Gentle fingers were brushing through Harry's hair.

"Child?" It was Rowena's gentle voice that he heard, calling softly to him. Harry opened his eyes; he was laying on a bed. The others were around him. "Thank goodness you are safe."

She hugged him close and Harry felt safe in her arms, as if nothing could hurt him.

"What happened?" asked Harry.

"There was a spell," said Georgina, looking shaken. "There was no one in the Great Hall besides us. And then… there was a man. I have never seen him before. He had a long white beard and hair, and was standing where you had just been. I do not know how he arrived, it is impossible!"

"Calm down," said Harry quietly. "It's okay, it's not your fault."

He swallowed hard.

"The man you saw. Was he tall and thin, with bright blue eyes? And probably very stylish robes," added Harry.

At Georgina's surprised nod, he could only close his eyes.

Professor Dumbledore.

He was trying to bring Harry home… he was just a year too late. Perhaps he thought it was the right youar, Harry did not know. He could not blame the man; he was just trying to bring Harry back and the boy doubted there was a way to explain he didn't want to go.

Harry sat with Rowena, listening as concerns were discussed.

"He attacked from behind," said Godric, looking insulted. "Salazar, I think you should keep your snake with Harry, we are not dealing with honorable people."

They continued to argue, though Rowena instead focused on him.

"I'll have Melusine stay with him." Salazar looked towards Harry, "That is, if you don't mind."

"It's fine," agreed Harry quickly. "Just… do me a favor. Don't tell the students about this. The world outside is dangerous enough, I don't want them worrying about their safety here too."

Helga did not seem inclined to agree, but the others nodded.

"I'll send for my husband."

"As long as he doesn't attempt another drinking contest with Godric," said Salazar, earning mild lecturing looks from the others.

Godric's eyes danced with amusement, "When there is no risk to anyone here, I'd be delighted to take him up if such a thing he desires. For now, let us focus on increasing the protections and defenses here."

"Go ahead," said Rowena. "I will stay with Harry tonight."

The others nodded, Melusine sliding into the room and onto the bed, lightly nudging Harry's shoulder as she got comfortable.

When it was just he and Rowena, Harry spoke quietly.

"I don't think it was someone that's dishonorable. I think it's someone from my home."

"Then they can come like the others," said Rowena coolly, her eyes flashing.

Harry fidgeted, "No, they… Rowena, I… I'm not from here."

"Well of course not, you had to learn our language. But where you are from does not matter. This is your home."

He agreed so wholeheartedly that it hurt. Still, he had to tell her the truth.

"It's not that. I… I'm from hundreds of years away. In the future."

Rowena was very still, looking with confusion at Harry. The diadem upon her head sparkled in the firelight.

Harry took a deep breath and began to explain. He told about how Godric had experimented, how he had ended up in the past… how there was no way back and he had thought it best to leave his time behind. About Voldemort, about his parents…

"And so, Professor Dumbledore, he… he's just trying to bring me home." Harry closed his eyes. "And… I… I don't blame him, it's just… just that this… this feels more like home than my time did."

Rowena was silent for a time before hugging him tight.

"If you want to stay, then we will do what we can to be sure your wishes are honored."

Harry smiled.

"Rest, child. I will keep watch."

Feeling safe in her arms and with Melusine nearby, the boy did just that. Far too soon, at least to Harry, Rowena was gently shaking him awake. "Time for breakfast, Harry."

"Ugh," Harry groaned, taking a shower and getting ready for the day ahead of him. He followed Rowena to the Great Hall, keeping his nervousness hidden. None of the students were there yout, though all of the adults in the castle were. Harry remembered that they had agreed that the students would benefit from having to learn their own way around, so there would be no guides. However, because of this, students would be allowed to be late or even miss their class if they were lost. If it happened too often, they would get a guide for a day or two.

Harry sat in his spot, at the center of the head table. He stared at the porridge in front of him, remembering what had happened the last time he had been in the Great Hall. Eventually, most of the students showed up, grinning at having found the Great Hall. Gidie was there, and he grinned cheerfully up at Harry until a fellow student began talking to him. Harry smiled, glad that it seemed Hogwarts would be good for Gidie. He glanced over at the Slytherins. They were sitting upright, silent... it looked quite uncomfortable.

He signaled to Salazar, apologizing to Georgina as he did so. "What is it, Harry?" Salazar inquired, curious. Harry rarely interrupted conversations, especially during meals.

"Your students." Harry indicated them with a slight nod, "I understand they have different mannerisms, but it might be beneficial if they speak to each other, at least." It was just so strange to have an entire House being utterly silent.

Salazar stared at Harry for a moment, confused. After all, he did speak. He turned and stared at his students, and realization clearly dawned about what Harry meant.

His students sat silently, only speaking to ask for a dish to be passed to them. Children from their families were usually taught to be seen, not heard… and it showed. Hogwarts, however, was a different environment.

