This is likely the most crossover heavy chapter of what I have written so far. Mostly due to the references. But it's a very important chapter for many reasons other than that.

The Return of a Legend:

It was easy to see the sense of jubilation filling Hogwarts. Might have something to do with a teacher that at least seventy-five percent of the school hated losing his job. Actually, come to think of it, seventy-five percent might be a very conservative estimate. I am thinking that Slytherins did not like Snape, but merely tolerated him due to the free reign he got it. If they had been forced to admit so, even most of them would declare he was a substandard teacher.

"Another one bites the dust."

Daphne walked from the library with me. There were loud cheers every time I walked pack, plenty of backpats, handshakes, and hugs, that I had eliminated the burden of Snape through the school.

"Don't know why they're giving me credit for this one," I said. "Without Dumbledore, Snape lost his only advocate."

I got a message from Astra to meet her in the Chamber of Secrets this evening. She had something for me and I was curious to see what it was. I would wrap up a couple of loose ends before coming down there.

An open doorway piqued my interest, and I saw a glimpse of Dean Thomas, who had been busy at work drawing a portrait.

"Oh, hey," Dean said. "Harry, Daphne, how are you doing?"

"It's a good day, Dean," I said. "How about you?"

"Well, tonight's been a good night," Dean said. "Potions class yesterday inspired me. Still wish Hogwarts had an Art Club though or something."

"Be the change you want to see," I told him. "What do you have?"

Dean stepped back and revealed a portrait detailing the events of Snape getting dragged out of Potions class by the Aurors. Daphne whistled when she looked at it.

"You really captured Harry's eyes nicely," she stated. "And his overall look as well. And the rest of our classmates, and Sirius as well. You did a damn good job."

"You really think so?" Dean asked.

"You did a lot better job than the artist Mum hired to design the wrappers for the ice cream bar proposal," Daphne said. "All wrong, and it's the wrong look."

"Wait, Ice Cream Bars?" Dean asked. "Those are actually going to be a thing?"

"Keep it on the down-low, please, Dean," I said. "The demand is going to be high, but we're hoping for a summer launch."

"A lot of people are going to buy those things though," Dean said. "But, don't worry, I'll keep it a secret."

"Actually, do you have some of your drawers that I can send to Mum?" Daphne asked. "We might use you to design Harry's image on the ice cream bars. We'll pay you and everything."

"Really, I mean, I don't know," Dean said. "Drawing's something that I do for fun."

"Well, you do a good job at it," Daphne said.

"I've got some up in my dormitory, including a few of Harry in some of his more um…"

Dean looked to be struggling to find the right word as to not to offend me. Although, I am not easily offended. Unless it's a person who really got on my bad side. Then it does not take much.

"Dramatic moments?" I suggested.

"I guess you could say that," Dean admitted. "I can give you a couple of them."

"Right, I need to head up there to talk to Jones as well," Daphne said. "Come to think of it, both of you might be able to help me with a promotion for the Ice Cream Bars."

I wondered what Daphne had in mind. She always had a lot of fantastic ideas. And a lot of overly ambitious ones as well.

"Right, well let's go there now," Dean said.

"Talk to you later, partner," Daphne said with a smile.

Daphne and Dean walked off and I headed off. I had an early Christmas present for a couple of individuals and had to find it.

"Harry Potter, just the chap we were looking for."

And speaking of the terrible twosome, there they are. Fred and George approached me, beaming and smiling when looking me over.

"Are you sure that isn't Astra?" George asked.

"Well, one can never completely be for sure," Fred said. "But, I think that's Harry."

"I don't know."

I cleared my throat and cut off the banter before it could start.

"You boys doing well?" I asked them.

"Well, Snape's been given the sack," George said.

"Maybe we'll get someone halfway decent next time," Fred said. "You said you had something for us."

"You got us the greatest gift of all already," George said. "A Snape-free Hogwarts."

I just smiled and held out the parchment. George took it a second later and scanned it with a big smile crossing over his face.

"You want to do the honors?" George asked Fred.

"Oh, no, be my guest," Fred said.

