Harry stood in front of the entrance to the Prefect's bathroom, the golden egg cradled in one hand and the Marauders Map clenched in the other.

"Pine Fresh," he said, in a barely audible whisper. He heard the latch on the door click. He checked the map on more time before tucking it in his back pocket and entering into the room beyond.

Moonlight streamed in from a large stained glass window that was set halfway up the wall on the far side of the room. The bluish silver light bathed the room with an eerie glow. As he stepped forward candles set in wall sconces on either side of him flared to life. Every few steps another pair would add their light until Harry stood at the edge of, what looked like, a long rectangular pool and a large chandelier flamed to life above him, replacing the eerie atmosphere with a relaxing ambiance.

All around the pool-like bath stood stone pillars that stretched up above him. A ledge set deeper down ran along the inside perimeter of the bath, providing a step and seat simultaneously. He was reminded of the pictures he would see in Muggle history books of the Roman public baths.

Harry set the invisibility cloak and egg down next to one of the pillars and walked down the side of the bath, his steps echoing off the large tiles. He had spotted numerous taps set along one end and it was this that he headed toward.

As he got closer he realized that the taps were rather large and each one had its own knob. Curious, he turned one of the knobs and pink, bubbly water came pouring out of the tap; the scent wafting up smelled of roses. Intrigued, he turned another knob, and purple water joined with the pink suds that covered the bottom of the bath.

Harry was taken aback by the speed at which the bath was filling. He continued to turn knobs, adding to the bath a litany of colors and scents. When the tub was almost overflowing, he quickly turned off all the knobs and the flow of water stopped.

He walked back over to where he had put the egg and invisibility cloak down and kicked his trainers off. He began to strip, leaving his clothes in a pile on the floor. The tile was cold on his feet, and he quickly grabbed the egg and padded over to the edge of the bath. Carefully placing the egg where he'd be able to reach it, Harry slowly lowered himself into the water.

He groaned as he was enveloped in the warm, soothing water. Merlin, this had to be heaven. Harry had never before considered becoming a prefect, but looking around at the splendor of his surroundings was making it seem like something for which he should strive.

A silver tray full of bottles and jars, that was placed on the far side of the bath, caught his eye and he waded over to examine it more closely. If the contents hadn't been labeled, Harry was doubtful he would have known what any of the containers held. There were various bath salts, oils, and powders. One of the jars labeled bath beads was filled with what looked like opalescent marbles. Harry picked up the jar and unscrewed the lid, a soothing scent of vanilla, and a floral note he couldn't place, filled his lungs. He breathed deeply, the smell sending shivers up and down his spine.

"I wouldn't put those in if I were you."

Harry jerked, cursing as half the bath beads spilled into the water. He wiped the steam off his glasses and looked up to see Moaning Myrtle floating above him.

"For goodness sakes, don't do that Myrtle! You scared me half to death."

She giggled, pushing her glasses up on her nose. "Sorry, Harry. I didn't mean to startle you."

Harry peered down, glad that he had filled the bath with so many bubbles, "Yeah, well, what do you expect sneaking up on a guy while he's bathing?"

"Well, in fairness, I wasn't expecting anyone in here this late at night. Especially not you, Harry." She giggled again, "Although, it was a welcome surprise."

Harry eyed her suspiciously. "How long have you been in here, Myrtle?"

She shrugged, "Long enough to know that you shouldn't have added those bath beads. Not with all the different soaps you had already put in."

Harry blushed scarlet as he realized she'd been watching him take off his clothes. He protectively covered himself under the water.

He peered up at her. "What did you mean, Myrtle, that I shouldn't add the beads?"

She shrugged, "Just that sometimes our seemingly innocuous actions can have unintended consequences."

Harry scrunched his brow. Unintended consequences? He sniffed himself. Well, he guessed he did smell a little perfumey.

"Myrtle-" but when he looked back up she was gone. He glanced around to make sure she wasn't lurking about before heading back to the other side of the bath. It was time to do what he'd come here to do.

His fingers had barely touched the ledge when he began to feel queasy. The room around him began to spin. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he needed to get out of the bath. He grabbed onto the ledge with both hands and tried to pull himself out, but it felt as though the water was pulling him down into a vortex, sapping his energy. He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, waiting for whatever this was to pass.

Then everything was still.

Harry managed to pull himself out of the water, using the step to push against, but he lacked the strength to do more than crawl. He crawled away from the edge of the bath before collapsing onto the floor, the tile cool on his flushed cheeks. He closed his eyes as he waited for the nausea to dissipate.