Turning back to Harry, Salazar made a suggestion, "Make a speech. They are not the only table with a lot of students remaining silent." He indicated a few other students doing the same.

Harry glanced around and nodded―he hadn't noticed because the Slytherins had been obvious, but Salazar was right. More than a few of the other students were silent. Sighing, he stood up, making even the small bits of conversation cease, among adults and students.

"Good morning." Replies, of course, stating the same back. "Hogwarts is an place of learning. One such way of doing so is to learn from each other." Harry looked at all of the tables and gave them a smile, "A simple way to get to know each other is to speak to each other. Introduce yourselves, perhaps give a bit of information about you background and you expectations of this academia. Respect and manners are important, but so is knowing that all of you have expectations and are eager to learn."

With that, Harry sat back down. A few silent seconds passed before the students all began to speak to their Housemates.

The adults left the Great Hall, separating to go to their teaching areas. Harry did the same, a bit amused when he saw Melusine quickly slithering after him. He waited for the snake to catch up, curling around him.

"Warm," said the snake happily, curling up against him.

Making his way to his classroom on the first floor, Harry waited patiently, taking out a book about human to animal transfiguration. The rustle of people in the hallway drew his eye.

"Room 113. I think this is it."

"Hmph. Mudbloods know nothing about reading or fashion, with a foolish eagle on your robes."

"And you think you know so much, fool?"

Joy. Slytherins and Ravenclaws, from the sound of the two outside. Harry stood and opened the door, interrupting the arguing.

"Good morning. Everyone inside, please," said Harry.

Utter silence from the group outside, and quickly, the students scrambled in, sitting down. Harry stood up finally, looking at them. He remembered one of the spells Rowena had taught him, and hoped that it worked as he focused and snapped his fingers. Textbooks appeared in front of every student, and Harry grinned as they stared at the books and back at Harry. The smirk on Onfroi Malfoy's face, that had been there since the boy had walked in, slowly faded.

"You are here to learn Charms," Harry said, keeping his voice soft and low. He knew that the two strictest teachers he had in school had mastered this art and he would do the same. His age would make students least likely to take him seriously, and he wanted to be sure that was not an issue.

"Charms may appear simple, but they can be complex, challenging, and, if done incorrectly, dangerous. Specifics and wording are extremely important in this bit of magic." With this, Harry waved his hand at the board, glad his students didn't know how hard he was focusing on doing these tasks without a wand. He didn't want any of them to think think they could take him in a fair duel or anything similar. "Those are the wand movements you shall need. We will be working on the levitation charm."

With another snap of his fingers and a lot of focusing, and the feathers were on the students' desks. The Slytherins seemed to share odd looks, and Harry had a strong suspicion that it was because he wasn't speaking or using his wand to make these items appear. They didn't cause any trouble though, practicing the wand movements and trying to levitate the feathers.

Harry was relieved by how well the lesson went, and Celia, one of Rowena's student, managed to make her feather hover a few inches. They left to their next class, talking to each other excitedly, and some of the Slytherins even smiled at Harry as they thanked him and left.

When the classroom was empty, Harry slumped against his chair. Non-verbal, wandless magic was very exhausting!

"You did well," Salazar's voice rang from the door, and Harry looked up at him. "I am pleased to see you have been practicing."

He held up his hand and a phial appeared in it, full of a murky potion that seemed to be made of reddish swamp water. It did not look appetizing in the least.

"Thanks, I think," said Harry, eyes on the potion. "What's that?"

"A restorative," explained Salazar. "I suspected you would want to ensure students did not take advantage of you."

"You'd be right," laughed Harry, accepting the potion gratefully. "Thank you."

It tasted as disgusting as it looked, but he felt better.

The next class was Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. Unlike his brother, Gidie Malfoy was a pleasure to have in class, eager to learn, with a bright joyous grin. Other students seemed just as excited and they eagerly worked on the levitation charm.

Harry had a break. He looked outside, seeing pathetic sticks that were passing for broomsticks. Thoughts of his Nimbus 2000 made him ache. He remembered it, sleek and shiny, with a mahogany handle, a long tail of neat, straight twigs and Nimbus Two Thousand written in gold near the top.

This made the boy pause.

Why not design a better broomstick? He could clearly recall Quidditch Through the Ages… The boy left, going outside and taking one of the broomsticks. He winced at touching it; splinters were all over his hands. Plus, the charms on the broom were so… basic. It would move at one speed and could only go up, down, and stop. He was sure that the other brooms were identical.

First, Harry smoothed down the broomstick. He added to the tail, making sure he found neat, straight twigs. From what he knew, it would help with the aerodynamics… and if not, it would certainly look better.

"Molliare," muttered the boy, thankful for the cushioning charm. He frowned; did it exist yet?

Then again… after all those splinters, Harry was quite sure the wizarding world would certainly not complain at it being devised early.

