Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or any of the following characters, locations and stories which they are based on. They all belong to J.K Rowling and I don't make any profit out of this. Now that that's all cleared up, shall we get on with the story?

A/N: So it's been a while since I gave you some more to read, I hadn't meant to leave it this long but I've had a few problems with my computer. All sorted now so I can get back to writing this up. Thanks to everyone who has add this to your story alerts. I hope you're enjoying this so far. Please let me know what you think of it, whether good or bad.

Also, is it getting confusing, knowing whose point of view it is, since I keep switching it around? If it is, let me know and I'll change it a bit to make it easier to follow. Thanks!

Going Forward

Chapter 7 – Boy Wonder and His Crew

What the bloody hell was that all about? This is all way too weird! As if somehow travelling through time wasn't strange enough already, now I'm running into my own son. And my new friend seems to hate him, like, beyond the house rivalry kind of hate. I guess this is how onlookers feel when I'm arguing with Snape. Except… y'know, they're probably not thinking 'Oh my God! This is my son!' whilst watching the argument unfold. Is it bad that I wanted my new housemate to win the argument? Am I evil, after less than a day posing as a snake?

Technically, neither of them won. The argument didn't involve him anyway, until he decided to get involved. I think the hot red-head was handing herself pretty well.

I chuckled to myself, remembering the punch she'd given Draco only minutes ago, receiving strange looks from my new housemates in the process. I am so not getting the hang of being a Slytherin. Is it normal for them to laugh? Actually, it's definitely not normal for someone to start laughing, seemingly for no reason whatsoever, regardless of what house you're in. Oops! Maybe if I just stopped acting so weirdly, people would stop looking at me like I'd just grown an extra head. Being the new guy is already drawing in enough attention already, without adding to it by acting like a complete nutter.

I was just about to take another spoonful of my cereal, when I saw her enter the room from the corner of my eye. I turned to watch her, spoon still hovering inches from my mouth as I admired her. The fiery hair, petite figure (though still very curvaceous for her size) and a sort of elegance in the way she moved as she made her was over to the Gryffindor table. It was during this moment, distracted, that one of my fellow housemates flicked the spoon I was holding, spilling its contents around my mouth, some of the milk dripping onto my robes. Clearly they were still sizing me up, trying to see if they could dominate me. Without ever taking my eyes off of her, I reached for my wand, cleaned myself up, and with a quick incantation the student was wearing his bowl of cereal as a hat. I was awarded with a pat on the back as the others sniggered at the boy, whom I'm sure I was introduced to but cannot for the life of me remember his name.

The girl had by now reached her seat, and was greeting her peers as she shovelled a piece of toast into her mouth. Clearly her etiquette was not as graceful and dainty as her movements, but it fascinated me nonetheless. I had been so sure when I'd first seen her that she was Lily. It'd almost shocked me when I discovered that it wasn't her. They look so alike. I'd thought that maybe, just maybe, someone else I knew could be in the same predicament as I was, that we could help each other through whatever had happened to us. But no, I'm all alone. Perhaps they're related though? It'd explain a lot.

Sat next to her was the other new student, looking a little awkward and out of place. I wonder if that's how I look to anyone who happens to glance at me, surrounded by all of these strangers. Still, I wasn't too surprised at how awkward she looked (and must've felt). She'd really put her foot in her mouth during the confrontation in the halls. Typical Americans! I'd better not voice that opinion to anyone; they all think I'm an American too. Still, I don't really understand what she'd said that was so bad. Granted, I was a little offended – who did she think she was, badmouthing me? I've never even met her! It was everyone else's reactions that were unexpected. I could understand my son getting a little angry, but the others all seemed so shocked, as if it was the ultimate social faux-pas.

"Jacob, mate, why are you staring at the Lions?" Draco whispered to me, interrupting me from my thoughts. It still took me a moment to realise he was addressing me. I was going to have to get used to answering to that name.

"Huh? Oh… I was just thinking about what happened before breakfast. Seemed to get pretty intense once the new girl opened her trap."

"You don't know each other then? Aren't you from the same school?"

Shit! Oh fuck, I've gone and messed my story up already!

"It's a pretty big school – at least three times bigger than Hogwarts. I don't notice half the girls in my year. Only the ones worth noticing, of course." He nodded in agreement, and then continued talking. Phew!

"I know what you mean; I wouldn't give most of the students here the time of day. Still, she's pretty fit; I'm surprised you hadn't noticed her. Doesn't seem very tactful though, and definitely doesn't keep very good company." He sneered at the students she was sat with "Suppose she can't help who she gets matched up with though. You should count yourself lucky you're on this table." I looked back over at the Gryffindors. These guys definitely do not get along.

"So what's their deal anyway?"

"Boy wonder and his crew?"

I nodded.

"Well, there's the mudblood, that's the one with the pile of books next to her, arguing with the ginger lad. Bloody Miss-Know-It-All, I tell you. You'll see soon enough, once we've gotten to our classes. Weasley. The one she's arguing with. Family's a disgrace to wizard-kind. His Father is slowly working his way up in the Ministry, but they associate with the wrong sort. Not really accepted in pureblood society. They live in what my Father described as a 'burrow,' and I've lost count of the number of offspring they have. That family breeds like rabbits, I swear! Only one daughter though, you met her earlier. The one with the wicked right-hook, that you found so amusing." He raised an eyebrow at this. "Suppose I did have it coming, but it was a tad unexpected. And then we have Potter. Literally has the entire school grovelling at his feet, hero-worshipping the speccy twat." He paused for a moment to smirk before continuing. "We don't get along, as I'm sure you've already noticed."