"I solemnly swear I'm up to no good."

The Marauder's Map flickered to life. They looked at it with widened eyes.

"I see you've made a few improvements," George commented.

"Naturally," I told them. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Oh, that's going to get us in a whole mess of trouble with Mum."

I walked off to lead Fred and George to play with the new and improved Map. Granted, it was still not as advanced as what it could be and what I made in the future, with some help, outside of Hogwarts. Still, there were a few more areas placed there than the Marauders discovered.

Almost to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom before I evaded a collision with Draco Malfoy. Malfoy stepped back shaking his head.

'Sorry, Potter, wasn't paying attention."

Well, there's a sentence I never expected to hear coming from Malfoy.

"It's okay," I told him. "What's up?"

"Just wondering if you have any other surprises," Malfoy said. "Given everything that's happened so far."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Malfoy just rolled his eyes at my faux innocence.

"Snape getting hauled out of here has your fingerprints all over it," Malfoy said. "Have to say, he wasn't what I thought he would be. Guess when I got sorted into Hufflepuff, I saw him differently. He's not exactly, well it doesn't matter now, he's gone."

"He is."

To be fair, I was not concerned as Snape sneaking back in through the work-release program that gave us the gift of Bellatrix Lestrange and boy would this school be a whole lot less interesting without her. The problem with Defense Against the Dark Arts was, it was hard to get people to want to teach the subject. A lot of them were people who owed Dumbledore favors or wanted to use it as a springboard to fame or putrid toads the Ministry forced on her.

"Wonder who the Headmaster will be," Malfoy said. "Father would have had a say in things, but the Board is putting pressure on him to resign."

"Oh?" I asked. "Whatever do you mean?"

"Well, he was underneath the Imperius Curse, put there by You-Know-Who himself," Malfoy said. "It's funny, he had ideas which aligned with ours at the beginning, but father was concerned that he was causing too much of an upheaval. But, because of what you said at Black's trial, they're concerned that Father could be compromised and they don't want him making any decisions regarding children."

Well, isn't that a shame? Malfoy sighed. The thing was, I know he might have believed that his father was underneath the Imperius Curse. Perhaps because the alternative was a terrifying conclusion to come to about the man who raised you.

"Guess you had a point, and that's what worries me," Malfoy said. "There's a lot of really important people who were underneath the Imperius Curse."

I nodded in response. It almost felt like Malfoy was worried about his father being victimized.

"You really don't know what you've done, have you, Potter?"

Oh, I know exactly what I've done. And somehow, Malfoy knew precisely that I knew what I'd done.

"And to think if Dumbledore hadn't put you with those Muggles, we wouldn't be having these problems," Malfoy said. "Father always did say that he would be the end of us."

"And what do you think?" I asked.

"I think Dumbledore made a huge mistake," Malfoy said. "And he thinks he did the right thing. He'll think that to the grave, that stubborn wanker."

Could not have said it better myself. Having a conversation with Draco Malfoy which did not devolve into petty insults was strange and unsettling to me.

I walked a little bit closer and heard a sob coming from inside of the Bathroom. Not the strangest thing, given this was Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

"I can't handle this anymore! They will never love me, if I can't be the best!"

Oh boy that sounded like, oh shit, it did, did it not?"

"Did they really love you anyway, if you have to work yourself so hard to get their approval?"

And that was Myrtle for sure. The other occupant in the bathroom made an anguished sound and sobbed. Myrtle is not the best person to try and lend a sympathetic ear.

"Granger," Malfoy said. "Again."

"Have you been stalking her?" I asked her.

"No, I have better things to do with my time," Malfoy said. "But, she's not in a good state these days. Always see her breaking down, in the Common Room, in the Library, Pince threw her out which really improved her mood, and here. All because you're better than her in class."

"She's having a hard time."

"Yes," Malfoy agreed. "She's got a family member putting pressure on her to be the best she can be."

"You think so?"

"I know so," Malfoy said. "Don't check up on her. Trust me, she won't like it. Especially considering it's you."

"I wasn't going to," I said. "Not my problem."

