The characters and locations used in this story are the property of J.K.Rowling and/or Warner Bros. The storyline is based on a challenge by 'pok' on the Portkey Forums ). This is a work of fanfiction and no money is being made with it, so please don't sue me.
Chapter 2 -- Again?
The door was opened rather forcefully and I managed to get my arms up just in time to shield my face. I was still slammed into the wall behind me but at least my head wasn't hurt again. Wait my head doesn't hurt anymore ... strange
"Harry are you in here?" Hermione asked entering the room and looking around.
Hermione?? Isn't she mad at me? "Hermione I'm over here." I answered carefully extracting myself from behind the door.
Upon spotting me she rushed over looking slightly worried. "Oh, sorry Harry. I didn't see you!"
Yeah right! "Don't worry I'm fine. Why are you here again?" I said withstanding the urge to get in her face and give her a pice of my mind - unfiltered.
"A ... again? What are you talking about Harry? I've just come up from the Common Room. You told me you were going up here half an hour ago." Hermione answered seemingly confused. "Are you sure you are okay?"
What the blazes ... "You havn't been here before today? It wasn't you who smashed my face with that door half an hour ago?" I asked carefully trying to get a bit of space and almost stumbling into a pile of swords in the alcove next to me. That was close.
"Smashed your face with the door? Oh, Harry ... come on you should sit down for a bit!" she said grabbing my arm and steering me over to the couch.
"Hermione, I'm fine really ... stop fussing over me." I manged to turn her ministrations away. Now she started pacing around in front of me occasionally throwing me indiscernable glances. Well ... maybe her glances wouldn't have been that indiscernable had I paid attention to her and not tried to find out what exactly was going on here.
Just when I couldn't bear her pacing anymore and drew breath to tell her to stop it and sit down, Neville barged in.
He spotted us by the couch and advanced menacingly ... just like he did half an hour earlier ... What's going on here? Is everything happening again?
"ARE YOU HAPPY NOW, POTTER?" he roared once more. "I TOLD YOU HOW I'M FEELING TOWARDS HER! I TOLD YOU! WHAT KIND OF FRIEND ARE YOU? GOING BEHIND MY BACK, STEALING HER AWAY FROM UNDER MY NOSE!"
I didn't even try to respond knowing that it would be useless. "WHAT'S WRONG, POTTER? NOT DENYING EVERYTHING STRAIGHT AWAY? DON'T TRY IT I HAVE PROOF! I SAW YOU SLIPPING THAT LOVE POTION INTO HER PUMKIN JUICE!" Wait ... that's not what he said last time. Maybe I can still do something!
"SHUT IT NEVILLE! I'VE DONE NO SUCH THING AND HERMIONE HASN'T EVEN STARTED TO TELL ME WHY SHE IS HERE! IT'S NOT MY FAULT SHE TURNED YOU DOWN" Oops! ... Explain that one!
Hermione was the first to breach the deafening silence that followed my outburst. "How ... how did you know I turned Neville down? You're right I didn't tell you that." she aksed haltingly looking puzzled. "And you couldn't have reached here before me had you listened in on us. I would have seen you! So ... how did you do that?"
"I ... erm ... I ..." I chose that moment to feign unconsciousness due to head injury. (Everything is better than being caught by Hermione with an unconvincing, but sadly true, story.)
It served to get both of them over to me in a flash. I don't know how long I played 'dead', but just as I decided to 'wake up' I felt a little dazed and found myself standing by the door hearing footsteps.
Oh no it's happening again! Learning from experience I backed away from the door right into the courtain of the alcove. Instinctively I decided to hide myself in there. No sooner had I closed the courtain than the door opened and Hermione came in.
"Harry are you in here?" she asked. I decided not to answer and used my hiding place to view the situation from the outside.
Hermione wandered into the center of the room looking around with her back turned to the door. "Harry?" she asked again and I decided to take my chance and flee. I didn't fancy another shouting match with Neville. But just as I was sneaking out of the door Hermione must have turned around as she called out to me.
"Harry! What are you doing? Why don't you answer me?" I had two choices now stay or run. I chose to run, I knew what staying would result in. I was heading towards the hidden staircase to the second floor as I heard Peeves cackling from that direction. Oh no! I am on that staircase and I'm coming up! Skidding to a halt I looked around for a hiding place, as I couldn't run into myself. I fleetingly considered the store cupboard and the boy's lavatory I found, but then it dawned on me that this was the exact same lavatory I had used this afternoon.
There was only one chance. I had to get behind the statue on the other side of the staircase. Hearing myself truding up the stairs swearing at Peeves I managed to rush over to the statue and fling myself behind it just as my earlier self entered the hallway. Heaving I waited for my footsteps to retreat in the direction of the lavatory until I realized what Peeves had done this afternoon. After shadowing me to the storage cupboard teasing me with my 'colourful' attire, he had zoomed of in the direction of the statue I was hiding behind. I did the only thing possible and risking everything whisked into the hidden stairway while my other self was still sorting through Filch's supplies.
I leaned back against the wall and closed my eyes. That had been too close. One more second and I would've had to face myself! I had to get out of this. Reaching into my robes I drew out the timeturner and almost fainted for real. It was still broken and this time it hadn't made contact with the brass knob on the door to my training room. Could this be the reason for my recurring experieces? I realized that I desperately needed one thing - I needed help.
But where to get it? Who had experience with timeturners? Hermione? No chance she wasn't in the condition to help me. I'd probably manage to get her to hex me sooner than calm her down enough to explain my problem. Professor McGonagall? Well if I managed to reach her I would've quite a lot of explaining to do, let alone face detention for the rest of the year. And then she'd probably send me to Professor Dumbledore. How should I ever manage that within half an hour? Wait a minute! Dumbledore! This staircase was leading to a corridor on the second floor. Hardly anyone knew there was another exit on the fourth floor, but the lower exit was just around the corner from Dumbledore's office. I could easily manage to reach him and with time to spare!
So I picked myself up and started to make my way down to the second floor until ... Until I almost slipped on the stairs. This was the place where Peeves had waylaid me earlier. The whole staircase was splattered with ink. What seemed to be galleons of ink must have cascaded down the stairs leaving them slick and wet. I'd never make it down these stairs in time ... not without breaking my neck in the process.
I climbed back to where the stairs were dry and sat down. I couldn't possibly reach Dumbledore's office in time - not whitout using this shortcut. It took at least 25 minutes to get there from the Room of Requirement and that was without any delay and running at full speed. What can I do? I can't apparate to the headmaster's office afterall I'm not a house-elf! Wait ... a house-elf ... Dobby! That's it! I could send Dobby to Dumbledore.