"Don't get along? Bit of an understatement, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I suppose so. He's got a right nasty temper on him though, and he's so much more fun to annoy than half of the twits that go here. If I didn't enjoy watching him go mental so much, I probably wouldn't bother. We've got a bit of a rivalry going on now, seems a shame to end it when I can torment him for another few years." We both chuckled.

"Yep. Definitely glad I'm on your good side, mate. I reckon I'm going to have an interesting time here at Hogwarts."

"Yeah you've got that right. Have you finished? I can show you round some more before we have to get to our first class. Think we'll need to pop to the library anyway to get some books for you. Unless Dumbledore's got it sorted already?"

"No he hasn't. I'd completely forgotten about books. Lets go."

This was the part that I wasn't looking forward to. As hungry as I was, I knew once we stepped through these doors I'd be having to deal with the Potter boy. I was terrible at apologies at the best of times, but how do you say sorry to a stranger for making fun of his dead Dad the first time you spoke to him? It was definitely going to be an uncomfortable experience. I was so grateful to Ginny, having her by my side through all of this. It would be so much harder on my own. Having one friendly face here was such a relief, I'd have to make it up to her somehow, do something nice to show her how much I appreciated having her as a friend, I'll need to figure out what to do at a later time though.

God, I wish everyone would stop staring at me! I knew it was to be expected, having new students arrive is always huge gossip, someone new to talk about and discover secrets about them, It'll be at least a few weeks till it dies down – hopefully by then I'll have figured out what happened to me and will have found a way back. Until then, I'll have to make the best of things. Ginny sat down directly opposite the 3 students we'd met in the hallway. I quickly followed suit and sat next to her, noticing the scowl on Harry's face as I did. Well, I didn't expect it to be easy.

"Hey Guys. Didn't get a chance to introduce you properly earlier. This is Julia. Julia, this is my brother Ron, and his best friends, Hermione and Harry."

I smiled weakly at each of them, failing to disguise my nervousness.

"Nice to meet you all. I'd um, I'd like to apologise for the way I acted earlier. There's no excuse for what I said. I didn't realise it would upset you so much. I have a tendency to not think before I speak, and I hope you won't hold it against me. I know Ginny's really fond of you all, so I figure you must be really nice people. I'd hate to miss out on the chance at a friendship before we've even gotten to know each other. Sorry… I'm not very good at apologising, I should probably just shut up now."

Harry looked up at me.

"Julia, right? Its ok, I know you didn't mean what you said. I'm still not in the best of moods at the moment, but its fine, really." We fell into a comfortable silence after that, with the exception of Hermione and Ron, who were bickering over Ron wanting to copy her potions homework, as he'd not completed his the night before. We were soon giggling at their ridiculous argument. I'm certain there's something more than friendship between those two, they sound so much like an old married couple.

I don't think that they're the only ones with feelings for each other though. At least half a dozen times over breakfast, I noticed Harry gazing at Ginny. He'd look so lost in his thoughts, the, as if he felt me watching him with curiosity, he'd look over at me, realise he'd been caught staring at her, blush and quickly look away. I found the whole situation quite amusing, especially since she seemed so oblivious to his affections. Perhaps if I can find out how she feels about him, I could help her out a bit – my way of repaying her for her kindness. Plus, I still felt guilty about upsetting Harry, so doing something nice for him as well couldn't hurt.

It seemed the argument was beginning to get out of hand, Hermione was beginning to raise her voice. "For the last time Ronald, its your own fault if you've not done the homework. We've only been back a week and you're slacking already! I've let you copy off me for 5 whole years, I'm not going to put up with it for another 2 as well! Find someone else to do it for you!" With that, she stood up and stormed out of the hall. She was gone only moments before her seat was taken by a pretty brunette girl, who wasted no time in getting Ron's attention. It seemed as if whatever was going on between the two friends was going to have complications.

"Hey Ron!" The girl greeted him enthusiastically, "I feel as if I haven't spoken to you at all since we've been back. How was your summer?"

"Hey Lavender." With that, the two started off a long conversation. I didn't bother to listen to the rest. It annoyed me, how obvious she was with her flirtation, girlish giggles seeming to follow every sentence as she hung on to his every word. Hermione was going to have some hard work ahead of her, if she wanted to get her hands on Ron. It was a shame, really. I'd not spent long with the two of them, but they seemed perfect for each other. If this Lavender got in the way, I'm sure it won't last long, but Ron could ruin his chances with the other girl in the process.

Ginny chose this moment to grab my attention, volunteering to show me around some more. I accepted her offer and we rose from the table, only to be stopped by Harry.

"Actually Gin, I was hoping I might get a chance to talk with you alone before classes start?"

Ginny glanced down at her watch. "Sorry, Harry. We've still got to get to the Library to get Julia's books sorted."

His face fell, unable to mask his disappointment.

"I could ask Ron to show me where the Library is, if you want? He'll need to head down there to finish his essay before class anyway, right?"

Ginny threw a disgusted look at her brother, who was busy flirting with Lavender.

"He looks a little busy at the moment. Wouldn't want to disturb their riveting conversation."

She turned back to Harry. "How about lunch? I'll have some spare time to talk then?" He nodded, looking much more optimistic than he had mere moments before. She led me by the arm, out of the Great Hall, towards the library.