"Yes," Malfoy said. "She's not going to make it the year."

Hermione's sobs continued to escalate, and Myrtle tried her best to sympathize with her.

"Enjoy your holidays, Potter," Malfoy said.

"You too, Malfoy."

We parted ways, and thus ended the most civil conversation I ever had with Draco Malfoy. I know, I'm scared too.

I filed the matter in the toilet as not my problem. To be honest, she avoided talking with me ever since our little argument in Defense that one day. And perhaps that was the best.

"I heard the good news."

Astra and I reunited in the Chamber of Secrets.

"Snape's gone."

"Good riddance," Astra said. "I can't believe people actually romanticize his creepy obsession with Aunt Lily. And seriously, the nonsense that squib author you used to write your series. You really needed better quality control in those later books."

'In hindsight yes," I said.

"Albus Severus Potter," Astra almost choked. "Should have named your daughter Dolores Majorie for an encore."

Oh, that was an even more revolting thought than the one that brought it into the book. Thankfully, Kara was there when I read the Epilogue to calm me down. It would have been a bit uglier otherwise.

"Well, fame obviously can do strange things to a person," I said. "Needless to say, Joanne made some curious decisions as the years went by with the novelization of my life."

"That's a nice way of saying she went completely bonkers," Astra said. "But, Snape's gone and I've got a present for you. A couple of them actually."

Astra produced a cage which contained the snake Nagini. While not a Horcrux as of yet, it was important we collected her. And then, Astra produced a glowing orb which contained the last of the Deathly Hallows.

"Thanks, Honey Badger," I told her. "Was going to do that over the holidays, but saved you a trip."

"And as for any other time travelers, no one else, at least not yet," Astra said. "I've visited some of the usual suspects, the few that are alive. They haven't been mind dumped ,although given they're persons of interest, we might keep an eye on them to see if anything develops."

"Can't help but think we're crossing some sort of line by stalking children," I told her.

"Due diligence," Astra said with a shrug. "I also found this in John's attic."

Astra produced a very familiar book.

"Tales of Beedle the Bard," I said. "I remember when your mother read that book to us, although the Wizard's Hairy Heart was definitely off the menu."

"Yeah, that's not for children," Astra agreed. "But, there's a lot of notes in here. Our mothers were researching something."

"We'll deal with it later," I told her. "Still no luck with the head horcrux."

"Well, I'm hoping that whatever Mom and Aunt Lily were working on, might give us a clue," Astra suggested. "But, let's deal with this one."

"Hello, Nagini," I told the snake. "Rosa will be taking good care of you."

"He won't let this one go," Nagini hissed.

"Well, I'd imagine he won't have much of a choice before too long."

I produced a dagger, made from Rosa's busted fang, and jammed it into the fifth Horcrux. The basilisk's venom did it's dirty work. Five done, one to go, in less than five months. Although it's a big one.

"Got your Cloak," Astra said.

"Good, because I need it to sneak you up into my room so we can look over that book," I said.

Astra, underneath the Cloak, and myself, made it up to the Ravenclaw dormitory. A very jubilant Cyrus greeted me with a hearty handshake.

"I don't know how you did it, but you did it, mate," the fifth-year prefect said. "Snape's gone. Maybe there's a chance for me now. Don't think I could have stomached him for two more years, but if I put in the work, I can make up for the five years he ruined."

"Well,now that we're going to have a decent Potions teacher, more people should be at ease," I said. "Good luck. Although, it wasn't completely on me."

"Right, of course, a lot of us wrote complaints about him, it was just because of you, that he listened," Cyrus said. "Plus, I heard that Pettigrew ratted him out for some of the stuff he did, no pun intended."

It never is. Cyrus moved over to enjoy the night. There had been a lot of celebrations for Snape's departure. I navigated Astra through the labyrinth of students wishing to congratulate me.

"I've got a long day," I said. "Happy holidays and here's hoping for a better teacher next year."

Astra and I finally made it into my Dormitory. I placed the Ressurection Stone down on the bed. They were whole again.

