A/N: This story was written for the final round of The International Wizarding Schools Championship Forum, season two.

Words: 3712 - 10% rule

School: Mahoutokoro

Theme: Time Travel

Main Prompt: [Creature] A Hummingbird

Year: 6

A/N2: The Prompt for this story won't quite come together until the end of the story.

The Hogwarts Express' train whistle blew, signaling to all those that could hear it that it was almost ready to go. Those who had yet to get on the train scrambled to do so, while those already situated on the train hurried off for last-minute goodbyes.

One lone student stayed seated inside one of the compartments, shifted enough so that his messy black hair couldn't be seen by anyone on the platform, and his green eyes stared unseeingly out the window, one hand clenched tightly around his lap while the other clasped a necklace around his neck tight enough that his knuckles stood out against his skin.

~XXXXX~

"Are you finally going to tell me why we sneaked in here?" Harry Potter asked his companion. He let go of his Disillusion Charm as he took in the wide, rectangular room hidden deep underneath the Ministry within the Department of Mysteries. They had sneaked past a lot of Death Eaters to get here, but they still had to leave soon, lest their presence here be discovered.

"I need some things from here," Hermione Granger replied absentmindedly, not looking away from where she was searching rather intently.

"Yes, Hermione," Harry said with patience he didn't actually feel, "you've said that before. Can you tell me what things you need from the Department of Mysteries, of all places?"

"Important things."

"Hermione." Harry didn't mean for his voice to go hard and cold, but his best friend had been completely obsessed over an idea that she wouldn't tell him about for three weeks and he was really starting to worry about her.

Hearing the shift in his tone, Hermione looked away and focused her gaze on his face. She must have seen something that wasn't obvious in his voice because, in the next instant, she sagged like she had an invisible weight on her shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Harry," Hermione said. "I can't tell you. On the chance that this doesn't work, I don't want to get your hopes up for nothing."

Harry frowned. Ever since Ron died—and the thought still sent a lance of grief through him—Hermione had been cautious about anything that could be helpful. Like him, she was wary of anything that could be good news. The fact that she was doing something without his knowledge because of the chance it wouldn't work out made him pause.

"How important is it?" he asked.

"If it works, we'll be able to save everyone. And all of our friends wouldn't have died in vain."

~XXXXX~

"Umm, excuse me."

The green-eyed boy was snapped out of his daze and looked up.

His eyes widened.

A boy with a shock of red hair and bright blue eyes was standing in the doorway of the compartment. "Can I sit here?" he asked, pointing to the seat opposite the boy. "Everywhere else is full."

The messy-haired boy only nodded.

"Thanks."

The redhead moved further inside and proceeded to try and place his trunk overhead.

The green-eyed boy watched him struggle and spoke up for the first time. "Would you like some help?"

Blue eyes met green in shock before he smiled. "Yeah, okay!"

Together, they managed to place it overhead without too much trouble before they sat down again.

"Thanks for that," the redhead said in relief. "I'm Ron Weasley."

"...Harry Potter."

Ron's eyes widened. "Harry Potter?" he repeated in surprise. "Are you really?"

Harry merely nodded.

"Do you have the-the…" Ron's voice trailed off, but Harry knew what he meant.

"Yes."

"Wicked!" Ron exclaimed in excitement. "Can I see it?"

The green-eyed boy looked away and back out the window. "I don't like showing it to people," he mumbled. His hand tightened around his necklace.

Ron finally seemed to notice how uncomfortable he was making his traveling companion because the next thing out of his mouth was, "Oh, sorry. Um. Are you excited to go to Hogwarts?"

Harry turned his head back and smiled, his green eyes sparkling. "Yeah. I've been wanting to go there for a while. I bet it'll be like a second home."

Ron, almost weak with relief that Harry was no longer in a somber mood, immediately launched into tales that his brothers had told him about Hogwarts.

And all the while, Harry's smile stayed in place as he conversed with his first true friend.

~XXXXX~

It was while they were talking about Quidditch that Ron first noticed it.

Actually, he noticed when he first sat down inside the compartment, but it was while he and Harry were talking about Quidditch that it was drawn to his attention again.

"What's that?"

"Huh?" Harry asked, his confusion clear since Ron wasn't asking anything about Quidditch.

The redhead gestured with his head. "That thing around your neck that you keep messing with. What is it?"

Harry looked down, surprise on his face like he didn't even realize what he was doing. His fingers were turning the charm on the necklace around and around, almost absentmindedly. "Oh," he replied. "Oh, um, it's...it's a necklace my friend gave me."

Harry let go of the necklace so Ron could see the charm at the end of the chain. It looked to be a bird of some sort, but not one that he had seen before. "What kind of bird is it?"

