Back to the Marauders: Starlight-Mist
Disclaimer: The Harry Potter series and all its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
Hello Readers,
Happy New Year 2015! I'm sorry I haven't updated since last year, but welcome back. This time, we finally get to see Harry and Ron's side of things, and a semi-explanation of Hermione's disappearance. Hope you guys enjoy!
Please Enjoy,
Starlight Mist
October 22, 1999
(The Future)
"Mr. Longbottom, why does your potion look as if an otter left its turd in a bowl of porridge? Ten points from Gryffindor, evanesco. As for you two, Mister Potter and Mister Weasley, you will be staying after class today," Snape sneered, narrowing his eyes at the two boys, who barely responded. "Class dismissed."
Before their third member had disappeared into thin air, it would have been unusual to see Weaselbee and Wonderboy so somber, but now, their gloomy expressions were almost normal. The widely-hated potions professor rubbed his temples as the other students slowly filed out of his classroom, leaving the two troublemakers behind. After every last student had exited, Snape bolted the door shut, locked it magically, and cast a silencing spell on the room.
"Potter, Weasley, I believe I know what happened to Miss Granger," Snape said, cutting straight to the chase.
The two boys almost leapt out of their seats as he slammed a thick tome onto his desk. The book was well-used, its worn dragon skin stained and smelling heavily of rot and musk. The pages were all weather-worn and had buckled from water damage, making the book fatter than it would have been. Snape flipped it open to a page more than halfway through the book, marked by a red scrap of fabric that called itself a bookmark.
"Read," the professor ordered.
The Golden Disappearance [Ministry Unsolved Case MMMMCMLXXXVIII]
In 1863, three friends Natalia Bruhn, Charles Gables, and Shayne Lanchard were sitting in a pub when Natalia disappeared. In Shayne's report to the Aurors, he stated that, "...Tali [Natalia] felt funny shortly before she disappeared. We asked her if there was anything wrong the first time she cried out in pain, but she denied any problem. The second time, he [the bartender] took notice and asked whether we should call for help, but Tali also refused. The third time, we [Charles and Shayne] tried to carry her out to the door, and it was then that she flashed a bright gold and disappeared."
When asked why they tried to carry her out of the pub, Charles remarked, "We figured we should call her a carriage and get her home. Her father didn't like her drinking anyway. Deemed it unfit for a lady, especially we are to be wed, but I digress. The bartender feared she was sick."
Charles and Shayne were not arrested on any suspicion in the disappearance of Natalia, who reappeared two years later. When she was asked where she had gone, she answered that she had been sent back in time. Natalia did not disclose any further information, except that she had interacted with both Shayne's father and a man named Henry Wilson, a man with whom Shayne's father had a dispute with. In an interview with the Aurors, she told them that during her time in the past, Shayne had visited her in a dream, though she did not disclose what the dream was about to anyone.
Later the same day, Natalia told Charles that she had gotten married while in the past. Charles, who had been holding on to the chance that Natalia would come back, was furious and demanded compensation. However, Natalia's father had died while she had been in the past, and Natalia had not a penny to her name. It is alleged that Charles took back their engagement ring, and that the two never spoke again. Natalia, however, maintained a friendship with Shayne.
The cause of Natalia's disappearance is still unknown, but there is one suspect. Shortly after they got to the bar, there was what Charles described as a "small skirmish". Shayne elaborated, telling Aurors that, "A drunk man got handsy with Natalia and a little magic had to be brought to play, but no spells of unknown origin were passed through the lips, fingers, or wand of either party. Bloke was probably too drunk to try anything any way. We did not sense anything afoot with the man, or we would have stepped in."
Aurors believe this man may have been suspect, and that despite what Shayne described, a spell of unknown origin had been cast upon Natalia.
Harry looked up from the reading, "Do you mean to say that Hermione was sent to the past?"
"There must be some common factor between the two disappearances, other than pain and golden light. As of right now, Miss Granger is probably around twenty years in the past, interacting with your parents. Additionally, if we're basing Miss Granger's situation on the situation of Natalia Bruhn, you, Mister Potter, will contact her in a dream. Ask her if she knows anything and then share what we know with her."
"Wait, my parents? She's with the Marauders?" Harry asked, quickly doing that math and realizing Professor Snape was correct. "Perhaps she, like Natalia, is trying to solve a skirmish between my dad and someone else. Probably you, Professor Snape, or maybe one of the other Slytherins."
It was then that Ron spoke up, "Wait. Does that mean that Hermione is, uh, going to cheat on me?"
The room fell silent.
"I suppose so," Harry said sympathetically.
Ron looked a little disturbed at first, but he eventually spoke up again, "If it's someone that Hermione thinks is a worthy person of her love, I suppose I can tolerate them. And besides, we've been talking a lot this year and well? We've been considering breaking up. After all, we want two very different things in life, and we're two different people, and...well. I guess I'm just going to have to let go and move on."
