Disclaimer: If you know it, I do not own it.
Edited and reloaded - 7 July 2013
Boarder of Clues
Fear.
It constricted his chest.
Worry.
It ate at his mind.
Anger.
It fed off his dismay and fueled his desire to act like an idiot.
Draco thought instead, refusing to give into his steadily growing Gryffindor side. He was cunning. He planned, schemed and did not go running off into battle with nothing more than a vague idea of what was happening. Draco had goals. Draco used his brain.
It was hard to use your brain logically when you were mad, scared and confused. No wonder Potter ran off into dangerous things without thinking. It was almost easier.
"What are we going to do? We have to do something. It's been three days and she's just gone," Harry wailed as they stood in Myrtle's toilet, his voice echoing off the walls.
When the pair first heard Atlanta was missing, they'd gone down to the Chamber of Secrets right away. The snake assured them no one had visited since they had last year. Draco, still not happy, made Harry help his search the whole place. They'd spent hours in the Chamber of Secrets over the past three days and found nothing of value.
Atlanta wasn't there.
There was a huge library filled with decrepit, rotting books, but no Atlanta. There were rooms upon rooms filled with decomposing wood, but no Atlanta. There were empty chambers filled with nothing but stale air.
In-between searches of the Chamber, Harry and Draco attempted to get upstairs into the girl's dormitories. McGonagall had made it clear no one was allowed to touch Atlanta's things till the Ministry arrived, which it still had not. On day two of Atlanta missing, Harry had managed to crawl up the slide that formed when Draco attempted to go up the stairs. Harry searched Atlanta's things, but had been unable to find the diary. He reported to Draco it was missing. For three days Draco had been unable to think up a reason why the diary would eat Atlanta. It was supposed to open the Chamber of Secrets, not cause people to vanish into thin air along with it.
On day three, the entire school had heard Mr. Black threaten Dumbledore with everything he could and could not do. Draco was unsure how Altair Black had managed to channel his voice through the entire school without actually meaning to do it, as it was obvious he was simply very, very, very angry and not broadcasting his anger on purpose.
Draco had heard from his mother, of course, who was upset and worried that Atlanta was gone and no one could find her. Draco had witnessed his parents sweep into the castle to discuss the matter with Dumbledore. Somehow, the story was kept out of the papers. The Malfoy family owning almost fifty percent of the Daily Prophet helped. Also, Fudge was such a moron, he didn't want it getting out that Atlanta Black was MIA.
This wouldn't prevent the world from finding out, though. Altair Black was going to let the world know Dumbledore had lost his daughter if it was the last thing he did.
The smirk on Lucius Malfoy's face when he entered Hogwarts told Draco that when Altair was ready to blow, Lucius was not going to do anything to stop him. As far as Lucius knew, Dumbledore was going to be flayed alive by the end of the year. He didn't know the diary wasn't not going to unleash the monster of Slytherin because the diary had vanished along with Atlanta.
"Where could she have gone? Who would kidnap her? Who are Altair Black's enemies?" Harry asked for the millionth time attempting to rip his hair out of his skull.
"I doubt she was kidnapped," Draco reminded Harry.
Harry's favorite theory was she'd been kidnapped by people who hated Altair Black.
Tragically, no one hated Altair Black. He made sure of that.
"There has been no ransom demanded and her movements have been tracked from the Transfiguration classroom to the stairs to the girl's dorm. Wood was down there, facing the stairs and didn't see her come down. He saw Weasley go up and down. She was the first girl to come down since Atlanta had gone up."
Harry deflated.
"Where did she go?"
"Dumbledore knows," Draco said in a low tone.
Draco knew Dumbledore knew exactly where she was at the moment. He wasn't sharing her actual location with anyone, but Dumbledore knew Atlanta was safe. It was the only explanation to why he wasn't more worried.
"Let's be mental. Let's entertain insane, unbelievable ideas," Draco suggested, simply trying to get Harry to calm down.
"Good thinking."
Harry and Draco both jumped. That voice did not belong to Myrtle. It was a dreamy, airy sounding voice. A girl walked out of one of the stalls. She had long dirty blonde hair that was in two braids down her back. She was in Ravenclaw robes and her silvery blue eyes stuck out and she had a look of airy surprise on her face.
"You have all the clues, Draco," the girl said, washing her hands. "They are littered over time, in the past and future. Don't let the Nargles eat them, though. Wear a hat."
She gave them a dreamy smile and drifted out of the bathroom. The word "hat" echoed around Draco's head.
"Huh?" Harry asked, looking like he'd just remembered to breathe.
Draco would have brushed off whatever the crazy blonde had said, but then he remembered who the crazy blonde happened to be: Luna Lovegood.
Draco didn't know her very well. He knew she was a bit mad and was one of Potter's friends. Atlanta the First had also mentioned her in the letter.
Luna would help.
She'd helped him. He simply had to look into what she was saying.
"I have the clues."
Harry looked at Draco as if Draco was the one heading to the mental hospital.
Draco went over what the Hat had said to him.
Draco had changed the timeline all the way back to 1943.
The Hat had told Atlanta he didn't want to sort her.
Again. That was key: again. The Hat had already sorted Atlanta.
"Harry?"
"Yes, Insane One?"
Draco quirked an eyebrow at Harry. "Insane One?"
