The Time Travel Crew

Chapter 16: Dreams and nostalgia (Harry and Justin)

The park at Cokeworth was an interesting place to be in. Every evening, one would see two little children cycling to the park, running around and playing ball or sometimes, even dropping a few seeds into the soil so as to beautify the place.

Harry loved Joyce with everything he had...she, according to him, was the best sister anyone could ever ask for. He had always worried that she would be jealous of his fame just like Aunt Petunia was of his mother's magical abilities. However, it wasn't the case, Joyce actually looked up to him and followed his every action...

Harry and Joyce had become really very close, so close, they just couldn't do without each other's company. They did everything together...biking to school, homework, playing around, helping their mother out, fooling Sirius, annoying Snape... Just everything.

And that was why Harry was worried about what would happen to his sister now that he would have to go to Hogwarts in a few months. They were still the only two kids in the neighbourhood and Lily didn't allow them to go beyond the area for any reason except school.

Joyce was going to be lonely the moment Harry stepped onto the train, Harry just knew it and he felt terrible about it.

But the first of April nineteen ninety one brought a solution to his problem - It wouldn't have been his first choice had he had an option, but something was better than nothing and a little magic could do wonders...

He and Joyce were returning home from school and they saw a hired car outside their house. Brother and sister shared a look of surprise - Lily never let any customer visit her at home. She would take the orders by phone and then disapperate to her shop in London to meet the person taking the order.

Putting his faith in Dumbledore who had stated that nobody with evil intention would get an entrance to the house, Harry took Joyce's hand and, very quietly, they entered the Cherished Heart.

The sight in front of him knocked him for the loop, for, there, in the middle of the living room stood his mother, in whose arms was... Aunt Petunia!

It took Harry a moment to realize that they were both crying as they hugged. He closed his gaping mouth and looked around. Snape stood just a few meters away, his expression was that of surprise giving Harry the impression that the two sisters threw their arms around each other just a moment before Harry and Joyce entered.

And sitting on the couch in all his flabby glory was Dudley Dursley with a, Harry blinked and took a better look, black eye, a swollen lip and a bruised cheek!

Harry didn't take more than a moment to realise what had happened.

In the previous time, around this time to be precise, Vernon Dursley was having some trouble with his company and everytime he came home after a troublesome day, he would get his frustrations out on Harry. Back then, Harry was the Dursley's punching bag and now that he wasn't around to take the brunt of the beatings, it looked like Dudley received them.

Harry felt resentment and pity and by the look in Snape's eyes when he set then on Harry, Harry was sure the former feeling had appeared on his face for a mere second.

From the looks of it, Petunia had left Vernon and run away with Dudley to the only other home she had and found it occupied. Harry could only imagine Snape entering through the fire to find the sisters arguing and then suddenly hugging and apologizing for everything.

By the look on Dudley's face as he stared at the fireplace, he deduced that he had received the shock of his life when Snape stepped out of the fireplace.

Lily, who was facing the door saw Harry and Joyce and she smiled and broke from the hug.

"Harry, Joyce, dears, this is my sister and your aunt, Petunia and this boy is her son and your cousin, Dudley." She looked at Petunia. "Tuney," she looked at Dudley, "Dudley dear, these are my children, Harry and Joyce."

Petunia smiled... she actually smiled at them! But Dudley looked sullen and Harry knew that while his world had suddenly collapsed around him, he was still a pampered brat and very carefully, Harry placed and undetectable charm on him compelling him to behave properly.

"Nice to meet you, Harry, Joyce." Dudley said with a smile after standing up.

This was weird, so weird but Harry could get used to it.

Lily said, "Aunt Petunia and Dudley will be staying with us from now on."

Petunia and Snape, who Harry could bet was feeling out of place, looked surprise.

"Lily-" Aunt Petunia began to protest.

"It's your home too." Lily cut her off. "We have another room for you and maybe, Harry could share his room with Dudley."

Lily looked at Harry expectantly.

Harry nodded with a suppressed sigh. When his mother put her mind to something, she could never be swayed. Anyway, now Harry wouldn't be sleeping in his room except on Christmas and Summer holidays and though he was happy to return to Hogwarts after a decade, he didn't want to leave the home he had learnt to love.

Sometimes, Harry hoped Hogwarts could start day school for the students who were homesick... Maybe that would be something he could do when he began teaching there. If he got the chance...

