Chapter 6
Just so everyone knows I have kept Remus and Tonks in my story because I think that they should have stayed alive and I like their characters. So enjoy
"Ginny!" Molly screamed as she saw her daughter come out of the yellow smoke followed by, "Harry!" screaming his name possibly even louder, completely ignoring the third person to exit the now dissipating smoke.
"Mom! It's good to see you. It's been years!" exclaimed a happy Ginny.
"What are you talking about Gin; it's only been about a couple of hours since you left." Arthur Weasley stated very confused.
"Really!" said a surprised Harry.
"Yes, we've been searching everywhere for you, you just disappeared into a puff of purple smoke, and had us worried sick." Mrs. Weasley ranted.
Well, I think that we should take this somewhere more private, as some of the things we're going to tell you, you just may not believe at first. That includes the gentlemen behind me." Harry stated calmly and turned and winked at Merlin.
With that said the Potters, Weasley's, Minerva McGonagall, The Minister of Magic Kingsley Shaklebolt, the Lupins, Hermione, and the rest of the schools teachers proceeded up to the Headmistress' office to have their very unique conversation.
xXx
"Victory." The Headmistress said to the gargoyle guarding the rotating stairway to her office. Reaching the different yet still familiar space, Harry and Ginny sat in one of the open chairs and waited as the rest of the guest sat in their own offered or conjured seats.
"Ok spill you two, what happened? All we saw was a giant congregation of purplish smoke. When it finally cleared you two were gone." Mrs. Weasley asked clearly distressed and displeased.
Well, this is the part where you may not believe us, you see we arrived just outside the castle but we arrived unconscious. When we awoke it was in the Hospital Wing." Ginny began.
"Hospital Wing?" Hermione asked perplexed. Then she got a sudden understanding look, "You don't mean... Sweet Merlin!" She exclaimed.
"Yes, young one." Merlin said cheekily.
"Wait. You mean that y.y.'re...!" Hermione stuttered.
"Merlin? Why yes I am." He replied. At which time Hermione a couple of the teachers promptly fainted.
After reviving the ones who had fainted Hermione had to ask. "But, but, but how is that possible?"
"Oh, that's simple, but I'll explain that when the time has come to reveal it." Merlin stated. Hermione then looked around the room and then blushed as everyone was looking at the pair with amused looks.
"Right, so when we woke up, Ginny and I were quite shocked I tell you." Harry continued, "You see when we got a look at each other we, uhm, we had kind of been somehow deaged to our 11 year old selves." Everyone gasped at this revelation.
"So it was this potion that caused you to go back in time to the Founders era?" asked Remus
"Yup." Ginny nodded. "It's called the Time Ripple potion, it causes a rip in time that sucks the drinker through it and transports them to a different time period. For all we know we could have ended up in any time." She responded. Everyone gulped at what was implied.
"Then how in the blue blazes did you get back?" blurted out Tonks from the wall where she had slumped.
Oh that is quite easy to explain." Merlin replied. "You see Salazar had just finished inventing this specific potion not long before Harry and Ginny arrived in our time. When the two time travelers mentioned how they arrived something clicked in Sal's head and he began to work on an antidote to said potion." He finished.
"Ok, so how does this antidote work?" Minerva asked.
"Simply put, it just reverses the process." Harry answered.
"Ok, so that explains how Ginny and Harry got back." Hermione said, "But it doesn't explain how you came forward with them." She turned a calculated looked towards Merlin.
"Yoho," Merlin chuckled, "That was one of Sal's more brilliant ideas. You see he found a way that would allow someone to follow the traveler back to his time, but the kicker is that you have to be physically in contact with the traveler who took the potion. Salazar surly does have his moments." Merlin finished.
At this point everyone in the room, besides Harry and Ginny, had their mouths gaped wide open. It wasn't everyday that you hear that one of the most infamous Founders created a potion that no one had ever heard of before.