"So, when do you think your humble servant will visit you now that you got all of the Hallows?"

"Whenever she feels it's needed, and not a second too late," I told Astra. "The book."

"Right, the book," Astra said. "Um, what are you doing?"

I pulled Ravenclaw's Diadem out of the box I was keeping underneath my bed.

"Feels like we could use a little extra wisdom with what we're working on," I told her.

"If you say so," Astra said. "The first thing is the fact that they underlined the entire Fountain of Fair Fortune story."

I took the story book from Astra and eyed it for a second. The letters "FOI" with a question mark had been written underneath it.

"Astra, look at this."

"FOI?" Astra said. "Wait, are they saying that they think that the Fountain of Fair Fortune is really the Fountain of…"

Astra never got to finish her sentence, for a blinding light filled the room, emitting from the Ravenclaw Diadem. A strand connected from the stone to the Diadem. Astra's eyes bugged out and I looked at the Diadem. I made a grasp for the Elder Wand, as a shadow rose from the Diadem and started to form a shape.

"I thought you got rid of the Horcrux."

"I did. But this is something else."

A stunningly beautiful woman with pale skin and green eyes, dressed in purple robes with a transparent duplicate of the Diadem rose out from the Diadem. Her silken black hair fell down against her face, framing it in the most alluring way.

"Lena?" Astra gasped. "Lena Luthor?"

"No," I said. "Looks more like Lady Morgana to me."

The very familiar, although at the same time, very different looking woman eyed me.

"Actually, my name is Rowena Ravenclaw."

Well, that was my next guess, and to be fair that should have been my first guess.

"What?" Astra asked. "Rowena Ravenclaw? The Rowena Ravenclaw?"

Astra literally had her mouth hanging open for a good long minute. One of the Hogwarts Founders sat in front of me. I began to consider explanations of how this transpired. I reached out and touched her, feeling my fingers going through her silken hair. She was no ghost, she felt solid, defined.

"The Resurrection Stone must have interacted with the Diadem and summoned Rowena here," I said.

"Yes," Rowena said to me with a smile. "Although, it would not have been possible, if you had not united all of the Hallows."

"I have."

Rowena rose up and she moved rather gracefully. Her beauty was rather captivating and not because she could pass as a doppelganger for one of my wives. Although that helped her cause quite a bit.

"Astra, quit drooling!" I said sharply.

"Oh, look who's talking," she fired back.

"Who are you and where am I?" Rowena asked.

"This is Astra Logue, I'm Harry Potter, and you're at Hogwarts in December of 1991, nearly 1992."

"Centuries have passed," Rowena said. "I must explore this school, and see how things have changed over time. How this school has grown."

Astra and I exchanged one of the most uncomfortable looks possible.

"Harry? Are you okay? I heard screaming!"

Penny made her way up the steps and stopped, and stared at the third occupant in the dorm room. It took a second for her to catch her barings.

"Who are you?" Penny asked.

"Rowena Ravenclaw, it's a pleasure to meet you…"

"Penelope Clearwater," she said. "Is that the lost diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw on your bed?"

"Uh huh."

"And that's…what's that?"

"The Resurrection Stone," I casually replied.

"The…one of the Deathly Hallows?" Penny asked. "From Beedle the Bard?"

"Oh, you read it?"

"It's an important part of magical history," Penny said. "So it is, isn't it?

"Mmm, hmm, want to see the other two?" I asked her.

"I…those are real, aren't they?" Penny asked.

"Yeah, and so is the Fountain of Fair Fortune, although Astra and I know it under another name," I told her. "The Fountain of Imperium."

And boom went the dynamite. Penny's eyes went as wide as saucers.

"What?" she asked.

Oh, I really hope I did not break her. We were becoming so close and I might have shattered her mind. She was trying to reconcile what she heard.

"You want to tell her?" Astra asked. "Because, I think we can trust her. And she's been nothing but helpful for you."

"You trust her with this?" I asked. "Coming from you that means a lot."

Rowena cleared her throat and all eyes fell on her.

"I'm going to see what has become of Hogwarts since my slumber," Rowena said.

