Chapter Four

Hogwarts, 1997

'Where's Tom?' the woman repeated.

Carefully, as though weighing up every move, she shifted her body around and swung a long pair of legs off the coffin onto the floor. But, as she lifted herself up, her legs buckled and she stumbled.

Neville hurried forward and helped her to her feet, ignoring Seamus' groan of protest. He had no idea who this woman was but something told him that she was not dangerous, that she needed help. Seamus clearly did not feel the same, as he had edged across the Room as though desperate to run out the door.

'Who is Tom?' Neville asked gently.

The woman looked up at him. Her eyes were hazel and they looked into his with unusual intensity. It was as if she were x-raying his brain.

The woman remained silent and focused on regaining her balance. She let go of Neville and apologised. 'Sorry, I suppose I haven't used my legs in a while.'

Neither Neville nor Seamus knew what to say in response. This was quickly turning into the strangest encounter of Neville's life, even more bewildering than the things he'd seen in the Department of Mysteries.

Now seemingly able to walk alone, the woman turned her attention to the wand that had been resting in her hands. She twirled it around her long fingers like a baton and then shot gold sparks out the end. 'Thank goodness,' she muttered to herself.

'What year is it?' she demanded suddenly.

Neville and Seamus exchanged alarmed glances. 'Erm, it's 1997.'

The woman's hazel eyes widened and she immediately began pacing in circles. 'No, no, no... too long... can't be... no...' Seemingly oblivious to the boys' continued presence, she ran her hands through her thick, black hair in despair.

'Who are you?' asked Seamus bravely.

The woman stopped pacing immediately. Instead, she walked over to Seamus and eyed him as intensely as she had Neville. Only after scouring his face did she say. 'I'm Victoria.'

'Victoria Potter?' asked Neville.

Victoria whipped round to face him, her hair flying and her eyes flashing. 'How do you know that?'

'We don't,' stammered Neville. 'It was just a guess. You look like our friend Harry, you see.'

'Harry who?'

'Surely you must have heard of Harry Potter? Everyone knows who Harry Potter is.'

'Enlighten me.'

Neville shared another glance with Seamus before speaking. 'Come on, the Boy Who Lived. The only one to ever survive the Killing Curse. The one who caused You Know Who's downfall the first time.'

'And will do this time!' piped up Seamus defiantly.

'You Know Who?' Victoria echoed softly.

Neville was beginning to get impatient now. The Carrows were outside no doubt planning the worst of reprisals for them and, in the meantime, he was stuck in the Room of Requirement with a woman who had seemingly just come back from the dead.

'The Dark Lord,' he snapped. 'Lord Voldermort.'

'Lord Voldermort.' This time it was not a question. The woman rolled the words on her tongue as if seeing how they felt. She looked deep in thought. 'And who are you two?' she asked eventually.

Neville hesitated for the briefest of moments but it didn't seem that telling her their names could make the situation any worse. 'Neville Longbottom and Seamus Finnegan. We're seventh year Gryffindors.'

'Of course! I'm in the Room of Requirement!' Victoria walked over to the walls and ran her hand along the outline of one of the lions carved into the marble. She looked around the whole Room and laughed lightly. It was like bells peeling. 'He put a lot of thought into this.'

'Who did?' demanded Neville. 'How did you end up here?'

'I think when did you end up here is the more pressing question,' said Seamus, speaking for the first time in a while.

Victoria was now inspecting the deer carvings but she still answered. 'Over forty five years ago, I believe. The last I remember was 1951.'

Neville looked over at Seamus. He was looking as though he wanted nothing more than to run away, and clearly thought the woman to be mad. Neville was increasingly unsure himself. This woman couldn't have been asleep for forty five years. She looked in her early twenties. There was no magic that could permit that, was there?

Victoria smiled again. 'Sorry if I have scared you two. Now, I have many things to do.'

She turned on her heel and strode over to the door. Before Neville could warn her as to who might be waiting outside, she had pulled open the door and stepped out into the corridor. A horribly familiar voice could suddenly be heard.

'Who the hell are you?' demanded Amycus Carrow.

