Something went wrong. Terribly wrong.
A sudden blinding light forced Harry to close his eyes. His body did a somersault. In the distance, he heard laughter, cold and malicious. Then his body hit hard ground.
Harry passed out.

»…never heard of! How should-«
»Shh, quiet. He is waking up.«
The sound of unfamiliar voices was the first thing Harry took in as he was regaining consciousness. Slowly he opened his eyes, slightly blinded by the light surrounding him.
»Take your time, boy.«
As his eyes adjusted to the light, he became gradually aware of his surroundings. He was lying in a bed in a room that was definitely part of the hospital wing at Hogwarts.
»My dear boy, what's your name?«
Harry's focus shifted to the old man standing beside his bed. A second man and a woman were standing slightly behind him. Harry recognized none of them.
»Harry..Harry Evans.«
Whoever these people were, he couldn't be sure if it was safe enough to say his real name. But, who were they?
»Mr. Evans, what is the last thing you remember?« the old man asked. Harry ignored the question.
»Who are you?«
»My name is Dippet, I am the headmaster of Hogwarts. The gentleman to my left is Archibald Green. He is the school caretaker and the person who found you on the school grounds. And this is Madame Adler, our school nurse.«
Madame Adler smiled friendly whereas the caretaker's face betrayed no emotion.
Dippet? Harry's mind was racing with questions. Dippet was the headmaster before Dumbledore. How could it be possible, that he was standing right in front of him?
Except…
But no, that couldn't be the case. He didn't use a time turner…
»What is today's date?« In the same moment, Harry dreaded to know the answer.
Dippet smiled sympathetically.
»August the 23rd. You were unconscious for quite a few days, I should say.«
»And what year?« Dippet's smile slipped and concern flashed in his eyes.
»Year? 1942. Everything alright, my boy?«
1942…
Fuck.
»Mr. Evans, you seemingly apparated onto school grounds, which should be, frankly saying, impossible. If you remember anything, I implore you to tell us.«
Harry closed his eyes. The revelation threatened to overwhelm him. Nothing of this should have happened. He had to get back, but how? His heart was racing and his throat was beginning to constrict.
»Shh. Here, my boy, drink this.« A warm hand lifted the back of his head as someone held a cup against his lips. Slowly, he tasted a sweet liquid.
»One sip and you feel better.«
He did as said. The liquid had hardly reached his stomach as his heartbeat began to decelerate and his breathing became steadier. Harry opened his eyes to find Madame Adler leaning over him, the cup in her hand. She was smiling encouragingly.
»Dumbledore…I need to speak to Professor Dumbledore.« Dippet frowned.
»Albus? He won't come back till Friday. Mr. Evans, whatever you would like to tell him, you can also confide in us. You see, apparating onto Hogwart's grounds is a serious matter. I'm afraid, that I have to notify the ministry, if you are hiding something from us. I'm responsible for hundreds of children, I cannot ignore something as serious as this.«
Harry wanted to cry out in frustration. Why did something like this always happen to him? He had to take a deep breath before he answered.
»I didn't apparate. I don't know how I got here. Merlin, I'm not even from this time-line.«
The three adults incredulously stared at him, but Harry felt strangely relieved.
»The last thing I remember is, that I was in the ministry stepping through a door…in the year 1996. I don't know what happened afterwards.«
For a few seconds no one said anything. Harry felt their eyes on him, even as he was staring at his clasped hands.
»Archie, message Albus. We need him, immediately.« Dippet started to fumble at the insides of his cloak, becoming obviously restless.
»Mary, I need a brandy, please.«

As their footsteps receded, Harry liftet his gaze to the old headmaster's face. His brows were narrowed, his facial expression pensive.
»I've a notion that your name is not Evans?« Harry hesitated, but then again, it couldn't get worse.
»My name is Harry Potter, Sir.«
Dippet nodded curtly.
»Potter is a well known name. I recommend you should use Evans as long as you're here.«
»Is there a possibility that I can return to my time-line?« Harry didn't dare to hope. Dippet's face betrayed no emotion.
»I don't know.«
»Armando.« Madame Adler was returning with a bottle of brandy and two glasses.
»Thank you, Mary.« Dippet turned to Harry.
»You want some, too?« Harry declined, he felt like he'd already had a few glasses.

It didn't take long, till the doors of the infirmary opened and the caretaker returned, followed by no one lesser than Albus Dumbledore. Harry was stunned to see the younger version of Dumbledore. However, the elated feeling of seeing him was slightly dimmed by his stern face.
»So that is Mr. Evans.« Harry cowered under his intense stare, but he also felt relieved. Finally a familiar face.
»Albus, I have never heard of something even remotely similar to this. 1996! No time-turner would be powerful enough to cover this distance.«
Dumbledore was still studying him.
»Mr. Evans, you said, you were stepping through a door at the ministry?«
Harry nodded, he was still too stunned to speak.
»Curious…I shall inform myself about this, but it will take time, I'm afraid. Mr. Evans, I can't promise to get you back into your time-line, but I will try.«
That was all Harry had wanted to hear. If someone could find a solution, then it was definitely Dumbledore.
»And till then? You can't expect the poor boy to sit here and discard his life! What if he can't go back?« Madame Adler said agitatedly.
»Mr. Evans. Are you a student at Hogwarts in your time?« Dumbledore asked.
»Yes, I'm currently in fifth year. I've just had my O.W.L.s.«
Suddenly Dippet clapped his hands.
»Excellent! You should pursue your school education here until we find a solution. School starts in only a few days. We could say that you were homeschooled. Grindelwald attacked your family and they decided to send you here for safety. It wouldn't be the first case…«
The other adults nodded. Harry could see that it was the best he could do. If Dumbledore could find a way back, he would gladly take it, but if not…
He didn't want to dive further into these kind of thoughts.