Hermione, Fred & George entered The Great Hall, casting a glance around them. Thy made the same deductions that Harry had, that it was exactly like the Hogwarts of the future, except for a few differences. There were 4 tables for the teachers, out of which only 3 were occupied.
"Where's Slytherin?" whispered Harry to Ginny.
Ginny shrugged. "No sign of Draco either."
"Maybe they went off on a tete-a-tete together."
Somehow the idea of Draco & Slytherin having a cosy chat did not appeal to Harry. He felt vaguely uneasy. But he shrugged it off & tried to concentrate on what Godric was saying.
"The preliminaries over, let's proceed to the main topic. I presume it was a whirlwind that brought you here?" this question was directed towards Hermione, Fred & George.
All three nodded.
"Can you describe the events leading up to it?"
Hermione hesitated. She wasn't sure whether to tell them about Ron's letter or not. Helga's encouraging smile convinced her. She decided to take the plunge. She gave a detailed account of everything that had happened, from the moment or receiving Ron's letter to being caught up in the whirlwind.
"So it was purely co-incidental that you met Fred & George?" asked Godric.
"Yes." Answered Hermione. "I never expected to see them there."
"And if they hadn't come with you to the room, only you would have been transported." He glanced at her questioningly.
Hermione looked surprised. "I never thought of that."
Fred & George groaned. "Just our luck! If we had just had the good fortune not to bump into Hermione, we would have been far away from all this."
Ginny gave them a slight punch. "And you would not have found your little sister."
"But who sent that letter pretending that it was from Ron? And why?" asked Hermione, completely ignoring Fred & George.
"Perhaps it was a trap to lure you there, where the spell was cast, to make the whirlwind transport you." Answered Rowena.
"But why would anyone want to transport us to the past?" As soon as the question left her mouth, she knew the answer & it was reflected in everyone else's thoughts too.
'Voldemort.'
Godric spoke. "As I already told Mr.Potter, Miss Weasley & Mr.Malfoy, we really don't have any idea who transported you, why & what spell they used. We knew beforehand that 4 students would be arriving because of Malra's (She is a medium) prediction. We hardly believed her at that time, but now, we don't know what's going on. Instead of 4, 6 have arrived and we have no idea how to proceed. We can't send you back, because we haven't been successful in developing a spell, which will send you back to the future. Slytherin (he lowered his voice unconsciously as he said the name) wanted to have you tested for spells, so that we would have an idea how to proceed with our spell. But now that we've learnt that you have no idea how you were transported, we are back to square one."
"Maybe somebody created the whirlwind & made it into a port-key. When we went near it, it sucked us in & transported us." Suggested Hermione.
"A port-key only transports us to a different place, Hermione. Not to a different time." Said Harry.
"Maybe a time-turner spell was put on it, to transport us."
Godric shrugged. "Whatever it was, without a time-turner spell, we are powerless to do anything."
Seeing their dejected faces, Helga spoke. "Don't worry, children. We'll try our best to make a time-turner spell as soon as possible. But until then-"
Rowena interrupted. "Until then, you can stay here as students."
Seeing their bewildered face, she elucidated.
"The school will re-open in a few days, and students will be arriving. You children can stay here as students. We'll directly put you in your- Which year are you going to, chlldren?"
"Fifth year." Replied Harry automatically. His mind was buzzing. Stay here as as students? No Snape, No Voldemort. But he wasn't sure about there being No Voldemort. There was a 99% possibility that it was Voldemort who had cast the spell & if so he might have even transported himself here. But until now he had seen no signs of Voldemort & he felt quite secure in the presence of The Great Four. (Though perhaps not in the presence of Slytherin). The idea of staying in the past, now didn't sound as bad as it had done earlier. After all, no one would miss him in the future. Except maybe Dumbledore & Sirius. Sirius! He had completely forgotten about him! Sirius would be frantic with worry. And what about Ron?
"No one need know of your story." He tried to register the fact that Rowena was speaking & he had to concentrate. "We'll tell everybody that you have been transferred from...a foreign country." She looked around at them expectantly, "How does that sound?"
Fred & George were the first ones to protest. "But we're not in our 5th year! We are- "
"That's Ok, dears." Said Helga. "It's only for a short duration. After all, you are not going to stay here a long time, and when you go back to the future, you can study in your proper year."
