Summary: Harry takes a field trip to 1942, and discovers the legendary Terrors of the Hogwarts halls: four mischievous girls that not even Albus Dumbledore can control. Wait a moment. Who's that mystery boy in the mirror?
Disclaimer: (prays that JKR will hand over all ownership of characters to humble fanfiction author)
Chapter Three: Nice Pyjamas
Harry was sitting up in bed. The other boys in the dormitory were sound asleep, but he couldn't join them. He had to make something clear to himself.
He inked his quill, straightened his parchment and continued writing steadily on it. Next to him lay his checklist. The first five instructions had been either ticked or crossed out, and a new one had been added in between five and six in Harry's own handwriting:
5 ½: Write lines. 100 times: "I am here to gather information about Tom Riddle, not to interfere in Minerva McGonagall's love life, no matter if she's dating the Devil Incarnate in disguise."
"This," he muttered aloud, "is not going to work."
He scrunched up the parchment with the first side of lines on and tossed it into the furnace in the centre of the room, heavily crossed out the instruction he'd only written half an hour ago and tucked away his checklist and the map under a loose floorboard before blowing out his candle.
Harry didn't sleep well. He'd cast silencing charms around his bed so as not to wake anyone with his now very regular nightmares. Unlike every night since the Ministry battle, however, Harry's nightmares didn't involve Voldemort – at least not directly.
After he'd had time to stew after his fifth year during the first two weeks of the holidays, he'd grudgingly sent a letter to Professor Snape apologising for looking in his Pensieve, being insolent in lessons and asking if they could start again and try and get on for the sake of the wizarding world. He had been prepared for some snarky reply, but instead his apology was (reluctantly) accepted and they had begun lessons again once Harry was back at school.
Although the two attempted to get along marginally, Harry was still no better at the bleeding subject. Snape proved to be a better teacher than last year – he did at least explain a little more what he meant, and didn't snap (well, not as much) when Harry did something wrong. But Harry just could not get it.
"Legilimens!" Snape shouted through gritted teeth.
Aunt Petunia breaking open eggs to find parchment envelopes rolled up inside … a strangely familiar tabby cat dodging Dudley and his gang on their bikes outside Mrs Figg's … ducking a soapy saucepan on his twelfth birthday … pulling Godric Gryffindor's sword out of the Hat … Professor Trelawney almost dropping Harry's teacup in first Divination class …
"How did it go?"
"It was a bloody disaster," Harry groaned, dropping into a seat in the common room. His friends cast him sympathetic looks. "I might as well wave a big sign above my head saying, 'Over here Voldie; come and infiltrate my mind!'"
Ron snorted with laughter and Hermione glared at them both. "It's not funny. Harry, you just need to -"
"Try harder?" he snapped at her. "I'm trying as hard as I can, Hermione! My head feels like it's going to bloody burst if I try any harder! Thanks for the advice, but it's useless." He stood up before anyone could reply. "I'm going to bed."
The other two sighed as he stormed up the dormitory stairs.
"Well done, Hermione," Ron said quietly. "I'd better go after him."
Harry was throwing his books angrily into his truck when Ron appeared in the doorway.
"What?"
"Hermione says she's sorry and she didn't mean it like that."
"Right."
One of the heavier books slipped from Harry's grasp and landed on his foot. "OUCH!"
He flopped back on the bed, nursing his toe, as Ron bent to pick up the tome.
"The Art of Time-Travel and it's Risks and Consequences Over the Centuries?" he quizzed as he looked at the title.
"Don't tell Hermione; she'd have my head."
"This may seem a stupid question, but why are you reading about time travel?"
Harry pulled his pyjama top on. "I was talking to Dumbledore the other day: despite the fact that I've faced Voldemort -" (Ron shuddered) "- All right, Riddle – several times now, it's occurred to me that I actually know nothing about him at all."
"Where does time travel come into this?" Ron asked, baffled.
"Well, to be able to defeat him, I need to know him – his strengths and weaknesses, and use it against him. The thing is, I can hardly just saunter up to him at the next Death Eater meeting and start asking him questions. I'll be dead before I could get the first one out of my mouth."
"You're not answering the question."
"Yes I am." Harry shut his trunk and turned to Ron. "Look, I've already talked it over with Dumbledore – if I was to go back fifty-whatever years, and attend Hogwarts as a regular student for a year with Riddle there, not only would it give me a chance to possibly get to know him a bit without danger of dying, but I'd also get a year free of whisperings about the famous Harry Potter in the corridors. Really, who could pass that up?" he said, grinning.