Neville and Seamus made up their minds at the same time. They might not know this woman but they were not going to leave anyone to face the Carrows alone. Pulling out their wands, they nodded at one another and followed Victoria out of the door.

She was standing just outside the Room of Requirement, staring at the Carrows with interest. Amycus and Alecto were leaning against the opposite wall looking very pleased with themselves.

'Here they are!' Alecto grinned horribly. 'We've been looking for you boys. We might not be able to get in after you but we know where you go to hide.'

Victoria frowned and turned back to Neville and Seamus. 'Who are these two?'

Alecto drew herself up to full height looking affronted. 'I happen to be Deputy Headmistress of this school. Who you are is the more important question. Hey, Amycus, we might have caught one of the Order lot sneaking in to exchange messages with these two blood traitors.'

Amycus looked Victoria up and down and leered horribly. 'Go on. Tell us who you are sweetheart. If you tell us the truth it'll go better for you.'

Victoria eyed Amycus coolly, a look of disgust upon her face. 'If you don't step away from me immediately, I can guarantee you will regret it.'

The Carrows both laughed horribly and pulled out their wands. But before either of them could so much as open their mouths to utter a curse, Victoria had raised her own wand. Two jets of lights shot across the corridor and the Carrows fell to the floor, Stunned.

'Whoa!' whistled Seamus.

Victoria looked down at the Carrows' immobile forms and wrinkled her nose in disgust. 'Who are they?'

Neville took the opportunity to give Amycus a prod with his big toe. 'Death Eaters,' he spat. 'New teachers since Snape took over. They're in charge of punishment and specialise in pain. First years chained up in the dungeons, torture practice on people who've got detention. Need I go on?'

Victoria raised her eyebrows. 'I assume you'll be in trouble if they wake up and remember what's just happened?'

'Yeah, you could say that,' muttered Neville.

'We've been through worse,' declared Seamus defiantly. He gestured to his face which was covered in half-healed cuts and faded bruises.

Victoria ignored him. Instead she knelt down beside Amyus and pressed the tip of her wand against his forehead. She muttered something under her breath and then moved to do the same to his sister.

'Memory charm,' she explained to a confused looking Neville and Seamus. 'When they wake up they'll only remember seeing me here. They'll know it was me who attacked them. Oh and I made them forget about the magical graffiti you did as well.'

'How do you know about the graffiti?' asked Neville. He was sure they had not mentioned it.

Victoria looked up at him and for the first time she was smiling. 'Knowing things is my speciality.' She got up off the floor and brushed dust from her knees. 'Now, I need to go. But first, tell me more about Harry Potter. What do you mean he brought about Lord Voldermort's downfall?'

Neville frowned. 'You are joking, right? Why does that matter?'

'Neville, tell me. Now.' Her voice was polite but it was a clear command.

'Alright, alright. Basically, when Harry was only a baby, You Know Who turned up at his parents' house. He murdered James and Lily Potter and then tried to kill Harry. But he couldn't do it. No one knows why, but Harry survived the Killing Curse and it sort of rebounded onto You Know Who. He disappeared for years-'

Neville broke off. Victoria, who was pale to begin with, had gone chalk white. Her eyes even seemed to be watering.

'You said James,' she muttered urgently. 'Who was his father?'

Seamus frowned. 'Absolutely no idea.'

'It was Fleamont Potter,' said Neville. 'Gran used to know him. Are you okay, Victoria?'

Victoria had put a hand against the wall to steady herself. 'No, I need to go now.' And before either Neville or Seamus could stop her, the mysterious woman had torn down the corridor and disappeared out of sight.

A/N:

Thanks again for reading and a special thanks to those who have been following/ favouriting/ reviewing. It's so lovely to get that response. As per usual, please leave me a review if you're feeling nice

Sorry this chapter was shorter than usual but it's just meant to be an interlude to the main plot. Next chapter will see us return to 1943 and I'll have it posted at some point over the weekend.

Just to clarify the Potter family; Victoria has two brothers, James and Monty (Fleamont); this is obviously a different James to Harry's father; Monty is Harry's grandfather. Hope this makes sense as I'm aware that I've been adding Potters and using the name James without explanation.