No more objections were made. They all seemed to have realised the futility of saying anything. They were stuck in the past & without the time-turner spell there was no way that they could go back to the future. There was nothing else that could be done.
"Where's Slytherin?" whispered Harry to Ginny.
Ginny shrugged. "No sign of Draco either."
"Maybe they went off on a tete-a-tete together."
Somehow the idea of Draco & Slytherin having a cosy chat did not appeal to Harry. He felt vaguely uneasy. But he shrugged it off & tried to concentrate on what Godric was saying.
"The preliminaries over, let's proceed to the main topic. I presume it was a whirlwind that brought you here?" this question was directed towards Hermione, Fred & George.
All three nodded.
"Can you describe the events leading up to it?"
Hermione hesitated. She wasn't sure whether to tell them about Ron's letter or not. Helga's encouraging smile convinced her. She decided to take the plunge. She gave a detailed account of everything that had happened, from the moment or receiving Ron's letter to being caught up in the whirlwind.
"So it was purely co-incidental that you met Fred & George?" asked Godric.
"Yes." Answered Hermione. "I never expected to see them there."
"And if they hadn't come with you to the room, only you would have been transported." He glanced at her questioningly.
Hermione looked surprised. "I never thought of that."
Fred & George groaned. "Just our luck! If we had just had the good fortune not to bump into Hermione, we would have been far away from all this."
Ginny gave them a slight punch. "And you would not have found your little sister."
"But who sent that letter pretending that it was from Ron? And why?" asked Hermione, completely ignoring Fred & George.
"Perhaps it was a trap to lure you there, where the spell was cast, to make the whirlwind transport you." Answered Rowena.
"But why would anyone want to transport us to the past?" As soon as the question left her mouth, she knew the answer & it was reflected in everyone else's thoughts too.
'Voldemort.'
Godric spoke. "As I already told Mr.Potter, Miss Weasley & Mr.Malfoy, we really don't have any idea who transported you, why & what spell they used. We knew beforehand that 4 students would be arriving because of Malra's (She is a medium) prediction. We hardly believed her at that time, but now, we don't know what's going on. Instead of 4, 6 have arrived and we have no idea how to proceed. We can't send you back, because we haven't been successful in developing a spell, which will send you back to the future. Slytherin (he lowered his voice unconsciously as he said the name) wanted to have you tested for spells, so that we would have an idea how to proceed with our spell. But now that we've learnt that you have no idea how you were transported, we are back to square one."
"Maybe somebody created the whirlwind & made it into a port-key. When we went near it, it sucked us in & transported us." Suggested Hermione.
"A port-key only transports us to a different place, Hermione. Not to a different time." Said Harry.
"Maybe a time-turner spell was put on it, to transport us."
Godric shrugged. "Whatever it was, without a time-turner spell, we are powerless to do anything."
Seeing their dejected faces, Helga spoke. "Don't worry, children. We'll try our best to make a time-turner spell as soon as possible. But until then-"
Rowena interrupted. "Until then, you can stay here as students."
Seeing their bewildered face, she elucidated.
"The school will re-open in a few days, and students will be arriving. You children can stay here as students. We'll directly put you in your- Which year are you going to, chlldren?"
"Fifth year." Replied Harry automatically. His mind was buzzing. Stay here as as students? No Snape, No Voldemort. But he wasn't sure about there being No Voldemort. There was a 99% possibility that it was Voldemort who had cast the spell & if so he might have even transported himself here. But until now he had seen no signs of Voldemort & he felt quite secure in the presence of The Great Four. (Though perhaps not in the presence of Slytherin). The idea of staying in the past, now didn't sound as bad as it had done earlier. After all, no one would miss him in the future. Except maybe Dumbledore & Sirius. Sirius! He had completely forgotten about him! Sirius would be frantic with worry. And what about Ron?
"No one need know of your story." He tried to register the fact that Rowena was speaking & he had to concentrate. "We'll tell everybody that you have been transferred from...a foreign country." She looked around at them expectantly, "How does that sound?"
Fred & George were the first ones to protest. "But we're not in our 5th year! We are- "
"That's Ok, dears." Said Helga. "It's only for a short duration. After all, you are not going to stay here a long time, and when you go back to the future, you can study in your proper year."
No more objections were made. They all seemed to have realised the futility of saying anything. They were stuck in the past & without the time-turner spell there was no way that they could go back to the future. There was nothing else that could be done.