"Very mature thinking, Weasley. Never thought I'd see the day," Snape murmured.
The redhead scowled.
"How did you find this? The Aurors have been searching for months?" Harry interrupted before the two could get into a fight.
"This book is heavily restricted. There are only two copies in existence. Of course, the other copy is in the Ministry's library, so if those bumbling fools the Ministry calls its finest had brains worthy of the title, they would have found it before I could've," Snape retorted, crossing his arms.
What he didn't tell them, however, was that he had spent every waking moment during the past month combing through his vast library of forbidden and illegal books, searching for any clue of what had happened to the brilliant young witch. Despite his hatred of her know-it-all look and constant prim and proper manner, she was a smart individual who he had been horrified to see disappear.
"So that solves the question of where she is," Ron said, twiddling his thumbs.
Snape nodded, then answered, "Yes, but that does not solve the real question, which is what caused her to be sent to the past. So far, the only lead I have is that my godson has told me that Miss Granger learned how to Tap. In all of history, there has never been a case of a Muggleborn learning how to Tap. Muggleborns simply do not have the magical reserves that purebloods and half-bloods have, and thus are unable to channel pure magic through their hands as is done with Tapping. Wandless magic is possible, but never Tapping. Shifting off of time traveling for a moment, we have another problem. I believe the fact that she is able to Tap may have split the world in three."
The two boys stared at their professor, confused.
Snape rolled his eyes, a nasty habit he had picked up from the snotty nosed brats he taught, "Mister Weasley, have any people you know to be dead suddenly become alive again?"
Ron shook his head.
"Exactly my point. That is why I believe there are three universes right now. The first one is a universe in which Miss Granger never learned to Tap and was never sent back to the past. The second one is the one that we are living in right now, where Miss Granger learned how to Tap and was sent to the past. The last one is one where Miss Granger learned how to Tap, was sent into the past, is affecting the futures with every action she takes."
"Wait, you think the world split in three because of the inner magic thing? The thing that Hermione had been using on the day she disappeared?"
"Exactly, Mister Weasley. Now, you say she Tapped the day she disappeared?"
Ron nodded, and the professor looked pensieve for a moment, then shook his head as if to dismiss an errant thought.
"So, the question we're really trying to answer is why Hermione is able to tap," Harry spoke. "If what you say is to be believed, Hermione was never meant to learn how to Tap, and it is the sheer fact that she learned how to Tap that split the world in two - a world where she can Tap and a world where she can not. Then, something to do with that ability to Tap sent her back in time, and yet again split the world in two."
Ron nodded, picking up on Harry's logic, "So to find out how to get Hermione back to us, we need to figure out exactly what element of her ability to Tap that sent her back in time. Then, perhaps, we can mend Time?"
Snape snorted, "Time has already been broken. You do not simply mend time. Even if we get Miss Granger back to our time, there will be three universes. Somewhere out there are two other of you, one of which is living in the original world, and one of which is being affected by Miss Granger's actions."
The boys were silent for a moment, then Harry frowned.
"What if...the mere action of her Tapping was what sent her to the past. The article you showed us mentioned that Natalia got into a skirmish involving magic, shortly before she got sent back in time. That morning that Hermione disappeared, Malfoy knocked a book off of Hermione's desk, and she created a Tapped hand and lifted the book back off the floor. What if Natalia had also used a Tapped spell?"
"Harry, if what you're proposing is true, why doesn't everybody who knows how to Tap get sent back in time?"
"Interesting theory, Mister Potter, but Mister Weasley is correct."
Harry groaned, running a hand through his hair, "This is so confusing. Tapping, time traveling, and disappearing and magic and...I don't even know. I just want Hermione back with us. Then she could rant our ears off about some stupid book she checked out of the library."
"Five points from Gryffindor for complaining, Mister Potter," Snape drawled, narrowing his eyes at the unruly-haired boy. "Just remember, if you are able to contact Miss Granger in a dream, you must tell her what we know. Something about her ability to tap, an ability she never should have, caused her to get sent back in time. Make sure you talk about the Golden Disappearance. That is all. Dismissed."
When the two boys made no move in the general direction of the door, Snape glared at them. Getting the hint, they packed their stuff, then exited the room, quietly closing the door behind them, as if not to irritate him. Once he was sure they had left, Snape slumped over in his chair.
"Merlin forbid either of those two ever run for Minister of Magic," he muttered to himself.
Author's Note:
I hope that was slightly enlightening? I often struggle to write male characters and make them not too different from their normal state, but I tried my best to capture what they would be like. I'd like to take a moment to thank story favorites, follows, and reviews.
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