Guess what? I'm back! See? And another nice little chapter.

Fangboy ~ I'm glad you like it! And people seem to agree with you about my evilness.

Myk ~ Thanks! Flashbacks begin next chapter. And yes, their reactions sould be interesting!

Jordan ~ Figure it out? No, he's gonna tell them!

Jewelclaw Lady of Wind ~ Yes I am evil. I hope this was soon enough!

Fair Lady Ravenclaw ~ Thanks! And all as cliffies can be remedied, I hope this was in time!

Kero-chan ~ Me glad you is happy camper. You loved it? I feel all happy now...

Naomi SilverWolf ~ Thank you!!!

leaf ~ Nah, it's not too late to guess, and you're right!

tima ~ cliffies are evilness embodied. And you're right about the House!

sovi ~ one of the best you've read in a while? Now you've got me all teary. And I like doing cliffies. This was the first fic I did a cliffie on.

rowan ~ Thanks! And you GOTTA know what happens?

The Kuro no Tenshi ~ A very evil cliffy even.



It's official! I'm evil!





Lost in Time

By Silver Wolf





Hogsmeade, 1997

Tom shrugged before the other three could speak. "Oh, a bit I guess." Then he grinned. "Of course we did you idiot, how could we not?!"

Minerva leapt out of her chair and hugged him hard. "Tom's right Harry, of course we missed you!"

Dan nodded, leaning back on his seat casually. "You're a missable person, my friend."

Will frowned. "Is that even a word?"

"What, friend?"

"No Dan, you moron, 'missable'."

Harry grinned as the five of them slipped back into their regular chatter that had so irritated their teachers. It was amazing, considering that to the other four they hadn't spoken in over forty years.

They continued to talk, laugh and be fairly immature for about half an hour, before the conversation turned somewhat more serious.

"Harry, it's great to see you and all, but," Minerva paused and glanced at Will and Dan, both of who gave her an encouraging grin. "We'd all like to know where you've been, why you didn't get in touch, and how you disappeared in the first place."

"And," Will added, "How you know Harry Potter."

He sighed. "If I'm gonna go into that, I'd rather we went somewhere more private."

"All right then, we'll go to Minnie's office," Tom said with a smirk.

Minerva glared at him, but Harry spoke before she could. "Now really Tom, you know Minnie doesn't like to be called Minnie, do you Minnie?"

She narrowed his eyes. "Let's go to my office so I can hex you two without ruining my reputation."

The five of them finished their drinks and left for Hogwarts.

******************************************************

Hogsmeade, 1997

Ron and Hermione had separated from their other friends, and were now hoping to find Harry. After searching for a while, they gave up and stepped into the Three Broomsticks for a Butterbeer.

They bought their drinks, took a table and sat down.

"Hermione?"

"Yes Ron?"

"Do you think that Harry knows more than he's telling people?" he asked worriedly.

"Honestly Ron? I think he does," she answered. She opened her mouth to speak again, but closed it when she saw a familiar person walking towards their table, a large black dog in tow.

"Hello Ron, Hermione," Remus said with a smile.

Ron grinned back. "Hi Remus, Snuffles."

"Would you like to join us, Remus?" Hermione offered.

He nodded and sat down. "Sure. So, where's Harry gotten to?"

Hermione shrugged. "We don't actually know. He left earlier saying he was going to find Seamus and Dean, but we haven't been able to find them either."

"Too bad, Snuffles here wanted to bite Harry," Remus said, hiding a grin. The aforementioned Animagus bit his friend's hand. "Ow!" he opened his mouth to say more, but his jaw dropped as he saw three people he knew and two he didn't at a nearby table. "Holy crap."

"What?" the two teenagers demanded. Sirius bit his hand again to prompt an answer, and the three of them were looking at the same table Remus was.

"That's my dad, Draco Malfoy's grandfather, and Professor McGonagall!"

"And who are the other two?" Hermione asked. Personally she thought that maybe they were brothers, because they looked so much alike.

He shrugged. "I actually have no idea whatsoever. Probably some old school friends and they're having a small scale reunion."

As they watched, the five people stood up and left.

Remus sighed. "Remind me to avoid the school at all costs for a while."

Ron noticed the way Sirius was glaring at the werewolf. "Somehow I don't think that'll be any good for your health, Remus. Snuffles probably wants to see Harry."

The large dog nodded his head frantically, and that comical sight caused the other three to laugh as they stood up to leave.

******************************************************

Hogwarts, 1997

Minerva, Dan and Will were seated quite comfortably in armchairs that they'd transfigured, watching Harry and Tom in amusement.

As they always had done, they had decided to transfigure Minerva's desk into a couch. And also as they always did, they were arguing about colour and trimming.

After ten minutes, they had settled on Slytherin green with silver swirls and sat down happily.

Will raised an eyebrow. "Are you two quite ready?"

They nodded, smiling innocently as though they had been sitting there calmly for the past ten minutes.

"Well then," Dan said, looking pointedly at Harry. "Are you going to explain now or are we going to have to torture it out of you?"

"I'll explain, but not until someone tells Minerva about what happened three weeks before we started at Hogwarts."

Minerva narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "What? Is there something you four are STILL keeping from me???"

"It was such a long time ago Minerva," Tom said. "By the time we made friends with you, it no longer seemed important."

"And we'd all nearly forgotten about it anyway," Harry added.

"So what is it?"

Will sighed. "It's the truth about how we met Harry. And it's a long story, so I hope you're all comfortable."

Tom smiled. "Then I guess I can start telling?"

The other three men nodded, and Minerva waited for him to start.

"Well," Tom began. "It all started in the forest that surrounds Malfoy Manor......"





Next chapter will begin, at least, set in the past.

Please review!

~SW