A few minutes later his breathing had returned to normal and his stomach had settled. He pushed himself up into a sitting position.

Is this what Moaning Myrtle had meant about unintended consequences? Had all the perfume from the soaps combined to cause him to have some kind of episode? Who knew soaps could be dangerous?

He sat like this for some time before carefully standing up and dressing himself. He slowly walked over and grabbed the egg from the edge of the pool, unwilling to try a second attempt in the bath. He'd come back another night; and next time he wouldn't use so many soaps. He waved his wand to drain the water and then picked up his invisibility cloak and left the Prefect's bathroom.

Harry walked back to the dorm in a daze. His invisibility cloak was clutched in his hand and the map still tucked in the pocket of his pants, both forgotten. It was only by sheer luck that he made it back without being seen by a teacher.

"Balderdash," he said tiredly to the Fat Lady.

"What is, dear?" She asked, as she gazed at herself in a mirror, primping her curls.

Harry sighed, "The password."

The Fat Lady pursed her lips and tore her eyes away from her own reflection. "I don't know, I thought it was a rather good one. I came up with it, you know."

Harry scrunched his brow in confusion. "What? No, the actual password is the word Balderdash."

The Fat Lady chortled. "No, I don't think so."

Harry was not in a mood for games. He was still feeling unwell from the incident in the bath and just wanted to go to bed. "I just used it a few hours ago. They wouldn't have changed it."

"I don't know what you're talking about, but Balderdash is not the password."

Harry clenched his fist, "Look, here, I'm not in the mood for this nonsense. If you don't let me in-."

"Harry?"

Harry whipped around and relaxed when he saw Hermione. "Thank goodness. Hermione, can you please tell her the password. She won't let me in."

Hermione raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Yes, of course. Caput Draconis."

The Fat Lady eyed him coolly. "Now that is the password," she said, before swinging open.

Now, it was Harry's turn to be confused. "Caput Draconis? But that hasn't been the password since…," he stopped as he noticed the concerned look on Hermione's face.

"Are you alright, Harry?"

Harry nodded, "Yeah, of course. I'm just tired, that's all. We better get inside before a teacher comes."

He stepped through the entrance to the Common Room, Hermione right behind him.

"What's that?" She asked, eyes resting on the golden egg in his arms.

He looked down at the egg. "Er, it's the egg, Hermione. The clue I'm supposed to be figuring out."

She shook her head, "Is it some type of extra credit thing?"

"No, it's for figuring out the second task."

Hermione's eyes widened and she thrust put her arm to stop him. "Wait, second task? I didn't know we had a first one."

Harry was thoroughly confused by this point. "What? No, not your tasks, mine."

Hermione folded her arms. "Hold on. Like, extra credit? How did you manage to get an extra credit assignment? From what teacher? Can anyone do it?"

Harry just stared at her. What in blazes was going on with her?

"Umm, nevermind. Forget I said anything. See you at breakfast, Hermione," said Harry as he headed for the boy's dorm.

"At breakfast?"

Harry stopped and turned to look at her over his shoulder. "Yeah, first meal of the day? Breakfast…"

She bit the inside of her cheek. "You mean…you want me to sit with you?"

"Well, yeah. Were you planning on sitting somewhere else?"

She tucked her hair behind her ear. "I mean, not particularly. I just thought you might still be mad at me."

Harry walked back to her and stopped to stand in front of her, head cocked to the side. He didn't realize that she thought he was mad about Krum. "Mad at you? I don't care about all that, Hermione. You're one of my best friends, and honestly, I don't know how I'd manage without you."

Her brown eyes widened. "You...consider me a friend?"

Harry chuckled, "Yeah, of course. Don't be daft."

She glanced down at her feet, face red. "Well, alright then. See you at breakfast, Harry."

Harry walked away shaking his head, trying to figure out why Hermione was acting so strange. And why she looked so much younger than usual. He rubbed his eyes. He must be tired.

"Harry?" She called out.

"Yeah?"

"Why do you smell like perfume?"

Harry's feet faltered. "Um, long story. Goodnight," he said, before hurrying up the stairs to his room.

Harry woke the next morning feeling much better. He climbed out of bed and stumbled bleary eyed into the bathroom, glasses in hand. He set the glasses down on the edge of the bathroom sink and turned the water on, splashing his face to help wake him up. He toweled his face dry and slipped his glasses on, getting his first look at himself in the mirror.

He shouted in horror at what he saw. He was looking at a younger version of himself.