"...A hummingbird."

Ron wanted to ask more, but he caught the expression on his new friend's face. His mum would look exactly like that whenever she told them about their uncles, her brothers that passed away a long time ago.

So he dropped it.

Thankfully, the door slid open before the silence could get more loaded. It was an old woman with a kind face. "Anything off the trolly, dears?"

Ron was about to deny—his mum already packed him a snack anyways—when Harry leaped up with an excited grin and proceeded to buy loads of treats off the cart. When he came back inside with his arms full of treats, he caught sight of Ron's expression and grinned sheepishly. "I've never had wizarding sweets before," he admitted. "Do you...do you want to share them with me?"

And while his first response was to refuse any form of charity given to him, he realized that Harry genuinely wanted to share with him as a friend. And who was he to deny something like that from his new friend?

Ron gave Harry a grin. "Sure!"

~XXXXX~

"Duck!"

Harry Potter did as his friend said, and dived down without hesitation.

"Bombarda!"

Screams echoed as the group of Death Eaters that were after them got caught up in the spell.

"Damn," Ron Weasley snarled. "These bastards are like cockroaches."

Harry let out a laugh that lacked any humor. "I guess we just need to keep stomping on them, then," he said as he let his friend haul him up.

Ron snorted. "I guess that's one way of putting it."

Harry was about to reply when Ron's eyes widened in terror at something behind him. Before he could turn to see what it was, Ron pushed him aside and out of the way.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Harry could only watch, horrified, as his friend was engulfed by the green light that brought only death.

"RON!"

His red-headed best friend collapsed to the ground, his sightless eyes staring at him.

Harry saw Red.

He got up and whirled around to aim his wand at the Death Eater that killed Ron. "SECTUMSEMPRA!"

The Death Eater clutched at his throat as he dropped to the ground with a gurgle. For a moment, the only emotion Harry felt was vindication. But reality came back with a vengeance and with a heartbroken sob, he went back over to his best friend's side and collapsed.

Ron's sightless eyes still seemed to stare up at him accusingly. 'This is your fault,' they seemed to say. 'I'm dead because of you.'

"I'm sorry," Harry cried; at that moment, it was all he could do. He clutched Ron's hand that was still warm despite his corpse status. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, Ron."

He kept repeating his apologies, but it wouldn't do any good.

The dead could not hear you speak.

And even if they could, they couldn't talk back.

Because they were gone.

~XXXXX~

"Firs' years! Firs' years, over here!" came Hagrid's voice as soon as Harry and Ron stepped off the train. Hagrid spotted him and grinned. "All right there, Harry?"

Harry smiled back as best as he could without letting his lips quiver with the sheer emotion that was coursing through him.

Ron was oblivious to his internal struggle. "Whoa, that guy is huge!" he exclaimed. "How do you know him, Harry?"

"He took me to get my school things," he replied absently. He reached up and gripped his necklace tightly as he followed Hagrid and the other first years towards the boats that would take them to the castle.

He and Ron ended up in a boat with Neville and Hermione, and the sight of his used-to-be-/soon-to-be friends was enough to make his throat tighten. He gripped the hummingbird on his necklace even harder.

"Hello," Hermione asserted as Harry and Ron joined her and Neville on the boat. "My name is Hermione Granger."

"...N-Neville Longbottom," Neville added with a low mutter.

"Ron Weasley," the redhead muttered, apparently a little put off by Hermione's attitude.

"Harry Potter," Harry offered.

Hermione and Neville's eyes both widened, Hermione's in awe and Neville's in shock.

"Really?" Hermione questioned. "I've read all about you, you know. You're in a lot of books and they all talk about how you took out You-Know-Who when you were a baby!"

Ron gained a scowl on his face the longer Hermione talked and Neville was starting to look uncomfortable. But before Harry could say anything, Hagrid called out, "Everyone in? Right, then—FORWARD!"

~XXXXX~

Being back in Hogwarts again was calming in a way Harry had felt nowhere before. The tension in his shoulder eased a bit, and he was able to release the death grip he had on his necklace.

The Sorting Hat had just finished its song, to the rousing cheer of everyone inside the Great Hall, and Professor McGonagall stepped forward with a scroll in her hands. "When I call your name," she announced to the silent hall, "you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted."

"Well, at least it isn't wrestling a troll," Ron whispered to the green-eyed boy as McGonagall unrolled the scroll and cleared her throat, and Harry had to muffle a snigger.

Student after student went up as their name was called. Harry suppressed a smile when Hermione was called up and his laughter at Ron's groan when she was—once again—sorted into Gryffindor.

