley's could.
"Harry Potter is your father?" Dumbledore looked greatly amused at this tid bit of information, "An infant having a twenty-year-old daughter. An interesting paradox. And your mother?"
"Well, I-I don't actually think she is even born yet," Lily paused thinking, "No, no she wasn't born until August of 1981 and if this is November of 1980, she may not even be... She is a Weasley."
"A girl? The Weasleys have not had a daughter-" he seemed delighted by the very prospect.
"For six generations, yes. My mum broke that trend." she said, allowing a little smile upon her face as she though of all the males in her enormous family.
"Lovely, lovely I do believe Molly has been wanting a daughter.. Seventh generation, seventh child. It is a powerful countercharm." he said sounding interested. Silence fell between them once more as they both grappled with the information laid upon them. Dumbledore spoke first.
"Well, my dear, you seem to be in quite the pickle." he said, "Time does not allow forward travel. It is a complex system, but I am afraid that it is impossible for you to return to the future you have left. The world created in your memory is no longer in existence, this is has become a new world from the moment you appeared in it a few hours ago."
"But sir, time is a loop is it not?" Lily said calmly, trying to ignore the prickling sensation building behind her eyes, "Haven't I already been here? Haven't my actions already affected the future and lead to the state that I remember? Enderly's Third Law of Trans-"
"Ah, you are very well-versed in the theories regarding time travel, I see."
"My aunt, she, well…it's a hobby of hers I guess." she said, her face burning.
"Wonderful, perhaps that will make things easier to explain, Lily…But I'm sorry, my dear, Enderly's Law applies only to time travel within the spectrum of one month. Any form of travel beyond that is irreversible, I'm afraid."
"So…I'm…I am stuck in this time." she whispered, letting tears drop from her eyes for the first time. Dumbledore looked at her, twinkle absent, and nodded.
"I am afraid, my dear, you will need to live out your life in this time. We can only go forward at the normal pace of time." he said in a comforting voice. He dug out an extremely frilly handkerchief and handed it to her. Lily mopped her eyes and pushed down her sadness.
"So what now?" she asked, feeling hopeless "I have no home, no money, no…no family."
"First and foremost, my dear, we must keep you out of Lord Voldemort's reach and out of his-" began the Headmaster
"Lord Voldemort. Oh no, oh Merlin no." and Lily let out another string of curse words and buried her head in her hands as the full weight of exactly when she was came into her mind. Lily heard a light chuckle, and her eyes were trained back on the blue of Albus Dumbledore.
"You seem to have a strong reaction to Lord Voldemort and seem to have forgotten he was around. I assume and hope that this means that we have had a great measure of success
Lily nodded numbly.
"Excellent, excellent!" said the Headmaster with a nod of his head.
"As for a home, Miss Potter, if you would consent to be under the tutelage of our Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, you would find yourself a home and indeed very well protected from the clutches of Lord Voldemort. Your work here at Hogwarts will also serve your money dilemma quite nicely."
Lily nodded.
"And speaking of family, Miss Potter, I'm afraid that it may be confusing for all if you were to continue to use your given name."
Lily nodded. She began raking her mind for a different one. One option would, of course, be use her middle name: Luna. Lily could see very few drawbacks to this considering the woman for whom she was named had not been born at this point. Still, she didn't think she could get used to the new name. The nickname her family used, however would be much easier to get used to.
"I can be called Elle. My family called me Elle, well, because of my first and middle names starting with Ls. I am rather used to it." she said, voice cracking a bit at the thought.
"Ah, excellent, excellent, Elle. A beautiful name. Now, your obvious resemblance to Mrs. Potter will need to be explained. Disguising you effectively would be nearly impossible and would arouse suspicion and interest by Voldemort if you were to be found out. Yes, I believe you will be introduced as Lily's muggle-born cousin, Elle Evans. We will be able to trust very few on the secret of your identity." he said.
"Sir, where should I say I have been schooled?" she asked.
"Ah, yes! I have a great deal of personal and professional respect for Headmaster O'Dowd of Draiochta Academy, he is a loyal and brave soul. I believe he will provide all of the papers to confirm your enrollment to all those who decide to look."
"The Irish school. I can definitely do that. It'll be easy to explain my accent and everything." she said.
"Wonderful. Now Miss Potter-or perhaps I should say-Miss Evans, I will inform Lily and James of your arrival here. I know them to be particularly close to several wizards. Namely Mr. Sirius Black, Mr. Remus Lupin and Mr. Peter-"
"NO! Not Pettigrew!" she cut in. Dumbledore looked vaguely startled. His face then turned very grave.
"Peter Pettigrew is the traitor." he said calmly.
"Yes, Pettigrew is the traitior." she said. It was the first major change she had made to the timeline and it made her feel even more ill. "Not Pettigrew. They can tell Remus Lupin and Si-Sirius Black, but not Pettigrew."
"This is a devastating bit of news, Miss Potter. I am sure you are full of them. I will need to deliberate how to best proceed. But, of course, I shall inform Lily and James that Peter is not to be told. They have told me he hass not been around much of late." he said. He seemed extremely weary.
"Thank you, Professor."
"We can discuss more of the details tomorrow, including whether to inform the Weasley family."
Lily perked up at the mention of her maternal family and nodded.
"You look exhausted my dear, I'm sure time travel would take a great deal out of anyone. I will take you to your rooms. I'm sure you would much prefer them to the Hospital Wing." said Dumbledore, standing up and gestured to the door. Lily stood and followed him.
A/N- For the rest of the story, Lily Luna Potter will be referred to as Elle, unless in some sort of flash back
Elle had never been in the Professors' Wing of Hogwarts. Her suite was larger than she thought it would have been and much more luxurious. The front room was filled with worn, comfortable looking crimson furniture. She recognized the furniture, it was the furniture that had stood in her parent's home more than fifty years in future. Elle felt tears prickling her eyes and her stomach wrench violently. It even smelled like her parents' home: fresh wood and spices. She pushed down those thoughts immediately. She would deal with them soon enough. She continued to survey the room.
There was a large fireplace, thoroughly reminiscent of the one stationed in the Gryffindor common room. With a flick of her wrist, flames were jumping merrily from the grate.
Overcome with childish excitement, she ran to the nearest door and flung it open to reveal nothing more than a utility closet. With a sharp laugh and a shake of the head, she ran to open the next door, her bathroom. She squealed excitedly as she stepped on the white marble floors and observed the spacious bathtub and glass shower. There were plush white towels and a large, soft bathrobe in the cupboard. She exited the bathroom and moved into the room connected to it.
Her bedroom was decorated with the rich, dark reds and burnished golds of her school house. The was a spacious wardrobe, a chest of drawers, a vanity and large, extremely comfortable-looking bed. With another burst of childlike adrenaline, she vaulted onto the bed and buried her face into the plush of the duvet and pillows. And as she lay there, the reality abruptly crashed down on her. All that she had lost. An entire future gone. An entire life gone. And she wept until she passed out in exhaustion.
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