"What's wrong, mate?" Ron came stumbling into the bathroom, alerted by Harry's cry.

Harry looked at Ron's reflection in the mirror and saw that whatever had happened to Harry had happened to him too.

"You don't see it?" Harry pointed at their reflections.

Ron squinted. "See what?"

Harry searched Ron's face for some sign that this was all just a prank, some joke. But Ron's face gave nothing away.

Harry blinked. "It- it was a spider. I guess it's gone now."

Ron recoiled. "A sp-spider? Nasty little buggers," he said, casting one final glance around the room before quickly leaving.

What was happening? Had he passed out in the bath and was now having some strange dream?

He gasped.

Had he drowned and was now living in some afterlife do over thing?

He rested his hands on the sink and breathed out. Whatever it was, he needed to stay calm and not tip anyone off that something weird was happening.

He finished getting ready and headed downstairs for breakfast. He cautiously walked into the Great Hall. Everything was the same, but everyone was different. He bristled when he saw Quirrell sitting with all the teachers. Harry was in the past but he knew the truth. What if he could do something to change what had happened? What if he'd been sent back here, just like with Sirius, to change the past.

"Harry!"

Harry tore his eyes away and looked over to where Hermione was waving her hand above the heads of the other students.

"Harry, over here!"

He smiled as he walked over. "Hey."

She smiled sheepishly, brushing her hair away from her face. "Hey."

He stepped over the bench and sat down, proceeding to pile his plate with food.

"You aren't hungry, are you?"

Harry looked over to see Hermione eyeing him with amusement. He grinned, "Maybe a little bit."

"Hey, what are you doing all the way over here?"

Ron clapped a hand on his back and slid into the seat next to him.

Harry swallowed the food in his mouth, "I told Hermione I'd sit with her this morning."

Ron raised an eyebrow, a million questions in his eyes, but he merely nodded and said, "Oookay, then."

They finished breakfast and headed off to classes for the day. Harry did his best to pay attention but his mind kept swirling with thoughts of the predicament he found himself in. It was obvious he was in the past. And while he was in his younger body he still had his 14 year old mind. Would he be stuck here forever, forced to relive the last 3 years of his life? And why this particular time in his life? Why was this the restart point?

"Mister Potter?"

"Hmm?" Harry shook himself out of his reverie to find the whole class staring at him.

Professor Flitwick pointed with his wand at Seamus. "You'll be pairing with Mister Finnigan for this class."

Harry cleared his throat. "Right, of course Professor."

Harry looked down at the white feather that had been placed on the desk in front of them and memories came flooding back of wands being waved and feathers being stabbed and ignited.

"Umm, Seamus," Harry said, grabbing his hand as he started to recite the incantation. "Maybe I should go first."

Seamus shrugged, "Sure, go for it."

Harry took a breath and tuned out Hermione lecturing Ron on the proper pronunciation of the spell. He raised his wand and swished and flicked with the expertise of a fourth year student. "Wingardium Leviosa." His pronunciation and technique were flawless, resulting in the feather smoothly rising off the desk and floating in the air above the boys' heads.

"Well, done, Mister Potter! Oh, most excellent!" Professor Flitwick bounced up and down on his stack of books, nearly toppling them over.

Everyone turned to watch as Harry gently lowered the feather back down.

"10 points to Gryffindor! Oh, and there goes Miss Granger! Well, done!"

Harry looked over and watched as Hermione elegantly controlled her feather while Ron pouted next to her.

"Can you believe her? 'It's LeviOsa'," Ron said in a mocking tone. "She's a nightmare, honestly. At least Harry got it before she did otherwise her head would grow bigger than it already is. It's no wonder she hasn't got any friends."

Someone pushed past Ron and Harry saw Hermione's bushy hair as she rushed past them.

Harry's heart ached as he watched her, ears red as the memory that had become old and lost its color was brought vividly back to life to slap him across the face. And he felt angry. How could they have treated her that way?

Harry shoved Ron's shoulder, "Why'd you say that?"

Ron looked at him uncomfortably. "What? Everyone thinks so."

"It doesn't mean you have to be a prat about it," Harry said before taking off after Hermione.

"Hermione, wait!" He weaved through kids walking in between classes calling out for her, but she kept running. He finally overtook her after rounding a corner into an abandoned corridor. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop.

Her nose was red and tears streamed down her cheeks. "What do you want, Harry?"

Harry took a moment to catch his breath. "I just wanted to say sorry for what Ron said. He can be a bit of a prat sometimes, but he's a good guy."

