Thank you Sunsethill for the Review, it is very well received. Now, The this may be the Marauders Era, but it will not focus purely on them, or on saving them for that matter. Harry and Neville will have a very big impact though. Along with Lily "Kent", who will become a bigger player later. Please enjoy!
A long, twisted and spiraling lance of lightning struck the ground outside of Hogsmeade, somewhere off into the forest nearby. Bits of paper, small slivers of wood, and the occasional loose stone either fluttered through the air, or bounced along the ground. In the center of the darkened spot stood two men holding a small bundle in their arms.
Silence followed their awesome arrival, forest critters bolted for holes, and anything larger than a medium sized dog ran away as fast as possible. Dust and smoke clouded the new clearing, made it almost impossible to see. Leafs and little twigs rained down upon the group as the forest coped with the inexplicable arrival of its new denizens, though it would not replace its losses for years.
"You alright mate?" Neville asked as he tried to get a look at their surroundings. The smoke was too thick, though, and impossible to see through. Until a strong gust of wind comes along, they would not be able to see where they had ended up. Or when.
"Yeah, Lily's alright too, just a little shaken," Harry said as he soothed his startled daughter. She cried lowly into her fathers chest, her eyes and face red from crying. Harry murmured to his daughter and tried to calm her down. He cooed into her ear and patted her head gently while whispering sweet words of comfort. Neville, in the meantime, did his best to clear the area of dust.
"Ventilo," Neville muttered under his breath as he waved his hand. At first only a small whiff of air tickled at his ear. But, as he repeated the spell again, and again, he began to get results. "Ventilo.
Harry stroked his daughters back, in an effort to calm her down. He ignored his friends mutters in in his daughter's stead. "Ventilo!"
"Why can't I seem to get this spell!" Neville growled. Harry chuckled at his misfortune and continued to ignore his plight. "Ventilo, Dammit! Ventilo!"
"Maybe try it with more conviction Nev!" Harry snorted. He had finally got Lily to calm down, though she was ow hiccuping with the best of them. "Remember, enunciate! Ventilo!"
scowling at his friend, Neville shouted the charm with gusto. "VENTILO!" a modest gust of wind then rocketed through the clearing and blew away most of the dust … It also blew Harry and Neville's hair about wildly. When everything settled down, they were both wind swept and wild looking, while Lily was as pristine as she was just moments before. Harry and Neville coughed and spit to try and get rid of the nasty dirt taste in their mouths. Neither realized anything as wrong until Lily began to laugh and giggle burbleishly at them.
When they looked at each other they laughed along with the toddler. Harry's hair looked like it had been attacked with a branch, seeing as he had, at least, a hundred different leafs stuck in it. Neville looked like he had lost a fight with a tree, with the myriad assortment of twigs, and the one small branch, that stuck out of his hair.
"We look like we tried to fight the willow!" Harry howled, his laughter cheered his daughter on even more as she let out another peal of hiccup laughs. Neville nodded his head jerkily, he could barely control himself he was laughing so hard. Harry had to drop to the ground, he was laughing so hard.
"Dada! 'uny!" Lily laughed. Harry and Neville stopped laughing for a second and looked at the toddler in astonishment, before they grinned and laughed right along with her. Their joy, for surviving, and ending up in once piece, was eclipsed by Harry's own joy that his daughter seemed to be just fine. Neville was just too wrapped up in the familial joy that he didn't care anymore. His friend was happy, so he was happy.
Harry and Neville slowly lat their laughter die down as they began to think of what they were going to do next. They were somewhere they didn't recognize. They had a little girl with them. It was cold out. They didn't even know if there was a center of civilization anywhere nearby. More than any of that, they had no idea if they were even in the same time, world, or country! They could be in some medieval country somewhere in the middle of England for all they know, with knights and barbarians running around killing each other!
"Hey! Is anyone there!" A light feminine voice called out from the trees. Harry and neville looked to each other in surprise, seeing as she spoke clear English. "Is everyone alright! I heard the explosion and head laughing! I just … is everyone okay!?" The voice asked again. It sounded vaguely familiar to harry, like he had heard it before, but couldn't place it.
"Over here!" Harry called. He got to his feet and dusted himself of with one arm. Neville did the same and stood over by Harry. He took up a position behind and just to his right. The perfect position to cover harry should their coming encounter become heated.
"Are any of you hurt?"The voice asked, they heard feet trampling leafs as the voice came closer.
"No, were alright, just a bit disoriented is all!" Harry shouted back. Neville snorted loudly behind him.
"Disoriented, really Harry?" he asked sarcastically with a smirk.
"Shut it Nev!" Harry snapped back playfully. His good mood not having left him yet, which was a good thing.
"I'm almost – Oh, hello!" The voice, which turned out to be a much younger looking Rosmerta, walked out into the clearing. A few steps behind her was a huffing Hagrid, who didn't look much younger than either of the older Gryffindors remembered.
"Are eh boys alrigh'?" Hagrid huffed as he bent over and clutched his knees to catch his breathe.
"Yeah, just a little shaken up," Harry looked to Neville, for some kind of reaction. All the blond man did was smirk and shrug his shoulders. Harry groaned and looked at Rosmerta and Hagrid pitifully. "Um, do you think we could go somewhere out of the cold, I don't want my Daughter to catch cold," Harry asked hopefully. His broken smile seemingly melted the woman's heart, along with Hagrid's, as she smiled back at them warmly.
"Of course, you can come to the Three Broomsticks. I can even have The headmaster send Madam Pomfrey down to look you three over. You know, to make sure you aren't hurt anywhere you don't know about," She waved Harry down when he shot her an alarmed stare. Neville rolled his eyes and jabbed harry in the shoulder. Harry looked at him and Neville shot him a look that said he should know better about Pomfrey- seeing as he had spent more than his own fair share of nights in her infirmary over their school years together.
"That sounds excellent Miss," Harry smiled kindly at her, relieved in part by Neville's reminder, and her own concern for Neville, himself, and his daughter. "I'm Harry by the way, Harry Kent, and this is my brother, Neville Kent. This little bundle of joy in my arms is my daughter, Lily Kent," Harry smiled down at his daughter with true affection and pride in his voice as he informed the two of their names.
Neville silently laughed at Harry's use of the Muggle sir-name. But he also applauded Harry's quick thinking to make sure their first names were the same so that they didn't slip up as much as they could have. He placed a reassuring hand on Harry's shoulder and gave it a small squeeze.
"Oh, well, I'm Rosmerta, Rosmerta Gev, and this fine fellow next to me is Rubius Hagrid," Rosmerta motioned to the giant of a man and let him take over for himself.
"Ah'm Keeper of Keys and Grounds of Hogwarts, Rubius Hagrid, bu' jus' call me Hagrid!" The large man smiled brightly to the three young people before him. He wore his usual fur coat and heavy leather boots, as he was wont to do much of the year. Rosmerta wore her own winter robes, a thick brown under shirt and a leather and fur vest with a thick long skirt. Her black winter robes loosely sat on her shoulders and hung low to pool on the ground at her feet.
"Its a pleasure, Hagrid, Rosmerta," Neville smiled pleasantly to them, "Please, lead on!"
Neville, Harry, and Lily have now found out that they are at least still somewhere near Hogwarts, and Hogsmeade. They also get introduced to the ever loveable giant, Hagrid, and the, much, younger Rosmerta -whos last name is now Gev because she doesn't have one. Next is Hogsmeade, The three Broomsticks, and Pomfrey!