When Neville was called up and sorted into Gryffindor, Harry clapped alongside the House of Brave and smiled fondly when he ran off with the sorting hat still on his head.

And then, finally...

"Potter, Harry!"

He stepped forward, ignoring the whispers that broke out as he did. Seven years of hearing people talk about him—whether for good or ill—had dulled his sensitivity to the gossip.

As he stepped forward, he made the mistake of glancing at the High Table and met the twinkling gaze of the Headmaster. His hand tightened around his necklace, his knuckles bulging on his skin.

He turned and sat on the stool and the Headmistress placed the hat on his head. Suddenly, his vision was only darkness.

Ah, a voice in his ear spoke, well, isn't this an interesting situation. You've come a long way, Mister Potter.

Harry gripped his necklace even tighter. 'You won't tell, will you?'

It is not in my nature to divulge the secrets of the student of Hogwarts, Mister Potter, the hat replied, amused. Your intentions are pure. That is all that matters. My only concern now is where to place you.

Harry said nothing.

I stand by what I said all those years ago, the Sorting Hat continued. You could be great in Slytherin. All of those years haven't changed that—f anything, they helped cement the fact. But I see that will not help your goals. Like all those years ago, I shall go with GRYFFINDOR!

The hat shouted out the house and thunderous applause from the red and gold table met his ears as McGonagall took the hat off his head.

He couldn't help his grin as he went over to them and sat down next to Neville—who seemed surprised that Harry sat next to him, of all people—and finally released his necklace and relaxed.

He was home.

~XXXXX~

"Ah, yes. Harry Potter. Our new celebrity."

Harry ignored the sniggering that was coming from the Slytherin side and Ron's uncomfortable shift next to him as he stared at the Potions Master with a blank face.

Last night ended really well, with him, Ron, and the rest of their dormmates chatting about nothing important but fun all the same. Earlier that day wasn't so bad either. Of course, there were whispers and stares, but Harry ignored them and focused on his friends instead.

He tried to extend his and Ron's conversation to Neville and Hermione as well—Harry wanted to become their friend sooner than last time—with mixed results. Hermione seemed both pleased and flustered that he was even talking to her at all, while Neville appeared to be waiting for the next shoe to drop.

Everything with his classes was great as well if he ignored the way Flitwick reacted to reading his name and his hatred for the Voldemort-possessed-Quirrell.

But as he stared at Severus Snape as he gave a speech about his class, Harry began to have mixed emotions. He respected the hell out of him for all the burdens he carried and the risks he took the first time around, but his attitude was still abhorrent.

He unconsciously began to clutch at the hummingbird on his necklace again as Snape looked in his direction once more. "Potter!" he barked out. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

"Draught of Living Death, sir," Harry answered calmly, his face not changing.

He felt more than saw Ron's surprised twitch since he refused to look away from Snape's black eyes; the same black eyes widened minutely in shock before they narrowed again. "Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

"In the stomach of a goat, sir."

"What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane, Potter?"

"Nothing, sir. They are the same plant that also goes by aconite."

There was silence as Professor and student stared each other down, Snape, with a frown and slight glare, and Harry with a natural mask on his face. His grip tightened on his necklace.

Snape looked away first. "Well?" he asked the rest of the class. "Why aren't you all copying that down?"

During the rush to grab their quills and parchment, Harry being among them, he saw the slightly confused glare that the Potions Master shot his way.

It wasn't the best way to start out with Snape, but it wasn't as bad as the last time. He'd count that as a win.

~XXXXX~

Blood.

Lots and lots of blood.

The gurgling of a destroyed throat as its owner tried to speak.

"You have your mother's eyes."

And then, Severus Snape was gone.

~XXXXX~

Harry clutched at the broom as he watched the others shout 'UP.' While his had jumped to his hand right away, others' had not and he had to wait while Madam Hooch went around to correct grips after showing them how to keep from sliding off.

In no time at all, it was time to get into the air. "Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground as hard as you can," Madam Hooch said. "I want you to keep steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle…"

But Neville was too nervous and ended up kicking off before Madam Hooch blew her whistle. Everyone around him—mostly the Gryffindors, as some of the Slytherins were laughing or simply stone-faced—were shouting at him and Hooch was screaming at him to come down, but Harry didn't do either.

He mounted his broom and, ignoring both Ron and Hermione's protests, shot into the air after him.

"Neville!" Harry shouted as he neared him.

The Gryffindor's bloodless face stared at him in terror, his whole body shaking in fear. Harry grabbed his hands and placed them on his own broom. "Neville," he repeated, "look at me. Grab my broom, okay?"

Neville still looked scared but did as Harry said. "Now, do you see my necklace? Do you see the bird hanging from it?"

"Y-Yes."