She snorted, "I'll have to take your word for it."

Harry laid his hand on her shoulder. "Come on, let's get this day over with so we can go to the feast tonight."

She sniffed, wiping the tears away. "Alright," she said, a small smile breaking over her face.

Ron avoided Harry the rest of the day, choosing to sit with Dean and Seamus for the rest of their classes. Even when Harry tried to wave him over to sit with him for lunch, Ron ignored him and walked to the opposite end of the table.

Harry sighed as they entered the Great Hall for the feast. He'd been looking forward to seeing all the decorations and gorging himself on various Halloween themed foods. But the damage he'd caused to his relationship with Ron had put a damper on his evening.

"Harry, are you alright?"

Harry looked up from his food that he'd spent the last fifteen minutes picking at. "Hmm? Oh, yeah, I'm alright."

Hermione gave him a disbelieving look. "You could at least try lying more convincingly."

"I just-"

Harry was cut off when the doors to the Great Hall were slammed open and Quirrell, turban askew, came stumbling down the aisle.

"Troll! In the dungeons! Thought you ought to know."

And then he proceeded to collapse onto the floor.

Bedlam ensued. Students scrambled to get up from the tables, pushing and shoving in their rush to get out.

Harry was the only one who hadn't reacted to the announcement.

"Silence!"

Everyone froze as Dumbledore's voice rose above the high pitched screams of the younger girls.

"If everyone would please, stay calm. Prefects, please lead your houses back to the dorm." He stepped off the dais. "Teachers, with me, please."

"Alright, everyone, follow me." Percy and a raven haired girl gathered the younger children while the older students waited.

"How do you think a troll got in? They're really stupid, so it's not like one just waltzed through the front door," Hermione whispered in his ear.

"Someone let it in," he said as he tried to keep his eye on Quirrell, but with everyone being gathered and ushered out, it was too crowded. Gryffindor was the last to leave the Great Hall and Harry looked back one more time to see if he could spot Quirrell. But he was already gone.

"Harry, come on," Hermione was tugging on his sleeve.

Harry reluctantly allowed himself to be pulled along.

As they made their way up the various staircases, Harry caught sight of Ron ahead of him.

"I'll be right back," he told Hermione, before pushing through the clusters of students up to where Ron was.

"Ron. Ron, wait up."

Ron looked at Harry out of the corner of his eye but kept walking. "What do you want?"

"I wanted to apologize for what I said earlier. I shouldn't have gotten so mad."

"No, you shouldn't have," Ron hissed. "She's just a girl and we're supposed to be best friends."

"We are best friends. But Hermione can be our friend, too. You just have to give her a chance."

Ron whirled around. "Give her a chance? Like you did? Picking her over me?"

Harry held up his hands in a pleading gesture, "That's not how it is, Ron."

"Hey, you two, get a move on. You're holding up the others," Percy shouted down to them.

"Why don't you go back to your little girlfriend," Ron said, before turning and walking away.

Harry stood frozen to the spot, unable to move as others pushed their way around him.

"Harry…I'm sorry."

Hermione was the last one in line and she stopped to stand beside Harry.

"Yeah, me too," he said.

Harry lay in bed, staring at the wooden slats above his bed. He had to get out of here. He's already managed to screw up his friendship with Ron and he'd only been here for a day.

He blew out a breath.

But how was he supposed to get back? He didn't even know how he'd gotten here in the first place. The only thing he knew was it had something to do with the Prefect's bathroom. Maybe he could go back and just try getting in the water again. Replicating what he'd done the first time.

He shut his eyes.

There was no way he'd remember all the soaps he'd tried. The only thing he was sure of was the bath beads.

Harry's eyes flew open. The bath beads! That was it. Moaning Myrtle had warned him about putting in the bath beads. She must have known what would happen. And if that was the case, she might know the necessary combination to send him back.

Harry listened to the snoring of the boys around him. He quietly climbed out of bed and grabbed his invisibility cloak, the map and golden egg. He couldn't leave them in the past.

He made it to the Prefect's bathroom rather quickly, glancing down at the map only briefly to see if the halls were clear.

"Pine Fresh."

Nothing happened. Of course, it was a completely different year. He slammed his hand against the door in frustration.

A moment later the door opened and Harry quickly sidestepped out of the way as two older students came out. He had completely forgotten about checking if the bathroom was empty. He had just assumed that this late at night that it would be.

"I don't see anyone," said a boy.

"I could have sworn I heard something hit the door." A girl's voice.

"Well, just to be on the safe side we should probably head back to our dorms."

