I do not own Harry Potter.
Harry stared out the window watching the sun come up. The things he saw with Luna weighed heavily on him and he had no idea if anything he was doing was going to change the future. It seemed he could never get ahead, trading one bad thing in the future for one bad thing in the past… or rather his present. It was starting to get very confusing.
"Hey," said Daphne quietly, coming through the living room to stand beside him.
"Hey."
"Can't sleep?"
Harry shook his head.
"Me neither."
Harry looked at her, really looked at her and noticed she seemed to be radiating sadness. "Are you alright?"
Daphne shrugged and said, "As much as I can be…"
Harry nodded and laced his hand through hers, squeezing it gently.
"Everything looks so similar… I still can't believe we're in the past."
"I'm sorry."
Daphne shrugged again and said, "Maybe we can do some good, make things a bit better for us in the future?"
"Yeah, maybe."
"Not very convincing, Harry. What has you worried?"
Harry sighed and ran his hand through his hair, "Everything seems like a trade-off, if I do something to help us in the future it hurts someone in the past. If I do something to help someone in the past, then it hurts us in the future."
"Balance…"
"Yeah, I guess."
Daphne squeezed his hand then rested her head on his shoulder as they gazed out at the Black Lake.
Harry kissed the top of her head and said, "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For not hating me. For trusting me to do what's best. For sacrificing yourself to make things better. For allowing me to touch you even after the ritual."
"We knew going in that sex might be involved. And honestly, it wasn't as if it was a bad experience," she said cheekily.
"Ouch. My fragile ego," replied Harry chuckling.
Daphne giggled and wrapped her arm around Harry's waist, curling into his body as he pulled her closer.
After several minutes in comfortable silence Daphne asked, "What do you think it's going to be like tomorrow? I'm sure we're going to attract a lot of attention…"
"I don't know. My guess is it will be the same as our time but just with different people. I'm actually kind of nervous how my parents are going to react once they see I'm a Slytherin. Will they treat me differently?"
Daphne squeezed him and said, "Not if we don't let it be a thing. We'll make sure to go out of our way to thank them for helping us yesterday. And if we have any classes together we can ask if they'll help us study or something. We'll just make it our priority to spend time with them."
Harry nodded and said, "What about your parents, are they here too?"
Daphne shook her head and said, "No. My dad graduated in 73 and my Mum went to Beauxbatons."
"That leaves my parents, Draco's parents and Luna's dad."
"Plus, Blaise's mum," finished Daphne.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"What do you think of me trying to get close to Bellatrix?"
Daphne's eyes widened in surprise.
Harry said, "Just hear me out."
"Okay…"
"We all know Voldermort needs to be dealt with but we're forgetting how powerful and dangerous Bellatrix is… She ruined Neville's parents, she killed my Godfather and I'm sure that's just the beginning of all the horrible things she's done. Maybe we can somehow change what she becomes?"
"I don't know Harry."
"Isn't it at least worth trying?"
"I don't really know. You said it was a balancing act, maybe we turn her good but then Draco's mother turns crazy."
Harry sighed and said, "I didn't think about that."
"Let's just see how things go tomorrow… we should observe how everyone interacts then decide who we want to align ourselves with."
"Spoken like a true Slytherin," he said smiling.
She poked him in the side in retaliation and said, "Watch it you."
"Can't sleep either?" asked Blaise.
"Not really," replied Daphne, holding her free arm out to him.
He moved closer and took hold of her hand, looking out at the lake. "What's the plan for tomorrow?"
Daphne chuckled, and Harry smiled.
"Let me guess, we're just going to wing it," he sneered.
"No need to get snarky Blaise," shushed Daphne.
"It's just a very Gryffindor thing to do. Go in without a plan. Expect the good in everyone, etcetera, etcetera."
Harry clenched his jaw but didn't respond
"Harry's worried his parents will hate him because he's a Slytherin."
"No, I'm not!"
"Yes, you are."
"They might."
"Not helping Blaise."
"What? I'm not going to lie to him, there's probably a good chance that they will hate him once they get a look at the robes he's wearing."
Harry sighed and broke away from both to lean against the window, facing them. "So, what do I do? Just accept it?"
"No, you don't accept it. We talked about this, we'll make sure to go out of our way to spend time with them," replied Daphne, glaring at Blaise.
Blaise shrugged.
"Last year… Snape was teaching me Occlumency and…"
"What? He was?" asked Daphne shocked.
Harry nodded and said, "Yeah, long story but during one of my lessons I pushed him out of my head and ended up in his…"
"Seriously?" asked Blaise, unable to hide his surprise.
Harry nodded again and continued, "The memory I ended up in was one of him being bullied by my Dad and Sirius. It was really horrible. I mean if he wasn't my Dad… I'd think he … he was…"
"A jerk?" asked Daphne gently.
Harry chuckled and said, "Yeah, sure, we can go with that."
