Merlin! Lets try that again
By xXhornheatXx
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or original plot.
Summary:
"Stupefy!" Harry yelled causing Malfoy to go flying into another tower of junk that came tumbling down. He reached for the diadem as he cast a protego charm above his head but his hand grabbed an old book instead. The next thing he knew everything when dark. When Harry wakes up it's no longer 1998 and Harry. Remembers. Everything.
So Close
May 2, 1998
"Accio Diadem!" Hermione cried in desperation but nothing flew through the air toward them. It seemed it wouldn't be that easy, not that Harry expected anything else at this point.
"Let's split up," Harry told the other two, he was both desperate to find the diadem as quickly as possible and to get away from his best friends. "Look for a stone bust of an old man wearing a wig and a tiara! It should be around here somewhere near a cabinet…" Harry, Ron, and Hermione sped off in different directions looking for the diadem. Harry loved his friends but after seeing them kiss mere minutes ago he needed to run. It's not like he didn't see it coming, of course he did. He saw they way those two looked at each other, thought he always found it to be more one sided, or he had hoped it was one side. That was until now. He need to run, to get this over with and then he can think about what he just saw. After everything that had happen they were so close to finishing this. To finishing the quest.. the war..
Harry sped past towers of junk, bottles and chairs, crates and books, weapons and broomsticks. Everything but the book he needed, and more importantly the diadem.
"Somewhere near here," Harry muttered to himself. "Somewhere …. It has to be somewhere…"
Deeper and deeper he dove into the labyrinth looking for something he recognized. His breathing was loud and he was running out of strength. Strength to keep going, to keep fighting, to keep looking. That's when he saw it! His old potions book! Or was it Snapes? Who knew but that had to be the diadem next to it! He reached out for the old discolored tiara when a voice behind him stopped him in his tracks. "Hold it, Potter!"
Harry skidded to a stop and turned to see Crabbe and Goyle standing right behind him with their wands pointing in his direction. Behind them he saw Draco Malfoy. "That's my wand you're holding, Potter," Malfoy said.
"Not anymore," panted Harry. "Winners, keepers, Malfoy. Who's lent you theirs? Your mother?" Harry was trying to distract him. Trying to taunt him so he wouldn't see Harry slowly move towards the diadem.
"So what if it is? At least I have a mother" Malfoy sneered in his direction. Always with the orphan jokes.
"Why are you even here, Malfoy? Why aren't you three with Voldemort?"
"We're gonna be rewarded," said Crabbe. "We 'ung back. We wanted to bring you to 'im ourselves!" Harry had to stop himself form rolling his eyes.
"Good plan," said Harry mockingly. He needed to keep them talking to get closer to the diadem without causing a scene.
"Harry?" He heard Ron's voice echo from the other side of a tower to rubbish. "Are you talking to someone, Harry?"
With a whiplike motion Crabbe pointed his wand at the tower of furniture and broken objects, and, without thinking, shouted, "Descendo!"
The wall began to totter and then crumble into the next aisle where Harry had heard Ron's voice come from. Harry started running before he knew what he was doing and reached out with the black hawthorn wand but before the words came out of his mouth he heard Hermione yell, "Protego!" The pile of objects falling skidded around Ron's head and Harry was able to see Hermione at the end of the aisle. Now that he knew they were okay he did a 180 and took off to grab the Diadem.
"You imbecile! If you continue you'll burry this diadem and if Potter wants it then that must mean we shouldn't let him have it! Now you two take care of the mudblood and the weasel. Potters mine!" Malfoy yelled at Crabbe and Goyle before taking off after Harry.
Harry heard Malfoy's steps behind him but he was still unburying the diadem. He grabbed and threw broken broomsticks, potion bottles, stuffed animals, and more objects that he couldn't identify in his search. Then he saw it, the diadem, just as he tossed away a stuffed dragon. He reached out for the diadem but before he could grab it he felt Malfoys hands on his shoulder twisting him around and pulling him out of the way. "Stupefy!" Harry yelled causing Malfoy to go flying into another tower of junk that came tumbling down. He reached for the diadem as he cast a protego charm above his head but his hand grabbed an old book instead. The next thing he knew everything went dark.
Xxx
"Oi, mate, wake up!" Harry heard Ron say and then felt a pillow slam against his face. Out of all the objects Rob could have thrown in the room of requirement at least it was a pillow. Or maybe it was that damned stuff dragon he threw away earlier. At least he didn't hurt, Harry could have sworn it he would be hurting more after that tower of garbage fell on him. The protego charm must have help out more than he thought even with him unconscious.
Harry started to open his eyes when he saw red curtains… red and gold curtains, like the ones in his dorm in Gryffindor tower. He bolted up right and looked around him. He was in his old bed in Gryffindor tower. He was also wearing pajamas and not covered in cuts, bruises or other ailments from the battle. He reached up to rub his eyes, was he dreaming? That's when he noticed the lack of stumble as well. He was only 17 but that didn't mean months on the run hadn't given him a small beard, patchy he was sure, but it was suppose to be there. Had someone cleaned him up when unconscious? No that can't be it, he would have woken up in the hospital wing with Madam Pomfrey fussing about. So how had he ended up here and why wasn't anyone worried about the Death Eaters and Lord Voldemort?