Harry shrugged. "Well, what?"
"I think Atlanta time traveled," Draco said quietly.
"How? The diary?"
"No clue. But, it makes sense."
"Where did she go?"
"1943," Draco announced.
Something else clicked for Harry. Harry's face suddenly lit up.
"The diary is from 1943! Is that what it does? Makes you travel through time?" Harry asked, bemused expression on his face. "It makes more sense than it simply ate her."
"No." Draco frowned. "The diary is supposed to open the Chamber of Secrets. How the hell do you time travel through a book?"
Harry gave Draco a look clearly stating that Draco was the all knowing pureblood in the room and ought to know magic could make you travel through time via a book. Draco and Atlanta had told Harry all about all the strange and seemingly impossible things magical books could do, so why not time travel?
"True. Why not time travel?" Draco asked faintly. "She took the book with her. I guess she could use the book to get back, right?"
"Other than that—"
Harry never finished talking, as the door opened and Ginny Weasley began screaming.
"BOYS! BOYS IN THE GIRL'S LOO!"
Harry and Draco quickly dashed out of the bathroom, pelting for the Gryffindor Tower.
In the following days, Dumbledore assured the students all was being done to find Atlanta. Draco had seen formal looking Ministry people entering the school. A few of them were poking around the tower, doing strange tests, poking things with their wands and asking Oliver Wood a million questions. By the time Halloween rolled around, the Ministry people had gone. The school population was also talking less about Atlanta's disappearance, as it appeared since Dumbledore was not worried, no one else saw the need to worry. Draco had a feeling Dumbledore, in his all-knowing-ness, knew when Atlanta would return from her jaunt to the past.
That still did not reassure Draco.
Draco was lost in thought when he ran into Remus Lupin leaving the headmaster's office the day before the Halloween feast. Lupin also seemed to be lost in thought and didn't so much as mutter an apology for ramming into Draco.
"Mr. Remus?" Draco called out, flagging the werewolf down. "Does Dumbledore know anything?"
Lupin stared at Draco for a beat. "Yes. He assured me where she's gone she's…all right. And she will be back. At some point."
"So, he does know where she has gone?"
Lupin looked around. Draco could tell the man was having an internal debate. Finally, Lupin reached out and took Draco's shoulder, steering him into a nearby classroom. He shut the door and waved his wand.
"The Headmaster asked me not to tell anyone, but he's told Atlanta's parents as well as myself exactly where she went and she is okay. She has accidentally traveled back in time to the year 1943. She's enrolled in her first year there and she will complete her first year in 1943. She passes with flying colors, evidently."
Draco frowned. "Are you serious?"
Lupin made a face that looked like he wanted to say something, but he stopped himself.
"Yes."
"How is he going to get her back?"
"She will be sent back to us," was all Lupin was willing to share.
Lupin left, not wanting to answer any more of Draco's questions. He looked to be in serious pain. Draco could understand, as Lupin was aware he was Atlanta's father. He startled as he thought this. From Draco's understanding, it had been a shock for Lupin to find out the first time, but from his manner, Lupin knew already. Draco wondered how Lupin knew. Or why he knew this time around.
Sighing, Draco headed out of the classroom. As he ambled along, he spotted Harry trudging inside from another rain soaked Quidditch practice. Upon spotting Harry, Draco felt something cold trickle down his spine.
Harry.
Harry Potter.
The Boy-Who-Saves-the-Day.
Boy Wonder.
The Idiot Who Always Does Stupid Things Beyond the Realm of Possible.
In a span of a few second, Draco hurtled through all the crazy, almost impossible things Potter had done over his six years of attendance at Hogwarts. The troll, the Stone, whatever he'd done second year that took the diary out, fighting off Dementors, youngest Tri-Wizard champion, dueling the Dark Lord at fourteen, battling over ten Death Eaters at fifteen…attempting to take out the Dark Lord at seventeen.
Potter never asked for help beyond his friends. The adults were almost always useless and seemingly worked against Potter.
Draco had vital information. Atlanta was in 1943. She was at Hogwarts. He had where and when.
Time travel.
Who says it wasn't Draco and Harry who brought Atlanta back to the present? It was something insane, unthinkable and very Potter like.
Time travel.
The book. Atlanta the First suggested a book on time travel.
Draco could get it this year. He knew someone who would sign anything.
"What are you pondering?" Harry asked, dripping in front of Draco. Harry looked worried and like he hadn't been sleeping. Draco knew that while Harry wasn't as close to Atlanta as he was to Draco, he still cared. And when Harry cared, he did not do it half way. He also happened to be Harry Potter, so he cared easily and often. But, there was a type of caring he reserved for his closest friends, and after the summer, Atlanta clearly fell into this category.
"We're going to get her back," Draco said, grabbing Harry's arm and pulling him close to his side, ignoring the fact he was getting himself wet. "Lupin just told me Dumbledore believes she went back in time, to exactly the year I thought she went to. We're going to get her back. But first, we need access to the Restricted Section."
"Don't you need a teacher to sign a slip asking for the book you want?"
"Yes. Know a teacher who'll sign something without looking?"
Harry snorted. "Yes."
Together they said, "Lockhart."
A/N: If you'd like to read about Atlanta's trip to the past, see Shattered, a collection of one-shots that follow her time in the past.