For most of the year, Dudley, who would most probably be finishing his schooling in the institution Harry and Joyce went to, would have the room to himself.

This set the cogwheels of Harry's head turning and he realised he could use Dudley's presence as an advantage. He could kill two birds with one stone - give Joyce the needed company and make Dudley lose weight!

He would have to make sure Dudley would obey the rules and not guide Joyce on the wrong path, but as Harry always said... magic could do wonders.

"Sev, where are you going?" Joyce said as Snape turned and headed for the fireplace. She hurried forward and caught his hand and looked up at him with a pout. "You said you'd come for lunch! Lunch hasn't even started! At school, I waited all day to come home for lunch and see you, but you're going?"

That was it. That was all Joyce needed to do to get Snape to soften. With a sigh he turned to Lily - "I popped in at the wrong time, haven't I?"

"Absolutely not!" said Lily with a little laugh. "You know your most welcome at any time of day, don't you, Sev?"

And so Harry's plan was set... He knew he was behaving like Dumbledore number two, but his sister's happiness was his first priority... Dudley was introduced to the magical abilities of Lily, Harry and Joyce and he actually found it "cool"!

Harry wasn't responsible for that reaction.

Then Dudley was told about Hogwarts and the Wizarding World and the entire Statute of Secrecy.

It took a few charms, but the Headmaster of Harry's school finally allowed Dudley to attend school midyear.

With a few more charms on Harry's part, Dudley was now a hard worker. A little magic from Lily and Snape and Petunia had now divorced Vernon and preferred to be known as Petunia Evans and with the maintenance she received, she opened a small cafeteria next to the children's park. She was actually so broadminded at times that Harry had to pause and wonder if the woman was the same shrill, nosy, annoying one of the previous time!

Petunia's cooking had always been amazing, even in the previous time, but Harry had always been the receiver of her bad dishes and in three months, she had made quite a reputation for herself. She even managed to hire another cook and a couple of waitresses.

Harry and Joyce helped Dudley get used to their routine and lifestyle and before they knew it, he was one of them. It was actually a blessing having him around. Even Neville didn't mind him on his weekly visits, though he was a little wary at first, he invited Dudley over to his place on the next Sunday - where Harry met Draco and his siblings for the first time - and Dudley had his first travel through the floo network.

Dudley's birthday was celebrated with a blast, with family, friends, neighbours and McGonagall, whom Dudley compared to the old Headmistress of his school back in Surrey. Harry remembered her as the only person in the school who had a soft spot for him in the previous time... But she died of a massive heart attack when Harry was eight.

Harry received his acceptance letter on the twenty-second of July and Lily took him, Joyce, Dudley and Petunia for a visit to Diagon Alley to get his Hogwarts things.

Harry got his holly and phoenix wand and he breathed a sigh of great relief when his mother bought him Hedwig for an early birthday present (Actually, Harry chose the owl, his mother bought her).

They met Neville on the way who would get a new wand right from the start and Harry spotted an eleven year old Justin for the very first time in a very long time. Justin saw him and beamed happily much to the confusion of his little brother Keith.

All in all, it was a great day and life was at it's finest.

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There it came again... The day Justin would leave his family to head to Hogwarts.

Keith was in tears and so was Justin's mother and Justin unlike the previous time, when magic had been something new and so fascinating, found it hard to leave them behind. Together they reached the station and on McGonagall's explicit instructions, they ran through the barrier and then Justin let his family feast their eyes on what they saw...Platform nine and three-fourths - though not that great to Justin - was his parents and brother's first and would probably be their only sight of the Wizarding World for a while.

Keith would of course join them with Luna, but that too would be a good wait of three hundred and sixty five days... a very long time, according to Justin.

He caught sight of Hermione well and alive, happily jabbering to her parents, then there was Hannah whose mother had grabbed in a tight hug... Cedric Diggory, Lavender Brown, Ernie Macmillan, Penelope Clearwater, Anthony Goldstein, Seamus Finnegan, Michael Corner, Suzan Bones, Cho Chang and many others, so young and brisk and chirpy, caught Justin's eyes.

In this aspect, Kings Cross really was a sight to behold - a place where the war hadn't yet taken it's toll, a time where in, the war would most probably never take its toll - Everyone and everything was so...normal. But the people Justin really wanted to see came in a few seconds later.