"Harry?" He heard Ron say. Harry looked over at Rons bed to see a very concerned face of a much younger Ron than Harry had last seen. Harry's eyes widened even more and his heart started racing. What the bloody hell was happening?
"Ron! What… how did… where's the diadem? Volde-" Harry started to say but Ron cut him off.
"Don't say the name! It's too early for this" Ron grumbled a little before continuing. "You alright? Did you have another dream?" Ron asked. Dream. Yes, this had to be a dream. Harry rubbed his hand over his scar in habit and just nodded. "Well lets go get you some breakfast! Food always makes it better. Besides, we have to see if Fred and George can get their names into Goblet, they said they've been working out a way to get past the age circle." Ron hopped out of bed and started getting ready but Harry just stared at him. Goblet? Age Circle? What was Ron on about.
"Ron, what day is it?" Harry asked as he got out of bed. This had to be a dream and if it was he could at least play along and start getting dressed.
"Saturday, mate. That dream must have really messed with you."
"Yeah.. dream…" Harry mumbled to himself mostly and got dressed before following Ron downstairs to the common room. Everything looked the way he remembered it so it must be the same, until he saw Hermione walk down stairs. She was in her school uniform, or what he wore on weekends, with a bag thrown over her shoulder. She looked the way Harry always remembered her but that was the problem, she looked like she was still in school. She looked young. The last time he has seen her she was protecting Ron from a pile of rubbish collapsing on him and she was 18 years old, now… now she looked just the way she did in school and not on the run with him for months.
"You alright there, Harry?" She asked with a look of concern on her face.
"What, yeah, alright" Harry stammered and realized he'd been staring.
"Lets grab breakfast then, I'm starving!" Ron whined and headed for the portrait hole.
"Honestly, Ron, you're always starving," Hermione said and started following him.
Harry followed after them still uncertain what was happening aside from the fact he must of lost his mind. When they made it down to the entrance hall something clicked in his brain, or at least something started to make sense. In the middle of the entrance hall Harry saw a crowd of people examining the Goblet of Fire with a thin gold line on the floor. This is when Harry came to two conclusions either, one, he was dreaming about being back in fourth year, or two, he was back in fourth year.
"Anyone put their name in yet?" Ron asked a third-year girl eagerly.
"All the Durmstrang lot but I haven't seen anyone from Hogwarts yet," she replied.
Someone laughed and Harry turned to see Fred, George, and Lee Jordan hurrying down the stairs looking overly excited.
"Done it," Fred cried. "Just taken it!"
"What?" Ron asked
"The Aging Potion!" Fred replied.
"One drop each," said George "So we would be just a few months older!"
"I'm sure it's not going to work, you know" said Hermione warningly. "Dumbledore will have thought of an aging potion and he drew the line"
Fred, George, and Lee ignored her.
"Talk about deja vu" Harry mumble to himself.
"What was that Harry?" Hermione asked.
"What? Oh, I agree that's all. It won't work," Harry cleared his throat and watched as Fred and George walked right up to the edge of the line and stood there. They took a deep breath and stepped over the line. For a second it looked like it worked and harry muttered "cue the beards." Right then both twins were hurled out of the circle and landed ten feet away on the cold stone floor. Both looked up dazed and then a loud pop and both twin sprouted matching long with beards. The hall filled with laughter.
At that moment Dumbledore walked in and sent Fred and George off to the hospital wing. But Harry didn't hear what was said as Hermione turned on him "How did you know?" She asked him.
"Oh…. Uh just a guess" He shrugged it off. And was able to escape more questions when Ron dragged him into the Great Hall. The trio sat down and joined the conversation discussing who would be the Hogwarts champion. If this wasn't a dream and was really happening at least he wouldn't be caught off guard this time. Not with the name, not with the dragon, not with the stupid mermaids, and not with the cemetery. But if this was happening could he change what had happened… should he? We knew at least now where the horcuxes were so he could just start early. But if it was a dream he needed to wake up and get back to his real life because people were dying to save him. People in this very room.
"Better you than Pretty-Boy Diggory," Seamus said to Angela causing Harry to break out of his trance. Diggory. If this was really happening and he was somehow back in time he needed to save Diggory and everyone else he could. But if Diggory was alive …
"Snuffles!" Harry said out loud
Both Ron and Hermione looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. Hermione caught on first "Your aunts dog? Where is your head today Harry? It sure isn't here." She gave him pleasing eyes to focus. She was right of course but so was he. Sirius was alive. If Cedric was alive so was Sirius and he would not let either suffer again.
Harry looked at both Ron and Hermione and then cast a Muffliato charm before saying, "We need to talk because, I'm either going crazy, or I'm not from this time and this time around I'm going to save Cedric and Sirius"
"Harry, please, people can hear you!" Hermione scolded him looking around in fear. That's when Harry remembered he hadn't learned muffliato until 6th year from the potions book… which means he had two more years before they knew it.
Harry chuckled to himself and said, "No they can't but I'll explain later. For now we have to go to the Room of Requirements"
"The Room of what?" Ron said. "Mate you've lost your mind."
Harry just laughed again. "Maybe but come on, following me." With that he got up from the table and left.