"Good," Harry asserted. "Just stare at that and breathe, okay? In through your nose, out through your mouth."

Neville was obviously still scared, but he did as Harry said. As he did so, Harry began to slowly lower himself back towards the ground. Since Neville still had a grip on Harry's broom, he began to descend as well.

By the time they both touched back down on the ground, Neville wasn't as freaked out as before and was actually able to stand on his own, despite the fact that his legs were shaking a little.

He gave Harry a tremulous smile. "Thanks, Harry."

"Longbottom! Are you alright?"

The two boys looked over to see Madam Hooch hurrying towards them with the rest of the class on her heels. "I'm fine, Professor," Neville answered her. "Thanks to Harry."

"Yes," Madam Hooch hummed as she looked at the Boy-Who-Lived. "That was quite some excellent flying, Potter."

Harry shrugged and tried to appear nonchalant. He absentmindedly reached up to hold his necklace. "I was just trying to help Neville."

"So I see," she said. "Well, since it seems you don't need this class as much as your peers, why don't you take Longbottom to the Hospital Wing? He still looks a bit pale."

"Sure," Harry replied. He gave quick goodbyes to Ron, Hermione, and the other Gryffindors in his year before he and Neville made their way inside the castle.

"Thank you again, Harry," Neville spoke quietly.

"No problem, Neville," the messy-haired teen said. "That's what friends are for, right?"

Neville gave him a shocked look before it morphed into the most genuine smile Harry had seen this time around. "Yes. That is what friends are for."

~XXXXX~

Harry Potter ran as fast as he could. The muscles in his legs screamed in exhaustion but he refused to stop.

His destination laid just ahead and he pushed himself harder.

He finally arrived, but his heart dropped.

He was too late.

Around the clearing lay many bodies of Death Eaters.

And in the middle, lay the lone body of his friend.

"NEVILLE!"

Harry hurried over to him. By some miracle, he was still alive, even with all of his injuries, and his eyes fluttered open when Harry landed next to him.

"Ha...Harr…"

"Don't talk," Harry gripped his hand. "Save your strength, please."

"Harry."

The look in his eyes was heartbreaking.

"Thank you...for being my friend."

One last exhale.

And Neville Longbottom passed away.

~XXXXX~

Harry sat in an armchair in the common room, his hand holding the hummingbird charm on his necklace once again. Ron and Hermione were sitting on the couch next to him doing homework, while Neville, Dean, and Seamus were discussing something on the other couch.

Having all his friends with him caused Harry to sink deep into his thoughts.

~XXXXX~

"Is that everything?" Harry Potter asked his best friend, his tone sad and gloomy.

Hermione Granger sighed as she stood from among all the runes she sketched on the floor. "Yes, this should be it," she answered, her voice sorrowful.

Harry looked at her. "Are you sure you can't come with me?" he asked, begging.

The young woman smiled sadly at him. "This is the only way, Harry," she responded, though her voice was thick as if her throat were clogged with tears.

The green-eyed young man wasn't immune to tears himself and had to close his eyes to keep them at bay. "Well, I guess we should get started," he said, his voice rough.

"Wait."

Harry opened his eyes at her plea. "What is it?"

Hermione seemed not to care about holding her tears back anymore, as they coasted down her cheeks silently. She reached up to take out a necklace Harry had seen her wear ever since the beginning of what was to be their seventh year at Hogwarts. She walked forward and placed it over his head. "Take this for luck."

Harry glanced down and noticed the bird at the end of the chain. "What is it?"

"A hummingbird," Hermione answered. Her tears were falling faster. "Did you know that many thought that this bird couldn't be anything extraordinary? But it proved them wrong. They can go long distances and fly backwards, even though they have such a small body."

"...Why are you telling me this?" Harry asked her as his vision began to fill with tears.

"The hummingbird did what everyone thought they couldn't," Hermione said with another small smile. "Just like how you're going to do the same to save us all."

She stepped forward to envelop him in a hug that he whole-heartedly returned. "A hummingbird is a symbol of adaptability and resilience," she said in his ear. "What better totem for you, who have been knocked down so many times only to get back up and keep going?"

Harry's tears came faster as he hugged her harder.

"This whole time, you've had the brain of a snake, and the heart of a lion." Hermione leaned away to stare her tear-filled eyes into his own. She smiled. "When you get back, try to have the soul of a hummingbird, okay?"

~XXXXX~

"Harry? Are you okay?"

The boy looked up from where his glance had been on his lap to glance at his friends.

They all looked at him with worried expressions.

Try to have the soul of a hummingbird, okay?

"Yeah," Harry smiled. His hand stopped gripping his necklace and settled in his lap along with his other one. His body relaxed. "I'm fine."