"I'm not really looking forward to dealing with my mother. She's in her last year now. It's bad enough when you have to deal with the rumors of your Mums love life, it's entirely different to have to see it firsthand."
Harry grimaced and said, "Oh God, I hadn't even thought of that. What if someone besides my Dad is dating my Mum? Am I allowed to kill them?"
Daphne burst out laughing but neither Harry nor Blaise found their situation funny. "Come on, it's a bit early to be plotting the death of would be suiters of your mothers. Remember, we're changing things just by being here. Let's try not to shake things up so much that we don't exist anymore, okay?"
They both grunted in response.
"Well, it looks like the sun is starting to come up. I'm going to go take a shower and get ready for our first day of sixth year," said Daphne before giving them both a kiss on the cheek and heading to her room.
They watched her go and then looked at each other.
"She's something else," said Harry.
"Yes, she really is," replied Blaise.
"You love her, don't you?"
"I do."
"Does she know?"
Blaise shrugged, "I've never told her, but I think she knows."
"What's stopping you from telling her?"
"You. This crazy situation."
"That's fair, but what about before all this happened? Why didn't you tell her then?"
"It just never seemed like the right time…"
Harry nodded and squeezed Blaise's shoulder, "This situation is crazy. I know that. But don't let me stand in your way if Daphne makes you happy, if she's the one for you. I have no idea what kind of… maintenance… this ritual is going to require. Maybe we won't ever need to be together again … or maybe we'll just need to be together once a month or something."
Blaise snorted and said, "It will be our time of the month."
Harry chuckled and said, "You know what I mean. Hermione is it for me. I'm happy with her. Draco too. I'm not looking to have this big harem."
"What about Luna?"
Harry sighed and said, "I don't know… but we'll figure it out."
Blaise nodded and said, "Alright."
"I'm going to wake Mione and Draco, I'm sure they both want to be ready to go early."
Blaise watched him leave, but just as he approached his bedroom door, he said, "Hey, Potter?"
Harry turned and said, "Yeah?"
"Thanks."
Harry nodded and entered his room, closing the door behind him. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness but when they did he couldn't help but smile. Hermione's hair was everywhere, splayed on the pillow and all over Draco's face. He chuckled as quietly as he could and approached the bed sitting down in front of Hermione. He ran his finger along her face and moved her hair to the side before leaning down and kissing her softly. "Mione, time to wake up."
She snuggled into the pillow further.
Harry leaned down and kissed her again, "Come on, Mione, I know you want to get ready. Today's the first day of our sixth year."
That did it as she opened her eyes and smiled wide. "Hey you."
"Hey. Did you sleep well?"
She stretched much like a cat and said, "Yeah, I did."
"Will you two lovebirds shut up, you're interrupting my sleep," grumbled Draco.
Harry smiled as Hermione turned towards Draco and snuggled into his arms.
"So warm," sighed Hermione.
"Come on you two, I'm going in the shower now, so you'll have to get yourselves moving."
They both listened as Harry went into the bathroom and turned the shower on.
"Ugh, do we really have to get up?" asked Draco.
"Yeah…"
"What is it?"
"What?"
"You're worried about something, I can tell."
"Aren't you? I mean we're in the wrong timeline… what could possibly go wrong?" she asked sarcastically.
Draco shrugged and said, "My life was pretty shitty in our timeline. Maybe this one will be better."
"But we have to go back Draco."
"Do we?"
"Of course, we do!"
"Why?"
Hermione sat up, unable to comprehend what he was asking, "Are you serious?"
"I don't know, maybe I am." He replied but before she could get worked up about it he kissed her softly and said, "Let's not talk about it now. We still have to get through our first day here. Who knows maybe this timeline will be worse than our own."
Hermione groaned and dropped back on the bed, watching Draco get up and head towards the bathroom. She was quite anxious about everything and she just needed a few minutes of peace to get her head on straight before she faced the day.
…
"Marisol, please go ask everyone to come down to the common room," said Professor Slughorn then he motioned to a young boy and said, "Nathan, you do the same in the boys' dormitories." Both nodded and went up the stairs to the dorms, telling everyone to head downstairs.
As the Slytherin's came down they chatted amongst themselves until one of them noticed the new group behind their head of house. Then suddenly they were all whispering and looking.
"All right, all right, settle down everyone. Before we start the day, I wanted to introduce you to some new Slytherin sixth years that arrived late last night, after the feast."
The buzz increased around them, and several people pushed themselves to the front, Harry recognizing one immediately. She looked him up and down like he was a piece of meat then winked at him. He shook his head when Hermione elbowed him…
"Don't be shy now Harry, say Hello," said Professor Slughorn smiling.
"Ah, Hey," said Harry.
"And next to Lord Peverell is Hermione Peverell."
"Hello," she said smiling tightly.
"And Daphne Peverell."
Daphne simply nodded.