Rowena walked off down the steps. And I just realized that having Rowena Ravenclaw walking through the halls of Hogwarts might attract the slightest bit of attention.

Just maybe a little bit. Eh, it's not like I can stop her if it. She's only one of the most powerful witches that ever lived.

"Penny?" I asked her. "Earth to Penny. Are you there?"

"What's going on?" she asked. "I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but there's a lot of weird things going on around you. And nothing about you adds up. I thought, well I thought there might be an explanation, but I don't know what it could be."

"There is," I said. "I went to bed in 2021 and woke up in 1991 in my younger body."

One long conversation later, Penny let out a heaving sigh. We spoke well in the early morning hours the next day.

"Wow," she said. "Just, wow."

"I know," I said. "You believe me, don't you?"

"It sounds like the most insane thing ever," Penny said.

"My life is the most insane thing ever," I reminded her.

Penny swallowed and nodded. I never knew how people were going react at any given time when I gave them a sneak peak into my world.

"Perfect life, and you got sent back," Penny said. "And you don't know how?"

Astra and I both shrugged. We were trying to figure that out, but the exact details have been lost on us.

"And neither does Daphne," I said.

"Did someone mention my name?"

Daphne appeared, dressed in a dressing gown, at the foot of the stairs.

"I saw Rowena Ravenclaw exploring the halls of Hogwarts," Daphne said. "And I figured you had something to do with that."

"It's a long story," I told her.

"Aren't they all?" Daphne asked. "So, you told her the secret, didn't you?"

"Yes, they did," Penny said. "And if it's crazy, then I'm crazy for believing them. Because no other explanation lines up with all of the weird things that have been happening."

I pulled Penny into a hug, because she needed one right now. To be fair, she had a lot dumped on her.

"You're going to need to learn Occlumency for this," I said. "I can stop by your house over the holidays and teach you."

"What's that?" Penny asked.

"The art of shielding one's mind from mental attacks," I told her. "Someone as smart as you, you'll be able to master it in a couple of days."

It took me five days to master it when I had a competent teacher. And that was with all of the damage Snape caused by his sub-standard teaching method of "clear your mind, Potter."

"Mum would be happy to meet you," Penny told me. "Why does everything seem to happen to you?"

"I've been asking myself that question for ages," I said. "So, you're okay with this?"

"I am," Penny said. "Don't know how you haven't completely lost it."

I just smiled. The jury was still out on that one.

"I do wonder," I said. "Given all I lost. And all I have to work with to get a fraction of that back. But maybe I can change things for the better."

"Or screw it up for the better," Astra said.

Well, that was not my intention. Although, there were a lot of things that I wanted to do which would require a careful hand and obviously not everything was going to go to plan. Although a lot had happened in the past four months to kickstart some long overdue changes into the Wizarding World.

There was only one step to an overall journey.

"And you could have just left it all," Penny said. "With who you are, you could have hired the best magic tutors in the world and just left Hogwarts behind. Yet, despite all of your flair for dramatics, you're doing what you can to make this school a better place."

"Well, that's one way of putting it," Astra said. "Still think you're insane for playing school. Especially given the fact you're going to drown in drool from all of the simpering school girls around you."

I just smiled.

"They're just in awe of him," Penny suggested.

"And just think, they haven't seen my full power," I said.

Well it was getting a bit late. Or early depending on how you looked at things.

The next day, I had been on my way back from Charms, when I nearly ran into Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, or Nearly Headless Nick as he was known to most. Or rather, I almost went through him.

"Sorry, young Potter, I had been a bit distracted," Nick said.

While he and I did not have the same constant interactions we did during the original timeline, he was rather cordial.

"Headless Hunt still a bust?" I asked him.

"Oh, yes, I'm not sure how you knew."

"Call it a lucky guess."

It was his reason for existing in the Afterlife. The fact he was with the most incompetent executioner ever or the cruelest, I was not sure which.

"I just wish it had been done right," Nick said. "Just one tiny half inch. It's haunted me for almost five centuries, each and every day and night."

