I'm sorry about the erratic updates! I honestly don't mean for them to take this long. On a positive note, I've just completed a detailed 5000-word summary of Dancing With Time, so trust me when I say I know exactly where I'm taking this. :)


Danielle came out of her first day of classes feeling overwhelmed. Sixth-year N.E.W.T. classes would be much more difficult than she'd envisioned.

"I think I'm going to ask if I can move my bed to the library," she groaned at dinner. "It's the only way I'll pass this year."

"Cheer up," Dylan told her. "If Lyssa can do it, you'll be able to."

Danielle glanced over at Alyssa and Alphard, who were whispering into each other's ears. She turned her gaze back to Dylan and he grimaced. "Well, I think they're sweet together," Danielle said.

"Not when they're constantly like that," Dylan grumbled.

Danielle paused, knowing that Alyssa and Alphard's newfound relationship was a touchy subject for him. "How are you and…er…Felicity doing?" she asked, referring to the Muggle girl he was currently involved with.

"As great as we can get without me telling her I'm a wizard," Dylan muttered. He glared at her with what she imagined was an accusing look, silently chastising her for reminding him.

"Clara!" a high-pitched voice called, and she turned to see Erik running toward her, his Hufflepuff robes falling off his scrawny body and his hair sticking out in all directions. "How was your day?"

"Busy," she answered. The other Slytherins were giving both of them dirty looks and Danielle tried her best to ignore them. "What about you?"

"I was late for Potions and Professor Slughorn gave me detention," he said. "I tried to tell him it was because a ghost had given me the wrong directions, but he didn't believe me."

"What ghost?" Danielle asked.

"He was an old man dressed in a bright green jumper—"

"Oh, you mean Peeves," Dylan interjected. "Don't talk to him. He's just a poltergeist."

Erik seemed to shrink in his chair—a difficult feat, since he was already quite short to begin with. "I don't think that will change the professor's mind," he said sadly.

Up at the staff table, Dippet cleared his throat. "If everyone would sit at their house tables," he began, looking pointedly at Erik, "I have an announcement to make."

Everyone's heads turned to the Slytherin table. Erik scrambled out of his seat and over to the Hufflepuffs so fast he tripped on his robes and rolled across the floor. While the students laughed, he plopped into his seat, face cherry red.

"I presume you all know by now," Dippet began, "That the Dark wizard Grindelwald has conquered most of Europe. I have just received word that Italy fell to him earlier today.

"Although Britain is still standing strong, the Ministry of Magic wants me to warn you that an attack could occur at any moment. He suggests assembling an army of sorts to defend ourselves, should the need arise."

Excited and nervous chatter instantly broke out across the Hall. "I'm in," Dylan said at once. "I want to fight."

Alyssa looked incredulous. "Dylan, you're sixteen," she pointed out. "What sort of fight could you realistically put up against a fully grown, trained wizarding army? Make them laugh themselves to death?"

"He has a point, Lyssa," Alphard said. "I want to join as well."

She tossed her head. "Well, I think stupid recklessness is a job we should leave to the Gryffindors."

Danielle deliberately avoided joining in the conversation, pretending to be focused on stirring her soup. She had no idea what to make of Hogwarts forming an army, nor did she know what to do if Grindelwald did end up attacking the school.

The worst part was, she was sure this hadn't happened in the original timeline.


Tom had been in the library for the past hour, staying concealed under a Disillusionment Charm. A stack of books stood on the desk he was sitting at, most of them dusty and ancient-looking. So far, his search had proven to be unsuccessful.

Slughorn hadn't been any help whatsoever in telling him what he'd wanted to know about Horcruxes other than suggesting he check the Restricted Section. Tom had barely refrained from telling the old professor that he could have gotten exactly the same advice from someone like Abraxas Malfoy, who was apparently deemed fit to be the sole inheritor of the Malfoy fortune but couldn't even bother to prepare a contraceptive potion before having relations with Olive Hornby.

Tom balanced another book on the desk, not expecting to find anything of interest. Being as opposed to the Dark Arts as he was, Dumbledore had probably banned all books that even alluded to Horcruxes.

But this time, Tom wasn't disappointed as his watchful eyes skimmed across the very word seconds after. "…of the Horcrux, wickedest of magical inventions, we shall not speak nor give direction…"

"Useless," he muttered, slamming the book on top of the already-towering pile. The incompetent authors shouldn't have even be allowed to put quill to parchment.

A clamoring of voices sounded in the distance and Tom inwardly rolled his eyes as he heard Alyssa MacDougal's grating, whiny voice as she babbled on about how difficult their classes would be. He remembered the first time he'd ever seen her, during which she'd complained about how she was terrified about falling into the lake during the boat ride up to Hogwarts. Now Tom fervently wished he'd pushed her in.

A few seconds later he heard Clara's voice and he barely suppressed a sigh. She would find him, of course. He'd told her he would be in the library, though he hadn't specified exactly what he was searching for.

"Where's Tom?" Alyssa asked. "Riddle! Are you in here?"

"I think I saw him over by the Potions section," Clara replied. As Alyssa's voice faded away, Tom levitated the books back to their proper places and lifted the Disillusionment Charm off himself just in time to see her peering through a bookshelf at him. "You're welcome," she said.

Tom waited for her to circle around to where he stood, her dark hair looking even curlier than usual. "I appreciate the sentiment," he said sardonically, crossing his arms. "Judging by the way Miss MacDougal is acting as though she has just been expelled, I assume something happened at dinner."

Clara shrugged. "Dippet told us Grindelwald is planning to invade England and he wants Hogwarts to form an army—you know, the usual."

"I presume you will join, then?" Tom asked, raising an eyebrow. He could barely picture her dueling one of the MacDougal twins, much less fighting an army.

She snorted. "I'm not suicidal. What books were you looking at anyway?"

"I was merely doing some research so as to get extra credit in Defense Against the Dark Arts," he lied smoothly. "I suggest that you do so as well."

"As if you need the extra credit!" Clara scoffed. "Tom Riddle, needing remedial Defense Against the Dark Arts!"

Tom frowned at her, irritated. What right did she have to pry into his affairs? "I think it would be wise to remember that—"

"Clara!" Alyssa screeched, coming up behind Tom. "You told me he was over there."

"I was mistaken," Clara said flatly. She gave him a piercing stare and then averted her eyes away, looking disturbed.

Not for the first time, Tom had the unsettling feeling that Clara Ashford knew much more than she let on.