"Blaise Peverell."
Blaise nodded.
"Luna Peverell."
"Hello," said Luna smiling wide.
"And Draco Peverell."
Draco nodded.
"How are you all Peverell's? You don't look anything like each other," sneered one of the Lestrange brothers.
Harry straightened up and spoke loud and clear, "I'm the last Peverell. Our families have always been close. This past year we took a vacation together and all our parents went out to dinner … we thought it was great having the house to ourselves for the night. But they never returned…there was an explosion at the restaurant … and they were all killed."
Everyone was shocked silent.
"Since we're all we have left for family I asked them to join House Peverell."
Professor Slughorn squeezed Harry's shoulder tightly and said, "I'm so sorry my boy."
Harry nodded, jaw clenched.
Professor Slughorn turned to the room and said, "You know the rules. Outside of this common room we are one house. I expect you to help the Peverell's find their way around, keep them from getting into trouble. You stick together. You know the other houses look for weakness in Slytherin's. Don't show them any. The Peverell's are now part of House Slytherin. Treat them as such."
Harry and Hermione looked at each other in surprise but they noticed the others didn't seem surprised by their Head of House's speech. Before they could discuss it, they were inundated with students introducing themselves as they all headed to the Great Hall for breakfast.
Harry watched his pack up ahead talking with different students, keeping an eye on them as he made small talk himself.
"So, you're a sixth year?" asked the sultry witch from the common room. He smirked at her and said, "I am."
"Well, then, you're in luck because so am I." She turned and started walking backwards so he could get a good look at her. The top two buttons of her shirt were undone, and he could see black lace sticking out. Her hair was a mass of black curls, but it was styled perfectly. She winked at him as she wiped some red lip gloss on her lips, then blew him a kiss before turning and moving to join her friends. He couldn't help but admire how short her skirt was, taking in the creamy skin that was exposed above her knee highs.
"That went well," said Luna suddenly appearing beside him.
"Yeah. Are you ready for today?" he asked.
"I think so. There don't seem to be nearly as many nargles in the castle as there are in our time."
"Really?"
"Hmm mmm."
"Is that a good thing?" asked Harry amused.
"I think so."
"Okay then," he replied, smiling as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
As he entered the Great Hall he saw the others waiting for him and Luna. He automatically went straight towards the Gryffindor table, but Draco steered him to the left towards the Slytherin table. He smiled and said, "Thanks."
They all sat and began breakfast, chatting amongst themselves most of the time. Harry noticed the curious stares but was honestly used to it. He was just waiting for Dumbledore to announce them, which he knew would happen. Dumbledore would never pass up the opportunity to be the center of attention. He snorted to himself at the thought.
"What are you laughing at?" asked Draco.
Harry motioned with his fork toward the head table and they both watched Dumbledore stand and clear his throat as he cast the sonorous.
"Good morning everyone!"
There was a mixed reply and Dumbledore chuckled good naturedly.
"I wanted to take a moment to introduce six new students that arrived late last night." He motioned to the Slytherin table and Harry reluctantly stood, glaring at the others to join him.
"May I introduce everyone to Lord Harry Peverell."
Harry waved, blushing mildly.
"Lord Peverell is accompanied by five other Peverell's, Hermione, Luna, Daphne, Blaise and Draco."
Each of them waved when their name was called.
"As you can see the Peverell's were all sorted into House Slytherin. They will be joining the sixth-year curriculum and I expect everyone to give them a warm welcome to Hogwarts. Now, pip pip."
Dumbledore then cancelled his charm and sat down to finish his breakfast. Harry and the pack did the same despite all the staring. Harry made eye contact with his mother and smiled genuinely at her then moved on to see his father glaring at him. Harry frowned and looked away.
"It's alright, we'll make him see sense," whispered Daphne in his ear.
Harry smiled genuinely at her and mouthed, "Thanks." He looked away and saw the sultry witch standing across from him just to the side of Draco. She blew him a kiss, winked and left with a pack of witches following her. He was slightly dazed as he watched her walk away.
Hermione smacked him on the head, hard. "Harry James Potter, don't you even dare think it!" she whispered fiercely at him.
He rubbed the back of his head, pouting, and said, "What?"
"Don't you what me! I know exactly what you're thinking and it's too dangerous!"
He could tell she was furious but still… "You don't know what I'm thinking," he snarled and stood up, "Just leave it be."
She stood up as well, following him as he started to leave, obviously not letting it go.
"Gryffindors," cursed Draco, as the rest of them scrambled to follow.
Luna being Luna was unaware that they were leaving so Blaise had to double back and collect her, "Luna, time to go," he said, jaw clenched.
"Oh," she said surprised, as she stood. She watched the other four leave the Great Hall before she took Blaise's outstretched hand and stepped over the bench. "It's going to be such an exciting day, don't you think?"
"Unfortunately, yes, I do."