Lunch came and he brought the broom he was working on with him.

"Oh," said Rowena, looking amused. "That looks lovely."

Georgina was running her hand over it, clearly agreeing. "Look at how smooth it is," she was telling Salazar excitedly.

Her husband chuckled, "I will lose my wife to her flying."

"And so comfortable…" Her eyes widened. "How did you do this?" She looked at Harry, incredulous.

"He has Rowena's brains, of course," said Godric, laughing. "Parent and child, no surprise."

Harry felt himself blushing, even more so at the fact that Rowena did not correct Godric. Instead, she smiled at Harry with clear pride.

Between his own learning and teaching, Harry continued to work on the broomstick, making diagrams for it. His students were learning quickly. September passed quickly, and the rainy October followed. On an overcast day that had no rain, Harry had asked Georgina to be his test subject for his broom.

Of course, the others came to watch. Even a few students were doing it, their eyes wide with wonder and envy.

"This," sang Georgina, turning in loops, over and under, side to side, backwards… "Is magnificent!"

Salazar, watching from the ground, looked to be as green as his House's color. Harry laughed.

"She's going to fall off that thing. Going hundreds of feet into the sky, we have feet, we're meant to be on the ground!"

Harry paid the man no mind.

"Excellent," said Georgina, coming to a neat stop in front of them.

Rowena smiled at Harry. "Skilled broommakers are difficult to come by."

"Skilled? Skilled? The boy is beyond skilled. He is an artisan and this, this is his symphony!" Georgina held up the broom with pride and Harry laughed.

"I'll improve the other ones we have here," said Harry. "And teach the students how to fly on them, since they'll be different from the others out there."

There was a loud cheer from said students as the other staff laughed.

Having experience with altering the broom helped Harry with speed; the other brooms did not take him as long. It was his task in the evenings, making for peaceful, enjoyable time. Rowena would do her reading and writing, Harry would work on the brooms.

November brought more flying classes once he finished enough brooms for a class, with quite a few eager students. Even more were eager to learn charms given the ones he had used on the brooms. No one grumbled anymore, not even Onfroi Malfoy; the boy was too eager to fly and get a new broom to risk upsetting Harry.

He was exactly where he needed to be.

"Professor, you… you said we could come to you, if we needed help?"

Harry nodded, looking up to see Edward Pavlides. "Yes, of course."

"Could… could you go over braking again, please?" The boy looked nervous and Harry remembered how shaky his flying had been.

"Of course." Harry walked with the boy, "Being a bit afraid of flying is nothing to be ashamed of."

"Other people think it is," said the boy quietly, trembling. "Malfoy especially."

"What?" complained a voice from down the hall. A thin face poked around the corner, revealing Gidie.

Edward rolled his eyes, "Not you, your brother."

Gidie made a face, "He bothers me a lot too. Not like I asked to be in my family, you know." He perked up, "Are you flying? Could I come too?"

Harry simply nodded and the Gryffindor boy quickly joined them. Myrddin was outside, practicing a spell Harry had never seen before, but the sky was clearing up.

"Weather magic," said the famous Merlin, grinning.

"I swear you could be the teacher," said Harry, smiling.

The older boy laughed, "I don't have the patience. Dealing with people is frustrating enough, add teaching to it…" He smiled. "I wish I did. Like you and Rowena. And your broomstick making skills and way with charms are amazing."

Harry felt himself blushing as he turned his attention to helping Edward as Gidie zoomed all around.

Both boys, along with Myrrdin, returned to the school for supper. Harry went to put away the brooms when the world spun around him once more.

Recognizing the effect, he groaned, desperately trying to grab something, to stay.

"I'm already home," he said desperately, hoping against hope that Professor Dumbledore could hear. "Please, please don't, I'm where I should be, I'm where I belong, I'm home!"

"Harry, what is it? Where is the wizard?" Melusine, faithfully with him as her master had commanded, looked around, desperately trying to strike, to protect.

The world spun once more.

"Protego! Stupefy! Relashio! Expelliarmus!"

He shouted every spell he could, trying to fight the effects, trying desperately to stay, even as the world blurred around him.

"Harry!"

He heard a desperate scream.

Rowena.

Her fingertips brushed against his own, but something was pulling him away. He fought against it, fought against the spell that seemed to be ripping him apart, seemed to be making Melusine scream with exquisite pain.

"Melusine!" Salazar's voice had joined Rowena's.

Harry's eyes met hers. They were shimmering with tears and she was completely blurred.

"I love you."

He managed the words.

"Harry! Harry!" Rowena screamed it. "My boy, my son!" Her voice was a wail and arms grabbed her, tugging her away from the epicenter of the spell.

"Rowena, no!"

"I love you, I love you, from now until forever!" She screamed it, desperate, and her pained, desperate face was the last thing Harry saw before the world dissolved around him.