"Okay."

Harry watched as a boy he recognized from Ravenclaw was carefully followed by a girl from Slytherin.

Harry slipped through the door before it closed, breathing out a sigh of relief. He slipped his invisibility cloak off and set it down with the egg. He whistled. He had not expected a Ravenclaw and a Slytherin to be sneaking around together. He wished he had more time just to contemplate it.

"Myrtle. Myrtle, are you there?" Even though he was alone, he still spoke quietly.

He heard a giggle. "Harry Potter knows my name?" Moaning Myrtle drifted in through the mermaid in the window.

"Yes, Myrtle, and I need your help."

More giggles.

"Myrtle, do you know how to activate the time traveling mechanism?"

Moaning Myrtle stopped giggling. "Oh, I see. You're not from here." She choked back a sob. "And here I thought maybe you knew me before we'd been formally introduced."

Harry restrained himself from rolling his eyes. "I do know you, Myrtle. I knew about you in my timeline before we met. We're friends. You tried to warn me about the bath beads but I didn't understand."

Myrtle sniffed. "We're friends?"

"Yes, Myrtle. And as your friend, I'm asking for your help."

She floated closer to him. "Okay, I can help you. Are you sure you want to go back?"

"Yes, of course. I don't belong here, and if I stay much longer I'm sure to mess something up."

"Alright, if you say so."

She proceeded to instruct him on which knobs to turn and in which order. When the bath was full, he stripped off his clothes(but not before making Myrtle turn around first) and slipped into the bath.

"Now, I just add the bath beads, then?"

She nodded.

He waded over to the tray of bottles and jars and picked up the jar of opalescent beads. He unscrewed the top and a hint of vanilla filled the air.

"You know, Harry, not every mistake ends badly." Myrtle had floated very close to him, her entire body from her shoulders down submerged in the water.

Harry blushed at the proximity and floated backward, putting distance between them. "Er, okay, thanks Myrtle."

She floated back out of the bath, leaving the water undisturbed.

Harry proceeded to dump half the beads in the pool and then waded hurriedly back to the other side trying to reach the edge before the spinning began. But he was too late. He gripped the side of the bath as he felt the room spin again.

And then all was still.

Harry stood before the Fat Lady and let out a deep breath. He hoped to goodness this worked.

"Balderdash."

The Fat Lady smiled. "Of course dear," and swung open.

Harry smiled in relief as he strode through the entrance into the Common Room. As he reached the foot of the stairs leading up to the boys dormitory he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He turned and saw a mass of familiar bushy hair splayed over the arm of the sofa in front of the fire.

He walked over and looked over the back of the seat. Hermione was sleeping, mouth slightly open with a book resting open against her chest.

Harry smiled as he walked around to the other side and sat down at her feet. The slight movement woke her and she looked around bleary eyed until her gaze rested on him. She smiled and stretched.

"Hey."

Harry chuckled softly. "Hey, yourself."

Hermione placed her book on the floor and sat up. "Sorry, I fell asleep. I tried to stay up and wait for you."

She had been waiting for him? "Yeah, it's no problem. I was gone for a while."

Hermione pulled her legs underneath her and laid her head against the back of the sofa. "So, did you figure it out?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes. I mean, no. I didn't."

"So, Cedric was wrong then." She shook her head disappointedly. "I never took him as a person who'd lie to you, Harry."

"Oh, no. It's just I didn't get a chance to open the egg. I started feeling sick and I was afraid I'd pass out in the water. So, I just came back."

Hermione sat up and leaned toward him, her brow knitted in concern. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine now. I don't know what happened."

Hermione scrunched her nose and smiled. "Well, you went a little overboard on the soaps. You smell like a perfume shop, Harry. Maybe that's what made you sick."

Harry grinned, "Yeah, maybe something in the bath beads."

She raised her eyebrows, "Bath beads too?" She had to cover her mouth to stifle a laugh.

Harry's smile broadened as he watched her. He couldn't remember ever seeing her so tickled.

Her laughter slowed. "Well, there's always tomorrow night. I'm going to head to bed." She stood up and stretched once more. And then she leaned over and kissed him gently on the lips.

"Goodnight, Harry."

Harry mumbled out a reply that sounded like good night as he watched her disappear up the staircase to the girls dorm.

He sat there unable to move as his mind tried to catch up with what had happened. Hermione had kissed him. He ran his fingers along his lips, the ghost of her kiss still making them tingle.

He closed his eyes, a faint hint of vanilla and flowers still lingering in the air long after she had left.