Harry Potter, Neville Longbottom and their little siblings and Lily Potter and Frank and Alice Longbottom all entered through the wall one after the other, flushed and excited. Harry and Neville looked so lively and content it was amazing to watch them for this was just the second time Justin saw them in around ten years, the first being a tiny glimpse of them in Diagon Alley.

After them came out someone who Justin could only take to be Sirius Black... He looked nothing compared to the pictures Justin had seen in the Daily Prophet in his third year. Black looked quite handsome... It was a wonder he hadn't married anyone yet.

The little group went around searching for a suitable place for their two firsties to ride. Harry caught Justin's eye as they started coming towards him still in search of an empty compartment, and gave him a swift wink.

Mr. Longbottom found a compartment and was just lifting Neville's trunk into it when the Malfoys came through the barrier and immediately, Draco dressed in long-sleeved shirt and formal trousers rushed to meet with Neville, who was waving madly at him.

It was at that moment that Justin began to feel a little left out and alone, but that was for only a moment because Justin was distracted by the look on Mrs. Potter's face. She looked rather upset at having a member of the Malfoy family interact with her boy, for at that very moment, Harry and Draco were shaking hands.

Lucius Malfoy approached her and Justin could just make out the words, "Peace, Mrs. Potter, we mean no harm."

What Lily Potter said later, Justin didn't catch because his mother pulled him into a hug and when Justin was finally let out of her embrace, he saw Sirius Black trying to put Lily Potter at ease. Then the Auror took Harry by his shoulder and lead him to the barrier where he knelt down before him (Harry was just as small as he was in the previous time!) and began to tell him something.

And it was while he was telling him that something that through the barrier came a lot of people... a rather large bunch of redheads... The Weasleys - all nine of them - one at a time.

And Black must have been tell Harry something of great value, for Molly Weasley, who seemed to have heard him, looked down at the pair and smiled softly. Harry smiled back at her and then he turned his attention back to Sirius Black, very cleverly making his very genuine smile look like a pure coincidence.

Ron Weasley, as freckled as ever, hadn't noticed them as he came through with Arthur Weasley and Ginny. Black, who finally seemed to have realized that this was a wrong place to give someone a pep talk, stood up and pulled Harry into a tight hug and then led him back to his mother and sister, who took turns in hugging him.

Draco and Neville weren't around them now, they had probably entered the compartment Frank Longbottom put their trunks in and Justin decided to do the same for it was already ten forty-five.

"Let's put the trunk in, Dad?" Justin whispered, so as to prevent his voice from wavering.

But Justin's father, as observant as ever, knew that Justin was trying but failing to hide his emotions.

He squatted down and looked at Justin straight in the eye, "Do you really want to do this Justin, or do you want to just forget about it?... You know your choice will not make anyone think bad of you... We could get a school to take you in, if you wish."

It was tempting, but Justin had been through this before, hadn't he?

He took in a deep breath and said steadily, "I want to go to Hogwarts, Dad."

Justin's father stood up and pulled Justin close and hugged him, then he let him go to pick up the trunk and carry it to the train.

Justin's mother pulled her into another hug and whispered, "This new place you will be going to is going to be completely new to you, dear... You will be facing an entirely new world, Justin, are you sure?"

Exactly the same worries they had the previous time, but Justin had been too enthralled by the fact that magic was real and that he was a part of it, that he never really let his parents worries affect him, but now...

"I'm sure, Mum."

"Please take care of yourself, Justin...be aware of your surroundings...be aware of the company you keep..."

"I will, Mum." Justin said patiently.

"You will write, won't you?" Keith asked him as Justin turned to give him a hug.

"Every week." Justin promised.

After another round of hugs, Justin got on the train.

By this time Harry too had disappeared from the rest of the Potters who were now talking to the Longbottoms, Malfoy's not too far away.

At eleven sharp, the train began to move and Justin waved out to his parents until they were out of sight. Then he moved towards the compartment the others were in and opened the door. With his heart thumping, Justin poked his curly haired head in, looked at the three sitting comfortably on the seats and gave them the customary two winks when they turned to look at him.

"Is there any room for another tiny firstie?" Justin asked, almost on the verge of shedding happy tears.

To be continued...