"I'm sure the Headless Hunt isn't what it's cracked up to be," I said.

"Thank you for trying to make me feel better, but I'm afraid I will just have to deal with this disappointment, and shame of my botched decapitation,' Nick said. "You know, I was a bit disappointed that you were not sorted into Gryffindor, given all of the generations of Potters I had the pleasure of getting to know. But, maybe, we should not let traditions bog us down."

My sentiments exactly. I slipped the Elder Wand out and started to play with it. And I had an idea, a wonderful idea.

A small blast of magic hit Nick in the halfinch. The slicing spell brought Nick's head off and a surprised spector allowed it to fall into his hands.

"It's a Christmas miracle!" Nick yelled. "My head, it's off! Completely! But, how?"

"A wizard never reveals all of his tricks," I told him. "Have a Merry Christmas and a headless one."

"You as well, Mr. Potter…well the Christmas part. Try and keep your head."

The now Properly Decapitated Nick moved through the halls of Hogwarts with a new spring in his step. He played catch with his decapitated head.

Well, until Peeves swooped out of nowhere and stole it. Stopping only to salute me before zooming through the Hogwarts, as Nick's body chased after his head.

And to think, Dumbledore could have done this the entire time. I'm sure he had some cock and bull excuse about how Nick needed to learn some lesson, or something.

The Christmas holidays rapidly approached and in fact, I would be on the Hogwarts Express. Andromeda had invited me and Astra over to spend the holidays with her family. Given that Sirius was currently staying there, until he regained his footing, it was just as well. I was going to also visit Penny and her mother, and also the Greengrasses for a bit over the holidays. Also, Flamel wanted me to meet with him and I wondered where the state of everything was with the entire Arianna thing.

Given that Dumbledore was still in a very bad state in St. Mungos, whatever she did really affected him. Whatever she was. I had no idea. Well, I had some ideas, but you know what they say about people who assume. Curious to see what else Flamel had to talk to me about.

Rowena had not completed her assessment of Hogwarts. I can only imagine what her final conclusions are going to be.

I had been bubbling with Christmas spirit. So much so that I was going to pay a visit to my lovely relatives, Petunia and Vernon, and give them a Christmas they would never forget.

"We need to find them the perfect tree, Kreacher!" I told the house elf.

I had been joined by Kreacher, and also Astra, who had been looking as if she regretted having been convinced in dragging along.

"Yes, young Master, we should," Kreacher said. "And we know there's the perfect tree on the grounds to give your relatives the Christmas they would never forget!"

"Lucifer's saggy balls," Astra groaned.

"Hey, leave Morningstar out of this," I told her. "It's the Christmas tree that Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon deserve!"

"Somehow, I'm not surprised," Astra said. "And somehow I'm not arguing with you much."

"And Marge will be there as well," I said. "Remember her? She compared my mother, your godmother, to a bitch."

Astra's expression darkened and motioned for us to continue. Kreacher produced a chainsaw.

"Not sure if it's a good idea giving him a chainsaw," Astra said.

"I've given him strict instructions not to dismember anyone who didn't have it coming."

Astra just sighed.

"Kara really needs to be here yesterday," Astra said. "This is what happens when you don't have that angel on your shoulder telling you this isn't a good idea."

"Unless Red Kryptonite is involved," I reminded her.

"Forgot about that one."

The chainsaw went wild. I gently tapped the Whomping Willow to disable it's defensive features. And Kreacher went to work, cutting down the tree. The glee in his eyes showed that I more than made up for the fact he did not get the fire bomb the Ministry of Magic a few weeks ago.

The loud crash of the Whomping Willow toppling. Astra and I locked hands and used the Elder Wand to shrink the Whomping Willow down to a sapling for easy transport to the Dursleys for their holiday festivities.

We surveyed the now unguarded entrance to the Shrieking Shack.

"I can't help but think we crossed a line," Astra said.

"Just now?"

"Point well taken," Astra said. "And that's…."

I caught sight of something and bolted into the Forbidden Forest. Astra called after me and chased me deep into the Forbidden Forest which I followed the mysterious set of eyes I saw.