"Yeah, but …" Ron turned the book over in his hands, questions exploding in his head. "What about your NEWTs?"
"I can do them there. Under a false name, obviously, but we can sort out the records when I return."
"That's the other thing. If you're in the 1940s for a year, would you miss out on a year here?"
"Well … yeah."
"But … what about me and Hermione? You can't just vanish off the face of the earth for a year, Harry. And what about the press and the Ministry – and – and You-Know-Who? Someone will notice you're gone."
"Dumbledore's said he'll think up a cover story – say I'm temporarily transferring to a different school or something. And I can use the same excuse there, that I'm a transfer student. No-one will be any the wiser."
"But Harry, what about me and Hermione?" Ron repeated. "We're your best friends, you can't just vanish on us!"
"I'll be back, Ron," Harry assured him, feeling rather uncomfortable. "As long as nothing goes wrong, I'll be back in a year."
"YEAH, A YEAR! HAVE YOU ACTUALLY STOPPED TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE'D FEEL ABOUT YOU VANISHING FOR A WHOLE YEAR, HARRY? NO! THIS IS ABOUT YOURSELF; IT'S ALWAYS ABOUT YOURSELF!"
Mina awoke suddenly, unsure what had disturbed her. All she knew was that she had to get up.
The feeling passed before she reached the door. She shook her head and made her way back to her bed. It was probably nothing.
Harry awoke early the next day, but kept his head buried in his pillow for a good half an hour before moving to scrub the half-dried tears off his face and get out of bed. The other Gryffindor boys were still not up, so he made full use of the bathroom and then went down to the common room.
"You're up early," he addressed the back of a familiar head.
There was a yelp and Mina jumped to her feet. Her hair was loose, falling all over her shoulders, and she was still in her pyjamas.
"Oops – Sorry."
"It's all right," she said, once she'd caught her breath. "You're up early too."
He shrugged. "I didn't sleep too well. Nice pyjamas."
"Oh," she grinned sheepishly, staring down at the strawberry pattern. "They're my favourites."
The conversation was getting awkward, so Harry cast around quickly for a change of subject.
"Um, what class do you have first?"
"Potions. Oh! You'll want to be shown where the classes are, won't you? Are you doing Potions too?"
He nodded. "I think I could find the dungeons on my own, but I'm not sure which one …"
"Dungeon Five," Mina informed him. "Don't worry, I'll take you there after breakfast. Poppy's the only other one who does Potions – she wants to be a Healer – but Ro and Pommie don't."
"What's Poppy's surname?" Harry asked curiously.
"Pomfrey," Mina replied, proving his suspicions correct. "And I'm Mina McGonagall – Don't call me Minerva – Ro is Rolanda Hooch, and Pommie is Pomona Sprout. Happy now?"
"Yes," Harry replied, slightly dazed. He wasn't sure if it was the fact that he seemed to have befriended – maybe – a bunch of his future teachers (which were funnily enough all in the same year), or the fact that Madam Pomfrey had actually hit on him. The second thought was slightly disturbing.
"Anyway, I think I'd better go and get dressed. The others will be down in a while. See you at breakfast?"
"Okay," Harry agreed, and she left.
Harry sat down in an armchair, deep in thought. The whole situation seemed very surreal. It wasn't just the fact that he was surrounded by his teachers who were all the same age as him – it wasn't even Poppy flirting – but Mina.
Harry had lived his entire childhood longing for a parental figure, someone he could call his own, but it had never happened. Then he had arrived at Hogwarts, and even then while he didn't have anyone who he could call his own, he still figured later on that he seemed to have become inexplicably attached to certain teachers without even noticing.
He hadn't realised how much Dumbledore had come to mean to him until the man appeared to have abandoned and ignored him, hurting him more than he cared to admit. But the person Harry cared about most at Hogwarts, he hadn't realised he did until she wasn't there anymore.
Despite trying to fight against it, Professor McGonagall had become like a mother figure to Harry, and seeing her now at the same age as him was as emotionally draining as it was bizarre. He knew that she thought of him in a slightly different way to the rest of her pupils, which had been confirmed after the Order meeting in the summer when she'd hugged him after he'd apologised for his behaviour last year and whispered that had she been in his position she would have probably cursed Umbridge into pieces, and apologised herself for being a hypocrite. But now, he wasn't even sure if she liked him as a friend. She'd only known him a few hours, and while she'd been friendly, she hadn't been over-friendly.
