The Return


Dumbledore found himself back in his office, McGonagall gesturing wildly at the two solme faced red heads before him. A crooked smile played behind his beard as he watched the twins, both wholesome, alive and well while trying to look as innocent as possible. Dumbledore let his twinkling eyes fall from them to his deputy headmistress, and cleared his throat. He had a lot of work to get started.

...

Charlie's knees buckled as he found himself back in the Entrance Hall, a Hufflepuff he'd never spoken to patting him on the shoulder suddenly and promising it would be okay, no need to pass out. Charlie's eyes instead went to focus on another Hufflepuff, and he had to fight every impulse he had not to launch himself forward and tackle her in a hug of assurance she really was still standing there in her dragon hide boots at seventeen, just about to take an exam, hardly the biggest thing to happen in her future. Her exotic eyes met him, and they shared a smile.

...

Remus sat bolt upright in bed, and swung the covers free in that same movement, sprinting out the door without glancing up at the sky, for once.

...

Sirius felt like he was being slammed back into his cell, though in reality he was in the exact same position as when his world had been modified. The cold, the emptiness began seeping back into him at once, so much worse than he'd ever imaged in that safe haven, but Sirius fought like he never had before. He flipped into Padfoot, he nestled himself inside the safe warmth of his memories, and he refused to allow the dementors to take him again. They would come. He would come.

...

Hermione's foot knocked into the edge of the street she'd been initially trying to step up on, and she fell to the ground, scraping the heel of her hands raw. It didn't sting, not really. She was to busy beaming down at the sidewalk, and the expression never left her face as she scrambled back to her feet, to race back home and wait eagerly for her friends arrival. Her friends!

...

Ron got a face full of Quaffle, sitting back in the grass hard and rubbing furiously at the mark to blink away the stinging tears and suddenly bloodied nose. His dad was already there, scoping up his youngest son and apologizing, they'd both forgotten all about their game, but Ron quickly waved him off, promising he understood as his dad had far more important things to do. He squeezed his son's shoulder, and still took the precious seconds to escort him to his mother before launching off for the school, to where Percy was now, to fetch a rat before it could do anymore damage to his family.

...

Harry sat upright in his cupboard, panic flooding him as he was once again in the enclosed, dark space. His hand went desperately to his pocket, and curled around a worn peace of parchment. He couldn't see the words anymore, but he'd already memorized them in that room. So instead he sat there in the dark, and he envisioned the loving faces of his godfather and Uncle Moony coming to rescue him, and before he knew it, there was a knock on the front door.