"Did you see something?" Astra called after me. "Was it her ship? Did it crash into the Forest. Oh please tell me it didn't crash in the forest."

"It didn't crash into the forest," I said.

"It's not a unicorn, is it?"

"Thankfully not."

Unicorns can be rather nasty. I know a guy who lost a nipple to one. Long story. Now he has three. Even longer story.

"Not a unicorn, not a bird, not a plane, and most certainly not Supergirl, then," Astra told me. "What is it?"

"A centaur?"

Astra blinked, unimpressed.

"A centaur?" she asked.

"It's a female centaur," I said.

"A female centaur?" Astra asked. "No."

"Yes."

"They aren't supposed to show themselves around humans," Astra said. "Especially men. And especially men like you!"

I raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean men like me?" I asked her.

"You know exactly what I mean," Astra said. "You aren't discriminatory towards the women, and you know it."

"A female centaur though?" I asked.

"Come on Green-Eyes, we haven't found your bridge too far yet," Astra said. "Why start now?"

"It's merely a curiosity," I told her. "I never met one all of the times I was in the Forbidden Forest the first time around. And we both know that Centaurs do not have the same standards of modesty as humans do."

"So, basically, you wanted to see if she let the girls be wild and free, or if she covered them up with something? And are you growling at me?"

"That's not me!"

Astra spun around and looked into the depths of the forest. Her hand lit up and then she relaxed when seeing what was in the clearing.

"Hey, Fluffy. Come here. That's a good boy."

Fluffy ambled forward and Astra slowly stroked each one of Fluffy's heads. The cerberus drooled on Astra's leg as she patted him and moved over to scratch him on the ear.

"Hey, boy, "I told Fluffy. "Want to play fetch?"

Astra raised an eyebrow and I fished through the back, pulling out the Hogwarts Sorting Hat. All three of Fluffy's mouths started to pant. And Astra tried very hard not to burst out into laughter.

"You know when I wanted to get out of the Headmaster's office, this wasn't quite what I had in mind!"

The Sorting Hat screamed as I yeeted it into the depths of the Forbidden Forest. Fluffy chased after it.

"You mad, Bro?" I called after the Sorting Hat.

"Doggy drool all over my favorite pants," Astra said nonchalantly. "Guess, your little mystery centaur is gone."

"Guess, she is," I replied. "Well we should…"

I stopped instantly, and noticed something else watching me.

"Is she back?" Astra asked.

"You can come out now, he's mangling the Sorting Hat," I told the image in the shadow.

Out walked a rather harassed looking cat wearing a very particular collar. Or to be more accurate, a totem. She gave us a very disapproving look, as if it was somehow our fault she had been stalked by a Cerebus. I reached over and scooped her up.

"It happened again?" I asked her. "Really? You were turned into a cat, again?"

The cat rolled her eyes as if to say "obviously."

"How did you get here?" I asked. "Which one are you?"

Our totem-bearing kitty gave me a cross look which plainly said "I'm a fucking cat, I obviously can't tell you anything." Fair enough.

"We should get you back to Hogwarts."

She mewled in surprise.

"Yes, Hogwarts, Astra and I got thrown back in time into our bodies, and you obviously got thrown back into time or maybe you got your soul thrown into a stray cat," I said. "Not exactly how this is working right now."

I passed our totem-wearing kitty to Astra. Astra gently rubbed her behind the ears, and she relaxed, mostly relieved not to be playing tag with a three-headed dog all the time.

"December of 1991," I told her. "I woke up in my cupboard underneath the stairs five months ago with the Dursleys."

She hissed at the mention of them.

"My sentiments exactly," I agreed.

I feel like this is something I am going to have to untangle. This female centaur, whoever it was, must have led me into the Forbidden Forest. And lead us to our time-displaced friend turned cat.

I feel like explanations are also in order. But, being the vague asshole I am, they will have to wait until we get back to the school. And given how deep we are in the Forbidden Forest, it may take some time to get there. So, best to leave everyone in suspense.

To Be Continued.