Harry had only been in 1942 for one day, but he already missed his friends and wished he could have left them on better terms. He also missed the old Professor McGonagall more than he thought was healthy. But at least he could forget about his friends during the day. Mina was a living reminder of his Head of House – literally.
Trying to distract himself, Harry pulled out his checklist and read down the rest of the instructions on the first page.
6: Buy dress robes
Dress robes? Was there going to be a Yule Ball? Great, who was he supposed to go with? Definitely not Poppy! Wait, what money did he have? Did he remember to pack some?
7: Enjoy Potions. The teacher is fair.
Harry snorted with laughter. This one had been written in Professor McGonagall's hand: it implied a continuation that went "whereas Snape is not".
8: Try and pair with Tom Riddle in Potions. It would make a good ice-breaker. Be polite and neutral. Do not act coldly.
As if he needed telling. Although, after yesterday, Harry was inclined to act very coldly to Riddle just for looking at Mina.
9: Make sure everything that could be identified as from the future is well hidden during the day
Check. Harry thought the instructions were in a strange order. It sounded as if Dumbledore had just written them down as he thought of them.
10: This is the most important instruction of all: Don't stop the first date.
Harry rubbed his eyes and re-read the instruction. It had to be about Mina and Tom Riddle – who else would it be about?
He double-checked – Yes, it was definitely Dumbledore's handwriting. So Dumbledore knew about Mina and Tom. And he'd sent Harry back into the middle of it??? Why???
It said first date, not "Don't stop them seeing each other". Did that mean that there would only be one date? Or did that mean that something would happen on the first date, that if Harry stopped occurring, would change history? Perhaps dramatically?
And if something would happen … What? Harry had solemnly swore to Dumbledore he would not change history, but this went against all his moral rules, not to mention his conscience. How did Dumbledore expect him to sit by and watch whatever it was that would unfold, unfold without doing anything to stop it?
Harry groaned and banged his head on the table. Now he knew why the Ministry was so against time-travelling – it was all too easy to say "I won't meddle" and then be sorely tempted. Although, Harry considered that most people were tempted for their own selfish reasons. He was tempted for the good of a person he cared about. Did that make him better or not?
"I solemnly declare my loyalty to Albus Dumbledore," he whispered.
He waited. Nothing. He tried to push away his confusion and resentment about the situation Dumbledore had put him in and tried to think back to the end of the year, when he'd hated himself for being so bitter, and tried again.
A flash of golden-scarlet fire made him jump, knocking his checklist to the ground.
"Fawkes!"
The phoenix chirruped at him before settling on his knee, rubbing his head against Harry's hand in welcome. Harry stroked the beautiful plumage, feeling instantly more relaxed.
"What's this?" Harry spotted a scroll that had been dropped on the table. "Did you bring this?"
Fawkes blinked in apparent confirmation.
"Okay, let's see what your master has to say," Harry murmured, reaching for the scroll.
Dear Harry,
I gave this to Fawkes to bring to you the first time you called him. I hope you're settling or have settled in well and have been using your checklist. Remember you can always contact me by Fawkes if you need to. Prof. Albus Dumbledore
"Yeah, I need to," Harry muttered, grabbing a quill. On the back of the note he scribbled:
Dear Professor Dumbledore,
I'm writing to enquire after instruction #10. I assume you mean Professor McGonagall's first date with Tom Riddle? Will it only be one date? What is going to happen? I feel I should note, Professor, that I feel I deserve a very good reason for not interfering. Professor McGonagall has been an important part of my life since I began at Hogwarts and, whatever time or age, I can't stand back and watch her get hurt. This is Lord Voldemort we are talking about. I also wish I had been informed of this before I arrived – it was enough of a surprise to find Riddle is/was actually interested in girls at all. That was something you neglected to mention before. I could have made an idiot of myself and nearly did. Harry Potter
That, he decided, would do the trick. In the meantime … he would cross his fingers, and be careful.
TBC …
Review Responses
ImSoMMAD: I don't mind the ship if done in the right way, but there are just some fics it Would Not Work in – and this is one of them. I meant battling as in trying to convince readers it's NOT HPMM, simply because it may appear to be at some points. But I'm trying to make it obvious that it's nothing romantic. If you're so ADMM (like me!) you'll like the Epilogue (I've just been writing it, thanks to a song I heard earlier which gave me and idea). I hate to make your skin crawl more, but there's going to be quite a bit more Tom/Mina … sorry …
minniequill: I love that line too. One of my favourites.
Thanks also to Fk306 animelover for reviewing!