"With the looks on everyone's faces, I would conclude that this potion, the Time Ripple Backlash potion by the way, along with its counterpart have been lost to time, correct?" Merlin asked the room. He got a bunch of nods in return. "Well then hoe much from my time has actually been lost?" He continued to ask.
"I'm afraid that a really good portion of the spell and potion knowledge has been lost." The portrait of deceased Headmaster Albus Dumbledore responded. "I was only able to acquire just a couple of books and one diary from that time period."
"Really!" Merlin said down trodden. Albus just nodded. "Well that is quite disheartening; well I guess I'll just have to start teaching again after all, of course with your permission My Lady." Merlin turned to Minerva who just nodded and blushed. "Very well, with that done I think that we should get back to the story, don't you?" Merlin suggested.
Ginny and Harry both nodded and continued to recount what happened from the time they awoke in the Hospital Wing, through their second stint at Hogwarts and finally to the day that they left to come back to the future.
"So let me get this straight. You get sucked back in time and arrive in the time of the founders?" Hermione asked. Ginny nods. "You then find out after you wake up that you have been deaged to 11 years old?" Again Ginny nods. "You then proceed to become the apprentices to one of the most famous and powerful wizard of all time?" This time Harry acknowledges her with a slight nod. "Finally, you learned long forgotten spells and techniques, am I correct?" She finishes and both Harry and Ginny nod.
"Can you teach us?" Ron asked excitedly, earning him an elbow to the gut, whilst everyone else was laughing their asses off.
"Ron! That was very tactless, and besides you can learn it all when we come back this fall." Hermione berated her fiancé, again there was a round of laughter while Ron just bowed his head, blushed, and nodded in affirmation.
When everyone had calmed down Minerva looked out the office window and saw that the light had faded to night and rose to her feet and got everyone's attention. "Ok everyone it is getting late, I think it's time for everyone to head to bed. TIFFY!" Minerva called one of the castles house elves.
"Yes Headmistress." The diminutive elf asked as she popped into the room. "What can Tiffy do for the Head Lady?"
"Could you please clean a room for Merlin here so that he can stay the night? Then could you and some of the others elves please prepare the DADA Classroom to Merlin's specifications." Minerva requested of the little elf.
"Yes Headmistress. Tiffy will clean the second room to the left of Gryffindor Tower Mistress." And with that she popped off to get her tasks completed.
"Well, I will take my leave then and go find my room." Merlin said and he got up from his chair and proceeded out the office to his new accommodations.
"Harry, Ginny." Minerva turned to the married couple, "I took the liberty to have the married quarters near Gryffindor Tower cleaned for your use. Please enjoy."
"Thank you Professor, I myself am quite tired now that you mention it, what about you Gin?" Harry said.
"Yah, I'm tuckered too, goodnight everyone." With that everyone departed the office and to their rooms to get a good night's sleep.
xXx
Elsewhere
"Are you sure?" exclaimed Bagis.
"Yes, they arrived back in a swirl of yellow smoke, and then they proceeded up to Professor McGonagall's office." Percy reported monotonously. He was still under the effects of Bagis' Imperious Curse.
"And they came back with an older man?" Bagis asked.
"Yes." Percy replied.
"Do you know who this old man is?" Bagis continued.
"No, but he did seem familiar." Percy replied.
"Lord Mistrel is not going to be pleased." Bagis said to himself. Turning to Percy he stated, "Go back to Hogwarts and continue your surveillance, bring me back any useful information you gather on this new wizard. Is that understood?"
"Yes sir." Percy replied and left through the floo.
"Yes Lord Mistrel is most definitely not going to be pleased." Bagis Bulstrock then proceeded to leave for his room to contemplate how he was going to salvage this failure.
I'm sorry for the long delay in the updating but I had a friend proofread my written copy and I just got it back. I hope you liked it and please Read and Review, but no flames please. Constructive criticism is a good thing though.
Next time: We may see an old friend return and the start of the fall term. Goodbye for now.